Simon Templar - VK3XEM

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Simon Templar

The MagicPTT Duo

The MagicPTT Duo

The MagicPTT Duo is an Anysecu W6 POC/UHF device in kiosk mode for the MagicPTT Duo. Kiosk mode, basically locks the radio down to MagicPTT software and gives me access to the POC and 70 cm UHF radio with 64 channels. The POC part of the radio uses both

Harris Communications, a look back in history

Harris Communications, a look back in history

Harris Communications was located on Johnston Street, Fitzroy but as you can see from the picture what stood out from all the other radio shops of the day was he also sold shotguns. Robert Harris, VK3XQ in the day came up with an ingenious advertising idea. He offered a FREE

Article I wrote for Radio and Communications magazine in 1999

Article I wrote for Radio and Communications magazine in 1999

At that time UHF CB had 40 wideband channels and sub-audible tones were not permitted on the band. The regulator of the day was known as the Australian Communications Authority. The band was very busy with many users in those days, over the years it grew in popularity with

General Mobile Radio Service

General Mobile Radio Service

The FCC allocated me a GMRS Callsign WSON677 unfortunately I cannot use the GMRS frequencies in Australia, so it just a collector's item. But it is cool.

simbase IoT SIM card

simbase IoT SIM card

With the influx of PoC radios of late many operators are looking for good value data SIMs that don't use much data. The best value SIM I have personally come across is simbase, 2 cents a day and 2 cents a MB in Australia, best of all is

From Zulu to India-Kilo

From Zulu to India-Kilo

Military Time Zones, Australian Service and the Radio Connection By VK3XEM With daylight saving returning to Victoria, it is a good time to look at something that was once very familiar to Australian servicemen, radio operators and communicators — military time-zone designations. Today, most amateur radio operators simply use UTC,

Introducing MagicPTT

Introducing MagicPTT

MagicPTT is an internet-based Push-To-Talk communications platform that provides an easy way for people to communicate using their smartphones, computers and compatible devices. Unlike traditional Amateur Radio, MagicPTT does not require an operator to hold an Amateur Radio licence simply to use the platform. This makes it

VK44 Nets has replaced ham.live

VK44 Nets has replaced ham.live

https://nets.vk44.net/ will open the portal which will give you access to several Nets around Australia once you sign up and log in.

Sign up to emails from VK3XEM on the Web

Sign up to emails from VK3XEM on the Web

I am trailing a new subscription email service to the website, at the bottom of each page you should see the option to enter your email address and then receive notification of new posts. Give it a try.

FCC and AST SpaceMobile

FCC and AST SpaceMobile

The FCC has jurisdiction in the US, so WTF are they using IARU article 4.4 to allow AST SpaceMobile to deliberately interfere with Amateur Radio operations WORLD WIDE in the 430-440 MHz band? So a large percentage of US 70cm Ham usage is in 440-450 MHz, where

Retevis L71 PoC radio for the VK DMR Network

Retevis L71 PoC radio for the VK DMR Network

With the introduction of the IPCS3 server for the VK DMR network, thanks to the efforts of Matt VK2FLY, comes new and innovative features including PoC access. PTT Over Cellular, PoC is a technology that has been around for many years and makes use of software or dedicated radios that

The "Center" of the Universe

For over 40 years in the hobby of Amateur Radio I, as many other's have, required to source parts from overseas. On many occasions I have attempted to get parts from the US only to be told, we only deal with people in the US! The attitude from

Windows 10 EOL 14 Oct.

Windows 10 EOL 14 Oct.

Windows 10 End Of Life is October 14 2025. The big question for many is what to do before this date? Many computers will not support Windows 11, so do you upgrade or buy a new computer capable of Windows 11 or do you consider one of the many versions

Reginald

Bill Continelli W2XOY SK About his time as a Security Guard and Ham Radio. Reginald0:00/1022.3604081×

Net Control Made Easy

Running a Net Control can be a difficult process trying to take down callsigns and operate the radio, but with ham.live this can be simplified and a logger can delegated to take down the callsigns. There is also chat facilities for stations that log in via the online service.

History of the Welfare Net

History of the Welfare Net

The Weekday Welfare Net started life in the early days of Covid lockdowns and was originally called the Isolation Net. During this time Melbourne and many other parts of Australia were in lockdown with people forced to stay at home. This caused issues for many people being isolated from contact

TIDRADIO Facebook Group and 10% discount

TIDRADIO Facebook Group and 10% discount

Check out the TIDRADIO TD-H3 Australia Facebook group for information, hints and tips on this budget radio. Check out the referral link https://tidradio.com/?ref=vktidradio and Coupon Code VKTIDRADIO for 10% off these radios and accessories.

VK4NGA Duranode

VK4NGA Duranode

I have been using a VK4NGA Allstar Duranode on the 61624 VK-OzHUB for some time now and it is performing well. For more information on Allstar in Australia check out the Allstar Users Australia Facebook page.

Facebook Group: TIDRADIO TD-H3 Australia

Facebook Group: TIDRADIO TD-H3 Australia

Check out the new Facebook group TIDRADIO TD-H3 Australia Although this radio is not type approved for UHF CB and I do not condone the use of such radios outside of the Amateur bands it is not my place to tell people how they should use these radios, as

Petition EN6254 - Restoration of a validation document to authorised amateur radio operators

e-petitions – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au) This petition is for the ACMA to provide adequate documentation to Australian Amateurs to prove they are licensed here in Australia. Currently the stupid letter sent to SOME Amateurs is inadequate for reciprocal licensing overseas and to sign up for some services

TIDRADIO TD-H3 first impressions

TIDRADIO TD-H3 first impressions

Even before receiving the pair of TD-H3 I purchased from TIDRADIO I exchanged a couple of emails with support staff at TIDRADIO. I found them to reply quickly and be very responsive to my enquiries. Unlike other brands TIDRADIO are putting a lot of time and effort into their

TIDRADIO TD-H3 Introduction

TIDRADIO TD-H3 Introduction

Today I received a pair of TIDRADIO TD-H3 radios from China. Updating the firmware was a simple process along with using CHIRP to programme some channels into the radios. If you are interested in these radios please consider joining the TIDRADIO TD-H3 Australia Facebook group. A very nice

Canary Mail client, honest review

Canary Mail client, honest review

I have been trying Canary Mail | The Smartest Email App On The Planet on my PC and iPhone 14. It has many bold claims, including Cross Platform capabilities. So in good faith I subscribed via the Apple App Store and installed the app on my phone. I then installed Canary

The ACMA NON-DATABASE

Since the introduction of the Australian Amateur Radio Class Licence by the ACMA, Amateur Radio callsigns are being removed from the RRL database and moved the new NON-DATABASE that only shows if a callsign has been allocated and what level of licence it is issued to. BULLSHIT Privacy concerns

Historical Commercial Radio Operations on UHF CB

Historical Commercial Radio Operations on UHF CB

The late 1990's and early 2000's saw tight arse Commercial Two-Way Radio companies like Crosscom and Aust-Two Rentals, amongst many other companies, deliberately place their customers on the UHF CB 40 channels of the day using CTCSS or DCS so the customers would not