Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking.

Soon we should know if the weather is giving us another featured event with the formation of a new cyclone on the east coast. It seems that the El Nino pattern has confused many into thinking it must be dry. Like so much about the natural world, the climate sciences are dealing with unthinkable numbers of variables when they look for patterns and then develop predictions over long and short terms.

In some ways, it would seem that predicting space weather for electromagnetic spectrum users is an easier task in that the dynamics can be better observed, clarified and outcomes predicted. The fun for us radio enthusiasts is being able to pick the results that we experience and the calls we get in the log as a result.

Now that the educational world is resuming classes, many people will be resuming patterns left behind for some weeks and others will be engrossed in new experiences whether as new students or as new parents fledging their offspring. Life that is predictable within a framework tends to be more comfortable to the human psyche and we all look forward to that stability.

As the pattern of life resumes after a nominal holiday period, forward planning should be on the minds of hams with the change of propagation patterns with the revolving seasons and contests to engage the competitive spirits amongst us. I wonder how many have their calendars marked for events they hope to enjoy, this year?

Around my part of the world, the mundane seems to be overwhelming the need for relaxation. As I have mentioned before, the grass keeps growing in the warm and humid weather. I spoke with one person during the week who is having to get behind the lawn mower up to three times a week. There seems to be a reason for enjoying apartment living even with the limitations in mounting antennas which that lifestyle imposes.

It seems that as we age unless we have inherited an estate worthy of a lord, many of us have to learn new survival skills by downsizing our belongings and activities.

We move into smaller accommodations, perhaps with restrictions on what we can erect and even whether we can pursue recreations that have given us pleasure in our younger lives. This is the benefit of belonging to social groups such as radio clubs where issues can be discussed and hopefully solutions found.

The lifestyle benefits of senior enclaves are portrayed in expensive TV ads but the limitations are often profoundly missing.

Perhaps we should, as a dispersed community, be looking to ways of supporting different sectors of the amateur cohort. Rather than take the approach that we are all one group with one pursuit in mind, maybe we can try and gear activities towards the different age groups we seek to encourage and support.

I suppose what I am suggesting is that we need some imaginative thinking to sustain amateur radio today.

I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think….how about you?

Social Scene

Clubs are welcome to submit text with audio for this section

Redcliffe and Districts REDFEST April 6 (vk4tfn)

WIA AGM held MAY 4-5 2024 in BUNDABERG. (barc)