KEVIN RUDD PM VISITS SPRINGWOOD NSW

Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia visits Springwood, NSW. I got to shake the PM's hand (Stoked) and listened to a speech that will air on State News tonight. He is a fantastic PM & I feel honored to have met and photographed him.

All Photos taken by Michael Bailey Springwood, NSW

MEDIA

Several media were present including SKY News, CH 7, CH9 & CH10, Various Photographers (me included) and Radio 2UE & 2GB.

 Yes, It was Raining....

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ANDROID RADIO APPS

Hello and welcome back...... A range of ham radio apps are available for Android users.
From what I've read, they work well. Most apps require you to tune to a radio frequency on a suitable radio and the Android phone of tablet decodes the information and displays the results.

To Download the apps CLICK HERE

The website is called www.wolphi.com and is written by Wolfgang Phillips

AMATEUR RADIO APPS

DroidPSK = DroidPSK is an app for Android to decode and encode Ham Radio BPSK31 with the build in microphone/speaker or wired to your radio.

DroidSSTV = DroidSSTV lets you transmit and receive amateur radio (ham radio)  slow scan TV (SSTV) on your Android Smartphone or Android tablet.

Morse Trainer =Learn Morse Code

DroidRTTY = DroidRTTY is an application to decode and encode Ham Radio RTTY with the build in microphone/speaker or wired to your radio.

Morse Decoder = Morse Decoder decodes Morse code characters through the built-in microphone of your Android device

DTMF = DTMF decodes and encodes DTMF (Dual-tone multi-frequency) tones trough the phones speaker and microphone.

DSP Audio Filter = The DSP Audio Filter is a tool that enables you to filter frequencies from an audio spectrum by using your cell phone’s microphone.

NCDXF Beacon =  NCDXF Beacon is a simple tool to monitor the NCDXF beacons on the Ham Radio bands 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m and 10m.
Upon start the the time will be synchronized with an NTP server.

DX Cluster =Never miss a DX spot again

Voice Keyer = Voice Keyer is an audio recorder tool to record and play back messages. The messages are easily accessible though 6 buttons. A long click on a button will record a message and a normal click will play it back.


MARINE APPS

HF Weather Fax = HF Weather Fax for Android decodes weather fax 120/576 charts and satellite images through the microphone of your Android phone or tablet.

DroidNAVTEX = DroidNavtex decodes NAVTEX messages from your receiver through the Android phone or tablets microphone or through a connected interface.


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EUROCOPTER X3

Hello and welcome back.....This reminds me of the 80s show Airwolf....The Eurocopter X3, part plane, part helicopter....one word "WoW"  (notice - no tail rotor)

  Thanks to AviationWeek for the video


Thanks to Eddy Ferrant for the video

WOUXUN KG-UV6D

Hello and welcome back......In the value for money dept, this radio gets all the ticks.
Chinese company"Wouxun" sell several handheld and base/mobile units to suit all flavors.
The quality that I have heard is second to none, very high, as is the reliability of their products.
The unit I will focus on is the KG-UV6D, its a hand-held unit with awesome specs, what interested me is not only can you receive on these units you can also transmit on most channels as well.
Eerr on the side of caution as this could land you in hot water with various officials so don't be an idiot and start transmitting on fire, police channels etc because eventually they will be banned/made Illegal and spoil it for the radio loving community out there.



These units offer dual frequency receive/transmit on 136-174mhz and 420-520mhz ( some radios have other frequencies available like 370-470mhz) check spec before buying because one model number can have several variances.
Also on these radios you get Digital FM radio (76-108MHz) (receive only)....Excellent

The price is mindblowing, these units sell on ebay roughly about $120-150....Stunning

For piece of mind, Andrews Communications in Greystanes NSW sells these units for $169 with oodles of accessories as well, in stock (see link below)

I was hoping to try one of these units but so far none of my emails have been answered by Wouxun, slightly disappointing, hope their customer service is not the same :(

SPECS

* Dual Band, Dual Frequency, Dual Display and Dual Standby
* IP55 WaterProof Standard
* Wider RX/TX Freauency RX 420-520MHz TX 420-520MHz
* SMA Antenna Socket ( same as Yaesu ICOM Radio )
* Free Upgrade 1700maH High Capacity Battery Pack
* Multi Step Frequency 5, 6.25, 10, 12.5, 25, 50 or 100 kHz ( Without 2.5Khz )
* DTMF Encoding Function
* CTCSS / DCS Scan
* Auto / Manual Keypad Lock
* Band Cab Be Freely: VHF TX UHF RX or UHF TX VHF RX
* VOX Transmisson
* Dual watch receive; continually checks VFO A and VFO B freqs.
* FM broadcast band receive
* ALL repeater offset modes!
* Wire cloning function

KG-UVD6D Technical Specification :

Frequency Range	136-174 & 350-470M Hz  (RX/TX) FM: 76-108MHz (RX)
Memory Channels	199 channels
Frequency Stability	±2.5ppm
Operating Voltage	7.4V
Operating Temperature	-30℃～+60℃
Waterproof	IP 55
Antenna Impedance	50Ω
Dimension	65x119x39.5(mm)
Weight	253g
Transmitter
Frequency Stability	±2.5PPM
RF Carrier Power	UHF: 4W VHF: 5W
Effective Radiation Power (ERP)	within pre-determined value ±7.5dB
Max. Frequency Deviation	Channel Space: 25KHz  ±5KHz Channel Space: 12.5KHz ±2.5KHz
Audio Modulation	+3dB (pre-emphasis by 6dB between 0.3-3KHz)
Adjacent Channel Power	Channel Space: 25KHz  ≥70 dB Channel Space: 12.5KHz  ≥60 dB
Frequency Steup	5 , 6.25 , 10 , 12.5 , 25 , 50 , 100kHZ
Spurious Radiation	≤-30dBm
Inter modulation Attenuation	≥40dB
Modulation Distortion	≤10%
Residual FM	≤-35dB
Residual AM	≤3%
Receiver
Sensitivity (12dB SINAD）	0.16µV
Squelch Rejection Sensitivity	≤0.8µV
Squelch Sensitivity	≤0.2µV
Audio Output power	500mW
Audio Distortion	≤5%
Audio Response	（300-3000Hz)  +1 to -3dB
Co-channel Rejection	≥-8.0dB
Performance of Amplitude Limiter	≤3
Adjacent Channel Selection	Channel Space: 25KHz  ≥70 dB Channel Space: 12.5KHz  ≥60 dB
Inter-modulation	≥65 dB
Resistance	≥84 dB
Spurious Radiation	9KHz-1GHz≤-57dBm 1GHz-4GHz≤-47dBm

FEATURES

• Dual (V/U) squelch set levels
• Dual repeater offsets selectable
• Multi-function scanning
• Single key for repeater reverse
• Repeater offset; 0-69.950MHz
• Voice annunciation
• CTCSS rx/tx included (50 groups).
• DTMF encode included!
• DCS (105 groups)
• VOX function
• frequency steps selectable
• Battery save mode
• Busy channel lockout selectable
• Low battery voice prompt
• VFO or computer programmable
• Wire cloning function
• Multiple scan modes including

Superior crossmodulation, intermodulation rejection and strong signal performance guarantees far less received interference compared to all other amateur radios

Commercial quality and commercial performance, too!

Excellent 0.18uV sensitivity across the 2m and 70cm bands
5W output 144-148MHz (2m), 4W output 430-450MHz (70cm)

IP55 waterproof Standard

High/low output power levels

199 memory channels

Digital FM broadcast band radio

Dual or single frequency display

Dual watch receive; continually checks VFO A and VFO B freqs. Each VFO accepts VHF or UHF

Priority scan in VFO mode and memory channel mode

Wide/narrow bandwidth selection (25 or 12.5 kHz)

PC Programmable

  
Standard Accessories Included Radio Box Set :

    * Dual band radio ( 136-174 / 350-470 )     * Dual band antenna
    * Extended life 1700 mAh high capacity li-ion battery pack
    * Intelligent desktop 3-4 hour rapid charger
    * Car Charger cable
    * Desktop charger AC power cord
    * Belt clip
    * Wrist strap
    * English user manual
    * Free 1x Earpiece

****NOTE****  BEFORE ORDERING CHECK CONTENTS AS VARIOUS SITES HAVE VARIOUS DEALS.....MAKE SURE YOU GET A PC PROGRAMMING CABLE AS PART OF YOUR DEAL....THEY ARE VERY HARD TO PROGRAM WITHOUT THE SOFTWARE AND CABLE (so various videos tell me)

 

 

 

An Excellent value for money, not only could you use the WOUXUN KG-UV6D as a scanner, you can also transmitt on UHF CB and Amateur Radio as well.

 

LINKS

 

ANDREWS COMMUNICATIONS 

 

WOUXUN PRODUCT RANGE 

 

CURRENTLY ON EBAY 

 

 

 

 

SPRINGWOOD POLICE NSW

Photos by Michael Bailey, Springwood, NSW

TRAINS, TRAINS & MORE TRAINS

Hello and welcome back.....I thought I would post some Trains that go through the Blue Mountains on a regular basis, Mainly using 450.050mhz to stay in contact.

Photos by Michael Bailey, Springwood, NSW