Tune-In to the World - Amateur Radio Gets People Talking
VK3ER - Jaycar Electronics Springvale
When I arrived to assist with the National Field Day display at Springvale my first impression was that this is a well organised and well setup event, and indeed it was. I had a time slot from 1pm till 3pm and others were organised throughout the day. There were plenty of good posters on the walls of the building and also on the marquee that had been setup. As I saw during my time there, many members of the public looked at the signage and it was easily understood what we were doing.
Our location was at the corner of Springvale Road and Princess Highway in Melbourne. We were setup in the car park of one of the busiest Jaycar stores in Melbourne, if not Australia. This proved to be a highly successful location.
Robert VK3DN, Jack VK3WWW and Max VK3WT and others had done a superb job of setting up the marquee. There was HF, VHF/UHF, DStar and Amateur TV on display and it all looked professional, capable and somewhat 'simple' to the public. Jack had some fox hunting equipment and pictures of competitors and it was good to be able to talk about the 'breadth and depth' of the hobby and how many wide ranging interests are catered for.
Another well done thing about the marquee was that there were no masses of wires or threatening looking arrays of equipment or what would look like the work of demented boffins in the back room running amok with a soldering iron. There was just a power supply and a transceiver here and there and looking very 'do able'. When speaking to the public about the hobby, making it all sound quite easy is essential and then, stepping to the side and being able to point to an antenna and talk briefly about what can be done helps a lot.
Initially I waited by the marquee for members of the public to approach but as this was some twenty metres from the front door, it was not successful. We quickly took a handful of literature and stood by the front door. Quietly and calmly we asked members of the public who had shown any interest in the signage, 'have you ever considered Amateur Radio' and followed on from there. It was surprising the number of people who took the time to look at the displays and take printed material away.
A very successful part of the day was having a well kitted out 4 wheel drive on display. Having an owner ready and willing to talk about his pride and joy was an absolute bonus. At one stage three members of the public were looking over Matthew VK3EVLs' Nissan Patrol all at the same time and he had them thoroughly engaged (and it was quite amusing to watch them from a distance with all the hand movements). He also demonstrated how he puts up a squid pole and as a 'hands on' demonstration for the hobby, it was highly successful. In fact, my impression was that the 4 wheel drive people were very receptive to Amateur Radio and I was very glad to have Matthew there to talk to them.
Another successful technique for engaging the public was the bubbly, happy and knowledgeable presence of Emily VK3FEGL. She was in many ways less threatening than 'the oldies' and many of the public gravitated toward her. There may have been other reasons but I wouldn't know about that. It also helped that we had printed material giving various peoples viewpoints of the hobby and Emily was one such viewpoint. She could say as she handed out the article, "this is about me and why I enjoy it". That worked very well and I could see people looking at the article and then at Emily and thinking about the hobby even more favorably.
So how did we do? I thought very well indeed. The number of interested members of the public was very high, much better than any other event I have been to. I had two 'ex hams' and one of them was keen to reactivate his license. I spoke to two short wave listeners who knew me and many of the callsigns of people I talk to on the repeaters. They each bought a Foundation Manual and expressed a keen desire to study and sit the exams. I had a number of 4 wheel drive enthusiasts, two of whom were about to go on long trips and were keen to explore the option of Amateur Radio.
In closing, I would highly commend this reaching out to the public and exposing our hobby as being a very rewarding activity when it is well organised, well resourced and there are a wide range of interests to demonstrate.
Richard VK3TXD
VK3COD - Lilydale Lake Park
After many weeks of preparation the magical day arrived. and it was magical!
It started in the very early hours when Mark VK3FMGF arrived on site at 4:30am, such dedication is not found just anywhere, next to arrive at 6am was Lino VK3EI with his communications trailer which was to be one of the main draw cards for the day with its distinctive yellow pneumatic
9mtr mast.
My wife Jean VK3VIP and I arrived on site at 6:20pm and quickly unpacked my small trailer and set up facilities to make hot coffee.
The day was shrouded in mist making Kite Hill look like something from Gorillas in the mist with spectral figures emerging when erecting the large delta loop antenna which was the mainstay of the days HF operations.
A very early Visitor to our event was Councilor Tim Hennan (Billanock
Ward) who attended to welcome us to his ward and have a look at what amateur radio is all about
By 9:30am the sun was up and the event was in full swing with a steady flow of interested members of the public arriving at the site and a willing group of amateurs throughout the day coming along to lend support
They were also well supported by not just one breakfast but two sessions of bacon and eggs early and late morning but a BBQ at lunchtime which went down very well with all concerned and of course tea and coffee throughout the entire day.
We gave out a large number of calling CQ leaflets also a flier for our clubs foundation course which is scheduled to run in two weeks time.
The day ended just before sunset when a weary but very happy team packed up and headed home, it had been a terrific day the highlight must be the effort made by the fifty plus amateurs that came along to help promote our great hobby.
