What Are the Pride Radio Folx Up To?
By Vance, N3VEM (he/him)
I've been meaning to sit down and write some posts for the Pride Radio Group (PRG) for quite some time now, but ran into the standard hurdles of being busy with family, projects, work, and also struggling to narrow down exactly what I wanted to write about. Of all the radio clubs I have been involved in, the PRG is by far the largest (roughly 130 members the last time I checked!) and has members involved in what feels like every nook and cranny of the amateur radio hobby, and beyond.
This incredible diversity is one of the things that drew me to the PRG. I tend to be easily fascinated by all the cool stuff people are doing, so I was very quickly hooked after participating in one of the PRG's nets, and hearing all the different things people were doing. Because of the diveristy of the people, the diversity of their interests, and their strong commitment to their values and their CoC, I knew it was a great place to be!
As I reflected on the above, it dawned on me that all of this awesome stuff basically was the posts I was wanting to write! Over the next number of months, it's my intent to share some of this awesomeness in a series of posts in interview format, that will highlight members of the club, and what they are passionate about. If I'm lucky, I'll even get to learn some stuff myself in the process!
As a teaser, below are some of the topics that are regularly discussed in the PRG's Discord server. Since hams are people first and foremost, the community shares a lot more than just radio with each other, so I hope we'll get to learn more about all of these interesting topics as I delve into them with all of these awesome folx!
Packet Radio
FARPN (Federated Amateur Radio Packet Network)
RF Design Projects
Art
Repeaters
SSTV
Festivals
Being a Licensed Ham, While Maintaining Privacy
Net Operations
Coming Out
License Exams
Club Endorsements
Music
Networking
Model Rockets (Okay - that one's mostly me..)
Skeds
Digital Networks
HRT
AMPRnet
Gaming
Weak Signal Modes
Sondehub
Track and Field
Special Events
Microwave
Announcing CQ Pride 2024 Special Event!
We are excited to announce that we will be running the CQ Pride event in 2024, with a few changes! Inspired by events like Meme Appreciation Month and 13 Colonies, CQ Pride will be transitioning from a contest format to a week long event with several special event callsigns for you to log. From Friday June 7th 0200 UTC to Monday June 17th 0200 UTC, the callsigns below will be operating on various bands and modes. If you make contact with all four of the LGBT stations, the QSL cards will join together to form a poster celebrating Pride!
Callsigns
L (US) - N6L
G (US) - N6G
B (US) - N6B
T (US) - N6T
Bonus - (AUS) - VI2024PRIDE
Call for Volunteer Operators
We need station operators! If you would like to operate one of the special event stations listed above, please fill out this form and we'll reach out with more details. We’ll add you to our list and follow up with you some time in April 2024 about scheduling. We are very happy to add your home station to the schedule, but we’re particularly interested in setting up stations at Pride events, club stations, or anywhere open to the public.
If you’re outside the US and Australia, we would love to set up additional stations for this event. Please contact pride2024@prideradio.group and we will work with you to register an additional callsign(s) as allowed in your country.
Note that you absolutely don’t have to be L/G/B/T to operate the corresponding station, but we will gladly accommodate your preference if the schedule allows.
CQ Pride Results 2022
First off, many thanks to all the operators who took part in CQ Pride from those who just gave out a few numbers to those who submitted logs, we appreciate the participation. It’s great to hear all your voices on the air.
Also a big thank you to VK Log Checker team for not only creating a place to submit and check logs for us, but also a UDC for N1MM to make logging easier.
We’ve also collected a lot of feedback from the contest which we will roll into next year. Thank you for this!
Results
For full results see the VK Log Checker page.
Single Operator
1: VJ5Q - 14
2: KJ7OMO - 11
3: VK3FUR - 9
Single Operator - QRP
1: VK5CLD - 2
Overall
1: VJ5Q - 14
2: KJ7OMO - 11
3: VK3FUR - 9
VI2022PRIDE
Pride Radio Group is once again hosting the VI2022PRIDE special event callsign. While we don’t have strict schedule due to the flexibility of many pride events dates and club members availability we are planning to operate it when we can throughout the year. We’ll attempt to operate on as many pride events as possible.
One of many VI2022PRIDE QSL card designs
We’ve secured several new QSL card designs for this year so be sure to try to work the station throughout the year to collect them all.
CQ Pride! An amateur radio contest for all
Pride Radio Group is proud to announce CQ Pride. An amateur radio contest to showcase the hobby’s diversity and acceptance. Getting on the air, sharing our voice and stories is one Pride Radio Group core values.
The contest aims to be a relaxed experience and we encourage those who might not typically participate in contests to join in. We plan on running the contest annually on the 1st weekend on June to celebrate Pride Month. The next contest will be help between 2022-06-04 0000 UTC and 2022-06-06 0000 UTC.
For more information check out our contest page.
Hope you join us for the contest!
VK Kits
The cost to become a licensed amateur in Australia is extremely high compared to many other countries. A person entering amateur radio in Australia sees costs of around $195 AUD or more. At Pride Radio Group we think this creates a huge barrier of entry for those less fortunate.
Foundation Exam: $90.00 AUD
Callsign Recommendation: $25.00 AUD
ACMA Licence: $80 AUD
Total new licensee cost: $195 AUD
To make the hobby a little easier to get started, and lighter on the pocket we are trialing a program to supply kits to hams with essential components and devices to get started with.
All the kits components laid out on my work bench
The kit contains the follow components:
2/70cm FM/DMR radio
NanoVNA and RF Demo board
RTL-SDR
DMR Hotspot
Toolkit
Various cables and adapters
For a full list of equipment and where you can order the parts we used see the kits page here.
Along with the hardware we are planning a series of tutorials on how to use the equipment. These articles will be designed around someone who’s never used a radio or operated an amateur radio service before.
You can find our first tutorial here.
Kits are available for free provided you meet the following criteria:
Member of Pride Radio Group (free membership)
Reside in Australia
Recently passed your first amateur radio exam
Unable to financially purchase the equipment
If you believe you meet these criteria, contact Michaela Wheeler at Pride Radio Group.
For more information see : https://prideradiogroup.gitlab.io/vk-kits/
Midsumma VI2021PRIDE recap
With the Midsumma parade completed this weekend, we close out yet another successful activation of our VI2021PRIDE event. Thanks for all who contacted us over the various Midsumma events. Many thanks to all of our operators. Shout out to Tony (VK3JED) who managed to gain our first internet relayed contact via D-STAR for VI2021PRIDE. I look forward to seeing more digi modes in future activations that Pride Radio Group perform.
Pride flag flown atop an inverted vee antenna during Midsumma
Remember to request a QSL card at ClubLog or send us a QSL card so that you can get a hold of the limited edition Midsumma QSL card. We'll begin sending out our next batch of QSL cards shortly :)
Operators
Tony (VK3JED)
Mark (VK5QI)
Luke (VK3UKW)
Ben (VK4BJL)
Up next
If my maths is correct, we completed 320 contacts! Don't worry if you didn't get to make a contact with us this time, we'll be back during June for Pride Month.
Why are we running VI2021PRIDE?
By operating the special event callsign VI2021PRIDE we are :
Demonstrating that amateur radio is an inclusive and accepting hobby
Celebrate who we are, and our history
Allowing amateur radio operators to find our community and help us make amateur radio more inclusive
Show those interested in joining amateur radio that the hobby is diverse
At Pride Radio Group our core values are :
Encouraging, promoting and supporting diversity with the wider radio community
Sharing our experiences and learnings with the community
Celebrating and embracing pride on the air
Sydney Mardi Gras VI2021PRIDE recap
Between 19th February and 7th March 5 operators made 787 contacts with our special event callsign VI2021PRIDE, celebrating Sydney Mardi Gras . This was our first special event callsign activation and it went without any issues. Thanks to all our operators for making it happen and everyone who called in. We made contacts with 41 countries on a variety of modes. Make sure you either send a QSL card, or use ClubLogs online QSL request to obtain a special event specific QSL card.
Operators
Ben - VK4BJL
Luke - VK3UKW
Michaela - VK4XSS
Geordie - VK3CLR
Mark - VK5QI
Up next
We'll be back for Midsumma, 19th April to 5th May. Here's a sneak peak of the amazing art work for Midsumma's QSL card. Art was created by the amazing Ehren English (Twitter: @EhrenEnglish, Instagram: @ehrenenglish_art)
QSL card artwork for VI2021PRIDE Midsumma activation
Why are we running VI2021PRIDE?
By operating the special event callsign VI2021PRIDE we are :
Demonstrating that amateur radio is an inclusive and accepting hobby
Celebrate who we are, and our history
Allowing amateur radio operators to find our community and help us make amateur radio more inclusive
Show those interested in joining amateur radio that the hobby is diverse
At Pride Radio Group our core values are :
Encouraging, promoting and supporting diversity with the wider radio community
Sharing our experiences and learnings with the community
Celebrating and embracing pride on the air
Australian mail redirection for at risk and vulnerable amateurs
In Australia our radio regulator, ACMA, requires amateurs to have a postage address publicly listed on their database. This poses a problem for those that are at risk, or those who don’t currently have a fixed address. One of Pride Radio Groups members suggested we setup a post box to support those who can’t list their address publicly. So we did just that.
With the help of HotSnail we are now able to offer a mail box that Pride Radio Group members can use for their ACMA registrations. We are very grateful for what HotSnail has been able to offer our members.
The service will make amateur radio more accessible for those who can’t have their address publicly available. Mail redirection service is available for free for Pride Radio Group members in Australia. See our about page for more information about Pride Radio Group and how to join.
VI2021PRIDE Sydney Mardi Gras
Pride Radio Group VI2021PRIDE QSL card celebrating Sydney Mardi Gras
Just wanted to share a quick update regarding the VI2021PRIDE plans. We are working on getting unique art works for each major event we are operating during made up as QSL cards.
Above is a sample of the Sydney Mardi Gras QSL card will look like. A big thank you to Magyarmelcsi Illustration for the lovely art work.
You should expect to see us on SSB and FT8. Bands subject to change throughout the days.
QSL direct via :
Michaela Wheeler
16 Erin Close
Gladstone, QLD 4680, Australia
or via Club Log OQRS system
That’s all for now,
~ Michaela
KiwiSDR and VI2021PRIDE Schedule
ACMA have issued Pride Radio Group with VI2021PRIDE and while we haven’t finalised specific dates I wanted to give an update on the rough schedule we intend to be operating for this year.
February 19th (Start of Sydney Mardi Gras) - March 7th (End of Sydney Mardi Gras)
April 19th (Midsumma Start) - May 5th (Midsumma End)
June 1st (Start of Pride Month) - June 30th (End of Pride Month)
We’ll also be offering awards for working the station :) More details to come.
We now also have a KiwiSDR for Pride Radio Group members. At the moment 2 channels are dedicated to our members while 2 channels are open to the public.
http://kiwisdr.prideradio.group:8073
The SDR is still undergoing commissioning and some local noise sources still need to hunted and removed :)
That’s all for now - stay safe
~ Michaela [VK3FUR]
Amateur Radio Magazine, K3PRG and VI2021PRIDE
Amateur Radio Magazine published by the WIA gave us a shout out in the latest issue. We are very happy to see the group noticed by more and more people and it helps show the world how diverse amateur radio really is! WIA has instructions on how to get a copy of the issue on their website.
The FCC has issued a vanity callsign for our club, K3PRG. This goes nicely with our existing Australian callsign VK3PRG! Can’t wait to see the two club stations work each other in the future. Thanks to all involved in getting K3PRG callsign registered.
AMC has issued a callsign recommendation for VI2021PRIDE to ACMA. Once issued by ACMA we’ll publish a schedule (subject to COVID-19 restrictions / rescheduling) for the station activations. VI2021PRIDE will be used to celebrate pride events and we look forward to engaging with community events.
We’ve also submitted recommended changes for some IARU documentation to make the language more inclusive.
That’s all for now - stay safe
~ Michael [VK3FUR]
US Callsign and WIA broadcast
Pride and transgender flag being flown on the top of an inverted vee antenna
We now have a US callsign for the club (KJ7RTA) while we wait for our vanity callsign to be issued. This helps us expand our global reach. I can't wait for our Australian call and US call to work each other!
Pride Radio Group got a shout out on the WIA broadcast! pic.twitter.com/voHn8htKn5
— Pride Radio Group (@PrideRadioGroup) October 24, 2020
Over in Australian last weekend the WIA broadcast had a segment announcing our launch! You can find the recording and a text version over on the WIA website. Thanks to @KajiFox for recording the snippet for us.
Pride Radio Group website being shown on the ATV transmission of the WIA news broadcast.
In other news, we are now working with the IARU to help update some documentation that contains problematic language to be more inclusive. This really excites me as this what the group is all about, making the hobby more inclusive! I'll post more updates as this progresses. If you know of content, or clubs that need similar help or want to help out let us know.
That’s all for now - stay safe
~ Michael [VK3FUR]
Net and Australian Callsign
Pride Radio Group has been issued by AMC and ACMA the callsign VK3PRG and over the last week we’ve already made 100 contacts and had great conversations with the wider amateur radio community. If you see us on the air be sure to say hello! US and Canadian callsigns are being worked on and I look forward to seeing these on the air!
We also celebrated our first and second net which was done across multiple different linked digital modes using VK3JED’s linked system. It was great hearing everyone for the first and getting to know everyone! We are slowly working towards getting a dedicated DMR talk group ID. The first net I used DMR and the second echo link and it worked really well.
We’ve also been able to partner with Altronics in Australia to receive a discount on purchased made in store or over the phone. Details are in our announcements channel :)
That’s all for now - stay safe
~ Michael [VK3FUR]
100 members and club endorsements
It’s been a busy few weeks for Pride Radio Group since our last update and we’ve been making some great progress with some of our projects. I’m pleased to announce that we’ve had over 100 members sign up for Pride Radio Group which is just amazing!
If you’ve applied to be a member and haven’t received any details yet, check your spam folder. Since our domain is new some email providers are marking our emails as spam :(
One of the really amazing and important tasks we’ve been working on is the process for club endorsement. We want to be able to endorse clubs that are friendly and inclusive so that our members and public can be informed when they want to join a local club. As of today we now have a process in place to endorse clubs. If you think your club deserves endorsement then head over to our dedicated club endorsement page. We look forward to working with your club :)
That’s all for now - stay safe
~ Michael [VK3FUR]
50 members!
It's been a busy and amazing first week. We've reached our first 50 members, and the outreach and support has been overwhelming. We have had our media release published by QRZ.com and a bunch of positive emails and comments in response. We expect several other amateur radio news broadcast to share our message, so keep a listen out.
Members have already started helping out with the process of things like DMR talk groups, US call signs and more. We've had an update regarding our Australian call sign, it's passed through AMC and is now awaiting approval by ACMA. As the Australian process for getting call signs is so slow, I'm going to try and get special event call signs sorted out early for next years events. More news to come on this.
We've had some great ideas regarding our first contest. I won't share the details here until we've finalised them but I'm loving the creativity and minds of our members.
Our members have been sharing some of their builds and projects that they've been working on. There's some great projects being worked on like tower builds, loop antennas, air quality sensors and pager transmitters. It's great to see and I'm loving every bit of it.
From an administration point of view I've learnt that this space is ever so important, it just shows from some emails and comments I've received. Given the immaturity of some people in the amateur radio community any future forums we post our events or details on we'll ask that comments be disabled. While we'd like to have an open discussion around our group some of the comments we received were abusive, inappropriate, and uncivil.
I've had a few clubs reach out suggesting that we do presentations regarding inclusion and diversity at their meetings. This is a great idea and we'll certainly be getting something together. If you have experience in presenting these topics or your a club that would like to see this as part of one of your meetings reach out.
That’s all for now - stay safe
~ Michael [VK3FUR]
First post!
Today we are launching Pride Radio Group! We are aiming to provide a friendly and safe place for all to celebrate pride in radio. It doesn’t matter if you’re an amateur radio operator, CBer or just a general radio experimenter - you are very welcome in our community. We want to grow as a community together, so come join us. Expect interesting discussions on antenna design, SDR and short wave radio in a safe, friendly environment.
Be sure to check out our values and if you want to contribute to this awesome community head over to the sign up page.
What’s to come…
There’s a few awesome pieces of work planned for the future. The most exciting for me is certifying radio clubs as pride friendly so we can help people connect with other people and groups locally. If you are a member of a radio club that you think meets our values, get in contact!
We also have plans for contests, special event call signs and a club call sign in Australia. More news on this will come later in the year.
That’s all for now - stay safe
~ Michael [VK3FUR]