Men’s Sheds Communicate Across the Globe
It takes more than a brisk, frosty morning (even at 10 am!) to keep the members of Crowthorne and Wokingham Without Men’s Shed from a bit of exciting radio adventure. We were all buzzing for opening time, keen to attempt a very special contact with fellow Men’s Shed members—halfway around the globe!
Our target shed was the Channel Men’s Shed, Tasmania, Australia, where members were waiting for our call. That’s a whopping 11 hours ahead of GMT, making it 9:15 pm on their side, when we were only just getting started with the day.
Given the challenges of setting up an antenna for unpredictable HF communications at the Shed, we chose the reliable route: Echolink. This modern marvel allowed us to connect seamlessly to the AllStarLink network and VK3RWB Repeater in Victoria.
Huddled around a trusty Bluetooth-connected speaker, the shed’s radio expert, Norman G8EYM, sent out the ‘CQ’ call. The response was almost instant, loud, and crystal clear!
First up was Bob VK7BS, quickly followed by Greg VK3UT in Victoria. What a moment, It was absolutely fantastic to finally be in touch across such a vast distance, all of us sharing the common objectives of inclusivity, support, and friendship that define the Men’s Shed movement.
Joining Norman on the UK side were Shed members John M7JDF and Colin M0XCA, both also keen members of the local Bracknell Amateur Radio Club.
We were delighted when more Australian members joined the conversation, including Sam VK3FST, Ross VK7VKK and Emily VK3EDM, making for a brilliant introduction. We shared some fun ‘overs’, which got particularly entertaining when John mentioned the upcoming Ashes Series!
The AllStarLink network of nodes/repeaters worked flawlessly, delivering great audio from everyone involved. Before we knew it, a full hour had zoomed by, the easy conversation keeping us all entertained and involved.
It was a great ‘morning/evening’ exchange and we certainly hope it’s the first of many! We’re now planning our next steps: putting together an AllStar node for future links and most excitingly, getting a n HF antenna and radio rig in place so we can attempt a true HF contact in the future.
