News Index

This page contains all the latest news about School Amateur Radio Clubs. Please contact us to add your SARC news to this page. Send us a picture and description of your SARC activities. Remember to get parental permission to publish student photographs on this site and in our newsletters.

News Items

Media Releases

January 2026: Release of SARCTRAC Earth version 2.0 and SARCTRAC Space version 2.0.
December 2025: New Project: Release of - SARCTRAC Space version 1.0.
December 2025: SARCNET Goes Digital Voice.
November 2025: New Project - Ionodata Ionogram Data Plotter.
October 2025: Updated Project - AIS Receiver Mk3.
March 2025: SARCNET @ Train and Hobby Show 2025.
March 2025: Updated Project - AIS Receiver.
February 2025: Updated Project - Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator Mk2.
February 2025: Updated Project - Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator Mk1.
January 2025: New Project - Zip Cord Feed Line.
January 2025: New Project - Antenna Modelling.
November 2024: SARCNET Getting New Operators On The Air.
October 2024: New Project - Home Automation System.
May 2024: New Project - SARCNET Mk4 Heavy Duty Az-El Satellite Antenna Rotator.
March 2024: SARCNET @ Train and Hobby Show 2024. SARCNET Workshops and Kitset sales.
February 2024: Release of SARCTRAC Earth version 1.0.
February 2024: Updated Product - Morse Code Practice Set with kid-safe AA Cells replace Button Battery.
February 2024: New Project - GPS Time Sync App to synchronise the Windows PC clock using a GPS mouse.
January 2024: New Project - Ionogram Video Creator to enable visualisation of HF propagation over time.
August 2023: SARCNET assistance to Kairi State School.
July 2023: Congratulations to foundation students from Kairi State School.
March 2023: SARCNET by ChatGPT. A news article written by OpenAI's ChatGPT large language model.
March 2023: SARCNET @ Train and Hobby Show 2023. SARCNET Workshops, Displays and Kitset sales at the show.
March 2023: SARCNET @ WARC Hamfest.
March 2023: SARCNET Support for Kairi State School VK4KSS.
February 2023: SARCNET @ ARV Public Transport On The Air presentation.
February 2023: SARCNET @ BARG Hamfest.
November 2022: New SARCNET Activation Program: Public Transport On The Air.
October 2022: SARCNET @ VK7 Tasmanian National Parks DXpedition.
September 2022: New Project - QSO Map to show yours QSOs on a map.
September 2022: SARCNET Goes Digital using Olivia 8/2507072.500 USB.
August 2022: New Project - Inverted V Antenna. A 40m/20m Tipee antenna for portable operation.
July 2022: SARCNET On The Air station upgrade facilitated by a generous donation from Don VK3HDX.
June 2022: SARCNET @ SERG 2 at the South-East Radio Group in Mt. Gambier, Victoria.
May 2022: SARCNET @ JOTT 2022. SARCNET provides radio support for Jamboree On The Trail 2022.
May 2022: SARCNET attended the Moorabbin and District Radio Club Hamfest.
April 2022: SDR Transceiver Project updated: New RF Power Amplifier, Low Pass Filter, Speaker Amplifier and Real Time Clock.
March 2022: SARCNET On The Air signal boosted to 400W and Loop Antenna raised to 9m.
December 2021: SARCNET attended the inaugural Warrnambool Hamfest held jointly by the Warrnambool District Amateur Radio Group and the Portland and South West Radio Group.
November 2021: SARCNET Spotlight - Glen VK3GMC.
November 2021: New Project - CTCSS Encoder project created to enable the use of VHF/UHF repeaters.
October 2021: Production of 100 new SARCTRAC Mk3 fully assembled, calibrated and tested units completed. All sold out within one month!
May 2021: New Project: USB Rig Interface. Use digital modes with older transceivers.
May 2021: SARCNET @ JOTT 2021. SARCNET provides radio support for Jamboree On The Trail 2021.
April 2021: New shopping cart for the SARCNET Products page.
April 2021: New QSO Map project created to show the location of our QSO (radio contacts).
March 2021: We awarded a free SARCTRAC Mk2 Satellite Antenna Rotator Controller and TRACker to the lucky person who downloaded the 1000th, Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator software from our website. The prize went to Tony, VK3XV, who said he wants to use the tracker for activating parks for the Keith Rojet Memorial National Parks Award.
March 2021: Production of 50 new SARCTRAC Mk2 fully assembled, calibrated and tested units completed. All sold out within one month!
February 2021: SARCNET On The Air. SARCNET commences a daily Amateur Radio net on 7105kHz LSB starting at 0300UTC. Our first contact was with Ron VK3AHR, who runs the Australian Ham Radio Net.
January 2021: New Project - Loop Antenna. A 40m horizontal loop antenna designed specifically for SARCNET local broadcasts.
October 2020: Released SARCTRAC Mk2 Satellite Antenna Rotator Controller and TRACker.
October 2020: Update to our Satellites page to include the Local Radio Horizon and Minimum Pass Elevation, as well as new prediction start date and time pickers, to match our SARCTRAC Mk2 product.
September 2020: The Enigma Project: To commemorate our visit to Bletchley Park, UK, in 2018 we developed our own Enigma machine simulator.
July 2020: New Satellites page for predicting satellite visibility and co-visibility at www.sarcnet.org - Now hosted on Zuver.
June 2020: SARCNET received a grant from FISTS Down Under Inc to promote and encourage Amateur Radio and Morse code. The generous grant will provide for 20 SARCNET Morse Code Keys free to students at our Morse Code workshops.
May 2020: Released AIS Receiver Mk2. Free micro SDHC card image available on Google Drive.
March 2020: SARCNET @ Train and Hobby Show 2020. SARCNET Workshops, Displays, Kitset sales and an On-Air Experience at the show.
February 2020: SARCNET @ MARTG. Inaugural meeting at WANSARC club rooms.
February 2020: SARCNET @ WANDARC Hamfest. SARCNET exhibits at Western and Northern Districts Amateur Radio Club.
November 2019: SARCNET @ Rosebud Radiofest. SARCNET exhibits at the Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Club Radiofest.
October 2019: SARCNET @ Ballarat Amateur Radio Group Hamvention.
October 2019: SARCNET @ JOTA 2019. SARCNET helps out at the First Glen Iris Scout hall.
August 2019: SARCNET @ Science Week 2019

August 2019: SARCNET Website and Forums totally rebuilt using WebSite X5.

June 2019: SARCNET @ Churchill National Park 2.

May 2019: SARCNET Website goes secure: https://www.sarcnet.org.
April 2019: Launch of Satellite Antenna Rotator Controller and TRACker (SARCTRAC) on our products page.

April 2019: SARCNET @ HMAS Castlemaine for ANZAC Day 2019. SARCNET Activates the historic WWII Corvette for ANZAC Day 2019.

March 2019: Welcome to new SARCNET Members: Northgate State School Radio Club.

March 2019: Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator article published in Oscar News.

August 2018: SARCNET @ BAREC in Castlemaine. Presentation of Amateur Radio for Kids.

August 2018: SARCNET on TV with St. Kevin's Primary School on Channel 10 Eyewitness News.

September 2018: Amateur Radio for Kids paper submitted to IARU Region 3 17th Regional Conference, Seoul Korea.

July 2018: SARCNET @ GippsTech 2018: Presentation of Build your own SDR, Mini Satellite Ground Station, Amateur Radio for Kids plus demonstration of Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator Mk3, Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator Mk4, Mini Satellite Ground Station_Software, SDR Receiver and Transmitter Modulation Monitor.

August 2018: Release 6 of Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator software.

June 2018: SARCNET @ SERG at the South-East Radio Group in Mt. Gambier, Victoria.

May 2018: SARCNET @ Bletchley Park, UK visit to the Government Code and Cypher School, National Museum of Computing and National Radio Centre.

May 2018: SARCNET @ Margate Lifeboat Station, UK with John Hislop and the RNLI team.

March 2018: Release 5 of Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator software.

February 2018: SARCNET Build your own SDR presentation to Amateur Radio Victoria and Moorabbin and District Radio Club.

January 2018: Welcome to new SARCNET Members: The STEMettes at St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School. Kent, England.

October 2017: Release 4 of Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator software.

October 2017. SARCNET International Arduino Challenge.

October 2017: SARCNET goes Lead-Free! After 50 years of soldering with lead solder SARCNET puts health and the environment first.

October 2017: Welcome new SARCNET Member: Wellesley House School.

October 2017: Welcome new SARCNET Member: St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School.

October 2017: Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator Mk2 article published in Amateur Radio Magazine.

August 2017: SARCNET @ FoBI Electronics Prototyping Workshops at Festival of Bright Ideas in Hobart, Tasmania.

July 2017: Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator Mk2, APRS on HF, ARDF Telemetry, Remote Control Radio Server projects presented at GippsTech 2017.

June 2107: Year 3/4 SARC students activated Churchill National Park.

May 2017: SARCNET @ Hahndorf all-day activity for Hahndorf Primary School students.

May 2017: SARC Presentation at 2017 WIA AGM in Hahndorf SA.

April 2017: The first SARCNET Electronics, Soldering & Microcontroller Workshop held at Moorabbin and District Radio Club.

April 2017: ANZAC day Amateur Radio Special Event at Moorabbin and District Radio Club. The successful even attracted some 80 school students, scouts and their families.

March 2017: Demonstrated the MkII rotator to members of the University of Melbourne Space Program team.

March 2017: Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator MkII article submitted for publication in AR Magazine.

March 2017: A Speech Synthesiser for the Yaesu FT-817 article published in Amateur Radio Magazine.

February 2017: SARC Presentation at Moorabbin and District Amateur Radio Club.

February 2017: SARC Presentation at Shepparton and District Amateur Radio Club.

December 2016: Presentation of 2016 SARC Excellence Awards.

December 2016: SARC presentation at the Eastern Zone Amateur Radio Club.

November 2016: School Amateur Radio Club station VK3SRC participated in the annual Keith Roget Memorial National Park Award activation weekend at Point Nepean and Morning Peninsula National Parks. The station received an award for contacting 25 National Parks.

October 2016: Jamboree On The Air Churchill National Park.

October 2016: SARC presentation at the Eastern and Mountain Districts Radio Club.

October 2016: School Amateur Radio Clubs article published in Amateur Radio Magazine.

August 2016: ANZAC Day Amateur Radio Special Event published in AR magazine.

June 2016: SARC1 High Altitude Balloon Payload, AIS Saves Lives, Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator Mk1, and A Speech Synthesiser for the Yaesu FT-817 projects presented at GippsTech 2016.
May 2016: AIS Saves Lives article submitted for publication in Amateur Radio magazine.

May 2016: A Speech Synthesiser for the Yaesu FT-817 article submitted for publication in Amateur Radio Magazine.

May 2016: Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator article published in Amateur Radio magazine. SARC satellite-tracking group on front cover.

April 2016: ANZAC Day Amateur Radio Special Event publicised in school and scout newsletters and on WIA broadcast. The successful event attracted some 200 school students, scouts and their families.

April 2016: SARCNET call sign "VK3SRC" was issued by ACMA.

February 2016: "School Amateur Radio Clubs" article was re-submitted for publication in Amateur Radio magazine.

February 2016: An abridged School Amateur Radio Clubs article was published in the Term 1 2016 edition of Education Today magazine.

December 2015. A Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator Mk1 article featuring SARC members using a solar-powered amateur radio satellite ground station was submitted for publication in Amateur Radio Magazine.

December 2015: Three school newsletter articles advise the 2015 SARC Excellence Awards.

November 2015: School Amateur Radio Clubs article was submitted for publication in Education Today magazine.

August 2015: School Amateur Radio Clubs article was originally submitted for publication in Amateur Radio magazine, but was later withdrawn.

September 2015: Two school newsletter articles published with a report on the popular electronics kit construction activity.

July 2015: MARTG entry into Global Space Balloon Challenge presented at GippsTech 2015.
July 2015: Three school newsletter articles advise an update of activities offered by School Amateur Radio Clubs.

June 2015: Amateur Radio Group has it Head in the Clouds article published in Amateur Radio Magazine. MTG004 is our first Arduino C++ project.

April 2015: Three school newsletter articles advise of SARC activities.

February 2015: Three School Newsletter Articles advise the introduction of School Amateur Radio Clubs.