Biography

I live in Yass NSW which is a small country town a few kilometers Nth West of VK1. Yass's name is believed to have derived from an aboriginal word "Yhar" meaning running water.

Yass lies on the junction of the Hume Highway and Barton Highway. In 1928 the Hume was known as the "Great South Road in NSW" and "Sydney Road" in Victoria. It was obviously named after Hamilton Hume, who with William Hovell (Explorer's) were the first Europeans to traverse an overland route between Sydney and Port Phillip, in what later became Victoria.

The Australian explorer Hamilton Hume (1797-1873) was born on 19 June 1797, in Parramatta near Sydney. Hamilton Hume was the first Australian born explorer. His intimate knowledge of the bush and of Aboriginal customs and languages were key elements in his success.

Yass now serves as an important interchange, connecting Sydney, Melbourne and the Australian Capital Territory. Other smaller communities within the Yass Valley are:- Sutton, Gundaroo, Gunning, Murrumbateman, Wee Jasper, Bowning, Bookham and Binalong.
.
The official population of Yass Valley and districts, as of 2021 was 17243. A few more have joined the locals since then living in the rural, peaceful Yass Valley and commuting to VK1 (Australian Capital Territory) for work some 75 or more kilometers away . The land area of the Yass Valley is 55-903 hectares or 559 Km squared, not very large and the population is reported to be increasing as people seek a quieter rural atmosphere.

Yass became one of Australia's most famous sheep farms. It produced some of the best fine wool in 1903. Yass still is an important area for raising sheep which have very fine wool.

Major features of the Yass area include Lake Burrinjuck (first called Burrinjack), Yass River dam, Hattons Corner nature reserve, Mundoonan nature reserve, Hume and Hovell (Explorers) walking track, Yass Railway museum, Yass and District museum, Good hope caravan park and water skiing resort, Cooma Cottage (Explorer Hamilton Humes cottage). Several large parks and ovals. Numerous cold area grape vineyards, Gold Medal winning wine produced, the latest being in 2017, to my knowledge. RV friendly with free parking near the picturesque Yass river and Old Railway Bridge. Free clean gas barby's and large grass areas with children's playground beside the Yass river. Just fish or watch the ducks play. Very peaceful. In the Yass township we have many old buildings (still being used). A beautiful large Court House building, Bank buildings, High Schools and Hotels to name a few. Yass is Cold in Winter.

About me, I first became interested in radio in 1972 and made many friends on CB and worked the world. (some CB friends have advanced to Amateur radio). My need for Amateur Radio was brought on by CB people that did not respect anyone so I studied for my Amateur Limited call licence and passed in 1989. Further study for morse code enabled me to gain my full call or Advanced licence in 1990. My previous call signs include:- VK1ZMC, VK1MC and VK2JK, none of which are now registered to me.

My antennas are:-

Ultimax, a commercially built double bazooka coaxial dipole, inverted on a 14mtr tower for 40 and 80 bands. It works very well and was a good purchase.

Mosley beam 10-15-20 with 40mtr extensions on the 20mtr element making a 40mtr rotatable dipole. Excellent reports from all over the world at 400 watts. My tuner an AT2K is connected but not used as my antennas don't require tuning.


How Big is Australia:- See map below as well as driving distances.
Distances to Australian cities from Yass New South Wales
Darwin Northern Territory, (VK8) 42 hrs driving, 3875km, (2407.81 miles)
Perth Western Australia, (VK6) 38hrs driving, 3657km, (2272.3 miles)
Cairns North Queensland, (VK4) 27hrs driving, 2454km,(1525 miles)
Melbourne Victoria, (VK3) 6hrs driving, 601km (373 miles)
Adelaide South Australia, (VK5) 11.1/2 hrs driving, 1098Km (682 miles)
Sydney New South Wales, (VK2) 3hrs driving, 282 Km, (175 miles)
Canberra Australian Capital Territory, (VK1) 3/4hr driving 75 km, (46.6 miles)

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment