Today is the 29th December 2025 – Another year has just flown by, and it is also time to hopefully renew your SEG Membership for 2026.
2025 Achievements:
Achievements for SEG in 2025 included the fourth (and now renamed) Mike Beall Mayanup HamCamption in May 2025, dedicated in memory of our dear and kind friend VK6MB, who became SK in 2024 – Many thanks Darren VK6EK for all your hard work coordinating the camp!
The Ham Feasts at Katanning in June and Quinninup/Manjimup in November were both very well attended and good fundraisers for the group. There was also upgrades & maintenance to the club RemoteHams stations at Albany, Carnarvon & Perth, including an addition dedicated 6M station at Carnarvon and a change in QTH for the Perth station.
The club voice repeaters, Allstar linked repeater network and the usual maintenance tasks also kept us busy throughout the year. The Albany 70cm repeater was offline for several months (now returned to service) and some new Allstar nodes were added in Australind & Kalgoorlie during the year. There are still several more new Allstar nodes to build and setup in 2026.
2026 Plans:
In 2026 we have the SEG Car Boot Sale at Frost Park, Mt Barker happening on Saturday 7th March, from 11.00am – 3.00pm, as well as the HamCamption and HamFeast events throughout the year.
Also hoping to restart & continue the SEG Café & Coffee Catchups and the “Go Out and Try Something” (GOATS) Days across the region, to promote our hobby and group to everyone.
Thank You’s:
In 2025, SEG had 70 financial members in the club, including a number of members interstate & overseas, who enjoy using the RemoteHams systems and have joined the club to be part of our community. Activity in the club creates more activity and I think this is something we continue to build on. The bank balance is healthy and we have a good array of donated equipment, particularly for VHF & UHF, so if you have an idea for a club event or project, please don’t be afraid to put it forward. The Ham Feasts and Ham Camp started as ideas over a couple of drinks and grew from there.
Thank you to our generous donors, who have made large, in-kind donations to the club throughout the years, by way covering our power & internet bills, rent-free building and tower space, donating food & drinks at club events, donating equipment and items for raffle prizes and auctions and the generous financial donations to the club during the year.
Donations to SEG via the Containers for Change (Cash for Cans) scheme was again well supported and much appreciated.
Finally, thank you to everyone who is a financial member of SEG and participates in club activities.
I would also like to personally thank the 2025 SEG Committee for their work and contributions throughout the year.
Chairperson: Rob – VK6LD
Deputy Chair: Bevan – VK6BL
Secretary: Darren – VK6EK
Treasurer: Nigel – VK6NI
Committee: Duncan – VK6GHZ
The next AGM will take place online, in February/March 2026, (exact date TBA) . Please consider nominating for a committee position and AGM details will be advised via email in the next few weeks.
2026 Membership Renewals:
With the start of a new year, comes Southern Electronics Group (SEG) membership renewals. Everyone is encouraged to join SEG and being a member is a great way to get started in the hobby, meet new friends and help out others. Licensed amateur, shortwave listeners and radio hobbyists alike are all welcome to join us. SEG continues to invest and upgrade its network of repeaters, Allstar links and nodes, the RemoteHams internet-controlled HF/VHF/UHF club stations, APRS digipeater & I-Gate services and club callsigns VK6SR, VK6SEG & VK6CRO. These all cost the club considerable time & money to licence, maintain, upgrade and operate. Importantly, being a member of SEG helps us to share the cost of funding new projects and repairs.
SEG is very conscious of the cost-of-living pressures on everyone’s budget at present and the cost for SEG Membership remains at $30.00/year. Our membership year runs from 1 January to 31 December each year and this gives you access to all the SEG facilities, systems, services & events.
If you joined SEG after 1 September 2025, please email me for a reduced, pro-rata membership fee. And if club memberships aren’t your cup of tea, SEG are also happy to accept any donations.
Thie club membership registration & payment under Race Roster continues to be successful in managing the admin side of the club, with about 90% of memberships coming via their system. The layout & functionality of their system is quite practical for our club and provides an easy way to maintain accurate membership records and receive payment from members.
The link to the SEG membership system is: https://raceroster.com/events/2026/112877/2026-southern-electronics-group-membership
(Fees for Race Roster services and credit card payments are absorbed by SEG – About $3 per standard membership on current rates).
If you’re having difficulties with the Race Roster system or needing some assistance, please email me and I will do my best to help get your membership added and processed.
As always, those who wish to pay by EFT/internet banking/cheque/cash can still do so. Membership Forms can be downloaded in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF formats from the Membership page of the SEG website and sent via e-mail or by Australia Post to the Treasurer at PO Box 435 Mt Barker WA 6324.
Thanks again to everyone for 2025 and your ongoing support of SEG in 2026 is greatly appreciated.
73,
Rob…
VK6LD