The Digital Amateur Television QSO Party

In celebration of the 100 Years of Amateur Radio Victoria providing support for ham radio, organizer Peter Cossins VK3BFG and the hams associated with the VK3RTV digital-ATV repeater conducted the first world-wide DATV QSO Party on August 26-27 (UTC), 2011.

The VK3RTV repeater is the first in Australia with a two channel multiplexed 100%-digital-transmitting output. In eastern Australia, many hams had contact directly line-of-sight by radio frequencies with the VK3RTV DATV-repeater (near Melbourne). In other parts of Australia, and Thailand, and United States, hams relayed their video to Peter VK3BFG by SKYPE video-connections, who then uplinked the video and audio to the VK3RTV digital repeater using the DVB-S protocol for DATV.

Don Hill KE6BXT in Mission Viejo worked very closely with Peter VK3BFG while planning for the DATV QSO Party in order to allow ATV hams in the US to uplink to W6ATN and then send the W6ATN repeater video to VK3BFG over the internet using SKYPE videoconnection.

The VK3RTV world-wide DATV QSO Party was a success!

Peter VK3BFG reported that he logged a total of 65 QSO’s during the DATV QSO Party event, including three VK3 portable DATV stations operating in the field for the event.

Here are some screen captures of the event.