Club members Dallas and Bill, along with other contributing members of the Shepparton and District Amateur Radio Club (SADARC), have constructed and deployed three dedicated antenna arrays connected to Software Defined Radio (SDR) systems, located on rural farmland in Strathbogie.

Strathbogie is an excellent location for SDR installations due to its relatively low population density and significantly reduced levels of man-made radio interference compared to major urban environments. Surrounded by open farmland and rolling countryside, the area provides a much quieter RF environment, allowing weak HF and shortwave signals to be received with greater clarity and reduced background noise.

Its regional location also offers excellent propagation paths across Australia and into the wider Pacific and international shortwave spectrum. Combined with low electrical noise, minimal industrial interference, and the availability of space for large wire antennas and receive arrays, Violet Town is exceptionally well suited for advanced SDR operation and weak-signal radio monitoring.

SDR Installations

Strathy1 — kiwi.sadarc.org

The first receiver system, Strathy1, located at kiwi.sadarc.org, utilises a large vertical loop antenna measuring approximately 16 metres by 28 metres, fed through a 9:1 balun.
Vertical loop antennas are well regarded for their low-noise receive characteristics on HF and shortwave frequencies, making them highly effective for DX listening and weak-signal reception.

Strathy2 — redgum.sadarc.org

The second receiver system, Strathy2, hosted at redgum.sadarc.org, uses a horizontal loop antenna measuring approximately 42 metres square and mounted around 11 metres above ground level, also fed through a 9:1 balun.
Large horizontal loops provide broad frequency coverage and can offer excellent signal-to-noise performance across the HF spectrum.

Strathy3 — listen.sadarc.org

The third receiver system, Strathy3, available via listen.sadarc.org, is connected to a large inverted-V dipole antenna with approximately 38 metres per side, mounted at a centre height of around 22 metres, with the ends sloping downward.
This antenna configuration provides strong HF coverage and is particularly effective for general shortwave listening and amateur radio monitoring.

SDR Hardware

Receivers 1 and 2 are genuine KiwiSDR Version 2 units, widely regarded within the amateur radio and SDR community for their stability, wide frequency coverage, and multi-user capabilities.

Receiver 3 is based on a Flydog SDR platform, providing additional monitoring capability within the overall SDR network.

Together, these systems provide the amateur radio community, listeners, experimenters, and researchers with access to a high-quality rural RF monitoring site in regional Victoria.