New Website

Welcome to the new RAOTC web site.

Between January and March this year, a team of four worked on producing a new look and feel for the RAOTC web site. The team consisted of Peter Clee [VK8ZZ], Andrew Walton [VK3CAH] , Peter Marks [VK3TPM] and Tim Robinson [VK3YBP].

There are a number of new features which have been implemented. Those changes are listed here. Additional changes and updates will also be listed on this page as they are introduced. A summary of the new web site is below.

Changes to some links

The linking of pages has changed in some situations. ALL menus from the previous web site have been moved here. You can use the search facility to find a page using key words. If you are getting a “404” error when using an old browser link, you will have to delete it and then ADD the link back to this site. OId saved browser links may direct you to a page that has been moved or does not exist anymore.

Also make sure to turn off ad blocking on this site if you are using an ad blocker. Some ad blockers are blanking some graphics as they think they are ads. We are working on this to see if there is a way of preventing this.

Posts regarding news and events information

There are now short ‘news’ items being published on the home page. There will be listings of current events, and other things that may be of interest to members. These will include links to relevant pages or other web sites. Members are encouraged to use this facility to advertise local events and information relevant to RAOTC members. This facility has been introduced to fill the gaps in information between editions of OTN. You can send any copy for events to: raotc@raotc.org.au.

OTN Downloads

Currently all colour issues of OTN from September 2023 to date are available from the download service to members. There is now also an index file of all articles in OTN from the first issue to the current edition available from the OTN drop down menu. You can access the index file buy going to the Old Timers News Page here.

Drop Down menus

There are drop down menus on some home pages for better access to additional topics and information.

Compatibility with tablets and phones

Compatibility with tablets and phones has been improved. The web site now automatically changes format for viewing on a phone, a tablet or a desktop computer.

Other Features

Takes advantage of latest html coding practice and security.

Automatic back up of web site and site files.

Expanded site and administration tools.

Faster serving of files and more storage space. This has allowed such things as the expansion of the download service.

Access to web site statistics has also been improved to provide feedback to the web team about the usage of the web site

The site has been moved to a WordPress interface, taking advantage of the many themes that are available from that platform. WordPress is free software and supported in the public domain, so no extra charges to our organistation will need to be made. As before, we will still need to pay for a hosting site and for the two domain names we currently hold. We have actually been able to reduce our hosting charges with the move to a new ISP [Internet Service Provider].

Feedback

We are interested in feedback from members regarding this new web site. If you have any comments, please email raotc@raotc.org.au and put “New Web Site” in the subject line so that the email gets to the web team directly.