Stay in the loop during bush fire season with these handy resources!
Oct 2025 – 5th Wed – Portable anything
The invite said: “At one point in time, what used to be an anchor eventually became portable, and then pocket size. Think calculator, phone, TV, timepiece, most test equipment. The definition of “portable” initially only meant it could be moved as some of these devices needed wheels, or 2 people to carry. Lets see the […]
JOTA/JOTI 2025
Held this year over the weekend of the 17, 18 & 19 October 2025, the MWRS has again hosted the usual JOTA activities at the Society’s meeting site at Terrey Hills: We managed to improve the centre height of 40m dipole from 2m to 7m improving signals prior to the commencement of the activities. Stonehenge […]
Sep 2025 Lecture – Resurrecting Vintage Computers with Mal VK2TMF
You can view Mal’s lecture on our YouTube channel, VK2MB-TV. During the lecture, Mal demonstrated using an XGecu T48 Universal Programmer to identify unknown logic ICs. You can find out more about it (and sibling models) at http://xgecu.com/EN/index.html. Days leading to the lecture In the few days leading to Mal’s lecture, the society’s email reflector […]
Sep 2025 Pre-JOTA working bee
To ensure our site and premises are presentable for the upcoming 2025 JOTA/JOTI activities, a WSWB (welcome summer working bee) was organised. With the current prevailing weather, 2 rain check weekends were also lined up. As it turned out the weather was on our side for the initial Saturday 6-Sep day! A comprehensive list of […]
Wed 27-Aug-2025 – JOTA kit packaging
As we approach JOTA again, the society contributed to the packaging of the kits that will be provided to the youth on the JOTA/JOTI day. The 4th Wednesday is typically a freebee social meeting evening, so how best to socialise than working as a group on a assembly line! The kits will then be dispatched […]
August 2025 – Lecture – Two-way Radio in Australia from the 1960s
Norm Champion, formerly VK2ZND, returns to the club with a presentation on the development of two-way radio in Australia from the 1960s, and his role in it – particularly in the introduction of Citizens Band radio. You’ll learn a lot of “behind the scenes” information from Norm’s story. Watch it on VK2MB-TV.
July 2025 – Lecture – Weather Balloon Tracking and Recovery
Tim Jensen VK2TIJ gave the July lecture on the topic of Weather Balloon Tracking and Recovery, which included an account of the early history of ballooning. He also details the ionosonde technology that provides telemetry of the balloon’s flight, how you can track them and decode their telemetry, and what you can do with if […]
Sat 16-Aug-2025 – PicoRx Buildathon
(Work in progress … really!) The PicoRX was introduced to the MWRS at the June 2025 Lecture as one of the projects for the shack. Since then, many members have ordered and acquired the kit and started the build process. A Buildathon was organised for those who wished to build their PicoRX together in a […]
Tue 12-Aug-2025 – Cromer Dee Why Cubs’ visit
Another successful Cubs’ evening at the MWRS club house with many members introducing the amateur radio hobby to very enthusiastic 8 Cubs and their parents. The usual JOTA style stations were on rotation. Onsite: WFH Call back:
July 2025 – 5th Wed – Calculators
Abacus or fingers, mechanical or electronic, nixies, paper, LCDs or LEDs, how do you add up? A poem was part of the invite, the poem is included at the end of this post. Over 20 people showed up despite the not so interesting temperature … rain rain rain and rain. At least someone showed up […]
July 2025 NTP Clock Buildathon
Following the June 2025 lecture where the NTP Clock and the Pi-PicoRX were introduced as “Projects for the Shack”, an obvious appetite for the projects motivated Richard ARH and Simon VK2YU to organise for the acquisition of the components and organise for buildathons so that members can get together to build and configure the devices. […]
2025 Trans Tasman Low-Band Contest
Following the success of the 2025 John Moyle Memorial Field Day operations at the Watagans, the VK2MB/p contest contingent decided to use this site again the for this year’s Trans Tasman Low-Band Contest instead of the usual Berrima site. Some members decided to travel in convoy after meeting on the Telegraph Road Turramurra at 10am. […]
2025 Winter VHF/UHF Field Day
On the shortest day of the year and probably the coldest one too (8C at meeting time), the MWRS was looking for a nice sunny spot to participate to the VHF/UHF season contest. Armed with all the available masts and aerials, a field operation site was established near the BMX track at Terrey Hills (NSW). […]
June 2025 – Lecture – Build Projects for the Shack
The June lecture, Build Projects for the Shack by Richard VK2ARH and Simon VK2YU, introduced two new club projects: an NTP (Network Time Protocol) Clock for the shack, and Pi-PicoRX, a software-defined radio receiver based in the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller. You can watch the lecture on VK2MB-TV. The lecture proved very popular, and another […]
May 2025 – Lecture – Spy Radio, the Special Operations Executive, and
Held 21-May-2025, presented by Colin Christie VK2JCC Covert communications played a crucial role during World War II. Colin’s lecture will focus on the use of spy radios by the French Resistance. These radios were essential for transmitting critical information to Allied forces, often under life-threatening conditions. The Special Operations Executive, a secret British organisation, played a […]