Repeaters, Gateways, Live Feeds, KiwiSDR, etc.

Operational status:

Identifier	Service	Status
VK2RMB 2m FM	Voice repeater	Up
VK2RMB 2m FM	Broadcastiy live audio stream	Up
VK2RMB 70cm FM & P25	Voice repeater	Up
VK2RMB 70cm DMR	Voice repeater	Up
APRS 2m VK2MB-1	IGate (receive only)	Up
APRS 2m VK2MB-2	IGate (receive only)	Up
APRS 30m VK2MB-6	IGate (receive only)	Up
VK2MB KiwiSDR	HF web SDR	Up
LiveATC R405A	LiveATC feed	Up – 2100-0700 UTC

FM (VK2RMB)

All our FM voice repeaters use vertically polarised, omni-directional antennas at approximately 220 Meters above sea level.

2m

• Transmits on 146.875 MHz, with a 91.5Hz CTCSS tone
• Receives on 146.275 MHz; a CTCSS tone is not required.
• Timeout is 3 minutes. As a minimum, before you transmit again, please wait for the “beep”, which indicates that the timer has been reset. (There is no need to wait for the repeater to stop transmitting.)
  

  However, it is more polite to leave a longer pause after you hear the beep, before you transmit again. This makes it easier for other stations to break in and join the conversation.

  
  

Repeater audio stream

If you don’t have a radio handy, or you’re out of range, you can listen using the player below:

This audio stream is provided courtesy of Broadcastify. More details on the feed, including how to listen on your phone or tablet, and how to set up your own audio stream, can be found here.

70cm (FM and P25)

• Transmits on 438.175 MHz
• Receives on 433.175 MHz and requires a 91.5 Hz  CTCSS tone for access, for both FM and P25 modes.
• Timeout is 3 minutes. Please refer to the 2m FM repeater section above, for comments about repeater timeouts.
• For P25 mode, NAC is 293

6m

• Status is off air for overhaul
• Transmits on 53.675 MHz
• Receives on 52.675 MHz

10m

• Status is under construction (has been for a long time – don’t hold your breath!)
• Transmits on 29.120 MHz
• Receives on 29.120 MHz

P25 Digital

Our 70cm FM repeater also does P25 – see above for details

DMR (VK2RMB)

• Network ID is 505235
• Transmits on 438.4000 MHz
• Receives on 433.0000 MHz
• Uses Standard Colour Code, Time Slots and Talk Groups

More information at the VK DMR web site

D-STAR

Many years ago, MWRS was one of two Sydney radio clubs chosen by the WIA to host their ICOM D-STAR repeaters. The VK2RWN repeaters have now been transferred to the Westlakes Amateur Radio Club.

See also:

• MWRS Repeater site environmental conditions
• Map of Australian Repeaters

APRS Gateways

• VK2MB-1 is our main 2m APRS IGate, operating on the standard APRS frequency of 145.175 MHz. See Mal VKTMF’s notes below.
• VK2MB-2 is our second 2m APRS IGate, also on 145.175 MHz. This one is intended to improve APRS coverage in some of the more “shaded” parts of the peninsula. More info.
• VK2MB-6 is our 30m HF Receive-only IGate, listening on 10147.6 kHz; see New 30m HF APRS IGate and Working Bee, 2021-03-06 for more information. Note, aerial was upgraded to a full higher dipole during the 2025 New Year kick off Working Bees.

New IGate installed 21-Dec-2016 by Mal VK2TMF

This time using an rtl-sdr.com SDR dongle (see https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles if you’re thinking of buying one) and a Raspberry Pi.  The dongle is a much higher quality unit than those common on eBay etc. Take a look at the link.

The APRS IGate software is called Dire Wolf.

Our favourite simplex chat frequencies

You can find us elsewhere on the bands. See https://www.mwrs.org.au/on-the-air/.

LiveATC YSSY/YSBK aviation audio stream

Audio streaming service, monitoring traffic transiting from Sydney’s Bankstown Airport (YSBK) to Sydney Harbour via the Parramatta River. This lane is called R405 (A & B), the radio frequency used for the calls is 120.80 Mhz AM. The range also include the Victor One lane covering the coast from the Sydney Heads to Stanwell Park. The stream is only active during daylight hours.

https://www.liveatc.net/hlisten.php?mount=ysbk_r405a&icao=ysbk

Information on the R405 lane is provide by the Seaplane Pilots Association of Australia https://spaa.wildapricot.org/resources/Pictures/SPAA-R405-b.pdf

Equipment used is a Raspberry Pi 3B+, USB soundcard dongle, Yaesu VR-500 scanner (overkill, but has zebra display, so best used in a box!). The aerial is shared with the VK2MB-1 APRS 2m iGate with no perceivable performance degradation.

KiwiSDR Web-connected Shortwave Receiver

Check out our blog post, The Kiwi has Landed, for more information.