We had another great Cub night, Terrey Hills troop (resident in the hall next door) walked down the hill to see what we could offer. We could hear them gearing up in their hall and they sounded like (and proved to be) an energetic bunch. We must be doing something right because they left with even […]
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Author: Geoff Van der Wagen
Scout Donation received
On the 10th August 2016, MWRS received a donation of APRS and voice radio equipment for our continued assistance with JOTA. Glenn Satchell and Phil Donald from Scouts were present at our monthly business meeting to present the equipment to MWRS. The donation consisted of an APRS transmitter and also a VHF/UHF mobile radio to be used for […]
MWRS WebSDR Build – Part 3
It’s been a while since the last update – sometimes life gets in the way of radio projects! The WebSDR node has been progressing though – we have all 5 Softrock kits assembled and installed, and the SDR node is functionally complete. Unfortunately, my optimistic choice of a switchmode power supply turned out to cause spurious […]
21-Jun-2016 Balgowlah Cubs
Balgowlah Cubs visited us on June 21st, we ran our Introductory to Radio programme which was very well received by the Cubs. Thanks for coming!
Jun 2016 – 5th Wed – Test Gear Tech Night!
Wednesday the 29th June 2016 is a Testing Gear Show & Tell evening! Same format, however homebrew gears get double the votes! I think we’ve got a pretty good idea who’s going to win! We are looking for any gears/tools used to test radio, feedlines, aerials, power supplies, etc. We are looking for hi-tech, low […]
May 2016 Lecture – Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Erika Davies from Macquarie University presented our May Lecture on MRI machines: “Have you damaged your knee? Slipped a disc? Regardless of the specifics, many of us have had first-hand experience with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but not many of us are aware that this extremely pricey bit of kit is essentially a collection of amplifiers […]
Ross Beaumont (VK2KRB) – Quadrant Antennas
Ross Beaumont (VK2KRB) has shared his report on a suitable antenna to provide quasi-omni-directional coverage in azimuth from an antenna that is light and simple enough for amateur use, and focussing specifically on Quadrant antennas: Quadrant Antennas
Apr 2016 – 5th Wed – E-Waste night (and “oldest radio” night)
For months with 5 Wednesdays we often initiate a challenge of some sort. This month we put forward that club members bring up a project they have built out of repurposed electronics (ie, e-waste). Winner was Bob VK2RL with his direct conversion 40m receiver and power supply Runner up was Phil VK2BDF with a traffic light vehicle […]
1st Frenchs Forest Cubs Visit
In March, MWRS hosted 1st Frenchs Forest Cubs at our Terrey Hills HQ, and we ran our “intro to radio” program showing the Cubs a variety of things radio-related. Frenchs Forest cubs were a very enthusiastic troop and sent us a great report on the night:
March 2016 Lecture – History of AR in NSW (Tim Mills VK2ZTM)
3.4GHz QSO party
Nick VK2FS, Geoff VK2AVR and Shannon VK2GV (work neighbour of Geoff) activated Terrey Hills QF56OH as part of the inaugural 3.4GHz QSO Party. Club member Derek also braved the rain to say hello. Weather was wet at times but we succeeded in talking to Dave VK2JDS, operating at Kurrajong Heights, and Steve VK2KFJ, operating from North […]
January 2016 Lecture – VLF signals, receivers and antennas
A very interesting lecture from Geoff VK2TGO this month on what can be heard on the VLF band (below 22kHz, which is essentially the audio band except in RF!). Sferics, Whistlers, the Dawn Chorus.. our planet makes a lot of noise!! Unfortunately the video cut off at the 18 minute mark but it is a great […]
Trip Report – Camping at VK2JDS & VK2XPH HQ
Over Australia Day long weekend club members Dom VK2JNA (plus harmonic), Geoff VK2AVR, Nick VK2FS (plus harmonic) and Chris VK2HX visited Dave VK2JDS and Phillipa VK2XPH who live about an hour north of Bathurst. The first sign Dave loves radio is the array of antennas on the homestead roof. One’s attention is also quickly drawn to […]
VHF/UHF Summer Field Day 2016
After an embarrassing realisation that it had been 2 years since our last VHF/UHF Field day, Nick VK2FS and Geoff VK2AVR activated the hill behind our repeater site for this year’s summer field day. Greg VK2XE met us on location in the morning to help set up and grab some early contacts. We used the […]
1st Belrose Cubs Visit
Belrose Cubs visited out Club rooms to see some interesting aspects of radio. We had 24 Cubs and entertained them with a presentation on spycraft, a demonstration of morse code, talking on HF radio, building a VHF radio station and a geocaching activity!