Nick VK2FS reports… We met at the club website to collect antennas, the gazebo and the club’s IC7300. A quick drive up to the Pony Club/BMX Track by the Terrey Hills weather station was followed by two masts being erected. Mast 1 at 8m with the 6m yagi. The second mast had the combined 2m/70cm […]
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Author: Richard Murnane VK2SKY
The Sale of the (Last) Century is Over!
At long last, the great auction has been and gone. Delayed for over a year by our “friend” COVID-19, vintage radio enthusiasts turned up at the club on a beautiful sunny (if chilly) Saturday morning to bid on the offerings. Our resident auctioneer Rod VK2ZZM would have given Leroy Van Dyke a run for his […]
Our Online Services…are back!
Update, 9 April, 11:45: our NBN service has been restored. Our new modem has some extra lightning protection for next time, so that hopefully there won’t be a next time. All services should be back to normal. Thunderstorms passing through northern Sydney around 6pm on 7 April seem to have taken our NBN connection out […]
Working Bee, 2021-03-06
Saturday was a beautiful day for getting things done, and saw a “mini” working bee at the club, with a few of us gathering to complete a number of tasks. There on the day were: VK2AUJ Yves VK2FWOO Glen VK2JNA Dom VK2SKY Richard VK2THT Sean And then there were TwoThree… (Correction: we have not two, […]
Club meetings are back, baby!
In the light of 22 days without a local case of COVID-19 (as of 10 February 2021), the Society’s business meeting for February was held in person. At that meeting, the club decided that meetings would resume at the clubhouse from 17 February. (Update: as of 23 February, NSW is up to 37 days without […]
New 30m HF APRS Igate
Good news for HF APRS users: a new receive-only Igate (Internet Gateway) is being tested at the clubhouse. Using the callsign VK2MB-6, the gateway is currently connected to the main club HF rig and TH-6 antenna, beaming west, but will eventually be coupled to a CODAN 7004 crystal locked receiver with its own single band […]
MWRS now on the NBN
Thanks to the generous community support provided by Aussie Broadband, the Society is finally on the NBN. This will let us expand and improve our online services, details of which will be announced soon. If you would like to ask Aussie about their community support, simply follow the link above, and quote the referral code […]
WICEN FEBEX2 exercise at VK2MB, 9-10 Jan 2021
The weekend of the 9th and 10th of January was WICEN’s FEBEX-2 communications exercise. A year since the catastrophic NSW bushfires, and with COVID locking down everything since, WICEN felt the need to get members active in sharpening their message passing skills, trying out any new portable gear, and experimenting with new modes. It was […]
40m in lockdown for Christmas net
The Australian government’s Space Weather Services said that HF conditions were about “normal”, but 40m proved to be in lockdown (just like parts of the Sydney’s Northern Beaches) for the club’s Christmas net at 9am on 7045 kHz. Even JS8Call signals struggled to reach outside the Sydney metropolitan area! Jeff VK2MZZ reported the following stations […]
VHF/UHF Spring Field Day Contest 2020-11-28/29
Here are a few shots of our recent Field day operation at Mount Allyn. Fantastic views from this location! And being at this altitude, the weather was (mercifully) much cooler than down on the flat. Participants were: Nick VK2FS and Zara VK2FZYP Greg VK2XE Andy VK2EAH Steve VK2KFJ Tim VK2BT Although we weren’t favoured with […]
D-STAR Repeater Update
The club’s two D-STAR repeaters have been off air for some time, during which they have undergone maintenance and software upgrades. They will also be relocated away from their old site to resolve interference issues, and will also likely get new callsign allocations. Thanks to the support of Amateur Radio New South Wales, the Society […]
JOTA 2020 (17 October)
Like just about every other human activity taking place this year, the 63rd Scouts and Guides Jamboree on the Air (JOTA63) and the 24th Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI24) were influenced by this pesky coronavirus. As far as VK2MB was concerned, because the clubhouse has been shut down due to physical distancing limitations, we couldn’t […]
Almost Normal (Socially-distanced BBQ 2020-09-20)
Things are still far from “back to normal” at the club, but we managed to have an appropriately socially-distanced BBQ this weekend. And reduced some of the potentially hazardous bushfire fuel load created during previous working bees. Horst VK2HL has been enthusing about Icom’s new portable QRP rig, the IC-705, and he brought it along […]
Barrenjoey Lighthouse cancelled for ILLW 2020
Unfortunately, due to a last minute logistical problem, the Society is unable to activate Barrenjoey Lighthouse for this year’s Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. All the best to everyone activating the other lighthouses around the world, and we’ll see you on air next year! Thanks to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, who had once again granted […]
VH-OEJ “Longreach” Farewell Flight
Thanks to Andrew VK3BQ for “drawing” our attention to the last flight of VH-OEJ, Longreach, the last Qantas 747. The screenshot above was captured on 2020-07-22 just after 1800 local time. The ABC did a good story about it and the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society. A tribute page to VH-OEJ shows the aircraft in her […]