For the January lecture at the Society, Mike VK2MDP spoke about a combination of family and naval history, centred around the World War 2 frigate, HMAS Diamantina, which now lives at the Queensland Maritime Museum. Mike discovered historical connections between the ship and HMS Teviot, while he was researching his father’s service in the Royal […]
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Category: Lectures
Presentations usually held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month
November 2024 lecture: Precision ADS-B
In November, we had a special visit from Mogens Bradley Andersen of ADSB Support in Billund, Denmark, home of another well-known company that makes plastic bricks or something… Mogens and his Australian wife were here on holiday, and he took some time out to give us a presentation about his company’s work in Automatic Dependent […]
September 2024 lecture: Fiskville
In the club’s September lecture, Warren Lang spoke about Fiskville, a site once owned and managed by Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd. It was used as a long-distance radio communications station, part of the Imperial Wireless Chain. The name Fiskville of course came from AWA’s chairman, radio pioneer Ernest Fisk. You can also read about the […]
July 2024 lecture: VK2MB KiwiSDR
If you haven’t yet tried the Society’s KiwiSDR receiver, you’re in for a treat. We’ve “customised ours for Australian conditions” so you’ll find features there that you won’t find on other web SDR receivers. This lecture by Richard VK2SKY explores everything from basic use to some of the lesser-known functions, and reveals many handy shortcuts to […]
June 2024 Lecture – Journey to the Red Centre and WA
Brian and Sue Bailey spoke about their road trip from Sydney to Western Australia via the Red Centre. This lecture was of particular interest to Amateurs who are keen on Four Wheel Driving. The trip was marred by their Prado’s engine blowing up on the border of WA and SA. They recounted how that had to get […]
May 2024 lecture – Quantum Key Distribution
In secure encrypted communications, one of the most important ideas is that the encryption key contains all the protection of the whole system. But what happens if the system isn’t already secure…if it is brand new (unkeyed), or the key is already compromised? Even public-key cryptosystems like RSA encryption suffer from this problem: how do the initial […]
April 2024 lecture – ADX Transceiver
Watch the video at https://youtu.be/cG4vHLs39iU. For our April lecture, Richard Hinsley VK2ARH/W5ARH talked about the ADX (the Arduino Digital Transceiver) and the buildathon program he ran in 2023 for the Cowtown Amateur Radio Club in Forth Worth, Texas. His presentation includes a live demonstration of the transceiver. Update, March 2025: Richard has updated the Constuction […]
March 2024 lecture – Views of the Past
The March 2024 lecture, Views of the Past, is now up on the VK2MB-TV YouTube channel. Rod Miller VK2ZZM delves into history, how it sometimes gets manipulated for political reasons, and how evidence can be misinterpreted due to cognitive biases. Rod is the author of the book, “Lost Women of Rabaul”, which was adapted into […]
February 2024 lecture – HMAS Vampire Project
Colin VK2JCC leads of team of Amateurs, including several MWRS members, who operate the Special Event Station VK2VMP from HMAS Vampire’s HF Communication Centre, and who talk to visitors about the ship and about Amateur Radio. The Vampire is moored at the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour in Sydney. Watch Colin’s lecture at […]
January 2024 Lecture – using LTSpice
For this month’s lecture, on 17 January 2024, Clifford VK2CLF speaks on the topic, Using LTSpice to Simulate Oscillators and Filters. LTSpice (also known as SwitcherCAD) is software provided free by Analog Devices which has a competent version of the Spice simulation engine behind an easy-to-use interface that allows drawing and simulating almost any kind […]
November 2023 lecture – Underwater explosions
Underwater Explosions, or How to Sink a Submarine, is now available on the club’s YouTube channel.The Society’s resident explosives expert, Mike VK2MDP, talks about how underwater testing is used to measure the energy output of explosives. The science upon which this is based, comes from military research on how to sink a submarine. Mike has […]
October 2023 lecture – Laser Communications
October’s lecture is now available on the Society’s YouTube channel, VK2MB-TV.Free Space Optics (FSO) uses light propagating in free space to wirelessly transmit data for telecommunications. “Free space” means air, outer space, vacuum, or something similar. This lecture by John Cummins highlights some of the engineering challenges in designing and building a commercial laser communications product […]
September 2023 lecture – Tim’s Excellent European Adventure
Tim Jensen VK2BT travelled to Germany in June for the 46th International Amatur Radio Exhibition at Friedrichshafen. While he was there, he travelled around Europe visiting museums and other places of interest As well as Friedrichshafen, and the Amateur Radio goodies on display there, Tim will talking about the technological battles from European history, with […]
August 2023 lecture – Amateur Television
Gary Shipton VK2CRJ has been active on Amateur Television (ATV) for half a century, and has seen many technological developments over that time. His talk covers everything from the early analogue days, right through to the latest digital technology, including ATV repeaters and satellites. The lecture is a mixture of theory and practical information to […]
June 2023 Lecture – Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)
According to the provisions of Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974, all ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards, and passenger ships irrespective of size, engaged on international voyages, shall be equipped with the radio equipment of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). This equipment must undergo an annual comprehensive inspection performed […]