It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to test out a new radio, even less frequently the opportunity to test one that you assembled yourself. Richard VK2ARH was fortunate to be given the opportunity to trial the 40m Pebble QRP radio last week during the regular Friday morning portable activation activity that several […]
You are browsing archives for
Category: Technical Stuff
July 2026 Buildathon
It all started with a survey on the projects members would like to undertake in 2026. A lecture in June explained to all what would be involved in building the projects that scored. A register sheet was then shared with the club members: 29 people ordered 45 kits, 15 people registered for the assisted buildathon […]
MWRS POTA at Ruddock Park, Westleigh 26-Jun-2026
A fun day was had by all at Ruddock Park, Westleigh, then to a warm cafe. Mostly used were inverted V antennas. On site to set up from about 8:00 am for a 9:00 am net. Attendees were: The rain held off and conditions were good into Central coast and Port Macquarie. Great bscn and eggs and coffee […]
June 2026 lecture: 2026 Buildathon Preview
The June 2026 lecture is now available on the club YouTube channel VK2MB-TV. Richard VK2ARH talks about the new projects for the club’s 2026 Buildathon Program, which starts in July. The lecture has been split into two parts, one for each project. Part 1 features the main project this year, an implementation of Jon Dawson’s […]
MWRS POTA – Hornsby Quarry 22-May-2026
Brian VK2AXC Dropped in just in time to see MWRS members signing onto the HARDARC Net 9am on 7.106MHz, Friday 22-May-2026. Colin VK2JCC (Professor Portable) chose a great venue, and it was filled with six participants spread around the park grounds in sunny conditions. Brian left at 9:30 just as the rain drops started and […]
MWRS POTA at Wahroongah Park 17-Apr-2026
Article supplied by Brian VK2AXC. Colin VJ2JCC and Carmel VK2NO continue to set a fine example with their regular POTA activity around various Sydney Parks. The only criteria are trees, a nearby coffee shop and participation on the Friday HARDARC Net 9am to 10am 7.106MHz. Brian VK2AXC tagged along on Friday 17-Apr-2026 to learn via […]
April 2026 lecture: Helical Travelling Wave VHF Antennas
The April lecture presented by Carmel VK2NO is now up on our YouTube channel, VK2MB-TV. Carmel VK2NO talks about the discovery she made when researching traveling wave helix antennas, while building her own axial mode antenna. Normally used for satellite operation in the higher bands, these antennas are cumbersome and too large for the lower […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
HamClock Configurathon
Following feedback received from a very good HamClock lecture and the urge from many members to build their own, a “Configurathon” evening was organised for Wednesday 26-Feb-2025, basically BYO hardware and lets configure together, first one to tell the time from his/her clock … helps the other ones to finish. Richard VK2ARH kindly organised the […]
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 […]
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 […]
on/off toggle switch to a push-on/push-off switch
I needed to convert from an on/off toggle switch to a push on/push off switch with discrete components from my junk box. Basically, the old system uses a simple on/off toggle switch: when the toggle is on, the system is on, when the toggle is off, the system is off. The new system has one […]