The Bureau of Meteorology’s Space Weather Services seems to have updated its front page recently, to provide a basic propagation dashboard in a more easily digestible format. Also check out the handy Australian Space Weather Alert System guide, which explains the Alert System in more detail. All the old favourites, such as the HF Systems […]
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Category: Technical Stuff
Carmel VK2CAR’s WIA award
Congratulations to Society member Carmel VK2CAR, who picked up the Technical Award in the WIA’s 2020-21 Publications Committee Awards, for her article, “Clothesline wire makes easy ‘multi-band’ antenna”. The article appeared in the WIA’s Amateur Radio magazine, issue 3 for 2020. The award is for an article judged by the Committee to be the best […]
VK2YU Home brew M0MCX DX Commander
Home brew “DX Commander” 7m antenna – November 2021 … Australian date & time Firstly, this build is a copy of a commercial antenna so ALL credit to the design and effort of the idea all goes to the designer: Callum McCormick, M0MCX https://www.m0mcx.co.uk The original build information is here https://www.m0mcx.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/DXC-Rapide-User-Guide.pdf Note there are several […]
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 […]
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 […]
FT-897 Suburban QTHenator
(and an exploration into local noise sources) After moving out of a tiny unit into a house I finally had the opportunity to throw a bit of wire into some trees and connect it to my radio. Easy interstate contacts were now available, but there was something nearby making obnoxious noise every 60kHz on HF: […]
VHF Elevated Feed Ground Independent Antenna Base
I’ve got many VHF aerials with a 5/16″ 26TPI fitting. They are typically only good on a car (middle of the roof!?!). They are difficult to use at field days. I’ve used mounts with radials before but the radials became a hazard or annoyance. I decided to build a VHF Elevated Feed Ground Independent Aerial […]
Yaesu FT-60 screen protector
The Yaesu FT-60 is one of the rare radio which has attracted mainly positive reviews (FT-2900 is another one). In addition to all the good things about this radio, the following features not often mentioned were on my selection list: Mechanical on/off switch, when the radio if off, it is off! Real squelch and volume […]
February 2020 Lecture – HF Magnetic Loop Antennas
ARNSW 40m dipole “buildathon” — 10-March-2019
Amateur Radio New South Wales held a 40 metre dipole “buildathon” at Dural earlier this month. The event was aimed at helping Foundation licensees get onto HF, though some Amateurs with other licence grades turned up too. From our club, Sajith VK2FAST and Shaun VK2XPP participated, and Richard VK2SKY came along to “hold hands” and […]
Tela-Verta 144P
I picked up a Tela-Verta portable battery operated AM Broadcast valve receiver at the last Trash & Treasure. The radio is not in very good condition, however got it going with a bit of TLC! It distorsions a bit, but I don’t have any circuit diagram for it, this is the only reference I could find about […]
GD-77 DMR Instructions
May 2018 – 5th Wed – Crystals
Another great show and tell night up at the club! Russel was the overall winner of the Tecsun DE13 Emergency AM/FM/SW Solar Powered Radio. [Thanks again Garry and Tecsun Radio Australia for the donation.] Shaun VK2XPP judged the “Hurricane” as telling the best yarn of the evening with a few others being highly commended. I […]
2018 John Moyle Memorial Field Day
Tim VK2BT, Dave VK2JDS, Owen VK2OL and Greg VK2XE The Manly Warringah Radio Society (MWRS) participated in the 2018 John Moyle Memorial Field Day, held 17-18 March. John Moyle(1908-1960) was an engineer, editor, music and art lover, and the following two-part biography by Neville Williams eloquently describes his significant contributions to radio in Australia: (1) http://messui.polygonal-moogle.com/valves/NW198909.pdf, […]
µBITX project
Just had to build one of these www.hfsignals.com/index.php/ubitx/. So here is my µBITX project, for the price of 2 crystals for a Codan lunch box, I get a full HF rig! It had to go into an ammunition box, a bit tight in one of the dimensions, and if I was to do this again, […]