SLA batteries come with 2 different size spades, narrow 4.7mm or wide 6.3mm. When getting a replacement SLA, you don’t always have the choice on the spade size. You can get away with plugging a 6.3mm female to a 4.7mm male, but the other way around will just not work. I found an easy way to make adaptors, if you don’t […]
Ding-Dong Car Alarm
A couple of xmas ago, some friends stayed at our place and got their car broken into during the night in our driveway, so I decided we needed a car alarm. As an amateur, I went for the homebuilt stuff. I got the cheapest remote door bell I could find ($15 at Bunnings!). Since the remote works on a 12v battery, […]
April 2016 Lecture – Mad Max Fury Road – Behind the Scenes
The April 2016 lecture, Mad Max Fury Road – Behind the Scenes, by Greg Roberts VK2TPL and Jack Swart VK2TRF, is now available on the club YouTube channel, VK2MB-TV. Greg is the MD of Lateral Linking, which provided sound mixing for the film, winning one of those Oscars. Jack was cinematographer on the film, which also picked up a nomination for […]
160m TT Contest Weekend 15-17 July 2016
“Top weekend, well done with the Hangi” Geoff vk2avr. “Great weekend. Well done Mal – you are now a Hangi masterchef. Thanks also to Don and the antenna erection team. Note also the duelling chainsaws!!” Mike vk2uct. It was a great weekend at a great location. We had 12 people staying overnight, 5 people visiting for […]
Aug 2016 – 5th Wed – Technology Made in ANZ
Amazing evening with a total of 64 votes. The winner was John Douglas ZWD. Australia and New Zealand used to manufacture a lot of technology products. This show & tell of any technology products that were manufactured in Australia and New Zealand was a beauty with many equipment tabled that were actually designed and/or built by […]
W/E 13-14th August 2016 – Maker Faire, Powerhouse Museum
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 […]