Jim’s first visit to the MWRS was in April 1997. It all started with a visit to Australia to see his daughter Lorraine and meet his first grandchild. Being a UK Ham, a quick search for a local Radio Club directed him to the Manly-Warringah Radio Society, meeting weekly only few clicks from his daughter’s QTH at […]
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 […]
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 […]
Barrenjoey Headland earning global recognition for starry night skies
Not only this is the banner on our website, our own Life Member Phil Angilley VK2BDF made it to the evening news on Channel 9, check the clip!
June 2024 ADX Buildathon
It all started with very good lecture by Richard Hinsley VK2ARH/W5ARH on the ADX (the Arduino Digital Transceiver) in April 2024 followed by an email to all from Michael VK2MDP asking around about interest for a club buildathon, very quickly the list of interested members grew to 28 people wishing to grab a kit, many […]
18-Jun-2024 Frenchs Forest Cubs’ visit
In between JOTA events, the club hosts visits from local Scouting groups. This evening, we had a visit from Frenchs Forest Cubs. 13 Cubs in all descended on the clubhouse, and were treated to some radio activities. Des VK2TGJ ran the “build a station” activity (one of our JOTA staples). The challenge is to put […]
May 2024 – 5th Wed – Enclosures, Cabinets, and Carry Cases
Having the best radio and test equipment enclosure requires a combination of ingenuity and art. Appearance and practicality are as important as the actual function performed by the equipment. We are looking for big & small, artwork, robustness, embedded functions, old, modern, classic, generic, jiffy, portability and more. There are prizes for the Best Display […]
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 […]
Club members support CREST at 2024 Convict 100 event in St Albans
This weekend, 4-5 May 2024, St Albans just north of the Hawkesbury River is again hosting the Convict 100 mountain biking event. Our friends at CREST are again providing safety communications, and spent last weekend and yesterday (Friday 3 May 2024) setting up repeaters and other gear along the course. Of course, the multi-talented Manly-Warringah […]
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 […]
13-Apr-2024 Working Bee
Saturday was a perfect day for doing some antenna work and other maintenance: sunny, not too warm, and with the predicted rain showers choosing to fall elsewhere. Just as well, as we had a lot of jobs to get through! The team managed to get through nearly all of the work items, but a couple […]
VK2MB/p on air for John Moyle Field Day 2024
Members of the Society once again headed south to Culburra Beach NSW to participate in the annual John Moyle Memorial Field Day Contest on 16-17 March. The JMFD team comprised: A Lesson Learned… One of the first rule of portable operation is: before you leave home, thoroughly check that all gear is in good working […]
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 […]
The Kiwi has Landed!
Listen to our new KiwiSDR at http://websdr.mwrs.org.au:8073, and watch the July 2024 lecture, VK2MB KiwiSDR Secrets to learn how to use it. It’s been a long wait, but the Society is back in the webSDR business! For those who have never used one, a webSDR is a web-connected Software Defined Radio, accessible from anywhere on […]