The club has been awarded 3rd place certificate for its entry to the Trans Tasman Low Band Contest in July 2016. We operated a Multi-operator / Two Transmitter entry on 160m, 80m and 40m in SSB, CW and RTTY modes. This was a first attempt at a multi-multi operation from the club site -a great effort in co-ordination and co-operation from the club radio shack and using antennas on site. Well done to the team!
Full contest results http://www.b4h.net/vkcc/transtasman/ttlbcresults2016.php
Neville Amy VK2FNJA sadly passed away on Saturday 24 September 2016.
A funeral service will be held for Neville at the Eastern Suburbs Crematorium, South Chapel at 10am, Tuesday 04 October 2016.
The regular Tuesday working bee may either be delayed until aroud 12pm, or possibly cancelled. Please call on a club repeater on the day to confirm.
Vale Neville Amy, VK2FNJA SK.
The club is planning a country DX station operation for the Oceania DX SSB Contest from 01-02OCT at a rural property near Robertson NSW, about 2 hours south of Sydney. Members are invited to join the contest operation and take this opportunity to participate in an easy international DX contest, where the DX is listening for Oceania stations – that’s us! Further information has been sent via the club email list.
The club events calendar has been updated with a number of relevant contests to the end of 2016. These are those relevant to Australian contesters (eg Spring VHF/UHF Field Day, VK QRP 40m Sprint) or those that are relatively easy with modest stations.
03-04 SEP All Asian DX Phone Contest . 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m, 10m. Contact Asian stations only. An easy introduction to DX contesting for the VK (even with only modest station equipment) and a good preparation for larger DX contests such as CQWW. http://www.jarl.org/English/4_Library/A-4-3_Contests/2016AA_rule.htm
24-25 SEP CQ WW RTTY Contest. 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. The first of three of the world’s premier international HF contests, the CQ WW series. A great contest for the digital mode fans and the mic shy! http://www.cqwwrtty.com/rules.htm
01-02 OCT Oceania DX Phone Contest. 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. The ideal international contest for Australian stations, even with modest stations. All DX stations are looking for Oceania contacts (that’s us!). Take the opportunity to build up your DXCC count of new countries for the DXCC Award, or the Worked All Continents Award. http://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/index.htm
08-09 OCT Oceania DX CW Contest. 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. The companion to the phone contest the previous weekend. http://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/index.htm
23 OCT VK QRP 40m contest/sprint. 0500 UTC (1600 local) – 0659 UTC. A short QRP contest of 1 hour CW/PSK followed by 1 hour SSB. Ideal for the QRP, SOTA and WWFF operators. http://vkqrpclub.org/qrp_new/qrp1_contest_page.php
29-30 OCT CQ WW SSB Contest. 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. The world’s largest international DX contest, with some 35,000 participants. Watch the ‘dead bands’ come alive! An opportunity to work some new DXCC countries and work towards some operating awards such as DXCC, Worked All Continents, grid squares etc. http://www.cqww.com/
26-27 OCT CQ WW CW Contest. 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. The companion to the CQ WW SSB contest. http://www.cqww.com/
26-27 OCT Spring VH/UHF Field Day. 50MHz and up. As the seasons change, so too does VHF and UHF propagation. Find a hill top and operate portable, or operate from home. http://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/
Recently some trials have been conducted using the remote station on digital modes and a report on the trials in PSK, RTTY and JT65 has been published. This is a set up and operating guide to operating digital modes on the remote, and it can be used as basis for further trials using other AFSK data modes.
The guide is in the member’s section, on the remote station page. You must be logged in to the site and a current financial club member in order to access this page.
Remembrance Day Contest 0300 UTC Saturday till 0300 UTC Sunday (1pm Saturday to 1pm Sunday)
The club will be activating the club shack from 4pm to 10pm local on Saturday 13 August.
Waverley Amateur Radio Society was recently awarded new achievements in operating. The gained the Worked All VK Call Areas Award – HF in Open and Phone categories, and the International Amateur Radio Union Worked All Continents Awards in the Open and Phone Categories.
Ham radio on the ferries is to be a regular event on Sydney’s famous harbour.
Organisers of the Sydney Amateur Radio Ferry Contest say the recent inaugural event proved so popular that it will be held on an annual basis.
The contest, which entails amateur radio operators travelling on ferries and gaining points for contacting others on the air, will be held again on March 12, 2017.
“We had dozens of contesters criss-crossing the harbour on a beautiful Sunday, talking with each other using hand-held radios,” said Laurie Gordon, one of the contest organisers.
“Points were awarded according to how many contacts were made and how many ferries were used. Operators could also increase their score by making contact from any of the public wharves on a variety of frequencies”.
Frequencies used are reserved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority exclusively for the use of amateur radio – a popular hobby that encourages technical experimentation and recreational use of the radio spectrum.
Ham radio has also been utilised in many countries during emergencies when natural and other disasters have shut down normal communication channels.
The event was held under the banner of the Waverley Amateur Radio Society – a club that has been in existence since 1919.
Andy Mitchell, who also helped organise the contest, said: “Many of our members live in the Eastern Suburbs and our clubrooms are virtually on the harbour at Rose Bay so we thought it was about time we put the two together.”
“Although contesting is an important part of amateur activities, this one is unique since everyone has to be on a ferry or a wharf, or contacting someone who is. We haven’t heard of any contest like this anywhere in the world.”
Awards are issued for a number of categories including “Worked All Ferries”, Highest Number of Contacts Made and Highest individual point score.
All participants in this year’s contest received a “Billy Blue” certificate for sending in their electronic logbooks. Billy Blue, a former convict, was Sydney’s first ferryman and was appointed Harbour Watchman by Governor Macquarie in 1811.
A popular feature of the contest was “eyeball” contacting where operators could add to their scores by meeting face to face. Contestants had to shake hands and exchange written confirmation. Many operators met for the first time, though they may have spoken on air to each other for years.
A base station was set up near the Rose Bay wharf to co-ordinate the event with participants encouraged to check in either by radio or in person.
As well as attracting radio enthusiasts from all parts of Sydney, a number had also travelled from other parts of the state including the South Coast and Central Coast in order to take part.
“Because of the special NSW Transport Sunday travel concessions and the Opal Card, it meant we could ride the ferries for the whole six-hours of the contest for $2.50,” said Laurie Gordon.
“At first we were worried that a bunch of guys with two-way radios might alarm the public, but Sydney Ferries, Transport for NSW and the Police got right behind us to help make it a success.
“We’re looking forward to even greater participation next year once word gets around about what a great day it was.”
Information about next year’s Sydney Amateur Radio Ferry Contest can be found on the Waverley Amateur Radio Society website www.VK2BV.org
The Waverley Amateur Radio Society has been mentioned in the Tooraweenah Public School Newsletter for March 2016! The club team on Exercise Equinox 2016 (the annual club road trip – camp out – John Moyle Field Day expedition), stayed at a local property and donated $200 to the Tooraweenah Public School P&C via our host and incoming P&C President, Kylie Moppett.
