What Frequencies should I monitor or use during the contest?
Participants are welcome to use any frequency that is consistent with their licence conditions within the 2m and 70cm bands. The following notes contain some hints and suggestions. It may be useful to program the simplex and repeater frequencies prior to the event.
Rose Bay Wharf “control” station
Please tune to the club’s Paddington repeater 147.025 (+0.6; CTCSS 91.5) for last-minute news and an official opening address at 09:50 on the contest day.
Check-ins will be taken between 8:00am and 10:00am for a prize draw.
Waverley Amateur Radio Society will operate a fixed station (VK2BV) adjacent to the Rose Bay ferry wharf and will serve as a general contact and net control point as required. Contestants are encouraged to drop in for an eyeball contact!
The precise location of the fixed station may need to be determined on the day, however, it should be easily visible from and close to the Ferry Wharf exit.
The club station will certainly monitor the Paddington 2 m repeater and will likely also monitor the simplex call channels and other repeaters as well. the customary location is across the road and slightly to the left under a gazebo. The antenna farm should make the location more obvious.
Simplex call channels
The following are the recommended simplex calling frequencies:
147.450
441.450
Once contact has been made, operators can QSY to any other permissible channel.
For those wishing to experiment with DMR simplex then 439.2 Color code 1 Talk group 99 Slot 1 is recommended.
Repeaters
There a number of repeaters accessible from the ferries and wharves with the best choices depending on location and radio traffic. The majority of the Ferry lines and wharves are located close to Circular Quay between Darling Harbour and Watson’s Bay. The exceptions are the Manly line and the Parramatta River line.
Please see the network map on the Sydney Ferries Website for details. (https://transportnsw.info/document/2382/sydney-ferries-network-map-1017.pdf).
For those working in the “inner harbour” the following repeaters are likely to be accessible. The best results will probably be with the Paddington and Sydney repeaters due to their location close to the harbour.
| Call Sign | Location | Output | Offset | Mode-Tone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VK2ROT | Paddington | 147.025 | +600 kHz | FM 91.5 |
| VK2RBM | Lawson | 147.050 | +600 kHz | FM 123 |
| VK2RTS | Lawson | 147.325 | +600 kHz | FM |
| VK2RCF | Carlingford | 438.450 | -5 MHz | FM 91.5 |
| VK2ROT | Paddington | 438.575 | -5 MHz | FM 91.5 |
| VK2RBV | Sydney City | 438.1125 | -5.4 MHz | FM 91.5 |
| VK2RCG | Sydney | 439.800 | -5 MHz | FM 91.5 |
| VK2RON | Artarmon | 439.925 | -5 MHz | FM |
| Digital | ||||
| VK2RHT | Chatswood | 438.350 | -5.0 MHz | DMR TG9 |
| VK2RBV B | Sydney | 438.775 | -5 MHz | DSTAR |
| VK2RCG | Sydney | 439.500 | -5 MHz | DMR TG 9 |
| VK2RCG | Sydney | 438.200 | -5.4 MHz | P25 |
| VK2RBV | Sydney City | 438.1125 | -5.4 MHz | C4FM |
| After 11:00am | ||||
| VK2RWI | Dural | 438.525 | -5 MHz | FM |
Notes:
For those venturing towards Manly, both Paddington 2m and 70cm as well as the Chatswood and Artarmon repeaters are better.
Terrey Hills can be reached just beyond Manly wharf for a brief duration.
Further up the Parramatta River, beyond Darling harbour, the Carlingford and Lawson repeaters are accessible whilst the Sydney 70cm repeater remains contactable.
The Waverley Club DSTAR repeater and C4FM repeater, located on top of Governor Phillip Tower in the city, are accessible from almost all locations.
When using the Sydney DMR make sure you are using TG9 Local.
P25 repeaters for Sydney and Paddington should cover the eastern end of the harbour.
Carlingford should have coverage in the west.
We are keen to see all of the Sydney repeaters lit up on the day, however, remember the extra points for simplex!