Manly-Warringah Radio Society
Encyclopedia
The Manly-Warringah Radio Society (MWRS) is an Amateur Radio enthusiast group serving the Northern Beaches and North Shore
areas of Sydney
, New South Wales
, Australia
. Operating under the call sign VK2MB the society boasts members from a wide range of backgrounds, with members ranging from retirees to school children.
Initially the society held meetings at the home of a club member in Fairlight until the club outgrew the premises and was forced to move to the garage of a club member in Condamine St Balgowlah. In 1935 a large house became available in Darley Rd Manly, which was used as the club house until it was partially destroyed in 1936. Following the destruction of the clubhouse in Manly the club had use of a Navy owned room near Manly Baths, and were able to string antennas between the roof of the building and nearby trees. This building was used until 1939 when the Navy required the space for training. Manly Radio Club was disbanded with the assets of the radio club being disbursed amongst the current members at the time.
The Society reformed in 1976, where it moved to various buildings around the Northern Beaches of Sydney as space became available; Hinkler Park North Manly, Harbord Diggers (meetings only), Warringah Mall, and the Society eventually settled in 1984 at the Volunteer Services Centre site in Terrey Hills where it remained until 2009 where once again it was forced to move by SES expansion to the Girl Guides Hall in Terrey Hills.
's record-breaking hot-air balloon flight across Australia in 1993.
s by holding regular training and examination days at the clubhouse.
by activating an amateur radio station at the lighthouse. The goal of the weekend is "to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration, to promote amateur radio and to foster International goodwill". Over the course of the weekend some of the over 400 radio-active lighthouses around the world will be contacted from headland, usually on HF
frequencies.
tone. For Digital mode D-Star
the society operates one of two Sydney repeaters, VK2RWN, is operational on 2m and 70cm.
North Shore
North Shore can either be the north shore of a landmass , or the north shore of a body of water...
areas of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Operating under the call sign VK2MB the society boasts members from a wide range of backgrounds, with members ranging from retirees to school children.
History
The Manly-Warringah Radio Society can trace its roots back to 1923, when it was known as the Manly Radio Club, callsign 2YE and then VK2MRInitially the society held meetings at the home of a club member in Fairlight until the club outgrew the premises and was forced to move to the garage of a club member in Condamine St Balgowlah. In 1935 a large house became available in Darley Rd Manly, which was used as the club house until it was partially destroyed in 1936. Following the destruction of the clubhouse in Manly the club had use of a Navy owned room near Manly Baths, and were able to string antennas between the roof of the building and nearby trees. This building was used until 1939 when the Navy required the space for training. Manly Radio Club was disbanded with the assets of the radio club being disbursed amongst the current members at the time.
The Society reformed in 1976, where it moved to various buildings around the Northern Beaches of Sydney as space became available; Hinkler Park North Manly, Harbord Diggers (meetings only), Warringah Mall, and the Society eventually settled in 1984 at the Volunteer Services Centre site in Terrey Hills where it remained until 2009 where once again it was forced to move by SES expansion to the Girl Guides Hall in Terrey Hills.
Club Meetings
Society meetings are held every Wednesday evening from 7.30 p.m. at the Terrey Hills Guides Hall, Beltana Avenue, Terrey Hills.Volunteer work
The society will often provide communications for sporting eventshttp://www.crest.org.au/wordpress/ and during times of natural disasters. Notably, members of the Society helped operate the ground control station for Dick SmithDick Smith
Dick Smith may refer to:*Dick Smith , Australian entrepreneur**Dick Smith , electrical retailer in Australia.**Dick Smith Foods, food brand in Australia*Dick Smith , former player with Manchester United...
's record-breaking hot-air balloon flight across Australia in 1993.
Training and licensing
The Manly-Warringah Radio Society provides training and examination services to the amateur radio community on behalf of the Wireless Institute of Australia. One of the society's goals is to enable people to become licensed amateur radio operatorAmateur radio operator
An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio...
s by holding regular training and examination days at the clubhouse.
International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend
Each year the Manly-Warringah Radio Society celebrate International Lighthouse and Lightship WeekendInternational Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend
The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is an amateur radio event held on the third full weekend of August. The event started in 1995, and now more than 470 lighthouses in over 55 countries participate.- Objective :...
by activating an amateur radio station at the lighthouse. The goal of the weekend is "to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration, to promote amateur radio and to foster International goodwill". Over the course of the weekend some of the over 400 radio-active lighthouses around the world will be contacted from headland, usually on HF
HF
- Chemistry :* Hafnium, a chemical element* Hartree–Fock method, a calculation scheme in the field of computational chemistry* Hydrogen fluoride, a diatomic compound which can dissolve in water to form hydrofluoric acid, a highly corrosive solution- Computing :...
frequencies.
Repeaters
The club owns and operates amateur radio repeaters on numerous frequencies and modes. On the 2 meter band the repeater can be operated on 146.875 MHz FM output / 146.275 MHz input while on 70cm the repeater can be operated on 438.175 MHz FM output / 433.175 MHz input using a 91.5 Hz CTCSSCTCSS
In telecommunications, Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System or CTCSS is a circuit that is used to reduce the annoyance of listening to other users on a shared two-way radio communications channel. It is sometimes called tone squelch...
tone. For Digital mode D-Star
D-STAR
D-STAR is a digital voice and data protocol specification developed as the result of research by the Japan Amateur Radio League to investigate digital technologies for amateur radio...
the society operates one of two Sydney repeaters, VK2RWN, is operational on 2m and 70cm.