5.30am to 9am WEEKDAYS
4pm to 6pm WEEKDAYS
LIFE & STYLE
Tune into the world with Ham Radio Hornsby
Copy that ? Hornsby & Districts Amateur Radio Club can help you become more informed during a bushfire or emergency through amateur radio . by Maryann Callaghan
If you ’ ve been thinking of changing frequency and tuning into real worldwide radio with really keen operators , the Hornsby and Districts Amateur Radio Club is perfect for you .
The 46-year-old club is putting the call out to anyone interested in experimenting with radio comms and electronic technology to join them for the start of their first full month of meetings for 2024 .
March sees the return of regular club activities for the group which meets in Hornsby and Mt Colah to talk , learn , build and experiment with a variety of communications equipment – some of which is often used as a lifeline during bushfire or disaster emergency response .
“ Once expensive , getting a licence now requires just two low , one-off fees , so there is now no better time to join the hobby ,” publicity officer Julian Sortland VK2YJS ) said .
“ Local chat on VHF or UHF has been augmented by various networked digital voice systems , some global .
“ For long distance communication via HF , a Morse qualification is no longer required , and again , digital technology helps a modest station with just a wire antenna ‘ work the world ’.”
The club maintains several radio voicerepeaters and is currently working towards linking its UHF and VHF repeaters and linking with repeater systems elsewhere in NSW in the near future .
Hornsby Shire Council provides the club with support via access to its transmitting tower and facilities for the VK2RNS repeater .
Many HDARC members provided emergency communications support during the Newcastle earthquake and the 1994 , 2002 and 2019 bushfires through their involvement with the WICEN ( NSW ).
WICEN is a nationwide volunteer group of licensed amateur radio operators who provide backup radio communications for the emergency services when public communications infrastructure degrades or fails , especially during times of national disaster .
It is a communications support squad of VRA Rescue NSW providing recognition through the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 and the State Rescue Board .
Each year , many HDARC members help organise the Jamboree of the Air ( JOTA ), a world-wide annual event during which Scouts and Guides around the world are helped to use amateur radio to make direct radio contacts with one another . HADARC members invite visitors to come along to their twice-monthly
Vice-president Rob Dolphin ’ s ( VK2DIO ) tiny homebrew Morse key .
meetings which are held at two locations :
Mt Colah : 8pm on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Community Centre , Pierre Close , Mt Colah . This meeting features a talk on a radio-related topic , together with club business ;
Hornsby : 8pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month is an informal gathering and workshop at the Hornsby-Manly Target Rifle Club , 66 Rosamond Street , Hornsby . Members bring along equipment to be tested , and group construction projects are discussed . Experienced members are available to give advice and help with equipment problems and operating skills .
For more information visit : hadarc . org . au .
The difference is the music
busco for breakfast
5.30am to 9am WEEKDAYS
3.5 hours of Fun , Frolic & Adventure with particular focus on Sydney ’ s Golden West !!
News ( with a Western Sydney focus ), Music , Traffic and Weather – with plenty of fun to get your morning started !!
drive with linden
4pm to 6pm WEEKDAYS
Drive with Linden brings you your local entertainment for the drive home .
Get updates on what ’ s happening in your area and the latest traffic information every 15 minutes .
Streaming on swr999 . com . au
You Tube
12 ISSUE 105 // MARCH 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT