News 28.07.2019
The digital services at VK2RAG (D-Star and P25) were out of service at the time of writing, although given your scribe’s faulty crystal ball they will probably be operational by the time this item goes to air.
Also, a reminder that the weekly 2m net is now held at 7pm (on Thursday) during the winter months, with an informal HF net on Friday at 7.30pm on 3645kHz +/- QRM.
The next Central Coast WICEN meeting will be held at the Club rooms on Saturday 10th August and all are invited, whether a WICEN member or not.
There will not be a Club lecture on the 17th August due to the Annual General Meeting, and there are plenty of positions to be filled.
Looking further ahead, the Shahzada 400km Horse Enduro will be as usual on the last full week of August, being held over the 25th to 31st. Although not an official Club event, many members take part in it; you can turn up for a day or so, or the full week, and you will have fun (especially those with four-wheel drives).
All meetings of the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club are held at the Club rooms in Dandaloo St, Kariong, just past the fire station. Meetings start at 1pm, preceded by the famous sausage sizzle run by master chef Steve VK2SKC from noon, followed by Karen VK2AKB’s home cooking; a specialty being her homemade cakes and pikelets.
The Club rooms are accessible by bus, with a stop just opposite Dandaloo St, serviced by the route 34 bus from Gosford railway station every hour, and one can usually arrange a lift back. The Club rooms are usually open from 10.30am on Saturday, for general chit-chat and access to the Club workshop and library.
The Club also conducts Foundation training on an as-required basis, and a new course is coming up soon, once details of the new licensing arrangements are finalised.
The Club relays VK2WI News broadcasts every Sunday morning and evening. Callbacks are taken after the morning news only, on the Somersby 6 and 2m repeaters VK2RAG on 53.725 and 146.725 MHz respectively; both repeaters require the standard sub-audible tone of 91.5 Hz.
The 70cm VK2RAG repeater on 439.950 MHz is a mixed-mode repeater, currently supporting analogue FM and P25, with IRLP and Echolink access coming soon. A 91.5 Hz tone is required for analogue access, and is highly recommended for receiving.
Along with these, there is a packet radio BBS on 147.600 MHz, as VK2EHQ; it can also be accessed via the digipeater VK2RAG-1; old-timers will know how to use it.
There is a net every Thursday from 7pm, on the 2m repeater VK2RAG on 146.725; all members are encouraged to join (especially if Club news for the ARNSW broadcast is involved). There is also an informal HF net on 80m on Fridays at 7.30pm, on 3645kHz +/- QRM..
Club news is happily accepted at “publicity@ccarc.org.au”, preferably by noon on Friday. Listeners may “join” the net by email to “netmaster@ccarc.org.au” and their comments will be read out.
The Club also has a Facebook page: just look for “centralcoastarc”, so be sure to “like” it to receive further updates. There is also a Twitter account on @ccarclub , and a YouTube channel of the weekly streaming news via several modes which is proving to be quite popular, especially with Amateurs both interstate and overseas.
Further information about the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club can be found on the web site www.ccarc.org.au.
— Dave VK2KFU, Publicity Officer, Central Coast Amateur Radio Club
