Whilst listening to the Westlakes ARC Net and broadcast on VK-DMR TG3802 talkgroup starting at 8.30am local and broadcast starting at 9am local, the callback mentioned the 6metre net starting at 10am which it did, as I could hear it on the VK2RSN repeater 53.625 MHz
Then tonight I heard the Blue Mountain ARC 6metre start at 8pm on VK2RBM repeater 53.875 MHz
Good to see some groups making good use of 6metre repeaters
Interference across 6metre band in Frenchs Forest, NSW area
Over last couple months the interference has become worse across 6metre band, more noticeable, whilst scanning the 6metre FM repeater segment, I did a sweep from 46-60 Mhz and found there is wide band signal covering 52.500 to 57 MHz, the signal strength varies from s5 to s9 across that segment.
I suspect it radiating from Northern Beaches Hospital, possibly some piece of medical scanning equipment.
If scan across the band with a narrow band receiver, it just seems like white noise, but the signal strength meter shows there is something there.
This happened a few years ago and I tracked it to the hospital.and suddenly it went away.
UPDATE: 19 Feb 2026
I spent some time doing better sweep, due to hearing some sort of buzz sound opening the mute on a repeater output frequency. Superimposed on that buzz sound is a click at approximately 1 per second rate, noted in the morning, afternoon and night at times when I checked. I swept from 46 to 60 MHz, these are the frequencies I noted the buzz sound on.
these following frequencies were weak s0 but clearly audible :
50.030 50.060 51.280 51.870 52.140
these following frequencies were strong ie. s5 to s9 :
52.440 53.080 53.640 53.690 54.240 54.280 54.840 55.500 56.050 56.090
these following frequencies were weak s0 but clearly audible :
57.270 57.310 57.900 58.470 59.110 59.680 59.720
Overall, the raised S-meter was from 52.500 to 57 MHz, where as the narrow bandwidth buzz sound is heard from 50MHz to 60MHz
6metre repeater status in and around Sydney and NSW that I know of, as of 25th January, 2026,
53.625 VK2RSN, Mt.Sugarloaf, Newcastle, operational, requires 91.5Hz tone
53.650 VK2RMP, Maddens Plain, Illawarra, operational, requires 123Hz tone
53.675 VK2RMB, Terrey Hills, off-air
53.700 VK2RGN, Goulburn, off-air
53.725 VK2RAG, Somersby, Central Coast, operational, requires 91.5Hz tone, linked to 23cm rptr
53.800 VK2RCN, Port Macquarie operational
53.825 VK2RBE, Bethungra operational
53.850 VK2RWI, Dural, operational
53.875 VK2RBM, Blue Mtns, operational, requires 91.5Hz tone
52.525 FM Simplex - still plenty activity, particularly Sunday morning after ARNSW broadcast from Dural
I stumbled onto this site whilst trying to check the status of the ZL 6metre repeaters.
The ZL's got a good set of repeaters spread across the two islands, including some 900Mhz,(33cm) and of course 23cm repeaters.
The only repeaters they don't have are 10metre repeaters (ie 29MHz)
Be nice if they tied some of their 23cm repeaters, or 900Mhz, etc, to their 6metre repeaters such as Klondike, Climie and Christchurch, that would create some activity over in ZL when 6metres is open.
open from sydney to adelaide today, VK5RSB 53.750 MHz, with VK5KKU and VK2ATU having a chat
during last week, several openings for 28.680 MHz FM repeaters, hearing activity on Hobart VK7RHF and Perth VK6RHF, I heard other people reporting they working the VK4RHF 29.680 MHz repeater
noted from VK2EK that VK2RCZ western Sydney, 29.530 MHz FM repeater is alive and well, it does need 91.5Hz CTCSS tone to open the squelch.
6m repeaters, only heard/worked the Hobart repeaters VK7RAD, VK7RCH
on 53.700 and 53.825 MHz.
Meanwhile on 6metre FT8, it been wide open all way round the Pacific Rim.
As for 2metres and above, not had any further ducting like we had a few weeks back, only very mild lifts opening path to Newcastle/Port Stephens 2m and 70cm repeaters.
6metre Repeater status as of 26th July, 2023
VK2RAG, Somersby, 53.725 MHz requires 91.5 Hz CTCSS tone - they run Sunday WIA b'cast and callbacks
VK2RWI, Dural, 53.850 MHz - working, WIA Sunday b'casts supposedly will move to here from 52.525MHz simplex
VK2RBM, Blue Mtns, 53.875 MHz - working, requires 123Hz CTCSS
VK2RMP, Maddens Plains, 53.650 MHz - working, requires 123Hz CTCSS
VK2RSN, Mt Sugarloaf, Newcastle, 53.625 MHz unknown status, nil response, I tested this in December 2022 when up that way.
VK2RGN, Goulburn, 53.700 MHz, off air according to the Goulburn ARC website.
VK2RMB, Terrey Hills, 53.675 MHz, still off air and still planned to return it to service.
VK2RCN, Telegraph Point, Port Macquarie, 53.800 MHz, working, requires 91.5Hz CTCSS tone
VK2RSM, Adaminaby, Snowy Mtns, 53.575 MHz, requires 123Hz CTCSS tone
VK2RSC, Lismore, 53.550 MHz, working, now requires 123Hz CTCSS tone
Repeaters status as of 11th December 2022
VK2RAG, Somersby, 53.725 MHz requires 91.5 Hz CTCSS tone - they run Sunday WIA b'cast and callbacks
VK2RWI, Dural, 53.850 MHz - working, WIA Sunday b'casts will run through this next year
VK2RBM, Blue Mtns, 53.875 MHz - working requires 123Hz CTCSS
VK2RMP, Maddens Plains, 53.650 MHz - working requires 123Hz CTCSS
VK2RSN, Mt Sugarloaf, Newcastle, 53.625 MHz nil response, I tested yesterday when I was up that way
VK2RGN, 53.700 MHz, Goulburn, off air according to the Goulburn ARC website.
I think the first opening for FM today for this summer period, open to VK3 and VK7, with respect to FM repeaters, it was from Sydney to VK7, although I see VK3 were seeing VK2 around 6pm AEDST
I worked VK7RCH 53.700- working some locals from Sydney plus VK7QF, then VK7RAD 53.825 and VK7RAA 53.875, although sometimes keying two rptrs.
Of course looking from a weak signal perspective it was wide open into Pacific, 3D2 and ZL, up to JA,
actually FM is a good indicator that it wide open for SSB and other weak signals modes.
Since fixing my old AWA RT85 transceivers up, since they failed several years ago, the usual pin diode failurein the Tx PA stage, I ripped out the pin diodes and added a small RF relay that came from scrapped Philips FM828's Now I back on 6 metre FM.
Repeaters I can hit and have been able to hit in the past,
VK2RAG, Somersby, 53.725 MHz requires 91.5 Hz CTCSS tone - hearing activity here after Sunday WIA b'cast.
VK2RWI, Dural, 53.850 MHz - working
VK2RBM, Blue Mtns, 53.875 MHz - working, 123Hz ctcss required
VK2RMP, Maddens Plains, 53.650 MHz - working, 123Hz ctcss required
VK2RSN, Mt Sugarloaf, Newcastle, 53.625 MHz I not sure, as I can't hear it from home, I need to go mobile to check this one.
VK2RGN, 53.700 MHz, Goulburn, I believe it is off air according to the Goulburn ARC website.
and
VK2RWI, 52.525 WIA b'cast, last Sunday 18 people called in. Good turn out
I finally got around to installing latest WSJT-X, both on my Windows10 laptop and also on my Linux Mint laptop, these are old hand-me-down laptops, the Linux Mint laptop is an old ASUS N550J 2015 model I think, it was my XYL's MS Windows10 laptop which became unbearably slow and useless, so I took it and installed Linux on it, I tried a few different versions, but settled on LinuxMint as it is derived from Ubuntu and Ubuntu derived from Debian. Anyway, the old ASUS has a new lease on life, it is fast again. I have in the past ran WSJT on various Linux platforms, on old Dell servers, I had deliberately gone about compiling and testing WSJT on the various Linux derivations and documenting it. Anyway, I finally put some antennas up at home, since moving house, I thought lets try some actual weak signal radio activities.
Next, I downloaded the .deb files for WSJT-X 2.5.4 and installed on Linux Mint 20.3 this was just too easy, much easier than the old days of manually compiling against different version of Linux, now days it is as easy installing on Linux, (since it based on QT5,) as it is for installing on a MS-Windows 10 laptop.
Next step, connect the TigerTronics USB SignalLink interface to my IC-756PROII transceiver and the other end into the USB of the Linux Mint laptop, to make sure it was found and defined as a linux device, I ran a couple commands from terminal window, such as lsusb command to show the USB devices, and used the Sound application in Linux Mint to see the input and output sound devices were identified and could see it displayed and I could test the interface.
I read some forums, I can see quite a few hams complaining that they could not get their SignalLink devices to work on LinuxMint, I can't understand it, as I found it so easy. I can't imagine what the hell they were doing, (or not doing), to make it work, it was just so damned easy. Maybe they just using some old crappy PC or laptop.
Anyway, I had it all installed and configured and plugged into the transceiver and before I even realised it, the thing was decoding FT8 on 50.313MHz, which blew me away, as I couldn't even hear anything like a signal coming from the radio, yet, I was decoding callsigns and messages from other hams. This is what I call weak signal Dxing!
Next step, I better read the WSJT-X documentation to see how I start replying to people on FT8. A few years I was at Dave VK2JDS's place watching JT65 on 23cm EME, which was impressive as it is, but FT8 is pushing the boundaries even further.
