6metre repeater status in and around Sydney and NSW that I know of, as of 25th January, 2026

  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

6metre repeater status in and around Sydney and NSW , as of 29th August, 2025

 6metre repeater status in and around Sydney and NSW that I know of, as of 29th August, 2025,

53.625 VK2RSN, Mt.Sugarloaf, Newcastle, back on air July 2025, requires 91.5Hz tone

53.650  VK2RMP, Maddens Plain, Illawarra,  operational, requires 123Hz

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

6metre Repeater Update - 5th January, 2025

 open from sydney  to adelaide today, VK5RSB 53.750 MHz, with VK5KKU and VK2ATU having a chat

6metre Repeater Update - 3rd January, 2025

 

today we had some good 6metre openings from Sydney to Tasmania, its been quiet for past few weeks, but today yielded several hours of solid opening.

I  heard/worked these VK7  6metre repeaters today :

53.700  VK7RCH Roberts Bluff 

53.775  VK7RTV Stowport, Central NW Coast

53.800  VK7RMD Mt Duncan, NW Tasmania

53.825  VK7RAD Queens Domain, Hobart

53.875  VK7RAA Mt Arthur, Nth Tasmania

53.950  VK7RVP St Valentines Peak, NW Tasmania, this requires 91.5Hz CTCSS

I heard both Ian VK7QF and  Brian VK7BW at first, then worked VK7QF on VK7RAD Hobart Repeater,

later I had a long chat with Glen VK2FC from near Maitland via VK7RVP.

Whilst on subject of 6metre repeaters, the status of repeaters in and around Sydney,

53.625 VK2RSN, Mt.Sugarloaf, Newcastle, off-air, but is currently in rebuild status ###

53.650  VK2RMP, Maddens Plain, Illawarra,  operational, requires 123Hz

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

53.850  VK2RWI, Dural, operational

53.875  VK2RBM, Blue Mtns, operational, requires 91.5Hz tone

### Note: confirmed with Glen VK2FC today

Central West NSW Repeater Update - December 2024

 Central West NSW Repeater Update - December 2024

NSW Central West FM Analogue Repeaters:

VK2RCW repeater 147.200 MHz with +600kHz input, no CTCSS tone required. Recently repaired.

VK2RDX repeater 146.650 MHz with -600kHz input, 91.5Hz CTCSS tone is required.

VK2RKG repeater 146.900 MHz with -600kHz input, no CTCSS tone required.

VK2ROA repeater 147.100 MHz with +600kHz input, no CTCSS tone required.

VK2RCW repeater 439.300 MHz with -5MHz input. Off Air.

NSW Central West DMR repeaters :

VK2RAO Orange 438.725 MHz with -5.0 MHz input VK2RBT Wyangala Dam/Cowra area 438.825 MHz multimode DMR & analogue FM, 9.1.5HZ required

VK2RDD Dubbo 439.950 MHz with -5.0 MHz input

VK2RDX Mt.Bindo/Oberon area 438.150 MHz with -7.0 MHz input

local DX update 14th December 2024

 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.

29 MHz / 10metre FM DX frequencies

as we approach Summer for southern hemisphere, here is a reminder to those in Oceania and South Pacific of 10metre FM frequencies to monitor if you are chase 10metre DX

 29 MHz / 10 metre FM Simplex channels :

29.200  used by JA

29.300  JA National Call channel

29.400  used by UK

29.450  used by UK

29.500  JA secondary Call Channel and used by UK

29.600  International Call Channel

29 MHz / 10 metre FM repeaters channels :

Output       Input

29.610       29.510

29.620       29.520

29.630       29.530

29.640       29.540

29.650       29.550

29.660       29.560

29.670        29.570

29.680        29.580

29.690        29.590 

VK2RKG DMR repeater Bathurst - go-live August 2024

 News from Josh VK2MES:

As of 18th August, 2024, the ARNSW VKDMR RadNet Digital Voice Repeater is operational from West Bathurst, running 10W. The first of the new Motorola SLR1000 repeaters for the ARNSW RadNet network, which is the more compact version of their DMR repeaters.

Frequency is 439.875 MHz Output with a -5.0 MHz input. Callsign is VK2RKG and DMR ID is 505115

Reports can be sent to Josh VK2MES

There is also a VK2RKG 2metre analogue voice repeater 146.900 MHz with -600kHz input, no CTCSS tone required.

Nearby NSW Central West DMR repeaters : VK2RAO Orange 438.725 MHz with -5.0 MHz input VK2RBT Wyangala Dam/Cowra area 438.825 MHz multimode DMR & analogue FM, 9.1.5HZ required

VK2RDD Dubbo 439.950 MHz with -5.0 MHz input

VK2RDX Mt.Bindo/Oberon area 438.150 MHz with -7.0 MHz input

23cm contacts with VK2KYP portable 29th July 2024

 tee'd up and made contacts on 23cm, 1296.100 USB and 1294.000 FM simplex, on Monday 29th July 2024 at approx 10.30am AEST, 

Gary VK2KYP was portable at Somersby, on Central Coast NSW  QF56po, using a gridpack

and I was portable at Porcupine Hill, up the back of Jenolan Caves, in Western Blue Mtns of NSW, QF46xe, using a bi-quad antenna,

 distance was 130km,  signal strength was s5 on 1296.100 and s6 on 1294.000 FM.

logged the contacts on vkspotter.com

update on 23cm repeater systems centered around Sydney and NSW as of 22nd Oct 2023

 update on 23cm repeater systems centered around Sydney and NSW as of  22nd Oct 2023

OUTPUT / INPUT    Callsign    Location

1273.100 / 1293.100 VK2RTZ  Mt. Sugarloaf  - working,  it idents every hour, requires 91.5Hz CTCSS tone to access

1273.200 / 1293.200 VK2RWC   Chatswood  - working

1273.400 / 1293.400 VK2RAG  Somersby - working,  now linked to VK2RAG 6metre repeater, requires 91.5Hz CTCSS tone to access

1273.500 / 1293.500 VK2RWI Dural  -  working, carries Sunday WIA broadcast.

1296.850  VK2RMP FM Simplex analogue parrot repeater at Maddens Plains - working, it idents every 10 minutes with a CW message

All the above are Vertical polarised.

1294.000 FM Simplex, not heard anyone since July 2022.

VK2RBT 70cm DMR-analogue FM repeater

 I overheard some hams talking about a repeater covering Cowra area.  That got my attention as I wandered through Cowra a few times in recent trips out west.

I know of existing repeaters  VK2RKG 146.900 at Kelso, linked with VK2RCW 147.200 at Gowan, plus I know of the repeater network for WARC, (Wagga ARC) Repeaters - Wagga Amateur Radio Club (warc.org.au)   and their most northern repeater in their network is VK2RYL 146.875 MHz near Young.

Anyway, I did some searching and discovered there is VK2RBT out at near Wyangala that covers that Cowra area.  I had sort of wondered if there might be someone else put up a 2metre repeater and link it with the WARC network. Maybe one day.

Anyway, looking up repeaters gave me VK2RBT  and the WACRS group.wacrs.org – Wyangala Amateur and Citizens Radio Society. This yielded good info, glad to see some hams out that way getting a repeater network up and running. VK2RBT is currently a 70cm repeater, dual mode, DMR on the VK-DMR network, plus FM analogue  requiring 91.5Hz CTCSS tone on input. The Output is 438.825 MHz and input is 431.825 MHz (-7.0Mhz)

Here is hoping they can get some more repeaters up and running.

29MHz / 10 Metre FM activity

 29 MHz / 10 metre FM Simplex channels :

29.200  used by JA

29.300  JA National Call channel

29.400  used by UK

29.450 used by UK

29.500  JA secondary Call Channel and used by UK

29.600  International Call Channel

29 MHz / 10 metre FM repeaters :

Output       Input

29.610       29.510

29.620       29.520

29.630       29.530

29.640       29.540

29.650       29.550

29.660       29.560

29.670        29.570

29.680        29.580

29.690        29.590

VK2RAG 1273.400 repeater back on air 2nd Sept 2023

The  VK2RAG 1273.400 repeater is back on air as of 2nd Sept 2023, after some refurbishment by Don VK2ZCZ, 

the 23cm repeater is now linked to the VK2RAG 53.725 repeater. This is to encourage more activity tieing 23cm users with 6metre users, both the 23cm rptr and 6metre rptr require 91.5Hz CTCSS to activate the repeaters and simultaneous linking.

update on 23cm repeater systems as of 10th May 2023

update on 23cm repeater systems centered around Sydney as of  10th May 2023

Here are the operational 23cm FM Analogue repeaters I can work:

OUTPUT / INPUT    Callsign    Location

1273.100 / 1293.100 VK2RTZ  Mt. Sugarloaf  - working,  it idents every hour, requires 91.5Hz ctcss

1273.200 / 1293.200 VK2RWC   Chatswood  - working

1273.400 / 1293.400 VK2RAG  Somersby - working, has beep on the tail

1273.500 / 1293.500 VK2RWI Dural  -  working, carries Sunday WIA broadcast.

1296.850  VK2RMP FM Simplex analogue parrot repeater at Maddens Plains - working, it idents every 10 minutes with a CW message

All the above are Vertical polarised.

1294.000 FM Simplex, not heard anyone since July 2022.

10metre 29.600 FM simplex activity

 just heard  Murray ZL3MH on 29.600 MHz FM simplex chatting to a whole swag of VK's between 05:30 and 05:45 UTC,   s9,  now that's not a big deal, but this was received  on my quad band FM, using a 2metre 1/4 wave whip inside a cupboard in my shack.  If it had been a 10metre external antenna, then I guess he would have been 20/9 +

The point here is, when 10metres is, then its OPEN.

10m FM (29MHz) Activity

 Seems that over the last month there has been some good openings on 10metre FM (29MHz), it appears that JA like to use 29.200 MHz FM simplex, as well as the usual 29.600MHz FM simplex. There has also been some VK-Nth America contacts on 29.600MHz FM simplex.

23cm FM voice repeater systems centered around Sydney as of 9th April, 2023

 An update on 23cm FM voice repeater systems centered around Sydney as of  9th April, 2023

Here are the operational 23cm FM Analogue repeaters I can work:

1273.100 / 1293.100 VK2RTZ at Mt. Sugarloaf  - working,  it idents every hour, at 6minutes before the hour, requires 91.5Hz ctcss to access

1273.200 / 1293.200 VK2RWC  at Chatswood  - working

1273.400 / 1293.400 VK2RAG at Somersby - working, has beep on the tail

1273.500 / 1293.500 VK2RWI at Dural  -  yes, it is working again.

1296.850  VK2RMP FM Simplex analogue parrot repeater at Maddens Plains - working, it idents regularly every 10 minutes with a long CW message

Activity:  mostly found on Chatswood repeater, with some activity on Dural repeater on Sunday after the WIA NSW broadcast 10am and 7.30pm local time

1294.000 FM Simplex, not heard anyone on here since July 2022.

6metre voice repeaters in and around Sydney, as of 9th April, 2023

  Repeaters status as of 9th April, 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 will move to here from 52.525MHz

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 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.

Repeaters VK2RCW 147.200MHz and VK2RKG 146.900 now linked

 Repeaters VK2RCW 147.200MHz at Gowan and VK2RKG 146.900 in Bathurst are now linked. No access tones required to use them.

2metre enhanced propagation 26th January, 2023

 vkspotter showing a few path openings this morning , as  we had some low lying fog here in Sydney and others reported fog down Wollongong area.  I found 146.750 VK2RFS was open at s5, normally not accessible from here. Heard VK2BHO and VK2STG chatting. 

Noted that VK2RFS Mt.Mumbulla 146.750 is linked to VK2RWP Cooma 146.825 and VK3RDH Mt.Delegate 146.625 Mhz. That is handy to know when I next mobile down that way.