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

Wagga Amateur Radio Club (WARC) - new 6metre Repeater on-air VK2RBE

 Wagga Amateur Radio Club (WARC) - new 6metre Repeater on-air VK2RBE  

Just learnt that a new repeater has been commissioned at Mt.Bethungra, near Bethungra, north of Junee,

operating on 53.825  with -1MHz input, no ctcss tone required and it standalone, as of June 2024.

Follow details on the WARC website Repeaters - Wagga Amateur Radio Club

Just thinking about it, I havent done any trips to Young/Cootamundra/Junee/Wagga/Tumut since 2023, hence not tried out this repeater mobile yet.

Since this new 6metre repeater is co-sited with the VK2RBE 2metre repeater on 146.675MHz,  then it is possible it will be accessible from the Hume Highway in the Jugiong-Coolac region for those traversing the Hume Highway with 6metre FM in the mobile, otherwise should be good coverage on the Olympic Highway in Junee-Bethungra-Cootamundra section.

QF46xe VHF/UHF/SHF location for portable operation/contest operation as of 1st August, 2024

 if you looking for a good high spot, with cleared of trees and good all round direction, then this location is currently ideal. It is approximately 600m north of Mt.Trickett (NSW),(SOTA site) is 1362m ASL and currently cleared of forestry pine trees.

Ideal for VHF/UHF/SHF location for portable operation/contest operation.  I just visited it recently whilst up that area. This area is very bare after recent forestry logging. Grid Square QF46xe.

You can see high rise buildings of Chatswood, North Sydney and Sydney city from here.

The VK2RCH repeaters are full scale here 60/9.

To get to this location, head for Oberon and across to Edith on road to Jenolan and Kanangra Walls. 
I pretty much given up on using Kanangra Boyd NP for portable operation, as everything is locked up.

On the subject of the VK2RCH repeaters, I could hear them fine from within Oberon. They were the only Sydney repeaters I could hear on a handheld from Oberon.

Road Trip 5th to 7th May 2023

 Did a road trip, Sydney to Mudgee, via Singleton, Muswellbrook, then Mudgee to Young via Gulgong, Wellington, Molong, Canowindra, Cowra, then Young to Sydney via Monteagle, Boorowa, Rugby, Crookwell and Goulburn.

Heard Murray ZL3MH each day whilst mobile on 29.600MHz FM,  I still getting RFI being generated by the car. I just not happy with noise levels on HF, 6m and 2m. 

Some repeaters that I took notice of their coverage, 438.025MHz  from VK2RCN Newcastle, could hear it do regular idents from Sugarloaf up to Singleton. Could also work  VK2RZL 146.875MHz  from north of Singleton up to Muswellbrook and out to Merriwa, it requires 91.5Hz ctcss. 

Then on road to Young could hear activity from the Wagga guys on VK2RYG 146.875 MHz whilst I mobile from about Cudal through to Young, that repeater is part of the Wagga ARC network, situated near Young.

Here is my APRS track for the trip.

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.

2metre enhanced propagation

 We have had some enhanced propagation the last few days since 25th December, on Xmas night, we could see sea-fog rolling in from ocean, from nth east after a warm day, I checked repeaters near midnight, noting Mt.Bindo VK2RDX which is normally s-1 at my house was now 60/9, so I checked around other rptrs, 6675 from sth coast was 60/9, I could key 146.900 but no ident,  it could be either VK2RKG in Bathurst or the Newcastle rptr. At 4.30am on 26th December I had briefly got up and noticed it was solid fog outside,  visibility 150metres in all directions, the two streetlights I could see looked like cones of light. by 9am the sun starting to burn off the fog, still Bindo was 10/9.

27th December, the sea fog starting again after dark, by near midnight I could key rptrs, Bindo VK2RDX again at 60/9, found VK2RAB 146.825 Mt. Crawney s-5, VKRTM 146.750 Tamworth s1, and 146.900 was able to be keyed, but no ident, possibly VK2RKG in Bathurst. Checked 6metre rptrs, still the same.

P25 Repeater update for VK2 (Sydney and NSW)

 I been auditing which P25 repeaters  are still working on the 70cm band here, looks like 7 are now gone.

as of 3rd May 2022,

Operational :  

VK2RMB Terrey Hills but is standalone, waiting to be configured and linked to P25 network 

VK2RNS Asquith, currently standalone, as it not linked due to recent lightning strike

VK2RWK Kurrajong, standalone

VK2ROT Paddington, standalone

VK2RCG Sydney city (GPT) - linked into P25 network

VK2RHP Horsley Park, linked into P25 network

VK2RGN Goulburn - not sure if linked

Non-operational or redeployed :

VK2RWI Dural - now a VK-DMR rptr

VK2RHT Chatswood - now a VK-DMR rptr

VK2RAG Somersby - gone maybe redeployed

VK2RHR High Range - failed, getting fixed

VK2RCF Carlingford - gone

VK2RLE Heathcote - nothing

VK2RWS Berowra - gone

and possibly a P25 repeater for central west NSW (Bathurst-Orange region) being configured.

Talkgroups for these linked ones are typically TG10700 or TG10400

23cm FM Repeaters update

Update of 23cm FM voice repeaters for VK1/VK2

OUTPUT   INPUT      Callsign       Location

1273.100   1293.100 VK2RTZ      Mt Sugarloaf , Newcastle   91.5Hz ctcss

1273.200   1293.200 VK2RPW    Grundy Mtn,  Walcha  - defunct

1273.200   1293.200 VK2RWC    Chatswood,  Sydney (north)

1273.300   1293.300 VK2RPL     Mt Nardi,  Lismore  - defunct

1273.400   1293.400 VK2RAG    Somersby,  Central Coast

1273.500   1293.500 VK2RWI     Dural,   Sydney (north west)

6metre FM voice Repeater Status Update - Jan 2022

 here is the latest update on these 6metre Repeaters for Sydney and surrounds as of 3rd Jan 2022

53.625 Newcastle  - unknown

53.650 Illawarra  - operational

53.675 Terrey Hills - still off air

53.700 Goulburn - unknown

53.725 Somersby - operational

53.850 Dural - operational

53.875 Blue Mtns - operational

in recent weeks I have heard people chatting on 53.650, 53.725 and 53.850

VK2RCW 439.700 repeater back on air

 VK2RCW 439.700 Mhz repeater is back on air as of today,  after it had failed  some time back. 

It is now a multi mode repeater supporting FM analogue  and P25 digital modes.

This repeaters belong to ARCWG (Amateur Radio Central West Group)  and this repeater is

co-sited with the club's 2metre repeater FM repeater on 147.200 MHz.

Planned for the future, is to link the 439.700 P25 digital into the P25 network.

The Wireless Institute of Australia (wia.org.au)

WIA Spring VHF UHF SHF Contest 2020

 We planning to go portable to operate in the  WIA Spring VHF UHF SHF Contest weekend,  starting 0100z  Saturday 28th November 2020, concluding  0100z Sunday 29th November 2020.

Our planned destination is Mt. Allyn up in the Barrington Tops Area,   Grid Square QF57RV  at height of 1135m ASL, it is supposed to have good takeoff back towards Newcastle, Central Coast,  Sydney and Wollongong.

We planning to run 6m, 2m, 70cm, 23cm, 9cm and 3cm  SSB,  possibly 6m, 2m, 70cm, 23cm  FM simplex

Basically 50.150, 144.150, 432.150, 1296.150, 3398.100, 10368.100  SSB and

52.525, 146.500, 439.000 1294.000 FM simplex

WIA VHF UHF SHF Contest Rules found here :

https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/

IARS 23cm simplex repeater update

  IARS 23cm Active beacon information and instructions

The Illawarra Amateur Radio Society Inc. (IARS)
is pleased to announce the testing of a Simplex Repeater operating on the 23cm band.
What
- FM Simplex Repeater operating on 1296.850MHz
- RF Power 25 Watts.
- Vertical Omnidirectional Antenna of 11dB gain.
- Input stage has a LNA with approximately +10dB Gain
Where
- Maddens Plains, Grid Reference QF55LR.
- Latitude: 34.27Deg South Longitude: 150.94Deg East
- Height: 371 Metres above sea level. (Not including the height of the tower).
Purpose
The purpose for the development of this particular repeater is;
To encourage interest and experimental development in the higher bands such as 23cm.
It can be used to assist amateur radio operators to develop their own station transmitters, receivers, RF amplifiers, pre-amplifiers and antenna design.
Test the operators experimenting with various modes.
It is a beacon which can be used to monitor propagation on the 23cm band.
Basic Description
The general principle of the repeater is that it is simple.
The transmitter stages consist of a 2 Metre exciter, followed by a transverter.
The transverter has an IF input of 144.850 MHz, up to, but no greater than 1.0W or else it may be over driven. The RF output is of the order of 2.0W. The next stage is the RF PA of 25W.
The memory of the controller chip has been programmed to function for a period of 150 seconds (2 ½  minutes) more than ample time to conduct any form of experimental test.
The antenna is a vertical omnidirectional antenna with approximately 11dB gain.
The control card was developed and built specifically by the IARS for this purpose with the microcontroller used to generate the Morse code and all the control for the simplex repeater.
The unique program code has been written inhouse and developed by IARS to suit this application.
This is all installed into a 19” rack 2U enclosure mounted in the equipment rack at Maddens Plains.
Operation of the Beacon
Approximately every 10 minutes a string of Morse Code will be transmitted from the beacon.
The interesting part of this Morse code is that it is part dynamic.
There are two values which are actively monitoring the unit on site.
The first is the Temperature inside the cabinet in degree Celsius
The second is the system voltage currently at the repeater site.
The Morse code message is structured as follows:
VK2RMP experimental beacon test QF55LR TEMP XX.X Deg. SYSTEM VOLTS XX.X
During the Beacon operation the Simplex section will not operate.
The beacon will not transmit whilst the simplex repeater operation is in progress and will wait until the simplex process is complete.
Operation Procedure of Repeater
It is a simple process after selecting the Repeater frequency.
It is recommended you wait for at least 10 seconds or press your PTT once for a short test, if a tail and beep comes back to you, you good to go.
If not, it may be that your signal is not getting in OR someone is using it on the input that you cannot hear.
Pressing the PTT quickly to see if it responds (similar to a duplex repeater tail) will not interfere with someone else’s transmission, as long as the PTT is quick, and not multiple times, this could be annoying for someone trying to record.
Summary : Onequick one second PTT should give you a Tail and a roger beep. If not someone is using the repeater OR your signal is not been received by the beacon.
If there was no response it may be good to wait for at least 30 seconds to see if the unit was in use before attempting the PTT again.
Once roger beep is received and you are ready to commence your transmission, it is best to operate the PTT button for about 1 second before speaking or transmitting data of pictures.
The reason for this is to stop any clipping at the start of the transmission. The repeater has a 0.5 second noise suppression timer to avoid false triggering.
CTCSS was not used to do this as many experimenters don’t have encoders fitted to the 23cm gear.
Once you release the PTT there is a one second delay before the recording stops and the current reception cycle is terminated, this is to allow for short signal drop off’s during your over.
Without this timer, a signal drop off may prematurely terminate your over and begin re-transmitting what you have just transmitted, whilst you are still recording, rather messy.
After this one second delay the repeater will commence to re-transmit your over. When the repeater has concluded your transmission you will hear an audible ‘Rodger Beep’ of approximately 750Hz.
It is after this Roger beep that a respondent or yourself may commence the next transmission. If you do not hear the ‘Rodger Beep” wait until you do.
Please make the transmission long enough to finish the job and short enough not to cause any others to be impatient.
Remember to be patient - including hearing the “Roger beep” - and avoid any difficulties.
When transmitting data modes such as RTTY or SSTV, ensure the transmission DOESN’T exceed the 150 second time window, because if you do, the signal will be unintelligible and fail.
Keep to the simple operating procedure and you will be able to enjoy our hobby that much more.

P25 Repeaters, VK1 and VK2

extract from latest WIA Repeater Database

I appending YES to ones tested in last few days

A.C.T. and New South Wales
438.1375 432.7375 VK2RHP Horsley Park Sydney (L) O - - - NME -        YES, LINKED TG10400
438.175 433.175 VK2RMB Terrey Hills Sydney O 5 150 3 2MB 91.5 1     YES, soon to be linked
438.200 432.800 VK2RCG Sydney Sydney City O - - - NME -                   YES, LINKED TG10400
438.275 432.875 VK2RWS Berowra North Sydney O - - - NWN 91.5 80
438.425 433.425 VK2RLE Engadine Sydney O 50 110 3 2LE -                   YES
438.450 433.450 VK2RCF Carlingford Sydney O - - - NME 91.5                YES
438.575 433.575 VK2ROT Paddington Sydney O 50 90 3 2BV 91.5 23       YES
438.675 433.675 VK2RPL Mt Nardi Lismore O 50 850 3 2SRC 123
439.600 434.600 VK2RRR Razorback SW Sydney 1/19 U - - - 2VVV 91.5
439.825 434.825 VK2RWK Kurrajong NW Sydney O - - - NWN 91.5 80
439.950 434.950 VK2RAG Somersby Central Coast O - 300 3 2EH 91.5     YES, LINKED TG10400
439.975 434.975 VK2RNS Hornsby Northern Sydney O 50 225 3.5 2MA - YES, LINKED TG10400

You can see they predominantly in and around Sydney

6metre repeater update

53.650 VK2RMP Maddens Plains is back on air,

Others
53.625 VK2RSN Newcastle,   still unknown.
53.675 VK2RMB Terrey Hills,  still off air.
53.725 VK2RAG Somersby operational, seems stronger now in signal strength
53.850 VK2RWI Dural, operational
53.875 VK2RBM  Blue Mountains,   can not key it lately.