The Blue Mountains is an area about 60km west of the Sydney CBD comprising around 1,400 square kilometers of which about 70% is the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains National Park. (BMARC) was established in 1958 and provides a focal point for the Amateur Radio community in the Blue Mountains and surrounding areas. Members share information about the many diverse fields encompassed by the fasci
nating hobby of Amateur Radio including competitions, construction, education, satellite, and of course using radio to talk to the world. Meetings are held on the first Friday of each month. Visitors are welcome to come along to a couple of meetings to try us out before joining. The club operates repeaters based at Lawson in the 70cm, 2m, and 6m bands with the 2m repeater linked to IRLP Node 6366 and Echolink Node 63666
The education team provide training, support, and assessment for new and upgrading amateurs. BMARC is affiliated with the Wireless Institute of Australia. Repeaters
VK2RBM
The Blue Mountains Amateur Radio Club currently operates three repeaters under the callsign VK2RBM which is located in the Blue Mountains, about 80km to the west of Sydney. From its elevated location, it has a commanding coverage over most of Sydney.
2 Metres - 147.050 / 147.650
The 2m repeater consists of a Tait T300 producing 50W output into a duplexer, feeding into a Diamond X-510 dual band antenna located approximately 20m above ground level. The repeater is controlled by a VK5DJ PIC based repeater control unit. The club's IRLP node is accessible via the 2m repeater. The repeater superimposes a 67Hz CTCSS subtone on Transmit for those who wish to use this feature. A 123Hz CTCSS Subtone is required to access this repeater.
70 Centimetres - 438.375 / 433.375
The 70cm repeater consists of a Tait T300 Series 2, producing 50W output into a duplexer, feeding into a Diamond X-510 dual band antenna located approximately 20m above ground level. The repeater is controlled by a VK2XCT PICAXE based repeater control unit. A 123Hz CTCSS Subtone is required to access the repeater. The repeater superimposes a 123Hz CTCSS subtone on Transmit for those who wish to use this feature.
6 Metres - 53.875 / 52.875
The 6m repeater consists of a Philips FM-814E producing 50W output into a duplexer, feeding into a vertical co-axial dipole antenna located approximately 8m above ground level. A 123Hz CTCSS Subtone is currently not required to access the repeater, however it will be required in the future. The repeater superimposes a 123Hz CTCSS subtone on Transmit for those who wish to use this feature. For more information about our repeaters, please email the repeater manager. Membership
Blue Mountains Amateur Radio Club Inc. is an incorporated association currently with around 86 members who have a wide range of Amateur Radio related interests. We are always looking for new members and membership is open to anyone with an interest in Amateur Radio. Please take advantage of the great camaraderie, the sharing of knowledge, the training, the competitions and many other benefits of membership by downloading and completing a membership application and bringing it along to a meeting or posting it to the secretary. Also, by becoming a member your membership fee will help fund things like the club repeaters, rent for the club rooms, and the many other expenses associated with the services provided by the club. Meetings - Nets
Meetings
Meetings are held at 8pm on the first Friday of each month at the club's rooms. Visitors are welcome to come along and try us out a couple of times before applying to join the club. There is usually general club business followed by a ham related topic of discussion or a presentation along with the chance to interact with current or prospective amateur radio operators. Also, sometimes, there are goodies for sale. Don't miss out on picking up that bit of information that will help you make you next contact or to try a different mode or just come along for a social chit chat with your new or old bon ami. Members are encouraged to participate, and visitors are welcome too. Tuesday Night HF Net
Tuesday evenings from 2000 on 3543kHz(+/- QRM). Wednesday Night VHF Net
Wednesday evenings from 2000 on the club's 2 metre repeater.
