VK7TAZ

 Amateur Radio

Welcome to the world of Amateur Radio, a multifaceted and easy to learn communications hobby shared throughout the world; through which you can meet other like-minded people and have fun. It’s become very diverse and shared by three million people, from all walks of life.

It almost entirely involves the radio transmission communication between radio Amateurs, using communications methods such as voice, digital techniques, Morse code, pictures and video signals.

Amateur Radio has kept up with the times to remain an enjoyable leisure time activity. Solid-state equipment along with old home-made analogue equipment, is used to communicate globally.

At the same time, it has never been more accessible for individuals of all abilities, young or not so young, family members or workmates enabling them to become involved in this interesting hobby.

Amateur radio has played an important part in many emergencies world-wide, with many countries recognising that Amateur Radio can fill a vital role in an emergency situation.

If you are interested in becoming an Amateur radio operator, or want to know more about this hobby, please feel free to contact us.

Did you know that you use Morse Code on a daily basis?
Every time you purchase an item using a scannable Barcode you are using Morse Code. The lines on a bar code both thick and thin are a derivative of Morse code. By accident a morse code signal was smudged by a printer resulting the common bar code as we know and use today.

Getting Started

Australian amateur radio operators enjoy three different levels of licence class, each with different output power and transmission modes.

It's easy to study and obtain your licence. Our qualified instructors and assessors will guide you through the steps, whether you’re just starting out or wanting to upgrade we can help you through the process.

All amateur radio licences in Australia are governed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) . Examinations and issuing of call signs is controlled by the Australian Maritime College (AMC).

For further information please contact the club to discuss your requirements and for upcoming course dates.

Learning

At entry level there is the Foundation licence, this is the basic entry level licence where once qualified an operator can operate commercially manufactured radios only, but can experiment by making their own antennas.

Next is the Standard licence, at this level the required skill and knowledge of radio transceivers and operation increases. Once qualified at this level the operator can enjoy more output power from their equipment and access additional bands of frequencies.

Finally, there is the Advanced licence which is the highest level obtainable in Australia. At this level, operators have access to all Amateur frequencies and all transmission modes.