About us
Cairns Amateur Radio Club provides a comfortable and friendly atmosphere in which like minded people can meet and discuss topics of common interest about radio communications and electronics.
Our Mission
To promote amateur radio activities
To foster public interest and goodwill towards amateur radio
To promote social interaction between club members and members of like clubs
To maintain and operate common facilities for the members and others as the club sees fit
To provide a communication service in the interests of public safety when requested by the appropriate authority
Things that we do
Show and tell / Portable Field days at a park
At our meeting some of the members like to bring in their current or finished amateur radio projects to show off and display to the other members. This is a great way to learn about amateur radio and gain some new skills.
We are always looking at different locations to set up for field days and amateur radio contests so that members that do not have any radio equipment at home can get out and play radio. This also gives us the chance to practice our emergency communications skills by setting up a portable station.
John Moyle Memorial Field Day
The contest is run each year in memory of the late John Moyle who was a long term editor of the Wireless Weekly, (later Radio & Hobbies – later Radio Television & Hobbies) from 1947 until his untimely death in 1960. He served in the RAAF with distinction and was responsible for a number of innovative solutions to keeping radio and radar equipment working under difficult wartime and working conditions.
The WIA decided that a suitable long term memorial to John Moyle would be a Field Day with a focus on portable or field operation. The contest has been conducted annually ever since.
International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW) is an annual event held on the third full weekend of August each year. The event was the brainchild of John Forsyth and Mike Dalrymple who were members of the Ayr Amateur Radio Group in Scotland. It is one of the most popular international amateur radio events in existence probably because there are very few rules and it is not the usual contest type event. Cairns Amateur Radio Club members get together and run a portable station from the Cooktown lighthouse.
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Cairns Amateur Radio Club is an advisor for the Local Disaster Management Group – Cairns Region, to provide backup communications if all other communications fail in the Cairns area during a disaster.
The Cairns Amateur Radio Club has a dedicated emergency communication team that regularly practice skills by setting up a portable remote station and making contact with other stations all over the world. This training prepares us for a real disaster situation if we are needed.
World Wide Flora and Fauna in Amateur Radio
World Wide Flora & Fauna in amateur radio, abbreviated as (WWFF), is an international amateur radio program, the purpose of which is to: ‘draw attention to the importance of protecting nature, flora and fauna, and to encourage the development of radio skills, especially in portable operations’. In Australia the program is known as VKFF.
Jamboree on the Air
We participate in the Queensland Scouts group’s Jamboree On The Air each year, providing communications equipment to contact other Scout Groups worldwide and to teach the Scouts about voice communication, antenna setups and how to use the equipment for part of their training to be a Scout. We even teach them how to use morse code.
Local Repeaters & Important Frequencies
Cairns Amateur Radio Club Net & Meetings
Cairns Amateur Radio Club holds a net every Wednesday night at 09:30 UTC ( 7.30pm AEST) on the Cairns hub AllStar network #599730. Everybody is welcome to call in.
Club members meet on the 2nd Sunday of each month except December, 10:30am AEST at the Northern Beaches Scout Group.