Coffs Harbour and District Amateur Radio Club

03/09/2025

The Coffs Harbour and District Amateur Radio Club covers the Coffs Coast of New South Wales from Woolgoolga in the north, to Dorrigo in the west and Kempsey in the south.

CHADARC members experiment with radio equipment, linked computers and associated antenna systems. Most are licensed amateur operators. CHADARC is also open to persons generally interested in radio and electronics, such as shortwave listeners and Citizens’ Band (CB) radio users.

Contact Information

Email: secretary AT chadarc DOT org DOT au or by this form
Note: The Club doesn’t have a physical email address or general telephone number.

Download

Download a PDF version of this page.

Clubhouse

The clubhouse is located at Rex Hardaker Oval, Hogbin Drive, Toormina 2452 NSW. See the listing on Google Maps.

Nets

The club hosts three nets per week at the following Coffs/Sydney/NSW time:

Monday: 2000 hours on 80 metres at LSB 3.609 MHz or 3.613 MHz if there’s QRM
Wednesday and Friday: 2000 hours on 2 metres at 146.850 MHz through repeater VK2RCH-R and Echo Link Node 719656
On EDT in summer, 2000 hours is 1000 hours UTC (UTC +10). On EST in summer, 2000 hours is 0900 UTC (UTC +11).

Weekly gathering

Members and guests gather every Thursday at the clubhouse between 1000 and 1400 hours local time. There’s a nominal fee to attend, covering refreshments. See the weekly gather calendar.

Monthly lunch

Members and guests gather on the last Sunday of every month for a lunch at a local restaurant or club. See the monthly lunch calendar.

Formal club meetings

Quarterly general meetings are held in May, November and February. The Annual General Meeting is held in August.

Online

The club has several online presences:

Web: www.chadarc.org.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/coffsamateurradio
QRZ: www.qrz.com/db/VK2EP
WIA: www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk2/CoffsHarbourAndDistrictAmateurRadioClub
Licencing

The club provides testing for licence applicants. Contact Les Sidebottom (Email contact)

Club Committee (2025-26)

President, Russell Ashdown (VK2VK), Phone: 0409 155 123 (Email contact)
Vice President, Les Sidebottom (VK2CPC). Phone: 0490 875 384 (Email contact)
Secretary and Treasurer, Steve Horsfall (VK2TEV), Phone: 0418 281 045 (Email contact)
There are three other committee members and six other appointed officers.
History

In September 1978, three local amateurs felt there was a lack of activity in the area and that a club would help develop the hobby. They wrote to all amateurs in the area bounded by Macksville, Dorrigo and Woolgoolga, inviting them to a meeting to be held at the Ocean View Hotel, Urunga, on 15th October 1978, and the rest is history! (Read more)

Repeaters

The club operates six repeaters on 6 metres, 2 metres and 70 cm.

02/06/2023

It appears that the Australian Maritine College (AMC) will not be continuing with the exam process from February 2024. From this time the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has indicated it will be resuming the services itself via the existing club sponsored examiners. The current proposal is the results of the exams will be available on the day. There are moves that a 'Class Licence' system will also be introduced. This sounds like a simpler process is being introduced. Stay posted for updates.

08/04/2023

Hello All.

Chadarc will be operating at Smoky Cape this coming 19th-20th August '23, the lighthouse weekend.
Please inform the club secretary by email, or me, if you would like to participate in this yearly event.
We would anticipate between 4 to 6 people attending.
Also indicate if you will be over-nighting and number of nights.
We anticipate using the stables area again as in previous years.
You will need to bring food, water, bedding,. and warm clothing.
More info as it becomes available.
Thanks,,, vk2fm.

11/09/2021

REOPENING OF THE CLUB HOUSE.

The clubhouse of the C.H.A.D.A.R.C will reopen this Thursday the 16th September, 2021 at 10am.

Members and guests are invited to come to the clubhouse and enjoy a cup of coffee and fellowship.

Face masks must be worn in and out of the clubhouse. Covid-19 health rules apply.

Regards Russ. Russ VK2VK President C.H.A.D.A.R.C.

11/08/2021

VK2RMY has been linked to the North West Amateur Radio Group's network of repeaters (VK2RBK, VK2RNW, VK2RAB, VK2RNW & VK2RAD) on the other side of the range. Calling upon it will call on all repeaters. To identify if a calling station is on the local repeater you will hear a single trailing beep. If it is sourced from the network you will hear a double beep. No other functions are present.

03/10/2020

Want to get your licensing notices sooner? Go paperless and switch to email. Let us know at [email protected]

10/06/2020

Are you an amateur radio user? Sign up for our new amateur radio e-bulletin to get updates on a range of amateur radio issues.
ACMA supports amateur radio users by providing access to frequency bands. We do this while balancing other demands for spectrum.
Consulting with the amateur radio community is also an important part of our role. This means we review submissions from amateur radio clubs, representative bodies and individuals as part of our work.
Get the latest news about amateur radio, changes to regulations, and invitations to have your say on upcoming consultations.
Sign up today by visiting: https://www.acma.gov.au/subscribe-our-newsletters

06/01/2020

If anybody wishes to know what callsigns are now publicly available then check the AMC link at:

The Australian Maritime College is an institute of the University of Tasmania | CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B | RTO ID: 60131

22/11/2019

Posted on behalf of Brad Crowe

First photos taken yesterday of a burnt out repeater site. The (Grafton, NSW) Clarence Valley Amateur Radio Group's intrepid ground crew got special permission to do first reconnaissance, dodging smouldering trees and stumps and fallen trees they found this devastation which occurred about a week earlier. Lost is a 70cm Amateur and a UHF CB repeater. Luckily the shack and tower are still standing and solar panels although untested appear to be unaffected. Lost are all transmitting equipment, controllers, duplexer and batteries. Unfortunately, VK2RCR and VMD2 repeaters will be out of action for some time.