The Bayside and Districts Amateur Radio Society (BDARS) proudly participated in the Redlands Coast Museum Mighty Machines Monday, 10 August 2026.
The Museum’s Community Day was held as part of its broader efforts to establish itself as a significant tourist attraction in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic Games. The event also provided an opportunity to recognise and highlight the valuable contribution made by local community organisations, businesses and the emergency services involved in our region.
The event gave us an excellent opportunity to promote our hobby, introduce local families to amateur radio, and build stronger links with the wider community.
Amateur radio operations were also well represented. Eddie VK4TJE, Graham VK4GRE, Noel VK4VKF and Michael VK4GOG established a mobile station outside the Museum, alongside the Mighty Vehicles display. Inside, visitors were able to connect remotely to the Club’s FlexRadio station located at Mt Cotton and listen to live QSOs, giving them another opportunity to experience amateur radio in action.
A major attraction was the CubeSat demonstration presented by Vice President John VK4JBE. His impressive exhibit featured two full-size CubeSat models connected through an RF communications system. The demonstration also led to many interesting conversations with visitors about space communications, satellites and the role amateur radio technology can play in this field.
The younger visitors were particularly well catered for through an interactive activity area as Bob VK4YA brought along BDARS’s own voice-changer program and its demonstration setup. this allowed children to experiment with an audio-envelope “oscilloscope”. The “Chipmunk mode” proved to be especially popular, with plenty of laughs from those who tried it.
Overall, the hands-on activities and demonstrations were extremely well received, helping to make the day both informative and enjoyable while giving visitors a better understanding of the many different facets of amateur radio.
The excellent public response showed just how valuable events like this are for promoting BDARS and introducing new people to amateur radio. These opportunities don’t come along every day, and the success of the event was largely thanks to the members who volunteered their time, knowledge and enthusiasm.
A big thank you to everyone who came along, supported the display and helped make the day such a success. Your involvement helped showcase both BDARS and the many exciting aspects of amateur radio to our local community.
BDARS extends its thanks to the Redlands Coast Museum for the invitation and looks forward to supporting future community events.
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