An Amazing
Welcome !
Welcome to the Bayside District Amateur Radio Society Inc (BDARS), one of the most active amateur radio clubs in south-east Queensland.
Our Vision
To make a fulfilling and engaging experience for the wide variety of our members interests within Radio and Electronics.
Centred in Brisbane’s beautiful bayside area, our meeting venue is the Redland Museum in Cleveland. Members are from all over south-east Queensland with several based interstate and some overseas. In 2023, membership was numbering in the 80’s.
The aim of our Society is to progress the hobbies of amateur radio, electronics and technology locally both through training courses and accreditation radio examinations, and social and technical meet-ups to encourage and share our experiences.
Our Special Interest Groups (SIG’s)
Amateur Radio and DX
Challenged by nature and others in our community.
- BDARS is active in the local and worldwide amateur radio contests.
- Field days and competitive collaboration
- Mountains and Parks cross-country bush
- Mobile based radio
Tech for technologists
Buy it, make our own, or invent it.
- Workshops on soldering
- Kit building
- Learning how to use instrumentation
- Measuring and modelling antennas
- Digital comms
- Software Defined Radio
Social and Friendly
Building a supportive social community.
- Regular social coffee meet-ups for chats and note-swapping
- Assistance setting up your station and antennas
- Tech nights,
- Training classes
- General meetings
If you’re not yet a licensed amateur radio operator, BDARS is here to help you get certified and on the air. Visit our Start Here page to begin your journey!
The club has great facilities (2 metre and 70cm repeaters, remote HF and VHF/UHF stations) and several regular monthly activities. Members are kept well informed with regular emails, WhatsApp and Discord groups – plus of course Facebook. Members are active in contesting, and there is a Makers/Electronics group.
The society is in a strong financial position, with a good asset base. Annual operations are funded through membership fees, fundraising (Hardware Store sausage sizzle) and from time to time, donations. Major capital projects have been funded by grants from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund and from the Redland City Council.
The inaugural meeting of the Bayside District Amateur Radio Society was held at Alexandra Hills State High School on Friday 20th October 1989. There were 32 members and the first president was Don Thompson, callsign VK4YI (now a silent key).
In 1991, the Society installed its first VHF repeater, VK4RBS, transmitting from Alexandra Hills to enhance local amateur radio coverage. This was complemented in 2009 by the addition of a UHF repeater, generously donated and installed by club member VK4DCM.
Building on this foundation, the Society launched an exciting project in 2018 to commission three new repeaters at Mount Cotton—greatly expanding our capabilities. In 2025, a fourth repeater was added to the site, further strengthening our network and support for the amateur radio community.
