Profiles Of Australian CB Clubs
BENDIGO SIDEBAND RADIO CLUB INCORPORATED
The Bendigo Sideband Radio Club Inc. was
formed by a group of enthusiastic radio operators on the 13th.September 1977
which was a short time after legalisation of the 27 Mhz. C.B. Band, This was the
birth of the BSB Club. It consisted of a group of local persons who were
primarily interested in communicating on the then new phenomenon of Citizens
Band radio. From this contact a bond was established between members and their
families which exists to this day with several founding members still present
and active in the club.
In addition to radio communication, management of the club organises regular
social activities intended to maintain interest in the club for all members and
their families including those who are not radio operators. Although the
clubs’ primary intention is social and not directed at fund raising it was
soon evident that members were keen to contribute their efforts, particularly if
the money raised was directed to local charitable groups.
The members have worked very hard in fund raising activities, like radio
talkathons, white elephant sales, garage sales, fishing competitions etc. from
which many thousands of dollars were raised and donated to local charities In
the early stages after introduction of Citizens Band radio it was relatively
easy to conduct "Talk A Thons” on this medium and solicit contributions
from other operators both locally and from all over Australia as under certain
atmospheric conditions it is possible to communicate over long distances. In
September 1978 a total of $2,392 was raised by this method and donated to the
Noah’s Ark Toy Library for handicapped children in Bendigo. By June 1980 a
further $1,500 was raised and presented to the handicapped children’s Toy
Library.
However, as the novelty of C.B. Radio diminished with consequently less
operators this method of fund raising formed only a small part in latter fund
raising activities. A White Elephant auction conducted in 1983 raised $530 which
was donated to the Bendigo Salvation Army Local Building Fund. On Sunday 19th.
October 1986 after many months of organizing, seeking out sponsors, mapping out
a section of river and sending out entry forms all over Victoria and New South
Wales, the Club conducted a FISHING BOAT REGATTA on the Loddon River. The
regatta, 35km long, Started from Laanecoorie and finished at Bridgewater.
(Central Victoria) All craft in the regatta were restricted to hulls of
conventional construction of the V or punt type, powered by outboard motors no
more than 15hp. and all were split into different classes according to engine
size. The idea of fishing boat regatta's originated in some parts of America,
and later on adopted by fishing boat enthusiasts in Western Australia. Regatta's
were soon set up around Victoria and NSW on rivers and lakes, and now there are
many events on the calendar.
The BSB & District News service has also had a very big impact on C.B.Radio
in and around the Bendigo area, keeping operators informed of social events of
all radio clubs, information on new equipment and more importantly information
on the new radio laws that change from time to time, and not forgetting the ever
so popular swap shop conducted on the news service each Thursday evening. Over
the past few years a computer segment has been added to the news broadcast to
further broaden the interests of the listeners.
The BSB and District News Service came about from on air discussions between the
BSB06 John and BSB10 Bill (now deceased.) These ideas were presented to other
club members at the next general meeting and as the proposal was given an
enthusiastic reception it was decided to "give it a go." BSB06 John
and the then BSB10 Bill volunteered as news readers and with Bill's QTH located
on one of the highest points in Bendigo it was decided to broadcast the News
Service from there. The News proved to be very popular with the local CB
community with up to 150 operators listing their call signs on the roll call in
those early days. From BSB10's near perfect location radio coverage was good
with regular line of sight copies in a radius encompassing Ballarat in the south
to Echuca and Deniliquin in the north and of course no shortage of skip contacts
from interstate as well.
The News is still being presented each Thursday evening at 20:00 Hrs. on
27.225Mhz.LSB (channel 22) After 18 years and quite a few news readers. The only
nights the news hasn't been put to air in all those years are the few short
breaks that have been had over the Christmas period. At the helm in
the news room at this time is the BSB21 Bill, so if you are reading this and you
have access to a radio please have a listen some Thursday evening and break into
the news net with your comments! The Club would love to hear from you.
Bendigo Sideband Radio Club Incorporated P.O Box 277 Bendigo Victoria 3552
website
email
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