Profiles Of Australian CB Clubs
UHF ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED
......affiliated
with
P.O. Box 316, Cloverdale, Western
Australia 6105.
The UHF ASSOCIATION OF W.A. INC. was first conceived and the foundations set
during on air discussions by a small group of UHFer's on the Perth Channel 1
repeater. The response was positive, so a further gathering was arranged and a
BBQ meeting was held in September 1983 in Kings Park, with about 60 local
operators attending what became the first official meeting of the UHF Assoc. of
W.A.
Only months earlier, Perth's first repeater had begun operation north of Perth,
and UHF CB underwent a miniature boom period, Don WAC705 a founder member
explained the UHF Assoc. of W.A. came about to get the UHF service off to the
best possible start in W.A. Not a policing body, but just a friendly group with
the best aims in mind, which can be summed up by the club's motto
"Courtesy, Communication, Responsibility", the official callsign of
the club is WCB666 which was granted in November 1984.
The Channel 8 repeater is located at Kalamunda, on the Darling Scarp overlooking
Perth, and is totally owned, licensed and maintained by the Association. It was
put into service in 1989 and has been in continuous use ever since, kept in good
shape by our volunteer technicians.
The UHF Assoc. of W.A. was instrumental in helping to establish the Margaret
River Busselton repeater MGR06, and has helped in fund raising for the purchase
of the Channel 7 repeater by the Mandurah and Districts Repeater Group Inc.
The present UHF Assoc. of W.A. membership is spread throughout the Perth metro
area and to the Southwest of the state, as quite a few members belong to other
repeater and 27MHz groups. It has always maintained there should be no
competition between clubs and all should work together for the good of all CBers.
As the authorities no longer put out any information on the correct use of CB
radio, the Association puts out an information sheet to anyone on request, and
also to some CB radio shops in Perth.
The Association has weekly news, information and callback every Wednesday night,
as well as a quiz night on a Monday, this is for fun only and open to members
and non-members. In the past it has had a lot of interruptions but the
Association has always done its best to keep these programs going to air.
In 1993 the club membership declined to rock bottom levels, due to abuse and
trouble makers on air. It was decided to lower the subscriptions to $12.00 full
membership and $6.00 pensioners and students, also instead of a quarterly
newsletter, the Association put out a monthly news sheet, because operators
couldn't talk on air without it being spoilt by troublemakers. Monthly picnics
are held to encourage operators to meet one another, which have been held
regardless of weather. Finances are raised by holding fun raffles and sales of
jams and pickles, and as a thank you to members, two or three free BBQ's each
year are held. From small numbers in the beginning the picnic attendances have
gone from 10 or 12 to an average of 60, with Christmas picnics having 130
members and friends attending.
Over the past few years the Association has been involved with collecting for
Telethon, its President, Anne WA58l4, and her loyal band of helpers have set up
a caravan on the Telethon weekend, in the centre of Perth, near the Princess
Margaret Children's hospital, and through Friday night, Saturday night and
Sunday morning have collected from passer-by's and motorists, with over the past
7 years collecting in excess of $22,000.00. The best year being 1996 with
a total of $6,250.00, and through other clubs our members contribute to the
Royal Flying Doctor Service.
The UHF Assoc. of W.A. has also helped to spread the word around the
state, of issues relating to discussion papers and the encroachment of the band
by non CBRS and commercial users wanting to take over, information which
thankfully ACBRO has supplied. Its aims will always be to promote the CBRS as it
should always be CITIZEN BAND RADIO.
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