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Phil Wait

VK2ASD

Contact Details

About Phil Wait

Past WIA President comenced 2012, Vice President immediately before then and WIA director since 2004.
He has held a passion for electronics from early primary school. Along with expanding his interests in radio and electronics while at Sydney Grammar School, he took out an Amateur Radio licence in 1968, a hobby which set the course of his career. Along the way he discovered the delights of sailing.

His professional career began as an Overseas Telecommunications Commission trainee, giving him experience in satellite and terrestrial telecommunications, radio communications and switching systems. He obtained an Electronics & Communications Engineering Certificate at North Sydney TAFE.

Then a move to academia involved the Department of Physiology at Sydney University, designing and building specialised equipment for various research projects, later transferring to the Electrical Engineering faculty.

There he was exposed to the intricacies of PCs, printed circuits, physiological instrumentation design and low power wireless technologies.

The next step in 1978 was the popular monthly magazine Electronics Today International (ETI), as staff engineer developing and describing numerous do-it-yourself electronic projects.

During three months in the Jakarta-Rotterdam yacht race in 1980, he contemplated the future. On leaving publishing, entered the personal medical alarm industry and with a partner, acquired a business which became very significant.
As a director of the WIA since 2004, his main ambition has been to improve the attractiveness and accessibility of Amateur Radio, and work for better outcomes in all areas for existing radio amateurs.

A self-declared builder first, and operator second, he enjoys a little home-brewing of equipment both around the shack and on his yacht.

Other activities: Owner of VC International Pty Ltd and FirstCall Medical Alarms, Chair of the Personal Emergency Response Services Association (PERSA), on several Standards Australia Committees, NBN working group member concerned with the migration of analogue security and medical alarms on to the digital NBN, member of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.

Page Last Updated: Thursday 17 May 2018 at 1:27 hours