May - June 2024
May - June 2024
 WIA Member Digital Edition Download
Editorial
Growing corn
One of the chief aspects or characteristics of the radio amateur community that I discovered as a teenaged shortwave listener (in addition to my compelling interests in electronics and radio), was the generosity with which the members of this community shared knowledge.
It was an enthusiastically unabashed and unfettered sharing of knowledge. This particularly struck me at the time. It still amazes me, never mind how many decades have elapsed in the meantime.
I believe that this philosophy, a protocol if you will, was no doubt adopted from the scientific community in the first instance, as exploration of wireless technology rapidly developed, spawning industries exponentially. I think that, perhaps later, this attitude of sharing was also bolstered from sections of the engineering fraternity as engineering exploded ferociously in its wake.
Look at how the number and variety of special interest technical journals came about across the late 19th and through the 20th century. The creation and development of the internet has lustily served to proliferate technical knowledge.
I guess I was fortunate in my callow youth, from that housing commission estate in North Parramatta on the then-outskirts of Sydney, to encounter long-seasoned amateurs of the era who were well endowed with wide-ranging knowledge and well-imbued with that knowledge-sharing life philosophy. They were unsparing when it came to sharing. My cranial sponge accepted whatever was proferred and showed no signs of overflowing. Time to acquire, absorb and digest it has been the only impediment.
Naturally, this philosophy rubbed off on me. Not a little. A lot! That’s how and why I took up a career in technical writing and journalism (not my first or only career).
However, in this era in which an insistent social media dominates human discourse, we could well do to remind ourselves about the parable (not a biblical one) of growing corn.
It goes something like this:
Once upon a time, a good farming couple grew corn of exceptional quality. Annually, they won top awards. A press journalist interviewed them one year, detailing their winning methods. The couple shared their seed with their neighbours! To resolve that conundrum, the journalist asked,“How does that help you win awards when your neighbours compete with you?” “It’s like this,” the couple answered. “Winds collect pollen from the maturing corn cobs, which then strews it across field after field. Now, if our neighbors grow lower-grade corn, mere cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of our corn. If we’re to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors to do so.”
The prosperity and longevity of our existence as a community of common-interest people, depends on the continuation of our embedded knowledge-sharing philosophy.
After that, a little light amusement (apologies to Dorothea Mackellar):
I love an unburnt country
Of gently sloping plains
Of lusty wombat frolics
And waveguide made from drains
On strident peak-top Field Days
While striving contact gains
I recall the smell of nature
And waveguide made from drains
Wistly rising solder smoke
Gently nudges times a-weighin’
To fact’ries man’d by blokes
And waveguide made from drains
I left that closed horizon
To venture forth on planes
To build a new beginning
And waveguide made from drains
WIA President's Comment
Board Comment
Wow, what a huge week it was for the first week of May, with the WIA Convention and AGM taking place in Bundaberg over Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th! This year, it was held in conjunction with the Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club (BARC) and what a stellar job they did in hosting the event.
We kicked off on Friday night, 3rd May, with the opening of the Convention at a casual meet and greet over drinks at the Sugarland Tavern. My thanks goes out to Mayor of Bundaberg, Helen Blackburn, for speaking and officially opening the Convention. We then settled into some networking drinks and dinner for those people that stayed.
On Saturday, the convention got underway at the local Multiplex Centre and in addition to a great range of commercial exhibitors, there was a hamfest and a great range of presentations and talks in one of the lecture rooms.
On Saturday night was the Gala dinner with around 70 people in attendance. The highlight was a live cross to the International Space Station (NA1SS) who interacted over amateur radio with a range of Bundaberg High School students.
he students asked a whole range of searching and intelligent questions. It was truly a unique and memorable occasion. Thank you to ARISS Co-Ordinator, Shane Lynd VK4KHZ, and also to Martin Diggens VK6MJ who established the contact and then patched the audio through to Bundaberg.
n Sunday, the WIA AGM took place in the morning and with all the normal proceedings. The Board announced that is had recorded a small surplus for the year ending 31 December 2023 of $10,492 and closed with a net asset position of $475,186. This also included a $20,000 provision of additional IT system development and marketing and promotional expenses.
One of the highlights of the AGM was the membership vote granting Honorary Life Membership to Robert Broomhead VK3DN. Robert has been a significant contributor to the WIA for over 35 years and this recognition was very fitting, indeed.
There was also a long list of awards presented. Further coverage of the awards will be published on the WIA website and in Amateur Radio magazine.
Some of the key awards presented included President’s Commendations to Sam Dellit VK1DXA, Dr Kevin Johnston VK4UH, and Terry Mowles VK5TM. These are awarded in recognition of an exceptional or memorable achievement in the calendar year by an individual radio amateur, club or group.
The Brenda Edmonds Award, in recognition of outstanding service in education of the amateur radio community and advancement of licensees, went to Ham College VK6HC. Brenda Edmonds distinguished herself in amateur radio education, examinations, and licensing activities for the Institute over decades.
A well-deserved Technical Excellence Award went to Andrew McColm VK3FS. This recognises demonstration of some technical excellence in any special technical aspect of amateur radio.
Peter Cossins VK3BFG received the Chris Jones Award, which recognises radio amateurs who have made an exceptional contribution to amateur radio and the WIA. Chris Jones was the Institute’s first Secretary.
WIA Contests Manager, Alan Shannon VK4SN, was granted the Michael J Owen Distinction Medal, the second highest Institute merit award, presented in recognition of services to the amateur radio community and the WIA.
The WIA AGM was attended by around 70 individuals, along with a special guest of the Board, Daniel Vandenberg ZL2DRV, who is the President of the New Zealand Amateur Radio Transmitters (NZART), the WIA counterpart in ZL. It was great to have Daniel attend the weekend in person and I particularly thank him for making the effort to travel from New Zealand.
After the AGM, the normal open forum was held. There were some great questions and discussions about the ACMA’s Five Year Spectrum Outlook (FYSO), essentially agency’s work program, plus Class licensing, and then an update on club insurance.
Overall, it was an outstanding couple of days with around 220 people attending over the three days. I want to personally acknowledge and thank the Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club and a huge thank you to all of the organising committee, but in particular, to BARC Secretary David Nebe VK4DN who did an outstanding job to make the weekend a tremendous success.
To all those members that travelled to Bundaberg from far and wide, thank you for supporting the WIA convention and AGM hosted by the Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club. Doubtless there will be more about the event appearing on the WIA website and in Amateur Radio magazine.
Table Of Contents
General
 Lightning Scatter on 1296 MHz using MSK144 - Rex Moncur VK7MO and Brodie Churchill VK3MAP
Adaptation and adoption of technology revealed in past QSLs - Fred Swainston VK3DAC, VK4FE
Amateur radio to the rescue... again! - Rick Polden VK7RI
2024 John Moyle Memorial National Field Day Contest results - Denis Johnstone VK4AE
Technical
Comprehensive, innovative test sets for processing homebrew transmitters - Part 1 - Lou Destafano VK3AQZ
A GPS-controlled frequency reference to build — Part 2 - Paul McMahon VK3DIP
The testing twists of grappling with transconductance - Phil Wait VK2ASD
A track-and-hold external VFO for tuning older radios - Jim Sosnin VK3JST
Homebrew three-band 100 W HF transceiver — final - Lou Destafano VK3AQZ
Page Last Updated: Wednesday, 29 May 2024 at 17:21 hours by Webmaster
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