The Black Mountain Telstra Communications Tower

For those who are able to join us on Friday evening the 28th, there will be a once in a life-time opportunity to explore the technical side of the national capital's well known landmark, Black Mountain Telstra Communications Tower. Exclusive for WIA Centenary Convention registrants will be a series of guided tours in areas never seen by the general public. Learn about the history of this 30-year old communications and broadcast facility as well as your opportunity to see Canberra by night from the towers observation deck. Limited bookings are available for the Black Mountain Telstra Communications Tower tour.

The tower was comissioned in 1980 having provided vital microwave communication facilities for Canberra. Today, much of Canberra's long haul telecommunications requirements are provided by optic fibre, the tower however, continues to be home to Canberra's television and radio broadcast transmitters, some microwave communications services and a number of two way radio repeaters.

The tower has both indoor and outdoor observation decks providing 360 degree views of Canberra and the surrounding City and countryside, a café and a gift shop as well as housing the revolving Alto Tower Restaurant. There are floors for video conferencing and radio communications which are located between the 30.5 metre and 42.7 metre levels thereby providing space between for the microwave antennas, platforms and equipment for mobile services within the tower

The Black Mountain Tower is one of the most visually imposing structures on the Canberra skyline becoming one of the most symbolic landmarks in Canberra and a major tourist attraction. In 1989 the World Federation of Great Towers invited the tower to join such distinguished monuments as the Blackpool Tower in England and the Empire State Building in New York.

Equipment and views from comms room, photos above & right.

The Alto Tower Restaurant

On Friday evening at 8:30pm, dinner at the Alto Tower restaurant 54 meters up the Telstra Tower is an opportunity not to be missed. It is the ultimate way to experience the beauty of Canberra. Located approximately 10 minutes from Canberra City centre the restaurant offers fine food, fine wine, good parking and wheelchair access. The Alto dining room floor is a revolving platform much like a large turntable, the building remains stationary whilst you are transported on the revolving floor approximately twice per hour enabling you to enjoy a panoramic views without leaving your seat. A special WIA Centenary menu of just $54 per head for a two course meal has been negotiated with the restaurant.

WIA Special Alto Menu

The $54 per head menu will be served as alternates, a choice of Salmon and Herb (Lightly cured and pan roasted served with a warm salsa Verde, capsicum and onion caponata) and Alto Mignon and Onion (Fillet wrapped in prosciutto and butter roasted, confit of shallot and garlic, warm Serrano cured ham) and for desert Clafloutis de Prune Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream and warm chilli maple or Mana Maori Golden Caramel pudding, nutmeg cream and Port scented currants. Wine, beer and soft drink will be available for purchase on the night. Please ensure that your Alto booking is made by completing the online registration form below. Please do not contact the restaurant directly.

Rydges Lakeside Hotel

The Rydges Lakeside Hotel on London Circuit, Canberra City will be the venue for the majority of the weekend activities. A special room rate of $150 per night for a standard room has been negotiated with Rydges Lakeside for participants of the WIA Convention. When phoning the hotel please ask for Inhouse Reservations and quote the group block code F-2805WIA to receive the discounted $150 room rate. Rydges Lakeside also offer a Full Buffet Breakfast at $19 per person for anyone who has booked using the special group block code. You can contact Rydges Lakeside Inhouse Reservations on (02) 6247 6244

The WIA 2007 Annual General Meeting

The WIA Annual General Meeting

On Saturday morning the 30th May 2010 the Wireless Institute of Australia will conduct its national Annual General Meeting of members. This year’s AGM will be held in Lake Michigan room at Rydges Lakeside, commencing at 9:00am.

The AGM will be followed by the presentation of awards, after which the Open Forum will commence with reports presented on all WIA activities over the year and the opportunity to raise any issue desired. Morning tea and coffee will be served at 10:30am

The WIA Centenary Through Word, Picture, and Artefacts

This Saturday afternoon program will cover topics from the history of the beginning of wireless communications in Australia, through individuals specific contributions to the art and look at future directions for amateur radio. Subject matter will be highly informative providing something of interest for all. Presentations will be supported by a display of wireless artefacts, images from the past on paper, video, slide shows and historical film of interest for all.

	Peter Wolfenden VK3RV Historical Presentation Coordinator - Setting the scene Early wireless was the domain of Professors, Physicists and Electrical Engineers. Then came the inquisitive – those who could see some potential beyond the lecture room and the military/naval requirements. They were the experimenters. But for them to survive, it was essential for their interests to be recognised by the galloping government bureaucracy. Amateurs often lead the way in early radio developments and their representative organisation, the Wireless Institute of Australia was instrumental in their survival.
	Deane Blackman VK3TX Discovering the past – The The Amateur Wireless Society of Victoria minute book and the 1914 call book H.H. Blackman was a wireless experimenter (as amateurs were then called) in the period up to (and after) the First World War. I am his nephew, and when he died I was given the opportunity to examine his shack. The technical material was disappointing, but the non-technical finds were exciting: a printed list of experimenters for 1914, in our terms a call book, and probably the first of its kind in the world; and the hand-written minute book of the Amateur Wireless Society of Victoria, founded in November 1911. The presentation will offer some details about my uncle, an account of the discovery of the material, and discuss some pages from both the call book and the minute book.
	Peter Freeman VK3PF Overview of developments in VHF, UHF & Microwave in Australia. Just as “wireless” was emerging as new technology, many consider that the short wave bands would be useless for communications. However, the amateurs proved that not to be case and went on to explore frequencies into the VHF, UHF and microwave spectrum. Several notable Australian amateurs have played significant roles in our understanding of these portions of the spectrum. Several notable achievements will be outlined
	Phil Wait VK2ASD Radio Amateurs who have changed history. It's not good enough to simply have a good idea. It needs to be the right idea at the right time. This short discussion will identify some radio amateurs who have been in the right spot at the right time, and changed the world as we know it.
	Drew Diamond VK3XU Experimental methods in Home construction From the very beginnings of radio (or "wireless") at the end of the 19th century, amateur experimenters have used various physical methods of building their circuits and devices for testing. In the 1920's and 30's, many amateur workers literally used a bread cutting board as a base for circuit construction. An example of the "bread-board" method will be shown. As skills and hardware availability improved, amateurs generally used easily worked materials such as Bakelite, wood, and then for a long time - aluminium sheet, to construct chassis and panels. A typical example of a chassis-and-panel "Radio & Hobbies" regenerative receiver will be discussed. With the almost universal adoption of printed-circuit board methods of mass-production from about the 1950's, amateurs were quick to apply many and various "dodges" for prototyping using circuit board materials, for which one or two practicable methods will be illustrated.
	Tony Hutchison VK5ZAI Amateur Radio & Manned Space Flight, then and now The early days of amateur radio activity on the Space Shuttles and Mir were somewhat random and largely disorganised by comparison with today's activities.  Now an international team works with schools around the world participating in the ARISS program. Over the years some humorous and at times serious situations arose which many amateurs would not be aware of. Tony will share some of these together with issues surrounding amateur equipment being carried on the International Space Station and some of the experiments conducted. The future of ham radio in space will be briefly addressed.
	Norma O'Hare VK2YL The early years of ALARA - Ladies in amateur radio Norma will relate how a small group of young ladies encouraged each other to participate in amateur radio which further encouraged others to take an interest. From this activity, during July 1975, LARA – The Ladies Amateur Radio Association was born in Victoria. A national organisation LARA (Australia) came into existence in December 1976 and was re-named as ALARA in June 1978. Other earlier women amateur operators will be mentioned along with an outline of current activities and changes in licensing rules and examination styles which have assisted the growth of female participation..
	Graham Kemp VK4BB Radio Always has been – Always will be The Cat's Whisker WIA News Presenter and Editor Graham Kemp VK4BB will take us on a trip down Radio’s Memory Lane. From pre Marconi and Edison days to today’s Digital Radio Plus, from Ham Radio to Commercial Radio, ABC and SBS, just close your eyes and remember sitting in front of Mum and Dads Bakelite Box as VK4BB weaves the sounds of those times with an insight into not only the WIA National News Service but his 50+ years in Australian Commercial Radio.
	Justin Giles-Clark VK7TW Modern Commmunication Technologies - A Review and the Future A whirl-wind tour of current and future communications techniques that have and are being used and experimented with in amateur radio circles. You may have heard of things like SDR, WSJT, DVB-T and many other baffling acronyms. Well, this presentation will hopefully give you a taste of what is out there and provide some clues as to what may be ahead.

Alternative Program
Saturday Tour For XYL's And Partners

The WIA hopes that XYL's and partners will also choose to join in for the AGM weekend of activities. The weekend planning also includes an optional Saturday program of relaxing social activities of interest to XYL's and partners, as an alternative to attending the Saturday AGM and historical presentations. The tour is being provided by "Canberra Day Tours" a professional tour company. Lunch is included, as is a one hour cruise on Lake Burley Griffin on an air-conditioned cruise boat (pictured below).

The Saturday Tour Program

The tour will Depart Rydges Lakeside at 9:00am then travel to Mt Ainslie Lookout for panoramic view of Canberra. The tour will then spend time at the Australian War Memorial then travel to the National Portrait Gallery/National Art Gallery both are within 50 metres of each other so participants may choose to view whatever interests them most. Lunch will be served, then after lunch the tour will visit the National Museum of Australia, and travel to Parliament House where participants may wander around at own leisure. At 4.00pm the tour will arrive at Lake Burley Griffin for the one hour Lake Cruise, the boat is fully air-conditioned and has toilets on board. At the conclusion of the boat cruise the tour will drive through Embassy Belt & past the Lodge and back to Rydges Lakeside for an arrival time of 5:30pm

Saturday Evening Centenary Dinner

On Saturday evening the WIA will host it's Centenary dinner. It's shaping up to be a real highlight of the weekend. The dinner will be attended by many local and international guests, members of Parliament, ACMA representitives as well as some well know public identities, all gathering together in the one place to celebrate the history and hobby of amateur radio. The evening will be a great social occasion as well as providing an opportunity for few words from some key people.

Dinner Menu
The $49 per head Centenary dinner will be two course Buffet style:

Main : Baker’s basket withsourdough, white & multigrain rolls & crusty baguettes, Petit lettuce salad, vine ripe tomato, Seeded mustard & spring onion potato salad, Basil pesto & semi dried tomato pasta salad, Lakeside antipasto double smoked ham, Primo salami, balsamic roasted eggplant & marinated fetta, Slow roasted Angus beef, Loin of pork, cinnamon apple compote, Macadamia & apricot stuffed leg of lamb, Rosemary roast potatoes, Maple glazed pumpkin.

Desserts : Wild berry pavlova, Fruit platter, Australian cheese board, Freshly brewed coffee & tea.

Wine, beer and soft drink will be available for purchase on the night.

ARISS Contact
One significant way in which Radio Amateurs can share their hobby with the community is through the ARISS program. ARISS provides todays youth with an opportunity to speak directly with the astronauts aboard the international space station by way of amateur radio and with the assistance of local radio amateurs and radio clubs. As part of the Centenary dinner program we will be making contact with the International Space Station via amateur radio and we will hear from the astronauts on the ISS. Ten students will have an opportunity to ask questions of the austronauts.

Guest Speaker Dick Smith VK2DIK
The WIA is very pleased to have Dick Smith VK2DIK as guest speaker at the centenary dinner. Dick is one of Australia's best known entrepreneurs, businessman, aviator and modern day explorer.

Dick obtained his amateur licence when he was 17, founded Dick Smith Electronics, the Australian Geographic and Dick Smith Foods. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1999 for service to the aviation industry, and was the 1986 Australian of the Year.

The WIA Centenary dinner is shaping up to be a memorable occasion and we hope that you will be able to join us. Please ensure that your Centenary dinner booking is made using the online registration form below. Please do not contact the Rydges directly regarding your dinner booking.

VK1WIA Sunday Morning Broadcast

The weekly Sunday morning VK1WIA broadcast hosted by Graham Kemp VK4BB will be transmitted live from an outside broadcast studio set up in a Canberra park. The broadcast will be aired live at 8:00am and simultaniously recorded, with the mp3 recording uploaded to the WIA website at the conclusion of the broadcast for rebroadcasters around Australia to download.

Come and watch history in the making, as we put to air the very first VK1WIA news broadcast live to air from a park in the nations capital.

Sunday - All Day
Public Displays of Amateur Radio

Public displays of amateur radio are being mounted in a local Canberra park with the assistance of the Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club. A chance to demonstrate the hobby of amateur radio to the people of Canberra, show how the skills learnt can be valuable for education, public service and communication in times of emergency. An exercise in amateur radio public relations where the community can see and experience the fun and public service capability that their "radio amateur" neighbours bring to the community.

Sunday BBQ at Aviation & Radio Museum

To describe it as a ‘hidden gem’ is an understatement when we refer to Dick Smith's Bowylie Flying Club located on a Gundaroo Property just 30 minutes north of Canberra. This privately owned aviation museum is home to a wide range of carefully restored aviation related memorabilia and display of historical radio equipment. It is sure to be of great interest to WIA Centenary weekend participants.

Special event station VK100WIA

Special event station VK100WIA will be operating from the Rydges Lakeside Hotel and calling CQ throughout the weekend on HF, IRLP and Echolink.

Manned by WIA members on a roster basis, contact with the special event station over the AGM weekend is expected to raise a considerable amount of interest throughout the worldwide amateur fraternity.

Centenary Weekend Registration

Please ensure that you use the online registration form at the bottom of this webpage to register your attenance for the weekend activities. A $75 per head registration fee is charged for participation in the weekend activities (aside from attending just the AGM and Open Forum meetings).

The registration fee covers costs associated with running the weekend program, the use of the conference facilities, provision of Saturday lunch etc. Bookings are expected to fill quickly, you are encouraged to register early.

Registered weekend participants will also receive a Centenary conference satchel being presented with the compliments of Icom Australia. Each satchell will contain a Centenary callbook, Centenary tie pin, WIA pen, our re-released CD "The Sounds of Amateur Radio Vol 1" and Amateur Radio magazines from1933 to 1939 on CD in pdf format. Weekend participants will also receive a complimentary Centenary poster for their shack wall.

Online Registration

The centenary registration fee of $75 per head will automatically be calculated when you use the online booking form below. Please note, if you have young children under the age of 12 who you plan to bring to the weekend and these children are not involved in amateur radio, then please do not record them using the online form, instead simply phone the WIA office and speak with Margaret or Dianne. We require to know how many will be coming for seating and catering purposes.

Travelling To Canberra

By car Canberra is 288km south of Sydney, 647km north of Melbourne, 1204km east of Adeiade and 1268km south of Brisbane. Take M5 motorway connecting with the Hume Highway (Route 31); turn off to Canberra on Federal Highway beyond Goulburn.

By air Canberra has a small domestic airport about 15mins drive from the City centre. Both Qantas (131313) and Virgin Blue (13 6789) fly there several times a day; the trip from Sydney takes 30-40mins. Book flights to Canberra. By train CountryLink's very handy Xplorer train service (13 2232) runs from Central Station to Canberra and back again three times a day. The trip takes just over 4hrs.

Tourist information Canberra Visitor Centre 330 Northbourne Avenue, Dickson (1300 554114 or 6205 0044/ accommodation 1300 733 228) Open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday and 9am- 4pm Saturday and Sunday.

Arriving At The Rydges Lakeside

Rydges Lakeside Canberra Hotel
London Circuit Canberra City ACT 2600
Phone:+61 2 6247 6244

From the Canberra Airport - 10 Kilometers West Travelling towards Canberra City along Morshead Road which becomes Parkes Way, turn right onto Coranderrk Street at main roundabout, then left onto Constitution Avenue. At the second set of lights turn left onto London Circuit. Rydges Canberra is located on the left hand side.

Car parking is available at $12.00 per day (subject to availability). There is also government paid parking opposite the front of the hotel.

Rydges Lakeside Floorplan

Below is the level one floorplan of the Rydges Hotel detailing the various meeting rooms used by the WIA.

Detailed Centenary Convention Program & Timetable

Location

Event

Location

Event

Welcome, outline of procedure

Region 1 EC member - The challenges facing amateur radio in Region 1

Presidents Report on behalf of Board, with questions and comments.

Pre dinner drinks available at the Hotel bar.
Please note all drinks must be purchased, drinks are not included in the evening meal package.

Location

Event

Live to air broadcast of VK1WIA National News Broadcast. Broadcast will be recorded and MP3 file uploaded to WIA website at the conclusion of the broadcast (Note : park location details to be advised)

Sightseeing and visit local tourist attractions for weekend participants.

Sightseeing and visit local tourist attractions for weekend participants.

Accommodation

Rydges Lakeside Canberra Hotel
London Circuit Canberra City ACT 2600
Phone:+61 2 6247 6244
Web : www.rydges.com.au
Email : reservations_rydges@rydges.com

A special discount rate of $150 per night is being offered to WIA AGM weekend attendees, quote the group block code F-2805WIA when booking.

Canberra Motor Village
Kunzea St
O'Connor ACT 2601
Phone : (02) 6247 5466
Fax : (02) 6249 6138
Web : www.canberravillage.com
Email : reservation@canberravillage.com