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WIANEWS - July 24 - VK NATIONAL NEWS
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THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK
Oh... and to contact us with your news because
If It Matters To You It Matters To Us!
email nationalnews@wia.org.au
http://www.wia.org.au (click news in member area) Submit your audio news
TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA
Please.. If you are only submitting text and not audio, write your story as
you would expect to hear it being read back and NEVER send just links & url's.
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WIANEWS WEEK COMMENCING July 24 2011.
WIA Monitoring Service request volunteers who can assist with
linguistic skills.
ANOTHER ARISSAT-1 DELAY
RD CONTEST REPORT
THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE
OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING JULY 24 2011.
WIA
President Michael Owen VK3KI president@wia.org.au
Vice President Phil Wait VK2ASD vk2asd@wia.org.au
Secretary Sarah Thompson VK3AUD secretary@wia.org.au
Treasurer John Longayroux VK3PZ vk3pz@wia.org.au
A few weeks ago we heard from WIA Director Peter Young in relation to the
WIA Monitoring Service with a request from Peter for volunteers who can
assist with linguistic skills, this to help with monitoring reports of
intruders on to our HF bands. Peter said that sometimes phone
communications are in foreign languages that once identified can assist
with the location and possible identification of the intruder. So if you
have skills particularly in Asian or Middle Eastern languages and dialects
Peter would like to hear from you. You can contact Peter by email
vk3mv@wia.org.au
ACMA NEWS
The total number of Australian internet subscribers rose by 17 per cent in 2010
and the average amount of data downloaded increased by a further 29 per cent
over the same period, according to research released by the ACMA.
'These increases reflect again the ongoing digital boom in online social and
economic activity,' said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman.
'More and more Australians are going online to do their shopping, banking and
social networking.'
The report, The internet service market and Australians in the online
environment, found that that more than 15 million people aged 14-years and over
used the internet during the December quarter of 2010, up from 14.2 million
during the same quarter in 2009.
In addition, 71 per cent of internet users went online at least once a day in
December 2010, compared to 67 per cent in December 2009 - an increase of
1.2 million users.
The 300th entry for the International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend
The milestone entry 300 is for the Rvargrund Lighthouse, under the club
station OH6NR, which plans to have a good experienced presence on the
bands.
On an island in Western Finland and one of seven from that country, it's
to be activated by DXers who on their recent outings to Rvargrund
favoured HF through 6-metres including the digimodes.
With three weeks to go there have been an average of five entries a day.
This is to escalate in the final weeks and it's not too late to get
permission to set up and make an entry.
There's lots of easily assessable lighthouses that have not yet made it on
the 2011 list. So far we have more than 40 countries in all and this too
is expected to rise. Why not join in the fun that is had on the third
weekend of August?
Visit the revised website at ILLW.NET to check out the full list of
entries, read more details or register for the International Lighthouse
and Lightship Weekend on August the 20th and 21st.
The WIA gives Australian radio amateurs and electronics enthusiasts access to
an extensive range of locally and internationally sourced publications
including those from the ARRL and the RSGB.
Our bookshop is designed to provide you with a simple and secure way to
purchase the latest amateur radio books and publications online. We use a
secure commercial e-commerce gateway for all credit card transactions and
delivery to your door is provided by Australia Post.
Purchasing the latest in amateur radio publications is both secure and easy.
We hold a wide range of the most popular publications suitable for those
starting out in the hobby as well as books popular with the more experienced
hobbyists.
If there is a particular publication that you are trying to locate that is not
listed in our online catalogue, then we would be more than happy to help you.
Please send an email with the details of the book you are looking for to
bookshop@wia.org.au
Both WIA members and non members are able to purchase from the WIA online
bookshop, however the bookshop provides significant discounts to members of
the Wireless Institute of Australia.
From time to time we do run specials on some publications, so keep an eye on
your Amateur Radio magazine each month for details.
This is Mal VK3FDSL for the WIA Bookshop
Solar panels stolen during break in Coomera.
Queensland Police are investigating the theft of between 200 and 300 solar
panels with the inverters from a business at Coomera.
Unknown offenders forced a door to the business and loaded the items on to a
truck that had earlier been reported stolen from a business at Middleton Street
Ashmore. The truck is a 2005 Isuzu FR500 Torqueliner with a white cabin and has
a blue back cover. It has attached Queensland registration plates 534 IIZ.
Members of the public are warned to be cautious of people selling solar panels
at a heavily discounted price and to be sure they check the business's or
seller's credentials before purchasing.
Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigations
should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333 000 or
crimestoppers.com.au
SILENT KEYS
Horrie Young VK2AMZ - a Life Member of the WIA / ARNSW
Horrie in WW2 was the radio operator on MV Krait in Operation Jaywick on the
Commando raid on Singapore. After WW2 he rejoined the PMG / radio branch and
ended up as Superintendent of the NSW Radio Branch.
An extensive interview script about him can be found on the internet at
The Australians at War [Archive 1815]. His farewell was held Thursday.
Horrie was heard on the 2002 and 2006 RD opening address.
http://wiaq.com/rd_archives/
He lived on the Central Coast.
The source of his passing was heard on Tuesday afternoon on the ABC Statewide
program.
(Tim VK2ZTM)
Also passing is David Thompson formerly VK2BDT.
His death occurred on Tuesday the 19th of July on his 92nd birthday.
David would be well known as VK2 president for some years and was a very active
Amateur and was the Founder and patron of the Goulburn Amateur Radio Society
now Goulburn and Southern Highland Radio Society.
David had been in failing health recently and had entered hospital for a minor
operation but sadly didn't survive.
(sourced to Ian Jeffrey VK2IJ)
HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA.
VK0
FYI - the segment is on Mawson's establishment of two way radio from Macquarie
Is and does feature MERG member Kev working DX.
ABC iView and thought you'd be interested.
13/07/11
www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/799460
VK1
Once again RATSACT will be running a JOTA station at Camp Cottermouth from the
15-16 of October. All the normal activities with the theme this year being
"Peace, Environment and Natural Disasters."
THIS YEAR JOTA IS THE LAST WEEKEND OF THE OCTOBER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.
Wednesday 27th July 2011 CRARC's General Meeting Presentation Program at
7.30 PM is "WSPR 101" - An introduction to Weak Signal Propagation Reporter.
Ian VK1IS gives a presentation with a demonstration of hardware and software
applications to enable users to participate in WSPR digital technology.
Then just when you thought nothing could be more exciting!
It is on again!
CRARC'sr Garage Sale, so much stock everything MUST go!
BUT Sales strictly AFTER the Presentation of "WSPR 101".
VK2
web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm
VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news
Sunday 31 st is the T&T at VK2WI
SARFEST - Sunday 7 August, ALL WELCOME, BE THERE.
All invited, traders, sellers, buyers, gawkers, walkers, talkers, just come
for the heck of it Sunday 7 Aug 0800K.
No trader's site fee but a donation requested depending on your day.
TRADERS INTENDING TO ATTEND ARE ASKED TO CONFIRM TO vk2src@sarc.org.au
VK3
web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/
Police Roundup http://www.vicpolicenews.com.au/
VK3GT and VK3SN will be leading a team of intrepid friends on a back country
adventure as they ski across the Bogong High Plains. The group will be up in
the Victorian Alps above 1800 m in what is expected to be some of the best
Winter snow for many years.
They will once again be using rugged ultra light solar powered gear with
homebrew antennas to work 20 & 40m each afternoon and 80m every night.
They will move across the white snowy wilderness by day, setting up camp at
night in remote huts, snow caves and even igloos. Listen out for them from
15-19 August calling CQ from the roof of Victoria.
(wia events)
VK4 - QNEWS
web service local audio news:- www.wiaq.com/ftp/vk4_qnews_64.mp3
local news email qnews-vk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
VKR Roundup http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/Media+Releases/
Welcome to QNews from VK4WIA. I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I've been thinking.
Recently the news media gave prominence to an international report on the
possible effects of radiation from mobile phones. There have been many earlier
reports, claims and counter claims about the safety of hand held phones and the
possible links to brain tumours caused by the radio frequency interacting at
the cellular level.
The lowest cell phone frequency in use, in Australia is below 900MHz and our
lowest equivalent amateur band starts just above 1200MHz. Cell phones are
generally running milliwatts but we amateurs normally think in watts.
The point is, in my mind, that until the science is defined, it is best to act
with caution. As the radiation field diminishes according to the inverse square
law, the further away from body parts the transmitting antenna is located the
greater the apparent safety. We have grown used to people with hand held radios
carrying them on their belts and using speaker mics. What price kidney damage?
It seems that a metal lined safety hat with the antenna mounted atop as we have
seen at some big ham meetings really has more to recommend it than just
attracting attention.
I'm Geoff Emery and that's what I think....how about you?
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND AR CLUB
Rockhampton
cqar.com.au
A Digital Training Day was held at the Rockhampton Heritage Village, in
North Rockhampton on Saturday July 9th 2011, a total of 19 people attended
from both local clubs, the Rockhampton & District Amateur Radio Club inc and
the Central Queensland Amateur Radio Association inc.
The day was centred around using the Tigertronics SLUSB Interface with the
FLdigi Software, written by Dave Freese W1HJK.
Jack VK4JRC went through the aspects of setting up the interface, doing the
offset corrections using the Check SR program and then it was on to the setting
up FLdigi and exploring some of its many features.
Since many attendees brought along their computers, radios, power supplies and
dummy loads, the day progressed with people helping each other work out the
vagaries of the software and hardware to get up and running.
The lunch break saw Mike VK4LMB, Andrea VK4FROG, Maree and a band of helpers,
cook up a storm on the Village BBQ with steaks, sausages and burgers all round.
After lunch it was back to 'school' and the learning continued! By the end of
the day, there were many signals radiating around the room, with contacts being
made over varying distances of up to 20 feet!
The day finished at about 4pm with the attendees leaving with their carry bag
information packs for further study.
Thanks go to Jack VK4JRC for organising the day and Maree for providing
gastronomic delights that would put a bakery to shame!
Thanks also go out to all the people who assisted and attended on the day and
to the Rockhampton Heritage Village for the generous use of their facilities.
Plans are now underway for another training day in using SSTV with the
Tigertronics Interface.
I'm Adam - VK4MTJ on behalf of the Central Queensland Amateur Radio Association
Incorporated.
MARYBOROUGH RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CLUB
For more info, call Secretary Kathy Johns 040-939-8853
Email: kathy.johns@bigpond.com
Channel 14 UHF CB call "CQ MERG"
In keeping with the promotion of the Wide Bay Hamfest, the members of the
Maryborough Electronics and Radio Group got to share a rag chew and
a cuppa with visiting amateurs, last Saturday 16th July.
With visitors from the Wide Bay itself, Gin Gin to the north and Gympie,
Sunshine Coast through to Brisbane and one lone VK7 we enjoyed a low key
function on a wet and blustery day.
Items of pre-loved equipment as well as product brochures supplied by Icom
Australia left the hall and out the back the VK4-ICE Communication display never
seemed to be free of visitors. MERG is really appreciative of David Tavener's
support over the last 3 years and thanks David for the donation, not only of
a Wouxun H/T as raffle prize but also an antenna for the permanent JOTA station
at the Aldershot Scout Camp.
The weather had an effect on the number attending but a successful day was
enjoyed and the efforts of the ladies from the local scout group was greatly
appreciated with hot food and drinks being available.
For MERG, I'm Geoff, VK4ZPP and hope to see you next year at the Wide Bay
Hamfest.
ROCKHAMPTON
IRLP NODE 6973
e-mail vk4jym@wia.org.au
Secretary Jim 04 2948 4734
http://www.radarclub.org.au
Greetings from the Rockhampton and District Amateur Radio Club, the RADAR Club.
This is Les VK4VIL reporting.
Last weekend, the club worked with the Central Queensland Motor Sporting Club,
undertaking communications for Round 2 of the Queensland Rally Championships
held at the Capricorn Resort.
Twelve operators were on hand from the club.
As the area is heavily wooded and hilly, duties included setting up repeaters
and radio headquarters for the event and completing general field relay of
information as well as conducting emergency comms for accidents, injuries and
recoveries. With the course classed as very slippery, bingles were common and
at the end of the day, only 16 of the initial 28 cars entered remained
operational. Good emergency training.
To allow early results to be collated in time for the dinner and presentations,
operators were also kept busy between other tasks, reporting all competitor
result times for the numerous stages over the three courses.
Leon VK4KLL at the resort's headquarters was kept busy on 4 radios which
operated on one VHF frequency, one Wicen UHF frequency and two UHF CB Channels
as well as coordinating with the Clerk of the Course and the score keeper.
John, VK4AJS ran a second base at one of the courses to prevent confusion.
During the dinner, the motor sporting club acknowledged the RADAR clubs
operation as professional, and essential for the conduct of the event with an
undertaking for continued collaboration in 2012.
The radio club's next major event is a visit to Cape Capricorn Lighthouse for
the annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend next month.
I'm Les VK4VIL, on behalf of the Rockhampton and District Amateur Radio Club.
VK7
local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php
vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
The next meeting for the C.C.A.R.C. will be held at the penguin lions club
rooms on the 30th of July with a help and demo session for those building
"Squid Pole" antenna, and weather permitting Dion, VK7DB, will erect and test
his unique version of the squid pole outside the meeting room.
There will also be some club surplus components and equipment for sale.
Other members are welcome to bring along unwanted amateur related bits and
pieces to sell at the same time.
Meeting time will be 1.30pm and all welcome.
http://www.my-x15.net/ccarc/
(David, VK7DC, Secretary, CCARC)
WIA DIRECTORS WEEKLY REPORT
WIA Emergency Communications Training and Accreditation Update.
I thought I'd give you an update on the WIA's emergency communications training
and accreditation system.
So far we have run training courses in many major Australian centres and we now
have over 100 people trained in emergency communications. The emergency
communications training and accreditation system is a two part process -
training and accreditation, so the next step in the training program is
accreditation.
So far 32 people have applied for accreditation as a WIA Volunteer Emergency
Communications Operator. Those people need to show that they are available, fit
and well, if required to help out in an emergency.
If you have completed the Emcomms training course, we encourage you to apply
for accreditation by completing the application form in the emergency
communications training section of the WIA website, or by contacting the WIA
office.
We are now investigating the best way to move forward, that is, how to
structure and coordinate the accredited operators, so they can be used
effectively if required by emergency services or non-government organisations.
Like all things the WIA does, this work relies almost entirely on the goodwill,
effort and time of volunteers. Without the volunteers the WIA would simply not
be able to function as it does.
We need to find ways to better acknowledge the work of volunteers, but for now
I would simply like to say thank you to all those people who have brought the
WIA's Emcomms training system to its current position.
This Phil Wait, for the WIA.
EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO
www.hamcollege.com.au
Assessments
Potential amateurs and those wishing to upgrade are reminded that exams can be
conducted across the north west coast of the Apple Isle at a mutually agreed
time and place by the Cradle Coast Amateur Radio Club examiners.
For further details on gaining a licence or upgrading, contact the Cradle Coast
Amateur Radio Club learning organiser, Keith Winkler, VK7KW.
Contact details are available on the club website, go to wia.org.au and
find Cradle Coast under the VK7 clubs.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL,
Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA.
Radio ham killed and another seriously injured in tower accident.
As a group of South Dakota hams were dismantling a 110 foot tower, a gust of
wind toppled the final section, trapping two local hams, Tim Anderson, K0OR, 54,
and Tom Embree, NC0K, underneath.
Loss of 2 meter simplex frequencies imminent in Texas!
Texas two meter simplex users stand to lose a large portion of available
frequencies to D-Star repeaters if proposed changes to the two meter band plan
are passed by the Texas VHF-FM Society.
South Sudan DXpedition
Paul, N6PSE says the advance team should have arrived in Juba, South Sudan
Wednesday, July 20th, with a list of tasks to perform in advance of the main
team. As the ITU has not yet issued a new prefix for South Sudan. Their March
call-sign of ST0R will be call for the DXpedition unless ITU issues a new
prefix.
World Scout Jamboree - SJ22S
Amateur radio stations have been set up at each World Scout Jamboree since 1957.
They provide live-links from the Jamboree to the home countries of the
participants over short-wave radio as well as being interesting stations for
other amateurs to contact.
From 27 July till 7 August 2011, the 22nd World Scout Jamboree at Rinkaby in
Sweden will be on the air with call sign SJ22S (Scout Jamboree No 22 Sweden).
This is a special event call sign.
The station will offer an exciting radio-scouting programme including kit
building and fox hunting to the Jamboree participants.
Jim, ZL2APE, who is the NZ National Organiser for the Scout Jamborees on the
Air, will be one of the station operators
Google "SJ22S", and go first to the QRZ listing for details of frequencies etc.
=============================================================================
NEWS FROM ARNEWSLINE USA
HAM RADIO FREDRICHSHAFEN ATTRACTS 16,300
The 2011 Ham Radio convention in Friedrichshafen, Germany took place the
weekend of June 24th to the 26th. This annual event has become known as
Europe's answer to the Dayton Hamvention in the U-S-A and Japan's famed
Ham Fair.
Taking place at a venue on picturesque Lake Constance, this year's Ham Radio
attracted 184 exhibitors and 16,300 visitors. Attendees came from all over the
world. In addition to the German amateur radio community, other countries
represented included Italy, Malaysia, Japan, Qatar the United Kingdom and the
United States.
During the event 124 young people were given a demonstration of amateur radio.
Some even tried soldering and playing with the Morse code. A video captures
the flavor of Europe's largest amateur radio event, narrated in German, is
on-line at tinyurl.com/arn-europe-ham
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ANOTHER ARISSAT-1 DELAY
The orbiting of ARISSat One has been delayed for a few weeks. Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with the latest details:
According to ARISSat One Project Manager Gould Smith, WA4SXM , the former
Suit-Sat will not make an appearance in space until sometime in August.
In a news release, Smith said he and ARISS Hardware Engineer Lou McFadin, W5DID
participated in a teleconference call this week with NASA to review the
Roscosmos spacewalk procedures for the release of ARISSat One during E-V-A 29.
For those who never heard the term before, E-V-A is an acronym for Extra
Vehicular Activity and is NASA-ese for describing a spacewalk
Smith now says the discussion cantered on preparation procedures including the
battery being charged and assembled into the satellite. Also discussed were the
procedures to remove the protective quilts from the solar cells and turning on
the safety switches prior to deployment.
During a later teleconference Sergey Samburov, RV3DR announced that the ARISSat
One battery will be charged in late July and a test of the system will be
conducted from the ISS from 1915 UTC July 30th to about 1200 or 1400 UTC
July 31st. The standard ARISSat One 2 meter downlink band plan should be
transmitted as well as the FM signal also down linked on 437.55 MHz.
The ARRISSat One team believes that it is looking at an August 3rd date for
actual deployment, but notes that this is all subject to change.
More information as it becomes available. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm
Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom in Los Angeles.
EUROPEAN CB'ERS GET SSB OPERATION
A decision by the European Union has paved the way for the use of Single
Sideband on 27 MHz CB across the British Isles and Europe. The revised
regulation will permit European CB operators the use of SSB equipment running
12 watts Peak Envelope Power output in the frequency band 26.960 to 27.410 MHz.
The European Union decision to permit SSB on 11 meters came into force on
June 24th and carries a preferred implementation by national telecommunications
administrations of October 1st.
ON THE AIR" BATTLE OF BRITAIN STATION BECOMES PERMANENT SPECIAL EVENT
On the air, keep an ear open for U-K special event station GB4BOB to be active
from September 1st to the 20th to commemorate the World War Two Battle of
Britain. After running this station as a one-off for the battles 70th
anniversary, the Pontefract and District Amateur Radio Society has now decided
to keep it as an annual event to remember those who fought in it. QSL's go
direct to G0BPK or via the RSGB bureau. More is on the Pontefract and District
Amateur Radio Society website at www.pdars.com
=============================================================================
RSGB
600m and 4m for Netherlands
A recent change of the National Allocation Table in the Netherlands
shows that Dutch amateurs will get a secondary allocation from 501-
505kHz until 1st January 2014 and a secondary allocation from 70.0-70.5MHz.
The allocations will not start until an update is made of certain
frequency control legislation.
TETRA ready for Olympics
As preparations for the Olympics gather pace, Airwave has announced that its
specialist TETRA Network, Apollo, is ready to provide voice communications in
the London area.
This uses UHF spectrum that is separate from the amateur 70cm allocation,
however the scale of the games is such that additional spectrum may still be
needed from the 70cm band on a temporary basis. An example of this is the
forthcoming use of 70cm for telemetry to support sailing test events.
As announced last week, this will occur in the Weymouth and Portland area
between Wednesday 20th July and Saturday 13th August. Further information can
be found on the RSGB website
www.rsgb.org/olympics.
New RadCom free sample
A new free sample edition of RadCom is now available to read online
or download from the RSGB website.
The sample RadCom is available in digital magazine format for reading
online, which requires a Flash plug-in to your browser. For those who
would like to save the magazine to their computer, or do not have
Flash installed, a 24 megabyte PDF version is available.
The sample is the March 2011 edition.
=============================================================================
WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
What came before GeoCaching - Was it Letterboxing?
An interesting discussion around GeoCaching with Angela VK7FPAA at a DATV night
lead to Angela telling REAST about LetterBoxing which was an early form of
GeoCaching.
Letterboxing is an intriguing mix of treasure hunting, art, navigation, and
exploring interesting, scenic, and sometimes remote places. It takes the
ancient custom of placing a rock on a cairn upon reaching the summit of a
mountain to an artform.
It started when a gentleman simply left his calling card in a bottle by a
remote pool on the moors of Dartmoor, in England.
Here's the basic idea:
Someone hides a waterproof box somewhere (in a beautiful, interesting, or
remote location) containing at least a logbook and a carved rubber stamp,
and perhaps other goodies. The hider then usually writes directions to the box
(called "clues" or "the map"), which can be straightforward, cryptic, or any
degree in between. Often the clues involve map coordinates or compass bearings
from landmarks.
Selecting a location and writing the clues is one aspect of the art.
Once the clues are written, hunters in possession of the clues attempt to find
the box. In addition to the clue and any maps or tools needed to solve it, the
hunter should carry at least a pencil, his personal rubber stamp, an inkpad,
and his personal logbook. When the hunter successfully deciphers the clue and
finds the box, he stamps the logbook in the box with his stamp, and stamps his
personal logbook with the box's stamp. The box's logbook keeps a record of all
its visitors, and the hunters keep a record of all the boxes they have found,
in their personal logbooks.
For more information take a look at the link on the email editions of this
broadcast.
www.letterboxing.org/
www.geocaching.com
(VK7WI)
SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2011
Hello Listeners. I am peter Harding, VK4OD the WIA RD Contest Manager.
Today Sunday the 24th July and as this news goes to air, you have about 3 weeks
to check with your local Club to see if they are going to participate and your
Club's Equipment, Antennae's, logs sheets, and Logging Software are up to date.
I have just had a short time to assemble the RD Contest printable log sheets,
declarations, etc. over the next couple of weeks I hope to be able to make
available these documents, they will be at the bottom of the RD Contest page,
as a downloadable documents.
Remember In all cases, logs must be received by last mail on Friday 16th
September, 2011 Late entries will not be eligible. Electronically sent logs
will be returned with a courtesy note, also Snail Mail will be returned
unopened.
Aug 20-21 WW I.L.L.W.
Oct 22 WIA Jack Files Contest
2012
January VK Ross Hull Memorial VHF UHF Contest
March 17-18 VK JOHN MOYLE MEMORIAL FIELD DAY
June Long Weekend (vk4 time) VK Shires Contest.
July First full weekend NZART Memorial Contest
Railways on the Air
Railways on the Air 2011 will take place on the weekend of 24 and 25 September.
As last year, the suggested frequencies for the event are 3,650, 7,120 and
14,120kHz, but participants are requested to avoid any interference with RSGB
news reading.
Anyone is encouraged to register if they are working an historic railway site,
it doesn't have to be a famous one or indeed one operating trains, just a site
that has a railway heritage.
Registration and general enquiries can are through the website
www.rota.m0php.net
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE
AN-016, VP8/A, Antarctica:
VK2BFG is working as VK0BFG from Casey Station and has been spotted in
SSB on 40m already.
ZLDXC Yahoo Group
If anyone would like to join they would dearly like to have them aboard so
they can inform each country of what is happening within the Pacific area and
beyond
Those interested please subscribe via Email to
:zldxc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Web site for ZLDXC
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zldxc/
They Invite all Pacific and others to join ..
(73 Phillip ZL2TZE)
NEW AFRICAN COUNTRY
Thursday, 14 July the UN General Assembly admitted the Republic of South Sudan
as its 193rd member state. Immediately following the General Assembly meeting,
the flag of the Republic of South Sudan flew for the first time in front of
the UN.
Now that the Republic of South Sudan is a member of the United Nations, the
new country is now a DXCC entity. The SARL however say the ITU has not
confirmed the new country's callsign prefix.
THE QNEWS WORK BENCH - the nuts and volts report -
(Measure twice - Cut once!)
The Illawarra Amateur Radio Society currently has a construction competition
running that is open to amateur radio operators within VK.
There are prizes to be allocated in two categories.
Entry is easy, just build a crystal set.
Judging will be based on some simple rules:-
The crystal set must work i.e. receive a transmitted signal.
The crystal set can receive either commercial, broadcast or amateur signals.
No external power other than the received signal can be used.
Additional points will be gained by utilizing recycled parts, or home made
components.
Additional points will be gained for Innovative design, and unique concepts.
The finished article does not need to be aesthetically pleasing.
Testing will be carried out at Industry World Centre, Wollongong 8/11/2011
(Between 19:30 - 22:00 Hrs).
The judge's decision will be final.
The judging of the contest will be at the IARS November meeting.
The Crystal set will need to be bought to the meeting on this evening,
alternatively they can be posted to the Secretary Illawarra amateur radio
society, by the meeting date which is 8th November 2011. Correct postage and
packaging cost must be included if you require the project to be returned after
the competition. Note that this project is a receive only construction, so
it is therefore open to all license classes in VK.
Why not put together a club entry?
Old hands, why not take a newer member of the hobby under your wing and show
them how construction was done when you first discovered radio.
Results and awards will be presented at the December 2011 meeting.
The two entry categories are:-
Category 1:- Financial members of the IARS
First Prize :- 2 metre Handheld radio
Second Prize:- Quality Screwdriver Set
Third Prize:- Lightweight Headphone Set
Numerous consolation prizes such as mouse mats, baseball caps
Category 2:- All other VK Hams
First Prize:- 2 metre Handheld Radio
Second Prize:- Quality Screwdriver Set
Third Prize:- Lightweight Headphone Set
Details are available on the Illawarra amateur Radio Society's web site
http://www.iars.org.au or email the secretary vk2vvv@wia.org.au
Silver pen has the 'write stuff' for flexible electronics
ScienceDaily report on a pen that can be used to create flexible electronic
circuits.
University of Illinois engineers have developed a silver-inked rollerball pen
capable of writing electrical circuits and interconnects on paper, wood and
other surfaces. The pen is writing whole new chapters in low-cost, flexible
and disposable electronics.
Read the ScienceDaily report at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110628151632.htm
(southgate)
MEDIA WATCH
www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html
VK Club Bulletins http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aarnie/
ANOTHER HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER FEATURES AMATEUR RADIO
2011 is replete with big movies, ranging from action-adventure flicks to
comedies to coming-of-age dramas. And already, Amateur Radio has played a
part in not one, but two movies.
In Mr Popper's Penguins, ham radio is featured, albeit incorrectly, on the big
screen. And now Super 8 -- a film set just outside Dayton, Ohio in 1979 -- uses
Amateur Radio in a crucial scene.
Super 8 revolves around a group of six middle-schoolers who witnesses a
mysterious train crash in the fictional town of Lillian. Soon after the crash,
the Air Force arrives and strange things start happening in the small town.
The kids, a group of young film makers (hence the title of the movie) begin to
investigate the creepy phenomena.
arrl.org/news/another-hollywood-blockbuster-features-amateur-radio
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video
arvideonews.com
hamradiotube.com
youtube.com
qdg.org.au
George VK4AJL gets active with HF SSTV
George and a few other Mackay hams are currently utilising the VK4AES EasyPal
Digital SSTV software on 3642 to 3643kHz with good contact results into
Rockhampton, Nanango and Gold Coast.
Good results are also being obtained on 40 and 20 metres.
George invites any other hams experimenting with EasyPal to give it a go on
80metres and join in with the Mackay Group.
(vk4zz)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK UNOFFICIAL HF Net.
2nd Sunday each month.
April through October 1000 UTC 3.685 MHz
November through March 0900 UTC 7.068 MHz
Free sample edition of OSCAR News
AMSAT-UK have made available a free PDF of the Spring 2011 edition of their
newsletter OSCAR News.
It contains reports on four UK CubeSat projects currently being developed. News
of new South African CubeSats and details of the telemetry on ARISsat-1
currently scheduled to be deployed from the International Space Station in
August.
A printed copy of OSCAR News is posted to members each quarter.
Membership of AMSAT-UK is open to anyone who has an interest in Amateur Radio
satellites/space activities, including the ISS. You do not have to have an
amateur radio licence to join, many members are interested in listening
to satellites and decoding the telemetry.
Read the OSCAR News PDF at
http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf
Join AMSAT-UK at
http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/
AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium July 30-31 Guildford
http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium-2011/
AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/
73 Trevor M5AKA
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- IOTA
http://rsgbiota.org
OC-142.
Southgate news in the UK tell us that the Ipswich (Brisbane Australia) club
will be active on OC-142, Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island as
VI4FI from the Sandy Cape Lighthouse AU0043 during the International Lighthouse
Lightship Weekend August 20-21st.
QSL VK4FI via VK4MIA direct or by the Bureau.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP --- NAVAL
New RNARS website - simple to use
The Royal Naval Amateur Radio Society has launched its new web site.
The outstanding feature of this replacement site is its simplicity and ease of
use.
All radio amateurs and anyone with an interest in maritime radio, especially
those who have served or are serving in the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and other
navies throughout the world, are invited to visit the site.
www.rnars.org.uk
There is something there for everyone, including listeners, as the Society
issues awards for various activities associated with contacting its members.
RNARS operating frequencies are listed in the 'skeds, nets and frequencies'
page which can be copied and pasted into a proprietary editor for printing as
a guide to where to find Society members.
The site is under continuous improvement and visitors are invited to suggest
additional features to enhance the site.
LOW DOWN IN THE NEWS
Malta gets 500kHz
We have heard that Maltese radio amateurs may apply for a temporary permit for
500kHz operation. This comes as word is that the latest version of the Maltese
National Frequency Plan contains an entry for 501-504 kHz.
The permit is operational until the end of 2011 but could be extended
if approved by WRC next year. Application forms and the National
Frequency Plan many be viewed at
www.mca.org.mt
(rsgb)
SOCIAL SCENE
2011
Jul 31 VK2/3 Riverina Field Day 10am at Lavington Scout Group Hall.
Aug 7 VK2 Lismore region - SARCFEST
Aug 28 VK2 Blue Mountains amateur radio club's annual WINTERFEST
andrewvaughan230@gmail.com
Sep 11 VK3 SADARC Comms Day at St Augustine's Hall Shepparton 10am.
Sep 16-18 VK4 NQ Amateur Radio Convention Date Set Townsville
Sep 23-28 R3 Region 3 ARDF Championship Bendigo VK3
http://r3.ardf.org.au/
Sep 30-Oct 2 VK4 Central Highlands Amateur Radio Club AGM at Camp Fairbairn
CONTACT Secretary Gordon, (vk4kal@wia.org.au)
Nov 20 vk5 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society Hamfest
Goodwood Community Centre, Rosa St Goodwood at 0930.
Visit www.ahars.com.au for contact details
2012
15TH IARU REGION 3 CONFERENCE hosted by V.A.R.C. in Ho-Chi-Minh City, Vietnam.
JAN 23-FEB 17 YEAR 2012
World Radio Conference WRC-11 Geneva 23rd January TO 17th February 2012
FEB 26 VK2 CCARC WYONG FIELD DAY
MAY 3-18 VK5 YL International 2012 Australia (vk5tmc@bigpond.com)
Submitting news items
If you would like to submit news items for inclusion in the VK1WIA broadcasts,
please email your item in text to nationalnews@wia.org.au
to submit audio read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on
wia.org.au
Remember the sooner you submit material the more the likelihood of it being
broadcast in the very next edition of WIA National News.
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Thanks to to our dedicated band of broadcast volunteers who utilize
their time and equipment in bringing you this weekly broadcast.
The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of interest to
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We strongly encourage membership in the Wireless Institute of Australia
and participation in the activities of local clubs.
Opinions expressed in "WIANews" are those of the writers who submit
material and do not necessarily reflect those of the rebroadcasters,
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