|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WIANEWS WEEK COMMENCING MARCH 4 2012.
VK7 24GHz Records Set
What use is an f-call?
ANTENNA SPRAY
SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN
THESE ITEMS AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE
OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING MARCH 04 2012.
VK7 24GHz Records Set
Rex VK7MO that intrepid Microwave DXer lets us know that over the last little
while David VK3QM and Ken VK3AKK along with Rex have been gradually increasing
the 24GHz Tasmanian State Record from a few meters across his Lounge room to
6 km across the river, 17 km from Mt Wellington to Coningham to around 161 km
from Mt Barrow to Mt Wellington.
The equipment used at the VK7MO end was 4 watts into a 47 cm dish based on
Khune Tranceiver PA and Preamp all GPS locked. At the VK3QM/VK3AKK end they
used a 10 inch dish and 500 mw output.
Rex also says 24GHz digital tests that were undertaken between Mt Barrow and
VK3HZ proved to be very promising. The path was 421km path between John's Hill
lookout in VK3 and Mt Barrow. While a QSO was not completed three full decodes
were exchanged suggesting that such a path is possible on 24 GHz.
Watch this space!!!!
Congratulations to all involved.
(vk7wi)
In preparation for the April announcement on Australia's Square Kilometer
Array bid, a new supercomputer that is 10,000 times faster than an average
office desktop computer has been installed at the University of Western
Australia (UWA).
Besides the need for a supercomputer, scientists at the International Center
for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) say the AU$2 billion SKA will also
generate one exabyte of data − a billion terabytes - every day while it
searches the sky with the power to detect airport radars in other solar
systems 50 light years away.
Basically, the amount of computer data generated by the entire world in a
whole year will need to be stored in a single day for the telescope.
The SKA is a continent-wide Australasian project with radio telescope sites
that that extend to New Zealand. Results on the SKA bid is expected to be
made by the international SKA Board in London in April.
The other bid comes from South Africa.
(icrar - asian scientist)
The Federal Government is in confidential negotiations with railway operators
after setting prices for radio spectrum critical to a new national rail
safety system.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's office said state transport
authorities would be required to pay full commercial rates for the spectrum
as it revealed it was in confidential negotiations with them over renewal of
their spectrum licenses.
Under terms of the determination announced last week, operators will be
required to pay $0.23 per person living in each license area for every MHz
of 1800MHz spectrum they operate.
That would mean rail authorities would collectively have to pay at least
$420m to retain their current license holdings in each state.
(sourced to the Australian)
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
Have you registered to attend to the WIA Annual Conference being held in
Mildura over the weekend 25th - 27th May?
Saturday afternoons Technical Symposium - Technology To The Future. Hear
what the experts have to say, learn about the cutting edge technology and
what our Australian Amateurs have been working on, and the bright future
for our hobby.
One of the presents will be Andrew Martin, VK3OE. Andrew is a qualified
Telecommunications Engineer --- Andrew has developed a remote internet
controlled site and chirp radar for amateur use. Andrew will discuss his
remote site together with recent developments and results obtained with the
chirp radar.
It's going to be a very special weekend of activities, and there is much more
in store that we will continue sharing with you in upcoming broadcasts and
don't forget the registration page on the WIA Website.
Up up and away, see you in Mildura this has been Robert VK3DN
HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA.
VK2
web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm
VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news
Email Address : r_demkiw@yahoo.com.au
vk2zwk advises Fishers Ghost Amateur Radio Club will be holding an exhibition
for 2 weeks at Campbelltown Library. On display will be various radios,
photos and details of activities undertaken by FGARC. This is part of the
30th Birthday celebrations March 19 - 31
Tomorrow evening the 5th the upgrade course commences with Amateur Radio NSW at
7pm. This course will continue each Monday evening, other than public holidays.
The location is at the VK2WI site = number 63 Quarry Road, Dural. While the course
is intended for Foundation licenses to upgrade to either Standard or Advanced
don't let not yet holding a license stop you attending.
Later in the month there will be the one day Foundation Course of Sunday 18th.
Assessments for all license grades will be held on Sunday 25 during the bi-monthly
Trash & Treasure days - all the the VK2WI site.
VK3
web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/
Police Roundup http://www.vicpolicenews.com.au/
The Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club members announce that on
21st July 2012 they will be conducting their annual Hamfest at the
Cranbourne Community Hall on the corner of Clarendon and High Streets,
Cranbourne. High Street is part of the South Gippsland Highway. Melway 133 K4.
Forty tables of goods will be presented at this large venue, but stall
holders should book early as demand is always high. Reservations for
stall holders may be made by contacting Steve Harding VK3EGD on 0408
878934 or by emailing. More information can be found on the GGREC
website.
Tables will be available for $20 each. A limit of four (4) tables per
Stall Holder applies. Doors open at 8:30 AM. for stall holders and at
10:00 AM for the general public. The admittance fee of $6 as a buyer
will go towards the continued upgrading of facilities at our Club Shack
& meeting room in Cranbourne.
Take away food, tea and coffee will be available. The entry fee
includes a ticket in the Door Prize which will be drawn around 1:30 PM for all
who register upon entry. Great prizes to be won as usual. Additional
tickets can be purchased on the day.
VK4 - QNEWS
Send your stories for news. SCRIPT to qnews@wia.org.au
send audio to http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/upload/
get local audio news www.wiaq.com/ftp/vk4_qnews_64.mp3
get local news emailed qnews-vk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Graeme VK4RD droped us a note to say due to the number of people interested
in ham radio, those that have just got there license, or those that wish to
get there license in the Biloela/Gladstone area a field day demonstration
is planned for the Lions Park in Biloela (date yet to be determined).
We'll hear directly from Graeme in later bulletins as the time draws nearer.
TOWNSVILLE
The Management Meeting of the Townsville Amateur Radio Club happens this
Tuesday 6th of March from 7-30pm at the Club Rooms SES HQ Green Street
West End.
VK7
vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vk7regionalnews/
Sewing Circle Net Meet the Voice BBQ
If you have not heard about it by now, then let us update you on the up and
coming Sewing Circle Net Meet the Voice BBQ. The Ross event gets under way
at 10.30am Sunday 18 March.
Registration is just $5.00 per amateur or family. Your registration will give
you 2 free tickets in the mighty raffle. This year, 2 prizes. A $100 voucher,
kindly donated by Dave and Claureen Wilson from TTS Systems. The other prize
a new FDC 70cm/2m dual band hand held radio. Extra raffle tickets will be on
sale on the day!
Plans for the auction of quality pre owned equipment are well underway. So
far, 10 items for auction including 2 computer systems, a 70cm multimode
radio, an 80M antenna, a quarter kilo bag of resistors, a screwdriver antenna
with controller, a super jpole dual band antenna and much more.
The Sewing Circle Net extends many thanks to auction donors Geoff VK7GW;
the two Bryan's VK7KBE and 7KWB and Ron VK7VDL. Do you have something that
you would be willing to donate to the auction?
Remember, all funds raised (and we mean every dollar) from registrations,
the raffle and the auction will go to repeater maintenance around Tasmania.
The car boot sale will feature again this year. Fill your vehicle with any
pre-loved gear that you would like to sell. Going on previous years, trade
will be brisk. If you have a boot load, maybe you have something that you
could donate to the auction? If you do have something to donate, all they ask
is that you do not leave it to the last minute.
A website is dedicated to the Ross event, kindly provided by Tony VK7VKT.
The web address is sewingcircle.org
(Vince VK7VH, Don VK7AY and all the crew on the Sewing Circle Net)
What use is an f-call?
(Past editions of What use is an f-call can be found online at harg.org.au
under F-troop.)
(EPISODE 20111009)
Amateur Radio is a moving feast of people, coming and going, gaining interest,
loosing interest, having time, running out of time. Every week there are people
joining and people leaving the hobby. Fortunately the Foundation License seems to
be increasing the size of the hobby quicker than the number of people leaving
through choice or not.
One of the things that strikes me is that there is a small group of amateurs with
foundation licenses who can be heard on-air, but there is a large contingent of
licensees that are hardly ever heard from. Of course it's possible that some of
those F-calls never even purchased a radio, or that their circumstances changed by
the time their license came through, but overall I'd expect to hear more people on
air than I do.
So what is stopping those new amateurs from participating?
Why are they shy to push on their magical microphone key and have a go?
Rather
than answering the question, perhaps you might ask yourself if there is anything
that you could be doing that might encourage new licensees to join in the fun and
become active participants in the hobby.
It's not for me to dictate how you might go about achieving that, but I always
have suggestions - I'm never short of a word and you might have guessed.
For one,
leaving a break between each over is an excellent way to let newcomers feel like
you care enough about them to let them join in. One amateur I spoke with suggested
that you put your microphone down after your over which forces you to pick it up
with the associated delay, leaving a space for another station to chime in with
their contribution.
Not that I'm suggesting that amateurs talk over the tail of each other, or
anything like that - hi hi.
Perhaps there are other tips you have to contribute.
I'm Onno - vk6flab
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL,
Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, ARVictoria and the WW sources of the WIA.
UK National Radio Centre opens
The National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park opened its doors for the
first time on Saturday 25th February.
It is initially operating for three days a week - Thursday, Saturday
and Sunday - while the displays and exhibits are put through their
paces. The formal opening is expected to take place in late spring.
Improved 60m access
Following proposals from the RSGB to Ofcom, aimed at harmonising NoV
access to 5MHz with that access enjoyed by radio amateurs in other
countries, the Society has received an offer from the MoD.
It was reported earlier that the MoD were unable to meet our request
for access over a continuous range, ie a band, so at our request have
offered a number of small frequency blocks, which include all of the
present 3kHz wide channels.
More information can be found on the RSGB website, following the link on
their home page to Consultations
HAM RADIO IN HOLLYWOOD
In a movie Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Sean Anderson (played by
Josh Hutcherson) receives a coded distress signal that comes from a
mysterious island where no island should exist.
The movie opens in Dayton, Ohio with Sean on his motorcycle, being
chased by police officers. Sean had been caught breaking in to a
"satellite facility." When questioned Sean confesses that he had received
a coded message from his grandfather but his equipment was too weak to copy
it; he decided to go somewhere where there were bigger antennas.
The message -- a string of one and two syllable words makes no sense to Sean.
But a former US Navy cryptographer, offers to help decode the message;
Seems the message is really in Morse code:
each one syllable word is a "dit,"
while each two syllable word is a "dah."
This gives clues to the location of the grandfather's whereabouts.
Read more
arrl.org/news/hollywood-movie-features-morse-code-homebrew-equipment-and-sea-monsters
NEWS FROM ARNEWSLINE USA
A SPRAY-ON ANTENNA
Chamtech Enterprises, of Sandy, Utah, has developed a spray-on antenna
material that it says is more lightweight and energy efficient than current
technology.
Revealed at Google's inaugural "Solve for X" symposium, the company says that
an antenna can be painted onto almost any surface including trees, walls and
even on fabrics.
Chamtech says that it is already talking with
government-based customers, and as such can't
give too much detail on how it works. However it
has released information that its material uses
organic elements that have the ability to
interact with magnetic and radio-frequency fields.
The company's Chief Technology Officer is Rhett
Spencer. Spencer is quoted as saying the antenna
could increase mobile energy efficiency by 10
percent. Also that it was found to work
particularly well under water. Observers at the
event say that being organic could make it ideal
for sub-aquatic telecommunications infrastructure.
Prelimnary tests on current a generation cell
phone showed that the product was able to boost
signals by an impressive 20 dbm when painted over
the standard internal antenna.
From our point of view, for ham radio operators
living in antenna restricted areas such as
apartments or condominiums, the possibilities of
a product such as this could be endless. All a
ham might need is a bit of imagination and some
of the spray-on antenna paint to get on the air
with a signal much stronger than from the rubber duckie on his or her HT.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Michael Grebert, N4OZ, not far from
Music City, Nashville, Tennessee.
For more information about the Chamtech spray-on antenna material you can
take your web browser to www.chamtechops.com A video with a talk about the
technology involved is on-line
tinyurl.com/spray-on-antenna
COORDINATING THE SUPER BOWL
And finally this week in the ARNewsLine segment of WIA Natioan News, a tale
of frequency coordination to the stars. Not the stars in the sky but those
on the football field at this year's Super bowl. It's also the story of the
part played in the process by a number of Hoosier state radio amateurs.
Here's Jack Parker, W8ISH:
INDY SUPER BOWL HAMS
Actuality Audio: "Check one two three fourThis
is about a team an organizationI've just gone
from hotel to stadium. It was a great experience overall."
From mic checks to manning to Madonna to the
man on the street the airwaves around downtown
Indianapolis were full of frequencies from over
3500 hundred transmitters. For two weeks prior
to Super Bowl 46, and through the game itself,
hundreds of radio and television stations were
vying for radio spectrum in their efforts to
cover the greatest show in professional football.
Keeping interference to a minimum is the job of
the Super Bowl Frequency Coordination
Committee. It is a team of 46 six, including 17
Amateur Radio operators from central
Indiana. Their mission was to log, tag and tune
all wireless transmitters from broadcast media from around the world.
As Super Bowl Sunday approached the job of
preventing interference became a super task. The
Indianapolis Super Bowl village, Lucas Oil
Stadium and major hotels are located in a one
mile square area. According to one volunteer,
that is a lot of RF in a small area.
According to organizers the area of frequency
control was expanded on game day stretching
out about 30 miles into the suburbs of central Indiana.
Reporting from Indianapolis, I'm Jack Parker, W8ISH.
SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2012
VK JOHN MOYLE MEMORIAL FIELD DAY March 17-18
WW FISTS TITANIC SPRINT April 15
VK/ZL AM/CW on ANZAC DAY April 25
VK/ZL Trans Tasman Contest 80metres SSB May 5
VK Shires Contest June 9-10
VK/ZL Trans Tasman Contest 160metres SSB June 25
ZL NZART Memorial Contest July First full weekend
VK Remembrance Day Contest August 11-12
WW International Lighthouse Lightship Wknd August 18-19
FISTS have sponsored a Titanic 24 Hour Sprint on Sunday the 15th April 2012.
(0001 to 2359 U.T.C).
All licensed Amateur Bands except the WARC Bands.
Recognising the 100th anniversary of the loss of the RMS Titanic on the 15th
April 1912. This event is to be a standard exchange, between stations.
Scoring: -
10 Points for any Titanic special events station
5 Points for a FISTS HQ Station (GX0IPX, GX3ZQS, MX5IPX, VK2FDU, ZL6FF,
JL3YMV, KN0WCW)
3 Points for a FISTS Affiliated Club Station
2 Points for a FISTS Member
1 Point for a Non Member
Logs: - To include Date/Time/Call/Name/QTH/QRG/FISTS No/or Non Member Points.
by e-mail to m0bpt@yahoo.co.uk
in Excel/csv/tabbed word document format if possible.
To be received no later than 30th April 2012.
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE
Prefix hunters don't forget that Croatia is marking the 20th
Anniversary of the allocation of the 9A prefix.
Operators there are permitted to insert the figures '20'
into their callsigns.
For example 9A2AA will become 9A202AA, 9A1MM becomes 9A201MM etc.
These prefixes are available throughout 2012.
(irts)
5 P 12 EU
Denmark has the Presidency of European Union from 1st January to
30th June 2012 and the callsign 5P12EU will be activated during
this period. QSL cards will be available and there is an award
scheme for working or hearing this callsign. For all details on
QSLing, the award scheme and logs, check out www.5p12eu.dk
EI 80 IRTS Special Callsign
As the Irish celebrate their 80th Anniversary, a special callsign EI80IRTS
is now on the air and a very attractive certificate for working EI80IRTS
is sponsored by Dundalk Amateur Radio Society, and details can be seen at
http://www.ei7dar.com/ei80irts.html
G3PHO will be on the air as 9H3C from Malta's Gozo Island between March 8th and
the 15th. Activity will be on 80-10 meters and possibly 160m.
Look for him to be an entry in the RGSB Commonwealth Contest.
QSL via G3PHO his home callsign or Logbok of the World.
J88DR
St Vincent in the Caribbean. J88DR will be there until 14 March on the HF bands
with emphasis on 30, 17 and 12 metres. QSL to Dave G3TBK.
T6JM
A station from Afghanistan is Jose CT1FKN who is signing T6JM.
He is there until mid-June and is mainly QRV on 20m SSB and BPSK31.
QSL T6JM to CT1FKN his home call.
TA1TC
Albania will be on the air during the CQ WPX SSB Contest. This with word that
TA1HZ will operate from that nation as ZA1TC for the period of March 23 to 26
details and QSL info is on www.qrz.com.
REPUBLIC OF THE SOUTH SUDAN AWARDED Z8A TO Z8Z CALL SIGN BLOCK
The ITU has announced the official callsign allocation prefix block for the
newly crated nation of the Republic of South Sudan will be Z8A through Z8Z.
The Republic of South Sudan joined the United Nations on July 14, 2011 at
which time it became the 193rd member of that august world body.
(arnewsline)
ZS4U will be operational portable 9Q6 from the Republic of the Congo between
March 10th and April 5th. Activity will be limited, probably mainly on the
weekends and some days during the week.
Listen out for him between 1200 and 1600 UTC on 40 through 6 meters using CW, SSB
and PSK31. QSL via his home callsign zs4u.
AWARDS
ERIC JAMIESON INDIAN OCEAN AWARDS
Last weeks news carried the story by our President on a new award.
The Board meeting in Melbourne over the weekend of 18-19 February 2012
accepted the offer of Eric Jamieson, VK5LP, to sponsor awards for first
amateur radio contacts on the two metre (144 MHz) band spanning the
Indian Ocean between Australia and Africa.
There will be three awards, for voice, CW and digital modes and will be known
as the Eric Jamieson Indian Ocean Awards.
In presenting a sum of money to the WIA Foundation to fund the Awards, Eric
said: "I acknowledge that spanning the Indian Ocean will not be easy but one
cannot say that it will never be accomplished. The degree of difficulty may
be judged from the so far inability to span the much shorter Atlantic Ocean
despite concerted attempts in order to win the Brendan Atlantic Ocean trophies."
The Indian Ocean Award is designed to encourage experimentation in
propagation and long distance communication techniques in the two metre
amateur band.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video
arvideonews.com
hamradiotube.com
youtube.com
qdg.org.au
VK9ZR Mellish Reef 1982
A video of the 1982 Coral Sea DXpediton to Mellish Reef, VK9ZR, has been released
on YouTube.
The YouTube description reads
1982 Coral Sea DXpediton to Mellish Reef, VK9ZR, aboard sailing yacht Banyandah
with Jack and Jude. Amateur Radio. Stops at lonely weather station on Willis
Island, population 4. Cyclone forces departure.
Super 8 film, rough in patches, but great adventure showing energy and courage in
undertaking the 3 week, 2500 km journey across the Coral Seas using only primitive
sextant for navigation.
Watch Mellish Reef ~ MidOcean Adventure ~ (makes you wonder why these days with GPS
so many DX Peditions collect their sponsors yet never make the air!..ed)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS
http://www.raotc.org.au
RAOTC MARCH REMINDER.
Hallo everyone, this is Clive VK6CSW with a reminder that the next Radio
Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australia's news and information bulletin will
take place tomorrow, Monday March 5th, at the usual times and on the usual
frequencies.
At 10 am Victorian time the relay can be heard on 145.7 MHz FM in the 2 metre
band, and also on 7060 and 3650 kHz
At 0100 UTC the bulletin is beamed north from Melbourne on 14.150 MHz USB
An hour later at 0200 UTC the bulletin is beamed westward again on 14.150 MHz
USB.
For West Australian listeners, the bulletin is transmitted at 8 am local time
on 7060 kHz LSB and again at 10 am via all linked NewsWest repeaters.
Everyone, RAOTC members and non-members alike, is cordially invited to listen
and to call back afterwards.
In case you missed that, to check times and frequencies for your area, visit
the RAOTC website at raotc.org.au
(Clive VK6CSW)
N6SL SAYS QCWA 40 METER CW NET SPPED LOWERED TO 15 WPM
Ben Russell, N6SL says via the Quarter Century Wireless Association's
remailer that to encourage more participation the 40 meter QCWA 40 Meter CW
Net that the code speed has been reduced to approximately 15 words per minute.
N6SL, who is the Net Control Station, says that this net meets every Wednesday
at 8 PM Eastern Time on 7.035 MHz +/- QRM. Anyone interested in QCWA and its
activities is invited to take part.
(arnewsline)
SOCIALY SPEAKING
MAR 18 VK7 Sewing Circle Nets "Meet the Voice BBQ" at Ross.
APR 14-15 VK WIA National Field Day.
MAY 3-18 VK5 YL International 2012 Australia (vk5tmc@bigpond.com)
MAY 5- 6 VK4 RADAR and MARC Clairview Gathering
MAY 25-27 VK3 WIA Annual Conference Mildura
JUN 8-11 VK4 FNNQARG! QLD Cassowary Coast
JUN 9-10 VK5 South East Radio Group Convention, Mt Gambier.
JULY 14 VK4 Wide Bay Hamfest. West Maryborough Scout Hall
JULY 21 VK3 Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club Hamfest @ Cranbourne
NOV 12 VK3 SPARC HAMFEST (ROSEBUD BY THE BAY)
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. Each item will only
be broadcast once, if you want a couple of mentions, please submit different
slants to keep your event 'fresh'.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=============================================================================
WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide.
TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA
Societies and Club News Letter Editors can EXCHANGE a feed prior to
the actual broadcast date, e-mail nationalnews@wia.org.au
Call-backs follow the RF editions, but also for text readers you may
lodge a quick reply to let us know you read it, who knows, you might
even get a "cheerio call".
Thanks 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
active amateurs residing in Australia and the globe.
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,
nor the National WIA, but are broadcast in the spirit in which they were
submitted.
Material may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, a credit to
WIANews wouldn't go astray...
Compiled by VK4BB on behalf of the National WIA.
*****************************************************************************
/ex
|
|
