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WIANEWS - MARCH 09 - 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
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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. When you upload audio email us the txt version.
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WIANEWS WEEK COMMENCING MAR 09 2014.
OUR 19TH YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
WIA JOHN MOYLE CONTEST MANAGER re MARCH 23 CONTEST.
THIS STORY AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE
OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING MARCH 9 2014.
TRENDING ON VK1WIA TWITTER ACCOUNT
http://twitter.com/VK1WIA
#PR4AmateurRadio EXPO April 11-13
#JohnMoyle Memorial Field Day 2014
#NASA FREE ON LINE ENGINEERING COURSE
WELCOME TO OZ
NL8F AGAIN PLANNING DOWN-UNDER OZ TOUR
NL8F told the Ohio Penn DX Newsletter he is heading down-under to VK4,
and was due here last Thursday, March 6th.
Frasier Island for a few days active as NL8/VK4.
He will then go to Norfolk Island to be active as VK9NF if the paper work
done on time. If not he will sign VK9N stroke NL8F between March 15th
through to the 22nd.
Next he will head to Christmas Island and be active as T32TM March 25th thru
April 2nd, which will include his participation in the CQ World Wide WPX SSB
Contest from March 29th to the 30th. After his T32TM operation is completed
he plans on heading to Visalia, California, for the International DX
Convention before heading back to Alaska on April 6th.
QSL via K8NA for all of the listed NL8F operations.
(OPDX via ARNewsLine)
ACMA in the fast lane
The Australian Communications and Media Authority field staff are now at
Albert Park Lake for the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Planning begins many months in advance when applications start to arrive
for hundreds of extra frequency allocations from organisers, media and logistics
support.
The ACMA has the job of ensuring that everything runs smoothly throughout
the week.
More than 150 technical staff are employed at the Grand Prix to set up kilometres
of optic fibre cable, fixed and mobile TV cameras, computer racks, timing
equipment and monitors combined with multiple radio and telemetry links.
Many are many test sessions held leading up to the big event - the Australian
Grand Prix on Sunday March the 16th.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
WIA BOARD TALK
President Phil Wait VK2ASD vk2asd@wia.org.au
Vice President Chris Platt VK5CP vk5cp@wia.org.au
Secretary David Williams VK3RU vk3ru@wia.org.au
Treasurer John Longayroux VK3PZ vk3pz@wia.org.au
Will you be part of the Expo?
The PR4AmateurRadio Expo, supported by the Wireless Institute of Australia,
is just a month away in early April.
This Expo is backed by the WIA and an excellent opportunity for participating
radio clubs, to promote modern Amateur Radio and how it fits into the
community.
Time is running out for clubs and organisations to register for this big
promotional event.
Regular reminders have been emailed directly to the clubs, put on the WIA
website and included on this weekly VK1WIA broadcast.
How will it to work? Well, the clubs arrange an open event to showcase what
modern Amateur Radio has to offer.
Joining these Expo stations on air is any radio amateur, who can engage with
the display station.
The aims are to showcase Amateur Radio, make the community aware we exist,
recruit a few or revive a lapsed radio amateur.
What can you do? Immediately check with your club to see if it's involved,
and join the PR4AmateurRadio Expo as an individual.
Held on April 11, 12 & 13, it gives flexibility for clubs to hold their event
on the Friday, Saturday or Sunday. For more details please check out the
WIA website.
HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA.
VK2
web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm
Divisional Elections
The Annual General Meeting of the Wireless Institute of Australia New South
Wales Division (trading as Amateur Radio New South Wales), will be held on
Saturday, the 3rd of May 2014.
At the AGM a new Council is to be appointed. Nominations are now open for
those members who wish to be on the Council for the year 2014 and 2015.
Nomination forms are now available from the Divisional office and/or download
from arnsw.org.au
Nominations close at midday on Saturday, the 22nd of March 2014.
(Kevin VK2CKD, Divisional Returning Officer via VK2WI)
Urunga Convention.
This long running annual event is scheduled to again be held over Easter on
the Mid North Coast of VK2 in Urunga.
VK7
vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vk7regionalnews/
ICOM Field Day - Save the Date
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ICOMFD http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ICOMFD
The REAST committee are excited to announce that ICOM, along with REAST will
be conducting a field day on the 15th of March. The company will be bringing
with them a wide and varied range of amateur communications gear for what will
be a very "hands on" field day of their wares.
The REAST committee on behalf of its members invites its members, friends of
REAST, all amateurs and radio enthusiasts far and wide to descend on the
Domain from 10AM for what will be a fun filled event.
What's a field day without a BBQ I hear you say?
Well you are in luck.
REAST will be providing a free sausage sizzle throughout the day. If you are
not from the south of the state, why not pop down and enjoy our hospitality
with the knowledge that you will be well fed and watered for your return
journey.
If you are interested in test driving a piece of ICOM kit, let REAST President
Tony VK7VKT know and he will arrange for that item to be specifically
available for a play on that day.
Contact president@reast.asn.au
(73, Tony VK7VKT, President REAST)
DISCUSSION POINT
What use is an F-call?
As I've said in the past, a Foundation License is an introduction into
Amateur Radio, the first step on a path to a hobby that can take you places
you never knew about. Your newly minted license opens the door to exploration,
curiosity and education. It's a license to learn.
For some reason, I don't recall what prompted it, I became interested in
finding out a little more about how Voyager communicates with us here on
Earth. That lead me down a rabbit hole filled with amateurs aiming to
replicate the feat and on the way I bumped into something called
Unified S-Band, the communications system developed for the Apollo program
by NASA and the JPL. It consists of carriers, sub-carriers and a whole lot of
interesting stuff, including being able to determine the distance to the
space craft within 15 meters.
I'm not going into the detail of it here, look it up on the 'net at Wikipedia,
it's a fascinating read and serves as a jump off point to even more reading,
phase locked loops, Quindar tones, voice and data bandwidth and much more.
Today we're pushing bits around across the airwaves, locally and
internationally. We experiment with weak signal propagation or WSPR.
At home we have access to GPS and Wi-Fi.
All these things are related to radio in more or lesser degrees. Your F-call
is just lifting the curtain on the potential.
Next time you consider the limitations of your F-call, think about the
possibilities instead.
I'm Onno VK6FLAB
(ep 20130414.f-call.txt for used March 2)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL,
Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA.
Sackville, N.B. residents to lose landmark radio transmission towers
The skyline at the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is losing
some of its height.
The international radio transmission towers that have been a fixture on the
Tantramar Marsh for decades are being demolished - a lost landmark to people
who live in the area.
"When they're gone, there will be a blank spot on our marsh," says Sackville
Mayor Robert Berry.
"I know when I come from either direction, especially from the Nova Scotia
side and over the hill, and I see them I'm saying 'I'm home.'"
Radio Canada International erected the towers in Sackville during the
Second World War due to the location, which is far enough from the earth's
magnetic pole and a former salt marsh, which means nothing interferes with
the signal.
Service ended in October 12 and offers to buy the towers were sent out, but
none were received.
"The little transmitter huts are gone. The antennas that stretch from tower
top to tower top have all been removed," says Sackville resident Allan Smith.
"Now, they'll systematically take down the towers."
Some of the towers have been at the site since the late 1930s but recent
budget cuts and a shift toward the internet have made the towers and
shortwave transmission technology unsustainable.
"It's an old, old technology in radio, and it's not really used very much
anymore," says Smith. "But still, in places like the Canadian north and
Africa, there are still people that use shortwave systems."
The teardown is expected to take a few months
(Sarah Plowman CTV Atlantic)
Radio Today dot Com dot au say Apple have revealed CarPlay:
an inbuilt system designed to allow drivers to use their iPhones more
effectively while driving.
CarPlay will be built into the car dash, with Siri activated by pushing and
holding a button on the steering vehicle, allowing the user to control maps,
make calls, and to access music collections. CarPlay will also support
third-party streaming services, and digital radio.
See more at
http://radiotoday.com.au/news/whats-new/4278-apple-reveals-carplay.html#sthash.huAs9Vte.dpuf
Space Systems Engineering 101
This is a new massive open online course from NASA and the Saylor Foundation,
launched March 3.
The six-week general-audience course is free to the public and provides a
unique opportunity to learn from and alongside NASA's engineers.
Students who participate can earn a free certificate.
The course will feature lectures from NASA scientists and engineers and
Google Plus Hangouts with NASA personnel. Winners of an optional project
competition will receive a chance to tour NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.
For more information and to register for the course, visit
http://www.saylor.org/2014/02/blog-announcement-space-systems-engineering-course-starts-march-3rd/.
DOD RELEASES ENTIRE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM STRATEGY
The United States Department of Defence has released its complete 2013
Electromagnetic Spectrum Strategy. This to increase available spectrum in
order to meet growing demand from the commercial wireless industry.
The release follows the release of a memorandum issued in 2010 by President
Obama titled Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution. In it the
Department of Defence is required to make available 500 MHz of spectrum for
commercial use by 2020.
It should be noted that a good number of amateur UHF and Microwave spectrum
allocations are shared with the Department of Defence but at this point in
time it's not known what impact, if any, the release of the required 500 MHz
could have on future ham radio operations.
http://www.defense.gov/news/dodspectrumstrategy.pdf
=============================================================================
ARNEWSLINE
RADIO AND THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE MAKE POSSIBLE WEATHER FORECAST
FOR ALIEN PLANET
And finally this week, radio communications and
an orbiting telescope have made it possible for
astronomers to provide a kind of weather forecast
for an alien planet. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Cheryl Lasik, K9B-IK, is here with the details:
--
Astronomers from the Department of Astronomy and
Astrophysics at the University of Chicago have
actually been able to characterize the atmosphere
of an Earth class planet orbiting another
star. The team of researchers led by Laura
Kreidberg and Jacob Bean detected clear evidence
of clouds in the atmosphere of planet GJ1214b
from data collected with the Hubble Space Telescope
and radioed back to Earth.
The Hubble observations used 96 hours of
telescope time spread over 11 months. This was
the largest Hubble program ever devoted to
studying a single exoplanet. The researchers
describe their work as an important milestone on
the road to identifying potentially habitable,
earth-like planets beyond our solar system.
The scrutinized exoplanet is called a super-earth
or water world because its mass is intermediate
between those of Earth and Neptune. It was found
orbiting a red dwarf star some 40 light-years from Earth.
An exoplanet, or extra solar planet, is a world
outside the Solar System. To date, over a
thousand such planets have been found.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek,
K9BIK, not far from Chicago in Zion, Illinois.
--
More on this amazing discovery is on the web at
tinyurl.com/new-waterworld-discovered. A NASA
artists rendition of the planet and its home star is at
tinyurl.com/kb5y4kf
=============================================================================
WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
DO SALMON TRAVEL MAGNETIC LINES OF FORCE
And finally from me this week a possible answer to the question of how young
salmon with no migratory experience somehow voyage through ocean waters to
wind up at specific feeding grounds that are hundreds or even thousands of
miles away from where they were hatched? and all without using APRS!
It turns out that they may be following magnetic lines of force.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, may have the answer:
--
Researchers have long suspected that many animals that
travel great distances to wind up at particular spots
visited by their ancestors may be able to sense the Earth's
magnetic fields. The ability has since been found in a
variety of creatures including certain migratory birds.
Even more remarkable is that many animals seem to use it to
navigate with no previous experience, like the Chinook salmon.
To figure out whether this species of salmon are also born
with this ability, a research team lead by Oregon State
University tested the abilities of young Chinook salmon that
were less than 1 year old and hadn't yet started their
seaward journey. To accomplish this, the researchers placed
young fish in barrels surrounded with coils of wire and
exposed them to a simulation of the northern magnetic field.
In response, the salmon turned south-southwest. Conversely,
when they exposed them to a simulation of the southern
magnetic field, the salmon turned north-northeast.
So as to make certain their results were correct, the
researchers then subjected the salmon to a northern
intensity with a southern inclination field and a southern
intensity with the northern inclination field. In both
cases the salmon chose no particular direction. The
scientists theorize that this was the result of the latter
aspect of the experiment not fitting anywhere in the
salmon's internal magnetic map.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD,
in Berwick, Pennsylvania.
--
The researcher's findings were published in a recent edition
of the Journal Current Biology. More is on line at
tinyurl.com/salmon-follow-magnetic-fields
OPERATIONAL NEWS - DATELINE 2014
WIA John Moyle Field Day weekend March 15-16
WIA VK Harry Angel Memorial Sprint May 3
10-10 INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CONTEST Aug 2 - 3
WIA REMEMBRANCE DAY (THE RD) CONTEST Aug 16 - 17
Manly-Warringah Radio Society's Flagpole contest September.
Amateur Radios International Air-ambulance Week, 9 days from Sep 28.
JOHN MOYLE MEMORIAL FIELD DAY ANNOUNCEMENT
Good Morning
This Denis, VK4AE, WIA coordinator for the John Moyle Memorial Field Day 2014.
This year the contest will occur over the weekend of Saturday the 15th to
Sunday the 16th March, the duration of the contest will be from UTC 0100 on
the Saturday to 0059 UTC on Sunday.
Now is the time to complete your planning for the field day contest as there
is only one week to go before the event.
During the remaining days before the field day, you might like to finish
checking that all of the equipment you have planned to use during the field
day actually works when set up. Not a bad idea is to plan to have backup
equipment available for the main items of equipment if this is at all
possible.
Further, have you checked that all of those batteries you have planned to use
are actually holding the charge they are supposed to hold for long enough for
the duration of the contest? Of course if you intend to use a solar panel to
charge your batteries, remember that much of the contest is in the night and
so the batteries have to last long enough for that reason.
If you are planning on using a small generator to power your station it might
be a great time to give it a service and clean out all of the dust, spider
webs and wasp nests that may have built up over time. Do not forget the fuel
for the generator and the long lead to allow it to be placed a bit further
away this time to cut down on the noise.
You must make sure that everything is in order and operating and all of the
many little pieces that are needed to put your station onto the airwaves are
all in the required place. Nothing worse than to arrive at your chosen spot,
only to find you have forgotten to pack the piece of cable that is installed
between the set and some other piece of gear, or some other equally essential
accessory.
Make sure that the location you have chosen is still accessible after this
summer's onslaught from flood and bushfire, the roads into the place have not
been closed - in the interests of public safety - and that the trees that
were so useful for string aerials and tent ropes in the past are still in
good condition and safe to be around. It just might be a good idea to make a
short visit to your selected site and ensure the all will be well on the day.
So much with that aspect of preparation, there is still time to download the
latest version of free program contest logging VKCL (VK Contest Log) available
from Mike (VK3AVV)'s website where you can check you have the latest version.
A number of people last year used an older version of the program and
deprived themselves of a significant number of points that were allowed under
later rule changes. The contest log checking system used noted the error, so
it was possible for the error to be easily rectified by the operators
concerned. So it is well worth the effort to make sure you have the latest
version.
Submitting the field day log this year is not optional - If you work any
station more than 5 times during the field day you must submit a log to
verify those contacts. This applies if you intend to operate either as a
portable or as a home station.
Best of luck to all in the field day and I look forward to working a few of
you on the day and most of all receiving your log entry after the event.
The "Amateur Union of Serbia" has written to us and I quote
"To: Wireless Institute of Australia
Dear Sirs,
We invite members of your Society to participate in "Tesla Memorial HF
Contest" which will be held THIS weekend, March, 8/9 2014, 18:00 UTC
and ending at 08:00 UTC. The competition is open to operators all over
the Globe.
General rules are:
Everyone works everyone on 80m band only CW;
Points are: distance between stations.
Full rules read the text edition of your own WIA news this week."
Exchange:
RST + QSO NR + QTH Locator (first four elements of grid square);
Exchange examples: 599 043 JO54, 599 065 FN12.
Categories:
Multi Op.-Single TX HP;
Single Op. HP, LP and QRP - full or limited time.
WEB service software for receiving logs will be on and is one of ways
for updating logs.
Claimed scores will be published right after log submission deadline.
Check our website for rules, awarding and more details:
http://www.radiosport.org.rs/HFTeslaMemorial/
Thank you in advance for supporting this contest.
Amateur Union of Serbia
Secretary
Zvonko Colja YT1WA
www.yu1srs.org.rs
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX, BEACON REPEATER AND NET ADVICE
Maritime Radio Day 2014
April 14th to April 15th
The Maritime Radio Day is held annually to remember the nearly 90 years of
wireless service for seafarers. Since its beginning in 1900, Maritime Radio
was in use mainly until the end of 1998.
The MRD is open to all Amateur Radio Stations.
Special stations (like Coastal radios and ship callsigns) can participate to
the MRD only if operated by former Commercial or Navy operators, or by
radio technicians who worked in the installation and/or maintenance of
naval equipment.
If you are a former merchant marine Wireless Operator (or former technician)
please register to this event by communicating your certificate type/year and
the details about your MRD activation to R/O Rolf Marschner at:
dl9cm@t-online.de
Rules:
1 Bands: 160m, 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m & 10m & WARC
2 Mode: CW only
3 Power: not limited
4 QSO - Exchange: QSA, QRK, name, callsign of last or favourite ship /
aircraft / maintance company (DEBEG, SAIT, SIRM)
5 Silence periods do not have to be observed
6 Deadline of MRD-NC is 1st of May.
7 Certificate of participation (CoP) is available via e-mail only (see notes)
8 Results of MRD-NC will be published on MRD homepage
9 QSL cards: Each participant manages their own QSL card. There is no QSL
manager.
Notes:
- QSA (1 to 5) is the strength of the received signal
- QRK (1 to 5) is the readability and additional a : tr, msg and/or a QTC if
you like
- Certificate of Participation (CoP):
SWLs have to send a complete log entry.
Licensed operators can send their contact list with naval, coastal, special
stations to dl9cm@t-online.de
Moroccan mobile op
Operators Leo PD 0 HFP and Frans PA 5 CA will be traveling through the
Morocco Desert and the Atlas mountain range in a 44 Jeep Wrangler
next month between April 5-20th.
They plan to be active as CN 2 CA using 80-6 meters.
QSL via PA 9 M by the Bureau.
For more details and updates, watch QRZ.com or visit:
http://pa5ca.com/wp/?page_id=170
International Marconi Day is listed as April 26. Hornsby And District Amateur
Radio Club (HADARC) will operate VK 2 IMD on that day.
AWARDS
New St Patricks Day Award
Many radio amateurs celebrate St Patricks Day on the air. This year, a new
St Patricks Day award will be starting, which a group of Northern Ireland
radio amateurs are hoping to organise annually on the 17th March from 12am
to 12pm.
If you wish to participate as an award station or for more information on how
to can gain the award, go to stpatrickaward.webs.com
(Bobby Wadey MI0RYL via SouthGate)
Australian Travellers Net - Reminder
Don't forget that the Australian Travellers Net provides a great service for
Amateurs travelling around our nation. But it won't last if everything is left
up to a few die hards that provide net control and relay operator functions
to pass traffic. Please help this great net by contacting Noel VK4NL and
offering to get involved, Noels email address is VK4NLnoel@gmail.com
For net times and frequencies and contact details go to wia.org.au
click on For Members scroll down to Reference Info then Amateur Radio Nets
and finally click The Travellers Net.
Well until next time, this is Gordon VK4VP.
INTRUDER WATCH
Radio interference with a twist
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration helps alert the New York
area to severe weather, natural disasters or even a terrorist attack - by
broadcasting warnings.
But the regular messages are blocking the international maritime distress
frequency used by the US Coast Guard.
The trouble began when a tornado warning interrupted chatter on Channel 16
VHF.
No one has been harmed so far, but the worrying potential of a tragedy has
government agencies trying to find a fix
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video
arvideonews.com
hamradiotube.com
youtube.com
qdg.org.au
WE TOLD YOU TO EXPECT IT - NOW IT'S HERE - TX FACTOR COMES TO THE WEB
The United Kingdom's first television show dedicated entirely to amateur radio
has been launched on the Internet. The half-hour show is produced by a group
of broadcast professionals who are themselves radio amateurs.
TX Factor is shot in full High Definition.
Over the coming months and years the show hopes to explore all aspects of our
fascinating hobby and is free to watch at txfactor.co.uk
(GB2RS, TX Factor via ARNewsLine)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DIGITAL
D-Star's "D-Tip" Of The Month
By, Glen VE4GWN writing in "The Newscaster", The Official Publication of the
Winnipeg Amateur Radio Club in Canada
Although simply Keying up on D-Star transmits our call signs please remember
to Voice your Call Sign and intentions when controlling the D-Star system such
as when linking or unlinking repeaters/reflectors as you would on an analogue
system.
This will let those monitoring and not looking directly at their screens know
which Call Sign is controlling the D-Star system and which reflector or
repeater is being linked to or unlinked from.
Also, please remember to ask if the system is in use before unlinking from a
reflector or repeater.
http://www.WinnipegARC.org
IC-7700 Firmware upgrade
ICOM has announced a firmware upgrade for the IC-7700 HF/50MHz
base station transceiver.
The upgrade will provide the same additional features as made
available to its big brother transceiver, the IC-7800. The new
firmware will be available for download from the ICOM website during March.
(RSGB)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER
Launch of two hundred 437MHz satellites
The largest ever launch of 437 MHz satellites is planned for March 16 at
0841 UT when 200 Sprite satellites will be launched on the
SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS 3 mission
Sprite is a tiny, 3.5 by 3.5 cm, single-board spacecraft that was developed
by Zac Manchester KD2BHC. It has a microcontroller, radio, and solar cells
and is capable of carrying single-chip sensors, such as thermometers,
magnetometers, gyroscopes, and accelerometers.
The 200 Sprites are carried in a 3U CubeSat called KickSat. They are stacked
atop a spring-loaded pusher and secured by a nichrome burn wire system.
On reaching orbit KickSat will perform a de-tumble manoeuvre and establish
communication with Cornell University's ground station. After check-out,
the spacecraft will be put in a sun-pointing attitude and spun up to
maintain that attitude.
A command signal from the ground station will then trigger the deployment
and the Sprites will be released as free-flying spacecraft.
All Sprites operate on a single frequency of 437.240 MHz and use Code Division
Multiple Access (CDMA).
The KickSat CubeSat has downlinks on 437.505 MHz and 2401-2436.2 MHz.
(SouthGate)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW
Set for International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend
Australia on course for another very successful weekend in August with 35
registrations so far, including a lightship moored at Brisbane.
Around the coast VK3 is in the lead with 11 registrations, VK4 has eight,
VK7 on five, VK2 and VK6 tied on three, and in VK5 there's two registered.
Cape Todd Lighthouse, popular last year as VK8GM at Alice Springs, is also
ready for the Todd River Regatta.
In Queensland, the Bunya Mountains and District Amateur Club has registered
the Carpentaria Number 2 light-vessel at the Queensland Maritime Museum.
The club will issue a special QSL card.
Identical riveted steel acetylene powered barge-mounted lights were built
in Sydney in 1917.
They served as ship navigation in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The label of
'Carpentaria' stuck, even when later stationed in Victoria's Bass Strait
oilfields.
The sister Carpentaria Number 4 lightship at Sydney's Darling Harbour was
in last year's event.
Plan now to join in and register a marine beacon on-line for August the 16th
and 17th weekend, by visiting the dedicated website www.illw.net
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO
IARU REGION 3
Emergency Centre of Activity (CoA) frequencies
3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz
WICEN (NSW) has been asked to provide communications support for the
Bushwalker's Wilderness Rescue Squad's Operational Exercise, or OPEX,
at Winburndale Nature Reserve, 35kms north-east of Bathurst, on the
weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of March.
(vk2wi news)
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- SUMMITS ON THE AIR
www.sotawatch.org
www.sota.org.uk
Guy Hamblen N7UN has been recognised for his work in helping to establish
the popular Summits on the Air (SOTA) award scheme in the USA.
He was selected by the SOTA Management Team for his outstanding work in
helping make the scheme available to US hams.
(SouthGate)
SOCIAL SCENE 2014
Mar 23 VK3 EMDRC White Elephant Sale 10am ( 03 9005 9251 )
Mar 28-30 VK4 Bunya Mts&District AmCom camp Somerset dam (vk4bad@wia.org.au)
Apr 13-15 VK PR4AmateurRadio Expo.
Apr 18 WW Amateur Radio Day: Your Gateway to Wireless Communications.
Apr 25 vk3 ANZAC Day event Ballarat Showgrounds (johnkarr@bigpond.net.au)
May 2- 4 VK4 Clairview Gathering ( 0429 632 815 )
May 10 VK4 BARCFEST: Salvation Army Hall Calamvale.
May 16-18 VK4 WIA Conference presented by SCARC ( vk4ts@wia.org.au )
Nov 2 VK5 HamFest Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society
Nov 30 VK3 SPARC HamFest at Rosebud ( howardjones155@gmail.com )
==============================
NEW WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK
===============================
"Good morning, this is Peter, VK4EA, President of the Redcliffe and Districts
Radio Club.
A follow up from a news item from last week's news.
Rick (VK4HF), President of the Armidale & Districts Radio Club, and myself,
wish to clarify the situation with the Armidale 2m and 70cm repeaters.
The VK2RAD repeaters were donated by Danny (VK4KI), being the former VK4REG
repeater system originally constructed by the now defunct Radio Experimenters
Group. Credit is due to Arnold (VK4SU) and Rick for founding the REG and to
Arnold for building the REG repeater system which was subsequently taken over
by Danny when the REG closed.
Danny kindly responded to Rick's enquiries, where were passed on by myself
when Rick started casting about for a repeater system to help reinvirgorate
the Armidale Club. And as a result Danny and myself travelled to Armidale in
August 2013, to deliver the rack and assist with the installation.
A short video of the install was taken,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm2PiyTMaTI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUcMCGkZGQkP8AExb8W34F9Q
The 2 metre repeater was switched on August 3rd 2013 and has given
uninterrupted service to the Amateur community ever since. Then, in early
2014, I assisted Rick with the installation of technical upgrades to the
2 metre repeater for Echo Link, which has increased the repeater usage and
effectiveness many fold. Rick is now hosting the Echo Link computer
interface and internet connection at his motel in Armidale.
The repeaters were donated to the Armidale Club so let's be clear that the
repeaters are 100% owned by the Armidale Club and were never the property of
the Redcliffe Club.
And more credit to Rick for building the Amridale Club up, due to Rick's
membership drive efforts in 12 short months, the Club now has 23 paid up
members, which is not bad going at all considering there there are
51 licenses in a 100 km radius of Armidale.
The Redcliffe Club's connection is, Rick served as President for a number of
years, and is a life member and is still a regular visitor to the Redcliffe
Clubhouse when he is taking a break from his motel in Armidale. In the late
80's, early 90's Rick, as President, took the membership of RDRC from to 30
to 120 members, and it's still as strong as ever.
Rick also sited the Redcliffe & District Radio Club 2 metre & 70 Centimetre
repeaters at his Wamuran property some 23 years ago where they are still
sited to this day. Rick has never asked for site rental or payment
contribution for power to run the repeaters over that time. In 1993, Rick
VK4HF was presented with a Distinguished Service Award by the WIAQ for his
Contribution to Amateur Radio.
We hope that clears up the situation, and we do apologise for any confusion.
You all have a great day now,
Cheers from Peter, VK4EA and Rick, VK4HF."
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