WIANEWS WEEK COMMENCING JULY 27 2014.
ANZAC 100
To commemorate ANZAC 100 a series of articles is to appear in Amateur Radio
magazine by the WIA Historian, Peter Wolfenden VK3RV. Here's a summary of
one of them.
Gil Miles is largely remembered for his fine pioneering work in television
and facsimile during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
However, a letter written by him in 1966 reveals a multi-faceted amateur
pioneer. Point Cook near Melbourne is the home of the RAAF, although in 1913
when Gil first arrived it was still the Army flying school.
According to Gil's letter, he joined the RAAF in March 1922 as an aero-engine
fitter in No.1 Squadron at Point Cook and in 1924 transferred to the Radio
Section.
This sudden transfer was due to his hobby of Amateur Radio. From home he
was 3II - before the VK prefix.
Using a special "low loss" two valve receiver Gil heard the American MacMillan
Expedition to Greenland.
His experiences reached the Point Cook management, who saw the potential
of these new shortwaves, and asked Gil to demonstrate. The letter records
how contact was made between Point Cook and the Royal Air Force in England.
Gil's letter then goes onto report a series of survey and Army co-operation
flights, and that he was selected as the mechanic and radio operator on several
of them.
Gil is but one of our early pioneers, whom history has only partly recognised.
One would hope that this article may flush out more about Gil and in particular
his exploits within the RAAF.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
SILENT KEY
Lyle Patison VK6ALU, previously VK2ALU, has passed away. Lyle had been ill for
some time and is remembered always being a helpful gentleman.
He is well known to many for his early work on EME projects during the 1970's,
using an ex-CSIRO dish in Wollongong.
Vale Lyle Patison
Geoff Emery - 'I've been thinking...'
Hello, I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I've been thinking.
If we have regular club meetings we have the opportunity to share personal
projects and have community involvement. I don't mean getting out in the
town square but our club community.
Rippling along amongst amateurs there is a continuous process of experimentation.
We all have memories of microphone shyness and some have carried this to an
exclusive enjoyment of modes which don't involve talking. One good thing about
club get-togethers is you don't have to use a mic.
Another good thing is you are amongst friends and so you can use your natural
talents to explain your passion. Presentations can be as varied as the
subjects. For instance, a table and chairs can be all that is needed.
Whiteboards, projectors and dot points are entirely optional.
Enthusiasm, understanding of your subject and an enthusiastic and interested
audience are all the main ingredients to make a talk, display or demonstration
work. So on this point, I am sure that many clubs have pulled together
meetings that people remember. I am sure that people keep on coming back for
more and if really going well, invite their friends. Nets and meetings,
barbecues and gatherings these are the things we can share on QNews. Let's hear
from you.
I'm Geoff Emery and that's what I think....how about you?
(audio uploaded)
AROUND VK
VK2
The ARNSW radio Homebrew and Experimenters Group will be holding their
next bi-monthly meeting on Sunday the 27th of July after the next Trash and
Treasure. The usual location is at 63 Quarry Rd Dural, the transmitter site of
Amateur Radio New South Wales.
Eric VK2VE will be giving a presentation on EAGLE Software used for designing
printed circuit boards. The simpler version of EAGLE is free software which
can be easily downloaded from the internet, but anyone bringing along a USB
stick or a laptop can get a copy on the day.
Those bringing a laptop can follow along with some of the examples shown on
the screen.
The meeting will start with the usual "Show and Tell" segment where members of
the audience get up to show some project that they have been working on and as
usual, all are welcome at 12 noon, Sunday 27 of July at 63 Quarry Rd Dural.
(vk2wi)
VK3
VK3
Master Class - Portable was a huge success
The session by Amateur Radio Victoria on Saturday July the 19th included
mini-lectures and equipment displays, coupled with information on how easy
it can be to go portable.
Tony VK3VTH talked about how the activity has rapidly grown, due to the
combination of smaller equipment and publicity.
He started his portable operation at the International Lighthouse and Lightship
Weekend in Williamstown, with him now at King Island's Currie Lighthouse
for the fourth time this year.
Next was Peter Fraser VK3ZPF who explained the rules of various awards. His
advice was to adequately prepare as some locations need permits. At first
he used the gear on hand. His advice is not to be held back with equipment -
what you have will do at the start.
Next were Joe VK3YSP and Julie VK3FOWL who enjoy taking Amateur Radio portable
with them, because it's so much fun. Joe VK3YSP said the best solution is
your solution. Take your own approach to portable operation, and experience
DX not available in a suburban environment. You will meet people and you should
have an explanation Amateur Radio and brochures ready to hand out.
Terry Murphy VK3UP, the Amateur Radio Victoria Event Coordinator, told of the
VK3WI involvement in the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, plus
HMAS Castlemaine VK3RAN on ANZAC Day, the International Museum Weekend and for
Military Vehicle Displays. The afternoon included presentations to Peter Fraser
VK3ZPF with his KRMNPA No 1 "Grand Slam" and "Merit" plaques, joined by Peter
Freeman VK3PF who also has a "Grand Slam" plus the Local Government Award.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
VK3 homebrewers meeting
The next meeting of the Homebrew Construction Group will be on Saturday,
August the 2nd at 2pm. All are welcome at the Amateur Radio Victoria rooms,
40g Victory Boulevard, Ashburton. ALl inquires and comments can be sent to
homebrew@amateurradio.com.au
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
November Hamfest
Yarra Valley Amateur Radio Group Hamfest 2014 Sunday 9th November 10AM.
Doors open to buyers at 10am in the Gary Cooper Pavillion, Anzac Ave,
Yarra Glen with ample parking, free tea & coffee and still only $5 entry.
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
August AR Magazine Now Online
Amateur Radio is the monthly magazine produced by the Wireless Institute of
Australia in both print and online downloadable formats for the benefit of its
members.
The August edition is now online and available for members to download and read.
Click the following Link to go directly to the August AR edition page.
http://www.wia.org.au/members/armag/2014/august/
Wireless Institute of Australia - http://www.wia.org.au
What use is an F-call?
I've been an amateur since December 2010 and since then I've been active
in many different groups and communities. I've participated in several
Hamfests, BBQ's, car-boot sales, camp-outs, contests, read articles and used
websites.
One thing is clear to me. There is a small group of individuals doing
all the work and a huge group of people complaining. It's like they never heard
the axiom, "Many hands make light work." I debated if I should even bring this
up, but I think that in the interest of the future of Amateur Radio, it's
important to realise that the average age of our community is increasing,
getting closer and closer to the point where they're unable or unwilling to
do the work that others almost blindly take for granted.
I know I'm in the minority of people doing the work and before you wonder if
this is a case of me asking for recognition, it's not. I've had more than my
fair share thank you. It's about the notion that things just magically happen.
Let me give you some examples of services that you might use.
The editor of AR magazine is a volunteer, so is the editor for the national
news. We have a weekly helpline, been running for 25-odd years, one guy.
Local nets like the Friday Night Technical Net, been running for 600-odd
weeks, one guy. There's a guy who's scanning all the back issues of AR
magazine, going back to 1933. There's a small group of people providing
training, a few individuals are committee members in their local club.
Repeaters are maintained by a few people, sometimes just one.
The QSL bureau in your state is likely run by one person, contests are
likely run and managed by one person, your club's grant applications are
likely done by one person, your club website is probably run by one person,
the list goes on.
I'm not suggesting that everyone could or should be making the same
commitment as the examples I've given. They donate their time freely and give
back more to the community than they take. What I'm pointing out is that as a
community, Amateur Radio is getting older and the gimmie attitude appears to be
getting stronger. I think this is a recipe for decline of this great
hobby. Next time you use a service or participate in an event you might take a
moment, rather than complain, or even take for granted a service offered by an
individual, acknowledge and thank that volunteer.
If you have an idea on how to further the hobby, to inject new ideas or
services, don't wait for permission, go right ahead and start. Who knows,
perhaps one day you'll feel that you have a responsibility to give something
back to the community that you're part of.
As I said, not every person has the same availability of time and resources,
put yours to good use, for yourself and your amateur community.
Think of it as succession planning.
I'm Onno VK6FLAB
************************************************************************
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL,
Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA.
This weekend in the UK, (26 and 27 July) , the village of Codford
in Wiltshire is commemorating the centenary of the start of the
FIRST World War.
This event will fill the village hall and its adjacent
recreation field with a rich mixture of memorabilia and
other exhibits from the time, including a full-scale
section of a front-line trench. In the trench dugout will
be an earth-mode telegraph station, which will communicate
with a similar station on the far side of the field.
WGMD PERSONALITY JIM RASH RECEIVES BILL LEONARD AWARD
Delaware radio personality Jim Rash of WGMD-FM has been
chosen to receive one of three annual Bill Leonard Awards
from American Radio Relay League.
According to a an article on the stations website, Rash's
contribution consisted of a 2013 radio interview with local
ham radio enthusiast Bill Duveneck, KB 3 KYH, of Milton, Delaware
where the discussion centered on the then upcoming Field Day.
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX, BEACON REPEATER AND NET ADVICE
Mark down November as being when LW 9 EOC will be operational from
San Andres Island, November 26th until December 9th, also to take part in
the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest as well as the ARRL 160 meter CW Contest
during his stay.
No callsign for this operation has been announced, but there is the possibly
it could be 5 JZ 0 T.
QSL via LW 9 EOC, his home callsign.
The European DX Council 2014 conference will be held from
September 19th to the 22nd in Southern France. The first
part of the conference on the 19th to the 21st will take
place in a village 50 miles North-East from the city of Nice
with the September 22nd conclusion in the city of Nice itself.
More at edxcnews.wordpress.com
(arnewsline)
OPERATIONAL NEWS - DATELINE 2014
10-10 INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CONTEST Aug 2 - 3
WIA REMEMBRANCE DAY (THE RD) CONTEST Aug 16 - 17
ALARA CONTEST Aug 30 - 31
Manly-Warringah Radio Society's Flagpole contest September 20.
Amateur Radios International Air-ambulance Week, 9 days from Sep 28.
DX NEWS has Mirek SP 5 IXI making another return visit to Zimbabwe until
2 August. He is re-using his Z 21 DXI callsign and is QRV on the HF bands
on CW. QSL Manager is SP 5 UAF.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, E72.
Special event station E 72 NATO is active until the end of 2014 to
commemorate the cooperation of NATO and Bosnia-Herzegovina that was
established in 2006.
QSL via E 73 Y.
Special Event Stations
Members of the Worked All Britain Awards Group will be operating
GB4CGS, for Commonwealth Games Scotland, from different locations
between 23rd July and 3rd August to celebrate the Commonwealth Games.
A certificate will be awarded for working the station on 3, 6 or 9 of the 12
days that it will be active, with the certificate being endorsed as Bronze,
Silver and Gold respectively. Full details are on the Worked All Britain
website, www.worked-all-britain.org.uk
[rsgb news]
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET --- THE HAMS DOMAIN
TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA
www.HamRadioNation.com
websdr.org
HAM HAPPENINGS: FACEBOOK SAYS OK TO HAM CALLS AS ALTERNATE NAME
Officially licensed amateur radio operators may now use their call sign as their
alternate name, or nickname, on their individual Facebook profiles. This thanks to
Richard Bobbitt, NW7OR, who recently organized a petition drive on the social media
site in the hope of achieving this goal.
It turned out that Jeff Ferland, KB1PNB, who works at the Facebook Headquarters in
Menlo Park, California found the petition on an amateur radio Facebook Group to which
he belongs. After doing a bit of research Ferland wrote the necessary code, then
got it reviewed and approved.
To add your call Bobitt says to go to go to "Settings", then click on "Edit Your
Name." In the middle of the page you will see the words "Alternate Name."
That's where you can add your callsign.
Bobbitt says that the petition was originally the idea of Richard Allcorn, KW7PTL,
without whom, this may not have happened so easily and quickly. Over 1000 hams
on Facebook signed the petition within the first week or so after it was posted
on the various Facebook ham radio pages.
(NW7OR)
(audio arrlnewsline)
INTRUDER WATCH
DG 0 JBJ, Mario has observed AND reported to the monitoring team of the
IARU Region One some 309 OTH radars on 20 m, 38 OTH radars on 15 m and
14 OTH radars on 10 m and all last month!
Russian OTH radars were active again on 20 m with 10 and 50 sps - 40 kHz wide
with splatters!
(iaru r1)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - LOW DOWN
New allocations in Andorra and Spain
Amateurs in Andorra have been granted access to frequencies between 5,275
and 5,450kHz. Maximum power is 100W PEP and signal bandwidths must not
exceed 3kHz.
In Spain, the allocation of six spot frequencies at 5MHz was due to expire
at the end of this month. Following representations to the government by
the Spanish national amateur radio society, URE, permission has been
extended until 30th November 2015. The Spanish allocations do not
coincide with the 'common' 5MHz channels, so those making contact with
Spanish stations arereminded that their transmissions must remain within
their own licenced sub-bands.
[rsgb news]
LOWER LOW-DOWN NEWS
The medium wave beacon in Mildura is QRT
The VK3FI 473 kHz CW beacon at Mildura in far north-western Victoria is now
off the air for the start of some antenna improvements.
The works include a new mast with feeder cables and re-location on the home-made
beacon into a rack.
After a couple of months it will resume nightly transmissions on the popular
standard CW mode, and hopefully have a bigger signal.
Noel Ferguson VK3FI thanks all who have taken the time to listen and
provide reception reports that have been all over VK and into ZL.
An announcement of the beacon's resumption will be made.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - DIGITAL
Next Saturday, the 2nd August, the Inaugural VK3 Dstar users group meeting will
be held at the EMDRC Clubrooms from 10am, the meeting will have a presentation
via Skype from Michael Carey VK5ZEA. Michael will be giving a presentation on
"Whats new in D-Star" , Visit the EMDRC website http://www.emdrc.com.au/ for more
details and the clubs address and please email Peter if you plan to attend at
vicdstar@gmail.com.
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - ILLW
illw.net
ILLW From another Perspective - A piece from the SARL News in ZA
The International Lighthouse and Lightship weekend takes place on 16 and 17
August and it is not a contest, but a fun activity to contact lighthouses
worldwide and encourage the preservation of these structures.
At present twelve South African lighthouses are registered at www.illw.net
for the Lighthouse weekend. South Africa has fifty lighthouses along its coast.
Twenty-six of these have ILLW numbers with two lighthouses sharing the same
number. Four lighthouses have been decommissioned and four lighthouses are on
islands of which three are on the Islands on the Air list.
[sarl news]
ILLW reaches another a milestone
The prestigious 400th registration in this year's International Lighthouse
and Lightship Weekend goes to the USA and the Lydia Inlet Lighthouse in Texas.
The privately-owned octagonal red brick tower, only accessible by a boat,
will be activated by members of the South Texas Amateur Radio Club N5CRP.
Lydia Inlet Lighthouse guards the Aransas Pass channel in San Patricio County.
Listen for N5CRP on the HF bands as it helps to raise public awareness of
old marine structures and the need to preserve them for future generations.
In a first this year, Oscar Bertolez LU2XPK will not leave his native Argentina,
but still only be metres away from the Faro Cabo Spiritu Santo which is located
in Chile. You can imagine the confusion this initially caused.
There are of course other lighthouses visited by radio amateurs in another
country, but nothing like the Chilean registration that is to be put on air
from neighbouring Argentina.
Organisers have also dubbed this as 'the year of virgin' or never before
activated lighthouses. More than 20 so far are first-timers and more new
ones are expected.
Each is carefully assessed against the guidelines before acceptance and given
a number. This may take several days processing including questions of the
activator and a check of records.
Most first-time entrants are so enthused with the fun-event that they return
year after year.
The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on August the 16th and
17th has registrations from 44 countries. Visit the website www.illw.net
for the guidelines and full registration details.
(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 VK2 WICEN TRAINING
Sunday 10 August, WICEN NR will be holding a training session on the
Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) assessment of amateur radio stations.
The session will be based around the ACMA PDF document : "Human exposure
to EMR Assessment of Amateur Radio Stations for Compliance with ACMA
Requirements", which can be downloaded from the ACMA.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the operation of field stations
in public areas. All welcome, Wicen member or not.
[Summerland ARC newsletter]
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- SUMMITS ON THE AIR
www.sotawatch.org
www.sota.org.uk
VK1 SOTA ACTIVATION PARTY
SOTA participants are planning a mass simultaneous activation of VK1
and nearby VK2 SOTA summits on Sunday morning 27 July 2014 (2300 UTC 26
July 2014), weather permitting.
All amateur radio operators are welcome to join in on this activity either
as Activators or Chasers. It's a full scale attack on the summits with nearly
two dozen 'sites' in their 'sights', including Black Mountain, Mt Coree,
Mt Tennent, Mt Stromlo, and Castle Hill in VK1, Mt McDonald & Brown's Hill
in VK2 and Andrew VK3ARR getting in on the interstate action by heading to
Mt Buninyong in VK3.
Full details on Andrew, VK1NAM's blog at: http://vk1nam.wordpress.com/
[Vk1-news]
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- "UP, UP AND AWAY"
VK balloon flight to Brazil and beyond
A small Australian high altitude balloon VK3YT-8 launched on Sunday July
the 13th has reached the South American country of Brazil, and is now
believed to be headed further east. The pico balloon flight by the team lead by
Andy Nguyen VK3YT, left central Victoria and assisted by a Jet Stream
travelled across the South Pacific Ocean.
The balloon did not land, but was last known by the Automatic Packet
Reporting System to be at an altitude was at 8727m, some 80km north of
Brasilia.
The prediction is that it left the Brazilian coastal line early on
July the 22nd, and continued going east.
Andy VK3YT said that the flight needed to head north in Australia first,
so it could pick up a predicted Jet Stream before travelling to South America.
He used a small solar panel to keep it active and carefully watched the
forecast for unusual Jet Stream wind. Everything went to plan and a distance
of more than 8,000 kms was achieved. On the 13th of July, with 10mW
APRS transmitter on 145.175 MHz, it identified as VK3YT-8 and used THOR8 and
OLIVIA 8/250 with RSID on 434.500 MHz.
The balloon payload is a custom made board with a miniature camera. In March
the team had another balloon land in New Zealand for 24 hours. Andy VK3YT reports
that most likely, due to moisture condensation, re-launched and left the
country, before radio amateurs could get to it.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
SOCIAL SCENE 2014
Jul 27 VK4 GOLD COAST AR SOCIETY 11am Social at Logan Central Gardens
Aug 2 VK3 Vict D-Star users group meeting EMDRC Clubroom Burwood 10am.
Aug 3 VK6 Northern Corridor Radio Group Hamfest.
Sep 13 VK4 Sunshine Coast AR Club's SUNFest, Woombye School of Arts
Sep 14 VK3 Shepparton and District AR Club Hamfest kicks off at 10am.
Sep 28 VK3 Melbourne Amateur Radio Technology Group Hamfest Keilor East.
Oct 3 VK4 Townsville Amateur Radio Club's Cardwell Gathering 4 day event.
Oct 25 VK4 HAMFEST on the Gold Coast. ( hamfest@gcars.com.au )
Nov 2 VK5 HamFest Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society
Nov 9 VK3 Yarra Valley AR Group Hamfest 10am Gary Cooper Pavillion.
Nov 15 VK7 Miena Hamfest (My-enah)
Nov 30 VK3 SPARC HamFest at Rosebud ( howardjones155@gmail.com )
==============================
NEW WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK
===============================
Name : Robert VK3ARM
G'day Rob and Brian. I'm an avid listener to the weekly broadcast, on air
through Mt. Ben Nevis Repeater and online otherwise. Thoroughly enjoyed your
last broadcast; that's without taking anything away from Graham. Keep up the
sterling work. Cheers.........
Name: Felix vk4fuq in Ingham
Stations responding to his rebroadcast of the WIA news were around 5/9 or better.
Comments: all ok. Many thanks Laurel and Hardy oops I mean Rob and Brian
(just kidding of course).
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 'and always if the news room is to read your
item write in the 3rd person.
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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...
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