AUG 14 - VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
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THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK
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NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING AUG 14 2016.
IN OUR 21st YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
WIA OPENING TALK FOR RD CONTEST
WIA VK2ZRH on amateur licensee numbers.
WIA Long Tan Event station planned.
THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE
OF AUSTRALIA 2016 AND FOR WEEK OF AUGUST 14
Dear all,
I apologise that this has been finalised SO LATE before the RD.
There were personal and work reasons.
Please spread these links FAR and WIDE.
The Amateur Radio "Remembrance Day Contest" for 2016 now has a n opening speech,
of 15 minutes. Here are the links for the speech:
HIFI https://www.dropbox.com/s/lieyneyuzavtna9/2016_RD_speech15min-h1.mp3?dl=0
MEDIUM-FI https://www.dropbox.com/s/koer0xmis25xpm6/2016_RD_speech15min-m1.mp3?dl=0
LOFI (but still ok): https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsctczh30mk3naa/2016_RD_speech15min-l1.mp3?dl=0
Cheers,
Peter
VK1PE
TASMANIA'S FESTIVAL OF BRIGHT IDEAS
12 and 13th of August
For the second time, Tasmania is playing host to a fun festival celebrating
science - The Festival of Bright Ideas
https://www.eiseverywhere.com//ehome/festivalofbrightideas/home/?&
As part of National Science Week, the Festival of Bright ideas is held at
Hobart's picturesque Princess Wharf (PW1).
The festival will showcase the full spectrum of the Tasmanian science sector
and aims to offer a program that is accessible and collaborative, engaging
all ages and interest levels of science. This is a great opportunity to see
demonstrations in a fun and interesting way, and to help celebrate National
Science Week in Tasmania
(Ken VK7DY via vk7wi news)
Australia joins global CubeSat satellite project
A global research project of the themosphere, a little known part of above
Earth's atmosphere, has Australian input to build and launch CubeSats early
next year.
The three small spacecraft weight less than 2 kilograms each come from the
universities of Sydney, New South Wales and Adelaide.
They will be launched from the International Space Station as part of the
QB50 project that has 50 CubeSats from 28 different countries and having a
life-span of two years.
It will attempt to discover more about that atmosphere layer, for better
weather forecasts, understanding solar flare radiation and other unpredictable
space weather.
VALE "What Use Is An F Call"
LONG LIVE "Foundations of Amateur Radio"
In a series of podcasts Onno VK6FLAB presents the building blocks for Amateur
Radio, one concept at a time
His podcast started life in 2011 when asked to record a story he shared during
the production of the weekly VK6 amateur radio news in Western Australia.
Onno had been a licensed radio amateur, or ham, for a few months and found
himself surrounded by people who perceived the basic Australian foundation
amateur licence wasn't worth anything.
What use is an F-call? was his response to that sentiment. It's produced
weekly.
After long deliberation it was renamed to Foundations of Amateur Radio so
people outside Australia might also enjoy the experience.
So as we broadcast "What Use Is An F Call several times a month don't be
surprised if soon it bobs up under a new masthead.
( Download the podcasts from http://podcasts.itmaze.com.au/foundations/ )
Wireless ANZAC goes on exhibition
Australian World War I Wireless Operator Eric Keast Burke, a photographer,
journalist and radio experimenter with the amateur callsign XMO, has a public
exhibition that starts this week at a gallery in Melbourne's east.
The Australian War Memorial reports very little has been written about the
Wireless ANZACs in Mesopotamia, due to them being small in number and mainly
technical troops keeping the battlefield lines of communications open.
The ANZAC 100 series of articles in Amateur Radio magazine 2015 also covered
the work of Wireless ANZACs, including Bert Billings XJP and Arnold Holst XPH.
Now comes the story of Eric Keast Burke XMO who was in Mesopotamia from 1918-19
in the 1st Australian Wireless Signal Squadron, Mesopotamian Expeditionary
Force.
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, he went to Sydney with his family in 1904.
He joined the Australian Infantry Force after training at Moore Park Sydney.
He also helped his father edit the Australasian Photo-Review.
Late in 1917, Eric was sent to Mesopotamia as part of the Australian and
New Zealand Wireless Signal Squadron, and took a camera with accessories to
help record the experience.
His squadron stayed in the region for a year after the armistice. Proudly
through photos and lantern slides he held lectures that eventual funded
publication of the wireless unit history. These are at The Highway Gallery in
Mt Waverley with its exhibition of 'Horse & Morse WWI', from August 19 to
September 11.
During World War II Eric also served as a Captain in the Volunteer Defence
Corps, and worked in intelligence.
The URLs of the story are in the text edition of this broadcast.
The Highway Gallery : www.highwaygallery.wordpress.com
AWM report : www.awm.gov.au/images/collection/pdf/RCDIG1069687--1-.pdf
Biography : http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/burke-eric-keast-9628
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
The Battle of Long Tan 50th anniversary
A move to include Amateur Radio in the important anniversary for the Battle of
Long Tan - which is also Vietnam Veterans Day - has been initiated by
Mal Johnston VK6LC, who hopes for support from other veterans who are also
radio amateurs.
Serving in the Royal Australian Signals in Vietnam, Mal VK6LC has applied to
the WIA for a commemorative callsign, and the WIA has also asked for a national
callsign, both being licence-processed by the ACMA.
The commemorative callsigns are sought from August 16, as Australians begin to
pay honour to the Vietnam War service and sacrifice of our servicemen and women.
A number of the soldiers from that battle will also finaly be awarded gallantry
awards / medals, following sustained campaigning from D Company commander,
retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith.
Almost 60,000 were in Vietnam from 1962 until 1975, 521 lost their lives, and
more than 3,000 were wounded. Many more veterans suffered and are still
suffering because of their service.
The Battle of Long Tan was on August 18, 1966. It was the one of the fiercest
battles fought by Australian soldiers in the Vietnam War. For three and a half
hours, in the pouring rain, the mud and shattered rubber plantation trees
called Long Tan, Major Smith led a company of 108 young and mostly
inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers, to hold off an enemy force
of 2,500 hardened soldiers.
They were outnumbered 20 to 1.
Long Tan is the true story of ordinary boys who became extraordinary ANZAC men.
It was one of the most savage and decisive engagements in our history, earning
both the United States and South Vietnamese Presidential Unit Citations for
gallantry along with many individual awards.
But sadly, cost the lives of 18 Australians and more than 500 enemy were
killed. Heroism, tragedy and the sacrifice of battle, Long Tan is a gruelling
and dramatic exploration of war with all its horror, that will rightly take its
place alongside war classics such as Gallipoli, Breaker Morant,
Saving Private Ryan, Zulu & Blackhawk Down.
The official program of events include a Parliamentary Reception on August 17,
and a National Service at the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial in
Canberra. This will be followed a day later by a Commemorative Parade at
Enoggera Barracks, Brisbane.
Any inquiries about the commemoration by radio amateurs are welcomed by
Mal VK6LC who is listed on qrz.com, and watch the WIA website for the latest
information.
The Battle of Long Tan - We Remember 50 years on - Lest We Forget.
(VK6LC/VK3PC)
HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA.
VK3
web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/
'Digital voices around the world!'
Bendigo Amateur Radio and Electronics Club invites the public to
'Digital voices around the world!', a presentation by Wayne Grincais, VK3WG.
Wayne will be providing an interesting presentation on Yaesu Fusion, or C4FM,
Yaesu's new breed of Hybrid Digital and FM compatible radios. Wayne will
provide an overview of his experience in setting up a digital node at home.
The evening commences at 7.30 pm, Friday August 19th, at the First Bendigo
Scout Hall, 17 Vine St.
A gold coin donation would be appreciated.
Tea, coffee and biscuits available
(Graeme VK3GRK)
Helping to make Amateur Radio grow and serve the community
Do you know someone in the greater Melbourne area that would make a good radio
amateur, or those already with a Foundation Licence wanting to upgrade?
The quality training and assessments weekends continue to get those who want to
try modern Amateur Radio and the scope it offers
The Foundation Licence session is September 10 and 11 - with preparation for it
in the updated Foundation Licence Manual available on mail order.
For those who already have a Foundation Licence, a special Bridging Course for
the Standard Licence will be run over five Wednesdays at 6.30pm, starting on
September 21. Both are held at the Amateur Radio Victoria office 40G Victory
Boulevard, Ashburton.
For enrolments or more information for both contact Barry Robinson VK3PV
foundation@amateurradio.com.au or 0428 516 001.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
WIA BOARD TALK
This is WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH with some news on amateur licensee
numbers.
The immediate question, I guess most listeners thought: is it good news, or
bad news?
Well, the answer is . . . yes! Let me explain . . .
The ham radio population of Germany hit a peak of about 80,000 licensees in
2002. By 2015, the number had fallen to 67,349.
This sad news comes from Gerrit Herzig D-H-8-G-H-H, of the Deutscher Amateur
Radio Club - the WIA's counterpart in Germany.
To combat the decline, the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club began offering a free
online training course and became more active in education and youth work.
Also, more amateur radio clubs in Germany are now offering licensing courses,
Herzig said.
A particular problem, he noted, was that inactive operators often turn-in their
licenses rather than pay the required renewal fee.
Apparently, the annual licence fee of 30 Euro is only collected by the
licensing authority every three to five years. Many amateurs have been giving
up their licence when hit with a bill for 120 Euro, or more ! That's about
174 Australian dollars.
However, there has been an upswing in the number of candidates taking Amateur
Radio license examinations, Herzig said. Now, a new entry level license is
under consideration in Germany. It will be interesting to see if that comes
about.
Meanwhile, the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand has reported that licensees
there had peaked at almost 250,000 in 2012, but numbers have fallen to about
108,000 as some 140,000 amateur licences were invalidated in 2015.
Thailand introduced new amateur radio regulations in 2014, which gave the Thai
Basic entry level licence 100 watts on 28 MHz and 60 watts on 144 MHz. It will
be interesting to see how things progress in Thailand.
Back in Australia, things are rather more upbeat.
From ACMA records at 1 June 2016, the total number of individual amateur
licensees in 2015 reached 14,144, which is up from 14,035 for 2014.
These numbers exclude repeaters, beacons, cancelled and expired licences.
It might be a gain of "only" 109 licensees, but it's heading in the right
direction.
All those clubs, educators, assessors and facilitators - and the WIA Exam
Service - deserve a collective pat on the back for this achievement. Further,
those amateurs who encouraged lapsed licensees back into the hobby, and our
hard working WIA National Office staff, also share in that accolade.
Advocacy, education, support - that's what we do.
Acknowledgements to the ARRL, Deutscher Amateur Radio Club and Southgate News.
This has been WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News.
What use is an F-call? - WELL it's the FOUNDATIONS of Amateur Radio
Recently I talked about a digital mode that had the ability to give you an
estimated gain of 13dB over Analogue FM. It's the equivalent of gaining more
than 2 S-points or like turning up your transmitter power from 10 Watts to
200 Watts.
Of course, the receiver at the other end doesn't all of a sudden see their
S-meter go up and neither does the power draw from your transmitter spike.
The actual transmitted power is still the same and the actual received power
is also the same.
What's going on for this magic to happen?
If you've ever listened to Morse code, not to understand it, I'm not there yet
either, but just to hear it, you'll notice that you can detect individual dits
and dahs at a very low signal level, much lower than it would be possible to
hear an SSB signal in the same environment.
The reason that happens is because your ear only needs to detect the presence
or absence of a tone. Once you can hear the tone, you can work out how long
each tone is and then your brain can decode a dit or a dah. Do that enough
and you can decode a letter, then a word, then a sentence.
So, under Morse conditions there are two basic variables, a tone or not and
the length of that tone.
If you had a great filter you could make it possible to filter out all but
the wanted signal, making it possible to hear even weaker signals.
What we're really talking about here is something called a signal to noise
ratio. That is, the difference between the background noise, coming from the
atmosphere, the neighbours and the radio itself, and the signal, or the Morse
code you're trying to detect.
The simpler the signal, the easier it is to hear. Of course there are
limitations. You can only key so fast, your radio can only key on and off so
fast, etc.
What if you could key your radio differently? What if you used multiple tones,
could you get the same effect?
If you look at JT65, a weak signal digital mode, originally designed to do
Earth-Moon-Earth communications, but now widely in use on HF, it does exactly
that. Instead of on and off, it uses 65 tones to encode information. It uses a
whole lot of mathematics, error correction and the like to ensure that each of
these tones is decoded correctly and the message is either conveyed entirely,
or ignored.
Doing this allows JT65 to work in an environment where the noise is higher than
the signal.
And get this, the performance is entirely dependent on the software decoder
in the receiver.
What that means is that as we figure out how to improve software signal
processing, the performance of JT65 will get better.
The rabbit hole goes deep when you start digging and I can assure you, this
just scratches the surface.
I'm Onno VK6FLAB
SILENT KEY
http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/about/
Silent Keys are best sent to AR Magazine and your local state or club news
rather than this WIA National News Service.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL,
Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA.
Sisters are doin' it for themselves.
Standin' on their own two feet.
Sisters launch 2nd craft it's one swell feat.
Seattle sisters aged 11 & 9 launched their second craft, carrying an amateur
radio APRS transmitter KI7CSK-11, into near-space
Rebecca and Kimberly Yeung first launched their homemade balloon "spacecraft"
last September. The feat got them invited to the annual White House Science
Fair.
Now their second launch, this time near the town of George.
Their balloon reached a new height - more than 100,000 feet into the sky.
The young scientists say they measured temperature changes as the craft
entered different parts of the atmosphere and tracked the sun's UV waves.
The craft carried a LEGO "R2D2" action figure from "Star Wars:
The Force Awakens," along with a picture of Loki, the sisters' cat.
Read the full story at
www.king5.com/news/local/seattle-sisters-launch-second-craft-into-space/284830111
(SouthGate / apologies to the Eurythmics)
SPY V SPY - Ham radio callbook in 1968 spy story
In 1968, newspapers reported the potential threat to UK national security
posed by the amateur radio callbook following the conviction of Douglas Britten
G3KFL
On November 13, 1968 The Nashua Telegraph newspaper ran a story sourced from
The Times of London which expressed concern that the Amateur Callbook listed
hundreds of service-personnel with access to secret information. Concern was
expressed at the time that the Soviets could use this information to contact
potential sources of classified information.
The story was triggered by the conviction of Douglas Britten G3KFL, described
as a "Royal Air Force wireless operator"*, under the Official Secrets Act.
Britten was reportedly "approached through amateur radio". The newspaper says
"A man who said he was a Russian ham operator went up to him in the Science
Museum in Kensington in 1962 and addressed him by his call sign G3KFL".
Read the newspaper story
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19681113&id=oSJbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=504NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6402,1527080
This source lists Chief Technician Douglas Britten G3KFL
http://www.kissack.co.uk/index.php?page=britten-arrested-for-spying
Over 5,000 scouts for Jamboree on the Air
More than 5,000 scouts in the state of Sabah in Malaysia are expected to
take part in the international 59th Jamboree on the Air (Jota) and the
20th Jamboree on the Internet (Joti) from Oct 14-16.
Sabah was selected as the nation's host for the event which gathers scouts
around the world to communicate through amateur radio sets and the Internet.
About 10 stations will be opened throughout the State during the event.
There are many scouts who have amateur radio licences
The JOTA programme provides an opportunity for scouts to interact through
amateur radio where their first interactions through the radios will lead to
continuous friendship via email or the Internet.
Read the full Daily Express story
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=111895
(Sourced to SouthGate)
ARNEWSLINE
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We end this week's newscast with the tale of a magazine notice
that led to a happy marriage, with the help of an amateur in Georgia.
No, this isn't the story of two people who went out on a date and found romance.
It's about the happy marriage between one museum and a vintage Morse
Code-generating machine it had been wanting for about a decade.
Last year, the Chatham Marconi Maritime Centre in Massachusetts placed a
notice in the ARRL's QST magazine saying it was looking for something called
a Creed keyer to add to its collection. The keyer generates one-way Morse Code
messages to ships at sea at speeds as fast as 100 words per minute, using tapes
with holes punched ahead of time - player-piano style - by another machine.
The museum had been searching for the perfect match for its collection for
10 years - and Gene Greneker, K4MOG, of Powder Springs, Georgia, proved to be
the ultimate match-maker. The ham radio operator had the machine, which he and
a friend had found and bought from a small RCA wireless station in Lantana,
Fla.
After some fundraising on behalf of the museum, the Creed machine was sold,
shipped and enroute to its new home in Massachusetts.
The Maritime Centre's president, Dick Kraycir said the next step is to pair the
machine with another mate: a translator that converts the Creed machine's
output into dots and dashes that museum visitors will be able to hear.
A vintage translator is currently undergoing restoration and once that's done,
the two are expected to live happily ever after.
(CAPE CODE CHRONICLE, ARRL)
Who and Where are our broadcast stations?
http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/
OPERATIONAL NEWS 2016
Remembrance or RD Contest August 13-14
Dear all,
I apologise that this has been finalised SO LATE before the RD.
There were personal and work reasons.
Please spread these links FAR and WIDE.
The Amateur Radio "Remembrance Day Contest" for 2016 now has a n opening speech,
of 15 minutes. Here are the links for the speech:
HIFI https://www.dropbox.com/s/lieyneyuzavtna9/2016_RD_speech15min-h1.mp3?dl=0
MEDIUM-FI https://www.dropbox.com/s/koer0xmis25xpm6/2016_RD_speech15min-m1.mp3?dl=0
LOFI (but still ok): https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsctczh30mk3naa/2016_RD_speech15min-l1.mp3?dl=0
Cheers,
Peter
VK1PE
The 19th International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend Aug 20-21
36th ALARA Contest is on the last full weekend in August, Aug 27-28.
September 23-25 D-STAR (Digital Amateur Radio) QSO party.
2017
Ham Radio On The Ferries 12th of March
10-10 INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CONTEST Aug 5 - 6
LoTW adds UKube-1 Support
The ARRL has informed Paul, N8HM that TQSL configuration file version 9.3 will
be released shortly adding support for UKube-1 in Log Book of The World.
Simply launching the TQSL application should inform you that a new
configuration file is available.
(AMSAT NA)
DX ADVICE
Indonesian Independence Day special event
Look for YB 71 RI to be active to commemorate the 71st Independence Day
of The Republic of Indonesia which falls on August 17, 2016.
Members of the Organisasi Amatir Radio Indonesia (ORARI) will activate this
special event station on all bands and modes from every Indonesian Call Area
from 0 to 9.
Please do not send your QSL card as ORARI HQ will automatically send
YB 71 RI special QSL cards to all valid contacts as shown in LOG from
all stations. QSL route will be consigned to all Bureau of each DXCC country.
Also, three awards are available. Complete details are available at:
http://www.ybdxc.net/2016/07/25/yb71ri
(OPDX via SouthGate)
2 members of the Ukrainian DX Team are on the air as 5 H 1 XX from
Zanzibar Island between August 13th and August 22nd. They can be heard
on various bands and modes. Send QSLs to M-Zero-URX.
Listen for OJ 0 DX from Market Reef between August 11th and 16th. They're
transmitting on 80-6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. They also have plans to be
in the Worked All Europe CW Contest that takes place this weekend August 13th
and 14th. Send QSLs to DL 3 DXX.
A special event station, operated by a team of Cuban amateurs is on the wireless
between August 11th and 14th. The call sign is T 42 FRC. Listen for them on
160-10 meters where they will be using CW, SSB, PSK31, PSK63, PSK125, RTTY
and JT65. Send QSLs to CO 2 WL.
AWARDS
Trying for all National Parks in Victoria again
It seems that some cannot get enough of the challenge and joy of portable
operation through the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award.
Earlier we told you that Mick Geraghty VK3PMG achieved the Merit Award, for
having worked all 45 National Parks in Victoria - a very pleasing personal
achievement. Well Mick has drawn a line in his logbook as VK3PMG, and has
taken on the challenge again of getting the Merit Award, but this time with his
new callsign of VK3 Triple G.
Already Mick VK3GGG has submitted an eligible log for having worked 25 of the
VK3 National Parks - only 20 more to go.
He and others will be focussing on the 6th annual Keith Roget Memorial National
Parks Award activation period by Amateur Radio Victoria which is Friday 11th
until Monday 14th November.
So far 12 national parks are registered for activation and many more are
expected in coming months.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER
ARISS mainstay steps down
The fantastic job done by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) Coordinator in Australia, Tony Hutchison VK5ZAI, is coming to an end
with his retirement.
During his involvement over more than two decades dozens of contacts were made
with the orbiting International Space Station, mainly with Australian and
New Zealand schools. Tony VK5ZAI said: "Working with schools and students and
enjoying every minute, it was a big decision to make."
Due to several family health issues he has decided to step down from the
position at the end of August, and hand the baton to fellow telebridge Shane
Lynd VK4KHZ.
Although deciding to travel with his wife Jill and work a little HF on the way,
the intention is for Tony to back-up as a telebridge operator from his
satellite ground station at Kingston in southeast of South Australia, when
needed.
"Both Jill and I have made many great friends over the 23 years we have been
involved with bringing space linkups into schools for students; firstly from
MIR station and now from the International Space Station," he said.
His involvement began in 1993 by assisting South Australia's Loxton High School
students talk with Cosmonaut Alex Serabrov on the MIR space station. In 1998,
Tony handled most of the communications between Australian-born Astronaut Andy
Thomas VK5MIR and his family during his flight on MIR, and the rest is history.
He has continued that work over the years through NASA, ARISS and AMSAT. In
March 2008, NASA gave him the Group Achievement Award for outstanding
engineering support in facilitating Amateur Radio communications with orbiting
space stations. The NASA ARISS award was received at the Johnson Space Centre
in Houston. At the time a humble Tony VK5ZAI said he didn't know that he really
deserved it.
"Like all of us I guess, I'm just enjoying the hobby and like giving back a
little of what others have given me over the years. I didn't really expect any
award for it.
"I think the most rewarding part is to see the excitement on students' faces
when they first hear the crew on the ISS reply to an ARISS call," he said.
For his valuable contribution and ongoing ARISS work, the Wireless Institute of
Australia (WIA) named his as its Chris Jones Award recipient on May 2, 2009. In
2013 he received an AMSAT North America award for the voluntary work he has
done for the ARISS program. In acceptance, Tony VK5ZAI said it was a very nice
honour which made him feel humble.
"I look at it as a combined effort for all those that have helped over the last
20 years because I couldn't have done it alone," he said.
The retirement has been made known throughout the world and instantly received
congratulatory messages, including one from Frank Bauer KA3HDO, the AMSAT
Vice President for Human Spaceflight Programs. Frank KA3HDO said: "Your
leadership and support to ARISS has been exemplary. The best! I thank you for
all you have done to make ARISS such a phenomenal program. I will miss your
leadership."
"On behalf of the team, we are glad you will be around to help transition Shane
VK4KHZ into his new role (as Coordinator). He has big shoes to fill!! And we
are happy that you will continue to help ARISS as you can."
In January 2010 Tony took on a six month appointment as international
operations leader for ARISS. In that same year he was a finalist in the
Australian of the Year Awards, as one chosen in the senior category in South
Australia. That program by the National Australia Day Council recognised his
community work including being one of the nine approved Satellite Earth
Stations, that through link-ups with schools stimulated the interest of young
people in science and technology.
The WIA President, Phil Wait VK2ASD, echoed the congratulations and
acknowledged the enormous contribution Tony has made, mostly behind
the scenes. He said through his dedication, patience, and skill, this quiet
achiever has coordinated that link via Amateur Radio between numerous school
groups with astronauts, leaving the youngsters, the teachers and parents with
an occasion to be treasured.
Phil VK2ASD said: "I will always remember one such occasion that put ten
students from the Trinity Christian School it touch with the astronauts as
part of the WIA centenary dinner in 2010 attended by 200 people. "The audience
including international guests, Australian Communications and Media Authority
Chairman Chris Chapman, and WIA Centenary Patron Dick Smith VK2DIK, was
awestruck during the contact."
The Year 12 students asked Astronaut and Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell-Dyson
KF5DBF, on assignment on the space station, a series of questions.
Tony VK5ZAI was present at the controls in Canberra for the contact on
Saturday, 29 May, 2010, made possible by a telebridge provided by ON4ISS in
Belgium operated by Philippe Van houte ON5PV.
Tony VK5ZAI from his satellite ground station later appeared in an interview
by the Channel 7 Today Tonight show in April 2012, provided some great insights
as to how Amateur Radio can provide support for NASA, as well as raise public
awareness through the ARISS schools program.
Channel 7 program video :
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2013/australian_given_an_amsat_accolade.htm#.V6lG9zWgYlI
Australian of The Year finalist report :
http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2009/20091116-1/index.php
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW
Days to go before the world's premier portable activity
The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is NEXT weekend, and the
prestigious 400th registration has gone to the Queenscliff White Lighthouse
at the heads of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria.
Joe Gonzales VK3YSP and his wife Julie VK3FOWL will be there like in previous
years, and last year reported contacting many others including 38 lighthouses.
Support has come from the Queenscliff Borough Council that made a site visit,
and the Wireless Institute of Australia 'Calling CQ' brochures helped keep the
inquiring public informed.
Joe and Julie says they would not miss the opportunity of being at the
Queenscliff White Lighthouse again, and are very honoured at being its
400th registration for 2016. There are nearly 60 registrations around
Australia's coast, just behind Germany 65, the USA 56 and England 30.
The worldwide fun-event event began in 1993 when the AYR Amateur Radio Group in
Scotland decided to activate a lighthouse, the idea caught on and it soon
became an international event.
The theme is to promote lighthouses through Amateur Radio and hopefully have
these structure preserved for future generations.
In Australian in the lead this year is VK3 with 15 registrations, followed by
VK2 on 12 that includes Taya Shaw VK2FTAG at Clarence Head, VK4 and VK7 have
10 each, VK5 eight and four in VK6.
Organisers expect there will be more than 500 registrations from about
50 countries this year. To check out all registrations of marine structures,
see past reports and perhaps register one yourself on the weekend of August 20
and 21, follow the simple guidelines on the website 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
Information on Emergencies go on public show
Next month there will be a "Zombie attack, what would you do" event that is
part of community disaster preparedness.
For those who don't know, in voodoo belief a Zombie is a corpse brought back
to life that moves very slowly and is not aware of what is happening.
WICEN South Australia Secretary, Andrew Macmichael VK5FMAC says the event has
an important role and is an opportunity to display and provide information on
Amateur Radio.
The idea is that the event begins at the Uniting Hall at Kangarill on the
Fleurieu Peninsula, then in a number of booths leading to the Country Fire
Service station. WICEN will conduct an exercise of people that are separated,
and then given a lost person form to complete, which will then be carried by
radio. The form is to describe a friend by what they are wearing, their eye
colour, height, weight and other features.
An expected 200 people are to attend the 'Zombie attack - what would you do'
event on September 4, with WICEN South Australia now in the final planning
stages for it.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - LOW DOWN
Sub 9 kHz Yahoo Group:- https://groups.yahoo.com/group/sub9khz/
The VK4YB 630m Transverter
Steve VE7SL has reviewed this lil 'gadget' for "AmateurRadio.com and says " For
the past several months I have been beaconing overnight on 630m WSPR mode.
I've been using a new transverter designed by Roger Croft VK4YB and I have been
hammering it as hard as I can ever since setting it up in the spring ... no
problems have been experienced after several months of 12 hour nightly
beaconing punishment. Nightly signal reports often range from Hawaii / Alaska
and eastward to New England ... all during our 'not so good' summer band
conditions.
If Collins Radio were to manufacture a 630m transverter for the military, I
can't imagine it being any better than this!"
Praise indeed for this 'home grown' transverter.
http://www.amateurradio.com/the-new-vk4yb-630m-transverter/
SOCIAL SCENE 2016
Aug 28 VK2 Summerland (Lismore) HamFest at Clubrooms. (vk2src)
Sep 18 VK2 Westlake's AR Club field day Teralba (J Green)
Sep 23-25 VK4 Central Highlands Amateur Radio Club AGM weekend
Lake Maraboon Holiday Village, near Emerald. (theTARCinc)
Sep-Oct 30-3 VK4 Cardwell Gathering Long Weekend, Beachcomber Motel(theTARCinc)
Nov 6 VK5 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society HamFest 8am (VK5KC)
Nov 26 VK3 Rosebud RadioFest 9:30 am till 2pm (vk3pdg)
Nov 26 VK7 Miena HamFest Saturday 26th. (vk7wi txt)
2017
March 26 VK3 EMDRC HamFest, Great Ryrie Primary School, Heathmont (VK3BQ)
May 19 VK WIA AGM Hahndorf some 25km from Adelaide (vk5kc)
Aug/Sep date to be advised - ALARAMEET 2017 in Cairns (vk4swe)
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