NOV 26 2017 - VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
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NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING NOVEMBER 26 2017.
IN OUR 22nd YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
WIA The Election of WIA Directors, Call for Nominations -
WIA Amateur Radio magazine a new beginning -
WIA AR MAGAZINE, A look inside the December edition.
THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE
OF AUSTRALIA 2017 AND FOR WEEK OF NOV 26
AROUND VK
SBAS trial launched for Australasian region
A national trial of world-first satellite positioning technology has been
launched by the Australian Government.
The satellite positioning technology is known as SBAS, or,
Satellite-Based Augmentation System.
The improved positioning accuracy and integrity of the satellite technology
will potentially benefit a wide range of industries, including agriculture,
mining, transport, construction and utilities.
The first contracts with industry have been signed as part of a two-year trial
examining the economic and social benefits of an SBAS for the Australasian
region.
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said "We know that
working closely with industries like agriculture is the key to understanding
what Australia can gain from investing in technologies that may improve
positioning accuracy from the current five to 10 metres down to less than
10 centimetres."
CQ University Australia, one of the first industry participants to sign on to
the trial, is leading a project to test how improved satellite positioning
technology can be used by cattle and sheep farmers to lower costs and improve
production.
Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, said CQ University's project would
receive up to $180,000 in funding from the Australian and New Zealand
Governments, with the project partners contributing an additional $105,000.
criticalcomms.com.au/content/radio-systems/article/sbas-trial-launched-for-australasian-region-1147709121
(Sourced from the Critical Comms Web E-zine via vk7wi)
WIA
The Election of WIA Directors - Call for Nominations
Under the WIA Constitution the Board of Directors has decided that there will
be a postal ballot for three directors.
These directors retire at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting
which will be held at the Gold Coast, Queensland on 19th May 2018; they are
Peter Clee, Philip Wait and Brian Clarke. Each retiring director is eligible
for re-election.
The Returning Officer John Marshall said candidates must be a WIA voting
member and hold an Australian amateur radio licence. The deadline for
nominations is 31 January 2018.
Please read the formal notification in the December issue of the WIA journal,
Amateur Radio magazine, and on the WIA website, which has all of the
requirements.
Amateur Radio magazine a new beginning
The December Amateur Radio magazine is its final monthly edition and will
come out as a bi-monthly publication in 2018.
Later there will be reflection on that necessary change, and the opportunities
it gives to refocus the magazine.
Before then let's recap how the WIA journal began and its evolvement over the
decades.
It was in October 1933 that the first edition of Amateur Radio was published
by the WIA Victorian Division. The magazine continued until a few months after
the outbreak of WWII in September 1939.
Then wanting to continue the WIA and hold together the hobby, it was a
hand cranked duplicator magazine during the war years.
On the cessation of hostilities the WIA reported the resumption of the hobby,
and its negotiations with authorities.
The next major phase was when Amateur Radio magazine and other historical
WIA matters like the membership database run at the Victorian Division
went to a new company WIA Federal in 1972.
The magazine evolution saw it adopt modern production and printing techniques,
moving from manuscripts that had to be converted to print, to digital files
on disk, through to email attachments. It also went from a dowdy black and
white publication to full colour.
Since 1933 Amateur Radio had sought to be a record of history, and will
continue in that role. But in a bimonthly production, and so it can still
have appeal of the changing audience the contents will naturally change,
but this may take months to fully achieve.
Now the reality change.
Amateur Radio is the highest single expense of the Institute.
It suffered mainly because of the 50 per cent increase in costs over the past
few years.
As Amateur Radio enters the next phase; the readership, contributors,
advertisers, and those steering the course of this publication, have their
own part to play in its future.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
A look inside December's Amateur Radio magazine
The Wireless Institute of Australia finances have been reviewed by the board
of directors, which has set a sustainable course, however the major actions
won't have effect until the 2018 year.
WIA President Justin Giles-Clark VK7TW, in the board comment, talks about
coming to grips with the way the organisation operates; a discovery with a
complex historic picture that took longer than originally thought.
On a positive note, there are several key areas identified that place the
organisation on a much more sustainable platform and further improve its
financial position.
Amateur Radio magazine, by far the largest expense, is to be published
bi-monthly in 2018. Ideas for revitalising it have been received and more
are welcome.
For a fuller explanation of WIA finances, the expenses and revenue; please
read the board comment.
Also the WIA journal has a discussion on 160 metre Band Planning, a light
weight 2-metre yagi, a VHF diplexer revisited, what digital modes can do,
plus special interest and regional columns; that all make good reading.
I am Barry Robinson VK3PV - and you are listening to VK1WIA.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL,
Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, WIA Local News Service VK7, VK3PC and the WW
sources of the WIA.
Mysterious Signals Did Not Come from Missing Submarine;
MF/HF Frequencies Listed
Satellite signals heard over the weekend did not come from the missing
Argentine Navy submarine San Juan that went missing November 15, dashing hopes
that the vessel could be located.
The submarine had reported a malfunction, had surfaced, and was headed back to
its base when the Navy lost contact with it. The sub carries a crew of 44.
A Naval commander told media that the submarine had surfaced and reported
"an electrical problem" before it disappeared some 270 miles off the
South American coast.
Over the weekend, Argentina's Defence Ministry had reported receiving seven
"failed satellite calls" that officials thought might be coming from the
missing submarine. No contact was made, and no transmissions occurred.
Over last weekend, IARU Region 2 News Editor Joaqun Solana, XE1R, issued a
list of marine frequencies, suggesting that radio amateurs and SWLs listen
for any signals that could be related to the missing San Juan.
Frequencies are 2,065.0 kHz; 2,182.0 kHz; 3,023.0 kHz; 3,860.6 kHz;
4,125.0 kHz; 4,143.6 kHz; 6,218.6 kHz, 8,528.0 kHz on HF,
as well as 42.395 MHz, 43.040 MHz, and 84.470 MHz.
The MF emergency frequencies of 416 kHz, 437 kHz, and 500 kHz also were
suggested.
AMATEUR SERVICES FEATURE IN FREE ITU MAGAZINE
The new edition of the ITU News Magazine (04/2017) features an article by IARU
President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, about the International Amateur Radio Union, the
International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) and ITU-R.
The IARU has been and continues to be a regular contributor to the CCIR and the
ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) Study Groups and Working Parties, on
behalf of more than three million licensees of the Amateur and
Amateur-Satellite Services throughout the world.
They share what they learn with one another and with the wider
telecommunications community, in part through ITU-R Recommendations and Reports.
ITU-R Study Group 5 and Working Party 5A (WP 5A) are home to both the Amateur
and the Amateur-Satellite Services.
www.itu.int/en/itunews/
Radio Caroline Heard Testing on 648 kHz as it Prepares its Legal Return to
the Airwaves
Medium-wave broadcast listeners recently reported a signal with continuous
music and announcements on 648 kHz -- the frequency of the former pirate
broadcaster and soon-to-be reconstituted Radio Caroline.
From the UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Austria they reported
hearing the signal. Some reports, according to Mike Terry of The SWLing Post,
Terry said he believed the testing was done at a lower power level than the
permitted 1 kW.
The latter-day incarnation of the famous shipboard pirate radio station that
beamed rock music to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, has gone legal and obtained
a license to operate permanently on 648 kHz at 1 kW ERP.
It's taken Radio Caroline 53 years to get an AM license, and it was perceived
as a threat to the BBC for many years," Radio Caroline said on its website.
PCB prices to rise on copper foil shortage, says broker
A shortage of copper and copper foil for use by the printed circuit board (PCB)
industry is likely to send prices higher according to Raymond Goh, COO of
Elmatica AS (Oslo, Norway), a PCB broker.
Goh said that the global output of copper is not increasing while demand for
copper in lithium batteries for automotive applications is and that as a result
a current shortage of copper foil will persist. On top of this China is
planning to ban the importation of electronic waste, a significant source of
recycled copper, Goh said.
Although others will undoubtedly continue to recycle electronic waste China's
exit would represent a disruption to the process creating a temporary decrease
in copper supply.
FREQUENCY OR WAVELENGTH?
What is the correct term to use in modern times, is it frequency or wavelength?
In the 1920's when AM broadcasting started, all radio dials were only
calibrated in wavelengths and radio amateurs operated only on wavelengths
measured in metres.
In an article prepared by the SARL they remind us that this continued until
1927 when the ITU held the first International Radiotelegraph Convention of
Washington.
This is where they allocated the frequency bands with the wavelengths for the
five official radio services, Broadcasting, Maritime Mobile, Fixed, Mobile and
Amateur. Somewhere along the line the ITU and the IARU dropped wavelengths and
all their band plans are only given in a frequency of megahertz.
If we compare the frequency bands with the wavelength bands we find quite a
number of errors, for example the 7 MHz band is actually in the 41-metre band,
while the 21 MHz band is in the 14-metre band next to the 13-metre shortwave
broadcasting band.
Today all dials on receivers or transceivers are calibrated in frequencies only.
Who and Where are our broadcast stations?
http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/
HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT
All major Australian contests, rules and results, are on the
Contest Section of the WIA website.
wia.org.au/members/contests/about
2017
November CQ WW DX / CW CONTEST November 26-27.
Running ALL year 'til Dec 31 Victorian Local Government Award 2017 Challenge
2018
John Moyle Memorial Field Day will be held over the weekend of the 17th-18th
March 2018 and will run from UTC 0100 on the Saturday until 0059 on the
Sunday.
IARU HF Championship event on 15 and 16 July.
The 21st International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is on
August 18 to 19, 2018
Olof, G 0 CKV is active again as 3 B 9 HA from Rodrigues Island to the 12th of
December. He will operate CW, with main activity during the CQ WW DX CW Contest
and will focus on the low bands at other times.
(rsgb)
Nick, G 3 RWF is also active again as 5 X 1 NH from Uganda to the 30th of
November, with main activity during the CQ WW DX CW Contest.
QSL via home call G3RWF
(rsgb)
EIDX
The EIDX Group (who brought you 9N7EI earlier this year) are delighted to
announce their next DXpedition for 2018.
A team of 14 operators will be QRV for 2 consecutive weekends from March 21st
to April 3rd also taking in the WPX SSB contest.
The team have carefully selected an ideal location on the shores of lake Malawi
and will be QRV as 7 Q 7 EI on all bands from 160m through 10m, SSB, CW and
RTTY.
Their website is now up and running and can be visited on 7q7ei.com
(irts)
Members of the Voodoo Contest Group are in Suriname as PZ 5 V till 28th Nov.
and will be very active in the CQ WW CW Contest this weekend. Again PZ 5 V.
(IRTS)
To celebrate the 80th birthdays of both King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway
during 2017 special event stations have been active. The callsigns to look for
are LM 80 REX and LM 8 0Q.
QSLs for these stations are via Club Log OQRS.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DIGITAL
The chief executive of the first company to be certified by the FCC for
software-defined radio died suddenly Nov 11.
The death of software executive Vanu Bose was announced on the website of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was an alumnus and member of
the MIT Corporation.
Bose's company, Vanu Inc., uses technology he developed while a graduate
student at MIT and now provides wireless infrastructure around the world.
The company also used its technology for humanitarian causes, most recently
assisting with communications in Puerto Rico following the hurricane.
In 2004, Bose's company made news when it won the first FCC approval of
Vanu's Software Radio GSM Base Station, which was capable of being
modified without changes to its hardware. It was heralded as a major
advance in wireless communications.
(arnewsline)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Launched, Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 91 (AO-91)
The Delta II rocket carrying RadFxSat (Fox-1B) launched at 09:47:36
UTC on November 18, 2017 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Following a picture-perfect launch, RadFxSat was deployed at 11:09
UTC. Then the wait began. At 12:12 UTC, the AMSAT Engineering team,
watching ZR6AIC's WebSDR waterfall, saw the characteristic "Fox Tail"
of the Fox-1 series FM transmitter, confirming that the satellite was
alive and transmitting over South Africa. Shortly after 12:34 UTC, the
first telemetry was received and uploaded to AMSAT servers by Maurizio
Balducci, IV3RYQ, in Cervignano del Friuli, Italy. Initial telemetry
confirmed that the satellite was healthy.
After confirmation of signal reception, OSCAR Number Administrator
Bill Tynan, W3XO, sent an email to the AMSAT Board of Directors
designating the satellite AMSAT-OSCAR 91 (AO-91).
The amateur radio package is similar to that currently on orbit on AO-85
with an uplink on 435.250 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS) and a downlink on 145.960 MHz.
(AMSAT-NA)
December 20 Launch for HA-1 CubeSat with FM transponder and SSTV
The IARU has announced frequency coordination has been completed for
HA-1, a 2U CubeSat developed by the Teenagers Amateur Radio Centre of
Activity in Huaian, China. HA-1 is planned for launch on December 20.
HA-1 will be mainly used for teenagers in Huaian to carry out activities
related with amateur radio and aerospace science education. The CubeSat
is equipped with amateur radio repeater and SSTV(Slow Scan Television)
component, which is to validate still image transmission in narrowband
voice channel.
There is an SSTV beacon, which puts Date/Time/Location information/temp-
erature etc. on a SSTV picture. Amateurs worldwide can also use HA-1 to
test SSTV via the CubeSat.
Uplink: 145.930 MHz FM
Downlink: 436.950 MHz FM
Telemetry: 437.350 MHz 9k6 BPSK
[ANS thanks the IARU for the above information]
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- BALLOONING
Real-time balloon track
https://tracker.habhub.org
high altitude balloon links
https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/balloons/
THE SCIENCE OF HONORING SUPPORTER'S MEMORY
In this story we tell a tale of weather balloons released in an Indiana
football field -- two balloons with two missions.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks AE5DW shares that story.
DON: In the eyes of 20 high school seniors from Indiana's Hobart High
School, few things could have flown higher in those few moments of
launch than Genesis and Exodus, the weather balloons that lifted off on
Nov. 9 from the school's football field.
The engineering and design seniors were led by teacher Brent Vermeulen,
who had secured about $3,000 in grants to make the launch happen. Each
helium-filled balloon had a GoPro camera and a 360 degree HD camera to
record its flight, plus an antenna enabling tracking by two local hams.
Exodus lived up to its name, traveling 240 miles before ending up in a
cornfield near Huron, Ohio. Genesis made it as far as Napoleon, Ohio,
completing a trip of about 162 miles before landing in a farmer's field
there.
Much more was on board however than just recording and radio equipment.
Jackie Fitzgerald of Hobart had been on the sidelines watching it all.
This year her brother, Marvin Boetcher, WV90, could not be there for one
of his favourite annual events. The Hobart amateur, a 1967 graduate of
the school, became a Silent Key in March.
Jackie had made a donation in her brother's memory to help the flight --
and these words covered the payload of Genesis: "in loving memory of
Marvin Boetcher."
She watched the students and their balloons and in her eyes too, few
things could have flown higher on that bright morning.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS
A Youth Net meets Saturdays at 0100 UTC on IRLP Reflector #2.
Young Hams Net 3.590 - 7:30pm Victorian time.
http://www.ham-yota.eu/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/youngstersontheair
http://www.arrl.org/youth-nets
In today's electronic social media world, children are probably sending their
wish list to Santa Claus by text or email.
In the USA some 'Old Timers' are helping the 'Young Timers', this as Saginaw
Valley Amateur Radio Association President Mike Dougherty told us how last
weekend the clock was turned back to the mid-1800s, with telegrapher Jim Wades
sending hundreds of messages by telegraph from the Saginaw Children's Zoo.
The messages are going to Wades' fellow HAM radio operator in Fairbanks,
Alaska, who will then take them to the North Pole.
Dougherty said kids are asking for the usual items, Barbie dolls, Lego sets,
electronic items, I-pads and I-pods.
(eHam)
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - VHF AND ABOVE (The Plumbers Delight)
Microwave enthusiast Mike, N1JEZ, has reported several successful 78 GHz
contacts between the US and Canada on November 9.
"We believe these contacts may be the first W/VE on 78 GHz," N1JEZ said in a
post to several VHF/UHF/microwave-oriented reflectors.
On the Canadian side were Rene, VE2UG, and Ray, VE3FN. On the US side were
Henry, KT1J, and Mike N1JEZ.
The first contacts were between FN35ja and FN34jx -- a distance of 5 kilometres
Contacts were easily made in SSB with huge signals on both ends.
Next, N1JEZ and KT1J moved to FN34lt -- extending the distance to 27 kilometres
and again easily made contact with the Canadian crew.
(ARRL)
GET YOUR HAM LICENCE
Visit the WIA website, wia.org.au
To find A Club And Course Near You
http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/learningorganisers/
To make a general enquiry
https://www.wia.org.au/discover/sendinfo/publicenquiry/
CANBERRA
email education@crarc.ampr.org for further information.
AMATEUR RADIO NEW SOUTH WALES:-
ARNSW 63 Quarry Rd Dural, email for details on education@arnsw.org.au
Bookings can be made by phoning the office on 02 9651 1490
and leaving contact details.
AMATEUR RADIO VICTORIA CONTACT:-
Amateur Radio Victoria 40G Victory Boulevard, Ashburton,
vk3pv@amateurradio.com.au or phone Barry on 0428 516 001.
SOCIAL SCENE 2017
Nov 25 VK3 3 pm Melbourne QRP by the Bay at Chelsea beach.
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2018
Feb 25 VK2 Wyong Field Day (VK2AOR)
Do you know what will you be doing at 8:30am on Sunday the 25th. of February
2018?
Well for a great number of amateurs it'll be queueing at the gates to get into
the improved facilities at the Wyong Racecourse for the Central Coast ARC's
60th Field day!
I've already told you about some of the lectures and demonstrations.
One I forgot to include is the VHF/UHF and weak signal group's annual meeting
which has been a constant attraction at the field day for many years. This group
's meeting presents the latest happenings in this area of amateur radio for the
enthusiasts and for new people to the hobby. Roger Harrison VK2ZRH will
convene the group at 11 O'clock. Roger is an authority in this field and has
many published articles to his credit.
I've just heard that the drone demonstration from Phaser Computers, which I
mentioned a couple of weeks ago will be with "first person view" drones,
meaning the pilot on the ground can see what the drone sees. This promises to
be a very popular demonstration again in 2018.
Traders and exhibitors are being distributed details of the event at the moment
and if you are a trader who would like to attend the field day and take
advantage of our new upgraded facilities please contact the CCARC via the
field day website at FIELDDAY.ORG.AU
That's also where everyone can find details of the event.
For the Central Coast ARC Field day at Wyong 2018, this is Ed DD5LP.
March 25 VK3 EMDRC HamFest Great Ryrie Primary School Heathmont (VK3BQ)
May 4 -7 VK4 Clairview Gathering ( between Rockhampton/Mackay ) (TARC)
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