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March 25 2018 - VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
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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!
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NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING MARCH 25 2018.
IN OUR 23rd YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
WIA Radio and Electronics Convention and AGM, please registernow. -
WIA Merit Awards with Peter Clee VK8ZZ Secretary WIA. -
WIA attends Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Meeting. -
WIA Director David Ford VK4MZ with some "out-there ideas"
THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE
OF AUSTRALIA 2018 AND FOR WEEK OF MARCH 25
Australia will stand for re-election to the Council of the International
Telecommunication Union later this year.
Critical Comms magazine say the announcement was made in a joint statement
released by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, and the Minister
for Communications, Mitch Fifield.
"Australia has been an active member of the council since 1959.
We play a pivotal role in the ITU's support for communications
in our region, especially in addressing cybersecurity challenges."
The Ministers said that the Departments of Communications and the Arts,
Foreign Affairs and Trade and the ACMA will work together to campaign for
Australia's re-election.
http://criticalcomms.com.au/content/industry/news/australia-seeks-itu-council-re-election-1164506878#ixzz5A4db7oWo
ISS Astronaut Talks to Victorian Students
On 19 March ISS astronaut Scott Tingle and Templestowe Valley Primary School
made contact, with Scott answering the many questions the students put to him.
The contact was a telebridge between NA1SS and VK4KHZ in Glenden, Queensland.
The contact was audible over portions of Australia and adjacent areas on
frequency 145.800 MHz downlink.
This unique opportunity came about after student and amateur radio enthusiast
Archie Toy VK3FTOY heard about the Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station program
(QRZ.com and HeraldSun.com.au)
* Writer VK2FKND notes..
" I was able to listen in to Astronaut Scott Tingle, heard loud and clear
here in the Hunter Valley. "
WIA
Don't forget that registrations are now open for the 2018 WIA Radio and
Electronics Convention and AGM. You can register today via the online
registration form on the WIA website
For those arriving at the Gold Coast on Friday evening the traditional
informal dinner and get together is being held at Fisherman's Wharf Tavern,
which is located near Sea World on Main Beach. The evening meal will be of
your choice and budget.
On Saturday morning at 9am the formal WIA AGM and Open Forum will take place
in SeaWorld's conference centre. This important event will be followed by an
eye opening afternoon program themed "Beyond 2020".
At 7pm on Saturday evening the traditional WIA Annual Dinner will take place.
The dinner is being held at SeaWorld's Shoreline Restaurant, featuring the
restaurants signature seafood buffet. During the evening guests will be
privileged to hear from Jeff Johnson VK4XJJ as he talks to us about his walk
across Australia with Amateur Radio.
On Sunday morning consider trying something different, an early morning
Champagne and Breakfast Hot Air Balloon Ride. Consider taking
your radio with you and discover how far for you can work from such heights.
Sunday morning will also feature tours of the Queensland Telecommunications
Museum, a tour of the Surf Life Saving Command Centre, plus a variety of
demonstrations and displays of Amateur Radio equipment.
And last but not least, for those not traveling back to their home QTH on
Sunday afternoon, you are invited to join us for a free BBQ dinner courtesy
of the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society.
Further information and the Full weekend program with online registration
form is now available on the WIA Website.
WIA Merit Awards
The WIA Merit Award program identifies and recognises outstanding achievement
in the field of Amateur Radio that furthers the science of radio, and/or
service to the WIA.
The Awards play an important role in promoting excellence with nominations
made by WIA members and then decided by the WIA Board.
Nominations are now being called for the 2018 awards.
The WIA Merit Awards include:
GA Taylor Medal
WIA Honorary Life Membership
Chris Jones Award
Ron Wilkinson Achievement Award
WIA Technical Excellence Award
WIA Foundation Licence Award
Presidents Commendation
A full list of the origin of each award and the previous recipients is
available on the WIA web site.
The list of the current award recipients and their achievements will be
published in Amateur Radio magazine and on this WIA Sunday broadcast.
Nominations should be in the approved format utilising the form which is on
the WIA web site. Details in the text version of this broadcast.
http://www.wia.org.au/members/wiaawards/about/
The specific award is not part of the nomination process. That decision is
made by the WIA Board of Directors, and all WIA Merit Awards are not
necessarily awarded each and every year.
If a nomination is successful, these are usually announced at the WIA Annual
General Meeting, and where possible presented at that gathering of members.
Nominations close on 15th April 2018.
In addition there are also awards issued by the Publications Committee and
the WIA DX Awards Committee
(Peter Clee VK8ZZ, Secretary WIA)
WIA attends Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Meeting
The following is a summary of the report from Dale Hughes VK1DSH.
The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) is a Regional Telecommunications
Organisation (RTO) that, among other things, develops the Asia-Pacific
regional view on World Radio Conference 2019 (WRC-19) agenda items.
The third meeting of the APT Preparatory group for WRC-19 (APG19-3) was
held in Perth, Australia over the week 12 to 16 March 2018. Some 400
delegates from APT member states attended.
It is important that the amateur service be represented at these meetings
to ensure the best outcome for Region 3 amateurs.
Regional views on WRC-19 agenda items (AI's) are important as the various
RTO's carry considerable weight at the WRC negotiations. The Australian
delegation of 47 members was jointly headed by the ACMA and the
Department of Communications and the Arts. Australian delegates represented
various government departments, statutory authorities, broadcasters and
satellite operators. Dale Hughes VK1DSH represented the WIA (and therefore
Australia's amateur service) and Dale was specifically responsible for
WRC-19 agenda items 1.1 and 9.1.6.
There were many other amateurs attending - Mr. Ken Yamamoto JA1CJP (IARU
Region 3 Secretary) was a member of the Japanese delegation and represented
the JARL and the other IARU delegates were Mr. Shizuo Endo JE1MUI and
Mr. Wisnu Widjaja YB0AZ.
The main WRC-19 amateur issue is agenda item 1.1 which relates to a possible
new amateur allocation in the 50 - 54 MHz frequency band in ITU Region 1 and
therefore is not of direct concern for Region 3 amateurs, however it is
important to ensure that any decisions made by WRC-19 on this issue do not
affect the Region 3 amateur allocations.
As the Australian agenda item coordinator for agenda items 1.1 and 9.1.6
Dale is responsible for the development of Australia's position on these
agenda items and presenting such views at ITU and APG meetings. For APG19-3
Australia submitted input contributions on all WRC-19 agenda items including
items 1.1 and 9.1.6 and these contributions were considered in developing the
preliminary Asia-Pacific regional views and associated output documents.
The IARU preliminary views on WRC-19 agenda items are given in annex 1 of
this report.
The APG19-3 meeting is midway in the WRC-19 cycle, most views on WRC agenda
items are starting to crystallise (incl. Australia) and will be refined over
the next two APG meetings. The value of being at APG meetings (either as a
member of a national delegation or as representative of the IARU) is finding
out the various national views and being able to possibly influence national
and regional views.
A summary of the main results from APG19-3 is as follows
Agenda Item - Issue - Preliminary View
1.1 - Region 1 50 - 54 MHz amateur allocation - Good
1.7 - Additional spectrum for small satellites - OK, but watch
1.11 - Railway systems; possible new allocation - OK, but watch
1.12 - Spectrum for Intelligent Transport Systems - OK, but remains a threat
1.13 - mm wave spectrum for IMT - OK, but watch
1.16 - Additional RLAN spectrum at 5 GHz - OK, but remains a threat
9.1.6 - Wireless Power Transmission for electric vehicles - OK, but remains
a threat
What is next?
The next APG and WRC meetings are planned to be:
APG19-4: Korea, 7 - 12 January, 2019
APG19-5: Japan, 31 July - 6 August, 2019
WRC-19: Egypt, 28 October - 22 November 2019
It is important that we attend these meetings to ensure that the concerns
of the amateur service are adequately expressed and incorporated in the
relevant APG views and output texts.
Conclusion
APG19-3 was well run and successful; the views of the amateur service were
represented in a professional manner and were noted in the relevant APG
output documents. Input to future APG meetings through the WRC processes of
each national administration (where possible) and the IARU on agenda items
relevant to the amateur service is important and such input must be refined
to clearly reflect the needs and concerns of the amateur service.
Links:
A full list of WRC-19 agenda items may be found in Resolution 809 (WRC-15).
The preliminary Australia views on all WRC-19 agenda items may be found on
the ACMA website.
The finalised APG19-3 preliminary views on WRC-19 agenda items will appear
on the APT website covering APG meetings under the 'Documents' section in
due course. https://www.apt.int/APTAPG
ACMA details on Australian Radio Study Groups (particularly ARSG-5).
Dale Hughes VK1DSH's full report on the APG-3 meeting can be found below.
The IARU preliminary views on WRC-19 agenda items is an annex to this report.
Remember 'GOOGLE' is your friend here or go to wia.org.au front page news.
WIA Director David Ford, VK4MZ:-
Have you signed up for the WIA Radio and Electronics Convention to be held
at Sea World Resort on the Gold Coast yet? There's some awesome sessions and
every one of the nineteen plus events looks fascinating.
The weekend is so action packed that on Saturday afternoon there are two
streams of content running simultaneously. Remember that for everything other
than the 90-minute AGM part of the weekend on Saturday morning, non-WIA
members are most welcome to come along. It will be held from the 18th to the
20th of May 2018 which is in 8 short weeks.
Put your registration in today to help the organising committee further plan
for the event, and also so that you don't miss your chance to attend if it
sells out. You can book tickets by following the link on the right side of
the WIA website at www.wia.org.au
If you are planning a longer stay in the Gold Coast, the Commonwealth Games
are only a month before the WIA Radio and Electronics Convention and at the
time of recording, tickets are still available.
As the Board, we frequently get asked, what can we do to improve uptake, and
retention in the hobby. Well like most things, there is a complex answer,
and a simple answer. Right now, today, or this week if you're a club you can
act.
The first act I'll call the fun police, the second act big goals, the third,
sharing is caring and the fourth, the big question.
1. The fun police, hobbies are all about fun and they are a form of
entertainment. If you aren't having fun, and the hobby is not
rewarding, your motivation will fall, and you'll give it up.
That's the same for almost everyone. Now when we look at many clubs
we see they are structured in a hierarchical way. There will be a
president, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer and you may have
a few other roles. The club will meet regularly, and the typical agenda
considers reports from different parties. There may be a presentation
of varying interest and then the meeting closes. Sometimes, this could be
called fun. Other times, not so much.
2. To introduce new comers to the hobby and retain their interest in
an ever-noisy world. Flip the model and empower your club with
someone who's role it is to play the fun police. This is an
independent role for your club and has a conflict of interest if
the same person tries to perform any other role in the club. Your
fun police's motto is that if it's not fun, don't do it, or at least
minimise it. If part of your club meetings is boring, then it's the
fun police's job to respectfully highlight that it's stale.
If there's someone acting in a way that makes the hobby less fun
for others, bring in your fun police to have a quiet and private
word with them. In retail there is a theory that unless your bricks
and mortar store can create a compelling experience that people love
to be a part of without buying something, an experience that's
entertaining and keeps people coming to the store just because they
want to be there, then don't bother with opening a bricks and mortar
store at all. If your customer experience isn't compelling, then
your strategy is better pursued online (there are some exceptions).
So too this can be applied to hobbies, the experience MUST be
compelling, entertaining, rewarding and most importantly enjoyable.
Nominate your club a fun police force to make it happen. If its
not fun, sideline it. You can do that this week at your club
and it'll pay off.
3. Big Goals, most people like to be part of something big and
challenging. So set your club some lofty goals to pursue such as
helping someone unfortunate in the community, winning the next
Remembrance Day, Oceania DX or John Moyle Memorial contest,
why not go for all three. arrange a competition with other
local clubs for a weekly fox hunt challenge, run a trivia contest
over the local repeater, build a station for your local school
as a long-term project and when I say build I mean build with
a soldering iron - involve the school in building it. The point is,
find a goal that works for your club and give everyone a chance
to work towards achieving it.
4. Sharing is caring. Now once you have a club where the fun police
have done their job. A club that is pursuing the enjoyment of the
hobby with some big goals that gets back to the roots of what the
hobby is about, and people really love doing it. The time has come
to share the experience. Setup a special open day, make sure the fun
of your club is exemplified by showcasing and allowing people to
experience Amateur Radio and electronics in an immersive and hands-on
manner whatever your club loves to do and invite your kids,
your grandkids, friends or anyone else. Get them involved.
5. The big question. An issue that we hear frequently is that it is
very difficult to find an exam. With the number of assessors and
clubs around this shouldn't be the case, but it is.
So if your club runs exams make sure you have a process setup to
respond to exam candidates quickly, and if the process fails have
a backup.
So that's four simple acts that your club can start thinking about and
discussing this week. Or makeup your own plan. The important point is to ask,
why would someone want to take up the hobby and keep doing it? And then give
your club members and potential club members every chance to amplify the
experience and build a club experience that's compelling. Once you've done
that, take steps to remove friction in the experience.
Have a great day, I'll see you at the WIA Radio and Electronics Convention.
Don't forget to arrange your travel and book your tickets soon as its only
8 weeks away on the 18th to 20th of May. Bookings are available through the
wia.org.au website.
This has been David Ford, VK4MZ with some "out-there ideas" - so go get out
there.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club,
ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, Local News Services VK2, 7 and the
WW sources of the WIA including VK2FKND
E-licensing
The world-wide shift to online amateur radio exams and licensing continues
to gather pace, the latest country to adopt it is Indonesia.
The new online State Amateur Radio Examination (UNAR) and Licensing system
shows the government's commitment to provide easy, fast & transparent services.
The implementation of UNAR e-Licensing aims to facilitate the stakeholders,
especially the Directorate General of SDPPI as the regulator, the
Amateur Radio Organization of Indonesia, as well as the participants of
UNAR itself.
Taking advantage of E-Licencing, 2 young people aged 9 were among the 291
people who took the amateur radio exam using the new online State Amateur
Radio Examination (UNAR) and Licensing system
The Indonesian Government regulator reports that Muhammad Raihan Yudhistira
and Raditya Danish Pratama were the first child participants in the online exam
The article doesn't clarify if the 9-year-olds were actually able to get an
amateur license after passing the exam.
It appears that the amateur radio regulations in Indonesia ban people under
14 years of age from holding an amateur license.
The RSGB is planning to open the National Radio Centre every Monday, starting
on Monday the 2nd of April, Easter Monday.
This now means that the National Radio Centre, inside Bletchley Park will be
open to the public six days a week.
The National Radio Centre attracts around 26,000 visitors a year.
A new permanent exhibition at Bletchley Park tells the story of the
Bombe machines that helped break the Enigma code in the actual location
that housed the machines.
Hut 11A
The Bombe Breakthrough explains in detail the challenges posed by Enigma
and explores how Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman and others devised the machine
that helped solve it.
The Canadian Society, the RAC, have selected Don, VE7DS and Keith, VE7KW,
as co-recipients of the RAC Amateur of the Year Award for 2017 for their work
that made VE 100 VIMY a part of Canadian Amateur Radio history.
The project was a uniquely Canadian special event station VE100VIMY, and the
conception, planning, organizing and fulfilment of the project was done by
Don, Team Leader and Keith, Deputy Team Leader and Chief Engineer of the
Vimy Commemorative Station Society.
Together, these 2 guys made the project happen, a project that involved more
than 40,000 Amateurs around the world!
Still, after 9-11, the "beat" goes on.
On 14 February, a 19-year-old gunman shot and killed 17 people at a rampage
at Parkland School in Broward County, Florida.
Audio released from police voice communication recordings reveal frustration
on the part of officers responding to the incident. In particular, complaints
about congestion on the air.
Stations 'beating' with each other.
"I can't transmit for some reason," said one officer.
"Just so you know, we're having trouble transmitting," said another.
(( AUDIO COURTESY NPR ))
Officials say the system was working as intended, and that the users were
running into a 'throttling' issue as the radio channel(s) became more and
more congested.
An in-depth story is reported by the US National Public Radio, including
comments from Bill Schrier, senior adviser to FirstNet and a recent speaker
at Comms Connect Melbourne.
http://criticalcomms.com.au/content/public-safety/article/police-complain-of-digital-radio-congestion-1038948160#ixzz5A4ceeQ83
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
This weekend sees the CQWW-WPXSSB contest running from
00.01 GMT on Saturday to 23.59 GMT on Sunday.
SSB only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is
signal report and serial number.
(RSGB)
April 18 - WW - World Amateur Radio Day - IARU
May 12-13 - WW - Mills On The Air
June 17 - IARU R3 - 2018 QRP Day Region 3
August 11-12 - VK - Remembrance Day Contest
August 18-19 - WW - Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend
October 6 - WW - Oceania DX contest
May 12-13 - WW - Mills On The Air
You could help bring some life back into Australia's heritage mills by joining
the mills-on-the-air scheme.
Once thought of as a mainly UK event, the scheme has spread to Europe, and
since last year, has Australia as a member.
Thanks to the Central Goldfields Amateur Radio Group and Peter VK3CC,
Smeaton Mill in Victoria, in 2017, was the first Australian mill to be
registered with Mills on the Air.
Why not get your club to adopt a local mill - any type will do such as a flour,
woollen or paper mill, whether working, derelict or just the site of an old
mill.
It's a simple process to register with the originators of the scheme,
Denby Dale radio club.
This year Bendigo Amateur Radio and Electronics Club will be coordinating the
activation of Andersons Mill.
There are heritage and festival events being held simultaneously this year at
Smeaton and I do know that the National Trust of Australia and the press are
taking a great interest in our proposed activities.
It's a low key family event and not a contest and is being held on the weekend
of the 12th and 13th of May 2018 so you have plenty of time to join in.
The website adoptamillacrossaustralia.com.au gives you all the details you
need to join in.
I'm Tony, VK3KKP.
THE DX EDGE
Crozet and Glorioso Islands will probably stay rare for now
A letter written by Sebastien, F 5 UFX, was sent out to the media this past
weekend explaining the status of Amateur Radio from the French overseas
territories and their project for an expedition to these Islands.
Currently both Crozet (FT/W) and Glorioso Islands (FT/G) are both ranked on
ClubLog's "DXCC Most Wanted List", #3 and #13, respectively.
DXPeditions seem unlikely due to the many TAAF island restrictions for
protecting the birds, ecosystems and safeguarding biodiversity.
DXNEWS.COM - https://dxnews.com/crozet-glorioso
(sourced to SouthGate)
The Zululand Amateur Radio Club, ZS 5 ZLB, are activating ZSFF-0102 -
Dlinza Forest Nature Reserve in Zululand March 25 from 10:00 to 13:00 UTC.
They will be using the preferred frequency of 7.145 or thereabout.
All QSOs will be confirmed by a QSL card.
Nearly 100k QSOs for Z60A
Before shutting down on 12th March, Z60A in Kosovo had logged 98,450
contacts during its celebratory operations.
The 30-day-long initial activation of the newest DXCC entity encountered
30,541 individual call signs in 174 DXCC entities.
QSL cards will be printed soon
(sourced to RSGB)
The EIDX Group are active as 7 Q 7 EI from Malawi to the 3rd of April.
They will operate on 160 to 10m using CW, SSB and RTTY.
They particularly plan to be active in the CQ WW WPX SSB Contest this weekend.
QSL via M 0 OXO.
(sourced to RSGB)
The Italian DXpedition Team are QRV from Cameroon as TJ3TT from 15 - 29 March.
Look for them on 160 - 10m CW, SSB and Digital.
Full details can be found on www.i2ysb.com/idt/
(IRTS)
WIRELESS WEATHER
A 'cracking' surprise geomagnetic storm
Last Sunday, March 18t, an unexpected crack opened in the Earth's magnetic
field, sparking a brief but potent G2-class geomagnetic storm.
Bright auroras ringed the Arctic Circle while, in Europe, the light show
descended as far south as Germany.
Spaceweather.com explains the phenomenon of magnetic cracks and how you
can monitor them online.
(Sourced to SouthGate AR News)
MEDIA WATCH
Amateur Radio and Zombies
Sure, ham radio can save lives but....that apparently doesn't count if you're
a zombie. The March 11th episode of "The Walking Dead," a popular American TV
show, seemed to try to make that point.
The episode marked the latest appearance ham radio has made in a TV series -
this one being a popular post-apocalyptic drama.
Two of the show's protagonists discover an abandoned QTH with radio equipment
and a script of messages designed to reassure anyone who can copy the operator's
signal. The men also find a corpse on the ground - a zombified man who had
somehow suffocated. He is presumed to have been the ham radio operator
transmitting those messages. The fact that the deceased ham was relying on
good band conditions tells us this is definitely fiction.
Stay tuned, perhaps there'll be a sequel - not "The Walking Dead" but the
"Push-To-Talking Dead."
(Amateur Radio News Online)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
Sneaky Satellites
Further to last week's news item about the unauthorised launch of four tiny
satellites. The four communications satellites that Swarm Technologies had
launched into orbit from India in January, without approval, were designed
to test out an Internet-of-Things communications network from space by
communicating with ground stations and swapping data for as long as eight years
Swarm's application to operate them from space was rejected by the FCC in
December, with the agency citing concerns about their possible collision with
other craft in space.
The FCC noted that the miniature nature of the SpaceBees' technology would
make them difficult to track to prevent such collisions. The FCC has set
aside permission it previously gave Swarm for its next four satellites due to
be launched in April, pending further review of the unauthorised launch.
More on this story is available from www.space.com
(Space.com)
A 3U Cube Satellite, dubbed the HuskySat-1, being developed by the
University of Washington and will be launched into A HIGH inclination
Low Earth Orbit late 2018
HuskySat-1 is a 3U CubeSat with propulsion capabilities in the form of a
pulsed plasma thruster, will demonstrate the capabilities of new technologies
being developed at the University and expand the capabilities of CubeSats
as a whole.
HuskySat-1 will carry a 30 kHz wide 145 to 435 MHz linear transponder for
amateur radio SSB/CW communications along with 1k2 BPSK telemetry.
The satellite will also transmit BPSK telemetry at 1 Mbps in the 24 GHz band.
(Kerrie VK2FKND/AMSAT-NA/RSGB)
Lunar Amateur Radio Satellites DSLWP-A1/A2
Mingchuan Wei BG2BHC reports DSLWP is a lunar formation flying mission
for low frequency radio astronomy, amateur radio and education, which consists
of 2 microsatellites.
Developed by students at the Harbin Institute of Technology the amateur radio
payload on-board DSLWP-A1 will provide telecommand uplink & telemetry / digital
image downlink. The team proposes downlinks for A1 on 435.425 MHz & 436.425 MHz
while downlinks for A2 would be 435.400 MHz and 436.400 MHz using 250 bps GMSK
with concatenated codes or JT65B.
The planned launch into a 200 x 9000 km lunar orbit is June 2018.
Further info can be found on the link provided in this week's text edition
of the WIA News Service.
http://lilacsat.hit.edu.cn/
(Sourced from the AMSAT News Service bk vk7pd)
China's DSLWP-A1/A2 Satellites to Transmit Amateur Radio Data from the Moon
China is planning to launch the Chang'e 4 lander and rover which is slated
to land on the far side of the moon in December.
The lander configuration will use a relay satellite for a control and data
link with Earth.
(AMSAT-NA)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO
ALARA - AUSTRALIAN LADIES AR ASSOCIATION
http://alara.org.au
Net is held each Mondays on 3.570 MHz, commencing at 1030 UTC.
(1000utc during daylight saving)
Thelma Souper YL contest
It is with a lot of regret that the Executive Committee of WARO has announced
the Thelma Souper Contest will not be held this year. No other details were
available as we went to air.
(NZART)
Attracting More Women to Amateur Radio
Following International Women's Day, I spent some time researching for this
segment and found myself lost in a myriad of internet threads about how to
attract more women to amateur radio. It was the kind of internet rabbit hole
that we occasionally find it difficult to extract ourselves from. There was a
list of do's and don'ts, interestingly enough written by a man, and comments
about avoiding the double bind stereotype - the stereotype that says women
are nice, kind and compassionate, and therefore don't make good leaders.
Then I found a social media site exclusively for women to discuss the issue.
https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/2kku8h/encouraging_women_in_amateur_radio_any_success/clmfm84/
Then I found the story of Destiny Cosner, KG5MRD, which illustrates
wonderfully how to support a girl's interest in amateur radio.
Destiny writes
"My parents are both ham operators back in WA state where I grew up.
My dad started a few years before 1980 after joining with the county
Search and Rescue team. My mom learned of ham radio from her father,
and sometime in the early 1980s she got her license. She joined
search and rescue a few years later and met my father.
Fun fact: My dad still has his red zone pass from his trip up Mt. St. Helens
in April of 1980. He was communications for the scientists going up to the
ridge just before it had its major eruption in May of that year.
So I grew up listening to all these stories and all the usual radio
chatter. Dad was always on the radio in the truck. Mom had a mobile
in the car, as well. I still remember one particular evening when I
was quite young, talking to my grandparents in Montana from the radio
in the back room, and asking when I would get to have my license.
Unfortunately, life got busy and I lost interest for a while. I graduated
high school, moved out on my own and ended up in Texas. At that point,
I wanted to get my license. I didn't have the contacts to find a class
or a place to test, so it took a couple of years before I asked the right
person and managed to find my way into the world of ham radio."
http://weeklynet.org/ylntx/blog/one-phenomenal-young-yls-journey-into-hamdom
Once again links are in the text version of this broadcast I'm
Kimberly Olsen VK2KMI for the WIA National News
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
80 YOUNG RADIO AMATEURS FROM 34 COUNTRIES TO ATTEND SUMMER YOTA IN SOUTH AFRICA.
The SARL will be hosting 80 young radio amateurs between 16 and 25 years old,
From the 8 to 15 August. This is a first for Africa and a first for
South Africa to host this major youth amateur radio event.
Participants are joining the camp from many European, near East and African
countries.
YOTA is the acronym for "Youngsters on the Air" and has the objective of
drawing together young licensed radio amateurs to learn new radio
communication skills, discuss and share ideas about amateur radio and its
future.
The participants will be exposed to building a transceiver, creating a
BACARSat to fly on a high-altitude balloon, learn about each other's cultures
and focus on how to take amateur radio forward in their own country.
(SARL)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS
http://www.raotc.org.au
The Radio Amateur Old Timers' Association has been operating GB 6 0OT
during 2018 as a part of its diamond jubilee celebrations.
GB 6 0OT is active 17 to 25 of March (operated by Simon M 0 TRJ)
(rsgb)
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
OR RADIO RESCUES.
While being in qso with friends in New York and Germany, Lothar, HK3JCL
heard a cry for help and recognised the voice of a friend in Germany.
This wheelchair-dependent friend lay immobilised in his home and had
used his VOX operated transceiver to call for help, which arrived via
Lothar in Colombia and another German amateur in Hamburg, who alerted
the local police to the situation.
Read more at http://ov-erding.de/
(SARL)
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - VHF AND ABOVE (The Plumbers Delight)
Is Spectrum above VHF where the future lies?
Radio communications started off on long and medium wavelengths, first on
Maritime Mobile spark transmissions and years later followed by AM
Broadcasting.
After radio amateurs discovered Shortwave DX communications the commercial
world rushed down to Shortwaves too to make their worldwide transmissions.
In time commercial stations realized that they needed more bandwidth to operate
their TV stations and FM Broadcasting stations, which was then available on
VHF.
With the advent of commercial satellite operation, DSTV became possible on the
Ku Microwave bands. But for a small group, most radio amateurs were reluctant
to explore these higher frequencies except for repeater operation on VHF.
Fortunately, there were several overseas amateurs who ventured to experiment
on the microwave bands even as high as the Terahertz spectrum.
What has now become clear is that DX can be worked almost daily on EME when
the moon is visible, using small portable dishes, low power and digital on
microwave frequencies, which could be a boon for townhouse EME operation.
(Southgate Amateur Radio News)
Social Scene
2018
March 24 - VK3 - D-Star Technical Day Eastern Zone ARC
March 24 - VK2 - Club Auction / Sale Day - Wagga ARC
March 25 - VK3 - EMDRC HamFest Great Ryrie Primary School Heathmont
Mar 31 - Ap 1 - VK2 - Urunga Radio Convention - Urunga
With Fox hunts and convention activities on both days, quizzes, raffles,
trade tables available, pre loved gear, etc.
Getting to Urunga is now even EASIER what with the new Deviation open
it also means Urunga is a lot less busy.
Why not make it a break from your busy lifestyle and slow down a bit at quiet
restful "Urunga" "where the rivers meet the sea", it's the longest running
"fox hunt convention" in Australia.
The social gathering for the Saturday night dinner at the Bowling Club is
always well attended ( see Ken VK2DGT at the convention )
The Saturday Night Fox Hunt (Fox O.R. 6 Tx's different freq. 2mtr's) was
very popular.(safety vests available, may need light)
The 2016 convention went off without a hitch and was well attended, with many
Fox hunters competing for "Arnold Austin Memorial Award" and the "Brian Slarke
Memorial Award" overall for two days. Mobile and Pedestrian Hunts.
Venue: the "Senior Citizens" hall Bowra street Urunga
Note: The "Pacific Highway deviation" is open, coming from the South, turn
into Ballards Road at Valla turn off, travel on old section, it may be quicker
to turn in on Waterfall Way North of Urunga.
Contact Information
Ken Golden VK2DGT. Urunga Radio Convention. Inc.
Email: krgolden46@hotmail.com
Pn.02 6652 3177
April 7-8 - VK3 - Antennapalooza 2018 - EMDRC, GGREC, MDRC & FAMPARC
at Drouin
April 22 - VK6 - Hill Amateur Radio Group HARGFest Swapmeet 10-2PM
April 22 - VK5 - South Coast Amateur Radio Club Annual Buy, Swap and
Sell 10-3PM
May 4-7 - VK4 Clairview Gathering ( between Rockhampton/Mackay )
May 12 - VK3 Moorabbin & District Radio Club HamFest (VK3GL)
The Moorabbin and District Amateur Radio club is pleased to announce
the 2018 HamFest will be on Saturday 12th May, 2018 with doors opening at 10am.
This year's event will be at changed venue - Brandon Park Community Centre,
649 Ferntree Gully Rd, Glen Waverley (Melways map ref 71 C8).
The Moorabbin Radio Club's annual HamFest is proud to be Victoria's biggest
with displays and sales of new and preloved equipment. A must come must see
event for anyone interested in Radio Communications and Electronics.
Major door prizes, free tea and coffee, light refreshments and a sausage sizzle
will also be on offer.
Trader table bookings and general enquires can be made by emailing
Graeme Lewis VK3GL (vk3gl@bigpond.com) or by phoning mobile 0418 171 601.
A Must see, must come event!!
May 18 to 20 - VK WIA Radio & Electronics Convention & AGM Gold Coast
June 9 & 10 - VK5 2018 South East Radio Group's Convention and
Australian Fox Hunting Championship - Mt Gambier
Jun 9 & 10 - VK2 - Oxley Region ARC Field Weekend - Oxley Radio ARC
July 7 & 8 - VK3 GippsTech 2018 The 21st annual Gippsland Technical
Conference vk3bez.org
Nov 11 VK5 - Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society HamFest
Nov 17 VK7 - VK7Hamfest Miena Community Centre (vk7wi)
NO HANG-UPS HERE ABOUT ANTENNAS
ARNLINE STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We close with a story of a creative homebrew competition
in Australia. It's a fun challenge -- that is, once you get the hang of
it, in every sense of the word. Here's John Williams VK4JJW.
JOHN: When it comes to amateur radio, have you ever felt like hanging it
up? If you're in Central Victoria, that option just became a reality.
Hams attending AntennaPalooza, a two-day club event next month just east
of Dandenong, will be encouraged to enter an antenna-building
competition using metal coat hangers.
That's right, those very same things you've got in your closet keeping
your jackets and shawls from getting wrinkled. Using a pair of pliers
and some creativity, homebrew enthusiasts will get to grab as many as a
dozen hangers and work their magic. Their goal? To create an antenna
useful for the 2m or 70 cm band. Judges will score them on originality,
attractiveness, gain and, of course, SWR. This is the first time in its
five-year history that the AntennaPalooza gathering has set this kind of
challenge. The event usually concentrates on more conventional antennas
like dipoles, loops and beams. If this year's coat hangers are a
success, perhaps next year they can move on to umbrella stands.
For the WIA and Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW.
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