May 27 2018 - 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 MAY 27 2018.
IN OUR 23rd YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
WIA PRESIDENT REVIEWS WIA AGM CONFERENCE
THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE
OF AUSTRALIA 2018 AND FOR WEEK OF MAY 27
Hello this is Justin VK7TW WIA President,
Many of you will have read with concern reports regarding the "expulsion"
of members from the WIA.
In the history of the WIA, to the board's knowledge
no onehas been expelled.
The WIA received apetition from several members seeking the removal of
individuals from the WIA
underclause 5.7 of its Constitution.
The challenge
for the WIA when responding to a petition of this nature is that it relates
to a conflict
between core values of individual members.
The board met on the 16th of May to consider this matter. The board has
made no decision with respect to the
petition. Instead, the board has
adjourned the discussion.
Any alternative remedy to the petition before the
board must be aligned with the spirit of amateur
radio and the Radio Amateur's
Code.
Consistent with the commitment to transparency the board will keep members
informed of the progress of this matter to the extent possible without
offending the privacy of those involved.
WIA Radio and Electronics Convention - Beyond 2020
What a fantastic weekend of activities organised by the Gold Coast Amateur
Radio Club.
For those arriving on the Friday for the Club President's lunch
there was an afternoon spent with the four members of the Board and this
resulted in the formation of a WIA Marketing Committee made up of volunteer
club presidents.
Many topics and ideas were discussed.
That evening many gathered at Fisheman's Wharf for a great dinner.
On the Saturday over 120 members attended the AGM that kicked off just
after 9am and even though we had a full agenda we managed to finish on time.
There were many good question that were answered and all voting was
unanimous. This included approving the Constitutional changes that now
allows electronic voting.
The video of the AGM is available on the WIA website.
Following morning tea we lept into the Open Forum that included question
on advisory committees, licence renewals, interference and this discussion
ended in a group of people volunteering to create an committee to try and
address the issue of interference, how do we entice young people into the
hobby, STEM, student members and the opportunity of technology convergence.
The Beyond 2020 session was then next on the agenda and this provided
members with a view of where the Board and Strategy Committee was seeing
the WIA beyond 2020, this was a thought provoking presentation and left
many ideas with members prior to lunch. This presentation will become
available for members in the near future.
Following Lunch there were two streams of five presentations running and
members moved between the two rooms. We will be making these presentations
available in the near future for members. A huge thank you to all our
presenters who showed their passion and depth of experience presenting
about their specialist topic.
There was some free time in the late afternoon before we all gathered in
the Waterfall Restaurant for a seafood feast. Jeff Johnson VK4XJJ who
walked from Spencer Gulf to the Gulf of Carpentaria to raise money for
Deaf NSW. This was a fascinating talk along with many photos taken along
the way. There were many amusing stories related, thanks Jeff.
The 7300 draw after the presentation went to Trent VK4TS, congratulations
Trent.
The Sunday was a cornucopia of activities. Some flew high on the hot air
balloon. Some went to Seaworld. One bus load headed to the
Telecommunications Museum in Brisbane. Another Bus load went to the
Surf Life Saving command centre and yet another bus load went to the
North Pavillion of the Broadwater Parklands for the Demonstrations.
There were so many activities going on with all these I will leave that
until the next Broadcast. Suffice it to say I don't think there were too
many bored people around.
Again a huge thank you to the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Club for hosting
the event.
Keep an eye on the website, facebook page and memnet emails
for information about the weekend as it comes to hand.
73 from Justin VK7TW
Still to come in this edition of 'genuine' news from your WIA we'll look
at one particular question 'from the floor' at last weekends WIA AGM,
that being how it IS our OWN responsibility to ensure we renew our ACMA
licences in time!
Also a few quick peeks at DAYTON, a look at a proposed bill almost
through in the USA which will entitle each and every Amateur Radio operator
living in a deed-restricted community to erect an effective outdoor
antenna and how Canberra runs arguably VK's best 'new comers net.'
All still to come in this the WIA National News Service.
Renewing Amateur Radio Licences - A Reminder
It can happen to anybody - you forget to renew your licence and it lapses.
When you ask the ACMA, they tell you that a WIA callsign recommendation is
needed after which you make a new licence application.
Although the ACMA sends licence renewal notices, that's not an obligation
under the Radiocommunications Act. The ACMA sends the notice as a courtesy,
but if the renewal notice doesn't arrive for some reason, it's still your
responsibility to renew on time.
In fact, it's always the licensee's responsibility to ensure that a licence
is current.
So check:
do you know your licence expiry date, and are your address details correct?
What about your callsign?
Well, your callsign needs to be protected too if you're attached to it.
Your callsign indicates that you hold a valid licence, but if your licence
lapses and is not renewed, your callsign is released and will be put on the
WIA Public List 60 days after the lapse date.
After 7 days the WIA will issue a Callsign Recommendation to whoever wants
it - with ballot provisions applying to 2-letter callsign in some states.
So the message is:
if you don't want to fight to get your call back, keep your licence current.
Full information of the process and forms needed can be read at 'All about
Callsigns' and 'New licence or expired licence, or reclaiming a former
callsign' - on the WIA website at www.wia.org.au
(Published/Aired previously and wriiten by VK3PC (SKey))
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club,
ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the World Wide sources of the WIA
and local news services.
Summer 2018 International Shortwave Broadcast Guide now available at Amazon
Older ham radio operators and radio listeners might remember a time when
shortwave radio stations broadcast a nearly constant drumbeat of political
propaganda during the Cold War years.
Shortwave radio stations such as Radio Moscow, the Voice of America, and the
BBC, to name a few, played an important ideological role during that
confrontation between the East and the West.
Once again, Global Radio broadcasters have moved to the front lines at what
is now shaping up as a new Cold War by some of the world's major super powers.
As tensions heat up in the world's hotspots such as eastern Europe, the
Middle East and Eastern Asia, you can follow breaking international events on
the radio waves, but you need an accurate and comprehensive guide to
broadcast frequencies to hear it.
Now the 10th edition (Summer 2018) International Shortwave Broadcast Guide
(ISWBG) electronic book by Gayle Van Horn W 4 GVH is available.
It's your passport to the world!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CT89MNP
Ham radio exam held in China
The Chinese Amateur Radio Club (CRAC) organised the first Class C exam in
Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, on May 12, 2018.
Class C is the highest license class permitting up to 1 kW output on
frequencies below 30 MHz and 25 watts on higher bands.
The 150 minute exam comprises 80 multiple-choice questions which include
topics such as Digital Signal Processing, Digital logic circuits and Digital
communication. At least 60 questions need to be answered correctly.
56 candidates took the exam and 35 passed
CRAC report the exam was the first time that the identification card image
recognition system has been used enabling the candidate's identity to be
effectively determined during the exam.
International magazine CQ Amateur Radio have inducted Ashhar Farhan VU2ESE
along with 11 others to its 2018 Hall of Fame, with Farhan being the only
living Indian on the list
Telangana Today reports the other Indian name was Kalpana Chawla KD5ESI, the
NASA astronaut killed in 2003.
Apart from Chawla, Farhan shares space in the Hall of Fame with prominent
personalities such as Hollywood actor Marlon Brando KE6PZH, NASA astronaut
David Brown KB3IPY, cybersecurity expert Mark Pecen VE3QAM and World War II
photographer Ed Westcott W4UVS.
Ashhar Farhan VU2ESE, founder of Lamakaan and a long-time radio ham, is in
elite company after being recognized for popularising the open-source BITX
semi-kits, thus opening up the world to more hams in a much more affordable
way.
Radio Amateurs of Canada's first Gold Maple Leaf Operator member is--->
IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH
At Dayton Hamvention RAC President Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA, presented
Tim Ellam, VE6SH, International Amateur Radio Union President, with
RAC's first Gold Maple Leaf Operator Membership.
Tim made a special request to become RAC's first Gold Maple Leaf Operator
Member to illustrate the International Amateur Radio Union's continued
support of Radio Amateurs of Canada.
RAC created two new categories of the Maple Leaf Operators Membership level:
Silver and Gold as part of their 25th Anniversary celebrations.
Other national Amateur Radio organizations - as well as non-Amateur
organizations supported by membership - have several levels of participation
allowing those who are able to do so to make higher contributions to sustain
the organization. The new Silver and Gold Maple Leaf Operator levels will
make this possible.
Amateur Radio Parity Act Language Inserted in National Defence Authorization
Act.
ARRL has praised the work of US Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT/2),
Vicky Hartzler (R-MO/4), and Mike Rogers (R-AL/3) for their successful
efforts in securing language in the FY 2019 National Defence Authorization Act
(NDAA) that asks the FCC to grant radio amateurs living in restricted
communities the right to install effective outdoor antennas.
Text from the proposed Amateur Radio Parity Act (HR 555) formed the basis for
the Courtney-Hartzler-Rogers Amendment to the NDAA.
"The bill does entitle each and every Amateur Radio operator living in a
deed-restricted community to erect an effective outdoor antenna.
Full stop.
That is the principal benefit of this legislation," ARRL General Counsel
Chris Imlay, W3KD, stressed.
Hamvention Use AM Information Radio Station to Communicate with Attendees.
Whilst most VK hamfests, and usually the WIA AGM host clubs, use 2 meters
to provide an information hub for attendees, in an effort to avoid the
first-day traffic tangles of Hamvention, they utilized a low-power
Information Radio Station on 1620 kHz AM to get out the word on traffic,
parking, and event details to visitors as they approached the city.
The town hosted some 25,000 Amateur Radio operators, exhibitors, and the
curious, nearly doubling Xenia's population when the event was under way.
Due to the web of two-lane roads that serves the venue, interstate visitors
for their first visit etc., Hamvention established shuttle-bus operation to
alleviate traffic congestion to all their venues.
The AM information station helped persuade visitors to park at the shuttle
lots, and take a shuttle to the venue.
And yes there still was a 2 meter liaison channel.
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
June 2- 3 - WW - MUSEUM SHIPS WEEKEND
June 9-10 - VK - VK SHIRES CONTEST
June 17 - IARU R3 - 2018 QRP Day Region 3
June 22-23 - VK - Winter VHF-UHF Field Day
July 14-15 - WW IARU HF Championship
July 21 - VKZL Trans-Tasman Low band contest
August 11-12 - VK - Remembrance Day Contest
August 18-19 - WW - Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend
August 25-26 - VK - ALARA YL CONTEST
October 6 - WW - Oceania DX contest
CQ magazine have announced the induction of two new members to the
CQ Contest Hall of Fame, which honours those contesters who not only
excel in personal performance but who also 'give back' to the hobby
in outstanding ways.
CQ Contesting Editor David Siddall, K3ZJ, presented Hall of Fame plaques
at an induction ceremony held at the annual Dayton contest dinner.
The 2018 inductees to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame are:
Andy Blank, N2NT -
Andy has been the director of the CQ World Wide 160-Meter DX Contest for
the past decade. A world-class contester with wins stretching back to 1979,
Andy has also competed in five Word Radiosport Team Championships and was
Director of Competition for WRTC-2014, held in Massachusetts.
Tom Wagner, N1MM -
Tom is best known for his development of and ongoing upgrades to the
N1MM Logger.
(SouthGate)
Thomas, F 4 HPX, will once again be active as FR/F4HPX from various locations
on Reunion Island (AF-016) between May 25th and June 15th.
He will be operating from his family home, and also from beaches and
especially from the mountains because there is a lot of them including an
active volcano.
His SOTA aim this year is the tallest FR/RE-001 at some 3070m ASL.
Activity will be on 40-15 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK31, JT65, JT9 and
possibly FT8.
He will use various wire and portable antennas.
QSL via the Bureau.
II 1 ITR will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of the so-called Red Tent,
an Italian airship that set out to explore the North Pole.
Beginning on the 25th of May and continuing to the 25th of June, the plan is
to work on all bands and all modes.
QSL and other information is available at QRZ.com for IT 1 ITR
(rsgb)
Celebrating the 50th birthday of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederiks
of Denmark, the Experimental Danish Radio amateurs association, or EDR,
will operate OZ 50 HRH/xx and 5 P 0 HRH/xx, plus OX 50 HRH from Greenland.
Running from 00.01 to 23.59 GMT on the 26th of May, they plan to use all
bands and modes, including FT and JT digital.
(rsgb)
Canberra runs arguably VK's best 'new comers net.'
To our knowledge, Summerland Amateur Radio Club conducted VK's first net
for new hams. (Under the catchy 'moniker' of F-TROOP.)
Well in Canberra their Foundation of F net is attracting newbies far and wide.
Tuesday nights at 0730pm local on their 70cm Isaac's repeater: 439.950 FM
and EchoLink via VK 1 RBM
This Foundation Net allows new operators to get to know their radios,
practice calling procedures as well as get to know other local operators.
Radio nets have a controller/s who as their name suggests control or keep
the conversation flowing by asking for check ins and comments. Canberra's
hosting duties are in a rotational basis by other F call members
The net has been running well, getting between 10-17 call backs with a wide
range of discussions from antenna building to satellite operations.
The group will, in the near future, be learning about VKFF / Parks activation
followed by SOTA and other QRP operations.
http://facebook.com/groups/vk1fcall
Please contact Wade VK1MIC Wade.VK1@gmail.com with any questions
WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS
ON THE AIR - IN THE AIR.
ARRL to Show Off Ham Radio at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018
With support from member volunteers, ARRL will put Amateur Radio on display
for visitors to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 -- the giant, annual airshow
July 23 - 29 in Wisconsin, organized by the Experimental Aircraft Association.
The event attracted more than 10,000 aircraft and nearly 600,000 visitors in
2017 to enjoy aerobatics displays, informative programs, hands-on workshops,
and diverse aircraft spanning all eras of flight.
"The cross-over between Amateur Radio operators and pilots, aviation
enthusiasts, and air show attendees has a strong correlation," said
ARRL Central Division Director Kermit Carlson, W9XA, who is part of the
volunteer team organizing the ham radio exhibit at AirVenture.
"Attendees include many licensed and prospective Amateur Radio operators."
ARRL's exhibit will promote Amateur Radio to newcomers and inform all
attendees of the similarly diverse technology and innovation enjoyed by
both hams and pilots.
(ARRL)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video
arvideonews.com
hamradiotube.com
youtube.com
qdg.org.au
At the time of 'stepping up to the mike' the Space Station Digital Amateur
Television Signal Is Not Being Seen on the Ground.
The signal from the DATV transmitter aboard the International Space Station
cannot be detected on the ground, the Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) has reported.
The unit indicates that it IS functioning.
So far, ARISS has not been able to pin down the problem.
"A series of steps are currently being undertaken to try to diagnose the
problem," a May 10 announcement from ARISS said. "However, if an actual
failure occurred, only a ground-based evaluation will fully diagnose the
problem. The ARISS International team is working diligently to bring
[the system] back to full operation as soon as practical."
The DATV system is known variously as "HamVideo" and "HamTV."
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DIGITAL
FT8 Activity Bumping Up at Some Expense to Other Modes
Despite largely dismal HF conditions, there is no doubt that the recent
FT8 digital protocol has hams on the air.
The mode has caught on so quickly that co-developer Joe Taylor expressed
surprise last fall at the rapid uptake of FT8 for making contacts on HF bands.
Judging by Logbook of The World data, more than 2.3 million FT8 contacts were
uploaded in 1 month -- a net gain of 1.2 million contacts on all modes over
the same month last year, ARRL Radiosport Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, said.
Over the same period, activity in some of the other modes has declined.
W3TZ said that while some feel that FT8 is "taking over the world,"
subsuming all other modes, that's not the case. "Activity in the traditional
modes of SSB and CW has decreased only slightly, by 10%," he said.
"The real decrease is in RTTY and PSK activity and in the other WSJT-X modes.
(arrl)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
Unicorn-2A to launch from Alaska
BBC News reports on a new UK built PocketQube satellite that was developed
by radio amateurs in Glasgow.
Radio amateurs Constantin, MM6XOM, Sajimon 2M0DSY and Alejandro EA7KDU worked
on Unicorn-2A which will have downlinks in the 437 MHz and 2400 MHz bands.
One of the transmission modes will be LoRa.
A 3rd quarter 2018 launch is planned on a Vector Launch Inc. rocket from
Alaska into a 350 x 350 km 98 degree orbit. The mission will last about
45 days.
(sourced to SouthGate)
I found a cool PDF detailing NASA's radio systems for the Apollo missions!
This 'headline' on Reddit.com leads to a most interesting PDF and is worth
a download. Also thanks to WIA Director VK5WTF Marcus for the heads up on
Reddit.
https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/NASA-SP-87.pdf
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW
25 years ago on 28th August 1993 the very first Northern Lighthouse Weekend
Activity took place managed by Mike Dalrymple GM4SUC of the Ayr Amateur Radio
Group.
One of the 10 entrants in the event was the Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club
which operated from the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse using the club callsign
GB 2 LG.
The Ayr Amateur Radio Group also participated in the weekend activity from
the famous Turnberry Lighthouse with the callsign GB 2 LT.
Having proved to be a popular event and which other countries wanted to take
part in, it became known as the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
some 5 years later.
In order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NLWA, the Wigtownshire ARC
has registered at the same lighthouse with the same callsign for this year's
ILLW event.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP --- MARITIME
Maritime Radio Historical Society's Museum Station K6KPH is Back
MRHS Amateur Radio station K 6 KPH is back on the air after a brief hiatus,
although still at a minimal level at this point. K6KPH, intended as a
tribute to KPH, the "wireless giant of the Pacific," relays the W1AW
Field Day Bulletin, and W1AW Morse code practice qualifying runs for
west coast US amateurs.
"Not all the K6KPH frequencies were back on at first, as we had to change
antenna assignments to get the minimum service we have now," said Steve Hawes,
WB 6 UZX, who explains that K6KPH is "sort of" back, as some repair work is
pending.
Hawes said the crew of K6KPH volunteers made some temporary repairs to get
some antennas back in service, and the station now is usable on 80, 40, 20,
17, and 15 meters.
(ARRL)
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
Informal Amateur Radio Nets Being Maintained in Wake of Volcanic Eruptions
in Hawaii
Two informal informational nets remain open on the island of Hawaii
("The Big Island") in the wake of recent and ongoing volcanic eruptions
and seismic activity, Pacific Section Emergency Coordinator, Clement Jung,
KH7HO, reports.
No formal traffic has been passed, but frequencies are being monitored.
Fissures associated with the Kilauea volcano on The Big Island began erupting
on May 3, spewing lava and venting high levels of sulphur dioxide.
An Amateur Radio net is in operation on 7.088 MHz (SSB), and the
Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster 146.720 MHz repeater
on Mauna Kea was activated after Hawaii's governor issued an emergency
declaration.
A US federal disaster declaration has been approved.
(ARRL)
Social Scene 2018
June 2 - VK4 Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club's REDFEST 8.30AM (VK4TFN)
June 9 & 10 - VK5 2018 South East Radio Group's Convention and
Australian Fox Hunting Championship - Mt Gambier
June 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
August 4 VK3 Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club HamFest (vk3bft)
Nov 11 VK5 - Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society HamFest
Nov 17 VK7 - VK7Hamfest Miena Community Centre (vk7wi)
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