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May 19 2019 - 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!
Email nationalnews@wia.org.au
http://www.wia.org.au click news in member area & submit your audio
TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA
Please... If you are only submitting text and not audio,
NEVER send just links & url's but write your story as you would
expect to hear it being read back and then when you upload audio
also email us the txt version.
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NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING May 19 2019
IN OUR 24th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
VK2WI on the 26th will have a report on the WIA AGM listen on
arnsw.org.au/audio . -
VK5WTF Director VK5WTF on the AGM . -
VK8ZZ WIA secretary Peter VK8ZZ on the AGM. -
VK2RF Raffy on the AGM.
THIS & MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE
WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA 2019
AND FOR WEEK OF MAY 19 2019
In last Sunday's National bulletin advice was given that VK2WI on
the 26 th would have a report on the WIA AGM.
Listeners round Sydney will hear the report via the various local
repeaters and those beyond should hear VK2WI via one or more of
these HF frequencies - 3595, 5425, 7146, 10.125 or 14.170 .
If propagation is poor, you can listen to the streaming service
to be found at arnsw.org.au/audio
The VK2WI bulletin commences at 10 am EAST with the National news
and the report is expected at the end of VK1WIA news at 1030 EAST.
Hello, this is vk5wtf!
The AGM is next weekend, so hurry up and buy your tickets and I hope
to see you there! I was thinking about giving a talk, but how could
I compete with SOTA, Cubesats, FreeDV, KiwiSDR and the epic
microwave tour to name a few?
But then again, after celebrating 100 years of the Waverley Amateur
Radio Society on Friday night, listening to me talk about MOSFET
crystal radios might be a good place to catch up on some sleep.
It's been two years already, I've learned a lot and worked with an
amazing team! Starting with those first few conversations a few of us
had before taking up our positions on the board, to show we could
work together. All the way through the significant change that has
been set in motion.
For me, the journey to the board started when I was shutdown in
public in the late 1990's by someone in a leadership position in
the hobby; I wasn't even 20, that hit the ego pretty hard. Over time
I got involved in other leadership positions, and eventually came
back to this hobby I fell in love with, back in high school.
Seeing a situation that everyone wanted fixed, and only seeing a
few get involved, I decided this was the time to stand up and be
counted. I didn't have all the skills, or the time; but what was
more important was the hobby.
And remember, don't let anyone tell you the hobby is dying, they are
selling this amazing hobby short.
This is vk5wtf, QRT.
EDUCATION
10am Saturday the 22nd June Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club Rooms
USA and Australian Exams.
Cost of the USA exams is only $22 and that allows you to sit all
three classes - Technician, General and Extra.
Perhaps you just want to test the grey matter and try a new exam.
The cost of the VK Exams is higher .. as per AMC schedule
and will include Foundation, Standard and Advanced.
VK4 Listeners more on this in QNEWS heard and read on:-
http://wiaq.org.au/
Plus 9:20 am after this main WIA news.
(sourced to vk4ti)
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club,
ARRL, RAC, NZART AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE & the World Wide sources of
the WIA.
INDIA
Odisha set to introspect post-disaster communication
India's Hindu newspaper reports that after cyclone Fani two teams of
amateur radio operators came to the rescue of the State
For the first time after Super Cyclone 99, Puri remained cut-off for
48 hours; VHF communication used by police had very limited reach.
Puri remained cut-off for 48 hours after cyclone Fani made landfall
in the district on May 3 and the State control room was not able to
establish regular communication with the district headquarters,
resulting in utter confusion in relief and rescue operations.
Experts now blame it on breakdown of post-disaster communication
with State disaster managers fathoming how it failed for the first
time since Super Cyclone in 1999.
Two teams of HAM radio operators from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal
came to the rescue of the State! YES HAM radio was the chief mode of
communication for the first several hours.
(sourced to SouthGate)
SOUTH AFRICA
Record number of candidates for Radio Amateur Exam
South Africa's SARL reports, there are 167 candidates who have
registered for the RAE on May 18, a record number
There are only two exam sessions a year, in May and October.
The Class A RAE paper comprises 90 questions and is a single exam
direct route to the HAREC compatible Full (ZS & ZR prefix) 1 kilowatt
licence.
Download the RAE syllabus and study guide from
sarl.org.za/public/licences/rae.asp
ELECTRONIC VOTING FOR THE SARL AGM MOTIONS
The electronic voting for the three motions discussed at the
South African (SARL) 2019 AGM are taking place from Monday 13 May
to Wednesday 22 May.
ZS hams you will be asked for call sign and member password.
For each of the motions, they can vote in favour; against or abstain.
After making the selection, the system will record vote and send an
e-mail notification.
The system will not allow voting a second time.
USA
Hamvention navigation app and video stream
The ARRL report an interesting mobile app is available to help
Hamvention visitors navigate throughout this year's event and
attendees can use their personal smart phone or tablet to navigate
the extensive Hamvention program, prize drawings, activities, and
exhibits.
PLUS there is again this year 50 Hours of live streaming of
Hamvention with thousands of dollars of prizes for viewers.
Watch on W5KUB.COM.
The cast started with a live webcast of the crews 10 hr drive on
Wednesday.
DStar, DMR, and HF for feedback and check the chat room for
frequencies.
This is a big event and they have viewers in about 150 countries.
Astronaut Doug Wheelock will join them again for the 7th year as
co-host.
More is on FaceBook under W5K or direct again it's w5kub.com
facebook.com/groups/w5k
For more details, see the links in today's WIA National News script
best read on wia.org.au
arrl.org/news/view/mobile-event-app-will-help-dayton-hamvention-visitors-to-navigate-the-show
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Declared last Tuesday, May 14, "Radio Amateur Day."
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico declared "Radio Amateur Day,"
recognizing ham radio's "mission of transcendental service for the
safeguard of life and property of the people."
The proclamation, issued over the signature of Lieutenant Governor
Luis Rivera Marin, noted that some 4,000 radio amateurs live in
Puerto Rico.
"Especially during the emergencies by the passing of Hurricane Irma
early September 2017, the radio amateurs were helping with
communications on the air with various emergency agencies and the
community in general when all the communications systems on the
island failed," the proclamation recounts.
"This commemoration provides the opportunity to exalt the valuable
service of the radio amateurs of Puerto Rico and their contribution
to the development and evolution of this important means of
communication in our society"
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WIA SPECIAL NEWS:-
Good morning all, This is WIA secretary Peter VK8ZZ
The Sydney Conference is now less than a week away.
As part of the conference weekend the WIA AGM will be held on the
Saturday morning. The agenda for the AGM was in the March / April
edition of AR magazine.
Just a reminder that, if you wish to register a proxy it must be
received at the national office by 9.00am this Thursday morning.
If you wish to lodge an apology for the AGM, that can be done by
email to the national office fefore the close of business on Friday.
At the AGM, the Board will present the Audited financial reports
and the Forum reports. Copies of these will be available to attendees
on the day. The reports will also be published on the WIA web site
shortly.
You can see a copy of the program for the weekends activities on the
WIA web site.
It is not too late to register to attend.
To register go the the WIA web site.
Looking at the weekend program I can see such an extraordinary
array of speakers in the technical sessions for the Saturday
that I am having difficulty choosing which sessions to attend.
But I have a few days to decide.
On the Sunday, events are being run by ARNSW at their site at Dural.
I look forward to meeting as many members as possible over the
weekend.
Cheers for now
Peter VK8ZZ
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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
2019
SANGSTER SHIELD THIS WEEKEND
Hams in New Zealand know it as the longest-standing amateur radio
contest held by the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters.
It is the Ralph Sangster Shield Contest, where the action on
80 meters is the ultimate test of an operator's mastery of CW.
Ralph Sangster presented the shield to the nation's hams in 1927
with the challenge that it be awarded each year to the most efficient,
proficient telegrapher operating no more than 5 watts PEP.
IARU HF World Championship 13-14 July.
RSGB IOTA Contest July 27-28th
Trans-Tasman Low-Band Contest July 20
VK Remembrance Day Contest is August 17-18
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Slovak Republic Special Event
Members of the Slovak Amateur Radio Association have activated
special event stations OM 83 IHWC and OM 2019 IIHF during the
83rd Ice Hockey World Championship (May 10-26th).
The stations will be on the air until May 31st, on various HF
and VHF bands.
QSL Manager for OM 2019 IIHF and OM 83 IHWC is OM2FY.
All logs will be up- loaded to ClubLog.
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On June 8th if you hear the call W-3-W - or Whiskey Three Whiskey -
you may want to get into the "spirit" and key your mic.
The relevant spirit here is good old American moonshine and whiskey
-- and the call sign you'll hear is from the special event station
of the Mountain Amateur Radio Club in Maryland.
The club will be marking the 225th anniversary of the
Whiskey Rebellion, the infamous uprising by farmers in the
Appalachian Mountain region who were pushing back against taxation
of alcohol imposed by the then-new American government.
Whiskey operators expect to be on 75, 40 and 20 meters SSB
as well as other bands, depending upon conditions.
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Another interesting event in June will take place in the world of
radio amateurs.
'World Castles' Award program celebrates the 10th anniversary from
the foundation day this year.
Many radio amateurs from different countries take part in this
program either as hunters and as activators. The "World Castles"
Award program stimulates radio amateurs from all over our planet
to pay attention to history and discover many interesting facts
and events which once may have had an important place in history
and after a time left their mark in the form of defensive walls
overgrown with weeds, moss-covered walls and towers, stately and
mysterious knight castles, and ruins.
Radio amateurs all over the world, note, it takes place from the 1st
to the 30 June of 2019.
http://wcagroup.org/?page_id=10772
(SouthGate)
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Liberian update
The Italian DXpedition Team will be active from Liberia between
September 28th and October 11th using two callsigns:
A 82 X for CW and SSB;
A 82 Z for the Digital modes.
Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8.
(SouthGate)
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MEDIA WATCH
Sci-fi book features ham radio
SWLing Post report on a new book 'Equinox' by D.M. Barrett N 4 ECW
that blends sci-fi with amateur radio
The EQUINOX story line begins on a warm, slightly breezy day on
Florida's east coast as the vernal equinox marked the beginning
of spring. Suddenly, there was a thunderous crash, a blinding light,
and a vortex swirling in the blue Atlantic.
The invading alien army arrived.
The world surrendered.
The Resistance made a stand.
Read the full story at the link we like in this week's text edition,
best read on wia.org.au
https://swling.com/blog/2019/05/equinox-a-novel-that-blends-sci-fi-with-ham-radio/
Equinox by DM Barret on Amazon Kindle
https://www.amazon.co.uk/EQUINOX-D-M-Barrett-ebook/dp/B07PVT397W/ref=sr_1_3?
keywords=Equinox&qid=1557245265&s=digital-text&sr=1-3
THE QNEWS WORK BENCH - the nuts and volts report -
Measure Twice cut Once.
DAM fine way to boost radio signals
Engineering researchers have demonstrated that a longstanding
theoretical method called direct antenna modulation (DAM) has
real-world utility for boosting the quality of radio signals when
transmitting at high data rates. The finding has applications in
fields such as military communications.
"You can always improve signal quality by using a larger antenna,
but that's simply not practical for many wavelengths," said
Jacob Adams, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at
North Carolina State University and senior author of a paper on the
work.
"For example, antennas operating in the high frequency range,
3 to 30 MHz would be 5 m long or longer. We've shown that DAM
can improve signal quality dramatically when using much smaller
antennas. How much smaller can vary, but we've demonstrated the
concept using antennas one-third the size of a conventional antenna
for a given wavelength."
The DAM concept has been around for more than 50 years, and is
essentially the idea that storing and releasing energy from the
antenna at the right moments can reduce the amount of distortion in
the resulting signal.
However, researchers had not previously done a thorough comparison
of conventional antennas to DAM antennas when transmitting at
high frequencies.
Adams and his team used antennas that were just under 1 m long to
transmit at 27 MHz, and found stark differences in performance
between the DAM transmitter and a conventional one. "We focused on
frequencies that are practical for communications technologies that
operate beyond the line of sight but that are also typically limited
by large antennas," Adams said. "And we found the DAM signal was
still viable at data transmission rates where transmissions from the
conventional antenna were simply indecipherable.
"We think this demonstrates the viability of DAM for use in practical
technologies," he added. "We are currently working on ways to further
improve the power handling of DAM devices and to offer more
flexibility in terms of the types of modulations that can be
generated with DAM."
The team's paper, 'Pulse Characteristics of a Direct Antenna
Modulation Transmitter', has been published in the open-access
journal IEEE Access. The work was done with support from the
US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Intelligence
Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program.
http://news.ncsu.edu/2019/04/new-study-demonstrates-radio-signal-benefits-from-decades-old-theory/
(Sourced from the Critical Comms Web E-zine via VK7WI News)
WIA SPECIAL NEWS:-
CQ W I A, Annual Conference
The W I A, Annual Conference is only a few days away and all
attendees who register for the Conference and Dinner will be
in the draw for a shiny new Icom IC-7300, which will be drawn
at the Saturday night dinner.
All of the events and speakers of the conference have shaped up to be
very interesting, exciting and memorable. On Friday night, it will be
the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Waverley Amateur Radio
Society. This historic evening event will be celebrated at the
iconic Marconi Room of the Sydney Town Hall. Listen out for the
VI2BV100 callsign to guide you in.
The main event of the Annual W I A Conference and AGM will be held on
Saturday 25th May at the prestigious Park Royal Hotel in Darling
Harbour. This is a day not to be missed. The Forums and Technical
talks promise to be very stimulating and informative.
Sunday the 26th, Amateur Radio NSW will host a special field day
event, with more interesting talks and stalls.
So don't miss this premier event, especially if you are a
Sydney-sider.
visit wia.org.au and follow the AGM 2019 links.
See you there!!
73 Raffy VK2RF
WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FEMALES IN RADIO.
Radio amateur Limor Fried AC2SN, founder of Adafruit Industries, was
one of the winners of the 2019 Women in Open Source Awards
In its fifth year, the Women in Open Source Awards were created and
sponsored by Red Hat to honour women who make important contributions
to open source projects and communities, or those making innovative
use of open source methodology.
Nominations for this year's awards were accepted for two categories:
academic (those currently enrolled in a college or university) and
community (those working on or volunteering with projects related to
open source).
A panel of judges determined finalists based on nomination criteria,
and the public voted to determine the award winners who were:
Limor Fried AC2SN, who was recognized in the community category,
Saloni Garg, who was recognized in the academic category, a student
at the LNM Institute of Information Technology, where she is pursuing
a bachelor's degree in computer science.
(SouthGate)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- IOTA
www.iota-world.org
AS-040.
JA6WJL
Operators Yasu/JA6WJL and Nagaisi/ JA6WIF will be active as JA6WJL
from Fukue Island during the RSGB IOTA Contest July 27-28th as a
Multi-1 entry.
QSL via JA6WJL or LoTW.
The operators will be on the island between July 26-29th and outside
of the contest will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and some RTTY.
(SouthGate)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP --- MARITIME
The Queen Mary (now a museum ship in California USA ) will be
honouring those who have served in the armed forces, and in
particular the Queen Mary's use as a troopship during World War II.
The Queen Mary, along with other cruise ships, were pressed into
service to ferry Allied soldiers around the world.
Activities planned on the ship are listed on the Queen Mary's
web site on:
https://www.queenmary.com/calendar-of-events/memorial-day/home/
(sourced to amsat)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- MILITARY
VOA Museum to host 75 th anniversary commemoration of D-Day June 6
The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester
USA will host a 75th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landing
on Thursday, June 6.
The event will honour the memory of WW II soldiers who participated
in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, as well as veterans of all wars.
"D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion in the history of the world
and put Allied troops on the trajectory to win World War II," said
Ken Rieser, VOA Museum board president. "The sacrifice in human life
that day alone is sobering--about 4,500 Allied soldiers and from
3,000 to 9,000 Nazi troops."
During Operation Overlord, which occurred from the June 6, 1944
D-Day landing through August 30, 1944, when German troops retreated
east across the Seine River, more than 425,000 Allied and German
troops died.
(SouthGate)
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - WORLD WIDE FLOA AND FAUNA (parks) PROGRAM
https://www.wwffaustralia.com/
VKFF New Park Additions for Tasmania
During April, 43 new parks were added to the WWFF parks program
throughout Tasmania. Added include conservation areas, recreation
areas and nature reserves.
There are now 142 parks to activate throughout the state, so no
matter where you live, there is likely to be something in your local
VK7 area.
To make an enquiry, please contact Jonathan VK7JON the
Tasmania Representative.
(sourced to vk7wi news)
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2019 Social Scene
VK
2019 WIA Annual Conference Sydney weekend 24-26 of May. (wia)
https://www.wia.org.au/joinwia/wia/2019agm/
VK2 Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Field Day June 8 and 9 (vk2zhe)
VK5 - South East Radio Group 2019 Annual Convention and Australian
Fox Hunting Championships 8-9 June (vk5hcf)
VK3 - GippsTech 2019 13'14 July (vk3pf)
VK4 - Townsville Amateur Radio Club's Cardwell Gathering 4 days
commencing October 4 (vk4zz)
VK3 - Yarra Valley Amateur Group HamFest, 13th October (vk3cnw)
WW - JOTA 2019 Friday 18th, Sat 19 & Sunday 20 October (vk2gx)
VK3 - Ballarat Amateur Radio Group, BARG Hamvention Oct 27 (vk3kqt)
2020 Social Scene
ALARAMEET 2020 Bendigo (vk5yl)
October 2020 in Bendigo Victoria.
Heidi VK3FHID and Jenny VK3WQ are leading the team who are planning
an eventful weekend. This team is meeting regularly and are looking
forward to seeing you in Bendigo.
Submitting news items
If you would like to submit news items for possible inclusion in the
VK1WIA broadcasts, please email your item in text to
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but take the time to pen YOUR contribution.
To submit audio email nationalnews@wia.org.au and ask for the current
password then read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on
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We would appreciate items certainly no longer than 2 minutes in length
as we only have a half hour.
Remember the sooner you submit material the more the likelihood of it
being broadcast in the very next edition of WIA National News.
Each item will only be broadcast once, if you want a couple of
mentions, please submit different slants to keep your event 'fresh'
and always if the news room is to read your item ---
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A reminder when supplying HamFest info we obviously can't plug
DEALS from commercial traders "on air", but we at the WIA will put
your supporters 'goods' in this text edition "no worries."
We cannot give blatant 'plugs' to raffles. (new Jan 2019)
=====================================================================
WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide.
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Thanks to our dedicated band of broadcast volunteers who utilize
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Who and where are they?
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The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of interest to
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We strongly encourage membership in the Wireless Institute of
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Opinions expressed in "WIANews" are those of the writers who submit
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