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2021 AUGUST 22 VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
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THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK
THIS LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD BEVAN
tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos
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NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING AUGUST 22 2021
IN OUR 26th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PORTAL
Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest news, key facts and figures,
contacts and answers to your questions.
www.health.gov.au/
This being the ALARA edition today bringing you the news
will be Norma VK2YL, Sel Embee KB 3 TZD, VK5YL Shirley
will bring us the operational / contest news,
Lyndall VK4ZM looks at Special interest group news, and
Immediate Past WIA President Greg VK2GPK with news from the
WIA board. Main Announcer today is Linda VK7QP President ALARA
PROGRAM EDITED AND COMPILED IN BRISBANE, OLYMPIC CITY 2032.
With today's news I'm Linda VK7QP President ALARA and was nice
to hear at the WIA AGM and again on WIA National News last week of the annual WIA AR Magazine's Technical Award going to Carmel Morris VK2CAR for her article of Clothesline wire makes easy
multi-band antenna our congratulations also from
ALARA.
WIA
JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y
WIA BAORD COMMENT by Immediate Past President Greg Kelly
VK2GK is in audio ONLY this week
" Hi Graham,
Sorry, No text this week
my laptop power supply has died."
Greg speaks of the latest ACMA news and survey for Hams.
Now, thanks to Grant and the VKCC this extract from
ACMA Amateur Update: August 2021
Survey: 2x1 call sign allocation
We are aware of interest in the amateur community for the
issue for 2x1 callsigns for use in amateur radio contests.
The ACMA has discussed arrangements for 2x1 call signs with
the Australian Maritime College. The AMC will manage the
allocation of the 2x1 contest call signs on behalf of us.
Amateurs will not be required to obtain a new licence or
vary an existing licence to use these call signs. The ACMA
and the AMC are seeking the views of the amateur radio
community on allocation arrangements for 2x1 call signs.
Please complete the ACMA survey, which closes31 August 2021.
acma.cmail20.com/t/d-l-aliirdl-tlilhuutlk-i/
WIA NATIONAL NEWS AND YOUR 3 W's.
WASH YOUR HANDS
WEAR YOUR MASK
WATCH YOUR DISTANCE (1.5 metres)
www.health.gov.au/
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, RAC,
Southgate AR Club, ARRL, NZART, eHam, AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE
& the World Wide sources of the WIA.
There's bad news, good news and growing confusion on the
long-planned (but currently cancelled) 2023 DXpedition to
Bouvet Island.
There are now three separate groups planning trips to the
subantarctic island, including one that split off from the
original group, but holds the 3Y0J license, which plans to
make the trip in 2022 and another that says it's ready to go
later this year.
Ken Opskar, LA7GIA - who holds the 3Y0J license to operate
from the Norwegian island - apparently has split off from
the Intrepid DX Group and formed a separate group that is
now planning a 2022 visit. Plus, Polish DXpeditioner
Dom Grzyb, 3Z9DX, says he has secured a license for 3Y0I and
has put together a group to activate the island later this
year.
REGION ONE
A 1,032ft radio and TV broadcast tower, built in 1969 and
provided coverage for 500,000 homes across northern England
is now "OFF-AIR".
Firefighters were sent to the site after a call from an
engineer working on the transmitter near Helmsley.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said there were
"concerns about the structural integrity of the mast" and a
300m exclusion zone was in place around it.
Could be their local libraries will do a good trade as the
transmission facility was home to over 8 Television multiplexes
BBC FM and DAB stations and some 10 commercial DAB and FM
outlets.
The IARU Region 1 Monitoring System suggest the Pluto II
Over The Horizon Radar system at the UK Sovereign Base Area
of Akrotiri may have been causing interference in several
amateur radio bands. Akrotiri is a British Overseas
Territory on the island of Cyprus.
Icelandic WEB-SDR
The Icelandic Radio Club reports that Ari, TF 1 A has
installed a new web-based Kiwi-SDR receiver, owned and
operated by TF 3 GZ, and that it has gone online in Iceland,
at an elevation of 690 meters.
It can handle eight users at a time.
A 70m end fed long wire covers all bands from VLF to 10m.
Two further Icelandic KiwiSDR receivers are already active
on the internet, these receivers form a valuable resource
when checking propagation across the world.
The addresses for those receivers, amongst others, can be
found on kiwisdr.com/public
REGION TWO
A student of ARISS educator Joanne Michael wins AIAA Kahn
$10,000 scholarship.
Joanne taught him hands-on science in kindergarten through
fifth grade at Meadows Elementary in the Manhattan Beach
District. The young man is now enrolled at Stanford
University.
He wrote, I love finding out the mechanics of any device
and gaining knowledge by hands-on experience. I cannot stand
not knowing what lies beyond our reach in the universe.
My goal is to take part in Mars colonization plans as an
engineer astronaut and help advance astronautical-engineering
in the world.
Congrats Joanne, your skills have won out here.
Although the first CubeSat launched by Mauritius is still
not available for general amateur radio use, it has already
accomplished an important educational mission in the STEM
Community.
According to an audio post on Amateur Radio NewsLine by our
own Editor, Graham VK4BB, the Mauritius Amateur Radio Society,
students at three schools in Mauritius have received and
decoded signals from the satellite, known as MIR-SAT 1,
which stands for Mauritius Imagery and Radiotelecommunication
Satellite number 1.
AMSAT say that other schools and educational institutions
are preparing to follow suit. According to AMSAT, the
satellite is still in safe mode and being tested. The radio
society expects to announce when we hams will be able to use
it. The satellite was deployed from the International Space
Station on June 22nd. MIR-SAT1 has an expected lifetime of
between two and three years.
REGION THREE
Inventive amateurs in India have come up with a clever way
to communicate with the QO-100 satellite.
2 Hams in Hyderabad have designed prototype converters that
will enable the hams to use the transponders on board the
geosynchronous satellite. The prototypes include both up
and down converters.
Homebrewers Sasi Bhushan VU2XZ and A. Amarendra VU2AAP told
the Telangana Today newspaper that the converters eliminate
the need for such expensive equipment as software-defined
radios. They said the system works in a way similar to a TV
set-top box that receives programmes beamed from satellites,
converting radio waves into signals for the TV. The circuit
boards within the converter are designed to communicate via
the 10 GHz frequency for downlink and the 2.4 GHz frequency
for uplink.
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WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
NOT FOR THE ANTI-VAXXERS
This is a story of surplus syringes being used in a
ham radio tuner
Hackaday reports on a project by Tom KB 9 ENS which uses a
60ml syringe to make a variable inductor and a variable
capacitor for amateur radio use.
Amateur Radio has a long history of encouraging experimentation
using whatever one might have on hand. (or in this case may
have been in the arm). When KB 9 ENS wanted to use his
14 MHz antenna outside of its designed frequency range, he
knew hed need an impedance matching circuit.
The most common type is an L-Match circuit which uses a
variable capacitor and a variable inductor to adjust the
resonance of an antenna.
Go to the link we link in this weeks WIA News to read this
Hackaday report.
tinyurl.com/4ah6mexy
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HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT
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41st ALARA CONTEST
Combined phone and CW run over 24 hours starting on
Saturday 28th August at 0600 hours UTC finishing
Sunday 29th August at 0559 hours UTC
So that's NEXT WEEKEND.
We of ALARA are really looking forward to hearing some young
and new YLs in the contest again this year and catching up
with many amateurs along the way. Some of the Committee will
be handing out numbers on HF and EchoLink to show their
support.
We are also hoping to hear from Scouts and Guides in this
years contest, so be sure to listen out for them.
This year we will be using our Facebook page again for
spotting YLs. This page is optional for amateurs using
Facebook who wish to notify others about YLs who are in the
contest. Just enter the YLs callsign, current frequency and
mode. This page is now ready to join, just search for
Alara Contest in Facebook. Sue, VK5AYL our Contest Manager
reminds us that YLs cannot spot or encourage others to spot
them but this page will give other Amateurs a chance to find
YLs around the bands during the contest.
The contest rules have been uploaded to the Alara Contest
page. For those who dont have Facebook and would like a
copy of the rules, please email Sue VK5AYL on
alaracontest@wia.org.au
Please join in and support our YLs, no masks required!
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OCEANA CONTEST
VOICE from 0800 UTC Saturday 2 October to
0800 UTC Sunday October 3
CW from 0800 UTC Saturday 9 October to
0800 UTC Sunday October 10
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SPRING VHF - UHF FIELD DAYS November 27-28
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December 4-5 160 Meter WW
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DECEMBER 11 - 12 10 Mtr World Wide
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DX WINDOW
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VI 50 SG is QRV until December 31 commemorating 50 years
of the St. George Amateur Radio Society in New South Wales.
QSL via bureau.
(SouthGate)
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AX 4 WIT
Again, early news of this station for its "just about"
'once a year day.'
JANUARY 26, which is Australia Day and a Wednesday next year
Townsville Club will activate from their annual camp out
Bluewater way. Bluewater for the uninitiated is about 30
klicks from Townsville CBD.
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VK 20 HOME
Dont forget that the WIA special event callsign VK 20 HOME
is still available for members use until December 31st 2021.
Check the WIA website and Special Event pages to book your
time slot for use.
(VK3GK)
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UGANDA, 5X.
Elvira is signing 5 X 3 R until September 2, She has
100 watts to a dipole, doing SSB, digital and CW.
QSL via the bureau.
(arrl)
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SOUTH KOREA.
Members of the Korean Amateur Radio League Chungbuk HQ have
activated special event station HL 76 V to celebrate the
76th anniversary of South Korea's Liberation.
Activity will continue until August 31. QSL via the Bureau.
(arrl)
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Listen up for members of the Radio Club Queretaro
in Mexico, using the special callsign 6 E 0 CC
to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Consummated
Independence from Spain.
They will be on various HF bands until September 30th.
QSL via XE1EE, direct or LoTW.
(arnewsline.org)
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Switzerland joins Antarctic Treaty celebrations
Members of the Swiss national organisation USKA, supported
by the Radio Amateur Club Swissair, HB 9 VC join the
celebrations around the Antarctic Treaty with the callsign
HB 60 ANT until the end of the year.
QSL via ClubLog OQRS; sending a card is not necessary.
(southgatearc.org)
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THE QNEWS WORK BENCH - the nuts and volts report
Measure Twice cut Once.
SERVING HAM WITH RASPBERRY PI
Hands down, the Raspberry Pi is an amazing open-source device.
Technology hobbyists implement it in many projects from
sending instant messages to making retro video games. Now,
it's being used for projects for amateur (ham) radio.
Recently, many ham radio operators have been incorporating
Raspberry Pi's into their projects, and year by year, month
by month these little single-board computers have seen the
light of day in more and more ham shacks.
They are easy to implement and portable -- eliminating the
need for heavy, stationary, and expensive equipment.
Now a list of the years BEST and EASIEST ham projects with
the "PI's" are available at the link we like in this weeks
text edition of WIA National News (the ALARA edition, on
wia.org.au
tinyurl.com/m3mmrksx
Projects include:-
RTL-SDR Scanner
HAM CLOCK
Satellite tracker
Weather station
Mini Antenna Rotator even a code keyer
The list is endless but this list of cool pi devices is
worth more than just a cursory glance
(eham.net)
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WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS
FAITH.
Special call sign HG 52 IEC is active now until September 30.
The call, HG52IEC is for the 52nd International Eucharistic
Congress taking place in Budapest.
The one-week event held regularly since 1881 (every 4 years
in recent times) celebrates the Real presence of Christ in
the Eucharist according to the teaching of the Catholic
Church.
This is the second time that Hungary hosts the International
Eucharistic Congress, with the first one also held in
Budapest way back in 1938
QSL HG 52 IEC via eQSL only.
(sourced to SARL and VK4BB)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org
A firm cofounded by a radio amateur has just merged with
the SpaceX technology giant. Sel Embee KB3TZD from
Amateur Radio NewsLine has more.
"SpaceX, Elon Musk's giant California-based space technology
company, has acquired a satellite communications company
cofounded by an amateur radio operator. The merger makes
Swarm Technologies a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX.
Swarm, which specializes in Internet-of-Things technology
and low-cost satellite connectivity, has asked the Federal
Communications Commission to transfer control of its earth
and space station licenses. Swarm was founded in 2016 by
Ben Longmier, KF 5 KMP and Sara Spangelo. In 2020, the
company launched its first dozen commercial satellites,
established ground stations in Alaska, New Jersey,
Washington State, Guam, the Azores and elsewhere and began
expanding market access. Swarm is licensed in non-voice,
non-geostationary mobile satellite service, operating in
the bands between 137 to 138 MHz and 148 to 149.95 MHz.
For Amateur Radio NewsLine, I'm Sel Embee, KB 3 TZD."
Thanks Sel, in 2020, Swarm Technologies placed second in the
most Innovative Space Companies list created by Fast Company.
The top spot went to SpaceX.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- LIGHT HOUSES
illw.net/
Despite the global effect of the Covid pandemic, the ILLW,
or International Light House weekend is ablaze right now.
310 registered lights, Germany in the lead with 63 entries
followed by the USA with 45 and some of the smaller countries
with just one, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Iceland, Market Reef and
Slovenia.
(southgatearc.org)
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
Region 1 3760 7110 14300 18160 21360 kHz
Region 2 3750 3985 7060 7240 7275 14300 18160 21360 kHz
Carlos, CO 2 JC is the Emergency Coordinator for region 2
and requests ALL Societies especially those in Region 2
to continue to protect the following emergency frequencies
operating in conjunction with that devastating Haiti earthquake.
3750 kHz, 7150 kHz and 14330 kHz.
The quake has left around 2,000 people dead and some
7,000 injured; that toll is expected to rise in the coming
days, some 8 days after the quake hit. Search and rescue
efforts are being hampered by a lack of resources and by
heavy rains, which have caused mudslides that blocked roads
in Haiti who also found itself this week in the direct path
of Tropical Depression Grace, which is aggravating the
recovery effort.
In other rescue radio news, hams from the Algerian National
Society ARA are assisting with emergency communications as
deadly forest fires continue to sweep through the northern
region.
The International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 reported that
at least 65 lives were claimed by the blaze raging in the
town of Ouacif in the Province of Tizi Ouzou.
Operating on 7.110 MHz, 3.650 MHz and 14.300 MHz, hams
established communications between the mobile station in
Ouacif and the crisis centre in Tamda.
(arnewsline.org / cnn/ arrl)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- YOTA
(Youngsters On The Air)
youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA
twitter.com/hamyota
Taking part in Morocco's annual Youth Day's celebrations,
21st August, the idea of Youth Day goes back to the
Moroccan Independence Movement decades ago, members of the
Association Royale des Radioamateurs du Maroc are using
the prefix 5 E 8 between 20 and 29 August.
Celebrated on the birth day of the reigning monarch
(21 August), Youth Day is a public holiday across the land
that honours the contribution of the youth to the Kingdom
of Morocco.
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2021 Social Scene
Due to the COVID-19 situation, please check these events'
direct for up-to-date status information and even without
Covid dates have an uncanny knack of being changed at last
moment.
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PORTAL
Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest news, key facts and figures,
contacts and answers to your questions.
www.health.gov.au/
VK4 - REDCLIFFE AR Club Car Boot Sale Aug 28 9am (vk4tfn)
VK7 - REAST SEPTEMBER ONE PRESENTATION NIGHT (REAST)
P25 Emergency Services Network Build
On 1st September from 7:30pm Hobart Hams have the privilege
of having Andrew Johns VK7AJ giving a presentation on how to
build a state-wide P25 based Emergency Services radio
network.
This should be a fascinating look into what it takes to
provide a digital radio network in a challenging environment
like Tasmania.
VK4 - GLADSTONE FUN DAY September 11 at 10am (vk4xmc)
VK5 - Australian Fox Hunting Championship and SERG Convention
CANCELLED FOR 2021 (vk5dj)
VK4 - Cardwell Gathering October1 to 4 at
Beachcomber Motel and Tourist Park. (BackScatter)
VK4 - SunFest Field Day Monday October 4,
Nambour Showgrounds, Queensland. ( mark@qslcomms.com )
VK6 - PerthTech October 23 (vk6pop)
VK3 - ROSEBUD RadioFest by SPARC 9:30am Nov 14 (vk3pdg)
VK5 - Australian Fox Hunting Championship and SERG Convention
Mount Gambier SA Queens Birthday weekend June 2022
(vk5dj)
And with that, that brings the curtain down on todays
WIA National News, so thanks to Greg, Norma, Sel, Shirley
and Lyndall
.. I'm Linda VK7QP ALARA President, see you in the ALARA
contest next weekend and again right here in December when
ALARA WILL BRING YOU ALL THE NEWS THAT MATTERS in
WIA National News.
Reception Reports
WIA News rebroadcasters often give Short Wave Listeners a
welcome to the broadcast as they commence call-backs
straight after the Local News. Local news follows National
news in all states. It would be great if those SWL's would
email their reception reports and location to
callbacks@wia.org.au
==============================
WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK
www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/feedback/index.php
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We would appreciate items certainly no longer than 1.5 mts in
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Remember the sooner you submit material the more the likelihood
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We cannot give blatant 'plugs' to raffles.
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Oh... and to contact us with your news because
If It Matters To You It Matters To Us!
Click the links below to download the most recent edition of
National News, BUT this is ONLY the backup site!
WIANEWS backup thanks to Brendan VK4BLP can be found on
wiaq.org.au
BACKUPS OF THE BACKUP!! thanks to Tony VK7AX
www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/
wia.org.au/members/broadcast/wianews/ (This is the link
to the original text version and original audio on wia site)
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Who and where are they?
wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/
The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of
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We strongly encourage membership in the Wireless Institute of
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