2022 AUGUST 21 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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TODAYS NEWS IS PRESENTED BY ALARA.
PRESIDENT VK2AYL MICHELLE
CONTEST MANAGER VK5MAZ MARIJA
VICE PRESIDENT VK5YL SHIRLEY
AND IS HOSTED TODAY BY VK7 STATE REP LINDA VK7QP
The Sesquicentenary of the Overland Telegraph
On the 22nd August 1872 the construction of the Overland Telegraph
line between Adelaide and Darwin was completed. This year marks the
150th anniversary since this achievement. It has been described as
the greatest engineering feat carried out in nineteenth century
Australia.
Within months it was linked to the Java-to-Darwin submarine
telegraph cable, and Australias communication time with Europe was
reduced from months to hours. Australias isolation from the rest of
the world was lessening.
Charles Todd, South Australian Superintendent of Telegraphs, 1872:
We have this day, within two years, completed a line of
communications two thousand miles long through the very
centre of Australia, until a few years ago a terra incognita
believed to be a desert.
The construction started at both ends, Darwin and Adelaide, and the
joining point was at Frews Ponds, 25 km south of Dunmarra,
Northern Territory, on the 22nd of August 1872.
All telecommunications and the internet in Australia can be pointed
back to this moment in time. This is the start point. Everything
evolved from here.
Even when the two points of the line were a few miles apart, they
were sending messages by horse-back to complete the gap.
Alice Springs, which was established as a repeater station, became
the administrative hub for central Australia.
Doug Johnson VK2XLJ has a fascinating look at this on the website
ot150.net
Source:
ot150.net/
( Doug Johnson vk2xlj@hotmail.com )
WIA
JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y
ROSTERED WIA DIRECTOR BRINGING US NEWS FROM THE WIA
ON HAPPENINGS AT BOARD LEVEL WILL BE IN ROTATION:-
President Scott VK3KJ
Greg VK2GPK
Peter VK8ZZ
Lee VK3GK
Chris VK3FY --------------- AUG 21
Peter VK4EA --------------- Aug 28
Steve VK2TSG -------------- Sept 4
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NOW CONTEST WISE:-
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2022
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ALARA CONTEST AUGUST 27 and 28
alara.org.au
Marija VK5MAZ ad-libs on the ALARA contest
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WIA - NZART OCEANIA CONTEST
PHONE - First full weekend in October
0600 UTC Saturday to 0600 UTC Sunday
CW - Second full weekend in October
0600 UTC Saturday to 0600 UTC Sunday
Log deadline for ALL logs - 31 October.
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WIA VHF - UHF FIELD DAYS
Roger Harrison VK2ZRH, manager for the VHF-UHF Field Days wrote us
to say "as contestants are aware, with the passing in January of
Mike Subocz VK3AVV, developer of the VKCL contest logger and of our
log-checking software, there has been a hiccup in processing Field
Day logs while we awaited probate of Mikes estate.
Field Day events have continued and, in the meantime, we have sought
to develop a means for determining and publishing results from logs
submitted.
For all contestants who submitted logs for the past three Field Days
that is, the Spring 2021, Summer and Winter 2022 events I have
good news. Firstly, all the log files sent to the Field Day log
uploader on the WIA website have been retrieved successfully.
Secondly, while you have all been waiting patiently for the
preparation and publication of results, a small team of problem
solvers has doggedly worked at finding a log-checking application
suited to our purpose to satisfy your not unreasonable desire to
know how you went.
And how others went, too.
Well, a log-checking application suited to our purpose has been
found and panel-beaten into shape so as to do the job required.
Accordingly, this past week, work has proceeded to prepare a table
of claimed scores for the 2021 Spring event from the logs submitted.
You will find this posted on the VHF-UHF Field Days website.
Download it and take a look.
For those reading this before Sunday 28th news, you have until
midnight Saturday 27 August to respond if you have any issues or
queries.
Similarly, claimed scores for the 2022 Summer and Winter events will
be posted to the website also. Likewise, therell be roughly a week
to review and respond to each.
Once this process is completed, tables of final scores will be
compiled and published on the WIA website.
wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/
(Roger VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News Text Edition)
NOW THE NEXT SPRING CONTEST IS
0100 UTC Saturday 26 through 0059 UTC Sunday 27 November
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DX WINDOW
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The Pakistan Amateur Radio Society (PARS) is operating under the
special callsign AP 75 PAK and Pakistani operators have been using
the special AP75 prefix during August
This is to celebrate 75 years of Pakistan Independence.
Please look out for AP75... callsigns On satellites, HF and also on
6 meter.
An award will be given for any combination of 5 QSO's with AP75
stations. Repetitions with same stations on same mode or same band
will not be counted.
Full details at
pakhams.com
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Members of the Saudi Amateur Radio Society, HZ1SAR, are on the air
as HZ1CPCF for the Crown Prince Camel Festival special event, until
September 4th. Be listening on 20, 17, 16 and 6 metres where the
operators are using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4. QSL to HZ1SAR.
(OHIO PENN DX)
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A year-long special event is call HG 2 PS.
Hams are marking the 200th birthday of Sandor Petofi, a revolutionary
and celebrated poet.
The station will be on the air until March 15th, 2023.
Be listening on all bands for operators using CW, SSB and FT8.
QSL via HA 8 RD, ClubLog or LoTW.
(ARNewsLine)
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French Special Event
Operators Laurent/F1SNK, John/F4EEY, Richard/F5LLZ, Pierre/F5LTM,
Michel/F5MKD and Andre/F6APU will activate the special callsign
TM150FOR from Strasbourg, France, during the following days in
September:
1st, 3-4th, 10-11th, 15th, 17-18th and 24-30th.
Their activity is to commemorate 150th anniversary of the 'fortify
belt,' 14 forts built around Strasbourg that protected the city.
Activity will be on various HF and VHF bands using CW, SSB and
FT8/FT4.
QSL via F5LLZ, direct or by the Bureau.
OPDX
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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.
REGION ONE
IARUMS newsletter - Over The Horizon Radars
IARU Monitoring System (IARUMS) Region 1 newsletter says in July,
like every month for many years, Over The Horizon Radars were the
most numerous transmissions causing interference to our HF amateur
radio bands
The front runner was the RUS Contayner received in all bands from
40 to 12 m. The CHN OTHRs sending short bursts were also very active
and were mostly observed on the 20 m and 15 m bands.
The International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring System (IARUMS)
Region 1 July 2022 newsletter can be read at
iaru-r1.org/
REGION TWO
From Baltimore comes the fascinating story, bound to interest all DXers.
Ever since humans could first observe sunspots about 400 years ago,
we've been using them to try to define the solar cycle. Approximately
every 11 years, solar activity such as sunspots and solar flares
ebbs and flows, causing changes to weather patterns on Earth and
occasionally threatening telecommunications. Predicting these
changes reliably could help everyone from farmers to the military.
Traditionally, scientists have used the concept of a "solar minimum,"
when solar activity is reduced, to mark the beginning of each cycle.
But the "solar minimum" framework is somewhat arbitrary and
imprecise, explains Robert Leamon, research scientist at the
Partnership for Heliophysics and Space Environment Research, a UMBC
partnership with NASA.
Leamon led new research showing that a "solar clock" based on the
sun's magnetic field, rather than the presence or absence of
sunspots, can precisely describe and predict many key changes
throughout the solar cycle. The new framework offers a significant
improvement over the traditional sunspot method, because it can
predict surges in dangerous solar flares or changing weather trends
years in advance.
REGION THREE
EARTHQUAKE BALLOONS IN THE STRATOSPHERE:
If you want to detect an earthquake on Venus--good luck. The planet's
surface is hot enough to melt lead, and the atmospheric pressure is
crushing. No ground-based seismometer could possibly survive.
What's an extra-terrestrial seismologist to do? Launch a balloon.
For the first time, a network of high-altitude balloons has detected
a strong earthquake using infrasound sensors in the stratosphere.
Results from the mission were just published in the Geophysical
Research Letters. Now that the technique has been proven on Earth,
researchers want to try it on Venus.
Full story in thursday aug 11 edition of space weather @ Spaceweather.com.
A new paper just published in the Geophysical Research Letters
reports the detection of a magnitude 7.3 earthquake by a fleet of
balloons floating through the stratosphere above Indonesia's Flores
Sea. On-board infrasound sensors registered acoustic waves rippling
upward from the sea surface below, proving that, here on Earth,
balloons can be used as seismometers.
"The same technique should work in the atmosphere of Venus," says
Raphael Garcia, the study's lead author and a planetary scientist
at the Institut Suprieur de lAronatique et de lEspace of the
University of Toulouse. "Balloon-based sensors could float high
above Venus's deadly surface, collecting data at a safe distance."
In the fall of 2021, the Centre National dEtudes Spatiales (CNES)
launched a fleet of 16 balloons from Mah Island in the Seychelles
archipelago. Unlike ordinary weather balloons, which explode in a
matter of hours, these were "superpressure balloons," which can
remain aloft for months. Stratospheric winds carried them over the
Flores Sea.
Hams in India have been waiting since 2019 for the return of
HamFest India in person and it is now back on the calendar.
Jim Meachen reporting on ARNewsLine said "The organising committee
for HamFest India has announced the event's return on the 12th and
13th of November in Mysore, Karnataka. As with so many other major
amateur radio events, this well-attended event, which made its debut
in India in 1991, had not been held in person as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
K. Shankar Prasad, VU2SPK, the event's general convenor, said the
committee is putting together an agenda and a website and both
should be available soon. The website is under development at
www.hfi2022.com
We finish international news this week and have to say
WE NEVER SAUSAGE A THING
Over the past few weeks, NewsLine has carried stories about the
fabulous images transmitted back to Earth from the James Webb
telescope. Now in WIA's weird and wonderful' an update, a report
that has.....even more...meat to it.
Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away there was a French
physicist with a report that was also far, far away...in this case,
from reality: In late July, a very excited scientist, Etienne Klein,
posted an image on his Twitter account, identifying it as the
James Webb telescope's highly detailed capture of Proxima Centauri
which, at 4.2 light years away from Earth, is the closest star to
the sun. It is so close to the sun, in fact, you might say it
sizzles.
In this case, it sizzles like sausage -->
because that's what it turned out to be:
a single round slice of chorizo, a type of savoury Spanish smoked
sausage, in close-up under the camera lens. Klein later admitted his
post was a light-hearted deception but only after thousands of his
Twitter followers - who presumably were NOT vegetarians - had
approved of the image. He told French media later that the tweet was
meant only as a joke and insisted that any and all reports of
celestial sausage are, you might say, tough to swallow.
You might even call it a bit of baloney.
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VK5YL SHIRLEY AD-LIBS ON WHERE IN VK5 THE NEWS CAN BE HEARD
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WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS PRESENTED BY VK2AYL
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS - ALARA
Michelle ad-libs about the ALARA contest here..
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
End of mission for two ham radio CubeSats
The Manila Bulletin reports on two amateur radio CubeSat's, built by
Philippine students and carrying APRS Digipeaters, that have now
re-entered the Earth's atmosphere
The newspaper says:
After 10 months in orbit, the countrys first local university-built
Filipino cube satellites, CubeSats Maya-3 and Maya-4 re-entered the
Earths atmosphere Aug.4 and Aug. 8 respectively, ending their
mission, the Philippine Space Agency has said.
Built in a local university setting, the two cube satellites were
designed and developed by the first batch of scholars under the
Space Science and Technology Proliferation through University
Partnerships (STeP-UP) project of the STAMINA4Space Program.
Maya-3 and Maya-4 were pivotal in the development of the local
space industry. These CubeSats are experimental and educational
platforms, and while all low earth orbiting satellites will
eventually fall to earth, what matters more are the lasting
intangibles that the project brought knowledge, skill, partnerships
and confidence that we can do it, said Dr. Maricor Soriano,
program leader of STAMINA4Space Program.
PENNSYLVANIA CLUB MARKS 10TH ANNIVERSARY 'ABOARD' MARS ROVER
Hams in one Pennsylvania club are celebrating a relationship with
the Mars rover that began 10 years ago. Randy Sly W4XJ had those
details on a recent ARNEWSLINE program
How do you celebrate a 10th anniversary? A Dinner? A Party?
The Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club in Philadelphia decided to send
its club call, WM3PEN, on a long vacation that would take 255 days
to get there. They teamed up with NASAs Mars Science Laboratory
rover, Curiosity, to visit Bradbury Landing, on Mars. The boarding
pass was purchased on April 25, 2011 and Curiosity, with their
callsign on board, landed on the red planet in early August, 2012.
Since the landing, Curiosity and WM3PEN have travelled nearly
18 miles searching for the perfect location for the Dxpedition.
The folks at WM3PEN also thought it would be a good trip to team up
with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since they decided to make it a
CW event. To help measure size and distance, the JPL engineers
carved out the dots and dashes of the letters J-P-L in the tire
treads. How could a ham argue with a CW buddy along for the ride?
NASA reports that engineers are devising ways to minimize wear and
tear and keep the rover rolling: In fact, Curiositys mission was
recently extended for another three years.
When asked whats next for the WM3PEN team, callsign trustee
Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, said that after just coming off Field Day and
the 13 Colonies Special Event in June and July, it will be time to
relax before planning the next adventure.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW
illw.net/
Lighthouse weekend is alive now, weekend, 20-21 August and it's a
great opportunity to chat to a lighthouse and work some rare DX.
There will be over 350 lighthouses on the air in over 40 countries.
Germany has 70 registered, USA 41, Australia 38, England 19.
Some smaller countries with 1 entry are Canary Islands, Cyprus,
Gibraltar, Iceland, Isle of Man, Latvia, Malta.
As this will be the 25th anniversary for the International
Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, one of the Indian supporters has
organised a set of first day cover postage stamps to be printed.
After the event there will also be a 25th anniversary certificate
available for download from the ILLW web site for those who would
like to have a record of their participation in the event.
It is interesting to note that some stations have taken part in the
event every year some, with the same call sign and some at the same
lighthouse. It is the support of amateurs globally that has grown
this event into what it has become, one of the most popular events
in the amateur radio calendar
(southgate)
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 21360kHz
RADIO PREPAREDNESS PROJECT BEGINS IN TRIPURA
A new emergency-preparedness strategy by officials in the
northeastern Indian state of Tripura is giving high priority to
amateur radio.
As many as nine new amateur radio stations are being set up by the
government of Tripura in India in an attempt to improve
communications during disasters. The State Disaster Management
Agency told reporters during a recent press conference an estimated
1500 trained volunteers have already stepped forward to operate the
stations as they become available. The first station will be ready
to go on the air shortly and will be based at the State Emergency
Operation Centre in the Secretariat Complex. The remaining eight
still require proper licences from the Ministry of Communication.
The state officials said that ten more automated rain gauges and
seven automated weather stations will also be installed in urban
areas by India's Meteorological Department.
Officials said they had hope that these additional measures would
increase all teams' abilities to provide lifesaving response in the
state, which is prone to a variety of catastrophes, including
flash floods, strong winds and heat waves.
(arnewsline)
The Southern Hemispheres premier critical communications and
public safety event, Comms Connect, will welcome a keynote
presentation and an expert panel from the newly formed Public Safety
Network in New Zealand. The Public Safety Network is the new
communications service that will be used by New Zealands frontline
emergency services responders Fire and Emergency, Police,
St John and Wellington Free Ambulance.
One of the leads in this integration project is Neal Richardson
from NZ Police, who will be one of two keynotes on the day to open
the program for Comms Connect Melbourne on 20 October.
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ROAR
ROTARIANS OF AMATEUR RADIO
website: froar.org
email: webmaster@ifroar.org
FaceBook: facebook.com/groups/RotariansROAR/
0645z - 0730z ANZO Net 7.118 (varies due to propagation)
0730z - 0830z International net 14.293 (varies due to
propagation)
Hi Everyone
As you have heard here on National News recently, REAST is having a
hamfest/conference in Hobart on November 5 and 6 this year Diane
VK4DI has been busy organising a gathering of Rotarians.
So far Bill VK4ZD and Diane VK4DI Phil VK2MCB and his wife Carol,
Peter VK3KCD and John ZL2JPM and his wife Helen are attending.
some are only going mainly for the weekend plus a day either side
and others are planning on a longer visit.
I have booked a table for a ROAR display on the Sunday so no one
else needs to book as a vendor / preloved goods unless they want
their own spot.
So this is the first chance we've had in recent times to have a
social get together we thought it would be a good opportunity for
anyone who is attending to have a meal somewhere in Hobart on Sat
night.
Please let us know who's looking at attending so we can get an idea of
numbers and make a tentative booking in advance.
vk4di@mainlink.net.au
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - VHF AND ABOVE
(The Plumbers Delight)
10 GHz QSO between Portugal and Canary Islands
On July 30 Michael CT1BYM and Cecilio EB8BRZ achieved a contact on
10 GHz from Portugal to the Canary Islands
In this translation of a post on the REP site Michael CT1BYM writes:
During the evening of July 30 a QSO was made between EB8BRZ (IL28HA)
and CT1BYM (IM57PC). This was my first ever QSO done at 10GHz
between EA8-CT, using tropospheric propagation, distance around
1187km. It was also a first for Cecilio, EB8BRZ.
A sectorial beacon was installed in my balcony, direction EA8, with
2W and a 10dBi horn, transmitting CW and Opera. The beacon runs
247, helping identifying the possible QSO window. Beacon runs at
10368.825MHz, TCXO disciplined.
The beacon signal was received at EB8BRZ at 19:34UT, so we decided
to go to SSB immediately.
At Cecilio, EB8BRZ, the working conditions were a 60cm Procom prime
focus dish, 2W, IC-705 for IF
(Source Portugal's national amateur radio society REP)
tinyurl.com/IARU-Portugal
THIS IS REWIND AND THIS IS LINDA VK7QP
RTTY turns 100
On August 9, 1922 a text was typed in an airplane and simultaneously
printed out at a ground station
With this experiment, the US Navy Department gave the telex
procedure wings - exactly 100 years ago. From now on it was possible
to transmit texts wirelessly at a speed of up to 100 words per
minute. The ministry immediately pushed for messages to be made
available in the opposite direction, namely from the ground to the
plane. It was the birth of radio telex - "RTTY".
After the Second World War, the first telexes came into the hands of
radio amateurs, who then modified their transmitters for frequency
shift keying (FSK). RTTY had now also arrived in the amateur radio
service.
With the advent of personal computers at the beginning of the 1980s,
they replaced the previously widespread electromechanically
generated RTTY with very simple RTTY programs. With the introduction
of digital technology and the development of new types of
transmission such as PSK31 and later FT8, RTTY has lost its previous
importance in amateur radio. It's different in the maritime radio
service: Despite modern and fast digital processes, RTTY
transmissions still have their place there, e.g. to warn of dangers
or to transmit current sea weather reports to the skippers.
loc.gov/pictures/item/2002697173/
darc.de/
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2022 Social Scene
VK5 - AREG Car Boot Sale Sept 3 (THREE) David Roche Park Kilburn (vk5tr)
VK4 - SunFest Sunday 18 September 10:00 AM Mountain Creek State
School (noreply email)
VK6 - PerthTech October 21-23 (vk6pop)
VK7 - November 5-6 Tassie Ham Radio Conference and Expo.
Hobart reast.asn.au/news-events/tassie-ham-radio-conference-and-expo/
VK3 - Rosebud RadioFest November 20 9.3Oam. (vk3pdg)
2023
VK - ALARAMeet2023 4/5 November in HOBART (luther8@bigpond.com)
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