This is WIANEWS for week commencing SEPTEMBER 16 2007




LET US REWIND 7 DAYS, back to the broadcast of September 9.

".......'portantly, when you send NATIONAL NEWS an item a couple of
"must do's", and these have not changed over the years, just they seem
to be forgotten or not passed on to club officers after elections etc.

1/ When you file audio always email us the script.


2/ When supplying script for someone else to read, PLEASE write as you'd
expect to hear it! as an example always write in the 3rd person!!
(Remember our readers are not you or your club so don't say things like
"we are having a working bee... say 'club members' are having a working
bee etc etc".)


3/ Don't send us links or photo's of stories , always write out the story
in a manner in which it can be read and pasted to our text and
audio services.


4/ If you want an item run 3 or more times, write different slants on the
item, running the exact same item over and over would be dull/boring and
lets face it, if you can't think of anything extra to say, that is
probably a good sign that it will end up being a dull event!!


5/ WIA related material, eg BPL if Australian material will only be broadcast
after clearance from the WIA unless said item is already in the public
domain.

6/ Silent Keys are best sent to AR Magazine and your local state or club news
rather than this WIA National News Service.




VK4 QSL Manager

Here is Ewan McLeod VK4ERM, Vice President of the WIA.

The WIA Board has approved the appointment of Ray Crawford VK4HDX as VK4 QSL
Bureau manager. The Board acted on the recommendation of the Queensland
Advisory Committee, the National QSL Coordinator Neil Penfold VK6NE and the
immediate past VK4 QSL Manager Eddie de Young VK4AN.

QSL Bureau services are available free to WIA members.

Ray Crawford VK4HDX is a member of the WIA, resides at 53 Moore Street
Kingaroy
QLD 4610 phone (07) 4163 6940. Email: . Ray is an
active Dxer and was active in NZART before coming to Australia.

His home address is the address which will be circulated as the point for
delivery of VK4 Inwards QSL Cards from overseas. Neil Penfold, WIA QSL
National Coordinator, has recommended that Ray's home address be the address
in
future for VK4 QSL Inwards deliveries and hence eventually the present
Brisbane
Post Office Box will be closed.

For outward Bureau Cards, that is cards being sent from WIA members to
overseas
contacts, Members should send their cards sorted in DX CC country order to the
WIA Outwards QSL Bureau at:

WIA Outwards QSL Bureau
P.O. Box 3073
Teralba
NSW 2284

The present VK4 QSL manager Eddie de Young VK4AN has resigned due to other
commitments. Eddie brought a good business outlook to the task of managing
the
VK4 QSL Bureau following the successful years of operation under the
management
of Shirley and Dave Gulley. Eddie brought a strong interest to the concepts
of
managing a QSL Bureau and was always ready to suggest ways by which the system
could be improved. Eddie and his family are a feature of many hamfests with
his QSL cards and displays of his other interests.




HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA.
(vk1wx)


VK1
vk1 local news email and ask for subscription.

The Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club has a busy schedule over the next four
months.

WICEN will assisting with communications for the Fitz's Challenge bike ride,

The course of a million pines 2 day car rally both in September.

Other car rallies are scheduled for October, November and December.

The club will be supporting JOTA primarily from the site of the old NASA
tracking station site Honeysuckle Creek and setting up a contest station for
the VHF/UHF field day contest in November.

Also we have our regular monthly meetings with guest speakers,

This month Dik Elliot VK2KDE on Fibre Optic Networks,

October Phil Grimshaw VK4KVK on HF antennas and small back yards,

November our traditional Christmas party and trash 'N' treasure night.

Details of these activities can be found on the Canberra region Amateur Radio
Club website.


VK2
web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm


VK3
web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/

Annual Inter-club BBQ in VK3

The Central Goldfields Amateur Radio Club of Maryborough, Midland Amateur
Club from Bendigo, the Ballarat Amateur Radio Group and Amateur Radio
Victoria are getting ready for the "all welcome" BBQ on Sunday the 14th of
October at Laanacoorie.

Organiser Peter Rafferty VK3CC says it's a BYO meat and drinks affair, with
bread, butter, tea, coffee provided. The venue is the Laanacoorie Hall and
begins at 10am.

Laanacoorie is on the Loddon River on the Eddington side of Bendigo about
one third of the way between Maryborough and Bendigo.
(VK3PC)


VK4
web service local news:- www.wiaq.com/qnews/upload/qnewsbcast.htm
local news email subscribe in subject
field.


Peter, VK4TGV has reported about the recent floods on the Sunshine Coast and
how their Emergency Caravan was deployed and Club members sent to State
Emergency Services sites to assist with the relay messages.

The SES was so impressed with their efforts that the club will be assisting
the
SES in the design of their new Radio set-up.

Well Done Sunshine Coast


VK5

RADAR - Roxby and District Amateur Radio Group Would like to publicly thank
the following people, VK2DQ Ron, VK3DAC Fred, VK5ZFW Peter, VK5ATQ Trevor
and finally VK5PW Paul. These operators went to tremendous effort to travel
to Roxby Downs on the weekend of the first and second of September to assist
with the first training and assessment for the foundation class licence. The
weekend went flawlessly and resulted in a tremendous growth of amateurs for
the town. In numerical terms it works out to be 900% growth with 12 people
sitting assessments and 9 of them deemed to be competent. Further more, one
of participants also sat the Standard Regulations and Theory with a
successful result. A top effort all round! But it does not end there!

The RADAR Group was also formed with Michael Wright VK5ARD and Mike Worby
finalising their Assessor and Learning Facilitator credentials respectively.
This leaves the newly formed group independent and able to conduct
assessments and training without the need to travel up to 6 hours each way.
RADAR has already made solid moves toward the future with a 2 meter repeater
(VK5ROX) licensed and under construction and a further repeater also planned
on the 70 centimetre band. Both of these repeaters will have IRLP and
EchoLink on board enabling the new licence holders to experience as much as
possible without excessive financial outlay. JOTA is also just around the
corner and the hope is that most of the local scouts and recent course
participants might get a real taste of the amateur radio spirit.
(Michael VK5ARD Roxby And Districts Amateur Radio Group).


VK6
web service http://www.vk6.net/newswest-index.html


VK7
local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php
your copy of vk7 local news, email


VK8
http://www.vkham.com/vk8da/ note an audio version available on this page.




EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO

Roxby Downs visit 1 Sep 2007.

It is springtime and the Sturt Desert Pea is not all that is blooming in the
arid North of South Australia. Amateur Radio is blossoming at Roxby Downs.
Over 500 Km North of Adelaide and part of the Olympic Dam mine, Mike VK5ARD a
resident of Roxby Downs motivated a dozen young potential amateurs.

A visit by Fred Swainston for overall guidance, and Ron Bertrand for training
how could you go wrong. Assessors from Adelaide were Peter VK5ZFW, Paul VK5PH,
and Trevor VK5ATQ.

Much hard work of training and assessing was balanced by celebrations as it
was
a very successful weekend. To top it off a new radio Club was formed. The
Roxby
and Districts Amateur Radio Club. Listen for calls from Roxby Downs and
welcome
new amateurs, and a new club, to the world of Radio Experimenters.

Another success for the WIA training program.

This is Trevor Quick VK5ATQ for 1 WIA news




INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The Singapore Amateur Radio Transmitting Society (SARTS) is pleased to
announce their forthcoming Field Day on 6 and 7 October 2007 will see
radio activity using the special call S 61 FD from Changi, Singapore.
Operation will be on the HF bands 80-10m running 500Watts to vertical
antennas.
(Peter Cook, 9V1PC, President SARTS).


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RSGB NEWS G4NJH

Historic callsign to return to the air

GB2SM, the permanent callsign of the former Science Museum amateur radio
station in London, will shortly be back on the air.

It will be based at the Science Museum's Swindon site. A unique arrangement
has been made between the Science Museum and the Swindon and District Amateur
Radio Club. The Notice of Variation for the callsign will be held by the club
on behalf of the Science Museum.

GB2SM will be used in partnership with the Science Museum at events and
activities that specifically promote the Science Museum and communications
inspired projects. For this purpose the callsign will be treated as a Special
Event Callsign rather than a permanent call. Should a permanent amateur radio
station be re-established at the London site the callsign would automatically
revert to the permanent station.




Guilty verdict in ham murder case

Courts in Gambia recently sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the
murder of Ron Ford, G3NKO.

Tourist Mr Ford was killed in by two Gambian nationals in September 2002 while
on holiday in the region. Passing sentence on Dawda Bojang and Kawsu Jarju in
the Kanifing Magistrates' court, magistrate Buba Jawo said the evidence before
the court had clearly shown that the prosecution has proven their case.




WEIRD N WONDERFUL

The toothbrush with 'satnav'

As you clean your teeth, Oral-B's Triumph SmartGuide toothbrush transmits its
exact location to a base unit.

The unit then shows you on an LCD screen which area of your mouth has been
cleaned and a clock tells you how long you have left to brush.

The system uses technology similar to the Bluetooth system used with
hands-free earpieces for mobile phones.

The LCD display can be mounted on the bathroom mirror or held in your free
hand, picking up information as you brush.

The remote display also doubles up as a bathroom clock

Oral-B is hoping that the brush will be a stocking filler this Christmas
and has planned its launch in Britain within weeks.

So for a whiter wider smile... at least for ORAL-B's shareholders, you know
where to look!




OPERATIONAL NEWS - VK4FUQ AND VK5MM

MARKET REEF, OJ 0 B (ohjay zero bee) CHALLENGING THE ROUGH SEAS ONCE AGAIN

The August 2007 outing to Market Reef, OJ0B was designed to decorate
the lighthouse with powerful antennas that can only be hoisted in
good weather conditions. The group was successful, and in addition to
making more than 13.000 QSOs a SteppIR beam plus an assortment of
wire antennas were mounted at the light.

The newly composed group of OH0RJ, OH2BH, OH2MM, OH2PM, OH7EA and
OH8NC plan to be operational from September 15 until, including both
Scandinavian Activity Contests, with three stations. Now they have more
flexibility since they have a resident helicopter at their disposal.

Outside of the contest their frequencies are as follows:

CW: 3523, 7023, 10113, 14033, 18083, 21033, 24903 and 28033 KHz
SSB: 3775, 7075, 14175, 18135, 21275, 24960 and 28475 KHz

Once again, if you are a stamp collector or wish to receive your QSL
card with unique Market Reef stamps, you may send an SASE with 7 Euros

(10 USD) as your postage/donation to the Finnish Lighthouse Society
via QSL manager OH2BH.

If you wish to tour the Reef in the spirit of adventure, you may
follow in the footsteps of the August 2007 and November 2005 OJ0B activities:

http://sm0w.com and www.kolumbus.fi/oh2bn/pagemarket.htm

The Finnish Lighthouse Society has been active repairing the lighthouse this
summer, and you may wish to follow their activities which include daily
reporting and interesting general details.

http://www.lighthousesociety.fi/eng/




7th World HST Championship will be held in Belgrade Serbia September
19-23rd.
www.hst2007.org



SEPTEMBER 22
The Second running of the Westlakes Cup is coming up on Saturday 22nd
September commencing at 8.30 Eastern Australian Standard Time (10.30 Z).



October 6th to 7th
2007 Oceania DX Contest

The EMDRC will be operating a portable station at Kurth's Kiln, located near
Gembrook.

The Oceania DX contest has been around for many years in early October and was
known previously as the VK/ZL Contest. Activity has increased over the last
three years due to a huge promotional effort by a joint Australian and
New Zealand Committee.

PHONE: 0800 UTC Saturday 6 October to 0800 UTC Sunday 7 October 2007


The Parks web page for Kurth Kiln is
http://svc015.wic028p.server-web.com...y.cfm?park=238
the friends group is
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fofkk/



Boat Anchor Sprints:
October (13).
Local ZL time: 2000 to 2100 hrs

Section 1: Old radios - all valves - i.e. ZC1, 19 set, Heathkits, any
home brew set, but must have all valves.

Section 2: Any Hybrid transceiver (must have valve finals i.e. FT200,
FTDX400/401, Drake, FT 101s, etc..

Amplitude Modulated signals only.

The overall winner shall be the entrant having the highest points score
which will be published in the following New Zealand "Break-in".
(Jamie Pye ZL2NN, Editor NZART's InfoLine)




NOVEMBER 17/18 VK Spring VHF-UHF Field Day

The full details are on www.wia.org.au

Duration in all call areas other than VK6: 0100 UTC Saturday to 0100
UTC Sunday.

Duration in VK6 only: 0400 UTC Saturday to 0400 UTC Sunday.

The full contest details can be viewed he

http://www.wia.org.au/contests/vu_fieldday/index.php

Sourced from the WIA Website.




CONTEST STORIES

Good morning listeners, this is Peter Harding VK4OD this years RD manager.

This week after the official closing times, some of the late comers tried to
sneak in their late mail and Electronic logs for this years RD. In accordance
with the Rules I have rejected and returned these late logs.

In the next couple of weeks it is anticipated that I will have all the logs
listed on a website for you to peruse, and if your callsign along with what
type of log you submitted IS NOT THERE, I will have a link to send me a
message before we close the books off and declare the winners. PLEASE NOTE
there will NOT be any scores listed, it is purely to make sure your logs are
there. Listen to future broadcasts for the RD Logs location, and URL.

Until next week, this is Peter Harding VK4OD. 73s..




MEDIA WATCH


Greg VK5ZBD reporting on the Callbacks for the Adelaide 147Mhz Repeater
for Sunday 9th of September says they " have finally cracked the Ton
in S.A. on the one Repeater with the one news broadcast.

VK5RAD with 102 Calls!

Congrats all round!!



LAB TESTING CHANGES DETAILED IN OCTOBER QST

In the upcoming October issue of QST, the ARRL Lab introduces a series of
significant new receiver tests. These are the result of development work and
discussions with professionals in the radio industry over a period of several
years.

One new test concerns receiver blocking gain compression and reciprocal
mixing. The ARRL Lab describes Blocking Dynamic Range (BDR) as "a condition
in which the weak [desired] signal is 'blocked' or suppressed" by a strong
interfering signal. This is also known as desense or overload. In some cases,
the cause is a reduction in receiver gain. In other cases ("noise limited"
measurements), the cause is an increase in the receiver's internal noise due
to the noise sidebands of the local oscillator mixing together with the
strong interferer (also known as "reciprocal mixing"). The level of the noise
masks the gain reduction effect on the desired signal. Instead of reporting
the BDR as a noise limited measurement, the Lab will now be using narrow-band
measurement techniques to "dig out" the desired signal on noise-limited
measurements and determine the point of gain reduction.

To distinguish from earlier measurements, the name will be changed to
"Blocking Gain Compression." A separate reciprocal mixing test indicates the
level of noise increase within the receiver caused by the interfering signal.
Together, these two measurements provide more information about how the
receiver behaves with a single strong interfering signal.

From 1983 onward, ARRL Product Review published IP3 (third order intercept)
figures for receivers based on a noise floor intermodulation distortion (IMD)
response level. In 1993, the level was changed to a response that produced
an S5 reading on the receiver's own S-meter. The decision was based largely
on this being a more typical average of signals that would be found on the
bands. The drawbacks to this approach are that there is a great variation in
S-meters from receiver to receiver (see Product Review, April 2005) and it
overlooks the significant change that can often be observed in receivers at
higher signal levels.

With this in mind, the ARRL Lab has decided to measure and report IP3 at
three levels. The lowest level measurement is made at the noise floor, as has
been done in the past. The middle level is done at a standard level of -97
dBm, defined as S5 in the IARU Region 1 standard for S-meters. For the
highest level, instead of selecting a particular receiver response, the
maximum level of expected interferer will be set to 0 dBm (S9 + 73 dB by the
IARU standard, a loud signal indeed!). These three levels taken together
should present the best overall view of a receiver's total performance, with
each level being most useful in a particular context. For example, someone
doing SSB or CW work on VHF would care most about the receiver performance
at the noise floor, while on HF, an S5 level would be more useful.

According to ARRL Lab Test Manager Mike Tracy, KC1SX, members frequently ask
why manufacturers' sensitivity specifications are given in microvolts but
Product Review measurements are reported in dBm (decibels relative to a
milliwatt). He said, "The chief reason is that manufacturers typically do not
include a bandwidth in their specification, and measurements in different
bandwidths are not directly comparable. All other things being equal, there
is more noise power in a 3 kHz bandwidth than a 2.4 kHz bandwidth. To
overcome that limitation, the sensitivity testing is done with a 500 Hz
bandwidth filter, or as close to that as is available. This permits
reasonable comparisons of different receivers." Although the filters that a
receiver has cannot be changed, the variation in actual bandwidth can be
determined by calculating the Equivalent Rectangular Bandwidth (ERBW). This
is the width that the filter would have if it passed the same noise power and
possessed the "ideal" shape of vertical sides and a flat passband response.

For more on the changes coming in future Product Reviews, be sure to check
out the October issue of QST.
(arrl audio news)




BB's DIARY ROOM - THE FUTURE, IN AMATEUR RADIO


2008

Sept 13 Alarameet 2008 will be held in Ulverstone Tasmania on Saturday
13th and Sunday 14th September 2008. Susan VK7LUV for details.




2009
International Telecommunication Union's Telecom World 2009.


14th IARU R3 Conference Christchurch 12 - 16 October, 2009.





SOCIAL SCENE


SEPTEMBER 21-23
North Queensland Amateur Radio Convention
Happening in twin cities of Thuringowa and Townsville.


SEPTEMBER 22-23

Brett Dawson VK2CBD down in the Orana Region ARC says the CSIRO Parkes Radio
Telescope will be holding open days Saturday 22 and Sunday 23rd of September.
The Orana Region Amateur Radio Club, the Orange & Districts Amateur Radio
Club and the WIA will be on site with interesting demonstrations and they'll
be talking to anyone who wants to know about how to get involved in amateur
radio. There will be other attractions as well including helicopter rides,
a jumping castle and face painting for the kids, as well as an outdoors
screening of the movie "The Dish" on Saturday evening.



OCTOBER 6
Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society Annual Hamfest at Albert Waterways Hall.



NOVEMBER 4
The Ballarat Hamvention at the Great Southern Woolshed located on the Western
Highway on the Melbourne Side of Ballarat. General entry for $6:00 is from
10am. details at the BARG website
www.barg.org.au



DECEMBER 2
Westlakes Amateur Radio Clubs Christmas Party will be held at the Eastern
Tiger Restaurant, which is located in the Cardiff RSL building, interested?
get in touch with VK2FDNE Diane.




JANUARY 20 2008

The Mid North Coast Amateur Radio Group invite all amateurs to attend the
2008 Mid North Coast Radio Expo to be held in Coffs Harbour on Sunday 20th
January.

The Expo is held at the St Johns Church Hall, Mc Lean Street, Coffs Harbour.
Gary VK2ZKT is the Radio Expo Coordinator on 02 66 55 2 990 or visit the
Groups comprehensive web site at www.mncarg.org



FEBRUARY 10

Announcing Centre Victoria RadioFest No. 2.
Second-hand traders, club corner, short-talk lectures, displays and the
popular dipole factory will all return, plus some new exciting activities to
be announced later.
All major commercial traders have already made commitments to be there again
in 2008.
For second hand table bookings that cost only $12.50 please contact Nick
Angelo VK3UCK 0488 653 201, or check out the website
radiofest.amateurradio.com.au




THE FINAL FINAL

(Audio Grab from TWIAR - Story of "JoeBubbles")

TONY VK7AX CONTINUES WITH STORY.

There is further irony to this story.
Tony VK7AX was possibly one of the last persons to speak with JoyBubbles...

WHY!!!

"JoyBubbles was speaking to yours truly (via the phone of course) arranging
to have his 5 year Licence for VK4WBO renewed with the ACMA.

JoyBubbles had given his credit card details to me on Saturday 4th. August.

He agreed to check back 1 hour later to verify whether I was able to complete
the payment.

THAT CALL NEVER CAME!!!!

JoyBubbles did complain about feeling very dizzy during our phone
conversation.

During our conversation I asked him about the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
which had recently occurred. He told me he was located approximately 4Km
from the bridge.

I must say this was a unique experience for me and certainly an honour to
have been associated with this Blind Operator... all brought about by Amateur
Radio.

I'm Tony VK7AX for the WIA National News from VK1WIA.




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WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide.

Societies and Club News Letter Editors can EXCHANGE a feed prior to
the actual broadcast date, e-mail

Callbacks follow the RF editions, but also for text readers you may
lodge a quick reply to let us know you read it, who knows, you might
even get a "cheerio call".

Compiled by VK4BB on behalf of the National WIA.
______________________________
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____________________________
================================================== =============================
WIANews THANKS OUR REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS , OUR RELAY OPERATORS ACROSS THE WORLD
FOR FORWARDING INFORMATION AND COMMENTS THEIR LISTENERS HAVE PASSED ON TO MAKE
WIANews VK'S LEADING WEEKLY AMATEUR RADIO PROGRAM.
_______________________________
Societies and Club News Letter Editors can EXCHANGE a feed prior to the actual
broadcast date, e-mail
Callbacks follow the RF editions, but also for text readers you may lodge a
quick reply to let us know you read it, who knows, you might even get a
"cheerio call".
Compiled by VK4BB on behalf of QNEWS for the National WIA.
Thanks to to our dedicated band of broadcast volunteers who utilize their time
and equipment in bringing you this weekly broadcast.
The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of interest to active
amateurs residing in Australia and the globe.
We strongly encourage membership in the Wireless Institute of Australia and
participation in the activities of local clubs.
Opinions expressed in "WIANews" are those of the writers who submit material
and do not necessarily reflect those of the rebroadcasters, nor the National
WIA.
Material may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, a credit to
WIANews wouldn't go astray...
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