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Contact QAC by HF Radio 3.605 Mondays 7:30pm after QNEWS
QAC OVERSEES HAM RADIO MATTERS IN VK4
QNEWS newsroom USE TO SEND US YOUR NEWS STORIES!!
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QAC office officers :-

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VK4AQ Ross Anderson
VK4BY Don Wilschefski
VK4UH Kevin Johnstone




AR MAGAZINE-VK4 QTC COLUMN
news for ar magazine to


CLUBBING - WITH GRAHAM VK4BB



BAYSIDE


Bayside will operate during the lighthouse weekend from Cleveland Lighthouse
on Cleveland Point ( AU 0014 ) for the duration of the event and the club
callsign VK4BAR will be active on all recommended frequencies.
QSL via PO Box 411Capalaba, Queensland. 4157 or buro.



Central Highlands in Central Queensland
http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/charc/

Not long until the Central Highlands AGM

Central Highlands Amateur Radio Club Secretary Gordon VK4KAL
reminds everyone that the Annual General Meeting will be held yet
again at Camp Fairbairn near Emerald Central Queensland from
4pm Friday September 19th until Midday Sunday September 21st.

The weekend not only includes the AGM but also a Monster Auction
of Treasure and Delectables, a hearty BBQ on Saturday Evening,
a seminar or two about technical and handicraft subjects and the
famous Sunday Morning Recovery Breakfast.

Gordon states that so far there has been a feeble response and
bookings are down on last year - so don't let the fuel prices make
you wimp out of a great weekend !

Accommodation is available on site for $13.20 per person per night,
bring your own linen or cosy sleeping bag and your favourite pillow.
Gordon advises that those attending from Friday evening will have
to feed themselves up to Saturday evening when the BBQ takes over.
Make sure to bring some eating and drinking tools too, just in case !

Gordon will appreciate it too if you change your fifties and hundreds
into smaller denominations to pay for the treasure or produce you
successfully bid for and asks you to remember to use this golden
opportunity to empty the shack or cook up a storm for the Monster Auction,
the main revenue raiser for the club that supports the licensing,
maintenance and expansion of the extensive Central Queensland repeater network.

You need to contact Gordon VK4KAL on 07 49854168 (even give Bill Sebbens
vk4xz a buzz!) or email to no later than Sunday
14th September, the cut-off date for catering and accommodation.
Get in contact with Gordon right now, and lets see if we can beat
last year's bumper attendance numbers !



SUNSHINE COAST


The Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio club will be holding its annual Sunfest
the 13th of September at Woombye hall .

All are welcome and tables are still available please contact Harry VK4TK
0409 488 025



TABLELANDS RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CLUB
www.trec.aussiewide.com
d


August 23 0900 (Saturday) General meeting/activities Clubrooms - Luncheon
August 23 1300 (Saturday) Management meeting



TOWNSVILLE

http://vk4zz.no-ip.org/tarc/

Operators needed to track Horses

The Townsville Endurance Riders and Arabian Horse Association
Woodstock Moonlight Challenge Endurance Ride on 23rd and 24th August.
More operators are needed to work Rider Base and at least 7 checkpoints
out in the field accessible to conventional and four wheel drive vehicles.
Its a chance to go out and play with radios in the field !

please contact Gavin VK4ZZ now on 0427 182469
and say you can help out !



August

- TARC Project Night Tuesday 12th Aug from 7-30pm SES HQ West End

- ILHW Lighthouse Lightship Weekend Cape Cleveland Light Sat 16 to Sun 17
August

- VK4KG Memorial Ops for Remembrance Day Contest RAAF Garbutt Sat 16 to Sun
17 August

- TARC Social Meeting Tuesday 19th Aug from 7-30pm SES HQ West End




/EX

SB NEWS @ WW $VK1WIA080810
WIANEWS - AUG 10 - VK NATIONAL NEWS

ALWAYS ENSURE ORIGINAL BID # AND TITLE ARE USED.
Packet uploads with thanks to vk7ax Tony



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This is WIANEWS for week commencing Aug 10 2008


CQ OLYMPIC GAMES

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Game Special Event Amateur Radio Station set-up
application was approved by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of
the 29th Olympiad and State Radio Regulatory Committee.

Five call signs will be used: BT1OB, BT1OJ, BT1OH, BT1OY and BT1ON, which
represent the 5 Beijing Olympic Games symbols.

The theme is "One world one dream". The stations will be on the air till
17 September.

QSL manager is BA4EG. For more details visit
http://www.bj2008ses.com.cn.



NATIONAL NEWS

Ballot for Two Letter Callsigns - Some More Questions

The WIA has answered a number of further questions about the ballot for

two letter callsigns. Details were released on 1 August 2008 and placed

on the WIA website. Now the same details can be found in the August
issue of the WIA's magazine, Amateur Radio, which is now starting to
appear in member's letterboxes.

Michael Owen, VK3KI, President of the Wireless Institute of Australia.
" May I remind you that the ballot for two letter callsigns being conducted on
behalf of ACMA by the WIA is now open?

To participate you must be qualified. You are qualified to participate if you
hold or are qualified to hold an advanced licence, you reside permanently in
Australia and you do not already hold a two letter callsign.

A list of the available two letter callsigns is on the WIA website, details of
the ballot process can be found on the WIA and ACMA websites and in August AR,
which is now being delivered. The downloadable application form is on the WIA
website, or may be requested from the WIA office.

The application t form must be completed and delivered, by hand or mail, to the
WIA national office by 29 August. The application must be accompanied by the
non refundable payment of $59.74, including GST.

That charge is reasonably related to the anticipated cost of conducting the
ballot.

The ballot will be conducted by Friday 19 September and letters advising
participants whether they have been successful or not will be posted by
24 September.

Now let me answer briefly a number of questions that have been asked. The
answers to these questions are set out in slightly more detail on the WIA
website.

Question. Can someone who is prepared to meet the fee in each case put in
multiple entries for the ballot?

The answer is no.

Can clubs participate in the ballot?

The answer is "no". The principles set by ACMA and the definition of
eligibility is based on individuals.

Can someone who has more than one three letter callsign (but no two letter
callsign) participate in the ballot?

The answer is "yes". The application form now asks about callsigns in the
plural.

If someone is successful in the ballot, they has only one callsign, can they
keep their current callsign and have the two letter callsign as an additional
callsign?

The answer is "no". One object of the ballot process is to allow the WIA to
recommend the allocation of a two letter callsign to an amateur who is going to
actually use the callsign.

If someone has more than one three letter callsign and is successful in the
ballot, what callsign should they surrender?

We expect licence for the primary callsign, that is, the callsign for the state
or territory where the amateur is resident and which is ordinarily used, will
be varied.

A final note of clarification.

Further two letter callsigns will become available in the time between the time
that the list of available callsigns was prepared and the close of applications
to participate in the ballot on 29 August 2008.

Any two letter callsigns that becomes available after the list of available
callsigns was compiled will remain quarantined until the whole ballot process
has been completed on 24 October 2008. They will not be included in the
callsigns subject to the ballot.

After 24 October 2008 the WIA expects that these two letter callsigns will be
treated by ACMA in exactly the same way as ACMA treated callsigns before October
2005, that is, they will be available on a "first come, first served" basis.

Thank you."



News from the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.

WICEN Megastars featured in Emergency Magazine

The Official Publication of the QLD Department of Emergency Services, Emergency
Magazine July 2008 edition contains a comprehensive write-up on the efforts of
the Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club's WICEN contingent to successfully
formalise operations with Emergency Management Queensland's North Coast Region
along with extending interoperability with Queensland Police Service and
Australian Red Cross Recom systems.

In reporting this to WIA News, Townsville Amateur Radio Club say that the
article includes a full colour photo of some of the guys and girls involved with
Sunshine Coast WICEN along with the mobile communications centre the club got
together with local council and community support.

Very prominent in the middle row is none other than WIA QTAC Co-ordinator
Bill Sebbens VK4XZ, who is also very well known through Central, North and Far
North Queensland for his efforts to bolster support for WICEN across the entire
state.

Congratulations to everyone involved for a great effort in raising the profile
of Amateur Radio in Australia !

(tarc)



The Amateur Radio community engages in many, many different kinds of activities.

Sometimes there's a potential clash between one activity and another. Seeking
to avoid conflicts between various modes and types of operation is the primary
aim of the amateur band plans.

But what about some of the common operational aspects such as rag chewing, award
hunting, contests, nets, WICEN exercises, JOTA, broadcasts and activities.

Usually these can co-exist with good will. Next weekend sees the running of
both the Remembrance Day Contest and the International Lighthouse and Lightship
Weekend.

Neither can change their dates - the RD Contest is always on the weekend
nearest to the cessation of hostilities in the southwest Pacific during

World War 2. This year it coincides with the International Lighthouse Weekend.

Mutual respect should see those engaged in the RD Contest allowing the
lighthouses to do their thing without being deluged by callers seeking contest
contacts, and the lighthouses appreciating that the contest runs 24 hours.

This is particularly important for the traditional Saturday night VK and ZL
Lighthouse Net from 8pm Australian Eastern Standard Time on 3.585MHz.

The net is designed to try and keep all the lighthouse people in one place,
while leaving the rest of the band for those engaged in the RD Contest.


All the best for those taking part in the Remembrance Day Contest and the
International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend - do enjoy.

I'm Jim Linton VK3PC and you're listening to VK1WIA.

Further on the light house weekend came from VK2CE who points out that a
copycat web site owned by an American lighthouse group is confusing things and
the only OFFICIAL web site is http://illw.net and has been since 2001



The Fourth National Radio & Phono Fest

This occasional event is the largest of its kind in Australia, held once
every two or three years at University House of the Australian National
University in Canberra,

The latest will be on the weekend of the 13th and 14th of September and
includes displays and talks focusing on radio history, equipment and
restoration.

There are to be four workshops on restoration, fault finding, repair of old
equipment, a Saturday night dinner and Sunday has a trading market of radio
and recording.

More than 300 collectors and enthusiasts from around Australia usually
attend.

If you're interested then Google National Radio & Phono Fest for more
information.

(Jim Linton VK3PC)



HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA.


VK2
web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm
VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news


* * SARCFEST Sunday 10 August 2008
All are invited to and reminded of SARCFEST 2008.



Manly-Warringah Radio Society

Next weekend is the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, and the
Manly-Warringah Radio Society will once again activate Barrenjoey Lighthouse
(AU0046) at Palm Beach, in Sydney's north. Axel VK2HXL and Gerard VK2IO will
also be operating from this location.

The last time VK2MB was activated at Barrenjoey, the club had to rely on
battery power, which limited operations. This time, the National Parks and
Wildlife Service, which manages the lighthouse, has kindly given the club
access to mains power, so expect a bigger signal from this fine location.

For more information about the Barrenjoey Lighthouse operation, visit the club
web site at www.mwrs.org.au
click on "Special Events", then on the "Lighthouse and Lightship" link.
Check out the YouTube video, which includes a helicopter fly-past by Yves
[PRONOUNCED "EVE"] VK2AUJ and Connie VK2CON.

Callsign in use will be VK2BLH (for Barrenjoey Light House, presumably)
Bands will be 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m (probably 2m and 70cm as well)
QSL via buro

The Manly-Warringah Radio Society meets every Wednesday evening at the
Warringah Volunteer Services Centre, Thompson Drive off Kamber Road,
Terrey Hills. Door open at 7.30 pm for an 8 pm start. If you need directions,
call in on the club's two metre repeater on 146.875 MHz, or phone 9450-1746 on
the night. Or you can visit the club's web site at www.mwrs.org.au


73 Richard VK2SKY, Publicity Officer


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

The NORTH EAST RADIO GROUP Inc. (The Nergs) will be holding their AGM
on Thursday 14th August 2008 at their Club Rooms, 126 Mountainview Road,
BRIAR HILL, beginning at 1930 hrs. This will be followed by Birthday
celebrations and a presentation by Steve on the workings of the
VK3RHF repeater system. At the conclusion, supper will be provided.
All members past and present together with other interested parties
are invited to attend.



Popular VK3 repeater adopts tone access

The 2-metre repeater VK3RGL at Mt Anakie near Geelong is now fitted with
the Victorian standard CTCSS tone of 91.5Hz to overcome some site and
operational problems.

The main issue was pager and other co-sited services triggering the repeater.
Another was a clash during enhanced propagation with the VK7RAD Mt Barrow
repeater in North West Tasmania which shares the same frequency.

VK3RGL provides good coverage to the Geelong and Melbourne areas on a
frequency of 147.000MHz with negative off-set.



EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO

Paul Hoffmann VK5PH from the Scout Radio Activities Group says a
Training & examinations weekend will take place the last weekend of August,
30 & 31
Yes the SA Scout Radio Activities Group is conducting another of its Foundation
License Training and Examinations weekends on the 30th & 31st of August.
Examinations for all grades & regs will be conducted on Sunday afternoon.
If you require any more information please email



SUMMERLAND (Lismore Area) FOUNDATION TRAINING / EXAM WEEKEND.
A very successful and enjoyable weekend WAS had by all AND 2 ops, Tom Sharp
(10 YEARS OF AGE ) and Peter Reeves were successful.
Congratulations, we hope to hear you on air soon.


A little further north and a call has gone out from the Gold Coast Club
they wish to keep their examination/teaching crew alert but to do so they
desperately need prospective candidates!!
85 Harper Street Nerang on the gold coast most Saturdays you will find the
club members only to willing to help out!


Ham College
August 30th is the next open Exam Day - if you want to sit an exam on this day
please get in touch with us at hamcollege to book your seat.
www.hamcollege.com.au
or ring direct 0412 704 226.



INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL,
Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA.

Dear Colleagues:

Please be advised that the IARU Region 3 Web-Site has been relocated to a
new server with the unique domain name in line with the other IARU family.
Accessing the old URL http://www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/ will be automatically
redirected to the new www.iaru-r3.org server, however, please update your
bookmarks accordingly.
Sincerely, Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB Secretary, IARU Region 3



New Zealand UHF Animal Tagging

The Dominion Post has a report about using UHF RFID to tag sheep, cattle and
deer. The report says

"The Government approved $23.3 million in the Budget to help pay for the cost of
electronically tagging all cattle and deer by 2011. The funding will also cover
the cost of Farms OnLine, an electronic database mapping out all farms, with
records of their herds."

"But a study published by the RFID Pathfinder Group - a non-profit standards
body - says an opportunity may be missed if "tried and tested" low-frequency
RFID technology is used for tagging, as currently proposed."

The UHF RFID bands favoured by the RFID Group are 860 MHz and 960 MHz in
preference to the 125 to 134 kHz system supported by the National Animal
Identification and Tracing (NAIT) project.

Read the full story at http://www.stuff.co.nz/4633186a3600.html

RFID Pathfinder Group
http://www.rfid-pathfinder.org.nz


Spectrum for road traffic

Europe is poised to allocate a slice of the 5.9 Gigahertz band for road
safety wireless application devices.

With rising petrol and diesel prices, long traffic jams plus severe weather
affected roads, measures to reduce travel time will result in huge cost
savings.

The potential exists for wireless devices to help motorists avoid lengthy
delays.

Smart vehicle communication systems, either automatically car-to-car or via
traffic control centre broadcasts to warn motorists of hazards ahead will
open up a range of possibilities.

A European consortium has begun development of products and will welcomes
the European Commission decision on 5.9 GHz that is due this week.

And the good news is that the band already has users including amateur
radio, which will continue to have access to the 5.9GHz band.

(vk3pc)



OPERATIONAL NEWS -

ON AIR CONTEST AND EVENT COLUMN - D A T E L I N E

2008

August
16-17 VK Remembrance Day Contest
16-17 WW International Lighthouse Weekend
16-17 VU NIAR Silver Jubilee Contest
30-31 VK A.L.A.R.A Contest


October 4- 5 OC Oceania Contests - Phone 0800 UTC Sat until 0800 UTC Sun.
11-12 OC Oceania Contests - CW 0800 UTC Sat until 0800 UTC Sun.


November 15-16 (Weekend) Spring VHF/UHF Field Day


well the time is near to the 2008 RD contest.

Commencing approximately 07:45utc next Saturday the 16th August 2008, we will
present the opening address for this years RD Contest. This year the address has
a special twist to it, which will be a first for the WIA and for Australian
Amateur Radio, to find out what it is you will have to listen to the Opening
Address.

By now most of you will have, and those that have not yet, should have logged
onto the WIA website, sussed out the RD Contest link and downloaded the 2008
Rules, Sample Log Sheet, and Cover Sheet.

Those Electronic loggers have the rest of this week to check and or update your
software. PLEASE check your version as many of the programs have revisions over
the last 12 months, log on and download the latest version.

A memory jogger here, any form of Computer aided assistance are NOT permitted
excepting for the use of log keeping.

For the Clubs and multiple operators, please be aware that only 1 Transmitter on
the SAME HF Band / Mode at anyone time. However you are permitted to run several
TX's as long as each TX is on a different band.

Be sure to clarify your operation, from the chart at the bottom of the 2008 RD
Contest Rules in which section you wish to enter. ANY Doubts PLEASE Email ASAP
at

I would ask you all to remember to get your logs away on time, as any logs sent
by Snail Mail or Electronically, that are received after the closing date will
be returned.

For the email dispatched logs, PLEASE only use the following email address that
is , once again this year several helpers are keeping tabs on
who is sending in their Electronic logs, this way we can compare log numbers.

Logs being sent by Australia Post please send them to "RD Contest Manager c/o
40 Centaurus Cres, Regents Park QLD 4118. Please ensure that a return address is
on the back of the envelope,( over the last couple of years many did not
comply.)

This year the International Lighthouse event is on the same weekend as the RD
Contest, I would like to suggest that all and any operators take time out to
work in both events.

Good luck and may you have many contacts, I'm Peter VK4OD Contest Manager.



Invitations to lighthouse activation

For next weekend's International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, Amateur
Radio Victoria VK3WI will activating the Williamstown Lighthouse & Timeball
Tower.

Event Coordinator Terry Murphy VK3UP says it will operating on the 20, 40
and 80 metre bands as well as VHF and UHF.

Everyone is welcome to pop down and support the activity, particularly
those who have joined amateur radio recently or just want to see how a
portable station operates.

The QTH is Point Gellibrand at Williamstown, in Melbourne's inner
southwest, just across the Westgate Bridge or Melway 56 Foxtrot 10.

And a reminder that contact with VK3WI at Williamstown also qualifies as
the City of Hobsons Bay for the Victorian Local Government Award.

North to Brisbane and the Bayside Amateur Radio Club will operate during the
lighthouse weekend from Cleveland Lighthouse ( AU 0014 ) on Cleveland Point
for the duration of the event and the club callsign VK4BAR will be active on
all recommended frequencies.

QSL via PO Box 411 Capalaba, Queensland. 4157 or buro.


(Jim Linton VK3PC - Peter Black VK4VY -)



SPECIAL EVENTS, BEACON AND NET ADVICE
hf nets ON the net, www.timroberts-vk4yeh.id.au/

9M1CS* 18 Scouting stations (* Apart from 9M1CSS in 9M6 all
others are 9M2 stations.
QSL via 9m2 bureau) Until Dec 31

BT1OB, BT1OJ, BT1OH, BT1OY and BT1ON. Beijing Olympic Games
The last letter of the callsign corresponds to the Chinese
name for the colour of each of the rings of the Olympic flag Until Sep 17

C 4 EURO E-Day, 1st of January currency changes to Euro. Until Dec 31

EI 100 S Jamboree 2008 Punchestown race course in Ireland. Aug 2-10


PY 100 JA Centenary of first Japanese immigration to Brazil. Until Dec 31


TS 1 CUBS Cub Scout Mediterranean Camp station. Aug 6-15



Finally OPERATIONALY SPEAKING, on the Intruder watch scene, and it's great to
know VK has had no reports of intruders for well over 14 months now! Well other
than the "shemozzle" being caused by headphone transmitters to the Brisbane
147.000 repeater frequency!


HOWEVER IN eIRLAND A NEW IARUMS Co-Ordinator has been selected for EI



EI 4 GXB has been appointed the new International Amateur Radio
Union Monitoring System Co-ordinator for Ireland. The IARUMS does NOT deal
with licensed amateurs who do not follow IARU rules, band plans etc. and is
only directed against intruders such as broadcast stations, harmonics from
broadcast stations (usually from 40 meters appearing on 20 meters or 15
meters), military, diplomatic and illicit private broadcasts, on our hard
fought for amateur bands. IARUMS has a well-documented system of successful
actions taken against intruders on the amateur bands, the latest from EI
being the church broadcasts on 10 metres FM.

The general release of the 70 MHz band and the allocation of frequencies at
5 MHz from COMREG, shows the continual hard work being carried out by the
IRTS to protect and enhance the amateur bands for all experimenters in
Ireland.


And as we go a reminder in Australia the address to report intrusions to is



Region III IARUMS Coordinator B.L.Manohar (Arasu) VU2UR


IARU Monitoring System International Coordinator:-
Robert E. Knowles, ZL1BAD.

Len Martinson, ZL1BYA, is Monitoring Service co-ordinator for the NZART.


VK National Coordinator = Karl Hennig VK6XW

VK IARUMS reflector email to subscribe

VK Coordinators for I.A.R.U.M.S.
VK3TZE Jimmy
VK5EV John
VK7BBW Paul


IARUMS NETS
Friday 0730 UTC 7.065.5 with VK4CEU David.


Amateur exclusive frequencies where any non-amateur signal is definitely an
intruder.

Exclusive amateur only spectrum world wide
7.050 to 7.100
14.000 to 14.250
14.250 to 14.350 No broadcasters
21.000 to 21.450
24.890 to 24.990
28.000 to 29.700



NOW ROBERT BROOMHEAD - VK3KRB.

WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ARDF
WIA ARDF COORDINATOR VK3WWW Jack
http://users.mackay.net.au/~ron/
http://www.homingin.com
http://www.ardf.org.au

Time to get ready for Radio Direction Finding "Fun in the Sun"

If you are in the vicinity of the Townsville Region on Saturday September 6th,
then you will be in for a real treat as the first in a long time of many
Foxhunts will be happening.
Tony VK4TJS has planning underway for the Foxhunt which will include things to
involve the whole family to start from the Ross Dam car park from 2pm.


WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story)

Again live video and audio of the 2008 Huntsville, Alabama Hamfest via the
internet begins on Friday Aug 15 at 1300 UTC.

Hams will be able to join in with a real time chat room while they are
watching the video. Viewers will also be randomly selected throughout
the days and be eligible to win a great prize Sunday afternoon.

Video quality should be many times better than past hamfests.

Watch as "helmet cam" takes you on a virtual tour of all the tables and booths.

http://wa5kub.com http://wa5kub.com/

(Tom Medlin, W5KUB)


WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DIGITAL

== HF DIGITAL VOICE PROGRAMS ONCE AGAIN AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

Citing codec (coding/decoding) licensing issues, three free Windows
programs for sound card-based HF digital voice were yanked from their
download site for a short time recently, surprising hams who are
interested in HF digital voice operation; several online groups that
supported the software were also closed for a short time.

WinDRM, DRMDV and FDMDV, all written by Cesco Lanza, HB9TLK, used a
codec that was developed for the US Department of Defence and NATO.
Rights to various forms of the codec are held by several companies.
According to Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, the companies have "winked" at ham
radio use for several years, but a recent complaint caused the programs
to be pulled from the download site. "Lanza did a quick rewrite to use
an open-source codec, and now WinDRM and FDMDV are back," Pearce said.
"DRMDV, an intermediate program between the other two, has been
abandoned. WinDRM could always use the open-source Speex codec, but
FDMDV users will need to download the new version."

Pearce said these three programs all allow hams to transmit and receive
digital voice by connecting their PC sound card to an ordinary SSB
transceiver: "The result has been surprisingly high quality audio, with
virtually no noise -- sort of like listening to FM, but in the narrow
bandwidth of a sideband signal. WinDRM, the best sounding program, uses
2.5 kHz of spectrum. FDMDV sounds a little rougher, but uses only 1.1
kHz of spectrum. They both use OFDM modulation, a set of close-spaced
carriers that are each modulated with a little bit of data to add up to
the final digital signal. The main problem with HF digital voice is that
it needs fairly strong signals. FDMDV works better with weaker signals
than WinDRM."

Pearce said that none of the available open-source codecs work as well
as the old one: "MELP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MELP, or Mixed
Excitation Linear Prediction, was designed specifically for
high-quality, low data-rate voice communication. So the on-air audio
might suffer some with the new version. Digital voice users have been
waiting and hoping for someone to concentrate on developing a codec
optimised for ham radio use, but none has been forthcoming."

FDMDV and WinDRM can both be downloaded from Jason Buchanan's, N1SU, Web
site http://www.n1su.com/.

The AOR digital voice modems and D-STAR radios both use the AMBE 2020
vocoder, and are not affected by the coding changes; the AMBE 2020
vocoder is a proprietary chip that is embedded in each unit.

For more information on WinDRM, check out QST Editor Steve Ford's,
WB8IMY, article ["Life Could Be a DReaM," pages 38-40] in the April 2007
issue of QST.


WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO
ALARA - AUSTRALIAN LADIES AR ASSOCIATION
http://alara.org.au
Net is held each Mondays on 3.580 MHz, commencing at 1030 UTC.
(1000utc during daylight saving)



An International YL Meet is scheduled to be held in South Africa during
October when YLs and their partners will be arriving in ZS from Japan, Korea,
Germany, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Australia and France.

The tour starts on 3 0ctober 2008.

Janet, ZS5JAN, and Vee, ZS6ZEN, are organisers of this International YL Meet
South Africa.

Local radio amateurs have been invited to join the international group at
various points during their tour of South Africa and a gala dinner
happens on October 4.

For details and to book contact: Vee, ZS6ZEN, fax 088 011 675 2793 for the
Johannesburg and Cape Town events and Janet, ZS5JAN, on 082 321 1158 for
the Durban event.


WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER

AMSAT-VK UNOFFICIAL HF Net.
2nd Sunday each month.
November through March 0900 UTC 7.068 MHz
April through October 1000 UTC 3.685 MHz

CAPE CANAVERAL.

Richard Garriott will make history as the first child of an American astronaut
to rocket into orbit, and his dad will keep in touch with him during his time in
space.

Garriott is set to fly aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the international
space station in October.

The elder Garriott will be at Russian Mission Control outside Moscow during the
10-day mission. The two hope to speak frequently.

Father and son also will speak via ham radio. Owen Garriott made the first ham
radio call from space during a shuttle flight in 1983.


HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NEW P5-A MOVIE ON YOUTUBE

Amsat says that its Phase 5-A will be the first spacecraft built by radio
amateurs to go to the Red planet and now there's a movie about it.

Produced by AMSAT Germany and covers almost every aspect of the AMSAT
organization since its very beginning before taking us through the development
cycle of P5-A.


WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET --- THE HAMS DOMAIN

China now has the world's largest net-using population, say official figures.
In a report on the BBC more than 253 million people in the country are now
said to be online, according to statistics from the China Internet Network
Information Centre.

The figure is 30 million higher than the US mustered in June, according to
Nielsen Online.

About 95% of those going online connect via high-speed links. Take up of
broadband has been boosted by deals offered by China's fixed line phone firms
as they fight to win customers away from mobile operators.


WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING
http://www.scouts.com.au
http://www.scout.org/jota
http://www.wiaq.com/nationalnews/jotahead.htm

SCOUT JOTA HF Voice Calling Frequencies
3590 primary, 3.650 secondary, 7090, 14190, 21190, 28590 kHz
14290, 18140, 21360, 24960, 28390 kHz (DX)


TS28ASJ is a special event callsign from the 28th Arab Scout Jamboree in
Tunisia that was active until Saturday 2nd August.

TS1CUBS is the Cub Scout Mediterranean Camp station. TS1CUBS will be on the
air from 6th to 15th August.

http://www.scouts.org.tn/


WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO

EMERGENCY FREQUENCIES REGION ONE
21.360 - 18.160 - 14.300 - 7.060 - 3.760 MHz.


Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority in India has decided to install
21 HAM radios in seven districts, including six coastal ones.

Informing this, the Manager of OSDMA, said the decision was taken as the amateur
radio network can easily communicate when other communication services fail
during natural disasters like cyclone, tsunami, storm and earthquake.

The scientists and officials of the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR),
Hyderabad, trained 100 youths of the coastal pockets of Orissa in 2007- 08 to
operate HAM radios during emergency.


SOCIAL SCENE


Aug 10 VK2
SARCFEST the Summerland area HamFest at Richmond Hill Lismore


Aug 24 VK2
WINTERFEST the Blue Mountains ARC Hamfest Glenbrook Scout Hall
Email Address :


Sept 13 VK4
The Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio club Sunfest at Woombye hall .
contact Harry VK4TK at
or 0 40 94 880 25


Sept 13 -14 VK7
Alarameet 2008 in Ulverstone Tasmania
Susan Brain VK7LUV 0400-173280 or




Sept 19-21 VK4
Central Highland Amateur Radio Club AGM, Monster Auction and Gathering at
Camp Fairbairn near Emerald. Gordon VK4KAL telephone 07 4985 4168


Oct 11 & 12 VK4
Dalby and Sunshine coast October Camp, Lake Dyer near Laidley.
Neil VK4NF 07 4662 4950


Oct 26 VK3
B.A.R.G. Hamvention Ballarat held at the Great Southern Woolshed approx 3kms
from Ballarat CDB, located on the Melbourne side of Ballarat on the western
highway. General public admitted at 10-00am.
Door prizes, raffles good food and fellowship




Nov 9 VK5
Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society will hold their Bigger Better Buy and
sell day Sunday November 9 at Goodwood community centre, Rosa St.



2009

International Telecommunication Union's Telecom World 2009.


Feb 8 2009 VK2
WYONG FIELD DAY


June 5 - 8 2009 VK4
FNNQARG at Cardwell Village Beachcomber Resort book on 1800 005633
Contact FNNQARG co-ordinator Gavin VK4ZZ for site booking guidance.


OCT 12 - 16 2009 ZL
14th IARU R3 Conference Christchurch 12 ? 16 October 2009.
Details at www.christchurch.org.nz/
The Region 3 Web Site: www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/


================================================== ====================
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