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WIANEWS for week commencing May 10 2009
Attached SB NEWS @ WW $VK1WIA090510 WIANEWS - May 10 - VK NATIONAL NEWS ALWAYS ENSURE ORIGINAL BID # AND TITLE ARE USED. Packet uploads with thanks to vk7ax Tony ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK Oh... and to contact us with your news because If It Matters To You It Matters To Us! Please.. write your story as you would expect to hear it being read back do NOT send us links and url's!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is WIANEWS for week commencing May 10 2009 28 LINE MAX HIHILIGHTS DID MARCONI INVENT THE WIRELESS? DID MORSE INVENT THE 'MORSE' CODE? WE'LL HAVE THE DIT DAH ON THIS PLUS LOT'S MORE All up and coming in this edition of WIANEWS for week commencing May 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- AX ZERO BP Bob would like to pass on a big thanks to all that he had a QSO with on ANZAC Day. Due to local commitments on station Bob's time on the air was not as much as it was on Australia Day, but still enough to make a good number of contacts. On station there was some of the typical ANZAC Day events such as rum and coffee first up in the morning followed by a dawn memorial service, brunch and then some two-up. There was also some movies shown on the old 16mm projector. All up was a very busy day for Bob, but one he found most enjoyable. A quick summary of the day; 1. Bob made a total of 282 contacts to 278 individuals. 2. The contacts were into 32 countries. 3. Bob had contact with 84 VK/AX individuals. 4. Bob's first VK/AX contact on both Australia Day and ANZAC Day was Laurie VK7ZE 5. Bob's Local Conditions were quite different between Australia Day and ANZAC Day. Australia Day 24 hours of daylight with a maximum temp of +11.2C, ANZAC Day 7 hours of daylight and a maximum temp of -14C Bob looks forward to the challenges World Telecommunications Day will bring. He is sure that the band conditions will be vastly different once again, as will the temperature. Looking at sunrise/sunset times he can only expect about 4 hours of sunlight - so quite different even from now. Bob has now updated his online logs for both VK0BP and AX0BP callsigns. Do have a look at his website at http://www.vk0bp.org This is Michael Owen VK3KI In this broadcast and in next week's broadcast let me tell you a bit about our Annual General Meeting and Open Forum weekend, held at the Gippsland Campus of Monash University at Churchill last weekend. It was built around the highly successful Eastern Zone Amateur Radio Club annual conference, Gipps Tech, as GippsTech Special edition. At the Open Forum I was able to announce mainly good news. The total number of amateurs continues to grow, and the WIA's membership also continues to grow. However, responsibility for certificates of proficiency and the recommendation of callsigns, had added to the workload of the office. And at the end of last year, Brenda Edmonds retired, and she gave us a day a week of help in the office. If you can give us regular help at the office, please contact Margaret or Dianne. We also honoured the memory of 42 amateurs who were WIA members who became silent keys since the last AGM. One feature of the Open Forum was the presentation or announcement of a number of awards. Not only is it a way of saying Thank you, it is also a way of honouring people who have done much in the past. Presidents Commendations were announced for 4 people as follows: Peter Weeks VK3YZP for his work in WICEN over many years, Mark Dods VK3XMU for WICEN and their work in the Victorian fires, Mavis Stafford VK3KS, 70 years licensed, and Ted Thrift VK2ARA for his work as WIA Club Coordinator. 3 awards made on recommendation of the Publications Committee were announced as follows: Three awards announced are awards presented on the recommendation of the Publications Committee, of which two are directly related to the magazine Amateur Radio. The Al Shawsmith Award was awarded to John Sparkes VK6JX for his article "DX Chasers Club - Faure Island DXpedition, 2008" published in November 2008 AR. The AR Technical Award for the best technical article was awarded to Ron Sanders VK2WB for his article "A balanced antenna matching unit" published in April 2008 AR. The Higginbotham Award was awarded to Graham Ratcliff VK5AGR for his long contribution to amateur radio as the National Coordinator of AMSAT-VK, promoting the amateur satellite service. Stan Bourke VK2EL was awarded the Ron Wilkinson Award. The inscription on the certificate reads "In recognition of his contribution to amateur radio and the WIA for over 60 years as a technical innovator, the provider of technical support for his Division and WICEN, as a supporter of his club and as a trainer and Assessor of amateurs." Let me tell you more about the weekend on next weeks broadcast. HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK1 vk1 local news email and ask for subscription. CRARC Tuesday night Technical Night and Monday Night Committee meetings For the coming meetings CRARC haves: May 25th Dean VK1DW - "SDR the fun way and a brief introduction to doing SMT" June 22nd Mark Roberts -Franchise Owner of Battery World talking about "Correct battery disposal procedures". Keep an eye on CRARC web site for further details and updates. www.crarc.ampr.org VK2 web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news A Port Stephens Amateur Radio Club was a dream of Richard VK2FRKO. After looking at the call book 2007 it was noted that there were some 60 hams in the district of Port Stephens. So the idea was put forward culminating in a club call: VK2AOJ and first meeting on Sunday 24 March 2008 at Richards home QTH with some 10 people attending along with one of three patrons: Craig Baumann MP who wished Port Stephens well in their new venture . Fast forward 12 months and the members held their first AGM 3/5/2009 The result of the Ballot for Committee include:- President Richard Osborne vk2frko Secretary Allan Hill vk2fltp Treasurer Barry James vk2fbaz Committee Peter Mallon vk2bfq Diane Wilson vk2fdne (Allan Hill Vk2fltp Secretary PSARC.Inc.) VK3 IT'S RADIO AS YOU KNOW IT, PLUS Melbourne first on the east coast to switch on digital radio Commercial radio stations in Melbourne MIX, GOLD, SEN, 3AW, 3MP, FOX, MAGIC, TRIPLE M, NOVA, VEGA, Sport 927, Radar, Pink Radio, Koffee and NovaNation create radio history on Monday, 11 May 2009 when they begin broadcasting the first permanent DAB+ digital radio services on the east coast of Australia. Joan Warner, chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia the industry body that has driven the move to digital radio said Monday was another milestone for the industry in Australia following the switch on of DAB+ digital radio in Perth last week. (CRA) VK4 web service local news:- www.wiaq.com/qnews/upload/qnewsbcast.htm local news email VKR Roundup http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+an...edia+Releases/ Another big Month is underway in Townville at the TARCinc. TARC Project Night - Tue 12th May from 7-30pm at SES HQ Green Street West End T.C.A.C. King of the Hill Hill climb - Sun 17th May Heat Two Comms Support Mt Stuart. TARC Social Evening - Tue 19th May from 7-30pm at SES HQ. T.E.R.A.H.A. Horse Endurance Ride Comms Support - Sat 23rd and Sun 24th May at Bluewater. Ann Renton Memorial Ladies Net Tue 26th May from 7-30pm on the Townsville VHF Repeater VK6 IT'S RADIO AS YOU KNOW IT, PLUS Word in from Perth and Daniel Ennis Senior Engineer from NOVA that at 8am Monday 4th Commercial Radio Australia turned on the first permanent DAB + transmitter for Australia, and Perth was the first city to have it! Currently operating under a "scientific" licence July One looks like being the date for the Normal Commercial Licences for ALL of VK Radio's are being sold including in dick smiths, a fun little DAB USB stick which received the first transmissions (Be it from a dummy load) VK7 local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php vk7 local news, email Alf Traeger pioneered the use of cheap to produce, rugged and reliable HF transmitters for use with the Royal Flying Doctor Service... and if you come along to the next NTARC meeting at the special time of 6.30pm at Launceston Airports RFDS depot on Wednesday night 13th of May, you'll get to see one of these historic and life-saving one-watt wonders. There will be a sandwich and cake light dinner available for a donation of $2, courtesy of Ann VK7FYBG. VK8 Here is the latest news from the top end of VK8 The monthly meeting of the Darwin amateur radio club was held last Monday night. At the meeting it was decided to change the meeting night to the first Wednesday of the month. take note the next meeting will be on Wednesday June the third at 7pm. Club business first and then a talk by Alan vk8ab about the "CVC international" HF transmitter site and all the workings within. This is in preparation for a visit by club members and partners on Saturday the 27th of June. a nice day out across the harbour. the ferry ride will be $20.00 there will be a gold coin donation barbecue lunch at the transmitter site. Don't forget too to clear the shack of all that unwanted or haven't got around tuit items and bring them along to the clubrooms in preparation for the clubs annual giant auction on Saturday June 13th. Come and join in the fun, we will start with a Barbecue at 6pm and the auction at 7pm. The Darwin amateur club weekly net is on 3.555 MHz at 2000 local on Sunday nights, catch you there. That's it from Darwin in the top end INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. INDIA The Amateur Radio Society of India, on behalf of all VU hams, have made a formal application and personal representation their Department of Telecommunications for the new 40 M segment to be allocated to the amateur community. Representations have also been made for regular allocation of frequencies in the 6 meter and 30 meter bands, which were given on a short term basis earlier, but later withdrawn. ZS LAND Icom Excellence Award, the "premier" award of the SARL has been announced at the recently held AGM of the SARL. Andre Botes, ZS2ACP and Paul Smit, ZS6NK, for their work on 4m Meteor Scatter. They made the first 4m MS QSO outside of Europe as well as setting the meteor scatter record and distance record in South Africa. Marconi Day success on 500kHz This year, on Marconi Day, a Marconi official station using Marconi equipment completed a radio contact that was similar to those Marconi himself achieved many years ago. During the late hours of Friday 24th and the early hours of Saturday 25th April, GB4FPR was operated from the Fort Perch Rock Marine Radio Museum in the Wirral. Using a newly obtained 501kHz to 504kHz NOV licence, they managed a transatlantic QSO on 502kHz with a station in St. John's, Newfoundland. The operators used Marconi marine equipment and Morse and received a 539 report from V01MRC. It was a cross band QSO with GB4FPR transmitting 1 watt ERP on 502kHz and receiving the Canadian station on 3566kHz. Fort Perch Rock was built as a coastal defence battery during the Napoleonic period to protect the Port of Liverpool. It is open all year round and features museums, exhibitions and a tea-room. USA INDIANAPOLIS PD HOLD FIRST HAM TEST SESSION A growing number of police officers in Indianapolis have decided to get their ham radio licenses. This, after being told by their superiors in the department to remove all personal radio gear from patrol vehicles. Now they are discovering that there's more to the hobby than idle chit chat. Some are so impressed that they are even helping to organize training and testing sessions for their fellow officers. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jack Parker, W8ISH, has the latest: As first reported last February, the Indianapolis Metro Police Department ordered all illegal radios removed from police cars until the officers became licensed hams. Veteran police officer Dewey Runnels passed his test and helped organize a weekday test session for officers working Indy's eastside district. Over sixty officers signed up to take the Technician Class license test. Don't look for these newly licensed police officer hams to be operating while on duty. Indianapolis Metro Police officials have renewed their original VHF radio license with about 10 VHF channels. FREE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT TICKETS OFFERED The Dayton Hamvention has announced that high schoolers will be welcome guests at this years event. According to a posting on the Hamvention website, high school students can obtain a free ticket! Hamvention 2009 is slated for next weekend, May 15, 16 and 17 at its traditional home at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. HAMS PREPARE FOR THE SWINE FLU PANDEMIC - Step one remove crackling from rigs! No really ham radio operators involved in emergency communications ARE making ready in case they are needed if the Swine Flu hits their area. An example is the Health Department in Nevada who has discovered the power of amateur radio. This, according to Newsline's Don Carlson, KQ6FM, who says that Nevada hams involved in emergency communications have worked 2 major, state-wide drills for pandemic point of dispensing of emergency supplies. The hams passed traffic on how many citizens could be vaccinated over a given period of time. They also supplied information on how much vaccine was available. In addition to reporting for Newsline, Don Carlson, KQ6FM, also serves as the Nevada Section Emergency Coordinator and RACES Officer. The reason he is not here doing this report himself is that ironically, he is involved in the Emcommwest Pacificon gathering in Reno. WEIRD N WONDERFUL Scientists share vision of invisibility. AS FRANK VK2FJL EXPLAINS " IT GIVES a new meaning to 'sweeping something under the carpet.'" Scientists have developed a high-tech "carpet" cloak that can conceal objects by making a bump look flat under near infra-red light. While Harry Potter's wizard cloak remains a distant prospect, the research brings the first invisibility cloak closer to reality. The carpet cloak has a very tiny internal structure that channels infra-red light around a bump as if it was not there, like water flows around a stone. When a cloak is placed on top of a reflective surface with a bump in it, the cloak disappears and the reflective surface looks flat to anyone observing it with IR light. Professor McPhedran from the University of Sydney said, "Infra-red surveillance was widely used by the military and IR cloaking devices could eventually have military applications. Aircraft could be coated with these materials to avoid IR laser tracking. It's a fascinating area of development. " (Frank vk2fjl) OPERATIONAL NEWS - SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2009 MAY 01 - 08 VK CQ REPEATER CONTEST (Westlake's Club) MAY 09 - 10 ZL SANGSTER SHIELD 80M CW JUN 6 - 8 WORKED ALL VK SHIRES LONG WEEKEND CONTEST JUN 20 - 21 MUSEUMS WEEKEND PART a JUN 27 - 28 MUSEUMS WEEKEND PART b JUL 04 NZART MEMORIAL CONTEST 80M AUG 15 - 16 WIA Remembrance Day Contest AUG 15 - 16 ILLW Running till Dec 31 2009 is the 4th CQ DX Marathon SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2010 March 21-22 John Moyle Field Day CONTEST STORIES The 2009 Australian Shires Contest Held the weekend prior to the second Monday of June every year. Starts: 06.00 UTC Saturday, June 6, 2009 Ends: 06.00 UTC Sunday, June 7, 2009 Objectives: The objectives of this contest are for amateurs around the world to contact as many VK shires as possible in the contest period. i.e. VK amateurs are to work the world including VK, whilst the rest of the world can only work VK A) Bands:. 80 Metres 3.500 - 3.700 MHz, 40 Metres 7.000 - 7.250 MHz, 20 Metres 14.000 - 14.300 MHz, 15 Metres 21.000 - 21.350 MHz, 10 Metres 28.000 - 28.600 MHz. Please note there is no 75m dx window permitted. B) Modes: SSB and CW only Greetings contester and Shire hunters.. the VK Shires contest is coming up very fast and we are receiving feedback from many operators who intend to operate from locations all over the country. As this is the first running of the contest we have taken a few tips for first time contesters.. First try to have a logging programme, VKCL, SD Logger and W3KM loggers all fully support the Contest.. but if not possible and you still want to enter, take heart, grab a notepad you know the things that you use pencils on and write down all your contacts. You need to record the frequency or band, time and date as well as the number sent and received. After the contest we have a facility to convert the paper log to computer.. you will be able to log onto our CAB FORMS for an online log entry and this will score your log check for duplicates and send it into us for inclusion in the batch file. We have had help from Dave Mascaro W3KM with a Log Checking programme and what it does is combine all the logs together and then checks all claimed contacts. If you are going portable for the contest consider the rule that allows you to rework stations from a new shire.. many are looking for locations where they can quickly jump shire boundaries to rework again ..in South East Queensland (VK4) we have found one 5 km circle that covers five shires and I am sure there are more in other states. Remember that NO DX window is allowed on 80M BUT that doesn't stop DX on 80M - remember what we did before the window ? just worked split ! JAs are active under 3.7 and checkout the USA stations that now can move down much lower.. Ten metres is finally opening to the USA again and some ops are reporting 4 hour daily openings so don't forget the Yagi if your in the bush.. BEACON DX AND NET ADVICE hf nets ON the net, www.timroberts-vk4yeh.id.au/ GB 40 WAB 40th anniversary of the WAB Till Dec 31 HG 160 FNY Commemorates 1848 attack on Hungary that prompted their independence. until July 31 International Museums Weekend(s) 20 and 21 plus 27 and June 28 OZ 1658 ROS 350th anniversary of the Treaty of Roskilde Till Dec 31 VARIOUS SM STATIONS USING 1658 (Treaty of Roskilde) Till Dec 31 CANADA, VE. In celebration of the 50 years since the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Canadian amateurs can use special callsign prefixes XL, XM, XN, and XO until May 31 VP 9 400 /home call 400th Anniversary of Bermuda Till Dec 31 The Hellenic Amateur Radio Association of Australia Inc. (HARAOA) will operate callsign VK9AAA during a Norfolk Island DXpedition planned for 7 days in July. H.A.R.A.O.A. are looking at mid July and may also be entering into the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26). Anyone that may like to go along email at Rockall DXpedition 2009 abandoned! It now appears that a planned DXpedition to Rockall by a group of Belgian radio amateurs, has been abandoned. Sadly, bad weather and storms have prevented them from landing on the island. Their website reports that both the radio amateurs and the ship's crew have been 'seriously seasick', and were forced to take shelter in Hamnaway. After unloading their equipment over the weekend, the team were expected to fly home to Belgium last Wednesday. 6-metre Guyana Dxpedition The 6 Meter Beacon Project, Inc., is happy to announce a HF-50 MHz DXpedition to Guyana between June 16th and July 6th. Antennas for 6 meters will be a 6M7JHV yagi at 45 ft. Activity will be split between two teams: 11 days will be by Chris W3CMP and Dave N3DB, the other 11 days by Terry K4RX and Ken AC4TO. (irts) NCDXF elect new presidents At its Board of Directors meeting in April, the Northern California DX Foundation elected Bruce Butler, W6OSP, as President and Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, as Vice President. Information pertaining to the Northern California DX Foundation is available at: http://www.ncdxf.org (SouthGate) The following operations are approved for DXCC credit: SŲ4R - Western Sahara 2009 Operation E51QQQ - North Cook Island 2009 Operations If you've had any QSL's rejected in a recent DXCC submission, please send an e-mail to to be placed on the list for an update. (Bill Moore NC1L) MEDIA WATCH www.wiaq.com/admin/uploads/weeklytally.rtf www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html WIA NATIONAL NEWS SUMMARY Each week the individual tally is available at www.wiaq.com/admin/uploads/weeklytally.rtf Amateur Radio Previews May 2009 Now, a reminder about Amateur Radio magazine. The next issue will be at your newsagents in the first week of May. Don't forget to drop in and collect a copy of your favourite magazine. And don't leave it too long, or they will be all sold out. Even if you are not mad keen on building your own antennas, make sure you read the absorbing article on page 5. The loop is a practical antenna system that performs well in confined spaces, and we guarantee that you will learn a lot on this most interesting topic. Leigh Turner VK5KLT, in his very accessible style, takes you through the performance characteristics, the theory of operation and the construction aspects of building you own loop antenna for the HF bands. And he speaks with authority. There is even more on HF loop antennas in this issue of Amateur Radio. Our regular contributor, Drew Diamond VK3XU, is looking at the signal-to-noise performance in receiving applications, and how to maximize it. This is an active loop, with an integrated amplifier which includes matching and tuning of the antenna. As always, Drew provides everything you need to construct it - the circuit, the parts list, the layout and the construction details. We always draw your attention to the special-interest columns in every issue of Amateur Radio magazine. These are all written by people who are fully immersed in their particular fields of interest, so you are assured of accurate and up-to-date reports. For example, look for some interesting AMSAT theory and practice from David Giles VK5DG on page 48. Plus there are eight pages of news from all States of Australia, starting on page 30. The WIA held its 2009 AGM last weekend, so make sure you get the June issue of Amateur Radio magazine to "read all about it"! Find out who received the Higginbotham Award, the Al Shawsmith Award and the Amateur Radio Best Technical Article Award. (sourced TO: Tom Potter VK3UBS) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - ASTRONOMICAL The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the 2 planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN That information has circulated during July and August for several years and is again hitting inboxes in 2009. The message informs recipients that the planet Mars will be passing very close to Earth in August. While this information was valid back in 2003, it is totally inaccurate for 2009. The year is not specifically mentioned in the message and it does actually refer to 2003 A 2003 NASA article explains that: Much has been made of the fact that the August 27th encounter with Mars is the closest in some 60,000 years. Neanderthals were the last to observe Mars so favourably placed. This is true. It's also a bit of hype. Mars and Earth have been almost this close many times in recent history. This message seems set to keep resurfacing every year and duping a whole new set of recipients into gazing rather fruitlessly at the night sky It is true that the next time Mars will be as close to Earth as it was in 2003 will be on August 28, 2287. In the mean time however, there will be plenty of other close approaches, so our children and our children's children are not likely to miss out altogether. Perhaps by 2287 some of our descendants will be observing the close encounter from the Martian perspective. I'm Frank VK2FJL AND YOU'RE TUNED TO vk1wia 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) Scandinavian YL expedition Ingrid LA8FOA and Unni LA6RHA, members of the Scandinavian YL Radio Amateurs (SYLRA), report that they are planning an 'expedition' to a part of Norway - remote but still very accessible, after the SYLRA meeting near Oslo, September 3-6th. Their plans are to get a group of YL operators to activate the Longyearbyen radio station from Svalbard between September 6-13th. They have already received the callsign JW1SYL for the operation. For more details and updates, please visit the following Web pages at: http://home.online.no/~la6rha/expedi...o_svalbard.htm and www.sylra.is/index2.html 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 Tony Hutchison receives Chris Jones Award We will have much more on this prestigious award when WIA President VK3KI rejoins us next week, but suffice to say Tony Hutchison VK5ZAI who is the WIA ARISS Coordinator and ARISS Coordinator for the Asia Pacific Region is a well deserved recipient! During the year eight schools in the region took part in scheduled link ups with the ISS crews, the value of Tony's contribution to amateur radio and the WIA certainly has not gone un noticed nor un rewarded with the granting of this award, the Chris Jones Award. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING http://www.scouts.com.au http://www.scout.org/jota http://www.international.scouts.com.au CALLING FREQUENCIES Please QSY off the calling frequency after establishing communication. Australian voice calling frequencies: 3.650, 7.090, 14.190, 21.190, 28.590, 52.160 World CW calling frequencies: 3.570, 7.030, 14.060, 18.080, 21.140, 24.910, 28.180, 50.160 World voice calling frequencies: 3.690 & 3.940 MHz, 7.090 & 7.190, 14.290, 18.140, 21.360, 24.960, 28.390, 50.160 Calling frequencies for Slow Scan TV (SSTV): 3.630, 7.033, 14.227 Calling Frequencies for PSK31 14.070 July 31 until August 11 will see 3 DA 0SS on air from an International Scout Camp in Swaziland. The first patrol of girl Scouts attended the Crystal Palace rally in September 1909, and so Girl guiding around the world will be celebrating it's centenary from September this year. Liz M 0 ACL says that OFCOM in the UK have given permission to use the previously unreleased prefix GG100 (and a 2 or 3 letter suffix) for stations celebrating the Guiding Centenary residing in the UK. I can imagine the pileups now - just like VP8YL!! WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO EMERGENCY FREQUENCIES ALL REGIONS 21.360 - 18.160 - 14.300 - 7.060 - 3.760 MHz. REGION 2 TRY ALSO 3.985 - 7.240 - 7.290 For newcomers, and a reminder to those having their licences a bit longer, the Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club undertakes various community support activities under the WICEN ACT banner. WICEN's goal is to provide the resources of the Amateur Radio service to the community in times of need. WICEN Victoria was used extensively in the recent Victorian Bush Fires and C.R.A.R.C. had some of their members go down to assist. To be able to fulfil this role they need to have a group of suitably trained people, so they do various "exercises" with different community groups as a means of training, and as a side benefit augment the clubs finances through donations from those groups. Many of these exercises are in conjunction with car rallies, cross country runs, cycle events, etc, that run in out of the way places, but require good communications for safety and administration reasons. Some events are complex and require numerous people, others are fairly low key and only a few people are needed. If you are in the C.R.A.R.C. area could help out, even for a few hours, please let Phil VK1PL the State Coordinator WICEN ACT know. Send an email to PADDLE FOR LIFE CANOE MARATHON this WAS RUN IN northern vk2 OVER 25-27 April and ended well with all three days successfully run without injury or mishap. Comms worked OK and the organisers and paddlers were happy. $14000 was raised for the two sponsored charities, very successful. Thanks to all operators who helped make it all work. This is advance notice of the Tom Quilty Equestrian event which is being held in the Bunyip State Park on Saturday 19th September. It is a 24 hour endurance event running from 0000 - 2400 hrs with five separate legs, so the requirement for operators will be staggered through that period. Radio requirements will be for 2m voice and maybe some packet. Chris Morley VK3CJK if you can help out. SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ROAR ROTARIANS OF AMATEUR RADIO VK2IWT Secretary Couple of weeks ago Nick VK3TY took us to task for the throw away line that Marconi was the inventor of wireless. OK Nick we change that now to "Father" in inverted commas. Guglielmo Marconi Father of wireless, it is said, was an active member of the Rotary Club of Bologna, Italy. Well it turns out that the "Great Man" was in fact an Honorary member of the club from 1933 to 1937 and it continues the tradition and honouring Marconi to this very day. The Rotary Club Bologna in 1974 funded the Marconi Foundation for the establishment of the library and reading room: the solemnity of the event was celebrated in the presence of the President of Italy; Now a' days among its honorary members is Marconi's Daughter, Princess Elettra Marconi. It's always good to get feedback like Nicks, or like the one in an interesting article by Neal McEwen, K5RW, who poses the question 'Did Samuel F. B. Morse Invent the Code as We Know it Today?' The opening paragraph of this article says: 'The invention of the Morse code is generally attributed to Samuel F. B. Morse. Have we been mislead by historians? Have historians overlooked important documents? Or have historians just not shared all the facts with us?' Read the full article - then make-up your own mind.. www.telegraph-office.com/pages/vail.html SOCIAL SCENE 2009 International Telecommunication Union's Telecom World 2009. May 9 vk3 Moorabbin and District Radio Club Hamfest 10AM Brentwood Secondary College, Watsons Road Glen Waverley, Melways reference 71 D7, enter via Heath street. May 9 VK4 BARCFEST (the Brisbane HamFest) 9:30am Mt Gravatt Showground. May 18 WW World Telecom Day June 5 - 8 VK4 FNNQARG at Cardwell Village Beachcomber Resort book on 1800 005633 Contact FNNQARG co-ordinator Gavin VK4ZZ for site booking guidance. June 6-7 South East Radio Group Convention Margret Street Scout Hall in Mount Gambier behind the Police Station. July 11 - 12 VK3 GippsTech 2009, the technical conference with a VHF, UHF & microwave focus. July 18 VK3 Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club Hamfest 10.00 am Cranbourne Public Hall August 2 vk6 Northern Corridor Radio Group's WA Hamfest. Cyril Jackson Rec Centre Fisher st Ashfield, WA email SEP 13 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society Hamfest 9:30am. Goodwood Community Centre, Rosa St Goodwood. OCT 12 - 16 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/ JAN 24 VK2 Mid North Coast Amateur Radio Group's Radio Expo 2010 8.30am St Johns Church Hall, Mc Lean Street Coffs Harbour. (The largest Amateur Radio Event on the Mid North Coast of NSW. 20 plus exhibitors, Trade tables, Major brands, Home brew, Historic radio display, ATV display, WIA, ALARA, WICEN, Volunteer Coastal Patrol, Club Displays, WIA Book Sales, Disposals tables, Lucky door prizes on the hour, Hot and cold food, Free tea, coffee. Fee Parking, Disable access, Clean amenities, www.mncarg.org on rain, hail or shine ) Please think of the environment before printing this email ================================================== =======================WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide. Societies and Club News Letter Editors can EXCHANGE a feed prior to the actual broadcast date, e-mail Call-backs 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". 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, but are broadcast in the spirit in which they were submitted. Material may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, a credit to WIANews wouldn't go astray... Compiled by VK4BB on behalf of the National WIA. ************************************************** *************************** - NEWS POSTING TO PACKET - Courtesy Tony VK7AX VK7AX(AT)VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC ************************************************** *************************** /ex SB QNEWS @ WW $QNEWS090510 QNEWS - May 10 - VK4 ON AIR -------------------------------------------------- DID YOU TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? -------------------------------------------------- GYMPIE www.gceginc.org.au Geoff Emery vk4zpp Communications, well that seems to go with amateur radio, doesn't it? But what is meant by communications when it comes to our clubs and organisations? Is it the weekly net or the monthly newsletter to members, "Amateur Radio" magazine and the weekly broadcast? Well, no doubt it includes all of these and more. Scattered around this country and overseas are amateurs who like to keep abreast of what is happening but who may not be able to make club meetings, live in different time zones or work odd hours that prevent their direct participation in club or Institute activities. The audio streaming and text versions of WIA and state news broadcasts help keep these people abreast of what is happening....or do they? All these sources of information are only as good as the contributed material. If our club web site is not up to date and some-one forgets to send the news or we just don't bother, surely we can't complain that nobody knew our group was still on the map. Communications and amateur radio go hand in hand but if we are honest we must learn to be better communicators outside the shack. Keeping our members and all members of the ham radio fraternity up to date and with a sense of involvement is important and the enthusiasm we share is the best advertisement for the hobby we have. In AR, Michael Owen, VK3KI, has advised that the Institute is actively seeking input from clubs, in particular, in being able to support the growth of our hobby, especially at the club level. Our Institute is calling CQ but have we got the rig turned on? Similarly, Jim Linton, VK3PC, raises the role of WICEN in the Victorian framework. As expected many lessons are to be learned as the Royal Commission into the bush fires gathers information. As emcomms are becoming more a feature of the amateur's role in the community, it is still extremely frustrating trying to bring vague, secret or non-existent pieces of information together for local club members to consider. Yes communications are important but how effective are we in the hobby in communicating amongst ourselves? For those interested in war time aviation history and the involvement of Greg, VK4FGDW, in the recent memorial service in Germany, you can follow Greg's odyssey with text, photographs and soon, video on the web site www.nikylasmith.com/allanlodder.htm . Some of Greg's photo's from Germany are being transmitted on the SSTV repeater on 146.625MHz and displayed on the GCEG SSTV web page. Geoff Emery vk4zpp SUNSHINE COAST Maleny VK4RSC 146.850 and 438.075 VK4RSN 53.7 Noosa Heads VK4RSL 146.825 and 438.175 News from the Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club This is Gordon VK4VP New F Calls Recently we held exams for three F call candidates. We can now say that thanks to Harvey VK4AHW and Wayne VK4WS we have 3 new F calls on air. General Meeting Guest Speaker Our April and May meetings featured Ingemar, a Swedish born, Canadian licensed ham now living in Australia who gave a video presentation of his travels around the world. Ingemar was part of a drilling crew that carried out sample drill holes for minerals world wide. Through this work and his travels he speaks a number of languages and has been to some very interesting locations. Thanks Ingemar. Quay West Resort Noosa Century Bike Ride A bike ride from Brisbane to Noosa is being held on Sunday 14th of June. Manned checkpoints will operate over the length of the course relaying safety and progress information. Operators from Redcliffe, Caboolture and Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Clubs will be required. Contact Noel VK4NL or Warwick VK4NW if you would like to participate. You will need a 70cm radio. Until next time this is Gordon VK4VP from the Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club. TOWNSVILLE contacting theTARCinc email address phone contact 07-47731196 or 0408 001142 snailmail po box 333 Garbutt East, QLD 4814 homepage http://www.tarc.org.au Do you live in the Townsville region but are NOT a member of theTARCinc? Shame! HiHi Well now you can help by lining up with TARCcadians to help out the Marque Sports Car Register NQ Inc. because Marque need billets for CAMS Officials involved with the Townsville 400 V8 Supercar event on 10/11/12th July. This event requires hundreds of volunteer officials. There are lots of highly qualified people from all over Australia paying their own way to get to Townsville, working for free to ensure the success of this event. Accommodation during event time in Townsville is now almost impossible to find through conventional channels. V8 Supercar Events is offering free camp sites to these people but there are many for whom this is not a practical option. What we are asking, are Ham Radio Ops, even civvy friends of ham ops who may have some spare room at their homes, is to offer to free billet senior CAMS officials for the duration of the event. As a billet host you get to hear the inside goss from the track, meet new friends and maybe even score yourself some free day passes to the event. Warren Skimmings Senior CAMS Official Marque Sports Car Register North Queensland Inc. 5 Delta Court Kirwan, Townsville QLD. 4817 The IEEE North Queensland Section and Power Engineering Group of James Cook University invite you to attend a technical seminar on Friday 15th May 2009 1300 to 1400 hours local time in Room DD014-001 (EL001) ground floor of the Electrical Engineering Building, James Cook University Douglas Campus. The technical seminar is about Application of Energy Storage Systems to Improve Performance of Fuel Cells for Electricity Generation given by Danny Sutanto Professor of Power Engineering University of Wollongong Australia. The seminar will concentrate on how the power generation industry is embracing new technologies to provide for increased energy demand whilst decreasing industry ecological footprint. There will be details given on how fuel cell technology is being brought to the fore to satisfy future requirements along with the state of play of alkaline, phosphoric acid, molten carbonate, solid oxide and proton exchange membrane methods. The seminar will also examine the emergence of hybrid fuel cell technology. Danny Sutanto received his BEng and PhD from the University of Western Australia. In 1982 he joined the School of Electrical Engineering at the University of New South Wales. From 1996-2006, he was a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is now the Professor of Power Engineering at the University of Wollongong Australia. For further information please contact A/Prof K Kikkert Chairman IEEE North Australia Ph 07 47814219 or A/Prof. A Zahedi Power Engineering Group JCU Ph 07 47816907 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS The next Alara lunch (vk4) will be held Saturday 16th May at 11.30 am "Gordonio's On The Broadwater" restaurant 44 The Esplanade, Paradise Point, Gold Coast. $20 per person for 2 course lunch which includes a glass of wine or soft drink and a special door prize as well, so please contact Pam VK4PTO by the end of April if you would like to attend (73 Pam VK4PTO ALARA VK4 STATE REPRESENTATIVE) ************************************************** A blank email with word unsubscribe in subject field Send as MUST BE SENT FROM SAME ADDRESS AS U WISH TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM A blank email with word subscribe in subject field Send as MUST BE SENT FROM SAME ADDRESS AS U WISH TO SUBSCRIBE TO ************************************************** - NEWS POSTING TO PACKET - Courtesy Tony VK7AX VK7AX(AT)VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC ************************************************** PAGE_END /EX |
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