----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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! email nationalnews@wia.org.au 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 June 7 2009 Geoff Atkinson VK3AFA WIA Secretary reports on the Club Grants. Digital amateur television tests Sunday DISCUSSION POINT With vk4zpp CQ INDUCTS NEW MEMBERS TO ITS HALLS OF FAME Amateur Radio Magazine previews June 2009 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER All up and coming in this edition of WIANEWS for week commencing June 07 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The WIA HD FEATURE CHANNEL this week Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Producer of ARNewsLine, Inc. in response to a number of requests from his ARNewsLine listeners has uploaded the entire 71 minute Dayton Hamvention FCC Forum hosted by Bill Cross, W3TN and Laura Smith as an MP3 audio file to Amateur Radio Newsline website front page and now to the WIA’s HD Feature Channel. This recording was made using a Senheisser microphone (and we will have more on Senheisser with VK5BUI in international news this week) at the speakers podium connected to an M-Audio Microtrack II professional digital audio recorder. Audio processing and conversion to MP3 was accomplished using Goldwave Editor Ver 5.52. We believe you will find the audio quality superior to various other recordings of this important forum available at various websites across cyberspace. We hope that you will find it of value. Australia's oldest and last surviving World War I digger, Jack Ross, has died in his nursing home in the central Victorian city of Bendigo at the age of 110. Jack was but 18 when he joined the Australian Imperial Force in January 1918, he had already lost a Brother in this war to end all wars, and his Mother was able to convince the Government of the time to not send him overseas to train, but be trained at an Australian wireless training school before he was posted to the 1st Battalion at Broadmeadows camp in Victoria. But for Jack this was not enough! He again served Australia during world War II as a member of the volunteer defence corps. Mr Ross was awarded the 80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance medal in 1998 to commemorate the end of World War I. In civilian life Mr Ross worked for the Victorian railways for more than 45 years before retiring in 1964. He celebrated his 110th birthday on March 11. He is survived by daughter, son , four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. (sourced to ABC/AAP and forwarded by vk2sky) Geoff Atkinson VK3AFA WIA Secretary reports on the Club Grants. A reminder that applications by WIA affiliated clubs for a Club Grant this year must be lodged by 31 July. The Board has set aside up to A$6000.00 for this years scheme. As indicated previously, this year special emphasis will be placed on WIA membership ratios of clubs applying for grants. The committee will be reviewing applications which focus on projects and activities (to be conducted before 1 April 2010) to attract new amateurs. Also projects supporting emergency communications and preparedness for emergency communications. Details of the Club Grant Scheme can be downloaded from the WIA website, located under WIA Club Affiliation. The applications will be reviewed by a Grants Committee of 3, who will make recommendations to the WIA Board. Applications will close on the 31 July 2009 and successful applicants will be announced by the end of August. The WIA Board looks forward to active participation by affiliated clubs in this years Club Grant Scheme. Tony Hutchison Featured In The "Extra" WIA Members may be interested to learn that the WIA Australian Coordinator for ARISS Tony Hutchison VK5ZAI recently appeared in the "Extra" which is inserted in the local country papers around the SE of SA and Western Victoria every few months. Journalist Helene Caderbaccus has become very interested in the ARISS program and keeps in regular contact with Tony for updates on ARISS and Amateur Radio activity. As reported in the Article, in January 2010 Tony will take on a six month appointment as international operations leader for ARISS. Read the full item on the wia.org.au news page Digital amateur television tests today All going well the VK3RTV repeater on Mt Dandenong east of Melbourne will begin digital TV tests transmissions from 11am Melbourne time today. Now one of the world's longest-running fast scan amateur television devices, that has been on air since 1977, is switching to the DVB-T digital broadcast standard. It will be received in the Melbourne and Geelong areas on commonly used household Set Top Boxes or digital TV receivers - the frequency being used is 446.5 MHz. Amateur Radio Victoria is providing most of the funding for this major project that has been supported by $1,000 from the WIA Club Grants Scheme. Peter Cossins VK3BFG will be listening for reception reports on the ATV liaison frequency of 147.4 MHz or they can be sent to vk3rtv@amateurradio.com.au I'm Barry Robinson VK3PV and you're listening to VK1WIA. HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ VKC Roundup http://www.police The Sherbrooke Community Radio Club sponsored another successful course in amateur radio on the weekend of 30 - 31 May. We had 17 students in attendance for a "regulations" course with a success rate of 101%. One candidate went on to do his Standard Licence theory examination on the same day and passed! We jokingly call it "Ark's Academy" but it is run by a group of active radio amateurs to support and increase the numbers in amateur radio. Two Foundation Licence courses are planned for this month and one Standard Licence theory course, which will run for five weeks. Both members of the public and schools are most welcome to participate in any of the courses. Further details may be found at vk3kid.cloud.prohosting.com Gippsland Gate Radio and Electronics Club is pleased to announce it's annual Hamfest, which will be held on Sunday, 18th July from 10am. (Actually this has been mentioned many times so no excuse for forgetting! .. Ed.) The event will be held at the Cranbourne Public Hall on the corner of High St and Clarendon St in Cranbourne - opposite the BP Petrol Station. So come on down to sift through 40 tables of pre-loved gear, as well as seeing the newer offerings from some of the well known names in radio and electronics. Entry costs only $6 and includes a ticket in the great door prizes as well as free tea and coffee. Hot food and drinks will also be available for purchase. A few tables are still available at $20 for anyone wanting to clear out the shack and make a few dollars. For more information, please see the June issue of Amateur Radio magazine or refer to the clubs web site at www.ggrec.org.au . The members of GGREC look forward to seeing you at their Hamfest on the 18th July. (Chris VK3QB) VK4 web service local news:- www.wiaq.com/qnews/upload/qnewsbcast.htm local news email qnews-vk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com VKR Roundup http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/Media+Releases/ The Central Highland Amateur Radio Club Annual General Meeting is taking place at Camp Fairbairn near Emerald from late Friday afternoon 25th to Sunday Morning 27th September. Accommodation is available on site, there is a big BBQ dinner and Monster Auction on Saturday Night and a Recovery Breakfast on Sunday morning. A great place to meet and catch up on things plus a chance to see all that extra water still in Lake Maraboon ! For further information contact Secretary Gordon Loveday VK4KAL on telephone 07 49854168 (remember weekends are cheaper) or email gordon.l23@aussiebroadband.com.au While you are online also check out the Central Highland Club's Yahoo site at http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/charc/ sunny coast’s October Camp Catch-up The October camp catch-up this year will be held at Maidenwell Observatory on 31st October and 1st November. There will be a spit roast at the pub and a guided tour through the observatory. At last report Camping will be on the local cricket oval. Maidenwell is located in the Brisbane valley west of Yarraman on the Kingaroy Cooyar road. If you have never heard of it, well it's a good excuse to find out a bit more. More info from Noel VK4NL VK7 local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com North West Tasmania Amateur Radio Interest Group www.my-x15.net/nwtarig/ After a 12 month trial period and several months of waiting for final approval, the link between VK7RAC 70cm and VK7RAA 2m, has finally been licensed. There were some initial concerns about the use of in-band linking, but with some minor conditions imposed and the use of common sense, approval has been granted. The permanent link provides an effective gateway for amateurs on the North West coast to communicate to the Mt Barrow 2M repeater beyond the western extremity of it's coverage. VK7RAC uhf repeater is located on Table Cape, near Wynyard and provides good coverage from Burnie to Rocky Cape back to Hampshire and Yolla, and in varying degrees from Devonport to Smithton. For amateurs not familiar with VK7RAC, it can be received on 438.650 MHz output, and 433.650 MHz input, and No CTCSS is required. (David Cleland, VK7DC, Secretary, NWTARIG) VK8 A huge auction of all sorts of items mostly radio oriented will be held at the clubrooms on June 13th at 7pm. A famous DARC Barbecue will precede this at 6pm. Get your items in to the club as soon as possible please. The club has organised a visit to the CVC radio transmitter site at Cox peninsula later in the month of June but if you plan on going you need to be at the meeting on Wednesday night for a talk by Alan baker vk8ab about the site. There is also a compulsory safety briefing which needs to be signed off DISCUSSION POINT With vk4zpp One thing that tends to pass us by is how much work the Wireless Institute of Australia does in the background of our hobby. It is the participation in the work of the IARU and its regional bodies, the discussions and negotiations with the regulator, ACMA, involvement with Standards Australia and the list goes on. For whatever reason, our house journal, "Amateur Radio" magazine has come to be an 11 issue per year publication. I for one miss the continuity of information that the extended holiday break provides. So allowing for the obvious commercial consideration of gaining sufficient advertising, could there be a way of filling the gap? Well how about some feed back from our hardworking volunteers on areas of special interest and engagement over the previous 12 months. Give members of the various Advisory Committees the chance to explain the range of issues they get to address and the outcomes that have been achieved. Let the wider amateur community know about GAREC and other international meetings. We must remember that only a small number of amateurs get to attend annual general meetings and special luncheons. The format of formal documents tends to cause most people to by pass reading them unless they have a specific involvement in the issues covered. The magazine format, that allows people to graze on the information would seem a better way of spreading the news. Maybe to re-invent the wheel, so to speak, we could include a feedback/survey form as part of the special edition. Who knows, it may be your idea that gives the Institute a boost. Thanks Geoff. Ewan VK4ERM WIA VP reminds all that we should "encourage listeners to use the feedback facility on the WIA website, under 'About the WIA' and 'Contact the WIA by email'. Ewan went on to tell WIA News that "Believe me, many do use the feedback opportunity and constructive suggestions are received and circulated to the board that way." Yours sincerely, Ewan Ewan R. McLeod VK4ERM Vice President Wireless Institute of Australia EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO www.hamcollege.com.au As this news goes to air, 7 students are undertaking their Foundation licence exams at the Redcliffe clubhouse and next week the results of their efforts will be reported on and of course we all wish them well. REAST Education and Training There will be on Tuesday 16th June an examination session for the Advanced and Standard licenses at 7:30 pm in the Queens Domain Clubrooms. Please let Reg VK7KK know if you are interested in attending. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. INDIA HAM radio team tunes into relief work A team of the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) will reach the city by Monday night with HAM radio equipment to help the state government in relief work. The team has been requested by the state government to set up makeshift radio stations in the flood-affected areas of South and North 24-Parganas. NIAR director Ram Mohan said they had received a letter from the North 24-Parganas district magistrate's office, asking them to send HAM radio equipment to the flood-affected areas of the district to help them in conducting relief and rescue work. We are immediately sending a team to Kolkata with satellite radio equipment, said Ram Mohan. INDIA BARC Golden Jubilee Field Day at Nandi Hills : 27 & 28 June 2009 Nandi Hills or Nandidurg is a hill fortress of southern India, in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state and was one of the summer retreats of Tippu Sultan. It is located just 16 km (till base) 24 km (top of the hill) from Chickballapur town and approximately 60 km from the city of Bangalore. It is 4851 ft. (1478 meters) above sea level. It is located in close proximity to the newly constructed Bangalore International Airport. Nandi Hills was popular with the Brits too, who built bungalows and laid out gardens here. Today of course, it is a hot favourite among Bangaloreans who find this an ideal get-away for weekends. Hamfest India 2009 & Bangalore Amateur Radio Club (VU2ARC) have organised a Field Day at this location on 27 & 28 June 2009 to mark the Golden Jubilee Year of BARC. The club station VU2ARC will be active on 27 & 28 June from the field day location. The event commences from arrival of participants on Saturday from 2 pm onwards. There will be a welcome high-tea at 4.30 pm. Two HF Stations & One VHF Station are proposed to be operational from the location from Saturday morning till Sunday noon. The callsign will be VU2ARC/operator. Hamfest India 2009 C/o Linux Learning Centre (P) Ltd. No. 635, 6th Main Road, Adj. to Bank of India, Hanumanthnagar, Bangalore 560019. (Ramesh Kumar VU2LU Member, Organising Committee 9 845 057 731) PORTUGAL Portugal has some new rules that its ham radio community must follow. For example, while establishing a communication an amateur must identify both station's call signs at the beginning and at the end of any transmission and at the end of a SQO session. But that’s not all. If the station is a mobile or out in the field, the amateur in control must identify each transmission with the station's call sign, followed by the word "mobile" or "portable." He also must transmit the present geographic location of the station in each transmission. Visiting hams also have new rules to follow. Anytime a foreign amateur establish communications within the Portuguese territory under a "CEPT" license, the original station's call sign must be preceded by the proper regional prefix. Approval of the new rules by Portugal's telecommunications regulator ANACOM took place on March 2nd but only became effective on June 1st. (CT1ETL) CANADA Two Canadian Hams, Ken Pulfer, VE3PU and Bryan Rawlings, VE3QN have been attending a WRC preparatory meeting in Geneva. Ken is there representing the IARU while Bryan represents RAC on the Industry Canada delegation. Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, representing the ARRL on the US Delegation, has announced his retirement after 19 years as a Working Group Chairman. Subsequently, Canada nominated and the Plenary approved Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, as Paul's replacement. UNITED STATES UNCERTIFIED WIRELESS MICS BRING $7000 NAL TO SENNHEISER ELECTRIC The FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order to Sennheiser Electronic Corporation in the amount of seven thousand dollars. In July 2008, the Enforcement Bureau Spectrum Enforcement Division began an investigation into Sennheiser’s marketing of wireless microphones. The FCC says that a violation has occurred and that Sennheiser must be penalized for it. It notes that Sennheiser admits that it manufactured and sold units of the non certified wireless microphone in the United States within the past year. As such it is issuing the $7000 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to Sennheiser. UNITED STATES CQ INDUCTS NEW MEMBERS TO ITS HALLS OF FAME CQ magazine has announced its 2009 Hall of Fame inductees, welcoming 15 new members into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame, two new members of the CQ DX Hall of Fame and one new member of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honours those individuals, whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to amateur radio. The CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame honour those amateurs who not only excel in personal performance in these major areas of amateur radio but who also "give back" to the hobby in outstanding ways. A full list of the inductees has been published at www.cq-amateur-radio.com and several other ham radio news websites. Formal induction's to the CQ Halls of Fame took place at the contest and DX dinners at the Dayton Hamvention. UNITED STATES CQ WW Contest Committee Disqualifies 2008 RA3CO/HK3RA Entry; Rules CQ WW SSB Contest Operation in Colombia "Illegal" Jamie Dupree NS3T from radio-sport.net says a dispute has cut to the heart of DX contest operations, now the CQ World Wide Contest Committee has decided to reject the entry of Russian Contester Dimitri RA3CO from the 2008 CQ WW SSB Contest, labelling it an "illegal operation" because of his failure to be properly licensed. In an email sent this past week to the leader of a group of Colombian hams who had challenged RA3CO's operations in both 2007 and 2008, CQ WW Contest Director Bob Cox K3EST delivered the news of his contest committee's decision. "The policy of the CQ WW is to strictly enforce legal operations and to make sure a country's regulations are complied with completely," Cox told Colombian hams. WEIRD N WONDERFUL From the weird ‘n wonderful file, hello I’m Jim Linton VK3PC In day’s of old, when A1 mode was supreme, a CW signal with chirp meant it changed frequency on key down. But a chirpy radio station of a different kind has just gone off the air in Britain after 18 months of playing a 20-minute audio loop of twittering, not to be confused with the new internet text system, and chirps from birds. This ‘birdsong’ radio station transmitted from 6am to midnight and attracted tens of thousands of listeners. It was very popular with patients in doctor surgery waiting rooms, urban residents longing for the rural life and even had a calming effort among inmates in prisons. It has been replaced by a digital broadcast station playing music and unsigned bands. Some angry people are demanding that No. 10 Downing Street get the birdsong station back on the air immediately. OPERATIONAL NEWS - SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2009 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 COMPETITION TO CELEBRATE THE NEW 40 METRE SEGMENT WHEN IT IS LEGALISED The Boland Amateur Radio Club in South Africa is arranging a competition to celebrate the expansion of the 40 metre band when it is finally announced. It will be held on the first Sunday following the publication of the Government Gazette. The Boland competition will be open to all radio amateurs in Southern Africa only in the new SSB Contest segment 7.130 - 7.200 kHz. VK SHIRES PAPER WORK If you happen to scrawl a log on the back of beer coasters - rather than sending It into us for deciphering - Bruce Horn has developed for us a web based form for entry into the VK Shires to save mailing logs etc.. Very easy to use and you will notice that Bruce also caters for several other contests on his site.. It was in TEST mode until the start of the contest Regards Trent VK4TI www.b4h.net/cabforms/vkshires_cab.php VK SHIRES www.b4h.net/cabforms ALL OTHER SUPPORTED CONTESTS International Museum Weekend – update There are now four Australian museums registered for this weekend 20th and 21st of June. The latest being the Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club will be using the callsign VK7FLI from the Furnaux Museum. That museum on Flinders Island showcases the history of the Furneaux Group of Islands. Relics from shipwrecks and other artefacts are housed in seven buildings which themselves are exhibits. The Geelong Amateur Radio Club will be operating from the Geelong Regional Museum and the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum, while Amateur Radio Victoria is to set up on the museum ship HMAS Castlemaine at Williamstown. More clubs and individuals are welcome join in the International Museum Weekend. ( Jim Linton VK3PC www.ukradioamateur.co.uk/imw/ ) 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 VP 9 400 /home call 400th Anniversary of Bermuda Till Dec 31 The following operation has been approved for DXCC credit: 7Z1CQ - Saudi Arabia Current Operation If anyone had this operation rejected in a DXCC application, send an e-mail to dxcc@arrl.org to be placed on the list to have your account updated. (73 es DX! Bill Moore NC1L) AWARDS The WIA Awards Manager has had to retire because of other commitments, and the WIA is now looking for a new Awards Manager. The Awards Manager works with the Awards Committee of 4 experienced and enthusiastic DX'ers who help resolve the hard questions. The WIA Awards Manager is responsible for one of the WIA's most successful programs, and if you are or you know an avid DX'er with computer skills who would be interested in taking on this most important role, please contact the WIA secretary, Geoff Atkinson. An email to secretary@wia.org.au or a phone call to the office leaving a telephone number for Geoff to call is all that is needed. And the great news is - you don't have to live in Melbourne THE QNEWS WORK BENCH - the nuts and volts report - (Measure twice - Cut once!) Australian researchers have unveiled a new type of disc? A disc that stores 10,000 times more data than current DVDs and could be on the market within a decade? The discs store 1.6 terabytes of data, eclipsing the capacity of current DVD and Blu-ray discs which hold up to 50 gigabytes. A standard DVD recorder uses light of a single wavelength to 'burn' data onto the surface of the disc. Researchers, from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne found that by adding gold nanorods to the disc they were able to increase its capacity. The nanorods react to light according to their shape. This allowed the researchers to record information using light of different wavelengths, or colours, on the same location on the disc. The researchers also used polarisation - the angle of the light's electric field - to record data. "The polarisation can be rotated 360 degrees," says co-author Dr James Chon. "So for example, we were able to record at zero degree polarisation. Then on top of that, we were able to record another layer of information at 90 degrees polarisation, without them interfering with each other." Director of the centre, Professor Min Gu, says current DVD and CD technology only uses a small fraction of the disc, essentially recording in 2D. He believes the use of multiple wavelengths and polarisation will allow future DVD recorders to use a greater volume of the disc. "We have created a new recording device that can respond to different colour and different polarisation," says Professor Gu. "By using these properties we can use more of the disc." The researchers were able to record three layers of information, using three different wavelengths and two polarisations. Since then the authors have recorded 10 layers, and they believe it is possible to record 100 layers onto a single disc. Beyond home entertainment, the discs could be used to store large medical files such as MRI scans, as well as financial, military and security records. (Westlakes) MEDIA WATCH www.wiaq.com/admin/uploads/weeklytally.rtf www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html Sherbrook Community School, ARISS, GippTech, SDR and Strictly Ham all get a bit of a plug on this weeks Tech Talk Radio an internet based program. Fast forward past the first hour to the guest in the studio segment (approx) www.techtalkradio.com.au/download.asp?file=http://files.ttr.net.au/TTR/TTR-2009-22-e.mp3 Amateur Radio Previews June 2009 Amateur Radio, your favourite magazine, will hit the news-stands next week. Don’t leave it too long, or they will be all sold out. This is the issue with a full report on the AGM of the Wireless Institute last month. And it tells who got all the awards (see page 24 for full details). Along with the AGM, there was a Special Edition of GippsTech. And amongst many others, Phil Harman VK6APH gave a very topical and absorbing presentation on Software Defined Radios. That’s Phil on the front cover of the magazine, doing his presentation, which was discussed at length over the coffee cups and dinner tables all weekend. But first, we must tell you that the WIA presented its prestigious G. A. Taylor Medal to the very surprised, and almost speechless, Editor of Amateur Radio magazine, Peter Freeman VK3KAI. This Medal is presented, and not often, for exceptional service to the Wireless Institute of Australia. Check the photo of Peter, and the history of this award, inside the front cover. And there’s more on page 25. There is a short, but vital, article on page 53 about RFI (that’s radio frequency interference). John Morrissey VK3ZRX tells how he tracked down and identified a nasty source of RFI at his QTH. And there is a good chance that the same offenders are spraying out interference at your QTH, too. We have published several articles on power meters but this one, on page 13, is well worth a bit of study if you are into measuring very small amounts of RF. Paul McMahon VK3DIP, who knows quite a lot about it, describes a simple, but sensitive power meter that he built. All the construction, software and testing details are provided, plus a good, clear explanation of the milli-watts and dBms. It even has an RS232 port so you can display the readout on your computer. One of the hottest topics a few months ago was the complicated call-sign confabulation. Now that the WIA has refined and bedded down its procedures for handling the call-sign system on behalf of ACMA, one or two curious little anomalies have emerged around the renewal rules. Read President Michael Owen VK3KI on page 3, where he explains these traps for the unwary and how to avoid them. He is only 11 years old but he has qualified for a Foundation licence!! We are talking about Nicholas O’Sullivan VK4FNIC. And yes, the article is on page 11, too, written by his proud Dad, Shaun O’Sullivan VK4FY and the rest of the family. The Redcliffe Radio Club had a big hand in all this, but the real credit belongs to Nicholas, making him the youngest FL in Queensland. Well done, Nicholas! The WIA AGM and Open Forum are reported on page 24 by President Michael Owen VK3KI. There is more on this topic on page 26, focussed on the GippsTech - Special Edition proceedings, and presented by Peter Freeman VK3KAI. Get a précis of all the activities that made it such an outstanding weekend, written by the man who organized the whole thing. And illustrated by lots of good pictures. If you enjoyed the fine AMSAT column by David Giles VK5DG last month, all about satellite antennas and propagation requirements, turn straight to page 48 for a continuation of this good stuff. Learn about circular polarization and what to expect if a left-hand-circular tries to receive from a right-hand-circular antenna. Compiled by: Tom Potter VK3UBS WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ARDF WIA ARDF COORDINATOR VK3WWW Jack vk3www@alphalink.com.au http://users.mackay.net.au/~ron/ http://www.homingin.com http://www.ardf.org.au Radio Direction Finding Fun happening soon If you are in the vicinity of the Townsville Region on Saturday July 4th and want to get involved in a Foxhunt which includes a really neat prize for first place then Tony VK4TJS wants to hear from you. You have until 30 June to get your attendance numbers in for the TARC Far-ranging Foxhunt, starting from Anderson Gardens Pimlico from 2pm July 4th and finishing at a secret location. There will be activities for all family members to participate in during the Foxhunt and things will end up with a cheerio feast provided by theTARCinc. To cater for the event Tony needs to know your attendance numbers and you need to quiz Tony further regarding details about the Foxhunt. Who do you have to call ? Tony VK4TJS of course, on 47740582 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DIGITAL Australian Coordinator for TCPIP domains is Indy vk2xb@wia.org.au D-STAR NEWS: NEW MONTHLY D-STAR NEWSLETTER LAUNCHED A new quarterly newsletter devoted to the digital voice mode D-STAR has been launched and can be downloaded free of charge. Called the D-STAR Info Newsletter it will feature news about the ode, related products and software, regional news on D-STAR systems and, hints and tips for users and much more. The first issue now on-line includes these articles on the way that California Looks to 1.2 GHz for Frequencies, Grant Sources Can Fund New D-STAR Systems and much more. You can download the newsletter as a PDF file from www.dstarinfo.com/newsletter WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER AMSAT-VK UNOFFICIAL HF Net. 2nd Sunday each month. April through October 1000 UTC 3.685 MHz November through March 0900 UTC 7.068 MHz Some recent Aussie space related activity. Glenys Ambe, 53 a Business Owner in is the first Australian purchase a ticket aboard Sir Rickard Brandson's Virgin Galactic. [1] The Federal Budget has included funding for an Australian Space Science Program to the value of $48.6 million over 4 years. Funding of $40.0 million will be available for the establishment of the Australian Space Research Program, which will support space research, innovation and skills development. The Australian Government is currently for a Manager for the Manufacturing Division, Manufacturing Innovation Branch, Space Policy Unit Section - Canberra. and Paul Schulz - VK5FPAW is a member of LunarNumbat, a team of Australians and New Zealanders who, with European partner and Google X-Prize team "White Label Space" are planning to put a robotic Australian marsupial on the moon. Whitespace partners also include the Wroclaw University of Technology's Institute of Telecommunications, Teleinformatics and Acoustics, who where involved in the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. To find out more, visit www.lunarnumbat.org THREE NEW MICRO CUBSATS LAUNCHED Three new ham radio microsats have been launched and are now on-orbit. The 3 tiny birds are identified as PHARMASAT-1, HAWKSAT-I and POLYSAT CP6. PHARMASAT-1 is from Santa Clara University. Its transmitting on 437.465 MHz in AX.25 data protocol at 1200 bits per second. HAWKSAT-I , It's on 437.345 MHz. Last but by no means least is POLYSAT CP6. Its on 437.365 MHz with 1200 bit per second data in AX.25. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET --- THE HAMS DOMAIN Icom now on Facebook and Twitter! Customers can now keep up to date with the latest news from Radio Communications Specialist Icom UK Ltd on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter! Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them. Facebook is a free-access social networking website in which users can join networks organised by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. SOCIAL SCENE 2009 International Telecommunication Union's Telecom World 2009. 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. June 7 Oxley Region Amateur Radio Clubs 34th annual field day at the Sea Scouts Hall in Buller Street Port Macquarie. Smorgasbord at reasonable prices and own expense, or make own arrangements for evening meal. 9:00 am doors open for sales 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 vk6xh@wia.org.au 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/ Oct 31 - Nov 1 sunny coast’s October Camp Catch-up at Maidenwell Observatory Brisbane valley west of Yarraman. More info from Noel VK4NL 2010 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 FINAL FINAL Digital amateur television tests today All going well the VK3RTV repeater on Mt Dandenong east of Melbourne will begin digital TV tests transmissions from 11am Melbourne time today. It will be received in the Melbourne and Geelong areas on commonly used household Set Top Boxes or digital TV receivers - the frequency being used is 446.5 MHz. Peter Cossins VK3BFG will be listening for reception reports on the ATV liaison frequency of 147.4 MHz or they can be sent to vk3rtv@amateurradio.com.au 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 nationalnews@wia.org.au 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. /ex