------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WIANEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING FEB 21 2010. The news today comes from members of the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club, at the Kariong club house. Ian VK2HK, Pete VK2TPT, Col VK2ZCO, and Fred VK2FSP. Next Sunday, 28th February, is the Wyong Field Day, at the Wyong Race Course, Wyong NSW. For those travelling to Wyong on Sunday 28th February, and requiring directions, contact the Central Coast 2 meter repeater, VK2RAG, 146.725 MHz, using 91.5 Hz Tone access. We look forward to seeing you there" ALL UP AND COMING IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING FEB 21 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- WIA President Michael Owen VK3KI president@wia.org.au Vice President Ewan McLeod VK4ERM vk4erm@wia.org.au Secretary Geoff Atkinson VK3AFA secretary@wia.org.au Treasurer John Longayroux VK3PZ vk3pz@wia.org.au One of the services provided to affiliated clubs, is the WIA/QBE joint Liability Insurance policy. There are 100 clubs currently participating in this policy. It will be due for renewal April 1 and all participating clubs will receive renewal information within days. Any affiliated clubs that do not have Liability cover, or wish to change from their existing cover, to the joint policy are welcome to do so. To find out details of the joint policy, please go to the WIA website, under member services you will find affiliated clubs information. If your club does wish to join the policy, contact Ted Thrift vk2ara@wia.org.au Ron Bertrand VK2DQ, who has been a director of the WIA since May 2008, had indicated his intention not to seek re-election this year, and notices calling for nominations were published in the December issue of Amateur Radio. Ron subsequently indicated that for health reasons he wished to retire earlier, and accordingly the Board has accepted his resignation as a director with effect from 1 February 2010. In doing so the Board expressed its regret and acknowledged the great contribution that Ron has made to both amateur radio and the WIA, particularly in the examination field, having worked extensively on behalf of the WIA with ACMA in the formulation of the syllabi for the various levels of amateur qualification, and after that as a Nominated Assessor, conducting many special assessments. The WIA Returning Officer, Chris Chapman VK3QB, has advised the Board that only one new nomination for Director of the WIA was received, namely Christopher Platt VK5CP and accordingly and in accordance with the Election Regulations, he had declared Phil Wait VK2ASD, Bob Bristow VK6POP and Chris Platt VK5CP elected unopposed as Directors of the WIA. Chris Platt was first licensed as VK3NCP in 1983, and then as VK3KCP in 1994. He moved to South Australia in 1988, and is member of the Adelaide Radio Experimenters Group. He is also a WIA Assessor. He works as a member of the management team of a mining industry employer organisation, and holds degrees in Law and Arts. He brings to the WIA significant experience in business, law and lobbying. His term as a Director commences at the conclusion of the WIA's Annual General Meeting, this year on Saturday 29th May 2010 WIA CENTENARY The VK100WIA roster is full! Next week we will hear how it will be put to air from more than 50 locations in all states, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. All in all, the WIA Centenary Committee believes there's a great mix of activity planned. HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK0 The annual Antarctic Activity Week takes place between 22 and 28 February. The organisers say that this year's event could be better than previous years with many more stations participating. More information on this event is online www.waponline.it VK1 vk1 local news email broadcast@vk1.wia.ampr.org and ask for subscription. Do NOT forget the annual general meeting of the Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club Incorporated is at Mount Mugga Scout Hall, Red Hill, Wednesday 24 February at 8.00PM. (Trevor Jenner VK1FJET Secretary) VK2 web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news The Next meeting of the Illawarra Amateur Radio Society will be held at Industry World, Off Springhill Road Coniston on Tuesday the 9th of March at 7.30pm. Max VK2ARZ will give a talk "Audio Quality and your signal" Get along and have a coffee, a bickie and a good ragchew after the meeting. All visitors are most welcome. For information on the Illawarra Amateur Radio Society please see www.iars.org.au The Illawarra Amateur Radio Society, the Progressive Amateur Radio Club. NEW SYDNEY RADIO CLUB MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB "Macquarie University Amateur Radio Club is seeking students, staff and members of the Macquarie University community with an interest in electronics or amateur radio to join us in establishing this exciting new club. Macquarie is a centre of excellence in Wireless Engineering and we wish to bring the world of amateur radio and all it offers to students and researchers so if you, or if you know of anybody who is interested, particularly students, please contact Adam - VK2JSI@MUARC.ORG or visit www.muarc.org." Contact Adam VK2JSI by email. VK2JSI@MUARC.ORG or call 0415371990. See also the Facebook page of the Macquarie University Amateur Radio Club, www.muarc.org SUMMERLAND 24 Members attended and enjoyed the AGM last Sunday and saw new Office bearers elected including Ross Dowse VK2LRD as President and VP Rob Gallagher VK2ELH. VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ VKC Roundup http://www.police Yarra Valley Amateur Radio Group Hamfest at Healesville on February the 28th, opens at 10am and runs until 2pm. Entry fee is still $5 and the booking fees are the same as the last 10 years at $15 for an 8 foot table. Bring the family and you can perhaps visit the Healesville Sanctuary or go to Marysville for afternoon tea and check out how the regeneration of the town and bush is proceeding. Full details are on the Yarra Valley Amateur Radio Group web site http://www.yarravalley.ar.org.au Next months regular N.E.R.G. meeting is on Thursday 11th March, starting 7:45pm at the Briar Hill Community Hall, 126 Mountain View Rd. The Centre Victoria RadioFest held on Sunday the 14th of February was an outstanding success. Almost 600 people attended, including first time visitors from New Zealand and Japan, plus a number from VK2, VK5 and VK7. This WIA Supported Centenary Event was mounted by Amateur Radio Victoria with the support of 20 enthusiastic volunteers from the Central Goldfields Amateur Radio Club led ably by its President, Peter Rafferty VK3CC. The Kyneton Country Fire Authority brigade through its event catering raised $2,000 that will buy much needed fire truck equipment and pay for fire-fighter training. Amateur Radio Victoria President Jim Linton VK3PC said that the state-wide membership organisation is proud to be able to assist the Central Goldfields Club and the CFA volunteers with their major fundraising efforts of the year, and to also run the third RadioFest for the amateur radio community. Thank you to the event Treasurer and Trader Liaison, Ross Pittard VK3CE, Terry Murphy VK3UP, Peter Mill VK3APO, Barry Robinson VK3PV and their wives and partners. While fearing to miss someone, Jim VK3PC thanked the Melbourne ATV group for its digital amateur television display, Scout Radio and Electronics Service Unit that ran foxhunting sniffer hunts, Tony Hambling VK3VTH the mini-lecture facilitator and the presenters at these well attended lectures. Well done to the Bendigo District Astronomical Society and all others in the Club Corner Precinct with a record 14 clubs and organisations putting on displays. Again it was eagerly supported by all the major commercial traders, specialist traders, and plenty of private second-hand equipment sellers. And finally, I enjoyed myself immensely as event announcer and meeting so many people. Hope to see you at the Centre Victoria RadioFest No. 4 - I'm Bruce Lees VK3FFF. "Sounds it was a lot of fun, Bruce, of course, here at Wyong, ours is next weekend, Sunday 28th February. The gates will be opened at 0630, though the Trader / Exhibitor area will be closed to the public until 0900. Check our website, www.ccarc.org.au and click on 'Field Day' for regularly updated details. For those travelling to Wyong on Sunday 28th February, and requiring directions, we can be contacted on the Central Coast 2 meter repeater, VK2RAG, 146.725 MHz, using 91.5 Hz Tone access, for assistance." VK4 - QNEWS 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/ Welcome to Qnews from VK4WIA. I'm Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and I have been thinking about the Amateurs Code and our responsibilities within clubs. We join a hobby to find fulfilment and satisfaction in the pursuit that is both a learning experience and a recreation. To enhance our enjoyment we find it helps to share our interests with others who share our passion. Just because we happen to be able use a microphone, key or keyboard doesn't necessarily bring that personal involvement. Throughout our communities there are associations, groups and clubs and we may belong to none or several of them already. Most clubs like to have a succinct expression of belief, practice and reason for belonging. Individually we can describe ourselves as amateurs or hams and agree to follow the Amateurs Code. When we come together in a club setting we can apply the same standards within our group structure. If our radio club is incorporated, part of it's capacity to act is to do things that are lawful which means that the club must not do anything which is illegal. One of the benefits of WIA affiliation is that clubs get basic insurance cover at a very competitive premium. We tend to think of our responsibility and the purpose of insurance as in preventing physical injury and compensating some-one should they be hurt. How many club members consider the requirements of the anti-discrimination laws? Remember that your club executive and even members may become legally liable for acts that are unconstitutional and/or unlawful and it will also void insurance cover. Take a hypothetical example - a member who has a medical condition that causes them to freak out if put under pressure, receives telephone and email contact on behalf of the club. When the person tries to say they cannot deal with this type of confrontation, they find themselves effectively ignored and the terseness of the communications increase until such time as the member resigns and has to undergo continuing treatment because of the incident. The club president follows the resignation with a message that says "I hope you will be happy, now you have left the club." You may think this could not happen but I know we have many ex-servicemen, veterans who suffer a condition known as post traumatic stress. I know some of my amateur colleagues are war veterans. There are many men and women who have suffered trauma which causes them to suffer residual effects. There are many instances of actions which would be classed as discrimination and this is an important point to consider. When we read the Amateurs Code we see that "the Radio Amateur is considerate and never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others....(and)...is friendly...kindly assistance, cooperation and consideration for the interests of others. These are the hallmarks of the amateur spirit." If we apply these principles in our club life as well as personally we can be pretty sure that we can never fall foul of anti-discrimination laws or breach our duties as committee members. Does your club have a policy in place to ensure members follow the Amateurs code? Does this policy give you the steps to follow should an unfortunate event occur? Remember that we joined AR because we enjoyed it - let's keep the amateur spirit and keep the enjoyment growing in our centenary year. I'm Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and That's What I think... how about you.............? SUNSHINE COAST Maleny VK4RSC 146.850 and 438.075 VK4RSN 53.7 Noosa Heads VK4RSL 146.825 and 438.175 March General Meeting This months meeting is on the 2nd of March and its the AGM. Nominations are rolling in for the committee positions so make sure you are at the meeting to vote for who you want to represent the club for the next 12 months. Also there will be voting for the Col McCamley award which is awarded to the member in the previous year that has gone beyond the call of duty being involved and helping with club activities. Summer VHF/UHF Field Day The club again used the Howells Knob site for the Summer VHF UHF Field day and from all accounts it was a great time. Caterer Mike VK4YFL showed us how good he is in the kitchen, I wonder if his wife knows that, however one of the participants had a nasty headache the next day. Might have been something he drank. New Callsign Just before Christmas last year an exam was held to upgrade Tobi VK4FTTR from his Foundation licence. A little bit of persuasion got him to sit for the Advanced licence and now he is VK4TRA. Congratulations Tobi. Until next time, this is Gordon VK4VP. TOWNSVILLE vk4wit@wia.org.au 4773 1196 or 0408 001142 po box 333 Garbutt East, QLD 4814 www.tarc.org.au GOOD MORNING AND GREETINGS ! HERE IS DON VK4FNQA FROM NORTH QUEENSLAND, WITH ALL OF THE GOOD NEWS AND FUTURE HAPPENINGS. THIS MORNING, I PASS ON THANKS FROM KEN VK4HAI AND KRISTYL-LEE FOR ALL THE GOOD WISHES AND CONGRATULATION MESSAGES SENT TO THEM ON THEIR WEDDING DAY SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14TH. THEY SAY THEY WILL CHERISH ALL CONGRATS AND MESSAGES FOR EVER MORE. NOW I MUST TELL YOU ABOUT ONE OF THE FRIENDLIEST RADIO NETS IN THE LAND THAT IS HAPPENING AGAIN THIS TUESDAY EVENING FROM 7-30PM ON THE TOWNSVILLE VHF REPEATER - THE ANN RENTON MEMORIAL LADIES NET ! THE NET IS OPEN TO YOUNG AND OLD, YL OR OM AND IS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS PRACTICE ON-AIR TO GO ONTO THE NET AS SECOND OPERATOR. SO, JOIN THIS TUESDAY EVENINGS NET AND SEE IF THE YLS CAN OUTNUMBER THE OMS. WATCH OUT BLUEWATER HERE COMES TARC! TARCADIANS AND SUPPORT CREWS WILL BE OPERATING IN THE 2010 JOHN MOYLE FIELD DAY CONTEST WITH A STATION LOCATED AT BLUEWATER SCOUT DEN, JUST A SHORT 20 MINUTES DRIVE NORTH ALONG THE BRUCE HIGHWAY FROM THE THURINGOWA CBD. COME ALONG FOR THE WHOLE WEEKEND OR FOR A DAY OR AN EVENING AND EXPERIENCE FIELD OPERATIONS RUNNING ON EMERGENCY POWER UNDER THE BIG SHELTERED HALL. CAMP OUT OVER THE WEEKEND OR TRUNDLE ALONG IN YOUR MOBILE SHACK CHARIOT OR MANSION WITH WHEELS OR EVEN PITCH THE SWAG OR MATTRESS IN THE HALL. BRING YOUR BATTERIES, GENERATORS, RADIOS AND FIELD ANTENNAE FOR A GREAT WEEKEND OUT IN THE BUSH SOCIALISING, SWIMMING IN NEARBY BLUEWATER CREEK, CHECKING THE POTS FOR REDCLAW AND, OH - OH - OH YES, DOING SOME RADIO OPERATING DURING THE CONTEST. VK4WIT WILL BE ON AIR AT THE HALL FROM FRIDAY EVENING MARCH 19TH UNTIL SUNDAY LUNCHTIME MARCH 21ST. CONTACT TARC CONTEST MANAGER RICHARD VK4FRJG ON MOBILE 0400339543, THAT NUMBER AGAIN, 0400339543 FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR LET HIM KNOW YOU ARE GOING ALONG. FINALLY, IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR TO THINK ABOUT HAVING A FRIENDLY RELAXING TIME IN IDYLIC SURROUNDINGS WITH HAM FRIENDS AND SUPPORT CREWS. THAT'S RIGHT, ITS TIME TO BOOK YOUR SPOT AT FNNQARG ! , THE FAR NORTH AND NORTH QUEENSLAND AMATEUR RADIO GATHERING HAPPENING FROM 11TH TO 14TH JUNE OVER THE LONG WEEKEND AT CARDWELL VILLAGE BEACHCOMBER MOTEL AND TOURIST PARK. IT IS THE YEARLY GATHERING FOR THOSE FROM CAIRNS, ATHERTON TABLELANDS AND TOWNSVILLE REGIONS PLUS LOTS OF PLACES IN BETWEEN AND FAR AWAY. IT IS ADVISABLE TO RING RECEPTION AT THE PARK ON 1800 005633 TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AS THE LONG WEEKEND IN JUNE IS A VERY POPULAR TIME. A WIDE MIX OF ACCOMMODATION FROM MOTEL TO VILLA TO CAMPING IS AVAILABLE. WELL THATS ALL FOR THIS WEEK FROM TROPICAL PARADISE. THIS HAS DON VK4FNQA FOR THE TOWNSVILLE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INC, AND YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO; AND ENJOYING QNEWS FROM VK4WIA. VK6 Northern Corridor Group Hamfest is Sunday August 1st at Cyril Jackson Sports Centre, Ashfield. VK9 Phil, G3SWH and Jim, G3RTE are active from Christmas Island, IOTA OC-002, until February 27. Both will use the callsign VK9X/G6AY with activity on CW only using all bands between 80 and 10 metres. QSL via G3SWH. EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO www.hamcollege.com.au The next Foundation Licence training and assessment weekend by Amateur Radio Victoria will be held on the 20th and 21st of March, at Ashburton. For inquiries or to enrol in a quality training experience please contact Barry Robinson VK3PV on 0428 516 001 or email foundation@amateurradio.com.au Gordon VK4VP from the Sunshine coast of VK4 has told us Tobi VK4FTTR with a little bit of persuasion, sat for the Advanced licence and now is proud owner of callsign VK4TRA, congratulations Tobi. If you are a non amateur or a short wave listener living in the North West, or West coast of Tasmania, and would like to become a licensed amateur radio operator, then get along to a meeting and find out about this interesting hobby. If you cannot make the meeting but would like to find out more then contact Keith Winkler VK7KW, or any of the committee members. Full contact details are available on their club site, as with all official clubs visit wia.org.au and do a search ob the club page. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the World Wide sources of the WIA. IARU Region 3 adopts Japanese Yen as unit of currency for accounting At the last IARU Region 3 Conference, it was voted that all accounts of the Region would now be maintained only in Japanese Yen and not in the two currency system of US Dollars and Japanese Yen as has been done for many years. All subscriptions to Region 3 from member societies will also now be calculated in Japanese Yen only. The reasoning was that all accounts are maintained in Tokyo and the old system involved a double currency conversion in many cases before it was credited to the IARU Region 3 banks, resulting in losses. THE GREAT DESERT OF THE WORLD Djelfa Ham club (7X2VFK) Under patronage of the governor of the state of Djelfa and the Director of Youth and Sports, "the great Desert of the World" Djelfa radio club (7X2VFK) will organize an international HAM Meeting from 17 to 22 may 2010 with a special call for the event (all modes...), and a diploma instead of a QSL card. The club will provide transportation from Algiers airport to Djelfa and Djelfa to Algiers airport. Please contact the president of Djelfa radio club at email bodil17000@yahoo.fr The RSGB Convention is moving to a bigger venue for 2010. If you are planning on a trip to the Mother Country later in the year try to take in the RSGB Convention taking place between 8th and 10th October, at Horwood House, near Milton Keynes. This new venue provides the RSGB Convention with new purpose-built meeting rooms, comfortable lounges and bars, delightful country surroundings and 182 en-suite bedrooms. All bedrooms are within the complex and have easy access to the lecture rooms that we will be using. It is just a short distance from Bletchley and Milton Keynes stations and easily accessible from the M1 motorway. PETITION FILED FOR CREATION OF U.S. 4 METER BAND QRZ.com lead moderator Glen Zook, K9STH, of Richardson, Texas has filed a Petition for Rulemaking to the FCC. One aimed at creating a 70.000 MHz to 70.500 MHz amateur radio band in the United States. According to Zook, the recent migration of broadcast television stations to primarily the UHF frequencies has basically eliminated any probable interference to television channels 4 or 5 which otherwise might have occurred. This is because the 4-meter band is located on frequencies that were allocated to television channel 4. Since the 4-meter amateur radio band does not fall in the 72.0 MHz to 76.0 MHz segment which is allocated to Operational Fixed and various mobile services there would be no potential co-channel or adjacent channel interference. WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WiFi Suit: Neighbour Sues Neighbour For Using Electronics The Santa Fe reporter newspaper reports that a Santa Fe man who alleges he suffers from "electromagnetic allergies" is suing his neighbour because she refuses to turn off her "gadgets". According to the Santa Fe Reporter, Arthur Firstenberg, the plaintiff, has been sleeping at friends' homes or in his car to avoid the electromagnetic waves created by his neighbour's cell phone, wireless network, computer, compact fluorescent light bulbs and dimmer switches. When the "new neighbour" moved in next door, she refused to keep her phone, computer and wireless network turned off when not in use. When asked if she could use a landline instead of her iPhone, Firstenberg says the neighbour "flatly refused without explanation." The battle against WiFi isn't one Firstenberg is fighting alone. He's part of a group of Santa Fe residents who are pursuing legal means to remove all WiFi hotspots from public locations because they claim the wireless internet waves aggravate their "electromagnetic allergies." www.sfreeper.com/2010/01/06/theres-no-app-for-that-electrosensitive-activist-sues-to-stop-neighbors-iphone-use/ www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017499815 OPERATIONAL NEWS - SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2010 Feb 27-28 NZART JOCK WHITE MEMORIAL FIELD DAY CONTEST details on nzart.org.nz/contests Mar 13-14 RSGB COMMONWEALTH CONTEST (BERU) details on hfcc.org/hfcc/rule/2009/beru.shtml Mar 20-21 WIA John Moyle Field Day details from vk4ae@hotmail.com APR 30 - MAY 6 Westlakes CQ Repeater contest contestmanager@westlakesarc.org.au May 8 WIA VK Trans Tasman 80m Phone Bruce Renn vk3jwz@wia.org.au Jun 12 WIA VK Trans Tasman 160m Phone Bruce Renn vk3jwz@wia.org.au Jun 12-13 WIA Worked All VK Shires contest@vkshires.info Jun 19-20 WIA WINTER VHF-UHF Field Day John Martin VK3KM tac@wia.org.au Jul 10tbc WIA Jack Files Contest John Spooner vk4ajs@wia.org.au Aug 14-15 WIA Remembrance Day Contest Peter Harding vk4od@wia.org.au Oct 2- 3 WIA Oceania DX Contest Phone Tony Burt vk3tz@wia.org.au Oct 9-10 WIA Oceania DX Contest CW Tony Burt vk3tz@wia.org.au NOV 20-21 WIA Spring VHF-UHF Field Day John Martin VK3KM tac@wia.org.au Allan Chandler ZL2SKY of the Kiwi Digital Modes Group reminds all about the KDMG VK/ZL RTTY Sprint 17th & 24th April. This contest is open to all licensed amateurs residing in the VK-ZL Call areas. There are three categories of which only 1 can be entered into, 80M only, 40M only or 80/40 combined take your pick, but stick to just the one! One night operation will be on 80M the other night will be 40M. qsl.net/zl2sky SPECIAL EVENT CALLS, BEACON DX AND NET ADVICE hf nets ON the net, www.timroberts-vk4yeh.id.au/ EI2GBW, Ireland to Great Britain Ferry Celebrations ends March 31 2010 GB2EI, Great Britain to Ireland Ferry Celebrations ends March 31 2010 VI3KIAH acknowledging Black Saturday Bush Fires 2pm to 8pm local Feb 7 2010 Felix VK4FUQ who has put years into this WIA and QNEWS services as the Operational News Reader most weeks reminds all of that friendly afternoon 40 m net held on 7.098 mhz at 0600 hrs utc or 4 pm local vk4 time. Geopark Weekend This years Geopark Communication weekend takes place over the weekend of 22 May - 23 May. Radio stations from around the world will be exchanging greetings over the airwaves with Radio Operators operating special event stations from Geoparks of which there are 53 Parks of this status worldwide. BROADCAST MONITORING SWL AND SCANNER NEWS aus_scanner@yahoogroups.com http://www.scanaustralia.bigpondhosting.com www.tinyurl.com/BITS-026 (A receiver located in NY USA) http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/ HTTP://www.ei7dar.com/hf.html EI7DAR Online Receiver Dundalk Amateur Radio Society have now added a web controlled Icom IC 75 HF receiver to their website. This enable full control of the receiver and allows the advantage of listening remotely from a different location. It is also useful for checking your own station's transmit audio and signal strength. Full details can be found at www.ei7dar.com and clicking on the "Control - HF Radio" or directly www.ei7dar.com/hf.html User feedback is welcome via email to info@ei7dar.com. INTRUDER WATCH - ENFORCEMENT ZONE Region III IARUMS Coordinator Peter Young VK3MV VK IARUMS reflector email to subscribe intruders@wia.org.au VK Coordinators for I.A.R.U.M.S. ? IARUMS NETS Friday 0730 UTC 7.065.5 with VK4CEU David. Amateur exclusive frequencies where any non-amateur signal is definitely an intruder. Amateur HF 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 I'll go to jail before I pay up, says Chris Wright That's a quote from Chris attributed to the Port Macquarie News that is reporting on what began as a hobby has evolved into a nightmare for amateur radio operator Chris Wright. Wright said the council had forced him to disassemble the antennas after receiving a complaint from a neighbour, who said the antennas were interfering with his radio and he was also slapped with a standard fine for erecting the antennas without approval. Mr Wright has vowed not to pay the fine. Mr Wright and his wife Karen, also an amateur radio enthusiast, have written to Port Macquarie MP Peter Besseling. Early listeners to this WIA National News, under the mast head of QNEWS may remember Chris and Karen often filed stories from the NSW Mid Coast for us. Back of the throttle! Participants in a recent SARL President's Net have voiced concern that they feel an abuse of power by ZU license holders is taking place. ZU licensees who do not adhere to the 20 Watt power limit as specified for their class of license can face fines or even cancellation of their license if they do not adhere to the condition laid down in the regulations. This and the earlier reported use of bad language will be discussed when the South African Radio League (SARL) Council meets next. Intruder Watch - a few highlights from recent observation reports Based on bearings it appears that an Israeli Navy PSK Hybrid Modem System is intruding on to the 40-metre band with a centre frequency of 7001.8 Kilohertz. Operating continuously it has been reported by the International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 as an intruder to the German Post and Telekom which is making further inquiries. A Turkish military system is also suspected for another PSK signal on 7090.0 kilohertz. On 40-meters a weak fax signal has been heard on 7090 and it may be a third harmonic. If that's confirmed though further monitoring then a complaint will be lodged. On the 20-meter band an over-the-horizon radar signal with a bandwidth of about 83-kiloHertz has been reported from New Zealand. This appeared on 14.124 Megahertz and more reports on this one are needed. The WIA Intruder Watch Coordinator is WIA Intruder Watch Coordinator is Karl Hennig VK6XW who can be contacted by email on intruders@wia.org.au MEDIA WATCH www.wiaq.com/admin/uploads/weeklytally.rtf www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html Groups presenting this WIA National News Service FEB today vk2 21 CCARC (Promoting Wyong Field Day) MAR VK2 7 ARNSW (Promoting WIA CENTENARY) MAR VK6 14 NEWSWEST MAR VK3 28 VK3DN APR VK3 4 VK3DN APR VK3 11 VK3DN APR VK7 25 REAST (ANZAC Weekend) MAY VK1 9 CRARC (promoting CRARC and WIA AGM) (TBC) MAY VK100WIA 30 WIA DIRECTORS JOIN A LIVE OB FROM CANBERRA (TBC) VK3REC 9:30AM IN MELBOURNE 1000th checkin this WIA year was VK3UKR WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CW FISTS Club - East Asia www.feacw.net FISTS Club - Australasia www.fistsdownunder.org FISTS Club - UK & Europe www.fists.co.uk FISTS Club - Americas www.fists.org VK2BWI Slow Morse broadcast. The VK2BWI slow morse practice broadcasts have resumed. Are you interested in rising to the challenge of becoming a proficient morse code operator? Or perhaps just refreshing those rusty skills? If so then listen in on Thursday evenings on 3550 KHz, at 2000 hours local time. It starts off at 4 words per minute, increasing in easy increments to about 18 words per minute. Practice is given in plain text, figure groups, call signs and often a simulated QSO is included. Call backs follow the broadcast, so give it a go. Thursday evenings at 2000 hours local, on 3550 KHz, depending on QRN. (vk2winews) 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 Satellites to be built in the UK Surrey Satellite Technology, which is headed up by Martin Sweeting, G3YJO, has been awarded a contract to build 14 spacecraft for the Galileo Satellite Navigation project. Plans are to have the satellites coming off the production line in the second half of 2012. Arianespace will use Russian-built Soyuz rockets to launch these global positioning spacecraft in batches of two. Powering CubeSats An electric propulsion technology for miniature satellites aims to give them more mobility and may eventually allow them to take on deep-space missions. CubeSats are relatively cheap to deploy: While launching a rocket may cost between $50 million and $300 million, a CubeSat can "piggyback" onto a large rocket platform at an additional cost of as little as $40,000. But their small size also means they lack on-board propulsion systems, which is why they generally remain locked to a particular Low Earth Orbit. Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could lead to the development of a tiny propulsion system that would enable CubeSats to travel to far higher orbits which for Radio Amateurs would enable contacts over far greater longer distances. The propulsion system takes electricity from the CubeSat batteries or a solar panel and applies it to a tiny structure roughly the size of a postage stamp. This thin panel is made of about 1,000 porous metal structures that resemble needles and have several grams of the ionic liquid on them. By applying voltage to the needles, an electric field is created that extracts the ions from the liquid, accelerates them at very high speeds and forces them to fly away. This process creates an ionic force strong enough to produce thrust. Read the MIT article Powering cube satellites at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/cubesat-01115.html WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- Internet Linking of Repeaters Random Node Call on IRLP Nodes. A facility known as "Random Node Call" has been reactivated on the North West Tasmanian ATV Group's IRLP Nodes. By dialling a special DTMF code (in this case 4 x hashes ####) free and idle nodes anywhere in the world can be called by a random selection process. This required an update in the nodes scripting as the central server had changed it's status page script to a compressed file in lieu of a standard text file to conserve download overheads on the server. The facility is now again working as normal. All amateurs are welcome to use the Nodes. Why not give it a try. The dtmf code again, is 4 hashes. (73's until next time Tony VK7AX News Officer NWT-ATV Gp). REWIND - A LOOK BACK IN HISTORY ITU DIGITIZES HISTORICAL ARCHIVES The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announced February 11 that they have launched the History of ITU portal. This project - the digitising of the ITU's archive of historical documents - aims to improve access to information on the ITU and chart its evolution since its establishment in 1865, while ensuring the long-term preservation of historic documents. The archives will be freely accessible. It provides background information, key data and links to the documents and other materials for conference's. The digitisation programme will continue to make available documents of historic significance, including those related to Radio communication Conferences since 1903. (sarl) SOCIAL SCENE 2010 FEBRUARY 27 VK6 Hills Amateur Radio Group Swap Meet 2pm Sanderson and Brady Rds Lesmurdie. FEBRUARY 28 VK2 Wyong Field Day, Wyong Race Course. FEBRUARY 28 VK3 Yarra Valley Hamfest http://www.yarravalley.ar.org.au/ MARCH 14 VK3 Eastern And Mountain District Radio Club White Elephant Sale MARCH 14 VK6 100 years of the WIA+Ham Heaven Official opening. (NCRG club premises) Contact Keith vk6rk@wia.org.au MARCH 21 VK7 MEET THE VOICE BBQ at Ross in VK7 APRIL 2 VK3 Midland Amateur Radio Club's Radio, Electronic & Astronomy Expo. Venue to be advised. JUNE 12 VK2 Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club's 35th Annual Field Day. JULY 17 VK3 GGREC Hamfest Start Time : 10:00 AUGUST 1 VK6 Northern Corridor Group Hamfest Cyril Jackson Sports Centre Ashfield Oct 29 - 31 VK1OOWIA Westlakes ARC during our WIA centenary celebrations. NOV 7 VK5 2010 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society Hamfest Rosa St Goodwood We have had no word as to if a VK4 HamFest or two will be held this year so VK4 area hams, stay glued for QNEWS! The news today, has been presented by the Central Coast Amateur RadioClub, at the Kariong club house, by Ian VK2HK, Pete VK2TPT, Col VK2ZCO, and myself, Fred VK2FSP. Next Sunday, 28th February, is the Field Day, at the Wyong Race Course, Wyong NSW. We look forward to seeing you there. ============================================================================= 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... 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