-------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 http://www.wia.org.au (click news in member area) Submit your audio news Please.. If you are only submitting text and not audio, write your story as you would expect to hear it being read back and NEVER send just links & url's. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WIANEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING FEB 28 2010. WIA CENTENARY. dstar repeater for geelong. WIA APPOINTS MANAGER. remembering the unit men, bell. EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO. aviators have morse code all tied up. APOLLO EME 2010. tassie devil award. ALL UP AND COMING IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING FEB 28 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- WIA CENTENARY The VK100WIA roster is full Thank you to those WIA affiliated clubs who were able to take up the WIA offer of a rostered 3-day slot to use the special callsign VK100WIA. It will be put on air from more than 50 locations right around the nation, in all states, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. Many of the participating clubs have advised that the callsign will be used at public events, in shopping areas, parks, scout halls, schools, museums and historical sites. Others will be using their club station to try and make as many on air contacts as possible. In VK3 the Gippsland Gate Radio and Electronics Club will be re-enacting the reception in 1921 of the very first direct press message sent from the Britain to Australia. The West Australian VHF Group will be operating at the Wireless Hill Museum, the Geelong Radio and Electronics Society are setting up at the Geelong Maritime Museum, while the Radio Amateur Old Timers Club will have the Moorabbin and District Radio Club Museum. A few clubs have stated that they will actively encourage Foundation Licensee involvement in their activity. The Yarra Valley Amateur Radio Group event is also to celebrate the 5th anniversary of licence restructure which saw the introduction of the Foundation Licence. In VK6 both WICEN and the Western Australia Repeater Group will be operating at the Royal Perth Show. All in all, the WIA Centenary Committee believes there's a great mix of activity planned. (Studio) Details will appear on this VK1WIA broadcast each week during May through to October, or you can check them out now on the WIA website. The Centenary date of the formation of our organization is only days away and there are celebrations this weekend with the annual VK2 Central Coast field day at Wyong. Next Sunday members of the VK2WI News team will be presenting this VK1WIA bulletin. Then on Thursday the 11th there is to be a gathering at the old "Hotel Australia" site - in the Sydney CBD - which was where the first meeting was held. On Sunday 14th Amateur Radio New South Wales will be opening its new building at the VK2WI site at Dural. There will be further details in next weeks bulletins. 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 Each year the WIA hosts its "WIA AGM Weekend Of Activities" a special weekend event aimed at providing a range of special activities that are of particular interest to radio amateurs. This years event is dedicated to celebrating The Centenary of Organised Amateur Radio in Australia. This not to be missed weekend commences Friday evening the 28th of May and runs through to the afternoon of Sunday the 30th. There will be a range of special activities for members and partners in addition to the WIA AGM and Open Forum meetings. Activities will include a series of highly informative historical presentations on the early days of radio, the VK100WIA special event station calling CQ from the weekend venue, a Centenary dinner with local and international dignitaries and a planned ARISS contact with International Space Station. The AGM Weekend Of Activities will conclude on Sunday the 30th with a live outside broadcast of the VK1WIA national news, a public display of Amateur Radio and a special BBQ in the local park sponsored by Yaesu. I'll be delivering a short talk "RADIO, Always has been, Always will be, the Cats Whisker" What I desperatley need and need NOW! is a short history on each of the old divisional news broadcasts. I just need the absolute highlights and dates, all up for all divisions I am looking at 3 minutes maximum! BUT I figure that info should be preserved anyhow, and I aim to use lots of what you send me in future REWIND segments in these newscasts! send to nationalnews@wia.org.au WIA PRESIDENT VK3KI MICHAEL OWEN "On a number of occasions I have made the point that if the WIA was to continue to grow in a way that would continue to attract new members it had to reduce its reliance on volunteers for the provision of an administrative core which provides many of services it offers to members and supports those offering other services. While we now have the security of a contract with ACMA for the WIA to manage the examinations, the issue of certificates of proficiency and the management of callsigns it means that the WIA office has to devote a significant part of its present resources to those tasks. The Board met in Melbourne over the weekend of 20/21 February 2010. Much of the time was spent considering the financial position, and the provision of services for our members and the future. The Board resolved to engage a manager. The Board believes that the current office workload justifies additional staff, a manager will provide continuity, and our ability to provide services to members will be enhanced. Finding the right candidate was not hard. As it happens for some months the WIA had been employing someone on a part time basis to provide assistance in the office, as without that help we were going to continue falling behind on tasks that really matter, such as processing credit cards, banking, processing book orders and membership. That person was Mal Brooks. Because he has been working with us, we knew him. Equally important, Mal knows us, and believes that he can contribute to the WIA. So, now the WIA has a new manager. Whilst Mal is not yet an amateur, he comes with a background and experience, including experience as the Executive Officer of a not for profit industry association and briefly the WIA, that is totally relevant. Our object has been for the WIA to be seen as a truly effective advocate for amateur radio, and to provide services for its members that make it attractive to be a member and to be seen as an effective organisation without conflict. We will never be able to do the many things that are part of the WIA without the support of many dedicated and skilled volunteers. But at the heart of the organisation must be an administration that is effective, efficient, responsive and friendly. We believe that Mal will be a meaningful part of that administrative heart. So, let us all welcome Mal Brooks and wish him the very best in his new role". HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK1 vk1 local news email broadcast@vk1.wia.ampr.org and ask for subscription. Last Wednesday 24th February the Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club held its AGM. It was reported that the club is in a healthy financial position and has had increase of twenty members bringing the total membership to 110 members. The new committee for 2010 is President Peter Westerhoff VK1NPW Vice President Phil Longworth VK1PL Vice President John Woolner VK1ET Secretary Bruce Howard VK2MIB Treasurer Bob Howie VK1MRH Membership Secretary Glen Taylor VK1NUT Committee Member Tony Vickers VK1VIC Committee Member Ian McCleary VK1FMAC Committee Member Wayne Nitchske VK1VNB Immediate Past President Alan Hawes VK1WX 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 rag chew 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. VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ VKC Roundup http://www.police The annual Yarra Valley Amateur Radio Group Hamfest Sale is on today Sunday 28th February 2010 at Healesville Memorial Hall, Maroondah Hwy, Healesville, from 10am to 2pm and for further information See their website: when you visit the club pages at wia.org.au (www.yarravalley.ar.org.au) 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 with a reflection on the Amateurs Code. A word that isn't used in the Amateurs Code, printed in the Centenary 2010 Callbook, is generous. However if you read the words, you see the Radio Amateur is Loyal and Friendly....."/the radio amateur offers loyalty, encouragement and support to other amateurs....(with) kindly assistance. These are the hallmarks of the amateur spirit." /When you combine these two characteristics you come close to a dictionary definition of generosity. Way back when I was still in short pants and most QSO's were still conducted in amplitude modulation, home brewing was the order of the day. Often I would hear discussions of individual projects when the junk box just didn't have a vital component. Some days later, I would hear the thanks for the parcel that the postman had delivered, at no cost and often done anonymously. This sharing has been something that I have witnessed and experienced from time to time and have tried to continue. Recently, it was mentioned on the local repeater system that we could not source a short piece of miniature coaxial cable for a project. From a couple of hundred kilometres away, the postman delivered about a metre of cable. Many thanks OM. Yes the amateur is generous; another part of the tradition we continue in our centenary year. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and That’s What I think... how about you.............? Gold Coast Radio Club are holding a General Meeting Saturday 6th March. They look forward to as many as possible attending and to organize some activities for coming months. GYMPIE www.gceginc.org.au Trevor Taege, VK4BAT I’m Trevor Taege, VK4BAT with the news from the Gympie Communications & Electronics Group: Another fun social get together had several members and their partners enjoy an evening at the Gympie RSL. The evening of dining and entertainment was mixed with a light discussion of who was bringing what to the John Moyle Field Day. It was decided that if the weather was a little kinder than last year, a few members would rough it and camp at the site. Gympie 2 metre repeater update: The Gympie Communications & Electronics Group will be purchasing most of the current repeater equipment from Jason VK4MIH. This means that the club will only need to sort out new battery and solar power and relocation to Mt. Boulder. The repeater was decommissioned yesterday (that was the plan as this report was written). The Club is planning to set up the device temporarily at Chatsworth to fine tune the new power supply and to provide the area with continued service. Jason has kindly offered to loan us the IRLP equipment until we are able to purchase and build our own system so the node should suffer only a short downtime. The EasyPal Digital SSTV repeater will during this time, be moved from Chatsworth to Lagoon Pocket. After the 2 metre repeater moves to Mt.Boulder, it will be returned back to Chatsworth. The Gympie Group also wishes to thank the Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club for their help with tower equipment, solar panel bracket and general support of our Club and both repeater projects. The Club currently has a request with Local Council to re-locate our 70cm repeater to the water tower radio site in Gympie. The request is due to go before Council shortly. So for a small growing Club, we have plenty to keep us busy. As they say, watch this space for further updates. For Gympie Area News, I’m Trevor Taege, VK4BAT. ROCKHAMPTON IRLP NODE 6973 ; e-mail vk4acc@wia.org.au Secretary Clive 4928 1173 http://www.radarc.cjb.net/ This is Doug VK4DUG from the Rockhampton and District Amateur Radio Club. It’s encouraging seeing that some amateurs are still getting their hands dirty, so to speak, and doing a bit of home brewing. Garry VK4FGZA has recently assembled a dummy load and antenna analyzer. I expect that Garry has a lot more building and fun planned for the future. The other major project for club members, at the present time, at least for Mike LMB, Ray HOT and Bob HRC (with a little supervision and help from Jeff 4JAB), is the construction (and it’s almost finished) of a secure operating room at the Heritage Village site. You may remember mention of the Club’s involvement with the village on a previous occasion. It is expected that one of the recently donated ‘winch-up’ towers will be put to good use at this site. It must be an opportune time for the RADAR Club to purchase a casket ticket. After receiving the previous donation of towers etc, the Club, with the help of Don 4BY, has been awarded 2 secondhand Main Roads cast-off laptop computers. With the many Digital Modes now available these will be put to good use in club activities. The hand-over to club members was made by the local Minister for Main Roads Robert Schwarten. (Can’t miss a chance of a photo shoot), but never the less we are most grateful for this presentation. Clareview Gathering The Clareview Gathering is a yearly event where Radio Amateurs meet at a spot on the coast between Rockhampton and Mackay to relax, talk radio, re-establish acquaintances and participate in the world renown Saturday Night Mega-Auction. It is also one of the main revenue raisers for the Rockhampton and District Amateur Radio Club and Mackay Amateur Radio Club. It happens during a VK4 Long Weekend, 1st and 2nd of May. For further details contact Don Wilchefski VK4BY of the RADAR Club vk4by@wia.org.au 73 from Doug. TOWNSVILLE vk4wit@wia.org.au 4773 1196 or 0408 001142 po box 333 Garbutt East, QLD 4814 www.tarc.org.au GOOD MORNING AND HEARTY GREETINGS TO ALL LISTENERS! HERE IS DON VK4FNQA FROM NORTH QUEENSLAND WITH ALL THE GOOD NEWS AND FUTURE HAPPENINGS. THIS MORNING I PASS ON GET WELL GREETINGS TO LEONIE, THE BOARD OF CONTROL OF TERRY VK4FVTE. ALL YOUR FRIENDS IN AMATEUR RADIO LAND WISH YOU A SPEEDY RECOVERY. YOU CAN TELL YET ANOTHER MONTH HAS GONE BY THE WAY, BECAUSE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT IS THE MARCH MANAGEMENT MEETING FOR TARC. IT WILL BE HELD AT THE CLUB ROOMS, ON TOP OF SES HEADQUARTERS IN GREEN STREET WEST END, VIA SIDNEY STREET AND THE MEETING STARTS AT 7-30PM. EVERYONE WELCOME AND PLEASE BRING SOMETHING ALONG FOR THE SHOW AND TELL SESSION. HERE IS A MESSAGE NOW FROM THE REGION'S COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT CO-ORDINATOR GAVIN VK4ZZ IS AFTER OPERATORS TO HELP OUT WITH THE MOSS VALE STATION HORSE ENDURANCE RIDE HAPPENING MARCH 20 AND 21. HE IS ALSO AFTER OPERATORS TO HELP OUT WITH THE MOUNT STUART KING OF THE HILL HILLCLIMB HAPPENING MARCH 28TH. IF YOU LIVE IN TOWNSVILLE, BOWEN, MACKAY OR ANYWHERE IN BETWEEN AND CAN HELP OUT THEN PLEASE CONTACT GAVIN VIA MOBILE PHONE 0427 182469 OR AT ONE OF THE NETS OR MEETINGS DURING THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. FINALLY, NEWS THAT NOT ONLY DO NORTHERN HAMS KNOW HOW TO KICK BACK AND RELAX THE CLAIRVIEW GATHERING wILL BE HAPPENING THIS MAY DURING THE LONG WEEKEND AT CLAIRVIEW BEACH HOLIDAY PARK BESIDE THE SEA. IT IS THE MAJOR SOCIAL EVENT BETWEEN THE MACKAY AND ROCKHAMPTON CLUBS AND THE SATURDAY NIGHT MONSTER AUCTION RAISES MUCH NEEDED FUNDS FOR BOTH CLUBS. PHONE THE HOLIDAY PARK ON 49560190 TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION AND PHONE DON VK4BY ON 49280065 TO FIND OUT MORE. CHECK YOUR DIARY AND IF YOU CAN HELP; PLEASE MAKE THE APPROPRIATE CONTACT RIGHT NOW. WELL, THAT'S ALL THE QNEWS FOR THIS SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY. THIS HAS BEEN DON VK4FNQA IN TROPICAL PARADISE FOR THE TOWNSVILLE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INC, AND YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO; AND ENJOYING QNEWS FROM VK4WIA.. VK7 local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Once there was Carnivale, then Festivale, now there’s Penguinale. The Penguin Lions Club in north-west Tasmania is holding a community fun day Sunday 7th of March at Hiscutt Park in Penguin. Celebrating the Penguin-ness of Penguin, there will be games for the kids, a ‘Penguin Performs’ talent quest, Penguinalia displays, Penguin Polish car and bike display, a model boat regatta, Devonshire teas, hot food and refreshments and ‘Penguins On The Air’ because Amateur Radio will be there. Winston VK7EM will be operating throughout the day portable from near the windmill beside the lake and frequently calling on 7090, 14190 and 28490 KHz. Operating times are from 2300 to 0500 UTC. Listen out and join in the fun. Club Archive Proposals It has been proposed to build an archive of NWT-ATV Group history, activity and involvement over the last 35 or so years since the North West ATV Group first became active early in the 1970's. Some of the activities were installation of the Solar Powered ATV Repeater on Mt. Duncan, The 1990 World Rowing championships and 2 subsequent National Rowing Championships, ATV at HamFests, through to some recent events such as The Marconi Centenary and the International Space Station communications with the Devonport High Schools in 2007. (Tony VK7AX, News Officer NWT-ATV Group) EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO www.hamcollege.com.au VK3 ARK's Academy will conduct a regulations course over the weekend of Sat 27th March and Sunday 28th March and the venue will be Wordware Pty Ltd Level 1, 321 Whitehorse Rd Nunawading. The course is FREE of charge. just e-mail vk3ark@wia.org.au The course will run 9:30am ---3pm on Saturday and 10am --2pm Sunday (John Fisher VK3DQ / VK3ARK) VK4 Living around the Gold Coast? If you would like to upgrade from Standard to Advanced then please contact Roy VK4IG by phone 5539-3530. He needs at least 10 participants to get the course underway. VK7 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 CCARC meeting and find out about this interesting hobby. If you cannot make a meeting but would like to find out more about the hobby then contact the learning facilitator, Keith Winkler VK7KW, or any of the committee members. Full contact details are available when you visit the club pages on wia.org.au (visit vk7 clubs and look for CCARC TASMANIA) INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. Wellington Amateur Radio Expo-10 The Combined Wellington Amateur Radio Expo Committee advises that the annual Wellington Region EXPO-10 is to be held on Saturday 27th March again at the Knox Church Hall, 574 High Street, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Doors open to the public at 10am. Admission is $4. This includes a free drink and entry into the various raffle draws. Listen out for the raffle draws throughout the day by MC ZL2BHF. Refreshments - coffee, sodas, buns and cakes will be available in the hall. Iceland's radio hams get access to 70 MHz and 500 KHz On February 19, Radio Amateurs in Iceland were granted temporary experimental access to the 70 MHz and 500 kHz bands. Licensees holding "N" and "G" class licences can apply to the Icelandic Post and Telecom Administration for a special permit for 70 MHz which is valid until December 31, 2010 and gives access to 70.000-70.200 MHz. Access is secondary with a 100 watt power limit and a maximum bandwidth of 16 kHz. Permits are also available for the 493-510 kHz band, only A1A is allowed with up to 100 watts. (Icelandic radíóamatörar (IRA) http://tinyurl.com/IcelandIRA) APOLLO EME 2010 Echoes of Apollo EME 2010 or World Moon Bounce Day, is scheduled for the weekend of April 16, 17, and 18. This year, EOA has been given a special opportunity to use the Arecibo Dish in Puerto Rico as the ultimate "big gun" station on 432 MHz SSB & CW. EME operation on 1296 MHz may also be possible. Arecibo has more than 50 dbi gain on 432 MHz so the team thinks it can be heard with modest equipment. Listeners with a unique opportunity to utilize modest UHF and 1296 stations to copy EME signals. A large OSCAR-class antenna array equipped station may be able to participate. (ARNewsLine) International Marconi Day The 23rd International Marconi Day will take place on 24th April. Although not a contest, awards can be obtained and full details can be found at www.gb4imd.org.uk. For a station to be counted towards an award by applicants, that station must be registered by contacting the webmaster by e-mail at webmaster@gb4imd.org.uk prior to the event with full details of the station. In order to qualify as an Award Station, operations should take place from a site that either used Marconi equipment prior to his death in 1937 or from which Marconi carried out experiments during the same period. (rsgb) MISSING PERSON: UK POLICE SEARCH FOR MISSING RADIO AMATEUR Police in the United Kingdom are in search of missing radio amateur. The Tamworth Herald reports that police are appealing for help in tracing 43 year old David Andrew Salisbury, M3FDZ, of Newton Regis who not been seen since Friday January 29. Salisbury, a married father of two disappeared unexpectedly and without a trace. He is described as a white male and around 5 foot 5 inches tall. He has what is described as striking straight white hair and was last seen wearing blue jeans, a gray T-shirt with the words 'Rock and Roll' in red, a blue hooded top and black cap with the letters 'NY' on the front in white lettering. M3FDZ is a member of Tamworth Amateur Radio Club which is also concerned about his welfare. More details and a photograph of David Salisbury, M3FDZ, can be found at www.thisistamworth.co.uk/news/Appeal-trace-missing-Tamworth-man/article-1823807-detail/article.htm (ARNEWSLINE) ============================================================================= WEIRD AND WONDERFUL Aviators have Morse code all tied up How? Well you might ask. Well it's a neck tie that has the code printed on it. Presumably pilots can check their tie if they're a bit rusty on the code and want to verify what beacon they're receiving. These beacons transmit a two to five letter callsigns at 5-words per minute. Lets hope that coffee stains do not obliterate too many dits and dahs. (VK2FJL) Remembering the unit men – Bell Hello I'm Jim Linton VK3PC with another in a series of brief looks at those who made discoveries and have their names as units of measurement. Scottish born Alexander Graham Bell is best known for the first practical telephone. A strong influence on him was that both his mother and wife were deaf, leading him into research on hearing and speech, engaging in the emerging art and science of elocution and being a teacher of the deaf. After reading a book about electromagnetism and electricity he was inspired, setting the scene for his later work on a speaking telegraph – the telephone. Bell moved to Quebec Canada with his family as a young man, but in 1871 he relocated to Boston to teach deaf children, and overturned the notion of the era in North America that people who could not hear had no place in normal society. Then he was appointed as professor of vocal physiology and elocution at the Boston University, while still maintaining his experimental telegraph work after hours. Apart from the telephone, he achieved breakthroughs later in life in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils and aeronautics. Bell was an advanced thinker. For example, in 1917 he wrote about the depletion of natural resources, and stated that the unchecked burning of fossil fuels would lead to a sort of greenhouse effect and global warming. The logarithmic measurement of sound has the international unit of the Bel, which is too large for practical use resulting one tenth of a Bel, or the Decibel, being commonly used. 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 RSBG 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 NERG's VK3CNE field station will be portable on Mt. Macedon for the John Moyle Memorial National Field Day Contest. Setup begins on Friday afternoon, with Contest runs Mid-day Saturday to Mid-day Sunday. This National Field Day covers all bands (except 10, 18 and 24 MHz) with emphasis on portable operation. Categories for single or multi-operator, home/portable, HF/VHF+/All bands. All Australian, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand amateurs may compete. Rules and last minute changes at: www.wia.org.au (Mark NERG NEWS editor, February 2010) SPECIAL EVENT CALLS, REPEATER 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 New D-Star repeater for the Geelong area. A new 70cm D-Star repeater has recently been established by Nik VK3BA in Geelong. The callsign of this repeater is VK3RNP-B. It has an output of 438.175MHz with a negative 5.4MHz offset. Whilst an internet gateway connection to this D-Star repeater hasn't yet been established, it is anticipated that this will completed in coming months. Nik VK3BA invites all D-Star operators travelling through the Geelong area to make use of this new repeater. Further information and updates can be acquired by visiting Nik's webpage www.qrz.com/callsign/vk3ba (Nik Presser VK3BA Geelong) Northern Ireland has its first D-STAR 'hot spot' - Belfast simplex node MB6NI. A hot spot provides access onto the D-Star network and MB6NI is located in Carrickfergus and was a project of GEARS to get more D-Star access in the Greater Belfast, Belfast Lough areas. The spot is run by Brian GI6DKQ and the plan is to try and get more amateur radio clubs or individuals to put up their own spot and create a hot spot network covering Northern Ireland. Special Event Stations The 75th anniversary of the Daventry Experiment by Sir Robert Watson Watt, which led to the birth of British Radar as his team at Bawdsey developed the vital Chain Home radar system for the RAF and many others is set to be marked by a trio of special event stations over the this weekend, 26th to 28th February. GB75BRS will be on the air from Bawdsey Manor on HF, 6m and VHF, operating CW, SSB and possibly some digital modes. GB75RDF and GB0RDF will be on the air from the ex-BBC masts at Daventry. GB75CH will be on the air from the Chain Home mast at Great Baddow (Details of these special events stations are available on qrz.com) 'G'day it's Felix vk4fuq and i must tell you all about a friendly afternoon 40 m net held on 7.098 MHz every afternoon starting at 0600 hrs utc or 4 pm local vk4 time. It's a small net where we discuss everything from technical stuff to the weather and everything in between, but especially technical discussion! We have regular participants from the Cairns, Ingham and Townsville areas as well as places further afield, and all Amateurs are welcome to call in and say g'day starting at 0600 hrs utc on 7.098 MHz every afternoon!' FIRST SOUTH AFRICA / REUNION 70 cm QSO Wednesday 10 February, Derek Gravett, ZS5Y, in Scottburgh and Phil Mondon, FR5DN, completed the first ever Reunion to South Africa QSO on 70 cm. over a distance of 2,655 km. The contact was made using JT65B. After that Derek and Phil made a SSB QSO as well with signal reports of 41 and 55. 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. AWARDS VK7 award The Tassie Devil Award is available for any amateur who meet the following requirements HF in Australia - 50 Contacts, in Oceania and Antarctica - 30 Contacts, in North America and Asia - 20 Contacts, Europe and South America - 10 Contacts and Africa - 7 Contacts. On VHF/UHF you need 20 VK7 stations with at least one contact made in each of the Southern, Northern and North Western regions. Repeaters may be utilised. On IRLP - contact with 30 VK7 stations. http://reast.asn.au/awards.php#devil WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video arvideonews.com hamradiotube.com youtube.com For the 8th consecutive year, Tom Medlin, W5KUB, and his crew of video enthusiasts will be webcasting the Dayton Hamvention. The live broadcast starts approximately 1300 UTC on May 13th and continue through May 17th over Tom's w5kub.com website. The webcast begins and ends in Tom's driveway in Cordova, Tennessee and includes the scenic trip from Cordova to Dayton. And as last year, Tom plans to give away prizes to some who tune in. The W5KUB.com website is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 52 weeks a year for you to enjoy. Tom invites everyone to drop by, spend a few minutes and say hello on-line. And for more about Tom and his live roving webcasts look at his profile on qrz.com. (ARNewsLine) 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) geencee@picknowl.com.au South East Queensland Ladies listen up! The Alara Luncheon is being held at the Boardwalk Tavern on Hope Island from 11.30am on Saturday 6th March 2010 and all Alara Members and OM’s are invited to attend. 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 The AMSAT-UK FUNcube CubeSat project is intended for launch into a Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It is designed to carry a 70cm to 2m linear transponder for SSB/CW along with a beacon carrying telemetry and data for educational demonstrations from space. It is expected to be completed by UK Autumn 2010. In addition to the satellite, the project includes the development of simple receivers and display software for use at schools. Inverting linear transponder: Uplink 435.080 – 435.060 MHz Downlink 145.960 – 145.980 MHz Beacon: 145.955 MHz CW and BPSK Further information on this exciting UK Amateur satellite project can be found on the FUNcube website. www.funcube.org.uk 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 2012 15TH IARU REGION 3 CONFERENCE hosted by V.A.R.C. in Ho-Chi-Minh City, Vietnam. JAN 23-FEB 17 YEAR 2012 World Radio Conference WRC-11 Geneva 23rd January TO 17th February 2012 MAY 4-7 2012 VK5 YL International 2012 Australia (vk5tmc@bigpond.com) 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. *********************************************************************