WIANEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING MAR 14 2010. This week presented by a group of VK6 Amateurs working out of their NewsWest studios, home of the local VK6 broadcast under VK6KAD ALL UP AND COMING IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING MAR 14 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 "Now for a review of the March edition of WIA's Amateur Radio magazine It has a fresh look cover-to-cover. Some of the feature articles include promoting amateur radio via a school radio club by Tim Roberts VK4YEH, The Wayatinah fire and WICEN Tasmania a report by Roger Nichols VK7ARN. Full details are provided of the WIA Centenary Convention program being held in Canberra the 28th to the 30th of May, including a booking form for intending participants. The WIA annual report and Part 2 in the serial history – the time when organised amateur radio was taking shape in Australia. Technical articles this month include: A quality audio test oscillator How to get more power from hand-held radio by paying attending to their antennas A 40m ground-less & tuner-less dipole Complete 8MHz IF system And in Foundation Corner Ross Pittard VK3CE provides Details on how to build a simple field strength meter. Plus regular columns on HF DX, the VHF/UHF Microwave bands, Shortwave Listening and more. The WIA journal Amateur Radio magazine is sent to WIA members and copies are also available at selected newsagents." ANZAC DAY EQUALS AM Before heading off around Australia with news from the various clubs, this in from VK4MIK Mike Patterson. Mike is part of a group in North Queensland working to get as many Australian and New Zealand amateurs on the AM mode on ANZAC Day afternoon as an amateur radio salute to the servicemen and women in the many conflicts. AM was used with CW as a means of communication during WW2,Korea,Malaysian and even early Vietnam. They have made contact with museum ships with a view to activating them and also have contacted the NZART. Already the Townsville Amateur Radio Club intends running its Sunday night net the 25th on AM and a North Queensland afternoon net, 7.093 will be AM, that at 4pm Australian Eastern Standard Time. (Email Address : vk4mike@yahoo.com.au) HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK2 web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news CARBOOT SALE AT THE SUMMERLAND CLUBROOMS, Sunday 28 March. 414 Richmond Hill Road, Richmond Hill, east of Lismore. Go along, bring, sell, buy anything, not just radio stuff, anything. Admission $5 per car boot or stand. Customers free. Canteen and BBQ eats will be available. SARC will also sell surplus and other goods. VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ VKC Roundup http://www.police Radio, Electronics & Astronomy Expo. Easter Weekend - Saturday, Sunday & Monday, 9 am - 4 pm. Old Fire Station, View Street Bendigo. View Street will come alive with radio waves and galaxies during the Easter weekend, as we celebrate 100 years of amateur radio in Australia, at the 'Radio, Electronics & Astronomy Expo'. See how grandpa listened to the radio in the 1920's, 30's and 40's, with an historical display of vintage radios and equipment. Try your hand at Morse Code and learn more about the history of communications. The oldest to the newest forms of technology will be demonstrated. Did you know that amateur radio operators can broadcast television pictures, communicate via satellites and even talk to astronauts? Find out how you can obtain your own radio licence! Amazing images of the night sky above Bendigo will be on display, taken with the City of Greater Bendigo Telescope. See the Sun during the day with a special solar telescope. And what do radio astronomers do besides searching for ET? The Expo is a joint project between the Midland Amateur Radio Club and Bendigo District Astronomical Society, with sponsorship from Bendigo Community Telco. The Radio, Electronics & Astronomy Expo, Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 9 am to 4 pm at the Old Fire Station, View Street Bendigo. A $2.00 donation would be appreciated, under 15 free. For more information, contact Ray Tampion on 5439 3506. GippsTech2010 call for papers Australia’s premier event for VHF/UHF, Microwave and weak signal activity will be held by the Eastern Zone Amateur Radio Club VK3BEZ on the 10th and 11th of July at Churchill in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. Potential presenters who have a topic that could be as brief at 5 to 10 minutes or up to an hour in length are now invited to submit the presentation title and content outline. Contact the Chair of the Organising Committee, Peter Freeman VK3PF email vk3pf@wia.org.au For more details about GippsTech2010 visit the website www.vk3bez.org 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/ You are listening to QNews from VK4WIA. I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP and I've been thinking - Over the past few weeks it has been great to hear the continuing input from a greater number of clubs to the "Q". This is a great way to publicise events and activities and let our listeners who aren't amateurs or radio club members know what is happening. Getting to know what people are thinking can be difficult in preparing a segment such as this. It is great to receive feedback, however indirect. I have been reminded that the real world is not so kind as the image which I present of our hobby. True - but experience has taught me to applaud the good behaviours and ignore the bad. (A bit like training a pet.) I was impressed by the Amateurs Code the first time that I read it, in a loaned ARRL handbook. The amateurs whom I met and the behaviour that I heard on air all seemed to confirm the validity of these aspirations. Some 50 years along the road, my own experience suggests that the Amateurs Code is still a great guide for our personal involvement in the hobby. Another suggestion has been floated to me that my comments could relate to a particular club or specific group of people. I'm sorry if anything has been taken that way but in keeping with the WIA broadcast guidelines, the comments are as non-specific and generic as language will permit in a 90 second segment. A couple of generations of experience backed with resources of the www are what I use to try and give a mildly thought provoking opening to QNews. If I have hit the nail on the head, for you, then that is what was intended. I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP and that's what I think.....how about you? 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, better known to most as the RADAR Club with a timely reminder that the next monthly meeting of the RADAR Club (and that’s this Wednesday) will be the Annual Meeting for 2010, so keep in mind Wednesday 17. If you haven’t already nominated yourself or somebody else for an executive position then it’s too late. Nominations had to be lodged 14 days prior to the event. But it’s not too late for you to attend the meeting and show your support for the club. An added incentive for you to attend is the expected attendance of Brian who is going to share his extensive knowledge of radio from the perspective of an ex radio inspector based in this area, and in addition to this, the usual supper, as supplied by Mary VK4PZ and husband Gordon VK4GM (those delicious ham sandwiches) will round off the evening. See you there. 73 Doug TOWNSVILLE vk4wit@wia.org.au 4773 1196 or 0408 001142 po box 333 Garbutt East, QLD 4814 www.tarc.org.au GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS! THIS IS DON VK4FNQA, WITH NEWS AND HAPPENINGS IN NORTH QUEENSLAND. I START THIS SEGMENT WITH SOME SADDENING NEWS NEXT WEEKEND THE JOHN MOYLE FIELD DAY WILL BE HAPPENING ACROSS AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA AND SO FAR ONLY THREE OPERATORS HAVE PUT UP THEIR HANDS TO OPERATE CLUB STATION VK4WIT FROM BLUEWATER SCOUT DEN. TARC CONTEST CO-ORDINATOR RICHARD VK4FRJG HAS ADVISED THAT IF THERE ARE NO MORE TAKERS FOR NEXT WEEKENDS EVENT HE WILL CANCEL OPERATIONS FROM BLUEWATER AND, IF TIME PERMITS, RUN PARTIAL OPERATIONS FROM HIS HOME STATION ONLY. SO, ALL THOSE TARCADIANS RUSTICATING AND GATHERING GIRTH OUT THERE - IT IS TIME TO ACT AND GET IN TOUCH WITH RICHARD RIGHT NOW - CALL HIM ON TELEPHONE 47752923 OR ON MOBILE 0400339543, FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR TO LET HIM KNOW YOU ARE GOING ALONG FOR AN OVERNIGHTER OR DAY SESSION. NEXT IS AN ITEM WHERE YOU CAN HELP MIKE GET ON HIS BIKE. THAT'S RIGHT, DASHING AERO-PARAMEDIC, AVID DX-ER AND ALL ROUND GOOD GUY MIKE VK4MSA IS CURRENTLY TRAINING FOR THE BIG W TOWNSVILLE TO CAIRNS CHARITY BIKE RIDE WHICH RAISES FUNDS FOR THE CHILDREN'S CANCER INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA. ONE OF THE RULES OF ENTRY IS THAT MIKE NEEDS TO RAISE AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS IN DONATIONS BEFORE HE CAN PARTICIPATE. SO, CAN YOU HELP OUT A FELLOW HAM WHO IS DOING SOMETHING GOOD? CONTACT MIKE VK4MSA NEXT TIME YOU HEAR HIM ON AIR OR WHEN HE IS NEXT SAVING YOUR LIFE IN A CAR WRECK AND LET HIM KNOW THAT YOU CAN SUPPORT HIM. CALLING ALL RADIO AMATEURS! DO SOMETHING SPECIAL ON ANZAC DAY TO COMMEMORATE THE FALLEN AND THOSE WHO HAVE LAID THEIR LIFE ON THE LINE FOR OUR COUNTRY, OUR FREEDOM. MIKE VK4MIK HAS SEEDED AN IDEA TO OPERATE ON AM OR CW THIS ANZAC DAY, USING THE VERY MODES OF MODULATION USED BY ANZACS DURING WORLD WAR TWO, THE KOREAN WAR, THE MALAYSIAN CONFLICT AND INSURRECTION AND THE EARLY PART OF THE VIETNAM WAR. SOME PARTICIPANTS OF REGULAR RADIO NETS INCLUDING THE 7093KHZ 0600UTC AFTERNOON NET AND THE NORTH QUEENSLAND NET WILL BE USING AMPLITUDE MODULATION ON ANZAC DAY AND THERE ARE MORE MILITARY MUSEUM AND NET STATIONS JOINING THE PARTICIPATION LIST. IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN OR FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS FINE ANZAC DAY EVENT THEN PLEASE CONTACT MIKE PATTERSON VK4MIK ON EMAIL VK4MIKE@YAHOO.COM.AU FINALLY, THE TARC SOCIAL EVENING IS HAPPENING THIS TUESDAY EVENING MARCH 16TH FROM 7-30PM AT THE CLUB ROOMS ATOP SES HEADQUARTERS IN GREEN STREET WEST END. COME ALONG AND LEND A HAND TO PUT THE MAGAZINE OF RENOWN, BACK-SCATTER TOGETHER AND SOCIALISE WITH FELLOW HAMS. EVERYONE WELCOME ! WELL, THAT'S ALL THE QNEWS FOR THIS SUNDAY 14TH MARCH.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 The Bottle Shop Net The Bottle Shop Net was formed in recognition of the large number of older valve radios still in use around Australia. The Bottle Shop Net is usually hosted by Gavin VK7VTX on Flinders Island and Barry VK3MBW in Lara, Victoria. It happens at 8.00 pm most week nights, on 3.59 MHz LSB Most amateurs know that a "bottle" in radio terms is a reference to the glass thermionic vacuum tubes that formed the basis of radios before the development of solid state devices. Valves are still in relatively common use today in high power amplifiers both HF and VHF. Older solid state radios are also welcome on the net and in order to be better fit in they are referred to as "stubbies" Everyone interested in firing up an older radio is more than welcome to join in the fun and chat and swap tales of the radios being used. There is a buy-swap-or-sell session before the 9.00pm close of the net. http://www.ntarc.net/nets.html (vk7news) EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO www.hamcollege.com.au VK2 SUMMERLAND Warwick from Bonalbo successfully completed his Foundation exam and David VK2FDEC completed Theory for Standard last weekend at Lismore Club Rooms. 17-18 Apr - is next Summerland Foundation Course & Exam. 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) 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 VK6 Get Radio Active. The Western Australian Scout Communications Team is conducting a 4 day camp at the Peter Hughes Scout Communication Centre from April 8-11 for Scouts of all ages. The aim of the camp is for participants to gain their Foundation Amateur Radio License. To enroll, contact me, Bob, vk6pop@wia.org.au VK7 Persons in the N/West Area of VK7 interested in Training and Assessments for all classes of Amateur Radio are advised that NWT-ATV Club can provide all these requirements and in addition provision of Facilitators via the Radio and Electronics School if candidates so desire. For more information regarding these facilities, please contact the Club's Learning Organizer Tony VK7AX , or the Club. Contact details can be found on the wia.org.au site under VK7 Clubs., (vk7news) Italian radio listeners' society AIR has awarded the prestigious 2010 Boselli prize to ARISS, the Amateur Radio in the International Space Station project. The award recognises how ARISS has shown the importance of radio communications to hundreds of young students in Europe and beyond. ARISS has spread the use of radio from the forefront of science in outer space to classrooms around the world. The prize will be delivered at the AIR AGM on 8 May in Faenza, Italy. (rsgb) INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. ARRL SEEKS INPUT FOR NEW IARU REGION 2 BAND PLAN The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- held later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to" -- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. At this year's conference, the IARU Member-Societies will consider possible changes to the Region 2 band plan. The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by inviting input to be sent to the ARRL Board of Directors' Band Planning Committee. The committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan, consider input from the amateur community and make recommendations to the ARRL Board for submission to IARU Region 2. FLORIDA MAN ELECTRICUTED INSTALLING ABNTENNA TO TALK TO HAITI A Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, man who was electrocuted on February 28th. This, while trying to install an antenna that authorities said would have been used to communicate with Haiti. Police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa said Mackenson Mareus died when he touched a live power line at a home in the 1100 block of Northwest 18th Court. Police said the antenna Mareus was helping install was intended to set up communication with Haiti. According to experts in South Florida that is something ham radio operators would be able to do with relative ease. But Mareus was not a radio amateur and according to his cousin Louikenson Arne he did not know what the antenna was for. Arne said that the 27 year old Mareus, was from Haiti and had lived in South Florida for less than three years. He ran an Internet-based radio station called Radio Tendresse, and the Web site boasted the frequency of 97.7 FM but was not on the air anywhere in the United States. According to the police report on the accident ham radio operators are supposed to be licensed with the Federal Communications Commission. However it was unclear who, if anyone, held a license to use the antenna and any radio gear connected to it at the time of the accident that took Mackenson Mareus life. (ARNewsLine) SONY TO CLOSE ALABAMA MAGNETIC TAPE PLANT Call it a true sign of the times. This with word that Sony Corporation plans to close its tape-manufacturing plant in Dothan, Alabama. This as the need for magnetic tape products dwindles to a trickle world-wide. As recently as five years ago most recording of video and audio was done to tape. But as magnetic disc drives, flash memory and electro-optical recording technology made rapid advances, the need for magnetic tape products quickly declined. Now it has finally reached a low where the demand for magnetic tape products like those produced at the Sony Dolthan, Alabama, plant has reached the point where keeping it open is no longer economical. According to Sony, operations at the plant will be phased out starting in April with the closure planned to be completed by September. The facility was opened in 1977. Termination of its operation will lead to the loss of 300 jobs. (ARNewsLine) 'Windermere Triangle' mystery solved A mystery dubbed the Windermere Triangle has finally been solved, according to a Daily Mirror story reported by Southgate Club. For more than a year, drivers in the UK Lake District town found their electric key fobs would not work. Locals thought there might be a paranormal cause. But an engineer sent to probe the "ghostly" goings-on discovered fob signals were being jammed by a café till using the same frequency. HAM HERO VU2RBI TO MEET WITH UK ROYAL FAMILY One of the worlds most decorated hams has been invited to meet with the British Royal Family. Steve Herman, W7VOA, of Amateur Radio Newsline says VU2RBI, Bharathi Prasad, was invited to speak at the Commonwealth Day Observance in London in March 8th in the presence of HM The Queen, HRH Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and all Commonwealth High Commissioners. Bharathi was part of the 2004 Andaman DXpedition team that won the ARRL's 2005 International Humanitarian Award. The December 2004 earthquake and resulting tsunami swiftly shifted the role of the DX operation into an emergency communication link with India's mainland. You may recall VU2RBI visited Brisbane last October and was keen to speak with clubs yet, despite asking several weeks on the news not one club ever did contact us to avail themselves of the opportunity or let the newsroom they were interested, so from vk4 it's to "Buck Palace" instead! BATTERIES MAY BE BANNED FROM CHECKED AIRLINE BAGGAGE Travelling by air with spare Lithium Ion batteries for your H-T could soon become impossible. This as Computer World reports that the United States Department of Transportation may prohibit the transport of all spare batteries in checked luggage, regardless of their physical size or capacity. ============================================================================= WEIRD AND WONDERFUL CHILE QUAKE MAY HAVE SHORTENED THE DAYS Scientists at NASA say that the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday, February 27th may have shifted Earth's axis and created shorter days. If their preliminary calculations are correct each day should be 1.26 microseconds shorter/ According to Science On-Line, large earthquakes cause massive amounts of rock to shift and alters the distribution of mass on the planet. That distribution change causes the rate at which the planet rotates to alter and it is the rate of rotation rate determines the length of a day. Richard Gross is a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He used computer modelling to determine how the magnitude 8.8 quake that struck Chile may have affected Earth. He found that the quake should have moved Earth's figure axis about 8 centimetres. That shift in axis is what may have lead to the minutely shortened days. (ARNewsLine) OPERATIONAL NEWS - SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2010 Mar 13-14 RSBG THIS WEEKEND SEES THE 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 Aug 21-22 International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. register on website illw.net 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 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 In DX, we start with word from ARRL Awards Branch Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, , that the 3V3S operation from Tunisia and the D2CQ operation in Angola have been approved for DXCC credit. The 3V3S operation took place in 2009 while D2CQ is ongoing. On the air now is G3LZQ active as 3B9WR from Rodrigues Island through April 2nd. His operation is on all bands 160 to 10 meters, mainly CW, but with a focus on the 160 through 40. Also look for him to be in the RSGB's 73rd Commonwealth Contest (This weekend March 13-14th). QSL via his home callsign. HF beacon back on air The Radio Society of Sri Lanka (RSSL) has reinstalled its propagation beacon Four-Sierra_Seven_Bravo (4S7B). It is part of the network of 18 HF beacons that were begun by the Northern California DX Foundation and supported by International Amateur Radio Union. The frequencies used are 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24.930, and 28.200 MHz. Each beacon operates on the same frequency on a time-shared basis, transmitting every three minutes 24 hours a day. Their callsign is sent in Morse code at 22 words per minute followed by four one-second dashes. The callsign and the fist dash are at 100 watts, the remaining dashes are sent at 10 watts, 1 watt and 100 milliwatts. (Jim Linton VK3PC) St. Patrick's Day Special Event Station. The Foyle and District ARC, situated 5 miles south of Derry, has been allocated the callsign GB5SPD to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The callsign will be used over several days, from March 15th until March 17th. A special QSL card has been printed for the occasion and reports from SWL’s will also be most welcome. (irts) And lastly, DF7ZS, will be on the air from Madeira Island signing portable CT9. This. between March 24th and the 31st. Activity will be holiday style and will focus on the WARC bands. QSL via DF7ZS. To which we can only add the line: "Have some Madiera my dear." OK. Bad joke unless you know the music of the Limelighters’. (arnewsline) 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 NEW DRM DISCO STATION ON SHORTWAVE If you think that shortwave is a dead medium for entertainment then you may be surprised to learn about a Miami-based disco music station can now be heard across North America and Europe. The Disco Palace is using Digital Radio Mondiale or D-R-M technology to broadcast high-quality music programs on shortwave. 17.755 MHz from French Guiana. 6.015 MHz from France. (ARNewsLine) INTRUDER WATCH - ENFORCEMENT ZONE Region III IARUMS Coordinator Peter Young VK3MV VK IARUMS reflector email to subscribe intruders@wia.org.au 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 29.700 450 MHZ INTERFERENCE NAILS METRO TRAFFIC IN SAN DIEGO ARNewsLine's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, says Metro Traffic's voice repeater in San Diego was jammed recently by a large number of simplex hand-held radios that were pressed into service by the near-by La Mesa-Spring Valley School District. The radios were reportedly programmed to transmit on 455.500 MHz and sold to the School District by an equipment dealer that told the district not to worry about licensing. 455.500 MHz is Metro's licensed repeater input frequency and the resulting interference that jammed Metro's helicopter communications. N6OEI used his direction finding skills garnered from his amateur radio training to track down the source of the interference: NZ Intruder Watch The Monitoring Service Coordinator has recently sought the approval of the NZART Council and the National System Trustees to use the National System e.g. 439.875 MHz periodically to encourage more participation in monitoring the HF bands to report intruders throughout New Zealand. Voluntary observers may briefly be requesting confirmation of an intruding signal to verify the strength and direction for confirmation or to alert others to a potential intruder, which is being verified. (73 John ZL1GWE MS Coordinator) Poor operating a cause of concern Participants in the SARL President's Net a few Sunday's ago voiced their concern over poor operating procedures and the use of inappropriate language on the South African airwaves. While these unacceptable practices are carried out by a small number of radio amateurs, it tarnishes the image of the hobby. The use of inappropriate language on the air is a serious offence and can lead to cancellation of the culprit's license. These and several other operational issues will be discussed when the South African Radio League (SARL) Council meets in early this March. 20m ROS frequencies are moved José Ros, the originator of the new amateur radio data mode ROS, has agreed to move the suggested 20m frequencies for ROS to 14.0972MHz and 14.102MHz taking them further away from the 14.100MHz international beacon chain frequency as the originals had been 14.098MHz and 14.1011MHz. You can find out more about ROS at http://rosmodem.wordpress.com and more about the International Beacon Project at http://www.ncdxf.org/beacons.html MEDIA WATCH www.wiaq.com/admin/uploads/weeklytally.rtf www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html Groups presenting this WIA National News Service MAR VK6 14 NEWSWEST MAR VK3 28 VK3DN APR VK3 4 VK3DN APR VK3 11 VK3DN APR VK7 25 REAST (ANZAC Weekend) MAY VK1 23 CRARC (promoting CRARC and WIA AGM) MAY VK100WIA 30 WIA DIRECTORS JOIN A LIVE OB FROM CANBERRA WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video arvideonews.com hamradiotube.com youtube.com Ham radio movie - 'Interference' Interference is a short movie about a ham radio operator who picks up an anomalous radio transmission and stumbles upon an international drug ring. The YouTube description says: Interference is about John Upton, a ham radio operator, who picks up anomalous radio transmission. He sets out to discover the source of the transmission through triangulation of the signal, and inadvertently stumbles upon an international drug ring. Watch the rest of Interference to see how Mr. Upton extricates himself from the thugs and finds love in the process. Google Ham radio Film "Interference" 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 The latest High Speed Telegraphy Honour Roll has been published with three amateurs, LZ4UU, DJ1YFK and EW8VK, achieving an amazing 1231 characters per minute. For full details check out www.rufzxp.net 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 AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE: A CLOSE ENCOUNTER FOR AMSAT-OSCAR 51 March 1, the AMSAT-OSCAR 51 (AO-51) satellite had a potentially dangerous encounter with another spacecraft known as Formosat 3D. OSCAR 51 is a popular Amateur Radio satellite that often functions as a crossband FM repeater, relaying brief conversations over hundreds of miles. Formosat 3D is part of a constellation of six remote sensing microsatellites that collect atmospheric data for weather prediction and for ionosphere, climate and gravity research. Both orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 miles. Read more here www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/03/11373/?nc=1 SCOTLAND ON ALL THE HAMSATS Scotland is going to the birds, at least figuratively speaking. This as 2E1EUB will once again be active as 2M1EUB from March 20th to the 27th operating every ham radio satellite that he can reach from the Cairngorms National Park. Also, look for him on 160 and 80 meters. Checkout QRZ.com under 2M1EUB for more information on this high in the sky operating event. INDIA A radar experiment aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft has identified large deposits of water ice near the Moon's north pole in more than 40 small craters containing water ice. These findings have just been presented at a US planetary science conference. The craters with ice range from 15km down to 2km in diameter. A Dr. Spudis, from the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, estimated there was at least 600 million metric tonnes of water ice held within them, The equivalent amount, expressed as rocket fuel, would be enough to launch one space shuttle per day for 2,200 years! WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP --- MILITARY RSGB say that the Royal Signals Amateur Radio Society has made a number of its technical documents available for download. Included in the collection are a number of very interesting HF antenna designs and related projects. http://www.rsars.org.uk/ELIBRARY/docsants.htm. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO EMERGENCY FREQUENCIES IARU REGION 3 3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz Handiham World reports that Matthew Arthur, KA0PQW, of Minnesota, has been selected to receive a President's Volunteer Service Award. Arthur is being recognized for his work with the Community Emergency Response Team in Steele County, Minnesota. That’s where he volunteered and handled communications during a flood in 2007. According to Handiham World, this was a nine hour non-stop stint that lasted until the National Guard could relieve him. During that time he handled traffic into and out of the flood zone, passing messages to authorities in the city of Winona. (ARNewsLine) THE LOWDOWN COLUMN INCLUDING PRECISION BEACON TRANSMISSIONS BEACONS www.qsl.net/zl1bpu/micro/Precision And you can't get much lower than this, 8 kHz. Yes a new VLF DX record has been established, 12.1km on 8.97kHz Marcus DF6NM has been able to receive his test transmissions on 8.97kHz at a distance of 12.1km, currently a record. The ERP was about 1.3uW using a relatively small antenna with 1.4 Henry loading coil. The transmitter was a 35W car-radio audio amplifier and the receiver used a 6m long antenna with the SpecLab software. See the picture of the signal at http://www.mydarc.de/df6nm/vlf/vlf_12km.jpg SpecLab download http://www.speclab.be/download.html Amateur Radio below 10kHz http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lapthorn/earthmode.htm DF6NM - LF Amateur Radio http://freenet-homepage.de/df6nm/ (southgate) NZ Amateurs Granted Access to 600 metre Band Following submissions from NZ Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART), the group that represents NZ amateur radio operators, the NZ Government has agreed to grant NZ Amateurs temporary access to a slice of the 600 metre spectrum. From 1 March, NZ Amateurs now have access to a new band, 505 to 515 kHz on a temporary basis pending an international allocation to radio amateurs. Requirements of the licence include a maximum radiated power of 25 watts eirp maximum bandwidth of 200 Hz, and the requirement not to interfere with other services licensed to use that band. Historically, this part of the radio spectrum was used for maritime communications in Morse Code until satellite communications recently made the technology obsolete. Morse Code was a capability required by radio officers on ships travelling internationally up until the late 20th century. The licence amendment will make it possible for amateur radio operators involved in restoration of historical radio equipment, for example at the Coast Station at Musick Point in Auckland, to test un-modulated transmission (carrier wave) signals from the equipment and demonstrate their Morse Code skills. (irts/southgate) REWIND - A LOOK BACK IN HISTORY "Rewind a look back at our history through the serialised written history by WIA Centenary Committee member Peter Wolfenden VK3RV with assistance of others that is being published in the WIA journal Amateur Radio magazine. Experimenters get organised On 11 March, 1910 a meeting of like-minded people in the Hotel Australia, Martin Place, Sydney, formed the Institute of Wireless Telegraphy of Australia, and soon after dropped the word 'telegraphy' from its name. Chairman of the founding meeting, George Taylor, proposed "the formation of an institution amongst experimenters and enthusiasts in wireless for their mutual benefit." It was also to create a voice with the authorities over the level of licence fee charged and to seek better treatment of experimenters in terms of alleged interference complaints from other spectrum users. A similar organisation was formed in Melbourne - the Amateur Wireless Society of Victoria, on 30 November 1911 at a meeting attended by 50 enthusiasts to form a Society so as to bring together all gentlemen who are interested in Wireless Telegraphy and by the exchange of views to encourage and assist experiment in this extremely interesting branch of science.. In 1913 it changed its name to the Wireless Institute of Victoria, and then became the Wireless Institute of Australia, Victorian Division with evidence of collaboration between New South Wales and Victoria, and around the nation. Then followed The Wireless Institute of Queensland 1912, the West Australian Radio Club 1913 that ultimately in 1919 became the Wireless Institute of Australia, Western Australia Section. Experimenters in South Australia formed a branch of the WIA in November 1919, and although there was experimental activity in Hobart prior to 1901, the Tasmanian Division of the WIA was not formed until June 1923. Clubs generally came later and there were many of them! Most were made up of young men and teenagers, and were built around the new interest of broadcast listening." SOCIAL SCENE 2010 THIS WEEKEND 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 NEXT WEEKEND MARCH 21 VK7 MEET THE VOICE BBQ at Ross in VK7 APRIL 3-4-5 VK3 Midland Amateur Radio Club's Radio, Electronic & Astronomy Expo. Old Fire Station Building" at 52 View Street Bendigo 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) ============================================================================= 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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