----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 JUNE 6 2010. WIA Centenary Update D-STAR CANBERRA VK4 - QNEWS HIGHLIGHTS FROM WIA AGM WEEKEND BROADCAST. ACMA Cancels Amateur Licence KEEP ON TRUCKIN' VK Shires second running is on next weekend. 70 centimetre repeater of City Of Brisbane Radio Society QRT ALL UP AND COMING IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING JUN 06 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Owen VK3KI President of our Wireless Institute of Australia has executed a contract to purchase the premises it is presently renting at Unit 20, 11 - 13 Havelock Road, Bayswater. Use of the premises for 18 months has satisfied the Directors that they meet the WIA's needs. The Directors are considering calling the premises Andersson House, in honour of Henry Andersson VK8HA. Henry was an Honorary Life Member of the WIA, the first national WIA Intruder Watch Coordinator, and ran the VK8 QSL Bureau for 38 years. Henry Andersson passed away on 6 October 2004. His will left his house and land at Humpty Doo, near Darwin to the WIA. That generous bequest provided much of the funds necessary to acquire the premises at Bayswater. WIA Centenary Update For the full year being January through December 2010 and with the help of it's members, the WIA is celebrating the Centenary of organised Amateur Radio in Australia. The year long celebration, with the centre point this weekends 100th WIA AGM in the nations capital is in recognition of the foundation of the WIA and the very start of organised amateur radio in Australia during 1910. 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." A range of initiatives and activities happening in 2010 provide an opportunity for every VK/AX radio amateur to be involved in what is already a memorable celebration. Special event callsign VK100WIA is very popular. Want to know more? Full details are available on wia.org.au under the 'WIA Centenary Celebrations' section. It contains a lot of information including activities. The first activity this year was the VK9NA 2010 - VHF/UHF/Microwave DXpedition to Norfolk Island in January. A team of experienced VK amateurs operated bands from 6 metres to 10GHz. This was the first time such an expedition has been mounted on these bands from VK9 Norfolk Island. For more info, log on to: www.vk9na.com Valentines Day saw the Centre Victoria RadioFest at Kyneton VK3. A Radio, Astronomy and Electronics Expo was held in April organised by the Midland Amateur Radio Club and held in the Old Bendigo Fire Station. This drew lots of non amateurs and showed of our hobby as well as that of Astronomy. A Re-enactment of the first wireless press message received from Britain in Australia is set to occur June 16-18. The Gippsland Gate Radio and Electronics Club will re-enact this historical wireless milestone that occurred in 1921 at Koo-wee-rup south-east of Melbourne. More information about activities to be held by WIA affiliated clubs will appear as they are announced again when you visit wia.org.au The WIA annual general meeting and activities program in Canberra last weekend was a real eye opener! Astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson KF5DBF talked to the WIA Centenary Dinner in Canberra. The weekly Sunday morning VK1WIA broadcast hosted by your's truly Graham VK4BB was transmitted live from the venue. A highlight was the trip to Dick Smiths old time flying school, and giant Toy shed!! D-STAR CANBERRA Icom Australia kindly donated a new D-Star repeater to the WIA for installation in the Canberra area. This is a donation to the WIA from Icom to celebrate 100 Years of the WIA. The announcement of this donation was made by Takashi Aoki, Manager of Icom Australia at the official WIA Centenary dinner on Saturday night. The Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club will be the WIA D-Star Club responsible for the installation and operations of repeater on behalf of the WIA. The repeater will be operational on 2mtrs (Port C) and have the callsign of VK1RWN. The timeframe for the installation and operations of the VK1RWN repeater is yet to be determined. Thank you to Icom Australia for this generous donation PUBLIC TRANSPORT CANBERRA STYLE Thank you to Gil VK1GH, Brendan VK1HAX and Alan VK1WX for assisting the WIA transport the international guests to and from the airport. VK100WIA LIVE IN CANBERRA Although only had only simple antennas and band conditions were not with us we achieved a credible result, close to 300 contact over three days. Most of the contacts on HF were on 40M however there were some on 80m and 20M, as well as contacts via our repeaters we had numerous contacts on DSTAR including the Netherlands and the USA The equipment used was loaned by ICOM Australia, the HF Transceiver an IC7600 was popular with the users and all who used it wanted to take it home, however we could not work out a method to smuggle it out with out it being missed. As the station manager I would like to say a big thank you to the following volunteers who manned the station Peter VK1NPW, Peter VK1PE ,John VK1CJ, Deane VK1DW, Dale VK1DSH, Ian VK1PE, Bill VK1WPR, VK1IAN, Brendan VK1HAX, Nick VK1NK, ED VK1EJ and Michael. VK1XYZ. VK1MA Matt and VK2NSS Steve also volunteered. Because of the cancellation of the outdoor event the station was used for the live broadcast unfortunately they were unable to operate the station for their time slots. (Alan VK1WX) All in all a great weekend, a great year, 2010 the year the Wireless Institute of Australia turns 100. Lets do a quick whip around VK with Justin VK7TW then a few highlights again from last weekends 100th AGM broadcast presented by WIA Directors. HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK1 vk1 local news email broadcast@vk1.wia.ampr.org and ask for subscription. At the WIA Centenary dinner C.R.A.R.C. was presented with a 2m Digital Voice repeater and Controller. President of CRARC, Peter VK1NPW would like to thank ICOM and the WIA for this generous gift. VK2 web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news St George Amateur Radio Society - Coming Events July 2010 Meeting - Radio Direction Finding Technical Presentation by John Thyrd VK2BBC, on VHF radio direction finding by technical staff within the aviation industry. Foundation Licence Training and Assessment - Entry into amateur radio. If you know of anyone who would like to obtain there foundation licence, SAGSS will be holding a training and assessment course over a weekend towards the end of June (date to be confirmed). Contact SAGGS just Google them or look up St George AR Society on the wia.org.au club page Next weekend is the Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Inc 35th annual field day at Port Macquarie on Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of June 2010. Full details are available on the club's website at http://www.orarc.org Special guest is WIA president Michael Owen VK3KI who will be very pleased to see you at the WIA stand. (Henry Lundell VK2ZHE President, Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Inc.) VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ VKC Roundup http://www.police "Celebrating 100 years of the WIA on Sunday 30th May ARK's Academy students sat upgrade exams, all students decided they wanted to go straight to Advanced with the results that five passed , two missed out by a single question and one by two questions (these three will be having another try in the next few days) Arks courses are an intensive self help system that run over five weeks and are proven to work, all courses are free of charge Expressions of interest are now open for those who would like to attend Ark's academy's next upgrade course to be held in Nunawading (Melbourne) a little later in the year. The courses are limited to ten candidates so booking is required. Please e-mail vk3ark@wia.org.au to reserve your place in the next course" (John Fisher VK3DQ / VK3ARK) VK4 - QNEWS Welcome to QNews from VK4WIA. I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP and I'm applauding 100 yrs of growth. Last weekend, as we have heard, marks the centenary of organised amateur radio in the land down under. With technology tours, ARISS contact and formal recognition of the history by the WIA at its Canberra meeting, we all have been privileged to participate in something both historic and ceremonial. Live broadcasts are taken for granted these days, in a news hungry world, but we don't often have the pleasure of such an activity on the amateur bands. The fact that the radio amateur participates in a practice which incorporates so much in the wide, wide world from radio astronomy and space communications to the comfort of the musical and broadcast programs we have in our homes and with which we travel, seems to take us from vicarious pleasure to the sense of participation and immediacy that few other hobbies can. To all those people who have made the effort to promote this first 100 years of the hobby, I say thank you. As the year goes on and the voices of VK100WIA move around the country, let us all reflect and enjoy this year; this is the year for amateur radio in VKland, for all amateurs. In remembering the past we must now ask "where to in the future?" Yes last week the cold of the national capital was offset in shacks around the country by the live broadcast of WIA National News. Good work and thanks to all involved from the crew on the ground, in Canberra, to the re-broadcasters who got the audio to air. Recently I was lucky enough to be given some old magazines by a fellow amateur who is having a shack clean-up. One which caught the eye was the December, 1985 Amateur Radio. Jumping out of the pages was a 2 page photo spread of the WIA 75th Anniversary Dinner, in Melbourne. Many of the faces and call signs were familiar but the last time I saw these same people they had redecorated themselves and lighter coloured thatch on the roof seems more popular now. After the news broadcast it was off to a local radio club meeting. In the anniversary year there seems to be a cluster of activities over the next few months, not the least will be the operation of VK100WIA. Plans are afoot to get the message out about these activities so I expect to hear more on QNews. I hope you and your club can continue with scripts and audio and we all can share your activities on the "Q". I'm Geoff Emery and that's what I think.....how about you? CLUBBING - GOLD COAST AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY http://www.goldcoastamateurradio.com IRLP Node 6702 There will be a Annual General Meeting at the Club Rooms 85 Harper St., Nerang at 10.am on Saturday 19th June. Look for as many members as possible to attend this meeting. (Kaye VK4VKS) Ipswich and District Radio Club Allan VK4FABR on behalf of Ipswich and District Radio Club president Mike VK4QS, members and friends. We invite you to come and join some interclub radio fellowship at the "interclub BBQ & boot sale" Today Sunday June 6 from 10.30am. We'll have a BBQ sausage sizzle, BYO steak if you like. The venue is our clubhouse 10 Deebing Street, Ipswich Come and enjoy a great day on June 6th. Bring whatever radio gear you have for sale. The car boot sale will be in the car park next door to the club. We are also hoping to have a fox hunt on the day. For more information visit the club website www.ipswichdistrictradioclub.webnode.com RSVP by May 30 to empire1915@optusnet.com.au or phone Mike VK4QS - 07 3282 9539 Redcliffe and District Radio Club I'm Ray VK4CF with news from the Redcliffe AR Club. At last Monday night's meeting, Peter VK4EA presented a slide presentation on the new repeaters cavities & set-up of the equipment at the repeater site. Despite local cleaning around the site for the elimination of weeds and grass, all the work on the upgrade of the club's repeater is now been completed. Club Secretary, Peter, VK4TAA, advised the meeting of the club's AGM to be held at the club rooms on Monday 21st June. Nominations forms for elected positions can be obtained directly from Peter via the club's website. Next Monday will be the visit to the Brisbane airport traffic control tower. Those going are asked to meet at the club car park at 6pm - 6.15pm and a car pool will operate to take members to the venue. There are still several spots open for the air traffic control visit so contact Scotty, VK4FLAE or Charlie VK4YZ know if you will be going. The 3rd Monday of each month is a technical talk held at the club rooms. In June the tech talk night will be the 2nd Monday 14/6/10, due to AGM and James, VK4TJF will present Amateur DXing, DXpeditions and QSL cards. Later in the year in August, Kevin VK4UH will discuss the DX Expedition to Norfolk Island and in September, Peter VK4TGV will discuss the Codan NGT radio and modems. VK100WIA - 100 years of amateur radio. Kev VK4UH will be leading the club's hosting of the event on 30 August to 1 September 2010. Peter VK4HOY, will hold a BBQ for the Club Monday 7th June starting 6pm at the club, followed by the usual club meeting. There will be rissoles, salad, buns Tea, coffee & soft drinks etc. This is a fund raising exercise for the club & proceeds will go direct to the club for equipment purchases. A suggested $5 for food plus usual club drink prices will apply. Please let Peter, VK4TAA, know by email if you are attending for the catering. A working bee will be held at the club on Monday 14th June starting at 9am at the club. It is planned to relocate the mast, re-install the triband antenna & a series of new roof mounted antennas. The club will also conduct its yearly spring clean. This a large commitment so many hands are needed on deck to help. There will be the usual free sausage sizzle for the workers. So until next week, for Redcliffe club, I'm Ray VK4CF. TOWNSVILLE vk4wit@wia.org.au 4773 1196 or 0408 001142 po box 333 Garbutt East, QLD 4814 www.tarc.org.au GREETINGS ! THIS IS DON VK4FNQA IN CARDWELL MODE, WITH NEWS FROM WONDERFUL WINTER WEATHER NORTH QUEENSLAND ! THE TARC INC WILL BE HOLDING THE PROJECT NIGHT THIS TUESDAY EVENING FROM 7-30PM AT THE CLUB STATION. EVERYBODY WELCOME TO COME ALONG AND HELP BUILD, FIX OR DISMANTLE SOMETHING ! THE TWENTY SEVENTH FAR NORTH AND NORTH QUEENSLAND AMATEUR RADIO GATHERING IS HAPPENING THIS COMING WEEKEND AT CARDWELL. APART FROM LOTS OF SERIOUS LOAFING AND SOCIALISING THAT WILL BE HAPPENING AT THE CARDWELL VILLAGE BEACHCOMBER MOTEL AND TOURIST PARK A FEW SCHEDULED EVENTS WILL ALSO TAKE PLACE. BE PART OF A GUIDED TOUR OF THE CARDWELL TELEGRAPHIC MUSEUM FROM 10AM SATURDAY. VOLUNTEERS WILL SHOW YOU INTRICATE DETAIL OF THE DISPLAYS AND WILL ALSO BE PROVIDING TEA AND BIKKIES. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TRY AND WIN YOUR FORTUNE - OR GET RID OF ALL THAT PESKY SMALL CHANGE WITH THE 25 AND 50 CLUBS THAT WENDY AND RAY VK4NET WILL BE RUNNING FROM COMFY CHAIRS. YOU WILL HAVE A TONNE OF FUNNE AND EXERCISE THE BRAIN CELLS AT THE FAMOUS TREC TRIVIA CHALLENGE AS QUIZ MASTER DALE VK4DMC CONDUCTS A SATURDAY EVENING OF MIRTH AND FACTS YOU WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO OBTAIN VK100WIA COMMEMORATIVE PLATES AND MUGS THAT CHERYL VK4FRYL WILL HAVE ON DISPLAY AND WILL BE SELLING FOR A SHORT WHILE DURING THE WEEKEND EVERYBODY LOVES A "CAR BOOT" SALE....... THE CAR BOOT SALE WILL BE HAPPENING DURING THE WEEKEND WITH ITEMS FOR SALE NOT ONLY RADIO IN ORIGIN. THATS RIGHT YLS AND XYLS, ITS A CHANCE TO DECLUTTER THE ENTIRE QTH, NOT JUST THE RADIO SHACK. FILL YOUR CARD BOOT WITH AS MUCH STUFF AS YOU CAN, AS DEMAND IS SURE TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY VORACIOUS ! YOU WILL GET TO DEFEND THE HONOUR OF YOUR REGION, OR HAVE HEAPS OF GIGGLES AT SOME OF THE ANTICS THAT HAPPEN AT THE TRADITIONAL NORTH QUEENSLAND VERSUS FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND SUNDAY CRICKET MATCH - THEN TEAM UP WITH EVERYONE FOR THE CLASSIC GROUP PHOTO SESSION. THERE WILL BE SOME AMATEUR RADIO DIRECTION FINDING HAPPENING WITH TARCS WORLD GRADE RADIOSPORT FOXES HIDDEN IN CUNNING PLACES. BRING YOUR ARDF GEAR ALONG AND HAVE SOME FUN IN THE RESORT FINDING THOSE WILY FOXES ! PUT UP AN AERIAL AND ACTIVATE THE CASSOWARY COAST REGION FOR THE VK SHIRES CONTEST. IF YOU HAVENT ALREADY DONE SO, AND YOU ARE LEAVING IT EXTREMELY LATE, GET CRACKING AND ARRANGE YOUR ACCOMMODATION AS IT IS ALL RUNNING OUT FAST. REMEMBER IT IS ALL HAPPENING FROM FRIDAY 11TH TO MONDAY 14TH JUNE. RING RECEPTION AT THE PARK RIGHT NOW ON 1800 005633 SO, WHILE YOU ARE ON THE PHONE TRYING TO MAKE THAT BOOKING I WILL BRING THIS EDITION OF QNEWS FOR THIS SUNDAY SIXTH OF JUNE TO A CLOSE. THIS HAS BEEN DON VK4FNQA IN A RATHER COOLISH TROPICAL PARADISE FOR THE TOWNSVILLE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INC, AND YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO, AND ENJOYING QNEWS FROM VK4WIA.. VK5 The south east radio group are having their annual convention on Saturday the 12 and Sunday the 13 of June at the Margret street scout hall behind the mount Gambier police station. This year, a few changes. The scout hall will now open at 12 noon on the Saturday and the first fox hunting event starts at 11am on Saturday. Canteen is open with hot food and drinks, commercial displays, the popular home brew contest, preloved equipment and lucky door prizes from Icom and Yaesu. Go along and see serg celebrate the wia centenary with the call sign VK100WIA. For more information or to book a table look at the web site. To get there just Google serg that's s.e.r.g. and follow the links to the convention pages. VK7 local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Licence Examinations Reg VK7KK lets us know that the recent exam session sees congratulations for Roger Cripps who passed his Foundation Licence assessment. We look forward to hearing Roger on the air in the near future. If you are interested in sitting an exam then contact Reg VK7KK on 0417 391 607, or email on regemm@ozemail.com.au (73, Reg VK7KK, REAST Education Officer and Assessor) 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 HIGHLIGHTS FROM WIA AGM WEEKEND BROADCAST. WIA Club Grants Scheme Ewan: Hello GraHam and greetings to our listeners on this special day in the history of the WIA and Amateur Radio in Australia. GraHam: Ewan, I understand you have something to say about the WIA Club Grants Scheme? Ewan: Once again the WIA is requesting Amateur Radio Clubs and Groups submit applications for the ever popular Club Grants Scheme. Friday 30th July is the closing date for applications for the WIA Club Grants Scheme for 2010. Full details of the 2010 rules for the scheme can be obtained from the WIA Web site, together with a template setting out the suggested application headings for an executive summary, identifying how the club seeks to meet the objectives of the scheme and guidance regarding supporting documentation. GraHam: What is the objective of the scheme? Ewan: The objective of the scheme is to promote and advance amateur radio, the WIA and its Affiliated Clubs by supporting useful and/or innovative projects undertaken or to be undertaken by Affiliated Clubs. GraHam: So how are the applications received by the cut-off on 30th July this year assessed? Ewan: The Club Grants Committee, comprising well known and respected amateurs, will recommend to the Board the projects that should be supported and the amount to be allocated to each supported project. However, the final decisions rest with the WIA Board. Affiliated clubs are encouraged to participate in this opportunity and not be discouraged by past unsuccessful proposals. However, GraHam, it is most important that clubs read the rules very carefully. WIA SECRETRARY GEOFF ATKINSON VK3AFA This is Geoff Atkinson VK3AFA WIA Secretary with news from the WIA Bookshop. The bookshop operates from the WIA offices in Bayswater, providing direct sales to members who attend the office as well as servicing on line and mail order requests. We carry a broad range of ARRL and RSGB publications, along with the Foundation Licence Manual, Radio Theory Handbook by Fred Swainston, Drew Diamonds Technical Projects and the annual Callbook. We also have a range of merchandise featuring both WIA regular and WIA centenary logos. Polos, Vests, shirts, Jackets, caps and bucket hats. All of which can be viewed on the WIA website. Now let me introduce Mal Brooks, VK3FDSL, our new WIA Manager who looks after the bookshop along with the volunteers. Welcome Mal. Good Morning, this is Mal Brooks VK3FDSL. The bookshop is a valuable service to members and we endeavour to provide competitively priced products whilst being mindful of exchange rates and freight costs, both of which contribute to fluctuating prices and impact the profitability of the bookshop. We will be adding new books from ARRL and RSGB in the near future and we encourage you to look out for them on the bookshop web page. Thanks Mal Now I also have some news on the National Inwards QSL bureau. Following the introduction of changes to the inwards QSL Bureau operation, I am pleased to provide a brief update. We have received positive feedback from a number of overseas bureaux now that they only have to send cards to one address in Australia, and consequently we have received parcels from a variety of these overseas bureaux, the largest arriving last week, with 9Kgs of cards from Spain. The cards are usually sorted within 24 hours of receipt and sent on to the State QSL Managers for further distribution to members. We have noted that some cards have QSO's dating back into the 1990's and many are for special event callsigns activated within Australia over past years as well as more recent events. We believe the changes made are helping members receive their cards more quickly. National Field Day. This is Philip VK3JNI on behalf of the National Field Day committee. On Saturday 23rd October 2010, Amateur radio enthusiasts from all over Australia will be showcasing amateur radio in prominent locations throughout their local area. The recommended hours of operation for the National Field Day are between 09:00 to 21:00 Hrs Eastern Daylight time. This activity, new to Australia, will be a good opportunity to break out your field day equipment, demonstrate emergency preparedness, show your favourite modes of operation, and add a little colour and movement to engage the public. Cubs are encouraged to start identifying possible locations for your station. You should start discussing the possibility of running a National Field Day station with the property managers. In some cases, approvals may take some time so an early start is recommended. The National Field Day committee consisting of Paul VK5PH, Fred VK3DAC and Gerard VK5ZQ are interested in your views on items such as National Field Day clothing. Would you like a Cheap and Cheerful tee-shirt or something more substantial such as a knitted shirt with collar, long sleeve shirt with a pocket, or even a fleecy vest? Would you like to see an on-line logging program, so you can see what modes and frequencies other filed day stations are working? Have you an idea for a Logo or Slogan for the National Field Day? For more information please keep an eye on the contest pages of the WIA Website or to contact the committee, email nfd@wia.org.au. ACMA Flags UHF Spectrum Changes - Peter Young On Friday 30th April, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released its third discussion paper on the replanning arrangements for the 400 MHz spectrum. A copy of the paper can be found on the ACMA website. The WIA provided detailed submissions to the two previous papers in respect to the 70cm amateur UHF band allocations in the 400 to 520 MHz spectrum. The WIA is also a member of the Radiocommunications Consultative Committee 400 MHz working group. The 400 to 520 MHz spectrum is one of the most congested pieces of spectrum in Australia and to provide for ever expanding needs, this spectrum will be divided into 12.5 kHz channel segments. The rearrangements will now allow harmonised spectrum for government users across Australia. The latest ACMA has confirmed that the segment between 430 to 440 MHz is out of scope for the purposes of the replanning exercise. Within this band the amateur service is a secondary user to Defence and these arrangements will continue into the future. To accommodate government user requirements, the existing amateur secondary allocation in the 420 to 430 MHz will be withdrawn. This has already occurred in a number of states already. To assist in the transitional arrangements, which may take many years to complete, the ACMA has suggested that the amateur secondary allocation in 440 to 450 MHz may be used on a temporary basis from time to time. This arrangement has occurred in the past and is only an option. In response to the paper, the WIA will be seeking further information on these arrangements. The closing date for comments is 6th June. ACMA Cancels Amateur Licence The Australian Communications and Media Authority has cancelled an amateur station licence following an investigation that uncovered continuing breaches by the licensee. Under the Radiocommunications Act 1992, the ACMA can suspend or cancel an amateur licence if the licensee contravenes a condition of the licence. In the case of the recent cancellation, crucial information was provided by other radio amateurs that alerted the ACMA to the ongoing non-compliance and assisted the investigation. In this case, the breaches included causing interference to other stations, failing to use a call sign and transmitting an unmodulated carrier. The ACMA made the decision to cancel the amateur licence when other compliance and enforcement measures had failed. The ACMA say in their reporting that every effort had been made to assist, encourage and educate the licensee to understand the importance of compliance with licence conditions. Despite repeated warnings to the licensee, the ACMA found that non-compliance continued over an extended period of time. The WIA has welcomed the action taken by the ACMA. "While it is extremely unusual for amateurs to ignore their obligation to comply with the law, the fact is that there have been instances of extreme behaviour that requires enforcement action. This action by the ACMA should remind us all that it will act when necessary" said WIA President, Michael Owen VK3KI. http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2010/20100529-1/index.php For WIA News broadcast 30 May 2010 Bob VK6POP Jamboree On The Air Jamboree On The Air, also known by its initials JOTA, is the largest international event conducted by Scouts, and occurs annually on the third weekend of October. This year it's on 15th to 17th of October. Scout groups everywhere rely on the generous support of Amateur operators and others in order to provide an interesting JOTA programme to the young people they lead. This year, I've been able to put together a small team to collect and collate programme ideas and resources to make JOTA and JOTI weekends more interesting and rewarding for young people. I am soliciting these resources from around the country and beyond. We will be seeking these until early July, when they will be sorted and compiled for use as programme material. You can contribute materials to the team by email. To avoid giving out complicated email addresses on air, simply email me at vk6pop@wia.org.au to establish contact, and we can take it form there. I'm looking forward to JOTA being a great success in 2010, and this will only happen with your support, so please seriously consider supporting hams of the future by supporting JOTA. RadioActive RadioActive is an Amateur Radio Award for Scouts and Scout Leaders who hold an Amateur Radio License. The Award operates over the entire month of July, and Scouts who earn sufficient points will receive an award certificate at Bronze, Silver or Gold levels. The award is designed to encourage young people to get on air more frequently, and to contact as many other Scout stations as possible. A QSO-athon will be held on the weekend 9-10-11 July, providing an opportunity to earn more points. Throughout the period of the award, special stations will be designated "Scout Headquarters" stations, or "Bonus Points" stations. Contacts made with these will earn extra points. I encourage all Scouts of all ages to participate, and to encourage others to join in. Let's get RadioActive. Canberra students enjoy ARISS contact Jim Linton VK3PC Ten students from the Trinity Christian School at Wanniassa in the Australian Capital Territory made history at the weekend with the first Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program contact to be held in Canberra. The event was part of the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) centenary dinner attended by 200 people including international guests, Australian Communications and Media Authority Chairman Chris Chapman, and WIA Centenary Patron Dick Smith VK2DIK. After the ARISS contact Elizabeth Shen and William Shaw said they were both extremely impressed by the efforts made by astronauts to qualify and fly in space, giving them encouragement to strive in their chosen careers. Elizabeth, aged 17 added: 'The opportunity to speak to someone above the space station was one of the best experiences in her life.' While William, aged 18, said 'It was really cool to be able to talk to someone who is in a completely different situation - with the zero gravity and what not.' Trinity Christian School Principal, Carl Palmer VK2TP/VK1TP was justifiable very proud of his students. WIA President Michael Owen VK3KI presented each with a participation certificate. WIA Centenary Patron Dick Smith VK2DIK - aviator, adventurer and entrepreneur - shook their hands, spoke to them about their experience and had his photograph taken with them. News of the ARISS contact made the news bulletins on three Canberra radio stations and a detailed story with photograph has appeared in the Sunday Canberra Times newspaper. Emergency Communications - EmComms - Phil Wait, VK2ASD Several years ago the WIA board formed an opinion that a training package should be developed to enable all radio amateurs to improve their emergency communications skills. At the last AGM Open Forum we announced that the board had requested Fred Swainston (VK3DAC) to identify suitable competencies for radio amateurs in emergency communications, initially at a basic level. Fred's advice was that existing competencies within the Australian Vocational Education and Training system could be applied to amateur radio emergency communications, with minor modification. In the July 2009 the scheme was announced. Following a significant amount of work, particularly by Fred Swainston and Peter Young, we now have 16 Trainers and over 230 people have registered for training, far more than expected. We are hopeful that training will commence shortly and will be progressively rolled out over the remainder of this year. The board has also been considering what role the WIA should adopt in relation to WICEN. We wish to identify a truly meaningful role for the WIA in WICEN, each different 'WICEN' responds to its own local needs, and therefore any future role for the WIA is likely to be limited to what can be done at a National level. On behalf of the board I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the implementation of the EmComms training scheme, whether by encouragement or comment, your input has been most valuable. In particular we would like to thank Fred Swainston for his effort far beyond what could be reasonably expected, and also Ewan McLeod and especially Peter Young for driving the implementation forward. BPL and Standards Activities Wide-area Access-BPL appears to have all but vanished from the Australian telecommunications landscape. Also, Smart Metering trials in Australia appear to have bypassed Access-BPL in favour of other technologies. However, my guess is that in-house BPL is likely to become a major issue in Australia. Now, in-house BPL modems are being supplied by a number of retailers and in-house BPL may possibly find application as part of the mix for in-home distribution of entertainment services supplied via the NBN. For instance, in the UK more than 1 million pairs of in-home BPL modems have been installed by British Telecom, with large numbers of interference complaints to their regulator, OFCOM. The WIA continues to be a very active participant in Standards Australia. The international CISPR BPL working group, in which Standards Australia has been an active participant, has not been able to reach consensus within the time allowed. So its work has now ceased. This is not good news, because without a CISPR standard BPL manufacturers are likely to adopt other industry developed standards which are likely to be less favourable to amateur radio. I would again like to thank the WIA's BPL working group members, Justin Giles-Clark , Fred Johnston, Keith Malcolm, Gilbert Hughes, David Wardlaw, Barry White, and Peter Young, for their efforts over the last, thankfully quieter, year. Phil Wait, VK2ASD INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. SARL SPRINT TO CELEBRATE YOUTH DAY 16 JUNE 2010 "With the World Cup in full swing and schools on holiday Radio Amateurs have a unique opportunity to celebrate youth day on 16 June with the SARL Sprint and give South Africa's young people a taste of Amateur Radio and hands-on experience", says Gerhard Coetzee, ZS3TG, SARL Councillor for Youth Activity. Clubs are encouraged to set up stations in public areas like shopping malls to demonstrate amateur radio as the greatest of all scientific hobbies and a great primer to encourage young people to take up careers in electronics and communications. Full details of the event are available on www.sarl.org.za Individual radio amateurs are invited to adopt young people for the day and invite them into the shack to operate under your supervision. Data Transfer via Lighting System The Engadget website ran a story on a lighting system that has been developed in China that uses the lighting to transfer data. LED data transmission used to be all the rage. Then we got omni-directional Bluetooth and building-penetrating WiFi, and put all that caveman stuff behind us. But now, scientists the world over are looking to bring back line-of-sight networking, and the latest demonstration has Chinese researchers streaming video to a laptop with naught but ceiling-mounted blue LEDs. The Chinese Academy of Sciences claims to have realized a 2Mbit per second internet connection that transmits data simply by modulating the flicker of the little diodes, and imperceptibly enough to have them serve as room lighting as well. Like Boston University before them, the Chinese scholars see short-range LED networks controlling smart appliances. engadget.com/2010/05/17/chinese-scientists-demonstrate-2mbps-internet-connection-over-le/ (Sourced from VK7NEWS) Radio amateur joins PARIS project The Paper Aircraft Released Into Space (PARIS) project has announced that Radio Amateur Steve Daniels G6UIM has joined the team. The plan is for the paper aircraft Vulture 1 to be released from a weather balloon that will carry it to over 30 km. Steve G6UIM, who built his first Compukit UK101 computer in 1979, has been working on the main payload radio beacon and Vulture 1 GPS board. A Yaesu FT-817 will be used to receive the signal. Vulture-1 www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/10/paris_update/ KEEP ON TRUCKIN' An Essex-based radio ham is transmitting live images from his truck as he travels around the UK. From a dashboard mounted webcam in his delivery truck, Paul Young, G0HWC transmits an image of the road ahead once every 30 seconds. And, just in case you can't figure out exactly where he is at the moment, Paul has a live APRS map on his website too. Paul has a impressive and comprehensive SSTV website which is full of useful information. You'll find it at: http://www.g0hwc.com/ The Truckcam has its own URL http://www.truckcam.tv IT'S THE LAW While the laws of physics weren't made to be broken, sometimes they need revision as work with the Transistor Laser has shown. ScienceDaily reports: A major current law has been rewritten thanks to the three-port transistor laser, developed by Milton Feng and Nick Holonyak Jr. at the University of Illinois. With the transistor laser, researchers can explore the behaviour of photons, electrons and semiconductors. The device could shape the future of high-speed signal processing, integrated circuits, optical communications, supercomputing and other applications. However, harnessing these capabilities hinges on a clear understanding of the physics of the device, and data the transistor laser generated did not fit neatly within established circuit laws governing electrical currents. "We were puzzled," said Feng, the Holonyak Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "How did that work? Is it violating Kirchhoff's law? How can the law accommodate a further output signal, a photon or optical signal?" Read the full ScienceDaily article http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100512164335.htm AMATEUR RADIO ASTRONOMERS FIND SUPER SECRET SPACE PLANE A group of amateur radio-astronomers have accomplished what the military was likely hoping would not happen. They have spotted the super-secret U.S. Air Force X-37B mini space plane on-orbit. Amateur Radio Newsline's Frank Haas, KB4T, says the un-piloted X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 1 was lofted on April 22 atop an Atlas launcher. It is being flown under the auspices of the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. From there it entered a proverbial cone of silence regarding its on-orbit duties. But thanks to a worldwide network of amateur sky watchers, the spacecraft is reportedly in a 39.99 degree inclination, circling the Earth in an orbit 401 kilometres by 422 kilometres. The next phase in the amateur astronomers tracking of the X-37B will be an attempt to see if the space plane is emitting any radio signals! The US Air Force has not said what the robotic ship is for, but analysts say the X-37B is but most guess that it is likely a high altitude spy craft. ============================================================================= WEIRD AND WONDERFUL Amateur Radio & Hollywood The sale of KE6PZH's Amateur Radio equipment has been re listed on eBay after not selling in a recent auction. Although listed on the FCC Data base as Martin Brandeaux he would be known more Internationally as Marlon Brando! Also the holder of Callsign FO?GJ , he was QRV occasionally from his from his private French Polynesian Island. (IRTS) OPERATIONAL NEWS - SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2010 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 3- 4 NZART MEMORIAL CONTEST http://www.nzart.org.nz/contests/index.html 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 Octtbc 23 WIA WIA National Field Day nfd@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 At the next AREG meeting (which will be held on Friday 18 June 8.00pm, Reedbeds Hall, Phelps Court, Fulham South Australia) Chris VK5CP will provide a repeat of a presentation made at the Dayton Hamvention in May on 'A Century of Contesting Downunder', a review of the Contest IUniversity conducted prior to the Hamvention, show some pictures taken at Dayton and do a show and tell on some of the new toys he collected on the way including the Byonics 10W APRS tracker , the new D-StarV Access Point for home use and a practical demonstration of the RF Space SDR-IQ receiver and its use in the CW Skimmer reverse beacon network. Chris will be ably assisted by VK5ZSN in the practical demonstration. Saturday June 12th from 1500Z until Sunday 13th at 1500Z the World Wide South America CW DX Contest. This is Trent VK4TI CQ Contest CQ VK Shires - The VK Shires second running is on next weekend. WOW ! We have had an announcement from Eddy JI1AQY that his Japanese language contest logger CTESTWIN now supports the VK Shires and that the Japanese website cqcqcq.org has promotions for the vkshires. Eddy also translated the rules into Japanese for us. This is great news as CTESTWIN is as popular in Japan as VKCL is in Australia. To have fun in the VK Shires get active ANYWHERE - every different Shire is a multiplier even in active shires you may find no one else is on for the contest. Download any of the free Software to help run the contest - VKCL CTESTWIN (if you are Japanese) SD Logger or W3KM Both SSB and CW is worth contact points and expect a lot of JA's on the bands. International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend Registrations for this fun event in August are steadily being made and so far there are 175 from 26 countries. A flood of registrations traditionally occur closer to the weekend. Leading the progressive tally is Germany on 35 with Australia on 28, but about 40% more registrations are anticipated from those two countries alone. The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend has its origins in Scotland through the efforts of Mike Dalrymple GM4SUC, now a silent key, and other members of Ayr Amateur Radio Group GM0AYR (GMzeroAYR). It has steadily grown in popularity over the years. Its website ILLW.NET has registration guidelines. There's now also ILLW on Facebook with more than 200 followers where those activating lighthouses can show 'n tell and share information. The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend ILLW.NET will be held on the 21st and 22nd of August. (Jim Linton VK3PC) SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, REPEATER BEACON DX AND NET ADVICE hf nets ON the net, www.timroberts-vk4yeh.id.au/ The 70 centimetre repeater of City Of Brisbane Radio Society will be of the air for some period due to maintenance. 438.275MHz (Mick) Spratly Island DXpedition 2011 DX0DX IOTA AS-051, CQ Zone 26 and ITU Zone 50 (Report #1 210510) A multi-national team of up to 30 radio amateurs from nine countries is in advanced preparation operate from Spratly Island group in the South China Sea. Following 12 months of discussions with military and civilian authorities permission has been received to operate on Thitu Island (Pagasa in Filipino, the second largest island in the Spratly Islands with a population of about 100. The DXpedition, organised by the South Pacific Contest Club, will run from 6 to 24 January with the final 420km travel leg for three groups of operators, equipment and supplies is by cargo boat. All supplies including food, water and fuel to sustain the DXpedition needs to be transported to the island. The team includes five doctors which is not only reassuring other DXpeditioners, but will provide a welcome humanitarian effort through free medical checks for those permanently on the remote island. The plan is to have four CW stations, four Phone, a RTTY/Digital Modes plus VHF/UHF. Sponsors include ICOM (America), Ham Radio Outlet, SpiderBeam, Heil Sound and DX Engineering. Further corporate sponsorship and funding is expected, and individual donations will be acknowledged. The DXpedition is supported by the IARU national radio society, Philippine Amateur Radio Association (PARA). The team leader is Chris VK3FY. The rest of the team to date includes: Keith VK3FT, Roger VK3FZ, Peter VK3FGRC, Jim VK3PC, Nik VK3FNIK, Allan VK2GR, Josette VK2FXGR, Wally VK6YS, Dindo DV1DIN, Ed DU1EV, Edward 4F1OZ, Cholo 4F8BOF, Kaye DV9XO, Toshi JA8BMK, San K5YY, Oscar EA1DR, Christian EA3NT, George EA2TA, Vincent F4BKV, Bjorn SMOMDG, Charles W6KK, Arnold N6HC, Robert N6OX, John N7CQQ, David AH6HY, Simon IZ7ATN, and Bill N6WB. Chris VK3FY is due to visit The Philippines soon to check out the logistics arrangements and ensure all other requirements are finalised. A website is now up and running: http://www.dx0dx.net/ (DX0DX Public Affairs, Jim Linton VK3PC INTRUDER WATCH - ENFORCEMENT ZONE Region III IARUMS Coordinator Peter Young VK3MV VK IARUMS reflector email to subscribe intruders@wia.org.au INTRUDER 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 ZL3 ham prosecuted for QRO transmitter A New Zealand radio amateur has been convicted for being in possession of a radio transmitter capable of operating at a significantly higher power than permitted by his Amateur Radio Operators General Licence. The New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development's (MED) Radio Spectrum Management division was alerted to a You Tube video showing a transmitter allegedly operated at 3100 watts, far in excess of that maximum permitted limit of 500W PEP. He was found guilty in Christchurch District Court of breaching section 113 of the Radiocommunications Act 1989. The magistrate found the charge proven, imposed a fine of $1,750 and ordered $130 be paid for costs, plus radio equipment forfeiture. In a media statement the MED explained that it had taken the action because excessive power has the potential to cause interference to, and disrupt to other radio services in the local area. (VK3PC) BPL to rise like the phoenix in Egypt Just when commentators had written off Broadband over Powerlines (BPL) comes news that Egypt-based SABA Electric is getting into the act. It has formed a partnership with ISP LINKdotNET and has plans for easy access to the internet through BPL. In a media statement SABA Electric said BPL is the technology it will use to provide to provide broadband data speed up to 8 Mbps that include a number of Voice over Internet Protocol and video options. On complete build out the network could reach over 300,000 residents. (Jim Linton VK3PC) 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 UNITEC-1 signal received! Signals have been received from the Amateur Radio satellite UNITEC-1 which is on its way to Venus. CW and FSK signals was received from UNITEC-1 at a distance of 300,000 km, no other Amateur Radio satellite has travelled this far before. It has some 50 million km to go before it reaches its destination. Japanese ground stations worked together to receive the UNITEC-1 signal on the first pass over Japan on May 21 and they report: Measured Frequency 5839.91 MHz The latest news on UNITEC-1 is available at the Operation Centre website along with free software and a Ham Radio forum, see http://sites.google.com/site/unitec1ops/ A fully detailed description of the UNITEC-1 satellite and its capabilities and data structure appeared in Oscar News No 188 COMET CRASH INTO SUN OBSERVED BY STEREO Solar physicists at the University of California at Berkeley have captured for the first time the collision of a comet with the sun. Using data radioed back to Earth from instruments aboard NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft, the four researchers at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory were able to track the comet as it approached the sun and estimate an approximate time and place of impact. They then looked at data from the terrestrial Mauna Loa Solar Observatory in Hawaii, and found images in the predicted spot of what appears to be a comet approaching the edge of the sun from behind the solar disk. While the comet apparently survived the heat of the corona and disappeared in the chromosphere, evaporating in the 100,000-degree Kelvin heat. The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory or STEREO was launched in 2006 and consists of identical spacecraft orbiting the sun. One is in orbit ahead of Earth and one behind. This provides a human eye-like stereo view of the sun. You can read more at tinyurl.com/28er687 (ARNEWSLINE) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- QRP Using QRP via DFCW Bob, VK7ZL, has been continuing with his low power experiments on the 30M band using Dual Frequency CW. With DFCW each morse element is the same length but the dashes are 5Hz higher in frequency than the dots thus producing a regular step pattern which is much more visible than regular 6 second dot morse. Bob's current set-up is a transmitter running 5 watts with the output fed into a home brew step attenuator of 7dB and 10dB. With 10dB switched in an output of 500mW is obtained and that signal is regularly seen on the grabbers of both ON5EX and PA1GS at about 0500 GMT. On Thursday, 20 May, ON5SL received the signal via long path, about 22,900Km, and in his words "using a 1/4 wave vertical with almost no radials on dry soil". The receiver was a Kenwood R5000. Bob's antenna is a resonant inverted V dipole at about 9 metres at the apex fed with 50 metres of RG213 coax so the actual radiated power would be somewhat less than the measured power at the transmitter end. http://www.users.on.net/~bobw/homepage/ (73 Bob, VK7ZL) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO EMERGENCY FREQUENCIES IARU REGION 3 3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz Radio Amateurs assist search Press reports say the New Zealand Amateur Radio Emergency Corps provided communications during a search for two hunters lost in the New Zealand bush. The New Zealand Stuff website reports that the two hunters went missing in the Ranges off the Napier-Taupo road. A search ensued involving Police, Land Search and Rescue volunteers from tramping and hunting clubs, and members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps who provided communications. Senior Sergeant Luke Shadbolt, of Hastings, said the men were found on the Napier-Taupo Road after "an uncomfortable night in the bush". They apparently told police they were "geographically challenged". (SouthGate) REWIND 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. Conflicts between private transmitting, receiver listening and wireless commercial interests While the WIA has been continually recognised as the representative body both nationally and internationally, there was a deal of instability within the ranks of Australian experimenters between 1927 and 1937. An alternative society initially known as the Queensland Radio Transmitters League began in 1927 and renamed the Australian Radio Transmitters League, was primarily concerned about the undue influence of commercial interests at the expense of private experimenters. The majority of experimenters in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria stood by the WIA though the ARTL had also been established in those states. With good will and expressions of common purpose during six months of negotiations in 1929, most state ARTLs merged with the WIA, the last merger was in Western Australia in 1932. In NSW, a further organisation, the Amateur Radio Association was established and became affiliated with the WIA. It was in effect a de facto Division of the WIA in that state. This was brought about because New South Wales had been under the dominance of the Institution of Radio Engineers (IRE), the group representing those engaged professionally in wireless. This situation remained until the IRE allowed the legal re-forming of the Wireless Institute (in NSW) during 1937. Much of the instability during the decade 1927-37 was related to conflicting interests of amateur transmitting experimenters and the substantial growth in receiving only members often coupled with the commercial interests of individuals. As a living organisation, the WIA has undergone many changes to reflect the issues of the times and interests of its members.? Representing all amateur experimenters, now known as radio amateurs to the authorities was one of the initial aims 100 years ago and continues today in an ever changing world. SOCIAL SCENE 2010 JUNE 12-13 VK2 Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club's 35th Annual Field Day (2 days). JULY 17 VK3 GGREC Hamfest Start Time : 10:00 AUGUST 1 VK6 Northern Corridor Group Hamfest Cyril Jackson Sports Centre Ashfield Oct 23 WIA WIA National Field Day nfd@wia.org.au 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.