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 13 2010. Two-way contact achieved on 8.97 kHz Radio ghost mystery at former RAF station ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman recording of his speech at 100th WIA AGM FRENCH COMPANY TO MARKET NEW SDR TRANSCEIVER VK8NSB SSTV Repeater operational on 28:700 D-STAR AUDIO STREAM NOW ON THE WWW ALL UP AND COMING IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING JUNE 13 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 WIA ON PARADE This weekend 2 events on the VK Social Calender will be attended by WIA Officers. Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club 35th Annual Field Day New South Wales This will be the 35th Field Day ORARC. Ha run on the June long Weekend and is expected to attract a large gathering of Hams from around the area and interstate travellers. The club will also be highlighting the 100 year celebrations of the WIA. As usual there will be trade stalls, second-hand items and items of interest. South East Radio Group Convention and Australian Fox Hunting Championships South Australia Radio Convention, Home Brew Contest, Fox Hunting. Give aways. All at the Margaret Street scout hall (behind the Mount Gambier Police Station) WIA President Michael will attend Oxley region and WIA Secretary Geoff the South Australian event. Two-way contact achieved on 8.97 kHz What is believed to be the first Amateur Radio two-way contact on 8.97 kHz using truly radiated fields took place on Friday, June 4, 2010 between DJ2LF and DF6NM. Markus DF6NM has written this report on the historic contact: This morning, June 4th between 6 and 8 UT, Walter (DJ2LF) and myself (DF6NM) were able to successfully conduct a two-way contact (aka "QSO") on 8.97 kHz. The distance between us is 20.2 km, well outside the reactive near field zone (lamda / 2pi = 5.3 km). Both of us were using our small backyard Marconi antennas at home, for transmit and receive. Walter's antenna has 260 pF at an estimated effective height of about 5 m. He achieved about 370 mA current, resulting in a radiated power of about 5 uW (EMRP). I also got 5 uW from 270 mA into 240 pF at about 7 m. DF6NM started by transmitting a carrier on his lower frequency, from 4:00 to 4:30 UT. This was indeed seen by DJ2LF, who replied on his upper frequency from 4:45 to 5:15, reporting positive reception. Then DF6NM confirmed reception on the upper frequency from 5:30 to 6:00. The whole procedure took two hours. Walter's signal can actually still be seen between my own dashes on my VLF grabber. http://www.mydarc.de/df6nm/vlf/vlfgrabber.htm As far as we know, this was probably the first two-way amateur QSO on VLF, using truly radiated fields. Another dream came true... Best regards, Markus DF6NM (thanks to Southgate for this) We contacted WIA Director Peter Young on how we VK's may operate on 8 kHz "I have check the ITU allocations table and find there is no allocation for any service below 9 kHz and this is reflected in the Australian Radiocommunications Spectrum Plan. Accordingly, any person may apply to the ACMA for a Scientific Licence Apparatus Licence. There is no mechanism to assign a 8,97 kHz frequency to an Amateur Service Licence in Australia." Radio ghost mystery at former RAF station World War Two radio continues to pick up vintage broadcasts despite not having any power A 70-year-old radio at a Scottish heritage centre has been picking up vintage broadcasts featuring Winston Churchill and the music of Glen Miller. The Pye valve wireless at Montrose Air Station, a heritage centre that tells the story of the men and women who served there, has no power and is not connected to any source of electricity. The aerodrome has been a source of paranormal sightings and sounds for almost a century, with reports of ghostly figures, eerie footsteps and door handles turning, but the mysterious wireless broadcasts have had even the most sceptical staff at the station searching for a rational explanation. The vintage radio set is kept in a recreation of a 1940s room. Several people have heard Second World War era broadcasts including the big band sound of the Glenn Miller orchestra and speeches by Winston Churchill. The broadcasts come on at random and can last for up to half an hour. Technicians who examined it removed the back, but found "nothing but cobwebs and spiders". Bob Sutherland, a trustee of the air station heritage centre and its treasurer, said: "I have heard it playing Glenn Miller and recognised the song as At Last. "The volume was very low but the music was quite identifiable. "Graham Phillip, another volunteer, has heard what he was sure was Winston Churchill and others, including centre curator Dan Paton and his wife, have heard it. "I was a wireless operator with the RAF and know a bit about them. We have also had our resident radio expert, Ewan Cameron, look at it. "If we had a powerful transmitter in the area the radio might pick up something, but we don't. "It is an old Pye radio which would probably explode if it was switched on." Mr Phillip said: "We have all heard the footsteps and seen door handles turn but the wireless is something new and unexplainable. Read the full story at: http://news.stv.tv/scotland/tayside/181127-radio-ghost-mystery-at-former-raf-station/ WIA Centenary Update It seems that everyone who attended the WIA Centenary Convention in Canberra, two weekends ago now, is still talking about the marvellous three day program. Today we return, this time to the WIA Centenary Dinner and in particular the speech given by the ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman. Here is an edited version of that important speech. (audio ends with audience clapping and Robert Broomhead saying “Thanks very much, Chris Chapman”). A news release which expands on that that speech, plus an audio recording and text of the full speech, can be found on www.wia.org.au A report will appear in the July edition of Amateur Radio magazine. VK100WIA reaches another milestone The Midland Amateur Radio Club in Central Victoria last Monday logged QSO number 2,000 with Laurie Davidson VK7ZE at Spalford in Northern Tasmania on the 80m band. Reports for the SSB contact exchanged were five by nine both ways. Laurie VK7ZE has also worked the WIA Centenary callsign on at least the 40m and 160m bands. In news from the WIA Office a test run of laser printing the QSL details on the VK100WIA QSL cards was successful. The first batch of cards will be submitted to the QSL bureau by the end of the end of this month. If you're looking for contacts with VK100WIA then check out the online logging on the WIA website www.wia.org.au Two Thousand calls is great going from the clubs and WIA, and the first QSO of course kicked of with our own WIA President VK3KI (AUDIO CUT OF VK100WIA FIRST CONTACT) As a part of the WIA Centenary celebrations, in the spirit of celebrating early radio in Australia, on June 16th to 18th 2010 the Gippsland Gate Radio and Electronics Club will re-enact the historically important reception of the very first direct press message sent from the UK to Australia, which was received at 5am on the 5th December 1921 by Mr. T. W. Bearup at an AWA experimental receiving station established at Koo Wee Rup. The GGREC will be operating out of the rooms of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society located at 325 Rossiter Rd Koo Wee Rup using the VK100WIA call sign. GGREC has organised a plaque commemorating the experimental station. The Mayor will be unveiling the plaque on Friday afternoon at 3pm. Any amateur or any member of the public is welcome to go along to the activities. The President of GGREC, Chris Chapman, is scheduled to be interviewed on Melbourne ABC 774 at 6.35am on Tuesday 15th June, specifically about the WIA Centenary activities in general, and the GGREC activities in particular. DISCUSSION POINT Danger, Beware of Ham Radio The YouTube is a fabulous video sharing facility. There are plenty of good and informative videos about many aspects of amateur radio. But there’s one – the Truth about Ham Radio by Bert Fisher K1OIK – that interestingly gives one man’s opinion about what’s wrong with our hobby and some within it. Talking from his radio shack during a ten minute pay out on the amateur radio community, he stereotypes hams in a series of over generalisations that could have many of his ill-informed viewers believe we are mostly all fat, engaging in meaningless activity, intellectual deficient, elitist and gutless when not behind a microphone. Bert K1OIK obviously does not like contests and contesters. He claims they go nuts, abandon their families and even withdraw from important social occasions. He likens packet clusters that list all active DX stations during a contest, to a hunter going into a zoo and killing a whole lot of caged animals. The video ends with an industrial-style sign that states: Danger, Beware of Ham Radio. Bert Fisher K1OIK, obviously a great character. He has other videos including ‘Ham Radio, a critical evaluation’, and ‘The Real World of Ham Radio’, that make interesting viewing. He obviously has enjoyed amateur radio most of his life, and shares the hobby with his daughter Erin KB1LOQ. (Jim Linton VK3PC) ACROSS VK Spud VK8ZWM will do the all state whip around in just a 'tic' but REALLY across Australia soon will be Sherbrooke Community Radio Club's, VK3KID. In the Aussie Outback June 19 until 4 July they'll 'be on air' HF VHF and on CB. As part of this trip, they'll be officially visiting three Aboriginal schools and will introduce amateur radio to those schools. As Sherbrooke Community School had the privilege of participating in an ARISS contact last year, They'll offer their expertise and know-how. But here's the 'neat' bit, working HF from most camp sites, the Club will be making a QSL card of each camp site and each card will be a one and only QSL card. Any contact which result in them receiving a QSL card with a self-addressed stamped envelope will be replied to with one of their special QSL cards. Please refer to the running sheet on http://vk3kid.cloud.prohosting.com Listen out on 14.180 MHz and 7.080. Generators are NOT allowed to be used after 17:00 local area time so, as long as the batteries last they'll be on air. HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. 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. Summerland ARC - Coming Events 20 June - Committee Meeting and Sale Day at Clubrooms 27 June - WICEN(NR) Field gear day at Clubrooms. 10-11 July - Horse Enduro, Eden Creek. Operators needed. 18 July - SARC Committee Meeting at Clubrooms. 8 Aug - SARCFEST, at Clubrooms, 414 Richmond Hill Rd. (John Alcorn, VK2JWA Treasurer, Summerland ARC) VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ VKC Roundup http://www.police Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club, 17th July, will conduct their Hamfest Sale at the Cranbourne Community Hall the corner of Clarendon and High streets, Cranbourne. High Street is part of the South Gippsland Highway. Reservations for stall holders may be made by contacting Chris VK3QB 0429 187 593 hamfest@ggrec.org.au . Doors open at 10:00am for buyers. For further details please visit http://www.ggrec.org.au/hamfest VK4 - QNEWS web service local news:- www.wiaq.com/qnews/upload/qnewsbcast.htm local news email qnews-vk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com VKR Roundup http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/Media+Releases/ Welcome to QNEWS from VK4WIA. I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP and this one is for you mate! One of the things that brings most of us together in a recreational pastime is feeling part of the big picture, knowing what is happening and sharing our interest with others. As part of the WIA efforts to keep us abreast of happenings, Graham, VK4BakerBaker, puts together National News and QNEWS. With QNEWS, we depend on the audio feeds that come from our clubs and listeners. The ease of anyone that has a multimedia computer to write, record and submit items for QNEWS has never been as great as it is now. There are 30 Qld clubs affiliated with the WIA and listed in the Centenary Edition Callbook. We know that things happen to suit local needs, and a friendly voice speaking about a local event can let your club members as well as the other listeners know what is happening. When you think that about half to 2/3 of a page of typing is all you need to fill 1&1/2 to 2 minutes of recording then here is a painless way of getting the news out. Think about this, if most clubs worked on sending about 4 news items each year, this would guarantee at least two club items each week. Our friends at Townsville keep their flag flying every week. With other regular contributors, this is not a big ask to spread the word. We have listeners who depend on what they hear in the weekly news broadcast to keep up with their hobby. There are others who appreciate knowing that other amateurs are enjoying the hobby too. When news that can benefit us all, such as a grant scheme, a special event station or award, is announced, don't be shy....do what you do with your other friends....spread the word. Think about some-one you would like to know about your news item, some-one you can't eyeball or 'phone and picture them in your mind's eye as you email QNEWS and say, "This one is for you mate". I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and That’s What I think... how about you.............? BUNDABERG The exciting news from Bundaberg is that our new club repeater site on Double Sloping Hummock, better known as Mt Watalgan is on air, having been officially opened by the Mayor on Sunday 16th of May. The completed project has cost over $6500 and the club was very pleased that Bundaberg Regional Council saw the value in effective emergency communications and supported our project with a Community Grant. We’ve installed an Icom FR6000 repeater and ARCOM Controller which are currently putting out tremendous signals heard way to the south of Bundy. We’re waiting to hear from folks in the north and out west about just how far this repeater can be heard. VK4RBW is the third unit in the clubs repeater backbone and it complements the units in Bundaberg and on Mt Goonaneman. Our WICEN group can now effectively cover the entire Bundaberg Regional Council area which doubled in size following Local Government amalgamation. So if you’re a nearby neighbour or just passing through switch over and try out the new VK4RBW on 439.775 [four three nine decimal seven seven five]. This has been VK4UD with the Bundaberg news GYMPIE www.gceginc.org.au I’m Roger, VK4BNQ with the news from the Gympie Communications & Electronics Group: 2 metre repeater update: The Club’s 2m repeater, VK4RCM, is currently running on test at Chatsworth just north of town on a new solar powered system. All is working well including the APRS reporting of battery voltage and shack temperature. Thanks to Bob, VK4MR for his construction of the new, very secure solar panel brackets and to Barry, VK4KKN for the wiring. Application has been made and is currently with the WIA and ACMA to alter the repeater site location to Mt. Boulder. As soon as approval is received, the device will be moved to the mountain top for initial testing. Recently the site was visited by a group of Club members to install the antenna to the tower. The shack was cleaned and the site made ready and secure for the repeater. The Gympie group has a new location for regular Club meetings. They are now being held in the old church building within the grounds of the Gold Mining and Historical Museum at 215 Brisbane Road. Many thanks go to Paul, VK4YPM for allowing us to use his basement at Leading Edge Electronics for the first couple of years of our meetings. Club meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month. Visitors are always welcome. For Gympie Area News, I’m Roger, VK4BNQ. ROCKHAMPTON AND DISTRICT RADAR CLUB Monthly Meetings third Wednesday of each month, SES Building Charles and Randwick St 7.30pm. Another major car rally is planned for Byfield 17TH JUNE. RADAR CLUB comms will be required again so stay tuned for further info. Comms assist will also be needed in the event around the show grounds Rockhampton the following weekend. Contact Secretary Clive on vk4acc@wia.org.au TOWNSVILLE vk4wit@wia.org.au 4773 1196 or 0408 001142 po box 333 Garbutt East, QLD 4814 www.tarc.org.au GREETINGS FROM "CALDWELL BY THE SEA" ! THIS IS DON VK4FNQA, WITH NEWS FROM NORTH QUEENSLAND, BEAMING TO YOU TODAY FROM THE TWENTY SEVENTH FAR NORTH AND NORTH QUEENSLAND AMATEUR RADIO GATHERING. THIS STELLAR EVENT HAS BEEN UNDERWAY SINCE FRIDAY AT THE CARDWELL VILLAGE BEACHCOMBER MOTEL AND TOURIST PARK ON ONE OF THE LOVELIEST PARTS OF THE CASSOWARY COAST. SO FAR ATTENDEES HAVE SOAKED UP SOME NICE WEATHER, EXCELLENT CONVERSATION, BITS OF EXTREME LOAFING, DONE A BIT OF SKYLARKING WITH RADIO BEAMS, VISITED THE LOCAL TELEGRAPH MUSEUM FOR A GUIDED TOUR AND WRESTLED WITH ELUSIVE QUESTIONS AT THE TREC 'TRIVIA CHALLENGE'. THERES BEEN A BIT OF SELLING OUT OF THE BOOT, SOME HF CONTACTS FROM CHARLIE CHARLIE FOUR AND AFTER THIS NEWS THE GROUP ARE HEADING OVER TO THE CAREFULLY MANICURED PARKLAND SET ASIDE FOR THE TRADITIONAL NORTH QUEENSLAND VERSUS FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND CRICKET MATCH. THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY THE GROUP PHOTOGRAPH SESSION AND, YOU GUESSED IT, MORE SERIOUS LOAFING AND MAYBE RENDERING ASUNDER; SOMEONE ELSE'S CAR BOOT CONTENT. IF YOU ARE HEADING IN TO THE GATHERING AFTER THE NEWS YOU MIGHT BE LUCKY AND STILL GET A CHANCE TO TURN YOUR CHANGE INTO FORTUNE WITH RAY AND WENDY'S LUCKY CLUB. THE GATHERING CONTINUES UNTIL MID MONDAY MORNING. NOW A BIT FURTHER SOUTH FROM HERE, SOME HAMS THAT WERE NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT TO CARDWELL HAVE BEEN OPERATING RADIOS TO THE SOUND OF BURNING RUBBER AT THIS WEEKENDS MOUNT STUART SPRINT, PUT TOGETHER BY THE TOWNSVILLE CITY AUTOSPORTS CLUB. SATURDAY SAW A HEAP OF HECTIC OPERATING WITH COMPETING VEHICLES INVOLVED IN FAST BLASTS ALONG PART OF THE REID PARK V8 SUPERCAR TRACK, WHILST THE OPERATORS TRACKED, TIMED AND KEPT A SAFETY WATCH ON THEM. TODAY THE PACE IS NOT SO HECTIC, WITH OPERATORS AT THEIR CHECKPOINTS ALONG THE MOUNT STUART ROAD SINCE 7AM PROVIDING TIME CONTROL, COMPETITOR TRACKING AND SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE EVENT. YET AGAIN THE OPERATORS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FREE AUTOBURGER WHICH WILL BE DELIVERED TO THEIR DOOR AT THEIR CHECKPOINTS, AND A SAFE CONCLUSION TO THE EVENT BY ABOUT 4PM. FINALLY, THE TARC INC HAS THE SOCIAL EVENING HAPPENING THIS TUESDAY JUNE 15TH FROM SEVEN THIRTY PM AT THE CLUB ROOMS, PERCHED ON TOP OF SES HEADQUARTERS IN GREEN STREET WEST END. EVERYONE WELCOME TO ATTEND AND PUT THE MAGAZINE OF RENOWN BACK-SCATTER TOGETHER AND TO MINGLE AND SOCIALISE A BIT. SO, I LEAVE YOU BRIMMING WITH ENVY AS I SOAK UP SOME EXTREME LOAFING AMBIENCE WHILE THIS EDITION OF QNEWS FOR SUNDAY THIRTEENTH OF JUNE IS BROUGHT TO A CLOSE. THIS HAS BEEN DON VK4FNQA IN CASSOWARY COAST TROPICAL PARADISE FOR THE TOWNSVILLE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INC, AND YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO, AND ENJOYING QNEWS FROM VK4WIA. VK6 VK6 has a Top Town – literally. It is a place called Tom Price and is 747 metres above sea level. Overlooking Tom Price is a mountain called Mount Nameless. From it’s top you can overlook the town, and the Tom Price pit which is one of the earliest Iron Ore Mines in the Pilbarra. Tom Price was a hot bed of Amateur (and CB) activity in the 70’s and the early 80’s. Sadly it faded away. But now it is back, and now there are plans to establish a 2 metre repeater there. It will have an antenna 1100 metres above sea level, will identify as VK6RTP, and will be around 146.625 if the licence is accepted. There are plans to link it via IRLP/Echolink. Once established it will be the highest repeater in VK6. It is almost impossible to build one at a higher elevation. Known advocates of this repeater are VK6NDT Jono, VK6HV Steve, VK6BHY Mike, and VK6FLAM Craig. VK7 local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com The latest meeting of the CCARC held an antenna construction session, with the main project being a 2m end fed dipole suitable for portable or base use. These simple, low budget antennas were constructed under the guidance of David, VK7DC. Once the antennas were constructed, tuning was quickly and easily done outside the rooms, thanks to Bill VK7MX with his antenna analyser. For those that missed out, basic construction details can be found on the project page of the club website. The next meeting will be on the 27th of June, and will feature Vernon VK7VF giving a talk on using the HP8924 RF test set, and afterwards, the RF tools software package. (David, VK7DC, Secretary, CCARC) VK8 In Darwin club news, The exams team are hard at it at the moment with up to thirty candidates for foundation licences being trained and examined. throw in a couple of standard licence exams and you can see why. the next meeting of the Darwin amateur radio club is at sports house Waratah crescent Fannie bay at 7pm on the 7th of July and of course the clubrooms are open Thursdays between 10 am and noon for the weekly cuppa morning. relays of this broadcast are on the following frequencies from the Darwin clubrooms at 0900am cst Sundays. vhf repeater 146.900 and on hf on 3.555mhz, 7.193mhz,10.137mhz and 14.337mhz. Broadbanding the Top End - Laying fibre optic cable through Arnhem Land A remote Australian telecommunications project won at the Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards in London this week. Telstra and its partners are celebrating after winning a second international award for their Arnhem Land Fibre Project – a $34m joint venture between Telstra, the Northern Territory Government and Rio Tinto Alcan and achieved with valuable support from the Northern Land Council. This winning project has seen the laying of over 800km of fibre optic backbone through tropical savannah terrain from Jabiru to Nhulunbuy. Further works in mean a number of island communities also have broadband access. Life-changing technology associated with high-speed broadband is now being used to deliver services across this region of Australia, significantly improving access to education, health, justice and business services and contributes to regional growth. (Telstra Press) INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. Abandoned distress beacon triggers search An old distress beacon dumped in NZ's Bay of Plenty rubbish tip wasted time and resources, police say. Tauranga Search and Rescue were called out after aircraft flying into Tauranga and Rotorua (New Zealand) reported receiving a signal from an emergency beacon within the greater Tauranga area. It was assumed the beacon was an old 121 MHz model, which was no longer monitored, as the signal was not being picked up by satellite. The Tauranga Coastguard spent more than two hours sweeping the harbour, the signal stopped and it is presumed the beacon was disabled as garbage was being crushed at the time. The NZ Sun sunlive.co.nz/14924a1.page FRENCH COMPANY TO MARKET NEW SDR TRANSCEIVER France is the latest nation to enter the ham radio marketplace. This with the announcement of the new TransFox is Software Definable Radio transceiver designed and built in that nation. According to a press release from the manufacturer RFPA-RFham, the new radio is available in receiver only or receiver/transmitter configuration. Its stock coverage is 1 MHz to 1100 MHz. but it can be extended beyond existing frequency range upon request. Because of this the TransFox brings what RFPA calls unique Software Definable Radio to the VHF, UHF and SHF bands. Other features include Software Definable Radio demodulation and modulation over a 50, 100 or 200 KHz baseband, compatibility with existing Windows or Linux software in addition to specific SigFox software, spectrum analysis and 1 Hz tuning resolution. First delivery of this new radio is slated for mid July. More information on the TransFox transceiver in the French language is on line at www.rfham.com HAM RADIO 2010 IN GERMANY JUNE 25 - 27 With Dayton 2010 now history, the next truly big social event will be the 61st Lake Constance Convention and Ham Radio 2010 gathering. Both of these events are organized by DARC which is Germany's national ham radio society, and will take place from June 25th to the 27th in the city of Friedrichshafen. They are the largest on the European continent. Mitch Wolfson DJ0QN is a member of the DARC Executive Board. He tells us that Ham Radio 2010 is different than conventions and hamfests in the United States: DJ0QN: "We have a section where clubs from all over the world -- mainly from Europe but also from other parts of the world like the U.S. have booths to basically meet other people from those clubs and countries and perhaps (get them to) join a club. So there's a lot of international good will with a whole lot of people getting together and meeting. "Its basically a very easygoing show and does not have a high stress level. You can sit between the halls in this beer garden area and talk to people all day if you choose to do that. Or you can hang around the flea market or go to the main booths or go to talks most of which are in German but there are some in the English language as well." More about this exciting European ham radio gathering in English is on line at http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/index.php ============================================================================= WEIRD AND WONDERFUL From the weird and wonderful file, hello I’m Jim Linton VK3PC with two tales of bees and radio. In India there’s a belief that radiation from mobile phones is harming bees, while in the US scientists are actually attaching radio transmitters to the backs of bees to track them. Researchers at the Punjab University in Chandigarh did a controlled experiment using a real mobile phone in one hive, a placebo or fake phone in another, and no phone in a third hive. The results found that the hive with the real phone had a bee population decline, poor yield of honey and the queen bee was far less productive. Meantime from New York comes reports of Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute scientists attaching 300-milligram radio transmitters to the backs of male orchid bees, to track their movements. A photo of a hapless bee with a transmitter complete with a horizontal whip antenna stuck on its back using a combination of eyelash adhesive and super glue, is simply amazing. A fleet of 14 bees were tracked, five giving good travel itineraries over the 10-day battery life of their transmitter, four were found dead, perhaps with exhaustion and the others were lost, or dare we say, simply buzzed off. 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 This weekend :- June 12th, 0800 to 1400 UTC, 80 metres, SSB only. Contest runs for 6 hours, in 1 hour stages - long enough to be interesting without being too arduous, with stations being reworked each hour. The main emphasis is on contacts between VK and ZL stations, with the scoring structured to give all stations an equal chance. Rules are far to complex to reproduce here – best to use VKCL logger for this one! Or see: www.wia.org.au/members/contests/transtasman/ (nerg news) SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, REPEATER BEACON DX AND NET ADVICE hf nets ON the net, www.timroberts-vk4yeh.id.au/ VK3SN advises that the annual trip to the Bogong High Plains is on again. This year the team will include a number of newly licensed amateurs. We will be skiing and camping across the snowy wilderness of the Victorian Alps from 9-13 August 2010. Operation will focus on HF SSB and VHF repeaters using solar powered QRP gear. We also plan to try PSK31 if the gear holds up. Listen out each evening and make a contact with them as they operate from snow caves and igloos. The 70 centimetre repeater of City Of Brisbane Radio Society is off the air for some period due to maintenance. BUNDABERG VK4RBW is the third unit in the clubs repeater backbone and it complements the units in Bundaberg and on Mt Goonaneman. Our WICEN group can now effectively cover the entire Bundaberg Regional Council area which doubled in size following Local Government amalgamation. So if you’re a nearby neighbour or just passing through switch over and try out the new VK4RBW on 439.775 [four three nine decimal seven seven five]. This has been VK4UD MEDIA WATCH www.wiaq.com/admin/uploads/weeklytally.rtf www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html Discontinued Ham Mag free download. Launched in January 2009 Ham Mag was an electronic download that at first was free and then required a subscription. Uptakes for subscriptions ware very poor and with no commercial sponsors onboard the organizers have decided to discontinue production. All issues are now available as free individual PDF downloads and are available from ham-mag.com Please adhere to best practice when downloading files from any source. (irts) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ARDF WIA ARDF COORDINATOR VK3WWW Jack vk3www@alphalink.com.au http://users.mackay.net.au/~ron/ http://www.homingin.com http://www.ardf.org.au FOXY VK2 St George Amateur Radio Society - Coming July a 2m Fox Hunt and Family Picnic. Mobile and Pedestrian Hidden Transmitter Hunts for beginners and experienced alike. Check the web site sgars.org Fox Hunt Equipment - SGARS has a limited number of 2m direction finding antenna kits available. If you would like to purchase a kit or would like assistance with being equipped for fox hunting (attenuators, receivers, etc), VK4 TROPICAL FOX If you are in the vicinity of the Townsville Region on Saturday June 26th and want to get involved in a Foxhunt which includes a really neat prize for first place then Tony VK4TJS wants to hear from you. You have until 22nd June to get your attendance numbers in for the Foxhunt, starting in the vicinity of Loam Island boat ramp from 2pm and finishing where your equipment leads you. Who do you have to call ? Tony VK4TJS of course, on 47740582 starting point co-ordinates datum WGS84 lat 19deg 20.940min South long 146deg 43.866min East ( the boat ramp, not the community centre ) VK5 STILL FOXY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. Fox hunting minus the fox This story originated by ABC South East SA news and picked up in the UK by SouthGate Amateur Radio Club. Over one hundred amateur radio enthusiasts have travelled to Mount Gambier this weekend for the 47th Radio Convention Every year on the June long weekend ham radio enthusiasts get together for the Australian Fox Hunting Championships. Competitors travel from all over Australia to claim the coveted champion's trophy. Wayne Kilpatrick is the South East Radio Group Convention Coordinator and said this has nothing to do with 'eliminating foxes from the countryside'. The game involves using direction finding radio equipment to look for people and collect points. Contestants usually compete in teams and all squeeze into the one vehicle. "Most operate from four wheel drives and they might have a team of four people in a four wheel drive, but the equipment in that car is absolutely mind boggling," he said. The antenna formations are an art. "You couldn't believe that you could put this much equipment on a vehicle." Read the full ABC South East SA news story (with pictures and audio interview with Wayne Kilpatrick) at: abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/06/08/2921737.htm?site=southeastsa WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video arvideonews.com hamradiotube.com youtube.com qdg.com.au Stuart VK8NSB has now got a SSTV Repeater operational on 28:700 with a 1750Hz tone, currently running 10 watts into a Multiband vertical the SSTV Repeater is currently in test mode and transmits a picture every 30 minutes on the hour. Stuart reports that the power output will be increased in time and the system placed on its proper antenna, a 10m Vertical at about 12 meters high as soon as the first stage of testing is complete. Stuart requests reports e-mailed vk8nsb@hotmail.com 1949 Royal Signals Corps recruitment video A 1949 recruitment video for the Royal Corps of Signals aimed at Radio Amateurs is available on the British Pathe website. Watch '(RADIO SIGNALS TRAILER) video newsreel film' at http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=27252 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 RSS Morse Feed Free Program Bob Denny has developed a free open source Windows application called "RSS Morse" that reads RSS news feeds and outputs Morse Code on your computer's speaker or on a physical telegraph sounder via serial cable. For a peek at the help file for the program take a look at the weblink that can be found on the email and internet editions of this broadcast: http://morse-rss-news.sourceforge.net/ Enjoy! (FIST DownunderNewsletter) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DIGITAL Australian Coordinator for TCPIP domains is Indy vk2xb@wia.org.au - THIS NEWS POSTING TO PACKET ENDS JUNE 28 2010- D-STAR NEWS: D-STAR AUDIO STREAM NOW ON THE WWW KF4ZW says that anyone can now listen to D-Star ham radio contacts without purchasing any equipment for the mode. This, as a D-Star audio feed is now available via the radioreference.com website. The audio usually originates from Reflector 1c which is generally the busiest feed. A direct link is in this weeks printed Newsline report. After you find the correct radioreference page just scroll to the bottom, look for the D-Star link and click on the "speaker" icon to start listening. KF4ZW adds that you can also listen to any of these feeds via your iphone or blackberry as long as you have the unlimited data plan. The direct link is: www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?ctid=321 (ARNEWSLINE) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET --- THE HAMS DOMAIN Probably one of the silliest 'blockages' to important emails is a service/program called spamarest So if you are a subscriber to this service but only hearing and not receiving email scripts may we suggest u divorce yourself from this "blocking" program. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP --- MILITARY Bletchley Park WWII archive to go online Millions of documents stored at UK World War II code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, are to be made available online. Electronics company Hewlett-Packard has donated a number of scanners to the centre in Milton Keynes so volunteers can begin the ground-breaking task which is expected to take over 3 years. Read the BBC news story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10239623.stm Bletchley Park http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/ (SouthGate) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO EMERGENCY FREQUENCIES IARU REGION 3 3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz WICEN BRING 'N' SHOW FIELD GEAR AT SUMERLAND 27 June. Go and see the set ups you'd use to work in the field or mobile. Set up in the grounds at the Summerland Clubrooms, show what you can do. For anyone, not only WICEN members welcome. Learn from others, suggest your ideas to others. Demo your ideas for the Squid Poles. SOCIAL SCENE 2010 JUNE 12-13 VK2 Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club's 35th Annual Field Day (2 days). VK5 QUEENS BIRTHDAY WEEKEND SERG MT GAMBIER CONVENTION 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 Westlake’s 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.