WIANEWS - AUG 01 - VK NATIONAL NEWS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AUGUST 1 2010. ALL UP AND COMING IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING AUGUST 1 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top of the news ------------- Powder coating referred to during Robert & Bryans intro banter. Make Magazine Website http://makezine.com/ Make Powder Coating Oven http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/01/diy_powder_coating_oven.html Make Powder Coating Rig http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/07/diy_powder_coating_rig.html -------------- VK100WIA ROUNDUP (For broadcast 1 August) The Moorabbin and District Radio Club has thanked the amateur radio community for helping to make its recent VK100WIA roster slot a success with over 600 contacts being logged. The members of the Victoria?s oldest established radio club worked hard concentrating on air activity through the special callsign to support the Centenary of Organised Amateur Radio in Australia. Looking ahead at the VK100WIA roster This weekend the Hills Amateur Radio Group in Western Australia is in full swing operating VK100WIA from its club rooms in Sanderson Road, Lesmurdie. It has opened its radio shack to the public and there has been interest shown by the local newspaper, the Hills Gazette. On Tuesday the Central Goldfields Amateur Radio Club will be launching its three day slot and going all out to Centenary of Organised Amateur Radio in Australia by operating from the Talbot Radio Arts Museum. The club which is based in Maryborough Central Victoria has an interesting story to tell its local media about one of the earlier amateur wireless experimenters who lived in Maryborough. On Tuesday special guest at the Talbot Museum in Camp Street Talbot will be the President of the Wireless Institute of Australia, Michael Owen VK3KI who will give a brief speech at 11.30am just before the BBQ is fired up. So do listen out for VK100WIA at 0001 UTC on Tuesday the 3rd of August emanating from Talbot. The special callsign roster moves to Victoria?s Mornington Peninsula on Friday the 6th, Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of August where it will be put to air by the Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Club. Most of the operating will be from the Scout Hall, Point Nepean Road, Rosebud, a high public profile location in the centre of Rosebud, with a display to include software defined radio. The members of SPARC are very enthusiastic about promoting amateur radio and have contact their local news media seeking publicity. Looking even further ahead at the roster we see the Newcastle-based VK2AWA Contest Group, the Illawarra Amateur Radio Society, and Australia?s youngest club, the Macedon Ranges Amateur Radio Club in Victoria, all set to play a part in the centenary celebrations. Doubled-headed promotion A large article in the Hastings Independent newspaper in Victoria has promoted both the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula ARC and the Southern Peninsula ARC. This excellent story not only gives readers both detail of the VK100WIA activity but how to follow-up each club for more information. While including the history of amateur radio and its role in providing emergency communications, it also features a photo of 9-year old Callum Seymour operating on air, a radio amateur of the future. Now to VK6, where the Hills Amateur Radio Group has had two newspaper article published drawing attention to the club and creating interest. The first in Echo News is headlined ë100 years and still going strongì. The other article, ëRadio buffs mark milestoneì which included a photo of the HARG President Martin Streeton VK6ZMS, who is quoted talking about amateur radio and gets in a good plug for the club. In an email received, Martin said club members were delighted in being part of the centenary celebration, and added, ëthanks for the WIA Media Kit, it did the job nicelyì. And a reminder for all clubs to file their media hits so these can be include in the WIA Club Media Feedback section of the WIA website, and mentioned right here on the broadcast. - North Queensland Net VK100WIA Report The Townsville Amateur Radio Club, as part of its 3 day block provided by the WIA, utilised VK100WIA during the running of the Sunday July 25th evening North Queensland Net on 3605.4kHz along with relay and callbacks on 146.7MHZ. 38 stations called in on 80metres with most staying on for the second round of the net run by Gavin VK4ZZ while 10 operators called in on 2metres with most staying on for the second round of the net run by Richard VK4FRJG. Propagation was good on 80metres with stations worked in VK3, VK6, VK2 and VK4 call areas. NEWS FROM THE NORTH WOW - Women on Wireless celebrate the centenary The Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association, ALARA, threw itself into the task for putting the WIA special callsign VK100WIA on air and did an outstanding job. Jean Fisher VK3VIP, the Victorian ALARA representative led the way, duly facilitated by OM John VK3DQ who was the designated ëtea-boyì, with operating being shared by Margaret Blight VK3FMAB and Michele Grant VK3FEAT. Among the highlights reported by Jean VK3VIP was making contact with Dick GI3OUR in Northern Ireland, and VK100WIA being net control of the 160 metre band coffee break net. ALARA was active on the 160m, 80m, 40m and 20m bands, mostly SSB but also some CW contacts were had, plus 2m including IRLP and transmissions through the Melbourne digital amateur television repeater VK3RTV. The log for the three days shows DX contacts with Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Honduras, Japan, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, New Caledonia, Russia and the United States. Well done to ALARA members Jean, Margaret and Michele, and others who made it such a success. ADD to the WOW item While thereìs no contest for rostered clubs in terms of the number of contacts they make, itìs interesting to note ALARA tallied up 660 contacts in three days. Now thatìs second behind Amateur Radio Victoria, which had 798 contacts when four of its members put VK100WIA on air on behalf of the WIA during the month of May. ALARA is now thinking of how it can top off its effort with VK100WIA and celebrating the Centenary of Organised Amateur Radio in Australia, by seeking some media publicity for ALARA in its 30th anniversary year. - Ann Renton Memorial Ladies Net VK100WIA Report It was time to focus on the YLs with VK100WIA during the Townsville Amateur Radio Club Inc activation of the WIA 100th Birthday special call during the Ann Renton Memorial Ladies Net on Tuesday evening 27th July. A special linking operation enabled the net, which usually only runs on the Townsville 2metre repeater, to also run on the Townsville 70cm repeater, link via IRLP to the Rockhampton VHF Repeater and also link in 3605.4kHz with net control by Lyndall VK4ZM in Vincent and all the behind the scenes interlinking done by Gavin VK4ZZ at the TARC Club Rooms at West End. The net was blessed with the attendance of YLs Evie VK4EQ and Denise VK4FCDB in Townsville and Mary VK4PZ and Meryll VK4HAJ in Rockhampton. Alas no contacts were made on 80metres, however Jeff VK4NJB in Rockhampton and 5 OMs in Townsville were also able to join in the special edition of the net and share in the warm glow of the VK100WIA callsign. "Hi this is Dick Smith ... ..promoting the hobby" 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 HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA VK2 TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT FOR WIA NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST FOR WEEK COMMENCING SUNDAY 1ST AUGUST 2010 SUBMITTED BY CHRIS MEAGHER VK2ACD FOR SUMMERLAND AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Coming up next weekend, the Summerland Amateur Radio club presents the 2010 SARCFEST. Its on Sunday the eigth of August, at the clubrooms, 414 Richmond Hill Road, Goonellabah, just 10 kilometres from Lismore. There will be displays, traders, tucker, talks, raffles, refreshments and best of all lots of, as they say, "pre-loved" ham gear for sale. And for those keen on building radio euipment, there's a big stock of parts to clear, including a big selection of hard-to-get butterfly, beehive and compression trimmer capacitors. The gates open at 9am. To get a location map and an information flyer, send an email with the title "HAMFEST" to VK2ACD @ dodo.com.au. Theres plenty of parking space and no need to book to sell from a table or your car boot. See you at SARCFEST next Sunday. Pronunciation: Goonellabah = Goo-"nella"-bar VK4 - QNEWS News from TREC G’day I’m Dale VK4DMC for the Tablelands Radio and Electronics Club with news from TREC. Last Sunday TREC members and friends helped the TREC President John VK4TL celebrate his eightieth birthday. The party was a huge success with lots of food and drinks and, of course a guided tour of John’s shack where he proudly demonstrated his new Elecraft K3 transceiver. We also got to see his nearly completed home-brew linear amplifier - truly a work of art. Things are happening here in Far North Queensland with many activities planned for the next few months. Coming up, communications support for the Far North Horse Endurance Riders events. On the 14th/15th August TREC will be setting up a public display for V.P. Day at the Rocky Creek War Memorial. Using restored 2nd World War transmitting equipment we hope to work stations for the RD Contest. The following weekend will see TREC members activating the Archer Point Lighthouse just south of Cooktown for the International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend. A club meeting is planned towards the end of the month and on the last weekend of August another Communications Support event for the endurance riders. All in all a busy month ahead for TREC members. This has been Dale VK4DMC 73 VK8 VK8NSB SSTV Repeater has been on air now for over 6 weeks from Darwin with stations in VK2,3,4 and a couple of JA operators submitting reports. Stuie VK8NSB reports that the repeater as off Sunday the 25 Jul is now fully operational thanks to good mate Gary doing the honors of placing the 10m Vertical 12m high on tower No 2 at Stuies QTH. The repeater now operates 30 watts into a half wave Vertical for 10m on 28700 USB. Stuie advises that there are currently 8 pictures on the system and a different picture will beacon every 30 min. Amateurs wishing to use the repeater only have to tone the system with a 1750khz tone for 2 seconds which will activate the repeater. If anyone has any problems or is interested in learning more about SSTV please drop stuie a e-mail at vk8nsb@hotmail.com. VK9 ELECTRONIC LAW: CEASE AND DECIST ORDER ON LIGHT SABER SOLD ON EBAY Now here's a strange story involving electronics law. It seems that LucasFilm Ltd. recently served a manufacturer of a handheld laser with a cease-and-desist letter. This, for selling an item it claimed was too close in resemblance to its trademark light sabers from "Star Wars." But the Hong Kong firm decided to use the force of eBay to score some revenge. This by putting the cease-and-desist letter up for auction. According the Hollywood Reporter entertainment industry newspaper, the letter was not signed by George Lucas himself. Rather the company marketed the legal document as an opportunity for those to win a piece of LucasFilm history as well as contribute to the company's battle with the giant film maker. (HR) arrl OPERATIONAL NEWS SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2010 Aug 07 ZL Waitakere Sprint CW 1000 - 1100utc Waitakere Sprint Contest Aug 14-15 WIA Remembrance Day Contest Peter Harding vk4od@wia.org.au Aug 21-22 International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. register on website illw.net Oct 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 Hello Listeners. I am peter Harding, VK4OD the WIA RD Contest Manager. Today being the 1ST August and, you have about 3 weeks to the commencement of this year’s RD Contest. I have not asked in the past so I would ask if when you send your log in either by Electronic or postal means please ensure that you have you correct postal address. Anybody requiring any of the forms posted to them please contact me ASAP. In the coming week I will finalize the Opening speech, which at this point it will run for exactly 30 minutes, and will finish with a series of beeps indicating it is 08:00utc, I will send out a special email via the usual weekly news server. The opening speech will be available via the wia website. For those people that are hand writing their logs, “ PLEASE” try to write your logs in a legible manner, as in the past some logs have been VERY HARD to decipher. Until next week. Good Morning Trent Vk4ti here.. (cut 5 august 1) If you are planning a multi op station for the RD remember to make up some bandpass filters to reduce inter station interference. For the classic VHF UHF bandpass filters can be simply made from coaxial T pieces and these also work well at HF. For my HF setup I use auto switched band pass filters on both rigs that cover 160 through ten metres - this allows me to monitor 40M while working on 80M without any intereference. Certainly worth checking out if you are planning multi op stations Back to the news desk SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, REPEATER BEACON DX AND NET ADVICE MEDIA WATCH TV series inviting amateur radio enthusiasts Described as a sort of Blind Date on a bus, the producers of a forthcoming TV series are inviting amateur radio enthusiasts and others to take part. The show revolves around a souped-up double decker bus which is touring cities around Britain. Producers are looking for single people aged between 18 and 30 to take part and are particularly keen to hear from people with any sort of talent to show off. (RSGB News) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- APRS WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET, THE HAM'S DOMAIN Amateur Radio makes waves on the 'net Last Sunday 25 July, Ham Radio hit the big-time on the 'net with a specific request for advice listed on the international geek news site http://SlashDot.org. The person wants to go long distance trail walking in the wilds of Colorado's mountains, and wanted to know whether it was sensible to use a satellite phone or whether Amateur Radio could help out. "I'm only interested in acquiring a radio and license if it is a lot more effective and reliable than the cell phone I already carry." Lots of advice was forthcoming, including VHF/UHF handhelds through repeaters (including a suggestion to put a personal repeater in his car at the trail-head), Amateur satellite options were extensively discussed, lots of other people discussed the relative merits of mobile phone technology versus Globalstar versus SPOT versus Iridium satellite phones, personal emergency locater beacons (PLB's) versus EPIRBS, and so on. Someone made the mistake of saying that "Amateur Radio is dying" and was quickly told that 2009 was a bumper year for new licenses in the USA, and 2010 is already well ahead of last year. With good 'net publicity like this, that goes all over the world, Amateur Radio will be looking up everywhere. Reference: http://ask.slashdot.org/story/10/07/24/1823252/Amateur-Radio-In-the-Backcountry For National Radio News, Peter Ellis VK1PE MAKE MAGAZINE BLOG PRESENTS $8,000 DIY HAM SATELLITE KIT If you have ever wanted your own personal ham radio satellite but thought it was financially out of reach, the Make Magazine blog carries a short item on a satellite that can be yours for just $8,000. Called a TubeSat, the magazine says that the kit for a tiny bird from Interorbital Systems that is designed to function as a basic satellite bus or as a simple stand-alone satellite. Included are the satellite's structural components, printed circuit board. electronic components, solar cells, and everything needed to build the satellite. Also included are the required programming tools. Make's blog says that with these components alone, the builder can construct a satellite that puts out enough power to be picked up on the ground by a hand-held amateur radio receiver. It says that simple applications include broadcasting a repeating message from orbit or programming the satellite to function as a private orbital amateur radio relay station. Interorbital Systems says it can deploy 32 of these tiny satellites simultaneously on a Neptune 30 launcher from the Pacific island of Tonga. The first launch is slated for the end of the year. These satellite will go into a very low Earth orbit and would probably have a lifetime of only a few months. If you have an extra $8000 and want to be the first with his or her own personal ham radio satellite you can read more about the concept on line in the MAKE magazine blog at tinyurl.com/personalbird. We will have more ham radio space related news later on in this weeks Amateur Radio Newsline report. (Southgate, MAKE Blog) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS -- HOMEBREW EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: TWISTING CRYSTALS Chemists in the United States and Russia have created crystals that can twist and untwist. This they say points to a much more varied process of crystal growth than previously thought and could pave the way for new electronic products. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with the details: -- Crystal growth has traditionally been viewed as a collection of individual atoms, molecules, or small clusters adding to a larger block that remains in a fixed translational relationship to the rest. But the New York University and St. Petersburg State University chemists have discovered a wholly new phenomenon for growth in a crystal structure that continually changes its shape as it grows. To do this, the researchers focused on crystals from hippuric acid which is a derivative of the amino acid glycine. As molecules were added to the end of fine crystalline needles, stresses built up at the tips of the crystals and resulted in a helical twist. The process was reversed when crystals thickened from the opposite end of the growing tip thereby undoing the twisted formations. The researchers work, which appears in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, may explain some of the properties of high-polymers These are used in clothing and liquid crystal displays, among other consumer and telecommunications products. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles. You can read more on this fascinating scientific breakthrough on-line at tinyurl.com/crystaltwist. (Science Daily) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- IOTA VK4SWE on Sweers Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Lyn is the only ham on Sweers, IOTA OC-227 and is in Mornington Shire. She currently runs 100w into a vertical but is soon to enjoy 400w, a triband yagi and a 50' tower. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- QRP and WEAK SIGNAL COMMUNICATION WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO New callsigns for Ireland's Amateur Radio Emergency Network Ireland's regulator ComReg has issued a new set of callsigns for use by the Amateur Radio Emergency Network (AREN) The callsigns are available for use during training and emergency nets as directed by the National Coordinator. The three callsigns are EI0AC, EI0EC, and EI0NC and supersede any callsigns issued in the past WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- LIGHTHOUSES AND LIGHTSHIPS A tide of registrations for the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend The 300th registration this year is from Rainer Kledtke DO7RKL for the Westerheversand lighthouse in the northernmost part of Germany, on a peninsula between the North and the Baltic seas. A most famous landmark it stands 41-metre tall on a peninsula between the North and the Baltic seas. There are 340 lighthouses, some lightships and one time-ball tower registered so far for the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on the 21st and 22nd of August. Australia has been a strong supporter of this fun event celebrating the history of lighthouses. It has 53 registrations, just ahead of Germany on 50 and the United States some 40 lighthouses. Thereìs still lots of lonely lighthouses looking for the company of friendly radio hams. To learn more or register a lighthouse visit the website www.illw.net The event now in its 11th year was begun by the Ayr Radio Club of Scotland GM0AYR and has radio amateurs and lighthouses in some 30 countries involved. (Jim Linton VK3PC) SOCIAL BITS N BOBS AUGUST 1 VK6 Northern Corridor Group Hamfest Cyril Jackson Sports Centre Ashfield Oct 23 WIA WIA National Field Day nfd@wia.org.au 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) THE FINAL FINAL 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 VK3HXR on behalf of the National WIA. *****************************************************************************