WIANEWS - June 05 - 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 TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA 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 WEEK COMMENCING June 05 2011. George Taylor Medal, presented to Jim Linton VK3PC RD Contest change of time. Lawrence Hargrave Awards WIA President speaks of Darwin AGM THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING JUNE 5 2011. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the Victorian (VK3) town of Rosanna, Steve Warrillow has just had a great article featuring Amateur Radio and himself in the local paper. http://heidelberg-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/is-anybody-out-therer/ VK3SN Mr Warrillow has battled the wilderness, bleak weather conditions and technical obstacles for his hobby, just recently, Mr Warrillow and his brother, Gerard, headed to a secret spot in the Victorian alps to contest the Wireless Institute of Australia's John Moyle Field Day tournament - the holy grail for thousands of ham radio operators. Mr Warrillow doesn’t want to give the location away, but admits it was above 1700m. “We sat though rain, mist and sunshine,” he said. “We had our camp set up with the radio, antennas and the solar panels, because you can’t take generators into a national park. Bragging rights aside, these amateur radio operators would be the lifeline for survivors of a disaster the Heidelberg Leader Newspaper said. “You’d need people with the skills to set up independent communication without using satellites, the internet, and phones.” This story was also picked up by an ABC station in Melbourne and an interview conducted by Richard Stubbs was made. HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA, VK1 2 4 7 AND 5. CANBERRA VK1 All visitors are welcome to attend this public ceremony at The Australian War Memorial. Bomber Command wreathlaying ceremony this Sunday June 5 at 11 am, Bomber Command Memorial, Sculpture Garden. This annual wreathlaying ceremony commemorates the service and sacrifice those who served in Bomber Command (awm) Next Wednesday, the 8th June, Rakesh Panwar from the Ionospheric Prediction Service will be in Canberra to give presentations on Solar Weather and a HF Propagation training course. Rakesh has kindly agreed to give a presentation that evening to interested Hams on pretty much anything to do with the IPS. The crarc clubrooms will be open from 7:30pm with the presentation starting at 8pm. Carl VK1KCM would appreciate it if you could send an email to his private email address, carl@stagecraft.cx, if you plan to attend. Next weekend on the VK2 mid north coast will be the annual Oxley Region Field Day at Port Macquarie. The Oxley Region A R C is celebrating their 40th birthday and invites you to attend on Saturday and Sunday at the Tacking Point Surf Club hall in Mathew Flinders Drive, Lighthouse Beach. There will be a dinner at the Tacking Point Golf Club Saturday night. There will be fox hunts both days and the traders on Sunday. For a field day program go to www.orarc.org VK4 - QNEWS web service local audio news:- www.wiaq.com/ftp/vk4_qnews_64.mp3 local news email qnews-vk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com VKR Roundup http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/Media+Releases/ VK4 SILENT KEYS @ 2010 - 2011 QAC YEAR VK4MWT Tom Bowden November 14 2010 Advised by Gavin VK4ZZ VK4SS Alan Shawsmith November 23 2010 Advised by Stephen VK4JSS VK4CK Colin King December 30 2010 Advised by Gary VK4AR VK4AMO Mike O'Callaghan January 02 2011 advised by Dale VK4DMC VK4HER Dawn Sebbens January 09 2011 advised by Margaret VK4AOE VK4YNL Egon Frangenheim January 19 2011 advised by Gordon VK4VP VK4DI Len Effeney February 01 2011 advised by Clive VK4ACC VK4CAU Frank Sleep March 24 2011 advised by Gavin VK4ZZ VK4AB Wayne Bryce April 04 2011 advised by Alan VK4FABR VK4FPOD Gordon McCulkin April 11 2011 advised by Margaret Williams WIA VK4DLE Ernie Portman April 19 2011 advised by Gordon VK4VP Silent Key Sadly we must advise of the passing of an Amateur and member of SCARC. Ernie Portman VK4DLE passed away on the 19th of April. He nearly always checked in after the news on a Sunday morning and while not a member who was in the headlines he was always in the background listening to what was going on. Vale Ernie VK4DLE. Welcome to QNews from VK4WIA. I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I've been thinking. The two things that most clubs find over time that are the hardest to maintain are the recruitment of new members and the keeping of current members. When membership renewal time comes around, there is probably an unconscious cringe amongst the management committee and a sucking in of breath waiting to see how the numbers stack up. When it does happen that there is a number of non-renewals, what does the club know as to why? It is no use just speculating or justifying past action or inaction with self serving excuses. It is no use to the other club members if people stand around wringing their hands and wailing. There can be as many reasons as there are people involved. So what can we do? Perhaps what is needed is some one from the membership who can personally contact the non renewed members. They can be given the brief to greet these people and explain that the club is sorry that they have not renewed their subscription. If they indicate they do not intend to rejoin, then ask if they can frankly say what their reasons are. This will help the club and its current members be more responsive to member needs. In marketing, it is stressed that people are receptive and responsive to the use of their name. For this reason, please, oh please, do not resort to impersonal, anonymous form letters or emails. When we are losing a friend from the circle, the best response is to enquire why and do so directly and personally. I'm Geoff Emery and that's what I think......how about you? CLUBBING - TO SUPPLY NEWS ITEMS:- email qnews@wia.org.au SUNSHINE COAST Maleny VK4RSC 146.850 and 438.075 VK4RSN 53.7 Noosa Heads VK4RSL 146.825 and 438.175 This is Gordon VK4VP with news from the Sunshine Coast International Rally of Qld Various members of SCARC and other amateurs once again helped out at the International Rally of QLD held at Imbil over the weekend of 14th and 15th of May. This event features the fastest drivers from Australia and the Asia Pacific region. The SCARC big yellow comms van was at the Derrier Road spectators area where the action was coming thick and fast. If it wasn't a little MK 1 Escort being chased by Big Thommo in the Ford Falcon XY GT it was a Mitsubishi Evo X chopping down trees. SCARC provided a point where the scores were displayed as soon as they were recorded meaning there was virtually no faster way to see what was happening in the field. It proved a great resource for Jamie the commentator at the spectator area as he was able to track the cars throughout the rally as each one finished a stage. There were a few equipment failures early on but these were quickly sorted with the help of the team of packet experts on hand. You can't have too many TNC's and radios and this proved very true. One of the highlights of the weekend was the Saturday night dinner at the Borumba Deer Park that has become a staple of the Rally event, and this year it proved as good as ever. 3 courses cooked in camp ovens and plenty of good cheer and laughter to wash it down. Sunday saw more competition with the cars running in the reverse direction through the spectators area and provided plenty of photo opportunities. This was my first year at the rally and I am sure I will be back next year. This has been Gordon VK4VP TABLELANDS RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CLUB vk4wat@wia.org.au www.treclub.org.au G’Day again from Far North Queensland, where the wet season is finally drawing to a close and the cooler days are starting, this is Dale VK4DMC for the Tablelands Radio and Electronics Club, TREC, in Far North Queensland. As you are listening to this news broadcast TREC members are, once again, out in the field playing radio and providing communications and check point manning for the Far North Endurance Riders. The weather is great and the horses and riders are enjoying the cooler conditions. TREC has a meeting planned for Saturday the 25th of June at our clubrooms. Stu VK4SDD the TREC president has just returned from a few weeks in Hawaii where as well as doing the touristy thing he also managed to work back into VK4 working a couple of fellow TREC members on 10 metres. TREC members Gary VK4FD and Jeff VK4BOF spent a week at the Undara Volcanic National Park activating the park for the World Flora and Fauna 44. WFF44 is an International award program with stations setting up and transmitting from national parks worldwide in support of the environment. Well that’s your lot for this week. Visit the TREC website at www.treclub.org.au for club information and you can also download the latest monthly club news in TREC-NEWS. Past issues are also available on the site. This has been Dale VK4DMC and you are listening to the WIA news. Travel Well! VK7 local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com NTARC – June 8 – Presentation on Tamar Sea Rescue with Mark VK7FMWT and Joe VK7ZJA - Alanvale Skills Institute – Block B – 7:30pm. http://www.ntarc.net REAST – June 8, 15, 22, 29 - DATV Experimenter's Night - starts 7:30pm in the Queen's Domain Clubrooms. http://reast.asn.au/atv/ VK5 Hello. This is Charles on behalf of the south east radio group. You may not be aware that the buy and sell part of the serg convention is only for one day this year , but the fox hunting will, as usual, be for two days. We are having the convention at the Margaret street scout hall. The hall is located just behind the mount gamier police station. The hall opens Sunday the 12th of June at 10am. And doors will close at 2pm. So you only have 4 hours to grab a bargain. Ross from strictly ham will be there as well as lots of second hand goodies. Bring over you home brew and enter it into our home brew contest. It even has a section for foundation licences. The Australian fox hunting championships will start on the Saturday at 11am at the lakes and do we have a great one for you this year. The fox hunting will go over two days and we promise this year will be one to remember. Check out the serg web site for more details. So if you’re doing nothing on the June long weekend why not come to mount Gambier and do some fox hunting? EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO www.hamcollege.com.au Congratulations go out to Paul VK4PRO of Alice River who recently successfully completed all elements of the Standard Licence Assessment via the WIA Exam Service in Townsville and has just been issued his brand new callsign by theACMA Look out for Paul on the HF bands real soon now, once he gets some projects completed for the Board of Control. The SARL is planning various events to celebrate South African Youth Day 16 June including a discussion with young radio amateurs still at school about how they became involved in amateur radio and how it has benefited them. Youth in Amateur Radio will be transmitted on 16 June at 09:30 and will also be available for download. ============================================================================= NEWS FROM ARNEWSLINE USA HAM RADIO RESPONDS TO JOPLIN TORNADO Ham radio operators are a part of severe weather spotting as well as being involved in relief efforts as tornadoes continue to ravage the South. We have the latest in this report: Actually, four days after the severe weather struck, very little is known about the role being played by radio amateurs in the South, especially in and around Joplin, Missouri. That’s because they are far too busy saving lives and reporting damage to stop to make reports to the press. We do know come from published news reports that quote Ron Kittleman, K0ADI. He says that hams have been stationed at the Springfield Missouri office of the National Weather Service. Also, that amateurs from ARES have been providing communication between hospitals and assessment teams following the tornado that hit Joplin at approximately 6 pm local time on Sunday, May 22nd. According to Kittleman, the storm knocked out cell phone and landline communications across the area. Radio operators from ARES started relaying medical information between the Freeman Hospital and the St John’s and Cox Health medical facilities in Springfield shortly after the storm hit. Another report says that a Kansas and Western Missouri SATERN Teams from the Salvation Army has been activated for the Joplin tornado response. As we go to air, SATERN team members are reportedly assisting with communications in the affected area. Also, a Salvation Army emergency disaster services team based out Pittsburg, Kansas has been deployed to Joplin. Its job is to help carry out mass feeding for residents and first responders through a mobile feeding kitchen capable of serving thousands of meals a day. As we go to air, the situation across the storm ravaged region remains a fluid one with events changing by the minute. We should know more in the coming days. From the Newsroom in Los Angeles, I’m Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, reporting for the Amateur Radio network More on this ham radio emergency response to this springs wicked weather in future Amateur Radio Newsline reports. HAMVENTION 2011: IT WAS THE SHOW TO BE AT Dayton Hamvention 2011 is in the books and for some, the highlights included an "out of this world" experience in the visit of a NASA astronaut and a surprise guest appearance by one of the government's top communications regulators. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V has the report. -- "My call sign here on Earth is KF5BOC. But I've never used it. I call that my gravity call sign. But, my real call sign is NA1SS from the space station and I sort of got this emotional attachment to that now." And, that's what NASA Astronaut Doug Wheelock had to say during Saturday's Youth Forum at the Dayton Hamvention, one of several events he attended during the weekend celebration of Global Friendship, the theme of this year's gathering. Wheelock was invited to Hamvention to be part of the American Radio Relay League's Expo. But he spent a lot of time mingling and circulating throughout various areas of the Hamvention grounds and freely signed autographs and chatted with folks and packed a Saturday afternoon forum where he talked about life aboard the International Space Station. Wheelock says his time aboard the space station was anything but routine. It was last July 31, only hours after a pre-arranged contact with K2BSA at the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree in Virginia that things got challenging. "I had just shut down the tread mill and about 10 minutes later the alarms went off," Wheelock recalls. "I looked and I kept silencing the alarms, silencing the alarm. I picked up the mic and said 'Houston are you there?' "And, they weren't answering and so then I looked and all my crewmates were there and they said: 'What did you do?' I said: 'I just turned off the tread mill, I promise you.' "Anyway, we had a pump module that failed, we ended up having to go outside and do three space walks." And, Wheelock says, it was great to know there were people - other than his crewmates and NASA engineers - who he could talk to and decompress as they battled to fix the problem... "As we came back in from those spacewalks. I got on the ham radio and we talked about it and everything," Wheelock says. "Using that radio and having you guys as an emergency contact for us around the globe was a warm, warm feeling for me as a commander aboard that space station." And, Wheelock says, he looked at ham radio aboard the ISS as a critical back-up, should all else fail... "I thought, you know, I have these emergency contacts on every continent on that planet down there," Wheelock recalls. "And, I thought if my communication goes out with Mission Control, I am not hesitating one bit to call some of my friends and say: 'Hey, Chris, can you give Mission Control a jingle and tell 'em that we're okay.' " And, Wheelock says, becoming a ham has been a life-changing experience.... "The friends that I made in the amateur radio business and community, I now feel like a just an entrenched member of this community and it really truly has changed my life for the better," Wheelock says. Finally, Wheelock recalls "crossing the line." He thought it was harmless when he did it. But his NASA ham radio instructor informed him after he did it that...well, let's have him tell the story of wishing a frequent friend over Europe by the name of Fabiano a happy birthday... "I felt like I was kind of slapped on the wrist by NASA and then I thought, and then I felt flattered that my singing of Happy Birthday was actually considered music," he says. Wheelock truly was a hit, stopping to take pictures with nearly everyone who asked and signing program books and NASA photos. He'll also be appearing in an upcoming video the ARRL is producing. Now, what else happened at Dayton? Well, imagine you're Hamvention chairman Michael Kalter W8CI, and you get word Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is "in the house" and wants an audience. No fooling! Genachowski had a flight diverted to Dayton Friday night because of the storms in the Midwest and was told it might be a problem finding a hotel room because of the Hamvention. Well, Genachowski found a room and decided to check out ham radio for himself and this big gathering of hams from around the world. As Kalter and others from the Dayton Hamvention committee tell it, Genachowski spent about two hours at the gathering. He circulated among many, including those in the main arena where he chatted with folks about the advanced technology in use in amateur radio today. The Dayton Hamvention committee estimated attendance of at least 20-thousand and say they got positive feedback from both the inside vendors and those in the flea market. One little glitch made this year's Hamvention a bit memorable. Early in the afternoon, Hara Arena personnel began closing off all the restrooms with yellow caution tape and directing people to porta-potties outside. Most didn't learn until later that major sewer line broke, sending its contents into an area of the flea market. Well, the affected flea market spots were moved, the leak was temporarily fixed, and people came back Sunday for the final day of events. I'll be back next week with more on Hamvention 2011, including a special interview with a YL who has been a big part of activities in Dayton for 24 years. Next year, she's looking forward to 25 and she'll clue us in on what she has in store. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, from Dayton, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V. COUNCIL OF EUROPE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS RF FREE ZONES The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly Committee on the Environment released a report titled The Potential Dangers of Electromagnetic Fields and Their Effect on the Environment. The paper, made public on May 6th carries recommendations that, if adopted, could have major implications for wireless carriers and, to a lesser extent, broadcasters and any RF emitter in the European Union. In regard to standards or threshold values for emissions of electromagnetic fields of all types and frequencies, the Assembly that prepared the report recommends that the “as low as reasonably achievable” principle be applied. This, covering both the so-called thermal effects as well as the biological effects of electromagnetic emissions or radiation. The report also is among the first to give credibility to a phenomena that most scientists and researchers have long been sceptical of. Paragraph 8.1.4 of the report recommends member states of the Council of Europe pay particular attention to the needs of what it calls electro-sensitive persons. These are people who claim that they suffer from a syndrome of intolerance to electromagnetic fields. The report suggests the introduction of special measures to protect these people. This includes the creation of wave-free areas not covered by a wireless network. What effect acceptance and implementation of the recommendations would have on ham radio operations in Europe remain to be determined. (RW) CQ ANNOUNCES HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES And CQ magazine has announced its 2011 Hall of Fame inductees, welcoming 12 new members into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. Topping this years list alphabetically is TV and Film producer Dave Bell, W6AQ, who was chosen for this honour based on his deep involvement in producing multiple amateur radio promotional videos over the past several decades. Also from Southern California is Nate Brightman, K6OSC. He is credited with being the "spark" behind W6RO, the ham station aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Rounding out the California contingent is Cardinal Roger Mahony, W6QYI, the Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles. He was recognized for his leadership as an advocate for immigration reform. Others recognized include Ron Moorefield, W8ILC of Kettering, Ohio. Since its inception, Moorefield has been one of the guiding lights of the Dayton Hamvention. He was also recognized for his work as a coordinator of the cross-country 1984 Olympic Torch Relay. There was also one each member inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame and the CQ Contest Hall of Fame. The 2011 inductee to the CQ DX Hall of Fame is Michael J. McGirr, K9AJ. McGirr has been a leading DXpeditioner who has operated literally from the ends of the Earth over nearly 30 years. The 2011 inductee to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame is John Sluymer, VE3EJ, who has been an active contester and DXer since 1973. He is a founding member and current president of Contest Club Ontario. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honours those individuals, whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to amateur radio; and those amateurs who have made significant contributions either to amateur radio, to their professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet. The CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame honour those amateurs who not only excel in personal performance in these major areas of amateur radio but who also "give back" to the hobby in outstanding ways. Formal inductions to the CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame took place at last weeks Dayton Hamvention. A complete list of this years inductees is on-line at www.cq-amateur-radio.com. ============================================================================= WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WHO GIVES WHO THE PIPS! In the UK last Tuesday the time signal pips which had heralded the "top of the hour" on BBC radio 4 since 1924 "went missing". Announcers and listeners took to the new form of social media trying to locate them! Instead of the distinctive six beeps, the first five of which ring for a tenth of a second, the final one for half a second a dignified silence was observed. Listeners on the internet tweeted "The pips have died. This is as serious as the ravens fleeing The Tower," said one. Another: "My condolences to the friends and family of @BBC_GTS [Greenwich Time Signal]. I recommend five seconds' silence." During the Cold War it was believed that the commander of British Polaris nuclear submarines were told to tune into Radio 4 every morning to ensure they hear the broadcasts. If no Today programme, complete with pips, was heard, they were meant to go to the safe, open instructions, written from beyond the grave by the prime minister, and attack the enemy. John-Paul Dunkley, a BBC broadcast engineer, was interviewed about the absence of the pips. He said: "The box that creates the audio of the pips has died in the basement of Broadcasting House." The much sort after pips are generated thanks to an atomic clock in the basement of Broadcasting House. Luckily, Mr Dunkley said, the "bongs" that greet the start of the six o'clock and midnight news bulletins, and are recorded from the Palace of Westminster's Big Ben, were unaffected. "That's simpler technology," he said. Just think of the consequences if the "bongs" were lost! or worse, if WWV were to lose there pips! SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2011 The International Museums weekend, an annual worldwide event, is being held over the two weekends of 18th - 19th June and 25th - 26th June 2011. They welcome all individual amateurs, groups and clubs to work with their local museums to host a special event station. The museums taking part over the years have included ships, castles, air museums, Napoleonic forts, pumping stations, wireless museums, racing museums and many others. For the purposes of the event, the word 'museum' is loosely interpreted. There really is no shortage of venues in which such an event can be staged, no matter where in the world you might live. Those clubs and museums which do decide to take part, should use the free on-site 'Registration' facility http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk/imw/ The 'Registration' is simply to assist in administration of the event and provide those taking part with an indication of how many and exactly where the museums taking part are located. If you require more information then go to http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk/imw/ or contact Harry M1BYT. (Bobby Wadey MI0RYL) Aug 20-21 WW I.L.L.W. TARC ready for the 2011 Lighthouse Lightship Weekend ARRR! MATEYS ! theTARCinc plans to activate the Cape Cleveland Light (ILLW Number AU0045) on 20 and 21 August as part of the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend. It will be a great weekend full of relaxed operating with the challenge of deploying HF VHF and UHF antennae in a remote environment and talking to stations at other lighthouses around Australia and the world. Travel to and from the site via the mighty barge Hercules. Pristine surroundings away from the hustle and bustle with a unique view of Townsville. Spot the Whales, dugongs, sea turtles, dolphins plus much more ! Is your appetite ravenous ? Contact Steve VK4SJW on 47723767 h to put your name on the list. SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE JULY Hellenic Amateur Radio Association of Australia out to Lord Howe Island VK9HR. 24th July to 2nd August 2011. JULY In DX, the Intrepid-DX Group and the DX Friends plan to activate the Southern Sudan as new country on or after July 9th. At airtime members of the two groups report that they are in consultation with representatives of the new Southern Sudan Government, the International Telecommunications Union and the International Amateur Radio Union working on making arrangements. More on this proposed operation will be posted on-line at www.dxfriends.com/SouthernSudan2011 AWARDS For the last sixty years the Illawarra Amateur Radio Society has hosted the Lawrence Hargrave Awards. Access to the award is available to all Amateur Operator license classes. To be eligible to apply for an award you need a confirmed contact with the clubs official station VK2AMW. You are also eligible for the award by logging contacts with financial Illawarra Amateur Radio Society members. For a full list of the rules and to download an application form to claim your award visit the Illawarra Amateur Radio Society web site, www.iars.org.au THE QNEWS WORK BENCH - the nuts and volts report - (Measure twice - Cut once!) You are invited to a Technical Seminar The College of Information, Telecommunications & Electronic Engineering invites you to attend one of the presentations by its 2010 Eminent Speaker, Dr Terry Stevenson on - The Engineering Leadership required in the development of Complex Systems. Terry is the Chief Technology Officer for Raytheon Australia The seminar is on Tuesday 7th June - 5.30pm for 6pm Start at Hotel Ibis, 12-14 Palmer St, South Townsville RSVP is required & there is a $10 charge for any non-members you would like to bring with you. RSVP Online at https://events.engineersaustralia.org.au/ei/rs.esp?id=431&scriptid=_30A11VLDN For further information please visit - http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/eminentspeaker/ MEDIA WATCH www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html VK Club Bulletins http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aarnie/ Toby Corbett VK3PNF is a member of the technical committee of The Shepparton And District Amateur Radio Club, and along with Mike VK8MA has installed the Automated software on IRLP/Echolink Node 6992 which is linked to 2m Repeater VK3RGV Mt Wombat at a frequency of 146.650Mhz Shepparton will air the news Sunday nights at 7:30pm. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ARDF WIA ARDF COORDINATOR VK3WWW Jack vk3www@wia.org.au http://users.mackay.net.au/~ron/ http://www.homingin.com http://www.ardf.org.au Sep 23-28 R3 Region 3 ARDF Championship Bendigo VK3 http://r3.ardf.org.au/ Famous TARC Foxhunt happening soon If you are in the vicinity of the Townsville Region on Saturday July 2nd from 1pm and want to get involved in a Foxhunt then Tony VK4TJS wants to hear from you. You have until 28th June to get your attendance numbers in for the Foxhunt. There will be activities for all family members to participate in during the Foxhunt and things will end up with some in-flight catering. To cater for the event Tony needs to know your attendance numbers and you need to quiz Tony further regarding details about the Foxhunt. Who do you have to call ? Tony VK4TJS of course, on 47740582 SOCIAL SCENE 2011 Jun 11 - 12 VK2 Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club annual Field Day Jul 16 VK3 Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club Hamfest Cranbourne Community Hall 10am ( secretary@ggrec.org.au ) Jul 16 VK4 Maryborough Electronics and Radio Group "Wide Bay Hamfest" West Scout Hall, Ariadne St, Maryborough 8:30am. secretary@merg.org.au Jul 31 VK2/3 Riverina Field Day 10am at Lavington Scout Group Hall. Aug 7 VK2 Lismore region - SARCFEST Sep 11 VK3 SADARC Comms Day at St Augustine's Hall Shepparton 10am. Sep 16-18 VK4 NQ Amateur Radio Convention Date Set Townsville Sep 23-28 R3 Region 3 ARDF Championship Bendigo VK3 http://r3.ardf.org.au/ Sep 30-Oct 2 VK4 Central Highlands Amateur Radio Club AGM at Camp Fairbairn CONTACT Secretary Gordon, (vk4kal@wia.org.au) Nov 20 vk5 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society Hamfest Goodwood Community Centre, Rosa St Goodwood at 0930. Visit www.ahars.com.au for contact details FINAL FINAL WITH THE WIA President Michael Owen VK3KI president@wia.org.au Vice President Phil Wait VK2ASD vk2asd@wia.org.au Secretary Sarah Thompson VK3AUD secretary@wia.org.au Treasurer John Longayroux VK3PZ vk3pz@wia.org.au The WIA Annual Conference took place last weekend in Darwin. The weekend was an outstanding success thanks particularly to the dedicated band of helpers from the Darwin Amateur Radio Club, WIA manager Mal Brooks and the many others who contributed. It was layback, captured the atmosphere of the Territory, it all worked and was attended by amateurs from every state and territory other than Tasmania but even one from New Zealand. Friday night was dinner at the Trailer Boat Club, watching the sun set over Fannie Bay and addressed by the Lord Mayor of Darwin Graeme Sawyer, who spoke of the top end weather and ecology and the depressing damage cause by the cane toad. While the partners toured Darwin, the statutory Annual General Meeting, followed by the presentation of a number of awards followed by the Open Forum took place on Saturday morning. Among the awards presented was the George Taylor Medal, presented to Jim Linton VK3PC, recognising his great contribution last year to the Centenary Celebrations in leading and guiding the promotional aspect of the Centenary year as well as his incredibly many years of work for amateur radio in many fields. Because he could not be in Darwin the award was presented using a Skype link. At the same time Geoff Atkinson VK3AFA was presented with the Chris Jones Award. Details of all the awards as well as other information from the Open Forum and the WIA Directors meeting on Monday morning will be published on http://www.wia.org.au the WIA website and in AR. The Open Forum was a constructive discussion of many matters, including unanimous support for the RD contest to start at around lunchtime. Saturday afternoon was devoted to a symposium, led by David Donnelly VK8DON who described the role of Bush Light in bringing renewable energy to remote communities. 106 people sat down to a successful dinner on Saturday night, with the highlights of Doug McArthur telling stories of radio and amateur radio in old Darwin, and well known singer and local amateur John Mitchell VK8JM providing memorable entertainment. Sunday saw a visit to Litchfield National Park, the magnetic termites, a visit to Florence Falls, a Barbecue at Wangi Falls provided by members of the Darwin Club, and evening saw the end of the conference with another sunset and a meal at the Mindil Beach Sunset Market. As I say, the weekend was a success. I think almost everyone saw me and said how much they enjoyed the weekend and how seamless and lay back it all was. The members of the Darwin Amateur Radio Club, its President Spud Murphy, Secretary Peter Blackadder, the drivers, the barbecue experts, those who looked after the drinks the people who looked after the partners, even meeting everyone on arrival at Darwin airport made 2011 yet another memorable year. And now put in your diary next year’s Annual Conference, the weekend around the 26 May 2012, in Mildura, Victoria supported y the Sunraysia Radio Group. Yes, when we decided to hold a Conference in Darwin I was a little nervous. It is so far away. But I hoped we could do something for amateur radio by going there. But the support of the many attending, the support of the amateurs of Darwin, made it a weekend to remember. Thank you. ============================================================================= WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide. 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