WIANEWS - Feb 19 - 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 FEBRUARY 19 2012. cq polio top hat mast of 3WV Field day BBQ cookbook published THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING FEBRUARY 12 2012. WIA PRESIDENT VK3KI REPORTS The ITU’s 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) is now winding to a conclusion in a cold Geneva on Friday night, last Friday night by the time this is broadcast. The WIA has nominated and supported Dale Hughes VK1DSH as a member of the Australian delegation to WRC-12, and Dale has been reporting on a daily basis to the Board. The item of particular interest to amateurs has been agenda item 1.23, a proposal to allocate a small band around 500 kHz to the amateur service on a secondary basis. The process of a WRC is tortuous and confusing. A proposal to satisfy an agenda item is dealt with by a committee with working groups and sub working groups, and becomes part of the treaty after it is read a second time and approved at Plenary meetings. Dale has reported that the Plenary meeting of WRC-12 has now approved the allocation of the band 472-479 kHz across all three ITU regions to the amateur service on a secondary basis. The primary service in the band is maritime mobile, with aeronautical radionavigation also a secondary service, though in some countries, including Australia, it is a primary service. The allocation is subject to a 1 watt e.i.r.p. power limit, though administrations with territory more than 800 kilometres from the borders of certain named countries may allow the higher power of 5 watts e.i.r.p in that territory. There is also an “opt-out” footnote for countries not wishing to allow amateurs to operate in this band. Obviously, how this will be implemented for Australia will be a matter for the Australian administration. Given the opposition of some countries, in particular Iran, the result has been a great result for the amateur service. There may be other matters of importance to the amateur service decided before the WRC concludes, including agenda items for future conferences. Dale, who was also the spokesman for the Asia Pacific Telecomunity, the APT, (the regional telecommunications organisation of countries in Region 3) on the amateur agenda item, has attended two of the APT preparatory meetings for WRC 12 as well as an ITU Study Group Meeting all at the expenses of the WIA. A number of people participating in WRC-12 have paid tribute to Dale’s contribution. The IARU and a number of national amateur societies have contributed particularly to the successful representation of the amateur service at WRC-12. The WIA is proud to have been one of them. And guess what? Agenda for next WRC now includes an amateur allocation around 5 MHz At 4.20 in the morning of 16 February 2012 the Plenary of WRC12, which had been sitting for 9 hours without a break, passed a Resolution entitled “Possible allocation to the amateur service on a secondary basis at around 5 300 kHz.” The Resolution arose from a proposal submitted by Cuba, and noted that amateur stations are regularly used for emergency communications, and also says that “an allocation of an appropriate amount of spectrum, not necessarily contiguous, to the amateur service at around 5 300 kHz would be adequate to better satisfy its needs associated with use for providing communications in disaster situations and during relief operations”. The effect of the Resolution is to invite studies, including sharing studies, before WRC-15 and to put on the agenda for WRC 15 an item to consider, based on the results of the ITU R studies, the possibility of making an allocation of an appropriate amount of spectrum, not necessarily contiguous, to the amateur service on a secondary basis within the band 5 250-5 450 kHz. The WIA has had a continuing interest in this part of spectrum for many years particularly in support of emergency communications. So much so, that the WIA has taken out several land mobile system licences to enable the use of such frequencies. Accordingly, the WIA is delighted that the issue has become an agenda item for WRC-15. Still gracing the airwaves at age 101 WIA Front Page News (wia.org.au) reports on Darcy Hancock VK5RJ who last December had been a licensed radio amateur for 84 years. The report says: VK5RJ Darcy Hancock has lived through the birth of television and several wars but despite the innovation of modern communication, 84 years on from receiving his transmitter's licence, his voice can still be heard over the airwaves. ABC releases video on 'top hat' mast of 3WV Dooen When it comes to beaming radio waves across vast distances, the Dooen transmitter in VK3 is world class. Standing 201 metres tall with a 19 metre wide capacitive ‘top hat’, the 3WV mast in western Victoria stands out in the vast flat landscape that stretches below it. Celebrating 75 years of service it must’ve been a big undertaking in 1936 to build it because cranes and things that are about today weren’t even heard of,” says long time Horsham resident James Heard. In fact 594 AM has even been heard as far as Canada, Japan and South Africa. The staggering reach is aided by the distinctive ‘top hat’ and the low frequency on the AM band. While obviously a success, the antenna was the first of its kind in Australia and acted as a prototype for other services. “It was also the first solid-state 50 kW broadcast transmitter installed for the ABC and it was the test bed for the installations across the rest of the country,” says Tim Hughes, Transmission Coordinator for ABC Victoria. Watch a 3 minute video about the 3WV mast Google it on your ABC site. (SouthGate) SPACE Bringing together the resouces of the WA State Records office, the WA Museum and the City of Perth, Amateur Radio is making a name for itself in Western Australia and across the globe. Here's Onno VK6FLAB with an update for the ARISS contact tomorrow. Monday February 20 at 0900 UTC the City of Perth will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Orbit of John Glenn which he made on the 20th of February 1962. During the celebrations the International Space Station will be live on stage with students from across Western Australia asking questions to an astronaut in space. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the ARISS team, NASA and the Hills Amateur Radio Group, the general public will be introduced to Amateur Radio and its role in providing Earth contacts between the crew of the International Space Station and schools, amateurs and others. There will be trackers from Muchea and Carnarvon, Amateurs from around the state, and a host of dignitaries on hand to make this an event worthy of John Glenn's achievement. John Glenn will be part of the celebrations with a message for the people of Perth and Rockingham. If you're unable to make it to Northbridge in Western Australia, you can listen in using IRLP, Echolink and a web-stream. Details are available on the WA Museum City of Light web-site http://museum.wa.gov.au/city-lights and the Hills Amateur Radio Group web-site harg.org.au/ariss The cast to pull this off is enormous and we'll be adding a list of credits to the HARG site in coming days. Next week we'll have a report on how it all went down, needless to say it's getting very exciting, T-1 day and counting. (Onno VK6FLAB) The WIA National Field Day Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th of April is where Amateur Clubs and radio enthusiasts across Australia activate public relations demonstration stations in prominent locations. This will raise public awareness and showcase the hobby. This WIA National Field Day activity, now in its third year, will be a good opportunity to break out your field day equipment, demonstrate emergency preparedness, but most importantly engage the public. (wia front page news wia.org.au) MAGIC BAND Despite Channel 0 analogue TV transmitters being progressively taken off air as part of the VK digital switchover, the ACMA reminds all Advanced Licence holders of the existing Licence Condition Determinations LCDs. Work to amend the LCD will start after the switchover is completed at the end of the year. If affects Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria The LCD prohibit operation in the band at a place that is less than 120kms from a main Channel 0 station or 60kms from a translator using this channel. The main Channel 0 transmitter and several translators located in southern Queensland (VK4) were switched off last December. Both the north and south of New South Wales will close this year. For full details refer to the LCD or visit the ACMA at http://engage.acma.gov.au/amateur-licence-conditions-in-force-during-dig (ARVICTORIA) AGM PARTY Have you registered to attend to the WIA Annual Conference being held in Mildura over the weekend 25th - 27th May? This action packed weekend of activities kicks off Friday evening with a meal at the at the Mildura Settlers Club. The Settlers Club has to be one of Mildura’s best known historic icons, with a history dating back to its formation 1893, were its members were typically professionals, and the more successful property owners of the area. Yet after nearly a decade of operation, in the early 1990's the club ran into financial difficulties and was forced to close. Down but not out, with one extreme makeover and some genuine TLC it has again become one of Mildura's most successful function centres renowned for its quality meals and relaxed atmosphere, yes that very same relaxed atmosphere it offered back in the 1800s. After the evening meal, Alan Cameron one of Mildura's well known successful businessman, a balloon pilot and a marriage celebrant will provide an entertaining and informative talk entitled “Sunraysia – Past, Present and Future”. The following morning, Saturday the 26th, the WIA will conduct its Annual General Meeting and open forum in the ballroom of Mildura's Grand Hotel. The AGM will commence at 9:00am sharp and will be followed by the presentation of a range of awards. The Open Forum will commence with reports of the various WIA activities that took place over the last year being presented. The open forum is an ideal opportunity for those present to offer comment or raise any issue desired. But that’s just the start, the beginning of a very special weekend of activities, and there is much more in store that we will be sharing with you in upcoming broadcasts. Oh! and do keep an eye out in the next AR magazine for our full colour conference brochure and don’t forget the registration page on the WIA Website. Up up and away, see you in Mildura this has been Robert VK3DN VK2 web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news Email Address : r_demkiw@yahoo.com.au The Annual General Meeting of the Wireless Institute of Australia New South Wales Division (trading as Amateur Radio New South Wales), will be held on Saturday the 21st of April 2012. At the AGM a new council is to be appointed. Nominations are now open for those members who wish to be on the council for the year 2012 and 2013. Nomination forms are now available from the divisional office also available for download from the website www.arnsw.org.au Nominations close at midday on Saturday the 10th of March 2012. (Advised by Peter O'Connell VK2EMU Divisional Returning Officer) What am I? The number of notes in the traditional Western Major Scale The original diameter (in inches), of the 45rpm gramophone record. The number of cervical vertebrae in almost all mammals The atomic number of nitrogen The latest release of the Windows series of operating systems. What am I? I am the number of days to go until the Central Coast ARC Field Day at Wyong – 26th February 2012 Seven days until Amateur Radio’s Big Day Out. Flea market from 6.30am Traders and Exhibitors from 9am Entry $12 – Under 17 free Talk in on the Club repeater 146.725 Remember – No exit from the car park until after 10am - if you need to leave before 10am, please park outside For more information, please got to www.fielddday.org.au I’m Rod, VK2FVRJ from the CCARC – see you at the Field Day EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO www.hamcollege.com.au Next Sunday being the annual Central Coast field day at Wyong racecourse will see ARNSW assessors providing all grades of assessments. These will commence at 8.30 am under the grandstand. Candidates are reminded to bring with them a passport size photo and identification. These exams are ideal for those in regions of the country where there are few - if any assessors. Inquiries can be emailed to education@arnsw.org.au Next weekend VK2WI News will provide a Saturday evening transmission at 7.30 pm in place of the usual Sunday morning session - all the broadcast team operators will be at the field day. 5 th March ARNSW will commence its Standard and Advanced upgrade course each Monday evening at the Dural property INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, ARVictoria and the WW sources of the WIA. WRC-12: NOBEL LAUREATE JOE TAYLOR, K1JT, ADDRESSES PLENARY SESSION AT WRC-12, RECEIVES ITU GOLD MEDAL Delegates and attendees at the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference had the pleasure of listening as Joe Taylor, K1JT, shared his vision of the future of radiocommunication. Taylor, an ARRL Member won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1993 for the discovery of a binary pulsar, a discovery which has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation. After the speech, the International Telecommunication Union Secretary General, HB9EHT, presented Taylor with the ITU Gold Medal in recognition of Taylor's outstanding contribution to the research in the field of radiocommunication. In the introduction to Taylor a the Plenary the audience was that Amateur Radio led to Taylor's career as a radio astronomer, and ultimately to his winning the Nobel Prize. Taylor began his speech by thanking the WRC-12 delegates for the job they were doing at the Conference. "I understand that you have come to Geneva from more than 150 of the ITU's Member States," he said. "You are here to do an important job, an essential one, for nearly all of humanity in today's world. You are charged to do your upmost to accommodate the wide variety of competing interests of all users of the radio frequency spectrum and its available orbits for Earth satellites. This is surely not an easy task. Most people give very little thought to the complicated issues that you face. Why should they, since for most of us, most of the time, the technologies that depend on these limited resources just seem to work. But I know, and each one of you knows, that much background work and many long negotiations are often necessary in order to make everything fit together and work in harmony. Future technologies will surely make even better uses of wireless communication than we do today. I foresee plenty of scope for contributions for new technologies. Information and communication technologies have much to offer for the betterment of the human condition everywhere, and perhaps especially so in the developing world. It is extremely important to continue seeking the best efficiencies in the use of the spectrum. I wish you every success in your task of creating wise and fair guidelines for regulators and policy makers who must allocate the limited resources in the very best interest of all mankind." You can view Taylor's speech on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F028RKkLefI (sourced to arrl) 13cm threat in Sweden The 2300-2450 MHz band in Sweden is under threat. As part of the consultation process the Swedish national society, SSA, has submitted its response to the regulator, the PTS. SSA argues that the amateur service should remain in the 2.3 GHz band. Wideband digital systems are becoming less sensitive to narrowband signals, which improves the possibilities for band-sharing. SSA believes that communication with amateur satellites in the band 2400-2450 MHz should continue to be permitted. SSA is requesting to meet the PTS to discuss the technological basis for continuing the amateur service in the band. Read the full response in Google English at http://tinyurl.com/SSA2300MHzResponse SSA in Google English http://tinyurl.com/SwedenSSA Bedford researchers use Medium Waves for power The BBC report that researchers in Bedford, UK, have created a system to use medium wave frequencies to replace batteries in small everyday gadgets like clocks or remote controls. Prof Ben Allen and his team at the University of Bedfordshire Centre for Wireless Research, believe it to be a world first that could eventually eliminate the need for conventional batteries. The new technique uses the "waste" energy of radio waves and has been developed as part of the university's research into "power harvesting". Read the full BBC story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-16869064 University of Bedfordshire - Centre for Wireless Research http://www.beds.ac.uk/research/irac/cwr SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN - D A T E L I N E 2012 VK JOHN MOYLE MEMORIAL FIELD DAY March 17-18 WW FISTS TITANIC SPRINT April 15 VK/ZL AM/CW on ANZAC DAY April 25 VK/ZL Trans Tasman Contest 80metres SSB May 5 VK Shires Contest June 9-10 VK/ZL Trans Tasman Contest 160metres SSB June 25 ZL NZART Memorial Contest July First full weekend VK Remembrance Day Contest August 11-12 WW International Lighthouse Lightship Wknd August 18-19 VK4WIT at the John Moyle Field Day 2012 theTARCinc will be active during this years John Moyle Field Day alongside the mighty Burdekin River at Bivouac Junction near Macrossan. Friday March 16 to Sunday March 18. It’s easy to get to Bivouac Junction, just take to the Flinders Highway between Townsville and Charters Towers and take the right hand turn off just before heading across the Burdekin River. Head upstream for about 2km and you are there! The site is only 20km away from Charters Towers for any shopping trips. Irish Radio Transmitters Society 80th Anniversary IRTS will be celebrating its 80th anniversary this year 2012. Details of a worldwide contest – CQIR – to take place on Saint Patrick’s Day, Saturday 17th March 2012 have been announced and full rules and information are available on the irts website. www.irts.ie/cqir SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE Heard Island DXpedition cancelled The DX Community is advised that the trip to VK0/H Heard Island has been put on hold until further notice. The co-organisers, Chris Dimitrijevic VK3FY and Steve Chamberlain VK6IR, said the decision came in part due to the current global financial situation, the extremely high financial cost and it would take an estimated USD$500,000 for such an expedition. Both Chris VK3FY and Steve VK6IR both wish to proceed to Heard Island about 4100 kms south west of Perth in Western Australia, but the financial risks are far too great at this time. Earlier it was announced that planning was underway for a DXpedition in February 2013 involving two weeks, on what was number five of the most wanted DX Entities worldwide. (Jim Linton VK3PC) BROADCAST MONITORING SWL AND SCANNER NEWS New HF shortwave radio station sign It is not very often that you can hear a new HF shortwave radio station sign on the air. WTWW, a new International Shortwave Radio facility just outside of Nashville, TN has launched a new transmitter with a broadcast called 'This Is Only A Test'. WTWW is a 100,000 watt transmitter running into a full size rhombic antenna. There are more than 1.5 billion shortwave receivers in use worldwide, the BBC estimates that at any given moment, over 200 million sets are tuned to shortwave broadcasts. More details from QSO Radio Show http://www.qsoradioshow.com INTRUDER WATCH - ENFORCEMENT ZONE Region III IARUMS Coordinator Peter Young VK3MV VK IARUMS reflector email to subscribe intruders@wia.org.au INTRUDER NETS Friday 0730 UTC 7.065.5 with VK4CEU David. Amateur exclusive frequencies where any non-amateur signal is definitely an intruder. Amateur HF Spectrum world wide 7.050 to 7.100 14.000 to 14.250 14.250 to 14.350 No broadcasters 21.000 to 21.450 24.890 to 24.990 28.000 to 29.700 Felix VK4FUQ has contacted the IARUMS about an automated tone burst on exactly 14.150 MHz USB hours on end at good strength 8 in Ingham (0124 UTC Monday 130212). MEDIA WATCH www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html VK Club Bulletins http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aarnie/ Field day BBQ cookbook published We all love ham radio that’s why we're part of this site, a lot of us also take part in field days and other events that require us to set up radio stations in various places be it a field for a contest over a weekend or at a church fete to promote the hobby etc. We all also need to eat, so M0MVB has combined a love of doing field days and food by writing a BBQ cook book aimed at the ham radio operator. It has over 100 recipes as well as covering what’s the best bbq to take on field days and loads of other help. The book A Dot of Butter and a Dash of Spice can be previewed and ordered at http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/a-dot-of-butter-and-a -dash-of-spice/18881119?productTrackingContext=search_results/ search_shelf/center/1 (Steve M0MVB) 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 CQ SAYS MORSE IS ALIVE AND WELL Five years after the USA dropped the Morse code requirement, CQ Magazine Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, has published a very pointed editorial where-in he notes that both amateur radio and use of the Morse code are alive, well and growing. This despite the naysayers who predicted the abandoning of Morse testing would bring a sudden end to the hobby. In his editorial titled "No-Code Plus Five Years: An Assessment", W2VU, states that amateur radio is still here. CW is still here and despite the fears of many CW supporters the universe did not implode on February 23, 2007 Rather his article was prepared based on research that checked on signs of the state use of Morse by today's amateur radio community. It did this by asking manufacturer of keys and paddles about sales, talking to the FISTS Morse preservation group, looking at CW contest results and overall United States licensing statistics. (SARL) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO ALARA - AUSTRALIAN LADIES AR ASSOCIATION http://alara.org.au Net is held each Mondays on 3.570± MHz, commencing at 1030 UTC. (1000utc during daylight saving) geencee@picknowl.com.au At Wyong, ALARA, the Australian Ladies' Amateur Radio Association, will be found on the middle level of the air-conditioned grand-stand building. They will be sharing space with the Hornsby and Districts Amateur Radio Club. SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ROAR ROTARIANS OF AMATEUR RADIO www.ifroar.org bill.learmonth@lineone.net rotmem@yahoogroups.com nmclaren3@juno.com VK2IWT Secretary Peter Lowe, VK3KCD ANZO VP 0645z - 0730z Anzo Net 7.118 0730z - 0830z International net 14.293 EA7GSU, Pertti is the President of ROAR, Rotarians Of Amateur Radio. Pertti's Rotary District Governor has asked him to be on the air on Thursday the 23rd of February. This is the day of the birth of Rotary and the purpose is to remind the world of Rotary's campaign to 'Stop Polio Now'. Please note that EA7GSU will be QRV the whole day on:- 3994kHz, 7118kHz and 14293kHz +/- qrm. He will be calling "cq polio" and telling about the project. Pertti would welcome everybody to contact him. A special QSL card will be printed. As a result of his commitment to highlight Rotary's campaign to 'Stop Polio Now' other ROAR members around the world have also committed to participate. In Australia VK2IWT, Noel and VK4ZD, Bill hope to be on air at least part of the day. Vega launch success – satellite signals heard The first Vega, flight VV01, lifted off at 1000 UT February 13 from the ESA Spaceport in the Caribbean carrying eight student built amateur radio satellites and the LARES Laser Relativity Satellite into orbit. At 1153 UT, shortly after the satellites had been deployed, Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA reported hearing signals as they went past Florida. Signals were first heard in the United Kingdom at around 1207 UT. In Germany Mike Repprecht DK3WN copied the satellites at an elevation of just 3 degress at 1209 UT. In Sudan Nader ST2NH received signals from AlmaSat-1 and Masat-1. All the Vega amateur radio satellite project teams used the IARU amateur satellite frequency coordination panel service. The great benefit of IARU coordination was that all the different UHF satellite signals could be simultaneously captured within the typical 192 kHz bandwidth of modern Software Defined Radios. PW-Sat is the only satellite with a downlink in the 145 MHz band. Its 1200bps BPSK signal on 145.900 MHz is receiveable with an SSB radio and an omni-directional antenna. When PW-Sat has finished its primary scientific mission it will be reconfigured as a 435/145 MHz FM to DSB transponder for general amateur radio communications. The FM to Double Sideband transponder was first pioneered by amateurs on satellite AO-16. (southgate) SOCIAL SCENE 2012 15TH IARU REGION 3 CONFERENCE hosted by V.A.R.C. in Ho-Chi-Minh City, Vietnam. World Radio Conference Geneva until 17th February FEB 26 VK2 CCARC WYONG FIELD DAY MAR 18 VK7 Sewing Circle Nets "Meet the Voice BBQ" at Ross. APR 14-15 VK WIA National Field Day. MAY 3-18 VK5 YL International 2012 Australia (vk5tmc@bigpond.com) MAY 5- 6 VK4 RADAR and MARC Clairview Gathering MAY 25-27 VK3 WIA Annual Conference Mildura JUN 8-11 VK4 FNNQARG! QLD Cassowary Coast JULY 14 VK4 Wide Bay Hamfest. West Maryborough Scout Hall JULY 21 VK3 Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club Hamfest @ Cranbourne NOV 12 VK3 SPARC HAMFEST (ROSEBUD BY THE BAY) Submitting news items If you would like to submit news items for inclusion in the VK1WIA broadcasts, please email your item in text to nationalnews@wia.org.au to submit audio read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on wia.org.au Remember the sooner you submit material the more the likelihood of it being broadcast in the very next edition of WIA National News. Each item will only be broadcast once, if you want a couple of mentions, please submit different slants to keep your event 'fresh'. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ============================================================================= WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide. TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA 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 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. ***************************************************************************** /ex