WIANEWS - DECEMBER 23 - 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 DECEMBER 23 2012. WIA Presidents Christmas broadcast WIA Director Trent VK4TS with Awards and Contests WIA HELPS OUT WITH VI4ASJ THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING DEC 23 2012. WIA Presidents Christmas broadcast In this Christmas broadcast it's customary for the WIA President to thank all the staff at the WIA office and the very many volunteers who have done so much work during the year to keep the wheels turning. This has been a particularly difficult year for the WIA with the untimely passing of our late president Michael Owen VK3KI, but with a lot of hard work and dedication from everyone involved we have come through this transitional period in great shape. I would like to recap some of the achievements of this past year, and in the first broadcast next year I will tell you about some new initiatives that we hope to achieve during 2013. The ITU, the IARU, and the ACMA are where the rubber really hits the road in the WIA’s advocacy role for Amateur Radio. They are difficult, time consuming, and expensive, and often go unnoticed by members, but they are the most important work the WIA does for amateur radio, and all radio amateurs, worldwide, benefit. ITU Working Group 5 looks after amateur radio issues, and this year Dale Hughes (VK1DSH) attended an important working group meeting in Geneva. Among other things, that working group investigated the feasibility of a new Amateur secondary allocation at 5.3MHz. Dales work was long and arduous, sitting in endless meetings and negotiating with various countries representatives, but he must have made an impression because he has been asked to act as chair of the ITU sub committee looking after the 5.3MHz issue. Slightly closer to home, Geoff Atkinson (VK3TL) and Peter Young (VK3MV) represented the WIA at the IARU Region 3 Conference in Vietnam. The Region 3 conference is a further opportunity to strengthen relationships between IARU member countries, in particular, this year sharing experiences with emergency communications. What is obvious from this meeting is the burgeoning expansion of amateur radio in some Asian nations, especially China and Indonesia. Back home, the WIA was successful in its lobbying of the ACMA for a high power trial. To date some 230 radio amateurs have participated in the 1kW trial. The WIA is working very closely with the ACMA on the Assessing the results of the high power trial, with particular emphasis on interference and EMR issues. By the way, those radio amateurs participating in the high power trial need to listen out carefully for important information to be released shortly. There many other areas where the WIA is working closely with the ACMA to improve the operating privileges for radio amateurs, for instance the WIA has drafted changes to the Amateur regulations (the LCD) to introduce a new (secondary) band allocation at 472 to 479 kHz, and work continues on many other issues. Particular thanks to Peter Young VK3MV for his work with the ACMA. For most people Amateur radio is about operating. During 2012 the Awards Group was reformed and there is now a good flow of new Awards applications, and they are all being processed quickly. The contest group introduced a new format for the RD Contest – a log checker has been created, and that is a great step forward for volunteers as it saves a massive amount of time cross checking logs. In the past only random spot checking was practical however, now, all contacts in a log are properly checked. The National Inwards QSL Bureau has had another busy year, sorting cards from all corners of the globe, for distribution to the State Bureaus for on forwarding to WIA Members as expeditiously as possible. Members in NSW will have been watching the tower issue unfold on the WIA website and in this broadcast. Roger Harrison VK2ZRH has been assisting the WIA to put the strongest possible case to the NSW Government for a relaxation of the quite rigid planning restrictions which apply to antenna masts and towers in that State. This work is continuing and further action is planned for the New Year. All members would appreciate the improvement in quality of AR magazine. The publications committee has done an excellent job of producing a fine journal, as has the WIA Broadcast group in their tireless effort in putting this WIA broadcast together, week after week. Earlier this week we announced the results of the 2012 Club Grants Scheme. Congratulations to all those successful applicants, and our thanks go to the Club Grants Committee. We can’t forget the volunteers that support the training of prospective radio amateurs, and the WIA's RTO Fred Swainston. Without their massive contribution there would be no new radio amateurs to carry the hobby forward. And I’ve only touched the surface. Volunteers also serve on our technical and advisory committees, our bookshop and our library and archive, the affiliated clubs insurance scheme, not to forget our long suffering webmaster. So, I have highlighted just a few of the year’s achievements. It's been a busy year but a sad one with the passing of Michael Owen. The Next Year is looking to be even busier, so in the next broadcast I'll tell you something about the changes your WIA Board plans to introduce. Until then, have a very happy and safe Christmas, look after yourselves - we need you all fit and well and on-air for the New Year. And once again, from your WIA Board, thanks to the WIA office staff and all the volunteers who have achieved so much in the past year. This is Phil Wait, VK2ASD for the WIA YOU WANT SPAM WITH THAT? The ACMA has given McDonald’s Australia Limited a formal warning under the Spam Act about a ‘send to friends’ facility on the McDonald’s Happy Meal website. An ACMA investigation found emails sent using the ‘send to friends’ facility (which promoted games and activities) were sent to friends of users without ensuring the friends’ consent. The messages also did not have an unsubscribe facility, as required by the Spam Act. (wia/acma) Queensland's Newman Government has taken another step towards improved internal telecommunications, shortlisting three parties to develop the Government Wireless Network. Treasurer and Minister for Trade Tim Nicholls said Projects Queensland had received five expressions of interest from parties wanting to take part in the project, with three chosen for the next phase of the procurement process. The three shortlisted parties are: Broadcast Australia Infrastructure Holdings (including Airwave Solutions and Leighton Communications) Telstra (including Motorola Solutions Australia) Queensland Wireless Network Consortium (including Harris Corporation, CSC and Brookfield Infrastructure) The primary objective of the Government Wireless Network is to deliver an enhanced digital radio voice and narrowband data communications network for Queensland’s public safety agencies. The Queensland Government is planning to select its preferred proponent midway through 2013, with the first stage to be completed in time for the G20 leaders’ summit in 2014. (wia/Media Contact: Treasurer’s office 3224 6900) Anniversary of last Morse code telegram On December the 13th, 1962, the last telegram and its reply were sent by Morse code in New South Wales. In a 50th anniversary re-enactment, former Telegraph Operator Phil McGrath travelled to Bombala to send and receive souvenir telegrams to mark the occasion. At the time, Mr McGrath sat at the sounding box and typewriter and received what was originally meant to be that all important final message. It read: 'This telegram from Sydney to Bombala is the last message which will be sent by morse in NSW, concluding 104 years of operations. Henceforth telegrams to and from Bombala like all other offices in this state will be transmitted through the teleprinter perforator switching system (TRESS).' Not to be outdone, Bombala's then postmaster Stan Blyton, sent a 50 word reply that read: 'My privilege personally transmit last message from last morse station NSW. Key being forwarded you relic was in use Nimmitabel 1919 where I joined service remained there in use till station closed 1960. Behalf old telegraphist and morse operators we bow to progress.' The TRESS system, based on the teleprinter, lasted until October 1933 when it ceased its text messages, first giving away to individually owned Telex machines and then the internet email. (Jim Linton VK3PC) UNIVERSITY Hi, this is Ed from the Central Coast ARC. This great hobby of ours has several facets, one of which is contesting. Have you ever been interested in getting involved in contesting and not know where to start? All those special routines and rules and how can I actually get through that pile-up and work the station? Well, these are the questions I asked as well and part of the reason that I am helping to organise a mini contest university at the Wyong field day. The Dayton contest university has been going several years and is world renowned and very kindly Tim K3LR from that event has supplied me with all the material from last year’s event and said go ahead and use what you wish. What we're doing is a short one day university on the day before the field day so on the 23rd. of February 2013. This will cover an introduction to contesting, what to do, what not to do, how to use logging programs - the basics if you like. I think this will be very valuable to a lot of people who are sat on the sidelines at the moment thinking "I'd like to be into contesting but all these other guys know better and do better than I do". IT DOESN'T MATTER! Just take part - it's the fun of it. As you know the Wyong field day is the largest gathering of radio amateurs in the Southern Hemisphere, so why not make a weekend of it? Come for the Mini Contest University on the Saturday and stay for the field day on the Sunday. For accommodation the website lists local hotels and motels, some of which give discounts to field day attendees, also on the website you'll find links to lots of attractions on the Central Coast for any member of your family who isn't interested in Amateur Radio. Please register if you are coming to the (free) mini contest university as capacity is limited. You'll find details of how to register also on the website which is fieldday.org.au 73, Good DX and see you at Wyong! This is Ed VK2JI. Wyong Contest University http://www.ccarc.org.au/wp/ WIA AGM Have you prepared for the last weekend in May; the 2013 WIA AGM and Conference? If you've built a new gadget, written some software, engaged in research or achieved something, we'd like to hear from you. Tell us about your successes and your failures. Register your topic now and use the opportunity to connect with other Amateurs who share your passion and excitement. The 2013 WIA AGM and Conference, it's all about Engaging, Learning, Appreciating, Socializing and Discovering. You'll find all the information online at the VK6 conference site, conference.vk6.net WIA HELPS OUT WITH VI4ASJ In advice received from WIA Director, Bob Bristow, VK6POP, the Wireless Institute of Australia is sponsoring the VI4ASJ activity by supplying access to the QSL Bureau. This is a great boost to the amateur radio activity and the WIA logo will be proudly displayed along with the AJ2013 logo on the QSL card. While the majority of us will be looking forward to a rest break, the volunteers preparing for the National Scout Jamboree, on the Fraser Coast will be juggling their time and family engagements. Getting the site ready for the first contingents is the priority as the hot weather engulfs the east coast of the continent. Members of the Maryborough Electronics and Radio Group are organising a formal roster, now that names are in. Equipment is being organised and readied for use and transport to the Jamboree site. For amateurs attending AJ2013, the frequency for Echo/IRLP access will be 145.400MHz. Peter, VK3AJ, is towing the trailer equipped with 2m and 70cm repeaters, from Melbourne to Maryborough, Queensland, about 2.5 thousand Kms by road. With the two operating positions, plus the JAM-FM low power broadcast station, the Main Hall area is going to be really “radioactive”. Set up of the amateur equipment is pencilled in for 29th January to coincide with Peter’s arrival. The VI4ASJ operation is funded by the AJ2013 organising committee and supported by Maryborough Electronics and Radio Group, Inc., Sponsors for the station are Icom Australia who has donated an IC-718 as the main HF part of the station and now our own WIA. The Jamboree runs from 2nd January to 12th and these are the days during which you can contact VI4ASJ. Reporting for WIA National News, I’m Geoff Emery from MERG, Inc. EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO www.hamcollege.com.au Radio & Electronics School Releases Foundation training on any Android portable device A few months ago the Radio & Electronics School posted a free Foundation Course on YouTube. That foundation course has proved to be very popular. Ron VK2DQ from the School looked into the Google Analytics and was surprised to find that more than 60% of users of the course are doing so from portable devices. "Perhaps we should make Foundation training application for Smartphone" Ron thought. Well the people at RES have done it. There is now an Android application for the foundation licence. It’s free! Just go to Google Play Store at "play.google.com" and search for Radio & Electronics School. You can download the application directly to your phone, tablet or other portable device. The course is in the same Video format as the well known Standard Course. "We think this might be popular with young people and in particular for JOTA" Ron VK2DQ said, "We only released the application a few days ago and already there have been over 100 installs. RES recommends that you use this application in conjunction with the publication "Your Entry Into Amateur Radio available through radio clubs and the WIA. EMDRC Christmas Foundation Course The Eastern and Mountain District Radio Club will once again be running its special Christmas Foundation course. The course will be run on Thursday the 27th of December with the assessments taking place on the morning of Friday the 28th of December The course will be held at our EMDRC Clubrooms located at 13a McCubbin Street Burwood, for those not familiar with the area, its location is very close to the RSPCA on Burwood Highway, ideal if you plan on coming by public transport. If you are coming by car, there is plenty of parking available onsite. To arrive at the clubrooms, simply drive west down McCubbin street and look for the lane way on your left hand side, you will find the clubrooms (Scout Hall) at the bottom of the lane way. The course instructors will be myself Robert Broomhead VK3DN and Damian Ayers VK3KQ. The Sunday morning the assessments will be run by myself with Keith VK3FT and assistance from other assessors.. Further details on the EMDRC club website http://www.emdrc.com.au INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, ARVictoria and the WW sources of the WIA. In ZL Land a recent membership promotion has been a great success. A total of some 3,000 letters were posted to all those who were not presently members of the Association, some 236 amateurs have now taken the opportunity to join with this special promotional offer. Of those, 115 are newcomers to the Association, with 121 re-joining the NZART after a lapsed period. The Canadian federal telecom regulator is aiming to close potentially dangerous technological gaps in Canada’s 911 services. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has taken the first step in modernizing an emergency system that was created before mobile phones were invented. The announcement comes as Canadians increasingly rely on cell phones – 10 per cent of households had gone “wireless only” by 2010, a trend that is expected to continue. National commissioner Tim Denton, who has been appointed to lead the review and present preliminary findings in May, faces the daunting task of forecasting the future of an industry that changes faster than many companies can predict. But he will also have to deal with the effects of Canada’s digital divide: Large swaths of the Far North and Newfoundland and Labrador still don’t have access to basic 911 services. Among those that do have access, more and more people are turning to social media sites, such as Twitter, to seek emergency help. Explosion at Derna (Libya) radio station, police attacked on arrival Derna local radio was hit by an explosion in the early hours of Monday morning last, with the blast also damaging the office of a local television station situated nearby. The assailants subsequently launched an attack on the town’s police chief, Colonel Mofed Abd Al-Hafid, along with a colleague once they arrived at the scene. The police officers came under fire but escaped uninjured. A Derna resident informed the Libya Herald by telephone that radio and television broadcasts had been stopped as a result of the incident. The attackers, whose motive and identity remain unknown, succeeded in escaping the scene. Barcode inventor dies Norman Woodland who co-created the barcode using Morse code, has died at his New Jersey home at the age of 91. He worked with university classmate Bernard Silver to create the now ubiquitous thick-and-thin-line system in the 1940s. The BBC reports that the system was patented in the US in 1952, a patent that was later sold for just $15,000. Barcodes Inc. report that Norman Woodland used the Morse code to create the barcode when he "just extended the dots and dashes downward and made narrow lines and wide lines out of them." Global amateur radio fest begins Peninsular News reports the Qatar Amateur Radio Society are hosting the event for the first time in the Middle East. Hundreds of officials of various amateur radio societies around the world as well as secondary students and boy scouts from Qatar are attending. Among those attending is AMSAT-DL President Peter Guelzow DB2OS who gave a presentation about the AMSAT P3E and P5 missions. The callsign assigned for the event is A71QND (Qatar's National Day). ============================================================================= NEWS FROM ARNEWSLINE USA APRS BALLOON LAUNCHED IN CALIFORNIA LANDS IN MOROCCO A group of high altitude balloon experimenters have achieved a milestone. This with confirmation that their K6RPT-12 APRS equipped high altitude balloon has successfully crossed the Atlantic and landed in Morocco. Amateur Radio Newsline’s Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has the details: -- Amateur radio stations from the United Kingdom to the Azores had been listening for the transatlantic balloon signing K6RPT-12 on 144.390 MHz FM. This after it was lofted skyward from California at about 0126 UTC on Monday, December 3rd. The balloon was launched by the California Near Space Project team with the intent of it crossing the Atlantic heading for the British Isles. When it left the USA it was traveling at over 185 an hour but was believed to have slowed down in its over-water trek to as little as 55 miles an hour. Knowing this, the payload was designed for over 60 hours of flight. It also included a heating system for its 144.390 MHz FM transmitter developed by Jonathan Corgan, AE6HO, to prevent it freezing during overnight flight. This was because the bitterly cold night temperatures at that altitude have caused the transmitters on several amateur radio balloons to fail. After its journey across the Atlantic its APRS signals were first picked up by stations in Spain. It was last heard at 09:22:31 UTC on December 5th descending rapidly, indicating that the balloon had finally burst. Its last recorded position was 34°25.75' North and 3°58.96' West placing it in the Taza Provence of Morocco North-North East of Tazekka National Park. It is believed there are less than 150 radio amateurs in Morocco and no known APRS stations. As such the balloon and its payload may never be recovered. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. -- It should be noted that the amateur radio APRS frequency is not standardized world-wide. The United States uses 144.390 MHz while the British Isles and Europe use 144.800 MHz. To see the See the K6RPT-12 APRS reported flight track please take your web browser to tinyurl.com/k6rpt-12 on the World-Wide-Web. ============================================================================= OPERATIONAL NEWS - DATELINE 2013 Here in VK it's time for the WIA Summer VHF UHF Field days, and in ZL in Feb it’s their annual Jock White Memorial Field Day Contest Sat and Sun Feb 23 and 24. NOW IN SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE FURTHER ON OUR SUMMER FIELD DAY AND THE UNIVERSITY AT WYONG. Wyong Contest University http://www.ccarc.org.au/wp/ Greetings this is Trent VK4TS the WIA Director for Awards and Contests At the upcoming 2013 Wyong Field Day a new addition to the programme has taken shape in the form of the Mini Contest University. This has taken its format from the very successful programmes conducted by Tim K3LR The MCU will be a day long affair on the Saturday prior to the Gosford Field day and will conclude with an evening meal at a local eating house. This is an opportunity for contesters Australia wide to catch up and also offers a great opportunity for new contesters to learn from the more experienced. I will be presenting at the seminar and I am sure there are many that would like to find out about the workings of WIA contests Look forward to seeing you there - but a reminder that bookings are essential 2/ Summer VHF UHF Contests - this year the Ross Hull looks to be a great affair - sunspots are up and down but expect some 6M fireworks in January and for proponents of distance based scoring in contests here is your chance to prove you like the distance format- Both the Ross Hull and the Summer Field day make January a great month for the active contest operator XV 0 VR Vietnam until 4 January. Cat Ba Island (AS-132) from 18 – 20 December Phu Quoc Island (AS-128) from 30 December – 2 January. QSLs go via his home call DD0VR Lastly, several sources are reporting that a team of 10 operators will be active from Robinson Crusoe Island during mid-2013. It was also mentioned that this is the same group who activated D64K earlier this year. Look for more details to be forthcoming. MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE F-TROOP What use is an F-call? Amateur Radio is a social experience, an activity that invites and thrives on communication. As a participant in the hobby, either recent or long standing, there are many amateurs around who share your interests and can participate with you in your exploration of what amateur radio means to you. These people who share your experiences are your own little amateur community and while it's safe to stay with those, you might consider that the hobby is a gateway into a wide range of experiences and disciplines, so your little view on the world is likely to benefit from interacting with new people. As is common in our society, this time of year is traditionally used for reflection and in my learning about Amateur Radio, I'm using this time to reflect on the things I've learnt and the people I've met over the past 12 months. I have started with Morse, done some serious contesting, met a whole host of Amateurs from around the country, built a magnetic loop antenna, built my first electronics kit, learnt about software defined radio, started learning about transmission lines, remembered to enjoy myself and helped with all manner of club activities throughout the year. The thing I remember most is spending time with other Amateurs and sharing the twinkle in their eye as they tell about their endeavours and contraptions. What do you reflect on in Amateur Radio? I'm Onno VK6FLAB WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW ILLW attracts more entries The leading countries in the next International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend are Germany on 28 registrations, Australia with 27, followed by the USA and England. A total of 110 registrations have been received so far from 26 countries, spanning the globe from Argentina to Wales. Each of them will help promote public awareness of the former guiding lights for those at sea, promote amateur radio and foster International goodwill. To find out more about this truly fun weekend or register for August the 17th and 18th, visit the website at www.illw.net (Jim Linton VK3PC) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO IARU REGION 3 Emergency Centre of Activity (CoA) frequencies 3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz Wednesday December 26th 2012 YMCA Murray Marathon Yarrawonga to Swan Hill Contact: Gerard Werner VK3GER phone: 03 9773 6313 Email: gerwer01@gmail.com Saturday February 23rd 2013 Pajero Rally Woods point area Contact: Dirk Versluys VK3FPAJ phone: 03 9879 8384 Email: versluys@optusnet.com.au SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - VHF AND ABOVE First contact between CT1DMK and VK3UM on 432.010 MHz First contact between Doug MCArthur, VK3UM and Luis Cupido, CT1DMK via Moon bounce Communications on 432.010 MHz CW, was recorded on December 6. The telegraphic message - VK3UM, CT1DMK 559/559 "loud and clear" - could be received by those stations equipped for EME on 432 MHz. This communication achieved by 2 serious radio operators who invested a lot on Ham radio stations both in terms of perseverance and technical achievement. They inspire an entire generation and make our dreams possible with some work and preparation. Luis Cupido, CT1DMK, is in fact a wonderful paradigm of technical know how for many of us. He has already a few interesting distance records to encourage a number of colleagues, like the world DX record of ever, while receiving one of the deep space spacecraft’s, Voyager 1, at about 14698 million Km (3 times further away than Pluto) on April 4, 2006 Recently some of his contacts with us "down under" had a tremendous impact on those working moon bounce in this small corner of the world: SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - LOW DOWN SAQ VLF Transmission Christmas Eve There will be an annual transmission with the Alexanderson 200 kW alternator on VLF 17.2 kHz from Grimeton Radio/SAQ on Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24. The message transmission will take place at 08:00 UTC. The transmitter will be tuned up from around 07:30 UTC. QSL-reports are kindly received: - E-mail to: info@alexander.n.se - or fax to: +46-340-674195 - or via: SM bureau - or direct by mail to: Alexander - Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen, Grimeton 72 S-432 98 GRIMETON Sweden Web: http://www.alexander.n.se/ (TEXT EDITION ONLY) ============================== NEW WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK =============================== The following person has provided feedback David : VK5LSB Feedback : VK5LSB would like to wish everyone a happy and safe xmas accross Australia and the world. Xmas cheers goes out to all the contacts and friends that I have made through 2012 73 David Vk5LSB 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 ‘and always if the news room is to read your item write in the 3rd person. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ============================================================================= WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide. 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