WIANEWS - DECEMBER 30 - 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 30 2012. WIA Presidents New Year Broadcast - 2013 WIA Club Grant Winners WIA ACMA HIGHER POWER WIA ACMA NEW BAND ALLOWED THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING DEC 30 2012. quick index guide WIA President Christmas Message ------------------------------- The President, Directors, staff and volunteers of The Wireless Institute of Australia extend to all radio amateurs very best wishes for the festive season. http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2012/20121223-3/index.php Club Grants for 2012 Announced ------------------------------ The Board of the WIA has accepted the recommendations of the 2012 Club Grant Committee and announced the successful applications. http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2012/20121223-2/index.php ACMA Announces High Power Trial Assessments ------------------------------------------- ACMA announces assessment of the use of higher transmitter output power by amateur advanced licensees. http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2012/20121223-1/index.php Contest Rules Clarification --------------------------- After discussion by the Contest Committee, the optical band will be excluded under the general contest rules because it is not listed as an amateur band in the LCD. http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2012/20121222-1/index.php WIA Office Christmas Closure ---------------------------- The Wireless Institute of Australia extends to all radio amateurs very best wishes for the festive season. http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2012/20121220-1/index.php Sad SKnews that Mr SuperMarionation - Gerry Anderson - has passed away aged 83. Although not an Amateur, any "ham" worth his 'ions' would have known of "THUNDERBIRDS." Gerry's company, Century 21 Films, brought to the TV screen Torchy the Battery Boy, Four Feather Falls, Supercar, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, UFO, Space 1999 plus many many more series featuring puppetry and live action, sometimes with a futuristic feel and always with a good dose of dry humour. Because of its US syndication and 2 feature films, Thunderbirds would be Gerry's most famous work. So, Vale Gerry Anderson. F.A.B ! (VK4ZZ) Another storm hits the Philippines Spare a thought for those who spent a nervous, very wet and windy Christmas period as Tropical Storm Quinta went through the south of the Philippines, in areas trying to recover from Typhoon Bopha earlier in the month. Activated during the storm was the Philippines Amateur Radio Association emergency net on 7.095 MHz and VHF, to handle emergency and welfare traffic. A request to keep the HF frequency clear was issued by PARA's Vice Chief Operating Officer, Ramon J. Anquilan DU1UGZ. Among those involved were members of the PARA-affiliated club, The District 5 Radio Amateur Network DX5RAN. They were kept busy coordinating much needed pre-emptive evacuations in Tacloban City and elsewhere alongside the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Other radio amateurs were also involved in the overall emergency. Landslides occurred in the Visayas, Southern Leyte and Eastern Samar areas. There were more than 5,800 ferry passengers stranded with fishermen told not to venture out. The archipelago has numerous severe weather events each year. Typhoon Bopha which made landfall over Mindanao on December the 2nd ripped through the southern provinces killing 1,067 people, leaving hundreds missing and many more homeless. (Jim Linton VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee, with Ramon J. Anquilan DU1UGZ, PARA Vice Chief Operating Officer) WIA BOARD TALK President Phil Wait VK2ASD vk2asd@wia.org.au Vice President Chris Platt VK5CP vk5cp@wia.org.au Secretary David Williams VK3RU vk3ru@wia.org.au Treasurer John Longayroux VK3PZ vk3pz@wia.org.au WIA Office Christmas New Year Closed till Jan 14. BUT Urgent enquiries should be directed to the WIA Manager, Mal Brooks VK3FDSL, via email address out-of-office@wia.org.au or, for very urgent matters, via mobile 0413 179 347. The new 630 meter band is now a reality ACMA Makes Amendments to the Amateur Licence Conditions Determination (LCD) – The new 630 meter band is now a reality. Effective from the 1st January 2013, Australian Advanced amateur licensees can now operate in the new band (630 meters) on a secondary basis. This new world wide allocation from 472 kHz to 479 kHz is an outcome of the ITU World Radio Conference in 2012 (WRC-12). The ACMA has amended the conditions in the LCD that gives effect to the WRC outcomes authorising a radiated power of not more than 5 watts pX EIRP, with a maximum emission bandwidth of 2.1 kHz. There are however two exclusion zones where amateur operation is not permitted so as to protect aeronautical non-directional beacons (NDB) operating in the Exmouth and Timor regions. Also included in the amendments is the withdrawal for general use by advanced licensees to the amateur secondary allocation, 420 to 430 MHz to allow for greater harmonisation of government services in the 400 MHz band, following the ACMA’s review of this band. The use of this segment by amateurs was mainly for fixed links associated with repeater interlinking and a number of ATV channels where alternative channel assignment have been achieved in the 430 to 450 MHz band. ACMA announces assessment of the use of higher transmitter output power by amateur advanced licensees. The ACMA recently met with the WIA to advise how it is going to assess the trial of the use of higher transmitter output power by advanced licensees, commencing early in 2013. The ACMA’s assessment process will begin with desk-based audits to assess licensees’ compliance with their electromagnetic energy (EME) obligations. Advanced licensees authorised to use higher power are to be contacted by mail from the start of February 2013 and asked to provide relevant documentation. This may be followed up with an on-site audit by the ACMA. Further information about the audit - including a supporting FAQ - and broader assessment of the trial will be available on the ACMA website early in 2013. More information on EME (EMR) licence requirements, including assessment tools, can be found by following these links: http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/licensing/hfhighpowertrial/ http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_1833 The ACMA has advised the WIA that the 700 MHz LTE trial in Midland Western Australia has now ended. This means that Advanced Amateur licence holders that were within the exclusion zone can now apply to the ACMA for a variation to their existing licences to operate up to 1 kW on the primary HF bands during the trial period. More information on how to apply can be found on WIA Front Page News. http://www.wia.org.au WIA AGM Planning Have you prepared for the last weekend in May; the 2013 WIA AGM and Conference? If you need help in preparing for your journey to Western Australia, we've created a page with information that will help your planning and budgeting. You can find that online together with up to date information, programmes, calendar of events, expressions of interest for workshops and other information about what's happening with the Conference. 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. Club Grants for 2012 Announced The Board of the WIA has accepted the recommendations of the 2012 Club Grant Committee and announced the successful applications. The Blue Mountains Amateur Radio Club will receive a grant of $600 to make improvements to Club Station and hall to enable them to conduct training and education courses. The Brisbane Amateur Radio Club will be supported by a grant of $600 to provide a laptop computer to run AOCP classes. The Central Goldfields ARC Maryborough will receive a grant of $500 for a data projector for a new meeting room. The Eastern and Mountain Districts Radio Club will be supported by a grant of $1,000 to support their work promoting amateur radio by the installation of a Digital TV system for both fixed and portable use in classrooms and public display. The Fishers Ghost Amateur Radio Club will receive a grant of $573 to help them to improve their building shared with a scout group by the provision of screen doors. The Scout Members Amateur Radio Team WA will receive a grant of $600 to purchase publicity materials such as posters, website and exhibition pull up banners to be used to promote amateur radio training and assessment. The Sherbrooke Community Radio Club will be supported by a grant of $800 to purchase a 4 kW generator and marquee to better participate in public events, radio contests and JOTA. The Tamworth Radio Club will be supported by a grant of $520 to support their on-going project installing digipeters in NW NSW in support of Scouts training and Amateur Radio generally. Presidents New Year Broadcast - 2013 In my broadcast before Christmas I summarised the WIAs main achievements last year, and thanked the WIA staff and the very many volunteers who all helped us through a very difficult period. In this broadcast I want to tell you something about the changes we hope to achieve during 2013, but first it’s important to understand the drivers for that change. Recently the WIA has experienced a fall in revenue due mainly to a drop-off in the number of new licensees, and the general economic conditions affecting sales to members and advertising revenue. At the same time costs have been increasing... just like for everyone. The financial situation is certainly not serious as the WIA has significant reserves, but it is something which needs to be addressed. It would be easy to simply jack up the membership fees to cover the shortfall, but in the present economic climate and with such a large proportion of the WIAs membership retired and living on fixed-interest incomes, that doesn’t sound a very good idea right now. The Board is also concerned about the fact that too few volunteers do too much work, and in recent times the demands on some key volunteers has been unrealistic. We need to get more skilled volunteers involved in the operation of the WIA, in a way that it doesn’t become a burden. One of the things we constantly hear from people is that the WIA doesn’t do anything for me, or my particular problem. Well, the WIA does an awful lot for members, especially in its advocacy role with the ITU, the IARU and the ACMA, but that work is often behind the scenes and goes largely unnoticed. All radio amateur’s benefit from the work of the WIA, it’s just that some get a free ride. However, we do need to provide more tangible membership benefits, and we need to improve the information flow to members so they always know what the WIA is doing, and so the WIA better knows what its members want. In summary we need to improve the finances, reduce the work load on volunteers, and improve the member experience. So, what are we going to do about it? The WIA Board has decided to introduce two new initiatives which it hopes will go a long way to addressing these issues. In 2013 we are introducing a new ‘cloud’ based membership management system called MEMNET. A “cloud” based system is one where, for a monthly charge to the WIA, the entire office information system is provided by an outside company as a service over the internet. A Cloud based system frees the WIA and its volunteers from having to develop maintain and upgrade the WIA computer information systems, but it has many other advantages as well. With MEMNET, you will log into a members-only section on the WIA website to update your personal details like address and call sign, your particular interests in amateur radio, to purchase items, pay your membership fees, and receive messages from office staff. You will know that your personal information is up to date, and if you have registered your interests you can receive targeted Email’s alerting you to upcoming club events, technical information or information about products and services. The MEMNET Membership Management System is also expected to offer significant administration efficiencies. Margaret, who currently works part-time at the WIA office is retiring early in 2013 and, with the introduction of MEMNET, Margaret’s position will not need to be replaced. By saving one office position MEMNET is expected to be cost-neutral in the first year of operation and then offers significant cost savings to the WIA in following years. Naturally a change like this is probably going to have some speed-bumps along the way; some members may not have the internet and some may still prefer more personal contact with the office. Those members will still be able to call the office and speak to Dianne or Mal, but things will certainly be a lot quicker and more convenient using the internet. Look out for more information about the MEMNET system, and how to set up your user profile, in the coming months. You can find out more about the MEMNET system by going to www.MEMNET.com.au In addition to overhauling the administration system, the WIA Board is also looking at ways to streamline the work of volunteers, and encourage more member participation in the workings of the WIA. We have divided the work of the WIA into about 10 core committee areas, each with defined terms of reference. Each committee will have a leader who reports to the WIA Board, and the committees will be tasked with identifying issues and forming recommendations to the Board in their various specialist areas, and enacting Board decisions. It’s still early days and we are waiting for feed-back from our many volunteers to a draft proposal circulated recently, but we hope to have something more concrete to say soon. So, there is lot’s happening at the WIA in 2013. Much of it is about housekeeping at this stage, but out of it will come better member services, a better membership experience, and more reasons for people to join. Have a very happy new-year, and we hope to see you on air in 2013. This is Phil Wait, VK2ASD for the WIA. HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK0 Mawson in Antarctica to be activated Departing next month for the coast of MacRobertson Land and Australia's base at Mawson is Craig Hayhow VK6JJJ, who will be signing as VK0JJJ. He lands on February the 10th, planning to soon after install the 6m beacon VK0RTM and test the propagation on that band. The main HF rig is a FlexRadio Flex-5000A coupled to an amplifier and feeding a terminated sloping triangle antenna. On 6m it will be at 400 watts from Mawson thanks to a power amplifier from Steve Gregory VK3ZAZ, who is also the QSL manager, and radiated by a 5-element yagi. The amateur satellites on 2m and 70cm are to be accessed using a crossed duo-bander. During the next 12 months Craig VK0JJJ is in Antarctica to work and amateur radio is his leisure time activity. (Jim Linton VK3PC) 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 VK2WI News is in a morning only format for the next three weeks. The evening session resumes on Sunday the 20 th January. (73 - Tim (text only)) VK7 vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vk7regionalnews/ REAST Training, Education & Assessment A Foundation Licence Training and Assessment Day will be held on Saturday 19 January at the REAST Clubrooms in Hobart. Anyone interested in attending should contact our learning organiser Reg VK7KK on 0417 391 607, or via email on regemm@ozemail.com.au Copies of the Foundation Licence Manual - "Your Entry into Amateur Radio" can be obtained from Clayton Reading VK7ZCR's Caltex Service Station corner of Main Road and Amy St Moonah for $25. (73, Reg VK7KK, REAST Education Officer and Assessor(text only)) INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, ARVictoria and the WW sources of the WIA. DARC TO HOLD STRATEGY MEETING ON DANGERS OF PLC / PLT This note to our listeners in Germany and of interest to Amateurs World Wide. Saturday, January 12, 2013 the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club will be sponsoring a one-day workshop dealing with the possible hazards to amateur radio from electromagnetic Power line Transmission more commonly known in Europe as in-home P-L-T. The workshop slated for the DARC headquarters will cover all aspects of power line Internet transmission and its likely effects on our amateur radio operations. More is on line at tinyurl.com/GermanyDARC SARL PRESIDENT'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE ON AMATEUR RADIO TODAY Last week we heard from Phil Waite our WIA President with his Christmas message, well the SARL President's Christmas and New Year Message is also be available in both written and audio format on the SARL web sarl.org.za In his Christmas message Rassie, ZS1YT said that when Paul M. Segal, W9EEA, wrote the Amateur's code he gave real meaning to what is meant by amateur radio spirit. "Amateur Radio gives us this wonderful opportunity to reach out to many people and I urge you to do so Christmas and New Year's. Make one or two contacts and wish the other station and his or her family a happy festive season. Read the full message on www.sarl.org.za RSGB remind us of World Amateur Radio Day Each year on 18th April, radio amateurs around the world celebrate World Amateur Radio Day. On that day in 1925 the International Amateur Radio Union was founded. In 1913, the first recorded instance of amateur radio being used to provide communications in a natural disaster, during severe flooding in the Midwest of the United States. Accordingly, the theme of the event for 2013 is Amateur Radio: Entering Its Second Century of Disaster Communications. Activities on the occasion of World Amateur Radio Day 2013 can be a great opportunity to spread the word about what amateurs are doing in the field of disaster communications in the 21st Century. Yasme Excellence Award Peter, G3PLX is among those to receive the Yasme Excellence Award, given to those who have made a significant contribution to amateur radio. Peter, along with Pawel Jalocha, SP9VRC, received the award for the development of PSK31, a widely used digital mode entirely invented by amateurs that is enabling many amateurs to successfully use HF with very modest stations. ============================================================================= IRTS NEWS DESK EI13CLAN As you may be aware, 2013 sees a major event entitled ‘The Gathering’ being promoted both at home and abroad to engage with the Irish Diaspora around the globe. This is a 32 county, cross border, initiative and given the unique ability of Amateur Radio to communicate so effectively, the Society will support the initiative by way of a variety of events and programmes during the year. We will announce particulars early in the new year by way of bulletins on the radio news service, a dedicated page on the IRTS website and of course in Echo Ireland. ComReg has issued to the Society a special event callsign ‘EI 13 CLAN’ which will be active throughout the year, much as our ‘EI 80 IRTS’ call was used in 2012. We expect that the callsign will generate quite a lot of interest from overseas operators, particularly in the U.S., who have Irish roots, so if there are any members who have a particular interest in genealogy and who would be willing to assist with any such queries please contact Seamus EI8BP, or any member of the committee. ============================================================================= NEWS FROM ARNEWSLINE USA IARU ACCEPTS TWO NEW MEMBERS The Federation of Radio Sport of Azerbaijan and the St Vincent and the Grenadines Amateur Radio Club are the two newest members of the International Amateur Radio Union. The Radio Sport of Azerbaijan has some 50 members while the Grenadines Amateur Radio Club hosts 21. Both nations have relatively small ham radio populations with the former representing all 50 of its ham radio population and the latter representing 21 of that nation’s 134. As of February, 2009, the International Amateur Radio Union was composed of 162 national member societies. The addition of The Radio Sport of Azerbaijan and the Grenadines Amateur Radio Club now brings that total to 164. CHANGING OF THE GUARD: HELICOPTER NEWS PIONEER JOHN SILVA - SK The man who invented helicopter coverage for television, has died. John D. Silva was the chief engineer for Los Angeles television station KTLA when he convinced station executives to give him $40,000 to outfit a rented Bell helicopter with a TV camera for news coverage. Silva then worked in secrecy with Hollywood special effects shops and engineers from the General Electric Corporation to find or invent technology small and light enough to fit on a helicopter. He and his small team broadcast their first air to ground signal on July 28, 1958 to Los Angeles viewers who would eventually come to equate a helicopter news coverage with a high-speed police pursuits and the like. In an interview with Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine, Silva said he came up with the idea while on the freeway. He explained that he was driving on the Hollywood Freeway one morning and when the idea came to him. Silva told Air & Space that he never thought about being a pioneer. Rather all that he ever wanted to do was get KTLA News there and get the picture before the competition got it. The Los Angeles Times reported Silva died in Camarillo, California, of Pneumonia complications. He was age 92. ============================================================================= RADIO SPORT DATELINE 2012-13 Ed is getting a steady flow of registrations to the Wyong Mini Contest University which is to be held on the 23rd. of February, the day before the Wyong Field Day. The first draft program is on the website fieldday.org.au As well as presentations on contesting, an informal "ask the panel" session is also planned to answer all those questions you didn't know who to ask. There will be a small raffle, drawn from only the names of those who register before the end of January. Further updates are planned over the next few weeks. 73 Ed VK2JI. VK ROSS HULL MEMORIAL VHF-UHF ALL JANUARY VK SUMMER VHF-UHF FIELD DAY Sat sun JANUARY 12-13 ZL Jock White Memorial Field Day Contest Sat and Sun Feb 23 and 24. Contest News Optical Contacts not to count on Field Days! The Spring Field Day results included several contacts made by means of modulated light. There were some objections to this on the grounds that optical frequencies are not within the definition of radio, and our licence conditions do not mention an optical band. So, this is a can of worms. This matter has been considered by the WIA contest director Trent Sampson VK4TS and the contest committee. They have decided that while the WIA does not want to discourage experimentation, optical contacts should not be counted towards the final score of any station. This does not prevent anyone from making optical contacts. They will still be accepted in future Field Day logs. But they will go into a separate results table and their scores will not contribute to the final all-band score. SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE Special UK prefixes It was announced in the RSGB magazine that all UK radio amateurs will be able to apply to use the special V prefix, such as GV, MV and 2V starting July 5th until the end of the month of July. These special prefixes will be used to celebrate 100th anniversary of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB). JR1IZM who also holds the call V31IZ will be operational as 7P8ZM from Lesotho through January of 2013. He will be active on all of the High Frequency bands. QSL via JO1CRA K1GI will be active stroke VP9 from Bermuda between December 29th and January 2nd. Operations will be on 160 through 10 meters using CW, SSB and the digital modes. QSL via JG2BRI, direct or electronically using Logbook of the World. No bureau cards will be accepted. BROADCAST MONITORING SWL AND SCANNER NEWS Radio Pakistan focussing on replacement of old transmitters Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation is on way to becoming a modern multi-media organization like BBC, VOA, Deutsche Welle and others.’ Addressing a function organized in his honour at Broadcasting House, Director General, Murtaza Solangi said the organization achieved landmark achievements over the past four years and is now recognized as the authentic source of information locally and internationally. ‘It is due to image-building of Radio Pakistan that ambassadors of important countries like US, China, and other countries spare time to express their views through this organization,’ he added. He said they are focusing to replace aging transmitters and a 100 kilowatt transmitter is being inaugurated in Larkana on 27th of this month. A 500 KW transmitter is also being installed. (read more at Pakistan observer) ZIMBABWE THREATENS TO JAM SHORTWAVE BROADCASTS The South African nation of Zimbabwe thinks it should jam shortwave broadcasts from outside that nation’s borders. Newzimbabwe.com reports that at a recent Zanu PF party conference it was proposed to jam the signals of foreign-based radio stations such as Voice of America’s Studio 7, Radio Voice of the People and South West Radio Africa that ruling party officials accuse of pushing a Western-backed regime change agenda in Zimbabwe. But critics say such a move would deny the majority of people access to important alternative sources of information to make informed decisions. They argue that President Robert Mugabe’s party wants to continue its domination of the airwaves in order to maintain the status quo. But Zanu PF officials maintain these radio stations are breaking the Zimbabwe law and should be jammed. More is on-line at tinyurl.com/zimbabwe-jamming-threats. WIA VK1WIA HOME OF THE GOOD GUYS HARAOA will release the ZL9HR financials which is rarely performed by any DXpedition. Any excess of donation funds will be donated in order to sponsor future DXpedition events and return to the DX community. An advance donation of $1000 has already been made to NCDXF. The HARAOA team has invested a significant amount of their own personal funds and unpaid work to make ZL9HR possible. The driving factor to activate such a rare entity such as ZL9 is for the benefit of the Amateur Radio hobby. HARAOA would also like to acknowledge all the HARAOA members who contributed and thank all supporters who donated and assisted to make ZL9HR a reality and they look forward to another HARAOA DXpedition planned for August 2013. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER RUSSIAN HAM TO SPEND A YEAR IN SPACE: Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, RN3BF, along with NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly have been chosen for a one-year long term assignment aboard the International Space Station. According to NASA, the mission will which will begin in 2015 will include collecting scientific data that will be important to the future of human exploration of our solar system. Also it should help researchers to understand better how the human body reacts and adapts to the harsh environment of space as NASA plans for missions around the Moon, to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars. (ARRL) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING http://www.scouts.com.au http://www.scout.org/jota http://www.international.scouts.com.au CALLING FREQUENCIES Please QSY off the calling frequency after establishing communication. Australian voice calling frequencies: 3.650, 7.090, 14.190, 21.190, 28.590, 52.160 World CW calling frequencies: 3.570, 7.030, 14.060, 18.080, 21.140, 24.910, 28.180, 50.160 World voice calling frequencies: 3.690 & 3.940 MHz, 7.090 & 7.190, 14.290, 18.140, 21.360, 24.960, 28.390, 50.160 Calling frequencies for Slow Scan TV (SSTV): 3.630, 7.033, 14.227 Calling Frequencies for PSK31 14.070 By Christmas Eve, major shopping venues in Maryborough, Queensland, were starting to display advertising to the scouts currently arriving in town. The usual Speedway venue is fast becoming a parking lot for the many coaches sitting out the days to the return journey from the National Jamboree, AJ2013. The visitor car parking will be conducted at the Speedway for a $2-00/day donation with visitors using the shuttle bus service to the Jamboree. Whilst most of us have been enjoying the Christmas festivities, the volunteer workforce has been preparing the local Showgrounds and Equestrian Park ensuring that camp sites are prepared, services are upgraded to support some 14,000 campers and the necessary infrastructure is in place. From medical services to on site security, the Dream It Live It activities on site and off site, plans have been turning into facilities. As previously announced, on WIA National News, the Jamboree is home to VI4ASJ, a call sign not heard since 1998. Listings are appearing on web sites in the amateur radio as well as scouting worlds. It is hoped that conditions are going to favour good DX but VI4ASJ also has a presence on Echolink and IRLP with a feed to aprs.fi allowing operators to check beam headings. In the background, people have been working on the design of the official QSL card which, courtesy of the WIA, can now carry the “via buro” label. The IC-718, donated by Icom Australia, has been tested on air with an auto-tuner. Coax cable and fittings have been brought on site and rigging the antenna farm on the roof undertaken. Fox hunting equipment has been loaned and is arriving with one of the Queensland contingents and what will probably be the DX station has travelled from Victoria in its trailer complete with 15m pneumatic mast. With a level of redundancy in the station equipment and amateurs from the Scouts, as well as the local area, VI4ASJ should provide both an instructive activity on site as well as a sought after contact. For WIA National News this is Geoff, VK4ZPP, from MERG, Inc. 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 Saturday February 23rd 2013 Pajero Rally Woods point area Contact: Dirk Versluys VK3FPAJ phone: 03 9879 8384 Email: versluys@optusnet.com.au Sunday March 3rd 2013 MAD Bike Ride Woodend - Wombat State Forest Contact: John Weir VK3XD phone: 03 9431 0667 Email: zzrvelec@bigpond.net.au SOCIAL SCENE 2013 FEB 23 VK Wyong Mini Contest University Wyong racecourse FEB 24 VK WYONG FIELD DAY Wyong Racecourse MAR 24 VK7 "Meet the Voice" barbecue at Ross. MAY 24-26 VK6 WIA AGM AND CONFERENCE IN PERTH Just so you're aware, there is a calendar online at http://conference.vk6.net/ The preliminary programme has registration on the afternoon of Friday 24, followed by a Welcome Dinner at Wireless Hill. Saturday features the AGM, Open Forum and Seminars and Technical Talks, followed by the Conference Dinner. Sunday the 26th contains social outings and activities followed by the Sunday Sundowner at one of the host clubs, the Northern Corridor Radio Group. AUG 17-18 WW ILLW Oct 3- 7 VK4 North Queensland Amateur Radio Convention Charters Towers NOV 3 VK5 hamfest Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society Goodwood. NOV 15-17 VK3 Victorian National Parks Weekend Nov 24 VK3 Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Club: Rosebud RadioFest 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. 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. ***************************