WIANEWS - FEB 03 - 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. When you upload audio email us the txt vision. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WIANEWS WEEK COMMENCING FEBRUARY 3 2013. Australia Day Honour for VK3 The Centre Victoria RadioFest First award for all Victorian National Parks THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING FEB 03 2013. Australia Day Honour Congratulations go to Peter Mill VK3APO who has been recognised for years of community service through the Australia Day Honours. Receiving the Medal (OAM) in the General Division, he was given the honour on our National Day January 26, for service to the community, particularly in the field of radio communications. Peter VK3APO said, "The honour caught me by total surprise. I never dreamt of being rewarded in such a way for something I enjoy doing and contributes in a small way to the efficient use of the radio spectrum." He earned the honour after decades of voluntary service in the field that saw his early involvement with the planning of the first amateur radio repeaters in Australia. At Albury in July 1972, he was present when it was decided that a 600Hz shift between the transmitter and frequency be adopted for repeaters on the 2-metre band. He looks after the vast Amateur Radio Victoria network, is the WIA Repeater and Beacon Coordinator responsible for ACMA applications, plus the maintenance, enhancement and submissions related to the communications for St John Ambulance Australia. During the years he has had a lot of input on frequency assignments in consultation with users, including those for state-wide or national emergency use and the deployment of new transmission modes. Peter VK3APO, a WIA life member, has a respect and understanding with the staff of the ACMA, both at a state and federal level. He listens to other viewpoints before making a decision, is seen as a representative in many forums, and readily shares his knowledge, skill and experience with others. (Jim Linton VK3PC) 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 Discover - 3 February 2013, 0'42" Have you prepared for the last weekend in May; the 2013 WIA AGM and Conference? Once you've made it to Western Australia, you should take the opportunity to extend your stay and visit the vast country that represents this state, from a million acres in El Questro Wilderness Park, to the Karri Forests in the South West, from the dolphins in Monkey Mia to the Super Pit in Kalgoorlie, from the beaches in Broome, to the wineries in Margaret River, Western Australia is an enormous place and you should take the time to meet it head on. 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 BEST OF ALL registrations are now open for the 2013 Annual Conference and you will also find the online registration form at that conference.vk6.net site. The Conference is on the last weekend of May, 24th-26th, at the Tradewinds Hotel Fremantle. The organisers have negotiated a special room price for the conference, and you’ll need to mention the WIA Conference at the time of making your hotel reservation with Tradewinds hotel. Their phone number is (08) 9339 8188 and their website is http://www.tradewindshotel.com.au/ There is an early bird discount of $10 per person for registrations made before April 1st, so do get in early to save a few bucks. The WIA gives Australian radio amateurs and electronics enthusiasts access to an extensive range of locally and internationally sourced publications including those from the ARRL and the RSGB. Our bookshop is designed to provide you with a simple and secure way to purchase the latest amateur radio books and publications online. We use a secure commercial e-commerce gateway for all credit card transactions and delivery to your door is provided by Australia Post. Purchasing the latest in amateur radio publications is both secure and easy. We hold a wide range of the most popular publications suitable for those starting out in the hobby as well as books popular with the more experienced hobbyists. If there is a particular publication that you are trying to locate that is not listed in our online catalogue, then we would be more than happy to help you. Please send an email with the details of the book you are looking for to bookshop@wia.org.au Both WIA members and non-members are able to purchase from the WIA online bookshop, however the bookshop provides significant discounts to members of the Wireless Institute of Australia. From time to time we do run specials on some publications, so keep an eye on your Amateur Radio magazine each month for details. This is Mal VK3FDSL for the WIA Bookshop HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ The Centre Victoria RadioFest Yes only a week to go, before this big amateur radio event is held Sunday February the 10th at Kyneton Racecourse, only an hour from Bendigo, Ballarat and Melbourne. Socialise, see, learn and enjoy. Entry tickets on sale from 9am with the gates opening at 10am. Free for children aged under 13. Hot breakfast from 8am with food catering throughout the day. Free tea and coffee. Commercial sellers are in the Traders Hall, there’s a Second-hand Sellers Market and a variety of Club Corner displays. A full display of the Elecraft K-line will be on show thanks to Gary Gregory VK1ZZ, as well as vintage radio and club displays. The Mini-lectures are Wayne Merry VK3WAM - ‘Summit on the Air’, Kevin Forbes VK3UKF - things in orbit, Drew Diamond VK3XU - homebrewing, and Alan Devin VK3XPD and Michael Coleman VK3XH – an alternative entry to the Millimetre Wave Bands. Ready to help you enjoy the event are volunteers from Amateur Radio Victoria and the Central Goldfields Amateur Radio Club. For full details please visit the website radiofest.amateurradio.com.au See you at the Centre Victoria RadioFest, next Sunday February the 10th . I’m Barry Robinson VK3PV and you are listening to VK1WIA. VK2 web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm VKG Roundup http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news Wyong Field Day 24th February 2013 In numerology, keywords of the number 21 are communication and society with versatility a positive characteristic as well. What has this got to do with Amateur Radio? Well it's just 21 days until Amateur Radio's big day out where Australian amateurs will communicate, socialise and show off their versatility 21 days until Wyong Field Day, 24th February 2013, the largest gathering in the Southern Hemisphere. Gates open 6.30am – Traders open 9am - Free shuttle bus from Wyong Station Lucky Gate prizes, Raffles, Lectures, Flea Market and much more Admission $15 Adults – under 17 free For more information, please go to the website: www.fieldday.org.au Wyong Field Day proudly brought to you by the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club www.ccarc.org.au DISCUSSION POINT What use is an f-call? It occurred to me recently that there are people listening who don’t yet have a license of any kind. They may be listening with a shortwave receiver, a handheld, on a local CB repeater who relays the news, or they might have downloaded the news from one of the many places that it’s available. I’ve been talking about having an F-call, or Foundation Call, that is, having passed a foundation licence and applied for an amateur radio call-sign. It’s a simple step to take and one that is easy to achieve once you know how. So, if you’re in a position to hear what I’m talking about, but you don’t have a license, this is for you. And if you do have a license, then I have something for you shortly. Let me start off with the notion that getting an Amateur Radio License is hard. It’s not. Let me say that again. It’s not hard to get an Amateur Radio License. You need access to basic learning skills, the ability to understand and follow discussions. You’ll need to be able to remember a couple of things and you will need to learn the NATO standard phonetic alphabet. In terms of electronics, there is a little maths, but nothing more sophisticated than a few fractions and some simple addition and subtraction. There is no requirement for morse code - though I suspect once you find yourself with a license, you might want to start investigating that - I know I am. In terms of time, depending on how you do it, as a Scout it will take a long weekend, you can do it online, or get a book and teach yourself, or you can go to your local Amateur Radio Assessor who can teach you, generally a weekend of theory and practice, followed by an exam on the next weekend. You should budget for around $200 bucks for course materials, exam, license application fee and coffee. Of course that’s the beginning of the journey. The Wireless Institute of Australia has much of this information available and there are several other amateur organisations in Australia who will happily help you out. As promised, If you already have a license, then perhaps it might be helpful to go to a local science teacher, or the local yacht club or community radio station and introduce the concept of Amateur Radio to their midst. I’m Onno VK6FLAB INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, ARVictoria and the WW sources of the WIA. AMSAT-NA WEBSITE COMPROMISED BY HACKING AMSAT North America says that on or about January 20th its main web site at www.amsat.org was compromised by a hacker. The attack took the form of the contents of the supporting database, including non-public information, being posted on other publicly available web sites. According to AMSAT, the main site was developed roughly 10 years ago by a group of AMSAT volunteers under a more benign Internet environment of the time. The team that built that site is no longer associated with AMSAT, so work has been underway over the last several months to move to a modern, maintainable, and very secure infrastructure. AMSAT says that this recent breach will accelerate that activity. NAB BROADCAST ENGINEERING CONFERENCE TOPICS ANNOUNCED The National Association of Broadcasters has released a list of topics for its Broadcast Engineering Conference for its trade show this spring. For radio broadcasters some of the more interesting programs include Advanced Technologies for Radio; IP for Radio; Spectrum Matters; Technical Regulatory Issues; Radio Receiver Technologies; AM Band Revitalization; Cloud Based Storage and Distribution and Planning for Safety. Also planned is a special RF Boot Camp called Understanding Radio and Television Transmission. This is designed for personnel who might be unfamiliar with transmission technology but should have a solid acquaintance with it such as station and network I-T personnel or small station management. The National Association of Broadcasters Convention is slated for April 6th to the 11th in Las Vegas, Nevada. THE 21ST CENTURY PHONE BOOTH EMERGES IN NYC In the wake of Super storm Sandy, the humble phone booth took on renewed importance in the Metro New York area. This as cut-off residents used pay phones to try to connect with one another during and after the emergency. New York City has officially launched a plan to transform pay phones into giant touch screens that provide city information, emergency broadcasts and local business deals. Located in the same places as existing phone booths, the new platforms are to be operated as a partnership between New York City, Cisco Corporation and City 24/7. These smart screens were tested in a pilot project but now are live across the city and appear to be very reliable. Like traditional phone booths they will also serve as a communication tool during emergencies but in a far more sophisticated way. For instance, in the event of another disaster like Hurricane Sandy, the screens will become two-way distress devices that let citizens call for help or receive instructions about how to find safety. Welcome to the phone booth of the 21st century. Promoting amateur radio in the Philippines The inaugural Regional 'Radshow' (Radio Show) is at City of San Fernando on February the 4th to the 9th, and IARU member society the Philippine Amateur Radio Association (PARA) is participating. The conference-trade event of the National Telecommunications Commission is organised with the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, and Philippine Red Cross. It aims to create an awareness of radio communications during disasters. Ham Emergency Radio Operators have shown their value during recent typhoons. PARA has been invited to Radshow to hold examinations for prospective radio amateurs. Foundation Licence DY exam seminars will be led by Alex Laguisma 4F3LA, who is the PARA Manager for DU3. Finally if you are lucky enough to be travelling to the USA for DAYTON listen up:- Reservations and tickets are now available for the 24th Annual Dayton TopBand dinner slated for Friday evening May 17th. This year's venue is the Presidential Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Social hour is at 6:15 PM and the dinner begins at 7:15 PM. All times are Eastern Daylight. Noted Top Band enthusiast Larry "Tree" Tyree, N6TR, will be this years featured speaker. More is on-line at topbanddinner.com OPERATIONAL NEWS Hi This is Ed, VK2JI from the Central Coast ARC and I'm happy to report that all is arranged for the upcoming Mini Contest University at Wyong on the 23rd. of February. The venue is booked, the equipment arranged, a full program of lectures in place and even the location of the Field Day and MCU dinner set. The flow of attendee registrations has been very encouraging but we still have room for a few more however only those who registered before the end of January will be entered into the prize draw for the DX handbook. Full details about the MCU and the Field Day itself can be found on the web at www.fieldday.org.au 73 and "see you at Wyong", this is Ed VK2JI. SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE Alpine Ski World Championships - Special Event Every Austrian amateur radio operator has a chance to operate with the special callsign OE2013(???) (their own suffix) between January 15th and February 18th (2013). Activity is to celebrate the Alpine Ski World Championships 2013 taking place in Schladming. An award is available for three different classes (Gold, Platinum and Diamond). Each class requires a certain number of special event stations and OE stations logged. Each special event station or OE station will only count once on each band. All bands and the below listed modes may be used; the only exception Packet radio and Echo Link contacts do not count. The award may be worked in the following modes: CW, SSB, DIGITAL, MIXED and QRP (max. 10 Watts). For complete details, visit: http://wmdiplom2013.oevsv.at/export/sites/wmdiplom2013/downloads/Diplomausschreibung_Englisch.pdf F6ITD will be on the air stroke FG from Guadeloupe and two islands between February 1st and March 25th. He will be using SSB and the Digital modes during his stay. Logs will be uploaded to both ClubLog and Logbook of the World. QSL via his home call F6ITD direct or via the bureau. Special event station 8 J 6 HAM will be operational from the Island of Kyushu Japan, until March 3rd. Activity is in celebration of the 12th West Japan Ham Fair with operations on all bands and using many modes. QSL via the JARL Bureau. AA 9 A will again be active from Antigua between February 11th and the 20th using a new callsign V 24 A. Operations should be on 160 through 10 meters using CW, SSB and possibly RTTY. QSL via his home callsign AA9A direct or the bureau. 8N119T - celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Tokyo Fire Department (119 is the emergency fire/ambulance number in Japan) On now until 25 March on all HF bands and modes. F 6 KOP expected to be active from Uganda as 5 X 8 C between Feb 6 to 18 from a location some 20 Km from Entebbe airport. 5X8CX has announced they will comply to the last IARU band plan on 40 meters for the region with the frequencies of the PSK and RTTY moved to 7040 and 7042 kHz. For more details see www.5x2013.com OPERATIONAL AND AWARD NEWS - DATELINE 2013 ZL Jock White Memorial Field Day Contest Sat and Sun Feb 23 and 24. WW International Museums Weekends June 15/16 and 22/23 First award for all Victorian National Parks The honour of the first Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award by operating from all 45 parks, goes to Peter Fraser VK3ZPF. Award Manager Tony Hambling VK3VTH said this is a great effort that has taken several years of dedication to achieve. Well done and congratulations. Not only did Peter VK3ZPF operate portable from all national parks, but also worked from 25 of them on the 20m, 40m and 80m bands. In addition he made contact with 25 on mixed bands and 15 on 40m. So far Amateur Radio Victoria has issued 13 certificates and a few more are expected, particularly after the 3rd KRMNPA Activity Weekend on November the 15th to the 17th. (Jim Linton VK3PC) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO BRF-Young Ladies-Award The international DX-group Brave Radio Friends has instituted the Young Ladies-Award. The award is open to all amateur radio operators and on a heard basis to shortwave listeners under the same rules: Each YL worldwide only counts once with her personal call sign. Club call signs or special event stations also count, provided that it is sure from the QSL card that the station was operated by a YL. In this case, however, each call sign only counts once, even if it was operated by different YL’s. QSL cards by YL-SWLs also count towards the award. There are no time restrictions. Contacts can have been made/heard prior to the start of this award. The award can only be applied for electronically by e-mail to de3ear@darc.de There is no award fee. http://braveradiofriends.weebly.com (forwarded by Trent VK4TS) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER NASA TRANSMITS MONA LISA IMAGE TO ORBITER AT THE MOON As part of the first demonstration of laser communication with a satellite orbiting the moon, scientists with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter program have successfully transmitted an image of the Mona Lisa to the spacecraft from Earth using only a high powered laser. The digitized image travelled some 240,000 miles form from the Next Generation Satellite Laser Ranging station at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland to the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on the spacecraft. By transmitting the image piggyback on laser pulses that are routinely sent to track the devices position, the team achieved simultaneous laser communication and satellite location. The success of the laser transmission was verified by returning the image to Earth using the spacecraft's radio telemetry system. NASA TO ADD EXPANDABLE MODULE TO THE ISS NASA has officially signed a contract to attach an inflatable private module to the International Space Station. Under the agreement announced on January 11th, NASA will pay $17.8 million to the Nevada based private spaceflight firm Bigelow Aerospace for the company's Expandable Activity Module or BEAM which will be attached to the orbital lab as a technology demonstration. NASA officials have said that BEAM could be on orbit about two years after getting official approval. The module will likely be launched by one of the agency's contract cargo carriers such as SpaceX or Orbital Sciences Corporation. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS http://www.raotc.org.au Hallo everyone, the Old Timers are back again! This is Clive VK6CSW letting you know that tomorrow, Monday Feb 4th, you can hear the first of this year's Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australia's monthly newscasts. Tomorrow's feature is the story behind the issuing of a US Patent for a wireless telegraphy system some years before Marconi was born. The principal HF transmission is on 20 metres on 14,150 MHz USB. At 0100 UTC it is beamed north from Melbourne for Eastern states listeners and at 0200 UTC the transmission is beamed westward for VK6 listeners. Also at 0200 UTC Barry VK6WF will be transmitting on 40m on 7060 kHz LSB. for WA country listeners beyond our linked repeater system coverage. South Australian listeners may well be able to copy this transmission, too. Numerous other local relays occur throughout the day on various HF and VHF frequencies. To find the times and frequencies for your area please visit the RAOTC website at www.raotc.org.au Everyone, RAOTC members and non-members alike, is invited to listen to this interesting half-hour of Old Timer news, information and stories, and of course, call backs afterwards from all listeners are very welcome. So once again, the RAOTC monthly bulletin can be heard tomorrow, Monday February 4th. 73 from Clive VK6CSW. W2LPT HONOURED WITH QCWA 75 YEAR AWARD Quarter Century Wireless Association Palm Beach Chapter member Seymour "Sy" Levine, W2LPT is to be presented with the prestigious 75 Year Award from QCWA National Headquarters. W2LPT was first licensed in 1938 in New York City. The ceremony was to take place at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Riviera Beach, Florida. In addition to the award, Levine was also to be presented with a Life Membership in the National QCWA. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING Scout radio hams identified Helping to further raise the profile of amateur radio at the Jamboree On The Air, held each October, and at another gatherings of scouts, is the identification of those already licenced. The latest to join this recognition is the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) that has a special patch to be displayed on their uniform. It follows the Scouts Australia initiative, which has a badge on the right sleeve of the uniform. A similar change has happened in The Netherlands. Now all BSA youth members and adult leaders who also hold a licence are eligible to wear the patch, with the words 'Amateur Radio Operator'. The American scouts have long given a similar recognition, starting with the Wireless Merit Badge in 1914 and moving to the Radio Merit Badge in 1924. The latest move in Australia, The Netherlands and now USA readily identifies the achievement and promotes the hobby, with the first exposure to it for many being through the scouts. (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 WICEN involvement in flooding The Queensland flood disaster continues, but as that state begins its big clean-up and recovery phase, a picture of emergency communications provided by radio amateurs is starting to emerge. Initial reports from Ewan McLeod VK4ERM, the WIA National WICEN Coordinator, are that HF links were requested by Queensland's Water Police from Brisbane to Cairns. Other WICEN help was given to the Townsville and Rockhampton regions pending repair of Telstra of its fibre optic cables to north. Widespread power and communication disruption will take a number of days work by repair crews. No more is immediately known about WICEN and its emergency role, but this should be learnt in coming days. At least six people have died in Queensland. Others are missing. Many thousands are homeless and sheltering in relief centres, while some towns remain inundated and isolated. The weather system, ex-tropical cyclone Oswald that caused record flooding in many areas, has moved south to affect parts of New South Wales. (Jim Linton VK3PC, Chairman IARU Regon 3 Disaster Communications Committee) GAREC 2013 in Switzerland The Global Amateur Radio Emergency Conference (GAREC) is the premier annual event attended by those with an interest in amateur radio providing emergency communications during training exercises or in response to disasters. Since it was first held in 2005, the conference has taken place in all three IARU regions and is open to all emergency communications groups. GAREC returns to IARU Region 1 to be held in Zurich, Switzerland, between the 25th to 28th June, preceding the famous HAM RADIO exhibition in Friedrichshafen, Germany, so people can enjoy both events. General information on GAREC 2013 and registration details are now available at www.garec2013.ch/ Among the draft topics are the relevance of Amateur Radio Emergency Communication in the '1st World', and the HAMNET high speed data network, along with IARU regional reports and presentations from groups with recent disaster relief communications operations. The past GAREC presentations are now available at www.iaru.org/garec.html (Jim Linton VK3PC, Chairman, IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee) SOCIAL SCENE 2013 FEB 2 VK3 HOMEBREW & CONSTRUCTORS MEET 2PM 40G VICTORY BLVD., ASHBURTON. FEB 10 VK3 CENTRE VICTORIA RADIOFEST AT KYNETON. 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 3- 5 VK4 Clairview AR Weekend details 04 296 32815 MAY 24-26 VK6 WIA AGM AND CONFERENCE IN PERTH JUL 20 VK3 Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club Hamfest AUG 17-18 WW ILLW Oct 3- 7 VK4 North Queensland Amateur Radio Convention Charters Towers NOV 2 VK4 Gold Coast ARS HamFest at Albert Waterways Hall. 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. 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