WIANEWS - SEPT 8 - 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 version. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WIANEWS WEEK COMMENCING SEP 8 2013. WIA - announce the PR4AmateurRadio Expo. THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING SEP 08 2013. Chilean mediators have launched a new effort to resolve a 'weeks' old strike by workers at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the world’s largest radio telescope. The dispute has forced the facility to put most of its observations on hold as the management attempts to negotiate with ALMA’s 195-member union of administrative workers, technicians, and support staff members. Built at an altitude of 5200 meters above sea level, in northern Chile, ALMA is a collaboration between the United States, Japan, Europe, and Chile. 101 year-old radio ham W4EHF SK The Fay Observer reports that radio amateur Bill Finch W4EHF passed away July 27, 2013 aged 101 Bill was first licensed in 1935 and was an active radio amateur well into his 90's. He was an honorary life member of the Cape Fear Amateur Radio Society and the Brightleaf Amateur Radio Club. Read the full story at http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/09/01/1279286 INTERNATIONAL NEWS CONTINUES WITH JASON VK2LAW, thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, ARVictoria and the WW sources of the WIA. ZL Ham Radio Licence update The New Zealand regulator, MED, has recently updated the GURL for Amateur Radio Operators which specifies the terms, conditions and restrictions that amateur radio operators must comply with when operating their radio stations and to reflect changes to visiting amateur callsign requirements. General User Radio Licence (GURL) for Radio Amateur Operators rsm.govt.nz/cms/licensees/types-of-licence/general-user-licences/amateur-radio-operators VOICE OF RUSSIA TO CEASE SHORTWAVE RADIO SERVICE TO GO QRT It appears the Voice of Russia will cease shortwave radio service January 1st, 2014. The shortwave service is closing due to government mandated funding cuts. The Voice of Russia was known as Radio Moscow in the Cold War era but actually first took to the shortwave bands back in 1922 with a single transmitter located in Moscow. US Space Fence shut down It is reported on SatWatch that the 216 MHz US Space Fence, used to detect orbital objects, was shut down on September 1 at 0000 UT The Space Fence was a U.S. government multi-static radar system built to detect orbital objects passing over the United States. The reason for the shutdown is believed to be because the US Federal Government is spending more than its budget resulting in automatic budget cuts. Amateur Radio Licensing Exam in Bangladesh After 5 years, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (BTRC) has announced, an 'Amateur radio licensing exam, 2013' will be held on November 9. 50% of total mark will be counted as pass line in the examination where the candidate will have to face 50 Multiple Choice type questions regarding Fundamental of radio engineering, Basic Electronics, Amateur radio rules, code, safety etc. Details of syllabus can be found in BTRC website (www.btrc.gov.bd). You can also visit Bangladesh Amateur Radio League's website www.barl.org Microsoft will buy Nokia's mobile phone business for 5.44 billion euros ($8 billion AU), and the Finnish firm's CEO, Stephen Elop, will join Microsoft when the transaction is closed. Finland's Nokia, once the undisputed leader in mobile phones, has been struggling to respond to the challenge from smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung. smh.com.au/business/world-business/microsoft-to-buy-nokia-mobile-phone-business-20130903-2t2fl.html#ixzz2dnfUk7IK EURAO poll: calling Canada and Australia The European Radio Amateurs' Organization (EURAO) is seeking opinions worldwide for its survey. Until now responses from more than 40 countries have been received but just a few from Canada and Australia. OMs and YL’s from these countries (and also from others) are encouraged to participate in the poll. It takes only a few minutes. visit the text edition of this news ( wia.org.au ) for the url. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Pi8HMsoPZedGXhjzcKB3_XUIdU7gHasneWAtHBj5a6A/viewform ASTRONAUT HAM MIKE FOALE KA5UAC RETIRES After twenty-six year with the space agency, NASA astronaut Michael Foale, KB5UAC has retired. Starting back in 1997, Foale had spent a total of 375 days in space during six space shuttle missions and later assignments aboard two space stations. This included 145 days on the Russian Mir space station in 1997 and 194 days aboard the International Space Station as commander of Expedition 8 from October 2003 to April 2004. He also took part in four spacewalks also known as EVA's totalling almost 23 hours. FCC ORDERS CALIFORNIA COMPANY TO STOP SELLING COMBO 10 AND 11 METER AMPS The FCC has issued a Citation and Order to a Fremont, California company known as DNJ Radio. This for its alleged violation of the agency's rules by marketing non-certified amplifiers and kits via its website under the trade-name RM Italy. The agency's San Francisco office was assigned to investigate the matter. It says that it found that that DNJ Radio was offering RM Italy brand linear amplifiers and amplifier kits that were capable of operation on both 11 and 10 meters that had not been certified for sale in the United States. It also said that a disclaimer posted on DNJ Radio's website that the devices were only for industrial, scientific, medical, or export use was not acceptable because using them on 11 meters would violate FCC rules. The FCC ordered DNJ Radio to immediately discontinue marketing these unauthorized devices and gave the company 30 days to provide a list of amplifiers imported or marketed under the name RM Italy. It also told DNJ Radio that any future violations could result in sanctions of up to $16,000 for each future violation. FASCINATING CONVENTION WEBSITE While we usually do not do stories about HamFest or convention websites, every once in a while one comes along that deserves a bit of special attention. And so it is with this year’s Pacificon show. Amateur Radio Newsline’s Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has the details: -- If you have ever visited a HamFest website then you know that most are very basic. Usually it’s a headline with the name, date and location of the event and possibly a way to register on-line. But Pacificon, the ARRL Pacific Division's annual conference held annually in California’s Silicon Valley has changed all this. The cutting edge website uses a professional conference management system donated to the event by a start-up called PointView. David Witkowski, W6DTW, is the Webmaster for Pacificon 2013: W6DTW: "The system is really exciting because, in addition to the fully modernized website the public will see, there's a set of back office tools the Pacificon team can use to efficiently manage the event leading up to and on the day of. It handles everything from attendee and vendor registrations, managing presentation submissions. We can dynamically adjust room and timeslot assignment to better create an agenda that’s going to be responsive to the users. And if we need to change the time or location for a Forum session, the website's event calendar gets automatically updated with that information.” - Pacificon 2013 is slated for October 11th to the 13th at the Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara California. Its new conference system is so modern it even features support for smartphones and social networking. -- W6DTW: "On the day of the event attendees can use the PointView mobile app which runs on both iOS and Android devices to manage their agenda, exchange contact information with presenters and other attendees, and get live announcements about the event. The attendees can also link their Pacificon account with social networking such as Facebook and Twitter, and use the PointView app or the Pacificon website to post comments and photos which will be reflected to their social networking channels." -- Bringing convention and HamFest websites into the 21st century is what this story is really all about and right now it appears as if Pacificon and its new website are the leaders of the pack. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom in Los Angeles. RF noise floor study A proposal for funding to support the long-term understanding of the RF noise floor has recently been approved by the RSGB Legacy Trustees managing the generous legacy provided by the late Ken Rowell, G5RL. The funding provides for web support for the Noise Measurement Campaign, announced in the July 2012 edition of RadCom, and data collection for one or more MSc projects at the University of Leicester. The projects are expected to be run in conjunction with assistance from a small number of amateurs in suitable locations. Further information is on the RSGB Notices section of the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org.uk. Special prefix for Brownies' 100th birthday 2014 will see the Brownies celebrate their 100th birthday, with various exciting activities and challenges available. Ofcom has agreed that stations may apply for the special GB100 prefix to their usual Thinking Day On The Air callsigns. The NoV applications will need to be accompanied by a supporting letter from one of the Girl guiding leaders also involved with the event. You can download a template at www.guides-on-the-air.co.uk Thinking Day is an opportunity for the members of the Guide Association from the youngest Rainbow to the oldest Trefoil Guild member to talk to other members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts all over the world via amateur radio. The 2014 event will be on 15th and 16th February 2014. CAR 54 WHERE ARE YOU. A new Government Wireless Network is expected to improve communications for public safety agencies and increase safety and security for emergency workers in Queensland. Trevor Taege VK4BAT Reports…… Telstra have been chosen to design, build, operate and maintain the vital technology and infrastructure project worth 457 million Dollars over 15 years. Announcing the new system in Brisbane earlier this week Qld Premier Campbell Newman said the GWN would initially be rolled out to Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Cairns to support next year’s G20 meetings. The new Digital system would then be rolled out to the rest of the South-East in time for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The Premier says there would also be the potential to eventually extend the system to cover the rest of the State. Telstra and its major subcontractor Motorola will work closely with the Government to start the detailed design and build of the network under a managed services agreement. Work on the GWN is expected to begin later this year. Trevor Taege in Brisbane for VK1WIA News 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 We have moved on and up with technology The general public is often very surprised that amateur radio survives in this internet, mobile phone and digital age. The old stereo-typed amateur radio is vaguely remembered by some, or it remains a hidden secret. Most other activities do seek to be part of the community, so they're better understood and recognised. So should amateur radio, particular since it is now so easily accessed and enjoyed. The Wireless Institute of Australia considers promotion of the hobby to be very worthwhile with plenty of discussion at WIA Board meetings. The WIA has decided to concentrate the publicity effort by announcing the PR4AmateurRadio Expo, to be held through the clubs or groups, on April the 11th, 12th or 13th next year, 2014. More detail on the exciting PR4AmateurRadio Expo will be available in due course. In the meantime, those taking part need to commit up 12 hours next April. (PR4AmateurRadio) HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ Standard theory training available Do you know someone with the Foundation Licence who wants to upgrade to the Standard level? Enrolments are being taken by Amateur Radio Victoria the Standard Licence bridging theory course held weekly on Wednesday at Ashburton. Experienced instructor, Kevin Luxford VK3DAP / ZL2DAP covers the additional theory knowledge. It does require some self-study but those who now have a Standard Licence callsign prove that the course has a very high pass rate. For more detail see the Amateur Radio Victoria website under the 'Get your licence' section: www.amateurradio.com.au/licence/standard EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO www.hamcollege.com.au What use is an f-call? I've now been an Amateur for a little longer than a minute and a half and my shed is beginning to resemble that of Amateurs who've been at it for much longer than I. There's a work-bench with two different type of soldering irons, boxes of connectors, spare antennas, rolls of cable, rope, clamps, testing tools, batteries, chargers and the like. There's screwdrivers, spanners, toolboxes and an overhead lamp and magnifying glass and I'm already running out of room. I've always had a shed of sorts, I'm a bit of a pack-rat, though I know others who take that moniker to an art-form, I'm not yet that advanced, call me an apprentice hoarder if you like. Today it occurred to me that what my challenge is, finding stuff, comes from something that I learnt whilst travelling around Australia for 5 years. For everything there is a place. My current shed hasn't yet learnt that lesson, so I'm going to be spending a little time doing some storage research and doing some organising. Who knows, perhaps I'll take that inspiration and start cleaning up the club-shack too. I'm Onno VK6FLAB VK4FUQ FELIX WITH OPERATIONAL NEWS - DATELINE 2013 FLAGPOLE Contest September 21 2014 VK Harry Angel Memorial Sprint May 3 10-10 INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CONTEST Aug 2 - 3 SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE National Parks on the air Those looking for contacts under either the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award or the VK5 National Parks and Conservation Parks Award, are invited to listen for Tony Hambling VK3VTH on 40-metres from six parks. He has issued the following list for September. Sunday the 8th - Little Desert National Park - 0600z to close. Monday the 9th and Tuesday the 10th - Wyperfeld National Park - 0600z to close. Wednesday the 11th - Murray Sunset National Park - 0001z to 0200z. Then on the 11th across to VK5 and Peepinga Conservation Park - 0400z to 0600z, and the Karte Conservation Park - 0730z to 0830z. Back to Victoria on Thursday the 12th and Friday the 13th - Grampians National Park - 0600z to close. Tony VK3VTH with his well-equipped portable station will be on 7.100 MHz +/- QRM, and other bands are available on request. (Jim Linton VK3PC) WRTC-14 TEAM LEADER APPLICATIONS DUE BY SEPTEMBER 13 Organizers of the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship or W-R-T-C competition are accepting applications for team leaders. There will be 54 two person teams in the contest, scheduled to be held next July in New England USA. Team leaders will be selected from the top qualifiers in 29 regions around the world, based on applications and a qualification formula that considers 12 scores selected from 55 qualifying events between October 2010 and March 2013. The team leader application is online at tinyurl.com/wrtc-leader The deadline for filing the completed application filing is September 13th. (CQ via ARNewsLine) CYCLING EVENT STATION IN SPAIN On the air, keep a lookout for EG 5 VCE will be operational through September 15th. This, while the annual Vuelta cycling race is under way in Spain. Operation is all bands using various modes. QSL EA 7 HBC via the bureau. (www.europeanrosclub.com via ARNewsLine) E 44 PM Palestine is a DXCC entity that does not appear on the bands too often. Peri, has managed to renew his E 44 PM licence. It is not known how long he will be in Palestine. QSLs go via home call HB 9 IQB and the logs will also be uploaded to Logbook of the World. (rsgb) CQ from a haunted house With about a week left to go till the Irish South Eastern Amateur Radio Group’s activation of Loftus Hall on Friday the 13th September final preparations are being made. Loftus Hall is widely renowned as Ireland’s most haunted house. It has been given the CASHOTA reference EI025/SH. It promises to be a fun activation and one for the whole family with junior op’s welcome to go along, (if they are game!) (SouthGate) VK3GR BRYAN WITH WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video arvideonews.com hamradiotube.com youtube.com qdg.org.au World Digital ATV QSO Party This annual event held through VK3RTV last weekend was another great success. It started on Friday night with Damian VK3KQ, Mick VK3CH, John VK3DQ, Peter VK3PB, Jack VK3WWW, Peter VK3BFG, Ralph VK3LL and John VK3ATV. Skype relays around Australia were Mark VK3EME of Bendigo, Justin VK7TW in Hobart with VK7OTC, David VK5DMC Port Pirie, Don VK5ADM Adelaide, Tony VK7AX Ulverstone and Winston VK7EM from Penguin. Saturday began with an interesting segment from Ken K6HHC in Orange County California. He brought us up to date with the DATV Express project which is developing a low cost DVB-S ATV exciter. The QSO Party then crossed to Art WA8RMC in Columbus Ohio, the anchor through the only digital repeater currently in the USA. Six stateside stations came up. As the morning moved to the afternoon the hook-up was with the Southern Californian anchor, Don KE6BXT, and worked a number of stations through the W6ATN network. Locally here we had VK3ATV and VK3DQ for more QSO fun. Mick VK3CH had moved portable to his usual location and entertained us all with the wide range of food on offer. The Eastern and Mountain District Club new digital facility suffered teething problems, but appeared later in the afternoon. A lot of encouragement has been received by Peter Cossins VK3BFG, the Melbourne anchor and main event organiser, to continue to develop the concept for its 4th year in 2014. (Jim Linton VK3PC) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER NASA’s Kepler space telescope has had to give up its prime mission of searching the universe for new habitable planets. This after mission engineers failed to find a fix for its pointing system after the observatory lost the second of its four reaction wheels. The $600 million dollar Kepler space observatory was launched in 2009. Its primary mission was to try to locate planets orbiting their home stars in the so-called habitable zone and then radio its findings back to Earth. The habitable zone is the region where, given the right conditions that water might exist on in a liquid state. These planets are considered as having the best chance of supporting some form of life. (ARNewsLine) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW Rare novelty lights add fun to global event Among the aims of the popular international Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend are to give radio amateurs a way to promote the hobby, raise public awareness of old maritime structures and have fun doing so. Many hundreds look forward to operating portable stations in the spirit of amateur radio, at locations around the coasts of the world. Although the event has guidelines, the organisers are faced with a dilemma of whether to let a fun-filled a novelty lighthouse join for one year only. The latest was the lighthouse built for the dry river bed Henley-on-Todd Regatta at Alice Springs in central Australia. Its team performed well in the spirit of amateur radio meeting the aims, including gaining media promotion. The other major inclusion in 16 years was way back in the year 2002. It was the anti-collision light used by water craft on the Captain Cook Water Jet of Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin, and 150-kms from the coast. The inclusion of such novelties is very rare, involves careful consideration, but the two approved cases certainly added lots of interest and plenty of fun for the event. Reports and pictures are most welcome from the recent event that had a record 526 or a 10 per cent increase in those registered from the previous year. Already 80 have committed to the 17th International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on August the 16th and 17th, 2014. (Jim Linton VK3PC) 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 Ryan Unsworth VK3FAAR reminds us Jamboree of the Air happens October 19/20. Frankston District Scouts will be providing access to Ham Radio and Internet chat to communicate around the world callsign VK3SAB, if you’re on the air listen out for VK3SAB and if you'd like an eyeball, Ballam Park Scout Hall, Frankston is the place to be. 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 2013 Cycle Queensland FNQ Road Tour Comms Support WICEN Brisbane and helpers will be again making the yearly trek to the Far North to provide communications support for Bicycle Queensland’s' Cycle Queensland 2013 Adventure Tour. This year’s ride through the Far North starts at Mission Beach on Sunday 8th September - heads inland and uphill into the picturesque Atherton Tablelands and ends at Port Douglas on Sunday September 16th. The WICEN portable repeater will be deployed at a number of high vantage points during the ride and WICEN will also deploy a HI band VHF portable commercial repeater to aid comms for Ambulance and other non-radio amateur organisations. (tarc) SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- SUMMITS ON THE AIR www.sotawatch.org www.sota.org.uk Last Sunday, September One saw the start of summits being activated in the Summits on the Air scheme in Australia's VK2 (New South Wales) area. --- The list of summits for NSW was submitted to the SOTA Management team in the UK during August and it was a great surprise to find that the UK guys had not only been expecting our submission, but were hoping to get VK2 alive for SOTA on the 1st of September. We were delighted to find that not only vk2 but also VK4 was officially launched on that day. There are almost 1100 approved summits for SOTA in NSW. The names and locations of the summits and maps showing them can be found on the SOTADATA.ORG.UK website. You can go there and use the software tools to download a bunch of summits for your area in various forms including files that you can use in a GPS navigator or in your own mapping software. So radio amateurs in NSW and Queensland are now able to activate summits and gain points for the various SOTA awards. Summits are graded according to their altitude. The points range from 1 point for summits up to 500m all the way up to 10 points for summits higher than 1500m, in NSW. The points scales in various states are slightly different because they have different ranges of heights. Who will be the first to operate a SOTA station from Mt Kosciusko, summit code VK2/SM-001, 10 points, 2229m ASL? For more information about SOTA, including equipment, antennas, power supplies and the rules of the programme, please go to the SOTA website at SOTA.ORG.UK. We have an Australian mailing group on the Yahoo Groups system and you are welcome to join, monitor the chatter and get enthused about operating from summits. 73 from Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH, association manager for SOTA in VK2 . SOCIAL SCENE SEP 8 VK3 Shepparton and District Amateur Radio Club Hamfest 10.00am SEP 14 VK4 Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio's SUNFEST 9am. SEP 27-29 VK6 HARG Spring RF Camp-out Bald Hill Campground, Avon Valley Oct 3- 7 VK4 North Queensland Amateur Radio Convention Charters Towers Oct 5 vk4 REDFest by Redcliffe & Districts Radio Club St Michael's College, Caboolture, 9am Oct 20 VK3 Ballarat Amateur Radio Group Hamvention 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 2014 Feb 23 VK2 Wyong Field Day and it is on come rain hail or shine. May 2- 4 VK4 Clairview Gathering Clive VK4ACC 0429 632 815 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. -------------