WIANEWS - AUG 3 - 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 AUGUST 03 2014. 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 AROUND VK Foundation Course The next ARNSW Foundation course and assessment weekend in the greater Sydney area will be next month, September on Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21st. Bookings can now be made for both the Foundation course and the assessments by squirting off an email addressed to education@arnsw.org.au VK3 HIGH COUNTRY EXPEDITION Stephen VK3SN send through word that the VK3SN annual Bogong High Plains Trip is already underway, finishing on August 4th. He says “Operations will be around 7.100 MHz afternoons and 3.600 evenings. We are only five watts so are fairly quiet, but trying in the first 15 min of each hour is a good bet. Snow conditions are excellent and we have new gear ready to try. Very keen!” See www.vk3sn.net for details. VI3ANZAC SPECIAL EVENT Bryan: What’s this I heard about a special event callsign, Robert? What’s the callsign? What event is it and when is it happening? Robert: The callsign, Bryan, is Victor India Three ANZAC. Bryan: Anzac ? But, Anzac Day was months ago. Robert: Well, Bryan. The actual first shot of the Great War of 1914-18 was fired here in Victoria, from Fort Queenscliff. It happened on the morning of the 5th of August 1914 and its purpose was to stop a German ship leaving Port Phillip Bay. To commemorate this event, the Geelong Amateur Radio Club will activate the historic site with a station using the callsign V-I-3-ANZAC. They’ll be on the air from 10.30am this coming Tuesday – 100 years to the hour from when that shot was fired across the bow of the German merchant ship SS Pfalz which stopped it from leaving Port Phillip Bay. Bryan: Wow. How did the Geelong Club get to use the ANZAC callsign? Robert: The WIA gained approval from the federal Minister for Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Michael Ronaldson MP, and his department, for the use of Anzac in this special event callsign. V-I-3-ANZAC is the first allocation of an amateur callsign representing the Anzac Centennial Commemoration. The callsign will be in use for 24 hours from 10.30 am next Tuesday, the 5th of August. Look out for V-I-3-ANZAC on the bands. Yes, there will be a special QSL card to collect for contacts with the station Bryan: I’ll be joining the queue to work V-I-3-ANZAC. Thanks Robert, and thanks to those guys on the WIA Board working hard on a program of amateur radio activities to for the Anzac Centennial Commemoration. Operators wanted for VK4KG RD Contest Operations Not going to the Lighthouse weekend but want to get into some radio action and help energise the VK4KG Memorial RAAF Museum station for the Remembrance Day Contest ? Well, Wayne/VK4WDM wants to hear from you and give you the opportunity to operate some heritage and modern equipment on voice or CW during the RD weekend from Saturday 16th to Sunday 17th August. It's your chance to operate a real memorial callsign from inside a real museum situated inside a real airforce base! Contact Wayne now on 47 2868 76 or sing out on the RAT repeater system. What use is an F-call? In the past couple of years I've participated in several contests, and I know you might think that "contesting isn't your thing", but bear with me, I think you might be surprised. As I said, I've participated in several contests. I basically turned up, either with my own radio, or that of a club station, plugged in the aerials, and started entering logging details. There was slightly more to it than that, but overall not really. This week I've been preparing for a contest myself. I have to confess, it's a totally different animal. My preparations are about a third of the way, at least I hope they are, the contest is about a week away and I have learnt so much that I don't even know where to start. I might add, that most of the learning had nothing to do with contesting as such, more with the invisible logistics which until now had mostly taken care of by themselves, that is, someone other than me made it magically happen. So what have I been up to? Well, for starters I want to run two radios side-by-side because I've got two ears and lots of antennas and I happen to have two radios, so my first preparation is to set-up some switching box that will allow me to hit the PTT on one radio and talk, while still having the ability to switch to the other radio, without having to resort to either wearing two headsets, having two microphones, or having to plug-and un-plug along the way. I'm getting closer, I can hear both radios, still working on a short somewhere which is causing the PTT to unexpectedly be active, not something you really want - hi hi. I've got access to a nice tri-bander, so that takes care of 10m and 15m. There's a folded dipole for 2m on site and a wide-band wire dipole for 40m, but I really also want to have 80m, and I'd like to use my collinear antenna on 2m and 70cm. So I'm going on-site a week before the contest to build both the collinear mast and the 80m pyramid wire antenna and to test them in-situ. I'll then need to figure out what I'm going to do about logging, one computer, or two, what software, how to back it up? Then there's food, sleeping arrangements, since I'm unlikely to be able to do 24 hours straight, though I might surprise myself. There's the contest rules to read, radios to program, print-outs to make and I'm sure I've missed some salient detail. All I'm saying is that contesting as such is not just about the on-air activity. So, perhaps you'll give contesting a go next time, if nothing than to test your ability to set-up your station in a different location. One more thing. Thank you to all those amateurs who set-up a station for me in the past. I clearly didn't know the half of it. I'm Onno VK6FLAB. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY SATELLITES SURVEY EARTH'S CHANGING MAGNETIC FIELDS The first set of high-resolution results from the European Space Agency's three satellite constellation named Swarm has revealed the most recent changes in the magnetic field that protects our planet. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, reports; -- The Swarm satellite observation system is providing some unprecedented insights into the complex workings of Earth's magnetic field. Measurements made over the past six months confirm the general trend of the field's weakening, with the most dramatic declines over the Western Hemisphere. But in other areas, such as the southern Indian Ocean, the magnetic field has strengthened since this past January. The latest measurements also confirm the movement of magnetic field Northward towards Siberia. These changes are based on the magnetic indications stemming from Earth's core. Over the coming months, scientists plan to analyze the data provided by the Swarm satellites along with contributions from other sources including other observations of the Earth's crust, mantle, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere. Together with the data collected from space, the researchers hope to provide new insight into many natural processes, from those occurring deep inside our planet to space weather triggered by solar activity. In turn, they hope this information will yield a better understanding of why the planets magnetic field appears to be weakening. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwick, Pennsylvania. TELSTRA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO SHUTDOWN 2G MOBILE NETWORK In an online post on the ‘Telstra Exchange’ website, Telstra’s Network Group Managing Director, Mike Wright, advised that the 20 year old 2G network would be dismantled over the next two-and-a-half years. Wright cites that the mobile network accounts for less than 1% of total network traffic and that the company has not sold a 2G specific device in over 2 years. Technologies on newer 3G and 4G networks continue to evolve and already offer higher speeds, having attracted a large proportion of the 2G customer base. It is expected that the 2G frequency allocations will be reassigned to expand the remaining networks. This as Vodafone also announces a “refarming” plan to migrate some 3G spectrum to improve their 4G offering. http://www.itnews.com.au/News/390220,telstra-announces-closure-of-2g-network.aspx http://exchange.telstra.com.au/2014/07/23/its-time-to-say-goodbye-old-friend/ http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/07/how-vodafone-will-refarm-850mhz -spectrum-to-improve-its-4g-performance/ DX Mark down November as being when LW 9 EOC will be operational from San Andres Island, November 26th until December 9th, also to take part in the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest as well as the ARRL 160 meter CW Contest during his stay. No callsign for this operation has been announced, but there is the possibly it could be 5 JZ 0 T. QSL via LW 9 EOC, his home callsign. Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. We have the distance education for young people using the internet and the Scouting movement has support for young people in remote areas. Now these things made me wonder why we don’t seem to have a presence on the internet for people who don’t live near existing club. There seems to be a circular process if prospective amateurs contact the WIA office; they are referred to the nearest radio club. Not all clubs seem to provide training and there would seem to be a gap for people to participate in amateur radio experience. Yes there are groups scattered around the internet and Facebook, too. There are forums which often are closed to non-members but there doesn’t seem to be presence/web site/group that specifically welcomes the newcomer and takes them in. It seems that this could be done with small bandwidth usage and graphics not video. There are plenty people in cities without adequate internet let alone those in the remote areas of the country. There could be discussion and reference material and there is also the possibility of tutoring towards assessments if a few volunteers joined in. Really for a communications based activity, amateur radio should ease the way for people to join. Years ago, I went to the meetings that started a long established and successful club. Before it kicked off, I found myself in permanent night work; no more clubbing for me. For the people remote from clubs we should be able to do better. I’m Geoff Emery and that’s what I think....how about you? (audio uploaded) OPERATIONAL NEWS - DATELINE 2014 10-10 INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CONTEST THIS WEEKEND Aug 2 - 3 WIA REMEMBRANCE DAY (THE RD) CONTEST Aug 16 - 17 ALARA CONTEST Aug 30 - 31 Manly-Warringah Radio Society's Flagpole contest September 20. Amateur Radios International Air-ambulance Week, 9 days from Sep 28. ************************************************************************ "Hi, this is Lesley, VK5LOL, the Alara Contest manager. Just wanting to let you know that the 34th Alara Contest is coming up in August, Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st; the last weekend of August. Details can be found on the Alara website. It would be wonderful if more YLs would participate particularly some of our newer F calls. We are very friendly and don't take contesting too seriously. Paper logs are welcome and there is also an Echolink section. Looking forward to speaking with lots of YLs on the 30th and 31st August. 33, Lesley VK5LOL" ***************************************************** SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX, BEACON REPEATER AND NET ADVICE FOR - AUGUST "DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, was seriously injured in an automobile accident about two weeks ago. His neck was broken, leaving him paralyzed from his upper body down, with limited movement of his arms. Recovery will be difficult and slow, and is not expected to be total. Bill would like to hear from his friends. He is currently in the Mount Sinai Rehab Hospital in Hartford, but cards and well wishes should be sent to 92 Reservoir Rd, Newington, Connecticut, USA ,CT 06111". [via SARL] YO 2 MSB will be active stroke 3A from Monte Carlo, Monaco between September 5th and the 12th. QSL via the bureau or electronically using eQSL. VK 3 VTH will be active stroke 7 from King Island between August 14th to the 17th. His operation will be on 40 and 20 meters using SSB only. QSL VK 3 VTH via the bureau. VK 3 ATX will be operational stroke P from Gabo Island on August 16th and 17th. Activity will be on the High Frequency bands. QSL via VK 3 ATX home callsign, direct only. Panama Canal Special Event This month, Panama celebrates its 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal. On August 15th, the Panamanians will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the inaugural transit through the Panama Canal. This activity is organized by amateurs of the Republic of Panama. A special event station is operating as HO 100 CANAL until August 15. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB, PSK and RTTY. The QSL Manager for the operation is HP 1 AVS. http://www.qrz.com/db/HO100CANAL LI for LA and LJ for LB Celebrates 200 years of the Norwegian Constitution during 2014. In addition, special event station LM1814 will be active as part of the celebration. NAURU SEPTEMBER 29 TO OCTOBER 19 LZ 1 GC is planning to be operational as C 21 GC from the Republic of Nauru between September 29th and October 19th on 160 through10 meters using CW, SSB and some RTTY. HS 50 RAST Special Event Callsign Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST) have been issued with the special callsign HS 50 RAST which celebrates the 50th anniversary of RAST and can be used until the end of 2014. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, E72. Special event station E 72 NATO is active until the end of 2014 to commemorate the cooperation of NATO and Bosnia-Herzegovina that was established in 2006. QSL via E 73 Y. E 6 XG JA 1 XGI has announced his next operation will be from Niue between December 1st and the 6th and is expected to be issued the callsign E 6 XG. Activity will be on 160 through 10 meters, CW, SSB and some digital. QSL via his home callsign JA 1 XGI either direct or by the bureau. INTRUDER WATCH The Brazilian Telecommunications Agency, (Anatel) have brought about a successful action against intruders in their 2 meters band. Federal agents visited a launching hill in Sao Paulo, and detected illegal aeronautical mobile communications on VHF 2 meters by air sports pilots and alike (Handglider, Paraglider, etc). Several hand helds were retained by the agents. (iaru r1) MEDIA WATCH www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html VK Club Bulletins http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aarnie/ VK2 CCARC news ccarc.org.au/wp/2012/09/ccarc-news-12-31/ GOLDEN SYRUP, ON THE AIR ABC Local Radio recently published a story that may be of particular interest to AM aficionados. Scientists at the University of Sydney have conducted unique research into the secret of a good radio voice. Using a high-speed video-endoscopy camera to record the motion of the vocal cords in the throats of 16 male radio broadcasters, the team found the subjects had faster opening and closing vocal folds. Speech pathologist Dr Cate Madill said this suggests these professionals may have better control of the tension in their vocal folds while speaking. It is now hoped that the secrets behind the sonorous endowment of presenters ‘on the wireless’ may provide clues on how to train new voices. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/07/22/4050951.htm [via Tony VK2BTC] 144 MHZ CHANNELS BEING USED FOR THE UK COMMONWEALTH GAMES The Radio Society of Great Britain says that that four 25 kHz bandwidth channels in the 2 meter band between 144.0 and 144.1 MHz are being used at the Commonwealth Games that began on July 22nd and will conclude on August 4th. This following negotiations between the United Kingdom’s national amateur radio society and telecommunications Ofcom. Usage of this spectrum by the Commonwealth Games will be limited the vicinity of Glasgow, Scotland games venues and will be limited to handheld equipment operating on a maximum of 5 watts of Effective Radiated Power. Ofcom emphasizes that use of Primary Amateur spectrum is only for the specified time period and does not constitute a long term change of usage. In making the announcement, Ofcom said that it was aware of the very short notice to the United Kingdom’s ham radio community. Therefore the authorization for use of this spectrum is on a non-interference, non-protection basis. That said, hams in the Glasgow area are requested to avoid these frequencies until 4th August. (RSGB, Ofcom, Southgate) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ARISS HONOURS FOR A CANADIAN HAMS, INCLUDING AN ASTRONAUT As part of 86 new appointments to the Order of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, recognized Veena Rawat, VA3ITU, and astronaut Chris Hadfield, VA3OOG/KC5RNJ. Rawat, VA3ITU, was honored as a “Companion of the Order of Canada” for her contributions to telecom engineering and for leadership in establishing a global regulatory framework for radio spectrum management. Rawat also chaired the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2003. Hadfield, VA3OOG/KC5RNJ, was honored as an “Officer of the Order of Canada” for “his commitment to promoting scientific discovery and for sharing the wonders of space exploration with the world.” Hadfield was the International Space Station Expedition 35 commander during his 2013 duty tour. Hadfield’s passion for science, photography and amateur radio is certainly no secret. http://wp.rac.ca/canadian-amateurs-receiver-order-of-canada/ [RAC Comms] WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEURS OLD TIMERS The Antique Wireless Association of Southern Africa has a new web site. It is worth a visit. You can find them on http://www.awasa.org.za VK RAOTC BULLETIN - AUGUST Hallo everyone, this is Clive VK6CSW reminding you that tomorrow is the first Monday of the month and time once again for the Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australia's bulletin to go to air. This month in addition to all the latest Club news, we learn something of the adventures of Rob Gurr VK5RG when he was in the Antarctic in the 1950s. Everyone, RAOTC members and non-members alike, is most welcome to tune in and to call back afterwards. There are several different ways to hear the bulletin. The principal HF transmissions are on 20 metres on 14.150 MHz USB, originating in Melbourne. The first, at 0100 UTC, is beamed northwards for eastern states listeners and an hour later at 0200 UTC is beamed westward for WA. Also at 0200 UTC we have transmissions from Perth on 40 metres on 7060 kHz LSB and via all linked NewsWest repeaters. Additionally, there are a number of other local transmissions on HF, VHF and UHF. To find one for your local area please visit the RAOTC website at www.raotc.org.au (rpt) or, as from Tuesday, the audio file can be downloaded from the website. Once again, the August RAOTC News and Information bulletin for August will be on air tomorrow and we look forward to hearing from you during the call backs. [Audio - Clive VK6CSW] SOCIAL SCENE 2014 Aug 2 VK3 Vict D-Star users group meeting EMDRC Clubroom Burwood 10am. Aug 3 VK6 Northern Corridor Radio Group Hamfest this Sunday. Sep 13 VK4 Sunshine Coast AR Club's SUNFest, Woombye School of Arts Sep 14 VK3 Shepparton and District AR Club Hamfest kicks off at 10am. Sep 28 VK3 Melbourne Amateur Radio Technology Group Hamfest Keilor East. Oct 3 VK4 Townsville Amateur Radio Club's Cardwell Gathering 4 day event. Oct 25 VK4 HAMFEST on the Gold Coast. ( hamfest@gcars.com.au ) Nov 2 VK5 HamFest Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society Nov 9 VK3 Yarra Valley AR Group Hamfest 10am Gary Cooper Pavillion. Nov 15 VK7 Miena Hamfest (My-enah) Nov 30 VK3 SPARC HamFest at Rosebud ( howardjones155@gmail.com ) ============================== NEW WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK =============================== Name : Greg Callsign : VK4GJW Feedback : G'day Rob & Brian. Very much enjoyed your delivery of the WIA news again. Enjoy your conversational style of delivery and chat. Keep up the great work. Go the volunteers! THE FINAL FINAL: AMAZON ASKS FAA TO PERMIT DRONE PACKAGE DELIVERY TESTS Amazon.com is asking the Federal Aviation Administration permission to field test drone aircraft as part of its plan to deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less. Amateur Radio Newsline’s Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has the rest of the story: -- In a letter to the FAA dated Wednesday, July 9th, Amazon.com said it is developing aerial vehicles as part of its previously announced Amazon Prime Air delivery service. It noted that these high tech delivery aircraft can travel over 50 miles per hour and carry loads of up to 5 pounds. The company noted that about 86 percent of its deliveries weigh 5 pounds or less. The Federal Aviation Administration currently allows hobbyists and model aircraft makers limited privileges to fly remote controlled drones, but their commercial use is all but completely prohibited. Amazon is asking for an exemption to the ban so it can test its design for the proposed delivery service. The Seattle, Washington-based company says its drone testing will only take place over Amazon's private property, away from airports or areas with aviation activity and definitely away from military bases. With Amazon’s paperwork now submitted, at this point, its all up to the FAA to decide. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion, Illinois. -- As many will remember, Amazon created a media frenzy last December when it outlined its plan to deliver packages using drone aircraft. While at the time some thought it to be a joke it turns out that the company is very serious in developing such a futuristic air delivery system. [arrlnewsline audio] 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...