WIANEWS - AUGUST 10 - 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 AUG 10 2014. ANZAC 100 To commemorate ANZAC 100 a series of articles is to appear in Amateur Radio magazine by the WIA Historian, Peter Wolfenden VK3RV. Here's a summary of one of them. An interesting article from the contents of the Australian War Museum and other records is jointly written by Will McGhie VK6UU and Peter Wolfenden VK3RV. On 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced we were at war. Almost a million Australians served. This included campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as Japan and the Pacific. The Australian mainland came under direct Japanese attack as aircraft bombed the north-west and midget submarines attacked Sydney harbour. Nurses had gone overseas with the Australian Imperial Forces in 1940. However, during the early years, women were generally unable to make a significant contribution to the war effort in any official capacity. Labour shortages forced the government to allow women to take a more active role in war work and, in February 1941, the RAAF established the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force. At the same time, female telegraphists were employed in the navy and eventually the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service was established in 1942. The Australian Women's Army Service began in October 1941, to release fighting men for overseas. While Australia's major effort from 1942 onwards was directed at defeating Japan, thousands of Australians continued to serve with the RAAF in Europe and the Middle East. Some 3,500 Australians were killed in this campaign, making it the costliest of the war. During the war over 30,000 were taken prisoner, and 39,000 gave their lives. Two-thirds of those taken prisoner were captured by the Japanese in south-east Asia in the first weeks of 1942. The German High Command surrendered effective at midnight on 8-9 May 1945. On the 14th August 1945, Japan surrendered too, marking the end of World War II. (Jim Linton VK3PC) WW1 SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS August 3rd saw the start of a very unusual special event callsign, GB1418WAR, commemorating the 1914-1918 First World War. Activity will be from Top Band to 28MHz, mainly on SSB but with some CW. QSL via M0OXO. A special callsign, CF3NAVY, will be on the air for the month of August to celebrate 100 years of the submarine service of the Royal Canadian Navy. QSL Manager is VE3RCN. [via IRTS] ZZ SPARK GAP The declaration of the First World War was made from Whitehall at 23.00 on 4th August 1914. By midnight the high powered spark generator at Poldhu in Cornwall broadcast the news to all British Merchant ships using the call sign ZZ. To mark the centenary, the Radio Officers’ Association have organised an event in collaboration with the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club. The call sign GB100ZZ will operate from 4th August from the original site where the message was sent. The special event is to honour the sacrifice made by all wireless operators during the Great War, irrespective of side. See the website at www.500kcs.org for full information. Hello again, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Over the years, I have heard comments about people, volunteering for the hobby through the WIA, as being in it for the prestige, just being glory seekers. I am sure that Allan, VK4FABR, would have thought those comments far from the reality last weekend. Going by the emails that crossed my desk he had a frustrating time trying load the audio onto a site for the rebroadcasters. It seems that the rules of the group hosting the rebroadcast had changed and the audio got promptly stripped from his upload post. With suggestions coming from overseas and locally, Allan hit upon a solution and QNews went to air. Although in my region, the audio that went out was an earlier version of this segment but the text was the latest version. Did this matter? Well I don’t think it did because this segment is supposed to get attention or stimulate the thoughts. I haven’t heard how many listeners were eagle eyed enough to pick up on this but hopefully it provoked more than a raised eyebrow. If the audience were unaware of the back ground dramas that was a credit to Allan and the VK4 broadcast team. If a hiccough caused people think about the efforts of the WIA volunteers, well good for that too. I’m Geoff Emery and that’s what I think....how about you? (audio uploaded) AROUND VK VK2 RD contest and the Hunter Radio Group VK2AWX The Hunter Radio Group, VK2AWX, will be operating in the RD contest on August 16th and 17th from the beautiful Luskintyre Vintage Airport Museum located at Pywells Road Luskintyre. It is an active airport and if you are an aircraft enthusiast or if you are just interested in the camaraderie of our hobby, this will be the contest venue for you. They are inviting anyone who wants to be involved in this premium contest to come and support the team. Hunter Radio Group members (or not) are needed as contesters and people to carry out logging duties. They have bunkhouse accommodation available on a first come basis and there will be BBQ facilities available. Please let them know if you are coming so catering can be organised. For further details please contact Jamie VK2YCJ or Grahame VK2FA on 0418686397 VK3 ROSEBUD RADIOFEST 9am Sunday, November 30th. Rosebud is the ultimate Hamfest! Displays, Talks, Prizes, Demos, Exhibits, New/Pre-Loved Gear Sales, Talk-in, Special Guests, Emergency Services Communications, WICEN, ALARA, Clubs, Help for New Operators, Fully catered at excellent prices, plenty of free, on-site parking and all housed at the best venue in Australia -- Rosebud! Ballarat Amateur Radio Group Inc. BARG Hamvention The Ballarat Amateur Radio Group will hold their annual Hamvention on Sunday 19th October 2014. Location, Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club in Rubicon St. Redan, Ballarat. Starts 10.00am and finish around 1pm. Additional info www.barg.org.au or email hamvention2014@barg.org.au [WIA Calendar Registration] VK4 Hi, it’s Ray from the Redcliffe and Districts radio club incorporated. I have a question for you. How often do you check your antenna? Is it fit for the next 12 months of facing the weather? I am not asking about the SWR but the poles, mast, support posts, towers, beams, pulleys, feedlines, rope, wire and all the other things that make up your antenna array. One of our club members arrived home to find that his antenna mast had almost fallen into his neighbour’s house due to rusting through of one of the guy wires. Yes, I know that the first of August in the thoroughbreds’ birthday but maybe just maybe the first weekend in September should be amateur antenna check-up day. The day we check that every aspect of our antennas are fit for another 12 months of service. What do you think? This Monday is a public holiday in the Caboolture, Redcliffe and Pine Rivers area but the club will be open for its monthly meeting night. Chef, John Michelle, alias VK4BZ, will have a light meal for you prior to the meeting but what will it be, ham and pea soup, savory mince on a bread roll or just sausages and onions on a slice of bread? Get to the club early to find out for a cost of only $2. Great value for the money and all profit is for the club. Mal, VK4UMS has just arrived back from the US where he visited OSKOSH to view all the latest aircraft and many older ones on display. His highlight was a flight in a B17. He said that he would be sharing some of his photos and experiences in a tech talk night later in the year. Tech talks are held on the 3 rd. Monday night of the month and “fox hunting” is held on the 4 th. Monday night of the month. REDFEST will be held on 11 October 2014 at St Michael’s School Caboolture near the Abbey museum. This will be bigger and better than last year but will still maintain the traditional selling tables for those hard to get items. More details to come but put the date into your diary, 11 October 2014 at St Michael’s School Caboolture near the Abbey museum, REDFEST 2014. Well that is it for this week, 73 for now, It’s Ray, VK4CF for the Redcliffe and Districts radio club. Cardwell Gathering October Long Weekend Do you remember the FNNQARG? Held for years at Mission Beach, South Mission Beach, Kurrimine Beach and Cardwell? Well some hefty Cyclones put a stop to this famous gathering for a while, but now it is reborn as the "Cardwell Gathering" and it will be taking place from Friday afternoon October 3rd to Monday morning October 6th at the Cardwell Beachcomber Motel and Tourist Park. This is a call to all Hams and support crews not only locally but the Grey Nomad types and anyone interested in taking up the hobby of Amateur Radio to spend a long weekend in paradise. meet up with friends swap ideas catch up on new techniques build a new thingie cook up a masterpiece socialise engage in extreme loafing (a lost art form) visit the local attractions such as the Rainforest to Reef Info Centre Telegraph Museum kill a fish or two mangle a Jesse's Famous Pie or three engage in some group games for young and old rekindle the famous North Vs South cricket match recycle some treasure at the famous Monster Auction. The Cardwell Beachcomber Motel and Tourist Park has a wide range of accommodation choices. Book on the toll-free number 1800 005 633 Demand for accommodation that long October weekend will be fiercely popular so avoid dissapointment and book now ! 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 Our Microwave Bands -------------------- On 30th July, the WIA lodged a submission with the Australian Communications and Media Authority – the ACMA – putting a case to preserve a future for our nine centimeter amateur band, which spans from 3300 MHz to 3600 MHz, where the Amateur Service is secondary. The submission was our response to the ACMA’s current inquiry into future licensing arrangements in the "3.5 GHz band", which extends from 3400 MHz to 3600 MHz. To many amateurs, this sort of effort probably seems like the championing of lost causes – defeated before we even get to storm the ramparts of the enemy’s castle. After all, cashed-up telcos are willing to hand out big bucks for licences from which they can generate considerable cashflows. I have learned from long experience that it pays to put aside such self-defeating thoughts and think creatively about the issues at hand. The famous Spanish musician, Pablo Casals, summed up what to do when faced with seemingly daunting situations – he said: The situation is hopeless. We must take the next step. Defending our spectrum allocations and operating conditions is one of the Institute’s primary roles. Success, however small, benefits all amateurs. So, when any of our amateur bands faces a threat – the Institute must take the next step. You may recall that, last year, we faced loss of access to the bottom end of the 13 centimetre band – 2300-2302 MHz is to be re-allocated to spectrum licensing so that the ACMA can bundle up a tidy 100 MHz to auction off, from 2300 to 2400 MHz. A seemingly hopeless situation. The WIA took the next step and produced a submission proposing retention of amateur access to 150 kHz of the band, from 2300 to 2300.15 MHz, following up with a campaign encouraging amateurs to submit their own objections to the ACMA proposal. The outcome, you might remember, was that the ACMA said that it would work with the WIA to test whether a coexistence licensing arrangement might be developed under the Radiocommunications Act. We’re hopeful that that will proceed in the fullness of time. Getting back to the current ACMA inquiry into the 3.5 GHz band, The Institute’s submission details the impact of loss of Amateur access to 3400-3600 MHz and puts forward a strong case to preserve future access to this section of our 9 cm band. It’s a curious thing that amateurs seek to explore and experiment with new technologies, yet retain an interest in, and continued use of, technologies of the past, albeit in a modern context. The WIA submission points this out, adding that innovation in the use of wireless technologies in increasingly diverse applications continues relentlessly, both within and beyond the sphere of amateur radio, the WIA sees that it is important to facilitate radio amateurs’ ability to adopt or adapt innovations without unnecessary impediments. The Institute submission also made the point that, while commercial and defence operations focus on reliable, high signal-to-noise ratio communications, radio amateurs deliberately seek to explore testing and establishing communications under difficult circumstances where weak-signal reception is the norm, rather than the exception. As a result, the amateur radio community, globally and in Australia, has built up a commendable record of investigation and achievement in advancing the state of the art with weak-signal communications technologies and techniques. No better example of that is the recently-reported contact on 10 GHz over more than 900 kilometres using aircraft reflection between David VK3HZ portable in country Victoria and Rex VK7MO portable in southern Queensland. Making a contact like that was not so long ago – for example, last year – considered to be a hopeless endeavor. But there you go – VK3HZ and VK7MO took the next step! The WIA is committed to maintaining Amateur service allocations across the radiofrequency spectrum – both primary and secondary. Over decades, the Institute has defended assiduously the retention of Amateur access to frequency bands throughout the spectrum. And that’s quite apart from pursuing new allocations! Pablo Casals made a profound statement: The situation is hopeless. We must take the next step. When it comes to defending our spectrum allocations and operating conditions, our policy is to always take that next step. This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA. What use is an F-call? Over the past two years I've been sharing my experiences and opinions as an F-call about Amateur Radio and the community. I've talked about learning and interacting, about participating and trying new things. Regularly I receive feedback from you about this contribution. First of all I would like to say thank you for taking the time to provide that feedback, it makes it all worthwhile for me. It recently struck me that there is something else going on as well. It often feels as if the person providing the feedback is unsure of their own role in this process. Nothing happens on its own, I'm part of this community, as are you. I'm not the sole arbiter of what is good, or what is bad. I am not all knowing, nor do I proclaim to be. My experiences are not unique, nor are they special. What they are is what they are. You are part of this experience. What you do, what you say, what you try and what you tell are what makes this hobby what it is. I know of dozens of projects, small and large that are going on in around me. People planning expeditions, building antennas, making go-kits, planning power solutions for off-grid activations, pouring over maps looking for SOTA activations, building radios and amplifiers, repairing equipment, making contacts and having fun. I know that you yourself have done things that you are proud of, things you learnt that others might want to share. We're in the communications game you and I. We communicate with those around us, in voice, cw, rtty, by sharing ideas, by helping out by participating. Next time you do something, be it large or small, write it down and share it with the other people listening to this broadcast. Send your contribution in via voice or text. Don't be shy. You are what makes this hobby possible. 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. FCC ISSUES $25000 NAL FOR INTERFERENCE TO AVIATION RADAR A telecommunications organization in Puerto Rico has been issued a proposed fine for interfering with aviation radar. This for operating a radio transmitter without a license. The FCC's Enforcement Bureau received a complaint from the Federal Aviation Administration, a signal centered on 5610 MHz was causing interference to the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar installation serving the San Juan International Airport. An FCC agent, using direction-finding identified the source of the transmissions on 5610 MHz as coming from the rooftop of a business in San Juan, the agent, accompanied by the business owner, conducted an inspection of the installation. The fact that the company had already received a warning for similar violations, warrented a proposed $25,000 penalty. ************************************************************************ DX Passing of Bob Eldridge, VE7BS VE7BS, Bob Eldridge, has become a Silent Key. He passed away July 15th at Lion’s Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C. after a short stay. He was a member of the DX and Topband community. He was 93. Bob was a regular columnist for the Canadian Amateur Magazine, TCA. In his final weeks, Bob worked up his column for the September issue and noted that it would be his final column. A tribute article in TCA is planned by the editor. [Web link: http://wp.rac.ca/passing-of-bob-eldridge-ve7bs/] [RAC Comms] Adhi YB3MM will be active from Timor Leste (East Timor) as 4W/NB3MM until 5 August. Operation will be mainly SSB on 12 – 30m with some CW and PSK31. QSL Manager is IZ8CCW. [via IRTS] Michel F5OZF and Solange F5RXL will operate as TK50O (Tango Kilo fifty Oscar) from the island of Corsica until 15 August. QSLs go via F5RXL and logs will also be uploaded to Logbook of The World. [via IRTS] Members of the Royal Omani Amateur Radio Society will take part in an expedition to Masirah Island from 7 – 11 August. The callsign will be A43MI and the IOTA reference is AS-014. QSLs should go via A47RS. [via IRTS] 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. Countdown to a record ILLW With a week to go to the International Lighthouse and Lightship weekend only 90 registrations are needed for it to be another record year. The annual event, that began in 1998 with 158 registrations, has continually gained in popularity with more than 500 stations throughout the world taking part. Several countries, including Aruba, Austria, Cuba, Gibraltar and Lithuania have recently joined. In the lead is the USA on 80, followed by Germany 62 and Australia 60. In Australia the weekend shares the bands with the popular WIA Remembrance Day Contest. While contesting is a valid activity attracting often high-powered stations they are mindful of QRP lighthouse operation stations with less than ideal antennas that are also on the air. For full details of registrations and guidelines on the International Lighthouse and Lightship weekend on August 16-17, visit the website http://illw.net (Jim Linton VK3PC) OPERATIONAL NEWS - DATELINE 2014 WIA REMEMBRANCE DAY (THE RD) CONTEST NEXT WEEKEND 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. MANLY-WARRINGAH CALL TO "Arrrms"! Ahoy, me hearties! Here be Richard VK2SKY for the Manly-Warringah Radio Society in Sydney. Arrr… Now, I know what you’re thinking: “what’s with the hokey Long John Silver imitation?” Patience, Jim lad, and all will be revealed… About a year ago, one of our club members identified a source of modestly priced collapsible eight metre flagpoles. We figured that these would be ideal for portable radio operations, so the club organised a bulk purchase. Our next bright idea was that, seeing how many of us now had an excuse for operating portable, we should make an event out of it. And so, in the blink of an eye, the Manly-Warringah Radio Society Flagpole Contest was born. The rules were fairly simple: go portable with an antenna on your flagpole, and contact other Amateurs who have done the same. And now, here be the explanation for the Long John Silver act. Arrrr. As it happened, the date we chose for the contest coincided with International Talk Like a Pirate Day, so a new contest rule was added: bonus points for talking like a pirate during the QSO. Now, let me make it clear that the Manly-Warringah Radio Society does not approve of piracy, be it on the air, at sea, or on the internet. But we reckon that talking like pirate is fine, at least for this special occasion. You can also earn bonus points for dressing up like a pirate, or hoisting the Skull and Crossbones (or any humorous flag) on your flagpole. Photographic proof to be submitted either via email. or to the club station VK2MB on 20 metre SSTV, on 14 decimal 31415 Megahertz (the unofficial “pi rat” frequency.) As you’ve probably guessed, this is not a contest for taking things seriously; this is a contest for getting on air and having fun! Last year we had entrants from VK2, VK3, and VK4. We’re hoping to spread the “piracy” further afield this year, so get on the air, join in, and have some fun! The contest takes place on 20 September, from 0000 to 2359 UTC. That’s 10am AEST on the Saturday to 10am Sunday. Full details can be found on the Manly-Warringah Radio Society web site, www.mwrs.org.au. Just enter the word “flagpole” in the search box. Catch ye on the air, Jim lad! This be Richard VK2SKY, signing off… Links: MWRS Flagpole Contest page: http://www.mwrs.org.au/event/mwrs-flagpole- contest-2014/ The Official Talk Like a Pirate Day web site: http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html The 1954 movie, “Treasure Island” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEMFlFzvPvo (made in Australia!) Profile of Robert Newton who played Long John Silver in the film (and gave us the stereotypical pirate accent): http://sabotagetimes.com/reportage/ the-man-who-taught-the-world-how-to-talk-like-a-pirate/ [AUDIO UPLOADED] ************************************************************************ WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - RESCUE RADIO Up in VK2, WICEN will be once again providing communications for the world famous Shahazda Horse Enduro held around St Albans to the north west of Sydney from Monday the 25th to Saturday the 30th of August. The WICEN New South Wales' website is at: www.nsw.wicen.org.au This includes contact details, including a web based contact form, and a printable membership form. (VK2WI) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP - SATELLITE AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium Videos Now Available Thanks to the hard work of volunteers from the British Amateur Television Club (BATC) videos of the presentations given to the AMSAT- UK International Space Colloquium held in Guildford on July 26-27, 2014 are now available to view online or download to your PC. Links to the presentation videos, PDF’s of the slides and the schedule are at http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2014/presentation-videos/ You can also access them on the batv website [AMSAT-UK via ANS] === EMDRC CLUBDROOM DSTAR MEETING === Video recording with thanks to Jack Bramham - VK3WWW Radio amateurs from Victoria assemble to discuss the formation of a Victorian DSTAR User Group. Main objective of the group is the promotion of DSTAR to local Amateurs and also to be a representative body to support the operation of DSTAR in VK3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC1Q4pLvS70&feature=youtu.be — SOCIAL SCENE 2014 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 11 VK4 Redcliffe REDFEST, Caboolture Oct 19 VK3 BARG Hamvention Ballarat 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 : MARK Callsign : VK4FMAR Feedback : New "F" licence and enjoying the learning curve.. love it! Name : Tim Callsign : VK2WI A note from Tim VK2WI along with the callback reports for Central Coast and Tamworth. He says, "Hello Graham, Keep enjoying your holiday. I note it takes two VK3 to replace one VK4 news anchor." On the other hand, for August 3rd edition, he reports an aggregate of 149 callbacks across the broadcast system running on 160m-to-40m and 6metres-through-23cm bands, so the VK3 news readers appreciate his work in getting their voices to the ears of so many VK Amateurs! Name : Paul Callsign : VK2PNH Feedback : "I would like to say thank you to the WIA for finally making available the AR Magazine as a digital download. I read all my other magazines via my iPad and it's now great that I can do this with the WIA AR magazine each month. Can't wait until you can pick either digital or hard copy of the magazine. Thanks for the great work you guys do with the weekly WIA news, I look forward to listening to it every week." === DIGITAL DOWNLOADS === Name : Clive Callsign : VK4ACC Clive send in a email to the nationalnews@wia.org.au email account. It included some unique perspectives on life, recent news events and some amusing anecdotes, but sadly we don't have the ability to share all of them with the listeners and readers of the WIA National News service. 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 on behalf of the National WIA. . -------------