WIANEWS - OCTOBER 26 - 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 OCTOBER 26 2014. HEADING TOWARDS OUR 20TH YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA 2015 Callbook available for purchase. WIA November AR Magazine Now Online For Download. WIA AWARDS MANAGER VK3SX TALKS ABOUT ONLINE AWARDS SYSTEM. THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING OCTOBER 26 2014. Pico balloon flights test weak signals A party-type Pico balloon carrying a payload was launched from Melbourne on Saturday October the 18th and tracked to Tamworth News South Wales, between Sydney and Brisbane. It was launched by Andy Nguyen VK3YT who says that during that flight solar powered Pico balloon PS-23 balloon payload was heard on WSPR as far away as the United States by W8AC James Martin in Ohio. The tracking of the 25-Milliwatt balloon involved stations in VK1, VK2, VK3, VK5, VK6, VK7 and ZL1 using Olivia and JT65 on 30m and 20m. Andy VK3YT says PS-23 landed near Tamworth to be recovered by a team of Scouts from the local JOTA, lead by Ashley VK2XSO and Ron VK2HRD. It was launched again on Sunday but this time with Payload number 2 using JT9. That flight landed in the Tasman Sea on Sunday night. Andy VK3YT says the tests performed by the two payloads proved the viability of using JT9 and JT65 types of weak signal digital modes for balloon telemetry. Both balloons were tracked all the way to ground level by Richard VK6XT and Bob ZL1RS -many thousands of kilometres away. (vk3pc) More ANZAC 100 articles wanted Thank you to those who have indicated they have articles and photos for the ANZAC 100 series appearing in WIA journal, Amateur Radio magazine. A summary of most articles also appear on the VK1WIA broadcast. The role of editing them is that of the WIA Historian, Peter Wolfenden VK3RV. The material he receives is also being filed in the WIA Archives. Australia is starting to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli Cove of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp in April 2015. More articles about the role of radio amateurs during WWI, WWII or later conflicts including Korea and Vietnam, are most welcome. Please contact the WIA Historian, Peter Wolfenden VK3RV, with your ideas. This week it's to VK4 where the search for historical information has found Alan Gardiner VK4BWG, typical of many radio amateurs with a great interest in radio from youth, served during the war and later joined the amateur ranks. Alan did not obtain his amateur licence until 1984, but had an interest in radio from about 1929 when he helped his father build a crystal set. This was followed by a two valve regenerative receiver capable of receiving all Australian states, at times New Zealand and occasionally some high powered stations in the USA. At that time school boys frequently had the desire to transmit a signal. Alan was bitten by the bug and one day with the help of a mate set up a T model Ford spark coil and coupled it to his mother's backyard clothes line. The only report of reception he had was verbal - from the next door neighbour whose Stromberg Carlson receiver with push-pull 2A3 output valves and decent speakers, blasted out his raucous signal over the entire neighbourhood. The RI's didn't have sufficient time to locate the source of interference because the transmission was immediately terminated by two very concerned schoolboys. Wartime saw Alan in the RAAF 100 Squadron flying in Beaufort's as a navigator. CW was used with Aldis lamps and also an AT5 transmitter with an AR8 companion receiver. Ham radio did not come for Alan until quite late when his wife said: Stop talking, get that ham ticket as soon as we retire. This he did and from a retirement property near Gympie, where he put together a small antenna farm, Alan Gardiner VK4BWG had many contacts worldwide with only 50 watts. (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 2015 WIA Callbook ----------------- The 2015 WIA Callbook is now available for purchase. Orders can be placed via the "WIA Publications" category of the online bookshop. WIA affiliated clubs are invited to purchase the Callbook in bulk for sale at Club functions, Hamfests etc. http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2014/20141022-2/index.php November AR Magazine Now Online For Download -------------------------------------------- Amateur Radio is the monthly magazine produced by the Wireless Institute of Australia in both print and in an online downloadable format for the benefit of WIA members. The November edition is now online and available for members to download and read. http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2014/20141022-1/index.php Hello I’m Bob VK3SX WIA Federal Awards Manager. This month has seen advancements with the online Awards system. 1. The introduction of the F Call DX Leader Board into the WIA Online system. We invite all F Calls who are WIA members and into DXing to register with memnet and upload their ADIF electronic logfile to the online system. The rules can be found on the online WIA awards system, F Calls must operate within their licence restrictions and a minimum 25 DXCC countries must be verified. Go to the login page for details. The F Call Dx leader board has been sponsored by ODXG, the winner will be announced at the WIA AGM 2015 and receive a plaque for their achievements. 2. The Introduction of the International registration for foreign applicants and PayPal payment for their annual subscription to the online system, this is a major access refinement and their ADIF log files can be uploaded. Registration requires certification and sighting of their licence as well as their payment. Go to the login page for details. 3. All upgrades and additional awards will only be via the online awards system, this has been approved by the WIA executive and from January the old excel system will no longer exist. Registration with memnet needs to be applied for all those that wish to participate in the online system which is a user friendly system requiring ADIF logfile uploads to maintain award tallies and access all other awards that your uploads will automatically calculate. 4. So far this year we have issued 283 new awards, we have only 144 currently registered users. QSOs uploaded to our data base 730,915. A breakdown of the electronic validation of QSOs are as follows LOTW / 167,671. EQSL / 92,169. Paper / 17,549. So the easy validation of LOTW and EQSL are a major contribution to user totals. Our ClubLog reference has proved 100% correct and we thank Michael G7VJR and his team for their valuable support. All information can be seen on the Awards website at wia.org.au go to the login page and register your interest and find out how easy it is to use and apply for our many world class awards. 73 Bob VK3SX HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ VK3 Homebrew Construction group The group meets on Saturday November the 1st. Guest speaker is David Smith VK3HZ presenting a discussion on microwaves. The WIA journal Amateur Radio columnist and microwave distance record holder is sure to be interest and informative. The meeting is at the Amateur Radio Victoria rooms, 40g Victory Boulevard, Ashburton, at 2pm. All are welcome to attend. (Jim Linton VK3PC) DISCUSSION POINT What use is an F-call? Last week I shared my personal close encounter with a drill. If you missed it, the experience contained a particular act of stupidity on my part. So much so that I still cannot reconstruct in my mind which part of it I ever thought was a good idea. Walking around and sharing my silliness seemed to encourage others to share their own acts of foolhardiness, from holding an avocado in the left hand and prying the pit from the centre with a sharp knife, through using a chisel that managed to damage a large part of someone's thumb, with nails no longer growing properly, through to using a drill in the webbing of a hand, chopping off parts of people's anatomy, getting rings caught, you name it, I've heard so many first hand stories that frankly boggle the mind. Apart from resisting the urge to write down each of these stories, I found myself looking for a common denominator, mostly it turns out to be impatience. With that newly learnt lesson, I picked up my drill with a different eye this week. Of course when you're building things, often time it doesn't quite go as planned, but I noticed that once I started to become impatient with what ever was going on, I stopped what I was doing, took a breath, and had another look. I bought a vice, adding an essential tool to the mix and I hope that my new radar for impatience will stand me in good stead once I get myself into another pickle. Silliness is clearly not something new, it's everywhere. When was the last time you did something really silly? 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. Ford is developing a driver’s seat that will monitor a driver's heart activity and that it hopes could one day reduce the number of accidents and fatalities that occur as a result of motorists having heart attacks behind the wheel, the company has said in a statement. Engineers from Ford's European Research Centre in Germany, began working closely with Aachen University on the prototype in 2011. The seat “employs electrocardiograph technology that monitors the heart's electrical impulses and detects signs of irregularity that can provide an early warning that a driver should seek medical advice, because he might be impacted by a heart attack or other cardiovascular issues,” Ford Motor Company said. The prototype has six sensors built into the seat, and will work through the driver’s clothing, unlike sensors in a doctor’s office that require direct skin contact. Big sunspot produces X-flare Solar activity increased sharply on Oct 19 when huge sunspot AR2192 unleashed an X1-class solar flare. The blast produced an HF radio blackout on the dayside of Earth and it likely hurled a CME into space. http://spaceweather.com SOLD! From one of the first Apple computers to a Charles Darwin letter discussing Barnacle sex, a major auction of technological and scientific artefacts this week gave a fascinating glimpse into the great minds that helped shape our world. Spanning centuries, the 288 items in the sale are estimated to have raised around $2 million when they went under the hammer at auction house Bonhams on Wednesday. The first Apple computer was sold at $905,000 to the Henry Ford organization, which plans to display the computer in its museum in Michigan. Also included was a window, a window used during the very first atomic bomb tests in the mid 40's. IARU seeks to rein in electromagnetic interference The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Administrative Council (AC) has called upon ITU signatory nations to take steps to ensure that the operation of 'electrical apparatus or installations of any kind, including power and telecommunication distribution networks,' does not cause harmful interference to Amateur Radio operations. The AC said new technologies such as wireless power transfer are likely to be deployed widely in the near future, and it expressed “deep concern” that present standards, regulations, and enforcement resources are inadequate to protect radio services, including Amateur Radio, from harmful interference. NAMES IN THE LOG John Bigley, N7UR, has been named as the 2014 ARRL Pacific Division 'Ham of the Year' at the recently held Pacificon - ARRL Pacific Division Convention in Santa Clara, California. Congrats John. The BBC has launched 'BBC Genome', its project to publish a comprehensive history of every radio and TV programme ever broadcast by the Corporation. BBC Genome lets viewers and listeners search millions of programmes, cast details, writers and transmission dates of past BBC shows as listed in 4469 editions of Radio Times, helping fans find details about that long-forgotten loved BBC programme, research a particular person or find their very own appearance on the BBC. The project scanned over 4 MILLION programme records from Radio Times between 1923 and 2009. bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/bbc-unveils-digital-schedules-radio-times WASHINGTON WIRES The US Department of Veterans Affairs plans to build a USA wide high-frequency radio network to connect its medical facilities in case of an emergency that knocks out other forms of communications, applying century-old technology to current needs. VA said in a contracting notice Tuesday it intends to award a five-year, fixed-price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for the fully functional "turnkey" Emergency High Frequency Radio Network. VA plans to issue a formal request for proposals by Oct. 31. ============================================================================= ARNEWSLINE HAM RADIO IN THE YUKON WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS A pair of radio amateurs in the Yukon Territory recently used ham radio to get information from a Search and Rescue campsite to the command centre in one of those situations where all else failed. The situation was that Terry Hauff, VY1MAP, was a member of a Search and Rescue team that was on an active hunt for a missing teenager. The command centre they had setup was approximately 22 miles north of the city of Whitehorse at Lake Laberge. The location put them out of cellphone coverage and the satellite phone they had with them was not working. As such, there was no way to call for additional resources or send status reports. Enter ham radio. At this point VY1MAP used his mobile ham station to contact Ray Fugard VY1RF, in Whitehorse using a local 2 meter repeater that covered both areas. During that QSO Hauff was able to pass some important traffic to and from the Search and Rescue command centre. Soon after the missing young man was found and all ended well. STEVE HERMAN W7VOA DISCUSSES HIS CAREER The career of Steve Herman, W7VOA, is the subject of an interesting interview appearing in the current issue of the Overseas Press Club of America newsletter. In it, Herman, who serves as the Voice of America's Southeast Asia bureau chief and its correspondent answers questions about his education, how he got started as a news journalist, the languages he speaks and much more. You can read the article in full at tinyurl.com/Steve-Herman-W7VOA. THREE RESEARCHERS AWARDED NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS FOR DEVELOPING BLUE LED Three researchers, one from the United States and two from Japan, have been awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics. This for their roles in developing light emitting diodes that produce a blue glow. Isamu Akasaki, with Meijo University and Nagoya University, Hiroshi Amano, of Nagoya University, and Shuji Nakamura, with the University of California at Santa Barbara California are the 20 14 recipients. They will be sharing the $1.1 million prize for choosing materials and developing the techniques that have made possible the blue toned Light Emitting Diode. The trio's collective breakthrough have led to lamps that last for decades and consume far less power than either incandescent or fluorescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light. The blue LEDs have made possible today's flat- panel, full-colour computer monitors and TV screens, and are used in lasers for Blu-ray DVD players and higher density data storage using Blu-Ray DVD units. It was also noted that Blue-emitting LED's combined with storage batteries and solar charging panels could eventually allow more than 1 billion people worldwide to move from no lighting at all to electric lighting without using local gas or diesel generators or regional power plants to provide it. The three researchers will receive their award at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10th. WRTC 2018 TO BE HELD IN GERMANY Tine Brajnik, S50A, who is the chairman of the next World Radiosport Team Championship Sanctioning Committee has announced that Germany has been chosen as the site of the 2018 WRTC games. Specifically the event will be hosted by an oversight organization made up of the German National Amateur Radio Society DARC, the Bavarian Contest Club and Rhein Ruhr DX Association. According to S50A, the German application was very well prepared and knowing their combined experience another outstanding competition among world's best contesters is expected four years from now. A website has been set up to provide further details at www.wrtc2018.de NASA MAVEN ORBITER SENDS BACK INFORMATION ON SUN CME NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution or MAVEN orbiter has yet to begin its formal science mission, but it is already radioing back clear images and crucial data about the fourth planet's upper atmosphere. The spacecraft entered orbit around Mars September 21st. Only nine days later it imaged a coronal mass ejection from the Sun's surface. The early observations are already providing scientists with hints as to how the red planet's atmosphere changed over time. MAVEN's official mission will begin sometime in November, once final adjustments are made to the orbiter's science instruments. Its long range purpose is to conduct a study of the Mars upper atmosphere to determine how it transitioned from a habitable planet to the cold and dry world it is today. Scientists think that maybe billions of years ago that a warm Mars would have been able to sustain liquid water in which microbial life could develop. An in-depth look at the overall mission can be found at tinyurl.com/maven-at-mars OPERATIONAL NEWS CQ - CONTEST After considerable deliberation, CQ has determined that the best course of action regarding Crimea and CQ contests is to follow the lead of the United Nations and the United States government, both of which continue to consider Crimea to be part of Ukraine, until such time as the political situation there is resolved. Therefore, Logs will not be accepted for any CQ Contest from stations in Crimea operating with Russian-issued call signs. Contacts made by others with those stations will be removed from contestants' logs without penalty. No contact or multiplier credits will be given. (sourced to SouthGate) AWARDS Victorian National Parks period has record activations Plenty of support from VK2 and VK5 has seen next month's Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award reach a record of 31 activated parks and more than 40 portable stations. John Williams VK2AWJ will be in the Barmah, Lower Goulburn and Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Parks. While Larry Munns VK5LY is at Murray-Sunset, Paul Simmonds VK5PAS the Lower Glenelg, Mount Eccles and Mount Richmond, with John Dawes VK5BJE at Hattah-Kulkyne. The cross-border activations from VK2 and VK5 support those in VK3 taking the overall number of stations so far to 44. Most activity is on 40-metres although other bands will be in use. More registrations are very welcome. The Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award activity period is November the 13th to the 17th, attracting both activators and those working them. (Jim Linton VK3PC) SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX, BEACON REPEATER AND NET ADVICE KH 8 B JH 3 PRR is reported to be on the air using the call KH 8 B from Pago Pago and will be there until October 27th. Activity is on 160 through 10 meters. QSL via JH3PRR preferably using Logbook of the World. 7 P 8 NH G 3 RWF is heading back to Southern Africa for a 5 week holiday. He will begin operation in Lesotho as 7 P 8 NH between December 11th through the 14th. Listen for him on the higher bands on CW only. QSL via G 3 RWF. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CW FISTS Club - East Asia www.feacw.net FISTS Club - Australasia www.fistsdownunder.org FISTS Club - UK & Europe www.fists.co.uk FISTS Club - Americas www.fists.org MORSE CODE KEY FOR APPLE IOS8 If you have a device running Apple's new iOS 8 operating system, you can now add an app that will permit sending Morse code from that unit. Morse Code Telegraph Keyboard plugs directly into your iPhone's keyboard and lets you send dots and dashes from right within iMessage or your favourite e-mail. The most interesting feature of the keyboard app is its relative lack of keys. It only includes the bare essentials of a J-38 looking key and a handy Morse Code alphabet and numbers guide. If you want to give it a try, "Morse Code Telegraph Keyboard" is available at the App Store. (Business Insider via ARNewsLine) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- IOTA http://rsgbiota.org It's with more than a little 'trepidation' I give a heads up on a forth coming DXPEDITION, so many that are planned seem to never hit air BUT IOTA AS-166 is a little different. It's a multi-national team of operators from Belgium, The Netherlands and Greece who will be active as EP 6 T (pending) from Kish Island, Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2015. Reportedly, it took nearly 3 years of negotiations and a reconnaissance trip by Patrick, ON 4 HIL, to Tehran which finally resulted in obtaining a legal license to operate with a team of ten people for fourteens days. Specific dates are yet to be announced for the January jaunt and activity will be on all HF bands, 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. (sourced to SouthGate) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- QRP and WEAK SIGNAL COMMUNICATION MELBOURNE QRP BY THE BAY – SATURDAY NOVEMBER 8 If you’re into QRP, homebrewing and HF antennas don’t miss Melbourne’s QRP by the Bay. Enthusiastic amateurs will gather on Chelsea beach and work the world with simple antennas. If you’ve just got your ham ticket and haven’t done much HF, it’s a great opportunity to see how it’s done with 5 or 10 watts. It’s easier than you think. VK3YE Peter Parker told WIA National News that the venue will be Chelsea Beach, near Victory Park and the Chelsea Longbeach Surf Lifesaving Club. The date: Saturday November 8 from 3pm. That’s Saturday November 8, any time from 3pm. QRP by the Bay is an informal gathering. Bring any radio related projects, equipment, antenna or accessories. Stay as short or long as you like. The venue is family friendly with numerous parks and food outlets nearby. This will be the third Melbourne QRP by the Bay. It was previously held last November, then February this year. A suggested theme is portable DX antennas. Spread out along the beach, put up an antenna and work DX. A great write-up by Andrew VK3BQ on last year’s event is at: http://www.vk3bq.com/2013/11/10/qrp-by-the-bay-day/ If you’re on Facebook updates and antenna ideas are on the event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/287817648076248/ Or go to Google and search ‘QRP by the Bay 2014’ for more details. Peter Parker VK3YE vk3ye@qsl.net WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING http://www.scouts.com.au http://www.scout.org/jota http://www.international.scouts.com.au By all accounts last weekend’s JOTA was a great success, and also its thanks to those who contacted us to say thanks for the special JOTA news service. One JOTA station that ticked a few boxes and did something not only a little 'different' but certainly worthwhile was ON 8 RT. This was the 1st. Brussels (British) Scouts, their ON 8 RT EmComm Field Station running during JOTA-2014. The true spirit of scouting was on display at 1st.Brussels (British) Scouts. The youngsters found practical solutions to install an Emergency Communications field antenna and demonstrated the concentration required to identify and log scout radio stations they heard on the 40m short-wave band. More information about this event at http://scout.org/node/43887 (sourced to SouthGate) 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 Indian hams communicate disaster traffic The worst affected areas in coastal India hit by the recent severe Cyclone Hudhud were reliant on Amateur Radio communications for more than a week. The loss of life has been put at 43. The powerful storm made landfall on October the 12th inundating three coastal areas and thousands took shelter at 300 relief camps. The cyclonic storm brought wind gusts of up to 210 kph and heavy rain in the Bay of Bengal, the largest in the world. National Disaster Communication Coordinator, Jayu Bhide VU2JAU said three main coastal districts were affected. Worst hit was the town of Vizag. He said all communication with that town and the wider region was via radio amateurs who set up an effective emergency communications network. Jayu VU2JAU reports that without electric supply, with no mobile phone towers or telephone lines, the emergency communications provided by radio amateurs were smooth. Authorities were very happy with the dozen hams who worked hard to help. Slowly the situation was returning to normal reports Jayu VU2JAU, while the clean-up was expected to take a bit longer. (Jim Linton VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee) SOCIAL SCENE 2014 This Weekend, Oct 25 in VK4 it's HAMFEST on the Gold Coast. Nov 2 VK5 HamFest Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society Nov 8 VK3 Chelsea beach, near Longbeach Lifsavers 3pm it’s the Melbourne QRP Day gathering. Nov 9 VK3 Yarra Valley AR Group Hamfest 10am Gary Cooper Pavilion. Nov 9 vk3 VHF / UHF and Microwave experimenters Nov 15 VK7 Miena Hamfest (My-enah) Nov 30 VK3 SPARC HamFest at Rosebud ( howardjones155@gmail.com ) 2015 June, Queens Birthday weekend 40th annual Oxley Region Field Day July 11-12 VK3 GippsTech 2015 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. . -------------