WIANEWS - NOVEMBER 16 - 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 NOVEMBER 16 2014. HEADING TOWARDS OUR 20TH YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA DIRECTOR VK2ZRH and the Government’s Spectrum Review process has reached another milestone. THIS STORY AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING NOVEMBER 16 2014. A CAREFULLY THOUGHT OUT PLAN OR A VERY NEAT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES? This weekend sees BOTH 4th annual Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award in full swing AND IUCN World Parks Congress with more than 5000 delegates including five national leaders and 14 environment ministers taking place in Australia. The Congress is a global forum on protected areas and takes place once a decade. Later in this G20 edition of WIA National News Felix VK4FUQ will take a look at the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks award. ACMA ready for interference complaints With less than six weeks to go to Christmas, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is expecting an upsurge in interference. Now on sale at retailers are new Christmas lights, and also those being dusted off having been stored away in homes. Based on the ACMA experience, some poorly designed and often cheap LED lights will cause interference to radio and TV reception. During the Christmas season that runs well into January, trees and other displays using certain LED lighting may cause interference. However the problem is not just lights. The ACMA has found culprits among thermostatic controlled devices and pumps such as those used in swimming pools. The ACMA has also found that poor reception can be due to old or damaged TV antennas. It helps consumers through self-help brochures that include what to look for and how to eliminate interference. Failing that, the ACMA itself will make other investigations. It also works with importers, distributors and sellers on their responsibilities. (Jim Linton VK3PC) ASTRONOMERS have used radio telescopes in Australia and Chile to see inside the remains of a supernova, in what researchers describe as a forensic investigation into the death of a star. The research was published on Tuesday in the Astrophysical Journal and it would appear that the supernova was first observed in the southern hemisphere in 1987, when a large star exploded at the edge of a nearby galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. Since then, the remnant of Supernova 1987A has been examined by researchers around the world including the University of Western Australia who had a team that used the Atacama Large Millimetre/sub millimetre Array in Chile's Atacama Desert and the Australia Telescope Compact Array in NSW to observe the remnant. (AP Journal) To commemorate ANZAC 100 a series of articles is to appear in Amateur Radio magazine. A number of contributions have been made by Lloyd Butler VK5BR. A summary of one of them follows. Joe Kilgariff VKZ/VK5JT, was an early radio amateur in Alice Springs, first obtaining a licence in 1927. His first transmitter acted as contact man for major expeditions venturing into Central Australia. VKZ was a special call to communicate with the outback expeditions including that led by long distance explorer Donald George Mackay in 1933. Joe was listed as VK5JT in the Adelaide area as early as 1937. He joined the RAAF in January 1934 and during World War 11, was in charge of the RAAF Radio at Parafield. He passed messages between Parafield and RAAF stations at Laverton and Point Cook. Joe had the rank of Flight Sergeant. He also taught Morse code in the RAAF. The Department of Civil Aviation was established in 1938. It is not quite clear how the RAAF radio operations interacted with Civil Aviation as Parafield was the Adelaide airport. When the war was over, Joe continued radio communication with his own amateur station and talked to radio amateurs all over the world. He was an active member of the WIA and served on the South Australian WIA Council. He was President from 1938 to 1940. Today we remember Joe Kilgariff VK5JT, a man of many occupations who took up radio communication as a hobby, at the forefront of early outback expeditions, and served in the RAAF during WWII. (Jim Linton VK3PC) HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. Today it is to VK6 for a report from Onno on how things are progressing on establishing 2 meter comms across the Indian Ocean to ZS land We'll also look at the Rosebud Radio Festival, also to VK5 where WICEN SA have been invited to setup a display at the 'CFS Mawson Group Equipment and Community Night'. The event is being held on Monday 17th November at the McLaren Flat oval, from 1915 to 2100. This follows a successful display recently at the Morphett Vale CFS in which amateur radio, WICEN and training opportunities were advertised. And also a great raffle is in store when you visit www.vks737.on.net this is the VKS-737 Radio Network, part of the Australian National Four Wheel Drive Radio Network which provides a 24 hour a day HF radio service for travellers throughout Australia. The raffle details are in the text edition of this news and proceeds COULD easily save a life! And finally for those on our audio stream listening grab a LARGE coffee because today’s news runs just about 3 minutes over our standard 30mts. VK3 web service:- http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/ This is John VK3BJR President of the Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Club reminding listeners that the Rosebud RadioFest will be held again this year on Sunday, 30th November. As usual, the event will be held at the Eastbourne Primary School at Allambi Avenue, Rosebud, with outdoor displays open from 8 am and the main sale area open from a new earlier time of 9.30 am and continuing through till 2 pm. If you have pre-loved equipment to sell, tables are still available at $10 and can be booked on-line at www.rosebudradiofest.com Technical forums will be held as part of the RadioFest and topics include: constructing a remote controlled radio station, pedestrian mobile operation, latest SDR technology and an ACMA update. The event has full catering, there is plenty of off street parking, there are great door prizes including an ICOM VHF/UHF digital transceiver the ID-51A and the entry fee is only $6 with under 12’s free. This event presents an ideal opportunity to make a family day of it, so bring your family and enjoy the RadioFest and the beaches, parks, wineries, shops and restaurants of the Mornington Peninsula. See you in Rosebud on 30 November. This is John VK3BJR. 73 IN THE CHOOK The VKS-737 Radio Network, part of the Australian National Four Wheel Drive Radio Network provides a 24 hour a day HF radio service for travellers throughout Australia, on frequencies between four and 15 megahertz using 19 base stations. It is currently embarking on a major base radio replacement program, aimed at significantly improving the quality of service to its subscribers. As part of this, they are running a raffle, to be drawn on the 19th December. Tickets are $5.00 each and the first prize is a new Codan Envoy X1 HF radio, complete with a Codan 3040 auto-tune antenna. This kit is valued at $4,300. The Envoy, Codan's latest offering, transmits from 1.6 megahertz to 30 megahertz, has wide band receive, works SSB, AM, CW, AFSK and FSK. Output can be set from 5 watts to 125 watts. It has commercial quality specifications, with all the controls on the microphone. It is a beautiful software defined mobile radio. Specifically for Amateurs, the radio can be programmed to easily VFO throughout our HF Bands. This raffle is open to everyone in Australia, regardless of whether they're with the VKS-737 Radio Network or not. Details can be found by going to www.vks737.on.net and clicking on the Raffle Link. What a Christmas present it would be for an enterprising Amateur! You need to be in it to win. (Robert VK3ARM) VK5 WICEN SA have been invited to setup a display at the 'CFS Mawson Group Equipment and Community Night'. The event is being held on Monday 17th November at the McLaren Flat oval, from 1915 to 2100. This follows a successful display recently at the Morphett Vale CFS in which amateur radio, WICEN and training opportunities were advertised. (sourced to vk5fmac) VK6 PROPOSAL FOR AN AMATEUR RADIO SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT TO DETECT CHIRP BEACON SIGNALS FROM AUSTRALIA ON 144 MHz Radio amateurs made their greatest contribution to radio science and left their mark on history, when they established two-way radio communication across the Atlantic Ocean on MF and the HF bands. The US military bounced the first radio signals off the Moon and a few years later radio amateurs duplicated it, but it was the most difficult mode in amateur radio that only a few high power amateurs could accomplish. Thanks to modern digital communications many radio amateurs can now regularly make EME contacts with 100 Watts and a single Yagi beam antenna even on 50 MHz. Today the biggest terrestrial challenge that remains for VHF amateurs is to bridge the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on 144 MHz via Troppo Ducting. Many unsuccessful attempts have been made, and more recently the Canadian DX-pedition VC 1 T conducted tests for a week from Newfoundland across the cold and harsh Atlantic, but only a few traces of digital signals were received in Europe, over a distance around 4000 km. Now the Northern Corridor Radio Group VK6ANC based in Perth are planning to conquer the 8000 km sea path between Perth and Port Elizabeth with our help. They intend to use chirp signals based on Chirp Modulated Radar principles with an EME type Yagi beam antenna system, which will permit extremely weak signals to be detected as far down as –50 dB below the receiver noise floor. The principle of Chirp Modulation is based on a sweep frequency pulse of 0 to 2000 Hertz that is repeated every second, and requires a special synchronized type receiver. Digital signals could be sent by designating an up-chirp sweep pulse as binary 1 and a down-chirp sweep pulse as binary 0. Furthermore, the William Hepburn’s Worldwide Tropospheric Ducting Forecasts have on occasions predicted conditions across part of the Indian Ocean that could favour the propagation of 144 MHz signals. FIRST STAGE OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT The first stage will call for a high power transmitter with Chirp modulator and 4 x 7 element Yagi EME array, to be erected at Perth. The system will operate as a beacon, VK6RIO, on a frequency of 144,950 MHz and beaming at South Africa. All the equipment is already on hand just waiting to be erected when they get a nod from us. Then they will ship to Port Elizabeth the complete Chirp receiver, but on our side we must provide a 4 x 7 element or better, EME type Yagi array, and PC linked 24/7 to the Internet. This will permit all those who have subscribed to the research project to monitor reception in Australia and South Africa in real time. SECOND STAGE OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT Reception of the beacon signals will provide a lot of scientific information such as (a) the time of day, the month etc. of openings (b) the tropospheric conditions that could make this possible (c) the signal strength (d) how well the results correlate with the Hepburn Indian Ocean Forecasts, and (e) whether it would be feasible to make two-way contacts with simpler equipment with a digital mode such as JT65b. Once we have all the above data then we can plan skeds with the VK’s and once again make amateur radio history. I have liaised with Phil Harman VK6PH and Keith Bainbridge VK6RK, spokesman for the Northern Corridor Radio Group, for the past couple of years or so, and posted items of this project on the SARL VHF Forum. I will co-ordinate this research in Port Elizabeth and hopefully with the assistance from some local VHF amateurs. The Australians developed and tested the Chirp modulator and synchronized chirp receiver at a cost of A$3500, with assistance from TAPR and will provide us with a chirp receiver at A$1000 plus shipping costs. The first step is to import the receiver, then we will only need the antenna array and a PC with Internet connection. If successful, this amateur radio science research project on 144 MHz will be reminiscent of the first amateur radio transatlantic test, when Paul Godley received US amateur signals on 160 metres in Scotland. (Onno Benschop) 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 This is WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH The Government’s Spectrum Review process has reached another milestone. On Remembrance Day – last Tuesday – the Minister for Communications, the Honourable Malcolm Turnbull MP, announced the release of a consultation paper seeking public comment. The consultation paper is called "Spectrum Review – Potential Reform Directions". You may recall that the Minister announced a review of spectrum policy arrangements back in May, with an issues paper that set out the terms of reference of the Government’s review and seeking comment. The WIA sent a submission in response to that issues paper in September. The Department of Communications received a total of 35 non-confidential submissions from a range of stakeholders, including public broadcaster “our ABC”, the Australian Radiocommunications Industry Association, various state and federal government agencies, consulting firms, telecommunications firms and the Police Federation. The latest consultation paper sets out 11 potential reform proposals and asks stakeholders to address four questions in relation to the proposed reforms. At first reading, four proposals are of interest to the amateur radio community. These being as follows: The first is: One licence for all - apparatus, class & spectrum licensing are proposed to go! There would be a single licensing framework, with licences being issued based on a set of parameters that cover frequency bands, power limits, licence terms and other useful specifications. This is otherwise known as "parameter-based licensing". The second is: Outsourcing. The ACMA would have the ability to delegate spectrum management functions to other entities. Functions to be devolved could include licensing, fee collection, interference management and dispute resolution, among other things. Don’t you love the sound of cash registers in the morning? The third is: Developing more principles-based regulation of the supply of electronic and radiocommunications devices. The idea here being to increase incentives for device suppliers and users to manage risk and resolve interference, as well as disputes, in the device supply market. I know what you’re thinking – hold onto you hats for a moment. The fourth proposal of interest to amateurs is: Extending enforcement measures available to the ACMA, enabling it to impose civil penalties, issue remedial directions and formal warnings to manage and control interference, along with related powers. To speculate for a moment - could one imagine a consumer electronics supplier being slapped with a “bluey” to recall a whole range of lighting products because they were furious RF noisemakers? And then being hit with a six-figure fine? Perhaps we’ll wait until the ink is dry on the implementation program to come out of the review, when we can see – in writing – the brave new world ahead. The deadline for submissions to the consultation paper is the second of December. In the meantime, the WIA Board will be considering the Directions paper in depth and inviting member input, and I’ll be compiling yet another submission from the WIA. The review of the responses to the latest consultation paper is being undertaken by the Department of Communications and the ACMA. They will report to the Minister early next year. You will find details on wia.org.au under “Latest News From the WIA” and also under Hot Issues. This is WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. At approximately 05:00 UTC on Monday 11 November 1918, 96 years ago, the Armistice was signed in a railway carriage of Marshall Foch's special train located in the forest at Rethondes in France on the western front. At 11:00 UTC Monday the 11th November 1918, the roar of guns ceased and peace and silence finally descended on the western front, ending the First World War. It is estimated that close to 9.5 million soldiers, sailors and airmen of all sides died in the Great War. We were made aware that the radio amateur fraternity in ZS land commemorated Remembrance Day with a special programme by the Rev Jan Kramer, ZS6JRK. That audio file is available from the SARL web, select amateur radio today and follow the links. All radio amateurs were requested to keep radio silence between 10:45 and 11:00 as a mark of respect for all who have fallen in service of their country. Up in Europe, news of a special WW1 Prefix for Belgium. Belgian stations have been given permission to use the prefix OP instead of the usual ON during November EACH year until 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great War. The ARRLx in Lisbon was active November 11, from Forte do Bom Sucesso in Lisboa with the special call sign CS 2 ARM 96 D. This activation is yet another that remembers the centenary of the 1st World War and 96 years of Armistice Day, and honoured all Portuguese military who died in the 1st World War in various corners of Europe. IARU member society the Radio Club Argentino is the latest to get access to the 60m band for its radio amateurs, ahead of the issue being decided next November by the World Radio Conference. The release of the band in Argentina followed it raising the issue to authorities. Ministry of Communications delegation from Argentina supported the allocation on a secondary basis, in continuous segment of 5275-5450 kHz. 5 MHz is agenda item 1.4 proposed by Cuba at the World Conference Radio Geneva, Switzerland next year. Shortwave masts demolished The DARC report a piece of radio history came to an end on November 4 with the demolition of the Wertachtal shortwave transmitter masts The shortwave station came into operation for the Munich Olympics in 1972. At the time it was the largest shortwave transmitter in Europe with 29 masts up to 125m high. The first test transmissions began on April 10, 1972, using the 500 kW transmitters. The demolition of the facilities started in May and the plant will be completely demolished by the end of the year. GlobalSET tests our emergency communications On Sunday November the 23rd those trained and prepared for disaster when it strikes will be on air for a special training exercise. IARU Region 1 invites all IARU member societies and Emergency Communications Groups, to participate in its latest Global Simulated Emergency Test. Emergency Centre-of-Activity frequencies on 80, 40, 20, 17 and 15 metres plus or minus QRM, will have registered stations calling CQ GlobalSET. The event is to increase common interest in emergency communications, test how usable the frequencies are across ITU regions, prepare for international emergencies and the relaying of messages. GlobalSET 2014 which runs from 11am to 3pm local time on November the 23rd, has its rules on the IARU Region 1 website, and includes registration with the relevant IARU regional coordinator. Christmas Island is ham radio heaven ABC reports the isolated Christmas Island attracts amateur radio enthusiasts from across the globe Radio amateurs from Poland visited recently with unusually heavy baggage, loaded with receivers, transmitters, and antennas tens of metres long. The VK9XSP DXpedition team had an arduous journey from Prague to Dubai, then to Jakarta, before the final leg to the dot in the North West Indian Ocean that is Christmas Island; over 40 hours in transit. Read the ABC story at http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2014/11/07/4124079.htm OPERATIONAL NEWS - AWARDS Listen for VK3 National Parks on air Portable stations are now active in many Victorian National Parks and making plenty of contacts. The 4th annual Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award activity period has a record of 35 unique parks this year including those from VK2 and VK5. It runs until tomorrow Monday. Award Manager Tony Hambling VK3VTH says most activity is on 40 metres, while some use Long Path Europe on 20 metres aiming also at the World Wide Flora and Fauna Award. The Parksnpeaks website has all activations. The URLs of it and the Award rules can be found in the text edition of this broadcast. http://www.parksnpeaks.org/viewKRMNPA.php https://www.amateurradio.com.au/awards (Jim Linton VK3PC) CONTEST NEWS WITH WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH FUN IS IN THE AIR ! That’s right – the Spring VHF-UHF Field Day is next weekend Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd of November. The fun begins on Saturday at 0100 UTC – Zulu, if you wish – and runs through to 0100 UTC on Sunday except for VK6, where the start and finish are at 0400 UTC. There are six Sections for you to choose in entering the contest – portable stations, rover stations and home stations – for single operators and multiple operators – for 24 hours or eight hours. As you may recall, earlier in 2014, the WIA Board decided to trial two alternative means of scoring: Division 1 - grid locator scoring (as for previous Field Days); and Division 2 – distance-based scoring. All the other rules are common to each Division. The general idea is to take your gear out to some suitable location and operate portable. The fun comes in making contacts and accumulating points. Not to mention reducing the weight you have to carry back by consuming all the food and beverages you took with you. Responsibly, of course. Home stations are just as welcome to participate, too. I remind participants that the use of 6-digit grid locators for scoring contacts in each Division is encouraged. The rules and scoring methods were published in the October issue of Amateur Radio magazine, pages 43 through 46. These are also on the VHF-UHF Field Days page of the WIA website. http://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/ Be out there in your grid square – or be square ! This is WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX, BEACON REPEATER AND NET ADVICE WITH FELIX VK4FUQ Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK/VA7EWK has secured the special call sign W7O (WHISKEY SEVEN OSCAR) for use in commemorating the 40th anniversary of the launch of OSCAR 7 on 15 November 1974. He plans on having this call on the air between 15 and 24 November, working satellites and possibly other bands. He will work satellite passes from Arizona, including AO-7 passes, and hopes to recruit a small group of operators who can work other passes that cover eastern North America along with other places that he can't work from his home QTH (i.e. Europe, north Africa, South America). He may also recruit some operators to work HF with this call. Patrick will handle the QSL requests for W7O during this period. "I am thinking of incorporating the original QSL card design AMSAT used to confirm AO-7 reception reports from the 1970s in the W7O card." Please contact Patrick directly (patrick at wd9ewk dot net) if you have any questions related to this operation. (SOURCED TO AMSAT-NA) VP8RAF/100 Falkland Islands The RAF Amateur Radio Society, G8FC, has sent an expedition to the Falkland Islands to operate from the Joint Services Welfare Facility Amateur Radio Station using the callsigns VP8RAF/100 and VP8FIR/100. The callsigns commemorate the Battle of Coronel on November 1, 1914 and the 1st Battle of the Falklands on December 8, 1914. All VP8 stations are able to use the suffix /100 starting back on November 1 up until 15 December 2014. The Battle of Coronel off the West coast of Chile saw a number of Royal Navy ships sunk, both the HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth which were lost with all crew. What became known as the 1st Battle of the Falklands took place to the South East of East Falkland and saw the Royal Navy sink eight ships of the German Imperial Navy including the flag ship of Admiral Graf Von Spee. (irts) We have made mention of this one before, the Islamic Republic of Iran IOTA DXpedition where a multi-national team of amateur radio operators from Belgium, The Netherlands and Greece will be active as EP6T from Kish Island (AS-166), Islamic Republic of Iran, during the last 2 weeks of January 2015. Now comes some QSL’ing advice:- They will use ClubLog for online logging and OQRS (QSL requests). A few days after the DXpedition the logs will be uploaded by their QSL Manager to LOTW. QSL Manager is Tim Beaumont, M 0 URX: All QSLs by the Bureau will be answered as usual. The EP6T Website is now available with more information, http://www.rockall.be From now on they will update their Web site and Twitter pages on a daily basis if need be. Finally, does Shortwave Radio Have a Future? This article regarding the future and relevancy of shortwave radio broadcasting originally appeared in the October 2014 issue of The Spectrum Monitor Magazine. It is now available online to read: http://swling.com/blog/2014/11/does-shortwave-radio-have-a-future/ WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - Video arvideonews.com hamradiotube.com youtube.com qdg.org.au VIDEO OF SOLAR FLARES NASA has released a video showing eight days of solar flares produced by the largest sunspot in the past two dozen years. Known as AR 2192, the video is a time lapse that shows its X-class flares in both visible and ultraviolet light using images taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory Atmospheric Imaging Assembly Instrument. The massive sunspot, which has now rotated away from Earth, produced one of the most powerful X-class flares between October 19th and the 27th, plus many more medium-class flares during that same period. The video is on-line several places including YouTube Google AR2192 tinyurl.com/sunspot-AR2192 tinyurl.com/sunspot-ar2192-video (spacereporter.com via ARNewsLine) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DIGITAL Raspberry Pi smaller and cheaper new Model A+. The A+ follows the Raspberry Pi Model B+ as its more affordable and efficient variant. Whereas the B+ costs about $40, its little successor is just $23 and according to Raspberry Pi Foundation co-founder Eben Upton, it's just as powerful as the B+. No raspberry left behind Like the Model A, the Model A+ uses the BCM2835 application processor and has 256MB RAM, but it is significantly smaller, consumes less power, and inherits the many improvements that were made to the Model B+ techradar.com/news/computing/the-new-raspberry-pi-model-a-is-smaller-and-cheaper-but-just-as-tasty-1272505 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER 4M MOON FLY-BY That epic voyage of the 4M ham radio Lunar fly-by mission has come to an end. The Lux Space Manfred Memorial Moon Mission, nicknamed 4M that circled the Moon on October 28th is now in Earth orbit. At least it was as reported in a post to the Lux Space mission blog. From the information available as we go to air, the 4 M Amateur Radio payload was attached to the upper stage of a Chinese Long March 3C rocket. Its primary payload was the Chang'e 5-T1 which is a prototype of a Mars lander capsule with the ability to safely return to Earth. Both completed the loop around the moon early on October 28th and headed back toward our home planet. However the JT65B amateur radio payload, which successfully completed this lunar flyby, has fallen silent after transmitting for 438 hours During the afternoon of November 10 the battery voltage dropped from 13.1V to 12.1V and continued falling. The last signal was received by Rein W6SZ at 01:35 UT on November 11 when the battery voltage had fallen to 8.4 volts. Ghislain LX2RG posted the following to the Moon Net list: "Here at Luxspace, we have to thank you all for the reports, for the tracking, and we also hope that we provided you with the challenges you expected. 4M may possibly awaken from time to time if illumination becomes better. We shall now endeavor to prepare the next one. Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) LX0OHB-4M." As widely reported the Chang'e 5-T1 made it safely through the Earth's atmosphere without any real heat damage. It touched down at 22:42 UTC on October 31 in Inner Mongolia. While there is likely a lot more to this story, there is no doubt that the 4 M amateur radio Lunar fly-by will go into the history books as a first for ham radio in space. (Lux Space Blog, published news reports via ARNewsLine) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS A Youth Net meets Saturdays at 0100 UTC on IRLP Reflector #2. Young Hams Net 3.590 - 7:30pm Victorian time. Youngsters On The Air, YOTA http://www.ham-yota.eu/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/youngstersontheair IARU REGION 1 ANNOUNCES YOUTH BUDGET FOR 2015 - 2017 Region one of the International Amateur Radio Union plans to spend roughly $28,000 on young hams in 2015, 2016 and 2017. According to the minutes of the recent 23rd IARU Region 1 General Conference for that time frame about $26,000 will be spent directly on youth oriented projects with another $2000 on a new Youth Working Group that will be chaired by Lisa Leenders, PA2LS. This Youth Working Group will organize and coordinate the Region One Youngsters On The Air program and other Region One youth oriented activities. (IARU R-1 via ARNewsLine) 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 Back in our October 12 news we told of an upcoming Queensland SES and WICEN joint exercise where the TARCinc were after volunteers. Well realism was added to Exercise Maggie by only releasing the details to the SES and embedded radio amateurs at a very late stage, so it simulated a call-out of volunteers. The scenario on the weekend of October 25 and 26 was a washed-up ship following a storm on Magnetic Island, and those on board missing. Arriving at the SES Headquarters at 7am on the Saturday were many trained volunteers and four members of the Townville Amateur Radio Club WICEN group. Among those gathered were Mark VK4FMAR, Snow VK4ME, Lyndall VK4ZM and Gavin VK4ZZ, who listened very carefully as a rapid briefing was given. Then off to a ferry for a 45-minute trip to Magnetic Island and on the voyage an update briefing was held concerning the setting up an Emergency Operations Centre responding to storm damage, providing welfare, logistics and further action. Fortunately the hardened SES repeater communications were working. Lyndall VK4ZM helped with communicating and logging, while Gavin VK4ZZ observed the processes in the Emergency Operations Centre. Radio communications was the only way to co-ordinate the teams in the field. Checks were made of the portable WICEN cross-band repeater, batteries and transceivers on hand, in case they were needed. Some crews went to Nelly Bay to clear debris. Others were on the SES Flood Boat in Nelly Bay, there was working-at-heights safety practice, more briefings and a search. The searching included testing radio procedures designed not to give away the intent or the result of the search. On the Sunday after breakfast another rapid briefing occurred for the Exercise Maggie scenario that included a storm-hit boat washed up with the occupants missing. To be embedded during disasters radio amateurs need to have practiced the agency radio procedure and abide by rules that the EOC may make. For members of WICEN and the Townsville Amateur Radio Club they thoroughly enjoyed the exercise, learned quite a few new things and how to fit in successfully with SES communications as a team. (Jim Linton, VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee) SOCIAL SCENE 2014 Nov 15 VK7 Miena Hamfest Nov 21 VK3 Bendigo AR & Electronics Club Men’s Shed public meeting. Nov 23 VK5 "Welcome to AR Day" Blackwood 8:45am ( 0410 687 998 ) 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. . -------------