WIANEWS - JAN 04 - 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 JANUARY 04 2015. IN OUR 20TH YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA and ANZAC 100 will be everywhere in 2015 WIA Office Closed until January 19th. WIA How do you keep up with news from the WIA? THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING JANUARY 4 2015. THUNDERSTRUCK! An Australian man and his 12-year-old son are hoping to make history with the development of the smallest spacecraft able to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and land safely. Robert Brand is the developer of the craft, named ThunderStruck, a small winged re-entry vehicle capable of leaving Earth's orbit and flying around the solar system, at least as far as Mars or the near-Earth asteroids. What makes ThunderStruck unique was that it could fly up and back for basic experiments without going into orbit or it could fly into orbit on board a rocket then re-enter, something that was not being done anywhere else. Project ThunderStruck has the backing of Australian government bodies and universities and is on the cards to be a fully working spaceship in about five years. Another unique aspect of Project ThunderStruck would be the involvement of Mr Brand's 12-year-old son Jason in the first phase of testing, scheduled for April, the transonic testing phase would attempt to test the 2.5-metre craft at speeds close to Mach 2, faster than the speed of sound. Mr Brand said his son worked with him releasing and bringing back high-altitude balloons from the stratosphere and had considerable expertise in space technology, in spite of his young age. Mr Brand said if the project came together it would be unique and give Australia a much-needed boost in space development (abc via 7news) Latest VK pico balloon travels eastward Speaking of what goes up, that solar power HF pico balloon we told you of here in the text edition of WIA news last week did lift off from Melbourne at 7am December the 27th and has been tracked to New Zealand and beyond. The helium filled party-type balloon was launched in Melbourne by Andy VK3YT carrying a QRP transmitter on WSPR, JT9, with telemetry and tracking. Recent reports had it travelling east for several days, and arriving and leaving the southern end of New Zealand on New Year's Eve, and into the Pacific. It was last tracked by Bob Sutton ZL1RS at the international dateline, an altitude of 10,255 metres and travelling 50 kilometres per hour. Andy VK3YT says that due to propagation conditions, JT9 and WSPR reception from the balloon has been very localised to ZL and VK stations. If the balloon follows the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast it could travel further, reaching South America and beyond. ANZAC 100 will be everywhere in 2015 The WIA has joined the community commemoration of the ANZAC 100 milestone with its own ANZAC Centenary Award, special callsigns and other activities. Also involved are the NZART New Zealand and the TRAC Turkey, with some other IARU member societies showing interest. The Australian Department of Veteran Affairs has approved the WIA's use of the word 'ANZAC' in its rostered special callsigns. These will be popular with on-air contacts made during the year. Earlier, the start of World War 1, and the First Shot Fired by Australia movement invited participation on August 5 last year from the Geelong Amateur Radio Club at Fort Queenscliff on Port Phillip Bay, who used VI3ANZAC. Another event was the first ANZAC troop ships in November and Albany's role in Australia's ANZAC history, that had the Southern Electronics Group use VI6ANZAC. However, the ANZAC 100 event officially opens on April 25 this year with a special WIA broadcast from Canberra. Clubs and groups can register on a roster basis for the WIA assigned ANZAC callsigns. Already registered are the RAAF Secret Mission, The Somme, Kokoda Track and the Evacuation of Gallipoli - among others. The ANZAC 100 event in Australia runs until December 20, 2015 the day when ANZAC troops left the Gallipoli Peninsula. Suggested calling frequencies are made for Digital Modes, CW and SSB. An online log is provided to locate ANZAC stations, gauge propagation paths and enable eQSLing. We remember the sacrifices made by our service personnel over the last 100 years. More information will be on later VK1WIA broadcasts. For details and to register, please check out the WIA website www.wia.org.au (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 WIA Office Closed Reading on WIA Front Page News we learn that the WIA office will reopen 10:00am, Monday, 19th January. During this period any urgent enquiries should be directed to the WIA Manager, Mal Brooks VK3FDSL, via email address out-of-office@wia.org.au or, for very urgent matters, via mobile 0413 179 347. How do you keep up with news from the WIA? Members receive a monthly magazine both in hard copy and electronically if they choose to use it. The WIA website ( wia.org.au ) has loads of useful information for you as well as the latest news about what the Institute is achieving for all Amateurs in Australia. In order to be informed and up to date on what’s happening you should visit the website frequently. The WIA is conducting a review of the Australian Amateur Radio Band plans. Band plans are a way of trying to give everyone a fair share; an aim which becomes increasingly difficult as spectrum becomes crowded. For instance, in the case of 2-metre and 70cm repeaters on the east coast, the number of available frequencies is very limited and it has become necessary to reduce channel spacing or channel re-use distances, or both. Additionally, in May 2014, the WIA made a submission to the “Remaking of the Human Exposure Standard”, highlighting that, in the ITU definition of the Amateur service, amateur radio is an experimental personal pursuit and the WIA does not wish to see Radiocommunications legislation or regulation unnecessarily restrict or otherwise trammel the individual or collective interests and activities of radio amateurs. That WIA submission, together with an outcome of the consultation process, can be viewed online at the WIA website. Other membership benefits include:- A monthly high quality magazine delivered to your home, and now also available to members free on line as a pdf if you choose to use it. Free use of the WIA QSL Service Weekly national news service Discount access to the WIA Bookshop, including the Annual Callbook and knowledge that WIA help support your local club. I see a lot of scepticism about the WIA, most of it based on what the organisation did or didn't do a decade or more ago. I challenge those sceptics to make an honest inquiry into what today’s WIA offers Amateurs. I challenge them to seriously think about what our operating conditions would be like without the voice of Amateur Radio being heard in the halls of Government. There is no other body, nor is there any individual who can or will effectively represent our needs to Government and go into bat for Amateur Radio. Bear in mind also that the WIA isn't a monolith ensconced in Melbourne soaking up your membership fees by their very existence. I really hope that nobody actually thinks this way about the Institute. The reality is that the WIA has two employees, and by far the majority of the work of the society is done by volunteers, most of whom have a day job also. So please do consider your position if you’re not a member. Join the willing few and sign up as a member. You can do this online. Finally, speaking of online, when’s the last time you logged into Memnet and updated your information? It’s all there, on the website. WIA website is at www.wia.org.au (vk6pop via NewsWest) HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. VK2 web service:- http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm Next weekend, January 10th to 11th, Summerland Amateur Radio Club will be at the Great Eastern Fly-In, on the beautiful north coast of New South Wales. This annual event is held at the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome and this year it celebrates the 75th anniversary of the No.1 Bombing and Gunnery School, set up by the RAAF during World War 2. The school also trained personnel for roles including Air Observers, Wireless Operators and Navigators. Over 5000 personnel were trained there, including many who were then, or subsequently became radio amateurs. SARC will have a working display of historic and modern radio equipment, information on the club and how to get a ham licence, and a monitoring station for visitors to listen in on the aircraft frequencies. We will also have a working world war 2 morse practice for those game to test their skill. The fly-in programme is jam packed, featuring warbirds, ultralights, gyrocopters, model aircraft, astounding aerobatics and more. Entry is free and there will be plenty of parking and food stalls. Joy flights are available for the more daring visitors. Look for SARC at their “radio room” in the marquee directly opposite the main apron. The local air frequency is 124.2 MHz, AM of course. For more information, see the club website or go to www.greateasternflyin.com. (Chris VK2ACD – SARC treasurer) The Central Coast Amateur Radio Club are looking forward to welcoming all interested in Amateur Radio to their annual Field Day event at Wyong Race course, Sunday Feb 22nd, 2015. it's easy to forget that February will be rushing up on us after the New Year so make your arrangements early. Whether you are staying in the area and need accommodation or if you are travelling in from interstate now is the time to make those bookings if you haven't already done so. CCARC are expecting a really big event this year and remember .... The Wyong Field Day starts at 6:30am for the Flea Market and 9am for the Traders and Seminars - and it all goes ahead RAIN, HAIL or SHINE !! For those of you going to the Wyong Field Day on the train, there will be a free shuttle bus service to the event. Also CCARC wish all of those taking their Foundation licence or upgrade assessments the best of success. Whether it's seeking that bargain from the flea market, grabbing that discounted new item from the traders stands, educating yourself at the seminars and exhibitors stalls or even taking that licence upgrade assessment. The place to be on February 22 is undoubtedly - The CCARC Field Day at Wyong! For full details about the field day, please go to the website www.fieldday.ORG.au (Dave VK2DLS, Publicity Officer Central Coast Amateur Radio Club.) SILENT KEY http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/about/ Silent Keys are best sent to AR Magazine and your local state or club news rather than this WIA National News Service. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, Kentucky Star and Sputnick on line newspapers, VK3PC Jim Linton and the IRTS PLUS WW sources of the WIA. We start 2015 with what could be 2014'S BIGGEST BRIGHTEST news story. It's just been bubbling along now and then making page 7 of the daily's and it comes from Google X , the R&D unit within Google. They have certainly challenged our thinking of what's possible with the announcement in back in October last of a project to create a smart pill packed with tiny magnetic particles designed to circulate in the human body looking for signs of cancer and other diseases. While still in the experimental stage, the cancer-detecting pill would be able to travel through a patient's bloodstream, searching for malignant cells and reporting its findings to a sensor device that you wear. The Google cancer-detecting pill would represent an important breakthrough in health powered by Silicon Valley's biggest technology companies. A recent issue of the IARU Monitoring System newsletter shows that a Russian OFDM-112 station operating in the amateur radio 7 MHz band splattered over 23 kHz of our spectrum. Iran has also been reported operating in the amateur 7 MHz band, the German PTT have filed a complaint. Theunis Potgieter, ZS2EC, of PEARS will be the first station to use the callsign ZS90SARL to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the SARL. Originally known as the South African Radio Relay League, the National Body for amateur radio in South Africa, was formed in May 1925, shortly after the formation of the International Amateur Radio Union Paris. It is fitting that the first transmission of ZS90SARL will be made from Port Elizabeth as it was there that the first radio contact in South Africa was established. It was Edward Alfred Jennings, a telephone technician in the city who through experimentation to improve the performance of the telephone mouth piece detected its coherer properties. He also noticed that the electric tram passing his house a little distance away caused crackling. Later that year, it was 1896, he carried out an ambitious experiment to send signals over nearly a kilometre distance between his house in Sherlock Street to a primitive receiving station at Copper 's kloof. A flag was hoisted if his signals were received and indeed they were. Malaysian floods get MARTS Emcomm help Severe flooding described as the worst for a long time in the north of Malaysia during the monsoon season, has taken five lives with about 160,000 people evacuated. Johnny Tan 9M8DB of the Malaysian Amateur Radio Transmitters' Society says EmComm operators are active on 7.110 MHz, with 3.600MHz likely to be tested for late night links to maintain links to handle disaster traffic. MARTS asks all to avoid causing QRM of these centre-of-activity emergency frequencies. He reports that stations in Kuala Lumpur, Kuantan, Kemaman and Bachok with 50 watts are using NVIS propagation. Johnny 9M8DB says initially VHF/UHF repeaters were used, but severe flooding had affected power supply and batteries with the switch to HF being made. Official recognition has been received including permission for the MARTS EmComm operations to carry third party traffic. Meanwhile in neighbouring Thailand, disaster zones have been declared in eight southern provinces after floods there killed at least 13 people with 184,000 households affected. A group from the Irish Vintage Radio and Sound Society that visited the decommissioned RTÉ Radio station in Athlone were flabbergasted to see the full 1932 100kW Marconi transmitter in pristine condition looking like it had just been switched off the day before. It's believed that this is the only intact transmitter of its type still existing on its original site anywhere in the world. In Britain there were about 20 stations similar to the Athlone one but unfortunately none has been preserved. This is a very important part of radio heritage and is a true gem that must be cherished. Iran has built a radar tracker that is capable of detecting drugs and explosives. This as well as humans and deceased bodies. The device could be used by law enforcement officers, including during accidents and disasters. The RADAR stimulates an elements' molecular layer and releases their ions. The receiver detects ions as well as the molecular layer, then transfers waves back to the target to detect their essence," the radar's inventor Seyed Ali Hosseini from Gilan Science and Technology Park was quoted as saying. Hosseini added that the collected data from the tracked items could then be displayed in 3D on a computer system. Furthermore, the tracker could identify people who suffer from drug addiction at a distance of 1500 meters, as well as determining their level of addiction. http://sputniknews.com/science/20141223/1016157632.html WWI museum and radio hams team up On December 27-28 dozens of amateur radio operators teamed with the National World War I Museum to operate a special event radio station WW1USA for 31 hours. The Kansas City Star newspaper reports the event was to commemorate the Christmas truce of 1914. Read the full story at http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article5078616.html Noah's Ark? Researchers from Moscow State University plan to build a database that will house the DNA of every creature known to man. The DNA databank will be created at the campus of the Moscow State University. The project is expected to be complete by 2018 and the first phase, which has been announced, will cost $19 million. "I call the project 'Noah's Ark.' It will involve the creation of a depository a databank for the storing of every living thing on Earth, including not only living, but disappearing and extinct organisms. This is the challenge we have set for ourselves," said Viktor Sadivnichy, who is the rector of the Moscow State University. OPERATIONAL NEWS Jock White Field Day 2015 Please note carefully the date: Saturday February 28th and Sunday March 1st. This year this primarily ZL contest (but we VKers are made to feel welcome) is in February and March to prevent a clash with the ARRL International CW contest. This occurs in years where there is only three full weekends in February. This will not occur again until 2026 For the rules please see: http://www.nzart.org.nz/activities/contest-rules/rules-jock-white-field-day/ As always, any queries prior to the event please contact:- clareandstuart@xtra.co.nz (ZL2TW JWFD Manager via NZART HQ infoline) SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX, BEACON REPEATER AND NET ADVICE 2015 JANUARY TENERIFE TILL JANUARY 8 IK 1 PMR and PA 3 LEO are on air signing portable EA8 from Tenerife Island, they started December 9th of 2014 and cease January 8 2015. Activity will be on 160 through 6 meters using CW SSB and RTTY. QSL via HB 9 FKK or each operators home callsign via the bureau. PENANG ISLAND JANUARY THROUGH FEBRUARY 2015 PA 0 RRS will be active as 9 M 2 MRS from Penang Island Malaysia between January 1st and February 3rd of 2015. He plans to operate 30 through 10 meters CW RTTY and PSK, with SSB only on request. QSL via PA 0 RRS via the bureau. GUATEMALA VE 7 BV will once again be active stroke TG 9 from Guatemala between January 22nd and February 17th on 20, 17 and 15 meters CW and SSB. QSL via his home callsign which again is VE7BV, direct, by the bureau or electronically using Logbook of the World. KENYA DF3FS and DL9OLI will be operating stroke 5Z4 from Diani Beach, Kenya, between February 16th and March 8th. 80 through 10 meters CW and SSB. QSL via their home callsigns via the bureau. 4S7KKG DC0KK will active as 4S7KKG from Sri Lanka through until April 10th. He operates mainly using CW and the digital modes. QSL via DC0KK via the bureau. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV + VIDEO Russian ISS School Contacts Both Dmitry R4UAB and Michal SQ5KTM have released videos of ISS school contacts by cosmonaut Yelena Serov operating with the callsign RS0ISS which took place Sunday, December 21. The amateur radio station in the Russian Service Module was used and the Kenwood D710 operated on 145.800 MHz FM. The power setting used is not clear but may have been 25 watts. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DIGITAL MacLoggerDX Version 5.57 released This is a free update for all Version 5 customers! Organizing and filtering the spots from your favourite DX Cluster for DXing, Contesting or casual rag-chewing. It supports close to a hundred radios, automatically tuning to the spots you are interested in and optionally swinging your beam around. MacLoggerDX can also email you when the Bands are open or that rare DX is spotted. Remember the update is free, but ONLY for Ver. 5 clients. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER Worked All USA Grids Via Satellite - #488 for Doug Papay, KD8CAO Congratulations to Doug Papay, KD8CAO for working grid #488 of the 488 USA grids. Doug worked N2COP/p, in FM13, for his final grid. The contact was via SO-50 and was logged on 15/Dec/2014 @ 1252Z. For his efforts he has been granted GRID MASTER award # 2. Doug said of his accomplishment, "...it certainly would not have been possible without the help of the many individuals that went to extra effort to activate so many rare grids. The Star Comm Group sponsors the Grid Master Award. To qualify for this award you must make a satellite contact with all 488 grids in the U.S. AND GET CONFIRMATION. Oh and Grid Master Award #1 ?? This had been awarded to Doug's father, John Papay, K8YSE. (amsat-na) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET --- THE HAMS DOMAIN TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA www.HamRadioNation.com websdr.org Repeaterbook.com unveils Worldwide Search Check their home page. Now, you can search for repeaters across the majority of the world! From the map on the home page, countries in blue are repeater listings. Stop by and give it a try. (Garrett, KD6KPCS Repeaterbook.com via SouthGate) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS http://www.raotc.org.au Hallo everyone, this is Clive VK6CSW. On behalf of the Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australia. I wish all our listeners a very happy, healthy and safe New Year. Now, just in case you've forgotten, traditionally there is no RAOTC bulletin broadcast in January, so our first bulletin for 2015 will be on Monday February 2nd, and we look forward to catching up with you then. Once again, the first RAOTC bulletin for 2015 goes to air next month on Monday February 2nd. 73 from Clive, VK6CSW. 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 Extremely young YL "does good" with her Intermediate pass. 2 girls, Summer McCormick previously MI 6 YLT and Grace McCormick previously MI 6 YLG have passed their intermediate radio exams, Summer has just turned 14 and Grace is only Eleven! They sat the exam with Carrickfergus Amateur Radio Group. Their home club is Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club and they are both members of BYLARA Their new callsigns are Summer 2 I 0YLT "Young Lady Transmitting" and Grace is 2I 0 GYL "Gorgeous Young Lady" HIHI That story from a very proud dad, Graham McCormick GI7PWQ SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - VHF (50 MHZ) AND ABOVE SSSP on 50 MHz around Summer Solstice SARL News reports: The Short-path Summer Solstice Propagation (SSSP) was discovered by Han Higaso, JE1BMJ, when he contacted European stations on 50 MHz from Japan in the month of June around the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. We VK and ZL amateurs have also exploited this new mode of propagation when working South American stations during the southern hemisphere summer solstice in December. Last Year Bob ZL1LS ran skeds with South African VHF amateurs, and traces of his signal were heard by Paul ZS6NK. Read more in "SSSP on 50 MHz to VK & ZL" on the VHF Forum. http://www.sarl.org.za/forum/login.asp?target=forum.asp?FORUM_ID=16 SOCIAL SCENE 2015 Jan 23-26 VK4 TARC Australia Day Long Weekend Family Radio Camp, Bluewater. Feb 7 VK3 Homebrew Construction Group 2pm ARVic 40g Victory Bld Ashburton. Feb 22 VK2 Central Coast Amateur Radio Club Wyong Field Day. March 21 VK3 Dstar Users Group 9am Woodend RSL Anslow St. vk3tq@bigpond.com March 29 VK3 EMDRC Hamfest May 1-3 VK4 Clairview Gathering contact RADAR's VK4ACC 04 2963 2815 May 9 VK4 BARCFEST Brisbane June 6-7 VK2 Queens Birthday 40th annual Oxley Region Field Day July 1 VK4 Caboolture Hamfest July 11-12 VK3 GippsTech 2015 August 9 VK2 SARC-FEST Lismore Sept 12 VK4 SUNFEST Woombye Sept 25-27 VK4 CHARC AGM Weekend Camp Fairbairn near Emerald Oct 2-5 VK4 Cardwell Gathering, Beachcomber Motel and Tourist Park Oct 25 VK4 Gold Coast Hamfest Broadbeach FINAL FINAL What use is an F-call? Nobody works in isolation, and neither do I. This weekly segment has now been running for 130 or so episodes and in that time I've received a variety of feedback about my attempt at making a contribution to Amateur Radio. I remember when a random stranger walked up to me when I attended the WIA Mildura conference in 2012. He told me that he used my segment in training new F-calls and that he was most impressed. Last week, another random member of the HAM community told me that this segment made him return to Amateur Radio and upgrade his license. I've received cards and unexpected Christmas gifts, emails, phone-calls and other amazing acts of generosity which leave me quite at a loss for words. Thank you. On the other end of the spectrum, an anonymous group of our community uses web-forms to write all manner of interesting comments. Let me quote verbatim one of the tamer ones: "When is Onno going to upgrade to Standard or Advanced licence and get rid of his awful callsign. He is an embarrassment to the fine hobby." This person claims to listen to the news every week, but clearly hasn't actually heard a word I've said. My callsign was randomly assigned by the ACMA and I'll be upgrading when I've achieved my QRP DXCC. As I said, this was one of the tamer responses. It's been a continuing feast ever since I got my license. I'm no shrinking violet and if you know me at all I tend to tell it as I see it. What concerns me is that this is the feedback I'm getting. I've spoken to probably over a hundred F-calls since I received my license and the theme is a recurring one. There's bullying, abuse, swearing, accusations, active interference, emails, letters and other nastiness that this part of the hobby seems to think is appropriate to share and it's not just happening here in my state. I've had reports from all over the country. Speaking directly to those miscreants is a waste of breath, but I know that they are surrounded by people who disagree, because I speak to them on a regular basis. I'd encourage you to take these bullies to task, either in the public forum in which they spread their bile, or directly and face-to-face if that's more your style. There is no place for this. F-calls are here to stay, just like Novice calls were in a previous life and whatever the next minority was before that. One observation that fills me with great joy. Soon there will be more F-calls than all other licenses combined. At that point there will be more of us than there are of them. In case there is a potential for misunderstanding. I support the ability for an F-call to upgrade. I will upgrade at a time of my choosing. That doesn't mean that everyone will or should feel compelled to do so. Got a problem with this, let me know, publicly. I'm Onno VK6FLAB 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 and don't JUST send url's links but take the time to pen YOUR contribution. 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. . -------------