NOVEMBER 20 - VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING NOVEMBER 20 2016. IN OUR 21st YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA DIRECTOR SPECIAL GUEST AT HAM CLUB. - WIA PUBLICATION ‘Wireless Men and Women at War’ a hit. - THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA 2016 AND FOR WEEK OF NOV 20 New Zealand Earthquake Nov 13 A strong 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand at 1103 GMT November 13 causing damage and local tsunami alerts, mainly for the East coast of the country A report by IARU Region 1 Emergency Communications Co-Ordinator Greg Mossop G0DUB said in part "The local emergency communications group AREC part of NZART are believed to have been operating on their normal frequency of 3.900MHz USB. Radio Amateurs in the area with allocations around 3.900 MHz are encouraged to listen carefully and avoid QRM to any ongoing work by AREC." However at last report by our own Region 3 Emergency Communications Co-Ordinator VK3PC Jim Linton was that no Ham Radio involvement had been warranted. IARU Region 1 http://iaru-r1.org/ Digital age latest development Licences stored and viewed on a smartphone are being introduced. The New South Wales fishing licence is now digitised. Eventually the digital driver’s licence will be issued. These are optional with the physical licence card to remain available. In Queensland (VK4) traffic / speeding infringements are being sent to offenders by email direct to their smart phones. A VKR (Qld Police) advisory suggests if such a notice appears on your phone and you HAVE NOT been pulled over by the police to contact your local station straight away. Training and assessments Do you know a work friend, relative, neighbour or associate who could, with a little encouragement, make a good radio amateur? Amateur Radio Victoria will run another quality training class on Saturday December 10, to be followed by licence assessments on Sunday December 11. The education team is very well experienced in the syllabus which involves practical and written assessments. Former successful students regularly return for their assessments to upgrade. Enrolments are now open and inquiries most welcome. Please contact Barry Robinson VK3PV foundation@amateurradio.com.au or 0428 516 001 VK7 Miena Biennial HamFest Is the last number in the year even? Is it November? Than can only mean one thing, it's nearly time for the Miena HamFest! Whether you are in the market for a new radio (or perhaps a not-so-new radio), trying to find that replacement toroid for your balun or just window shopping, there is no better place to do this than at the very heart of Tasmania at the 2016 Miena HamFest. Dave, VK7OB, lets us know that the this year is lining up to be a cracker, with exhibition stands from TTS Systems, TET Emtron and Strictly Ham and many more. There will also be a Summits on the Air (SOTA) and a Software Defined Radio (SDR) tables along with others of interest. You can also look forward to meeting NBN Australia as they bring their staff and Skymuster truck to the HamFest. Not only will they be able to answer your NBN questions, but will also be providing internet access to everyone at the HamFest! There will of-course be pre-loved equipment - a highlight of the HamFest is the flea market, where you can pick up a treasure, or a treasure may pick you! It's a great time to clear out the shack and raise some funds for that IC-7300 you've been hearing all about right? Tempted? Bring along your second hand gear on the day with your name and price clearly marked on the items. Where: Miena Community Hall – Cider Gum Road - Haddens bay – HamFest signs will be out When: Next Saturday, November 26th 2016 Time: starting time is 10.30am until around 3pm What to Bring: Yourself! Money if you want to buy anything, second hand items you want to sell, a good sense of fun, food if BBQ and soft (and not so soft!) drinks aren't your thing. I’m Justin VK7TW for WIA National News WIA BOARD TALK This is WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH with some news on my recent visit to a not-so-local amateur radio club. The Mid South Coast Amateur Radio Club was formed in this month 40 years ago. To celebrate this milestone, the Club put on a gala lunch at Huskisson Community Centre in the village of Huskisson, and invited current and past members to join-in on the occasion. Being a WIA-affiliated club, the committee invited a WIA director to attend. As President Phil Wait VK2ASD was otherwise engaged, I fulfilled the Club’s request. It has to be acknowledged that, in this day and age, it is a remarkable thing for a comparatively small rural amateur radio club managing to rack up decades of serving a widely dispersed membership during a period of significant social, technological and environmental change. The Mid South Coast Amateur Radio Club was formed to establish a two metre repeater to service travellers on the Princes Highway. VK2RMU is still operating and includes 70 cm facilities today. At the time it was formed, members came from across the South Coast region, the Far South Coast and the ACT, the Southern Highlands and Sydney. It’s much the same today ! I took the three-hour train ride from Sydney Central to Bomaderry, where Club Secretary David Wolff VK2LDW picked me up to drive me to Huskisson. Before and during lunch, I enjoyed a series of eyeball QSOs with club members, as you do on such occasions. It was good to discuss the state of amateur radio and the WIA – past, present and future, and to meet some amateurs who read publications I produced in years gone by – 6UP, the VHF-UHF newsletter, as well as Electronics Today and Australian Electronics Monthly magazines. In the background, the Club’s special event station VI2HQ40 was on the air. I caught up with one of the founding members, Jim Giblin VK2BOU, and we exchanged views and reminiscences about working at the Australian Antarctic station, Casey. Club President Martin Bennett VK2VOM told me about an enthusiastic group of microwavers getting active across the region on the 23 and 13 centimetre bands. That’s encouraging ! One of the highlights of lunch was local oysters and prawns – fresh and delicious ! Naturally, I was asked to say a few words to the assembled throng, before dessert. I recalled that the last time I was in the area was in October 1976, for the solar eclipse, and only a fortnight before the club was formed. I installed an ionosonde in Berridale in the Snowy ranges for the then- Ionospheric Prediction Service, now Space Weather Services. I took the family for the week and we went to a paddock in Bomaderry to get a good view of the eclipse, where a bunch of amateurs had also gathered. What goes around comes around. On behalf of the WIA I congratulated the Club for achieving four decades of existence, through fire, flood, famine and plenty, not to mention war and peace! I was presented with a framed certificate as a memento of the occasion, which will go in the shack with my ANZAC Centenary and Norfolk Island 10 GHz DX Record certificates. There was 40th birthday cake and individual Pavlovas for dessert. Indeed, a memorable anniversary lunch. The Club caterers did the occasion proud. This has been WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. The radio history book proving popular The ‘Wireless Men and Women at War’ publication of the Wireless Institute of Australia has fully researched accounts of wireless communications before World War I, and in later years and conflicts. The WIA bookshop now has this radio history book on mail order, with a pre-sale discount that applies until December 21. Further details can be found on the WIA website www.wia.org Australian Radiofrequency Spectrum Plan Review The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had issued a discussion paper and invited submissions by October 24, on possible changes to the plan that has a table detailing spectrum use. The Spectrum Plan divides the radiofrequency spectrum into a number of frequency bands and specifies the general purpose and use for each band. It would reflect Australia's obligations made at the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference in November 2015. The new plan is due in January. Among the submissions received was one from the Wireless Institute of Australia. It advocated on the WIA 'log of claims' for new and expanded bands in the plan, as outlined in its April 2016 submission. The WIA submission chiefly includes early access to the new 60m band at 5351.5 - 5366.5 kHz, new allocations at 70 MHz and 900 MHz, restoration of primary status on 50-52 MHz, and more 'living room' on 160m and 80m. For more information, and to download the submission, visit the Hot Issues section on the WIA website. New prospective radio amateurs across entire demographic While we look to the future of Amateur Radio and rightly seek interest and recruitment among young Australians, attention is also to be paid to other age groups. The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) held its STEM symposium in Canberra this weekend, and a report on it will be on a future broadcast. Meantime, the Australian Bureau of Statistics recent age profile report shows there’s plenty of growth in other groups. Modern Amateur Radio is more attractive and appealing to all demographics, either leading to a scientific or technical vocation, providing life-long learning, or for recreation. The WIA is doing that over time, with the LCD reform exercise being one of its major short-term actions. But it also comes down to existing radio amateurs promoting what we do, and can achieve for the community. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA. We have updated word on a monk who is one of the world's more popular DXers. Jeremy Boot G4NJH says the 'happy news' is that Monk Apollo SV2ASP/A is back on Mount Athos following his recent hospitalization and major surgery. The unwelcome news is that if you think you worked him between the 16th and 18th of October, you're mistaken. His call sign was apparently pirated while the well-known DXer was undergoing medical treatment. A report from Kostas SV1DPI in the Daily DX notes that someone was on 20 meters CW purporting to be Monk Apollo during that time period. There are also other reports that contacts with him on the 22nd and 23rd of October may also not be authentic. Most recent word from Mount Athos is that Monk Apollo may be ready for new QSOs soon so be on the bands and keep listening! The next time will likely be for real! Amateurs will definitely be interested in one particular star - ham radio itself - in a new movie made by a U.S.-Cuban production team. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD says the warmer relations between the U.S. and Cuba led to a Cuban-American team of contesters in the CQ World Wide SSB contest in October of 2015 -- and now it seems the nation's ever-growing friendship has led to a new movie. "Sergio and Sergei," which is scheduled to be released in 2017, is the story of a cosmonaut stranded on the Mir Space Station because the collapsing Soviet Union cannot afford to bring him back to Earth. Not unexpectedly, ham radio is the star of the film because it saves the day. Chinese students' FM transponder satellite launched 'Dream 1' (CAS-2T), a 'technical verification satellite' for the CAMSAT CAS-2 series of Amateur Radio satellites, was launched on November 9 on board a "Long March CZ-11 rocket." Developed by middle school students with the support of China's Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the Science and Technology Museum, and the Eastern Highlands Qian Youth Space Sciences Organization, the 2U CubeSat carries a ham radio 145/435 MHz FM transponder. CAS-2T will not separate from the final stage of its launcher rocket, so the orbital life may be just 10 to 30 days before the final stage of the rocket re-enters Earth's atmosphere. CW telemetry beacon: 435.710 MHz. Transponder uplink: 145.925 MHz FM. Transponder downlink: 435.615 MHz. Messages of remembrance from John McCrae's birthplace Members of the Guelph Amateur Radio Club gathered around a transceiver at the birthplace of John McCrae in Guelph on Thursday They were sending out messages of remembrance; telling listeners about the McCrae House and about his famous war poem In Flanders Fields, arguably the World’s most famous WAR MEMORIAL POEM Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae lays buried in Flanders Fields. As part of Remembrance Week, club members are using the medium to remind listeners to think of the fallen says operator Wes Snarr VE3ML. Read the full story at http://guelph.ctvnews.ca/sending-messages-of-remembrance-from-john-mccrae-s-birthplace-1.3155262 Interference source is tracked down Singapore’s driverless trains began acting strangely, including the loss of communications and their emergency brakes automatically being activated. The interference on the Circle Line was in September, and then again November. After studying train logs almost all incidents were near one particular train. It was tested, and found to emit interference to nearby trains and the trackside signalling system. The rogue train has been taken out of service while investigations continue. In other "interference' news, but this closer to home just WHAT was the motive of this jammer? We don’t usually talk about the very rare incidents of anti-social behaviour on our bands, but this particular practice caused upset, and may be worthy of an alert to all. Seems a computer generated voice was used to disguise the person involved who used a false callsign. “Get off this frequency you are causing QRM”, the voice said -- oh so impolitely. It was very unusual and quite disturbing, a bit like out-of-space aliens. A quick routine check found that this was not a valid claim. So, the motive behind the well-planned action still remains a mystery. Dutch regulator stops ham radio call publication VERON reports that the Netherlands Radiocommunications Agency has stopped publication of the Dutch callsign list It appears the Agency is citing the Data Protection Act as an excuse for the ending of the service which will occur sometime this week. With that story ringing in our ears as I leave you this week what better time than now to remind you the WIAs VERY LATEST CALLBOOK is available NOW... just visit our BookShop on wia.org.au In Sydney I'm Jason VK2LAW for WIA National News. VERON in Google English http://tinyurl.com/NetherlandsVERON OPERATIONAL NEWS 2016 All major Australian contests, rules and results, are on the Contest Section of the WIA website. wia.org.au/members/contests/about November 26-27 WIA VHF/UHF Spring Field Day Nov 26-27 CQ WW DX / CW Contest Always the last full weekend in November) Dec 1 - 31 Annual Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) 2017 Jan 1 – Dec 31 The Victorian Local Government Award 2017 Challenge January it's the WIA's Ross Hull Memorial VHF/UHF Contest Jan 1 AMSAT CW Activity Day 24 hours. All forms of CW are welcome. Ham Radio On The Ferries 12th of March WIA's John Moyle Memorial Field Day 18th-19th March 2017 WIA's Harry Angel Memorial 80 meter sprint Saturday May 6 10:00 -11:46 UTC May 13-15 Mills On The Air VK SHIRES June 10 and 11. Trans-Tasman Low-Band Contest 160/80/40 Saturday night July 15 and Start Time is 08:00 UTC and finish time is 14:00 UTC 10-10 INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CONTEST Aug 5 - 6 WIA's Flagship contest the Remembrance Day Contest 12th & 13th August Aug 19-20 ILLW the 3rd full weekend in August since 1998 October CQ WW DX / SSB CONTEST (always Octobers Last full weekend) Running ALL year 'til Dec 31 Victorian Local Government Award 2017 Challenge December 3rd marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the International Programme for Handicapped radio Amateurs (IPHA), wants its member organizations to make their QSOs count. The event's coordinator, Riri OD 5 RI, said he would like to see some partnership with disabled operators. He reports that already the Derby & District Amateur Radio Society in the UK will be operating as G2 DJ with disabled persons participating at the station. In Egypt, the Egyptian Radio Amateurs Society ERASD will likewise be operating the station SU 0 ERA. If there are other organizations planning similar operations, please let the IPHA know about it by contacting Riri via email at ririazrak@gmail.com (ARNEWSLINE) TARC does the John Moyle Field Day 2017 Happening from Friday afternoon 17th to Sunday lunch 19th March 2017 at : Burdekin Duck Roadhouse and Caravan Park, Flinders Highway Sellheim. Portable operation is the go so make sure you bring plenty of batteries and whisper quiet generators if you can. The Park features powered and unpowered caravan and camp sites and it is planned to set up the JMFD station in the unpowered paddock closest to Charters Towers. The Park is situated on the edge of what used to be the Sellheim Army Camp and the memorial is within easy walking distance. The Burdekin River is a bit further away, a short car ride gets you there really quick. Want to know more? in this case email Gavin on vk4zz @ wia. org. au This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH with news of special event callsign VI 2 SYD 75 commemorating the 75th anniversary of the sinking of H M A S Sydney in the Indian Ocean. Yesterday, the 19th of November was the 75th anniversary of the naval battle between the Australian Light Cruiser, HMAS Sydney, and the German auxilliary cruiser, Kormoran, off Dirk Hartog Island Western Australia. The sinking of the Sydney in 1941 remains the largest loss of life in the history of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), with all 645 sailors perishing. The wreck was not found until 2008. And there’s a fascinating story in that. VI2SYD75, granted by the ACMA only last week to the St George Amateur Radio Club, is for use from 19 November through to 31st December. I am coordinating use of the callsign on behalf of the club. We’re seeking operators interested in using the callsign to commemorate the 75th anniversary of that fateful naval battle, and honouring the brave officers and crews lost in the sinking of HMAS Sydney and SMS Kormoran. Operations with VI 2 SYD 75 can be on any Australian amateur band, LF to MF, HF through VHF, and even microwaves. To dispel some confusion that may have arisen, I must point out that there have been four navy ships named HMAS Sydney. The first was commissioned in 1912 and gained fame through an action with the German light cruiser SMS Emden off the Cocos-Keeling Islands on 9 November 1914, the first Australian naval action of WW1. The Emden was beached on North Keeling Island, one of the Cocos-Keeling Islands group in the Indian Ocean. The callsign VI 4 SEA was obtained to commemorate that event, coordinated by Mike Charteris VK4QS. VI4SEA has now expired. The second HMAS Sydney was commissioned in 1934, and is the one lost in 1941. 3rd was the Aircraft Carrier used extensively during the Vietnam War to transport men and equipment to "The Green." This ship was fondly known as "The Vung Tau Ferry." The fourth HMAS Sydney was commissioned in 1983 and remained in service until 2015. If you are interested in obtaining a period on the roster for using VI 2 SYD 75, see the St George Club website, at www.sgars.org or look for them on Facebook. Alternatively, email me at my WIA email address, which is VK2ZRH@WIA.org.au If you hear VI2SYD75 on the air, give the station a call, a QSO would be most welcome. This has been Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. Now to a bit of "DXing" Active is E 51 RR until the 25th November from Rarotonga in the South Cook Islands on 40, 20 and 15m. QSL to the home call ZL1BQD. Alan G3XAQ is back at Kampala, Uganda from 12th to 28th November. Look for him signing 5 X 1 XA on CW including the CQWW DX CW Contest at the end of the month. His QSL Manager is G 3 SWH. On the air is 5 H 3 MB in Tanzania to the 2nd of December. QSL to his home callsign IK2GZU. Alan, VP 8 DPJ is at the British Antarctic Territory Rothera Research Station on Adelaide Island, IOTA AN-001, until April 2018. QSL via operator's instructions. Elsewhere in the world of DX, John AD8J is working as AD8J/HR9 until this weekend from the island of Guanaja, Honduras, IOTA reference NA-057. Send QSL cards via his home call sign, AD8J. (RSGB/ARNEWSLINE/IRTS) Felix DL5XL will be returning to the German Antarctic Research Base called ‘Neumayer 3’ this month and will be there until February. His callsign will be DP 1 POL and he will mainly operate CW and digital modes. This activity will count as AN-016 for the IOTA programme. QSL Manager is DL 1Z BO and logs will be uploaded to Logbook of The World. AWARD NEWS VK3 National Parks add to activity Poor weather deterred a few from meeting their designated national park last weekend, but the 6th annual activity period had plenty of interest and activity. By a check of logs, 41 National Parks in VK3 were activated across the four days, seven more than the previous record set last year, with 25 operators involved. This included visitors from VK2, VK4 and VK5 who took part by setting up portable in Victoria, and at times many operators faced horrible weather and shocking QRN. The aim was to stimulate portable activity in as many of the 45 National Parks as possible, to assist both Hunters and Activators. Heard on air often during QSOs was a ‘thank you’ for a new National Park – with many taking advantage of the concentrated activity. Julie VK3FOWL and Joe VK3YSP were in both the Mornington Peninsula and the Point Nepean National Parks, signing VK3SRC for the School Amateur Radio Club Network. They managed to work 25 National Parks and have applied for a Level 2 Award. Full details of the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award activity weekend are on the Amateur Radio Victoria website. (Jim Linton VK3PC) MEDIA WATCH Who and Where are our broadcast stations? http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/ National Geographic looks at Amateur Radio While the world is thinking the planet MARS will be the next space goal, an influential scientific media outlet has told how Amateur Radio is for many, the gateway into science and engineering. It explains that NASA astronauts began taking compatible transceivers with them on the Shuttle Radio Experiment, or SAREX, and follow on with the International Space Station to be part of the ARISS program. The idea of space travellers talking to students on earth seemed unbelievable at first, but is now common place. The National Geographic Channel, in a video program called ‘Before MARS’ has a teenage girl Hana with a twin sister Joon, determined to talk to an astronaut aboard the International Space Station with the old ham radio found in an attic. After going through the history of wireless, it declares that Amateur Radio continues to thrive, even in the age of the Internet and mobile phones. Quoting a recent Ars Technica article, the National Geographic noted the hobby has survived wars, dictatorships, and even natural disasters that disrupt other communications systems. The 1950s saw the advent of transistors and other technology which gave Amateur Radio sets more capabilities, and in the 1960s, began to extend their range by using small satellites known as OSCARs (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) that NASA had launched to assist. It also talked about re-purposing old equipment from FM commercial radio stations and to set up repeaters at elevated locations. ‘Before MARS’ describes Amateur Radio’s appeal is that it remains free, non-commercial and largely organised and controlled by users, and that it allows people to communicate with others all over the planet - and even in space. (Jim Linton VK3PC) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CB (CITIZENS BAND) 69 MHz Activity Session The Delboy Blog reports that Swedish 69 MHz CB users have an activity session from 2000-2200 GMT on the 1st Friday of each month Sweden is possibly unique in having a VHF CB allocation at 69 MHz. Calling generally takes place on 69.1875 MHz. Full details of the 69 MHz channels are given at http://tinyurl.com/Sweden-69MHz WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO ALARA - AUSTRALIAN LADIES AR ASSOCIATION http://alara.org.au Net is held each Mondays on 3.570± MHz, commencing at 1030 UTC. (1000utc during daylight saving) ALARAMEET 2017 The Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association Inc. - ALARA - wish to invite you, whether YL or XYL, OM or XOM to attend ALARAMEET 2017, being held in Cairns, Far North Queensland, from Friday 8th to Monday 11th September 2017. Just so there is NO confusion on events etc. planned it is suggested you read further details on the ALARA Website as they come to hand. alara.org.au (tarc news) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER A particular telescope, an SST, achieved first light in February 2011. Then, in 2013, the U.S. Secretary of Defence and Australian Minister of Defence signed an MOU agreeing to RELOCATE this Space Surveillance Telescope from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station in Western Australia. After the move, SST will be owned by the United States Air Force, but operated and maintained by Australia. It will be a dedicated sensor in the U.S. Space Surveillance Network (SSN). Currently, the SST program is developing enhanced small-object detection algorithms, a new, advanced wide-field camera, and faster search operations in preparation for relocation to Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station. SST has been prolific at observing asteroids, contributing to the discovery of more than 1,300 new asteroids, and providing more than 5,500,000 asteroid observations to the international community via the International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Centre. The telescope is also supporting the astronomical community by collecting data on behalf of the Large Synoptic Space Telescope consortium and NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. (DARPA) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW ILLW gets new country The 20th annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend has a new country with the registration of the Tamis River West Lighthouse, in Pancevo, Serbia. This old structure provided vital navigation on a bend in the picturesque Danube River, and will be put on air by Aleksandar YU 1 CA, a regular portable operator. He is the latest to join nearly 80 registrations including two lightships received so far from 18 countries. See them all for August 19-20 and past reports at the dedicated website illw.net. (Jim Linton VK3PC) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS http://www.raotc.org.au Loretta gets ham radio licence at 91 The Athens Daily Review reports Loretta Smith KG5QCH has achieved her amateur radio license at the age of 91 Inspired by Pastor George Yarger W 5 BRG of Harbor Baptist Church, Loretta decided to pursue her ham radio license. Yarger spoke of his experience serving communities in times of disaster with his knowledge of ham radio communication, and Loretta knew she could provide the same help in Gun Barrel City, if she was certified. She worked with the activity director at Cedarview Place to understand the process of becoming certified, and three other residents decided to join her in the course. Read the full story at http://www.athensreview.com/news/local_news/loretta-smith-achieves-ham-radio-certification-at-age/article_b40a6d30-a868-11e6-8e51-1faea90fd262.html (SOUTHGATE) From 91 to 93-- In Canada, CBC News reports radio amateur Merle Taylor VE1VCI, 93, still practices Morse code in her basement outside Antigonish, Nova Scotia We might live in a world where knowing how to write code is gold, but for 93-year-old Merle Taylor there is only one code: Morse code. Merle learned Morse code at 20 when she signed up to help Canada and the war effort. Her war-time job was to teach it to the pilots through the British Commonwealth Air Training plan. "There were 59 airbases built across Canada to accommodate the boys from England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. It was that group of boys that I taught Morse code to," she said while sitting in her basement — where she still taps out Morse code. "It's a signal that will get through because of the sharpness where a voice couldn't." Read the full story at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/merle-taylor-morse-code-remembrance-day-1.3846368 SOCIAL SCENE 2016 Nov 20 VK3 Rosebud RadioFest tickets on sale 8am (vk3pdg) Nov 26 VK7 Miena HamFest Saturday 26th. (vk7wi txt) 2017 Feb 26th Central Coast Field Day, WYONG enter at 8:30am (vk2dls) March 26 VK3 EMDRC HamFest, Great Ryrie Primary School, Heathmont (VK3BQ) Ap 28- May 1 VK4 Clairview Gathering between Rockhampton and Mackay (TARC) May 19 VK WIA AGM Hahndorf some 25km from Adelaide (vk5kc) Sep 9-10 ALARAMEET 2017 in Cairns (vk4swe) FINAL FINAL ============================== NEW WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK =============================== LINKS WE LIKE Submitting news items A reminder when supplying HamFest info we obviously can't plug commercial traders "on air", but we at the WIA will put your supporters in this text edition "no worries." 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. 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