JANUARY 29 2017 - 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 JANUARY 29 2017. IN OUR 22nd YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH and, 'Have Your Say.' - WIA exams in action. - WIA journal, Amateur Radio magazine, what's in it for you ? - WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH and VHF-UHF Field Day logs. - WIA and VK2ZRH says "Bring Them Back”. THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA 2017 AND FOR WEEK OF JAN 29 Outback workers fight ABC shortwave radio decision The Guardian newspaper reports on the campaign against ABC's decision to end shortwave broadcasts For some people living and working in the outback, shortwave is the only way they can listen to the ABC. “People that live out in contracting camps or mustering stock camps or outstations, and even a lot of the people who live in the bush on cattle stations, spend probably 100% of their waking hours out on the land and have very minimal contact with other human beings,” says Tracey Hayes, the chief executive of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association. “You can imagine how isolating that would be without having access to the outside world via radio during the day while you’re out in the workplace. But I don’t think they took that into consideration.” Michael Mason, the ABC’s director of radio, said in December the broadcaster would service the “limited audience” of shortwave radio “through modern technology” instead. The ABC has largely dismissed the backlash, with the managing director, Michelle Guthrie, claiming just a handful of complaints had been made and many of them were from ham radio enthusiasts. Read the full story at https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/18/its-essential-outback-workers-fight-abc-decision-to-ditch-shortwave-radio AROUND VK I hope that all who attend the upcoming CCARC Wyong field day on the 26th. of February will enjoy their time there. As well as traders and exhibitors, this year has a very extensive and impressive range of lectures. So many that two lecture rooms will be in use during the event. You will need to plan your day not to miss lectures of particular interest to you. The range and variety of lectures go from Drone racing to working satellites, from WRTC 2018 to the IARU, from the Raspberry Pi to WebSDRs and many more. One very special lecture is the Senior HF Radio Scientist Dr Vickal Kumar presenting a lecture on HF related Services offered by the Australian Government along with Dr Parkinson from the Bureau Of Meteorology - Space Weather Services. For the list of lectures please check the show notes of this broadcast on the WIA website or for all details of the field day and the full address of the event please go to fieldday.org.au For those looking to get or upgrade a licence both Australian and American licence tests will be available at the field day and a Foundation licence course is being run the day before the field day, Saturday the 25th. February at the CCARC clubrooms. Bookings for the course and the tests are essential, check the website for full details. For the Central Coast ARC, this is Ed DD5LP / VK2JI. Good morning – this is Grant VK5GR with an update on the Project Horus High Altitude Balloon Launch activities that the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group has been undertaking over the past 2 months. The group has been exceedingly busy since November, since the development of our new high speed digital downlink system for the balloons. With data transmission now possible at 115kbit/s, instead of 100bps, the last few launches have brought the ability to see what the balloon can see whilst it is still in flight. Last weekend, this culminated in what was one of the most complex launch campaigns undertaken by the group in it’s seven year history. Two balloons were launched simultaneously from two separate launch sites, carrying visible and infrared cameras. Tis was part of GIS imaging experiments being conducted for the International Space University’s Southern Hemisphere Space Studies program, a 5 week summer school run by the University of South Australia. This was the second year that AREG has been involved with this program, linking STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics educational programs to Amateur Radio. Over 40 students, and a further 30+ amateur radio operators took part in various facets of the launch, tracking and recovery program. The balloons themselves reached altitudes of 34 and 36km (or over 110,000 ft) respectively. The grins on the faces of the students at conclusion of the successful flights said it all – as they realised that science is wow and radio is magic! More flights are planned for this year as well. Another flight is due in February for a local Adelaide high school. AREG is also hoping to resurrect the flying radio repeater and put it in the air again within the next 6 months. Stay tuned to the AREG website for more details (www.areg.org.au). 73 from Grant VK5GR on behalf of Project Horus and AREG WIA BOARD TALK This is WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH and, since I’ve been having a say here on and off, I’m here to tell you - now you get to Have Your Say. Eagle-eyed followers of the WIA website will have noticed that two recent news items posted on the Home Page lead to an invitation for all-comers to provide their views on Band Planning and the new Charter for Volunteers. The Institute is encouraging formal consultation with members and the wider amateur radio community through the introduction of an online feedback channel on the website. The Band Planning consultation is about proposed changes to the digital modes segments on the HF bands from 80 metres through 10 metres. The Technical Advisory Committee is seeking feedback on the proposals from both WIA members and the Amateur Radio community generally. All views have equal weight whether you are a WIA member or not. On the website Home Page, look for the news item headed “Band Planning plays an important role”. The Institute is seeking views on the Volunteer Charter, announced by the Board in 2016. Developed by a small group of people, it is based on principles defined by the community-based non-government organisation (NGO) Volunteering Australia. The Board reviewed the draft Volunteer Charter in October, which was then circulated to WIA Committee volunteers in November for their feedback. Now revised following feedback from Committee volunteers, the new draft Volunteer Charter is released to the Amateur Radio community at large for comment. You can find how to have your say on this important initiative by looking on the website Home Page for the headline “Have your say on the draft Volunteer Charter”. As a draft of the new Radiocommunications Act will be released for public comment “real soon now”, we are assured, when the time comes the Spectrum Strategy Committee will be seeking feedback on the WIA’s response. Keep a watch on the WIA website. Advocacy. Education. Support. That’s what we do. This is WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. WIA exams in action Following a well-earned break for summer, the WIA Exam Service has returned to carry out its work of processing assessments, making callsign recommendations, and liaising with the ACMA which issues the licences. The WIA administers all Amateur Radio assessments under an agreement with the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Since the WIA began doing the assessments, there have been 5504 Foundation Licence assessments for theory and the same number of assessments for practical. These exams requires a written radio theory and regulations paper of 25 questions and a 70% pass mark and a practical assessment requiring 100%. On top of those are assessments for the Standard and Advance licences that can be a 50 question Theory paper, Regulations paper, and if needed a Practical test. The WIA Exam Service handles assessment packs requested through a network of trained and accredited assessors, with about 70 radio clubs running training courses for the Foundation Licence. An average of 1200 exam packs are ordered a year, and in 2016 there were 1,146 callsigns recommended. The WIA pays credit to the dedicated network of volunteers, with 24 Nominated Assessors, 217 Assessors in all States and Territories, and 48 Learning Facilitators. Let’s look at the WIA journal, Amateur Radio magazine On the front of the January/February edition is ‘Melbourne QRP by the Bay’ at Chelsea beach - while inside Peter Parker VK3YE reports on it being a success for QRPers and homebrewers. The WIA Comment by President Phil Wait VK2ASD looks at the WIA Board changes, the unsuccessful call for a General Meeting, and the election of all seven directors. He concludes; that only a strong WIA can properly represent the interests of radio amateurs to the government and industry, continue licensing new amateurs, and support the radio amateur community in many diverse ways. In a product review Peter Hartfield VK3PH looks at the FT2D 144 and 430 MHz handheld, which has GPS, APRS, WIRES-X and C4FM digital. The Flex Maestro software-defined-radio review is by Brian Morgan VK7RR; while homebrewer Drew Diamond VK3XU has a Class-D 100 Watt AM Transmitter for 7 MHz. At the other end of the spectrum is the ‘Norfolk Island Microwave Jaunt’, written by Keith Gooley VK5OQ and Roger Harrison VK2ZRH – and includes the 10 GHz Record achieved. The Marconi Hut Mast erected by the Geelong Amateur Radio Club gets a WIA Special-Purpose Grant to acknowledge the club’s work at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum. The WIA annual general weekend meeting themed as: ‘Inspiring leadership, the future of Amateur Radio’ - is at Hahndorf, South Australia in May - with David Clegg VK5KC giving details - for bookings please see the WIA website. In the SOTA & Parks column by Allen Harvie VK3ARH we congratulate Warren Brown VK3BYD our first CW Mountain Goat. In DX Talk by Luke Steele VK3HJ, the 40 metres band has had good signals from all over the world. In Technical Advisory Committee Notes, John Martin VK3KM writes about the HF Band Plan revision and a number of proposals. If you use HF; then please have a read. The IARU Liaison Report explains the many preparations underway for the World Radiocommunications Conference in 2019. A wealth of contest information is published, including the 80th Commonwealth Contest on March 11 and 12, which is the longest running DX contest. Amateur Radio magazine is a WIA membership service, founded in 1933 and the only Australian magazine dedicated to our hobby. This is Barry Robinson VK3PV – and you are listening to VK1WIA. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, VK7WI News and the WW sources of the WIA. Ofcom Call Sign change policy Ofcom have said that a UK radio amateur can apply for a different call sign if they change gender Up until the summer of 2015 Ofcom permitted radio amateurs to change their call sign. Amateurs have used this to adopt the call sign of a deceased relative or defunct radio club. This policy was changed suddenly and callsign transfers stopped even those which were in progress. It now seems there is a welcome degree of flexibility for those amateurs who have changed gender. In a recent response to a radio amateur Ofcom issued this clarification of their policy: "We assign each amateur radio station a unique identifier - its call sign. This helps us to meet our obligations under the Radio Regulations which require stations to be clearly identifiable and which expressly prohibit misleading identities. In order for a station’s identity to remain unique, these call signs may not be changed, other than in truly exceptional circumstances. This might be because a licensee has changed gender or has acquired a physical or mental impairment that prevents him or her from using the original call sign. These cases are, however, rare." IARU campaign to globalise 50 MHz The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations or CEPT, Preparatory Group Project Team met on January 10-12 in Finland, to discuss the agenda for the World Radiocommunications Conference to be held in 2019. This included WRC-19 Agenda Item 1.1 that calls for a worldwide allocation at 50 to 54 MHz, or 6-metres. Already with that allocation are the land mobile, radiolocation, and broadcasting services, and future uses of adjacent spectrum is also likely. A preliminary CEPT position was in support of a new 6-meter allocation in Region 1 that covers Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Asia; but only if the Amateur Radio spectrum needs are justified, and supported by frequency sharing studies. The IARU frequency-sharing studies will give protection to those with that allocation. Another area of interest at the CEPT meeting was Wireless Power Transmission. This technology gives electric power wirelessly, particular to electric cars, and typically uses frequencies in the Low Frequency and Medium Frequency range. The IARU through its organised network is keeping a watch on any developments that may affect both the amateur service and the amateur satellite service. The Wireless Institute of Australia, like all IARU member societies, funds the IARU through its membership subscription revenue. CIA documents about Ham radio declassified online CIA reports about ham radio in the former Soviet Union (including the Baltic States) and Warsaw Pact member countries have been declassified to a new online search engine. The website is: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/search/site/amateur%20ham%20radio The documents include translations and assessments of : amateur radio clubs, training; monitoring sputniks; technology and equipment; and even qsl cards. All the documents have been de-classified and made available to the public for the first time in this internet archive; some were previously available in a closed system at the US national archives. Two separate Lithium-ion batteries faults caused phone fires Samsung has blamed faulty battery supplies as the cause of fires in its Note7 phone that were last year recalled, banned on flights, and then withdrawn from service. The company found that originally batteries it had been supplied did not fit correctly, causing some fires. Then replacement batteries from another supplier also had manufacturing faults that caused further fires. Samsung has taken full responsibility for the failure of battery design and manufacturing, and now changed its procedures. Lithium-ion batteries power many devices in modern day life because of their capacity and size, but a minor manufacturing fault can leads to a short-circuit and fire. In Sydney for the WIA National News Service I'm Jason VK2LAW leaving you this week with a trip to the Wild West of old. ZANE GREY EVENT JIM/ANCHOR: There's nothing like classic American cowboy fiction - except, perhaps a ham radio event honouring one of the genre's masters. For those details, we turn to Amateur Radio Newsline's Mike Askins KE5CXP. MIKE: When it comes to classic fiction, you can't get drama more western than Zane Grey. The master novelist brought the romance of American cowboy life to generations of readers as he spun his novels, 26 of which are set, at least partly, in Arizona. Perhaps his most famous is "Riders of the Purple Sage," published in 1912. A different kind of western drama will unfold starting Jan. 28 inside the now-historic Zane Grey Cabin, where he lived and wrote in Payson, Arizona. Members of the Tonto Amateur Radio Association will be on the HF bands as Special Event Station K7Z, marking the novelist's birthday. Hams will operate from the cabin itself on Saturday, Jan. 28th and Tuesday, Jan. 31st, as well as their own QTHs. Event organizer Bruce Sperka AD7MM said that his wife Marilyn KI7DLK is a volunteer at the Rim Country Museum next door to the cabin, and the museum agreed to cosponsor the event. He said it was a natural to incorporate Jan 31, the author's birthday, into the activity and that Bruce Johnson N7DDT, president of ham club, was excited that the event could also raise radio's public profile. Despite temperatures inside the cabin expected to reach as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year, the club is prepared to give a warm welcome to visitors. Who knows? What they see and hear may feel a little like the same kind of high adventure of a Zane Grey cowboy novel, radio style. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP. Who and Where are our broadcast stations? http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/ HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT All major Australian contests, rules and results, are on the Contest Section of the WIA website. wia.org.au/members/contests/about 2017 Jan 1 – Dec 31 The Victorian Local Government Award 2017 Challenge RSGB 80th Commonwealth Contest 11 and 12 March for 24 hours FROM 10.00 GMT. 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 IARU High Speed Telegraphy world championships are 8th to 12th September. October CQ WW DX / SSB CONTEST (always Octobers Last full weekend) Running ALL year 'til Dec 31 Victorian Local Government Award 2017 Challenge This is WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH with a reminder about Summer VHF-UHF Field Day logs. Yes folks ! If you took part in the 2017 Summer VHF-UHF Field Day two weeks ago, the deadline for submitting logs is tomorrow – midnight, Monday 30th January. You can upload your logs via the VHF-UHF Field Day website page. No matter if you only managed a few contacts, or went the whole hog and racked up a few hundred – get those logs in. I’ll be watching. An experienced group of German operators have activated TU 5 MH from the Ivory Coast until February Two. They have three stations on 80m to 10m CW, SSB and RTTY. An expedition by members of a Dominican Republic club have Beata Island on the air until 1st February. The callsign is HI 1 UD and the IOTA reference is NA-122. The QSL Manager is W 2 CCW. Marking a major WWII event will be VI 8 BOD The 75th anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin is being commemorated including the callsignVI8BOD that has been issued for a month. There were two bombing attacks on Darwin during WWII, the first from an aircraft carrier which had struck Pearl Harbor in December 1941, followed two hours later by 54 land-based bombers from the Dutch East Indies. More aircraft attacked Darwin, a greater tonnage of bombs was dropped but there were no torpedoes, more ships destroyed, but the loss of 235 people lives was about 10% of that in Pearl Harbor. The attacks were not a precursor to an invasion. The objectives included demoralising the Australian war effort. News of the Darwin bombings were kept secret from the rest of country as a war-time measure. Now 75 years on, the Darwin Amateur Radio Club will help commemorate the occasion with the VI8BOD callsign at the old Qantas hangar in Parap an inner Darwin suburb. More details will be on a later broadcast – but for now I can report that VI 8 BOD hits the airwaves from 0330 UTC on Saturday February 18, and continues for up to a month. (Jim Linton VK3PC) HATS OFF TO MEK Mek has told the DX community via dxnews.com that he will be active from Panama 12 - 15 February 2017 as HP/SQ 3 RX. He will operate on HF Bands mainly CW from Volcan city, Panama. QSL via home call which is of course SQ 3 RX And if you want a direct QSL: Read this week’s text edition of this the WIA National News Broadcast. Przemek Wojtysiak, Ul. Gorowska 6, 64-100 Leszno, Poland. 7V7V Vlad, is currently active from Algeria as 7 V 7 V. He is working on HF Bands. QSL via home call UA 4 WHX WIRELESS WEATHER Radiation 'clouds' detected at aviation altitudes A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Space Weather reports the discovery of radiation 'clouds' at aviation altitudes. When airplanes fly through these clouds, dose rates of cosmic radiation normally absorbed by air travellers can double or more. Get the full story on the web -- Spaceweather.com (southgate) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CW FISTS Club - East Asia www.feacw.net FISTS Club - Australasia www.fistsdownunder.org FISTS Club - UK & Europe www.fists.co.uk FISTS Club - Americas www.fists.org How to Learn Morse Code - Semiconsciously Scientific American magazine reports learning Morse code, with its tappity-tap rhythms of dots and dashes, could take far less effort—and attention—than one might think The trick is a wearable computer that engages the sensory powers of touch, according to a recent pilot study. The results suggest that mobile devices may be able to teach us manual skills, almost subconsciously, as we go about our everyday routines. Ph.D. student Caitlyn Seim and computer science professor Thad Starner of the Georgia Institute of Technology tinker with haptics, the integration of vibrations or other tactile cues with computing gadgets. Last September at the 20th International Symposium on Wearable Computers in Heidelberg, Germany, they announced that they had programmed Google Glass to passively teach its wearers Morse code— with preliminary signs of success. Read the Scientific American story at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-learn-morse-code-mdash-semiconsciously/ WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER Galileo satellites experiencing multiple clock failures The on-board atomic clocks that drive the satellite-navigation signals on Europe's Galileo network have been failing at an alarming rate. Across the 18 satellites now in orbit, nine clocks have stopped operating. Three are traditional rubidium devices; six are the more precise hydrogen maser instruments that were designed to give Galileo superior performance to the American GPS network. Galileo was declared up and running in December. However, it is still short of the number of satellites considered to represent a fully functioning constellation, and a decision must now be made about whether to suspend the launch of further spacecraft while the issue is investigated. Prof Jan Woerner, the director general of the European Space Agency told a meeting with reporters: "Everybody is raising this question: should we postpone the next launch until we find the root cause, or should we launch? You can give both answers at the same time. You can say we wait until we find the solution but that means if more clocks fail we will reduce the capability of Galileo. But if we launch we will at least maintain if not increase the [capability], but we may then take the risk that a systematic problem is not considered. We are right now in this discussion about what to do." Read the full BBC News article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38664225 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET --- THE HAMS DOMAIN TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA www.HamRadioNation.com websdr.org websdr.in New dot radio Domain The EBU is launching a new Top Level Domain (TLD) name - dot radio - aimed at the radio community including Radio Amateurs The launch is planned for September 2017 and the EBU says this which will progressively change the way people are reaching internet resources linked to radio. These categories will be accepted for the use of a .radio domain: • Radio Amateurs • Radio broadcasting stations • Unions of Broadcasters • Internet radios • Radio professionals (journalists, radio hosts, DJs, …) • Radio-related companies selling radio goods and services Read the EBU post at https://www.ebu.ch/news/2017/01/radio-top-level-domain-name-ready-for-launch WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- QRP and WEAK SIGNAL COMMUNICATION World’s smallest HF transmitter Keychain QRP of the United States has a micro-sized CW transmitter that can be operated on the HF bands. The transmitter can also accommodate the SWR problem of a poorly matched antenna wire. It puts out up to 160 milliwatts with a 9-volt battery, and has a built-in LED battery indicator. (vk3pc) 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 Shortage of Hams a significant gap in disaster response During a Canadian disaster training event called ‘Exercise Coastal Response’ it was clear that having more Ham radio operators would help the community. Protective Services Coordinator for the Strathcona Regional District, in British Columbia, Shaun Koopman says one way to bounce back from a major disaster, like the overdue earthquake, was to have more radio amateurs. People figure that with all the technology available communications is easier, they think radio has become obsolete. But he says in the event of a major event or emergency, we still go back to radio. In a major event there may not be Internet or mobile phones, and of course popular platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The Regional District is concerned enough to hold Ham training courses and will help anyone wanting to get their ticket, whether or not they want to join in the emergency preparedness. (vk3pc) VK1 EMAIL NEWS ARE REPORTING ON THE BRINDABELLA MOTOR SPORTS CLUB. At last Saturday nights BMSC award evening WICEN ACT was awarded the "Beb Fox Official of the Year" award. BMSC will attend Canberra Region Amateur Radio Clubs AGM next month to present the award. Well done the WICEN team and all involved. Rewind, a look back on our history Retro Receiver Review: The Yaesu FR101S Over the past 12 months, VK2HBT has been reflecting on some of the great shortwave receivers of the past. A few of these rigs are well known but some are not and are rarely found these days. The series of eight articles written so far for Mount Evelyn DX Report blog have proved popular amongst Hams and SWLs. This month, it's a look at the Yaesu FR101S “boat anchor”, an all solid state receiver released around 1974. If you are fascinated by old rigs, their history and design, then this would be a great article to read over a coffee this weekend! You’ll find the blog post at: http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/retro-receiver-review-8-yaesu-fr101s.html (sourced to an item on SouthGate) SOCIAL SCENE 2017 Feb 4 VK3 Melbourne QRP by the Bay 3pm Victory Park Chelsea Beach (vk3ye) Feb 19th VK3 HAMFEST Western and Northern District Amateur Radio Club 10am Werribee Masonic centre 223 Watton St, Werribee. 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) June 10-11 VK5 SERG Annual Convention / VK Foxhunting Champs. (vk5dj) South East Radio Group Annual Convention and Australian Fox Hunting Championship to be held on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June 2017. This is the Queen’s Birthday Weekend in some states. The location is the Mount Gambier Scout Group Headquarter Margaret St, Mount Gambier, South Australia and the forests and environs of the South East. Full details will be available on the SERG website in April. Expect a similar set of activities and events to previous years culminating with the Convention Dinner on Sunday evening. Sep 9-10 ALARAMEET 2017 in Cairns (vk4swe) Nov 12 VK5 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society HamFest 8am (vk5kc) FINAL FINAL This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH and I’ve just discovered that the New Year season is almost done ! Many listeners may recall that, in January last year, I introduced a project called “Bring Them Back”. With the strains of Auld Lang Syne resounding in our ears, if each of us who have been in the hobby for some time took the opportunity, wherever it arose, to encourage a “lapsed” amateur to return to the hobby, the number of licensees would increase and so would the number of those active on the air. If you think about it, there are many situations where you know, or discover, a colleague or acquaintance once held a callsign – they may well be amenable to being encouraged to return to amateur radio. There are many situations where individuals may have let their interest in amateur radio lie dormant – work and family commitments, for example. Look out for the opportunities to re-recruit these one-time amateurs – you’ll be doing something positive for the hobby. Make Bring Them Back a permanent project ! This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. 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Who and where are they? http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/ 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... Who listens to radio? A weekly 'tally sheet' is sent to all rebroadcasters and interested listeners, to get your free copy send a blank email to:- wiabroadcasters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au Put the word subscribe in the title or subject field How do I join this National News List? (subscribe for an automatic weekly feed.) 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