FEBRUARY 12 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 FEBRUARY 12 2017. IN OUR 22nd YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA 2017 AND FOR WEEK OF FEB 12 AROUND VK WIA BOARD TALK Your say on the draft WIA Volunteer Charter Now revised following feedback from Committee volunteers, the draft Volunteer Charter is now released for wider consultation from the Amateur Radio community. The draft is based on principles defined by the organisation - Volunteering Australia. After working on the draft during November 2016, and revising it to reflect input from the Committees, the WIA Board now puts it out for further comment before its introduction. Comments must be made via the online WIA Consultation form, by 28 February. WIA Election Ballot The election of the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) Board of Directors is by a Postal Ballot in March. This year all seven positions on the WIA Board are open. This is a Postal Ballot though Australia Post. An information pack will be inserted in the March edition of Amateur Radio magazine, and for those who only get the digital version of the magazine, it will go to their registered postal address. Please read the candidate statements and instructions on how to vote carefully. The Postal Ballot closes on the 27th of March. WIA Merit Awards Do you know of someone who has made a very worthy contribution to Amateur Radio or the WIA, and deserves recognition? The Wireless Institute of Australia can recognise these achievers, but the actual award given is at the discretion of the WIA Board. The criteria, plus a form that has a nominator and two who are in support of the nominee, is on the WIA website. When completing a nomination form, you are not required to suggest which award should be made. Nominations close on March 31, to be announced and where possible presented, at the WIA’s AGM and Conference at Hahndorf South Australia on May 19-21. Foundation Course Do you know someone in the Melbourne area that could be a good radio amateur. Then have them enrol in the quality Foundation Licence trading and assessment session on February 18 and 19. To inquire for more detail or to enrol please contact Barry Robinson VK3PV on phone. 0428 516 001. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, VK1, 2, 3, and VK7WI Local News Services, VK3PC and the WW sources of the WIA. Jeff Dahn, KB3ZUK, of Maryland, activated every National Parks On the Air location in USA's Washington, DC area last year. That, combined with his prior law enforcement experience, landed him as a radio operator for the National Park Service during the presidential inauguration, as well as the Women’s March on Washington. A net control site was needed on three days’ notice, and KB3ZUK was able to designate his club’s W3HAC facility to serve as the net control station site for Amateur Radio operators helping those arriving for the Women’s March. They connected the club’s command post with the National Park Service Incident Command Post via ham radio. Art Feller, W4ART, primary net control at W3HAC said "In a population the size of a good sized city, you expect normally problems to occur. And in fact, they did. There were times that the crowd got so dense, that we got a call from the National Park Service saying please spread them out, and they took care of that. So mostly, well it’s entirely, looking after people, and helping the managers keep everyone healthy, safe, and well." It was well documented that ham radio was an essential means of communication for the march. 95 Years - A celebration of radio station 2MT February 14, 2017 marks the 95th anniversary of the start of the UK's first ever regular, advertised broadcast radio station, 2MT, which came live from Writtle in Essex To commemorate this anniversary, and to celebrate the young, pioneering team of engineers, the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society will be transmitting from the same building from where the original broadcasts commenced. One of their members, Jim Salmon 2 E 0 RMI, will also be operating a three-day internet radio service, " Radio Emma Toc " featuring radio related documentaries, vintage comedies and live programmes from various locations. The first 2MT broadcast started at 7.15pm on February 14, 1922 from an ex-army Marconi hut - a 'Long Low Hut' - sited in a waterlogged field in Writtle. This famous hut is now on permanent display at Sandford Mill, Chelmsford, and can be visited during the summer open days at the Mill. Members of the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society - CARS - regularly transmit to fellow amateur radio hams from this historic hut and, for this celebration, a team from CARS will be making contact with fellow amateurs on February 12 and 14. A special event call sign, GB 952 eMma Toc (GB 95 2MT), will be used to mark this occasion In the World War 1 RAF phonetic alphabet eMma was used to signify M, and Toc for T ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_radio_alphabet ) And London isn't the only place on our planet where old call signs 'pop-up' again. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks AE5DW asks "When is a Novice call sign not a Novice call sign ?" His answer is simple:- "When it's not! There are no more Novice licenses being granted in the USA ( and not by Executive Order ). BUT don't think for a moment that this doesn't mean the old call signs have gone away -- because they haven't. In fact, they're starting to turn up again. Just ask Brandi, KN4AFW, who was among those to get one of them last month. According to callsign historian Pete Varounis NL7XM, this freshly minted Technician doesn't exactly have a freshly minted callsign: it was first assigned 62 years ago to a 15-year-old boy named Chase P. Hearn in North Carolina. So what's going on here? The FCC hasn't gone retro or nostalgic, it's just issuing callsigns sequentially ------- as it always has. District 4, where Brandi lives, simply exhausted its supply of "KMs" and by the time she and the others took their test, the FCC had moved on to the sequence of "KN" callsigns. Sure, this has caused some old-timers to do a double take -- one of them was Brandi's husband Andrew WD4RCC, who remembers the old Novice Class -- but "KN" assignments are going to become increasingly commonplace as other districts exhaust their "KM" licenses too. By the way, the original Novice license-holder, Chase, is still on the air, operating now from Virginia - and his callsign of K4AFW is simply an upgrade of the 1954 callsign now assigned to Brandi. Everything old is new again! WEIRD AND WONDERFUL (Suggest Brian and Robert chat about drones) We have all heard or read about ‘drones’, once only a military aircraft, but it seems the whole world has gone drone-crazy – I just don’t get it. Now anyone can get one of these remote controlled helicopters things. Yes I have seen those reports, seems like Australia Post, pizza and book deliverers, and even fire fighters are getting into the act. Sure some can take photos, and good photo at that – you’ve seen the videos of houses from real estate agents, even radio amateurs with antennas online now. Have you seen those empty warehouses Drone racers –that can look very interesting. Now one drone has caught my attention – it’s called the Umbrella Drone. What? The Umbrella Drone uses tracking GPS technology to follow you around and keeps you dry, or shaded. It knows where you are and follows? Yes, this flying umbrella will expertly navigate itself, so no need to operate it as you move. That’s a piece of technology I hope to see one day. Drone flying, would you believe it, is now an optional subject for Year 12 school students in New South Wales with efforts being made to spread it to other states. The theory, practical and regulatory controls of drones also bring together other skills such as robotics, mathematics, electronics, chemistry, coding and programming. Drones have that ‘wow factor’ for some students. School isn’t what it once use to be! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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 OC-177. A group of Indonesian operators will be active as YE 0 S from Sebira Island, north of the Jakarta City, between March 20-27th. The Sebira Island is the outer-most island of Jakarta Special Capital City District of the Republic of Indonesia. Activity will be on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. An Online QSL Request Service (OQRS) will be used for this DXpedition. Throughout 2017, to celebrate of the centenary of Finland’s independence, Finnish radio amateurs are allowed to use the prefix OF in place of the usual OH. In addition, the special jubilee callsign OF 100 FI/portable district number will be activated by various Amateur Radio clubs throughout Finland. For QSL information listen to operator’s instructions. 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. YET ANOTHER Antarctic operator is Alex RN 1 ANC on the Russian Vostok Station Antarctica where he will be until February 2018. His callsign again, RI1ANC, and during his spare time he will be active on CW, SSB and Digital. QSL Manager is RN 1 ON. And whilst on a role, Francois FT 3 YL is on Dumont d’Urville Research Station, Petrels Island in Antarctica for a one year stay. He has been issued with the callsign FT 3 YL which is valid from 1st December 2016 until 1st February 2018. He will be on the air when possible during his spare time and his QSL Manager is F6KPQ. The Wild Atlantic Way Irish radio amateurs will be on the air in 2017 with special callsigns along a west coast tourism route that passes through nine counties and three provinces. The Wild Atlantic Way is 2,500 km long on the rugged coast overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Some nine callsigns EI 11WAW through to EI 99 WAW will be tied to an Irish county, each offer a special QSL card and award. Information on the year-long event that starts on January 1, is on the websites qrz.com and the Irish Radio Transmitters Society. The Treaty of the Danish West Indies A special event throughout 2017 celebrates the 100th anniversary of the United States Virgin Islands. The EDR HAM Radio Club of Skanderborg will use the callsign OZ100DVI from January 1 until December 31. In marks the centenary the Treaty of the Danish West Indies, sold to the USA and renamed the Virgin Islands. OZ100DVI will be on all bands and include SOTA activity from Saint Thomas Island on the Lake Skanderborg. Further information is on the website qrz.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks Felix, and we should ALL thank the generosity of members of the ARRL-affiliated Western Washington DX Club. Why? Well thanks to that USA club, Pia “Papa Pia” Taraeka, E 51 PT, of Manihiki, North Cook Islands, is back on the after a more than 3-decade absence. His interest in Amateur Radio started around 1962 as a radio operator working for the Cook Island and New Zealand governments. His primary job was relaying radio Morse code traffic destined for the Cook Islands and other places, including New Zealand, Samoa, and Tahiti. Members of the Washington USA club donated the bulk of the radio gear, while K7ADD/E51AMF, helped set up Papa Pia’s station (and another North Cook Islands ham, too). Papa Pia is on CW and SSB, 80 through 10 meters, running 100 W to an all-band dipole. The 75th anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin The WWII event is to be commemorated including the callsign VI 8 BOD that has been issued to the Darwin Amateur Radio Club for a month. There were two bombings of on Darwin, an aircraft carrier used to hit Pearl Harbor in December 1941. It was followed two hours later by 54 land-based bombers from the Dutch East Indies occupied by the Japanese engaged in war in the Pacific. VI 8 BOD will be at the old Qantas hangar in Parap, with home of Darwin's first airport and now an inner suburb. The event starts at Noon (0330 UTC) Saturday 18 February until 9pm, and continues 6am to 4pm Sunday 19 February. It will include the warning message in Morse code as used at the time and received by Darwin from the Mission Station Bathurst Island, before it was bombed by enemy aircraft. The message said: “NUMBER OF BOMBERS PASSED OVERHEAD BOUND DARWIN”. This will be followed by an explanation of the message and that Morse code was the communication method of the day. The station will feed a Triband beam antenna on a cherry picker, 40 metre band dipole from the flag pole for voice communication, with Morse code transmissions using a “squid pole” supported vertical antenna at selected locations. Operating in a public space gives scope for interaction with visitors, and club members able to generate interest and answer any questions about Amateur Radio. The event is due to start at noon from (0330 UTC) Saturday 18th February until 9pm, and 6am until 4pm Sunday 19th February. Many VI 8 BOD contacts both nationally and internationally are expected with the club having the callsign for a month. More information about VI8BOD and the QSL information can be found on qrz.com (Jim Linton VK3PC) World Amateur Radio Day Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the short wave spectrum - far from being a wasteland, could support worldwide propagation. Due to concern noted in the IARU history, Amateur Radio was “in grave danger of being pushed aside.” The pioneers met in Paris in 1925 and created the IARU to support Amateur Radio worldwide. Every year the IARU marks World Amateur Radio Day on 18 April, the anniversary of that founding. The theme is ‘Celebrating Amateur Radio’s Contribution to Society.’ Several IARU member societies engage in events and activities to mark World Amateur Radio Day always April 18 BUT London's getting a sneak preview. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us that "World Radio Day LONDON" was held Friday the 10th of February, between 3 and 8 p.m. local time, just a few months before World Radio Day. The worldwide event is in its sixth year. The London event was a free radio fair hosted by S.O.A.S. Radio, with exhibits, workshops and speakers from the BBC, Refugee Radio Brighton and the University of Sunderland, the event co-hosted by the "Communication for Development Network and Centre of African Studies." So don't despair if you thought you'd missed this year’s World Radio Day, the event proper is April 18. (Jim Linton VK3PC and ARNewsLine G4NJH) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA SPOTLIGHTS 'WIRELESS WOMEN' DON/ANCHOR: The Radio Club of America, the world's oldest organization of wireless communications professionals, has devoted an expanded section of its website to women in wireless. It's not just a history lesson, it's a collection of resources, as we learn from Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD. HEATHER: What does screen star Hedy Lamar have in common with Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor Jenean Hampton, K-5-E-I-B? The same thing Professor Ada Poon of Stanford University shares with former ARRL president Kay Craigie N-3-K-N. They are all featured in the newest section of the Radio Club of America website in an area called "Wireless Women." The section was established to inspire and inform women who are considering a profession in the wireless sector. It also lists resources to help women researching career opportunities and presents the RCA Vivian Carr Award to honour women for outstanding achievements in the industry. The award was named for the former Radio Club president. Perhaps best of all, for the youngest of the YLs, that section of the website lists universities with an engineering focus that also have a significant number of female students. For women wishing to network, the website provide information and links for the best contacts at such professional organizations as the Society of Women Engineers, IEEE's Women in Engineering and Women of Wireless Communications. For any amateurs wanting to turn professional, it's the place to go. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee K-B-3-T-Z-D. DON/ANCHOR: Visit the website at radioclubofamerica.org and navigate to the section marked "wireless women." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER The first of the QB50 CubeSats that are destined for deployment from the ISS are now awaiting their turn to be uplifted to the International Space Station. In addition to the ISS deployments it is planned that there will be two further batches launched using other vehicles. The exact timing of these events is not yet available but, in advance, a fully updated list of all CubeSats involved is available at the link we like in the text edition, best read on wia.org.au look for this week’s broadcast. Also included are the details of their science experiments and their downlink frequencies and modulation modes. The frequencies have been coordinated by the IARU Frequency Coordination team and, generally, all the spacecraft will use 9k6 data rates on 70cms. Download the Excel QB50 frequency spreadsheet here http://tinyurl.com/QB50-Frequencies-20170201 (SouthGate) SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ROAR ROTARIANS OF AMATEUR RADIO The Rotary Club Foundation Centenary VI 100 TRF The Rotary Foundation began in 1917 with a meagre donation of $26.50, to now being able to fund a number of activities for the world including the eradication of the disease polio. Rotary members have supported thousands of projects to provide clean water, fight disease, promote peace, basic education, and grow local economies. The Rotary Foundation is managed by 16 Trustees who are Rotarians and when donations are received, the money is invested for a period of three years, and historically, when investment returns have been strong, each $1.00 has generated $1.05 to $1.10 in monies for The Rotary Foundation programs. Administrative costs are kept very low because much of the work is performed by volunteers Now Rotary is highlighting the Foundation’s work over the past 100 years. Rotarians of Amateur Radio in Australia hit the HF bands for three months from late February to May, with the special event callsign VI 100 T R F. (vk3pc/vk4bb) SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- SUMMITS ON THE AIR Amateur takes unusual route to SOTA Colin Evans, M 1 BUU, from near Haworth, West Yorkshire attained SOTA Mountain Goat on Saturday 28th January on the summit of Whernside, G/NP-004. Colin took rather an unusual approach to his activation of Yorkshire's highest mountain, by constructing his equipment whilst on the summit. Colin had taken a QRPme 20m RockMite kit, a homemade key kit, a home made vertical antenna kit and a gas powered soldering iron along with him. Sheltering from the wind, rain and snow in a small tent, Colin successfully constructed the RockMite, key and antenna in just under 4 hours. The first QSO for Colin with his 250mW RockMite was with N 1 EU near Albany, New York, over 3000 miles away, the three subsequent QSO's were with European stations, satisfying the SOTA rule requirement of four QSO's to claim the activation points. SOTA Mountain Goat is awarded for gaining 1000 SOTA Activator points. (SouthGate) Rewind, a look back on our history SOCIAL SCENE 2017 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 19 VK7 "Meet the Voice" barbecue 11:30am at Ross (vk7cl) The BBQ and presentation of the Sewing Circle Trophy will be held at Ross on the bank of the Macquarie River on 19th March at 1130 hrs. The last item on the agenda will be the drawing of a raffle for a Dual Band Hand held radio which has been donated by an anonymous donor. One ticket will be given on payment of the $5 registration fee and extra tickets will be on sale before the draw at $2 ea or 3 for $5. Please remember that all funds will be donated to a Club for repeater maintenance. Please remember the car boot sale and bring your excess gear along to sell or swap. The car boot sale has been a feature of the event and is a great place to pick up a bargain. If there are sufficient numbers staying overnight on Saturday night they may consider booking a dinner at the local Inn. If you have a portable barbecue please bring it along to help out the food supply for hungry amateurs at the barbecue after the raffle draw. Lastly, please check the website ( meetthevoice.org )and the link can be found on the text edition of the broadcast for this year’s details and previous years pics. http://meetthevoice.org/ (73, Cedric, VK7CL) 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) Sep 9-10 ALARAMEET 2017 in Cairns (vk4swe) Nov 12 VK5 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society HamFest 8am (vk5kc) FINAL FINAL ============================== NEW WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK =============================== The following person has provided feedback for inclusion in next week’s WIA news broadcast 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. To submit audio read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ 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. 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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