JUNE 04 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 JUNE 4 2017. IN OUR 22nd YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA Trial Exams getting plenty of use. - WIA Spectrum Strategy Committee's Roger Harrison VK2ZRH. - WIA new Vice President David Ford, VK4MZ. - THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA 2017 AND FOR WEEK OF JUNE 04 Disaster communications in Sri Lanka flood Torrential monsoonal rain in south-western Sri Lanka last Sunday sparked a flood and landslip disaster with an urgent call for help received by the Radio Society of Sri Lanka (RSSL). RSSL President, Jaliya Lokeshwara 4S7JL got an emergency call from the Road Development Authority (RDA) seeking help from radio amateurs. The RSSL reports that emergency communications were needed to link remote Kalawana, one of the worst hit areas and Ratnapura. All communication had failed, and roads were impassable with only air rescue by Sri Lanka Air Force helicopters. Four radio amateurs volunteers Jaliya 4S7JL, Nadika 4S6NCH, Victor 4S7VK and Dimuthu 4S7DZ were flow to the scene from Colombo. It was a hard task, but within 30 minutes of landing a High Frequency link was established. For two days it coordinated rescue flights, the movement of patients from Kalawana hospital to Ratnapura, and food drops. The emergency link remained until mobile phones were restored and roads cleared. The disaster aftermath continues with the deaths of 177 people and thousands of displaced survivors. ( Jim Linton VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee with Jayu S. Bhide VU2JAU National Coordinator for Disaster Communication in India (ARSI), and Victor Goonetilleke 4S7VK ) OFF WE GO INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER Ham Radio Aviator Departs for Round The World Flight Brian Lloyd WB6RQN Flight Commemorates 80 Years Since Earhart Miami, Florida, USA, June 1, 2017 - As pilot Brian Lloyd propels his single-engine plane named "Spirit" into the sky on a solo round-the-world adventure, he commemorates Amelia Earhart's famous flight eighty years ago on this date in 1937. He is communicating live via radio with Ham operators while flying. The two month flight will follow Earhart's historic route to circumnavigate the world at the equator, which starts in Miami, skirts the chain of Caribbean islands, then along the coast of South America, crosses the Atlantic eastward, and then onward around the world, including a stop in Townsville VK4. While he is in the air, using the call sign WB6RQN, Brian encourages Ham radio operators to contact him on the following frequencies: 14210 kHz 14346 kHz 18117.5 kHz, or 7130 kHz LSB. His HF radio is a maximum power of 125 Watts, and an antenna is slung under the fuselage. He also utilizes ALE (Automatic Link Establishment) on the Amateur Radio HFLINK frequencies http://hflink.com Brian Lloyd's radio schedule is posted on the project's website http://projectameliaearhart.org/ham-radio The public can track his flight on the web, social media, as well as Ham radio. About: Brian Lloyd, 62, is a pilot, flight instructor, engineer, educator, and radio operator. Amelia Earhart website: http://projectameliaearhart.org Press Kit: http://projectameliaearhart.org/press Press Contact: Amy Hartmel, Media Coordinator. press@projectameliaearhart.org ( Amy Hartmel Media Coordinator Project Amelia Earhart) AROUND VK Codha Wireless, an Australian firm specialising in connected vehicle technologies, is set to supply Cadillac with its ‘Vehicle to Everything’ communications technology allowing the 2017 Cadillac CTS to communicate with the vehicles and infrastructure around it. The world-first deal with General Motors' luxury arm will see the South Australian firm supplying Cadillac with the components that will become key safety features going forward, with systems that allow vehicles to observe and report their surrounding conditions, alerting drivers to potential hazards such as crashes, breakdowns or traffic jams before they reach the site of a problem. The technology allows the driver to know what's going on with other vehicles that may be speeding, braking hard, broken down or navigating slippery road conditions and by providing advance notice of the hazard, the driver has time to avoid it by changing lanes or slowing down." themotorreport.com.au/65188/australian-innovation-to-boost-cadillacs-tech-profile Powering the heart wirelessly. JACINTA BOWLER writing in SCIENCE ALERT has told the story attributed to researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) She says "If at some point in your life, you end up needing a heart pump such as a ventricular assist device (VAD), you'll notice pretty quickly that there's a cable that comes out of you and connects the pump to its control unit and battery. But that uncomfortable situation might soon be a thing of the past, with scientists here in Australia producing a wireless system to power VADs and it could reduce chances of infection in the process. Infection often begins at the point where the cable enters the body and is one of the most significant complications of VAD use. The researchers have invented a wireless power transfer system which would limit the need for a constant cable into the body. The system under development includes a lightweight copper coil that could be implanted inside the body to power the heart pump in the body. On the outside of the body, you would have a transmitter and battery which you could wear in a jacket or holster, and on the inside, you'd have the coil receiver – no cables required. Research on the technology has been published in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. https://www.sciencealert.com/new-wireless-heart-pump-battery-could-save-thousands-of-lives OFF AIR IN THE RED CENTRE Alice Springs Amateur Radio Club in the Northern Territory has 2 repeaters on West Gap. West Gap is the site for most of the town's radio and telecommunications antennas and is easily visible from most parts of Alice Springs. VK8RCA, has output on 146.950MHz with CTCSS of 91.5Hz. VK8RIT, has output on 438.525MHz also with CTCSS of 91.5Hz. BUT BOTH REPEATERS ARE INOPERABLE WHILE REFURBISHMENT OF THEIR LOCATION IS BEING UNDERTAKEN ACCOORDING TO A NOTICE POSTED LAST SUNDAY 28 MAY 2017 No word as to how long there will be 'dead air' on these repeaters. ( http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk8/AliceSpringsAmateurRadioClub/ ) WIA BOARD COMMENT WIA Trial Exams getting plenty of use Over the past three weeks 140 people have logged on to register for the WIA trial exams with feedback from them asking that the initiative been expanded. Among these are potential upgraders and people wanting to enter the world of Amateur Radio and are encouraged by what they see. In response Immediate Past Director Fred Swainston VK4FE VK3DAC, has now uploaded two Advanced Licence trial exams and a Regulation trial exam to add to the existing Standard level exams. He advises that following requests, a couple of Foundation Licence exams will join them soon. Fred Swainston VK4FE VK3DAC says the response to the trial was higher than expected and the demand is continuing. The online trials are similar to the actual examinations using the same mix of questions. The system is still being tested but the registration process has achieved the desired result. To log on visit the website www.silvertrain.com.au To register, use the Amateur Radio tab. If you’re already registered please revisit the site for further updates. This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH from the Spectrum Strategy Committee with a plea for help, as foreshadowed on last week’s broadcast. As you know, the federal government’s process for developing a new radiocommunications act is under way, with the Department of Communications and the Arts releasing an extensive package of information on its website right on the eve of the WIA’s Annual General Meeting in Hahndorf. The Department is seeking stakeholder feedback, with a closing date for submissions of 30 June 2017. Every licensed amateur – and even prospective amateurs – are stakeholders. Anyone with an interest – and that includes you – can make a submission to the Department of Communications. A submission is being prepared by the WIA’s Spectrum Strategy Committee on behalf of the amateur radio community. The Committee needs your help to assist in developing the submission from the WIA. A new Consultation page is now up on the WIA website to enable you to submit to the WIA your views on what the government is proposing. Share with us what you feel may affect amateur radio. As the Spectrum Strategy Committee needs to develop the WIA’s submission, our Consultation page for your input will necessarily only be open until the 20th of June. If you haven’t already done so, download the package of papers from the Department of Communications website. The information papers provide a LOT of explanation in plain language, which will help you gain some understanding. Share with us YOUR views on what the government is proposing and how you think it may affect amateur radio. It is wise to remember that nothing is “set in concrete, yet”. It will likely take a couple of years for the transition between what is in place now and the brave new world the government envisages. You can reach the WIA’s Consultation page from the Latest News list on the Home page of wia.org.au This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. Greetings from David Ford, VK4MZ, the institutes new Vice President. Last week we heard from the institutes new president Justin, who told us about the WIA’s pursuit of transparency and membership inclusion. Through an analogy of rowing where the board steers rather than rows, Justin shared that the board will collectively look to its members and committees to support the institute and take carriage of the organisation moving forward. One of our many roles as board members is to ensure that you all have a chance to shape the future of amateur radio in Australia and that the processes of involvement are true and fair. This week, I’ll talk a little about looking forward, a little bit about looking backwards and a little bit about what you can do now. First, looking forward, many of you have been in strategic planning sessions before and they are often extended meetings with much pontification in the form of “where are we now”, “where do we want to be”, and “how do we want to get there”. They can be abstract but they are a vital step in planning to ensure that everyone is working together. They form the goal posts, boundaries and milestones for where we want to be as an organisation. In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are. If we look to our sibling associations the ARRL and the RSGB we see some precedent. The ARRL last performed a strategic planning process in 2015, and before that it was 2009. The ARRL publish their strategic plan on their website and the current plan, 2016-2020, is available at arrl.org/arrl-strategic-plan It’s worth a read to understand what the ARRL has incorporated into their 5-year plan. Over the pond, the Radio Society of Great Britain conducted a strategic planning process this year. Their strategy sets goals for 2017 through to 2022 and interestingly, the RSGB conduct most of its consultations through online forums and polls which enable them to collect quite a range of feedback quickly. Across the globe, other IARU members also now publish their 5-year strategic plans. So what is it? typically, a strategic planning process is top down. It defines a mission, a vision in the context of values, the market and environment. From of all this information strategic goals are defined, and within those goals initiatives or tactics are articulated according to the organisations priorities and capabilities. This can include pricing or product details. In turn, the WIA can use a strategic plan to help its staff, committees, members, clubs and volunteers drive the organisation forward so they are rowing in the same direction. The plan helps all stakeholders know where our goal posts are and how to move towards them. The board is currently setting up the framework for a strategy committee that will oversee the planning process of the WIA’s strategy. Speaking of those initiatives, or tactics, over the last two weeks we have been receiving many excellent ideas through informal channels. To give you an idea, on most days, barely an hour passes without an email or some type of contact about an idea or tactic that the WIA could pursue. Please, keep those ideas coming but please also just keep in mind that with the sheer volume of them it may take board members a bit of time for us to get back to you. In the near term these ideas will be fed into the strategic planning process via a consultation period. The work on strategy sets us up for a solid set of opportunities that will grow the WIA going forward, but what about risks or weaknesses? The Australian Stock Exchange’s Corporate Governance Council recommends several board sub-committees, two of these are Audit and Risk. The ASX regards audit committees so highly that to list in the S&P all ordinaries index an organisation must have one. The WIA doesn’t intend to list on the ASX any time soon, but audit committees are good governance practice. So, another action that we took from the last board meeting is to setup a committee that will review financial matters, audit and risk. This is a more formal committee that considers how the organisation is setup for managing risk, what could go wrong or to monitor if there is something going wrong. In some cases, it will look backwards to learn from the past. So that’s a little bit about how we’re looking forwards, a little bit about how we’re looking backwards, but what about now? Today, there’s three ways that you can help drive the institute forward. First) If people aren’t enjoying themselves then they’ll simply opt out of the hobby. The WIA wants to build a strong community of members that are positive in supporting each other, its members and non-members. We are pursuing a positive culture that is constructive, encouraging and driven by curiosity. The RSGB have a value of pursuing enjoyment, the ARRL one of engagement. So, attend that local club meeting that you’ve been meaning to. Make it fun and enjoyable for your fellow operators, avoid destructive criticism, have a laugh, make some stretch goals and plans. Achieve something great together because together with each of our interactions, making it fun, and pursuing the love of the hobby will cause amateur radio’s population to grow and we all benefit from that. Second) The WIA’s spectrum committee has allot of work ahead of it in the coming weeks as it responds to two sets of consultation processes setup by the ACMA. The first is an update to the Licence Conditions Determination and the second is an update to the Radio Communications bill. The timing of our submission is very short and we must get moving – please ensure that you help the spectrum committee by offering help and by adding your name and feedback to the consultation process. The first step of the LCD consultation and feedback process is currently up on the WIA website. Third) Thank your volunteers that help make this hobby possible. Ask them how you can help at your local club, or at the WIA. Give them a handshake and a waive whenever you next can just to say thank you. So that’s a little about looking forwards, a little bit about looking backwards and a little bit about what you can do now. I’ll leave you with a thought for today that when it comes to radio, that happiness comes in waves. Have a great week. This has been David Ford, VK4MZ. INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, WIA Local News Service VK7, VK3PC and the WW sources of the WIA. No fake news here The Great Windy Plains Radio Club of Kansas in the US was claimed to be mounting DXpedition to a northern Korea. The article claimed the trip was in September, However, a WIA news check with the claimed author Gary WB Zero R U R, found that the report in jest originally appeared on a ham radio ‘humour page’, and he says, it is not entirely true, rather than being to Asia, it was to the small town of Korea in Culpeper County, Virginia. Irish Pirate Radio Museum Ireland has a long and colourful pirate radio history dating back to the iconic events of 1916 and the world's first pirate radio broadcasts during the Easter Rising. For WIA listeners in the Emerald Isle, a meeting will take places at Branigan's pub just off O'Connell Street Dublin, near the Pro Cathedral on June 7th beginning at 7pm. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss plans for a gallery exhibition or a permanent pirate radio museum, how the radio memorabilia should be collected, archived and curated and the most important question, how it should be funded. irishbroadcastinghalloffame@gmail.com NASA has admitted that one of its spaceships was struck by an unidentified flying object travelling as fast as a speeding bullet. It was way back in 2014, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was hit by a tiny object — but lived to tell the tale. The Sun reports the collision caused a strange glitch in the LRO’s cameras causing it to produce images showing “jagged patterns”. Alien hunters spend hours poring over the probe’s footage of the lunar surface and even claimed it has recorded evidence of alien bases on the moon. In this case, LROC did not dodge a speeding bullet, but rather survived a speeding bullet!” NASA also revealed why it took so long to release details of the collision. “Since the impact presented no technical problems for the health and safety of the instrument, the team is only now announcing this event as a fascinating example of how engineering data can be used, in ways not previously anticipated, to understand what is happening to the spacecraft over 236,000 miles from the Earth,” said John Keller, LRO project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre. This explanation is unlikely to convince excitable UFO spotters who believe there are secret alien bases hidden on the moon. But most people will probably take NASA’s explanation at face value. news.com.au/technology/science/space 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 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 VK1 Winter SOTA QSO Party takes place August 6th 2017 9:00 am till 11:30 am. WIA's Flagship contest the Remembrance Day Contest 12th & 13th August Aug 19-20 ILLW the 3rd full weekend in August since 1998 Aug 26 ALARA Contest Start Time 1600 this is a 24 hour Contest for YL's 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 2018 John Moyle Memorial Field Day will be held over the weekend of the 17th-18th March 2018 and will run from UTC 0100 on the Saturday until 0059 on the Sunday. IARU HF Championship event on 15 and 16 July 2018. REPEATERS Peter VK4OD looks after the Data input on the VKHAM Website for all of the VK repeaters, the data there is only as accurate as is received from your repeater personnel. Recently VK4OD was asked to update the data for the Brisbane VHF group Beacons, The attached linked will show what format he has adopted. If you'd like your site to reflect similar just send a message to "Allan VK2CA" saj507@gmail.com http://www.vkham.com/Repeater/brisbane.html Scroll down to the Beacon Data. Franz Josef Land Members of the Russian Robinson Club (RRC) are planning their next Arctic operation. Look for RI 1 F to be active from Victoria Island (EU-190) sometime late September (26th or 27th was mentioned). This island group has never been activated. Activity will be on various HF bands. They plan to have up to 12 operators. QSL via the Bureau. Indian Ocean 6M EME DXpeditions Lance, W7GJ, will be active from the Indian Ocean to focus on 6 meters EME QSOs. West Island/Cocos Island as VK9CGJ between September 12-28th. Christmas Island as VK9XGJ between October 2-18th. MEDIA WATCH Who and Where are our broadcast stations? http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/ Interest in the June edition of Amateur Radio magazine The cover this month is Summits On The Air activity with a picture of Nick VK3ANL on Mt Beckworth. In the WIA President’s Column, Immediate Past President of our WIA, Phil VK2ASD reflects on handing over the reins. No doubt the new Board will set its own initiatives and priorities he says, but the ground work has been done on many important issues. In technical articles there are a two transistor inductor-less regenerative receiver by Peter VK3YE, a 20 metre band WSPR (pronounce whisper) Beacon from Richard VK6TT, and an open source Software Defined Radio by our new WIA President, Justin VK7TW. An interesting piece entitled, ‘They will never die’, is from Steve VK5AIM on the AVO Multimeter. The Contest column by Trent VK4TS looks at the Northern Corridor Radio Group of Western Australia that has been a been a stalwart in contesting for decades. The DX Awards from Marc VK3OHM has the top 30 in the DX Century Club for 2016. There’s plenty of interesting reading in Amateur Radio magazine that has 11 editions a year and is part of the WIA membership services. I’m Barry Robinson VK3PV and you are listening to VK1WIA. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CW FISTS Club - East Asia www.feacw.net FISTS Club - Australasia www.fdu.org.au FISTS Club - UK & Europe www.fists.co.uk FISTS Club - Americas www.fists.org Recommended FISTS calling frequencies (MHz): 1.808 3.528 7.028 10.118 14.058 18.085 21.058 24.908 28.058 The Tableland Radio Group in Queensland has been setting up telegraph displays to restore some of the local history. Its latest venture is for the line that once connected Cooktown to Laura during the 1880s Palmer River Gold Rush. In the late 1880's a railway was built to service the area and the telegraph was moved to be alongside the railway line. The Laura Quinkan Centre now has a map of the telegraph route with a Morse key to operate a telegraph sounder as used by the telegraphists of yesteryear. The Tableland Radio Group has five such units on display, with the others at the Moreton Telegraph Station, Coen Heritage House and the Cooktown History Centre. The Morse keys and sounders are likely around 100 years old, and we said: It’s all about keeping our history alive. (vk3pc Jim Linton) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER ARISS mounts up school contacts The latest Amateur Radio station on the International Space Station (ARISS) event was last Wednesday (May 31) with the Australian Air League at Elizabeth in South Australia. This was via the Santa Rosa Junior College Amateur Radio Club W6SRJ telebridge with astronaut Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG using the callsign NA 1 SS. In all ARISS has had 1,140 school events that give students the excitement of talking directly with astronauts in orbit. Three ground-based mentors have made well over 100 such contacts each. These are Satoshi 7 M 3 TJZ of Japan, Gaston ON 4 WF in Belgium, and Francesco IK Zero WGF from Italy. The Wireless Institute of Australia last month gave our ARISS Coordinator Shane VK 4 KHZ its Chris Jones Award for exceptional contribution to Amateur Radio and the WIA. He has also received a 10-year ARISS certificate, and estimates his station at Glendon a Queensland mining town has had 40 or so contacts. (Jim Linton VK3PC) HOT NEWS THIS:- The surface temperature of the sun is about 5880 Kelvin, or 5605 degrees Celsius — and the ambitious folks at NASA say they want to touch it. On Wednesday morning in the US, the space agency announced the details of NASA’s first mission to fly directly into our sun’s atmosphere. The mission is set to launch in the middle of next year and will put NASA’s Solar Probe Plus spacecraft into orbit within a 6.2 kilometres of the sun’s surface. Sure, they’re not actually touching the surface, but in celestial terms that’s very close indeed. It eclipses the 1976 Helios 2 mission which came within about 43 million kilometres of the sun’s surface. Scientists hope the Solar Probe Plus to be known as " The Parker Solar Probe" will unlock the mysteries of the sun’s corona, the massive hole in the heart of the star. Experts know that the unstable corona is believed to be cooler than the sun’s atmosphere, but have no idea why. It will also provide scientists with crucial insight that could help us prevent, or at least prepare for, a damaging solar weather event. The data it collects will also help in our ability to forecast major space-weather events that could impact life on Earth, such as solar winds and solar flares, also known as mass ejections, that could reach Earth’s atmosphere. DX may never be the same again! The spacecraft and its instruments will be protected by a nearly 12cm-thick carbon-composite shield to enable it to withstand temperatures of 1377 degrees Celsius. news.com.au/technology/science/space WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW ILLW is 10 weeks away The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend will celebrate its 20th year this August. The Polish DX Club is marking the milestone anniversary under the special callsign 3 Z 20 ILLW with six club members at the Jaroslawiec lighthouse. The four storey brick tower lighthouse is Poland’s oldest and had provided navigation for the Baltic Sea and the Vistula Lagoon. In West Malaysia, the Borneo Amateur Radio Club has Tinagat Lighthouse for its first time in the premier fun event and will sign 9 M 6 SDX. There are nearly 200 entries with Germany leading on 40, then Australia 25 and the USA 20. The 30 countries so far including strong registrations from Canada, Holland and Sweden. To register, see past reports or read the simple guidelines for the weekend of August 19 and 20, check out the dedicated website illw.net (Jim Linton VK3PC) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS http://www.raotc.org.au Hallo everyone, this is Clive VK6CSW. Tomorrow is the first Monday of the month, time for the Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australia’s monthly News and Information bulletin. As well as all the usual RAOTC news, tomorrow we have four items of interest: Australia’s first licenced broadcaster, Wireless telegraphy in France How does wireless charging work? Australia’s code breakers in WW2 The principal HF transmission will be on 20 metres on 14.150 MHz upper sideband starting at 0100 UTC, transmitted from Adelaide by Hans VK5YX. Call backs to Hans would be greatly appreciated to assess coverage of this new transmission. An hour later at 0200 UTC Chris VK6JI will repeat the program, transmitting from Perth on 40 metres on 7088 kHz lower side band, simultaneously with a transmission via all linked NewsWest repeaters. Additionally, local relays also take place. Details can be found at the RAOTC website, www.raotc.org.au and as from Tuesday you can download the audio file from this website, together with other details about the club. RAOTC - WELCOME to the Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club ... www.raotc.org.au Correspondence: Please address all correspondence for the RAOTC and OTN magazine to: The Secretary RAOTC PO Box 107 MENTONE VIC 3194 (You’ll have to manually type ... Everyone, RAOTC Members and non-members alike, is invited to listen to this interesting half hour of Old Timer news and information and we hope to hear your call sign amongst the call backs afterwards. Tune in tomorrow for the RAOTC monthly bulletin. 73 from Clive VK6CSW. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING http://www.scouts.com.au http://www.scout.org/jota http://www.international.scouts.com.au Sam VK6KSA is National Jota Coordinator. CALLING FREQUENCIES Please QSY off the calling frequency after establishing communication. Australian voice calling frequencies: 3.650, 7.090, 14.190, 21.190, 28.590, 52.160 World CW calling frequencies: 3.570, 7.030, 14.060, 18.080, 21.140, 24.910, 28.180, 50.160 World voice calling frequencies: 3.690 & 3.940 MHz, 7.090 & 7.190, 14.290, 18.140, 21.360, 24.960, 28.390, 50.160 Calling frequencies for Slow Scan TV (SSTV): 3.630, 7.033, 14.227 Calling Frequencies for PSK31 14.070 JOTA News June 2017 The weekend 21st to 22nd October will be the 60th year that guides and scouts will have participated in Jamboree On The Air, using the magic of amateur radio. Hello again from Paul VK2GX. You must admit that amateur radio has seen many changes, most obvious being the overwhelming uptake in the use of digital modes, over traditional analogue modes, especially during contest. Are you planning to setup a JOTA radio station this year, please give some consideration to utilizing digital modes to enhance the on air experience of our youth member’s. EchoLink is great way to connect with other JOTA stations, either locally or in over 150 countries worldwide, either using a local repeater which supports an EchoLink or IRLP gateway or by setting up your own EchoLink gateway. An EchoLink gateway is easy to setup and allows guides and scouts to use a conventional VHF or UHF transceiver to make contact with other JOTA stations virtually anywhere. All you need is a basic FM transceiver, a basic computer running Windows XP or later, a simple interface between the computer and transceiver, and a basic internet connection. DStar is another network that can provide connections locally or worldwide, again either using a local DStar repeater or by setting up your own DStar gateway. Both an international and VK conference reflector is available. The DMR MARC network is another great digital network to consider with many repeaters located around Australia. The VK MARC group has dedicated state based talk groups set aside for JOTA operations. I would encourage everyone to make the 60th JOTA a year to remember for guides and scouts around Australia. If you would like more information about the digital modes I have mentioned or about becoming involved in JOTA, please visit my web site www.jota.sgars.org. 73 until next time from Paul VK2GX SOCIAL SCENE 2017 June 2- 4 VK4 Theresa Creek Camp-out-day (CHARC) (tarc) June 3 VK3 Melbourne WINTER QRP by the bay 3pm (vk3ye) June 10-11 VK2 Oxley Region ARC 42nd Annual Field Day, Port Macquarie (vk2ztm) June 10-11 VK5 SERG Annual Convention / VK Foxhunting Champs. (vk5dj) July 1 VK3 GippsTech 2017 technical conference in Churchill. (wia events) July 22 VK3 Great Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club HamFest. July 22 Cranbourne Community Hall Clarendon & High St, Cranbourne. Sep 9-10 ALARAMEET 2017 Cairns. Listen for VI4ALARA from July (vk4swe vk3pc) Sep 10 Shepparton HamFest St Augustine’s Hall, Orr St. Shepparton. (vk3fnqs) Sep29-Oct2 VK4 Cardwell Gathering (tarc) Nov 5 VK3 BARG Hamvention greyhound racing track, Ballarat. (wia events) Nov 12 VK5 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society HamFest 8am (vk5kc) Nov 12 VK3 Rosebud's annual celebration of all things Amateur Radio (wia) 2018 March 25 VK3 EMDRC HamFest - Great Ryrie Primary School, Heathmont. (VK3BQ) May 4 -7 VK4 Clairview Gathering ( between Rockhampton and Mackay ) (TARC) ============================== NEW WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK =============================== G'day Graham, Lots of good content, sorry I wasn't able to make the AGM in Handorf. Numbers are a bit low as we have 18 or so of our regulars out assisting with WICEN for the National Capital Car Rally 2M X 7 70cm X 5 Cheers, Amanda VK1WX 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/ We would appreciate items no longer than 2 minutes in length as we only have a half hour time slot window. 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.) Email to vk1wia-news-join@lists.wia.org.au from the email account that you wish the emails to go to. How do I leave this National News List? (unsubscribe your weekly feed) Open mail program which sends mail from the address you want to unsubscribe. Send mail to the list unsubscribe address vk1wia-news-leave@lists.wia.org.au You will be sent a confirmation mail and must follow the instructions given in that mail to complete the unsubscription. Once your unsubscription has been processed, you will probably receive another message confirming your unsubscription from the list, and at that point you should stop receiving messages. National News compiled by VK4BB on behalf of the National WIA. . -------------