OCT 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 OCTOBER 29 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 OCT 29 DISCUSSION POINT RADIO AMATEURS SHOULD KEEP UP WITH MODERN TIMES so say's the South African Radio League Radio amateurs made their mark in history when they discovered worldwide HF communications while using radiotelegraphy, which is the correct term for CW. 10 years later they discovered VHF propagation beyond the line-of-sight to the surprise of the radio experts. Our early radio amateurs were true experimenters, researchers and pioneers and they advanced amateur radio technology in their time. Today many of our modern breed of radio amateurs are no longer interested in experimenting but only having fun with a radio hobby. As the SARL point out many shortwave broadcasting stations have closed and commercial stations relocated to the satellite frequencies on SHF where DSTV is well established. This includes the maritime mobile service that used many HF bands and radiotelegraphy on their sea lanes, until they also moved to satellite and now communicates via voice and digital. It is the VHF, UHF and SHF spectrum that is now in great demand by the commercial radio world. All this does not mean that radio amateurs should abandon HF or CW, but we should rather try and keep up with radio developments and increase their knowledge of the VHF spectrum and the frequencies above, where the future of radio lies including the digital communications. The IARU is already concerned about the lack of interest in amateur radio by the younger generations and if it stops growing then its survival is doubtful. The younger generations are very computer literate and their interests are a lot different than the old-timers of yesteryear and the RAE should reflect it. Amateur radio service needs a Renaissance, the first step is to break away from this hobby attitude and to realize that it is an amateur radio science with which to experiment, research and pioneer. Secondly, the amateur radio service should broaden its field and include radio astronomy for future space communications, which currently can cover a communication distance of more than 21 billion kilometres from Earth. A wider radio field enhanced by the latest radio technology will be more exciting, attractive and have a far greater appeal to the new generations with their open and inquiring minds. They will become fully exposed to the new era of space travel within the next decade and this could extend the lifespan of amateur radio service for another 100 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello from David Ford, VK4MZ The more things change, the more they stay the same. Today, I bring you some thoughts on the future of the hobby. Heinrich Hertz proved the existence of radio waves in 1888, or in those days Hertzian waves, and soon after, with the aid of his assistants, Guglielmo Marconi began to conduct experiments in his attic. At the time, Oliver Lodge had predicted that Radio waves would only transmit up to 800 meters. As people experimented with radio they gathered together to share ideas, equipment, their successes, and their failures. They formed ad-hoc groups that worked towards a common goal. Even Marconi, after sharing ideas with fixed wire telecoms technicians, learned a trick. That by grounding his shack he could extend the range of his transmissions. In the process, he destroyed the common convention of a limited 800-meter transmission range by transmitting over 3.2km. Within a couple of years his experiments had taken the range out to 6km, then 16km and from there the hunt for DX was on. His first message was either accidental, or profound, it was simply are you ready?. With that message he changed the future of communications. A few years later we see the first Amateur Radio experimenters coming together and forming groups like the Wireless Institute of NSW and the now Amateur Radio Victoria. Fast forward some 75 years to the 1970s and we see a groundswell around the personal computer. A similar story ensues, groups form and collaborate to propel the technology forward. Ed Roberts and Forest Mims bring to market a kit for a pc which can be built at home; the Altair 8800. Inspired by the Home Brew Computer club Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs begin collaborating and building the Apple 1. At the same time, Paul Allen and Bill Gates build the Basic interpreter for the Altair PC Kit, from there they build Microsoft. Again, hobby groups form to share ideas, equipment and to experiment. Humans have a natural percentage of the population who find pushing the boundaries of technology exciting and sharing the experience accelerates results and makes it more rewarding. They form groups that prosper. 20 years later, in the 90s it was the explosive expansion of the internet and a similar pattern forms. Hobbyists collaborate, form ad-hoc groups and share experiences and goals. The same thing occurred around mobile technologies and open source software and there are countless more examples. It is a time-tested trend. When it comes to experimenting with technologies, likeminded people working together towards a common goal always has, and always will exist. It is an inevitable part of human nature and the progression of civilisation. It’s fun and exciting. It is the reason many of our WIA affiliated clubs were setup in the first place. Delloitte published a paper in 2013 summarising the impact of the maker movement. It predicts that the maker movement will be a high proportion of the future workforce and that the maker movement is more influential in delivering market transforming innovation than corporate lead initiatives. Today it is the maker groups, fablabs, hackerspace, hack labs and Mens Sheds groups that take the lead. Hackers in these communities are not always someone that manipulates systems to perform nefarious and illegal activities, they are instead someone who can manipulate systems to do something out of the ordinary that they want them to do, typically with very positive outcomes. For example, Topher White of Rainforest Connection uses recycled mobile phones to monitor for illegal chainsaw activity across thousands of acres of rainforest to effectively reduce deforestation. Lets step inside one of these groups to understand how they form. C-Base in Berlin is regarded as one of the oldest communities in existence. It started from 17 people getting together to discuss ideas, work on projects together and advance their collective skills relating to computer software, hardware and data networks. They started to meet virtually in chat rooms and bulletin boards and eventually gathered enough following to secure their own premises in Berlin. Here they hold events, workshops, training sessions, run projects and competitions. C-Space was the birth place of a political party that won 8.9% of the vote in the 2011 Berlin state election granting them 15 seats in parliament. The groups form on their own, they are self-managed, they do not comply or operate according to an overseeing body. They move from meeting virtually, through email and in private residential premises, to having their own space. As a grass-roots movement securing space is a monumental step. In the USA there is the company TechShop that has commercialised the movement by charging for access to space and equipment to build DIY projects in a shared and supported environment. The current price for membership is between $125 and $180 US dollars per month. They have 10 locations across the USA and are expanding at a high rate. Marketing Amateur Radio to non-amateurs is like marketing features instead of benefits. Features only work with prospects that already understand them. Amateur Radio is the hobby, the feature, but the benefit is working together on building and exploring exciting technology. At the most recent IARU meetings where they discussed growing the hobby, the feedback from youth observers was that groups should be supported to self-manage and self-organise. That they valued autonomy. Also, activities that were competition driven were shown to resonate most strongly with younger groups and cause them to gather around a common cause. The Rotary sponsored Rotaract group caters for 18-30-year olds and is intentionally setup as being self-managed and self-governed. For Rotaract, Rotary merely facilitates as an umbrella organisation. Rotaract has almost 10,000 clubs, 300,000 members, and 180 participating countries. So, is this the future? The WIA and affiliated clubs facilitating and hosting self-governed groups and clubs to meet physically and virtually. Facilitating the sharing of experiences, projects and equipment in pursuit of common goals, pushing the boundaries of technology. Using modern communication techniques to rally, build communities, support interest in the hobby and explore new areas. Is it the future? Perhaps. Feel free to send feedback via email to VK4MZ@wia.org.au. This has been David Ford with a few thoughts, have a great day. —————————————————————————————————— 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. Imminent shutdown of seven repeaters South Yorkshire Repeater Group in the UK have taken the unprecedented decision in ham radio circles to close down their entire repeater network. Due to a number of factors, they say they cannot continue to provide the service but that the move was not taken lightly and appreciate this loss will impact on one hell a lot of amateurs. FCC affirms huge fine in New York interference case The FCC has affirmed a huge fine of more than $400,000 on a Queens, New York, man who has admitted to making unauthorized transmissions on New York City Police Department radio frequencies, maliciously interfering with officers’ communications. The FCC had sent a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) last April 14 to the perpetrator, aged 20, who is alleged to have transmitted false bomb threats, false claims of criminal activity involving firearms, false distress calls from purported NYPD officers, and threats against individual NYPD officers. The unauthorized transmissions began in 2016, according to the FCC. The FCC has calculated the precise forfeiture at $404,166. CTU’s Secretary General comments on Amateur Radio Bernadette Lewis, Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunication Union was interviewed during ITU’s World Telecommunication Development Conference 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina When asked 'how crucial is Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in assisting countries to implement disaster risk reduction measures' Ms. Lewis replied 'ICTs are critical to the process, in terms of the preparation even as the disaster is happening and in the recovery. We have been contemplating the rule of Amateur Radio, for example, they have been a staple, a significant element of the communication that takes place during and immediately thereafter and I think that in the Caribbean we need to cultivate a new generation of ham operators, I don’t know if this is the situation across the world but we absolutely need to do that. Seee IARU Region 2 http://iaru-r2.org/ Norway's national amateur radio society NRRL report they are now recorded in the Common Resource Register used by the main rescue centers and the police. Part of the NRRL report reads: A common resource register, which is used by, among others, the main rescue centers and the police for an overview of the operational resources that can be used in various events has been developed. The operational resources of NRRL are now registered in this registry and the authorities can therefore easily get an overview of what hams can deliver in different crisis situations. In resource registers, resource owners and resource users exchange data on their capabilities and get an overview of available resources. By insight and common understanding of situations, resources can be exploited efficiently, and one can achieve significant time savings. ROUNDUP BY RADIO Time to saddle up for this story which combines ham radio and.... horse rescue! For that tale, we turn to Mike Askins KE5CXP. It's no secret that hams are good at finding things. There are the hidden transmitters deployed in fox hunts. There are missing persons at massive public gatherings. And then there is the story of Melody the horse. The mare went missing last month from an Arizona campground where a group of horse owners from Phoenix had been staying. This called for a very special kind of roundup - one horse and a team of amateur radio operators including those from the Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association. The hams learned of the missing equine during their regular 7 a.m. meetup on the Knobby Knee Net. Net control op Bill Burkett KE7IXS took the radio call from one of the campers, Greg LaCrosse K1GRL, and that set the search in motion - not just on the ground, but in the air and yes, even in the saddle. Jeff Upshaw KC7UYY, a local horseman, rode out to the trailhead with other mounted searchers. Mike Mladejovsky WA7ARK flew in with his Cessna Skylane aircraft and took Melody's owner Marcy aboard. The team's search had gone into its 10th fruitless hour when finally Marcy spotted her horse down below the plane and pilot Mike radioed the searchers on the ground. Kenny Westmoreland KG7YVM and Jeff hiked to a flat-topped mountain where they caught up with Melody and led her to safety. As in all westerns with happy endings, they headed off together into the sunset. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 FISTS CW Contest October 28 ‘Key to Success’ November CQ WW DX / CW CONTEST November 26-27. 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. The 21st International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is on August 18 to 19, 2018 If you want to work Kuwait, be listening for Abdallah, 9 K 2 GS who here in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest this weekend 28 and 29 October He'll be using the call sign 9 K 2 K. Be listening as the Liberia Radio Amateur Association hosts three IOTA enthusiasts between the 30th of October and the 3rd of November for the first activation of Baiyah Island, a new IOTA designation, AF-111. Col MM 0 NDX will operate as EL 2 EL; David Deane EI 9 FBB will operate as EL 2 BB and Jeremy Sheehan EJ 5 GM will operate as EL 2 GM. This is described as the first Islands on the Air operation from the island. The DXpedition call sign will be 5 L 3 BI. PAPUA NEW GUINEA, P2. Roly, is QRV as P29RR until November 6. Activity on 40 and 20 meters using CW, JT9, JT65 and FT8. QSL to home call ZL 1 BQD QSL News VI 7 BLT 50 info needed The VK7 QSL Bureau is holding a QSL card from a JA station for a QSO with special event callsign VI 7 BLT 50 (50 years after Battle of Long Tan). Would anyone knowing who may have used this callsign please contact Herman the WIA VK7 inwards QSL card manager at email: VK7HW@wia.org.au WIRELESS WEATHER TRY SOME 50 MHz SKEDS DURING THE LIGHTNING SEASON Well this is what the SARL are saying in their recent news bulletin. The Johannesburg area apparently is renowned for their late afternoon lightning storms, so this seems to be a great time to experiment with lightning scatter propagation. Of course, only stations OUTSIDE the lightning area would be able to participate, as those inside this area will have their antennas grounded. clear FM broadcasting signals have been heard for about ten seconds or so over distances of about 450 km, after lightning flashes during a distant thunderstorm. Skeds are being arranged in South Africa with amateurs outside the thunderstorm area, making brief CQ calls after a lightning flash or radio burst and listening during the next burst and so forth. It would be interesting to find out how directional the ionized trails of lightning are. So, who would take up the challenge and establish that first lightning scatter contact on 50 MHz? (sarl) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEDIA WATCH Who and Where are our broadcast stations? http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/ Inside the pages of Amateur Radio magazine for November On last week’s broadcast we told you how the magazine had in the WIA Board comment the call for volunteers, and the coverage given to Amateur Radio Direction Finding. Now we will look at some of the other reading that is offered. In the Editorial Peter Freeman VK3PF talks about Technology advances and the ‘joys’ of noise, referring to the increased noise floor level. From the WIA QSL Bureau’s John Seamons VK3JLS is the first of his semi-regular column devoted to aspects related to the WIA QSL Bureau, as the WIA QSL Card Committee considers a number of issues related to how possible improvements. An interesting story is by Paul Roehrs VK5NE about Amateur Radio from a Retirement Estate. A technical article is by Jim Henderson VK1AT on a 35 to 4400 MHz Signal Generator. The ALARAmeet held in tropical Cairns has a report illustrated by 21 pictures. In Contests by Trent Sampson VK4TS he names the contester of the month as Stu Dunk VK4SDD, and includes a few tips for contesting. Also covered are the columns on WIA Awards, DX Talk, SOTA & Parks, and VHF/UHF An Expanding World, The WIA journal Amateur Radio magazine is a WIA membership service. This is Barry Robertson VK3PV – and you are listening to VK1WIA. 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