March 25 2018 - 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 MARCH 25 2018. IN OUR 23rd YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA Radio and Electronics Convention and AGM, please registernow. - WIA Merit Awards with Peter Clee VK8ZZ Secretary WIA. - WIA attends Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Meeting. - WIA Director David Ford VK4MZ with some “out-there ideas” THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA 2018 AND FOR WEEK OF MARCH 25 Australia will stand for re-election to the Council of the International Telecommunication Union later this year. Critical Comms magazine say the announcement was made in a joint statement released by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, and the Minister for Communications, Mitch Fifield. “Australia has been an active member of the council since 1959. We play a pivotal role in the ITU’s support for communications in our region, especially in addressing cybersecurity challenges." The Ministers said that the Departments of Communications and the Arts, Foreign Affairs and Trade and the ACMA will work together to campaign for Australia’s re-election. http://criticalcomms.com.au/content/industry/news/australia-seeks-itu-council-re-election-1164506878#ixzz5A4db7oWo ISS Astronaut Talks to Victorian Students On 19 March ISS astronaut Scott Tingle and Templestowe Valley Primary School made contact, with Scott answering the many questions the students put to him. The contact was a telebridge between NA1SS and VK4KHZ in Glenden, Queensland. The contact was audible over portions of Australia and adjacent areas on frequency 145.800 MHz downlink. This unique opportunity came about after student and amateur radio enthusiast Archie Toy VK3FTOY heard about the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program (QRZ.com and HeraldSun.com.au) * Writer VK2FKND notes.. " I was able to listen in to Astronaut Scott Tingle, heard loud and clear here in the Hunter Valley. " WIA Don't forget that registrations are now open for the 2018 WIA Radio and Electronics Convention and AGM. You can register today via the online registration form on the WIA website For those arriving at the Gold Coast on Friday evening the traditional informal dinner and get together is being held at Fisherman's Wharf Tavern, which is located near Sea World on Main Beach. The evening meal will be of your choice and budget. On Saturday morning at 9am the formal WIA AGM and Open Forum will take place in SeaWorld's conference centre. This important event will be followed by an eye opening afternoon program themed "Beyond 2020”. At 7pm on Saturday evening the traditional WIA Annual Dinner will take place. The dinner is being held at SeaWorld's Shoreline Restaurant, featuring the restaurants signature seafood buffet. During the evening guests will be privileged to hear from Jeff Johnson VK4XJJ as he talks to us about his walk across Australia with Amateur Radio. On Sunday morning consider trying something different, an early morning Champagne and Breakfast Hot Air Balloon Ride. Consider taking your radio with you and discover how far for you can work from such heights. Sunday morning will also feature tours of the Queensland Telecommunications Museum, a tour of the Surf Life Saving Command Centre, plus a variety of demonstrations and displays of Amateur Radio equipment. And last but not least, for those not traveling back to their home QTH on Sunday afternoon, you are invited to join us for a free BBQ dinner courtesy of the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society. Further information and the Full weekend program with online registration form is now available on the WIA Website. WIA Merit Awards The WIA Merit Award program identifies and recognises outstanding achievement in the field of Amateur Radio that furthers the science of radio, and/or service to the WIA. The Awards play an important role in promoting excellence with nominations made by WIA members and then decided by the WIA Board. Nominations are now being called for the 2018 awards. The WIA Merit Awards include: GA Taylor Medal WIA Honorary Life Membership Chris Jones Award Ron Wilkinson Achievement Award WIA Technical Excellence Award WIA Foundation Licence Award Presidents Commendation A full list of the origin of each award and the previous recipients is available on the WIA web site. The list of the current award recipients and their achievements will be published in Amateur Radio magazine and on this WIA Sunday broadcast. Nominations should be in the approved format utilising the form which is on the WIA web site. Details in the text version of this broadcast. http://www.wia.org.au/members/wiaawards/about/ The specific award is not part of the nomination process. That decision is made by the WIA Board of Directors, and all WIA Merit Awards are not necessarily awarded each and every year. If a nomination is successful, these are usually announced at the WIA Annual General Meeting, and where possible presented at that gathering of members. Nominations close on 15th April 2018. In addition there are also awards issued by the Publications Committee and the WIA DX Awards Committee (Peter Clee VK8ZZ, Secretary WIA) WIA attends Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Meeting The following is a summary of the report from Dale Hughes VK1DSH. The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) is a Regional Telecommunications Organisation (RTO) that, among other things, develops the Asia-Pacific regional view on World Radio Conference 2019 (WRC-19) agenda items. The third meeting of the APT Preparatory group for WRC-19 (APG19-3) was held in Perth, Australia over the week 12 to 16 March 2018. Some 400 delegates from APT member states attended. It is important that the amateur service be represented at these meetings to ensure the best outcome for Region 3 amateurs. Regional views on WRC-19 agenda items (AI’s) are important as the various RTO’s carry considerable weight at the WRC negotiations. The Australian delegation of 47 members was jointly headed by the ACMA and the Department of Communications and the Arts. Australian delegates represented various government departments, statutory authorities, broadcasters and satellite operators. Dale Hughes VK1DSH represented the WIA (and therefore Australia’s amateur service) and Dale was specifically responsible for WRC-19 agenda items 1.1 and 9.1.6. There were many other amateurs attending - Mr. Ken Yamamoto JA1CJP (IARU Region 3 Secretary) was a member of the Japanese delegation and represented the JARL and the other IARU delegates were Mr. Shizuo Endo JE1MUI and Mr. Wisnu Widjaja YB0AZ. The main WRC-19 amateur issue is agenda item 1.1 which relates to a possible new amateur allocation in the 50 – 54 MHz frequency band in ITU Region 1 and therefore is not of direct concern for Region 3 amateurs, however it is important to ensure that any decisions made by WRC-19 on this issue do not affect the Region 3 amateur allocations. As the Australian agenda item coordinator for agenda items 1.1 and 9.1.6 Dale is responsible for the development of Australia’s position on these agenda items and presenting such views at ITU and APG meetings. For APG19-3 Australia submitted input contributions on all WRC-19 agenda items including items 1.1 and 9.1.6 and these contributions were considered in developing the preliminary Asia-Pacific regional views and associated output documents. The IARU preliminary views on WRC-19 agenda items are given in annex 1 of this report. The APG19-3 meeting is midway in the WRC-19 cycle, most views on WRC agenda items are starting to crystallise (incl. Australia) and will be refined over the next two APG meetings. The value of being at APG meetings (either as a member of a national delegation or as representative of the IARU) is finding out the various national views and being able to possibly influence national and regional views. A summary of the main results from APG19-3 is as follows Agenda Item - Issue - Preliminary View 1.1 - Region 1 50 – 54 MHz amateur allocation - Good 1.7 - Additional spectrum for small satellites - OK, but watch 1.11 - Railway systems; possible new allocation - OK, but watch 1.12 - Spectrum for Intelligent Transport Systems - OK, but remains a threat 1.13 - mm wave spectrum for IMT - OK, but watch 1.16 - Additional RLAN spectrum at 5 GHz - OK, but remains a threat 9.1.6 - Wireless Power Transmission for electric vehicles - OK, but remains a threat What is next? The next APG and WRC meetings are planned to be: APG19-4: Korea, 7 – 12 January, 2019 APG19-5: Japan, 31 July – 6 August, 2019 WRC-19: Egypt, 28 October – 22 November 2019 It is important that we attend these meetings to ensure that the concerns of the amateur service are adequately expressed and incorporated in the relevant APG views and output texts. Conclusion APG19-3 was well run and successful; the views of the amateur service were represented in a professional manner and were noted in the relevant APG output documents. Input to future APG meetings through the WRC processes of each national administration (where possible) and the IARU on agenda items relevant to the amateur service is important and such input must be refined to clearly reflect the needs and concerns of the amateur service. Links: A full list of WRC-19 agenda items may be found in Resolution 809 (WRC-15). The preliminary Australia views on all WRC-19 agenda items may be found on the ACMA website. The finalised APG19-3 preliminary views on WRC-19 agenda items will appear on the APT website covering APG meetings under the ‘Documents’ section in due course. https://www.apt.int/APTAPG ACMA details on Australian Radio Study Groups (particularly ARSG-5). Dale Hughes VK1DSH’s full report on the APG-3 meeting can be found below. The IARU preliminary views on WRC-19 agenda items is an annex to this report. Remember 'GOOGLE' is your friend here or go to wia.org.au front page news. WIA Director David Ford, VK4MZ:- Have you signed up for the WIA Radio and Electronics Convention to be held at Sea World Resort on the Gold Coast yet? There’s some awesome sessions and every one of the nineteen plus events looks fascinating. The weekend is so action packed that on Saturday afternoon there are two streams of content running simultaneously. Remember that for everything other than the 90-minute AGM part of the weekend on Saturday morning, non-WIA members are most welcome to come along. It will be held from the 18th to the 20th of May 2018 which is in 8 short weeks. Put your registration in today to help the organising committee further plan for the event, and also so that you don’t miss your chance to attend if it sells out. You can book tickets by following the link on the right side of the WIA website at www.wia.org.au If you are planning a longer stay in the Gold Coast, the Commonwealth Games are only a month before the WIA Radio and Electronics Convention and at the time of recording, tickets are still available. As the Board, we frequently get asked, what can we do to improve uptake, and retention in the hobby. Well like most things, there is a complex answer, and a simple answer. Right now, today, or this week if you’re a club you can act. The first act I’ll call the fun police, the second act big goals, the third, sharing is caring and the fourth, the big question. 1. The fun police, hobbies are all about fun and they are a form of entertainment. If you aren’t having fun, and the hobby is not rewarding, your motivation will fall, and you’ll give it up. That’s the same for almost everyone. Now when we look at many clubs we see they are structured in a hierarchical way. There will be a president, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer and you may have a few other roles. The club will meet regularly, and the typical agenda considers reports from different parties. There may be a presentation of varying interest and then the meeting closes. Sometimes, this could be called fun. Other times, not so much. 2. To introduce new comers to the hobby and retain their interest in an ever-noisy world. Flip the model and empower your club with someone who’s role it is to play the fun police. This is an independent role for your club and has a conflict of interest if the same person tries to perform any other role in the club. Your fun police’s motto is that if it’s not fun, don’t do it, or at least minimise it. If part of your club meetings is boring, then it’s the fun police’s job to respectfully highlight that it’s stale. If there’s someone acting in a way that makes the hobby less fun for others, bring in your fun police to have a quiet and private word with them. In retail there is a theory that unless your bricks and mortar store can create a compelling experience that people love to be a part of without buying something, an experience that’s entertaining and keeps people coming to the store just because they want to be there, then don’t bother with opening a bricks and mortar store at all. If your customer experience isn’t compelling, then your strategy is better pursued online (there are some exceptions). So too this can be applied to hobbies, the experience MUST be compelling, entertaining, rewarding and most importantly enjoyable. Nominate your club a fun police force to make it happen. If its not fun, sideline it. You can do that this week at your club and it’ll pay off. 3. Big Goals, most people like to be part of something big and challenging. So set your club some lofty goals to pursue such as helping someone unfortunate in the community, winning the next Remembrance Day, Oceania DX or John Moyle Memorial contest, why not go for all three. arrange a competition with other local clubs for a weekly fox hunt challenge, run a trivia contest over the local repeater, build a station for your local school as a long-term project and when I say build I mean build with a soldering iron – involve the school in building it. The point is, find a goal that works for your club and give everyone a chance to work towards achieving it. 4. Sharing is caring. Now once you have a club where the fun police have done their job. A club that is pursuing the enjoyment of the hobby with some big goals that gets back to the roots of what the hobby is about, and people really love doing it. The time has come to share the experience. Setup a special open day, make sure the fun of your club is exemplified by showcasing and allowing people to experience Amateur Radio and electronics in an immersive and hands-on manner whatever your club loves to do and invite your kids, your grandkids, friends or anyone else. Get them involved. 5. The big question. An issue that we hear frequently is that it is very difficult to find an exam. With the number of assessors and clubs around this shouldn’t be the case, but it is. So if your club runs exams make sure you have a process setup to respond to exam candidates quickly, and if the process fails have a backup. So that’s four simple acts that your club can start thinking about and discussing this week. Or makeup your own plan. The important point is to ask, why would someone want to take up the hobby and keep doing it? And then give your club members and potential club members every chance to amplify the experience and build a club experience that’s compelling. Once you’ve done that, take steps to remove friction in the experience. Have a great day, I’ll see you at the WIA Radio and Electronics Convention. Don’t forget to arrange your travel and book your tickets soon as its only 8 weeks away on the 18th to 20th of May. Bookings are available through the wia.org.au website. This has been David Ford, VK4MZ with some “out-there ideas” – so go get out there. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, Local News Services VK2, 7 and the WW sources of the WIA including VK2FKND E-licensing The world-wide shift to online amateur radio exams and licensing continues to gather pace, the latest country to adopt it is Indonesia. The new online State Amateur Radio Examination (UNAR) and Licensing system shows the government's commitment to provide easy, fast & transparent services. The implementation of UNAR e-Licensing aims to facilitate the stakeholders, especially the Directorate General of SDPPI as the regulator, the Amateur Radio Organization of Indonesia, as well as the participants of UNAR itself. Taking advantage of E-Licencing, 2 young people aged 9 were among the 291 people who took the amateur radio exam using the new online State Amateur Radio Examination (UNAR) and Licensing system The Indonesian Government regulator reports that Muhammad Raihan Yudhistira and Raditya Danish Pratama were the first child participants in the online exam The article doesn't clarify if the 9-year-olds were actually able to get an amateur license after passing the exam. It appears that the amateur radio regulations in Indonesia ban people under 14 years of age from holding an amateur license. The RSGB is planning to open the National Radio Centre every Monday, starting on Monday the 2nd of April, Easter Monday. This now means that the National Radio Centre, inside Bletchley Park will be open to the public six days a week. The National Radio Centre attracts around 26,000 visitors a year. A new permanent exhibition at Bletchley Park tells the story of the Bombe machines that helped break the Enigma code in the actual location that housed the machines. Hut 11A The Bombe Breakthrough explains in detail the challenges posed by Enigma and explores how Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman and others devised the machine that helped solve it. The Canadian Society, the RAC, have selected Don, VE7DS and Keith, VE7KW, as co-recipients of the RAC Amateur of the Year Award for 2017 for their work that made VE 100 VIMY a part of Canadian Amateur Radio history. The project was a uniquely Canadian special event station VE100VIMY, and the conception, planning, organizing and fulfilment of the project was done by Don, Team Leader and Keith, Deputy Team Leader and Chief Engineer of the Vimy Commemorative Station Society. Together, these 2 guys made the project happen, a project that involved more than 40,000 Amateurs around the world! Still, after 9-11, the "beat" goes on. On 14 February, a 19-year-old gunman shot and killed 17 people at a rampage at Parkland School in Broward County, Florida. Audio released from police voice communication recordings reveal frustration on the part of officers responding to the incident. In particular, complaints about congestion on the air. Stations 'beating' with each other. "I can't transmit for some reason," said one officer. "Just so you know, we're having trouble transmitting," said another. (( AUDIO COURTESY NPR )) Officials say the system was working as intended, and that the users were running into a 'throttling' issue as the radio channel(s) became more and more congested. An in-depth story is reported by the US National Public Radio, including comments from Bill Schrier, senior adviser to FirstNet and a recent speaker at Comms Connect Melbourne. http://criticalcomms.com.au/content/public-safety/article/police-complain-of-digital-radio-congestion-1038948160#ixzz5A4ceeQ83 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 This weekend sees the CQWW-WPXSSB contest running from 00.01 GMT on Saturday to 23.59 GMT on Sunday. SSB only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. (RSGB) April 18 – WW – World Amateur Radio Day - IARU May 12-13 - WW - Mills On The Air June 17 – IARU R3 – 2018 QRP Day Region 3 August 11-12 – VK - Remembrance Day Contest  August 18-19 – WW - Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend October 6 – WW - Oceania DX contest May 12-13 - WW - Mills On The Air You could help bring some life back into Australia's heritage mills by joining the mills-on-the-air scheme. Once thought of as a mainly UK event, the scheme has spread to Europe, and since last year, has Australia as a member. Thanks to the Central Goldfields Amateur Radio Group and Peter VK3CC, Smeaton Mill in Victoria, in 2017, was the first Australian mill to be registered with Mills on the Air. Why not get your club to adopt a local mill - any type will do such as a flour, woollen or paper mill, whether working, derelict or just the site of an old mill. It’s a simple process to register with the originators of the scheme, Denby Dale radio club. This year Bendigo Amateur Radio and Electronics Club will be coordinating the activation of Andersons Mill. There are heritage and festival events being held simultaneously this year at Smeaton and I do know that the National Trust of Australia and the press are taking a great interest in our proposed activities. It's a low key family event and not a contest and is being held on the weekend of the 12th and 13th of May 2018 so you have plenty of time to join in. The website adoptamillacrossaustralia.com.au gives you all the details you need to join in. I'm Tony, VK3KKP. THE DX EDGE Crozet and Glorioso Islands will probably stay rare for now A letter written by Sebastien, F 5 UFX, was sent out to the media this past weekend explaining the status of Amateur Radio from the French overseas territories and their project for an expedition to these Islands. Currently both Crozet (FT/W) and Glorioso Islands (FT/G) are both ranked on ClubLog's "DXCC Most Wanted List", #3 and #13, respectively. DXPeditions seem unlikely due to the many TAAF island restrictions for protecting the birds, ecosystems and safeguarding biodiversity. DXNEWS.COM - https://dxnews.com/crozet-glorioso (sourced to SouthGate) The Zululand Amateur Radio Club, ZS 5 ZLB, are activating ZSFF-0102 - Dlinza Forest Nature Reserve in Zululand March 25 from 10:00 to 13:00 UTC. They will be using the preferred frequency of 7.145 or thereabout. All QSOs will be confirmed by a QSL card. Nearly 100k QSOs for Z60A Before shutting down on 12th March, Z60A in Kosovo had logged 98,450 contacts during its celebratory operations. The 30-day-long initial activation of the newest DXCC entity encountered 30,541 individual call signs in 174 DXCC entities. QSL cards will be printed soon (sourced to RSGB) The EIDX Group are active as 7 Q 7 EI from Malawi to the 3rd of April. They will operate on 160 to 10m using CW, SSB and RTTY. They particularly plan to be active in the CQ WW WPX SSB Contest this weekend. QSL via M 0 OXO. (sourced to RSGB) The Italian DXpedition Team are QRV from Cameroon as TJ3TT from 15 – 29 March. Look for them on 160 – 10m CW, SSB and Digital. Full details can be found on www.i2ysb.com/idt/ (IRTS) WIRELESS WEATHER A 'cracking' surprise geomagnetic storm Last Sunday, March 18t, an unexpected crack opened in the Earth's magnetic field, sparking a brief but potent G2-class geomagnetic storm. Bright auroras ringed the Arctic Circle while, in Europe, the light show descended as far south as Germany. Spaceweather.com explains the phenomenon of magnetic cracks and how you can monitor them online. (Sourced to SouthGate AR News) MEDIA WATCH Amateur Radio and Zombies Sure, ham radio can save lives but....that apparently doesn't count if you're a zombie. The March 11th episode of "The Walking Dead," a popular American TV show, seemed to try to make that point. The episode marked the latest appearance ham radio has made in a TV series - this one being a popular post-apocalyptic drama. Two of the show's protagonists discover an abandoned QTH with radio equipment and a script of messages designed to reassure anyone who can copy the operator's signal. The men also find a corpse on the ground - a zombified man who had somehow suffocated. He is presumed to have been the ham radio operator transmitting those messages. The fact that the deceased ham was relying on good band conditions tells us this is definitely fiction. Stay tuned, perhaps there'll be a sequel - not "The Walking Dead" but the "Push-To-Talking Dead." (Amateur Radio News Online) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER Sneaky Satellites Further to last week's news item about the unauthorised launch of four tiny satellites. The four communications satellites that Swarm Technologies had launched into orbit from India in January, without approval, were designed to test out an Internet-of-Things communications network from space by communicating with ground stations and swapping data for as long as eight years Swarm's application to operate them from space was rejected by the FCC in December, with the agency citing concerns about their possible collision with other craft in space. The FCC noted that the miniature nature of the SpaceBees' technology would make them difficult to track to prevent such collisions. The FCC has set aside permission it previously gave Swarm for its next four satellites due to be launched in April, pending further review of the unauthorised launch. More on this story is available from www.space.com (Space.com) A 3U Cube Satellite, dubbed the HuskySat-1, being developed by the University of Washington and will be launched into A HIGH inclination Low Earth Orbit late 2018 HuskySat-1 is a 3U CubeSat with propulsion capabilities in the form of a pulsed plasma thruster, will demonstrate the capabilities of new technologies being developed at the University and expand the capabilities of CubeSats as a whole. HuskySat-1 will carry a 30 kHz wide 145 to 435 MHz linear transponder for amateur radio SSB/CW communications along with 1k2 BPSK telemetry. The satellite will also transmit BPSK telemetry at 1 Mbps in the 24 GHz band. (Kerrie VK2FKND/AMSAT-NA/RSGB) Lunar Amateur Radio Satellites DSLWP-A1/A2 Mingchuan Wei BG2BHC reports DSLWP is a lunar formation flying mission for low frequency radio astronomy, amateur radio and education, which consists of 2 microsatellites. Developed by students at the Harbin Institute of Technology the amateur radio payload on-board DSLWP-A1 will provide telecommand uplink & telemetry / digital image downlink. The team proposes downlinks for A1 on 435.425 MHz & 436.425 MHz while downlinks for A2 would be 435.400 MHz and 436.400 MHz using 250 bps GMSK with concatenated codes or JT65B. The planned launch into a 200 x 9000 km lunar orbit is June 2018. Further info can be found on the link provided in this week’s text edition of the WIA News Service. http://lilacsat.hit.edu.cn/ (Sourced from the AMSAT News Service bk vk7pd) China's DSLWP-A1/A2 Satellites to Transmit Amateur Radio Data from the Moon China is planning to launch the Chang’e 4 lander and rover which is slated to land on the far side of the moon in December. The lander configuration will use a relay satellite for a control and data link with Earth. (AMSAT-NA) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO ALARA - AUSTRALIAN LADIES AR ASSOCIATION http://alara.org.au Net is held each Mondays on 3.570± MHz, commencing at 1030 UTC. (1000utc during daylight saving) Thelma Souper YL contest It is with a lot of regret that the Executive Committee of WARO has announced the Thelma Souper Contest will not be held this year. No other details were available as we went to air. (NZART) Attracting More Women to Amateur Radio Following International Women’s Day, I spent some time researching for this segment and found myself lost in a myriad of internet threads about how to attract more women to amateur radio. It was the kind of internet rabbit hole that we occasionally find it difficult to extract ourselves from. There was a list of do’s and don’ts, interestingly enough written by a man, and comments about avoiding the double bind stereotype – the stereotype that says women are nice, kind and compassionate, and therefore don’t make good leaders. Then I found a social media site exclusively for women to discuss the issue. https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/2kku8h/encouraging_women_in_amateur_radio_any_success/clmfm84/ Then I found the story of Destiny Cosner, KG5MRD, which illustrates wonderfully how to support a girl’s interest in amateur radio. Destiny writes “My parents are both ham operators back in WA state where I grew up. My dad started a few years before 1980 after joining with the county Search and Rescue team. My mom learned of ham radio from her father, and sometime in the early 1980s she got her license. She joined search and rescue a few years later and met my father. Fun fact: My dad still has his red zone pass from his trip up Mt. St. Helens in April of 1980. He was communications for the scientists going up to the ridge just before it had its major eruption in May of that year. So I grew up listening to all these stories and all the usual radio chatter. Dad was always on the radio in the truck. Mom had a mobile in the car, as well. I still remember one particular evening when I was quite young, talking to my grandparents in Montana from the radio in the back room, and asking when I would get to have my license. Unfortunately, life got busy and I lost interest for a while. I graduated high school, moved out on my own and ended up in Texas. At that point, I wanted to get my license. I didn't have the contacts to find a class or a place to test, so it took a couple of years before I asked the right person and managed to find my way into the world of ham radio.” http://weeklynet.org/ylntx/blog/one-phenomenal-young-yls-journey-into-hamdom Once again links are in the text version of this broadcast I’m Kimberly Olsen VK2KMI for the WIA National News WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS A Youth Net meets Saturdays at 0100 UTC on IRLP Reflector #2. Young Hams Net 3.590 - 7:30pm Victorian time. http://www.ham-yota.eu/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/youngstersontheair http://www.arrl.org/youth-nets 80 YOUNG RADIO AMATEURS FROM 34 COUNTRIES TO ATTEND SUMMER YOTA IN SOUTH AFRICA. The SARL will be hosting 80 young radio amateurs between 16 and 25 years old, From the 8 to 15 August. This is a first for Africa and a first for South Africa to host this major youth amateur radio event. Participants are joining the camp from many European, near East and African countries. YOTA is the acronym for "Youngsters on the Air" and has the objective of drawing together young licensed radio amateurs to learn new radio communication skills, discuss and share ideas about amateur radio and its future. The participants will be exposed to building a transceiver, creating a BACARSat to fly on a high-altitude balloon, learn about each other's cultures and focus on how to take amateur radio forward in their own country. (SARL) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS http://www.raotc.org.au The Radio Amateur Old Timers' Association has been operating GB 6 0OT during 2018 as a part of its diamond jubilee celebrations. GB 6 0OT is active 17 to 25 of March (operated by Simon M 0 TRJ) (rsgb) 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 OR RADIO RESCUES. While being in qso with friends in New York and Germany, Lothar, HK3JCL heard a cry for help and recognised the voice of a friend in Germany. This wheelchair-dependent friend lay immobilised in his home and had used his VOX operated transceiver to call for help, which arrived via Lothar in Colombia and another German amateur in Hamburg, who alerted the local police to the situation. Read more at http://ov-erding.de/ (SARL) SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - VHF AND ABOVE (The Plumbers Delight) Is Spectrum above VHF where the future lies? Radio communications started off on long and medium wavelengths, first on Maritime Mobile spark transmissions and years later followed by AM Broadcasting. After radio amateurs discovered Shortwave DX communications the commercial world rushed down to Shortwaves too to make their worldwide transmissions. In time commercial stations realized that they needed more bandwidth to operate their TV stations and FM Broadcasting stations, which was then available on VHF. With the advent of commercial satellite operation, DSTV became possible on the Ku Microwave bands. But for a small group, most radio amateurs were reluctant to explore these higher frequencies except for repeater operation on VHF. Fortunately, there were several overseas amateurs who ventured to experiment on the microwave bands even as high as the Terahertz spectrum. What has now become clear is that DX can be worked almost daily on EME when the moon is visible, using small portable dishes, low power and digital on microwave frequencies, which could be a boon for townhouse EME operation. (Southgate Amateur Radio News) Social Scene 2018 March 24 – VK3 – D-Star Technical Day Eastern Zone ARC March 24 – VK2 – Club Auction / Sale Day – Wagga ARC March 25 - VK3 - EMDRC HamFest Great Ryrie Primary School Heathmont Mar 31 – Ap 1 – VK2 – Urunga Radio Convention - Urunga With Fox hunts and convention activities on both days, quizzes, raffles, trade tables available, pre loved gear, etc. Getting to Urunga is now even EASIER what with the new Deviation open it also means Urunga is a lot less busy. Why not make it a break from your busy lifestyle and slow down a bit at quiet restful “Urunga” “where the rivers meet the sea”, it's the longest running “fox hunt convention” in Australia. The social gathering for the Saturday night dinner at the Bowling Club is always well attended ( see Ken VK2DGT at the convention ) The Saturday Night Fox Hunt (Fox O.R. 6 Tx's different freq. 2mtr's) was very popular.(safety vests available, may need light) The 2016 convention went off without a hitch and was well attended, with many Fox hunters competing for “Arnold Austin Memorial Award” and the “Brian Slarke Memorial Award” overall for two days. Mobile and Pedestrian Hunts. Venue: the “Senior Citizens” hall Bowra street Urunga Note: The “Pacific Highway deviation” is open, coming from the South, turn into Ballards Road at Valla turn off, travel on old section, it may be quicker to turn in on Waterfall Way North of Urunga. Contact Information Ken Golden VK2DGT. Urunga Radio Convention. Inc. Email: krgolden46@hotmail.com Pn.02 6652 3177 April 7-8 - VK3 - Antennapalooza 2018 - EMDRC, GGREC, MDRC & FAMPARC at Drouin April 22 – VK6 - Hill Amateur Radio Group HARGFest Swapmeet 10-2PM April 22 – VK5 - South Coast Amateur Radio Club Annual Buy, Swap and Sell 10-3PM May 4-7 - VK4 Clairview Gathering ( between Rockhampton/Mackay ) May 12 - VK3 Moorabbin & District Radio Club HamFest (VK3GL) The Moorabbin and District Amateur Radio club is pleased to announce the 2018 HamFest will be on Saturday 12th May, 2018 with doors opening at 10am. This year’s event will be at changed venue – Brandon Park Community Centre, 649 Ferntree Gully Rd, Glen Waverley (Melways map ref 71 C8). The Moorabbin Radio Club’s annual HamFest is proud to be Victoria's biggest with displays and sales of new and preloved equipment. A must come must see event for anyone interested in Radio Communications and Electronics. Major door prizes, free tea and coffee, light refreshments and a sausage sizzle will also be on offer. Trader table bookings and general enquires can be made by emailing Graeme Lewis VK3GL (vk3gl@bigpond.com) or by phoning mobile 0418 171 601. A Must see, must come event!! May 18 to 20 – VK WIA Radio & Electronics Convention & AGM Gold Coast June 9 & 10 - VK5 2018 South East Radio Group's Convention and Australian Fox Hunting Championship – Mt Gambier Jun 9 & 10 – VK2 – Oxley Region ARC Field Weekend – Oxley Radio ARC July 7 & 8 – VK3 GippsTech 2018 The 21st annual Gippsland Technical Conference vk3bez.org Nov   11     VK5 - Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society HamFest Nov 17 VK7 - VK7Hamfest Miena Community Centre (vk7wi) NO HANG-UPS HERE ABOUT ANTENNAS ARNLINE STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We close with a story of a creative homebrew competition in Australia. It's a fun challenge -- that is, once you get the hang of it, in every sense of the word. Here's John Williams VK4JJW. JOHN: When it comes to amateur radio, have you ever felt like hanging it up? If you're in Central Victoria, that option just became a reality. Hams attending AntennaPalooza, a two-day club event next month just east of Dandenong, will be encouraged to enter an antenna-building competition using metal coat hangers. That's right, those very same things you've got in your closet keeping your jackets and shawls from getting wrinkled. Using a pair of pliers and some creativity, homebrew enthusiasts will get to grab as many as a dozen hangers and work their magic. Their goal? To create an antenna useful for the 2m or 70 cm band. Judges will score them on originality, attractiveness, gain and, of course, SWR. This is the first time in its five-year history that the AntennaPalooza gathering has set this kind of challenge. The event usually concentrates on more conventional antennas like dipoles, loops and beams. If this year's coat hangers are a success, perhaps next year they can move on to umbrella stands. For the WIA and Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW. 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. 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