Mar 17 2019 - 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 TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA Please... If you are only submitting text and not audio, NEVER send just links & url's but write your story as you would expect to hear it being read back and then when you upload audio also email us the txt version. ---------------------------------------------------------------------* NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING Mar 17 2019 IN OUR 24th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA calls for nominations for WIA MERIT AWARDS. - WIA Director Harry Edgar VK6YBZ with Board Comment. - WIA. John Moyle Memorial Field Day 16-17 March 2019. THIS & MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA 2019 AND FOR WEEK OF MARCH 17 2019 LOCAL Could this be a new Ham licence for VK ? "Tyro” License Proposal Now Open for Public Comment FCC in the USA has invited comments on a proposal asking the FCC to create a “Tyro” license class that would require a minimal online examination as well as mentoring by an Amateur Radio licensee of Technician class or higher. A “tyro” is a novice or a beginner. The petition was filed way back in August of 2017 by Gary A. Hampton, AD 0 WU. Tyro licensees would earn operating privileges 99 channels in a 70-centimeter “TyroSubBand.” Applicants would have to be at least 11 years old. Hampton said in his petition that one goal would be “reliable, nationwide 70-centimeter interoperability” in the exclusive 430 – 440 MHz segment of the band. “The Tyro license is exceptionally important to FEMA’s CERT program,” Hampton’s petition asserts. The TyroSubBand technical specifications easily double the capacity of typical 70-centiimeter repeaters…” Hampton maintained in his petition that Amateur Radio also “should be used to further scientific research that is published and quickly placed in the public domain.” Hampton expressed the belief that institution of the Tyro license would spawn growth within Amateur Radio, making entry into the hobby nearly as simple as obtaining a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) license. The window for comments on the Tyro license petition will be open for 30 days, ending around April 2019. Keyless chaos in Joondalup as drivers mysteriously locked out of cars. 9 News in Perth say more than 100 have been stuck in recent days, all within 150 metres of the Lakeside shopping centre. Staff at the nearby Ultratune have tried to help where possible, trying various creative methods to try to get people into their cars and back on to the roads. Authorities are trying to locate the disruptive signal. Lakeside management have now put a security guard in the carpark while they try to figure out the problem. It is not believed to be a criminal act but rather an internet router or other wireless device recently installed in the area that is causing disruption. Centre management have now identified the signal but investigators are still trying to locate the device it's coming from. Australia Media and Communications Authority investigators were walking around the car park on scanning shops, but believed the signal was not actually coming from the Lakeside site. They were doorknocking to ask who had installed a new device recently and were hoping the issue would be fixed within hours For the latest VK6AS from NewsWest " Despite VK6 having no resident radio inspectors an ACMA team was dispatched and were spotted prowling the centre as if on an amateur fox hunt. Speculation was rife but it now seems, that the fox that was causing the issues was an LIPD buzzer device being used at a pharmacy. There is no direct confirmation of this but it does appear that shoppers are no longer having any problems. This is Andrew VK6AS. " WIA The WIA has already received a number of nominations for WIA MERIT Awards. The Board of the WIA are calling for final submissions for WIA AWARDS to be considered for the 2019 AGM Details of the WIA AWARDS are available on the web site. http://www.wia.org.au/members/wiaawards/about/ The nomination form is also available on the Awards site. Nominations for WIA Awards for this years AGM close at the end of this month (Peter Clee VK8ZZ WIA Secretary item in text edtions only) Hi, my name is Harry Edgar VK6YBZ, newly nominated director to take up a casual vacancy on the board of the Wireless Institute of Australia. I bring to the board experience in education, business management and law. It is my intention to determinedly represent the interests of all amateurs both federally and in my home state of Western Australia. Affiliated clubs are advised that the third edition of the popular WIA publication "Your Entry Into Amateur Radio" the Foundation Licence Manual is in stock and available free to affiliated clubs for resale or give away. All you have to do is contact the Secretary at secretary@wia.org.au pay the postage and the copies will be sent to you. It’s a great opportunity to make a little contribution to the club and attract new members to the hobby. Don’t forget that the 2019 WIA Annual Conference and AGM is being held at the Park Royal Hotel 150 Day St Sydney over the weekend 24th to 26th of May 2019. There is a packed agenda of interesting technical presentations, visits and other events at the conference. The WIA AGM is to be held on Saturday morning at the Park Royal Hotel and the Conference Dinner is happening on the evening of Saturday the 25th May after a busy afternoon of technical papers and is expected to be a glittering affair. Please visit the WIA website for the link to the conference and AGM information. You can reserve your place at the conference and AGM, or book at a range of selected hotels to meet your budget. Don’t miss this great opportunity to participate in the event and get the latest on what is happening with your Institute. There is still an opportunity to get your technical paper into the conference committee and let us know about the exciting project that you have been working on and are bursting to let us know of your achievements or special interests. It’s all on the WIA website so visit the site and click on the link to get the latest information. I will be attending the WIA AGM in Sydney over the weekend 24 to 26 of May 2019 along with other board members and will be available to chat to anyone regarding the hobby, the WIA or any other matters concerning amateur radio. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. Before I go, I have been requested to let you know that the board is seeking expressions of interest for anyone wishing to join the Standards, Interference and EMR group. Expressions of interest should be forwarded to the WIA secretary at secretary@wia.org.au Thank you. 73 This has been Harry ---------------------------------------------------------------------* INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, RAC, NZART AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE & the World Wide sources of the WIA. Previously we had reported the University of Virginia's CubeSat constellation due for launch next month will carry UHF packet repeaters. However, due to licensing issues, the satellites will operate in non-amateur spectrum at 401 MHz. KQ9P, from the UVA team reports that they are hopeful that their next CubeSat project will carry an AMATEUR payload. GPS Network May Experience Errors in "Week Number" Rollback The GPS network will encounter a small millennium bug of its own in April when the network's "week number" rolls back to zero. This known issue especially could affect those who use GPS to obtain accurate Coordinated Universal Time. In the GPS network, the number of the current week is encoded into the message the GPS receives using a 10-bit field. This allows for weeks ranging from zero to 1023. The current period began on August 1, 1999. On April 6, 2019, the week number rolls over to zero and starts counting back up to 1023. This should not affect later-model GPS receivers that conform to IS-GPS-200 and provide UTC, but testing carried out by the US Department for Homeland Security raised the possibility that some units may misinterpret the rollover, shifting the date back to January 6, 1980, or possibly to another incorrect date. An affected GPS not only may report the incorrect date, but time accuracy that is critical to precise location data could be compromised. A nanosecond error in GPS time can equate to 1 foot of position or ranging error, according to DHS-published guidelines that explain the issue and suggest how to address it. https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Memorandum_on_GPS_2019.pdf USA FCC Takes a New Tack in Combatting Unlicensed Radio Broadcasting In what may be a first in the effort to crack down on unlicensed broadcasters, the United States has filed a civil action to stop a church-related pirate radio station from operating in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts US Attorney's Office is seeking an injunction to shut down the station, operating on 97.1 MHz. "This ground-breaking step, for an injunction to stop a pirate radio operator's illegal activities, is part of our continued efforts to combat illegal broadcasting," FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Rosemary Harold said. "As we work with our law enforcement colleagues to use every tool in our toolbox to combat pirate radio, I welcome the Justice Department's renewed use of its Section 401(a) injunction authority. Along with fines, equipment seizures, and warnings, this action underlines our continued interest in combatting this serious problem." The FCC already has fined operator Vasco Oburoni and Christian Praise International Church $15,000 for repeated violations of its rules against unlicensed operation. The complaint recounts that Oburoni and the church first began operating an unlicensed station on 102.3 MHz. After issuing multiple warnings, the FCC levied the $15,000 penalty, and Oburoni agreed to a payment plan. But later, he began broadcasting again, this time on 97.1 MHz. AMERICAS ITU strengthening emergency communications. In recent years, the increasing number of disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and floods has highlighted the urgency of establishing strong telecommunication systems, which are essential if medics, firefighters, police and others are to provide effective relief during emergencies In the aftermath of disasters, alternative telecommunication systems are often needed to replace normal systems that have been damaged or destroyed. ITU membership has recognized this need: For many years, emergency telecommunications has been a priority in the Americas Region. In 2018, ITU teamed up with regional telecommunications bodies such as la Comision Regional Tecnica de Telecomunicaciones, the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) to set up an alternative telecommunication system for use in times of emergencies. The system does not rely on conventional means of communication such as the Internet, but rather on amateur radio systems. This alternative telecommunications system used is known as Winlink, a worldwide email service that uses radio pathways and is capable of operating completely without the Internet. Winlink is well-known for its role in emergency and disaster relief communications, providing its users email with attachments, position reporting, weather and information bulletins. The system is built, operated and administered entirely by licensed volunteers. It has a proven track record for emergencies. As recently as 2017, Winlink was extensively used in the aftermath of the high-impact hurricane season in the Caribbean and also after the earthquake in Mexico. KOREA The 5G Country Leadership Index has just been released, identifying South Korea as number one. Followed by the United States, other 5G leaders included Australia, Qatar, Switzerland, Finland, Spain and United Arab Emirates. Arthur D. Little (ADL) created the index, which benchmarks over 40 countries. Regionally South East Asia is most advanced, with South Korea using the Winter Olympics as an opportunity to showcase its leadership. The US is among the first to launch commercial 5G services. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are also ahead, while Europe as a continent is lagging due to heterogeneous infrastructure and fragmentation, as well as outstanding/ongoing spectrum allocation processes in many countries. Read: http://criticalcomms.com.au/content/industry/news/australia-3-for-5g-leadership-142421203#ixzz5huXsKU66 --------------------------------------------------------------------* 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 2019 This weekend is the Russian DX Contest. Running from 1200 UTC on the 16th to 1200 UTC on the 17th, it uses CW and SSB only on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands. The exchange is signal report and serial number, with Russian stations also sending their Oblast code. (rsgb) Also this weekend, closer to home:- W.I.A. John Moyle Memorial Field Day 16-17 March 2019 Its main purpose is to familiarise amateurs with working in the field – that is away from the shack and commercial power on all bands. Having said that, there is also a need for field operators to have stations to work. So if you feel disinclined to set up a field station your contribution is still valuable, and will attract points, if you operate from the home QTH. Rules are available on the WIA website under the tab ‘For Members/contests’ CQ World Wide WPX SSB Contest over the March 30 - 31 weekend. 20th Harry Angel Memorial Sprint May 4 Trans-Tasman Low-Band Contest July 20 VK Remembrance Day Contest is August 17-18 -------------- AIMING HIGH FOR SATELLITE HONORS If you've made some memorable contacts using amateur radio satellites here is a tangible way you can remember them. If you like to be busy chasing satellite contacts, now you can chase a little bit of satellite glory along with it as part of AMSAT's 50th anniversary awards program. Amateur Radio Newline’s Skeeter Nash says a number of special awards are being made available this year to commemorate the formation of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation on March 3, 1969. They are the 50th anniversary AMSAT OSCAR Satellite Communications Achievement Award; the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Friends of 50 Award; the AMSAT on HF 50th Anniversary Award and a limited edition of the 50th Anniversary AMSAT OSCAR Satellite Communications Achievement Award. There will only be 20 original certificates available for this last one. This award will be issued to the first 20 amateurs to complete 20 confirmed, qualifying contacts on any satellite. The certificate itself is unique. It is on golden rod paper stock and signed by AMSAT's founding president, Perry Klein, K3JTE, who now uses the call sign W3PK. Contacts must be made this year between the 3rd of March and the 31st of December. For more details about any of the awards or to apply, send an email to kk5do@amsat.org DXCC Most Wanted list updated The DXCC Most Wanted entities list has been updated on Club Log. It contains 340 entities. The top five most wanted are P5 North Korea, 3Y/B Bouvet Island, FT5/W Crozet Island, BS7H Scarborough Reef and CE0X San Felix Islands. Scarborough Reef and San Felix Islands switched places in the 4th to 5th position. The complete DXCC Most Wanted entities list is available at https://secure.clublog.org/mostwanted.php (RSGB) THRU THE DX WINDOW Hans-Martin will be on the air as E51HMK from Rarotonga, OC-013, in the South Cook Islands until the 22nd of March. He will operate SSB and FT8 on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via his home callsign DK 2 HM, direct or bureau. (sourced to rsgb) Somalian op Ali, EP 3 CQ, who works for United Nations in African Union Mission to Somalia, in Mogadishu, is once again active as 6 O 1OO between now and March 24th. 40/30/20/17/15/10 meters using SSB and FT8. QSL direct to: Ali Solhjoo, EP3CQ (sourced to SouthGate) Finally, if you've still got your hopes set on a Bouvet Island DXpedition contact, check out the Rebel DX Group's webpage for this latest update: The 3-Y-Zero-Eye team reports it will be on-board during a two or three-day "sea trial" of its ship, the Atlantic Tuna, which has undergone a major refit for the trip. The website is posting cautions to amateurs around the world: Do not get too excited when you see the ship leave the harbor in Cape Town. As the saying goes, this is just a test. (ARNewsLine) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS -- BALLOONING Radio amateurs to launch balloon at Young Researchers Congress On March 21, an APRS balloon transmitting on 433.000 MHz, callsign DL 9 II-11, will launch from the Youth Hostel Münster on the occasion of the 20th Young Researchers Congress The weather balloon carries a probe with two cameras as well as scientific measuring technology consisting of a pressure and a temperature sensor as well as a Geiger-Müller counter tube. The GPS data is transmitted in APRS format. The mission is led by two students of the University of Heidelberg, and supervised by OM Dietmar, DL9II. Source DARC https://www.darc.de/ via SouthGate WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER AMSAT has secured permission to redistribute orbital data provided by the US Department of Defence Joint Force Space Component Commander for another year. The world's best source of orbital elements for amateur radio satellites will continue via the KEPS mailing list and amsat.org/tle/ Out of This World Auction sponsored by ARISS The ARISS-US team (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) will auction two very unusual items in its first-ever auction ! Picture yourself as the winning bidder and proud owner of a unique JVC Kenwood TS-890S signed by astronauts! Or, you could be top bidder on a special astronaut-signed 6-volume boxed set 2019 ARRL Handbook ! Bidding starts April 8t at 12:00 UTC and ends April 14 at 22:00 UTC. When you bid in this auction you could be the crucial person who helps ARISS launch its new custom-built higher-power radio system with its voice repeater and improved packet APRS and SSTV capability that thousands of hams enjoy. You may be the winning bidder who helps ARISS continue introducing ham radio to thousands of students, teachers, parents, and whole communities—and inspiring students about science, technology, engineering, math, and radio! Don't forget; set yourself a reminder: bidding starts April 8th and ends April 14th. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET, THE HAMS DOMAIN. A known bug with the Apple version of the digital QST app may prevent some users from downloading issues of the magazine. ARRL has confirmed with the developer that version 5.0 of the app, introduced in early February, may produce instances where the app crashes on some devices when the user tries to download an issue of QST for offline reading. (ARRL LETTER) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- QRP and WEAK SIGNAL COMMUNICATION The founder of the G-QRP Club and Amateur Radio author the Rev. George Dobbs, G3RJV died on March 11. He was 75. The good Reverend was reported to have been in ill health for some time and had been living in a care facility, where his condition deteriorated quite rapidly over the past few days. He was the honorary secretary of the GQRP Club (G 5 LOW), which he founded in 1974 to cater to those interested in low-power Amateur Radio communication. He served as the editor for the club’s quarterly SPRAT, was the author of QRP Basics, The International QRP Collection (co-authored with 9 M 6 DXX), and Making a Transistor Radio. He was a frequent Hamvention attendee, and in 2015, he received the Hamvention “Technical Excellence Award.” — (arrl) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* REWIND National VOA Museum of Broadcasting Director to speak on History of VOA-Bethany Station. Event is second in the “The Voice of Truth in America” series with MidPointe Library System. If you’ve ever wondered why the VOA-Bethany Station needed a secured, square mile of land surrounding its 1944 art deco building, Jack Dominic has the answers. National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting director Jack Dominic spoke on the “History of the VOA-Bethany Station and the VOA Museum Today” this week. The VOA museum hosts other free events this year in commemoration of its 75th anniversary of the VOA-Bethany Station, which now houses the Cold War-era history and broadcasting museum. “From World War II through the Cold War, the Station played a vastly important role in transmitting real news via shortwave radio to people living in countries that lacked a free press,” said Ken Rieser, VOA museum board president. “And it all started in Cincinnati, with two brothers who developed the technology that evolved into the commercial radio industry.” The next two MidPointe Library series programs will be “Ride the Radio Waves” a children’s STEM event presented by the West Chester Amateur Radio Association (WCARA). For complete schedules of 2019 VOA museum events, “The Voice of Truth in America,” series, and WCARA events, visit www.voamuseum.org; midpointelibrary.org; and www.wc8VOA.org. (SouthGate ---------------------------------------------------------------------* 2019 Social Scene VK7 - Meet the Voice event at Ross March 23-24 (vk7news) VK4 - Redfest 2019 April 13 (vk4tfn) VK6 - HARGfest April 14 (vk6zms) VK5 - BRL Radio Group Annual Gathering, Overland Corner, S.A April 6 (vk5la) VK3 - Moorabbin & District Radio Club HamFest 2019 Saturday 11th May. VK 2019 WIA Annual Conference Sydney weekend 24-26 of May. (wia) https://www.wia.org.au/joinwia/wia/2019agm/ VK5 - South East Radio Group 2019 Annual Convention and Australian Fox Hunting Championships 8-9 June (vk5hcf) VK3 - GippsTech 2019 13'14 July (vk3pf) VK3 - Yarra Valley Amateur Group HamFest, 13th October (vk3cnw) VK3 - Ballarat Amateur Radio Group, BARG Hamvention Oct 27 (vk3kqt) 2020 Social Scene ALARAMEET 2020 Bendigo (vk5yl) October 2020 in Bendigo Victoria. Heidi VK3FHID and Jenny VK3WQ are leading the team who are planning an eventful weekend. This team is meeting regularly and are looking forward to seeing you in Bendigo. Submitting news items If you would like to submit news items for possible inclusion in the VK1WIA broadcasts, please email your item in text to nationalnews@wia.org.au and don't JUST send url's links or posters, 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. 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 it in the 3rd person. A reminder when supplying HamFest info we obviously can't plug DEALS from commercial traders "on air", but we at the WIA will put your supporters 'goods' in this text edition "no worries." We cannot give blatant 'plugs' to raffles. (new Jan 2019) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* ===================================================================== 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 WIA affiliated clubs and 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 IF broadcast, are done so 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... If you have call-backs to contribute to the National News call back tally then please send through your call-backs to callbacks@wia.org.au 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:- callbacks@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 from. Send unsubscribe 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------*