SEPTEMBER 29 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 SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 IN OUR 24th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS Changes made to amateur licence conditions USA Exams System Endorsed by ACMA The ACMA releases final 5 year spectrum outlook It sounds a bit like an ACMA kind of weekend, however, THIS & MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA AND FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 There's so much going on at the moment that we've had to change the way we do things a bit. First off... In WIA Front Page News.... Changes have been made to amateur licence conditions This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH from the WIA Spectrum Strategy Committee. On the 21st of September, the Australian Communications and Media Authority arranged for the world to come to an end. Or, perhaps they arranged for the world to have a new beginning. The A C M A has published changes to the Amateur licence conditions, set out in its “Omnibus Amendment Instrument 2019”, Number 1. The changes have been in effect from 21 September. In summary, the chief changes are as follows: All restrictions on emission modes have been removed for all licensees; Restrictions on permitted transmission bandwidths have been removed for all licensees across all bands allowed for each grade pf licence, with the exception of the 2200 metre and 630 metre bands, which only Advanced licensees can use; The impact of these two changes is that – from now on – all licensees are now able use any transmission mode – including those not yet invented – provided the transmission remains wholly within the band being used! However, the A C M A has seen fit to retain the three-tier licensing structure of Foundation, Standard and Advanced. There are no changes to the bands permitted for each licence grade and the power limits have been retained: 10 watts for Foundation, 100 watts for Standard and 400 watts for Advanced. But – and this is a big but – all the contentious restrictions on Foundation licensees that have long been viewed as a general hindrance to precious new entrants to the world of amateur radio, have been removed. Foundation operators can now build and use their own transmitters and transceivers, they can operate their rig using computer control and automatic mode (think – WSPR) and explore the wonderful world of digital modes – even more so once the 7-character callsign issue is addressed (more on which, later). Further, still – Foundation operators can allow unlicensed buddies to use their station; one presumes while the licensee is present in the shack. Among other details, further geographic restrictions on the use of the 3.6 GHz band have been advised, to the chagrin of microwave operators across the land. As callsigns are not part of amateur licence conditions – even though we all have to have one – the unfortunate issue that some digital transmission modes cannot accommodate the 7-character Foundation callsigns will need to be addressed later in the course of the ACMA’s Five-year workplan – hopefully, sooner rather than later. Undeterred, the DMR network has quickly responded to enable Foundation operators to get their ID, and FT8 has been getting a hammering on various bands from the day the ACMA announcement hit its website. The matter of access to the 5.3 MHz band for Advanced licensees will be the subject of a discussion paper to be released shortly. All that work, since 2014, on gaining improved licence conditions has come to fruition. But, like the Curate’s egg – it’s good in parts. And like that Year 7 report card says – more work needed. This has been Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. ---- The USA Exams System has been Endorsed by ACMA Here's Robert VK3DN to fill us in. The ACMA contacted the WIA on 23 September 2019 to advise that they are reinstating the reciprocal arrangement for US licence holders. The reinstatement follows a period of suspension of reciprocity precipitated by a complainant objecting to the granting of VK licences. The WIA believes that irrespective of the motivations of the complainant to raise their objections, the impact of the suspension was only to increase barriers to entry to Amateur Radio in Australia. The reciprocal licence is valid only for 12 months from issue and the ACMA advised it cannot be renewed or extended, unless the recipient passes the local regulations examination. Volunteer Examiners Australia (VEA) has been active in helping ACMA with the review as it was imperative the current system remained intact. For the background on this story, check out the text edition. ---- The ACMA has released its final 5 year spectrum outlook. 5 MHz Amateur Allocation The last World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 introduced a secondary allocation for the amateur service in the frequency band 5351.5-5366.5 kHz with a maximum radiated power of 15 W (EIRP) . While the allocation IS included in the Australian Radiofrequency Spectrum Plan, the ACMA is yet to consider the technical feasibility and associated technical conditions that could support operation in Australia. The band is currently used here by some emergency service and law enforcement organisations for mobile operations. The Department of Defence also uses these frequencies in support of key capabilities. Stakeholder views were varied, with OPPOSITION to the allocation from the Department of Defence, due to the potential for interference to its systems. Activities planned for 2019-20 With a range of existing uses currently supported in the band, the ACMA intends to publish a discussion paper in Q1 2020 seeking industry views on implementation issues, including appropriate technical conditions and in which part of the band the amateur service could be supported. The document reveals further losses of Amateur Bands to the 5G telco services. The document, known as P68, indicates that a Syllabus Review Panel will be established in Q4 2019. The ACMA also advised that following review of submissions on amateur licence conditions in 2018-19, it will continue to consider the "fitness for purpose" of existing arrangements. The ACMA expects to consult further on these arrangements in Q4 2019. ---- In Amateur Radio, there's a new Mountain Goat! Col VK3GTV will have more on that in Special Interest Group News. ---------------------------------------------------------------------* No Board Comment 29th September 2019. ---------------------------------------------------------------------* INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, RAC, NZART AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE & the World Wide sources of the WIA. (JASON VK2LAW) ----- AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT COMMITS TO JOIN NASA IN LUNAR EXPLORATION AND BEYOND. Our Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced we will join the United States' Moon to Mars exploration approach, including NASA's Artemis lunar program. The announcement took place at a ceremony Saturday at NASA Headquarters in Washington during which NASA Deputy Administrator, Jim Morhard, and Head of the Australian Space Agency, Megan Clark, signed a joint statement of intent. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Australian Ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey, and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse Jr. also participated in the ceremony. The statement foresees potential Australian contributions in areas of mutual interest such as robotics, automation, and remote asset management similar to that currently used by Australia in mining operations and builds on a unique history of space cooperation between the U.S. and Australia that dates back to the Apollo era. As part of Australia's commitment to partner with NASA, more than triple the Australian Space Agency budget has been pledged to support Artemis and "Moon to Mars". "We are honored by today's statement and the commitment of our friends from Australia to support us in our mission to return to the Moon by 2024 with the Artemis program, Morhard said. "The strong relationship between NASA and the Australian Space Agency affirms NASA's commitment to establish sustainable exploration with our commercial and international partners by 2028". (Southgate) For information about the Australian Space Agency, visit: https://www.space.gov.au For more information about the Moon to Mars exploration approach, visit:https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars ---- RADIO STATION WWV TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS. Standard Time and Frequency station WWV Colorado USA celebrates its centenary on October 1. Radio amateurs have been asked to participate by taking measurements and sharing their results. The Colorado USA daily newspaper Reporter Herald says: The world's oldest licensed radio station, which operates from a location just north of Fort Collins USA, will turn 100 years old on Oct. 1 That may sound like a long time for a radio station, but WWV specializes in time. The radio station is best known for the broadcast of the national time standard the atomic clock which is closely synchronized with Coordinated Universal Time, the measure by which clocks are synchronized throughout the world. It also has played an important role through the years setting frequency standards for "other" radio operators. "In those early days of radio, people didn't know where they were on the dial",Dave Swartz of the WWV Centennial Committee said. And WWV saved the day, many-a-time. (Southgate) ---- IP ADDRESS SALES BENEFIT ARISS BUT BRING CHANGE TO Germany's HAMNET One of the items of great concern at the HAMNET conference which has just concluded in Passau, Germany is the recent unexpected sale of the upper portion of the AMPRNet address range that includes IP addresses that have been used in Germany's HAMNET amateur microwave data network. Amazon Web Services recently purchased one quarter of the IP version 4 address range for commercial use on the internet. For DL HAMET, this means that all addresses customarily used by participating amateurs must be relocated to another range. At the conference , the IP coordination team discussed the transition that will have to happen in the wake of the reported $16.8 million US dollar sale by Amateur Radio Digital Communications. The ARDC, which is a non-profit organization supporting radio experimentation, says on its website that the sale of the estimated 4 million addresses will help them generate funds for their philanthropic efforts. More on this story from the link in the text edition of this news. (FUNK TELEGRAMM, AMPR.ORG) ---- YLs HELP CULTIVATE CROP OF NEW OPERATORS IN JAPAN Members of the Japan Ladies Radio Society believe that meaningful contacts on the air often start with meaningful contacts in person. That's exactly what happened at the Tokyo Ham Fair in late August when newly licensed YLs stopped by the group's booth for guidance on their shacks or getting started on the air. The group's DX chair Yukiko Maki 7K4TKB said that the radio society had introduced a mentoring program for newcomers last year, so they were more than ready to help. She said there are many YLs who do not know what to do next after obtaining their operator licenses, and sometimes they hesitate to ask for help in the male-dominated world of amateur radio. The mentoring program is called "Wakaba {WAH-kah-bah} Support," because "wakaba" {WAH-ka-ba} in Japanese means both "young leaf" and "newcomer." With hard work and the support of this new mentoring program, many of these young "leaves" can soon hope to "blossom" into active operators. (YUKIKO MAKI 7K4TKB) ---- The ARRL AD HOC LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY COMMITTEE TO MEET WITH LAWMAKERS. In the USA the ARRL's Ad Hoc Legislative Advisory Committee is to shortly meet with several members of Congress in Washington to introduce new Committee members, re-acquaint the lawmakers with Amateur Radio's most-pressing issues, seek their input on the best ways to achieve ARRL's objectives in Congress, and request their continuing support. Committee members have completed a comprehensive analysis of Amateur Radio Parity Act deficiencies for dissemination to Amateur Radio's backers on "The Hill". The panel is following up on this process. Pacific Division Director and Committee Chair Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT nailed it when he said "public policy should clearly favour the needs of the Amateur Radio operator." Amateur Radio's role in public service and emergency communication will be the Committee's strongest argument in seeking relief from private land-use restrictions that limit amateurs' ability to operate effectively. The Committee will analyze the outcomes of the meetings and draft a report with recommendations for the ARRL Executive Committee to review and consider at its October 12 meeting. The full Board is expected to take up the issue at its January 2020 meeting. (Southgate) --------------------------------------------------------------------* UNLIKELY PROMOTION OF AMATEUR RADIO (Justin VK7TW) (Justin's audio) Unlikely Promotion of Amateur Radio The latest ABC Radio National podcast - Science Friction with a title of "from bioerror to bioterror - does synthetic biology give new tools to terrorists? Part 2" seems like an unlikely source of promotion for amateur radio. US Army Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Emmanuel uses the example of ham radio as a technically based do it yourself community that have existed over the last 100 years.