2020 SEPTEMBER 20 VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA ---------------------------------------------------------------------* THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK THIS LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD BEVAN tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos ---------------------------------------------------------------------* NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING SEPTEMBER 20 2020 IN OUR 25th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS WIA Director Peter VK8ZZ. - WIA AR MAGAZINE EDITOR IN CHIEF ROGER VK2ZRH. - THIS & MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA Solar Cycle 25 is officially underway. NASA and NOAA made the announcement during a media teleconference Tuesday and according to an international panel of experts, sunspot counts hit rock bottom in Dec. 2019, and have been slowly increasing since. AUDIO INTENSIVE REPORT FROM svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013700/a013714/SolarCycle25telecon.mp3 In good news for the Australian comms sector, the federal government has announced a $50 million grants program to help local companies display their wares at exhibitions and other events. criticalcomms.com.au say with physical events scheduled to begin again next year, this will be a welcome development for Australian communications sector businesses that meet the program’s eligibility requirements. In announcing the program, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that businesses will be encouraged to attend events, trade shows and conferences within Australia, and that the grants will help to cover costs such as the hire of exhibition spaces, the design and manufacture of displays, travel and accommodation. criticalcomms.com.au/content/industry/news/canberra-announces-50m-grants-program-for-exhibitors-649832415#ixzz6Y9OWPcQe The federal government has announced allocation limits of 1 GHz for the next 5G spectrum auction, scheduled to occur in March 2021. The 26 GHz spectrum will enable extremely high-speed, short-range broadband services, and will complement the 3.6 GHz spectrum that Australia’s telcos are already using for 5G services. The auction will mark the first time that high-band 5G spectrum will have been made available in Australia. “Australia has been among the world leaders in rolling out 5G networks. To maintain our position we need to make the necessary spectrum available as quickly as possible,” said the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts Paul Fletcher. criticalcomms.com.au/content/radio-systems/news/canberra-sets-limits-for-5g-spectrum-auction-903691410#ixzz6Y9Q4dPIh WIA Not a WIA Member? details email nationaloffice@wia.org.au OR the link on bottom right of wia.org.au wia.memnet.com.au/MemberSelfService/NewMemberForm/WIA/NewMemberForm.aspx WIA board minutes can be found on wia.org.au click WIA Information. This is WIA Director Peter VK8ZZ The Board of the WIA hold a meeting every calendar month. The meeting is usually held over 2 sessions each of approximately 2 – 3 hours duration. Each month the board considers several regular agenda items including membership numbers as well as financial matters. Other matters considered by the board are often very diverse yet need careful consideration. In this last year the board of the WIA have been requested to endorse the use of amateur radio frequencies on two cube sat satellite projects. The WIA being the sole peak body for Amateur Radio in Australia and as the official member of the International Amateur Radio Union, is required to endorse such applications before they are considered by either the International Amateur Radio Union’s Satellite Frequency Co-ordination panel or by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. The WIA has already endorsed the Binar-1 CubeSat project being developed by the CURTIN UNIVERSITY’s Space Science and Technology Centre and is to be launched early next year. The Curtin team has managed to put all the systems required to operate the satellite, including the power, computer, steering and communications, on a single eight-layer printed circuit board, which measures 10cm by 10cm Having everything on a single circuit board means there is more room for carrying sensors, which in this case will be a camera that will capture images of Australia taken from orbit. These images will be sent back to ground utilising amateur frequencies. Information on receiving and decoding these images will be published in the WIA’s Amateur Radio magazine. The WIA has also provided conditional support for the CSIRO’s CubeSat project CSIROSat-1. This nanosat will be a three-unit CubeSat, about the same size as a loaf of bread. It will carry an infrared sensor that will allow researchers to 'see' features that can't otherwise be seen using satellite imagery in the visible spectrum. To encourage and provide guidance for future satellite projects the WIA is developing a policy on Amateur Satellites. This policy is being discussed this month and will be published once it has final approval from the Board of the WIA. The Board will also be considering a report recently received from Dale VK1DSH on the Preparatory Group meetings which will be held in the lead up to the World Radio Conference in 2023. Dale VK1DSH and Peter VK2EMR represented the WIA at the World Radio Conference which was held late last year. There will be several meetings held in preparation for WRC-23 even though it is still 3 years away. This has been WIA Director and Secretary Peter Clee VK8ZZ This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radi Magazine. So, Issue Number 3 is in circulation and a few of you have had some fun at my expense. Hands up those who didn’t notice the typo on the front cover! Mea culpa! Such things are nothing new. Go to the National Library of Australia’s “trove” website and do a search for “ship sinks”. Then, you’ll understand. I have this past week received an email from the postmaster at the mail centre where my post office box is located. She says I have mail I wonder if it will be my errant Issue No.2 of AR magazine . . . or Issue No.3? Or, perhaps, both! As you would expect, production of Issue No.4 is under way. This time, we intend to take you out of the shack for a stroll in nature . . . for those of you allowed out . . . with an emphasis on the pleasures of portable operation. Have a little sympathy for our colleagues in Melbourne still in lockdown. They might be allowed out by the time they receive Issue No.4 If you plan to write an article – or have written one that you would like to see published this year, GET CRACKING ! This has been AR magazine Editor-in-Chief Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. ---------------------------------------------------------------------* INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, RAC, NZART AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE & the World Wide sources of the WIA. SOUTH AFRICA Congratulations to 119 new amateur radio operators in South Africa. The new hams have successfully completed the recent 60-question test held for the Class A licence. 124 tests were given at 27 exam centres under special COVID-19 protocols. The 119 successful candidates have since been emailed the results. Before taking the written test, the candidates were required to complete a Practical Operating Assessment and evaluated by two HF Assessors, carefully done in accordance with pandemic restrictions. FRANCE Plants grow faster on 40m band New Scientist magazine reports in its August 22 issue researchers in Paris have discovered the growth of plant seedlings was faster after they subjected the seedlings to frequencies in the 40 metre band. RF pulses at 7 MHz altered a type of biological protein receptor that controls plant growth rates in cress seedlings making them grow faster than normal. Similar biological receptors occur across insects birds and other animals too, including humans. These receptors have roles not only in growth rates but also in regulating biological “clocks” or in birds navigating by the Earth’s magnetic field. This is the first time that radio signals have been found to affect biological receptors and it has implications around whether life itself could be impacted by RFI. SWEDEN Swedish Electrical Safety Agency may ban the sale of optimizers used in Solar Panel installations due to the high level of RF Pollution they produce. Removing all solar cell products that spread disruption from the market should be easy for the electrician to do the right thing, and if they choose CE-marked gadgets and follow the manufacturer's instructions, the system should be nice, says Martin Gustafsson, who is an inspector in market control at the Swedish Electrical Safety Agency. In addition to radio amateurs, the mobile operator Telia is among those affected . The Swedish Electrical Safety Board has made inspection visits to disturbing facilities, and carried out a market review of optimizers and inverters from eleven different manufacturers. UNITED KINGDOM Base Jumper rescued from transmitting mast BBC News reports that a person had to be rescued after climbing on a transmitter tower in Dorset - known for its many BBC World Service transmitter antenna towers Crews isolated the transmitters before a technical rescue team released and lowered the person to safety, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service said. The jumper was then taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. See the BBC story at bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-54085001 Radio Today report that TuneIn has removed access for UK listeners to the majority of radio stations based outside that country due to licensing reasons. The move follows a High Court battle against TuneIn from Sony and Warner, who say TuneIn was liable for both direct and authorising infringement in connection to all but the UK-based stations contained in its app. TuneIn argued it was simply connecting users to streams owned by radio stations, and acted as simply a search engine for radio, just ‘communicating the music contained in each radio station’s stream to the public’. The judge didn’t accept TuneIn’s argument that it was just a search engine, similar to Google, saying users can do so much more than search, such as browse music by genre and artist. USA The ARRL Board of Directors has named James W. Brown, K9YC, of Santa Cruz, California as the recipient of the ARRL Technical Service Award for 2019. The Board cited Brown’s frequent contributions to — and presentations at — amateur radio forums at conventions including Dayton Hamvention, and the International DX and Contesting Convention. He also has collaborated with the ARRL Lab, contributed to various ARRL publications, including The ARRL Handbook, The ARRL Antenna Book, and others, and shared his technical and educational expertise in the fields of audio engineering, RFI, and other aspects of electronics and engineering. --------------------------------------------------------------------* HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT -------------- OCEANA CONTEST VOICE from 0600 UTC Saturday October 3 to 0600 UTC Sunday October 4 CW from 0600 UTC Saturday October 10 to 0600 UTC Sunday October 11 -------------- CQ WW DX SSB OCTOBER 24-25 -------------- CQ WW DX CW NOVEMBER 28-29 -------------- December 6 - 8 160 Meter WW -------------- DECEMBER 14 - 15 10 Mtr World Wide -------------- TED POWELL MEMORIAL DX CHALLENGE 4 award periods, each of 3 months starting in January of each calendar year and 2 categories in the contest, MOST WANTED and TOP 5. Top 5 you try and work the 5 most wanted DXCC entity's Most Wanted you work the most wanted DXCC entity. The dx entity's in play are those most wanted DURING those 3 month windows. Complete details can be found at contest.fgarc.org.au/ -------------- All major AUSTRALIAN contests, rules and results, are on the Contest Section of the WIA website. wia.org.au/members/contests/about *********************** DX WINDOW -------------- Marconi Day Award The Calabria DX Team has once again organized Marconi Day and Award for the second year. Stations using the special prefix "IY" are on from Marconi Day through to September 23 for an event in honour of Gugliemo Marconi inventor of our wireless. (SouthGate) -------------- CHILE. Special call sign XR 210 CHI during September is celebrating Chile's 210th anniversary of independence and activity is on the HF bands using SSB and various digital modes. QSL via XQ 7 UP. (ARRL) -------------- GERMANY. DK 70 DARC is active until the end of December to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club. QSL via the bureau. (ARRL) -------------- Marconi Day Award The Calabria DX Team has once again organized Marconi Day and Award for the second year. Stations using the special prefix "IY" are on from Marconi Day through to September 23 for an event in honour of Gugliemo Marconi inventor of our wireless. (SouthGate) -------------- Australian special event The Aussie ham so many Kiers owe their calls to is running a special event station until November 11. Fred Swainston VK3DAC/VK4FE, reported in several posts that special event callsign VI 75 WW 2 is active until November 11th, 2020 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The commemorative callsign is in recognition of those who served and those who were at home during the conflict. The world-wide relief at the end of the war and the joy that peace had been regained is indicated by the QSL card. The QSL card picture has been named "The Dancing Man", is a photograph of the man who was filmed dancing in the streets of Australia, at the end of WWII. The man consented and was caught on motion picture film in an Australian edition of the newsreel Movietone News. The film, and stills from it have taken on iconic status in Australian history and culture and symbolize joyous elation to war's end. QSL details: For those who make contact with VI75WW2, the QSL is available as a download from silvertrain.com.au)under the Amateur Radio tab and then Special Event Station logs. Fred, VK4FE was deeply involved in the introduction of the new licencing system for Amateur Radio leading to the Foundation Licence in 2005 and until recently provided services through the WIA Nominated Training Organisation. (Pressers) -------------- -------------- SEPTEMBER CONTINUED -------------- Members of the Bulgarian Radio Club are on the wireless with special call LZ 59 5IP during the month of September to honour the memory of Orthodox saints. QSL via the bureau. (ARNewsLine) -------------- Special call sign 9 H 3 SAT is in Malta throughout September. HF bands and 6 meters as well as the QO-100 satellite using CW and SSB. Send QSLs to his home call DL 2 AAZ (ARNewsLine) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS 5 MHz The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that two 5 Meg channels have been made available, as necessary, for interoperability between US Government stations and US amateur radio stations involved in emergency communications related to the wildland firefighting response in California, Oregon, and Washington, and to Hurricane Sally. These interoperability channels will remain active until the need for these channels no longer exists: Channel 1 — primary voice traffic 5332 kHz channel centre, 5330.5 kHz USB voice Channel 2 — digital traffic 5348 kHz channel centre, 5346.5 kHz USB with 1.5-kHz offset to centre of digital waveform. Amateur radio is secondary on the 5-MHz band and should yield to operational traffic related to wildland firefighting and hurricane response. Although the intended use for these channels is interoperability between federal government stations and licensed US amateur radio stations, federal government stations are primary users and amateurs are secondary users. (arrl) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS ATV (Every pixel tells a story) - arvideonews.com hamradiotube.com youtube.com qdg.org.au tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos THAT LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF THIS NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD BEVAN WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CW FISTS Club - East Asia feacw.net FISTS Club - Australasia fdu.org.au FISTS Club - UK & Europe fists.co.uk FISTS Club - Americas fists.org Recommended FISTS calling frequencies (MHz): 1.808 3.528 7.028 10.118 14.058 18.085 21.058 24.908 28.058 New internet forum for CW enthusiasts Mark, G0KZZ, has started a new internet forum for CW enthusiasts. It is wide ranging, covering amateur CW operating to radiotelegraphy history and key collecting to internet based CW contacts. forum.brasspounder.net/ (RSGB) WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DEFENCE Codan Communications has won a contract with a large African government to supply Sentry-H tactical communications equipment. The contract has a value in the order of AUD $14 million for the radios and accessories and is expected to be delivered in the second half of FY21. “The customer intends to deploy Sentry-HTM radios for national security purposes in military operations in a country-wide program. The contract is a one-off purchase, and there are no material conditions that are required to be satisfied prior to delivery,” the company said in a statement released 9 September. //criticalcomms.com.au/content/radio-systems/news/codan-wins-tactical-comms-contract-with-african-nation-279471015#ixzz6Y9PAZncg WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org UPMSAT-2 Recordings Wanted The UPMSAT-2 team would appreciate receiving recordings of their satellite. They are especially interested in recordings made from outside Spain. UPMSAT-2 transmits on 437.405 MHz using USB, not FM. Recordings can be send to contacto@amsat-ea.org [ANS] AMSAT-UK Colloquium news The AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2020 will also be online this year. Taking place on Sunday 11th of October, there will be one lecture stream from 11am to 4pm. You can find out more on amsat-uk.org/colloquium. The registration URL is tinyurl.com/amsatukreg2020. (ANS) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- MILITARY UK NET FOR BLIND VETS ADDS DIGITAL OPTION In the UK, an amateur radio group for blind veterans isn't letting the HF's noise get in the way of their regular net. Jeremy Boot G4NJH whilst speaking with ARNewsLine said when increasing noise began disrupting their nets, the Blind Vets UK Amateur Radio Society didn't go QRT: Instead, they got creative and found a new mode they could add as an alternative. The Vet group secured the help of the North West Fusion Group, which maintains a network of repeaters and gateways, set up and began hosting a Yaesu System Fusion reflector for use by the blind amateurs. There is plenty of room for even more hams to join in. WiresX Room 44222 is called BLIND-VETS NWFG and the reflector is YSF number 42233 which is called GB-BLIND-VETS. Anyone can call in the network or join the nets where they will be made most welcome. (ARNewsLine) 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 IARU Region 1 3760 7110 14300 18160 21360 kHz IARU Region 2 3750 3985 7060 7240 7275 14300 18160 21360 kHz RESCUE BY REPEATER FOR TWO U.S. HAMS Two dramatic rescues-by-repeater took place late August near the Nevada-California border bringing home the reality that amateur radio saves lives, especially in remote areas where cell phones simply do not function. Ralph Squillace KK6ITB has those details. "Ham radio came to the aid of a critically injured motorcyclist in a head-on highway collision in late August. Eric Bero KI7WHH called in from the scene where the victim remained on the centre line of Highway 89, west of Highway 395. Jim Sanders AG6IF heard the details and called 911, staying on the air with Eric while highway patrol responded. The road was secured from traffic while a helicopter was summoned to transport the victim. Elsewhere, hams responded to a distress call from a radio operator whose vehicle got stuck on a backcountry road. According to local news reports, Tom Foss K6ICE was carrying only a day's supply of water and no food when his Subaru Forester became immobilized. He called for help on the Sierra Intermountain Emergency Radio Association's NV7CV repeater. His situation was reported to police by Rick Olson KM6DYL and his son Ryan KM6DYO, who were listening. Another listener, Ed Terlau KG7ZOP, guided Tom in finding his location coordinates on his mobile phone and Paul Gulbro WA6EWV linked his repeater to widen the communications reach. For Amateur Radio NewsLine I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB." Finally search and rescue, aided by John Abrott KD7NHC, was able to bring Tom to safety. Northern Florida ARES Requests Clear Frequencies for HF Nets Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator Karl Martin, K 4 HBN, is requesting that stations not directly involved in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service response to Hurricane Sally please avoid 3.950 MHz and 7.242 MHz . ARES has activated in four Northern Florida counties. Shelters are open, and power and telecommunications outages are widespread. On Monday last, The Hurricane Watch Net said it will continue to gather any reports from Bermuda in the wake of Hurricane Paulette, which made landfall on the resort island Monday 14. Paulette was slowly moving away from Bermuda, the British overseas territory. The HWN is still currently active on 14.325 MHz, seeking damage and storm surge reports. “The Atlantic Basin is very busy today,” HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB 5 HAV, said. “National Hurricane Center began issuing advisories on five tropical cyclones located over the Atlantic Basin. This ties a record set in September 1971.” --------------------------------------------------------------------* 2020 Social Scene KEEP ONE WAVELENGTH AWAY AT 144 Megacycles #2MetersMatters Due to the COVID-19 situation, please check these events' direct for up-to-date status information. 2020 VK4 - CHARC AGM Lake Maraboon, 25 to 27 September. (vk4zz) VK7 - Miena QSO Muster Saturday October 24th VK4 - Rockhampton Amateur Radio Annual Dinner Sat Nov 28 (vk4acc) VK4 - TARC Xmas Party - Sun 13th December from 2pm (tarc) VK4 - TARC Xmas Lights Tour - Fri 18th December from 7pm (tarc) 2021 VK4 - TARC Australia Day Long Week Family Radio Camp Thursday afternoon 21st to Tuesday afternoon 26th January at Girl Guides Association of Queensland Campsite and Training Centre Bluewater. (vk4zz) VK2 - WYONG FIELD DAY (tentative) February 28 ( vk4zz) VK - ALARAMEET 2021 Bendigo VK3 October 1 - 4 (vk5yl) VK7 - VK7 biennial HamFest Miena Community Hall (vk7tw) SOCIAL DISTANCING KEEP ONE WAVELENGTH AWAY AT 144 Megacycles FINAL FINAL Reception Reports WIA News rebroadcasters often give Short Wave Listeners a welcome to the broadcast as they commence call-backs straight after the Local News. Local news follows the National news in all states. It would be great if those SWL's would email their reception reports and location to callbacks@wia.org.au 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 email nationalnews@wia.org.au and ask for the current password then read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ We would appreciate items certainly no longer than 1.5 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. (First if YOU are reading your own item) 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. vk1wia-broadcasters@lists.wia.org.au ---------------------------------------------------------------------* Oh... and to contact us with your news because If It Matters To You It Matters To Us! Email nationalnews@wia.org.au and for audio wia.org.au click news in member area 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. Click the links below to download the most recent edition of National News, BUT this is ONLY the backup site! WIANEWS backup thanks to Brendan VK4BLP can be found on wiaq.org.au BACKUPS OF THE BACKUP!! thanks to Tony VK7AX www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ wia.org.au/members/broadcast/wianews/ (This is the link to the original text version and original audio on wia site) ===================================================================== WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide. TWITTER 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? 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 would like to see the call-backs reported each broadcast, OR have call-backs to contribute to the National News call back tally then please send through your call-backs to callbacks@wia.org.au 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------*