2022 AUGUST 07 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 AUGUST 07 2022 IN OUR 27th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS ( 1937 in a mention we've come across relating to weekly broadcasts of information prepared by VK4 was a plea to restart the weekly news service which was on air in the late 1920's ) AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PORTAL Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest news, key facts and figures, contacts and answers to your questions. www.health.gov.au/ FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR JOHN MARTIN VK3KM - SK WIA SECRETARY VK8ZZ WITH THIS WEEKS REPORT FROM WIA BOARD THIS & MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA PROGRAM RECORDED IN BRISBANE, OLYMPIC CITY 2032. WIA JOIN THE WIA tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y Part of WIA Directors Board Talk last week conentrared on our QSL Bureau. One of the benefits that the Wireless Institute (WIA) provides its members is the QSL Bureau service. So if you are NOT yet a member, go to wia.org.au and "do your bit" today Also last week President Scott told us of the sad passing of VK3KM. WE NOW HAVE THE FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR JOHN MARTIN VK3KM - SK Ed Roach VK3BG advises that John's funeral will be held Monday, August 15, at 1pm at the Heritage Funeral Home, 733 Boronia Road, Wantirna. If you are attending, please email Ed so that the funeral home has some idea of numbers to enable seating arrangements. Ed's email is vk3bg@wia.org.au (de Roger VK2ZRH) ROSTERED WIA DIRECTOR BRINGING US NEWS FROM THE WIA ON HAPPENINGS AT BOARD LEVEL WILL BE IN ROTATION:- President Scott VK3KJ Greg VK2GPK Peter VK8ZZ Lee VK3GK ----------------- AUG 14 Chris VK3FY --------------- AUG 21 Peter VK4EA Steve VK2TSG Peter VK8ZZ WIA Secretary and Board Member reports:- In 2020 the Board of the WIA supported the Binar-1 small satellite/CubeSat mission which was launched from the ISS by Curtin University. Binar-1 is a 1U CubeSat currently in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and was a technical demonstrator of in-house developed hardware that aimed to become a repeatable platform for research and educational purposes. This year the Board of the WIA agreed to support the upcoming mission 2 that will see satellites: Binar-2, Binar-3 and Binar-4 be deployed from the ISS in the same way as Binar-1 into LEO. A subsequent mission 3 will follow about a year later with three more CubeSats (Binar-5,6 and 7) to also be delivered into Low Earth Orbit. Part of the Binar mission is to try to make it easier for young, enthusiastic students to learn more about and how to use amateur radio in a way which directly relates to STEM. We believe that this specific use of amateur radio is a fantastic crossover opportunity for education and encouragement of STEM. Previously young students were constrained by resources, and current progtam wants to provide a platform where students - both high-school and university - can learn about amateur radio, spacecraft, their operations, and science experiments flying onboard the spacecraft. The satellites in Launch 2 will be Binar-2, 3, 4 will have a multiband radio, capable of operating in the amateur band. The radio frequencies are allocated in the 70cm Amateur Satellite Radio band and, as required by local and international regulatory bodies (ACMA, ITU, IARU), will be coordinated through the IARU (International Amateur Radio Union) with the support of the Wireless Institute of Australia as the national association for Amateur Radio in Australia . The main purpose of the usage of the amateur-satellite band allocation onboard the Satellites in Launches 2 and 3 is to provide a platform to educate high school and university students on satellite technology. ------------------------------------------------------------* INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, RAC, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, NZART, eHam, AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE & the World Wide sources of the WIA. REGION ONE ARDC grants 99,915 Euros to Finnish ham radio club Finland's national amateur radio society, the S.R.A.L. reports the OH 2 CH radio club applied for and got a grant of 99,915 Euros The SRAL say: Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a private foundation whose mission is to support the science and technology of amateur radio and digital communications ampr.org The almost 150,000 AUD (99,915 Euro) grant is for the implementation of an independent 5GHz IP backbone network focused on radio amateur services connecting digital and analogue repeaters maintained by the club together and enable access to AMPRNet services and the internet. REGION TWO On July 28 Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) released an update to a very important document for Canadian Radio Amateurs: The document specifies what frequencies they may operate on and with what bandwidths. There are two major new additions to the Canadian Spectrum: * 472 to 479 kHz, also known as 630 metres: maximum of five watts EIRP, using emissions with a maximum bandwidth of 1 kHz. * 5351.5 to 5366.5 kHz in the 60 metre band: Canadian Amateurs are allowed to run a maximum of 100 watts ERP, using emissions with a maximum bandwidth of 2.8 kHz. The new 60 metre band is in addition to their existing fixed-frequency allocations at 5332, 5348, 5373 and 5405 kHz. Canadian Amateurs are unique in having authority to use 100 watts ERP on the four spot frequencies and on the new 15 kHz segment. RADIO SEIZED FOR INTERFERING WITH POLICE TRANSMISSIONS In Texas, authorities cracked down after a hand-held radio caused emergency interference with police transmissions. Mike Askins KE5CXP speaking on ARNewsLine said that it had operated for months on emergency frequencies used by the Young County Sheriff's Office. According to local media reports, the transmissions on the dispatch channels often included the voices of a man, woman and some children yelling at one another and the sounds of a barking dog. A story in the Olney Enterprise newspaper said that the police were so hampered in using their own assigned frequencies that they often had to use cell phones instead to communicate. Sheriff Travis Babcock contacted the Federal Communications Commission which provided him with an official statement to read on the emergency channel but that failed to bring the transmissions to a halt. The news report said that on July 8th two officers patrolling in their car heard the unauthorized traffic and were able to track down the radio and its owner. It was not clear what charges would be filed against the owners of the radio, which is now the property of the county sheriff's office. Charges could range from a misdemeanour for interfering with public duty to a federal offense for interfering with emergency communications. BRIDGE WORKS AHEAD SpaceX and NASA have delayed the launch of the next U.S. crew flight to the International Space Station to no earlier than Sept. 29, allowing time for ground teams to replace an interstage on the missions new Falcon 9 booster after it was damaged during transport. The Falcon 9 booster stage, riding horizontally on a truck and trailer, struck a bridge during the trip from SpaceXs factory in California, to the companys test facility in Texas. REGION THREE Radio broadcasting still crucial in Sarawak The Borneo Post reports on the importance of radio broadcasting in Sarawak The newspaper says: Radio broadcasting has imprinted a profound impact on society since its conception in the early 20th century and despite the emergence of digital platforms, it remains one of the most powerful communication tools up to this day. According to Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), Sarawak Radio Services in Sarawak continue to play an important role in reaching out to the masses especially in the rural areas that have yet to have digital accessibility, but can be reached through receptions on bands, waves or radio frequency transmissions either via FM or Short Wave. The SW band is still needed, especially in the interiors, for the delivery of information and to keep listeners up-to-date about whats going on the Borneo Post said. Read the full story at tinyurl.com/mt85s5n8 ------------------------------------------------------------* HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT -------------- NOW CONTEST WISE:- -------------- 2022 -------------- WIA RD or Remembrance Day Contest Sat Sun August 13 and 14 -------------- ALARA CONTEST AUGUST 27 and 28 alara.org.au For more than 40 years, YLs here in the land down under, have been hosting a contest that doesn't just involve scorekeeping - it also encourages international communication. Our WIA News Editor explains how it works. "Yes there are awards to be had in the 42nd contest sponsored by the Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association. There are even certificates and trophies - but organisers want participants around the world to know that the real goal of the 42nd annual ALARA Contest on the 27th and 28th of August is to get all licensed ham radio operators around the world - OMs and YLs alike - talking to one another. By spotting on the clusters and even on Facebook, all the competitors actually work together to make it easier to make those important contacts. Competition? Yes! But friendly competition. Be listening too for some of the newest licenced YLs as well as Girl Guides and Scouts. Some contacts are expected to be made on EchoLink as well. Visit the ALARA page for more details. alara.org.au/contests/index.html I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB. -------------- WIA - NZART OCEANIA CONTEST PHONE - First full weekend in October 0600 UTC Saturday to 0600 UTC Sunday CW - Second full weekend in October 0600 UTC Saturday to 0600 UTC Sunday Log deadline for ALL logs - 31 October. -------------- WIA VHF - UHF FIELD DAYS SPRING 0100 UTC Saturday 26 through 0059 UTC Sunday 27 November -------------- -------------- DX WINDOW -------------- -------------- PC 2 F will be active as PF 0 1MAX until the 20th of November, over the twenty-two Grand Prix weekends of this year's FIA Formula One World Championship. for PF 01 MAX, you QSL via PC2F either direct, via the bureau, Logbook of The World or eQSL (rsgb) -------------- BBC centenary special event GB 100 BBC Members of the BBCs radio club, The London BBC Radio Group, have been operating Special Event callsign GB 100 BC to help celebrate the BBCs centenary year. (southgatearc.org) -------------- Danish DX Group celebrates 50 years The Danish DX Group (DDXG) was founded in 1972. To celebrate the 50th anniversary special event station OZ 50 DDXG is on-the-air until December 31. We Radio amateurs around the world can obtain the anniversary award by having contacts using CW, Phone or Digital modes with the anniversary station OZ 5D DXG. The anniversary station may be contacted once on each band and with each modulation type in every month. Each approved contact counts 1 point. Full details on qrz.com/db/OZ50DDXG (SouthGate) -------------- The year, about 2/3 over has been a good one for members of the Irish Radio Transmitters Society. Hams have beene using the special callsign EI 90I RTS to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of Ireland's national society. Listen for the EI90IRTS callsign throughout 2022. QSL via EI6AL. (ARNewsLine) ---------------------------------------------------------------- WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS - AND - SUMMITS ON THE AIR, WORLD WIDE FLORA, FAUNA PROGRAM, PARKS ON THE AIR and other ADVENTURE GROUPS. hema.org.uk/index.jsp minesontheair.com/about-mota parksontheair.com/ sota.org.uk sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/ wwffaustralia.com/ The Annual Winter trip to the Bogong High Plains is on for 2022! The snow covered Victorian Alps will be activated during a four night cross country ski tour from Friday 5th to Tuesday 9th of August. The team includes VK3SN, VK3GT, VK3FIRH, VK3FMAW, VK3PCZ and VK3HUW. The team are hoping to operate FT8 as well as SSB on 80 to 10m as well as 2m and 70cm FM simplex and via repeaters. All essential gear is carried and radios are powered via ultra-light solar panels with lithium batteries. Past trips have involved operating from igloos and several remote peaks, so listen out for the team and work them if you can! For further details see www.vk3sn.net Hoping to meet you on the air- Stephen VK3SN SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS - ALARA Make sure you let every YL you know that again this August the ALARA members will be hosting this the WIA National News on August Twenty One WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org NASAs Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, Retiring After 18 Years As An Astronaut NASA has announced the retirement, on July 31, of Astronaut Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD. The retired U.S. Army colonel spent a total of 388 days in space, landing him fifth on the list of record holders for cumulative time in space for all NASA astronauts. He flew three different spacecraft the space shuttle, Soyuz, and SpaceX Crew Dragon and he performed nine spacewalks during his spaceflights. KE5HOD was recently the commander of NASAs SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station, the second long-duration mission for the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the longest spaceflight for a U.S. human spacecraft. Throughout the mission, Kimbrough and the Expedition 65 crew performed more than 250 scientific investigations designed to benefit all of humanity and help future exploration. WEBB TELESCOPE SUSTAINS UNCORRECTABLE DAMAGE The James Webb Space Telescope, which recently transmitted its first colour images to us here on Earth, has suffered serious damage following a micrometeoroid strike. Scientists said in a recent report that the impact sustained in late May may have disrupted the space telescope's operation more than first believed. The scientists wrote that they believe that the problems are not correctable. Their biggest concern is the long-term effect on the primary mirror, which scientists believe will be degraded as a result of the meteoroid strike. (ARNL) Operating Tips for FM Satellites Recent abuses on AO-91, and continued bedlam on FM satellites generally, have raised a growing number of complaints among operators and control stations. AMSAT NORTH AMERICA (AMSAT-NA) have published some tips to help everyone enjoy these satellites and avoid being labelled as a "bad actor" LISTEN! These satellites are almost always busy when over populated areas. If you aren't hearing activity on the downlink, it is unwise to make a "blind" call on the uplink frequency. Getting into the satellite is often easier than hearing it. Make certain you copy the downlink before transmitting. AND NO CQs. FM satellites have a single channel and many stations are attempting to use the channel in a limited time. There is no time for calling CQ, or for repeatedly announcing your own call. Instead, listen for stations already active on the pass, and when you have an opportunity, make a call to a specific station you wish to work. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ILLW illw.net/ Isle of Man The Point of Ayre Lighthouse is an active 19th-century lighthouse, at the Point of Ayre at the north-eastern end of the Isle of Man. Dale EI 7 HDB along with members from the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society will be activating the lighthouse IM 0001 for the weekend of 20th and 21st of August for the Lighthouse and Lightship weekend. The club call GT 3 FL will be used for the event and they hope to be active for the full 48 hours. The station will be live from 80M to 70CM operating CW, SSB and digital modes, so please listen out for them. EI 7 HDB will arrive on the Isle of Man on the 14th of August to set up the station at the Point of Ayre lighthouse. He will be active on most bands as MD/EI7HDB between the 14th and 19th of August so listen out for him especially if you are looking to get the Isle of Man in your log. The group posts up-to-date information FaceBook facebook.com/groups/iomars (SouthGate) 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 Region 1 3760 7110 14300 18160 21360 kHz Region 2 3750 3985 7060 7240 7275 14300 18160 21360kHz VK4 lsteners to QNEWS and those hearing it via Tony VK7AX's site heard this last week but for the rest of we hams around the globe, listen up for Mark VK4DMH for the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society. The Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society was asked to help with radio communications at the recent Kokoda Challenge. The 96km course with around 3,300 participants mostly walking, a few jogging, passes through some very isolated bushland walking tracks in the Gold Coast Hinterland. Check point 3 had no radio coverage for both emergency services and commercial 2-ways radio, and no mobile phone coverage. Check point 4 had limited commercial 2-way and mobile phone coverage when you stood on one spot of a hill. The Gold Coast club did field tests before the event, then setup a 2 metre & 70cm radio network, with 40 metres being used as backup. Seven Amateur Radio operators were positioned at three of the check points, a mountain top radio relay site, and the events Joint Operations Centre. Ralf VK4GCR was at the heavily rainforest Check Point 3, and handled numerous requests for assistance. One particular request was a priority medical case where Amateur Radio was used to request an ambulance, and relay vital medical details between paramedics. Peter VK4LUB, Aidan VK4APM, and Nigel VK4AMP were positioned at check points 4 & 6, and used our radio network to request transport for exhausted participants, do welfare checks, and follow up on a few people that had gone missing. Jamie VK4XD and Geoff VK2DLA looked after the mountain top relay site, where a 2 metre repeater was used in the club's communications trailer, with an antenna on a 11.2 metre pneumatic mast. This allowed the three check points to communicate directly with myself (VK4DMH) back at the Joint Operations Centre. All of our team members were pleased with their work for the day, and reported great cooperation between the Amateur Radio operators, the event organisers and emergency services. The Kokoda Challenge management have already asked us to help again next year. This is Mark VK4DMH for the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- YOTA (Youngsters On The Air) youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA twitter.com/hamyota YOTA Contest 2022 Youth On The Air (ham-yota.com) 10th YOTA Summer Camp Croatia 2022 Award As Alec, VK2APC has told us over the past months the 10th YOTA Summer Camp will be held in Croatia this week August 6-13 BUT DID YOU KNOW YOU can be part of the event! The organizers as well as all worldwide attending teams are looking forward to a week of training, fun and most important new friendships. YOTA Team Croatia established an AWARD which everyone can achieve by working the YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR during the Summer Camp 2022. This award is awarded based on a defined number of points. Each QSO has to be with a 9A YOTA station, these have as suffix Y.O.T.A. Valid QSOs will be made from August 6th to August 13th 2022. tinyurl.com/2s4xchr8 Youth Mentorship program launched by Radio Club of America The worlds oldest wireless society has launched a new mentorship initiative to encourage youths to tap into wireless and STEM-related careers. Again this week Alex VK2APC joins us. The Radio Club of America Mentorship Program will provide opportunities for young professionals to learn from the experiences of more seasoned RCA members. After completing an application to participate in the year-long program, interested members will be contacted by a mentorship committee and then matched with an appropriate mentor or mentee. A set of guidelines for both mentors and mentees include setting a series of specific goals, defining expectations and honouring diversity, equity and inclusion in the program. RCA recognized that an important new value for our membership was to have our more experienced members provide help to members who were relatively new to the wireless industry, said John Facella, RCA president. Read the full story at: radioworld.com/news-and-business/youth-mentorship-program-launched-by-radio-club-of-america ------------------------------------------------------------* 2022 Social Scene VK4 - Redcliffe Club Car Boot Sale Saturday 20th August 9am club house Macfarlane Park, Klingner Road Kippa-Ring. (vk4tfn) VK5 - AREG Car Boot Sale Sept 3 (THREE) David Roche Park Kilburn (vk5tr) "The Amateur Radio Experimenters Group (AREG) are holding their first annual Adelaide Amateur Radio & Electronics Car Boot Sale - Saturday September 3rd at 10AM at the David Roche Park - Cromwell St, Kilburn. Entry is $5 for buyers and seller car park spaces from $10. There will also be commercial vendor tables, amateur radio displays, plus door prizes and more. For more info or to secure a seller's spot, check out AREG's website at areg.org.au" VK4 - SunFest Sunday 18 September 10:00 AM Mountain Creek State School (noreply email) VK6 - PerthTech October 21-23 (vk6pop) VK7 - November 5-6 Tassie Ham Radio Conference and Expo. Hobart reast.asn.au/news-events/tassie-ham-radio-conference-and-expo/ VK3 - Rosebud RadioFest November 20 9.3Oam. (vk3pdg) 2023 VK - ALARAMeet2023 4/5 November in HOBART (luther8@bigpond.com) 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 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 ============================== WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/feedback/index.php =============================== LINKS WE LIKE 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 send BOTH the audio and the text We would appreciate items certainly no longer than 1.5 mts 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 recorded 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) Promote your local rebroadcast; details on wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ 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 will not give blatant 'plugs' to raffles, be it raffles at the event or "on-line". ------------------------------------------------------------* Oh... and to contact us with your news because If It Matters To You It Matters To Us! 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/ Promote your local rebroadcast; details on wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ 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." 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 a message confirming your unsubscription from the list and at that point you should stop receiving messages. ------------------------------------------------------------*