2023 JANUARY 8 VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
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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
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NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING JANUARY 08 2023
IN OUR 28th 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 )
THIS WEEK:-
INCREASE IN AUSTRALIAN MARITIME COLLGE AMATEUR RADIO FEES
APPLY FROM MONDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2023. -
WIA VICE PRESIDENT VK3GK LEE MOYLE.
PLUS MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS 29 MINUTE EDITION OF
NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA
PROGRAM RECORDED IN BRISBANE, OLYMPIC CITY 2032.
WIA
JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y
On behalf of the WIA board of directors, I wish everyone a very
Happy New Year for 2023. This is WIA Vice President Lee Moyle VK3GK.
Hot off the press is the recent announcement earlier this week from
ACMA that AMC, the Australian Maritime College will be having a
price increase of 5% on Amateur qualification and callsign services
from February 6th 2023.
Find out more from the AMC
amc.edu.au/industry/amateur-radio
Another important announcement comes from Sion Chow 9M2CQC, MARTS
VHF+ Bandplan Committee Chairman, IARU R3, is that from January 1st
2023 the whole structure of Amateur Radio in Malaysia is changing.
For the very first time after nearly 6 years of work since MARPC was
established, and after 22 years since WRC-2000, Malaysia is dropping
its Morse Code testing requirements for those wishing to upgrade to a
Malaysian Class-A license.
Among other significant changes are:
1. Class-B license holders now get to operate from 80m (3.5 MHz)
- 70cm (430 MHz) with 50w of TX power.
2. Class-A and B license holders now get to operate the new 60m band
with 15w EIRP of TX power and all HF bands and Class-A with 1000w
of TX power.
Closer to home, Kevin Johnston VK4UH VHF-UHF Records Manager for WIA
reports that Several new VK VHF-microwave records have been approved
and added to the WIA website for 2022. These covering record claims
from 6m through 134GHz.
Important to note is that with the approval of the WIA board, record
claims will now be accepted for new digital contacts on all VHF and
Up bands on both a National and State (Call-Area) level. This change
should promote activity, experimentation and development on the
higher bands .
January is Ross Hull and for the full month of January each year is
the Ross Hull Memorial VHF/UHF Contest and its on now. Some logging
software generates a Ross Hull log from the summer VHF/UHF contest
logs too, so easy to enter both contests from one log. The Ross Hull
Contest is a VHF/UHF and higher DX contest, with points awarded for
distances worked. There are also band multipliers to encourage
activity on the higher bands. The aim of the contest is to encourage
and to reward achievement in working the greatest possible distances
on the VHF, UHF and microwave bands. Currently we have some magical
6m openings to North, Central and South America, the Pacific, Japan,
the Middle East and even Europe. Full rules and sections to be
entered can be found on the WIA website.
wia.org.au/members/contests/rosshull/
LOGS DUE IN 14th FEBRUARY 23:59 UTC
Logs email to: rosshull@wia.org.au
The Australia Day Contest is back on again this year given the huge
participation last year with some new distance rules being implemented
and the inclusion of FT8 and FT4. The aim of the contest is to
encourage Amateurs in VK to contact other amateurs around the world.
Some VK operators will be using the AX prefix to celebrate Australia
day, some will be using the special VJ and VL prefixes which are
sought after around the world. Others may just use the traditional
and well known VK prefix.
Scoring is distance based and calculated using 4-character grid
squares. It will be held on Australia Day being 26th January
(2200 UTC 25th January to 1000 UTC 26th January.)
For full rules and sections to enter see the WIA website.
wia.org.au/members/contests/australiaday/
Thanks goes to Alan Shannon VK4SN for his continued support of the
WIA contests. Submitted logs and results can be viewed on
vklogchecker.com
The WIA Buy/Sell/Swap facility Hamads is online at
www.hamads.com.au
where you can register. It was established for the use of both
WIA Members and non members. It will grow as more users come online
and use it as a confident safe trading environment.
The WIA board reconvenes with the first board meeting of 2023 on
January 10th via online video.
If you have any questions, ideas or wish to volunteer and join a
working group or committee, send an email to
nationaloffice@wia.org.au
with a brief description of your skills on offer.
Thats all for this week, for now 73 From Lee VK3GK
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, RAC,
ARRL, NZART, eHam, AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE,
and the World Wide sources of the WIA.
REGION ONE
UNITED KINGDOM
BBC Plans for Future Without Broadcasting
What happens if the British Broadcasting Corporation stops broadcasting?
According to BBC Director-General Tim Davie that question isnt
rhetorical, and instead points toward the future of one of the worlds
most storied broadcasters. For the BBC, internet-only distribution
is an opportunity to connect more deeply with our audiences and to
provide them with better services and choice than broadcast allows.
It provides a significant editorial opportunities. A switch off of
broadcast will and should happen over time, and we should be active
in planning for it, Tim Davie said.
Davies speech before the Royal Television Society came 100 years and
23 days after the BBCs first broadcast, but it focused on the
challenges and opportunities the broadcaster faces today.
In Davies vision, the United Kingdom and the BBC must begin work
today to prepare for an internet-only future. This will involve
ensuring every British household is connected via fixed-line
broadband and full national 4G/5G wireless coverage.
tinyurl.com/2s3uh3md
REGION TWO
USA
The Southwest Ohio DX Association has launched a program that
recognizes the hams who help other hams achieve their first 100
confirmed DX entities.
The amateur receiving the assistance must be under the age of 30 and
the DX association has specifically designed the award this way to
target those who help younger amateurs and ensure they continue to be
encouraged and active in the hobby even after receiving their ARRL
run DXCC certificate.
The intent of targeting this audience of younger amateurs is to
attract and retain those operators who are most likely to remain
engaged in the hobby after achieving DXCC. The DX Mentor Recognition
Program has the support of the Northern California DX Foundation and
the International DX Association.
Both groups are providing representatives on the judging committee.
The award will be presented during Dayton Hamvention in May.
REGION THREE
MALAYSIA
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) have
introduced changes to the amateur radio operation structure
effective January One, 2023 to ensure the certification in Malaysia
is in line with the practice in other countries.
MCMC said the changes include examination format, examination syllabus,
qualification requirements to sit for the examinations and the
introduction of Class C.
It also involves the Morse Code examination to upgrade to Class A
which is now replaced by a computerised multiple-choice exam and the
use of frequency and beam power limits for each class.
MCMC said the changes were also aimed at encouraging students
interest in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) through amateur radio which would lead to the
rise of amateur radio operators who can help during disasters.
The Malaysian regulator, MCMC, also announced that it had published
a Handbook on Amateur Radio (1st Edition) as an additional reference
to those interested to sit for the amateur radio examinations.
A question bank was also created by MCMC for all three amateur radio
classes to provide exposure to the public on examples of examination
questions as well as to assist candidates to prepare in advance.
All three documents can be found on the MCMC official website
mcmc.gov.my/en/amateur-radio-operatorcertification.
SOMEWHERE IN THE PACIFIC
Well to be precise it's to the Republic of Palau, an island country
and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately
340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands
with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Construction of a new shortwave radar for the US Air Force is
currently underway on Palau. This was announced by the US Ministry
of Defence at the end of December 2022. Over The Horizon Radars
already top the list of reported intruders on our exclusive HF
amateur radio bands so looks ( or listens) like by the end of 2026
no more QRM !
This long-range radar, called Tactical Mobile Over-the-Horizon Radar
will play a special role in monitoring Chinese activities in the
Pacific and the South China Sea.
According to the publication The War Zone, the Palau OTHR will
consist of a remote-controlled transmitting site and a separate
receiving site consisting of 128 dual-monopole antenna elements.
INDIA
Good bye Bluetooth - the most common short-range wireless data
exchange technology as its now set to face the threat of extinction
unleashed by a scientist from Bankura with his newer micro device
thats set to serve the digital gadgets soon.
The scientist has been offered the patent for a revolutionary
wireless antenna that can help data transfer 100 times faster than
Bluetooth. Super compact ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna, the micro
device is developed by professor Srikanta Pal, FINALLY in October
he was awarded the patent right by Centres Patent Office, for which
professor Pal had applied in July, 2013.
Professor Pal said, This is the worlds smallest antenna, it's
sized 14mm X 11mm with about a 10:1 bandwidth. It has almost a
constant impedance bandwidth, gain and omni-directional radiation
pattern.
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HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT
2022 ended with the highest monthly sunspot number in 7 years.
For the 35th month in a row, Solar Cycle 25 is outperforming the
official forecast so NO excuse NOT to get "on the air."
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NOW CONTEST WISE:-
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2023
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1 - 31 January Ross Hull Memorial VHF/UHF DX Contest ( Marathon )
The contest was established in 1950 to honour the memory of
the late Ross A. Hull and his pioneering achievements in the
study of tropospheric propagation and the development of new
equipment techniques for the higher bands.
Entrants may operate on every contest day, but the final score
is based on the best seven days nominated by the entrant.
For amateurs with limited operating time, there is also a
"Best 2 Days" section.
LOGS DUE IN 14th FEBRUARY
(wia.org.au)
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14 - 15 January Summer VHF-UHF Field Day.
0100 UTC Saturday to 0059 UTC Sunday BUT in VK6 add 3 hours
onto start and end times.
(wia.org.au)
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26th of January Australia Day Contest
This contest is to encourage Amateur Radio Activity around the world
and is designed to encourage friendly participation and help improve
the operating skills of participants.
Amateurs in VK will endeavour to contact other amateurs around the
world. VK operators can use the AX prefix as they celebrate Australia
Day.
Scoring is distance based, calculated using 4-character grid squares.
Contest is held on the Australia Day Public Holiday, 26 January.
Contest Manager is Alan Shannon VK4SN
(wia.org.au)
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MARCH 18 - 19 (the 3rd Weekend) John Moyle Field Day
UTC 0100 Saturday to 0059 Sunday.
(wia.org.au)
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DX WINDOW
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BONAIRE
PJ4 / DD 0 VR is on air until next Friday, January 13.
QSL via DD 0 VR.
(eHam)
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Special stations SP 9 ENIGMA and SP 9 ENG are active until NEXT
Sunday the 15th January to mark the 90th anniversary since Polish
cryptologists first broke the Enigma cipher.
For SP 90 ENIGMA, QSL via SP 3 PGR.
For SP 9 ENG, QSL via SP 3 PDO.
(ARNewsLine)
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Be listening for Earl, WA 3 DX operating from Senegal until January
20th, mainly using FT8.
He will use his home call with a prefix.
In Dakar, he will use the prefix 6W1;
in Mbao, he will use 6W7
on Kaolack and Saloum Islands (IOTA number AF-045), his prefix will
be 6W6.
Send QSL direct to WA3DX or via Logbook Of The World.
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In the Gamba operating is C 5 YK until February 24th.
Listen on 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10m, mostly using the digital modes.
QSL via LoTW and eQSL, or to home call ON 7 YK
direct or via the bureau.
(ARNewsLine)
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MEDIA WATCH
Spotify Player Brings Back Physical Media
Keeping all your tunes with you these days is a lot more convenient,
but have we lost something with dematerialization?
Jordi Parra, no NOT the Spanish Basketball player but Freelance
Principal Designer at Spotify felt that there was something lacking
with the digital music experience and has designed a Spotify player
with a tactile interface.
Hackaday are reporting specific playlists are selected via small
RFID tags that look like a cross between the old audio formats
Minidisc and vinyl records.
As this is a prototype, an Arduino reads the RFID tag, but needs a
computer to actually play the Spotify playlist. Future iterations
could include an integrated speaker and run libspotify to create a
self-contained device. While there is still work to do for a fully
seamless experience, we love the details in the industrial design of
this project. Clean simple lines and a combination of wood and more
modern materials make this feel like a timeless piece of tech.
hackaday.com/2022/12/24/spotify-player-brings-back-physical-media/
(twiar)
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WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DEFENCE
TARC does the 2023 Defence Welcome to Townsville Expo
theTARCinc will yet again be involved with the Defence Welcome and
Information Expo run by the Townsville office of the Defence Member
and Family Support Section Saturday 11th February at Murray Stadium
from 10am to 1pm.
The Club will be drawing on expertise gained from participation in
previous Expos to show Defence members and their families currently
residing or new to the region some of the aspects of the wonderful
world of Amateur Radio.
It is hoped to demonstrate the hobby through a mixture of static,
dynamic and interactive displays, with members experienced in many
facets of the hobby able to provide meaningful answers and guidance
for those attending the Expo.
(tarc)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org
SpaceX closed out 2022 successfully launching its 61st Falcon-class
mission of the year. The flight-seasoned B1061 core, which becomes
only the sixth Falcon 9 to log an 11th launchtook flight from
Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base laden
with the EROS-C3 electro-optical reconnaissance satellite for
Israels Ministry of Defence.
B1061 first took flight from the East Coast, back in November 2020,
lifting Dragon Resilience and Crew-1 astronauts Mike Hopkins,
Victor Glover and Shannon Walker of NASA, plus Japans Soichi
Noguchi, to the International Space Station.
tinyurl.com/5ezxkez5
(americaspace.com)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- IOTA
iota-world.org
ANTARCTICA
AN-016
QRV is RI 1 ANC from Vostok Station, IOTA AN-016, until March 2024,
yes 2024 and also on air RI 30 ANT January to March 31, 2023, THIS
year.
Activity is in their spare time on various bands using CW, SSB, and
various digital modes.
QSL RI 1 ANC via RN 1 ON and
RI 30 ANT via RZ 3 EC.
(arrl)
INDIA
IOTA AS-153
Members of the West Bengal Radio Club are QRV as AT 2 WBRC from
Sagar Island, IOTA AS-153, until Tuesday January 17.
QSL via VU 2 JFA.
(arrl)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS
qcwa.org
raotc.org.au
Hallo everyone. This is Clive VK6CSW. Just a reminder that there is no Radio
Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australias bulletin this month. The first RAOTC
bulletin for this year will be on Monday February 6th.
However, in VK6 there will be the usual monthly lunchtime gathering for Members and
Friends of the RAOTC in the Perth area in two days' time on Tuesday, January 10th.
This will be at the new venue, the Woodbridge Hotel, 50 East Street, East Guildford,
starting about midday. Everyone is welcome to come along and have an eyeball QSO and
the well-priced menu including Seniors specials can be viewed on line by Googling
Woodbridge Hotel, Guildford WA
Limited car parking is available, but if travelling to the Woodbridge Hotel by
train, remember to alight at Guildford East station. The Hotel is located close to
the intersection of Swan Street East and the Great Eastern Highway, just a short
walk south-east of the station.
For more details, visit the RAOTC website at
www.raotc.org.au or contact Luncheon coordinator Phil
VK6ZKO at pbcasper@bigpond.com.
73, Clive VK6CSW.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- YOTA
(Youngsters On The Air)
youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA
twitter.com/hamyota
768 teams enter The Astro Pi Mission Space Lab 2022/23
Last year, 768 teams made up of 3086 young people from 23 countries
sent Raspberry Pi their ideas for experiments to run on board the
International Space Station for Astro Pi Mission Space Lab.
Mission Space Lab is part of the European Astro Pi Challenge, an E.S.A.
Education programme run in collaboration with Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Mission Space Lab teams could choose between Life on Earth and
Life in space for their experiment idea.
A panel of 25 judges from the Raspberry Pi Foundation and ESA
Education assessed the submitted ideas. They were restricted in how
many teams could be accommodated, as time to run experiments on-board
the ISS is limited, especially for Life on Earth experiments which
need time in a nadir window. The standard of the submitted ideas
was higher than ever, making this the toughest judging yet.
The judges were delighted to announce that 486 teams will move on to
Phase 2 of Mission Space Lab: writing the code for their experiments.
All the teams whose experiment ideas were selected will receive a
special Astro Pi hardware kit, customised to their idea, to help them
write and test the Python programs to execute their experiments.
Once the teams of young people have received their kits, they can
familiarise themselves with the Astro Pi hardware and then create and
test (and re-test!) their programs.
[ANS]
JUST REPEATING
The VK2RCN 2-metre repeater is back on air, operating from the new
Telegraph Point site.
Telegraph Point is a small village on the North Coast of New South Wales
located on the Pacific Highway north of Port Macquarie.
Those who have seen more solar cycles than most will no doubt recall
the old Hacks Vehicular ferry.
BUT:-
Back to the repeater VK2RCN.
Its on 147.0MHz with the usual -600 kHz offset, BUT, no tone is
required for access. It has been very active and is providing
excellent coverage. On 70cm, 438.525MHz temporarily is running in
the FM mode, to enable UHF coverage to be assessed.
It is operating with minus 5Mhz offset and 123 Hz CTCSS required for
access. This will be replaced by the RadNet DMR repeater early in
the Year.
The site will be formally commissioned later in the month once fitout
of the equipment shelter has been completed and all the VK2RCN
repeaters have been permanently installed and tested.
(vk2wi)
2023 Social Scene
Clubs are welcome to submit text with audio for this section
VK2 - Central Coast Amateur Radio Club will NOT run "MayHam" in 2023;
the event group are refocusing and re-aligning the direction of
the event, and hope to return it in 2024. (vk2wi)
VK3 - BARG HamFest 5th of February BARG clubrooms
barg.org.au/ (vk3kqt)
VK - ALARAMeet2023 4/5 November in HOBART (luther8@bigpond.com)
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
Submitting news items
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nationalnews@wia.org.au and don't JUST send url's links or
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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
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Promote your local rebroadcast; details on
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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".
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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)
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WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide.
TWITTER twitter.com/VK1WIA
Societies and Club News Letter Editors can EXCHANGE a feed
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Call-backs follow the RF editions, but also for text readers
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Who and where are they?
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Promote your local rebroadcast; details on
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The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of
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We strongly encourage membership in the Wireless Institute of
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Opinions expressed in "WIANews" are those of the writers who
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