2023 MARCH 26 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 MARCH 269 2023 IN OUR 28th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS THIS WEEK TAKING PRIDE OF PLACE IS VK2ZRH ROGER HARRISON AS HE LOOKS AT HIS PREVIEW COPY OF THE WIA'S LATEST AMATEUR RADIO MAGAZINE. PLUS MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB 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) If you are mentioning your own name / call in the story, say something like "and myself, Pat, vk11abc" (above in text version only) Hey, Dudes! This is Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radio magazine, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH. Last Monday, the files for Issue Number 2 of AR magazine for this year were uploaded to the printer's server in Bairnsdale, Victoria. Look out for the issue landing in your letterbox, your Post Office Box, or your local newsagency, late next week. The theme for this soon-to-arrive issue is Hacks and Hints. Dude! There are 16 pages filled with articles long and short crafty and colourful, fanciful and fulsome dedicated solely to the hackers and homebrewers among us. And isnt that everyone? Well, maybe at one time or another, perhaps. If youre not currently part of the homebrewer brigade, then maybe this issue will stimulate your essential bodily juices to return! The section kicks-off with a curious little rig and amp testing circuit to build. Dudes. No more whistling into the mike! The crafty little circuit generates an audio signal that mimics speech. Its brought to us by the indefatigable Jim Tregellas VK5JST. For antenna builders, theres a super feature from Peter Sumner VK5PJ a-k-a Pedro on how to set up for and put together a proper Yagi having elements that end up all straight and parallel especially for round booms! With copious photographic illustration, its metalwork porn. Moving on theres a line in a song from yesteryear that I recall goes A good joint is hard to find, I always seem to get the other kind. So, how to solder to other metals like aluminium and stainless steel is revealed in graphic detail . . . including the secret bits! Apparently, working up a gob full of spit is not necessary, providing you hold your tongue the right way when making the joint. Oh, yes. A good joint might be hard to find, but is a joy to behold. WIA historian Peter Wolfenden VK3RV completes his rundown on how Amateur Radio magazine came into being in 1933. Over the decade beforehand (the roaring twenties) there were many intrigues, twists and turns among publishers and Institute divisions to carry the line quote Official Organ of the Wireless Institute of Australia end quote on the masthead of their magazine, newspaper or newsletter. An unlikely Murdoch tale, writ small. Yep. A-R mag this year clocks up 90 years on the trot! Not to be missed are other features that are all about on-air operations at notable locations. Stephen Warrillow VK3SN recounts his experience of holidaying with his wife on Christmas Island in the tropical Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, adding a bit of DXing on the side. Meanwhile, Victorias wind-swept Cape Nelson lighthouse on the southwest coast was the scene for a weekend of fun and frolics for Glenn Alford VK3CAM, on-the-air for last years International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. Glenn furnished a dramatic photo of the Cape Nelson lighthouse for this issues front cover. Unmissable! If youre looking for the magazine in the newsagents, and you cant see it in the tech magazines section, check to see if its in the sailing and boating section. Dear, oh dear. And now for the news youve been waiting for Newcomers Notebook returns this issue and Lou Destefano VK3 A Q Z completes the article on his 400 watt T-network antenna tuner. Amateur Radio magazine, Volume 91, Issue Number 2 for 2023. Serving Australian radio amateurs for 90 years on the trot. Available in print and online. Always published to a schedule, never random. Dudes! This is AR magazine Editor-in-Chief Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. ------------------------------------------------------------* WIRELESS WEATHER Eruption on the Far Side of the Sun was so Powerful its Shockwave Hit Earth The Sun has been spitting out some pretty powerful eruptions in the last few weeks, but one that took place is a real doozy. Back around March 12, Sun-monitoring spacecraft recorded a huge amount of material blasting away from the far side of the Sun from a coronal mass ejection. Detected as an expanding cloud, or halo, of solar debris, it raced away from the Sun at exceptionally high speeds of 2,127 kilometres per second. The Sun spitting out flares and coronal mass ejections is nothing new, but this one was something special. Usually, eruptions on the far side don't tend to hit Earth, since they're facing the opposite direction; but this one was so intense that satellites orbiting our home planet picked up the signal of particles from the eruption accelerated by the eruption's shockwave right into our corner of space. sciencealert.com/ (eHam) ------------------------------------------------------------* INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, RAC, ARRL, NZART, eHam, AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, eHam, Radioworld.com and the World Wide sources of the WIA. Our first story, sourced to Region 2 is actually a little out of that area, in fact out of International news even. Have you ever wondered " What time is it on the moon?" A new era of lunar exploration is on the rise, with dozens of Moon Missions planned for the coming decade and Europe, IARU Region 2 is in the forefront here, contributing to building the Gateway lunar station and the Orion spacecraft which is set to return humans to our natural satellite, as well as developing its large logistic lunar lander, known as Argonaut. As dozens of missions will be operating on and around the Moon and needing to communicate together and fix their positions independently from Earth, this new era will require its own time. Timing is a crucial element, adds ESA navigation system engineer Pietro Giordano who said "During a meeting recently we agreed on the importance and urgency of defining a common lunar reference time, which is internationally accepted and towards which all lunar systems and users may refer to. A joint international effort is now being launched towards achieving this. tinyurl.com/ANS-078-Lunar-Time REGION ONE BROADCASTER SHUTS LONGWAVE RADIO TRANSMITTER IN ICELAND A longwave radio transmitter in Iceland has been shut down and demolished, as Iceland phases out that form of broadcast. A team of police stood nearby to oversee safety concerns. Destruction of the mast, standing 218 metres, Iceland's third tallest structure, took place because of a decline in the number of listeners to longwave radio broadcasts. The transmitter had been operated on 207 kHz by the Icelandic broadcaster RUV, which is now giving priority to FM. Another RUV transmitter will continue operating for a little longer in West Iceland on 189 kHz. This is Iceland's tallest structure at 412 metres. There are plans also for that transmitter to close, once FM broadcasts replace all of its functions. The impetus for the change is being driven in part by Iceland's Civil Defence and other organisations looking to improve emergency notification capabilities. That role is going to be transferred to FM, which is slowly being upgraded throughout Iceland. Austria restricts 23cm band operation Austria has become the latest country to impose restrictions on Amateur Radio operation in the 23 cm band (1240-1300 MHz) to protect to protect ground-based receivers for the Galileo RNSS satellite constellation. The UK National HamFest, the well-known rally previously held annually at the Newark Showground in the UK, has been cancelled. A statement on the HamFest website said that at such short notice, organisers cannot find a replacement venue or a new date. Directors considered a July event but ultimately it was decided that there were too many obstacles for the attendees, traders and to financial benefits. The directors wrote: "We can assure you, we haven't made this decision lightly." They committed to what they called "a bigger and better event" in September 2024 at the Newark Showground. REGION TWO RECORD FINES FOR STATIONS CHARGED WITH PIRACY A New York City broadcaster charged with piracy has become the first of two stations to be targeted under a law passed three years ago enabling larger and, until now, unprecedented penalties. The FCC has proposed a record fine of more than $2.3-million against Radio Impacto 2, which the agency said was still on the air at the time the commission made its announcement Wednesday, March 15th. According to a report in ARNewsLine, the radio signals are being transmitted from the New York City borough of Queens. Radio Impacto's website calls it "The Official Radio of Ecuadorians in New York. The FCC issued a $20,000 forfeiture against the station in 2015 and a year later its broadcast equipment was seized by US Marshals. The second station was identified in a Radio World report as "Pirate Radio Eastern Oregon," and its operator faces an $80,000 forfeiture. Congratulations to CQ magazine, where a new associate editor has been hired. Amateur Radio NewsLine are reporting 'Sabrina Herman, KB 3 UJW, has joined the staff, succeeding long-time managing editor Jason Feldman, KD 2 IWM. Sabrina had previously been managing editor and promotional coordinator for Hermes Press, a small publisher of books in Pennsylvania. She has been a ham for 13 years. REGION THREE And I'm going to pinch Bruce VK3FFF's thunder and announce this story hear instead of Bruce's Special Interest Group news "First-time summit activator Emile, VK5WWW, has now earned one point in the SOTA awards scheme for each year of his life: The 10-year-old successfully activated Mount Wellington in Tasmania with a hand held and a lot of hope on Tuesday, March 21st shortly before 9:30 am local Tassie time. The summit is 1,270-metres high, not that we are suggesting he walked all the way! Operating at VK5WWW/7 he logged six contacts across the Hobart area on 2m. One-half hour later, it was a done deal. Emile's first solo act was a success. His proud father, John VK5HAA, who is also an activator, reported his son's SOTA success on the Australian SOTA activators' groups.io email list. Congratulations on reaching new heights, Emile. Good on ya! -------------------------------------------------------------------* HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT -------------- NOW CONTEST WISE:- -------------- 2023 -------------- -------------- On now is this years CQ Worldwide WPX SSB Contest and it concludes at 2359 UTC the 26th of March. Using SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. (rsgb) -------------- YOTA CONTEST Youngsters On The Air 1st round 22nd April 0800 1959 UTC ham-yota.com/contest/ -------------- MAY SIX Saturday Harry Angel Memorial Sprint 106 mts an annual 80m contest event, first established in 1999, to commemorate the life of Harry Angel VK4HA who at the time of his becoming a Silent Key was the oldest licensed amateur in Australia. (106) The duration of the contest is 106 minutes one minute for each year of Harry's life. The Harry Angel Memorial Sprint has been run annually since 1999 It is usually held on the first Saturday in May each year 10:00 UTC - 11:46 UTC (wia.org.au) -------------- MAY 20-21 Don Edwards Memorial Slow Morse Contest begins the weekend after Mother's Day. 80m section Saturday 20th May 6 to 9pm Sydney time. 40m section afternoon of Sunday 21st of May, 1 to 4 Sydney time. (vk2wi) -------------- JUNE 24-25 WINTER VHF-UHF Field Day. 0100 UTC Saturday 24 to 0059 UTC Sunday 25 BUT in VK6 add 3 hours onto start and end times. (wia.org.au) -------------- JUNE Weekend prior to 2nd Monday of June VK SHIRES -------------- Also make a mental note that the 2023 QRP Day happens June 17 (sourced to iaru r3) -------------- IARU HF World Championship Contest takes place the second full weekend of July beginning 1200 UTC Saturday and ending 1200 UTC Sunday July 8-9 July. All licensed amateurs worldwide are eligible to participate in this contest as the objective is to contact as many other amateurs as possible, especially IARU member society HQ stations around the world using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands. (sourced to iaru r3) -------------- -------------- DX WINDOW -------------- -------------- Active is FR / F 5 UOW from Reunion Island, AF-016, until tomorrow, Monday the 27th of March using CW. QSL via Logbook of the World. (rsgb) -------------- Until April 2nd, the EI DX Group will be QRV from Antigua Island, IOTA Ref NA-100, using the call V 26 EI. They hoped to be setup in time to participate in this weekends CQ WW WPX SSB Contest. Operating over nine days on CW, SSB, RTTY and a little FT8. Details of the trip can be followed on their blog page. v26ei.eidxg.com The group look forward to seeing many of you in the logs. QSL is via Charles M 0 OXO m0oxo.com All logs will be uploaded to LoTW after the trip. (irts) -------------- The Russian DXpedition Team is using the callsign 9 X 5 RU in Rwanda until April 7th on 160 - 6m and they will also be using the QO-100 satellite. They operate CW, SSB and FT8 and QSL via Club Log's OQRS and LoTW. (arnewsline) -------------- Listen for the special event callsign A 60 AP, which is on the air until the 31st of August. The suffix stands for the Emirates "Astronaut Program," which prepares crews of UAE astronauts for missions that include the International Space Station. QSL via EA7FTR. (arnewsline) ------------------------------------------------------------* WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS 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/ facebook.com/SotaAustralia/ wwffaustralia.com/ VK7WI News have reported on 70 new Worldwide Flora and Fauna park/reserve reference areas have been added to the VK7 directory list including areas on King and Flinders Islands. All new WWFF reference areas must fall within the International Union for Conservation of Nature protected area category system. The list of the new VK7 park / reserves can be found in the WWFF online directory or the WWFFAustralia website and will be added to the ParksnPeaks website. wwff.co/ parksnpeaks.org/ Speaking of parks Carmel VK2CAR, Colin VK2JCC, Stuart VK2BMX and others, have been activating various parks in northern Sydney. Parks such as Wahroonga Park and Rofe Park in Hornsby Heights. Their portable station is a real 'magnet' for passers-by, the hams hand out club business cards, and talk about the hobby with these curious passers-by. Well done for not only "parking" but in promoting our great hobby. (vk7wi and vk2wi) VI 10 VKFF Paul VK5PAS, the National Co-Ordinator for the World Wide Flora and Fauna program, abbreviated as WWFF joins us now:- "WWFF is an international park activation program and is extremely popular here in VK. The Australian chapter of the WWFF program is known as VKFF. This month, March 2023, we celebrate 10 years of the WWFF program in Australia and a special event callsign of VI 10 VKFF has been granted by the ACMA to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of VKFF. The callsign is available for use by amateurs who are activating an Australian park as part of the VKFF program. If you are interested in using VI10VKFF whilst activating a VKFF park, please send an email to: vkffaustralia@gmail.com If you do hear a VKFF park activator using the callsign, please give them a call. You are not required to submit a log or do anything formal following the QSO but the park activator would be very pleased to hear from you. More information on VI10VKFF (which runs all of 2023) and the VKFF program can be found on the WWFF Australia website at: wwffaustralia.com 73, Paul VK5PAS. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CW www.morsecodeclassnet.com Following on from a recent release of a Morse practice YouTube Shorts video for the letters of the alphabet, Electronics Notes has now launched another video in the series but for numbers one to zero. The video counts through the numbers one to zero in turn and this sequence is repeated again. If you are interested in learning Morse code, like quite a few I know, it might be worth checking out. It is less than a minute long, so you won't waste much time if you don't like it and if you do, then it can repeat to help with the learning process. youtube.com/shorts/J5psORD0iLY?feature=share (eHam) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org NASA is awarding more than $3.8 million to 21 museums, science centres, and other informal education institutions for projects designed to bring the excitement of space science to communities across the USA and broaden student participation in STEM STEM is the acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Projects were selected for NASAs Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions program and their Community Anchor Awards. The selected projects will engage their communities in a wide variety of STEM topics, from aeronautics and Earth science to human space exploration. (NA) COPY THAT - or should that be - PRINT THAT Looking for a fun project for that 3D printer sitting in your shack? Look no further than Relativity Space in California for inspiration. Their Terran 1 will try to become the first 3D-printed, methane-fuelled rocket to reach orbit. There are a number of firsts here potentially on this rocket, said Josh Brost, vice president of revenue operations at Relativity Space. It has the chance of being the first liquid natural gas / liquid oxygen rocket to make it to orbit. It has, by far, the highest 3D-printed content of any rocket in history. Were sitting at about 85% by mass, where I dont think any other rocket has gone past maybe 4%. Compared to a traditional rocket that has more than 100,000 parts, this 3D-printed rocket has less than 1,000 parts. More information at spaceflightnow.com/2023/03/11/relativity-space-terran-1-glhf/ [ANS] WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING VKJOTAJOTI.COM scouts.com.au scout.org/jota international.scouts.com.au jotajoti.info/ And for this segment it's to Alec VK2APC Thank you Bruce And hello everyone, did you have a good John Moyle Memorial contest last weekend? What a great weekend it was for a small group of scouts and leaders at Cataract Scout Activity Centre, south west of Sydney. Brett Nicolas, V K 2 B N N organised a weekend camp to stay at a campground in Cataract, participate in John Moyle and for those on the camp to learn a bit more about radio activities. They operated under the callsign Victor Kilo 2 Sierra Romeo Alpha portable. We now have a scout who is keen to get his amateur radio licence after calling CQ for the contest, logging some contacts for another scout and making a contact with Lauro Zanoli, India Kilo 4 Golf Romeo Oscar in Italy! The Scouts also learned about and participated in a foxhunt as a side activity. The group even had a visit from a goanna who was curious about amateur radio! Alan, my brother who is a Cub, took some photos of the camp and you can see a couple on Bevans video version of this weeks news. The group would like to thank the many amateurs who demonstrated patience plus offered words of encouragement and support over the air to the inexperienced youth that participated in the contest. On another note, a very sincere thank you to you Col, Bruce, Graham, Bevan and to everyone else who wished me a happy birthday. I really appreciated the birthday wishes from you. For VK1WIA National News, I am Alec VK2APC in Sydney. Now back over to you Bruce 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 Allan VK4HIT from the Ipswich and District Radio Club joins in now with some WICEN News. "Just a reminder for members who expressed an interest in learning how to set up and operate the WICEN portable repeater, that Saturday morning April 22, at 0900Hrs has been set aside for this event. Bob VK4EK will show how it is all done so that for future events members can start to take some of the burden off Bob and Sylvia and thus not having to rely on them 100 per cent. Please attend if you can and contact Robert VK4KHW or Greg VK4GJW beforehand." Thanks ALAN and a reminder Ipswich Wicen is always on the lookout for extra help for these events, so if you can, please email ipswichwicen@gmail.com WHEN "LINE OF SIGHT" SERVES AS A LIFELINE Most of us have heard the phrase "when all else fails, ham radio." Well, our story here carries an alternative thought: "when all else fails, aerial drones." From ARNewsLine here's Ralph Squillace KK 6 ITB. Deep snow in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon left two motorists trapped in the Willamette National Forest. One of them was a woman who had become stranded in her minivan. The other was a man traveling not far from there. There was rarely any traffic or even maintenance workers on this little-travelled road but they were able to spot one another and try to find a way out of their predicament. However, the road's remote location put it out of range for cellphone service. The snow grew higher and the temperatures dropped lower. As the two tried to find a way to get word out that they were in danger, the man realized he might in fact have a way out for the both of them, after all. He would use line-of-sight communications, the same principle employed by we ham radio operators on VHF/UHF and microwave frequencies, as well as those using satellites. He realized that if he could get his cellphone up high enough - say, several hundred feet above the thick treetops - its signal would reach a cell tower, enabling it to send a text message that could carry the details of his distress to a friend. He had the cellphone and, as luck would have it, he happened to have an aerial drone in his car and the drone had enough power to make that successful flight. It worked. The man's friend received the text with his location and the details of what had happened and the sheriff's search and rescue team did the rest. The two motorists - and the drone - were brought to safety. This is Ralph Squilllace KK6ITB. ------------------------------------------------------------* 2023 Social Scene Clubs are welcome to submit text with audio for this section Details of all WIA affiliated clubs and societies can be found on the WIA website, including email addresses and website links. VK4 - REDCLIFFE - REDFEST APRIL ONE (vk4tfn) VK3 - Antennapalooza at Drouin West April 15 & 16 (vk3kj) VK3 - MOORABBIN HAMFEST - May 6 (vk3gl) VK - WIA AGM May 13 at 10:30am AEST (vk8zz) VK5 - SERG CONVENTION/FOX HUNTING CHAMPIONSHIPS June 10-11 (vk5dj) VK4 - SUNFEST SEPTEMBER 9 (vk4an) At Mountain Creek State Schools massive air conditioned auditorium, just off the Sunshine Motor Way. Mountain Creek is tucked in to the west of Mooloolaba VK - ALARAMeet2023 4/5 November in HOBART (luther8@bigpond.com) ------------------------------------------------------------*