2023 JULY 02 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 JULY 2 2023 IN OUR 28th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS THIS WEEK:- WIA DIRECTOR Steven Green VK2TSG . - DISCUSSION POINT with Geoff Emery VK4ZPP. I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB and well we won't do THAT again HiHi Last week I left all listeners hanging with a teaser for a special activity and promised not to steal the Secretaries thunder.. But tucked away in Director Steve board report is a brief mention of it - THE 2024 WIA AGM TO BE HELD IN MAY IN BUNDABERG. Other news of note the past couple of weeks originates in the UK. A quiet interesting edition of the ICQPodcast is available on YouTube when Martin Butler M1MRB/W9ICQ is joined by the RSGB President John McCullagh GI4BWM, Chairman Stewart Bryant G3YSX and General Manager M1ACB to discuss Ofcom's proposed changes to the UK Amateur Radio Licence. Of course in this edition of "News You Can Trust" from your WIA our very own International Man Jason VK2LAW will also comment on the proposed changes. youtube.com/watch?v=_lRQmUmg1Oc WIA JOIN THE WIA tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y Hello, this is Steven Green VK2TSG, one of your WIA national board members. Following on from last weeks Board Comment from Giles VK5GK, the WIA are looking for people to fill volunteer positions, most notably in technical areas, Youth on the Air (or 'YOTA'), and the Ross Hull Memorial Contest. We have started to receive some expressions of interest, but if you feel that you would be suitably qualified, please pop your name in the proverbial 'hat' for consideration. The process also lets us know of your interest in these areas for future opportunities, so please do not be discouraged if you are unsure if you quite meet what we are looking for at this time. The Board are also presently looking at opportunities to improve and upgrade resources for members such as the Website, Memnet, and the renewal and joining process. This also includes systems that are not yet automated and introduce breakdowns in communication when competing proprieties interfere with the normal workflow. We have been listening to your feedback and being affected ourselves, we understand the frustration that these problems have created. If members have any suggestions for updates in these areas, please discuss with any of the Board members, or contact me via email steve.green@board.wia.org.au We wish to congratulate the Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club on their successful submission to the Board requesting to host next years WIA Annual General Meeting, this will be held in May 2024. Not only will the AGM be hosted, but it will be combined with a showcase of Amateur Radio activities in a 'HamVention'. The Bundaberg Mayor and Council CEO specifically endorsed the clubs bid for the event and were keen to secure their town as the venue. There are still many details to be arranged, so please be on the lookout for future updates on the WIA website as details come to hand as we would like to see many of you there as possible in May. 73 from Steven VK2TSG DISCUSSION POINT WITH VK4ZPP GEOFF EMERY I wonder how many clubs are getting prepared for the next events on the calendar? For that matter, I wonder how many shacks and portable stations are ready, too. With the strong possibility that we are heading into a La Nina event, the probable drier weather will be making it easier for outdoor activities, especially as we start to enter the warmer months. JOTA and Remembrance Day are two features of the event calendar each year and some forward planning certainly sets the scene for successful participation. They are only weeks away but we still have time for getting the stage set. It is always a scramble to get skeds lined up for the JOTA stations to ensure the Scouts have the best experience of ham radio. Those people who will be running event stations can take this opportunity to send us a brief audio spot for inclusion in WIA National News to help people plan ahead. So enjoy your radio and until next week, Im Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and thats what I think....how about you? ------------------------------------------------------------* 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. REGION ONE Ofcom, the communications regulator for the United Kingdom, is requesting feedback to potential changes to the amateur radio licensing framework. Just a few of the changes outlined in the 101 page proposal include: Only permit licensees to hold a single individual licence, requiring surrender of lower licences as they progress Increase the maximum permitted transmit power to allow 1000 Watts for Full licensees in bands where amateur radio has a primary allocation. Allow Foundation licensees to build their own equipment and access the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands The full proposal is available via PDF on the Ofcom website. tinyurl.com/m45krtfm A quiet interesting edition of the ICQPodcast is available on YouTube when Martin Butler M1MRB/W9ICQ is joined by the RSGB President John McCullagh GI4BWM, Chairman Stewart Bryant G3YSX and General Manager M1ACB to discuss Ofcom's proposed changes to the UK Amateur Radio Licence. youtube.com/watch?v=_lRQmUmg1Oc REGION TWO Women of Influence in Engineering 2023 Ham Honouree Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, Cofounder and CEO of the Open Research Institute (ORI), has been selected as a 2023 honouree for the Women of Influence in Engineering section published by the San Diego Business Journal. The publication celebrates female trailblazers and highlights the honourees careers and accomplishments. Michelle, W 5 NYV, has been an amateur radio operator for more than 25 years and was drawn to the hobby by her father and grandfather, who were amateur radio operators. In 2020, she founded ORI, a non-profit research and development organization that provides all of its work to the general public under the principles of Open Source and Open Access to Research. She is responsible for amateur satellite service regulatory reform and is a member of the FCC Technological Advisory Council. Michelle is also chair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers San Diego Section and founded the IEEE Information Theory Society, as well as the local Open Source Digital Radio Group. W5NYV serves the ARRL Field Organization Southwestern Division as a Technical Specialist for the San Diego Section and is an ARRL Life Member. With the broadcast industry and its allies in Washington DC turning up the heat on automakers to keep AM in cars, any glimpse into what automotive companies are thinking about the dashboard is important. General Motors recently outlined its info-tainment plans for new electric vehicles. Notably, the automaker says it will DITCH phone projection systems for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in a number of 2024 models. In a media fact sheet, GM announced the move to an embedded Android Automotive system from Google in EVs. To help customers have seamless access to the full breadth of these experiences within our advanced in-vehicle displays, we will be integrating industry-leading applications such as Google Maps, Google Assistant, Amazon Music, Audible, Spotify, YouTube Music and more, GM stated in the release. GMs announcement contained no mention of AM/FM radio capability in their infotainment strategy HamSCI Selected for NASA Grant Proposal to Support Upcoming Festivals of Ionospheric Science and Solar Eclipse QSO Parties. Dr. Nathaniel Frissell W 2 NAF, Lead Organizer for HamSCI, The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, has announced that the organization has recently received a funding grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in support of its upcoming scientific research in ionospheric science regarding the upcoming 2023 and 2024 North American solar eclipses. This project will study the ionospheric response to the 2024 total solar eclipse through a series of large-scale citizen science experiments known as the HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science, which includes the Solar Eclipse QSO Parties. The data for these experiments will be generated by amateur radio operators communicating with each other over and around the eclipse paths using medium and high frequency signals that are refracted back to Earth by the ionosphere, and therefore sensitive to eclipse-induced ionospheric changes. These Festivals will be coordinated by HamSCI in collaboration with the amateur radio community. These experiments will build on the success of the exercise held during the 2017 Great American Eclipse which generated over 2.5 million data points over the eight-hour period around the eclipse. REGION THREE CEYLON Worked Ten 4S-WT4S is an award by The Radio Society of Sri Lanka (RSSL). This esteemed award is open to amateur radio operators worldwide who can provide evidence of confirmed contacts with at least 10 amateurs from Sri Lanka. The award is applicable to contacts made on HF and 6m bands only. Contacts made using any mode, including Phone, CW, Digital, RTTY, etc., are accepted and valid for the award. However be aware for Non-Sri Lankan hams there is a fee:- USD $25, wire transfer only. To apply for the award, please submit your logs to awards@rssl.lk with WT4S as the subject. -------------------------------------------------------------------* HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT -------------- -------------- NOW CONTEST WISE:- -------------- -------------- While amateur radio teams from all over the world compete in the World Radiosport Team Championship, July 8 and 9, hams from all over the world can now compete right along with the competitors. Organisers have announced the WRTC 2022 Competition Award - yes, it's still known as WRTC 2022 because of the one-year COVID delay. Hams who have had QSOs with competing stations in the championship can work toward this award by getting on the air during the contest and listening for the action. For more details about the Competition Award, visit wrtc2022.it and look under the "NEWS" tab. (ARNewsLine) -------------- The NZART Memorial Contest has been held every year since 1946 to commemorate those New Zealand amateur radio operators who lost their lives in World War 2. The contest is held every year on the Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend of July. The 2023 Memorial Contest dates are 1st and 2nd of July. (nzart) -------------- 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) -------------- JULY 15 - Trans Tasman Low Band Contest Held on the 3rd weekend in July, aims to encourage Low Band activity between VK and ZL 160 80 and 40M are allowed with SSB, CW and Digital (RTTY OR PSK) Contest Manager Alan Shannon VK4SN -------------- AUGUST 12 - 13 Remembrance Day Contest This contest commemorates the Amateurs who died during World War II and is designed to encourage friendly participation and help improve the operating skills of participants. It is held on the weekend closest to the 15th August, the date on which hostilities ceased with Japan in the southwest Pacific area. A perpetual trophy is awarded annually to the Australian state or territory with the best performance. The name of the winning State or Territory is inscribed on the trophy, and that State or Territory then holds the trophy for 12 months. The winning State or Territory is also given a certificate, as are leading entrants. (wia.org.au) -------------- August 26 - 27 A.L.A.R.A. CONTEST Contest is always on the last FULL weekend of August. All licensed operators throughout the world are invited to participate. Scout and Girl Guide groups are encouraged to participate using their Club's equipment and callsign. YLs work everyone; OMs work YLs only. Combined phone and CW run over 24 hours: Saturday 0600 hours UTC till Sunday 0559 hours UTC All HF Bands except 160m & WARC Bands. ECHOLINK will also be accepted. (alara web site) -------------- OCTOBER - Oceania DX (OCDX) Contest Contest Dates/Times: PH - The first full weekend in October each year 0600 UTC Saturday to 0600 UTC Sunday CW - Second full weekend in October from 0600 UTC Saturday to 0600 UTC Sunday Log deadline for PH and CW logs - 31 October. Managed by the Oceania DX Contest Committee. info@oceaniadxcontest.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- DX WINDOW -------------- -------------- VI 10 VKFF running all of 2023 celebrates the 10 year anniversary of the VKFF group. (vk5pas) -------------- Special Event Station VI 100 MB all year celebrates the centenary of the Manly-Warringah Radio Society -------------- CHINA. QRV is BY2/K6FA until the middle of August. HF bands using mainly CW. QSL via LoTW. (arrl) -------------- 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) ------------------------------------------------------------* WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org CHINA Harbin Institute of Technology Developing New Lunar Amateur Radio Satellite. Lunar OSCAR II is a lunar amateur radio payload developing by a team of students in Harbin Institute of Technology and international, all amateur radio enthusiasts. Its baseline functions include telemetry, digital image downlink from an infrared camera, and digipeater with JT4G uplink/downlink. Amateur radio orbit determination experiments, for example Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), are also possible with these links. Harbin Institute of Technology had previously successfully developed the first lunar amateur radio satellite, LO-94 As a subsequent mission, Lunar OSCAR II will continue offering various resources for communications relay and amateur radio research, and promoting the cooperation of amateur radio communities. Lunar OSCAR II will utilize downlinks on UHF for telemetry and images using 250/500 baud GMSK with turbo codes and Digipeater using JT4G. The satellite is planned for a launch from Wenchang in 2024. A downlink on 437.750 MHz has been coordinated. More information is available at https://by2hit.github.io/. (twiar) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - MARITIME ILLW The ILLW weekend takes place over the weekend of August 19th to 20th. One to listen out for is Port Clinton Lighthouse in central USA, it's located at the mouth of the Portage River on Lake Erie. Activation on Saturday, August 19th from 15:00 to 21:00 UTC W 8 GNM / 8 will be QRV from the Port Clinton Lighthouse during the ILLW which is also Port Clinton Lighthouse Festival Ohio. Check web clusters for specific frequencies but typical 40m frequencies 7.200 or 7.235 and typical 20m frequencies 14.285 or 14.335 QSL via LoTW ONLY to W8GNM/8. (eHam) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS qcwa.org raotc.org.au Hallo everyone, this is Clive VK6CSW reminding you that the Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australia's July bulletin goes to air tomorrow. Frequency change. Following the success of last months trial, the 00 hours UTC transmission will be on 28.450 MHz. Full details of this change plus all other broadcast times can be found on the Club website www.raotc.org.au or by Googling RAOTC broadcasts. This month, instead of the usual broadcast, we will offer an interesting historical broadcast from 2001 by Allan Doble, VK3AMD. The usual news and information will be broadcast next month. Everyone, RAOTC members and non-Members alike, is most welcome to listen to the program and join in the call backs afterwards. If none of the transmission times suit you, you can download the audio file at any time from today from the club website. The next lunchtime meeting for Members and Friends of the RAOTC in Perth is on Tuesday July 11th at the new venue, the Woodbridge Hotel, East Guildford starting at 11.30. All are welcome; see our website for full details. www.raotc.org.au Once again, tune in tomorrow for the July RAOTC bulletin, enjoy the program and please join in the call backs afterwards. 73 from Clive VK6CSW. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS - YOTA (Youngsters On The Air) facebook.com/yotaregion2 youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA twitter.com/hamyota ham-yota.com YOUNG DXPEDITIONERS SET SIGHTS ON GUYANA This story takes us to Guyana - that's the location a young quartet of DXpeditioners has its collective eye on. Their trip has been years in the making and now, with the travel precautions of the pandemic behind them, a team of DXpeditioners -- all in their 20s -- is finally free to travel to their destination: Guyana. Four friends, Jamie MSDV, Philipp, DK6SP, Tomi, HA8RT and Sven DJ4MX, make up the team. Their youth hasn't stopped them from becoming veteran DXpeditioners. Jamie told Amateur Radio NewsLine: "We have been fortunate enough to visit some amazing locations worldwide." Now they putting together their plan to operate in Guyana between the 14th and the 24th of next February operating CW, SSB, FT8 and RTTY on the HF bands. They have not yet been assigned a callsign. The Northern California DX Foundation said it has given the team a $5,000 USD grant as a way of encouraging the next generation of adventuring amateurs. www.8R-2024.com Meanwhile in the UK, National Coding Week has been run for many years in the third week of September. Coding is used increasingly in amateur radio, and the BBC Micro-bit and the Arduino have made it easier for radio amateurs of all ages to discover more about this. As part of its commitment to encourage youngsters into amateur radio and to support lifelong learning, the RSGB will be providing resources and creating coding activities for people to get involved in throughout the month of September. (rsgb) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING VKJOTAJOTI.COM scouts.com.au scout.org/jota international.scouts.com.au jotajoti.info/ Brett Nicholas VK2BNN Scouts Australia National co-ordinator for JOTA. Lorraine OHare VK2FICQ is Girl Guides Australia National JOTA-JOTI Co-ordinator. Jota always 3rd weekend in October so 2023 = October 20 - 22 CALLING FREQUENCIES Please QSY off the calling frequency after establishing communication. Australian voice calling frequencies: 3.650, 7.090, 14.190, 21.190, 28.590, 52.160 World CW calling frequencies: 3.570, 7.030, 14.060, 18.080, 21.140, 24.910, 28.180, 50.160 World voice calling frequencies: 3.690 & 3.940 MHz, 7.090 & 7.190, 14.290, 18.140, 21.360, 24.960, 28.390, 50.160 Calling frequencies for Slow Scan TV (SSTV): 3.630, 7.033, 14.227 Calling Frequencies for PSK31 14.070 SCOUTING IN SOUTH AFRICA VOORTREKKERS TO ACTIVATE ZS9BKJ The Voortrekkers will be activating special call sign, ZS 9 BKJ during their annual camp, taking place from the 1st to the 8th of July at Port Edward on the Natal south coast. The station will be active twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon. As the station is also an educational station, the young people will also be allowed to take part in the contacts made. The purpose of this is to expose the young people to the hobby. Transmissions will be on the 40 m band. An electronic OSL card will be issued. All amateurs and Scouts are invited to make contact with the ZS 9 BKJ station. (SARL NEWS) ------------------------------------------------------------* 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. VK5 - ADELAIDE HILLS ARS - Buy and Sell Marion RSL July 15 (armag) VK6 - Northern Corridor Radio Group HamFest 20th August. Email us at bradcortina1600@gmail.com contact Brad Peters VK6BAP on 0427 401 513 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) VK3 - Rosebud RadioFest at Eastbourne Primary School Sunday, November 12 (vk3pdg) VK5 - Amateur Radio Experimenters Group Radio & Electronics Sale November 26 (vk5qi) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 IT'S A DATE 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. VK - WIA AGM MAY - BUNDABERG. (vk2tsg) VK - National Volunteer Week Monday 20 Sunday 26 May 2024. National Volunteer Week (NVW) is Australias largest annual celebration of volunteers and their important contribution to our communities. 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 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" 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. ------------------------------------------------------------*