Amateur Radio December 2016
Delivery expected from 24 November
 WIA Member Digital Edition Download
Editorial
Season’s Greetings
Another year is approaching its conclusion, which brings with it many celebratory events. I trust that everyone will enjoy their applicable festivities and makes it safely through the festive season and into the New Year. Do take care, especially on the roads.
New publication
As you will see elsewhere in this issue, we anticipate having a new publication “Wireless Men and Women at War” available for sale in the very near future. The book will present many of the articles relating to the involvement of amateurs and experimenters in the development and use of radio communications in relation to military services.
In addition to articles previously published in Amateur Radio, several significant new articles are included in the volume.
Note that the WIA Bookshop is accepting orders for the book at discounted prices until 21 December 2016. Orders will be filled as soon as possible after publication.
The production team is hard at work finalising the book and a definite date for publication is not set at the time this Editorial was prepared, but it is anticipated that it should be available prior to the Office closing for the Christmas-New Year period.
The book should make an excellent gift for any amateur or anyone interested in military communications.
Corporate machinations
The rumour mill is currently going wild with a variety of speculations about changes the WIA is purported to institute, together with various claims about perceptions and interpretations of previous actions of our organisation or its Board members.
So what are we to believe?
As reported on the WIA website, the new Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer are working hard to clarify the financial situation of the organisation. They have reported some discrepancies, but no wrongdoing at this time.
My personal belief is that we should allow the team to determine the true state of our financial affairs before we consider any further actions.
It will be interesting to read about the recommendations once the treasurers have made sense of the books.
Regardless of the outcome/s of the current review of the financial situation, members should carefully consider if they individually have something to offer in a leadership position on our Board. You will see a call for nominations elsewhere in this issue.
We can only vote for individuals who are prepared to stand and serve. Hopefully we can all look forward to facing a difficult task in early 2017 in deciding for whom we should vote for the Board positions which fall vacant at the next Annual General Meeting.
Speaking of which – the AGM – some basic details are now available for the AGM. Seek out the available information and consider making plans to be there in person!
Until next month,
Cheers,
Peter VK3PF
Cover photo: The PARG shelter, trailer and tower set up for JOTA. Inset: Niamh Wilson from Ellenbrook Guides participating in JOTA at the Northern Corridor Radio Group. Photos by Paul Gardner (main) and Guide Leader Helen Chance (inset).
WIA President's Comment
December again!
Every time December comes around I can’t believe it’s been another year. This year in particular has been very difficult, as I’m sure all readers will be only too painfully aware. However, the good news is that we now have two very capable people looking after the WIA’s financial systems, and although there are obviously some serious issues to work through, real progress is being made.
Let me introduce our new Treasurer, Chris Hendry VK3PAT, and Assistant Treasurer, Jeff Tubbenhauer VK5IU.
Chris has very extensive experience in all facets of business and financial management. In his early years, Chris served in the Royal Navy as a Navy Gunnery officer on HMS Hubberston, based in Singapore. He then then went on to fill very senior financial management positions in banking, business management, facilities management, and founded the company You, Me, and Him Advertising. Chris is currently the Honorary Treasurer of the Wesley College Parents Association 4x4 Touring Club, something that many radio amateurs can identify with, I’m sure.
Jeff previously served the WIA back in the late 1970s, and for 32 years operated his own business as a Certified Financial Planner in Alice Springs. Chris is very experienced in business management and the finance and insurance industries, and has also served on a number of Boards, including the Cancer Council NT, and rugby union and golf clubs. Jeff is currently assisting Chris and is advising the Board on issues in relation to the Club Insurance scheme.
I am certain these two very experienced volunteers will be a great asset to the WIA. They have certainly hit the ground running, and they advise much work needs to be done to be able to report the finances accurately. It is fixable, but at a great cost of time for our Treasurers. I also expect there will be some major changes coming soon including a recommendation to undertake a strategic review. Remember, the national WIA is only 13 years old, and it’s time to review our operations and how we can best meet our member’s diverse needs.
At the time of writing, the WIA has just circulated a new draft Volunteers Charter to all current Committee members. This is a first for the WIA and has been developed from principles embodied in publications by Volunteer Australia (www.volunteer.com.au). The Charter will clarify what volunteers should be able to expect from the WIA, and in turn, what the WIA should be able to expect of its many volunteers.
We are working to have the Charter introduced very early in the New Year, and we are receiving a lot of valuable feedback and suggestions from Committee members. Following adoption of the Charter, we plan to commence a review of the Committee system.
The other big event this month is the publication of Peter Wolfenden’s ANZAC feature series of articles about radio amateurs in wartime. I am sure you will all agree that Peter’s articles (and those of other contributors) in Amateur Radio over this year and last year were a fabulous read, and now we have brought them all together into a new commemorative publication: Wireless Men & Women at War.
Owing to the imperative to not financially overcommit the WIA at present, the Board has decided to offer pre-release sales of this publication at a discount to the planned members’ price of $29.95. Discounted pre-release sales will continue to 21 December, and the book will be printed in January, with sales expected from within and outside the amateur community. Peter Wolfenden VK3RV and the Publications Committee have done a terrific job on this, and it is set to be a real classic. Please do buy a copy during the pre-release sales period.
So, another year has passed. I would like to sincerely thank all those who have supported the WIA over the past year, and all those that have done their bit for Amateur Radio. Members must remember that the WIA represents all Amateurs, whether a member or not, and there are external forces that do not see the value to society of Ham Radio. The WIA must promote our volunteers to be vigilant of our bands and our contribution to society.
I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year and remember to tell Santa Claus “You can’t have too many radios”.
Table Of Contents
GENERAL
Pre-sales of history book begin The Wireless Institute of Australia
Amateur radio: Topics of conversation on a social network Liz Billiau VK2XSE
Waverley Amateur Radio Society at Macquarie Lighthouse Fred Lodden VK2EFL
IARU Liaison Report Jim Linton VK3PC
Modern day radar interference Jim Linton VK3PC
TECHNICAL
Tune for maximum brightness: An LED antenna current indicator Peter Parker VK3YE
Switching from the Serial Port, cheaply! John Sutcliffe VK3TCT
Build your own latest WSJT-X release Steve Ireland VK3VM / VK3SIR
‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ - Part 1: an Arduino Slow Scan TV generator Dale Hughes VK1DSH
Plus all the usual Club news and columns
Amateur radio: Topics of conversation on a social network
Liz Billiau VK2XSE
The author presents an interesting analysis of topics of conversations heard on the local repeater network.
Waverley Amateur Radio Society at Macquarie Lighthouse
Fred Lodden VK2EFL
An account of a lighthouse activation by a Club as part of the ILLW.
‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ - Part 1: an Arduino Slow Scan TV generator
Dale Hughes VK1DSH
The author describes his development of a system to generate slow scan television pictures using an Arduino board.
Tune for maximum brightness: An LED antenna current indicator
Peter Parker VK3YE
The author presents a simple antenna current indicator based on a toroid transformer, a LED and a light shield. A simple and effective tool for use in the field.
Advertisers Index
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64 TTS Systems/Amidon
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Page Last Updated: Friday 25 November 2016 at 21:30 hours
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