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WIANEWS - AUG 3 - VK NATIONAL NEWS





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THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK



Oh... and to contact us with your news because

If It Matters To You It Matters To Us!



Email nationalnews@wia.org.au



http://www.wia.org.au (click news in member area) Submit your audio news



TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA



Please... If you are only submitting text and not audio, write your story as

you would expect to hear it being read back and NEVER send just links &

url's. When you upload audio email us the txt version.





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WIANEWS WEEK COMMENCING AUGUST 03 2014.















WIA BOARD TALK



President Phil Wait VK2ASD vk2asd@wia.org.au

Vice President Chris Platt VK5CP vk5cp@wia.org.au

Secretary David Williams VK3RU vk3ru@wia.org.au

Treasurer John Longayroux VK3PZ vk3pz@wia.org.au









AROUND VK



Foundation Course



The next ARNSW Foundation course and assessment weekend in the greater Sydney

area will be next month, September on Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21st.

Bookings can now be made for both the Foundation course and the assessments

by squirting off an email addressed to

education@arnsw.org.au







VK3 HIGH COUNTRY EXPEDITION

Stephen VK3SN send through word that the VK3SN annual Bogong High Plains

Trip is already underway, finishing on August 4th.

He says "Operations will be around 7.100 MHz afternoons and 3.600 evenings.

We are only five watts so are fairly quiet, but trying in the first 15 min

of each hour is a good bet. Snow conditions are excellent and we have

new gear ready to try. Very keen!"


See www.vk3sn.net for details.




VI3ANZAC SPECIAL EVENT

Bryan: What's this I heard about a special event callsign, Robert? What's the callsign?

What event is it and when is it happening?

Robert: The callsign, Bryan, is Victor India Three ANZAC.

Bryan: Anzac ? But, Anzac Day was months ago.

Robert: Well, Bryan. The actual first shot of the Great War of 1914-18 was fired here in

Victoria, from Fort Queenscliff. It happened on the morning of the 5th of August 1914 and

its purpose was to stop a German ship leaving Port Phillip Bay.

To commemorate this event, the Geelong Amateur Radio Club will activate the historic site

with a station using the callsign V-I-3-ANZAC.

They'll be on the air from 10.30am this coming Tuesday - 100 years to the hour from when

that shot was fired across the bow of the German merchant ship SS Pfalz

which stopped it from leaving Port Phillip Bay.

Bryan: Wow. How did the Geelong Club get to use the ANZAC callsign?

Robert: The WIA gained approval from the federal Minister for Veterans Affairs, the

Honourable Michael Ronaldson MP, and his department, for the use of Anzac in this

special event callsign.

V-I-3-ANZAC is the first allocation of an amateur callsign representing the Anzac

Centennial Commemoration.

The callsign will be in use for 24 hours from 10.30 am next Tuesday, the 5th of August.

Look out for V-I-3-ANZAC on the bands.

Yes, there will be a special QSL card to collect for contacts with the station

Bryan: I'll be joining the queue to work V-I-3-ANZAC. Thanks Robert, and thanks to those

guys on the WIA Board working hard on a program of amateur radio activities to for the

Anzac Centennial Commemoration.










Operators wanted for VK4KG RD Contest Operations



Not going to the Lighthouse weekend but want to get into some radio action

and help energise the VK4KG Memorial RAAF Museum station for the Remembrance

Day Contest ?



Well, Wayne/VK4WDM wants to hear from you and give you the opportunity to

operate some heritage and modern equipment on voice or CW during the

RD weekend from Saturday 16th to Sunday 17th August.



It's your chance to operate a real memorial callsign from inside a real

museum situated inside a real airforce base!



Contact Wayne now on 47 2868 76 or sing out on the RAT repeater system.


What use is an F-call?

In the past couple of years I've participated in several contests,

and I know you might think that "contesting isn't your thing", but

bear with me, I think you might be surprised.


As I said, I've participated in several contests. I basically turned

up, either with my own radio, or that of a club station, plugged in

the aerials, and started entering logging details. There was slightly

more to it than that, but overall not really.


This week I've been preparing for a contest myself. I have to confess,

it's a totally different animal. My preparations are about a third of

the way, at least I hope they are, the contest is about a week away

and I have learnt so much that I don't even know where to start. I

might add, that most of the learning had nothing to do with contesting

as such, more with the invisible logistics which until now had mostly

taken care of by themselves, that is, someone other than me made it

magically happen.


So what have I been up to?


Well, for starters I want to run two radios side-by-side because I've

got two ears and lots of antennas and I happen to have two radios, so

my first preparation is to set-up some switching box that will allow

me to hit the PTT on one radio and talk, while still having the ability

to switch to the other radio, without having to resort to either

wearing two headsets, having two microphones, or having to plug-and

un-plug along the way. I'm getting closer, I can hear both radios,

still working on a short somewhere which is causing the PTT to

unexpectedly be active, not something you really want - hi hi.


I've got access to a nice tri-bander, so that takes care of 10m and

15m. There's a folded dipole for 2m on site and a wide-band wire

dipole for 40m, but I really also want to have 80m, and I'd like to

use my collinear antenna on 2m and 70cm.


So I'm going on-site a week before the contest to build both the

collinear mast and the 80m pyramid wire antenna and to test them in-situ.


I'll then need to figure out what I'm going to do about logging, one

computer, or two, what software, how to back it up?


Then there's food, sleeping arrangements, since I'm unlikely to be

able to do 24 hours straight, though I might surprise myself.


There's the contest rules to read, radios to program, print-outs to

make and I'm sure I've missed some salient detail.


All I'm saying is that contesting as such is not just about the

on-air activity.


So, perhaps you'll give contesting a go next time, if nothing than to

test your ability to set-up your station in a different location.


One more thing. Thank you to all those amateurs who set-up a station

for me in the past. I clearly didn't know the half of it.


I'm Onno VK6FLAB.












INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL,

Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA.











EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY SATELLITES SURVEY EARTH'S CHANGING MAGNETIC FIELDS



The first set of high-resolution results from the European

Space Agency's three satellite constellation named Swarm has

revealed the most recent changes in the magnetic field that

protects our planet.



Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, reports;



--



The Swarm satellite observation system is providing some

unprecedented insights into the complex workings of Earth's

magnetic field. Measurements made over the past six months

confirm the general trend of the field's weakening, with the

most dramatic declines over the Western Hemisphere. But in

other areas, such as the southern Indian Ocean, the magnetic

field has strengthened since this past January. The latest

measurements also confirm the movement of magnetic field

Northward towards Siberia.



These changes are based on the magnetic indications stemming

from Earth's core. Over the coming months, scientists plan

to analyze the data provided by the Swarm satellites along

with contributions from other sources including other

observations of the Earth's crust, mantle, oceans,

ionosphere and magnetosphere. Together with the data

collected from space, the researchers hope to provide new

insight into many natural processes, from those occurring

deep inside our planet to space weather triggered by solar

activity. In turn, they hope this information will yield a

better understanding of why the planets magnetic field

appears to be weakening.



For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in

Berwick, Pennsylvania.





TELSTRA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO SHUTDOWN 2G MOBILE NETWORK


In an online post on the 'Telstra Exchange' website, Telstra's Network

Group Managing Director, Mike Wright, advised that the 20 year old 2G

network would be dismantled over the next two-and-a-half years.


Wright cites that the mobile network accounts for less than 1% of total

network traffic and that the company has not sold a 2G specific device in

over 2 years.


Technologies on newer 3G and 4G networks continue to evolve and already

offer higher speeds, having attracted a large proportion of the 2G

customer base.


It is expected that the 2G frequency allocations will be reassigned to

expand the remaining networks. This as Vodafone also announces a "refarming"

plan to migrate some 3G spectrum to improve their 4G offering.


http://www.itnews.com.au/News/390220,telstra-announces-closure-of-2g-network.aspx
http://exchange.telstra.com.au/2014/07/23/its-time-to-say-goodbye-old-friend/
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/07/how-vodafone-will-refarm-850mhz
-spectrum-to-improve-its-4g-performance/




DX



Mark down November as being when LW 9 EOC will be operational from

San Andres Island, November 26th until December 9th, also to take part in

the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest as well as the ARRL 160 meter CW Contest

during his stay.

No callsign for this operation has been announced, but there is the possibly

it could be 5 JZ 0 T.

QSL via LW 9 EOC, his home callsign.






Hello, I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I've been thinking.

We have the distance education for young people using the internet and

the Scouting movement has support for young people in remote areas.

Now these things made me wonder why we don't seem to have a presence

on the internet for people who don't live near existing club.



There seems to be a circular process if prospective amateurs contact the WIA

office; they are referred to the nearest radio club. Not all clubs seem to provide

training and there would seem to be a gap for people to participate in amateur

radio experience. Yes there are groups scattered around the internet and Facebook,

too. There are forums which often are closed to non-members but there

doesn't seem to be presence/web site/group that specifically welcomes the

newcomer and takes them in.



It seems that this could be done with small bandwidth usage and graphics not

video. There are plenty people in cities without adequate internet let alone

those in the remote areas of the country. There could be discussion and

reference material and there is also the possibility of tutoring towards assessments

if a few volunteers joined in.



Really for a communications based activity, amateur radio should ease the way

for people to join. Years ago, I went to the meetings that started a long established

and successful club. Before it kicked off, I found myself in permanent night work;

no more clubbing for me. For the people remote from clubs we should be able to

do better.


I'm Geoff Emery and that's what I think....how about you?

(audio uploaded)








OPERATIONAL NEWS - DATELINE 2014





10-10 INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CONTEST THIS WEEKEND Aug 2 - 3



WIA REMEMBRANCE DAY (THE RD) CONTEST Aug 16 - 17



ALARA CONTEST Aug 30 - 31



Manly-Warringah Radio Society's Flagpole contest September 20.



Amateur Radios International Air-ambulance Week, 9 days from Sep 28.









************************************************************************


"Hi, this is Lesley, VK5LOL, the Alara Contest manager. Just wanting to

let you know that the 34th Alara Contest is coming up in August,

Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st; the last weekend of August.



Details can be found on the Alara website.



It would be wonderful if more YLs would participate particularly some of

our newer F calls. We are very friendly and don't take contesting too

seriously.



Paper logs are welcome and there is also an Echolink section.



Looking forward to speaking with lots of YLs on the 30th and 31st August.



33, Lesley VK5LOL"





*****************************************************



SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX, BEACON REPEATER AND NET ADVICE FOR -



AUGUST


"DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, was seriously injured in an automobile

accident about two weeks ago. His neck was broken, leaving him paralyzed

from his upper body down, with limited movement of his arms. Recovery

will be difficult and slow, and is not expected to be total.


Bill would like to hear from his friends. He is currently in the Mount

Sinai Rehab Hospital in Hartford, but cards and well wishes should be

sent to 92 Reservoir Rd, Newington, Connecticut, USA ,CT 06111".

[via SARL]



YO 2 MSB will be active stroke 3A from Monte Carlo, Monaco between

September 5th and the 12th.

QSL via the bureau or electronically using eQSL.





VK 3 VTH will be active stroke 7 from King Island between

August 14th to the 17th. His operation will be on 40 and 20

meters using SSB only.

QSL VK 3 VTH via the bureau.







VK 3 ATX will be operational stroke P from Gabo Island on

August 16th and 17th. Activity will be on the High

Frequency bands.

QSL via VK 3 ATX home callsign, direct only.









Panama Canal Special Event



This month, Panama celebrates its 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal.



On August 15th, the Panamanians will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the

inaugural transit through the Panama Canal. This activity is organized by

amateurs of the Republic of Panama.



A special event station is operating as HO 100 CANAL until August 15.

Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB, PSK and RTTY.



The QSL Manager for the operation is HP 1 AVS.



http://www.qrz.com/db/HO100CANAL

LI for LA and LJ for LB



Celebrates 200 years of the Norwegian Constitution during 2014.



In addition, special event station LM1814 will be active as part of the

celebration.







NAURU SEPTEMBER 29 TO OCTOBER 19



LZ 1 GC is planning to be operational as C 21 GC from the Republic of Nauru

between September 29th and October 19th on 160 through10 meters using CW,

SSB and some RTTY.











HS 50 RAST Special Event Callsign



Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST) have been issued with the special

callsign HS 50 RAST which celebrates the 50th anniversary of RAST and can

be used until the end of 2014.











BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, E72.



Special event station E 72 NATO is active until the end of 2014 to

commemorate the cooperation of NATO and Bosnia-Herzegovina that was

established in 2006.

QSL via E 73 Y.











E 6 XG



JA 1 XGI has announced his next operation will be from Niue between

December 1st and the 6th and is expected to be issued the callsign

E 6 XG.

Activity will be on 160 through 10 meters, CW, SSB and some digital.

QSL via his home callsign JA 1 XGI either direct or by the bureau.













INTRUDER WATCH



The Brazilian Telecommunications Agency, (Anatel) have brought about a

successful action against intruders in their 2 meters band.



Federal agents visited a launching hill in Sao Paulo, and detected illegal

aeronautical mobile communications on VHF 2 meters by air sports pilots and

alike (Handglider, Paraglider, etc).



Several hand helds were retained by the agents.



(iaru r1)



MEDIA WATCH
www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html
VK Club Bulletins http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aarnie/
VK2 CCARC news ccarc.org.au/wp/2012/09/ccarc-news-12-31/


GOLDEN SYRUP, ON THE AIR

ABC Local Radio recently published a story that may be of particular

interest to AM aficionados. Scientists at the University of Sydney

have conducted unique research into the secret of a good radio voice.


Using a high-speed video-endoscopy camera to record the motion of the

vocal cords in the throats of 16 male radio broadcasters, the team

found the subjects had faster opening and closing vocal folds.


Speech pathologist Dr Cate Madill said this suggests

these professionals may have better control of the tension in their

vocal folds while speaking.


It is now hoped that the secrets behind the sonorous endowment of

presenters 'on the wireless' may provide clues on how to train new voices.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/07/22/4050951.htm
[via Tony VK2BTC]
















144 MHZ CHANNELS BEING USED FOR THE UK COMMONWEALTH GAMES


The Radio Society of Great Britain says that that four 25 kHz bandwidth

channels in the 2 meter band between 144.0 and 144.1 MHz are being used

at the Commonwealth Games that began on July 22nd and will conclude on

August 4th. This following negotiations between the United Kingdom's

national amateur radio society and telecommunications Ofcom.


Usage of this spectrum by the Commonwealth Games will be limited the

vicinity of Glasgow, Scotland games venues and will be limited to

handheld equipment operating on a maximum of 5 watts of Effective

Radiated Power. Ofcom emphasizes that use of Primary Amateur spectrum

is only for the specified time period and does not constitute a long

term change of usage.


In making the announcement, Ofcom said that it was aware of the very

short notice to the United Kingdom's ham radio community. Therefore

the authorization for use of this spectrum is on a non-interference,

non-protection basis. That said, hams in the Glasgow area are requested

to avoid these frequencies until 4th August.

(RSGB, Ofcom, Southgate)






WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ARISS

HONOURS FOR A CANADIAN HAMS, INCLUDING AN ASTRONAUT

As part of 86 new appointments to the Order of Canada, His Excellency the

Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, recognized

Veena Rawat, VA3ITU, and astronaut Chris Hadfield, VA3OOG/KC5RNJ.


Rawat, VA3ITU, was honored as a "Companion of the Order of Canada" for her

contributions to telecom engineering and for leadership in establishing a

global regulatory framework for radio spectrum management. Rawat also

chaired the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2003.


Hadfield, VA3OOG/KC5RNJ, was honored as an "Officer of the Order of

Canada" for "his commitment to promoting scientific discovery and for

sharing the wonders of space exploration with the world." Hadfield

was the International Space Station Expedition 35 commander during

his 2013 duty tour. Hadfield's passion for science, photography and

amateur radio is certainly no secret.

http://wp.rac.ca/canadian-amateurs-receiver-order-of-canada/
[RAC Comms]





WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEURS OLD TIMERS



The Antique Wireless Association of Southern Africa

has a new web site.



It is worth a visit.



You can find them on



http://www.awasa.org.za







VK RAOTC BULLETIN - AUGUST

Hallo everyone, this is Clive VK6CSW reminding you that tomorrow is the

first Monday of the month and time once again for the Radio Amateurs Old

Timers Club of Australia's bulletin to go to air.


This month in addition to all the latest Club news, we learn something

of the adventures of Rob Gurr VK5RG when he was in the Antarctic in the

1950s. Everyone, RAOTC members and non-members alike, is most welcome to

tune in and to call back afterwards.


There are several different ways to hear the bulletin. The principal HF

transmissions are on 20 metres on 14.150 MHz USB, originating in

Melbourne. The first, at 0100 UTC, is beamed northwards for eastern

states listeners and an hour later at 0200 UTC is beamed westward for WA.


Also at 0200 UTC we have transmissions from Perth on 40 metres on

7060 kHz LSB and via all linked NewsWest repeaters. Additionally, there

are a number of other local transmissions on HF, VHF and UHF. To find

one for your local area please visit the RAOTC website at

www.raotc.org.au (rpt) or, as from Tuesday, the audio file can be

downloaded from the website.


Once again, the August RAOTC News and Information bulletin for August

will be on air tomorrow and we look forward to hearing from you during

the call backs.

[Audio - Clive VK6CSW]










SOCIAL SCENE 2014



Aug 2 VK3 Vict D-Star users group meeting EMDRC Clubroom Burwood 10am.



Aug 3 VK6 Northern Corridor Radio Group Hamfest this Sunday.



Sep 13 VK4 Sunshine Coast AR Club's SUNFest, Woombye School of Arts



Sep 14 VK3 Shepparton and District AR Club Hamfest kicks off at 10am.



Sep 28 VK3 Melbourne Amateur Radio Technology Group Hamfest Keilor East.



Oct 3 VK4 Townsville Amateur Radio Club's Cardwell Gathering 4 day event.



Oct 25 VK4 HAMFEST on the Gold Coast. ( hamfest@gcars.com.au )



Nov 2 VK5 HamFest Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society



Nov 9 VK3 Yarra Valley AR Group Hamfest 10am Gary Cooper Pavillion.



Nov 15 VK7 Miena Hamfest (My-enah)



Nov 30 VK3 SPARC HamFest at Rosebud ( howardjones155@gmail.com )















==============================



NEW WIA NEWS BROADCAST FEEDBACK



===============================



Name : Greg
Callsign : VK4GJW
Feedback :

G'day Rob & Brian. Very much enjoyed your delivery of the WIA news again.

Enjoy your conversational style of delivery and chat. Keep up the great work.

Go the volunteers!












THE FINAL FINAL:
AMAZON ASKS FAA TO PERMIT DRONE PACKAGE DELIVERY TESTS




Amazon.com is asking the Federal Aviation Administration permission to

field test drone aircraft as part of its plan to deliver packages to

customers in 30 minutes or less. Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek,

K9BIK, has the rest of the story:




--



In a letter to the FAA dated Wednesday, July 9th, Amazon.com said it is

developing aerial vehicles as part of its previously announced Amazon Prime

Air delivery service. It noted that these high tech delivery aircraft can

travel over 50 miles per hour and carry loads of up to 5 pounds.


The company noted that about 86 percent of its deliveries weigh 5 pounds or

less.



The Federal Aviation Administration currently allows hobbyists and

model aircraft makers limited privileges to fly remote controlled drones,

but their commercial use is all but completely prohibited.


Amazon is asking for an exemption to the ban so it can test its design

for the proposed delivery service. The Seattle, Washington-based company

says its drone testing will only take place over Amazon's private property,

away from airports or areas with aviation activity and definitely away

from military bases.




With Amazon's paperwork now submitted, at this point, its all up to the

FAA to decide.



For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK,

in Zion, Illinois.



--



As many will remember, Amazon created a media

frenzy last December when it outlined its plan to deliver packages using

drone aircraft. While at the time some thought it to be a joke it turns out

that the company is very serious in developing such a futuristic air

delivery system.

[arrlnewsline audio]























Submitting news items



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to submit audio read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on

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