SEP 17 2017 - VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
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THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK
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NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING SEPTEMBER 17 2017.
IN OUR 22nd YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
WIA DIRECTOR GREG KELLY ON AR MAGAZINES 6 ISSUE PER YEAR, ON INCREASE TO
EXAMINATION FEES AND OTHER MONETRY ISSUES. -
JOTA COMETH, Brett Nicholas VK2BNN Scouts Australia National co-ordinator and
Lorraine O'Hare VK2FICQ Girl Guides Australia National JOTA-JOTI Co-ordinator.
THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE
OF AUSTRALIA 2017 AND FOR WEEK OFSEP 17
AROUND VK
Last week we spoke of the 2 Community Licenses not being renewed by ACMA.
Now comes word HAWKESBURY'S three Rotary Clubs will be applying for a temporary
licence after Hawkesbury Radio's licence lapses next month.
Assistant governor of the Hawkesbury clubs, Rod Rose, said the radio station
was a crucial service for their community which was why the Windsor, Richmond
and Kurrajong-North Richmond Rotary Clubs wanted to ensure it continued.
"Like your newspaper, it provides information about fires and floods, and has
been going for 35 years," he said. "It also provides essential advertising for
our Rotary clubs."
The Rotary application will be backed up by solid experience - and equipment.
Mr Rose was the original chairman of Hawkesbury Radio in the early 80s when it
was still broadcasting from Richmond School of Arts.
He was involved with the station for five years before the RAAF posted him back
to Melbourne.
When asked what the Rotary station might be called, he said the current name
was the best.
Applications for a temporary licence for 89.9FM close on September 22.
Forms are available on the ACMA website.
(Gazette)
ACMA pushing forward on 5G spectrum planning
The Australian Communications and Media Authority, at a recent ACMA spectrum
tune-up session, proposed to accelerate the auction of the millimetre wave
spectrum for 5G broadband.
The meeting was attended by the communications industry including WIA
representative Dale Hughes VK1DSH. He notes that the ACMA has now issued a
consultation paper on the topic and invited comments by October 13.
In particular, the ACMA wants to know if the 26 GHz band (24.25-27.5 GHz)
should be available for 5G broadband purposes.
Dale VK1DSH said the amateur service has a primary allocation 24 to 24.05 GHz
and a secondary allocation 24.05 to 24.25 GHz.
While not directly affected by the ACMA proposal, it is possible there might be
adjacent band interference issues.
ACMA Acting Chairman, Richard Bean said the millimetre wave bands presented a
great opportunity for the Australian community to enjoy the benefits of early
uptake of new technology.
He said that given increasing interest in that spectrum for 5G, both
domestically and internationally, coupled with relatively limited incumbency,
make it a likely candidate for early release.
The ACMA usually waits on the outcome of the ITU World Radiocommunications
Conference, but the next one is in late in 2019.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
Hi, this is Greg VK2GPK, with this week's comment from the WIA board.
(This report happens in our audio news at the 30 minute point)
This week I am going to talk about the finances and the future of the WIA, and
some of the hard decisions we have already made to ensure the WIA continues as
a relevant and viable organisation into the future.
It is now 100 days, or just over three months, since the current WIA board has
been in place. In that time, we have gone on a journey of discovery of the the
reach and range of various issues and challenges facing the WIA now and in the
near future. It has also taken a few weeks for the board - who met face-to-face
for the first time at the 2017 WIA AGM - to settle in and operate as a cohesive
group, which, I am glad to say, is now the case. That doesn't mean we agree on
everything, - the discussions are lively and constructive - and this board
definitely does not suffer from "group think"!
In my last broadcast 6 weeks ago, I stated the the WIA has been operating at a
loss for the past few years of approximately $50,000 pa. and that the magazine
was the major expense of the WIA with an expenditure of $180,000 last financial
year. By the way, the WIA's financial year is January 1 to December 31. So when
we started after the AGM, we were already half-way through the financial year,
with forward contracts that limited our immediate scope for change - plus we
needed to do due diligence on the likely impacts of changes.
We "triaged" the issues facing the WIA, giving urgent priority to maintaining
the WIA as a "going concern" - this was in no way assured at the time we took
control of the WIA. The scope of these urgent priorities focus on budget control
expense reduction, meeting our contractual obligations with ACMA, getting
governance formalised to corporate standards and getting member feedback on our
initiatives. This has been our focus to now and will continue as our prime focus
into the near future. The focus on governance led us to constitute the the
Audit and Risk committee and the Strategy committee as sub-committees of the
board. - these two committees are "best practice" governance approaches and
based on the ASX recommended guidelines for Australian corporations.
This week the board acted on AR magazines future, taking into account cost
saving input from the publications team, contract change lead-times, and
feedback from members on the continuation of a paper magazine. As result we
have now directed that the number of issues change from 11 to 6, stating with
the first issue 2018 in February. This will hopefully produce cost savings in
the vicinity of 30% for the full 2018 Financial year - it will have no impact
this FY.
A few members of the WIA board, including myself, and a past Treasurer
(2009 -2015) have been in a series of meetings with ACMA to finalise issues
raised by ACMA of "under-recovery" of WIA costs in servicing the ACMA contract
(known as the ACMA deed") for the 2016 FY. The past-Treasurer was involved at
the request of the directors due to his historical knowledge and prior
involvement with the initial implementations of the contract and has helped
considerably in the resolution of this issue..
Under the contract, the WIA is expected to operate the Licence and exam
functions we carry out on ACMA's behalf at cost-recovery only. That is that the
fees we charge should cover our costs without either a significant under or
over recovery - a small percentage, say 5%, either way is fine. Our current
under recovery is around 20%. This has occurred for two reasons: the number of
exams has dropped and time and costs of servicing the licence component of the
contract have increased. The licence costs we charge have, in many cases, not
even gone close to recovering our costs. For instance, a standard "random"
licence issue is priced at $5 - this typically involves multiple phone calls,
ACMA contact, 3 or more emails! The real cost of this is many times what we
currently charge. As a result, the board has agreed in principle, after
discussions with and support of ACMA, to increase the ACMA contract charges -
which haven't changed since 2009 - by an inflation related adjustment of around
15% or so. We will also rebalance the charges to more close relate to the real
cost. We are hoping to keep entry level exam and licence rises minimal, if any.
Whilst these increases will not be popular, as directors, it is our fiduciary
responsibility to make these changes. We will advise these changes prior to the
end of the year, most likely to take effect January 2018.
With these changes made, and membership levels holding steady (or hopefully
better), the WIA WILL return to cash flow positive from early 2018. This is
will be a major milestone for us as a board.
Finally, from me on financial issues facing the board, we have found issues
with the treatment of accruals in this year accounts, which have been recorded
under cash accounting rather than as accruals.. The most significant impact of
this is on how 5 year memberships, which are effectively future dated income,
are treated in the accounts. It doesn't affect the cash flow of the WIA in any
way, but does impact the Profit/Loss reporting - although as a Not-for-profit
we technically only have surpluses or losses not profits. The impact is that
the interim first half year results we inherited from the prior board actually
show an incorrect "notional" profit - the underlying cash flow for the the WIA
is negative as I have advised prior and that WIA will end the FY year with a
loss.
How this change to the accounts happened is unclear, and given the revolving
door of treasurers in 2016, it may remain unclear. What is clear is that
whomever made the change to the account treatment in MYOB (the accounting
package) did not understand accrual accounting. We have a small finance working
group addressing this now and we will publish the original half year results
and the adjusted results with the accruals reinstated when completed. It is
for this reason we have not as yet appointed a Treasurer or CFO, and even if we
did, the board cannot abdicate its responsibility to resolve this issue. As a
director, all I can say is "are we having fun yet" and the answer is in the
negative.
Once we have secured the future of the WIA as "going-concern" by addressing the
urgent priority areas I mentioned prior, we move onto the next focus area. That
is the "re-invention" of the WIA into a more agile and relevant organisation
for the 21sm century - a "non-trivial" task - and not something that is
achieved overnight - or ever finished, for that matter. This is where the WIA
strategy committee will get traction over the coming months
This includes actions to re-invigorate the various committees - some which are
dysfunctional and haven't met for over 18 months. The web site is also in need
of a refresh, whilst it has a huge amount of great information, there is a lot
of no-longer-current information that needs to be reviewed and updated. We ask
for your patience, as we can't address everything immediately. These tasks
take time and dedicated volunteers. As I have said before, the WIA is totally
volunteer organisation, with the exception of two full-time office staff, and
needs YOU! All our volunteer positions are now going up on SEEK volunteer.
Check it out.
Greg Kelly VK2GPK
WIA Director
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL,
Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, WIA Local News Service VK7, VK3PC and the WW
sources of the WIA.
Both professional and citizen scientists conducted formal and informal
investigations into the effect of the August 21 solar eclipse on HF radio
propagation.
Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, of HamSCI, has said it will take some time to get a
more scientific analysis of data that was compiled during the Solar Eclipse
QSO Party. He and others are investigating whether the sudden absence of
sunlight during the eclipse -- and especially of solar ultra-violet and x-rays
would briefly change the properties of the upper atmosphere.
Professional ionospheric researcher Dr. Phil Erickson, W1PJE, head of the
Atmospheric Sciences Group at MIT's Haystack Observatory, said he can say
categorically that there WAS a definite, large, and measurable effect in the
ionosphere from the eclipse.
Canada's new radio telescope starts mapping the universe
Engadget reports that on September 7th, an extraordinarily powerful radio
telescope has begun listening to the sounds of the universe from Canada.
The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment or CHIME will help
scientists learn more about the history of the cosmos, radio bursts from
pulsars and gravitational waves, the ripples in spacetime whose existence were
finally confirmed by scientists in 2016.
CHIME looks like a collection of four 100-meter-long skateboarding halfpipes,
but they weren't made for anybody to skate on. They were built over the past
seven years to hear very weak signals from the universe and to gather one
terabyte of information per second all day, every day.
ONE TERABITE PER SECOND!
That means it's constantly creating and updating a massive 3D map of space.
When the 50 Canadian scientists from the University of British Columbia, the
University of Toronto, McGill University and the National Research Council of
Canada (NRC) started conceptualizing the project, there was no system that
could handle that amount of information. Thanks to advances in video game
hardware, the system now exists.
Since 1 TB per second is pretty insane, CHIME compresses the info it gathers by
a factor of 100,000 first before saving files on disks.
Now that it's up and working, CHIME is ready to work towards achieving its
primary goal: measuring the acceleration of the universe's expansion.
An accurate measurement of the expansion will help scientists figure out what
causes it, whether it's actually the mysterious form of energy that's believed
to be permeating space called "dark energy" or something else. By extension,
the telescope's data could one day confirm if dark energy truly exists.
Full article and picture at
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/08/canada-chime-radio-telescope/
Astronomers hunting for signs of intelligent alien life have recorded 15
mysterious radio signals coming from a dwarf galaxy 3 billion light years away.
The signals were picked up by a team at the Green Bank Telescope in West
Virginia, part of the Breakthrough Listen project co-launched by Professor
Stephen Hawking in 2015.
Although the latest fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are unlikely to have come from
an alien civilisation, the researchers say it proves their equipment is working
and ready to pick up signs of life if they exist.
FRBs are radio signals from deep space that last for just milliseconds.
The new bursts came from an unknown source, named FRB 121102, discovered in
2012. At first scientists thought the signals were the fallout from a
catastrophic event, such as a supernova, but when they were recorded again in
2015 and 2016 it suggested that whatever object produced them was still there.
afr.com/technology/calling-earth-radio-signals-detected-from-3-billion-light-years-away-20170904-gyakqn#ixzz4sM7scqln
YES MINISTER!
Radio ham stands in parliamentary election
'Stuff' reports New Zealand radio amateur Basil Lawrence ZL2LBJ is running for
election to parliament
Mike Watson writes:
In a dusty, cramped kitchen, surrounded by radio transmitters and cardboard
boxes of files, electorate candidate for New Plymouth, Basil Lawrence is
plotting his campaign strategy.
The pensioner has handed over the $300 deposit to the Electoral Commission to
stand for parliament.
Now it's all systems go in spite of his budget being virtually non-existent.
There are no billboards erected, newspaper ads, or flyers delivered to letter
boxes.
Instead the amateur radio enthusiast will spread his political word at
local candidate meetings, or by talking to friends in the street, or to
neighbours across the fence.
It's a David and Goliath scenario - an underfunded independent candidate
battling the giant party machines of the bigger candidates, the stuff of
true democracy.
Maybe a TRUE ham in parliament soon? --- ZL2LBJ
Read the full story
stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96659851/independent-candidate-undeterred-of-being-trampled-underneath-the-party-machines
Who and Where are our broadcast stations?
http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/
HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT
All major Australian contests, rules and results, are on the
Contest Section of the WIA website.
wia.org.au/members/contests/about
2017
October CQ WW DX / SSB CONTEST (always Octobers Last full weekend)
November CQ WW DX / CW CONTEST (always Novembers Last full weekend)
The SSB weekend is October 29-30. The CW weekend is November 26-27.
Running ALL year 'til Dec 31 Victorian Local Government Award 2017 Challenge
2018
John Moyle Memorial Field Day will be held over the weekend of the 17th-18th
March 2018 and will run from UTC 0100 on the Saturday until 0059 on the Sunday.
IARU HF Championship event on 15 and 16 July.
The 21st International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is on
August 18 to 19, 2018
In Repeater news - PARROT REPEATER:
Polly? It's a cracker!
In Lismore NSW the SARC's parrot repeater VK2SRC operates on 146.575 MHz.
The 25W FM signal comes from an Omni antenna on the tower at their clubroom.
It records up to 3 minutes of audio and plays it back.
You can use it to:
Check your 'getting out'.
Check your own voice modulation.
Check and set up your SSTV signals.
Check your own digital transmissions.
In Special Event news, the Wireless Association of New York City's WA2NYC
Commemorates 9/11 Anniversary
WA2NYC has been on the air since September 8 to commemorate the anniversary
of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.
"This station commemorates the 16th anniversary of the attack on the World
Trade Centre in New York City," said the post on the club's QRZ.com website.
"We remember the over twenty-nine hundred people who lost their lives on that
day."
The special event is operating on or near 7.220, 14.265, 21.350, and 28.450 MHz.
Note that 14.265 MHz is the operating frequency of the Salvation Army Team
Emergency Network (SATERN), which holds a daily net on that frequency and has
been on alert for IRMA and other related emergency traffic.
In the UK they have a series of Permanent Special Event Stations.
A permanent special event station is one that is usually set up at a fixed
venue or recurring event and because of that is given a callsign of its own
that always stays the same.
Many of these permanent special event stations are set up in museums or other
historical sights of amateur radio interest which can be visited.
If you visit any of these places of interest, it may be useful to take your
UK licence validation document with you, as you may be allowed to operate the
station during your visit.
SOME OF THE STATIONS ARE
GB0IWM Imperial War Museum
GB0REM Royal Engineers Museum, Brompton Barracks, Chatham, Kent
GB0SNB Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker, Kelvedon Hatch, Brentwood,
Essex
GB0SUB Submarine ARC, HMS Collingwood, Newgate Lane, Fareham, Hants
GB0SWR Sir Walter Raleigh (ship, occasional use)
GB2AIR South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, Sandy Lane, Doncaster,
South Yorks
GB2BP Bletchley Park Museum, Milton Keynes, Bucks.
To avoid disappointment check with the station operators beforehand to see
if it is possible to operate from the station on the day of your visit.
MEDIA WATCH or is it REWIND
Here's where Cold War 'Numbers Stations' Broadcast to Spies' in Secret Codes.
If you tuned into just the right shortwave radio frequency in the 1970s,
you might have heard a creepy computerized voice reading out a string of
numbers.
It was the Cold War, and the coded messages were rumored to be secret
intelligence broadcasts from "number stations" located around the globe.
Photographer Lewis Bush is obsessed with these stations to "an almost
irrational degree" and hunts them down in Shadows of the State, featuring
30 composite satellite images of alleged number stations from Germany to
Australia.
The series took two years and endless research.
"It's a difficult project to quantify in terms of man hours wasted on it,"
he says.
Bush read about the stations online in 2012 and began tracking them down,
from research done by radio enthusiasts, hints in Cold War memoirs and
information in declassified documents.
Once Bush locked into the general location, he often spent hours scouring
Google Earth for transmitters and sites of former transmitters, keeping an
eye out for clues like antennas, discolored grass, and metal rods poking out of
the ground.
Shadows of the State will be published by Brave Books in December 2017.
Bush is also raising funds on Kickstarter for an interactive companion website.
(wired.com)
INTRUDER WATCH - ENFORCEMENT ZONE
Region III IARUMS Coordinator Peter Young VK3MV
VK IARUMS reflector email to subscribe intruders@wia.org.au
SUBMITTING a report? go to
http://www.wia.org.au/members/protecting/intruderreport/
INTRUDER NETS
Friday 0730 UTC 7.065.5 with VK4CEU David.
Amateur exclusive frequencies where any non-amateur signal is definitely an
intruder.
Amateur HF Spectrum world wide
7.050 to 7.100
14.000 to 14.250
14.250 to 14.350 No broadcasters
21.000 to 21.450
24.890 to 24.990
28.000 to 29.700
Electric cars are greater threat to amateur radio than PLT
SARL News reports electric cars, or at least the charging stations, pose a
greater threat to amateur radio than Power Line Telecommunication (PLT) also
known as Broadband Powerline (BPL)
The looming problem was extensively discussed at the IARU EMC committee meeting
and there is currently no consensus amongst various technical bodies such as
ETSI, CEPT, CIPR and ITU about the inference limits.
One of the problems the committee identified is that the delegations who attend
these meetings are not necessarily people experienced in radio and
telecommunications and are more concerned about how fast these electric
car batteries can be charged. This is one of the aspects that will be
discussed at the IARU Region 1 meeting with a call to mobilise national
societies to start talking with their standard bodies.
In IARU news we learn they are watching wireless charging technology
The International Amateur Radio Union is considering the issue of Wireless
Power Transfer (WPT) as it continues to prepare for the ITU World
Radiocommications Conference in 2019 (WRC-19).
This is subject to WRC-19 agenda item 9.1.6 that addresses the issue of
Wireless Power Transmission (WPT) for electric vehicles.
The agenda will consider the effect the technology will have on
radiocommunication services and it aims to propose harmonised frequency
ranges for WPT, which would minimise any impact on existing services.
WPT technology has the potential to recharge the batteries of electric vehicles
that are stationary, or in motion, without a direct electrical connection. The
technology seeks to transfer energy using a wireless link, and this may mean
the energy is received at multiple points.
WPT systems are likely to operate a high power levels so have the possibility
of causing harmful interference to radiocommunication.
This needs careful consideration and there is no firm agreement on its
potential to cause interference to existing radio spectrum users.
Those promoting WPT technology are putting an emphasis on how fast batteries
can be charged and the convenience of a wireless connection.
Work on this issue has been underway at the ITU for some time and a report on
it is available for free download. Just Google ITU report SM.2392-0
"Applications of wireless power transmission via radio frequency beam". This
report provides a lot of information on WPT systems and it is currently being
revised to include material directly relevant to WRC-19.
( SARL news Hans van de Groenendaal ZS6AKV and Jim Linton VK3PC )
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- DEFENCE
Technology News
'Fight Recorder' will act as emergency beacon
In a story filed to Amateur Radio Newsline by our Editor VK4BB, Graham says a
collaboration between Defence and Industry will develop the equivalent of
a Black Box for soldiers, known as the 'Fight Recorder'.
Two industry partners will receive $700,000 from the federal government's
Next Generation Technologies Fund, which launched in March this year,
to fully develop the product.
GRAHAM's REPORT:
Most of us know what a beacon can do for amateur radio but a new device to be
worn by members of the military give beacon operation a bit more of an urgent
role. Its creators are calling it "The Fight Recorder" and it's to be worn by
soldiers in combat, enabling low-earth orbit satellites to pinpoint casualties
when they occur.
In addition its geolocation function, the Fight Recorder will also collect data
useful in reconstructing whatever encounter may have preceded the casualty.
The device is the result of a partnership between Australia's Ministry for
Defence Industry and two companies. Myriota, an Adelaide telecommunications
company, is teaming up with IMeasureU an Auckland, New Zealand company that
deals in wearable technology.
The Fight Recorderbringing 'dustoff ' to a great new height!
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.
"DUSTOFF" is the callsign specific to U.S. Army Air Ambulance units.
DUSTOFF is an backronym meaning Dedicated Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting
Forces.
(Sourced from the Critical Comms Web E-zine via vk7news written by ARNewsline)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER
Students from India & Russia build SSTV CubeSat
The Times of India reports students from Russia and India are building an
amateur radio satellite that will transmit SSTV images from space.
The 1U CubeSat Iskra-5 is being built by 20 students from Moscow Aviation
Institute and 9 from Indian cities like Chennai and Bangalore through
Space Kidz India to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relationship
between the two countries.
The satellite will be transported to the International Space Station by
mid-October, 2017 through cargo spacecraft from where it will be placed in
orbit by a cosmonaut during a spacewalk.
The Iskra satellites were a series of Soviet amateur communication satellites
built by students and radio amateurs at the Moscow Aviation Institute in the
early 1980s.
Srimathy Kesan, founder, Space Kidz India said that the subsystems in the
satellite being built in MAI is made by Russian students while the outer cube
has been designed by Indian students.
[ANS thanks AMSAT UK for the above information]
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING
http://www.scouts.com.au
http://www.scout.org/jota
http://www.international.scouts.com.au
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
Hi my name is Brett Nicholas VK2BNN and I have been recently appointed as
the Scouts Australia National co-ordinator for Jamboree On The Air also known
as JOTA.
My name is Lorraine O'Hare VK2FICQ and I am the Girl Guides Australia National
JOTA-JOTI Co-ordinator.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Amateurs who have
assisted with JOTA in the past and encourage both individuals and clubs to get
involved with this year's event.
This year JOTA will be held on the weekend of the 20th to the 22nd of October.
This year is a very special year. We are celebrating the 60th anniversary since
Les Mitchell G3BHK (SK), Len Jarrett VE3MYF and their radio-scouting friends
organised the first event in 1958. Who could have imagined that there will be
well over one million Girl Guides and Scouts spread over more than 150
countries participating 60 years later.
JOTA is fast approaching and it's time to start putting plans together and get
moving with this year's event. If you haven't participated before then the
60th anniversary is a great year to give it a go.
Check out the September issue of AR magazine for an article with further
information on Jamboree On The Air.
If you need assistance to contacting your local Scout Group or require further
information Scouts Australia has a JOTA-JOTI coordinator in each state who can
assist you. Contact details for the Branch Co-ordinators can be found on the
Scouts Australia web site in the International Scouting section. The easiest
way to find this information is to google JOTA contacts Scouts Australia. It
comes up as the second hit in my browser. If all else fails please feel free to
contact myself via email at jota.joti@scouts.com.au
Each state also has a Girl Guides JOTA-JOTI co-ordinator. Their contact details
can similarly be found by searching Girl Guides Australia JOTA online.
This should take you to the Girl Guides Australia website which has a JOTA-JOTI
web page under the international Guiding tab. Otherwise you can contact myself
via email at JOTAJOTI@girlguides.org.au
Once again the Girl Guides and Scouts of Australia would like to thank the
Amateur Radio community for their continuing support of this great annual event.
Thanks and 73.
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
Hurricanes and an earthquake - hams help in disasters
Hurricane Irma left significant damage in Florida after tracking through a
string of Caribbean islands, killing at least 40 people and leaving more than
7.3 million without power.
A state of emergency continues in Southern Mexico as new aftershocks occurred
3 days back in the wake of that magnitude 8.1 earthquake last Thursday week.
The aftershocks were in the coastal zone of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Preliminary reports indicate a magnitude 5.0 temblor 35 kilometres to the south
of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca; a 4.7 magnitude aftershock 125 kilometres southwest of
Tonala, Chiapas, and a 4.6 temblor 115 kilometres southwest of Pijijiapan,
Chiapas.
There does not appear to be any danger of significant damage from these
aftershocks.
The National Emergency Net could activate on 7.060 and 14.120 MHz.
Clear frequencies would be appreciated.
The full story of Amateur Radio's involvement in providing emergency
communications during the disaster is now starting to emerge.
As Hurricane Irma hit Florida the Hardee County Emergency Operations Centre
relied on the APRS data stations to decide when to send fire and ambulance
crews back on the road.
A repeater went off due to power failure, but the ingenuity of radio amateurs
listening to the repeater input and transmitting on the output maintained
communications through the storm.
The SKYWARN Net was active gathering severe weather reports, and Florida's
Statewide Amateur Radio Network (SARnet) was running a coordination and
assistance net to help communicate between the Emergency Operation Centres.
Throughout the Caribbean there was involvement by radio amateurs not only for
Irma, but the following Hurricanes Katia, and Jose. Preceding them was powerful
Hurricane Harvey.
The weather systems smashed through tropical paradises such as Saint Barts
and Saint Martin, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic,
Haiti and the Turks and Caicos.
Carlos Alberto CO2JC of Cuba has reported involvement in the disaster. Cubans
in coastal towns on the Camaguey archipelago faced a Category 5 storm uprooting
trees and power lines, and blowing off rooftops.
( from material by RNE Board of Directors via Zian Julio Aguirre Taboada,
XE1ATZ and Jim Linton VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications
Committee )
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - LOW DOWN
Maritime Mobile Operation on LF May be a First for Amateur Radio
What began as a "let's-see-if-we-can-do-this" effort has resulted in successful
Amateur Radio contacts on 475 kHz by two Canadian operators aboard the sailing
vessel Hakuna Matata off the coast of British Columbia.
The accomplishment may be an Amateur Radio first. Mark Mattila, VA7MM,
and Toby Haynes, VE7CNF, equipped Mattila's 31-foot offshore-equipped
sloop with the gear necessary to make maritime mobile operation possible
on 630 meters.
The vessel already had a 46-foot mast with an insulated backstay antenna
for marine and ham radio communication.
Critical were the antenna and RF grounding systems.
The actual radiating element was a 38-foot long piece of #14 wire attached to
the highest point on the mast. Grounding was accomplished by using the vessel's
cast-steel keel and a couple of 30-foot wires, near, the gunwales.
(ARRL)
GET YOUR HAM LICENCE
Visit the WIA website, wia.org.au
To find A Club And Course Near You
http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/learningorganisers/
To make a general enquiry
https://www.wia.org.au/discover/sendinfo/publicenquiry/
CANBERRA
email education@crarc.ampr.org for further information.
AMATEUR RADIO NEW SOUTH WALES:-
ARNSW 63 Quarry Rd Dural, email for details on education@arnsw.org.au
Bookings can be made by phoning the office on 02 9651 1490
and leaving contact details.
AMATEUR RADIO VICTORIA CONTACT:-
Amateur Radio Victoria 40G Victory Boulevard, Ashburton,
vk3pv@amateurradio.com.au or phone Barry on 0428 516 001.
SOCIAL SCENE 2017
Hamfest pushes a good message
The Shepparton and District Amateur Radio Club used its annual Hamfest last
Sunday to score good promotion for the hobby.
The North-Central Victoria daily newspaper, Shepparton News, carried a
pictorial story in the print edition and on-line version looking at the
Hamfest and what is Amateur Radio.
SANDARC Secretary Andy Ashley VK3AJA said the meet had been held annually for
the past 30 years attracting interest from across Victoria.
His message was very clear that although Amateur Radio had started 100 years
ago, it makes those involved learn about modern things and techniques.
Andy VK3AJA told the Shepparton News reporter Tara Whitsed, that Amateur Radio
played an important role in times of natural disasters.
He says you can talk to people around the world from your bedroom, or even
further, you can speak to astronauts on the International Space Station.
Also Andy VK3AJA told of a Melbourne-based group who succeeded in getting a
school principal to add ham radio to the curriculum as an elective subject.
The article gave an overview of the Hamfest held last Sunday at the St
Augustine's Hall, Orr Street, Shepparton.
(Jim Linton VK3PC)
Sep29-Oct2 VK4 Cardwell Gathering (tarc)
Oct 29 VK3 Yarra Valley Amateur Radio Group HAMFEST 10:00am at the
Gary Cooper Pavilion, Yarra Glen.
"Hi, this is Craig (VK3WAR) on behalf of the Yarra Valley Amateur
Radio Group. Join us on Sunday October the 29th for our annual
Hamfest at the Gary Cooper Pavilion in Yarra Glen. Doors open from
10am to 2pm. Entrance fee of $7.00 include tea and coffee.
For table bookings phone Colin (VK3CNW) on 0423 535 988.
Hope to see you there on Sunday October the 29th."
Nov 5 VK3 BARG Hamvention greyhound racing track, Ballarat. (wia events)
Nov 12 VK5 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society HamFest 8am (vk5kc)
Nov 12 VK3 Rosebud's annual celebration of all things Amateur Radio (wia)
2018
Feb 25 VK2 Wyong Field Day (VK2AOR)
March 25 VK3 EMDRC HamFest - Great Ryrie Primary School, Heathmont. (VK3BQ)
May 4 -7 VK4 Clairview Gathering ( between Rockhampton and Mackay ) (TARC)
Submitting news items
A reminder when supplying HamFest info we obviously can't plug commercial
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Remember the sooner you submit material the more the likelihood of it being
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The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of interest to
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National News compiled by VK4BB on behalf of the National WIA.
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