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2020 NOVEMBER 29 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 NOVEMBER 29 2020
IN OUR 25th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS

( 1937 in a mention we've come across relating to weekly
broadcasts of information prepared by VK4 was a plea to
restart the weekly news service which was on air in the
late 1920's )


WIA Director Scott Williams on makeup of the Board.

WIA QNEWS contibutor VK4ZPP Geoff on "THAT" ACMA Email.


THIS & MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE
WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA


------------------------------------------------------------*


Sunspot Cycle 25 Strongest Ever

A research paper, "Overlapping Magnetic Activity Cycles and
the Sunspot Number: Forecasting Sunspot Cycle 25 Amplitude,"
by Scott W. McIntosh, Deputy Director of the National Centre
for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, et al., has concluded
that Solar Cycle 25 could be among the strongest sunspot
cycles ever observed, and will almost certainly be stronger
than the just-ended Solar Cycle 24 (sunspot number of 116).

The scientists say it will also most likely be stronger than
Solar Cycle 23 (sunspot number of 180).

(arrl)





WIA

Not a WIA Member? details email nationaloffice@wia.org.au
OR the link on bottom right of wia.org.au



WIA board minutes can be found on wia.org.au click
WIA Information.




DRAFT WIA Policy on Amateur Satellites
Don't forget this submission closes December 31
tinyurl.com/y3r3ehvp





Hi there this is WIA Director Scott Williams, VK3KJ and
it is great to be appearing on the broadcast this week on
behalf of the WIA Board.

With the calendar year fast approaching a close, which also
signals the conclusion of the Board year, the WIA is about to
announce in the coming days that Board nominations for
Director positions for 2021 will open shortly.

This year sees four Board positions available with Greg Kelly
(current President), Peter Clee (Secretary) and myself
concluding our term on the Board in accordance with the
constitution. Also, one Board position continues to be vacant
that was not filled in 2020.

All current retiring Directors are eligible to re-nomination
and of course the WIA welcomes and encourages nominations from
all members who would like to actively participate as a
Director on the Board.

Please keep your eye out on the next addition of AR magazine,
on the website and also direct email to you on the process to
nominate for the 2021 Board. Should more than four nominations
be received for the vacant four positions, this will trigger
a Board election in which will be conducted in accordance with
the Constitution. To view the constitution of the WIA, please
visit the WIA website and on the top tab in the right-hand
corner, select WIA information and then select information
about the WIA and then scroll down to the first download
which is the WIA constitution.

Serving on the WIA Board is a wonderful way to participate and
help support and develop this wonderful hobby. I have
personally found it very fulfilling and not without its odd
challenge but I can certainly say as a serving Director that
all Directors on the Board work diligently and tirelessly
volunteering their time in kind to advance this great hobby.

Thats it from me this week, always great to get to
communicate with the broader membership and Ham Radio
community and stay safe and well. 73s Scott VK3KJ





DISCUSSION POINT

Hello, Im Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and Ive been thinking.

How sad is it that the ACMA had to post a request to the
Amateur Community to use courteous behaviour when they are in
contact with the Australian Maritime College. The naughty
child aspect is reinforced with the threat of recurrence of
poor behaviour being reported to the ACMA, itself.

I and the majority of amateurs will heartily agree with the
request as normal behaviour is that of using manners. It is
a matter of respect to another person that we are polite in
our speech and manner. The punk era was a part of the youth
rebellion of 40 odd years ago and whereas there may have been
humour in TV programs such as The Young Ones (some of which
is available on Youtube) the style of behaviour today has left
that type of crudity behind.

I can only ask that we all follow the Amateurs Code in our
behaviour and we are courteous and respectful in our dealings
with other people.

Im Geoff Emery and thats what I think.how about you?

( Geoff's complete "thought piece" is available in the VK4
local news today which follows this transmission in
Queensland and can be heard world wide right now on
www.wiaq.org.au/ftp/vk4_qnews_64.mp3 Ed. VK4BB )

------------------------------------------------------------*


INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate
AR Club, ARRL, RAC, NZART AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE & the
World Wide sources of the WIA.

BLACK FRIDAY - ANOTHER GREAT DEAL BUSTER FOR HAMS

Internationally the world wide web was alive last week with
lists galore of what was being touted as "Your Best Black
Friday Deals for 2020 for HAM RADIO."

From Bombay to Broome and points NSE and West deals were
done and the grinners were the ham radio winners.

Black Friday is an informal name for the Friday following
Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is celebrated
on the fourth Thursday of November. The day after
Thanksgiving has been regarded as the beginning of the
Christmas shopping season since 1952.

The term "Black Friday" did not become widely used until more
recent decades, during which time global retailers have
adopted the term and date to market their own holiday sales.

SO - if you missed the sales this year. mark your 2012 calendars
now!





EIRE

John, EI7G writing on his blog this week noted in the editorial
comment in the VHF/UHF column of the November 2020 issue of
RadCom "In recent years, the RSGB has informally asked Ofcom
about amateur access to 40 MHz. Ofcom responded that this was
not amateur radio spectrum, whilst they would agree to the
continuation of the GB3RAL propagation beacon on 40 MHz,
they would not agree to further beacons or general access to
40 MHz by UK amateurs."

As of November 2020, just Ireland, Slovenia, Lithuania and
South Africa have some sort of access to the 40MHz band.

In April of 2018, Comreg...the Irish regulatory authority
allowed Irish radio amateurs access to the 30 MHz to 49 MHz
part of the VHF spectrum on a secondary basis.

Other users at 40 MHz...

) Radio controlled models... One of the main users of the
spectrum around 40 MHz are the radio model community.
While model aircraft operate around 35 MHz, surface models,
trains, cars, boats and things, operate 40.6 to 41.0 MHz.

) Cordless telephones... Before the advent of mobile phones,
some people used cordless telephones in their houses. The
base units operated around 31 MHz while the handsets were
around 40 MHz using FM and 10 mW erp.

) Italian CB... There is a band at 43.3 to 43.6 MHz.


For more information on the new 40MHz band, visit excellent
blog..

ei7gl.blogspot.com

(John EI7G sourced via SouthGate)




USA

The Gathering will be the theme for 2021 Dayton Hamvention.

Hamvention General Chair Rick Allnutt, WS8G, said the theme
reflects what has been missing from our lives most of the year.

We are very optimistic that when May arrives, we will be
allowed to get together in Ohio.

WS8G, a medical doctor with a masters degree in public health
said Hamvention management is closely following the
coronavirus situation and believes it will improve enough by
May that government restrictions on travel and large groups
will be relaxed.

Hamvention 2021 will be held May 21 23 at the Greene County
Fairgrounds and Expo Centre in Xenia, Ohio, we hope..





NO WIN NO FEE

We've all heard that claim by many law firms chasing business.

BUT, in the USA it's a case of "A fee means a NO win". The
ARRL has urged the FCC to waive its proposed $50 amateur radio
application fee and is keeping up the momentum for US hams to
make comments.

The proposal has already drawn more than 3,200 individual
comments overwhelmingly opposed to the plan.





Retail Ecommerce Ventures has acquired the brand and related
assets for nostalgic electronic retailer RadioShack.


eHam.net says it's aimed to revive the brand as an e-commerce
portal that will support existing stores carrying RadioShack
products. The new brand owner plans to launch a modern
RadioShack website at RadioShack.com

The deal comes ahead of RadioShacks 100th anniversary next
year. RadioShack launched in 1921 as a retailer for amateur
ham radio equipment. The retailer grew over time to sell
various electronics items and components. In 2015, the company
filed bankruptcy after experiencing struggling sales and shop
closures.




PUERTO RICO

After withstanding hurricanes and earthquakes, playing central
roles in movies like GoldenEye and Contact, Puerto Ricos
famed Arecibo Observatory, once the largest radio telescope in
the world, will be demolished because of cable failures that
left its huge detector platform too unstable to attempt repairs.

Engineers recommended a controlled demolition, bringing down
the suspended instrument platform in a way that will prevent
damage to other structures at the periphery of the dish by
making sure the towers themselves dont collapse and by
ensuring no cables whip into those structures.

Plans for bringing down the instrument platform have not yet
been finalised and its not yet known whether explosives will
be used in a controlled demolition or whether it might be
possible to somehow lower the platform to the dish below.

However it plays out, the 1,000-foot-wide telescope will
essentially be destroyed.

While the laser facility and visitors centre will hopefully
be preserved, the radio telescope itself will be no more.



------------------------------------------------------------*



HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT


----2020 ----------



CQ WW DX CW THIS Weekend NOVEMBER 28-29


--------------

SPRING VHF - UHF FIELD DAYS November 27-28

--------------
December 6 - 8 160 Meter WW

--------------

DECEMBER 14 - 15 10 Mtr World Wide




----2021-------


--------------

Ross Hull Memorial VHF/UHF Contest takes place ALL of
January 2021

--------------

VHF-UHF SUMMER FIELD DAY - Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 January.

--------------

CQWW 160M CW CONTEST January 29 - 31.

CQWW 160M SSB CONTEST February 26 - 28.
--------------

the CQ World Wide RTTY WPX Contest February 13-14

A new "Multi-Transmitter Distributed" category has been added
to ALL CQ World Wide WPX Contests to better accommodate
operators who wish to compete as a team without all team members
being in the same physical location.

This new category permits up to six separate stations in
different locations, but all within the same DX entity and
CQ zone, to operate as a single contest entry.

This was inspired by innovations being made in response to
the Coronavirus pandemic, but I'd suggest this new category
will be permanent.

( cqwpxrtty.com )


--------------

International DX CW Contest February 20-21


--------------

International DX Phone Contest March 6 - 7


--------------

WIA John Moyle Field Day 2021
March from UTC 0100 on Saturday 20 to 0059 Sunday 21nd.

--------------

the CQ World Wide SSB WPX Contest March 27-28

the CQ World Wide CW WPX Contest May 29-30

Recall from their Feb 14 RTTY contest that a new
"Multi-Transmitter Distributed" category has been added to ALL
CQ World Wide WPX Contests to better accommodate operators who
wish to compete as a team without all team members being in
the same physical location.

This new category permits up to six separate stations in
different locations, but all within the same DX entity and
CQ zone, to operate as a single contest entry.

This was inspired by innovations being made in response to
the Coronavirus pandemic, but I'd suggest this new category
will be permanent.

( cqwpx.com )

--------------

April 25 AM / CW ANZAC Day, Mon 25th from 9am on 7125kHz AM.

--------------

Harry Angel Sprint will be May First 2021. 10:00 - 11:46 UTC.

--------------


--------------


DX WINDOW


--------------

AUSTRALIA


Members of the WIA are QRV with VI 110 WIA until the end of
the year as we celebrate our 110th anniversary.


--------------

OMAN

Members of the Royal Omani Amateur Radio Society may use the
A450 prefix to mark Oman's 50th National Day.

Again thats Alpha Four hundred and fifty.

(eHam)


--------------


AUSTRIA

Members of the V.I.C. Amateur Radio Contest DX Club are QRV
with special call sign 4 U 2 STAYHOME until December 31.
QSL via UA 3 DX.

(arrl)

--------------

GREECE.

SX 40 ARES is QRV to celebrate the 40 years of the Hellenic
Amateur Radio Emergency Service. QSL via operators'
instructions.

(ARRL)

--------------

INDIA

AU2JCB until December 15 celebrates the birthday of scientist
and radio pioneer Aacharya Jagadish Chandra Bose.

QSL direct to VU 2 DSI.

In addition, look for special calls AT 2 JCB, AU 3 JCB,
VU 5 JCB and AU 8 JCB to be active as well.

(eHam)


--------------

SOMALIA.

Ali, EP3CQ is QRV as 6 O 1 OO until January 15, 2021 while
working for the UN Department of Safety and Security in
Mogadishu. Activity 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8.

the 6O1OO station, currently is the only active and licensed
Amateur Radio Station in Somalia.

IRCs are not accepted. No LoTW. Only Dollars please, in fact
five of them! This includes a small donation to the station
as his post on QRZ.COM says "- Sorry guys I need to replace
the equipment and maintain the station in order to keep it on
air. No luxury situation here. Due to the super harsh weather
conditions, hot humid, windy, and salty there is a necessity
to change the equipment antennas, wires, UPS and defect RF
units on regular basis. So I need and rely on your donations
to keep the station running.

On and off air since February 2019, his callsign (6O1OO) is
accepted for DXCC credit.

--------------

INDONESIA.

8 A 1 0N until December 10 celebrates Indonesia's
"National Heroes Day 2020".

Activity is on various HF bands and modes. QSL via LoTW.

(eHam)

--------------

NEW ZEALAND

Active is ZM4T this weekend during the CQWW DX CW Contest
(Nov28-29) and QSL is via LoTW.

(SouthGate)

--------------



SANTA ALERT

Hope QSO parties over Christmas

Following the RSGB's successful Hope QSO parties earlier in
the year, the HF Contest Committee is launching two further
short Christmas Hope Party series to run as part of the
Societys "Get on the air for Christmas" campaign with the NHS.

The first starts Monday, 21 December.
Second Monday, 4 January 2021.

Each series has two phone, two CW, two RTTY and two FT4 events

For more informationincluding a link to the rulesvisit the
Get on the air for Christmas page at rsgb.org/gota4c.

As part of this RSGB and NHS campaign Get On the Air for
Christmas the NHS amateur radio station GB 1 NHS will be on
air on Sunday, 20 December and Wednesday, 30 December 2020.

The Society is also delighted that Ofcom is supporting the
use of /NHS as a suffix to call signs during the campaign,
which runs from Saturday, 19 December 2020 through to
Saturday, 9 January 2021.




David, N3NTV, has announced the Santa Watch Net on
Christmas Eve, December 24, hosted by the
DoDropIn EchoLink node 355800, getting under way at 1800 UTC.

(ARRL)




Members of the Finish Market Reef Christmas DX Association
(OH9A gang) will be operating special event station OG1XMAS
on all bands and modes from November 29 to December 26.

(SouthGate)




3 special calls celebrate Christmas BUT no QSL cards.

PA 20 XMAS, PD 20 SANTA and PD20ELF during the Christmas
holiday season NO cards BUT an award for working 2 or more.

( qrz.com/db/PA20XMAS )




Coronavirus has altered the way that communities are
celebrating this Christmas, meaning Santa Claus may not
be able to make in-person visits. One Longmont club, based in
the USA though, is giving Kris Kringle some air time so that
he can still hear from Boulder Countys children in a
safe-distanced way.

The Longmont Amateur Radio Club will host "On Air With Santa"
from 6 to 7 p.m. Dec. 1 to Dec. 5, encouraging licensed
ham radio operators to give their children and grandchildren
a chance to connect with Santa in a safe, distanced way.

Firestones Chuck Poch, president of the radio club, said
this is the first time that the Longmont Amateur Radio Club
has hosted the event. While the Longmont Amateur Radio Club
wants to give children a chance to connect with Santa,
members also hope to transmit an interest in the next
generation of ham radio operators.

(eHam)




For the 15th consecutive year, The 3916 Nets will present
"The Santa Net on 3.916 MHz."

Good girls and boys can talk to Santa Claus, or outside
the USA listen in, via amateur radio nightly at 7:15 PM
(Central).

The Santa Net will run through Christmas Eve, December 24.

(eHam)




There's even more Christmas fun happening in Oz, with the
Mackay Amateur Radio Association holding the End of Year
Breakup on Saturday 5th December from 12pm in the sumptuous
bistro at Magpies Sporting Club Glenella. Come along and help
send off 2020 in air conditioned comfort. Contact Secretary
Gary VK4CUZ with your attendance numbers NOW !


South East Queensland Amateur Television Group is holding its
Christmas meeting Tuesday December 1 at 7:30 PM Redcliffe
Radio Clubrooms in Klingner Rd. Feel free to bring a plate.




theTARCinc 2020 Christmas Party and Monster Auction happens
on Sunday December 13th from 10-30am at the Big Shed,
Girl Guides Camping and Training Centre Bluewater.

Day admission to the centre is $10 per head

A COVID-19 sanitation point and sign-in point will be active
as the limit as of 17th November 2020 is 50 persons.



That's the SANTA ALERT for now, if you know of any
Ham Happenings where Santa is likely to show up then drop
Graham, the jolly WIANews Editor, a line
nationalnews@wia.org.au

Still NOWHERE near the North Pole, I'm Lyndall VK4ZM in
Paradise, counting the sleeps 'till Christmas.


------------------------------------------------------------*


WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS

5 MHz

Is 60m Within Our Grasp?

Back at the beginning of May 2020 WIA Vice President VK3GK
Lee Moyle told us how the ACMA website had called for
public comment, seeking feedback on amateur access to the
5 MHz band in Australia and how the WIA were asking we VKers
to respond along with the WIA.

The WIA representing over 3000 licensed radio amateurs in
Australia and well over 50% of the cohort of amateur licensees
through their network of affiliated amateur radio clubs was
well placed to conduct the survey which, along with individual
submissions was published by ACMA October 28.

So will we get a brand new band under our Christmas Tree this
year, it is anticipated ACMA will advise on their decision
maybe in time for the Yule Tide.





WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS ATV (Every pixel tells a story) -

tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos
THAT LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF THIS NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD
BEVAN

Moscow Aviation Institute Plans SSTV Event from ISS

IW 2 BSF, reports that a Slow-Scan Television transmission
event from the International Space Station is currently
scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Dec 1 at 12:30 UTC, ending at
18:25 UTC, and again on Wednesday, Dec 2 starting at 11:50 UTC
and ending at 18:25 UTC.

Listen for SSTV signals to be downlinked at
145.800 MHz +/- Doppler shift expected to be PD 120.

[ANS]





WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CW
FISTS Club - East Asia feacw.net
FISTS Club - Australasia fdu.org.au
FISTS Club - UK & Europe fists.co.uk
FISTS Club - Americas fists.org

Recommended FISTS calling frequencies (MHz):
1.808 3.528 7.028 10.118 14.058 18.085 21.058 24.908
28.058


EVERY THING OLD IS NEW AGAIN

Transmitting Morse Code via Raspberry Pi Ethernet RF Leakage.

SQ 5 BPF has been documenting a TEMPEST experiment where he's
been able to transmit data via RF being leaked from a
Raspberry Pi's Ethernet connection.

The idea was born when he found that his Raspberry Pi 4 was
leaking a strong RF signal at 125 MHz from the Ethernet cable.
He went on to find that it was easy to turn a tone on and off
simply changing the Ethernet link speed with the "ethtool"
command-line tool. Once this was known it is a simple matter
of creating a bash script to generate some morse code.

Quite amazingly the Ethernet RF leakage is very strong.

With the Raspberry Pi 10 meters away and a steel-reinforced
concrete wall in between, SQ 5 BPF was able to receive the
generated morse code via an RTL-SDR connected to a PC.
Further experiments show that with a Yagi antenna he was able
to receive the signal from 100 meters away.

His post explains some further experiments with data bursting
and provides links to the bash scripts he created, so you can
try this at home.

https://tinyurl.com/y4pfojv2

( icqpodast )





WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org

The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four radio amateurs
docked with the International Space Station.

The precious payload went into space 2 weeks ago, November 15,
from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre and consisted of ISS
Expedition 64/65 crew.

"Well, the ISS is loaded with hams now," Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station US Delegate for ARRL Rosalie White,
K 1 STO, said. These four arrived in good spirits.

Shannon, KD5DXB;
Victor, KI5BKC;
Mike, KF5LJG, and
Soichi, KD5TVP.

Speaking of the International Space Station, members of the
Ostrow Radio Amateur Radio Club in Poland are QRV as S N 3 ISS
until December 21 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of active
amateur radio communication service on the ISS.
QSL via SP 3 POW.

(arrl)




Happy 7th birthday to AO-73, FUNcube-1, which was launched
November 2013. Congratulations to AMSAT-UK on the ongoing
success of this project.

(ANS)




New Launch Date for EASAT-2 and Hades Satellites

The first satellites built by AMSAT-EA are EASAT-2 and HADES.

Flying with SpaceX, these two nanosats are scheduled for
launch January 14.

They have been configured to act as FM voice and FSK data
repeaters and not as linear transponders as was the initial
plan and are believed to be the smallest satellites ever given
such a function, as their size is only 7.5 x 5 x 5 cm.

Hades also flies a SSTV camera that will take and send
pictures each 15 minutes.

Hades FM voice repeater, callsign AM6SAT
uplink 145.925 MHz (no tone), downlink 436.888 MHz

EASAT-2 FM voice repeater, callsign AM5SAT
uplink 145.875 MHz (no tone), downlink 436.666 MHz

Both satellites have also digitized FM voice beacons and
FSK data repeaters.

(AMSAT-NA)





WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET, THE HAMS DOMAIN.

Plans to beam 5G signals to the public via drones that stay
airborne for nine days at a time have been announced by two
UK firms.

They want to use antenna-equipped aircraft powered by
hydrogen to deliver high-speed internet connectivity
to wide areas.

Stratospheric Platforms and Cambridge Consultants say they
could cover the whole of the UK with about 60 drones. But
telecoms analysts question whether the economic case for this
scheme is quite as simple as it sounds.

The Cambridge-based companies say they would run the service
in partnership with existing mobile operators. They are
already backed by Deutsche Telekom, which hopes to trial the
technology in rural southern Germany in 2024.

(icqpodast)





WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP --- OPTICS

Do you have what it takes to be TOP BULB?

Not sure what category of Special Interest Groups this story
fits into, but seeing it kinda does use light what better place?

This is a story many may have missed yet its a story of a
Ham Contest running several years.

As I said at the outset. "Do you have what it takes to be
TOP BULB?"

The contest is known as "LightBulb QSO Party"

The Objective of the Lightbulb QSO Party is to build and use
an antenna constructed in a manner so that the lightbulb is a
key component of the antenna and to promote understanding and
practical application of antenna matching concepts that allow
a lightbulb to be used as a radiator in two way radio
communications.

TWO categories of competition

In the Household category, the antenna is constructed with a
SINGLE lightbulb serving as the radiator. Any lightbulb
available for home use, including decorative lightbulbs
may be employed.


In the Freestyle category, as many lightbulbs as desired
may be employed in the antenna design. If you make your own
lightbulb, it must be capable of radiating visible light when
energy is applied. A dull glow is OK, as long as the light
emitted is visible. This is the ANYTHING GOES category,
so get creative and advance lightbulb antenna technology!

hamsignal.com/blog/lightbulb-qso-party-2020





WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO

IARU REGION 3
Emergency Centre of Activity (CoA) frequencies
3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz


Region 1 3760 7110 14300 18160 21360 kHz

Region 2 3750 3985 7060 7240 7275 14300 18160 21360 kHz

The Townsville City Autosports Club ( TCAC ) King Of The Hill
Hill climb on the Mount Stuart Road is where we see many
Townsville Amateur Radio Club members and support crew out in
the field mixing radio with high speed organized auto sports.

Operators man the Start and Flying Finish positions on the
Mount Stuart Road.

It's also a chance to get a CAMS Officials Licence.

2021 sees 4 Sunday events, 28 March / 30 May / 25 July / 26
September





When is a 'safety' net not safe?

Could it be during a pandemic?

Well whatever, as they have since 1969, ham radio operators
helped race officials keep tabs on participants in last
weekends JFK 50 Mile race in the USA.

The race director, said members of the Antietam Radio
Association play a key role in the nation's oldest
ultramarathon. The radio operators' work at the race started
in an era before cell phones, he said, and it's still needed.

There are so many dead spots on that course where cell phones
don't work," he said. "Ham Radios don't have any dead spots.
They're our safety nets."

The President of the Antietam Radio Association, said at
least 30 volunteers were assigned to the 58th annual event.

(story sourced to eHam.cm)





SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - VHF AND ABOVE (The Plumbers Delight)

ARRL has petitioned the FCC to reconsider its order removing
the secondary amateur allocation at 3.3 3.5 GHz and
requiring that amateur operations in the 3.450 3.500 GHz
band cease on a date consistent with the first possible
grant of flexible use authorizations to new users.

The amateur services in this band long have been operated on
a secondary allocation status, functionally similar to the
de facto secondary status of Part 5 experimental licenses,
whose continued operation was (correctly) approved in the
same proceeding, ARRL told the FCC. Continued operation of
amateur stations similarly should be permitted in the vacant
portions of this spectrum that otherwise will go unused.

( arrl.org )


------------------------------------------------------------*


2020 Social Scene


KEEP ONE WAVELENGTH AWAY AT 144 Megacycles
#2MetersMatters


Due to the COVID-19 situation, please check these events'
direct for up-to-date status information.

2020

VK4:-

South East Queensland Amateur Television Group is holding its
Christmas meeting Tuesday December 1 at 7:30 PM Redcliffe
Radio Clubrooms in Klingner Rd. Feel free to bring a plate.
(vk4yac)

VK4 - Mackay Amateur Radio Association End of Year Breakup
Saturday 5th December from 12pm Magpies Sporting Club
(vk4zm)

VK4 - TARC Xmas Party - Sun 13th December from 2pm (tarc)

VK4 - TARC Xmas Lights Tour - Fri 18th December (tarc)



2021

VK4 - TARC Australia Day Long Week Family Radio Camp
Thursday afternoon 21st to Tuesday afternoon 26th
January at Girl Guides Association of Queensland
Campsite and Training Centre Bluewater. (vk4zz)

VK2 - WYONG FIELD DAY February 28 ( vk4zz)

VK4 - REDFEST 2021 April Ten (vk4tfn)

VK - ALARAMEET 2021 Bendigo VK3 October 1 - 4 (vk5yl)

VK7 - VK7 biennial HamFest Miena Community Hall (vk7tw)



SOCIAL DISTANCING

KEEP ONE WAVELENGTH AWAY AT 144 Megacycles





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 ask for the
current password then read "how to submit items" in the
weekly news page on
wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/

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 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)


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 cannot give blatant 'plugs' to raffles.


vk1wia-broadcasters@lists.wia.org.au

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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)


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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/

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."

Material may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form,
a credit to WIANews wouldn't go astray...

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.

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The National Association for Amateur Radio in Australia
A member society of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)