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VK National News 26Mar23
Text edition:
Weekly news from the WIA:
MP3 edition of news available at: http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2023-03-26.mp3
Text edition:
2023 MARCH 26 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 MARCH 269 2023
IN OUR 28th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
THIS WEEK TAKING PRIDE OF PLACE IS VK2ZRH ROGER HARRISON AS HE LOOKS
AT HIS PREVIEW COPY OF THE WIA'S LATEST AMATEUR RADIO MAGAZINE.
PLUS MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS EDITION OF
NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA
I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB
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(at)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(at)wia.org.au
and send BOTH the audio and the text
We would appreciate items certainly no longer than 1.5 mts in
length as we only have a half hour.
Remember the sooner you submit material the more the
likelihood of it being broadcast in the very next edition of
WIA National News.
Each recorded item will only be broadcast once, if you want a couple
of mentions, please submit different slants to keep your
event 'fresh' and always if the news room is to read your
item --- write it in the 3rd person. (First if YOU are
reading your own item) If you are mentioning your own name / call
in the story, say something like "and myself, Pat, vk11abc"
(above in text version only)
Hey, Dudes! This is Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radio magazine, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH.
Last Monday, the files for Issue Number 2 of AR magazine for this year were uploaded to the printer's server in Bairnsdale, Victoria.
Look out for the issue landing in your letterbox, your Post Office Box, or your local newsagency, late next week.
The theme for this soon-to-arrive issue is Hacks and Hints. Dude! There are 16 pages filled with articles long and short crafty and colourful, fanciful and fulsome dedicated solely to the hackers and homebrewers among us.
And isnt that everyone?
Well, maybe at one time or another, perhaps. If youre not currently part of the homebrewer brigade, then maybe this issue will stimulate your essential bodily juices to return!
The section kicks-off with a curious little rig and amp testing circuit to build. Dudes. No more whistling into the mike! The crafty little circuit generates an audio signal that mimics speech.
Its brought to us by the indefatigable Jim Tregellas VK5JST.
For antenna builders, theres a super feature from Peter Sumner VK5PJ a-k-a Pedro on how to set up for and put together a proper Yagi having elements that end up all straight and parallel especially for round booms! With copious photographic illustration, its metalwork porn.
Moving on theres a line in a song from yesteryear that I recall goes
A good joint is hard to find, I always seem to get the other kind.
So, how to solder to other metals like aluminium and stainless steel is revealed in graphic detail . . . including the secret bits! Apparently, working up a gob full of spit is not necessary, providing you hold your tongue the right way when making the joint.
Oh, yes. A good joint might be hard to find, but is a joy to behold.
WIA historian Peter Wolfenden VK3RV completes his rundown on how Amateur Radio magazine came into being in 1933.
Over the decade beforehand (the roaring twenties) there were many intrigues, twists and turns among publishers and Institute divisions to carry the line quote Official Organ of the Wireless Institute of Australia end quote on the masthead of their magazine, newspaper or newsletter. An unlikely Murdoch tale, writ small.
Yep. A-R mag this year clocks up 90 years on the trot!
Not to be missed are other features that are all about on-air operations at notable locations.
Stephen Warrillow VK3SN recounts his experience of holidaying with his wife on Christmas Island in the tropical Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, adding a bit of DXing on the side.
Meanwhile, Victorias wind-swept Cape Nelson lighthouse on the southwest coast was the scene for a weekend of fun and frolics for Glenn Alford VK3CAM, on-the-air for last years International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend.
Glenn furnished a dramatic photo of the Cape Nelson lighthouse for this issues front cover. Unmissable!
If youre looking for the magazine in the newsagents, and you cant see it in the tech magazines section, check to see if its in the sailing and boating section. Dear, oh dear.
And now for the news youve been waiting for Newcomers Notebook returns this issue and Lou Destefano VK3 A Q Z completes the article on his 400 watt T-network antenna tuner.
Amateur Radio magazine, Volume 91, Issue Number 2 for 2023. Serving Australian radio amateurs for 90 years on the trot. Available in print and online. Always published to a schedule, never random.
Dudes! This is AR magazine Editor-in-Chief Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News.
------------------------------------------------------------*
WIRELESS WEATHER
Eruption on the Far Side of the Sun was so Powerful
its Shockwave Hit Earth
The Sun has been spitting out some pretty powerful eruptions in
the last few weeks, but one that took place is a real doozy.
Back around March 12, Sun-monitoring spacecraft recorded a huge
amount of material blasting away from the far side of the Sun
from a coronal mass ejection. Detected as an expanding cloud, or
halo, of solar debris, it raced away from the Sun at exceptionally
high speeds of 2,127 kilometres per second.
The Sun spitting out flares and coronal mass ejections is nothing
new, but this one was something special. Usually, eruptions on the
far side don't tend to hit Earth, since they're facing the opposite
direction; but this one was so intense that satellites orbiting our
home planet picked up the signal of particles from the eruption
accelerated by the eruption's shockwave right into our corner of
space.
sciencealert.com/
(eHam)
------------------------------------------------------------*
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, RAC,
ARRL, NZART, eHam, AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, eHam,
Radioworld.com and the World Wide sources of the WIA.
Our first story, sourced to Region 2 is actually a little out of
that area, in fact out of International news even.
Have you ever wondered " What time is it on the moon?"
A new era of lunar exploration is on the rise, with dozens of
Moon Missions planned for the coming decade and Europe, IARU Region
2 is in the forefront here, contributing to building the Gateway
lunar station and the Orion spacecraft which is set to return humans
to our natural satellite, as well as developing its large logistic
lunar lander, known as Argonaut.
As dozens of missions will be operating on and around the Moon and
needing to communicate together and fix their positions
independently from Earth, this new era will require its own time.
Timing is a crucial element, adds ESA navigation system engineer
Pietro Giordano who said "During a meeting recently we agreed on the
importance and urgency of defining a common lunar reference time,
which is internationally accepted and towards which all lunar
systems and users may refer to. A joint international effort is now
being launched towards achieving this.
tinyurl.com/ANS-078-Lunar-Time
REGION ONE
BROADCASTER SHUTS LONGWAVE RADIO TRANSMITTER IN ICELAND
A longwave radio transmitter in Iceland has been shut down and
demolished, as Iceland phases out that form of broadcast.
A team of police stood nearby to oversee safety concerns.
Destruction of the mast, standing 218 metres, Iceland's third
tallest structure, took place because of a decline in the number
of listeners to longwave radio broadcasts. The transmitter had
been operated on 207 kHz by the Icelandic broadcaster RUV, which is
now giving priority to FM.
Another RUV transmitter will continue operating for a little longer
in West Iceland on 189 kHz. This is Iceland's tallest structure at
412 metres. There are plans also for that transmitter to close,
once FM broadcasts replace all of its functions.
The impetus for the change is being driven in part by Iceland's
Civil Defence and other organisations looking to improve emergency
notification capabilities. That role is going to be transferred to
FM, which is slowly being upgraded throughout Iceland.
Austria restricts 23cm band operation
Austria has become the latest country to impose restrictions on
Amateur Radio operation in the 23 cm band (1240-1300 MHz) to protect
to protect ground-based receivers for the Galileo RNSS satellite
constellation.
The UK National HamFest, the well-known rally previously held
annually at the Newark Showground in the UK, has been cancelled.
A statement on the HamFest website said that at such short notice,
organisers cannot find a replacement venue or a new date. Directors
considered a July event but ultimately it was decided that there
were too many obstacles for the attendees, traders and to financial
benefits.
The directors wrote:
"We can assure you, we haven't made this decision lightly."
They committed to what they called "a bigger and better event" in
September 2024 at the Newark Showground.
REGION TWO
RECORD FINES FOR STATIONS CHARGED WITH PIRACY
A New York City broadcaster charged with piracy has become the first
of two stations to be targeted under a law passed three years ago
enabling larger and, until now, unprecedented penalties. The FCC has
proposed a record fine of more than $2.3-million against
Radio Impacto 2, which the agency said was still on the air at the
time the commission made its announcement Wednesday, March 15th.
According to a report in ARNewsLine, the radio signals are being
transmitted from the New York City borough of Queens.
Radio Impacto's website calls it "The Official Radio of Ecuadorians
in New York.
The FCC issued a $20,000 forfeiture against the station in 2015 and
a year later its broadcast equipment was seized by US Marshals.
The second station was identified in a Radio World report as
"Pirate Radio Eastern Oregon," and its operator faces an $80,000
forfeiture.
Congratulations to CQ magazine, where a new associate editor has
been hired. Amateur Radio NewsLine are reporting 'Sabrina Herman,
KB 3 UJW, has joined the staff, succeeding long-time managing editor
Jason Feldman, KD 2 IWM.
Sabrina had previously been managing editor and promotional
coordinator for Hermes Press, a small publisher of books in
Pennsylvania. She has been a ham for 13 years.
REGION THREE
And I'm going to pinch Bruce VK3FFF's thunder and announce this
story hear instead of Bruce's Special Interest Group news
"First-time summit activator Emile, VK5WWW, has now earned one point
in the SOTA awards scheme for each year of his life:
The 10-year-old successfully activated Mount Wellington in Tasmania
with a hand held and a lot of hope on Tuesday, March 21st shortly
before 9:30 am local Tassie time.
The summit is 1,270-metres high, not that we are suggesting he
walked all the way!
Operating at VK5WWW/7 he logged six contacts across the Hobart area
on 2m. One-half hour later, it was a done deal. Emile's first solo
act was a success.
His proud father, John VK5HAA, who is also an activator, reported
his son's SOTA success on the Australian SOTA activators'
groups.io email list.
Congratulations on reaching new heights, Emile. Good on ya!
-------------------------------------------------------------------*
HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT
--------------
NOW CONTEST WISE:-
--------------
2023
--------------
--------------
On now is this years CQ Worldwide WPX SSB Contest and it concludes
at 2359 UTC the 26th of March. Using SSB on the 160 to 10m bands,
where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and
serial number.
(rsgb)
--------------
YOTA CONTEST
Youngsters On The Air
1st round 22nd April 0800 1959 UTC
ham-yota.com/contest/
--------------
MAY SIX Saturday Harry Angel Memorial Sprint 106 mts an annual 80m
contest event, first established in 1999, to commemorate the life of
Harry Angel VK4HA who at the time of his becoming a Silent Key was
the oldest licensed amateur in Australia. (106)
The duration of the contest is 106 minutes one minute for each year
of Harry's life.
The Harry Angel Memorial Sprint has been run annually since 1999
It is usually held on the first Saturday in May each year
10:00 UTC - 11:46 UTC (wia.org.au)
--------------
MAY 20-21 Don Edwards Memorial Slow Morse Contest
begins the weekend after Mother's Day.
80m section Saturday 20th May 6 to 9pm Sydney time.
40m section afternoon of Sunday 21st of May, 1 to 4
Sydney time. (vk2wi)
--------------
JUNE 24-25 WINTER VHF-UHF Field Day.
0100 UTC Saturday 24 to 0059 UTC Sunday 25
BUT in VK6 add 3 hours onto start and end times. (wia.org.au)
--------------
JUNE Weekend prior to 2nd Monday of June VK SHIRES
--------------
Also make a mental note that the 2023 QRP Day happens June 17
(sourced to iaru r3)
--------------
IARU HF World Championship Contest takes place the second full
weekend of July beginning 1200 UTC Saturday and ending 1200 UTC
Sunday July 8-9 July.
All licensed amateurs worldwide are eligible to participate in this
contest as the objective is to contact as many other amateurs as
possible, especially IARU member society HQ stations around the
world using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands.
(sourced to iaru r3)
--------------
--------------
DX WINDOW
--------------
--------------
Active is FR / F 5 UOW from Reunion Island, AF-016, until tomorrow,
Monday the 27th of March using CW.
QSL via Logbook of the World.
(rsgb)
--------------
Until April 2nd, the EI DX Group will be QRV from Antigua Island,
IOTA Ref NA-100, using the call V 26 EI.
They hoped to be setup in time to participate in this weekends
CQ WW WPX SSB Contest.
Operating over nine days on CW, SSB, RTTY and a little FT8.
Details of the trip can be followed on their blog page.
v26ei.eidxg.com
The group look forward to seeing many of you in the logs.
QSL is via Charles M 0 OXO
m0oxo.com
All logs will be uploaded to LoTW after the trip.
(irts)
--------------
The Russian DXpedition Team is using the callsign 9 X 5 RU in
Rwanda until April 7th on 160 - 6m and they will also be using
the QO-100 satellite.
They operate CW, SSB and FT8 and QSL via Club Log's OQRS and LoTW.
(arnewsline)
--------------
Listen for the special event callsign A 60 AP, which is on the air
until the 31st of August.
The suffix stands for the Emirates "Astronaut Program," which
prepares crews of UAE astronauts for missions that include the
International Space Station. QSL via EA7FTR.
(arnewsline)
------------------------------------------------------------*
WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS
SUMMITS ON THE AIR, WORLD WIDE FLORA, FAUNA PROGRAM,
PARKS ON THE AIR and other ADVENTURE GROUPS.
hema.org.uk/index.jsp
minesontheair.com/about-mota
parksontheair.com/
sota.org.uk
sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/
facebook.com/SotaAustralia/
wwffaustralia.com/
VK7WI News have reported on 70 new Worldwide Flora and Fauna
park/reserve reference areas have been added to the VK7 directory
list including areas on King and Flinders Islands.
All new WWFF reference areas must fall within the International
Union for Conservation of Nature protected area category system.
The list of the new VK7 park / reserves can be found in the WWFF
online directory or the WWFFAustralia website and will be added
to the ParksnPeaks website.
wwff.co/
parksnpeaks.org/
Speaking of parks Carmel VK2CAR, Colin VK2JCC, Stuart VK2BMX
and others, have been activating various parks in northern Sydney.
Parks such as Wahroonga Park and Rofe Park in Hornsby Heights.
Their portable station is a real 'magnet' for passers-by, the hams
hand out club business cards, and talk about the hobby with these
curious passers-by.
Well done for not only "parking" but in promoting our great hobby.
(vk7wi and vk2wi)
VI 10 VKFF
Paul VK5PAS, the National Co-Ordinator for the World Wide Flora and
Fauna program, abbreviated as WWFF joins us now:-
"WWFF is an international park activation program and is extremely
popular here in VK. The Australian chapter of the WWFF program is
known as VKFF.
This month, March 2023, we celebrate 10 years of the WWFF program in
Australia and a special event callsign of VI 10 VKFF has been
granted by the ACMA to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of VKFF.
The callsign is available for use by amateurs who are activating an
Australian park as part of the VKFF program.
If you are interested in using VI10VKFF whilst activating a VKFF
park, please send an email to:
vkffaustralia(at)gmail.com
If you do hear a VKFF park activator using the callsign, please give
them a call. You are not required to submit a log or do anything
formal following the QSO but the park activator would be very
pleased to hear from you.
More information on VI10VKFF (which runs all of 2023) and the
VKFF program can be found on the WWFF Australia website at:
wwffaustralia.com
73,
Paul VK5PAS.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- CW
www.morsecodeclassnet.com
Following on from a recent release of a Morse practice YouTube
Shorts video for the letters of the alphabet, Electronics Notes
has now launched another video in the series but for
numbers one to zero.
The video counts through the numbers one to zero in turn and
this sequence is repeated again.
If you are interested in learning Morse code, like quite a few I
know, it might be worth checking out. It is less than a minute long,
so you won't waste much time if you don't like it and if you do,
then it can repeat to help with the learning process.
youtube.com/shorts/J5psORD0iLY?feature=share
(eHam)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary(at)amsat-vk.org
NASA is awarding more than $3.8 million to 21 museums, science
centres, and other informal education institutions for projects
designed to bring the excitement of space science to communities
across the USA and broaden student participation in STEM
STEM is the acronym for science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics. Projects were selected for NASAs Teams Engaging
Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions program and their
Community Anchor Awards. The selected projects will engage their
communities in a wide variety of STEM topics, from aeronautics and
Earth science to human space exploration.
(NA)
COPY THAT - or should that be - PRINT THAT
Looking for a fun project for that 3D printer sitting in your
shack?
Look no further than Relativity Space in California for inspiration.
Their Terran 1 will try to become the first 3D-printed,
methane-fuelled rocket to reach orbit.
There are a number of firsts here potentially on this rocket,
said Josh Brost, vice president of revenue operations at
Relativity Space. It has the chance of being the first liquid
natural gas / liquid oxygen rocket to make it to orbit. It has, by
far, the highest 3D-printed content of any rocket in history.
Were sitting at about 85% by mass, where I dont think any other
rocket has gone past maybe 4%. Compared to a traditional rocket
that has more than 100,000 parts, this 3D-printed rocket has less
than 1,000 parts.
More information at
spaceflightnow.com/2023/03/11/relativity-space-terran-1-glhf/
[ANS]
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING
VKJOTAJOTI.COM
scouts.com.au
scout.org/jota
international.scouts.com.au
jotajoti.info/
And for this segment it's to Alec VK2APC
Thank you Bruce
And hello everyone, did you have a good John Moyle Memorial contest last weekend?
What a great weekend it was for a small group of scouts and leaders at Cataract Scout Activity Centre, south west of Sydney.
Brett Nicolas, V K 2 B N N organised a weekend camp to stay at a campground in Cataract, participate in John Moyle and for those on the camp to learn a bit more about radio activities.
They operated under the callsign Victor Kilo 2 Sierra Romeo Alpha portable.
We now have a scout who is keen to get his amateur radio licence after calling CQ for the contest, logging some contacts for another scout and making a contact with Lauro Zanoli, India Kilo 4 Golf Romeo Oscar in Italy!
The Scouts also learned about and participated in a foxhunt as a side activity.
The group even had a visit from a goanna who was curious about amateur radio!
Alan, my brother who is a Cub, took some photos of the camp and you can see a couple on Bevans video version of this weeks news.
The group would like to thank the many amateurs who demonstrated patience plus offered words of encouragement and support over the air to the inexperienced youth that participated in the contest.
On another note, a very sincere thank you to you Col, Bruce, Graham, Bevan and to everyone else who wished me a happy birthday. I really appreciated the birthday wishes from you.
For VK1WIA National News, I am Alec VK2APC in Sydney.
Now back over to you Bruce
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 21360kHz
Allan VK4HIT from the Ipswich and District Radio Club joins in now
with some WICEN News.
"Just a reminder for members who expressed an interest in learning how to set up and operate the WICEN portable repeater, that Saturday morning April 22, at 0900Hrs has been set aside for this event. Bob VK4EK will show how it is all done so that for future events members can start to take some of the burden off Bob and Sylvia and thus not having to rely on them 100 per cent.
Please attend if you can and contact Robert VK4KHW or Greg VK4GJW beforehand."
Thanks ALAN and a reminder Ipswich Wicen is always on the lookout
for extra help for these events, so if you can, please email
ipswichwicen(at)gmail.com
WHEN "LINE OF SIGHT" SERVES AS A LIFELINE
Most of us have heard the phrase "when all else fails, ham radio."
Well, our story here carries an alternative thought:
"when all else fails, aerial drones."
From ARNewsLine here's Ralph Squillace KK 6 ITB.
Deep snow in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon left two motorists
trapped in the Willamette National Forest. One of them was a woman
who had become stranded in her minivan. The other was a man
traveling not far from there. There was rarely any traffic or even
maintenance workers on this little-travelled road but they were able
to spot one another and try to find a way out of their predicament.
However, the road's remote location put it out of range for
cellphone service.
The snow grew higher and the temperatures dropped lower.
As the two tried to find a way to get word out that they were in
danger, the man realized he might in fact have a way out for the
both of them, after all. He would use line-of-sight communications,
the same principle employed by we ham radio operators on VHF/UHF and
microwave frequencies, as well as those using satellites.
He realized that if he could get his cellphone up high enough - say,
several hundred feet above the thick treetops - its signal would
reach a cell tower, enabling it to send a text message that could
carry the details of his distress to a friend.
He had the cellphone and, as luck would have it, he happened to have
an aerial drone in his car and the drone had enough power to make
that successful flight.
It worked. The man's friend received the text with his location and
the details of what had happened and the sheriff's search and rescue
team did the rest. The two motorists - and the drone - were brought
to safety.
This is Ralph Squilllace KK6ITB.
------------------------------------------------------------*
2023 Social Scene
Clubs are welcome to submit text with audio for this section
Details of all WIA affiliated clubs and societies can be found
on the WIA website, including email addresses and website links.
VK4 - REDCLIFFE - REDFEST APRIL ONE (vk4tfn)
VK3 - Antennapalooza at Drouin West April 15 & 16 (vk3kj)
VK3 - MOORABBIN HAMFEST - May 6 (vk3gl)
VK - WIA AGM May 13 at 10:30am AEST (vk8zz)
VK5 - SERG CONVENTION/FOX HUNTING CHAMPIONSHIPS June 10-11 (vk5dj)
VK4 - SUNFEST SEPTEMBER 9 (vk4an)
At Mountain Creek State Schools massive air conditioned
auditorium, just off the Sunshine Motor Way. Mountain Creek
is tucked in to the west of Mooloolaba
VK - ALARAMeet2023 4/5 November in HOBART (luther8(at)bigpond.com)
------------------------------------------------------------*
(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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