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VK7AX > NEWS 07.07.08 06:53l 574 Lines 20774 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: VK7 Regional News Broadcast for 6 July 2008
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From: VK7AX@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC
To : NEWS@WW
VK7 REGIONAL NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 6TH JULY 2008
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YOUR MOBILE PHONE COULD BE A 'LIFE-SAVER'
The following story is sourced to the Sydney Morning Herald for June
30 2008 and was written by Louisa Hearn.
Most of us would dial triple 0 for help in a life and death
situation. Now our mobiles can also issue life-saving CPR
instructions thanks to a new animated download launched by the Red
Cross last Sunday.
The technology, jointly developed by Tasmanian company Multi-Ed
Medical and mobile networking giant Ericsson, is an animated program
with an audio voiceover that gives a detailed overview of steps
required for CPR.
Available through any Australian mobile phone service, the animation
can be viewed on any handset capable of displaying 176 x 144 pixel
video content in the 3GPP file format.
Although the Red Cross warns that the content is no substitute for
first aid training, Robert Tickner, chief executive said it
would "literally put the ability to save a life in the hands of all
Australians with a mobile phone".
"While we know there is no substitute for an approved First Aid
course, it will serve as a crucial prompt should the time arise when
people are required to give CPR," he said.
Attending the weekend launch was Sherrie McDonald, whose child Abby
was saved by a neighbour skilled in First Aid.
"This technology means that you can have a reminder of how to perform
CPR properly, in your hands, all the time. It's a fantastic piece of
information for people to have on their mobiles," she said.
The CPR animation costs $3 and can be purchased directly from the Red
Cross website or by texting 'CPR' to 19 951 515.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/mobile-phone-a-
lifesaver/2008/06/29/1214677836696.html
http://www.redcross.org.au/ourservices_acrossaustralia_firstaid_CPRdow
nload.htm
(SMH Technology website)
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VK7 EVENTS CALENDAR
And a quick reminder of the events and broadcasts across VK7:
REAST – July 7th – Third Foundation Licence Training Night – Domain
clubrooms from around 7pm.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#FoundationLicenceCourse
NTARC – July 9 – BBQ Mt Barrow Interpretation Centre BYO Warm Gear
and BBQ Items.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ntarc/
NWTARIG – July 26 – General Meeting - Lions Club facility, Show
Ground, West Ulverstone.
http://www2.vk7ax.id.au/nwtarig/
Sewing Circle Net – Every day from 5pm on 3.59MHz
http://reast.asn.au/awards.php#sewingnet
CHARCT Quiz Net – Every Thursday night from 8:30pm on 3.585MHz.
http://www.qsl.net/charct/
NWTARIG broadcasts in the South, North and NW during the week. Check
the website for details.
http://www2.vk7ax.id.au/spectrum/
REAST – Every Wednesday evening from 7:30pm is the ATV Experimenter's
Night, so, why not come up and see what we get up to. Check the
website for details.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ATVnights
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AIRWAVE PROMULGATION OFFICER REQUIRED
1). Are you listening to this morning's broadcast on a 2m repeater
around VK7?
2). Do you have an HF transmitter sitting there idle whilst you are
listening to the broadcast?
Well, have we got a great job for you!
We need rebroadcasters on 80 and 40mx who can be anywhere in VK7, and
HF CB operators in Hobart.
Once a month, all you do is patch your 2mx to your HF transceiver or
HF CB rig and we can even supply a patch box if necessary.
On HF CB and 80mx you rebroadcast the WIA National and VK7 Regional
News broadcasts and on 40m you rebroadcast only the VK7 Regional News.
Then take some call backs to see who was listening and report these
back to the newsreader.
It is that simple and we can help you through each step of the
process and even do a trial rebroadcast to see if it is for you.
If you are interested then please contact me on email:
justingc(AT)ozemail.com.au or on 6223 1351.
Hope to hear from you.
(Justin, VK7TW, VK7 News and Broadcast Coordinator)
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NORTH WEST NEWS
North West Tasmania Amateur Radio Interest Group
http://www2.vk7ax.id.au/nwtarig/
The next General Meeting of NWTARIG is scheduled for Saturday 26th
July at the usual venue of the Lions Club facility, Show Ground, West
Ulverstone, commencing around 2.00 PM..
http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk7/
---------------------------
Justin VK7TW and Rex VK7MO have offered to provide a presentation of
their experiments with Over The Horizon Optical Communications
following the meeting. This will be the same presentation that Justin
and Rex are currently presenting at GippsTech.
So fellow members and amateurs in the North West, lets make this
worthwhile for Justin and Rex by attending this very interesting
presentation.
As usual everyone is welcome to attend.
---------------------------
Lighthouse Weekend
Planning is well under way for participation in the forthcoming
Lighthouse Weekend.
North West amateurs Winston VK7EM, Wayne VK7FWAY and Eric VK7FEJE are
planning to operate during the Lighthouse Weekend from the Bluff
Lighthouse Devonport and Table Cape Light, Wynyard.
Paperwork with the appropriate authorities is being attended to and
all looks promising at this time for activity to go ahead as
planned. Anyone interested in taking part or assisting with this
activity should contact either Winston, Wayne or Eric.
73's until next time... Tony VK7AX President, NWTARIG
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NORTHERN NEWS
Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club News
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ntarc/
As any contester will tell you, coffee is a vital `station
accessory'. The problem with coffee, or indeed tea if that is your
drink of choice, is that being a liquid it doesn't hold its shape
terribly well. Without some sort of container or vessel, the hot
beverage does tend to spread and perhaps even find its way into your
expensive radio equipment with the expected detrimental affect this
has on station performance. The solution? You need one of NTARCs
stylish, personalised coffee mugs. If you've been thinking about
placing an order for one then don't delay a moment longer. All
orders need to be confirmed and paid for no later than Monday
afternoon. Just think, a $20 investment in this most vital station
accessory could save your rig from a very messy demise from
uncontained coffee hihi. Place an order for one at the Hunga Munga
café to secure yours.
Mark, VK7FMWT has been doing some detective work and has a few words
of advice for any amateur thinking of buying new car audio
equipment. Mark has found that all `Eclipse' brand car audio devices
radiate a weak spurious signal on 147.000 MHz exactly – which of
course happens to be the output frequency for local repeater VK7RAA.
While this observation has been passed on to the distributor and
hopefully will find its way back to the manufacturer, we suspect that
any redesign at the factory could be quite some time off. For the
time being, perhaps amateurs would be best to consider other brands,
especially if they need to make use of frequency 147.000 MHz. Jason,
VK7ZJA had a very similar problem with some domestic devices as well –
a digital set-top box also radiated a spurious signal on 147.000 MHz
which could be detected up to 50 metres away from the device. He
also found that a heat pump indoor unit's remote control sensor was
responsible for another weak spurious signal also within the 2 metre
band. Perhaps you have your own problems with a domestic device that
you'd like to share with the amateur community?
Lastly, this Wednesday night is the BBQ social meet for NTARC at the
Mt Barrow Interpretation Centre. If you need guidance to getting
there, a quick call on VK7RAA will set you in the right direction.
Going on how cold the last few nights have been, you should rug up
well and bring along some HOT food to enjoy.
Thanks from Jason VK7ZJA
NTARC Secretary
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SOUTHERN NEWS
Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
July Presentation Wrap Up
No, Kiribati has not disappeared under the sea due to climate change!
However, due to a close relative passing away, Phil Tompson VK7SS,
from Powercom, was unable to give the presentation on Wednesday night.
Fear not. Quick thinking was employed and Justin VK7TW gave a talk on
Over The Horizon Optical Communications which Rex VK7MO and Justin
VK7TW has put together for the GippsTech Technical Conference.
The talk covered the experiences and experimentation in relation to
cloud bounce and particle scatter using a range of optical
transmitters and receiving devices.
The talk was well received.
----------------------------------------------------------
Southern JOTA 2008 Help
Due to a clash of events this year the WICEN South team will be
involved with an Endurance Ride for most of the weekend.
I am after people to help out with this year's JOTA which is a very
special event this year marking 100 Years of Scouting in Australia.
If you would like to be part of this special event please let me know
ASAP so we can get it all set up. Yes, it is 4 months away, but you
know how time gets away with us.
Contact me on phone 62724437 or mobile 0407 724 431 or on repeater
2/5 or VK7RAF.
(Gavin, VK7HGO, REAST Vice President & JOTA Co-ordinator)
----------------------------------------------------------
REAST Education & Training
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#TrainingCourses
Last Monday night was the second instalment of our Foundation license
training course. The third will be this Monday night the 7th July
starting at 7pm in the clubrooms and we will be finishing off the
theory and getting into what is involved with the practical
assessment.
If you are wanting to sit the Foundation Licence assessment then grab
a Foundation Licence Manual from McCann's Model World and start
reading. We have restocked at McCanns.
The Sessions will be running through the manual using the training
power point slides and covering the areas that need clarification and
additional training. It will be assumed that you have read the manual.
At the end of the night of the 7th (tomorrow night) Ian and Justin
will set an assessment date.
See you there.
And remember, Foundation Licence Manuals and CD's are available for
purchase at McCann's Model World in Elizabeth St. Hobart at $20.
(Only the first edition is available at this stage).
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#FoundationLicenceCourse
(Ian VK7QF, REAST Assessor)
----------------------------------------------------------
ATV Experimenters Night
The 9th of July will be another foundation/standard licence training
night for those potential foundation and standard licensees, as the
ATV transmitter is undergoing some much needed TLC.
So, want to learn something? Maybe you are looking to upgrade, or
just want a refresher on some of the theory, regulations or
practical. Then come along and join in.
See you there.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ATVnights
(Justin, VK7TW)
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TOWER NEWS
1572 FEET!!! – That's 476metres!!!
The following is a summary of a story by Nathan Wolfe about climbing
the big towers. You know, the guyed towers that thread the sky like a
needle with their incredible height. It started during the
customer's "maintenance window" starting at 9:00pm.
Madonna Mountain was where we were scheduled to do a "re-lamp" on
KSBW Channel 4's 1500 ft tower. After winding up the mountain roads
through the state forest tall pines and redwood trees, we got to the
site at 10:40pm. We were to meet the site manager at 11:00pm, so I
got out of the truck and walked around. In the still darkness, the
cool crisp air heightened my senses.
At 11:05 pm, Ron arrived. He greeted us and unlocked the gate. We
followed him in down the dusty road leading to the equipment building
next to the tower. Once inside, Ron gave us the materials to
complete the job and briefed us on weather conditions. He also
explained how the transmitter would be shut down at 2:05 am so that
we would be clear to climb above the 1200 ft level. The antenna on
top of the 1500 ft tower was a 72 ft "candlestick" that transmitted a
television signal strong enough to vaporize a bird if it happened to
fly too close to it...
We got ready and put our insulated coveralls on to prepare for the
cold air up there, and then strapped on our full-body harnesses and
climbing gear. At 11:45 pm, we began our ascent. One of the odd
things about this tower was that it had no elevator, and we'd be
climbing the entire way up. So we were about to do something that
few people in this world could claim: climbing foot for foot a
nearly 1600 ft tower at night.
Climbing that tower became a real pain. The safety-climbing device
that we used kept binding up as we climbed, so I had to step up two
ladder rungs and then slide up my safety collar along the sleeve, but
even that was a problem when I got to a splice in the sleeve that
wasn't perfectly aligned. I ended up loosening the splice with a
wrench while I held my flashlight in my mouth to see what I was
doing. It took about 30 minutes just to climb 400 ft at that rate.
Thank God there were platforms inside the tower to stand and rest on.
So up the tower we climbed... and rested... and climbed... and
rested.
At about 1000 ft up the tower, the wind started to pick up, but I was
warm from all the climbing. It actually felt good to feel a breeze.
The view was incredible.
At 2:45 am we reached the top of the tower and the base of the
candlestick. It had taken us exactly three hours to climb 1500 ft.
The wind was blowing steadily at 15-20 mph with the temperature in
the low 40's. I began to climb up the antenna using my "lobster
claws" (double fall arrest lanyards secured to my full body harness)
because there was no safety climb device. It was a very odd feeling,
like I was manoeuvring slowly in outer space.
I got to the tip of the antenna and positioned myself so that Mike
would have room to work when he joined me at the top of the world. I
opened up the beacon and we began to change out the flashtubes inside
costing $1600 a piece!
Things didn't go as smooth as we had expected. The new flashtubes
didn't fit in the old sockets, so we had to replace them too, which
turned a 10 minute "in and out" job into a two hour long fiasco. I
began freezing without those warm coveralls I left at 400 ft, while
Mike was cosy as a kitten in his, after enduring the hot and sweaty
climb to the top with them on.
I was having a hard time near the end of our task because I was
shivering convulsively and just wanted to climb down so I could begin
to warm back up. I was shaking so badly that Mike had to put in the
final screws while I held the flashlight because I would have dropped
them with my numb fingers (which would have screwed us big time)…
We closed the beacon and called Ron on the cell phone so that he
could test everything before we started climbing down. The red night-
lights came on and the beacon flashed. It was so bright that we had
to shield our eyes from its blinding pulses. At almost 5:00 am with
everything in working order, we began our descent. Instead of using
the safety device we used to climb up, we used our lobster claws all
the way down the tower. (It took us two hours to get to the
bottom).
By the time we did get down, I was ready to fall over. I didn't have
any strength left. It was 7:00 am on a beautiful morning, and
instead of waking up like the rest of the world after a decent
night's sleep, I had spent my night climbing one of the tallest
towers in the world.
1572 ft... What an incredible experience!
Nate Wolfe climbs towers and does other interesting work for Western
Technical Services in Orange, CA.
http://www.oldradio.com/archives/warstories/1572feet.htm
(Sourced from the OldRadio.com website)
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CW NEWS
Croatian Telegraphy Club
The Croatian Telegraphy Club invites you to become members and
welcomes membership applications from all radio amateur telegraphy
lovers across the world.
Your application (which can just be an email with name, Callsign and
a wish to become a member) is free if you apply by email and at the
same time you are a member of the European CW Association - EUCWA.
For more details take a look at the email and internet editions of
this broadcast.
www.hamradio.hr/ctc
E-mail: ctc(AT)hamradio.hr
(CTC Chairman Den - 9A3FO)
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WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
Singing Bird Poo!
This story by Phil Galasso was sourced from the Broadcast Archives.
>From 1985-1988, I worked as a contract engineer for the now-defunct
WERA (AM) in Plainfield, NJ. This was a 500-watter on 1590 khz with a
3-tower in-line array and a downtown studio located some three miles
away from the transmitter site. One summer evening in 1987, I
received a panic call from the disc jockey...a thunderstorm had
rolled through and knocked the station off the air. While en route to
the transmitter site, I heard the transmitter come back up, but I
stopped in to check on things anyway.
Apparently, the transmitter site had lost power momentarily, causing
the relays in the old RCA BTA-1R Transmitter to drop out, and the DJ
forgot how to reset the transmitter. At the site, I noticed that the
phase and base current readings were way out of tolerance. After
checking the phasor, I took a walk to the towers. Tower #1 was OK.
When I got near the doghouse for Tower #2 (the reference tower), I
could clearly hear the station's programming. It was not the
normal "singing" of vacuum capacitors in the ATU. The music got
louder as I approached the tower base. A clump of wet bird droppings
had gotten across the horn gap, causing a singing arc. Brandishing a
dry broom, I removed the bird poop and the readings returned to
normal.
In 28 years in the broadcasting field, this has got to be my weirdest
experience.
(Phil Galasso via the OldRadio.com website)
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WEB & EMAIL EDITION EXTRA BITS!!
Ouch
http://www.oldradio.com/archives/warstories/640.htm
Many Ouches
http://www.oldradio.com/archives/warstories/index.html#Towers%20Down!
Internet Traffic Report
http://www.internettrafficreport.com/
USGS Earthquake Data
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/
Following are courtesy of CG Communicator:
US Adults spend more time on Internet than listening to radio
http://www.radioworld.com/pages/s.0105/t.14231.html
Chinese on Russian Bar doing acrobatics – very skilful!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PRJxJdgc4Ng&feature=related
Circuit Explanations and Diagrams
http://www.circuit-fantasia.com/index.html
Do you have some interesting amateur related sites you have some
across in the last week – send them in to justingc(AT)ozemail.com.au
VK7 Virtual BPL Tours Update
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdcY0Eetvsw - Mt Nelson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gsxpya3CnQ - North Hobart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7DfdxjRkpU - RU ready for BPL?
----------------------------------------------------------
If you are interested in becoming an amateur radio operator or
upgrading your licence then we suggest you contact your local club
for details and/or take a look at what the Radio and Electronics
School has to offer. They have a range of courses that can be
delivered through a variety of methods.
They can be found at: www.radioelectronicschool.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Finally today, a reminder to those people rostered for next week's
broadcasts:
Newsreader: VK7TW
160m: VK7DM
80m: VK7EM
40m: VK7RO
20m: VK7AR
10m: VK7ZGK
UHF CB: VK7FTAZ
HF CB: VK7TED
Thanks to all people and organisations who assisted with this
broadcast.
----------------------------------------------------------
THAT CONCLUDES OUR VK7 REGIONAL NEWS BROADCAST FOR THIS WEEK.
YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO OR JUST MISSED VK7WI. NEXT WEEK THE
NATIONAL WIA NEWS CAN BE HEARD AT 0900 FOLLOWED BY THE VK7 REGIONAL
NEWS AT 0930 HOURS.
DETAILS TO SEND NEWS FOR THIS BROADCAST CAN BE FOUND AT REAST.ASN.AU
AND THE DEADLINE FOR ITEMS IS 21:00 ON FRIDAY PRIOR TO THE SUNDAY OF
THE BROADCAST.
VK7 Regional Broadcast & News Coordinator
Justin Giles-Clark, VK7TW
----------------------------------------
**************************************************
- NEWS POSTING TO PACKET -
Courtesy Tony VK7AX VK7AX(AT)VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC
**************************************************
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