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VK7AX > NEWS 20.07.08 09:27l 613 Lines 20411 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: VK7 Regional News Broadcast for 20 July 2008
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From: VK7AX@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC
To : NEWS@WW
VK7 REGIONAL NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 20TH JULY 2008
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NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK
VK7 Events
As mentioned on the National WIA broadcast the National Science Week
happens on the week of August 16-24th and there are currently 16
events registered and happening all over Tasmania.
http://www.scienceweek.info.au/Pages/EventsMap.aspx?state=tas
These include the science challenge, the RoboCup Junior Tasmania
State Finals which is part of the national robotics competition for
Primary and Secondary school students.
Other registered events include Planet Earth: Beyond Our Backyard,
Young Tassie Scientists at the Imaginarium, Shipwrecks, Antarctica
and Chemistry, Science Family Fun, the Great Big Science Gig 08, The
Lion Tamer – Luke Hunter and of special interest to Radio Amateurs on
the 24 Aug 2008 at 11:00 AM. The Grote Reber Museum and
Radiotelescope will be conducting tours of the new museum and radio
telescopes on the site.
Please note booking are required and the links are available on the
email and internet editions of this broadcast.
http://www.scienceweek.info.au/Pages/EventsMap.aspx?state=tas
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VK7 HISTORY NEWS
Lon Jensen – VK7LJ
While Tony, VK7FTCL was enjoying a well deserved rostered day off,
hihi, he called in to Gowans auctions in Moonah. To his surprise a
lot up for auction was an amount of around 80 QSL cards sent to Lon
Jensen, VK7LJ of Devonport. Lon was a schoolteacher who encouraged
many others to take up amateur radio, now a silent key with this Call
being used by others since.
Lon was a very active member of the WIA from the 1920's through to
the late 50's. His name sits proudly on the Honour Roll at the Queens
Domain clubrooms. Lon was President of the Tasmanian Division of the
WIA from 1945-1949 and in 1959.
http://reast.asn.au/wiaVK7honourroll.php
After a bit of bidding back and forth Tony secured the purchase for
less than a few cups of coffee. The intention is to place these for
prosperity sake in the safe keeping of REAST, with the cards
available for perusal in the clubrooms on the domain in the interim.
The cards are from contacts from all corners of the globe with
detailed reports of both voice and CW contacts. All this was done
without a digital display in sight!
(73 Tony, VK7FTCL)
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VK7 HAMFEST ON AGAIN
http://www.qsl.net/charct/
The Central Highlands Amateur Radio Club of Tasmania (CHARCT) sponsor
every two years the major VK7 Ham Fest and this year it is set down
to start at 10am Saturday the 6th of December at the community centre
at Miena alongside the Great Lake in central Tassie.
As in past Hamfests – the major traders have indicated a preparedness
to attend and if past experiences are anything to go by should be a
roaring success.
Entry fee will be $5.00 per person or family and will include entry
in the lucky door prize, and free tea and coffee. Soft drink will be
available at a reasonable cost. Inexpensive BBQ type food will be
available from approx 11.30 am until 1.00pm.
There will also be other opportunities to win prizes will be
available on the day.
This year CHARCT we will be providing some table space for a pre-
loved equipment sale, with a white board available to advertise any
other equipment for sale without the need to man a site. Leave a
description of the item for sale and a contact name, call sign and
price so that any prospective purchaser can make contact on the day.
A master of ceremonies will be available to advertise these items
through out the day along with trader specials. Anyone requiring
space should contact the coordinator and register an interest.
Details in moment.
As many will attest, the facilities are first class and in the advent
of inclement weather they are extremely well heated "we can vouch for
that after the previous experience".
Ample car parking is available and with the current cost of fuel, car
pooling would appear to be a sensible alternative. Whist on the
matter of car pooling, we encourage our younger amateurs who maybe
have a spare seat to offer, to offer them to those amateurs who, lets
say, have an extra few turns on the coil and would like to attend but
would find the drive to arduous.
Let the broadcast officer know and we'll put you in touch.
We are also looking for some volunteers to provide a small amount of
time on the day to assist with the running of the event and anyone
who is prepared to assist, please contact the coordinator Dave VK7KDO
on telephone (03)62730642 or mobile 0429 123080 or email:
penstock(AT)tassie.net.au
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#hamfest2008
(Dave, VK7KDO)
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VK7 EVENTS CALENDAR
And a quick reminder of the events and broadcasts across VK7:
NWTARIG – July 26 – General Meeting & Optical Comms Presentation -
Lions Club facility, Show Ground, West Ulverstone at 2pm.
http://www2.vk7ax.id.au/nwtarig/
REAST – August 6 – Amateur Radio Digital Style Presentation – Queen's
Domain Clubrooms 8pm
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ARDigitalStyle
NTARC – August 13 - Tranquillity Gardens, West Tamar Highway -
special guest speaker will be Professor Nigel Forteath.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ntarc/
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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NATIONAL ALARA MEET 2008
Ulverstone – 13 & 14 September 2008
The 9th A.L.A.R.A. Meet is happening in September in Ulverstone and
this is a National Amateur Radio event happening right here in
Tasmania. This event also celebrates 33 years of ALARA.
ALARAmeet is a wonderful way to meet other YLs of our organisation
and their off course OMs and families are welcome too.
There are already 70-80 people booked from all over the place with a
large contingent from the main land and further afield.
Susan Brain VK7LUV is the coordinator of the Meet and can be
contacted on the email address that can be found on the email and
internet editions of this broadcast.
vk7luv_susan(AT)yahoo.com.au
For those who arrive on the Friday night there is an optional dinner
in Ulverstone. The Saturday morning sees the Meet kick off at the
Bass & Flinders Motor Inn Conference Room, there is lunch then off
the Axeman's hall of fame in Latrobe and finishing off the day with a
Dinner in Ulverstone.
Sunday morning is a visit to the Trowunna Wildlife Park with lunch at
Sheffield and viewing of the murals in the afternoon. The meet
finishes up with dinner Sunday night at the Blue Wren Tea Gardens in
Ulverstone. There are also some optional tours in the North and North
West on Monday for those staying on.
There are a wide range of options to get to Tasmania and for
accommodation and these are outlined on the ALARA Meet website and
Susan will be happy to fill in the details for you. Just contact her.
See you there.
http://au.geocities.com/vk7luv_susan/index.html
http://www.alara.org.au/
(Susan, VK7LUV)
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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 next Saturday
26th July at the usual Venue of the Lions Club facility, Show Ground,
West Ulverstone, commencing around 2.00 PM.
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 recently presented to GippsTech.
Rex and Justin will also be bringing some of the equipment used in
the experimentation along to show.
So fellow members and amateurs in the North West lets make this
worthwhile for Justin and Rex by attending this very interesting
presentation.
Why not ask your friends to accompany you.
As usual everyone is welcome to attend.
73's until next time...
(Tony VK7AX, President, NWTARIG)
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NORTHERN NEWS
Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club News
http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk7/NorthernTasmaniaAmateurRadioClub/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ntarc/
The August meeting for NTARC will be another dinner meeting at
Tranquillity Gardens, West Tamar Highway, just north of the Tamar
Island reserve. The special guest speaker will be Professor Nigel
Forteath.
The evening promises to be a fascinating one. If you would like to
attend, let Al VK7AN know as we will need to get some attendance
numbers together for the night.
Peter, VK7PD, would like to know if anyone would be interested in
attending classes to upgrade their licence to Advanced, or maybe
Standard level. Contact Peter or Al VK7AN if you would like to
attend. Of course if you're new and wanting to get in `on the ground
floor' with a Foundation Licence, then NTARC is only too pleased to
hear from you and we can point you in the right direction for books
to read, classes to attend, and sitting the actual assessment, even
making the application for your licence.
If you go to the WIA home page, then Radio Clubs, then VK7 Tasmania,
then select Northern Tasmania Amateur Radio Club, you will find
contact details to get in touch with the club.
http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk7/NorthernTasmaniaAmateurRadioClub/
Lastly, a big thanks to Tony VK7AX who has been re-broadcasting the
popular "Q5" news on Monday nights at 8pm, and "Tech Talk" broadcast
on Fridays at 8pm, both on VK7RAA, 147.000 MHz. If you do listen and
enjoy these broadcasts, please put in a call back and a word of
appreciation after the broadcast.
Thanks from Jason VK7ZJA
NTARC Secretary
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SOUTHERN NEWS
Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
REAST August Presentation
August 6th at 8pm will be a fascinating presentation of the system
that Danny VK7HDM maintains. It includes many of the amateur radio
packet and networking applications like TNOS, Xrouter, DXSpider and
of course packet BBS' and packet radio.
Dxspider is a Dx spotter system that people can log into and share DX
information, TNOS is a tcpip over radio and internet and it allows
AX25, Telnet, FTP, WWW, Converse, SMTP and POP3 connections using the
ampr.org addresses. Xrouter is along the same lines but has a nice
chat server you can use and the packet BBS store and forward mail
system.
There will be a discussion about how to connect from the internet and
how to connect via the AX25 RF side, what you can do on my wormhole
gateway system to and from the Internet and where it can take you.
See you there.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ARDigitalStyle
(73, Danny, VK7HDM)
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REAST Education & Training
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#TrainingCourses
Last Thursday night was the assessment night for three budding
Foundation Licensees.
I am pleased to report that Brett, Warren and Shane have all passed
their theory and practical assessments and are now awaiting their
callsigns from the ACMA.
Congratulations Guys.
If the callsigns requested come through there will be some more
interesting callsigns on the VK7 airwaves.
And a special note for Danny VK7HDM one of our Learning Facilitators
who was a little too conscientious on Thursday night. Seeing the Exam
in Progress sign on the Domain door, got back into his car and went
back home. Next time Danny, come inside (HIHI).
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).
(Ian VK7QF, REAST Assessor)
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ATV Experimenters Night
Last week's ATV night saw a good clean up in the ATV studio with much
more room created around the studio desk.
The ATV transmitter is now in a standard 19" rack mount box with
vastly improved heatsinking and is undergoing alignment and testing.
We should have much improved video and audio signals and coverage of
the ATV signal very soon.
I hope you watched the fascinating documentary about the two Italian
radio amateurs who listened and recorded the space race in the 1950s
and 1960s. It was a wonderful SBS documentary about the true spirit
of amateur radio.
We may have the transmitter up and going by Wednesday night however,
if not, then it will be another standard licence training session if
there is enough interest. 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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HISTORY NEWS
The following is taken from the first Amateur Radio magazine dated
October 1933 which is now available on the WIA website.
Read Mark Learn
There's a brotherhood of radio
Right throughout our land to-day
All experimenting. testing
Banded by the W.I.A.
Live in shacks and such like places
Wotting not of things around
Caring not for mundane matters
Long as D X may be found.
Nought to them if markets vary
While their tubes and "batts" are sound
Though the exchange rate's a problem
When subscription date comes round.
When they meet in solemn conclave,
Things of moment are discussed;
Questions of the day propounded;
How the foreign cards are rushed.
Since that VK3's suggestion
That they start a magazine
Was considered and adopted
Great discussions there have been.
Send along your contributions.
All can help to make it go.
Pull your weight, and get behind it-
Here's to "Amateur Radio."
Published in the first Amateur Radio Magazine in October 1933.
http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2008/20080710-2/index.php
(Mrs L.E. Hutchings VK3HM)
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SPACE NEWS
KiwiSAT Progress Report
The following progress report on KiwiSat is from Fred Kennedy ZL1BYP
who is the KiwiSAT Project Leader
Just before the Christmas period a very successful funding appeal was
launched on the AMSAT Bulletin Board by AMSAT-ZL President ¬ Terry
(ZL3QL) and I note with pleasure that the build fund swelled by 30%
of the $10k target in a very short time. This is a brilliant response
that boosts not only the financial resource but also the morale of
the team!
Believe me, building a bird is "mega" hard work (ask those that have
done it before) and support from the eventual benefactors is very
well received. The feeling that it's all worth while is restored ¬ at
least for a while!
In addition to the actual cash donations we also have a number
individuals offering to sponsor a specific item ¬ as did we (AMSAT-
ZL) in the pre launch build-up for Phase 3D. Doing that provides
a "personal input" to the project and we're looking into suitable
identifiable sub-units.
In the last Status Report mention was made of the Solar Cell problems
faced by the team. VERY recent events have, however, meant that this
is no longer an impediment to progress!
A very thorough update of each of the satellite's subsystems is
available at the AMSAT-ZL website and the link can be found on the
email and internet editions of this broadcast.
http://www.kiwisat.org.nz/status.html
(Sourced from the AMSAT News Service and Fred, Zl1BYP)
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ASTRONOMY NEWS
Competition for that full Moon!
The brightest lights in the night sky this last week can be
attributed to Jupiter being the closest to the earth for a long while.
On July 16th and 17th, Jupiter and the nearly-full Moon were side-by-
side in the constellation Sagittarius. The pair were rising in the
southeast just after nightfall and they remained visible all night
long.
www.spaceweather.com
(Sourced from the SpaceWeather Mailing List)
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HUMOUR TO FINISH
Wise Words
The following is attributed to Anne Landers, no, not, VK7BYL but
another one on the internet.
One out of four people in this country is mentally imbalanced. Think
of your three closest friends. If they seem okay, then you're the
one!
At every party there are two kinds of people, those who want to go
home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to
each other.
The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you
haven't thought of yet.
Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people
don't recognize them.
Some people believe that holding on and hanging in there are signs of
great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more
strength to know when to let go, and then do it.
And on that note we finish!
Thanks to Roger VK7ARN for passing them on.
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WEB & EMAIL EDITION EXTRA BITS!!
80m (yes 80m) rotatable beam!! (Thanks VK7NML)
http://www.smeter.net/7j4aal/antennas.php
Redneck 101: Part I How to move a 50-foot CB radio tower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECbpZ-JotFk
Redneck 101: Part 1 of 2 - The Tower Finally Goes Up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPgIJ2sGaNY
Redneck 101: Part 2 of 2: The Tower Goes Up and STAYS Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SkxOsjBJFE
(Above three links thanks to VK7BEN)
Some folks think the current lull in sunspots is abnormal, but "the
current minimum is not abnormally low or long" according to this hot-
off-the-press NASA report:
http://tinyurl.com/5a3xn9
Here is a new clue for predicting earthquakes, but keep in mind that
earlier clues have not been particularly reliable:
http://tinyurl.com/56cxj8
Peak power demand in California can be a serious matter, especially
on hot days. To see how much power California is consuming at a given
moment -- and if they are in danger of exceeding generator capacity --
check the following site:
http://www.caiso.com/outlook/outlook.html
(Above three links sourced from CG Communicator)
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
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Finally today, a reminder to those people rostered for next week's
broadcasts:
Newsreader: VK7FB
160m: VK7DM
80m: VK7TW
40m: VK7RO
20m: 20M GROUP
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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