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VK7AX > NEWS 28.03.10 01:45l 470 Lines 24628 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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VK7 REGIONAL NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 28 March 2010
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VK7 EVENTS
Meet The Voice BBQ Wrap-Up.
Many campers started the Meet the Voice weekend early by staying at the Ross Caravan Park. There were a few issues with the new Caravan Park owner but these were smooth out after some discussion and by the end of the weekend he was very enthusiastic and asked Don VK7AY when the group was coming back!
Sunday morning it was drizzling but fined up to a nice cloudy autumn day. Thanks to Rod VK7TRF for what can best be described as a pavilion that he brought along for attendees to stay dry under.
Brian VK7KBE commented that 76 people registered which is 6 up on last year.
We even had one very special guest from Switzerland in Hans HB9CNM and Steve aka Dr Dag or VK3DAG was the special guest of Ray VK7VKV.
And of course there was Dave VK3JKY and Claureen VK3KMB from TTS Systems who are great supporters of the MTV event and donated the ATU for the raffle. Thanks Dave and Claureen.
There were a few pre-loved equipment sellers who appeared to be doing brisk trade.
The Sewing Machine Award which is awarded to the most loquacious amateur on the Sewing Circle Net and this year it was awarded to Cedric VK7CL.
A special award was presented to Don VK7AY by Claureen that recognised Don's constant support for the Sewing Circle Net and being the driving force behind the Meet the Voice Event. Cedric then made a presentation to Don's wife, Beth of a beautiful polished opal for her great support of Don and allowing him to participate in this great hobby.
An Outstanding Service Award was presented to Justin VK7TW by Warren VK7FEET for his years of service to amateur radio in VK7 and in particular in relation to raising awareness of BPL.
The raffle was drawn and the Antenna Tuner (donated by TTSSystems) was won by Lin VK7AJ and the Handheld was won by Warren VK7FEET.
A group photo was taken to capture the attendees along with many photos of the event that are available on the REAST website. A DVD photo montage along with music has been put together of the last four years of the Meet the Voice event and is available from Justin VK7TW.
The BBQ was then fired up and lunch and a relaxing afternoon was enjoyed by all.
We packed up and left just as the rain started again.
A fantastic day was had by all.
Thanks to all who were involved in organising the day especially Don VK7AY.
The only tragedy of the day involved Frank, VK7CK who unfortunately was sitting in the wrong place when the wind emptied an awning of water all over him. Beth and others came to his rescue, and he finished up with wet pants only, thank goodness.
And a reminder that the Sewing Circle Net happens every day at 5pm on 3.59MHz.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#MeettheVoice
(73 Don, VK7AY)
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QSL delivery at Ross
Joe VK7JG thanks the many amateur who collected their QSL cards from him last Sunday at the MTV event.
The list is still available on the REAST website for anyone who couldn't get to the BBQ and if you find your name on the list then get in contact with Joe and discuss how to get your cards.
http://reast.asn.au/2010/Meet_The_Voice_QSL_cards.pdf
(73, VK7JG)
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VK7 Broadcast History
Justin VK7TW thanks the many people who shared their recollections of the VK7 WIA and Regional News broadcasts over the years. We pushed the record back to the early 1950s and there are some great stories that were shared.
(73, Justin, VK7TW)
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VK7 EVENTS CALENDAR
A summary of the events across VK7 over the coming months:
WICEN (South) Today Equine Endurance Ride safety checkpoints - Woodstock near Huonville arrive Saturday p.m. or by 6:30 am Sunday morning.
http://tas.wicen.org.au/
REAST March 31 ATV Experimenter's Nights Queen's Domain Clubrooms from 7:30pm
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ATVnights
REAST April 7 Tour of the ABC Radio and TV Studios starts 7:30pm.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#abcstudios
REAST April 10 WICEN Capability Display and BBQ Queen's Domain Compound from 10am.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#WICENDisplay
NWATVG April 10 General Meeting at QTH of Ross VK7WP starting 2pm
http://www2.vk7ax.id.au/atvgroup/
REAST April 14, 21 & 28 ATV Experimenter's Nights Queen's Domain Clubrooms from 7:30pm
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ATVnights
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Northern News
Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club
www.ntarc.net
Phil VK7JJ hasn't been content to let things rest with the NTARC website, and has been tinkering with the website again. Information about local repeaters, IRLP nodes, local nets, awards, meetings and all manner of other club information is available, but there is also ham radio stuff that will be of interest to everyone. Phil has currently highlighted how some of the smart phone applications, or "apps" as they're commonly known, can go hand in hand with your amateur radio station operation. Fire up your browser and take a good look around
if you have any ideas of something you'd like to see added, put the suggestion forward, we'd love to have your feedback on the website.
www.ntarc.net
In just over an hours time, Tony VK7YBG is holding a casual BBQ and get together for those interested in WICEN activities in the North of Tasmania at the Riverside tailrace park, starting at 11am. Like all good emergency oriented groups, Tony has figured out contingency plans if the weather doesn't co-operate. Give Tony a call if you'd like more information on what WICEN does, and how you could be a part of it. Or you could look up the WICEN yahoo group, just search for "wicennorth" - that's wicen north, all one word, in groups dot yahoo dot com, and see what the latest word is.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wicennorth
Lastly, if you're a keen SWL'er like I am, you'll probably be a little saddened to hear that one of short wave listening's iconic publications, Passport to World Band Radio has decided to call it a day after 25 years. With the internet becoming so dominant in everyday life nowadays, and the decline in popularity of short wave listening in general, it seemed only a matter of time that Passport would have to make this tough decision. Passport was always crammed full of great information for the beginner and seasoned listener alike, and I'm sure its passing will be missed by many.
http://www.ntarc.net/
Thanks from
(Jason VK7ZJA, NTARC Secretary)
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NORTH WEST News
Cradle Coast Amateur Radio Club (CCARC)
CCARC News
http://www.my-x15.net/ccarc
The Cradle Coast Amateur Radio Club has been asked to provide communications coverage for an equine endurance Riders for a 24 hour event coming up at St Helens, starting midnight Friday the 21st of May, so if you want to be involved contact David VK7DC.
What to become an Amateur?
If you are a non amateur or a short wave listener living in the North West, or West coast of Tasmania, and would like to become a licenced amateur radio operator, then come along to a meeting and find out about this interesting hobby. If you cannot make the meeting but would like to find out more about the hobby then contact the learning facilitator, Keith Winkler VK7KW, or any of the committee members.
Full contact details are available on our website which can be easily found by a "Yahoo" or "Google" search of CCARC TASMANIA
Regards from
(David, VK7DC, Secretary, CCARC)
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North West Tasmania Amateur Television Group
http://www2.vk7ax.id.au/atvgroup/
Club General Meeting
Members of the North West Tasmania Amateur Television Group are advised the next general meeting of the Club is scheduled for Saturday April 10th. At the QTH of Ross VK7WP, 78 Pine Road, Penguin, commencing around 2.00PM.
As the normal date would have fallen on Easter Saturday it was necessary to move the meeting to the 10th.
If time permits, at the conclusion of the meeting, Tony VK7AX, will bring those present up to speed on facilities and operation of the VOIP machines including IRLP, EchoIRLP and VoiceMail.
As always an invitation is extended to all to attend.
Amateur Radio Licence Assessments and Training
Persons in the N/West Area of VK7 interested in Training and Assessments for all classes of Amateur Radio are advised that the Club can provide all these requirements and in addition provision of Facilitators via the Radio and Electronics School if candidates so desire.
For more information regarding these facilities, please contact the Club's Learning Organizer Tony VK7AX , or the Club.
Contact details can be found on the Club Web Site or the WIA site under VK7 Clubs.
http://www2.vk7ax.id.au/atvgroup/
73's until next time
(Tony VK7AX, News Officer NWT-ATV Group)
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Southern News
WICEN Tasmania (South)
Today WICEN will be again providing safety checkpoints for the Southern Tasmania Endurance Riders in the Woodstock area of the Huon Valley. The ride is between Kaoota, Woodstock and Cygnet.
A network consisting of Base and five checkpoints. There will be a sausage sizzle running continuously at Woodstock.
The 80 kilometre ride was away at 0700, the 40km at 0830 and the 20km at 0900. It is always a very pleasant day out providing a service for a friendly mob of people, including many family groups.
Come and join us. Just look for the tall mast amongst the horse floats at Woodstock, five kilometres from Huonville bridge towards Cygnet, at the Pelverata Road junction.
http://tas.wicen.org.au/
(Roger, VK7ARN)
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WICEN Capability Display
WICEN Tasmania (South) Inc will be holding a "show and tell" day around the REAST clubrooms on Saturday 10th April.
We expect to be set up from about 10.00 a.m. and be there until about 3.00 p.m.
A barbeque lunch will be available for a small donation.
The main purpose of the display is to provide an idea of what we do and what we're capable of. Lots of equipment will be on display and WICEN members will be there to answer your questions.
The local repeaters are very quiet these days, so there must be many thousands of dollars worth of radio equipment sat around doing next to nothing. Why? Difficult to say, but maybe chatting about nothing in particular doesn't turn you on. Why not get switched on and use your radio for some community service? WICEN provides radio communications to various community groups and events on a regular basis. Much of it well suited to having the family along. Maybe you've thought about it but weren't sure what's involved?
Why not come along, have a look, ask some questions and chew on a tasty snag. It'll be better than chewing rag.
For catering, it'd be nice to have an idea of how many we might expect. So, if you think you'll get chance to call up to the Domain for a look see, try to let us know so we're sure to have enough snags on the barby. A note to secretary(AT)tas.wicen.org.au would be great.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#WICENDisplay
(Roger, VK7ARN)
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Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
April Presentation
Tour of ABC TV & Radio Studios
Our host will be Jim Parish who is Technical Manager at the ABC and he will be taking us through the newly refurbished TV and radio studios.
The move to digital technology has seen many changes in the studios and processes for bringing TV and radio to Tasmanians.
This should be a fascinating tour and we are privileged to have Jim showing us through prior to his retirement from the ABC in the near future. A great big thank you to Jim.
This tour will be held on the 7th April 2010 at 7:30pm please be at the front doors at 7:30pm SHARP.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#abcstudios
(Justin, VK7TW, REAST Presentations Officer)
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ATV Experimenters Night
Another great roll-up for the ATV night and we had a special guest in Patrick VK2FPJB who is the nephew of Steve VK7OO and is now staying in VK7 welcome Patrick! It was also great to see Ian VK7ZIF up and about with his "new" knee!
Our short show and tell session was by Justin VK7TW and it was on our continuing theme of geocaching. Justin picked up from Darren VK7AAR at the MTV event a pre-loved Bluetooth GPS unit. A geocaching application was installed on Justin's Windows CE PDA and he was off with this little device velcro'd to his backpack.
The neat thing about this arrangement is that the PDA application talks to you about the direction and distance from the cache and therefore you are able to remain somewhat "incognito" whilst looking for the cache!
As Darren commented all I need is the dark glasses, earpiece and dark suit and claiming you are from the government and "here to help" and you may fool some people some of the time
.HIHI.
We then moved into showing six short K7AGE videos on the satellites, Hellshrieber, and operating portable.
Justin has been updating the ATV Video Library and has found that we have well over 200 presentations on DVD for use and most are public domain presentations. The list on the members page of the website will be updated very soon.
Next week we are working on getting our external RF feeds in place and switchable. This means that we will be able to take an incoming 1250MHz, DVB-S satellite or 444.25MHz ATV signal and switch them into the ATV mix and send them back out through the soon to be commissioned DVB-T transmitter on 446.5MHz. Initially we will be able to take a 1250MHz feed and put it to air.
Next week we will be playing the photo montage of four years of the Meet the Voice event at Ross along with the presentation on 7MHz antennas at the Domain from Richard VK7RO.
We are also thinking of having a Focus on Foundation Licensees ATV night once a month. If you are a Foundation Licensee, we would like to hear from you to see if this is a worth while venture. We envisage the night would focus on helping and upskilling Foundation licensees and encouraging them to upgrade. We would probably focus on a particular aspect of amateur radio each month.
Interested? We get underway from around 7:30pm on analogue UHF TV just below SBS on 444.25MHz and very soon to be on DVB-T 446.5MHz!
Hope to see you along.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ATVnights
(73, Justin, VK7TW)
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Satellite News
AO-51 to support Boy Scouts 100th Anniversary
AMSAT-NA is supporting the Boy Scouts of America 100th Anniversary Jamboree by dedicating an AO-51 V/U FM repeater for the event. From Friday April 16, 15:00 UTC until Sunday April 18 19:00 UTC, an AO-51 repeater will be allocated for Jamboree use. All users are requested to give way to Jamboree stations or QSO's with Jamboree stations.
The frequencies used will be 145.880 FM uplink, and 435.150 FM downlink, no PL tone required.
AMSAT wishes the Scouts good luck operating via the AO-51 satellite for the event.
http://www.amsat.org/
(Ed, N8BBQ AO-51 Operations Group via the AMSAT News Service)
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Technology News
Wireless MEMS to monitor glaucoma
Smart' contact lens with embedded wireless sensor promises earlier diagnosis and optimized treatment of glaucoma.
STMicroelectronics announced on 25 March 2010 that it will develop and supply a wireless MEMS sensor that acts as a transducer, antenna and mechanical support for additional read-out electronics in a breakthrough platform developed by Swiss company Sensimed AG. This solution will enable better management of glaucoma patients via earlier diagnosis and treatment that is optimally tailored to the individual patient.
Known as the SENSIMED Triggerfishฎ, the solution is based on a `smart' contact lens that uses a tiny embedded strain gauge to monitor the curvature of the eye over a period of, typically, 24 hours, providing valuable disease management data that is not currently obtainable using conventional ophthalmic equipment.
Glaucoma3, the second most common cause of blindness around the world, is an irreversible progressive disease of the optic nerve that can eventually lead to blindness. Although it cannot be cured, its progress can be controlled once it is diagnosed and treated properly. The standard test is the measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP), using an instrument known as a tonometer, during periodic visits to an ophthalmologist. However, the tonometer may fail to detect an elevated IOP, especially in glaucoma patients, because the pressure varies during the day and often peaks during sleep or outside of office hours. As a result, the disease is often diagnosed only after significant damage to the optic nerve has already occurred, and the disease keeps progressing in many patients due to inadequate treatment.
Sensimed's ingenious solution is a two-part system comprising the smart contact lens and a small receiver worn around the patient's neck. In addition to the strain gauge the lens contains an antenna, a tiny dedicated processing circuit and an RF transmitter to communicate the measurements to the receiver. The lens is powered via the received radio waves and does not need to be connected to a battery. The embedded components are positioned in the lens in such a way that they do not interfere with the patient's vision. The lens is fitted by the ophthalmologist and when the patient returns the next day the ophthalmologist removes the lens and receiver, obtaining a complete record of IOP changes over the preceding 24 hours.
ST engineers are now working with Sensimed to translate this breakthrough technology into a reliable commercial MEMS product ready for mass production which is expected to hit the market by the end of 2011.
http://www.elektor.com/news/wireless-mems-to-monitor-glaucoma.1300885.lynkx?utm_source=UK&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news
http://www.st.com/stonline/stappl/cms/press/news/year2010/t2485.htm
(Sourced from Elektor E-Magazine)
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Humour To Finish
Care and Feeding of your Pet Ham
Pet hams are so intelligent they often seem human, but they can be difficult to raise. Only someone with great patience should attempt it. In case you do, here is a guide to the basics.
Living Area -- A pet ham needs a private nest area, an entire room where it will not be disturbed. Your pet ham will spend many happy hours alone there with its treasures. -- boxes, wires, bits of metal, glass, paper, etc. that it will bring home whenever it ventures out. You will want to encourage your pet ham to confine its activity to this room to prevent the entire house from being subjected to noise, clutter and the boring of holes in the walls.
Expenses -- Keeping a pet ham is expensive, but, unlike most common pets, a pet ham can be trained to work outside the home for a few hours each day. It may even bring in enough money to offset its expenses.
Feeding -- A well-behaved pet ham will eat with the family occasionally, but it will feed more comfortable and secure taking its meals in the nest room. You must be sure your pet ham is well supplied with food and drink during the long periods it spends alone in there, even if it does not beg or whine.
Obedience Training -- A pet ham can be trained to perform simple tricks, the easiest and most common being "sit" and "speak" Do not be alarmed if it practices them for hours at a time in the nest room.
Health Problems -- The pet ham typically suffers lower back pain and minor throat irritations from too much sitting and speaking, but health maintenance costs tend to be minimal.
Travel -- Your ham pet will gladly travel with your family by car or even by air, if allowed to bring along certain familiar items from the nest room. Most pet hams enjoy trips to places where they can meet pet hams from other families.
Breeding -- If you plan to breed your pet ham, you should do so as soon as possible after you get it. As a pet ham matures, it becomes increasingly reluctant to engage in activities not associated with its nest room collection.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ham-ATV/
(From the Yahoo Arizona Ham Web Site via the HAM ATV Mailing list).
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Web & Email Edition Extra Bits!!
Intel Science Talent Search spotlights America's whiz kids
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57366/title/Intel_Science_Talent_Search_spotlights_Americas_whiz_kids
Spacecraft takes express tour of Martian moon
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57330/title/Spacecraft_takes_express_tour_of_Martian_moon
Odds Are, It's Wrong
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/57091/title/Odds_are%2C_its_wrong
NASA's Chopper Crash Test a Smash Hit
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316183637.htm
Russian Lunar Rover Found: 37-Year-Old Space Mystery Solved
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316164950.htm
Who Does What on Wikipedia?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100311141256.htm
Live Webcast UK Amateur Satellite Feed
http://www.space.co.uk/UKSpaceConference2010/LiveWebCasts/tabid/817/Default.aspx
UK Space Conference UKSC 2010:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKSC2010
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12966340553#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=12966340553
Web: http://www.ukspaceconference.org/
CubeSat to Launch on Neptune 30
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/march2010/miniromit_1.htm
Screenscope
http://www.screenscopetraces.com/
Hmmm..Lunar Hydrosphere!!
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2010/18mar_moonwater.htm?list1098418
The following links are courtesy of the FISTS Downunder Newsletter:
http://www.7-media.net/downloads/adverts/Ham_radio_Ad.wmv
A virtual spark transmitter - http://www.zianet.com/SPARKS/transmitters.html#virtual
An entertaining German YouTube presentation on the Morse code http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urjmmZ89Jos
Do you have some interesting internet sites you have some across in the last week send them in to justingc(AT)ozemail.com.au
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VK7 Regional News Group Email Addresses
Post message: vk7regionalnews(AT)yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: vk7regionalnews-subscribe(AT)yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: vk7regionalnews-unsubscribe(AT)yahoogroups.com
List owner: vk7regionalnews-owner(AT)yahoogroups.com
VK7 Virtual BPL Tours
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?
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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: VK7TW
80m: VK7ZK
40m: VK7JGD
20m: VK7AR
10m: VK7ZGK
UHF CB: VK7ZCR
HF CB: VK7TED
Thanks to all people and organisations who assisted with this broadcast.
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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
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- NEWS POSTING TO PACKET -
Courtesy Tony VK7AX VK7AX(AT)VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC
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