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VK7AX > NEWS 04.05.08 03:26l 637 Lines 22950 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: VK7 Regional News Broadcast for 4 May 2008
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From: VK7AX@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC
To : NEWS@WW
From: "VK7 Regional News Coordinator" <vk7tw@wia.org.au>
Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 15:19:47 -0000
To: vk7regionalnews@yahoogroups.com
VK7 REGIONAL NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 4TH MAY 2008
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SILENT KEY
Bruce Cameron VK7GC
I am indeed sad to have to report the passing of Bruce Cameron VK7GC
in the early hours of Thursday morning at the Georgetown Hospital
following a short illness with Cancer.
Bruce was a well respected member of the Mole Creek community until
recent years when he and wife Betty moved to Georgetown where he soon
became involved with community affairs in particular Probus.
He joined amateur Radio about 1986 and was a regular member for many
years at Northern Club meetings and other state functions when able.
Bruce was a foundation member of our 8.30AM 80meter net and we shall
miss his cheerful voice and words of wisdom.
In 2007 Bruce who was crippled in a logging truck accident in his
early life produced a book from his life's diaries which makes very
interesting reading, and demonstrates the determination and character
of a man who spent the last 50 plus years in a wheel chair.
I would be pleased to assist you in obtaining a copy it is a good
read.
Farewell dear friend.
(Don, VK7AY)
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JOHN GRACE PERPETUAL TROPHY
Following up last week's article about the new John Grace trophy I
thought it would be good to know a little more about who John Grace
was.
John Grace was one of the pioneer builders and operators of VHF and
UHF equipment, during the late 50's until his premature death. He had
a very well set out workshop in which he built his own chassis and
assembled transmitters and receivers for 144 MHz AM and 432 AM,
before these bands were very populated.
For over 20 years he did the relay of the WIA news on those bands. He
was also one of the most, if not the most successful operator at
working DX from his home QTH on Hobart's eastern shore.
John was a very popular person as witnessed by the very large number
of amateurs who attended his funeral service.
Thanks to those who contributed information about John.
Again congratulations to the winner of the inaugural John Grace
Perpetual trophy - Tony VK7FACC.
A picture of the trophy can be found on the link on the email and web
editions of this broadcast.
http://reast.asn.au/awards.php#johngrace
http://reast.asn.au/awards.php#ajcontest
(Justin, VK7TW)
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VK7 REGULAR EVENTS AND BROADCASTS
And a quick reminder of the regular events and broadcasts:
REAST – This Wednesday the 7th May – 8pm Domain Clubrooms – BS7H
Scarborough Reef DXPedition presentation.
NTARC – Wednesday 14th May – Allenvale TAFE Block B - Greg VK7YAD
demonstrating ATV.
And a quick reminder of the regular events and broadcasts:
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 NW and Launceston during the week. Check
the website for details.
http://www.vk7ax.ausport.net/
REAST – Winter Project Saturday Afternoons – 1-4pm at Queen Domain
Clubrooms. Interested in amateur radio and getting your licence then
come along and see what it's all about and you may even be able to do
some of the activities toward getting your licence along with a great
information session presented by a range of REAST members.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#winterproject
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NORTH WEST TASMANIAN AMATEUR RADIO INTEREST GROUP
Maintenance Mount Duncan Site
Following requests recently for personnel to assist with maintenance
issues affecting the Mount Duncan Repeater Site, two intrepid
volunteers in Wayne VK7FWAY and Eric VK7FEJE decided to assist in the
following manner.
Eric acted as pilot with Wayne as chief photographer, last Sunday
flying around the perimeters of Mt. Duncan. Many excellent photos
were taken which will enable a maintenance crew to replace some
faulty batteries at the site as a follow up using a helicopter.
It is anticipated the photos taken will shortly be available for
viewing on the Club Website. Many thanks to Eric and Wayne for
initiating the initial planning for the maintenance work.
Nightly Broadcasts in the N/West
As mentioned previously, replay of the Nightly Broadcasts during the
week had ceased on the 2M Repeaters in the N/West.
They have been re introduced on the 2M. Repeater VK7RMD at Lonah,
commencing 1930 Hours Local.
Current program schedule as follows:
Monday - Q5 Education Hour
Tuesday - Solder Smoke OR Sceptical Sunday (Are We Alone?)
Wednesday - This Week In Amateur Radio (Highlights)
Thursday - Digital Planet (from the BBC)
Friday - Tech Talk Radio
They can also be heard on the Echo Linked Network by VK7HBR on
145.425 MHz. in the Launceston area and VK7AX 0n 145.350 MHz. in
Ulverstone on the Central Coast.
In addition they are also available on 70CM ATV in Ulverstone by
VK7AX.
73's until next time...
(Tony, VK7AX, NWTARIG President)
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NORTHERN NEWS
Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club News
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ntarc/
The next NTARC meeting will be at Alanvale TAFE on Wednesday the 14th
of May, where our special guest presenter will be honorary life
member Greg VK7YAD. Greg will have a demonstration and discussion on
his ATV project. For those of you who remember Gregs last
presentation on his compact HF loop antenna will know the depth of
knowledge and expertise he has, and this ATV project will be an
example of ham radio at its finest.
>From last weeks news, I'd incorrectly reported our latest successful
Foundation Licence holder's callsign. Don Prewer is now VK7FAAM –
congratulations Don and hope you enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Over the last few weeks you've heard about the LED scrolling message
badges. These nifty little devices come in either yellow or red LED
versions, and can be programmed with your own 256 letter scrolling
text message from buttons on the back. They come with a leather
holder, neck halyard and clip so you can wear the badge and make a
bold statement to the world. Well, we only need another 3 more
takers to make up our minimum order, so if you'd like one, please
call Jason after the broadcast or email vk7zja@wia.org.au. The
anticipated price will be $18 if you are interested.
Only one more week to the Trans Tasman 80 metre telephony contest, so
get out your dipoles, your windoms, or whatever your favoured antenna
might be for 3,5 MHz and get cracking with it.
Thanks from
(Jason VK7ZJA, NTARC Secretary)
----------------------------------------------------------
SOUTHERN NEWS
Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
Education & Training
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#TrainingCourses
Congratulations to Andrew Welch, VK7HAW, who has qualified for the
Advanced Licence as a result of last week's examination session.
We've established an alternative methods of training for the
Foundation Amateur Radio Licence. At the moment a single candidate
may be forced to wait some time until sufficient candidates are
available for a training class.
Rather than hold a whole Saturday training exercise we aim to
incorporate it into our existing Saturday afternoon Winter Project
Group programme.
Candidates will be given a check sheet to guide them into completing
experiences that will assist in understanding areas in which they
will be later examined. It may be that other participants are willing
to help them with some of the activities.
In addition they will be encouraged to attend information sessions
held as part of this afternoon programme. While these are pitched at
a higher level than that required for a Foundation candidate it is
felt they would help.
Further the onus will be on the candidate to become familiar with the
Foundation Training Manual.
Candidates will then book an examination session for a convenient
time.
This would include both the practical and theory aspects.
The traditional Training session would still be available if a
minimum of 5 candidates are available.
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
(Reg, VK7KK, REAST Education Officer and Assessor)
----------------------------------------------------------
REAST Meetings and Events
May Presentation – This Week
REAST's May presentation is the big screen video and audio
presentation of the BS7H Scarborough Reef DXPedition.
In 2007 an intrepid multi-national group of DXPeditioners finally got
the go ahead to go to Scarborough Reef in the South China sea.
The presentation is professional produced by James Brooks 9V1YC and
is the official DXpedition video.
For those who don't know, Scarborough Reef is a bunch of rocks that
occasionally stick out of the ocean located in the South China sea
just West of the Philippines. It is a sunken volcanic atoll and it is
the rarest and most controversial entity on the DXCC list.
The presentation goes through the diplomatic disputes over this reef
between China and the Philippines and the minefield that the group
navigated through to even get back to reef.
The presentation goes through the four platforms constructed on the
rocks and the 16 person multi-national team that operated the multi-
station for 24 hours a day for a week.
It is a fascinating presentation of an hour in length that we will be
showing on the wide screen (16:9) and stereo sound.
8pm on this Wednesday May 7th in the Domain Clubrooms.
See you there.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ScarboroughReef
(REAST Committee)
----------------------------------------------------------
Winter Project
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#winterproject
Winter project session continue next Saturday afternoon and over the
next few weeks there will be other guests tutors and a focus on the:
1). Technical Basics including Voltage, Current, Resistance, Ohm's
Law and Power in DC circuits, Capacitance, Inductance, AC circuits,
Impedance and Reactance.
2). Mathematics
3). Transformers and tuned circuits
4). Solid state devices
5). Mains power and Mains power supplies
Just name a few.
So if you would like to come along you will need to be there by 2pm
Saturday in the Domain Clubrooms for the informal information section.
(Regards from Ken VK7XDY)
----------------------------------------------------------
ATV Experimenters Night
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ATVnights
And a reminder that the ATV nights happen again from Wednesday 14th
May starting around 7:30pm and ATV goes out on 444.25MHz – just below
SBS on the UHF TV Band.
If you have an antenna pointed somewhere toward the Domain why not
try tuning down the low end of the UHF TV band on a Wednesday night
and give us a call on what you are seeing and hearing
(Justin, VK7TW)
----------------------------------------------------------
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Computer memory gives booting up the boot
On Thursday the first of May 2008 Julie Steenhuysen from Reuters
reported on a new type of computer memory.
It is called memristance, and it remembers where you were when you
switched off the computer, so starts back at the same place when you
switch it on again.
It took almost 40 years to find it, but scientists say they have
discovered a fourth basic type of electrical circuit that could lead
to a computer you never have to boot up.
The finding demonstrates what until now had only been theory. But it
could save millions from the tedium of waiting for a computer to find
its 'place', the researchers say.
According to basic electronics theory, there are three fundamental
elements of a passive circuit: resistors, capacitors and inductors.
But in the 1970s, Professor Leon Chua of the University of
California, Berkeley, theorised there should be a fourth called a
memory resistor, or memristor, for short. And he worked out the
mathematical equations to prove it.
Now, a team at Hewlett-Packard led by Dr Stanley Williams has
demonstrated that 'memristance' exists.
The researchers developed a mathematical model and a physical example
of a memristor, which they described in the journal Nature.
"It's very different from any other electrical device," Williams says
of his memristor.
"No combination of resistor, capacitor or inductor will give you that
property."
Williams likens the property to water flowing through a garden hose.
In a regular circuit, the water flows from more than one direction.
But in a memory resistor, the hose remembers what direction the water
(or current) is flowing from, and it expands in that direction to
improve the flow.
If water or current flows from the other direction, the hose shrinks.
"It remembers both the direction and the amount of charge that flows
through it," Williams says. "That is the memory."
The discovery is more than an academic pursuit for Williams, who says
the finding could lead a new kind of computer memory that would never
need booting up.
Conventional computers use dynamic random access memory or DRAM,
which is lost when the power is turned off, and must be accessed from
the hard drive when the computer goes back on.
But a computer that includes this new kind of memory circuit would
never lose it place, even when the power is turned off.
"If you turn on your computer it will come up instantly where it was
when you turned it off. That is a very interesting potential
application, and one that is very realistic," Williams says.
But he says understanding this new circuit element could be critical
as companies attempt to build ever smaller devices.
"It's essential that people understand this to be able to go further
into the world of nanoelectronics," he says, referring to tiny
electronics at the nanoscale.
"It turns out that memristance, this property, gets more important as
the device gets smaller. That is another major reason it took so long
to find," Williams says.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/140810/957242/3042/0/
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7191/abs/nature06932.html
(ABC Science Website)
----------------------------------------------------------
HISTORY NEWS
Where did the "barn" measurement come from?
Occasionally you come across a historical document that provides some
fascinating insight into how scientists arrived at a name for
something they were using at the time. This is one such document from
the Los Alamos Laboratories which outlines how M.G. Holloway and C.P.
Baker arrived at a name for the measurement of the cross sectional
area of a uranium nucleus.
The following is from a document issued in 1947 by these scientists
in the US laboratories that developed the atomic bomb.
Some time in December of 1942, the authors, being hungry and deprived
of domestic cooking, were eating dinner in the cafeteria of the Union
Building of Purdue University. With cigarette and coffee the
conversation turned to the topic uppermost in their minds, namely
cross sections. In the course of the conversation, it was lamented
that there was no name for the unit of cross sections of 10-24 cm2.
It was natural to try and remedy this situation.
The tradition of naming a unit after some great man closely
associated with the field ran into difficulties since not such person
could be brought to mind. Failing in this, the names Oppenheimer and
Bethe were tried , since these men had suggested and made possible
the work on the problem with which the Purdue project was concerned.
The "Oppenheimer" was discarded because of its length, although in
retrospect and "Oppy" or "Oppie" would seem short enough. The "Bethe"
was thought to lend itself to confusion because of the widespread use
of the Greek letter. Since John Manley was directing the work at
Purdue his name was tried, but the "Manley" was thought too long.
The "John" was considered, but was discarded because of the use of
term for purposes other than the name of the person. The rural
background of one of the authors then led to the bridging of the gap
between "John" and a "barn". This immediately seemed good, and
further it was pointed out that the cross section of 10-24 cm2 for
nuclear processes was really as big as a barn. Such was the birth of
the "barn".
To the best knowledge of the authors, the first public (if it may be
called that) use of the barn was in a report in June 1943 in which
the barn was defined as the cross section of 1 x 10-24 cm2.
The authors would like to insist that the "barn" is spelled just that
way, that no capital letter "b" is needed, and that the plural
is "barns" with not letter "e" involved, and that the symbol be a
small "b". The meanings of "millibarn" and "kilobarn" are obvious.
http://www.orau.org/ptp/Library/barn.pdf
http://ed.fnal.gov/painless/pdfs/cross.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_%28unit%29
(Sourced from the Tales from the Atomic Age website)
----------------------------------------------------------
BPL NEWS
Court Finds FCC Violated Administrative Procedure Act in BPL Decision
The following summary is taken from the ARRL website.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has
recently released its decision on the ARRL's Petition for Review of
the FCC's Orders adopting rules governing broadband over power line
(BPL) systems.
The Court agreed with the ARRL on two major points and remanded the
rules to the Commission. Writing for the three-judge panel of Circuit
Judges Rogers, Tatel and Kavanaugh, Judge Rogers summarized: "The
Commission failed to satisfy the notice and comment requirements of
the Administrative Procedure Act ('APA') by redacting studies on
which it relied in promulgating the rule and failed to provide a
reasoned explanation for its choice of the extrapolation factor for
measuring Access BPL emissions."
The Court agreed with the ARRL that the FCC had failed to comply with
the APA by not fully disclosing for public comment the staff studies
on which it relied. The Court also agreed with the ARRL that the
Commission erred in not providing a reasoned justification for its
choice of an extrapolation factor of 40 dB per decade for Access BPL
systems and in offering "no reasoned explanation for its dismissal of
empirical data that was submitted at its invitation." The Court was
not persuaded by the ARRL's arguments on two other points, on which
it found that the Commission had acted within its discretion.
After reading the decision, General Counsel Imlay observed, "The
decision of the Court of Appeals, though long in coming, was well
worth the wait. It is obvious that the FCC was overzealous in its
advocacy of BPL, and that resulted in a rather blatant cover-up of
the technical facts surrounding its interference potential. Both BPL
and Amateur Radio would be better off had the FCC dealt with the
interference potential in an honest and forthright manner at the
outset. Now there is an opportunity to finally establish some rules
that will allow BPL to proceed, if it can in configurations that
don't expose licensed radio services to preclusive interference in
the HF bands."
ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, added: "We are
gratified that the Court decided to hold the FCC's feet to the fire
on such a technical issue as the 40 dB per decade extrapolation
factor. It is also gratifying to read the Court's strong support for
the principles underlying the Administrative Procedure Act. Now that
the Commission has been ordered to do what it should have done in the
first place, we look forward to participating in the proceedings on
remand, and to helping to craft rules that will provide licensed
radio services with the interference protection they are entitled to
under law."
ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, concluded: "I am very pleased
that the Court saw through the FCC's smoke screen and its withholding
of valid engineering data that may contradict their position that the
interference potential of BPL to Amateur Radio and public safety
communications is minimal. The remand back to the FCC regarding their
use of an inappropriate extrapolation factor validates the technical
competence of Amateur Radio operators and especially of the ARRL Lab
under the direction of Ed Hare, W1RFI. We are grateful for the work
of our legal team and especially for the unflagging support of the
ARRL membership as we fought the odds in pursuing this appeal."
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/25/10064/?nc=1
(ARRL Website.)
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WEB & EMAIL EDITION EXTRA BITS!!
Skywarn Pt2
http://www.hamsexy.com/cms/?p=965
In the sky this week
http://abcmail.net.au/t/140810/957242/1764/0/
Green Your Work
http://www.abc.net.au/greenatwork/GreenYourWork/QuickFixes.htm
Elektor Magazine
http://www.elektor.com/
Revolution Education – PICAXE
http://www.rev-ed.co.uk/picaxe/
Underground Communications System – Life Saver
http://www.gizmag.com/go/7989/
Do you have some interesting amateur related sites you have some
across in the last week – send them in to justingc@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: VK7FB
160m: VK7DM
80m: VK7EM
40m: VK7TS
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
----------------------- END NEWS TRANSCRIPT ---------------
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