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VK7AX > NEWS 15.06.08 03:08l 607 Lines 19686 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: VK7 Regional News Broadcast for 15 June 2008
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From: VK7AX@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC
To : NEWS@WW
VK7 REGIONAL NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 15TH JUNE 2008
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There is a mere six days until the shortest day of the year the
winter solstice on the 21st June.
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2007 VK/ TRANS-TASMAN 80 METRE CONTEST
40 ZLs and 219 VKs participated and congratulation to Tomas VK2CCC
with 2459 points and equal second multi-operator station Ray VK7VKV
& Vince VK7VH and Vlad VK2AEA with 2356 points.
Other VK7s on the list include VK7XGW with 772 points and VK7ARN
with 733 points.
Congratulations to all participants.
And a reminder that the 160m Trans/Tasman phone contest is on the 5th
of July and the CW contest is on 19 July.
See the website address on the email and internet editions of this
broadcast for more information.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/vktasman/
(Sourced from Bruce Renn, VK3JWZ, Contest Manager)
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VK7 EVENTS CALENDAR
And a quick reminder of the events and broadcasts across VK7:
WICEN SOUTH June 14-15 Field Weekend at The Lea Scout Camp.
http://tas.wicen.org.au/
NTARC June 18 Allenvale TAFE College Block B 7:30pm PLEASE NOTE
ONE WEEK LATER THAN USUAL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ntarc/
REAST July 2 Telecommunications Installation in Kiribati Domain
Clubrooms 8pm
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#telecominpacific
NTARC July 9 BBQ Mt Barrow Interpretation Centre.
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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MISSED THE VK7 REGIONAL NEWS BROADCAST?
Don't worry if you missed the Broadcast, it's available along with
much more either via email and on the web each week.
Via email it comes from the VK7 Regional News email list courtesy of
Yahoo Groups.
This mailing list allows anyone to register their email address and
receive the VK7 Regional news broadcast text, WIA News, relevant ACMA
media releases and other AR news delivered free via email.
The emailed version of the Regional news also gives you all those
internet and email addresses that are not read out when it goes to
air. There is also additional web links material that is not included
on the broadcast due to time and space constraints.
The easiest way to subscribe to the mailing list is to send a blank
email to: vk7regionalnews-subscribe(AT)yahoogroups.com
Once you become a member of the group and there are currently about
90 members you can view and search the archived broadcasts and
information emails currently numbering over 490.
OK, OK is your email mailbox too full?
Then no fear you can also read the broadcast online at reast.asn.au
and head to the VK7 Regional News page.
http://reast.asn.au/news.php
Further details can be found in the email and internet editions of
this broadcast.
Post message: vk7regionalnews(AT)yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: vk7regionalnews-subscribe(AT)yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: vk7regionalnews-unsubscribe(AT)yahoogroups.com
Email List owner: vk7regionalnews-owner(AT)yahoogroups.com
(VK7 Regional Mailing List Moderator)
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NORTH WEST NEWS
http://www2.vk7ax.id.au/nwtarig/
Next general meeting of NWTARIG
Members in the N/West are asked to note there is NO Club Meeting in
June.
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.
Suggest you check the Club information on the WIA Web Site under
Clubs for information.
Further info on the meeting will be announced closer to the meeting
date.
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/
NTARCs next monthly meeting is on the Wednesday the 18th of June
that is this coming Wednesday, and club president Al VK7AN hopes to
be back refreshed from a mainland holiday by then. We hope you've
enjoyed your break away Allen, but it will be great to have you back
in VK7-land again.
For those who have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the little
LED scrolling message badges, they have finally arrived and those who
placed their orders can collect them from Hunga Munga cafι where you
can see either David VK7YUM or Ann VK7FYBG. The badges have turned
out to be better than first thought, they can actually hold 6
different messages, and you can easily switch between messages with
ease. Think of your own witty statement to put into the badge and
wear it to the next social event for a bit of fun.
Have you ever wanted to express yourself and your pride in your
amateur radio hobby but didn't know how? Your problem is now
solved! Why not order a coffee mug emblazoned with your name &
callsign? The mugs feature several befitting radio scenes as a
background, and is a great way to show the pride you have in your
hobby. If you're interested, come take a look at a sample coffee mug
made up for David VK7YUM at the Hunga Munga cafι. If you like the
look of them, and we're sure you will, leave your name with David, or
email club secretary Jason VK7ZJA on vk7zja(AT)wia.org.au and we will
put together an order for your own personalised coffee mug.
Thanks from
(Jason VK7ZJA, NTARC Secretary)
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SOUTHERN NEWS
WICEN Field Weekend
http://tas.wicen.org.au/
WICEN Tasmania (South) is at The Lea Scout Camp off the Southern
Outlet between Hobart and Kingston both yesterday and today - Sunday
15th June. The fire's stoked up and the activities today include:
- An introduction to Radio Mobile - radio system performance
prediction software
- APRS - what it takes to get started
- Show and tell on members' recent projects bring them along -
small or large
BYO BBQ lunch
Visitors are welcome. A contribution to the venue hire charge is all
that's asked.
Just turn into The Lea from the Southern Outlet and follow the road
up the hill.
Turn left at the turning circle at the top to the Storm Hut.
Roll up when it suits.
(Roger VK7ARN)
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Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
REAST Radio Upgrades
Over this weekend, Ben VK7BEN completed installation of a new Icom IC-2720
Dual VFO, Dual Band Radio to the current console. This new radio completes
the "upgrade" of club radio equipment, with Richard VK7RO recently
repairing a donated TS-930 for HF use.
Ben has programmed in the local repeaters and some simplex channels.
For those who want more, he has even left a manual there for you to
study HIHI.
Please be aware that memory 0 is RAF local and memory 1 is RAF-RAB Link,
until Ben puts up a list of the channels.
Thanks to Richard and Ben for their help.
http://reast.asn.au/club.php#clubstation
(Ben VK7BEN for REAST Committee)
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A Reminder
To Un-Financial REAST members.
REAST is now providing financial support for most of the Southern
Repeaters and your membership will help in keeping this support on
going.
So just think next time you use a repeater that they do cost money to
maintain for your use.
Please consider your membership and your support for the club is most
appreciated.
Many Thanks
(Gavin, VK7HGO, Vice President)
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The Pacific Solution - Telecommunications - Pacific Islander Style
As heard on the WIA National News - REAST's July presentation will be
by Phil Tompson VK7SS and Malcolm Crosse from Novaris and Powercom
and they have agreed to give a talk on the installation of
telecommunications, radio and TV on the islands of Kiribati.
There are many interesting stories of the challenges encountered when
providing these modern services to a small Pacific country.
This should be another fascinating talk on July 2, 2008 at 8pm in the
Queen's Domain clubrooms.
See you there.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#telecominpacific
(REAST Committee)
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REAST Education & Training
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#TrainingCourses
This Monday night June 16 at 7pm at the Queen's Domain clubrooms is
the first of a couple of assessment and training sessions in June run
by Ian VK7QF and Justin VK7TW so, if you are interested in a
Foundation or Standard Licence assessment or any others then contact
Ian VK7QF on 0417 125 708 ASAP.
The following Monday night the 23rd and maybe the 30th will be
Foundation Licence training sessions starting at 7pm in the
clubrooms. If you are wanting to sit the Foundation Licence
assessment then grab a Foundation Licence Manual from McCann's Model
World and start reading.
The Sessions will be running through the manual using the training
powerpoint 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 23rd Ian and Justin will assess whether
another night on the 30th will be needed. An assessment date will
then be set.
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)
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ATV Experimenters Night
Last Wednesday night was standing room only again in the ATV studio.
Justin did a wrap-up of science happening for the week and then
thanks to Richard VK7RO we had a presentation from the 2006 NZART
conference on Time and Frequency by Dave Brown ZL3FJ.
Dave is a very knowledgeable chap who took the audience through a
history of time a frequency apparatus and explained the ins and outs
of each device and how it contributed to the increasing accuracy and
time standards. This was a fascinating hour and half presentation
that was well received by the ATV audience.
And a reminder that the ATV nights start again this week on Wednesday
night 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.
This coming week we have another special presentation courtesy of the
NZART from Clive Rowe on Radio Astronomy. Thanks to Ric VK7RO for the
DVD of this presentation from the NZART Convention in 2006.
See you there.
http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ATVnights
(Justin, VK7TW)
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GOOGLE EARTH ON STERIODS!
Whereis.com
Rex VK7MO lets us know of the photo facility on the whereis.com
website.
Most of us have played with and probably wasted much time on Google
earth zooming in on locations and seeing the images come up with
remarkable detail.
Well, you may have used the whereis.com.au to find a location some
where is Australia and I was not aware of the photo facility on this
website. You can locate something on the map and then hit the photo
button in the top left hand corner and zoom in to the highest
resolution and it is even better than Google earth
.well, the
freeware version anyway!!
It is limited to the metropolitan areas however, take a look you can
even see the elements on a yagi beam in the back yard, now that's a
bit scary!!
The website links are available on the email and internet edition of
this broadcast.
www.whereis.com
(Rex, VK7MO)
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MORSE KEY NEWS
Type D Spark Key
I opened by June copy the FIST Downunder Newsletter to see a story on
the Air Ministry Type D Spark transmitter key by Nigel Hardy ZL2TX.
On closer inspection it looked like a key I have in my collection
that I could not identify.
I always wondered why this key had such large contacts and I now know
why they were a key for a spark transmitter.
There are two that we know of in Australia one with David VK3DBD
and I have one although I do not have the bakerlite cover that
originally accompanied this key and protected the operator from the
lethal voltages being keyed.
According to the Tom Perera - W1TP Morse Key site it was also called
a 7373 key and one old-time operator who was trained to use the key
suggests squeezing an English penny under the rear contact plate to
suppress bounce!
A link to a photo of a key in much better condition than mine is
available on the email and internet editions.
http://w1tp.com/4230.gif
http://w1tp.com/perkcol.htm
Thanks to David VK3DBD and Nigel ZL2TX.
(73, Justin, VK7TW)
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SPACE NEWS
GLAST Off!
Dauna Coulter from NASA lets us know that on June 11, NASA's Gamma-
ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST for short) left Earth onboard a
Delta II rocket.
What is NASA's newest space telescope going to accomplish? GLAST will
explore the most extreme environments in the universe, searching for
signs of new laws of physics, investigating the nature of dark
matter, and many other things as well.
>From the Earth, the night sky can look peaceful and unchanging, but
the universe as seen in gamma-rays is a place of sudden and chaotic
violence. Using gamma-ray telescopes, astronomers witness short but
tremendously intense explosions called gamma-ray bursts, and there is
nothing more powerful.
Think about this: When you look up at the night sky, you are looking
at the ultimate history book one that goes back to the very
beginning of what we call time. And each star is a chapter in the
book. You are not really seeing the stars as they are now. You are
looking at stars as they used to be when their light left them long
ago. And the deeper we peer into space, the farther back in time we
are looking. In fact, light from the galaxies farthest away is
billions of years old.
"Gamma-ray bursts are so bright we can see them from billions of
light years away, which means they occurred billions of years ago. In
gamma-ray bursts, we may be seeing the first generation of stars,
from the earliest galaxies created after the Big Bang says Charles
Meegan of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, GLAST for short, help in
the chase.
(Source from the Science(AT)NASA Mailing List)
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GREENER GADGETS
I received some interesting comments from last week's broadcast story
about the Digital Tattoo Interface and I can confirm it is not real
technology but an interesting idea submitted to the Greener Gadgets
Design Competition took place in February, 2008, as part of the
Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City.
Core77 challenged the global design community to design a "greener
gadget"; to create innovative solutions addressing the issues of
energy, carbon footprint, health and toxicity, new materials, product
lifecycle, and social development.
The design brief was to explore the concept of "Greener Gadgets."
Designs sought to minimize the environmental impact of consumer
electronic devices at any stage in the product lifecycle. Areas of
sustainability to consider included: Energy, Materials / Lifecycle /
Recycling and Social & educational development
Participants were encouraged to consider their designs as part of the
entire product ecosystem, and to think as holistically as possible.
Designers could choose to focus their entries on a particular area of
human enterprise (learning, playing, communicating, etc.), or a
particular context (work, home, school, etc.), a particular material,
or a specific device. Entries could also seek to create new paradigms
for products and services.
The winner was EnerJar made by Matt Meshulam and Zach Dwiel and was a
real device not a concept!
The EnerJar is an easy-to-build, DIY device that accurately measures
the power draw of electrical appliances. Sitting between any wall
outlet and the appliance (think blowdryer versus laptop), the EnerJar
helps users gain an understanding of power draw, investing them in
the knowledge, and leading them to reduce their electricity use.
For some other interesting ideas and concepts take a look at the
website.
http://www.core77.com/competitions/GreenerGadgets/
(Greener Gadgets Web Site)
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WEB & EMAIL EDITION EXTRA BITS!!
The ultimate Morse Key Collector Site:
http://w1tp.com/
Cannibalism Drives Locust Swarms
http://abcmail.net.au/t/175157/957242/3696/0/
Spreading The Light (Audio)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/175157/957242/3703/0/
Royalty Free Sound Effects
http://www.soundeffects.com/soundeffects.html
Content Management Application
http://www.cmsmatrix.org/
Want to know about the third "R"
http://www.mathwords.com/
The place they broke the Enigma Code
http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
The English Cartoonist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Robinson
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: VK7RS
160m: VK7DM
80m: VK7ZK
40m: VK7TW
20m: VK7IL
10m: VK7ZGK
UHF CB: VK7FTAZ
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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