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VK7AX  > NEWS     18.04.09 04:26l 1137 Lines 37367 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK

 Oh... and to contact us with your news because
 If It Matters To You It Matters To Us!

 email nationalnews(AT)wia.org.au


 Please.. write your story as you would expect to hear it being read back
 do NOT send us links and url's!!

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------


 WIANews 24/7 with the following bulletin in Audio 
 when you visit the MEMBERS AREA on www.wia.org.au
 This weeks WIANews available in Audio after 0100hrs UTC Saturday.
 http://www.wiaq.com/ftp/wianews_128.mp3            HD Radio quality
 http://www.wiaq.com/ftp/wianews_64.mp3             FM Radio quality 
 http://www.wia.org.au  (click news in member area) Submit your audio news   
 http://www.wiaq.com and click the QNEWS link to see weekly news stats 

 free emailed script    http://lists.wia.org.au/mailman/listinfo/vk1wia-news
 
 Now you can dial this WIANews wherever you are on the
 "gateway dot net dot au" 1300 phone service.
 Dial 1300 558 592 and at the prompt type W.I.A.N. (That's 9426).
 "Standard call rate from fixed home phone, higher from mobiles".
 


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 This is WIANEWS for week commencing April 19 2009    



 ARISS AUSTRALIA AND A SNEAK PREVIEW AT THEIR WIA AGM REPORT


 QUEENSLAND SES HF COMMS COMPROMISED DURING RECENT EMERGENCY


 BORDER PATROL - A NEW HAM RADIO CLUB IN THE BORDER RANGES OF VK2/4
  
 
 ANOTHER HAM RADIO OPERATOR MURDERED IN THE USA
  

 ULTRA THIN , IN FACT PAPER THIN, SPEAKERS SET TO REVOLUTIONIZE PA WORK.


 MOONWALKING WITH HAM RADIO OPERATORS!


 All up and coming in  WIANEWS for week commencing April 19  


 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

 ONE SMALL STEP

 A group of radio amateurs are planning a commemorative event to mark this
 years 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

 Called 'Echoes of Apollo,' various activities are planned around June & July.

 The organisers of the event are negotiating with some of the world’s largest
 and most capable amateur radio moon-bounce stations, and also some radio deep
 space radio facilities. The idea is to hook-up people from various locations
 using moon-bounce and, if the antennas are large enough, possibly achieving
 near broadcast quality audio. You might say, a kind of ‘Back-to-the-Moon’day.

 Also planned is an HF radio weekend, with HF stations set up near sites that
 took part in the original support for the Apollo 11 mission. The WIA has
 agreed to publicise the event and to also issue certificates to those
 amateurs making contact with commemorative event stations.
 
 The EME event is planned for the 27th June this year and the HF event is
 planned for the weekend and the Monday of 18-20th July, so time is very short.





 GippsTech - WIA AGM

 Special Edition bringing together Australia finest technical speakers to the
 2009 WIA AGM weekend of activities.

 Yes you can participate in wide range of fascinating and highly informative
 technical presentations. The annual GippsTech conference has earned a well
 deserved reputation as Australia's Number 1 technical conference attracting 
 hundreds of VHF, UHF and SHF enthusiasts from right around Australia.

 GippsTech – Special Edition extends well beyond the scope of the traditional
 conference. Friday 1st till Sunday 3rd of May at the Gippsland Campus of
 Monash University. Registrations are filling quickly, reserve you place
 today, full details and secure online booking are available via
 www.wia.org.au

 look under the "About WIA" tab.





 Southgate Amateur Radio Club in the UK are carrying a report on ARISS and
 Tony VK5ZAI the VK Coordinators forth coming WIA AGM Report.

 In it Tony says " Due to the number of schools that Mike has worked during his
 6 months on the ISS the waiting time for schools applying has narrowed
 considerably, at present we only have two Australian schools on the waiting
 list and we require more.

 I would like to see more amateurs take an interest in ARISS by getting their
 local schools involved.  If we want our hobby to survive and grow in the years
 to come it’s up to us to advertise it now. 

 What better way is there to stimulate the minds of our next generation in the
 fields of science, technology, and electronics, than suggesting to your local
 school that you can setup an Amateur Radio link to the ISS so students can
 speak direct to crew members on board as they circle the Earth. By introducing
 a school to ARISS and getting them to apply for an educational contact with
 the crew on the Space Station does not mean that you personally have to become
 involved, however you will be encouraged to do so if you wish, and will be 
 given all the information and backup that you may require to work with the 
 school. All those that have assisted have found the exercise most rewarding

 If you should need any assistance with this please contact Tony VK5ZAIf or any
 member of the ARISS team.

 73’s  Tony VK5ZAI.
 National ARISS coordinator."





 OUR FATHER

 International Marconi Day is the UTC day of Saturday 25th April.  To celebrate
 his birthday, about 50 stations around the world with a connection to  Marconi
 will be operating on MF and HF bands.

 Due to their proximity to the Ernest Fisk's house in Wahroonga, where the
 first signal from Britain to Australia was received, HADARC, the Hornsby 
 and Districts Amateur Radio Club, will be activating VK2IMD.

 Oh and Marconis Message to Australia was transmitted from Wales.

 Global IMD page:  <http://www.gb4imd.org.uk/>http://www.gb4imd.org.uk/
 HADARC page:  http://www.hadarc.org.au/
 HADARC on Facebook:  Seach for "VK2MA"





 World Class ACMA Monitoring Facility helps eliminate interference

 Some great work recently between the ACMA in Brisbane and Hobart saw the world
 class Quoin Ridge High Frequency (HF) Monitoring and Investigation facility
 successfully identify and eliminate severe interference to the Queensland's
 State Emergency Service (SES) flood co-ordination frequency of 14.745MHz.

 Quoin Ridge is about thirty-five kilometres north of Hobart, Tasmania and is
 one of only three ITU HF monitoring stations. The others are in Baldock in the
 UK and Maryland in the USA making it a key linchpin internationally for
 tracking HF interference. . In the majority of HF interference complaints, the
 investigation process will involve the use of the Quoin Ridge HF Monitoring
 and Investigation facility to help identify, locate and ultimately eliminate
 the interfering signal.

 ACMA field staff were able to monitor, measure and decode the interfering
 signal and trace its source of to an emission originating in the vicinity of
 Fukushima, Japan. The ACMA contacted the Japanese Administration advising the
 details of the harmful interference and asking for their assistance in
 eliminating its source. Within just a few days and with further assistance
 from the Quoin Ridge facility, the Japanese Administration had located and
 eliminated the source of the interfering signal. 

 (Justin, VK7TW)





 EDUCATION YOUTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO   
 www.hamcollege.com.au
  
 Another successful foundation licence training course was held at S.A.R.C.
 recently with 3 candidates and 3 passes. 

 Congratulations to their three students.  One of them fulfilled a 40 year old
 prediction of Keith Blanch VK2GI (now SK) of Maclean who told a then young
 teenager that "one day you'll get your amateur radio licence".

 The course was run just a little bit differently this time.

 The Saturday was devoted entirely to studying theory and regulations.

 This gave the candidates a solid foundation to start their journey into
 amateur radio. Sunday started with a solid block of revision and exam
 technique.

 The candidates sat for their multiple choice paper exam while the revision
 was fresh in their minds.  The papers were then assessed.  This was followed
 by a training session for the practical assessments followed by the
 assessments themselves.  Last but certainly not least the paper work was
 completed.  Many thanks to Bernie VK2BLW, John VK2JWA, Chris VK2LCD, Bruce
 VK2VA, Dave VK2FDTM and Duncan VK2DLR.

 A few of the team are starting to feel a bit weary after a string of
 assessments.  Unless there's a demand for more Foundation courses in the
 immediate future Summerland might hang fire on setting the date for the next
 course for a while.





 HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA.

 VK0  

 Don't forget to listen out for Bob AX 0 BP at Davis Station in Antarctica
 ANZAC Day 25th April with Bob once again using the AX prefix.





 VK1 
 vk1 local news email broadcast(AT)vk1.wia.ampr.org and ask for subscription.  
   
 Monthly Meetings:
 Well the big news is the monthly meetings are on the move again, yep Just when
 you thought life was getting boring and predictable CRARC have re-arranged
 their General Meeting nights to Wednesday evenings instead.

 There will be a couple of months grace then from July 29th meetings will be
 held on Wednesdays evenings commencing at 8.00PM. 
  
 Please let your fellow “Ham'sö know so that they don’t roll up on Monday
 July 27th and expect to attend a CRARC General meeting as they will be
 disappointed! 

 In the mean time, there are only 3 Monday Meetings left until the permanent
 change to Wednesday nights.





 The Tuesday night Technical Night and Monday Night Committee meetings will
 remain as they are...

 For the coming meetings CRARC haves:
  
 April 27th  TEX VK1TX – DX expedition from LORD HOWE Island 
  
 May   25th  Dean VK1DW - "SDR the fun way and a brief introduction to doing
                           SMT"  

 June 22nd  Mark Roberts –Franchise Owner of Battery World  talking about
                          "Correct battery disposal procedures". 
  
 Keep an eye on CRARC web site for further details and updates. 

 www.crarc.ampr.org 





 VK2    
 web service:-  http://www.arnsw.org.au/html/news_vk2wi.htm   
 VKG Roundup    http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news 

 NEW CLUB FOR BORDER REGION AMATEUR RADIO ENTHUSIASTS

 Amateur radio enthusiasts of the border ranges of northern NSW and south
 eastern Queensland are promoting our hobby by launching their own club,
 the Border Ranges Amateur Radio Club.

 A group of radio enthusiasts from the region met in Stanthorpe VK4 to
 organise better support for  technical and social interests.

 Amateur radio enthusiasts are widely scattered around the region, and often
 meet only on the airwaves, but the meeting had attendance from Tenterfield,
 Stanthorpe and Warwick.

 Founding club office-holders include Paul Thompson of Tenterfield (President)
 with Graham Selwood of Warwick (Secretary) and John Cowburn of Stanthorpe
 (Treasurer).

 Club President Paul Thompson says the prime objective of the Border Ranges
 Amateur Radio Club is to promote the hobby of electronics and amateur radio
 throughout the border ranges of northern NSW and southern Queensland.

 B.R.A.R.C. welcomes everyone interested in electronics, amateur radio, or in
 exploring a new and interesting hobby to attend its meetings held at
 the Royal Hotel, Tenterfield.

 Their website is http://sites.google.com/site/brargu/





 VK3 
 web service:-  http://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/      
 VKC Roundup    http://www.police  

 The Moorabbin and District Amateur Radio club are please to announce, this
 years Hamfest will be held in the usual location, at the Brentwood Secondary
 College, Watsons Rd, Glen Waverly on Saturday 9th May – doors opening at
 10am.

 The Moorabbin Radio Club’s annual Hamfest is proud to be Victoria's biggest
 and this year will be no exception with displays and sales of new or preloved
 equipment.

 A must come must see event for anyone interested in Radio Communications and 
 electronics. 

 Major door prizes, free tea and coffee, light refreshments and a sausage
 sizzle will also be on offer.

 Trader table bookings and general enquires can be made be emailing
 Graeme Lewis VK3GL (vk3gl(AT)aanet.com.au) or by phoning mobile 0418 171601.





 VK7   
 local area news :- http://reast.asn.au/news.php
 vk7 local news, email   vk7regionalnews-subscribe(AT)yahoogroups.com

 A summary of the events across VK7 in the next month:
 
 REAST – April 22 & 29th – ATV Experimenter's Nights 7:30pm Queens Domain
         Club rooms and those Gnat QRP tranceivers are coming along nicely
         http://reast.asn.au/events.php#ATVnights

 TARGA TASMANIA – April 28th to May 3rd.

 NWTARIG – May 2nd – General Meeting - Penguin Lions club rooms

 REAST – May 6th – Presentation on Landline Telegraphy or "how to send both 
 ways at once", should be a great presentation thanks to Richard VK7RO
 see you at 8pm


 NTARC – May 13th -  Royal Flying Doctor Service depot – Launceston Airport 
at 7:30pm with Ian VK7KIH.

 NWT-ATVG – June 6th - General Meeting and discussion on radio history.





 INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to RSGB, Southgate AR Club, the ARRL, 
 Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART and the WW sources of the WIA.   
 
 Reading Rattle

 After providing recorded audio magazines for the visually impaired
 for over thirty years, the Reading Rattle continues to grow.

 April sees the welcome return of BB. Originally known as Brian's
 Broadcasting Bits, the new BB is now read by Ron Price, GW4EVX and
 his wife, Sue. It's a digest of items that are of sure-fire interest
 to radio amateurs, SWLs and the general population, too. The first
 edition of the new show includes items on radio in the international
 news, a fascinating piece on jamming, a track entitled "A Hobby for
 the Blind" and coverage of captioned radio and its benefits for deaf
 listeners. It's a half-hour recording filled with interesting and
 important pieces.
 
 RAIBC, the charity working for blind and disabled amateurs and SWLs, at
 www.raibc.org.uk




 EARLY READERS ONLY

 1st ever RSGB AGM Web cast Newcastle 1000GMT  April 18th 2009
 
 This year's RSGB AGM is taking place in Newcastle upon Tyne
 
 The whole day is geared to bringing the RSGB to you and is an ideal
 opportunity for local clubs to socialise and meet with each other and
 meet with senior RSGB officers.
 
 But as 73 Ian G3ZHI says the BIG news is it has been deemed worthy of a
 BATC Live Steaming video event! 

 Yes for the first time, it is planned to live web cast the RSGB AGM over the
 internet via the BATC Streamer website. 

 For those unable to travel to the venue, you will be able to watch the
 proceedings via the live streams, by going to the BATC website, clicking on
 Live Events and choosing the correct stream. 

 Check out
 www.batc.tv
 www.batc.org.uk/





 When broadband technology failed hams helped out

 On Easter Thursday vandals cut a vital fibre-optic cable bringing down
 telephone services, mobile phone and internet services in San Francisco’s
 South Bay Area of California.

 It stopped telephone, mobile phone and internet services. Affected were
 50,000 residents, many businesses were forced to close their doors and the
 emergency 911 system was not available for most of the day.

 Within an hour of learning of the outage police vehicles were dispatched to
 knock on the pre-dawn doors of members of the local emergency response team.

 Everything went to plan and radio amateurs were quick to activate to
 provide communications between the most affected areas of the outage.
 
 Officials are praising ham radio operators not only for their quick
 response, but also for coming through when state-of-the-art technology
 failed.

 Proving once again - When All Else Fails, Amateur Radio Works.

 The ham radio operators became the eyes and ears of police and fire
 services on the streets. No deaths or injuries were reported related to
 the outage.

 The Telecommunications company AT&T has posted a $250,000 reward for
 information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for
 the crime.

 (Jim Linton VK3PC)


 =============================================================================


 NEWS FROM ARNEWSLINE    
      

 FLORIDA HAM MURDERED IN ROBERY OF HIS HOME

 A Florida ham radio operator allegedly has been killed by his neighbour in
 what appears to be a murder and rob crime.  Amateur Radio Newsline's
 Mark Abramovich, NT3V, is at our East coast bureau with more:


 Authorities say less than a day before he was to celebrate his 57th birthday,
 Sterling Howell, KG4KIU, a widower who lived alone in a trailer home in
 Glenn St. Mary was brutally stabbed to death by his neighbour. 

 Investigators in Baker County at the north-eastern tip of Florida say Howell
 was stabbed by 25-year-old Aaron Fox the evening of April 1st. 

 Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson told local media outlets Fox, who had lived
 next door with his mother, stabbed Howell several times in the chest and head
 area. 
 
 For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia. 
 

 Aaron Fox is expected to be charged with capital murder.  If convicted he
 would face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of
 parole.  (ARNewslineÖ from various published reports)


 =============================================================================


 WEIRD N WONDERFUL 
  
 As part of the recent simulated Catastrophic Disaster, members of the
 Maryborough Electronics & Radio Group, öMERGEö, gathered with the usual
 collection of bits and pieces which could conceivably be lying around after
 such a disaster.

 They had, on previous exercises, exhausted the more common HF antenna
 designs, so Van, VK4VAN, suggested that they try to utilise a tree as the
 radiating element.

 This idea was part of a British patent in 1917, but it was not useable as it
 involved driving a spike into a tree in the park, totally against Council
 regulations.

 http://www.rexresearch.com/squier/squier.htm 

 An article by W5JGV, about a toroidal feed to a tree antenna on the 40m band,
 seemed more useful. 

 http://w5jgv.com/tree_antenna/index.htm 

 Among Ray, VK4TPT’s, collection of antenna documents were both articles in
 printed form, so a length of flexible water pipe was quickly converted into
 a coil and wrapped as a yoke around a nearby Gum tree.

 Conveniently, there was a water tap at the base of the tree and one end of
 the coil was connected to it as an earth.

 From VK4TPT’s box of bits came an old tuning capacitor which was connected in
 series between the other end of the coil and the antenna socket of Ray’s
 trusty TS-520S.

 A little adjusting of the coil and capacitor soon caused a solid noise signal
 from the 520S and a quick tune across 40m brought in signals from VK2, 3, 5
 and 7.

 Further adjustments produced a useable match and a 4/1 contact was made with
 VK2JE, Brian, who was MOBILE near Tuncurry, NSW.

 This was followed by a 5/6 contact with Seth, VK2CJA in Coffs Harbour, and
 several 5/9+ contacts locally.

 Ray and Van would have liked to try other bands, but the BBQ, in conjunction
 with the Woocoo SES, was under way, and the lads were just a little hungry.

 It’s obvious that tree antennas do work, but the big question now is:

 What will “MERGEö try next year?





 OPERATIONAL NEWS -  

 SPECIAL EVENTS AND ON AIR CONTEST COLUMN -  D A T E  L I N E   2009
 
 APR 18         ZL/VK RTTY SPRINT (80M)
 APR 25         ZL/VK RTTY SPRINT (40M)

 MAY 01 - 08	VK CQ REPEATER CONTEST (Westlake’s Club)
 MAY 09 - 10    ZL SANGSTER SHIELD 80M CW 
  
 JUN  6 -  8    WORKED ALL VK SHIRES LONG WEEKEND CONTEST
 JUN 20 - 21	MUSEUMS WEEKEND PART a
 JUN 27 - 28	MUSEUMS WEEKEND PART b



 JUL 04         NZART MEMORIAL CONTEST 80M   
 2000 NZST until 2300 NZST
 80m
 Phone, and CW
 Please refer to the 2007/8 NZART Callbook, Contest Section for full details
 of the Contest Rules and other operating Information., or the NZART Website:
 www/nzart.org.nz/contests/

	
 2009 CQ WW VHF Contest, July 18 - 19.
 CQ-VHF is part of the WORLD-WIDE family of contests sponsored by CQ magazine.



 AUG 15 - 16	WIA Remembrance Day Contest 
 AUG 15 - 16	ILLW
 
 Running till Dec 31 2009 is the 4th CQ DX Marathon 





 BEACON DX AND NET ADVICE  
 hf nets ON the net,  www.timroberts-vk4yeh.id.au/

 GB   40  WAB  40th anniversary of the WAB                        Till Dec 31 
     
 
 HG  160  FNY  Commemorates 1848 attack on Hungary
               that prompted their independence.                until July 31 

	
 International Museums Weekend(s)               20 and 21 plus 27 and June 28
   
    
 OZ 1658  ROS  350th anniversary of the Treaty of Roskilde        Till Dec 31  

 
 VARIOUS  SM STATIONS USING 1658 (Treaty of Roskilde)             Till Dec 31 

   
 CANADA, VE.  In celebration of the 50 years since the opening of the
 St. Lawrence Seaway, Canadian amateurs can use special callsign
 prefixes XL, XM, XN, and XO                                     until May 31


 VP 9 400 /home call 400th Anniversary of Bermuda                 Till Dec 31    





 VO1MGY COMMEMORATES THE TITANIC

 Ham radio once again commemorated the loss of the fabled luxury liner the
 Titanic that sank in the North Sea on the morning of April 15, 1912.
 In remembrance of this disaster the Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs
 operated on April 15th 2009, using the historic Titanic call sign suffix of
 MGY.  This, from the Society's ham station located in the former British
 Admiralty wireless telegraphy station.





 International Year of Astronomy

 The first amateur radio special event station for IYA has been announced
 and its VE7IYOA located in Victoria, British Columbia Canada.

 It will be active 1-30 June to celebrates the 400th Anniversary of Galileo
 di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei’s first look at the sky through an
 optical instrument.

 This Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and is
 acclaimed as the father of modern observational astronomy.

 VE7IYOA has a unique QSL card on offer.

 (Jim Linton VK3PC)





 Greek Special Event Station 

 Greek operators from Veria (SV2/Macedonia region) will activate the special
 callsign SY2DDAY between June 4-7th.

 Unfortunately they will not QSL via the bureau 

 Activity is to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the greatest landing
 operation in history during WWII, with the participation of seven countries
 on the beach of Normandy. Greece participated with 2 warships and 4
 commercial freighters. 
   
 To see the QSL card, go to: http://www.qrz.com/sy2dday





 This is Bill VK4FW with the VK9LA wrap up

 Despite the worst sunspot figures since 1913 we managed to work some 
 30,160 QSOs with 149 dxcc entities and all 40 zones. This included 17 dxcc
 entities on 160m and 80 dxcc entities on 80m.

 All operators are now back at their respective homes and all equipment
 should be back on the mainland in another week.

 On behalf of the team members I would like to thank all those that made this
 operation possible.

 The sked that was set up on 80m to work all the VK and Pacific was for the
 most part ruined by certain clowns who think that they can just take over a
 frequency despite it being in use for 20 minutes before they  arrive.

 No one person or so called net has the right to commandeer a frequency at
 any time except in an emergency situation. What is worse is that the
 perpetrators are newer operators that did not even care let alone bother to
 listen to reason.

 To those of you that managed to get into the log the qsling will begin as
 soon as the cards are back from the printers.

 Cu from the next dxcc entity  ……  





 BROADCAST  MONITORING SWL AND SCANNER NEWS
 aus_scanner(AT)yahoogroups.com 
 http://www.scanaustralia.bigpondhosting.com 
 www.scanvictoria.com
 www.tinyurl.com/BITS-026 (A receiver located in NY USA)  

 Shortwave broadcasters thanked 

 The International Amateur Radio Union has thanked the shortwave broadcaster
 community for achieving a high degree of migration by 29 March from the now
 worldwide amateur exclusive band of 7100 to 7200 kHz.  

 IARU Secretary David Sumner K1ZZ has been quick to acknowledge the
 compliance by most broadcasters to QSY out of that band, as required by a
 decision of the World Radio Conference in 2003. 

 The departure of broadcasting has resulted in an enormous improvement in the
 usefulness of the 40-metre band for amateur radio communication.

 David K1ZZ said, “I am certain that the few remaining BC transmitters
 operating on 7200 kHz and below will be addressed in the coming weeks.
 Thank you again for your exceptional cooperation.ö

 His letter of appreciation was sent to the High Frequency Coordination
 Conference, the group representing 60 organisations from more than
 30 countries accounting for up to 80% of the global output of short wave
 broadcasting.

 A month before 29 March, the IARU Region 3 Monitoring Systems Coordinator
 B.L. (Arasu) Manohar VU2UR had identified 58 broadcasts in the segment
 7100 to 7200 kHz. 

 A follow-up scan will be made in the next few weeks to identify any residual
 broadcasting activity.

 (Jim Linton VK3PC)




 

 THE QNEWS WORK BENCH - the nuts and volts report -
 (Measure twice - Cut once!)   
   
 Thin speaker offers 'crisp sound' 

 Anyone who has struggled to understand speaker announcements at train
 stations will be heartened by work initially done at Warwick University
 in the UK. 

 Engineers claim their new ultra-thin speakers, as well as looking good and
 being easy to conceal, will also deliver clearer, crisper sound. 

 They are so thin, "paper thin" that they could be used as speaking posters
 to deliver adverts. 

 The system, dubbed flat, flexible loudspeaker (FFL), started life as a piece
 of tin foil and some baking paper. 
 
 Car manufacturers are also interested in the speakers because they allow
 sound to be directed which means, for example, music could be heard in the
 back of the car but not the front. 

 But the design could make the speakers particularly useful for PA systems
 as the sound produced by FFLs can be directed straight at its intended
 audience. The sound, volume and quality does not deteriorate as it does in
 conventional speakers which means that public announcements in passenger
 terminals could be clearer, crisper and easier to hear." 

 The firm hopes to launch its first commercial product later this year





 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - ASTRONOMICAL
 
 On April 11th, the loudspeaker of Thomas Ashcraft's 21 MHz radio telescope in
 New Mexico suddenly began to hiss and crackle. The sounds grew louder as
 Jupiter rose in the blue morning sky. "I am pleased to report," says Ashcraft,
 REPORTING TO SPACEWEATHER DOT COM  "a successful recording of Jovian S-bursts
 the first of 2009." 
 
 The staccato pops sound like lightning in the loudspeaker of a car radio, but
 lightning did not make these sounds. S-bursts are caused by natural radio
 lasers in Jupiter's magnetosphere that sweep past Earth as Jupiter rotates.
 Electrical currents flowing between Jupiter's upper atmosphere and the
 volcanic moon Io can boost these emissions to power levels easily detected by
 ham radio antennas on Earth. Jovian S-bursts and L-bursts can mimic the
 sounds of woodpeckers, whales, and waves crashing on the beach. 
 
 (TO WIA NEWS COURTESY Ganesh VU2TS)





 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ATV (Every pixel tells a story)   
     
 YouTube - Amateur Radio in emergency situations
 There are a number of videos on YouTube that highlight the important part
 Amateur Radio can play in emergency situations.

 Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLA8p-N3ujA


 N7RUE - Ham Radio at its finest.....Earthquake on a tiny island during the
         Maritime Net on 14.300. Whilst monitoring the daily Maritime Net on
         20 Meters an operator reports a large Earthquake in the Pacific. This
         is the True Meaning of Amateur Radio.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sshNPKxf7k


 Ham Radio and Disasters
 CNN report on 2004 Tsunami
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEJUHVfrhn8


 Katrina Ham
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pejhtY1pMig


 Ham Radio Emergency Communication Trailer
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-hRI7KpJtw


 Dominic M0BLF - Amateur Radio in Emergency Situations
                 Following the Chinese earthquake of 12th May 2008, amateur
                 radio operators played a role in the immediate rescue attempts.
                 This vlog entry discusses some of what they did, some
                 criticisms of the part amateur radio can play in disaster
                 relief, and looks back at the work carried out in the Andaman
                 Islands following the tsunami of 26th December 2004.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRCNTkb7QHM





 The project to convert the Melbourne ATV repeater VK3RTV to digital
 transmission has made further progress with Peter Cossins VK3BFG having
 started design and building the complex video and audio switching networks.

 Peter VK3BFG says the plan is to have two channels operational using a
 digital MPEG multiplexer, making it possible to have two simultaneous QSO's.

 Suitable digital amateur television exciters from Germany have been held up by
 a lack of supply but work is continuing on other elements of the project.

 The upgrade to VK3RTV is mostly funded by Amateur Radio Victoria with
 other financial support including $1,000 from the WIA which has recognised
 it as a worthy innovative project.

 (Jim Linton VK3PC)





 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO
 ALARA - AUSTRALIAN LADIES AR ASSOCIATION
 http://alara.org.au
 Net is held each Mondays on 3.580 MHz, commencing at 1030 UTC.
 (1000utc during daylight saving)
 geencee(AT)picknowl.com.au 

 The next Alara lunch (vk4) will be held Saturday 16th May at 11.30 am
 "Gordonio's On The Broadwater" restaurant 44 The Esplanade, Paradise Point,
 Gold Coast.

 $20 per person for 2 course lunch which includes a glass of wine or soft
 drink and a special door prize as well, so please contact Pam VK4PTO by the
 end of April if you would like to attend  vk4pto(AT)tpg.com.au

 (73  Pam VK4PTO ALARA  VK4  STATE REPRESENTATIVE)





 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER 

 AMSAT-VK UNOFFICIAL HF Net.
 2nd Sunday each month.
 November through March 0900 UTC 7.068 MHz
 April through October  1000 UTC 3.685 MHz    

 Astronaut Mike Fincke sets ARISS record 

 Congratulations to Mike Fincke KE5AIT.

 He now holds the record for the most ARISS contacts on a single expedition
 as well as the most for multiple missions. 

 Expedition 18 has now set the record for ARISS contacts by an expedition. 

 Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 426.

 Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 22. 





 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- INTERNET --- THE HAMS DOMAIN    

 Sitting in the shack, winding the VFO looking through ALL the HF bands
 there’s almost no DX on any band. With the sun spot activity at an all
 time low, imagine a virtual ionosphere that suffers none of the conventional
 difficulties that hams around the world face trying to work DX stations with
 no propagation!

 The solution to this age old problem has finally been found!  And it’s called
 cq100.

 Cq100 uses the internet to receive audio signals from a ham radio
 transmitting station, then instantly reflects the audio back to all stations
 listening on that frequency. There is no RF.

 Everything is done over the internet. 

 The result is a virtual ionosphere for worldwide amateur radio communication.
 Stations can use voice, CW PSK and FSK modulation.

 How does all this work?

 Cq100 works with dialup, ADSL and cable internet connections. There is no
 need to configure router ports. The network consists of an array of internet
 servers which provide streaming VOIP audio between stations. After installing
 the transceiver software, cq100 stations are connected to a central server by
 a single, outbound TCP connection. 

 Cq100 is excellent software, that gives you a control interface on your pc
 that looks and feels like a hf radio in a VOIP world, it even has a VFO to
 spin!

 Take the time to have a look at QSONET.com for information and download a
 free trial of the cq100 software. It is absolutely free to use for 90 days
 to see if you enjoy it. And you can download it at QSONET.com

 I’m JASON,  VK2FEDS reporting   for the  WIA  NATIONAL NEWS





 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO

 EMERGENCY FREQUENCIES ALL REGIONS
  21.360  -  18.160  -  14.300  -  7.060  -  3.760 MHz.  
 REGION 2 TRY ALSO 3.985 - 7.240 - 7.290 
    
 
 WICEN (Vic) Reporting on the recent MAD Bike Ride in the Woodend area said
 it was a successful event in spite of the weather turning in the afternoon.
 Just one mishap during the MAD bike ride causing one entrant to get bogged
 and in water. But retrieved successfully.
 
 Forthcoming events: 

 Sun 26/4: Debriefing from the 2009 Fires.  

 Sat May 16th East Gippsland Stages 

 Sun May 24th Kenda Rally, Eildon Area.

 Sun June 7th. Mallee Rally, Sealake.





 There are some Communications Support events out of Townsville soon that
 need help from operators, such as

 Hillclimbs with the Townsville City Auto Sports Club Sunday May 7th, Sunday
 July 19th.

 Tarmac Rally with the Townsville City Auto Sports Club June 6 and 7.

 Horse Endurance Rides with the Townsville Endurance Riders and Arabian Horse
 Association Bluewater May 23 and May 24.
 
 If you can help out with any of these events or more please contact
 Blue VK4FBLU on 47754184 soonest !





 SOCIAL SCENE        
    
 


 2009
 
 International Telecommunication Union's Telecom World 2009.

 

 April 18 WW 
 World Amateur Radio Day 

 April 19 vk2 
 Westlake clubs Mini Field Day. 





 May 1-3 vk3
 WIA AGM Churchill Victoria

 May 9 vk3
 Moorabbin and District Radio Club Hamfest 10AM Brentwood Secondary College,
 Watsons Road Glen Waverley, Melways reference 71 D7, enter via Heath street.



 May 9 VK4
 BARCFEST (the Brisbane HamFest) 9:30am Mt Gravatt Showground.







 May 18 WW
 World Telecom Day 





 June 5 - 8   VK4
 FNNQARG at Cardwell Village Beachcomber Resort book on 1800 005633
 Contact FNNQARG co-ordinator Gavin VK4ZZ for site booking guidance.


 June 6-7
 South East Radio Group Convention
 Margret Street Scout Hall in Mount Gambier behind the Police Station.




 July 11 - 12 VK3 
 GippsTech 2009, the technical conference with a VHF, UHF & microwave focus.


 July 18 VK3
 Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club Hamfest 10.00 am
 Cranbourne Public Hall  




 August 2 vk6
 Northern Corridor Radio Group's WA Hamfest. Cyril Jackson Rec Centre
 Fisher st Ashfield, WA      email vk6xh(AT)wia.org.au




 SEP 13
 Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society Hamfest 9:30am.
 Goodwood Community Centre, Rosa St Goodwood.




 OCT 12 - 16   ZL
 14th IARU R3 Conference Christchurch 12 ? 16 October 2009.
 Details at www.christchurch.org.nz/
 The Region 3 Web Site: www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/


 
 JAN 24 VK2
 Mid North Coast Amateur Radio Group's Radio Expo 2010  8.30am St Johns Church
 Hall, Mc Lean Street Coffs Harbour.
 (The largest Amateur Radio Event on the Mid North Coast of NSW. 20 plus
  exhibitors, Trade tables, Major brands, Home brew, Historic radio display,
  ATV display, WIA, ALARA, WICEN, Volunteer Coastal Patrol, Club Displays,
  WIA Book Sales, Disposals tables, Lucky door prizes on the hour, Hot and cold
  food, Free tea, coffee. Fee Parking, Disable access, Clean amenities,
  www.mncarg.org  on rain, hail or shine )

 
 
 Please think of the environment before printing this email 

 =============================================================================
		
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 Societies and Club News Letter Editors can EXCHANGE a feed prior to
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 Call-backs follow the RF editions, but also for text readers you may
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 Thanks to to our dedicated band of broadcast volunteers who utilize
 their time and equipment in bringing you this weekly broadcast.

 The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of interest to
 active amateurs residing in Australia and the globe. 

 We strongly encourage membership in the Wireless Institute of Australia
 and participation in the activities of  local clubs. 

 Opinions expressed in "WIANews" are those of the writers who submit
 material and do not necessarily reflect those of the rebroadcasters,
 nor the National WIA, but are broadcast in the spirit in which they were
 submitted. 

 Material may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, a credit to
 WIANews wouldn't go astray... 

 Compiled by VK4BB on behalf of the National WIA.



 ************************************************************************

                        - NEWS POSTING TO PACKET - 

            Courtesy Tony VK7AX  VK7AX(AT)VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC 

 ************************************************************************




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