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VK3EUB > WIA      06.01.13 14:09l 763 Lines 29216 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: WIA News 16 Dec 2012
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<IK6ZDE<VE2PKT<VK3API
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From: VK3EUB@VK3API.#MEL.VIC.AUS.OC
To  : WIA@WW

VK3EUB/TPK 1.83e Msg #:429  Local Date: 20-12-2012  Time: 7:21 AM  (20:21 UTC)

From:VK3EUB@VK3API.#MEL.VIC,AUS.OC
To  :WIA@WW

WIANEWS - DECEMBER 16 - VK NATIONAL NEWS 


----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 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@wia.org.au 

 http://www.wia.org.au (click news in member area) Submit your audio news 

 TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA 

 Please... If you are only submitting text and not audio, write your story 
 as you would expect to hear it being read back and NEVER send just links & 
 url's. 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 WIANEWS WEEK COMMENCING DECEMBER 16 2012. 

 Wyong Mini-Contest-University 

 Masthead TV devices and electric fences 

 EMDRC Christmas Foundation Course 

 THESE STORIES AND MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE 
 OF AUSTRALIA FOR WEEK COMMENCING DEC 16 2012. 
 
 Wyong Mini-Contest-University - February 23rd. 2013 at Wyong. 

 Trent VK4TS, WIA Director for Awards and Contests is locked in as keynote 
 speaker to introduce the day. As well as material from the Dayton Contest 
 university, kindly supplied by Tim K3LR, some local content has been 
 offered to be presented by members of the VKCC group. 

 One aim of the "MCU" is to help people understand what contesting is all 
 about. It's hoped that people who are sitting on the contest sidelines, 
 not knowing how to move forward can gain from attending this (free) event. 

 As well as the educational content it is hoped that the networking 
 component the chance to meet the people you have heard (or heard of) 
 will also form a major part of the day. The day will run from 10 am 
 to 4pm on Saturday 23rd. February with an hour break for lunch and if 
 there is sufficient interest extend to a get together and meal in the 
 evening at a local pub or restaurant joining up with others coming to 
 the Field day on the Sunday. 

 Information and details on how to register can be found under the mini 
 contest university link in the sidebar of www.fieldday.org.au or 
 directly from the link on the Dayton Contest University page at 
 www.contestuniversity.com 

 (Ed VK2JI) 


 Masthead TV devices and electric fences 

 The Australian Communications and Media Authority has a masthead and 
 distribution amplifier fact sheet, and a media article on electrically 
 powered fences - both which can cause interference. 

 In marginal TV reception areas it is finding faulty, due to age or misuse, 
 mastehead amplifiers that radiate a signal affecting TV viewing, mobile 
 phones, two-way radios and heard on the amateur radio bands. 

 ACMA field officers have found them either overloaded to distortion, 
 internally mixing a multitude of high level signals, or going into 
 self-oscillation. 

 Distribution amplifiers are also designed to feed a number of TV sets from 
 a single antenna, but never to oscillate and become an unintended radiator. 

 Meantime, the ACMA in the Hoofbeats magazine read mainly by horse owners, 
 warns then about the interference that may be caused by faulty electric 
 fences. 

 The fact sheet and article give helpful installation and operational 
 advice, to avoid fines the ACMA may issue if it enforces the 
 Radiocommunications Act. 

 (Jim Linton VK3PC) 


 Proposed changes to radio service in Darwin and Katherine 

 The Australian Communications and Media Authority is seeking public comment 
 on proposed changes to improve and add radio services in the Darwin and 
 Katherine area. 

 The ACMA is proposing to amend the Licence Area Plan - Darwin Radio to: 
 formalise the operation of 8PNN Darwin and Katherine and 8HOT and 8MIX 
 Adelaide River improve the operation of the Darwin radio broadcasting 
 services 8ABCFM, 8DDD, 8JJJ, 8PNN, 8SBSFM, 8HOT & 8MIX, 8GGG, 8KNB & 8TOP 
 and the Katherine radio broadcasting service 8KTR make a frequency 
 available for a new community radio service to be provided in Darwin. 

 The proposed changes are contained in the Draft Variation to Licence Area 
 Plan - Darwin Radio - No. 2 of 2012 and discussed in accompanying 
 explanatory paper. 

 The documents are available on the ACMA's website or by 
 calling 1300 850 115. 

 The closing date for comments on the proposals is 
 5pm Friday 11 January 2013. 

 (acma.gov.au) 

 WIA BOARD TALK 

 President Phil Wait VK2ASD vk2asd@wia.org.au 
 Vice President Chris Platt VK5CP vk5cp@wia.org.au 
 Secretary David Williams VK3RU vk3ru@wia.org.au 
 Treasurer John Longayroux VK3PZ vk3pz@wia.org.au 


 Have you prepared for the last weekend in May; the 2013 WIA AGM and 
 Conference? 

 Hosted in the Maritime Hub of Fremantle in Western Australia, the 
 2013 Conference in May offers you the best in Amateur Radio, 
 with seminars, workshops and social activities for Amateur Radio 
 enthusiasts and their partners. Hosted by Western Australian Amateur 
 Radio Clubs and held at the Tradewinds Hotel in Fremantle, it's going 
 to be your event. Why should you make the trip across the globe to 
 Western Australia to visit the most isolated capital city in the world? 
 Find out! 

 The 2013 WIA AGM and Conference, it's all about Engaging, Learning, 
 Appreciating, Socializing and Discovering. 

 You'll find all the information online at the VK6 conference site, 
 conference.vk6.net 


 HAMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. 

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

 EMDRC Christmas Foundation Course 

 For those folk who have heard about Amateur Radio and would 
 like to get involved in the hobby and get on the air with a 
 Foundation Licence, and who may be looking for something to 
 do in the few days between Christmas and New year, then have 
 we a deal for you ! 
 The Eastern and Mountain District Radio Club will once again 
 be running its special Christmas Foundation course. 
 The course will be run on Thursday the 27th of December with 
 the assessments taking place on the morning of Friday the 
 28th of December 

 The course will be held at our EMDRC Clubrooms located at 
 13a McCubbin Street Burwood, for those not familiar with 
 the area, its location is very close to the RSPCA on 
 Burwood Highway, ideal if you plan on coming by public 
 transport. If you are coming by car, there is plenty of 
 parking available onsite. 
 To arrive at the clubrooms, simply drive west down McCubbin 
 street and look for the lane way on your left hand side, 
 you will find the clubrooms (Scout Hall) at the bottom of 
 the lane way. 

 The course instructors will be myself Robert Broomhead 
 VK3DN and Damian Ayers VK3KQ. 
 The Sunday morning the assessments will be run by myself 
 with Keith VK3FT and assistance from other assessors.. 

 Further details on the EMDRC club website http://www.emdrc.com.au 
 

 VK4 - QNEWS 
 Send your stories for news. SCRIPT to qnews@wia.org.au 
 send audio to http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/upload/ 

 get local audio news www.wiaq.org.au/ftp/vk4_qnews_64.mp3 
 get local news emailed qnews-vk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 


 Cairns Region VHF Repeater back on air 

 The VK4RCA Cairns 2 metre voice repeater has finally planted its feet yet 
 again. 

 After being retrieved from the Mount Yarrabah site and many months of 
 refurbishment and reliability testing on the workbench the repeater 
 equipment has received the tick of approval and has just been installed 
 at the Mount Haren repeater site, up on the range behind Kuranda. 

 With 13 Watts to the antenna and a 6 dB antenna to boot, the repeater 
 should have good coverage across the Atherton Tableland region plus good 
 access from Cairns and the Northern Beaches. 

 Access and reception reports are requested 
 secretary@carc.org.au 
 
 VK7 
 vk7 local news, email vk7regionalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vk7regionalnews/ 


 VK7RCH Antenna Upgrade 

 The old repeater antenna from VK7RTC - Mt.Nelson has been removed to 
 reinstall at Grey Mountain at the next possible chance. 

 This involved careful manoeuvring on top of the tower in windy conditions 
 and  a difficult removal of the antenna from its mast clamp. 

 The mast had to be cut at the bottom near the plate, and the stays 
 unbolted. 

 The whole assembly had to be lowered down onto the top of the tower, 
 while taking care with the weight of the mast - an estimated 50 plus kilos! 

 A new blog has also been started to check out the status of the repeater 
 and other associated projects. 

 The web address is in the email addition of this broadcast. 

 http://vk7rch.blogspot.com.au/ 

 (Hayden, VK7HA via vk7wia news) 
       

 OPERATIONAL NEWS - DATELINE 2012-13 

 AMSAT Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2013 

 You are invited to participate in Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2013. 

 This year's AMSAT event is dedicated to the memory of John Thompson, 
 W1BIH/PJ9JT, who passed away this year aged 96. 

 Although known primarily as an HF DXer and contester, John was also 
 active on OSCAR, mostly on CW. 

 As always, S.K.N. on OSCAR is simple and informal. 

 Just operate CW through one or more satellites on 1 January 2013 
 (0000 to 2400 UTC), using a straight hand key. 

 There is no need to send in a log, but all participants are encouraged to 
 nominate someone they worked for Best Fist. 

 Your nominee need not have the best fist of anyone you heard, only of those 
 you worked. 

 Send your nomination to w2rs@amsat.org 
       

 SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX and BEACON AND NET ADVICE 

 New address for Canada QSL Bureau 

 The address for the Canadian QSL bureau has changed. 

 All QSL cards for Canada should be sent to 

 RAC National Incoming QSL Bureau, 
 Box 51, Saint John, NB E2L 3X1, 
 Canada. 
       

 8J6HAM - celebrating the 12th West Japan Ham Fair on AS-077 Kyushu 
 10 Dec to 3 Mar 
       

 8N119T - celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Tokyo Fire Department 
 (119 is the emergency fire/ambulance number in Japan) 
 23 Dec to 25 Mar active on all HF bands and modes. 
       

 DISCUSSION POINT 

 What use is an f-call? 

 I'm about to go on a couple of trips and thought that it might be a good 
 idea to have a radio with me, if nothing else, a great opportunity to talk 
 to some locals on their local repeater. 

 I have a portable kit, that is a Yaesu 857d with 2 x 26Ah batteries which 
 goes forever using 10 Watts. My back of napkin calculation says that on 
 2m I can transmit continuously for over 12 hours with that - more 
 realistically, if I transmit 10 minutes out of every hour, over 40 hours, 
 though I've never tested it and likely the numbers will be different for 
 HF using SSB with my Antenna Tuner plugged in. 

 This amazing battery life comes at a cost, namely size and weight. The 
 batteries fit in a medium size tool-box, and each battery uses more than 
 8kg from my luggage allowance, so, if I was keen, I could stick my radio 
 and 16 kg of battery in my suitcase and take my toothbrush but I'm pretty 
 sure my hosts would prefer I packed some clean clothes as well. 

 I've been shopping around for a hand-held and I know that for $100 bucks or 
 so I could select from any number of cheap hand-helds which for some reason 
 that I'm yet to determine the Amateur Radio fraternity appears to refer to 
 as Handy Talkies, rather than Walkie Talkies. The closest I can come is 
 that a HT, or Handheld Transceiver once got explained by a Walkie Talkie 
 User as a Handy Talkie and it stuck, but I don't know; what's in a name? 

 Anyway, I'd like to be able to use the same accessories I already have, 
 like the nice remote microphone that cost more than the hand-held I can 
 get, my battery charger, the mount I already have in my car, etc. 

 A friendly HAM had loaned me a hand-held radio for a previous journey 
 and I'm borrowing another one this weekend from another HAM - which is 
 a fantastic way to try before you buy - but I'm not yet convinced. 

 I've begun to investigate solving the problem in another way. Pack my 
 current radio into a satchel, add a small lithium ion battery of some 
 description and I've got my "normal" radio with me when I travel. 
 I don't yet know if that's going to work - for example, I've not yet 
 figured out how to deal with the antenna, since the radio isn't really 
 designed for sitting on its tail with an antenna hanging out, but perhaps 
 I can set it on a flat surface and poke a multi-band antenna out the back. 

 I won't be able to attach it to my belt and at this time that's not a great 
 concern. 

 Ironically, when I started, I skipped the hand-held option and my go-kit 
 has gotten larger and heavier every time I find another essential tool. 
 I think I might need to make two go-kits, one mobile and one portable 
 - hi hi. 

 It seems that even if you bought yourself your ultimate radio, your needs 
 change. 

 I'm Onno VK6FLAB 
 
 INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate AR Club, ARRL, 
 
 Amateur Radio Newsline, NZART, ARVictoria and the WW sources of the WIA. 

 ZL Amateur Access to 600 Metres 

 The band 472 kHz to 479 kHz was allocated to the Amateur service for use on 
 a secondary basis at the World Radiocommunication Conference held earlier 
 this year. 

 New Zealand Amateurs will be given access to this band with the Radio 
 Spectrum Policy and Planning Group of the Ministry of Business, Innovation 
 & Employment: 

 Type of allocation: Secondary 
 Power Output : 25 W eirp 
 No Bandwidth restrictions: 

 As a result of this new ZL allocation, Amateurs will no longer have access 
 to the previous temporary allocation at 505 - 515 kHz. The Ministry has, 
 however, agreed that the temporary use in the band 505 kHz to 515 kHz will 
 be permitted for one further year, until the end of 2013, to provide 
 amateurs with an opportunity to retune and/or rebuild their equipment. 


 BIRD MEN OF SAN QUENTIN 

 NBC News reports in the USA that inmates at San Quentin prison are building 
 CubeSat orbital deployers. 

 P-PODs, Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployers are aluminium boxes designed 
 to hold tiny satellites known as CubeSats, which ride "piggyback" into 
 space as secondary payloads 

 Watch the NBC video at 

 http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/06/
 15730738-san-quentin-inmates-building-satellite-hardware-for-nasa?lite 
 

 Foreign licensees in South Korea 

 When applying for a South Korean license foreign amateurs may choose 
 between a Korean callsign or HL*/homecall. 

 The callsign blocks range from HL1Z** to HL1Z** and the number depends 
 on the location in Korea. 

 The foreign language repeater in Seoul was moved on top of a 600m high 
 mountain: RX 439.6 MHz, TX 434.6 MHz with 123 Hz subtone. 

 Interestingly, any language OTHER than Korean is allowed on this repeater. 
        

 ITU Radio Regulations 2012 available for download 

 The 2012 edition of the ITU Radio Regulations which includes the results 
 of WRC-12 is now available. 

 The Radio Regulations, Edition of 2012, contains the complete texts of the 
 Radio Regulations as adopted by the World Radiocommunication Conference 
 (Geneva, 1995) (WRC-95) subsequently revised and approved by the World 
 Radiocommunication Conference (Geneva, 1997) (WRC-97). 

 World Radiocommunication Conference (Istanbul, 2000) (WRC-2000), 
 World Radiocommunication Conference (Geneva, 2003) (WRC-03) 
 World Radiocommunication Conference (Geneva, 2007) (WRC-07) 
 World Radiocommunication Conference (Geneva, 2012) (WRC-12), 
 including all Appendices, Resolutions, Recommendations and ITU-R 
 Recommendations incorporated by reference. 

 The free download is available at 
 www.itu.int/pub/R-REG-RR-2012/en 


 NEWS FROM ARNEWSLINE USA 

 TAIWAN RADIO HAMS SEEK ADDITIONAL ALLOCATIONS 

 Hams in Taiwan say that they are in need of additional operating 
 spectrum and have prepared a report that explains what, where and 
 why. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, has the details: 

 -- 

 Taiwan's national society the CTARL, presented a paper regarding 
 amateur radio in that country at the recent IARU Region 3 conference. 
 In it the Taiwanese ham radio community says that it is seeking to 
 expand several amateur allocations. 

 On 80 meters where they currently only have 3.5 to 3.5125 
 and 3.55 to 3.5625 MHz, they are seeking an allocation 
 from 3.5 to 3.9 MHz. On 6 meters they have just 50 to 50.0125 
 and 50.11 to 50.1225 MHz. As such they are seeking the entire 
 50.0 to 54.0 MHz band and to add 146 to 148 MHz to their existing 
 144 to 146 MHz allocation. 

 Taiwan has very limited amateur allocations in the UHF and 
 Microwave bands, only 430 to 432, 1260 to 1265 and 2440 to 2450 MHz. 
 There they seek to expand these allocations to from 430 to 440 
 and 1240 to 1300 MHz. 

 Of interest, the CTARL reports that its membership is now just 362. 
 In 2000 the IARU reported it had a membership of 1264 out of an 
 amateur population of 24,324. This indicates that they have lost 
 72% of their members this century and one can speculate that perhaps 
 the number of radio amateurs in that nation has had a similar sharp 
 decline. 

 For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, in Nelson. 
 New Zealand. 
 

 ZONECASTING TO BE TRIED ON THE FM BAND IF FCC SAYS OK 

 Something new may soon be coming to the FM broadcast band in the 
 United States. This if a proposed system called ZoneCasting proves 
 out its proposed technology. ZoneCasting is the result of research and 
 development by a company known as Geo-Broadcast Solutions. It proposes 
 to use a series of booster transmitters to give FM radio stations 
 the ability to divide their coverage areas into geographic zones and 
 "geo-target" their advertising and programming. Geo-Broadcast Solutions 
 says its ZoneCasting system uses GPS and mobile broadband technologies 
 to slice up the FM signal but avoid interference via a 
 single-frequency network made up of FM boosters. 

 To allow the system to work, the company has asked the FCC to modify 
 its current rule that prohibits booster stations from originating 
 programming. A booster operates on the same frequency as an FM 
 station's main channel and is used to improve signal within the 
 station's coverage contour. 

 The company and Harris are partnering on the first commercial test, 
 which is expected to launch early next year at WRMF-FM in Palm Beach, 
 Florida. Broadcast engineers say that limiting interference between 
 a main channel signal and booster can be a challenge. Geo-Broadcast 
 Solutions said the purpose of the test at WRMF is to prove ZoneCasting 
 will not cause that type of a problem. 


 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FEMALES IN RADIO 
 ALARA - AUSTRALIAN LADIES AR ASSOCIATION 
 http://alara.org.au 
 Net is held each Mondays on 3.570± MHz, commencing at 1030 UTC. 
 (1000utc during daylight saving) 
 geencee@picknowl.com.au 


 Meet The YL's Of Amateur Radio" 

 Jean VK3VIP President and VK3 State Representative for ALARA asks 
 "Would you like to meet YL's interested in Amateur Radio?" 

 If so then you are invited to go along to Bundoora Park Rotunda no 6 
 from 10:30am Sunday January 27. (That's in maiden head square QF22MH). 

 Assisted by members of WANSARC the Ladies of ALARA will be holding a 
 special meet the YL's BBQ. BYO Meat but salads and sweets along with 
 tea and coffee will be provided. 

 Talk in 146.450Mhz Simplex" 

 There will also be a special event station operating and the entire 
 day will be televised on VK3RTV digital ATV 

          
 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- FINAL FRONTIER 


 Mission confirmed: British singer Brightman to blast off to space 

 The Space Adventures agency has confirmed that Phantom of the Opera star 
 Sarah Brightman has signed an agreement with the Russian Space Agency and 
 secured herself a space trip in 2015. 

 "All legal matters have been settled," the Space Adventures agency said 
 in a statement. 

 Last month the singer told Russian Trud newspaper she will also have to 
 learn some Russian before her space trip to be able to communicate with 
 the crew. 

 "I wish some alien would kidnap me," the singer who was once married to 
 composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and starred in the original "Phantom of the 
 Opera" productions said in October. 

 The Russian Space Agency did not disclose any details of the contract 
 with Brightman, who will join professional cosmonauts on a Russian 
 Soyuz mission to the international space station in three years' time 

 http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/singer-brightman-space-russian-359/ 
               

 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING 
 http://www.scouts.com.au 
 http://www.scout.org/jota 
 http://www.international.scouts.com.au 


 CALLING FREQUENCIES 
 Please QSY off the calling frequency after establishing communication. 

 Australian voice calling frequencies: 
 3.650, 7.090, 14.190, 21.190, 28.590, 52.160 

 World CW calling frequencies: 
 3.570, 7.030, 14.060, 18.080, 21.140, 24.910, 28.180, 50.160 

 World voice calling frequencies: 
 3.690 & 3.940 MHz, 7.090 & 7.190, 14.290, 18.140, 21.360, 
 24.960, 28.390, 50.160 


 Calling frequencies for Slow Scan TV (SSTV): 
 3.630, 7.033, 14.227 

 Calling Frequencies for PSK31 
 14.070 

 How time flies, as they say and the 2nd of January may be a Scots day of 
 recovery after Hogmanay but in Maryborough, Queensland, it marks the 
 beginning of 10 action packed days of the Australian Scout Jamboree, 
 AJ2013. 

 During this past week the courier brought the well boxed HF radio which 
 Icom Australia has donated to the event. 

 VK4KEV has configured his Echo/IRLP box and registered the Jamboree call 
 sign VI4ASJ for use on the amateur internet linking services of EchoLink 
 and IRLP. Providing the internet remains up, contact from the Jamboree 
 will be available through these services 24hours a day, worldwide, using 
 2m simplex. 

 To find the Jamboree station on EchoLink, you will need to look under the 
 -L listings and with a VI prefix it should be top of the Australian calls. 
 On IRLP the node number will be 6496 

 Refer to page 27 of this month's Amateur Radio magazine for a listing of 
 the VK and worldwide Scouting calling frequencies. If the magic band of 
 6m is running listen on both the SSB and FM frequencies. 

 This station is licenced to operate for 14 days only and at the height of 
 the Aussie summer should provide some interesting contacts with T/E, 
 troppo and ducting all possible. Listen out for VI4ASJ from 
 1st January, 2013. 

 For WIA News, I'm Geoff, VK4ZPP from MERG, Inc. 

 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO 
 IARU REGION 3 
 Emergency Centre of Activity (CoA) frequencies 
 3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz 

 WICEN members in Tassie, Peter VK7KPC, Wayne Hodge & Norm VK7KTN attended 
 the Endurance Horse Riding State Championships at Sassafras. 

 A field of 100+ riders and 2 simultaneous events made for a busy time on 
 the radios. 

 A highlight of the weekend was the inaugural use of CCARC's mobile comms 
 trailer. This a cabin built on top of a tandem trailer, which is an 
 improvement over a tent normally used for base HQ. It also obviates the 
 risk of 240V equipment mixing with the environment in a wet tent. 

 CCARC & NTARC WICEN groups have also agreed to investigate the use of the 
 Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System. 

 N.B.E.M.S, which has been adopted by the ARRL, is based on the use of any 
 transceiver with a digital box (e.g. SIGNAL LINK) attached. Messages are 
 transmitted using email like forms to a base & then decoded, and can be 
 put direct into word processor or spread sheet. 

 Message protocols are based on United Nations Disaster Management Systems, 
 giving this system a worldwide standard. 

 (sourced to vk7wi news) 


 Hams ready for double disaster 

 Typhoon Bopha that killed at least 700 people in southern Philippines, 
 leaving a trail of mayhem behind, re-emerged out of the South China Sea 
 last week to hit the northern part of the archipelago. 

 The Philippines's strongest typhoon first reached landfall on the island 
 of Mindanao with 210km'/h winds on December the 4th, and returned to 
 Luzon in the north last weekend. 

 Active during both disasters were the ham radio networks, organised 
 through the national IARU society, the Philippines Amateur Radio 
 Association (PARA). 

 Those nets handled emergency and welfare traffic, gave weather reports, 
 detailed utility and infrastructure outages. 

 The typhoon just missed nearby Guam and was headed for the southern island 
 of Mindanao. 

 At the time PARA had its 80th birthday celebrations in Manila. Soon after 
 it asked that the emergency nets activate on VHF, for long haul traffic 
 7095 kHz, echo-link and social media. 

 What unfolded was an outstanding effort that included evacuations of 
 riverside and low-lying communities and coordination of rescues including 
 those at sea. 

 The networks played an important coordination role in the south with the 
 Disaster Response Team of the Philippine Red Cross, Delta Fire Volunteers, 
 and the Coastguard. 

 Among the action was DX5RAN, the District 5 Radio Amateur Network. That 
 net worked with the City Government of Tacloban and the City Disaster 
 Risk Reduction Management Council. 

 There were many radio amateurs involved. As the toll rose and losses, 
 including export banana plantations on Mindanao mounted, the typhoon 
 returned to northern Luzon. Although downgraded it dumped heavy rain 
 causing flooding and landslides. 

 Early evacuations in both the south and the north were attributed by the 
 authorities as saving many lives. Many are still missing in southern areas 
 and fishermen at sea. 

 More than 5.4 million people were affected including 116,400 in evacuation 
 centres. 

 The Vice Chief Operating Officer of PARA, Ramon J. Anquilan DU1UGZ, said 
 both nets were now closed. 

 He thanked everyone for coordinating the activities and the worldwide 
 assistance in keeping the HF emergency frequency clear. 

 (Jim Linton VK3PC, 
 Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee) 

 SOCIAL SCENE 2013 

 JAN 27 VK3 MEET THE YL's OF AMATEUR RADIO Bundoora Park Rotunda #6 

 FEB 24 VK WYONG FIELD DAY 

 MAR 24 VK7 "Meet the Voice" barbecue at Ross. 

 MAY 24-25 VK6 WIA AGM AND CONFERENCE IN PERTH 

 With the 2013 WIA AGM and Conference just about 160 days away, 
 the organising committee have much to share and planning 
 ahead is well under way. 

 They have opened up expression of interest for the Symposium 
 and would like to invite you to discuss this in your club and 
 make a submission to present to the community. 

 They intend to run several streams. 

 http://conference.vk6.net/expressions-of-interest/ 

 More conference information is available online at 
 http://conference.vk6.net/ 

 AUG 17-18 WW ILLW 

 Oct 3- 7 VK4 North Queensland Amateur Radio Convention Charters Towers 

 NOV 3 VK5 HamFest Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society 2 Goodwood. 

 NOV 15-17 VK3 Victorian National Parks Weekend 

 Nov 24 VK3 Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Club: Rosebud RadioFest 

 
 Submitting news items 

 If you would like to submit news items for inclusion in the 
 VK1WIA broadcasts, please email your item in text to 
 nationalnews@wia.org.au 

 to submit audio read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on 
 wia.org.au 

 Remember the sooner you submit material the more the likelihood of it 
 being broadcast in the very next edition of WIA National News. Each 
 item will only be broadcast once, if you want a couple of mentions, 
 please submit different slants to keep your event 'fresh 'and always 
 if the news room is to read your item write in the 3rd person. 

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

 WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide. 

 TWITTER http://twitter.com/VK1WIA 

 Societies and Club News Letter Editors can EXCHANGE a feed prior to 
 the actual broadcast date, e-mail nationalnews@wia.org.au 

 Call-backs follow the RF editions, but also for text readers you may 
 lodge a quick reply to let us know you read it, who knows, you might 
 even get a "cheerio call". 


 Thanks 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. 




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