2024 MAY 19 VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA ------------------------------------------------------------* THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK THIS LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD BEVAN tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos ------------------------------------------------------------* NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING MAY 19 2024 IN OUR 29th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS THIS WEEK:- 3 DIRECTORS, VK3FY, VK4EA AND VK8ZZ PLUS A SPECIAL REPORT ON THE Aurora thanks to Roger VK2ZRH. I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB WIA JOIN THE WIA tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y WIA Director Peter Schrader VK4EA Following on from the Broadcast Item last weekend by Scott Williams VK3KJ the President of the Wireless Institute of Australia the board of the WIA wanted to thank organising committee of the Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club Conference and Expo, especially Marg VK4FHAM, Ross VK4JRO, Dan VK4OH, David VK4DN, Michael VK4JAF, Isaac VK4NEU and Keith VK4WZ, the members of Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club also deserve a special Thank You! :- Marg VK4FHAM, Lorraine VK4FCCW and Belinda who is studying for her Foundation callsign. Special thanks to Michael VK4JAF, Ross VK4JRO, Owen VK4FODM, Kelly VK4WO, Dave VK4DAV, Graham VK4GBB, Graham VK4MOO, Bob VK4UD, Brett VK4BDX, Kurt VK4FUR, Clint VK4PAW, Brett VK4TTO, Gary VK4WTZ and other Club members who supported the event! A thank you also to Wade VK4WM from the Maryborough club who was happy to help with the regular video planning meetings with WIA Director Peter VK8ZZ. Last week our president put out a special thanks to the Mayor of Bundaberg Helen Blackburn who was gracious in agreeing to open the convention of the Friday evening. Council staff were amazing especially Lizzie from the Bundaberg Multiplex who really knew what was needed to plan for such an event! Thanks to Sean from Elite Communications who had an array of communications products including antennas, radios and fittings. Jaycar Bundaberg donated items for our raffle and door prizes. A big thank you Altronics who were not able to attend but donated 100 x digital multimeters. The first 100 kids received one of these multimeters. David VK4JPS kindly donated his time to look after the soldering workshops with the younger attendees, and the not so young as well. It was great to see the soldering workshop tables were full of kids throughout the weekend and 100% success with all the kits that were made! ICOM Australia had on display the 905 with accessories up to the 10GHz band on display. They also had a 6 metre AM transceiver which was the first radio produced by the owner of ICOM in Japan. That radio launched the ICOM brand worldwide. A real highlight of the 2024 WIA National AGM and Convention weekend was a LIVE contact with the International Space Station on the Saturday evening! Kids from the Bundaberg State High School were able to talk with an astronaut on the ISS. A special mention and a Huge Thank You! to Shane VK4KHZ who was instrumental in making the contact with the space station happen! "Yes Shane reported later that at precisely 8:26pm ARISS Ground Station VK6MJ, operated by Martin Diggins located in Mandurah Western Australia, established the amateur radio link with the ISS, and the students from Bundaberg State High School, proceeded to ask their questions to US astronaut Mike Barratt aboard the ISS. The duration of the pass was just over 10 minutes and during this time the students asked 13 questions to Mike and he provided some very detailed responses, complete with some light humour. The radio signal from the ISS was loud and clear from acquisition right through to loss of signal. The conference hall was packed with attendees, visitors, Bundaberg amateur radio club members and Bundaberg State High School students and parents. After completion of the questions, Bundaberg State High School Science Teacher Dan OBrien was handed the microphone and he thanked the astronaut for providing this exciting opportunity for his students, and then the link was formally closed by Martin. Bundaberg State High School, a little bit closer to the final frontier." There were also displays by SES, POTA, SATNOGS, Waverley Amateur Radio Club not to mention the many presenters of special interest held in the auditorium. Joe VK4JEG brought along his antique Cats Whisker radio that is at least 100 years old!!! The Expo was appreciated for recycling amateur Radio Equipment. Thank you also to David VK4DN the secretary of the Bundy radio club who helped co-ordinate the weekend and planning in the lead up to the event. This has been WIA Director Peter Schrader VK4EA This is WIA Secretary Peter Clee VK8ZZ. At a meeting of the Board of the WIA this last week the positions Of President and Vice President of the WIA were declared vacant Scott Williams VK3KJ was nominated as the President of the WIA and he was elected unopposed. Peter Schrader VK4EA was nominated as the Vice President of the WIA and he was elected unopposed. Peter Clee VK8ZZ was endorsed as the secretary of the WIA This is Chris Dimitrijevic VK3FY/W8 on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Wireless Institute of Australia for VK1WIA National News. Dayton Hamvention 2024 attendance by WIA Board of Directors WIA Directors Lee Moyle VK3GK and myself, Chris VK3FY are attending this weekends Dayton Hamvention 2024 held at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Centre in Xenia, Ohio. This Hamvention is also the Amateur Radio Relay League National Convention more commonly known as the ARRL. Chris and Lee are attending the Hamvention on a personal basis and whilst there will be catching up with ARRL Officials as well as events including:- International Relations Club and Association Tables Commercial Exhibitors DX Dinner Contest Dinner Contest University Flee Market & Special Forums Further information on the Dayton Hamvention will be provided in the future. This has been Chris VK3FY/W8 from Dayton Ohio on behalf of the Board of the Wireless Institute of Australia for VK1WIA National News. AUSTRALIANA GREAT SOUTHERN LIGHTS - VK2ZRH Andrew Russell VK5CV sent in some interesting recordings, recordings of VK2WI received in Adelaide at about 9am local on Sunday via auroral propagation. (short audio in our audio and video presentations) This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH, correspondent from the Gold Coast. Wow, dudes!! What a fantastic four days it was over last weekend. Aurora were seen all across Australia as far north as Mackay and Uluru. And the HF bands were alternately trashed by a geomagnetic storm and later crackling with DX. Six metre enthusiasts got into some great DX, too. On the two metre band, stations in southern Queensland were reported working Auroral scatter into VK3 and VK5, while VK7s were working into VK2. Wow, wow, wow. All this fun came from an enormous sunspot group, said to be 15 to 17 times the size of Earth, that generated an enormous set of X-class flares the strongest class on May 9th, that set off a coronal mass ejection a CME, a cloud of charged particles that later slammed into the Earths magnetic field. That sunspot group, known as AR3664, actually set off a series of CMEs over following days. CMEs intensify the solar wind, which is a constant stream of particles the Sun always produces. Those CMEs from sunspot group AR3664 which was facing our way at the time squashed our magnetic field on the Sun-facing side of Earth, and stretched out the geomagnetic field behind. The result was a series of geomagnetic storms rated to be extreme known as G5. This intensity was last experienced back in 2003, during the dying phase of Solar Cycle 23. Photos of auroras taken by people with digital cameras and cellphone cameras lit up the social media platforms from Facebook to YouTube for days. Tales of extraordinary DX worked by amateurs across the globe also litter the socials. Back to those CMEs. The solar particles travel out from the Sun at enormous speeds, the faster bunches taking only hours to reach us, the slower ones a few days. When they reach our vicinity, our magnetic field deflects them north and south toward the poles and the particles, spinning around the magnetic field lines, collide with the atmosphere at ionospheric heights. The particles collide with the thin atmosphere up there, which lights up like a fluorescent lamp and intensifies the ionosphere. Thats what you get to see as aurora and can exploit for unusual propagation. Thats just the first phase! Many particles captured by the geomagnetic field stream around behind the Earth where the field is stretched out in a long tail. There the particles cool their heels until the intensity of the CME and the solar wind relaxes. Then, the stretched out magnetic field lines reconnect across the geomagnetic tail and snap back closer to us. In doing so, those charged particles are rocketed back towards the planet and they plunge down into the ionosphere creating another auroral show! Two bites of the cherry! Thats all for now. Perhaps Ill take the opportunity to follow up in a later broadcast as Solar Cycle 25 climbs ever-higher. By the way, back in the late 1960s, I had a job as Technical Assistant to the Australian Antarctic Divisions Auroral Physicist, Major Fred Bond. I learned a lot about auroras and saw many, many aurora taken with all-sky cameras at Australian Antarctic stations. Later, I spent a year at Casey Station and saw the real thing for myself. This has been Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News. ------------------------------------------------------------* INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to ARRL, DX-WORLD, eHam, Hackaday, IARU, ICQPodcast, NEWSLINE, NZART, RAC, Radioworld.com, RSGB, SARL and the World Wide sources of the WIA. NEWFOUNDLAND On Saturday, May 11, Gopan VU3PHF operating as VO1/M0XUU succeeded in making the first contact from North America through the amateur radio QO-100 geostationary satellite transponder located at 26 East. VO1/M0XUU Gopan, was in Newfoundland which is just outside the coverage area of QO-100, the elevation at Signal Hill at St. Johns is below the horizon at -0.9. Gopan used FT-8 to have a trans-atlantic contact with David G0MRF in south-west London. David reported it was tough going with a lot of QSB. In a post on twitter (X) Gopan reported his signal into QO-100 was not strong enough to permit SSB operation. Non the less a well-deserved record. tinyurl.com/mtxp8ace A woman in India who had been abducted and sold into the illegal sex trade in Delhi by a human-trafficking ring is safely home after a five-year absence, this after the governments of India and Bangladesh combined their efforts with amateur radio operators in West Bengal. The woman escaped and fled to Kolkata after four months and was taken in by a state-affiliated shelter for people who have suffered trauma and abuse. She underwent treatment for memory loss and once she could recall the abduction, officials contacted the West Bengal Radio Club, which authorities credit with success in aiding missing-persons cases through the club's wide network of contacts. The club's secretary, Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, distributed photos of the woman to ham clubs throughout Bangladesh. He also notified Delhi Police who were able to track down - and arrest - the trio involved in the earlier abduction. Last fall, California passed SB 244, otherwise known as the Right to Repair law, which requires tech manufacturers in the state to provide tools, parts and documents that consumers or repair shops need to service or fix devices. Though the legislation doesnt go into effect until July, Cal Poly engineers have already embraced reparability to help cut down on e-waste and improve sustainability. Mechanical engineering student Claire Franz is studying why consumers dispose of membrane computer keyboards instead of repairing them. Claire, who is earning her bachelors and masters degrees concurrently, felt inspired to tackle this concept in her masters thesis after an internship with iFixit, a repair expertise hub for consumer electronics founded by Cal Poly alumni. Read more https://bit.ly/3QGvknz Dick Rutan, KB6LQS, record-setting pilot, has become a Silent Key. He passed away at the age of 85 on May 3. In 1986, Rutan made international headlines for his flight in Voyager with co-pilot Jeana Yeager. The pair flew around the world nonstop and unrefuelled in 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds. Rutan was a highly decorated United States Air Force combat pilot in Vietnam. His civilian test pilot career had him flying everything from military jets to rocket-powered airplanes, in which he set speed records. In 2022, Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California, was renamed Mojave Air & Space Port at Rutan Field in honour of the contributions KB6LQS and his brother Burt had made to aviation. IRELAND - and this story shows how we here in VK are not the only ones working on a ham radio callbook. It is the intention of the IRTS to create an online call book like the paper ones that were issued a few years back but since ceased. The idea of the initial online call book is to help create an opening for a paper call book to be brought back over the coming years. Members will have the choice of what details they want to include for public viewing. Hopefully it will encourage their regulator, Comreg, to release more information about those licensed in Ireland thus in turn lead to a paper call book once again being issued. IRTS Members will have a chance to register to have their details included by filling up a short form online or with Pat EI2HX at the IRTS stand at all future rallies. ------------------------------------------------------------------- OPERATIONAL NEWS - A FELIX VK4FUQ PRESENTATION -------------- -------------- NOW CONTEST WISE:- 2024 -------------- -------------- VK Shires Contest June 8 - 9 starts 0000 UTC Sat until 2359 Sunday ALL HF Bands all the way from 10 to 160 meters SSB & CW only (Di VK4DI) ---------------------------------------------------- IARU HF World Championship July 13-14. Starts: Zero hours UTC Saturday Ends: 2359 UTC Sunday (CQ) ---------------------------------------------------- Trans-Tasman Low Band Contest July 21st The Trans-Tasman contest, always held on the 3rd weekend in July, aims to encourage Low Band activity between VK and ZL Only contest bands 160 80 and 40M are allowed with SSB, CW and Digital (i.e. RTTY OR PSK) This contest is another official WIA Contest and will count towards the Peter Brown Contest Champion Awards. (wia.org.au) ------------------- YOTA Contest 2024 The next session of this year's YOTA Contest will be from 10:00 to 21:59 UTC 21 July on the five classic bands using CW and SSB. Everyone can work everyone. The complete rules can be found on ham-yota.com/contest. ----------------- AUGUST 17 - 18 Remembrance Day Contest. This contest commemorates the Australian Amateurs who died during World War II and is designed to encourage friendly participation and help improve the operating skills of participants. It is held on the weekend closest to the 15th August, the date on which hostilities ceased in the southwest Pacific area. A perpetual trophy is awarded annually to the Australian state or territory with the best performance. The name of the winning State or Territory is inscribed on the trophy, and that State or Territory then holds the trophy for 12 months. The winning State or Territory is also given a certificate, as are leading entrants. Amateurs will endeavour to contact amateurs in VK call areas, ZL and P29 on all bands except WARC bands. Modes allowed are PHONE, CW and RTTY as per the era remembered Again the 2024 contest is 17th & 18th August. (wia.org.au) ----------------------------- 44th A.L.A.R.A. CONTEST AND this ALARA contest is ALWAYS held on the last FULL weekend of August. ELIGIBILITY? All licensed operators throughout the world are invited to participate. Scout and Girl Guide groups are encouraged to take part using their Club's equipment and callsign. YLs work everyone; OMs work YLs only. CONTEST: Combined phone and CW run over 24 hours: STARTS: Saturday 25th August 2024 at 0600 hours UTC ENDS: Sunday 26th August 2024 at 0559 hours UTC SUGGESTED FREQUENCIES: All HF Bands except 160m & WARC Bands. Contacts made on ECHOLINK will also be accepted. (alara web page) ------------- Oceania DX Contest This years contest will be held on October 5th and 12th respectively. oceaniadxcontest.com ------------------- YOTA CONTEST Youth on the air test 3 of 3 will be from 10:00 to 21:59 UTC on 29 December on the five classic bands CW and SSB. (yota) -------------------------------------------------------------------- DX WINDOW TO THE WORLD. -------------- -------------- Special callsign HF 25 NATO is active until the 31st of August, marking the 25th anniversary of Poland joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Certificates and limited-edition QSL cards are available. Visit QRZ.com for details. (ARNewsLine 2428) -------------- The Humber Fortress DX Amateur Radio Club in the UK is once again supporting International Men's Mental Health month and helping to raise the profile of Men's Mental Health 2024 throughout the international amateur radio community. Club members are operating from their headquarters at Patrington Haven, East Yorkshire using special callsign GB 0 M M H. The station will be active throughout the weekend (17 to 19 of May) and in June the 14th to 16th of June across all the HF bands. Please listen out for the operators and give them a call because your support will help raise the awareness of men's mental health. For more information on GBOMMH see QRZ.com (rsgb) -------------- On air is OR 9 AL until the 31st of May marking 90 years since the death of Albert the first, King of the Belgians. QSL OR90AL via the bureau. (ARNewsLine 2428) -------------- NORTHERN IRELAND. Members of the North West Group ARC are QRV with special event station GB 0 AEL until May 31 commemorating the anniversary of Amelia Earhart's transatlantic flight in May of 1932. QSL GB0AEL via MI0HOZ. (arrl) -------------- ITALY. Members of the United Nations Global Service Centre AR Club in Brindisi are QRV as 4 U 29 MAY until May 31 to promote the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. The 4U 29MAY QSL route is via 9A2AA. (arrl) -------------- RWANDA. QRV is 9 X 2 AW from Kigali until May 17 on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB, FT8, and FT4. QSL 9X2AW via M 0 OXO. (eHam) -------------- Special callsign 9H6HE is in use by the Malta Amateur Radio League to celebrate the swearing in of Malta's 11th President. Look for activity until the 31st of May on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands using SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL 9H6HE via Logbook of the World, noting that paper QSL cards are not available. (rsgb) -------------- MALAWI. Don, 7Q6M is QRV until May 13, 2024 and has also been active on 160 meters. QSL via LoTW. ---------- Botswana Active will be A 25 SHD from different locations in Botswana, between 30 April and 13 May. QSL A25SHD via home call which is HB 9 SHD. (sarl) -------- In the World of DX, be listening for members of the Zurich City Police Radio Amateur Club throughout the year, operating as HB 2 SP the club is marking its 20th anniversary. Unfortunately no Bureau QSL's but you can use Logbook Of The World, and HB20SP runs until December 31. (sourced to ARNewsLine 2410) -------------- IRELAND Special event callsign EI 80 MB is active until the 31st of May to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the rescue of 168 German seamen who were rescued from the waters of the Bay of Biscay after a battle between British and German naval forces in 1943. The men were carried out by a small Irish coaster called Kerlogue [KER-LOG] which had the callsign EIMB. The rescue took more than ten hours. QSL WI80MB via Club Log's OQRS or via EI6AL (RSGB) ------------- AUSTRIA OE100RADIO [OSCAR-ECHO-ONE-HUNDRED-ROMEO-ALPHA-DELTA-INDIA-OSCAR] is active until the 31st of December celebrating the 100th anniversary of the beginning of regular radio transmissions in Austria in 1924. The station has heard recently on the 40m band using CW. QSL via the Bureau. (gb2rs) ------------------------------------------------------------* WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS SUMMITS ON THE AIR, WORLD WIDE FLORA, FAUNA PROGRAM, PARKS ON THE AIR and other ADVENTURE GROUPS. hema.org.uk/index.jsp minesontheair.com/about-mota parksontheair.com/ sota.org.uk sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/ facebook.com/SotaAustralia/ wwffaustralia.com/ https://bunkersontheair.wixsite.com/october23 Back around 1990 Rock Group Midnight Oil had a major hit called King Of The Mountain". Now enter - Queens of the Mountains. This SOTA style event will be held June 1 - 3. The goal of this woman-ham (YL) Summits on the Air (SOTA) event is to encourage and inspire YLs to get on the air and on a mountain for SOTA. There will be multiple special event stations across the US on the air for a fun weekend of sisterhood on the summits. Special certificates will be available for YLs activating and chasing. Look for the special event calls W0Q, W1Q, each numeral through to W9Q, as well others, check out SOTAWATCH3. For more information or questions, visit the Young Ladies Radio League ylrl.net (arrl) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org A company based in Seattle, Washington has achieved an unprecedented long-distance connection in space with a satellite - via Bluetooth. Using a software patch upgrade for some off-the-shelf Bluetooth chips, the Hubble Network in Seattle has achieved what it calls the first low-power Bluetooth connection with a satellite orbiting the Earth. The signals travelled a distance of more than 600 km - prompting Hubble's CEO and cofounder Alex Haro to say in a recent press release that the Seattle company had clearly debunked sceptics belief that such a feat was impossible. A press release from the company this month heralded the achievement as "critical validation for the company, potentially opening the door to connecting millions more devices anywhere in the world." Hubble Network said it began receiving the signals shortly after the satellites' launch in March. Hubble hopes it will be able to present an option for communications with global coverage creating less battery drain and lower operating costs. (ARNewsLine 2428) China's lunar lander is on a mission to bring home samples from the dark side of the moon and is using a special satellite to solve communications challenges. China's Chang e-6 mission to the far side began its 53-day mission with a launch on May 3. The mission contains a lander spacecraft that is expected to drill into the lunar surface near the Apollo crater, scooping and collecting samples that will be brought to Earth in the mission's re-entry capsule. A relay satellite in a specialized lunar orbit was launched earlier this year to serve as a bridge between the moon's far side and Earth. This satellite is expected to be part of China's lunar missions in 2026 and 28. (ARNewsLine 2428) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - IOTA iota-world.org/ The ACMA plan to make new callsign rules for the VK islands. VK9 is only for Australian external territories such as Norfolk, Willis, Christmas, Cocos Keeling, Heard and McDonald Islands. Visitors to Macquarie Island will, in future, get VK7 not VK0 calls, and Lord Howe Island will get VK2 not VK9 callsigns. BUT WAIT. As we heard at the WIA AGM, and Grant Willis VK5GR Wireless Institute of Australia Technical Advisory Committee Chairman writing in DXWorld.net there are several things going on in this space with the ACMA that the peak amateur representative body, the WIA, has been discussing with them. The VKL9/0 call-sign prefixes is one that people should pause and wait before making any changes while WIA work to achieve a reversion to the original arrangements. That is the policy the WIA is pursuing with ACMA and discussions so far are constructive. (dxworld.net) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - MARITIME and ILLW. Hi all this is Nathan VK5OG President of the South Coast amateur radio club , this year again we will be participating in the Lighthouse light ship weekend 17-18 August, this will be SCARC's 17th year of participating in the Lighthouse light ship weekend at Point Malcolm Nurrang, members are looking forward to a great weekend away, we normally get over 30 visitors across the weekend and if you're nearby please pop in and say hi, we are on site from Friday lunchtime through to Sunday lunchtime. We will be on all HF bands , with 2m 70cms.We have an APRS Beacon displaying under VK5ARC/P ILLW STN AU0029 ALL HF BANDS POINT MALCOM, QSL via Bureau, or you can head to our clubs web page scarc.org.au/index.php/events/illw-weekend We hope to catch you on the air. 73 From Nathan Grundy VK5OG on behalf of SCARC. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - MUSEUMS International Museums Weekends (IMW) 2024 will take place June 15 - 16 and 22 - 23. The purpose of this event is to activate an amateur radio special event station in as many museums around the world as possible. Frequencies, bands, and modes are at the discretion of the operators, as is the museum selection. For this event, the definition of museum can be loosely interpreted. It could be a collection of old cars or one of a kind paintings from a neighbourhood artist. Through this event, organizers hope to present amateur radio to the public to garner support and understanding of the hobby. The first IMW was held in 2002 with over 80 museums, featuring small, local venues and large prestigious operations. The event was especially popular among amateur radio operators in the United Kingdom. For information about registration and event awards, visit International Museums Weekends 2024, radio-amateur-events.org/IMW/index.htm (arrl) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING. Hume Region Scout Fellowship brings more Scout members into our hobby! On 11 and 12 May, Hume Region Scout Fellowship held a foundation training course and a practical introduction into antenna building and fox hunting, set up by Nick VK2AGQ. Nathan, VK2FOX, delivered the course to 4 youth members and 4 adults at Kentlyn Scout Hall to learn about constructing antennas and to sit for their Amateur Radio License. David VK2DU examined 3 Youth and 3 Adults, who sat exams and were successful in obtaining the foundation qualification. 1 youth member was successful in completing a Standard Upgrade after obtaining his foundation licence at last years JOTA-Joti!. Once the construction was completed for a 2 metre yagi antenna, the scout members set off to find the hidden fox transmitters. The Fox transmitters didnt stand a chance! And a big Congratulations to Chris Horne, VK2CGH, who has just been appointed as JOTA / JOTI Coordinator for Scouts NSW. I understand he has some great plans for the role. For VK1WIA National News, I'm Alec, VK2MV in Sydney. Now back to you Col WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO INDIA Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), in collaboration with Open Source Classes for Amateur Radio India (OSCAR India), conducted a comprehensive mock drill utilising amateur radio technology to bolster communication capabilities during emergency situations. Disclosing this to the media at NSDMA conference, NSDMA joint chief executive officer Johnny Ruangmei said that with this initiative, Nagaland had become one of the first states in the country towards reinforcing disaster communication capabilities. (eHam) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024 IT'S A DATE Clubs are welcome to email text with audio for this section Details of all WIA affiliated clubs and societies can be found on the WIA website, including email addresses and website links. VK - National Volunteer Week Monday 20 Sunday 26 May 2024. National Volunteer Week (NVW) is Australias largest annual celebration of volunteers and their important contribution to our communities. VK2 - June 8-9. Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Field Day. (vk2zhe) Im Henry VK2ZHE, President of the Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club. It is now only three weeks to the Oxley Region Amateur Radio Clubs 48th annual Field Day at the Wauchope Showground Hall Saturday and Sunday 8 and 9 of June, during the NSW Kings Birthday Long Weekend. There will be all the usual field day activities including traders, trash and treasure, foxhunting and a homebrew display. The Field Day dinner will be at the Port Macquarie Golf Club on the Saturday night. The Wauchope Showground permits camping so it is possible to stay on site in your own motor home, caravan or tent with power and amenities but you must book ahead with the Showground Caretaker. Im Henry VK2ZHE for VK1WIA National News VK5 - Aust. Fox Hunting championships Mt Gambier 8/9 June.(vk5dj) VK4 - Caboolture Radio Club HamFest July 11 (vk7jea) VK3 - Bendigo AR & Electronics Club RadioFest August 18 (vk3gtv) VK6 - PerthTech 2024 Sept 21 for 2 days at Gidgegannup (vk6pop) VK4 - GOLD COAST HAMFEST OCTOBER 13 at Nerang Country Paradise Parklands 231 Beaudesert-Nerang Road Nerang. (vk4DMH) VK5 - Amateur Radio Experiments Group Radio & Electronics Sale Saturday 26th October 10AM David Roche Park Kilburn (vk5qi) VK7 - Tasmanian Ham Conference November 2 and 3 Hobart. (vk7news) Held at the Sandy Bay Campus of UTAS. VK3 - SPARC Rosebud RadioFest November 17 at Eastbourne Primary School, Allambi Ave. Rosebud. (vk3pdg) The Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Club proudly present their 11th Rosebud RadioFest, to be held at the Eastbourne Primary School on Sunday, November 17th, 2024. The Rosebud RadioFest is one of Australias premier Amateur Radio events, and features a vast range of fascinating exhibits, all contained in the auditorium area. Outside you can view other related exhibits. As always, a wonderful programme of educational forums will be held in the rooms adjacent to the auditorium. Our major door prize draw will take place at 12 pm, with many great prizes up for grabs. The Rosebud RadioFest is fully catered, and a sit-down caf area is available. There is plenty of parking, all free. Doors open to the public at 9:30 am. Entry is just $7.00 per person and under-12s free of charge. Tables are available at $10 each and can be booked online at our RadioFest webpage www.rosebudradiofest.com , Enquiries may be made to Mark, VK3PDG on 0407-844-063. Regular updates can also be found on Rosebud Radiofest Facebook page, as well as the Hamfests Australasia Groups Facebook page. This Rosebud RadioFest will be conducted according to all current Covid guidelines. I am Andrew, VK3CAH, on behalf of the Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Club Reception Reports WIA News rebroadcasters often give Short Wave Listeners a welcome to the broadcast as they commence call-backs straight after the Local News. Local news follows National news in all states. It would be great if those SWL's would email their reception reports and location to callbacks@wia.org.au Submitting news items If you would like to submit news items for possible inclusion in the VK1WIA broadcasts, please email your item in text to nationalnews@wia.org.au and don't JUST send url's links or posters, but take the time to pen YOUR contribution. To submit audio, email nationalnews@wia.org.au and send BOTH the audio and the text We would appreciate items certainly no longer than 1.5 mts in length as we only have a half hour. Remember the sooner you submit material the more the likelihood of it being broadcast in the very next edition of WIA National News. Each recorded 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 it in the 3rd person. (First if YOU are reading your own item). If you are mentioning your own name / call in the story, say something like "and myself, Pat, vk11abc" Promote your local rebroadcast; details on wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ A reminder when supplying HamFest info we obviously can't plug DEALS from commercial traders "on air", but we at the WIA will put your supporters 'goods' in this text edition "no worries." We will not give blatant 'plugs' to raffles, be it raffles at the event or "on-line". ------------------------------------------------------------* Oh... and to contact us with your news because If It Matters To You It Matters To Us! Click the links below to download the most recent edition of National News, BUT this is ONLY the backup site! WIANEWS backup thanks to Brendan VK4BLP can be found on wiaq.org.au BACKUPS OF THE BACKUP!! thanks to Tony VK7AX www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ wia.org.au/members/broadcast/wianews/ (This is the link to the original text version and original audio on wia site) ------------------------------------------------------------* WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide. TWITTER 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. Who and where are they? wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/ Promote your local rebroadcast; details on wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of interest to WIA affiliated clubs and 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 IF broadcast, are done so in the spirit in which they were submitted." If you would like to see the call-backs reported each broadcast, OR have call-backs to contribute to the National News call back tally then please send through your call-backs to callbacks@wia.org.au How do I join this National News List? (subscribe for an automatic weekly feed.) Email to vk1wia-news-join@lists.wia.org.au from the email account that you wish the emails to go to. How do I leave this National News List? (unsubscribe your weekly feed) Open mail program which sends mail from the address you want to unsubscribe from. Send unsubscribe to the list unsubscribe address vk1wia-news-leave@lists.wia.org.au You will be sent a confirmation mail and must follow the instructions given in that mail to complete the unsubscription. Once your unsubscription has been processed, you will probably receive a message confirming your unsubscription from the list and at that point you should stop receiving messages. ------------------------------------------------------------*