2024 JUNE 16 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 JUNE 16 2024 IN OUR 29th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS THIS WEEK:- WIA Director Peter Clee VK8ZZ and membership fees:- Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radio magazine, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH is looking for island inhabitants. - 29 July 1942 Japanese aircraft dropped bombs just 4 miles south of Townsville in a suburb known as Oonoonba, thought to be an Aboriginal name meaning Swampy Water. Now, Ray Schinkel calling vk4oil and his team will be activating a station in remembrance of the attack. Stay tuned for Felix as he brings Ray into his shack.- But first it's to Roger... I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB BUT WAIT - THERE'S MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA. WIA JOIN THE WIA tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y This is Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radio magazine, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH. Have you ever lived on an island and used the amateur bands while you were there? By lived, I dont mean for a week or a fortnights holiday. You were on the island for another purpose and amateur radio activity was incidental to that. Perhaps you were employed on the island, which necessitated that you live there. Or, perhaps you lived on an island while conducting research. Id like to hear your stories about it. And so would the good readers of Amateur Radio magazine, Ill bet. Your island could be anywhere in the world, not necessarily an Australian territory or protectorate. And, yes, if you lived and played amateur radio on a river island within Australia, lets hear your story, too. Your period of island habitation need not have been recent, either. However, this is NOT to be about DXpeditions. THATs a whole other category. Many of you will probably remember our special Antarctic edition, Issue 5 back in 2021. Well, Im planning an Island edition. Tell us all your personal story, just as did the contributors back in Issue 5 in 2021. If you want to contribute, in the first instance, email me at editor-at-wia-dot-org-dot-au, and Ill let you know how to best prepare and send your article . . . plus photos. Its easy to write for Amateur Radio. Many, many amateurs have already done so. Few contributors are, or were, professional writers. Most of you can write about a familiar subject or an experience. Just tell the story, start with In the beginning, add the interesting bits in the middle, and end on a high note. Our job is to polish it and make you look good. Im Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News This is WIA Director Peter Clee VK8ZZ. I also am often asked what members get for the membership fees. Well the WIA is the peak body for Amateur Radio in Australia. We hold the same peak status and national position as the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) or the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART). The WIA is recognised internationally as such. So, amongst other things, we as members get representation both domestically and internationally for our beloved hobby. Last year we sent two people as part of the Australian Delegation to WRC-23. This was done at great expense to the Institute. Is it worthwhile? Well it is if we wish to retain our significant band space that we as amateurs enjoy. Radio frequency bands are like real estate, they are a valuable commodity and can be bought and sold. A recent example of this is last year when amateurs lost 300 MHz in the 9cm band when the regulatory authority sold off a portion of the band raising about three quarters of a million dollars. There is an ongoing threat to our 23cm band, which I am sure will be vigorously debated in the next WRC to be held in 2027. Member subscriptions help this representation and members should be very proud of that. This has been Peter Clee VK8ZZ, from a sunny and warm Darwin. WIA affiliated Club Presidents were invited recently to participate in an open discussion. On the WIA FaceBook page it's been reported .. and I quote "Some good ideas flowing." A number of club presidents did not get the advisory email nor we as the WIA's news service, otherwise we could have reminded all of the time date etc. A comment in that particular FaceBook post, coming from the WIA goes on to apologise, saying "Clearly we didnt give enough notice or capture every Secretary and President. The WIA apologise for the missed opportunity. The session was recorded and we are quite OK with it being viewed un-edited. Contact vk4ea@wia.org.au Cheers, Peter VK4EA WIA VP." ------------------------------------------------------------* INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to ARRL, DX-WORLD, eHam, Hackaday, IARU, ICQPodcast, IRTS, NEWSLINE, NZART, RAC, Radioworld.com, RSGB, SARL and the World Wide sources of the WIA. ARRL Systems Service Disruption ARRL are aware that certain members believe they should be openly communicating everything associated with this incident. ARRL are working with industry experts, including cyber-crime attorneys and the authorities, who have directed them to be conservative and cautious with communications while restoring the network. On or around May 12, 2024, ARRL was the victim of a sophisticated network attack by a malicious international cyber group. ARRL immediately involved the FBI and engaged with third party experts to investigate. This serious incident was extensive and categorized by the FBI as unique, compromising network devices, servers, cloud-based systems, and PCs. ARRL management quickly established an incident response team. This has led to an extensive effort to contain and remediate the networks, restore servers, and staff are beginning the testing of applications and interfaces to ensure proper operation. ARRL have thanked members for their patience and understanding as staff continue to work through this with an outstanding team of experts to restore full functionality to their systems and services. PLEASE TAKE NOTE:- All Logbook and DXCC/Awards data IS secure/safe. When the systems are back in service, a post to the ARRL web site and an email blast to Logbook users will be made. At that point, whatever challenges you experienced beginning May 12th can be re-tested by you. These include: Reupload to Logbook of any Cabrillo or ADI log files. Resubmission of any Call Sign Certificate Renewals or New/Expired Certificate requests (Expired or New Certificate Requests need to have any pending earlier requests deleted {right click on pending requests and delete them}) then resubmit. Follow ARRL's main website URL for further updates www.arrl.org/news/arrl-systems-service-disruption Although nothing to suggest another radio related site hacked was by the same cyber group, the Society of Broadcast Engineers website is now back up and running. An SBE spokesperson said the malware attacked removed all content pages from their website. The SBE has since removed the malware and restored the content from a backup. The SBE confirms there was no ransomware and that no SBE member data was compromised. The organization said it is continuing to run scans to ensure there are no remaining traces of the attack. Changes to four year planning rule in England In England, any antenna installations which had been installed and unchanged for four years or more were protected against planning enforcement action. However, as of the 25 April 2024, this rule ceased to exist in its current form in England, the rule has been replaced by a more stringent ten-year period for the exemption from enforcement for residential dwellings. Any installation that was substantially completed prior to the introduction of the Act will still be subject to the four-year rule meaning, for most radio amateurs, the ten-year rule will not apply until 2028. ARDC, thats Amateur Radio Digital Communications, has announced Ashhar Farhan VU2ESE, joined their Board of Directors. Licensed initially at the age of 15 and fascinated with electronics as a child, Ashar became interested in amateur radio after being hooked following a local club coming to his school to perform a ham radio demonstration. His technical contributions to amateur radio have earned him inductions into both the QRP Amateur Radio Club International Hall of Fame (2016), and the CQ Ham Radio Hall of Fame (2018). Throughout his career, vu2ese has worked in the fields of Internet telephony, free software, and voice codecs. An entrepreneur, not only has Farhan founded HF Signals, he has also co-founded Lamakaan, a cultural centre in Hyderabad, as well as Exseed Space (now Satellize), which specializes in building satellites: to date, they have launched two amateur radio-carrying satellites into space. In addition to founding these companies, he is an angel investor in various technology start-ups. Amateur Radio Digital Communications mission is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote Amateur Radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology. Who Listens To Radio? Who listens to Podcasts? Podtrac, an audience measuring company, says iHeart has again topped Global Rankings In May. Of course iHeart radio is available on our DAB plus platform here in Australia. iHeartPodcasts had 177.2 million streams and downloads alone during May, with a unique audience in the U.S. of 31.2 million. iHeart Audience Network, which includes the 910 iHeart produced and distributed shows as well as more than 24,000 others, had some total downloads and streams approached 374 million with a unique U.S. audience of 69.1 million. ------------------------------------------------------------------- OPERATIONAL NEWS - A FELIX VK4FUQ PRESENTATION -------------- -------------- CONTEST WISE:- 2024 -------------- -------------- HARRY ANGEL - RESULTS ARE IN. Kevin VK4UH and Glenn VK4GMI are the managers for the Harry Angel Memorial 80m Sprint and Kevin now joins us. "The Harry Angel is an annual 80m contest event, first established in 1999, to commemorate the life of Harry VK4HA who at the time of his becoming a Silent Key at the age of 106 was the oldest licensed amateur in Australia. The contest has three sections, Phone, CW and Mixed and certificates are awarded to the three top-scoring entries in each section. Place winners are also eligible to claim points towards the WIA Peter Brown Contest Champion Trophy. This year 33 logs were received which represents a significant increase in participation over the previous year. I am delighted today to announce the winners for the 2024 contest. In the Phone section:- First place, with a score of 55 points was awarded to VK5PAS, Second place to VK2MT, Third place to VK2KQB In the CW section:- First place, with a score of 26 points was awarded to VK5LJ, Second place to VK7KPC and third place to VK1CT In the Mixed section:- First place, with a score of 69 points was awarded to VK4M, Second place to VJ5W and third to VL5L The full breakdown of all the scores and entries is available in the contest section of the main WIA Contest website. wia.org.au/members/contests/harryangel/ The date for next years Sprint has been announced for Saturday May 3. On behalf of Glenn and I as managers, the Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club and the WIA as sponsors, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Harry Angel this year and offer our congratulations to the place holders. This is Kevin VK4UH in Brisbane, Contest Manager for the Harry Angel Memorial 80m Sprint." -------------- THIS WEEKEND JARL's ALL ASIA CW Saturday 15 June, 0000 til Mon, 17 June, 0000 jarl.org/English/4_Library/A-4-3_Contests/2015AA_rule.htm (vk4sn calendar) -------------- NEXT WEEKEND WIA WINTER UHF VHF FIELD DAY 0100 UTC Saturday 22 June through 0059 UTC Sunday 23 June (in VK6 it's 0300 / 0359 in VK6). wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/ (wia) ---------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------- RSGB IOTA Contest July 27. ----------------- 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. The 13 Colonies Special Event returns for 2024 and takes place July 1-7. 13 special callsigns will be on the air, each one representing one of the original 13 British colonies that were first established in 1607. Three additional bonus callsigns will be on the air representing Great Britain, France, and Philadelphia. K2A through to K2M are the 13 BONUS stations are TM13COL GB13COL and W3PEN. Certificates will be available whether you work one or all colonies. The bonus stations are not required to earn a clean sweep. More information is available on the 13 Colonies Special Event website. 13colonies.us/ ( 13 is the numeral 13 not the word ) ((ARD)) -------------- WAR on TOWNSVILLE: In the early morning hours of the 29th. July 1942 a Japanese aircraft dropped eight x 250lb. bombs. Now, on July 29 this year from the heritage listed Oonoonba bomb site Ray Schinkel calling vk4oil and his team will be activating a station ( as I said vk4oil ) in remembrance of the attack. Ray has details Seven of the bombs fell in Cleveland Bay and the eighth bomb fell on Oonoonba, a suburb of Townsville. Thankfully the damage caused was a crater and the destruction of one palm tree. After moving to Townsville in 1979, we, as a Family did visit the Bomb Site on several occasions. On ANZAC DAY 2014, I transmitted (AM on ANZAC DAY) from the Site. Since that time the Oonoomba bomb site was granted a Heritage listing of the Historical WW2 Bombing of Townsville. I, with other Members of TARC, operated two stations on ANZAC Day 2024 , Net Control by Gavin, VK4ZZ from the Green St. Headquarters. Over the years since 2014, the original tenants (Dept. Primary Industries) have vacated and the land has become an overgrown area with a swamp surrounding the Bomb Site. My inquiring mind led me to investigate just what was the future of our WW2 Heritage-listed Site. A great deal of the then vacant land had been developed into Housing and Commercial estates. I found that Plaques, that had been laid at the Bomb Site were missing and one was removed to an area well away from our Heritage Listed Site. Investigation into the three levels of Government regarding; the future of our Site clearly proved that our Heritage Listed Site was about to be built over and lost forever! NOT ON MY WATCH. A lot of work has gone into dealings with the three levels of Government: TV and other media interviews with our Local opposition Member have all helped with securing written documentation of future support to preserve the Site in "some" form from destruction. It has not been made clear to what level the preservation will be, this is why we must get behind the support of the Bomb Site for current and future residents and visitors to Townsville to witness and enjoy our History at War. ( Ray will be calling VK4OIL ) Our transmission on the Anniversary of the Bombing, 29th. July 2024 from the Site will be - Transmission Start: 2.00 pm EST Transmission Finish: 4.00 pm EST Freq. 7.100 + or - LSB. Net Control VK4ZZ - Gavin from TARC H'quarters. TARC Members who would like to erect a portable station are all welcome. Any helpers or visitors, all welcome to attend. I also ask that we be inundated with DX stations from all over our Great Country to call into the Net and give us moral support. LEST WE FORGET. Kind regards, Ray & Wendy Schinkel For QNEWS listeners Ray VK4OIL will re-join us with a more detailed look into our past.. stay tuned. -------------- Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Radio Belgrade, the Belgrade Amateur Radio Club is active as YT 100 RB and YU 1924 RB until November 30. For details of a certificate that is available, see yu1ano.org (rsgb) -------------- NEW ZEALAND - Wireless and Wool ZM 100 DX Celebrating Historic 100 Year Trans World Radio Contact This contact was by Morse and was the first ever, trans-world two-way radio communication of any type. It was from Shag Valley Station, Otago and the contact was with Cecil Goyder G2SZ at Mill Hill School, London. ZM100DX as well as ZL4AA will be on air on site in Shag Valley Sheep Station. The main planned contact is between Shag Valley sheep Station and Mill Hill School 18th October and other celebration events are planned for the following day or two. NZART Branch 30 sincerely invites all amateurs to take part in this celebration and join in marking the 100th year since the original qso. zl4aa.org.nz/zl4aa/history/z4aa-transworld-contact (sourced to NZART Infoline) -------------- Members of Ari Colli Albani are on the air as II LOR until the 30th of June marking the 80th anniversary of Rome's liberation during the Second World War. QSL via I KNQ and certificates will be available. (newsline 2431) -------------- Niger. Elvira is active calling 5 U 5 K now until June 20 using SSB, RTTY, other digital modes and sometimes some CW all bands 160 to 6 metres. Francesco, IK 0 XBX is her pilot station. QSL 5U5K direct to IK 2 DUW. (sarl) ------------- AUSTRIA OE 100 RADIO until the 31st of December celebrates the 100th anniversary of regular radio transmissions in Austria in 1924. The station has heard recently on the 40m band using CW. QSL via the Bureau. (gb2rs) ---------- In the World of DX, the Rushyhill Radio Society will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings, which took place June 6th, 1944 by using the callsign GB 8 DDY now until the 28th of June. See QRZ.com for details. -------------- TM 80 DD will be active from the 1st through to the 16th of June using CW, SSB and the digital modes on all bands marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. See QRZ.com for QSL details for TM80DD (NewsLine 2429) -------------- Active is TR 8 CR from Gabon until at least the end of June, the operator? F8EN Roland. He will operate CW only and will celebrate his 96th birthday while there. QSL for TR8CR is via F6AJA directly or the Bureau. Roland can usually be found on the 30 to 10m bands. ( rsgb ) -------------- MEDIA WATCH And now to some Short Wave news. Hi, I'm Graeme, VK3GRK. Bendigo Amateur Radio & Electronics Club invites you to our June meeting, where Dave VK3ASE will provide an interesting presentation on Short Wave Australia. Based in Neilborough, Dave has been running Short Wave Australia now for approximately two years, and broadcasts programming on two frequencies, 2310 and 4835 kilohertz. Dave will discuss the history and technical aspects of Short Wave Australia, radio propagation, antennas, and his involvement with ABC. Some history of Radio Australia will also be discussed. The presentation commences at 7.30 pm, Friday June 21st at BAREC Headquarters, Bendigo East Hall, 35 Lansell St. A gold coin donation would be appreciated, and a light supper will be provided. The presentation will be available live via Zoom. Short Wave Australia - Zoom details: Join Zoom Meeting: us06web.zoom.us/j/84406531024?pwd=dkNUYXlDWnFNbmk4MDhxQ21HZTBpZz09 Meeting ID: 844 0653 1024 Passcode: 535376 ------------------------------------------------------------* WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - BALLOONS What goes up must come down! Chasing weather balloons, and their Radio Sonde Transmitters. Enter Eric VK7EV and Andrew VK7XR. Since mid-April, from the Cape Grim Baseline Air pollution station on the North Western point of Tasmania. the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a research and development laboratory of the United States Department of Energy, has been launching weather balloons from Australia. They will occur through till June 2025. The weather balloon, made of a latex type rubber, a 50m string on which is attached the Radiosonde device, which monitors Temperature, Humidity, Pressure and Dew point, as well as wind speed and direction. The balloons ascend to 28000m constantly transmitting data, and then burst, starting an 8hr timer on the Radiosonde in which it will continues to transmit data, to assist to locate them. Only basic equipment is required, a radio to monitor, normally 401.5 MHz, tape measure beam, attenuators, binoculars, Stanley knife essential, as the string has a fishing line type centre, and cant easily be broken, if the device is up a tree, a long pole with a hook. At Erics QTH, he has a laptop running Radiosonde decoding software, a 400 MHz dipole and a basic scanner completing the BCA gear. (Balloon Chasing Amateurs) ((vk7wi news)) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org CHINESE MOON LANDER RETURNING WITH ROCK, SOIL SAMPLES A special delivery is underway - the first rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon. China's mission to the dark side of the moon is returning with that precious cargo, the first samples of its kind gathered during any lunar exploration. The Chinese National Space Administration mission faced special challenges. Among them, the uncrewed Chang'e mission relied on communication with a specially deployed relay satellite because there is no direct radio communication with the dark side of the moon. (newsline 2432) Working around multiple helium leaks and thruster problems, the crew of Boeings Starliner spacecraft wrapped up a challenging rendezvous and a delayed-but-successful docking with the International Space Station in a major milestone for the new ships first piloted test flight. After extensive checks to verify an airtight seal, hatches were opened and Starliners Wilmore and Williams floated into the lab complex to an enthusiastic welcome from the seven Expedition 71 crew members on board the ISS. Despite the leaks, NASA officials said more than enough helium remains on board to ensure a safe return to Earth at the end of a normal-duration or even extended mission. The helium leaks are all located in the Starliners drum-shaped service module, which is discarded to burn up in the atmosphere before the crew capsule re-enters for landing. tinyurl.com/ANS-161-Starliner (AMSAT NA) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS LOW DOWN The unique Alexanderson alternator from 1924, with the call sign SAQ, is scheduled for two transmissions on VLF 17.2 kHz CW on June 30th. Almost a hundred years ago, December 1st, the long wave transmitter at Grimeton Radio Station, with the call sign SAQ, was put into commercial operation. Transmissions were across the Atlantic Ocean to a receiving station in Riverhead and with the replying transmitter station in Rocky Point, both on Long Island, NY, USA. The other transmitting and receiving stations in the RCA network are now long gone but SAQ has been preserved as a World Heritage Site and is still operational. The design and manufacturing of such a robust and reliable radio transmitter was a monumental achievement by Swedish-born inventor Ernst F.W. Alexanderson. Listeners and readers in Europe, it's been suggested to receive the message, you can try using a wire as long as possible connected to the microphone socket of a laptop or PC soundcard. The soundcard can then be used as a receiver allowing you to try to receive the transmissions. (irts) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - MARITIME INCLUDING ILLW NEWS - ILLW 17th August 2024 to 18th August 2024 REGISTRATION HEATS UP FOR INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE AND LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND The weekend event coming up in a couple of months time, August, is not a contest but you might say there's a little bit of friendly competition going on right now among operators in various countries to see who can register as many of these historic structures as they can. On August 17th and 18th, hams will be at many of those sites transmitting signals from not only here in Australia, but Argentina, Germany, the UK, Belgium, South Africa, the US - and any other country that takes pride in the history that makes each of them so special. Some stations will be QRP; others may operate QRO. Some stations will be operated solo and others by teams. There are no restrictions, just guidelines. Register NOW:- illw.net for details. (newsline 2432) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - MUSEUMS This weekend is International Museums Weekends, an Amateur Radio Special Event over 2 weekends, 15th - 16th and 22nd - 23rd June. So keep an ear out, there MUST be SOME operating here in VK Land. WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS - YOTA (Youngsters On The Air) facebook.com/yotaregion2 facebook.com/groups/YOTAOC/ youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA twitter.com/hamyota ham-yota.com This morning, Sunday you will probably be hearing a lot of US kids on air as the American Amateur Radio Relay League holds its twice a year Kids Day On The Air. ARRL's Kids Day aims to provide young people with on-the-air experience and inspire them to pursue their own Amateur Radio licenses. Its also a great opportunity for seasoned hams to share their passion and knowledge with the next generation. Talking of knowledge, last week Alan VK2COD asked Aussie clubs who have been helping Youth On The Air to drop me a short article of no more than 250 words, plus a couple photos, to nationalnews@wia.org.au Now over to the US of A:- Never mind graduation ceremonies. At one prestigious university in the USA, the recent end of the semester ends not with a cap and gown but....an amateur radio license. This three-credit course is called Introduction to Amateur Radio and it recently concluded its spring semester in the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. This isn't the kind of weekend ham cram of one-day course many amateurs have become accustomed to: This technology, history and a bit of sociology, taking students from the US Radio Act of 1912, which gave the public its rights to the electromagnetic spectrum to antenna-building, satellite communications and operating safely in the field. The course was introduced in 2023 and - never mind getting an A or a B - the real test is sitting for the FCC exam. (newsline 2432 and point plover metro wire) WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO RESCUES AND OLD FASHIONED HELP. In the US, Juniata County Commissioners issued a June 23-29 proclamation in honour of Amateur Radio Week; they recognized the Tuscarora Amateur Radio Association (TARA) and its more than 100 years of service to the local community. TARA representatives accepted the proclamation and shared a little about what they do. Amateur radio operators have provided hours of community services both in emergencies and to other local organizations throughout the decades. They provided many services to emergency response organizations including Juniata County Emergency Management. Operators have demonstrated their value in public assistance with free radio communications for local parades, bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons, fairs and other charitable public events where a helping hand is needed. Some of these individuals also serve as weather spotters in the Skywarn program of the U.S. Government Weather Bureau (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. ---------------------------- VK4 - Caboolture Radio Club HamFest is to be held on Saturday 13th July. The venue, a new one, the Caboolture Uniting Church Hall, 257 King street. That's the corner of King and Smiths Road. Breakfast will be served from 8 am, with the HamFest opening at 9 am. Admission is $5. For further information see the Club's Facebook page facebook.com/vk4qd (Alan VK4TG Secretary, Caboolture Radio Club Inc.) 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) final final 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. ------------------------------------------------------------*