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VK National News 21Jul24
Text edition:
Weekly news from the WIA:
MP3 edition of news available at: http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2024-07-21.mp3
Text edition:
2024 JULY 21 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 JULY 21 2024
IN OUR 29th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
THIS WEEK:-
Giles Kirby VK5GK Delivering the WIA directors update. -
Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radio magazine, Roger Harrison and
Issue Number 4 of AR magazine is at the printers. -
Last week both Felix VK4FUQ and myself, Graham VK4BB told you of the
WIA consultations in progress, this week Grant VK5GR with more news
about the current activities underway within the WIA Technical
Advisory Committee. -
And from ALARA, Lesley VK5LOL and the 2024 ALARA contest.
BUT WAIT - THERE'S MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE
WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA.
I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB
WIA
JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y
This is Giles Kirby VK5GK Delivering the WIA directors update.
Greetings from a wintery and cold South Australia. The kind of weather
where you need a pair of 6JS6Cs glowing warmly keeping the shack
cosy.
Im pleased to announce that the RSGB has approved the WIA use of
their online emf tool. This is, Im advised, a very good tool and will
go a long way towards assisting us in meeting our safety requirements
as amateur radio operators. A critical step in future high-power
discussions.
We currently have a couple of consultations on the WIA website that
Grant VK5GR will discuss in more detail. My one comment is that I
encourage you to get involved and provide feedback if you have it.
On a very positive note, WIA membership continues to increase.
A testament to the hard work of our members and volunteers in
spreading a positive message.
On a personal note, Id like to thank the Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio
Society, an affiliated club, for their hamfest last weekend. And a
good choice of venue. My young daughter loved the playground out the
front.
This has been Giles Kirby VK5GK delivering the directors update. 73.
This is Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radio magazine, Roger Harrison
VK2ZRH.
Well, Issue Number 4 of AR magazine went to press last week.
Look out for the issue landing late next week. In your letterbox, your
Post Office Box, or at your local newsagent.
The theme for this soon-to-arrive issue is, as promised, Sunspots and
Propagation. More on that in due course.
The cover feature is a story every DXer whether serious or casual
will want to read. Its about an online DXCC map of the world. The
application, available on the WIA website Awards section, provides a
way to find every DXCC entity you always wanted to locate in the world
but didnt know where to look or how to find it. The application and
the story behind it come from Marc Hillman VK3OHM. Dont miss it.
Did you know that, last month, it was 100 years since the first direct
wireless voice link between Britain and Australia was made. In the era
when cable telegraphy dominated international telecommunications, the
heralding of international long-distance telephone calls sparked a
media sensation. Marconi himself and then-head of AWA, Ernest Fisk,
were behind it.
If youre enjoying chasing DX right now, as Solar Cycle 25 climbs to
ever greater heights, the question so often asked is Are we there,
yet? As parents often tell their insistent children when on a long
car ride soon! Maybe.
At the WIA Convention and AGM in May, a member ventured a question
about the WIA logo. Well, we have the answer, courtesy of WIA
Historian, Peter Wolfenden VK3RV.
Thats all for now.
Amateur Radio magazine, Issue 4.
More guts. Less gab.
Serving Australian amateurs for over 90 years.
Proudly produced and printed in Australia. Also available online.
Always published to a schedule, never random.
Im Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News.
Hello Everyone - this is Grant VK5GR with some news about the current
activities underway within the WIA Technical Advisory Committee.
Currently the committee has two amateur community consultations open,
the first covering the introduction of new standards that describe how
specific frequencies are selected for amateur fixed repeater and
beacon stations and the second which is considering what improvements
may be possible with the amateur 40m band plan. The details of both of
these are available to download from wia.org.au I encourage you, if
you have any interest in either topic, to head on over to wia.org.au
and have a read.
What is more important, however is for people to understand what
happens next and how you can get involved.
The WIA TAC has released these consultation papers because we want to
hear your feedback and thoughts on these matters. We also want to make
it clear that these consultations are open to all radio amateurs,
clubs, groups, societies etc. We want any interested radio amateurs to
know that they are welcome to provide their feedback, whether they are
members of or affiliated with the WIA or not.
This point is very important. The changes proposed have potentially
wide reaching consequences, and so for them to be successful it is
important that we build consensus with as wide a cross section of the
amateur community as possible. This is why this is open to more than
just WIA members.
An example of the consultation processes being considered, can be seen
in the way the 40m band plan discussion is being carried out. The
domestic WIA options paper currently being circulated is only the
beginning of a longer international process. That process includes
seeking feedback via the IARU Region 3 HF Band Plan committee from all
of the Region 3 member societies. From there, if endorsed at the
Region 3 conference in November, it will be submitted to the IARU
inter-regional HF band plan committee where it will receive further
input and discussion, this time including IARU Regions 1 and 2.
Ultimately, should all three regions agree, resolutions adopting the
change would finally be made. This, as you can imagine, is not a quick
process. A final resolution may well still be 1-2 years away. Indeed,
even the work to get to this stage has involved 3 years of research
and meetings with many diverse groups (including the leading lights in
the WSJT and Winlink communities as well as with ARRL, DARC, JARL and
IARU Region 1 and 2). Rest assured, we take the responsibility
seriously when considering changes with international ramifications.
Now, given that background, you might be wondering what happens next
once you have submitted your feedback to these consultations.
It is our intention to publish a summary of the feedback received.
Then, depending on whether there are any substantive new ideas
received, the committee may either conduct a second round of
consultations or move to produce an outcomes and recommendation paper.
The recommendations will then undergo a final round of consultation,
before being submitted to the WIA board for acceptance. It is through
this structured process that we hope to achieve a balanced outcome for
all.
So, to have your say, please have a read of the consultation papers,
consider the questions being asked, and then pen your thoughts
(an email will do) to tac(at)wia.org.au By doing so, we can take your
views into account.
Finally, to help people understand the scope of the consultations, the
WIA will be inviting club presidents and secretaries to a special
round table meeting to discuss the current TAC consultations and
answer any questions they may have so they can discuss them in more
details with their members. Details will be provided shortly by the
WIA secretary. This meeting will be held on Tuesday 30th of July at
8.00pm eastern time.
That's all from me today, thanks for listening, and thanks also to
those that have already taken the time to pass on their feedback.
This has been Grant, VK5GR, for the WIA Technical Advisory Committee
AUSTRALIANA
A young girl at school was once asked to "write down three different
career options, this girl wrote only one astronaut and refused to
add any others.
In 2023, as an employee of the Australian Space Agency, the young
Lady, Katherine Bennell-Pegg was invited by the European Space Agency
(ESA) to undertake Basic Astronaut Training in Germany, becoming the
first international astronaut candidate to do so.
Katherine Bennell-Pegg becomes not only the first female Australian
Astronaut but also is Director of Space Technology, Australian Space
Agency.
I have always dreamed of being an astronaut", she has said. " When I
was younger, it was for the adventure, but after more than a decade
working in space its now because I know the role it plays in tackling
real-world problems and developing new knowledge that can benefit our
society, environment, and science, Katherine (Mother of 2 daughters)
says.
space.gov.au/Katherine-Bennell-Pegg
ALARA
Hi, this is Lesley VK5LOL the Alara Contest Manager for 2024.
Just letting you know that the Australian Ladies Amateur Radio
Association is holding our contest on the last full weekend in August,
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th from 0600 hrs on Saturday until 0559 hrs
on Sunday.
In this contest Oms only score points for contacting Yls.
Yls score points for contacting Oms and other Yls.
The contest is about encouraging Yls to come up on the radio.
We would also like our younger folk to come up on air via Scout or
Girl Guide groups. All details for the Contest can be found on our
website:
alara.org.au
Hoping to speak with you on the radio waves - Lesley VK5LOL,
Alara Contest Manager.
Hi This is Nathan VK5OG from the Adelaide Digital linked repeater
System here in VK5 on Adelaide 10G WiresX & YSF #69159 and
FreeDMR TG5055.
You can hear the WIA National and Local VK5 News every Sunday morning
from 9am and 7pm Sunday evening.
We would like to thank VK5ZEY Phil KernWi-FI would has put the
Adelaide 10G Wiresx & YSF system together , Also a huge thank you to
Ozzie M0GLJ from the UK who looks after the YSF to FreeDMR TG5055
bridge.
Catch you on the air this has been Nathan VK5OG from the ADLRS.
------------------------------------------------------------*
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.
Recently published public records revealed that ARRL was a victim of a
ransomware attack that ultimately resulted in services such as
Log Book of The World being offline for several weeks.
While data belonging to ARRL members and users of ARRL services wasn't
directly affected by the attack, public records revealed that up to
150 ARRL employees did have personal data compromised.
At this stage there is no evidence that compromised data was misused.
Web based blog, bleepigcomputer.com say ARRL has not linked the attack
to a specific ransomware gang, but sources told them
(BleepingComputer) that the "Embargo ransomware operation" was behind
this incident.
However, although this ransomware group first surfaced in May and has
since added only eight victims to its dark web leak site (some already
removed, likely because they paid a ransom), ARRL has yet to be
listed.
Firstmac Limited, the largest non-bank lender here in Australia, is
one of the victims who had over 500GB of stolen data leaked on
Embargo's website.
In an unrelated issue, last Monday the 15th RSGB in the UK announced
"We have lost internet connection at RSGB HQ, and so our computer
systems and phones are not currently available. Our IT team is
currently investigating the issue with our service provider."
That British problem has since been rectified,
If the radio industry is to convince automakers to keep AM radio in
the dashboard, the global car market may require an international
effort. While U.S. broadcasters continue to push for legislation that
would require all dashboards to feature AM/FM radio, similar efforts
are underway in Europe.
The European Broadcasting Union is reportedly seeking meetings with
the big carmakers there, including BMW, Volvo and Mercedes. The EBU is
looking to lobby for all cars to continue featuring broadcast radio as
part of their entertainment systems.
Radio is thriving in Europe. In Europe, listeners choose radio about
70% of the time. More than all other audio sources combined. People
love it. Just press a button, and its there, boasts an EBU-produced
video promoting broadcasting. Similar to the arguments made by
broadcasters in the U.S., the radio industry in Europe touts the role
radio plays in providing live programming during times of crisis as
well as the high level of trust that broadcasters have. The EBU says
many carmakers are already making it hard to access the radio by
burying the radio button in a complex journey of swipes and taps.
Customers need carmakers to make it easy for them, the video says.
Its said that Golf is a good walk spoiled, so is attaching an
amateur radio to a bike a formula for spoiling a nice ride?
Not according to Wesley Pidhaychuk VA5MUD), a Canadian ham who
tricked out his bike with a transceiver and all the accessories
needed to work the HF bands while pedalling along. The radio is a
Yaesu FT-891, a workhorse mobile rig covering everything from the
160-meter band to 6 meters. Wes used some specialized brackets to
mount the radios remote control head to the handlebars, along with
an iPad for logging and a phone holder for streaming. The radio plus
a LiFePO4 battery are in a bag on the parcel rack in back. The antenna
is a Ham Stick mounted to a mirror bracket attached to the parcel
rack; wed have thought the relatively small bike frame would make a
poor counterpoise for the antenna, but it seems to work fine
well enough for Wes to work some pretty long contacts while pedalling
around Saskatoon, including hams in California and Iowa.
twiar.net/?p=22006
WEIRD N WONDERFUL - THE FUN THATS HAM RADIO
Via HACKADAY: Meccano-based Hellschreiber Machine
ZXGuesser, an authors tag in Hackaday, has pulled off a true feat of
Meccano engineering: building a Meccano Hellschreiber machine.
The design is a close replica of the original Siemens Feld-Hell
machine.
What is Hellschreiber, you might ask?
Its a very neat method of sending written messages over the air by
synchronizing a printing wheel on the receiving end with pulses
generated on the transmitter. By quickly moving the print wheel up and
down, arbitrary figures can be printed out.
In order to use the Hellschreiber mode, you have to keep up a steady
rhythm of typing at about 2.5 characters per second, otherwise, the
receiving end will see randomly spaced gaps between each letter.
So while having to type at a steady speed [ZXGuesser] also had to work
with a slightly different keyboard layout. Despite this difficulty,
some very good quality output was generated!
hackaday.com/2024/07/02/meccano-based-hellschreiber-machine/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
OPERATIONAL NEWS - A FELIX VK4FUQ PRESENTATION
--------------
--------------
NOW CONTEST WISE:- 2024
--------------
--------------
WHAT A HUGE WEEKEND OF CONTESTS THIS THE JULY 20-21 WEEKEND IS
SHAPING UP TO BE.
Reaching the age of 90 is no small achievement.
Hams in the Liga de Amadores Brasileiros de Rdio Emisso, or
L.A.B.R.E, perhaps know that better than anyone as their
amateur radio organisation - the oldest in Brazil - marks its 90th
anniversary.
The hams are launching a special contest to mark the occasion.
The LABRE contest will be held on the 20th and the 21st of July
and hams around the world are being invited to contact their
counterparts in Brazil using SSB and/or CW. Organisers are hoping
that contacts will be made on all the eligible bands and are
encouraging participants to use as many of the bands as possible.
(ARNewsLine 2437)
----------------------------------------------------
RSGB has announced that Sunday 21 July, the International Low Power
Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC, and from 1300 to 1600UTC using
CW on the 80, 40 and 20m bands, the exchange is signal report,
serial number and transmitter power.
(rsgb)
----------------------------------------------------
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 Also this weekend.
Organized by the IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group in co-operation
with the Hungarian Amateur Radio Society, the aim of the YOTA Contest
is to increase youngsters' activity on the air, strengthen the
reputation of the YOTA programme and demonstrate support for
youngsters across the world.
The second session of this year's YOTA Contest will run from 10:00 to
21:59 UTC on Saturday 20 July on the five classic bands of 80, 40, 20,
15 and 10 metres using CW and SSB. Everyone can work everyone, a youth
as defined by the IARU is any youngster 25 years and younger.
The complete rules can be found on
ham-yota.com/contest.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DX WINDOW TO THE WORLD.
--------------
THAILAND.
Special event station HS 72 KING is on air until July the 29th to
celebrate the 72nd birthday of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn,
HS 10 A. QSL station HS72KING via Logbook Of The World.
(arrl)
--------------
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)
--------------
Listen throughout the year for the special callsign 9 A 1 RKZ
marking the 100th anniversary of the Radioklub Zagreb which was
founded the 24th of March 1924 in Croatia
QSL via 9A1ADE.
(ARNewsLine 2410)
-------------
AUSTRIA
OE 100 RADIO active until the 31st of December celebrating the 100th
anniversary of the beginning of regular radio transmissions in
Austria in 1924.
QSL via the Bureau.
(gb2rs)
----------
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY.
Special event stations DL 2024 E, DL 2024 U, DL 2024 R, and DL 2024 O
are QRV until July 14 during EURO 2024, the 17th edition of the UEFA
European Football Championship. QSL via bureau.
(eHam)
--------------
GX 4 LMR will be operated by The British Railways Amateur Radio
Society from the 5th to the 14th of July to commemorate the first
amateur tests on a moving railway train in 1924.
Operators plan to concentrate on the 40m band, depending on
conditions.
QSL GX4LMR via the Bureau.
(rsgb)
--------------
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)
--------------
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 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)
--------------
The Tour de France is being commemorated by special event callsign
TM 111 TDF, marking the 111th edition of the famous cycling race.
Listen on the 17th through to the 21st of July on the HF bands.
QSL station TM111TDF via F8GGZ.
(arnline 2436)
--------------
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
NZART has a special event call sign for the upcoming America's Cup to
be held in Spanish waters later this year. ZL 6 A.M.CUP has been
allocated to celebrate this event with Phil Garside ZL2RO as the
trustee of the callsign. November 30 is when ZL6 A.M.CUP goes off
air.
(NZART)
------------------------------------------------------------*
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
If you found yourself logging as many contacts as possible with YLs
on SOTA summits during the weekend of June 1st and 2nd it's time to
receive your certificates.
The inaugural Queens of the Mountains event featured a team of YLs
in the US using 1x1 special event calls. The activators themselves
were busy chasing summit-to-summit contacts and YLs who were joining
them in the activation by operating from DX summits.
The organizers, Amy AG7GP, and Paula K9IR, plan to make this an annual
world event in the hope of inspiring other YLs to get involved in
SOTA. For details on how to get your certificate, follow the link
to the SOTA Reflector that appears in the text version of this
week's WIA National News.
tinyurl.com/36ftxtsj
(ARNewsLine 2437)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ASTRONOMY (and Wireless Weather)
NASA's Parker Solar Probe is set to make its closest approach to the
Sun in an effort to bolster research into the effects of space weather
on Earth.
It became the first spacecraft to "touch the Sun" when it flew
10.46 million km from its surface in 2021 and since then it has made
20 approaches, getting closer each time. The pioneering probe is on
course to reach within 6.12 million km of the vast star, the largest
body in our solar system, by the end of this year.
It was launched in 2018 to uncover the Sun's secrets by studying its
outer atmosphere, helping scientists to learn more about solar wind
and how it travels through space.
(eHam)
NASA scientists have spotted unusual shapes in the Earth's ionosphere,
hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface.
The ionosphere stretches from 50 to 400 miles above the planet and
marks the boundary between our planet's atmosphere and outer space.
While it houses most satellites orbiting the Earth, it's vulnerable to
changes in space weather electromagnetic radiation emitted by the
Sun that can wreak havoc in the zone and mess with communications
equipment.
Under some conditions, the layer can become electrically charged.
As detected by the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk
(GOLD) imaging instrument, plasma bands stretching across the
ionosphere can result in formations of unusual X and C shapes.
It's a baffling "alphabet soup," as NASA termed the findings in a
news release, that could shed light on how space weather can influence
our planet's upper atmosphere and "interfere with radio and GPS
signals."
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - DIGITAL
Many will be familiar with ARNSW RadNet, the state-wide network of
linked DMR repeaters with links to the national VKDMR and
international DMR-MARC networks.
Matt VK2FLY, speaking for the ARNSW RadNet says much of the linking is
co-ordinated with the IPSC2 software, created by Kurt OE1KBC.
However, this software will cease to be supported in the coming
months.
The VKDMR working group, in collaboration with ARNSW RadNet, have
been preparing for this change for some time. Over the next few
months, the VKDMR network will switch to new software that will be
fully supported by the VKDMR network admins, without any reliance on
overseas servers or groups.
The new setup will combine unique systems developed by the working
group based on well-established open-source DMR and Fusion backends.
Importantly, this will ensure that the networks level of reliability
will remain as high as ever, maintaining the standards expected from
Australia's largest digital repeater network.
The goal is for this transition to be seamless for most hotspot and
repeater owners, with the major changes occurring behind the scenes.
(vk2wi)
SIG ILLW
hi this Nathan Grundy VK5OG President of the SCARC.
Do not forget that in August 17-18 is ILLW and SCARC will be at
Point Malcom Narrung call sign VK5ARC AU0029, this will be our 17th
year at Point Malcom.
You can see our Beacon on APRS.FI from now with a link to our web page
under VK5ARC/P.
We will be on all HF bands and hope to catch you on the air.
73 from Nathan VK5OG President of SCARC.
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
NOW:-
MEET NEWSLINES YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR: GRACE PAPAY, K8LG
Our USA counterpart, Amateur Radio Newsline, has announced their
winner of the 2024 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio
Newsline Young Ham of the Year award.
Bill was the force behind ARNewsLine before becoming Silent Key.
Mark Abramowicz (Abram-o-vich) NT3V is chairman of the award program
and has the story
GRACE: Wow! Thank you so much!
MARK: And that was the reaction of Grace Papay K8LG of Holland, Michigan near Grand Rapids, our 2024 Young Ham of the Year. Grace is 18 and the daughter of Doug Papay K8DP and Carrie Papay K8CLP.Grace says her dad encouraged her a few years ago to become a ham like someone else very special in her life.
GRACE: So I got licensed originally to honour my grandfather. My grandfather is K8YSE. He was celebrating 60 years of being an amateur radio operator. And, then I got involved in amateur radio satellites. I got on the air. And, now it has turned into something from honouring my grandfather to a hobby Im on every day and I love.
MARK: It was March 2021 when Grace earned her Tech license. A year later, Grace passed her Extra Class license test. Proud grandpa John Papay K8YSE a well-known operator in the ham satellite community sparked his granddaughters ham radio extra-terrestrial exploits, including encouraging her to earn her DX Century Club award for contacts exclusively via satellites.
GRACE: Amateur radio satellites is what Ive been very involved with since Day One. Its very important to me because anyone can do it with a Tech license. And you can talk around the country and around the world with amateur radio satellites. So, you dont have to be stuck to your local repeater.
MARK:But then came opportunities to attend Youth on the Air camps in Cincinnati in 2022 and Ottawa in 2023.
GRACE:Being able to learn from other youth and having someone that can teach you thats around your age and understand where youre coming from was really helpful.
MARK: Those experiences, she says, encouraged her to pursue even bigger adventures in the world of contesting.
GRACE: Ive been able to be part of many single-op operations from my home as well as multi-ops from K3LR and J62K in St. Lucia. And, those have been great experiences for me to learn. But, one of my favourite contests that Im most proud of currently is the ARRL DX Sideband contest where the raw results have me in first place for my section and category.
MARK: Grace has been a regular speaker at the Dayton Hamvention Youth Forum in recent years and volunteer at the YOTA and AMSAT booths. Just weeks ago, she spoke at the Dayton Hamvention Contest University forum. Grace just graduated with honours from Holland Christian High School in Holland, MI and is enrolled this fall at Cedarville University, Cedarville, OH, the alma mater of both of her parents. Her plan is to study electrical engineering, a career path she says opened by her amateur radio hobby.
GRACE: I wanna be someone who makes the future better. So, being able to create something that could help somebody or create something that will help the safety of our country is very important to me.
MARK:We here at Amateur Radio Newsline have no doubt well be hearing a lot about Grace in the months and years to come. Congratulations, Grace! Im Mark Abramowicz, NT3V.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO
In New Zealand, the WICEN equivalent is called AREC, Emergency Comms.
In their latest "Break In Newscast' AREC is offering assistance with
the ZL National System.
The national system has been recognized as a critical asset to amateur
radio in New Zealand, and has a high degree of importance during
emergencies throughout New Zealand, providing the equipment is
maintained to a high standard.
Parts of the National System are aging and as equipment ages, its
resilience also wanes. As such AREC has offered to assist with
enhancing works performed on the national system, including
replacement on aged repeaters, feedlines, and antennas.
Assistance from AREC cannot be guaranteed due to the demands on their
funds and availability of resources/people. However, if an application
is made and they 1) are able and 2) see benefit in supporting
infrastructure resilience enhancements they may be able to contribute.
Initial focus will likely be on high-risk sites. Equipment ownership
(and liabilities) will remain with the branch.
ZL hams have been asked to take advantage of this offer as the moment
of truth with the national system is that it is working when it is
needed which could be any time.
(ZL2AJ)
------------------------------------------------------------*
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.
----------------------------
VK3 - Bendigo AR & Electronics Club RadioFest August 18 (vk3gtv)
VK4 - Redcliffe Club Car Boot Sale Saturday 24 August at the
club house, MacFarlane Park, Kippa Ring. (vk4tn)
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)
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(at)wia.org.au
---------------------------------------------------------------*
(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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