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VK7AX > BCAST 08.10.23 02:41l 505 Lines 24038 Bytes #84 (0) @ WW
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Subj: VK7 Amateur Radio News 08Oct23
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From: VK7AX@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC
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VK7 Amateur Radio News 08Oct23
Text edition:
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VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 8th October 2023
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Welcome to the VK7 Amateur Radio News and this was first broadcast on Sunday the 8th October 2023. At the mike of VK7WI this week is Rick, VK7RI.
On Sunday this broadcast goes out on repeaters all over VK7 and on digital radio - DMR Talk Group 5 and D-Star Reflector 91C by VK7ZCR.
We go out on medium and high frequency courtesy of the following rebroadcast stations:
On 1.862 MHz by Graham, VK7GS,
On 3.670 MHz by Ross, VK7ALH,
On 7.140 MHz by Garry, VK7JGD,
On 14.130 MHz by Dale, VK7DG and
On 28.525 MHz by Tony, VK7VKT.
We also go out on UHF CB Channel 24 thanks to Mark VK7FMAC in the Hobart area.
You can hear this broadcast again on Tuesday night at 8:00pm on repeaters VK7RAA in Northern VK7 and VK7RHT in Southern VK7.
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Statewide News
Thursday Night SSTV Nets
Another great net night that saw the following participants, VK7s – EKA, ZBX, ZAB, TW, OO, KT and ZGK all sharing thirty photos.
The various subjects were:
Local optical telescopes, dome and flat roof observatories
The original portable telemetry equipment setup at the Woomera Missile Range
Waterfall and decodes of a WSJT digital contact
Brightly illuminated Red Crosses at Dark MOFO
Jesus on a velociraptor and blessed are the baby velociraptors
The Kenny Everett video show
Thunderbirds
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and how to fly safely
“the meaning of life, the universe and everything”
Appreciation of traffic lights
Promos for “Islands on the Air” and Ham Radio
Faces of some Tasmanian amateurs
An x-ray of Homer Simpsons brain
And for the animal lovers a Christmas beetle and a budgie
Remember Ken VK7KRJs and Steve VK7OOs fully automatic 24/7 monitoring sites that allows anyone who has sent an SSTV picture the ability to check them on their pages almost immediately, any time, both South and North Tasmania.
Also if you missed the net there are archives of all SSTV nights. These photos can be seen on Kens 2m SSTV website as an infinitely-scrolling web page or on NTARCs website under blogs and arranged as weekly nets.
https://vk7oo.tasme.com/vhfsstv
https://sstv.vk7krj.com/scrolling%20web%20gallery.html
https://www.ntarc.net/blogs
73 from Andre VK7ZAB
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QSL NEWS
Report - from Herman VK7HW Manager of the WIA VK7 Inwards QSL Bureau
The current list of cards held as at 29 September is in the email version of the broadcast.
If I am holding card(s) for you and you would like them mailed to you rather than being delivered on an opportunity basis please send me some stamps.
Herman has also found it handy when ops put the operators name of the station worked on the card.
Try it yourself, it may help an inwards QSL manager somewhere else. hihi.
If you have any questions re QSL cards, please contact Herman by email vk7bureau(at)wia.org.au
Thank you to those Amateurs who have been in contact with Herman about their QSL card(s) listing.
73, Herman, VK7HW, WIA Manager VK7 Inwards QSL Bureau
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Cards held at 29 September 2023
A, AAA, AAD, AAE, AAH, AAP, AAR, AB, AC, ACE, ACG, ACN, AD, ADE, AED, AG(2014), AGC, AHT, AIR, AJC, AKK, AL, ALZ, AM, ANC, AO, AP, APZ, AR, AS, ATH, AXZ, AY, AZ
BA, BB, BBB, BO, BPV, BT, BYE
C/GH, CA, CBK, CBR, CC, CEJ, CJ, CL, CMV, CV, CW, CX
DC, DD, DG, DIK, DM, DN, DO, DON, DP, DQ, DW, DY, DZ
EA, EG, EI, ER, EV
FADZ, FALX (alx), FAZZ, FCDW, FCIA, FLAR, FF, FG, FGGT, FPRN, FRJG(RG), FTAS
GA, GC, GGZ, GH/C, GM, GN, GOP, GR, GS, GZ
HCH, HCK, HDM, HDX, HH, HOB, HL, HPD, HRS, HSA, HSD, HSJ, HVK, HZ
IAN, ID, IK, IS
JA, JAZ, JB, JCR, JGD, JJ, JOK, JON, JP, JW
KA, KAC, KBA, KD, KDO, KI, KJ, KKR, KL, KO, KRJ, KT, KW
LCW, LDH, LL, LLL, LM, LT, LVH, LW
MAG,MAT, MBD, MC, MD, MEL, MET, MHZ, MJ, MOO, MR, MRS, MS
NA, NC, ND, NEC, NET, NFI, NIK, NRF, NRT, NSE, NSS, NTE, NVH, NW, NWQ, NWT
OB, OR, OT
PAF, PBD, PD, PM, PRN, PSJ, PSZ, PW
QK, QP, OT
RB, RC, RG/FRJG, RJ, ROY
SM, SN, STO, SV, SZ
TCE, TED, TK, TO, TS, TU, TUX, TX, TZ
UJ
VA, VAC, VAZ, VDC, VEK, VH, VR, VTM
WA, WC, WH, WL, WN(0), WO, WT, WUU, WX
XDM, XTC, XV, XX
YN, YUM
ZBX, ZE, ZGK, ZJJ, ZK, ZM, ZR, ZT, ZTA, ZX
VI70MI [2018], VI70HI(op DIANE[2018]), VI75G [2023], VK75FAA
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NEWS FROM THE NORTH WEST
JOTA Callout to NW Amateurs
Hi NW Amateurs,
JOTA this year runs from Friday 20th to Sunday the 22nd of October 2023.
In the North West we would like to activate Paton Park behind Ulverstone, between 10am and 6pm on the Saturday only, at the well setup Scout camp, near North Motton,
The site has a large hut complex, with a kitchen and toilets.
We will be utilising two rooms for HF and VHF/DMR.
A VHF Amateur station communicating on VK7RMD 2m.
A UHF Amateur station communicating on VK7RMD 70cm.
Two Short Wave Amateur stations , 1 station operating on 80/40m and the other on 20M.
A DMR Radio if an operator is available.
Fox hunts will be run by Scout leaders.
We are looking for at least 6 amateurs to help on-site on the Saturday.
In Burnie on Saturday we usually have at least 4 operators at the Burnie Scout hall, on HF VHF UHF.
We normally supply radios, antennas, dual headphones boxes so operators and Scout can listen to the radio through headphones.
If you wish to bring your own radio, that would be great.
The amateur radio operator, controls the radio, monitors the conversation, and assist the Scout to make the contacts, and fills out the JOTA logs sheets, and prompt Scouts with the JOTA talk sheet if they stumble on questions to ask.
The whole idea of the day is the amateur operators facilitate with radios and their knowledge, to assist Scouts/Joeys/Guides, to speak to other Scouts etc around Tassie, Australia and hopefully the world.
If you are available or interested , can you please advise me, Eric VK7EV ASAP, at ericvdneut1(at)bigpond.com so we know who wants to be involved and how much we can do.
We need to advise Scouts that JOTA Paton park is going ahead.
Regards, Eric, VK7EV, JOTA Coordinator NW
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NEWS FROM THE NORTH
SOTA/WWFF PARKS GROUP
The Summits On The Air/World Wide Flora and Fauna parks group meets twice weekly – Mondays and Fridays 10.30AM till 12.00 at the Glebe Gardens Cafe, Henry Street, Launceston.
For more information contact Al on 0417 354 410.
73, Al, VK7AN
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Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club Incorporated
www.ntarc.net
Firstly a quick recap on last weeks Technical Night.
Ross VK7ALH, brought in an Australian made Wagner HF SSB transceiver from late last century. The original unit was designed for ease of use, giving the operator 10 fixed frequencies that can be accessed by a front panel rotary selector switch, assuming the internal crystal had been fitted. Primarily intended for marine usage it is of solid-state design construction with a valve final producing about 35 Watts. Internal construction featured plug in printed circuit board modules which allowed for different versions and options.
This particular unit has been extensively modified prior to landing in Ross hands. The main modification was the deletion of the original front panel switched crystal bank selector and the main speaker. These were replaced by a Direct Digital Synthesizer module or DDS for short. The DDS allows for continuous band tuning.
Once again Ross is faced with the effect of various mods on the original circuit before even starting the repair process. Good luck Ross.
Stuart VK7FEAT, while rearranging his Ham storage area came across a UHF 8 element Yagi. He decided to bring it in to this weeks club Technical Night with the intention of running an analyser across it to ascertain its possible standby emergency suitability for the 430 MHz amateur band. The antenna was manufactured in Australia by Polar Electronic Industries Victoria and was a very sturdy commercial grade unit made of stainless steel. It is from the same family of folded dipole Yagi antennas that you most likely have seen adorning Council and Tas Water installations throughout Tasmania. They are extensively used for fixed point to point radio telemetry links back to a central control room. After being swept by a suitable Rig Expert it was indeed true to its label and had a good band pass between 403 and 420 MHz. In fact the SWR only increased to 2:1 at the start of the amateur band frequencies.
Mark VK7KMA, brought along his laptop with an interesting Linux distribution image that he had just installed on it. Mark took us through the setup and list of over thirty programmes intended for amateur radio operators included within it. He then handed it over to us to play around with and get a feel for the operation of the programmes. He has re-imaged some spare desk top computers and intends to include them in a possible Club fundraiser later in the year.
The Linux distribution originates from Andy Stewart KB1OIQ and he calls it and I quote “A complete Linux distribution with everything needed to operate a radio in the modern era”.
For more information on the software search on “Andy's Ham Radio Linux” or go to the included links in the broadcast notes.
KB1OIQ - Andy's Ham Radio Linux download | SourceForge.net and A Linux Distro For All Your Ham Needs | Hackaday
Friday Coffee Morning had a special treat this week. Nic VK7WW brought along a selection of prototypes he has been studiously working on. They are intended as add-ons for his 1Watt QRP CW transmitter project called the “Cent”, which was created to celebrate 100 years of amateur radio in Tasmania. These add-on modules include a sidetone “sniffer”, VFO and RF amplifier. The amplifier is capable of 37 Watts output on 80 and 40 metres and it incorporates plug in band pass filters on the output.
Nic had them set up and working, with on air confirmation being provided by NTARCs off air SDR.
Evidently last week Nic has been making contacts into Western Australia using this equipment and only in the 1 Watt mode. Thank you Nic for bringing all the newly constructed gear in to the club rooms, its one thing to see the pictures on Discord, but you just cant beat good old hands on!
There is a rumour that Peter VK7KPC might be receiving yet another certificate. This time as a result of his successful participation in the 43rd Alara Contest, recently held in August.
JOTA/JOTI for 2023 volunteers to assist are needed!
The Venue is the NTARC Club rooms, which is the Rocherlea Scout Hall, Archer St, Rocherlea.
The sessions will be on Saturday the 21st of October from noon to 6pm and Sunday the 22nd of October from 10am till 3pm. Groups are planned to arrive in two hour blocks, split up and rotate through four activities. We also need local contacts to chat with the participants on air in case we cant link up to other Scout venues. If you are able to assist for any length of time over the two days please let Peter, VK7KPC or the club Secretary know of your availability or by e-mailing secretary@ntarc.net
NTARC Auction Hosting – we have received quite a bit of interest in the possibility of hosting a “Shack Clear-out” auction. There already has been receivers, transceivers and test equipment penciled in, so we have tentatively proposed an auction to be held in late November.
A reminder, if there is anything you would like added to the Agenda for the General Meeting this coming Wednesday please e-mail to the secretary(at)ntarc.net, no later than Tuesday the 10th of October.
As always equipment pictures are available on the NTARC Web site under “Blogs” for this broadcast. Now back to the house keeping.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Club General Meeting – Wednesday 11th October. Held at the NTARC Club Room, Rocherlea Scout Hall, Archer Street, Rocherlea. Meeting commences at 7:30pm. For those not going to the meeting there is:
The TestNet and TechNet session - TestNet/CW course on 3.580MHz from 7pm till 7.30pm…. and a TechNet on 3.567MHz from 7.30pm till about 8.30pm. Your host for the evening will be Nic VK7WW.
Coffee Morning - held every Friday in the NTARC Club rooms. Time is from 10am to noon and we look forward to seeing you all there. As mentioned last week there has been a fresh delivery of QSL cards. So why not pop in and join us for a cuppa, there is endless tea and coffee along with biscuits available for a donation.
The Club Technical night - The next session will be on Wednesday the 18th of October and will commence at the winter time of 6.30 pm through to about 10.00 pm, at the Club room Archer Street, Rocherlea.
JOTA/JOTI – Saturday the 21st and Sunday the 22nd of October at Rocherlea club rooms.
FINALLY - A reminder to all members that if you have any items of news you would like added to our weekly roundup, no matter how trivial, then please email them to the Secretary at the following address news(at)ntarc.net all items to be received no later than 5pm on the Friday prior to the Broadcast.
Thats all folks,
73 from Stefan, VK7ZSB, Secretary NTARC Inc.
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NEWS FROM THE SOUTH
Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
https://www.reast.asn.au/
https://www.facebook.com/reasttas/
https://www.youtube.com/reasthobart/
Interstate and OS memberships Now Available
Provide an opportunity and they will come!
Over the last few weeks we now have six wonderful new members from outside of Tasmania.
Members are from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States and other areas of Australia. A big thank you to those new members for supporting REAST.
If you would like to ride the outside Tasmania wave and would like to join as a REAST member this is now available to you at a discounted rate of $20/year.
For a full list of benefits you receive as a member or to join, check out the REAST Membership portal link below.
https://reast.tidyhq.com/public/membership_levels
73, REAST Committee
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October Presentation Night - Microwave Satellite Reception with Mike VK7DMH
https://fb.me/e/3JSDJorkN
Thanks to Mike VK7DMH for our presentation last Wednesday night on homebrewed microwave satellite reception antennas.
Mike started by showing the reception of the Inmarsat satellite 4-F1 using the helical antenna outside and decoding the aircraft data that is being received by the satellite in the 1.5GHz L band.
Mike showed the SDR Console software V3.2 with an SDRPlay SDR and a microwave amplifier at the antenna receiving the data from Inmarsat 4-F1 and showed the decoded aircraft data coming down using ACARS using Jaero software.
Mike then showed a great range of photos about his satellite reception journey starting with his first of three antennas that he demonstrated. The first is a helical antenna of about 700mm in length wound on an Australia Post tube and an offset feed dish of about 700mm diametre.
Mike has also created a short helical feed for the offset feed dish and showed how he calculated the focal point on the offset feed dish and modified the mounting bracket.
Mike took the audience through how it work out the focal point of an offset feed dish.
The third antenna is a 1.4GHz bowtie antenna that was originally created for Hydrogen Line reception for radio astronomy that he tried on the offset feed dish.
Mike went through how to work out where to point the dish in the sky using an application called dishpointer.
Mike then went through the website to design a helical antenna.
Justin turned the DATV signal off (70cm, 7MHz bandwidth at 15W) and we found the noise floor dropped significantly and the quadrature become better.
Mike then took some questions and showed some other frequencies.
Thanks to Mike for a great presentation.
It can be viewed on the REAST YouTube Channel at the link on the email addition of this broadcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI8wpnhJkTo
73, Justin, VK7TW
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DATV Experimenter's Night
https://fb.me/e/39VVdqDCq
This Wednesday night will see another interesting DATV Experimenters Night starting with a look at DragonOS which is a Ubuntu Linux Distro with many SDR radios and utilities. We will then have a look at the Sixth Edition of the Radio Theory Handbook for Amateur Operators by Fred Swainston that was recently released.
If time permits we will also have a look at the latest DUBUS and AR Magazines along with much more.
See you /there or on the stream.
We stream the nights on the REAST YouTube channel.
https://www.reast.asn.au/news-events/live-stream/
https://www.reast.asn.au/special-interest-groups/amateur-tv/
https://www.youtube.com/c/ReastHobart/
We also go out on RF - DVB-T 7MHz Standard Definition on 445.5MHz. So, if you have a TV, Set-top box or USB DTV Dongle that you can tune and scan 445.5MHz and you can see the Queens Domain, then you have a good chance of receiving the DATV Experimenter's Night Signal. Look out for VK7OTC.
73, Justin, VK7TW
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Training and Assessments
The next REAST Foundation Licence training and all licence assessment day is Saturday November 18th from 9:00am.
If you are thinking of coming along then please let Reg Emmett VK7KK REAST Learning Organiser know ASAP by phoning 0417 391 607 or via the REAST Website Contact Form.
https://www.reast.asn.au/contact/online-contact-form/
Check out the REAST Foundation Licence Training Videos that can be found on the REAST YouTube Training and Assessment playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsnsP_zjw831mdC6sY4XqavRUY-53ZWUn
And checkout the REAST Facebook page events for further details.
https://fb.me/e/17zEAMy5T
73, Reg, VK7KK
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Technology News
French authorities get Apple software update
French authorities have received a software update from Apple for its iPhone 12 and are reviewing it as a fix for a radiation issue, a source at the French digital ministry told Reuters.
Apple pledged to update the software to defuse a row over radiation levels from iPhone 12 handsets, after France suspended sales of the phones earlier this month following tests it said found breaches of radiation exposure limits.
France had threatened to seek a product recall if Apple had refused to do a software update.
Apple had earlier contested the French findings, saying the iPhone 12 was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global standards, but said on September 15 it would issue a software update to accommodate the testing methods used in France.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move by Paris to suspend sales of the iPhone 12 handsets had prompted concerns in other European countries, including Belgium, which has also asked for the software upgrade.
But the software update was limited to France, Belgian industry regulator told Reuters in an emailed statement.
The Belgian regulator also said it expected more steps at a European level after the French authorities inform their peers about the fix and the fact that is not available widely in the European Union.
French regulator Agence Nationale des Frequences did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Dutch digital watchdog also did not respond to a request for comment.
Italian authorities will wait for French deliberations over the Apple update before taking any decision, an Italian government source said.
Researchers have conducted multiple studies over the last two decades to assess the health risks of mobile phones.
According to the World Health Organisation, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by them.
The radiation warning in France was based on results of tests that differ from those carried out in other countries.
Industry experts said there were no safety risks as regulatory limits, based on the risk of burns or heatstroke from the phone's radiation, were set well below levels where scientists have found evidence of harm.
Apple launched the iPhone 15 earlier this month and the iPhone 12 is not available to buy from Apple directly.
It can, however, be bought from third parties that have inventory, or trade old phones.
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/french-authorities-get-apple-software-update-600632
Written by Elizabeth Pineau and sourced from the IT New Web E-zine
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Regular VK7 gatherings and events over the coming months:
Regular gatherings:
Sewing Circle Net – Daily on 3.640 MHz commences at 6:00pm AEST.
Statewide SSTV Net - held every Thursday night via the North/South Link on VK7RAF/VK7RJG from 7:30pm. In the North and North West - VK7RJG on 438.55 -7MHz and in the South - VK7RAF (146.650 -600kHz) CTCSS tone 141.3Hz to link RAF North-South.
State-wide – MICROWAVE QSO Party – following the Sunday broadcast call-back on 1296.15 MHz FM. One group in the greater Hobart area and another in the greater Launceston area.
Then North-south digital contacts on 1296.2MHz using Q65-60B.
Stations in the Launceston area transmitting on the odd minute. Southern stations on the even minute.
SOTA/WWFF Group – Meeting Mondays and Fridays 10.30-12.00 midday at Glebe Gardens Cafe, Henry St, Launceston.
NTARC - Fridays - Coffee mornings in the NTARC Club rooms from 10am to noon.
NTARC - Wednesday 11th October - TestNet and TechNet - TestNet/CW course on 3.580MHz from 7pm till 7.30pm and a TechNet on 3.567MHz from 7.30pm till about 8.30pm.
NTARC - Wednesday 18th October - Club Technical night - from 6.30 to 10.00 pm in the club room Archer Street, Rocherlea.
NW VK7 – Wednesday from 8:00pm local – NW Tassie Amateur Repeater Group Net on VK7RMD
NW VK7 - Thursday commencing at 8:30pm local - N.W. Tassie 2m DX Net 144.190 USB
NW SSTV Nights - 23 October - hosted by Eric VK7EV from 7:30pm using VK7RMD 70cm repeater on Mt Duncan on the 4th Monday in the Month.
Events:
NTARC - October 11th - General meeting in NTARC Club Room, Rocherlea Scout Hall, Archer Street, Rocherlea from 7:30pm.
JOTA - October 20-22 - Statewide event
ALARA - November 3-6 - ALARAMeet 2023 - Hobart Tasmania
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A reminder to those people rostered for next weeks broadcast:
Newsreader: VK7TW
Repeaters: REAST, NTARC and in the NW thanks to N W T A R C, West Coast Radio Group, Cradle Coast Radio Amateur Radio Club, VK7AX, and VK7DC
160m: VK7GS
80m: VK7JGD
40m: VK7DG
20m: VK7TPE
10m: VK7VKT
UHFCB24: VK7FMAC
DMR: Talk Group 5 and D-Star: Reflector 91C VK7ZCR
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You can hear this broadcast again on Tuesday night at 8:00pm on repeaters VK7RAA in Northern VK7 and VK7RHT in the South.
A huge thank you to all people and organisations that assisted with this broadcast.
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That concludes our VK7 Amateur Radio News Broadcast for this week.
You have been listening to or have just missed VK7WI. Next week the National WIA news can be heard at 0900 followed by the VK7 Amateur Radio News around 0930 hours.
Items for the broadcast can be emailed to vk7arnews(at)gmail.com
Further information about the broadcast can be found at the VK7 Amateur Radio News Groups.IO Group.
https://groups.io/g/vk7arnews
The deadline for items is 21:00 on Friday prior to the Sunday of the broadcast.
Callbacks will be taken on the frequency to which you are listening. Relay stations will use their own callsigns during the callback.
On behalf of the VK7 Amateur Radio News Team, 73, stay safe from Rick, VK7RI.
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(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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