WARC News 27 June 2010

Good Morning this is VK2ATZ, the official station of Westlakes Amateur Radio Club
located at Teralba in wooded grounds on the shores of Lake Macquarie.

As most listeners would be aware, the Sunday news from Westlakes did not go to air last week. The reason was of course, it was the postponed Mini Field Day and weren't we lucky with the weather. It was perfect. There was a bumper crowd, and plenty of helpers to set up and pull down tables and covers. The general comment around the grounds was that it was one of the best Mini Field Days yet held.
Special thanks must go to Gloria, the Canteen Manageress, who did most of the food stuff organising. Thanks also to Diane VK2FDNE who kept the barbecue rolling, to Penny the "hat check girl" at the welcome table, and to those ladies who prepared salads, cakes, and slices etc. The auctioneer on the day was Col VK2YP who kept the items selling at a cracker pace. The meat tray raffle winner was Gloria Brown and the lucky Westlakes Badge Prize went to Ken VK2KJ who won 2kg of sausages. Ken got confused in the excitement of winning and left with the meat tray by mistake, leaving the sausages for Gloria to take home.
The usual jellybean guessing competition winner was Ken VK2UCF.At the end of the day, an unknown "good Samaritan" with a truck offered to take all the leftover items and rubbish to a tip at Parkes where he was heading - a good 6 hour drive.
The day was a financial success for the club. After deducting all expenses, we made just over $1800 profit. Last seen, the treasurer was smiling.

The sick list. As advised by Richard, Diane VK2FDNE has been admitted to John Hunter for tests. We all wish her well and a speedy return to the club. Richard also advises that he will demonstrate how to construct a dipole antenna at the club on Tuesday evenings. That's just the thing needed for beginners and Foundation Licence holders.

The results of the Club's CQ Repeater Contest for 2010 have been tabulated by Allan VK2JED. They will be presented at the next monthly meeting on July 10th

Members visiting the club in the last fortnight may have noticed the latest incident of
vandalism. Two holes have been senselessly kicked in the sidewall of our building. What can I say, except that repairs are underway.

The club's Ezybee Net, named after it's founder Eric VK2EZB (now a silent key) has fallen on hard times. It needs a co-ordinator to run the group. It only runs for half an hour at 8am on a Saturday on repeater 146.775 MHz. The purpose of the net is to inform listeners of happenings at Westlakes that afternoon. Anyone interested in running the net or joining a roster, please advise the secretary. It would be sad to see the Ezybee Net fold.

A good news story for a change. Frank VK2WH brought his Yaesu radio to the club yesterday seeking advice on programming the CTSS encoding for 91.5 Hz tone access. He could not seem to decode the instructional manual to set it up (me either Frank). Dave VK2RD took over the task and in 10 minutes (give or take half an hour or so) all was sorted and on-air tests were conducted to reveal success.

The long-awaited Signal Tracer/Injector project is ready to start. Les Smith has all of the components ready and the first run of this class will be next Saturday 3rd July at 2:00pm in the Westlakes activity room. The second run will be two weeks later on Saturday 14th. If you want to be part of this project be at the activity room ready to go at 2pm.

The repeater VK2RTZ on 146.775 MHz appears to have a problem with output power. Reports from Central Coast stations and some locals in iffy mobile locations are having difficulty hearing the output. Peter VK2ZTV is aware of the problem and is investigating the likelihood of a faulty PA board. As the Doctor said to the midget, you will have to remain a little patient.

The July edition of Westlakes Magazine is ready to go and should appear in letterboxes by 1st July. The email version for members who receive the publication via the Internet will appear in "inboxes" at the same time.

The meat tray raffle. A new ticket seller appeared on the scene yesterday in the form of Keith VK2PKT - he did well too. After all the confusion of last week's missing tray, the draw yesterday was clear cut the winner being Alex VK2ZM. I am unaware who drew his ticket. Should it have been VK2KJ or Gloria? They wouldn't let VK2KJ near the barrel...surely?

Well that' all the local news I have this week.

Westlakes Amateur Radio Club Inc. is located in York Street and is open on Saturday Afternoons from around 12 noon until everyone goes home. Also, on a Tuesday evening from around 6pm again until everyone goes home. Although a Radio Club, we are on the telephone. Try dialling 049 581588. An answering service operates after hours. Visitors are always welcome we have plenty of tea, coffee, and long-life milk.

Westlakes News Sunday 6th June 2010

WESTLAKES AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Inc.

Weekly Broadcast 6th June 2010.

Good morning this is VK2ATZ. Here is a summary of news and events for Amateur Radio Operators brought to you by Westlakes Amateur Radio Club Inc.

Unfortunately we begin today’s broadcast with news of another of our members becoming a Silent Key. Barry Wilson VK2BBA from Croudace Bay was a long time member of Westlakes and over the past few years was a regular at the club of a Saturday. Barry had been dealing with Cancer the last few years. There was a ceremony last Friday morning for Barry's friends and family at Lambton Rd Broadmeadow then a Muslim funeral at the Mosque in Mayfield. Later in the afternoon.

Vale Barry VK2BBA

As most know, the Field day set down for last Sunday was called off owing to the condition of the grounds. Apparently there were a few souls who turned up on the day, only to find the area bare. We tried to contact everyone that we had email and phone contact details for but unfortunately, not all could be reached. Please accept our apologies and note that the date has now been set for Sunday 20^th June (weather permitting).

Thanks to Peter VK2ZTV, the interference to the 146.775 repeater has again been attended to. It appears that the problem stems from Microwave equipment co-sited with the repeater. Peter has fitted a new receiver which has the previously advertised features fitted. That being CTCSS tones for 123 Hz, 91.5Hz and access for untoned signals with a strong carrier. The carrier and 123 Hz features will be withdrawn in the future. If you have an older 2 metre radio without CTCSS ability, then the club can provide a small board at cost to fit your radio and allow you this feature. 91.5 Hz has been chosen as the standard access tone Australia wide.

Last week’s meat tray winner, Greg VK2CW was on hand to draw the winning ticket for this week and the prize went to Les VK2LT. Came to brag about Dayton, Bought a ticket and wins the prize…. The BBQ is on this afternoon BYO drinks.

The club purchased a number of Fred Swainston's popular Radio Theory Handbook. This is the 5th edition which has been completely revised and comes with a CD. The members of our current theory class have received their copies and the other members who ordered one are advised to pick their copy up from the Treasurer.

We still have a room available at Norah Head lighthouse for the weekend of 21^st through 23^rd August for the ILHLS activity. You can book this with Barry VK2CXA or Allan VK2JED. If you like you can come along and operate for the day if you wish. A good weekend is on offer from a very scenic location.

What is the difference between http and https?

Don't know how many of you are aware of this difference, but it is worth alerting any that do not.... The main difference between http:// and https:// is it’s all about keeping you secure. HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. The S (big surprise) stands for "Secure"... If you visit a Website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://. This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecure' language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the Website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site. This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an Http website! But if the web address begins with https:// that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on. You understand why this is so important, right? If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://. If it doesn't, you should NEVER enter sensitive information ... such as a credit card number. PASS IT ON (You may save someone a lot of grief).

AMATEUR RADIO ASTRONOMERS FIND SUPER SECRET SPACE PLANE

The following from ARNewsline...

A group of amateur radio-astronomers have accomplished what the military was likely hoping would not happen. They have spotted the super-secret U.S. Air Force X-37B mini space plane on-orbit. Amateur Radio Newline’s Frank Haas, KB4T, says the un-piloted X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 1 was lofted on April 22 atop an Atlas launcher. It is being flown under the auspices of the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. From there it entered a proverbial cone of silence regarding its on-orbit duties. But thanks to a worldwide network of amateur sky watchers, the spacecraft is reportedly in a 39.99 degree inclination, circling the Earth in an orbit 401 kilometres by 422 kilometres. The next phase in the amateur astronomers tracking of the X-37B will be an attempt to see if the space plane is emitting any radio signals! The US Air Force has not said what the robotic ship is for, but most analysts guess that it is likely a high altitude spy craft.

BUSTED: Item courtesy Southgate Amateur news...

The Australian Communications and Media Authority have cancelled an Amateur radio station licence following an investigation that uncovered continuing breaches by the licensee. In the case of the recent cancellation, crucial information was provided by other radio amateurs that alerted the ACMA to the ongoing non-compliance and assisted the investigation. The breaches included causing interference to other stations, failing to use a call sign and transmitting an unmodulated carrier. The ACMA made the decision to cancel the amateur licence when other compliance and enforcement measures had failed. The ACMA say in their reporting that every effort had been made to assist, encourage and educate the licensee to understand the importance of compliance with licence conditions. Despite repeated warnings to the licensee, the ACMA found that non-compliance continued over an extended period of time. "While it is extremely unusual for amateurs to ignore their obligation to comply with the law, the fact is that there have been instances of extreme behaviour that requires enforcement action. This action by the ACMA should remind us all that it will act when necessary" It is good to see the Australian regulator acting to enforce Amateur Radio regulations.

While on Enforcement.

The New Zealand regulator has been busy too.

A New Zealand ham is in trouble for running his station at power levels in excess of that nation’s maximum for radio amateurs. Alan Potter, ZL3II, of Christchurch, has been fined $1500 dollars NZ and ordered to pay $100 in court costs and had had his station confiscated by the government. This, after being found guilty of breaching Section 113 of the Radio communications Act 1989 by running power in excess of 3100 watts out of his station in a nation where 500 Watts is the absolute limit. Specifically, Potter was charged in the Christchurch District Court on April 14th after being found in possession of radio transmitting equipment that was capable of operating at a significantly higher power than the Amateur Radio Operators General License allows. He was found guilty of transmitting outside the terms and conditions of the General User Radio License for Amateur Radio Operators. Potter might have gotten away with his illegal high power activities a bit longer if not for one little mistake. Instead of just keeping quiet and operating, news reports say that New Zealand's Radio Spectrum Management agency became aware of Potter after he reportedly posted on YouTube. One video showed his amplifier operating at the 3100 watt level. That video has since been removed.

This month’s Business meeting will take place next Saturday 12^th June at 13:30 hours. Normally, when the meeting falls on a Long Weekend it is transferred to the following week but with the postponed Field day falling on Sunday 20^th June the Saturday will be required to get ready for Sunday. So see you all at the Monthly meeting NEXT week 12^th June.

Don’t forget to join in with the group each Saturday at 8am for the EZB net on 146.775 MHz where those participating have a round table discussion of what they have been doing during the past week and what is ahead for the next one. There is no set Net Controller, whoever is there first takes the net for the morning. Please join us. Also early risers are reminded to tune to 3.588MHz each Saturday morning at 6am for the Stone the Crows Net with Ted VK2UI as Master of Ceremonies.

That concludes Westlakes segment of this week news.