A small attendance was present at the club yesterday for the 2010 Christmas function and krazy golf match but despite
the lack of numbers,it turned out to be a good afternoon. Alex VK2ZM donned the apron and cooked all the steaks and sausages
- so many that the attendees had a nice bagfull plus surplus buns to take home. The Christmas Hamper raffle was drawn and
the winner was a most deserving, Greg VK2CW. The golf.....three teams of three took to the 9 hole course. The members of the
winning team each received a hand-painted wooden wall plaque. They were Dave VK2RD, Natalie Efimov, and Keith VK2PKT.
Thanks to those of the fairer sex who seem to contribute so much at these events, namely Diane VK2FDNE, Chris Downward,
Natalie Efimov, and PennY Smith.
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The Remembrance Day Contest results are out. VK2ATZ scored 2nd place in this year's Contest in our selected category.
The club entered the “Multi Operator Phone” section. We were beaten by our neighbouring club, Hunter Branch, VK2AWX .
The Central Coast Club VK2AFY came in a creditable 7th place. Well done to all who took part. Full results are in the
December Amateur Radio Magazine, which by the way, is a bumper edition running to 64 pages.
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They are back again. The Club has received another shipment of those 20 watt Solar Panels. The price is the same as the last
lot, $85, and there are 14 available, as 6 went out-the-door yesterday. We also have a range of Charge Controllers as well.
There are 5 amp, 10 amp and 20 amp models available. Contact Aly VK2AFZ in the store for more details
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Now something for skywatchers. The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks this year on December 13th and 14th, is the most
intense meteor shower of the year. It lasts for days, is rich in fireballs, and can be seen from almost any point on Earth.
Most meteor showers come from comets, which spew ample meteoroids for a night of 'shooting stars.' The Geminids are
different. The parent is not a comet but a weird rocky object named "3200 Phaethon" that sheds very small dusty particles.
This month, Earth will pass through the Geminid debris stream, producing as many as 120 meteors per hour over dark-sky sites.
The best time to look is probably between local midnight and sunrise on Tuesday, December 14th, when the Moon is low and the
constellation Gemini is high overhead, spitting bright Geminids across a sparkling starry sky. Bundle up, go outside, and
observe the spectacle.
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This month sees the 87th anniversary of the establishment of Australia's second radio broadcaster,it was on long-wave,
back in December 1923, that 2FC Sydney went on air. But first ON air was 2SB Sydney which went to air one moth before.
2FC was 5,000 watts transmitted via a squirrel type cage antenna supported from two 60 metre high steel lattice towers,
spaced 180 metres apart. The station operated on the long wave frequency of 1100 metres, 171 kiloHertz.
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Coming to a supermarket soon near you are radio-controlled shopping trollies. These trollies lock down their wheels to stop
them being taken outside a certain area, or in other words, "pinched". Widely used in New Zealand, the system uses a buried
perimeter antenna and an RF transmitter to generate a low frequency signal to define the limit of trolley travel. When a
trolley rolls past the antenna line, its brakes lock on to the wheels and the trolley is stopped in its tracks. The New zealand
Experience has shown that these radio-controlled trollies have cut the cost of stolen and abandoned trollies by 98 per cent.
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Who want's a club cap - just the thing to wear to the Wyong Field Day. The secretary has a limited number for sale at $20. Be
quick, they won't last long. As of yesterday, there are four left.
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Congratulations to the Newcastle Division of Crest NSW which has received The City of Newcastle Service Award for 2010.
Crest received its award from the Lord Mayor, John Tate, in recognition of, "an outstanding contribution to community events
and public safety."
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A record has been claimed in the U.K. by FIVE members of the same family having all got amateur radio licences. Eleven-year-old
Ricky Duckhouse made number five by passing his foundation exam and now holds an "M3" call sign. His father, Kevin, mother Alison,
and brother and sister have all got licences. WEstlakes club once had four members of the same family - the Freedman's, where
father, son, and two grandsons all held call signs at the some time, but we can't beat five.
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A mystery wreck has been found sitting upright on the seabed in the north arm of the Hunter River. The wreck is approximately 84m long
and 13m wide. The visible sides of the wreck show it to be about 5m high. Research available shows no record of such a large vessel
having been scuttled along the riverbank at Stockton and it is hoped that the Heritage Office may have some more light to shed on the
history of this vessel. Although the area has been surveyed previously, this wreck was not identified. Newcastle Port Corporation is
now using multi-beam echo sounders to probe the harbour to accurately map and define objects and that is how this mystery was discovered.
Photos of this abandoned ship will be in the next Westlakes Magazine.
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Please note that the club will be open next Saturday 18th December. However, as the following two Saturdays fall on Christmas Day
and New Year's Day, we will have a shut-down over those two weeks and will re-open for business on Saturday 8th January 2011.
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Well that's all the news we have this week. This is VK2ATZ.
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Now to wind up. Westlakes Amateur Radio Club Inc. is located in York Street an is open on Saturday Afternoons from around 12 noon
Also on a Tuesday evening from around 6pm. To make contact at other times, try dialling (02) 49 581588 where an answering service
operates. Visitors are alway welcome at the club. We have plenty of tea, coffee, long-life milk, and biscuits too.
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