They are back again, and going fast - those 20 watt Solar Panels. 20 panels arrived at Westlakes a week ago and as of yesterday
there were 9 left. The price is the same as before, $85 picked up from the club. As well there is a small number of charge
controllers - 5 amp at $39, 10 amp at $55, and 20 amp at $85. Contact Aly VK2AFZ in the store for more details. He will be
back on deck after the Christmas/New Year break on 8th January.
A new member. Visiting the club for the first time yesterday and applying for membership was Fred Mirande VK2FDEC. Fred
who hails from Wollongong will be moving to the local area soon and thought it a good idea to join a local radio club.
His application will go before the next monthly meeting which will be held on Saturday 5th February. There will not be a
meeting in January.
Who said that amateurs don't QSL anymore? It's not the case in the US. The ARRL’s Incoming and Outgoing QSL Bureaus have
gone into high gear. Compared to 2009, 2010 has seen a dramatic increase in the number of cards received from ARRL members
that were sent to foreign QSL bureaus, as well as the number of cards sent out to the local bureaus. In addition, the number
of DXCC applications also increased. To December 14th, 2010, the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau received 709,800 cards destined
for foreign QSL bureaus from ARRL members in the US and the year isn't over yet. This represents an increase of 16 percent
over the 2009 number of 612,000 cards
Do you like working satellites? This will interest you. Do you also like Morse? This will definitely interest you. The event
is a straight-key night called, "OSCAR 2011." Just operate CW on any OSCAR satellite, using a straight hand key, from 0000 UTC
to 2400 UTC on 1 January 2011, working as many Straight Key stations as you can. There are no rules, no scoring and no logs
required. A cynic might add, "and no operators."
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.
OTTAWA — Canada. This week, a volunteer team inflated a silver weather balloon. Their goal was to fly a radio-tracked balloon
higher than one had ever been flown before. Then laden with a GPS and tracking instruments, the balloon was sent aloft. Four hours
after launch the flight soared into the record books. reaching an altitude of 39,899 metres, more than three times higher than
commercial airplane flights. Unlike rockets, it doesn't take much money to launch a weather balloon. For about $1,000 a flight,
community groups can send these vehicles up in the atmosphere to take scientific measurements, or simply for the thrill of the
height. This global sport began in 1987, when American Bill Brown became the first radio amateur to send a radio-equipped weather
balloon into the stratosphere.. With amateur radio operators sprinkled across the continent, there is a handy communications
network for monitoring the balloons. This record-setting balloon landed some 650 kilometres away, tracked by ham operators through
the Eastern seaboard over the Internet.
And from the US. Republican, Greg Walden, who also happens to be W7EQI, tweeted the news to his "followers" yesterday that he had
been named Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Among other
things, the subcommittee's responsibilities include oversight of the FCC. In a follow-up Twitter message, Walden explained that
"The last tweet was Morse code! Just the ham radio operator in me having fun. It says I‚ll chair the communications and tech
subcommittee." Walden is one of two ham radio operators in Congress. The other is Rep. Mike Ross, WD5DVR. The full text of Walden's
Twitter message was "Will chair comm and tech sub 73s w7eqi." No wonder his original message was not understood.
Westlakes is about to have another Nonagenarian in its ranks. Do you know what a nonagenarian is? (I had to look it up).
Long-time club member Doug VK2YI turns 90 tomorrow. Happy birthday to you Doug.
And the last item of news for 2010 is good news. It has been spoken about for a long time, but at last action is on the way -
the completion of the concrete pad at the rear of Westlakes clubrooms. A contractor has been engaged and the work will be done
on 4th January. But that's not all. Also the same day, the concrete contractor will construct a 5 metre driveway at the entrance
to the club grounds from York street. A specialcontingent of guards will need to be organised to ensure the safety of the work
until the concrete hardens. The driveway cannotbe driven on for at least 4 days. The work (subject to wet-weather delays) will
be done on 4 January and a barrier will stop vehicles entering the grounds until after Saturday 8th. That's the date the club
re-opens after the Christmas break.
A final reminder. Westlakes club will shut down for two weeks. It will re-open for business on Saturday 8th January 2011 and the
local news broadcast will return on Sunday 9th January.
Well that's all the news I have this week, and this year. It only remains for me to thank those who have assisted in presenting the Sunday
broadcasts and to those who take the time to call back. to wish all member and their families a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
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, biscuits, and the odd mouse.
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