The first item today is news of a most interesting web site. It's The Australian Geographical RadioFrequency Map and is a site that
overlays all registered RF transmitters on top of Google Maps. Generic antenna sites are shown with the red RF icon, all
amateur stations are shown by a yellow icon. A mouse-over will give you the site's description, and a click will tell you who
broadcasts from there, and at what frequencies. People interested in the position of every antenna or interested in checking
how close they are to their nearest amateur station or to see where possible interference is coming from, should have a look.
So here it is, every transmitter site in the ACMA database, which is fully searchable on Google Earth by location, site name, client
details, frequency range, emission designator and callsign. This site is definitely one to include in your favourites.
Type in : australian geographical radiofrequency map
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Westlakes members are reminded that nomination forms for club executive and committee positions for 2011/2012 are now available from
the secretary. Fresh blood, in the form of a new member, nominated for a position yesterday. The deadline for nominations is Saturday
9 April.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our maintenance man Barry VK2BZ was literally up a ladder yesterday at the club replacing dud security lights. Seen assisting were
ladder holders, and electical advisors. Well done men. No comments please on callbacks about the number of Irishmen needed to change
a light bulb.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now listen carefully. Wyong Field Day is next Sunday. There are no trains running from Newcastle according to information delivered
to Westlakes yesterday. Yes, there will a substitute bus service but that will add some time to the trip. You have been warned.
The gates at Wyong Racecourse will open at 6.30 am to allow entry and setup for Traders / Exhibitors and Flea Marketeers.
The Trader/ Exhibitor areas will open to the public at 9am. Admission is $12 for Adults with free admission for those under 17.
Amateur radio examinations will be conducted on the day by Brian Kelly who can be contacted on 0418659043 for further information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's in sTock in the Westlakes Store. There are No caps, but three Foundation Licence Books, and four Solar panels.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a surprise move, Gloria announced that she will attend the club canteen next Saturday (her usual day off). But she will not be there
a week later, that's 4th March. So it's pies and mushey peas only on 4th March! Luckily, the March monthly meeting has been postponed
until the second Saturday of that month which is 12th March so there will be the usual post-meeting afternoon tea, Confusing isn't it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the past few days, there has been a lot of activity on the Sun. On Sunday, February 13 at 1738 UTC, sunspot 1158 unleashed an
M6-level blast and on Tuesday, February 15, the same sunspot unleashed an X-class flare, the strongest solar flare in more than
four years. The source of this activity -- sunspot 1158 -- is growing rapidly. There have been warnings that Earth's communications
What does this mean to radio amateurs? The absorption rate will be most severe on 160 meters, less on 80 and somewhat better on 40 meters.
The maximum usable frequency (MUF) -- the highest frequency by which a radio wave can propagate between given terminals by ionospheric
propagation alone, independent of power -- will be lower and auroral propagation on the VHF bands is quite possible. The latest news on
this solar radiation is that it will mainly miss the Earth so there will be little effect on communications after all. Business will be
as usual. Much ado about nothing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The store strkes back. Yesterday's meat tray raffle was drawn by Bill VK2XT who plucked from the barrel, the ticket belonging to
Ken VK2KJ. Ken wins again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the current edition of Amateur Radio Magazine is a clever article about making a HF antenna from a pair of those "slinky" wire toys.
A slinky is a spring thing that walks down steps by itself. The article was co-written by Westlakes member, Allan VK2VEC. The antenna
is simple to make and apparently works well. It's not often that you come across a radio construction article where the component supplier
is a toy shop. Well done allan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And finally, the best news is last. By a stroke of luck, a local prawn fisherman, has promised a delivery of 20 kg of freshly cooked prawns
which may arrive the club at 9 am tomorrow. Yes, free prawns to all members who turn up. By coincidence, the lawns are going to be mown,
clipped, and snipped at a working bee at the same time. We cannot guarantee the arrival of the prawns. But the lawn mowers, trimmers, and
petrol will definitely be there. So how about it? A couple of new faces to help would be nice to see. That's 9 am tomorrow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
WESTLAKES NEWS SUNDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2011
Unfortunately today, the first item is news of a Silent Key. Bob Hockey VK2FI of Gillieston Heights passed away last
October after a short illness. Bob had been a member of Westlakes for many years and regularly attended the club on
Saturdays. Please pause with me in memory of Bob Hockey VK2FI............................................ thank you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's official. Catholics cannot confess via iPhone. The Vatican on said on Friday that the iPhone is no substitute for being
present when admitting sins to a priest as technology is not a substitute for attending in person when admitting sins. This follows
the launch of an iPhone application aimed at helping Catholics through confession and sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the
United States. The Vatican added that confession required the presence of the penitent and the priest. Apple said its application
was not designed to replace going to confession but to help Catholics through the act, which generally involves admitting sins
to a priest in a confessional booth. So it seems that confession by amateur radio operators on a 2 metre net is a long way off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Westlakes members are reminded that nomination forms for club executive and committee positions for 2011/2012 are now available from
the secretary. The deadline for nominations is Saturday 9 April. Also, the March monthly meeting will be held on the second Saturday
of that month which will be Saturday 12 March. There is still one club cap left - cost is $20. Contact the secretary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's one for the SWL's. Medium wave tests from the USA. If you are an SWL or an amateur with a good medium wave receiver, on
Saturday 12 February at 0700 and 0800UTC, radio station KHMO on 1070kHz in Missouri will conduct a DX test for SWLs worldwide.
The test will be with Morse code, sweep tones and voice announcements. Transmissions will be made for five minutes at 0700 at 5kW
into the station's three-tower, day antenna pattern. At 0800 they will transit the same material at 1kW using the six-tower,
night time pattern. Then from 0900 to 1000UTC, WLIQ on 1530kHz in Illinois will conduct a DX test of its own. WLIQ will test for
twenty minutes using Morse code, sweep tones, voice announcement, special music, sound bites and the like at its 1.4kW, non-directional,
day power. Then WLIQ will test for twenty minutes at 290W non-directional, critical hours power. Finally, for the last twenty minutes
of the hour, they will test at 3W, non-directional, night power. If you would like to receive a QSL you can send a written report,
or a cassette or CD to the Chief Engineer of these stations. For more information, type KHMO February DX tests into your search engine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like to test your arm? At an amateur exam that is. Exams are available at Wyong HamFest Sunday February 27. Amateur Radio
New South Wales in conjunction with the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club will hold assessments with the first session at 7am,
second session 10.30 am. This is the fourth year that ARNSW has conducted exams at the Field Day. A prior booking is desirable,
but not essential but you should make contact with the co-ordinator Brian Kelly to find out how the find the rooms, the costs
and what is needed with the paperwork. Brian's contact details are by mobile 0418 659 043 or email to 3323wbk@tpg.com.au
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sixty tickets were sold in Westlakes weekly meat tray raffle yesterday. Richard VK2FRKO drew the winner from the ticket tumble and
the first-time winner was another Richard, VK2CRA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A piece of radio history arrived at the club yesterday thanks to a donation by Jim Dangerfield of Boolaroo. It includes audio CDs
spoken by Sir Allen Fairhall VK2KB and Ken Greenhalgh VK2KG (both now Silent Keys). The subject matter is the early days of of radio
in Australia and in particular, commercial radio station, 2KO. The audio on the dics runs for about 117 minutes in MP3 format.
Several copies will be made and placed in the club library for loan to members.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And finally, a new call sign that slipped through un-noticed. Leigh VK2KAL from Tanilba Bay has picked up a two-letter call (and that's
not easy). He now has VK2KY. Wonder how he bagged that one?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well that's all the news I have this week. This is VK2ATZ. Is there anyone with late news items?
October after a short illness. Bob had been a member of Westlakes for many years and regularly attended the club on
Saturdays. Please pause with me in memory of Bob Hockey VK2FI............................................ thank you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's official. Catholics cannot confess via iPhone. The Vatican on said on Friday that the iPhone is no substitute for being
present when admitting sins to a priest as technology is not a substitute for attending in person when admitting sins. This follows
the launch of an iPhone application aimed at helping Catholics through confession and sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the
United States. The Vatican added that confession required the presence of the penitent and the priest. Apple said its application
was not designed to replace going to confession but to help Catholics through the act, which generally involves admitting sins
to a priest in a confessional booth. So it seems that confession by amateur radio operators on a 2 metre net is a long way off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Westlakes members are reminded that nomination forms for club executive and committee positions for 2011/2012 are now available from
the secretary. The deadline for nominations is Saturday 9 April. Also, the March monthly meeting will be held on the second Saturday
of that month which will be Saturday 12 March. There is still one club cap left - cost is $20. Contact the secretary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's one for the SWL's. Medium wave tests from the USA. If you are an SWL or an amateur with a good medium wave receiver, on
Saturday 12 February at 0700 and 0800UTC, radio station KHMO on 1070kHz in Missouri will conduct a DX test for SWLs worldwide.
The test will be with Morse code, sweep tones and voice announcements. Transmissions will be made for five minutes at 0700 at 5kW
into the station's three-tower, day antenna pattern. At 0800 they will transit the same material at 1kW using the six-tower,
night time pattern. Then from 0900 to 1000UTC, WLIQ on 1530kHz in Illinois will conduct a DX test of its own. WLIQ will test for
twenty minutes using Morse code, sweep tones, voice announcement, special music, sound bites and the like at its 1.4kW, non-directional,
day power. Then WLIQ will test for twenty minutes at 290W non-directional, critical hours power. Finally, for the last twenty minutes
of the hour, they will test at 3W, non-directional, night power. If you would like to receive a QSL you can send a written report,
or a cassette or CD to the Chief Engineer of these stations. For more information, type KHMO February DX tests into your search engine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like to test your arm? At an amateur exam that is. Exams are available at Wyong HamFest Sunday February 27. Amateur Radio
New South Wales in conjunction with the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club will hold assessments with the first session at 7am,
second session 10.30 am. This is the fourth year that ARNSW has conducted exams at the Field Day. A prior booking is desirable,
but not essential but you should make contact with the co-ordinator Brian Kelly to find out how the find the rooms, the costs
and what is needed with the paperwork. Brian's contact details are by mobile 0418 659 043 or email to 3323wbk@tpg.com.au
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sixty tickets were sold in Westlakes weekly meat tray raffle yesterday. Richard VK2FRKO drew the winner from the ticket tumble and
the first-time winner was another Richard, VK2CRA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A piece of radio history arrived at the club yesterday thanks to a donation by Jim Dangerfield of Boolaroo. It includes audio CDs
spoken by Sir Allen Fairhall VK2KB and Ken Greenhalgh VK2KG (both now Silent Keys). The subject matter is the early days of of radio
in Australia and in particular, commercial radio station, 2KO. The audio on the dics runs for about 117 minutes in MP3 format.
Several copies will be made and placed in the club library for loan to members.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And finally, a new call sign that slipped through un-noticed. Leigh VK2KAL from Tanilba Bay has picked up a two-letter call (and that's
not easy). He now has VK2KY. Wonder how he bagged that one?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well that's all the news I have this week. This is VK2ATZ. Is there anyone with late news items?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
WESTLAKES NEWS SUNDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2011
Good Morning and wecome to another local news broadcast for 2011. This is VK2ATZ, The official callsign of
Westlakes Amateur Radio Club founded at Booragul in 1964 and now located at Teralba, Lake Macquarie.
There is a chace that an HF simulcast being transmitted today on 3.565 MHz and if there is, it is by courtesy of Warren VK2UWP.
Callbacks follow at the conclusion of this news and it's all repeated again at 7 pm this evening. Westlakes local
news can be heard each Sunday on this repeater, VK2RTZ, at 9am local. Following at 9.30am is a relay of the
Australia-wide amateur radio news from the VK1WIA.
The first monthly meeting for 2011 was held in the air conditioned club's library yesterday where the air conditioner
struggled to hold its own. A test thermometer placed under the the rear awning, recorded 43 degrees mid-afternoon.
There were two new membership applications approved being: Edward Herivel VK2ZVF of Edgeworth,and Fred Mirande VK2FEDC
ex Wollongng but now living locally. Welcome to Westlakes.
During the meeting, it was decided to hold a lawn mowing and trimming working bee for the club grounds next Tuesday.
That has been cancelled after an inspection of the browned-off grass and the 43 degree thermometer. Just repeating that,
the lawn mowing planned for next Tuesday has been cancelled.
Two new toys were at the meeting yesterday. Steve displayed his Icom Quad-bander hand-held radio (wonder if was one of
those fake ones?) and Geoff VK2EO demonstrated the latest of iPhones. He caught a fish with the iPhone and never left
chair. It's getting hard to tell what's real or not these days.
Old technology (that's us) has found a role in the current protests in Egypt. On 27 January, Egypt fell off the internet
as virtually all international connections were cut following an order from the government. But Protesters circulated
information about how to avoid communication controls inside Egypt. The suggestions included Dial-up modems,Twitter messages
tagged with hashes related to the protests such as #egypt and #jan25, and good old ham radio by voice or Morse code. Who knows,
a whole new Q-code could develop ........ QMR send more rocks.
A total of 73 tickets were sold in yesterday's meat tray. Last weeks winner, Diane VK2FDNE drew the winner. And selected her
own ticket. That's two in a row.
Last week, amateur radio operators kept in touch via HF radio and keeping a vital link alive during the passage of one of the
more fierce and expansive severe tropical cyclones to hit the North East coast of Australia. Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi,
named by the Regional Specialist Meteorological Centre at Nadi, Fiji, tracked from its breeding ground east of Vanuatu to make
landfall on the Far North Queensland Coast, last Wednesday. The system was so vast that it affected communities along a
900km stretch of coast from Cooktown to Mackay and 500km inland to Croydon, Richmond, Charters Towers and Clermont. Whilst making
sure that their families and houses were safe, radio amateurs within the warning area and across the country kept in touch via
HF Radio with a listening watch on Queensland WICEN frequency 7075kHz and regular contact via the morning Gnarly Net on 3600kHz
and the afternoon Friendly Net on 7115kHz. This regular contact has kept the communication lines open just in case the cyclone
rated commercial telecommunication networks failed. Operators also maintained operations on VHF and UHF during the phenomenal
weather conditions. A number of Radio Amateurs who are members of the Australian Defence Force have been involved with flood relief
operations during the previous weeks and are now assisting with the relief effort following the passage of the cyclone.
Yet another warning from Microsoft has been released. In a security advisory, the company warned of a loophole that could be used
by malicious hackers to steal private information or hijack computers. The bug potentially affects every user of the Internet Explorer
web browser - around 900 million people worldwide. But help is at hand. Microsoft has issued a software patch to defend against attacks,
and said it was working to develop a long-term fix.The security advisory, which was published last Friday, details how the vulnerability
can be used to manipulate users and take over their machines. Although the flaw is actually inside Windows itself, it only appears to
affect the way that Internet Explorer handles some web pages and documents. Microsoft admitted that the problem meant users could easily
be fooled into downloading malicious files by doing something as simple as clicking on a web link. When the user clicked that link,
the malicious script would run on the user's computer for the rest of the current Internet Explorer session. All Windows users -
particularly those who use Internet Explorer - are being urged to download the fix while the company's security team develop a way to
plug the hole permanently.
Westlakes members are reminded that nomination forms for club executive and committee positions for 2011/2012 are now available from
the secretary. The deadline for nominations is Saturday 9 April. Also, the March monthly meeting will be held on the second Saturday
of that month which will be Saturday 12 March. A final also, there is one club cap left - cost is $20. Contact the secretary.
Well that's all the news I have this week And remember, Wyong Field Day is on three weeks today.
Westlakes Amateur Radio Club founded at Booragul in 1964 and now located at Teralba, Lake Macquarie.
There is a chace that an HF simulcast being transmitted today on 3.565 MHz and if there is, it is by courtesy of Warren VK2UWP.
Callbacks follow at the conclusion of this news and it's all repeated again at 7 pm this evening. Westlakes local
news can be heard each Sunday on this repeater, VK2RTZ, at 9am local. Following at 9.30am is a relay of the
Australia-wide amateur radio news from the VK1WIA.
The first monthly meeting for 2011 was held in the air conditioned club's library yesterday where the air conditioner
struggled to hold its own. A test thermometer placed under the the rear awning, recorded 43 degrees mid-afternoon.
There were two new membership applications approved being: Edward Herivel VK2ZVF of Edgeworth,and Fred Mirande VK2FEDC
ex Wollongng but now living locally. Welcome to Westlakes.
During the meeting, it was decided to hold a lawn mowing and trimming working bee for the club grounds next Tuesday.
That has been cancelled after an inspection of the browned-off grass and the 43 degree thermometer. Just repeating that,
the lawn mowing planned for next Tuesday has been cancelled.
Two new toys were at the meeting yesterday. Steve displayed his Icom Quad-bander hand-held radio (wonder if was one of
those fake ones?) and Geoff VK2EO demonstrated the latest of iPhones. He caught a fish with the iPhone and never left
chair. It's getting hard to tell what's real or not these days.
Old technology (that's us) has found a role in the current protests in Egypt. On 27 January, Egypt fell off the internet
as virtually all international connections were cut following an order from the government. But Protesters circulated
information about how to avoid communication controls inside Egypt. The suggestions included Dial-up modems,Twitter messages
tagged with hashes related to the protests such as #egypt and #jan25, and good old ham radio by voice or Morse code. Who knows,
a whole new Q-code could develop ........ QMR send more rocks.
A total of 73 tickets were sold in yesterday's meat tray. Last weeks winner, Diane VK2FDNE drew the winner. And selected her
own ticket. That's two in a row.
Last week, amateur radio operators kept in touch via HF radio and keeping a vital link alive during the passage of one of the
more fierce and expansive severe tropical cyclones to hit the North East coast of Australia. Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi,
named by the Regional Specialist Meteorological Centre at Nadi, Fiji, tracked from its breeding ground east of Vanuatu to make
landfall on the Far North Queensland Coast, last Wednesday. The system was so vast that it affected communities along a
900km stretch of coast from Cooktown to Mackay and 500km inland to Croydon, Richmond, Charters Towers and Clermont. Whilst making
sure that their families and houses were safe, radio amateurs within the warning area and across the country kept in touch via
HF Radio with a listening watch on Queensland WICEN frequency 7075kHz and regular contact via the morning Gnarly Net on 3600kHz
and the afternoon Friendly Net on 7115kHz. This regular contact has kept the communication lines open just in case the cyclone
rated commercial telecommunication networks failed. Operators also maintained operations on VHF and UHF during the phenomenal
weather conditions. A number of Radio Amateurs who are members of the Australian Defence Force have been involved with flood relief
operations during the previous weeks and are now assisting with the relief effort following the passage of the cyclone.
Yet another warning from Microsoft has been released. In a security advisory, the company warned of a loophole that could be used
by malicious hackers to steal private information or hijack computers. The bug potentially affects every user of the Internet Explorer
web browser - around 900 million people worldwide. But help is at hand. Microsoft has issued a software patch to defend against attacks,
and said it was working to develop a long-term fix.The security advisory, which was published last Friday, details how the vulnerability
can be used to manipulate users and take over their machines. Although the flaw is actually inside Windows itself, it only appears to
affect the way that Internet Explorer handles some web pages and documents. Microsoft admitted that the problem meant users could easily
be fooled into downloading malicious files by doing something as simple as clicking on a web link. When the user clicked that link,
the malicious script would run on the user's computer for the rest of the current Internet Explorer session. All Windows users -
particularly those who use Internet Explorer - are being urged to download the fix while the company's security team develop a way to
plug the hole permanently.
Westlakes members are reminded that nomination forms for club executive and committee positions for 2011/2012 are now available from
the secretary. The deadline for nominations is Saturday 9 April. Also, the March monthly meeting will be held on the second Saturday
of that month which will be Saturday 12 March. A final also, there is one club cap left - cost is $20. Contact the secretary.
Well that's all the news I have this week And remember, Wyong Field Day is on three weeks today.
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