WESTLAKES NEWS FOR 15TH JULY.2012

Well the meat tray raffle was carefully selected from the ticket tumbler by Leonie VK2FHRK. On the winning ticket was the name Julie. Some of you are going to be thinking- who is Julie. Well Julie just happens to be the daughter of Greg (VK2CW) and Penny. Well the meat tray was once again went to the Smith house hold. Congratulations Julie enjoy the meat tray. News on the Lighthouse and Lightships weekend. The Saint Tudwal's Lighthouse in North Wales is the 300th entry in next month's International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. A group from the Strumble Head Contest Group GC0OBS, led by Warwick Hall G4WMH will activate the lighthouse on a small archipelago lying south of Abersoch at the western end of Tremadog Bay. The white light and shorter range red flash navigation device was built of stone in 1877 after the island group was bought by Trinity House, the main lighthouse authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. Despite the economic and political change occurring around the globe, this fun weekend, now in its 15th year, continues to be on course. The basic objective is to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships, their need for preservation and restoration, and to give amateur radio some publicity. In the lead on 50 registrations is Australia, followed by the USA (48), Germany (44), and then England (24), Netherlands (19), Scotland and South Africa (12), Argentina (9), Sweden (8), Portugal and Puerto Rico (7), Finland, Poland and Wales (6). The registrations so far come from more than 30 countries made by clubs, groups and individuals.Recent new entries include those from Mexico and Spain, with many more sea-going nations to join in the event on August 18 and 19.While on the lighthouse weekend, a group of Westlakes members will be attending Norah Head Lighthouse on that weekend so the club is looking for radio operators to man the radios during the day and night. If you are interested please contact Barrie, the club Secretary to register your name. Sun unleashes X-Flare. Space Weather reports that sunspot AR1520 unleashed an X1.4-class solar flare on July 12 at 1653 UT. They say: Because the sunspot was directly facing Earth at the time of the blast, this is a geoeffective event. Stay tuned for updates about possible CMEs and radio blackouts. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded a flash of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the blast site. The UV and X-ray pulse from the flare will have partially ionized Earth's upper atmosphere on the dayside of our planet, disturbing the normal propagation of radio signals. Haraoa ZL9HR DXpedition to Campbell Island announcement. The team at the Hellenic Amateur Radio Association of Australia are pleased to announce that the landing permit for the ZL9HR DXpedition to Campbell Island has been issued by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. The DXpedition will take place between the 28th. of November and the 9th. of December. An international team is being assembled for this event on the sub-Antartic Campbell Island. This will be the biggest DXpedition by an Australian club in 25 years and the biggest one in 2012 worldwide. For all information please go to the DXpedition website at ZL9HR.com. 10 year-old Radio Ham on TV Jason Brand VK2FJAB (10) was interviewed for the morning 'Today' show on Channel 9 in Australia. He talks about amateur radio and his Do-It-Yourself space projects. Check his full story on youtube. For those Amateur radio operators who like Space stories, this story is for you. Space Shuttle Grand Finale 2010-11. McLean Fahnestock has produced a High Definition video work showing all 135 space shuttle launches. Watch Grand Finale 2010-11. Google the above and have hours of viewing. Norm (VK2KNC ) has a project in the making. It,s a 1 valve broadcast receiver( plus other components).Norm had the working prototpe on air in the Westlakes activity room yesterday. All parts are available from the Westlakes store. As reported last week, Geoff ( VK2GL) will donate a prize to the winning receiver. All projects will be judged at our Christmas party. Listen to future broadcasts for Norm's up and coming projects. Reminder of our Field Day which will be held on the 16th of September. This is a Sunday. All the usual stall holders will be there as well as Andrews Communications. Westlakes famous jelly bean guessing competition, BBQ and raffles will be there. This is your club so if you have anything which you would like to donate ( no TVs, VCRs or computer monitors). Ring the club for further details. Stall holders as well as boot sales are most welcome. Well that's all the news we have this week. Do you have a news items that you would like read out on a broadcast? Contact Richard VK2FRKO on email address vk2frko@tpg.com.au or give the item to Richard at the club. Now to wind up. Westlakes Amateur Radio Club Inc. is located in York Street, TERALBA - and 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 a rather dull selection of bland biscuits. Thank you for reading.