WESTLAKES NEWS FOR SUNDAY 16TH February 2014

What happened at your club yesterday? Well, the reported mock display for our 3 days of Amateur Radio promotion at the Newcastle Show was was a non event due to the persisting rain. So... a discussion and a practise run on paper was done in the library. A volunteer to stay overnight in Dave's campervan on Saturday is still required. We have a member that will double up( that means will do 2 nights) so if you can help please contact Geoff VK2GL by emailing him at leage@optusnet.com.au The meat tray draw took place in the library and Geoff VK2YFA was there to draw the lucky ticket. The ticket tumbler was sent tumbling and when the tumbler stopped turning, Geoff reached in and written on this weeks ticket was the callsign of VK2CMS. Congratulations Mark - enjoy the meat tray. In the activity room, Norm, Geoff and a number of other members were trying to repair some soldering stations. Not sure how many out of the three are now working. We can say definitely that one is working. Thanks to Ian from Jaycar - Warners Bay. Also in the activity room was Dave VK2RD who was putting together Diane's new computer - well it will be when we finish installing the new components. Diane unfortunately got caught in a scam on the Internet by a company selling cheap computers from CHINA. 5 weeks later still no pc – Be careful everyone. From the Desk of the WIA. Summer ducting blamed for TV interference. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has investigated complaints of poor TV reception in the Shoalhaven and Nowra areas on New South Wales south-eastern coast. The ACMA visited the Illawarra Knights Hill transmission site. It found that the most likely cause to be summer time tropospheric ducting. Distant television transmissions operating on the same channels from Newcastle, more than 300 kilometres away, have caused reception interference in Shoalhaven and Nowra. Viewers in marginal coverage areas, or those with inadequate antennas, are more likely to be affected. Telecasters are now looking at options to improve coverage to give more reliable services from Knights Hill. The WIA has announced that its PR4AmateurRadio Expo is to be held through the clubs or groups, during April the 11th, 12th and 13th. Expo details and on-line registration are on the WIA website. With only ten weeks to go - now can be the time to make the necessary preparations. AUSTRALIA'S MOST WANTED FIELD DAY Hey! it's only ONE WEEK to go to the Wyong Field Day! Here's the final lists of traders, exhibitors and seminars, don't forget the big flea market of course. The traders attending with the widest range of gear for you to buy are: Andrews Communications, Radio Supply Limited, Jaycar, Softmark, RF Solutions, Cro-tek Instruments, NBS Antennas, Oakley Electronics and this year we are very proud to welcome back ICOM Australia. The exhibitors you'll find at Wyong are: The Summits on the Air association, The historical radio society of Australia,The Australian radio DX Club,The WIA QSL Bureau ( not there last year due to the heavy rain storms at Newcastle), Hornsby & District amateur radio club, ALARA, WICEN New South Wales, Norah Head Marine Rescue, AMSAT VK, ARNSW Homebrew & experimenters group The Wireless Institute of Australia and an exhibition of many things amateur television. Up and coming contests WIA John Moyle Field Day weekend March 15-16, WIA VK Harry Angel Memorial Sprint May 3rd. SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, DX, BEACON REPEATER AND NET ADVICE New Mildura beacon NOW on air. After delays caused by heatwave conditions and antenna tuning, the new 630 Metre band beacon is now operating at Mildura in Victoria's northwest - at the cross-roads of Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. The project, the work of Noel Ferguson VK3FI, is a 473 Kilohertz beacon based on the Drew Diamond VK3XU circuit with changes made mainly for available components. What a job, but it now radiates from an L-antenna against a mast, plus seven radials and some 27 earth stakes. The beacon on a part-time basis when VK3FI is present, currently about 22:00 hours Australian Eastern Daylight Time. Reception reports will be appreciated. vk3fi@wia.org.au UK AMATEURS HEAR JADE RABBIT FROM THE MOON. Beijing’s Jade Rabbit lunar rover had been thought to be dead but its radio signal on 8.4GHz was received by radio amateur Paul Marsh, M0EYT on 12 February. This is a remarkable achievement as the relatively low-power transmitter was never intended to be received by amateurs on Earth. News outlets including CNN have reported on Paul’s feat. Pictures and the full story can be found via the AMSAT UK website. New amateur bands have been allowed in Bulgaria. In the future, LZ amateurs will be able to use bands 472-479kHz, 525-545 kHz and 70.00-70.50 MHz. In addition, the 1.8MHz band has been extended up to 2MHz. All those bands have to be used on secondary basis. DX NEWS Mellish Reef DXpedition Ready to Pick Up the Post-FT5ZM Slack.When the hubbub generated by the FT5ZM Amsterdam Island DXpedition is still echoing in our ears, the Mellish Reef VK9MT DXpedition will be waiting in the wings to launch its own adventure on the Amateur Radio airwaves. VK9MT will be handing out another rare one March 29 through April 9 from the Coral Sea atoll.The team said that one of its biggest logistical challenges will be the purchase of 1400 liters of “petrol” (gasoline) to fuel generators. The team has selected the 25 meter passenger expedition yacht Evohe from New Zealand to transport operators and gear to Mellish Reef. Given the paucity of dry ground at the operating site, DXpedition participants plan to take their meals and sleep on the vessel.The schedule calls for 10 full days of operation on 160 through 10 meters, CW, SSB, and RTTY, with 10 operators. Six members of the successful ZL9HR operation from Campbell Island in December 2012 are among the team members.The DXpedition budget is estimated at $110,000 — a bit more modest than the $450,000 FT5ZM budget. That figure does not include operators’ individual expenses. The team has pledged “full financial transparency” for all aspects of the DXpedition. “When the books are closed, clubs and foundations that supported the project will receive a financial accounting,” Team Mellish has said. Contact the DXpedition via e-mail. The DXpedition also has a Facebook page. The shirts are here: The long awaited Westlakes dress shirts have arrived from the Embroidery company and look really sharp. If you have ordered one then contact Greg VK2CW, pay the required money and it is all yours. If you are going to Wyong Field Day then make a point of wearing the new shirt for a united effort for Westlakes. 50th Anniversary Luncheon: Numbers are still being taken for those members who wish to attend our 50th Anniversary Luncheon at Cardiff RSL on the 6th April next. Contact Greg VK2CW or Dianne VK2FDNE to register. The subsidised cost is $25.00 per head and the club will pick up the difference. MAP READING COURSE: Geoff’s map reading course requires two more people to join. You will be given a full set of notes. The date for this is March 15th. The first 2 people to contact Geoff will get in. Please contact Geoff VK2GL at leage@optusnet.com.au Well that's all the news we have this week. Do you have a news item that you would like read out on a future broadcast? Then 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 from around 11:00 am. Also on a Tuesday evening from around 6:00 pm. To make contact at other times, try dialling (02) 49 581588 where an answering service operates. Visitors are always welcome at the club. We have plenty of tea, coffee, long-life milk, a good Canteen and an interesting selection of biscuits.

WESTLAKES NEWS FOR THE 9TH FEBRUARY 2014.

At the club yesterday Michael VK2FMAG who was asked by Barry VK2BZ to have a look at at our telephone line in our alarm system and see if he could find a fault. Michael did indeed find a fault- a broken wire plus it was wired opposite to what it should of been. After a couple of tests, all connections were tested. Telephone works, alarm works and the internet is back up and running again. Hopefully the club will have no more trouble for awhile. Bad luck the Telstra man located a fault in the building. Bet the club gets a bill from Telstra. Thanks Michael from the Committee and the club members. last weeks meat tray winner Les was at the club to draw the this week lucky meat tray winner. The ticket tumbler spun, and Les reached in and selected a ticket. The callsign on the ticket was VK2YFA Geoff. What time is the barbie Geoff? Enjoy the meat tray. NEWCASTLE SHOW UPDATE: This is what is happening at the moment. The club needs members to assist with the setup which will happen on Thursday at 1300 hrs. Dave VK2RD has kindly lent us his campervan for the night crew to sleep in. I believe that it is 5 star accommodation ( you look out the window at night and should be able to count 5 stars at least). Thursday night watch keeper is Greg VK2CW, Friday nights watch keeper is Diane VK2FDNE ( and possibly Richard VK2FRKO ), Saturday still requires a VOLUNTEER. Can anyone assist please.You don't have to be there until around 8 pm. If you can help please contact Geoff URGENTLY at leage@optusnet.com.au Show start times are Friday 9:00 am till 8:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am till 8:30 pm and Sunday 9:00 am till 5:00 pm. 3 Personnel are required for each shift which will go for 4 hrs but 4 persons would be better. Next Saturday at the club will be a rehearsal and this will start at 12:30 pm. The club will be selling digital multimeters for $15.00 during the show. This is a BARGAIN price. MAP READING COURSE: This map reading course requires two more people and you will be given a full set of notes. The date for this is March 15th. The first 2 people will get in. Please contact Geoff VK2GL at leage@optusnet.com.au During the afternoon yesterday, outside was Michael VK2CCW testing Michael VK2FMAG HF vertical antenna which was strapped to the tree and with Michael using his man pack managed to tune the antenna which had a 9:1 UNUN at the bottom of the antenna. Not sure if any contacts were made but Richard advises a lot of stations were heard while he was standing nearby. BIGGEST FIELD DAY IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE: Yes, in 2 weeks from today the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club will once again be hosting their field day at the Wyong Race Track on the 23rd of this month. Traders and Commercial traders plus heaps of boot sales ( we hope ). Its the place where you can catch up with your old mates, check out the new equipment and perhaps go home with something new. The CCARC welcomes everyone. Apr 13-15 VK PR4 AmateurRadio Expo. What extra can the club do to promote amateur radio? Any ideas? ILLW TALLY BUILDS UP. So far 25 countries have registered for the 17th annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend in August. In the lead of this 48 hour fun-event is Germany on 38 followed by Australia with 33, United States of America 14, England 11 and Argentina 7. The aims are to increase public awareness, preservation and restoration, plus promotion of Amateur Radio and to foster goodwill. It's not a contest activity - although contesting as an activity does have a major role in gaining skills and measuring individual station performance. With 6 months to go start planning now to set up portable at a marine beacon under guidelines, and register on-line for August the 16th and 17th by visiting the website www.illw.net WORLD NEWS: The Mellish Reef DXpedition is scheduled for March 28, 2014 to April 9, 2014. The team are on schedule and will soon be on autopilot. Listen out here for frequencies used in this DXPEDITION. NEW CALEDONIA IN LATE FEBRUARY FK/K1HP between February 18th and the 26th. Operations will be on all the HF bands plus 6 meters, using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via his home callsign which is JE2EHP either direct or electronically via ClubLog or Logbook of the World. Russian special event R 0000 O R (4 zero's) and letter O symbolising the Olympic rings is on the air in the context of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and 2014 Paralympic Games. QRV until March 31 in 2014. QSL via UA1OJL, LoTW, eQSL. http://ok2014.ru/ ANTARCTICA. RI 1 ANR from Novo Runway until March 2014. Activity is on the HF bands with a focus on the low bands. QSL via RK 1 PWA. HAVE HEARD ABOUT THIS OR SEEN THIS FLYING UP IN SPACE. A US Air Force secret X-37B space plane has been in space for more than 400 days. Why? T'S the US Air Force's most "hush-hush" project: A space-plane that has been quietly orbiting the Earth for more than 400 days. It's still up there. Just what is it, and what is it up to? The unmanned X-37B is reminiscent of NASA's retired space shuttle. It has the familiar black tiles on its undersides. The upper surface is white - and there's a set of large doors set in its back. There the similarities end. This secretive craft is only the size of a bus at 8.8m long. And it carries no crew. And its purpose is unknown - although theories range from surveillance to weapons delivery. The US Air Force has two of the Boeing-built robotic vehicles. One of them was launched into space on top of an Atlas 5 rocket on December 11, 2012. It's been up there ever since - but exactly where or why is unknown. The space plane is able to sustain itself on such a long flight through the solar cells built into its wings which charge internal banks of lithium-ion batteries. It's only the second time such a craft has been sent into space. You can say that you heard this first on WESTLAKES. Well that's all the news we have this week. Do you have a news item that you would like read out on a future broadcast? Then 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 from around 11:00 am. Also on a Tuesday evening from around 6:00 pm. 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, a good Canteen and an interesting selection of biscuits.

WESTLAKES NEWS FOR SUNDAY 2nd February 2014

Last week there was no broadcast and as it was Australia Day all/most of our news readers were away. Yesterday, was the clubs February meeting. Some of the topics up for discussion were our clubs involvement at this years Newcastle Show, repainting of the outside of Eastern wing ( common room to the education end ), fitting of timber work to finish off the exit door in that wing and make it water proof. If anyone can help in any of these activities please see a committee member. There were 4 new applicants for membership approved and welcome to the club guys and don't be shy to ask questions. About 40 special 50th Anniversary shirts have been ordered so if you have ordered one please pay the club treasurer. The clubs special callsign VI2ATZ50 has been issued in readiness for our 1 month of on air activity. You never know the club may even have a special QSL card printed. Our last meat tray winner, Maurie ( VK2CD ) was not at the club to draw a winning ticket from the ticket tumbler. The ticket tumbler was spun, Jason ( a new member to the club ) was asked to reach and select a ticket. Jason's hand went in and out came the ticket belonging to Les VK2RJ. Congratulations Les enjoy the meat tray. After the meeting the members enjoyed a VERY DELICIOUS spread prepared by Penny and assisted by Leonie. Thanks Penny and Leonie job well done. What can our club do to promote Amateur radio further? The club is about to embark in 3 days of promotion at the Newcastle show. Perhaps you have some ideas that you can share with us. WIA AGM AND CONFERENCE MAY 17 and 18 2014 to be held in VK4. GREAT AUSTRALIAN LIFESAVER: Brisbane duo Ken Macken and Hugh Geiger are counting on a rush to buy their CloudPhone, a one button cell phone. It won't hit the marketplace until August at the earliest, but confident of its success particularly with the aged they are. CloudPhone has been touted as a life-saving device. CloudPhone - which has one button and doesn't have a screen - is a voice-controlled phone worn around the neck. It has a 10-day battery and can make calls to designated contacts, track the movement and location of wearers, and detect if they have taken a tumble. If that occurs, the CloudPhone asks the user if they are ok, and if the person says they are injured or doesn't reply, the device sends an emergency alert to saved contacts' smartphones. If that fails, it can be programmed to ring 000. WORLD NEWS: From the ARRL. KAY CRAGIE, N3KN, RE-ELECTED AS ARRL PRESIDENT. Congratulations to ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, on her election to a third two year term in that leadership position. N3KN is the League's 15th president,. She lives in Virginia, and has been in office since 2010. Listen Before Transmit software. It can be annoying when someone transmits over the top of an existing contact, now Steve N2CKH has developed this nifty lil software that may make this a thing of the past Listen Before Transmit (LBT) involves software automatically checking the entire pass band before transmitting to ensure the channel is clear of any SSB, CW or Digital signals. If any signals are present the transmission can be inhibited and the operator informed. The software Steve N2CKH has developed appears to be very effective, in his testing, it has so far successfully detected all human generated signals in the pass band that can be heard by ear or seen in a waterfall display.What’s the world coming to, Are we getting lazier or dumber? The FT5ZM team is very active from the rare DX entity, promising it will be for more than two-weeks on all bands 160-10 metres, on Phone, CW and RTTY. RESTRUCTURING: CUBA GIVES HAMS ACCESS TO 60 METERS Cuba's the Ministry of Communications of Cuba has given hams in that island nation what amounts to strictly controlled access to the 5 MHz or 60 meter band. The rules change was approved on January 20th gives Cuban Novice class operators a power limit of 50 watts while high class license holders can run up to 100 watts maximum power out in emergency conditions as needed for a reliable link establishment. That seems to mean once any Cuban official declares any sort of a crisis situation exists that all other operations must cease immediately and the spectrum will be restricted for emergency communications only. But access to the new allocation by Cuban hams will not be immediate. According to Pavel Costa, CO7WT, as reported in the Southgate News, getting on the new allocation will require a request to the related authority and the agency's approval before hams in Cuba will be able to fire up in the new spectrum. As to whether this will be a spot frequency or continuous allocation was not mentioned in the CO7WT report. Have you ever surfed the net and got annoying pop ups and adds? Well there is a small program ( which is free ) called Adblock plus. This is available for IE,Google and Google Chrome. Works well when watching YouTube videos. REMINDERS: Paul, VK2HV has a small fold over tower for disposal. Located at East Maitland, give Paul a shout on 146.775 for more info. The club’s 40 metre Net held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning each week continues to be active. We have had stations call in from VK5, VK3 and VK7 last week Why not join us on 7.150 Mhz at 09:30 am and tell us what you are up to. Everyone is welcome. Only 3 weeks to get ready for....THE BIGGEST FIELD DAY IN AUSTRALIA. The CCARC are very proud to announce this year's Wyong Field Day on Sunday February the 23rd will be a date not to miss with traders and commercial sellers all available on the day. Come along and have a good day out, catch with old mates or even buy some new gear. See you there. Have you tried this program out yet? HamSphere is a virtual Ham Radio Transceiver. Once installed, you will be able to communicate with thousands of Amateur Radio operators and Radio Enthusiasts in over 200 countries around the world. You can even use HamSphere without a Ham Radio license by using a special HamSphere call sign. HamSphere is a highly realistic shortwave simulation based on SDR (Software Defined Radio) technology. Just Google Hamsphere and have some fun. You can even put it on your Android or Iphone ICOM CELEBRATES 50 YEARS: 2014 is a very special year for the Icom family as it marks the 50th Anniversary of the founding of ICOM Inc. Founded in 1954 by Tokuzo Inoue, the company has grown into a world renowned manufacturer of Business radio, Amateur radio, Marine radio, Aviation radio, Navigation products and Communications Receivers. The company continues to look forward and recently the company has moved into digital Amateur radio products (D-STAR), digital two way radio products and systems including NXDN, dPMR and P25 products under its IDAS digital brand. ICOM is located in Osaka, Japan and is a rare example of an electronics manufacturer who has not shifted production to lower cost countries, it has kept its production base 100% in Japan and that commitment to quality is one of the founding precepts of the brand. The Wakayama Icom plant has an advanced production system to produce the entire range of multi-mode wireless communication products. Design and manufacture processes are certified to ISO9001/ISO9002 quality and ISO14001 environmental procedures. Today ICOM looks very different to what it was 50 years ago. ICOM Inc is now a publicly held Japanese corporation; its stock is traded on the Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges. The company has an international sales and service network around the world, today selling in over 80 countries around the World Subsidiaries can be found in the US, Australia, Germany, Spain and China. Despite their size and success ICOM’s founder Tokuzo Inoue is still a huge influence in the running of the company today. Well that's all the news we have this week. Do you have a news items that you would like read out on a future broadcast? Then 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 from around 11:00 am. Also on a Tuesday evening from around 6:00 pm. 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, a good Canteen and an interesting selection of biscuits.