WESTLAKES NEWS FOR THE 30th MARCH 2014.

In the library yesterday there were many hands BUT, the hand that everyone was most interested in was Barry VK2VBF. He was in fact last weeks winner.The ticket tumbler went spinning and in went Barry's hand. The winning ticket belonged to Les VK2RJ. Enjoy the meat tray Les and see you next week. With less than 1 week to go to the clubs 50th Anniversary luncheon final names were taken yesterday closing at midday. The cost of the luncheon is $27.50 BUT Westlakes will pay $2.50 so you will only have to pay $25 per person. Also there is a 1 off special lucky door prize for members who attend.1 lucky person will win a $50 open order voucher from JAYCAR. CLUB CAR BOOT SALE: The clubs 1st boot sale for 2014 will be held on the 10th MAY commencing at 09:00. Please get in contact with the club secretary for more details and to book your spot.There will be a BBQ and drinks on the day for sale. Once again whatever you bring and don't sell you must take home with you. Remember to bring your own table and chairs as the club has not got enough to supply everyone. NOMINATION FORMS ARE NOW AVAILABLE: Members are advised that nomination forms for the club's executive and committee for the 2014/2015 year are now available. If you would like a form, contact the Secretary, Barrie VK2QG at the club or email: secretary@westlakesarc.org.au and a form will be sent to you. Please note nomination forms must be back to the Secretary no later than 1 pm Saturday 19 April 2014. FOUNDATION LICENCE UPDATE: The next Foundation Course and round of Assessments will commence on Saturday 26 April at 1.30 pm in the Westlakes Classroom. The tutor will be Geoff VK2GL who, with Steve VK2LW, will carry out the Assessment.There are already five candidates who have nominated and that is the maximum that can be handled in this group, however there are always cancellations or ferments. If you wish to be added to a reserve list please advise Geoff VK2GL at the club any Saturday. The first step of course is to purchase a Foundation Manual for $25. They are in stock at the Westlakes Store. Are you a shortwave listener or someone who listens to a scanner, well now is the time to get your licence, purchase your 1st transceiver and then get on air. It is truly a great experience. CLUB NETS: THE EZYBEE NET, 146.775 MHz SATURDAYS 8:00AM. THE 40 METRE NET 7.150 MHz Monday, Wednesday, Friday 09:30 LOCAL TIME. STONE THE CROWS 3.588 MHz SATURDAYS 6:00AM ARNSW Field day will be held at its Dural property which is located at 63 Quarry Road Dural NSW. The date is today, 30th March commencing at 9:00 am. There maybe some of our members already there as we read this broadcast. Generally there will be a few commercial sellers and boot sales to provide a good selection of interesting equipment and tools for sale. The event usually attracts between 40 to 70 buyers, sometime more. ALL WELCOME. New microwave world EME record. The new world distance record for 24 GHz on the Earth-Moon-Earth path has been set with a contact between Tasmania and Britain. Rex Moncur VK7MO and Charlie Suckling G3WDG bounced signals in the two-way QSO that has an official distance of 17,405.6 kms, put the pair in the record book. It was quite an achievement on March 5. Rex VK7MO was located to the height Mt Wellington near Hobart to minimise water vapour that attenuates signals at 24 GHz. The Moon was close to Earth, but being also visible at both ends had to be at a low elevation, which meant the signals passed through a lot of atmosphere. EME work at 24 GHz can be highly technical involving the right conditions, power and synchronisation. Well done to VK7MO and G3WDG. COULD THIS HAPPEN TO VK2RTZ AND OTHER REPEATERS IN OUR AREA. A sign of the times - will it spread? Jim VK3PC tells us that 3 Amateur Radio repeaters in Britain are being turned off overnight, presumably to save expenditure on their power bills. Many repeater groups elsewhere are faced with dramatically increasing costs including site fees, licences, insurance, maintenance and power. The Leicestershire Repeater Group has taken the bold step to limit the hours of its repeaters - on 2-metres GB3CF, 70-centimetres GB3LE, 6-metres GB3UM, and the ATV repeater GB3GV - to conserve club funds. These are now switched off between 10pm and 5am local time, but the club beacons will continue to operate 24 hours a day. Is this an option open to others who have repeaters? In the case of the Leicestershire Repeater Group, a dwindling membership which supports the repeaters is blamed. The same could be experienced by others, who may now consider rationalisation or time-limiting repeaters to reduce the growing drain on their finances. Looking for a home brew dualband antenna for your home station? Why not try building the FLOWER-POT antenna designed by John Bishop (VK2ZOI ). John belongs to the Hornsby and Districts A.R.C. The link to his site is http://vk2zoi.com/articles/dual-band-half-wave-flower-pot/ This antenna works extremely well. REMINDER VI2ATZ50 STARTS THIS WEEK: VI2ATZ50 will be first aired on our Wednesday net on 7.150 Mhz at 0:930 this week. During April at various times from the club shack and also in a portable capacity by allocated club members, VI2ATZ will be used as the club call sign throughout the month to give the most exposure to the Amateur population. Requirements to qualify for the Award will be... 1) 5 contacts with VI2ATZ50 2) 3 contacts with VI2ATZ50 and 3 club members 3) 10 contacts with WARC members A station could easily qualify on one of our morning club nets... eg: 10 members on air or VI2ATZ50 controlling a net and required members etc... VI2ATZ50 could visit another club’s net and allow points toward the award. The cost of the award is $5.00 to cover printing and postage cost’s. The award is printed on quality heavy duty paper stock and will be mailed flat in an A4 size envelope. Just an extract of your log, showing stations and times worked are all that is needed to apply. Also a special QSL Card will forwarded to all stations who make a contact with VI2ATZ50. Now, Dave VK2RD is putting together a roster of radio operators either to work the clubs special callsign either from home or from your QTH. It is very important that this callsign gets out on the airways for as many hours as we can per day as this will be a callsign every one will be chasing. Once again the club needs radio operators for this event. WIA VK Harry Angel Memorial Sprint May 3 Saturday May 2014 - 10:00 -11:46 UTC The Harry Angel Sprint is an annual 80m contest event, first established in 1999, to commemorate the life of Harry Angel VK4HA who at the time of his becoming a Silent Key was the oldest licensed amateur in Australia. The duration of the contest is 106 minutes, one minute for each year of Harry's life. The "HA" is open to all grades of licence holder and is particularly suited to operators new to contesting. Operating frequencies - CW 3500 - 3535 kHz. Phone 3535 - 3665 kHz . Icom IC-7000 To Be Discontinued. As many of you may already know, the Iconic IC-7000 is about to be discontinued, as such, Strictly Ham Pty Ltd has managed to secure Icom Australia's remaining stock. As Australia's premium Icom amateur dealer I have managed to secure a total of 31 units, these are available and in stock, don't leave it too long, you may miss out all together. *** IC-7000 Package deal, only 7 units left. Give Ross at Strictly Ham a call. Also... Ross is handling the sale of the remaining stock from Les at ARTC. There is a vast array of goods, Antennas, Tuners, Various other gear. For a full listing, go to the Strictly Ham Website for details.