WESTLAKES BROADCAST NEWS FOR 18th MAY 2014

In the activity room yesterday Norm VK2KNC was re installing HDSDR on Lloyd's PC after Lloyd VK2XAA had spent days trying to get it to work. After the reinstallation of the program Norm showed Lloyd how it all worked. Now Lloyd will have many hours of listening. Thank you Norm for your assistance. ------------------------------------------------------- Michael VK2CCW was outside with his MAN PACK version 2. Michael was all set and ready to tune his antenna when there was a failure. The failure was in the tuner not powering up. Bad luck Michael, looks like you got to put the tuner out of the rack, open it up and see why it was not working. Oh and yes, a hammer won't fix the problem. ------------------------------------------------------- The draw for this weeks meat tray was made by a substitute in the absence of Richard VK2FRKO (he was there but had to go to a 21st birthday party). Substitute David VK2UDW reached in a grabbed a ticket.The callsign of this weeks ticket was Maurice VK2FTLC. Congratulations Maurice enjoy your meat tray and see you next week for the draw. ------------------------------------------------------- No sooner has the map and compass course concluded, Geoff VK2GL was busy in the class room with a new bunch of prospective Foundation Course candidates. One or two more Saturdays, and the Licence Assessments will be held in June. ------------------------------------------------------- Got something you would like to build as a possible PROJECT? Why not discuss it with the clubs project officer - Norm VK2KNC. -------------------------------------------------------- Lost and found department. Who left a pair of fold-up reading glasses at the club yesterday? They are in the possession of Greg VK2CW who will have them at the club next Saturday. -------------------------------------------------------- A new supply of Foundation Licence Manuals arrived at Westlakes yesterday. They are available from Aly at the club store. They cost $25. ------------------------------------------------------- From the WIA: WI-FLY. Telstra has begun trialling the use of mobiles on planes, including the ability to deliver a broadband signal to aircraft that allows phone users to use 4G to browse the web, send and receive emails, make video calls, watch movies and download music and photos. The testing of the network on mock flights between Melbourne and Sydney has so far delivered fast speeds of up to 15 megabits per second. Special antennas have been erected on four phone towers between the two capitals to deliver broadband signals to passengers en route. Trials were conducted on a twin-propeller aircraft and a Cessna mustang jet that flew at the height of a commercial flight at 30,000 feet. Testing has not yet extended to include sending and receiving text messages and making phone calls. --------------------------------------------------------- CANADIAN HAMS GRANTED ACCESS TO 472 TO 479 KHZ. Hams in Canada will soon have access to the 472 to 479 Kilohertz band. This with the release of the new Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations by telecommunications regulator Industry Canada. Radio Amateurs of Canada says that its Zero to Thirty Megahertz Band Planning Committee will be proposing a suitable band plan to enable best use of this new very narrow band. Canadian hams with comments and suggestions can send them to the committee via e-mail to rachq@rac.ca Canadian amateur operators have recently secured two new segments of spectrum thanks to the hard work of their national society. The 60 meter band channels were made official a few month ago as well. --------------------------------------------------------- The Mt Gambier Convention in South Australia has a special event callsign VI 50 CONV is to be on air throughout the month. The convention is over the Queens Birthday Weekend with Australian Fox Hunting Championships on June the 7 and 8 and Sniffer Hunt at 11am on the Saturday. The Scout Hall in Margaret Street, Mount Gambier is the event venue, with foxhunts, stalls, a homebrew competition and catering. ---------------------------------------------------------- Young hams seem to be missing these days. The latest Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) figures tend to indicate that Amateur Radio is currently not overly attractive to young people, despite the Foundation Licence showing some promise in earlier years. This entry level has been a welcome stepping-stone into the hobby with a healthy upgrading to a higher licence, or for some, having had a taste of the hobby then deciding it's not for them. The WIA annual figures show it has only 27 student members, and those aged 10 to 29 account for 3% of all members. Since 2009, when about 750 Foundation Licences assessment were held, there had been a steady decline with 414 new Foundation Licences issued in 2013. With the passage of 10 years the question is being asked whether the Foundation Licence has the right mix of privileges and its relativity to the Standard and Advanced Licences. The WIA plans to celebrate the first decade of the Foundation Licence in 2015. The Foundation Licence remains popular with 2,300 on issue or slightly more than the Standard or middle-level licence, with nearly 10,000 Advanced Licences. ------------------------------------------------------------- Reminders: A.R. NSW balun day on the 29th June commencing at 1000 hrs. Bookings are required for this day. Please send email to balun@arnsw.org.au and the address is Dural site, 63 Quarry Road. ------------------------------------------------------------- Jun 7- 9 VK2 Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club field day Port Macquarie. Its a great place to go. Diane VK2FDNE and Richard VK2FRKO will be attending. The address is Tacking Point Surf Lifesaving Club Hall, Mathew Flinders Drive, Port Macquarie. Registrations from 1000 Saturday morning - $5.00 this covers tea, coffee and biscuits- unlimited I have been told. --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a news item 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. -------------------------------------------------------------- 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.