WESTLAKES NEWS FOR AUGUST 31ST 2014

In the library, a small meeting was held to discuss last weekends Our town Hobby show in which the Westlakes club had a stand. Quite a lot of suggestions were put forward and will be collated and acted on by Barry VK2VBF who will then present a report to the management committee for action. After the meeting the meat tray was drawn by Joanne ( Diane's friend ) and whose ticket did she pull out? Yes, it was Herb VK2ZVF. Congratulations Herb enjoy the meat tray. Seen and heard walking around on the roof was Richard VK2FRKO and John VK2FALE who measuring up a flashing for the roof. 8 meters long in one piece and open at the ends. Hopefully this will stop the leaking roof. Down near the swamp, Richard and Garry were busy sawing some branches of a tree that was annoying the antennas erectors who from time to time repair and maintain the clubs 160 meter and 80 meter dipoles. At the moment we don't have a 160 meter antenna. A working bee will be carried out in the warmer months to make and install a new 160 and 80 meter dipole. Foundation Licence Update: In the classroom Geoff VK2GL was instructing the next group of candidates. Very soon we will hear some new voices on air. However, if you already have a Foundation or Standard Licence why not consider upgrading to either a standard or advanced callsign. Interested? Email vk2lw@wia.org.au The Canteen was in full swing with the return of chef Michael, once again cooking his famous hamburgers. They must have been alright as all seats at the table were occupied. Good to see you again Mike. Do you need more tickets for the raffle of the FT817 to be drawn at the Field Day. If so contact Greg VK2CW who will be happy to oblige. If you own a Baofeng Handheld and are having a problem with the input of frequencies... Stress no more, help is at hand with Nigel VK2FMT or Norm VK2KNC who can do a full download in a few minutes and have the little transceiver talking quite happily. The TS 820 is still proving to be a headache on the repair work bench. Lloyd is the next pair of hands that is applying his skills to try and fix this radio. Richard bought in a Drake SRD 1 - receiver for Norm VK2KNC to look at but without some manuals it was a bit hard to find the problem. More on this later. How many of you worked the ALARA ladies last night. There were quiet a few out there calling CQ. Come on guys and gals give them ago. From the WIA NEWS DESK: Draft WIA Repeater and Beacon Policy Released. After several months of discussion between the WIA and the various stakeholders, the WIA has now released a draft Repeater and Beacon Policy. The draft policy attempts to strike a balance between the principals of good spectrum management, (the minimisation of cross-interference between repeaters), and the experimental nature of the amateur service and its inherent need for flexibility. The WIA encourages all stakeholders to review the draft policy, and forward any comments to the WIA by the 1st November, 2014. Comments should be sent via the following Link The band segments and frequencies assigned to amateur repeaters and beacons are also currently under review by the WIA as part of the bandplan review.You are also encouraged to make a submission to that review.Here is the Link to the band plan review news release. September AR Magazine Now Online For Download. Are you a member of the WIA? Then the latest edition of AR magazine is available for down loading. Finally to finish off. Reminder to ALL MEMBERS: It is 2 weeks today to Westlakes annual field day on the 14th September in the club grounds. Have a look through your equipment and see what you are not using or better still look in you garage and see what is taking up valuable space. Perhaps you would like to donate it to the club. Remember to bring your own tables and a chair to sit on and you must take away ALL your own rubbish. If your are interested in a stall please contact the club secretary for further details. The 40 metre net on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays commencing at 09:30 hrs, on 7.150 MHz. is still a popular activity. Please call in and discuss any topic that you wish to bring up. We have many experts on any discussion. Last Wednesday morning Dave VK2RD was net controller. We don't charge for joining the net - its free and we are all friendly. ALL WELCOME. Also, the EZYBEE net at 08:00 am every Saturday morning on 146.775 where we discuss what is happening at the club that day. And for the early risers we can’t forget the Stone the Crows net on 80 metres, 3.588 Mhz at 06:00 am 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. 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 3RD AUGUST 2014

At the club yesterday was the clubs monthly meeting and some of the items up for discussion were the up and coming Our town Model Show in 4 weeks time, Herb was thanked for clearing rubbish that someone dumped in the club grounds plus reports from various club committee members. In the absence of Garry VK2PE, President Steve VK2LW reached in and selected a lucky ticket. Lucky for some most people would say. In Steve's hand was the ticket with the callsign VK2AFZ . Yes it was lucky Ally. Enjoy the meat tray. After the meeting, the members were presented with a feast prepared by Penny. From all the members there yesterday - THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Education News: President Steve advised that John Saunders has done his assessment for the Advanced Licence and will do his exam on the 26th of this month. We wish him all the best. The next Foundation assessments will be held on the 30th August commencing at 1300 hrs and there is 1 vacancy left for anyone that is interested. The assessments will be held at the club house at Teralba on the 27th September. In the activity room, Barry VK2BZ was trying to fix his Kenwood TS-820 which had no display. Barry had a bad day as he had left his microphone at home. Another mic was wired up. Barry will have another go next week. Anyone got a TS-820 that has had display problems? Perhaps you could get in contact with Barry and tell him where to start looking. Also in the activity room was Alec VK2ZM who had his MST 800 and MST 400 on display. Marcel was there checking the two sets out and guess who else was in there. Yes, it was Norm VK2KNC giving Alec some advice. Bad luck Alec its back to the drawing board for you. A late comer to the activity room was Max VK2TTI who had some issues with his SDR software on his laptop. Once again it was Norm to the rescue. It has come to notice that a certain member was seen/heard talking about riding a push bike around the Lake Foreshore. Yes, it was Dave VK2RD. I wonder how far Dave rode and how far he walked. Were you calling CQ via your handheld? By the way Dave is taking names so he can start a pushbike club. We need a picture for the club mag Dave. The clubs 160 meter dipole antenna is only operating on one leg. The other leg was found wrapped up on the ground/fence so it looks like we have to have an antenna building day. Did someone mention antenna building day? Well there’s good news in that dept. Leigh VK2KAL/VK2KY advises that After the success of the AR NSW ‘Balun spectacular’ on Sunday 29 June 2014, we have decided to do another order of KevFlex wire. This time we will take orders for NON FIXED LENGTHS. This is very strong wire and yes it can be soldered. The price we think we be $1.00 per meter. The normal price is about $1.50 per meter. So if you are interested please email Barrie VK2QG and tell him how many meters that you require and the club can put in a bulk order to ARNSW. Listen out in future broadcasts for updates to this deal. An Introductory course for computers will start in the next month or so. An indication of numbers is appreciated. Please contact Michael George at the club or email michaelgeorge@beagle.com.au to register your interest. Course is to cover the very basics of computer operations so if your having trouble grasping the very basics, we are here to help. TELSTRA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO SHUTDOWN 2G MOBILE NETWORK In an online post on the 'Telstra Exchange' website, Telstra's Network Group Managing Director, Mike Wright, advised that the 20 year old 2G network would be dismantled over the next two-and-a-half years. Wright cites that the mobile network accounts for less than 1% of total network traffic and that the company has not sold a 2G specific device in over 2 years. Technologies on newer 3G and 4G networks continue to evolve and already offer higher speeds, having attracted a large proportion of the 2G customer base. It is expected that the 2G frequency allocations will be reassigned to expand the remaining networks. This as Vodafone also announces a "refarming" plan to migrate some 3G spectrum to improve their 4G offering. From Lesley, VK5LOL, the Alara Contest manager. Just wanting to let you know that the 34th Alara Contest is coming up in August, Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st; the last weekend of August. Details can be found on the Alara website. It would be wonderful if more YLs would participate particularly some of our newer F calls. We are very friendly and don't take contesting too seriously. Paper logs are welcome and there is also an Echolink section. Looking forward to speaking with lots of YLs on the 30th and 31st August. 33, Lesley VK5LOL" 2 weeks to go till the Lighthouse weekend at Norah Head. Those going to the site, get any gear ready that you need so you are ready to role on the Friday. We are getting there about 2:00 pm to set up. If you have any special dietary needs then contact Diane VK2FDNE so she can cater for you. The following weekend, 22nd,23rd and 24th the Club will have a site at the Newcastle “Our Town Hobby & Model Show” at Broadmeadow Race Course. We still need some volunteers to help out on the stand over the weekend. Contact Geoff VK2GL or Barry VK2VBF if you can help. You do not have to be on duty all day. You can have a look around the other displays if you wish. Reminder to ALL MEMBERS: Westlakes annual field day will be held on the 14th September 2014 in the club grounds. Have a look through your equipment and see what you are not using, or better still look in you garage and see what is taking up valuable space. Perhaps you would like to donate it to the club. If your are interested in a stall please contact the club secretary for further details. Don’t forget the club 40 metre nets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays commencing at 0930 hrs, on 7.150 Mhz. Please call in and discuss any topic that you wish to bring up. Well that's all the news I have this week. 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. 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. Good morning all.