WESTLAKES NEWS FOR 8TH December 2013

IN the library yesterday was the clubs December meeting and some of the items included discussion of planned activities for our 50th anniversary next year. The main discussion centred around the club participation at Newcastle Show involving quite a few club members at various levels. If you would like to be involved in this and other planned activities then contact Geoff VK2GL or a Committee member. After the meeting was the drawing of this weeks meat tray. Penny Smith reached into the ticket tumbler and and wrestled with the gremlins inside the barrel to get a winning ticket out. Congratulations to Kate Warner VK2FKAT, a new licence holder and also a new club member. Enjoy the meat tray Kate. Don’t forget... Only 1 week to the Westlakes Christmas Party to be held next Saturday 14th December commencing around 11:00 am. All supplied, Just bring your own drinks, table and chairs and nibbles and of course your XYL too. See you there. IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE WIA: AUSTRALIANS are risking identity theft by offloading old memory cards on eBay and the like without properly deleting their personal data, experts warn. Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper says of 140 second-hand memory cards on the online auction site over an 11-month period, a study group managed to recover photos, videos, text messages, sensitive documents and home-made pornography. Twenty cards showed no attempt to delete data, and some senders merely requested the buyer ignore or delete the contents. In a further 82 cases, researchers managed to retrieve poorly-deleted files using forensic software. Two of the memory cards were suspected to contain illegal content and were handed to police, while another held governmental information plus a handful of SMS messages. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AO-7: Did you Know: The AO-7 Amateur Radio satellite turned 39 years old on November 15. Launched in 1974 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as the second AMSAT Phase 2 ham satellite, AO-7 continues to amaze. After its batteries succumbed to old age, AO-7 went silent in 1981, only to spring back to life in 2002, although some believe it may have resurrected itself as much as a year earlier. AMSAT describes the Mode A/B bird as “semi-operational” and “almost certainly” running solely from its solar panels. The ham satellite organization theorizes that AO- 7’s batteries shorted when they failed, but the short circuit subsequently opened, allowing the satellite to return to life. This means AO-7 only works when it receives direct sunlight, and it shuts down when in eclipse. Since the satellite became undead, terrestrial users have enjoyed numerous contacts via AO-7. AMSAT-NA this week offered its congratulations to all involved in the designing, building, launching, and operating the satellite, adding, “It's an amazing achievement that, other than the batteries, most of the circuitry continues to function normally 39 years after launch.” News From ZL: Radio microphones changes in NZ. New Zealand's Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has recently concluded its work on the changes to the frequency ranges available for radio microphone use. The outcomes of the recent UHF Radio microphones: Opportunities for future use consultation have been implemented permitting new frequency ranges and digitally modulated radio microphones. From 11 March 2015, radio microphones (and other wireless audio devices, such as in-earpieces) will no longer be permitted to operate in the 698-806 MHz frequency range. This aligns with the deadline that was set in 2010. A deadline of 1 January 2014 has also been set where the sale and supply of radio microphones in the 698 – 806 MHz frequency range will no longer permitted. The MBIE has begun a communications campaign to ensure radio microphone users and suppliers are aware of, and prepared for, the changes and their deadlines. A brochure and fact sheets on the changes are being distributed to users and suppliers of radio microphones with further information available on www.retune.co.nz NEW PRODUCT UPDATE AND FIRMWARE: Icom America releases firmware upgrade for IC-7800 HF/50MHz transceiver. Icom America announces a new firmware upgrade to its celebrated IC-7800 HF/6M transceiver. This update provides an enhanced user interface, refined operational controls, improved audio and voice functionality and more. The firmware and user manual are free to download online. Icom’s latest IC-7800 upgrade reflects forward-thinking technology and provides a greater user experience for the serious amateur radio operator. New and improved features include: Spectrum Waterfall Display: Review RF and AF characteristics on the IC-7800’s impressive 7-inch color LCD. Includes a wide screen setting. PC Mouse Operation: Connect a mouse via USB to select operating frequency and control the spectrum scope. Audio Scope Function: Review the FFT scope with waterfall and oscilloscope. In CW mode, observe microphone compressor level and other attributes. Direct Remote Control Operation: Connect directly to an IP network using Icom’s optional RS-BA1 software and the IC-7800’s internal base station function. (A user operation PC is still required; a base station PC is not.) Digital Voice Recorder: Automatically capture incoming/outgoing calls onto an external memory card or flash drive. Other updates include an APF function to increase volume up to 6dB (adjustable by 1dB step), transmit delay function to control a connected external linear amplifier, USB flash drive compatibility, and added RIT and Delta TX commands for CI-V remote control. The firmware upgrade is available now. For more information, visit the IC-7800 product page on Icom America’s website. The Radio Store closes down: The Radio Store, one of the landmarks that gave Akihabara its 'Electric Town' nickname, closed its doors for the last time on Saturday evening after 64 years in business Computer World report Tokyo's world-famous Akihabara district lost one of its signature stores on Saturday, November 30, 2013, and with it a piece of the area's rich electronics history faded away. On hearing about the closure, Mr. Mae, a 76 year old retired engineer and amateur radio operator traveled 500 kilometers from Fukui Prefecture in western Japan to reminisce. When he was 16, he used what savings he had to go to Tokyo he built his first radio receiver from components he bought at the Radio Store. He has been an enthusiast ever since. "When I came to Tokyo for university I was here every day," he said. "We could talk to the clerks and other radio fans about the latest technology developments and we would all always be saving for next new component. I moved on from receivers to amateur radio operation, so naturally I built my own transmitter. It opened me up to the world." He remembered how the Radio Store's success led to the building of the nearby "Radio Centre" and from there, more buildings started to pop up housing similar component vendors. "It was always busy," he said. "It would take a few hours to move around and wait in line to shop at the popular vendors. Often the best components would get sold out very quickly." Read the full Computer World story with 15 photos at http://www.computerworld.co.nz/ Well that's all the news we have this week. do we have any late news items? 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. 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 1ST DECEMBER 2013

Well last week the broadcast almost didn't happen, but thanks to the Hunter Branch we were able use VK2RNC 146.900 MHz repeater. I have been told that VK2RTZ took a direct lightening strike which took a few components out in the repeater. The club thanks Peter VK2ZTV and Graham VK2FA who took time to go up and do the necessary work to fix the repeater. Thanks guys- job well done. Also with the numerous lightning and power outages during the week, the IRLP Node would not come up on the repeater. Dave VK2RD along with assistance of John VK2JJW tried a few things to get it going but no go.. A decision was made to throw the big switch and hope the system would reset itself and... Bingo... away she went, so IRLP Node 6040 is again operational. Thanks John. . At your club yesterday was Barry VK2BZ, back from his baby sitting duties in QLD. Hope your all relaxed now Barry. Happy Birthday to Bill VK2XT who celebrated his 101st yesterday with around 30 friends having lunch at Wests Cardiff. Quite an interesting afternoon and a chance to put a face to the name of a few attendee’s. Good on you Bill... In the library at around 2 pm were a great number of members waiting for the draw of the meat tray. Nigel VK2FNT who was chief ticket cruncher and also called to the library was Ally VK2AFZ who reached in and choose a ticket which took Greg VK2CW a good minute to un crunch. On the ticket was was written STELLA. I wonder who that ticket belongs to? Yes its another meat tray to the Smith Family again. Congratulations Stella enjoy the meat tray. Please be careful when you come to the club as the grounds are very wet due to rainfall that we have had over the last few days. Don’t forget... Only 2 weeks to the Westlakes Christmas Party to be held on Saturday 14th December commencing around 11:00 am. All supplied, Just bring your own drinks and nibbles and of course your XYL too. Vandalism at Radio Club. Around the weekend of November 17 considerable damage was done to the club rooms of the Summerland A R C at Lismore. Club President Ross Dowse on VK2WI News reported much equipment was stolen and a major inspection and clean-up has been held during the past days. Club activities were put on hold until the next general meeting planned for today, Sunday the 1st of December. You should be on the lookout for strange offers or possible unusual activity with the radio equipment. You should inform the Summerland club executives or the authorities of any information you may become aware of. It is only a few weeks since Summerland club member John VK2JWA was attacked by intruders in his home which they subsequently set on fire causing considerable damage. ILLW reaches 100 on its list. The honour of being the 100th registration in the annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend goes to South Australia's Point Lowly Lighthouse, to be activated by the Whyalla Amateur Radio Club VK5BWR. Club President Alex Glinski VK5ALX says the activation will be within the heritage listed caretaker's cottage. Previously club members put VK5BWR on air from an emergency generator room, and some spent the night rugged up in sleeping bags or on the back seat of their cars. Alex VK5ALX claims that with the more comfortable overnight accommodation available for members it will be the best weekend ever. Whyalla's annual show which attracts 20,000 people is also on the same weekend and some of the visitors will also come to the Point Lowly Peninsula and lighthouse. This means that VK5BWR set-up in a courtyard has a great opportunity to promote Amateur Radio activity and a bit of lighthouse history. Built in 1883 the lighthouse is Whyalla's oldest structure standing 15 metres tall, made of local sandstone, and on a point jutting into the northern end of the Spencer Gulf. Powered these days by electricity and a powerful tungsten halogen lamp, it started with a wick burner fuelled by mineral oil and then a kerosene vaporising light unit. Made redundant by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in 1993, it was bought by the Whyalla City Council in 1995 with help of the South Australian Government. Under local control the light was reactivated after it and two cottages had been beautifully restored. If you want join 22 countries which have already registered a lighthouse, lightship or marine beacon, or to see the event guidelines for August the 16th and 17th, visit the website www.illw.net That item from Jim Linton VK3PC For those of you that like chasing a bit of DX try making contact with Indian special event station AU2JCB. Look for the Indian special event station AU2JCB, which will be active until December 10th. Activity will be on 80-6 meters SSB, SSTV, PSK and FM. Suggested frequencies are (depending on the propagation): 3710, 7040, 7150, 14220, 14250, 14310, 21280, 21310, 28490, 28510 and 28545 kHz. FM mode: 50800, 51500 and 29700 kHz. If higher bands are open, operations will be on those bands. The operator will be Surabhi, VU2DSI. QSL direct (with 2 IRCs) to VU2DSI. Operations are to celebrate the 155th anniversary of the birth (November 30th) of Sir Jagadeesh Chandra Bose, India's great scientist and inventor who they consider the "Father of Wireless Communication". Also try listening out for Kiritimati (Christmas) Island Tim, NL8F reports that he plans to be active as T32TM from the Captain Cook Hotel, located on Kiritimati [Christmas] Island (OC-024), Republic of Kiribati, between 27th November and 4th December, 2013. QRV on 160-10 metre SSB or RTTY. Tim plans to operate part of the day and spend the rest of his time seeing the island or trying out the world class Bone fishing in between QRV periods. QSL via K8NA. Website: www.t32-2013.com/ Lissenung Island P29VNX. IOTA frequencies 30/10m CW, RTTY & PSK31. Further information: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~yy7a-ysd/P29VNX-2013 Event date: Sunday, December 1, 2013 (Starts today). Event end: Friday, December 6, 2013 Infant airlifted after swallowing "button" battery: Parents are being warned of the dangers of button batteries ahead of Christmas after RACQ CareFlight Rescue airlifted a baby boy who swallowed one on the Sunshine Coast recently. It's prompted a warning on the dangers of the tiny toxic objects. "Button batteries can lodge in the oesophagus of infants and cause serious injury or even death if they go undetected," CareFlight's Chief Medical Officer Doctor Allan MacKillop said. A four year old Sunshine Coast girl died in July after swallowing one of the small batteries which are used in toys, games and many household items such as torches, car keys, TV remotes, watches and calculators. "If they become stuck in the oesophagus they can immediately begin to burn,doing serious damage," Dr MacKillop said. Each week four children are taken to emergency departments across Australia after swallowing the tiny batteries. The elderly are also urged not to store the batteries in pill containers as the small objects can easily be mistaken for medication. AUSTRALIA TO SAVE WINAMP: The fate of the veteran media player app Winamp remain in limbo after AOL's announcement last week that it would shut down Nullsoft and end support of these products called winamp AND shoutcast. Although there have been reports that Microsoft is in talks to buy both Winamp and Shoutcast, neither company has commented publicly. So a Melbourne, VK3 based web developer and the owner of a web hosting company Peter Zawacki, has started a Change.org petition urging AOL to either keep Winamp alive or release its code as open source. Zawacki and a group of like-minded developers have created a website to simply explain their cause, writing, "The history of digital music started with Winamp. Winamp is still one of the best music players out there. It's SIMPLE TO USE And lots of people still use it." 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. Thank you for listening. Good morning...

WESTLAKES NEWS FOR 17TH NOVEMBER 2013

Today we begin the the broadcast with the sad news of two silent keys. Terry Ryeland VK2UX. It is with great sadness that Terry Ryland VK2UX, a doyen of amateur radio education and very active in Institute and club affairs, passed away on Sunday 10 November, 2013. He built his first crystal broadcast receiver at the age of 12, and then progresses to a two-valve shortwave receiver. He was inspired by his father who listened to the US baseball games on shortwave. In 1954, after listening to a pair chatting on air he gained the courage to ride his bicycle to a radio amateur nearby and they formed a long friendship. That led to more home-brewing and sourcing bits and pieces through war surplus. It was about 1974 that Terry joined a class of prospective radio amateurs under the famed Rex Black VK2YA (SK), gained the callsign VK2ZMR, then with Morse code became VK2NER and VK2BRQ. Joining the Blue Mountains Amateur Radio Club (BMARC) in about 1975-76, just after it ceased as a branch of the WIA. He served with distinction, including being its President and Education Officer. If anything drove him it was his belief that encouraging newcomers to become radio amateurs was a way to make the hobby grow. The BMARC made him a Life Member in 1992. In the honour, mention was made of his education work that helped many to be qualified, and his commitment to building antennas and the like. Terry had a long commitment to the WIA NSW, where he was President at the time and also the Education Officer. In June this year, Amateur Radio New South Wales (formerly the WIA NSW Division) at its annual general meeting bestowed Life Membership on him for his many years of service. At a subsequent ARNSW committee meeting Terry VK2UX was again elected as President. Over the years he was a tutor and class organiser. At one time he wrote and had approved exam papers, using them at both BMARC and WIA NSW Division. In fact he closely influenced the running of examinations. Terry continued this work with renewed endeavour when the Foundation Licence was introduced, and had been trainer and assessor for the Standard and Advanced licences too. He had plenty of work ahead of him as a Nominated Assessor of the WIA Exam Service, at which he excelled. Terry Ryeland VK2UX will be sorely missed by clubs and organisations, the many new radio amateurs he helped, and all who knew him. His Funeral took place last Friday at Leura in the Blue Mountains. Also news that John Cannon VK2JRC of Blackalls Park passed away earlier this month. He was an active member of Westlakes many years ago and worked in the VK2 QSL Bureau. He was an active member of Hunter WICEN, promoting the organisation to the various Rescue units.. Vale’ Terry Ryeland VK2UX and John Cannon VK2JRC. Quite a good roll up yesterday with many varied discussions taking place.Chef Mikes Super Size Burgers were again popular. while Herb VK2ZVF was in the activity room playing with an Eprom Programmer. Michael VK2CCW again brought his now almost complete ‘Man Pak’ comms system. Norm VK2KNC tried it on for size and reports that it sat well on the back. Steve VK2LW arrived with some very impressive Li-on High capacity batteries and charger for the back pack. To be continued.. A full report soon in an upcoming article in the Club Magazine. Yesterday's meat tray raffle saw another first time winner. The Draw was made by Alex VK2ZM and the winner was the holder of the last ticket sold, Nigel VK2FNT. Enjoy the meat tray Nigel. Speaking of Alex VK2ZM, he had on display in the club shack his newly-completed MST400 40 metre QRP transceiver with an addition. Alex has installed the optional LED S meter/ RF meter as doesn't it look good. Coloured lights green, yellow, orange, and red certainly make a difference to this radio. Sounds good on air too. Stop Press News!! The 2014 Call Books have arrived and are ready for pick up at the club. If you ordered a book see Greg VK2CW next Saturday. A Reminder that the Club will not be open on Tuesday nights for the next 4 weeks as Warren VK2UWP is away on Holidays. Now to some better news. Further to the amateur examinations held at Westlakes last month, the following members have received their new call signs: Barry Finlay VK2VBF, Barry Gilbert VK2MHA, Michael George VK2FMRG, Marcel Post VK2HAQ, Paul Vidler VK2FBUZ, Peter Waeger VK2FAEH and Tony O’Donnel VK2NTD will now be VK2QW. Congratulations to all. While on the subject of new callsigns, do you know who VK2PE is? It is none other than Gary VK2DBI who has finally received his 2 letter call. Congratulations to everyone. The clubs annual Christmas party for this year will be held on Saturday the 14th December commencing at around 11:00 am. The club will be supplying the soft drinks, BBQ and Salads and you supply your nibbles and whatever you wish to drink. There may well be one or two surprises for your entertainment. Be there... Saturday 14th December. That’s only three weeks away! Grab the XYL and (Grand) Harmonics or a friend and have a day out. Plans are still being put together for the 50 year celebration of the founding of the club. A special Call Sign VK2ATZ50 has been approved by WIA/ACMA to be used throughout the month of April next year. Other events are planned and will be advised as we get closer to next year. Keep tuned... WESTLAKES 40 METER NET: Our new net is up and running with a reasonable daily attendance. Last Monday and Wednesday was quite good with 8 stations calling in each day, with good propagation and signals but Friday did not fare well at all. Conditions on 40 metres were bad to say the least. Dave VK2RD took control in Barries absense, Get well soon Baz. With only 4 stations calling in. Alex was using his home brew 40 metre kit transceiver and it performed very well Norm VK2KNC tried calling in but was barely audible as he was running QRP with his 817. So... EVERY Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 0:930 hrs local on 7.150 Mhz our net will run, with Barrie VK2ABD as net control and Dave VK2RD as Backup. Please call in and have a chat. Nothing formal, discuss the weather or whatever or just let your mates know you are still around and ok. Look forward to hearing you on 7.150. WORLD NEWS: A prototype garment incorporating an embroidered antenna has been produced by researchers from Nottingham Trent and Loughborough Universities. The antenna is said to be fully flexible, lightweight and water resistant. “In a bid to transform how wearable radio communications are sent and received, the two universities and several industry partners have developed the technology to design an efficient antenna that can be applied directly onto clothing using a mass production process,” said the scientists, who have been working on it for three years. - See more at: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/communications/antenna-embroidered-in-the-midlands-2013-11/#sthash.k8dP0iGQ.dpuf Microwave signals turned into electrical power: The BBC report that an electrical current capable of charging a mobile phone has been created from microwave signals. They say a team from Duke University said the technology they had used had been as efficient as using solar panels. The device they created used metamaterials, which capture various forms of wave energy and convert them for other applications. Read the BBC story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24897584 NEW TINY PACEMAKER DEVELOPED THAT REQUIRES NO WIRING: A miniaturized wireless pacemaker that can be inserted into the body without invasive surgery has been given approval for use in the European Union. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, says it was developed in the United States by the company Nanostim, and that the tiny device is less than 10% of the size of a conventional pacemaker, uses a built-in battery and is designed to be implanted intravenously directly in the heart. Currently more than four million people around the world have some sort of cardiac rhythm device with an additional 700,000 people getting one each year. 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. Thank you for listening. Good morning...

WESTLAKES NEWS FOR NOVEMBER 10TH 2013

Yesterday at the club was our 3rd car boot sale. There were about 8 or 9 sellers all up and a lot of bargains were on show. The Westlakes Committee would like to thank all those who attended to make this another successful event. Greg VK2CW was walking around selling tickets in the meat tray raffle. Penny was at the club to draw this weeks lucky meat tray winner. The winner this week was Alex VK2ZM. Congratulations Alex. Enjoy the meat tray. Penny and Michael were busy in the kitchen cooking and giving away free sausage sandwiches. Thanks Penny and Michael for a job well done. Michael VK2CCW had his new back pack for his FT 817. This I think is model 6 and it is almost complete. He may be taking orders when he gets it right. CHRISTMAS PARTY: The clubs annual Christmas party for this year will be held on Saturday the 14th December. Please note the date in your Diary. Geoff VK2GL and Penny Smith have been seen in deep conversation and a little bird tells me that they are organising one of the events for the day. Come along and bring the Family or even a friend. The club will be supplying the soft drinks, BBQ and Salads and you supply your nibbles and whatever you wish to drink. There may well be one or two other surprises for you entertainment. Be there... Saturday 14th December. That’s only four weeks away! C.C.A.R.C. Have you marked your calendar for the CENTRAL COAST A.R.C. BIG DAY OUT. The Wyong Field day will be held on February 23rd 2014! Clean your shack or shed out and turn the ‘Gunna use it one day’ items into cash with a Flea Market stall. Call books 2014. To those members who have ordered call books! They should here at the club next weekend so see Greg in the library next Saturday. WESTLAKES 40 METER NET: Our new net is up and running with a reasonable daily attendance. Last Monday was the first airing and we had about 8 stations call in. Wednesday was much the same but Friday did not fare well at all. Conditions on 40 metres were bad to say the least. Dave VK2RD took control with only 4 stations being heard. We were informed that there were 2 other stations trying to call in but were not audible at control. Thanks to Ron VK3MRH who has called in every day to help us establish the net. Ron is the net controller for the Albury Wodonga net held on 40 metres (7.055 10:30 am) EVERY DAY. Thanks Ron for the support and promotion within your groups net. So... EVERY Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 0:930 hrs local on 7.150 Mhz our net will run, with Barrie VK2ABD as net control and Dave VK2RD as Backup. Please call in and have a chat. Nothing formal, discuss the weather or whatever or just let your mates know you are still around and ok. Look forward to hearing you on 7.150. NEW ANTENNA DESIGNS: New AOWA Yagis. Derek G4CQM continues with his AOWA yagi development project releasing new designs that raise the bar even higher. Derek says that he is more than ever convinced that the perfect 50-Ohm yagi does exist and these new designs are getting really close to that goal!. If you are a keen 2M DXer you can see the new designs here... http://g4cqm.www.idnet.com/NEW%20DESIGNS/index.html SDR TRANSCEIVERS UPDATE: Standard for an SDR to External Programs Interface. Recently I've had the pleasure of collaborating with Jonathan Naylor, G4KLX on adding functionality for the CCW SDR-4+ receiver and the Sentry SDR transceiver to his SDR program, UWSDR. During the email discussions and software testing I raised the possibility of using a TCP/IP connection to transfer the PTT information between a data mode program and a SDR program. Jonathan then suggested the use of UDP/IP and also suggested that the audio connection between the two programs could also go over UDP/IP. After a lot of thought he has come up with a proposed standard that would allow authors of SDR and data mode programs to add a simple to use audio and PTT interface. I've posted his document "A Standard for an SDR to External Programs Interface" on the CCW website: http://www.crosscountrywireless.net/A%20Standard%20for%20an%20SDR%20to%20External%20Programs%20Interface.pdf We want to contact as many software authors as we can to give them information on the standard so that it can be implemented on as many ham radio programs as possible. I've also suggested the CCW forum as a possible area for authors to discuss the standard: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/cross_country_wireless/ Regards, Chris, G4HYG Well that's all the news we have this week. do we have any late news items? 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 20TH OCTOBER 2013

Yesterday at the club were a large gathering of SDR radio fanatics to listen to Norm VK2KNC give a lecture on various types of SDR software and how it is used. The library was almost filled to capacity which is good to see. Towards the end of lecture Marcel VK2FMDB gave demonstration via the internet of WEB SDR receivers. To finish up on this lecture - job well done Norm and Marcel. The meat tray raffle was conducted and Greg VK2CW reached in selected this weeks lucky meat tray winner. In the right hand of VK2CW was the ticket of Herb VK2ZVF ( another of the clubs regular winners ). Enjoy the meat tray Herb. Also at the club yesterday was a very tired Richard VK2FRKO who just finished doing a 12 hr stint fighting the Cabbage Tree Road fires. Richard had some interesting stories to tell us. Richard said that he needed a holiday. Michael told of the wildfire that destroyed the service station near Doyalson. Michael complained that they sold cheap fuel and that was where he bought it from. Now I have to pay top dollar and buy it elsewhere. The IRLP Node has been very quiet this last few days, The reason was found yesterday morning... Someone had turned the radio off. It is situated in the Computer room with it’s own computer. PLEASE... DO NOT TURN IT OFF!!! I know that you feel you are doing the right thing but please do not touch. Some will notice a length of coax running down the hallway and into the shack. This is also for the IRLP to connect to an outside antenna using the Patch Panel in the shack. Again...please do not touch the coax going into the panel. This is only a temporary measure and will be corrected soon. That plea is from Dave VK2RD and Geoff VK2EO There are still a number of next years call books which the club is taking orders for. Please see or ring Greg VK2CW to order you book. Candidates doing the Foundation licence were busily being instructed by Geoff and Steve and Geoff had a group in the radio shack. Great work guys. PR4AmateurRadio Expo will take place on April 13-15, 2014 The WIA is strongly behind this Expo which harnesses its many affiliates as they showcase the benefits of modern amateur radio and engage the community. A commitment of up to 12 hours is being sought on a day by them. Like other promoted activities people do better understand, appreciate and may join them. The promotion of amateur radio relies on having the right messages and trained radio amateurs to effectively give them. Apart from having knowledgeable radio amateurs on hand, please also consider that they should reflect the community by their different age groups, both sexes, and that they are trained in what to say on the day.At all times act and look professional. For the best image a display must be neat, tidy, and always safe. This is an excellent opportunity to expose the public to the many diverse positive elements of amateur radio and how it fits into the community. Part of the effort should be designed to get people interested in and taking up amateur radio. It helps to have Foundation Licence training and assessments ready to go after Easter giving those attending the Expo or reading about it in the local newspaper a chance to give us a try. The choice of a location is important to give amateur radio good exposure to the public. The opportunities exist, however it does require advance planning including site owner approvals. The guidelines and other details about how to join for the PR4AmateurRadio Expo will be issued later. AIM: To publicise modern and diverse amateur radio that is easily accessible to people from all walks of life. Through exhibitions, showcase the very diverse hobby enjoyed by those of all ages, gender and ability. On air support may be given by WIA Directors, Office-bearers and members. WHEN: The weekend of April 11, 12 & 13 April 2014 gives the choice of using any time on the Friday, Saturday or Sunday. A public event on one of those days should provide good exposure for the hobby. REGISTRATION: Now invited on the form on the webpage. After the Expo send a report of the event to the WIA to receive a Certificate of Appreciation. Each Foundation Licence holder having contributed to the Expo, and proven media coverage, will be recognise. PLEASE READ THE FULL STORY ON THE WIA WEBSITE. JOTA: 19th - 20th October 2013. JOTA is the annual event in which about 500,000 Scouts and Guides around the world speak to each other by way of amateur radio. News from VK3. TV switch-off to catch some: When Australia’s final analogue TV transmitters now serving Melbourne, Geelong and surrounds are closed on December 10, at least 5 per cent of people will get caught with no television.The old transmissions are to disappear in favour of new TV with its multitude of channels. The former analogue frequencies are up for sale in the so-called digital dividend. Being found frequently in Melbourne-Geelong are those who use to watch Community Television Broadcaster Channel 31, but are unaware it earlier shut-down and moved to 44 digital. The experience elsewhere in Australia found at 5-10 per cent of people still watched analogue TV, but get caught by the switch-over which requires a desk-top device or a new receiver. On YouTube of course there will be news reports of people ignoring the warnings or leaving their purchase late after analogue TV ends. Have you got any friends in VK3 you had better send them a reminder. There have been some members asking of a net that Westlakes was going run on 40 meters. As far as I know we are still waiting from ideas from members e.g. time date and frequency. Got some ideas please contact the club secretary at the clubs postal address or see Barrie in person at the club. It is on again - a Car Boot Sale at Westlakes. Free to sellers and to all who attend. Not only that, there is a free sausage sizzle for all. It will be held in the club grounds, York Street Teralba on Saturday 9th November starting at 9 am. Full details will be in our November Magazine. WORLD NEWS: SSTV Handbook Martin Bruchanov, OK2MNM, has written a Free e-book for ham radio operators and radio listeners interested in special communication modes for image transmission – SSTV, radio facsimile (WEFAX) and digital SSTV (HamDRM).You can download the entire book or view on line... http://www.sstv-handbook.com/ Thanks to US shutdown, pirate radio activity reaches an all-time high. As frustrated as many are over the US government shutdown, it nonetheless offers one unique benefit to the shortwave radio community, and to pirate radio in particular - no FCC enforcement: Read the full story at: http://swling.com/blog/2013/10/thanks-to-us-shutdown-pirate-radio-activity-reaches-an-all-time-high/ Well that's all the news I 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 from around 11:00 am. Also on a Tuesday evening from around 6:00pm. 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 13TH OCTOBER 2013

We start todays news broadcast with news of a SILENT KEY. STAN LLOYD, VK2AYL passed away last Tuesday 7th October. The funeral notice will be in Tuesdays Newcastle herald and the funeral will be held at RYHOPE Lawn cemetary. Vale Stan VK2AYL Yesterday was the clubs October meeting. Dave VK2RD took the chair in the absence of Steve VK2WL who had a prior commitment. Welcomed back to the club as a member, was Paul VK2BPL. The other new members were Nigel VK2FNT, Bruce VK2FSAD and Barry Gilbert - still waiting his callsign. Its ok Barry, you should have it by Christmas.The Committee and Members would like to welcome you to the club. Greg VK2CW advises that there are 13 Call books left to be sold. If you require one get in quick or you will miss out. The meat tray raffle took place after the meeting and last weeks winner, Penny reached in to the ticket tumbler and drew the ticket out belonging to 1st time meat tray winner Peter Waeger. Congratulations Peter. Make sure you are the club next weekend to draw our next winner. Enjoy. After the meeting a feast was put on by Penny who slaved away in the kitchen cooking mini pies, sausage rolls,cakes and other goodies. Thanks Penny - will have to see about getting you a pay rise. Next Saturday in the Westlakes Library is a lecture on SDR transceivers/receivers. This lecture will be presented by Norm VK2KNC who is a master at lecturing. This is must see and listen to lecture. Be early so that you don't miss out on a seat. Lecture to commence at 1300 hrs. Also at the club were most of the crew from STONE THE CROWS net. Ted was handing out cake to all the crows who were celebrating 25 years of the net. Sorry there were only enough pieces of cake for the crows. The YL of Peter VK2GFE cooked the cakes. The STONE THE CROWS net is on EVERY SATURDAY mornings at 0600 and usually goes for about an hour on the frequency of 3588KHz. So why not join in. ALL WELCOME. Also at the club yesterday was Peter VK2GFE who was showing everyone his homebrew DISCONE antenna made out of stainless steel. What a magnificent piece of home brewing. Great to see again members doing home brewing. The current Foundation class led by leading instructor Geoff VK2GL were busy outside and Geoff was showing them how to erect dipole antennas and set up a station outside. Not sure how many contacts were made but maybe you can come up and tell us more of what happened during call backs. Heard a rumour that Ken VK2KJ was leaving us for a better feeding paddock up North. In about 1 months time I believe. It is on again - a Car Boot Sale at Westlakes. Free to sellers and to all who attend. Not only that, there is a free sausage sizzle for all. It will be held in the club grounds, York Street Teralba on Saturday 9 November starting at 9 am. Full details will be in our November Magazine. Remember... What you bring and do not sell you MUST take it home with you. AMATEUR RADIO NSW BARBEQUE: ARNSW is having a barbeque on Sunday 10 November at 63 Quarry Road Dural. Gates open at 9.30 and entry is free to AR NSW members, others pay $10. Registration is required prior to entry and there will be a membership list at the gate Some traders will be in attendance and food will consist of a continuous sausage sizzle, hot dogs, tea, coffee, soft drinks and ice cream all free to AR NSW members. There will be 4 lecture presentations each of about 45 minutes on:- 1 HF antennas 2 P25 3 Microwave 4 Software defined radio. All done by hams who have specialist knowledge in their fields. Due to space restrictions, each presentation is limited to 30 pentodes.Registrations for these lecture presentations are filling fast so book early to confirm a seat lf you would like to register for the event including a particular presentation on your preferred topic, you might email fieldday@arnsw.org.au as we need to know numbers for seating and catering purposes. Leave your name, callsign and a contact number The address again, fieldday@arnsw.orq.au Entry to the lecture presentations is sequential receipt of registration, that is, first in best dressed As a special bonus to our members, in the afternoon, we will be raffling a beautiful pair of strippers... Wire that is... lf any member has recording equipment and is prepared to organise a recording of the lecture presentations for some of our country members, would they please contact the office on 9651 1489 and leave contact details Submitted by Al Hirschel VK2KAM AR NSW event commander Up Up and Away. WIA News reminds radio amateurs who launch small balloons and Quad Copters of the need to keep away from structures such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In this day and age of we hams launching small balloons and using ATV on board easily purchased quad copters and the like, comes this story with a message in its tail. A mystery drone crashed into the Sydney Harbour Bridge causing counter terrorism officers to be alerted and an investigation by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. The incident occurred Wednesday week, just a day before the start of the International Navy Fleet Review. However police believe the two were not linked. A spokesman for CASA confirmed it was investigating the incident. He said those operating remotely piloted aircraft must keep them at least 30m away from any people, buildings or structures and to check with local council where they can be used. He said airspace around the Harbour Bridge was restricted, even for small aircraft such as drones. Australians not malware wise. Nearly half of all adults or more than seven million living in Australia who regularly use the Internet for personal purposes don’t believe they will suffer from malicious software, or malware for short. Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has also found that ten per cent who use home-based computers or laptops on the Internet fail to have virus protection while another eight per cent don’t regularly update it. Malware allows others to steal personal identities including login details a worrying possibility in this increasing digital society. The Australian Internet Security Initiative program reports that 35,500 Australian IP addresses a day are infected by malware. Well that's all the news we have this week.

WESTLAKES NEWS FOR OCTOBER 6TH 2013.

Well the club was a hive of activity yesterday. More people than ever turned up. In the activity room Norm VK2KNC was trying to repair Barrie's Icom 725 that sustained some serious damage after travelling to VK3. The VK3 could not get the radio to work at all and after contacting Barrie he returned the radio. Anyway, Norm had found that the circuit board on the front panel had split. After fixing that up and getting the display to work, it was found that the transmit button was broken as well as the 3 light globes on the display. Norm had a full crew helping him. Working behind Norm was Maurie VK2CD who was also getting Norm to assist him get his SDR software to work on his laptop. Norm was very busy and said he will be back in a months time. Also on the same bench was Marcel VK2FMDB and his laptop showing Richard VK2FRKO some finer points on the CHIRP software for programming handhelds. Maurie was also out at his car testing one of his HF Vehicle antennas that one of his customers had bought off him and it worked very well. Another happy customer. Not sure what Dave VK2RD was doing in the radio shack BUT it could of been in preparation for the Oceania DX contest. In the kitchen Michael VK2CCW was busy cooking hamburgers and steak sandwiches with salad. Pies and sausage rolls were also on the menu. Absolutely filling Michael. Please support the club by buying your lunch there as it helps supports the club. Richard VK2FRKO was seen purchasing coaxial cable - looks like he has work ahead of him. Yes the club does have various items and coaxial cable to sell so why not ask before visiting elsewhere and by doing this you support the club. Greg VK2CW was seen wandering around selling tickets for the meat tray raffle and trying to fill the money bag up with money. A ticket was drawn and and you wouldn’t want to know it, Penny’s name came out. Enjoy the meat tray Penny and Greg and see you at the club next week. It is on again - a Car Boot Sale at Westlakes. Free to sellers and to all who attend. Not only that, there is a free sausage sizzle for all. It will be held in the club grounds, York Street Teralba on Saturday 9 November starting at 9 am. Full details will be in our November Magazine. Peter Sturt VK2ZTV has been carrying out Amateur Digital Television Tests on 446.50 MHz. We believe this is the first Amateur Television digital transmissions in Newcastle. These transmissions can be watched with a 70 Cm beam pointed at Cardiff Heights or a vertical colinear antenna. Grahame VK2FA & Charlie VK2CLH have both been watching Peter's state of the art transmissions. Grahame has a 16 element phased array antenna and Charlie has a vertical colinear antenna on his roof In Warners Bay. If people are interested in observing the trials and tribulations of this experimentation, most set top boxes and TV's will tune to the 446.5 MHz frequency if you do a manual scan by entering the frequency before you press ok. Reception reports can be sent to newcastleatv@gmail.com. I am sure if any one would like further information Peter, Grahame or Charlie would be happy to give you anymore information you might require. Submitted by Grahame VK2FA. UP AND COMMING EVENTS: SDR Radio demonstration Saturday 19 October Amateur Radio Exams at Westlakes Saturday 26 October Inaugural Michael J. Owen VK3KI Award announced. The Administrative Council of the International Amateur Radio Union held its annual meeting on 2 & 4 November 2012 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Due to the passing of Michael J. Owen VK3KI, who had been a member of the Administrative Council for most of its existence and had been a long time contributor to the efforts of IARU to promote and preserve amateur radio, the AC decided to establish an award in recognition of this. The Michael J. Owen VK3KI Award was established to recognize an individual or individuals that best exemplify the dedication and hard work of IARU volunteers. Following an IARU request for submission by member Societies of possible recipients, the AC at its meeting in Cancun Mexico on Sunday 22 September 2013, considered submissions and agreed to jointly award the first Michael J. Owen VK3KI Award to Dr David Wardlaw VK3ADW and Wojciech Nietyksza SP5FM. David Wardlaw became involved with the IARU in 1968 as a part of the Secretariat provided by WIA for the inaugural conference of IARU Region 3 in Sydney. While serving as WIA President he attended the 1976 IARU world meeting in Miami, held in conjunction with the Region 2 Conference, at which the global objectives and strategy for WARC-79 were developed. Wojciech Nietyksza, SP5FM began his long and intensive IARU involvement as a member of the IARU team attending the 1974 Maritime Mobile WARC in Geneva. From that time through WRC-03 he was the most consistent face of the IARU at ITU meetings and conferences. He was elected Vice Chairman of Region 1 in 1975 and was re-elected to that position every three years until 1999 when he relinquished it for Tafa Diop, 6W1KI. Wojciech remained a member of the Region 1 EC and chairman of its External Relations Committee through 2002. Summits on the Air continues to grow in VK. The Summits on the Air (SOTA) programme is now operational in vk2 and vk4, with over 1000 summits in vk2 and over 500 registered so far in vk4 with some large regions still to go. All regions of VK2 are registered so there are summits all over the state. In VK4, the two southeast regions and the Capricornia and Wide Bay & Burnett regions are registered at this point. I can also pass on the news that VK6 is being surveyed at present and I will leave detailed announcements to those doing the work. To mark the launch of SOTA in vk2 you are invited to join in a SOTA QSO party on Sunday 13th October. If you can, activate a nearby or distant summit yourself. If you prefer to operate from your home or other portable location as a chaser, do join in. The activators need to make at least 4 contacts to qualify their activation. SOTA is not a contest but is an operating award programme. You can record your contacts in an online log and claim points for your contacts. A major benefit of participating in the SOTA programme is that to activate a summit you must do at least some walking (the last 25m of altitude). As many mountains have no vehicle access anywhere near the top, this sometimes means you and your fellow activators need to walk 1, 2 or more km, carrying your radio station, food and water, navigation and safety equipment. Many radio amateurs around the world are now enjoying this combination of amateur radio with some level of bushwalking. It is good for the health. For more details about the award, the summits already registered, activators' guides and online maps and spotting websites, start your search at SOTA.org.uk. 73 from Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH association manager for SOTA in VK2. WORLD NEWS: Former P.O.W. Dorothy Susie Davis Thompson KF5IX - SK at 95 Dorothy Susie Davis Thompson’s path to a lifetime of service to her fellow man began with her birth. Born in Shanghai, China on October 26, 1917, where her grandparents toiled as missionaries. Her father, Alfred Davis, was an importer of electrical equipment. In 1937, at age 19 she left her home town of Shanghai and came stateside to New York City, where she entered the Columbia University Nursing School. While at Columbia, the Japanese invaded China and her family managed to flea China for safety in the Philippines. Despite a bout of rheumatic fever Dorothy graduated in 1940 from Columbia University - Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing. She then travelled to Manila, reunited with her parents and Eva, and began working at Steinberg General Hospital . On September 2nd, 2013 Captain Dorothy Susie Davis Thompson-KF5XI United States Army Nurse Corps, Ex-Prisoner Of War, Hero of the United States and of the Philippines, healer of the sick, and Amateur Radio Operator passed away at the age of 95. Did you remember to put your clocks forward 1 hour this morning. If not, you have missed the news. Daylight saving started this morning at 2:00 am... Remember if you are on the roads that Double Demerit points and fines apply till midnight Monday. This being a long weekend.. Well that's all the news I have this week. Anyone have any late breaking news? 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. Thank you for listening. Good morning all.