[ No WIA news due to Field Day ] WICEN News This week's news will be brief, due to the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club Field Day today (Sunday). WICEN members will be saddened to learn of the passing of Howard Freeman, VK2NL, on the 17th February; full details appeared in last week's broadcast, but could not be included in the WICEN segment due to time. Howard was responsible for rebuilding WICEN (NSW) during a period when there was little interest in the organ- isation, and as a result of his hard work he was made a Life Member; he will be missed. Next month is going to be busy with the "RTA Big NSW Bike Ride" from the 4th to the 11th of March for which the current contact is John VK2AMH; the Watagan Horse Enduro commanded by the eponymous Dan VK2GG on 5th March (with a 4am start!), the John Moyle Field Day on the weekend of 18-19th March, in which Hunter WICEN at least will be taking part; and on the same weekend the annual Bungonia Cave Rescue in which Mark VK2XGK is looking for volunteers who won't necessarily have to go underground, and Mark can be contacted at work on (02) 936-8689. A major event in April is the Oberon Car Rally on 29th April, and about 20 people are required; please contact Alan VK2YYJ via packet radio at VK2CZR, or at work on (02) 839-1388. WICEN is always looking for members to provide the community with communications assistance. Write to WICEN (NSW) Inc, PO Box 123, St Leonards 2065 for further information, or come up on one of the WICEN nets: Blue Mountains on the first Monday of each month at 8.30pm on channel 7175 simplex, Hunter each Wednesday at 7.30pm on channel 6900, Northern Rivers each Wednesday at 8pm around 3610 kHz, Central Coast each Thursday at 8.30pm on channel 7125, and Sydney each Thursday at 9.30pm on channels 7150/8275. If there are any other regular nets then we'd like to hear about them. -- Dave VK2KFU, WICEN (NSW) Inc. Publicity Officer News Briefs The papers recently reported the exploits of computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, who "spoofed" computers on the Internet in order to steal software and gain access to sensitive data. For example, Mitnick obtained credit card details for 20,000 members of Netcom Communications of San Jose; he also broke into the computer that is supposed to protect Motorola's internal computer communications network from intruders. Mitnick made the mistake of treading on the toes of "cyber-sleuth" Tsutomu Shimomura, who tracked him down, and led the FBI to the hacker's doorstep. One minor detail that didn't make it into the press reports is that Kevin Mitnick is apparently a Radio Amateur, holding the General class callsign N6NHG. The things some amateurs get up to when the sunspots are low ... *** A few weeks ago, we mentioned some technical advances in the area of battery power; a few more details have since come to hand. Noburu Oyama of the Tokyo University of Agriculture has written about the use of organic plastics in batteries. Two conducting polymers, dimercaptan and polyaniline, can be used in place of metal electrodes, thus reducing the battery weight; they also offer a high storage capacity and good mechanical strength. They have already been used successfully in lithium batteries, and new versions of the polymers promise even better performance. *** It's that time of the year again ... Michelangelo's birthday falls next Monday, 6th March. It's also the date that the Michelangelo virus becomes active. If your PC is infected with the virus, and you "boot" your PC on that date, you are likely to lose all information from your hard disk. This virus has been around for a few years now, but for the last two years Michelangelo's birthday has fallen on the the weekend, so business computer users generally haven't been affected. So, before next Monday, all PC owners should scan their computers for the virus--don't say we didn't warn you. *** Speaking of viruses, the Australian Tax Office suffered some embarassment last week when its 26 national offices were brought to a standstill for 24 hours, thanks to the "No Frills" virus. The virus was discovered at the ATO's Box Hill office in East Melbourne, and the staff at all ATO ofices had to process data manually until every PC had been checked. *** Intel has unveiled its successor to the Pentium chip, the "P6" which they say will run twice as fast as its predecessor, due to its improved internal architecture. Intel says that the P6 does not suffer from the Pentium's problem with the floating point unit--otherwise they might have called it the P5.997534--but they don't guarantee the chip will be flawless. When flaws are discovered during testing, they are resolved, and a new version or stepping of the chip is produced. Intel said the P6 would initially sell for between US$900 and US$1000. Intel expects to introduce the P7 around 1998. "News Briefs" looks at communications news items that appear in the mainstream media. Thanks this week go to "The Australian" and "The Sydney Morning Herald". If your local or regional paper runs an item of interest to Radio Amateurs, please send a clipping to the Divisional office. --Richard Murnane VK2SKY IPS WEEKLY REPORT ----------------- 17 FEBRUARY - 23 FEBRUARY DATE OF ISSUE: 24 FEBRUARY 1995 INDICES: DATE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 10CM 89 89 95 91 89 85 85 A 5 12 5 5 3 2 ( 5 ESTIMATED) T 50 56 56 49 44 49 54 SOLAR ACTIVITY WAS VERY LOW 17TH, AND 22ND-23RD FEBRUARY; LOW 18TH-19TH, AND 21ST; AND MODERATE ON 20TH WITH AN M1 FLARE. THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD AT LEARMONTH W.A. WAS QUIET TO UNSETTLED 18TH-19TH , AND QUIET FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. IONOSPHERIC F2 CRITICAL FREQUENCIES AT SYDNEY WERE NEAR PRE- DICTED MONTHLY VALUES TO 30 PER CENT ENHANCED ON 17TH; 15 TO 30 PER CENT ENHANCED 18TH-19TH; AND NEAR PREDICTED TO 30 PER CENT ENHANCED 20TH-23RD FEBRUARY. SPORADIC E WAS OBSERVED AT TIMES ON 23RD. FORECAST (24 FEBRUARY - 02 MARCH) SOLAR: VERY LOW TO LOW. REGIONS THAT PRODUCED FLARES LAST ROTATION ARE NOT EXPECTED TO RETURN. GEOMAGNETIC: INCREASING LEVELS OF ACTIVITY LATE ON THE 24TH, WITH UNSETTLED TO ACTIVE CONDITIONS WITH ISOLATED MINOR STORM LEVELS 25-27TH. UNSETTLED TO ACTIVE CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO PREDOMINATE UNTIL 2 MARCH. IONOSPHERIC: NEAR PREDICTED MONTHLY VALUES TO 20 PER CENT ENHANCED 24TH TO 25TH FEBRUARY, THEN DEPRESSED TO 20 PER CENT ON 26TH, THEREAFER NEAR PREDICTED MONTHLY VALUES. SPORADIC E AND SPREAD F LIKELY 26 FEBRUARY TO 2 MARCH. COURTESY OF THE IPS RADIO AND SPACE SERVICES SUMMARY BY PAT VK2JPA ANARTS BROADCAST OFFICER From the St George Amateur Radio Society The next meeting of the Society will be held at the usual venue, that is in the 1st Allawah Scout hall, corner of Bellevue Pde, and Blakesley Rd., South Hurstville at 7.30 pm next Wednesday evening the 1st of March 1995. The Society's guest speaker for this meeting will be John Hams VK2JH. John will be giving an interesting talk on details regarding the design and installation of the new Government Radio Network which is currently under construction, installation and testing. This network, using latest state of the art digital technology, is planned to centralise most of the New South Wales Government's many authorities who use radio communication to assist their activities within the community. Members and interested visitors should not miss this opportunity to improve their knowledge of this major change by the government to change the way many of our public utilities use the radio spectrum. Visitors are always welcome to club meetings, coffee, tea and biscuits are provided and the members look forward to meeting those interested in attending. from -- Allan VK2XF Publicity Officer Waverley Amateur Radio Society Now that the Society has a permanent venue at Rose Bay, it is commencing classes for prospective amateurs and those wishing to upgrade their licences. A video based theory course is to start on Tuesday the 21st of March and will continue every Tuesday for 20 weeks. Our first morse class aiming at the 10 wpm test is nearing a close and a new class will follow. Would anyone interested in either class please contact the Secretary, Grant Hinchcliff, VK2TU, on 957-7100 during working hours or 319-1913 after hours. Remember that the first Friday of every month is now Project Night, so come along to our premises in Vickery Avenue, Rose Bay on the 3rd of March at 7:00 pm and bring along any technical problems or just drop in for a rag chew. Simon Buxton - VK2EII - Publicity Officer Blue Mountains Amateur Radio Club The Blue Mountains Amateur Radio Club invites one and all to our next meeting on Friday, 3rd March, 1995. The Guest Speaker for the night is Ray, VK2FXO sysop of VK2CZR. Ray will speak on the subject of Packet Radio and Bulletin Boards in particular. The meeting will be held at Springwood High School, corner of Grose Road and Chapman Parade, Faulconbridge; enter from Chapman Parade. The usual tea, coffee and delicious scones will be served. All interested are welcome. Alan , VK2ICL Publicity Officer Coming events Now, a summary of upcoming events of interest to members and other Radio Amateurs and Short Wave Listeners ... St George ARC meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wednesday Waverley ARC Project Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Friday Proposed new Amateur Licence fees scheduled to come into effect, 1 March. but this may be delayed until April - so please keep writing! RTA Big NSW Bike Ride (WICEN). . . . . Saturday through 11 March Daylight Saving Time ends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . next Sunday Summerland ARC Annual General Meeing . . . . . . . . . . 5 March Michelangelo's birthday (check your PC for the virus!) . 6 March Signals Reunion at Wagga Wagga . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12 March Bungonia Cave Rescue exercise (WICEN-Mark VK2XGK). . 18-19 March Hunter WICEN meeting (Pauline VK2TGB). . . . . . . . . .20 March Waverley ARC Amateur classes begin . . . . . . . . . . .21 March Divisional Trash and Treasure Sale . . . . . . . . . . .26 March Easter Monday public holiday . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 April Hunter WICEN meeting (Pauline VK2GTB). . . . . . . . . .17 April International Marconi Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 April ANZAC Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 April Oberon Car Rally (WICEN--Alan VK2YYJ). . . . . . . . . .29 April If you have an event you'd like publicised on the weekly broad- cast, then please send details to the Divisional Broadcast Officer, Michael Corbin VK2PFQ, by phone on (02) 626-9288, or by fax on (02) 626-6066. Items may also be forwarded to the Divisional Office before close of business on the Friday before the broadcast. ------------------------------------------------------------------ VK2WI Broadcast, 26th February 1995. Copyright 1995 WIA (NSW) & contributors. Material may be used elsewhere if the source is acknowledged. --