Silent keys Mr. M.L.T. (Jim) Rudder VK2DCF Jim Rudder passed away, in Sydney's Westmead Hospital, in the early hours of 22nd december, 1994, some four months after the onset of an ill-defined illness, at first thought to be a heart attack. He was 78 years of age. Jim, returning to 'civvy' life after war service in Signals, became an active member of the original Gladesville and District Experimental Radio Club, in Sydney, and obtained his original call, VK2AJR in 1946. After some years, a competing interest in archery, in which he and his wife Dawn were enthusiastic participants, and in quality cars (initially the Armstrong Siddeley, then the Triumph, and latterly, as befitted increasing maturity, the Volvo), caused him to turn temporarily from Amateur Radio and allow his original call to lapse. A serious motor accident, which left him with some physical handicaps reducing his mobility, no doubt contributed to his return to Amateur Radio, and he once again took out a callsign, now VK2DCF, the one he held up to his death. A few years after the war, Jim joined the (former) PMG's Department as a temporary Technician, progressing to permanency, achievement of Senior Technician's qualifications, and ultimately switching to the department's Training organisation where, for many years, he actively participated in the training of young future technicians, until his retirement. Jim's wife, Dawn, passed away some seven years ago, but he is survived by his four children, Patricia, Tony, Christopher and Mark, and we extend our deepest sympathy to them and their families. Submitted by Ken Andrew VK2ATK --------------------------------------------------------- Ron Jones VK2VND It is with deep regret that we report the passing of VK2VND Ron Jones on the morning of last Monday 9/1/95. His funeral service will be held in the Carlingford Uniting Church, cnr Pennant Hills Road and Lloyds Avenue, at 1.15 pm on Monday 16/1/95 and later at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium at 3 pm. Ron was born on 25/6/1926 and at the age of 17 years enlisted in the RAAF and developed his talents in the workshops of the RAAF working on numerous types of aircraft - talents demonstrated later with his interest in cars, radio, computers. In fact he became a compulsive experimenter in any and every field. So much so that at times we had to lock the tools away when he came or you may find your TV tuned to New Zealand or to a satellite transmission. Many a time he would repair a radio, computer etc. that had baffled the experts. One could always count on Ron to brighten your day. The often-used phonetics for his call "VERY NICE DAY' were perfect for Ron even with the little things that he did at times that may have been aggravating. We all treasured his companionship and EVERY day in his company was .... "A VERY NICE DAY". In 1980 Ron named a NET on 21.184 "The See Australia First Net". It started out as a means of keeping in touch with a small group of friends on a trip around Australia and it"GREW and GREW" to the point that it became one of the best promotions ever to create interest in the island continent of Australia. With propagation on 15 metres at times giving good coverage overseas it was the incentive to numerous overseas visitors taking up the challenge of touring one of the last frontiers. For the novice amateurs it was similar to the "travellers net" on 20 metres. JOTA caught Ron's interest and as always it had to be the best when Jones'y was involved, as were the days of the "RD" contests up on the highest mountain available. Whatever the reason for a get together, if Ron was involved, it was sure to be a rip roaring success. You were never bored ... that's for sure. At one time the gang was involved with "The School on the Air" via "The Flying Doctor Service". Ron was Santa Claus to the kids and he was a real hit with the kids both on the air and at the school here in Sydney. The idea was to give the children in the "Outback" and those in the "Big Smoke" an insight into one another's school life and at the same time raise funds and support for the "Flying Doctor Service". To his wife Joy, sons Wayne & Bryson, daughters-in-law Michele & Donna and his grandchildren who have been denied the joy that would have been theirs of a loving and lovable grandfather, we all extend our love and condolence at their sad loss. Ron, we thank God for your company. You will always be a "Peter Pan" to each of us and the Inspiration of eternal Youth. prepared by Tom Delandre VK2JTD President's Address This is Michael Corbin, VK2PFQ. This address will be like last week quite lengthy. At the end of it there will be a media release issued by the Spectrum Management Authority head Ms. Christine Goode. But firstly some sad news....I regret to advise all amateurs that the mother of Ian Rosser, VK2XB died last Thursday, she had been unwell for sometime. For the benefit of amateurs who wish to pay their final respects, a funeral mass will be held next Monday 16th January at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Blackwall Road , Woy Woy, commencing at 2.00p.m. Following the mass the funeral cortege will proceed to Point Clare Cemetery. Our condolences go to Ian and his family. This has been quite a busy week, most of which was spent researching the facts behind those proposed increases in Licence fees. My broadcast last week attracted some criticism, in that it was alleged that I was unfair because I mentioned the people responsible for various actions, within the W.I.A. I do not apologise for stating facts. If I make mistakes I am prepared to withdraw statements that I have made which can be proved incorrect. I'll withdraw them immediately and apologise without reservation. I have received no such requests. This Division has been criticised for serving notice, on the Federal Office, of it's intention to withdraw from the Federation. I'll tell you the full story of that next week. But before anyone else goes into print, they should consider this....Even if this Division were to withdraw from Federal, this Division would still hold the name Wireless Institute of Australia N.S.W. Division. After all we started it in the first place. The only difference would be cheaper fees, and no FORMAL liaison with the other States. That's hardly the end of the world....anyhow, you the members would make the final decision NOT the Council. But more of this next week. On 31/1/94 last year the Divisional Office received from the SMA, a Discussion Paper dated December, 1993. It was titled "Inquiry into the Apparatus Licence System". ( I must acknowledge here that I would not have even known of the existence of this discussion paper were it not for Ted much VK2LF. Thanks Ted.) I went searching in the files and there it was... The booklet and a covering letter inviting the Institute to attend a public seminar, which was to be held at the Sebel Townhouse on 8th February, 1994 at 9.30a.m. The aims of the inquiry, as stated in this letter, were... and I quote, "to develop a more streamlined and simplified apparatus licensing system incorporating a licence fee methodology that is transparent, equitable and efficient, and consistent with the objectives set out in section 3 of the Radiocommunications Act." The Booklet included was of 44 pages and contained some very interesting information. Unfortunately these books were only printed in limited numbers. If you look around you might find a left over one somewhere in the SMA. Perhaps the things which most distresses amateurs, is the Section on Class Licences. The SMA to date has issued six such licences, they are : * Low Interference Potential Devices (eg, garage door openers and radio transmitters used for the control of models); * Devices complying with certain standards (eg, emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRB)); * Public mobile telephone handsets; * Cordless telephone handsets (in the frequency band from 857MHz to 861 Mhz); * Cordless telephone handsets (in the frequency band from 861Mhz to 856Mhz); and * Cordless telephone services...... at the end of the section on class licences the following statement is made, quote... "Other Possible Class Licences There are a number of spectrum uses - apart from CB radio, 27 MHz marine radio and 27 MHz handphones - which do not require individual frequency coordination and could be considered for class licensing. These include some aeronautical uses, amateur and interior paging. Comment on these uses would also be welcome." unquote. So what happened at the W.I.A. Federal as a result of this? Well I'll tell you..... The meeting at the Sebel Town House was attended by Roger Harrison, as the N.S.W. Council Representative. A full and comprehensive report was submitted by him to the N.S.W. Division and is attached to the minutes of the Council meeting of 14th February, 1994 - I'll quote the preamble to his report.... "On behalf of the Division, and secondarily as the Division's Federal Councillor, I attended this seminar which was notified in an insert in the February issue of Amateur Radio Magazine. A 43 page Discussion Paper booklet, sent to the Division by the SMA was copied by the Admin. Secretary and sent to all Councillors the prior week. As you are no doubt already aware from the insert in the February issue of Amateur Radio, the Spectrum Management Agency is conducting a far-reaching inquiry into the Apparatus Licence System. Over February and March, the SMA is holding a series of information seminars around the country, as part of the inquiry process. BACKGROUND The SMA's inquiry into the Radiocommunications Apparatus Licence System was quietly announced by the Agency between Christmas and New Year. The SMA is looking to overhauling commercial and recreational radio licensing - which includes amateur radio, CB and inshore boating radio etc. This inquiry is the first stage in the plan to revise spectrum management policies and procedures. So far as amateur radio is concerned, the results of the inquiry may ultimately affect our licence fees and the regulations. Changes are in the wind and we, as amateur operators and users of the radio frequency spectrum, have an opportunity to influence the outcome. The SMA Discussion Paper on the Radiocommunications Apparatus Licence System can be obtained free of charge from all SMA area offices. The terms of reference for the inquiry include such things as opportunities to provide for different licence periods, flexibility in payment arrangements, and the framework for organisations providing public or community services."...unquote Later in this report the Class Licence matter was discussed. I will again quote from Roger's report. "It was also suggested by an SMA presenter that THE AMATEUR SERVICE COULD OPERATE UNDER A CLASS LICENCE SYSTEM. While a certificate of proficiency would still be necessary for amateurs, the issuing of CB and amateur callsigns could then be handled by outside organisations in place of the SMA - perhaps the "peak bodies" representing users, it was stated. In our case, that means the WIA. Government subsidies could assist in funding this service, it was suggested."... unquote. Now if anyone listening would like to verify what I have said, consult your March copy of Amateur Radio Magazine, pages 21 and 22, under the heading WIA News an article entitled SMA Inquiry, contains Mr. Harrison's report....CHECK IT! So what went wrong? Why were no actions taken by Federal or the Council of the day??? Mr. Harrison as his position required, attended the Seminar, reported the facts to his Division, as he was then a councillor and to the Federal Body where he was also then a councillor. As you are all aware there were more than Roger Harrison on the Federal Body. So what did the Federal Body then do about what Mr. Harrison told them.. ...The answer, some of it, is contained in April. 1994 Amateur Radi o Magazine, page 51..... There is absolutely No mention of Increased Fees or Class Licences...... Why not? In an effort to ascertain the truth I delved deeply into the Records of the Federal Office....Realistically, I consulted our files at Parramatta and came up with a two and three quarter page letter dated 10th March, 1994, written by Bruce Thorne the then Federal Secretary. He has since resigned The subjects addressed by this letter were: 1. Categories of Licence 2 Tax Component of Fees. 3. Transfer, Terms, and Payment of Licences. 4. Class Licence. 5 Public or Community Service Providers. 6. Further Comments. Before I read some of this letter to you, I must inform you that this Division has in the past been taken to task for quoting from W.I.A. Federal letters. This Division believes, that this Division is the best judge of what should or should not be treated as "Confidential". Whilst this Division is Affiliated with Federal and contributes financially to the running of that organisation, it will continue along these lines....to continue with this letter....quote... "2. TAX COMPONENT OF FEES. Because the bands allocated to the Amateur Service are defined by international agreement and are used worldwide, they cannot be considered as a marketable resource within Australia. In particular, non-amateur users of the amateur HF bands would encounter considerable interference from overseas amateurs legitimately using those bands. All of the UHF amateur bands are already allocated by the ITU on a shared basis, and as far as amateurs are concerned are not therefore appropriate for commercial exploitation. The same applies to many amateur microwave bands. The discussion paper does not clarify the intention of the SMA with regard to shared bands.The Amateur Service is able to work within the constraints imposed by band sharing and by being a secondary service in some bands. If pressure from commercial interests is such that sharing is diminished, there has been no suggestion as to the fate of the dispossessed users. The WIA would welcome a policy along the lines that: (a) No service will be deprived of access to bands which are allocated to it by ITU agreements. (b) No shared band will be offered in its entirety for price-based allocation. (c) If a shared band is earmarked for price-based allocation, a portion or portions of the band will be withheld from the price-based allocation process so that all services using the band may, if they wish, retain some access to it. (d) Services deprived of spectrum space by price-based allocations will be compensated by receiving primary or exclusive status in the remaining portion of the band. 3. TRANSFER, TERMS, AND PAYMENT OF LICENCES The WIA does not see the possibility of transfer of licence as being within the ITU regulations as they relate to the Amateur Service. However it has already approached the SMA requesting consideration of a licence term of more than one year, eg 5 years, a very short term licence for visitors, and the possibility of payment by credit card or EFT and through other agencies. The WIA would be pleased to see action taken towards these aims. 4. CLASS LICENCE If class licensing were to be applied to the Amateur Service, it would be necessary to make provision for the ITU criteria to be fully observed and to maintain an adequate level of regulatory activity. The WIA would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter in more detail. Our interpretation of Class Licensing is that any person could purchase and use transmitting equipment within the amateur bands without having to be individually licensed and issued with a callsign after passing the appropriate examination. An amateur licence is an operator's licence, not an apparatus licence. Due to the experimental nature of the service, amateur equipment is not subject to standards or type approval."..unquote A copy of this letter can be viewed by members, at the Divisional Office. Copies may be made available at my discretion. Well what happened next....as far as I can ascertain from the records we have at Parramatta, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! If anyone can tell me anything to the contrary, I will be more than glad to tell you about it next week. Subject of course to verification of the correctness of such information. O.K. so where do we go from here.....First and foremost, we need more letters from Amateurs, to the Federal Members. As promised on last weekends broadcast, a list of Federal Members for N.S.W. has been placed on Packet under the Callsign of VK2WI. Following the list is another list showing the members of the Transport Communications and Art Committee. These are the Members who make the recommendations to Cabinet. For the benefit of those who do not have Packet, or who have not as yet written a letter of objection, I will now list these individuals. If your Member is amongst these, then you are doubly lucky. You must do a particularly hard sell on these people. The N.S.W. members of this Committee are: : The Hon. Michael Lee, MP (ALP), Minister for Communications and Arts, P.O. Box 525, The Entrance. N.S.W. 2261. The Hon. Laurence Brereton M.P.,(ALP) Minister for Industrial Relations, P.O. Box 294, Maroubra. N.S.W. 2035. The Hon. Janice Crosio MBE, M.P. (ALP), Parliamentary Secretary, P.O. Box 78, Fairfield. N,S,W, 2165. Mr. Colin Hollis, MP, (ALP), P.O. Box 3000, Albion Park Rail, N.S.W. 2527. Mr. Peter Knott, M.P. (ALP), Shop 8 Bomaderry Plaza Merroo Street, Bomaderry, N.S.W. 2541. The Hon Leo McLeay M.P. (ALP) Chairman of the Committee and Government Whip, Suite 204, 1-5 Commercial Road, Kingsgrove. N.S.W. 2208. Mr. Daryl Melham, M.P. (ALP), 6 Blamey Street, Revesby. N.S.W. 2212. The Hon. Peter Morris, M.P. (ALP), 1st Floor, 5 Library Lane, Charlestown. N.S.W. 2290. The Hon. Roger Price, M.P. (ALP), P.O. Box 259, Mt. Druitt, N.S.W. 2770. Senator Bruce Childs, (ALP), GPO Box 36, SYDNEY. N.S.W. 2000. Senator Michael Forshaw, (ALP), GPO Box 36, Sydney, N.S.W. 2000. By the way, there is little point is writing abusive letters to the SMA. Having spoken to them and read everything that is available on the subject. I am satisfied that the SMA was not engaging in any revenue increasing scheme on behalf of the Government. This is evidenced by the enormous loss of Revenue from their decision to no longer collect licence fee from CB operators. These figures are worth quoting. Citizen Band Licenced Radio Stations as at 30th June 1993 numbered 358,699. The Revenue collected from this source was $6,456,582. Yes you heard this correctly $6,456,582....and they are not going to bother collecting this anymore??? This, on the same date, is compared to 18,142 Amateur Radio Licences...Revenue $634,970. Elsewhere in this Report it is revealed that for the 358,699 CB Licences payed for, there are probably an equal amount UNPAID!!!! Next Friday there will be an open meeting of the Divisional Council-members only of course. At this meeting I propose to move a motion calling for the establishment of a Committee to urgently prepare a submission to the SMA on behalf of all amateurs. This Division will not sit on it's hands but will prepare it's own submission. It should have done so before independently of Federal. If you wish to be a part of this committee, come along on Friday. If you are not a member of the W.I.A. but feel that you have valuable input to such a submission, we would be delighted to hear from you. But, time is of the essence. YOUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS!! You will recall that I told you last week that I was sending a copy of the broadcast to all other State Presidents. Well I heard from Victoria. They share my concerns. The others must be on holidays. Anyhow we will send them this weeks epistle and ONCE MORE seek their comments. Before I read a Press Release from Ms Christine Goode, the Head of the Dept. of Communications, here some general news items.... The NEW M. & A's are currently being prepared for consideration by COLIN DUHIGG VK2XXE, ERIC FOSSEY VK2EFY and CESAR MIRANDA VK2TCM. This is a mammoth task. Last Tuesday when I stumbled upon Eric and Cesar hard at work, I was "sucked in"....Boy Oh Boy! what a complex issue. One of their formost concerns is to develop a draft which will take into consideration all contingencies and avoid the problems of the past. What was O.K. in 1920... isn't O.K. anymore. My thanks go to these three gentlemen for the time spent so far. I certainly don't envy them the task. The Appliance and Limb Centre has now moved out and an agent will attend our premises tomorrow, Monday. The position of Secretary will be discussed next Friday. The Office is currently staffed each Monday and Monday evening, as well as each Friday. Outside these hours our telephone is being redirected. You'll find someone to take your message anytime during business hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until further notice. That's a New Service. Now to the media release. This was received on Friday 12/1/95 at 09.08 Hrs. local time, and is dated Thursday 12th January, 1995, and I quote.... "RESTRUCTURE FOR LICENCE FEES." Proposed changes to fees for amateur radio licences were part of wider restructuring of apparatus licences, the Spectrum Management Agency said today. The Agency was responding to claims that amateur licence operators were being singled out for fee increases. Spectrum Manager, Ms. Christine Goode, said that the restructuring of fees which provide access to the radiofrequency spectrum - covered 250,000 different licences and fees ranging from $18 to $734,000 per annum. "Some fees will increase and others will be reduced," she said. "Some - like those for CB Radio operators - have been scrapped altogether and replaced by a class licence." "Most importantly, the SMA is not increasing its total fee revenue. It is restructuring fees to achieve a fairer distribution between all licences, according to the amount of the spectrum used." A detailed schedule of the new fees will be published later this month. Ms Goode said that amateur radio operators were given advance notice of the proposed fees as part of a consultation process at a meeting with the Wireless Institute of Australia in December. "They were told that under the proposed fees schedule, the yearly increase could range from $8 to $34, depending on the type of licence," she said. "The highest fee for an unrestricted amateur licence will be $71. We consider this to be still quite reasonable given the amount of spectrum available for amateur services. "The Institute was told that the new charges reflected a more consistent and equitable approach to fees under the same rationale that has been applied to all SMA licences." The new SMA licence fees have three cost components; * The cost of issuing the licence; * the spectrum maintenance cost that covers the ongoing cost of managing the spectrum, including protection from interference. For amateur radio operators, the cost also includes the SMA organising international operator's accreditation; and * a spectrum access cost that provides a return to the government for the use of a community resourse. The cost reflects the location of the access, the bandwith, and the area of coverage. Licensees with a large share of the spectrum in high demand areas will tend to pay more than those with a small share in low demand locations. Ms Goode said that like many other licences, amateur band licence fee levels had not been reviewed for many years and have remained between $25 to $35 since the mid 1980s. "The SMA readily acknowledges that many of Australia's 20,000 amateur radio operators perform regular community service work and concessions are available for operators in volunteer, non profit organisations involved in the safety of human life. "These organisations include bush fire brigades and emergency services like coastal surveillance operations,' she said. She said the two hallmarks of the new system were: * Licence fees will be levied on a more equitable basis covering the SMA costs in administering the individual licence system and the relative scarcity of the spectrum used by each licence; and * The new licence fees provide the same amount of revenue in total - the only change is within the licence grouping. "Options for reform have been in the public domain for the last 12 months as part of the inquiry into Apparatus Licensing," she said. The inquiry aimed at developing a simpler and more equitable licensing system. "A SMA discussion paper released in January last year (1994) was the basis for a series of public seminars on the apparatus licensing system which attracted 900 people and 422 submissions," she said. "The SMA report on the responses was submitted to the Minister for Communications and the Arts (Mr. Michael Lee) in May last year and the recommendations are now being progressively implemented. "The SMA will publish an information paper later this month on the proposed licence fees'" she said. The paper will be distributed to peak councils and industry bodies as the basis for consultation with each of those groups. End of quote... Well there you have it for another week. I hope that this information has served to inform you of the latest goings on. Come to the Council meeting next Friday evening. Join the Committee which will be set up to prepare that URGENT submission to the SMA... This Division could well save the day! SEE YOU THERE! Satellite LNCs at T&T Attention all satellite enthusiasts! The New South Wales Division of the Wireless Institute of Australia has acquired a large quantity of Plessey 12A LNCs. For the uninitiated, an LNC is a low noise converter, as distinct from a LNA (amplifier) and LNB (block) but the terms are generally interchangeable - they are the things you attach to a feed horn, in the middle of your dish. The Plessey 12a has been round for some years, and is intended to accept an incoming signal on Ku band (12.25 to 12.75 gigaHertz), preamplify it, and mix it with an 11.3 gigaHertz from its own DRO (dielectic resonant oscillator). This mixer gives an output of 950 to 1450 MegaHertz which is fed into a broad band IF amplifier, thence to its output terminal. All these units are readily demolishable for their fets, transistors and other surface mount components, and will be made available for sale at the next Trash and Treasure Sale at Parramatta on the 29th of January, 1995, for the princely sum of $5. That's right - $5! you can buy them up now and sell them next week at Gosford with up to 200 per cent markup. A small quantity of these units will be held for our country listeners, still at that price, but you will have to make your arrangements with the Parramatta office, or preferably one of your mates, as the postage cost on the units, 0.81 kilograms, and the Jiffy bag, would be more than the cost of the unit. Technical information provided by Bob, VK2CAN, who can provide any further technical information if required. Federal News Cable Pay TV and interference Cable-delivered Pat TV poses a possible threat to amateur radio operations, the WIA Federal Council learned from a report written by Federal technical Advisory Committee Coordinator, Johh Martin VK3KWA, which was considered at the Council's October quarterly meeting. Frequencies to be used by the proposed cable system range from low VHF through to UHF, with a "return" channel in the HF spectrum (Pay TV is interactive, or two-way).The greatest potential for two-way interference between Pay TV installations and amateur radio, apparently, involves the household feed points. The cables themselves are understood to pose less of a threat, with today's standards. Horror stories rom the United States and Canada abound, where "cheap" cable installations caused particular problems for amateurs. Legislation excludes the Spectrum Management Agency from administering Pay TV matters; that's the province of Austel, apparently. Standards Australia standards will likely cover the appropriate equipment and installation environment, along with electromagnetic compatibility. However, cable-delivered Pay TV was thrown into some doubt in November following an announcement by the Communications Minister, Michael Lee, hat the government would not allow Optus Vision to hold a monopoly on its proposed cable system. Optus Vision planned to sling cables between electricity poles in the street, with a target of reaching one million homes by 1996 and more than three million by 1998. Optus has scuttled the plan following Minister Lee's announcement. The WIA is monitoring the situation, particularly with regard to Austel's involvement and developments with Standards Australia. WICEN News We trust that all WICEN members are writing letters to the various politicians, objecting to the proposed massive fee increase. Please point out how you willingly give up your time and equipment to benefit the community, and that WICEN is one of the few accredited squads permitted to enter a disaster area; untrained volunters, although useful when supervised, can be a liability when "the balloon goes up". Incidentally, it seems one or more media reports have appeared purporting to link WICEN with the WIA; while this was true at one time, in NSW at least this connection had to be severed when we became an incorporated body, so it would be appreciated if these authors would first do their homework. It is time to refresh the information we hold on the regular nets and meetings around the State, so it would be appreciated if all regions would advise the Publicity Officer, Dave VK2KFU, of these events, in case inaccuracies have crept in; so far only two regions have responded. There are no events this month, but two new events for the calendar are the Bathurst Car Rally on the weekend of 25-26th February, and the Eugowra Car Rally on 8th April; the organiser is Alan VK2YYJ, and please note that both events are merley tentative at this stage. Alan advises that a major event is the Oberon Car Rally on 29th April, and many people are required; he can be contacted on packet radio as VK2YYJ at VK2CZR. In the meantime, regular events for March include the RTA Car Rally over the week of 4-11th, and the annual Bungonia Cave Rescue on the weekend of 18-19th. 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 competitor in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race who was washed overboard on the trip back to Sydney might have been located if he had been carrying a portable EPIRB (Emergency Positioning Indicat- ing Radio Beacon). According to the Chief Pilot of the Search and Rescue Team who tried unsuccessfully to locate the missing yachtsman, the beacons are the size of a cigarette pack and are automatically activated on contact with seawater. Unfortunately the personal EPIRBs have not been approved by Spectrum because they only transmit for twelve hours and they only transmit on one of the two frequencies allocated to EPIRBs. Perhaps the situation will be reviewed in light of the incident. *********************************** National Parks and Wildlife Service in NSW State forests are concerned that a monitoring programme involving eight rare koalas has gone wrong. The koalas, of which only 130 have been sighted since 1915, have been fitted with radio collars to track their movements, but so far three of the koalas in the programme have died. Of the remaining five tracking collars, four have stopped transmitting, leaving researchers concerned about the welfare of the rare marsupials. *********************************** Next month a new and larger search for extraterrestrial intelli- gence begins at Parkes, 350 kilometres west of Sydney. Project Phoenix will scan millions of radio frequencies simultaneously until June. If no intelligent signals are received, the equipment will be transferred to scan the northern skies from Japan, then the USA, and finally from the 300 metres radio telescope at Arecibo in Puerto Rico. Project Phoenix literally rose from the ashes of a search for extraterrestrial intelligence project begun in the 1960s but was shelved by the US Congress in 1993. The project coordinator sought funding from private sources which included several major computer companies. Even science writer Arthur C. Clarke supports the project - or maybe he's digging for research material for his next book. "News briefs" looks at communications news items which appear in the mainstream media. Thanks this week go to the Sydney Morning Herald. If your local or regional newspaper runs an item of interest to radio amateurs why not send a clipping to the Divisional Office. --Richard Murnane VK2SKY IPS WEEKLY REPORT ----------------- 06 JANUARY - 12 JANUARY DATE OF ISSUE: 13 JANUARY 1994 INDICES: DATE 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 10CM 74 75 74 74 74 75 76 A 15 7 7 5 7 15 ( 4 ESTIMATED) T 10 26 18 16 17 17 10 SOLAR ACTIVITY WAS VERY LOW THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD AT LEARMONTH WAS MOSTLY QUIET TO UNSETTLED WITH BRIEF ACTIVE PERIODS ON 6TH-7TH JANUARY; QUIET TO UNSETTLED ON 8TH; QUIET ON 9TH; QUIET TO UNSETTLED ON 10TH, INCREASING TO UNSETTLED TO ACTIVE ON 11TH, AND RETURNING TO QUIET ON 12TH. IONOSPHERIC F2 CRITICAL FREQUENCIES AT SYDNEY WERE NEAR PRE-DICTED TO SLIGHTLY DEPRESSED DURING LOCAL DAY ON 6TH JANUARY; ENHANCED BY UP TO 10 PER CENT ON 7TH; NEAR PREDICTED VALUES ON 8TH AND 10TH. ON THE 9TH, FREQUENCIES WERE ENHANCED BY UP TO 20 PERCENT DURING LOCAL DAY AND DEPRESSED BY UP TO 25 PERCENT DURING LOCAL NIGHT. ON THE 11TH, F2 CRITICAL FREQUENCIES WERE NEAR NORMAL WITH A 25 PER CENT ENHANCED PERIOD 05-09UT. FREQUENCIES AGAIN WERE DEPRESSED BY UP TO 15 PER CENT TO 06UT ON 12TH, THEN RECOVERING TO NEAR PREDICTED MONTHLY VALUES. FORECAST (13 JANUARY - 19 JANUARY) SOLAR: VERY LOW GEOMAGNETIC: QUIET. ACTIVE LEVELS EXPECTED 20TH JANUARY. IONOSPHERIC: NORMAL. DEGRADED CONDITIONS EXPECTED 20-21ST JANUARY. COURTESY OF THE IPS RADIO AND SPACE SERVICES SUMMARY BY PAT VK2JPA ANARTS BROADCAST OFFICER CLUB NEWS Gladesville Amateur Radio CLub Resumption of live ATV tests from the Gladesville Amateur Radio Club Live ATV test transmissions for 1995 from the Gladesville Amateur Radio Club will resume on Wednesday 18th January at 7.30 pm. These test transmissions of educational and technical material can be seen on ChanneL 35 UHF from West Lane Cove. The signal is beamed southwest to the Australian Amateur Television Club's repeater VK2RFM at Oakdale, and relayed to the Central Coast to VK2RTG at Kariong retransmitting on Channel 16 UHF. The signal received at Kariong is a relay from the Oakdale repeater on 1250 MHz. Gladesville Television can also be seen on Friday and Sunday nights at 7 pm, the Sunday transmission also being relayed through VK2RFM to VK2RTG on the Central Coast. If you are interested in helping in Amateur Television and learn- ing how it all works, why not call the club on 427 0530 and ask for further information? If you like to talk to people, why not try out as a presenter? ... they're a friendly lot on the other side of the camera. Again, the club phone number is 427 0530 ... talk to us, or leave a message on the answering machine and we will get back to you. --Pat Leeper VK2JPA Club Secretary Club News: Chifley Do you want to get your own Amateur Radio licence? The Chifley Amateur Radio Club is conducting classes for the amateur radio licence. They will cover Morse Code, Theory, and regulations, for an amateur radio licence. The classes are on every Wednesday night at 7-30 pm. The address is: Good Shepherd School Hall, Hyatts Road, Plumpton. 100 metres south of Jersey Road. Opposite the new shopping centre building (Plumpton Markets). Postal address: Chifley Amateur Radio Club Post Box 280 Mount Druitt 2770 Telephone number: 671-6992 or 637-2226 Once you have your Amateur radio licence, we will then show you how to connect your home computer to your radio and talk to the world using your computer. Using any one of the many DIGITAL modes of communicating is a fascinating way to use your radio and computer. Come along to our club rooms any Saturday afternoon and have a talk to any of any of our members for more information or come along on Wednesday night 8th Feb at 7-30 pm. Visitors are always welcome. ------------------------------------------------------------------ JVFAX demonstration The Chifley Amateur Radio Clyb will be putting on a JVFAX demonstartion on 28th January at 1-30 pm. This demonstration will show you how easy it is to send and receive weather fax, or any other fax, SSTV, in colour using an IBM compatible computer and a very simple modem. JVFAX70 is avery interesting program, it will open your eyes as it has to many other people. The circuit board that we use is from RCS Radio. This JVFAX demonstration is open to everyone. As always VISITORS ARE ALWAYS welcome. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Bi-Monthly General Meeting On 11th February the Chifley Amateur Radio Club will be holding its bi-monthly general meeting, at the club rooms starting at 1-30 pm. At this meeting the members are able to ask the committee questions on operation of the club. At these meetings the committee ask the members for feedback on various topics in relation to the club. These meetings are held so the members and the committee can communicate better, so no one feels like they are left in the dark. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Chifley Amateur Radio Club holds meetings EVERY Saturday afternoon from 1-30 pm to 4-00 pm. These meetings are held for the members and their friends to come along and tlk about any amateur radio, computer, related subject, or just to have a cuppa and chat with some friends. So come along any Saturday afternoon and meet some of the members of the Chifley Amateur Radio Club. You will be welcome. ------------------------------------------------------------------ JVFAX demonstration on 28th January at 1-30 pm Classes start on 8th February at 7-30 pm General meeting on 11th February at 1-30 pm from the Chifley Amateur Radio Club Inc. Publicity Officer: Ray Sparks VK2FKO Club News: Waverley Waverley Amateur Radio Society The Society's next meeting will be held on Wednesday 18th January at 7.30 pm in the Society's premises located in the Rose Bay Scout Hall in Vickery Avenue, Rose Bay, next door to the Rose Bay R.S.L. Club. Doors open at 7.00 pm. There will be no special topic so come along for a ragchew and help plan our activities for 1995. Simon Buxton - VK2EII - Publicity Officer Club News: AATC Australian Amateur Television Club The next meeting of the A.A.T.C. will be a combined committee meeting and minor general meeting - January 29th on a Sunday 1.00 pm at RCS Radio Bexley. The purpose of this unusual procedure is so the Technical Committee can assess from the members attending as to what the AATC will have on display at the Wyong Field Day ... a practice run you might say. So please be here with your intended items for display to be logged on Sunday 29th of January 1995 at 1.00 pm - locstat = RCS Bexley. ------------- The AATC welcomes any one interested in Amateur Television to call over on the day for information as to what, where and how. -------------- For more information about the A.A.T.C. listen to the net on Tuesday nights from the Liverpool area on 146.625 MHz - approx 19.30 hrs - or watch us on 1250 MHz from our Oakdale repeater any- time. Also you can ring the Publicity Officer on (02) 587-3491 bus. hrs. --------------- Remember the Wyong Field Day is only 6 weeks away - see us there! AATC Inc. Publicity Officer Bob Barnes Club News: AAPRA Australian Amateur Packet Radio Association AAPRA hopes that you all had an enjoyable Festive Season and that the enjoyment is continuing. The Association has not been idle and opportunity was taken to upgrade our list of packet software. This includes YAPP, Paket 6.0, Baycom 1.6, TPK 1.82, and several versions of NOS. Other goodies are in the pipeline preparing for the Wyong Field Day. Our shareware library has been restocked. See the listing in DIGIPEAT. What no DIGIPEAT !! Well we always welcome new members. But the big news is that we have produced a built up "READY-TO-GO" simple modem for IBM type computers. It will run BAYCOM, TPK GRAPHIC PACKET and who knows what else. The AAPRA den is at 59 Westbrook Ave Wahroonga NSW 2076 phone (02) 489-4393 from Geoff VK2BQ Publicity Officer ARDF championships entries Amateur Radio Direction Finding Contest The second IARU Region 3 Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championships will be held in Townsville from 15th-20th July 1996. Anyone interested in nominating for the Australian team should conatct Wally, VK4DO, at PO Box 432 Proserpine 4800 for full details. Thanks for your cooperation Wally VK4DO Coming events Now, a summary of upcoming events of interest to members and other Radio Amateurs and Short Wave Listeners ... Please note that the Divisional Office will be closed this month; however, you can still call us, as the phone has been redirected to a duty Councillor. ANARTS broadcasts resume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Today Live ATV transmissions from Gladesville resume . .next Wednesday Waverley Amateur Radio Society meeting . . . . . .next Wednesday Divisional Council meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . next Friday Australia Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 January Chifley ARC JVFAX demonstration. . . . . . . . . . . .28 January Divisional Trash and Treasure. . . . . . . . . . . . .29 January AATC combined committee/general meeting. . . . . . . .29 January Divisional Office reopens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?? February WIA Federal convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 February Chifley ARC classes begin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 February Chifley ARC general meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 February Bathurst Car Rally (WICEN--contact Alan VK2YYJ). .25-26 February Central Coast ARC Field Day at Wyong . . . . . . . . 26 February RTA Big NSW Bike Ride (WICEN). . . . . . . . . . . . .4-11 March 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 can also be forwarded to the Divisional Office before close of business on the Friday before the broad- cast. ------------------------------------------------------------------ VK2WI Broadcast, 15th January 1995. Copyright 1995 WIA (NSW) & contributors. Material may be used elsewhere if the source is acknowledged.