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VK7AX > BCAST 28.10.19 06:44z 417 Lines 28239 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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From: VK7AX@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.OC
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Text edition: VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 27th. October 2019
(Note.. please remove spaces in email addresses before using)
VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 27th OCTOBER 2019
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Welcome to the VK7 Amateur Radio News for the 27th of October 2019. This broadcast is brought to you by VK7WI, and read today by Mike, VK7FB
This broadcast utilises repeaters around VK7 and the following HF rebroadcast stations:
On 3.670 MHz by Ross, VK7ALH
On 7.140 MHz by Justin, VK7TW
On 14.130 MHz by Garry, VK7JGD
On 28.525 MHz by Tony, VK7VKT
On DMR Talk Group 5 and D-Star Reflector 091 by Clayton, VK7ZCR
This broadcast is repeated on Tuesday night at 8:00pm on repeaters VK7RAA in the North and VK7RTC in the South.
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CONTEST NEWS
VHF/UHF/Microwave Spring Field Day
The Spring VHF/UHF Field Day is coming up on the 23rd and 24th of November. I know itâ€Ös a little way off but why not take some time and think about dusting off the VHF/UHF gear and see who you can contact?
There will be quite a number of fellow VK7â€Ös out and about in a few locations and they would love to make a contact with you, but you donâ€Öt have to go portable to participate.
Logging is easy as many of the logging programs will be aware of this contest and do all the point calculations. There will be activity from 6M all the way up to 3cm.
Why not look at building a new antenna for one of the VHF bands and see how far you can reach. There are sections for 8 Hours, for 24 Hours, Single or multiple operator stations so plenty of options.
Hope to hear you on the bands!
73, Richard VK7ZBX
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WIA CONFERENCE WEEKEND 2020
Billeting & Keynotes
The organising committee of the WIA Conference Weekend 2020 is looking for expressions of interest from Southern amateurs and families who would be prepared to billet people during the weekend of 8-10 May 2020.
This is a great way to show Tasmanian hospitality for Conference attendees and help reduce the cost of their visit. It is also a great way to meet people who you may only talk with on the radio.
If you would like to express interest in billeting one or more people then please
email wia2020conference @ gmail.com.
The WIA Annual Conference 2020 is being held in Hobart at the Best Western Hotel and the theme is Antarctic Gateway.
The weekend features many visits and tours of Antarctic related locations and museums.
The presentations on the Saturday afternoon are coming together with a great focus on Antarctica and radio and can be viewed on the WIA website.
https://www.wia.org.au/joinwia/wia/2020agm/
The Saturday night conference dinner usually features a keynote speaker and we are interested if you have recently heard a speaker at an event or presentation who has talked about something related to Antarctica and or radio and you think they would be entertaining and interesting for the conference attendees.
Please email through your ideas to wia2020conference @ gmail.com.
73, Justin, VK7TW on behalf of the Organising Committee
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NEW 2.4 GHz VK7 and 3.4 GHz National Digital Records
Hayden, VK7HH writes "On Tuesday 22nd of October the Hepburn charts had a prediction of strong to very strong tropo ducting enhancement over Bass Strait. I promptly got in contact with Rod VK3BQJ and Geoff VK3KGR to attempt a contact from Mt.Wellington near Hobart.
Once I arrived after work (at approx 6pm) I could immediately hear the VK3RGI beacon on 2403.434 MHz, faint but there. Richard VK7ZBX joined me on site and we attempted a contact with Rod and Geoff. Neither could hear us and we even attempted digital to no avail. Convinced that the conditions were there and likely to improve as the sunset, we made a decision to try once more before packing up at 8pm.
Whilst we waited around for conditions to hopefully improve, we setup 3.4 GHz to monitor the VK3RGI beacon on 3398.434 MHz. With some tweaking and good ears we could at times hear the beacon in the speaker of the radio and could clearly see a trace on the waterfall.
Then around 7:30pm we got a call from Ralph VK3WRE who said he was intending to go portable to work us from Mt Tassie, 10km west of the 3RGI beacon site and higher. Richard and I decided to wait around and try a contact with Ralph who would take about 30 mins to get to his portable location. By this time the temperature was still 10 degrees, with an apparent temp of 1.4 degrees. Someone who shall remain nameless didn't think it through that wearing shorts would be a good idea! Whilst I put a jumper on, Ralph setup with Dean VK3NFI.
The beacon was exhibiting QSB fades over a few minutes, it would almost disappear then come back really strong. We attempted 2.4 GHz first and Ralph was a rock crushing signal 5/8. We exchanged details and decided to move to 3.4 GHz. We got the dish setup and roughly aligned (bearing in mind it is rather sharp). Well we didn't need Ralph to have the keyer on long, he was 5/8 again and arguably a better copy with no QSB. We didn't even have to peak the dish!!
We again exchanged details and decided to extend the national digital record on 3.4 GHz using FT8. I went to fire up the laptop - dead flat! We'd forgotten about it running all afternoon! I quickly said to Ralph I'd go and charge it up the road at the VK7RTC repeater site (lucky I had the keys). 15 minutes later of charge I returned. Ralph had been working several over VK3's on voice and digital.
Both Richard and I managed a FT8 contact with Ralph and the laptop promptly died 60 seconds after completing the contact!
This sets new records on 2.4 GHz for VK7 voice and 3.4 GHz digital nationally at just over 500km.
Thanks to all stations who made the time to participate.
Video to be uploaded to Ham Radio DX channel soon!"
Regards, Hayden VK7HHÂ
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QSL NEWS
Report - from Herman VK7HW  Manager of the WIA VK7 Inwards QSL Bureau
Herman advises that he will deliver cards to Clubs and or QTH's on an opportunity basis. Feedback from Clubs as to which cards they can receive on behalf of members would be appreciated. Also, unless requested otherwise by those who have mail out arrangements, If there are only 1 or 2 cards for a station, Herman intends to hold those cards until there are enough to make a mail out more cost effective.
If any of you can confirm I am listing SK calls or if you have a new callsign please email me so I can update my records.,
If you have any questions about QSL Cards being held, Herman can be contacted by email vk7bureau(at)wia.org.au
73, Herman, VK7HW
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AB, ABY, AC, ACN(FOR RT0C), AD, AG, AM, AN(9N), AP
BBB, BH, BO, BX
CH
DD, DG, DW, DX (for E7/VK4DX), DZ
EE, EFA
FG, FLAR
GM, GR, GZ
HAH
JB, JJ , JJJ
KK, KPB, KRJ
LC, LH, LLJ
MAG, MBD, MHZ
NC, NF, NRF, NSE, NWQ
PRN, PSJ
RN, ROY
TCE, TS (for VK9LS), TU
VIP, VR, VZ
WC, WLH
XDM, XX
YUM
ZA
VI17AC, VI7COW, VI70HI, VI7JIS, VI7KCD, VI7LER, VI70MI
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NEWS FROM THE NORTH WEST
Shirley VK7HSCâ€Ös Chat N Show Bi monthly meeting Reminder
Hello listeners. It is time to let you know that the next Chat and Show Group will gather on 2nd November at the Penguin Sports Centre, Ironcliffe Road, Penguin. It starts at 2pm and drop in is from 2pm until 5pm.
It is also important to note that any operator or radio enthusiast can join us from anywhere in the state, the mainland, or overseas, if they are visiting Penguin on the right day. It is a non-club event for all to enjoy and the show part is open to anyone with collectables, projects in progress or complete that they would like to show us..
A plate for afternoon tea is always accepted with thanks and enjoyed by everyone.
So, remember 2pm Saturday 2nd November.
Any enquiries to 0417 392 583 or franley40 @ bigpond.com
Look forward to seeing you there.
Shirl VK7HSC
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NEWS FROM THE NORTH
SOTA and WWFF Parks and Reserves Group
Meeting times are from 10:30am on Monday and Friday At Glebe Gardens Cafe, 166 Henry St, Launceston.
For more details contact Al on Mobile: 0417 354 410.
73, Al, VK7AN
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Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club Incorporated
www.ntarc.net
Well, here we are with the last broadcast for the month of October. How the days have flown or is it just me getting older. Anyway, on with the news and we begin this week with a roundup of NTARCâ€Ös involvement in JOTA/JOTI 2019.
For that, I will hand it over to the NTARC Coordinator Peter VK7KPC, and he says….
“Well JOTA/JOTI is over again for another year except for the collating of the numbers of contacts and hopefully seeing a lot of countries in the various logs. At the time of writing I have records of 100 scout or guide participants at Rocherlea and 17 parent visitors. I am still waiting on the numbers that participated at the Tamar Sea Scout hall.
Friday evening was busy with the Northern Area Rover Crew assembling the dozen or so computers for JOTI, transceivers being connected to antennas and other activities being setup.
Echolink was activated in case Guides at Huonville needed an extra station to talk to.
Mid-evening I received a call on behalf the Venturers who were involved in a seamanship course at Tamar that weekend, enquiring if they could participate in JOTA from that location. As I had received a phone call from Stuart VK7FEAT earlier in the evening offering to bring his portable equipment, I quickly called him back to see if he would be able to help. The affirmative response was very welcome.
Action started early Saturday morning with some members arriving to help with final setup, ensuring Skywarmer was running and urns up to temperature for coffees. More members arrived as the morning progressed as well as 2 scouts from 4th Launceston (with a leader) who were assembling a temporary timber tower as part of their award badge work. Once this was assembled it was moved to outside the rear of the hall with a 2m flowerpot antenna attached. Rovers and some Venturers returned to activate the JOTI operation.
About this time Stuart arrived at the Tamar hall and began setting up a hf aerial and his equipment.
First youth members arrived at noon and kept coming until mid-afternoon with the last leaving at 5pm.
Special thanks to Stuart, ably assisted by Stefan VK7ZSB, who commenced operation from 6pm and were active well into the evening. To assist them the Echolink node was connected to the portable antenna and tower which allowed them to contact VK7HSD at Huonville with a handheld.
Rovers and Venturers stayed overnight, giving the new computers a good work out as they were still apparently asleep at 8am Sunday morning. One notable contact overnight was with GB100GP at the original Gilwell Park in England on echolink.
Action restarted at 10am Sunday morning and continued till 3pm. DMR proved fairly successful, Foxhunting was again popular as were the electronic kits and Edison robots. Billy carts were well received as an extra activity this year.
Thanks to Yvonne VK7FYMX, Ros (no call sign) and Idris VK7ZIR for their work on the BBQ.
Also thanks to Norm VK7KTN, Kevin VK7KJL, Lewis VK7FLPL on the radios and Morse demo and also Tony VK7YBG with his test equipment demo and back up radio op.
Andre VK7ZAB was the main hunt master ably assisted by Stefan VK7ZSB and with further assistance at times by Lewis and one of our Venturer helpers.
A thank you also to our lady members Anne VK7FYBG, Lorraine xyl of VK7KTN and Kay xyl of VK7KPC who provided the NTARC crew with sandwiches, sponge cake, slices and sausage rolls over the 2 day period. These were much appreciated by the workers.
Special thanks also to Tim Wood from 4th Launceston Scouts who managed the billy carts for both days.
While all this was happening I was busy signing in the various groups of visitors, keeping them rotating through the 5 activity areas and solving any problems that arose.
Peter, VK7KPC, NTARC JOTA/JOTI Coordinator”
Many thanks for your report, Peter. Now it is time to hand over to our President Idris VK7ZIR to give us a rundown of the technical session held last Wednesday 23 October - and Idris reports “No heater needed tonight, a nice warm evening.
Ross VK7ALHâ€Ös show and tell tonight was a Drake R4 communications receiver, part of a line up Ross has collected. He will bring the rest of the components in for us next week. As soon as the cover came off, you were struck with the beauty of a copper plated chassis in immaculate condition. The other standout feature is the 10 position crystal channel selector with all full size crystals installed. Appreciated by all who saw it, Ross also brought in the reconditioned battery container from the antique Varley Bridge, previously donated to the Club by Rosco VK7RC. The batteries had corroded, so Ross removed them and cleaned up the holder. The bridge is now back to working order. Thanks Ross.
Simon VK7FSRM was busy programming a DMR handheld radio aided by Colin VK7ZCF and Peter VK7ZPE.
Aspiring licensee Phil brought in his new Kenwood TS590SG with a view to inject a GPS reference signal. Idris VK7ZIR had his GPSDO set up, but some further research is needed by Phil to determine the injection method.
Peter VK7KPC was kept busy all night tidying up after the weekend JOTA/JOTI event.
Stefan VK7ZSB and Phil ended up reminiscing over their years spent working in Telecom/Telstra, joined by Idris, remembering various characters of note.
The highlight of the evening was a birthday celebration for Stuart VK7FEAT complete with birthday cake and candles. Well, not so much of a cake, rather three sausage rolls on a plate with a candle in each. Someone was heard to comment that they were healthier than a sugary cake. Nevertheless, the lights were dimmed, the candles were lit and a raucous rendition of “Happy Birthday” ensued albeit rather out of tune! Stuart then proceeded to blow out the candles, careful to avoid a hairy conflagration, and made his wish.
A memorable end to an enjoyable evening.
Until next week, 73, Idris VK7ZIR”
Thanks again, Idris. Once again it sounds like a great night was had by all. I am glad the candles were kept to three, as that also no doubt contributed to avoiding the possible hairy conflagration of which you speak. That said though, Iâ€Öm by no means sure of the numbers base that was used to arrive at three to represent Stuartâ€Ös age but Iâ€Öm sure the mathematicians among us will chime in with some logical explanation.
Membership notice – just a little reminder that your membership for 2019 expires on 31 December. One of the agenda topics at the November general meeting will be whether NTARC should review the yearly subscriptions. It has been 4 years since an increase took effect and as members are aware, costs relating to the running of our club room and repeaters increase all the time. A renewal notice will be sent out to all members after that meeting once the outcome of those deliberations is known. Until that takes effect, sorry but you will not be able to jump the gun so to speak and pay your subs ahead of the renewal notices being issued.
Coming events
Technical sessions – The next session will be on Wednesday 30 October and will commence at the usual time of 7.30 pm, running through to 10.30 pm, at the Club room Archer Street, Rocherlea. Pop in catch up with fellow amateurs, bring along something that you are currently building or just ask questions? You might also be able to answer some from other attendees. That is what the evenings are all about, anything of a technical or near-technical nature, however defined, is fair game. Endless tea and coffee along with biscuits is available for a small gold coin donation.
November general meeting - this will be held on Saturday 9 November and it will be a BBQ meeting. As usual the BBQ will commence at noon and the cost is $10.00 per person. The meeting will commence at 14:00 hours, and as mentioned earlier we will be discussing the 2020 membership subscription, so please come along and make your thoughts known. The meeting will be followed by a Show and Tell so why not bring something along to share with everyone. Of course, afternoon tea will then follow. As usual we ask for donations of salads to share at lunch and items for afternoon tea always appreciated. Remember for those that attend lunch your $10.00 charge covers both lunch and afternoon tea. For those just attending the meeting and enjoying afternoon tea, a donation of gold or a small note would be appreciated.
End of year Christmas break up function – yes, I can hear you all say she is a bit early but in fact the days are getting closer. This year we will be having our Christmas event on Wednesday 11 December. This would be our normal meeting night but as usual for this time of the year we forego a formal meeting and party instead. A venue has been booked. It will be held at the Commercial Hotel, George Street, Launceston. Meet time 6.30 for 7.00 pm but of course you can arrive earlier and get comfortable, which could be an idea for those of us still in employment. This is the same venue at which we held our mid-year dinner and those that attended really enjoyed it. So please note that in your diary.
Coffee mornings – A reminder that our twice-weekly coffee sessions are normally held every Monday and Friday commencing at 10.00 am and running through till about noon.
Please remember these coffee events are normally a good opportunity to collect your QSL cards and currently we have some cards awaiting collection and those members have been notified.
As I remind all every week, please demonstrate your appreciation of all the effort that goes into operating the club and its facilities and the other services we provide, by joining us at these sessions, enjoying the company, coffee and the cake and leaving a gold coin or two, or even a small bank note, in the jar to assist in our on-going operations. I donâ€Öt know of any other venue in Launceston, or further afield for that matter, where you can get endless coffee, tea and eats for a donation of this miniscule amount.
Finally
A reminder to all members that if you have any items of news you would like added to our weekly roundup, then please email them to the following address
ntarc.emails@gmail.com
However, it would be appreciated if any news could be sent no later than 17:00 hours on the Friday prior to broadcast, to allow its timely insertion into the NTARC segment.
That gives all a chance to get the NTARC segment together and off to Hobart in time for collation into the VK7 Broadcast, including frantically arranging other connections when our NBN fails, which is quite often. Your continued cooperation in this regard will be gratefully appreciated and do much to lower my blood pressure.
As always I look forward to seeing you at Rocherlea.
73, Yvonne VK7FYMX, Secretary NTARC Inc.
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NEWS FROM THE SOUTH
Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
www.reast.asn.au
https://www.facebook.com/reasttas/
Save the Date - REAST November Presentation
We are privileged to have Dr. Conn O'Neil from General Practice Plus along for the night to give some insight into common (and not so common) men's health issues and importantly how we can prevent or reduce the risks associated with these issues.
The presentation will take place on Wednesday 6th November at 7:30pm in the Queen's Domain Clubrooms.
A huge thank you to Dr. Conn for coming along.
https://www.facebook.com/events/377580612873898/
73, Justin, VK7TW
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REASTÂ Training and assessment
The next REAST Training and assessment day is Saturday 9th November.
Applications close Monday 3 November.
Contact Reg VK7KK at 0417 391 607 or regemm @ ozemail.com.au
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DATV Experimenter's Night Wrap-Up
Given the warm weather we started the night with a BYO BBQ which went down a treat!
We began the night's program in the DATV studio by welcoming Rex VK7MO back from his trip to the USA where he was invited to attend the Microwave Update Conference or MUD. This conference is similar to Gippstech held here in VK although MUD is focused on microwave frequencies. Before MUD Rex took us through the many National Parks he visited with some wonderful pictures of these very diverse national parks. Rex then took the audience through the conference agenda that runs over 3 days. Thanks Rex.
We then celebrated a milestone - a freshly spot-welded Potato Masher! For those who don't know, Justin has been building a spot welder to repair the potato masher and this has proven to be a little more of a challenge than first thought! Justin took the audience through the project with pictures and his learnings along the way. More next week.
Warren, VK7WN then took us through the Taroona High School STEM night he attended, along with pictures, and focused on a project his son, Joey, has been doing that involves an automated garden patch of approximately 3m x 1m, with an automated frame that can pick up seeds, plant them, water them, weed them and generally keep them growing! On ya Joey!. Thanks Warren.
We finished off with some interesting videos whilst we retired to the clubrooms for coffee.
Sean VK7FAZE has purchased a number of NBN fixed wireless panels and we took one apart to find out what is inside and importantly what can be reused for amateur purposes. The Panel antenna is a phased array of 9 patch antennas that we think we may be able to use for 2.4GHz. The unit contains the RF modules which are normally fed via "Power over Ethernet" to an in-house module that contains the modem etc. Watch this space for some tests over the coming weeks.
We get back underway this Wednesday night from 7:30pm with some interesting presentations. From Larry VK7WLH, some fascinating miniature medical technology and from Ben VK7BEN, his lightning trigger for his camera, along with some other interesting items.
We go out on RF on 445.5MHz DVB-T 7MHz Standard Definition. So, if you have a TV, Set-top box or USB DTV Dongle that you can tune to 445.5MHz, and do a scan for a DVB-T signal, and, you can see the Queens Domain, then you have a good chance of receiving the DATV Experimenter's Night Signal. Look out for VK7OTC. We also stream the nights on the REAST YouTube channel and Facebook.
https://www.reast.asn.au/special-interest-groups/amateur-tv/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC64To_tq1E7PfK1pqtX_vRw/
https://www.facebook.com/reasttas/
See you there
73, Justin, VK7TW
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TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Next Generation Triple Zero is coming
Australia's long-awaited Next Generation Triple Zero (000) service will be introduced in stages, beginning in 2020.
Australia's Triple Zero (000) is a well-known, long-established and very reliable emergency contact capability, which has served the country well for many years. However, in the modern era it is somewhat handicapped, in that it is a voice-only service provided via telephone. This is preventing both the public and emergency service organisations from utilising and leveraging the latest technologies and applications that now exist since the introduction of smart devices.
Australia's Next Generation Triple Zero (NG000) strategy has been developed to enable the service to accept data and information from modern devices and applications, enabling callers to provide information such as location data and imagery, and access Triple Zero (000) via other means such as messaging services and social media.
NG000 isn't here yet, but it's not too far away. To get an update on it we spoke with Chris Beatson, who is lead on the National Emergency Management Program Project â€ö Next Generation Triple Zero (000). He is also Director of the PoliceLink Command for the New South Wales Police Force.
What is the current status of the NG000 project?
The NG000 Strategy has been adopted by the federal government, which has responsibility for the Triple Zero (000) service. Telstra, the contracted Emergency Call Person (ECP), has just completed its technology refresh to enable NG000.
The first major initiative is Advanced Mobile Location (AML). AML will source the GPS information from the handset being used to contact Triple Zero (000) and provide this information with the call to emergency service organisations. This will be implemented in May 2020. All emergency service organisations are now working with their computer-aided dispatch (CAD) vendors to enable AML to be received.
The next stage of the NG000 strategy is being discussed with the federal government. This stage will encompass messaging to 000, enabling those who can't communicate through voice to contact Triple Zero (000). This will provide benefit, for example, to the hearing impaired and those who will be placed in danger if they speak. Discussions are now occurring with the telecommunication carriers.
Which organisations are involved in establishing NG000?
The NG000 strategy is a partnership between the federal government, Telstra as the ECP, emergency service organisations, telecommunication carriers and public safety vendors.
Have there been any lessons learned from implementation of similar systems overseas?
The National Communications Working Group “ Australia and New Zealand (NECWG-A/NZ) has signed an MOU with the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) in the US and has affiliated with the European Emergency Number Association (EENA). All three of our groups have developed next-generation strategies.
The sharing of strategy, standards and implementation documentation has benefited all three groups to deliver an effective next-generation strategy for each jurisdiction. NECWG-A/NZ members have visited both the USA and Europe to discuss next-generation strategy rollouts.
What will delegates learn from your upcoming presentation at Comms Connect Melbourne?
Delegates will be appraised of developments in the NG000 space, and what future changes are being considered for NG000 as NECWG-A/NZ partners with public safety vendors in considering developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning and 5G technologies.
Any final points youâ€Öd like to make?
The positive for Emergency Service Organisations is that NG000 has been embraced by the federal government and public safety vendors, ensuring that the benefits that will be delivered through the strategy will be realised.
Chriseated on Tuesday night at 8:00pm on repeaters VK7RAA in the North and VK7RTC in the South.
Thanks to all people and organisations that assisted with this broadcast.
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That concludes our VK7 Amateur Radio News Broadcast for this week.
You have been listening to VK7WI. Next week the National WIA news can be heard at 0900 followed by the VK7 Amateur Radio News at 0930 hours.
Items for the broadcast can be emailed to vk7arnews @ gmail.com
Further information about the broadcast can be found at the VK7 Amateur Radio News Groups.IO Group.
https://groups.io/g/vk7arnews
The deadline for items is 21:00 on Friday prior to the Sunday of the broadcast.
VK7WI is now closing but will reopen shortly for callbacks and relay reports. Callbacks will be taken on the frequency to which you are listening. Relay stations will use their own callsigns during the callback.
From the VK7 Amateur Radio News, it is 73 from Mike, VK7FB
(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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