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VK7AX > BCAST 06.11.19 05:10z 364 Lines 25256 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: VK7 Amateur Radio News 03Nov19
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To : BCAST@WW
Text edition: VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 3rd. November 2019
(Note.. please remove spaces in email addresses before using)
VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 3rd NOVEMBER 2019
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Welcome to the VK7 Amateur Radio News for the 3rd of November 2019. This broadcast is brought to you by VK7WI, and read today by Idris, VK7ZIR
This broadcast utilises repeaters around VK7 and the following HF rebroadcast stations:
On 3.670 MHz by Garry, VK7JGD
On 7.140 MHz by Ross, VK7ALH
On 14.130 MHz by Mike, VK7FB
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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Microwave News
Rare Microwave DX
There was some relatively rare dx worked last Friday from Tasmania. Dan HB9Q and his team of DX peditioners headed to Botswana to activate the callsign of A21EME from gridsquare KG25wk. They were active on all vhf /uhf bands up to and including 3cm.
They were due to be on from 02:50 UTC through to 13:40 UTC and the conditions were very good with a lunar degradation of 0.3DB and spreading was only 15Hz and crept up to around 30Hz later.
The weather conditions were pretty terrible. The winds were very strong gusting to 60 km/hr at times. Richard VK7ZBX decided to setup the 750mm diameter dish 3cm system at Richard's place to have a go at working the A21EME team. Rex VK7MO joined Richard and together they setup and did some initialalignment calibrations as the moon was not visibledue to cloud and it was only illuminated13% and quite close to the sun so it was by the numbers.
The time approached and with 1 eye on the HB9Q logger they waited their turn then announced we would send a 700 Hz tone to see if they could be heard. In fact we could be heard (or seen on the waterfall) by in fact 4 stations, but importantly A21EME could hear our 700Hz tone so Richard called CQ and he responded he copied me at -21 and i copied him at -23 so we completed a contact.
Richard was then asked to QSY to another frequency to leave the DX peditioners to it and then proceeded to work OK1KIR, OK1CA and OK2AQ with really good signals. OK1KIR was easily audible in the speaker.
Quickly back to A21EME frequency and Rex was able to work him as well. Dan was very happy to get 2 vk7's in the log I'm sure.
Richard and Rex then packed up as quick as we could and enjoyed a celebratory coffee inside where the conditions were much better. A great day, certainly glad there was 2 pairs of hands as there were a couple of moments where the tripod although weighed down with 60KG of weights started to lift!!
Cheers
(73, Richard, VK7ZBX)
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RAOTC News
Broadcast for November
As mentioned in the national bulletin, the monthly broadcast for the Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australia will go to air on Monday November 4.
This month mentions that future broadcasts may include distribution via DMR.
This months historic feature continues from last month with part 2 of the life's work of HG Round. We hear about his continued research into the triode valve and contribution to development of the valve oscillator which made radio telephony possible; this led to wireless broadcasting and aircraft voice communication. Round also filed patents for many other innovations and inventions.
The final topic originates from Dr Norman Swan entitled: 'No Easy Fix for Alzheimer's Disease. He does reveal a glimmer of hope however in the form of a dietary supplement cocktail. To hear more about it listen on Monday or catch up on the RAOTC website.
As usual this will all go to air in VK7 on the first Monday in the month at 7:30pm local time over the VK7RAA/RTC state-wide network and again at about 8:30pm as a telecast on VK7AX 'Spectrum Tasmania' via the BATC members' stream and in the Ulverstone area on 445.50MHz DATV.
The date again is November 4. Call backs will follow on both networks. Please call in if you are able.
(73, Peter VK7PD)
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Contest News
VHF/UHF/Microwave Spring Field Day
Not long to go now for the Spring Field day for VHF/UHF amateurs. The contest is on the weekend of the 23rd/24th of November from 01:00 UTC 01:00 UTC. This is a great opportunity to get that VHF/UHF gear out and give it a bit a run. There will be lots of stations around to contact and get some points and have a bit of a participation explosion in this contest. Find yourself a nice spot with a bit of a view and either pitch a tent or perhaps even pack a bit of picnic lunch and the radios of course. Doesn't have to be world class construction its all about having some fun. You never know, some good conditions could have you working places you hadn't thought of. Don't forget to download a copy of your logging software and polish its finer functions.
Frequencies are not set in stone but a good start 6M 50.150 USB or 52.525 FM, 2M 144.150 USB or 146.500 FM, 70cm 432.150 USB or 439.000 FM, 23cm 1296.150 USB or FM, 13cm 2403.150 USB, 9cm 3398.150 USB, 3cm 10,368.150 USB
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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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 in the email version of the QSL Cards held list 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 from Herman VK7HW)
----------------EMAIL VERSION-------------------------
Cards held as at 26 October 2019
AB, ABY, ACN(FOR RT0C), AD, AG, AM, AP
BH, BX
CH
DG, DX (for E7/VK4DX)
EE, EFA
FG, FLAR
GM, GR, GZ
HAH
JB, JJ , JJJ
KK, KRJ
LC, LH, LLJ
MAG, MBD, MHZ
NC, NF, NRF, NSE, NWQ
PRN, PSJ
RN
TCE, TS (for VK9LS), TU
VIP, VR, VZ
WC, WLH
XDM
ZA
VI17AC, VI7COW, VI70HI, VI7JIS, VI7KCD, VI7LER, VI70MI
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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
November has arrived so that means the Melbourne cup will be run on Tuesday and also that we now only have 51 days till Christmas. Just thought I should give you all a little reminder about this event rapidly approaching. So get those thinking caps on and think up some genuinely new but this time persuasive justifications for those unfulfilled wishes you have put on previous years gift hint lists. Who knows, if you get your fresh list in front of the family members early enough this year you might just score something electronic and exciting, rather than the usual assemblage of t-shirts, socks and the good old faithful undies.
Of course, because it is November that also means that we are into the wind-down period in terms of major developments and activities in the hobby, so news items start to dry up considerably. Until such time as we can bring you reports of the end of year and break-up festivities, your humble reporters are forced to rely more heavily on repeat items, so our apologies in advance if you have heard it all before.
That said, it is time to hand over to our President Idris VK7ZIR to give us a rundown of the technical session held last Wednesday 30 October -
Ross VK7ALH came with the other half of his Drake line-up. The transmitter was a Drake T4X-B, with the same beautiful copper plated chassis as the receiver. All was in working order, featuring a bevel gear 2 way band switching arrangement.
Also on the Show and Tell bench was a military antenna matcher from Peter VK7KPC's vast collection. Housed in a massive diecast environmental case, this was definitely heavy duty stuff. Removing the case revealed some marvels of RF engineering. Of particular interest was a variable inductor which wound on to the former only the required amount of silver plated conductor, depending on the settings. The conductor was supplied from a separate storage reel. It really has to be seen to be appreciated. Other internal workings were of a similar standard. Thanks Ross and Peter.
Peter VK7PD and Andrew VK7DW had attended a 23cm antenna workshop in Hobart last weekend at the QTH of Rex VK7MO with an intent to construct and test 1269MHz Yagi antennas. Peter presented a talk with pictures on the big screen of the proceedings, showing the longest Yagi constructed at 6 metres long. We are intending to have a similar workshop at NTARC when we have accumulated all the required materials. Enough boom material has been pre-drilled to cater for a good number of projects. Thanks Peter and Andrew for providing encouragement for this activity. Peter also showed a home brew 2.4GHz transverter/amplifier with components sourced from Bulgaria.
Colin VK7ZCF had obtained a balun from an overseas supplier. When trying to connect his cables, he had trouble with the SO239 socket. The PL259 plug was binding on the threads. On closer examination, he found that the balun SO239 had a metric thread, unlike most PL259 threads which are imperial. Colin solved the problem by re-tapping the PL259 sleeve. A warning for amateurs buying from diverse overseas dealers.
We had another birthday to celebrate that evening, that of Stefan VK7ZSB. Stefan arrived late due to family celebrations, and, as the sausage rolls had been cooked and served, there was only one left by the time it was realised we needed to save a few. Everyone was hungry that evening! So the remaining sausage roll was decorated with 3 candles, seated on a small plate, the lights were dimmed and candles lit for the ceremony. The usual enthusiastic chorus echoed through the trees, and candles duly extinguished with the obligatory wish. After last weeks effort for Stuart VK7FEAT, it was postulated that there was some mathematical significance of age calculation to having 3 sausage rolls and three candles! This week proved that this was not the case, as it was lucky that we had a remaining roll, and there were only 3 candles in the kitchen drawer! QED.
After all that, the remaining members gathered around the discussion table as is customary, with coffee in hands, covering the topics of the day. With the usual funny story or two from our Entertainment Officer. It was quite late when we retired. A very enjoyable evening.
Until next week,
73 Idris
Once again it sounds like a great night was had by all with yet another birthday celebration. Thanks for the report, Idris and also for clearing up the mathematical mystery governing the selection of the number of candles. Sounds as though we need to buy another box of candles to put in the drawer, especially given the rate at which technical night attendees seem to have birthdays.
Membership notice. We will run this item again as it is very important to remind all that your membership for 2019 expires on 31 December but it is too soon to pay your renewal just yet. 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. Once a decision on subscriptions is taken, renewal notices will be sent out to all members soon after that meeting. Until that takes effect, sorry but you will not be able to jump the gun so to speak and pay early.
Coming events
Technical sessions. The next session will be on Wednesday 6 November 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 mtg. As usual the BBQ will commence at noon and cost is $10.00 pp. 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 small note would be appreciated.
Equine event – NTARC Safety Comms Team has been asked to provide safety comms at the State Championships being held at Sassafras from November 22-24. We will be providing Base Comms, checkpoint and RFID tracking at this event for the 160k elevated ride, 95k elevated ride and the 40k ride. The rides commence at 00.01 hours Saturday morning so yep it is a very early start and all-nighter for us. The 160k ride has a time of 24 hours to complete. Due to the organisers of this event bringing forward the ride by one week it has had a spiral-on effect, with some of the Comms team who had planned their availability for the original weekend now not being available to assist. So if you can spare some time during the Saturday why not pop across to Smith & Others Road, Sassafras and relieve some of the weary team. Our Safety Comms Coordinator Norm would appreciate hearing from you. Norm can be contacted by email at safetycomms.ntarc@gmail.com or catch up with him at coffee session.
End of year Christmas break up function - 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 meeting and party instead. This year we will be partying-away, so to speak, as 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 for those workers you can always arrive earlier and get comfortable before the happy crowd arrives. This is the venue at which we held our mid-year dinner and those that attended really enjoyed it. So please note that 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 or longer if members want to linger longer. Tomorrow, Monday 4 November is a public holiday in the north but we will be open as usual. So why not pop in and catch up over a cuppa and chat.
Please remember that aside from the good company, freely offered philosophical views, maybe less than expert political analysis, tall tales and genuinely good fare on offer, these coffee events are normally a good opportunity to collect your QSL cards. 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 dont 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
Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association
ALARA ladies are meeting for coffee on Wednesday 6 November at 2pm at Moto Vecchia, Bellerive. Any ladies who would like to join us, please contact Linda VK7QP.
Emailvk7qp @ wia.org.au
73, Linda, VK7QP)
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Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
www.reast.asn.au
https://www.facebook.com/reasttas/
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 this Wednesday night the 6th November at 7:30pm in the Queen's Domain Clubrooms.
A huge thank you to Dr. Conn for coming along.
We will be streaming and going out on DATV 445.5MHz DVB-T in the Hobart area.
https://www.facebook.com/events/377580612873898/
(73, Justin, VK7TW)
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REAST Training and assessment
The next REAST Training and assessment day is next 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
We started in the DATV studio with our first guest who was Ben VK7BEN with his lightning trigger. Ben described and demonstrated the device that takes light, sound and other inputs and triggers the camera to take a picture. Ben then went on to describe his storm chasing that he has been doing for a while. This involves looking at the various online weather apps and determining where storm cells will develop and then going out an taking some nice photos of them, thanks Ben.
The next guest was Larry VK7WLH who bought along miniature medical technology including a neat insulin pump that sits on the skin and delivers a regulated dose of Insulin based on what the controller (also worn) is telling it. There was also a small little sensor that monitors blood sugars and send it back to the controller. This sensor has a small wire with rare minerals on it that senses the sugar levels in the blood and bluetooths it back to the controller. Larry also took apart a small 1TB 2.5 inch drive and we took the platters out and took a good look at the insides of the drive. Thanks Larry.
Our next guest was was Rex VK7MO who did a short presentation on the recent legislative changes to the Amateur Licence Conditions Determination and the devil is definitely in the detail. Thanks Rex.
We then went to our videos that included ham Ham Radio Crash Course and Loading up the Lawn Chairs, Ham Radio DX - IC-9700 controlled by the Icom RS-BA1 Software and the VK5ZAI tribute and the TX Factor #15 which had a story on controlling the IC7300 remotely with the Icom RS-BA1 Software.
In the clubrooms Ron was beavering away with his latest project which was adding a servo to his radio controlled remote launcher. This was due to the solenoid not being strong enough when more pressure has to be applied to the bungy cord. Ron programmed up an Arduino to receive the LIPD signal from the remote push button and beep and very loud beeper and then actuate the servo to pull a lever back and release the bungy cord. It works a treat and Ron demonstrated it, thanks Ron.
We have a break for a fortnight as this week is our Presentation night.
See you then.
(73, Justin, VK7TW)
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Regular VK7 gatherings and events over the coming months:
Regular gatherings:
SOTA Group - Monday and Friday Coffee Sessions from 10:30am at Glebe Gardens Cafe 166 Henry St, Launceston
NTARC - Monday and Friday Coffee Sessions from 10am, Technical Sessions on Wednesdays from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm in the clubrooms Archer Street, Rocherlea, Launceston.
REAST - Wednesday Afternoon Group meets from Noon and the Experimenters Nights from 1930 in the Queens Domain clubrooms.
REAST - MICROWAVE QSO Party – following after the Sunday broadcast on 1296.15 MHz FM.
Events:
ALARA Wednesday 6th November at 2pm - ladies are meeting for coffee at Moto Vecchia, Bellerive. Any ladies who would like to join us, please contact Linda VK7QP.
REAST Wednesday 6th November at 7:30pm Men's Health with Dr. Conn O Neil Queen's Domain Clubrooms.
NTARC - Saturday 9th November - BBQ starts Noon followed by Show and Tell at 2:00pm – Rocherlea Clubrooms.
WICEN (South) Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th November Support for Scouts - Sir Ernest Clark Trophy - Oatlands
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A reminder to those people rostered for next week's broadcast:
Newsreader: VK7PD
Repeaters: REAST, NTARC and NWTR&TVG
80m: VK7ALH
40m: VK7JGD
20m: Any Takers?
10m: VK7VKT
DMR: Talk Group 5 and
D-Star: Reflector 091 VK7ZCR
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This broadcast is repeated 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 or have just missed 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 Idris, VK7ZIR
(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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