Reply-To: nationalnews@wia.org.au

Weekly news from the WIA:
MP3 edition of news available at: http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2023-12-31.mp3 Text edition:


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2023 DECEMBER 31 VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA ------------------------------------------------------------*

THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK

THIS LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD BEVAN tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos

------------------------------------------------------------*

NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING DEC 31 2023
IN OUR 28th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS

WOW WE GET AN EXTRA DAY THIS YEAR!
Last week I signed off by saying that it was the last broadcast of the
year, NOW I am told TODAY is the last day of the year...>
so we gained a day!
THIS WEEK:-

WIA director, Steven Green, VK2TSG .-

Wireless Institute of Australia Technical Advisory Committee Chairman
Grant VK5GR .-

PLUS MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE
WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA.

I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB

WIA

JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y

Hello, this is one of your national WIA directors, Steven Green,
VK2TSG, with the final 2023 Board comment this New Years Eve.

Not only do we have the New Year to contend with as we move into
2024, but here in Australia and its territories, we also have the
new class licence arrangement starting from the 19th of February.
This will include a revised qualifications framework, new call sign arrangements, the ACA managing qualifications and callsign services,
as well as accrediting examiners.

Further details will be available on the WIA website, although there
were reservations held over class licencing. The WIA have worked
closely with the ACMA to ensure that amateurs retain equivalent
privileges, and we thank the ACMA for their efforts.

As a volunteer organisation, member contribution to our activities is
essential and we are presently seeking expressions of interest for
several roles, including... Digital Modes Advisor, QSL volunteers,
Application Developers, and graphics or web designers.

I myself recently attended the Amateur Radio New South Wales site at
Dural; they had requested additional people for their broadcast
roster. Although I tend to have limited time, I'm looking forward to
helping out where possible, to try to ease-the-load for this hard
working and dedicated team.

Even if you are far away, differently abled, or unsure how you could
help, get in touch with the WIA, your state or territories' amateur
radio group, or affiliated club to see what you can do. Often, the
experience you gain in these roles can help towards furthering your
career or other prospects and interests. And if you can't contribute
directly, why not see if there are a few people close by that you
could bring into Amateur Radio?

We are looking forward to seeing attendees at the WIA AGM in May 2024
in Bundaberg, Queensland. Here I'll be presenting a short talk on what
I've learned in brief from the prepping community here in Australia.
And I must say thank you to those who offered feedback recently on my
last broadcast news on the topic. Making some corrections that were
quite helpful.

Lastly, tomorrow is a special day for my family, with my Grandmother
Dulcie celebrating her One-hundred-and-sixth Birthday, yes 106..
although not an Amateur, Dulcie wound thousands of coils for AWA
Aircraft Radios as part of their military work in world war two, and
has many fond memories of the contributions of 'Wireless' in her
lifetime. This leads me to wonder what Radio stories all of your
families may have to share... Happy Birthday Dulcie !!

This has been Steven Green VK2TSG closing the Board comments for 2023.
Until next time 73, and Happy New Year.

WIA - TAC

Hello all from Grant VK5GR, your new Wireless Institute of Australia
Technical Advisory Committee Chairman.


Firstly I just wanted to say thanks to the WIA board for accepting my nomination. I also wish to acknowledge the many years of work put into this role by my predecessor, John Martin VK3KM, whom was one of my very early amateur radio mentors (and now is sadly a silent key). Hopefully I can fill
his very big shoes!


I also wish to thank several of the departing TAC committee members for their contributions over the years, including Rex VK7MO, Wally VK6KZ, Barry VK2AAB and Peter VK3PF. They are now seeking to retire from the committee, opening
the way for new blood to join the team. Thank you all for your efforts over many years.


Now, to start the process of replenishing the team, we wish to welcome Hayden VK7HH who will take over the VK7 regional representative as well as Kevin
VK4UH who is taking on the Microwave advisory role. After a further review of the committee structure and responsibilities, other roles will be opened in
the coming months. Stay tuned for more details.


Next up, with 2024 almost upon us, it is time to consider the current issues before the TAC.


One of the early projects we have identified was a need to update several of the band plans, following several recent regulatory changes. The bands we studied include 6 metres (following standard grade licenses getting access to the entire band), 9 centimetres (3.4 GHz) following the complete withdrawal
of 3400-3600 MHz in populated parts of Australia, and 70 centimetres where
some clarifications have been proposed for repeater station allocations.


In order to develop appropriate changes, the TAC has prepared a consultation paper, which is accessible via the WIA news website. The paper discusses the proposals for each band and welcomes feedback on these from all licenced amateur radio operators. We encourage you to take the time to read the paper, consider the impacts on your activities, and share your feedback! The closing date is the 31st of January 2024. We look forward to hearing from you.


Well thats all from me this week. 73 from Grant VK5GR, for the WIA Technical Advisory Committee

------------------------------------------------------------*
INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, RAC,
ARRL, NZART, eHam, AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, eHam,
Radioworld.com Hackaday and the World Wide sources of the WIA.

REGION ONE

JAMMING.

FPV drones are a signature weapon of the Ukraine conflict, and jammers
to stop them are a matter of life and death.

Both sides have fielded jammers and drone guns firing beams of radio
waves to knock out drone communications, these jammers are said to
take out thousands (YES THOUSANDS) of drones a month. Now a Russian
group claims to have developed a magic radio for FPVs which is
highly resistant to jamming. A physicist with the handle DanielR
evaluated the device minutely in a detailed Twitter thread.

From a technological perspective there is nothing surprising here,

DanielR said, but the device does make efficient use of cheap,
off-the-shelf components.

Racing quadcopters converted into cheap kamikaze drones are used by
both sides. They are capable of diving into foxholes and bunkers,
chasing down trucks, and even destroying main battle tanks from
five or more miles away. Often jamming is the only protection, but
this device claims to nullify it.

bit.ly/3ty5XMA

REGION 2

Status of CQ Magazine:

ARRL has heard from many members concerned about their print
subscriptions to CQ magazine.

CQ magazine is not an ARRL publication, however ARRL members enjoy the
ability to pursue earning the CQ Worked All Zones and Worked All
Prefixes awards through Logbook of The World.

CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, acknowledged the delays in delivering
CQ magazine. He indicated that the November and December issues are
delayed but plans are to get them out to the readership as soon as circumstances permit.

HOWEVER

In another message circulating on some mailing lists, a reply to an
inquiry explained that due to funding issues they have
temporarily suspended publication at this time.

"Our apologies for this inconvenience and we hope to be back up and
running soon."

It is unknown exactly what funding issues the magazine has
encountered, but CQ Communications, Inc. has discontinued other
publications within their operation over the last few years.
CQ-DATV ceased its free online publication in 2021. CQ VHF ceased
publication in 2013 along with Popular Communications magazine and
merged with WorldRadio into an online digital Publication in 2014.
While it is Santa Claus who delivers toys to good boys and girls around
the world on Christmas Eve, and is even tracked by NORAD each year, the
United States Air Force also does its part to provide goods to islanders throughout Micronesia as part of what is now the Pentagons longest-running humanitarian airlift operation.


The tradition began during the Christmas season in 1952 when a B-29 Superfortress aircrew saw islanders waving at them from the island of Kapingamarangi, 3,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. In the spirit of Christmas, the aircrew gathered some items they had on the plane, attached the bundle of supplies to a parachute, and dropped it to islanders below, giving the operation its name.


At the time, the island had no electricity or running water and was periodically hit by typhoons.


While certainly meant to be good deeds, the first Christmas Drops that
followed werent exactly a success. Some containers fell into the water, while others werent discovered for months, but the Air Force honed it skills and
the program has continued to grow over the past seven decades.


Today, airdrop operations include more than 50 islands throughout the
Pacific.

CONDUCTED FROM GUAM NOT THE NORTH POLE

While Santas base of operation remains in the North Pole, Andersen Air Force Base (AFB), Guam, has been the base camp to airlift donated goods to the islanders throughout Micronesia.


Operation Christmas Drop is a PACAF event that includes a partnership between the 374th Airlift Wing, Yokota Air Base, Japan; the 36th Wing, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; 734th Air Mobility Squadron, Andersen AFB of the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; the University of Guam; and the Operation Christmas Drop private organization
which leads the fundraising and donations for the operation.


C-130J Super Hercules crews airdrop food, supplies, educational materials,
and toys to islanders throughout the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. These islands are some of the most remote locations on the globe spanning a distance nearly as broad as the continental U.S. Though
Santa can travel around the globe, the PACAF has proven also to be up to the challenge of reaching the far-flung islands.

STILL FAIRLY LOW TECH
Operation Christmas Drop relies on C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft rather than a reindeer-powered sleigh, but the airlift operation remains
rather low-tech, as aircrews are linked to the village via ham radio as they fly overhead and drop supplies.

On Christmas Eve, Brian Justin Jr., WA1ZMS operated his experimental
station WI2XLQ on 486 kHz AM for the Reginald Fessenden commemorative transmission.

Another transmission will take place today, December 31, starting at approximately 21:00 UTC and will run for 24 hours.

All transmissions will only consist of the two Christmas songs claimed
to have been played by Fessenden on his violin, during his historic
broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1906, as well as a brief bible verse.
WI2XLQ's voice ID and transmission description will be broadcast via a computer-generated voice.

The story of Fessenden's alleged first voice transmissions, using an Alexanderson alternator on December 24 and December 31 in 1906, has
never been proven to have taken place. "While doubt remains that such
a transmission ever took place, Fessenden did perform some crude voice transmissions over a few miles distance in early December of that year
near Washington, DC, as a demonstration for the US Navy."

Fessenden is credited for his early pioneering work of human speech
using RF rather than the typical spark generated CW operations of the
time. Long wire antennas with a simple, modern software-defined radio
are recommended to copy WI2XLQ.

SWL reports can be sent via email to WA1ZMS@ARRL.Net and an email
confirming the reports will follow. Audio samples of the reception
are also welcomed at the same email address.

REGION THREE

China has released one of its spaceplanes into the sky once again.

The top-secret spacecraft, dubbed Shenlong, was released December 14
but no one really knows why. It's the spaceship's third mission into
space and, in regards to why its up there, Chinese media has given
quite a vague explanation.

Amateur radio operator Daniel Estevez has since looked into the signal
being emitted and says it's 'clear' that it 'doesn't have much data in
it', as per IFLScience. What the signals contain remains unclear, but
Tilley says that the mysterious objects seem to the strongest signals
while passing over North America. -------------------------------------------------------------------*
HAM RADIO OPERATIONAL NEWS - IT'S A CONTACT SPORT

--------------
--------------
NOW CONTEST WISE:- 2024
--------------
--------------

ARRL's Straight Key Night (SKN) is held on January 1, from 0 hours
UTC through to 2359 UTC.

Many of we hams look forward to SKN as one of the highlights of our
operating year.

Wireless Men and Women participate using Morse code. All you need is
your favourite straight key or bug. Many participants tend to dust off
vintage radios and keys and put them back into service each year just
for the fun of it during this event.

All hand keys, regardless of age, are welcome. The number of
contacts you make is not important. The reward is meeting new friends
as you get together on the air.

arrl.org/straight-key-night

(eHam)

--------------
Ross Hull Memorial Contest.
Running on VHF and above for the month of January.
You nominate the best 7 day or 2 day period per category.

For more information visit the contest page at wia.org.au/members/contests/rosshull/

(VK2TBC)

-----------------------------------
JANUARY 2024 VHF-UHF Summer Field Day.
13 - 14 January.
0100 UTC Saturday to 0059 UTC Sunday BUT to make it a
little fairer in VK6, they add 3 hours onto start and
end times.
(wia.org.au)
-----------------

AUSTRALIA DAY CONTEST

This contest is to encourage Amateur Radio promotional Activity
around the world and is designed to encourage friendly participation
and help improve the operating skills of participants.

It is held on the Australia Day Public Holiday, 26th of January.

Amateurs here in in VK will endeavour to contact other amateurs
around the world. Some VK operators will be using the AX prefix to
celebrate Australia day, as its wanted by many amateurs.

Scoring is distance based and calculated using 4-character grid
squares.

(wia.org.au) --------------------------------------------------------------------

DX WINDOW TO THE WORLD.
--------------

SWITZERLAND.

Special event station HB 8 DELOY is QRV until THE END OF TODAY, utc
DATE / TIME. This outfit has been commemorating the first
transatlantic contact that took place on November 28, 1923 between
stations 8 AB and 1 MO.

QSL via HB9ACA.

Another "cross the water" commemorative station hails from right here
in AUSTRALIA.

Members of the Wireless Institute of Australia are QRV as VK 100 ZL
also until todays end to commemorate the first wireless contact
100 years ago between Australia and New Zealand. QSL via bureau.

(eHam)

--------------

GREECE.

Special event call sign SZ 65 RAAG is QRV until todays end (Dec 31)
to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Radio Amateur Association of
Greece.

Activity has been heard on all bands using CW, SSB, and various
digital modes.

QSL via LoTW.

(eHam)
--------------
EAST KIRIBATI.

Members of the Rebel DX Group are QRV as T 32 TT from Christmas
Island, IOTA OC-024, until January 12. Kiritimati (Christmas Island)
Time is UTC + 14 and it's a bit of a giggle when you look at how the
old time keepers mapped out that time zone, check out a map !

Not to be confused with a couple of better known Christmas Islands,
this one, T32, is actually Kiritimati, a rather straightforward
respelling of the English word Christmas in the Kiribati language,

The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the world,
about 388 square kilometres and is part of Kiribati, a country
encompassing 33 Pacific atolls and islands.

OK so that's your geography lesson class!

T 32 TT is on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, FT8, and FT4.

QSL via OQRS.

(eHam and vk4bb)
--------------
MOROCCO.

Yannick, F6FYD is QRV as CN 2 YD until March 15.

------------------------------------------------------------*
WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS

ASTRONOMY

The 10-year amateur radio special event and countdown to the 100th
anniversary of the discovery of Pluto will continue February 11 - 19,
2024 (UTC), and celebrates Clyde Tombaugh's discovery from the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona of Pluto.

Members of the Northern Arizona DX Association will operate from
Lowell Observatory and their home stations using the special event
call sign W 7 P.

The annual QSL cards, the event certificate, and more information
about the event can be found at W7P 2030 (nadxa.com).

(arrl)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org

December 6 marked the 25th anniversary of the International Space
Station.

On December 6, 1998 the first two elements of the station, Unity and
Zarya, were mated by the crew of space shuttle Endeavours STS-88
mission.

Since then, 273 people from 21 countries have visited the station.

(ANS)
Voyager 1 has stopped returning useful data to Earth due to a problem
with the spacecrafts Flight Data System computers. It could take
several weeks for engineers to develop a new plan to remedy the issue.

Launched in 1977, the spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, are the two longest-operating spacecraft in history [behind AO-7, that is].

In addition, commands from mission controllers on Earth take
22.5 hours to reach Voyager 1, which is exploring the outer regions
of our solar system more than 24 billion kilometres from Earth. That
means the engineering team has to wait 45 hours to get a response from
Voyager 1 and determine whether a command had the intended outcome.

(ANS)
NASAs Mars Rover, Perseverance, recently marked 1,000 sols, i.e.
Martian days on the red planet, after landing at Jezero Crater on
February 18, 2021.

Its companion Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, the first robot ever to
explore the skies of a world beyond Earth, made its 70th flight on
Friday, December 22.

(ans)
QRP SATELLITE ALOFT.

HADES-D satellite has been commissioned. After a trial period in which
its behaviour has been tested at the radioelectric, systems, and
energy performance levels, the FM repeater is left active for general
use.

At the request of AMSAT-EA, AMSAT has designated HADES-D as
Spain-OSCAR 121, i.e. SO-121.

The repeater works with FM/FSK with an uplink frequency of 145,875 MHz
and a downlink frequency of 436,663.5 MHz. It is recommended to use
Narrow Band FM.

AMSAT-EA is drafting a use and operation manual, which will indicate
in detail some of the characteristics of the satellite and its working
modes. Although it is not definitive, Amsat-EA is considering some
special operating options such as reserving a day of the week
exclusively for digital communications following the example we know
with the AO-92 bird.

HADES-D is the first satellite with FM repeater service mounted on a
pocket cube platform. This standard is the smallest in terms of
normalized satellite sizes. HADES-D size is 8x5x5 cm. Its panel
surface and battery size are much smaller than the rest of the
satellite repeaters in use, so HADES-D is not comparable to most of
them either in radiated power or signal strength.

HADES-D should be considered a QRP satellite.

(AMSAT-NA)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - IOTA

In the World of IOTA DX, listen for 3B9AT from Rodrigues Island,
IOTA Number AF-017, now until the 6th of January.
SSB, CW and FT8 on 80-10 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.
Listen for J8TT from St. Vincent, IOTA Number NA-109, until the
5th of January, SSB, CW and digital modes on 40-6 metres.
Again see QRZ.com for QSL details.
PJ7/VA3ITA from Saint Martin, IOTA Number NA-105, until today the
31st of December on SSB and the digital modes on 40-10 metres.QSL via LoTW only.


(iota from ARNewsLine 2408)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR OLD-TIMERS
qcwa.org
raotc.org.au

Hallo Everyone, This is Clive VK6CSW reminding you that in accordance
with tradition there is no Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club broadcast in
January. The first RAOTC bulletin for 2024 is scheduled for Monday
February 5th.

However, Members and Friends of the RAOTC in Perth are reminded that
the first monthly lunchtime meeting for the New Year will be held on
Tuesday January 9th, at the Woodbridge Hotel in East Guildford
starting at 11.30 am.

Everyone is welcome to join in and have an eyeball QSO.
Full details are published on the RAOTC website raotc.org.au
under the sub-heading Luncheons.

There is adequate car parking at the hotel but if arriving by train be
sure to alight at Guildford East, repeat Guildford East station.

On behalf of the RAOTC, I hope everyone has had an enjoyable
Christmas and best wishes for a happy, healthy and safe New Year.

73 from Clive VK6CSW.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS - YOTA
(Youngsters On The Air)
facebook.com/yotaregion2
facebook.com/groups/YOTAOC/
youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA
twitter.com/hamyota
ham-yota.com

The Intrepid-DX Group has announced the winners of their Fourth Annual
Youth "Dream Rig" Essay Contest.

The first-place winner is Abigail, KK7CFJ; in second place is
McKenzie, KO4GLN, and the third-place winner is Cameron Frey, KD9VGV.

The recipients' ages range from 11 to 19 years old.

Thirty essays were received from young amateurs in Canada and the US,
and the judges reported that each essay was unique in thought and very
well written. Extra consideration was given to the essays with correct
grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

The essays gave interesting perspectives on how to reach out and
connect with us, we today's youth, and those ideas will be shared in
subsequent postings.

The Intrepid-DX Group is a US-based non-profit organization that
promotes amateur radio activities around the world. The Youth
"Dream Rig" Essay Contest is designed to gather the views and ideas
of young people involved in amateur radio.
And as I leave you this week, (and year) a reminder Youngsters on the
Air month is nearly at a close. This month has been filled with some
brilliant activity from young people using special callsign GB23YOTA,
among many other "YOTA" suffix special event callsigns.

We thank everyone who has been involved, from those who have been
supervising we younger amateurs, to those making contact on the air.

(arrl/rsgb)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- VIDEO.
ATV SSTV and other forms such as YouTube.

Peter VK3BFG is your WIA ATV representative. pcossins@bigpond.com

tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos
THAT LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF THIS NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD BEVAN

NASA has released a three minute video retrospective of its
accomplishments in 2023. The video may be viewed at the link
in this weeks text edition of WIA NATIONAL NEWS.

youtube.com/watch?v=YQWespzOtzI

(ANS)
As NASA advances toward using laser light instead of radio to enable more rapid, efficient deep-space communication, a Jet Propulsion Lab scientist's tabby cat helped prove that this option has real possibilities.


A 15-second, ultra-high-definition video of the cat named Taters was successfully beamed from NASA's Psyche spacecraft, traveling

30 million kilometres - in less than two minutes to Caltech's Palomar Observatory. The images travelled at 267 megabits per second - the maximum
rate to show that data can be sent from space at rates that are

more than 100 times greater than radio systems now in use.

Of course, no one asked for Taters' opinion about laser but the cat's
feelings were evident from the video: The graphics contained in the images displayed include the cat's heart rate, colour and breed - while showing
Taters engaged in a favourite activity - chasing a beam of light from - what else? - a red laser pointer.

(ARNewsLine 2408) ---------------------------------------------------------------------
2024 IT'S A DATE

Clubs are welcome to email text with audio for this section

Details of all WIA affiliated clubs and societies can be found
on the WIA website, including email addresses and website links.

VK3 - BARG HamFest 4th of February next door to BARG clubrooms
at Ballarat Airport 10:00 am.
barg.org.au/ (vk3kqt)
VK4 - Redcliffe and Districts REDFEST April 6 (vk4tfn)
VK - WIA AGM MAY 4 5 - BUNDABERG. (vk2tsg)
VK - National Volunteer Week Monday 20 Sunday 26 May 2024.
National Volunteer Week (NVW) is Australias largest annual
celebration of volunteers and their important contribution to
our communities.

VK3 - SPARC Rosebud RadioFest November 17 at Eastbourne Primary
School, Allambi Ave. Rosebud. (vk3pdg)

FINALY A FINAL REMINDER, ACTUALY ITS REMINDER NUMBER 13 TO SAY AS OF 2024
THERE IS NO AUDIO FILE WITH THE NUMERAL 32 IN IT. SO AGAIN IF THATS THE FILE YOU USED FOR ANY AUTOMATED REPLAY OF THIS OR QNEWS.. CHANGE IT PRONTO!

------------------------------------------------------------*

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* Origin: Wireless Institute of Australia (3:633/280.2@fidonet)