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VK National News 07Feb21

Text edition: Weekly news from the WIA:

MP3 edition of news available at: 
http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2021-02-07.mp3 


Text edition:
2021 FEBRUARY 07 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 FEBRUARY 07  2021 
 IN OUR 26th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS

 WIA PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT SPEAK TO THE ACMA EMAIL
 RECEIVED BY VK AMATEURS THIS WEEK.

 
 THIS & MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE
 WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA 


 Obviously this week we'll be taking a look at the recent
 ACMA notification on their consultation papers on the
 future of Amateur Radio licencing and regulation.

 BUT

 We must send our thoughts and prayers to our friends
 in the west in the Bushfire regions near Perth.

 AND particularly Bob Bristow who was less than 5kms from 
 the Red Zone and spent several sleepless nights and days.
 Bob, VK6POP is the force behind the VK6WIA news service
 but like the Pony Express, no doubt his news will still
 get through, neither Covid nor Fire will halt his news.

 Also this week it's to Mandurah and we'll hear live from 
 VK6FAAZ, BUT:-

 to Newmedia.com.au now who are reporting how Adelaide Hills
 Community Rallies To Save Their Local Radio Station

 Over 1000 Adelaide Hills residents have signed a petition
 to get their community radio station back on air after it
 was denied an ongoing broadcasting licence by the Federal
 government in September last year. Now these residents have
 started a campaign for the Australian Communications and
 Media Authority, which manages all broadcasting licences
 to open up a second community radio frequency in the
 Adelaide Hills. 

 Whilst we are looking at Broadcast Radio, commercial radios
 weekly audience hit 11.1m in 2020.

 The Australian metropolitan commercial radio audience grew
 by 2% to nearly 11.1 million listeners in 2020, a year
 dominated by COVID-19 which saw the number of people
 listening at home jump by eight per cent to 6.4 million.

 Commercial Radio Australias annual listening summary, based
 on an average of the five official GfK metropolitan radio
 surveys conducted in 2020, shows radios cumulative audience
 has climbed by 10% over the past five years.





 WIA

 JOIN THE WIA
 tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y
 

 WIA BOARD MINUTES
 wia.org.au/joinwia/wia/minutes/


 WIA BOARD NEWSLETTERS (older)
 Giving members to have a better awareness of Board activities.
 wia.org.au/joinwia/wia/newsletters/



 Hello, this is WIA President Greg with this weeks
 board comment.

 Something that should be of both interest and concern of
 all Radio Amateurs in Australia has just been released by
 the spectrum regulator - the ACMA. This very important
 announcement last Wednesday (Feb 03) from ACMA, is a
 consultation advice re potential major changes to the
 Amateur Radio Service and its licensing regime into the
 future.  

 The following is quoted from the ACMA announcement:

 Have your say  review of non-assigned amateur regulatory
  arrangements

 The ACMA has reviewed the regulatory arrangements that
 authorise the operation of non-assigned amateur stations.
 This work was part of a broader review that included
 non-assigned outpost licensing arrangements, as foreshadowed 
 in the Five-year spectrum outlook 202024.
 The objective of our review is to identify the best licensing
 mechanism that reduces regulatory burden and minimises costs
 for licensees, while also preserving the current operational
 utility for licensees.

 We have identified a set of options. We could:

 -keep the existing apparatus licensing arrangements and
  conditions

 -simplify the existing licensing arrangements and conditions

 -transition non-assigned stations to class licensing
  arrangements, while retaining apparatus licensing
  arrangements for assigned stations.

 We are now consulting on these options and our preferred
 approach to authorise the operation of non-assigned amateur
 stations under a class licence.

 We are also seeking preliminary comments on a proposal to
 establish an additional kind of accreditation to allow people
 to become accredited persons to issue frequency assignment
 certificates for assigned amateur repeater and beacon licences.
 End of quote.


 Note that currently 
 Amateur Licences ( Foundation, Standard & Advanced) are
 Non-assigned Apparatus licences.

 The WIA will be submitting a response to this consultation. 
 We have yet to review the details of the options proposed,
 especially the proposed legislative instruments that
 underpin the proposals. Hence, it is premature to comment on
 our initial assessment and position on the pros and cons of
 each of the options. Please be assured that the WIA will
 keep our members updated directly via email on this
 important issue. 

 Link to ACMA Feb 03 2021 consultation advice:
 www.acma.gov.au/.../review-non-assigned-amateur...
 
 Link to ACMA re Apparatus Licence:
 www.acma.gov.au/apparatus-licences

 Link to ACMA re Class Licence:
 www.acma.gov.au/class-licences

 On another issue, there has been a pleasing response to the
 call for 2021 director nominations with nominations received 
 by our returning officer being in excess of the vacant
 positions, so accordingly an election will ensue. Details to
 be advised to members soon. The WIA, now 110 plus years
 young can only continue to support the Amateur Radio
 community with YOUR support. If you have a real passion for
 the future of Amateur radio, the WIA needs you! 

 Until next time, this is Greg VK2GPK


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


 INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, SARL, Southgate
 AR Club, ARRL, RAC, NZART AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE & the
 World Wide sources of the WIA.  

 AUSTRALIA
 
 For this story, of an Australian with an 'Indian' twist we
 visit the Times Of India who take us to Kolkata.

 Once known as Calcutta, its official name until 2001 it is the
 capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, the city is
 approximately 80 kilometres west of their border with
 Bangladesh.

 Now enough of the History and Geography story and on to this
 story of Ham Radio finding a missing person, a bit of an
 everyday occurrence for members of the West Bengal Radio Club.

 A 69-year-old man of Indian origin, who was rescued from the
 streets of Kolkata a few weeks ago and admitted to Hospital,
 has turned out to be an Australian citizen.

 Thanks to amateur radio operators, the Australian High
 Commission in India has been contacted and efforts are on to
 track down his records and family. The only document he
 possesses is the photocopy of a registration certificate,
 declaring him an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI).

 A few days ago, health department officials, who know of our
 work in tracing down the families of lost people, got in
 touch and told us about the man. 

 It came to light that the man is Ashoke Chakravorty from
 Sydney, Australia" said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary,
 West Bengal Radio Club .

 The Hams also say it's possible that Chakravorty worked at the
 branch of a nationalised bank in the Darjeeling district
 before moving to Australia.

 We received calls from the Australian Deputy High
 Commissioners office. The officials spoke to the patient
 who speaks fluent English and says that he is from Australia
 but doesnt remember his address there. When asked whether he
 seeks assistance, he demanded that he be united with his
 relatives in Australia, an official at the state-run
 hospital said. When contacted, a source at the Australian
 Deputy High Commissioners office in Kolkata said that
 efforts are on to find out more about Chakravorty.

 tinyurl.com/y2m29wzf




 TAIPEI

 Signals received from Taiwan's CubeSats

 The Taipei Times reports Amateur Radio operators have
 received signals transmitted by Taiwan's two new CubeSats
 which are called  YuSat and IDEASSat and were launched by
 SpaceX January 24

 The newspaper says:
 By noon January 25, overseas amateur radio operators
 received signals transmitted by the two CubeSats with
 correct and corresponding signal frequencies, intervals and
 coordinates, said NCU Department of Space Science and
 Engineering professor Loren Chang who oversees the IDEASSat
 project.

 That shows the two CubeSats are operating, Chang said.

 tinyurl.com/y462otnc




 SOUTH AFRICA

 Crowd funding for SARL Next Generation Beacons.

 In addition to AMSAT-SAs financial contribution to the
 SARL Next Generation beacon fund, the group has started
 a crowd funding campaign on its payfast platform.

 Donors will be recognised on the SARL and AMSATSA websites
 as well as receiving a confirmation email.

 The first next generation beacon will be installed at
 Bethlehem replacing the analogue beacon and was fully funded
 by the SARL. The next two beacons for which funding is
 required will be installed in Cape Town and Northern Karoo.

 Contributions to the beacon fund can be made from
 amsatsa.org.za




 FRANCE

 French Defence Ministry has a tender out for radio jammers
 that can be drone-mounted.

 The government's Defence Innovation Agency has put out a
 request for proposals in search of a small, low-power
 warfare device that can find radio communication transmitters
 while mounted on a fixed or rotary-wing drone and possibly
 disable the signals through jamming.

 The devices are expected to be capable of detecting any
 number of transmitters operating between 30 MHz and 6 GHz

 ARNewsLine say bidding is being limited to companies within
 the European Union.




 DENMARK

 Listen out for a rather LONG call - OV  JUTLANDIA

 When the Korean War broke out June, 1950, Denmark pledged to
 assist the United Nations Command by providing humanitarian
 aid to the Allied forces.

 Medicinal products were made available very quickly, and it
 was agreed Denmark would also send a hospital ship. In the
 autumn of 1950, EAC agreed to make Jutlandia available to the
 Danish government and after rebuilding, the ship departed
 January of '51, heading for Korea.

 On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of this event,
 Experimental Danish Radio Amateurs have activated a special
 radio station with the call sign OV  JUTLANDIA. 

 From the 1st of February to 31st of March, this call sign is
 active on most amateur radio bands with CW, SSB, RTTY and
 other digital Modes. All HF bands, including WARC bands, and
 all Modes can be used. EDR, the Danish National Society is
 awarding a special diploma that radio amateurs around the
 world who qualify can apply for.





 USA

 For years, Facebook has been developing a technology to
 improve the way data is organized and routed in wireless
 networks. That technology is now being integrated into
 commercially available 60-gigahertz small-cell base stations.

 And if service providers sign on, it could soon help deliver
 over-the-air Internet to homes and businesses around the
 world.

 The Facebook technology, called Terragraph, provides a way
 for a cluster of base stations broadcasting at 60 GHz to
 autonomously manage and distribute traffic among themselves.
 If one base station goes down, another can take over in an
 instantand they can work together to find the most efficient
 path for information en route.

 Many Internet service providers are considering using 60 GHz
 to bridge the gap between existing infrastructure and new
 locations theyd like to reach, or to add capacity to places
 they already serve.

 Its definitely interesting, says Swetank Kumar Saha, a
 research assistant and Ph.D. candidate in computer science
 at the University at Buffalo, in New York, who has studied
 the performance of 60-GHz consumer gear for indoors. A lot
 of people have struggled to commercialize 60 GHz. Theres
 been a lot of talk.

 In New Zealand Corey Weir, Chairman, Radio Frequency Users
 Association of New Zealand has said "using street-level
 mm Wave radios, Terragraph leverages existing street furniture
 to create a wireless distribution network ideally suited for
 last-mile fixed access. One benefit of Terragraph is faster
 time to market, with it being faster to deploy than wireline
 service because it mounts on existing Street Furniture and
 does not require costly Right of Way Permissions. Another
 Saturday Sprint is 1600Z - 1800Z May One. 

 fistsna.org/operating.html#sprints
 
 (sourced to VKCC)


  --------------
 
 Last week we took part in the CW section, next the SSB.
 Yes the CQWW 160M  SSB CONTEST is end of the month,
 February 26 - 28.

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

 A couple of weekends back many avid contesters signed up
 on YouTube for Contest University's Propagation Summit.

 Well now YouTube recordings and PDF files from that Summit
 hosted on January 23 by Contest University are available.

 More than 1,000 logged in for the sessions. Each presentation
 begins approximately on the hour. You can advance the video
 to the presentation you wish to view. 

 The link we like is shown on the text edition of this newscast
 and in the ATV version

 youtube.com/watch?v=WpBpU_dcMbc


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

 CQ World Wide RTTY WPX Contest February 13-14
 
  --------------

 International DX CW Contest February 20-21

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

 International DX Phone Contest March 6 - 7 

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

 Commonwealth Contest (BERU)  13/14 March.


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


 WIA John Moyle Field Day 2021
 March from UTC 0100 on Saturday 20  to 0059 Sunday 21nd.

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

 the CQ World Wide SSB WPX Contest March 27-28 

 the CQ World Wide  CW WPX Contest May   29-30 

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

 April 25 AM / CW  ANZAC Day, Mon 25th from 9am on 7125kHz AM.

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

 Harry Angel Sprint will be May First 2021. 10:00 - 11:46 UTC. 

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

 The VK SHIRES June 12-13 in 2021 

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

 WINTER VHF-UHF Field Days - June 26 - 27 

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


 IARU HF World Championship  July 10-11 


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

  TRANS TASMAN LOWBAND CONTEST
 
  Next contest - JUL 17 2021 - and has the aim of encouraging
  Low Band activity between VK and ZL on 160 80 and 40M using
  SSB, CW and RTTY OR PSK 

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

 RD or Remembrance Day Contest will be August 14-15.

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

 ALARA CONTEST 
 
 A Combined phone and CW run over 24 hours starting on
 Saturday 28th August at 0600 hours UTC finishing
 Sunday   29th August at 0559 hours UTC

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

 OCEANA CONTEST

 VOICE from 0800 UTC Saturday 2 October to 
            0800 UTC Sunday   October 3 

 CW    from 0800 UTC Saturday 9 October to
            0800 UTC Sunday   October 10 
 

  --------------
 
 SPRING VHF - UHF FIELD DAYS November 27-28

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

 December 4-5 160 Meter WW

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

 DECEMBER  11 - 12 10 Mtr World Wide

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


 DX WINDOW

 --------------
 --------------
 2021 FEBRUARY
 --------------


 Pride Radio Group will be operating the special event
 callsign VI2021PRIDE throughout the Sydney Mardi Gras,
 February 19th to March 7th then again during Midsumma,
 April 19th to May 5th and Pride month, 1 to 30th of June.

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


 ZL 100 RSC throughout February only celebrates the 100th
 birthday of the first meeting of NZART's Branch 5. the
 Christchurch ARC.
 
 (SouthGate)
 
 --------------


 Time to 'open the Madeira' 

 Madeira Island operation

 Active will be CT9/DD 8 ZX and CT9/DJ 9 KM from Madeira
 Island (AF-014) which is an autonomous region of Portugal,
 comprising 4 islands off to the northwest of Casablanca and
 Marrakesh North Africa.

 Between February 27th and March 6th depending on the Covid-19
 situation) their activity will be holiday style on 40-10
 meters using mostly the Digital modes (FT8 and RTTY).

 QSL via their home callsigns, by the Bureau, direct or LoTW


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


 NETHERLANDS.

 PC 19 HOPE is QRV until March 10 to support efforts in
 containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

 QSL via PA7HPH.

 (arrl)

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


 THE RAAF is flying high to celebrate it's 100 years on
 March 31..

 The Royal Australian Airforce call signs to 'target' are
 VI 100 AF March 1 - 29 May
 VK 100 AF March 1 - 31 August

 (vk8nsb)

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

 POLAND.

 Members of the SEDINA Contest Club are QRV with SQ 0 MORSE
 until the end of April commemorating the 230th birthday of
 Samuel F. B. Morse. QSL via SP1EG.

 (arrl)


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

 KENYA, 5Z.

 Cato, LA9PF will be QRV as 5Z4/LA9PF from Malindi now until
 May on 80 to 10 meters using SSB and various digital modes.

 (arrl)

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

 PORTUGAL, CT.

 CQ 750 RSI throughout 2021 commemorates the 750th anniversary
 of the birth of  Elizabeth of Aragon, the queen consort of
 Portugal and  patron saint of their city of Coimbra.

 QSL to home call CT 7 AQD.


 Antarctica operation

 Alexei is active as RI 01 ANT from Antarctica until
 May the 30th from Russian Progress and Vostok Base stations
 on 40 meters and higher using CW and FT8.

 QSL via RX6A.


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

 To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the International Police
 Association Radio Club (IPARC) of Switzerland, look for
 special event station HB 40 POLICE to be active until
 December 31st on 160 - 6 meters

 (sourced to SouthGate)

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

 To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the International Police
 Association Radio Club of Switzerland, look for HB 40 POLICE
 to be active all year til December 31st.
 
 A QSO with HB 40 POLICE counts as a club callsign for the
 IPARC Switzerland and is valid for the Matterhorn Award.

 QSL via the Bureau or eQSL.

 (sourced to SouthGate)

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

 FINLAND, OH.

 Special event station OH 100 SRAL is QRV during all of 2021
 to celebrate the centennial of the Finnish Amateur Radio League.
 QSL via bureau.

 (arrl)


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



 WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS



 ATV (Every pixel tells a story) -
 
 tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos
 THAT LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF THIS NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD
 BEVAN




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

 RadFxSat-2 Signals Detected, AMSAT Engineering Continues to
 Assess Status

 Following on from our story last week, on January 27th,
 Brad, W5SAT, reported copying his CW signal back weakly via
 the RadFxSat-2 transponder.

 AMSAT Engineering and Operations confirmed these reports and
 determined that RadFxSat-2 is partially functioning, though
 signals are extremely weak.

 At this point in time it is essential do not attempt to
 transmit through the transponder until further notice.
 This is very important to the next steps AMSAT are taking.

 [AMSAT-NA]





 CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE SOLAR KIND

 It may have taken some time, 60 years in fact from 1958 when
 it was first theorised by Eugene Parker that our sun
 constantly sends out particles and energy called Solar Wind
 till a space probe took off from mother earth on the mother
 of all journeys, to our sun.

 Now the Parker probe, named after Eugene, and sent up by
 NASA in August of 2018 has just made a close encounter of
 the solar kind.  Kent Peterson KC0DGY gives WIA and
 Amateur Radio NewsLine listeners details.

 "For the first time since last September, NASA's Parker Solar
  Probe spacecraft made a close approach to the sun just as
  solar activity began to kick into high gear.

  From a distance of 13.5 million kms the probe made its
  approach on Sunday, January 17th. There's plenty of data 
  for it to collect, especially with Solar Cycle 25 now well
  under way. Last November, the sun had its first major flare
  in three years.

  NASA has planned four close approaches to the sun this year
  along with two flybys of Venus, with the first one happening
  February 20th.  After that, it's back to the sun for another
  close look on April 29th.

 For Amateur Radio NewsLine I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY.



 Now before we are "out of space", ARISS and its partners are
 troubleshooting a failure within the on-board NA 1 SS
 amateur station in the Columbus module.

 The problem does not appear to be with the radio equipment
 in Columbus, however.

 ARISS realized the problem when a contact with a school in
 Wyoming, between ON 4 ISS on Earth and astronaut
 Mike Hopkins, KF 5 LJG, at NA1SS, had to abort when no
 downlink signal was heard.

 ARISS has asked its Russian team lead Sergey, RV 3 DR, if
 ARISS could temporarily use the RS 0 ISS radio in the
 ISS Service Module for school contacts that are already
 scheduled until ARISS can resolve the issue.

 (qrznow.com)
 




 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- MEDICAL
 IHS = IHSOFMN.org
 PHARMACISTS = malpensa.it/iphg 
 Medical Amateur Radio Council marco-ltd.org/
  
 A long-time radio amateur in Michigan has been reaching out 
 on social media for a life-saving donation.

 Again thanks to Amateur Radio NewsLine Don Wilbanks AE5DW
 tells us about him.

 " Philip Ross AB8PR, who has been a licensed ham since 1971,
 has been looking lately for something a whole lot more than
 some rare DX or a good signal report. The Michigan
 grandfather learned recently he has end-stage kidney disease
 and needs a living donor to make a transplant possible.

 He tells his story on various social media sites and his
 own website in the hopes that someone will come forward to
 help him. He notes that dialysis - his only other option - is
 not a cure but a form of disease management that leads to a
 shorter life with greatly lessened quality. His website reads:

 Papa Phil Can;
 His Kidneys Can't.

 Visit his website to learn more.

 That's papaphilcan.COM

 For Amateur Radio NewsLine I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW.





 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP --- MILITARY

 To mark the 80th Anniversary of the Formation in the UK of the
 Air Training Corps, or ATC, on February 5 1941, Ofcom has
 issued the callsign GB 80 ATC. The callsign is valid for use
 for a year between last Friday, the 5th and 4th February 2022.

 It will be managed by David, M0SKT and a team of serving
 Cadet Force Adult Volunteer staff who are UK Licence holders. 
 
 (RSGB)




 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO
 
 IARU REGION 3
 Emergency Centre of Activity (CoA) frequencies  
 3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz        
      

 Region 1 3760  7110  14300  18160  21360 kHz

 Region 2 3750  3985  7060  7240  7275  14300  18160  21360 kHz
 
 Most would arguably know about WICEN but across 'the ditch'
 you'll hear lots about AREC.

 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications supports Search And 
 Rescue, Civil Defence, and other emergency services in
 New Zealand with the provision of experienced radio
 communications personnel.

 AREC members are actively involved in supporting the
 communications function at operational headquarters as well
 as in training and is an associate member of LandSAR
 New Zealand and a member of the New Zealand Search and
 Rescue Consultative Committee. AREC is formed by members of
 the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART)
 who are individually licensed amateur radio operators
 required to meet standards set by Radio Spectrum Management,
 part of the part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
 Employment.

 The organization was born in 1932 after the Napier
 earthquake to train radio operators in providing reliable
 message handling over the length of the country for any
 type of emergency. Since then, communications have been
 provided for thousands of emergency events ranging from
 searches to natural disasters to civil emergencies.

 AREC works closely with Police in assisting with technical
 information, policy, and development of technology related
 to SAR. AREC operates under a Service Level Agreement to
 Police alongside LandSAR for the provision of SAR services.

 arec.today/about/





 WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- YOTA
 (Youngsters On The Air)
 youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA
 twitter.com/hamyota

 For the 24 young amateur radio operators in the Western
 Hemisphere who were part of December YOTA Month, the numbers
 added up in a big way. 

 The Youth on the Air operators logged close on 15,000 QSOs
 while calling QRZ with special event callsigns. The contacts
 dramatically topped the previous year's total of 12,000. 

 Some of the operators, such as Michael W3MLJ, said his
 favourite part of the activation was being able to run five
 radios at the same time, all logging contacts on digital
 modes.

 Calin K8MTJ got a special kick out of working ZR 1 ADI in
 South Africa using FT8.

 The hams, all younger than 26, had their efforts coordinated
 by Bryant KG 5 HVO who worked with YOTA month manager
 Tomi HA8RT. The event was a prelude to the first YOTA camp
 to be held in the Western Hemisphere this summer planned for
 July 11th through 16th.

 (Amateur Radio NewsLine)



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

 2020 Social Scene


 Due to the COVID-19 situation, please check these events'
 direct for up-to-date status information and even without 
 Covid dates have an uncanny knack of being changed at last
 moment.




 VK4 - A WICEN event at the Ipswich and District Radio
       Clubhouse NEXT Saturday, February 13 between
       1000 and 1400 hours 
                                                       (vk4hit) 

 VK3 - Warc HamFest Italian Sports Club Werribee Feb 21 (vk3vkt)


 VK2 - WYONG FIELD DAY February 28 (still tentative)   (dd5lp)

 VK6 - Peel Amateur Radio Club Swap Meet March 6 
       at Mandurah Bowling Club, Allnutt Street MANDURAH'
       
       This half day event starts at 8am for Sellers.

       Buyers  0830

       Entry $5.00. 

       Raffles. 

       Tea/coffee/cold drinks.

       Your chance to grab a bargain on that bit of equipment
       or thingy-a-bob you're chasing.

       Have a chat and discuss the latest...

       Finish 1230.                                 (vk6faaz)

 VK4 - Tannum Sands Gathering MARCH 13 10AM TIL 8:30PM

       Gladstone Amateur Radio Club hold this event. Amateur
       radio raffles, auctions, fox hunts, projects & a BBQ
       style dinner with dessert.

       The Gladstone Amateur Radio Club would like to invite
       the general public, members and guests from local and
       regional clubs to participate in the their Amateur Radio
       Fundraiser located at the Tannum Sands Holiday & Caravan
       Park, Millennium Esplanade Tannum Sands Queensland.

       This memorable social event includes VHF fox hunts,
       radio projects, raffles, auctions and a BBQ dinner with
       dessert.                                         (vk4yn)


 VK3 - EMDRC HamFest  - March 28th 10am                 (vk3bq)
 
 VK4 - REDFEST 2021 April Ten                          (vk4tfn)

 VK  - ALARAMEET 2021 Bendigo VK3 October 1 - 4         (vk5yl)

 VK3 - ROSEBUD RadioFest by SPARC 9:30am Nov 14        (vk3pdg)
 




 Morning I am Lee Moyle, WIA Vice President VK3GK

 Earlier this week ACMA released their consultation papers
 on the future of Amateur Radio licencing and regulation.
 Many may have seen these documents in their email or on
 social media already but it is important to announce here on
 WIA News for our members and followers as it will affect us
 all in the future.

 At the moment, Amateur Licences ( Foundation, Standard and
 Advanced) are Non-assigned Apparatus licences. Repeaters and
 beacons are classified as Assigned licences as they
 operate on specific nominated frequencies.

 The WIA will be submitting to ACMA a response to this
 consultation. We have yet to review the full details of the
 3 options proposed, especially the proposed legislative
 instruments that underpin the proposals. 

 WIA will draw upon their extensive resources of qualified
 people to assess the pros and cons of each of the options
 as well as consult with its membership base and the general
 Amateur Radio fraternity for their valued input. Together,
 the WIA will submit a comprehensive  response,
 representative of the Australian Amateur Radio Communities
 input. Historically many of these submissions have been
 successful with ACMA looking favourable to the proposals.

 This one may offer a combination of the ACMA offered options
 as a comprehensive workable solution to ACMAs 3 options
 currently on offer. 
 
 From the ACMA e-news email:
 Have your say  review of non-assigned amateur regulatory
 arrangements
  
 The ACMA has reviewed the regulatory arrangements that
 authorise the operation of non-assigned amateur stations.
 This work was part of a broader review that included
 non-assigned outpost licensing arrangements, as foreshadowed
 in the Five-year spectrum outlook 202024.

 The objective of our review is to identify the best
 licensing mechanism that reduces regulatory burden and
 minimises costs for licensees, while also preserving the
 current operational utility for licensees.

 We have identified a set of options. We could:
  	keep the existing apparatus licensing arrangements
        and conditions as we currently have now. I.e.:
        No Change.
 	simplify the existing licensing arrangements and
        conditions
        transition non-assigned stations to class licensing
        arrangements, while retaining apparatus licensing
        arrangements for assigned stations.

 We are now consulting on these options and our preferred
 approach to authorise the operation of non-assigned amateur
 stations under a class licence.

 We are also seeking preliminary comments on a proposal to
 establish an additional kind of accreditation to allow
 people to become accredited persons to issue frequency
 assignment certificates for assigned amateur repeater and
 beacon licences.

 The consultation paper and draft class licence are available
 on the ACMA website. 

 A separate consultation paper and draft instrument relating
 to outpost licensing is also available. 

 We invite comments on the issues discussed in the
 consultation papers and on the proposed instruments that
 would implement our preferred class licensing option.

 Submissions close on 2 April 2021. 

 Making a submission
 You can choose either to make a submission by using the
 Upload a submission button on the consultation webpage, or
 by sending your submission to SLPSConsultations@acma.gov.au

 Please go to the ACMA website and take a look at the
 consultation papers.

 More news from the WIA on this important topic in the coming
 days. So QRX QRX This is Lee Moyle VK3GK, WIA Vice president
 for WIA News 





 Reception Reports

 WIA News rebroadcasters often give Short Wave Listeners a
 welcome to the broadcast as they commence call-backs
 straight after the Local News. Local news follows National
 news in all states. It would be great if those SWL's would
 email their reception reports and location to
 callbacks(at)wia.org.au

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


 
Submitting news items

If you would like to submit news items for possible inclusion in the
VK1WIA broadcasts, please email your item in text to

	nationalnews(at)wia.org.au 

and don't JUST send url's links or posters,
but take the time to pen YOUR contribution.

To submit audio email nationalnews(at)wia.org.au and ask for the current
password then read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on
wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/

We would appreciate items certainly no longer than 1.5 minutes in
length as we only have a half hour.

Remember the sooner you submit material the more the likelihood of it
being broadcast in the very next edition of WIA National News.
Each item will only be broadcast once, if you want a couple of
mentions, please submit different slants to keep your event 'fresh'
and always if the news room is to read your item ---
write it in the 3rd person. (First if YOU are reading your own item)


A reminder when supplying HamFest info we obviously can't plug
DEALS from commercial traders "on air", but we at the WIA will put
your supporters 'goods' in this text edition "no worries."

Wet give blatant 'plugs' to raffles.

	vk1wia-broadcasters(at)lists.wia.org.au


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

Oh... and to contact us with your news because
If It Matters To You It Matters To Us!

	Email nationalnews(at)wia.org.au 

and for audio wia.org.au click news in member area

Please... If you are only submitting text and not audio, NEVER send
just links & url's but write your story as you would expect to hear
it being read back.


Click the links below to download the most recent edition of
National News, BUT this is ONLY the backup site!

WIANEWS backup thanks to Brendan VK4BLP can be found on
wiaq.org.au

BACKUPS OF THE BACKUP!! thanks to Tony VK7AX
www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/

wia.org.au/members/broadcast/wianews/ (This is the link
to the original text version and original audio on wia site)


=====================================================================

WIANews - we've reported...YOU decide.

TWITTER twitter.com/VK1WIA

Societies and Club News Letter Editors can EXCHANGE a feed prior to
the actual broadcast date, 
		e-mail nationalnews(at)wia.org.au

Call-backs follow the RF editions, but also for text readers you may
lodge a quick reply to let us know you read it, who knows, you might
even get a "cheerio call".

Thanks to our dedicated band of broadcast volunteers who utilize
their time and equipment in bringing you this weekly broadcast.
Who and where are they?
wia.org.au/members/broadcast/where/

The purpose of "WIANews" is to rapidly provide news of interest to
WIA affiliated clubs and active amateurs residing in Australia and
the globe.

We strongly encourage membership in the Wireless Institute of
Australia and participation in the activities of local clubs.
Opinions expressed in "WIANews" are those of the writers who submit
material and do not necessarily reflect those of the rebroadcasters,
nor the National WIA, but IF broadcast, are done so in the spirit in
which they were submitted."

Material may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form,
a credit to WIANews wouldn't go astray...

If you would like to see the call-backs reported each broadcast,
OR have call-backs to contribute to the National News call back
tally then please send through your call-backs to
	
	callbacks(at)wia.org.au


How do I join this National News List?
(subscribe for an automatic weekly feed.)

	Email to vk1wia-news-join(at)lists.wia.org.au

from the email account that you wish the emails to go to.


How do I leave this National News List? (unsubscribe your weekly feed)
Open mail program which sends mail from the address you want to
unsubscribe from. Send unsubscribe to the list

	unsubscribe address vk1wia-news-leave(at)lists.wia.org.au

You will be sent a confirmation mail and must follow the instructions
given in that mail to complete the unsubscription.

Once your unsubscription has been processed, you will probably
receive another message confirming your unsubscription from the list,
and at that point you should stop receiving messages.

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

 		(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)


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