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VK7AX > BCAST 11.04.26 03:30z 606 Lines 27515 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 10493_VK7AX
Subj: VK National News 12Apr26
Path: HB9ON<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<N3HYM<W9GM<VE2PKT<PY2BIL<HB9ON<VK7AX
Sent: 260411/0324Z 10493@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.AUNZ LinBPQ6.0.24
VK National News 12Apr26
Weekly news from the WIA:
MP3 edition of news available at: http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2026-04-12.mp3
Text edition:
2026 APRIL 12 WIA NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
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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
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IN WIA NATIONAL NEWS THIS WEEK:-
Roger Harrison VK2ZRH, Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radio magazine . -
Alan VK2COD, YOTA news and his reminder of the VKSUMMIT . -
New downloadable EMC leaflet available, Jason VK2LAW tells how . -
EI 0 WAAAW for Autism Awareness and VK4FUQ Felix gives us the when and
where . -
ARISS Outlines Opportunities for Space Station Contacts in 2027 during
Operational news this week with Bruce VK3FFF.
BUT WAIT - THERE'S MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE
WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA AND IT'S FOR WEEK COMMENCING
SUNDAY APRIL 12 2026
I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB
WIA
JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y
Hello, again. This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH, Editor-in-Chief of Amateur Radio magazine.
Theres more in the second issue of Amateur Radio than what I told you previously.
First of all, I have posted Justin VK7TWs article about the ACMA Assist portal on the WIA website for members and other readers to download.
Should you have a need to use the ACMAs Assist portal, youll need this handy. Its a step-by-step guide in words and pictures to reduce the chances that you get locked out or fruitlessly frustrated.
Get the PDF from the AR Issue 2, March-April, web page down the bottom.
If you are concerned about bringing more young people into the wonderful world that is amateur radio, this issue features an article that is a must-read.
Last Novembers Q-tech-2025 Conference in Brisbane opened with a riveting presentation from two young VK4 amateurs riveting in the sense of holding interest, rather than the practice of metal joinery.
Finn Barry-Smith VK4II and Otto Pattemore VK4OTZ are two young amateurs who are members of an online club known as VK Youngsters.
Both Finn and Otto are keen to boost the interest in and engagement of youth in amateur radio.
The article on RF Exposure Limits and the Hall of Gloom that we published in Issue 6 last year, written by Dr George Galanis VK3EIP, generated a lot of feedback, which we published last issue.
Well, George is back on the subject in the latest issue, with some revealing words about whats in the Class licence and whats not in what would-be amateurs are questioned about on the subject of electromagnetic radiation exposure.
The subject may sound a little techno-political, but Dr Galanis has given us another entertaining and thought-provoking read. Look for Will the Hall of Doom reveal it, or are we cloaked in a Pall of gloom?
Contesters! if you havent already caught the news, the WIA Contest Champion results for 2025 are revealed.
And, dear readers, dont forget that every issue we publish the lists of all the new WIA DX Awards issued over the past couple of months.
Amateur Radio magazine. Trusted by hams across Australia since 1933.
Thats it from me for now. Im Roger Harrison VK2ZRH.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS is with thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, ARRL,
DX-WORLD, eHam, Hackaday, IARU, IRTS, NEWSLINE, NZART, RAC,
Radioworld.com, RSGB, SARL and the World Wide sources of WIA.
HARK, WHAT'S THAT NOISE?
The RSGB EMC Committee has released a new leaflet explaining how to build a portable loop antenna to help radio amateurs find sources of EMF interference.
Pair it with a portable receiver, and you can walk around an area, watching for changes in signal strength to pinpoint where interference is coming from. The antenna itself is easy to make from a short length of coaxial cable formed into a loop and a handful of coax connectors. Despite its small size, the antenna has directional properties making it useful for locating the sources of interference.
This is Leaflet 19 in the series of leaflets produced by the RSGB EMC Committee and is called A simple loop antenna for use in identifying sources of interference.
You can download it and all the other EMC leaflets in the series, from the RSGB website.
rsgb.org/main/files/2026/03/EMC-Leaflet-19-Simple-loop-antenna-v1.pdf
THE NUMBERS GAME.
Over the last 2 or 3 WIA News Broadcasts we have made mention of "numbers" stations popping up again, reminiscent of the Cold War activity.
Now it comes to light that ham radio operators have zeroed in on that
strange broadcast of Persian numbers.
Persian numbers were being broadcast twice a day then the hams traced the signal to a U.S. base in Germany and realized it may be a coded wartime message from "our side". depending on your political views.
So it was the US in Germany giving us "all the good numbers."
Every April 18, radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day. It was on this day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris.
Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the short wave spectrum far from being a wasteland could support worldwide propagation. In the rush to use these shorter wavelengths, Amateur Radio was in grave danger of being pushed aside, the IARUs history has noted. Amateur Radio pioneers met in Paris in 1925 and created the IARU to support Amateur Radio worldwide.
Just two years later, at the International Radiotelegraph Conference, Amateur Radio gained the allocations still recognized today 160, 80, 40, 20, and 10 meters. Since its founding, the IARU has worked tirelessly to defend and expand the frequency allocations for Amateur Radio. Thanks to the support of enlightened administrations in every part of the globe, radio amateurs are now able to experiment and communicate in frequency bands strategically located throughout the radio spectrum. From the 25 countries that formed the IARU in 1925, the IARU has grown to include 160 member-societies in three regions.
We as in VK are within Region 3.
Many special stations "pop" up on "our day" which again is NEXT Saturday April 18, INCLUDING members of the HF Committee and the Board of Directors of the UBA, Belgium's IARU society, will be active as OO 26 WARD
throughout April. QSL via LoTW, eQSL, or via the bureau.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote later this month on a proposal that would limit the use of offshore call centres by certain U.S.-based businesses.
In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in early March, the Commission would impose a number of new requirements related to call centre operations by providers of a wide range of communications services, including telecommunications, commercial mobile radio services, and direct broadcast satellite services.
The new requirements would include:
Ensuring that call centre staff are proficient in American Standard English AND upon consumer request, transfer calls to U.S.-based call centres.
The Associated Press plans to cut dozens of U.S.-based staff positions as part of a broader restructuring that shifts its focus away from hyper-local print coverage and toward video and national reporting priorities, company executives said.
Executive Editor Julie Pace and Global Chief Revenue Officer Kristin Heitmann tell Axios the changes reflect evolving audience demand and revenue sources. Founded in 1846 as a cooperative serving local newspapers, the organization now derives less than 10% of its revenue from U.S. newspaper groups, according to Heitmann.
In recent years, the organizations business model has shifted away from reliance on local newspaper clients toward a broader mix that includes digital publishers, broadcasters and non-news companies.
UK HAM RADIO TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:-
Broadcast Engineering Museum.
The museum has one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world, including outside broadcast vehicles, TV cameras, videotape and telecine machines, audio equipment, transmitters,
TV lighting and public address systems. Even an exhibition of offshore pirate radio memorabilia from the 1960s and 1970s.
The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near szxGainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS.
For more information visit becg.org.uk
There is a revealing question making the rounds after comments from an automotive company CEO at a recent auto show: Do you even need radio in your car? Obviously, the answer is an unequivocal yes.
Not because radio is a sentimental relic. Not because anyone is resisting innovation. And not because drivers cannot stream music from a phone.
We need radio in cars because when disaster strikes, radio is still one of the fastest, most resilient, and most local ways to reach the public with life-saving information.
A radio receiver is not the same as another subscription app. It does not depend on a wireless plan. It does not ask drivers to log into a service or hope a battery-hungry phone still has power after hours without electricity. It is simple, immediate and free.
And in an emergency, simple wins.
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OPERATIONAL NEWS -
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NOW CONTEST WISE:- 2026
WIA contest page :- wia.org.au/members/contests/about/
Africa FT4 DX Contest: 1500Z-1800Z, Apr 11
mysarl.org.za/contest-resources/
RSGB FT4 International Activity Day: 1200Z, Apr 11 to 1200Z, Apr 12
rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2026/rallband_ft4.shtml
Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest: 1200Z, Apr 11 to 1159Z, Apr 12
SSB and CW gccontest.ru/en/rules-gc-2026/
JIDX (JAPAN) CW Contest: 0700Z, Apr 11 to 1300Z, Apr 12
qrparci.org/contest/spring-qso-party
Hungarian Straight Key Contest: 1500Z-1600Z, Apr 12
hskc.ha8kux.com/
(contestcalendar.com)
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MAY:- HARRY ANGEL MEMORIAL SPRINT May 2nd.
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JUNE 6 -7 VK SHIRES CONTEST
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JUNE 20-21 VHF UHF FIELD DAY
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NOW LET'S OPEN THE DX WINDOW TO THE WORLD
Special callsign YR100RC is active until the 30th of September to celebrate the centenary of Romania's first amateur radio club. Look for activity on the HF bands using FT8 and SSB.
For details of a certificate that is available for working the station visit tinyurl.com/YR100RC
(rsgb)
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Special Event Callsign EI0WAAAW for Autism Awareness
April 2026 marks World Autism Awareness Month, with World Autism Awareness Day having been observed on April 2nd.
To commemorate the month, Ian EI3LH has been allocated the special event callsign EI0WAAAW. That is E I 0 W A A A W.
This callsign will be active for various operations throughout the month of April.
EI0WAAAW is more than just a QSO opportunity; it aims to raise awareness of the complex needs of children and adults living with autism.
ei3lh.eu
(IRTS)
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Celebrating a half-century of German research in Antarctica, special
callsigns DA 0ANT, DM 50ANT and DP 50ANT will be active from February 15
to 30TH April. In addition, active April 1-30 will be DM 50 GFS (for the
50th anniversary of the Georg Forster Station, established by the G.D.R.
In 1976 and decommissioned in 1993), as well as DP 200 GVN (for the
bicentenary of the birth of Georg von Neumayer, after whom three
German Antarctic research stations have been named).
(425DXNEWS)
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SOTA Croatia is marking 10 years. Listen for the special callsign
9 A 10 SOTA. The callsign is on the air through to 2026, the 30th of
September 2026 to be precise.
A certificate will be available for contacts made between the 1st of October and the 31st of December THIS YEAR.. QSL via LoTW.
(newsline2501)
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WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ASTRONOMY (and Wireless Weather)
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed that its Van Allen Probe A disintegrated on its return to Earth, after nearly 14 years in space.
According to an article posted to the website of Astronomy.com, most of the 1300-pound probe burned up upon re-entry over the eastern Pacific Ocean early in March. However, the probes twin, Van Allen Probe B, is still in orbit and is expected to renter the Earths atmosphere by 2030.
The Van Allen probes were launched in August 2012 in an effort to further our understanding of the radiation environment surrounding our planet. The probes were expected to remain active for about two years. Instead, they successfully operated for nearly seven years, continuing to measure the zone of high-energy charged particles in the Earths magnetic field, also known as the Van Allen radiation belts.
(incompliance)
WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS
SUMMITS ON THE AIR, WORLD WIDE FLORA, FAUNA PROGRAM,
PARKS ON THE AIR and other ADVENTURE GROUPS.
hema.org.uk/index.jsp
minesontheair.com/about-mota
parksontheair.com/
sota.org.uk
sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/
facebook.com/SotaAustralia/
wwffaustralia.com/
POTA Platinum new paid tier for POTA!
To maximize profits, they are introducing POTA Platinum. New rules, new
benefits for a price.
Who got caught?
The release date of this POTA should have pointed to a POTA PRANK for
April fools day.
There is a link in our text edition to a you tube video of this gag.
youtube.com/watch?v=5ul9xHvtVoQ
(ard)
'QUEENS OF THE MOUNTAINS' ACTIVITY BACK FOR 3RD YEAR
This has already been a big year for YLs to scale to new heights. First, there was the WWA-YL Award that united women radio operators calling CQ from around the world in March. Next up is the third annual Queens of the Mountains, a special Summits on the Air Weekend event.
Activators in this, the third annual Queens of the Mountains YL SOTA special event, will be competing for the same certificates as before - but this year, chasers are getting a new chance for recognition. The new award is designed for chasers who contact at least three YL activators in different countries or different US states.
This is the second year the activity has drawn global participation, so once again, YL to YL DX QSOs will be recognized with a WWW-World Wide Women's certificate.
The organizers have set the event to start at 0000 UTC on June 13th and end at 2359 UTC on June 14th.
(newsline2527)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - CW
The Hungarian Amateur Radio Society (MRASZ) will commemorate the
235th anniversary of the birth of Samuel Morse with nine special
callsigns:
All with prefixes HA235
Look for activity on CW and SSB on 17-27 April.
QSL via LoTW and Club Log's OQRS.
Samuel Morse (17911872) was a fairly accomplished American painter before becoming famous as the inventor. He served as a professor of painting and sculpture at New York University but he abandoned painting for invention around 1837 after facing many artistic disappointments.
Those special stations to work?
All with prefixes HA235
mrasz.org/award-rules
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary(at)amsat-vk.org
One of the amateur radio operators selected by NASA to help track the Artemis II mission via RF posted regular updates to Bluesky.
Back in January, NASA announced the volunteers selected to help track the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission and one of those volunteers was Scott Tilley VE7TIL who is also working with the University of New Brunswick in Canada which was also selected by NASA.
The Vancouver Sun recently published an article featuring Tilley and his progress and said " The data will help NASA identify ways to augment future moon and Mars mission support. Or, as VE7TIL puts it, its a way to see if smaller stations that use technology such as his could be used on future moon missions, so they dont have to task the larger, more costly primary systems.
(ARD)
A group of amateur astronomers has just heard a signal from 25 billion kilometres away, confirming that Voyager 1 is still transmitting from the outer reaches of the Solar System
This aging spacecraft almost 25 billion kilometres from Earth has just checked in again, and this time the call did not go through a giant space agency antenna. A team of amateur astronomers using the historic Dwingeloo Radio Telescope has managed to detect the ultra-faint carrier signal from Voyager 1, confirming that the most distant human-made object is still talking to us from interstellar space.
Using precise orbital predictions for the spacecraft, the amateurs corrected for the Doppler shift caused by the motion of Earth and the probe. Only after that careful correction did a thin spike at 8.4 GHz appear on their screens in real time, matching exactly what Voyagers frequency should be.
The radio call that produced that tiny spike had been traveling for about 23 hours at the speed of light before it reached the Dutch countryside.
Voyager 1 left Earth in 1977 and crossed into interstellar space in 2012. It was built for a few years of planetary flybys yet it has now been working for nearly half a century. Its three nuclear power generators are steadily fading, so engineers at NASA have begun turning off instruments one by one to keep the essentials alive for as long as possible.
(eHam)
ARISS Outlines Opportunities for Space Station Contacts in 2027
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program is seeking formal and informal educational institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an amateur radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS.
Crew members will participate in scheduled amateur radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.
ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1 and June 30, 2027. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan.
The deadline to submit a proposal is May 22, 2026
(arrl)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - IOTA
iota-world.org/
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We stand corrected!
Elvira, IV3FSG will be active as 3X3A (not 3XFSG as previously
reported) from Roume/Rooma Island (AF-051), Guinea 11-25 April.
She will operate SSB, CW and FT modes on 80-6 metres.
QSL via IK2WAD.
(425dxn)
----------------
OC-073
Take, JG8NQJ/JD1 on the weather station at Minami Torishima (OC-073)
until mid-May. He is operating mainly CW with some FT8.
QSL via JG8NQJ (bureau) and LoTW.
(425dxnews)
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WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS - YOTA
(Youngsters On The Air)
WIA committee:- Steve VK6SJ, Alec VK2MV and Pete VK2LP.
ham-yota.com/category/yota-region-3/
facebook.com/groups/YOTAOC/
youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA
Attention VK YOTAS!
Here is an opportunity to work many overseas YOTAS in a week of fun, across the airwaves!
This years Region One Youngsters on the Air Summer Camp takes place between the 25th of July and the 1st of August in the town of Wagrain in the Austrian Alps.
This is a chance of a lifetime for young European members to represent their country and their national society.
This years camp is being organised by the IARU Region 1 Youth Committee, together with the Austrian National Amateur Radio Society.
The camp is an opportunity for exciting experiences, to make new friends and to learn how to encourage other young people to get involved in amateur radio.
So at the end of July point your beams to Austria and try working as many YOTAS as possible
And for something a bit closer to home, the VK SUMMIT is to be held over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd May 2026 in Albury New South Wales.
The WIA Annual General Meeting will be held during the summit.
During the summit there will also be an ISS contact, experts from manufacturers and retailers, the VK Summit dinner on Saturday night and most importantly you can socialise with Radio peers!
For WIA National News, I am Alan, VK2COD in Sydney. Now back to you Bruce
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO
Rusk County Amateur Radio Club in the USA to host Radio for Everyone.
This special live event could be a lifesaver.
Most folks dont realize how many practical radio options there are today, said Keith Ballow, president of the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club. You dont have to be a technical expert. There are radios that are simple, affordable, and can keep families connected when phones or internet service arent working.
The Amateur Radio Club hopes to introduce more people to those options through a public event called Radio for Everyone. The free event will give community members a chance to see several entry-level radio services in person, including CB, Family Radio Service, General Mobile Radio Service, Ham Radio and newer low-power mesh communication technologies such as Meshtastic and MeshCore.
During the event, club members will host display tables where visitors can examine radios, learn how different systems work, and ask questions about their strengths and limitations.
Organizers say the goal is to provide a relaxed and educational environment where people can explore communication tools that many may not realize are available. The evening will include demonstrations, informal discussions, and time for questions, along with light refreshments. The event is free and open to the public, and no previous experience with radio equipment is required.
A great idea almost certainly a way to build YOUR club membership whilst at the same time helping the community in a tangible way
tinyurl.com/447ezy9j
(eHam)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- SOFTWARE FOR HAMS
Open Hamclock Backend (OHB) is now fully independent of the original source and does not proxy any data from the Clear Sky Institute server so when the original backend server goes offline in June, everyone using OHB will find their HamClock will continue to work.
We've also made some improvements over the original, especially in terms of CPU and memory use. It is now more efficient, so anyone hosting it on their own hardware will see instant improvements.
We have two more items of exciting news to share:
We now have a publicly available OHB server which anyone using HamClock is welcome to use. Just point your HamClock to: ohb.hamclock.app:80
This server is dedicated hardware hosted in a commercial datacentre and is free for all HamClock users to enjoy.
Chris Smith, no not Australia's Super Radio Network announcer but G1FEF says they now have a website where you can keep track of the latest releases, find instructions on how to use OHB, see who is behind the initiative, as well as how to provide feedback and ask for assistance:
ohb.works
In like news on software a new open-source software project called Ground Station is gaining attention among amateur satellite operators as a unified platform for tracking, receiving, and decoding satellite signals. The software combines multiple functions typically handled by separate tools into a single system, offering a more streamlined approach to satellite operations.
At its core, the software provides real-time satellite tracking using orbital data, along with automatic updates of satellite elements. It supports a variety of software-defined radios, allowing users to monitor and record signals from multiple satellites. The system also includes automated antenna rotator control and Doppler correction, helping keep signals cantered during a pass.
The platform is capable of scheduling and executing satellite observations automatically, reducing the need for operator intervention. During a pass, it can record IQ or audio data and process common digital modes, including telemetry formats used by many amateur satellites. This is useful for operators interested in telemetry collection, CubeSat monitoring, and general satellite experimentation.
In addition to amateur radio satellites, the software integrates with tools such as SatDump to decode weather satellite transmissions, including NOAA APT and other imaging formats. This expands its usefulness beyond traditional amateur satellites to include weather satellite reception and other downlink services commonly monitored by the amateur community.
Ground Station is an early-stage, actively developed open-source project available on GitHub at
github.com/sgoudelis/ground-station.
(na)
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IT'S A DATE
Clubs are welcome to email text with audio for this section,
nationalnews@wia.org.au
Details of all WIA affiliated clubs and societies can be found
on the WIA website, including email addresses and website links.
--------------------- SOCIAL SCENE 2026 ------------------
VK - WIA AGM May 2 at 2pm Albury VK2 couples with VK SUMMIT 2026
also in Albury May 2 and 3. And it's at Commercial Club,
Dean Street. (vk3tcm/wiacal/ARMAG ).
WW May 15 - 17 Dayton Hamvention, Xenia, Ohio (arrl)
VK2 - Picton HamFest May 31 at Showground 8am (vk2ts)
VK2 - Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Field Day 6 and 7 June
Wauchope Showground hall. (vk2zhe)
VK5 - Sth Est Radio Group Convention & Australian Fox Hunting
Championship Mt Gambier June 6/7 (vk5dj)
WW June 26 - 28 HAM RADIO, International Amateur Radio Exhibition,
Friedrichshafen, Germany (arrl)
VK3 - Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club HamFest Sale
Longwarry Community Hall 10am (vk3iu)
VK3 - Bendigo Amateur Radio & Electronics Club Radiofest.
Sunday 11 October, Bendigo East Hall, Lansell Street (vk3gtv)
VK7 - Tassie Ham-E-Con Radio Conference Nov 7 and 8 UTAS Sandy Bay
Campus. reast.asn.au/news-events/tassie-ham-radio-conference/
VK5 - Adelaide Amateur Radio & Electronics Car Boot Sale Dogs SA
Showground, Cromwell Road, Kil burn 10.00am. November 21. (wiacal)
The final final
Reception Reports
No we DO like to hear where in the world you are listening to this,
the WIA NATIONAL NEWS SERVICE.
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
Not only but also those watching us on YouTube, leave a comment , access
is just below the picture on screen and again tell us where and maybe
even the day and time you are listening
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(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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