From: dave@ips.oz.au (Dave Horsfall)
Newsgroups: aus.radio
Subject: VK2WI Broadcast, Sunday 6th September, 1992
Date: 7 Sep 92 00:11:54 GMT
Distribution: aus
Organization: IPS Radio and Space Services.  Sydney, Australia.

VK2WI Broadcast, 6th September, 1992.  Copyright 1992 WIA
(NSW) & contributors.  Material may be used elsewhere if the
source is acknowledged.



                      VK2WI BROADCAST

                            for

                    6th September, 1992



          THE MAJOR NEWS ITEMS THIS WEEK INCLUDE:

                         Silent Key

                      After the Forum

                 Space Shuttle on 2m Again





                         SILENT KEY

It is with regret that we begin this bulletin with news of a
Silent Key.  We've been advised that Brian VK2UBD was
involved in fatal car accident on the night Monday 24th
August 1992.  The New South Wales division of the WIA
extends its sympathy to Brian's family and friends.  News of
Brian's passing was sent to us by James VK2TIM.




                      DIVISIONAL NEWS

As we reported last week, the divisional "Open Forum"
brought about some animated discussion, some good ideas came
to light, and a few axes were noticeably sharper by the end
of the day.  The divisional council is still chewing the
meat (and the gristle!), and listeners can expect a formal
report of events in the near future.  The VK2 divisional
Broadcast Coordinator, Richard VK2SKY, would like to thank
all of you, who expressed views on the format and length of
this broadcast.  Look out for changes "real soon now".

Several people have suggested that regular "Open Forums"
might be held, either in Parramatta, or on air.  We'd like
to remind you all, that you don't have to wait until the
next forum to express your views, and suggest improvements.
We are always on the lookout for good ideas on how better to
serve our members, so keep on sending them in by fax, post,
packet radio.




                      STOLEN EQUIPMENT

And now, a periodic reminder to listeners who may be in the
market for a new transceiver.  When buying second-hand
equipment, especially from someone you don't already know,
it's a good idea to check that the item is not on the Stolen
Equipment Register, which is held at the Divisional Office.
That "hot new rig" you buy might be hotter than you think!.
Dion VK2PD had his car stolen recently, and his amateur gear
went with it.  The car and some of the equipment was
recovered, but a Standard C528 handy talkie is still
unaccounted for.  The transceiver and its manual were taken
from the car; the serial number of the rig is 00E150667, and
its owner would like to have it back.  If you are offered
this item, or if you have any doubts about the honesty of
any person selling second-hand amateur gear, please contact
the Divisional Office.




               "REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONE"

As we all know, many radio amateurs are past retirement age,
as radio provides a great way of staying in touch, even when
you're not able to get around.  One such amateur, Rex
Roseblade VK2RR, is largely confined to the Nursing section
of the War Retirement Village at Narrabeen.  Rex spent his
working life in communications with the Permanent Army, in
particular, teaching at the Academy in Canberra.  He's now
set up on 2 metres, and can access the Hornsby and Dural
repeaters.  Rex would welcome any contacts on air, and
visitors QTHR at Narrabeen, so listen out for VK2RR and
please give him a call.

   - information from Arthur Brown VK2IK




            THE SPACE SHUTTLE ON 2 METRES AGAIN

This Friday, 11th September, the Space Shuttle "Endeavor" is
due for launch, and once again, amateur radio experiments
will feature in the the six day flight.

Jay, N5QWL and Mamoru 7L2NJY will be active on 2m voice,
transmitting on 145.55 MHz, and listening on 144.95, 144.91,
and 144.97 MHz.  It's not known at this stage whether
they'll get their traditional CW practice from the Hornsby
Morse machine on 144.95 MHz!  The astronauts will only
answer stations who give their full callsigns using standard
ITU phonetics, so if you don't know the proper phonetics,
now would be a good time to learn.  Just give YOUR callsign
- do not say theirs as well, because passes are short, so
time is at a premium.

The shuttle will also be operating a packet robot,
transmitting on 145.55 and listening on 144.70 MHz, using
the callsign W5RRR-1.

If you can, decrease your radio's deviation to 3 kHz and
compensate for the Doppler shift.  Otherwise, wait for a
minute or 90 seconds after the shuttle comes over the
horizon before you transmit, otherwise the shuttle will only
hear what sounds like a noisy carrier.  This applies to both
voice and packet.

During the mission, W5RRR may be found on or near: 7.215,
14.280, 21.360, and 28.400 MHz.  In addition, WA3NAN will
retransmit NASA Select Audio and SAREX bulletins
simultaneously, on or near 3.860, 7.185, 14.295, 21.395, and
28.650 MHz.

The Shuttle crew plans to contact 6 schools on this mission:
2 in the US, 3 in Australia, and 1 in Europe or Africa.
SAREX will be activated about 3 hours after launch, and will
be deactivated at about 6 days, 8 hours after launch.

The orbiter attitude will be tail down, payload bay south.
The SAREX antenna will be in the right forward window, so
most contacts should have a good antenna pattern from
Acquisition Of Signal to Time of Closest Approach.

You can QSL the Shuttle via N5QWL, at 806 Shorewood Drive,
Seabrook, Texas 77586, USA.  Please include a self-addressed
envelope with 50 cents US postage or international reply
coupons.  Include the Callsign worked, Date, UTC, Mode, and
Frequency.  For packet contacts, include the QSO number
issued by the robot.  Shortwave listener QSLs should include
the Callsign heard, Date, UTC, Mode, and Frequency.

   - thank to the AMSAT News Service for that info

Do you know a child whose school will be able to receive the
Space Shuttle transmissions?  If you do, why not set up a
receiver in the classroom, so that all schoolchildren in
Australia may take part in this experiment, and learn a bit
about amateur radio?



                AMATEUR TV IN THE CLASSROOM

The Department of Transport and Communications has recently
adopted a policy of seeking public comment on any proposed
changes to regulations and conditions in the Amateur
Service.  Back in July, many of you offered your thoughts on
the new deregulated license conditions.  Now, DoTC would like
to hear from you again, this time on the subject of Amateur
Television in education.  The Queensland Division of the
WIA, together with the Queensland Department of Education,
have jointly proposed that Amateur Television stations be
used to link classrooms on a trial basis.  The Education
Department will supply ATV equipment where necessary, and
such equipment may be available for use by amateurs outside
of school hours.

The advantages include greater interest in Amateur Radio
among the people we need to attract into the hobby, and
better use of the RF spectrum during the hours when most of
us are busy with mundane tasks such as earning a living.

More details of the proposal may be found on page 9 of the
September issue of "Amateur Radio" magazine.  If you have
any thoughts on the matter, please make them known by the
21st September, by fax on (06) 274-8655, or by writing to:

         The Assistant Secretary,
         Radiocommunications Operations Branch,
         Radiocommunications Division,
         Department of Transport and Communications,
         GPO Box 594,
         Canberra 2601

Please also send a copy to the Federal and Divisional
offices of the WIA.




                         WICEN NEWS

For a change, it's been a quiet week for WICEN.  This week,
WICEN is providing communications services for the annual
Variety Club Bash.  A large number of strange looking
vehicles left Sydney's Darling Harbour on Friday, headed for
Uluru in the Red Centre.  Joining them are several Variety
Club communications vans, using Codan transceivers to keep
in touch with the WICEN base station in Newcastle.  Several
WICEN members, from Newcastle, the Blue Mountains, and
Sydney North and South, also provided communications at
Darling Harbour, on 2 metres and 40 metres, as well
operating the Codan transceiver on 6997 kHz.

Sydney South WICEN are assisting the St.George Amateur
Radio Society in running the Como-Jannali Rotary Fun Run on
13th September, and further details are available from
Kevin VK2CKD.  Contact Kevin QTHR, or via the Divisional
Voice Mailbox on  (02) 552-5188.  Sydney South will also
hold their regular meeting at Sutherland SES, Caringbah, on
Tuesday 15th September.

The major event in October is of course the Hawkesbury
Canoe Classic, which will be held on the weekend of 17-18th
October, the same weekend as JOTA (unless somebody moves the
moon).  WICEN is looking for operators to provide a safety
communications network.  Please contact the event
coordinator, Kevin VK2CKD, either QTHR or via the Divisional
voice mailbox on (02) 552-5188.


WICEN conducts a weekly HF net on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm,
on 3615 kHz. In the Sydney metro area, the WICEN VHF net
takes place on Thursdays at 9:30pm, on the Chatswood
repeater 147.150 MHz.  Enquiries may also be sent to Post
Office Box 123, Saint Leonards 2065.




                         AAPRA NEWS

The recent WICEN exercise for the enduro bike trial at
Cessnock involved some 10 mobile and portable packet
stations.  Each of these packet stations comprised a laptop
computer, a German-made Baycom modem, and the Baycom packet
program, version 1.5.  The use of surface mounted components
allowed the entire Baycom modem to fit inside a standard
9-pin "D" plug, keeping the size of the packet station to a
minimum.

Further information about the Baycom modem, and the latest
version of Baycom software, is available from the Australian
Amateur Packet Radio Association at:

                                   59 Westbrook Avenue
                                        WAHROONGA 2076
                                 Phone:  (02) 487-4393

AAPRA advises that if you operate packet radio while mobile,
you should have a second operator to do the driving!

    - Geoff VK2BQ.





                     IPS WEEKLY REPORT
                28 August - 3 September 1992

Issue no. 36
Date of issue: 4 September 1992

Date        28    29   30   31   01   02   03
10cm flux   96    95   95   97  100  105  107
A index     04    18   06   04   02   18  (35 estimated)
T index     51    57   64   65   61   64   79


                    Summary of Activity

Solar activity was very low throughout the week.

The geomagnetic field at Learmonth was quiet or quiet to
unsettled until the 3rd when the field was at mostly active
to minor storm levels.

Ionospheric F2 critical frequencies at Sydney on the 28th
were depressed most of the day by up to 40 per cent, and the
29th had frequent short depressions with near normal values
otherwise.

Frequencies were near September predicted values on the 30th
August to 1st September except for several short depressed
periods daily of up to 30 per cent.  Frequencies were
slightly depressed to 10 per cent all day on 2nd, and near
normal to 1700 UTC on the 3rd, then depressed by up to 50
per cent.

Spread F may have degraded communications from 11-20UT on
the 28th August.

Comment: The disturbance on the 3rd September was due to a
coronal hole.  Further disturbances were expected on the 4th
and 5th September.   The cause of the disturbance on August
27th and 28th is unknown.

     Forecast for the next week (4th - 10th September)

Solar:           Low.

Geomagnetic:     Active to minor storm periods were expected
                 during 4th and 5th September due to a
                 coronal hole.  Quiet to unsettled at other
                 times.

Ionospheric:     Degraded or depressed 20 - 30 per cent on
                 the 4th and possibly the 5th, due to
                 geomagnetic disturbance.  Near normal after
                 this period.

The weekly propagation report, as always, is courtesy of IPS
Radio and Radio Services, and was summarised by Pat VK2JPA.



                       COMING EVENTS


Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club nets     .    .    .  MONDAY
Illawarra ARS monthly meeting      .    .    .    . TUESDAY
STS-47 Shuttle launch (SAREX experiment)     .    .  FRIDAY
St George ARC "Bill Shakespeare" Auction     .     SATURDAY
Como to Jannali Fun Run (St George comms)    .  NEXT SUNDAY
Fisher's Ghost ARC examinations    .    .    .  NEXT SUNDAY
AX3T35 experimenting on 196 kHz    .    .    .  NEXT SUNDAY
Australian ATV Club meeting at Parramatta    .  NEXT SUNDAY
WICEN Sydney South meeting    .    .    .    15th September
Fisher's Ghost ARC Inc. general meeting .    15th September
I.P.S User Training Course    .    .    .    16th September
Warragee One Day Equestrian Event (WICEN)    20th September
Deadline for comments on ATV in education    21st September
Closing Date for Waverly ARC examinations    25th September
Divisional Trash and Treasure Sale .    .    27th September
Wollongong SES navigation exercise (WICEN)   27th September
VK-ZL Oceania DX Contest (SSB)     .    .   3rd-4th October




                         CLUB NEWS

The Illawarra Amateur Radio Society will have its monthly
meeting this coming Tuesday, commencing 7:30 pm at the SES
Building, North Wollongong.

This month, John VK2XGJ, sysop of the Illawarra packet BBS,
will host an open discussion on packet radio, including
helpful hints and planning for the Illawarra area.  The
meeting will finish with customary and complementary Rag
Chew and cuppa.

Visitors are most welcome, and if you need directions, give
a call on the Sublime Point repeater, 147.275 MHz.

   - submitted by Ken VK2KWG




An event for the ladies now, especially the long-range
planners among you, is ALARAMEET 1993.

Since 1984, the Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association
has been holding regular get-togethers every three years.

The next such event will be held in Castlemaine, Victoria,
AUSTRALIA, on the 1st-3rd October, 1993 (please note that's
a YEAR from now, not next month!)

Here's advance notice, to alert the amateur fraternity of
the event, in time to make travel arrangements which may
include the Castlemaine Alarameet.  Castlemaine is situated
in central Victoria, only 2 or 3 hours by road from
Melbourne.

This is an occasion to put faces to callsigns and names, and
to renew old acquaintances as well as make new friends.
Alarameet begins on Friday 1st October, 1993, and activities
include guided tours and social evenings.  If you wish to
stay longer, further tours can be arranged.  Motel
accommodation, or caravan park cabins are available for the
event.

For further information please contact:

                  Mrs Margaret Loft VK3DML
                    28 Lawrence Street,
                        Castlemaine,
                       Victoria 3450,
                         AUSTRALIA

or send packet mail to Meg VK5AOV at VK5WI.#ADL.#SA.AUS.OC



                      BROADCAST ROSTER

Next Sunday morning:     Colin VK2JCC and Brad VK2GLE
Next Sunday evening:     Alan VK2XAT and Kevin VK2CKD

The Divisional Office is located at 109 Wigram St,
Parramatta and is open from 11am to 2pm Monday to Friday and
from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday nights.  The phone is answered
during the day from 12-1pm; the number is (02) 689-2417.

Items for inclusion in this bulletin may be sent by mail to
Post Office Box 1066, Parramatta 2124; by fax on (02)
633-1525, or by packet radio to "VK2WI at VK2RWI".
Highlights of this broadcast are also available by phoning
the divisional voice mailbox on (02) 552-5188, and you can
leave a message afterwards if you wish.

-- 
Dave Horsfall (VK2KFU)         VK2KFU @ VK2RWI.NSW.AUS.OC
dave@ips.OZ.AU                  ...munnari!ips.OZ.AU!dave
Newsgroups: aus.radio