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VK7AX > BCAST 15.06.25 04:26l 641 Lines 22361 Bytes #300 (0) @ WW
BID : 2191_VK7AX
Subj: VK National News 15Jun25
Path: IZ3LSV<DB0ERF<DK0WUE<PI8ZTM<IR0AAB<HB9ON<VK7AX
Sent: 250615/0219Z 2191@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.AUNZ LinBPQ6.0.24
VK National News 15Jun25
Text edition:
Weekly news from the WIA:
MP3 edition of news available at: http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2025-06-15.mp3
Text edition:
2025 JUNE 15 WIA 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 JUNE 15 2025
IN OUR 30th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS
THIS WEEK:-
AT THE WIA NATIONAL NEWS DESK, from NEW ZEALAND Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. -
VK2LAW, in Sydney. -
VK4FUQ in Ingham. -
From "Sunny Bendigo" Bruce VK3FFF. -
WIA FIELD DAY MANAGER ROGER VK2ZRH " Goes A Roving". -
AND FROM THE WIA BOARD ROOM, VP Peter VK4EA.
BUT WAIT - THERE'S 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
Gidday, this is Peter - VK4EA - Vice-president on behalf of the W I A board.
The International Amateur Radio Union, I A R U, has circulated a proposal to
eliminate the regionally based administrations and forming a single representative
body based in Geneva, Switzerland.
We the board have questions. Will this result in less representation for smaller
regions like ours? How much money will be saved given that all committee and board
members are volunteers? Will the larger member societies dominate the discourse
leaving us smaller regions without a voice?
After some considerable deliberation and consultation the board have arrived at a
position to not support the elimination of the regional I A R U organisations. We
believe this position provides Australian amateurs better representation at events
such as the World Radio Conferences and Preparatory meetings. We have proposed more
frequent virtual region 3 gatherings to speed up the decision making process within
the W R C cycle.
And in other news now that the dust has settled post the federal election. The
Board has written to the new federal communications minister, Anika Wells,
introducing the Amateur service and emphasising the level of participation and our
desire to preserve spectrum. Anika is my federal member of parliament and I am
working on meeting her and her staff at the local electoral office when her office
acknowledges our correspondence.
The new website is progressing well, its taking a bit longer that we expected, we
are confident the process will be worth it, stay tuned.
Cheers for now, Im going back to my nice warm living room, 73, this has been Peter
- VK4EA - Vice-president of the W I A.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS is with thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, ARRL,
DX-WORLD, eHam, Hackaday, IARU, ICQPodcast, IRTS, NEWSLINE, NZART,
RAC, Radioworld.com, RSGB, SARL and the World Wide sources of the
WIA.
INDIA NEW PREFIXES
The VU2 and VU3 prefixes were first issued around 1929 and 1989
respectively. New amateur radio stations in India are now being issued
callsigns with new prefixes:
The prefix range of VU22 to VU29 is for General Grade licences;
The prefix range of VU32 to VU39 is for Restricted Grade licences.
The first callsign authorized under the new rules is VU 22 DX,
issued to Sandesh "Sandy" Bhat who has recently upgraded his previous
Restricted Grade licence of VU3FGJ to the newer VU22DX.
The popular amateur radio antennas manufactured by SteppIR are being
discontinued.
SteppIR has announced that it is stopping production of all amateur radio
and other consumer antennas starting in August. The company's statement,
which appears on its website, said that it would continue to honour all
product warranties and provide technical support as needed.
The company said "Given our long history of impact and innovation we don't
take this decision lightly but have decided that it is necessary for our
ongoing operations and to make sure we can continue to efficiently provide
our existing customers with product support services."
All antenna and spare-parts orders will be fulfilled by the company
through to the end of August. After the 31st of the month, SteppIR will
sell spare parts as long as the inventory permits.
A US man faces a $25,000 penalty from the FCC for unauthorized operation
of a Citizens Band radio.
The agency announced its decision on May 30th, two years to the day
after it issued a Notice of Apparent Liability against him.
The agency's Enforcement Bureau said that he repeatedly voided his
operating authority by sending "nonverbal, indecipherable sound effects
over long periods", causing malicious interference and engaging in one-way
transmissions.
Citizens Band radio is not a licensed service in the United States.
Operators retain the privilege of using CB by agreeing to comply with
relevant regulations stipulated in their Communications Act of 1934.
Meanwhile, the Australian Communications and Media Authority has proposed
that reported abuses of Citizens Band regulations that are deemed serious
here should be referred to the police for further investigation.
Citizens Band operators are covered by a class license in Australia under
the Radiocommunications Act. The current regulations are set to sunset on
the 1st of October. Public comment is being accepted through the 15th of
July.
Listening to this WIA National News in the USA? then also be listening on
June 19th for a special FM radio broadcast celebrating Edwin Armstrong's
development of FM radio.
The callsign W2XMN is etched in cement atop the doorway of the small brick
transmitter building in New Jersey, not far from the radio tower where
history's first FM broadcasts began in 1938. Those steady transmissions
became a reality only three years after engineer and inventor Edwin
Armstrong had given a public demonstration at an engineering conference,
showing that frequency modulation radio could deliver static-free sound,
graced with a remarkable fidelity that was previously unheard of.
FM broadcasting will return temporarily to W 2 XMN's original VHF low-band
frequency, 42.8 MHz, beginning at noon on Thursday the 19th of June. The
northern New Jersey tower once used by W2XMN will broadcast a repeat of
programming first aired in 2005 to commemorate Armstrong's successful
FM demonstration in 1935. The content includes interviews with Armstrong's
niece, Jeanne Hammond, and with Tom Lewis, author of the book,
"Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio."
According to a report on the RadioWorld.com website, a restored Phasitron
transmitter will be running 250 watts of power into a vertical antenna.
New York state lawmakers has voted to stop the NYPD's attempt to block its
radio communications from the public, with the bill expected to head to
Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk.
The "Keep Police Radio Public Act" passed both the state Senate and state
Assembly, with a sponsor of the legislation arguing the proposal strikes
the "proper balance" in the battle between transparency and sensitive
information. The bill, which was sponsored in the Assembly by lawmaker
Karines Reyes, is meant to make real-time police radio communications
accessible to emergency services organizations and reporters.
WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
Are you called Nigel?
If so, you can join other amateur Nigels who are making plans to operate a
special event station at what is hoped to be the largest ever gathering of
Nigels in the world.
The NIGEL event will run from the 20th to the 21st of September in
Worcestershire. Details on how to get involved are on the GB1NN page at
QRZ.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
OPERATIONAL NEWS - A FELIX VK4FUQ PRESENTATION
NEXT WEEKEND IS OUR FIELD DAY, MORE AND THAT AND OTHER CONRSEST SHORTLY
BUT RIGHT NOW LET'S OPEN THE DX WINDOW.
Aldir, PY1SAD has been active as 8R1TM from Guyana since 1 June, and
expects to remain there until 8 July. He operates CW, SSB and digital
modes on 160-6 metres and via satellite. During the weekdays he is
QRV between 23 UTC and 2 UTC. QSL via LoTW, eQSL, QRZ Logbook, or
8R1TM direct to home call hich s PY 1 SASD.
(425DX)
------------
Listen for Bo, OZ1DJJ using the callsign OX3LX from Greenland where he
will is operating holiday style.
He is at gridsquare GP 44 de from the 10th through to the 22nd June.
(newsline2484)
--------------------
Special callsign PA2025NATO is on the air throughout this month of June
to mark the NATO Summit being hosted by the Netherlands on the weekend of
June 24th. QSL details and other information is on QRZ.com
(newsline2484)
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A recent joint DXPedition to Kosovo was much anticipated - after a series of postponements and delays. What was NOT anticipated, however, were some of the contacts the two operators had toward the activation's end. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF wraps up this week's newscast by giving us those details.
Anne OH2YL and Marko OH2LG were finally ready for that long-awaited 10 days of intense operating deep in the Balkans as Z68YL and Z68OM, respectively. The contacts came in exhilarating waves as the pair operated from May 20th through to the 30th. Then, just days before the big finish, the two operators were confronted with a pileup like no other:
Cows. A herd of at least 50 of them, rampaging through the antennas and messing with the guy wires. A blog post written by Jari OH6BG, said that [quote] "The guy wires were given the ride of their life," [endquote] As for the feedlines, well, the cows' teeth took the word "feedline" quite literally. The feedlines for the end-fed half-wave wire antenna and the 6-metre dipole were both chewed through.
With some repair work and a new vertical antenna, the operators were soon back in business. By the time they went QRT, despite high winds, QRM and bovine intervention, they managed to work their way to a total of just fewer than 10,000 QSOs.
Resilient, determined and resourceful, they would not be cowed.....in Kow-sovo.
This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
-------------
REMINDERS
Switzerland.
4 U 0 ITU is the call sign for the International Amateur Radio Club
at ITU HQ in Geneva to use from 16 May to the end of the year in
celebration of the 160th anniversary of the International
Telecommunication Union.
QSL via LoTW, Club Logs OQRS, or direct to
IARC, PO Box 6, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
(sarl)
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Peter, PD1RP, is celebrating the 80th anniversary since the end of the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. He is on the air as PD80FREE until the 30th of June. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the bureau.
(NewsLine)
------------------
Celebrating the Deutsche Amateur-Radio-Club's 75th anniversary,
four special callsigns have been activated by DARC till 31 October:
DC7, D5D, DD7, DK7 and DR75DARC.
See darc.de/der-club/referate/dx/sonderdiplome/
for the "75 Jahre DARC" certificate.
QSLs via the bureau, or direct to DL2VFR.
(425 DX NEWS)
------------
It was 25 years ago but We Do Remember You.
Special Event to Honour the Victims of 9-11:
New York City Shanksville PA. and Washington D.C.
September 06 00:01 UTC ending Thursday September 12, 23:59 UTC.
Many members of the Alabama Contest Group will activate K4A for the
fifth year. This year's event will be called "9-11 We Do Remember."
SSB, FT8, CW, and RTTY on all bands 160 through 10 meters, including
WARC bands.
(ard)
---------
8K3EXPO is on the air until October 13, 1.8 MHz 10 GHz.
This event marks the first time a callsign has been established with
the 8K prefix and draws attention to the Osaka World Expo.
(ard)
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Well you may not WORK them BUT you MAY hear them.
Once again Italian radio amateurs have been authorized to use the
40 MHz band until the end of the year.
They are allowed to operate from 40.660 MHz to 40.700 MHz with a
maximum power of 10 watts.
The Italian regulator has given permission until 31 December also
for 70.1, 70.2, and 70.3 MHz.
(425dx news)
------------
------------
NOW CONTEST WISE:- 2025
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NEXT WEEKEND VHF UHF Field Days
Winter 2025
Saturday 21 June through Sunday 22 June
This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH, manager of the VHF-UHF Field Days, once again.
Do not panic because Im back! The 2025 Winter Field Day is still on. Nothings changed.
Which is why I want to speak to you.
I apologise for being too quick last week and ending on what some people felt was an alarming note about discontinuation of the Rover category.
You can still go roving during the Field Day, as you will find in the new Rules on the website page. You can still rove across the landscape, give and get points, making sure you exchange 6-character sub-square grid locations.
If you do, I encourage you to outline your efforts in the Soapbox field of your logging program when you take to the hills. Be entertaining about it.
In moving to use the VK Contest Log Checker, inclusion of the category proved problematic when it came to programming the checking of logs for it.
Chairman of the WIA Contest Committee, Alan Shannon VK4SN, put to the committee if the Rover category was worth setting up. The majority vote was no, due to poor entry levels.
Last week, I updated the text on the VHF-UHF Field Days web page on the WIA website. Theres a lot of new information to read, which I encourage you to do.
There we are. Download the new Rules, read them closely beforehand at least twice. With that done, head for the hills and have some fun!
This is Roger Harrison VK2ZRH for VK1WIA News.
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IARU HF World Championship.
The 24-hour IARU HF World Championship starts at 12 HUNDRED UTC on
Saturday 12 July and ends at 11:59 UTC on Sunday 13 July.
This annual contest supports amateur self-training in radio
communications, improving operating skills, conducting technical
investigations and inter-communicating with other amateurs around
the world using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 metre bands
(SARL)
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Trans-Tasman Low Band Contest - 19 JUL
The Trans-Tasman contest, held on the 3rd weekend in July, aims to encourage Low Band activity between VK and ZL
Only contest bands 160 80 and 40M are allowed with SSB, CW and Digital (RTTY OR PSK)
wia.org.au/members/contests/transtasman/
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YOTA Contest 2025
Organized by the IARU R1 Youth Working Group in cooperation with the
Hungarian Amateur Radio Society, the aim of the YOTA Contest is to
increase youngsters activity on the air, strengthen the reputation
of the YOTA programme and demonstrate support for youngsters across
the world.
The next 2 sessions of this year's YOTA Contest will be held
19 July
29 December
yotacontest.mrasz.org
---------------
RSGB IOTA CONTEST
July 26 to July 27, 2025.
Mode: CW, SSB
Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Work once per band per mode.
(wa7bnm contest calendar)
----------
Remembrance Day Contest
This contest is held every year on the anniversary of the end of
World War II, in honour of the Australian amateurs who lost their
lives in wartime.
This contest is unusual because the trophy goes to the Australian
state or territory that scores the highest level of activity.
Next contest 16th & 17th August 2025
Contest Manager is Alan Shannon VK4SN vk4sn(at)wia.org.au
wia.org.au/members/contests/rdcontest/
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - DIGITAL.
The Alberta Digital Radio Communications Society (ADRCS) has announced that its grant to advance their IP400 Network Project has been approved by ARDC. ADRCS expects to begin work this coming fall.
This grant will ensure that we can continue our development activity and bring the project goals to fruition, says Martin Alcock, VE6VH, Chief Technology Officer of the Society and project founder. It will enable us to recruit top-notch personnel that would have normally been out of our reach.
The IP400 Project aims to deliver a data communications system capable of 100 kbps minimum data speeds. Initial hardware in the form of Raspberry Pi Zero HAT transceivers were demoed at Hamvention. To learn more about the project, join the Groups.io list, or visit the project home page. Source code is available on GitHub.
(ARD)
Hamword Winlink Games Enters Fourth Year
Hamword has completed three years serving hams a daily word game that is
similar to the popular Wordle guessing game. Hamword takes place over
Winlink which provides amateur radio operators with an opportunity to
maintain brain health and practice their Winlink communication skills.
Nearly 500 hams have played over 11,000 games over the last three years.
You can join the fun by sending a five-letter word to the Winlink tactical
callsign HAMWORD. You do not have to send messages using your radio
connection. Winlink messages can be transferred over the Internet using
the Telnet interface.
More information about Hamword and how to play is available on the
Hamword website.
hambooks.org/hamword/
(ARD)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary(at)amsat-vk.org
THE FINAL FRONTIER COMES TO IRELAND
Abbey Theatre stage a play inspired by amateur radio in Dublin.
Theorld of ham radio and space is brought to the stage with their new play
called Static. The Peacock stage will be transformed for an interstellar
voyage with a Donegal layover in Jimmy McAleaveys Static. This thrilling
world premiere which explores an astronauts chance connection with a
radio operator over the airwaves is at the Abbey Theatre until the 18th of
July.
This play is inspired by events at the end of the Soviet Union when a
radio operator in Donegal made contact with a cosmonaut on board Mir.
Jimmy McAleavey has been developing this story about human connection and
its challenges since then.
We hope you enjoy the show!
(irts)
FUTURE AMATEUR RADIO GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE PAYLOAD PROJECT
AMSAT-DL in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA) has invited AMSAT organisations to participate in their Future GEO initiative. This initiative is a direct response to increasing global interest in amateur satellite communications and aims to inspire new generations through access to space-based amateur radio platforms with the following objectives:
To support innovative amateur radio communication techniques, including wideband and narrowband transponder configurations.
To provide a flexible experimental platform for SDR, regenerative transponders, and educational outreach.
To foster international cooperation among amateur radio societies, space agencies, academic institutions, and industry.
To expand the amateur radio footprint to underserved regions, considering optimal GEO coverage scenarios.
(sourced to sarl)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - IOTA
iota-world.org/
------------
OC-054
The DX Obsessed Group will be active as FW5K from Wallis Island
(OC-054) from 20 October to 7 November, including a Multi-2 entry in the
CQ WW DX SSB Contest. Six operators will be QRV on 160-6 metres CW, SSB,
FT8 and RTTY. QSL via Club Log's OQRS; QSOs will be uploaded to LotW
6 months after the end of the DXpedition.
(425 DX and dxobsessed.org/home)
-----------
OC-065
Lance, W7GJ will be active as H40GJ from Pigeon Island (OC-065),
Temotu Province on 8-27 August. This will be a 6m EME DXpedition,
using Q65-60A in the "Q65 Pileup" mode.
"When I am not aimed up at the moon, I will be monitoring 50.313 on FT8
mode", Lance says. "Please take the initiative to call my direction
when you think there may be ionospheric propagation. If propagation
is good and there are many callers, I may switch to FT4 or FT8 F/H on a
frequency to be announced". QSL via LoTW, or direct to W7GJ.
(425DX plus facebook.com/lance.collister/)
-------------
REMINDERS
------------------
ZC 4 RH is on the British Sovereign Area on Cyprus,
IOTA number AS - 4 from the 14th through to the 20th of June
using CW, SSB, FT8 and FT4 on 40 through 6 metres.
See QRZ.com for QSL details.
(newsline2482)
------------
VP 8 DPD Falkland Islands
Gerard VK4BGL/G3WIP is active as VP8DPD from Falkland Islands,
IOTA SA-002, UNTIL July 12 on HF.
QSL via G3WIP Buro, LOTW, eQSL.
(dxnews)
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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.
----------------------------
2025
VK3 - Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club HamFest July 5 10am
ggrec.org.au/hamfest (wiacal)
VK5 - ADELAIDE HILLS AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY'S BIG ANNUAL BUY AND SELL
SATURDAY JULY 19 MARION RSL SELLERS AT 8:30 BUYERS AT 10:30
VK - Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association 50th anniversary
Glen Waverly July 26 president(at)alara.org (vk2ayl)
VK5 - AREG's Amateur Radio & Electronics Sale Sunday 26th October
at David Roche Park, Kilburn (VK5QI)
VK4 - GOLD COAST AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY 2025 HAMFEST NOV 9
(vk4dmh)
Country Paradise Parklands 231 Beaudesert Nerang Road.
VK3- Rosebud RadioFest, Eastbourne Primary School, Rosebud (wiacal)
November Sixteen.
VK8 - Darwin Amateur Radio Club DARC Xmas Party 6:30pm Dec 3
(wiacal)
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
---------------------------------------------------------------*
(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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