Events
event news items
The FISTS group has announced a ‘Get Your Feet Wet CW Event’ that is open to all radio amateurs who area new to CW and also experienced brass ponders.
The rules ban programmable keyers, code readers, or computer assistance in sending and receiving. Just human-powered CW from straight keys, cooties, iambics and human powered keyers.
The event begins 0000 UTC on Friday, 10 September and goes to 0000 UTC 13 September.
For more detailed rules and even down-loadable log sheets, go to: http://www.fists.org on the Web and check under the activities heading “Get Your Feet Wet Weekend”.
A half a million scouts and guides around the world are getting ready for next month’s annual the Jamboree On The Air.
For the Girls Guides Association of Australia it’s their century year so JOTI and the internet based JOTI 15-17 October will be extra special.
Planning has begun for this Biennial event to be held in late 2011 in Australia and hosted by the IARU member society the IARU, the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA).
Fond memories remain of the event held in Ballarat Victoria in 2003 which was a great success attended by 100 ARDF competitors from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan and the USA.
The event in 2011 will be held in regional Victoria (VK3) although a location and venue is yet to be announced. With the knowledge and experience gained from the 2003 championships held at Ballarat, and there been a strong following including ARDF competitors at an international level living in Victoria it is certain to be another success.
WIA ARDF Coordinator and an International Class Referee Jack Bramham VK3WWW has taken on responsibility for the organisation and management of the event, assisted by the resources of the Victorian ARDF Group www.ardf.org.au with the WIA www.wia.org.au providing administrative support.
The event held at Ballarat in 2003 had the assistance of a number of amateur radio groups not normally involved with ARDF with volunteers needed for a range of basic but essential tasks. Organisers have indicated the same approach will be taken when the ARDF Championships return to Australia in 2011.
The Wireless Institute of Australia has announced more details of the event headlined “Tune-in to the world - Amateur radio gets people talking” that will be held on Saturday 23 October.
The event aims to promote amateur radio to the public, attract new people into the hobby while also providing some fun for participating radio amateurs.
The event will have two categories:
* A Public Station is a station run by three or more radio amateurs operating on a single callsign from a public place, or clubrooms open to the public for the duration of the event.
* A Private Station is a station, which is an individual operating portable, mobile or from a private residence.
The aim is to inform, educate, and encourage visitors to each Public Relation to give amateur radio a try by taking part in an on air conversation.
The WIA has available display posters and calling CQ brochures, and requires all stations to pre-register to receive a participation certificate.
Full details, the rules, check-lists and other information are available on the WIA website www.wia.org.au and will also be in the September edition of Amateur Radio magazine.
The multi-operator DX0DX DXpedition to The Spratlys in the South China Sea is a much anticipated event for 2011 that has been 18 months in the planning.
Already reports about it appear on dozens of websites and blogs in the English, Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and a number of European languages.
The licence has been issued and government approvals received for the 19-day activation of this much sought after DXCC entity from the 6th to the 24th of January.
A multi-national team of 30 radio amateurs, including eight Australians, is set to operate from four dedicated operating camps for SSB, CW, RTTY and 2m & 6m operation.
Within weeks of the DXpedition being announced major corporate sponsors gave it their endorsement Icom (America) by supplying ten top-line Icom IC7600 transceivers plus one IC9100 transceiver, Amplifiers promised by Acom International, OM Power and THAMWAY Corp, Antennas - SteppIR, Spiderbeam and Mosley- Electronics, Bandpass Filters courtesy WX0B Array Solutions, Masts (Rohn Products); Head-sets from Heil Sound; Feeders The RF Connection, plus Ham Radio Outlet giving its support.
Adding credibility to the exercise has been Bob Schenck N2OO agreeing to be the DX0DX QSL manager. So far 15 individual radio amateurs have given their financial support.
Experienced DXpeditioners (Charles Spetnagel W6KK and David Collingham K3LP) on the team have taken on the tasks of shipping the needed equipment and designing the station layout.
The team's three medical doctors are ready to assist should anyone become unwell, and to also outreach to the island's residents as part of the DXpedition's humanitarian, health and welfare contribution.
Want to know more of to give the DXpedition your support, check out the website DX0DX.net
The biggest but most friendly amateur radio contest is the 24-hour Remembrance Day Contest conducted in the memory of those radio amateurs who lost their lives during World War II.
It begins at 6pm on Saturday 14 August. Preceding it is a traditional broadcast with a guest speaker and an honour call of amateurs who died during WWII.
This year that session will last half an hour and be aired immediately before the contest opens.
Amateur Radio Victoria will be transmitting the RD Contest through its broadcast facility.
More information and the contest purpose and rules can be read at: http://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/rdcontest/
The friendly rivalry in recent International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekends between Australia and Germany, has VK still ahead of DL in terms of the number of registrations for the ILW on 21 and 22 August.
Between these two countries they have one third of all 360 registrations so far.
The registration of another two lighthouses bumps Australia's total to 56, breaking its previous record of 51 set in 2008.
Trevor Close VK3ATX intends to operate from Gabo Island in far eastern Victoria Australia, while intrepid portable QRP operator Peter Parker VK3YE has chosen the inner-suburban Port Melbourne lighthouse which is at the end of a tram line.
Germany has 54 registrations with a few more expected over the next couple of weeks. North America has 54 too, with eight of those in Canada and the rest in the USA.
Cuba has returned after an absence of five years. The DX Group has announced that a team of five operators will be signing CO0FPM from the Punta de Maisi lighthouse in Guantanamo Province. That operation will be CW and SSB on bands 80m through to 10m bands.
Hopefully more Cuban lighthouses will join ILLW in coming years. Across the other side of the world is Market Reef, a little island between Finland and Sweden that is shared by both countries.
Five DXers signing OJ0SARTG will active for ILLW as well as operating during the Scandinavian Amateur Radio Teleprinter Group RTTY contest. We wish them well.
From Turkey there’s news that the Sile Lighthouse will be activated using a special event callsign TC150SLH to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
The 200th registration this year was from Ting BV1EJ for the Kaohsiung Lighthouse in south-western Taiwan, putting that country into the ILLW for the first time.
A total of 41 countries are registered so far.
Those not already been mentioned are England (33), Netherlands (25), Sweden (18), Scotland (14), South Africa (11), New Zealand (8), Finland, Poland and Wales (6), Chile, Denmark, Italy and Northern Ireland (4), Austria, Belgium, Mexico and Norway (3), Portugal, Puerto Rico, Turkey and Uruguay (2), with Alaska, Falkland Islands, France, Gibraltar, Honduras, Iceland, India, Ireland, Jersey and Malaysia, Namibia, Romania, Russia, Spain and Ukraine – all with one registration.
To see the full registration list or to register a lighthouse visit www.illw.net
All is set for the YJ0VK DXpedition to operate on the HF bands for six days from Friday 27 August from a rent house on Efate Island (IOTA OC-035).
The DX community will be pleased to learn that YJ0VK includes the WARC bands. Team Leader Chris Chapman VK3QB advises that two 100w transceivers will be feeding vertical and dipole antennas and an Inverted-L for 160m.
The other members of the team are Allan Meredith VK2CA who is the Manager & Webmaster, Luke Steele VK3HJ and Benton Vowles VK3CBV.
More information is available on the website yj0vk.vkham.com
This most popular amateur radio contest in Australia commemorates those radio amateurs who lost their lives during World War II. It's always held on the weekend closest the ceasation of hostilities in the South Pacific, and this year that is 14 & 15 August.
The 24 hour contest begins at 6pm (AEST) on the Saturday and is preceded with a special broadcast, the reading of an honour role and a period of radio silence.
A perpetual trophy is inscribed with the winning Australian state or territory, and certificates are issued to top scoring radio amateurs in various categories.
The aim of the contest is for amateurs in each VK call area to endeavour to contact amateurs in other VK call areas, ZL and P29 on all bands except WARC bands.
For more details and the rules: http://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/rdcontest/
There's no stopping this popular annual event held each August with demonstrated interest by radio amateurs around the world continuing to grow.
While there are regulars who have participated in the weekend for the past decade, a strong trend is the registration of virgin or never before activated lighthouses.
Only going to prove there are plenty of lighthouses for anyone wanting to give this fun event a try.
An example is Australia with 10 of its 42 registrations so far this year being virgin lighthouses in VK2, VK5, VK6 and VK7.
With only four weeks to go to the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend the 21st and 22nd of August, the progressive tally is 250 registered with many for the first time.
Germany with 43 registrations is just ahead of Australia on 42, followed by the USA 29 and England 25.
Organisers of the Event, the Ayr Radio Club of Scotland GM0AYR are expecting a late rush of on-line registrations to the website ILLW.NET from radio amateurs in the more than 30 participating countries.
