QNEWS - OCTOBER 30 VK4 ON AIR ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? ---------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW http://www.wiaq.org.au/ftp/vk4_qnews_64.mp3 Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. ---------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR COMMENCING MAY 2022 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4MBH Keith Allison 03/06/2022 (vk4vp) VK4AVF Des Flor 13/06/2022 (vk4hit) VK4DV Merv Deakin 18/06 (vk4cnq - vk4zz) VK4SO Les Parker 21/06 (vk4atc) VK4AJL George Glendinning 22/06 (vk4zz) VK4NW Warwick Marshallsea 14/07 (vk4vp) VK4ET/5WC Tony Van Lysdonk 16/07 (vk4vp) VK4SF Jack Ford 18/07 vk4hit) VK4AVS Jim Storch 22/07 (vk4zz) VK4AGS Geoff Strom 23/08 (vk4zz) VK4HGT George Turner 02/09 (vk4gcr) VK4DK Stanley 'Dave' West 08/09 (vk4zz) VK4HAJ Merrell Coleman Sept or Oct? (vk4acc) VK4YT Nick Watling 22/10 (vk4zz) News of a Silent Key, Nick Watling VK4YT Radio Amateurs across the world are coming to grips with the news of the loss of one of the most knowledgeable tech ops in the field of heritage and military radio equipment. Nicholas James Gregory Watling VK4YT (and formerly VK2AWT, VK4AWT, VK1NW and VK4WT) went Silent Key in Cairns on Saturday 22nd October 2022 following recurring bouts of illness. RAAF Service Number O15612 as a pilot with final rank of Squadron Leader with DFC awarded for Gallantry in Vietnam on 31st October 1968, Service as a pilot with QATB Aerial Ambulance out of Cairns, Service as a pilot with Royal Flying Doctor Service Cairns Base on retirement as Chief Pilot, once retired 7000+ hours on watch with Cairns Coast Guard and all the time building a wealth of knowledge about all manner of transmitters and receivers, sharing that knowledge with hams and museums across the world and getting some really tricky bits of equipment on air. For many, he was the go-to person when they had an equipment conundrum. Nick was a member of the Tablelands Radio and Electronics Club, a former member of The Townsville Amateur Radio Club, a former President of the Cairns Amateur Radio Club and participated in events with the Tablelands Radio Group. When travelling Nick was a regular on the Travellers Net aeronautical mobile and did the occasional 2m contact from the radio shack with big wings. Many hams in the North were intrigued with the descriptions that Nick transmitted using equipment he had refurbished on-air during the yearly AM and CW on ANZAC Day events. His activities spurred many other hams to get heritage and military equipment on-air. We have lost a colossus in Amateur Radio. Vale Nick Watling VK4YT, Silent Key ---------------------------------------------------------------------* CLUBBING Ipswich & District Radio Club http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/IpswichAndDistrict/ Web � www.vk4wip.org.au Email - vk4wip@wia.org.au For a full list of repeaters - www.vk4wip.org.au This is Allan VK4HIT with news from Ipswich and District Radio Club. JOTA/JOTI is the annual event in which Scouts from all over the world connect with each other by means of amateur radio and the internet. This year the club loaned its IC-718 and FT-7700 for the week-end. James VK4FCAV reports various contacts were made via HF, VHF and Echolink. Plans are already underway for 2023. JOTA/JOTI also serves to promote amateur radio to new audiences with the hope than some join amateur ranks in the future. This year’s club Christmas BBQ lunch is booked for Saturday November 26 at Kholo Gardens in Ipswich. It’s byo food to cook on one of several BBQs in the park. No bookings are necessary, just turn up from 10am. A reminder the club holds two evening meetings at the clubhouse each month. A social get together on the second Monday and a business meeting on the fourth Monday with both starting at 19:30 hours. Weather permitting the next WICEN event is the Mount Glorious Trail Run on November 13 while The Pinnacles is on the rescheduled date of December 11. It will start one hour earlier to take advantage of available daylight. If you can support any of WICEN events by volunteering at checkpoints, please email ipswichwicen@gmail.com Reporting from Ipswich this is Allan, VK4HIT. ---------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Well it is rather obvious and good manners say that one shouldn’t state the obvious but the past week has been interesting with the weather systems bringing storms and lots of rain around the VK4 area. The south and central areas have had the threats of flooding abate only to see the Northern Rivers area of VK2 succumb to the heavy rainfalls. The hail that made thinking almost impossible as it clattered off the iron roof was a new experience in this location for us and the thunder and lightening have provided spectacle but not necessarily the thrills. Whilst this has been going on, the bands have been both good and bad and the electrical activity has raised the radio noise levels above the poorly suppressed hash from myriads of cheaper and non certified bits of domestic electronics. Still the nightly DX seems to continue in spite of the abundant storm activity. Such is the way with short wave activity and we should benefit with more regular DX on the higher end of HF as we traverse the current sun spot cycle 25. Amongst the update emails from the ACMA was one this week announcing a beta version of a new access site for clients to check details and perform routine operations such as pay licence fees and update contact details. Although I have registered to receive the update emails, to use ACMA Assist, it is necessary to have an account which can be set up online. If you already have a digital ID it is a simple process but using other documents such as a driver’s licence this process is simple to do and complete the process. As an aside, you have the option to download the Australia Post app and save your digital ID to you phone. This is a step in the right direction for any one with internet and who is an ACMA client. Hopefully this service will ultimately work as efficiently as those we read about serving overseas amateurs and maybe it will provide incentive to modernise the largely manual licencing process that we currently are forced to use. With the spate of successful hacks of major private sector IT services, it is heartening to know that government sector systems seem to have better on-line security and so that shouldn’t be a reason to delay improving client IT services. The time is moving on to when responses will need to be ready to go to the regulator concerning the Class Licencing proposals for the Amateur Service. Although the WIA committee is hard at work, it will benefit the whole cohort if as much thought goes into this as possible. Just as the changes almost 20 years ago have helped grow our numbers, the outcomes of this will define our pursuit for years to come. Please give it your best shot. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think....how about you? ---------------------------------------------------------------------* TO SUPPLY QNEWS ITEMS:- Send SCRIPT to qnews@wia.org.au send audio to http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/upload/ QNEWS Tips to get MORE out of your weekly newscast on VK4WIA If you would like to submit club news items for inclusion in QNEWS broadcasts, please email your item in text to:- qnews@wia.org.au THEN submit audio:- To submit audio email qnews@wia.org.au and ask for the current password then read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ Remember the sooner you submit audio material the more the likelihood of it being broadcast in the very next edition QNEWS. 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