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VK7AX > BCAST 10.05.26 04:34l 526 Lines 25992 Bytes #10 (0) @ WW
BID : 11542_VK7AX
Subj: VK National News 10May26
Path: ED1ZAC<ED1ZAC<IZ3LSV<IW8PGT<LU4ECL<LU9DCE<PY2BIL<HB9ON<VK7AX
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VK National News 10May26
Weekly news from the WIA:
MP3 edition of news available at: http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2026-05-10.mp3
Text edition:
2026 MAY 10 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:-
HE'S BACK! - WIA Director Justin Giles-Clark VK7TW. -
Angelo VK2NWT with ARISS news. -
Andy VK5LA and the 1000th Boat Anchor net. -
AND you'll hear from WIA Foundation Licence Award winner Alan Cherry
VK2COD with news for the younger "wireless set".
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 MAY 10 2026
I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB
WIA
JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y
Hello from the newly minted WIA Director - Justin Giles-Clark VK7TW with an ACMA FYSO update.
Firstly, congratulations to the Albury-Wodonga Amateur Radio Club for hosting such a successful event. It was a fantastic weekend of discussion, ideas, technical presentations and community engagement. The professionalism, hospitality and effort put in by the organising team made the weekend a real credit to the amateur radio community.
Importantly, the weekend also included a productive workshop involving representatives from the WIA Technical Advisory Committee, Spectrum Strategy Committee, Regulatory Liaison Committee and Education Committees together face to face. That workshop confirmed support for the WIAs staged approach toward increased power access for Australian amateurs, alongside the development of an Electro Magnetic Energy, or EME, Competence Suite. The proposed framework would deliver a structured pathway built around education, training, risk management and certification to support safe operation at increased power levels while aligning Australia more closely with international best practice.
The WIA has now formally lodged its response to the ACMA consultation on the Five-Year Spectrum Outlook and 202627 Work Program and it is available in the WIA Website.
wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2026/20260507-1/index.php
The submission highlights a number of key concerns raised by the amateur community through a range of forums, including assessment resit delays, licensing documentation issues, ACMA Assist usability, callsign equity matters and the need for clearer communication and service delivery improvements.
As mentioned above the response includes a proposed three-year pathway toward increased power access through the EME Competence Suite, reforms to repeater and beacon regulation, improved protection for repeater infrastructure under RALI LM8, and spectrum access improvements including changes to the 6 metre band to support emerging narrowband digital television experimentation.
Most importantly, the submission reinforces that the WIA wants to work constructively and collaboratively with the ACMA to achieve better outcomes for the amateur service. The WIA believes that through consultation, evidence-based policy development and shared technical expertise, Australia can continue to build a strong, innovative and internationally respected amateur radio community for the future.
This has been Justin VK7TW for the WIA Board
From last weeks WIA NATIONAL NEWS a 2 letter correction, it was noted that Alan Shannon was recognised as WIA Contest Champion for 2025, Alans call sign should have been shown as VK4SN.
Alan along with another award recipient manage many a WIA contest, that of course is Dianne Main VK4DI who along with OM Bill, VK4ZD
jointly received this years Chris Jones award.
Now to Angelo VK2NWT with some ARISS news from our AGM weekend.
Last Saturday evening another successful ARISS contact was made between the Wodonga Scouts Group in NSW and Astronaut Chris Williams KJ5GEW onboard the International Space Station. This contact was held in conjunction with the WIA AGM event and the VK Summit held in Albury.
Contact with the ISS was made via ground station Martin Diggins VK6MJ located in Western Australia who facilitated the connection with the Wodonga Scouts Group via the NASA Telebridge. The contact was moderated by Stephen Vasallo VK4SJV located in Mackay, Queensland.
These contacts always attract a lot of public interest not only locally, but Australia wide, and in this case, it piqued the interest of ABC Tropical Radio up in Mackay who subsequently ran a segment on their breakfast program the following Monday morning. ARISS moderator Stephen Vasallo was interviewed about the contact and did a fantastic job in explaining the purpose of the ARISS program, what it provides for students and how Amateur Radio is used as the stepping stone towards it all. Well done, Stephen!
These contacts always require a group effort, and thanks goes out to Erwin Bejsta and the Albury Wodonga Amateur Radio Club, Matt Greisshaber from Scouts Victoria, Jack Brabham VK3WWW and the many others in the background who assisted in working together to make this happen. Great team effort guys!
I mentioned recently that there are only a few short years left for ARISS contacts to be scheduled before the ISS is decommissioned sometime in 2030. I would urge anybody who wishes to make an effort to make an ARISS contact happen for a local school or scout group in their area to get on your bike and navigate to the ARISS page on the WIA website for details on how to apply and get that ball rolling.
For WIA National News, this is Angelo VK2NWT
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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.
FCC Approves Limited Emergency Use of 70 cm Band by AST SpaceMobile Satellites Outside the US
Note here the wording "OUTSIDE of the USA".
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted limited authorization when NOT over the United States to use five 50-kHz channels in the 430440 MHz secondary amateur band for emergency Telemetry, Tracking, and Control operations for its planned satellite constellation.
The authorization applies only for communication with five specified earth stations, each located well outside of the United States and for which the foreign administration with jurisdiction also must separately authorize the communications.
More than 2,500 comments were filed during the proceeding including filings from ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio and other member societies of the International Amateur Radio Union, AMSAT, and individual radio amateurs worldwide.
After considering the filed comments, the FCC narrowed the requested authorization to emergency TT&C only and further provided that:
Use of these frequencies is permitted only in emergencies when no other spectrum is available
Each emergency event is limited to no more than 24 hours
Members of the Isle of Wight Radio Society took to the air as part of International Marconi Day, operating a special amateur radio station from The Needles.
The station was set up close to the historic site of the former Royal Needles Hotel, where radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi carried out some of his early wireless experiments and made transmissions that shaped the future of global communications. International Marconi Day is an annual event celebrated by radio enthusiasts worldwide. It commemorates Marconi's contribution to wireless communication and encourages radio clubs to operate from places connected with his life and experiments.
Another Ham Station, operated fromm Caister Lifeboat station in Norfolk.
Caister amateur radio hams contacted nearly 180 radio operators on April 25, marking International Marconi Day. They contacted 179 radio amateurs in 32 countries using Morse code, telephony, and digital transmissions.
The Norfolk Amateur Radio Club (NARC) organised this event to commemorate the village's original Marconi Wireless Station, which was established at Caister in 1900.
NARC's public relations officer, Steve Nichols, said they started with a contact with Ian VK3MO in Australia.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has informed Radio Amateurs of Canada that they have cleared the backlog of Amateur Radio certificates.
Due to problems with a supplier, ISED had been unable to print and send Amateur Radio Operator certificates since approximately the beginning of 2026.
Radio Amateurs and clubs that have been waiting for certificates should receive them in the next few weeks as Canada Post delivers them across the country.
This year, the 49th HAM RADIO, Europes largest amateur radio exhibition, will take place from June 2628, alongside the 75th Lake Constance Meeting of the DARC e.V., at the fairgrounds in Friedrichshafen.
Once again, a diverse range of activities awaits you, ranging from the exhibitors latest technological highlights to presentations by national and international associations, as well as a large amateur radio flea market, all complemented by an extensive and exciting supporting program.
This years theme, Discover the Sky: Amateur Radio meets Astronomy, also promises new topics, interesting personalities on site, and the occasional radio contact with space.
WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
A new approach to the search for extra-terrestrial civilizations
When searching for signs of extra-terrestrial intelligence, its helpful to know exactly what youre looking for and to do so in the most effective way possible. However, as Benjamin Zuckerman, an astrophysicist and professor emeritus in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), writes, this has generally not been done until now.
Zuckerman suggests examining an approach to the search using the electromagnetic spectrum, drawing on astronomical surveys conducted independently of the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI), and proposes an improved search methodology developed based on his research.
Since, by all accounts, there are no alien probes in our Solar System, his methodology leads to the conclusion that no alien civilization has passed within 100 light-years of Earth over the past few billion years. His work was published in The Astrophysical Journal.
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OPERATIONAL NEWS -
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NOW CONTEST WISE:- 2026
WIA contest page :- wia.org.au/members/contests/about/
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MAY:- HARRY ANGEL MEMORIAL SPRINT May 2nd.
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Don Edwards Memorial Slow Morse Contest 16 and 17 of May.
(VK2EMU)
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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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JULY 4-5 NZART MEMORIAL CONTEST
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JULY 11-12 IARU HF CHAMPIONSHIP
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JULY 18 VK TRANS TASMAN CONTEST
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JULY 25-26 RSGB IOTA CONTEST
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NOW LET'S OPEN THE DX WINDOW TO THE WORLD
A reminder that from today, May 10 until May 16 a small group in SW Ontario are putting to air special call sign VB 3 COPS during Police Services Week to honour and thank all Police Personnel for what they do for us daily.
From May 17 to May 23 these Canadians will be putting on special call sign VB 3 EMS during Emergency Medical Services Week to honour and thank all our First Responders for the job they do daily for which we seldom get to thank them.
Information will be available on QRZ.com under VB3COPS and VB3EMS.
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The Radio Amateur Association of Western Greece, SZ1A is active with special callsign SZ40A to celebrate 40 years of continuous presence, service, and contribution to amateur radio.
Look for activity across multiple HF bands and modes until the 31st of May.
QSL via ON3UN. Visit awards.sz1a.org to access awards that are available for working the station.
(RSGB)
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ZL 100 C is the callsign celebrating the centenary of NZART
the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters which was formed
on 16 August 1926.
QSL via the bureau and LoTW.
(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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Central African Republic.
Operating is TL 8 BNW until June on 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres using SSB
and digital with a dipole.
(sarl)
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NET ADVICE
Now as I leave you from Ingham this week, an announcement to let the
Amateur Radio Community know that on Tuesday, the 12th of May, It will be
week One Thousand of the 80M Boat anchor net on 3.620 Mhz.
Here is Andy VK5LA.
That's right, the Boat Anchor net has finally reached the magic 1000sand week milestone.
For those not aware of the term "Boat Anchor", it basically translates to mean an older Valve or Valve hybrid
transciever,that are heavy enough to be repurposed as a Boatancher on its demise!
These days, instead of tying these old rigs to the anchor chain, There is a passionate, dedicated
group of hams that love and appreciate these older transceivers, with their warm glow on a winters night,
a sometimes gently drifting VFO and with a control knob for every function...
Analogue Radio is alive and well in 2026 and the net welcomes all operators, regardless of the rig
they are using. All you need to participate is an interest in older gear, and a working rig.
It doesnt have to actually be a boat anchor!
The net was started over 19 years ago by Frank, VK5KV, then VK5MFW, and has been going
continuously ever since. For many years the net was run by Dean, VK5LB, until his sudden
and untimely passing in August 2025.
The net has continued with Andy, VK5LA and there is still a strong participation each week,
with most weeks seeing 20 plus check-ins to the net,
The older Rigs heard on the air are many and varied, anything from old Kenwoods and Yaesu, to Drakes and Swans,
and everything in between.
On our 1000th week, we would like as many Boat Anchor enthusiasts as possible to call in to the net
and say G'day. We will also remember Dean, VK5LB and his beautiful signal from Myponga South
of Adelaide, usually on his magnificent old Halicrafters Cyclone 400 or his Drake TR4.
So dont forget, This Tuesday, the 12th of May, 3point620 on 80 Metres. That's this Tuesday,
the 12th May on 3point620 on 80 Metres. I will take check-ins from just before 7:00pm
local South Australian time and I'd love you to fire up that old rig of yours and say g'day
Oh, and don't worry if it drifts, thats what the RIT is for!
This has been Andy, VK5LA on behalf of the 80 Metre Boatanchor net. 73 to all
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WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- ASTRONOMY (and Wireless Weather)
NASA has completed assembly of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a next-generation observatory designed to map the universe on an unprecedented scale. Engineers at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Centre are finishing prelaunch testing before the spacecraft is shipped to Kennedy Space Centre. Launch preparation is underway with a target as early as September, placing the mission ahead of its original schedule. Once deployed, Roman will operate from a distant orbit approximately one million miles from Earth.
The new telescope is designed to complement existing observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. While those missions focus on detailed observations of individual targets, Roman will conduct wide-field surveys, capturing images with similar resolution across areas roughly 100 times larger. This capability will allow astronomers to transition from isolated observations to large-scale mapping of cosmic structure. The result is expected to provide a broader context for many of the discoveries made by earlier space telescopes.
https://tinyurl.com/2xkc432k
(ANS)
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 Rover Day by TOG Hackerspace and South Dublin Radio Club
On Sunday, 31st May, TOG Hackerspace and South Dublin Radio Club will run a POTA Rover Day around Dublin.
Operating as EI0TOG, the group aims to activate five official POTA numbered parks in one UTC day for the clubs first POTA Rover Warthog award.
Anyone can find details on
tog.ie/radio
(irts)
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER
AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary(at)amsat-vk.org
The Sakamoto Laboratory in Tokyo, Japan, is asking for the continued support of the amateur radio community for its ARICA-2 CubeSat. The 2U CubeSat, launched from New Zealand in late April, has been transmitting CW signals to the laboratory and is relying on the amateur community as well to send reports. The CW data is sent at 20 wpm on 436.830 MHz.
At some point, GMSK transmission will also commence and will be announced by the satellite team on the social media platform "X" and through the AMSAT bulletin board. The satellite will use 4k8 GMSK in AX25 format.
ARICA-2 also has a mission unrelated to amateur radio: Its function is to collect images of the earth and aurora using machine-learning - and to demonstrate real-time alerts of gamma-ray bursts and other astronomical events using commercial satellite services.
sakamotolab.phys.aoyama.ac.jp/research/future_space/ARICA-2_en/cw_beacon
(arnewsline)
SpaceX Rocket Debris to Impact The Moon
Earths moon is to be on the receiving end of a spent rocket stage in early August the leftovers from a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch last year.
Fireflys Blue Ghost Mission 1, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, launched on Jan. 15, 2025 and performed the first fully successful commercial lunar landing on March 2 at the moons Mare Crisium. That lander went on to mark the longest commercial operation on the moon to date.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9s leftover upper stage, labelled 2025-010D, that lobbed the two private spacecraft into space, is now headed for a run in with the moon. Weve been tracking it since launch. The orbit has changed a bit over the last year or so, and is now headed for a lunar impact, said Bill Gray of Project Pluto.
Project Pluto provides software tools useful for astronomers to identify satellites in their data, and has published a page of data about the Falcon 9 upper stage.
He recalls that NASAs Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission back years ago did something very similar.
We now have another upper stage due to hit the moon, this one on Aug. 5 and (just barely) on the near side of the moon, Gray said.
Gray said he doesnt expect this particular object to cause any trouble.
It doesnt present any danger to anyone, said Gray, though it does highlight a certain carelessness about how leftover space hardware is disposed of.
The chance that rubble kicked up by the impact would hit a moon-circling spacecraft is quite small, said Gray, but he would factor that into any planned manoeuvres.
In a few years, things may be different, Gray said, given humans tromping about on the lunar surface.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - IOTA
iota-world.org/
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OC-049 TONGA
Takio, will be active as A 31 AA from Nuku'alofa on
Tongatapu Island (OC-049), Tonga 13-22 May.
He will operate FT8 on 80-6metres.
QSL via LoTW, or direct to JH3QFL.
(425 DXNEWS)
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Rikk, WE9G will be active as TF/WE9G from Borg, Iceland (EU-021) on
10-19 May. He will operate FT modes with some limited SSB / CW on
various bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW and QRZ, or via home call
WE9G (direct and bureau)
(425dxnews)
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OC REMINDERS
IOTA NUMBER OC-031
On air is C 21 TS from Nauru, IOTA Number OC-031, until sometime in July
FT8 maybe some SSB. See stations C 21 TS on QRZ.com for QSL information
and other operating details.
(sourced to newsline 2519)
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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)
ham-yota.com/category/yota-region-3/
facebook.com/groups/YOTAOC/
youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA
Students on a university campus in Karachi, Pakistan were looking for a lesson that would blend history with modern technology - and they found it - in amateur radio.
Between 45 and 50 students from various arts and science disciplines received a history lesson about amateur radio and hands-on instruction on how radio can help save lives.
At the students' invitation, Muhammad Salman AP2MS, a regional coordinator for the Pakistan Amateur Radio Society, visited the school with a number of other hams to give an introduction to amateur radio and engage the students in field demonstrations using repeaters and later, DMR, to talk to one another.
He then showed everyone how to operate, dividing students into groups with the help of fellow hams and SWL's.
Muhammad said "They were surprised to know that a 100-year-old technology still has impact."
The response was strong and positive - so much so that the hams will return to conduct a field day on VHF and HF in a remote area. The hams will demonstrate how copper wires can be transformed into antennas and how stations can be quickly established in emergencies.
WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RESCUE RADIO
When ex-tropical Cyclone Vaianu threatened the East Coast of New Zealand in April, a small group of Tauranga volunteers quietly packed their bags and headed into the storm.
Their mission wasnt rescue or relief work on the ground. It was something less visible, but just as critical keeping communities connected.
Members of Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (AREC) Tauranga answered a national call to support Tairwhiti Emergency Management in Gisborne from April 10-12, ensuring vital lines of communication stayed open as severe weather hit the region.
AREC group leader Joanne Watson said the deployment highlighted just how important back-up communications were when disaster strikes.
Mobile phones and satellite systems are great until theyre not, Watson said. Towers can go down, batteries only last so long, and networks get congested very quickly. Thats where we come in.
bit.ly/4d83k6Y
(twiar)
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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 ------------------
WW May 15 - 17 Dayton Hamvention, Xenia, Ohio (arrl)
Hamvention is not a trade show or a niche convention. It is a living, breathing community part festival,
part classroom, part marketplace, and part reunion.
More than 30,000 attendees and visitors from across North America and around the world gather each year
at the Greene County Fair and Expo Centre, transforming a quiet Ohio city into the international capital
of amateur radio for one unforgettable weekend.
VK2 - Picton HamFest May 31st. 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 on July 4. (vk3iu)
VK5 - Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society BIG ANNUAL BUY AND SELL
Marion RSL Norfolk Road 9.30am July 11.
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)
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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