Evening news 20th of December 2009 Good evening listeners, thank you for tuning in. For emergencies the phone number here at the Dural transmitting site is 02 9651 1489. Our office number is 02 9651 1490. This goes to a message bank when the office is unattended. In an emergency, the Secretary of A.R.N.S.W can be contacted direct on mobile 0400 445 829. VK2WI TO BE IN THE SUMMER SESSION FOR THE NEXT THREE WEEKS.   Next Sunday the 27th and then on January the 3rd and 10th, VK2WI News will be in the summer format with morning only transmissions. The evening session resumes on Sunday the 17th of January. During this period the news will carry the usual morning items - VK1WIA News and VK2WI News. In addition some of the evening segments will be aired, like the full IPS and DX report. There were new segments recorded recently at the Kurrajong Radio Museum and these will be included as historic and technical content.   Many clubs do not have January meetings while others do. Would all clubs and groups please advise VK2WI NEWS of your respective arrangements so listeners and your members can be advised, as well as updating our Coming Events column. We are able to carry brief items from those whoes normal broadcast sources are taking a break. Send your items to news@arnsw.org.au to arrive by Friday evening.   Seasons Greetings from the VK2WI News team. VK2 WICEN News, 20th December 2009 Monday, the 28th of December marks the 20th anniversary of the Newcastle Earthquake. WICEN participated in the response, including the passing of Health and Welfare messages. The Local History section of the Newcastle City Council website has a significant amount of material on the event. Should anyone have photographs from this activation, please let WICEN know. WICEN is planning to provide a display and presentation at the "Centenary" Central Coast Field Day at Wyong on Sunday, February 28. You can contact WICEN by sending an email to operations@nsw.wicen.org.au or by calling the Duty Officer on 0408 397 217. The WICEN NSW website can be found at: www.nsw.wicen.org.au Facebook users can join the WICEN group by searching for "WICEN" in facebook. Submitted by Julian Sortland VK2YJS for WICEN NSW Inc. ARRL DX news for the 18th of December. SRI LANKA, 4S. Peter, DC0KK is QRV as 4S7KKG from Moragalla, IOTA AS-003, until January 7, 2010. Activity is on 20 meters using CW, RTTY, PSK and WSJT. QSL to home call. NIGERIA, 5N. Ivan, OM3CGN is now QRV as 5N7M. He is active on 40 to 10 meters. QSL to home call. MAURITANIA, 5T. Ito, JA1PBV is QRV as 5T5BV until the end of December. Activity is on the HF band using mainly CW with some digital. QSL to home call. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, A6. Don, N1DG is QRV from club station A61AD in Abu Dhabi for about one week while on work assignment. Activity is generally on the HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY in his free time. QSL via operator's instructions. QATAR, A7. In celebration of Qatar National Day, special event station A71QND is QRV until December 19. QSL via A71CO. CUBA, CO. Edor, CO7PH is QRV as CO7PH/p from Cayo Coco, IOTA NA-086, until December 31. QSL direct via W3HNK. ANTARCTICA. Felix is QRV as DP1POL from the German Neumayer Station III and has been active on 20 meters using SSB between 0000 and 0100z. QSL via DL1ZBO. NORTHERN IRELAND, GI. Special event station GB1HF is QRV until January 10, 2010 to celebrate the first powered flight in Ireland by pilot and inventor Harry Ferguson. Activity is on 80 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via bureau. ST. LUCIA, J6. John, VE8EV is QRV as J68/home call until December 20. Activity is on all bands using CW and SSB. This includes an entry in the RAC Winter contest. QSL to home call. HAWAII, KH6. Tom, N1CE is QRV as home call/KH6 from Oahu Island, IOTA OC-019, until January 6, 2010. QSL direct. WAKE ISLAND, KH9. Colin, WA2YUN is QRV as KH9/home call for about one year while on work assignment. He is active in his spare time. QSL via K2PF. GREENLAND, OX. Fred, KB4DMQ is QRV as OX3QM from Thule for one year. He is currently active on 40 meters. QSL to home call. NETHERLANDS, PA. Special event station PD09XMAS is QRV until January 3, 2010 to celebrate Christmas 2009. Activity has been on 20 meters using SSB. QSL via PD5X. ANTARCTICA. Mike, RW1AI is QRV from club station R1ANP from Progress station and is here for about a year while on work assignment. QSL this operation via RW1AI. POLAND, SP. Special event station HF150LZ is QRV until December 27 to commemorate the 150th birthday of Ludwik Zamenhof, the inventor of the artificial language Esperanto. QSL via SP4YPB. SUDAN, ST. Members of the Khartoum Sea Scouts Radio Club are QRV as ST26ASC until January 28, 2010 to celebrate the 26th Arab Scouts Conference under Peace and Unity. They have been active on 20 meters using SSB. QSL via ST2M. MOUNT ATHOS, SV/A. Monk Apollo, SV2ASP/A has been QRV on 20 meters around 1330z and 40 meters around 1800 to 1900z. QSL direct. CANADA, VE. Members of the Coquitlam and Surrey Amateur Radio clubs are QRV as VG7W until December 31. This includes an entry in the RAC Winter contest as a Multi/Multi entry. Activity is on 160 to 2 meters using CW, SSB and FM. QSL via operators' instructions. THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The OK DX RTTY Contest, NCCC Sprint CW Ladder, AGB-Party Contest, Russian 160-Meter Contest, RAC Winter Contest, Croatian CW Contest and ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint are all on tap for this weekend. The Run for the Bacon QRP CW Contest is scheduled for December 21. The SKCC CW Sprint is scheduled for December 23. The Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party runs from December 19 to January 3. Please see December QST, page 66, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites for details. Club news. Summerland Amateur Radio Club.   More cabling and wiring preparation has been done to the Evans repeater VK2REH. Thanks to Ross, Darren, Jeff and Rob for their work on the project. Advised by John Alcorn, VK2JWA, for Summerland Amateur Radio Club. The Mid North Coast Amateur Radio Group The Mid North Coast Amateur Radio Group invite all amateurs and persons interested in electronics and communications to the Radio Expo 2010 to be held in Coffs Harbour NSW on Sunday the 24th of January. The Radio Expo is the largest radio show between Newcastle and the Queensland boarder. Over 20 Exhibits are on display and the show is not to be missed.   Some of the highlights of the Radio Expo include:-  * AmSat Australia with demos of just how easy it is to use ham radio satellites * WIA National Display with Centenary Year Merchandise material and 2010 Call Books  * A range of quality SMD soldering stations and demos on their use for ham radio activities * New DRM Shortwave radios and portable shortwave radios with DSP fitted * Huge display of historic valve and transistor radios from years gone by * Plus trade displays offering special Expo Only prices on all the major brands If that is not enough why not sit down in cool surroundings and have a nice cool drink and sample the home made muffins and cakes along with fresh cooked toasted sandwiches and have a chat. Then wonder over and check out the home brew displays, Elecraft Kit Display and the disposals tables.   Also check out the Club displays from Summerland, Oxley and The Urunga Radio Group.   There are five (5) lucky door prizes up for grabs along with a guessing comp and trivia quiz. Something for the whole family. * Radio Expo 2010 Coffs Harbour * Doors open 8.30am * Mc Lean Street Coffs Harbour * Show closes at 1.30pm * Hot and cold food sales * Disable access * Clean amenities * Cool ceiling fans * Free Parking Entry only $5.00 per person, Children under 12 FREE   Hosted by the Mid North Coast Amateur Radio Group Inc   More info is available on the groups comprehensive web site at www.mncarg.org. Talk in frequency is 146.750 CTCSS 123 Hz.   That web site again www.mncarg.org   Info supplied by Gary Ryan VK2ZKT Group President. The Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Inc. The next meeting of the Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club. will be the January monthly general meeting at 2pm on Saturday, the 2nd of January 2010, in the SES Building in Central Road, Port Macquarie. This is an excellent opportunity for those who are holidaying in Port Macquarie and surrounds at this time to meet the local amateurs. Almost all the 2010 Call Books ordered have now been distributed. The club’s 2010 calendar sold like hotcakes at the December meeting last Saturday. Additional calendars will be available at the January monthly general meeting. The VK2RPM UHF repeater is providing excellent service on its original frequency of 438.525 MHz. Access to this repeater requires a 123 Hertz CTCSS subaudible tone. The UHF repeater is co-sited with the VK2RPM 146.7 MHz 2 metre repeater at Middle Brother Mountain. Visitors are reminded that the club also provides a second two metre repeater, VK2RCN at Telegraph Point on 147.0 MHz . This repeater has excellent coverage in the Port Macquarie and Wauchope areas and can usually be worked reliably using hand held transceivers in the two towns. Visitors are always made very welcome at the club’s monthly general meetings at 2pm on the first Saturday of each month, and at the Friday night gathering at 7pm on the evening of the fourth Friday of each month. The venue for all these meetings is the SES Building in Central Road, Port Macquarie. Please note that there will not be the usual Friday night gathering at the SES Building in December this year though as the 4th Friday in December is this Friday which is Christmas Day. Please contact the club via PO Box 712 Port Macquarie NSW 2444 if you are interested in attending Foundation Licence or Standard Licence training courses in Port Macquarie and Wauchope. For more information about the Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club, please visit the club’s website at www.orarc.org. The website contains a photo gallery and the club information including the November 2009 issue of the bimonthly newsletter, “Oxtales”. The January 2010 issue will be posted on the website soon. Submitted by Henry Lundell, VK2ZHE on behalf of the Oxley Region Amateur Radio Club Inc. The Hornsby and Districts Amateur Radio Club, Inc. The Hornsby Club nets will continue through the holiday season, with the exception of the 40 metre nets on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, although this does not prevent mobile or other stations form seeing if anyone is about at the time. Monday nets are on the Club's linked repeaters, 147.250 and 439.975 MHz from 8:00pm, and Wednesday nets are on 3608.5kHz, also from 8:00pm local time. The date for "Lunch with HADARC", otherwise known as the "40 Metre Netters' Lunch" is now Thursday, the 28th of January, to ensure a supply of pies. Details can be found in QUA. More information on the club can be found at: www.hadarc.org.au, or on facebook and twitter, by searching for "VK2MA". From Julian Sortland, VK2YJS, Publicity Officer, Hornsby and Districts Amateur Radio Club, Inc. Summary of coming events. January Oxley Region meeting on the 2nd. Summer VHF-UHF Field Day on the 16th and 17th. Hornsby 40 meter Netters lunch on the 19th. Coffs Harbour Radio Expo on the 24th. Trash & Treasure and Homebrew at Dural on the 31st. February Orange & District meeting on the 5th. Hornsby Mid-Monthly meeting on the 9th. Waverley training and exams on the 13th & 14th. Hornsby meeting on the 23rd. Central Coast Centenary dinner at Wyong on the 27th. Central Coast Centenary Field Day at Wyong on the 28th. March Summerland Car boot sale on the 28th. Submitting news items Please get your news submissions in by the Friday night preceding the broadcast. Please specify if you want the item to run for more than one week. It may not be necessary for items to run continuously as all events will be included in the summary of coming events. Submission of news items should be sent to news@arnsw.org.au Broadcast roster Next week the 27th of December, the announcer in the morning will be Tim VK2ZTM with John VK2JV as engineer. There will be no evening broadcast for the next three weeks. The evening broadcasts will return on January 17. That concludes our evening news. All the best from the broadcast team at VK2WI. Have a great week. Thank you for listening.