Southgate Amateur Radio Club News

The Royal Australian Air Force – 100 Year Centenary. VK100AF and VI100AF
The RAAF was formed on 31st March 1921, to mark this Centenary the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) will be celebrating with two call signs:
VK100AF 1st March to 31st August 2021, which will be used by a team of Radio Amateurs across the bands around Australia.
VI100AF 1st March 2021 to 29th May 2021 will be used by Radio Amateurs that are either current or veteran military personnel and some activities may be from military bases

Radio hams help in Texas
ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) and American Red Cross volunteers joined forces in Texas under the ARRL/Red Cross memorandum of understanding in responding to the situation resulting from unseasonably frigid weather

Over 3 years Ofcom took action against 3 illegal broadcasters
Following a Freedom of Information request, Ofcom have revealed they only took enforcement action against three illegal broadcasters between 2018 and 2020

Amateur radio in Leigh Journal
Barry Day G3WIS got in touch with his local paper the Leigh Journal to share an atmospheric photograph from 1968 of an amateur radio demonstration he gave to the Lowton Scouts group

Fry’s Electronics shutting down all stores, ending 36 years as a big-box stop for tech enthusiasts
Fry’s Electronic’s, the big-box chain that was a longtime, one-stop shop for tech enthusiasts, is shutting down after 36 years in business. The company cited “changes in the retail industry and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Cherokee Challenge Flight – London to Sydney the slow way
Join us on this amazing adventure of a lifetime. Two chaps, a light aircraft and an HF radio piloting their way from Blighty to Oz, the slow way! Andy Hardy G1AJH (ex VK2CHA). Their flight supported Oxfam in the fight against poverty

Tony’s 10m Band Report
Not too bad a week with the contest at the weekend. I have been doing other stuff so Radio has taken a back seat. ZY7T, Tamandare lighthouse (Brazil) ARLHS BRA-102, DFB PE-02 was popular as was VK6LW (Australia), TT8SN (Chad) and PT7APM/P (Brazil)

23cm band in the spotlight with regulators
The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis G4SJH, reports on the meeting of the ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C) Feb 15-19 which discussed the amateur radio allocation at 1240-1300 MHz

ARISS contact is scheduled for students at Estes Park Elementary School, Estes Park, Colorado, USA
This will be a multipoint telebridge contact via amateur radio between students from the Estes Park Elementary School following Covid guidelines and Astronaut Shannon Walker, amateur radio call sign KD5DXB. Students will take turns asking their questions. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz

Capstan winch central to this all-band adjustable dipole antenna
The perfect antenna is the holy grail of amateur radio. But antenna tuning is a game of inches, and since the optimum length of an antenna depends on the frequency it’s used on, the mere act of spinning the dial means that every antenna design is a compromise. Or perhaps not, if you build this infinitely adjustable capstan-winch dipole antenna

Kangaroo Island QSO status
Grant, VK5GR, reports: For those looking for electronic confirmation from the VK5KI activation on Kangaroo Island (OC-139), the LOTW records were uploaded today (Feb. 15th) nd the blackout period for ClubLog matching should be ending also

Amateur Radio operators help fill earthquake donut holes
Ham radio networks gear up to provide real-time, on-the-ground information about earthquake shaking and damage when other communication pathways are knocked out of commission

IOTA News from the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club
Weekly IOTA News – compiled by Andreas, DK5ON of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club