From the WIA, original post here.

Date : 06 / 04 / 2017
Author : Fred Swainston – VK3DAC

Students of the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences in Germany will launch the COMPASS 2 cube-sat in May and are at looking for a possible ground station partner in Australia.  International Space Station Crew Fund Scholarship winner for 2017, Ian Benecken has asked the Wireless Institute of Australia for help to track it.

COMPASS 2 is to be launched from a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by the Indian Space Research Organisation carrying other commercial satellites.  From a polar 600 kilometre high orbit the cube-sat will beacon once a minute the callsign of ON04DL (ON zero four DL) on 437.300 MHz.  The unique location of Australia makes it ideal for partner ground stations, and already it has piqued an interest from the ARISS telebridge centres on VK4, VK5 and VK6.

Soon to be published is software that anyone can use to decode the beacon signal and the launch is likely to be on the 1st or 2nd week of May.

If you wish to contact Ian Benecken his email address is ian.benecken @alumni.fh-aachen.de

Fred Swainston VK3DAC/VK4FE, WIA STEM Coordinator

From the WIA, original post here.

Date : 06 / 04 / 2017
Author : Fred Swainston – VK3DAC

Students at the University of Melbourne are well advanced on a program to build a nano-satellite, with the Wireless Institute of Australia assisting in the IARU frequency and other coordination processes.  Through the Melbourne Space Program (MSP) affiliated with the University of Melbourne, all is moving ahead for a hand-over of the nano-satellite in November and a launch as early as January 2018.  Funding comes from the University of Melbourne, while the Melbourne Space Program is an organisation that holds the licensing, and other matters related to the launch.

It has involved a group of ambitious students, seeking to understand and help redefine the Australian space sector through innovation in education, economics and policy, as well as engineering.

Australia is the only Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nation without a space agency.  In 1966, University of Melbourne students built Australia’s first satellite that was launched in 1970 as Australis Oscar 5, to be tracked by 200 radio amateurs in 27 different countries.

The Melbourne Space Program has about 70 active members who are students ranging from 1st year university to masters level and post-graduate.

The key objectives include being the first students to launch an Australian nano-satellite, create education, research in space, collaborate with academia and industry, and promote gender parity in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and Arts disciplines.

Work was continuing launch Australia’s first nano-satellite and more news is expected in coming months.

Fred Swainston VK3DAC/VK4FE, WIA STEM Coordinator

From the WIA, original post here.

Date : 01 / 04 / 2017
Author : Jim Linton – VK3PC

The Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) recently (1/3/2017) presented an overview and results of its ongoing work to investigate interference and ensure that equipment used in Australia complies with the law.

Attended by industry representatives and the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA), the tune-up covered the ACMA Standards and operational staff activities for the 2016 calendar year.

The ACMA staff had found that most attention was on the telecommunication sector, which represented the highest economic and social impact of interference in Australia.

A possible review of the compliance principles used may trigger public consultation on whether the priorities in that area could be made more effective.  The ACMA issued 309 warnings, held 130 education and awareness sessions, with the worst cases resulting in a few prosecutions and infringements.

At the open forum session following the presentation, many questions were asked and discussed, ranging from the use of 5G technology to interference mitigation.  The WIA raised the issue of Wireless Power Transfer (WPT), which is on the agenda of the World Radiocommunications Conference in 2019, and bulk battery storage power systems.  The ACMA indicated that it was alert to emerging trends involving these technologies and indicated awareness of some concern that, without adequate standards, they may result in spectrum pollution.

From the WIA, original post here.

Date : 31 / 03 / 2017 
Author : John Marshall WIA 2017 Ballot Returning Officer

Dear Members of the WIA,

I have had the pleasure of working with many members of the WIA over the last 6 months or so, and am impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of those with whom I came into contact.

The sheer number of members who took the trouble to record and send back their ballots was also impressive, with around only 1% being deemed invalid for one reason or the other.

The hard work of those volunteers involved in the counting also needs to be commended.  When it became obvious that around 1500 ballot papers had been returned, necessitating the recording of over 10,000 votes, the call went out at short notice for volunteer counters.  The response was overwhelming.

The count took place over two nights, between 6.30 and 11 on the evening of 28th March and from 5.50 p.m. to 1 a.m. overnight on the 29th March.

I must also commend the staff at the head office, who worked so hard to bring the ballot together in a timely fashion.  A massive task, often requiring quite lengthy attention out of hours and over the weekend.  Whatever I asked for they just seemed to be able to produce without any fuss.

The members of the WIA have every right to feel proud of, and have confidence in their office bearers.

The successful candidates for election to the Board, and the number of votes polled, are as follows: 

• Justin Giles-Clarke (1182)
• Gregory Kelly (1114)
• David Ford (1072)
• Marcus Berglund (955)
• Peter Clee (891)
• Philip Wait (690)
• Brian Clarke (687)

I wish them every success in the work they have ahead of them. Under the constitution, up to half of the board will be required to resign and face re-election next year. After that election, hopefully to usual 2 year tenure will return. 

The unsuccessful candidates were:

• Ewan McLeod (645)
• James Linton (627)
• Roger Harrison (611)
• Garry Page (607)
• John Fisher (563)
• Fred Swainston (489)

I thank the unsuccessful candidates for nominating, and remind them that the next election is only 12 months away.

John Marshall.
2017 Ballot Returning Officer,
Wireless Institute of Australia

From ARVic, original post here.

The demise of the International Crystal Manufacturing Company of Oklahoma USA is being seen as a change in technology with some lamenting its departure.  Founded in 1951 it became a trusted providers of quartz crystals, oscillators, filters are the like, both to industry and radio amateurs.

While the loss is another sign of the times particularly in industry-sensitive US, those who were its clients and still needed crystals had other options.  Crystal based frequency and accuracy were required in many products creating enormous demand throughout the world, a point grabbed by Singapore when it enticed the Australian Hy-Q International to set up a manufacturing plant.  Hy-Q then entered the European and North American markets.

The International Crystal Manufacturing story is really one of a dwindling market, costly production, and the use of frequency synthesizer technology.  Gone will be the customer service, one-off cut to order crystals and knowledge of equipment 30 or more years old.

There are those who say not all cannot be done with a frequency synthesizer, and that a few other crystals suppliers are still available.