World Amateur Radio Day – April 18th

From the IARU (International Amateur Radio Union), original post here.

World Amateur Radio Day

Every April 18, radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day.  It was on that day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris.

Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the short wave spectrum — far from being a wasteland — could support worldwide propagation.  In the rush to use these shorter wavelengths, Amateur Radio was “in grave danger of being pushed aside,” the IARU’s history has noted.  Amateur Radio pioneers met in Paris in 1925 and created the IARU to support Amateur Radio worldwide.

Just two years later, at the International Radiotelegraph Conference, Amateur Radio gained the allocations still recognized today — 160, 80, 40, 20, and 10 meters.  Since its founding, the IARU has worked tirelessly to defend and expand the frequency allocations for Amateur Radio.  Thanks to the support of enlightened administrations in every part of the globe, radio amateurs are now able to experiment and communicate in frequency bands strategically located throughout the radio spectrum.  From the 25 countries that formed the IARU in 1925, the IARU has grown to include 160 member-societies in three regions.  IARU Region 1 includes Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Asia.  Region 2 covers the Americas, and Region 3 is comprised of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific island nations, and most of Asia.  The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has recognized the IARU as representing the interests of Amateur Radio.

Today, Amateur Radio is more popular than ever, with over 3,000,000 licensed operators!

World Amateur Radio Day is the day when IARU Member-Societies can show our capabilities to the public and enjoy global friendship with other Amateurs worldwide.

We have provided a poster for World Amateur Radio Day.  Any club may download it and use it to promote WARD in their area.  The poster comes in two sizes: 61cm x 91cm and a small (A4) flyer.

Groups should promote their WARD activity on social media by using the hash tag #WARD2016 on Twitter and Facebook.  IARU will list all WARD activities on this page.  To have your WARD activity listed, send an email to ARRL Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X.

April 18 is the day for all of Amateur Radio to celebrate and tell the world about the science we can help teach, the community service we can provide and the fun we have.

We hope you will join in the fun and education that is World Amateur Radio Day!

Activation Information:

World Radio Network: Special WARD IRLP/ECHOLINK Net
16:00 – 17:30 (12 NOON EST, 9AM PST) UTC via the World Conference server (IRLP 9251) W2JLD, Net Control.  Stations around the world are encouraged to check in.

World Friendship Net: Special WARD IRLP/ECHOLINK Net
00:00 – 01:30 (8PM EST, 5 PM PST) UTC via the World Conference Server (IRLP 9251) W2JLD and KM4OOC, WH6DWF, Net Control.  Stations around the world are encouraged to check in.

Australia:
15-18 April: VK2EWC, by the Albury Wodonga ARC.  80/40/20/15/10/2 meters from the Albury City Library/Museum.  Special QSL on request.  Email: vk2bfc@wia.org.au

Puerto Rico:
Puerto Rico Field Day Group will be on the air as KP4FD on World Amateur Radio Day, April 18, 2016 on HF.

WIA and ACMA to canvas possible changes to amateur radio in Australia

From the WIA, original post here.

hanges

Date : 07 / 04 / 2016 
Author : Phil Wait – VK2ASD

The WIA and the ACMA are meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday 12th April to discuss future opportunities for Amateur Radio arising from the recent Department of Communications’ Spectrum Review, and to also progress previous issues that have effectively been on-hold during the Spectrum Review process. 

The meeting will explore a variety of issues, including: 

  • options for greater self-determination for the amateur service;
  • changes to the Business Rules between the ACMA and the WIA for the provision of services on behalf of the Commonwealth;
  • increased power for all licence grades;
  • additional frequency bands;
  • and the WIA’s suggestions for updating the licence conditions for all licence grades in order to ensure amateur radio remains relevant in the digitally connected age. 

More detailed information will be made available following the meeting in Melbourne. 

ORARC Car Stickers

RW Club Sticker

Stuart VK2FSTU writes:

I have a car sticker in red on white background – will have Black and Gold soon, but these are available to club members for $4.00 each and other clubs and public for $5.00 each.  I will have them at the next club meeting and at the Field Day in June.  Please try to have the correct change available.  There is a profit to be made by sale of these for our club, while never large, it’s an addition and not subtraction of funds.

 

April Meeting Notes

Milgauss Green

Hello All,

Following on from the (not long) concluded April meeting, here are some points of interest:

  • Daylight Saving Time ends tomorrow (Sunday) in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT at 2am, so before you go to bed don’t forget to switch your clocks BACK one hour before you switch off the lights. Though these days, most Apple and Android phones do the work for you automatically (as long as you use the automatically set network rather than a manual setting).
  • The Sunday Morning Net will stay on the VK2RCN Telegraph Point repeater for the time being.  There is some contention as to the best repeater for the Sunday Morning Net, with some members only able to access one repeater or the other.  The continued home of the Sunday Net will be discussed (again) at the May meeting.
  • Also in regards to the Sunday Morning Net, there was a motion put to the meeting to leave the Sunday Net at 9am, as opposed to returning it to its regular non-daylight savings time of 8:30am.  This motion was past almost unanimously.  This still ties in nicely with the VK2WI broadcast that begins at 10am.

So – Wind your clocks BACK tonight and see you on tomorrow’s net on VK2RCN (Telegraph Point 147MHz) at 9am!

Comedian, Actor, TV Writer and Personality Garry Shandling, ex-KD6OY, SK

Paul VK2ICQ writes:

I was saddened to hear that ground-breaking comedian and actor Garry Shandling died aged 66 on March 24th.  I wrote a little goodbye on Facebook to the man who changed Sitcoms forever – but what I didn’t know at the time was that Garry was a Ham.  The ARRL published the following news article on the 25th:

Garry ShandlingComedian, actor, and TV personality Garry Shandling, ex-KD6OY, died March 24 after suffering an apparent heart attack in Los Angeles.  He was 66.  Shandling became a ham as a teenager in the 1960s, long before he entered show business.

“When I was 13 I had a ham radio set (true!), so I could sit in my room and talk to people the world-over.  Geeky?  Or just ahead of my time!!?”  Shandling had tweeted in May 2011.

Shandling grew up in Arizona and majored in electrical engineering at the University of Arizona.  But went on to earn a degree in marketing and complete some post-graduate work in creative writing.  He worked in marketing for a time, but a script he wrote for “Sanford and Son” turned into his first big break into entertainment.

His most-recent Amateur Radio license — issued to him under a pseudonym, Dave Waddell — expired in August 2009.  The call sign was KQ6KA.  Shandling obtained the call sign under an assumed name, so that he could get on the air without anyone recognizing him as a celebrity.  Shandling had held an Advanced class license.  Prior to that, he held KD6OY under his real name, as well as WA7BKG, which may have been his first call sign while he was living in Arizona.

He had an alter-ego on television as well.  On “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” he played a comedian much like himself.  “The Larry Sanders Show” followed, and in that popular HBO series, he played a late-night talk show host, sometimes parodying or spoofing the real late-night talk shows and their hosts.  Shandling was a frequent fill in for Johnny Carson, and at one time he was considered as Carson’s possible successor on “The Tonight Show”.

Shandling won five Emmy Awards — three for “The Larry Sanders Show” — as well as other awards for his writing and comedy performances.  As a writer, he may be best known for his work on episodes of “Sanford and Son,” “Welcome Back, Kotter,” and “The Harvey Korman Show.”  He won two Peabody Awards. He also appeared in a variety of movies, including “Iron Man 2.”

Watch Garry Shandling and Jerry Seinfeld together in “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” here.  No flipping.  😀