The Presidents Page February 2005
Not a great deal of info to pass on this month, first I would remind all that our AGM will be on April 15th when all committee positions fall vacant. John VK3XJW our present Magazine editor has asked for someone else to take over this job and Andrew VK3HFA is happy to take on the editorial side if someone else will do the photo copying and postal duties. Bruno VK3BFT assisted by Mike VK3KTO are taking on the shack management position as soon as the shelving and existing radio equipment has been properly installed.

At the next meeting Ian VK3BUF will give his talk on power converters, development and applications. At our March meeting Peter VK3KAI is booked to talk on the 1.2 Ghz band and the transverters his club has been building. As peter has a long distance to travel his talk will begin at 8pm sharp. This end of the spectrum is a mystery to many of us so please come on time and hear what 1296 Mhz is all about.

Pat and I are trying to redecorate our master bedroom at the moment while she is on long service leave so we may not be as active on the bands as usual. Decorating is certainly not one of my favorite pastimes it will therefore probably be safest to keep the gear turned off.

Keep up with latest event queue.
73s Peter VK3VB.
Link to top of Page

Three Phase Power Generation
If You Have Ever Wanted To Take A Peak Into The Secrets Of Three Phase Power Generation, This Friday Night Could Be Your Lucky Day!

Ian Jackson VK3BUF Will Be Giving A Talk And Demonstration On How Single Phase To Three Phase
Power Converters Work.

Cancel any other lesser plans like birthdays and weddings, and come along the GGREC Meeting night on the 18th of Feb. You will wonder how you managed to survive up till now without this crapulence of knowledge!
Link to top of Page

Can?T Find Out About That Elusive Rig?

Visit: www.rigpix.com. This website has thousands of photo?s and spec sheets on all sorts of Amateur Radio gear.
Link to top of Page

Strays
By Graeme VK3BXG
"Lookout Or She?S Gunna Have Us All".
Being aware of what is going on around you is the key to survival when working amongst cattle. All stockmen will tell you that.

It was a hot December morning at Bairnsdale and I was supervising the slaughter of a consignment of condemned cattle. We were just about finished when the new lad ? no more than sixteen years old was sent out to bring up the last cow.

He left the slaughter-room floor and went through a green sliding leading up to the sheep pens leaving the door open. Nobody took much notice, but as he went through the sheep pens into the cattle-race he left that gate open too. Again no one noticed.

The slaughtermen were quietly going about their work when suddenly someone yelled ?lookout?! We all swung around and there standing in the doorway to the sheep pens was one very stirred up Hereford cow with a magnificent set of horns pawing at the floor and making threatening gestures at us all with those horns.

In that moment of time, time seemed to stand still. In that split second I saw lads whom I thought would take-on-the-world go to water. I saw three try to go out the exit door all at once all wedging one another so that nobody was going anywhere. I saw one run into the coolroom slamming the door shut leaving his mates clamouring on the outside. I saw one run around in circles not knowing what to do whilst the rest leaped up into the mutton rails in order to gain some altitude out of harms way.

With all my escape routes blocked I noticed that the cow was not yet onto the slaughter-room floor. Keeping out of sight I ran in close to the wall to the green sliding door and slammed it shut, hitting her a couple of times with it and she backed off. She charged twice but it held; then all went quiet.

We ventured a peek through an opening in the door, but the cow gone straight out through the sheep pens, jumped out, down the driveway and onto the road and was heading for town. Now at an abattoirs anything can go wrong and it usually does but with the help of a few of the lads, a dog and a utility we had her back in the cattle yards in about fifteen minutes - unprecedented for a stirred up cow taking off down the road.

The head slaughterman told the new boy again to bring up the cow but failed to remind him to shut the gates behind him and again he forgot and again the cow charged through the sheep pens. However this time she did not bother to stop and taunt us but continued on through the pens.

In frustration the head slaughterman let forth a string of blasphemous obscenities telling the boy all about his breeding whilst I decided to head out to shut the main gate in case she jumped out onto the driveway again.

As I reached the open door, the obscenities were still exiting but sitting at the doorway in the hot early morning sun was the late Colin Cox. A man of big stature for his age, Colin had been a stock dealer for neigh on sixty years. He was a pious man, and sat wearing a high crowned hat and with his long sleeved shirt buttoned up to the neck, shook his head at me and kept saying "vile language, most vile language"; as if it was my fault. "Yes, it is, isn't it"? I said as I headed for the main gate.

And what has all this got to do with Amateur Radio? Absolutely nothing! However Colin Cox was an uncle of Gregor Cox VK3ZCG the founder of ZCG Antennas if that helps.
.Link to top of Page

Amateur Radio Satellites
A few months back Amsat launched a new amateur radio satellite designated AO-51, also known as Echo.
It is a very easy satellite to use, as the mode for communication is standard FM with a 67 HZ CTCSS tone used to switch on the satellite transmitter. AO-51 also has PSK-31 and AX-25 digital capabilities.

Analog Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (PL - 67Hz)
1268.700 MHz FM (PL - 67Hz)
Analog Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM
2401.200 MHz FM
PSK-31 Uplink 28.140 MHz USB
Digital Uplink: 145.860 MHz 9600 bps, AX.25
1268.700 MHz 9600 bps AX.25
Digital Downlink: 435.150 MHz 9600 bps, AX.25
2401.200 MHz 38,400 bps, AX.25 Broadcast Callsign: PACB-11 BBS Callsign: PACB-12 Launched June 29, 2004

The Satellites wizz around the Earth in a Polar orbit and the amateur radio operator has a window or around 15 minutes on each overhead pass. You will need to know when the Satellite is over head so that you can use it. A "FREE" computer-tracking program is available from www.satscape.co.uk this program can interface with your soundcard and alert you just before the satellite is in range.
(The Male voice sounds like Reg)

I use just a normal vertical antenna for the 2-meter Uplink and use about 25 watts. The receiving antenna should be a circular polarized type in order to help eliminate drop outs due to the satellite changing orientation to the Earth due to the slow spinning that helps keep the Satellite stable.

AO-51 only transmits about 1 watt but it is capable of up to seven watts output. There are quite a few amateur satellites and the only way to find out all about them is on the Amsat home page. http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php This site has a wealth of information and will make it a lot easier for you to try satellite communications.

I have designed and built may types of satellite antennas over the years and now has come up with very simple antennas to use and build. Maybe I can do a show and tell at the club if anybody is interested?

Currently there are 11 satellites that are working, some are fully functional and some have only the beacons working. There are new satellites being built such as Hamsat and SetiExpress. Information on these new projects can we found on the Amsat home page.

Get into using Satellites as it is very easy to do and is a great way to improve your knowledge in space based communications.

Peter VK3KCG
Link to top of Page

For Sale
70cm 11element Yagi
With a 11.5db gain over a dipole
These antenna's are ideal for mobile use as they come in two pieces and can be used as a 6 or 11 element antenna
Special price for club members. $80 each ($30 goes to the shack building fund)
Contact Reg VK3UK
Link to top of Page

WYP to help promote physics
In a coincidental celebration of Albert Einstein's "miraculous year" 1905, the United Nations has declared 2005 the World Year of Physics. Einstein 100 years ago published several scientific articles that profoundly influenced understanding of the universe.

They included the nature of light, existence of atoms, and the concepts of space, energy and matter. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is to organise activities celebrating the Year throughout the world


New Hamsat ready for launch
AMSAT India is hoping to orbit a new low earth orbiting satellite in February or March this year. Weighing 40Kg the micro-satellite will hitch a ride to orbit altitude with another satellite from the Sriharikota launch site in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

It will have two transponders, the main unit being Indian and a back-up system that is Dutch made. Operation will be Mode-B configuration with UHF uplink and VHF downlink. This mode is also known as U-V operation.

The linear transponders are designated to operate in CW/USB/FM modes. Uplink centre frequency will be 435.25MHz while downlink is 145.90MHz. The beacon frequencies are (Indian) 145.940MHz and (Dutch) 145.860MHz.
Info: amsatindia.org

More countries gain 40m band extension
Steady progress is being made in Europe particularly for their radio amateurs to gain early access to the 7100 - 7200 kHz band for the Amateur Service. The World Radio Conference 2003 decided that the segment 7000 - 7200 kHz will be globally harmonized for the Amateur Service from 2009.

However, on the condition that harmful interference is not caused to the broadcasting service, radio administrations may from 1 January 2005 allow their radio amateurs to have access on a secondary basis.

Britain, Croatia, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Norway, San Marino, Serbia-Montenegro, Switzerland and other nations are giving their radio amateurs the advantage of this early access provision.

From WIA web site
Link to top of Page

Australia sending radio receivers to Tsunami-hit areas
Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), the radio industry body, has taken the initiative to aid and coordinate the restoration of radio broadcasting to people in several Asian Tsunami disaster areas.

In a media release CRA said it is contributing up to 50,000 AM/FM portable radio sets to stricken areas with the five batch being shipped to Indonesia and the remainder over the following four to five weeks.

The radio industry has also offered a number of engineers to help set up temporary broadcasting facilities in disaster zones, and up to seven transmitters will be provided.

CRA Chief Executive Officer, Joan Warner said the initiative involved the donation of radio sets, fresh batteries and broadcasting equipment to survivors and broadcasters affected by the disaster.

Ms Warner said, "Indonesia's public broadcasters have reported more than 30 of their employees are missing or feared dead, and many broadcasting facilities were severely damaged during the disaster.

"Helping to restore radio communications to affected areas is a practical way the Australian industry can contribute to relief efforts and will provide a channel for authorities to communicate vital information about water, food and medical aid."

CRA has also gained the support of the Asia Pacific Broadcast Union (ABU), which represents 130 radio and television broadcasts in 54 countries and is also asking its members to support the project through donating radios and broadcast equipment for Indonesia's Aceh region, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

One of the broadcasters that has been affected is Radio Republik Indonesia. It has managed to set up a temporary studio and AM and FM transmission facilities in Banda Aceh, but requires emergency broadcast equipment and a minimum 5,000 portable radios for the homeless.

The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation has also requested FM radio receivers for survivors, while the Maldives needs battery-powered radio sets for eight temporary shelters each housing 500 to 3,000 people.

From WIA web site 12/1/2005
Link to top of Page

BPL has doubtful future: WIA
By Jim Linton 23/1/2005

The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) seriously doubts that broadband over power lines (BPL) technology can deliver on its promises while overcoming its radio frequency pollution issues. WIA Director Phil Wait said, "It sounds like a very good idea in principle, but we believe it will fall short on implementation."

Mr Wait, who coordinates the WIA's working group on BPL, was recently invited to appear on the weekly TekTime program on Melbourne's 3MDR FM community radio. The WIA is the national society representing the interest of radio amateurs.

He explained that BPL had its genesis or beginning in low frequency narrow band control signals sent down power lines to remotely control off-peak hot-water systems and telemetry for power distribution management.

"In the 1980s experiments were conducted in transmitting higher speed data over power lines and with the recent growth in the Internet people have been looking at developing another 'pipe' into the home.

"Someone found, only a few years ago, that if you pump enough broadband power down one end of the powerline out in the street something is going to come out at the powerpoint. And that's BPL as we know it," Mr Wait said.

The main attraction of the technology is its potential to overcome what is termed the 'last mile', the problem of getting cables into somebody's home.

Particularly in home units with the building jointly owned through a body corporate where cabling access permission is hard to get. Because of this cable-based telecommunications providers do not provide broadband to those buildings.

The WIA Director said the bandwidth that has been achieved through BPL tests in Australia so far is comparable with rates from ADSL cable.

He said "The very latest BPL chip claims to deliver much higher bandwidth. But with high bandwidth comes limited range and more susceptibility to interference. It's the same old story that you don't get something for nothing.

"There are two major problems with BPL technology. One is the interference it generates and is also susceptible to, and the other is the bandwidth."

Mr Wait said, "The power lines were never designed to transmit anything like broadband frequencies. They are full of discontinuities, they've got branches, leaky insulators and are not shielded an enormous distributive antenna that runs around a city."

He said that radiation from BPL has the potential to affect all HF radio users in Australia such as aviation, maritime, emergency services, long distance transport, broadcasting and amateur radio. The Australian Radiocommunications Act and the International Telecommunications Union radio regulations prohibit telecommunications services from causing harmful interference to radio services.

During a recent trial of BPL at Queenbeyan in New South Wales measurements were taken and confirmed similar results recorded overseas.

Mr Wait said there's a lot of research on trying to get the interference levels of BPL down, including the use of 'notching' to reduce certain frequencies.
However he said the notching is only achieving about a 20dB difference which is insufficient to protect HF radio users. Mr Wait said interference can also be a problem for the consumer using BPL technology. It is susceptible to disruption by radio signals interfering with it. The operation of BPL relies on it sharing frequencies already used by radio services.

He said, "A number of tests done internationally show that very, very low power levels in the order of a few watts can interfere with a BPL system.

"This has the potential to interrupt the BPL signal. It will either slow it down or make it go away."

He said there were limited BPL trials underway in various parts of the world and a driving element for them is often a political determination to spread the availability of broadband access.

"There is a lot of political pressure in the US to improve the access to broadband services in rural America. The US is lagging behind many other countries in broadband penetration.

"President (George W) Bush has come out and said that he supports virtually anything that is going to increase broadband," Mr Wait said.

The situation in America is also interesting because the Federal Communications Commission has established 'exclusion zones' prohibiting BPL near government radio installations, obviously in recognition of the potential for interference.

In Australia the WIA sees BPL as being attractive to utility companies who have been looking at ways to 'bundle' services, giving them the opportunity combine electric supply with a telecommunications service.

BPL also can enable power companies to remotely read electricity meters and achieve micro-level control over their networks in the future.

The WIA believes that there may be BPL in some areas of Australia. Mr Wait said, "We will certainty see things like 'homeplug' which is an in-house distribution system. We will certainty see home-networking within building using this sort of technology.

"But I think the reality of the situation when they start to deploy (BPL) networks they're going to have a lot of problems."

He said there are a number of trials, and a few commercial trials. Some have been shutdown for commercial or technical reasons, including interference. There is still a lot of interest in it.

"BPL will probably be trialed and may find application in some areas in a limited way," Mr Wait said. "One of the arguments being put for BPL is that is it useful in rural areas.

"Well it may be useful in rural towns but it is not much good out on remote properties because the cost I believe in getting BPL signal out there to start with is going to be too prohibitive."

He said the most encouraging (BPL enabling) technology that is coming out is wireless such as WiFi and WiMax, with its price dropping and capabilities rapidly improving.

Another option for power companies to enter the field of telecommunications is to string fibre-optic cable under the neutral power conductor, and then every now and then have a wireless node serving an area.

"BPL itself is quite a good idea. The WIA is not opposed to BPL per se, the Wireless Institute is opposed to the interference that BPL generates," Mr Wait concluded.
Link to top of Page

New standard for mains power plugs
Concerns about electricity safety has prompted a change to the Australian mains 3-pin power plug. Under the Australian Standard AS/NZS 3112:2000 the active and neutral pins on both 10amp and 15amp power plugs and plug-packs must be insulated.

This change, to be mandatory in April this year, has been introduced in response to a number of incidents including fatalities with un-insulated pins.

These incidents involved a metal object, such as a metal blind slat or other metallic material coming into contact with a plug pin that was partly removed from its socket.

Insulating of pins are not new and can be found in use on mains power plugs in Europe and some other countries.

The Australian 3-pin plug was introduced around 1930 at the time when electricity generally became available to homes. The Aussie plug is also known as the Australasian plug because it is used in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea too.

Apparently it was copied from the design of an American plug that no longer exists, although it still survives in Argentina where different wiring polarity is used and China which mounts it with the earth pin on top.

Each Australian State and Territory and New Zealand Electrical Regulator requires all electrical equipment to be supplied with insulated pin plugs, at all points of sale, by no later than the 3rd of April.

Amateur radio text messaging
Something new - the Sound Card Amateur Message Protocol (SCAMP) is promising to add an email-like text message capability to amateur radio. SCAMP uses narrow (2kHz) bandwidth HF or VHF voice channels to transmit text error free using ordinary sounds cards and modestly powered computers.

It is being tested in the United States. The first transcontinental exchange of Amateur Radio e-mail messages using SCAMP took place December 4 on 20m between California and Pennsylvania.

Cordless phones continue to intrude
Long-range cordless phones that operate on the amateur two metre band are still around and while there has been no recent reports in Australia, one has interfered with an amateur repeater in the United States. The Holmesburg (Pennsylvania) Amateur Radio Club complained to the Federal Communications Commission about telephone conversations appearing on 146.080 MHz input frequency of its repeater.

The offending cordless phone base units was tracked down and its owner surrendered it to an FCC officer and inquiries about its source are continuing.

From WIA web site

Link to top of Page