Weekly news from the WIA:
MP3 edition of news available at:
http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2024-03-03.mp3 Text edition:

2024 MARCH 3 VK NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
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THE BEST NEWS YOU'LL GET ALL WEEK

THIS LINK IS A VIDEO VERSION OF NEWS COMPILED BY VK5BD BEVAN
tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos

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NATIONAL NEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING MARCH 3 2024
IN OUR 29th YEAR OF NON STOP NEWS

THIS WEEK:-

David VK4DN from the Bundy Amateur Radio club with further on
the WIA Convention Expo and HamFest. -

WIA President Scott Williams VK3KJ talks 'club insurance'.
PLUS MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE
WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA.

I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB
CQ CQ - calling All VK Stations!

Gidday! I'm David, VK4DN from the Bundy Amateur Radio club!

Just a reminder that the WIA Convention Expo and HamFest happening
here in Bundaberg is now less than 10 weeks away!!

If you are interested in setting up a display with items for sale or
to promote your business or special interest, now is a good time to
reserve your spot!

The weekend of Saturday May 4th and Sunday May 5th promises to be an
amazing weekend attracting amateurs from all over Australia!

Make contact with the Secretary of the Bundy Amateur Radio Club to
book your display.

secretary@barc.asn.au

73 from David VK4DN - Bundaberg Amateur Radio club.

WIA

JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y

This is WIA President, Scott Williams (VK3KJ) and welcome to all l
Listeners wherever you might be to the National News Broadcast this
week.

As many of our WIA Affiliated Clubs are aware, on 1 April each year
sees the commencement of the new insurance period for those Affiliated
Clubs who have progressed Liability Insurance and other insurances
through the WIA preferred insurance partner in GippsInsure. Around 130
Affiliated Clubs hold some type of insurance coverage through
GippsInsure ranging from Public & Products Liability, Association
Liability, Professional Indemnity, Management Liability, Volunteer
Workers Insurance, General Property Insurance to name a few.

GippsInsure will be in contact with all Affiliated Clubs who hold
insurance shortly to commence to renewal process for this year.

The WIA is aware that not all insurance requirements and activities of
clubs can be satisfied by the general Public & Product Liability
Insurance that GippsInsure has put in place with the current
Underwriter. GippsInsure continues to go to market approaching
different Underwriters, continually looking for enhanced policy
conditions and additional insurance coverage. The difficulty is that
Underwriters have an appetite for a certain amount of risk only and of
course this is balanced against the premiums that are charged. Despite
GippsInsure uses it best endeavours to negotiate the best outcomes for
all Affiliated Clubs, the reality is there are some activities that
the Underwriters will just not insure under a general policy.

The arrangement with GippsInsure continues to be price attractive and
enables clubs to consolidate their insurance needs, making
administration of insurance simpler.

All Clubs are encouraged to carefully consider your insurance
requirements and ensure adequate insurance is in place commensurate
with your activities.

Thats it for me this week and this has been Scott Williams,
WIA President on behalf of the WIA Board Best Wishes.

ACMA
ALARA

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DISCUSSION POINT
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS With thanks to IARU, RSGB, RAC,
ARRL, NZART, eHam, AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, ICQPodcast,
Radioworld.com Hackaday and the World Wide sources of the WIA.

HOUSTON WE HAVE 4 MARTIANS!

NASA has opened the call for a simulated yearlong Mars mission.

If youre looking for an extended vacation next year, NASA is seeking
applicants to participate in its Mars surface mission to help inform
the agencys plans for human exploration of the Red Planet.

Called CHAPEA, acronym for Crew Health and Performance Exploration
Analog) is scheduled to kick off in spring 2025. The CHAPEA mission
involves a four-person volunteer crew living and working inside a
1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat based at NASAs Johnson Space
Centre in Houston. The habitat, called the Mars Dune Alpha, simulates
the challenges of a mission on Mars, including resource limitations,
equipment failures, communication delays, and other environmental
stressors.

Crew tasks include simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat
maintenance, exercise, and crop growth.

tinyurl.com/ANS-056-Mars-Mission
UK - POWER UP.

Ofcom the UK regulator, has released its final decisions following its
consultation on the amateur radio licensing framework last year.

The changes to licence conditions include the optional use of Regional
Secondary Locators, increased transmitter power levels and provide
greater opportunity to bring newcomers into amateur radio. There are
approximately 100,000 amateur radio licences issued by Ofcom in the
UK. Ofcom says that it will shortly be contacting all licensees to
provide each with their new licence document. Ofcom is aiming to
reissue all UK amateur radio licences by the autumn of 2024.

Given that increased transmitter power limits are now available, all
amateurs are reminded that they are required to carry out EMF
assessments. Advice and an online EMF calculator can be found on
rsgb.org/emf
NORTH TO ALASKA

HAARP Transmit Experiments on now till today, March 3.

The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) has been
conducting a research campaign on various frequencies, but all HAARP
transmissions are between 2.8 MHz and 10 MHz.

These experiments will help lead to a greater understanding of the
production and enhancement of ELF/VLF waves, as well as lay groundwork
for future studies of satellite interactions with space plasma.

For more information on ELF/VLF wave generation with HAARP, see the
online HAARP FAQ.

haarp.gi.alaska.edu/faq
FROM THE LAND OF THE FREE - TO THE LAND OF THE FEES

The South African Radio League has engaged with their regulator,
ICASA, about the new ICASA licence fees for the year 1 April 2024
to 30 March 2025.

As soon as the SARL gets a copy of the new licence fees, it will be
communicated to their members.

ICASA has indicated that the electronic system must be updated with
the new fees, then the process of generating the invoices will begin.
Licence holders will be notified by e-mail when their invoices are
ready to be downloaded from the ICASA Customer Portal.
NEW ZEALAND BLAST OFF

Astroscales ADRAS-J spacecraft, a demonstration satellite that could
inform future space junk clean-up efforts, is now in orbit after a
successful launch from New Zealand Sunday last. The satellite was sent
to space atop an Electron rocket from the Rocket Lab. spaceport in the
Hawke's Bay Region of the North Island's east coast.

Its mission, which was selected by Japans space agency (JAXA) for
Phase I of the Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration program,
will see ADRAS-J rendezvous with an old Japanese rocket upper stage
thats been in orbit since 2009.

Over the next few months, itll make its way to the target and
eventually try to get close enough to take images and assess its
condition to determine if it can be removed. ADRAS-J is officially on
duty and ready to rendezvous with some space debris! the company
tweeted. Let the new era of space sustainability begin!

The accumulation of waste in Earths orbit from decades of spaceflight
is an issue of growing concern.

Across Europe, there are about 413 million vehicles, about 28% of the
worlds total, according to automotive research agency Hedges &
Company and radio is an important part of the European in-car audio
ecosystem.

Given the importance, its no surprise the European Broadcasting Union
is thinking strategically about how the driverradio interface works.
Writing on the EBU Blog, Tomas Granryd, head of digital partnerships
at Sveriges Radio, outlined what is being called The Playbook.
Despite its popularity with the public, it can be increasingly
difficult to find the radio in modern cars. Too often the radio is
hidden behind a confusing maze of buttons and menus. Or radio is
listed along with connectivity standards such as USB and Bluetooth,
Granryd writes.

He noted that the issue isnt simply the in-dash interface, but also
the proliferation of digital apps broadcasters have created for
nonlinear listening, especially if the driver is interacting with the
cars entertainment system through voice controls.

Granryd and the EBU are calling for the radio industry as whole to act
together to ensure radio including broadcasters apps are easily
found by drivers. The Playbook effort is beginning with EBU members
assuming a common, clear map of who are the key players (including
broadcasters) and what is required to ensure that audiences can
continue to easily find and listen to the content they love.
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