CCARC NEWS 14-35
THE PERIODIC NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTRAL COAST AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
ISSUE No 14-35 17th October 2014
In this Issue:
- Upcoming Meetings
- Jota
- JOTA Founder Les Mitchell, G3BHK, SK
- AMSAT-UK upload JOTA greetings message to satellite
- Radio Amateur is Among Nobel Prize in Chemistry Winners
- Communication outages filled by Indian hams
- History This Week
- Broke & fixed
- Reminders
1. Upcoming Meetings
There will be a show and tell on Saturday the 25th October starting at 1300 hrs.
There will be a number of events on Saturday the 1st November. There will be a Field Day planning meeting starting at 1100 hrs, then a BBQ lunch at 1200 hrs, then a Special General Meeting at 1300 hrs followed by the Monthly Business Meeting.
2. JOTA
JOTA this year is on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th October.
Once again this year the CCARC will be operating amateur radio station VK2EH at the local Jamboree On The Air event.
Andrew VK2PAM and Doug VK2MDC will be operating in the 2014 JOTA for 24hrs at the Scout camp at Kariong. All scouts will be camping in over night. Keep a listen out for VK2EH/p on all bands & modes.
In the area and interested in helping? All equipment is provided. Just bring your skill as an amateur radio operator.
Previous experience at JOTA is not essential as seasoned JOTA operators will be on hand to give you support.
3. JOTA Founder Les Mitchell, G3BHK, SK
With JOTA 2014 a little more than 1 day away comes word that its “founding father,” Les Mitchell, G3BHK, died on October 6. Mitchell started JOTA in 1958, after launching the idea a year earlier at the World Scout Jamboree. That was the first year the Jamboree had an Amateur Radio station on site, and it’s had one every year since.
http://www.arrl.org/news/jamboree-on-the-air-jota-founder-les-mitchell-g3bhk-sk
4. AMSAT-UK upload JOTA greetings message to satellite
AMSAT-UK have uploaded a special Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) Greetings Fitter Message to the amateur satellite AO-73 (FUNcube-1)
Scouts and others can receive the message by downloading the Dashboard App software and listening to the beacon on 145.935 MHz (+/- Doppler) SSB.
What is a Fitter Message ?
‘Fitter’ is derived from ‘Twitter’. So it’s like a tweet, but via FUNcube.
It is a short (200 characters maximum) text-like message which can be uploaded to the satellite (by authorised ground stations), and transmitted several times every five minutes or so. It will continue to be retransmitted until such time as it is replaced by a new Fitter Message.
Links for tracking, downloads and other information can be found in the FUNcube-1 / AO-73 panel on the right-hand side of the AMSAT-UK homepage at http://amsat-uk.org/
5. Radio Amateur is Among Nobel Prize in Chemistry Winners
A California radio amateur and ARRL member was among the three winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry. William Moerner, WN6I, of Los Altos, a chemistry professor at Stanford University, will share the prestigious award equally with two other researchers — Eric Betzig and Stefan Hell — for their work in high-resolution microscopy or nanoscopy. For many years scientists had believed that an optical microscope could never yield better than 0.2 micrometer resolution. The three scientists overcame that limitation through what the Nobel panel called “the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy.”
http://www.arrl.org/news/radio-amateur-is-among-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-winners
6.Communication outages filled by Indian hams
When the powerful Cyclone Hudhud swept into the Bay of Bengal coastal areas of India disaster authorities called on radio amateurs to help out.
National Coordinator for Disaster Communication, Jayu Bhide VU2JAU said, “In Odissa there are six hams working hard to maintain the communication covering the state.
“The effect of Hudhud is now reduced and few deaths have been reported.”
The media claimed that at least six deaths had occurred.
That was good news for Odissa because locals feared the bad weather could be a repeat of the very severe storm Phailin in 2013.
Jayu VU2JAU said that active from the Bhuvaneshwar area are Preeti VU3UFX, Rajesh VU3PLP and Samir VU2AOR.
In the Sambalpur area are Dilip VU2DPI who is control of a network of Shantanu VU2SIC and Pawan VU2PGU.
These have been on air using 7140 MHz and have kept their stations open 24 hours a day.
In the Andhra coastal area the total communication is handled by the National Institute of Amateur Radio, and is now under control.
Jayu VU2JAU from the IARU member Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI), is monitoring emergency traffic from his home QTH in Gwalior.
7. History This Week
A look back at events that made history this week – compiled by the Summerland Amateur Radio Club of Lismore, NSW
Monday, 13 October, 2014
1872 World’s largest gold nugget (215 kg) found in New South Wales.
1878 Edison Electric Light Company incorporated.
1884 Greenwich was adopted as the universal meridian.
1884 George Eastman patents paper-strip photographic film.
1906 Dr Lee DeForest demonstrates his radio tube.
1908 The first aeroplane flight in England was made by Samuel Cody, an American.
1921 Charles Strite patents pop-up toaster.
1922 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) established.
1953 Burglar alarm-ultrasonic or radio waves-patented-Samuel Bagno
1956 England’s first large scale nuclear power station opens.
BROKE & FIXED
No items for Broke & Fixed this week – all CCARC infrastructure is operational.
REMINDERS
This section lists important announcements and possibly items from previous CCARC NEWS editions that are still current and may need your input:
If you experience any problems with any of the repeaters not working, please report to Repeater Chairman, Don VK2ZCZ. Do not assume that he already knows about it. As soon as problems are brought to Don’s attention, they will be fixed ASAP.
Jaycar Tuggerah & Erina will give CCARC members a trade discount – approx 10% on purchases over $25. Make sure you ask for it. Thanks Rod VK2LAX and Col VK2ZCO.
Anyone reading this on the website who is not yet a member of the CCARC, please consider joining by emailing ccarc at ccarc dot org dot au for full details.
For submissions to this newsletter from CCARC club members please email the editor news-editor at ccarc dot org dot au
For what’s coming up in the next few months at the CCARC, please check the club calendar, accessible from the header on any page on the website.
Dave VK2DLS … News & Publicity Officer …