Message:18850 In: BCAST.WW
From: VK7AXDate: Sun, 15 Mar 26 01:31:00 Z
Newsgroups: BCAST.WW
Subject: VK National News 15Mar26
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VK National News 15Mar26
Weekly news from the WIA:
MP3 edition of news available at: http://www.wia-files.com/podcast/wianews-2026-03-15.mp3
Text edition:
2026 MARCH 15 WIA NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST ON VK1WIA
------------------------------------------------------------*
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
------------------------------------------------------------*
IN WIA NATIONAL NEWS THIS WEEK:-
116 and still going strong. -
Word from Justin VK7TW as heard in last weeks VK7WI news.-
And news of this weeks NAPLAN disaster.
BUT WAIT - THERE'S MUCH MUCH MORE IN THIS EDITION OF NEWS FROM THE
WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA AND IT'S FOR WEEK COMMENCING
SUNDAY MARCH 15 2026
I'M EDITOR GRAHAM VK4BB
WIA
JOIN THE WIA
tinyurl.com/yyj87b9y
ID REES VK7ZIR FROM VK7WI NEWS JOINS US:-
As heard on the WIA NATIONAL NEWS LAST WEEK - the WIA Board Ballot results
are out and the following message is from Justin VK7TW.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the recent WIA Board elections,
and especially to those who placed their trust in me with their vote. I am
genuinely humbled by the support and grateful for the opportunity to once
again represent Australian amateurs at the national level.
As I outlined during the election period, my primary focus will be two
fold: strengthening the relationship between the Wireless Institute of
Australia and the Australian Communications and Media Authority, and
developing a coordinated national education and training strategy for
amateur radio across Australia.
These areas are critical to the long-term health of the hobby and to
ensuring we continue to grow, modernise, and support the next generation of operators.
Thank you again to everyone who voted. I look forward to returning to the
WIA Board following the WIA Annual General Meeting in Albury in May 2026.
(VK7TW)
Thanks to Id Rees for bringing the rest of Australia up to date there!
Also thanks again to Amateur Radio Newsline for giving us that report last week on the WIA 's new band plans.
And in so saying that its thanks to VK2EEL Steve Car who through Face Book reminds us that it's the WIA's 116th Birthday ! WOW
and we all look so young! (well some of us HiHi) SOooo Happy 116 WIA.
'Yep' on 11 March, 1910 a meeting of like-minded people in the Hotel Australia, Martin Place, Sydney, formed the Institute of W
ireless Telegraphy of Australia, and soon after dropped the word 'telegraphy' from its name. Chairman of the founding meeting,
George Taylor, proposed "the formation of an institution amongst experimenters and enthusiasts in wireless for their mutual ben
efit."
A similar organisation was formed in Melbourne - the Amateur Wireless Society of Victoria, on 30 November 1911 at a meeting att
ended by 50 enthusiasts. In 1913 it changed its name to the Wireless Institute of Victoria, and then became the Wireless Instit
ute of Australia, Victorian Division. Then followed The Wireless Institute of Queensland (1912), the West Australian Radio Club
(1913) became the Wireless Institute of Australia, Western Australia Section
AUSTRALIANA
A widespread technology issue with the online platform used for NAPLAN standardised testing forced schools to pause tests on th
e first day.
Around 1.4 million students from over 9400 schools and campuses across Australia were expected to take part in this years gover
nment-run tests.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) confirmed the problems in a social media post, and attrib
uted them to its technology provider.
We are aware of a widespread issue affecting students being able to log on to the online platform to complete their NAPLAN asse
ssments, ACARA said.
This issue is being urgently investigated by our technology provider, Education Services Australia, who run the platform.
Schools have been advised to pause testing while this is being investigated.
NAPLAN is a national assessment of the literacy and numeracy proficiency of students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It is intended to
provide a periodic view of how proficiency develops over time.
ACARA said in an update on social media that the issues were resolved just after midday, allowing testing to resume.
(itnews)
------------------------------------------------------------*
INTERNATIONAL NEWS is with thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, ARRL,
DX-WORLD, eHam, Hackaday, IARU, IRTS, NEWSLINE, NZART, RAC,
Radioworld.com, RSGB, SARL and the World Wide sources of WIA.
Cambodian Students Blast Off With Satellite Training and Australia lends a helping hand.
Although space technology may have not been officially introduced into the Kingdoms standard curriculum, the topic took centre
stage at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NPIC), at the 2nd Session of the NPIC SCT Event:
The training transformed the campus into a hub of innovation.
Building on their past success of a 12,076-kilometre transmission to Antarctica via the QO-100 satellite, this years training e
levated the challenge by focusing on Low Earth Orbit satellites.
Students actively engaged in hands-on learning, constructing and utilizing homemade antenna systems to track these fast-moving
satellites across the sky, according to organizers.
International specialists from Japan, France and Australia provided mentorship, guiding students through the complexities of in
stalling ground stations and communicating with a variety of satellites, including the geostationary QO-100 and the LEO satelli
tes like RS-44 and SO-50.
In a statement on March 3, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said that its engineers have repaired a badly damaged launch pad
at the Baikonur cosmodrome ahead of schedule, averting a potentially longer-term problem for supplying the International Space
Station
The agency said a Progress cargo capsule is now scheduled to blast off to the ISS March 22.
The facility suffered a still unexplained mishap last November during the launch of a Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and o
ne American to the orbiting station. The pad is the only location where Russia can launch its manned Soyuz capsules, which are
a mainstay transport and cargo vehicle for the station.
Wrapping up another year of action taken against unlicensed radio broadcasters, in the United States the FCC recently submitted
a report to federal lawmakers summing up its enforcement activities in the fiscal year 2025. We have those details from Kent P
eterson KCDGY.
KENT: Since Congress enacted the PIRATE Act - an acronym for Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement - the Federal C
ommunications Commission has been responsible for reporting its annual activities with the enhanced power it was given through
the January 2020 legislation. Its most recent report covers the government's fiscal year for 2025, which ran from the 1st of Oc
tober 2024 through to the 30th of September 2025.
According to the report, the FCC issued 28 notices to property owners or managers for permitting illegal broadcasts from their
premises. Seventeen of those were directly related to one of the so-called "pirate sweeps" the FCC conducts concentrating on fi
ve markets found to have the most pirate stations.
In the same period, the FCC went directly after the radio operators themselves, issuing six forfeiture orders and 10 notices of
apparent liability for forfeiture. Separately, it entered into three consent decree agreements with radio pirates. Each agreem
ent contained a 20-year compliance plan.
It is not known what the total monetary penalties will ultimately be for any of the violations issued, even though the amounts
specified in the original PIRATE Act have increased over the years. Adjusted for inflation, the penalties now carry a maximum o
f $122,661 in US dollars per day - and a US dollar maximum of $2,453,218.
Although the FCC is responsible for these enforcement actions, the agency does not collect the amounts. That task is given to t
he US Department of Justice.
Jacek, SP5EAQ had announced he would be active from Samoa from 22
March to 11 April. He was set to fly via Doha (Qatar) and then Brisbane, ultimately arriving in Apia to begin operating as
5 W 0 AF.
However, the geopolitical situation has shifted significantly since the
initial planning. With the airspace of several countries including Qatar
currently closed, the stability of the region remains uncertain even if
routes were to reopen shortly.
Consequently, Jacek has determined that the only viable solution is to
re-route and postpone the DXpedition - likely about 6 months.
This will involve purchasing new tickets that avoid the Middle East
entirely.
Graeme VK3GRK told you recently how Weather Radio in Canada was to "dry up".
Well Radio Amateurs of Canada was saddened to learn about the closure of the Weatheradio service provided by Environment and Cl
imate Change Canada
and has issued a statement.
"RAC recognizes the evolving nature of communications technology, however any transition away from dedicated broadcast alerting
services must ensure that no Canadians are left without timely access to critical warnings. Redundancy in emergency communicat
ions systems is not a luxury it is a necessity.
Amateur Radio operators across Canada remain committed to supporting emergency management partners at the municipal, provincial
and federal levels. Our volunteers stand ready to assist with communications support when conventional systems fail or become
overloaded.
Radio Amateurs of Canada encourages continued dialogue with government and public safety stakeholders to ensure that Canada mai
ntains a robust, accessible and resilient national alerting framework that serves all."
A US federal judge has invalidated President Trumps appointment of Kari Lake as head of the parent agency of international broa
dcaster Voice of America and voided her March 2025 decision to fire more than 1,000 journalists and support staff members, ess
entially shuttering the organization.
The decision from District of Columbia U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth was a rejection of the Presidents attempts to d
ismantle and influence the editorial decisions of the federally-funded VOA, which was established in 1942 and has produced radi
o, TV and digital media content in 49 languages for affiliate stations worldwide providing news services to countries with lim
ited press freedoms such as China, Russia and Iran according to a report in the New York Times.
Lamberths ruling would restore all jobs to VOA, provided it is upheld by higher courts. Lake said that she would appeal the dec
ision.
In a statement, several of the VOA and U.S. Agency for Global Media employees who sued the Trump administration said, We feel v
indicated and deeply grateful and vowed to continue fighting for restoring V.O.A.s global operations and ensuring we continue t
o produce journalism, not propaganda.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
OPERATIONAL NEWS -
WIA contest page :- wia.org.au/members/contests/about/
WIA Contest Champion Results for 2025
The WIA Contest Champion Peter Brown trophy is awarded annually for the
best combined effort in WIA sponsored contests. It recognises those who
have participated in multiple WIA contests and submitted logs throughout
the year.
There were 256 contestants during 202.
The winner of the VK4PJ Peter Brown trophy for 2025 is Alan Shannon
VK4SN with a score of 520 points. Alan entered 6 of the 8 eligible contests and gained 3 first places, 2 second places, and 1 t
hird place. n.
2nd place went to VK4DI with a score of 490 points.
3rd place was VK4ZD with a score of 350 points.
4rd place was VK3KK with a score of 281 points.
5th place was VK4BLE with a score of 263 points.
Full results can be viewed at
wia.org.au/members/contests/contestchampion.
(vk2pr)
TODAY MARCH 15 BERU or more correctly - THE COMMONWEALTH CONTEST.
This 24 hour CW contest is held on the 14th and 15th March and started
Saturday 1000 UTC.
This 24-hour CW-only contest takes place on the five HF contest segments
from 80 to 10m. This allows for an exclusive shot at some very
interesting DX.
berucontest.wordpress.com for an overview of this weekend's activities.
---------------
MARCH 21 and 22 JOHN MOYLE MEMORIAL FIELD DAY
(new rules for 2026)
---------------------
MAY:- HARRY ANGEL MEMORIAL SPRINT May 2nd.
---------------
JUNE 6 -7 VK SHIRES CONTEST
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JUNE 20-21 VHF UHF FIELD DAY
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JULY 4-5 NZART MEMORIAL CONTEST
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JULY 11-12 IARU HF CHAMPIONSHIP
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JULY 18 VK TRANS TASMAN CONTEST
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JULY 25-26 RSGB IOTA CONTEST
----------------
AUGUST 15-16 RD CONTEST
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AUGUST 29 - 30 ALARA CONTEST
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SEPTEMBER 19-20 VHF UHF FIELD DAY
-----------
OCTOBER 3-4 OCEANA SSB CONTEST
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OCEANA CW CONTEST is OCTOBER 10 - 11
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OCTOBER 24-25 CQWW SSB
-----------------
NOVEMBER 28-29 CQWW CW CONTEST
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DECEMBER 12-13 ARRL 10 METER CONTEST
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NOW LET'S OPEN THE DX WINDOW TO THE WORLD ------------
The Rebel DX Groups plan to operate as T 31 TTT this month from Kanton Island in central Kiribati could well be the last for am
ateur radio for a long time, according to a report from organisers on the website DX-World.
Dom, 3D2 USU, said that the nations fishery and environmental officials have put in place a full array of costs affecting visit
ors. He said that these new permit fees and other requirements will impose a great financial burden on teams.
DXpeditioners will need to provide accommodation, food and transportation for FOUR government officials who will need to be pre
sent on any future visits to Kanton.
He says that in simple terms future Kanton Island DXpeditions will cost about 200,000 US dollars which makes T31 prohibitive.
The obstacles are not unlike some of the restrictions the same group of operators face for its hoped-for trip to Conway Reef 3D
2/C. Since Rebel DXs 2024 operation there in May 2024 as 3D2CCC, Fijis Ministry of Fisheries has begun moving toward declaring
it a restricted-access zone. The group announced in January that, with those plans in mind, the hams are accelerating their pla
ns for an activation there.
Meanwhile, the DXpeditioners are hoping to get to Kanton Island and be on the air sometime around March 25th.
(newsline)
----------
Historic Callsign Activation by Kildare Amateur Radio Club
Kildare Amateur Radio Club will activate the historic callsign EI 9 DD
over this St. Patrick's Day weekend, with activity planned for Saturday
March 14th and Tuesday March 17th.
EI9DD was originally the callsign of the amateur radio club at the
Irish Army Apprentice School in Devoy Barracks, Kildare. The school
opened in 1956 and trained apprentices for the Irish Army and Naval Service, including radio/radar technicians.
Visit the club's website on kildarearc.com for further details.
(irts)
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SOTA Croatia is marking 10 years. Listen for the special callsign
9 A 10 SOTA. The callsign is on the air through to 2026, the 30th of
September 2026 to be precise.
A certificate will be available for contacts made between the 1st of October and the 31st of December THIS YEAR.. QSL via LoTW
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