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6 October 2023 Fees for non-assigned amateur apparatus licences We have received several queries from non-assigned apparatus-licensed amateurs whose licences are due to expire soon. They are asking if their licence can be renewed only up until the date of commencement of the new amateur class licence. While we can renew amateur licences for a short period, this may not result in a substantially lower cost. This is because a minimum apparatus licence tax applies to apparatus licences. The cost of renewing a non-assigned amateur apparatus licence has 2 components: the renewal fee ($4) the apparatus licence tax ($50.76 per year), with a minimum apparatus licence tax amount of $41.37. Example: If you renew your licence from 4 October 2023 to 1 February 2024 (120 days), the annual apparatus licence tax will be $16.69 (120/365 x $50.76). However, the minimum apparatus licence tax amount will still be $41.37. That means the minimum renewal amount is $45 ($41.37 minimum tax and $4 renewal fee, rounded to the nearest dollar). Commencement of class licence Once the class licence commences, it will minimise costs for both current non-assigned apparatus-licensed amateurs and new amateur licensees, who will not have to pay any licence taxes and charges under a class licence. We expect the class licence to commence in February 2024 and plan to update you in mid-December 2023 about the exact timing of its commencement. Requests for a shorter renewal period If you have received your renewal notice recently and would like to renew your non-assigned amateur licence for a shorter period, please email your request, including your licence number or client ID and the date you would like your licence to be valid until, to info@acma.gov.au. Licence surrender: On commencement of the class licence, amateur licensees may wish to surrender their non-assigned amateur apparatus licence, since they will no longer be required. In some cases, amateur licensees will be entitled to a pro rata refund of tax paid. Based on our refund policy, the minimum amount we can refund is $41, which excludes administrative fees and is calculated based on the amount of time left on the licence from when it was cancelled to when it was due for renewal. Further details about licence surrender will be provided in our mid-December 2023 update.

I will donate a post hole drill to the club it has a 4” (100mm) cutter and ideal for members to borrow and drill a hole for a 20ft (6metre) steel pole or a 4” square timber pole. I will bring it in on Wednesday. Cheers Roy vk3gb. On behalf of the club and its members.. Thank you !

Ham Radio Amateurs Will Help NASA Study The Ionosphere During The Ring Of Fire Eclipse The eclipse gives us a unique opportunity to study our ionosphere. All we need is ham radios. Solar eclipses, while fun to gawp at and/or cower from in fear of the sun-eating god depending on what century you're from, are incredibly useful for scientists. During the 2024 total solar eclipse in North America, NASA will use the opportunity to photograph the Sun's corona from a high altitude and view sunspots as the Moon passes across the face, blocking out competing light. If you can't wait that long for some eclipse-based science, amateur scientists with ham radios are conducting an experiment on Saturday, October 14, 2023, during the Ring of Fire eclipse. So why radios? Well, they're a good way to look at the activity of the ionosphere. Between 80 and 643 kilometers (50-400 miles) above the Earth, particles in the Earth's atmosphere are bombarded with Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray solar radiation, ionizing them. The ionosphere grows and shrinks (on your side of the planet) depending on the time of day. At night, the layer reflects long-wave radio signals (known as "skywave" propagation) to a much greater degree than during the day, allowing the signal to be carried for hundreds of miles further than during the day. It's something regulators have to take into account, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires long-wave radio broadcasters to lower their power at night "in recognition of the physical laws that govern AM radio propagation", and shut down if they are unable to do so. That's what we know, but there's still an awful lot to learn about the ionosphere, which fluctuates, moves, expands, and contracts. Changes to the ionosphere can affect navigation and communication systems, making research into it important. During the eclipse, where darkness falls suddenly (and on a limited, moving area), a team of amateur ham radio operators led by Nathaniel Frissell, assistant professor of physics and electrical engineering at the University of Scranton, will attempt to make as many radio contacts as possible with operators across the world. By measuring the strength, location, and distance, it's possible to learn a lot about the ionosphere through it. “These are the last solar eclipses to traverse the continental United States until 2044, and are therefore important, time-sensitive, information rich opportunities for running unique and ‘controlled’ ionospheric experiments,” Frissell said in a statement. “This project takes advantage of the unprecedented opportunity to study the ionospheric impacts of the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses and the daily ionospheric variability associated with dawn/dusk transitions.” Ham radio operators can look into joining the project on the HamSCI project website. The study will also take place throughout 2023 and 2024, including the 2024 total eclipse.

Experiments and demonstrations on the nature of electromagnetic waves. The nature of electromagnetic waves is demonstrated first with the aid of models and then by a reconstruction of Faraday's experiment on induction. The range of electromagnetic waves is next illustrated, followed by a series of experiments using a klystron. The measurement of wavelengths is introduced by showing standing waves with the Vinycomb model, Sir Lawrence then illustrating the same principles by applying electromagnetic waves to Young's pinhole experiment. From the original programme notes: Sir Lawrence Bragg at the Royal Institution of Great Britain Since 1826 a series of lectures, planned for young people, has been given at the Royal Institution during the fortnight after Christmas. These lectures, 'adapted to a juvenile auditory' to use the nineteenth-century phase, were started as a new venture in science teaching. It is the tradition to illustrate the CHRISTMAS LECTURES with numerous experiments which are on an impressive scale and as far as possible of a novel type. Many experiments first shown in the Royal Institution theatre have become classical bench-experiments in schools and colleges, and many of the best popular scientific books have been based on CHRISTMAS LECTURES. A scheme was launched in 1955 to give corresponding lectures throughout the school year, because it seemed very desirable to use the facilities and traditions of the Institution to the full and thus make it possible for a larger audience to participate. The idea was proposed in the first place to a few science teachers in schools, and with their help it was started in a small way. The lectures had an enthusiastic reception, and the scheme soon grew to its present proportions – over twenty thousand young people now come to the lectures each year. The main idea behind them is to show experiments, illustrating the basic principles of science, which are on too large a scale or involve too complicated apparatus to be readily staged with school resources. The majority of the lectures are on physical subjects, but chemistry and biology are also represented. In 1965, Lord Bowden, who was then Minister of State in the Department of Education and Science, expressed a wish that the lectures given by Sir Laurence Bragg be recorded in the form of films, and arranged that a sum of money be earmarked for that purpose. The series Sir Lawrence Bragg at the Royal Institution is the result of his interest. The films have been commissioned by the Educational Foundation for Visual Aids and shot on the premises of the Royal Institution. At first an attempt was made to film the actual schools' lectures, but there were a number of drawbacks to this procedure. Ideal positions for the cameras were not possible in a crowded lecture room. An hour's talk is too long, the film had to be divided into three or four sections, and it was not easy to tailor beginning and ends to the sections. It was finally realised that it would be much better to shoot each film as a separate project, with no audience and complete freedom for the camera team to take the long shots and close-ups in the best way. The possibility of close-up shots is a great advantage, because it enables effects to be shown which it would be impossible to demonstrate in a large lecture room. The present series consists of sixteen films covering the schools' lectures dealing with magnetism, the properties of matter, and vibrations and waves. It is hoped to include electricity and other subjects in a further series. In the main, the experiments are those actually shown in the schools' lectures, modified for filming where desirable. The action before the camera is in each case carefully rehearsed so that the performance of the experiment is seen as clearly as possible. No attempt however has been made to prepare a 'script'. The talk is quite informal, not a prepared one, in the belief that it will be fresher and more interesting if given in this way. It is hoped that the imperfections, inevitable in an impromptu talk, will be overlooked for the sake of its more personal nature.

New Club Badges are now available. A new design to match our club theme as below. The new badges are available for: $15.00 which the club receives $5.00. Total $15.00 I have posted on our clubs whiteboard within the club rooms a list where you can add your name and callsign. Or simple notify Craig VK3NCR. All we need is your name and callsign. Show off your Name and Callsign to other members.. And help our club. And!! A Pin Clip on the rear for easy attachment.

Thanks to VK3JDD - John-David d'Asques for the attached file. The most used codes, terms, and abbreviations in amateur radio practise.

Hi Members, You may be wondering why I have added a item such as this new Raspberry Pi 5, well these are used for making Amateur Radio Hot Spots which then can run the Pi-Star software, for use when connecting to the digital world such as DStar, DMR etc etc etc.. They are small yet powerful mini computers and can be used for all sorts of electronic and computer applications. Here are details from Core Electronics.. We have an absolutely huge announcement, the most popular single-board computer is getting an upgrade! That's right, Raspberry Pi 5 is here and we managed to get our hands on one and have put it through it's paces - check out our RPi 5 review video on YouTube (highly recommended!). We also have a video for those interested in RPi 4 vs 5 benchmarks. Stock is expected in the coming weeks; sign up on either the 8GB or 4GBproduct page to be notified the moment happens. The CPU has been treated to level-up with the 64-bit quad-core Arm Cortex A76 processor clocking in at 2.4GHz, this gives the Pi 5 a 200-300% increase in CPU performance compared to the previous generation. Peep pixels for days with the 800MHz VideoCore VII GPU, providing dual 4Kp60 display output over HDMI with HDR support. I hope you like taking pictures because the Raspberry Pi Image Signal Processor has been overhauled featuring speeds up to 1 Gigapixel per second, providing exciting new applications for consumers and industry alike. Peripheral performance and functionality has seen a mighty boost thanks to Raspberry Pi's first in-house built silicone on a full-size Pi. The RP1 "southbridge" handles the majority of I/O for the Raspberry Pi 5 with some pretty impressive qualifications. Transfer speeds will see an improvement with combined USB bandwidth more than doubling. Peak performance over SD card has doubled with the support for SDR104 high-speed mode. Gone are the old CSI and DSI MIPI interfaces of the Pi 4, replaced with 4-lane 1.5Gbps MIPI transceivers that are interchangeable, allowing any combination of two cameras or displays. The icing on the cake however, a single-lane PCI Express 2.0 interface, opening the possibilities with support for high-bandwidth peripherals. Not to mention the onboard Power Management IC is hiding a few tricks up its sleeve. USB PD is now enabled which is just in time for the new 27W USB-C PD Power Supply which provides the Pi 5 with 5.1V/5A. A real-time clock (RTC) is now onboard powered by an external battery, and how can we forget the much welcomed power buttonmaking things easier. The Raspberry Pi Casehas received an makeover as well, with improved air flow and an integrated variable-speed fan to help support the higher peak power consumption of the Raspberry Pi 5. But power users are going to be excited for the Raspberry Pi Active Cooler a large heat sink & variable-speed blower that mounts to dedicated holes on the PCB and is driven by the fan connector onboard. The Raspberry Pi Casehas received an makeover as well, with improved air flow and an integrated variable-speed fan to help support the higher peak power consumption of the Raspberry Pi 5. But power users are going to be excited for the Raspberry Pi Active Cooler a large heat sink & variable-speed blower that mounts to dedicated holes on the PCB and is driven by the fan connector onboard. At launch 4GB & 8GB models will be available but 1GB & 2GB are soon to follow. Feature Breakdown: 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with cryptography extensions, 512KB per-core L2 caches, and a 2MB shared L3 cache VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2 Dual 4Kp60 HDMI display output with HDR support 4Kp60 HEVC decoder LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM 1GB, 2GB, 4GB & 8GB Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) microSD card slot, with support for high-speed SDR104 mode 2 × USB 3.0 ports, supporting simultaneous 5Gbps operation 2 × USB 2.0 ports Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ support (requires separate PoE+ HAT) 2 × 4-lane MIPI camera/display transceivers PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for fast peripherals (requires separate M.2 HAT or other adapter) 5V/5A DC power via USB-C, with Power Delivery support Raspberry Pi standard 40-pin header Real-time clock (RTC), powered from external battery Power button If you run into any hurdles with your projects, hit us up on our forum. We are full time makers and are eager to help. Don't forget to take photos of the build so you can share your project with us and get a store credit. Whether it's a practical build or something "just for fun", we would love to hear about it. 😊 ­ Cheers, Graham Mitchell Core Electronics www.core-electronics.com.au "empowering creative people"

Ross owner and gentleman from Strictly Ham is retiring... Well done Ross and we all thank you!

SPARC-Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Club Tuesday evening 80M Net is on 3.640 All amateurs are welcome to join in. The more the merrier! TUESDAY NIGHT 80 METRE NET 8:00 pm on 3.640 MHz plus or minus QRM. (Note : this is the same time Famparc has our NET.. Join us too !) Click HERE Net control will call for check ins, have 2 rounds and call for anyone wishing to go in the log as a listener. Net control runs as VK3BSP portable.

BYBILL SCHWEBER The need for what’s called antenna tuning—either by adjusting the antenna itself or via a matching circuit between power-amplifier output and the antenna—is almost as old as wireless itself. Even in those early days, electromagnetic theory and hands-on practical experimentation showed that effective power transfer and optimal antenna performance, measured by several parameters, require that the source impedance and the load impedance be complex conjugates. The problem has not gone away, but instead has morphed into a new and more-challenging form. Traditionally, antenna-matching circuits were built into smaller, lower-power radio designs; in other cases, they were and still are offered as commercial units in external enclosures. This was due to the high-power ratings spanning tens, hundreds, or even thousands of watts, along with the physically larger values needed at the lower frequencies of tens or several hundred megahertz. Some of these external tuners were designed for a single band, while others for multiband use cases, such as amateur or ham radio, which had front-panel switchers to enable adjustment settings for the different bands in use (Figure 1). Figure 1 This variable L-network random wire antenna tuner is designed for manually matching the low output impedance of transmitter (up to 200 watts) to the high impedance of a random wire (or vice versa) from 2 to 30 MHz. Source: MFJ Enterprises Many of them are one-off, hand-crafted works combining artful form and required function (Figure 2). Figure 2 Many amateur-radio enthusiasts prefer to design and fabricate their own antenna-matching units for their bands of interest and power levels, such as this one covering 3 to 30 MHz and handling up to 150 watts. Note the toroidal transformer with multiple windings. Source: http://pa-11019.blogspot.com/2011/ Newer antenna tuners incorporate autonomous self-controlled auto-tuning using an internal processor or allow an external PC to do so via an USB port. New applications, new approaches But as the saying goes, times have changed. Now the tuning battle is over 5G and even 4G phones supporting multiple bands and embedded antennas such as the widely used planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA). Smartphones are relatively low-power devices operating above a gigahertz with multiple bands, which must be supported with seamless band transitions and handoffs. The associated LC values are small, which simplifies the challenge in some ways, but also makes it harder in other ways. Complicating the situation, the matching values are not static but are dynamic in routine use as user’s hand changes location and angle, and phone’s position moves with respect to the head and body. Certainly, expecting the user to tune and optimize the antenna-matching circuit in use is simply not an option. Fortunately, there are now solutions to this dilemma via antenna-tuner ICs. These ICs address the issue by allowing digital setting of up to 16 capacitance values, thus changing the electrical characteristics just enough to optimize the matching or get close enough. Among the vendors are Peregrine Semiconductor (PE64909), Qorvo (QM13025), Skyworks Solutions (SKY59272-707LF), and Infineon (BGSC2341ML10). Unlike lower-frequency matching circuits with capacitance in the tens of picofarads, and even extending to the microfarads range, these ICs allow tweaking of very small capacitance shifts. For example, the Peregrine Semiconductor’s PE64909 device is a digitally tunable capacitor for 100-3,000 MHz (Figure 3). Figure 3 The PE64909 antenna tuner IC has a simple function and schematic (above), but its equivalent-circuit model is more complicated (below). Source: Peregrine Semiconductor In operation, a system processor can use a four-bit code to select one of 16 capacitance values via its 3-wire, SPI-compatible serial interface, serving from 0.6 pF to 2.35 pF (a 3.9:1 tuning ratio) in discrete steps of 117 femtofarad (fF). That’s clearly a modest dynamic range and a small step size, but it’s enough for the application. Qorvo notes that there are two ways to use capacitance to adjust the antenna appearance (Figure 4). Figure 4 Antenna tuning can be accomplished via aperture tuning or impedance tuning, each with distinct tradeoffs in attributes and capabilities. Source: Qorvo Aperture tuning optimizes the total antenna efficiency from the antenna terminal’s free space, and it can do so across multiple bands. It can provide advantages with respect to antenna efficiency for both transmit and receive communications, improving total radiated power (TRP) and total isotropic sensitivity (TIS) by 3 dB or more in some situations. Impedance tuning maximizes power transfer between the RF front-end and the antenna, and it increases the TRP and TIS by minimizing mismatch loss between the antenna and antenna front-end. It also helps to compensate for environmental effects such as a person’s hand position on a smartphone. Beyond antenna tuning According to Qorvo, “Today, aperture tuning is the primary method used in handsets to overcome reduced antenna area and efficiency. Mid-tier and higher-end smartphones use a combination of aperture and impedance tuning to support the ever-broadening range of frequency bands, especially for 5G.” These ICs are somewhat analogous to the widely used digital potentiometers (digipots), except those typically have 256 or more steps spread over a fairly wide kilohm range along with a much-larger relative step size. All this makes me wonder if commercially available digi-inductors will be coming soon as well. Beyond antenna tuning, I’d like to think that creative engineers are already looking at these parts and finding unforeseen uses for them. Historically, that’s been the reality as components which originally targeted one class of situations are soon adopted and adapted to address other problems. Perhaps these tunable pico-farad capacitors will be used to compensate for or cancel circuit parasitics in a balanced or differential topology. Or perhaps they will be used for precise calibration and measurement in some Wheatstone-bridge type of arrangement…you never know.

Scout Radio Station VK3CUB at the Victorian Cuboree 2023 The Victorian Cuboree will run between Sep 25, 2023 through to Sep 29, 2023. During this period a Scout Amateur Radio Station will be ‘on air’ Sep 25 to Sep 27 between ~1930 – 2130 hours (0930 – 1130 UTC). (and maybe ~1000 – 1400 (0000 – 0400 UTC) on Sep 27) Make sure you work a cub!

Should stock trading get high-frequency spectrum? Aug 23, 2023 | 5:26 AM When I first saw the phrase “high-frequency trading” or HFT, I assumed it was an advanced engineering technique for trading off and managing spectrum use in order to increase channel capacity or improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). I was very wrong. Instead, it’s related to a petition to the Federal Communications Commission by Wall Street-related trading firms to allow them to use some slices of spectrum to set up “private” high-power transmitters in the high-frequency (HF) bands under 30 MHz, also traditionally called the shortwave bands. So, they can transfer stock and related pricing between cities such as Chicago and New York a few milliseconds faster than achievable using optical links. This tiny increase would allow them to “run ahead” of trades by others and take advantage of tiny price differentials to reap additional profit. This scheme has its own name, “latency arbitrage”. The petition from “Shortwave Modernization Coalition” (SMC) is assigned Docket RM-11953 and titled “Shortwave Modernization Coalition Petition for Rulemaking to Amend the Commission’s Rules to Allow Fixed, Long-Distance, Non-Voice Communications Above 2 MHz and Below 25 MHz” (be prepared: it’s 105 double-spaced pages, all text). Their petition request would potentially put 50-kHz wide, 20-kilowatt signals immediately adjacent to seven amateur-radio (ham) bands. In contrast to those power levels, amateurs are restricted by Part 90 high-frequency rules to 1,000 W peak envelope power (PEP). Even that peak-power number is somewhat misleading, as most radio amateurs operate at under 100 watts (it’s called “running barefoot”) and many are routinely under 10 watts while still achieving long-distance and even worldwide contacts. Further, SMC’s proposal would reduce the existing protection of -73 dB edge-of-band/out-of-band attenuation now in use for the 1,000-watt power limit to just -50 dB protection for their proposed 20-kW limit. This proposal includes four likely transmission scenarios: New York, NY transmitting west, such as to Los Angeles, CA Chicago, IL, transmitting west, such as to Seattle, WA New York, NY, transmitting south, such as to São Paulo, Brazil Chicago, IL, transmitting east, such as to London, UK What sort of decrease in propagation delay are we looking at? Basic physics and math show that for a typical RF-hop distance they would use, the saving between wireless atmospheric path and an optical-fiber path would be on the order of 10 milliseconds, and less in many cases. The use of radio links for stock-trading HFTs is not a new development. RF links are already used with point-to-point microwave towers linking major trading centers. However, many of these systems use microwave links where there is more available bandwidth than the high-frequency bands. Also, since they are point-to-point systems, their emitted RF energy is more limited, and the beam spread is fairly narrow. However, a long-distance microwave link takes many towers, since the tower range is generally limited to 30 to 50 miles maximum due to curvature of the Earth’s curvature and is a function of tower height (Figure 1). Figure 1 Microwave relay towers, typically spaced up to 30 to 50 miles apart and using focused beams, have minimal RF “splatter” and have only modest potential for causing adjacent-spectrum RF interference. Source: Dr Jai W. Kang Long-distance high-frequency latency arbitrage links are already in use. Unlike microwave towers, it only takes one antenna at each end of the link. However, that same link and its path are subject to all sorts of performance inconsistency issues and “skip zones.” These are a function of atmospheric propagation conditions which vary with time of day, sunspot cycles, and many other factors which can only be predicted to a linted extent (Figure 2). Moreover, the effective data rate is low, but may be enough for the HFT application. Figure 2 Long-distance RF links are subject to the vagaries of atmospheric propagation characteristics in addition to somewhat predictable changes. Source: Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre Software engineer and ham radio operator Bob Van Valzah has identified such high-frequency antennas in his Chicago area. He has also done the deep digging through the licensing firms and layers of trading corporations which obscure ownership and operation, as detailed in his blog “Shortwave Trading | Part I | The West Chicago Tower Mystery.” This latest application is for higher power and frequency slices which may cause adjacent-channel problems. Obviously, the amateur-radio community led by its primary user association, the ARRL, has filed many objections to the proposal, pointing out the likely spillover interference and potential safety/emergency-related issues as well as day-to-day problems. There are about 760,000 amateur radio operators in the United States, according to ARRL, and while many are not active, the base number is growing. But the issue is not which side has more members or money, it’s really about the best use of the limited resource of the electromagnetic spectrum and the harm that misuse of the spectrum can do to other users and services. Keep in mind that the spectrum is an unusual resource. On the one hand, it’s limited, and you can’t make more of it. Even though the entire spectrum follows Maxwell’s equations, different parts of it have immutable attributes: compare low frequencies with terahertz ones, as one example. On the other hand, it is infinitely recyclable and using spectrum does not consume it, unlike using a tangible resource such lithium, or even helium, which dissipates into the atmosphere and then outer space and cannot be recovered once gone. In that sense, we are very fortunate that spectrum is used but not consumed. What’s your view on use of spectrum for limited-use, private links such a HFT versus broader applications? Does this spectrum allocation make sense? Is the interference risk manageable? Is it perhaps worth trying, since the decision can be reversed, and the used spectrum recovered? Or is reversal of allocation after such a large HFT investment not likely to happen, even if there are interference issues?