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by Jesslyn Shields You may be surprised to learn what sending out an SOS really means — and what it doesn't mean. Aquir/Shutterstock Even children at play know that when you're in a life-threatening emergency — maybe you need to be rescued from an island filled with human-eating crabs that's also surrounded by lava — the way you let the world know you're in trouble is to wave your arms and signal distress by repeatedly shouting three simple letters: SOS. You can write them on the beach, send them via Morse code or, if you have a pen, write them on your hand and flash them at passersby. We all know that sending out an SOS signal is the best chance you've got at being rescued. So, what does SOS mean? An SOS message must mean something important, right? Nope. The letters SOS stand for nothing. Not "Save Our Ship," not "Save Our Souls" — it wasn't even originally designed to stand for letters of the English alphabet. Yet, it's the standard distress signal most people know. The Introduction of Morse Code Although the letter sequence "SOS" stands for nothing, it came from somewhere as a replacement for a visual distress signal. That somewhere is Morse code, which was developed along with the wireless telegraph machine to send messages using electrical signals. Samuel Morse himself sent the first telegraph, which said: "What hath God wrought?" He sent the message in Morse code over an experimental line from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland. In Morse code, dots and dashes are assembled in different configurations to represent the different letters of the alphabet. In this way, messages could be sent wirelessly all over the world using radio equipment — even from ships. This proved useful, because prior to the beginning of the 20th century, ships were pretty much out of luck when they needed to get a message to shore. Morse code did not exist yet. But as ships began carrying telegraph equipment, distress signals were adopted early and were great when the ship transmitting the signal and the operator on the receiving end spoke the same distress language. But at first, different countries used different codes for emergency situations, which was obviously not ideal. SOS as a Universal Distress Signal However, in 1905 the German government published the "German Regulations for the Control of Spark Telegraphy." It mandated that German wireless operators use "... --- ..." (three dots, three dashes and three dots) to signal an emergency. This didn't really have anything to do with letters of the alphabet, but it was quick and easy to type, and difficult to mistake for anything else. It also happened to spell "SOS" in Morse code. Everyone agreed it was way better than "SSSDDD," which is what the Italians were pushing for at the International Radiotelegraph Convention in November of 1906. The term SOS was voted in as the official international distress signal and went into effect July 1, 1908. The SOS Distress Signal Takes Root It took a while for the SOS distress call to catch on. For instance, the British Marconi International Marine Communication Company that outfitted ships with telegraph equipment preferred the distress code "CQD," or "-.-. --.- -.." in Morse code, and continued using it in Morse code sequence long after the SOS call was established as the international standard. In fact, it was the first distress code sent by the telegraph operators on the Titanic after the ship hit the iceberg, although they eventually used the SOS signal as well. The first recorded American use of SOS to call for help was sent Aug. 11, 1909, off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, when Theodore Haubner called for help from the steamship SS Arapahoe. As the Morse code SOS call was initially intended for maritime use, it was replaced with the verbal signal "Mayday" at the International Radiotelegraphic Convention in 1927. Mayday is derived from the French "m'aider" which means "help me." But SOS couldn't be ousted so easily: Mayday is still in use today as the distress signal for voice communication, while the SOS is still used as the distress signal in telecommunication.

The Morse Code revival: how dots and dashes are being embraced by a new generation To mark Morse Code Day (27 April), we explore its modern-day applications, along with its surprising comeback spurred on by the younger generation. Morse Code may be 180 years old - but it's making a comeback (Image: Getty / Kim Mogg) (Getty / Kim Mogg) Devised by Samuel Morse over 180 years ago, Morse, short for Morse code, consists of dots and dashes that represent individual letters in the alphabet. Over time, its uses have ranged from incredible rescue stories to romantic tales between separated couples. Now, its purposes are making headlines for new reasons. While Morse code hasn’t been used in commercial telecommunications since the 1990s, it has been kept alive by radio enthusiasts for decades. Elsewhere, Morse code has retained its position in society, providing a valuable service for those working in the military and healthcare sectors. Through its behind-the-scenes presence, Morse has very much remained quietly part of our cultural consciousness. Yet all this may be about to change as tech companies, musicians and social networks appear to be fuelling its widespread resurgence. Earlier this year, evidence of Morse’s return was supported by the Radio Society of Great Britain, which revealed that the number of amateur radio licences had increased by 60%. Learning Morse as a hobby may, on the surface, appear an unusual choice of skill to learn. Although, if we consider the relentless pace of life, the decision starts to become clearer. Interestingly, the rise in uptake itself may explain a lot about our attitudes towards the digital age. The Morse Code alphabet (Image: Adobe Stock) (cristi180884 - stock.adobe.com) Of course, nobody is saying that being able to communicate at the touch of a button is a bad thing. Instead, the observation is that manual and offline forms of communication have become a more attractive proposition. Like listening to vinyl records, communicating in Morse reignites a sense of romanticism. Just the fact that each message needs decoding makes the content more meaningful. At the same time, by slowing communication down, modern-day-Morse, as it were, may in fact be providing a welcome break from the fast-paced and overwhelming world we live in. On a different note, Morse code has also become more relevant thanks to the music industry. Pop culture has always had a great deal of say in what society does and doesn’t find interesting. An appealing aspect of Morse lies in the fact only a minority can identify and translate it, giving it a unique and overt secrecy. So, this year, when a K-pop band leaked details about their new songs through Morse code, fans as young as five started learning the system. This started a chain reaction. People began questioning how many other secret Morse messages might exist? This idea of using Morse to convey hidden meaning and exclusivity is another reason why younger people are eager to obtain fluency. Especially in a culture where everything is shared online. Last, but not least, technology companies are also supporting Morse’s revival. Being able to communicate through speech isn’t universal. Royal Air Force recruits learning Morse code at a training station in 1945 (Image: Getty) (Getty Images) Equally, for those in need of non-verbal communication options, Morse provides a valuable workaround. Acknowledging this, big technology companies have integrated Morse into their solutions. One example is Google’s Gboard, a keyboard app for mobile devices which features a Morse input method, allowing users to type messages in Morse code by tapping their screen. Never one to miss a trick, Apple’s geniuses replicated this for their breakthrough Apple Watch. There’s no doubt that by leveraging the haptic capabilities of devices, technology companies will continue to play an important role in the growth of Morse code. Overall, it’s great to see that people are using the technology at their disposal to learn new skills. Whether it’s mastering secret codes, fictional texts, or foreign languages, it’s vital that we encourage young and old to keep expanding their knowledge. Esteban Touma is a Spanish teacher for Babbel Thanks to National World

The month of June 2023 sees the centenary celebration of organised amateur radio in Tasmania. There are a huge number of activities happening throughout the month of June and beyond. These include: Operation of the Special Centenary callsign – VK7WIA Any Amateur Radio Operator with a VK7 callsign and based in Tasmania can apply to operate the special event callsign for a short period in the month of June. Watch this space for the link to the rostering and logging system that will be come available very soon. Contact person for the operation of the VK7WIA callsign is Reg Emmett VK7KK – regemm@ozemail.com.au Trevor obtained the call 7AA in 1922. When international communication became possible, it became necessary to add letters to identify the countries, hence the “A” for Australia. Special QSL cards will be available as a physical card or an electronic card via LOTW. Hobart Radio Research Club QSL Card (circa 1930s) Special Centenary Award Certificate will be available for those amateurs who meet the following centenary award conditions: At least one RF phone contact; 10 Contacts with VK7WIA within VK/ZL 5 Contacts with VK7WIA outside VK/ZL There will be special Tassie Devil Award – Centenary Endorsements available Bill Nicholas, VK7WR, won the hidden transmitter hunt at the Field Day in Hobart in 1935. Open Days held around the State – amateur radio historic and working displays open to the public: SOUTH – Saturday June 10th – Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania Inc – Queens Domain Clubrooms, Hobart Contact Rod Finlayson VK7TRF – roja3kel@yahoo.com.au NORTH – Saturday June 17th – Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club Inc. – Scout Hall Archer St, Rocherlea, Launceston Contact Peter Dowde VK7PD – pdowde@bigpond.com NORTH WEST – Saturday June 24th – North West Tasmania Amateur Radio Club Inc. – Scout Hall Alexandra Road Ulverstone Contact Eric van de Neut VK7EV – ericvdneut1@bigpond.com Media Opportunities to promote amateur Radio to the general public. Contact person is Reg Emmett VK7KK – regemm@ozemail.com.au Amateur Radio Magazine will have features on VK7 History starting in the May/June edition with a history of amateur radio in Tasmania (VK7). WIA National News Broadcast will be coming from VK7 on the 18th June 2023. And many more activities – watch this space. This event is support by our national representative body the Wireless Institute of Australia. Some of the amateurs at an exhibition in Launceston. The VK7 Centenary is: Justin Giles-Clark VK7TW Reg Emmett VK7KK Rod Finlayson VK7TRF Peter Dowde VK7PD Eric Van De Neut VK7EV Mike Jenner VK7FB Linda Luther VK7QP Phil Corby VK7ZAX Committee contact email is: vk7tw@wia.org.au Len Crooks VK7BQ in his Shack in May 1969. Content supplied by: Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania Inc. Craig. vk3ncr

Hey guys, I have been very busy adding many more antennas to our Antenna Fun Page on our website. We now have a range of antenna designs from UHF to HF, as well as downloadable Build Sheets, and Graphics showing the design. Sample above of the 80M OCF Graphic. So please take a look and share around. Cheers. Craig vk3ncr

23 May 2023 Amateur class licensing update We would like to inform you the Australian Maritime College (AMC), has decided not to extend its deed for the provision of amateur licensee services beyond February 2024. In light of the AMC’s decision and the planned move to class licensing of amateur services, we have taken the opportunity to review how amateur radio qualifications and call signs can be best supported under a class licence framework. Background: For some time, the AMC managed several functions on behalf of the ACMA, including conducting amateur radio operator exams, issuing qualifications and recommending call signs for successful candidates to the ACMA. However, after examining how to provide the best continuity of service for amateurs, we are proposing an alternative way to deliver these services. New, more effective arrangements We will no longer use a deed arrangement to provide amateur radio qualifications and call sign recommendations. Instead, we have decided to update the amateur radio qualification and call sign framework alongside the class licence implementation, and manage some of these services ourselves. New accreditation procedures We propose to use the network of voluntary assessors used by the AMC as accredited assessors under a scheme managed by the ACMA. Assessors will be able to conduct theoretical and practical examinations for amateur radio. Qualified and experienced amateur operators will be able to seek ACMA accreditation to conduct amateur radio examinations. As part of this accreditation work, we are: preparing operational guidelines for accredited assessors developing examination material compiling a list of allocated and available call signs to go on our website. The ACMA will still be responsible for approving the amateur radio syllabi. Better alignment of qualification levels The new framework will keep the Foundation, Standard and Advanced qualification levels for amateur radio examinations. This aligns with the qualification levels in the proposed class-licensing arrangements. ACMA to issue qualifications and call signs Under the new arrangement, qualifications will be issued by ACMA staff after an application from a person who has passed an examination. We will continue to be the call sign administrator and issue call signs to amateurs with recognised qualifications. These arrangements are consistent with our amateur spectrum management obligations under the International Telecommunication Union’s Radio Regulations and the Radiocommunications Act 1992. Next steps We want to introduce the new accreditation scheme at the same time as the class licensing arrangements. At this stage, we expect to consult on the new accreditation scheme in August 2023. We welcome your feedback through the public consultation process, and we’ll keep you updated on progress. To prepare for the move to class licensing, we have changed the renewal periods for non-assigned amateur licences to 12-months only. This will help amateur licensees make a smooth transition to class licensing. We are grateful for your engagement and assistance in this transition, and look forward to a smoother, more efficient framework.

If anyone is chasing local Australian stock for Rasberry Pi boards this place has them in stock at the moment the zero is great for building hotspots and for this price is rare https://core-electronics.com.au/ I will contact them over the next few days to see if we can get a club discount code Regards Peter VK3DEL

Being a Member of Famparc has its benefits.. Not only being a part of a great group of members, you can also save up to 70% off Many electrical items from Altronics. Altronics offer up to 70% off there many products, plus they have a good range of Coax and Connectors, so if you want to save big, visit the Altronics store in Springvale Vic. You will require our Famparc discount code... This is available at the club rooms for all members. Click the image below for more information and to visit the Altronics website.

13th May 2023 Foundation Exam Congratulations to our new Members to Famparc and especially to the new members below for sitting the Foundation Course and recently sitting the Foundation Exam. We wish them all success and hope to hear them on the air very soon. Congratulations: Robert Murphy Anthony Colussi Rakshit Dhar Michael Booth Geoff Guest Giles Gillison Harry Williams Roy Frattinger (Please excuse an spelling errors) Thank you also to Mani and the Famparc Team for the running of our first Foundation Course. And many thanks to our Assessors Tony vk3an, and Michael vk3uuu. Note: If unfortunately one of you did not make it through, don't worry, we can arrange another sitting of the exam. Well done to all !! This is what makes a great club.. People that put in and work for all.

70cm Moxon Beam Introduction. The 432MHz band used to be one of my favourites. In the early 1980s I owned one of the first FM321 70cms synthesised 4W FM transceivers (based on an Australian CB radio) and with this and an old Jaybeam 48el TV antenna mounted vertically on a pole and turned by hand on the side of the house I was able to work lots of local repeaters and some decent inter-G DX on FM simplex when there was "a bit of a lift on". 70cms has localised lifts every few days and that was part of the magic of the band: one day you could hear just locals and the next (in just one direction maybe) more distant repeaters or simplex stations could be heard or worked. Every day was different. Occasionally the band would be wide open and some super DX could be heard or worked. In those days I did not have any SSB transmitting gear on the band but I did listen in contests and at other times and well recall hearing an OZ station running 10W to an HB9CV antenna and being a true 59+ signal on a small indoor beam in the bedroom. The band is excellent for tropo DXing but it is much under-used nowadays. Fortunately there is still activity during contests and on Aug 3rd 2008 there was the RSGB 70cms low power contest restricted to stations running 25W or less. For a change I wanted to have a go /P but the problem was I had no beam antennas for the band just a the vertical colinear fixed on the side of the house. So, a check on the net showed up a design for a Moxon 2el yagi using a coat hanger! A quick search through my wife's wardrobe turned up a suitable metal one and 30 minutes of relaxing sawing, bending and straightening in the back of the garage resulted in a somewhat "Heath Robinson" 2 element antenna attached on the end of a 2m long plastic conduit tube. Connection between the coax and the feedpoint was via a small terminal block and the insulator between director and driven elements by a piece of PVC insulation grabbed from some 2 core cable. The whole antenna was supported on the pole using a support bracket made from a remaining piece of the coat hanger. The Moxon Antenna Design. The Moxon antenna was designed by Les Moxon G6XN and is an optimisation of an earlier Australian design for a compact 2el beam. Essentially it consists of two metal or wire elements: (1) a driven element with its ends bent back towards the reflector (2) which has its ends bent towards the driven element. The entire antenna therefore forms a rectangle but occupying a space much smaller than a corresponding unbent 2el beam such as the HB9CV. The antenna is broadband, has a broad (100 degrees) front lobe, a good front-to-back ratio and a useful amount of forward gain and presents a decent near 50 ohm match at resonance. On HF these properties allow a small, lightweight beam to be erected with excellent performance for the size. On VHF/UHF it allows a smaller alternative to the popular HB9CV antenna with almost as much gain. Testing. I have no test gear for 70cms other than my FT817 and a power meter so I had to check the antenna using these. The SWR meter on the FT817 suggested the match was not brilliant (2 bars, which is about 2:1?) but not bad. A quick test using the local repeater with the antenna mounted vertically was successful and suggested some directionality. So, the next stage was to get out on the Sunday morning with the antenna and the 5W FT817 and see how it performed. Results. A local highspot was chosen for the contest. Highspot is a relative term as there are few real hills in this part of the UK and this "bump" behind the town of Newmarket QTH JO02DD is only around 30m ASL! Fixing the antenna to the support "mast" and trapping the mast in the car door, it was time to plug in the FT817, turn on and see what could be heard and worked. The results were amazing. In a few hours of operating, much of it in the rain and with distinctly poor conditions a total of 10 stations in 8 locator squares all across the country were worked all with just 2.5W SSB apart from the best contact (which was on CW) with F8BRK who was 326kms away in France. The site chosen was screened towards France by trees and rising ground making this final contact all the more pleasing. The contact started out on SSB but he was struggling so I switched to CW so he could clearly get my details. Conclusions. Do give 432MHz SSB a go sometime and if you think you have no suitable antenna then turn to your wife or girlfriend's wardrobe and search out an old coat hanger. If you only come on for the odd contest you will be assured of some fun and who knows you might be persuaded to erect a more permanent beam and rotator and find out what the band is REALLY good for. Even if you can only run a few watts of SSB and a small beam the band has lots to offer especially in the smallest of lifts. Thanks to Stanley VK3BOT for showing me this antenna.. and also. G3XBM QRP WEBSITE Stanley has made one of these and recently brought it to the club. So if you are keen, reach out to Stanley for further information. Moxon-Beam for the 2-m-Band The elements of the 2-m-Moxon are made of Aluminium-welding-rods, here with 2,4 mm diameter. For other diameters see the table below. The 50-Ohm-coax-cable is connected at the other side of the clamp and wound to choke for a balanced feeding. The boom is made of a 25-mm-PVC-tube. The element ends are connected together with small insulated tubes for better mechanical stability. Below: Vertical Below: Horizontal Moxon Principles The Moxon-Beam was introduced by L. Moxon (G6XN) in his book "HF Antennas for all Locations" (RSGB- Publications, Great Britain 1993). This beam is a 2-Element-Yagi with radiator and reflector and reduced size to about 75% of a normal beam. The 2-Element-Yagi with reflector has normally a 0,2-lambda-boom and an impedance of 50 W. The Moxon-beam has a 0,18-lambda-boom and still 50 Ohm. This is a good impedance for wire- beams.The ends of the two elements are bended backward (radiator) or forward (reflector) and act as a capacitive load. That is much better than inductive loading with coils. So we have greater bandwidth and lower losses.Through the reduced size we get a 0,5-0,7 dB lower gain than with a fullsize beam. This type of a 2-Element-Yagi has an unbelievable F/B-ratio on the design frequency of >= 30 dB. That is higher than with any other 2-Element-Beam. The gain is higher on the beginning of the band and lower at the end. The bandwidth for a SWR < 1,5 is great enough for the range of 28,0-28,7 and 21,0-21,45 MHz if the beam is built up with aluminium tubes. Wire-beams of the Moxon-type have a smaller bandwidth. The design frequency should be for a frequency 1/3 from the beginning of the band, because the SWR raises more below the design frequency. For example look for the SWR of a tube-Moxon for the 15-m-band:

new UNUN Kits Available Hello All, We now have another round of Famparc EFHW UNUN Build Kits available. The Build Kits are available for $55.00 For more information see our Web Page. The UNUN Kits have been very popular and work very well as a End Fed Half Wave Antenna (around a 20M length of Wire) Instructions for the build is available on the page.

Found this old clip on Youtube.. Does explain things... Enjoy

Proposed changes to amateur access in the 50–52 MHz and 3.4–3.6 GHz frequency bands We want to give Standard amateurs access to the 50–52 MHz frequency band. We also want to remove access from Advanced amateurs in the 3.4–3.6 GHz frequency band in areas re-allocated for spectrum licensing.