        VK2WI BROADCAST, 2nd January, 1994

Welcome  to the first morning/evening broadcast for 1994,  and we
trust that all our listeners survived the celebrations.  We still
have several dead transmitters,  so there will be no broadcast on
160m AM,  10m SSB, 6m SSB and 2m SSB.  These transmitters will be
repaired when personnel become available.


             The major news items this week include:

                      A New Year Broadcast
                  Council meeting in Wollongong
                     Annual General Meeting
                         FM-828 Bonanza
                      Packet Users meeting
                      NTAC Chairman resigns

                           ----------

                         Divisional News

A New Year Broadcast

As mentioned,  this is the first "live" VK2 Broadcast for the new
year.   We  believe that some Divisions will not  commence  their
Broadcast  until later on in the month,  so in the meantime those
Members and listeners bereft of a local Broadcast are invited  to
tune in to VK2 instead.  The regular evening Broadcasts will also
re-commence  tonight,  and call-backs on most frequencies will be
taken.

Council meeting in Wollongong

There will be a meeting of the Divisional Council held in Wollon-
gong,  at the Illawarra SES headquarters in Montague St, starting
at 7.30pm.   The meeting was requested by John Simon VK2XGJ.  The
purpose of the meeting is to consider urgent NTAC business, set a
date for the EGM as requested in a petition to consider a  Motion
of  No Confidence in Council,  and to continue with business left
over from the previous meeting to consider a Motion of No  Confi-
dence  in the Divisional Secretary.   The next Council meeting at
Parramatta will be on Friday 21st January.

Office hours

Following  a well-deserved break,  the Divisional Office will  be
open  as usual from Monday 10th January,  at the usual  hours  of
11am to 2pm Monday to Friday, and 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday nights.
Thank  you  Margaret,  and we hope your in-tray will not  be  too
full!

Annual General Meeting

Don't  forget  that the AGM has been set for Sunday  10th  April.
The  closing date for agenda items and nominations is Monday 28th
February.

FM-828 Bonanza

Members  and Clubs may be interested to know the the Division has
obtained  over five hundred "FM-828 high-band"  VHF  radios,  for
subsequent disposal.  They were donated by a large telecommunica-
tions  company  in a ceremony attended by  the  President,  Vice-
President  and  Secretary.   There will be further details  in  a
later Broadcast.

Trash and Treasure Sale

The next Divisional Trash and Treasure is scheduled to be held at
Amateur Radio House, Parramatta, on Sunday 23rd January.

Packet Users meeting

Listeners  interested  in the development of packet radio in  the
Sydney  area are invited to an informal meeting at Amateur  Radio
House,  109 Wigram St, Parramatta, on Sunday 23rd January, start-
ing at 2pm.  Please contact Darryl VK2TDS for more details.

NTAC Chairman resigns

Cesar  VK2TCM,  the Chairman of NTAC (the NSW Technical  Advsiory
Committee) has resigned from that position,  effective immediate-
ly.  Cesar claims that the Committee cannot function effectively,
as there is too much control imposed by the Council, and the long
delays in approvals are causing much ill-will amongst the Clubs.


                     Vanity Callsigns in USA

Listeners may be aware that the USA regulatory body, the FCC does
not  charge for Amateur licences,  and as a result there  are  no
resources  avauilable  to permit Amateurs to pick their own  call
sign.   This could soon change.   The FCC has released its Notice
of Proposed Rule Making,  in PR Docket 93-305, to permit amateurs
to choose a ``vanity'' call sign.   Individuals as well as trust-
ees  of club stations would be eligible to request  an  available
call  sign  from the block assigned to their licence class  or  a
lower licence class.

A fee would be required.   The Communications Act specifies a fee
of 7 dollars per year for amateur service vanity call signs,  and
allows the Commission to require payment of small fees in advance
for  a  number of years not to exceed the relevant licence  term.
Fee  issues  would be resolved under a separate FCC  rule  making
proceeding,  and  a vanity call sign system would not be  started
until then.

The  applicant would provide a list of up to 10 total call  signs
desired.  The FCC would assign the first available requested call
sign  from  the applicant's list.   If none of the  desired  call
signs was available,  the applicant's current call sign would  be
reassigned.  Call signs of lapsed or deceased licensees would not
be available for reassignment for two years.   A call sign relin-
quished under the vanity call sign program would be available for
reassignment immediately.

-- From the ARRL Bulletin


                           WICEN News

This  is  a quiet time for WICEN,  barring the  usual  unforeseen
emergencies that seem to happen at this time of the year, so this
is  an  appropriate time to overhaul the  Sydney  WICEN  repeater
system  on  7150/8275.   A dual-band high-gain antenna  has  been
borrowed, and it will be placed in service, replacing the current
temporary antenna,  as soon as practicable.  Casual users of this
repeater  system  are reminded that except during net  times  and
other  activations,  there is a 30-second timeout;  you will soon
get used to keeping your overs short to avoid getting the dreaded
raspberry.

The  next major exercise is the annual Bungonia Cave  Rescue,  on
the weekend of 19-20th March.   Further details will be  provided
in  a  later broadcast.   The next Committee meeting will  be  on
Saturday 12th February.

The  Sydney WICEN net,  normally held every Thursday at 9.30pm on
repeater 7150,  is in recess and will re-commence later on in the
month.   In  the meantime,  this would be a good  opportunity  to
brush up on your communication skills, and ensure all your equip-
ment is in working order for that sudden activation.

-- Dave VK2KFU, WICEN (NSW) Publicity Officer


                        Broadcast Summary

Summarising the articles in this news broadcast so far:

We note the passing of Reg VK2YL last month.

The VK2 Broadcasts are now "live" again, every Sunday morning and
evening,  and  callbacks will be taken.   The office re-opens  on
Monday week, the 10th January.

There  will  be a meeting of the Divisional Council held  at  the
Illawarra  SES  headquarters in Wollongong,  starting at  7.30pm.
The  purpose of the meeting is to consider urgent NTAC  business,
set  a date for the EGM as requested in a petition to consider  a
Motion of No Confidence in Council, and to continue with business
left  over from the previous meeting to consider a Motion  of  No
Confidence in the Divisional Secretary.

The AGM has been set for Sunday 10th April.  The closing date for
agenda items and nominations is Monday 28th February.

Over five hundred "FM-828 high-band" VHF radios will soon  become
available from the Division.

Listeners  interested  in the development of packet radio in  the
Sydney  area are invited to an informal meeting at Amateur  Radio
House,  109 Wigram St, Parramatta, on Sunday 23rd January, start-
ing at 2pm.  Please contact Darryl VK2TDS for more details.

Cesar  VK2TCM,  the Chairman of NTAC (the NSW Technical  Advsiory
Committee) has resigned from that position,  effective immediate-
ly, claiming that the Committee cannot function effectively.


                            Club News

Central Coast Amateur Radio Club

Amateur radio operators, their families, friends and those inter-
ested  in amateur radio are invited to attend the 1994 GOSFORD  -
CENTRAL COAST FIELD DAY which will be held on Sunday 27th  Febru-
ary 1994 at the prestige venue, the WYONG RACECOURSE.  Gates open
at  9:00am.   TRADING AND ALL ACTIVITIES WILL COMMENCE AT THE NEW
TIME OF 9:00AM.

Registration  is $8 for adults,  with children under 12 free,  $5
for Seniors and Pensioners.  Special group concessions are avail-
able  on application.   The usual attractions will be  available,
and there will be seminars and workshop sessions.   Please listen
to future broadcasts for further information.

-- From a packet bulletin by David VK2UDT


                          Coming Events

Divisional Council meeting in Wollongong     .    .    .  TUESDAY
VK2 Divisional office reopens      .    .    .    .  10th January
Divisional Council meeting at Parramatta     .    .  21st January
Divisional Trash and Treasure Sale      .    .    .  23rd January
Packet Radio users meeting at Amateur Radio House .  23rd January
WICEN (NSW) Committee meeting .    .    .    .    . 12th February
AATC meeting   .    .    .    .    .    .    .    . 13th February
Central Coast Field Day at WYONG   .    .    .    . 27th February
Closing date for AGM     .    .    .    .    .    . 28th February
Daylight Saving ends     .    .    .    .    .    .     6th March
Bungonia Cave Rescue (WICEN)  .    .    .    .    . 19-20th March
AATC Workshop  .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    20th March

VK2WI Broadcast, 2nd January, 1994.  Copyright 1994 WIA (NSW) & contributors.

