Wireless Institute of Australia

05/09/2026

NEW SUPPORT FOR WIA AFFILIATED CLUBS

As you'll hear on this Sunday's WIA National News Broadcast, the WIA is launching another initiative for its Affiliated Clubs: professional club governance training provided at no cost to participating clubs.

Earlier this week, WIA President Scott Williams VK3KJ wrote to Affiliated Club Presidents and Secretaries announcing a series of webinars delivered by Associations Forum, specialists in governance training for associations and not-for-profit organisations. The program will include two 90-minute sessions covering the roles and responsibilities of club committee members, plus a separate one-hour session for unincorporated clubs interested in understanding their incorporation options. Invitations and registration information will be sent to clubs shortly.

Good clubs need good governance. Amateur radio clubs are run overwhelmingly by volunteers, and becoming President, Secretary, Treasurer or a committee member can suddenly bring responsibilities well beyond organising the next meeting or maintaining the repeater. This program gives our Affiliated Club volunteers access to professional guidance and another opportunity for the WIA to provide practical support directly to clubs. Presidents and Secretaries who did not receive the WIA President's email should contact Affiliated Clubs Coordinator Angelo Giuffre VK2NWT at [email protected].

Find out more about WIA Affiliated Clubs - https://www.wia.org.au/members/clubs/about/

Associations Forum - https://associations.net.au/

05/09/2026

Good morning fellow radio enthusiasts, here is the link to the latest visual adaptation of the VK1WIA Weekly News Video for your viewing pleasure
https://youtu.be/oWgGfbSEzxQ
73
VK5BD

This is a visual adaptation of the VK1WIA Wireless Institute of Aus...

05/09/2026

VK9WX IS ON THE AIR FROM WILLIS ISLAND!

Keep an eye on the DX clusters because Sands VK4WXW is back on remote Willis Island, IOTA OC-007, operating as VK9WX. Sands is a technician with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and is operating in his spare time while working at the island's weather monitoring station. Activity is expected to continue until around late October or early November.

OPERATING: Primarily SSB and FT8 on 40–10 metres, with an inverted-L planned to provide additional lower-band capability. Recent cluster activity has included 7.056 MHz FT8 on 40m, 10.131 MHz FT8 on 30m and 21.074 MHz FT8 on 15m. These aren't fixed frequencies, so check the DX clusters for where VK9WX is actually operating. QSL is via M0OXO OQRS.

Willis Island is one of Australia's more unusual operating locations and a sought-after DXCC entity and IOTA OC-007. So point the beam into the Coral Sea and listen for VK9WX. Just remember this isn't a full-time DXpedition.

Latest VK9WX information – DX-World - https://www.dx-world.net/vk9wx-willis-island/

VK9WX QSL via M0OXO OQRS - https://www.m0oxo.com/oqrs/

Image sourced from the DX-World website.

04/09/2026

WICEN: LOCAL CAPABILITY, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Last Sunday's WIA National News gave us two very different examples of amateur radio emergency communications in action. In NSW, Richard VK2SKY from WICEN NSW joined VRA Rescue during the search for a missing bushwalker in the extremely rugged Nattai National Park. This time WICEN wasn't asked for radios, it was asked for boots on the ground. Richard's team worked through rocky escarpments, ravines and dense bush as part of the wider multi-agency operation. Sadly, the search ended tragically, and our thoughts remain with the family and friends.

Meanwhile, WICEN NSW Training Officer Ian VK2AMZ unexpectedly became part of an international communications experiment while holidaying in Hawaii. Following earthquake-related infrastructure damage and power outages, WICEN's counterparts in the Philippines, PAREDN, tested whether a Winlink radio message could be delivered through their gateway as an SMS to a mobile phone in the affected area. Ian provided the Hawaiian receiving end and the message got through. PAREDN has been building a substantial Winlink emergency network in the Philippines, including facilities for welfare traffic and Winlink-to-SMS delivery.

These two stories capture what amateur radio emergency communications can offer: trained local volunteers, field capability, resilient communications systems and international cooperation. Sometimes the contribution is a radio network. Sometimes it's digital messaging when infrastructure is disrupted. And sometimes it's simply a trained volunteer prepared to shoulder a pack and walk into difficult country when help is needed.

PAREDN – Philippine Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network - https://dx1prd.org/

WICEN NSW – Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/WICENNSW

WICEN Amateur Radio Communications – Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/124735400158

VK4 WICEN EmComms - https://groups.io/g/vk4-emcomms

03/09/2026

JOTA-JOTI 2026 IS COMING, AND AUSTRALIAN AMATEUR RADIO CLUBS ARE NEEDED!

From 16–18 October 2026, Scouts and Guides around the world will connect for Jamboree on the Air and Jamboree on the Internet, JOTA-JOTI. World Scouting describes it as the world’s largest digital and radio Scout event, bringing together young people from more than 170 countries through amateur radio, online communications, challenges and activities promoting friendship, technology skills and global citizenship.

In Sydney, the St George Amateur Radio Society, SGARS, will once again operate VK2LE at the Endeavour Boree Regatta at Kurnell. SGARS has supported JOTA at Boree since 1995, and this year hundreds of Scouts and Guides are expected to have the opportunity to get on air across HF, VHF and UHF, as well as try activities such as radio fox hunting. SGARS particularly wants to hear from other Australian clubs and JOTA stations so contacts can be arranged between Scouts and Guides around the country.

So here is the call to arms for Australian amateur radio clubs: contact your local Scout or Guide group now and ask what you can do together for JOTA-JOTI 2026. Put together a station, find some operators, string up an antenna and give young people the chance to actually get behind the microphone. Show them HF, satellites, digital modes, fox hunting, SDR or whatever your club does best. We can spend another year discussing how to attract young people into amateur radio, or we can put a radio in their hands. Get your club involved on 16–18 October.

JOTA-JOTI 2026 official website and registration - https://vkjotajoti.com/

SGARS – JOTA at the Endeavour Boree Regatta - https://www.sgars.org/jota-home

02/09/2026

ROCKINGHAM SCOUTS MAKE CONTACT WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION!

Congratulations to the Rockingham Scout Group in Western Australia, who successfully spoke live with NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway KJ5NIV aboard the International Space Station on Saturday 29 August during an ARISS school contact. The contact began right on schedule at 6:56 PM AEST and lasted around 10 minutes, allowing the Scouts to ask an impressive 14 of their 17 questions before the ISS disappeared over the horizon. And there is another wonderful space connection: the group is growing Wattle Trees from seeds that previously spent six months aboard the ISS!

The contact was made possible through the ARISS Ham Radio Telebridge, with John ZS6JON in Paardekraal, South Africa providing the radio link. Audio was distributed around the world through EchoLink, IRLP and linked VoIP networks, with Australian repeater systems across New South Wales, the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia connecting to the event. That allowed many Australian amateurs to listen to an ARISS contact live, some for the very first time. Amateur radio doing what it does remarkably well: connecting people across a ridiculous number of kilometres using a collection of volunteers, radios and antennas.

The event also marked the first ARISS contact streamed live on the new ARISS Australia & New Zealand YouTube channel. The recording includes the tracking, photos and audio from the contact:

Watch the Rockingham Scout Group ARISS contact - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_eQ3ctjW6k&t=5s

Congratulations to the Rockingham Scout Group, ARISS Australia & New Zealand, ARISS International, NASA, John ZS6JON, the participating repeater networks and the many volunteers who made another unforgettable amateur radio and STEM experience possible.

01/09/2026

WIA meets with the Minister for Communications

WIA Vice-President Peter Schrader VK4EA has met with the Hon Anika Wells MP, Minister for Communications and Minister for Sport, to discuss amateur radio and the WIA's role representing participants in the Australian Amateur Service.

The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss several important areas:

Who we are – the WIA's role as Australia's national representative organisation for amateur radio and the enormous contribution made by its volunteers.

Working with ACMA – Peter highlighted the positive and constructive relationship the WIA now has with ACMA personnel and the importance of continuing to work cooperatively with the regulator on issues affecting Australian amateurs.

International representation – the discussion covered WIA participation through the IARU and the wider ITU/WRC process. Minister Wells was already familiar with the World Radiocommunication Conference process and was interested to hear about amateur radio representatives travelling to Geneva, Switzerland, to participate in international spectrum work.

Working with our international partners – Peter also discussed the WIA's cooperation with other national amateur radio organisations including NZART in New Zealand, ARRL in the United States, RAC in Canada and JARL in Japan.

Maintaining these relationships matters. Decisions affecting amateur radio can begin with discussions at the national regulatory level and ultimately extend through regional and international spectrum processes. Having the WIA represented in those conversations helps ensure Australian amateur radio has a voice where it counts.

Minister Wells has served as Australia's Minister for Communications since May 2025 and is also Minister for Sport and the Federal Member for Lilley.

https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=264121

31/08/2026

Australian young operators wanted for VK9XY Christmas Island!

The VK9XY DXpedition will activate Christmas Island, IOTA OC-002, from 16 November to 4 December 2026, with a genuinely youth-led international team. Young operators will handle the planning and on-air operation, supported by veteran DXpeditioners Gregg W6IZT and Glenn W0GJ as mentors. The operation will use four local stations, two remote stations and a portable QO-100 satellite station, covering CW, SSB, FT8 and QO-100.

Around 30 to 40 additional young amateurs worldwide will also take part remotely using the NexGenRiB2 system, giving them real DXpedition experience without needing to travel to the island. The whole project is built around leadership, training and knowledge transfer, with the aim of ensuring the next generation of operators learns how to plan and run major DXpeditions rather than simply inheriting stories about how everyone else used to do it.

The team is still looking for Australian young operators to participate. If you are a young amateur interested in DXing, contesting, remote operation, antennas, station building or international teamwork, this is the sort of opportunity that does not turn up often. Contact Team Leader Max Freedman N4ML at [email protected].

WIA VK9XY story https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2026/20260727-1/index.php

VK9XY 2026 https://www.vk9xy2026.com/

Pacific Islands DXpedition Group https://www.pidxg.org/

29/08/2026

HORUS 73 TAKES AMATEUR RADIO INTO THE STRATOSPHERE THIS SUNDAY!

The Amateur Radio Experimenters Group (AREG) is launching another Project Horus high-altitude balloon from Mt Barker, South Australia, at around 10:00 am ACST on Sunday 30 August. Horus 73 is aiming for more than 30 km altitude, giving amateurs across SA and potentially western Victoria an opportunity to experiment with signals from the stratosphere.

There is an impressive collection of amateur radio technology going along for the ride: 145.075 MHz uplink / 438.975 MHz downlink cross-band FM repeater with 91.5 Hz CTCSS and VK5ARG as net control; a 916.575 MHz MeshCore LoRa repeater using Australia (Narrow); Wenet live digital imagery on 443.5 MHz; and Horus Binary telemetry on 434.200 and 434.210 MHz. You can make a voice contact, receive and upload telemetry, decode pictures from the balloon or experiment with MeshCore.

Track it, hear it, decode it and get involved. Full technical details, receiver information, MeshCore settings, tracking and live imagery links are available from AREG:

Horus 73 – AREG website - https://www.areg.org.au/archives/212984

29/08/2026

Good morning fellow radio enthusiasts, here is the link to the latest visual adaptation of the VK1WIA Weekly News Service for your viewing pleasure
https://youtu.be/nZFAlLdExdQ
73,
VK5BD

This is a visual adaptation of the VK1WIA Wireless Institute of Aus...