Submitted by VK2YJS on

WICEN NSW, is a communications support squad of the NSW Volunteer Rescue Association.

WICEN (NSW) Inc 2020 AGM will be held on Saturday September 26th, commencing at 2.00pm. Due to COVID-19 restrictions the meeting will be held by teleconference. Members will be advised via their VRA email address on how to join the meeting.

While the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is officially cancelled for 2020, paddlers and supporters are still encouraged to donate to support Arrow. Details are at: http://www.canoeclassic.asn.au

The Volunteer Memorial Day 2020 is on Sunday, October 11th, at 11 am. Due to COVID-19 this is an invitation only event, but it will be streamed online.

Members have been experimenting with JS8CALL to pass short text messages, on Monday evenings, supported by a Google Meeting. Details are on the calendar in the VRA email system. The software is available at: http://js8call.com/

WICEN has a weekly net, each Sunday evening. The main net is at 1800, and a secondary check-in net at 1830. On 1st, 4th and 5th Sundays the main net will be on the Chatswood 2m repeater at 1800, followed by the (non-Amateur) Kurrajong VHF High-band repeater -R52 TAC 7 using Time Slot 1, at 1830. On 2nd and 3rd Sundays the Kurrajong - Berowra 70 cm FM system will be used, followed by a net on the DMARC Talkgroup 3810, also Timeslot 1, at 1830.

Members are also encouraged to take advantage of the free courses offered by OEM at: https://www.emtraining.nsw.gov.au/

Members are sought for various logistics and administrative tasks. These include repeater management and asset management.

Given earlier fires and storms, and now COVID-19, Trek for Timor Blue Mountains is now a "virtual" event; the upside being it is possible to take a sponsored walk in any location. Details ar at: http://trekfortimorbm.org.au

For Facebook users, there is an official WICEN NSW page; and an informal national WICEN group.

WICEN ACT is part of the Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club. The club is moving all events, including lectures, online or on-air. Upcoming events include the Brookvale Horse Enduro is October 11th, and the LCCC "Monaro Stages Rally" on the 31st. The BMSC "National Capital Rally" is November 28th and 29th. Their Foundation licence course, and all-level Australian exams, are November 21st and 22nd. For more info visit the group's website: http://www.crarc.org.au or the CRARC Facebook page.

WICEN Victoria - The weekly net is on each Tuesday at 8:30 pm, on 3.6 MHz. The Baw-Baw Extreme is no longer listed as a WICEN event. WICEN Victoria's website is: http://vic.wicen.org.au

Submitted by Julian Sortland VK2YJS, on behalf of the WICEN State Management Committee.