[continued from previous message]   
      
   For reference, a conventional cell reaches 80% after about 2,400 cycles.   
      
   The researchers say that the number of cycles would be equivalent to   
   driving about 8 million kilometres in an electric vehicle. This is within   
   striking distance of having the battery last longer than the other parts   
   of the vehicle. The researchers employed synchrotron x-ray diffraction to   
   study the wear on the electrodes.   
      
   One interesting result is that after use, the single-crystal electrode   
   showed very little degradation. According to reports, the batteries are   
   already in production and they expect to see them used more often in the   
   near future. The technology shows promise, too, for other demanding   
   battery applications like grid storage.   
      
   SINGAPORE CELEBRATES   
      
   Celebrating the 60th anniversary since Singapore became an   
   independent republic back on the 9th of August 1965, Singapore Amateur   
   Radio Transmitting Society's members are allowed to replace their normal   
   prefix (9V1) with the special prefix S60 from now, January through until   
   August 9.   
      
   Felix VK4FUQ will have more news on special event stations in just a   
   'tick.'   
   -------------------------------------------------------------------   
      
   OPERATIONAL NEWS - A FELIX VK4FUQ PRESENTATION   
      
   --------------   
   --------------   
   NOW CONTEST WISE:- 2025   
   --------------   
   --------------   
      
   VHF UHF Field Day   
      
   Upcoming Contest Date & Time   
      
   Summer 2025 - 0100 UTC Saturday 18 January through 0059 UTC Sunday 19   
   January (0400 / 0359 in VK6).   
      
   wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/   
   -----------   
      
   CQ 160 METER CONTEST   
      
   CW  January 24 - 2200Z January 26.   
      
   SSB February 21 - 2200Z February 23.   
      
   (cq)   
   ---------------------   
      
   AUSTRALIA DAY CONTEST JANUARY 26.   
      
   Amateurs in VK will endeavour to contact other amateurs around the   
   world. Some VK operators will be using the AX prefix to celebrate   
   Australia day, as its wanted by many amateurs around the world.   
   Scoring is distance based and calculated using 4-character grid   
   squares.   
      
   Contest Manager Alan Shannon VK4SN   
      
   It is held on the Australia Day Public Holiday that being 26 of   
   January.   
      
   wia.org.au/members/contests/australiaday/   
   -----------   
      
   CQ 160 METER CONTEST   
      
   SSB February 21 - 2200Z February 23.   
      
   (cq)   
   ---------------------   
      
   ------------------------   
      
   HARRY ANGEL MEMORIAL 80 Meter Sprint, Saturday May 3.     (vk4uh)   
      
   wia.org.au/members/contests/harryangel/   
   -------------------------   
      
   VK Shires Contest  7th - 8th June 2025   
      
   wia.org.au/members/contests/wavks/   
      
   -----------------------   
      
   NZ Straight Key Night   
      
   Next New Zealand Straight Key Night will be held Sunday 8 June   
   from 9pm to 10pm NZDT (0800 to 0900 UTC) on 80 metres.   
      
   Polish and lubricate that old morse key and enjoy an evening of   
   old-time radio fun.   
      
   Straight Key Night is an informal event which honours the roots of   
   amateur radio: Morse Code sent with a straight key (no bugs,   
   sideswipers, keyers or keyboards).   
      
   When.   
   Winter SKN is the second Sunday in June, 8-9pm NZ time.   
   Summer SKN is always the first Sunday in December, 9-10pm NZ time.   
      
   SKN honours the original amateur radio mode in an easy-going style.   
   Operators send signal report, name, location, type of key, type of   
   transmitter and power output. Stations are limited to 100W output   
   power.   
      
   SKN is not a contest - but the operator who gets the most votes for the   
   quality of their sending will win the Bruce Scahill Best Fist Award.   
   This certificate honours Bruce ZL1BWG (SK), who was a dedicated   
   supporter of SKN. Please email your nomination to ZL1NZ within one week   
   following the event.   
      
   (Neil ZL1NZ, SKN Manager)   
   -----------------   
      
   -----------------------------------------------------------------   
   DX WINDOW TO THE WORLD.-------------------   
   -----------------   
   JANUARY 2025   
   --------------   
   --------------   
   --------------   
   Our I.A.R.U. celebrates its centenary this year (2025).   
      
   Since its founding in Paris, France, IARU has worked tirelessly to   
   promote innovation in amateur radio and to encourage the growth of   
   the service in communities throughout the world.   
      
   VI 100 IARU is a special event callsign transmitting from VK3 to help   
   celebrate the IARU Centennial.   
      
   qsl via MO 0 OXO   
      
   (qrz.com)   
      
   ----------   
      
   During 2025 the SARL will be on the air with special event callsign   
   ZS 100 SARL, as well as the permanent callsigns ZS6SRL and ZS9HQ and   
   possibly other special event callsigns.   
      
   (sarl)   
   ----------   
      
   Callsign C 5 RK from the Gambia is on air 4 and 5 of January   
   before moving onto Senegal.   
      
   Senegal on the 11th and 12th will be using callsign 6 W 1 RD.   
      
   SSB and FT8/FT4 on 80-10 metres and all QSLs are via EA7FTR.   
      
   (newsline 2461)   
   ----------   
   8 R 1 TM from Georgetown, Guyana, now until the 8th of February.   
   CW, SSB and digital modes on all bands.   
   (newsline 2461)   
   --------------   
      
   Listen for Earl operating from Trinidad as 9Y4/WA3DX now until the   
   14th of January using FT8 and FT4 on 40-10 metres.   
   (newsline 2461)   
   ------------------------------------------------------------*   
      
   QNEWS WORK BENCH   
   Measure twice cut once.   
   blubrry.com/arrlontheair/   
   Conventional wisdom has it that the solid state era in electronics   
   began in 1948 with the invention of the transistor, or if you wish to   
   split hairs, with the 1930s invention by the Russian, Oleg Losev,   
   of an early form of tunnel diode.   
      
   But there's an earlier amplifier technology that used a solid state   
   circuit which is largely forgotten, and AWA Communication Technologies   
   Museum has featured it in a new video. We're talking of course about   
   the carbon microphone amplifier, a piece of telephone technology which   
   made its way into consumer electronics.   
      
   The carbon microphone is a container of loosely packed carbon granules   
   acted upon by a diaphragm. Vibrations from sound compress and   
   decompress the granules, changing the electrical resistance of the   
   carbon. It was the standard microphone used in telephone handsets for   
   most of the twentieth century. Being a resistor it can be placed in a   
   potential divider circuit that produces some significant voltage   
   swings, so when the vibrations come from a high-impedance earpiece it   
   can make an amplifier.   
      
   It's not a very good amplifier, it has lousy bandwidth, distortion and   
   noise characteristics, but it was just about good enough to be paired   
   with a 1920s crystal set.   
      
   In the video shown in the link in this week's text edition of   
   WIA NATIONAL NEWS,   
      
   youtube.com/watch?v=_wrqAHjzwGE   
      
   You will see a variety of the devices, and even hear them in action   
   sounding very tinny indeed. At the time it must have seemed miraculous   
   to be at the forefront of the new technology though.   
      
   (Hackaday)   
   ------------------------------------------------------------*   
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER   
   AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org   
      
   CONGRATULATIONS VK5DG   
      
   David from Mt Gambier has made the GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers   
   January 2025 Rankings.   
      
   The January 2025 rankings for the Top 100 Rovers (Mixed LEO/MEO/GEO) in   
   satellite operations, as determined by @GridMasterMap on Twitter, has been   
   released. The ranking is determined by the number of grids and DXCC   
   entities activated, taking into account only those grids where a minimum   
   number of QSOs logged on the gridmaster.fr website have been validated by   
   a third party.   
   During 23 and 24 much of VK5DG'sy time was spent on Greencube IO-117.   
   That is before it went silent in August 2024, David made 2500+ contacts   
   while activating 84 parks, 13 SOTA and 57 grids in VK1, 2, 3, 5, and 7.   
      
   Grid numbers do not directly reflect the exact number of activations.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)