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

Dementia Australia's Memory Walk and Jog events have been added to the WICEN NSW agenda. The first two in NSW are the Illawarra event on Sunday, February 21st, and in the Hunter on March 21st. The Sydney events are in May. Each is a short Sunday morning event, packed up my mid-morning.

WICEN's informal Communications Exercise, was a success, with much learned.

Members have been experimenting with WINLINK and JS8CALL to pass text messages, on Monday evenings, supported by a Google Meeting.

WICEN has a weekly net, each Sunday evening. The main net uses FM, and is at 1800, and a secondary net uses DMR digital voice at 1830. This afternoon's uses the Chatswood 2m repeater, 147.150 MHz; and the non-Amateur Kurrajong R52 TAC7 DMR device.

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

WICEN hopes to have a stand at the CCARC Field Day at Wyong on February 28th.

Members are asked to regularly check their vrarescue.org email address.

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

The NSW government's Spatial Information eXchange, or "SIX Maps" site now includes "eTopo" maps, as well as free download of "GEOPDF" topographical maps, covering NSW and the ACT.

WICEN ACT is part of the Canberra Region ARC. Their website is: http://www.crarc.org.au

WICEN Victoria's weekly net is Tuesdays at 8:30 pm, on 3.6 MHz. Duncan's Run at Turra-Bulga State Forest is March 20th and 21st, while the Baw-Baw Extreme is April 15th and 16th, both subject to confirmation. Visit: http://vic.wicen.org.au or search for WICEN Victoria on Facebook.

Lastly, please take care during the current heat-wave conditions.

Submitted by Julian Sortland VK2YJS & AG6LE, on behalf of the WICEN State Management Committee.