SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE
SARL NEWS SUNDAY 22 APRIL 2007
You are listening to Amateur Radio Station ZS6SRL of the South African Radio League, the National Body for Amateur Radio in South Africa, with a news bulletin that is broadcast every Sunday at 08:15 CAT in Afrikaans and at 08:30 CAT in English. This broadcast can also be heard on Echolink by connecting to ZS6FCS. To listen to a web stream go to www.sarl.org.za, click on ARMI and follow the links. This, and previous bulletins, can be downloaded from the web site of the SARL i.e. www.sarl.org.za. You can also read or download previous bulletins from there and subscribe to receive future bulletins by email.
This transmission is by Hans, ZS6KR, on 145,725 and 7,066 MHz from Pretoria with relays on 3,695, 10,135, 14,235 and 51,400 MHz as well as 438,825 MHz in the Pretoria area. (Other news readers please change to suit).
In the news today:
HELP THE SARL TO UPDATE THE CALLBOOK
NEXT INTECNET TO FEATURE A DISCUSSION ON THE EASTERN CAPE REPEATER NETWORK
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DX SURVEY
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more detail on these and other important and interesting news items.
HELP THE SARL TO UPDATE THE CALLBOOK
A call book is only as good as the correctness of its entries. Members of the SARL are invited to use the advanced facilities to check entries and send updates to the SARL office.
Please check the callbook entries for your areas using the advanced features on www.sarl.org.za. Using this tool, members can call up all the callsigns in a town, or postal code, or even part of a postal code.
For example, if you would like to see all the amateurs in East London, use the "Postal code" search option and type in "52", this will give all the callsigns where the postal code in the QSL information begins with 52. Similarly if one types in "00" it will list all the entries in the postal code area 00 which is Pretoria and surrounding areas.
Using such a list of names and callsigns please help to identify silent keys whom have not been reported to the SARL or ICASA. If you have information about any such person, or a persons who have moved away and no longer have their South African callsigns, please let the SARL office know.
The office fax number is 088 011 675 2793, or you can e-mail the information to Vee Antal at admin@sarl.org.za.
If you are not a member of the SARL you cannot use the advanced facilities, you can however look up your own callsign and supply any corrections by emailing the details to admin@sarl.org.za or faxing it to 088 011 675 2793.
May be it is now time that you joined.
Remember the SARL relies on all amateurs to keep the callbook data accurate. When last did you check your callbook entry? The SARL callbook is used by the publishers of international callbooks and web look-up facilities. It is therefore in your own interest to ensure that your information is up to date.
Over and above normal QSL information you'd expect to find in any callbook, did you know that:
- You can check to see if a callsign is active on APRS and even see its last reported location, and that of any of their SSIDs?
- You can see how many QSO's have been confirmed by this person using the SARL's SA-QSL system?
- You can see if you've worked this station before and had a QSO confirmed on SA-QSL?
- You can see a photo of this person?
- You can see their Grid Locator if they have one listed, and if they do you can also see a Google Earth type map of the area where they live? In the major centers these maps can be zoomed in to the point where you can see the car parked in the driveway.
- You can also use this map to pin point your QTH to within a few meters.
- You can see if this person is a SARL member and therefore accessible through the league’s QSL bureau.
NEXT INTECNET TO FEATURE A DISCUSSION ON THE EASTERN CAPE REPEATER NETWORK
The next INTECNET is on Sunday evening 6 May with Chris Scarr, ZS2AAW, as the guest speaker. Chris will dicuss the concept behind the Eastern Cape Repeater Network which now strecthes as far as Cape Town and Bloemfontein. He will also share some of the new ideas he has for the network.
The President’s Net will precede the Intecnet at 19:00. Graham Hartlett will give an update on several suggestions made at the AGM and discuss implememtation strategies discussed at the first council meeting the week before the net. Intecnet follows the President’s net at 20:00. Clubs are urged to link their local repeater to the conference network. Send details of the landline to be linked to armi@sarl.org.za.
SARL OFFICE FAX FACILITY
The SARL office is using a fax mail system to receive faxes. This allows for faxes to be distributed to Councillors for their attention. It is therefore import to send faxes to the full number which is 088 011 675 2793. Please only use this number in the future.
ZR's AND ZU's FAR MORE FORTUNATE THAN THEIR AMERICAN COUNTERPARTS
Technician-class licencees in the USA, who gained extra priveleges on February 23rd of this year, are still not permitted to operate phone (voice) on any frequency below their 10 m band allocation.
In addition to all Amateur Radio operating privileges above 50 MHz, Technicians who never passed a Morse code test now have CW privileges on certain segments of 80, 40 and 15 meters plus new CW, RTTY, data and SSB privileges on certain segments of 10 meters.
Thanks to the input of the SARL and its' members, amateurs in South Africa who hold the equivalent to the USA's technician-class licence, have for the past two years had almost identical priveleges to their ZS-counterparts. Even the newly revamped entry-level ZU class licence has more phone priveleges!
Food for thought while you are mulling over taking the plunge and finally becoming a league member.
COMPETETION NEWS
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DX SURVEY
Which DX entities are most wanted by Southern African radio amateurs? How does the most wanted listing for Southern Africa look? Dennis, ZS4BS, has created a MS Excel spreadsheet containing the 2007 DXCC list and there is place where you can indicate which DXCC entities you need on CW, SSB or digital modes (RTTY, PSK, etc). The spreadsheet is available from Dennis, zs4bs@netactive.co.za or you can download it from the SARL web site at www.sarl.org.za. The closing date for the survey is 30th June 2007.
PEARS DIGITAL AND MICROWAVE COMPETETION
The Port Elizabeth ARS has informed the SARL Contest Manager that they have decided to scrap the PEARS Digital and Microwave contest. For the past two years, there have been no entries.
CLUB NEWS
NEW CLUB
A new club, The Lowveld Radio Amateur Club, was established in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. The following members were elected to its management committee:
Chairman, Piet Badenhorst, ZS6PJB;
Vice chairman, Henri Steyl, ZS6ST;
RAE, Helgi Braithwaite, ZS6HB;
Repeaters and Technical, Nic Cronje ZS6WW.
The club installed a new TAIT repeater on 145,675 MHz, giving coverage to the Nelspruit, White River and Sabie areas and it also covers part of the N4 main route.
They are also experimenting with APRS, UI VIEW and have an IRLP Node which is continuously running.
Congratulations with the initiative in the Low Veld, and may your club go from strength to strength.
KALAHARI-KAROO CLUB ACTIVITIES
The long weekend from 27 April to 1 May is going to be a very busy time in Division 3. The Kalahari-Karoo Amateur Radio Club reports that the following activities will be happening:
The Landcruiser Club of South Africa (LCCSA) will be gathering at the Boegoeberg Dam. Carel, ZS3OBE, will be operating an educational field station, ZS3FLY, to raise the awareness of amateur radio among the members of the LCCSA and thereby recruit members to write the RAE. Word has it that there are 5 or 6 new ZU amateurs amongst the participants.
The Voortrekkers have a "Vasbyt" camping weekend at the Lohatla Military Training Area. Gerhard, ZS3TG, Daniël, ZS3DS, and Piet, ZS3DI, will operate an educational field station to give these youngsters exposure to amateur radio. They will mainly be active on 40, 80 and occasionally 2 m. Their QTH (camp) will be in KG11nv. They will be on air from Saturday 28th until Monday 30th April.
The Adventure Radio Club will be visiting Division 3. They will camp on Verneuk Pan and operate their field station, ZS3ARC.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be at very low levels. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from unsettled to major storm levels on 28 to 29 April. The expected Effective Sun Spot number for the coming week will be less than 5.
20 and 15 metre will provide best opportunities for DX. There is a possibility of 15 and 20 metre openings towards India from about 06:00 and again at 13:00 CAT. Conditions are going to be challenging towards Australia. From about 15:00, there may be good 10, 15 and 20 m openings towards Europe. Contacts to the USA are going to be very challenging. For the CW and digital enthusiasts it may also be worth monitoring 10 MHz.
Although the predictions may not be too enthusiatic, HF always has the capability to surprise you. You will never know what you are missing unless you switch on your rig, listen and also call CQ.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
27 April to 1 May – ZS3FLY, with the Land Cruiser Club at Boegeoebergdam, on the air also ZS1 Amateur Radio Club active from Verneukpan;
28 to 30 April – ZS3ARK active with the Voortrekkers at Lohatla;
5 May – Cape Town ARC Flea Market and also the West Rand Radio Club Flea Market;
6 May – President’s Net and Intechnet;
30 June – Closing date for updating of SA DX Survey.
SARL News depends on clubs and individuals for news items of importance and interest to radio amateurs. The one and only way to ensure that your contribution will reach the SARL News team, is to place it in www.sarl.org.za/newsinbox.asp not later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date. It will be appreciated if you will do it in both Afrikaans and English.
The SARL also invites all listeners to listen to the program Amateur Radio Mirror International this Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria area with relays on 7 082, 7 205 and 17 695 kHz. Audio is also streamed on www.zs6mrk.org and on Echolink from ZS6FCS as for this bulletin. A repeat transmission takes place on Mondays at 21:00 on 3 215 kHz. Telkom and Sentech sponsor the ARMI transmissions on the non-amateur frequencies.
You have been listening to a news bulletin by the South African Radio League, which was compiled by George, ZS6NE.
A prosperous week to all, 73.
/EX
