SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE
SARL NEWS SUNDAY 27 MAY 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 as well as on 145,7875 and 438,850 MHz in the Johannesburg area.. (Other news readers please change to suit).
SILENT KEY
It is with sadness that SA AMSAT learned of the passing away of Garth Milne, ZR1AFH, after a short illness early on Friday morning. Garth gave South Africans the first satellite, SUNSAT, and was largely instrumental in securing an amateur radio payload on SumbandilaSat. He was a true pioneer in technology. His key has become silent but his contribution to science and technology will long be remembered. Our thoughts and sympathy go out to his wife, relatives and friends. A memorial service will be held on Monday 28th May at 14:30 in the Welgelegen Dutch Reformed Church in Dalsig, Stellenbosch,
(PAUSE)
In the news today:
ALL ROADS LEAD TO STELLENBOSCH NEXT SATURDAY
CANDIDATES HAVE DONE WELL IN THE MAY RADIO AMATEUR EXAMS
JOIN THE PRESIDENT’S NET AND INTECNET THIS EVENING
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more detail on these and other important and interesting news items.
ALL ROADS LEAD TO STELLENBOSCH NEXT SATURDAY
An exciting day awaits Western Cape Radio Amateurs when the SARL Radio Technology event will be held at the University of Stellenbosch next Saturday 2 June 2007. The event takes place at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in lecture hall 203 in the Electronics Engineering Building. The cost is R20 per person which includes entry into the attendance prize draw. Students and learners enter free. The proceedings will be opened by Prof Chisto Viljoen.
Lectures and demonstration include:
. The mystery of the frog's thigh - the story of the invention of the battery. This is a very popular lecture with demonstrations of how the battery as we know it today was developed.
. Research in ionospheric radio propagation - South Africa is in the forefront of research in this area. The lecture will highlight the work carried out at the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory.
. Cognitive Radio, an emerging technology that may make more intelligent use of the available radio spectrum.
. Automatic Position Reporting System, (APRS) a system that uses amateur radio to transmit position reports, weather reports, and messages between users. A live demonstration is included in the presentation.
. BACAR 2007 - a new approach to promote Amateur Radio at schools and a fun club project using a miniature satellite launched on a couple of party balloons. BACAR is the acronym for Balloon Carrying Amateur Radio.
The full programme is available on www.sarl.org.za, click on Radio Technology in Action.
CANDIDATES HAVE DONE WELL IN THE MAY RADIO AMATEUR EXAMS
Excellent results have been recorded in the May Radio Amateur Examination. Of the 65 candidates who wrote the class A exam 57 passed, putting the pass rate at 87,7%. 26 of the 31 candidates who wrote the class B examination passed. The pass rate is 86,7%. This was the first examination where candidates who wrote the class A exam could also write the class B exam if they felt that they would not pass the class A exam. Of the 9 candidates who failed the class A exam, 8 also wrote the class B exam of which 5 passed.
The highest mark in the class A examination was achieved by two candidates who obtained 98%. Congratulations to L Kriedeman, ZS1LEO, and Ms L Fitchat, ZS6LIZ.
The highest mark in the class B examination was 93%. Congratulations to D G Jackaman, ZU6DG, and H D Steyn, ZU6SAP.
The oldest person to write the class A examination is 73 years old and the youngest person 14. The youngest candidate in the class B exam is 13 years old,
The SARL congratulates all the candidates who were successful and hopes that they will soon be on the air enjoying amateur radio. If you did not make it this time, don't give up, study some more and write the next class A examination on 18 October or the next Class B exam on 2 August 2007. All the results are available on www.sarl.org.za.
JOIN THE PRESIDENT’S NET AND INTECNET THIS EVENING
Join the SARL President Graham Hartlett this evening at 19:00 (Sunday 27 May 2007) when he will discuss some of the recent developments on PLT. The guest speaker on the Intecnet, starting at 20:00, is Dick Stratford, ZS6RO, who will talk about APRS and answer questions on how to become involved. His discussion will be supported by a PowerPoint presentation which is available on www.sarl.org.za, click on ARMI and you will see the link. The presentation is in PDF format for easy download.
Clubs wishing to link their local repeater are invited to send details to armi@sarl.org.za . Both programmes are streamed on the internet and on Echolink. You will find the links on the SARL web under ARMI.
THE TRUST INVITES YOUR INPUT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION COMPETITION
Are you a constructor at heart? Why not enter the 2007 construction competition. It is an open competition which means you can enter with your favourite project. There are two Yaesu VHF transceivers sponsored by Verstay to be won and a number of 2007 ARRL handbooks. Full details on how to enter can be found on www.amateurradio.org.za.
BOOK A SLOT FOR YOUR GROUP TO TALK TO MARK SHUTTLEWORTH DURING THE SARL YOUTH DAY EVENT
To ensure that the group of young people you or your club are hosting on Youth Day on 16 June get to talk to Mark Shuttleworth you need to book your slot now. Time slots will be allocated on a first come basis and will vary between 5 and 15 minutes depending on the size of your event. Mark will be available between 10:00 and 11:30.
To book slots send an email to armi@sarl.org.za with the following details: Group/Club, where the event will be held and how you plan to link into the network. It is planned to have the normal President/Intecnet links operational. How many young people do you expect to host? Who will be your liaison officer and his/her contact details? A detailed guideline will be mailed to the liaison officer a week before the event.
Don't delay. Do it now if you or your club don't wish to miss out.
CLUB NEWS
APRS INTEREST MEETING
The ERB Club extends their apologies to those who travelled to the APRS Meeting which was scheduled for the 19th May.
The meeting was cancelled at the last minute and all were not informed. No new date has been set as yet.
DURBAN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NEW COMMITTEE
At the recent AGM of the Durban Amateur Radio Club the following Committee was elected:
Chairman Louis de Bruin ZS5LP;
Vice Chairman Dave Long ZS5FR;
Secretary Laurie Devereux ZS5DL;
Treasurer Louis de Bruin ZS5LP;
Members Dave Smith ZS5LPT;
Danny Giraud ZS5DG;
Glen Duffy ZS5GD;
Neal Slogrove ZR5NAS.
Good luck to the new committee and thanks to the retiring committee members for all their hard word.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will continue at very low levels. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to unsettled levels on 3 till 4 June. The expected Effective Sun Spot number for the coming week will be less than 5.
20 m and 15 m will provide best opportunities for DX. There is a possibility of 20 m openings towards India from about 15:00 CAT. 40 m may open towards Australia from 20:00. From about 15:00, there may be good 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 DX predictions may currently not be too enthusiastic, now is the time to work towards your 80 m WAZS during the evenings. Remember that HF always has the capability to surprise you. You will never know what you are missing unless you switch your rig on, listen and also call CQ.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
This evening 27 May – President’s Net and Intecnet;
16 June - SARL Youth day;
30 June - Closing date for updating of SA DX Survey;
2 August - Class B RAE;
18 October - Class A RAE.
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 Gustav, ZS6BWN.
A prosperous week to all, 73.
/EX
