SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE
SARL NEWS SUNDAY 17 JUNE 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 newsreaders please change to suit).
SILENT KEY
It is with regret that we have to announce the passing of Robert Mansfield, ZS5RB, aged 94, on Saturday 9th June 2007. We extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
PAUSE
In the news today:
TWO YAESU VX-2R 2 m / 70 cm HANDHELD TRANSCEIVERS TO BE WON
NEXT ZU EXAMINATION ON 23 AUGUST
BUMPER EDITION OF RADIO ZS
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more detail on these and other important and interesting news items.
TWO YAESU VX-2R 2 m / 70 cm HANDHELD TRANSCEIVERS TO BE WON IN SARL CONTESTS
SARL VHF Manager Piet Badenhorst, ZS6PJB, has announced that the winners of the two contests coming up on 24 June and over the weekend of 21 - 23 September will receive a YAESU VX-2R 2 m / 70 cm micro handheld transceiver.
The first contest is the SARL Digital Contest next Sunday, 24 June running from 13:00 UTC to 16:00 UTC on the 40, 6 and 2 metre bands. The second contest is the SARL VHF/UHF contest that takes place over the weekend of 21 - 23 September.
The SARL Digital Contest is sponsored by the Lichtenburg Amateur Radio Club and is aimed at the promotion of the use of the PSK mode in South Africa, and to establish as many contacts as possible between radio amateurs in Southern Africa using this mode.
PSK is the acronym for Phase-shift keying. It is a digital modulation scheme that conveys data by changing, or modulating, the phase of the carrier wave. What do you need to get started? The first step is to download the latest version of PSK31 from http://aintel.bi.ehu.es/psk31.html, install it and read the comprehensive help files. The site also includes a full explanation on how to wire up your transceiver to the PC.
As far as the competition rules are concerned, download the contest handbook from www.sarl.org.za. You will find details of the Digital Contest on page 8.
"PSK is an interesting mode,” Piet Badenhorst told SARL News. "In many circles it is regarded as the successor of RTTY. I encourage radio amateurs who have not engaged in digital communications to set up for the contest on 24 June. Perhaps the best reason to do so is that it costs nothing and only a few junk box components are needed for the radio to PC interface.
The YAESU micro miniature 144/440 MHz handheld has extensive receive frequency coverage, providing local-area two-way amateur communications along with unmatched monitoring capability. It is the world's smallest HT with 1,5 / 1 watt output. Receive range is 500 kHz to 999 MHz (less cellular). This means you can hear the AM, shortwave and FM broadcast bands, TV audio, aircraft and public service channels. CTCSS/DCS with split tone capability is built in. Kobus Conradie, ZS1DC / ZS6UZ, of LetsPlayRadio has donated the transceivers for the contest.
NEXT ZU EXAMINATION ON 23 AUGUST
A typographical error slipped into last week's SARL NEWS item about the next ZU examination. The exam for the entry-level licence will be held on Thursday 23 August. The closing date for entries is 23 July 2007.
BUMPER EDITION OF RADIO ZS COMING YOUR WAY SOON
The next edition of RADIO ZS was mailed on Friday 15 June, will reach members this coming week and will be available for download by members from www.sarl.org during the week. The edition has a range of interesting articles leading with Dave Ingram, K4TWJ's feature "Ham Pride - our legacies and traditions.”
Hannes Enslin, ZS6JDE’s interesting article on EME for Africa is another good read. Texting with Eagle is about an interesting SMS type facility that will be included in AMSAT North America's Eagle project.
Chris Gryffenberg, ZS6COG, reviews the RigExpert Standard digital mode’s interface available for use with digital modes and general transceiver control. He now shares his experience with you in purchasing and installing the Rig Expert.
The Quickie beam by Al Akers, ZS2U, is the ideal article for newcomers to amateur radio who would like to build a quick and inexpensive beam, or for the amateur who has trouble getting into the local repeater with a ground plane.
Eddie Leighton, ZS6BNE, asks the question in his Digital Modes column “is there a future for amateur radio?” There is also museum news, scouting and all about QSL cards. Do not miss this edition of Radio ZS.
Thanks to members of the Boland ARC who assisted in putting Radio ZS into the envelopes and affixing the address labels.
If you have something interesting to share, write it for Radio ZS and send it to Dennis Green, ZS4BS. His email address is zs4bs@netactive.co.za or radiozs@sarl.org.za. From now on Radio ZS will be published alternate months, so more reading for your membership of the SARL.
DX SURVEY
The closing date for the Southern African DX Survey is Saturday 30 June 2007. The survey can be downloaded from the SARL web site and after completing it, e-mail it to zs4bs@netactive.co.za. To date some 15 surveys have been received.
Also available on the SARL web site is DX Tracker V5, a MS Excel spreadsheet created by Tjerk, ZS6P, to assist you in keeping track of your DXCC entities worked and confirmed.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be at low to very low levels. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet in general with unsettled to minor storm levels possible on 19 until 22 June. The expected Effective Sun Spot number for the coming week will be less than 5.
20 and 40 metres will provide best opportunities for DX. There is a possibility of 20 metre openings towards India from about 15:00 CAT. 20 metres may open towards Australia from 07:00. From about 17:00, there may be 20 metre openings towards Europe. At about 16:00 short 20 metre openings towards the West Coast of the USA are possible. Otherwise, contacts to the USA are going to be very challenging. For the CW and digital enthusiasts, it will also be worth monitoring 10 MHz.
It is once again time to work on your 80 metre WAZS award in 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 call CQ.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
24 June – SARL Digital Contest;
30 June - Closing date for updating of SA DX Survey; ZS6PTA Flea Market;
1 July – President’s Net and Intechnet;
23 August - Class B RAE;
18 October - Class A RAE.
SARL News wishes all fathers a very happy Father’s Day.
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 Dennis, ZS4BS.
A prosperous week to all, 73.
/EX
