SARL NEWS SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2008
You are listening to ZS6SRL the official Radio Station of the South African Radio League, the National Body for Amateur Radio in South Africa, with a news bulletin that is transmitted every Sunday at 08:15 CAT in Afrikaans and at 08:30 CAT in English. To listen to a web stream or Echolink by ZS6FCS visit www.sarl.org.za, click on ARMI and follow the links for details.
You can download this and previous bulletins from www.sarl.org.za and you can also subscribe there to receive future bulletins by email.
Your newsreader this morning is Hans, ZS6KR, on 145,725 and 7,066 MHz from Pretoria with relays on 28,325, 14,235, 10,130, 7,066 and 3,695 MHz SSB as well as 51,400, 438,825 and 1 296 MHz FM in the Pretoria area. (Other newsreaders please change to suit).
SILENT KEY
It is with regret that we have to announce that the key of F.J. (Koos) Brink, ZS6AFJ, became silent recently. Koos leaves his wife, Lettie as well as a son Andries, ZR6AJ, and daughter Poppie.
Our sincerest condolences to his relatives and friends
(PAUSE)
In the news today:
ZR AMATEURS WARNED TO OPERATE ONLY IN THE ALLOCATED FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
BACAR WILL BE TAKING TO THE SKY END MAY EARLY JUNE
DETAILS OF WESTERN CAPE RTA NOW ON THE WEB
ASTRONOMY GEOGRAPHIC ADVANTAGE ACT SOON TO BE PROMULGATED
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more detail on these and other important and interesting news items.
ZR AMATEURS WARNED TO OPERATE ONLY IN THE ALLOCATED FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
The SARL Council is concerned about ZR radio amateurs who operate outside the segments of the amateur bands for which they are licensed. The SARL has received a number of reports about ZR Licensees operating on 20 metres outside the ZR segment. This is a transgression of the license condition and could lead to cancellation of the licence.
ZR licensees may operate on the following segments of the 20 metre amateur band:
14 070 - 14 099 kHz CW portion of the band and 14 225 - 14.250 kHz Phone portion of the band.
The other ZR HF segments are:
160 metre band 1 810 - 1 850 kHz;
80 metre band 3 500 - 3 800 kHz;
40 metre band 7 000 - 7 100 kHz;
15 metre band 21 070 - 21 120 kHz and 21 300 - 21 450 kHz;
10 metre band 28 050 - 28 150 kHz and 28 300 - 28 500 kHz.
BACAR WILL BE TAKING TO THE SKY END MAY EARLY JUNE
At the first SA AMSAT BACAR 2008 meeting held at the SARL National Amateur Radio Centre in Gauteng it was decided to launch BACAR in the late May early June time frame. A number of payloads are being investigated by members of the initial team. The next BACAR meeting will be held at the NARC on Saturday 23 February 2008 at 11:00. Some of the payloads being considered are an APRS system, a 2 metre and 40 metre beacon giving temperature and pressure details and a parrot repeater. For more detail on BACAR and how to join the project, visit www.amsatsa.org.za.
DETAILS OF WESTERN CAPE RTA NOW ON THE WEB
The programme for the Western Cape is now available on the web. The first RTA for 2008 will be held on the Cape Town campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology on Saturday 8 March.
Setting the scene for the day will be a panel discussion which will look at where Amateur Radio is going in the next 5 years. This will be followed by presentations on Spread Spectrum, WiFi for amateur radio, Space Weather and HF propagation for Amateur Radio. On the practical side there are papers on APRS on HF, and How to build a Power Supply from scratch.
The SARL objective with the RTA is to give radio amateurs and electronic hobbyist an insight into the new technologies that will drive amateur radio of the future. While some of the titles may sound intimidating, the presentations are at a practical level for the enjoyment of all who are attending.
ASTRONOMY GEOGRAPHIC ADVANTAGE ACT SOON TO BE PROMULGATED
It is expected that the Astronomy Geographic Advantage bill will soon be signed into law. The new act gives the Minister of Science and Technology a wide range of powers to declare areas where the Square Kilometre Array project is likely to be established a radio frequency restricted zone. Rural areas of the Northern Cape will be the main area to be affected. While the act may sound harsh, there are a number of safeguards built in to consult with other users of the radio spectrum.
The SARL interviewed Adrian Tiplady, the SKA project leader for Radio Frequency Interference to clarify the impact on Radio Amateurs. The interview will be transmitted on Amateur Radio Mirror International later today. The programme can be heard at 10:00 CAT on 7 082, 7 205 and 17 570 kHz. It is also streamed on the web. Visit www.sarl.org.za, click on publication and follow the links to ARMI.
RADIO ZS
The editor of Radio ZS requests members to submit suitable material for publication in the six issues for 2008. Articles can be submitted in MS Word or text format. Pictures and graphics must be sent separately. Your article can be sent by e-mail to radiozs@sarl.org.za or by snail mail to Dennis Green, Box 12 104, Brandhof, 9324.
CONTEST NEWS
SARL HF FIELD DAY
The first leg of the SARL HF Field Day starts at 10:00 UTC on Saturday 9 February and ends 24 hours later. Phone and CW may be used in the contest bands from 160 to 10 metres. Participation can be as a multi-operator field station, a single operator field station or a general station. A general station is defined as a station that does not conform to the requirements for a field station. The exchange is a RS or RST report and the category - S for single operator, M for multi-operator or G for general stations.
The complete rules are available in the 2008 SARL Contest Manual, which can be downloaded from www.sarl.org.za.
VHF/UHF SPRINT
The first VHF/UHF Sprint will take place from 14:00 to 15:00 UTC on Sunday 24 February. This hour-long sprint will be run on 2 metres and 70 cm. The rules are in the 2008 SARL Contest Manual.
CLUB NEWS
SANDTON AMATEUR RADIO CLUB PRESENTS AN RAE COURSE
The Sandton Amateur Radio club will be starting the next RAE course on Wednesday 6 February 2008 starting at 19:00 at the National Amateur Radio Centre. Should you know of anyone who would like to join in on the course, they can contact Mark Zank, ZS6YES, on 083 367 8943 or alternately email Mark to zs6yes@gmail.com. The full course schedule can be downloaded from the Sandton Amateur Radio web page www.zs6stn.org.za and follow the RAE link.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be very low. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet, increasing to unsettled levels on 9 till 10 February. The expected Effective Sun Spot number for the coming week will be less than 10. DX conditions will generally be good on the North-East and the North-West paths and poor in the general Northerly directions.
15 m and 20 m will provide best opportunities for DX. There is a possibility of 15 and 20 m openings towards India from about 14:00 CAT. There may be short, weak 20 m openings to Australia from 08:00. From 16:00 there may be short, weak 15 and 20 m openings towards Europe. From 19:00 there may be weak 15, 20 and 80 m openings towards the USA.
10 MHz is looking very promising after dark for the CW and digital enthusiasts.
Locally conditions on 40 m are going to be good during the day. 30 m may perform well over the longer distances.
80 m is the frequency of choice in the evenings, thunderstorms and static permitting!
Remember that this is only a prediction and that HF always has the capability to surprise you but you will never know unless you switch your rig on, listen and also call CQ.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
6 February - Sandton Amateur Radio Club RAE course starts;
9 and 10 February - SARL HF Field Day;
16 February - Closing date for nominations for SARL awards;
24 February - VHF/UHF Sprint;
8 March - RTA in Cape Town.
SARL News invites clubs and individuals to submit news stories of interest to radio amateurs and shortwave listeners. Submit news stories if possible in both English and Afrikaans to www.sarl.org.za/newsinbox.asp not later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date.
The SARL also invites you to listen to the programme Amateur Radio Mirror International, on the air every Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria area with relays on 7 082, 7 205 and 17 590 kHz. For the web stream and Echolink by ZS6FCS visit www.sarl.org.za, click on ARMI and follow the links. A repeat transmission can be heard Mondays at 21:00 CAT on 3 215 kHz. Sentech sponsors the ARMI transmissions on the non-amateur frequencies.
Today's South African Radio League news bulletin was compiled by Roger, ZR3RC.
Thank you for listening. 73.
/EX
