SARL NEWS – SUNDAY 9 NOVEMBER 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 transmitted every Sunday at 08:15 CAT in Afrikaans and at 08:30 CAT in English. To listen to a webstream, visit www.sarl.org.za, click on ARMI and follow the links for details. PLEASE NOTE: for audio via Echolink, connect to ZS0JPL-R.
You can download this and previous bulletins from www.sarl.org.za and subscribe to receive future bulletins by e-mail.
Your newsreader this morning is (name), (call sign), 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).
In the news today:
ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE TODAY
LIGHTNING PREDICTOR KIT NOW AVAILABLE
MAJOR VHF DX-PEDITION PLANNED FOR JANUARY
78 NEW AMATEURS ON THE AIR SOON
MICROCHIP PIC PROGRAMMING COURSE TO BE PRESENTED IN PORT ELIZABETH, DURBAN AND CAPE TOWN
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more detail on these and other important and interesting news items.
ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE TODAY
The annual Remembrance Day service will be broadcast in Amateur Radio Mirror International today at 10:45 CAT. The service is in memory of all radio amateurs who lost their lives in duty to their countries.
The service will be conducted in Afrikaans by the reverend Hannes Enslin, ZS6JDE, and can be heard on 7 082 kHz, 7 205 kHz and 17 860 kHz, as well as on several repeaters around the country. To listen to the service on the Web or echolink, go to www.sarl.org.za, click on publications, select ARMI and from there follow the links.
There will be a repeat broadcast at 21:05 CAT on Monday evening on 3 215 kHz.
Radio Amateurs are requested to observe radio silence today from 10:45 - 11:00 CAT as a gesture of respect for fellow radio amateurs who paid the highest price..
LIGHTNING PREDICTOR KIT NOW AVAILABLE
Treat yourself to an interesting construction project that is very useful if you live in an area where thunderstorms occur. A complete kit for a Lightning Predictor is now available from the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust at R100 plus R20 postage and packaging. By ordering the kit you are contributing to the newly established Study Grant scheme to assist young radio amateurs to study electronics and communication at a tertiary institution.
The Lightning Predictor device measures the static charge between the clouds and the earth, and as the charge builds up before a storm the LED indicators show you the charge increasing in intensity. It is very interesting to watch the wave-type motion and the intensity of the LED signals changing, as a result of increases and decreases in static charges – as a storm approaches – and the sudden drop in charge when a strike occurs.
Full order details can be found on www.amateurradio.org.za.
MAJOR VHF DX-PEDITION PLANNED FOR JANUARY
A major VHF DX-pedition to Namibia, that will include operation on a number of VHF bands and modes, is in the final planning stages. The team will be led by HB9CRQ, one of Europe's top EME operators and will include moonbounce operation on 50, 144, 432 and 1 296 MHz.
January is also one of the peak months for Tropospheric-ducting propagation in the South Atlantic Ocean. Experienced tropo operators, including Glenn, ZS2GK, and Dave, N7BHC, will make a serious attempt to complete the first ever 144 MHz contact spanning the Atlantic Ocean. Glenn was recently at one end of a 2 m contact with FR5DN on Reunion Island, a distance of just short of 3 000 km and Dave, a native of Port Elizabeth, runs a 144 MHz beacon from the east coast of the U.S., beamed towards Europe.
Satellite operation is also planned by using low earth-orbiting satellites. The location should give good coverage, including all of Africa and much of the eastern portion of South America.
The group will assemble in Pretoria on 5 January 2009 and will leave early on the following morning for the drive to Luderitz, where the station will be put into operation on arrival. The last day of operation is expected to be on 16 January.
There is still an opportunity to join the expedition. Visit www.sarl.org.za for more details and regular updates.
78 NEW AMATEURS ON THE AIR SOON
101 Persons were registered for the October Radio Amateur Examination. All the candidates wrote the examination and 78 passed. 58 candidates passed the class A examination and 20 the class B examination.
The highest score in the class A examination was achieved by M de Klerk, ZR6DOT. The highest score in the class B exam was achieved by B McKenzie, ZU6BMC.
The youngest candidate to pass the class A was P Verster, ZS1AJ, 14 years old and M Mynhardt, ZU6MM, 9 years old.
Congratulations to all the candidates who passed and we look forward to hear you on the air. If you did not quite make it this time try again next year.
MICROCHIP PIC PROGRAMMING COURSE TO BE PRESENTED IN PORT ELIZABETH, DURBAN AND CAPE TOWN
Following requests from radio amateurs in other areas of South Africa, John Williscroft, ZS6EF, has agreed to present the PIC programming course in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. The course is part of SARL's Radio-Technology-in-Action programme.
The first course will be presented at the NARC on 29 November. This course is, however, fully booked. Only a maximum of 20 candidates can be accommodated. For details of the course visit www.sarl.org.za, click on ‘activities’ and select RTA.
Radio Amateurs in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal should talk to their local clubs. The RTA team has extended an invitation to clubs in these areas to co-operate in making the course locally available. The cost of the course is R200 for SARL members plus the cost for a programmer. The charge for non-members is R400 plus the cost of the programmer.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be very low. The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly at quiet levels till 24 November. The expected Effective Sun Spot number for the coming week will be less than 5.
20 m will provide best opportunities for DX. There is a possibility of 15 and 20 m openings towards India from about 12:00 CAT. Contacts with New Zealand are going to be very challenging. At 08:00, weak 20 m contacts may be possible with Australia. From 08:00 contacts with Peru may be possible on 20 m for a few minutes. Brazil may be worked on 15 m from 12:00 and on 20 m from 18:00. From 16:00 there may be weak 15 and 20 m openings towards Europe.
Contacts with the USA East Coast are possible on 15 m from 18:00.
10 MHz is looking promising late afternoon and after dark for the CW and digital enthusiasts.
Local conditions are going to be good on 40 m during the day time. 80 m may perform well during the early mornings and late afternoons over the shorter distances, e.g. between ZS5 and ZS6. 30 m may perform well during the middle of the day between ZS6 and ZS1.
80 m is the frequency of choice in the evenings. With summer here the thunderstorms and static discharges may cause contacts to be a bit challenging.
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
15/16 November - 2nd leg of SARL HF Field Day Competition;
15 November - Closing date for submission of comments on the draft competition manual;
15 November - Closing date for learner's essay "Man's habitation of the moon: can Amateur Radio play a role?";
29 November – Course on the implementation of PIC;
30 November - Closing date for submission of nominations for SARL councillors;
30 November - Last day for updating repeaters database;
31 January 2009 - Last day for submission of motions and agenda items for 2009 SARL AGM.
SARL News invites clubs and individuals to submit news stories of interest to radio amateurs and shortwave listeners. Submit news items – 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 webstream 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.
Gustav, ZS6BWN, compiled today's South African Radio League news bulletin.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
