SARL NEWS SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2009
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 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 bulletin and previous ones from www.sarl.org.za and subscribe to receive future bulletins by e-mail.
Your news reader 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 52,750, 438,825 and 1 296 MHz FM in the Pretoria area. (Other newsreaders please change to suit).
SILENT KEY
Gottfried Kemmer ZR6WWA has become silent key on the 16th of September. Our condolences to his wife Maria, family and friends.
(Pause)
In the news today:
SARL ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF HOME CONSTRUCTION COURSE
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS HAS RELEASED DRAFT FREQUENCY SPECTRUM POLICY
DATES FOR 2010 SARL EVENTS
SUMBANDILASAT MAKING PROGRESS
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more detail on these and other important and interesting news items.
SARL ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF HOME CONSTRUCTION COURSE
The SARL will be presenting a series of Home Construction courses staring in Gauteng on 21 November 2009 at the NARC. Dates for Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth have been posted on the web.
The course is intended to give the following skills: how to make SMD quality PCB's, how to mount SMD components and how to make industrial quality face plates and labels.
The techniques used are original, and will turn a home built project into a real quality item. Some of the methods and techniques to be taught will be valued and protected by many electronic companies operating in the industry.
In addition a CD with circuit and PCB generating software for windows together with a practical demonstration that will turn your circuit into a first case industrial grade project, will be made available. At the course participants will be given materials to manufacture PCB's and mount SMD components.
Course fees and registration details can be found on www.sarl.org.za, select RTA under the activities on the home page. Only 20 participants can be accommodated at each course and will be accepted on a first come first service basis.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS HAS RELEASED DRAFT FREQUENCY SPECTRUM POLICY
On the 18th of September the Department of Communications published the draft frequency spectrum policy for comment. This policy, once finalized, will determine how spectrum is managed in South Africa and will provide ICASA with the guidelines. The policy will also affect the amateur spectrum and its management going forward. The SARL will study the document and prepare a submission to the DOC requesting that the amateur spectrum is highlighted because of its nature in providing community services, particularly should an emergency arise. The policy also lays down some guidelines affecting spectrum pricing.
Radio Amateurs in South Africa are invited to study the document and make input to the SARL for possible inclusion in the submission being prepared by the SARL as the national body for amateur radio in South Africa. The Government Gazette can be downloaded from www.sarl.org.za, click on publications and select ARMI. The deadline for submissions to the SARL is 7 October 2009.
DATES FOR 2010 SARL EVENTS
Dates for the 2010 RTA and PIC courses have been published on the SARL web. Diarize the dates. Details of when the bookings for the PIC courses will open will be announced in early January. The dates can be found on www.sarl.org.za on the RTA pages.
SUMBANDILASAT MAKING PROGRESS
The ground control station is making good progress in checking out the various systems on the satellite. Radio Amateurs will still have to wait some time before the amateur payload will be activated.
Paterson AFB in USA informed the SunSpace team that they had incorrectly labelled SumbandilaSat as Fregat-IRIS. They are part of the radar tracking network responsible for uniquely identifying over 20 000 objects in Earth orbit! The team has up to Thursday last week been tracking the Fregat-Iris (35 867) instead of SumbandilaSat (35 870).
After correcting the TLE information, communication with the satellite is more consistent and reliable which should speed up the activation process. The elements and up to date information is regularly posted on www.amsatsa.org.za.
LAST CHANCE TO PAY YOUR SARL SUBSCRIPTION
The 2009/2010 SARL subscriptions were due on 1 July this year with the final deadline 30 September. After that date membership privileges will be suspended. If you have not paid your subscription as yet, please do so in the next few days. If you pay after that date you will lose any unbroken membership status you may have built-up. The current subscription is only R340. Think about it for less than R1 per day you can support the national body that takes care of amateur radio in South Africa and, through its membership of the IARU, internationally.
Call Mariska on Monday at 011 675 2393 or send an email to admin@sarl.org.za if you need a copy invoice or banking details.
VISITING THE SARL OFFICE
It happens from time to time that you may need to pay a visit to the SARL office and there is nothing more frustrating than planning your trip, arriving at the NARC and there is no one there.
As much as we try to ensure that there is someone at the office during our normal times, which are Monday to Thursday from 08:30 – 16:00 and from 08:30 – 11:00 on a Friday, it does happen that Mariska is sick, or has taken leave due to any reason.
We would request that before you decide to embark on your trip, to please phone the office first on 011 675 2392 to make sure that Mariska is there and will be available to assist you.
A lock up box will shortly be installed at the front entrance to the office, where you will be able to drop off any important items for our attention.
SUCCESSFUL HAMNET EXERCISE
The Disaster Management Specialized Communication Volunteers, part of Hamnet South Gauteng, took successfully part in an exercise during which a major flood in the Kempton Park area was simulated. The objective was to assist new members to understand what type of information is required, to be concise and only respond on the frequency when the command centre calls the person in.
Howard, ZS6ZS, delivered the Metro's Mobile Command Unit within half an hour after receiving the call. Chris, ZS6COG, and Francois, ZR6COI, activated a second command post at the Springs Disaster Centre within 15 minutes. Within one hour a joint operations centre was set up at the Birchleigh Medical centre. The Hamnet team had established HF, VHF and UHF communications within 30 minutes after arrival.
CONTEST NEWS
The second leg of the SARL 80 Metre QSO Party will be run on Thursday evening 1 October from 19:00 to 22:00 CAT. It is a phone only contest with activity on 3,600 to 3,650 and 3,700 to 3,800 MHz.
The exchange is your call sign, a RS signal report and a consecutive serial number commencing with 001. Scoring is ten points per contact with a local station and 15 points with a station outside South Africa. Logs must be submitted by 16 October and sent to the Durban Amateur Radio Club, 17 Brownlee Place, Bluff, Durban, 4052 or by e-mail to zs5lp@sharksden.co.za.
The provisional results of three contests have been released. The full listing of results can be found in HF Happenings 372.
Boland 40 Metre Sprint:-
1st Ettienne Vosloo, ZS1AX, 56 points;
2nd Jan Botha, ZS4JAN, 50 points;
3rd Philip Verster, ZS1DV, 43 points.
SARL 40 Metre Mobile Competition:-
1st Gerhard Coetzee, ZS3TG, 477 points;
2nd J F Olivier, ZS5JP 342 points;
3rd Tienie Herbst, ZS6MHH, 278 points.
SARL HF Phone Contest:
Multi-Operator Stations:-
1st David Hutchinson, 3DA0DJ, 423 points;
2nd Bloemfontein Defence ARC, ZS4CD, 326 points.
Single Operator Stations:-
1st Jan Botha, ZS4JAN, 243 points;
2nd Gary Potgieter, ZS5NK, 188 points;
3rd Daniel Mans, ZS3D, 167 points.
The best score on a single band - Rosalie Van Loggerenberg, ZR2RL (ZS2DN), 141 points on 40 metres.
Following the SARL HF Phone contest, Rule 4 and 5 of the General Rules will be strictly adhered to during the checking of logs and summary sheets. Any logs found to be in contravention of these rules will be re-classified as check logs.
CLUB NEWS
Following the AGM of the East Rand Radio Club on 19 September 2009, it is our pleasure to announce the new committee that will be serving East Rand Amateurs in 2010:
Chairman Francois Jacobs, ZR6COI;
Vice Chairman and Youth Marius Mynhardt, ZS6MGM,
Secretary Charlotte Miller, ZU6CEM,
Honorary Treasurer Andre van Tonder, ZS6HE,
Bulletins Judy Pretorius, ZR6POP,
Special Projects Margolet McKenzie, ZR6MRG,
Special Projects Brian McKenzie, ZR6BNM,
Flea Markets Francois Botha, ZR6COI,
QSL Manager Mitchel Mynhardt ZS6YH,
Web Master Greg Miller, ZS6GDM,
SARL Public Information Officer Ben Homan, ZR6BEC,
Repeater Custodian Chris Gryffenberg,ZS6COG
The East Rand club now boasts in excess of 50 members and they invite all East Rand Radio Amateurs to join in their regular activities that are open to all, members and non members.
On Saturday 3 October 2009 the East Rand Flea Market takes place at the East Rand Clubhouse in Plantation Road Springs, behind the Civic Centre. They are QRV on 145,675 MHz, the East Rand Repeater.
Activities start at 08:00 and conclude by 11:00.
Tables are R 20-00 each and bookings are essential. Contact Francois on 079 932 7131 to secure your spot.
There is plenty of parking and seating available. Refreshments will be on sale. Go and join in the fun of the flea market.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is still at very low levels. The good news is that two sunspots appeared simultaneously during the week. It is the first time in three months that this has happened.
20 and 15 m will provide best opportunities for DX. Conditions to the East and the West will be good from the afternoons onwards. During the late afternoons and early evenings it will be good towards Europa. In the mornings it may be possible to make contacts with Australia. Contacts with New-Zealand are going to be challenging. During the early mornings and evenings 20 and 40 m contacts may be possible with Brazil.
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. 30 m will perform well over the longer distances during the middle of the day.
80 m is the frequency of choice in the evenings.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
1 October - Second leg of the SARL 80 Metre QSO Party;
3 October - East Rand Flea Market;
6 October – Logs for Heritage Day sprint to be in to riaanzs4pr@gmail.com;
7 October – Comments on Draft Frequency Spectrum Policy to be in;
16 October –Logs for second leg of the SARL 80 Metre QSO Party to be in.
21 November - Home Construction course, Gauteng, at the NARC.
SARL News invites clubs and individuals to submit news items of interest to radio amateurs and shortwave listeners. Submit news items, if possible, in both English and Afrikaans only 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 Amateur Radio Mirror International programme every Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria area, with relays on 7 082, 7 205 and 17 570 kHz. There is also a podcast by ZS6RO. 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.
You have listened to a bulletin of the South African Radio League, compiled by Roger, ZR3RC, and edited by George, ZS6NE.
This is the last bulletin to have been compiled by Roger since he will be taking up further studies at the beginning of next year. We thank Roger for his contribution to amateur radio as a volunteer member of the news team and we wish him all the success in his new endeavours.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
