SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 27 JUNE 2010
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 web stream, 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 also 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 10,130, 7,066 and 3,695 MHz SSB.
In the news today:
MAY 2010 RAE-CALL SIGNS RELEASED
RADIO TECHNOLOGY-IN-ACTION CAPE
THE IARU’s INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE FORUM
ARRL WARNS OF E-MAIL PHISHING SCAM
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting news items.
MAY 2010 RAE CALL SIGNS RELEASED
The SARL is pleased to announce that the long wait for your call sign is now over and it is available on the SARL’s web page.
To obtain your call sign, please click on the link on the top left hand side of the web page www.sarl.org.za that refers to the May 2010 RAE results and you will be directed to the results page. The SARL has an agreement with ICASA that you may immediately start using your call sign and get onto the air.
There are still a few candidates who have outstanding paperwork. Your call sign will not be issued until the paperwork has been received by the SARL office. If you call sign is withheld, there will be a ‘reason code’ as to why this has happened and the SARL urges you to remedy the issue by no later than next week Friday.
We look forward to having a chat with you on the air soon. Enjoy your call sign and have fun with the hobby. Remember that you will only now start your road of learning and the enjoyment of the hobby to its fullest.
Any queries can be directed to Mariska at admin@sarl.org.za or alternatively you can phone the office at 011 675 2393.
SUMBANDILASAT BACK ON THE AIR
SumbandilaSat is back on the air. Requests for operation over your area should be sent to saamsat@intekom.co.za by Mondays for possible inclusion in the schedule published on Thursday night/Friday morning regarding the following week.
It may not always be possible to accede to every request. The weekly schedule will be published on www.amsatsa.org.za. South African stations do not have to send requests for operation as Allan Saul will do the required scheduling while SO67 orbits over Southern Africa.
With recent changes in software, please note that the operating procedure has changed. Get full details on www.amsatsa.org.za.
RADIO TECHNOLOGY-IN-ACTION IN CAPE TOWN
Radio Technology- in-Action 2010 will be held in Cape Town at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in the Auditorium of the Gencor Building at the Bellville Campus on 24 July. Get all the details and the kit-ordering form from www.sarl.org.za. Click on ‘RTA’.
Three kits will be on offer and will be available for purchase on the day of the RTA. Payment will be cash only. Kits may also be pre-ordered and paid for online prior to the RTA and be collected at the RTA. No mail order facilities are available.
Registration for the RTA is R50 which includes some light morning and lunch time refreshments.
The three kits on offer are:
A 100 mw DSSS kit for 40 m.
Two Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) transceivers built in open PCB fashion, as a learning tool for DSSS. All sections of each transmitter and receiver are able to be explored and tested with simple gear found in your shack. A CD containing assembly and operating instructions are supplied - but no cables. The cost is R350.
A TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) 1 GHz Sampling Scope.
Specifically designed for TDR work - but can also be used for other applications. It is a USB device that plugs into a PC and runs a Windows Program simulating an image of a normal oscilloscope. A CD containing software, assembly and operating instructions is supplied - but no cables are supplied. The cost is R350.
A DSP (Digital Signal Processing) speaker kit.
For use on speaker output of any device to reduce or eliminate noise. It is ideal for HF Receivers. Built in open PCB fashion and ideal as a DSP learning tool. A CD containing assembly and operating instructions is supplied - but no cables. The cost is R325.
More details about the presentations will be covered in next week's SARL News, or you can download the full programme from www.sarl.org.za; select ‘RTA’ and follow the links.
THE IARU’s INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE FORUM
The IARU’s International Amateur Radio Satellite Forum will be held this year in combination with the AMSAT-UK Colloquium in Guildford, England on the weekend of 31 July 31 to 1 August.
The forum, chaired by IARU Amateur Satellite Advisor Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, takes place on the Sunday morning. On the Agenda is also a report back on the activities of the IARU’s Satellite Advisor and his advisory panel.
There will be a brief presentation covering the ITU’s notification requirements for satellites operating in the amateur service and the requirements for disabling transmissions, should the signals interfere with other users of the radio spectrum.
The forum is open to all delegates at the colloquium.
Colloquium Info at http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium/
NAME THE CUBESAT PROJECT
The competition to name the SA-AMSAT CubeSat project is attracting international attention with several entries from overseas’ countries. Thus far no entries have been received from South Africa. This seems somehow ironic that overseas’ amateurs take a greater interest in the SA-AMSAT project than local amateurs. Get the detail on how to enter at www.amsatsa.org.za.
ARRL WARNS OF E-MAIL PHISHING SCAM
The ARRL says that crooks are trying to use its identity to try to get members’ personal information. It warns members to ignore any requests seemingly coming from the League, asking for such data. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennent, K6PZW, reports:
ARRL WARNS AGAINST SCAMS
In a posting on its website, the ARRL says that it has received several reports from members with “arrl.net” e-mail accounts. They tell the League that they have recently been contacted via e-mail with requests asking for personal information such as user names and passwords.
The ARRL says that these e-mails are fraudulent attempts at phishing and did not originate from that organization. For those not aware, the term “phishing”, which is pronounced “fishing” but spelled with a “ph”, is where a cyber criminal uses someone else's name, e-mail or both, to try to get one to send them your personal information.
According to the ARRL’s Chief Financial Officer Barry Shelley, N1VXY, there is never a time when the League would ask via mass e-mail for user names and passwords of “arrl.net” users.
BOOKING FOR THE PRETORIA PIC COURSE OPEN
Bookings for the PIC course on 14 August in Centurion can now be made. Full particulars, as well as the booking form are available on the web at www.sarl.org.za. Click on ‘RTA’ and follow the links. The four-hour course will be presented by John Williscroft, ZS6EF, using various audiovisual methods. At the end of the course you will be able to work with PICs and programme them for other projects. Allow an additional hour for question time and a refreshment break. The closing date for bookings is 2 August.
If you have already booked, please make sure that your detail is recorded on the website. You can access the page by going to www.sarl.org.za, click on ‘RTA’ and follow the links to the booking page. If your booking is not reflected, please send an e-mail to rta@sarl.org.za. No other form of booking confirmation is sent.
CONTEST NEWS
SARL Digital Contest. The SARL Digital contest is on the air this afternoon from 13:00 to 16:00 UTC on 40 metres as well as 2 metres using PSK. The contest is open to all radio amateurs in Southern Africa.
The exchange is a signal report plus a QSO number, starting at 001. Logs must be sent to the Lichtenburg ARC, PO Box 410, Lichtenburg, 2740 or by e-mail to zs6lrk[at]nwinternet[dot]za[dot]org. the closing date for log submissions is 12 July 2010.
IARU HF Championships. The annual IARU HF Championships takes place on 10 and 11 July 2010 and this year the WRTC will also be run on that weekend. Is there a radio club or clubs who are interested in operating ZS0HQ on phone and CW during the contest? What about ZS85SARL? If you are interested please notify Dennis, ZS4BS, by e-mail to zs4bs[at]netactive[dot]co[dot]za.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is still at low levels. Currently Sunspot 1 082 is the only sign of activity on an otherwise very moderate sun. The effective sunspot number is expected to be less than 10 for the coming week.
20 m will provide the best opportunities for DX followed by 15 and 17 m. Conditions to India will be excellent from the afternoons onwards. During the late afternoons and early evenings it will also be favourable towards Europe. Contacts with the USA are still tough. Contacts with Australia and New Zealand are becoming promising on 20 m at sunrise. Contacts with Brazil and South America are becoming demanding.
For the CW and digital enthusiasts, 30 m may be very gratifying with openings to many parts of the world.
Local conditions are going to be excellent during the daytime on 40 m. With the change of season 30 m has taken over from 20 m for contacts over the longer distances during the middle of the day. With the decrease in noise levels, 80 m is the best for the shorter distances and also during the early mornings and late afternoons.
80 m is the frequency of choice during the evenings.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
27 June – This afternoon, The SARL Digital contest from 13:00 to 16:00 UTC on 40 metres as well as 2 metres;
10/11 July - IARU HF Championships and WRTC;
18 July - Intechnet at 19:30 on VHF-/UHF- and microwave matters;
23 - 24 July - Preparation and launch of the HABEX balloon project;
24 July - RTA symposium in Cape Town.
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 to www.sarl.org.za/newsinbox.asp, not later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date.
The SARL also invites you to listen to Amateur Radio Mirror International every Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria-area, with relays on 7 082, 7 205 and 17 560 kHz. There is also a podcast by ZS6RO.For a web-stream and Echolink by ZS6FCS, visit www.sarl.org.za, click on 'ARMI' and follow the links. A repeat transmission can be heard on 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 Leon, ZS4V, and edited by Jannie, ZR6PHD.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
