SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 29 MAY 2011
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 ‘Amateur Radio Today’ 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 7,066 and 3,695 MHz SSB.
In the news today:
CALLING YOUNG RADIO AMATEURS
RTA VENUE CHANGE
DOC DIRECTOR GENERAL APPOINTED
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting news items.
CALLING YOUNG RADIO AMATEURS
The SARL is planning various events to celebrate Youth Day on 16 June including a discussion with young radio amateurs still at school about how they became involved in amateur radio and how it has benefited them. The discussion will be by teleconference and be held on Tuesday 31 May 2011 at 19:30. To be considered to be included send an email with your details such as age and school attending as well as your landline number to artoday@sarl.org.za by tonight (Sunday). Youth in Amateur Radio will be transmitted on 16 June at 09:30 and will also be available for download.
The youth day sprint will follow from 10:00 - 12:00 CAT. Details of the competition can be found in the SARL Contest manual on www.sarl.org.za. There are some awesome prizes to be won including:
Two ARRL Antenna Books to be awarded to Radio Amateurs who host the most non-licensed youth in their shacks or special event stations. There are two categories: radio amateurs who are 18 years of age and younger and 19 years and older.
An ARRL Antenna book awarded to the Radio Amateur who sends in the best hi-resolution photograph of a leaner operating his or her station.
All logs submitted by radio amateurs 18 years and younger will go into the draw for one of the following: 3 Remote microphone kits, a Lightning Predictor kit, 5 SARL Student memberships and 3 Basic ARRL Antenna books.
Another exciting event planned is around SumbandilaSat. That will happen at just before 08:00.
More details will be available from www.sarl.org.za early next week. Get the youth involved on 16 June!
RTA VENUE CHANGE
The SARL Radio Technology in Action symposium will be held at a different lecture hall at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University than previously advertised. The new venue is in the Old Mutual Centre Lecture Room 003. The date is Saturday 4 June 2011 with registration starting at 08:15 and the conference at 09:00.
A map and driving instructions, as well as the full programme, are available on www.sarl.org.za, select RTA. Andrew Leitch, the Dean of Science, will open the event with a keynote address.
DOC DIRECTOR GENERAL APPOINTED
The Minister of Communications Roy Padayachie has appointed Maboko Rosey Sekese as Director General of the Department of Communications with effect from 1 June 2011 for a period of five years. Rosey Sekese obtained an Electrical Engineering Degree in Telecommunications from the University of Cape Town in 1994 and completed a Master's in Business Administration at the North-West University, Potchefstroom Business School. In 2007 she completed the Senior Executive Development Programme at Pretoria University.
Rosey Sekese has worked in the Department of Communications in the position of Deputy Director General ICT Infrastructure Development. One of her key highlights was the delivery of the FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP Information Communications Technology guarantees where she was the champion of the project, providing strategic leadership, and programme management.
She also has previous technical engineering background having worked for Denel as a Group Manager for Information Technology and as a Senior Engineer at Telkom.
REPORT ON SARL/ICASA LIAISON MEETING
The SARL and ICASA met last Thursday for their scheduled quarterly meeting. A number of issues were discussed. As far as corrections to the regulations are concerned, the committee and ICASA's legal department are still considering various aspects of SARL's complaints and expect to finalise the process in the next few weeks when corrections will be gazetted.
On the question of ZS and ZR callsigns, ICASA confirmed that ZR licences are now full class A and have the same privileges as ZS licensees. There is no requirement to change the callsign. If however a ZR licensee wishes to change his or her callsign to a ZS, a fee of R127 will be charged, which is R100 for the change of callsign and R27 for the new license.
The SARL petition for an allocation of a 150 kHz segment in the 5 MHz band was discussed. ICASA will review the current occupation of the band and consider the publication of a request for input by the public in the Government Gazette.
The question of licences for Radio Amateurs visiting South Africa from SADC countries was discussed and ICASA agreed to expedite the request and make a proposal to CRASA (Communications Regulators' Association of Southern Africa) for early adoption.
ICASA will inform the CEPT organisation of the changes in the South African license structure so that the full CEPT licensing agreement can be implemented.
The Question of a longstanding interference complaint by a Cape Town Radio Amateur was also on the Agenda. ICASA's Engineering Division will hold an internal meeting with the regional structure to bring finality to the case.
The next meeting will be held towards the end of July 2011.
SARLNEWS NEED EDITOR
Here is your opportunity to get experience in writing and editing news bulletins. Talk to George Honiball, SARL News Editor in chief, on 012 664 4155 or send email to gth@absamail.co.za.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is at low levels. New sunspot 1 223 continues to grow in the southern hemisphere. Another new sunspot is forming in the northern hemisphere as well. Up to now there was only a single day in 2011 without sunspots compared to 51 days in 2010 and 260 days in 2009. For the people doing their own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week is about 15.
15 m will provide the best opportunities for DX followed by 20 and 30 m and the WARC bands in between, of course.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
Today 29 May – young amateurs go to artoday@sarl.org.za and send your details if you wish to take part in the teleconference on Young amateurs.
31 May – Youth day teleconference at 19:30.
4 June - RTA in Port Elizabeth at NMMU in Old Mutual Lecture Room 003.
16 June – transmission of Youth in Amateur Radio at 09:30
16 June – Youth Day Sprint from 10:00 till 12:00 CAT
18 June - Programming in Windows course in Gauteng. Book at www.sarl.org.za.
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 Today every Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria area, with relays on 7 082, 7 205 and 17 750 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 18:30 CAT on 3 230 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 Gustav, ZS6BWN.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
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