SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER 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.
(PAUSE)
In the news today:
SOME 40 SARL MEMBERS MISSING FROM THE ICASA RECORDS
FASTRAC 1 NEEDS YOUR HELP
LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD FACILITIES
NATIONAL RADIO AFGHANISTAN INTRUDES ON 40 METRES
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting items.
SOME 40 SARL MEMBERS MISSING FROM THE ICASA RECORDS
Colin de Villiers, ZS6COL, has been working on bringing the SARL and ICASA records in line. During the process some 40 members were found to be on the SARL records that are not in the ICASA Data base. Technically speaking these persons are using their call signs illegally.
At the SARL - ICASA quarterly liaison meeting held on Thursday 8 December ICASA agreed to send emails to the affected persons requesting that they complete an application form for an amateur license and to submit the completed form as soon as possible. This will enable ICASA to correct their records. If you receive such an email from ICASA during next week please respond as quickly as possible.
Several other issues were discussed and will be fully reported on in the SARL Update to members which will be sent via email to all members during next week and will be posted on the web after that.
FASTRAC 1 NEEDS YOUR HELP
The FASTRAC satellites have been in operation for more than a year and the team has been able to get a lot of data from them. But over the last month the team noticed that one of FASTRAC-1's on board microcontrollers, which controls one of the experiments, has not been booting up correctly. The team has done everything possible to correct this issue apart from turning it off which can only happen if the batteries fall below a specific charge level.
Since the satellites have been power positive throughout this whole year the only way this can happen is if the satellites transmit more often. Given that one of FASTRAC goals has always been to eventually provide a platform for amateur radio enthusiasts to use after the primary mission was over, the team has decided to open up FASTRAC-1 to the amateur radio community with the hope, as more people use it to digipeat through the satellite, the battery levels will diminish and cause a hard reset of the microcontrollers on board.
To increase the chances of causing a hard reset, it is requested that as many amateur radio enthusiasts as possible try to digipeat through the satellite on this weekend
If you are successful at digipeating through the satellites or have any problems doing so please let us the team know by e-mail to fastracsats@gmail.com. Frequency and information on how to digipeat can be found on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/fastracsats.
LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD FACILITIES
Times they are a-changing. The majority of South African DXers have already learned the joys of confirming new countries through the Logbook of the World. Instead of waiting for months or years like in the olden days, most of us now wait days or weeks for confirmations. And it is free!
DXCC applications are now routinely processed within a week.
Unfortunately, LotW currently only makes provision for the ARRL's DX Century Club (or DXCC), Worked All States and VHF/UHF Century Club (or VUCC). Support for other awards is still being implemented.
Several South Africans are now actively chasing US States using LotW confirmations only. Participants include ZS2DL, ZS2EZ, ZS2Y, ZS4TX and ZS6EZ. Most of them have already completed several bands and modes.
For other awards, paper cards are still mostly required. Tjerk Lammers ZS6P, the League's Awards Manager, can check cards for most awards, including DXCC. CQ Magazine awards, including Worked All Zones, can be checked by Donovan van Loggerenberg, ZS2DL, or Chris Burger, ZS6EZ. Contact them directly for more information.
You can see a list of South African award holders on zs6ez.org.za/lists.
A great thanks to Tjerk, Donovan and Chris for their, also free, unselfish service to fellow radio amateurs.
NATIONAL RADIO AFGHANISTAN INTRUDES ON 40 METRES
Uli, DJ9KR, reports that National Radio Afghanistan is operating on 7 200 kHz covering 7 195 through 7 205 kHz with its audio sidebands. Please monitor the station and send reports to Fred Scheepers whose email address is zs1fcs@telkomsa.net.
SARL OFFICE HOLIDAY CLOSURE
The SARL office will be closed over the Christmas and New Year weekend from 23 December. The office will open again on 3 January 2012.
GIVE A BOOK AS A CHISTMAS PRESENT
Last week SARL News gave details of the new 2012 ARRL Handbook and the new Antenna Books. They are still available in hardcover. The SA Amateur Radio Development Trust also has the Satellite Handbook, Basic Antennas and Small Antennas for Small Spaces available. Get the full details on www.amateurradio.org.za/books.htm.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is at predominately low levels declining further with only minor C-class flares detected during the week. The sun's surface is still peppered with smaller sunspots promising exciting HF conditions.
For the people doing their own frequency predictions the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 95.
All the bands from 20 to 10 m will provide lots of DX fun with the higher bands typically opening first and the lower bands opening later during the day. 6 m is also waking up with some very nice TEP openings.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
31 January 2012 - Last day for submission of nominations for Council members and also for submission of motions for the 2012 SARL AGM.
31 January 2012 - Closing date for submitting papers for SA AMSAT Space Symposium.
Also: Submit nominations for SARL awards which will be presented at the gala dinner which will take place over the weekend of the 2012 SARL AGM.
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 17 760 kHz. There is also a podcast by ZS6RO. For a web-stream and Echolink by ZS6FCS, visit www.sarl.org.za, click on 'Amateur Radio TODAY', go down the green column and click on 'LISTEN ON THE WEB'. A repeat transmission can be heard on Mondays at 16:30 UTC on 4 895 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 George, Z6SNE.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
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