SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 18 MARCH 2012
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. 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 3,695 MHz SSB. (Other news readers change to suit).
SILENT KEY
It is with regret that it is announced that the key of Jeff Mosmann, ZR6JPO, became silent on 24th Feb 2012. Jeff suffered a heart attack while driving from Durban back to his home in Johannesburg.
Our sincere condolences to his relatives and friends.
(PAUSE)
In the news today:
BIRTHPLACE OF RADIO BECOMES A CITY
LISTEN AGAIN TO THE INTECNET
EXTRA-GALACTIC MILESTONE FOR SOUTH AFRICA'S KAT-7 TELESCOPE
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting items.
BIRTHPLACE OF RADIO BECOMES A CITY
Chelmsford, acknowledged as the birthplace of radio and home to the Marconi Company for many years, is one of three new cities created to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment by Marconi of the first purpose built radio factory in New Street, Chelmsford in 1912. New Street is marked with a blue plaque noting the historic significance.
LISTEN AGAIN TO THE INTECNET
If you missed last Sunday's INTECNET on antennas, you can listen to it again. You can download both the audio and PowerPoint files from www.sarl.org.za, select Amateur Radio TODAY from the left hand menu.
Vincent Harrison, ZS6BTY, discussed HF antennas to work DX, including dipoles, verticals and small beams. He also focused on the effect of the height above ground, radiation patterns and take-off angles and touched on antennas for 80 and 160 metres.
EXTRA-GALACTIC MILESTONE FOR SOUTH AFRICA'S KAT-7 TELESCOPE
South Africa's KAT-7 telescope, a seven-dish array which is a precursor to the much larger MeerKAT telescope in the Karoo and to the Square Kilometre Array, has reached another major milestone by observing the radio emission from the neutral hydrogen gas (HI) in a nearby galaxy. Hydrogen gas emits radio emission in a spectral line at a very specific frequency of 1 420 MHz.
The astronomers pointed the telescope towards a galaxy called NGC 3 109 - a small spiral galaxy, about 4,3 million light-years away from Earth, located in the constellation of Hydra. The observation allowed them to see the HI radio emission of this galaxy, as well as to see how this galaxy is moving. Where the gas is moving towards us, the frequency of the spectral line is Doppler-shifted upwards; where the gas is moving away, the frequency is shifted down. In this way, astronomers can map the way in which all of the gas in the galaxy is moving.
"These exciting results achieved by KAT-7 have given us confidence that we know how to build a cutting-edge radio telescope in Africa to answer some of the fundamental questions in radio astronomy", says Dr Bernie Fanaroff, director of SKA South Africa. "Our team in the SKA South Africa Project and universities has again shown that they can deliver cutting-edge technology and do excellent science on a very tight schedule."
BUOYS ON 10 METRES
The source of some mysterious weak signals on 29,684 MHz with an 81,9 Baud and 130 Hz shift have been located. According to the February IARU Region One newsletter, the signals came from the Spanish coastal area and were audible across all of Europe but only during band openings and only by directional antennas.
It turns out the source of transmissions is by Datawell buoys. These buoys, produced in the Netherlands, are used for measuring water temperatures and wave heights. They are designed to transmit with 75 milliwatts on frequencies between 27 and 40 MHz.
Dick Van Empelen, PA2GRU, of Heemstede in the Netherlands has since visited the Datawell Company and has informed them that the buoy transmissions on the amateur service in the 10 metre band are illegal. The operations chief undertook to inform all Datawell offices about the situation. Here is challenge for amateurs in Africa and South Africa to listen for some very weak signals. The frequency is 29,684 MHz. Make a recording and send it to artoday@sarl.org.za.
SARL OFFICE CLOSED
Remember, the SARL office will be closed during March as Mariska Faasen is overseas on holiday visiting family. Between Henry Chamberlain and Francois Botha they will attend to emails and telephone messages. Please send emails to the usual address admin@sarl.org.za.
MAINTENANCE TO SARLNEWS AND SARLNUUS MAIL LISTS
This item has been received from Peter, ZS6PHD, who did a lot of housekeeping on the SARL website:
The SARL website contains a facility to allow anyone to receive a copy of SARLNews or SARLnuus automatically via email. Some major housekeeping has now been done to the email list, and many invalid email addresses have been removed.
For technical reasons it is possible that one or two valid email addresses have also been removed. If you have stopped receiving your email news bulletin, or wish to sign up, please go to the SARL web site at www.sarl.org.za, and select News / Nuus by email on the left-hand side.
Please make this problem known to your friends who may suffer this problem.
CONTEST NEWS
Results, SARL Digital Contest - February 2012
9 logs were received for this contest. According to the logs the following band contacts were made 40 m = 108, 20 m = 52. 131 x PSK and 29 x RTTY contacts were also made. It was also nice to receive the first DX log from VU2UR.
The results are as follows
1st ZR6MS 385
2nd ZS6A 368
3rd ZS6PX 360
4th ZS2J 351 points.
The full results will appear in the HF Happenings.
WESTERN CAPE ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION EXPO
The Western Cape section of the Antique Wireless Association of South Africa will be holding an Expo which will be open each day for the whole of the Easter long weekend, 6th to 9th April at the farm QTH near Stanford of John and Judy Martin, ZS1D, and ZS1JEG. A large display of radios of yesteryear and associated equipment will be on show and a classic radio station will be in operation.
GPS coordinates for the farm are 34 25,458S and 19 24,922E. There will be call in on 145,500 and on the Hermanus repeater on 14,725.
The focal point will be from 16:00 SAST on Saturday which will commence with presentations by AWA President Richard, ZS6TF, and other members on some of the equipment and their restoration projects. An interactive discussion forum will follow for anyone to contribute or for those who need questions answered or need assistance. There will be a bring and braai in the evening and for those who wish to camp over on the Saturday night, just bring your camping kit as there are camping facilities on the farm.
Please contact organizer and AWA committee member John, ZS1WJ, on 082 673 5337 for more information, and to let him know if you are attending. Visitors are encouraged to bring an antique radio to exhibit, maybe a restoration project, homebrew, or “as found” to add to the interest of the Expo.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the Solar activity is dropping off now that huge sunspot 1 429 has rotated out of view of the Earth. It sure was fun while it lasted.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 57.
All the bands from 20 to 10 m will provide lots of DX fun with even some 6 m openings possible.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
18 March - SARL VHF/UHF Analogue/Digital contest ends today at 12:00 CAT.
30 March – Last day to submit items on regulatory issues for discussion with ICASA to artoday@sarl.org.za.
21 March - ZS6ERB construction day.
6-9 April - Western Cape Antique Wireless Association Ekspo near Stanford, contact John, ZS1WJ, on 082 673 5337 for more information.
20 - 22 April SARL Convention in Pinetown.
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 17:30 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, ZS6NE.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
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