SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 1 APRIL 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 over 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).
IN THE NEWS TODAY:
Your license fee is due now
Online DXCC application to debut on 2 April
YOUR LICENCE FEE IS DUE NOW
The Amateur Radio license fee of R120 is due today. You may also renew for five years at a reduced fee of R501. If you do not receive a renewal notice, the SARL recommends that you pay by using the license number on last year’s invoice and your callsign. Also mail the payment notification plus your address to KMashile@icasa.org.za. It is essential for all payments to ICASA that you include your callsign as a payment reference. Also remember to send any postal and email address changes to admin@sarl.org.za
TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO REGISTER FOR THE SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION
Have you booked for the 2012 SARL National Convention? If you have not, do it now. Here are some of the highlights. On Friday evening join a finger supper and an historical journey on "How SA's electronics industry started in Pinetown On Saturday morning attend the SARL Annual General Meeting and on Saturday afternoon learn about how to build VHF/UHF antennas and get DXing with Log Book of the World.
On Saturday evening join the annual the awards dinner with a keynote address by Dr Andrew Collier of SANSA Space Sciences. There will lots of prizes to be won in the lucky draw. On Sunday morning the convention is rounded off with a leisurely breakfast in the Japanese Gardens.
Full details and registration forms can be found on www.sarl.org.za. Your hosts at the SARL National Convention are the committee and members of the Highway Amateur Radio Club.
PROMOTING AMATEUR RADIO
Promoting amateur radio will take centre stage this coming Wednesday, the 4th of April, at the Sacred Heart College in Observatory, Gauteng.
The SARL was approached a few weeks ago to establish whether we could assist in making their school's science day more interesting by doing a display of what amateur radio is about and how it works.
Chris Gryffenberg, ZS6COG, who is already involved at the Sci Bono Centre and the Department of Education and Francois Botha, ZS6BUU representing Hamnet, put their ideas together and decided on a plan for the morning.
The Gauteng South Hamnet trailer will be on display and we anticipate going on air from around 9 am to 12:30 on the day, on both HF and VHF frequencies.
We wish to invite other operators around Gauteng and further afield to listen out for us on 40 m on Wednesday the 4th of April on the Hamnet frequency of 7,110 MHz and some local Johannesburg repeater frequencies. We would like to call you in so the learners can hear what our hobby is all about!
We will also get the youngsters to get the feel the hobby with some hands on experience on air.
So listen out for us on Wednesday morning from the Sacred Heart College in Johannesburg.
ONLINE DXCC APPLICATION TO DEBUT ON 2 APRIL
From 2 April the ARRL’s new Online DXCC tool will be ready to accept applications, allowing hams to supply the data from traditional paper QSLs in a digital form to apply for a new DXCC award or endorsement. Submitting a DXCC application using Online DXCC is easier than making a paper application, saving both time and money.
Using the Online DXCC Application, the user can select the cards that he or she would like to have checked by a card checker and, at his or her convenience, type that data into a form (which can be saved and retrieved at any time until submitted) and make an application for DXCC. When the application is finished, the participant will be able to print the list of cards and take the list and the cards (in the same order that they are entered into the form) to a card checker who will check the cards, note any changes and send the form to ARRL HQ. The card checker’s job is exactly the same as before, except he or she does not need to collect a payment as the client can pay online. Once submitted, DXCC staff can access the file submitted by the client, quickly make any changes noted by the card checker and process the application. The Online DXCC Application will have rates that are half those of a traditional paper QSL application that is sent to ARRL HQ.
Keep in mind that QSL cards will still need to be checked if you use the Online DXCC Application, either by a DXCC Card Checker or sent to ARRL HQ for checking. Card checking in South Africa is done by SARL Awards Manager, Tjerk Lammers ZS6P.
Any radio amateur in the world -- ARRL member or non-member -- may use the Online DXCC Application.
JOE WALSH, WB6ACU, IS AN ANALOG MAN
Grammy Award-winning rock-and-roll legend Joe Walsh, WB6ACU, returns with Analog Man, set to be released June 5. This is Walsh’s first solo album since 1992’s Songs for a Dying Planet. According to Walsh’s website, Analog Man is both modern and timelessly soulful, packed with Walsh’s wit, charm and chops; it delivers an incredibly raw and intimate sound. “It’s been 20 years and I have a lot to say,” Walsh explained. “These songs come from the heart.”
Walsh -- best known for his powerful guitar licks -- joined the Eagles in 1976 and is credited for bringing a harder rock sound to the band with the acclaimed Hotel California, The Long Run and Eagles Live.
No stranger to the analog way of life, Walsh -- an ARRL Life Member -- enjoys operating on 80 metres AM. AM -- or amplitude modulation -- has been around the amateur bands since the 1930s. AM offers a warm, rich audio quality that provides for more personal interaction. The simplicity of AM circuit design encourages hands-on restoration, modification and homebrew construction to an extent no longer found among contemporary radios. Many hams who operate AM say they enjoy the simple, roomy electrical and mechanical designs of the older radios, claiming that they can more easily be modified and tinkered with than their modern counterparts. Other enthusiasts claim that these vintage radios sound better than their silicon descendants, saying that the tube audio from vintage gear is “warmer” and more aesthetically pleasing than the audio produced by the typical modern transceiver.
A self-proclaimed analog man, Walsh refers playfully to the new digital age in the album’s title track. He notes that he has adapted to the digital age, but says “I am what I am -- I’m an analog man.” Walsh developed the album over the last 10 years, drawing on personal experiences to breathe life into each track. “I just really feel like it’s all come together and finally I feel like a complete person and a complete musician,” he said. “I think there is some confidence in there that I never had. That’s what I was hiding
Check out Analog Man -- the title track of Walsh’s new album and details of his South African tour starting on 4 April in Cape Town at http://www.joewalsh.com/
CONTEST NEWS
CONSTESTS IN APRIL
SARL 80 m QSO Party and RaDAR Contests
The first leg of the SARL 80 m QSO Party will be run on Thursday evening 5 April from 17:00 to 20:00 UTC. It is a phone only contest using the segments 3 603 to 3650 and 3700 to 3800 kHz. The exchange is your call sign, an RS report and your name.
The first leg of the Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio or RaDAR Contest will be run on Saturday 7 April starting at 12:00 UTC and ending at 18:00 UTC. Activity is on all HF Contest bands, VHF and UHF using CW, SSB, AM, FM or any digital mode. The exchange is your call sign, your name, a RS(T) report, QTH and grid locator.
Find all the information on page 39 and 41 of the 2012 SARL Contest Manual, also the RaDAR Facebook page.
CLUB NEWS
The Hibiscus Coast Amateur Radio Club, ZS5HAC, held its annual general meeting on 25 March 2012 at Cinder City, Seapark, Port Shepstone.
At this meeting the following office bearers were elected:
Chairperson: Sid Tyler, ZS5AYC;
Secretary: Herman Horn, ZS5LH;
Treasurer: Brian Burger, ZS5AZH;
Technical: Jan Coetzee, ZS5JC;
Hamnet Liaison: To be appointed;
Public Relations: Sid Tyler;
Contest Managers: Jan Coetzee, ZS5JC;
Light House Coordinator: Gawie Hoon: ZS5R; and
Youth Coordinator: Emmerelda Coetzee, ZU5EM.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is at moderate levels. Currently only small, stable sunspots are facing the earth. The reappearance of Sunspot 1429, that was the source of many strong flares earlier this month, is eagerly awaited following a two week trip around the back side of the sun.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 74.
All the bands from 20 m to 10 m will provide lots of DX fun with 15 m providing the best openings with 10 m not far behind.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
5 April - SARL 80 m QSO Party and RaDAR competition
7 April - RaDAR competition
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 3230 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 Fritz, ZS6SF.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
