SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 27 MAY 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 a relay on 3,695 MHz SSB. (Other news readers change to suit).


IN THE NEWS TODAY:

CALL FOR ASSISTANCE BY HAMNET NORTHERN CAPE

SKA & MEERKAT comes to South Africa

WORKED ALL CONTINENTS AWARD

TAKE AMATEUR RADIO TO THE PUBLIC

HAMVENTION - A MIND BLOWING EVENT

You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting items.


HAMNET NORTHERN CAPE NEEDS YOUR ASSISTANCE

Carel Oberholzer, ZS3OBE, of Hamnet Northern Cape says they are potentially in need of assistance to provide communication support for the operation to rescue the miners or remove the bodies trapped in the diamond mine near Kleinzee. Communications to Springbok - the nearest urban hub - is problematic and Hamnet has been requested to assist.

He says "The situation is fluid at this stage and our response is in the preparation phase. We need operators to assist in providing communications between Springbok and Kleinzee, a distance of about 80 km. The operation is expected to last for the next two to three weeks and we envisage deploying two person teams on a rotational basis to man a relay point on a mountain/high point somewhere in between.

If you can assist you will need to have a four wheel drive, VHF capability and be self-sustained in terms of food, water, shelter, power and warm clothing.”

Paul, ZS1PVS, indicated they can issue field masts, radios, antennas and feed lines from the HAMNET Western Cape store.

Call Carel at 082 805 0181 or Paul at 083 302 3366 to offer you assistance.

SA GETS LION SHARE OF SKA BUT WE SHOULD HAVE HAD IT ALL

After nine years of sweat and tears by the South African and Australian SKA site bid teams, the independent SKA Site Advisory Committee (SSAC), composed of world-renowned experts, carried out an objective technical and scientific assessment of the sites in South Africa and Australia, and identified by consensus Africa as the preferred site but their recommendation was overturned by the SKA Organization after complaints by the Australians, "We had hoped the unambiguous recommendation of the SSAC would be accepted as the soundest scientific outcome" Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor said at a media briefing on Friday 26 May 2012.

It appears the SKA organization had difficulty coming to a final decision and according to one of the members of the committee the atmosphere at the meeting was heated and at times the group had to take a recess. The ultimate outcome was that for the sake of inclusivity they agreed to consider constructing one of the three SKA receiver components in Australia. Two will be constructed in Africa.

The minister said that an important aspect of the site decision is the recognition of the MeerKAT telescope, being designed and built in the Northern Cape Karoo by South African scientists and engineers, as a critical step towards the implementation of the SKA. The MeerKAT will supplement the sensitive SKA Phase 1 dish array, providing the majority of the collection area of what will be the most sensitive radio telescope in the world. This recognition is substantive evidence of the great strides made by the local radio astronomy community since South Africa signalled its interest in the SKA.

Naledi Pandor said six weeks ago that splitting the SKA between South Africa and Australia was for her not an option. On the question if she was disappointed she said "No, I am happy for the country and I am happy for Africa. Of course you want everything, but I think getting three quarters is pretty good. I am ecstatic for our scientists. We have proved Africa can do it!"

Listen to more on Amateur Radio Today later this morning.

RA EXAMINATION

Councillors visited some of the centres where students wrote the Radio Amateur examinations on 24 May 2012. We wish you well with the results.

WORKED ALL CONTINENTS AWARD

Many radio amateurs cut their DXing teeth on the Worked All Continents award. This award recognizes contacts with all six continental areas of the world, and is issued by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Recently, the SARL was authorized to issue these certificates to its members on the IARU's behalf. You can now apply for your certificate right here in South Africa.
The basic award can be endorsed for a single mode or for meeting the requirements on each of five or six bands.

The application fee is R60 and the certificate will be sent in a sturdy mailing tube.
Rules and application forms can at present be found on the Pretoria Amateur Radio Club’s Web site (www.parc.org.za).

TAKE AMATEUR RADIO TO THE PUBLIC

16 June is National Amateur Radio Day. The SARL invites young and old to celebrate the day by taking amateur radio to the public. Talk on the air, invite some into your radio room or be daring and set up your station in a local park or shopping area. Get the word out amateur radio is fun, amateur radio is the most exciting of all scientific hobbies.

16 June is also youth day and we have the annual SARL youth sprint on that day too . If you are 25 years or younger, take part in the competition and win one of the many prizes. Take to the air between 10 and 12 local time and if you are over 25, show the young people how it is done. Full details are already on www.sarl.org.za and were sent to all members in the May SARL UPDATE e-mail.

FINAL RTA DATES ANNOUNCED

The final Radio in Action Technology symposium dates have been announced. The first event will be in the brand new auditorium recently completed on the Howard Campus in Durban on 22 July. The Cape Town RTA will be held at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Bellville on 11 August, In the Eastern Cape the RTA will take place on 1 September at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and in Gauteng the event will be held on 29 September at the Sentech Auditorium at Radiokop.

The programme features a mixture of talks, demonstrations and hands-on activities. Hannes Coetzee will explore how the ionosphere works and show delegates how to do their own predictions. Every one attending will receive a CD with the necessary propagation prediction software. During the presentation Hannes will load the software on a PC and go through setting it up every step of the way.

Another interesting activity will be the building of a software defined radio interface. The necessary software will be on the RTA disc. A SDR receiver kit costing under R100 will be available for sale at each RTA. During the presentation Frik Wolff, ZS6FZ, will build the kit and show you how it operates and receives signals on the 40 metre band. There are more surprises in store. Stay tuned as more details will be in SARLNEWS over the next few weeks. A full programme and pre booking form will be available on the web soon.

Keep the day when the RTA comes to your area open as it is something you do not want to miss.

HAMVENTION WAS ANOTHER MIND BLOWING EVENT

The annual USA Dayton Hamvention was once again a mind blowing event with many new product launches from all the major amateur radio suppliers.

When Hara Arena opened its doors at 09:00 on Friday, 18 May thousands of hams swarmed in, eager to see the latest and greatest that Amateur Radio has to offer. And they weren't disappointed! With the introduction of three new transceivers this year, as well as hundreds of vendors -- both new ones and old friends within the giant Hara complex -- there was a definite buzz in the air, especially within the ARRL EXPO.

ARRL EXPO -- located in the Ballarena Hall of the large Hara Arena -- included more than 20 exhibits staffed by ARRL programme representatives. Among the new booths for 2012 was an exhibit introducing the new digital edition of QST, ARRL's membership journal.

The popular kit building booth returned for a fourth consecutive year to the ARRL EXPO. Led by ARRL Laboratory Test Engineer Bob Allison, WB1GCM, ARRL Laboratory Engineer Mike Gruber, W1MG, and dedicated volunteers, the enhanced kit building area offered hams -- and non-hams -- the opportunity to learn how to solder, use hand tools, follow instructions and take home a finished piece of equipment!

The Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC), the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL), the Qatar Amateur Radio Society (QARS) and the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) were on hand within the ARRL EXPO. "The theme of the 2012 Hamvention is Internationally Connected," Inderbitzen explained. "What better way to get connected than meeting with fellow radio amateurs from around the world?" In addition, representatives from the International Amateur Radio Union -- including IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, IARU President Emeritus Larry Price, W4RA, IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, and IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD -- were on hand in the ARRL EXPO area to greet visitors.

One of the many reasons amateurs go to Dayton Hamvention each May is to look over the new gear announced by many manufacturers. The number of vendors at Hara Arena can be mind boggling, especially on your first trip. The big news is always the new full size HF transceivers. In addition to these transceivers, there were many low power radios, VHF/UHF units, antennas and accessories of all sorts -- all in addition to what must be the world's largest radio flea market.

In Amateur Radio Today, the SARL links up with News line for extensive audio reports and reviews of the new equipment that were on show.

DIGITAL CONTEST

The second SARL Digital Contest will be run this afternoon from 13:00 to 16:00 UTC with PSK31 and RTTY activity on 20, 40 and 80 metres. The contest is open to all radio amateurs in Southern African countries.

The following frequencies must be used for the contest, on 80 metres, 3 580 to 3 600 kHz, on 40 metres, 7 040 to 7 060 kHz and on 20 metres 14 070 to 14 099 kHz. Take note that there can be SSB QSOs between 7 053 and 7 060 kHz. A station may be contacted twice on each band, once on RTTY and once on PSK31. The exchange is a signal report plus a sequential serial number starting at 001.

Contacts with stations in Southern Africa are worth 3 points and contacts with stations outside this area are worth 1 point. The first contact with each ZS call area (6), each Southern African country (area 7) and the rest of the world (area 8) will be used as a band multiplier.

Logs must be submitted within 7 days after the contest and can be sent by mail to the West Rand Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 5344, Weltevredenpark, 1725 or by e-mail to contest@sarl.org.za

SARL 80 m CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

The third SARL 80 m Club Championship will be on the air on Wednesday evening 30 May. This short contest will feature PSK31 and RTTY activity between 3 580 - 3 620 kHz and it starts at 17:30 and ends at 18:30 UTC.

The exchange is a RS(T) and a consecutive serial number starting at 001. The same station may be worked once on RTTY and once on PSK. One point is earned per contact.

Logs must be submitted by 23:59:59 CAT on Wednesday 6 June by e-mail to zs4bfn@netactive.co.za.

ZS3 SPRINT

The ZS3 Sprint was well supported on the 6th of May 2012. 112 Radio Amateur Members made 788 contacts during the hour and we received 27 logs. Three of them were the club logs that we used for control.
The results are as follows for the hour on the air:
1st: ZS3R, Christo van Rensburg with a total of 52 contacts resulted in 107 points.
2nd: ZS6XT, Pieter Jacobs with a total of 45 contacts and 63 points.
3rd: ZS6EE, Quartus de Witt with a total of 48 and 53 points.
4th: ZS6APT, Pam Momberg with a total of 36 contacts and 49 points.

The Northern Cape Amateur Radio Club thanks everybody that took part and sent in their logs.

Detailed results will be published on the SARL Forum.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the Solar activity is at moderate levels. The sun's surface is peppered with small but quiet sunspots.

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 15 m providing the best openings and 20 m not far behind. 10 m openings should be less frequent.

Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.

DIARY OF EVENTS

28 May - Logs for AWA Valve QSO party to be in to andyzs6ady@vodamail.co.za or AWA of Southern Africa, P O Box 12320; Benoryn 1504.

3 June – Logs for the digital contest must be in and can be sent by mail to the West Rand Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 5344, Weltevredenpark, 1725 or by e-mail to contest@sarl.org.za

4 June - Logs for the ZS4 Sprint to be sent to The Sasolburg Amateur Radio Club, ZS4SRK, PO Box 28194, Sonlandpark, 1944 or by e-mail to riaanzs4pr@gmail.comwith a copy to fwolff@global.co.za.

6 June - Logs for the SARL 80 m CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP must be submitted by by e-mail to zs4bfn@netactive.co.za.

16 June - National Amateur Radio day between 09:00 and 16:00 and Youth Day Sprint 10:00 - 12:00 CAT.

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 17 570 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 Johann Marais, ZU1JM, end edited by George Honiball, ZS6NE.

Thank you for listening, 73.

/EX