SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 24 JUNE 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 MHz FM from Pretoria with relays on 7 066 and 3 695 kHz SSB. (Other news readers change to suit).
SILENT KEYS
It is with regret that we have to report that the keys of two radio amateurs became silent recently.
On Thursday night, Abe Grové, ZS6BMX, became silent key after long illness. He was 77 years old.
Richard L. (Dick) Baldwin, W1RU, IARU President Emeritus, passed away on Thursday morning, 21 June. He was 92 years old. As American radio Relay League (ARRL) Assistant General Manager, Dick was primarily responsible for initiating preparations for the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference. He was one of the key players in formulating the objective of obtaining new amateur HF bands at 10, 18 and 24 MHz. As ARRL General Manager from 1975 to 1982 he played an essential role in turning that objective into reality.
Following his retirement from the ARRL staff, Dick was elected President of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), which he had served as Secretary from 1976 to 1982. He served as President for 17 years, managing the transition to a new Constitution that made the IARU a more representative body. Upon his retirement from that volunteer position in 1999, he was named President Emeritus by the IARU Administrative Council. Dick Baldwin was a great friend of South Africa and visited this country several times during his tenure as IARU President.
We extend our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the deceased.
(PAUSE)
IN THE NEWS TODAY:
CLUBS TO GET FREE AFFILIATION TO THE SARL
RTA IN DURBAN
IARU HF CHAMPIONSHIP ON JULY 14 - 15
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these items and other important and interesting items.
CLUBS TO GET FREE AFFILIATION TO THE SARL
The council of the SARL has agreed to offer free affiliation to radio clubs in South Africa whose activity supports the SARL's vision and objectives for amateur radio. To apply for affiliation, clubs must complete the standard membership application vorm. They must include a copy of their constitution, a list and contact details of committee members and a brief report of the club's amateur radio related activity. This could be a chairman report or copies of newsletters. Clubs who have already paid for the 2012/2013 year will be refunded
RTA IN DURBAN
The first Radio Technology in Action (RTA) of 2012 will be held in Durban on 21 July at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The programme is very different to those of previous years and includes several innovations.
The keynote entitled "Tuning into Nature" will be delivered by Tony Voorveld, ZS6CCD. This is a presentation on various electromagnetic phenomena that appear in nature. Tony will explain by discussion and demonstration how phenomena such as Solar Flares, Cosmic Rays and Lightning may be detected by amateur radio and amateur scientific equipment. He will also be discussing radio astronomy for the amateur. If you have seen Tony in action before, you know that you do not want to miss it and if you haven’t, make sure you do attend this year.
The opening address will be given by SARL President, Rassie Erasmus, ZS1YT. Rassie will talk about how radio amateurs can contribute to the development of a knowledge economy for South Africa.
Then we come to the practical aspect of the symposium. Frik Wolff, ZS6FZ, will demonstrate the building and operation of a software defined radio for 40 metres. A kit of components will be on sale at the RTA and will cost under R100,00.
Riaan Greeff, ZS4PR, will talk about and demonstrate how to interface Hamradio Deluxe with radio equipment and antenna rotators. He will concentrate on the practical aspects and will use various models to demonstrate the operation.
There will also be a demonstration on how to install and use a logging programme.
All persons attending the RTA will receive a CD that will contain the various programmes demonstrated. When you get home after the event, you can start having more fun.
The full programme will be available on www.sarl.org.za early next week. In the meantime if you live in KwaZulu-Natal, take note of the date Saturday 21 July. If you live a little distance from Durban, why not make arrangements with your club members to travel together.
SKA INTECNET WAS POPULAR CHOICE
The Intecnet held last Sunday evening with Prof Justin Jonas, talking and answering question about the Square Kilometer Area (SKA), was very popular, both by the audience and the guest speaker. Prof Jonas said he enjoyed the questions from the listeners. He said it was refreshing talking with people who had a good grasp of technology. He added: "I wrote down the questions, as they make an excellent resource for future talks I have to deliver".
The SARL has had many requests for the audio file to be made available for download. An edited version will be available on www.sarl.org.za from today.
For the next intecnet the SARL hopes to have Adrian Tiplady of the SKA project as guest speaker. He will be talking about radio interference mitigation on the SKA site and how services like radio and TV will be delivered to local residents. Watch future editions of SARL-NEWS for details.
IARU HF CHAMPIONSHIP ON JULY 14 - 15
The International Amateur Radio Union sponsors the High Frequency World Championship 2012. It will take place on Saturday July 14th beginning at 12:00 UTC and ending at 12:00 UTC on Sunday July 15th. The objective of this contest is to contact as many amateurs around the world as possible, especially IARU member society Headquarters stations. The 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metre bands will be used. The rules for this year are available on line at tinyurl.com/iaru-hf-championship.
The SARL would like to put its station on the air at the NARC and is looking for volunteers to man the station for the full period. This would be a great opportunity for experienced contesters to show newcomers how much fun contesting is. If you are interested, drop a line to contest@sarl.org.za this week and you will be contacted.
YASME FOUNDATION ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Awards and an expanded list of eligible call signs.
The Yasme Foundation currently offers two awards. The Yasme Award, in the form of a handsome plaque, is offered to those radio amateurs who submit proof of 30 QSO’s with Yasme officials and DX-peditions that have at least one Yasme official as a participant.
The Yasme Supreme Award is in the form of a representation of the YASME boat used by Danny Weil in his around-the-world DX-pedition. It is available to those who submit proof of 60 QSO’s with YASME officials and DX-peditions with a Yasme official as a participant. These awards are available to qualifying applicants at no cost. After a year-long evaluation of the rules, the Yasme Board of Directors has revised the rules for those call signs that may be used to qualify for the two awards, with many new ones added to the list.
The Yasme Foundation is a non-profit corporation organized to conduct scientific and educational projects related to Amateur Radio, including DXing and the introduction and promotion of Amateur Radio in underdeveloped countries. Get details from www.yasme.org.
Danny Weil was a pioneer of what is now known as the ‘DX-pedition’. While not the first to DX-pedition, Danny was one of the first to travel to more than one location to operate, and to travel from place to place - often solo in a sailboat and lugging hundreds of kilograms of radio equipment - specifically to provide DXers with a ‘new one’.
Lloyd and Iris Colvin perfected the DX-pedition and took it into the modern age in the 1970’s and 1980’s, with operations from more than 100 countries, using modern transport methods and state-of-the-art radio equipment. Lloyd and Iris Colvin have operated several times, as guests of the SARL, from the Johannesburg Amateur Radio Centre, which was then situated in Louis Botha Avenue in Johannesburg.
YASME was both the name of Danny Weil's boat, and the name of the non-profit foundation that was created in 1959 to provide financial and logistical support for the travels of Weil, the Colvins, and others.
HF PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the week's expected Solar activity will be at low levels. Major Sunspot 1 504 is rotating out of view and only a few minor sunspots are now visible.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 47.
All the bands from 20 to 10 m will provide lots of DX fun with 15 m providing the best openings with 20 m not far behind. 10 m openings will be much less frequent due to the lower solar activity and then mostly on east-west paths.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
14/15 July - The IARU HF Championship on all the bands. Rules are available at tinyurl.com/iaru-hf-championship.
21 July. - The first Radio Technology in Action (RTA) of 2012 in Durban at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The full programme will be available on www.sarl.org.za early next week.
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 Dick, 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 Flip Britz, ZS4GE/6, and edited by George Honiball, ZS6NE.
Thank you for listening. 73.
/EX
