SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 22 JULY 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).
IN THE NEWS TODAY:
SARL PRESIDENT SAYS RADIO AMATEURS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO CREATING A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
NEXT RTA PRESENTATION IN GAUTENG
UK SPECIAL EVENTS STATIONS FOR THE 2012 OLYMPICS
NEW ASTRO-HAMS ARRIVE AT THE ISS AS PART OF THE EXPEDITION 32 CREW
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these items and other important and interesting items.
SARL PRESIDENT SAYS RADIO AMATEURS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO CREATING A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Speaking at the Radio Technology in Action Symposium in Durban yesterday the SARL President said that Research and Development (R&D) promotes the growth of knowledge-intensive activity. "There is a clear connection between R&D intensity and competitiveness. One of the goals for South Africa is to enhance the country's knowledge-generation capacity in order to produce world-class research and turn some advanced findings into innovative products and processes."
Amateur radio is blessed with a large slice of the radio spectrum, much larger than what many believe the amateur radio service should have. But balanced against this is that radio amateurs have a history of pioneering new developments. "Exposure to amateur radio has turned many young people to taking up careers in the technology industry. Many have excelled and made major contributions. I am reminded of Jack Kirby who received the Nobel Prize in 2000 for his development of the integrated circuit. In his Nobel lecture entitled "Turning potential into reality" he related how he became interested in electronics and technology", ZS1YT said.
"Radio Amateurs experiment a lot but they have one major problem, they do not share it by giving talks at club meetings, by writing articles for Radio ZS or other professional publications. In our world there are a number of interesting projects that we can work on while having fun."
In his presentation he highlighted propagation research opportunities on 160 metres, 5 MHz after ICASA has allocated spectrum, on 600 metres and in 137 KHz bands.
NEXT RTA IN GAUTENG
The next RTA will be held in Gauteng at the national Amateur Radio centre on Saturday 18 August 2012. Pre-booking will open on Tuesday. Get details on www.sarl.org.za, select RTA from the left hand column.
HAVE FUN WITH THE BOLAND SPRINT TODAY
The Boland Amateur Radio Club is holding its 40 metre sprint phone contest today, Sunday 22 July from 15:00 - 18:00 CAT. This is a fun activity to promote contacts on 40 metres between radio amateurs in Southern African countries. It is also an ideal opportunity for Mobile stations, Field stations and RaDAR stations to participate. In this contest only wire or mobile antennas may be used and a maximum output of 100 watt. The following frequencies may be used 7060 - 7100 and 7135 -7200 kHz. Only three [3] contacts per frequency are allowed before you have to change frequency. You may only return to a previously used frequency after five [5] contacts. A fun challenge.
Only Excell logsheets will be accepted and can be sent to zs1bak@bark.org.za or by post to BARK, P.O. Box 273, Strand, 7139.
Full details can be found on page 60 the contest manual on www.sarl.org.za.
(URL on for printed version www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/SARL_2012_Contest_Manual_issue_10.pdf).
UK SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS FOR THE 2012 OLYMPICS
Southgate reports that as part of the celebration of the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, two flagship amateur radio stations will be active during the games.
The Cray Valley Radio Society will host England's Olympic celebration from the Royal Borough of Greenwich. This is home to many of London's events outside the main Olympic arena. The call-sign used at that location will be Two Oscar One Two Lima. A similar amateur radio celebration is happening in Barry, South Wales, where the call-sign will be Two Oscar One Two Whisky.
Both groups are looking to make as many contacts as possible worldwide during the Olympics. They will be on the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from Wednesday July 25 through Sunday September 9. The London station will be open to the public from 10:00 to 16:00 and the Welsh station from 10:00 to 17:00 UTC daily.
Commemorative QSLs will be available for both operations. QSL information is on-line at www dot Two Oscar one two Lima dot com and www dot Two Oscar One Two Whisky.com. Both stations are eager to make contact.
NEW ASTRO-AMATEURS ARRIVE AT THE ISS AS PART OF THE EXPEDITION 32 CREW
Three amateur radio space fliers arrived safely at the International Space Station early Tuesday, 17 July. This, for a four-month stay while also bringing the orbiting outpost back to its full crew complement of six.
The Soyuz space capsule carrying NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB; Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP, and Japanese space explorer Aki Hoshide, KE5DNI, docked with the station on Tuesday, July 17 . This following a two-day flight from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
At docking time, the Soyuz spacecraft and space station were at an altitude of 251 miles over North-Eastern Kazakhstan. The Soyuz parked itself at an Earth facing docking port on the station's Russian built Rassvet module. After the hatches were opened between the Soyuz and ISS, Williams, Malenchenko and Hoshide moved to the ISS and joined their fellow Expedition 32 crew members Sergei Revin; Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, and Joseph Acaba, KE5DAR.
Padalka, Revin and Acaba have had the space station to themselves since July 1st. That's when three previous crew members returned to Earth and brought the station's previous Expedition 31 to a close.
PRETORIA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB FLEA MARKET
The Pretoria amateur Radio Club will be hosting their winter flea market on Saturday 28 July at PMC in Keuning street, Silverton. For more information, or to book a table, phone Almero, ZS6LDP on 083 938 8955 or e-mail him to almero@up.ac.za,
HF PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the week's expected solar activity will be at low levels. None of the Earth-facing sunspots are posing a threat for strong solar flares.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 65.
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 less frequent due to the lower solar activity.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
22 July – Boland Amateur Radio Station 40 metre sprint from 15:00 to 18:00 CAT.
25 July – 2012 Olympic Games special event amateur radio stations on the air..
28- July – Pretoria Amateur Radio Club Winter flea market, for more information contact Almero ZS6LDP, his cellphone number is 083 938 8955.
18 August – RTA in Gauteng at the National Amateur Radio Centrum.
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 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 Johan, ZS4SS, and edited by George Honiball, ZS6NE.
Thank you for listening. 73.
/EX
