SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 04 November 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. The SARL broadcasts 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 there to receive future bulletins by e-mail.
Your newsreader this morning is (name), (call sign), on 145,725 from Pretoria, with relays on 7,066 MHz and 3,695 MHz SSB. (Other news readers change to suit).
SILENT KEY
It is with regret that it is announced that the key of Joost Schuitemaker, ZS5S, went silent on the night of 29 October after battling cancer for a few months. For many years Joost provided email relays via packet BBS to mariners.
Our sincerest condolences to his wife Marjoke, ZS5V, relatives and friends.
(PAUSE)
IN THE NEWS TODAY:
EVER READ MUNITY ON THE BOUNTY?
NEXT SUNDAY IS REMEMBRANCE DAY
111 CADIDATES PASS THE RAE
SARL MEMBERSHIP AND AFFILIATED CLUBS
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting items.
EVER READ MUNITY ON THE BOUNTY?
Every DXer knows the story of the HMS Bounty and Pitcairn Island, VP6: In 1789, the HMS Bounty -- a small three-masted sailing vessel sent by Britain's Royal Navy to the Pacific on a supply expedition -- was roiled by tension between its crew and its captain, William Bligh. After landing in Tahiti and taking on a cargo of breadfruit, the Bounty set sail for the West Indies; it never reached that destination. Instead, Master's Mate Fletcher Christian led the men in a mutiny, eventually allowing Bligh and his loyalists to sail off in a longboat. After an arduous journey, they reached safety at the Dutch-owned port of Kupang. Christian and his followers ended up on Pitcairn Island where they burned the Bounty and settled on the island. Passing ships did not discover the enclave until after the turn of the century.
On Monday, October 29, a replica of the Bounty -- built in 1960 for a remake of the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty -- sank off the coast of North Carolina as Hurricane Sandy made its way toward New Jersey. Of its 16 crew members, 14 were rescued by the US Coast Guard. Bounty Captain Robin Walbridge, KD4OHZ, never made it to one of the two deployed life rafts and is presumed dead. Claudene Christian, who claimed to be a direct descendent of Fletcher Christian, was unresponsive and passed away at a North Carolina hospital on Monday evening.
Doug Faunt, N6TQS, of Oakland, California, was one of the 14 who was rescued by the Coast Guard; Faunt served as a deckhand and was also the ship's electrician. A noted DXer and ARRL Life Member, he was part of the FO0AAA DXpedition crew in 2000 to Clipperton Island. He was also a member of the VP6DIA DXpedition to Ducie Island, and in 2007, he was part of the DXpedition to Lakshadweep.
According to Spud Roscoe, VE1BC, Faunt had satellite communications equipment and Winlink capabilities on board the Bounty, but he was not the ship's radio officer. "Sailing on replica ships was a hobby of Doug's," Roscoe told the ARRL. "He had previously sailed across the Great Australian Bight on a replica of the HMB Endeavour, Captain Cook's ship. He was an able seaman of the watch." Roscoe was the radio officer on the replica Bounty for its original voyage to France in 1962.
Faunt told the ARRL that the Bounty crew tried various methods, including a satellite phone, to call for help, "but we got nothing then tried calling out on HF. We tried calling the Maritime Mobile Net, but nothing was out there. We had Winlink on the ship that we used for e-mail and accessing the Internet to post to blogs and to Facebook, and we finally found an e-mail address for the Coast Guard. As a last-ditch effort, we used Winlink to e-mail the Coast Guard for help. Within an hour, we heard a C-130 plane, and later, a helicopter overhead. According to Faunt, it was Walbridge, as master of the ship, who sent out the distress messages.
"I don't know how I made it off the ship," Faunt recalled. "I had finished serving a long watch, and then we started going down. I was exhausted. I had to swim to get to the life raft. The water was full of rigging, and here I am, in my Gumby suit, trying to swim. It was so difficult. While swimming to the raft, I came up for air and a spar was coming at me. I finally found a raft and tried to climb into it, but I almost didn't make it, tired as I was. Through the help of my shipmates who were already aboard the raft, I got on." The two life rafts were out about 100 miles from shore when they were rescued.
The vessel left Connecticut on Thursday, October 25 with a crew of 11 men and five women, ranging in age from 20-66. After being treated at a hospital in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Faunt arrived back home in California on Wednesday, October 31. "I'm looking for a new boat to sail and a DXpedition to go on," Faunt told the ARRL. "Ham radio got me into my position on the Bounty, and ham radio got me out alive!" A remarkable story.
NEXT SUNDAY IS REMEMBRANCE DAY
Every second Sunday in November the SARL, in special church service transmitted in the last 15 minutes of Amateur Radio Today, remembers all those who lost their lives in defense of their country. The service will be first transmitted at 10:45 CAT on 11 November. The service will conducted by Dominee Jan Kramer, ZS6JRK. All amateur radio stations are requested to observe radio silence as a mark of respect.
111 CADIDATES PASS THE RAE
Gideon Jannasch says the waiting for the results of the October RAE is something of the past. A total of 111 candidates passed the RAE. Candidates who did not receive their call signs yet due to outstanding documents, must submit it as soon as possible.
The new call signs are published on the SARL webpage at www.sarl.org.za. Congratulations to every successful candidate, we hope to hear you on air soon. To all the radio amateurs who are already licensed, please be patient with all the newcomers and help them in a friendly manner.
A hearty welcome again to all the new amateurs and we ask please join the SARL if you have not done so yet. You receive free membership until 30th of June 2013.
SARL MEMBERSHIP AND AFFILIATED CLUBS
The SARL announces, with pleasure, that its membership now exceeds 1 500. This does not yet include the new members that passed the last RAE, they will be added to the list of members in the coming week.
The SARL welcomes Dennis Lightbody, ZSL1050, who joined the SARL as a member. We trust that he will enjoy a long and happy membership with the League.
During the past week the following clubs have affiliated to the SARL:
False Bay Amateur Radio Club, ZS1FRC
Highveld Amateur Radio Club, ZS6HVB
Overberg Amateurradioklub, ZS1OAR
Sasolburg Amateur Radio Club, ZS4SRK
Suid Kaap Amateur Radio Club, ZS1SKR
Vaal Triangle Amateur Radio Club, S6VTB
West Rand Amateur Radio Club, S6WR
This brings the total number of affiliated clubs to 28. For a complete list of affiliated clubs go to the SARL web page and click on Club Talk.
CONTEST NEWS
PEARS HF DX contest
Competitors please note that the date of 13 November as stated in the Contest bluebook for this contest is not correct. The correct date is the 11th of November.
Overberg Amateur Radio Club
On the week end of 17/18 November, it is the SARL Field Station contest. The Overberg Amateur Radio Club will be operating a field station at the QTH of John, ZS1DI, and Judy, ZS1JEG, at Stanford. This will be held in conjunction with our end of the year braai, boot sale, fox hunt and a display by the AWA where they hope to operate some of their equipment. There are camping and braai facilities. Visitors are welcome. For further details you can contact Andre, ZS1AZ, at 028-5142018 after 18:00 or Sam, ZS1OR, at 073 250 0428. This should be a fun week end.
CLUB NEWS
At the Annual General Meeting of the Free State Amateur Radio Club, held on 26 October, the following members were elected to the committee of the club:
Chairman: Phillip Esterhuizen, ZS4PJ
Vice Chairman: Charl Brittz, ZS4ATZ
Secretary: Ellen de Bruin, ZS4EDB
Hamnet: Johan van Zijl
Additional members: At van der Walt, ZS4VS and
Danie de Bruin, ZS4DA.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be at low levels. All current visible sunspot regions are stable with nearly no flaring.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 45.
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. There will also be frequent 10 m openings.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
11 November – Pears HF DX contest.
17 November - SARL National Field Day will take place between 10:00 UTC on Saturday 17 November and 10:00 UTC on Sunday 18 November.
18 November – Log sheets for the RaDAR Contest to be in to Lichtenberg Amateur Radio Club (LARK), PO Box 410, Lichtenburg, 2740 or by email to zs6lrk@nwinternet.za.org.
SARL News invites clubs and individuals to submit news items of interest to radio amateurs and short-wave 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 18:30 UTC on 4 895 kHz ((A new time and frequency!). Reception reports are invited. We are particularly interested in reports of the 4 895 kHz transmission on Mondays at 18:30 UTC as the frequency is close to the proposed new amateur allocation near 5 MHz. Reception reports from all areas in South Africa would be useful in our bid to ICASA for frequencies pilot studies. Send reports to artoday@sarl.org.za.
Sentech sponsors the transmissions on the non-amateur frequencies.
You have listened to a bulletin of the South African Radio League compiled by George Honiball, ZS6NE.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
