SARL NEWS SUNDAY 30 December 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).
IN THE NEWS TODAY:
ICASA TABLES DRAFT NATIONAL RADIO FREQUENCY PLAN
LITTLE MOVEMENT IN THE ANTENNA DEFENCE FUND THIS PAST WEEK
GET READY FOR THE YOUTH SPRINT ON 23 FEBRUARY
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting items.
ICASA TABLES DRAFT NATIONAL RADIO FREQUENCY PLAN
ICASA has gazetted a draft of the National Radio Frequency Plan for comment by 8 February 2013. The National Radio Frequency Plan is the base document for allocation of spectrum to various services. The nearly 200 page document needs careful scrutiny to ensure that amateur allocations are fully covered, particularly in the VHF, UHF and microwave bands. Gazette number 36025 is available on www.amateurradio.org.za/SARLREGULATORYWG.htm. Radio Amateurs are invited to study the document and provide feedback to the SARL Regulatory Workgroup by 15 January 2013. Send your input to sarlregwg@sarl.org.za.
One immediate positive aspect is that the new allocation of 472 – 479 KHz to amateur radio is shown as secondary allocation which makes the way for allocation as soon as the plan has been adopted.
The SARL has made application to ICASA to have the 160 metre band extended. This is not provided for in the draft plan. There is however a foot note that pays the way for further discussion. Foot note 5.096 list a number of countries where administrations may allocate 1 810 to 2 000 KHz to the amateur service after consultation with neighbouring countries. The SARL will keep pursuing the possibilities of having the band extended.
The new SARL regulatory workgroup will meet in early January. The committee currently has three members and is inviting more amateurs who have an interest in regulatory issues to offer their services. Send your details to sarlregwg@sarl.org.za.
LITTLE MOVEMENT IN THE ANTENNA DEFENCE FUND THIS PAST WEEK
Currently the SARL Antenna Defence Fund is standing at R25 650 which is just over 50 % of the target of R50 000. Thanks to radio amateurs and clubs who have contributed. We appreciate your support.
As we enter the New Year and clubs become active again and hold meetings we hope to see many more contributions from clubs.
To see who have contributed thus far, visit www.sarl.org.za and select ADF from the left hand menu.
On the ADF page you will also find details of the fund and why and what action the SARL is taking to make it possible for radio amateurs to have antenna towers without having to go through endless paperwork and costs.
GET READY FOR THE YOUTH SPRINT ON 23 FEBRUARY
The SARL Youth Sprint will be held on 23 February and no longer on Youth Day on 16 June. The reason for changing the date is that there are so many activities on National Youth Day that schools and young people found it difficult to fit in all the activity. The sprint is held 10:00 to 12:00 CAT with a special event starting at 09:00.
For the special event the SARL would like to put together an audio file of young Radio Amateurs voicing their opinions about amateur radio and why they became involved.
The recordings will be done telephonically from mid-January to end January. To take part send an email with your name, callsign and telephone number to youth@sarl.org.za and you will be contacted to set up a recording date and time. All participants will go into a lucky draw for some great prizes.
Watch SARLNEWS and the SARL web for more details.
SARL BLUE BOOK
The SARL Blue book is now available on line with full details of the 2013 contest line-up, rules, logbook information and all you need to know to take part in contests and have fun. Well it is not actually a blue book, it is a PDF file you can download and view on your pc, laptop or tablet.
The name blue book comes from years back when the contest information was in a printed A5 booklet with a blue cover. Those days the internet and pc were not that ubiquitous.
To download visit www.sarl.org.za, go to site index, select C and from the menu you can download the Contest Manual or Blue Book if you like. The full url is in the printed version of SARLNEWS (Do not read www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/contestrules.asp)
6 METRE STATION TO BE ACTIVATED IN ANTARCTICA
Listen out in February for Craig Hayhow, VK6JJJ, who will be signing VK0JJJ from the coast of MacRobertson Land and Australia's base at Mawson in Antarctica. He arrives on February the 10th and while there he is also planning to install a 6 meter beacon to test the propagation on that band. The beacon will operate using the call VK0RTM running 400 watt out into a 5 element Yagi. For contacts on the high frequency bands he will be running a Flex 5000A and an amplifier to a triangle antenna. QSL via VK3ZAZ.
HUNTING LIONS-IN-THE-AIR
This event takes place on the weekend closest to 13 January, the birth date of Melvin Jones, the founder of the Lions organisation. In 2013, that will be the weekend of 12 and 13 January.
It will not be a contest but merely a means for Lions to exchange greetings with other Lions and Lions Clubs. Radio amateurs and members of the various Lions Clubs get together and the Lions are allowed to exchange greetings with other Lions under supervision of the radio amateur. Normally the name and number of the Lions Club is the exchange.
Contact Rad Handfield-Jones, ZS6RAD, whose email address is rad.handfield-jones@pixie.co.za and Willie Axford, ZS5WI, with address zs5wi@telkomsa.net for more information.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be at low levels. All visible Sunspots are currently stable. There is currently no chance for strong solar flares.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 40.
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
12 and 13 January – Hunting Lions-in-the-Air activity.
15 January – Last day to provide feedback on the DRAFT NATIONAL RADIO FREQUENCY PLAN to sarlregwg@sarl.org.za.
31 January – Last day for submission of nominations for councilors for the next term and motions for the 2013 AGM.
31 January – Last day for submission of a brief outline of a proposed paper at the SA AMSAT Space Symposium on 18 May 2013 to saamsat@sarl.org.za.
23 February - SARL Youth Sprint 10:00 to 12:00 CAT with a special event starting at 09:00.
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 16:30 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.
From the SARL News team we wish all listeners a happy and prosperous new year. May your radio amateur activity bring you lots of pleasure.
You have listened to a bulletin of the South African Radio League compiled and edited by George Honiball, ZS6NE.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
