SARL NEWS SUNDAY 20 January 2013

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:

RE-APPLICATION FOR AN AMATEUR LICENSE

RADIO EXAMINATION DETAILS ANNOUNCED

BURSARIES FOR CLASS A RAE STUDENTS

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

RE-APPLICATION FOR AN AMATEUR LICENCE

In SARL NEWS of 25 November, the Council of the SARL alerted radio amateurs that they would have to re-apply for their license every 5 years. Here is an excerpt of the announcement: "All Radio Amateurs will be required to re-apply for a license for the period of 1 April 2013 till 31 March 2018. Payment of the annual license fee can be made annually for the full 5 year period in which case a discounted rate applies. Stay tuned to SARL News or visit www.sarl.org.za frequently. New information will be published as soon as it comes to hand."

Last week ICASA published the Government Gazette with the requirements. Every Radio Amateur is required to reapply for his or her license by 25 January 2013. The SARL has prepared a simplified form which has been approved by ICASA. It is available on www.sarl.org.za.

No fees are required and no new examinations. Simply complete the form, scan it and send by Email or ordinary mail to ICASA. The SARL web has full detail of the email and postal address. There is also a guideline on how to fill in the form.

Yesterday SARL Letter number 2 for January 2013 has been mailed to all members with email addresses also containing the information and a PDF copy of the form.

Club committees please note that repeater and other licenses must also be renewed.

RADIO EXAMINATION DETAILS ANNOUNCED

The SARL RAE Manager, Gideon Jannasch, ZS4GJA, has announced the details of the 2013 RAE. The May examination will be held on 16 May 2013 and the October examination on 17 October 2013.

Get full details on www.sarl.org.za and select licensing from the left hand menu and follow the links.

Invigilators and HF Assessors need to register as soon as possible. Full details and all the forms are available on the SARL web under licensing. Select the RAE Administration button.

A new Regulation study guide is also available which contains a summary of all regulations pertaining to amateur radio. Students need to study this guide for the RAE.

Any question regarding the RAE should be sent to Gideon with email address rae@sarl.org.za.

BURSARIES FOR CLASS A RAE STUDENTS

The South African Amateur Radio Development Trust has made four bursaries available from the Tony Reumerman ZS6AOG Bursary fund, two for the May exam and two for the October exam. Each bursary is valued at R1 000. On passing the RAE the student also receives an ARRL Basic Antenna Book valued at R350.

Full details and a bursary application form are available on www.amateurradio.org.za. The closing date for bursary applications for the May examination is 31 January 2013.

ADF BREAKS THROUGH THE R30 000 MARK

This week the SARL Antenna Defence Fund increased to R30 050 edging closer to the R50 000 target. Thanks to all who have contributed. To see a list of donors and to find out how to add your name and donation visit www.sarl.org.za and select Antenna Defence Fund from the left hand menu. This past week the Pretoria Amateur Radio Club made a substantial donation. The SARL appreciates your support.

PACK YOUR AMATEUR GEAR AND MOVE TO MARS

You might want to call this the ultimate one-way DXpedition. While not specifically directed to the amateur radio community, the Netherlands based nonprofit organization Mars One, has released its basic astronaut requirements setting the stage for a televised global selection process that will begin later this year.

Mars One hopes to put the first settlers on the red planet by 2023. The organization is not looking for scientists or former jet jockeys as colonists. Rather anyone who is at least 18 years old can apply to become a Mars pioneer.

Officials at Mars One say that the most important criteria are intelligence, good mental and physical health and dedication to the project. Those selected as its astronauts will undergo eight years of training before launch.

Norbert Kraft is Mars One's chief medical director and a former NASA researcher. He is quoted as saying that gone are the days when bravery and the number of hours flying a supersonic jet were the top criteria. Kraft says that now a days space exploration planners are more concerned with how well each astronaut works and lives with the others, in the long journey from Earth to Mars and for a lifetime of challenges that would lie ahead.

Newsline reports that Mars One plans to launch a series of robotic cargo missions between 2016 and 2021. These would be used to build a habitable outpost ahead of the arrival of the first four colonists in 2023. More settlers would then arrive every two years thereafter. And less we forget to mention, this will be a one way trip as there are no plans to return the pioneers to Earth.

NEW MEMBERS

The SARL welcomes 7 radio amateurs who joined our organisation as members. We trust that they will enjoy a long and happy relationship wit the SARL. They are:

Johan Latsky, ZSL1055
John Gallie, ZSL1056
A F Barnard, ZR1TAS
Michael Corke, ZS1RJQ
Carl Kies, ZS1ZK
Daniel du Toit, ZS6DZ
David Kirkham, G4SNS

CONTEST NEWS

The SARL Summer QRP Contest is on the air next Saturday afternoon; that is 26 January from 12:00 to 15:00 UTC. The rules for the contest have been changed, so please check the 2013 Contest Manual.

The AWA CW Activity day takes place from 10:00 UTC on Saturday 2 February until 10:00 UTC on Sunday 3 February. It is CW activity on 20, 40 and 80 metres using QRP or 100 watts. The exchange is a RST report, the operators name and grid locator.

The SARL National Field Day takes place from 10:00 UTC on Saturday 9 February to 10:00 UTC on Sunday 10 February. This is an ideal weekend for a Radio Club outing and getting the members into camp. The contest allows SSB, CW and digital working on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres. There are six categories of entry to choose from to suit your club.

The exchange is the number of transmitters, the Field Day operating class and the Provincial abbreviation. Equipment for the Field Station may only be set up in the 24 hours prior to the starting time of the contest. This restriction applies to antennas, masts, towers and transmitting equipment, but excludes accommodation such as a caravan, tent, etc.

The rules for the Field Day contest have been changed. Consult the 2013 SARL Contest Manual for the complete rules of all the contest.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels. Big sunspot AR 1 654 harbors energy for X-class flares but has up to date failed to produce a major eruption.

If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 72.

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 in the afternoon, especially on sunlit paths.

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

DIARY OF EVENTS
20 January – Last day of the PEARS National VHF/UHF contest.
26 January - SARL Summer QRP Contest 12:00 to 15:00 UTC.
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.
31 January – Last day to submit applications for a SAARDT bursary by RAE students. Details from www.amateurradio.org.za.
2-3 February - AWA CW Activity.
9-10 February - SARL National Field Days.
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.

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