SARL NEWS SUNDAY 17 February 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 and 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 we have to announce that the key of Ton van Dijk, ZS6ANA, went silent on Friday 8th February.
Our sincerest condolences to Ton’s family and friends.
(PAUSE)
IN THE NEWS TODAY:
SARL ANTENNA DEFENSE FUND TOUCHES R40 000
SARL COUNCIL TO MEET FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AT THE NARC
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.
SARL ANTENNA DEFENSE FUND TOUCHES R40 000
This week the SARL Antenna Defence fund touched the R40 000 mark standing currently at R39 900. The fund was started to finance legal and building regulations experts to develop and launch an appeal to the relative authorities to have amateur radio towers and antenna structures under 15 metres exempted from the current building and zoning regulations. Legal, environmental and structural experts are being engaged to prepare a submission. Progress is relatively slow but as soon as it is opportune to share information with SARL members and listeners, it will be included in SARL news and will be published on the web.
For information on how to support the initiative and to see which individual radio amateurs, clubs and commercial undertakings have contributed visit www.sarl.org.za and click on the Antenna Defence Fund button in the left hand menu.
SARL COUNCIL TO MEET FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AT THE NARC
The SARL Council will meet this coming Friday and Saturday at the National Amateur Radio Centre in Gauteng for its annual strategy indaba. On Saturday morning Councillors will take time off between 10:00 and 11:00 to participate in the Youth Sprint which will run from 10:00 - 12:00 CAT. Council will deliberate on various strategic and regulatory issues including the Antenna Defence Campaign, the SARL Regulatory Framework and progress made with ICASA. A comprehensive action plan for the following year will be developed and discussed and tabled at the AGM in April. Highlights of the meeting will be included in next week's SARLNEWS.
RADIO ZS IN THE MAIL AND ON THE WEB
The January February Edition of RADIO ZS has been posted and is now available to members on the web. It is again an edition with interesting articles. Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, looks at the second century of amateur radio supported disaster communication including a press cutting from the Cape Argus of 6 March 1926. If you are a DXer then "DXpedition to Swains island" will interest you. Ian Roberts looks at "Trans Equatorial Propagation in South Africa". Henry Chamberlain rides more on the SDR Wave and Duncan Baker's last installment of "Wireless telegraphy during the boer war" make interesting reading. Laurie Devereux takes us for coffee and Eddie Leighton talks about RaDAR.
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. Get more details on the great prizes to be won on www.sarl.org.za.
LAST MAN STANDING TO FEATURE AMATEUR RADIO
ABC comedy Last Man Standing -- starring Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, KA0XTT, will prominently feature scenes with cast members using Amateur Radio. According to Last Man Standing Producer John Amodeo, NN6JA, the episode called "The Fight" will feature several of the regular cast members talking on the radios. "I can't say much about the episode right now," Amodeo said, "But this episode has the most significant use of Amateur Radio in a TV comedy.
"In addition to the original KA0XTT station in Mike Baxter's work office, viewers will get to see Mike's amateur radio shack in the basement of his home,"Amodeo explained. "A cast member will also be calling in from a portable HF radio while hiking along the Amazon." The ARRL provided many of the awards -- including 5 Band DXCC, 5 Band Worked All States, 5 Band Worked All Continents and VUCC -- that are on Mike Baxter's home shack wall. The episode, which was filmed February 12, will also feature Richard Karn. Last Man Standing is shown on MNet channel 101 on Friday evenings. Multichoice has been approached to supply the date of broadcast but at going to press on Friday evening their reply was still outstanding. In the USA it will be screened in mid-March, SARLNEWS will keep you posted.
NEW SARL MEMBERS
A hearty welcome to:
Richard Beavan Gwilt, ZS2RL and
Johannes Wiid, ZSL1058, WHO joined the SARL as members. May your relationship with the SARL be lasting and joyful.
By joining the SARL, you pushed its membership up to 1 688.
REQUEST BY LEARNER FOR ASSISTANCE WITH PROPAGATION STUDY
The following is a request by Dané de Witt, ZU6DD, for assistance with a propagation study:
“I am at present a grade 10 learner and I am busy with a scientific school task. The requirement for the task is to ask a question about a subject and then do measurements or to collect data in order to answer the question. I decided to do something about amateur radio. I wish to learn more about propagation on the 40 meter band. To this end I built a Morse code beacon. The beacon operates on 7 048 kHz and transmits a Morse code message at about 12 w.p.m. and 100 milliwatt. I would like to receive as many reports as possible on the beacon signal in order to make my research meaningful and for that I need the assistance af radio amateurs. Please listen, and if you hear the signal, send a signal report to me.”
“Read more about the project on WWW.QRZ.COM and search for my call sign ZU6DD. There is a description and photos of thr beacon project. Signal reports must include the date, time and grid square referenfe. My email address is zu6dd@kripton.co.za, or it may be sent by SMS to 082 771 3976.
SARLNEWS requests radio amateurs friendly that you respond to this request from an enthusiastic young radio amateur.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to continue at low to very low levels. None of the regions rotating into view or the currently visible sunspots are actively flaring.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 46.
All the bands from 20 to 10 m will provide lots of DX fun with 20 m providing the best openings with 15 m not far behind. There will also be 10 m openings on sunlit paths in the afternoons.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
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
