SARL NEWS SUNDAY 23 MARCH 2014
Good morning, 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 MHz from Pretoria, with a relay on 7,066 MHz SSB. (Other news readers change to suit).
In the news today:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION AND AGM
CLOSING DATE FOR THE RAE IS 10 APRIL
REGISTER NOW FOR THE SA AMSAT SPACE SYMPOSIUM
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting items.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION AND AGM
Have you registered for the SARL convention, Annual General Meeting and the Awards Dinner? Details are on the SARL web at www.sarl.org.za.
If you are only attending the SARL AGM on Saturday 12 April you still need to register to get free access to the convention venue. Failing to do so you will be charged R25. Registration for the AGM is free to SARL members. It is simple to do. Fill in the form available on the web. If you only wish to attend the AGM, SARL members may email admin@sarl.org.za with their name, callsign and telephone number. Put AGM registration in the subject line. Members may also phone Mariska during office hours on 011 675 2393 and give their name, call sign, telephone number and email address.
Registration by email and telephone closes on Thursday 10 April 2014 to allow time for processing the information.
If you however are not attending the AGM please complete the proxy form available on the web as soon as possible. If you are not sure who to appoint as your proxy select the President, Secretary or one of the Councillors to represent your interest. If you are not sure of the process, call Mariska at 011 675 2393 to assist you.
The convention offers an exciting programme with many side shows, exhibitions and activity for the ladies. It would be a great pity if you have to miss it.
Have you watched Voetspore on TV2 and ever wondered how they communicated on their journey through Africa? Johan Badenhorst will reveal all the hardship and excitement of the several journeys the Voetspore team have undertaken. There are other interesting presentations such as "Two-way Radio for Dummies" and "Powering your off-road or mobile communication". Check out the latest amateur radio equipment available or buy that new transceiver from one of the many dealers showing the latest equipment, find out how KLETSkous, SA AMSAT's satellite will work.
Don't miss the Friday night braai and the Saturday night awards dinner. The SARL National Convention takes place from 11 - 13 April at the Furrow Lane Hotel, 272 Furrow Road, Equestria, Pretoria. Why not make it a weekend out and stay over at Furrow Lane, it a great boutique Hotel to treat your spouse and yourself.
CLOSING DATE FOR THE RAE IS 10 APRIL
The SARL has launched a new online registration system for the Amateur Radio Examination. Candidates who wish to write the May examination should visit the SARL website for details of how to register for the examination. The closing date for registration is 10 April 2014. No late entries will be accepted.
FREQUENCY CHANGE FOR AMATEUR RADIO TODAY
From 6 April there will be frequency changes for Amateur Radio Today. On Sundays at 10:00 local time there will be transmissions on 7 205 and a new frequency of 17 660 kHz. On Mondays at 18:30 local time the frequency changes to 3 230 kHz. Reception reports are invited. Email your reports to artoday@sarl.org.za.
REGISTER NOW FOR THE SA AMSAT SPACE SYMPOSIUM
Registration for the SA AMSAT space symposium is now open. The symposium will be held on Saturday 24 May 2014 at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria. You get discounts for booking early and if you are an SARL or SA AMSAT member. Get all details on www.amsatsa.org.za
Application for membership of the SARL have been received from the following person:
List Llewellyn Sweetnam, ZSL1095
Any objections against the acceptance of the application must reach the Secretary before or on the Tuesday after this bulletin.
CONTEST NEWS
Results of the 2014 SARL Hamnet 40 m Contest.
Conditions were not good for this contest, so it was a pleasant surprize to receive 17 logs. The category winners are:
Stationary Mobile: No entries;
Single operator Field Station: Willem Taljaard, ZS6WBT;
Multi-operator Field Station: Bloemfontein ARC, ZS4BFN;
Base Station: Johan van Zijl, ZS4DZ.
The full results can be found in HF Happenings 599 and on the SARL Forum.
SARL 80 m QSO Party.
The first leg of this popular contest will be run on Thursday evening 3 April from 17:00 to 20:00 UTC with phone activity between 3 603 to 3 650 and 3 700 to 3 800 kHz. The exchange is call signs, RS signal report and operator's name. The scoring is 10 points for every contact with a South African station and 15 points for every contact with a station outside South Africa. Logs must be submitted by 12 April to zs5lp@vodamail.co.za.
RaDAR Contest.
The contest takes place on Saturday 5 April starting at 14:00 UTC and ending at 18:00 UTC - approximately two hours during the day and two hours at night within the South African time zone. The contest will also be on the air from the United Kingdom and the USA.
All amateur bands, except the WARC bands, are allowed including cross band contacts via amateur radio satellites. Modes - CW, SSB, AM, FM or any digital mode. QSOs via terrestrial repeaters will NOT be allowed. The exchange is call sign, name, RS(T) Report, QTH and grid locator. Please consult the 2014 SARL Contest Manual for the categories, multipliers and scoring. The closing date for logs is 19 April 2014 which must be sent to edleighton@gmail.com.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be at moderate levels. Sunspot AR2010 is crackling with low level C-class solar flares. All the other visible sunspots are quiet.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 100.
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 may also be some 6 m openings in the early evenings.
Please visit the website spaceweather.sansa.org.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
31 March - Closing date for submission of proposals for the School Satellite Project to SA AMSAT. Visit www.amsatsa.org.za.
3 April – First leg of the SARL 80 m QSO Party 17:00 to 20:00 UTC.
5 April – RaDAR Contest 14:00 18:00 UTC.
10 April - Closing date for May RAE registration.
12 April – Last day to submit logs for the SARL 80 m QSO Party to zs5lp@vodamail.co.za.
11-13 April - SARL National Convention.
19 April - Last day to submit logs for the RaDAR Contest to edleighton@gmail.com.
24 May - SA AMSAT space symposium.
The 2014 SARL Diary of Events will be available for download in the coming week from www.sarl.org.za. Get a copy and keep it handy in your radio shack.
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 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 16:30 UTC on 4 895 kHz. The website also lists various other retransmissions. Reception reports, comments and suggestions are invited. Send an email 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
======================= Message Ends =======================
To edit or remove your entry from this mailing list go to www.sarl.org.za/members/admin/maildat.asp.
