SARL NEWS SUNDAY 30 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:
SKA TO BE DISCUSSED ON THE NEXT INTECNET
REGISTER FOR THE SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION THIS WEEKEND
CLOSING DATE FOR THE RAE IS 10 APRIL
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting items.
SKA TO BE DISCUSSED ON THE NEXT INTECNET
The first dish in the MeerKat constellation at the Karoo SKA site was officially inaugurated last week. On Tuesday 15 April Prof Justin Jones will be talking on the next Intecnet about progress made and answer questions about the SKA and the significance of MeerKat.
At the inauguration of the first dish, the Minister of Science and Technology, Derrick Hanekom, said that the contribution that MeerKAT promises to make to our understanding of the universe is vast. The Minster said: “ While for many of us lay-people, the finer points are difficult to grasp, I have personally developed a deep appreciation of the importance of these pursuits. Materially, it is a fact that scientific discoveries tend to have unexpected spinoffs. The relatively young science of radio astronomy has, to give only one example, made a major and direct contribution to the development of Wi-Fi technology, which has become an everyday part of our existence.”
“Intellectually, what can be more important than seeking a better understanding of our cosmic origins, understanding how the universe was born, how galaxies and stars were formed, how the Sun and the Earth were born, and how life originated?”
The Intecnet will be held on Tuesday 15 April 2014 starting at 19:30. Clubs wishing to link their repeater to the network should send an email to artoday@sarl.org.za. Join us for this exciting SARL On-the-air event.
REGISTER FOR THE SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION THIS WEEKEND
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. It is a simple form and you can pay by internet bank transfer. The exhibition is the largest of amateur radio related events in recent times and runs all Saturday 12 April.
SA AMSAT last week announced its plans to demonstrate the first proto type of the KLETSkous transponder. Bring your hand-held and try out. The space frame which is of local design will also be on display. This is just one of the many activities. If you are interested in historical equipment, the Antique Wireless Association stand will be worth a visit.
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, callsign, 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.
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. Please share this information with students studying for the RAE.
FREQUENCY CHANGE FOR AMATEUR RADIO TODAY
From 6 April there will be frequency changes for Amateur Radio Today. On Sundays at 10 am 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.
SARL MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Applications for membership of the SARL have been received from the following persons:
Jaco la Grange, ZS1JLG;
Friedrich Nebe, ZR1ABJ;
Dave du Toit, ZS6DDU.
Any objections against the acceptance of the applications must reach the Secretary before or on the Tuesday after this bulletin.
The SARL membership is currently 1 705.
HOW DID ROSS A. HULL, VK3JU, DISCOVER TROPO PROPAGATION?
Ross A. Hull, VK3JU, ex-editor of Wireless Weekly, emigrated from Australia to the USA where he joined the staff of the ARRL and became Associate Editor of QST magazine. As a foreigner he was not allowed by US law to apply for an amateur radio licence, but as a member of the ARRL headquarters staff he could operate under their call sign. He developed new equipment for the ARRL and produced many constructional articles for the early ARRL Radio Handbooks, and showed a particular interest in the "Ultra High Frequency" (UHF) 5 metre (56 - 60 MHz) band.
At the time all the experts believed that the "UHF" spectrum above 30 MHz were only suitable for short distance line-of-sight communications, but in 1934 Ross Hull proved them wrong. He was resident at West Hartford, Connectcut, and decided to conduct some tests on 60 MHz with amateurs in Boston, Massachusetts, about 160 km away. At first the Boston amateurs did not hear anything at all until Ross changed his vertical antenna to a beam consisting of four quarter wave radiators fed in phase with four reflectors. Signals varied from morning to afternoon or day to day from weak to very strong. Ross soon realized that this phenomena was weather related and caused by temperature inversions; he discovered refraction of VHF radio waves in the troposphere! Soon other amateurs started using beams on 5 metres too and extended the range to 500 km.
Unfortunately Ross Hull came to a sudden and sad end when he reached for a switch underneath his desk, and touched the 6 000 Volt contact of the transformer supplying power to his cathode ray TV tube; he died instantly.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be at low to moderate levels. Sunspots AR2010 and 2014 harbours enough energy for M-class solar flares but are currently 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.
15 April – Intechnet on SKA at 19:30.
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
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