SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS 14 SEPTEMBER 2014

Good morning and welcome! You are tuned to a news bulletin of the South African Radio League read by (Name and call sign) from
(QTH).

You can tune in to our news bulletin on Sunday morning at 08:15 CAT in Afrikaans and at 08:30 CAT in English on HF and on VHF and UHF repeaters around the country. Echolink listeners can connect to ZS0JPL for a relay. A podcast is available from the South African Radio League webpage at www.sarl.org.za as well as from www.podpage.co.za

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We start the bulletin with news of a silent key.

It is with deep regret that the passing of one of the stalwarts of our hobby during the 1960's and 1970's, Tannie Anna Steytler, ZS4AP (ZS6ATN) on Tuesday 9 September must be announced. Anna was the secretary of the then Southern Transvaal Branch of the South African Radio League, a post she held for many years.

We extend our sincere condolences to Oom Bobby, ZS4AO, their family and friends.

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IN THE NEWS TODAY

OCTOBER RAE REGISTRATION CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT ON 15 SEPTEMBER

SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE 5 MHZ ACTIVITY WEEKEND

RTA HEADING TO PORT ELIZABETH

and

SUMMITS ON THE AIR FROM THE EASTERN FREE STATE

Our leading story this morning

** The deadline for registration for the October 2014 Radio Amateur Exam has been extended until midnight on Monday 15 September 2014. Please make sure you scan and submit all required documentation as soon as possible.

Good luck with the preparation for this coming examination.

** The next 5 MHz activity weekend will be held on 20 and 21 September 2014. South African Radio League members are invited to take part in a 5 MHz activity weekend dedicated to propagation research. The activity is focussed from 13:00 - 20:00 on each day and comprises various activities during designated time slots. The activity is open to all South African Radio League members and to all radio amateurs living permanently outside the borders of South Africa. More details are available on the South African Radio League web.

** Judging by comments received after the three RTA's held thus far, it is something not to be missed. Port Elizabeth is next. The RTA will be held at the Saturday 4 October at Magnetic Storm in Newton Park. Full details, the programme and registration forms are available on the South African Radio League web. Booking for this event will close on 30 September.

Prof Ernest van Dyk, Director of the Centre for Energy Research, will present the keynote address. He will discuss the Southern African Universities Radiometric Network (SAURAN), which is an initiative of the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES) at Stellenbosch University and the Group for Solar Energy Thermodynamics (GSET) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. SAURAN aims to make high-resolution, ground-based solar radiometric data available from stations located across the Southern African region.

** The triennial General Conference of IARU Region 1 will take place at the Grand Flamingo Hotel in Albena, just north of Varna, Bulgaria from Sunday 21 to Friday 26 September. Albena is a resort on the Black Sea coast.

The South African Radio League delegation consists of Geoff Levey, ZS6C as head of delegation, Rassie Erasmus, ZS1YT, and Riaan Greeff, ZS4PR. They will attend meetings of the Administration and Organisational Committee (C3), the Permanent HF Committee (C4) and the Permanent VHF/UHF/Microwave Committee (C5). They hope to be selected for the Credentials and Finance Committee (C2) as well. The Committees will work through 106 conference papers. There will be a workshop on Member Societies and second societies.

From 18 to 26 September, the special call sign LZ14IARU will be active from the conference venue.

We wish the delegation bon voyage and all of the best for the Conference.

** Radio Amateurs of Canada has announced an agreement with that that nation's telecommunications agencies to back the society's formal proposal to create a worldwide 60 metre amateur radio allocation. According to the Radio Amateurs of Canada, this proposal will be brought up at the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission or CITEL meetings in Merida, Mexico next month. This, to be considered as Canada's position going in to WRC 2015 and proposes two 25 KHz band segments for amateurs. The first would be from 5 330 to 5 355 kHz and the second beginning at 5 405 and ending at 5 430 kHz. Amateur access would be on a non-interfering secondary basis.

The RAC says that the process is still ongoing. The final decision as to whether or not to create this new band will be made next year at WRC 2015. However, says the RAC, presenting a firm proposal from that nation with specific frequencies for support by the International Telecommunications Union Region 2 countries is a giant step toward a favourable outcome next year.

You are tuned to a bulletin of the South African Radio League and we now continue with local news and news from the league.

** The South African Radio League regrets the delay in the printing of Radio ZS. This is due to a change in printers. It is expected that copies will be available during next week and will be mailed as soon as possible afterwards.

** Summits on the Air from the Free State. On Saturday 20 September from 06:00 to 15:00 UTC, Eddie, ZS6BNE, Rudi, ZS6DX, Andries, ZS6VL, Cliriska, ZU6BV, and Angelo, ZU6M, will be activating two summits in the Moolmanshoek area of the Eastern Free State. The summits are First Pyramid (2 167 ml) and Second Pyramid (2 200 m). They will be active on HF using CW, phone and digital modes. The team will be putting out spots on SOTAWatch as well as GMAWatch on Saturday.

The German Mountain Award (GMA) reference numbers for the two summits are ZT/FS-001 - First Pyramid and ZT/FS-002 - Second Pyramid. The summit information has been submitted to the SOTA Management Team and we are awaiting the SOTA numbers. ZS-SOTA hopes that they will be issued before the weekend.

You can be a chaser on Saturday or what about activating a summit in your area and working summit to summit. Good luck to the team in their endeavour!

** The committee received twenty contest logs and one check log for the South African Radio League HF CW Contest held on 31 August 2014. The twenty-one amateurs made 815 QSOs. Roger Jones, ZS6RJ, takes top honours with 236 points, followed by fellow club member Joop Hesp, ZS6JP, with 198 points. Karel Bezuidenhout, ZS6WN, takes third place with 182 points and Pierre van Deventer, ZS6A, in fourth place with 178 points.

Roger Jones, ZS6RJ achieved the best score on a single band, with 124 points on 20 metres.

In the Club competition, the West Rand ARC takes first place with 452 points, followed by the Pretoria ARC with 222 points, the Boland ARC with 174 points and the Port Elizabeth ARS with 168 points.

The winner of the lucky draw is Pierre van Deventer, ZS6A

** The combined results of the South African Radio League HF Contests (phone, digital and CW) are as follows - Roger Jones, ZS6RJ, takes first place with 517 points, followed by Jan Botha, ZS4JAN, with 445 points, Karel Bezuidenhout, ZS6WN, with 363 points and Hans Kappetijn, ZS6KR, with 356 points

And the Club completion is won by the West Rand ARC with 1 100 points, followed by the Bloemfontein ARC on 735 points, the Pretoria ARC on 706 points and the Port Elizabeth ARS on 312 points.

The full results are available in HF Happenings 622 as well as on the South African Radio League Forum. Congratulations to Roger and the West Rand ARC.

** No applications for membership of the South African Radio League have been received during this week. Membership currently stands at 1 430 members plus 31 clubs affiliated to the South African Radio League. If you have no access to the South African Radio League website, your membership is probably not up to date. Phone or e-mail the office to check.

** KARTS and the AWA Flea Market / Open Day. By popular demand and on request we are happy to announce that the Kempton Park Amateur Radio Technical Society (KARTS) and the Antique Wireless Associations (AWA) will host a second combined flea market and open day event this year on Saturday 1 November 2014 from 08:00 onwards.

The venue is at the Impala Voortrekkers Centre, 46 Rooibos Avenue, Allen Grove in Kempton Park. This event promises to be a most interesting, enjoyable and memorable day. For table bookings or any queries, contact Selwyn, ZS6SEL, at 082 804 2782 or Nico, ZS6QL, at 083 269 9939. KARTS and the AWA will publish more details closer to the date!

** Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be at active levels. Sunspots AR2158 and AR2157 both have unstable magnetic fields that could erupt at any time.

If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 120. The 20 to 10 m bands will provide lots of DX fun with some exciting 10 m openings ahead due to the higher solar activity. Please visit the website spaceweather.sansa.org.za for further information.

DAIRY OF EVENTS

15 September – at midnight, the closing time for registrations for the October RAE
20 September – Summits on the air activation from the eastern Free State
20 and 21 September – The SARL 5 MHz Activity weekend
2 October - South African Radio League 80 m QSO Party
17 to 19 October – Jamboree on the Air and CQ Hou Koers
1 November – KARTS and AWA Flea Market / Open Day

We end this news bulletin with this mornings leading story:-

The deadline for registration for the October 2014 Radio Amateur Exam has been extended until midnight on Monday 15 September 2014. Please make sure you scan and submit all required documentation as soon as possible.

Good luck with the preparation for this coming examination.

That brings us to the end of this week’s news broadcast

The South African Radio League invites you to listen to Amateur Radio Today every Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria area, on the 145,650 MHz network in Johannesburg with relays on 7 082, 7 205, and 17 660 kHz. There is a podcast by Dick, ZS6RO. For web-streaming and Echolink by Chris, 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 3 230 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.

South African Radio League 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, no later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date.

And that brings us to the end of this news bulletin compiled and edited by Dennis Green ZS4BS, and read by …………………………..

73 from the SARL News team

/EX