SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS SUNDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2014

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

You can tune in to the South African Radio League news broadcast on Sunday mornings at 08:15 Central African Time in Afrikaans and at 08:30 Central African Time in English on HF and on many 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 web site.

This audio bulletin can be downloaded from the South African Radio League website at www.sarl.org.za. You can find this bulletin and previous bulletins in text format under the news link on the left-hand side of the South African Radio League webpage. While you are there, you can sign up to receive future bulletins by e-mail.

IN THE NEWS TODAY

FIRST WORLD WAR REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE TODAY

2015 SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE CONVENTION IN BLOEMFONTEIN

and

UPCOMING COMPETITIONS

Our leading story this morning

** At approximately 05:00 UTC on Monday 11 November 1918, 96 years ago, the Armistice was signed in a railway carriage of Marshall Foch's special train located in the forest at Rethondes in France on the western front. At 11:00 UTC on this Monday the 11th November 1918, the roar of guns ceased and peace and silence finally descended on the western front, ending the First World War. It is estimated that close to 9,5 million soldiers, sailors and airmen of all sides died in the Great War.

The radio amateur fraternity commemorates Remembrance Day today. A special programme by the Rev Jan Kramer, ZS6JRK, will be transmitted in Amateur Radio Today at approximately 10:45. Clubs can also download the programme for local transmission after 11:00 today. The audio file is available from the SARL web. Select amateur radio today and follow the links.

All radio amateurs are requested to keep radio silence between 10:45 and 11:00 today as a mark of respect for all who have fallen in service of their country.

** The City of Roses, Bloemfontein, will be the venue for the 2015 South African Radio League National Convention. It will be hosted by the Bloemfontein Amateur Radio Club at the Bains Game Lodge from 17 to 19 April 2015

Bains Lodge is situated on 42 ha of prime land, 2 km west of the Bloemfontein border and offers a variety of accommodation options to fit each need and budget. Wi-Fi Hotspots and sufficient secured parking are available for your comfort.

On an environmental level, it is noteworthy that the natural habitat of plants and a number of game species, including springbuck and giraffe, have been taken into careful consideration with each state of the planning, further contributing to the idyllic beauty of Bains Lodge. Diarise the date, 17 to 19 April 2015. More details and booking forms will be available on the SARL web soon.

** The 2015 ARRL Handbook, hard cover edition, is now available from the SA Amateur Radio Development Trust online bookshop. Full details, mailing options and order form are available on www.amateurradio.org.za. Cape Town orders received by Sunday night 9 November can be collected in Cape Town from the Easy Stay Hotel at Chanel walk, Century City on Tuesday 11 November 2014.

You are listening to a bulletin of the South African Radio League and know we now continue with news from the league

** Application for membership of the South African Radio League has been received from Jean-Jaques Bothma, ZR6BJJ.

Any objections against the acceptance of the applications must reach the South African Radio League Secretary before or on the Tuesday after this bulletin. Membership of the South African Radio League currently stands at 1 587 members including the newly passed RAE candidates. There are 34 affiliated clubs.

** This afternoon starting at 12:00 UTC, you can take part in the Port Elizabeth Amateur Radio Society HF Contest with phone activity on 20, 15 and 10 metres. The contest ends at 16:00 UTC. The exchange is call signs and a RS report. You can participate as a Single Operator - base or field station or a multi-operator - base or field station. Stations may use the maximum power permitted according to the regulations in the country of operation.

One point is earned for each QSO. A station may be contacted once per band. Field stations must multiply their score by two and a further multiplier of two is available if the station uses a non-gain antenna with reference to a dipole. The score is then multiplied by the number of countries contacted.

Log sheets must be submitted by 24 November 2014 to the Port Elizabeth Amateur Radio Society, PO Box 10402, Linton Grange, Port Elizabeth, 6015 or by e-mail to contest@peham.co.za. Read about the contest on page 45 of the SARL Contest Manual.

** The South African Radio League National Field Day and South African Radio League VHF/UHF Contest take to the air at 10:00 UTC on Saturday 15 November and end 24 hours later.

The National Field Day is CW, phone and digital operation on 160 to 10 metres. The exchange is a RS or RST report, the number of transceivers, Field Day class and the provincial abbreviation. There are six classes of entry covering field stations, ultra light stations and at home stations.

The station may be erected in the 24 hours before the contest, your tents and cara-vans can be setup at anytime. QSOs with ZS stations count 5 points and QSOs with DX stations count 1 point. There is also power, provincial and class multipliers. An Excel log sheet is available at www.zs4bfn.co.za/downloads.asp. Logs must be sent to zs4bfn@gmail.com by 24 November 2014. The rules are on page 18 of the Con-test Manual.

The South African Radio League VHF/UHF Contest lets you operate on 6, 4 and 2 metres, 70 and 23 cm and even higher. You can use CW, SSB, FM and digital modes on these frequencies. There are five categories of participation with some sub categories. The ex-change is a RS or RST report, call signs and a six-digit grid locator. Points are calculated as one (1) point per km to a maximum of 1 500 km. All kilometre calculations are to be made using the "Maidenhead" grid locator system. Then there are band, station and grid multipliers. Logs must be sent to contest@sarl.org.za by 24 November 2014. The rules are on page 24 Contest Manual.

** Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity will be at high to moderate levels. Active region 2205 has a complex magnetic field and may produce M- or X-class solar flares. If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 87.

The 20 to 10 m bands will provide lots of DX fun with some exciting 10 m openings at hand. Please visit the website spaceweather.sansa.org.za for further information.

The Diary of Events

Today - Remembrance Day transmission at 10:45 CAT and the PEARS HF Contest at 14:00 CAT
10 November - Closing date for 2015 contest manual input
11 November - Armistice Day
15 and 16 November - South African Radio League National Field Day as well as the South African Radio League VHF and UHF Contest
29 and 30 November - the CQ WW DX CW Contest

** To end this bulletin, a quick recap of the leading story:

The annual Remembrance Day service will be transmitted today as part of Amateur Radio Today at 10:45.

You are invited to submit news items of interest to the South African Radio League by following the news inbox link on the South African Radio League webpage. News items for inclusion in the bulletin, should reach the news team no later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date.

You may join us every Sunday morning for the weekly amateur radio magazine program Amateur Radio Today at 10:00 Central African Time. The programme may be heard on VHF and UHF repeaters countrywide and on 7 082 kHz lower side-band and on 7 205 kHz and 17 760 kHz AM. There is also a podcast by Dick, ZS6RO. A rebroadcast may be heard on Monday evenings at 18:30 Central African Time on 4 895 kHz AM. We welcome your signal reports, comments and suggestions; send it in an e-mail to artoday@sarl.org.za. Sentech sponsors the radio transmissions on the non-amateur frequency bands.

You have listened to a news bulletin compiled by Johann du Plessis, ZS6PSS, edited by Dennis Green, ZS4BS and read by …………………………………………….

Thank you for listening, and from the entire news team, best wishes for the week ahead, 73’s.

/EX