SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS SUNDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2015

Good morning and welcome to the weekly news bulletin of the South African Radio League read by ………………………….. [your name, call sign and QTH]

You can tune into the South African Radio League news bulletin 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 League’s web site.

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


In the news today

WHY ARE YOU NOT OFFERING YOUR SERVICES TO HAMNET?

VHF DISTANCES POSSIBLE ALONG THE EAST, SOUTH AND WEST COASTS OF SOUTH AFRICA

THE WORLD RADIOCOMMUNICATION CONFERENCE APPROVES A GLOBAL 60 METRE ALLOCATION

DECEMBER IS YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR MONTH


Stay tuned for more on these and other interesting news items.


****Amateur radio is a hobby involving experimentation and self-education. This includes finding out if you have the capability to run a station from your house or in the wilds, without electricity and in disaster conditions, assisting the community when facilities are compromised. It also includes improving your voice procedures to be able to convey a message accurately and succinctly, and receiving and comprehending a message when conditions are bad.

All of this can be improved upon by belonging to Hamnet, the emergency communication arm of the South African Radio League. So why aren't you a member yet? Hamnet can use your capabilities, no matter whether you are confined to home by illness, or a keen mountaineer, or even a cave-explorer. Cyclists, quad-bikers, sky-jumpers, marathon-runners - there's space for you!
Contact the SARL office for the details of the Hamnet Director in your region.

And don't forget to listen to Amateur Radio Today's programme today at 10h00 on a repeater near you, for the weekly Hamnet bulletin after the Headquarters' bulletin.


****These distances can regularly be covered by Tropo Ducting propagation on 144 MHz and under very favourable conditions also on 50 MHz. The distances are: Cape Town to Oranjemund = 620 km and Luderitz = 790 km. Cape Town to Port Elizabeth = 660 km and East London = 880 km. Durban to East London = 460 km and Port Elizabeth = 690 km. The longest distance recorded on 144 MHz was between Port Elizabeth and Richards Bay over 840 km during Tropo Ducting propagation.

****The Plenary Meeting of the 2015 World RadioCommunication Conference (WRC-15) in Geneva has approved an allocation of 5 351,5 to 5 366,5 kHz to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis with a power limit of 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP). The 18 November decision on Agenda Item 1.4 was adopted on two back-to-back readings. With this action and despite conditions that are more restrictive than had been hoped at the start of the Conference, the Amateur Service has obtained its first new global HF allocation since 1979. The new band will not become available until the Acts of the Conference are finalised and the ITU Radio regulations are updated. This could, according to informed sources, be 1 January 2017. Until then, the two frequencies, 5 260 and 5 290 kHz will remain in place.


****Once again for the entire month of December, stations in several countries will be on the air looking for contacts using "YOTA" as their call sign suffix.
YOTA stations will be seeking to make many contacts, so take this opportunity to connect young amateurs in their teens and 20s with their peers on the air

A special call sign, ZS9YOTA, has been obtained for use by young amateurs during YOTA month from 1 to 31 December 2015.
If you are 25 years old or younger, you are invited to apply to use the special call sign either as an individual or as a club station operated by young people. Send your request to Koos ZR6KF at koosfick096@gmail.com or alternatively to Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QL, at zs6ql@mweb.co.za

Daily slots will be allocated on a first come first served basis to all clubs or individuals. Allocated slots will be shown on www.sarl.org.za/ where you will find more detailed information and lots of other interesting information about YOTA 2015.

Please add a photograph of yourself or group operating your station, in order to place it on the ZS9YOTA page of the IARU R1 website when you book your slot for December.

A golden opportunity for clubs to run a demonstration at a local school or to gather together with our amateur friends, grab a pizza, enjoy a braai and let the youngsters make some QSO's or possibly enjoys a great pile-up. Let's us all showcase this great hobby to our South African youth!

You are listening to a news bulletin of the South African Radio League.


**** The Westrand Amateur radio club is hosting its next flea market at 12:00 on Saturday 28 November 2015 at their clubhouse in Kroton street, Weltevredenpark, Roodepoort. Everybody is welcome. For more information, contact Johan ZS6JVV 082 558 5811.


****The Pretoria Amateur Radio Club (PARC)had their first committee meeting after the 2015 AGM on 14 November 2015. Portfolios were allocated to members as follows:
Johan de Bruyn ZS6JHB chairman;
Pierre Holtzausen, ZS6PJH vice chairman;
Jean ZS6ARA secretary;
Andre van Tonder ZS6BRC treasurer;

Many of the portfolios will be handled by subcommittees as follows:
Public relations and marketing, Etienne Naude ZS6EFN;
Flea markets: Almero du Pisani ZS6LDP;
RAE classes: Etienne Naudé ZS6EFN, Pierre Holzhausen ZS6PJH and Louis de Wet ZS6SK;
Competitions: Jaco Cronje ZR6CMG; Pierre Holzhausen ZS6PJH and Whitey Joubert ZS6JJJ;
Technical and repeaters: Gawie Marais ZS6GJM, Craig Symington ZS6RH and André Coetzee ZS6GCA;
Web site: Graham Reid ZS6GJR; Gawie Marais ZS6GJM,
Editorial matters: Louis de Wet ZS6SK;
Clubhouse: Louis de Wet ZS6SK, Whitey Joubert ZS6JJJ,
Bulletins: Etienne Naude ZS6EFN, Jean ZS6ARA;
Rallies & social: Johan de Bruyn ZS6JHB.

We wish the new committee good luck and success with their duties for the coming year.


**** In this week’s propagation report, Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to be at low levels. All visible sunspots are stable with a very low probability of solar flares.

If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 45.

The 20 to 10 m bands will provide some DX fun, especially during the late afternoons and in the evenings.

Please visit the website spaceweather.sansa.org.za for further information.


****Planning for the 2016 RAE has started. Examination centers and HF Assessors need to please re-register for next year. Please do so before 10 December 2015. If you need any assistance please send an email to rae@sarl.org.za.


**** And now for the diary of events
28 Nov – West Rand Amateur Radio Klub flea market
1 Dec – Start of YOTA month
6 Dec – SARL digital contest
10 Dec – last day for RAE examination centres and HF Assesors registration
12 & 13 Dec – ARRL 10m contest
19 Dec – Last SARL Newsbulletin for 2015.
To end this bulletin, a recap of our main news items this morning.

To end today’s bulletin a look at the important news for the day.


****The Plenary Meeting of the 2015 World RadioCommunication Conference (WRC-15) in Geneva has approved an allocation of 5 351,5 to 5 366,5 kHz to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis with a power limit of 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP). The 18 November decision on Agenda Item 1.4 was adopted on two back-to-back readings. With this action and despite conditions that are more restrictive than had been hoped at the start of the Conference, the Amateur Service has obtained its first new global HF allocation since 1979.



You are welcome to join us every Sunday morning for the weekly amateur radio magazine programme ‘Amateur Radio Today’ at 10:00 Central African Time. The programme can 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 available from Dick Stratford, ZS6RO. A rebroadcast can be heard on Monday evenings at 18:30 Central African Time on 3 230 kHz AM.

We welcome your signal reports, comments and suggestions; send these by e-mail to artoday@sarl.org.za. Sentech sponsors the radio transmissions on the non-amateur frequencies.

You have listened to a news bulletin compiled by Etienne Naude, ZS6EFN, edited by Brian Utterson, ZS6AEand read byRory Norton, ZS2BL.

Thank you for listening

From the entire news team, best wishes for the week ahead.

73

/EX