SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS SUNDAY 19 JUNE 2016

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

You may tune in to the South African Radio League news bulletin on Sunday mornings, at 08:15 Local Time in Afrikaans and at 08:30 Local Time in English, on HF as well as on many VHF and UHF repeaters around our country. Echolink listeners may connect to ZS0JPL for a relay.

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

IN THE NEWS TODAY:

THE PRIME PURPOSE OF THE SARL

THE SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE TOP BAND QSO PARTY

NEW VHF OPPORTUNITIES ARE ON THE HORIZON

EAST RAND RADIO CLUB WINTER FLEA MARKET

HF PROPAGATION PREDICTION

UPCOMING EVENTS

** The prime purpose of a Radio League is to protect Amateur Radio in its own country, and this fact should be conveyed to all radio amateurs. Wynand TY2CD confirmed this in his recent posting in the SARL Chat Forum where he stated that the actual value of the SARL which should be toted to all is:

The SARL is a recognized channel for negotiation on the status and regulations and privileges of Amateur Radio in South Africa with the South African regulatory authority for telecommunications, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).

The SARL is the national member society representing South Africa in the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).

The SARL is to be vigilant in protecting amateur radio frequency allocations.

The SARL enables frequent amateur radio licence examinations.

The SARL facilitates reciprocal and guest licensing.

Scientific and educational collaboration with other organizations is to be promoted by the SARL.

For the SARL to continue to be recognized as the organization that can be entrusted with the above, maximum SARL membership provides credibility to the SARL.

** The South African Radio League Top Band QSO Party is a fun activity to promote contacts on 160 metres between radio amateurs in Southern African countries and to encourage radio amateurs to apply for the League's Top Band Award. The QSO Party is open to all licensed amateurs that have access to the 160 metre band.

The QSO Party runs from 00:01 UTC on Thursday 23 June 2016 to 23:59 UTC on Monday 27 June 2016 with CW activity between 1 810 and 1 838 kHz and phone activity between 1 840 and 2 000 kHz. The exchange is a RS or RST report and your provincial or country abbreviation. Each station can be worked once per mode i.e. once on Phone and again with CW.

Each QSO will count three (3) points and each South African call area and each DXCC country worked will be awarded with five (5) additional bonus points. Logs, in ADIF, Cabrillo or MS Excel format and labelled "your call sign Top Band," must be submitted by 4 July 2016 by e-mail to contest@sarl.org.za.

** We are now entering what could be called the Maunder Minimum, a period of minimum sunspots that could last several decades. F2 propagation that provided the DX on 50 MHz, during the peak of the Solar Cycle, is now gone. But fortunately we have 26 amateur bands with many other types of propagation left to play with.

The ITU currently allocated the amateur radio service 12 amateur bands below 30 MHz in Region 1, covering just under 3,6 MHz total bandwidth, where the propagation on these bands is daily affected by the Sun. In contrast 14 amateur bands were allocated on VHF, UHF, SHF and EHF in the RSA with a total bandwidth of 23,6 GHz. So don't pack your VHF equipment away as there is still a lot to experiment and explore!

** The winter flea market of the East Rand Radio Club is taking place on 2 July 2016 starting at 12H00 mid day at their Clubhouse in Ebenezer Str Arrowe Park Benoni. Don't miss out on specials or even our auction that is taking place during the flea market. Please make sure to be there and bring lots of money and the whole family. For more information, contact Judy via e-mail on zs6erb@gmail.com. To book a table for only R20, contact Judy on 0797302030 or zs6erb@gmail.com. Come taste the nicest boerewors that you have ever tasted.

** Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to remain at low levels. All the visible sunspots are currently stable. There is very little chance for serious solar flares.

If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 25.

The 20 to 15 m bands will provide lots of DX fun.

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

** Let’s look at some upcoming events

23 - 27 June – The South African Radio League Top Band QSO Party
2 July – East Rand Radio Club Winter Flea Market


** To conclude our bulletin a quick overview of or main news item: The prime purpose of a Radio League is to protect Amateur Radio in its own country, and this fact should be conveyed to all radio amateurs.

And that brings us to the end of this bulletin

Clubs and individuals are invited to submit news items of interest to radio amateurs and shortwave listeners, if possible, in both English and Afrikaans, by following the news inbox link on the South African Radio League web page. News items for inclusion in the bulletin should reach the news team no later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date.

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 pod cast 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; please 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 Emile Venter, ZS6V, edited by Brian Utterson, ZS6AE, and read by ..............

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

/EX