SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER 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.
We start this bulletin with news of a silent key.
It is with deep regret that we must announce that the key of Vince Iorio, ZS6RU, went silent on Friday 30 September 2016 after battling for many years with cancer.
We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Gabriela, ZS6S, family and friends.
PAUSE
IN THE NEWS TODAY:
SARL 80M QSO PARTY
RADIO ZS OCTOBER ISSUE
JAMBOREE ON THE AIR AND CQ HOU KOERS
SECUNDA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB TO LAUNCH BACAR ON 15 OCTOBER
** The aim of the South African Radio League 80 m QSO Party contest is to create an interest in and activity in the 80 m band. It is a phone only contest that runs from 17:00 to 20:00 UTC on Thursday 6 October 2016. Only frequencies in the segment 3 603 to 3 650 and 3 700 to 3 800 kHz may be used.
The exchange is your call sign, a RS signal report and operator's name. You can participate as a single operator or a Short Wave Listener (SWL). You earn 10 points for every contact with a South African station and 15 points for every contact with a station outside South Africa. Log sheets in MS Excel format only must be submitted by 13 October 2016 by e-mail to zs5lp@vodamail.co.za
** The October 2016 issue of Radio ZS is available for download from the Members Only section of the League web site. In this issue you can read more on the questions "What is wrong with the Off-Centre-Fed-Dipole? and Why the 16,2 m wire antenna? The Sandringham Scouts tell us about their Field Day weekend and Leon, ZR6LU, helps you to build a useful HF Dummy Load. Mike, ZS2FM, keeps us up to date on the VHF, UHF, SHF and EHF News, while Eddie, ZS6BNE, says RaDAR is the Prodigal Son. The last part of Wireless in the Trenches appears in this issue and much more.
The closing date for your article for the November issue is Tuesday 25 October and you can send it to radiozs@sarl.org.za
** Professor Stephen Hawking, a renowned British astrophysicist, says as he grows older he is more convinced than ever that we are not alone in the Universe. He has advised us earthlings to be extremely wary about answering any signals from aliens when they eventually come calling. He was referring to the recently discovered exoplanet, Gliese 832c located only 16 light years from Earth, and said that one day we might receive a signal from a planet like this, but we should be wary of answering back. Professor Hawking believes there could very well be life on Gliese, but imagines a meeting between the two alien civilizations as something that would resemble Christopher Columbus meeting Native Americans that didn't turn out so well.
Astronomers at the University of New South Wales have named this exoplanet Gliese, which is larger than Earth and orbits a red dwarf star in under 36 days. It receives the same average energy as does the Earth from the Sun and falls in the habitable zone. This exoplanet is just the right distance from its sun that could allow liquid water to exist on the world's surface. It is just a stone throw from Earth in the cosmic scheme of things, which makes Gliese one of the top three most Earth-like exoplanets ever discovered and the closest to Earth of all three.
** The aim of the AWA Valve QSO party is to create activity on the 40 and 80 metre bands. It is a phone only contest using AM and SSB. Preferably, valve radios, or radios with valves in them may be used. No linear amplifiers may be used.
The AM QSO Party takes place from 13:00 to 17:00 UTC on Saturday 8 October 2016 and the SSB QSO Party runs from 13:00 to 17:00 UTC on Sunday 9 October 2016. Activity takes place between 7 063 to 7 100 kHz and 3 603 to 3 650 kHz. The output power may not exceed 100 w, unless the rig itself has a higher output power (FTDX400, etc.).
The exchange is your call sign, a RS report, a consecutive serial numbers starting at 001 and the type of radio used, e.g. HT37 TX. You score - All valve radio: 3 points per contact, Hybrid radio: 2 points per contact or Solid State Radio: 1 point per contact. Certificates will be awarded to the first three places in each category - AM and SSB. The log sheets must be submitted by 23 October 2016 to andyzs6ady@vodamail.co.za.
** One of the privileges of holding an amateur license is to be able to experiment and to try new things. Now the question may arise whether the hobby attracts experimenters, or whether experimenters are attracted to the hobby. Whichever way it goes, amateur radio operators seem to be willing to experiment with a variety of things.
As these things go, there is never enough money or enough time and the inventors must often create innovative solutions to complete their projects. The "Innovate / I-no-wait" corner of Radio ZS will share some of these bright ideas with other innovators. What we are looking for is the innovative application of an unusual or utterly different approach to solve a problem quickly around the shack or hobby, not necessarily the radios.
Listeners are invited to send their own innovative ideas for "I-no-Wait" to Leon, ZR6LU, at leonuys@gmail.com or WhatsApp to 082 573 5580 for consideration to be included in the next issue of Radio ZS. You do not have to write a whole story or take many pictures; just send Leon what you have.
** The dates for both JOTA and CQ HouKoers are incorrect.
JOTA is from the 14 to 16 October, and CQ You Koers is on 15 October.
** The Secunda Amateur Radio Club will launch BACAR 4 on Saturday 15 October 2016. This is a Balloon Carrying Amateur Radio equipment. The launch will take place from Trichardt Model Flyers airfield outside Secunda, Mpumalanga. The event will commence at 05:00.
This is the fourth year Secunda Amateur radio club will be presenting the BACAR programme to interested schools in the Govan Mbeki Municipal area. The programme entails the launch of a high altitude balloon carrying small satellites built by learner teams from the participating schools and an amateur radio parrot repeater. The programme is designed to stimulate interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
Tune in to Amateur Radio Today at 10 am this morning for an interview with Christo Kriek and Willie Taljaard.
Get frequencies and other transmission times on the ARTODAY page on www.sarl.org.za
** Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to remain at low levels. No major solar flaring is expected.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 10.
The 15 to 20 m bands will provide lots of DX fun. There is a chance of 10 m openings on north-south sunlit paths.
Please visit the website spaceweather.sansa.org.za for further information.
** Lets look at some upcoming events:
6 October SARL 80m QSO Party
8 9 October AWA Valve QSO Party
9 October SARL Youth Net
13 October RAE Examination
14 16 October Jamboree On The Air
15 October CQ HouKoers
29 30 October CQ WW DX SSB Contest
5 November RaDAR Challenge
** To conclude our bulletin a quick overview of our main news item: The aim of the South African Radio League 80 m QSO Party contest is to create an interest in and activity on the 80 m band. It is a phone only contest that runs from 17:00 to 20:00 UTC on Thursday 6 October 2016.
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,ZS6AE, and read by ..............
From the news team, best wishes for the week ahead.
/EX
