SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS SUNDAY 01 JANUARY 2017

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 the 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.

Regrettably we start this week's bulletin with a silent key

It is with great sadness that we learned that one of our finest gentlemen radio amateurs, OWEN PENBERTHY ZS1JN, joined the ranks of the Silent Keys on 29th December 2016. It is a double sadness as it was to be his 80th Birthday on 30th December 2016.

Owen took on the task as Secretary of the False Bay Amateur Radio Club & as a committee member for many years. He was popular & a tower of strength in his club & will be sadly missed. He was also a CTARC committee member & served on SARL Council in the 1970's.

Our deepest sympathy is conveyed to his XYL MARIE & FAMILY.

PAUSE

NEW YEARS WISHES

The news team takes this opportunity to wish all a very blessed, prosperous and RF filled 2017.


IN THE NEWS TODAY

AMATEUR LICENSES

FIRST SPORADIC E ON 50

TRANS ATLANTIC TESTS TO RESUME


** Is your ICASA licence current?

As previously announced ICASA is in the process of implementing a plan to cancel a very significant number of Amateur licences.

The SARL has obtained a list of these planned cancellations. 72 of the people on this list are current members of the SARL. As a service to those people Collin de Villiers, ZS6COL, has taken the time to email those concerned.

As a further service to all non-members, if you do a call-sign lookup on the SARL web call-book - you will be shown as lapsed. Note that this does not apply to SARL members as they were sent an email.

If you are shown as lapsed - you should check the latest copy of your licence. If you do not have a copy of your licence - you need to ask ICASA to let you have a copy. They can e-mail that to you.

If you do have a licence, check when it expires. This is clearly shown on the licence. If you have a licence and it is still current and you are shown as lapsed - this indicates a problem somewhere in the system. In that event please scan your licence and email it to admin@sarl.org.za and we will investigate.

If you need to contact ICASA the suggestion is to do this by email to Dewald Kuhrau using the email address of dkuhrau@icasa.org.za.

This service is being provided by the SARL in good faith and based on data provided by ICASA. Any errors arising from data errors will be corrected on submission of a copy of a valid licence to the SARL.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FLAGGED CALLSIGNS ONLY INCLUDE LICENCES THAT EXPIRED MORE THAN A YEAR AGO. THERE ARE OTHER LICENCES THAT ARE IN ARREARS FOR THE CURRENT YEAR THAT HAVE NOT BEEN FLAGGED. SO EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN E-MAIL OR IF YOU ARE NOT SHOWN AS LAPSED - YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR LICENCE STATUS, AS ICASA IS LIKELY TO INCLUDE THOSE LICENCES IN THEIR CANCELLATION PROGRAM.

*** Mike Kellett, ZS1TAF, reported that he heard ZS6JON/b and ZS6TWB/b on Sporadic-E just after 12:00 CAT for approximately 30 minutes on Monday 26 December 2016. He sent out a WhatsApp VHF alert and called CQ on 50,200 MHz SSB, but there were no takers. He says if we snooze we lose!

There are currently five beacons that could indicate Sporadic-E openings in the RSA. They are in the South: ZS1SIX - 50,080 MHz FSK at Cape Town and ZS2X - 50,007 MHz FSK near Port Elizabeth. In the North there are ZS6JON - 50,050 MHz CW at Krugersdorp, and ZS6TWB - 50,044 MHz CW in Polokwane, as well as a DX beacon V51PJ - 50,300 MHz CW at Rosh Pinah, Namibia.

*** Undaunted, Pieter Jacobs,V51PJ, in Namibia and Marcos Turbo, PY1MHZ, from Brazil will continue with their Transatlantic tests on 144 MHz starting early in January 2017. Recently they almost made it when their digital signals were recorded across the Atlantic Ocean. But unfortunately the QRA64 software used could not identify the call signs so the ARRL had to declare the contact null and void. On 16 December 2016 Marcos heard several meteor pings from The V51PJ CW beacon on 144,429 MHz.

For the new tests in January Marcos decided to change his antenna to a 26 element LFA Yagi design for better handling in strong winds. It will also provide a low take-off angle from his QTH at the sea. This time they will be conducting their Transatlantic tests on 144,300 MHz using JT65b digital mode instead.



PROPAGATION REPORT

WE ARE AWAITING THE LATEST PROPAGATION REPORT


DIARY OF EVENTS

1 January, today, - Start of 2017 CQ Marathon
14 - 15 January - Hunting Lions in the Air
20 - 22 January - PEARS National VHF/UHF Contest
28 January - Summer QRP Sprint

We end today's bulletin with a brief summary of our main item. ICASA is in the process of implementing plans to cancel a significant number of amateur radio call signs. Please check the SARL webpage for more information. SARL members who are on the ICASA cancelation list should by now have received an email from Collin de Villiers ZS6COL.

And that brings us to the end of this first SARL bulletin for 2017.


** 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 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; 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 Dawie Conradie, ZR6DHC, edited by Dick Stratford, ZS6RO, and read by ..............

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


/EX