SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS FOR SUNDAY 7 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]
The South African Radio League broadcasts a news bulletin each Sunday, in Afrikaans as well as English at 08:15 and 08:30 Central African Time respectively, on HF as well as on various VHF and UHF repeaters. These broadcasts are relayed via Echolink by ZS6JPL. A podcast is available on the League website.
Audio and text bulletins may be downloaded from the League website at www.sarl.org.za where you can also sign up to receive future bulletins by e-mail.
We start the bulletin this morning with news of a silent key.
It is with deep regret that we must announce that the key of Wessel JR Wessels, ZS6AKY, went silent on Saturday 30 December 2017.
We extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
PAUSE
In the news today:
SDR WORKSHOP AT THE NARC ON 20 JANUARY 2018
FORTHCOMING PEARS MIDSUMMER VHF AND UHF CONTEST
and
SARL AMATEUR RADIO HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS FOR 2018
Stay tuned for more information on these and other interesting news items.
NARC OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Members are reminded that the National Amateur Radio Centre will be open for business from tomorrow Monday 8 January when our Office Administrator Kelley Heslop is back in the office after a well-deserved holiday.
SDR WORKSHOP AT THE NARC ON 20 JANUARY 2018
The SARL and AMSAT SA will be holding another SDR workshop at the National Amateur Radio Centre from 09:00 - 13:00 CAT on Saturday 20 January 2018. The objective of the workshop is to review the application of SDR dongles and the various software packages made available at previous workshops. Anton Janovsky ZR6AIC will be on hand to assist with any technical difficulties.
There will be a discussion of the HF Noise monitoring system and the setting up of a server to store the data. AMSAT SA will present a brief update on Kletskous.
The cost of the workshop is R50 for SARL and AMSAT SA members and R100 for non-members. Light refreshments will be served. For details and registration visit www.amsatsa.org.za
2017 MATRIC RESULTS
SARL News is aware of three radio amateurs who have passed the matric examinations and completed their school careers.
Congratulations to Brandon van Wyk, ZS1BX, Lida Roodt, ZR4TJ, and Rourke Hooper, ZS6RDH, on your achievements
Brandon is the son of Granville, ZS1GVW.
Lida obtained 8 distinctions and is going to study dentistry at the University of the Western Cape. She has a strong amateur radio background - her grandparents are Louis, ZS6CAU and Engela, her proud parents are Michael ZS4BHF/ZS6BHF and Petro, brother Steven, ZR6TJ, and her uncle Johan, ZS1JCR.
Rourke also comes from a family with radio amateurs with grandfather Robert, ZS6AEV, parents Richard, ZS6RKE and Marselle and brother Kyle, ZS6KH.
NEW ACTION IN THE WORKED ALL ZS AWARDS PROGRAMME
Two significant Worked all ZS milestones were recently passed. The Worked All ZS is awarded for confirmed contacts with 100 South African callsigns, representing the six call areas in the correct proportion.
Mikhail Malnikov, UA9YF, submitted his application during October. His certificate was endorsed for SSB. He is the first Asian applicant with a Phone endorsement.
Perennial over-achiever Jan Botha, ZS4JAN, submitted his application on the last day of the year. His Digital endorsement is the first ever. Given the rapid rise of Digital activity in the past year or two, it is likely to be the first of many! If past performance is any indication, Jan will probably not stop at the 100 level.
FORTHCOMING PEARS MIDSUMMER VHF AND UHF CONTEST
This is the only mid-summer VHF/UHF contest in South Africa when propagation via Tropo Scatter, Enhancement and Ducting should be at their best. Since we are now in the Sporadic-E season there is always the possibility that an unexpected strong Sporadic-E opening could occur on 50 MHz up to 144 MHz. There are also many minor meteors around to make long distance Digital MS contacts possible on 50, 70 and 144 MHz. Since there are a lot passenger planes flying during peak flying hours, therefore many contacts via Aircraft Scatter contacts should be possible too.
Look out for long distance Tropo Ducting contacts in the early mornings and at night. Sporadic-E openings usually occur between 09:00 - 10:00 CAT in the mornings and sometimes in the late afternoons. Strong Sporadic-E openings to Namibia, Zimbabwe or further north normally appear around midday on 50 MHz. Don't forget Aircraft Scatter that could provide some interesting contacts along the air flight lanes. The PEARS National VHF and UHF Contest is scheduled for the weekend of 19 - 21 January 2018 and makes it worthwhile to set up field stations and enjoy a picnic atmosphere. Listen out for distant beacons or watch the WSJT waterfall during the Contest for unexpected openings.
You are listening to a news Bulletin of the South African Radio League. Have you told someone about amateur radio recently?
SARL AMATEUR RADIO HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS FOR 2018
The SARL Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honours individuals who have made significant contributions to amateur radio in South Africa. Their memory is preserved on a page on the SARL Web site, accessible via a link on the home page. The first two groups of members were inducted into the Hall of Fame during 2016 and 2017. From 2018, a maximum of one living member and one deceased member will be inducted annually.
Nominations will be accepted until the end of February. On-line voting will take place in March. Please view the existing profiles on the Hall of Fame page and nominate deserving candidates for 2018. A nomination template is available on the Hall of Fame page. Existing profiles serve as examples of good nominations.
THOUSANDS GETTING THEIR GRIDS ON!
And they're off! New Year's Day 1 January (UTC) marked the opening day for the ARRL International Grid Chase 2018 (IGC www.arrl.org/international-grid-chase-2018). The IGC is off to a rousing start, with some 6 400 participants from around the globe already showing up on the Leader Board as of the morning of 4 January. Point totals for the International Grid Chase are shown for confirmed contacts only and, while the leader boards are not based on real-time data, they are updated several times a day. All contacts on all bands except 60 meters are valid for Grid Chase credit, provided both stations upload their logs to Logbook of The World (LoTW) and get a match.
The objective of the year-long event is to work stations in as many different Maidenhead grid squares as possible and then upload your logs to LoTW. Each new grid square contact confirmed through LoTW will count toward your monthly total. Stations do not have to exchange grid squares for a valid contact, although it's anticipated that many operators will do so. Some rare grid squares will be in demand. How about yours? Get on the air and get behind your grid! If you can, get out there and activate the scarce ones.
Complete details of the ARRL International Grid Chase 2018 appeared in the December 2017 issue of QST as well as Radio ZS.
LARGE DONATIONS MAKING BOUVET 3Y0Z DXPEDITION A REALITY; TEAM EAGER TO GET UNDER WAY
The 3Y0Z Bouvet Island DXpedition team announced in late December that it had reached "yet another milestone" in its quest to activate Bouvet Island, the second most-wanted DXCC entity (behind the Democratic Republic of North Korea) in January and February. A dependency of Norway, Bouvet is a sub-Antarctic island in the South Atlantic. This major DXpedition could get under way as early as 23 or 24 January and the crack team of 20 operators hopes to spend 14 to 16 days on Bouvet, depending on weather and other factors. Bouvet has not been activated for about a decade.
The DXpedition said it would transfer nearly $500 000 to DAP, the Chilean company that owns and operates the M/V Betanzos and the helicopters that will provide transportation. That single outlay points up the extraordinary expense of mounting a DXpedition such as this. The 3Y0Z team said it is on schedule for a 13 January departure to Bouvet Island, "the most remote island on Earth." Team members will gather in Punta Arenas, Chile, by 10 January, attend a day-and-a-half marine safety course, purchase last-minute supplies and then fly across the Drake Passage to King George Island in the South Shetlands, where they will board the newly refurbished Betanzos for an approximately 10-day voyage to Bouvet.
3Y0Z anticipates "a propagation-driven operation," with two high-power stations on every open band using gain and directional antennas. Primary modes will be CW, SSB and RTTY. FT8 will be utilized if it is the only productive mode. The Bouvet team advises FT8 enthusiasts to read the 3Y0Z FT8 protocol on the Band Plan page or their web site. The website includes complete information on band plans and frequencies, propagation predictions, and QSL procedures.
Finally, a Diary of some upcoming events:
Tomorrow 8 January – the NARC opens for business
13 and 14 – Hunting Lions in the Air
20 January – the SDR Workshop at the NARC
19 to 21 January – the PEARS National VHF/UHF Contest
23 or 24 January – start of the 3Y0Z Bouvet Island DXpedition
26 January – closing date for articles for the February Radio ZS
27 January – the Summer QRP Contest
30 January – closing date for proposals and synopses for AMSAT SA Symposium papers
31 January – closing date for nominations for Council and SARL Awards and for AGM motions
28 February – closing date for 2018 SARL Hall of Fame nominations
To conclude our bulletin a quick overview of our main news item
The SARL and AMSAT SA will be holding another SDR workshop at the National Amateur Radio Centre from 09:00 - 13:00 CAT on Saturday 20 January 2018. The objective of the workshop is to review the application of SDR dongles and the various software packages made available at previous workshops. Anton Janovsky ZR6AIC will be on hand to assist with any technical difficulties.
This concludes our bulletin for this morning.
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 program, 'Amateur Radio Today' at 10:00 Central African Time. The program 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 4 895 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 Dennis Green, ZS4BS, and read by ……………………................
From the news team, best wishes for the week ahead.
/EX
