SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS FOR SUNDAY 6 JANUARY 2019
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 around the country. The bulletin is relayed on 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 announce that the key of Wally Sime. ZS6WAL went silent on Wednesday 2 January. Wally was an ex-Chairman of the West Rand ARC and he was the SARL Administrator some years ago.
We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Thelma, children Mike and Cindy, family and friends.
PAUSE
In the news, today:
THE AMSAT SA DUAL BAND VHF/UHF ANTENNA A BIG HIT
BOOKINGS FOR THE AMSAT SA SPACE SYMPOSIUM NOW OPEN
and
STAND A CHANCE TO WIN R1 000 BY ENTERING THE TINUS LANGE 7066 TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Stay tuned for more information on these and other interesting news items.
The SARL News Team would like to wish our newsreaders, listeners and online readers a Happy New Year.
THE NARC OPEN FROM MONDAY
The National Amateur Radio Centre will open for business on Monday 7 January 2019 after the holiday period.
THE AMSAT SA DUAL BAND VHF/UHF ANTENNA A BIG HIT
The AMSATSA 2 m/70 cm dual band Yagi launched last week is a big hit. The first batch of 50 was sold within days of last Sunday's announcement. A new supply is expected to be ready for shipping via POSTNET in about 10 days.
The Yagi has a unique element called an 'Open Sleeve' which is a director very close to the driven element. The driven element is sized for 2 metres. When operating on 70 cm the 'Open Sleeve' acts as part of the driven element on 70 cm (the third harmonic of 2 m).
The AMSAT SA version is based on a design by DK7ZB with modifications by WB5CXC. The first South African version was a collaboration between Guy, ZS6GUY and Gary, ZS6YI. It was developed for YOTA 2018 where young people successfully used the antenna operating satellites using hand-held transceivers. The mechanical structure of the AMSAT SA version was redesigned by Gary, ZS6YI. The antenna is plug and play. No tools are needed except for soldering on a connector to suit the application. It comes complete in a carry bag with full instructions. This antenna can be assembled and dissembled in minutes.
For more details and how to order visit www.amsatsa.org.za. SARL and AMSAT SA members get a discount.
BOOKINGS FOR THE AMSAT SA SPACE SYMPOSIUM NOW OPEN
Book now for the 2019 AMSATSA Space Symposium on Saturday 16 March 2019 at the Accolade Conference Centre in Midrand. The rate will be R400 per person for AMSAT SA and SARL members and R600 for non-members. There is an early bird rate of R350 for AMSATSA and SARL Members, if booked and paid for by 28 February 2019. Accommodation is also available at the hotel at R855 plus VAT. More details on www.amsatsa.org.za
There are only a few days left to submit paper proposals for the Space Symposium. Some interesting subjects will be presented at the 2019 AMSAT SA Space Symposium on 16 March 2019 in Gauteng. Added to the agenda this past week is how to operate satellites with the new dual band Yagi and a handheld radio. The final closing date for proposals for papers to be presented is 15 January 2019. More details on www.amsatsa.org.za
NEW D-STAR ONE NANOSATELLITES LAUNCHED
A 27 December Soyuz launch deployed the two German Orbital Systems D-STAR ONE satellites - D-STAR ONE - Sparrow and D-STAR ONE - iSat. Beacons have been successfully received from both satellites, which carry a D-STAR repeater with an uplink at 437,325 MHz and downlink at 435,525 MHz. The D-STAR ONE - Phoenix 3U CubeSat, launched February 2018, was lost. A pair of Kanopus V remote-sensing satellites was the primary payload. The flight carried 28 satellites in all. "During the first low-elevation pass over Berlin, our team established successful contact with both satellites," German Orbital Systems said. "The received telemetry confirms nominal status of all systems."
The December Soyuz flight also deployed the UWE-4 1U CubeSat carrying an electric propulsion experiment and a 70-centimetre 9,6 k AX.25 digipeater, with an uplink/downlink frequency of 437,375 MHz.
You are listening to a news bulletin of the South African Radio League.
STAND A CHANCE TO WIN R1 000 BY ENTERING THE TINUS LANGE 7066 TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Do you enjoy building pieces of equipment to use in or outside the Shack? Or software to use for amateur radio? Well then how about entering for the Tinus Lange 7066 Technical Excellence Award? The award is bestowed annually on the League member who submits a technical project in any of the following categories - a) the design and/or construction of projects such as a pre-amp, SWR bridge, automatic ID'er, practical antenna ideas, mast, portable gear, power supplies, etc., or b) any software for use in Amateur Radio.
What about logging software for the various SARL Contest? Or an entry level home-brew QRP rig? The Award is a framed certificate and a cash award of R1 000. The closing date for entries is Thursday 31 January 2019 and must be sent to secretary@sarl.org.za.
BULGARIA TO HOST THE 2019 YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR SUMMER CAMP
The ninth Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) summer camp will be held in Bulgaria, with the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs (BFRA) hosting the event. Individual IARU Member Societies will select candidates aged 15 to 25 for the summer camp, which will take place from 11 to 17 August near Sofia, the Bulgarian capital city.
"In this YOTA Camp, we will be continuing with our train-the-trainer program, which will be the main theme of the week," IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group Chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, said in announcing the annual event. "Participants will be working on the future of Amateur Radio and will be involved in workshops where they gain skills to start similar Amateur Radio youth events back home. With this, we are aiming to create a snowball effect to inspire more and more YOTA events all over the world. This also allows other youngsters and newcomers to enjoy Amateur Radio."
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to remain at low levels. Currently there is only a small, single sunspot visible that poses no threat for serious solar flares. If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around one. The 15 to 30 m bands may provide some DX fun.
Please visit the website spaceweather.sansa.org.za for further information.
Finally, a Diary of some upcoming events:
9 January – all provincial schools re-open.
12 and 13 January – Hunting Lions in the Air.
15 January – the final date for proposals for papers for the Space Symposium.
18 to 20 January – the PEARS National VHF/UHF Contest.
26 January – the Summer QRP Contest.
31 January – the closing date for Council nominations, motions for the 2019 AGM and nominations for the SARL Awards and Trophies.
2 February – the SARL VHF/UHF QSO Party.
3 February – the AWA CW Activity Day.
9 February – the VHF/UHF Workshop at the NARC.
9 and 10 February – the SARL National Field Day.
28 February – end of early bird bookings for the Space Symposium and closing date for SARL Hall of Fame nominations.
To conclude our bulletin a quick overview of our main news item:
The AMSATSA 2 m/70 cm dual band Yagi launched last week was a big hit. The first batch of 50 was sold within days of last Sunday's announcement. A new supply is expected to be ready for shipping via POSTNET in about 10 days.
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, edited by …………… and read by ..............
From the news team, best wishes for the week ahead.
/EX
