SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS FOR SUNDAY 09 FEBRUARY 2020

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 in English at 08:15 and 08:30 Central African Time respectively on HF and on various VHF and UHF repeaters around the country. The bulletin is relayed on Echolink by ZS6JPL. 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.

In the news, today:

REGISTRATION FORM FOR THE 2020 NATIONAL CONVENTION

RADIO FREQUENCY SPECTRUM FEES 2020/21

and

DIVING DEEP FOR 'THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS RADIO'

Stay tuned for more information on these and other interesting news items.

We begin this bulletin with the news of two silent keys:

It is with deep regret that the Zululand Amateur Radio Club announces that the key of Dirk Raave, ZS5DI went silent on 27th January.

We extend our sincere condolences to his partner Gerda, family and friends.

It is with deep regret that we announce that the key of Bill van der Walt, ZS6WDV went silent on Monday 27 January 2020.

We extend our sincere condolences to his daughter Thurza, family and friends.

PAUSE

REGISTRATION FORM FOR THE 2020 NATIONAL CONVENTION

The Registration form for the 2020 National Convention is available for download from the League website, click on the link on the front page. The Proxy form for the 2020 AGM is available on the AGM Documents page of the web site. The AGM Booklet will be available from 22 February 2020.

EXHIBIT AT THE SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION

Do you want to exhibit at the 2020 SARL National Convention? There are 7 spaces of 3 x 3,5 m available. If you are interested, contact Noel, ZR6DX at zr6dx@iafrica.com to book your space.

NEW MEMBERS

The SARL welcomes the following new members who joined during January - Gerhard Hoffman, ZSL1213; Willem Stevenson, ZSL1214; Jimmy Hendrikz, ZR1AFV; Leon Smit, ZS1SL; Richard Gwilt, ZS2RL; Menno van Zaanen, ZS6MMV and Hendrik Rudman, ZS6RHL.

RADIO FREQUENCY SPECTRUM FEES 2020/21

On Wednesday 5 February, ICASA informed the SARL that in accordance with the CPI document published by Stats SA on 22 January 2020, the average CPI for 2019 is 4.1% which will be the percentage increase of ICASA fees. Please note that these fees will only be implemented from 1 April 2020 and all licences issued in the remainder of the 2019/2020 licence year will be required to pay the pro rata fee calculated on the old fees. The radio frequency spectrum fees will therefore increase to the following:

Minimum fee or 1 year licence - from R 148.00 to R 154.00.
The multi-year licences will increase as follows:
2 year licence - From R 283.00 to R 294.00
3 year licence - From R 406.00 to R 422.00
4 year licence - From R 517.00 to R 537.00
5 year licence - From R 617.00 to R 642.00

Avoid the hassles of having to renew each year, opt for a multi-year licence. Simply, when renewing pay the appropriate amount. On the EFT state 5 Year licence and your licence number. Send an e-mail to specrev@icasa.org.za and dkuhrau@icasa.org.za with a copy of the EFT payment. The correct account for your ICASA Licence Fee is NEDBANK Account number: 14 62 00 29 27, Branch Code: 146245 - Corporate Client Services - Pretoria and in the reference field type in your licence number and call sign.

You are listening to a news bulletin of the South African Radio League.

REMINDER FOR LOGS FOR THE PEARS VHF/UHF CONTEST

Just a reminder to get your log in for the PEARS VHF/UHF contest. Logs can be submitted to contest@peham.co.za or posted to PO Box 10402, Linton Grange 6015, Port Elizabeth. The closing date for log submissions is 14 February. Please bear this in mind if using snail mail.

DIVING DEEP FOR 'THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS RADIO'

What extremes would you go to, to get your hands on an old radio? If that radio is the wireless transmitter that operator Jack Phillips used on 15 April 1912 to summon help for the doomed RMS Titanic, those extremes likely include ocean depths. The United States company that has salvage rights to the wreckage is ready to make that trip - and soon.

It is asking a US District Court Judge in Eastern Virginia to approve an undersea expedition to the ship's interior to retrieve the Marconi transmitter that summoned the RMS Carpathia. It sent the message, "Come at once. We have struck a berg. It's a CQD, old man."

In an agreement reached recently between two countries, Britain and the United States, both have the authority to grant or refuse permission for such missions. RMS Titanic Inc., the U.S. company hoping to make the trip, noted in its court papers that while the radio room itself has stayed somewhat unscathed, holes are forming in the deckhouse directly above it, placing the Marconi set in peril. The Washington Post said that Parks Stephenson, a Titanic expert, called the transmitter "the world's most famous radio."

CLUB NEWS

Interested to come and listen every month to an interesting technical discussion at one of your local amateur radio clubs in Pretoria. Visit the Magalies Radio Amateur Club on the corner of Breyer and Mills avenues in Waverley, Pretoria every third Saturday of the month. On Saturday 15 February, Gordon Forbes, ZS6FI will be your host when he will discuss ZIGBEE, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Wi-Fi Arduino and 3 D printers. The subjects discussed will be demonstrated as far as possible with practical examples. There will be enough to eat and drink after the meeting, and lots of time to discuss amateur matters with fellow amateur friends. Don’t miss these technical discussions. See you on 15 February at Magalies Radio Amateur Club.

Interested to write the Radio Amateur Exam in May 2020. The Magalies Radio Amateur Club will host classes every Saturday for the next 8 weeks for the relevant exams at our clubhouse. The MRK clubhouse is situated on the corner of Breyer and Mills avenues in Waverley, Pretoria. Classes will commence at 08:30 every Saturday. You are still in time for the RAE! Information is available on the MRK website at www.zs6mrk.org and follow the links.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to remain at low levels. There are currently no sunspots visible. 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 will provide some good DX fun. Please visit the website spaceweather.sansa.org.za for further information.

Finally, a diary of some upcoming events:

Today – the SARL National Field Day
13 February – World Radio Day
15 February – the MRK Technical Saturday
22 February – the 2020 AGM Booklet available for download
23 February – the SARL RTTY Contest
27 February – International Milk Tart Day
28 February – closing date for synopses of AMSAT SA Papers
29 February – the West Rand Flea Market and the SARL 95 40 m Club Sprint
1 March – the SARL Hamnet 40 m Contest
5 to 8 March – Hobby-X and ZS95SARL
7 March – the Cape Town ARC Flea Market
8 March – International Women’s Day and the SARL YL Sprint

To conclude our bulletin, a quick overview of our main news item:

The Registration form for the 2020 National Convention is available for download from the League website, click on the link on the front page. The Proxy form for the 2020 AGM is available on the AGM Documents page of the web site. The AGM Booklet will be available from 22 February 2020.

This concludes our bulletin for this morning.

We invite clubs and individuals to submit news items of interest to radio amateurs and shortwave listeners, in both English and Afrikaans if possible, by following the news inbox link on the South African Radio League web page. News items to include 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. A rebroadcast by Andy, ZS6ADY can be heard on Monday evenings at 19:30 Central African Time on 3 620 kHz. We welcome your signal reports, comments and suggestions; please send these by e-mail to artoday@sarl.org.za.

You have listened to a news bulletin compiled by Andy Cairns, ZS6ADY, edited by Dennis Green, ZS4BS/6 and read by ..............

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