The meeting stood for a moment of silence in memory of the silent keys. The minutes of the 2017 AGM were accepted and ZS6GM presented the financial report, the budget for the next year and the new subscriptions. All three items were accepted by the meeting. The subscription rates for 2018/19 has not been changed. Invoices will be sent out in May 2018.

The nine motions lead to some discussions by the meeting. The result of the motions is – Motion 1, 2 and 3 were adopted. Amendments to Motion 4 and 6 were adopted. Motion 5, 8 and 9 were withdrawn and Motion 7 was lost.

Louw Erasmus, ZS6LME, Chris Turner, ZS6GM, Rassie Erasmus, ZS1YT, Dennis Green, ZS4BS and Glynn Chamberlain, ZS6GLN were elected to Council and will serve until the 2020 AGM. The meeting received two proposals for the 2019 AGM – from the BO-Karoo Arc to host it in Kimberley and from the Boland ARC to host it in Cape Town. The two Clubs have been asked to submit a formal proposal and then Council will ask members to vote for a venue via the electronic voting system later in the year. The meeting closed at 13:38.

At the first Council meeting of the new Council, Nico, ZS6QL was elected as president, with Chris, ZS6GM as vice president, Cliff ZS6BOX, as treasurer and Dennis, ZS4BS as secretary.

The members spent the afternoon looking at the displays and buying amateur radio equipment and parts from the dealers and the flea market at the venue. Eddie, ZS6BNE, completed a FM QSO via the AO-91 satellite and then a SSB and CW QSO via the AO-7 satellite from his portable station at the AGM. 

The 2017/2018 SARL Annual Report is available for download from the AGM Documents page on the Members Only part of the League web site. The SARL Annual Report is the report from Council to the SARL Members to tell them what Council, the Working Groups and Coordinators have been doing since the 2017 AGM. 

THE SUNDAY TRIBUNE  SETS THE RECORD STRAIT-The KwaZulu-Natal based Sunday Tribune, set the record strait after an eroneous headline "Radio Hams bust in sting" which appeared in the 8 April edition of the paper. In addition the paper also reported on the YOTA event to be held in South Africa in August this year.

Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio- Eddie, ZS6BNE, has provided the URL for a very inspirational video on the past RaDAR Challenge. Kjetil, LB4FH, takes you along on his trip during the RaDAR Challenge www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoH43TWa8Nw&feature=youtu.be

Kjetil, LB4FH, was inspired by an excellent podcast interview of Greg, N4KGL, by Johnathan, W7DBO of "The FIELD RADIO podcast" www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHiU3eIyQvA

Slowly but surely the RaDAR challenge moves through the world. Each one who takes on the challenge becomes an ambassador and leads by example.

The DXCC Yearbook 2017 and IARUMS News March 2018 - The DXCC Yearbook 2017 can be downloaded from http://www.sarl.org.za/members/Awards/AwardsDirectory.asp

The March 2018 Issue of the IARUMS Newsletter can be downloaded from 

http://www.sarl.org.za/public/monitor/monitor.asp 

Radio ZS April 2018

The April 2018 issue of Radio ZS is available for download from the League web site. In this issue you can read the following:

Die April 2018-uitgawe van Radio ZS is beskikbaar vir aflaai vanaf die Liga-webwerf. In hierdie uitgawe kan jy die volgende lees:

2.         Information page

3.         Silent Keys

4.         Invitation to the 2018 SARL National Convention

7.         The Threats to Radiocommunication

11.       Engaging Women in Amateur Radio

13.       Transceiver for school children

16.       Navy radio room clock

17.       23 cm to 2 metre 20 w Transverter

19.       13 cm to 2 metre Transverter

21.       23 cm Interdigital filter

23.       TX/RX Multiple Sequencer 

25.       Band Decoder and Antenna Switch

28.       A Portable Satellite 2 m and 70 cm crossed Yagi 

30.       Dummy load 50 ohms with RF Termination

31.       7 GHz Digital RF Milliwatt meter

33.       How Many Radials is Enough

34.       ‘Maat’ kenner van ‘praat’

35.       VHF, UHF, SHF and EHF News

38.       ZS SOTA News

39.       Baba bring nuwe dimensie in illustreerder se werk

42.       After 37 years, a response from Voyager 1

43.       The Power of Radio

45.       Welcome to the 30 Metre Digital Group or 30MDG

48.       The Zepp antenna

49.       Are you passionate about amateur radio?

50.       CQ Contest - April

56.       The Museum Piece

60.       Road Traffic Ordinance Regulation 308A

The Editor notes that 775 copies of the March 2018 Radio ZS were downloaded, 580 copies of the February Radio ZS and 601 of the January Radio ZS.

Die redakteur merk op dat 775 kopieë van die Maart 2018 Radio ZS afgelaai is, 580 kopieë van die Februarie Radio ZS en 601 van die Januarie Radio ZS. 

2018 ARRL HANDBOOK -  The Handbook has been extensively updated, and includes significant new content. Each chapter has been authored and edited by experts in the subject.

Get your weekly copy of HF Happenings at www.sarl.org.za/hf_happenings.asp 

LOTW. Operators from outside the US who are requesting an initial call sign certificate to establish a new Logbook of The World (LoTW) user account now may email the required documentation to LoTW-help@arrl.org. They must provide a copy of their Amateur Radio license or authorization, plus a copy of one other government-issued document showing the applicant's name and address (sensitive information may be blacked out). When ARRL receives the documentation, applicants will receive a reply message containing their LoTW account password, with their callsign certificate attached. ARRL does not retain any submitted documents, electronic or hard copy; these are destroyed after they have been reviewed.

Italy, I. The United Nations Global Service Center ARC (4U1GSC) in Brindisi will be active as 4U29MAY between 1 May and 30 June. The special callsign promotes the International Day of UN Peacekeepers (29 May). DXCC wise, it counts for Italy. QSL via 9A2AA.

Italy, I. Promoting the Antonio Canova Award (details on qrz.com), special station II3AC will be active from 1 May to 30 June. The award is issued by ARI Treviso to celebrate this famous Italian sculptor, who was born in 1757 in a village near Treviso. QSL via IK3GES, direct or bureau (OQRS on Club Log).

Japan, JA. Once again, the ITU Association of Japan's Amateur Radio Club will operate special event station 8J1ITU from 30 April to 31 May to celebrate the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (17 May) and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union. Activity will take place from the city of Kasumigaura on Honshu Island (AS-007). QSL via the JARL bureau and eQSL.

FOC 80^TH ANNIVERSARY CHALLENGE. Celebrating the 80^th anniversary of the First Class CW Operators' Club (FOC), a month-long event will be held between 1 and 31 May featuring a large number or special 'FOC' suffix callsigns, many of them containing the number 80, from around the world: Australia VI6FOC80; Canada VE2FOCW, VE3FOCW, VE5FOC, VE6FOC; Cyprus 5B80FOC; Czech Republic OL80FOC; Denmark OZ80FOC; France TM80FOC; Germany DF80FOC, DJ80FOC, DK80FOC, DM80FOC, DP80FOC; Gibraltar ZB2FOC; Greece SX80FOC; Hungary HA80FOC; India VU8FOC; Italy II7FOC, IR0FOC (Sardinia); Netherlands PA80FOC, PA80JLS, PF80FOC, PH80FOC; New Zealand ZL1FOC; Poland SP80FOC; Romania YR80FOC; Russia R80FOC, RA/SD80FOC; Slovenia S580FOC; South Africa ZS9FOC; Sweden SC80FOC, SF80FOC, SM80FOC; United Kingdom GB80FOC, GC4FOC, GH4FOC, GN4FOC, GP4FOC, GS4FOC, GT4FOC, GX4FOC, M0RSE; USA K2FOC, K5FOC, K6FOC, K7FOC, KM4FOC, KT5FOC, N4FOC, N5FOC, W1FOC, W2FOC, W5FOC, W9FOC, WA5FOC, WF1OC; Zambia 9J80FOC. QSL for G4FOC and its regional variants (GM4FOC, etc), GB80FOC and M0RSE via G3SWH's OQRS. For all other special stations, please observe their own QSL policies by checking qrz.com or asking the operator over the air. The FOC 80th Anniversary Challenge will be run as a leader board on Club Log (see https://clublog.org/foc.php) and your ranking in the leader board will determine the award level you achieve. Detailed information can be found at www.g4foc.org/foc80. 

Bhutan, A5. YL operators Kay, WA0WOF (A52YLE) and Mio, JR3MVF (A52YLM) will be active as A52YL from Bhutan from 29 April to 6 May. They will operate SSB and CW on 80 to 10 metres. JH3AEF and JA3IVU will assist them and be active as A52AEF and A52IVU in their spare time on 80-6 metres CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL A52YL via WA0WOF, others via home calls.

France, F. Special callsign TM40KOP will be active on all bands and modes from 28 April to 12 May to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Radio Club de Provins (www.f6kop.com/). QSL via F6KOP, LoTW and eQSL.

Slovenia, S5. Radio Club Cerkno (S50E, www.s50e.si) and their Ljubljana Section (S59DRL) are active as S590RTVS until 31 December to celebrate 90 years of radio and 60 years of television programmes broadcasting by Radiotelevizija Slovenija, the country's national public broadcasting organization. All QSOs will be confirmed via the bureau early next year. The log will be uploaded to LoTW and Club Log on a regular basis.

# Link to SARL VHF, UHF & MICROWAVES DX TABLE Click here 

Tutorial 11 – Ionospheric Backscatter Propagation

Backscatter on VHF to Microwaves have been used for years to measure distances or to track aircraft. Water is four times more reflective as ice as recorded by weather radar. Rain produces moderate backscatter being stronger with larger drops from thunderstorms, or much weaker with smaller droplets from mist and drizzle.

But it was in the field of radio astronomy where it reached a refined art, by producing clear images of the surfaces of obscured planets by thick clouds such as Venus or even some asteroids as optical telescopes cannot penetrate thick haze. Backscatter is also present on 50 MHz during high F2 activity but quite weak on 144 MHz. Distant rainstorms or even hail can produce backscatter signals while it lasts, and lightning could possibly also do so. Where local beacons are located some distance from the receiving station it can reflect backscatter signals from aircraft over a few hundred kilometres, as observed from ZS2X/b in Port Elizabeth.

ZE2JV at Salisbury (Harare) and ZS6PW at Pretoria were separated about a 1000 km from each other, yet they could hear their respective 28,988 MHz beacons from early morning until late at night, and could enjoy a backscatter QSO’s almost every day. Surprisingly it has been shown conclusively that this backscatter on 28 MHz comes mostly from the ground and not the ionosphere. ZS6DN at Irene, about 12 km from ZS6PW, transmitted pulses from his beacon and measured the time delay between the groundwave and backscatter signals, which is equivalent of one hop F2 at 3000 km northwest and southeast from his QTH.

Next week we will concentrate on Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP

VHF, UHF & MICROWAVE NEWS

AFRICAN STATES BELOW THE EQUATOR ARE PRIME METEOR SCATTER TARGETS –

It is a little known fact that from Gauteng to almost the equator a vast area exists to enhance the strong meteor scatter propagation on 50 MHz during major annual meteor showers. Many African HF operators already own HF transceivers that are equipped for 50 MHz SSB operation. The SARL MS record into Africa currently stands around 2000 km on 50 MHz SSB, as established by ZR2DX and TO4E, but this distance could be improved. This will open up a new amateur radio VHF world in Africa that could also benefit our RSA operators down south. In the days before the digital era US VHF operators made many 50 MHz AM, FM, SSB and high speed CW MS contacts, In December and January you will experience an exotic Sporadic-E season in mid-Africa with almost daily openings. In next week’s news item a simple method will be described how to make many 50 MHz analogue MS contacts on SSB or FM the easy way.

THE LYRIDS MAJOR METEOR SHOWER WILL PEAK ON 22 APRIL 2018 –

The Lyrids major meteor shower will first make its appearance on 16 April until 25 April with its visible trails of 20 trails per hour peaking on 22 April 2018. Analogue contacts on SSB and FM are possible on 50 MHz and digital contacts on 50 MHz, 70 MHz and 144 MHz in the early morning. The most successful way of making MS analogue contacts is to monitor a distant beacon on 50 MHz and when you hear the meteor burst then immediately switch over to the calling frequency. The Lyrids shower is a remnant from the long-period Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher and s visible in the constellation of Lyra.

RESULTS OF THE SARL ANALOGUE VHF/UHF CONTEST –

Overall winners on points

1.      ZS6CBQ, Carl Minne – Base Single – 165 542

2.      ZR6AUI/4, Christo Greyling – Field station – 80 709

3.      ZS4PF, Pierre Lindeque – Base single – 75 113

    Winners of base station, single oprator

1.      ZS6CBQ, Carl Minne – Base single – 165 542

2.      ZS4PF, Pierre Lindeque – Base single – 775 113

3.      ZS4OIL, Mark Warner – Bse single – 54 286

    Winners of field station

1.      ZR6AUI/4, Christo grayling – Field station – 80 709

2.      ZS1CRG, Cape Radio Group – Field station – 36 354

3.      ZS4A/6, Rickus De Lange – Field station – 512

    Winners limited to 4 hours

1.      ZS4WW, Jacques Louw – Limited 4 hours – 66 220

2.      ZS6BUN, Dick Coates – Lilited to 4 hours – 21 614

3.      ZS6KSG, Koos Greyvenstein – Limited to 4 hours – 21 071

 Winners Club/Multi Operators – Limited 4 hours

 1. ZS1DUP, ZS1DWH, ZS1HER, ZS1ABU, ZS1PTY – 36 354

COULD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HELP TO PREDICT LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS? – 

Developments in artificial intelligence may help us to predict the probability of life on other planets, according to new work by a team based at Plymouth University. The study uses artificial neural networks (ANNs) to classify planets into five types, estimating a probability of life in each case, which could be used in future interstellar exploration missions. The work is presented at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science (EWASS) in Liverpool on 4 April by Mr Christopher Bishop.

Artificial neural networks are systems that attempt to replicate the way the human brain learns. They are one of the main tools used in machine learning, and are particularly good at identifying patterns that are too complex for a biological brain to process. The team, based at the Centre for Robotics and Neural Systems at Plymouth University, have trained their network to classify planets into five different types, based on whether they are most like the present-day Earth, the early Earth, Mars, Venus or Saturn's moon Titan. All five of these objects are rocky bodies known to have atmospheres, and are among the most potentially habitable objects in our Solar System. Mr. Bishop comments, "We're currently interested in these ANNs for prioritising exploration for a hypothetical, intelligent, interstellar spacecraft scanning an exoplanet system at range”. He adds, "We're also looking at the use of large area, deployable, planar Fresnel antennas to get data back to Earth from an interstellar probe at large distances. This would be needed if the technology is used in robotic spacecraft in the future."

The inputs represent values from a spectrum of a test planet's atmosphere. The output layer contains a 'probability of life', which is based on a measurement of the input's similarity to the five solar system targets. The inputs pass. Atmospheric observations - known as spectra - of the five Solar System bodies are presented as inputs to the network, which is then asked to classify them in terms of the planetary type. As life is currently known only to exist on Earth, the classification uses a 'probability of life' metric, which is based on the relatively well-understood atmospheric and orbital properties of the five target types. Bishop has trained the network with over a hundred different spectral profiles, each with several hundred parameters that contribute to habitability. So far, the network performs well when presented with a test spectral profile that it hasn't seen before. "Given the results so far, this method may prove to be extremely useful for categorising different types of exoplanets using results from ground-based and near Earth observatories" says Dr Angelo Cangelosi, the supervisor of the project. The technique may also be ideally suited to selecting targets for future observations, given the increase in spectral detail expected from upcoming space missions such ESA's Ariel Space Mission and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. 

ARRL Inter. DX Contest, SSB: Objectives: W/VE amateurs work as many DX stations in as many DXCC entities as possible on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands.  DX stations work as many W/VE stations in as many of the 48 contiguous states and provinces as possible.  Date and Contest Period:  First full weekend in March (March 3-4, 2018). Contest Period: 0000 UTC Saturday through 2359 UTC Sunday. Contest Exchange: W/VE stations send signal report and state or province. DX stations send signal report and power (number or abbreviation indicating approximate transmitter output power). http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx

UBA Spring Contest 2018: The UBA section of DST (Diest) invites all radio amateurs to take part in the 35th edition of the UBA SPRING-CONTEST. Contest dates: HF-80m CW: 4 March 2018 (07.00 -11.00 hour UTC). Foreign stations: Only contacts with ON stations are valid. https://www.uba.be/hf/contest-rules/spring-contest

SARL Hamnet 40 m Simulated Emergency Contest: Aim: This SSB Contest is open to all Radio Amateurs in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mozambique, Lesotho, Marion Island and South African Antarctica. Only contacts with these areas will count. Date and Time: 12:00 to 14:00 UTC on Sunday 4 March 2018. Frequencies: It is a phone contest in the band segments 7 063 to 7 100 kHz and 7 130 to 7 200 kHz. Antennas: Antennas are limited to antennas with less than unity gain relative to a dipole. Stationary Mobile stations shall use antennas that rely solely on their vehicles for support and shall not exceed a height of 5 metres above ground. Portable station antennas may not be erected and installed before the day of the contest and no permanent manmade structure may be used to either house equipment or for antenna supports. See Blue Book for more info

RSGB Commonwealth Contest: It promotes contacts between stations in the UK&CD, Commonwealth and Mandated Territories. Objective: To achieve a good score by working as many stations and bonuses as possible. Date & Time: 10th - 11th March 2018 10:00 - 10:00 UTC. Frequencies and Power: CW only. 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. On 3.5 MHz , DX contacts only may be made below 3510 kHz. On 14 MHz no operation is allowed above 14060 kHz. Only one signal may be transmitted at any one time. http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2018/rberu.shtml

SARL VHF/UHF Analogue Contest  (SSB/AM/FM/CW): Aim: The VHF/UHF contest is a test of operator ability and station design. To promote activity on the VHF/UHF and microwave bands. To encourage Amateurs to work greater distances than usual by operating portable/ field stations in favourable locations and by optimising equipment and operating techniques at both field and home stations. To provide opportunities for Amateurs to activate and work new grid squares. The Contest is open to all licensed Radio Amateurs in South Africa, Namibia (V5), Botswana (A2), Zimbabwe (Z2), Mozambique (C9), Lesotho (7P) and Swaziland (3DA). Only contacts with these states will count. The general rules covered in pages 4 – 9 of the SARL Contesting Manual (Blue Book) are to be followed. Dates and Times: 10:00 UTC Saturday 10 March to 10:00 UTC Sunday 11 March 2018. ( See Blue Book for more info)

BARTG HF RTTY CONTEST: A 48hr contest with the emphasis on accuracy. The BARTG HF RTTY contest is the longest running RTTY contest. The contest forms round two of the four contest series for the single operator championship. Period of Operation: The contest runs on the third full weekend of March from 0200z on Saturday until 0159z on the Monday. BANDS: 10m, 15m, 20m, 40m, & 80m. EXCHANGE: RST, MESSAGE NUMBER. The number must be a three or four figure number starting at 001 and incrementing by one per contact. TIME UTC. A full four figure UTC(GMT) time must be sent as part of the exchange. Example: G3XXX 599 156 1749. http://s3.spanglefish.com/s/7850/documents/contests/hf/rules/current/bartg%20hf%20rules.pdf

CQ World-Wide WPX Contest: I. Objective: For amateurs world wide to contact as many amateurs and prefixes as possible during the contest period. SSB: March 24-25, 2018 Starts: 0000 UTC Saturday Ends: 2359 UTC Sunday Period of Operation: 48 hours. Single Operator stations may operate 36 of the 48 hours – off times must be a minimum of 60 minutes during which no QSO is logged. Multi-operator stations may operate the full 48 hours. Bands: Only the 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21, and 28 MHz bands may be used. Observance of established band plans is strongly encouraged. EXCHANGE: RS(T) report plus a progressive contact serial number starting with 001 for the first contact.  http://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm

Russian WW MultiMode Contest:  We invite all fans of all modes to take part in 5th RUS-WW-MM from 12.00 UTC on Saturday 31st March till 11:59 UTC on Sunday 1st April, 2018. Types of modulation: BPSK63, CW, RTTY45, SSB. The repeated contacts are permitted on different bands and different modes providing that a contact will be made not earlier than in 3 minutes. The output power should not exceed the resolved power according to the radio amateur license of the participant. The operator may change the bands no more than 10 times within calendar hour (with zero on 59-th minute of each hour). Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time. Bands: 160 m, 80 m, 40 m, 20 m, 15 m, 10 m. http://www.rdrclub.ru/news-radio/russian-ww-mm-contest/159-rus-ww-multimode-contest

Direct importer of a wide selection of SWR meters, H.F., V.H.F. and U.H.F. base and mobile antennas. Amateur radio transceivers, antenna analyzers, etc. Affordable shipping costs for out of town customers and subsidized shipping to SARL members. Check out all my amateur radio goodies here. 0720268909.

Light Engineering Works

General engineering, part remanufacturing  turning, milling, drilling.Specialised welding of steel, stainless steel, aluminium and cast iron.Gear repair and remanufacturing.Prototype industrial and automotive  parts and brackets made to specification,  Heavy duty antenna support and Mobile brackets including standoff brackets and antenna parts manufactured.Tower and tower part repairs also undertaken. Contact Willie Wright ZS6WC.0823351356. zs6wc@vodamail.co.za

Tell me more  about Amateur Radio

Radio Amateurs, or "Hams" use two-way radio communication to make contact with other radio amateurs all over the world. They are even able to use satellites and on occasion speak with astronauts. Radio Hams can do this from home or while mobile in cars, boats or on foot.

Radio Hams have a full range or communication modes at their disposal. These include plain voice, Morse code, numerous digital computer modes and even graphical modes like television. As a licensed amateur radio operator you will be able to join in experiments using all these modes.

Amateur radio can be enjoyed by young and old, male and female, even the most severely disabled can make friends around the world from their own home. This hobby knows no boundaries.

 Click here to go to the Kevtronics web 

www.radioacc.co.za