RADIO TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION  GAUTENG SYMPOSIUMS - Two RTA symposiums will be held in Gauteng. On 23 August at the National Amateur Radio Centre at Radiokop (limited to 30 delegates) and on 13 September at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria, ( 200 delegates can be accommodated) Get programme and booking form here

Yes, Switzerland does have lighthouses – they are found on Lake Geneva and on Lake Constance. The Asian region so far Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand have registered. Others come from sea-going nations include South Africa and New Zealand.

 

South Africa has 9 lighthouses registered to date. They are Cape Infanta, ZA0002; Robben Island, ZA0008 (this also counts as IOTA AF-064); Green Point, Cape Town, ZA0006; Slangkop Point, ZA0015; Danger Point, ZA0005; Cape Hangklip, ZA0010; Donkin Reserve Lighthouse, ZA0023, Cooper Lighthouse, Durban Bluff, ZA0004 and Green Point, ZA0018. Unfortunately the Seal Point Lighthouse, ZA0021 and Cape Recife Lighthouse, ZA0022 activations have been cancelled

Each registration from has a history to tell. Simple guidelines or online registration for the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on 16 and 17 August are on the website www.illw.net 

New amateur bands for Thailand. According to the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand, new rules to govern amateur radio include the opening of the 6 m band from 50 to 54 MHz, the expansion of two metres to 146,5 MHz and giving Thai advanced class license holders privileges that will allow power output levels of up to 1 kW. Additional spectrum will also be authorised in the 160 and 80 metre bands with more club stations and contest call signs to be issued as well.

CANADIAN DXPEDITION VC1T’s  BRENDAN TROPHY QUEST – Derek Hileard, G4CQM, describes the conditions across the Atlantic Ocean: “The Atlantic separates the two continents, North America and Europe. It is an inhospitable place with cold air and water coming down from the Arctic. Due to this, propagaton possibilities are very limited in the direction of North America, unlike the warm ocean paths from Europe to the south and southwest. Over the decades numerous Amateur Radio sorties have been mounted to effect a two way contact and win the Brendan Trophy, regrettably without success! However, there have been several one way reception reports providing an element of teasing.” Also see Derek’s website: www.G4cqm.co.uk  On 6^th July 2014 John Regnault, G4SWX at Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, picked up several short meteor bursts on FSK441 that decoded two CQ’s and a single call sign of VC1T. The day before Terry Gabriel, M0VRL, at Delabole, Cornwall, England, saw traces of a JT65 signal in and out of the noise but could not decode the call sign. There are two bigger challenges awaiting VHF amateurs on 144 MHz, they are the 6000 km sea path across the Atlantic between South Africa and Brazil, and the crossing of the Indian Ocean between South Africa and Australia, a distance of 8000 km, but in both cases troposheric ducting could provide the breakthrough! 

THE 144,300 MHz SSB SCENE – A report came from Carl, ZS6BCQ that the regular group of 8 to 10 stations still report in on 2 metres. Saturday 12 July 2014: Jan, ZS4HA, came on with signals peaking between 5/5 up to 5/8 for over an hour. Sunday 13 July 2014: Luckas. ZS6LH, came on the air from Rustenburg area with a very good signal. Although the ZS4BFN beacon on 144,415 MHz at Bloemfontein was quite strong, Carl could not raise anyone from that area possibly due to the very old weather. 

A 1,3 GHz 4-BAY 60 ELEMENT YAGI ARRAY – A photograph arrived from Willem, ZS6WAB, at Polokwame depicting a 4-bay 60 element Yagi array for EME operation on 1296 MHz. This monster antenna consists of 240 elements! Further details were not available. 

NEW WIRELESS CHARGING TECHNOLOGY – More than a century ago, engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla proposed a global system of wireless transmission of electricity—or wireless power. But one key obstacle to realizing this ambitious vision has always been the inefficiency of transferring power over long distances. Now a team of researchers from MIT have developed a system with two copper coils that are electromagnetically resonant at the same frequency, and yield an efficiency of 95% over a distance of 30 centimetres while charging mobile devices up to 12 Watts or 6 kilowatts for electric cars.

CURIOSITY DISCOVERS IRON METEORITE ON MARS – NASA’s rover, Curiosity, has discovered a 2 metre long meteorite made of iron. This is the first meteorite found by Curiosity and there could be thousands on the planet, since weathering is extremely slow on Mars a meteorite could last billions of years. 

AZS3 Sprint – Aim: This is a fun activity to promote contacts between radio amateurs in the Northern Cape and radio amateurs in Southern African countries. Date and Time: The first Sunday of May from 14:00 to 15:00 UTC (16:00 to 17:00 CAT) (4 May 2014). Exchange: The exchange is RS(T) and provincial or country abbreviation. Frequency: It is a phone and CW contest on the 40-metre band.  Scoring: Contacts with the Northern Cape ARC, ZS3NC, Namaqualand Aero Sport Association, ZS3FLY, or the Kalahari Karoo ARC, ZS3ARK, are worth 5 points each. Only one contact per station is allowed. Log Sheets: Log sheets shall be submitted within 7 days after the contest and can be sent by e-mail to zs3nc@qsl.net. The closing date for log submissions is 12 May 2014.  

10-10 QSO PARTIES (Spring CW) – Aim: QSO Parties are events that are held for fun and to meet old, new and prospective members around the world. QSO Parties are open to all amateurs with operating privileges on the 10 meter band. Date: held on the first full weekend in May, 0001 UTC Saturday through 2359 UTC Sunday. For more information
http://www.ten-ten.org/index.php/activity/2013-07-22-20-26-48/qso-party-rules 

A.R.I. International DX Contest 2014 – The A.R.I has the honour of inviting radio amateurs from all over the world to participate in the ARI International DX Contest. Aim. It is a world-wide competition: everybody can work everybody. Date and time. The contest will be held on each first full week-end of May starting at 1200Z Saturday and ending at 1159Z Sunday. In year 2014 the dates will be May 3-4. Bands. Bands from 10m through 160m (RTTY: 10m through 80m), except WARC bands, are allowed according to IARU Band Plans. Exchange. Italian stations will send RST and two letters to identify their province. Other stations will send RST and a serial number from 001. The serial number will NOT restart from 001 on each band/mode.
http://www.ari.it/images/stories/ContestHF/ARI_International_DX_Contest_2014_Rules.pdf

Antique Wireless Association Valve QSO Party - The aim of the AWA Valve QSO party is to create activity on the 40 and 80 metre bands. It is a phone only contest. Preferably, valve radios, or radios with valves in them may be used. No Linear Amplifiers may be used. Dates:The second weekend of May. The Saturday will be an AM QSO Party and the Sunday a SSB QSO Party (10 and 11 May 2014). Time: From 13:00 – 17:00 UTC (15:00 – 19:00 CAT) on both dates. Frequencies: 40 metres: 7 063 to 7 100 kHz and 80 metres: 3 603 to 3 650 kHz. Exchange. Call sign, RS and consecutive serial numbers starting at 001, plus type of radio used, e.g. HT37 TX. 

47th ALESSANDRO VOLTA RTTY DX CONTEST: The SSB and RTTY Club of COMO and the A.R.I. (Associazione Radioamatori Italiani) are pleased to announce the details of the 47th "Alessandro VOLTA RTTY DX CONTEST". This contest is organized to increase interest in RTTY mode as used by radio amateurs and to honour the Italian discoverer of electricity, ALESSANDRO VOLTA. Date: 12:00 GMT Saturday May 10, 2014 until 12:00 GMT Sunday May 11, 2014. BANDS: 3,5 - 7 - 14 -21 - 28 MHz Amateur bands. Exchange:  Must consist of: RST - QSO progressive number starting from 001 - Your CQ Zone number. (es.: 599-001-15)
http://www.contestvolta.com/47rules.pdf 

The 2014 CQ World-Wide WPX Contest (CW) -  Objective: For amateurs world wide to contact as many amateurs and prefixes as possible during the contest period. Date: May 24-25, 2014 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  

SARL Digital Contest -  Aim: To establish as many contacts as possible between radio amateurs in Southern Africa using the PSK31 / RTTY mode. The contest is open to all radio amateurs in Southern Africa (General Rules 1.b) Date And Time: 25 May 2014, 13:00 UTC to 16:00 UTC (15:00 to 18:00 CAT). Bands: 80 metres (3 580 to 3 600 kHz), 40 metres (7 040 to 7 060 kHz), 20 metres (14 070 to 14 099 kHz). PSK31 is preferred at the lower end of the specified frequencies, RTTY is preferred at the upper end of the specified frequencies, Please note that USB must be used at all times. Refer to (General Rule 16). Contacts: A station may be contacted twice on each band once on RTTY, once on PSK31. Exchange: RST plus a sequential serial number starting at 001.

Battery Clinic Midrand: Car batteries; truck batteries; alarm/gate motor batteries; Intelligent chargers & other accessories; new or ‘Re-new’ batteries. Discounts where possible for Ham Radio operators.  www.batteryclinic.co.za Contact Nigel (ZR6NGB) 011 028 1146, Email: nigel@batteryclinic.co.za 

MEGE electrical control & automation
Mege electrical control & automation is in the business of designing and manufacturing of control panels for the industry. Installation of frequency drives, PLCs, mimic panels. Temperature controllers, thermocouples, RTDs, electric and gas ovens.  Gas detectors, hygrometers. Fire, heat and smoke detectors. Back-up generators. Solar panels, regulators. Earthing and lightning protection. Contact Eddie (ZS6DAY) at 082 330 3558, or megecontrol@gmail.com 

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.

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