We are doing our first High Altitude Balloon Launch for 2019 (Binary-06) on Saturday 20 April. Everybody is invited to join us for the day to launch and chase the balloon; we will be launching from the Leeukop Farm Airfield in Deneysville. The flight is part of the ZS4SRK Balloon competition. For this balloon we are going back to basics to try and get a new height record for us. The balloon will only contain the APRS tracker, SSTV transmitter and the ZS6FZ repeater (roughly 700 g payload in total). During the time the balloon is in the air, radio amateurs will participate in a competition to make as many contacts via the balloon as possible. Radio Amateurs: please check the blue book for rules. More details can be found at https://www.binaryspace.co.za/?p=667

Fun Facts:

This will be the 6th BinarySpace High Altitude Balloon Launch
This will be the 6th launch using the Trackduino APRS tracker
This will be the 3rd launch from Leeukop Farm Airfield
This will be the 5th launch with SSTV camera

If you are interested in sponsoring future launches, then please reach out to us. Thanks to HTI for sponsoring the Helium/Balloon for this flight.

World Amateur Radio Day 2019 Marks International Amateur Radio Union Founding

Thursday 18 April is World Amateur Radio Day (WARD), this year marking the 94th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), which was founded in Paris in 1925. Each year, WARD celebrates Amateur Radio's contribution to society. Groups in the US and around the world will celebrate WARD 2019 with on-air activities.ay 18 April is World Amateur Radio Day (WARD), this year marking the 94th anniversary of t

"I am pleased to extend my greetings for World Amateur Radio Day," IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, said. April 18 is the day for all of Amateur Radio to celebrate and tell the world about the science we can help to teach, the community service we can provide, and the fun we have. I would encourage all radio amateurs to join in the celebrations and promote Amateur Radio on the air or in your community."

Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the shortwave spectrum was not the wasteland experts of the time considered it to be, but a resource that could support worldwide propagation. In the rush to use these shorter wavelengths, Amateur Radio was "in grave danger of being pushed aside," the IARU's history notes. Amateur Radio pioneers met in Paris in 1925 and created the IARU to support Amateur Radio around the globe.

Two years later, at the International Radiotelegraph Conference, Amateur Radio gained allocations still recognized today -- 160, 80, 40, 20, and 10 meters. More bands have followed, and the IARU has been working to defend and expand Amateur Radio frequency allocations ever since.

From the 25 countries that formed the IARU in 1925, the IARU has grown to include 160 member-societies in three regions. IARU Region 1 includes Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and northern Asia. Region 2 covers the Americas, and Region 3 is comprised of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific island nations, and most of Asia.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has recognized the IARU as representing the interests of Amateur Radio.

Groups are encouraged to promote their WARD activity on social media by using the hashtag #WorldAmateurRadioDay on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Visit the IARU World Amateur Radio Day web page for a listing of on-the-air activities http://www.iaru.org/world-amateur-radio-day.html. 

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

Southern African Fauna and Flora https://zsfaunaandflora.wordpress.com/. 

South African SOTA https://zssota.wordpress.com 

Contacts with stations on the African continent count towards the SARL’s All Africa Award www.sarl.org.za/public/awards/awards.asp

Worlswide List of HF Beacons https://iaruhfbeacons.wordpress.com/ 

Uganda, 5X. Anders, SM0HPL is active again as 5X7W from Kampala, Uganda until 27 April. In his spare time, he operates FT8, JT65 and CW (QRP). QSL via LoTW or direct to home call; log search on Club Log.

Seychelles, S7. Leonid, RA0AM and Evgenyi, RA0ANR will be active holiday style as S79AM and S79ANR from the Seychelles on 11-19 April. They will operate SSB, CW and digital modes on 20-10 metres from various islands in the AF-024 IOTA group. QSL via home calls.

TQSL: NEW VERSION. A new version (v2.4.5) of LoTW's Trusted QSL (TQSL) is now available: http://www.arrl.org/tqsl-download. It has new features as well as corrections for defects found since TQSL 2.4.3 was released; it also includes an update to the most recent TQSL configuration file.

France, F. Commemorating the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519), the Radio Club du Val d'Issole (F8KGH) will be active as TM500LDV between 19 April and 20 July. QSL via F4GPB, bureau or direct.

France, F. Special event station TM17CV will be active on 20-22 April from Chatelaillon-Plage (Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France) for the annual Festival du Cerf-Volant et du Vent (Kite and Wind Festival). QSL via F8FZC.

Ukraine, UR. Special call sign EN185UNIV will celebrate the 185th anniversary of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev from 15 April to 31 December. QSL via UT8UF.

Cuba, CO - A team of five (CO1CB, CO3HK, CM2AML, CL2BR and CL2DCL) will be active as CO0HK from Cayo Jutias (NA-093) on 19-21 April. They will operate SSB and digital modes on 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres. QSL direct to W7HU.

England, G - G4EDG, G4ELZ and G4GSA will be active as GB5SM from St Mary's, Isles of Scilly (EU-011) on 20-27 April. They will operate CW, SSB and digital modes on the HF bands. QSL for this operation via LZ1JZ (direct), via Club Log's OQRS, and LoTW.

J7 - Laurent, FM5BH will be active as J79BH from Dominica (NA-101) on 13-16 April. He will focus on 160-40 metres CW. QSL via LoTW, Club Log's OQRS, or via home call.

Aland Island, OH0 - Marko, OH2LGW and Anne, OH2YL will be active respectively as OH0/OH2LGW and OG0YL from the Aland Islands (EU-002) on 19-23 April. They will operate SSB and CW on 80-6 metres. QSL via home calls.

VHF, UHF and Microwave Record Table - the latest table of records is available from the VHF SA Record page. Click here to get a copy. Compiled and updated by Paul, ZS6NK - latest version 8 March 2019. Updates to zssixnk@gmail.com  

Focus on VHF and Above 24 March 2019 

 Audio version

Focus on VHF and Above 24 March 2019 

There is no tutorial this week, but the bands have been open across the country. 

The 46 Long Distance group had a bumper day on Thursday. Being a public holiday most of the guys were in front of their radios and the conditions were also very good. The load shedding did delay some, but they joined in as soon as they could. There were reports of the ZS4AFV beacon being heard very well in Edenvale and Pretoria. 

Dick ZS6BUN, Vernon ZS6AIG and Pine ZS6OB were also playing with FT8 on 2m on Thursday. 

Willem ZS6WAB reports that the power supply for his beacons has failed as a result of the load shedding and that the beacons will be off for the foreseeable future or I guess until the national power supply has been stabilised again. 

Cor ZS6CR is also busy with his hardware to work QO-100. Here is a photo of his progress so far. 

ZS6CR Arduino Oscillator Control, Oscillator Board, RF Amplifier and 2.4 GHz power amplifier. 

Here is also a SSTV photo that Cor ZS6CR received over the QO-100 satellite.

Peter ZS2ABF reports from East London that he received a text message from Dave ZS5DJ informing him that the forecast was good along the South East Coast for Sunday 17 March. Peter says “I duly came on frequency at 19:45 and Dave's Morse Code call was blasting into my QTH. Signals were strong, and we had a good SSB chat. The only thing that spoilt it was the QSB. At what was to be near the end of our QSO, Dave's signal cut off as if he had a power outage, and that was really the end.” 

Last week we mentioned that John ZS6JON and Louise ZS6LU would be in Gaborone this weekend. Well on Thursday both Willem ZS6WAB and Rickus ZS4A made contact with A21EME which is their Botswana callsign.

Along the West Coast the signals were also great as predicted on the Hepburn Charts for the whole 2^nd half of the past week. Koos ZS3JPY and Cobus ZS3CVB were in contact with Garry ZD7GWM. 

ZS3JPY QSO with ZD7GWM Video 

And one of Cobus with Garry as recorded by Koos. Just listen to the excitement in Cobus’ voice. 

Rudi ZS3DT from Vryburg is on holiday in Port Nolloth and was listening to Garry ZD7GWM with a handheld radio and an AMSAT SA Yagi. 

ZS3JPY ZD7GWM ZS3DT Audio 

Dawid ZS1DK from Langebaan finally has his tower upright with the help of David, Gert and a TLB. 

Well done guys and thanks for sharing the information with us.

The next meeting of the VHF Work Group will be via Skype on 28 March 2019. If you want to join the VHF Work Group, send us your Skype name to vhfnews@sarl.org.za and we will add you to the call. 

The next VHF/UHF workshop is being planned for 25 May 2019 at the National Amateur Radio Centre. Put this date in your diaries and plan to be there. 

Please send your news snippets and information about activities on VHF and Above to vhfnews@sarl.org.za. 

THE WEDNESDAY 80 METRE CLUB SPRINT: The first Wednesday 80 metre Club Sprint was on the air from 17:00 to 18:00 UTC on Wednesday 20 March with CW and phone activity on 3 510 to 3 570 kHz; 3 603 to 3 650 and 3 700 to 3 750 kHz. The exchange is a RS or RST report and your 4-symbol grid square (e.g. KG30). Log sheets in MS Excel format ONLY must be submitted by midnight Wednesday 27 March to zs4bfn@mweb.co.za. The name of the operators Club must be shown on the log sheet. An MS Excel log and summary sheet is available on the Contest page of the League web site.

CQ World-Wide WPX Contest SSB: Date & Time: March 30-31, 2019. Starts: 0000 UTC Saturday Ends: 2359 UTC Sunday. Objective: For amateurs world wide to contact as many amateurs and prefixes as possible during the contest period. 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. Exchange: RS(T) report plus a progressive contact serial number starting with 001 for the first contact. Note: Multi-Two and Multi-Unlimited entrants use separate serial number sequences on each band. https://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm

South African Radio League 80 m QSO Party: Aim: The aim of these contests is to create an interest in and activity on the 80-m band. It is a phone only contest. Date and times: 17:00 to 20:00 UTC on Thursday 4 April 2019. Frequencies: Only frequencies in the segment 3 603 to 3 650 and 3 700 to 3 800 kHz may be used. Exchange: Call sign, RS signal report and operator’s name. See Blue Book

SARL VHF/UHF Digital Contest: (RTTY/PSK/WSJT but not limited to these modes). Aim: The VHF/UHF Digital contest is a test of operator ability and station design, To promote Digital activity on the VHF/UHF and microwave bands. 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. Dates and Times: 10:00 UTC Saturday 6 April 2019 to 10:00 UTC Sunday 7 April 2019. See Blue Book for more details

EA RTTY Contest: To participate in this contest, the specific bases of the competition must be complied with, as well as the General Regulation of URE Competitions. Participants: Any radio amateur anywhere in the world with a valid licence. Dates: From 16:00 UTC on Saturday 6th to 16:00 UTC on Sunday 7th April 2019. Mode: RTTY Baudot (Teletype). Bands: 10, 15, 20, 40 y 80 meters, in the segments recommended by the IARU for this mode. Exchange: Spanish stations send RSQ and the Province abbreviation. DX stations send RSQ and serial number starting with 001. Spanish stations are considered to be those stations operating within the Spanish national territory irrespective of the prefix used. https://concursos.ure.es/en/eartty/bases/

FT8 DX Contest 2019:  Date: Begins: 13-April-2019 | 12:00 UTC Ends:    14-April-2019 | 12:00 UTC. Bands and mode: 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters on FT8 mode. Any station may work any other station. Stations may be worked once per band. Exchange: United States: Signal report and State (except KH6 and KL7). Canada: Signal report and Province. DX: Signal report and consecutive serial number, starting with 001 (including KH6 and KL7). Miscellaneous: Participants must use WSJT-X version 2.0 or later or MSHV version 2.14 or later. https://europeanft8club.wordpress.com/

HOLYLAND CONTEST: Friday 19 of April 21.00UTC - Saturday 20 of April 21.00UTC. Aim: To promote contacts between Radio Amateurs around the globe and Israeli Hams. Eligibility: All licensed amateurs and SWL's worldwide. Object: To contact as many different Israeli amateur radio stations on as many bands, and from as many 'Areas' as possible in different modes CW, SSB and DIGITAL. Period: Start: Friday 19 of April 2019, 21.00 UTC. End: Saturday 20 of April 2019, 21.00 UTC. Modes: CW; SSB; Digital; MIX. (Mixed = minimum 2 modes). Bands: 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21, 28 MHz. Exchange: Worldwide stations send RS(T) + QSO number starting with 001. Israeli stations give RS(T) and 'Area'. https://www.iarc.org/iarc/#HolylandContest

Visit our website and online shop for more information on our wide range of products at www.curiousdesigns.co.za or email us sales@curiousdesigns.co.za

Johan ZR6JC – 082 821 5759

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. 

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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