Scouts local and international stations will to be operational from Friday 19 October in the evening through to Sunday 21 October mid-morning.

To host a scout group or set up a station at a scout hall or camp email  Richard  www.sandringhamscouts.co.za

These two annual events are the young people's window on amateur radio. Make your investment in the future.

CQ Hou Koers is die Voortrekkers se nasionale amateurradiodag en vind plaas 

PRE-ORDER THE 2019 ARRL HANDBOOK  -  For the first time, The ARRL Handbook has been divided into multiple volumes. All six volumes are included in a handsome, hard slipcase, for easy storage and access. Each volume is more manageable to read and browse.  

No final price is available as current the Rand/Dollar rate is volatile. Expected price is between R1500 and R1800, secure your copy by paying a deposit of R1500 by 20 October 2018. The new volume is expected to be available for shipping via Postnet from Pretoria first week November.

For a pre-order form visit www.amateurradio.org.za. The SA Amateur Radio Development Trust will not import the softback version for 2019

SARL NEWS - Listen to  the weekly SARL NEWS on line or download to retransmit on local nets, a SARL service to Radio Amateurs. Get the transmission schedule here .

Sunday 14 October 2018

AMATEUR RADIO TODAY, a weekly actuality programme about Amateur Radio and technology hosted by with Hans van de Groenendaal ZS6AKV Download/Listen .

More details about Today's programme here . Transmission times and frequency details click here

In today's programme: VHF opening on 2m on the West Coast, CQ Houkoers and JOTA

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 by Mike Bosch, ZS2FM (SK) and updated by Paul, ZS6NK - latest version 25 September 2018. Updates to zssixnk@gmail.com 

The VHF/UHF and higher Band Plan is also available for download from the same URL as the Record Table.

The October 2018 Radio ZS is available for download - Publications - Radio ZS download.

VHF/UHF Workshop 20 October 2018 at NARC - The SARL and AMSATSA VHF/UHF workshop programme and booking details are now availlable. Get all the details here

Interference on 40 Metres

The International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring Service (IARUMS) reports interference on 40 metres from various Russian sources. The Russian coastal over-the-horizon (OTH) radar "Sunflower" was very active on 40 metres and audible in Europe in the evenings, transmitting FM on pulse. The site is believed to be northeast of Vladivostok. IARUMS Region 1 Coordinator Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, said it was monitored in September. In addition, a Russian ship was observed transmitted on 7 110 kHz on F1B with 50 baud and 200 Hz shift. The vessel was believed to be in the vicinity of Cyprus and on the air daily in September. Another Russian ship was heard on 8 September, transmitting AT3004D with 12 × 120 baud PSK2A on 7 179 kHz with a 2,6 kHz bandwidth, also in the area of Crete. And a Russian military system, believed to be near Moscow, was heard transmitting on 7 198 kHz in AT3004D test mode. Elsewhere, fishing crews often were monitored on 3 500; 3 535; 3 540; 3 560; 3 585; 3 590; 7 000 kHz and 14 320 USB.

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

Southern African Fauna and Flora https://zsfaunaandflora.wordpress.com/. A list of lighthouses for Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa has been added.

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

Chad, TT. Operated by LA7GIA, TT8KO stopped transmitting at 17:45 UTC on 10 October, when "the national security police" shut down the station pending "an equipment inspection" which has been postponed until 12 October ("no time given"). During the first 24 hours of his solo DXpedition Ken logged 2 135 QSOs, which have been uploaded to Club Log as well as to M0OXO's website.

Cape Verde, D4.  Harald, DF2WO is QRV as D44TWO from Praia, Santiago Island, IOTA AF-005, until October 22. Activity is holiday style on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and various digital modes. QSL via M0OXO.

Malawi, 7Q. Don, K6ZO will be active as 7Q6M from Embangweni, Malawi between 23 and 29 October, including participation in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. QSL via K6ZO.

Austria, OE. Celebrating the 100th anniversary since the proclamation of the Republic of Austria, special callsign OE100OE will be active on 16, 21 and 31 October and again on 3 and 12 November. Activity dates have been chosen because of their historical significance (see qrz.com). Each day will have its special QSL card, and all QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the bureau.

France, F. Special call sign TM63CDP will be active at various times between 18 October and 18 November to celebrate the recent inscription of the Chaine des Puys volcanoes on UNESCO's World Heritage List. QSL via F6BDE.

Palestine, E4. Janusz, SP9FIH will be active again as E44WE from Palestine between 27 October and 11 November, including a single-band entry (20 m) in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. He will operate SSB, some RTTY and FT8 on 20, 17 and 15 metres, and possibly on 160 m. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, or via home call.

South Shetland Islands. Sang, DS4NMJ is active as DT8A from the Korean Antarctic Scientific Base King Se-Jong on King George Island, IOTA AN-010, until the end of December 2018.  He operates FT8, CW and SSB on 40, 20, 17, 15 and 12 metres. QSL via HL2FDW and LoTW.

Aruba, P4. John, W2GD will be active again as P40W from Aruba (SA-036) between 22 and 30 October. Main activity will be during the CQ WW DX SSB Contest; outside the contest he will operate SSB and CW on 160 - 10 metres. QSL via LoTW or direct only to N2MM.

Bonaire, PJ4. Scott, NE9U will be active as PJ4/NE9U from Bonaire (SA-006) from 20 October to 3 November. QSL via LoTW, or via home call (direct or bureau). He will participate in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest as PJ4G (QSL via WA2NHA) along with KK9K, K2NG and NA2AA.

Fernando de Noronha, PY0F - The Noronha Contest Group will be active as PY0F from Fernando de Noronha (SA-003) between 23 and 29 October, with main activity during the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. Outside the contest they will operate mainly SSB and FT8 on 160 - 10 metres. QSL via LoTW, Club Log's OQRS, or direct to PY7RP.

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

Focus on VHF and Above  14 October 2018

Audio version here 

 In today’s tutorial we are going to talk a little about Digital Voice. 

What is digital voice? 

What it essentially is you have two sound cards in your PC. Your microphone or PC headset is connected to the one and your radio to the other one. Your voice is digitized by software that controls the sound card where your microphone is connected. This digitized audio is compressed  and packaged and then sent to the radio via the second sound card for transmission over a normal analogue voice channel. 

From the FREEDV website “There are several reports of the new FreeDV 700D mode outperforming SSB at low SNRs. At high SNRs FreeDV 1600 sounds like FM, with no annoying analog HF radio noise.” 

But this is used on HF! 

Yes, but think about all the DMR systems like D-STAR, DMR, P-25, C4FM (Yaesu System Fusion), and NXDN. All these systems use the AMBE vocoder to encode and decode digital voice. The only difference between all the systems is the packaging of the digital audio stream and that is all that prevents these systems from talking to each other. All these systems operate on VHF and UHF. 

On the internet is information on FreeDV 2400A where Brady O’Brien, KC9TPA, has been working hard on two new FreeDV modes for VHF/UHF radio. To the existing Codec 2 1300 bit/s mode, he has added framing/sync logic and our high performance 4FSK modem. This mode is designed to be “readability 5” at -132dBm, which is 10dB beyond the point where analog FM and 1st generation DV systems stop working.  

On the SARL Digital forum are guys already discussing playing around with FreeDV on FM. There are also some hams here in Pretoria who play with DMR who are also very good with digital voice codecs. 

When you start playing in this space you are entering the world of Software Defined Radio. This is a whole new and exciting ball game. 

Gone is analogue radio as we know it today. 

Let us now look at some news about the VHF and Above bands... 

The early part of this past week has been fantastic along the West Coast.

The following report provided by Charles ZS1CF: 

Monday 8 October 2018 certainly was NOT a blue Monday along the West Coast, it was actually a SUPER Monday regarding VHF tropo ducting propagation at its best! 

At 06h00 in the morning, Charles, ZS1CF, in Langebaan heard Pieter, ZS3PV/M calling while driving from Kleinzee to Koingnaas for work. It was the second time me made contact while Pieter was mobile and again it was on 145.500 simplex, a distance of 367km. The signal from Pieter varied from a S4 to a S1, and we could communicate until he arrived at Koingaas.  Later Andre, V51B, from Oranjemund also called, and we had a 3 way conversation. Andre was received in Langebaan with a S7 signal over a distance of 526km. Well done in the mobile Pieter, seems it is becoming a regular thing! 

The best was still to come though!! 

The West Coast Radio Group has a net every Monday evening at 19h30 on 145.500 MHZ. As the net progressed, a total of 12 stations eventually called in which is now a record for the group. As time progressed, the signals from the long distance stations also improved significantly. 

Andre’s signal from Oranjemund was s9+40db, while Cobus’s signal from Port Nolloth was s9+60db! Considering the distances involved and hearing such good signals is actually mind-blowing and is quite something to experience.Click here for video link1 Videolink 2

Congratulations to Marais, ZS1NOS and Dawid, ZS1DK, both from Langebaan, for their very first QSO’s over long distances. Both made contact with Cobus, ZS3CVB, in Port Nolloth (440 km) and Dawid also managed a contact with V51B in Oranjemund (526 km). What a pleasure it was to hear the excitement in their voices. Gents, your achievements are something to cherish for a very long time, well done!

Tienie, ZS1HO, in Vredenburg and Chris, ZS1FC, in Jacobsbaai also made contact with Andre in Oranjemund.

Following is a list of the 12 stations that called in:-

ZS1HO(Vredenburg),  ZS1NOS(Langebaan), ZS1DK(Langebaan), ZS1CF(Langebaan), ZS1FC(Jacobsbaai), ZS1NAZ(Goodwood), ZS1ROD(Duynefontein), ZR1JOJ(Goodwood) ZS1HZ(Goodwood), ZS3PV(Kleinzee), ZS3CVB(Port Nolloth) and V51B(Oranjemund).

All contacts were made with vertically polarized antennas.

Thank you to all for a SUPER Monday evening along the West Coast.

On the SARL Forum, Paul, ZS6NK also reported some good contacts on 6m EME:

03 Oct C21GJ
04 Oct ZA5Z
04 Oct KB7Q

Peter, ZS2ABF posted on the SARL Forum that he had to remove the morse program that he was using on his smartphone and will in future only be on SSB voice.

Carl ZS6CBQ has requested that we have a quick discussion during the VHF Workshop at the NARC regarding the VHF contest, prior to submitting changes to the Contest Manager for inclusion in the Blue Book which contains all the SARL contest rules.

The registrations for the VHF Workshop are growing. Thank you to all the folk who have already registered.

Have you booked for the VHF and Above Workshop on 20 October 2018?Goto http://amsatsa.org.za/, download and complete the registration form and send it to admin@amsatsa.org.za along with your proof of payment. Closing date for registration is Monday 15 October 2018.

Well that is all the VHF and Above news for this week.

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

Makrothen Contest Rules: Date and Time: The contest takes place on the second full weekend of October each year. The next contest dates are Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th October 2018, with three separate periods: Saturday 00:00-08:00 UTC and 16:00-24:00 UTC and Sunday 08:00-16:00 UTC.  A station may participate in all three periods. Objective: For amateurs around the world to contact as many other amateurs as possible during the three periods of operation using RTTY. Bands: Only the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands may be used. Exchange: Send the first 4 characters of the “Maidenhead Grid Square Locator” (grid locator) for the station QTH (i.e. FM19, JO41 etc.).  No RST report is required. https://www.pl259.org/makrothen/makrothen-rules/

Oceania DX Contest CW:  08:00 UTC Saturday 13 October to 08:00 UTC Sunday 14 October 2018. In most of Oceania (West of the date line), the contest starts on Saturday evening and finishes on Sunday evening. Bands: 160m, 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m. Exchange: RS(T) plus QSO serial number starting at 001. http://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/Rules/rules.html

Scandinavian Activity Contest SSB: 2nd full weekend of October each year. Starts 12:00 UTC Saturday and ends 11:59 UTC Sunday. Aim of the contest: The aims of the contest are to promote amateur radio activity in Scandinavia and to encourage amateur radio communications between Scandinavian and non-Scandinavian amateur radio stations. Scandinavian stations will try to work as many non-Scandinavian stations as possible and vice versa. Contest exchange: exchange consists of RS(T) plus serial number sequence starting with 001 (e.g., 59(9) 001). https://www.sactest.net/blog/rules/

Worked All Germany (WAG) Contest:  DARC has the honor to invite amateurs all over the world to participate in the annual Worked All Germany Contest.  Contest periods: 1500 UTC Saturday to 1459 UTC Sunday 2018: 20./21. October:  Modes and bands: SSB, CW: 3,5 - 7 - 14 - 21 - 28 MHz
To reduce interference with the participants of JOTA, contest operation is not allowed in the contest free sections.  Exchange: A contest QSO can only be established between non-German and German stations and also between German stations. Non-German stations give the usual RS/RST + serial number. German stations give RS/RST + DOK (code for local DARC/VFDB chapter).

https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/worked-all-germany-contest/en/rules/

CQ World-Wide DX Contest SSB: October 27-28 Starts 00:00:00 UTC Saturday  Ends 23:59:59 UTC Sunday. OBJECTIVE: For amateurs around the world to contact as many other amateurs in as many CQ zones and countries as possible. BANDS: Six bands only: 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. Observance of established band plans is strongly encouraged. CONTEST EXCHANGE: SSB: RS report plus CQ Zone number of the station location (e.g., 59 05). https://www.cqww.com/rules.htm

RaDAR Challenge: The RaDAR “Challenge” is a unique event aimed at promoting the use of Rapidly Deployable Amateur Radio stations. RaDAR operators are encouraged to be self-sufficient during each challenge, with not only power supply and communications equipment but food, water, protective clothing and shelter.        Date and Time: 00:00 UTC to 23:59 UTC on Saturday 3 November 2018. Bands and Modes: All amateur bands are allowed including cross band contacts via amateur radio satellites. Modes – CW, SSB, FM or any legal amateur radio digital mode. Exchange: The RaDAR challenge requires more than a minimalistic information exchange. Accurate information exchange is considered more important than a large QSO count. Call sign, name, RS (T) report and grid locator. The grid locator of six characters is acceptable but should preferably be accurate to 8 or 10 characters for higher position accuracy (especially for moving RaDAR stations). See Blue Book for more details

SARL VHF/UHF Analogue Contest: Aim: The VHF/UHF contest is a test of operator ability and station design. To promote activity on the VHF/UHF and microwave bands. 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 November to 10:00 UTC Sunday 11 November 2018. Exchange: Contacts must be two-way point to point. Stations shall exchange signal reports as well as their location, e.g. (latitude and longitude or full six-digit Maidenhead locator or accurate area/address/location).

See Blue Book for more details

Worked All Europe DX Contest RTTY:  DARC invites radio amateurs world wide to participate in the annual WAE DX Contest. Date: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 0000 UTC until Sunday, November 11, 2018, 2359 UTC. Bands: 3.5 - 7 - 14 - 21 - 28 MHz. Off Times: Single Operator stations may only operate 36 out of the 48-hour contest period. Off times must be a minimum of 60 minutes during which no QSO or QTC is logged. Exchange: The exchange consists of RS/RST and a progressive serial number starting with 001. If the station worked does not send a serial number, log the contact with number 000. Each station can be credited only once per band. https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/referat-conteste/worked-all-europe-dx-contest/en/

JAPAN INTERNATIONAL DX CONTEST: OBJECTIVE: For amateurs around the world(DX) to contact JA stations in as many JA prefectures + JD1 islands as possible. For amateurs in Japan to contact DX stations in as many DXCC entities and CQ Zones as possible. CONTEST PERIOD: Start Sat. 0700 -Sun. 1300UTC  November 10  - 11. BANDS: 3.5/7/14/21/28MHz. CONTEST EXCHANGE:  JAs   : RS(T) + Prefecture number(01 to 50), others: RS(T) + CQ Zone number. http://www.jidx.org/jidxrule-e.html

LZ DX Contest: Date and period: 12:00 UTC on Saturday till 11:59 UTC on Sunday 17-18 November 2018. Bands and modes: 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters HAM radio bands on both CW and SSB modes. It is necessary to observe IARU band plan. Exchange: For non-LZ entrants: RS(T) + ITU zone, For LZ entrants: RS(T) + 2 letters district abbreviation which is derived from the district the entrant operates from. http://lzdx.bfra.bg/rulesen.html

South African Radio League Newbie Party: Aim: This is a fun activity to encourage all new radio amateurs to become active. Date and Time: 08:00 to 20:00 UTC 24 November 2018. Exchange: RS and phonetic character found in the table below:

Less than 6 months       Alpha

One year          Bravo

Two years        Echo

Three years      Golf

Four years        India

More than 4 years         November

See Blue Book for more details

CQ World-Wide DX Contest CW: November 24-25 Starts 00:00:00 UTC Saturday    Ends 23:59:59 UTC Sunday. OBJECTIVE: For amateurs around the world to contact as many other amateurs in as many CQ zones and countries as possible. BANDS: Six bands only: 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. Observance of established band plans is strongly encouraged. CONTEST EXCHANGE: RST report plus CQ Zone (e.g., 599 05). https://www.cqww.com/rules.htm

Ten-Meter RTTY Contest: Object: Amateurs worldwide contact and exchange QSO information with other amateurs using Baudot RTTY on the 10 meter band. Any station may work any other station.  The recommended baud rate is 45.45 baud with 170 Hz shift. Date and Contest Period: Sunday of the first full weekend of December 0000-2400 UTC. (December 2, 2018). Exchange: United States: RST + State, Canada: RST + Province, DX: RST + Consecutive serial number, starting with 001. https://www.rttycontesting.com/ten-meter-rtty-contest/rules/

ARRL 10-Meter Contest: Object:  For Amateurs worldwide to exchange QSO information with as many stations as possible on the 10 meter band. Date and Contest Period: Starts 0000 UTC Saturday; ends 2359 UTC Sunday (December 8-9, 2018). All stations operate no more than 36 hours out of the 48-hour period. Contest Exchange: W/VE stations (including Hawaii and Alaska) send RS(T) and state or province (District of Columbia stations send signal report and DC). DX stations (including KH2, KP4, etc) send RS(T) & sequential serial number starting with 001. Mexican stations transmit RS(T) and their state. Maritime mobile stations send RS(T) and ITU Region (R1, R2 or R3).

http://www.arrl.org/10-meter

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