SARL and AMSAT SA join forces at Science Forum South Africa - The SARL and AMSAT SA will be exhibiting at Science Forum South Africa 2023 from 6 to 8 December at the CSIR National Convention centre in Pretoria. Under the banner Science in Amateur Radio, the SARL will focus on the Radio frequency Monitoring system and the Next Generation beacon for tropospheric research while AMSAT SA will showcase AfriCUBE, a one-unit CubeSat nearly completion.
Co-hosted by the Department of Science and Innovation and the Science Diplomacy Capital for Africa initiative, the SFSA will take place from 6 to 8 December, with a focus on how science, technology and innovation (STI) can help to address challenges such as climate change, food security, health care and energy. The forum will be held under the theme "Igniting conversations about science – People, partnerships and priorities for the Decadal Plan", and will bring together the scientific community, government, industry and civil society for discussions on the role of science in society.
Over 2 500 delegates will participate in sessions about the future of society, innovation shaping the industry of tomorrow, and STI enabling inclusive and sustainable development, among other themes. Attendance at the forum and exhibition is free. For the full programme and to register, visit https://www.sfsa.co.za/.
The scope of Amateur Radio is often misunderstood, and Science Forum South Africa offers a unique opportunity to focus on the science aspect of Amateur Radio and bring it to the attention of science institutions and various structures in Government and civil society.
The Science in Amateur Radio (stand F17) is situated in the main entrance foyer of the CSIR convention Centre. Registration is advised.
IARU Region 1 - December 2023 YOTA Month Activity - 
December YOTA month takes place from 00:00 UTC on Friday 1 December until 23:59 UTC on Sunday 31 December 2023. Many youngsters under the age of 26 will become active with YOTA suffixes in their call signs in Region 1. The idea behind this is to showcase the amateur radio hobby to the youth and to encourage youngsters to be active on the amateur radio waves.
The SARL has registered the special events callsign ZS9YOTA on the IARU Region 1 website as an educational call sign for use by clubs and individuals during this December. To reserve a slot to use the ZS9YOTA call sign on a daily basis or for information, please contact Guy ZS6GUY via e-mail at guy.eales@se.com or alternatively Nico, ZS6QL at zs6ql@mweb.co.za
Looking forward to hearing our younger generation active on the air working DX during this month! So far announced participants include stations from Argentina LR1YOTA; Bahrain A91YOTA; Bosnia Herzegovina E71YOTA; Canada VA7YOTA; Canada VE2YOTA; Canada VE3YOUTH; Cuba CO0YOTA; Czech Republic OL23YOTA; Egypt SU8YOTA; El Salvador YS1YOTA; Finland OH2YOTA; France TM23YOTA; France TM4YOTA; Germany DQ23YOTA; Hungary HA6YOTA; Hungary HG0YOTA; Israel 4X1YOTA; Japan 8N2YOTA; Korea HL0YOTA; Malaysia 9M2YOTA; Netherlands PA6YOTA; Netherlands PC6YOTA; Poland SN0YOTA; Portugal CQ7YOTA; Romania YO0YOTA; Serbia YT23YOTA; Slovakia OM23YOTA; Slovenia S50YOTA; South Africa ZS9YOTA; Spain AO23YOTA; Sweden SH9YOTA; Sweden SK8YOTA; Thailand E2YOTA; Tunisia 3V8CB/YOTA; Turkey TC100YOTA; United Kingdom GB23YOTA; USA K8Y; USA K8O; USA K8T; USA K8A
QSLs via Club Log's OQRS (direct or bureau). Information about the event and the awards can be found on https://events.ham-yota.com/.
The 2024 SARL National Convention will be held over the weekend of 19 to 21 April 2024. There is a Club busy with arrangements to host the event. More details to follow.
SARL ON-THE-AIR BULLETINS AND AMATEUR RADIO TODAY PROGRAMME 26 NOVEMBER 2023
SARLNEWS with Herman Erasmus ZS6CTA listen/download here
SARLNUUS met Christo de Witt ZS3CDW Laaiaf/luister hier
Amateur Radio Today - Programme about Amateur Radio and technology hosted by Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV . The programme features news about amateur radio, reports on Hamnet, VHF and UHF, Satellites and HF plus technical features. One hour of Amateur Radio bliss. Listen/download here
Transmissions: Sundays at 08:00 UTC on repeaters around South Africa including 145,750 and 145,725 MHZ in Pretoria. On HF 7 115 kHz by Louis, ZR4DJL. Amateur Radio Today on 80 metres on Mondays - On Mondays Amateur RadioToday is transmitted at 19:30 local time on 3 620 kHz by Andy, ZS6ADY.
Note when SARL website is not available programmes will be posted on www.amateurradio.org.za. Reception reports are invited. Please send your report to artoday@sarl.org.za. Please give details of the signal strength antenna and location. Text bulletins from 1 March 2020 to today can be found at https://sarlnewsbulletin.wordpress.com
BREAKING NEWS:
The 2024 SARL Diary of Events is available - click on the link in the yellow block on the left.
The December 2023 Radio ZS is available for download as well as the Radio ZS Index from 1924 to December 2023.
Tucson Amateur Packet Radio, Inc. (TAPR) will hold an online Mini-Digital Communications Conference on 9 December 2023, from 17:00 to 22:30 UTC. Log in details for the conference will be available at https://tapr.org prior to 9 December. TAPR is an international amateur radio organization that was founded in Tucson, Arizona, in 1981 by a group of amateurs interested in developing a terminal node controller (TNC) for amateur use. Presentations during the conference will include:
·TAPR Software Defined Radio (SDR) Development Progress and Challenges by David Larsen, KV0S
·Developments in KA9Q Radio by Phil Karn, KA9Q
·An Open-Source Wideband HF Receiver Design by David Witten, KD0EAG
·An Inexpensive Global Positioning System Disciplined Oscillator (GPSDO) for HF Receivers by John Ackermann, N8UR
·Current Open-Source Digital Voice Techniques by Walter Holmes, K5WH
·A Low Cost FreeDV-based ESP32 Radio Interface by Mooneer Salem, K6AQ
· ESP32 Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) and Long Range (LoRa) Hardware by Jason Rausch, K4APR
HOW TO CONQUER THE SARL HF CONTESTS - the presentaton by Chris Burger ZS6EZ is now available on YouTube.Watch it here
Video of contesting with ZS6EZ now on YouTube. A recording of the SARL Contesting with ZS6EZ is now available on YouTube. Click here
Pay your SARL Membership fees online using PayFast. Go to https://mysarl.org.za/shop/ and select your membership category.
Interference from solar installations- As the South African public are realising that they are on their own and facing the many challenges of loads heading, self-generating electricity by households and businesses have become the norm.
Generally, Radio Amateurs should not experience interference on HF or VHF from properly installed solar power installations but unfortunately it does occur when unqualified people do not install the system properly and use poor quality inverters and solar maximisers.
Often fitting ferrite beads and basic filters will solve the inference problem.
By design solar installations are not expected to radiate radio frequencies (RF) and cause interference as the necessary circuits suppress any RF radiation should be included in the design. There however are suppliers that will install equipment of inferior quality. Solar installers are expected to issue COC’s, certificate of compliance, but these certificates generally only cover the electrical installation.
If a neighbour installs a solar system and it kills HF, there are two approaches. Point out to him or her that the installation is causing radio interference and that he should insist that his installer sorts out the problem. If that fails it is necessary to send a written complaint with details of the interference to the manager of the local ICASA office. ICASA is fully quipped to do the necessary test and advise the owner of the installation to have the problem seen to or switch off his system.
The addresses of the local ICASA managers can be found on http://www.sarl.org.za/public/licences/licences.asp. Please your copy your letter to the SARL at secretary@sarl.org.za and Chris, ZS6GM at chris@crturner.net and keep the SARL informed of progress of the complaint.
NEW RF SPECTRUM LICENSE FEES
During last week ICASA issued licence renewals for the 2023/24 licence year. Unfortunately, the notification to renew was sent out prematurely. At the time, the increase in fees had not been populated in the ICASA system and any invoice issued would have reflected an incorrect fee. The Authority therefore closed the renewal process. Any renewals paid on these notifications will be honoured by ICASA.
Licensees will receive another notification at the beginning of February in order for the renewal process to proceed. That annual increase is 6.9% and will be as follows: The fee for a one-year licence increases from R 166.00 to R 177.00; a two-year licence increases from R 317.00 to R 338.00; a three-year licence increases from R 455.00 to R 485.00; a four-year licence increases from R 579.00 to R 618.00 and a five-year licence increases from R 692.00 to R 738.00.
It is important to note that renewals need to be paid before Saturday 1 April 2023 as unpaid licences will expire after this date.
A Template - Constitution and Rules for an Amateur Radio Club - get a copy here
Ethics and Operating Procedure for the Radio Amateur EN IARU ed3 2 Jan 2009 - download your copy here. Ongelukkig is dit nog nie na Afrikaans vertaal nie.
South African VHF, UHF and Microwave Record Table. The latest table of records is available from the VHF SA Record page. Compiled and updated by Paul, ZS6NK - send your record claim to zssixnk@gmail.com
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SARL Next Generation Beacon fund stands at R30 150 - The crowd funding initiative to collect funds for the SARL next generation beacon programme was initiated by AMSAT SA. During the past week R2000 was received from two donors. The fund moved f past the half way mark which is still far short of the R60 000 target required to finance a beacon in the Karoo and the Western Cape.
AMSAT SA and the SARL thank all who have thus far contributed. Help us make it happen by making your donation to the fund. Visit www.amsatsa.org.za and make your contribution by clicking on one of the payment buttons for a R50, R250 or R1000 donation. The button will take you to the Payfast website where you need to enter your credit card details. Please also add your callsign after your surname.
Visit the Next Generation Beacon web page for article, videos, updates. and a list of donors Click here
The SARL Noise Floor Project - The presentation by Hans, ZS6AKV during the C7 - EMC meeting atthe Region 1 Virtual General Conference, can be seen here.
The IARUMS Region 1 Newsletters are available on iaru-r1.org and read it!
New Satellite Book now available - The new ARRL Amateur radio satellites for beginners is now available in South Africa. With the opening of e-commerce, Postnet is operating again and books can be sent to your nearest Postnet. You can make contacts through amateur radio satellites, and even with the International Space Station, using equipment you probably own right now! All it takes is the right information, which you will find in Amateur Radio Satellites for Beginners by Steve Ford
There are dozens of spacecraft in orbit just waiting for your signals, and more are being launched every year. This book is your guide to a whole new world of operating enjoyment.
Amateur Radio Satellites for Beginners will introduce you to new experiences that you may have thought were out of your reach. Start reading and discover how easy it can be! To order the book visit www.amateurradio.org.za. 115 pages plus index.
Guidelines for a non SARL member to use the SA-QSL system- Phone Kelley at NARC (011 675 2393) and check that your correct information is on the database – license number and e-mail address are important.
Click on SA-QSL system link (on the left-hand side of the web page) and then click on “Need to Register”. Follow the instructions on the screen. Your username and password will be e-mailed to you which you can use to logon in future.
SARL and not yet SARL Members are requested to check their Electronic QSLs on a regular basis.
2023 Advertising in Radio ZS and the SARL Web site
Radio ZS and the SARL web welcomes advertising, it is a source of information for readers. Send your advertisement to Dennis, ZS4BS at radiozs@sarl.org.za.
Advertising Rates (effective 1 January 2023)
Display (cameo) on home page and Radio ZS: R300 pm; R1 700 for 6 months; R3 000 per annum
Commercial Hamad on home page - R100 pm – R300 for 6 months – R700 per annum
Terms and conditions
All contract advertisements content may be changed monthly on 5 working day notice.
The rates are based on the complete supply of material in Jpeg unless otherwise negotiated. For artwork additional charges may apply as agreed. A design service is available at R400 per advertisement.
The content of the advertisements must comply with regulations and norms acceptable in South Africa
All advertisements are playable in advance by EFT to SA Radio League, ABSA, account no 4071 588 849 branch code 632 005.
All correspondence and material must be sent to radiozs@sarl.org.za
Examination
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