SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 6 JUNE 2010

You are listening to ZS6SRL, the official radio station of the South African Radio League, the national body for amateur radio in South Africa, with a news bulletin every Sunday at 08:15 CAT in Afrikaans and at 08:30 CAT in English. To listen to a web stream, visit www.sarl.org.za, click on ARMI and follow the links for details. PLEASE NOTE: for audio via Echolink, connect to ZS0JPL-R.

You can download this bulletin and previous ones from www.sarl.org.za and also subscribe there to receive future bulletins by email.

Your newsreader this morning is (name), (call sign), on 145,725 and 7,066 MHz from Pretoria, with relays on 10,130, 7,066 and 3,695 MHz SSB.

SILENT KEY

It is with deep regret that we announce the passing away of Peter Jackson, ZS1MWH, on 1 June.

We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Ruth, family and friends.

PAUSE

In the news today:

URGENT HAMNET MEETING TO DISCUSS SOCCER WORLD CUP ARRANGEMENTS

MAY 2010 RAE RESULTS

RADIO TECHNOLOGY-IN-ACTION 2010 TO HEAD FOR THE WESTERN CAPE

INTERNATIONAL EME CONFERENCE IN DALLAS, TEXAS

You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more detail on these and other important and interesting news items.

URGENT HAMNET MEETING TO DISCUSS SOCCER WORLD CUP

Hamnet Gauteng South has scheduled an urgent meeting on Wednesday the 9th of June at 18:00 at the National Amateur Radio Centre at Radiokop to finalise the arrangements and protocol regarding the Soccer World Cup.

The meeting is scheduled for 18:00 and all those who are willing to participate and assist are welcome. All non-Hamnet members who are capable of 2 m mobile communication are also welcome to attend.

We look forward to a good turnout.

MAY 2010 RAE RESULTS

The SARL is pleased to announce the May 2010 RAE results are now on the SARL website. You can locate it by accessing the Licensing RAE registration page and then click on RAE results.

Please note: Although we have released the RAE results, we withheld all call signs until confirmation for the reservation of the call signs have been finalised.

There are a number of candidates that have not yet completed their HF assessment. To assist those in the Johannesburg area, a special HF assessment will be held on 19 June at 08:00 at the NARC. Please make an effort to attend this if yours is still outstanding.

Congratulations to all candidates that have passed. To those that did not make it, do not give up; you’ll have a chance to re-write your exam in October.

YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE AIR

Two Voortrekker camps are planned for the coming school holidays, one at Sedgefield and another at Hartenbos in the Southern Cape. The Voortrekkers will operate an amateur radio station with the call sign ZS1VTS from 12 to 26 June under the supervision of Johan, ZS6JPL.The station will be active on HF as well as on VHF and UHF.

RADIO TECHNOLOGY-IN-ACTION 2010 HEADED FOR THE WESTERN CAPE

Following the successful RTA symposium in Durban, the next event will be held in the Western Cape at the Bellville Campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Diarise Saturday 24 July. It is an event not to be missed.

INTERNATIONAL EME CONFERENCE IN DALLAS TEXAS

The North Texas Microwave Society will host the 14th International EME Conference in Dallas, Texas, on 12 - 14 August. This is the first time the conference is to be held in the US since 2004. Whether you are an experienced EME enthusiast or new to EME, the conference will offer a wide range of technical, social and sight-seeing activities.

Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR, President and Chief Executive Officer of FlexRadio, will be the lunchtime speaker on Friday, 13 August, and Nobel laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, will speak about the 432 MHz EME event at Arecibo on Saturday, 14 August.

Presentations will include a noise figure workshop hosted by Al Ward, W5LUA, Tommy Henderson, WD5AGO, and Tony Emmanuel, WA8RJF. An EME demonstration by Paul Perryman, WA5WCP, and exhibits featuring a number of dealers are also on the programme.

ARE YOU INNOVATIVE?

Radio amateurs and technologists are invited to submit projects that will invigorate amateur radio – whether it is software development, amateur radio and the Internet, the development of compact HF antennas for flat- or complex dwellers, or innovation in Emergency Communication.

"Innovation in Amateur Radio" is an 18-month project by the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust (SAARDT) aimed at promoting innovation in Amateur Radio. "While Amateur Radio is one of the oldest, and still the most rewarding of all scientific hobbies, there comes a time when one has to look at innovation, fresh ideas and new technologies to keep activities relevant and exciting." This is the view of Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, a technologist and a member of the Board of Trustees of SAARDT. Hannes was one of the principal architects of the Amateur Radio payload on SumbandilaSat, which is attracting wide interest amongst radio amateurs world-wide.

Visit www.amateurradio.org.za to find out how you can win an Icom IC7200.

SUBSCRIPTION TIME

It only happens once a year, and that time has come. Subscriptions for 2010/2011 membership of the SARL are now due and invoices have been mailed. Please check the details on the invoice and correct it if necessary. When making your payment please include your name and call sign. Renewing your membership of the SARL signifies the importance of amateur radio to you. If you are not a member yet, now a good time to join. Get all the details at www.sarl.org.za.

ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE AMATEUR RADIO ON 16 JUNE 2010

Clubs and individual radio amateurs are encouraged to set up stations in public areas such as shopping malls to celebrate Youth Day 2010. It is a great opportunity to demonstrate amateur radio as the greatest of all scientific hobbies and a great opportunity to encourage the youth to take up careers in electronics and communication.

In last week's SARL News, Gerhard Coetzee, ZS3TG, said that with the Soccer World Cup in full swing and the schools on holiday, Radio Amateurs have a unique opportunity to celebrate Youth Day on 16 June with the SARL Sprint and give South Africa's young a taste of Amateur Radio by means of hands-on experience.

There are many prizes to be won during the sprint, as well as lucky-draw prizes for all who submit a log with a minimum of 10 entries. Clubs setting up stations are requested to send details to armi@sarl.org.za for inclusion in media releases to be handled by the SARL PIO Network.

Full details of the event are available at www.sarl.org.za – on the home page click on ‘youth activity’. Individual radio amateurs are invited to ‘adopt’ young people for the day and invite them into the shack to operate under your supervision.

ZS3 SPRINT RESULTS

The ZS3 Sprint was fortunate to receive 21 contest logs and seven check logs. The results are as follows:
1st - ZS3SVD, Sian van Deventer with 144 points;
2nd - ZS3JLR, Jaco le Roux – 119, and
3rd - ZS4JAN, Jan Botha with 114 points.

The winners’ certificates will be mailed soon and the detailed results will be available in ‘HF Happenings’. Thank you to everybody that participated in the ZS3 Sprint.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is still at low levels. Sunspot 1 076 is growing well. The effective sunspot number is expected to be less than 10 for the coming week.

20 m will provide the best opportunities for DX, followed by 15 and 17 m. Conditions to India will be good from the afternoon onwards. During the late afternoons and early evenings conditions will be good towards Europe. Contacts with the USA are still challenging. Contacts with Australia and New Zealand will also be challenging. During the afternoons and evenings 20 m contacts may also be possible with Brazil, although conditions are becoming somewhat challenging.

Local conditions will be excellent during the daytime on 40 m. With the change of seasons, 30 m has taken over from 20 m for contacts over the longer distances during the middle of the day. The decrease in static levels on 80 m makes it the best frequency for the shorter distances and also during the early mornings and late afternoons. 80 m is the frequency of choice during the evenings.

Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.

DIARY OF EVENTS

9 June - Urgent Hamnet World Cup Soccer meeting;
12 - 26 June - ZS1VTS from Voortrekker camps on the air;
16 June - Youth Day celebrations and the SARL Sprint;
19 June – HF assessing at 08:00 at the NARC;
26 June - VHF indaba at the NARC commencing at 12:00;
18 July - Intechnet at 19:30 on VHF/UHF/MICROWAVE matters;
24 July - RTA symposium in Cape Town;
12-14 August – International EME Conference, Dallas, Texas;
21 August - RTA symposium in Port Elizabeth;
31 August - Closing date for submission of proposals for the 2011 SARL Contest Manual;
18 September - RTA symposium in Gauteng;
30 September - closing date for phase 1 of the Innovation Project.

SARL News invites clubs and individuals to submit news items of interest to radio amateurs and shortwave listeners. Submit news items, if possible, in both English and Afrikaans to www.sarl.org.za/newsinbox.asp, not later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date.

The SARL also invites you to listen to Amateur Radio Mirror International every Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria-area, with relays on 7 082, 7 205 and 17 560 kHz. There is also a podcast by ZS6RO. For a web stream and Echolink by ZS6FCS, visit www.sarl.org.za, click on 'ARMI' and follow the links. A repeat transmission can be heard on Mondays at 21:00 CAT on 3 215 kHz. Sentech sponsors the ARMI transmissions on the non-amateur frequencies.

You have listened to a bulletin of the South African Radio League, compiled by Leon, ZS4V, and edited by Jannie, ZR6PHD.

Thank you for listening.

73.