SARL NEWS SUNDAY 21 June 2009
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 webstream, 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 subscribe to receive future bulletins by e-mail.
Your news reader this morning is (name), (call sign), on 145,725 and 7,066 MHz from Pretoria, with relays on 28,325, 14,235, 10,130, 7,066 and 3,695 MHz SSB, as well as 52,750, 438,825 and 1 296 MHz FM in the Pretoria area. (Other newsreaders please change to suit).
In the news today
YOUTH SPRINT A GREAT SUCCESS
WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO TECHNOLOGY?
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
MYSTERY OF THE MISSING SUNSPOTS
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more detail on these and other important and interesting news items.
YOUTH SPRINT A GREAT SUCCESS
The Youth Day Sprint was a great success. Extending the period to two hours compared to last year's one hour event proved very popular. The 40 metre band was very active right to the last contest minute. Logs are still coming in as well as entries in the photographic competition. Please ensure that your photographic entries are in a hi-res format, at least 300 dpi. Files will typically be one two Meg or larger. Do not reduce the file size. The entries must be depicting youth engaged in amateur radio activity.
WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO TECHNOLOGY?
If you have a technical or an operating question about amateur radio send an email to elmer@sarl.org.za. Councillor Fred Scheepers, ZS1FCS, will channel your question to a person best equipped to answer your question. Questions covering all aspect of amateur radio are invited.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscription invoices were sent by email a few weeks ago. Subscriptions are due on 30th June and your early remittance will be appreciated. All subscriptions paid before the end of August will enjoy a discount as indicated on your invoice. Thanks to all members who have already paid their 2009/2010 membership fees and a special thanks to members who have included an additional donation. Your support is much appreciated.
If you are not a member of the SARL yet, consider joining now. It is so much better to be part of something than standing on the outside of the circle and looking in. By joining, you not only support the national body by giving it more muscle power to negotiate with the authorities but you are also benefiting your club. Current issues that the SARL is working on with the relative authorities include the upgrading of the CEPT relationship, the issue of Power Line Telecommunication standards, proposed increases in licence fees, operating privileges in SADC countries, the revision of the table of allocations to consider inclusion of an allocation around 5 MHz and full access to the 160 metre band and streamlining of the ZR to ZS upgrading process.
Visit www.sarl.org.za for subscription details and application forms.
MYSTERY OF THE MISSING SUNSPOTS
The sun is in the pits of a century-class solar minimum, and sunspots have been puzzlingly scarce for more than two years. Now, for the first time, solar physicists might understand why.
At an American Astronomical Society press conference on 17 June in Boulder, Colorado, researchers announced that a jet stream deep inside the sun is migrating slower than usual through the star's interior, giving rise to the current lack of sunspots.
Rachel Howe and Frank Hill of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson, Arizona, used a technique called helioseismology to detect and track the jet stream down to depths of 7 000 km below the surface of the sun. The sun generates new jet streams near its poles every 11 years, they explained. The streams migrate slowly from the poles to the equator and when a jet stream reaches the critical latitude of 22 degrees, new-cycle sunspots begin to appear.
Read more on www.sarl.org.za
CONTEST NEWS
The results of the AWA SSB Valve QSO Party posted last week were incorrect. The following are the results of the SSB section:
1st Place Jan, ZS4JAN, 282 Points;
2nd Place Rad, ZS6RAD, 276 Points;
3rd Place Theunis, ZS2EC, 80 Points.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused. The AM results were correct as posted.
UPDATED SARL DIGITAL PSK CONTEST RULES
The SARL Digital takes place on the 28th June. Please take notice of the following updates to the rules of this contest:
Note the operating DIAL frequency per band.
Your choice of power, QRO / QRP , must be used on all bands.
The station with the highest score, regardless of category, will receive a certificate sponsored by LARK, the Lichtenburg Amateur Radio Club.
1. Aim:
To establish as many contacts as possible between Radio amateurs in Southern Africa using the PSK mode.
The contest is open to all licensed amateurs in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Madagascar, St Helena Island, Tristan da Cunha and Gough, Marion and Prince Edward Islands, South African Antarctica, Mayotte Island, Comoro islands, Reunion and Mauritius Islands and their associated islands.
2. Date And Time
The last Sunday of June [28 June 2009] from 13:00 UTC to 16:00 UTC [15:00 to 18:00 CAT].
3. Bands (All USB)
HF
80 m [3,580 MHz];
40 m [7.035 MHz];
20 m [14,070 MHz].
VHF (Horizontally polarised);
6 m [50,250 MHz];
2 m [144,250 MHz].
UHF (Horizontally polarised);
70 cm [432,088 MHz].
4. Categories
SOSB-HP: Single operator, Single Band, High Power. Those stations at which one performs all of the operating, logging and spotting functions. The output power shall not exceed 100 W.
SOAB-HP: Single Operator, All Bands, High Power. Those stations at which one performs all of the operating, logging and spotting functions. Only one signal is allowed at any one time. The operator may change bands at any time. The output power shall not exceed 100 W.
SOSB-LP: Single operator, Single Band, Low Power. Those stations at which one performs all of the operating, logging and spotting functions. The output power shall not exceed 5 W.
SOAB-LP: Single Operator, All Bands, Low Power. Those stations at which one performs all of the operating, logging and spotting functions. Only one signal is allowed at any one time. The operator may change bands at any time. The output power shall not exceed 5 W.
Short Wave Listener (SWL)
5. Exchange
NAME plus GRID SQUARE (6 Characters , eg KG33bu).
6. Points
Bands Score = (Number of QSO's) X (Number of Pre-fixes);
Total Score = (80 m score) + (40 m score) + (20 m score) + (VHF/UHF score).
7. Multiplier
Power multiplier (5 for < 5 W) (1 for 5 W and more).
8.Scoring
The final score is the result of the total QSO points ("Total score") multiplied by 5 if QRP (< 5W).
9. Sponsor
Lichtenburg ARC, PO Box 410, Lichtenburg, 2740.
E-mail: zs6bne@nwinternet.za.org.
10. Closing date for log submission: 13 July 2009.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be very low. The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly at quiet levels. The expected Effective Sun Spot number for the coming week will be less than 5. This past weak the visible solar disk only had a single, very small sunspot that has since decayed. The solar disk is expected to remain blank for some time.
With the winter here less energy from the sun is reaching the Southern ionosphere and it is having an impact on propagation. 15, 17 and 20 m will provide best opportunities for DX. Conditions to the East and the West will be good from the afternoon onwards. During the late afternoon and early evenings it will be good towards the North. Early in the morning it may be possible to make contacts with Australia and New-Zealand. During the evening 40 m contacts may be possible with Brazil. The North Easterly, North Westerly, South Easterly and South Westerly paths will be challenging. Long path propagation towards the USA is also possible during the afternoons.
10 MHz is looking promising late afternoon and after dark for the CW and digital enthusiasts.
Local conditions are going to be good on 40 m during the day time. 80 m may perform well during the early mornings and late afternoons over the shorter distances, e.g. between ZS5 and ZS6. 30 m may perform well during the middle of the day between ZS6 and ZS1.
80 m is the frequency of choice in the evenings. Unfortunately the static noise levels are still a bit high making contacts over the longer distances a bit challenging.
Some exciting news is that the Northern California DX Foundation international beacon network is monitored at the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, ZS1HMO, and the signal strengths of the received beacons are automatically logged. The graphic results are available at http://spaceweather.hmo.ac.za and are very enlightening. Select "Ionospheric Data" and then "HF Propagation Conditions" to see which beacons were recently and not so recently received.
Remember that this is only a prediction and that HF has the capability to pleasantly surprise you, but you will never know unless you switch your rig on, listen and also call CQ.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
21 June – End of 160 m QSO party;
17 to 21 June – SARL 160 m-QSO-party;
27 June - Magalies Radio Amateur Club flea market, phone Thomas, at 082 802 8878 for reservation of a table at R20 each;
28 June – Digital competition and Intechnet;
13 July – Closing date for submission of logs for the SARL Digital Contest.
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. Please do not send news items to the Office Administrator or one of the bulletin compilers – an item sent that way might be missed and not be included in a bulletin.
The SARL also invites you to listen to the Amateur Radio Mirror International programme every Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria area, with relays on 7 082, 7 205 and 17 570 kHz. There is also a podcast by ZS6RO. For the webstream and Echolink by ZS6FCS, visit www.sarl.org.za, click on 'ARMI' and follow the links. A repeat transmission can be heard 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 George, ZS6NE.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
