SARL NEWS SUNDAY 21 April 2013
You are listening to ZS6SRL, the official radio station of the South African Radio League, the national body for amateur radio in South Africa. The SARL broadcasts 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 'Amateur Radio Today' and follow the links for details. 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 e-mail.
Your newsreader this morning is (name and call sign), on 145,725 from Pretoria, with relays on 7,066 MHz and 3,695 MHz SSB. (Other news readers change to suit).
SILENT KEY
It is with regret that we have to announce that the key of of Andre Kellerman, ZS6ABZ, went silent on Tuesday last week.
Our sincerest condolences to Andres relatives and friends.
(PAUSE)
IN THE NEWS TODAY:
ARE YOU ATTENDING THE SARL AGM? IF NOT! HAVE A VOICE AND APPOINT A PROXY
SARL ANTENNA DEFENCE PROJECT
SARL TO ALSO GET A 472 kHz LICENSE
AMATEUR RADIO RESPONDS TO BOSTON MARATHON TERRORIST ATTACK
You are listening to ZS6SRL. Stay tuned for more details on these and other important and interesting items.
ARE YOU ATTENDING THE SARL AGM? IF NOT! HAVE A VOICE AND APPOINT A PROXY
The SARL Annual General Meeting takes place next weekend as part of the SARL National Convention which is being hosted by the West Rand Amateur Radio Club. It is important for members to attend the AGM on Saturday 27 April starting at 09:00, Registration opens at 08:00. Members who cannot attend the AGM should still have a voice and provide another SARL member with a proxy to represent them and vote on their behalf. The full agenda and motions are available on the member section of the web. Go to www.sarl.org.za and select members only at the top right hand of the landing page. Enter your pin code and follow the links.
A copy of the proxy form is also available on the SARL web landing page. Booking for the SANSA visit is now closed as it has been fully subscribed. No more bookings can be accepted. Bookings for the SARL AGM lunch and Annual Dinner can still be made until Tuesday 23 April 2013.
SARL ANTENNA DEFENCE PROJECT
The SARL Legal Adviser, Johann Marais, ZS1JM will make a presentation on the SARL Antenna Defence project at the AGM on 27 April 2013. Currently the antenna defence fund stands at R60 750. For details of who has contributed and how you can still contribute visit www.amateurradio.org.za/adf.htm.
ZS1JM reports that the team of experts have almost completed their research on the technical and legal situation governing antennas, national and especially the local authority regulations.
The research will now focus on the role of amateur radio as a dependable emergency means of communication as well as our community service roles (event communications and the most important role of Hamnet).
The team is also looking at exactly who do we need to address and approach with our representation to achieve the best results for all amateurs. As you will realise we need to work with municipalities, big and small but also rope in the national planning authorities and environmental affairs. At present only the department of environmental affairs acknowledge our special position by allowing a 15 metre antenna erected for a radio amateur not to be subject to an environmental impact assessment process.
SARL TO ALSO GET A 472 kHz LICENSE
The SARL has also secured a pilot license for experimentation on 472 kHz. The SARL has made payments for the two 5 MHz licenses and the 472 kHz and expect to receive the licenses during the coming week. A special web section is being created for the information of members. The final arrangements on how SARL members can take part in experimentations on 5 MHz and 472 kHz will be announced at the AGM next Saturday and published on the web next Sunday.
AMATEUR RADIO RESPONDS TO BOSTON MARATHON TERRORIST ATTACK
Some 250 radio amateurs were providing communications for the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15th, when a pair of bombs believed planted by a terrorist went off killing three onlookers and sending scores to local hospitals, some with very serious and life threatening injuries.
It is a day Paul Topolski, W1SEX, will never forget. He told Newsline he was working with the radio amateurs close to the finish line of the Boston Marathon and things were going well. And then, there was the first blast.
"I was in the net control trailer about 150 metres from where the blast was and then the second blast went off and we knew things were going to be brought to a halt. Net control immediately started doing a roll call and finding out where all our people were - exact locations and their condition, making sure that they were okay. And, as it turns out everyone was just fine and continuing operations. Instead of taking care of runners, we were now working with the medical people who were serving casualties from the incident itself," Topolski said.
For more on the communication support by radio amateurs at the Boston Marathon listen to Amateur Radio Today later this morning.
SA AMSAT SPACE SYMPOSIUM
Registration for the SA AMSAT space symposium to be held at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria is now open. With the generous sponsorship of Telkom, all persons attending the symposium will receive a CD with all the presentations and take part in the attendance prize draw. Details and registration forms are available on www.amsatsa.org.za.
RADIO ZS IN THE MAIL AND AVAILABLE ON THE WEB
The March/April edition is now available on the web and was posted a few days ago. In this edition you can read about, RaDAR and Mickey Mouse, a trip down memory by Brian Austin, ex ZS6BKW, My Portable Operating Box, Satellite Communications , Amateurradiohok in 'n sak,Playing with an Alex Loop magnetic antenna, The Bent Dipole, Kinky Amateur Radio, Rapid Deployment Amateur radio, The Beer Can Radio, Radio Scouting and the Museum.
YOUNG RADIO AMATEURS ARE INVITED TO BECOME INTERESTED IN VHF & THE SKA
Young radio amateurs are invited to become interested in VHF and the frequencies above including the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Radio amateurs started off on the medium frequencies with spark transmissions, then they were forced to relocate to the useless shorter wavelengths, the HF bands, where they pioneered world-wide DX operation via the F and the F2 layers and even explored the more useless "Ultra High Frequencies" above 56 MHz (5 metres).
As radio communications progressed throughout the years it was discovered that there were many different modes of propagation present on VHF, UHF and SHF that made long distances possible, including DX, EME, satellite and space communications. This is a great challenge for the younger generation of radio amateurs to explore the modern world of radio communications, and make their contribution to radio science.
Now that the SKA is under construction in South Africa, the instrument that will record the ancient Universe by radio, and use the fastest and most complex computer systems in the world, university students are advised to add Astronomy and/or Radio Astronomy to their curriculum. All this should encourage young radio enthusiasts to experiment on VHF, UHF and SHF too and help to create a new exciting amateur radio world of the future. After all it was a radio amateur Grote Reber, W9GFZ, at Wheaton, Illinois who originally mapped the radio sky on VHF (160 MHz) and became the first radio astronomer in the world.
PROPAGATION REPORT
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 40.
All the bands from 20 to 10 m will provide lots of DX fun with 20 m providing the best openings with 15 m not far behind. There will also be a few 10 m openings on sunlit paths.
Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.
DIARY OF EVENTS
Today onwards Book for the SA AMSAT annual space symposium in Pretoria at the Innovation Hub on Saturday 18 May 2012, visit www.amsatsa.org.za.
21 April - ARRL Rookie Roundup.
April 20-May 1 Commemorative station PB33BQ on the air, see pa7da.jouwweb.nl/pb33q for more information.
23 April Last day to book for SARL convention lunch and annual dinner on 27 April.
26- 27 April SARL National Convention, register now, get details on www.sarl.org.za.
15/16 June First weekend of International Museums Weekend special event, register your museum station at www.ukradioamateur.co.uk/imw.
22/23 June Second weekend of International Museums Weekend special event.
SARL News invites clubs and individuals to submit news items of interest to radio amateurs and short-wave 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 Today every Sunday morning at 10:00 CAT on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria area, with relays on 7 082, 7 025, and 17 570 kHz. There is also a podcast by ZS6RO. For a web-stream and Echolink by ZS6FCS, visit www.sarl.org.za, click on 'Amateur Radio Today', go down the green column and click on 'LISTEN ON THE WEB'. A repeat transmission can be heard on Mondays at 16:30 UTC on 3 230 kHz. Reception reports, comments and suggestions are invited. Send an email to artoday@sarl.org.za.
Sentech sponsors the transmissions on the non-amateur frequencies.
You have listened to a bulletin of the South African Radio League compiled and edited by George Honiball, ZS6NE.
Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
