SARL News Sunday 18 May 2014
Good morning and welcome, your news reader is .......... (your name, call sign and QTH where applicable) and you are tuned to ZS6SRL the official voice of the South African Radio League. The South African Radio League broadcasts a weekly news bulletin on HF and many VHF/UHF repeaters every Sunday morning at 08:15 Local time in Afrikaans and at 08:30 Local time in English. Listeners on Echolink may connect to ZS0JPL.
You may download an audio version of this bulletin by following the link on the front page of the South African Radio League website. While you are there, you may also obtain a text version of this bulletin. You may also sign up to receive future bulletins via e-mail.
Please note that you may in future obtain all the web addresses mentioned in the news from the printed version of the newscast.
Unfortunately we start this morning’s newscast with word of a silent key
It is with deep regret that the SARL have to inform members of the sad passing of Martin Holland, ZS1SM, also fondly known as "Stasie Meester". We will treasure the wonderful times, expeditions, the interviews and your amazing stories of the South African Railways! Condolences go to his wife Erna and his children.
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In the news today
Latest on the meeting between SARL and Icasa
Illegal traffic on the 10 m band removed
SA AMSAT Space symposium next week
== The latest meeting between the league and ICASA shed some light on a few burning questions. If you have not received your amateur radio license for this year do not panic. ICASA told the SARL at the quarterly liaison meeting this Friday past that is fully aware of the situation and is working on clearing the backlog. It may still be a few weeks before outstanding licenses will be mailed.
The meeting also set a date for the SARL - ICASA work group to meet to discuss the SARL road map to regulatory reform. Some of the agenda items include; power level issues, expansion of the 160 meter band and some administrative matters.
The SARL is currently updating it’s regulatory reform proposal document that was submitted and discussed with ICASA in December 2012.
Radio Amateurs wishing to make input to the document should email their input complete with motivation to artoday@sarl.org.za by Tuesday 20 May. Once approved the document will be available on the SARL website.
== Time is running out for those interested in attending the SA AMSAT Space symposium to be held next Saturday 24 May at the Innovation hub in Pretoria. This is an event that no serious radio amateur should miss. The event offers an exciting insight in to space and space communication with papers and demonstrations covering a wide range of subjects. The full program and booking form are available on the SA AMSAT website.
== The latest issue of the IARU Region 1 Monitoring System newsletter reports on action by UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom's Baldock Monitoring Station. This against an intruder in the 10 MHz band.
The report credits Peter Jost, HB9CET, as finding illegal fishery traffic on 10 point 123 MHz USB daily. After receiving the report, the Radio Society of Great Britain's Intruder Watch Coordinator, Chris Cummings, G4BOH, asked the Baldock Monitoring Station for Assistance. As a result, the
British Coast Guard contacted the offenders to tell them that their phone traffic was illegal. A few days later the frequency was clear.
== You are tuned to a bulletin of the South African radio league ZS6SRL read by ….. ………….. (name and callsign) and we now continue with news from the league
== Applications for membership of the SARL have been received from the following persons:
Riaan Viviers, ZSL1100;
Willem Erasmus ZSL1101;
Hannes Swanepoel ZSL1102;
Pete Bruno Ehmke ZSL1103;.
Any objections against the acceptance of the applications must reach the Secretary before or on the Tuesday after this bulletin.
Membership of the SARL currently stands at 1728
== The SARL has a vacancy for an office administrator and invites applications from suitably qualified candidates. The closing date for applications is Friday 23 May 2014. CV's and all inquiries should be sent to the secretary via e mail. Interviews will be arranged during the following week. Submitting a CV will not necessary qualify an applicant for an interview.
== The next SARL@home covering surface mount technology will be held at the National Amateur Radio Center on Saturday 7 June. This popular course will be presented by Frik Wolff, ZS6FZ. Booking is essential. Details can be found on the SARL website, follow the links from the home page.
== The Westrand Amateur radio club is hosting its next flea market 12:00 on Saturday 31 May 2014 at their clubhouse in Kroton street, Weltevredenpark, Roodepoort. Everybody is welcome. For more information contact Geoff ZS6C 082 546 5546.
== A HABEX meeting is scheduled for 21 May 2014 at 19:00 at Arrowe Park in Benoni. All interested parties are invited to attend the meeting.
HABEX will be partnering with House4Hack to launch a controlled glider from High Altitude. This is a South African First and promises to be an exciting endeavor.
For more information contact Chris ZS6COG at zs6cog@gmail.com
== The Kempton Park Amateur Radio Technical Society , and the Antique Wireless Associations combined flea market and open day event will take place this forthcoming Saturday 24 May 2014 from 08:00 onwards.
The venue is at the Impala Voortrekkers Centre, Rooibos Avenue, Allen Grove, Kempton Park. Please visit the KARTS website at www.zs6kts.co.za/ for directions to the venue.
This event promises to be a most interesting, enjoyable and memorable day. For table bookings or any queries, contact Selwyn, ZS6SEL, at 082 804 2782 or Nico, ZS6QL, at 083 269 9939.
KARTS and the AWA are looking forward to seeing you there!
== If you are into propagation research on the 60 meter band and you have not yet taken part in the activity weekend then The SARL 5MHz weekend promises to be an exciting opportunity to contribute to propagation research and have fun operating on this band. You may still teke part in this event this afternoon between 13:00 and 20:00 local time provided you are a SARL member and are registered for the 5 MHz band or you permanently reside outside South Africa. Finds out more on the SARL website by following the links from the home page.
== In contest news the international Day of the YL contest once again promises to be a fun event while encouraging YL activity on the bands. This contest takes place between 06:00 UTC and 18:00 UTC next Saturday 24 May on HF and VHF. Logs must be submitted by 26 May to the contest sponsors. See the printed version of this newscast for the web addresses Facebook links.
== The ZS3 Sprint was well supported on the 4th of May 2014. We received 18 logs from which four of them were used as controlled logs.
The results are as follows for the hour on the air:
1st: ZS3SVD, Sian van Deventer, 119 points.
2nd: ZS3JAN, Jan Jordaan, 90 points.
3rd: ZS4W, Warren Reilly, 78 points.
4th: ZS3Y, Volker Otto, 72 points.
The Northern Cape Amateur Radio Club thanks everybody that took part and send in their logs.
== On the HF front Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be at moderate levels. Sunspots AR2056, AR2060 and AR2063 all have a "beta-gamma" magnetic fields that harbor enough energy for M-class solar flares.
If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 94.
All the bands from 20 to 10 m will provide lots of DX fun with 15 m providing the best openings with 20 m not far behind.
Please visit the SANSA website for further information.
In this week’s diary of events
21 May HABEX meeting at Arrowe Park in Benoni for more info contact Chris ZS6COG
This Coming Saturday 24 May we have a few events: The SA AMSAT Space symposium at the Innovation hub in Pretoria and also the International YL day contest and also the combined KARTS and AWA flea market at the Impala Voortrekkers Centre, Rooibos Avenue, Allen Grove, Kempton Park
25 May the SARL digital contest between 15:00 and 18:00 local time, more information is available from the 2014 contest manual
31 May the West-rand Amateur radio club is hosting its flea market starting 12:00 at their clubhouse in Kroton street, Weltevredenpark, Roodepoort.
07 June SARL@Home at the NARC
08 June the ZS4 Sprint
More on these and other exiting events can be found on the SARL website
== To end this newscast we look at the top story this week: ICASA says that outstanding licenses will be mailed shortly and the date has been set for the next SARL and ICASA workshop.
== And that brings us to the end of this news bulletin compiled and edited by ________________
== The South African Radio League invites you to listen to Amateur Radio Today every Sunday morning at 10:00 local time on 145,750 MHz in the Pretoria area, and on the 145,650 network in Johannesburg with relays on 7 082, 7 205, and 17 660 kHz. There is a podcast by Dick, ZS6RO. For web-streaming and Echolink by Chris, 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. The website also lists various other retransmissions. Reception reports, comments and suggestions are invited. Send an email to artoday@sarl.org.za. Sentech sponsors the transmissions on the non-amateur frequencies.
== South African Radio League 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, no later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date.
You have listened to a bulletin of the South African Radio League compiled and edited by Dawie Conradie ZR6DHC
Thank you for listening, 73's
Web addresses mentioned in this bulletin
The SARL Website www.sarl.org.za
KARTS website www.zs6kts.co.za
Chris ZS6COG zs6cog@gmail.com
Secretary secretary@sarl.org.za
SA AMSAT www.amsatsa.org.za.
Contest Manual http://www.sarl.org.za/public/contests/contestrules.asp
SANSA site spaceweather.sansa.org.za
