SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE NEWS SUNDAY 14 DECEMBER 2014
Good morning and welcome! You are tuned to a news broadcast of the South African Radio League read by .....................................................(Name, call sign and QTH).
You can tune to the South African Radio League news broadcast on Sunday mornings at 08:15 central African time in Afrikaans and at 08:30 central African time in English on HF and on many VHF and UHF repeaters around the country. Echolink listeners can connect to ZS0JPL for a relay. A podcast is available from the South African Radio League web site.
This audio bulletin can be downloaded from the South African Radio League website at www.sarl.org.za. You will find this bulletin and previous bulletins in text format under the news link on the left-hand side of the webpage. While you are there, you can sign up to receive future bulletins by e-mail.
We unfortunately have to start this morning’s bulletin with news of a silent key:
It is with deep regret that we have to announce the passing of Alan Smith, ZS1AAX, on Thursday 11 December 2014. Allan was a member of the South African Radio League for over 50 years. He was a past chairman of the Cape Town ARC and the Cape Town Branch of the South African Radio League before that.
We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Kay, family and friends.
PAUSE
In the news today:
THE DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO THE RADIO REGULATIONS PUBLISHED
A NEW NAME PROPOSED FOR THE RTA AND A CALL FOR PAPERS
AMATEUR RADIO FEATURES PROMINENTLY IN THE ITU SSDM INITIATIVE
and
THE FORTHCOMING PEARS NATIONAL VHF/UHF CONTEST IS FOUR WEEKS FROM NOW
Our leading story this morning
** The draft amendments to the radio regulations have been published. ICASA has published draft amendments to the radio regulations that were originally published on 31 March 2011. The amendments will influence Amateur Radio. ICASA is following a consultative process inviting comments on the draft by 13 February 2015. It is expected that the final revised regulations will be gazetted at the start of ICASA's financial year on 1 April 2015.
Some of the impact on radio amateurs is the increase in power on certain bands,limiting the age of ZU licensees to 25, which means that when a ZU license holder reaches 25 years of age the license will be cancelled and amendments to who may be in possession of a continuous tuning receiver above 30 MHz.
The South African Radio League will be studying the draft amendments and invites radio amateurs to do the same and send their comments to sarlregwg@sarl.org.za by 15 January 2015 for consideration by the League council when finalising the South African Radio League comments to ICASA.
** The Radio Technology in Action will get a new name and new look in 2015 with more focus on practical application and presentations on operating activities. The proposed new name is Hamradio Africa 2015
The proposed dates for Hamradio Africa 2015 are Cape Town 6 June, Durban 25 July, Johannesburg22 Augustand Pretoria 19 September. 5 September has tentatively been set aside for Port Elizabeth pending discussions with PEARS to boost attendance at the PE event.
Proposals and papers are now called for at two levels, a national presentation, in other words the paper is presented at all venues and local papers for presentation at the local venue where the author resides. Send a brief synopsis of the paper and indicate local or national. Authors submitting proposals for national papers should indicate if they require South African Radio League funding or can find their own sponsorship for travel and accommodation. Send proposal to rta@sarl.org.za to reach the organisers by 31 December 2015.
Your comments and suggestions on the name Hamradio Africa 2015 are also invited
** Amateur Radio Features prominently in the ITU SSDM Initiative. The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) through President Tim Ellam,VE6SH/G4HUA, is a founding Advisory Board member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Smart Sustainable Development Model (SSDM) Initiative.
The Initiative aims to create actions necessary to deploy the crucial telecommunications infrastructure that contribute to giving rapid assistance in case of natural disasters and could be used as a working tool to foster economic and social development, providing community telecommunication services where people can have access to education, health or best practices in any particular field.
The extra-ordinary meeting of the Advisory Board took place on 6 December 2014, a day before the ITU Telecom World 2014 event in Doha, Qatar. At this meeting, the Advisory Board announced the results of the work that has been conducted by its working groups. The meeting focused on the launch of the final report just before ITU Telecom World 2014, which provided an excellent opportunity to advocate for the critical role of ICTs in saving lives and sustainable development. The IARU played a key role in both the development of the final report and in its launch on 6 December.
The initiative targets on one hand ICT4D and deployment of the crucial telecommunications infrastructure that will bridge the gaps and challenges hindering the ability of countries to leverage science, technology, innovation and culture for sustainable development. On the other hand, it targets at ICT4DM since ICTs play a critical role in the immediate aftermath of disasters. They ensure the timely flow of vital information that is much needed by government agencies and other humanitarian actors involved in rescue operations and assisting people in need. Moreover, integrating ICTs in disaster prediction, detection and alerting would ensure the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction as well as adaptation to climate change. Despite the efforts being made in this field, more remains to be done and achievements could have a greater impact if a de-fragmented approach is adopted by combining and crowdsourcing experiences.
The Amateur Radio Services feature prominently in the report, which will be available on the South African Radio League web in the next few days.
You are listening to a bulletin of the South African Radio League
** The updating of repeater and beacon information.The South African Radio League would like to thank all the clubs and custodians of various repeaters for the feedback received concerning the updating of repeater information on the database of unmanned devices. Devices indicated as "operational" have now been updated.
The next step is to update all devices that are indicated as "Suspended" or "Planned.” The South African Radio League is currently liaising with the individual clubs and custodians.
** Sporadic-E from Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia or further north in December and January.Turn your 50 MHz beam north from 12:00 CAT (noon) until about 14:00 CAT and look for V5, Z2, 9J or DX stations further north. It has been known for a long time that unlike South Africa, the countries further north do experience regular Sporadic-E openings during the Es season in December and January. When the Band 1 TV stations were still on the air from Gweru and Kabwe, their FM sound channels were received almost daily at S9 plus in Port Elizabeth on 53,750 MHz and 53,760 MHz respectively. Since Es signals are very strong, even low power stations can be effective.
** The forthcoming PEARS National VHF/UHF contest is four weeks from now. There are several interesting innovations in this contest. The prohibition of spotting or any other form of liaison during a VHF contest is being rescinded. This is in line with the new ARRL proposals when they discovered that many more long distance contacts could be made when it is known when and in what direction "DX" amateurs are transmitting.
Another innovation is the introduction of a 144,400 MHz FM category with simple rules to inspire beginners as well as old-timers to experience the excitement of a VHF contest or just to have fun and promote VHF activity. Sponsors have been approached in the different divisions to donate a prize for this category to the winner in their respective divisions. The list of sponsors will be published on the VHF Forum.
** In the HF propagation report today, Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity will at moderate levels. Active region 2230 has a complex magnetic configuration and may produce M-class solar flares. If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected effective sunspot number for the week will be around 118.
The 20 to 10 m bands will provide many openings with 15 m especially providing lots of DX fun on sunlit paths. Please visit the website spaceweather.sansa.org.za for further information.
** And now the diary of events
1 to 31 December - Youth on the Air with ZS9YOTA
14 December - ARRL 10 meter contest
15 December –yourinput to the South African Radio League on the national integrated ICT policy discussion document
31 December – your proposals for papers for Hamradio Africa 2015 to rta@sarl.org.za
1 January 2015 – ZS90SARL goes on the air
15 January 2015 – your input to the South African Radio League about the draft amendments to the radio regulations
16 to 18 January 2015 – PEARS National VHF/UHF Contest
To end this bulletin, a quick recap of the leading story:
** The draft amendments to the radio regulations has been published. ICASA has published draft amendments to the radio regulations that were originally published on 31 March 2011. The amendments will influence Amateur Radio. ICASA is following a consultative process inviting comments on the draft by 13 February 2015. It is expected that the final revised regulations will be gazetted at the start of ICASA's financial year on 1 April 2015.
The South African Radio League will be studying the draft amendments and invites radio amateurs to do the same and send their comments to sarlregwg@sarl.org.za by 15 January 2015 for consideration by the League council when finalising the South African Radio League comments to ICASA.
** You are invited to submit news items of interest to the South African Radio League by following the news inbox link on the South African Radio League webpage. News items for inclusion in the bulletin, should reach the news team no later than the Thursday preceding the bulletin date.
You may join us every Sunday morning for the weekly amateur radio magazine program Amateur Radio Today at 10:00 Central African Time. The programme may be heard on VHF and UHF repeaters countrywide and on 7 082 kHz lower side-band and on 7 205 kHz and 17 760 kHz AM. There is also a podcast by Dick, ZS6RO. A rebroadcast may be heard on Monday evenings at 18:30 Central African Time on 4 895 kHz AM. We welcome your signal reports, comments and suggestions; send it in an e-mail to artoday@sarl.org.za. Sentech sponsors the radio transmissions on the non-amateur frequency bands.
You have listened to a news bulletin compiled byDennis Green, ZS4BS ,edited by …………………………………and read by ................................................
Thank you for listening and from the entire news team, best wishes for the week ahead, 73's.
/EX
