SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 3 JANUARY 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 subscribe to receive future bulletins by e-mail.

Your newsreader 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:

SARL NEWS NEEDS EDITORS

SUMBANDILASAT SO67 POWER REDUCED

BACAR TO LAUNCH IN THE WESTERN CAPE

MOTIONS FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

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

SARL NEWS NEEDS EDITORS

SARL News is compiled weekly by a very small team of editors working in
pairs. The news editor compiles the SARL News in English and Afrikaans
from news items received from clubs and individual radio amateurs as
well as other news sources. The language editor then checks the
consistency, grammar and style of both versions. Both language versions
are then sent to George Honiball, ZS6NE, who casts a final eye and
arranges the distribution and posting on the SARL web.

Editors are needed in all departments to ensure that the SARL News
continues to run efficiently. With more editors the work load can be
shared. Editing comprises about three hours weekly every third or
fourth month.

To volunteer, please e-mail George to or call him on
012 664 4155.

SUMBANDILASAT SO67 POWER REDUCED

In order to conserve power for other operations on SumbandilaSat, the
ground control team have reduced the power of the transponder carrying
amateur radio to 2,5 W. First reports from stations in Australia
indicate that the reduction is hardly noticeable and that the signals
remain stronger than most other amateur radio satellites.

Availability of the ZS0SUM payload will be during daylight hours when
the satellite is in full sunlight. The actual schedule is published on
www.amsatsa.org.za.

MOTIONS FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Motions for submission and consideration at the AGM of the SARL on 24
April 2010 are invited from members.

Each motion must contain the following:

1. A concise description of the motion; and 2. A motivation in support
of the motion.

A proposer and seconder must sign each motion.

Motions must reach the Secretary by no later than Sunday 31 January
2010. Motions must be addressed to The Secretary, SARL and mailed to PO
Box 1721, Strubensvallei, 1735, or faxed to 011 675 2393.

DECEMBER A RECORD SUNSPOT MONTH

2009 ended with a flurry of sunspots. The month of December has had
more "spotted days" than any previous month of the year by a
significant margin, and all of the month's sunspot groups were part of
the new Solar Cycle 24. Could this herald an end to the deepest solar
minimum in nearly a century? Keep up to date by visiting
spaceweather.com. Have you worked any good DX lately? Drop us a line
with your DX log at .

FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE SA AMSAT SPACE SYMPOSIUM

This is the first call for papers for the 2010 SA AMSAT Space Symposium
to be held at the University of KwaZulu-Natal on 27 March 2010. Visit
www.amasatsa.org for more detail.

HOME CONSTRUCTION COURSE

Book now for the Durban and Port Elizabeth events. There is only one
space left for the Cape Town event on 23 January 2010. There are still
spaces available in Durban and Port Elizabeth. Book now to avoid
disappointment. Full details and a booking form can be found on
www.sarl.org.za; select 'Activities' and then 'RTA' and navigate from
there. If you have booked for the Cape Town course, your name will
appear on the RTA pages. Please check and if your name is not there,
send an e-mail to .

BACAR TO LAUNCH IN THE WESTERN CAPE

The first flight of BACAR 2010 is planned for Sunday 24 January. The
payload will be multifunctional and include a 20- and 40 m SSB
transceiver, a 2 m parrot repeater, a 2 m Doppler beacon, equipped with
a GPS, as well as a camera. SARL News and www.amsatsa.org.za will carry
regular updates.

ZS10WCS JANUARY IS FREE STATE MONTH

During January 2010, the Vrystaat Amateur Radio Club will host the
ZS10WCS call sign. If you have not worked the special event station,
here is another opportunity.

CLUBS INVITED TO SUBMIT NOMINATIONS FOR SARL AWARDS

Radio clubs and individual radio amateurs are invited to submit
nominations for the various SARL awards recognising radio amateurs for
excellence in various aspects of the hobby. Clubs will receive a SARL
letter in their mailboxes with details. The SARL letter can also be
downloaded from www.sarl.org.za, click on 'News' and select 'Clubtalk'.


THREE GOOD REASONS TO JOIN THE SARL

There are many good reasons why a radio amateur should join the SARL.
You can join now at R200 for the next six months and receive Radio ZS
and all the other benefits, such as reduced rates for attending the
various courses presented by the SARL. Coming up this year are, for
example, the PIC and the Home Construction courses in PE and Durban.
Look at www.amateurradio.org.za/threereasons.jpg to see why you cannot
afford to stay outside the SARL! To join, find details at
www.sarl.org.za and click on 'Membership'.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is still at low
levels. 2009 ended with a decent amount of sunspot activity. December
accumulated a total of 22 'spotted' days. Current predictions are that
sunspots will become a non-stop daily occurrence up to February 2010.
The effective sunspot number is expected to be between 10 and 15 for
the coming week. Overall conditions are on the rise.

15 and 20 m will provide the best opportunities for DX. Conditions to
India will be good from the afternoon onwards. During the late
afternoon and early evenings, it will be moderate towards Europe. In
the afternoon there is a good possibility of contacts with the USA on
15 m. Contacts with New Zealand will be possible for a short while on
15 and 20 m during the mornings. Contacts with Australia will be
probable on 20 m for a short while during the mornings and the
afternoons. During the afternoons and evenings 15 and 20 m contacts may
also be possible with Brazil.

Local conditions will be good on 40 m during the day time. 80 m may
also perform well during the early mornings and late afternoons over
the shorter distances. 30 m will perform well over the longer distances
during the middle of the day. With summer here, 20 m is also once again
very useful for contacts over the longer distances, especially during
the mornings. 80 m is the frequency of choice in the evenings.

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

DIARY OF EVENTS

15 to 17 January 2010 - PEARS VHF/UHF Contest; 23 January - Home
Construction course in Cape Town; 24 January - BACAR launch in the
Western Cape; 31 January - President's net at 19:30; 31 January -
Closing date for AGM motions; 28 February - New closing date for the
SumbandilaSat essay competition; 28 February - Final date for entries
in the ARRISS-SAT project to be submitted to ; 27
March - 2010 SA AMSAT Space Symposium.

To end SARL News today, the first of 2010, we would like to extend our
best wishes for the year ahead. The SARL President, Rassie Erasmus,
ZS1YT, and the Councillors of the SARL join the SARL News team in
wishing you a prosperous and joyful new year.

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 17 860 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 Dennis, ZS4BS/6, and edited by Jannie, ZR6PHD.

Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX