SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 18 JULY 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 also 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 10,130, 7,066 and 3,695 MHz
SSB.

SILENT KEYS

It is with deep regret that we must announce that two radio amateurs
became silent keys recently. They a Gert Bester, ZS6ZB, became
silent key on 10 July 2010 and Ben Pieters, ZR6BFW, on 17 July. Ben was
a member of the Kempton Amateur Radio Technical Society.

We extend our sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the
deceased.

(PAUSE)

In the news today:

AMATEUR RADIO MIRROR INTERNATIONAL TO MOVE TO A LATER MONDAY SLOT

CONSTRUCTION KIT BLUES

SUMBANDILASAT - SO 67 MORE SA PASSES PLANNED

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

AMATEUR RADIO MIRROR INTERNATIONAL TO MOVE TO A LATER MONDAY SLOT

The Monday repeat transmission of Amateur Radio Mirror International
will move to a later time slot, one hour later. The new time is 20:05
UTC or 22:05 CAT, the frequency remains 3 215 kHz. The change was
necessary as Sentech has no antenna available due to repeated cable
theft which is requiring major maintenance to be carried out on
antennas and feeders.

Reception reports are urgently required. Please send your report to
.

CONSTRUCTION KIT BLUES

The SARL has experienced many delays in the supply of some components
required for the three construction kits on offer and has not been able
to deliver kits at the RTA. To accommodate everyone it has been decided
to offer the kits on mail order as well as making them available at
future Radio Technology in Action 2010 events. The kits are now
expected to be available from mid August. Orders paid for at the RTA
will be delivered free of charge. New orders will require an additional
R20 for packing and postage. More details will be announced in SARL
News and on the RTA web page soon.

SUMBANDILASAT - SO 67 MORE SA PASSES PLANNED

SA AMSAT has announced that' after consultation with the CSIR Satellite
Application Centre (SAC), more passes over South Africa will be
scheduled. During the week these passes will be in the evening and on
weekends during the day and on some evenings. If you are scheduling a
special event at a school a special morning pass can be scheduled on
request by sending an email to at least 2 weeks
prior to the event. More details about passes over other areas will be
announced soon.

Hans, ZS6AKV, will present a paper at the AMSAT UK Satellite Colloquium
next Sunday and discuss how best to accommodate other parts of the
world on SO 67.

INTECNET WINNER IS ZS1DE

The winner of the 2 Gb memory stick is ZS1DE. He reported to the Cape
Town relay by Henry Chamberlain, ZS1AAZ.

ARRL CEO PRESENTED WITH "BPL SPOILS" AWARD

During the Friday morning portion of the July 2010 ARRL Board meeting,
ARRL Chief Executive Officer Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, received a surprise
plaque from the Amateur Radio Research and Development Corporation
(AMRAD). Titled "BPL Spoils," the plaque featured a discarded BPL modem
that was rescued from surplus equipment belonging to a manufacturer
that had decided to exit the BPL business. ARRL Chief Technology
Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, presented the plaque to Sumner in
recognition of his and the ARRL staff's tireless work against radio
interference generated by BPL systems.

INTRUDER ON 70 cm REMOVED BY ICASA

Following a report by the SARL to ICASA about an unlicensed repeater
operating in the 70 cm band, ICASA investigated the intrusion and
instructed the owner who was providing services for his local community
watch to shut down the repeater. It was not plain sailing as at first
the owner refused ICASA access to his premises to seal the repeater.
The repeater is now off the 70 cm amateur allocation.

PERMISSION TO OPERATE SPREAD SPECTRUM MADE EASIER

The SARL and ICASA have streamlined the application for permission to
operate Spread Spectrum on the 40 metre amateur band. A simple request
form will be included in the SARL DSSS kit. The form will also be made
available on www.sarl.org.za in the next few weeks.

COMPETITION NEWS

This afternoon from 15:00 to 18:00 CAT you can participate in the
Boland ARC's 40 metre contest. Get into your car and operate as a
mobile station or set up a field station - RaDAR style, just get out of
you shack!

On Wednesday evening the 4th leg of the SARL 80 metre Club Contest will
be run. It is a phone contest and will be on the air from 19:30 to
20:30 CAT. Which club will submit the most logs? West Rand ARC is
leading the pack, can your club do better?

On Sunday 1 August, the SARL's premier contest takes to the air. The
SARL HF Phone contest will be on 20, 40 and 80 metres from 15:00 to
18:30 CAT.

Find all the rules for these three contests in the 2010 SARL Contest
Manual and/or in HF Happenings 415, both are available on
www.sarl.org.za.

The SARL Youth sprint results are as follows: 1st place: Rudi Sygo,
ZS6RDI, 14 Years, wins an ARRL Hand Book; 2nd Place Mitchel Meinhardt,
ZS6YH, 12 Years, wins a 40m direct conversion receiver kit; 3rd Place
Simoné de Silva, (ham to be), 18 Years, wins Internet Security Software
and a book (Prevent Unwanted Intrusion).

The youngest operator for the day was the 4 year old Eduan Leighton and
the oldest, the 90 years young Leslie Clark, ZS6NV. The SARL thanks all
participants and specially the members who submit logs.

CLUB NEWS

The Kempton Park Amateur Radio Technical Association (KARTS) will
commence Class A training on Saturday, 31st July 2010 for the October
2010 RAE. Candidates must please contact either Stephen, ZS6SKY, or
Clive, ZS6BT. Visit the KARTS website for contact information,
www.zs6kts.co.za

The Sasolburg Amateur Radio Club will be presenting the RAE course from
Thursday 29 July 2010 at the Vaal University of Technology, room S317.
Classes are presented weekly from 18:30. Contact Riaan, ZS4PR, on 038
581 8569 or send e-mail to .

PROPAGATION REPORT

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is still at low
levels. Sunspot 1 089, which rotated onto the eastern limb, appears to
be growing into a fairly decent sunspot cluster. This region is
bubbling with B-Class flares and has also produced one C-Class flare
thus far. The effective sunspot number is expected to be less than 30
for the coming week.

20 m will provide the best opportunities for DX followed by 40 m.
Conditions to India will be good from the late afternoons till after
sunset. During sunset it will be good towards Europe. Contacts with the
USA are still challenging. Contacts with Australia and New Zealand are
possible at sunrise on 20 m and on 40 m after sunset. Weak 15 m
openings to Brazil and South America are possible during the
afternoons.

For the CW and digital enthusiasts 30 m may be very rewarding with
openings to many parts of the world.

Local conditions are going to be good during the day time on 40 m. With
the change of season 30 m has taken over from 20 m for contacts over
the longer distances during the middle of the day. With the decrease in
noise levels 80 m is best for the shorter distances and also during the
early mornings and late afternoons and is also the frequency of choice
during the evenings.

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

DIARY OF EVENTS

Today 25 July - Boland ARC 40 m Sprint 13:00-16:00 UTC; 28 July -SARL
4th 80 m Club Contest 17:30-18:30 UTC; 29 July - Sasolburg ARC starts
classes for the RAE. For information send email to ; 31
July - Kempton Park ARTA (KARTS) starts RAE classes. Visit
www.zs6kts.co.za for information; 1 August - SARL HF Phone Contest
13:00 to 16:30 UTC; 2 August - Closing date for PIC course in Pretoria
on 14 August; 2-7 August - National Science Week at Sci Bono and ZS6SCI
on the air from 09:00 till 14:00 CAT; 9 August - SARL YL Sprint on 40 m
09:00 to 10:00 UTC; 12 - 14 August - International EME Conference,
Dallas, Texas; 14 August - PIC course in Pretoria; 16 August - Logs for
SARL HF phone competition must be in.

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 17 560 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 22:05 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 Gustav,ZS6BWN.

Thank you for listening, 73.

/EX

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