SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 16 JANUARY 2011

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 7,066 and 3,695 MHz SSB.

In the news today:

SARL MEMBERSHIP TOUCHES 1500

NOMINATIONS FOR SARL COUNCIL

IS YOUR CLUB CALLSIGN STILL VALID?

SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION ON VAAL

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

SARL MEMBERSHIP TOUCHES 1 500

The SARL membership this week stood at 1 492, touching the 1 500 mark.
If you have not yet joined, we invite you to take up the six-month R200
membership offer. Get the details on www.sarl.org.za or call Mariska at
011 675 2393. Just think of the additional benefits members enjoy, like
a discount on courses. For example, SARL members pay only R350 for the
PIC Programming course instead of the R500 paid by non members. Another
two exciting courses are coming, namely Programming in Windows and
Advanced Home Construction.

NOMINATIONS FOR SARL COUNCIL

Members are reminded that the closing date for nominations to the SARL
Council and motions for the AGM is drawing close. The final date for
acceptance of nominations and motions is 31 January 2011. Get the
details on the home page of the members only section at
www.sarl.org,za. Select 'Members Only' at the top right-hand of the
home page and enter your PIN.

SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION ON VAAL

The Sasolburg and Vaal Triangle Radio Clubs present: The SARL National
Convention 2011. This year it takes place on 15 and 16 April. Come and
enjoy the beauty of the Vaal. There is an exciting line-up, starting on
the Friday evening with a wonderful Vaal River cruise down
Millionaires' Bend. Enjoy a fantastic dinner and the company of good
radio friends until late that evening!

On Saturday morning the SARL AGM takes place at the Vaal University of
Technology. A huge flea market will be held for radio enthusiasts,
while a nature drive at Emerald Casino Resort will keep non-amateur
partners suitably entertained. The two clubs are aiming to make the
Convention the biggest get-together of radio amateurs in years.
Saturday afternoon has been earmarked for a visit to the Bloemendal
medium wave radio broadcast station near Meyerton. Come and experience
what a 500 kW RF transmitter is capable of doing, and see how the
systems for such a shortwave broadcast station operate and service the
world from South Africa.

The Convention's highlight is on the Saturday evening at the Riviera
Hotel. This year, the SARL Gala evening is going to be a formal black
tie affair. Our guest speaker is Prof. Alwyn Louw from VUT, a fantastic
speaker! Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, will be giving a riveting presentation
on his satellite contact experiences. The annual prizegiving will be
hosted by Tjerk Lammers, ZS6P. Thereafter the Broken Stream band fires
up the dance music and the party begins.

Registration for the Boat cruise and the Gala evening is essential as
there are limited seats available. Bookings should be done through the
club secretary of ZS4SRK by visiting www.qsl.net/zs4srk to complete the
forms.

IS YOUR CLUB CALLSIGN STILL VALID?

Clubs are reminded to check if the licence fee for their club callsign
has been paid. Although the licence is registered in the Club's name,
one of the club members is the sponsor and is responsible for the
callsign and its use. Remember to inform ICASA in writing after your
club committee elections who the new responsible person is and the
address where the account must be sent to. Send the information by
email to .

BOOK NOW FOR PIC IN GAUTENG

Booking for the PIC course to be held at the National Amateur Radio
Centre on 29 January is now open. Do not miss the last opportunity to
attend this popular course in Gauteng. The course is filling up fast!
Get details on www.sarl.org.za and select RTA.

FREE RADIO AMATEUR COURSE IN PRETORIA

The Pretoria Amateur Radio Club (PARC) is presenting a free course to
all persons interested in becoming radio amateurs. The course is three
months, and lectures will be at the University of Pretoria. Tuition and
study material are free of charge.

The course starts on Thursday 20 January at 19:30 at the University.
The lecture room is situated on the south-eastern corner of the campus,
corner University Rd and Lynnwood Rd. Use the entrance in University Rd
and follow the route markers from there. It is not necessary to
register before starting the course.

Amateur radio is a fascinating hobby. Radio amateurs make radio
contacts all over the world and also provide radio communication
services to the civil authorities during emergencies.

The aspiring radio amateur writes an elementary exam on radio theory
and regulations (purpose of this course) and receives a call sign and a
licence to go on the air. Licences are issued only to persons that have
passed the exam and are at least twelve years of age.

More information on amateur radio is available at the website of the SA
Radio League, www.sarl.org.za, or on the website of the Pretoria
Amateur Radio Club, www.parc.org.za. You can also call Fritz
Sutherland, 012 811 3875 or 083 304 0028 or Pierre Holzhausen, 082 575
5799 or 012 655 0726.

AMATEUR RADIO TODAY TO FEATURE A WEEKLY TECHNOBYTE

Amateur Radio TODAY, the programme replacing Amateur Radio Mirror
International, will feature TechnoBYTE, a weekly technology cameo
written and presented by John Willescroft, ZS6EF. Today John discusses
the PL259 connector. The audio file will also be available for
downloading on Sunday evening and may be rebroadcast on local nets with
acknowledgement to SARL Amateur Radio TODAY.

US CONGRESS TO CONSIDER AMATEUR RADIO BILL

The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act, which
ceased at the end of the 111th Congress, has been reintroduced in the
112th Congress as HR 81. The sponsor is Representative Sheila Jackson
Lee. The new bill - which was introduced on January 5 - has been
referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. "We are hopeful
that this early start will lead to success in the new Congress,"
commented ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ.

The bill is supported by the ARRL. The Secretary of Homeland Security
will study the uses and capabilities of amateur radio communications in
emergencies and disaster relief. Impediments to amateur radio
communications, such as the effects of private land use regulations on
residential antenna installations, will also be addressed.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is still at low
levels. The face of the sun is nearly spotless as Sunspot 1140 has
rotated onto the western limb and Sunspot 1146 is struggling to remain
visible. The effective sunspot number is expected to be less than 20
for the coming week.

15 m will provide the best opportunities for DX followed by 20 m.
Conditions to India will be good from the afternoon till after sunset.
During the afternoons conditions will be fair towards Europa on 15 m,
later to be followed by fair 20 m openings. Early evening 15 m contacts
with the USA are possible. Contacts with Australia are possible on 20 m
at sunrise and during the afternoons. 15 and especially 20 m openings
to Brazil and South America are possible during the afternoons. With
the good 15 and 20 m openings 17 m will also be full of surprises.

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

Locally is 40 m the work horse for contacts around the country with 20
and 30-m also being very useful for contacts over the longer distances.
80 m will be best during the early mornings and late afternoons as well
as over the shorter distances.

80 m is the frequency of choice during the evenings.

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

DIARY OF EVENTS

20 January 2011 - Closing date for submission for application for the
May 2011 RAE bursaries; visit www.amateurradio.org.za for application
forms. 20 January - Closing date for submission of proposals and
synopses of papers for 2011 SA AMSAT Space Symposium to
. 20 January - Free amateur radio course at
University of Pretoria. 21/23 January - PEARS VHF/UHF contest. 30
January 2011 - Closing date for phase 1 of the construction
competition.

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 TODAY 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 Hester van der Walt.

Thank you for listening, 73.

/EX