SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 1 APRIL 2012

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 'Amateur Radio Today' and follow the links
for details. For audio over 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 3,695 MHz SSB. (Other news
readers change to suit).

IN THE NEWS TODAY:

Your license fee is due now Online DXCC application to debut on 2 April


YOUR LICENCE FEE IS DUE NOW

The Amateur Radio license fee of R120 is due today. You may also renew
for five years at a reduced fee of R501. If you do not receive a
renewal notice, the SARL recommends that you pay by using the license
number on last year's invoice and your callsign. Also mail the payment
notification plus your address to . It is
essential for all payments to ICASA that you include your callsign as a
payment reference. Also remember to send any postal and email address
changes to

TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO REGISTER FOR THE SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION

Have you booked for the 2012 SARL National Convention? If you have not,
do it now. Here are some of the highlights. On Friday evening join a
finger supper and an historical journey on "How SA's electronics
industry started in Pinetown On Saturday morning attend the SARL Annual
General Meeting and on Saturday afternoon learn about how to build
VHF/UHF antennas and get DXing with Log Book of the World.

On Saturday evening join the annual the awards dinner with a keynote
address by Dr Andrew Collier of SANSA Space Sciences. There will lots
of prizes to be won in the lucky draw. On Sunday morning the convention
is rounded off with a leisurely breakfast in the Japanese Gardens.

Full details and registration forms can be found on www.sarl.org.za.
Your hosts at the SARL National Convention are the committee and
members of the Highway Amateur Radio Club.

PROMOTING AMATEUR RADIO

Promoting amateur radio will take centre stage this coming Wednesday,
the 4th of April, at the Sacred Heart College in Observatory, Gauteng.
The SARL was approached a few weeks ago to establish whether we could
assist in making their school's science day more interesting by doing a
display of what amateur radio is about and how it works.

Chris Gryffenberg, ZS6COG, who is already involved at the Sci Bono
Centre and the Department of Education and Francois Botha, ZS6BUU
representing Hamnet, put their ideas together and decided on a plan for
the morning.

The Gauteng South Hamnet trailer will be on display and we anticipate
going on air from around 9 am to 12:30 on the day, on both HF and VHF
frequencies.

We wish to invite other operators around Gauteng and further afield to
listen out for us on 40 m on Wednesday the 4th of April on the Hamnet
frequency of 7,110 MHz and some local Johannesburg repeater
frequencies. We would like to call you in so the learners can hear what
our hobby is all about!

We will also get the youngsters to get the feel the hobby with some
hands on experience on air.

So listen out for us on Wednesday morning from the Sacred Heart College
in Johannesburg.

ONLINE DXCC APPLICATION TO DEBUT ON 2 APRIL

From 2 April the ARRL's new Online DXCC tool will be ready to accept
applications, allowing hams to supply the data from traditional paper
QSLs in a digital form to apply for a new DXCC award or endorsement.
Submitting a DXCC application using Online DXCC is easier than making a
paper application, saving both time and money.

Using the Online DXCC Application, the user can select the cards that
he or she would like to have checked by a card checker and, at his or
her convenience, type that data into a form (which can be saved and
retrieved at any time until submitted) and make an application for
DXCC. When the application is finished, the participant will be able to
print the list of cards and take the list and the cards (in the same
order that they are entered into the form) to a card checker who will
check the cards, note any changes and send the form to ARRL HQ. The
card checker's job is exactly the same as before, except he or she does
not need to collect a payment as the client can pay online. Once
submitted, DXCC staff can access the file submitted by the client,
quickly make any changes noted by the card checker and process the
application. The Online DXCC Application will have rates that are half
those of a traditional paper QSL application that is sent to ARRL HQ.
Keep in mind that QSL cards will still need to be checked if you use
the Online DXCC Application, either by a DXCC Card Checker or sent to
ARRL HQ for checking. Card checking in South Africa is done by SARL
Awards Manager, Tjerk Lammers ZS6P.

Any radio amateur in the world -- ARRL member or non-member -- may use
the Online DXCC Application.

JOE WALSH, WB6ACU, IS AN ANALOG MAN

Grammy Award-winning rock-and-roll legend Joe Walsh, WB6ACU, returns
with Analog Man, set to be released June 5. This is Walsh's first solo
album since 1992's Songs for a Dying Planet. According to Walsh's
website, Analog Man is both modern and timelessly soulful, packed with
Walsh's wit, charm and chops; it delivers an incredibly raw and
intimate sound. "It's been 20 years and I have a lot to say," Walsh
explained. "These songs come from the heart."

Walsh -- best known for his powerful guitar licks -- joined the Eagles
in 1976 and is credited for bringing a harder rock sound to the band
with the acclaimed Hotel California, The Long Run and Eagles Live.

No stranger to the analog way of life, Walsh -- an ARRL Life Member --
enjoys operating on 80 metres AM. AM -- or amplitude modulation -- has
been around the amateur bands since the 1930s. AM offers a warm, rich
audio quality that provides for more personal interaction. The
simplicity of AM circuit design encourages hands-on restoration,
modification and homebrew construction to an extent no longer found
among contemporary radios. Many hams who operate AM say they enjoy the
simple, roomy electrical and mechanical designs of the older radios,
claiming that they can more easily be modified and tinkered with than
their modern counterparts. Other enthusiasts claim that these vintage
radios sound better than their silicon descendants, saying that the
tube audio from vintage gear is "warmer" and more aesthetically
pleasing than the audio produced by the typical modern transceiver.

A self-proclaimed analog man, Walsh refers playfully to the new digital
age in the album's title track. He notes that he has adapted to the
digital age, but says "I am what I am -- I'm an analog man." Walsh
developed the album over the last 10 years, drawing on personal
experiences to breathe life into each track. "I just really feel like
it's all come together and finally I feel like a complete person and a
complete musician," he said. "I think there is some confidence in there
that I never had. That's what I was hiding Check out Analog Man -- the
title track of Walsh's new album and details of his South African tour
starting on 4 April in Cape Town at http://www.joewalsh.com/

CONTEST NEWS

CONSTESTS IN APRIL

SARL 80 m QSO Party and RaDAR Contests

The first leg of the SARL 80 m QSO Party will be run on Thursday
evening 5 April from 17:00 to 20:00 UTC. It is a phone only contest
using the segments 3 603 to 3650 and 3700 to 3800 kHz. The exchange is
your call sign, an RS report and your name.

The first leg of the Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio or RaDAR Contest
will be run on Saturday 7 April starting at 12:00 UTC and ending at
18:00 UTC. Activity is on all HF Contest bands, VHF and UHF using CW,
SSB, AM, FM or any digital mode. The exchange is your call sign, your
name, a RS(T) report, QTH and grid locator.

Find all the information on page 39 and 41 of the 2012 SARL Contest
Manual, also the RaDAR Facebook page.

CLUB NEWS

The Hibiscus Coast Amateur Radio Club, ZS5HAC, held its annual general
meeting on 25 March 2012 at Cinder City, Seapark, Port Shepstone. At
this meeting the following office bearers were elected: Chairperson:
Sid Tyler, ZS5AYC; Secretary: Herman Horn, ZS5LH; Treasurer: Brian
Burger, ZS5AZH; Technical: Jan Coetzee, ZS5JC; Hamnet Liaison: To be
appointed; Public Relations: Sid Tyler; Contest Managers: Jan Coetzee,
ZS5JC; Light House Coordinator: Gawie Hoon: ZS5R; and Youth
Coordinator: Emmerelda Coetzee, ZU5EM.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is at moderate
levels. Currently only small, stable sunspots are facing the earth. The
reappearance of Sunspot 1429, that was the source of many strong flares
earlier this month, is eagerly awaited following a two week trip around
the back side of the sun.

If you want to do your own frequency predictions, the expected
effective sunspot number for the week will be around 74.

All the bands from 20 m to 10 m will provide lots of DX fun with 15 m
providing the best openings with 10 m not far behind.

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

DIARY OF EVENTS 5 April - SARL 80 m QSO Party and RaDAR competition 7
April - RaDAR competition 6-9 April - Western Cape Antique Wireless
Association Ekspo near Stanford, contact John, ZS1WJ, on 082 673 5337
for more information. 20 - 22 April SARL Convention in Pinetown.

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 17 760 kHz. There is also a podcast by ZS6RO. For a
web-stream and Echolink by 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 17:30 UTC on
3230 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 Fritz, ZS6SF.

Thank you for listening, 73. /EX

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