Subj : SA Radio League News Bulletin for Sunday 11 June 2000 To : SA Radio League From : Richard Peer Date : Sat Jun 10 2000 03:20 pm SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE SARL NEWS SUNDAY 11 JUNE 2000 This is Amateur Radio Station ZS6SRL transmitting Amateur Radio News , a service from the South African Radio League for the interest of all Radio Amateurs, Short-wave Listeners and Electronic Enthusiasts. For a complete list of broadcast times and frequencies please send a SASE to Amateur Radio News, SARL, P O Box 1721, Strubensvallei 1735. This bulletin is also available on the SARL's web pages hosted by Intekom at www.sarl.org.za, as well as the packet radio bulletin board system. You may also request sarlnuus@mweb.co.za to e-mail it to you in either text or MSWord 6.0 format. Here are the news headlines: FILM FREQUENCY TO PREMIER IN SA ON JULY 21 ARISAS COURSE TO BE HELD IN JULY STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE NEEDS CLUB SUPPORT SPECIAL IARU REGION III EVENT STATION SARL TOP MANAGEMENT VISITS WESTERN CAPE You are listening to ZS6SRL, the news follows in detail. FILM FREQUENCY TO PREMIERE IN SA ON JULY 21 The film "Frequency" will be premiered in South Africa by the New Metro Cinema group on July 21. The film prominently features amateur radio in a gripping story. One day before the anniversary of his father's death, in the midst of the spectacular sky storm known as the aurora borealis, John Sullivan discovers in the house he inherited his father's old ham radio and begins to play with it. Through the electrical static, he finds himself talking to a man who claims to be a fire-fighter and who appears to be awaiting the World Series of 1969. Is John really talking to his own living father on the very same day, in the very same house, but exactly three decades ago? The SARL and New Metro have agreed to set up Amateur Radio Stations at some of the main launch cinemas. Here is an opportunity for clubs to promote Amateur Radio. The following cinemas have been identified: Johannesburg: Hyde Park, Bedford Centre and Benoni Lake, in Cape Town at the Victory and Alfred Water Front, in Port Elizabeth at Walmer Park, in Durban at the Pavilion. in Bloemfontein at Loch Logan and in Pretoria at Menlyn Park. Clubs who would like to take up this opportunity to promote Amateur Radio are requested to send the name and contact details of their contact person to Hans van de Groenendaal by Email to hans@intekom.co.za or by fax to 031 756-6456. He can also be contacted during office hours on 012 311-7114. The information is required by next Friday. ARISAS COURSE TO BE HELD IN JULY A full time 8 day course to qualify teachers for the Radio Amateur Examination will be held at the National Amateur Radio Centre during the first week of July. A number of lecturers are required to teach the course. If you would like to assist in the promotion of Amateur Radio in South African Schools, please send your details to arisas@intekom.co.za. Please indicate which part of the syllabus you would like to teach and how much time you have available. The course will be run from June 30 - July 7 from 08:30 - 17:00 daily. A number of operators are also required to take the student through on-the-air operation training. STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE NEEDS CLUB SUPPORT While support from Radio Clubs to volunteer a person to join the SARL Strategic PR committee is slow, the committee has taken its first initiative. Last week two members of the SATRA Frequency Planning division spent an afternoon at the National Amateur Radio Centre to receive a briefing on the need for the protection of the Amateur frequency spectrum. The Annual General meeting adopted a motion to set up the SPRC and to appeal to members and clubs to support this initiative financially and with manpower representing each of the 9 provinces. Clubs are urged to take quick action and to select a suitable person to serve on this committee. For details send an Email to sprc@intekom.co.za. THE SARL WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS The SARL heartily welcomes the following amateurs and intending amateurs who joined its ranks at or after this year's AGM: Willem de Kok ZR1WDK Shaun Corder ZR2SC Heidi de Lange ZR4AH Jaap Seymore ZR6JJS Adanus Seymore ZR6SDS Theunis Mulder ZR6TJM Malcolm de Beer ZS1MAL Dr Thomas Wilm ZS2BBG Eugene Giraud ZS5DG Rod Radford ZS5RK Michael Vella ZS6AMT John Smith ZS6AN George Dehlen ZS6BUE Magda van Wyk ZS6MVW Pieter van Wyk ZS6PVW Vic Raath ZS6ZGL Jeremy Miller ZSL010 Ramond Falcke ZSL032 Isobel Toman ZSL033 Ian Otridge ZSLO34 Michael Mkrakra ZSL035 Eric McQuillan ZSl036 Many thanks that all of you had thrown your weight in behind the SARL, the only organisation in the RSA which locally and internatinally looks after the common interests of all radio amateurs in the RSA. Council trust that you will find your membership satisfactory and pleasant. SPECIAL IARU REGION III EVENT STATION The International Amateur Radio Union Region III conference will be held in Darwin, Australia, August 28 to September 1, 2000. More than 100 delegates from radio societies in the Asian and Pacific regions are to attend the conference hosted by the Wireless Institute of Australia, and will discuss a wide ranges of regional and global issues affecting amateur radio. At the conference's hotel venue a special event station AX8IARU will be on air activated by members of the Darwin Amateur Radio Club, and conference delegates. A special QSL card is to be available. Listen for AX8IARU on the DX bands using both telegraphy and phone. (News item received from the IARU RIII Conference Media Officer, Jim Linton VK3PC) SARL TOP MANAGEMENT VISITS WESTERN CAPE A last reminder about the visit by the SARL president, Hans Potgieter, ZS6ALJ and vice-president Syd Tyler, ZS6AYC the coming weekend to the Western Cape amateurs. All amateurs in and around the Western Cape are requested to diarise this date. They are urged to exert all efforts to attend these important meetings. The first meeting is on Frday June 16 at 11:00 in the Stellenbosch Voortrekker Hall. Remember 16 June is also celebrated as Youth day and is an ideal opportunity to bring children along. After the meeting a fleamarket will be held and the braai fires will be lit. For more detail about the meeting at Stellenbosch contact Rassie Erasmus ZS1YT at 021-4603640 or 083-4142606 and by e-mail at rassie@ctech.ac.za or packet at ZS1YT@ZS0STB. On Saturday June 17 the Southern Cape amateurs will be met at 09:00 in the Mossgas Information Bureau in Mossel Bay. For more detail about this meeting contact Johan, ZS1AAC at tel 028 754 2713 or 028 713 3541. Saterdag die 17de Junie is die tweede byeenkoms in Mosselbaai in die Mossgas Inligtingsentrum om 09:00 die oggend. Vir meer inligting kontak Johan, ZS1AAC by. Amateurs, do not miss these opportunities to ask the questions that have been bothering you and hear first hand answers to them as well as to express your views about the future of the SARL. SUNSAT PASSES Next Friday June 16, youth day, there will be two passes of SUNSAT over the RSA which should allow contacts in mode J with Reunion. The morning pass coincides with the SARL visit to the Boland Amateur Radio Club. The times of the passes in UTC are as follows: 4:15 to 4:29 and 16:59 to 17:13. HIGHWAY RADIO AMATEUR CLUB AND THE COMRADES MARATHON The Highway Amateur Radio Club as well as hams from various other clubs will be assisting REACT and other services on the Comrades Marathon. One very special aspect of communications this year will be the use of packet radio. In years gone by we have had to handle race numbers of drop out runners via voice. This has congested the voice repeaters and made emergency communications nearly impossible to handle. This year packet radio and bar code readers will send the race numbers to the finish line via two digipeaters and a number of field stations along the route. This is a first for us and if not a first in South Africa. We are all optimistic that this project will put amateur radio on the map. The Council and SARLNUUS notes with thanks this praiseworthy undertaking of the Highway Amateur Radio Club as well as members of other clubs and we are confident that it will be successful. It will be a practical demonstration of the fact that amateur radio iis indeed a service to the community. The Council and SARLNUUS notices with thanks the commendable undertaking of the Highway Amateur Radio Club and assistants of other clubs and we are confident that it will be successful. This is a practical demonstration of of the fact that amateur radio is a service to the community. Highway, SARLNUUS shall be pleased to receive feedback after the event for inclusion in a later bulletin. 80 m QSO PARTY RESULTS The results of the 80m qso party held on 2000 04-06 are as follows 1. ZS6BHF - M. ROODT - 250 points 2. ZS5LZ - M. RUSSELL - 210 points 3. ZS5WC - W. VAN COLLER 160 points 4. ZS1PK - P. KOTZE - 160 points 5. ZS5LP- L. de BRUIN 110 points 6. ZS5AES - A. COMMON - 110 points 7. ZS5YG - C. SIEDLE - 100 points We thank those who took the trouble to submit logs. Of approximately 30 stations heard, only 7 submitted logs. ie approx 25%. This is very dissapointing. The second leg takes place in October; we look forward to an increased participation. PROPAGATION FORECAST This week was characterised by a large number of events on the Sun, too many to list or discuss in this bulletin. The major event was a huge solar flare that occurred in the afternoon of Tuesday June 6. With this solar flare a huge coronal mass ejection occurred. Its impact on the earth's magnetic field was noted just after 11:00 SAST on Thursday. Ionospheric and geomagnetic storm-conditions occurred that only ended yesterday. The other strange anomaly was that the solar flux declined for four days after the big flare, as if the sun was exhausted after this big flare. It is however expected that the solar flux will rise again. Two interesting bands for the coming week should be 20 and 80 metres. Look out for strong DX signals from the far East in the late afternoon, then from Eastern Europe after 19:00 SAST and from Western Europe after 21:00 SAST. On the 80 metre band the DX from Central Europe should put in an appearance within two hours of sunset. DIARY OF COMING EVENTS Remember the High Way annual "Monster Bootsale at Monteseel" will take place on 24th of June at the QTH of ZS5JF. All are welcome. The gates will be open from 11:00 and the sale will commence at 12:00. Anyone needing directions to the venue can call ZS5JF at 031-7834092 or by e-mail at johnf@futurenet.co.za for directions. Remember the Short Wave Listener's contest for single operators which is taking place now and lasts till 24:00 UTC on the 30th June 2000. The winter bootsale of the West Rand Amateur Radio Club takes place on 1st July 2000 at the club house in Kroton Road, Weltevredenpark. The gates open at 9 am. Vendors are required to pay for stands, therefore prior booking is essential. Contact Bill van Zyl for more details at: 011 726-6806 (w) and 011 726-6892 (H) The SARL news service invites radio clubs to supply information for inclusion in the Diary of Events as well as other items of interest to radio amateurs. Email information to sarlnuus@mweb.co.za. at least two weeks before the event. Please submit it in both Afrikaans and English wherever possible. The South African Radio League provides this news bulletin as a service to Radio Amateurs and interested listeners on the African Continent. News in this bulletin was supplied by the SARL news service, amateur radio clubs in South Africa the ARRL and the RSGB. Also join us on Sundays at 12:00 for the President's Net on 7082 kHz. This bulletin was compiled by George, ZS6NE and read by......... A reminder that the interesting program Amateur Radio Mirror International is on the air on Sundays at 10:00 SAST on 9750 and 21560 kHz and is repeated on Mondays at 20:00 SAST on 3215 kHz. These transmissions are sponsored by Sentech, the common carrier for broadcasting signals in South Africa and Telkom who provides the transmission lines. The following VHF frequencies are also used: 145,375 for the Northern Free State and Vaal triangle areas 145,400 for the greater Johannesburg area, 439,100 MHz for the Johannesburg and Pretoria area 145,650 MHz for the greater Durban area and if conditions permit in Pretoria on 145,750 MHz. The address for Amateur Radio Mirror International is armi@intekom.co.za. Include your contact telephone number to allow the producers of the programme to call you for a possible interview. Send written reports to P O Box 90438, Garsfontein, 0042 and include a self addressed stamped envelope,overseas stations two IRC's, so that you may receive a QSL card. Thanks to all who gathered news items and have made contributions to this bulletin. We thank all stations who so reliably relay the bulletins. We wish you a pleasant week. ZS6SRL now closes down with ZS6... at the microphone and....... Goodbye all. /EX -------------------------------------------------- Internet feed from ZS6ZY moved by Richard de ZR6CK Regards, Richard. --- Msged/Q 1.60 * Origin: QTHR KG44DG, Novell User Group, Pretoria, RSA (5:7106/22) .