SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE
SARL NEWS SUNDAY APRIL 1 2001

This is Amateur Radio Station ZS6SRL transmitting Amateur Radio News, a
service by the South African Radio League, the National society for Amateur Radio in South Africa, 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 headlines of today's news:

SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION EVENT ON APRIL 12

WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY BROADCAST

INTECNET 2001

SARL HAMNET 40-METRE SIMULATED EMERGENCY CONTEST

SARL 80 M QSO PARTY.

NEW CENTURION CLUB COMMITTEE

PROPAGATION REPORT

You are listening to ZS6SRL. The news follows in detail.

SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION EVENT ON APRIL 12

Casual Amateur Radio contacts with the hams aboard the International Space Station have been few and far between. That will change with a special event day for ham radio on April 12

"The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, team has received permission from the ISS controllers to declare April 12 Cosmonautics Day--a special event day for ham radio on the International Space Station," ARISS spokesperson Will Marchant, KC6ROL, announced .

The ARISS international team is asking the ISS Expedition 2 crew--on a voluntary basis--to run general QSOs over Earth's major land masses to help celebrate Cosmonautics Day, Marchant said. Given the interest expressed by earthbound hams in making a contact with the ISS, the ARISS team also is
hoping the crew will be enthusiastic about the idea.

Cosmonautics Day will mark the 40th anniversary of the first human space
flight by USSR cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the 30th anniversary of Salyut 1ù the first space station, and the 20th anniversary of the initial launch of the first reusable space vehicle--the space shuttle.

Marchant said the crew will be involved with stowage activities on April 12, "so they should have a fair amount of flexibility in adjusting their
schedule." Two hams now are aboard the International Space Station--
Expedition 2 Crew Commander Yury Usachev, UA9AD, and US astronaut Susan
Helms, KC7NHZ. Helms already has made a few casual contacts and this week participated in a scheduled ARISS contact.

The following frequencies have been announced for ARISS general QSOs: Voice
and packet downlink: 145,80 (worldwide); Voice uplink: 144,49 for Regions 2
and 3 (the Americas and the Pacific); Voice uplink: 145,20 for Region 1 (Europe, Central Asia and Africa); Packet uplink: 145,99 (worldwide). The
ISS Amateur Radio packet system is still not operational, but Marchant said ARISS has been working with the crew and hopes it will be up and running by then.

WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY BROADCAST

On April 18 Amateur Radio Mirror International will be broadcasting a special programme to the world to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day. The 50-minute broadcast will be dedicated to the theme for 2001: Providing Disaster Communications: Amateur Radio in the 21st century.

The programme is sponsored by Sentech, the common carrier for broadcast
signals in South Africa and Telkom. The programme will be broadcast at the following times and frequencies:

14:00-14:55 UTC to India/Pakistan 21725 kHz (13 metre band) 250 kW;
18:00-18:55 UTC to Southern Africa 3215 kHz (90 metre band) 100 kW;
19:05-19:55 UTC to Central and North Africa 17590 kHz (16 metre band) 250 kW; 20:05-20:55 UTC 15475 kHz (19 metre band) 500 kW;
02:00-02:55 UTC on 19 April (18 April in North America) 9585 kHz (minor change from that previously announced)(31 metre band) 250 kW.

QSL and reception reports should be mailed to P O Box 90438, Garsfontein,
0042 and include a SASE or 2 IRC's if a reply QSL card is required.

WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY AND SCHOOLS

To celebrate World Amateur Radio Day, the SARL is planning to set up amateur radio stations in schools in all nine provinces and to allow learners to talk to each other and share their culture and experiences.

The aim is to select at least one school in each province and have a group of six learners at each school share ideas.

The April 18 project is part of a combined effort by the South African Radio League and the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust to promote the ARISAS Project. ARISAS is the acronym for Amateur Radio in South African Schools.

The event will run from 11:00 TO 12:00 with an off air practice and
discussion session from 10:00.

Clubs and individual Radio Amateurs wishing to participate should Email their contact details to arisas@ intekom.co.za by Wednesday 4 April 2001.

Join ZS5DL today for a discussion in the programme Amateur Radio Mirror International on the air at 10:00 CAT on 21560 and 9750 kHz, also on 7082 kHz SSB

INTECNET FEATURES NOAA SPACE WEATHER FORECASTER GARY HECKMAN

The SARL Intecnet 2001 will be on the air this evening, 1 April at 20:00 CAT (18:00 UTC). The subject for discussion is Radio wave propagation with
special guest Gary Heckman, a NOAA space weather forecaster joining the programme from the USA and Ean Retief ZS1PR. The net will be broadcast on
3215 kHz and will be interactive on many repeaters in South Africa.

Clubs who have not yet booked a link to the conference bridge, have till noon today (Sunday 1 April) to do so. Send the following details by email to
armi@ intekom.co.za or fax to 012 991 5651: Telephone number to be connected and frequencies on which the net will be active.

SARL HAMNET 40-METRE SIMULATED EMERGENCY CONTEST

This SSB Contest is open to all Radio Amateurs in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mozambique, Lesotho, Marion Island and South African Antarctica. Only contacts with these areas will count.

The contest takes place on Sunday 8 April 2001 from 14:00 to 16:00 SAST and
as the name indicates on the 40-metre band.

Amateurs may participate in one of four categories. The exchange will be the signal report followed by a serial number depending on the category of participation.

Scoring will also depend on the category of participation, plus a multiplier
of the number of call areas worked and the power output.

The address for Contest Entries is: Hamnet 40 m Simulated Emergency Contest,
P O Box 50115, Colleen Glen, 6018.

Visit the SARL website at www.sarl.org.za and download the SARL Contest
Manual for the complete rules.

80 METRE QSO PARTY

The first leg of this contest will be held on Thursday 5 th April 2001 from 19:00 to 22:00 SAST. Frequencies to be used are 3600 to 3650 kHz SSB Single operator only.

Exchange Callsign, RS and serial number commencing with 001, grid locater or QTH. Scoring: 10 points for South African contacts. 15 points for contacts outside South Africa.

Log sheets must be sent to: Contest Committee, P.O. Box 21762, Bluff 4036,
or e-mail to mally@eastcoast.co.za. Entries close 21 days after close of contest.

All other details are as per the Blue Book.

NEW COMMITTEE FOR CENTURION CLUB

At its AGM held on Saturday March 24 the following members were elected to
the committee of the Centurion Amateur Radio Club:

Chairman Jack Sinden ZS6QJ
Vice Chairman Ben Booysen ZR6ATA
Secretary Dirk vd Elst ZR6DHE
Treasurer Ben Booysen ZR6ATA
Technical Johann Keulder ZS6CAQ
Club House Manager Gert Coetzee ZR6AAB
Social Annatjie Joubert ZR6ANN
CQ Centurion Jack Sinden ZS6QJ

Portfolio members:
Awards Manager Gert Viljoen ZR6BV
Satellites Ray Webber ZS6RSW

Thanks to the retiring committee an a prosperous year to the new committee

MAY 2001 RAE

The closing date for registration for the May RAE is April 10, registration
fee R135, and for late registration April 17 with registration fee R235. No registration will be accepted after the 17th. Any registration received
after that date by the SARL Head Office will be held over till the next examination.

Registration forms are available on the SARL web site www.sarl.org.za or by
fax from 011-6752393. Candidates are reminded to indicate three possible
call signs on the form.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Ean Retief, ZS1PR, reports as follows:

After three months of very low activity which caused most of us to start thinking that the sunÆs activity will decline rapidly,and that there will not be much to expect, the sun surprised us vith a sudden high solar flux, a
large number of new sunspots of which a large one is visible with the naked
eye as well as a number of solar flares.

On this point we warn again neither to try to look at the sun with the naked eye nor with binoculars. You will protract permananent eye damage. Also do not use photographic negatives or smoked glass. The visible light of the sun will be reduced but not the dangerous infra red rays. Reduction of the
visible light results in enlargement of the eyeÆs pupil with consequent
easier damage.

Rather use an arc welder's helmet or a Mylar filter or safer still project
the sun's image with binoculars or a telescope on a piece of white paper

Amongst all the sun flares of last week two were accompanied with the
ejection of coronal mass. The second one occurred together with an X-class flare late Thursday afternoon. The shock wave of the second ejection approached the earth at 1000 km per second and almost overtook the first one with the result that they hit the earthÆs magnetic field in quick succession.

The first one arrived Friday night just before midnight and the second one
hit the magnetic field with a heavy blow at 05:00 SAST yesterday morning.

The polarity of the interplanetery magnetic field was also south thus it coupled well with the earthÆs magnetic field transferring a lotof energy.

At 08:00 SAST a full scale magnetic storm with K-indexes up to 7 was on the
go and auroras were seen far south in the Northern hemisphere. HF radio communication was disrupted.

The Southern hemisphere was affected less than the Nortern hemisphere and it would appear that will conditions recover faster in our part of the world.
It is hoped that propagation will improve markedly as from tomorrow and will
be reasonably normal from Tuesday onwards.

The solar flux should decrease slowly during the coming week, thus good contacts can be expected on the higher bands but towards the of the week the solar flux should decrease faster.

ACTIVITIES TO TAKE PART IN

The Bloemfontein Amateur Radio Club will be holding a flea market on Saturday 07 April 2001 starting at 09:00 at The Shack at the Air Force Base
Bloemspruit. Contact Dennis ZS4BS at 082 770 9126 for information and to
book a table.

The Coalfields Radio Club invites all Radio amateurs and clubs to participate in a food making contest and get-together day that will take place in Witbank on Saturday the 7th of April 2001 at 15:00 till late.

A BACAR flight will take place on May 19 with a mode J transponder, telemetry and recovery beacons and an APRS transmitter on board. The uplink will be on 70 cm and the downlink on 2 m.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Intecnet 2001 tonight at 20:00;

SARL 80m QSO party Thursday April 5;

SARL HAMNET 40m simulated emergency contest Sunday April 8.

The SARL AGM takes place on 27 and 28 April 2001 in Cape Town. Details will
be mailed with the new Radio ZS or visit the SARL website at:www.sarl.org.za

The SARL News Service invites Clubs and individuals to contribute information regarding Amateur Radio to sarlnuus@mweb.co.za with a copy to gth@freemail.absa.co.za. Please submit in Afrikaans and English wherever possible.

Also join us in the following activities:

The President's Net on Sundays 12:00 on 7082 kHz. Amateur Radio Mirror International Sundays at 10:00 on 9750 and 21560 kHz which is repeated
Mondays at 20:00 on 3215 kHz. Relays on various 2m repeaters can also be heard.

Correspondence for Amateur Radio Mirror International is via armi@intekom.co.za. Include your telephone number to allow the producers to call you for a possible interview.

Send written reports to PO Box 90438 Garsfontein 0042 and include a self- addressed envelope and sufficient postage so that you may receive a QSL card.

These transmissions are sponsored by Sentech, the common carrier for broadcasting signals in South Africa and Telkom who provides the transmission lines. Various local repeater frequencies on 2 metres and 70 cm are also
used in your area.

We thank all contributors, individuals, clubs and other organisations to this bulletin and all stations who so reliably relay these bulletins. This
bulletin was compiled by George, ZS6NE, and read by ZS.... in.......

You have been listening to ZS6SRL.

This bulletin now ends and Sarlnews wish you a pleasant week.

Goodbye to all.
/ex
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Internet feed from ZS6NE moved by Richard de ZR6CK

Regards,
Richard.

--- Msged/Q 1.60
* Origin: QTHR KG44DG, Novell User Group, Pretoria, RSA (5:7106/22)