SARL NEWS - SUNDAY 28 AUGUST 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 'Amateur Radio Today' 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.

SILENT KEY

It is with regret that we have to announce that the key of Johan Fritz,
ZS6NF, went silent on Wednesday 24 August in the age of 89 years. Our
sincerest condolences to his children, grand children and many friends,
especially those of the morning chat group on 3 and all the sixes.

(PAUSE)

In the news today:

NEW BREAKTHROUGH IN SUNSPOT PREDICTION

ICASA STILL PROCRASTINATING ON AMATEUR REGULATIONS

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

NEW BREAKTHROUGH IN SUNSPOT PREDICTION

A PhD student at Stanford University, Stathis Ilonidis, has found a way
to detect sunspots before they are visible to the human eye. His
findings could lead to significant advances in space weather
forecasting.

Sunspots are the "butterfly's wings" of solar storms. Visible to the
human eye as dark blemishes on the solar disk, sunspots are the
starting points of explosive flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs)
that sometimes hit our planet 150 million kilometers away.

Astronomers have been studying sunspots for more than 400 years, and
they have pieced together their basic characteristics: Sunspots are
planet-sized islands of magnetism that float in solar plasma. Although
the details are still debated, researchers generally agree that
sunspots are born deep inside the sun via the action of the sun's inner
magnetic dynamo. From there they bob to the top, carried upward by
magnetic buoyancy; a sunspot emerging at the stellar surface is a bit
like a submarine emerging from the ocean depths.

The analysis technique is called "time-distance helioseismology" It is
similar to an approach widely used in earthquake studies. Just as
seismic waves traveling through the body of Earth reveal what is inside
the planet, acoustic waves traveling through the body of the sun can
reveal what is inside the star.

Submerged sunspots have a detectable effect on the sun's inner
acoustics—namely, sound waves travel faster through a sunspot than
through the surrounding plasma. A big sunspot can leapfrog an acoustic
wave by 12 to 16 seconds. By measuring these time differences,
researchers can find the hidden sunspot.

There are limits to the technique, it is possible to forecast that a
big sunspot is coming, but if a particular sunspot will produce an
Earth-directed flare can not be predicted.

So far they have detected five emerging sunspots — four with SOHO and
one with SDO. Of those five, two went on to produce X-class flares, the
most powerful kind of solar explosion. This encourages the team to
believe their technique can make a positive contribution to space
weather forecasting.

ICASA STILL PROCRASTINATING ON AMATEUR REGULATIONS

ICASA has not yet finalised the corrections to the amateur radio
regulations. A spokes person told the SARL this week that corrections
to the regulations have been referred back to the Engineering Division.
He also said that they are seeking an interim arrangement and approval
from the Council to issue the outstanding ZU licenses.

The SARL earlier announced that students sitting the October RAE will
be examined on the old regulations.

SARL WEB

The upgrading process is nearly complete. There is still some
functionality that is not working as it should. This is being attended
to and we expect to have resolved all issues by next weekend.

GAUTENG RTA ON SATURDAY 10 SEPTEMBER

The last SARL Radio Technology in Action Symposium will be held at the
National Amateur Radio centre and the Sentech Conference centre on
Saturday 10 September 2011. Put the date in your diary now. Get more
details in next Sunday's SARLNEWS or on the web after mid week.

COMPETITION NEWS

YOUTH SPRINT NEXT SATURDAY

The ZS6JVT Youth Sprint will be held on Saturday 3 September from 10:00
- 12:00 on 7 130 - 7 200 kHz. Contacts on other frequencies are not
valid. Not more than 5 contacts may be made on any one frequency at a
time. Stations must move around the frequency range for the contest but
may return to a previous frequency.

The rules are available on www.sarl.org.za http://www.sarl.org.za/ or
visit www.hamradio.org.za http://www.hamradio.org.za/ for a copy of
the rules and the lucky draw prizes.

Stations taking part should exchange a signals report and the
operator's age. Scoring is in favour of radio amateurs under the age of
26 as follows: QSO between two stations that are under the age of 26 =
5 points. QSO between a station under 26 and a station over 26 - 3
points, QSO between two stations older than 26 = 1 point. QSO with
ZS6JVT = 10 points.

Log should be sent to or by snail mail to the
JVT Youth Competition, Technical High School John Vorster, P O Box
31714, Totiusdal, 0134. Closing date for logs is 18 September 2011.
Participants should include their email addresses.

Participants under 26 years of age who submit logs will take part in a
lucky draw for two book prizes, the ARRL Basic Antenna Book, made
available by the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust.

You are also invited to take part in a photographic competition. Send a
high resolution picture of the participant operating during the ZS6JVT
Youth Sprint to before 15 September and you could
also win the ARRL Basic Antenna book,

SARL HF CW CONTEST.

The HF CW Contest is on the air this afternoon from 15:00 to 18:00 CAT.
Activity is on 20, 40 and 80 metres and the exchange is a RST report
and a serial number starting at 001. There are four classes of
participation - single operator single band, single operator all band,
multi operator single band and multi operator all band. The rules can
be found on page 62 of the SARL Contest Manual.

SARL YL SPRINT.

The committee received 14 logs (seven logs from ladies and seven logs
from men) for the SARL YL Sprint held on 9 August.

1st Dawn Snyders, ZS5ME, 113 points 2nd Pam Momberg, ZS6APT, 111 points
3rd Collette Rundle, ZS2CR, 103 points 4th Heather Holland, ZS6YE, 102
points 5th Anette Jacobs, ZR6D, 89 points 6th Kempton Amateur Radio
Technical Society, ZS6KTS, 60 points 7th Brinette Fourie, ZS6MZA, 32
points

CLUB NEWS

The Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre, ZS1CT, had a very successful
operation during this year's International Lighthouse and Lightship
weekend. Their lighthouse is the Green Point Cape Town lighthouse where
they have active each year since 1999.

In all, 15 members came to operate and support the station and they
worked well over 300 stations around the world, including many other
lighthouses.

They had a visit from a local newspaper reporter who took many photos
and interviews for an upcoming article on the public service and
emergency preparation aspect of our hobby. Due to Green Point's ease of
accessabiltity in central Cape Town, they had many people visiting them
and who become exposed to our hobby.

PROPAGATION REPORT

Sorry, but we have not received our regular contribution this week. The
best that can be done is to suggest that those of you who are really
interested go to www.spaceweather.co.za for information.

DIARY OF EVENTS

Today 28 Aug. - SARL HF CW Competition. Aug. - Send ideas about 2012
Radio Technology in Action symposiums to . Aug. - Send
ideas about proposed youth forum to . 3 Sept -
ZS6JVT Youth Spring Sprint Competition from 10:00 till 12:00. 15
September - Last day to send a high resolution picture of the
participant operating during the ZS6JVT Youth Sprint to
. 18 September - Last day to submit logs for the
ZS6JVT Youth Spring Sprint 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 17 750 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 18:30 CAT on
3 230 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, Z6SBWN.

Thank you for listening, 73.
/EX
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