CTARC Compliments of the Season! - 25 Dec '14

Wishing all our members and their families compliments of the festive season and (where applicable) a very Merry Xmas for today and a happy New Year for 2015!

CTARC Safe Home... - 30 Nov '14

Mike, ZS1FP has submitted the following cartoon by Roger Pullen as a comment on the lengths we might have to go to protect our QTH's these days. Mike has received unwelcome visits by the copper thieves recently...

CTARC Report on Meeting of 29 Nov '14

The final meeting of 2014 for the Cape Town Amateur Radio Society was held yesterday, Saturday 29 November. It was, as ever, a very sociable event. The braai fires started at 12h00 and members had the opportunity to meet, and chat in weather that was agreeably warm and not too windy. A scheduled rolling electricity blackout in the Southern Suburbs wasn't a problem.

Dennis /ZS1AU appeared in his traditional James Bond outfit to present (after an amusing preamble) the Len Wells Ham Spirit trophy, which this year is awarded to Danny /ZS1BL, a worthy recipient indeed! Congratulations, Danny! Nick /ZS1ZD was awarded the CTARC Club Participation Trophy, which consists of a beautiful old Morse key mounted on a wooden plinth.

The meeting continued through the afternoon with the hiss and sizzle of wors on the braai grid and the pop and fizz of beer- and cold drink cans opening, accompanied by the chatter of members and their XYL's discussing almost every subject under the ionosphere. At around 16h00, most of us called it an afternoon and made our way carefully home past intersections with inoperative traffic lights.

The next meeting of the CTARC will take place in January 2015. We do look forward to seeing existing and new members then. Details will be provided on this website, in the December edition of Ragchew and on the usual Sunday morning bulletins.

Below are some photos of the End of Year meeting:

Left to right: Fred /ZS1FK, Elsabe, Rob /ZS1SA and John /ZS1AGH

 

Tony /ZS1TM and Richard /ZS1RIC

Mike /ZS1FP had various photos to show us all

 

Davey /ZR1FR & John /ZS1AGH

 

Nick /ZS1ZD (left) receives the Club Participation Trophy from our chairman Rob /ZS1SA (right)

Everybody waits for Dennis to announce the winner of the Len Wells Trophy

Dennis /ZS1AU awards Danny /ZS1BL the Len Wells Ham Spirit Trophy

 

Fred /ZS1FK (right) and and his sturdy bike, all the way from St Helena Bay

Paul /ZS1S and Fred /ZS1FZ

Mike /ZS1CO and Geoff /ZR1GFT
Geoff should have been awarded the trophy for the most original hat!

CTARC Forthcoming End-of-Year Function - 29 Nov '14

Just another reminder that the annual end-of-year function for the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre will take place at 12h00 B: on Saturday, 29 November 2014 at the CTARC clubhouse at the Belvedere Community Centre in Rondebosch.

The format will be a bring-and-braai social event. While a cash bar of (some) cold drinks and beer will be available, please bring your own food and refreshments. The fires will be lit at 12h00. Committee members assisting with the event will be there from around 11h30 to help set things up.

We make a special request for those members (and even former members) who have knowledge of the CTARC's history to make a special effort to attend. We would like to record your stories of our club's history, put some names and captions to photographs and gather that precious information for future generations before it is lost.

Here is your chance to meet up with old friends and catch up on the news. Do please diarise this event and make an effort to attend. Judging from past events, it is always an extremely cordial occasion. Partners are, as always, very welcome to attend.

Please note that this meeting will replace the usual monthly CTARC meeting, which would normally take place on the fourth Monday of the month.

CTARC Committee Meeting - Nov '14

Committee members of the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre are reminded that there will be a committee meeting at the clubhouse on Monday 24 November at 19h00.

Do please make every effort to attend.

CTARC Read the Instructions... 23 Nov '14

This article is dedicated to all those poor radio hams who have tried to decipher poorly-translated instruction manuals. While frustrating, sometimes these can be very amusing. Here are some fine examples:

CTARC A History of Telecommunications - Nov '14

Here is an interesting link kindly provided by Mrs Sarah Conners, a teacher who happened upon our website. It is a brief History of Telecommunications. Do take a look for yourself:

http://www.shoretel.com/community/the-history-of-telecommunication.html

CTARC Field Day Report Back - Nov '14

On Saturday 15 November, the CTARC met to run a field station for the SARL Field Day exercise.

Danny, ZS1BL, Shaun /ZS1RA and Nick /ZS1ZD were there in the morning. Hylton /ZR1HPC joined us later on. We also met Jrko, a Polish gentleman who lives in the area and who is an authority on the manufacture of crystals for the RF industry.

Radio propagation conditions were less than ideal, and while attendance of this event was probably limited because of poor weather conditions, we look forward to more active field day events in future.

CTARC Ragchew - Oct '14

The October 2014 edition of the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre's newsletter "Ragchew" has been published.

You can download it directly as a PDF file [here] or from our Newsletters Page.

Thanks to our trusty editor, Anne, and the other contributors, for another great edition!

CTARC CQ WW Contest - 27 Oct '14

On the weekend of 25 and 26 October 2014, the CQ World Wide SSB Contest took place

Mike /G7TWC and Dave /GI4FUM visited us on Saturday for our monthly meeting. They are both on holiday with their families and took time out to join us for an eyeball and a bit of radio play. Dave delivered the talk to the club members and Mike did most of the operating ZS1CT in the CQ WW-SSB contest. Conditions were trying, Mike was somewhat shell-shocked by the propagation conditions. Mike who is clearly a seasoned contester had to juggle his family commitments with the urge to play radio. He did very well, working 177 stations and 6 different CQ Zones over a few hours on Saturday and Sunday. He worked 10,15,20 and 40m with 10m being the most productive. The most exciting contacts were the contacts made to Alaska and our antipodes, Hawaii.

Below is a summary of the logbook from the competition:

CALLSIGN: ZS1CT
CONTEST: CQ-WW-SSB
CATEGORY-OPERATOR: SINGLE-OP

             Band        Mode    Date                  UTC    C/S          Report    C/S           Report

QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1901    ZS1CT    59    38    YT7A        59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1851    ZS1CT    59    38    EC2DX     59    14    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1848    ZS1CT    59    38    EF8S         59    33    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1847    ZS1CT    59    38    ED1R        59    14    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1846    ZS1CT    59    38    IB3A         59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1845    ZS1CT    59    38    RP5P        59    16    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1845    ZS1CT    59    38    YU1XX    59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1844    ZS1CT    59    38    II9P          59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1843    ZS1CT    59    38    LY2W       59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1841    ZS1CT    59    38    IO5O        59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1840    ZS1CT    59    38    ZS1SBM   59    38    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1840    ZS1CT    59    38    IZ2YCW   59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1839    ZS1CT    59    38    CT3DL      59    33    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1836    ZS1CT    59    38    OL4A        59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1834    ZS1CT    59    38    OK5W      59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1831    ZS1CT    59    38    EI7M         59    14    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1830    ZS1CT    59    38    TM6M       59    14    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1830    ZS1CT    59    38    UP2L         59    17    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1829    ZS1CT    59    38    SN2B         59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1828    ZS1CT    59    38    IB9T          59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1827    ZS1CT    59    38    OK5W      59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1827    ZS1CT    59    38    IR4M        59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1826    ZS1CT    59    38    ED7P        59    14    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1825    ZS1CT    59    38    DL2CC     59    14    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1823    ZS1CT    59    38    RT6A        59    16    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1822    ZS1CT    59    38    CN2R       59    33    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1821    ZS1CT    59    38    4O3A       59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1820    ZS1CT    59    38    US1I         59    16    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1819    ZS1CT    59    38    LZ9W       59    20    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1815    ZS1CT    59    38    IZ2YCW   59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1812    ZS1CT    59    38    UA4M      59    16    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1811    ZS1CT    59    38    OM7M      59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1810    ZS1CT    59    38    DL2CC     59    14    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1809    ZS1CT    59    38    IR8C         59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1809    ZS1CT    59    38    P33W        59    20    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1808    ZS1CT    59    38    CN2AA     59    33    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1745    ZS1CT    59    38    OK6W      59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1735    ZS1CT    59    38    UW2M      59    16    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1733    ZS1CT    59    38    UW2M      59    16    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1732    ZS1CT    59    38    SJ2W        59    14    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1731    ZS1CT    59    38    OZ7X        59    14    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1728    ZS1CT    59    38    HG4F        59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1727    ZS1CT    59    38    9A3AG     59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1726    ZS1CT    59    38    RU9CZD  59    17    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1723    ZS1CT    59    38    OM5DX    59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1721    ZS1CT    59    38    OH0V       59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1720    ZS1CT    59    38    OH0V        59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1717    ZS1CT    59    38    RC7KY     59    16    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1714    ZS1CT    59    38    RA5B        59    16    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1712    ZS1CT    59    38    DF0HQ     59    14    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1647    ZS1CT    59    38    OH5Z        59    15    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1636    ZS1CT    59    38    UA3R        59    16    0
QSO:    07 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1636    ZS1CT    59    38    KH7XX     59    31    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1602    ZS1CT    59    38    DL5MEV   59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1601    ZS1CT    59    38    9A5Y         59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1559    ZS1CT    59    38    DH8BQA  59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1558    ZS1CT    59    38    C45T        59    20    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1556    ZS1CT    59    38    SJ2W        59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1550    ZS1CT    59    38    C91C        59    37    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1547    ZS1CT    59    38    R7LV        59    16    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1545    ZS1CT    59    38    J42T         59    20    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1544    ZS1CT    59    38    DL1A       59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1543    ZS1CT    59    38    DO5OT    59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1538    ZS1CT    59    38    A73A        59    21    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1529    ZS1CT    59    38    DL9ZP      59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1525    ZS1CT    59    38    RG5A        59    16    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1524    ZS1CT    59    38    LZ2UW     59    20    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1522    ZS1CT    59    38    SP8H         59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1512    ZS1CT    59    38    UT7EZZ     59    16    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1503    ZS1CT    59    38    OL4A        59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1438    ZS1CT    59    38    OM7M      59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1420    ZS1CT    59    38    EA3AV      59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1418    ZS1CT    59    38    F4VPX      59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1417    ZS1CT    59    38    M6T          59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-26        1415    ZS1CT    59    38    S53O        59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1750    ZS1CT    59    38    DF0HQ     59    14    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1748    ZS1CT    59    38    LY4A        59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1745    ZS1CT    59    38    G9V          59    14    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1743    ZS1CT    59    38    DL5RDO   59    14    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1735    ZS1CT    59    38    IZ0PAU     59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1735    ZS1CT    59    38    RW1A        59    16    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1734    ZS1CT    59    38    SP8R         59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1734    ZS1CT    59    38    IR2L          59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1732    ZS1CT    59    38    IZ1TUF     59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1719    ZS1CT    59    38    ZS1EL       59    38    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1716    ZS1CT    59    38    EI7M         59    14    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1703    ZS1CT    59    38    YB6LAY   59    28    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1659    ZS1CT    59    38    YB4IR       59    28    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1656    ZS1CT    59    38    AH0BT      59    27    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1650    ZS1CT    59    38    YB7JS       59    28    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1648    ZS1CT    59    38    YB1FWO  59    28    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1647    ZS1CT    59    38    YB5BOY   59    28    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1641    ZS1CT    59    38    OE6Z         59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1634    ZS1CT    59    38    TC3W        59    20    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1633    ZS1CT    59    38    E70T          59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1627    ZS1CT    59    38    DF0HQ      59    14    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1623    ZS1CT    59    38    YL2014W 59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1622    ZS1CT    59    38    SP6ZDA    59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1613    ZS1CT    59    38    SN8B        59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1611    ZS1CT    59    38    ES5RW      59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1607    ZS1CT    59    38    KL7RA      59    1    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1606    ZS1CT    59    38    DF0HQ      59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1604    ZS1CT    59    38    SN2M        59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1603    ZS1CT    59    38    UZ4I          59    16    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1554    ZS1CT    59    38    OK1GTH  59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1552    ZS1CT    59    38    HG1S        59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1548    ZS1CT    59    38    UT1IF        59    16    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1546    ZS1CT    59    38    ED1R         59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1544    ZS1CT    59    38    DL5DTF    59    14    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1537    ZS1CT    59    38    S50A         59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1532    ZS1CT    59    38    OH0V        59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1531    ZS1CT    59    38    OH0V        59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1528    ZS1CT    59    38    EC4KW     59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1525    ZS1CT    59    38    LX7I          59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1523    ZS1CT    59    38    IR8C          59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1522    ZS1CT    59    38    IK2YCW   59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1518    ZS1CT    59    38    9A3JQ       59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1517    ZS1CT    59    38    IK4ALM    59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1511    ZS1CT    59    38    TF3CY       59    40    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1509    ZS1CT    59    38    K1ZR         59     5    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1507    ZS1CT    59    38    EI6JK        59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1505    ZS1CT    59    38    OH9A        59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1503    ZS1CT    59    38    DL6NDW  59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1500    ZS1CT    59    38    M0SIY       59    14    0
QSO:    28760       Phone    2014-10-25        1454    ZS1CT    59    38    F4DNW     59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1454    ZS1CT    59    38    F4DNW     59    14    0
QSO:    28.712      Phone    2014-10-25        1453    ZS1CT    59    38    EC2DX      59    14    0
QSO:    28.776      Phone    2014-10-25        1452    ZS1CT    59    38    S52ZW      59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1452    ZS1CT    59    38    S52ZW      59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1451    ZS1CT    59    38    ZS1S          59    38    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1450    ZS1CT    59    38    YT8T         59    15    0
QSO:    28.781      Phone    2014-10-25        1448    ZS1CT    59    38    ZS1S         59    38   0
QSO:    28.444      Phone    2014-10-25        1448    ZS1CT    59    38    EA8CSD   59    33    0
QSO:    28.783      Phone    2014-10-25        1448    ZS1CT    59    38    EA6AZ      59   14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1448    ZS1CT    59    38    EA6AZ      59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1446    ZS1CT    59    38    EC2DX      59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1444    ZS1CT    59    38    4O3A         59    15    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1430    ZS1CT    59    38    ZS6BV       59    38    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1426    ZS1CT    59    38    WA6TQT   59    5    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1425    ZS1CT    59    38    JH1WAQ    59    25    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1423    ZS1CT    59    38    JE3EDJ       59    25    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1419    ZS1CT    59    38    9M2TO       59    28    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1418    ZS1CT    59    38    K6UNR       59    5    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1417    ZS1CT    59    38    YB8TK       59    28    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1416    ZS1CT    59    38    JW1ZWT    59    40    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1410    ZS1CT    59    38    V51B          59    38    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1408    ZS1CT    59    38    HS5RAST   59    26    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1407    ZS1CT    59    38    YB8C          59    28    0
QSO:    14 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1358    ZS1CT    59    38    9M2SM      59    28    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1336    ZS1CT    59    38    OK5W        59    15    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1333    ZS1CT    59    38    5Z4T           59    37    0
QSO:    21 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1327    ZS1CT    59    38    IZ8HUJ       59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1156    ZS1CT    59    38    CU7MD      59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1139    ZS1CT    59    38    OH0JFP      59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1132    ZS1CT    59    38    GM5X         59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1123    ZS1CT    59    38    EA5IDE      59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1122    ZS1CT    59    38    MM3T        59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1120    ZS1CT    59    38    RT6A          59    16    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1112    ZS1CT    59    38    OM2VL      59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1110    ZS1CT    59    38    H2T            59    20    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1059    ZS1CT    59    38    CY1BOL    59    5    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1043    ZS1CT    59    38    OL4A         59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1041    ZS1CT    59    38    P33W         59    20    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1037    ZS1CT    59    38    PI4COM    59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1034    ZS1CT    59    38    LO7H         59    13    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1030    ZS1CT    59    38    OK1KQH   59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1026    ZS1CT    59    38    EA8CSD     59    33    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1025    ZS1CT    59    38    EA7JW       59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1022    ZS1CT    59    38    SP4D          59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1016    ZS1CT    59    38    VY2ZM      59      5    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1013    ZS1CT    59    38    YL2SM       59    15    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1013    ZS1CT    59    38    DL5L          59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        1002    ZS1CT    59    38    DL2CC       59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        0958    ZS1CT    59    38    DK5E         59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        0954    ZS1CT    59    38    EE3A          59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        0950    ZS1CT    59    38    EE5M         59    14    0
QSO:    28 MHz    Phone    2014-10-25        0946    ZS1CT    59    38    OK7K        59    15    0

END-OF-LOG:

CTARC Report on Meeting of 25 Oct '14

The CTARC held its October meeting at 14h00 on Saturday, 25 October 2014 at the clubhouse. The meeting was well attended. As planned, Dr David Hutchison / GI4FUM (and EI4DJ) gave a talk on his experiences in Amateur Radio and various DXpeditions he has been on.

Continuing a family tradition in medical health care (his father ran a successful dental practise in Observatory in Cape Town for years), David trained as an anaesthetist, and later worked as a GP in Ireland. He obtained his first radio ham license (callsign GI8MIV) at a young age. His studies required him to take a break from the hobby but he returned to amateur radio as GI4FUM, whch callsign he currently holds.

David showed us a slide show of his activities and a video of the March 2007 Swaziland DXpedition he took part in. He has been on a number of DXeditions in Africa, as C91DJ in Mozambique, V55B in Oranjemund and 3DA0DJ in Swaziland. Being active in the Scouting movement, David also set up and ran the first ever Swaziland JOTA station, 3DA0SS, a project which he hopes to re-activate in the future.

He also was involved in the G100MGY special event station to commemorate the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic (which was built in Belfast). MGY was the Titanic's callsign on that fateful night it sent out it's emergency SOS messages after hitting an iceberg in the north Atlantic Ocean.

Ham radio runs in David's family - his XYL Gillian holds the callsign GI8MIV (which was David's original callsign) and his son is GI7EXM.

David is here in Cape Town until 4th November. We thank him for his interesting talk, hope to hear him often on the bands and wish him and his family a pleasant holiday.

David addresses the CTARC

The Swaziland DXpedition team

Shaun / ZS1RA ran ZS1CT station in the CQ WW DX competition for the Saturday.
Welcome also to Fred / ZS1FZ, who is back in Cape Town again.

After the talk there was the usual chat over coffee and biscuits.
We're also glad to report Dennis / ZS1AU (foreground left) is out of the white house
and was able to attend the meeting.

CTARC Field Day Operation - 15 Nov '14

The Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre will run a Field Day operation from the CTARC Clubhouse at the clubhouse in the Belvedere Community Centre at Keurboom Park, Chess Road Rondebosch on the 15th November 2014.

Please note that while the National Field Day exercise runs officially from 12h00 B: on 15 November to 12h00 B: on 16 November, CTARC will run the station on Saturday 15th ONLY.

The station will be run off the grid and be powered by battery and solar energy with a back-up generator. Station set-up is scheduled for 09h00 and will be dismantled around 18h00. There will be a bring and braai, we will start the fires around 17h30.

Please pay us a visit to participate in operating the station or to assist with the setup and dismantling operations.

We hope to see you all.

CTARC Radio Amateur Examinations - Oct '14

Following a recent CTARC committee meeting, it has been recognised that there is a need to assist prospective radio amateurs in our area who want to write the Radio Amateurs Examination. Passing the RAE is a necessary step to obtain the Amateur Radio Operators license.

Our club is looking for suitably capable, qualified and reliable volunteers who are able to assist with this training programme. The idea here is to share the teaching load, to ensure that one person does not have to run the entire course alone!

Our club has provided such training in the past and looks forward to adding new members to the hobby in the future!

Should you be such a volunteer, please contact the Secretary via e-mail.

CTARC Forthcoming October Meeting - 25 Oct '14

On Saturday 25 October at 14h00, the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre will meet at the Belvedere Community Centre, off Laidlaw Lane in Rondebosch, for their monthly meeting.

We are greatly priviledged to have Dr David Hutchison joining us for this meeting. He will deliver a talk which we are sure will be well worth hearing.

He is a man of many talents and interests:

In addition to being a General Practitioner (now retired), he is a keen radio amateur and a member of the Irish Radio Transmitter Society. He's a keen DX-er, a contest operator (who has won some S A Radio League trophies in his time), as well as being the Director of the Northern Ireland Sports Shooting Federation. He has been associated with the British Olympic Sports Shooting Association for 20 years. He's also a keen digital photographer.

David is also an old Capetonian with roots in this city (his father was a dentist in Observatory). David is a regular visitor to South Africa. This time, he would like to take part in some radio contests, and will be making use of the CTARC facilities during his stay.

We look forward to meeting him on Saturday. We hope you will all make the effort to attend. All are (as ever) most welcome!

CTARC New Member - Oct '14

We welcome Hylton Conacher, ZS1HPC, who joined the ranks of the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre in September this year. We hope your association with our club will be a long and happy one, Hylton!

CTARC RTA in Cape Town - 1 Nov '14

The annual SARL Radio Technology in Action roadshow will be held in Cape Town, at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology campus in Bellville on Saturday 1 November 2014. Registration opens at 08h30 and the conference proper will start at 09h00.

It promises, as always, to be a very interesting event and well worth attending.

One of the topics covered is a transceiver control interface kit that works through a USB port, and these kits, as well as a CD, can be ordered on the registration form.

Registration (for SARL members) - if you register before 28 October - is R100-00. If you register after that date, it will cost R130-00. Students can register for a reduced fee. Non-SARL members may attend the conference, but at a higher fee.

The list of topics to be covered at the conference, registration fees, the registration form and further details, are to be found at:
http://www.amateurradio.org.za/RTACT2014.htm

CTARC Good Luck to RAE Candidates - 16 Oct '14

On Thursday, 16 October 2014, prospective radio amateur candidates will be writing the Radio Amateur Exam nationwide. Two groups will be writing the exam in the Western Cape - one at the Oakdale Club - Amateur Radio section, and another at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology campus in Bellville.

We wish all of those who will be writing the very best of good luck for the exam!

CTARC Submissions for October Newsletter - Oct '14

You are kindly reminded that you have but a week to submit your articles for the October 2014 edition of Ragchew, the CTARC's bi-monthly newsletter. Articles and adverts for the Swop Shop page must please reach Anne by 15 October 2014.

E-mail your articles to zs1ct (at) ctarc.org.za

CTARC Committee Members Meeting - Oct '14

A reminder of the forthcoming meeting for committee members of the CTARC.

This will take place on Monday 20 October at 19h00 at the CTARC clubhouse in Rondebosch.

CTARC Report on Meeting of 27 Sep '14

On Saturday, 27 September 2014 at 14h00 B: the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre held its September Meeting of 2014. In spite of cool-ish weather, the meeting was well attended.

Above: CTARC members gather for the meeting

Above: Hans / ZS1HA, back in Cape Town from his extended trip to Europe

Our chairman Rob / ZS1SA opened the meeting and mentioned forthcoming events, such as the Field Day and End-of-Year function. Details of these will appear on this blog and in the CTARC Sunday morning bulletins. New members and visitors were also welcomed and given the opportunity to introduce themselves.

Above: Rob / ZS1SA opens the meeting

Then we were treated to a special treat in the form of a call on 20m (14195 kHz USB) and report to the Club from Paul / ZD9ZS, who is currently on his DXpedition at Tristan da Cunha. Paul and Nigel / ZD9XF are doing well and continue to work their pile-ups (Nigel has logged around 17000 CW contacts thus far). They are scheduled to close down the DX station on 3 October when the SA Agulhas returns to Tristan. However, as always, weather will play a big role as to when (and whether) a vital two tons of supplies for the isolated community are offloaded, and when Paul and Nigel set sail back for Cape Town. They hope to set up a HF station on the vessel so they can work QSO's while in transit back home. In the mean time, they both remain active on HF for the last few days of their DXpedition.

Above: Rob in QSO with Paul / ZD9ZS, while Hylton / ZR1HPC looks on.

Above: Owing to the improved solar figures, comms on 20m with ZD9ZS were good.

Rob then introduced the main speaker, Dennis / ZS1AU, who spoke on DXing and Propogation and the skills required to work the number of stations to achieve the treasured DXCC certificate ("The first 300 are easy to get; it's the last few that take decades!"). You may be surprised to read that, while Dennis has been an active ham for most his life, it was only in the 1980's that he decided to really pursue the DXCC. From then on, there was no stopping him!

There are the basic requirements -  having a good transceiver and antenna, as well as hearing sufficiently good to copy weak DX accurately through the noise floor. Then, while much propogation information is available through the Internet, knowledge of when and to where the bands open (specific to YOUR location) is something that can only be discovered with lots of experience. In addition to following the HF beacons as indicators of band openings, Dennis encouraged hams to join regular international HF nets (and to hear which DX stations calling into these nets can be copied locally). Getting involved in international HF contests is also useful to build up the necessary operating skills and to learn how to cope with the unexpected!

The current solar cycle, times of day and seasons of year, the prospects for propogation in the future and the choice of working Long- or Short-Path DX arond the Great Circle route were also covered. Dennis also showed us his collections of QSL cards and told us some hair-raising tales of entire collections that get lost in the post en route to the ARRL. (The lesson here - scan in copies of your precious QSL cards as a backup...).

All in all, another great meeting and well worth the effort to attend. We look forward to the next meeting on 25 October 2014.

Above, left to right: Dennis / ZS1AU is introduced by Rob / ZS1SA

Above: Dennis' talk was most interesting and informative

Above: The Herculean effort Dennis had to make to collect the QSL's from
over 300 stations - and the fact that they were almost lost in the US postal system -
is a very emotional subject for him!

Above: Dennis shows off one of his vast albums of QSL cards

Above: Pick a card - any card! Here Dennis dared the audience to ask him to show off a card
from any DX entity. He has the lot (plus a few extra to spare) !

Above: Unfortunately Dennis was unable to show us a
QSL card from Outer Wogga-Wogga. But he does have
all of the rest!

Above: Dennis shows his Alt-Azimuth map based on Cape Town.
It shows the bearings and distances of all the continents and countries in the world.
Essential for knowing where to point the beam antenna.

Above: Fred / ZS1FK, who travelled all the way down from St Helena Bay to attend the meeting.
Note the interesting homebrew container behind the seat of his Honda!