CTARC Meeting - 29 Mar '14

On Saturday, 29 March 2014, we held a meeting at the CTARC Clubhouse in Rondebosch at 13h00. There, we were most fortunate to meet Jeffrey Briggs, who holds the callsigns K1ZM and VY2ZM. Jeffrey is currently visiting South Africa with his wife and daughter.

Jeffrey gave us a facinating set of talks and Powerpoint presentations:

The first presentation was on his experiences as a DX-pedition member of the 7O6T expedition to Yemen. This middle-eastern country is only rarely opened up to amateur radio activities, and the environment is not for the faint-of-heart!

The second presentation was on the early history of radio and Marconi's experimental wireless station in Newfoundland. To this day there are controversies regarding the actual date of the first transatlantic radio contact, and Jeff showed us some intriguing graphs regarding propogation conditions at the time that contact is believed to have occured.

Then Jeffrey gave us a very interesting talk on his experiences with phased vertical antenna arrays for 160 metres, combined with some very practical advice on how to set up the necessary ground radials for such antennas.

After the talks, our chairman Noel, ZS1FW, handed him an embroidered cap (kindly made possible by John, ZS1AGH) to thank him. Grateful acknowledgements also to Raul Coetzee, ZS1C, for having introduced Jeffrey to our club. Afterwards, over tea and biscuits, we had the opportunity to chat with Jeffrey and each other. A very satisfactory club meeting indeed!

To see photos of this event, click [here].

CTARC Ragchew March 2014

The March 2014 edition of "Ragchew", CTARC's monthly newsletter, has been published in PDF format.

You can download it directly from [here] or from the link on our Newsletters Page

CTARC Change of Date for March Meeting - 11 Mar '14

All members of the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre and visitors please take note of the following:

Our next meeting, which was scheduled to be held on Saturday 22 March 2014, has been postponed to the following Saturday.

The reason for this sudden change of date is that we have managed to get Jeff, VY2ZM, a seasoned DXer,  to come and address the club. It promises to be a most interesting afternoon.

Further details will be broadcast on the Sunday morning ZS1CT Bulletin, following the ZS6SRL Bulletin which starts at 08h30.

So, please diarise Saturday 29 March 2014 at 13h00 S.A.S.T. for the next meeting at the CTARC. We look forward to seeing you there!

CTARC Flea Market a Great Success - 1 Mar '14

The CTARC held its annual flea market on Saturday, 1 March 2014. Both the weather and turnout were better than expected! Here are some photos taken of the event. Click on any photo for an enlargement:

Exhibitors lined up their vehicles & tables on the lawn outside the clubhouse

Richard, ZS1RIC and Hennie, ZS1HR

Eldred had a LOT of stuff for sale

More of Eldred's items for sale

Bernie (ZS1BW), Dave (ZS1SG) and Tom (ZS1AFS)
The rig is a Yaesu FRG7700

Cobus, ZS1K, without the shades.

Sterling work from those kind ladies in the catering department

The Antique Wireless Association put up a display

Palpable delight at finding the right rig!

Good fellowship and much discussion had by all

Hugo, ZS1HSF, Dirkie, ZS1X, and Dave, ZS1SG

DIrk, ZS1VDP, Paul, ZS1S and Chris, ZS1CK admire the AWA stand

Eldred, ZS1DJ and Rob, ZS1SA

When the boerewors was ready, attention shifted towards that particular table...

We got ours! Fleamarkets yield hidden treasures...

Almeiro, ZS6LDP, came all the way from Pretoria to visit!

Ivan, ZS1ZX explains the finer points of his antennas

Dave, ZS1DFR and Bernie, ZS1BW

Jan, ZS1JH (seated) had some fine wares for sale

The CTARC also had some stuff for sale at very reasonable prices.

Alfie / ZS1HX, wonders if there's a spare LNB in there.

Get 'em while they're young!
The young gentleman is obviously enamoured with a rig...

You want R50 for THAT????
Greg, ZS1EZ makes an emphatic point!