Sunday 29 November 2020

CTARC November Meeting Photos - 29 Nov '20

Yesterday, Saturday 28th November, the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre held its final social gathering of the year. The meeting was well attended, considering the unique circumstances. The weather was good and the breeze outside contributed to the safety as CTARC members met outside the Clubhouse for a bring-and-braai. (For safety reasons, the clubhouse door remained locked so people remained outside.) Covid-19 safety regulations were adhered to - visitors were registered, wore masks (except when tucking into their food!) and practised social distancing.The braai arrangements worked well - people brought their own food, plates and braai utensils. Liquid refreshments were provided at no costs until the stocks ran out.
 
A fleamarket was set up with some interesting bits of equipment available at nominal prices. Because of safety regulations this was only for CTARC members, some of whom walked away with bargains! The next big fleamarket will be in March 2021, where everyone else will also get the chance to bring and buy.

Special CTARC Calendars for 2021 could be purchased from Anne for a reasonable price. The proceeds of such sales will go to assist Club funds.

Thank you to Anne and Rob for organising the event, to the Committee for setting things up before the meeting (and taking things down again afterwards), and to all the members who attended, to make this an enjoyable and safe final meeting of the year. A special thank you to all, who by wearing their masks and keeping a safe distance, kept the meeting safe for all who attended.

Future club gatherings, under the current regulations, are still possible and safe provided we adhere to the anti-virus guidelines.

We look forward to seeing you all in the new year which (we all do hope) will bring some sense of normality once more. Details of forthcoming meetings will be announced through the usual channels.

Below are some photos of the event, kindly provided by Tony ZS1TK. Unfortunately as folk wore masks (as requested), identification of them remained difficult for the captions...

The flea market provided some interesting items...
 

...and for once the tables weren't crowded with competing bargain hunters!



Anne, Paul ZS1S and Rob ZS1SA


Everybody brought and braai'd their own food.


Rob ZS1SA








Anne registers Hans-Jurgen ZS1HJH and Wolfgang ZS1WLH

Committee members set up the meeting area

Friday 27 November 2020

CTARC Calendars for 2021 - Nov '20

Once again, the CTARC calendars for the following year will be available at the November meeting and thereafter. 

Printed in full colour, these useable, compact format calendars for 2021 contain the usual days and months of the year, public holidays, the dates of the forthcoming CTARC club meetings and events, as well as the committee meeting dates (which have changed from their previous Monday evenings format). 

Calendars will be available for purchase at forthcoming CTARC meetings for a very reasonable price. All proceeds of sales of these calendars will go to CTARC club funds.

Further enquiries to the CTARC Secretary, Anne, [here].

Sunday 22 November 2020

Hi Everyone

Our end of year function will go ahead on Saturday, 28 November 2020, (weather permitting). 
It will be in the form of a braai held on the lawns outside the clubhouse. Start time 13h00. (The fires will be lit at 13h00). 

The results of the survey are in, and we had 50 replies. (I would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey for me).

We had 22 "yes" replies and of those 18 replied to "bring your own meat".

Therefore the committee have agreed that the club will supply the fires and socially-distanced chairs, plus all liquid refreshments will be complimentary until the stock runs out!

That means you will need to bring along... your meat and accompaniments, plates, cutlery, glasses and braai tongs and extra liquid refreshments if required. Even if you do not intend to braai, please come out and say hello to your friends at the event. 

COVID 19 Precautions

Having the function in this format will be the safest for all and following the Covid-19 protocols. If you have been in contact with someone suffering from Covid-19 or feeling the symptoms yourself please do not attend.

Everyone must sign in and wear a mask at all times except when eating. The club will provide hand sanitiser for entry and at the braai area. It is imperative that social distancing of 1.5 metres be maintained especially at the braai area. Please do not be offended if a committee member asks you to please wear your mask correctly or social distance should they see you are too close to another member. It is for our mutual protection. Remember that wearing of a mask is mostly for the protection of fellow club members, not yourself. Show that you care. 


The committee will have some donated items for sale on a table. If you have items you wish to sell, you may do so providing you only set up your goods from 13h00. Sellers will need to supply their own bottle of hand sanitiser for the protection of their customers to handle goods and cash. To keep the event small and safe we are not inviting non-members to buy or sell. (They will be invited to our usual March bumper flea market).

So that's where we are at right now, it will be great to see some of you again and we hope 2021 may get us all back to some kind of normality without all of these health safety restrictions.

Further updates may be sent out once the weather for the 28th has been confirmed.
 
(As of 25 December, the weather for Cape Town is predicted to be sunny, with a maximum temperature of 22 degrees.)

Regards, 

Anne Bareham
(CTARC Sec:/ Treasurer / Editor)

Mobile: O72-268-12O7
___________________________________________________________________
 
Note: This event has now taken place. A report-back with photos is [ here ].

Thursday 5 November 2020

CTARC RAE held on 5th Dec '20

The forthcoming Radio Amateurs Exam will be written at the CTARC clubhouse on Saturday, 5th December 2020

 Candidates must please be at the venue at 09h30 for 10h00 on the Saturday morning.

Chris ZS1CDG will be in attendance to oversee the exam.

For those candidates who have yet to do their necessary HF Assessment, they will get the chance to do so via the CTARC's facilities from 13h00 after the exam is finished.

Tuesday 3 November 2020

CTARC End-of-Year Meeting - 28 Nov '20

The last formal meeting of the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre will take place on the lawns in front of the clubhouse on Saturday, 28th November 2020. Bookmark your diaries now!

This is traditionally held in the form of a bring-and-braai meeting. The Committee is deliberating as to how the event - your last chance to chew the proverbial (and literal!) fat with CTARC members before the new year - may be organised in the context of the Lock-down and health restrictions with which we all must comply.

Owing to the Coronavirus regulations, all persons attending will be required to wear a mask and maintain social distancing of at least 1.5 metres from one another.

Please RSVP to our stalwart Secretary, Anne, if you (and family and friends) are going to attend; logistics need organising in terms of food and braai facilities.

Further details will be announced on the CTARC Bulletins on Sunday mornings.

Sunday 1 November 2020

CTARC Ragchew - November '20

The November 2020 edition of the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre's bi-monthly newsletter "Ragchew" is now published. Grateful thanks to the editor, Anne, for another fine edition.

Remember please, Anne is always on the look-out for articles to publish in Ragchew! This is especially the case during the lock-down. Please submit them to the editor in MS-Word format.

You can advertise ham-related items - for sale, swop or wanted-to-buy - in Ragchew, including colour photos, details and prices. To do so, please contact the editor at zs1ct@ctarc.org.za

Download the November 2020 Newsletter as a PDF file [here];

Ragchew is also on our Newsletters Page