CTARC RAE Results - 24 Oct '21

We are delighted to report that most (24 out of 27) of the Radio Amateur Exam candidates who wrote the recent exam at the clubhouse have passed. Congratulations to the new radio amateurs! Welcome to the hobby and the ham community, which you will find is a fellowship without equal.

We encourage all radio ham in the Cape Town areas, both new and existing, to join the CTARC.

Congratulations also to Chris ZS1CDG who conducted the course and who shepherded the newcomers through the process. There are already a number of new voices on-air.

CTARC RAE Exams - 23 Oct '21

On Saturday, 23rd October 2021, prospective radio amateur candidates nationwide will write the Radio Amateurs Examination at various centres around the country. This exam and the HF Assessment must be passed in order to obtain the Amateur Radio license and a call sign, both of which are issued by ICASA. Included in this number is a large group of candidates under the mentorship of Chris ZS1CDG.

Some 29 RAE candidates will write the RAE Exam at the CTARC in the Main Hall next to the clubhouse.

This group recently started their HF Assessments with Chris on Saturday, 16th October this year. Owing to the large number of candidates involved, Chris will continue this process on Saturday 23 October before the main meeting at 14h00.

We wish all RAE candidates, and in particular Chris's group, the very best of luck for the forthcoming exam, and we hope to hear them on air soon!

We also invite the candidates to consider joining the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre, our welcoming and friendly radio ham club. Contact the Club Secretary Anne for further details here.

CTARC HF Assessments - 16 Oct '21

The CTARC Radio Amateur Examination classes continue, ably led by Chris ZS1CDG. He currently  has 29 people attending his course, which is something of a record for our growing club.

On Saturday, 16 October 2021, Chris will be taking these members through their on-air HF Assessments at his QTH in the northern suburbs. He and they will be on-air on the 40 metre band from 11h00 SAST. He extends a request for local radio hams to be there to exchange basic QSO's and signal reports with the RAE candidates.

Thanks in advance for your kind cooperation!

CTARC Summits On The Air - 20 Sept '21

Chris ZS1CDG and Pino ZU1KAT hope to activate Maclear's Beacon on Table Mountain, weather permitting. Listen out for them on 145.500 MHz Simplex and give them SOTA points. It will also be the opportunity to wish Chris a Happy Birthday too!

They will be going up by cableway in the morning (Chris gets a free birthday ticket!) and should be active by mid-morning.

Chris and Pino have been active this past week on that frequency with SOTA activity on mountains and hills in the Cape Metropole area. For those who have to be at work, take your handie along to the salt mine!

STOP PRESS! The Monday 20th September Maclear's Beacon SOTA event has been cancelled due to weather. HOWEVER, Chris ZS1CDG and Pino ZS1KAT are determined to still do it this week, weather permitting. So, please keep your rigs tuned to 145.500 MHz.

CTARC Field Day Station Report - 12 Sept '21

On Saturday 12th September, Chris ZS1CDG set up a field station outside the CTARC club house. Unfortunately, a furious South-Easter sprang up and started blowing tables and chairs across the field! So Chris and others repaired to the interior and kept the club house open to enable visiting hams to see and use the equipment. People doing Chris's RAE course were present there as well at periods throughout the day.

Thanks to Chris for his efforts and to all those who attended!

CTARC Field Day - 11 Sept '21

In line with the SARL National Field Day on the weekend of 11/12 September 2021, the CTARC has decided to run a field station at the CTARC clubhouse in Rondebosch. Chris ZS1CDG will set up a field station on the lawn outside the clubhouse from around midday on Saturday, 11 September.

Radio amateurs are invited to come and set up their field stations and antennae there as well. As it is a Field Day event, no mains electric power will be used (unless provided by your portable generator, of course!).

The usual Covid precautions will be in place. Let's keep this event virus-free.

We look forward to seeing you there!

_________________________________________________

This event has now taken place. A brief report [here].

CTARC International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend Report - 22 Aug '21

The Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre set up a station at its traditional Green Point Lighthouse venue for the 2021 ILLW event, from Saturday 19th to Sunday 20th August 2021.

Owing to the Coronavirus safety restrictions, our club wasn't able to use the actual Lighthouse or associated buildings this year as we usually do. No mains power plus the temporary loss of access to the large room and lighthouse tower we usually enjoy there made setting up a multi-rig, multi-band, multi-antenna HF station too cumbersome to do this year. However, none of these limitations prevented Chris ZS1CDG from setting up a field station at the venue to make contacts through the QO-100 geostationary satellite. Strict Covid precautions were maintained throughout the event.

A resounding success! The event was attended throughout the weekend by numerous radio amateurs as well as members of the public, who were curious to see radio hams making many international contacts via the satellite. As ever, it was a great opportunity to promote both our club and the hobby to many visitors. It was also a lot of fun!

Among those present were Chris ZS1CDG, John ZS1EQ, Graeme ZS1GAK, Fred ZS1FZ, Stan ZS1HC, ZS1KU, Lem ZS1LEM, Celso ZS1MYG, Peter ZS1PC, James ZS1RBT, Paul ZS1S, Rob ZS1SA (CTARC chairman) & Anne, Tony ZS1TK, Phil ZS1WW, Bryce ZU1BM, Kiara ZU1ISS and ZU1KAT. We were also delighted to see Syd ZS5AYC & Adele ZS5APT who had traveled down here from Natal.

A video of the CTARC ILLW event is [here].

Hats off to Chris ZS1CDG for setting up the event and thanks to all those who attended and operated the station. We look forward to the ILLW again next year where (oh, how we hope!) we will be able to run a full HF station again at Green Point Lighthouse.

A more comprehensive report and photos are in the September 2021 edition of Ragchew, the CTARC's newsletter .

CTARC RAE Classes - 21 Aug '21

Once again, people who would like to learn the necessary skills to write the RAE (Radio Amateurs' Examination) may do so via the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre. The indefatigable Chris ZS1CDG has just started another RAE Course for those who would like to to become radio amateurs.

In order to become a licensed radio amateur in South Africa, all prospective candidates must write (and pass) the Radio Amateurs' Examination, which is held twice a year at various Amateur Radio clubs and associations throughout the country.

Owing to the Coronavirus safety restrictions, Chris's RAE course is currently held online. It covers the necessary technical and legal modules all radio amateurs must know in order to operate their radio stations safely, legally and within the technical specifications required by ICASA, the communications regulatory authority who issues the much-prized Amateur Radio License all legal radio hams must possess.

A high success rate has been maintained by Chris who has already offered this course several times. A number of new radio hams in and around the Cape Peninsula owe their success in passing the exam to his wise and witty guidance.

If you would like to do the course, write and pass the RAE, become a radio ham and speak to the world, please contact Anne, the CTARC Secretary, [here] for further detaills.

CTARC RAE Course - May '21

In May this year, Chris ZS1CDG of the CTARC will run an online Radio Amateurs Examination course for prospective radio hams. 

Download the PDF [here].

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.

CTARC Radio Amateurs Exam - 29 August '20

Prospective radio amateurs will be able to write the RAE (Radio Amateurs Examination), which must be passed in order to obtain the Amateur Radio License, on Saturday, 29th August 2020.

Chris ZS1CDG, who has conducted the current RAE course, will of course be present at the venue.

The venue is the hall next to Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre clubhouse (which is part of the same building), at the Belvedere Community Centre, located on the V.O.B. Sports Grounds, Keurboom Park, in Rondebosch.

Directions to the CTARC clubhouse.

There will be two sessions:

• The morning session starts at 09h30 for 10h00;
• The afternoon session starts at 13h00 for 14h00.
   

HF Assessments

In addition to passing the RAE, prospective radio amateurs must also pass the HF Assessment Test. For those who still have not done this (easy) test, there will be a final final chance to do the test at the CTARC Clubhouse between the morning and afternoon sessions of the RAE.

We wish good luck and to all the RAE candidates!

CTARC RAE HF Practical HF Assessments - Aug '20

The RAE HF Practical assessment will go ahead under strict social distancing conditions on the 22nd of August 2020 at the CTARC club house.

Any RAE candidates who have not yet completed the HF assessment are welcome to join Chris ZS1CDG, the RAE course coordinator, at 10h00 at the club house.

Please ensure that you bring a mask.

CTARC members and other radio amateurs are very welcome to help us out - please listen out for "CQ CQ CQ ASSESSMENT THIS IS ZS1CT" around 7070 to 7090 kHz on the 40m band and work us! 

There will be many candidates so please be patient and remember many of these people may be quite nervous, remember your first time on the air? Help them out and show them what a great hobby we have.

Chris ZS1CDG

CTARC Online Course for Radio Amateurs Examination

Chris ZS1CDG has been running a very successful Radio Amateurs Examination course for newcomers to the hobby, at the CTARC and at other venues.

The next Radio Amateurs Examination will be held in October 2020.

With the Coronavirus restrictions making classroom meetings difficult, Chris is now offering this course online.

The next available course will start on Saturday, 8 August 2020.

Download the PDF with the course and registration details [here].

More general details about the Radio Amateurs Examination on the CTARC web site are [here].

CTARC Next RAE Course - 8 Aug '20

The next available RAE [Radio Amateurs Examination] course begins on the Saturday 8th August from 10h00 to 12h30 at the CTARC clubhouse at the Round Table / Belvedere Community Centre off Laidlaw Lane, Rondebosch.

For all people in Cape Town who would like to take their Radio Amateurs Examination, Chris ZS1CDG will run a nine-week course.

At the end of the course, candidates will write the Radio Amateurs Examination, successful passing of which is required to obtain the Radio Amateur's License from ICASA.

The next Radio Amateurs Examination takes place in October 2020.

For further details, please contact the CTARC Secretary [here]. A PDF file of the course details and curriculum will be sent to the applicants.

Should the Covid-19 lock-down require a change in dates or venue, these will be announced in due course.

CTARC RAE HF Assessments - 9 May '20

While the Coronavirus lock-down continues to curtail CTARC Club meetings, the activities and planning continue. Chris ZS1CDG plans to hold an HF Assessment morning for non-course RAE candidates. This is scheduled to take place at the CTARC clubhouse on the morning of  Saturday, 9 May 2020.

We would be grateful for radio hams to kindly assist this event by replying to these candidates' first calls on the air via the ZS1CT station.

Of course, this event's chances of taking place will depend entirely on the 21-day Lock-down period [which, at present, is currently scheduled to end at midnight on Thursday16 April] being lifted before any public gatherings may happen.

Further details woll be announced presently.

CTARC RAE HF Assessments - 7 Mar '20

On the morning of Saturday 7 March 2020, before the Mega Flea Market, candidates for the current RAE exam met with the course coordinator, Chris ZS1CDG for their on-air assessments.

Here are some photos of those first on-air appearances of new radio hams-to-be going through their paces. We wish them every success in the RAE!

Well done to Chris for introducing so many new people into our interesting hobby!

CTARC HF Assessments

Here's a request from Chris ZS1CDG, who runs the CTARC Radio Amateur Examination classes:

Please remind members to help with the on-air HF assessments.

Tune in to 7.070 MHz on Saturday around 11h30 SAST and listen out for candidates calling CQ. We have a large group. If everyone can help we can make a lot of new amateurs!

Thanks in advance

Chris ZS1CDG
_________________________________

Note: this event has now taken place.

See some photos of this event [here].

CTARC Field Day Report - 8 Feb '20

This February’s SARL Field Day was a chance to experiment with members’ radios, antennas and power systems, to see what works and to learn from each other.

Field stations were setup by Lem, ZS1LEM and Matt, ZS1MTF and Chris, ZS1CDG setup a demo of QO-100 as well, although this was not classed as a field station as some elements required AC from the clubhouse.

Lem’s setup was a vertical dipole for 40m HF and he began working a number of stations. Matt brought along ex-miltary B25 and setup a Dipole on 20m.

The bands seemed quiet but Chris, ZS1CDG worked ZS6J after a few calls of CQ on the B25. Both Matt and Lem had good DC power systems, with a number of solar panels providing auxiliary power to the main batteries.

James ZS1RBT, Paul ZS1S, Celso ZS1MYG, Barry ZS1FJ, Elsabe and John ZS1AGH, all popped in to have a look at how we were doing. After we had had our fill of playing radio the braai was lit and we shared a meal and some fun stories around the table.

Chris ZS1CDG

Here below are photos of the Field Day station.

This report and some more photos of the event appears in Ragchew of February 2020.
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CTARC Forthcoming Field Day - 8 Feb '20

 

The next meeting at the CTARC will be an activation of a Field Station on the lawn outside the clubhouse for the SARL Field Day competition, starting at 10h00 on Saturday, 8 February 2020.

______________________________________________________ 

Note: This event has taken place; read the report-back [here].

CTARC Summits On The Air - 27 Oct '19

Please listen out for students from Reddam House, Durbanville, on Sunday, 27 October 2019. They plan to hike to the summit at Meerendal Wine Estate and activate a SOTA entity there.

The school has a growing Amateur Radio club that can often be heard working satellites and HF stations. The students have a number of hand-held transceivers and AMSAT antennas so they will be active on 2m and 70 cm.

Additionally, they will take along an HF transceiver so to those not in the Cape Town area, listen out for them on 20m and 40m. They are aiming to be set up and operating by 09h00 SAST (07h00 UTC), so after the CTARC Sunday morning bulletin check-in, listen out for them calling CQ SOTA.

Kindly please log any contacts made with them on the SOTA website database as you will be awarded with chaser points.

The summit reference is Dorstberg (ZS/WC-940). Perhaps you might also consider doing some SOTA activations on that day?.
How about a summit-to-summit QSO?

For more information, please contact Chris ZS1CDG ON Mobile: 079-787-1426.