Updated 31 JANUARY 2010

Listen Amateur Radio Mirror International
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Entry Level License Syllabus

ZU STUDY GUIDE

HF Assessment

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News release "2007 SARL FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY

One of the main objectives of the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust is to promote Amateur Radio and to support the South African Radio League in its quest to introduce the science of Amateur Radio to the young people of  Africa and in particular to the young people of South Africa.

GO INTO SPACE

LEARNERS AND TEACHERS INVITED TO "FLY A FILE" ON ARISSAT-1

Learners and teachers are invited to have their work flown in space in a new satellite project called ARISSat which replaces the originally SuitSat 2 project which was a disused spacesuit fitted with amateur radio equipment.

The ARISSat-1 Team wishes to include a memory stick of files prepared by learners," explained Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International Chairman, Gaston Bertels, ON4WF. "This should be a .jpg or a PDF of things the student has prepared." He gave such examples as a paper or a study done on a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) topic, a drawing of spacecraft or a schematic, a journal kept on a STEM topic, a story or news article about a STEM subject or a photo of the class doing a hands-on STEM activity. Having the students' work be a part of ARISSat-1 means the student is a part of the satellite project and along for the spacewalk and deployment of ARISSat-1."

"The quantity of files and the size of a file are unlimited, since memory sticks provide for a very large amount of file space." Bertels said that files must be either in .jpg or PDF format -- no Microsoft Word documents will be accepted. Files can be in any language, as long as an English translation is also included as a text file.

South African entries will be coordinated by SA AMSAT and also placed on a local website. Entries should reach youth@sarl.org.za by 28 February 2010. Get more details here

GET A BURSARY TO STUDY AMATEUR RADIO

The South African Amateur Radio Development Trust has announced details of it YARP 2010 bursary scheme. YARP is the acronym for Youth For Amateur Radio Programme. Bursaries are available for both the entry level license and the full licence. 

For both license classes the bursary will cover the lecture, examination and first year license fees and a printed copy of the SARL course material. 

Upon the completion of the course and the passing of the theory and practical examination, the Trust will sponsor  a year’s membership of the SARL. 

Application must be made on the prescribed form available HERE 

JUST LICENSED AND NO RIG YET? GET ON THE AIR WITH ECHOLINK

Talk for free!
So you have just received your new ZU, or ZR  or ZS callsign and you can’t wait to make amateur radio contacts …. You can’t because you have no equipment as yet.  Echolink can end your frustration within a few minutes. After reading this article you could be accessing any of the 2000 repeaters linked to the system and work some DX.
For licensed hams, EchoLink^® software opens up new possibilities for communicating around the world with other amateurs.  Your PC links you to any of thousands of other stations over the Internet. There are more than 170,000 registered users in 158 nations worldwide! 
As a newcomer to amateur radio all you need is a PC, a microphone, speakers and an Internet connection. A dial-up will work but a broadband connection will deliver better quality.

How to get connected?

First you need to download the Echolink software.  EchoLink^® software is offered free of charge to licensed Amateur Radio operators worldwide, for Amateur Radio use only.  Please note that you must hold a valid Amateur Radio license in order to use EchoLink.  After installing the program, you must provide proof of license if you wish to use it.
Jonathan Taylor, K1RFD, developed EchoLink in early 2002. In an astonishingly short period of time, EchoLink has become one of the dominant Amateur Radio VoIP systems. The free EchoLink software for Windows can be downloaded at www.echolink.org.  

When you start the EchoLink software, your computer taps the Internet to connect to an EchoLink server. Before you can make your first connection to the network, your call sign must be verified. . This can take minutes or hours, depending on the state of the system, but it helps reduce the chances of non-hams entering the EchoLink network.  
Once you’re validated (you only do this once), the rest is easy. The EchoLink server acts like a telephone switchboard in cyberspace. It maintains a directory of everyone who is connected at any moment. After browsing the directory, you can request a connection between your computer and that of another amateur.
Here’s where it becomes interesting. The amateur on the EchoLink receiving end may be sitting in front of his computer with a headset and microphone. Or he may have his computer connected to a base radio at his station that is acting as an RF relay to a handheld transceiver or mobile rig. Or the destination station may be part of a repeater system. In any case, once the connection is established, anything you say will wind up being heard in the other amateur’s headset, or transmitted over the air.
At your end of the EchoLink connection, you may be the one wearing the headset, or using a simplex connection to your base radio, or using a repeater. When you connect to an individual station, the custom is to call in the same fashion as you would during a traditional on-air conversation: “ZS6ABC from ZU1XYZ.” Or if you are connecting to a distant repeater system: “ZU1XYZ, Pretoria, South Africa, (You need to hesitate about 2 seconds before speaking to compensate for the delay.)

The EchoLink servers also support conferencing where several amateurs can converse in a roundtable fashion. There are even EchoLink nets that meet within these conference areas on a scheduled basis.

EchoLink Setup

To run EchoLink you’ll need a PC with Windows 98/2000/XP and a sound card. The software is easy to set up. A “wizard” function guides you through each step.
If you want to enjoy EchoLink conversations while sitting at your computer, you will need a microphone headset. These are commonly available from computer shops. The microphone plug attaches to the microphone input jack of your sound card and the headphone plug typically attaches to the SPEAKER OUT jack. In addition to setting up the EchoLink software, you may also need to adjust your sound card VOLUME and RECORDING control settings in Windows.
If you are using a wireless router you may not be able to connect to Echolink without changing some of the settings. EchoLink requires that your router or firewall allow inbound and outbound UDP to destination ports 5198 and 5199, and outbound TCP to port 5200.  Source ports are dynamically assigned.  If you are using a home-network router, you will also need to configure the router to "forward" UDP ports 5198 and 5199 to the PC on which EchoLink is running. 

The EchoLink website, www.echolink.org includes many help files and a FAQ that will assist you in setting up.