EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: harc@harc.org.za; committee@harc.org.za

Chairman Keith Lowes, ZS5WFD 082 685-6666 Vice Chairman Justin Wright, ZS5JW 083 663-3551 Secretary Pravin Kumar, ZS5LT-ad hoc 082 496-3198 Treasurer Kimmy Wright, ZS5KIM 079 884-3698 Members; Hettie Joubert, ZS5BH 082 461-0214 Troy Beverage, ZS5TWG 073 175-1088 Peter Dormehl, ZS5HF 084 402-1107

Club Auditor To be appointed

Portfolios The following are to be contacted with regards to all the following portfolios

Portfolios: Name: Call sign: Phone:

Repeater Custodians Keith ZS5WFD, Justin ZS5JW, Assisting Repeaters- Fred Andreas ZS5SAM Repeaters-APRS Shaun Rudling ZR5S 0826761488 Repeater Licences Treasurer Website & Email Infrastructure Brad Phillips ZS5Z webmaster@harc.org.za 0317633754 Contests Troy ZS5TWG Technical Keith ZS5WFD, Justin ZS5JW, Pravin ZS5LT RAE Keith ZS5WFD, Pravin Kumar Social Keith ZS5WFD, Bulletins Hettie Joubert ZS5BH HF assessors for RAE Rob Marshall ZS5ROB; Keith Lowes ZS5WFD, Pravin ZS5LT QSL Manager Troy Beverage ZS5BWG Meetings Organiser Pravin Kumar ZS5LT, Derek ZS5DM Club Constitution Pravin Kumar ZS5LT, Keith ZS5WFD Hotline Editor & Assisting DSTAR/DMR Tony ZS5GR hotline@harc.org.za 0733564758 Club History Justin ZS5KT Club Database Kimmy ZS5KIM SARL Liaison Keith ZS5WFD Cheque Signatories Keith ZS5WFD, Kimmy ZS5KIM, Peter Dormehl ZS5HF-ad hoc RAE Examination Invigilator Rob Marshall ZS5ROB, Rob

HARC Repeater Information VHF Kloof 145.625 MHz (Rptr Tx) & 145.025MHz (Rptr Rx) 88.5Hz CTCSS access tone, *Alverstone temporary* 145.7625 MHz New installation now running on Mount Mariah, in testing phase HAMNET VHF 145.700 MHz (Rptr Tx) Temporary Used for events. High Site? NATURN UHF Ridge Road Ch 3 439.025 MHz (Rptr Tx) & 431.425MHz (Rptr Rx) -o/s at present*

Highway Hotline June 2020

2013

VHF Beacon: 144.420Mhz, 20W, 6-Element Quad, Pointing to JHB Div6, QTH of ZS5KT: KG50ME APRS: 144.800 MHz, ZS0PMB-7 is the Durban-Bluff based Digipeater-Maintained by Shaun ZR5S DSTAR: Alverstone VHF D-STAR Repeater ZS0PMB C 145.575 MHz -0.6mhz split -o/s at present* DMR: Kloof UHF Repeater – 438.200 Mhz (Rptr Tx) -7.6 mhz Split ZS5SAM UHF Repeater- 438.250 Mhz – Durban City coverage Also chat on DMR 432.500 & 432.525 Simplex DMR: Pietermaritzburg (Windy Ridge) – 438.225 Mhz (Rptr Tx) – 7.6 mhz Split Pietermaritzburg Mountain Rise – 438.300 Mhz Also........6m X-Band to MARC linked repeaters at Hilton on 50.550MHz FM simplex 88.5Hz tone. Vertical antenna polarization.

BITS AND BOBS HARC Banking Details: Payments can be made directly to the Nedbank Pinetown Bank account # 2004975946, a transmission account, code # 198765, Swift Code: NEDSZAJJ, please quote your callsign as reference. A copy of the deposit slip must however be sent to The Treasurer, P.O. Box 77 New Germany 3620 or scanned / info emailed to treasurer@harc.org.za. Direct payments, i.e. cheques may be sent to The Treasurer, P.O. Box 77 New Germany 3620. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

BULLETIN PRESENTERS

June 2020

07th

Pravin ZS5LT 082 496-3198 21st Bernard ZS5BWY

14

th Keith ZS5WFD 082 685-6666 28

th Rob ZS5ROB 082 931-0970

The readers will be contacted if there are any changes. Folks-We needs more folk to assist with the Sunday bulletin reading, the more there are, the less often one has to be available to read! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

BIRTHDAY BOOK June 2020

02-Jun Tarryn Holliday ZS5TA 08-Jun Deon Fraser ZS5DCF 13-Jun Ron Gillespie ZS5RG 16-Jun Neil Van Staaden ZS5ND 27-Jun Alan Smith ZS5AVS 30-Jun Valerie Wagner ZS5VAL The Chairman, Committee and all the members of the Highway Amateur Radio Club join together in wishing you all a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ CALENDAR EVENTS

June 2020

5 World Environmental Day 6 SARL VHF/UHF QSO Party; West Rand Flea Market 7 World Ocean's Day 9 Council Skype 14 Hammies Sprint 16 Youth Day; SARL Youth Sprint; Highway ARC meeting 17 World QRP Day 18 SARL Top Band QSO Party 19 SARL Top Band QSO Party 20 Winter Solstice (23:44); SARL Top Band QSO Party; SARL 95 40 m Club Sprint 21 Father’s Day; SARL Top Band QSO Party 22 SARL Top Band QSO Party 26 Ham Radio, Friedrichshafen 27 Ham Radio; HARC Swap Shop 28 Ham Radio 30 End of the SARL Financial Year; World Asteroid Day HOTLINE NEWSLETTER

Articles are always sought. Anybody having something interesting for the magazine, please e-mail it to me or snail mail it, thanks-Ed(Tony ZS5GR) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Article from Laurie ZS5DL: A GOOD EARTH ?

RF Earth or ground is a very vague term indeed. So what is a good earth for your shack. There are so many factors to earthing and so many things to investigate and consider. For starters what soil do you have – acid soil or O. I put a commercial Copper plated rod down and considered that to be a good earth. Some 11 months later the acid soil had eaten the rod away and I had no earth at all. A good earth is something that presents a low impedance at all frequencies that are to be used. All frequencies usually means just the transmission frequency and any spurii which usually includes harmonics but may also include mixing products. A coiled microphone cord is a bigger radiator than a Rubber Duck antenna. Some Hams just look at the resistive part of the impedance . But I wonder if all this aspect will be considered by today’s Ham? Before we go any further Lightning has a mind of its own. There is nothing known to man that can prevent lightning from striking any particular spot. For a start when going out pull them out. Yes pull all antennas out. What a nuisance that is to all of us but most necessary. Make it a habit. I ask do you know what the Water Table is in your area? At Sherwood, Durban it is about 1 meter below the surface and believed to be a good area for Ham Radio but my old friend Ray Walsh was struck several times at Sherwood. So, why, you ask. Now we have the opposite when Harold ZS5RLB thought he had put down a good earth in damp soil only to be struck into Dry ground on the other side of the house. I know you thought lightning needed a good moist ground but lightning does not care where it strikes. So what makes a good earth? The closest practical approximation to a good earth Is a SHORT, THICK, wire connected to the earth. It works pretty well providing that the wire is shorter than a wavelength. If you expect your “good earth RF-Ground” to eliminate the second Harmonic of a 10m signal (56MHz) you need a wire shorter than 2.5m. To get a good ground at UHF a large metal plate, which is often called a “ground plane”, would do. Now what if you live on the 3rd floor of a block of flats? In many cases a dipole or loop antenna works fine without a ground but TVI or RFI used to be a nuisance. It appears that the mains water piping is the only option to you but check it out as plastic water pipes are useless. Whatever you do using rip cord connected to the house water pipe is a no! no! You need to give the matter more thought. Those house water pipes are a worry. Are they earthed? Are they. Are they metal pipes or polycop or other plastic material. You better have a look at them and make sure they are connected to the house earth. My Yaesu FT102 operators Manual states specifically “For best performance and safety use the stud on the rear panel and connect it to a good ground earth through a large braided cable not more than 10 feet long. Ground all other station equipment to this point” and further “Ground the transceiver using a heavy braided cable of the shortest length possible. Cold water pipes are generally not satisfactory as grounding points. It is better to use earth rods with the grounding cable securely connected to each point in the ground system”. I have used a length of stainless pipe for my earth for many years and it is still in good order. Don’t just think about earthing but do something about it.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A Nuts and Volts Article: ROTATORS-How do you turn that thing?- Cont:-

DETERMINING DIRECTION

For local point-to-point connections, a topo map and compass are usually enough to get your signals “on target.” For long-distance over-the-horizon contacts, though, you need to know about azimuthal-equidistant maps. Such a map (cantered on your location) shows the correct bearing to any point on the globe (Figure 3). FIGURE 3. An azimuthal-equidistant map centered on the NØAX station in Missouri. While my latitude (40 N) is about the same as that of Spain, the great circle direction to Europe is between 30 and 60 degrees! Australia and Africa are almost straight west and east, respectively.

All the great circle paths from your location are straight lines heading directly to the edge of the map. This is the path your signal takes, and it may be in a direction you’re not expecting. For example, viewed on a Mercator projection map, the path from St. Louis to, say, Berlin is

almost straight east. However, the path your signal would take is about 35 degrees east of north!

Most of the analog meter scales for the popular Ham-IV and Tailtwister rotators are north-centered with north at the top and south at either end of the scale. You can also special-order south-centered scales or print your own using the free program, MeterBasic (www.tonnesoftware.com/meter.html).

CONTROLLING THE ROTATOR

Each rotator family has their own custom control units for energizing the rotator and displaying antenna position. There are also after-market control units that operate with any of the common rotators. The most widely used are the Green Heron controllers (www.greenheronengineering.com) and the EA4TX interfaces (ea4tx.com). Both can control most available models of rotators, allowing you to standardize in the shack and customize on the tower.

It’s more common for rotator controllers to have a software interface; either RS-232 or USB. The most popular protocol is the one used by the Yaesu family of rotators. After-market software control interfaces such as the Easy-Rotor-Control (www.vibroplex.com) or Rotor-EZ (www.hamsupply.com/rotor-ez-hy-gain-rotor-control) can be installed in the rotator’s controller and connected to your PC. Many of the popular logging software programs will control a rotator as well.

WIRING THEM UP

Finally, you have to supply the wiring between the controller and the rotator. There is also a wireless solution provided by Green Heron (see the URL previously mentioned), but you still have to get power to the rotator up on the mast or tower.

Most rotators require either an unshielded six- or eight-conductor multi-conductor control cable. Small TV rotators only need a four-conductor cable similar to a zip cord. Solenoid brake circuits need a heavy wire pair, but the rest of the circuits are low current. Check the manufacturer’s recommendation for minimum wire size, which depends on the length of the cable.

For the popular Ham-IV series, minimum recommended wire sizes are:

Up to 125 ft: #18 (solenoid), #20 (all others)

125 to 200 ft: #16 (solenoid), #18 (all others)

200 to 300 ft: #14 (solenoid), #16 (all others)

Other rotators have similar requirements. I’ve had good results from using long runs of 10-conductor irrigation cable, which is rated for direct burial. The conductors in the cable are #18 AWG (solid), but you can double-up two pairs of wires to create the heavy wires needed for the brake.

WRAPPING UP THE ROTATOR

Rotators are remarkably reliable, even though they are installed outside and expected to work over a wide range of conditions with no maintenance. Repair services such as The Rotor Doctor (http://rotor-doc.com/) or Norm’s Rotator Service (www.normsrotorservice.com) will rebuild them and may have used units available, too.

Often overlooked, the rotator is worth installing carefully and being treated with care. After all, your ham radio success turns on them! NV

Another Article from Nuts & Volts: CAN YOU TRUST YOUR VOLTMETER?

Sometimes I wonder which of my portable digital voltmeters I can trust — the B&K, Fluke, or Amprobe. Usually, they’re pretty close but it bugs me not knowing whether they are right on the nose.

Of course, I’m just being picky because I seldom need more than three or four digits of accuracy, but it sure would be nice to know the answer. Fortunately these days, there are a number of very accurate voltage reference circuits that you can build or purchase for a few dollars. A ready-to-use unit made by Agilent is shown in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1. This $20 voltage reference module switches between 2.500, 5.000, 7.500, and 10.00 volts, and has a built-in USB rechargeable battery

It puts out 2.500, 5.000, 7.500, and 10.00 volts and costs less than $20 on eBay. The actual precisely-measured voltages are recorded on the side label, good to six digits. The heart of it is a laser-trimmed Analog Devices AD584 voltage reference IC.

BUILD YOUR OWN

You can build your own reference out of parts in your junk box. Figures 2 and 3 show a simple breadboard I made in an hour or so and the schematic. The only component I didn’t have on hand was the AD584.

FIGURE 2. My DIY breadboard uses a laser-trimmed AD584 DIP; FIGURE 3. The schematic of the DIY breadboard can use two versions of AD584s, depending on the accuracy desired. 2.500V output is accurate to 1 mV.

There are two grades of AD584s for hobbyists — J and K — which specify the accuracy of the outputs. J is +30 mV and K is +10 mV for their 10.00 volt outputs. The IC in the breadboard is the K version and the spec sheet lists a max error of +3.5 mV for the 2.500 volt output. You can see that the measured error is a lot less — only +1.0 mV. That’s one part in 2,500. Good enough for most measurements! Just for fun, I dug out my old Model 630NA Triplett VOM with its cool anti-parallax mirrored scale to see what it would read. I magnified the image in Figure 4 and estimated the reading to be 2.488 volts.

FIGURE 4. My vintage Model 630 Triplett VOM is accurate to within 1/2% after decades of hard use. The manual for the meter stated the accuracy to be +1-1/2% of full scale. Bottom line: My Triplett was accurate to within 1/2% on the three volt range. Not too shabby for a meter as old as the hills!

EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE

I’m not going to discuss the effect of temperature on any of the voltage references I’ll be covering later in this article because that is a whole other subject itself. Plus, it’s been extensively covered in scientific studies. Temperature is a critically important parameter for many types of references, but the effects are quite small for hobbyist ICs. For example, the 5.000 volt output of an AD584 only varies about +1.25 mV over the full industrial range of 0°C (32°F) to 70°C (158°F). If you are interested, I conducted temperature tests on an AD584 and the results are graphed in Figure A in the sidebar.

Figure A. Temperature plot of AD584 IC 5.000V output shows just 2.5 mV variation from 0°C to 70°C.

To be Continued: THE BLACK BOXES-Ed

HIGHWAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INFORMATION

MEETINGS

The Club currently holds its monthly meetings at the traffic circle on Campbell Road, on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, starting at 1prices. Swap Shop held on last Saturday of month Road, starting at 10h30. Talk-in facilities on the Rep VISITORS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ATTEND ALL OUR FUNCTIONS.

The Committee holds its meetings on the second

BULLETINS The Club’s weekly bulletin is broadcast every Sunday morning at 07h45 on the Highway repeaterThe KZN Hamnet bulletin can be heard on the HARC repeater (145.625Mhz) every Sunday morning at 07h00 .

The S.A.R.L weekly bulletin (in English) is relayed onto the Durban repeater

AMATEUR RADIO NETS. The Kwa-Zulu/Natal Net, of long-standing starts at 06h00 on a frequency of 7.055 MHz. in winter and 3.650Mhz. in summer and continues until 07h40. Colin ZS5CF hosts the net from 06h00.

Interest Group nets are conducted in the evenings. They are:Mondays 19h30 AR and WIA Newsline, by Justin ZS5KTTuesdays 19h30 DMR-ZA Net Wednesdays 19h30 Hamnet Indaba hosted by Keith/ZS5WFD on the l other WednesdaysThursdays 19h30 Technical net – Alternatively by ColinFridays 19h30 4 Metre Net – Hosted by Justin ZS5KT: You Saturdays 19h30 Trivial Pursuit, hosted by Craig ZS5CD

on TG91 Sundays 06h00 See AMATEUR RADIO NETS Sundays 07h45 HARC Sunday Bulletin The SARL Presidents Net can be heard on the evening on Sundays scheduled by Hans/ZS6AKV. Licensed Amateur Radio Operators are invited to join in. HIGHWAY HOTLINE NEWSLETTER.

This newsletter is published every month and distributed by emailMayall/ZS5GR, Cell 073 3564-758 Email address is 4093.

INTERNET WEB SITE ADDRESSES. SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE : http://www.sarl.org.zaHIGHWAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB. http://www.harc.org.zaE-MAIL ADDRESS OF THE CLUB. harc@harc.org.za

HARC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/298581387576/ APRS An APRS digi ZS0PMB-7 operates in the Durban area on 144.800Mhz from the Bluff. Tfrom MARC. Mobile AND Base stations should use WIDE3should be at about 1min intervals, while home stations should be set at 20min.

IGHWAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INFORMATION

holds its monthly meetings at the New Germany Sports Club, 2 Harvey Road, New Germany3rd Tuesday of the month, starting at 18h00 for 18h30. Refreshments are available at

at the New Germany Nature Reserve, access from Gilbert Drive off Mountain Ridge facilities on the Repeater frequency (145.625Mhz)

VISITORS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ATTEND ALL OUR FUNCTIONS.

second Thursday of every month starting at 18h00.

every Sunday morning at 07h45 on the Highway repeater(145.625Mhzbulletin can be heard on the HARC repeater (145.625Mhz) every Sunday morning at 07h00 .

weekly bulletin (in English) is relayed onto the Durban repeater (145.650Mhz) at 08h30 on a Sunday morning.

standing starts at 06h00 on a frequency of 7.055 MHz. in winter and 3.650Mhz. in summer and continues until 07h40. Colin ZS5CF hosts the net from 06h00.

are conducted in the evenings. They are:- AR and WIA Newsline, by Justin ZS5KT

hosted by Keith/ZS5WFD on the last Wednesday of Month Wednesdays

Alternatively by Colin/ZS5CF & John/ZS5JF Hosted by Justin ZS5KT: You can find us on 70.200 Mhz FM

Trivial Pursuit, hosted by Craig ZS5CD & Debbie ZS5DC-Remember the

AMATEUR RADIO NETS just above Sunday Bulletin

can be heard on the evening on Sundays on the 145.650MHz repeater ZS6AKV. Licensed Amateur Radio Operators are invited to join in.

newsletter is published every month and distributed by email and available on the H.A.R.C WebsEmail address is hotline@harc.org.za, and physical address is 71 Dilkoosh Road, Northdene,

http://www.sarl.org.za http://www.harc.org.za The Webmaster is Brad Phillips (ZS5Z).

harc@harc.org.za https://www.facebook.com/groups/298581387576/

7 operates in the Durban area on 144.800Mhz from the Bluff. The digi is maintained by Shaun/Mobile AND Base stations should use WIDE3-3 or WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2 for their Beacon path. Mobile beacon rates

in intervals, while home stations should be set at 20min.

New Germany 3620, just past the h30. Refreshments are available at club

New Germany Nature Reserve, access from Gilbert Drive off Mountain Ridge

145.625Mhz). bulletin can be heard on the HARC repeater (145.625Mhz) every Sunday morning at 07h00 .

at 08h30 on a Sunday morning.

standing starts at 06h00 on a frequency of 7.055 MHz. in winter and 3.650Mhz. in summer and

ast Wednesday of Month –Weekly informal net on all

can find us on 70.200 Mhz FM Remember the World DMR Net at 18h00 local

whenever the Intecnet is

the H.A.R.C Website. The editor is Tony address is 71 Dilkoosh Road, Northdene,

The Webmaster is Brad Phillips (ZS5Z).

he digi is maintained by Shaun/ZR5S 2 for their Beacon path. Mobile beacon rates