Going through a few of my CD's that I created through the years I discovered some valuable information and photos that could be of benefit to my fellow radio amateurs. All to often I have seen that when a radio amateur becomes SK his collection of amateur radio photos, QSL Cards etc. goes to the rubbish heap as there is no interest in the "junk" he or she "collected" as a radio amateur.
I have also discovered that we say that we will remember them, but after a few years we seldom speak about those who went SK.
I decided to create this page to post information and photos of my collection of amateur memorabilia that I collected through the years. Now this is not a museum or exhibition of some sorts as many photos reflect radio amateurs still alive and kicking. All this is about remembering the "good old days" or maybe "not so old days". Surely the camaraderie and friendship can never be taken away and we will remember them.
The above picture was taken in 1998 at a meeting of the then Garden Route Radio Club ZS1GRC. It was one of the biggest, if not the biggest amateur radio club gathering in the Garden Route area. A headcount of 24 of which 8 has since become SK.
The new page will be available HERE.
If you have any photos or information that you would like to add please send it to me. Hopefully we can preserve amateur radio history and prevent so called "junk" from going to the rubbish bin.
Send info and images to Johan ZS1I by clicking HERE.
Spesiale Stasie vanuit die Kango Grotte - Eerste en enigste spesiale stasie bedryf vanuit die Kango Grotte te Oudshoorn in die jare 50?
 Die Van Zyl Saal, Kango Grotte Oudshoorn[/center] Gedurende die jare 1956 tot 1958 is daar beplan om ‘n amateur radio stasie vanuit die Kango Grotte te bedien. Die organiseerder was OK Stassie ZS1JS van Oudtshoorn, voorheen ZS2HS van Graaff Reinet. Sy assistant was OK Ydie Heunis ZS1P0. Ydie se LV ZS1PB was buite die Grotte stilstaande mobiel en het ingestaan as middelman stasie.  QSL kaart van OK Stassie ZS1JS (Nie van die spesiale stasie nie) DIE POSISIE VAN DIE STASIE was agter in die Van Zyl kamer, ongeveer 475 voet vanaf die ingang, verby die langtrap waarmee jy ongeveer 35 voet afklim na die vloer van die saal, waar daar ook van tyd tot tyd kooruitvoerings aangebied word. Daar is nêrens ‘n reguit lyn na die uitgang van die Grotte nie, die afstand is ongeveer 450 voet horisontaal na buite en 250 voet vertikaal na die dak van die saal. DIE SENDER was natuurlik radiolampe-’n 6F6 ossileerder met ‘n 6SJ7 en 6C5 skermrooster modulasie en ‘n enkel 6V6 as die finale lamp. DIE KRAGTOEVOER was verkry van ‘n 6 volt motor-battery met ‘n vibrator kragbron wat 190 volt hoogspanning teen 20 milli-ampere gelewer het. DIE SENDER SE KRAGINSET was ongeveer 3.8 watt en ‘n 80 voet lang lugdraad is gebruik met ‘n PI-netwerk instemmer. Die 80 en 40 meter band is gebruik. DIE ONTVANGSTEL was ‘n R.C.A wat vanaf ‘n droë battery gewerk het. Daar is baie moeite gedoen om die regte posisie van die lugdraad te bepaal aangesien ander posisies van die lugdraad het omtrent geen siene ontvang nie. Geen rapporte van die Noorde kon vekry word nie. Volle leesbaarheid 5 van ZS1US in Hermanus is ontvang asook van verskeie ander stasies, en alhoewel die seine swak was, was dit interessant dat QRN of ander steurings heeltemal afwesig was, alhoewel QRN buite in die mobiel aansienlik was. Alle stasies wat ZS1JS vanuit die Grotte gekontak het, moes sekere kode-woorde wat hy gedurende die QSO gebruik het, herhaal ter bevestiging van die twee-rigting kontak. Elke stasie het ‘n getikte QSL kaart ontvang met ‘n netjiese tekening van die posisie van die stasie in die Grotte wat nog in my besit is, en waaruit ek my geheue kon verfris vir hierdie bydrae uit die verlede van ‘n angename maar heel ongewone QSO. Was op 28 April 2004 saamgestel deur Chris Nortier ZS1FA (Stil sleutel /SK in 2019) So sal ons hulle onthou! Ns: To our English readers use a translate plugin to read the article in English. Unfortunately I do not have the time to translate the article. Thanks. |
A few old QSL Cards from days gone by!
History of the ZS1AGI 40 M QRP Beacon constructed by Mike Hanslow then ZS1RMS (5th April 1996)
ED: The history of the 40m described here was send to me by Mike Hanslow in April 2005 and was published during July 2005 in the then Gizmo Amateur Radio Forum Gazette. As far as can be established this beacon is the longest operating licensed beacon in South Africa.
Specifications of ZS1AGI/B
Frequency : 7025KHz
Power : 200mW
Operation : 24 Hours a day
Location : George Airport Transmitter building.
: 34• 00’ 09,53318” S
: 22• 22’ 26,62082” E
: 220,330 Meters above sea level
QRA : KF16EA
Mode : A1A
IDENT : Cyclic identification repeated, V DE ZS1AGI/B KF16EA followed by a long tail.
ANT : Half wave dipole oriented North South at a height of 10 meters : (1/4 wave
high) with a ground embedded reflector radial.
QSL INFO :P O Box 450
Wilderness
6560
South Africa
History of ZS1AGI/B
The 40 meter band QRP project evolved out of a number of factors. ZS1J whiles living in Plettenbergbay, operated a number of QRP beacons on the 160, 80, 30 and 10 meter band. As 40 meter band being very popular was void of any indication as to the condition of the band. Also having read about the early pioneers in radio engineering doing vast experiments studying the ionosphere. I thought I could create my own experiment on a much smaller scale to study the seasonal effects on the 40 meter band using a very low powered transmitter.
Permission was granted by my employers for me to erect the 40 meter band antenna from the supporting towers used for the transmitting antennas at George Airport. After having found no suitable diagrams, I designed and built the QRP transmitter, employing an EPROM to contain the coded message. The beacon first transmitted my call sign. Not believing that the initial 500 mW transmitter power would provide such wide and reliable coverage within South Africa, the reaction from the amateur community was very positive.
The choice of frequency had to do with the international QRP calling frequency was 7020 KHz. I just choose a frequency that would be easy to remember and close the QRP calling frequency. The beacon was first put to the test on the 5th April 1996 from my QTH, causing much curiosity and interest on the 40 meter band. Later it was installed at the airport running temporary on my call sign.
A decision was taken by the local radio club (Garden Route Radio Club ZS1GRC) to license the beacon.
After much correspondence a license was issued, the first beacon for the 40 meter band to be licensed in South Africa. The new EPROM was programmed with a very long tail, at the request of a number of hams to get a stable signal indication and transmitter power was reduced to 200 mW. The ground radial was added to improve vertical signal radiation. Many hams are in the habit to monitor ZS1AGI/B before proceeding to their favorite net.
Even Dwight West, ZS6NT, the then SARL propagation Elmer posted a very comprehensive propagation prediction coverage down to me. QSL cards though very scares were received from a wide geographical region, the furthers being from Zimbabwe. Even an unconfirmed report of it even being heard in Canada from G3USF, the IARU beacon manager for region 1.
In the nine years the beacon has being on the air, it has sustained lightning damage twice and needed repairs once to the antenna system. A full article written by myself even appeared in Radio ZS in December 1996. With the success of my QRP beacon, Roger ZS1J recently operated a test beacon with only 100ì W of power with great success. It was even copied in North America, though the recipient did use a very sophisticated receiver with DSP (digital signal processing). It just goes to show that you don’t need power to get your message across, HI HI.
73 and happy DX
Mike Hanslow
ZS1RMS
28 April 2005
Global QRP Beacons on 40 Meters
Here is the list of all 40 meter beacons from G3USF's Worldwide List of HF Beacons (7 August 2003 )
Freq Call Town Loc ERPw
7025 ZS1AGI George Airport KF16EA 0.2
7029 ZS1J Plettenberg Bay KF15PF 0.0001
7038.5 OK0EU Pruhonice JN79GX 1
7080 DL5KZ 10mw
QSL Cards
Here are some of the comments received via QSL cards, while the beacon was running under my call sign.
ZS4XJ
“Well Done”
ZS1KC
“Beautiful indeed! Congratulations. Read your article in Radio ZS dd 12/96”
ZS1AAK
“Very Nice Beacon”
Z21HL
“Heard ur beacon – thru heavy QRN. Above report is of interest” [Sig report 439]
ZS6MGD
“And I mean zero nine. Ur ½ W do ing well. Good Article in ZS. I don’t suppose everyone has facilities to
string up ant like that (hi). Best success with Beacon God Bless Marc”
ZS4NIC
“Dankie, die beacon help baie”
Images:
Image: Beacon Keyer Diagram (Click for larger view.)
Image: Beacon TX Diagram (Click for larger view.)
The above two images was received from Mike then ZS1RMS. This is what the beacon looked like as installed at the George Airport.
The last two images was send to me by Saney ZR1S. The beacon is currently operational from the property of Saney ZR1S in Wilderness after Mike then ZS1RMS left South Africa to settle in Cairns, Australia.
Since Mike left South Africa many radio amateurs played a major roll to keep the beacon on the air. I do not like to mention names as I might leave somebody in the cold. Many radio amateurs also played a minor roll. To each and everyone a big thank you who assisted in keeping this beacon alive and on the air. 👍👍👍
History of the first 145.600 Mhz Danabay Repeater in Mossel Bay.
First some background relating to repeaters in the Garden Route Area. Circa 1980's there was only one repeater in the area and that was the 145.700 Mhz George Mountain Repeater. This repeater was a free standing repeater and the only repeater in the Garden Route Area. The repeater belonged to Eskom but through their kindness radio amateurs could use the repeater. The repeater worked great but the coverage area excluded large parts of the Mossel Bay district.
There was definitely a need for another repeater in the Garden Route Area. OM Stan Jones ZS1T took it upon himself to obtain and install the first ever 145.600 Mhz repeater in Mossel Bay. Stan a then member of the Boland Amateur Radio Club resided in George and was for many years the Head of the Radio Technical Division of the South African Police Force in George. In April 1996 he contacted the then repeater keeper of the Boland Amateur Radio Club and it was not long afterwards that he informed me that he picked up the then Groenberg Repeater on loan to him to install as the 145.600 Mhz repeater in Mossel Bay. Stan re-tuned the old Storno CQM 600/662 Mobile Radiophone/Professional land mobile tranceiver that was converted to a amateur radio repeater.
It originally was a 9-12 Channel Radiophone. By the early 1970's this was state of the art equipment, very well manufactured. In this time period there were only three authorized suppliers of equipment, Storno, Pye and Marconi. The installation typically consisted of a control head, handset and loudspeaker fitted in the front of the vehicle, connected to a transceiver unit usually mounted in the boot connected to a whip antenna. Storno also produced a transportable battery operated version for pedestrian use.The CQM600 with it's stylish remote control head and 'cornet' microphone won a design award in Denmark when introduced. The rugged, waterproof mobile unit was adaptable to a wide variety of applications and included marine and duplex versions.
Specifications of the Storno Radio courtesy RigPix:
| Type: | Professional land mobile transceiver |
| Frequency range depending on version: | 68-88 MHz 132-156 MHz 146-174 MHz 420-470 MHz |
| Mode: | FM |
| RF Power output: | 6-25 W |
| Receiver system: | N/A |
| Sensitivity: | N/A |
| Selectivity: | N/A |
| Image rejection: | N/A |
| Voltage: | 6, 12 or 24 VDC |
| Current drain: | RX: ? mA TX: Max ? A |
| Impedance: | 50 ohms |
| Dimensions (W*H*D): | ? mm |
| Weight: | ? Kg |
| Manufactured: | 1968-197x (Discontinued) |
| Other: | 9 -12 channels, XTAL |
The repeater was tested on the test bench by Stan ZS1T after adding a Low Loss Helical Band Pass Filter on the receive side and a Cavity Filter on the transmit side. After a few weeks of testing the 145.600 Mhz repeater was ready to be installed on site. The only problem was that there was no site available at short notice to install the repeater on. Yours truly offered to host the repeater for the interim up high in Heiderand, Mossel Bay at my QTH. My QTH was situated quite high up on the ridge in Heiderand and would have to suffice until a permanent site could be found. It was an ideal high interim site, situated in a quiet area (free of interference then but not today), line of sight to George and in a safe area.
Myself an Stan arranged for the installation of the repeater on a Saturday morning at my QTH. When Stan arrived I already installed the 5/8 vertical antenna for the receive side. Stan brought a folded dipole which was installed underneath the 5/8 vertical antenna with enough space between the two to prevent de-sensing. The Band Pass filter was installed on the RX side and a cavity filter was installed on the TX side. The power supply was installed and the repeater was switched on. The necessary final checks and tuning were done. It was not long before contact was made with Isak ZS2I (Now SK) in Klein Brak River which confirmed great signal strength and audio. The output of the repeater was tuned down to 10 watt as we did not have a full set of cavity filters for RX and TX. For the newer generation of radio amateurs this is how repeaters worked in years gone by as cavity filters were scarce as hen's teeth and very expensive if you can find one.
Now to find a suitable high site for the repeater. Thanks must go to Chris ZS1M who at the time was working for the Mossel Bay Municipality. He was able to obtain the current site on a water tower at the entrance to Danabay. This site gave great coverage and is today still used for the current 145.600 Mhz repeater.
The time arrived for the repeater to be moved from my QTH to the DanaBay water tower. In the mean time Stan ZS1T again came to the rescue with a full set of cavity filters on loan from the Boland Amateur Radio Club. This would solve the use of two antennas. We now only have to install one antenna. We still used the small band pass filter on RX as an extra filter. The repeater was installed in December 1996 inside the water tower pump room with the folded dipole high up on the top of the tower. Standing on top of this water tower revealed a clear 360 Deg take off with no obstacles in the way. To secure the repeater, filters, power supply etc. the repeater was housed in a old computer main frame cabinet that I donated. This cabinet was ideal as it came with great cooling fans to keep things cool. This useful cabinet was still used the last time I visited the 145.600 Mhz site.
This repeater function great for several years and I had the privilege of maintaining this repeater on behalf of Stan ZS1T who could not always visit the site. As these Storno Radios are build like tanks, it was not necessary to re-tune them at regular intervals. From time to time the cavity filters were re-tuned to ensure optimal functioning.
The repeater was enjoyed by many local and visiting radio amateurs from all over. This was the first 145.600 repeater installed on the Danabay Water Tower, A few years before the year 2000 the repeater and cavity filters was returned to the Boland Amateur Radio Club as Chris Scarr ZS2AAW and his late father Trevor ZS2AE installed a new 2m repeater, antennas and 70cm link on the Danabay Water Tower which was a great upgrade. This upgrade amongst others allowed for the 600 and 700 repeater to be linked via DTMF. This setup functioned well for many years and was maintained by Chris ZS2AAW and Trevor ZS2AE (SK).
I would like to thank every single radio amateur that was involved in making the first 145.600 Mhz Repeater in Mossel Bay a reality and bringing it to life. I do not like to mention names as indicated in many of my posts as I might leave somebody out in the cold but I must mention the following radio amateurs, clubs and organizations:
1. Stanley Jones ZS1T, George
2. Boland Amateur Radio Club (Members and Committee)
3. The then repeater keeper of the Boland Amateur Radio Club (???)
4. Chris ZS1M, Danabay
5. Mossel Bay Municipality
6. All those who assisted and not mentioned in the article
7. Garden Route Radio Club
Finally: I would like to plea to the younger and older generation radio amateurs. Please if you have any information, images and articles on local (SA) amateur radio history make it available for publication and preservation. You can forward the info to Johan ZS1I by clicking HERE.
Images: (Click on images for larger view.)
Satellite and Street Maps Courtesy - Satellites Pro / Apple Map
SARL AGM Dinner Saturday 5 April 1958 Queen's Hotel, Oudtshoorn
The second posting under this page refers.
This post brought back memories for many not so young radio amateurs. The 1958 SARL AGM was held in Oudshoorn.
I received the following email from Dennis ZS1AU:
“I remember the Oudtshoorn AGM very well & it was one of the best, if not THE BEST AGM, I have ever been to & I have been to about seven.(7)
My wife & I were married in 1955 & this as the first AGM we attended together. It was a SUPER holiday Easter weekend in those days, held in THE QUEENS HOTEL !!
The XYLs wore evening gowns & the OM’s in their suits, really lovely & smart. I wonder how many of those who attended this AGM are still alive today.
Herewith is a scanned copy of one of the MENU cards.
73 es keep safe & well.
Dennis Wells ZS1AU"
I am sure that many of you will agree that this menu card should be preserved and form part of the SARL History.
Thanks, Dennis for providing a copy of the 1958 menu. Maybe he can send me an image of the inside of the menu card as I have not received that image.
