SAAF MUSEUM, SWARTKOP AFB, WIRELESS ROOM.
{IWM No.5128 ZS6MUS 25o 48’S 28o 10’E}
South African Air Force Museum Centurion Pretoria

WIRELESS ROOM AT SAAF MUSEUM SWARTKOP AFB

by Dave Gemmell ZS6AAW
and the Old Timers.

International Museums Weekend. 19/20-06-2004.

International Museums Weekend. A special event took place over the weekend, 19th – 20th of June and yours truly had a good time on the morning of the 19th. I had hoped to contact a few overseas station but alas that was not to be! One ZS station was heard in contact with a USA station but I could not hear him so it was useless to try. This leads me to a subject that has puzzled me for a long time. Is it due propagation conditions, equipment and antenna systems inadequacies or poor operating practices that we don’t make these DX contacts ?

At least, I was in contact with the Antique Wireless Association on most Saturday mornings at about 09H00. I had hoped that a few more museum would have been represented but, alas, it was not to be!

Any way it seems that it is to be an annual event so those hams intending to take part in next year’s event are requested to register via the International Museums Weekend website at www.ukradioamateur.org/imw. The organiser, Harry M1BYT, asks that you register so that everyone knows you are taking part and where you are located. Obviously, dear Reader, you have only just received you copy! This should not put you off as there must be lots of occasions when museums have some special event or occasion.

AND THE REST OF THE YEAR?

No radio amateur in this country should complain that nothing is happening on the SA Ham scene.

Especially with the following annual events, etc. Note that these are FUN days not contests where the pressure is on…………….

The above events provide lots of “public relations” for the “institutions involved but even more for Amateur Radio as a whole. So do be careful!!!

Nevertheless, there are other dates on which the “historically minded” hams can set up a special event station. The following are a few occasions when quite a few South Africans took part or aircraft in which they flew. Of course, week days are more often than not rather inconvenient by the nearest Saturday or Sunday, morning and/or afternoon would be fine.

Anyway, there are a few ideas!! Go ahead and try one or two of them out. Have a look at the SARL Contest Calendar so there aren’t any clashes with other events! Don’t forget to co-ordinate via the SARL HQ office as well as the website manager.

From then on it’s up to the hams to do the rest, which is to come on the air and have fun!!!

Don’t wait for someone else start a special event yourself!! You cannot sit back and expect the SARL to organize it for you! But do let them know what’s going on. If you are operating according to the correct radio regulations, who can stop you?

The rest of the address information stays the same, namely;
davegemmell@bmknet.co.za and P.O.BOX 77, IRENE, 0062 and TEL: and FAX: 012 – 667 2153 (NB. Please ask for the FAX!)

MUSEUM NEWS JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2004.

by Dave Gemmell ZS6AAW
and the Old Timers.

FLYING DAYS or AIRSHOWS.

At he first monthly meeting of the Friends, the CO. of the SAAF Museum Lt-Col Niel Thomas announced that as from February 2004 there would a Flying Day at Swartkop AFB on the first Saturday of each month and one or two Air Shows spaced out during the year. Please note the following dates in 2004 :-

FLYING DAYS: 7th February, 6th March, 3rd April, 5th June, 3rd July, 7th August, 3rd September, 3rd October, and 27th November.

AIR SHOWS: May 1st, 2004 at Swartkop and 25th September 2004 at Waterkloof

Hopefully we will be able to get ZS6MUS activated for the whole day on each occasion.

The show at Waterkloof will be out of the question due logistic problems.

YSTERPLAAT AIRSHOW.

Saturday November 6th, 2004 was also quoted as the date for an air show at Ysterplaat (Western Cape)

SPECIAL EVENT STATION ZS100FLY.

Rob Parkinson ZS6RAP will be operating a special event station operating for the rest of 2004 to celebrate 100 years of powered flight. He arranged to have the special call sign ZS 100 FLY which he will be using when he operates his station from various Airports, Historic monuments, Air shows and Aviation sites throughout South Africa. A special collectors item QSL card will be issued. The station will operate on all HF Bands and 2 metres.

On the 17th December 2003, the actual date of the anniversary of the Wright brothers’ historic flight, I activated ZS6FLY from the SAAF Museum and what made it even more enjoyable was that I managed to contact ZS100FLY operated by Rob from the Rand Airport.

SPECIAL EVENT CALLSIGNS.

While still on the subject of special event stations, HAVE YOU CHAPS RENEWED YOUR SPECIAL EVENT CALLSIGNS YET!!! If you haven’t, it may cost you R140 to get them back!!

SEE ???? Column regarding a “new” special event callsign “registration system”.

Some of this news may be a bit old but, after all, it is a museum column!!!

Shouldn’t we be a bit more “long sighted” and say….

……….There’s no signal like an old signal……..

RADIO ZS

Members can now download the most recent edition of Radio ZS from the SARL website. The file is 1,4 megs big and should be a fairly easy download. The editor is busy preparing the last issue for 2003 and is in need of local articles. These can be sent to radiozs@sarl.org.za.

In order to liven up this section of your magazine please send contributions to:-

davegemmell@bmknet.co.za and P.O.BOX 77, IRENE, 0062 and TEL: and FAX: 012 – 667 2153 (NB. Please ask for the FAX!) MNI TNX.