Brian Jacobs ZS6YZ, has sent me a newsy letter of the recent activities in HAMNET Gauteng, and the plans for the first few months of 2025. He writes:

”HAMNET Gauteng has events that they are participating in for the first three months of the new year and preparations have already started to get all the cache equipment used serviceable for these events. On Saturday 14 and 21 December a team of dedicated members gathered at the container at Arrowe Park and started testing antennas, coax cables, radios and repeaters. Some members took radios with them, to test at home and to reprogram according to a standard list of frequencies that are used by HAMNET Gauteng for events, returning them the next weekend. Good progress is being made.

“There is still some equipment that needs to be addressed in the trailer that is parked at the Brakpan Airfield. This includes the emergency generator and antennas in the trailer and all the long coaxial cables. These items will be tested over the weekend of 11 and 18 January 2025.

“The first event, The Fast One Cycle Race, will take place over the weekend of 25 and 26 January 2025 at the Mid Vaal Raceway in Meyerton. This event will be attended to by members from both HAMNET Gauteng and the Vaal members who are the HAMNET members in the Vaal Triangle of Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg, under the leadership of Riaan ZS4PR the Provincial Director for the Free State.

The next event will be the Ride for Sight event which will be on 16 and 17 February at the Boksburg Stadium followed by the Sasol Marathon in Sasolburg.

“HAMNET Gauteng and Free State operate seamlessly together and always help each other out on events either side of the Vaal river.

“December was not uneventful as members of HAMNET Gauteng responded to one aircraft incident near Springs Airfield and an ELT at Lanseria International Airport. While at Lanseria, Brian ZS6YZ and Leon ZS6LMG took time out to talk to the fire fighters who wanted to know more about HAMNET and what we do. It was an informative session and the fire fighters were pleased that they had the opportunity to get to know more about HAMNET and how HAMNET can assist with some of their communications challenges that they periodically experience when they attend to an off airfield incident.

“Andre van Tonder ZS6HE who is one of our older long serving members was diagnosed with a life threatening illness earlier in the year. Andre was not doing well and was taken by his niece who is a medical doctor to Klerksdorp where she practises and she saw to it that he received the necessary treatment.

“Willem ZS6WIM and Maud who are Andre’s closest friends kept the rest of HAMNET Gauteng up to date regarding the progress of Andre’s treatment. When Andre was ready to return home Willem and Maud went to fetch him in Klerksdorp.

“Andre returned home on 19 December and the HAMNET members arranged a quick impromptu welcoming home party for Andre on the afternoon of 21 December. The party was not only to welcome Andre home again, but Brian ZS6YZ had put the wheels in motion to nominate Andre for a Jack Twine Merit Award and due to Andre’s illness the SARL Council and Awards Manager got the award delivered to Brian as quick as possible and Brian had the pleasure of pinning the award on the chest of a very surprised, emotional and thankful Andre. 

“Thanks to everyone who made it possible for us to bring some joy to Andre who has always been a very dedicated HAMNET member,” said Brian.

Thank you Brian for the letter, and sincere good wishes to Andre, as he recovers as quickly as possible.

And in an interesting piece of RF news, army-technology.com reported this week that the British Army has conducted “successful” trials of a radio frequency directed-energy weapon (RFDEW), which can neutralise drone swarms using radio waves.  

The system is designed to detect, track, and engage various threats on land, air, and sea.  With an effective range of up to 1km and a cost of [R2] per engagement, the system presents an economical alternative to conventional missile-based air defence systems. 

The RFDEW disrupts hostile threats by using high-frequency radio waves to damage or interfere with the electronic components of devices such as drones, rendering them inoperative.  

The system’s automation allows for single-operator use and can be mounted on military vehicles for enhanced mobility. The Royal Artillery Trials and Development Unit and seven Air Defence Group have recently completed live firing trials in West Wales, marking the first successful engagement of un-crewed aerial systems (UAS) by the British Armed Forces. 

These user trials have allowed air defence personnel to assess the capability’s potential in various configurations, threat types, and engagement scenarios. 

I note too that the Malaysian Government has announced plans to resume the search for Flight MH370, more than a decade after it disappeared off the radar,   while flying from Kuala Lumpur supposedly to Beijing. The underwater search of the west coast of Australia had been called off in 2017, but a new deal by the underwater exploration firm Ocean Infinity has been struck, and enthusiasm has increased as a result of the work done by a physicist, using the disturbances in Weak Signal Propagation Reporter transmissions, known as WSPR to the ham fraternity, caused by a plane flying though them.

Richard Godfrey, a retired Aerospace engineer has done multiple calculations using WSPR signals perturbed by something travelling through them at the exact time of the disappearance of the aircraft. By his reckoning the aircraft’s final resting place is not very far from the areas covered in previous searches.

This is such flimsy evidence that large numbers of radio engineers, including Professor Joe Taylor, who invented  WSPR, don’t have much faith in the chances of finding the aircraft. Others say that as long as your research reduces the total possible seabed area that needs to be searched, it is worth giving it a shot.

The families of the huge number of casualties deserve to be given closure, as does the reputation of the pilot deserve to be vouched for, if indeed he was not responsible for the crash. Let us hope that finding the aeroplane solves all the puzzles surrounding its disappearance.

Finally, on behalf of HAMNET South Africa, may I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2025, with good health and fine signals, as the solar cycle cruises at maximum next year.

This is Dave Reece ZS1DFR reporting for HAMNET South Africa.

Well, Tropical Cyclone CHIDO certainly packed a punch when it hit the Island of Mayotte last weekend. Slightly conflicting reports were issued suggesting the death toll was small or possibly as many as a thousand and clarity has not been achieved as far as I can see.

The problem is that there may be as many as 100000 unregistered or illegal inhabitants on the island, and they are certainly not going to report their dead for fear of being booted off the island. The majority of the inhabitants are of the Muslim Faith, who, by custom, wish to bury their dead on the same day, and so keeping track of casualties may prove to be difficult.

The storm hit Mayotte on December 14 with winds exceeding 220 km/h, causing damage described as catastrophic by local authorities, including disruptions to electricity, water, and communications, while key infrastructures like hospitals, the airport, and roads were severely affected. The peak of the phenomenon occurred at 9.00 AM (local time), accompanied by heavy rainfall and destructive swells.

Very soon after the storm, a message went out requesting certain HF frequencies to be kept clear. Greg Mossop G0DUB of IARU Region One repeated the call, but later rescinded it, because the source of the request was not confirmed as official, and in any case, there are no radio amateurs on Mayotte.

Later, French assistance groups brought two radio amateurs to the island, with the aim of keeping VHF and UHF frequency communications going and providing WiFi coverage for the island, but no mention of HF was made. Apparently Jef, call-sign F5FS, reported that before the cyclone hit the island the authorities had deployed a large number of satellite phones so they were still able to maintain contact with Paris.

Anyway, having left Mayotte in disaster, CHIDO ploughed on into Mozambique, bringing torrential rains and powerful winds that devastated communities in Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Niassa provinces. The storm destroyed homes and public infrastructure, displaced thousands, and severely damaged roads and communication networks, hampering relief efforts in areas that were already hosting approximately 300,000 forcibly displaced persons by conflict.

While the full extent of the damage remains unclear, the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD) estimates a total of 181,554 people impacted, as of 17 December 2024. More than 36,000 houses were completely or partially destroyed. In some villages, very few houses remain standing. Years of conflict, forced displacement, and economic hardship have left communities in the region increasingly vulnerable. For many displaced families, the cyclone has caused renewed hardship, washing away what little they had managed to rebuild.

And on Tuesday the 17^th a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck just off the coast of Vanuata, threatening the lives of 116000 people on the island. Reliefweb.int says that preliminary reports indicate observed damages to buildings and infrastructure in Port Vila, with six unconfirmed casualties and injuries reported. Telecommunications remain disrupted and this is affecting the timeliness of field reports from remote areas. Access to the airport and water port is severely limited due to road damage.

As of 18th December, NDMO confirmed 14 fatalities either from collapsed buildings or landslides. The numbers may rise as search and rescue operations intensify and expand. Over 200 are reported injured while many are still missing. According to UNICEF staff on the ground, most injuries are fractures, cuts and trauma related to falling objects and sharp items. According to NDMO, two major water reservoirs in Port Vila are severely damaged and the airport is currently closed to all commercial flights. 

I have received some more happy news from Keith Lowes ZS5WFD, of KZN, reporting on the Upper Highway Trail Marathon, which took place on 7^th December. He writes that HAMNET KZN once again partnered with S.T.A.R.T Rescue to assist with communications for this annual event. S.T.A.R.T (Specialised Tactical Accident Rescue Team) and 9 HAMNET KZN members were deployed, 2 of whom are active members of the S.T.A.R.T Rescue team anyway, being Chris ZS5W and Justin ZS5JW. They were pleased to be joined by Alan ZS5AJA from Port Edward who was undertaking his first event with HAMNET KZN.

A Joint Operations Centre (JOC) was established at the beautiful finish venue of Camp Orchards in Hillcrest which was manned by Provincial Director Keith Lowes ZS5WFD for HAMNET and Jason Putter for the S.T.A.R.T Rescue team members.  HAMNET made use of the Highway Amateur Radio Club’s 145.7625 repeater situated in Kloof and 145.550 Simplex which gave them excellent coverage of the whole route. This took runners through 7 nature conservancies, 6 river eco-systems, 3 waterfalls and some of the most beautiful trails in the area.

95 runners started the 42Km race at 05H30 with 5 Water Points, whilst 248 runners started the 21Km event at 06H00 with 2 Water Points on route. Weather was ideal with cloudy/overcast conditions and light rain for the duration.

Only 2 incidents were reported, the first being a pedestrian knocked down in the vicinity of the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve Picnic Site. The patient was stabilised and transported to hospital by Red Line Ambulance Services. The second involved a runner who was suffering from dehydration and severe muscle cramps and needed to be extracted by START Rescue using a Stokes basket stretcher and rope rescue system as he was not able to climb the steep wooden trail ladder to reach the road level. The patient was successfully brought out in just under an hour and transported to hospital for further treatment.

This was their final sporting event for the year, and Keith says thank you to his HAMNET KZN team for their dedication and loyal support during the year. He ends by saying “You may take a well-earned break with your families but please remain vigilant and be available should a call for HAMNET’S assistance be received during the festive period.”

Keith’s greetings to his team are echoed by me, as I take the opportunity to wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas, if appropriate, with your families, and a prosperous and healthy 2025. Let’s all remain radio-active, and aware of our commitment to assist where needed in disaster, accident or happy event, when asked to do so. Let’s not confine the spirit of giving only to physical presents to our nearest and dearest, but also to acts of kindness and comradeship to our fellow creatures, human or otherwise, without desire for recognition or compensation.

This is Dave Reece ZS1DFR reporting for HAMNET in South Africa.