SOCIETY NEWS

        There will be no Shack Meeting in August since most members are likely to be away.   The next is tentatively fixed for Saturday 6th September.     

        At the Shack Meeting on 5th July Valery Baisha, RW1AU, was elected as a Full member.   He is applying for a license. 

        Nick Henwood, 5Z4LS and G3RWF will be operating as 5X1NH from Fort Portal (The Mountains of the Moon) for about              two  months from late June.  He also intends to be in Kenya to operate in the CQWW CW contest from November 18th to 25th.  

        A visitor from mid-July will be David Gifford, who is expected to be operating as 5Z4/KB1KNO.  

        Carl Follingstad, N5YLP, and his son David, KB5FKM, are back in Nairobi and applying for their local licenses. 

        We are sorry to learn that B. R. Patel, 5Z4EA, has left Kenya for medical reasons and wish him a quick return to health.

        The NCDXF beacon 5Z4B is being moved to a site provided by Enrico Li Perni, 5Z4ES, at Ruaraka.

        The two meter repeater (145.675/145.075 MHz) and duplexer have been thoroughly overhauled and it is operating very well from the site made available by Don Gardner, 5Z4DE.    

        Polo shirts and caps in various colours bearing the ARSK logo are available from the Secretary, at K.Shs.1,400 for both.  Unfortunately it has not been possible to arrange for embroidery of individual callsigns.

        CCK has confirmed that certification of photocopies of documents required for licensing may be carried out by a Notary Public as well as by a Commissioner for Oaths, who are not available in some countries.

        SIX METERS

        CCK has notified their intention to phase out VHF analogue TV in favour of UHF digital TV over the period to 2015.  An application was made to allow secondary Amateur access to six meters, but CCK has refused on the grounds that one channel in Western Kenya is in use by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.  When this is given up it is likely that access will be granted.   

        PIRACY

        Piracy of 5Z4 calls is nothing new, and many batches of QSL cards received by the Bureau contain some for invalid calls.  Many pirates appear to originate from Europe, but at least one operating recently appeared to be from USA, and very, very few operate within Kenya.   Reference to the ARSK Callbook on this website is recommended for confirmation of validity, and to avoid disappointment, or the ARSK can be e-mailed directly for verification.   The callbook is maintained as up to date as possible by ARSK with the full co-operation of CCK, but may not include short term visitors. 

        PAYMENT OF ARSK DUES ETC.

        Subscriptions were due on 1st January.   Unless private arrangements can be made the advice of the Secretary or Treasurer should be sought on transmission of subscriptions in foreign currency.   Restrictions on third party cheques cashed by forex bureaux have now been lifted.   Cheques drawn on foreign banks attract high charges, however. 

        PAYMENT OF LICENSE FEES

        We pressed for a fixed US Dollar fee for applicants from outside Kenya, to ease the constantly variable exchange rate and remittance problem, but the CCK are unable to accept this.   Current (7th May 2008) exchange rates remain fairly steady at about K.Shs.60 : US$1, and K.Shs.120 : £Stg.1.   All rates vary daily and should be checked.      

        CCK WEBSITE AND LICENSE APPLICATION FORM      

        The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) website may be seen at www.cck.go.ke and a copy of the Kenya Amateur Radio license application form should be downloaded from that site.   In case of any difficulty ARSK will send a copy of the new form by e-mail on request, but at our last check the CCK website was functioning well and the Application Form RF 2 was easy to download in .pdf..   

        UGANDA AND TANZANIA

           Licensing information available to us for Uganda and Tanzania has been added below the Kenya information on the Licensing page, for the benefit of potential visitors to East Africa.   Tanzania information should be available at www.dit.ac.tz and http://tarc.dit.ac.tz/index.php .  This URL also lists conditions for reciprocal licenses in Tanzania (http://tarc.dit.ac.tz/foreigners.php).
(Thanks to Michael Fuchs, DL6MAF, for this information.)

 Please note that these offices are completely separate from the Kenya authority and must be dealt with directly.            

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        CUAGN SN! We look forward to working you on the air, seeing you here in person and hopefully in the not too distant future we may be able to assist and advise in getting visitors' licenses. Watch this space in case we get further good news for intending visitors.

        As we say here: "Kwaheri ya kuonana!" - we'll be seeing you!