Who said there is a decline in Amateur Radio during the winter months? I said so. Look HERE.
My OM had a saying that if a door is closed into your face, you must always find another door to open and continue with what you are doing and enjoying. This means do not give up and you will be able to continue also in amateur radio. So true and this saying I have been following throughout the years. It allowed me to bounce back in life sometimes even with better results than before.
Well amateur radio activity is up here in the Mossel Bay area as well as parts of South Africa. Let's look at some of the activity by means of illustrated images:
Image above: Connected nodes to the ZS1I HUB in Mossel Bay (Click on image for larger view.)
Image Above: Bubble Chart of stations connected to the HUB yesterday afternoon. (Click on image for larger view.
1. ZS1I HUB Network Activity: I will let the images speak for themself. The HUB is alive and active on a daily basis with stations frequently heard also via all the cross-links and connected nodes and repeaters. A few overseas stations were also heard on the ZS1I HUB Network. I do not take any credit for this as the network consists of many participating entities. Great to hear all the activity taking place.
2. ZS1I Amateur Radio Projects / Activities Blog: This blog is was created in April 2026 and is already being visited by many viewers on a daily basis. Hopefully the blog is not only my place were I keep some back-up information but also a medium where young and old can learn something. I am not a person chasing records or wanting any attention in amateur radio. I am to old for that nonsense. The Blog for me is like a amateur radio "diary". Many article might also be bored and not of interest to others. None the less thank you to all the visitors for visiting the ZS1I Blog. I hope to keep up rolling articles out that might be of interest to the general amateur radio community.
Image: Brandmeister Hoseline (Click in image for larger view.)
3. DMR Activity still on the increase World Wide! - Need I say anything about the increase in the use of DMR World Wide and in South Africa? This is great news for amateur radio operators and the future of digital radio modes. With the cross-linking of analogue systems to digital systems nobody is left out in the cold even if you only have a analogue HT radio. At times the ZS1I HUB Network is linked to various DMR Talk Groups which resulted in an increase in activity. The audio is good and the linked systems work great. Yesterday operators were heard from Germany, Australia, UK, USA, Japan on Hoseline which was cross linked to the ZS1I DMR Bridge and DMR Repeater in Mossel Bay. And no it was all country talk groups and not the World Wide Talk Group (91). Great conversations and activity on DMR. I do have a few ideas and changes that I would like to make to even better the current cross linked system. Stay tuned!!
4. 40m WSPR Activity: WSPR is a great amateur radio propagation tool. I am amazed on how propagation changes on the 40m band from time to time. At one stage only a few stations received the 40m ZS1I WSPR Beacon. Then all of a sudden there was a increase in spotted stations. I must admit that I have lots to learn about WSPR. Sure this will come with time. In the mean time many thanks to all who regularly spot the Mossel Bay WSPR Beacon. More interesting developments to come relating to WSPR Beacons in the future.
5. ZA-Net Network Activity: For the past few days I have connected the HUB to the ZA-Net Network up in Gauteng. At times there were activity even from abroad. The audio quality was good and the network is working great. Herewith more information about the network:
ZA-Net Network Web-Site: Click HERE
