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G4TNU > NEWS 16.06.24 03:00l 248 Lines 11868 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 16 Jun 2024
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 16th of June 2024
The news headlines:
* The RSGB's annual Convention is coming up in October
* National Coding Week returns in September
* Exercise Blue Ham is taking place this week
This year, the RSGB's annual Convention will take place from the 11th
to the 13th of October. What would you like to see at the Convention?
This year the Society is offering everyone the opportunity to propose
a presentation, a topic, a practical session or a project to share.
Are you involved in some new research? Have you discovered something
new in amateur radio that you're keen to share? Are you part of an
interesting project that will take amateur radio to new audiences? Or
have you helped to make amateur radio more accessible to people with
different abilities? If you'd like to offer, or suggest, a
presentation on these, or any other topics, please send your proposal
to the Convention Team. As part of its strategy, the RSGB wants to
ensure that this prestigious annual event not only meets the needs of
its members, but also helps every radio amateur to share their love
of the hobby with others. The deadline for proposals is Wednesday the
3rd of July so it is important to send in your ideas in as soon as
possible. Email convention<at>rsgb.org.uk and make sure you put
‘Convention proposal' and the topic in the email title.
National Coding Week runs in September. Coding – or programming as
it used to be called – is used in a range of amateur radio
activities. This year the Society would like to develop its
activities further by appointing a volunteer National Coding Week
Coordinator. Could you encourage people, help them with their ideas
and work with HQ teams to publicise and support activities? If you
love computer programming and think you could help others to enjoy it
within amateur radio, why not think about offering an activity or
volunteering to be the RSGB's National Coding Week Coordinator? Get
in touch by emailing strategy<at>rsgb.org.uk
RAF Air Cadets are running the ever-popular Blue Ham Radio
Communications Exercise, on the 60m band, between the 17th and 21st
of June. Subject to your licence conditions, the Blue Ham team hopes
that you can put some time aside to join in with the cadets and staff
who will be ready to take your calls. The Blue Ham Team will issue
you with a participation certificate if, during the period of the
exercise, you contact 20 or more special military cadet callsigns
with an MRE prefix. For more information visit alphacharlie.org.uk
Please note that only Full licensees may operate on the 60m band.
The May 2024 edition of the IARU Region 1 Monitoring System
Newsletter is now available. The newsletter contains details of
intrusions into the amateur bands, and you can access it via
tinyurl.com/IARUMAY24
This year, the popular British Inland Waterways on the Air event will
take place between the 24th and 26th of August. The event is open to
amateurs who use canals, towpaths, rivers, lakes or reservoirs for
work or recreation. Registration for the event is now open. To sign
up, visit Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group's website at
nharg.org.uk and follow the BIWOTA 2024 link.
And now for details of rallies and events
The East Suffolk Wireless Revival, also known as the Ipswich Radio
Rally, is taking place today, the 16th of June. The venue is Kirton
Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton, IP10 0PW, just off the A14. The
doors open at 9.30am and the entry fee for visitors is GBP 3. The
site has free car parking and catering is available. For more
information, contact Kevin, G8MXV on 07710 046 846 or visit
eswr.org.uk
The Bangor and District Amateur Radio Society Rally will take place
on Saturday the 22nd of June at Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church
Halls. The doors open at 11.30am. For more information, the Society
can be contacted via its Facebook page.
The Newbury Radio Rally is set to take place on Sunday the 23rd of
June. The venue will be Newbury Showground, next to junction 13 of
the M4 motorway in Berkshire, RG18 9QZ. There will be a display area
with an amateur radio station, exhibits, special interest groups,
clubs and societies. The doors open to sellers at 8am, and to
visitors at 9am. Lots of free parking will be available and entry
will cost GBP 3 for visitors. A seller's pitch costs GBP 15. For more
information visit nadars.org.uk
Dunstable Downs Radio Club would like to remind everyone that its
annual boot sale has been postponed until the 30th of June. This is
due to the site being used by BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend music
festival. Updates will be posted to Dunstable Downs Radio Club's
Facebook page and reminder emails will be sent out closer to the
time. To add yourself to the list, visit ddrcbootsale.org and sign
up for email reminders.
Now the Special Event News
Look out for special callsign GB9DAT which is active until the 28th
of June to help promote digital modes in amateur radio. Operators are
using a variety of digital modes including FT8, FT4, PSK and RTTY,
among others. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, or directly to MM0DFV.
Special callsign OE20SOTA is active until the 31st of October to mark
the 20th anniversary of Austria joining the Summits on the Air
programme. Operators have been heard recently on the 40, 20, 15 and
10m bands using SSB. For details of a certificate that is available,
for making 20 or more contacts with the station, see QRZ.com
Now the DX news
Elvira, IV3FSG is active as 5U5K from Niger [NIGH-JER] until the 20th
of June. She is operating SSB, FT8, FT4, RTTY and some CW on the 160
to 6m bands. QSL directly to IK2DUW.
Erwin, DK5EW is active as SV8/DK5EW from Crete Island, EU-015, until
the 20th of June. He is QRV on the 6 and 4m bands only, from grid
locator KM15. QSL via Logbook of the World, eQSL, or directly to
Erwin's home call.
Now the contest news
The 50MHz Trophy Contest started at 1400UTC on the 15th and ends at
1400UTC today, Sunday the 16th of June. Using all modes on the 6m
band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
The All Asian DX Contest started at 0000UTC on the 15th and ends at
2359UTC today, Sunday the 16th of June. Using CW on the 160 to 10m
bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your signal
report and age.
Today, the 16th, the Worked All Britain 6m Phone Contest runs from
0800 to 1400UTC. Using phone on the 6m band, the exchange is signal
report, serial number and Worked All Britain square. More information
is available from the Worked All Britain website.
Tomorrow, the 17th, the FT4 Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using
FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the
exchange is your report.
On Tuesday the 18th, the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to
2130UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator.
On Wednesday the 19th, the 80m Club Championship CW Contest takes
place from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is
signal report and serial number.
On Thursday the 20th, the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to
2130UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator.
On Sunday the 23rd, the 50MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC.
Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO
on Thursday the 13th of June 2024
No sooner do we say that conditions will remain good than the Sun
emits an X-class solar flare! Such is the challenge of writing
propagation predictions.
Nevertheless, after the X1.5-class flare on the 10th of June, things
settled again and, at the moment, there are no incoming coronal mass
ejections, or CMEs for short, to report. With a Kp index of less than
1 on Thursday the 13th, and a solar flux index of 165, it looks like
HF conditions could be quite good.
However, the Sun's proton flux has increased and is close to the 10
million electron volts warning threshold. This means that paths
through the polar regions might be disrupted. Protons can herald the
arrival of a CME two or three days later, although NOAA is not
predicting any disruption.
On the 13th of June, the critical frequency was between 7 and 8MHz,
meaning a maximum useable frequency over a 3,000km path of around 21
to 24MHz. The 10m band will be open, mainly to Sporadic-E. However,
F2-layer propagation on the 10m band will be sparse.
NOAA predicts the solar flux index will fall to around 155 today, the
16th, before climbing again to around 195 in a week's time.
Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be quiet all week, but that
may be because solar flares and CMEs are hard to predict at this
point in the solar cycle.
As always, make hay on the HF bands while the Sun shines! And make
the most of the Sporadic-E propagation on the higher HF bands as June
is probably a peak month for this.
Finally, the latest sunspot data show that the average sunspot number
for May was 171.7, the highest in 22 years. However, the ARRL reports
that shortwave conditions were above average on only six days out of
the entire month of May, and mostly poor on half of the days due to
geomagnetic disturbances and solar flares.
And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO
The current spell of seemingly endless, poor weather is struggling to
provide much Tropo. The general theme is low pressure bringing active
weather fronts with rain or, if not that, then scattered heavy
showers.
This again points to rain scatter for the GHz Bands as the mode worth
exploring. There is just one glimmer of Tropo hope in that the latest
model predictions are starting to inject the notion of a ridge
developing over southern areas, initially around mid-week but perhaps
more so at the end of the week. Although, it's fair to say that other
models hang on to the low-pressure theme. That said, it's worth
checking from the middle of next week onwards.
There are no significant meteor showers this week so continue to
check for random meteors around dawn.
The solar conditions have continued to trickle charge the auroral
oval with an occasionally enhanced Kp index indicating possible
aurora. This is unlikely to be visible at this time of the year
although, if you are outside with a clear view to the north, you
might be rewarded with a seasonal look at noctilucent clouds to make
up for it.
High-summer Sporadic-E propagation is providing daily contacts so
it's worth checking the bands each day. The daily blogs always have
something to show on the 10m band and on many days there are reports
of contacts on the 6m band. Remember these openings are not always
reachable from all parts of the UK. One of the characteristics of
Sporadic-E is that at each end of the path the ‘signal footprint'
is very small. Even in a busy opening, signals may still pass you by
but you should continue to monitor in case a Sporadic-E path opens up
that does include your station at one end!
Moon declination is negative again from this weekend, ending today
the 16th. EME path loss was at its highest at apogee on Friday the
14th. 144MHz sky noise starts the week low but rises steadily,
reaching over 3,000 Kelvin on Friday the 21st.
And that's all from the propagation team this week.
And that's the end of the main news for this week prepared by the
Radio Society of Great Britain. Items for inclusion in subsequent
bulletins can be emailed to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
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