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G4TNU > NEWS 22.12.24 02:33l 340 Lines 16687 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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RSGB News for Sunday 22nd December 2024
The news headlines:
* The RSGB is looking for a new Lecture Coordinator
* YOTA Month draws to a close but is still busy on the air
* The first RSGB Tonight<at>8 webinar of 2025 focuses on GB2RS
The RSGB facilitates just over 60 lectures each year in a mixture of
in-person, hybrid and remote formats. 50 of these are at the RSGB
Convention and 11 are delivered through the livestreamed Tonight<at>8
webinar programme of events. This set of presentations aims to cover
a wide mix of amateur radio-related subjects, across all depths of
amateur radio experience and knowledge. They are watched and admired
by RSGB members and non-members across the world. The RSGB Lecture
Coordinator is part of the Tonight<at>8 and Convention teams. Its
recent Lecture Coordinator Keith Hotchkiss, G0FEA has stepped back to
focus on his professional commitments, so the RSGB is looking for
someone new for this volunteer role. The right person will be
proactive and collaborative, bringing ideas for presentations that
educate and inspire radio amateurs to try something new, learn more
about interesting topics and expand their knowledge of amateur radio.
They will lead the invitation and scheduling process for Tonight<at>8
webinars and will contribute to the decisions about Convention
presentations. They will also be the main contact with Convention
presenters, inviting them to speak, updating the speaker project plan
and helping to create a balanced programme. Reporting to the
Convention Chair, the Lecture Coordinator would be a member of the
RSGB Convention team but would not be required to take responsibility
for organising and managing other aspects of the event. If you're
interested in the role or would like to find out more, please contact
the RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB via
gm.dept<at>rsgb.org.uk
Youngsters on the Air Month is nearly at a close. It has been filled
with some brilliant activity from young people using special callsign
GB24YOTA. Thank you to everyone who has been involved, from
supervising young amateurs to making contact with them on the air.
Before the year ends, we still have some activity using GB24YOTA, so
please continue to listen out. Tomorrow, Monday the 23rd of December,
Hilderstone Radio Society will be back on the air as it hosts the
callsign for a final time this month. On Sunday the 29th of December,
Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club in Northern Ireland will be operating
GB24YOTA, followed by Marlborough Scouts on Monday the 30th of
December. If you have been involved with Youngsters on the Air Month
and would like your activity to be in a special RadCom feature, email
your photos and a short report to comms<at>rsgb.org.uk as soon as
possible.
The first RSGB Tonight<at>8 webinar of 2025 will be live on Monday
the 6th of January. The presentation is all about the RSGB's GB2RS
News service which will be celebrating its 70th anniversary next
year. A team of people will contribute to the live presentation and
will give you a behind-the-scenes insight into how the script is
compiled, as well as a newsreader's perspective of the weekly
broadcast. They'll share details of the plans being put in place for
the anniversary and explain how you can get involved. The team will
also consider GB2RS in the modern media environment and how new
technologies in amateur radio are being embraced. Find out more about
this fascinating discussion and the presenters by going to
rsgb.org/webinars Watch the presentation live on the RSGB YouTube
channel or special BATC channel and ask questions via the live chat.
The RSGB will be releasing four new presentations from its 2024
Convention over the festive season. If you'd like to be the first to
hear about new releases as soon as they are available, go to
youtube.com/theRSGB and subscribe to receive notifications. The RSGB
YouTube channel has hundreds of other videos and webinars to enjoy,
as well as numerous playlists on amateur radio construction, useful
practical skills, technical topics and much more. Let the Society
know you enjoy the content by pressing the ‘Like' button when you
watch a video.
Don't forget that the RSGB's headquarters will be closed for
Christmas and New Year from 2pm on Tuesday the 24th of December 2024
until 8.30am on Thursday the 2nd of January 2025. The RSGB National
Radio Centre, or NRC, will also be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas
Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, the NRC will
close at 2pm and it will also be closed for essential maintenance
works on Thursday the 2nd of January. Outside of these times,
volunteers look forward to welcoming visitors as usual.
Sweden's Alexanderson alternator station SAQ has scheduled a
transmission to send out a traditional Christmas message to the
world. The century-old 200kW transmitter will start up and begin
tuning at 0730UTC on Tuesday the 24th of December using CW on
17.2kHz. Transmission of the Christmas message will take place at
0800UTC. The event will be livestreamed from 0725UTC via the
Alexanderson site's YouTube channel. Further details about the event,
including test transmissions and QSL reports, can be found by going
to alexander.n.se
Please note there will be no GB2RS broadcast on Sunday the 29th of
December 2024, but many newsreaders will be holding informal nets in
their usual broadcasting slots. Please send details of all your news
and events to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is
10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week.
And now for details of rallies and events
The Sparkford Radio Rally is taking place on Sunday the 29th of
December at Davis Hall, Howell Hill, West Camel, near Yeovil. Doors
are open to traders from 7.30am and from 9.30am to the public.
Admission is GBP 2. Refreshments and free parking will be available.
For more information, contact Luke on 07870 168 197 or email
m3vhv<at>hotmail.co.uk
Looking ahead to events coming up next year, the Lincoln Shortwave
Club Winter Radio Rally is taking place on the 26th of January at The
Festival Hall, Caistor Road in Market Rasen. Doors open at 10am, and
admission is GBP 3. Hot refreshments and ample free car parking will
be available. The cost for a table is GBP 10. To book, please contact
Steve Burke, M5ZZZ on 07777 699 069 or email m5zzz<at>outlook.com
Now the Special Event news
In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the GB2RS News service,
special callsign GB70RS will be on the air from the 1st of January.
Listen out for operators on all modes and all bands. QSL via the
Bureau, eQSL or Logbook of the World. For more information, please
visit the GB70RS page at QRZ.com
Denby Dale Amateur Radio Society will be celebrating the New Year
with a series of special event station callsigns all ending in HNY,
which stands for Happy New Year. Members will be active on all HF and
VHF bands using SSB, CW, FM and data modes. You can find full details
of active callsigns on the GB0HNY page at QRZ.com
A number of special event stations will be active between the 1st and
the 3rd of January 2025 to celebrate KW Electronics, a former UK
manufacturer of amateur radio equipment. The active callsigns will
include: GB4KW, GB8KW, GB0KW, GB1KW, GB5KW, GB2KW and GB6KW. More
details are available via QRZ.com
Special callsign GB0IRN will be active in January to celebrate the
anniversary of the International Radio Network. The International
Radio Network is active on various platforms and its mission is to
promote amateur radio to those interested in radio communications.
Find out more by visiting irn.radio
Terry, GM3WUX will be using special callsign GB200LB from the 4th of
January until the 31st of January 2025. The ‘LB' in the callsign
stands for Louis [LOO-EY] Braille. The station will be operating to
celebrate the bicentenary of the invention of the Braille Code. The
4th of January is Louis Braille's birthday. Activity will be mainly
on CW. QSL via M0OXO. Further details are available via QRZ.com
Now the DX news
A Danish DXpedition is operational as TO0J [TANGO-OSCAR-ZERO-JULIET]
from French Guiana [GEE-AH-NA] until the 31st of December. The group
will be active on the 80 to 10m bands using CW, SSB, but mainly FT8.
QSL via Clublog's OQRS, Logbook of the World or eQSL.
The J75K team is active in Dominica from the 26th of December 2024
until the 4th of January 2025. The IOTA reference is NA-101. They
will be operating on the 160 to 6m bands using SSB, CW and FT8. QSL
via Logbook of the World or directly to IV3JVJ.
Brian, GW4DVB will be operating from St Kitts as V4/G4DVB from the
31st of December 2024 to the 6th of January 2025. The station will be
active using multiples modes on the 160 to 6m bands. QSL directly to
Brian. More information is available on QRZ.com
Members of the Rebel DX Group will be active as 5N9DTG from Abuja
[A-BOO-JUH] in Nigeria during January 2025. They will operate on the
160 to 6m bands using CW, FT8 and possibly SSB. QSL via ClubLog's
OQRS.
Now the contest news
The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon started at 0000UTC on Sunday
the 1st of December and ends at 2359UTC on Friday the 31st of January
2025. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report
and locator.
On Thursday the 26th of December, the DARC Christmas Contest runs
from 0830UTC to 1059UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 80 and 40m bands,
the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations also
send their DOK number.
On Friday the 27th of December, the RSGB 50MHz Christmas Contest runs
from 1500 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
On Saturday the 28th of December, the RSGB 70MHz Christmas Contest
runs from 1500 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the
exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
The Stew Perry Top Band Challenge starts at 1500UTC on Saturday the
28th of December and ends at 1500UTC on Sunday the 29th of December.
Using CW on the 160m band, the exchange is your four-character
locator.
On Sunday the 29th of December, the RSGB 144MHz Christmas Contest
runs from 1500 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the
exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Monday the 30th of December, the RSGB 432MHz Christmas Contest
runs from 1500 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the
exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Wednesday the 1st of January 2025, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity
four-hour contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m
band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also on
Wednesday the 1st, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour contest runs
from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is
report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour
contest may also enter the two-hour contest.
On Wednesday the 1st of January, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m
Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the
exchange is your six-character locator.
The ARRL RTTY Roundup Contest starts at 1800UTC on Saturday the 4th
of January and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 5th of January. Using
data modes on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the
exchange is signal report and serial number. American stations will
send their state, and Canadian stations will send their province.
The European CW 160m Party runs from 2000UTC to 2300UTC on Saturday
the 4th of January and from 0400UTC to 0700UTC on Sunday the 5th of
January. Using CW on the 160m band, the exchange for club members is
signal report, name, club and membership number. For non-members, the
exchange is report and name.
On Saturday the 4th of January 2025, the RSGB 80 and 40m CW
Affiliated Societies Contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using CW on
the 80 and 40m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Thursday the 19th of December 2024.
The last week was a little more disturbed than usual and we had a Kp
index that hit 5.33. An enhanced solar wind stream contributed to
active geomagnetic conditions and an interplanetary shockwave, that
swept past Earth at 0519UTC on the 17th of December, caused minor G1
geomagnetic storming.
A far-sided halo coronal mass ejection event also occurred later on
the 17th of December at 1600UTC although this was not directed
towards Earth.
This shows that the Sun is still very active, and we should not be
surprised if we experience more solar flares and CMEs.
The solar flux index stayed in the 160s and 170s and we should keep
an eye on active region 3927, which is currently turning to be
Earth-facing and has already been the source of some C-class solar
flares.
Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may rise slightly
to be in the 180s. The largest Kp index forecast is 2, which probably
means that NOAA is unsure about what will actually happen.
We are pleased to report that OF9X is once again on the air from the
land of Santa Claus in Lapland. Up to 16 operators will operate Santa
Radio on the 160 to 6m bands using CW, SSB, RTTY, FT4 and FT8. They
have already been spotted on the 30 and 20m bands using CW and on the
12 and 17m bands using RTTY. So, there is plenty of scope to work
them.
According to prediction program Proppy, paths to Lapland should be
open on 14MHz from 0800UTC to 1800UTC. On 28MHz, expect them to be
open from 0930 to 1500UTC. The 80 and 40m bands should be mainly open
during the hours of darkness.
As always, across the Christmas period, we recommend that you use
solarham.com and propquest.co.uk for real-time updates on the solar
and ionospheric conditions.
And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO.
Last week ended in a colder unsettled period of weather with strong
north-westerly winds and spells of rain or showers.
The air is sufficiently cold that some snow is possible over northern
hills. This is potentially good news for rain or snow scatter,
especially off fast-moving showers down the coastal fringes of the
UK.
Although the nearest high remains near to the Azores to begin with,
it slowly migrates east to France and, by Christmas, to central
Europe. This will bring high pressure and possible Tropo onto Santa's
list from Christmas Eve onwards. Look for patches of misty low cloud
or fog for the best conditions.
As usual, check for other modes. Meteor scatter and aurora are both
worth consideration and this is a prime time for out-of-season
Sporadic-E between now and about mid-January.
One of the helpful aspects of looking for winter Sporadic-E is that
quite often the jet streams are significantly stronger than in the
more traditional summer Sporadic-E season. Jet streams are a good
source of turbulence that can eventually propagate up to the E region
to make Sporadic-E propagation.
Jet streams are shown on upper air charts and can be a good
geographical guide to Sporadic-E prospects in the summer and should
therefore be similarly consulted for these winter events.
In this case, they tell us that the first half of the coming week, up
to Christmas Day, is well set up with a northerly jet stream over
central Europe and, more importantly, crossing the Alps. So, a second
mode goes on to Santa's list.
Check the VHF Cluster's Sporadic-E graphs at propquest.co.uk for
early signs of activity, particularly for paths to the southeast into
Italy and the Balkans.
The Moon started this weekend with positive declination but goes
negative late today, the 22nd. Path losses are at their highest due
to apogee on Christmas Eve. 144MHz sky noise is high until Wednesday,
including near-eclipse conditions all day on Monday.
That's it for this year. How about making a New Year's resolution to
try a new mode? Maybe use SSB or CW on VHF now and again and put out
lots of CQ calls in 2025!
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. There will be no broadcast for
next Sunday (29th December), although some readers may hold
informal nets for listeners. Items for inclusion in subsequent
bulletins can be emailed to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive
no later than 10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
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