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G4TNU > NEWS 10.04.16 01:47l 249 Lines 12106 Bytes #999 (0) @ GBR
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 10th April 2016
The news headlines:
* New RSGB General Manager appointed
* Ofcom revises Licence Guidance
* New DXpedition Fund trustees
Steve Thomas, M1ACB has been appointed as the new General Manager of
the Radio Society of Great Britain. He will join the staff on Monday
the 11th of April. Steve has been an active volunteer with the RSGB
for many years, and is presently the Regional Manager for Region 12.
Graham Coomber, G0NBI will remain in place until the 30th of April,
to ensure a smooth handover.
Ofcom have revised their Guidance notes relating to the UK Amateur
Radio Licence. The document should be read in conjunction with the
Licence, and is intended to help licensees understand and comply with
the Licence terms and conditions. It can be downloaded from the Ofcom
website, or via the shortcut tinyurl.com/ofcom-ar-2016
The RSGB sponsors HF DXpeditions to the rarer countries through a
fund that is supported each year from proceeds of a raffle held at
the annual RSGB Convention, as well income from legacies and
donations. The Society wishes to put on record its thanks to Colin
Thomas, G3PSM who is stepping down as a Trustee of the fund after 19
years, and to welcome two new trustees, Martin Atherton, G3ZAY and
Gordon Rolland, G3USR. Details of the fund are on the RSGB website
under the Operating tab.
The 89th RSGB AGM will be held in Glasgow on Saturday the 23rd of
April, commencing at 12 noon. Arrangements have been made for Members
who are unable to attend the AGM to cast their votes by proxy. For
details, go to www.rsgb.org/AGM2016. Please note that online voting
closes at 12 noon on the 21st of April. Whilst the Society encourages
Members to vote electronically via the website wherever possible, if
you require a postal vote please call HQ on 01234 832 702. Lunch will
be provided for Members who notify their attendance in advance.
Please register using the form on the website.
The April/May edition of the online RadCom Basics is now available to
RSGB Members and was emailed to subscribers last week. It contains
features on receiving transmissions from the International Space
Station, part two of the feature on making homemade coaxial trap
antennas, getting your first HF award with International Marconi Day,
plus a look at JT65. RadCom Basics is aimed at new amateurs and those
who may want to find out more about aspects of the hobby they may
have never considered. You can find out more about RadCom Basics and
subscribe in the publications section of the RSGB website,
www.rsgb.org.
The Martin Lynch Training Academy is hosting an RSGB Train the
Trainers session in Staines on Thames on Saturday the 23rd of April.
The course will run from 9.30am until 5pm and is free for RSGB
Members. Train the Trainers is designed to encourage and support
anyone delivering Foundation, Intermediate and/or Advanced licence
classes who is not already a professional teacher. It's a fun day
delivered by 3 enthusiastic professional teachers and keen radio
amateurs, who between them have over 50 years' experience in the
classroom. To book a place please email steve<at>hamradio.co.uk
World Amateur Radio Day, observed every year on the 18th of April,
marks the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union in 1925.
Radio amateurs worldwide will take to the airwaves to celebrate
amateur radio's contribution to society. The IARU has provided a
World Amateur Radio Day poster that can be downloaded from
www.iaru.org under the ‘operating' tab. Amateurs are encouraged to
promote their activity on social media by using the hashtag #WARD2016.
The surprise visit to North Korea by Dom, 3Z9DX last December where
he gave a demonstration of amateur radio to local officials has been
given approval for DXCC credit. The callsign used was P5/3Z9DX. He
made in the region of 785 QSOs and it is hoped that further visits
may be possible in the future.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the 10th of April, the NARSA exhibition will take place at
Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, Blackpool FY2 9AA. The venue has
car parking as well as disabled facilities. There will be a talk-in
station and Morse proficiency tests are also available. Highlights
include trade stands, a Bring & Buy, special interest groups, and an
RSGB bookstand. There is a licensed bar and catering facilities. More
information from Dave, M0OBW on 01270 761 608.
Also today, the 10th, is the 32nd Yeovil QRP Convention held at Digby
Hall, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AA. Doors open at 9.30am and admission
is GBP 3. There will be traders, a Bring & Buy and club stalls, plus
a programme of talks. Contact Bob Harris, by email to
wjh069<at>gmail.com.
Next Sunday, the 17th, the West London Radio & Electronics Show will
take place at Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury on
Thames TW16 5AQ. The venue has free car parking and disabled
facilities. There will be a talk-in station and doors open at 10am
with disabled visitors gaining access 10 minutes earlier. Other
attractions include trade stands, a flea market, a Bring & Buy,
special interest groups and lectures. A raffle will also be held.
Catering is available on site. Details from Paul, M0CJX on
08451 650 351.
The Andover Radio And Computer Boot Sale will be held on the 17th of
April at Tangley Village Hall, Wildhern, Andover, Hants SP11 0JE.
Doors will be open from 9am to 4pm, with disabled visitors gaining
access from 8.30am. Admittance is GBP 2. There will be a Bring & Buy,
Car boot area, as well as trade stands. Catering will be available on
site and there will be a raffle held on the day. More details from
Paul Phillips, G4KZY on 0777 573 8200.
If you have any rally or event information you'd like to appear in
future editions of GB2RS News, in RadCom and on the RSGB website,
please email details to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk.
And now the DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
A team of operators will be on the air as EP2A from the Gilan
Province in Iran between the 16th and 25th of April. They will be
using the 160 to 6m bands, except 60m, using CW, SSB and RTTY. They
will have four stations on the air. QSL via YL2GM or Club Log OQRS,
either direct or bureau.
Brian, GW4DVB will be active as J88PI from Palm Island in St Vincent
and the Grenadines, NA-025, from the 12th to the 22nd of April. Using
an Elecraft KX3 and KXPA100 with a 10m vertical and M0CVO multiband
dipole, he plans to operate on the 6 to 40m bands SSB only. QSL via
his home address, see QRZ.com.
Listen for Bill, K2HVN, working as 9Y/K2HVN on the Island of Tobago,
SA-009, from the 4th to the 26th of April. He will work 40 to 10m
holiday style. He will be operating SSB and CW. QSL via his home
callsign only; he will not accept LoTW. See QRZ.com for information.
Operators Helen, RC5A and Yuri, RM0F are going to Maldive Islands,
AS-013, where they will be active as 8Q7CA and 8Q7FU, respectively,
between the 17th and 30th of April. They will work the 160 to 6m
bands using CW and SSB. QSL via their home callsigns, direct, by the
Bureau or the OQRS on ClubLog.
Alex, W1CDC will be active as 8R1A from Guyana from 11th to 24th
April. This will be a holiday-style activation of 80m to 10m, mainly
on CW. QSL to the home call.
Jacek, SP5APW will visit Koh Rong Sanloem Island in Cambodia from
12th to 18th April. His callsign will be XU7AKC and the IOTA
reference is AS-133. QSL via Club Log OQRS.
Now the special event news
We have no reports of special event stations taking place this week.
Now the contest news
Today, the 10th, the First 50MHz contest takes place from 0900 to
1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial
number, locator and postcode.
Also today, the 10th, the UK Microwave Group 2nd Low Band contest
takes place from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the
exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Tuesday the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC.
Using all modes the exchange is the usual signal report, serial
number and locator.
On Wednesday it's the turn of the SSB leg of the 80m Club
Championships, which runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange s signal
report and serial number.
On Saturday, the 16th, the International Sprint SSB contest runs from
1700 to 2100UTC. Using SSB only on the 3.5 to 14MHz bands the
exchange is both callsigns, serial number and name.
The Worked All Britain Datamodes Contest takes place next Sunday, the
17th of April 2016. Using the 3.5, 7 and 14MHz bands, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and WAB square. There are two separate
contests, one for RTTY and one for PSK, and you will need a separate
set of entry sheets for each. The PSK contest is from 1400 to 1600UTC
and again from 2000 to 2200UTC. The RTTY contest is from 1200 to
1400UTC and again from 1800 to 2000UTC. Both are split into two
periods to allow for good propagation on 20 and 40m in the afternoon
and on 40 and 80m in the evening. Entries need to be with the contest
manager by the 8th of May. Full details from the WAB website
www.worked-all-britain.org.uk
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4DDK
on Friday 8th April.
It is beginning to look like we're getting an early taste of the
upcoming solar minimum. The sun currently only has one small sunspot
group and, at the time of writing, there were no new spots coming up
behind it. The solar flux index hovered in the low to mid eighties
this week, giving a noon-time critical frequency of 5.9MHz on Tuesday
and 5.2MHz on Wednesday, as measured at Chilton, near Harwell. These
figures suggest that the maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path
struggled to get up to 15m, although FT4JA on Juan de Nova has been
audible on 12 metres at times. Forty metres was only open to Europe
and beyond, after losing its valuable inter-G capabilities.
The earth was hit by yet more plasma from the solar wind in the early
hours of Friday, sending the K index up to five.
Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will decline further to
around 80. Unsettled geomagnetic conditions are predicted for the
11th to the 14th, thanks to recurring coronal holes on the solar
surface and high speed solar wind streams. We suggest you get your HF
DXing in on Sunday, before the onslaught from the solar wind.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
It will be another unsettled week, with low pressure being the main
driving force behind the weather, and we are therefore very unlikely
to see any enhanced conditions on VHF or UHF due to Tropo. There is,
however, still a very good chance of further heavy showers, some
thundery, and these big clouds can produce good rain scatter paths on
the gigahertz bands.
We mentioned last week that April is the time to start looking on 10m
for Sporadic-E openings. There were indeed some fleeting European 10m
Sporadic-E paths logged on the various cluster sites last week.
Admittedly, some of these have been beacons and skimmers, but it is
worth putting in a human presence on 10m just in case any early
season paths are accessible from Britain.
As the moon moves away from perigee, degradation on the EME path will
increase throughout the week. The increase will be approximately
1.9dB by next weekend. The early part of this week will be favoured
by small EME stations.
The 2016 Lyrids meteor shower peaks on the 21st and 22nd of April. A
noticeable increase in meteor rates can be expected from about the
16th of April.
And that's all for this week from the propagation team.
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 gb2rs<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
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