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G4TNU > NEWS 01.05.16 00:48l 252 Lines 12279 Bytes #999 (0) @ GBR
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 01 May 2016
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 1st May 2016
The news headlines:
* Next Tim Peake contact confirmed
* Advanced exams now ‘on demand'
* IARU Interim Meeting minutes released
The ARISS UK Operations team is delighted to announce that the ARISS
Schools contact between Ashfield Primary School in Otley, West
Yorkshire and Tim Peake on the International Space Station has now
been confirmed for Thursday the 5th of May at 0908BST. It will be a
direct contact operated by GB1APS. The contact should be audible over
Western Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on
145.800 MHz narrowband FM.
The Examinations Standards Committee has agreed to offer the Advanced
examination ‘on demand'. This means that Advanced exams can be
booked in the same way as the Foundation and Intermediate, with the
important exception that one calendar month's notice must be given.
On-demand bookings will commence on the 1st of May, so Advanced exams
can be booked after then for any date after the 1st of June 2016.
The minutes from the Interim Meeting of IARU Region 1 are now
available on the RSGB Spectrum Forum website. Over the weekend of the
16th and 17th of April, delegates from Member Societies discussed
numerous papers and proposals on HF, VHF/Microwave and EMC matters.
The resulting recommendations for band plan and other changes will be
considered for approval by the Region 1 Executive when they meet on
the 7th and 8th of May 7. Details at http://tinyurl.com/gkw2w6h
At a recent RSGB Board meeting, the application of the Construction,
Design and Management Regulations 2015 in respect of amateur radio
activities was discussed. Board Director Steve Hartley, G0FUW will be
preparing an article for RadCom giving guidance to clubs and
individual Members on how this legislation applies to them.
Due to the increase in D Star activity with many new users of the
mode, UKFM Group Western, who maintain D-Star repeaters throughout
the North west, has produced a guide to D-Star etiquette. The web
page outlines some common practices and hints on use of repeater
linking and radio settings, which will be helpful in maintaining the
best use out of the system. The page can be found at www.ukfmgw.co.uk
under D-Star etiquette.
The RSGB-provided repeater and beacon insurance premium for the
period from the 30th of April 2016 to the 29th of April 2017 will be
GBP 10 per repeater. If you are a Keeper and have not already
received an email about this, you may renew online at the RSGB shop.
A certificate will be sent by e-mail once payment has been received,
but please allow a couple of days for applications to be processed.
On the 8th of May there will be no 7127kHz news broadcast from
Germany, as both readers are unavailable. News broadcasts will be
back to normal on the 15th.
The RSGB Examination Standards Committee wishes to appoint an
Examination Standards Manager for the Radio Communications Exams.
Reporting to the Examinations Standards Committee, the post is
responsible for developing and documenting the internal and external
procedures that govern the running of the RCE. Candidates should
ideally be located in a central part of the UK and be prepared to
travel around the UK. They should have a UK Full amateur radio
licence and will ideally have experience in a senior position in
industry or mainstream education, with responsibility for leading a
team and quality management. Those interested in applying should
contact Simon Watts, G3XXH, via email to esc.chair<at>rsgb.org.uk,
providing a brief CV and a covering letter outlining how they meet
the requirements of this role.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
The Dambusters Hamfest takes place today, the 1st of May, at Thorpe
Camp Museum, Tattershall Thorpe, near Coningsby, Lincolnshire
LN4 4PE.The venue is all on one level and doors open at 10am.
Admission is GBP 3 and includes entry into the museum. Hot food will
be available in addition to the NAFFI. This is mainly an outdoor
rally but some limited space is available indoors, with a small
charge for tables. More information by email to
tony.nightingale<at>yahoo.co.uk.
Dartmoor Radio Club Rally will take place on the 2nd of May at
Tavistock College, Crowndale Road, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8DD. The
venue has free car parking as well as disabled facilities but please
note there is no talk-in station. Doors open at 10.30am, with
disabled visitors gaining access 15 minutes earlier. Admission is
GBP 2. There will be trade stands, a Bring & Buy and special interest
groups. Catering is available on site. Contact Roger Hann, 2E0RPH, on
01822 840 723.
The 35th Lough Erne Amateur Radio Rally takes place on the 8th of May
at the SHARE Centre, Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
BT92 0EQ. Doors open from 11.15am to 4pm, with disabled visitors
gaining access 15 minutes earlier. There will be trade stands, a
Bring & Buy, car boot area, flea market, special interest groups and
an RSGB bookstall. A licensed bar and catering will be available on
site. Lectures will form part of the day's activities and there will
be a prize draw during the day. Camping is available. More
information from Michael, MI5MTC on 0286 862 1436.
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
Koji, JI1LET, is operating as JD1BOI from Chichijima Island in the
Ogasawara Archipelago, IOTA reference AS-031, until the 6th of May.
Ogasawara is about 1000km south of Tokyo and counts as a separate
entity for the DXCC Award. Koji is working all bands from 80 to 6m
using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via his home callsign.
A DXpedition to Lundy Island, EU-120, will take place from the 2nd to
the 7th of May by three members of the Virtual Amateur Radio Club
from Kent. Mark, G0GQT, Keith, M0KJA and Nigel, G0GDA will be using
MX0VRC/P. The island has no grid electricity and uses locally
generated power between 6am and midnight, the generators being
switched off during the night. Three stations will be using a variety
of aerials and running SSB, data and CW on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL
is by eQSL. See QRZ.com for more details.
Chris, HB9LCA will be active as YJ0CS from Vanuatu, OC-035, from the
1st to the 27th of May. He will be mainly on CW and will be working
holiday style. QSL to his home callsign.
Martin, LU9EFO will be QRV as CE0Y/LU9EFO from the 6th to the 16th of
May from Easter Island, SA-001. Activity will be on the HF bands. QSL
direct via F4BHW.
A group of operators will be QRV as MJ/ON4RSX from St Brelade, Jersey
from the 5th to the 8th of May. Jersey is IOTA reference EU-013.
Activity will be on the 40 to 6m bands using CW, SSB and various
digital modes. QSL direct via ON8VP.
Now the special event news
Ballymena ARG will be operating a station at the Shanes Castle Steam
Traction Rally on the 1st and 2nd of May. This will be a station in
the Castles and Stately Homes on the Air award scheme. The Traction
rally takes place at Shanes Castle, Randalstown Rd, Antrim BT41 4NE.
Contact Hugh Kernohan, GI0JEV, on 028 2587 1481.
Now the contest news
The SSB leg of the 80m Club Championships takes place from 1900 to
2030UTC on Monday. The exchange is the usual signal report and serial
number.
On Tuesday the 144MHz UK Activity Contest takes place from 1900 to
2130UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number
and locator.
The 432MHz-248GHz Trophy starts at 1400 on the 7th and runs for 24
hours. Using the 432MHz to 248GHz bands the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator.
Starting at the same start time, but running for eight hours, the
432MHz Trophy and 10GHz Trophy contests are ideal if you are not
equipped for all the UHF and microwave bands. Using all modes on the
respective two bands, the exchange is the same for both, signal
report, serial number and locator.
Starting on the 7th, the UK Six Metre Group's Marathon is a contest
without fixed operating times. The object of the exercise is to work
as many Locator squares as possible across three months of the
Sporadic-E season. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is
you 4-character locator.
The Italian National Society ARI International DX Contest runs for 24
hours from midday on the 7th. There are sections for Single-op CW,
SSB, RTTY, mixed, and Multi-single. Italians send a signal report and
a 2-letter Province code, while non-Italians send a signal report
plus serial number. Check the rules for scoring.
The UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest is on the 8th. It coincides
with the RSGB events taking place the same weekend. Running from 0800
to 1400UTC on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
Also on the 8th, the IRTS 40m Counties Contest runs from 1200 to
1500UTC. Using CW and SSB only exchange a signal report and serial
number, EIs and GIs also give their county.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 29th of April.
It's been another mixed week. with coronal holes dominating once
again. The K index, a measure of the disturbance to the earth's
magnetic field due to incoming solar plasma, fluctuated all week,
being as low as one and as high as four.
The solar flux index started the week at 82, but rose steadily to
reach 94 by Friday. By then there were actually six sunspot regions
visible on the sun, although some were so small they looked like dust
on the lens.
Two small, but almost geo-effective, coronal holes could be seen in
the Solar Dynamics Observatory's extreme ultra-violet image on
Thursday, which suggest we may have unsettled conditions as you hear
or read this report. NOAA predicts the solar flux index could rise to
95 by the 3rd of May, although unsettled geomagnetic conditions will
continue to affect propagation, especially on the first and fourth.
As we are now in May, Sporadic-E will become prevalent on the higher
HF bands, notably ten metres, but more about that later.
Otherwise, a look at an HF propagation coverage map from VOACAP
Online shows May generally sees the start of the summer doldrums when
maximum usable frequencies are generally lower during daylight hours,
but remain higher at night.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
We may start this weekend with a weak ridge of high pressure over
southern Britain, which is potentially useful for some limited Tropo,
especially down to the south towards western France and northern
Spain. Unfortunately, almost as soon as it happens, it will be gone
and low pressure will be in control, so it's more likely to be rain
scatter on the GHz bands from large shower clouds that gives any
enhancement locally.
On a more positive note, the Sporadic-E season is now under way and
current weather patterns are producing good jet streams in the right
places over Europe. These are known to be helpful for Sporadic-E and
the Sporadic-E maximum usable frequency has already reached more than
100MHz in the past week over the northern Balkans, and allowed UK
stations to have 6 metre QSOs with Greece.
Sporadic-E is not an everyday thing, so check the beacons and
clusters to follow any openings as it intensifies. Openings usually
start as short skip on 10m, then up through 6m to 4m and perhaps even
2m. There are two main periods of activity from the UK, usually late
morning and again late afternoon into early evening.
Moon declination is climbing this week and losses are falling as the
moon comes in to perigee on Thursday. So this is a good week for EME
with a daytime moon.
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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