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G4TNU > NEWS 05.07.15 03:42l 289 Lines 14122 Bytes #999 (0) @ GBR
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 05 Jul 2015
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 5th July 2015
The news headlines:
* Improving club practical sessions
* Crowds flocked to BATC at Friedrichshafen
* Guildford Space Colloquium soon
The Inspire Group is doing some research for the RSGB on the benefits
and challenges of running regular practical sessions during club
nights. Does your club organise this type of event? If so, we'd like
to hear about your experiences and find out what worked, what didn't
and what you'd like to do if you had the resources. Please contact
Michael, G0POT via email to g0pot<at>metalkettle.co.uk or on
01635 672 787.
More than 200 radio amateurs visited the British Amateur Television
Club (BATC) stand at the International Amateur Radio Exhibition at
Friedrichshafen. BATC chairman Noel Matthews, G8GTZ described it as a
"very busy and worthwhile" three day event promoting both amateur
television and the BATC. Enthusiasts from across Europe, and beyond,
were shown demonstrations of the latest reduced bandwidth digital
television projects. Many commented on how impressed they were with
the MPEG-4 picture quality using just 500kHz bandwidth. The new USB
tuner project MiniTiouner [sic] demonstrated by F6DZP also created a
lot of interest. The BATC shop enjoyed a brisk trade and new joiners
at the event helped boost the club's membership to more than 950.
The AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held on 24-26
July at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ. Among the speakers will
be Peter Guelzow, DB2OS with an update on AMSAT-DL projects,
including the Phase 4 satellite and Chris Brunskill, formerly of
Surrey Space Centre. He will be presenting a novel project aimed at
schools and education. It is hoped the BATC will be able to
demonstrate live Digital TV reception from the International Space
Station, using the Ham TV system. Drew Glasbrenner, KO5MA, from AMSAT
North America will be presenting the latest news of the FOX
satellites due for launch later this year, and also on their Phase 4
project. The Colloquium is open to all. Further information is at
http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/
RadCom and other magazines often include photographs of instantly
recognisable buildings, but this may have to stop if a new EU
restriction on the so-called Freedom of Panorama is voted in on the
9th of July. Many organisations including Wikipedia and the Royal
Photographic Society are strongly opposed to the restrictions. A
change.org petition has been set up to oppose the legislation. The
RSGB encourages people to read and sign the petition, which can be
found at tinyurl.com/freepanorama
The RSGB Convention takes place over the 9th to the 11th of October
at Kent's Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. Two more lectures
have been confirmed. The Kit Building Editor of CQ Magazine, Joe
Eisenberg, K0NEB, will be speaking on successful kit building
techniques. Dr Alwyn Seeds, G8DOH, will be discussing high
performance VHF/UHF contest stations. Details can be found at
www.rsgb.org/convention
The RSGB presents a variety of awards and trophies every year.
Presentations take place at the AGM and the RSGB Convention. A
gallery of the AGM trophies is now available to Members on the RSGB
website at www.rsgb.org/agm-trophies and further galleries, including
contest awards, are under preparation.
Surrey Satellite Technology was 30 years old on Monday. There's a
GOV blog post about it at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-1507 and it's
interesting to note that the two photos on the page both feature
UoSAT-1, even though it isn't mentioned that it was an amateur
satellite. Apart from being a world-class space company, Surrey
Satellite Technology has had a close association with Arkwright Trust
students.
Emergency communications on 20m arising from the Nepal earthquake
have now been cut back. Main communication systems in the area are
now generally working normally and although there may still be
emergency-related traffic on other frequencies, 14.215MHz is
essentially now clear. Partly as a result of the amateur radio
response, the Indian government is planning number of amateur
radio-equipped emergency operation centres. More information on the
plans can be found at tinyurl.com/me29fpn
In the USA, the Federal Communications Commission is inviting
comments on its recent proposals to permit a Secondary amateur radio
operation on 137kHz and 479kHz. Amateurs would share some of the
frequencies with other users such as unlicensed power line carrier
systems. Comments are due in by 31 August; depending on the results,
the bands may become available some time after that.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the British Vintage Wireless Society Swapmeet and Auction
takes place at the Royal Wootton Bassett Memorial Hall, Royal Wootton
Bassett, Swindon SN4 8EN. Doors open at 10am and the auction starts
at around 1pm. Details from Mike Barker on 01380 860 787.
Also today, the 19th Red Rose QRP Festival is being held in Formby
Hall, Alder Street, Atherton, Manchester M46 9EY. There is free car
parking and the doors open at 11am with GBP 2 admission. There will
be trade stands, a Bring & Buy and special interest groups. Details
from Les Jackson, G4HZJ on 01942 870 634.
The Barford Norfolk Radio Rally takes place today in the Barford
Village Hall & Green, Barford, Norwich NR9 4AB. Doors open at 9am.
There will be trade stands, a car boot area, a Bring & Buy as well as
special interest groups and catering on site. Admission is GBP 2
with, under 16s free. See www.norfolkamateurradio.org.
Next Saturday, the 11th, the Stockport Radio Society Rally takes
place at Walthew House, 112 Shaw Heath, Stockport SK2 6QS. The
opening time is 10am and admission is GBP 2. There are disabled
facilities and catering. Contact 07506 904 422 or email
info<at>g8srs.co.uk.
Next Sunday, the 52nd Cornish RAC Mobile Rally will be held at Penair
School, St Clements, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 1TN. There is talk-in, car
parking, trade stands, a Bring and Buy and catering. Admission is
GBP 2 and doors open at 10.30. Contact Steve, on 01209 844 939, or
email g7voh<at>btinternet.com.
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.
Now the special event news
Thorpe Camp Museum ARG is holding a Military Radio Week from the
11th to the 19th of July. They will be using GB4TCM and MX0TCM for
the event. Clubs and individuals are invited to use military radios
to make contact with the stations if possible. For information
contact Anthony, M0HAZ on 07956 654 481.
Special event station UE40SA is on the air until the 20th of July to
commemorate the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project 40 years ago. Details are
on QRZ.com and QSL via GM0WRR.
Advance notice now that on Saturday the 18th of July The Vintage &
Military ARS will be holding its AGM at the Neatishead Radar Museum,
Neatishead in Norfolk. The following day, Sunday the 19th, several
VMARS members will be operating and displaying vintage & military
radio equipment at the Norfolk & Suffolk Air Museum at Flixton near
Bungay in Suffolk. There will be a family fun day and a chance to
appreciate a fine collection of aircraft, military vehicles and
communications equipment. There is also a NAAFI in the main hangar
for tea/coffee and very nice home made cakes. Admission is free.
Details are at www.vmars.com or from Stuart J Mckinnon on
01384 872 157.
And now the DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
Paul, HB9ARY will be QRV as 3B8HC from the 9th to the 25th of July.
Activity will be holiday style on 80 to 6 metres using mainly CW. QSL
via NI5DX.
Giuseppe, IK2YDJ is QRV as 5Z4/IK2YDJ from Rongo, Kenya until the
20th of July. Activity is on 40 to 6 metres. QSL to home call.
Tony, ZL2AGY plans to be active as E51AGY from Rarotonga Island, IOTA
OC-013, from the 6th of July to the 3rd of August. Activity will be
holiday style on the HF bands using CW. QSL to his home call.
Zorro, JH1AJT will be QRV as KH0/KH8Z from Saipan from the 6th to the
10th of July while on a business trip. Activity will be holiday style
on 20, 15 and 10 metres using mainly SSB. QSL to his home call.
Dieter, DF2SD will be QRV as OZ/DF2SD from Fano Island, IOTA EU-125,
until the 18th of July. Activity will be on 40 to 6 metres using SSB
and RTTY. QSL to home call.
Stan, EI6DX will be QRV as S79OWZ from Mahe Island in the Seychelles,
IOTA AS-024, from the 7th to the 18th of July. Activity will be
holiday style on the HF bands. QSL via RX3RC.
Goran, S55OO will be QRV as SV9/S55OO from Rethymnon, IOTA EU-015,
from the 8th to 19th of July. Activity will be holiday style on 40 to
6m using CW, SSB and various digital modes. QSL to his home call.
A multi-national team of twenty operators from the Mediterraneo DX
Club led by Antonio, IZ8CCW and Gabriele, I2VGW will be active as
3W3MD from Da Nang, Vietnam from 31 October to 10 November. They plan
to be QRV on all bands and modes with five stations 24/7. A website
is under construction, and further information is expected in due
course.
Jim, G3RTE, Phil, G3SWH and Matt, MJ0ASP will be QRV as F/G6AY/p from
Cezembre Island, one of the rarest European IOTA groups, EU-157, on
26-28 August. They will operate CW only on 30-10 metres with two
100-watt stations and vertical antennas. Activity will be during
their daylight hours only, as it is not permitted to stay on the
island overnight. QSL via G3SWH, direct, bureau or LoTW.
Now the contest news
VHF National Field Day completes its 24 hour run at 1400UTC today,
Sunday. Bands in use are 50MHz to 1296MHz and all modes can be used.
The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Today, the 3rd 2m Backpackers contest takes place from 1100 to
1500UTC. Using all modes in the 144MHz band the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator. It is helpful if portable and
mobile stations in this contest also know their WAB square for the
WAB contest taking place at the same time.
Also today, the Worked All Britain 144MHz Low Power contest takes
place from 1000-1400UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number
and WAB square. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the
26th of July. The power limit is 10 watts. Details from the WAB
website, www.worked-all-britain.org.uk
Monday the 6th sees the RSGB 80m Club Championships CW leg. Operation
is CW only on the 80m band and the exchange is RST plus serial number.
On Tuesday the 7th the RSGB 144MHz UKAC takes place from 1900 to
2130UTC. All modes are permitted on the 144MHz band only, and the
report is RS or RST, serial number and locator.
Next Saturday and Sunday the IARU HF Championship takes place from
1200 to 1200UTC. SSB and CW can be used on all the contest bands from
1.8 to 28MHz. The exchange is RS or RST plus your ITU zone, which is
27 for the United Kingdom.
The UK Six Metre Group's Summer Marathon continues throughout July.
With no particular operating times, just try to work every Locator
square you can, whenever you can. The exchange is your 4 character
locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 3rd of July.
As predicted, this week the sun has been more settled. The solar flux
index has been around the 100 mark and the Kp index has not risen
above three. Nevertheless, we are still in the summer HF doldrums and
apart from sporadic E openings on the higher HF bands conditions
remain fairly lacklustre.
The optimum bands for working the east coast of the US from the UK
this week will be 20 or 17m during the day, and 20m or 30m at night.
Paths to Japan will be similar. Propagation to South America and
South Africa will be better, with openings up to 10m at times.
As we are now in July please ensure you use the latest smoothed
sunspot number of 55 for your VOACAP-based prediction programs.
Next week looks like it could potentially be more unsettled with a
number of sunspots rotating into view. Three distinct groups will be
directly in line with Earth and the potential for flares and coronal
mass ejections remains high. NOAA says we can expect the solar flux
index to be in the range 125-130, with unsettled geomagnetic
conditions on the sixth to the eighth, and again on the eleventh and
twelfth.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
High summer is a good time for Tropo paths to develop overnight as a
strong surface temperature inversion forms. This favours coastal
stations for paths across the North Sea, English Channel and down to
the south across Biscay towards Spain and the Azores/Canaries. Hot
dry air from the continent drifts out across the cool sea surface,
providing the mechanism to alter the refractive index.
Inland stations should be aware that inland locations will lose these
‘lifts' once the temperature rises after dawn. In the coming week,
a ridge of high pressure will extend from the Azores high up to
southern Britain, so these Tropo paths are mainly going to favour the
southern half of the country.
Sporadic-E took a bit of a dip last week, but we are still in the
main season so have an early look at 10m beacons to determine which
paths might open up on 6m, 4m and 2m later in the day.
Last week saw some severe thunderstorms that provided rain scatter
contacts in for the Southeast on the GHz bands. The likelihood of
this is much lower in the coming week due to the high pressure. There
are no significant meteor showers this week.
And that's all from the propagation team for 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 gb2rs<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
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