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G4APL > NEWS 10.03.18 23:26l 280 Lines 12875 Bytes #999 (0) @ GBR
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 11 Mar 2018
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Sent: 180310/2206Z @:GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO #:12065 [Caterham Surrey GBR]
From: G4APL@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO
To : NEWS@GBR
GB2RS Main News for Sunday 11th March 2018
The news headlines:
* Changes to Scotland GB2RS readings
* RAYNET active during recent extreme weather
* National Radio Centre open six days a week
Due to antenna damage at the station of GB2RS news reader Jon, GM3JIJ
in Stornoway, the news will be read by Jim, GM4NTL from Dumfries at
12.30pm on 3.640MHz each Sunday until the antenna repairs are
completed. We thank Jim for stepping in to cover this news reading
and hope that Jon can swiftly repair his antennas.
RAYNET groups around the country were activated during the heavy
snowfall last weekend. Cardiff & District RAYNET were called in to
assist with the transportation of key personnel, such as community
care workers, as well as assisting stranded motorists to reach
safety. Lothian & Fife RAYNET groups provided a communications net
for the local 4x4 Response group, passing over 800 messages during
their sixty-five hours of continuous operation. Glasgow & Clyde
RAYNET assisted Scotserve, a voluntary medical response group, who
were transferring staff to and from the children's hospital in
Glasgow, by giving them updates on local road conditions. In West
Devon, a network was set up on the usual frequency with twelve
operators responding and available within 40 minutes. Virtually all
the rest of the group came online within a further 30 minutes.
Cornwall Group linked up with them within this time to give a good
continuous cover either side of the River Tamar in Devon and Cornwall
plus the three operators already covering North Devon. Kent County
RAYNET members with 4x4s turned their hand to transport as the County
Emergency Centre sought help for stranded health and care workers.
Altogether, they drove a total of 350 miles ferrying district nurses
and care home staff around Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and the Isle of
Sheppey. Further details on RAYNET's activities and how to join can
be found at www.raynet-uk.net
The RSGB is planning to open the National Radio Centre on a regular
basis, every Monday, starting on Monday the 2nd of April which is
Easter Monday. This now means that the National Radio Centre, inside
Bletchley Park is open to the public six days a week. The National
Radio Centre attracts around 26,000 visitors a year and numbers for
February are showing an increase over last year. The RSGB are
extremely grateful to the existing volunteers and new members of the
team who have enabled this growth. Don't forget RSGB Members can
download a free entry voucher from the RSGB website.
Last week, on the 1st of March, an attempt to hack the Echolink
computer for GB3NC was made. Because of the attempted hack, there is
no Echolink facility currently on the repeater, as a re-engineer of
the machine is being conducted. Assuming the re-engineer is
successful, it is hoped to restore the facility within the next
couple of weeks. Further information from Roger, G4OCO, via
www.gb3nc.org.uk
Denby Dale ARS invite registrations for this year's Mills On The Air
weekend that takes place over the weekend 12 and 13 May. Please visit
www.g4cdd.net and follow the links.
Once again during the weekend of the 17th and 18th of March, the
Cadet Forces will be operating on the UK 5MHz band using the
allocated frequencies for the purpose of Exercise Blue Ham. All the
usual live logging and map plotting will take place on the
Alphacharlie web portal that will allow participants to see up to
date information. Upon conclusion of the exercise, amateurs who have
met the requirement for number of contacts can submit their log sheet
to the Blue Ham Ex Co-Originator for a certificate to be issued.
Please note this year the exercise has different QSL exchange
information plus, for the first time, PSK31 mode will be in use, all
the details can be viewed on
https://alphacharlie.org.uk/exercise-blue-ham
The D2TI DXpedition to Tigres Island, AF-108, has been cancelled due
to a whole host of ongoing factors. The Russian team had hoped to be
active mid-March for about a week.
The 91st RSGB AGM takes place on the 21st of April in Birmingham.
Voting starts next week and all the relevant information is in the
April RadCom that should arrive with UK Members next week and
overseas Members shortly after that. RSGB Members have until the 19th
of April to cast their votes, or do so in person at the AGM.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the 11th of March, the Dover Radio Club Rally will be held in
Whitfield Village Hall, Sandwich Road, Manley Close, Whitfield
CT16 3LY. There will be a talk-in station. Doors open from 10am and
entry is GBP 2. The auction starts at 12.30pm. Catering is available
on site. Details from Aaron Coote, 2E0FQR on 0771 465 4267.
On the 18th of March the Hack Green Bunker Rally will take place at
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, French Lane, Hack Green, Nantwich,
Cheshire CW5 8AL. This will be a sale of electronic equipment,
amateur gear, components, military radio items and vehicle spares.
Doors open 10am and there will be refreshments available onsite.
Contact 01270 623 353, for more information.
The Exeter Radio & Electronics Rally planned for the 4th of March was
been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. The organisers have
re-scheduled for the 29th of April.
To get your rally or event information into GB2RS News, RadCom and on
the RSGB website, email details as early as possible to
radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk.
And now the DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
Hartwig, DL7BC will be active again as FY/DL7BC/P from French Guiana
until the 26th of March.
Dom, M1KTA will be active as C6AKT from Eleuthera Island, NA-001, in
the Bahamas until the 17th of March. He will operate QRP CW on 80,
40, 20, 15 and 10 metres. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, Logbook of The
World or via his home callsign.
Ben, DL1RNT will be active holiday style as PJ2/DL1RNT from Curacao,
SA-099, until the15th of March. He will operate mainly CW on the HF
bands. QSL via his home callsign, direct or via the bureau.
An Italian DXpedition Team will be operating as TJ3TT from Cameroon
from the 15th to the 29th of March. Six operators will be
transmitting on the 10 to 160m bands using CW and SSB with three
stations; RTTY will be used on 20 metres only. QSL via I2YSB and
eventually Logbook of The World. More information at
www.hamradioweb.net
Ten German operators will be active as XR0YD from Easter Island until
the 15th of March. They will be on all bands from 10 to 160m using
CW, SSB and Digital. QSL via Club Log OQRS.
A large multi-national team led by Hrane, YT1AD will sign 9M0W from
the Spratly Islands until the 13th of March. Activity will be on all
bands from 6 to 160m using CW, SSB and Digital. Direct QSLs should be
sent to YT1AD.
Iain, G4SGX is operating from Belize until the 16th of March. His
actual location will be Ambergris Caye which counts as NA-073 for the
IOTA Award. The callsign to look for is V31GX. He will be mainly on
CW with possibly some FT8. QSL via Club Log OQRS.
Now the special event news
The Radio Amateur Old Timers' Association will be operating GB60OT
during 2018 as a part of its diamond jubilee celebrations. GB60OT
will be active from the 17th to the 25th of March operated by Simon,
M0TRJ.
GB0WM will be on the air from Woolsthorpe Manor as part of British
Science Week on the 17th and 18th of March. Woolsthorpe Manor, Water
Lane, Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Grantham NG33 5PD is the
birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton. Entrance fees will apply at this
National Trust property.
Several stations will be on air next weekend as part of the St
Patrick's Award, full details can be found at
http://stpatrickaward.webs.com/ Two of those stations are GB9SPD that
will be active from Kircubbin, County Down BT22 2RP and GB1SPD that
will operate from the Ulster American Folk Park, 2 Mellon Road, Omagh
BT78 5QU.
Now the contest news
The Commonwealth Contest ends its 24 hour run at 1000UTC today, the
11th. It's CW only on the 3.5 to 29MHz bands. The exchange is signal
report and serial number, with HQ stations also sending the letters
HQ.
Today, the 11th, the 2nd 70MHz Cumulative Contest runs from 1000 to
1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
The Worked All Britain 3.5MHz contest takes place from 1800UTC to
2200UTC today, the 11th of March. The exchange is signal report,
serial number and WAB square. Entries must be with the contest
manager by the first of April. Full details of the rules and log
sheets may be obtained from www.worked-all-britain.org.uk
On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2000UTC.
It is followed by the 432MHz UK Activity Contest, which uses all
modes, from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both is signal report,
serial number and locator.
There's a similar evening on Thursday with the 70MHz FM Activity
Contest from 1900 to 2000UTC, then the all-mode 70MHz UK Activity
Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both is signal report,
serial number and locator.
On Wednesday the 80m Club Championships takes place from 2000 to
2130UTC. Using CW only the exchange is signal report and serial
number.
Next weekend the BARH HF RTTY Contest runs from 0200UTC on the 17th
to 0200UTC on the 19th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz bands the exchange is
signal report, serial number and time.
Also next weekend, the Russian DX contest runs from 1200UTC on the
17th to 1200UTC on the 18th. Using CW and SSB only on the 1.8 to
28MHz bands the exchange is signal report and serial number with
Russian stations sending the Oblast code too.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 9th of March.
Quieter geomagnetic conditions helped improve HF propagation this
week. At times the K index was actually zero, thanks to a respite
from the continual coronal holes on the sun that have caused
disruption. The solar flux index continued to hover around the high
60s due to a lack of visible sunspots.
Despite this there was plenty of DX to be had. Chris, G0DWV with a
well-equipped station, reports working nearly every state in the US
during last weekend's ARRL International DX Contest. Others were busy
chasing 3C3W in Equatorial Guinea, XR0YD on Easter Island, 3D2EU on
Rotuma Island and S01WS in Western Sahara among others. This just
shows that quiet geomagnetic conditions can benefit DX hunting, even
if there are zero sunspots.
Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be between 68 and
72, and we may have quiet geomagnetic conditions until around the
15th when the effects of a large coronal hole may see the K index
rise to four or five. The unsettled conditions are predicted to last
until the 19th.
The near real-time critical frequency and computed MUF charts at
propquest.co.uk show that 20 and 17 metres remain the best daytime DX
bands, with occasional openings on 15m. Eighty and 60 metres remain
the best bands for inter-G working.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
Next week will bring little in the way of Tropo, with low pressure
and windy conditions at times throughout the week. If we were another
month ahead in our journey into Spring, the other item on the agenda
would be Sporadic-E. Sadly we're not, so this month it's very much a
long shot.
Since jet streams are involved in Es, we are in fair shape in this
unsettled weather type, but the jet stream is still well south of us.
This favours paths across the Mediterranean, rather than any within
reach of the UK.
This is all a bit speculative really, and in this sense if anything
does occur, it's more likely to be of benefit to those low-signal
digital modes like FT8, rather than more traditional CW or SSB.
Of course we're never completely without hope of getting Gigahertz
bands rain scatter in such unsettled weather. Now land temperatures
are picking up we are testing those April showers, which are more
likely within reach overland.
Today the Moon is at apogee and minimum declination so EME path
losses are at their highest and Moon windows shortest. We are seven
days away from positive declination so this week is probably best
spent checking your antennas after the cold weather.
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 gb2rs<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
Our thanks to Andy G4TNU for providing this RSGB feed.
--
g4apl@gb7cip.ampr.org g4apl@gb7cip.#32.gbr.euro
http://www.theskywaves.net http://gb7cip.ampr.org
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