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G4APL > NEWS 25.03.18 04:04l 259 Lines 12047 Bytes #999 (0) @ GBR
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 25 Mar 2018
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Sent: 180325/0231Z @:GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO #:13726 [Caterham Surrey GBR]
From: G4APL@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO
To : NEWS@GBR
GB2RS Main News for Sunday 25th March 2018
The news headlines:
* Prepare for SOS Radio Week
* Next deadline brought forward
* HMS Belfast heard on Radio Four
This year's SOS Radio Week starts in a little over five weeks' time.
It runs from the 1st to the 31st May, in line with the Royal National
Lifeboat Institute's own Mayday fund-raising events. SOS Radio Week
aims to raise awareness of the RNLI through amateur radio and,
optionally, raise money. This can be for a specific lifeboat station,
or for the RNLI's MayDay fund. This year, the RNLI is hoping to
raise GBP 750,000 to fund vital kit that will keep volunteer
lifeboat crews safe. There is an SOS Radio Week award scheme for
working registered stations. Registered stations can be individuals
or groups operating on any band or mode. It's not too late to
register for SOS Radio Week. Visit www.sosradioweek.org.uk for
further details.
Due to unforeseen circumstances we have to bring forward the deadline
for the next GB2RS News. Please send all information for next week's
broadcast by the end of Monday 26th May – that's tomorrow. We
sincerely apologise for having to make this one-time change at such
short notice.
HMS Belfast was featured on Radio Four last week. Paddy O'Connell
included a short piece on the Broadcasting House programme last
Sunday, the 18th. The sounds of the Bridge Wireless Office and even
the automatic antenna tuner were heard for the first time on national
radio. Volunteer Jonathan Kempster was instrumental in getting their
special special event callsign, GGCN, mentioned and explained. A
recording of the broadcast is available on the BBC Radio Four
Broadcasting House website. The HMS Belfast segment is about twenty
minutes into the programme.
The national 5MHz team has received the terrible news that one of its
most dedicated mainstays, Tony Lord, G8DQZ, passed away last week. He
was a GB2RS Newsreader on 5MHz for many years and instrumental in the
UK 5MHz Experiment, which led to the band being made available to UK
and, latterly, more countries around the world.
The RSGB Youth Committee is looking for motivated young people to
volunteer as Youth Regional Representatives. This role includes
implementing the RSGB Youth strategy, providing a point of contact
for young members within their region, attending occasional outreach
events, and working closely with the Regional Team. Reporting to the
Youth Committee Chair, Representatives will also be invited to attend
an annual physical meeting in addition to teleconferencing. Expenses
will be reimbursed in line with RSGB policy. If you are interested,
please contact Youth Committee Chair, Mike Jones, 2E0MLJ, via email
to youth.chairman<at>rsgb.org.uk and include a contact phone number.
Starting on Easter Monday, the 2nd of April, the RSGB is extending
the National Radio Centre opening to six days a week. It will now be
open every day except Tuesdays. The NRC opening hours are 9.30am to
4pm in winter and until 5pm in summer, the same hours as its host,
Bletchley Park.
An interactive presentation at the National Radio Centre highlights
the importance of the role of the Voluntary Interceptors in the
Second World War, and the crucial involvement of the RSGB. A new web
page highlighting the role of Voluntary Interceptors is at
tinyurl.com/gb2rs-0326A and there is a commemorative plaque mounted
in the reception area of the NRC.
[Note to Newsreaders: the original, full URL is
http://rsgb.org/main/about-us/national-radio-centre-gb3rs/the-role-of-
the-rsgb-and-voluntary-interceptors/]
Advance news now that Kent RAYNET is looking for volunteers to help
support the Long Distance Walking Association's 100-mile coastal walk
between the 26th and 29th of May, ending in Dover. Whether you are
licensed or not, could you bring technical, organisational, radio or
telephone skills to help the event? For more information see
www.kentraynet.org/ldwa or contact info<at>kentraynet.org if you
think you might be able to help.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the 25th, the Callington Radio Rally takes place at Callington
Town Hall, Callington, Cornwall PL17 7BD. There is ample adjacent
free parking. Doors open at 10am and admittance is GBP 2. There will
be a Bring & Buy and trade stands, and catering is available on site.
The rally organised jointly by the Devon & Cornwall Repeater Group
and Callington Amateur Radio Society. More information from Roger on
0785 408 8882.
Also today the Wythall Radio Club Hamfest takes place at Wythall
House, Silver Street, Wythall B47 6LZ. Free on-site parking is
available. Doors open at 10am, with access for disabled visitors from
approximately 9.30am. Admission GBP 4.50. There will be four separate
halls of traders, including club stands and a Bring & Buy.
Information from Ian Reeve on 01386 839 655.
Finally for today, the Causeway Coast Glens ARC Radio Rally is at
Bushmills Community Centre, 14 Dunluce Road BT57 8QG. There is
on-site parking and on-site disabled parking. Doors open from 11am to
4pm, with disabled guests gaining access at 10.45am. Admittance is
GBP 3. Light refreshments will be available including tea, coffee,
sausage rolls and sandwiches. There will be a Bring & Buy, RSGB Book
Stall and trade stands. Contact Stevie Morrow, MI0ULK, on
0754 492 3956.
We have no rallies listed for next weekend.
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
Many normally-quiet locations will be on the air this weekend taking
part in the CQ WW WPX SSB contest, so look for strong signals from
unusual places.
Gab Barison, HB9TSW, who is in the Swiss Air Force will be in
Pristina, Kosovo, from the 29th of March to the 19th of April as part
of a NATO mission. He will be active as Z68BG in his spare time,
especially evenings and Sundays. He'll be running 100W CW to a ground
plane on 80 to 17 metres. He uses Logbook of the World.
Champ, E21EIC will be active from Laos, from the 27th to the 31st of
March. He will operate as XW1IC on the HF bands. QSL via home call,
OQRS, and Logbook of the World.
Gerard, F2VX will be active as FM/F2VX from Martinique Island,
NA-107, until the 18th of April 2018. He is working on HF bands. QSL
via F2VX.
Now the special event news
Special Event Station news for April did not arrive in time to be
included in the printed edition of RadCom, but the information can be
found on the RSGB website via tinyurl.com/SES-0418
From Monday 26th March until Sunday 8th April, Paul, MI1AIB will be
operating GB8BKY and GB8EGT for this year's RAFARS Airfields On The
Air event. GB8BKY for the former RAF Ballykelly is from his home QTH,
whilst GB8EGT, for the former RAF Eglinton will be from his work QTH,
courtesy of City of Derry Airport. Operations will be mostly holiday
style, and notified by the usual social media outlets whenever
possible.
Chris Clark, W6CBC, will be activating K2BSA/6 at Camp Emerson
Leadership Camp in Idyllwild, California from the 24th to the 26th of
March. This leadership camp will prepare new unit leaders with the
Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops curriculum, and
introduce and demonstrate Radio Scouting to these new leaders. More
information is at www.k2bsa.net.
Now the contest news
The CQWW WPX SSB contest ends its run at 2359UTC today, Sunday the
25th. Using SSB only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange
is signal report and serial number.
On Tuesday UKAC SHF contest takes place from 1830UTC to 2130UTC.
Using all modes on the 2.3 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator. Note that different bands are in
use at different times.
On Wednesday the UKEICC 80m contest takes place from 1900UTC to
2000UTC. Using CW only on the 3.5MHz band, the exchange is your
4-character locator.
Next weekend the bands will be fairly busy. The UKEICC DX CW contest
takes place from 1200UTC on Saturday to 1200UTC on Sunday. Using all
the contest bands from 3.5 to 28MHz, on CW only, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and District Code.
Also from 1200UTC on Saturday to 1200UTC on Sunday, the Russian WW
MultiMode contest takes place. Using all modes on the 1.8 to 28MHz
bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number, with Russian
stations also sending their Oblast code.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday 23rd March.
Last week was once again dominated by unsettled geomagnetic
conditions, which didn't help HF propagation.
The K index rose to five on Monday the 19th after a solar wind stream
from a coronal hole, flowing faster than 550 kilometres per second,
triggered a moderate G2 geomagnetic storm at higher latitudes. This
can occur due to process called magnetic reconnection after charged
particles that have collected in the magnetotail behind the Earth are
violently accelerated back towards us after opposing magnetic fields
connect. As a result, widespread visible aurora were reported across
parts of Scotland. A rare phenomenon called "Steve" – a Strong
Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement – was also seen during
displays of the Aurora Borealis. A Steve is a very narrow auroral
arc, aligned east-west, and extending for hundreds or thousands of
miles. The net effect was largely suppressed maximum usable
frequencies with the Fairford ionosonde showing that even 18MHz was
struggling to open during daylight on Tuesday.
By Wednesday the ionosphere still hadn't recovered and the daytime
critical frequency were still around the 5MHz mark. However,
north-south paths remained reasonable, with Andy M0NKR reporting
contacts into Equatorial Guinea, Congo and Cameroon via 12 metres on
Monday.
Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain around 68,
and HF propagation will once again be dominated by geomagnetic
effects. However, the K index is predicted to be no higher than three
all week, so conditions could be better than they have been.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
We will have another week with less than enthusiastic weather support
for an enhanced Tropo mode, with only the brief nearby approach of a
ridge of high pressure close to southern Britain around midweek. Once
again its low pressure that predominates and therefore Tropo looks
hard to find. There is hope that showers developing in the unsettled
weather spells will give some rain scatter opportunities on the
microwave bands, especially since heading into April means there is
the prospect of some quite strong convection. This can create heavy
rain or hail showers, perhaps even thunderstorms. Check the forecasts
to make sure you don't go off to work and leave the antennas plugged
on those showery days.
There have been a handful of 10 metre Sporadic-E QSOs in the last
week. They seem to be associated with strong jet stream activity. It
will be worth making a daily check of the upper air charts on
propquest.co.uk in the weather section to see if there is any
potential for Sporadic-E related to jet stream wind-produced
turbulence, and check the clusters for reports of short-skip on 10
metres.
It is a good week for EME, with Moon declination at maximum today and
perigee tomorrow, leading to lowest path losses and long moon windows.
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 next week's
bulletins can be emailed to gb2rs<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
09:00 on Monday 26 March.
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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