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G4APL > NEWS 13.05.18 04:00l 292 Lines 13780 Bytes #999 (0) @ GBR
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 13 May 2018
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From: G4APL@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 13th May 2018
The news headlines:
* Thousands watch CubeSat deployment
* 2x1 calls for Norwegian clubs
* 2017 CQ WW CW contest logs to be re-scored
Three CubeSats were deployed on Friday from the Japanese Experiment
Module Kibo aboard the International Space Station. The satellites
were Irazu from Costa Rica, 1KUNS-PF from Kenya and UBAKUSAT from
Turkey. All of them carry amateur radio telemetry payloads;
UBAKUSAT also carries a linear transponder for SSB and CW. Details
of the beacon and transponder frequencies can be found via the
amsat-uk.org website. The deployment was broadcast live from the ISS
via YouTube and was watched by thousands of people.
The Norsk Radio Relae Liga, RSGB's counterpart in Norway, has been
given the responsibility to issue new 2x1 contest callsigns to that
nation's amateur community. The first 27 calls were issued in
mid-April at the country's biggest rally, Norsk Hammeting, and last
five years. With few exceptions the new callsigns are available only
to clubs and an admin fee of approaching GBP 100 is payable, which is
passed on to the country's communications regulator, NCA.
A change in scoring methodology for handling duplicate contacts in
the CW weekend of the 2017 CQ World Wide DX Contest led to an
inconsistency with the standards by which logs submitted for the SSB
weekend of the same contest were scored. After considerable
discussion and debate among members of the CQ WW Contest Committee
and consultation with CQ management, it was decided to restore the
original scoring methodology and to re-score all CW logs for the 2017
CQ WW DX contest. Updated scores will be published online on the CQ
website and on the CQ World Wide DX Contest website, but the
re-scoring is not expected to result in any changes to the order of
finish.
Next weekend is the Dayton Hamvention®, mentioned in more detail
later. The RSGB QSL Bureau is attending, which will of course mean
they are out of the office for some time. This, plus an expected
influx of cards from Dayton will make them very busy afterwards. All
Members, clubs and special event stations are asked to delay sending
any other cards to the Bureau until after the 3rd of June.
Also next weekend, on 19 and 20 May, Albania's Open Source
conference, OSCAL 18 takes place in Tirana. Daniel Pocock, M0GLR /
VK3TQR hopes to run a prominent amateur radio demonstration station
at the event. No callsign has been announced but information on the
plans is online at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0513A
[Note to Newsreaders: the original, full URL is
https://danielpocock.com/turning-a-dictators-pyramid-into-a-ham-radio-
station]
CQScotland.com will be providing free electronic kits for accompanied
school-age children attending the Scottish Electronics and Radio
Convention. It takes place at the Braehead Arena, Glasgow, on the
20th of May. A dedicated construction area will be set up, and help
will be on hand so children should leave with a fully working
project. Alternatively, it may be built at home with a parent. The
kits and construction session is sponsored by the RSGB and Antex
Electronics Ltd.
Finally, Darenth Valley Radio Society announces that they still have
places for their Foundation course starting on the 9th of June. More
information can be obtained from Mike, G8AXA, via email to
g8axa<at>yahoo.co.uk.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the 13th, the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Rally takes place at
Share Centre, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh BT92 0EQ. Access in NI is
from the M1, A5 & A4, or via the M/N3 from the RoI. Doors open at
11.30am. Details from David, GI4VHO, on 0784 291 0076, or online at
www.learc.eu.
Next Thursday the Dayton Hamvention® opens its doors from 8am at
Greene County Fair & Exposition Center, Xenia, Dayton, Ohio, USA. The
event runs until Sunday afternoon. There will be trade stands and the
usual huge flea market as well as special interest groups and an RSGB
bookstall. A lecture programme will take place each day. There are
multiple catering outlets and family attractions on site. US exams
are available, and there is a door raffle. Details by email to
international<at>hamvention.org or online at www.hamvention.org.
Next Sunday the Sarcom Braehead Radio Electronics Rally is at Kings
Inch Road, Glasgow G51 4BN. Doors open from 10am to 4pm and entry is
GBP 4. Talk-in is available. There will be trade stands, a Bring &
Buy, flea market, special interest groups, an RSGB bookstall and
family attractions. There will be lectures on the day. Catering and a
licensed bar are on site. There will be a raffle. More from Andrew
Hood, GM7GDE, on 0782 593 2488, or email
radiorally<at>scotlandmail.com.
Finally for next weekend, the 35th Dunstable Downs Radio Club amateur
radio car boot sale takes place on Sunday at Stockwood Park, London
Rd. Farley Hill, Luton LU1 5PP. Please note that the date was printed
incorrectly in the April RadCom but correctly in the May edition. All
the usual facilities will be there, and further details are online at
www.ddrcbootsale.org
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
Take, JG8NQJ/JD1 will be on the small Japanese atoll of Minami
Torishima from mid-May to mid-August. This is Islands on the Air
reference OC-073 and a separate DXCC entity.
Chris, VK3QB, Brenton, VK3YB and Luke, VK3HJ will be active
as VK9LI from Lord Howe Island, OC-004 until the 18th of May. They
will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on 160 to 17 metres.
A team of 6 US operators will be QRV from Rarotonga in the South Cook
Islands from the 13th to 25th of May. This is OC-013 for IOTA.
OM3RM will be active as CT9ABN from Madeira, AF-014, on the 19th
to 29th May. He will be QRV on 80 to 10 metres and will be CR3DX in
CQWPX CW.
A number of stations should be active on May 12th to 13th from
Liechtenstein, including several flora and fauna sites.
EJ7NET, from Inisheer Island, EU-006, will be active from the 19th to
23rd of May. The operators are EI5IQ, EI6FR, EI7DSB, GM3YEH, GM7WCO
and HB9DGV. They plan to be active on HF and 6 metres.
The Castres DX Gang will operate TM5FI from Ratonneau Island in
the Frioul Archipelago, EU-095, until May 16th. They will be QRV from
80 to 6m, using SSB, CW and digital modes.
The C8T operation from Mozambique continues until May 15th. And the
3B9RUN operation on Rodrigues Island (AF-017) continues until May
16th. They should operate SSB and FT8 on 80-10 metres.
Members of Camb-Hams are on the island of Islay, EU-008 until the
20th of May, operating on multiple bands.
Now the special event news
Many stations are on the air for some or all RNLI SOS month. Details
of all registered stations are online at www.sosradioweek.org.uk and
there are free awards available for working or even just hearing
them.
This weekend is Mills on the Air and many special event stations are
active. As mentioned last week, the May RadCom contains a list of
some of the callsigns to listen out for.
If you apply for a Special Event Notice of Variation from Ofcom,
please remember to tick both boxes that ask about publicity,
otherwise the RSGB won't be told about your event and thus we can't
promote it for you.
Next weekend will see a raft of special callsigns on the air to
celebrate the Royal Wedding between HRH Prince Harry and Ms Megan
Markle. Cray Valley Radio Society lead the pack with GR9RW, believed
to be the first-ever use of the GR9 prefix. Operation will be from
the 19th to the 23rd, on HF to UHF.
A reminder that all UK radio amateurs – Foundation, Intermediate
and Full – are entitled to apply for a Notice of Variation to
change their Regional Secondary Locator to ‘R' between the 19th and
21st of May. Please note that you MUST apply for the NoV, which is
free, via rsgb.org/rwrsl before going on the air with the ‘R'. For
example, 2W1xxx would be able to sign 2R1xxx and M6xxx would be
MR6xxx. This very rare prefix is likely to be in very high demand
from stations around the world, so get your NoV as soon as you can
and prepare for the DX to start calling you next weekend.
Now the contest news
Today, the 13th, the RSGB 70MHz CW contest, VHF CW Championship
event, takes place from 0900UTC to 1200UTC. Using CW only on the 4m
band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and postcode.
Also today the Worked All Britain 40m Phone contest runs from 1000UTC
to 1400UTC on the 7MHz band. Using SSB only, participants should
exchange signal report, serial number and their WAB area.
Tuesday sees the RSGB 1.3GHz UKAC from 1900UTC to 2030UTC. Using all
modes on 23cm, your signal report, serial number and locator form the
exchange.
On Wednesday the RSGB 80m Club Championships data leg runs from
1900UTC to 2030UTC. Using data modes only on the 3.5MHz band, the
exchange is signal report and serial number.
Thursday is busy on 4m, with the RSGB 70MHz FMAC running from 1800UTC
to 1900UTC, immediately followed by the all-mode 70MHz UKAC from
1900UTC to 2130 UTC. The exchange for both is the same, signal
report, serial number and locator.
Next weekend the RSGB 144MHz May Contest takes place. Running for 24
hours from 1400UTC on Saturday the 19th until 1200UTC on Sunday, all
modes are permissible on the 2m band. Signal report, serial number,
locator and postcode should be exchanged.
Finally for next Sunday, the UKuG mm-Wave contest takes place on all
bands from 24-76GHz from 0900UTC to 1700UTC. All modes can be used,
and the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 11th of May.
Our forecast last week was pretty much spot-on, with poor geomagnetic
conditions plaguing us from Sunday the 6th. But before this, there
was a pre-auroral HF enhancement on the Saturday that surprised many
people. Steve, PJ4DX, on Bonaire in the Caribbean worked the UK on 17
metres and also made contact with Martin, M0BCT on 10 metres. He
reports that Stephen, G7BXU, using a 5/8-wave vertical in Reading was
also S9+ on 12 metres. Alas, things couldn't last and we then went
into a full geomagnetic storm, complete with a high K index, noisy
bands, lower maximum usable frequencies and lots of fading. At this
point in the solar cycle pre-auroral enhancements are worth looking
out for. They are usually triggered by the first arrival of solar
coronal hole material, but are difficult to predict accurately, so
keep an eye on the bands.
Now to next week's predictions, and a lack of Earth-facing coronal
holes on the Sun as of Thursday 10th May, means this weekend may be
more settled geomagnetically. Expect 20 and perhaps 17 metres to
provide some good F-layer openings, and for the conditions to last
until at least mid-week. NOAA then predicts the K index could rise to
perhaps six on Thursday the 17th, probably due to a recurring coronal
hole that has not yet rotated into view at the time this report was
being prepared. This may be the coronal hole that caused the poor
conditions 27 days earlier, around the time of International Marconi
Day. So look for a possible pre-auroral enhancement from Wednesday
evening or Thursday, followed by poorer F-layer HF conditions
thereafter. The good news is that Sporadic-E is supporting strong
short skip on 28MHz at times, with lots to work on FT8, CW and SSB.
And now the VHF and up propagation news
There have been some reasonable Tropo conditions recently, but mainly
limited to coastal and sea paths. A UK amateur television
record-breaking 5.6GHz contact using low power video senders was made
last Wednesday, between the Norfolk and Yorkshire coasts, using a
shallow surface duct. This can be a relatively-common feature in the
summer, but they can be very shallow; climbing the cliffs may just
make you too high.
This coming week, with high pressure nearby, there will continue to
be options for more Tropo, but keep in mind that nocturnal cooling
inversions that give some good overnight Tropo soon disperse after
sunrise. Looking for the high-microwave-band beacons overnight often
shows them appearing after a hot day.
Tropo is not guaranteed this week since the high pressure is rather
weak and often replaced by shallow areas of low pressure with an
attendant risk of thundery showers, giving some possibility of rain
scatter on the microwave bands.
The Sporadic-E season is well under way. We need to look at the
location of jet streams within Europe this week, which can influence
the location of Sporadic-E. A north-westerly jet stream over the
Pyrenees could help paths to EA and CT. As usual the best advice to
capture Sporadic-E is to remember to check 10m and 6m when you get
home from work. Checking beacons, the Reverse Beacon Network and
clusters should be your first tasks before having your evening meal!
The moon reaches perigee, its closest point to Earth, on Thursday and
maximum declination on Friday, so it's a good week for EME.
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 radcom<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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