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G4TNU > NEWS 06.08.23 01:31l 261 Lines 12646 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 06 Aug 2023
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 6th of August 2023
The news headlines:
* Tonight<at>8 events on Ofcom consultation
* YOTA summer camp in Hungary
* RSGB coding resources and activities
A reminder that the second of the RSGB's special Tonight<at>8 events
on the Ofcom Consultation will take place on Monday the 7th of
August. This time the focus will be on Foundation and Intermediate
topics including callsign and exam changes, as well as the
Consultation clauses that might lead to new opportunities for
outreach activities for everyone. The Consultation also affects
anyone who isn't currently licensed but is thinking about taking
their exams in the next couple of years. After a short introduction,
a panel of RSGB experts will answer your questions on this important
Ofcom Consultation. For this event, you can submit a question in
advance by 6pm today, Sunday the 6th of August. Send a brief question
with your name and callsign to comms<at>rsgb.org.uk You can also ask
a question on the night via the live chat. This is an important event
- do join it live on Monday via the RSGB YouTube channel. To find out
more about the Consultation and this event go to the RSGB website at
rsgb.org/licencereview You can watch a recording of the first
Tonight<at>8 event on the Ofcom Consultation via the RSGB's YouTube
channel.
The 2023 Youngsters on the Air, or YOTA, summer camp in Hungary began
this weekend and lasts for a week. The four young people representing
the RSGB are Alexander Du Rose, 2E0FMZ who is the Team Leader;
Henry-James Robinson, M7HJR; Hannah Lee, M7YYQ; and Jake Saul, M7JNS.
Each day, they will be sharing news of the activities they enjoy and
the amateur radio skills they learn. Take a look at their updates
over the coming week on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/yota-hungary and
read their fuller report in the October issue of RadCom.
As part of the RSGB's commitment to encourage youngsters into amateur
radio and to support lifelong learning, the Society is providing
resources and creating coding activities for people to get involved
in throughout the month of September 2023. From the BBC
Micro:bit to Node-RED and GNU Radio, there are some great activities
you could try yourself with your club or arrange at a local school or
community group. If you are an experienced coder, the Society would
like you to support this initiative by passing on your enthusiasm to
a local school or STEM club with the help of the suggested
activities. If you are new to coding and have no idea what Python is
or a Raspberry Pi, then the activities will set you on the path of
discovery! Find out more on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/coding. If
you would like to get involved, contact ESRG member John Hislop,
G7OHO via g7oho<at>rsgb.org.uk
The RSGB has responded to an Ofcom consultation on licensing Enhanced
Long-Range Navigation, or eLoran, systems. This would use a new
network of 400kW EIRP transmissions at around 90 to 110kHz to provide
an alternative to GPS for Position, Navigation and Timing, or PNT.
The response, which can be found on the RSGB's Spectrum Forum
webpages, focussed on the high levels of out-of-band emissions that
would affect the weak signal 136kHz amateur allocation, as well as
transparency on transmitter licensing. The consultation response can
be viewed by visiting thersgb.org/go/sfpapers
The ARRL, the national association for amateur radio in the USA,
has filed comments against a proposal that would introduce high-power
digital communications to the shortwave spectrum that, in many
instances, is immediately adjacent to the amateur HF bands. You can
read the full story, which is titled 'ARRL Files Comments Against
"Seriously Flawed" HF Rules Petition', via arrl.org/news
And now for details of rallies and events
Part 1 of the British Amateur Television Club's Convention for
Amateur TV 2023, or CAT 23, is taking place today, Sunday the 6th of
August, at Midland Air Museum, Coventry. It is a meet-up,
show-and-tell, test and fix-it, and bring-and-buy event from 10.30am
to 4pm. There are full ATV and Microwave test facilities available
for QO-100, 5.6GHz FM, Portsdown, MiniTiouner, Ryde, and power
amplifiers and preamps.
King's Lynn Amateur Radio Club's 33rd Great Eastern Radio Rally is
taking place today, Sunday the 6th of August. The venue is Gaywood
Community Centre, Gayton Road, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4EL. The
doors open to visitors at 9am and admission is £2.50. The doors open
to traders from 7am. An outdoor pitch costs £8 and an indoor table
costs £10. Car parking is free. There are trade stands and a
bring-and-buy area. On-site catering is available. For more
information email rally.klarc<at>gmail.com or visit klarc.org.uk
Cockenzie and Port Seton Amateur Radio Club's 28th annual mini-rally
night will take place on Friday the 11th of August. It will be held
in the Community Centre, Main Hall, Port Seton from 6pm to 9pm.
Tables will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. The
entrance fee is £2 for everyone. Disabled access and food will be
available. For more information email bob.gm4uyz<at>talktalk.net
The Flight Refuelling Amateur Radio Society Hamfest will be held on
Sunday the 13th of August from 9am to 4pm. The venue will be Cobham
Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne, Dorset,
BH21 3DA. Admission is £5 and this includes parking. Talk-in will be
on 145.550MHz. On-site catering, bar facilities and an RSGB Bookstall
will be available. At the landowner's request, no dogs, except guide
dogs, are allowed on site. Indoor and field pitches are available and
car-boot traders are welcome from 7am. For more information, email
tbaker<at>tiscali.co.uk, visit frars.co.uk or phone 07743 475 018.
Now the Special Event News
DR45HAAN is the special callsign for DARC's Ortsverband Haan to
celebrate its 45th anniversary. The station will be active until the
30th of September. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the
bureau and direct cards via DL7ET.
Special callsign LX90RTL is in use to celebrate the 90th anniversary
of Radio Luxembourg's first long-wave broadcast. It will be used by
various LX operators until the end of the year. Listen for the
callsign on the HF bands on SSB, CW, digital modes and via satellite.
All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the DARC bureau. The
logs will be uploaded to Club Log, Logbook of the World and eQSL on a
regular basis. For more information see QRZ.com
9A66AA is the special callsign that Tom, 9A2AA will be using
throughout 2023 to mark his 66th year in amateur radio. QSL via Tom's
home call.
9M8SOTA and 9M8BOTA are the special callsigns that 9M8HAZ and others
will be using during 2023 while operating from various mountains and
beaches in Sarawak, East Malaysia. QSL for both callsigns via 9M8HAZ
directly, Logbook of the World and Club Log.
Now the DX news
Anton, RG0C will be active as RG0C/P from the Shantar Islands,
AS-044, and surrounding area, until the 10th of August. He will
operate low power CW on 20m. QSL via home call.
Mek, SP7VC and Kasia, SQ7OYL will be active as OY/SP7VC from Iceland
until the 17th of August. Look for activity on the 20, 6, 4 and 2m
bands.
Frans, DJ0TP will be active as TK/DJ0TP from the main island of
Corsica, EU-014, until the 3rd of September. QSL via DJ0TP's home
call and Logbook the World.
Now the contest news
The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon ends its three-month run
today, Sunday the 6th of August. Using all modes on the 6m band, the
exchange is your four-character locator.
Also today, Sunday the 6th, the 432MHz Low Power Contest runs from
0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number, locator. UK and Crown Dependency
stations send the first two letters of their postcode.
On Tuesday, the 8th of August, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs
from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
This is followed by the 432MHz UK Activity Contest which runs from
1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
On Wednesday the 9th of August, the 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour
Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the
exchange is report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the
9th of August, the 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from
1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report
and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest
may also enter the two-hour contest.
On Thursday the 10th of August, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs
from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO
on Thursday the 3rd of August 2023
The Sun continued to be very active over the last week with a large
number of sunspots, numerous C- and M-class flares, and a coronal
mass ejection or two.
A coronal mass ejection is predicted to hit Earth this weekend, which
could see the Kp index rise, but this is not expected to be too
extensive.
Active region 3380 expanded in both size and magnetic complexity,
firing off numerous solar flares. Luckily it is now rotating out of
view so is no longer a threat.
The Solar Flux Index remained above 170 all week with a sunspot
number of 135 on Thursday. Don't forget that this doesn't mean there
were 135 sunspots, as each group counts ten towards the total. Three
sunspots in three groups equals thirty plus three, or thirty-three.
Geomagnetic conditions were mixed with one period giving a Kp index
of four, and many when it was over three.
The main DX being chased this week wasn't actually too far away. The
1A0C station at the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which
confusingly is actually in Rome, gave amateurs plenty of opportunity
to add to their band slot totals. The station was raising money for
humanitarian charitable projects and was easy to work from the UK.
Next week NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Centre thinks the Solar
Flux Index will remain in the 165 to 170 region. The Kp index
shouldn't rise above three, although that rather depends on whether
we have any coronal mass ejections.
There are also signs that we are starting to leave the Summer HF
doldrums. MUFs over a 3,000km path have occasionally gone over 28MHz
at times. But we are still a long way from Autumn HF conditions,
despite the weather!
And now the VHF and up propagation news
The unsettled weather is here for a little longer, but there may be
an end in sight as we move through the second half of next week.
To begin, there will be areas of low pressure in control bringing
rain or showers and more rain scatter on the GHz bands.
Midweek, the high edges in from the west and remains close to the
southeast into the next weekend, but lows and weather fronts will
probably return to the western areas by the end of the week.
Nonetheless, this should be a period of Tropo for many areas, if only
temporarily for western areas.
Meteor scatter could be good with a steady advance towards the peak
of the Perseids on the 12th and 13th of August. It might even be warm
enough to stand outside in the southeast and listen to the pings
while watching the evening sky for meteor trails!
Aurora can't be discounted either should the Kp index show higher
values than, say, 5 and there have been a number of auroral contacts
reported by Nordic stations over the last week.
In August there is still some Sporadic-E to be had as luckily the jet
stream pattern is still quite busy giving ample triggers for
Sporadic-E due to the turbulence they create. As often mentioned, a
good time to check, if you are a busy person, is around teatime or
late afternoon.
Moon declination goes positive on Saturday so Moon visibility windows
will lengthen throughout the week. We are past perigee so path losses
are rising again. 144MHz sky noise is low but rising, reaching
moderate levels next weekend.
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.
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