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G4TNU > NEWS 25.08.24 03:00l 298 Lines 14735 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 25 Aug 2024
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 25th of August 2024
The news headlines:
* The RSGB 2024 Convention will feature a microcontroller
programming workshop
* You can take the RSGB Morse competency test at National
Hamfest this year
* RSGB Board Director Peter Bowyer, G4MJS to take on Board
Liaison roles for contesting and trophies
At this year's RSGB Convention there will be a workshop to introduce
attendees to microcontroller programming through a short presentation
followed by practical exercises. The Society's aim is to widen the
programming skills in the amateur radio community and introduce
individuals to radio-related usage of Micro Controller Units, or
MCUs. If you attend the workshop, you will receive a genuine Arduino
board, a set of DuPont wires, a breadboard and two specific devices
which you will be able to take away with you at the end of the
workshop. The exercises will take you through using the Arduino IDE,
basic programming and interfacing to the provided devices. You need
to pre-register as spaces are limited to just 20 people. The workshop
and hardware are free, but in return for the GBP 10 booking fee you
will receive a copy of the book "Microcontroller Know How" by Mark
Jones, G0MGX. You must be a ticket holder for the Convention to be
able to take part. To find out more and to book your place, go to the
RSGB website at rsgb.org/convention and choose the workshops and
forums tab on the righthand menu.
If you're going to the National Hamfest on the 27th and 28th of
September, why not try the RSGB Morse competency test? You don't have
to book in advance, just visit the RSGB village area. You can be
tested at 10, 12, 15, 20, 25 or 30 words per minute so you don't have
to be a CW expert. If you pass the test, you'll either receive a
certificate on the day or it will be sent to you electronically
shortly after. Eric Arkinstall, M0KZB is the RSGB Morse Competency
Project Lead and he will guide you through the test process. If you
don't want to do the test you can still drop in to try Morse for the
first time or pick up some hints and tips. It will be a busy event so
whilst there will be headphones available, you're welcome to bring
your own if you prefer. Eric looks forward to seeing you at the
event! If you have any questions, please contact Eric via
morse.tests<at>rsgb.org.uk
The RSGB Board Chair has announced that new Director Peter Bowyer,
G4MJS will take on the Board Liaison roles for contesting and
trophies. If you would like to contact Peter, his email address is
g4mjs<at>rsgb.org.uk
This year's Youngsters on the Air camp in the Czech Republic finished
on Friday the 23rd of August after an action-packed week. The RSGB
representative Rhys Williams, M0WGY took part in a range of amateur
radio activities that included kit building, ARDF and surface-mount
technology as well as a day trip into Prague. Rhys also made the most
of the great station setup and enjoyed plenty of airtime. This
included making over 100 QSOs on the 40m band whilst operating
special callsign OL24YOTA, which he has said was good to practise his
pile-up management. You can read more from Rhys by going to
rsgb.org/yota-camp and reading his daily blog. This year's camp was
organised by the IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group together with the
Czech Radio Club.
The next event in the popular 145 Alive series takes place on Sunday
the 29th of September 2024. The event will run from 1pm to 4pm and
there will be nets operating in most Maidenhead Squares across
England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. To take part in the event,
which is designed to promote FM activity on the 2m band, all you need
to do is call in and make contact with others. The organisers are
looking for more net controllers. If you would like to run a net,
contact Mark Savage, M0XIC via the 145 Alive Facebook page.
The date has been confirmed for the Twelfth Scottish Microwave Round
Table GMRT. The event will take place on Saturday the 9th
of November 2024 at the Museum of Communication, Burntisland, Fife.
Lunch will be provided and an optional dinner will be held in the
evening at a local hotel. The programme is now confirmed and online
booking is available via the GMRT website at gmroundtable.org.uk or
by emailing Colin, GM4HWO at gm4hwo<at>gmail.com
National Hamfest is only a few weeks away. Early-bird advance tickets
are currently available but this offer finishes on Saturday the 31st
of August. Visit nationalhamfest.org.uk for more details and booking
information.
And finally, don't forget to listen out for all the stations that are
on the air for the British Inland Waterways on the Air event this
weekend. To read more about the event visit Nunsfield House Amateur
Radio Group's website at nharg.org.uk and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2024'
link.
And now for details of rallies and events
Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place today, the
25th. The venue is Heron's Lodge Guide Activity Centre, Bradwell
Road, Loughton Lodge, Milton Keynes, MK8 9AA. The doors open to the
public from 9am. The entrance fee is GBP 3 and free parking is
available. For trader and exhibitor enquiries please email
rally<at>mkars.org.uk Outdoor pitches and indoor tables are
available. For more information visit mkars.org.uk
Torbay Annual Communications Fair is also taking place today, the
25th, at Newton Abbot Racecourse, TQ12 3AF from 10am. This is an
indoor event with free parking, a bring-and-buy area, an RSGB
bookstall and on-site catering. For more information email
rally<at>tars.org.uk
Huntingdonshire Amateur Radio Society Annual Rally is taking place
tomorrow, Monday the 26th, at Ernulf Academy, St Neots, PE19 2SH. The
gates open for traders at 7am and for the public at 9am. The entrance
fee is GBP 3. Free car parking, an RSGB bookstall, a bring-and-buy
area, catering, and indoor and outdoor stalls will be available. For
more information email henry_hirst<at>hotmail.com or phone
01480 214282. [Note to Newsreaders: the symbol _ should be pronounced
‘underscore']
Saffron Walden Radio Ham and CB Club Rally will run from Friday the
30th of August to Sunday the 1st of September in the CM22 6BH area.
For more information about fees, and for directions, visit the
event's Facebook page or email swrc73<at>gmail.com
Telford Hamfest is set to take place on Sunday the 1st of September
at Harper Adams University near Newport, Shropshire. The doors open
at 10.15am and admission is GBP 5. Children up to age 16 will be
admitted free of charge. Free parking, catering, an RSGB bookstall,
and a bring-and-buy area will be available on site. For more details
visit tdars.org.uk or email John, M0JZH at hamfest<at>tdars.org.uk
September marks the golden anniversary of the G-QRP Club, which was
started by the Reverend George Dobbs, G3RJV in 1974. The Club will be
marking its 50th anniversary at its annual Convention over the
weekend of the 31st of August to the 1st of September. The event
takes place in parallel with the Telford Hamfest at the Harper Adams
University Campus near Newport, Shropshire. Following a buildathon
and social supper on the Saturday, there are a number of speakers
lined up on Sunday, including Hans Summers, G0UPL talking about his
QRP kits. Non-members are welcome to come along on the Sunday and
enjoy the Hamfest and the G-QRP Club talks. Full details are on the
G-QRP Club website at gqrp.com Following the Convention, the Club is
running an activity period called ‘Low and Clear' throughout
September. A number of QRP stations are being activated across the UK
and in other countries, with ‘LOW' or ‘QRP' in their special
callsigns. Stations working a number of them will receive a
certificate, and the ‘best' logs will be awarded prizes which have
been donated by traders who advertise in the Club's journal Sprat.
Again, details can be found on the Club's website. You can find
details of a new RSGB book celebrating 50 years of the G-QRP Club in
the September issue of RadCom.
Now the Special Event news
Special callsign YQ60YODXC is active until the 31st of August to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of the YO DX Club. For details of
certificates that are available, see QRZ.com
Marking the 25th anniversary since Poland joined the North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation, special callsign HF25NATO will be active until
the 31st of August. QSL via Logbook of the World or via Club Log's
OQRS. A certificate will be available for download via
tinyurl.com/hf25nato
Now the DX news
Today, the 25th, a team from Guernsey Amateur Radio Society is
operating a Parks on the Air station on Lihou [LEE-OO] Island, just
off the coast of Guernsey. The park reference for the location is
GG-0005 and activity is planned from 6am to 3pm. Operators will be
using SSB and data modes on the HF bands but will also be available
on the 2m band for local calls.
Alex, SQ9UM is active as D4UM from Sal Island, AF-086, in Cape Verde
until tomorrow, the 26th. He is operating CW, SSB, FT8 and FT4 on the
80 to 6m bands. QSL via Alex's home call. QSOs will be uploaded to
Club Log.
Holger, DG3FEH is active as S79/DG3FEH from Mahe [MA-HAY], AF-024, in
the Seychelles until the 27th of August. He is operating using SSB on
the 40, 20 and 15m bands and also via the QO-100 satellite. QSL via
the Bureau to Holger's home call.
Now the contest news
The World Wide Digi DX Contest started at 1200UTC on Saturday the
24th of August and runs until 1200UTC today, Sunday the 25th of
August. Using FT4 and FT8 on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are
permitted, the exchange is your four-character locator.
Today, the 25th, the UK Microwave group 5.7 and 10GHz Contest runs
from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz frequencies,
the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Tuesday the 27th, the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to
2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
The UK and Ireland Contest Club DX SSB Contest starts at 1200UTC on
Saturday the 31st of August and runs until 1200UTC on Sunday the 1st
of September. Using SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are
permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. UK and
Ireland stations also send their district code.
The Worked All Britain DX Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the
31st of August and runs until 1200UTC on Sunday the 1st of September.
The exchange is report, serial number and Worked All Britain square,
where applicable. Entries need to be with the contest manager by
the 11th of September. Visit the Worked All Britain website for more
information and to read more on the rules for the contest.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO
on Thursday the 22nd of August 2024
We had yet another week with a high solar flux and relatively calm
geomagnetic conditions.
The solar flux index ended up at 239 on Thursday the 22nd, while the
Kp index has been below 4 since Sunday the 18th. There are currently
11 active sunspot regions on the Sun's surface and there is a 20%
chance of a major X-class solar flare according to the NOAA Space
Weather Prediction Center.
There are signs that HF propagation may be improving, but it will
probably be another month or so before we see any large change. This
is due to the summer doldrums that see the ionosphere harder to
ionise due to a change in its chemical composition.
By mid to late September, we will start to see a change to autumnal
conditions and DX will start to open up again on the higher bands.
Having said that, there is still DX to be had. The N5J DXpedition to
Jarvis Island in the Pacific Ocean proved that the DX is workable,
but the path was mainly open to well-equipped stations with beams and
linear amplifiers.
15m remains the best DX band and there are occasional openings on the
12m band. The 10m band may come into its own as we head into
September and October.
According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, solar cycle 25
likely reached its highest sunspot number yet of at least 299 on the
8th of August. This may increase further, but we may be close to
solar maximum.
Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain around
200 to 210. Geomagnetic conditions will depend almost entirely on the
occurrence of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. And, as we are at a
particularly active part of the solar cycle, flares and CMEs are very
prevalent.
And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO
The overview for the coming week is that, although some fronts will
affect the north and west at times, there are only a few that reach
down to the southeast of Britain. This means that rain scatter is
more likely in northern areas.
There will be weak high pressure over southern areas for much of the
coming week and, although not enough for a full-blown Tropo event,
conditions should be a little ‘up', especially for paths into the
near continent or across the North Sea.
Meteor scatter is back to a more random approach since the broad peak
of the August Perseids comes to an end. The solar conditions mean
that auroras can be a possible element of operating excitement in the
coming week. Remember to look out for a disturbed Kp index value of 6
or greater.
The last part of the sporadic-E season is playing out this week
taking us to the end of the month. These 'last hurrahs' are usually
characterised by QSOs of very limited duration on the 10m band, or
perhaps up to 6m, and mainly over the southern half of Europe.
This usually favours southern UK stations but, notwithstanding the
previous comments, some years have seen isolated Sporadic-E events in
the first part of September. But they are certainly not reliable.
Moon declination is positive but still rising, reaching maximum on
Wednesday, so long Moon visibility windows and high peak elevations
continue. We are past perigee now, so path losses are increasing
again. 144MHz sky noise is low but increasing to a moderate 500
Kelvin on Wednesday before falling back to low at the end of the
week.
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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