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G4APL > NEWS 28.08.16 09:32l 284 Lines 13683 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 28 Aug 2016
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Sent: 160828/0710Z @:GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO #:16037 [Caterham Surrey GBR]
From: G4APL@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO
To : NEWS@EU
GB2RS Main News for Sunday 28th August 2016
The news headlines:
*Italian hams aid earthquake response
* 60m and 630m for Latvian hams
* ARISS proposals sought
Following the magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck central Italy on
the 24th of August, Italian radio amateurs are active in the
emergency response. Please keep 7060kHz clear, along with other
Emergency Centre of Activity frequencies in the 80 and 40m bands for
emergency communications within Italy. No external assistance is
required at this time. The Italian radio amateur groups are following
their planned response with their government. Any requests for
information on missing persons should be made via the Red Cross or
other recognised relief organisations.
Latvian amateurs have two new bands following the introduction of
their new amateur radio licence on the 9th of August. Access has been
allowed to the new WRC15 60m, or 5MHz, allocation from 5351.5 to
5366.5kHz with a power of 15W EIRP. 472 to 479kHz in the 630m band
has also become available with a power of 1W EIRP. Both bands are
subject to a narrow transmit bandwidth of 800Hz and are permitted to
Category A licence holders only.
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program is
seeking proposals from schools and formal or informal educational
institutions and organisations to host amateur radio contacts next
year with ISS crew members. The window to accept proposals opens on
the 1st of September and the deadline to submit a proposal is the 1st
of November. ARISS anticipates that contacts will take place between
July and December 2017. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine
the exact contact dates. The online GB2RS has a link to the
application process. [Note to Newsreaders: the direct link is
www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html]
This year's International YL Convention takes place between the 3rd
and the 10th of October at the Novotel Hotel, Milton Keynes MK13 7RA.
Ladies from USA, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and India
are already booked in, some with their partners. A full programme of
events will take place. Details can be found at www.bylara.org.uk or
from Carol, 2E1RBH via email to carolhodges1<at>btinternet.com.
The RSGB 2016 Convention takes place on the 7th to the 9th of October
at Kents Hill Conference Centre, Milton Keynes. The early bird
booking discount for weekend packages and day tickets has been
extended to the end of August, so don't miss out, go to
www.rsgb.org/convention for bookings and details of the event. The
provisional programme will be on the website next week, along with a
detailed list of lectures.
On Saturday the 10th of September there will be many Churches and
Chapels on the air from all over UK, some in rare Worked All Britain
squares. The northernmost church on the UK mainland will be on the
air, as will, for the first time, the most northerly church in the
UK, on the Isle on Unst in Shetland. Operation will be mainly 40m SSB
from around 10am. There's still time to register a station, go
www.wacral.org for information.
If you are planning to sit any of the UK amateur radio exams at the
RSGB Convention in October, please note that they must be booked in
advance. The deadline for the Advanced exam booking is the 9th of
September and the Intermediate and Foundation exam deadline is the
23rd of September. Practical assessments, where necessary, must be
completed before the exam. Please book your exams by email to
exams<at>rsgb.org.uk. USA exams are also available on Sunday the 9th
of October. Please book via email to g3zay<at>btinternet.com
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the 28th, the Milton Keynes ARS rally takes place at The MK
Irish Centre, Manor Fields, Watling Street, Bletchley, Milton Keynes
MK2 2HX. It's opposite Dobbies Garden Centre. There will be a talk in
station. Doors open at 10am and admission is GBP 3. There will be
trade stands, special interest groups and local clubs. A licenced bar
and catering will be available on site. More details from Roy, G8RCK
on 0786 667 3192.
On Monday the 29th of August the Huntingdonshire ARS Annual Rally
takes place at the Ernulf Academy, St. Neots PE19 2SH. Further info
from rally organiser Malcolm Hirst on 01480 214282.
Telford & District ARS are holding their annual HamFest on Sunday the
4th of September. This is held in the World Heritage location of
Ironbridge Gorge, at its Enginuity site. There will be numerous
traders and exhibitors as well as an RSGB Information and Book stand.
A special feature this year is a presentation by Noel Matthews, G8GTZ
who is Chairman of the British Amateur Television Club, and was also
ARISS TV Team Leader for the recent Principia project of school
amateur radio contacts to the International Space Station. His
presentation is entitled Amateur Radio on the ISS. More information
from Martyn, G3UKV on 01952 255 416.
If you have any rally or event information you'd like to appear in
future editions of GB2RS News, in RadCom and on the RSGB website,
please email details to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk.
And now the DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
Two amateurs from Japan are operating as VP6J from Pitcairn Island,
IOTA reference OC-044, until the 3rd of September. Activity is on
160m to 10m operating CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL direct to JF2MBF.
Following their departure on the 3rd, a German amateur, Uli, DL2AH,
arrives and will be there until the 25th of November.
Carl, DU6/OE9MON is active from Panay Island, OC-129, until the 2nd
of September. QSL via LZ1JZ.
William, K9HZ is on the air as J68HZ from Labrelotte Bay, Castries,
IOTA NA-108, until the 11th of September. Activity is on 160 to 6m
using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL to home call.
Tom, KC0W will be operating CW from Vanuatu where he will sign YJ0COW
until the 21st of September. Send QSL cards directly to his home call.
David, OK1DBS and Josef, OK1XC will be on the air as JT1DBS and
JT1XC, respectively, until the 24th of September in Mongolia. The
first week they will be active from Ulaanbaatar, and for the
remainder of the time they will be QRV as JT1DBS/3 and JT1XC/3,
respectively, from Batshireet. QSL all calls to home calls.
Now the special event news
Houghton–le-Spring ARC and Wearside Electronics ARS are operating
from Shildon Railway Museum today, the 28th, using the callsign
GB6MOB. Operation will be on HF and VHF/UHF. Visitors are invited and
entry into the museum is free, although donations are welcome.
GB100E will be commemorating the rescue of the crew of the Endurance
by Ernest Shackleton in August 1916. Activity will be until the 31st
of August at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre. More
information is at www.RedKiteRadio.org.uk
GB75ACO – that's Air Cadet Organisation – will be operating at
Stalham ATC Squadron, Norfolk, from the 3rd to the 18th of September.
They are celebrating 75 Years of the Air Training Corps. Primary
activity will be on 40m, with some local 2m and 60m. Special QSL
cards will be available and details are on QRZ.com
GB2ATC will be operational on the 3rd of September from 10am to
4.30pm and will be manned mainly by cadets from the Orsett Hundred
Squadron, supported by members of the Thurrock Acorns Amateur Radio
Club. The station will be located at the Orsett Show Ground, just
outside Grays in Essex.
GB0APS will be on the air on the 4th of September from 1 to 5pm from
Abbey Pumping Station Museum, Corporation Road, Leicester LE4 5PX,
operating mainly on 40m SSB. Admission to the museum is GBP 3.50.
Now the contest news
The Irish IRTS 2m Counties takes place from 1300 to 1500UTC today,
the 28th. In this contest QSOs with EI and GI are the only ones that
count for points. Each of the 32 Irish counties is a multiplier.
Using the 2m band only, SSB and FM, the exchange is RTT and serial
number, with EIs also giving their county.
Today, the 28th, also sees the UKuG 5.7 and 10GHz contest from 0600
to 1800UTC. Using all modes, RST, serial number and locator form the
exchange.
The 70MHz UK Activity Contest takes place on the 30th of August from
1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the band the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator.
SSB Field Day takes place for 24 hours over the weekend of the 3rd
and 4th. Like its CW counterpart, this contest has Open and
Restricted sections, although the antenna limitations are different,
so please check the rules beforehand. It runs from 1300 to 1300UTC on
the 3.5 to 28MHz bands. The exchange is signal report and serial
number.
The 144MHz Trophy, which takes place for 24 hours on the 3rd to the
4th, is hotly contested in the Open category, but there are four
other categories. Three of them are for single ops, so there are
opportunities for all to strive to do well. Running on 2m from 1400
to 1400UTC using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
For 24 hours over the same weekend the IARU 144MHz Contest takes
place. It coincides exactly with the RSGB 144MHz Trophy contest. For
those taking part in the former there's no need to enter the latter,
because your entry will be automatically submitted for you unless you
specify that you don't want to enter the IARU event. Using all modes
the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Overlapping the last three hours of the 144MHz Trophy contest and
then continuing for one hour on its own, the fifth and final 144MHz
Backpacker Contest takes place on Sunday the 4th from 1100 to
1500UTC. In the Backpackers there are two permitted power levels, 3W
and 10W. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
The All Asian DX Contest takes place for the whole 48 hours of the
weekend of 3rd-4th of September. UK stations taking part in SSB Field
Day will find it helpful to have a suitable number to give them,
because All Asian stations want to be sent the operators' age, not a
serial number. Using SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, the exchange is
signal report and age, although YL operators can exchange 00.
The Worked All Britain 144MHz QRO Phone Contest takes place next
Sunday, the 4th of September from 1000 to 1400UTC. The exchange is
signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain square. Entries
need to be with the contest manager by the 25th of September. It
helps if stations, including mobiles, please try to find out their
IARU Locator in addition to their WAB Area, as this contest coincides
with part of the RSGB contest. Full details of the rules and log
sheets may be obtained from the WAB website
www.worked-all-britain.org.uk or from the contest manager Tony
Beardsley, G3XKT, via email to aebbooks<at>ntlworld.com
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 26th of August.
This week was a mixed bag in terms of the sun and HF propagation. The
solar flux index hovered around the 80 mark, but there was a
geomagnetic disturbance on Tuesday evening that sent the K index up
to five for more than six hours. This prompted warnings that aurora
might be visible from lower than usual latitudes.
There are signs that the summer HF doldrums are starting to wane a
little. The daytime critical frequency, as measured by the Chilton
Digisonde near Harwell, peaked at more than 6MHz on Tuesday
afternoon, bringing some signs of life on 15 metres. This continued
to increase during the early evening, but was probably due to the
early positive phase of the subsequent geomagnetic and ionospheric
disturbance caused by plasma from a coronal hole. It does go to show
that you never quite know how HF propagation may pan out, so it is
worth keeping an eye on the K index at solarham.com.
Next week NOAA predicts the SFI will be in the range 75-85. Ongoing
coronal activity and associated high speed solar wind streams will
push the K index up to five midweek, with the unsettled conditions
predicted to last across the weekend, potentially causing problems
for HF SSB field day.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
There were some good tropospheric openings around last week. As we
head into the weekend there will be a ridge of high pressure close to
southern Britain, which in some models remains close by for much of
the coming week.
This could give some extended Tropo paths to the south across Biscay
to northern Spain and the Azores as well as across the North Sea to
Denmark and North Germany. Scotland will be slightly more breezy at
times with rain or showers, so is not quite as likely to see the
Tropo conditions.
It really is getting close to the end of the main Sporadic-E season
and, since the jet stream pattern is looking weak and not well placed
for paths into Europe, we may have little to get excited about.
The new moon on the first of September, together with decreasing moon
declination, means an increase in degradation on EME paths.
With the Perseids meteor shower now a passing event, the Alpha
Aurigids may produce some sporadic activity between the 29th of
August and the 3rd of September. This is a class II shower and
comprises Halley's comet debris. The Orionids shower is spread over
many months between late August and mid November, but early activity
may be detected this coming week.
And that's all for this week from the propagation team.
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.
--
g4apl@gb7cip.ampr.org g4apl@gb7cip.#32.gbr.euro
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