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G4APL > NEWS 25.11.17 23:55l 271 Lines 13346 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 26 Nov 2017
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 26th of November 2017
The news headlines:
* New FM repeater satellite
* ITU-R celebrates 90 years
* SDR pioneer dies
A new easy-to-use amateur radio satellite was launched last weekend
and was switched on for general use on Thursday. AO-91, also known as
RadFxSat and Fox-1B is a Cubesat that carries an FM transponder. The
uplink is on 435.250MHz FM, plus or minus Doppler, with a mandatory
67Hz CTCSS tone for access. The downlink is on 145.960MHz FM. The
present position of the satellite can be seen www.n2yo.com and all
amateurs are invited to listen out for the bird. The northernmost
point of its orbit periodically passes roughly over Bedford, meaning
that it will give good service over the whole of the British Isles,
Europe, and beyond. Full details about the satellite are on the
AMSAT-UK website at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-2611A. By coincidence, another
AMSAT mission, FUNcube-1, also known as AO-73, celebrated its fourth
birthday in space this week. It has travelled well over 500 million
miles in orbit since launch and been received tens of thousands of
times.
[Note for Newsreaders: the full URL is
https://amsat-uk.org/2017/11/18/radfxsat-fox-1b-ao-91/]
On the subject of birthdays, the International Telecommunications
Union celebrated 90 years of ITU-Radiocommunications Study Groups on
the 21st of November. A 90th anniversary celebration issue of the
ITUNews magazine can be downloaded from tinyurl.com/GB2RS-2611B Also,
ITU HQ station 4U1ITU will be active in the CQ World Wide DX CW
contest. QSL via operators' instructions.
[Note for Newsreaders: the full URL is
http://www.itu.int/en/itunews/Documents/2017/2017-04/2017_ITUNews04-en
.pdf]
Sad news now. One of the pioneers of software defined radio, Dr Vanu
Bose, died suddenly at the age of just 52 on the 11th of November. He
gained his PhD at MIT, founded, and was CEO of Vanu, Inc. His company
made much early progress in SDR, including developing the first SDR
GSM mobile phone base station. Later developments included
solar-powered mobile phone base stations. Dr Bose donated many of
these to Puerto Rico this year to replace infrastructure destroyed by
the hurricanes.
The recent RSGB VDSL Survey highlighted the growing problem with RF
noise radiated from phone lines carrying VDSL2 broadband services.
Backed by the RSGB Legacy Fund, members of the RSGB EMC Committee are
researching and developing RF digital signal processing techniques to
identify and, hopefully, help mitigate VDSL RFI. The first stage,
which is currently underway, is analysing files recorded by amateurs
around the country and submitted via the VDSL Survey. The team will
report progress as it happens.
The RSGB Emerging Technology Coordination Committee, or ETCC,
develops and enhances the UK amateur radio repeater and data
communications systems, and promotes the introduction and rollout of
appropriate new technologies. The Chair of the ETCC, John McCullagh,
GI4BWM, has decided to retire from his role, after many years of
invaluable service. RSGB is therefore seeking a volunteer, who must
be an RSGB Member, to take over the position. The position of Chair
of the ETCC Committee is offered for an initial period of up to three
years. Anyone interested in this important role should, in the first
instance, write to Steve Thomas, M1ACB, RSGB General Manager, via
email to gm.dept<at>rsgb.org.uk, providing details of their amateur
radio and other relevant experience.
The RSGB telephone system suffered some problems this week. Some
calls went unanswered and we may have lost some messages that were
left. The RSGB apologises for anyone inconvenienced by these issues.
This weekend sandwiches between so-called Black Friday and Cyber
Monday. These relatively new traditions see discounts from all kinds
of sellers, including the RSGB Bookshop. If you are an RSGB Member
and have kept the RSGB up to date with your email address, you will
also have received an extra discount voucher. All RSGB Members are
encouraged to visit http://thersgb.org/members from time to time to
make sure all their details are up to date.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the 26th, the Bishop Auckland Radio Amateurs Club rally takes
place at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, 32 High Street, Spennymoor,
County Durham, DL16 6DB. The venue has good parking and access to a
large ground floor hall. There will be the usual radio, computer,
electronics stands and a Bring & Buy. Catering facilities and a bar
are on site. Doors open at 10.30am, fifteen minutes earlier for
disabled visitors. Admission is GBP 2, under 14 free of charge with
adult. More details from John, G4LRG on 01388 606 396.
Next Saturday the Souths Lancs ARC Winter Rally takes place at
Bickershaw Village Community Club, Bickershaw Lane, Bickershaw, Wigan
WN2 5TE. There are a limited number of pitches available. Doors open
to the public at 9am, and admission is GBP 2.50. There will be a
Bring & Buy, special interest groups and trade stands. Catering is
available on site. Details from Jason, G0IZR, on 01942 735 828.
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 full details to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk. Our list of
rallies for 2018 is looking very empty so please, if you are a rally
organiser, let us know the details as soon as possible.
And now the DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
This is another very good week for DX, with teams around the world
activating unusual places for the CQ WW contest this weekend. Many
are operating for several days before and after the contest, giving
the opportunity for lots of interesting contacts. Keep an ear on the
bands and your eye on the propagation tools – you might be
surprised what you bag. There are far too many DXpeditions to list
them all, but here is a small sample.
John, W2GD is on the air as P40W from Aruba, SA-036 until the 28th of
November. Activity is on the HF bands. QSL direct to N2MM.
A group of operators will be on the air from Ghana as 9G5W until the
29th of November. Activity is on 160 to 10 metres using CW, SSB and
RTTY. QSL via S59ZZ.
Oliver, F6ARC is active holiday-style as FG/F6ARC until the 29th of
November from Guadeloupe, NA-201. He is on various HF bands, CW only.
QSL via FE11DX.
UA4CC is on the air until the 30th of November from Montenegro as
4O7CC. Activity is on the HF bands using CW, SSB and various digital
modes, including FT8. QSL to home call.
LU3YK, LU7VB, LU8YD and LU9VEA will be active as HC8LUT from San
Cristobal Island, SA-004 from the 29th of November to the 8th of
December. Activity will be on 160 to 10 metres using mainly SSB, but
also PSK31, JT65, WSPR and FT8, plus satellite activity on FM and
other modes. QSL via IK2DUW and LoTW, logsearch on Club Log.
Now the special event news
The main Special Event Station news is the start of the very special
special event station GB17YOTA. This callsign will be aired by clubs
up and down the country during the month of December. Sandringham
School radio club starts the ball rolling on Friday the 1st of
December, handing over to RSGB Region 7 Youth Committee
representative Will Davies, 2W0WOD, on Saturday. Next Sunday sees the
Wessex Contest Group taking up the call. A list of activations can be
found on page 8 of the December RadCom.
Very few special event stations seem to be on the air this week.
Ofcom reported that no UK special event stations gave their consent
to be publicised in the month of November. When an application is
made for a Special Event callsign the applicant signs a confirmation
that the Special Event Station is in support of an event which is of
special significance, and will be open to viewing by members of the
public. So there is logic in ticking the box to permit Ofcom to tell
RSGB about your event, so that we can publicise it in GB2RS, in
RadCom, and on the RSGB website.
Now the contest news
This weekend sees the CQ Worldwide DX CW contest, which started at
0000 UTC on Saturday morning and runs to 2359UTC on Sunday night.
This CW-only event uses all the contest bands from 1.8 to 28MHz. The
exchange is RST plus CQ Zone, which for the UK is 14.
Tuesday sees the SHF UKAC from 2200 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on
the 2.3GHz to 10GHz bands, signal report, serial number and locator
forms the exchange.
On Wednesday it's the UKEICC 80m contest from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using
CW only on the 3.5MHz band, the exchange is your 4-character locator
square.
On Thursday the Autumn Series continues from 1900 to 2030UTC on the
80m band, CW. The exchange is signal report plus serial number.
The UK Six Metre Group's Winter Marathon kicks off on Friday, running
until the end of December. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the
exchange is signal report plus locator.
Next weekend sees the ARRL 160m contest running from 2200UTC on
Friday until 1600UTC on Sunday. Using CW only, the exchange is the
usual signal report. US and Canadian stations also send their ARRL or
RAC section number.
Finally for this week, the RSGB 144MHz AFS contest takes place next
Sunday. Running from 1000 to 1600UTC on the 2m band and using all
modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 24th of November.
The Solar Flux Index remained in the 70s last week, reflecting the
continued absence of sunspots. Geomagnetic conditions were unsettled
at the beginning of the week, but improved as the effects of a
coronal hole passed. We were left with a mixed bag of HF propagation,
with fair conditions at times and poorer ones at others.
Highlights were the J5T DXpedition to Guinea-Bissau, and the Polish
TO2SP DXpedition to St Barthelemy, with many radio amateurs filling
much-wanted band slots. Other DX stations were on the air from around
the world as they prepared for this weekend's CQ Worldwide CW
contest. Speaking of which, conditions seem likely to be fairly
settled on Saturday 25th, but another earth-facing coronal hole looks
as though it could threaten the ionosphere on Sunday 26th.
Saturday might be the best day for working DX in CQ Worldwide,
whereas Sunday may be a little more unpredictable. If our prediction
is correct, and solar matter impacts the Earth, there is the
possibility of an initial HF enhancement, but then declining maximum
useable frequencies as the K index rises. Otherwise, expect 20 and 15
metres to be the main HF bands for DX, with good 10m openings being
very thin on the ground.
Recently, some days have also seen some Sporadic-E responses on the
ionosonde data, which can make a difference for local near vertical
incidence skywave activity on 80m in the evening, when the foF2
ionisation is usually insufficient for inter-G nets. Since this may
be related to jet stream activity, and there will be plenty of that
this week, it's certainly worth a check. You can monitor the
ionosphere using the daily graphs available on www.propquest.co.uk
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
The charts in both the primary longer-range models seem to be locked
into a low-pressure story for next week, which can mean quite windy
and often colder weather too. There is little of cheer for the
VHF/UHF bands in this pattern, except perhaps the odd bit of rain
scatter as showers run down the coasts on northerly winds. Both
models do suggest a build-up of higher pressure to the west of
Ireland later next week and this may give some prospects for Tropo as
we move into the following week. But otherwise it is looking like
thin pickings for weather-related propagation this time.
However, we are now into the build-up to what is often one of the
better meteor showers of the year. The Geminids has a broad peak,
culminating on the 13th and 14th of December, but there are normally
many meteors throughout the shower period giving useful reflections.
Unlike many meteor showers the Geminids is associated with the
asteroid 3200 Phaethon, rather than a comet.
Minor shower Puppid Velids also starts around the end of this weekly
report, with a peak around the 9th of December. Moonlight may affect
shower visual sightings, but will not affect radio reflections.
Talking of moonlight, the moon is waxing gibbous this week with the
half moon this evening, Sunday, and the full moon is next Sunday.
As we move into the latter half of the week the moon-path degradation
is very low and better suited to smaller EME station operations. For
those early birds, the morning moon will favour paths to the west,
whilst the early and later evening moon will be better for paths to
the east of the UK.
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 gb2rs<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
--
g4apl@gb7cip.ampr.org g4apl@gb7cip.#32.gbr.euro
http://www.theskywaves.net http://gb7cip.ampr.org
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