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G4APL > NEWS 28.01.18 00:07l 243 Lines 11633 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 28 Jan 2018
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From: G4APL@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO
To : NEWS@EU
GB2RS Main News for Sunday 28th January 2018
The news headlines:
* Prepare for Thinking Day on the Air
* Two Chinese amateur CubeSats launched
* New RSGB EMC Committee Chair sought
Thinking Day on the Air 2018 will take place over the weekend of the
17th and 18th of February. A list of known stations is displayed on
the Station List page of the website www.guides-on-the-air.co.uk
There is a form on the page for stations to submit their details to
be added to the list, and a Yahoo group for exchanging details or
arranging skeds. Currently, as well as UK stations, Guides and Scouts
are taking part from Canada, USA, and the Netherlands. Please send in
station details via the website or to lizowl<at>gmail.com
On Friday the 19th of January two satellites carrying amateur radio
payloads were launched. Both were developed by amateur students in
Hunan province, China. The satellites, QuanTuTong-1 and Xiaoxiang-2,
are 6U CubeSats. They will operate in the 435, 2400, 5650 and 5830MHz
Amateur-Satellite Service bands. 5650MHz is used for uplinks and
5830MHz for downlinks. Currently only the 435MHz band telemetry
beacons are known to be activated. A further three TY satellites
using 5GHz are expected to be launched later in the year. Further
details are at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0128A
[Note to Newsreaders: the original, full URL is
https://amsat-uk.org/2018/01/17/zhou-enlai-student-satellite/]
John Rogers, M0JAV is stepping down as Chair of the RSGB EMC
Committee after seven years' invaluable service. The EMC Committee
helps and advises members who have EMC problems, lobbies regulators
and guides standards to protect the spectrum. It also investigates
emerging EMC threats and updates members on these and other EMC
matters. The RSGB is are looking for a volunteer, who must be an RSGB
member, to fill the vacancy for an initial period of up to three
years. To find out more about the role, or to apply, please send
details of your amateur radio experience to RSGB Board Director
Philip Willis, M0PHI via email to m0phi<at>rsgb.org.uk
Two more lectures from the RSGB 2017 Convention are being published
on the RSGB website. Already online is the talk by James Patterson,
M1DST, on M1N-the-Middle, a Flexible Hardware Control Add-On For Your
K3. On Wednesday, 31 January this will be followed by Antenna
Selection For The 6G DXpeditions by Mike Chamberlain, G3WPH. Both of
these excellent presentations will be available in the Convention
lectures section of our online video portal, www.rsgb.org/video.
The RSGB Board has agreed to a Youth Committee proposal to send a UK
team to YOTA 2018, which will be held in South Africa. Further
details, including how to apply, will be available in due course.
Newton Le Willows Radio Club in St Helens, Merseyside is hosting an
RSGB Train the Trainers from 9am to 5pm on Saturday the 3rd of March.
To book a place contact Lee, M0LGL via email to m0lgl<at>nlwarc.co.uk
Have you seen the RSGB's live news page? It brings together its main
news feed as well as its regular updates on Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube in one easy-to-find place. You don't need a social media
account to see it, so take a look at www.rsgb.org/live for more
information.
Cubetto is a friendly wooden robot that can teach children the basics
of computer programming through adventure and hands-on play. On the
18th of February the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park
will host its second Cubetto event. Under parental supervision, it
will explain and explore new modules, blocks, and activities that
four to seven-year-olds can undertake, to increase their early years
knowledge of basic coding. Whilst the activity itself is free, you
will need an entry ticket to the National Museum of Computing. For
details, see tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0128B
[Note to Newsreaders: the original, full URL is
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cubetto-whats-next-tickets-41697128233]
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
On the 27th of January the Horncastle Radio Rally will take place at
Banovallum School, Mareham Road Entrance LN9 6DA. Entry will be
GBP 2. The venue is indoors, on one level, with all the usual
attractions including bacon butties. There is free car parking on
site. Details from Tony, G3ZPU, on 01507 527 835.
The Canvey Radio Rally takes place on the 4th of February at Paddocks
Community Centre, Long Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS80JA. Doors open
at 10.30am and admittance is GBP 3. There will be trade stands, RSGB
bookstall and special interest groups. Catering is available on site.
For more details contact Vic Rogers, G6BHE, on 0795 746 1694.
To get your rally or event information into future editions of GB2RS
News, in RadCom and on the RSGB website, please email details to
radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk. Please do not just assume we know about your
event.
And now the DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
Johannes, PA5X and Gerben, PG5M are going to activate Ibu Island, of
the Cabo Delgado District group, IOTA reference AF-061 from the 28th
of January until the 5th of February as C8X and C81G. Operations will
be on 80 to 10m, including 60m, on CW, SSB, and FT8. QSL for C81G via
PG5M or ClubLog, C8X via PA5X.
Jean-Pierre, F6ITD is going to sign as FG/F6ITD and TO7D from the
29th of January to the 15th of March from Guadeloupe, NA-102. He
plans to operate with a focus on the low bands on SSB and FT8. QSL
via LoTW, ClubLog OQRS or direct.
Rick, NE8Z will be active from Ecuador from the 20th of January to
the 10th of February. He will operate CW and SSB on 40 to 6m as HC1MD
from Tumbaco, Pichincha Province; as HC1MD/HC2 from Punta Blanca,
Santa Elena Province; and as HC1MD/HC7 from Papallacta, Napo
Province. QSL via LoTW, or direct to K8LJG.
Hermann, HB9CRV will be active CU8FN from Flores Island, EU-089, from
22 January to 16 February. He will operate FT8 on 160-10 metres.
Hermann and Antonio, CU8AS will participate in the CQ WW 160 Meter CW
Contest as CR2W. QSL for CR2W and CU8FN via LoTW, or via HB9CRV,
direct or bureau.
Emmanuel, F5LIT will be active as YB9/F5LIT from Bali, OC-022 from
the 30th of January to the 10thof February. Operations will be on 20
and 15m SSB. QSL via F5LIT, LoTW.
Now the special event news
The fifth and final Robin Hood VHF Award activity in January will
take place on Sunday the 28th of January, with MX0YHA located in
North Yorkshire, SD94 and MX0PHX located in Charnwood Forest,
Leicestershire, SK41. Activities will be on 2m FM between 10.30am and
4pm. Further Robin Hood Award special activities are planned for late
February. More information at www.robinhoodradio.uk.
Simone, IS0AFM is using special callsign IR0FOC from Cagliari,
Sardinia throughout 2018 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the
First Class CW Operators' Club. QSL via LoTW or direct to IS0AFM.
II4HRZwill be on the air in February celebrating the work of Heinrich
Rudolf Hertz. Throughout 2018, twelve commemorative radio stations
with special callsigns will operate in turn throughout the year, each
celebrating a specific scientist. Further details and award
regulations at official website www.arifidenza.it
On Thursday 1 February Welland Valley Amateur Radio Society commences
its month-long operation of GB1FWW from Main Street, Great Bowden.
For more information contact Peter D Rivers, G4XEX, on 01858 432 105.
Now the contest news
The CQ WW 160m DX Contest ends it 48 hour run at 2200UTC on the 28th.
Using CW only on the 1.8MHz band, the exchange is signal report and
CQ Zone, with US stations sending their State and Canadian stations
sending their Province. Remember that D-Region absorption will render
the band pretty much useless during daylight hours.
The BARTG RTTY Sprint ends its run at 1200UTC on the 28th. Using the
3.5 to 28MHz bands, the exchange is serial number.
On Wednesday the 31st the UKEICC 80m contest takes place from 2000UTC
to 2100UTC. Using CW only on the 3.5MHz band, the exchange is your
4-character locator.
Next Sunday, the 4th of February, the 432MHz AFS contest takes place
from 0900UTC to 1300UTC. Using all modes on the 432MHz band, the
exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday 26th January.
News last week that the Republic of Kosovo (Z6) has been added to the
DXCC list of current entities meant that QSOs with the new prefix
were in demand. With Z60A on the air from Pristina until February
4th, there has been a sudden interest in propagation paths to the
country! VOACAP Online shows that Z60A should be a fairly easy catch
from the UK propagation-wise, although the massive pile-ups are
causing problems. At around 2,000km from central UK, 30, 20 and 17
metres are the favourite bands to contact Z6 during daytime, with a
90-100% probability of a propagation path at times. This falls to
70-80% on 15 metres. At night, 80 and 40m come into their own, with
again a more than 90% chance of a good path.These all depend upon
having settled geomagnetic conditions, which were once again badly
affected last week by the solar wind from a coronal hole on the Sun.
The K index rose to four on Wednesday evening, as a result of the Bz
component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) pointing south,
enabling the solar wind to more easily couple with the Earth's
magnetic field. Next week NOAA forecasts that the solar flux index
will be in the range 67-70 and we may expect more unsettled
geomagnetic conditions on Sunday 28th. The rest of the week is
predicted to be more settled.
At the moment, daytime maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path
are most reliable on 20 metres, with occasional openings on 17 and 15
metres.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
The windy weather of recent days caused the really poor Tropo
conditions during last week's SHF UK activity contest, but it is
probably behind us for a while. A mild southwesterly flow from the
Atlantic can sometimes provide enhanced Tropo conditions, especially
if it is accompanied by a region of high pressure nearby, over the
continent. This is a distinct possibility later this weekend as high
pressure builds across France and into Germany. The slightly
‘lifted' conditions, chiefly in the south, developing over this
weekend will probably last until a cold front arrives on Monday
night.
The mid-week period sees low pressure to the east of Britain with a
colder northerly flow and a return of flatter conditions, although
there could be some rain scatter to the east over the North Sea on
the microwave bands.
The last part of the week is split between high pressure building
again over southern areas towards next weekend, and other models
keeping the colder showery northerly option.
Random meteor rates are low this time of year and there are no
showers due until the Lyrids shower at the end of April.
The Moon is approaching perigee and is its closest to Earth on
Tuesday. Its declination reaches maximum on Monday, so there should
be good EME conditions all this 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 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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