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G4APL > NEWS 02.09.18 04:35l 384 Lines 19210 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 2 Sep 2018
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Sent: 180902/0231Z @:GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO #:36420 [Caterham Surrey GBR]
From: G4APL@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO
To : NEWS@EU
GB2RS Main News for Sunday 2nd September 2018
The news headlines:
* Annual Reunion of Code Breakers
* Respond now to Ofcom consultation
* New Exams Standards appointment
Today, Sunday the 2nd of September, it's the Annual Reunion of Code
Breakers at Bletchley Park, including those who were Voluntary
Interceptors. This event is organised by Bletchley Park and more can
be seen at www.bletchleypark.org.uk
Preparations for the next World Radio Conference, WRC-19, are
increasing. An important Ofcom consultation is nearing its
conclusion, which includes key items on the future of 50MHz, wireless
power and microwave bands. UK amateurs are encouraged to respond to
Ofcom, highlighting the importance of current and potential
innovations. The submission deadline is Thursday 13th of September.
The RSGB has background on these topics on our WRC-19 Focus pages,
via tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0902-A
[Note for Newsreaders: the original URL is
https://rsgb.org/main/news/special-focus/wrc-19/]
The RSGB is pleased to announce that Mike Bruce, M0ITI, has been
appointed to the RSGB Examinations Standards Committee with the role
of Examinations Systems Review Manager. The responsibilities of this
new role within ESC will be to manage the syllabus review and future
updates; manage the question bank and interaction with exam system
providers; and keep the RSGB exam web pages up to date with the
changes. Mike obtained his full licence in 2013 and he has served on
the RSGB Examinations Group since June 2016.
Following the recent announcement in RadCom, a collection of over 50
historic amateur licensing documents is now online. It is hoped that
it is both illuminating and of interest. Some documents, such as the
original 50MHz permits, are quite topical as we approach WRC-19. The
current selection stretches back to 1946. Please feel free to contact
he organisers if you have further historic material, as they attempt
to fill in the gaps. To view the documents, go to
tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0902-B
[Note for Newsreaders: the original URL is
https://rsgb.org/main/operating/licensing-novs-visitors/]
The Yasme Foundation has announced the election of Marty Woll, N6VI
as the newest Foundation Director. The Board of Directors now
includes President, N0AX, Vice President, K4ZW, Treasurer, W6OAT,
PB2T, OH2BH, K3ZO, W6RGG and N6VI. The Yasme Foundation is a
not-for-profit corporation organised to support scientific and
educational projects related to amateur radio, including DXing and
the introduction and promotion of amateur radio in developing
countries. See www.yasme.org for more information on their work.
Saturday the 8th of September is the annual Churches and Chapels on
the Air event. Activity will be mainly on 40m from 10am to 4pm using
SSB. There is a list of stations taking part at www.wacral.org and to
get your event on the list, send details to wacralweb<at>gmx.com
A new Buildathon has been announced for this year's National Hamfest.
Aimed at the younger person and those who are newly or non-licensed,
this activity is being sponsored by the RSGB Legacy fund. A place
costs only GBP 5, which is refunded as an RSGB book voucher if you
complete the project on the day. As a bonus, the Hamfest organisers
are offering free entry to those who book for the Buildathon so the
GBP 5 covers entry to the Hamfest too. The project is a Poldhu Kits
.Redruth' receiver. Help, technical expertise and all necessary
equipment will be provided on the day. Many thanks to Poldhu Kits for
their help in providing the kits. If you would like to attend or
bring someone along to participate, Buildathon tickets can be
purchased from www.rsgb.org/hamfestbuildathon
During the summer the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park
has been open seven days a week. It will revert to being closed on
Tuesdays throughout September and the early part of October to enable
essential maintenance work to be completed. The intention is to open
on Tuesdays again in time for the school half term holiday in
October. Meantime, the NRC will be open each day, apart from a
Tuesday, from 9.30am to 5pm, which is in line with the Bletchley Park
museum opening times.
The latest edition of The 5MHz Newsletter is now available for free
pdf download from the RSGB 5MHz page at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0902-C This
edition includes 5MHz news from 8 countries, features the World of
5MHz, the Wikipedia 60m band page, CEPT, a section on whether you
monitor the UK 5MHz beacons, useful propagation sites for 5MHz and
reader's feedback from G4DWV.
[Note for Newsreaders: the original URL is
http://rsgb.org/main/operating/band-plans/hf/5mhz/]
This year's International Air Ambulance Week will take place between
the 8th and 16th of September with the focus on supporting and
generating donations for flying medical services around the world.
Whilst amateur radio operators are encouraged to promote the donation
causes, it is requested that any donations generated go to the
station's chosen local or national cause. Registration is mandatory
and all stations taking part will be issued a registration number
that will be listed on the event website. A free series of Awards
will be available for those who support the event. All information
and registration details are at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0902-D
[Note for Newsreaders: the original URL is
www.radio-amateur-events.org/IAW/Registration.htm]
The 22nd of September marks the 100th anniversary of the first
wireless transmission between Australia and the United Kingdom.
Messages were transmitted from the Marconi station at Waunfawr in
Wales and were received by Ernest Fisk at Wahroonga near Sydney. As
part of the Centenary celebrations, the Wireless Institute of
Australia will hold an on-air event that will run throughout
September. State and Territory special callsigns VI#MARCONI will be
active on a roster basis. In addition, the Hornsby & District ARC
will be active as VK100MARCONI. Complete information can be found via
tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0902-E
[Note for Newsreaders: the original URL is
www.wia.org.au/newsevents/marconi100/about/]
The AO73/FUNcube-1 satellite has been in space for almost five years
and the original sun synchronous orbit has now changed slightly such
that the spacecraft will no longer be in eclipse for 35 minutes every
orbit. The eclipse period has already reduced and will again become
zero on the 8th. This means the usual autonomous switching between
transponder in eclipse and high-power telemetry when in sunlight will
no longer be effective. It has been decided to have AO73/FUNcube-1
initially operate for alternate periods of one week in either Safe or
Educational modes. Full details at www.amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/
The G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF
DXing. The award is not limited to youngsters or the newly-licensed;
it is open to anyone who has recently discovered and made significant
progress in HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to
recommend someone to be awarded the G5RP Trophy for 2018, please send
your nominations to Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, by email to
hf.manager<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive no later than Friday the 14th of
September. This prestigious RSGB award will be presented this year at
the RSGB Convention on the 12th to the 14th of October.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the 2nd, the annual Telford HamFest takes place at Enginuity
in Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DQ. Numerous trader and exhibitor
stands are booked and there will be a variety of presentations from
guest speakers in the Darby Boardroom. There will be an RSGB
Bookstand. Doors open 10am, admission is GBP 4.50, with accompanied
under 16's free. On-site catering will be available and car parking
facilities have been improved. Details from Martyn, G3UKV on
01952 255416.
The UKFM Group Western repeater group will be holding its AGM on the
3rd of September at 7.30pm in the North Cheshire Radio Club, Morley
Green Social Club, Morley Green, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5NT.
The AGM and Get-Together of the Radio Amateurs Old Timers Association
will be held at the Brunswick Inn in Derby on Wednesday the 5th of
September. It is RAOTA's diamond jubilee year. The Get-Together will
open at 11am and the AGM will commence at 1.15pm. All RAOTA members
are welcome to attend and it will greatly assist or planning if
members book places well in advance. Contact Ian Brothwell, G4EAN via
GenSec<at>RAOTA.org
On the 8th of September Caister Lifeboat Radio Rally will take place
at Tan Lane, Caister on Sea NR30 5DJ. Talk-in will be on S22 and
doors open at 9am, with sellers gaining access at 8am. There is also
a raffle and onsite caféThe event has disabled access. Contact
Zane on 0771 121 4790.
GB5SH will operate from St Hilda's Church in Hartlepool as part of
Churches and Chapels on the Air on the 8th and as part of Heritage
Open Days on the 9th. It is expected that the station will be active
mostly on the 40, 80 and 2m bands
To get your event into RadCom and GB2RS, please send details as early
as possible to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk
And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources
Hans, PA3HGT will be active as 3B8/PA3HGT from Mauritius, IOTA
reference AF-049, between the 4th and 24th of September. He will
operate SSB and possibly some digital modes on the 40, 20 and 10m
bands. QSL via his home callsign, either direct or via the bureau.
Claudio, HB9OAU will be on the air as SV5/HB9OAU from Karpathos in
the Dodecanese islands, EU-001, between the 8th and 20th of
September. He will operate SSB and FT8 on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL
via his home callsign, either direct or via the bureau, Logbook of
The World and eQSL; logsearch on Club Log.
The 19th annual Route 66 On The Air special event celebrates the
historic US Highway 66. Twenty-one amateur radio stations using 1x1
callsigns from W6A through W6U will operate from cities along the
route between the 8th and 16th of September. See http://w6jbt.org/
for information.
Richard, VE2DX will be on the air as TF/VE2DX from the 2nd to the
15th of September from Reykjavik on HF using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8.
QSL via VE2STN either direct or via the bureau.
Now the special event news
Today, 2nd of September, the Radio Club of Binche will operate as
ON44WAR to commemorate the Belgian Resistance during WW II. Activity
will be from 0700 to 1100UTC. CW transmissions on 7MHz from a Paraset
will take place on the hour for 30 minutes, followed by SSB. QSL via
ON7RY, direct, bureau or eQSL.
Today, the 2nd, Thames Amateur Radio Group will be operating GB2MFM,
commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the end of WW2. Activity will
be from WW2 pillbox in Wat Tyler Country Park, near Basildon.
The RSGB Region 8 Team will host GB100RAF in the STEM Village, that's
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, today, the 2nd of
September at the 2018 Portrush Airshow, AirWaves. Mid Ulster ARC will
provide their display trailer for the weekend and RAF ARS members
will facilitate the GB100RAF callsign. QSL information for GB100RAF
is via G8FC, the club call sign of HQ RAF ARS.
2018 sees Christ Church, Coventry, celebrate its 60th anniversary.
Opened to replace the city-centre building bombed out during the war,
the Festival of Britain design exhibits many unique architectural
features. To coincide with both Churches on the Air and Heritage Open
Day Quantum Amateur Radio & Technology Society will be running a VHF
phone and HF FT8 special event station using the callsign GB6CCC.
Visitors are welcome to not only visit the special event station but
have a look around this magnificent building and climb the tower to
see the vistas of Coventry. Further details are at www.g7lfc.radio.
XR208A, XR208B, XR208C and XR208D are the special callsigns for the
Discolo DX Group to celebrate the 208th anniversary of the First
Government Junta on the 18th of September 1810. It proclaimed Chile
an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy. They will operate
SSB, PSK31 and FT8 on the HF bands throughout September. All QSOs
will be confirmed automatically via the bureau.
Philippe, F5PTA will be active as TM70ONU from Lyon in France from
the 1st of September to the 27th of December, celebrating the 70th
anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and
proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. QSL via
eQSL only.
We are very happy to publicise your event on GB2RS, in RadCom and on
the RSGB website, but only if you tell us what you're doing! Please
send details to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk as early as possible. Three
months in advance is about right for RadCom. One of the requirements
for special event callsigns is that the station must be open to the
public, so our free advance publicity can help make your efforts more
widely known.
Now the contest news
Today, the 2nd of September, the RSGB's SSB Field Day ends its 24
hours run at 1300UTC. Using SSB only on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest
bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number.
Also ending its 24 hour run today, this time at 1400UTC, is the
144MHz Trophy. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
The IARU Region 1 Field Day ends its 24 hour runs at 1300UTC today,
the 2nd. Using SSB only on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the
exchange is signal report and serial number.
The IARU 144MHz contest also ends it 24 hour run at 1400UTC today,
the 2nd. Again using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
The All Asian DX contest ends its run at 2359UTC on the 2nd. Using
SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands. The exchange is signal report
and your age, with ladies able to send 00.
Today, the 2nd, the 5th 144MHz Backpacker contest runs from 1100 to
1500UTC. Using all modes on 2m only, the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
Also on today, the 2nd, the Worked All Britain 2m QRO Phone contest
runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using SSB and FM, the exchange is signal
report, serial number and WAB square.
On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1900UTC,
using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK
Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is
signal report, serial number and locator.
On Wednesday the UK EI Counties Contest takes place on 80m between
2000 and 2100UTC. Using SSB only, the exchange is your 4-character
locator square.
The WA DX SSB contest takes place from 0000UTC on the 8th to 2359UTC
on the 9th. Using SSB on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange
is signal report and serial number. Note EU stations work non-EU only.
Next Sunday, the 9th, the IRTS 2m Counties contest runs from 1200 to
1300UTC. Using SSB and FM, the exchange is signal report and serial
number. Please note that EI and GI stations will also give their
county.
It is followed immediately by the IRTS 70cm Counties contest from
1300 to 1500UTC. Again using SSB and FM the exchange is signal report
and serial number. Note that EI and GI stations will also give their
county.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 31st of August.
Just after we filed the Propagation Report last Friday we heard that
a new large sunspot had just appeared. This pushed the solar flux
index to 72, but more interesting was the fact that it appeared to
have a reverse magnetic polarity to the rest of the spots in solar
cycle 24. This means it may be the second spot seen of the new solar
cycle 25. Time will tell, although this doesn't necessarily mean that
the new cycle is about to burst into life. We may still be at sunspot
minimum for another 12 months or so.
Also last Sunday saw the Kp index rocket to seven due to the effects
of an incoming high-speed solar wind stream. This was unexpected and
caught space weather watchers unawares. It has now been linked to a
coronal mass ejection that occurred earlier in the week that
scientists didn't think would impact the Earth. This just goes to
show how hard it is to predict what the Sun is going to do one week
in advance! The CME knocked the bands for six last weekend with a
virtual total lack of signals across HF most of Sunday. With this
information we are cautious about predicting what will happen over
the next seven days!
What we can say is that the Sun is likely to remain fairly spotless,
so the risk of solar flares is minimal. Sunspot number 2720, which
did spark a number of flares on Friday 24th, has now rotated out of
view, leaving a fairly blank canvas. Maximum usable frequencies are
therefore due to return to seasonal averages, with 20 and perhaps
occasionally 17 metres providing the most HF DX.
We are now moving towards the autumnal equinox so north-south paths
may also start to improve, but we may have to wait another month or
so for an improvement in east-west paths, such as UK to North America.
And now the VHF propagation news
Last Sunday's 10GHz contest saw some excellent rain scatter
propagation over the UK, with QSOs well up to the 400km mark. But the
next spell of weather is looking much more settled with high pressure
on the charts for much of next week. This could bring Tropo back on
the agenda for most areas of the country at times. That makes it a
good week to get down to the multimode ends of the bands on VHF and
UHF. Remember, Tropo is a relatively long-lasting mode, so there is
plenty of time to make the QSOs, unlike Sporadic-E, which can be very
transient indeed. Also unlike Sporadic-E, Tropo tends to get better
on higher frequency bands, so 23cm is better than 70cm, which is
better than 2m. The Sporadic-E season is just about over for this
year and, although there can be openings into early September, they
are hard to find and usually short-lasting.
Our most predictable propagation source, the Moon, is at positive
declination all week and reaches perigee early on Saturday morning so
it's a good week for EME tests, with long availability and low
losses. The Moon follows a 28-day cycle, where the plane of its orbit
moves from South of the equator or negative declination, to North and
back. Its distance from the Earth changes from closest or perigee to
furthest, apogee.
Currently maximum declination and perigee almost coincide, favouring
stations in the Northern hemisphere, but this difference drifts
slowly. By 2022 this situation will have reversed and Southern
hemisphere stations will get this coincidence.
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.
Our thanks to Andy G4TNU for providing this RSGB feed.
--
g4apl@gb7cip.ampr.org g4apl@gb7cip.#32.gbr.euro
http://www.theskywaves.net http://gb7cip.ampr.org
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