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G4TNU > NEWS 07.08.22 00:33l 239 Lines 11169 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 07 Aug 2022
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 7th of August 2022
The news headlines:
* GB22HQ moving location
* Welsh operators wanted for GB22GW
* New Special Intrest Group Manager appointed
For operational ereasons it is no longer possible to operate GB22HQ,
the special event station for the Commonwealth Games, from the
Smithfield site in Birmingham. The move to the Smithfield site had
been a last-minute decision due to other calls on our original site
by the Commonwealth Games organisers. It has been problematic due to
lack of public access, high RF noise levels and ingress of water and
dust on site. We're pleased to say that GB22HQ will continue on the
air for the remainder of the games thanks to members of the
Wolverhampton Amateur Radio Society and the Central Radio Amateur
Circle.
GB22GW is the Commonwealth Games callsign for Wales. Cath, GW4CVT is
looking for volunteers in Wales to use the callsign either by CW, SSB
or datamodes until the 21st of August. To book a slot, visit qrz.com
and search for GB22GW. There you will find Cath's email address and
the slots that are available.
The RSGB is pleased to announce that Philip Hosey, MI0MSO has been
appointed as the Special Interest Group Manager. The primary role of
the Honorary Officer for Affiliated National Societies and Special
Interest Groups is to champion their interests and to develop a
closer relationship between them and the RSGB, and the amateurs they
represent.
Sad news now. Long-time GB2RS newsreader Dr David Sadler-Lockwood,
G4CLI became a Silent Key recently. He was a keen member of both the
Wakefield and District Amateur Radio Society and the Denby Dale
Amateur Radio Society. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
There is a new award available during August to celebrate the 200th
anniversary of a Polish lighthouse. Until 31st August there will be
nine special event stations on the air with SN200 or SP200 plus one
letter callsigns, for example, SN200Z. Two other stations, 3Z200LHR
and 3Z25ILLW, will operate only during the international lighthouse
and lightship weekend, the 20th and 21st. For details on this award,
go to qrz.com and look up one of the special stations involved.
Canadian radio amateurs have gained access to two new bands recently.
They now have access to 472 to 479kHz with a maximum of five watts
EIRP, and 5.3515 to 5.3665MHz with a maximum of 100 watts EIRP.
Canadian amateur radio is a Secondary radio service on these bands.
The YOTA Team Croatia has created an award available for working
youngsters at the YOTA Summer Camp. Each QSO with a 9A YOTA station
in a different band or mode combination earns you one point.
Duplicates do not count. Valid QSOs will be made from 0000UTC on the
6th to 2359UTC on the 13th of August. You may even get to contact one
of the four young people the RSGB has sent to the Summer Camp. Go to
iaru-r1.org and click on the YOTA Summer Camp news item for details
on the award.
And now for details of rallies and events
Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to
radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk. We'll publicise your event in RadCom, on
GB2RS, and online.
Today, the 7th of August, the 2022 BATC Convention for Amateur TV
will take place at Midland Air Museum, Rowley Road, Coventry CV3 4FR.
It will be a meet-up, show and tell, test and fix-it, and Bring & Buy
event from 10am to 4pm. There will be full test facilities available
for equipment.
Also today, the 7th, King's Lynn ARC 32nd Great Eastern Radio Rally
will be held at Gaywood Community Centre, Gayton Road, King's Lynn,
Norfolk PE30 4EL. Doors open at 9am and admission is GBP 2.50. Car
parking is free. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy. More
information at klarc.org.uk.
On Friday, it is the 27th Cockenzie and Port Seton Mini-Rally Night.
It will take place at the Community Centre, Main Hall, Port Seton.
Doors open at 6pm and admission is GBP 2. Tables are on a first come
first served basis.
Next Sunday, the 14th, the Flight Refuelling ARS Hamfest takes place
at Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne,
Dorset, BH21 3DA. Talk in will be on S22. Gates open between 10am and
6pm with entry costing GBP 4. There will be trade stands as well as
indoor and field pitches. Lectures will take place during the event.
No dogs except Guide dogs are allowed as this is the landowner's
condition. More from Tony, G3PFM on 0774 347 5018.
Now the Special Event news
GB5VAS is the callsign for the special event station that Guernsey
Amateur Radio Society will be operating from the ground of the
Vintage Agricultural Show this weekend, the 6th and 7th of August.
QSL via GU3HFN.
TM78DP is a special callsign to be aired until the 20th of August for
the 78th anniversary of the beach landings in Provence during World
War Two. It will operate on the 6 to 80m bands using CW, SSB and
digital modes. QSL via F4GPB.
Now the DX news
Jonathan, 2E0KZN is now stationed at the RAF Mount Pleasant Complex
in the Falkland Islands, SA-002, until early November. Whilst there
he will operate as VP8TAA with a focus on SOTA activations as
VP8TAA/P. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS.
The DX0NE Team is operating from Spratly Islands, IOTA AS-051, until
the 31st of December. They will operate on the 6 to 160m bands using
CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via 4F2KWT, Logbook of The World or Club Log
OQRS.
DK1DKE is active as 4K7DK from Baku in Azerbaijan until the 13th of
August. Activity is on the 10 to 80m bands using SSB and FT8. QSL to
his home callsign.
Mike, W6QT is operating as DU3/W6QT from Olongapo City on Luzon
Island, OC-042, in the Philippines. He will be there until the 15th
of September. QSL to his home callsign.
Now the contest news
Today, Sunday the 7th of August, the 432MHz Low Power Contest runs
from 0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report,
serial number, locator and the first two letters of your postcode.
On Tuesday, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC.
It is followed at 1900 to 2130UTC by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity
Contest. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and
locator.
Wednesday sees the 432MHz FT8 Activity Contest from 1900 to 2100UTC.
The exchange is your report and 4-character locator.
The 50MHz UK Activity Contest is on Thursday the 11th of August from
1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
Next weekend is the WAE DX CW Contest from 0000UTC on the 13th to
2359UTC on the 14th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz bands where contests are
permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Please
note that EU stations work non-EU stations only.
Next Sunday, the 14th, the fifth 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from
1400 to 1600UTC. 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 5th of August 2022.
Last week was characterised by a solar flux index around 100, but
reasonably settled geomagnetic conditions. The SFI had a low of 94 on
Sunday and a high of 100 on Thursday. The Kp index has been in the
range of one to four, with more settled conditions being experienced
in the second half of the week.
Daytime critical frequencies have ranged from lows of 5MHz and highs
of up to 7MHz. As a result, skip distances on 40m have varied
dramatically, and often very quickly. This has caught out some
amateurs who have found solid inter-G conditions one minute, but fast
fading as the critical frequency has dropped leaving only European
stations workable.
As a guide, keep one eye on propquest.co.uk for the current critical
frequency and extrapolated maximum usable frequencies over different
path lengths. Only then can you make sense of daytime 40m propagation.
Sporadic-E is still putting in an appearance, but is far less
prevalent as we head into August. It may still be usable for weak
signal modes like FT8, but loud SSB signals from Europe may be less
prevalent.
Next week, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Centre predicts that the
SFI will be in the range 98-100 again. That is, it doesn't think we
will get any rapid increases in sunspot numbers over the next week.
The Kp index is forecast to be in the range 2-3, which means
moderately settled geomagnetic conditions. However, a coronal hole on
the Sun's equator may cause some problems just after the weekend.
So daytime F2-layer MUFs over 3,000km paths may be up to 18-21MHz.
Any short-skip 10m openings are therefore likely to be Sporadic-E.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
The basic pattern continues unchanged with high pressure favouring
southern and eastern areas and lows with their fronts affecting the
northwest. Occasionally weakening cold fronts drift southeast. This
will provide further tropo opportunities, particularly during the hot
and humid periods and in this case a good cloud cover near the
surface is a good indicator.
The preferred paths would most likely be across the North Sea to
Denmark, Germany and Netherlands and across the Channel to the
continent. A more extensive option could be to the south across
Biscay to Spain and beyond to the Canaries and mid Atlantic. Rain
scatter is unlikely for most areas except for very isolated showery
developments on the weak cold fronts over central parts of the
country.
The Sporadic-E season continues to trickle charge log books with
occasional openings. Although the jet stream activity is relatively
weak over central and southern Europe, it has been shown that it is
sometimes more important that the pattern is moving, however weak.
The stronger flow appears to favour paths across the north of the UK
to Iceland and Greenland and towards Scandinavia and the Baltic
states. Check the daily blogs on Propquest.co.uk, which continue
through August, for latest thoughts on the daily jet stream charts.
Next week sees the peak of the Perseids around the 12th of August and
even if you don't have the gear for meteor scatter it's hard to beat
watching meteors on a warm summer evening. The Sun has continued to
exhibit some marked coronal holes, a potential source of the solar
wind surges that produces the aurora, so be aware of this.
The Moon passes a milestone this month with perigee and minimum
declination coinciding. From then onwards, perigee and maximum
declination start to drift closer again, but it's not until September
2026 that they coincide. All week the Moon elevation is low at zenith
and the Moon is only visible for a few hours out of the 24. 144MHz
sky noise is high, reaching 3000 Kelvin on Monday.
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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