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G4APL > NEWS 26.02.23 09:31l 280 Lines 13584 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 26 Feb 2023
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Sent: 230226/0729Z @:GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO #:41490 [Caterham Surrey GBR]
From: G4APL@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO
To : NEWS@EU
GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 26th of February 2023
The news headlines:
* RSGB Board Update
* New RSGB Youth Champion
* Celebrating BBC Broadcasting in Scotland
The RSGB President Stewart Bryant, G3YSX has reported that due to the
workload of the Board and the number of remaining members, the Board
thought it prudent to ask Ian Shepherd, G4EVK to re-join the RSGB
Board as a co-opted Director until the AGM. After the AGM and the
elections, the Board will look at its membership and will likely
make further co-options. The RSGB Company Secretary fulfils an
important role in the AGM proceedings and so Stephen
Purser, GW4SHF was asked to return to this role until the AGM,
whilst the Society appoints a new Company Secretary through the usual
process. If you are an RSGB Member and would be willing to undertake
the duties of RSGB Company Secretary, or if you would like further
information about the role, please contact the General Manager's
department via gm.dept<at>rsgb.org.uk
Liam Robbins, G5LDR has been appointed as the RSGB's new Youth
Champion. He gained his Foundation licence in 2021 and his Full
licence in late 2022. Liam plans to encourage the use of amateur
radio with local Scouts and he is also keen to revive radio societies
at universities and colleges. He is eager to work with younger radio
amateurs and to engage with outreach programmes that clubs are
already running. Liam is looking forward to working with the current
RSGB Youth Team. You can email him at youth.champion<at>rsgb.org.uk
At 7pm on the 6th of March 1923, BBC broadcasting in Scotland
officially began. The studio was housed in a small attic apartment at
Rex House in Bath Street, Glasgow, and the transmitter at Port
Dundas. Using 1.5kW on 722kHz, the station was allocated the callsign
5SC. This year, 100 years to the day, the BBC Amateur Radio Group
will be celebrating the anniversary with special event callsign
GB5SC. Operation will take place on the 4th, 5th and 6th of March,
from the present BBC Pacific Quay headquarters, using HF, VHF, UHF
and QO-100. The BBC club team is being joined by operators from the
West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society. For more information, visit
the GB5SC page at QRZ.COM and the wosars.club website.
The next RSGB Tonight<at>8 live webinar takes place on Monday the 6th
of March. Barry Lewis G4SJH, RSGB Microwave Manager, will talk about
contesting in the microwave and millimetre wave bands at 23cm and
above. He'll cover the frequency bands, contest activity sessions,
special rules and equipment needed. Although similar to VHF and UHF
contesting, the microwave and millimetre wave bands bring additional
challenges which will be discussed, along with the awards and
trophies that can be won. You can watch and ask questions live on the
RSGB YouTube channel. Find out more on the Society's website at
rsgb.org/webinars
This is a final call for entries in the RSGB Construction Competition
as the deadline is this Wednesday, the 1st of March. The four
categories are: Beginners; Construction excellence; Innovation; and
Software. The judges will give special recognition to entries
submitted by radio amateurs under the age of 24 and also to those who
have just gained their Foundation licence. There are cash prizes in
every category. If you're a new licensee or new to construction,
don't be worried about submitting your entry – read the stories of
last year's winners and runners-up and be inspired to enter your
project! You can read their stories and find out how to enter on the
RSGB website at rsgb.org/construction-competition
SOS Radio Week 2023 starts at 0000UTC on the 1st of May and concludes
at 2359 on the 31st of May. It is an opportunity to support the many
voluntary organisations in the British Isles whose members volunteer
to save the lives of others at risk around the many miles of its
coastline, and out at sea. These organisations include the Royal
National Lifeboat Institution, the National Coastwatch Association
and the numerous independent lifeboat and coastal rescue groups.
Individual amateur radio operators and clubs are invited to register
to become an official SOS Radio Week station and operate under their
own callsign, their club's or a special event callsign to raise
awareness of the great work these volunteers perform. Awards are
available for registered stations that make the most contacts on each
of the 160m to 70cm bands and using various modes. Registration is
now open and further details can be found at sosradioweek.org.uk
And now for details of rallies and events
West Manchester Radio Club's Red Rose Rally will take place today,
Sunday the 26th of February. The event is being held at St. Joseph's
Hall, Leigh, WN7 2PJ. Free parking, café services and a raffle are
among the attractions on offer. For further information visit:
wmrc.co.uk/rally.htm [Note to Newsreaders: the .htm is required for
the page to load]
The Lagan Valley Amateur Radio Society is holding its annual rally on
the 4th of March. The venue will be the Hillsborough Village Centre,
7 Ballynahinch [BAH-LA-NA-HINCH] Road, BT26 6AR. Doors open at
10.30am. For more information visit www.lvars.uk
Exeter Radio and Electronics Rally is taking place on Sunday the 5th
of March. The venue for the event will be America Hall, De la Rue
Way, Pinhoe, Exeter EX4 8PW. The doors will open at 10.30am for
everyone and 10.15am for disabled visitors. Admission is GBP 3. Entry
for under 16s is free. There will be trade stands and bring and buy.
The South Kesteven Amateur Radio Society Junk Sale will take place on
Saturday the 11th of March at the Railway Club, Grantham, NG31 7AU.
Doors open for traders at 8am. Traders are asked to bring their own
table. Doors are open to the public between 9.30am and 1pm. Admission
for traders is GBP 5, and for the public GBP 1. Refreshments will be
available on site. Contact Stewart, M0SDM for more details via
s.mason<at>skars.co.uk
Now the Special Event News
Members of Radio Club Jean Bart [ZHON-BARR], F6KMB will be active as
TM6C until Monday the 27th of February during the traditional Dunkirk
Carnival. QSL via F6KMB.
The Vienna International Centre Amateur Radio Contest DX Club is
expected to be active as 4UNR until Tuesday the 28th of February. The
location counts as Austria for DXCC and for the Vienna International
Centre for the CQ DX Marathon. QSL via Club Log's OQRS or via UA3DX.
Special callsign OZ625E will be active until Tuesday the 28th of
February for the opening of the new Enigma Museum of Communications
in Copenhagen. An award will be available for contacts with OZ625E
stations with different suffixes. More information about the special
callsign and the award can be found via the OZ625E QRZ.com page.
This year Dennis, G7AGZ will again be running a radio project in aid
of Cornwall Hospice Care. This will be in two parts. The first part
will be a special event station with the callsign GB0CHC and will run
from the 1st of April for 28 days. Dennis plans to activate all bands
from 80m to 70cms and operate using SSB, FM and DMR. The second part
will be a coast-to-coast walk in Cornwall in the summer. Details will
be released nearer the time. More details, including a link to
Dennis's JustGiving page, are on the G7AGZ QRZ.com web page.
Now the DX news
Philippe, F1DUZ will be active as FG4KH from Guadeloupe, NA-102,
until the 8th of March, including participation in the SSB leg of the
French HF Championship and the ARRL DX SSB Contest. QSL via Logbook
of the World, eQSL or via F1DUZ.
Jozef, ON6HX will be operating as YB9/ON6HX from Lombok Island,
OC-150, until Wednesday the 8th of March. He expects to be available
on the 80 to 10m bands using all modes including CW. QSL via his home
call, directly or the bureau, Logbook of the World and eQSL.
Lars, SM6NT will be active as HS0ZME from Thailand until Thursday the
2nd of April. He will operate mainly using CW on the 40 to 10m bands.
QSL via SM6NT.
Now the contest news
The CQ 160m DX Contest ends at 2200UTC today, Sunday the 26th of
February. Using SSB on the 160m band, the exchange is signal report
and CQ Zone. American stations send a signal report and their State.
Canadian stations send a signal report and their Province.
The French HF Championship, also known as the REF Contest, ends at
1800UTC today, Sunday the 26th of February. Using SSB on the HF
bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report
and serial number. French stations send their department number, or
overseas territory prefix.
On Wednesday the 1st of March, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour
Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8, the exchange is report
and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 1st of March, the
144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using
FT8, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations
entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest.
On Wednesday the 1st of March, the UK and Ireland Contest Club
Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the
exchange is your six-character locator.
The ARRL International DX Contest begins at 0000UTC on Saturday the
4th of March and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 5th of March. Using
SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, where contests are permitted, the
exchange is signal report and transmission power. American stations
send a signal report and their State. Canadian stations send a signal
report and their Province.
The March 144MHz and 432MHz Contest begins at 1400UTC on Saturday the
4th of March and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday the 5th of March. Using
all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Sunday the 5th of March, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest
runs from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz
bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Also on Sunday the 5th of March, the Worked all Britain 3.5MHz
Contest runs from 1800 to 2200UTC. Using CW and SSB, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and Worked all Britain square, if
applicable.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO
on Thursday the 23rd of February 2023
Last week was characterised by many low- and medium-level solar
flares. At the time of writing, in the past seven days the Sun has
emitted more than 60 C-class flares, six M-class flares and one
X-class flare.
The X-class flare coincided with the measurement of the solar flux
index meaning an erroneous reading of 343 was logged. The next day it
was back to a more accurate 167.
The solar flux index has generally declined from the 200s we saw
earlier in the month and stood at 152 on Thursday the 23rd.
Nevertheless, daytime maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path
still exceed 28MHz on a daily basis.
Geomagnetic conditions have been mixed with the Kp index hitting 4.67
on Thursday due to a fast solar wind.
We are heading towards the equinox period as we leave February next
week and enter March. This is a time that favours North/South paths,
such as the UK to South Africa and UK to South America.
We'll start to lose propagation to the USA on the higher bands as the
Spring progresses, but don't worry – it will be back in the Autumn!
A coronal hole is turning into an Earth-facing direction, which may
cause some disruption with an increasing Kp index this weekend.
NOAA also predicts slightly worse conditions for the next week with
the solar flux index declining to the 125-145 range. Unsettled
conditions are predicted for the period of the 5th to the 7th of
March, with the Kp index perhaps hitting five again.
As always, this is a guide as we are living in unpredictable times
with regard to solar activity.
And now the VHF and up propagation news
The coming week looks likely to be another high-pressure period on
the weather charts. As we ended this week, the high was offset to the
west of Ireland, but will become centred over Scotland with a colder
north easterly over southern Britain.
This means that Tropo may become a mode of choice, particularly for
northern areas, although this may well decline as a colder northerly
starts at the end of next week. This could offer rain or snow showers
with the chance of some associated GHz band scatter propagation.
As secondary options, aurora and meteor scatter remain viable, of
course. Watch for a high Kp index for aurora and remember that random
meteor scatter is always likely to be best around dawn.
For EME operators, the positive and rising Moon declination this week
will see Moon availability windows lengthening until maximum
declination on Wednesday. So, there will be high moon elevations, but
path losses will continue to increase until apogee next Friday when
the path loss trend will reverse.
144MHz sky noise is moderate to low for the rest of the week, only
reaching 500 Kelvin on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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
https://www.theskywaves.net http://gb7cip.ampr.org
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