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G4TNU > NEWS 05.08.23 11:32l 286 Lines 13612 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 30 Jul 2023
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 30th of July 2023
The news headlines:
* Tonight@8 events on the Ofcom amateur radio consultation
* Bar-coded stamps
* GB2RS in Morse code
The RSGB is holding two special live Tonight@8 events focused on
the Ofcom amateur radio consultation, and it encourages all radio
amateurs to take part. On Monday the 31st of July the session will
look at contests, operating and callsign policy, in an event that
might be of particular interest to Full licensees. On Monday the 7th
of August, the focus will be on Foundation and Intermediate topics
including callsign and exam changes, as well as the Consultation
clauses that might lead to new opportunities for outreach activities
for everyone. Instead of the usual webinar-style, these events will
be forums where, after a short introduction, a panel of RSGB experts
will answer your questions. Questions can be submitted on the night
of the event via the live chat, or you can send in a question in
advance. Advance questions can be by email or a short, clear video of
you asking your question. In either case, please keep the question
short and include your name and callsign. Send questions, by 12 noon
on the Friday before the event, to comms<at>rsgb.org.uk and find out
more about the events and the consultation on the RSGB website at
rsgb.org/licencereview
From tomorrow, the 31st of July, you should not apply non-bar-coded
stamps with Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's image to any mail.
In doing so the sender or recipient may have to pay a surcharge. This
news is highlighted to radio amateurs who use stamped-addressed QSL
card envelopes. Please ensure all stamped-addressed envelopes have
valid bar-coded stamps on them. This only applies to stamps with Her
late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's image on them and does not apply to
stamps which have other pictures on them. These can continue to be
used. Royal Mail will exchange all non-barcoded stamps with new
bar-coded ones for free. To do this, download a form from the Royal
Mail website, complete it and include it alongside the stamps that
are being returned. For more information, and to download a form,
visit royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps
GB2RS newsreader Graham, G4JBD has developed an online tool which
plays Morse code based on the current GB2RS News script at a variety
of different speeds. To help simulate a realistic HF-operating
environment, the system can be set to include man-made band noise, or
QRM, and/or natural band noise, or QRN. To try the system for
yourself, visit thersgb.org/go/gb2rsmorse
The July 2023 edition of RadCom Basics is now available and includes
more topics to inspire those who are new to amateur radio and those
who want to refresh their skills and knowledge. This edition includes
the stories of the winner and runner-up in the RSGB Construction
Competition Beginners' category; Part 2 of 'Repairing circuit board
tracks'; a design for a simple multi-band vertical HF antenna; Part 6
in the 'Basic fault-finding' series; and an account of Lee, G4EJB's
recent visit to the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park. To
view RadCom Basics visit rsgb.org/radcom-basics
The RSGB is also pleased to announce that a new edition of RadCom
Plus, Volume 8, Issue 1, is out now. RadCom Plus is the RSGB's
digital technical supplement and RSGB Members can read it in HTML5
flipbook, PDF and Epub formats. This issue includes an article on a
compact broadband active antenna for VHF and UHF and another on
operating on the 30THz band. RadCom Plus can be accessed via
rsgb.org/radcom-plus
And now for details of rallies and events
Wiltshire Radio and Car Boot Sale is taking place today, Sunday the
30th of July at Kington Langley Village Hall and Playing Field,
Kington Langley, Wiltshire SN15 5NJ. The event starts at 9am and
finishes at 1pm. There is a £3 entry fee. Indoor tables are sold out,
but there is plenty of Car Boot space available. Admittance for car
booters is £10, and for vans it is £15. For further information
please contact rally<at>chippenhamradio.club
Part 1 of the British Amateur Television Club's Convention for
Amateur TV 2023, or CAT 23, will take place on Sunday the 6th of
August at Midland Air Museum, Coventry. It is a meet-up, show and
tell, test and fix-it, and bring-and-buy event from 10.30am to 4pm.
There will be full ATV and Microwave test facilities available for
QO-100, 5.6GHz FM, Portsdown, MiniTiouner, Ryde, and power amplifiers
and preamps.
King's Lynn Amateur Radio Club's 33rd Great Eastern Radio Rally will
take place on Sunday the 6th of August. The venue will be Gaywood
Community Centre, Gayton Road, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4EL. The
doors open to visitors at 9am and admission is £2.50. The doors open
to traders from 7am. An outdoor pitch costs £8 and an indoor table
costs £10. Car parking is free. There will be trade stands and a
bring-and-buy area. On-site catering will be available. For more
information email rally.klarc<at>gmail.com or visit klarc.org.uk
Now the Special Event News
DR45HAAN is the special callsign for DARC's Ortsverband Haan to
celebrate its 45th anniversary. The station will be active until the
30th of September. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the
bureau and direct cards via DL7ET.
Special callsign LX90RTL is in use to celebrate the 90th anniversary
of Radio Luxembourg's first long-wave broadcast. It will be used by
various LX operators until the end of the year. Listen for the
callsign on the HF bands on SSB, CW, digital modes and via satellite.
All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the DARC bureau. The
logs will be uploaded to Club Log, Logbook of the World and eQSL on
a regular basis. For more information see QRZ.com
Now the DX news
Today is the last chance to contact Giuseppe, IK5WWA who is active as
IM0C from San Pietro Island, EU-165. He is QRV on the 40 to 2m bands.
QSL via his home call.
The IP1X team is active from Gallinara Island, EU-083, today, the
30th. They are operating CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands in the
IOTA Contest. QSL via IU1JCZ, direct or via the bureau. For more
details and updates check QRZ.com
MD1U is active in the IOTA Contest today, the 30th, as part of a
DXpedition to Scarlett Point Tower on the Isle of Man. QSL via
M0OXO's OQRS page and Logbook of the World. For more information see
QRZ.com
Sunny, VU2CUW, a member of the 42nd Indian Scientific Expedition to
Antarctica, will be based at Maitri [MY-EH-TREE] Station, Antarctica
for around one year. In his spare time, he will be active as AT42I
[ALPHA-TANGO-FOUR-TWO-INDIA]. QSL via VU2CRS.
Ersoy, TA2OM has been active as 3C3CA from Bioko [BEE-OH-CO] Island,
AF-010, in Equatorial Guinea since October 2022. His current plans
are to stay there until sometime in August. He uploads his log to
Club Log and Logbook of the World on a regular basis.
Now the contest news
The RSGB IOTA, or Islands On The Air, Contest will end at 1200UTC
today, the 30th of July, Using CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands,
where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and IOTA reference.
Today, the 30th of July, the UK Microwave Group 5.7 and 10GHz Contest
runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz
frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Tuesday the 1st of August, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs
from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator.
Also on Tuesday the 1st of August, the 144MHz UK Activity Contest
runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the
exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Wednesday the 2nd of August, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour
Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the
exchange is report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the
2nd of August, the 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from
1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and
four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may
also enter the two-hour contest.
On Saturday the 5th of August, the EU HF Championship runs from 0000
to 2359UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, the exchange is
signal report and last two digits of the year you were first
licensed.
On Saturday the 5th of August, the 4th 144MHz Backpackers Contest
runs from 1400 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the
exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and two-letter
postcode.
Also on Saturday the 5th of August, the 144MHz Low Power Contest runs
from 1400 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number, locator and two-letter postcode.
The Worked all Britain 144MHz Low Power contest takes place on
Saturday the 5th of August from 1400 to 1800UTC. Please note that the
maximum power that can be used in this contest has been increased to
25W. The exchange is report, serial number and Worked all Britain
square, if applicable. Entries should be submitted to the contest
manager by the 15th of August. For full details of the rules please
see the Worked all Britain website.
On Sunday the 6th of August, the 432MHz Low Power Contest runs from
0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number, locator and two-letter postcode.
The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon ends its three-month run on
Sunday the 6th of August. Using all modes on the 6m band, the
exchange is your four-character locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO
on Thursday the 27th of July 2023
It was a mixed bag last week with periods of settled conditions, but
two periods when the Kp index was above four. These unsettled
geomagnetic conditions impacted HF, subduing signals and generally
not helping at all.
The cause was a coronal mass ejection, or CME, that passed Earth late
on Tuesday the 25th of July. This triggered a minor G1 geomagnetic
storm with the solar wind speed above 500km/s and the Bz component of
the interplanetary magnetic field pointing south.
By the early hours of Thursday morning, the Kp index was down to
2.33, but there was talk of another CME threatening to push it up
again.
We 'dodged a bullet' on the 24th of July when a large halo CME was
observed leaving the Sun. It was so powerful that, despite taking
place on the other side of the Sun, energetic proton levels streamed
past Earth. By Wednesday lunchtime things were back to normal.
By Thursday there were ten active regions visible on the Sun, with a
solar flux of 167.
Daytime HF conditions are still relatively poor, although the
evenings are beginning to show an improvement. We probably won't see
a return to excellent HF conditions until September or October.
Having said that, at 1230UTC on Thursday there were openings on 15m
FT8 to Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Anguilla,
despite the predicted MUF over 3,000km being around 19MHz. In other
words, make sure you actually listen on the bands!
Next week NOAA predicts that the Solar Flux Index will be in the
range 155 to 170. The Kp index is forecast to be around two. There
may be a blip on Wednesday the 3rd of August when it is forecast to
rise to three.
As always, this is likely to change if we get more solar flares and
associated CMEs.
And now the VHF and up propagation news
The coming week is likely to continue its unsettled theme although,
unlike last week, this time we may find a temporary ridge of high
pressure building over southern England at the end of the week.
It's some way off and much could change before we get there, but
there is a hint of some Tropo next Friday, perhaps lasting into the
Saturday afternoon for the 144MHz Low Power Contest.
The rest of this week and much of next will, however, stay firmly in
the unsettled pattern with just rain scatter to console us.
The Sporadic-E season often provides activity on the 6m band into the
first week of September, so plenty of time to look for those chance
QSOs. Last week saw a huge opening to Japan and a smaller opening to
North America so there is still plenty to look for.
The current spell of unsettled weather is driven by a strong jet
stream across the Atlantic into northern Europe and may be a positive
sign for Sporadic-E paths that cross it, say to Iberia, round through
Italy to the Balkans.
Other modes are relatively-low probability when compared with
Sporadic-E, but the disturbed solar conditions could make aurora a
contender on those occasions when the Kp index is above five.
Meteor scatter activity continues to increase as we head into the
August Perseids, which peak around the 12th and 13th of August.
The Moon reaches minimum declination on Sunday, becoming positive
again late next Saturday so there will be short Moon windows early in
the week. Perigee is on Wednesday so path losses are low. 144MHz sky
noise is high this coming weekend turning low late 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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