GB2RS

GB2RS News

Sunday the 3rd of July 2022

The news headlines:

RSGB Regional vacancies

Tribute to Zorro, JH1AJT

Tonight@8 on Radio waves and antennas

The RSGB has vacancies for someone to be co-opted as the Regional Representative for Region 11 until the AGM in 2023. Region 11 covers Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and the Channel Islands. There are 13 RSGB Regional Representatives covering the whole of the UK and they must reside in the region they represent. There are also vacances for District Representatives for Dorset, North-East England and Lancashire. Details of the Regional Team can be found on the RSGB website rsgb.org.uk. If you are interested in becoming part of the Regional Team please contact David, M0MBD on 01234 481 412 or [email protected].

3D2AJT is the special callsign that Dom, 3D2USU will be using for one month from Nadi in the Fiji Islands in memory of the late Yasuo ‘Zorro’ Miyazawa, JH1AJT. Activity will end on 27 July, which would have marked Zorro's 73rd birthday. Zorro was also known for his DXpeditions and charitable work on behalf of children in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Japan and elsewhere. The special event operators will be on the air using CW, SSB, FT4 and FT8. QSL via Club Log's OQRS. You can read more on qrz.com.

Tonight @8 will take place on Monday, the 4th of July. This is the final lecture before the summer break. Peter Duffett-Smith, G3XJE will be looking at Radio waves and antennas…and all that. His presentation covers a range of antenna-related information so there should be something for everyone. Tonight@8 webinars are live-streamed on the RSGB’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/thersgb.

During the recent HamRadio show in Germany, the IARU Region 1 Spectrum Regulation and Liaison Committee chair took part in a joint session with the R1 Political Relations Committee. The session highlighted the connections the SRLC maintains with Region 1 regulatory bodies and the work carried out since early 2021. This included engagement in the WRC23 preparatory activities in a number of regional bodies and the detailed study work both with the ITU and CEPT. Topics affecting amateur spectrum bands were summarised with particular attention being paid to the 23cm band topic on the agenda of WRC23. The SRLC slide set can be found at iaru-r1.org.

The TX5N DXpedition that took place in April from the Austral Islands, OC-114, has updated the information on QSL cards. All TX5N QSL cards were taken to the post office on the 30th of June so please allow sufficient time for the card to reach you. Bureau cards will be shipped to the individual IARU bureaux in the next bureau mailing that is scheduled for Summer 2022. QSL via M0URX.

Dennis, G7AGZ has been fundraising for Cornwall Hospice Care since 1991. This year, he will be attempting a six peak Summits On The Air challenge. He will be climbing some of the most popular summits in the UK and hopes to activate an amateur radio station at the top of each summit, subject to the weather. The six peaks will be Snowdon, Scafell Pike, Old Man of Coniston, Helvellyn, Skiddaw and Ben Nevis. Keep an eye on qrz.com under the special event callsign GB0CHC.

And now for details of rallies and events

Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to [email protected]. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.

Today, the 3rd, the Cornish RAC Rally will take place at Penair School, St Clement, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1TN. Doors open at 10am with a £2 admission. There will be a Bring & Buy, traders and local club stands. Refreshments are available on site. Find out more at gx4crc.com.

Sunday the 3rd of July is also the date for the traditional Barford Norfolk Radio Rally at Barford Village Hall. Doors open at 9am. Most of the stands are outside but inside the village hall there is a Bring & Buy, RSGB bookstand, Morse display and refreshments. A Norfolk ARC club stand is outside the hall with a radio raffle in aid of the clubs 2022 nominated charity, Cancer Research UK. Admission is £2 per person with under 16s free. Outside selling pitches are £8 and there is no need to prebook.

On Saturday, the 9th of July, the Houghton Radio Club Free Radio Rally will be held in the Dubmire Royal British Legion Club, Britannia Terrace, Fencehouses DH4 6LJ. The doors will be open between 10am and 3pm. The rally is open to trade, clubs and private sellers and exhibitors. Table space is limited. There is no charge for tables and entry is free. Donations are welcome to the Royal British Legion Club. Tea and coffees will be available and a licenced bar from 11am. Anyone wishing to book tables please contact Amanda, M6LXK at [email protected].

Now the DX news

Henri, OH3JR and Pertti, OG2M will be operating as OJ0JR and OJ0MR respectively from Market Reef until the 6th of July. They are there on work assignment. Activity will be in their spare time on the HF bands using CW, some SSB, and FT8. QSL OJ0MR direct to OG2M and OJ0JR via OH3JR.

Bo, OZ1DJJ will be active as OX3LX from Upernarvik Island, Greenland, NA-134, until the 11th of July. Activity will be on the HF bands with a focus on 6 metres and 4 metres. QSL via OZ0J.

Paul, F6EXV and Florian, PB8DX will be active from Monaco between the 6th and 14th of July. They will be using 3A6M on 6 metres, as well as 3A/F6EXV and 3A/PB8DX on the HF bands. QSLs for all callsigns via Club Log's OQRS both direct and via the bureau, and Logbook of The World after six months.

Franco, IZ5IUY will be active as IL7/IZ5IUY from San Domino Island, EU-050, until the 21st of July. He will operate SSB, FT8 and FT4 on the HF bands. QSL via his home callsign, the bureau is preferred.

Rafael, NN3RP will be active holiday style as YN2RP from Nicaragua between the 5th of July and the 2nd of August. He will operate SSB, CW and digital modes on various bands, and will also be active on FM satellites. QSL via Logbook of The World, eQSL or direct to NN3RP.

Now the Special Event news

Durham and District ARS is participating as one of the bonus stations in the 13 Colonies Special Event. GB13COL has been issued for this event and will run from the club station until 0400UTC on Friday, the 8th of July. The primary focus of the event will be the HF bands, including VHF, UHF & Satellite for QSOs using SSB, CW, FM, and various digital modes. More information at 13colonies.us.

On Saturday and Sunday the 9th and 10th of July, Bishop Auckland RAC and Wearside Electronics and Amateur Radio Society are activating GB4BM from Beamish Museum at Beamish, Chester-le Street, Durham. Operations start at 10am. If you wish to attend and assist in the event contact Ian, G7MFN at [email protected]. All are welcome.

Now the contest news

This weekend is the RSGB VHF National Field Day ending its 24-hour run at 1400UTC today, the 3rd. The contest uses the 50, 70, 144 and 432MHz bands as well as 1.3GHz. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Today, Sunday the 3rd of July, the third 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1000 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Monday the 4th, the CW leg of the 80m Club Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

Tuesday sees the 144MHz FM Activity Contest run between 1800 and 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is the same, signal report, serial number and locator.

The 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest takes place on Wednesday the 6th between 1900 and 2100UTC. The exchange is report and your 4-character locator.

Next weekend, the 9th and 10th of July, is the IARU HF Championship. It runs for 24 hours from 1200UTC on the 9th and uses the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted. The exchange is signal report and your ITU Zone. For the UK this is 27.

Next Sunday, the 10th of July, the UK Microwave Group 24, 47 and 76GHz contest takes place between 0900 and 1700. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon is still taking place, ending on the 2nd of August. Using all modes, stations exchange their 4-character locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 1st of July 2022.

Last week was not a good one for HF propagation in general. There were many complaints from amateurs about poor conditions that can be explained by a combination of low solar flux levels and unsettled geomagnetic conditions.

The SFI started the week last Sunday at 102 but then dropped to 98 the following day. It subsequently continued to drop, reaching 92 by Thursday. At the same time, the Kp index reached five and it continued to be unsettled into Monday.

The effects on the ionosphere were not good, with maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path struggling to reach 18MHz. Conditions improved as the week went on with F2-layer MUFs back into the 21MHz region by Thursday.

This is fairly typical of Summer ionospheric conditions, leaving Sporadic-E as the likely main propagation mode on 10 metres until the Autumn.

Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will start to climb again, perhaps peaking at 140 by the 11th of July. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be stable with an average Kp index of two, until the 10th when it could reach four.

As long as we don’t have any coronal mass ejections during this time this could mean slightly better F2-layer conditions next week. As always, Sporadic-E may provide loud short-skip signals on the upper bands. Watch out for multi-hop Es paths which are harder to predict.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

With VHF National Field Day, this weekend we would all like conditions at their best, and with the Sporadic-E season still in full swing, that's a possibility.

The position of the jet stream is often instrumental in defining the directions that perform for Es and this weekend it looks to be a close-by jet stream over the near continent. This means paths towards central and southeast Europe plus the Baltic and Scandinavia. You might be able to get some notion of how it's developing by Googling and looking at the ionosonde from Dourbes in Belgium for spikes in the foEs trace.

With low pressure close to Scotland over the weekend, it's only southern UK under a weak ridge that will see any Tropo. This will typically be better overnight and around the coasts for paths into the continent across the North Sea or the English Channel.

So unless you are on the coast, your tropo options will diminish early this Sunday morning once the solar heating starts to break down the overnight temperature inversion.

The UKAC 144MHz contest on Tuesday evening looks a better prospect with high pressure nudging towards western Britain and a chance that conditions may be slightly up, even for more northern stations.

With some showery episodes likely, rain scatter is always a possibility, but decaying as the high moves in later. The clusters should tell you if aurora or random meteor scatter are viable options.

Just one meteor shower this week, the July Pegasids active from the 4th of July to the 14th, but its Zenithal Hourly Rate is low at around five. Meteor showers in July are at their best around the end of the month, particularly the Southern delta-Aquariids, peaking on the 30th of July. The maximum ZHR of this shower is around 25 over two days. The radiant of this shower is above the horizon in the UK during the night and early morning.

Moon declination goes negative this coming Wednesday so expect lower peak elevation and shortening Moon visibility windows for EME. Path losses are dropping as we head towards perigee a week on Wednesday. 144MHz sky noise is low all week.

And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News

Sunday the 26th of June 2022

The news headlines:

RSGB joins IARU Region 1 meeting

GB70D on air from the Isle of Man

Tonight@8 on Monday

RSGB volunteers and staff contributed to the IARU Region 1 Interim meeting at Friedrichshafen on Thursday the 23rd of June. The meeting covered topics across HF, VHF and UHF as well as Microwave and EMC matters. This included the latest state of preparations for WRC-23 where agenda item 9.1B on the protection of satellite navigation systems, such as Galileo in the 23cm band, was of prime interest. Slides showing the current state and this potentially significant threat to the radio amateur and amateur satellite services have been published on the RSGB special focus page at rsgb.org/wrc-23. The IARU, supported by the RSGB, continues to work hard to reduce any impact.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee station GB70D is based on the Isle of Man. On Tuesday the 28th, it will be based in the grounds of Government House. It is hoped that the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man and Lady Philippa will participate for several periods during the day. The station plans to operate on 2m, as well as SSB and CW on most bands from 40m up. Operations start around 9.30am.

Tonight @8 will take place on Monday, the 4th of July. This is the final lecture before the summer break. Peter Duffett-Smith, G3XJE will be looking at Radio waves and antennas…and all that. His presentation covers a range of antenna-related information so there should be something for everyone. Tonight@8 webinars are live-streamed on the RSGB’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/thersgb.

The 98-year-old 200kW Alexanderson alternator, callsign SAQ, will not be able to air on Alexanderson Day, Sunday the 3rd of July. This is due to difficulties in obtaining components in the ongoing maintenance work. The Alexander Association welcomes visitors to the museum on the 3rd from 10am to 4pm. Together with the World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station they will offer many activities for the whole family during the day. There will be two transmitter startups with SAQ, but without any transmission over the antenna.

National society in Iceland, IRA, reports on the renewal of special authorisation to use 50MHz. Icelandic licensees have been granted increased power licenses in the 50-50.5MHz frequency range until the 31st of September. Full licensees are allowed to use up to 1kW and Novice licensees up to 100W.

The 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held as part of the RSGB Convention on the 8th and 9th of October at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. The weekend event attracts an international audience that ranges from those involved in building and operating amateur radio satellites to beginners who wish to find out more about this fascinating branch of the hobby. Find out more at amsat-uk.org or rsgb.org/convention.

And now for details of rallies and events

Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to [email protected]. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.

Today, the 26th of June, the Newbury Radio Rally will be held at the Newbury Showground, next to junction 13 of the M4 motorway in Berkshire. Over a hundred sellers, national societies and a demonstration marquee will be there. It is open to the public from 9am with admission £2.50. There is free parking on site.

On Saturday, the 2nd of July, the Laugharne Radio Rally will be held in the Millennium Memorial Hall, Laugharne near Carmarthen SA33 4QG. Doors open 10am until 12 noon. Details from Matthew on 0739 882 5024.

Next Sunday, the 3rd, The Cornish RAC Rally will take place in Penair School, St Clement, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1TN. Doors open at 10am with a £2 admission. There will be a Bring & Buy, traders and local club stands. Refreshments are available on site. Find out more at gx4crc.com.

Next Sunday is also the Barford Norfolk Radio Rally at Barford Village Hall. Doors open at 9am. Visit norfolkamateurradio.org for more information.

Now the DX news

Eric, KV1J will be active as FP/KV1J from Miquelon Island, NA-032, from the 28th of June to the 12th of July. Plans are to operate SSB, RTTY and FT8, plus some FT4 and CW on the 6 to 80m bands. QSL via his home call either direct or via the bureau, Logbook of The World and eQSL.

Joe, OZ0J will be active as HB0/OZ0J from Liechtenstein from the 28th of June to the 5th of July. He plans to operate SSB, CW and FT8 on the 6 to 40m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World, Club Log's OQRS, eQSL, or via his home call.

David, DL7ZM is active as 7O/DL7ZM from Socotra Island, AF-028, in Yemen until the 3rd of July. Activity is on 10 meters using CW and FT8, and on 6 meters as well. QSL details on QRZ.com

Now the Special Event news

Members of The Angel of the North ARC will be running GB0UUR to celebrate the life of their late Club Secretary and RSGB ex Deputy Regional Manager, Nancy Bone, G7UUR. This event will take place during the afternoon of Saturday the 2nd of July.

Durham and District ARS is participating as one of the bonus stations in the 13 Colonies Special Event. GB13COL has been issued for this event and will run from the club station from 1300UTC on the 1st of July until 0400UTC on the 8th. The primary focus of the event will be the HF bands, including VHF, UHF & Satellite for QSOs using SSB, CW, FM, and various digital modes. More information at 13colonies.us.

Now the contest news

Today, Sunday the 26th of June, there are three contests taking place. The CW leg of the 50MHz Contest runs between 0900 and 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The second contest today, the 26th, is the fourth 70MHz Cumulatives contest runs between 1400 and 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Finally for today, the 26th, the UK Microwave Group 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Monday, the RSGB FT4 Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using the 3.5, 7 and 14MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report and 4-character locator.

Tuesday sees the SHF UK Activity Contest taking place between 1830 and 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next weekend, the 2nd and 3rd of July, is the RSGB VHF National Field Day. Running for 24-hours from 1400UTC on the 2nd, the contest uses the 50, 70, 144 and 432MHz bands as well as 1.3GHz. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next Sunday, the 3rd of July, the 3rd 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1000 to 1500UTC. 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 24th of June 2022.

As predicted, the solar flux index fell back this week, but it didn’t fall as low as experts predicted. On Thursday, it stood at 129, but with three sunspot groups about to rotate off the visible surface, it looks like it may now fall lower.

We are now well and truly into the summer season for HF propagation, which can be characterised as providing lower maximum usable frequencies during the day, but higher MUFs at night. Sporadic-E remains the most common mode of propagation on the higher bands, with F2-layer MUFs over 3,000 kilometres generally not exceeding 21MHz for most of the day. But more on Sporadic E in the VHF segment of this report.

The good news is that 20 metres stays open later, often providing paths over 3,000km up until midnight. The higher bands, that is 17 metres, 15 metres and perhaps 12 metres, may generally provide good paths to South America in the evenings, with 20-metre paths being the last to close.

But we’re afraid we may have to wait until September to see good reliable paths into North America on HF once again.

Next week, NOAA predicts that the SFI will remain around the 100 mark, so we may expect lower MUFs again, apart from Es openings. Geomagnetic conditions should generally be quiet with a maximum Kp index of two once we get over any disturbance this weekend due to a high-speed solar wind stream.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The recent very warm and humid weather has produced some occasional Tropo with the British Isles being on the edge of high pressure, mainly over the near continent. This may still happen occasionally in the coming week, but the fundamental characteristic for next week is low pressure and unsettled weather over the UK. This will produce some rain, with thunderstorms a possibility, and rain scatter will crop up as a useful mode on the upper GHz bands at times.

The many online weather radar displays will allow you to keep a track of storms as they develop. When low pressure is centred over the country the showers may be longer-lasting and not decay overnight, so this period looks more promising than the usual mainly daytime shower distribution.

The Sporadic-E season is in full swing, but in a rather restrained way since openings have been fairly limited and often fleeting. The presence of jet streams on the weather charts is a good indicator of regions where Es is more likely and the coming week offers a good variety of options, so if Sporadic-E is hard to find then perhaps other parameters may not be optimal; for example, the meteor input is a crucial component in the development of Es. Check the daily conditions for jet streams on the Propquest.co.uk EPI maps and Es blog.

The June meteor showers, mentioned last week, continue into early July so keep checking meteor scatter conditions between the Es.

With the Moon at maximum declination on Wednesday, Moon windows are long this week. Today, Sunday the 26th of June, the Moon is at apogee, or its furthest point from Earth, so path losses are at their highest, and for around four hours after UK Moonrise on Wednesday the Sun is close to the Moon so noise will be high at that time.

And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News

Sunday the 19th of June 2022

The news headlines:

Region 1 Monitoring Service newsletter

IARU VHF and up matters

GI-QRP Convention

The latest IARU Region 1 Monitoring Service newsletter detailing intruders in the amateur bands is available at iaru-r1.org. Radars continue to be the most numerous and harmful intrusions in our bands. For the last couple of months monitoring have been receiving signals whose function they have not yet been able to identify. The most common one has a bandwidth of about 8kHz, seems to consist of a central carrier and is most frequently found in the 20 and 40m bands.

For those with a particular interest in VHF matters, the IARU Region 1 VHF+ Newsletter number 89 is available from the same website, iaru-r1.org. It contains details of the interim hybrid meeting due to be held during the radio show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Subjects for discussion include preparation for the ITU World Radio Conference, WRC23, particularly regarding the 23cm band. It also has details of IARU VHF and up contests and trophies.

The GI-QRP Convention will take place on Saturday the 25th of June at the Tandragee Golf Club. This event is supported by the G-QRP Club. There will be trade stands, talks and presentations relating to QRP construction and operating. The talks will be streamed live online for those unable to attend. A Buildathon will also take place, where participants, under supervision, will construct a Morse tutor. Advance booking for the Buildathon is advised. There are concessionary prices for junior constructors. Doors open at 9.30am and the event closes at 5pm. Details are at gqrp.com, just click on the GQRP Convention tab on the left-hand side.

A date for your diary now. The next Tonight @8 lecture will take place on the 4th of July. This is the final lecture before the summer break. On the 4th, Peter Duffett-Smith, G3XJE will be looking at Radio waves and antennas…and all that. His presentation covers a range of antenna-related information so there should be something for everyone. Tonight@8 webinars are live-streamed on the RSGB’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/thersgb.

James Bertram, GM0GMN has been involved in amateur radio since he was a teenager when he first joined the RSGB. He is very active on HF, VHF and UHF with a particular interest in HF DX and DMR. James is also the Secretary of The International Police Association Radio Club, which has more than 100 members. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

The radio station VP8GGM at the Goose Green Military Museum in the Falkland Islands will be on air during the International Museum Weekends. You can listen for them today, this weekend the 18th and 19th and next weekend, the 25th and 26th. QSL direct to VP8ADR.

The KL7RRC IOTA DXpedition to Kiska Island, NA-070, has been rescheduled and is now expected to take place between the 23rd and the 28th July. The team includes KL5CX, N3QQ, N7QT, NL8F and W8HC. They will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on the 6 to 40m bands with three stations. QSL via N7RO. See na-234.com for more information.

And now for details of rallies and events

Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to [email protected]. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.

Today, Sunday the 19th of June, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival will take place at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW. The venue is just off the A14. There is free car parking, and doors open at 9.30am. Admission is £2. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, Bring & Buy, special interest groups, GB4SWR HF station and an RSGB bookstall. More from Kevin, G8MXV on 0771 004 6846.

Between the 24th and 26th of June, the HamRadio show in Friedrichshafen, Germany will have exhibitors and visitors from 52 countries. There is also a large flea market with around 300 stalls, talks, meetings, socialising and much more. There will be an RSGB stand and staff and volunteers look forward to meeting the many amateurs from around the world. The RSGB President, Spectrum Forum Manager and General Manager will be attending a variety of IARU meetings, representing the interests of all UK amateurs.

Next Saturday, the 25th June, the GI-QRP Convention will be held at the Tandragee Golf Club in Craigavon. Doors open at 9am and presentations start at 10am. Contact Philip, MI0MSO, 0784 902 5760, [email protected].

Now the DX news

Alex, SQ9UM is on the air as SV2/SQ9UM from Poliouri in Greece until the 24th of June. In addition, Chris, OE5CFH is operating as SV8/OE5CFH from Corfu Island, EU-052, until the 21st of June. QSL to home calls.

Ali, EP3CQ is operating as 6O1OO [six Oscar one Oscar Oscar] from Mogadishu and is there for about one month while working for the UN Department of Safety and Security. Activity is in his spare time on the 15 to 80m bands using some CW, with FT8 and FT4. QSL direct to home call.

Now the Special Event news

GB100MW will be operated on Saturday the 25th of June by Medway Amateur Receiving Transmitting Society. They will be located at the Medway Armed Forces Day regional event at the Heritage Park on the Lines, Gillingham, Kent. Further details of this event can be found on QRZ under GB100MW.

The G-QRP Club Callsign will be active as GI5LOW for the first time in the lead up to, and during, the Convention.

Kevin, ZB2GI is operating with special event callsign ZQ2GI until the 30th of June to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. QSL to his home callsign.

Members of The Angel of the North ARC will be running GB0UUR to celebrate the life of their late Club Secretary and RSGB ex Deputy Regional Manager, Nancy Bone, G7UUR. This event will take place during the afternoon of Saturday the 2nd of July.

Now the contest news

The 50MHz Trophy Contest ends its 24-hour run at 1400UTC on the 19th. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The All-Asian DX contest runs for 48 hours and ends at 2359UTC on the 19th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and age.

The Worked all Britain 50MHz contest takes place today, Sunday the 19th of June, from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using AM, FM and SSB, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square if applicable. For the full rules please see the WAB website. Entries should be with the contest manager by the 29th of June.

The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August, with contacts on the 50MHz band exchanging your 4-character locator.

On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday, the SSB leg of the 80m Club Championships runs between 1900 and 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

Next weekend, on Sunday the 26th of June there are three contests taking place. The CW leg of the 50MHz Contest runs between 0900 and 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The fourth 70MHz Cumulatives contest runs between 1400 and 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The UK Microwave Group 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. 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 17th of June 2022.

We said that last week’s relatively low solar flux index wouldn’t last very long and it looks like we were right. This week we have had an SFI that started at 121 and just kept climbing, peaking at 149 on the 15th. Unfortunately, we have also had some plasma to contend with thanks to the combined effects of a coronal hole high-speed stream, along with a bright coronal mass ejection observed on Monday. These pushed the Kp index to five on Wednesday the 15th.

Luckily a long-duration eruption, LDE, measuring M3.4 detected around active region 3030 on Monday was directed away from Earth and missed us completely. But it does show that we can expect more in the way of CMEs as we head towards the peak of solar cycle 25.

F2-layer MUFs over a 3,000km path have regularly exceeded 21MHz and often 24MHz. There have also been some occasional 10m F2-layer openings, with Sporadic-E and multi-hop Es events as other likely modes of propagation. As a result, there have been many reports of DX being worked, including Vasco, 7Q7CT in Malawi and Harald, 9X2AW in Rwanda on 10-metre FT8.

The USAF predicts that the SFI will be around 136 this Sunday, falling back to 100 as the week wears on.

Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be unsettled around the 24th, although we could be in for a rough ride overall next week due to any unexpected CME from one of the numerous sunspots that have been flaring recently.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

We ended last week with high pressure nearby for southern Britain with a low-pressure north of Scotland pushing a cold front south. So Tropo in southern areas is getting displaced as the pattern becomes more unsettled and after some very high temperatures.

The bulk of the coming week sees high pressure off to the west and a cooler north-westerly flow over the country with some showery periods too. This presents the prospect of rain scatter, but somewhat limited Tropo conditions, chiefly for western-most parts and Ireland down to Biscay and Spain.

The Sporadic-E season is in full swing, although in the last week conditions have not been quite so exciting, apart from the magnificent opening to the States last Sunday evening. Widespread activity as far as Mexico and Texas doesn’t happen often and plots of the weather patterns showed that there were multiple jet stream areas of activity to make up the required sequence of four or five hops of Es.

Since the weather pattern driving this was not exceptional, it suggests that it could happen again, so perhaps keep the notion of checking 6m as late as mid-evening 2000-2200UTC in your back pocket during the rest of the month.

There are still plenty of meteor showers to fill in between the Sporadic-E in June. The Aretids, Zeta-Perseids, Beta-Taurids and June Bootids are all active this week. The latter is generally low activity, but it produced unexpected activity in 1998 with a ZHR up to 100 for more than half a day and in 2004 with a ZHR up to 50 over a similar period.

Moon declination goes positive again on Wednesday, and we are past this month’s perigee, so increasing Moon availability and increasing path losses is the story for EME enthusiasts this week. 144MHz sky noise is low, not exceeding 300 Kelvin until Thursday.

And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News

Sunday the 12th of June 2022

The news headlines:

Feedback on HF band changes welcome

Gateways on the Air

GI-QRP Convention

Amateurs are reminded that IARU Region-1 is holding its Interim Meeting on the 23rd of June. As outlined in the recent June RadCom, feedback is welcomed on proposals for global HF band changes to accommodate growth in digital modes and related matters. The meeting will also consider a series of Spectrum and EMC matters. The RSGB has a consultation page with the background and document links available at thersgb.org/gb2rs/017. Feedback should be posted to the RSGB-Workshop forum groups.io/g/RSGB-Workshop by end of Sunday the 19th of June.

Gateways On The Air event will be on the air between the 11th and 19th of June and is hosted on the FreeSTAR Multimode Network. The aim of the event is to promote increased RF voice communications via analogue and digital Simplex Gateways. Licensed amateurs are encouraged to go outside into the fresh air, either when portable or mobile, to work a Simplex Gateway from a location of public interest. GOTA is a “just for fun” event with two categories for both Activators and Chasers. To connect your Simplex Gateway to the event please email [email protected]. For more information visit GOTA.org.uk.

Tickets are now on sale for some of the things going on at the GI-QRP Convention; the first to take place in Northern Ireland for many years. This is being organised by members of the RSGB Region 8 team, in conjunction with the G-QRP Club. The event takes place at the Tandragee Golf Club on the 25th of June. There are talks, trade stalls and a number of Buildathon workshops. There is no need to book if you just wish to attend in person. You do need to book if you want to have a buffet lunch or join in the Buildathon at the event or join the live streaming of the talks and have access to the recordings after the event, from home. Details gqrp.com/GI_Convention.htm.

A new Kenwood TM-D710GA transceiver has been installed on the International Space Station. The old amateur radio equipment was dismantled, and the new kit will be used for transmitting Slow Scan TV images on 145.800MHz FM, probably using the SSTV mode PD-120. The signal should be receivable on a handheld with a quarter-wave whip. You can get predictions for the ISS pass times at amsat.org/track.

The Oscar 100 Award is an international award aimed at promoting experimental activities and radio contacts via the geosynchronous satellite QO-100. Participants should contact as many stations and DXCC Countries as possible via the satellite. The award lasts six months, ending at 23:59UTC on 31 December. Details are at arifidenza.it.

The first 6m QSO in Poland was made on the 5th of June 1992 at 12:53UTC between 3Z4PAR and IK1EGC. Celebrating the 30th anniversary, 3Z30PAR will be active until the end of the year. QSL via Logbook of The World and SP4KM either direct or via the bureau.

The Irish Radio Transmitters Society was founded in 1932 and this year the society celebrates its 90th birthday. To mark the occasion the society will operate EI90IRTS. The call will be activated by Irish Radio Amateurs throughout 2022. See qrz.com for QSL details.

And now for details of rallies and events

Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to [email protected]. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.

Today, the 12th, two rallies are on the calendar. The Mendips Radio Rally is at Farrington Gurney Memorial Hall and Playing Fields, Church Lane, Farrington Gurney, Somerset BS39 6TY. There is free parking available, and doors will be open between 9.30 am and 1 pm. Admission is £3. There will be inside tables and a large field for car boot traders. Hot and cold refreshments will be available. For all enquiries call Luke on 07870 168 197.

The Junction 28 Radio Rally is taking place in Alfreton Leisure Centre, Church Street, DE55 7BD. Traders and club stands will be in the indoor hall alongside a bar and café. Admission is £3. More from Alan, M0OLT, [email protected].

Next Saturday, the 18th of June, the 53rd Bangor & District ARS Rally will take place in Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church, 376 Belfast Road, Ballyrobert, Bangor BT19 1UH. Doors open at 11.30 am. More from Andrew, MI0OBR on 07980 846 272.

Next Sunday, the 19th of June, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival will take place at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW. The venue is just off the A14. There is free car parking, and the doors open at 9.30 am. Admission is £2. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, Bring & Buy, special interest groups, GB4SWR HF station and an RSGB bookstall. More from Kevin, G8MXV on 0771 004 6846.

Now the DX news

Ryan, K0EFW will be active holiday style as S9EFW from Sao Tome, AF-023, between the 14th and 19th of June. He will operate mainly SSB on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands. QSL via his OQRS account and Logbook of The World. During this trip, he will set up a contest/remote station.

Len, K1NU will be active holiday style as K1JV/4 from Key Colony Beach on Shelter Key, NA-062, between the 11th and the 18th of June. He will focus on 6 metres FT8 when the band is open, and on 20 to 10m CW and FT8 when it is closed. QSL via Logbook of The World, Club Log, or direct to K1NU.

Dave, G4WXJ will be active as ZC4RH from the UK Sovereign Base Areas Cyprus, AS-004, until the 15th of June. He will operate CW, SSB and possibly FT8 on the 40 to 10m bands, and hopefully also via the QO-100 satellite. QSL via Logbook of The World, or via his home call.

Now the Special Event news

The camp for young amateur radio operators in North, Central, and South America will operate a special event station W8Y throughout the camp taking place from the 12th to the 17th of June.

The G-QRP Club Callsign will be active as GI5LOW for the first time in the lead-up to, and during, the Convention. It will go live for the first time at 0001UTC on the 17th of June, World QRP Day.

Now the contest news

The IARU ATV Contest ends its 30-hour run at 1800UTC today, the 12th. Using the 432MHz band and up, the exchange is the P number, serial number and locator.

Today, Sunday the 12th of June, the second 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also today, the 12th, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP contest runs from 0900 to 1600UTC. It is phone only and the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The maximum power allowed for this contest is 5W.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is a signal report, serial number and locator.

Wednesday sees the CW leg of the 80m Club Championship running from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is a signal report and serial number.

The 70MHz UK Activity Contest takes place between 1900 and 2130UTC on Thursday. Using all modes, the exchange is the signal report, a serial number and locator.

Next weekend the 50MHz Trophy Contest runs between 1400UTC on the 18th to 1400UTC on the 19th. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The All-Asian DX contest runs for 48 hours from 0000UTC on the 18th to 2359UTC on the 19th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and age.

The Worked All Britain 50MHz contest takes place on Sunday the 19th of June from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using AM, FM and SSB, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square if applicable. For the full rules please see the WAB website. Entries should be with the contest manager by the 29th of June.

The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August, with contacts on the 50MHz band exchanging your 4-character locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Wednesday the 10th of June 2022.

The sunspot number on Wednesday was zero with a solar flux index of 100. Given the high flux numbers, we have been seeing this as a little disappointing. The last time the visible disk was officially spotless was December 2021. The upside is that there has been little risk of coronal mass ejections and the Kp index has remained below three for more than a week.

Anecdotal reports showed that the upper HF bands have been quite quiet.

A couple of potential regions are currently behind the Sun’s east limb and will begin to turn into view during the next few days. NOAA predicts that the SFI will increase slightly to perhaps 110 at first and then up to 125 by the 19th of June.

While F2-layer openings may be peaking at around 15 metres this month, Sporadic E should bring lots of strong short-skip openings from 14MHz to 28MHz. June is a good month for Es openings. Check out 10 metres at peak Es times of mid-to-late morning and mid-to-late afternoon. Early evening can also bring surprises as well. For novelty’s sake alone, listen out for the HB9HD 10m repeater on 29.650MHz in Switzerland, complete with its musical box ident!

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

We start the week with high pressure over mainland Europe. The Hepburn tropo charts predict that we may see lift conditions over southern England this weekend. Paths from locations south of London may be possible into northern France and the low countries, with a slight possibility of extended tropo towards southern France. These opportunities may tend to dissipate as we head into next week.

For stations in the north of England, there may be fewer opportunities for tropo DX as low pressure is predicted to pass to the northwest of the country. Microwave rain scatter opportunities may be available though. From mid-week onwards, the most likely scenario is for low pressure to the north of the UK to clear as high pressure builds from the west, which may bring tropo opportunities to northern areas.

There are always Sporadic-E opportunities available in June, with many good openings reported over the last seven days.

The first half of June is one of the best periods of the year for daylight meteor scatter-DXing but is often masked by Sporadic-E propagation. We have already seen the peak of two daytime meteor showers, namely the Arietids and zeta-Perseids last week, but as they are both characterised by a broad maximum and high ZHR value, they continue to be useful. The best time for them is early morning for North to North-East and South to South-West directions, and early afternoon for North to North-West and South to South-East directions.

With the Moon approaching perigee, its closest point to Earth, on Tuesday, path losses for EME will be at their lowest. This sadly coincides with minimum declination on Wednesday, with short moon visibility windows and low peak moon elevation. 144MHz sky noise will peak on Tuesday and Wednesday at a little over 3100K.

And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News

The news headlines:

The hobby of amateur radio, and portable operating in particular, will receive some television coverage today, Sunday the 5th of June. The long-running BBC Countryfile programme airs at 6 pm on the main BBC 1 channel. It will be based from Flat Holm Island in the Bristol Channel, the site of Marconi's first radio transmissions over the sea. Presenters Ellie Harrison and Matt Baker will be with leading Summits on the Air operator Ben Lloyd, GW4BML as he sets up a portable station on the island in order to contact SOTA activators on hill and mountain summits around the UK.

And now for details of rallies and events 

Now the DX news

Now the Special Event news

Now the contest news

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Wednesday the 1st of June 2022.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

GB2RS News

The news headlines:

It isn’t long now until the RSGB’s Platinum Jubilee activities kick-off. You can start using the Regional Secondary Locator, the letter Q, on the 1st of June. The free-of-charge Notice of Variation to your licence that is needed is available via the RSGB website, see rsgb.org/jubilee. If you want to retain your usual Regional Secondary Locator you may use the suffix /70 to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. An NoV is not necessary for the /70 addition to your callsign.

And now for details of rallies and events 

Now the DX news

Now the Special Event news

Now the contest news

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 27th of May 2022.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

GB2RS News

The news headlines:

It isn’t long now until the RSGB’s Platinum Jubilee activities kick-off. There is a wide range of things to be part of, from using the /70 suffix to creating something for the Innovation 70 competition or having a go at the WSPR 70 fun challenge. There is also still time to activate one of the seven special GB70 call signs. Details of how to take part are on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/jubilee.

And now for details of rallies and events 

Now the DX news

Now the Special Event news

Now the contest news

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 20th of May 2022.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

 GB2RS News

The news headlines:

The RSGB has launched the Innovation 70 competition as part of its Platinum Jubilee activities. The challenge is to design and build a useful piece of equipment with no more than 70 connections, or a useful piece of software with no more than 70 lines of code. A selection of the most innovative entries will be published in RadCom and on the RSGB website. The RSGB Technical Forum will judge the entries and the results will be announced at the end of the year. The closing date is the 30th of September. Go to rsgb.org/jubilee and click on the Innovation 70 section to find out more. 

And now for details of rallies and events 

Now the DX news

Now the Special Event news

Now the contest news

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 13th of May 2022.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.