GB2RS

GB2RS News

Sunday the 27th of February 2022

The news headlines:

• RSGB Convention survey

The RSGB is planning a hybrid Convention this year that will combine the benefits of meeting in person with access to high-quality content online for those who can’t attend. The Society would like to hear your views to help shape this event. It is also looking for a Convention Chair to lead the team of people who create the 2022 Convention. For links to the survey and fuller information about the Convention Chair role, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/convention

Callum McCormick, M0MCX and Joseph Kasser, G3ZCZ are among the 60 plus speakers at the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo. This virtual amateur radio gathering will be live on the 12th and the 13th of March. Other names you may recognise are Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR the founder of FlexRadio, Carl, K9LA an RSGB Convention regular and Bob Heil, K9EID founder of Heil Sound. You can find out more at qsotodayhamexpo.com.

The RSGB has heard from Anatoly, UT3UY, the Vice-President of the Ukrainian national society, saying that there is a ban on the operation of amateur radio stations in the Ukraine for 30 days that started on the 24th of February. The IARU Region 1 Secretary said. “The IARU Region 1 continues to monitor the development and expects all radio amateurs to follow their national laws and regulations”.

The latest edition of “The 5MHz Newsletter” celebrates its 10th birthday. It is now available for free pdf download from the RSGB 5MHz page thersgb.org/gb2rs/016. This edition includes 5MHz news from six countries, Exercise Blue Ham 22 – 1 and the Wiki 60 Meter Band page.

The RSGB has launched a new set of web pages to draw together the RSGB's activities for Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. More activities are planned and we'll be adding details to this web section over the coming weeks. You can find all the information in one place at rsgb.org/jubilee.

The organisers of the Saint Patrick’s Day award have announced the launch of a new web page where visitors can learn everything they need to know about the award. On the web page, you will find the simple registration form to be completed by all participants in this year’s festivities that will be running from the 16th to the 18th of March. The new page can be accessed at stpatricksaward.com.

Are you a member of a university or college amateur radio club? Would you like to start a new club? The RSGB has an online list of names, callsigns and contact details to help university and college radio amateurs get in touch with each other. If you’re a student and not licensed but would like to learn about amateur radio, you could also use the University Corner list to find out more. Go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/university-corner.

Following a successful 2021 season, three more Youngsters-On-The-Air contest sessions will take place in 2022. The three sessions will be taking place on the 21st of May, 23rd of July and 30th of December. More details nearer the time, but you can find out more in the News section of www.ham-yota.com/contest.

And now for details of rallies and events

The Lagen Valley ARS Rally will take place on the 5th of March at the Hillsborough Village Centre, 7 Ballynahinch Road, BT26 6AR. Doors open at 11 am. For further details go to www.lvars.uk.

On the 6th of March, the Exeter Radio & Electronics Rally will be held in America Hall, De La Rue Way, Exeter EX4 8PW.

Also on the 6th, the Hack Green Bunker Rally will be held at the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 8AL. There will be electronic equipment, amateur gear, components, military radio items and vehicle spares. Doors open at 10 am.

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

Now the DX news

Philippe, F1DUZ will be active as FG4KH from Guadeloupe, NA-102, until the 15th of March. QSL via Logbook of The World, eQSL or via F1DUZ.

Paul, G8AFC will be operational from Pereybere on the north coast of Mauritius island from now until early April using the callsign 3B8HE. He will be principally on SSB using the 7 and 14MHz bands. The antennas are an off-centre dipole on lower HF bands and a Moxon Rectangle/sleeve coupled 2 element antenna on 10 and 6metres if conditions allow. The operation will be mostly daytime as propagation dictates and occasional evenings.

Now the Special Event news

H32AT is the special callsign that Jose, HP2AT is using until the end of the year to mark his 32 years in amateur radio. He uploads his log to qrz.com, Club Log and eQSL on a regular basis, and will upload all QSOs to Logbook of The World at the end of the activity. Paper QSL cards will not be available.

Special event station OR100RCBE will be active from 1 March to 31 December. It is a commemorative station celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Radio Club Belge de l'Est created in 1922. QSL via ON4GDV.

Now the contest news

When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules.

Due to the current events, the Belgian national society, the UBA, has decided to cancel the UBA DX CW contest that was scheduled to take place this weekend, the 26th and 27th of February.

Today, the 27th, the first 70MHz Cumulatives Contest runs from 1000-1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The FT4 Contest runs from 2000 to 2130UTC on Monday. The recommended frequencies are 3576, 3579 and 3582kHz on the 80m band, 7047.5 kHz on 40m and 14080kHz on the 20m-band. The exchange is signal report and your 4-character locator.

On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. It is followed by the all-mode UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange is the same for both, signal report, serial number and locator.

The 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest takes place on Wednesday from 1900 to 2100UTC. The exchange is a report and your 4-character locator. A serial number is not required.

Next weekend the March 144/432MHz contest runs for 24 hours from 1400UTC on the 5th of March. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The ARRL DX contest runs for 48 hours next weekend from 000UTC on the 5th of March. Stations outside the US and Canada should work as many contiguous states and provinces as possible. Using phone only on the contest sections of the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10-meter bands, the exchange is signal report and power. US and Canadian stations will send a signal report and their state or province.

Now the radio propagation report was compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 25th of February 2022.

It was not an outstanding week for HF propagation with low solar flux index numbers and an elevated Kp index at times. The week started off OK with the ARRL DX CW contest. This went quite well with 15 metres open as far as the Midwest in the afternoon, even for modestly-equipped stations. But with a solar flux below 100, the bands were never going to be alight. Geomagnetic conditions were mixed as well, with two periods where the Kp index rose to five. One of these was probably due to the solar wind from an Earth-facing coronal hole, which we spoke about last week.

The trouble is there is another coronal hole on the solar surface, which will be Earth-centric on Friday. So we potentially have a geomagnetic disturbance lined up for Sunday or Monday once again.

Sunspot-wise, NOAA predicts that we may get a slight upturn with the SFI just tipping into the low 100s. But it says we can only expect a maximum of 105, so nothing to get too excited about.

But other than the aforementioned solar wind stream from a coronal hole this weekend, the prediction is for a more settled Sun with a maximum Kp Index of two.

Propquest confirms the conditions, showing that the extrapolated MUF figures (based on the Chilton ionosonde data) show a maximum of about 21MHz during the day, with very occasional openings on 24MHz at times.

We may be heading towards solar maximum, but we still have a long way to go.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The weather will turn quieter for the coming week and although there will be some unsettled weather in the north and west at first, for most southern areas this weekend will start the sequence with a weak ridge of high pressure.

After a weakening front in the first part of the week, a new high will arrive and remain in control for much of next week. This could be good news for the 144MHz UK Activity Contest on Tuesday evening. Hopefully, some Tropo will be left over for the RSGB 144 / 432MHz contest over the following weekend 5/6th March, but at the moment it looks as though the high will be displaced a little to the west, leaving a colder northerly over the country and not ideal for Tropo despite the pressure being fairly high.

Other modes are possible, for example, there’s always the chance of aurora and random meteor scatter. We are still in the closed-season for traditional Sporadic-E, and low levels of meteor activity, but it's always worth a look at the beacons and clusters, just in case.

The Moon passed perigee today, so path losses are at their lowest, but combined with minimum declination yesterday Moon windows are short but increase throughout the week. The declination goes positive again on Friday.

144MHz sky noise is low to moderate all week, but the Sun and Moon are close to eclipse from 0900hrs Wednesday until Moonset, making EME difficult, especially at VHF.

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

GB2RS News

Sunday the 20th of February 2022

The news headlines:

ARISS to transmit SSTV today

RAYNET deployed during Storm Eunice

A new version of the Syllabus released

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station is planning a special SSTV experiment. The first experiment in the series will utilise ARISS approved ground stations in Europe that will transmit these digital SSTV signals. These will be available for all in the ISS footprint when SSTV transmissions occur. The first SSTV experiment is planned for today, 20 February, between 0510UTC and 1200UTC for five ISS passes over Europe. Please be aware that this event depends on ARISS IORS radio availabilities and ISS crew support, so last-minute changes may occur. The ARISS team will employ the ISS Kenwood radio in its cross-band repeater mode, with its downlink on 437.800MHz. Each transmission sequence will consist of a 1-minute 40-second transmission followed by 1 minute 20 seconds pause. The sequence will be repeated several times within an ISS pass over Europe. The ARISS team kindly request that the amateur radio community refrain from the use of the voice repeater during this SSTV experiment on the 20th of February.

Gloucester, Bristol and North Somerset RAYNET groups were deployed at 0500 on Friday the 18th of February as Storm Eunice hit the UK. Thirteen other groups had been put on alert and were on standby ready for deployment as necessary. The RSGB would like to thank all of those groups for helping their local communities.

The RSGB's Examinations Standards Committee and Exam Syllabus Review Group have released the latest version of the Syllabus. New regulations from Ofcom require all UK radio amateurs to comply with the international guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields. Syllabus 2019 version 1.5 includes learning points relating to these new licence conditions. The adoption date for this version is 1 September 2022, meaning that after that date the examinations will include questions on the new EMF-related material at all levels. You can see the updated syllabus on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/syllabus2019

TX Factor is back after a year’s break and the RSGB is delighted to sponsor Episode 28. Bob and Mike get to grips with constructing a digital voice modem using an MMDVM module kit and Raspberry Pi Zero, and Bob reviews the long-awaited ID-52 5W handheld transceiver from Icom. There’s a chance to win a bundle of books from the RSGB in the free-to-enter draw, and you'll find a quick overview of EMF requirements in the middle of the show. You can find out more and see the episode online at txfactor.co.uk

The RSGB's Examinations Standards Committee and Exam Syllabus Review Group have published initial results of the Direct to Full survey and information regarding the next steps. You can see the update on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/direct-to-full.

Since the initial lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic, Dorking & District Radio Society has been operating a Monday to Saturday net on 144.775MHz from 10 am. The net has now reached the milestone of 600 days. Thanks to all club members, net controllers and visitors to the daily net for its continued success.

The deadline for entries to the RSGB Construction Competition is Tuesday the 1st of March, so you have just over a week left to enter. There are four categories for beginners, software, innovation and construction excellence. A cash prize will be awarded for the winner of each section, with a bonus for the overall winner, who will also be declared the winner of the Pat Hawker G3VA Trophy. If you would like inspiration, the RSGB YouTube channel has an amateur radio construction playlist and you will find details about how to enter the competition on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/construction-competition.

The RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park has been open for almost two weeks. Visitor numbers have been running around 50-60% of Bletchley Park footfall, typically 80 to 120 people daily during the week and around 250 at weekends.

And now for details of rallies and events

The Radioactive Fair will take place at Nantwich Civic Hall today, Sunday the 20th of February. You can find out more at radioactivefair.co.uk.

The Lagen Valley ARS Rally will take place on the 5th of March at the Hillsborough Village Centre. On the 6th, the Exeter Radio & Electronics Rally will be held in America Hall. Also on the 6th, the Hack Green Bunker Rally will be held at the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker.

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

Now the DX news

Brian, GW4DVB will be active as J88PI from Bequia Island, NA-025, from the 24th of February to the 8th of March. He will operate mainly SSB and FT8. QSL direct to his home callsign.

Kamel, 7X2GK will be operating as 7T22ANT from locator JM16KD in Algeria, for the 19th Antarctic Activity Week that runs from the 21st to the 27th of February. QSL via IK2DUW.

Now the Special Event news

W2AN/1BCG will be on the air using the Antique Wireless Association replica of the 1921 transmitter used in the transatlantic test. The QSO party begins on the 26th of February at 2300UTC. AWA operators at the museum site in Bloomfield, New York will begin calling CQ on 1.821MHz using CW. They will listen on or about that frequency for callers. No QSLs are required for a certificate confirming your QSO with W2AN/1BCG. Visit 1BCG.org for more information.

Now the contest news

When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules.

The SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1930 to 2230UTC on Tuesday. Using all modes on the 13, 9, 6 and 3cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the UK EI Contest Club 80m contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using CW only the exchange is your 6-character locator.

On Thursday the 3.5MHz Club Championship runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. Using CW only on the 80m band the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Now the radio propagation report was compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 18th of February 2022.

Last week was pretty subdued in terms of sunspots, but it looks like we missed one of the most impressive space weather events of Solar Cycle 25. A bright, fast-moving coronal mass ejection, or CME, was visible coming off the far side of the Sun on imagery from the STEREO Ahead spacecraft. Had this event been Earth-facing, we could only presume that a large-scale geomagnetic storm may have been triggered. Just how big is hard to judge. Other than that, the Kp index has been in the range of one to three, so nothing too dramatic.

Sunspot-wise, there have been eight active groups but they have all been small and the solar flux index has steadfastly remained in the low 100s.

Unfortunately, it looks like we will have more of the same as NOAA predicts that next week the SFI will be in the range 102-108. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be settled, at least until around Tuesday the 22nd to Thursday the 24th, when the Kp index could rise to five. There is also a large coronal hole that will be Earth-facing by Friday the 18th. As such, this could also trigger an elevated Kp index, perhaps later this weekend.

To check, keep an eye on the Real-Time Solar Wind indicator on solarham.com. If the solar wind speed rises and the Bz swings southwards (negative) we may expect the solar plasma to more easily couple with the Earth’s magnetic field and the Kp index to rise shortly after.

Radio-wise, please note it is the ARRL DX CW contest this weekend. This is a great opportunity to work on much-needed areas for your Worked All States award. And this may be the last good chance to work the US before the summer HF doldrums start in a couple of months’ time.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

I hope that everyone’s antennas survived the gales over the last few days, as the very strong jet stream across the Atlantic is providing plenty of severe weather for the fringes of Europe with damaging gales and plenty of tense moments for big antenna arrays.

The coming week shows little change, with a continuation of the unsettled weather and further windy periods as deepening lows across the country. These will bring some cold air too, and snowfall in some areas may put added stress on the antenna wires and beams. All this means little chance of seeing any Tropo and, like last week, only a chance of aurora, or meteor scatter in the early mornings, to provide variety.

This is a good time to get the locator square count up on the various satellites. QO-100 is always a banker for making QSOs and worth the effort of setting up a small system.

Moon declination is negative again, with shortening Moon windows and lower peak elevation as the week progresses. With the lowest losses as we approach perigee next Saturday, the upside is that if you have a clear low angle of take-off to the horizon, it’s the best period for GHz band EME.

For VHFers, if you also have low site noise you can get a shot at digimode EME without the need for elevation control. QSOs can often be made with the big guns using legal QRO and a single Yagi. 144MHz sky noise is low to moderate until Friday, reaching 2,400 Kelvin at Moonset.

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

GB2RS News

Sunday the 13th of February 2022

The news headlines:

Enter the RSGB Construction Competition

Board and Regional nomination results are online now

Mister APRS becomes a Silent Key

The RSGB Construction Competition deadline for entries is Tuesday the 1st of March so you still have time to enter. There are four categories for beginners, software, innovation and construction excellence. A cash prize will be awarded for the winner of each section, with a bonus for the overall winner, who will also be declared the winner of the Pat Hawker G3VA Trophy. If you would like inspiration, the RSGB YouTube channel has an amateur radio construction playlist and you will find details about how to enter the competition on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/construction-competition

The results of the nomination process for the 2022 RSGB Board and Regional Team Elections are now on the Society’s AGM web page at rsgb.org/agm The RSGB will share further details in the April RadCom.

Sad news now. The creator of the Automatic Packet Reporting System. or APRS, Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, has become a Silent Key. While best known for APRS, he was also a retired US Naval Academy senior research engineer who had an abiding interest in alternative power sources, such as solar power.

Bletchley Park is holding an online lecture marking the 80th anniversary of the opening of Bletchley Park’s Bombe Hut 11A. The Bombe machines of Bletchley Park by Bletchley Park’s Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon, will explore the impact the Bombe machine had and how it was used to combat the Enigma cypher system. The lecture takes place on the 23rd of March at 1 pm. This event is free but donations are welcome. Go to bletchleypark.org.uk and click on the What’s On section for more information and to book your place.

A FreeDV Activity Period will take place on the 19th and 20th of February. It is designed to bring together people interested in HF digital voice on the air for conversation and fun. It starts at 1600UTC on the 19th and ends 24 hours later at 1559UTC on the 20th. More information can be found at freedv.org

The RSGB has published the Notice of Variation that will enable UK radio amateurs, licensed by Ofcom, to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen by using the special Regional Secondary Locator Q. This NoV is only available for use throughout June 2022 but you can apply for it now on the Society’s website at rsgb.org/nov

Preparations are well underway for the GI-QRP convention, which is organised in association with the GQRP Club. The Convention will take place on the 25th of June at the Tandragee Golf Club in Craigavon BT62 2ER. Doors open at 9 am and presentations start at 10 am. More information is in the Rallies section of the RSGB website.

And now for details of rallies and events

The Radioactive Fair will take place at Nantwich Civic Hall on Sunday the 20th of February. You can find out more at radioactivefair.co.uk.

Please let us know your rally and event news as soon as possible. Send details to [email protected] and we’ll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.

Now the DX news

Rob, DM4AO will be active as D44AO from Sao Tiago, IOTA reference AF-005, in Cape Verde, between the 13th and the 25th of February. He will operate mainly CW on the 80 to 10m bands during the local evening and night hours. QSL via DM4AO, direct or via the bureau. Please note he does not use Club Log, Logbook of The World or eQSL.

Karel, OK2WM and Vlad, OK2WX will be active as 8Q7WM and 8Q7WX from the Maldives, AS-013, from the 13th of February to the 8th of March. They will be only on the 160, 80 and 40m bands and will operate mainly CW. QSL via their home calls.

Yuri, VE3DZ will be active from Martinique, NA-107, between the 11th and 24th of February. He will be signing FM/VE3DZ between the 11 and 18th and TO4A between the 19th and 24th. QSLs via his home call and Logbook of The World.

Now the Special Event news

On the 14th of February 1922, a small group of Marconi employees began a series of experimental entertainment broadcasts on Medium Wave from a wooden hut near Writtle. The callsign of the original station was 2MT. These experiments are now regarded as the Birth of British Broadcasting and the origins of the BBC. On Monday the 14th of February 2022, to commemorate the centenary, Chelmsford ARS will be running GB1002MT. They plan to have HF, VHF and UHF stations on the air from 2 pm to 9 pm using CW and SSB.

Now the contest news

When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules.

This weekend the CQ WW RTTY WPX contest runs for 48 hours, ending at 2359UTC on the 13th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The 80m Club Championships takes place on Wednesday from 2000 to 2130UTC. It is data only, with an exchange of signal report and serial number.

Also on Wednesday is the VHF FT8 Activity event, running from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using the 23cm band and FT8 or any other digital mode, the exchange is your callsign and 4-character locator. More information is at ft8activity.eu

On Thursday the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. 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 11th of February 2022.

We had a good week for HF propagation, with a solar flux index up towards 130 and relatively calm geomagnetic conditions. There were lots of reports of openings to Australia on 10 metres and the KQ2H repeater in up-state New York often put in an appearance on 29.620MHz FM as well.

However, a Coronal Mass Ejection following a filament eruption on the 6th of February impacted the Earth on Wednesday the 9th. The solar wind speed showed only a small increase, while the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field, or IMF, was fairly neutral.

The net result was that the CME had little effect at first on the ionosphere and only resulted in a Kp index of three, despite dire forecasts in the national press of aurorae perhaps being visible from the UK. But, by 1500UTC on Thursday, the IMF had taken a sudden and swift shift southwards and the Kp index rose to five. This just goes to show how hard it is to be precise with regards to timings about geomagnetic events.

Critical frequencies continue to exceed 7MHz during the daytime, which bodes well for inter-G contacts.

Next week, NOAA predicts that the SFI will decline slightly to around 115, which hopefully should still be enough to provide openings on 12 and 10 metres. NOAA also predicts a Kp index of five on Monday, probably as a result of a returning coronal hole. Other than that, the rest of the week looks relatively calm.

As we head towards mid-February we are starting to see North-South paths opening up a little more. This will improve as we head towards Equinox in March. But for now, look out for openings to South America on 10 metres, perhaps later in the day as the Sun is setting.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The Tropo from lengthy spells of high-pressure weather is now some time in the past and it’s hard to see a return anytime soon. In fact, the nearest high-pressure systems are out of reach to the south of Britain and the UK will find a sequence of low-pressure systems bringing wet and very windy weather with heavy rain and even some snow in places. This is hardly conducive to Tropo, so once again we must turn to other chance modes such as aurora and random meteor scatter.

It is also worth saying that even though we assume this to be a quiet period for Sporadic-E, there have been some days when the critical frequency of the Sporadic-E layer, or foEs, has peaked at 6MHz. See the NVIS tab on Propquest.co.uk graphs for Chilton on the 8th of February. It would make it worth checking for short skip on HF and, if repeated farther afield, perhaps some strong European signals on 10m. These foEs events appear to be found on the maps near strong upper winds, known as jet streams, and these will be plentiful over the next two weeks with such unsettled weather, so it is worth checking the beacons and clusters for chance openings.

Moon declination is high, but falling all week, going negative again next Saturday. Moon windows will therefore follow suit and shorten as the week progresses. Path losses will fall as we are now past last Friday’s apogee. For VHF EMEers, 144MHz sky noise is low throughout the week, only rising above 300 Kelvin next Saturday.

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

GB2RS News

Sunday the 6th of February 2022

The news headlines:

Ofcom authorises /70 for Platinum Jubilee

New RadCom Plus published

New Southern Fusion group

Following a request by the RSGB, Ofcom has indicated that stations wishing to retain their usual Regional Secondary Locator to identify their DXCC entity may use the suffix /70 to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It is also permitted to use the /70 suffix with the GQ/MQ/2Q prefix if desired. The RSGB would like to thank Ofcom for its support of the Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations.

RadCom Plus is the RSGB’s online journal for the technically-minded radio amateur. The winter edition of RadCom Plus is now available to RSGB Members. There are four varied articles in this edition. You can read about high-loss RF taps for extracting samples of signals from your transmitter at levels suitable for display on test instruments such as spectrum analysers. There is the first part of a two-part series on experiments in the 30THz band or long-wave infrared. The third article is on long-standing observations of long-delayed echoes. Finally, there is an article on experiments with DIY remote operations. Go to rsgb.org/radcom-plus where you can read previous editions as well as the latest one.

Owners of Yaesu C4FM transceivers may be interested to learn of a new Wires-X room called Southern Fusion, currently room 41893. It is focussed primarily on repeater and gateway users in southern England and, of course, Wires-X users anywhere on the planet. RF access is available via a growing number of C4FM repeaters. These include GB7IV in Southampton, GB7CM in Blandford, GB7IE in Plymouth, GB7TM in Ipswich plus Gateways in Reading, Hastings and Ringwood. The room also hosts a regular Sunday morning one-hour net at 1100UTC.

The latest edition of RadCom Basics is now available. There are new topics and follow-on articles to help newcomers and those looking to brush up their knowledge. You can read about a useful DC voltmeter, try some simple experimentation with antennas and equipment as well as learn more about the DX Century Club and the RSGB’s UK Activity Contests. RSGB Members can read previous editions of RadCom Basics by going to rsgb.org/radcom-basics.

It has been reported that a person has been prosecuted for racial harassment over the air. Details of the conviction can be found in an entry on the 2nd of February on the Sussex Police website at Sussex.police.uk/news. The RSGB will be raising this with Ofcom. Anyone experiencing similar on-air harassment is encouraged to report the matter initially to the RSGB OAS Coordinator via the form on the OAS pages of our website at rsgb.org/oas

The RSGB 2022 Band Plans have been published online. In response to feedback, the Excel version is now tabbed by frequency but the alternative viewer still uses wavelengths for those who prefer the information in that format. You can see them on the Society’s website at rsgb.org/bandplans

In December 2021 and January 2022, a clandestine radio station appeared on 3.5 and 7MHz. The broadcasts were unusually in USB and could be heard throughout Europe. The IARU Monitoring System, aided by DARC Intruder Monitoring, were able to determine the approximate location of these transmissions. The German and Italian authorities were then able to have them stopped.

And now for details of rallies and events

If you are travelling to Florida in the USA in the near future, you may care to visit the 75th Orlando HamCation. It will take place between the 11th and 13th of February at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park.

Looking ahead to the 20th of February, the Radioactive Fair will take place at Nantwich Civic Hall. You can find out more at radioactivefair.co.uk.

Please let us know your rally and event news as soon as possible. Send details to [email protected] and we’ll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.

Now the DX news

Henry, LU4DXU will be active as 8Q7AH from the Maldives, AS-013, between the 8th and 15th of February. He will operate SSB and FT8 on all bands. QSL direct to LU4DXU.

John, AD8J will be active as HR9/AD8J from Guanaja Island, IOTA reference NA-057, in Honduras between the 12th and 26th of February. He will operate CW and FT8 with some SSB on the 10 to 80m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World or direct to AD8J.

Jean-Gabriel, F4CIX has been active as FW1JG from Wallis Island, OC-054, and expects to remain there for two years or more. He operates SSB and FT8 on the 20, 15 and 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World, or direct to his Wallis address.

Now the Special Event news

TM19AAW will be on the air from the 7th to the 22nd of February to celebrate the 19th Antarctic Activity Week. All information on this event is on QRZ.com under TM19AAW. The operation will be from Mâcon in the east of France, JN26JH, on the 10 to 40m bands. QSL via F8DVD.

Members of the Kuwait Amateur Radio Society will be active as 9K9NLD throughout February. The special callsign celebrates both Kuwait National Day on the 25th and Liberation Day on the 26th.

Now the contest news

When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules.

Today, the 6th, the 432MHz AFS contest runs from 0900-1300UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and your 6-character locator.

On Monday the 80m Club Championship runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. Using SSB only the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Tuesday sees the 432MHz FM Activity Contest take place from 1900 to 1955. It is followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator.

Staying with the 432MHz band, on Wednesday it is the 432MHz FT8 Activity Contest from 1900 to 2100UTC. The exchange is your report and 4-character locator. A serial number is not required.

The 50MHz UK Activity Contest takes place on Thursday from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Saturday the 12th, the 1st 1.8MHz Contest runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. It is CW only and the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Next weekend the CQ WW RTTY WPX contest runs for 48 hours from 0000UTC on the 12th to 2359UTC on the 13th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 4th of February 2022.

We had another topsy-turvy week, with lots of good sunspots, but coronal mass ejections or CMEs taking their toll on the ionosphere as well. While the solar flux index did a little better than predicted, with numbers in the 120-130 range, there was bad news on the solar-terrestrial front.

The Kp index was regularly hitting four and even five on Thursday, thanks to CMEs, which depressed MUFs considerably. But things could have been a lot worse. NASA issued a major storm warning after the CME on the 29th of January, with newspapers predicting that visible aurora would be seen across the UK. But, in the end, this amounted to very little and the warning was cancelled.

Despite all this geomagnetic activity, there were pearls to be found. Contacts with Hong Kong, China and Australia were all reported by members of the 10 metre UK Net Facebook group. As Jack, G8DX wrote on the group: “What an end to the month. ZL, JA, XV, BY, BV, HS, YB on FT8 and 30-plus VKs on phone and a few on CW.”

And bear in mind that this solar cycle has got a lot further to go, with a predicted sunspot number of more than 100 at its peak in 2025/2026. To give you some idea of what that means, this week it was 65.

Next week there may be some good news. NOAA predicts that the solar flux index could rise to 125, and perhaps even higher. As always, we can probably expect unsettled geomagnetic conditions, with the Kp index predicted to hit four on the 10th.

As always, keep an eye on solarham.com for a more accurate day-to-day update as things can change very quickly.

In terms of propagation highlights, look for openings to Sydney, Australia on 10 metres around 8-10 am. Short-path openings to Perth may peak a little later.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The present spell of unsettled weather is likely to continue for a while, into the first part of next week, but before that, there are signs of the next high building over southern areas. This will bring a return of Tropo conditions to many areas, although a further low will track across northern Britain towards the end of the week.

As we hinted last week, the high pressure produced some good Tropo DX down across Biscay to Spain and France on 2m through to 23cm. The situation next week is looking similar, so a good week to get some CW and SSB onto 70cm for the UK Activity Contest on Tuesday and see what happens on Thursday for the 6m UKAC.

The other modes to check are, like last week, the pre-dawn random meteor scatter options plus a chance aurora in view of the unsettled solar-terrestrial conditions at the moment.

Moon declination is positive and rising all week, so Moon windows are long and peak Moon elevation high. Path losses are also high as we approach apogee on Friday.

For VHF EMEers, 144MHz sky noise is low to moderate throughout the week, peaking at 500 Kelvin on Friday.

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

GB2RS News

The news headlines:

There is still time to submit an application for election as an RSGB Board Director or Regional Representative. The RSGB Board Chair and the RSGB President would like to encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to be part of the leadership of the Society over the next three years, building on the exciting growth in amateur radio participation that the Society has enabled during the Pandemic. You can read their message on the RSGB AGM web page. Completed papers, with their supporting nominations, must be received by 23:59 on the 31st of January 2022. Details of the requirements and the application process are on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/agm.

GB2RS News

Sunday the 23rd of January 2022

The news headlines:

Call signs get Q for Queen’s Jubilee

University amateur radio clubs

National Radio Centre to re-open

Ofcom has kindly agreed to an RSGB request that radio amateurs licensed by Ofcom may celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen by using the special regional secondary locator letter Q. This will be available for use throughout June 2022 and will require a Notice of Variation that will be available shortly via the RSGB website. The Society is also working on other events and activities that it hopes will appeal to a wide range of people. Further details will be released over the coming weeks.

Are you a member of a university amateur radio club? Would you like to find one to join? Or are you keen to revive or even start a new one? The RSGB has created a web page to help university radio amateurs contact each other. You could also use the page if you’re interested in learning more about amateur radio while you’re at university. To see the list and find out how to add your details, visit the RSGB website at rsgb.org/university-corner

The National Radio Centre will re-open to visitors, commencing on Monday the 31st of January. It is planned to open 7 days a week. Visitors will be encouraged to wear face masks, though this will not be mandatory, and the number of people accessing the radio room will be limited. We regret that for the time being visiting amateurs will not be able to operate the GB3RS station. The voucher system for RSGB Members to gain free admission to Bletchley Park is being reinstated and there is no longer a necessity to book an arrival time at the Park.

The RSGB Board is pleased to confirm the appointment of Chris Wood, GD6TWF as Honorary Treasurer, with immediate effect. Chris is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has spent many years as a senior accountant within the banking industry, with roles including director level responsibilities and audit. Chris lives on the Isle of Man and continues to enjoy his long interest in yachting as a volunteer with the Isle of Man Sailing for the Disabled Charity. He joined the RSGB and became licenced whilst still at school and has maintained his interest since.

Jonathan Groves, M0VRI has been co-opted to the RSGB Board until the AGM 2022 to carry out a three-month review of RSGB youth activities and opportunities. He has been an active member of the Examinations and Syllabus Review Group for some time and will be presented to the membership for endorsement as a Nominated Director at the forthcoming RSGB AGM.

Sad news now. We learned this week that the founder and President of the Bangladesh Amateur Radio League, Saif D Shahid, S21A / KF6WJZ / G1NWJ, has become a silent key at the age of 73.

Over in the USA, the Federal Communications Commission has announced that amateur radio operations in the upper 500MHz of the 9cm band must cease on the 14th of April. The affected spectrum, 3.45 to 3.5GHz, was auctioned for around 22 billion dollars and will be used for 5G.

And now for details of rallies and events

The Red Rose Rally, originally planned for the 6th of February, has, unfortunately, had to be cancelled.

Please let us know your rally and event news as soon as possible. Email details to [email protected] and we’ll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. The deadline for the March RadCom is tomorrow, the 24th of January.

Now the DX news

Matthias, DK4MN will be active from Aruba as P4/DL4MM from today until the 1st of February. He will focus on the low bands and WARC, operating CW, FT8 and SSB. QSL via DL4MM.

Thomas, DL1TPA will soon be active as 8Q7TP from Raa Atoll in the Maldives. He will be running very low power on 20 & 10m and be on the air until the 29th of January 2022. QSL via his home call.

Rag, LB3RE will be on the air on CW from the Svalbard Club Station JW5E from the 28th to the 30th of January. QSL via his home call.

Paul, 3B8HE/G8AFC will be operational from Pereybere on the North coast of Mauritius island until early April. Activity will be mostly daytime, principally on 7 and 14MHz SSB, with 28 and 50MHz when propagation permits. QSL details are on QRZ.com.

Look also for YC5YC/7 today and tomorrow, where EA7FTR will be operating from Kalimantan, Borneo Island. Activity will be HF SSB and digital modes. QSL via home call, Club Log or LoTW.

Now the Special Event news

A special event station, GB1900HA, will be on the air from the 24th of January to the 23rd of December. It marks 1900 years since the building of Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Operations will be generally from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays, with the schedule published on the QRZ.com page for GB1900H.

Members of the SSAB Raahe Amateur Radio Club are operational as a special event station OF60RR from Pattijoki until the 1st of March to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the start of the construction of the Rautaruukki steel mill. QSL direct to OH8DR.

Now the contest news

When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules.

On Tuesday the SHF UKAC takes place from 1930 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 13- to 3cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The UKEICC 80m CW contest takes place on Wednesday from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using CW only on the 80m band, the exchange is your 6-character locator.

The Australia Day contest takes place from 2200UTC on Wednesday to 1000UTC on Thursday. Operations are on the 160 to 10m contest bands, plus VHF and UHF, CW and phone. The exchange is a signal report plus the number of years licensed.

The CQ 160m CW contest starts at 2200UTC on Friday and runs to 2200UTC on Saturday. Using CW only on the 160m band, the exchange is signal report and CQ zone.

Next weekend, the REF CW contest takes place from 0600UTC on Saturday to 1800UTC on Sunday. Using CW only on the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Also, next weekend, commencing at 1300UTC on Saturday and running to 1300UTC on Sunday is the UBA SSB DX contest. Using SSB on the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday 21st January 2022.

We had a bit of a geomagnetic roller coaster ride this week. The Kp index was down as low as one, and up as high as six, which sparked visible aurora at northern latitudes. This was caused by a solar wind stream, which reached nearly 600km per second and contained a significant southward Bz component. This meant that it more easily coupled with the Earth’s magnetic field, allowing the plasma to flow in.

With regard to sunspots, we had a decline in sunspot numbers as the week progressed as the more active regions rotated off the visible disk. So ionospheric propagation was a mixed bag last week, buoyed by sunspots, but adversely affected by the raised Kp index. However, there were 10m openings to Australia and Malaysia reported by CDXC members, and other 10m openings into Europe were noted on Monday the 17th. Indonesia also put in an appearance on 10m FT8 on Tuesday, according to Chris, 2E0EEY on the 10m UK Net Facebook group. As always, keep an eye on the upper bands, where you may get the odd surprise.

Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will continue to decline, perhaps starting at 102 and potentially finishing in the low 90s. But geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be more stable, with a maximum Kp index of two or three for most of the week.

And finally, there appears to be a problem with the data feed for the Propquest foF2 critical frequency graph data from the USA. The graphs will return as soon as we start receiving information again.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The coming week once again looks dominated by high pressure over the country, with some good Tropo prospects. Also, like last week, the high centre may become displaced just to the west to allow a showery northwesterly across Scotland and eastern England, thereby reducing the Tropo for the eastern side of the country at times. As a general rule, long-lasting highs can provide some good options for DX Tropo 1,000 to 2,000km along the side of the high-pressure area, but aiming through the centre may be risky since the temperature inversion often descends to the surface and ducts the signal into the ground.

Other propagation modes are also worth a look, or at least it’s worth getting a list of useful beacon frequencies at the ready. If activity is low, check what’s doing on FT8 or MSK144 meteor scatter by calling CQ and using the PSKreporter website – which you can easily find via Google – to see how far you are getting.

As we are in the annual low period of meteor activity, random meteor scatter will be hard going unless you stick to the pre-dawn period. In view of the solar activity recently, perhaps there’s a chance of an aurora.

Moon declination goes negative again today, so Moon windows will shorten. With perigee a week away, path losses are low and falling so that’s good for GHz bands EME, but Moon time will be limited due to the negative declination. For VHF EMEers, 144MHz sky noise starts low this week, but increases, hitting a peak of over 3,000 Kelvin next Saturday.

And that’s all from the propagation team this week

GB2RS News

Sunday the 16th of January 2022

The news headlines:

SpaceX launches amateur satellites

NASA recognises ARISS in pictures

CW expert on BBC radio

SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-3 mission launched on Thursday carrying 105 satellites including several amateur radio payloads. The Tevel mission comprises eight satellites, each with an FM transponder with an uplink on 145.970MHz and downlink plus beacon transmissions on 436.400MHz. The EASAT-2 and Hades CubeSats also have 2m to 70cm transponders, with Hades also carrying a camera module that downlinks pictures in Robot 36 format. More details can be found on the AMSAT-UK.org website.

NASA has recognised Amateur Radio on the International Space Station as a science education and research programme. Two images of ARISS activity are among those singled out by the space agency as some of the Best Space Station Science Pictures of 2021. ARRL Representative to ARISS International Rosalie White, K1STO, said the recognition is significant because it shows that NASA considers what ARISS does to be within the realm of science education and research. You can see the photos at thersgb.org/gb2rs/015

RSGB GB2CW Coordinator Roger Cooke, G3LDI of Norfolk ARC was interviewed on BBC Radio Norfolk this week to talk about Morse code in celebration of Learn your name in Morse Code day. Roger has also written a book about Morse Code which you can get from the RSGB Shop. You can listen to his interview at thersgb.org/gb2rs/014 where it begins at 1:54:27 It will be available for a further three weeks.

Recent changes in the Regional Team and RSGB Board have brought new members to the RSGB Nominations Committee. Tony Miles, MM0TMZ joins the Committee as the Regional Forum Nominee and David Hills, G6PYF is the Nominated Director representative. We’d like to welcome them to their new roles.

If you couldn’t join the RSGB’s Tonight@8 webinar on amateur radio software construction this week, you can catch up on the RSGB YouTube channel. Heather Lomond’s talk has inspired people to try something new, so take a look and perhaps make something yourself for the RSGB Construction Competition. There are four entry categories – Beginners, Construction Excellence, Innovation, and Software – and there is a monetary prize for the winner of each section. Full details are on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/construction-competition and the closing date is the 1st of March.

Due to the recent resignation of Andy Mace as an RSGB Board Director, there are now two elected Board Director vacancies as well as eight Regional Representative roles to be filled. The online nomination process is still open and completed papers, with supporting nominations, must be received by 2359UTC on 31 January 2022.

Although the Bletchley Park museum is open, the RSGB National Radio Centre remains closed for the time being. It is hoped to re-open the NRC in the near future and we will make further announcements on GB2RS and via social media.

And now for details of rallies and events

The next rally we have on our calendar is the Red Rose Rally on the 6th of February.

Lincoln Short Wave Club has announced that they are postponing the Wragby Rally until March or April due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation.

Also responding to concern over the upsurge in COVID-19 cases, organisers of the International DX Convention in Visalia, California have called off this year’s event that was due to take place in April.

Now is the perfect time to let us know your group’s rally or event plans for 2022. Email [email protected] with details and we’ll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. There are already over twenty rallies on the calendar for 2022.

Now the DX news

As previously announced, the planned D6 Comoros DXpedition has been postponed due to the pandemic. Also, the HD8M DXpedition team has cancelled its trip to the Galapagos Islands that was scheduled for March.

Alex, UG1A will be active in his spare time from Vostok Base in Antarctica as RI1ANC until the beginning of February. Activity will be mostly CW. QSL via RN1ON, CL OQRS, direct, or via the bureau. 

Ferdy, HB9DSP is operating his first DXpedition as 5Z4/HB9DSP from Malindi, Kenya until the 27th. Operations are on 20, 15 and 10 metres using mainly SSB with some FT8.

Jacques, F6HMJ is QRV in Senegal as 6W7/F6HMJ until the 22nd of February. Activity is from 40 to 10 metres using CW and SSB. QSL via home call.

Mario, IK1MYT is on the air from Lusaka, Zambia as 9J2MYT until June. Activity is on 40, 20, 17, 15 and 10 metres using SSB. QSL via IZ3KVD, or Club Log OQRS.

Now the Special Event news

GB1900HA and GB1900HW will run throughout 2022 to commemorate 1900 years since the building of Hadrian’s Wall, the Northern frontier of the mighty Roman Empire.  Austin, M0MNE and Roy, M0TKF will be operating the stations from near Hadrian’s Wall on HF and VHF in voice, CW and digital modes. QSL Via Logbook of the World and Club Log OQRS.  See QRZ.com for more info

Now the contest news

When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules.

The RSGB AFS Datamodes contest takes place today, the 16th, from 1300 to 1700UTC. It uses the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, and the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Tuesday it’s the 1.3GHz UKAC, which takes place from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Thursday sees the all-mode 70MHz UKAC from 2000 to 2230UTC. The signal report, serial number and locator form the exchange.

Next Saturday it’s the AFS 80 and 40m SSB contest, which runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

Also, next Saturday is the Marconi QSO Party Day, organised by The Marconi Club ARI Loano. Running from 0900 to 1800UTC on the 80, 40 and 20m bands, CW only, entrants should call CQ MCD and exchange signal report and serial number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 14th of January

We had a week of relatively low, but stable, sunspot numbers, which affected the maximum usable frequencies available. Having said that, the SFI was above 100 all week, but we didn’t get the surge in numbers that we really needed for good reliable ionospheric propagation. MUFs over a 3,000km path often exceeded 28MHz, but this mainly occurred over the lunchtime period. And critical frequencies often exceeded 7MHz, again mainly over lunchtime, which makes 40 metres a good inter-G band when this occurs. So if you have got used to ignoring 7MHz for around-the-UK contacts, you could be in for a nice surprise. Forty-metre skip often starts long but gets progressively shorter as the critical frequency increases. Keep an eye on Propquest.co.uk for a graph of how propagation during the day develops.

If NOAA’s predictions are to be believed we could soon get that much-needed surge in activity. From 17 January the SFI is predicted to go up to 120 for around eight days. This may give a much-needed uplift in HF propagation. However, it does also bring the risk of solar flares, coronal mass ejections and geomagnetic disturbances. A large coronal hole is also threatening to cause a disturbance this weekend with a Kp index of five. If that happens expect degraded MUFs and poor DX, especially on northerly paths for the following two to three days.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

It’s been a while since there was a long-lasting region of high pressure over the country and this current period of high pressure seems likely to hang around for the whole of the coming week and produce some good prospects for Tropo. This will either be due to an elevated temperature inversion due to the high, and extending over long distances for Tropo DX, or due to regional surface night-time inversions when night frost and fog forms and can produce local and somewhat temporary tropo enhancements.

These things are not that simple in reality, since the high centre tends to drift around; this alters the flow over the British Isles from a moist southwesterly, which is good for Tropo, to a colder north-westerly, which is bad for Tropo, when the high is displaced a little west. This may happen in the second half of next week.

We are just leaving the midwinter window for Sporadic-E, so all that remains are some chance auroras and random meteor scatter to play with during the coming week. The Moon is at maximum declination today, but path losses are still high and falling after Friday’s apogee. 144MHz sky noise is low all week.

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

GB2RS News

Sunday the 9th of January 2022

The news headlines:

Happy New Year

Board and Regional volunteers wanted

GB100BBC marks BBC Centenary

The news team and all the staff at RSGB HQ would like to wish our newsreaders, listeners and online readers a very Happy New Year. We would like to remind everyone that we always welcome your news, by email, to [email protected], and the deadline is 10am sharp on Thursday mornings. The GB2RS script is uploaded to the RSGB website by 4.30pm each Friday afternoon.

The RSGB is calling for volunteers to fill roles in its Board and Regional Team. There are Elected Director vacancies, as well as eight Regional Representative roles to be filled. The online nomination process is open and completed papers, with supporting nominations, must be received by 2359UTC on the 31st of January 2022. You can find out about applying for the roles or nominating someone via the Society’s website at rsgb.org/election

Celebrations to mark the BBC's Centenary began at noon on the 1st of January. The London BBC Radio Group was granted an extended Special Special Event radio licence by Ofcom, to operate GB100BBC throughout 2022. The amateur radio activity is one of many events organised to celebrate 100 years of the BBC, which began broadcasting from Savoy Hill in 1922.

The RSGB HF Contest Calendar for 2022, with all the rules for our contests, has been published. Go to rsgbcc.org/hf and click on the HF pages tab. For VHF and up contests, click on the VHF pages. Please put all your favourite contests into your diary for this year.

The WSJT development group has released an updated version of WSJT-X, version 2.5.4, that it’s calling a “bug fix”. The primary fix repairs a defect that caused occasional crashes when contacting stations with non-standard callsigns. It also allows MAP65’s “best-fit Delta Phi” solution to be displayed to the user.

The RSGB’s 2022 Tonight@8 webinar series starts on Monday the 10th of January with a look at amateur radio software construction by Heather Lomond, M0HMO. There is still time to be inspired and create something for the RSGB Construction Competition! You can join the free webinar and ask questions on the RSGB YouTube channel. For more information see the Society’s website rsgb.org/webinars

The Belgian IARU society, UBA, is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022. There will be 64 different special event stations active until the 28th of February. Each special event station will be using the prefix ON75 followed by a three-letter suffix. Full details on QRZ.com under the callsign ON75DIG.

Members of the DXpedition planned for Comoros Islands, AF-007, in January 2022 have now postponed their operation due to the current Covid situation. They are planning to travel later in 2022 when, they say, hopefully, things get quieter again.

The EZNEC antenna modelling software by Roy Lewallen, W7EL is now available for free download. The software is available from https://eznec.com/

And now for details of rallies and events

Now is the perfect time to let us know your group’s rally or event plans for 2022. Email [email protected] with details and we’ll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. There are already over twenty rallies on the calendar for 2022.

Now the DX news

W2APF will be active as VP2MDX from Montserrat, IOTA reference NA-103, from the 9th of January to the 18th of February. He will operate CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via W2APF.

Now the Special Event news

To mark 100 years of British broadcasting, the BBC will be putting on special events throughout 2022. As part of the celebrations, GB100BBC will be on the air. View the GB100BBC page on QRZ.com for more information.

Now the contest news

When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules.

The ARRL RTTY Round-up runs until 2359UTC today, the 9th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number, with US stations, also sending their State and Canadians their Province.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and your 6-character locator.

On Wednesday the 432MHz FT8 Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. The exchange is signal report and your 4-character locator.

The 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC on Thursday. The exchange is signal report, serial number and your 6-character locator.

It is the Worked All Britain 160m contest on Saturday the 15th of January, from 1900 to 2300UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square. The full rules are available on the WAB website.

The RSGB AFS Datamodes contest takes place on Sunday the 16th of January from 1300 to 1700UTC. It uses the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, and the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 7th of January

Welcome back to the GB2RS HF Propagation News. And we start the year on a bit of a downer, with the solar flux index back in the 80s. On Thursday the 6th, the SFI was at 84 with two active sunspot regions. This is probably going to be a short-lived lull in solar activity as we know that more active regions are coming back around the Sun in due course.

The Kp index has mainly been low over the past week, reaching a maximum of four on the third, but generally being in the range of zero to three. We may get an elevated Kp index this weekend due to an Earth-facing coronal hole and its associated high-speed solar wind stream.

The big question is what happens next? Will we see a return to those glorious days just before Christmas where the SFI was 140? The likely answer is yes we will, but knowing quite when we will get there is difficult. NOAA predicts that the SFI will climb past 100 on the 12th of January, reaching a maximum of 120 a few days later. Returning active regions 2907 and 2908 should appear at the beginning of the week, but we don’t know just how active they still are.

Meanwhile, MUFs over a 3,000km path are reaching 21MHz most days and there are occasional 28MHz openings, especially around lunchtime. So keep an eye on the higher bands, which may spring some surprises, especially with low-signal modes like FT8. And the low bands, such as 160, 80 and 40m are still worth looking at and will continue to be for the next month or so.

Let’s hope we have more positive news next week.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

There have been hints of Sporadic-E recently in digital modes on 10m and 6m, which is quite often seen around this time of the year. There is probably one more week in this window of opportunity before the lean months begin and little activity until well into April. In this case, we still have some powerful winter jet streams nearby so that's one box ticked for Sporadic-E.

Tropo is not likely to feature until after the weekend when we see a high-pressure building behind a cold front on Sunday. By Tuesday there should be some first signs, initially in the south, but models suggest a more widespread distribution to include northern areas as the high develops during the week.

Keep alert for auroras, and random, non-shower, meteor scatter is always a good banker for some DX. The Quadrantid meteor shower has peaked so we are entering the quiet period for meteor activity until the Lyrids on the 22nd of April.

The Moon has positive declination again, peaking next Sunday, but path losses reach their highest at apogee on Friday. 144MHz sky noise is low but increasing, reaching 500K next Saturday.

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

GB2RS News

Sunday the 26th of December 2021

The news headlines:

Last News of 2021

Covid closes National Radio Centre

Several days of SSTV from the ISS

This is the final GB2RS news reading for 2021 and we start with seasonal greetings to all newsreaders and listeners, both over the air and via other platforms, and not forgetting viewers of the ATV broadcast, which is available via several repeaters and kindly streamed via the batc.tv website, as well as those who receive this news via TX Factor or podcasts. We would like to take this opportunity once again to thank all those who read the news, in whatever format, for their tireless dedication to their fellow amateurs. A full GB2RS service will resume on the 9th of January. A Local News for the 2nd of January will be available on the RSGB website.

In light of the rapidly increasing Covid-19 cases and the high transmission rates, the RSGB has reluctantly decided to close the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park temporarily until further notice. The situation will be reviewed in the New Year and announcements about re-opening made via GB2RS News, the RSGB website and social media. During the closure, the RSGB Members’ voucher for free entry to the NRC will be taken offline. We apologise for any disappointment or inconvenience the closure may cause, but believe it to be in the best interests of the well-being of both volunteers and visitors. During this time the NRC weekday 80m net will be reactivated. The net takes place at 1030UTC on weekdays around 3.727MHz, plus or minus interference. Martyn, G0GMB, the NRC Coordinator, and the NRC volunteers look forward to speaking to as many amateurs as possible over the next few weeks.

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station team will support Slow Scan TV transmissions from the International Space Station over the festive period. The images will be related to lunar exploration. Transmissions should be available worldwide on 145.800MHz FM, using SSTV mode PD120. Transmissions are set to start on the 26th of December at about 1825UTC and end on the 31st at about 1705UTC. The signal should be receivable on a handheld transceiver with a quarter-wave whip antenna. Use the widest filter for 25kHz channel spacing. For more information, go to ariss-sstv.blogspot.com.

It is the final week of activation for GB21YOTA for Youngsters on the air. Today, the 26th, and again on the 28th, M0YTE will supervise M7FED using the callsign. On the 27th and 29th, Hilderstone Radio Society will be on the air. Then, on the 30th M0BOY will supervise M7OMY operating the YOTA callsign. Finally, on the 31st, it is M0YTE and M7FED operating on the last day of Youngsters on the Air for this year.

The Sudan Amateur Radio Association supports their National Day on Saturday the 1st of January from 0000UTC to 2359UTC with amateur radio activities. Some amateur clubs team up to make a big splash with lots of actions, radios and antennas, offering a variety of modes to experience. For others, the National Day provides an opportunity to coach a smaller group of amateurs and to just have fun talking on the radio. You can email [email protected] for more details.

RSGB HQ is closed for the holidays until 8.30 am on the 4th of January. During that time, if you need information about amateur radio, exams or RadCom you’ll find lots of information on the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org. You could also contact your Regional Representative if you need local help, you can find their contact details on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/regional-team.

And now for details of rallies and events

Unless cancelled by Covid, the Sparkford Wireless Group Rally is due to take place on the 2nd of January at Davis Hall near Yeovil, BA22 7QX. There is free car parking; doors open from 9.30 am to 1 pm and admission is £2. Direct any enquiries to [email protected].

Now is the perfect time to let us know your group’s rally or event plans for 2022. Email [email protected] with details and we’ll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. There are already over twenty rallies on the calendar for 2022.

Now the DX news

Tom, OE1TRI will be active holiday style as 8Q7TR from the Maldives, AS-013, from the 28th of December to the 3rd of January. He will run 20W on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m using SSB and FT8. QSL via OE1TRI; he does not use Club Log or Logbook of The World.

Now the Special Event news

Medway ARTS is putting GB6NU on the air on the 1st of January, celebrating their founder, the late Bill Nutton, G6NU. This is the first of several planned MARTS 2022 Centenary year celebrations. Further details of this event can be found on the GB6NU QRZ page.

To mark 100 years of British broadcasting, the BBC will be putting on special events throughout 2022. As part of the celebrations, the staff amateur radio club, the BBC Radio Group, will be active throughout the year using the special callsign GB100BBC. Ofcom has kindly permitted operation from club members’ home stations, as well as from BBC premises around the UK, and locations associated with BBC broadcasting such as transmitter sites. In addition to online QSL options, a traditional commemorative QSL card will be available via the bureau. View the GB100BBC page on QRZ.com for more information and look for GB100BBC on all bands and modes. Operations will commence on New Year’s Day from the club shack in Broadcasting House, London.

GB120MT is being operated by Chelmsford ARS to mark the first successful reception in Newfoundland from the Marconi transmission at Poldhu in Cornwall. The station will be on the air at various times until the 1st of January 2022.

During the month of December, Welland Valley ARS is running special call signs GB1XMS, GB2XMS, GB5XMS and GB9XMS to celebrate Christmas and say farewell to 2021. QSL via operator’s instructions.

Now the contest news

When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules.

The Christmas Cumulatives take place between the 26th and the 29th of December from 1400 to 1600UTC each day. Using the 50 to 432MHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Today, the 26th of December, the DARC Christmas Contest runs from 0830 to 1100UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations also send DOK (club code) or NM (non-member).

The Worked All Britain Christmas Party runs from the 26th of December to the 6th of January. Using all modes on any band, the exchange is your WAB book number.

On the 1st of January, the IRTS 80m Daytime Counties contest runs from 1700 to 1800UTC. Using SSB and CW, the exchange is signal report and serial number, with EI and GI stations, also sending their County.

On Saturday the 8th, the CW AFS contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

The first session of the EUCW 160m CW Party is also on the 8th from 2000 to 2300UTC, with the second session on the 9th at 0400 to 0700UTC.

The ARRL RTTY Round-up runs from 1800UTC on the 8th of January to 2359UTC on the 9th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number, with US stations sending their State and Canadians their Province too.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Wednesday the 22nd of December

Given that this report has to last two weeks it is difficult to be precise in terms of actual HF conditions. What we can say is that we are in turbulent times, with the solar flux index going up and down, and geomagnetic conditions subject to fluctuations as coronal holes and coronal mass ejections come and go.

The NOAA forecast for the next two weeks is that the solar flux index may reduce as we go past Christmas, initially to the 90s and ultimately to the 80s as we head towards the 28th of December. NOAA also predicts we may have unsettled geomagnetic conditions on or around the 28th of December, possible due to the return of a coronal hole and its associated high-speed solar wind stream. This is very much a guesstimate as this recent crop of sunspots arrived with very little warning. In other words, anything could happen over the next two weeks. At the time of writing, there were two active regions on the Sun about to turn to be Earth-facing on the STEREO Ahead spacecraft imagery, but we will have to wait and see how they develop.

What we do know is that mid-Winter is the best time for low-band propagation, so keep an eye on Top Band, 80 metres and 40 metres, which can all show signs of DX activity from afternoon onwards at this time of year. Meanwhile, the higher bands have come into their own with the SFI above 100. If it continues, do check on 12 and 10 metres as they can provide the lowest D-layer absorption and best DX, with some real surprises every now and again. For example, 10m has given quite a few contacts into Australia recently. And 12m has shown good conditions into the mid-west of the USA in the late afternoon before sunset.

So until our regular bulletins start again in the New Year, have a very merry Christmas, a happy New Year and good DX.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The good tropo conditions just lasted until the 23cm UK Activity Contest last Tuesday, then a gradual advance of milder Atlantic air with weather fronts, rain and strong winds set the tone for the rest of the week.

The general thrust of the milder air is limited and a battle between cold air to the north and mild to the south will split the country in two over the Christmas weekend. There will be snow in some places for Santa and probably not a lot of VHF propagation to distract him! As a long shot, it can sometimes be productive to beam parallel to a weather front, in this case, East to West.

In the week between Christmas and New Year, there will be a period of calmer conditions with frosts and a weak ridge of high pressure; so a possible tropo window before the whole pattern returns to mild Atlantic unsettled conditions, but probably with snow on the leading edge.

Finally, to restate last week’s mention; this time of the year can produce surprising out of season Sporadic-E and, with some strong winter jet stream activity, it’s worth a look. Favoured options are to Spain on Boxing Day and more generally to the south and south-east in the second half of the week towards the end of the month. Of course, there’s always a chance of aurora and meteor scatter to keep you amused if the Sporadic-E doesn’t materialise.

The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks overnight from the 2nd of January to the 3rd and can produce a ZHR of 50-100 with some big fireballs. The peak of activity is extremely narrow, lasting only a few hours.

The Moon still has positive declination until the day after Boxing Day and perigee is on New Year’s day, bringing lowest path losses. This day also has high 144MHz sky noise so EME is a bit of "swings and roundabouts" through the holiday period.

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

GB2RS News

Sunday the 19th of December 2021

The news headlines:

GB2RS Christmas arrangements

Volunteers sought for Board and Regions

Comoros DXpedition postponed

Next Sunday, the 26th, will see the final GB2RS script for 2021. The deadline for news is being brought forward to 10 am on Tuesday the 21st of December, instead of the usual Thursday. The news reading on the 26th is optional, as the RSGB appreciates that not all newsreaders will be available, but the script will be on the RGSB website so all can see it. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the newsreaders who read the news on a variety of platforms for their service to their fellow amateurs throughout the year. We’d also like to remind amateurs that there has been a long-standing convention to keep 145.525MHz free of traffic at 10 am on Sundays, to allow the news reading to go ahead without interference. Thank you to all those who listen on Sunday mornings, and the other times that the news is read, to those who call in afterwards to speak to the newsreaders, and to everyone who listens via platforms. There will be no script prepared for broadcast on Sunday the 2nd of January 2022 due to RSGB HQ being closed. Newsreaders may, of course, choose to run a net at their normal transmission time, but under their own callsign only.

We’d like to remind Members that the RSGB is looking for volunteers for roles in the Regional Team and on the Board. The deadline for completed nominations is 23:59 on 31 January 2022. There are eight vacancies for Regional Representatives and one for an elected Board Director. You can see further details about the roles and about how to apply at rsgb.org/election

The Comoros Islands DXpedition that was to take place sometime between mid-to-end January in 2022 has been postponed. The Covid situation makes it safer for the team not to travel now. It should take place later in 2022.

Having listened to feedback, the RSGB is delighted to announce that from the January 2022 issue onwards, it has been making RadCom available online for Members to read in the same week that the hard copy arrives through the letterbox. The January 2022 RadCom is now online at rsgb.org/radcom

Have you ever thought of becoming a GB2RS Newsreader? The team to the northwest of Manchester is looking for someone to join them, to broadcast on Sunday morning and/or evening on 2m and 4m. Applicants must be members of the RSGB and hold a Full or Intermediate licence. For more information, please contact the northwest team via Annick, M0HDE, email [email protected]. For general guidance about joining the GB2RS service, please contact the GB2RS Manager, Steve, G4HPE, via [email protected].

To mark 100 years of British broadcasting, the BBC will be putting on special events throughout 2022. As part of the celebrations, the staff amateur radio club, the BBC Radio Group, will be active throughout the year using the special callsign GB100BBC. Ofcom has kindly permitted operation from club members’ home stations, as well as from BBC premises around the UK, and locations associated with BBC broadcasting such as transmitter sites. In addition to online QSL options, a traditional commemorative QSL card will be available via the bureau. View the GB100BBC page on QRZ.com for more information and look for GB100BBC on all bands and modes. Operations will commence on New Year’s Day from the club shack in Broadcasting House, London.

The winners of the RSGB and ARRL 160-Meter Transatlantic Centenary QSO Party are Rick Niswander, K7GM and Bob Barden, MD0CCE. They receive a quaich, a traditional Scottish drinking cup representing friendship, from the GMDX Group of Scotland. For more information see the RSGB website.

Gwyn Williams, G4FKH has decided to stop running the Predtest.uk website. It will cease on the 22nd of December 2021. The site has been running for a few years now after Gwyn worked with numerous programmers to give a more user-friendly and graphical output to the ITU’s ITURHFPROP propagation prediction program. Predtest has been a very useful tool in the HF user’s armoury, allowing point-to-point and area coverage predictions among others. The RSGB Propagation Studies Committee would like to thank Gwyn for all his hard work on Predtest over the years. Users are being encouraged to move over to James Watson’s Proppy tool, which offers a similar experience to Predtest and is also based on ITURHFPROP. You can find Proppy at soundbytes.asia/proppy/ Alternatively, VOACAP.com offers a similar experience and is based on the well-known VOACAP software.

RSGB HQ will close for the Christmas and New Year period from 4.30 pm on the 23rd of December. It opens again at 8.30 am on the 4th of January. During that time, if you need information about amateur radio, exams or RadCom you’ll find lots of information on the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org.

And now for details of rallies and events

Now is the perfect time to let us know your group’s rally or event plans for 2022. Email [email protected] with details and we’ll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. There are already over twenty rallies in the calendar for 2022.

Now the DX news

Chris, ZS1CDG plans to be active as 7P8GOZ from Lesotho between the 20th and 26th of December. He will operate holiday style on 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres using FT8. QSL via Logbook of The World or his home call.

Brad, VK2BY will be active as HS0ZNR in north-eastern Thailand until the 21st of January. QSL direct to VK2BY and Logbook of The World.

Victor, WB0AA will be active as V4/WB0AA from St Kitts, NA-104 between the 22nd and the 30th of December. He will operate CW and SSB on the 10 to 160m bands. QSL via his home call and possibly Logbook of The World.

Now the Special Event news

GB120MT is being operated by Chelmsford ARS to mark the first successful reception in Newfoundland from the Marconi transmission at Poldhu in Cornwall. The station will be on the air at various times until the 1st of January 2022.

Now the contest news

There are no RSGB HF contests at all this month. When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following pandemic-related government rules.

The Stew Perry Top Band Challenge ends its 24-hour run at 1500UTC today, the 19th. It is CW only and the exchange is your 4-character locator.

On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The Christmas Cumulatives take place between the 26th and the 29th of December from 1400 to 1600 each day. Using the 50 to 432MHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On the 26th of December, the DARC Christmas Contest runs from 0830 to 1100UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations also send DOK or NM.

The Worked All Britain Christmas Party runs from the 26th of December to the 6th of January. Using all modes on any band, the exchange is your WAB book number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 17th of December

After a period with zero sunspots, we’re pleased to announce that the drought is over. There are now at least five active groups on the solar surface and this could even increase over the coming days. The solar flux index had leapt up to 103 from 89 on Thursday and could go even higher. This puts us in the fun zone for 10 metres and it will be interesting to see what is workable over the next week.

There is an increased risk of solar flares during this time and we have already seen some C- and M-class events. Solar flares and their associated coronal mass ejections are generally detrimental to HF propagation, with flares causing short-lived blackouts and CMEs causing a lowering of MUFs a few days later.

On Thursday the solar wind speed had increased to more than 500 kilometres per second and with a negative interplanetary magnetic field, or Bz, the Kp index had climbed to three as a result. Let’s hope it doesn’t climb much higher.

The US Air Force predicts that the Solar Flux Index will remain above 100 until perhaps Wednesday the 22nd, when it may decline to the high 90s. But we really are in uncharted territory at the moment so keep an eye on SolarHam.com for regular updates.

And finally, this week is a good time to contact Santa Claus in Lapland. OF9X is on the air in the Arctic Circle over Christmas and has been spotted on 80, 40, 30, 20 and 10m so far. He will be operating CW, SSB and FT8. The DX cluster is probably the easiest way of knowing where the station is on the bands at any one time. Good luck with making contact!

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The welcome return of high pressure and tropo conditions from the middle of the past week should last through to the middle of the coming week. This means there will be plenty more chances for further enhanced propagation on VHF/UHF bands and hopefully for the SHF UKAC on 23cm on Tuesday evening. The position of the high is such that even Scotland will enjoy some of the tropo and paths to the south across Biscay and into northern Spain are worth investigating.

From mid-week, there are signs that the Atlantic weather systems will break through again, which will take away the Tropo options. One intriguing set of charts shows a front across the middle of the country with mild air to the south and cold air to its north on Christmas Day. Plenty of excitement potential there, but at such long lead times it’s no more than one of many possible outcomes at present.

For a little extra joy this Christmas, we are moving into a time of year that can offer surprise winter Sporadic-E, that’s mid-December to mid-January. Little predictability is available for these events, but do make use of the Propquest charts at propquest.co.uk to get a hint of your chances; focus upon the jet stream maps, the NVIS tab to see the foEs values and the EPI index for mapped distribution of any possible hot spots.

Last week’s Geminids meteor shower produced some excellent QSOs up to and including 70cm for the well-equipped stations. The tail end of the shower should continue to make meteor scatter interesting.

The Moon is at peak declination meaning plenty of time for EME contacts but with yesterday’s apogee path losses are at their highest. 144MHz sky noise will be low this week.

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