GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 19th August 2018

 

The news headlines:

Norway gets 1kW on 6m and other bands

Train the Trainers in Wolverhampton

Share your VHF NFD experiences

On the 8th of August, Norway got an updated amateur licence, allowing all Norwegian amateurs access to 50 to 52MHz with a power of 1kW. Other new privileges include permission for non-amateurs to operate an amateur station, under supervision of a licenced amateur, for training and educational purposes. On higher bands, amateurs received permission to use 1kW for EME and meteor scatter on 69.9 to 70.5MHz, 144 to 146MHz, 432 to 438MHz and 1240 to 1300MHz, all without any additional regulatory application.

The next RSGB Train the Trainers will be held on Saturday the first of September, from 9.30am to 5pm. It takes place at Wolverhampton Electricity Sports and Social Club, St Marks Road, Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton WV3 0QH. This venue is the HQ of Wolverhampton ARS. For more information, or to book a place, please contact Ron Wellsted by email to [email protected]

RSGB VHF National Field Day weekend took place on the 7th and 8th of July, and a feature is planned in the next edition of RadCom. If your club participated in the event then it’s still not too late to send your contribution for the article. It’s a great way to promote your club’s activity. Please email your words, remembering that succinct is always good, plus some publishable pictures – the higher resolution the better – to [email protected] The deadline for the article is this Thursday, the 23rd of August. For information on sending suitable photos for publication, please see tinyurl.com/RadComPix

The RSGB Convention is at Kents Hill Park Training & Conference Centre, MK7 6BZ, from the 12th to the 14th of October. There will be a vast array of talks and demos, and the chance to rub shoulders with the giants of amateur radio. Early Bird discounts for the RSGB Convention have just been extended to the 31st of August. So you still have a few days left to get your packages for this flagship event at a lower price. Details, including a provisional Programme, are at www.rsgb.org/convention – and don’t forget, under 21’s get free admission.

The YOTA 2018 UK team have been very busy at this year’s international youth event in South Africa. They are sharing their amateur radio activities on social media and on the RSGB website. Take a look at their blog at www.rsgb.org/yota2018 and follow them via @theRSGByouth on Twitter. They’re working on a video summary that the RSGB will release when they are back, and there will also be a feature in a forthcoming RadCom.

The National Hamfest is coming ever closer. This 10th anniversary event takes place on the 28th and 29th of September and is the UK’s largest exhibition and gathering of amateur radio enthusiasts. Among all the usual rally attractions like a big RSGB bookstall, traders, flea market and Bring and Buy, the winners of the National Club of the Year 2017, sponsored by Waters and Stanton, will be announced. You can get full details of the event and Fast Track advance entry tickets at www.nationalhamfest.org.uk

Due to essential maintenance work on the aerial mast at the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park, D-Star repeater GB7BP will likely be off air from Tuesday the 28th to Thursday the 30th of August. The maintenance work is weather dependant, so there may be a change to the date. If there is a change we will try to publicise it via the RSGB website and other online means. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned for Alexander Gerst, KF5ONO with a school in Germany on Wednesday the 22nd of August at approximately 0915UTC. The conversation will be conducted in German and will be direct, operated by DC1RSN. The downlink signals will be audible in many parts of Europe.

And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week

Today, the 19th, the Rugby Amateur Radio Society Rally will be held at Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby CV23 9PY. Doors open from 10am to 4pm and at 8.30am for sellers. Admission is £3. There is a car boot sale and catering is available on site. Contact Steve, G8LYB, on 0795 685 5816.

Next weekend, on the 25th and 26th, the Montrose Amateur Radio & Aviation Rally will take place at Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, DD10 9BD. Doors are open from 10am on both days and entry is free. If you want a table, which cost £5, contact Martin, 2M0KAU, on 0776 370 8933 as soon as possible. CQ Scotland.com, part of the Mid Lanark Amateur Radio Society, will run a Buildathon on the Sunday. Spaces are limited, so please email your interest to David, MM0HQD, via [email protected]

On Sunday the 26th the Torbay ARS Annual Communications Fair will be held The Racecourse, Newton Road, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 3AF. It’s an indoor event with free parking and disabled facilities, and is accessible by public transport. There will be a Bring & Buy sale, RSGB Book Stall, special interest groups and trade stands. Catering is available on site. Contact Mike, G1TUU on 01803 557 941.

Also on the 26th, Milton Keynes ARS is holding its 60th anniversary rally at the Irish Centre, Manor Field, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK2 2HZ. Doors open at 9.30am and admission is £3. Hot & cold food will be available. Contact Francis Hennigan, 2E0FMK, via email to [email protected]

On the 27th, Bank Holiday Monday, the Huntingdonshire ARS annual rally will take place at the Ernulf Academy, Barford Rd, St Neots PE19 2SH. Talk-in with GX0HSR will be on 145.550MHz. There’s free parking and admission is £3. Doors open 9am, or 7am for traders. There will be an RSGB Book Stall as well as a Bring & Buy, Hot meals and drinks are available on site and there will be an ice cream van. Contact M0OLG on 01480 214 282.

To get your event into RadCom and GB2RS, send details as early as possible to [email protected]

And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources

Four operators will be active as C4II from Agios, Georgios Island, IOTA reference AS-120, on the 25th to the 27th of August. They plan to operate CW, SSB and FT8 on the 80 to 10m bands, and possibly on 6m.

Duby, 9A6DR is on the air as 9A6DR/P from Kolocep Island, EU-016, until around the 20th of October. In his spare time he is on the 40, 20, 10 and 6 metre bands. QSL via home call, direct or bureau.

A large multinational team of YL operators will be active as TM64YL from Noirmoutier Island, EU-064, from the 25th to the 31st of August. They will operate SSB, CW, RTTY and FT8. QSL via F4GDI, direct or bureau.

Jacques, F6HMJ will be active as SV8/F6HMJ from Ios Island, EU-067, from the 27th of August to the 6th of September. He will operate CW and some SSB on the 40 to 10 metre bands. QSL via his home call.

Wey, K8EAB will be on the air as K4G from St George Island, NA-085, from the 20th to the 25th of August. QSL via Club Log for electronic IOTA credit (preferred), or direct to K8EAB.

Now the special event news

The International Lighthouse and Lightships Weekend ends today, the 19th. More than 400 lighthouse and lightship activations in 40 countries will take part in this 25th anniversary of the event. The very first Northern Lighthouse Weekend was organised in 1993 by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group, with activity from 10 lighthouses in Scotland and the Isle of Man. Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club were one of the original 10 clubs involved and are back at the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse with their original callsign of GB2LG. Colchester Radio Amateurs are taking to the air from The Naze Car Park, Old Hall Lane, Walton CO14 8LE. Bushvalley ARC will be participating from Rathlin East, West and Rue Point Lighthouses. Loughton and Epping Forest ARS will be on the air as GB0TBW for Trinity Buoy Wharf. Carrickfergus ARG will be operating from the car park at Larne Leisure Centre. Harwich Amateur Radio Interest Group will be taking part from inside the Harwich High Light using the callsign GB4HLH. For a full list of stations go to www.illw.net

GB100RAF is operating from Saturday the 18th to Friday the 24th of August from RAF Syerston, as part of the RAF Air Cadets Aerospace Camp, RAFAC, and in conjunction with the RAF 100 celebrations. Cadets will be mainly on 40m around 7.155MHz, ±QRM. All QSLs via G8FC please.

Pontefract & District ARS the club will be operating GB250CC to mark Captain Cook's First Voyage in Endeavour, starting on the 23rd of August. The big day will be the 25th, the actual day Cook sailed. This station will continue until September, although not every day.

GB4RNF will be on the air on the Friday the 24th of August from Boston Central Park, Lincolnshire.

The British Inland Waterways on the Air event takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the 25th to 27th. Paul, MI1AIB and Sharon, 2I0SHZ will be active with GB8BRM from Ballyronan Marina on the shores of Lough Neagh. This is WAB square H98. Activity will mostly be holiday style. QSL via MI1AIB. For more details of other stations go to www.nharg.org.uk/biwota

Spalding ARS is putting on a Special Event Station on the 24th of August for the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fisherman. Operating from Boston Central Park, there will be other events taking place as well as the amateur station.

In 1918 a group of enthusiasts interested in the new hobby of amateur radio formed a group in Guildford and named it the Guildford Wireless Alliance and there has been at least one amateur radio society in Guildford ever since. Now, 100 years later, Guildford & District Radio Society, Wey Valley Amateur Radio Group and the Guildford Repeater Group are pleased to celebrate 100 years of Amateur Radio in Guildford. A special event station will be on the air from the 25th to the 27th of August on HF, VHF and digital modes. The venue is the Guildford Model Engineers HQ, London Road, Guildford, Surrey GU1 1TU.  Further details from Timothy Dabbs, G7JYQ, by email to [email protected].

If you’re planning a special event station, please remember to send publicity information well in advance to [email protected] – we are very happy to help publicise your event, for free, on GB2RS, in RadCom and on the RSGB website, but can’t help you unless you tell us what you’re doing! As a rule of thumb, please send details for RadCom at least three months in advance.

Now the contest news

There are no RSGB HF contests in the month of August.

On Tuesday at 1900 to 2130UTC the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest takes place with the exchange of signal report, serial number and locator.

Next Sunday, the 26th, the UK Microwave Group contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands. 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 August.

Matter from a solar coronal hole sent the K index to four on two occasions last week. This adversely affected the ionosphere and on Thursday morning the maximum usable frequency over 3,000 kilometres was struggling to get much above 10MHz. Earlier in the week conditions had been much better. In fact, there were signs we are now moving towards more equinox-like HF conditions and away from the summer doldrums. Chris, G0DWV reports working a number of Japanese stations on 17 metres last week, while Andy, M0NKR worked as far west as Montana in the USA. Checking the bands before retiring on Wednesday evening, Steve, G0KYA was surprised to hear a loud XQ3SK in Chile at the bottom end of 20 metres at 2230UTC. This does bode well for HF over the coming weeks, as long as geomagnetic conditions can remain quiet.

There was one tiny visible sunspot group last week, which pushed the sunspot number to 12, but there are no signs of any others coming around the sun’s limb. Consequently, next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be around 68-70 again, with minimal or zero sunspots. It also predicts unsettled geomagnetic conditions on the 20th and 21st due to a high-speed solar wind stream from a coronal hole. Conditions should be more settled after that, so we may expect better HF conditions from Thursday onwards.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

This weekend a weak low over the country may lead to some short sharp scattered showers, setting up conditions for rain scatter on the microwave bands. The many weather radars available online will allow you to follow these large highly-reflective cumulonimbus clouds to set up those longer-range microwave paths.

Subsequently, southern Britain will have a ridge of high pressure pushing in from the Azores high and this will re-introduce the prospects of some Tropo, especially to the south into the continent and across Biscay to Spain or even beyond, as we’ve seen this last week. There will, however, be a tendency for lower pressure to the north of Scotland, keeping winds stronger and curtailing the chance of Tropo.

Lastly, Sporadic-E has been looking a bit thin recently, although a few openings were seen at the end of last week. Unfortunately, any favourable placements of jet streams this weekend will soon be displaced and the next week is showing only limited potential with a very weak upper air flow over Europe for much of this week.

The Moon is at minimum declination on Wednesday and is at its apogee of 405,700km on Thursday. This means the worst EME conditions of the lunar month this week, with highest path losses and very short, low-elevation moon visibility windows.

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