GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 30th September 2018

The news headlines:

Renew your 146MHz NoV NOW

DXCC card checking at Convention

Enigma Reloaded at National Radio Centre

All current 146-147MHz band Notices of Variation (NoV) expire on Tuesday the 31st of October. Ofcom has agreed that the band will be made available for another year. However, to continue to use the frequencies you must obtain a new NoV. These are available free from the RSGB website via www.rsgb.org/nov Currently, 548 NoVs have been issued for this band.

DXCC card checking will be available on Saturday the 13th in the special interest display area at the RSGB Convention near Milton Keynes. Before the Convention please use the ARRL’s online DXCC application form at www.arrl.org/online-dxcc-application to complete and pay for your application, then print out the PDF document to bring with your cards. Hand completed paper forms are no longer accepted.

The fifth Enigma Reloaded event will take place in two stages. Until the 5th of October, Italian and other amateur radio stations registered as Activator Stations will be on the air to allow participants to obtain the points required for the Enigma Award. On the 6th of October, the final day, the Activator Stations will exchange predefined CW messages previously enciphered by a real or emulated Enigma machine. The RSGB’s National Radio Centre, located at Bletchley Park, will be the only UK organisation participating. A team of CW operators using the NRC’s amateur radio station, GB3RS, will take down the encoded message and pass it to an Enigma operator for decoding into plain text. The original WWII Enigma machine, and an operator, will be provided by Bletchley Park. Don’t forget, RSGB Members can gain access to the NRC by downloading a free entry voucher from the RSGB website. All details and rules are available on the official website in English at https://tinyurl.com/y7qgxfb4

The RSGB Youth Committee provides a focus for the young Members of the RSGB and represents the UK at several national and international events. The RSGB would like to appoint an individual to champion the Youth Committee in all that they do including managing the UK attendance at the YOTA camp each year and YOTA month every December. Full details of the role are on the RSGB website at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0930A

The RSGB Convention takes place from the 12th to the 14th of October at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. Our thanks to the principal sponsor, Martin Lynch & Sons. You can see the whole Convention lecture programme at www.rsgb.org/convention Visitors will be pleased to know that Neil Smith, G4DBN will investigate what really matters when you are aiming for the ultimate performance with FT8 and other digital modes. Antenna radiation patterns are difficult to measure because antennas are typically high above the ground, and the peak gain tends to be horizontal or above. Jenny Bailey, G0VQH will describe a practical method of measuring the radiation field around an antenna using a drone. She will cover CAA restrictions, drone selection, payload, operation, measurement of antenna design and plotting results.

Although the current UK amateur radio licence is known as a ‘licence for life’, all radio amateurs are required to revalidate their licence at least every five years. This means every licence holder must contact Ofcom to confirm or update the details on the licence database. The quickest way to revalidate is simply to access the licensing system and confirm or re-confirm your details online via the Ofcom website, or by email to [email protected]. Links to the Ofcom website as well as a helpful article about the Licensing Portal, Registration and Revalidation can be found on the RSGB website at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0930A

The RSGB is pleased to announce that Mike Bruce, M0ITI has been co-opted to the RSGB Board, with immediate effect. Mike will provide focus and expertise to ensure that the Board is fully equipped to support the major changes within the Examinations Systems. Mike was recently appointed Examination Systems Review Manager, has been a member of the Examination Group for some years. Other Board changes of responsibility will be announced in due course.

The next RSGB Train the Trainers event will take place on Saturday the 3rd of November in Wimborne, Dorset. The course runs from 9am to 4.30pm at Flight Refuelling ARS, Cobham Sports and Social Club, off Merley Park Road, Broadstone, Wimborne BH21 3DA. To book a place please contact Sue Macdonald via email to [email protected] It is over two years since a course was held in the South West, so it would be useful for new trainers and those who attended previously as a refresher. The course continues to develop, improve and change, so those attending again will not be bored! There are significant opportunities to network and exchange ideas and good practice throughout the day.

The final of our series of lectures from the RSGB 2017 Convention entitled Reflections on the History of Radar by Hugh Griffiths, G4CNV is now available online for RSGB Members. Go to the Video section after you have logged into your RSGB account.

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

Today, the 30th, the Pencoed ARC Table Top Sale takes place at Pencoed Rugby Football Club, The Verlands, Felindre Road, Pencoed CF35 5PB. Tables are £10 each, on a first come first served basis. Doors open 8am for sellers, 9.30 for buyers. Admission is £2. Hot and cold drinks are available, with hot food available in the morning and at lunchtime. More from Madeline Roberts on 0773 837 5775.

Next Sunday, the 7th of October, the 45th Welsh Radio Rally will take place at Rougemont School, Malpas Road, Newport, South Wales NP20 6QB. Doors open 10am and admittance is £2.50. There will be a Bring & Buy sale, catering, lectures/seminars, talk-in, RSGB bookstall, trade stands, special interest groups, and a prize draw/raffle. Lectures from Eric Edwards, GW8LJJ on Free Digital Voice on HF and Andrew Rushton, GW0UZK on Aerial Basics. Contact Michael Rackham, GW4JKV, on 01495 226 149

Next Sunday, the 7th of October, the Hack Green Bunker Rally will be held at Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, French Lane, Hack Green, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8AL. This will be a sale of electronic equipment, amateur gear, components, military radio items and vehicle spares. Doors open 10am, and there will be refreshments available onsite. Contact 01270 623 353 for further information.

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

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

A large team of operators from Albania, Austria and Slovenia will be active as ZA5V from Lake Shkodra, JN92RD, on the 1st to the 12th of October. They will be using 6 and 2m EME as well activity on the 80 to 10m bands using all modes. QSL via OE6FNG.

Fabien, F4GYM will operate as F4GYM/p from Sein Island, part of the Finistere South West group, IOTA reference EU-068, between the 2nd and the 5th of October. Operating on the 80m to 10m bands using SSB and digital, QSL via F4GYM, either direct or via the bureau.

Klaus, DL8DZL will be visiting Trassenheide on Usedom Island, EU-129, until the 6th of October. He will operate as DL8DZL/p on all HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL via DL8DZL, either direct or via the bureau.

Four operators will be on the air from Christmas Island, OC-002, as VK9XT until the 6th of October. Planned activities will take place on the 160m to 10m bands using CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL direct via N4GNR, Logbook of The World or eQSL.

Ulrich, DL2AH will operate as WH8/DL2AH from Ofu Island, OC-077, between the 2nd and the 29th of October using SSB, FT8 and RTTY in holiday style. He plans to take part in the CQWW DX SSB contest. QSL direct via DL2AH.

Now the special event news

The RNIB, now known as the Royal National Institute of Blind People, was founded on 16 October 1868. As part of the celebration of their 150th anniversary, Terry Robinson, GM3WUX will run a special event callsign GR150NIB from 1 to 28 October. Activity is planned on SSB and CW across all HF bands except 60m, plus some possibly limited activity on 4m and 6m. Special QSLs will be available. There will be a log search at www.g3swh.org.uk/gr150nib.html where all QSL requests should be made via OQRS only.

We are very happy to publicise your event on GB2RS, in RadCom and on the RSGB website. Please send details to [email protected] as early as possible. One condition for getting a special event callsign is that the station must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

The CQWW DX RTTY contest ends its 48 hour run at 2359UTC today, the 30th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is RST and Zone, which for the UK is 14.

Today, the 30th, the UK Microwave Groups contest runs from 0600 to1800UTC on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1900UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the UK & EI Contest Club 80m event runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using SSB only, the exchange is your four-character locator.

Next Saturday, the 6th, the 1.2GHz trophy takes place from 1400 to 2200UTC. Using all modes on the 1.2 and 2.3GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The Oceania DX SSB contest runs from 0800UTC on the 6th to 0800UTC on the 7th. Using SSB only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

The 432MHz to 245GHz contest runs from 1400UTC on the 6th to 1400UTC on the 7th. Using all modes on the 432MHz to 245GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The IARU 432MHz to 245GHz contest runs from 1400UTC on the 6th to 1400UTC on the 7th. Using all modes on 70cm and above, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Sunday the 7th, the DX Contest takes place from 0500 to 2300UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

The Worked All Britain DX contest takes place next Sunday, the 7th of October from 0500 to 2300UTC. The exchange will be RS plus serial number plus WAB square using the 80, 50, 20, 15 and 10m bands, SSB only. This is a new contest and replaces their HF contest that was discontinued. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 28th of October. www.worked-all-britain.org.uk is your source for details of the rules and log sheets

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday 28th September 2018.

At the risk of sounding very “samey”, the solar flux index remained at around 67-68 with zero sunspots this week, and just a few points off what we can expect at absolute solar minimum.

As predicted, geomagnetic conditions were relatively poor at the beginning of the week, but did improve slightly later on, although the K index remained at three at times. This was due to ongoing coronal hole activity on the Sun. But as we are now moving to better autumnal ionospheric conditions the daytime maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path did exceed 18MHz at times according to the Chilton ionosonde. There are signs that if geomagnetic conditions can remain quiet for a few days this may even reach the dizzy heights of 21MHz. It is worth monitoring the higher bands, and if you don’t hear much activity, check out the FT8 frequencies on 18 or 21MHz or head for the International Beacon Network frequencies at 18.100MHz or 21.150MHz. If all else fails, call CQ!

Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain around 68-70, but we may have unsettled geomagnetic conditions around the 1st and 2nd of October. The best HF conditions may occur later in the week as the ionosphere becomes more settled.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

At 21:47hrs on Tuesday the 25th of September, the Region 1, 144MHz tropo record was broken again, this time from England. G3SMT worked D4Z on the Cape Verde Islands via the marine duct caused by the Azores High system. At 4,431km, it broke the previous record of 4270km set just one minute earlier by GW0KZG!

Next week has plenty of high pressure around, so get down to the bottom of the bands on CW, SSB and FT8. The high pressure will again be centred initially just to the west of the UK making linkage in to the Azores system still a possibility. Eventually part of this will drift east across the country to end the week over the continent, while a weak front crosses the British Isles. Tropo will be present to some degree for much of the week over southern parts, but more fleeting in the north, where it will be rather breezy at times.

If you’re not well placed for Tropo, EME conditions will be at their best this coming week with peak declination on Tuesday and perigee next Saturday. Note that these two occurrences are starting to drift apart in time again, but don’t worry they won’t be fully out of phase until July 2022!

There are no significant meteor showers this week so around dawn on the lower VHF bands will be the best time for QSOs via random meteors.

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