GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 9th September 2018

The news headlines:

Brazil gets 60m and other new bands soon

South Africans’ YOTA report

Exciting Buildathon opportunity

ANATEL, the Brazilian telecoms regulator, has produced an updated band plan, effective in a couple of months, which releases 60m to their amateurs. This is the WRC-15 Secondary allocation 5351.5 to 5366.5kHz with 25W EIRP for Class A operators. In addition they have been granted another two new bands, 135kHz with 1 watt EIRP and 472kHz with 5 watts EIRP. The 160m band in Brazil will be expanded from 1850kHz, making it now 1.8 to 2MHz, and the 80m band will become 3.5 to 4MHz. The new frequencies are expected to come into operation in the week beginning the 26th of November.

The September 2018 issue of the South African national society amateur radio magazine, Radio ZS, reports on the Youngsters on the Air event, usually known as YOTA, that was recently held in South Africa. You can read all about the proceedings by downloading the newsletter from the front page of the SARL website, www.sarl.org.za The RSGB YOTA 2018 Team posted its experiences of each day at www.rsgb.org/yota2018

A Buildathon is taking place at the National Hamfest in Newark on the 28th and 29th of September. A place costs only £5, which is refunded as an RSGB book voucher if you complete the project on the day. As a bonus, the Hamfest organisers are offering free entry to those who book for the Buildathon, so the £5 covers entry to the Hamfest too. The project is a Poldhu Kits ‘Redruth’ receiver. Help, technical expertise and all necessary equipment will be provided on the day. Many thanks to Poldhu Kits for their help in providing the kits. Buildathon tickets can be purchased from www.rsgb.org/hamfestbuildathon

A small team is representing the UK in South Korea for the ARDF World Championships. We’re pleased to report that John Marriott, M0OJM came in third in the M70 Foxoring event.

The RSGB National Radio Centre is an amazing resource for amateur radio. Last year it showed our hobby to 26,000 people. We have been raising the profile of the NRC via social media, events, presentations, extra equipment, Bletchley Park signage, RadCom articles and extra opening days. As a result, visitor numbers are growing beyond all expectations. In August, volunteers showcased amateur radio to an incredible 10,713 visitors, smashing all previous records. The RSGB is very grateful for all the hard work, time and enthusiasm of the entire volunteer team to make this possible, and of course NRC Co-ordinator, Martyn Baker, G0GMB.

The RSGB Convention takes place from the 12th to the 14th of October at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. Saturday and Sunday is packed with a diverse range of lectures for all levels of expertise and interest. Dan McGraw, M0WUT will take a look at the design process of converting a HF WSPR transceiver personal project into an open-source electronics kit. Don, N1DG, was one of the team leaders of the Baker Island DXpedition in July. He’ll describe the planning process, setbacks and solutions of activating this tiny uninhabited atoll, 2000 miles south-west of Hawaii. You can see the whole Convention lecture programme at www.rsgb.org/convention

This year's International Air Ambulance Week will take place between the 8th and 16th of September. A free series of Awards will be available for those who support the event. All information and registration details are at www.radio-amateur-events.org/IAW/Registration.htm

The RSGB Board would like to thanks Chris Burbanks, G3SJJ for the sterling work he has done in revitalising the RSGB Awards scheme. A vacancy has now arisen for a volunteer to manage the Society’s award programmes. To carry out this role you will need good administration and computer skills. Most of the communications will be by email. The workload is not usually high and can be flexibly managed. If you are an RSGB Member and interested in applying, or would like to find out more, contact the Board Liaison Member for Awards, Keith Haynes, G3WRO, via email to [email protected]

The 22nd of September marks the 100th anniversary of the first wireless transmission between Australia and the United Kingdom. The Wireless Institute of Australia will hold an on-air event that will run throughout September. Complete information can be found on www.wia.org.au/newsevents/marconi100/about/

The deadline to nominate someone for the RSGB G5RP Trophy is fast approaching. This annual award is open to anyone who has recently started and made significant progress in HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to recommend someone, you have until the 14th of September. Please send your nomination to RSGB HF Manager Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, via email to [email protected] The award will be presented this year during the RSGB Convention on the 12th to the 14th of October.

Finally, a reminder to respond to the important Ofcom consultation that concludes this week. Our responses may shape Ofcom’s preparations for the next World Radio Conference, WRC-19, on subjects including the future of 6m and the microwave bands. The deadline is 5pm on Thursday. RSGB guidance and further information is at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0902-A

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

Over the weekend of the 15th and 16th of September the British Amateur Television Club holds its Convention at the Midlands Air Museum, Coventry Airport, Rowley Rd, Baginton CV3 4FR. Details at ww.batc.org.uk

The Fog On The Tyne rally will take place on the 15th of September at Whitehall Road Methodist Church Hall, Bensham NE8 4LH. There is a car park entrance on Whitehall Road. The nearest metro station is Gateshead, or use Go-Ahead routes 53 or 54. Doors open at 10.30am and admission is £2, including a raffle ticket. There will be traders, an RSGB bookstand and a junk stall. Details from Nancy Bone, G7UUR, on 0799 076 0920.

Weston super Mare Radio Society is holding its annual rally on Sunday the 16th of September at the Campus Community Centre in Worle, near Junction 22 of the M5. There are 55 tables with many of the well-known traders in attendance. It is open from 10am until 3pm and tickets are £3 with accompanied under 16s free.

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

Oliver, DK7TX will be active as SV8/DK7TX between the 9th and 15th of September from the islands of Paxoi, Vido and Kerkyra/Corfu, which all count for IOTA group EU-052. QSL via his home call.

Harry, JG7PSJ will be active as WH0RU from Saipan, OC-086, between the 12th and the 18th of September. He will operate CW, SSB and RTTY on 40 to 10m. QSL via Logbook of The World, or direct to JG7PSJ.

Jacek, SP5APW will be active as 3W9JK from Cham Island, AS-162, from the 15th to the 22nd of September, and then as 3W9JK/p from Hoi An in mainland Vietnam between the 22nd and 27th. He will operate SSB on the 20 to 6m bands. QSL via Club Log OQRS, or via SP5APW.

Christian, OE3DEC will be active as 8Q7EC from the Maldives, AS-013, between the 14th and the 23rd of September. QSL via Club Log OQRS, or via his home call either direct or via the bureau.

Manfred, DL5FAB will be active as FY/DL5FAB from French Guiana until the 18th of September. He will operate CW and FT8 from the Radio Amateur Club de Kourou. QSL via the bureau to DL5FAB, or via eQSL.

Now the special event news

Bury Radio Society will be holding a special event station from a moving train carriage being pulled by the Flying Scotsman on the 15th of September this year. Look out for further info here and on both their Facebook and Twitter accounts or see www.buryradiosociety.org.uk/

We are very happy to publicise your event on GB2RS, in RadCom and on the RSGB website, but can only do so if you tell us what you’re doing, in advance! Please send details to [email protected] as early as possible. The lead time for RadCom is about three months; it’s much less for GB2RS. One of the requirements for getting a special event callsign is that the station must be open to the public, so our free advance publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

The WA DX SSB contest ends at 2359UTC today, the 9th. Using SSB on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note that EU stations work non-EU only.

Today, the 9th, the IRTS 2m Counties contest runs from 1200 to 1300UTC. Using SSB and FM, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Please note that EI and GI stations will also give their county.

That 2m Counties contest is followed immediately by the IRTS 70cm Counties contest, from 1300 to 1500UTC. Again using SSB and FM, the exchange is signal report and serial number. EI and GI stations also give their county.

On Monday the 80m Autumn Series contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using SSB only, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

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

On Thursday the 50MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1900UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 50MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator.

The 2018 Africa All Mode International DX Contest takes place next weekend. The objective of this all-mode contest is to stimulate contesting from Africa. It runs from 1200UTC on the 15th to 1200UTC on the 16th of September. Both single and multi-operator stations may operate for the entire 24-hour period. There are no mandated breaks in operating time required. Full details are at www.sarl.org.za/#Contest

Next Sunday, the 16th, the Second 70MHz contest takes place from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also next Sunday, the UK Microwave Group’s contest takes place from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 24 to 76GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The BARTG Sprint 75 contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC next Sunday. Using RTTY on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands, the exchange is just your serial number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G3SVW, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 7th of September.

The Sun was spotless for most of last week and no spots are expected to rotate into view over the next few days. This will keep flux levels low, and working frequencies will remain depressed. Maximum useable frequencies may struggle to include the 18MHz band. Warnings of a rising Kp index have been issued, and geomagnetic disturbance may increase as next week progresses. This would bring difficult conditions to the bands. It is also expected that the unsettled period will continue over this weekend due to the persistence of a negative polarity coronal hole.

It’s worth monitoring the International Beacon Project frequencies, even though solar activity and flux is low. The Venezuelan beacon YV5B was heard on 14.100MHz at 2230UTC. Other DX beacons heard in daytime on that frequency included RR9O in Siberia and VR2B in Hong Kong. Another way to assess propagation conditions is to make routine listening checks of stations operating a continuous service. The mid- to lower-end of the HF spectrum is well served by the Russian RWM time service stations. These operate close to 5 and 10MHz. Their signal strength and fade characteristics are indicative of propagation conditions.

In spite of the doom and gloom regarding the state of the solar cycle and propagation conditions, there are instances of fair to medium DX to be found. These include XV1 in Vietnam and 3B9 Rodriguez Island on 14MHz around 1400UTC, and A5 Bhutan on 7MHz at 2330UTC. Optimism regarding the start of the next cycle may be slightly premature, but everyone is eagerly looking now for definite signs of the beginning.

And now the VHF and up propagation news

As the autumn season arrives and early morning mist and fog become part of the daily weather fare, then it's the season for Tropo. The coming week will offer some regions of high pressure, in the south initially, but perhaps more generally by the end of the week, so add Tropo to your operating list and get some activity going in the multimode end of the VHF/UHF bands. There will also be some heavy rain showers, particularly over northern Britain this weekend, so there is a chance of some rain scatter on the GHz bands.

The disturbed geomagnetic conditions that are expected this weekend will make it worth checking the K index and 6m to 2m bands for signs of auroral propagation.

The moon was at perigee yesterday, its closest approach and declination is still positive until Tuesday, so the early part of the week should be best for EME. Today though, after about 1130 until moonset, the Sun and Moon are very close, meaning lots of sun noise in the antenna beamwidth.

The September Epsilon Perseids meteor shower takes place today within the boundaries of the constellation of Perseus. It occurs between the 5th to 21st of September with the small peak occurring today.

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