GB2RS

GB2RS News Sunday the 26th of June 2022 The news headlines: RSGB joins IARU Region 1 meeting GB70D on air from the Isle of Man Tonight@8 on Monday RSGB volunteers and staff contributed to the IARU Region 1 Interim meeting at Friedrichshafen on Thursday the 23rd of June. The meeting covered topics across HF, VHF and UHF as well as Microwave and EMC matters. This included the latest state of preparations for WRC-23 where agenda item 9.1B on the protection of satellite navigation systems, such as Galileo in the 23cm band, was of prime interest. Slides showing the current state and this potentially significant threat to the radio amateur and amateur satellite services have been published on the RSGB special focus page at rsgb.org/wrc-23. The IARU, supported by the RSGB, continues to work hard to reduce any impact. The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee station GB70D is based on the Isle of Man. On Tuesday the 28th, it will be based in the grounds of Government House. It is hoped that the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man and Lady Philippa will participate for several periods during the day. The station plans to operate on 2m, as well as SSB and CW on most bands from 40m up. Operations start around 9.30am. Tonight @8 will take place on Monday, the 4th of July. This is the final lecture before the summer break. Peter Duffett-Smith, G3XJE will be looking at Radio waves and antennas…and all that. His presentation covers a range of antenna-related information so there should be something for everyone. Tonight@8 webinars are live-streamed on the RSGB’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/thersgb. The 98-year-old 200kW Alexanderson alternator, callsign SAQ, will not be able to air on Alexanderson Day, Sunday the 3rd of July. This is due to difficulties in obtaining components in the ongoing maintenance work. The Alexander Association welcomes visitors to the museum on the 3rd from 10am to 4pm. Together with the World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station they will offer many activities for the whole family during the day. There will be two transmitter startups with SAQ, but without any transmission over the antenna. National society in Iceland, IRA, reports on the renewal of special authorisation to use 50MHz. Icelandic licensees have been granted increased power licenses in the 50-50.5MHz frequency range until the 31st of September. Full licensees are allowed to use up to 1kW and Novice licensees up to 100W. The 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held as part of the RSGB Convention on the 8th and 9th of October at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. The weekend event attracts an international audience that ranges from those involved in building and operating amateur radio satellites to beginners who wish to find out more about this fascinating branch of the hobby. Find out more at amsat-uk.org or rsgb.org/convention. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Today, the 26th of June, the Newbury Radio Rally will be held at the Newbury Showground, next to junction 13 of the M4 motorway in Berkshire. Over a hundred sellers, national societies and a demonstration marquee will be there. It is open to the public from 9am with admission £2.50. There is free parking on site. On Saturday, the 2nd of July, the Laugharne Radio Rally will be held in the Millennium Memorial Hall, Laugharne near Carmarthen SA33 4QG. Doors open 10am until 12 noon. Details from Matthew on 0739 882 5024. Next Sunday, the 3rd, The Cornish RAC Rally will take place in Penair School, St Clement, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1TN. Doors open at 10am with a £2 admission. There will be a Bring & Buy, traders and local club stands. Refreshments are available on site. Find out more at gx4crc.com. Next Sunday is also the Barford Norfolk Radio Rally at Barford Village Hall. Doors open at 9am. Visit norfolkamateurradio.org for more information. Now the DX news Eric, KV1J will be active as FP/KV1J from Miquelon Island, NA-032, from the 28th of June to the 12th of July. Plans are to operate SSB, RTTY and FT8, plus some FT4 and CW on the 6 to 80m bands. QSL via his home call either direct or via the bureau, Logbook of The World and eQSL. Joe, OZ0J will be active as HB0/OZ0J from Liechtenstein from the 28th of June to the 5th of July. He plans to operate SSB, CW and FT8 on the 6 to 40m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World, Club Log's OQRS, eQSL, or via his home call. David, DL7ZM is active as 7O/DL7ZM from Socotra Island, AF-028, in Yemen until the 3rd of July. Activity is on 10 meters using CW and FT8, and on 6 meters as well. QSL details on QRZ.com Now the Special Event news Members of The Angel of the North ARC will be running GB0UUR to celebrate the life of their late Club Secretary and RSGB ex Deputy Regional Manager, Nancy Bone, G7UUR. This event will take place during the afternoon of Saturday the 2nd of July. Durham and District ARS is participating as one of the bonus stations in the 13 Colonies Special Event. GB13COL has been issued for this event and will run from the club station from 1300UTC on the 1st of July until 0400UTC on the 8th. The primary focus of the event will be the HF bands, including VHF, UHF & Satellite for QSOs using SSB, CW, FM, and various digital modes. More information at 13colonies.us. Now the contest news Today, Sunday the 26th of June, there are three contests taking place. The CW leg of the 50MHz Contest runs between 0900 and 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The second contest today, the 26th, is the fourth 70MHz Cumulatives contest runs between 1400 and 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Finally for today, the 26th, the UK Microwave Group 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday, the RSGB FT4 Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using the 3.5, 7 and 14MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report and 4-character locator. Tuesday sees the SHF UK Activity Contest taking place between 1830 and 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend, the 2nd and 3rd of July, is the RSGB VHF National Field Day. Running for 24-hours from 1400UTC on the 2nd, the contest uses the 50, 70, 144 and 432MHz bands as well as 1.3GHz. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next Sunday, the 3rd of July, the 3rd 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1000 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 24th of June 2022. As predicted, the solar flux index fell back this week, but it didn’t fall as low as experts predicted. On Thursday, it stood at 129, but with three sunspot groups about to rotate off the visible surface, it looks like it may now fall lower. We are now well and truly into the summer season for HF propagation, which can be characterised as providing lower maximum usable frequencies during the day, but higher MUFs at night. Sporadic-E remains the most common mode of propagation on the higher bands, with F2-layer MUFs over 3,000 kilometres generally not exceeding 21MHz for most of the day. But more on Sporadic E in the VHF segment of this report. The good news is that 20 metres stays open later, often providing paths over 3,000km up until midnight. The higher bands, that is 17 metres, 15 metres and perhaps 12 metres, may generally provide good paths to South America in the evenings, with 20-metre paths being the last to close. But we’re afraid we may have to wait until September to see good reliable paths into North America on HF once again. Next week, NOAA predicts that the SFI will remain around the 100 mark, so we may expect lower MUFs again, apart from Es openings. Geomagnetic conditions should generally be quiet with a maximum Kp index of two once we get over any disturbance this weekend due to a high-speed solar wind stream. And now the VHF and up propagation news. The recent very warm and humid weather has produced some occasional Tropo with the British Isles being on the edge of high pressure, mainly over the near continent. This may still happen occasionally in the coming week, but the fundamental characteristic for next week is low pressure and unsettled weather over the UK. This will produce some rain, with thunderstorms a possibility, and rain scatter will crop up as a useful mode on the upper GHz bands at times. The many online weather radar displays will allow you to keep a track of storms as they develop. When low pressure is centred over the country the showers may be longer-lasting and not decay overnight, so this period looks more promising than the usual mainly daytime shower distribution. The Sporadic-E season is in full swing, but in a rather restrained way since openings have been fairly limited and often fleeting. The presence of jet streams on the weather charts is a good indicator of regions where Es is more likely and the coming week offers a good variety of options, so if Sporadic-E is hard to find then perhaps other parameters may not be optimal; for example, the meteor input is a crucial component in the development of Es. Check the daily conditions for jet streams on the Propquest.co.uk EPI maps and Es blog. The June meteor showers, mentioned last week, continue into early July so keep checking meteor scatter conditions between the Es. With the Moon at maximum declination on Wednesday, Moon windows are long this week. Today, Sunday the 26th of June, the Moon is at apogee, or its furthest point from Earth, so path losses are at their highest, and for around four hours after UK Moonrise on Wednesday the Sun is close to the Moon so noise will be high at that time. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.    

GB2RS News Sunday the 19th of June 2022 The news headlines: Region 1 Monitoring Service newsletter IARU VHF and up matters GI-QRP Convention The latest IARU Region 1 Monitoring Service newsletter detailing intruders in the amateur bands is available at iaru-r1.org. Radars continue to be the most numerous and harmful intrusions in our bands. For the last couple of months monitoring have been receiving signals whose function they have not yet been able to identify. The most common one has a bandwidth of about 8kHz, seems to consist of a central carrier and is most frequently found in the 20 and 40m bands. For those with a particular interest in VHF matters, the IARU Region 1 VHF+ Newsletter number 89 is available from the same website, iaru-r1.org. It contains details of the interim hybrid meeting due to be held during the radio show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Subjects for discussion include preparation for the ITU World Radio Conference, WRC23, particularly regarding the 23cm band. It also has details of IARU VHF and up contests and trophies. Throughout June, many UK radio amateurs may use the letter Q in place of the Regional Secondary Locator. If you would like to join them, the free-of-charge Notice of Variation to your licence that is needed is available via the RSGB website, see rsgb.org/jubilee. If you would rather, you may use the suffix /70 to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. An NoV is not necessary for the /70 addition to your callsign. There are two awards available for logging or working stations using both the Q RSL or /70 suffix, see rsgb.org/jubilee and look at Award 70. The GI-QRP Convention will take place on Saturday the 25th of June at the Tandragee Golf Club. This event is supported by the G-QRP Club. There will be trade stands, talks and presentations relating to QRP construction and operating. The talks will be streamed live online for those unable to attend. A Buildathon will also take place, where participants, under supervision, will construct a Morse tutor. Advance booking for the Buildathon is advised. There are concessionary prices for junior constructors. Doors open at 9.30am and the event closes at 5pm. Details are at gqrp.com, just click on the GQRP Convention tab on the left-hand side. A date for your diary now. The next Tonight @8 lecture will take place on the 4th of July. This is the final lecture before the summer break. On the 4th, Peter Duffett-Smith, G3XJE will be looking at Radio waves and antennas…and all that. His presentation covers a range of antenna-related information so there should be something for everyone. Tonight@8 webinars are live-streamed on the RSGB’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/thersgb. James Bertram, GM0GMN has been involved in amateur radio since he was a teenager when he first joined the RSGB. He is very active on HF, VHF and UHF with a particular interest in HF DX and DMR. James is also the Secretary of The International Police Association Radio Club, which has more than 100 members. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. The radio station VP8GGM at the Goose Green Military Museum in the Falkland Islands will be on air during the International Museum Weekends. You can listen for them today, this weekend the 18th and 19th and next weekend, the 25th and 26th. QSL direct to VP8ADR. The KL7RRC IOTA DXpedition to Kiska Island, NA-070, has been rescheduled and is now expected to take place between the 23rd and the 28th July. The team includes KL5CX, N3QQ, N7QT, NL8F and W8HC. They will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on the 6 to 40m bands with three stations. QSL via N7RO. See na-234.com for more information. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Today, Sunday the 19th of June, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival will take place at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW. The venue is just off the A14. There is free car parking, and doors open at 9.30am. Admission is £2. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, Bring & Buy, special interest groups, GB4SWR HF station and an RSGB bookstall. More from Kevin, G8MXV on 0771 004 6846. Between the 24th and 26th of June, the HamRadio show in Friedrichshafen, Germany will have exhibitors and visitors from 52 countries. There is also a large flea market with around 300 stalls, talks, meetings, socialising and much more. There will be an RSGB stand and staff and volunteers look forward to meeting the many amateurs from around the world. The RSGB President, Spectrum Forum Manager and General Manager will be attending a variety of IARU meetings, representing the interests of all UK amateurs. Next Saturday, the 25th June, the GI-QRP Convention will be held at the Tandragee Golf Club in Craigavon. Doors open at 9am and presentations start at 10am. Contact Philip, MI0MSO, 0784 902 5760, r8.giqrp@gmail.com. Now the DX news Alex, SQ9UM is on the air as SV2/SQ9UM from Poliouri in Greece until the 24th of June. In addition, Chris, OE5CFH is operating as SV8/OE5CFH from Corfu Island, EU-052, until the 21st of June. QSL to home calls. Ali, EP3CQ is operating as 6O1OO [six Oscar one Oscar Oscar] from Mogadishu and is there for about one month while working for the UN Department of Safety and Security. Activity is in his spare time on the 15 to 80m bands using some CW, with FT8 and FT4. QSL direct to home call. Now the Special Event news GB100MW will be operated on Saturday the 25th of June by Medway Amateur Receiving Transmitting Society. They will be located at the Medway Armed Forces Day regional event at the Heritage Park on the Lines, Gillingham, Kent. Further details of this event can be found on QRZ under GB100MW. The G-QRP Club Callsign will be active as GI5LOW for the first time in the lead up to, and during, the Convention. Kevin, ZB2GI is operating with special event callsign ZQ2GI until the 30th of June to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. QSL to his home callsign. Members of The Angel of the North ARC will be running GB0UUR to celebrate the life of their late Club Secretary and RSGB ex Deputy Regional Manager, Nancy Bone, G7UUR. This event will take place during the afternoon of Saturday the 2nd of July. Now the contest news The 50MHz Trophy Contest ends its 24-hour run at 1400UTC on the 19th. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The All-Asian DX contest runs for 48 hours and ends at 2359UTC on the 19th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and age. The Worked all Britain 50MHz contest takes place today, Sunday the 19th of June, from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using AM, FM and SSB, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square if applicable. For the full rules please see the WAB website. Entries should be with the contest manager by the 29th of June. The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August, with contacts on the 50MHz band exchanging your 4-character locator. On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday, the SSB leg of the 80m Club Championships runs between 1900 and 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number. Next weekend, on Sunday the 26th of June there are three contests taking place. The CW leg of the 50MHz Contest runs between 0900 and 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The fourth 70MHz Cumulatives contest runs between 1400 and 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Microwave Group 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 17th of June 2022. We said that last week’s relatively low solar flux index wouldn’t last very long and it looks like we were right. This week we have had an SFI that started at 121 and just kept climbing, peaking at 149 on the 15th. Unfortunately, we have also had some plasma to contend with thanks to the combined effects of a coronal hole high-speed stream, along with a bright coronal mass ejection observed on Monday. These pushed the Kp index to five on Wednesday the 15th. Luckily a long-duration eruption, LDE, measuring M3.4 detected around active region 3030 on Monday was directed away from Earth and missed us completely. But it does show that we can expect more in the way of CMEs as we head towards the peak of solar cycle 25. F2-layer MUFs over a 3,000km path have regularly exceeded 21MHz and often 24MHz. There have also been some occasional 10m F2-layer openings, with Sporadic-E and multi-hop Es events as other likely modes of propagation. As a result, there have been many reports of DX being worked, including Vasco, 7Q7CT in Malawi and Harald, 9X2AW in Rwanda on 10-metre FT8. The USAF predicts that the SFI will be around 136 this Sunday, falling back to 100 as the week wears on. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be unsettled around the 24th, although we could be in for a rough ride overall next week due to any unexpected CME from one of the numerous sunspots that have been flaring recently. And now the VHF and up propagation news. We ended last week with high pressure nearby for southern Britain with a low-pressure north of Scotland pushing a cold front south. So Tropo in southern areas is getting displaced as the pattern becomes more unsettled and after some very high temperatures. The bulk of the coming week sees high pressure off to the west and a cooler north-westerly flow over the country with some showery periods too. This presents the prospect of rain scatter, but somewhat limited Tropo conditions, chiefly for western-most parts and Ireland down to Biscay and Spain. The Sporadic-E season is in full swing, although in the last week conditions have not been quite so exciting, apart from the magnificent opening to the States last Sunday evening. Widespread activity as far as Mexico and Texas doesn’t happen often and plots of the weather patterns showed that there were multiple jet stream areas of activity to make up the required sequence of four or five hops of Es. Since the weather pattern driving this was not exceptional, it suggests that it could happen again, so perhaps keep the notion of checking 6m as late as mid-evening 2000-2200UTC in your back pocket during the rest of the month. There are still plenty of meteor showers to fill in between the Sporadic-E in June. The Aretids, Zeta-Perseids, Beta-Taurids and June Bootids are all active this week. The latter is generally low activity, but it produced unexpected activity in 1998 with a ZHR up to 100 for more than half a day and in 2004 with a ZHR up to 50 over a similar period. Moon declination goes positive again on Wednesday, and we are past this month’s perigee, so increasing Moon availability and increasing path losses is the story for EME enthusiasts this week. 144MHz sky noise is low, not exceeding 300 Kelvin until Thursday. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday the 12th of June 2022 The news headlines: Feedback on HF band changes welcome Gateways on the Air GI-QRP Convention Amateurs are reminded that IARU Region-1 is holding its Interim Meeting on the 23rd of June. As outlined in the recent June RadCom, feedback is welcomed on proposals for global HF band changes to accommodate growth in digital modes and related matters. The meeting will also consider a series of Spectrum and EMC matters. The RSGB has a consultation page with the background and document links available at thersgb.org/gb2rs/017. Feedback should be posted to the RSGB-Workshop forum groups.io/g/RSGB-Workshop by end of Sunday the 19th of June. Gateways On The Air event will be on the air between the 11th and 19th of June and is hosted on the FreeSTAR Multimode Network. The aim of the event is to promote increased RF voice communications via analogue and digital Simplex Gateways. Licensed amateurs are encouraged to go outside into the fresh air, either when portable or mobile, to work a Simplex Gateway from a location of public interest. GOTA is a “just for fun” event with two categories for both Activators and Chasers. To connect your Simplex Gateway to the event please email Oscar@freestar.network. For more information visit GOTA.org.uk. Tickets are now on sale for some of the things going on at the GI-QRP Convention; the first to take place in Northern Ireland for many years. This is being organised by members of the RSGB Region 8 team, in conjunction with the G-QRP Club. The event takes place at the Tandragee Golf Club on the 25th of June. There are talks, trade stalls and a number of Buildathon workshops. There is no need to book if you just wish to attend in person. You do need to book if you want to have a buffet lunch or join in the Buildathon at the event or join the live streaming of the talks and have access to the recordings after the event, from home. Details gqrp.com/GI_Convention.htm. A new Kenwood TM-D710GA transceiver has been installed on the International Space Station. The old amateur radio equipment was dismantled, and the new kit will be used for transmitting Slow Scan TV images on 145.800MHz FM, probably using the SSTV mode PD-120. The signal should be receivable on a handheld with a quarter-wave whip. You can get predictions for the ISS pass times at amsat.org/track. The Oscar 100 Award is an international award aimed at promoting experimental activities and radio contacts via the geosynchronous satellite QO-100. Participants should contact as many stations and DXCC Countries as possible via the satellite. The award lasts six months, ending at 23:59UTC on 31 December. Details are at arifidenza.it. The first 6m QSO in Poland was made on the 5th of June 1992 at 12:53UTC between 3Z4PAR and IK1EGC. Celebrating the 30th anniversary, 3Z30PAR will be active until the end of the year. QSL via Logbook of The World and SP4KM either direct or via the bureau. The Irish Radio Transmitters Society was founded in 1932 and this year the society celebrates its 90th birthday. To mark the occasion the society will operate EI90IRTS. The call will be activated by Irish Radio Amateurs throughout 2022. See qrz.com for QSL details. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Today, the 12th, two rallies are on the calendar. The Mendips Radio Rally is at Farrington Gurney Memorial Hall and Playing Fields, Church Lane, Farrington Gurney, Somerset BS39 6TY. There is free parking available, and doors will be open between 9.30 am and 1 pm. Admission is £3. There will be inside tables and a large field for car boot traders. Hot and cold refreshments will be available. For all enquiries call Luke on 07870 168 197. The Junction 28 Radio Rally is taking place in Alfreton Leisure Centre, Church Street, DE55 7BD. Traders and club stands will be in the indoor hall alongside a bar and café. Admission is £3. More from Alan, M0OLT, secretary@snadarc.com. Next Saturday, the 18th of June, the 53rd Bangor & District ARS Rally will take place in Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church, 376 Belfast Road, Ballyrobert, Bangor BT19 1UH. Doors open at 11.30 am. More from Andrew, MI0OBR on 07980 846 272. Next Sunday, the 19th of June, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival will take place at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW. The venue is just off the A14. There is free car parking, and the doors open at 9.30 am. Admission is £2. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, Bring & Buy, special interest groups, GB4SWR HF station and an RSGB bookstall. More from Kevin, G8MXV on 0771 004 6846. Now the DX news Ryan, K0EFW will be active holiday style as S9EFW from Sao Tome, AF-023, between the 14th and 19th of June. He will operate mainly SSB on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands. QSL via his OQRS account and Logbook of The World. During this trip, he will set up a contest/remote station. Len, K1NU will be active holiday style as K1JV/4 from Key Colony Beach on Shelter Key, NA-062, between the 11th and the 18th of June. He will focus on 6 metres FT8 when the band is open, and on 20 to 10m CW and FT8 when it is closed. QSL via Logbook of The World, Club Log, or direct to K1NU. Dave, G4WXJ will be active as ZC4RH from the UK Sovereign Base Areas Cyprus, AS-004, until the 15th of June. He will operate CW, SSB and possibly FT8 on the 40 to 10m bands, and hopefully also via the QO-100 satellite. QSL via Logbook of The World, or via his home call. Now the Special Event news The camp for young amateur radio operators in North, Central, and South America will operate a special event station W8Y throughout the camp taking place from the 12th to the 17th of June. The G-QRP Club Callsign will be active as GI5LOW for the first time in the lead-up to, and during, the Convention. It will go live for the first time at 0001UTC on the 17th of June, World QRP Day. Now the contest news The IARU ATV Contest ends its 30-hour run at 1800UTC today, the 12th. Using the 432MHz band and up, the exchange is the P number, serial number and locator. Today, Sunday the 12th of June, the second 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, the 12th, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP contest runs from 0900 to 1600UTC. It is phone only and the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The maximum power allowed for this contest is 5W. On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is a signal report, serial number and locator. Wednesday sees the CW leg of the 80m Club Championship running from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is a signal report and serial number. The 70MHz UK Activity Contest takes place between 1900 and 2130UTC on Thursday. Using all modes, the exchange is the signal report, a serial number and locator. Next weekend the 50MHz Trophy Contest runs between 1400UTC on the 18th to 1400UTC on the 19th. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The All-Asian DX contest runs for 48 hours from 0000UTC on the 18th to 2359UTC on the 19th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and age. The Worked All Britain 50MHz contest takes place on Sunday the 19th of June from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using AM, FM and SSB, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square if applicable. For the full rules please see the WAB website. Entries should be with the contest manager by the 29th of June. The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August, with contacts on the 50MHz band exchanging your 4-character locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Wednesday the 10th of June 2022. The sunspot number on Wednesday was zero with a solar flux index of 100. Given the high flux numbers, we have been seeing this as a little disappointing. The last time the visible disk was officially spotless was December 2021. The upside is that there has been little risk of coronal mass ejections and the Kp index has remained below three for more than a week. Anecdotal reports showed that the upper HF bands have been quite quiet. A couple of potential regions are currently behind the Sun’s east limb and will begin to turn into view during the next few days. NOAA predicts that the SFI will increase slightly to perhaps 110 at first and then up to 125 by the 19th of June. While F2-layer openings may be peaking at around 15 metres this month, Sporadic E should bring lots of strong short-skip openings from 14MHz to 28MHz. June is a good month for Es openings. Check out 10 metres at peak Es times of mid-to-late morning and mid-to-late afternoon. Early evening can also bring surprises as well. For novelty’s sake alone, listen out for the HB9HD 10m repeater on 29.650MHz in Switzerland, complete with its musical box ident! And now the VHF and up propagation news. We start the week with high pressure over mainland Europe. The Hepburn tropo charts predict that we may see lift conditions over southern England this weekend. Paths from locations south of London may be possible into northern France and the low countries, with a slight possibility of extended tropo towards southern France. These opportunities may tend to dissipate as we head into next week. For stations in the north of England, there may be fewer opportunities for tropo DX as low pressure is predicted to pass to the northwest of the country. Microwave rain scatter opportunities may be available though. From mid-week onwards, the most likely scenario is for low pressure to the north of the UK to clear as high pressure builds from the west, which may bring tropo opportunities to northern areas. There are always Sporadic-E opportunities available in June, with many good openings reported over the last seven days. The first half of June is one of the best periods of the year for daylight meteor scatter-DXing but is often masked by Sporadic-E propagation. We have already seen the peak of two daytime meteor showers, namely the Arietids and zeta-Perseids last week, but as they are both characterised by a broad maximum and high ZHR value, they continue to be useful. The best time for them is early morning for North to North-East and South to South-West directions, and early afternoon for North to North-West and South to South-East directions. With the Moon approaching perigee, its closest point to Earth, on Tuesday, path losses for EME will be at their lowest. This sadly coincides with minimum declination on Wednesday, with short moon visibility windows and low peak moon elevation. 144MHz sky noise will peak on Tuesday and Wednesday at a little over 3100K. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NewsSunday the 5th of June 2022 The news headlines:Amateur radio to be shown on televisionThank you to all the Society’s volunteersPlatinum Jubilee activities underway The hobby of amateur radio, and portable operating in particular, will receive some television coverage today, Sunday the 5th of June. The long-running BBC Countryfile programme airs at 6 pm on the main BBC 1 channel. It will be based from Flat Holm Island in the Bristol Channel, the site of Marconi's first radio transmissions over the sea. Presenters Ellie Harrison and Matt Baker will be with leading Summits on the Air operator Ben Lloyd, GW4BML as he sets up a portable station on the island in order to contact SOTA activators on hill and mountain summits around the UK.Volunteers Week takes place between the 1st and the 7th of June every year. It's a chance for the RSGB to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to the work of the Society. From news readers to the National Radio Centre, the regional teams to committees and everything in between, the RSGB would like to thank the hundreds of people who make a difference in amateur radio every week, not just during Volunteers Week. If you would like to join them, go to rsgb.org/volunteers to see what vacancies are available.The RSGB’s Platinum Jubilee activities have started with the GB70 Special Event Stations up and running. The call signs to look for are GB70E in England, GB70M in Scotland, GB70W in Wales, GB70I in Northern Ireland, GB70J on Jersey, GB70U on Guernsey and GB70D on the Isle of Man. You can find out more about these special events at gb70.co.uk.Many amateurs are already using the Regional Secondary Locator, the letter Q. If you would like to join them, the free-of-charge Notice of Variation to your licence that is needed is available via the RSGB website, see rsgb.org/jubilee. If you would rather, you may use the suffix /70 to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. An NoV is not necessary for the /70 addition to your callsign.The RSGB’s Tonight@8 will be live on Monday the 6th of June. Professor Ian Morison, G0DMU will give a review of the history of Jodrell Bank, one of the world’s premier radio astronomy observatories. From its founding in 1945 through the completion of the Mk I radio telescope in 1957 to the building of the Merlin array in the 1980s and 1990s, Ian will discuss some of its most exciting discoveries.Due to recent poor propagation on the original 3727kHz frequency and increasing local background noise levels on the 80m band generally, the National Radio Centre net has moved to 7130kHz. The net is on air every weekday morning starting at 10.30 am on 7130kHz. The net is open to all licensed radio operators, whether to join in with the chat or just for a signal report. Belgium's communications regulator has said 50.200MHz and 51.075MHz will be used until the 18th of June during a military exercise in Elzenborn. In Belgium, the amateur radio service has a secondary status in this band with the military services having primary status. Radio amateurs are asked to avoid the use of these frequencies if possible and to listen carefully to whether the frequency is in use if they still wish to use the frequencies concerned. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Today, Sunday the 5th of June, the Spalding Radio Rally will be held at Holbeach United Youth FC, Pennyhill Road, Holbeach, Lincolnshire PE12 7PR. Doors open at 10 am, with disabled guests gaining access at 9.30 am. Entry is £3. There will be a car boot area, flea market and trade stands. Catering is available on site. A prize draw/raffle will take place. More from Graham, G8NWC on 0775 461 9701.Next Saturday, the 11th of June, the Rochdale & District ARS Summer Rally will be held at St Vincent de Paul’s, Caldershaw Road, off Edenfield Road (A680), Norden, Rochdale OL12 7QR. Doors open at 10.15 am with disabled visitors gaining access at 10 am. Details from Robert, M0NVQ, m0nvq@outlook.com.Next Sunday, the 12th, two rallies are on the calendar. The Mendips Radio Rally is at Farrington Gurney Memorial Hall and Playing Fields, Church Lane, Farrington Gurney, Somerset BS39 6TY. There is free parking available, and doors will be open between 9.30 am and 1 pm. Admission is £3. There will be inside tables and a large field for car boot traders. Hot and cold refreshments will be available. For all enquiries call Luke on 07870 168 197.The Junction 28 Radio Rally will be in Alfreton Leisure Centre, Church St. DE55 7BD. Traders and clubs will be in the indoor hall alongside a bar and café. Admission is £3. More from Alan, M0OLT, secretary@snadarc.com. Now the DX newsHarald, DF2WO will be active again as 9X2AW from Rwanda until the 22nd of June. He plans to operate on all bands and satellite QO-100, he will operate FT8, CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS.Reiner, DL2AAZ will be active holiday style as TO2AZ from Guadeloupe, NA-102, until the 10th of June. He will operate CW and SSB on the 10 to 40m bands. QSL via home call, direct or bureau.Due to the postponement of the expedition to Rockall until June next year, five team members will conduct pre-expedition training from Goose Rock, EU-005, an uninhabited rocky islet off the coast of Newquay, between Monday the 6th and Thursday the 9th of June. Nobby, G0VJG will be testing his radio equipment and be on the air as G0VJG/P. Now the Special Event newsIY4ELE will be on the air today, Sunday the 5th of June. The aim of this event is to highlight the historical value and meaning of the yacht Elettra, the floating laboratory of Marconi. The station will be set up close to the yacht. More information on the amateur activity can be found at arifidenza.it. GB0LIZ will be on the air today, Sunday the 5th of June, to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It will be operated by members of Guisborough & District ARC from the Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge, Kirkbymoorside YO627LQ. They will be using as many bands as possible and visitors are welcome.Wales Digital Radio group will be active using GB0JBL until Monday the 6th of June celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee from the Refreshment Rooms in Cymmer, South Wales.GB2JCM will be operated by the James Clerk Maxwell Radio Society to commemorate the anniversary of the mathematician and scientist’s birth on the 13th of June. They will operate from the Church at Parton in Dumfries & Galloway where Clerk Maxwell both worshipped and is buried. Should you be interested in joining with the society and taking part in the special event, please come along on the day between 9 am and 5 pm. They can be contacted via QRZ.com. Now the contest newsThis weekend is a busy one for contests.The ARRL International Digital Contest ends its 48-hour run at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 5th of June. Using digital modes, but no RTTY, on the 1.8 to 50MHz bands where contests are allowed, the exchange is your 4-character locator.The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Contest ends its 24-hour run at 1300UTC today, Sunday the 5th. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and membership number.Ending its 48-hour run at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 5th is the International Pride Contest. You can enter as a single operator, multi-operator or a single QRP operator. Check out the rules at prideradio.group/contestThe RSGB National Field Day ends its 24-hour run at 1500UTC today, Sunday the 5th. Using CW only on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number.Today, Sunday the 5th of June, the UK Microwave Group’s Low Band Contest runs from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3, 2.3 and 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.On Monday, the 6th, the 80m Club Championships contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using RTTY and PSK63 only, the exchange is signal report and serial number.Tuesday the 7th sees the 144MHz FM Activity Contest run from 1800 to 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest running from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is the same for both contests, signal report, serial number and locator.The 432MHz FT8 Activity Contest takes place between 1900 and 2100UTC on Wednesday the 8th of June. The exchange is your report and 4-character locator.Thursday the 9th of June sees the 50MHz UK Activity Contest take place between 1900 and 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.The weekend of the 11th and 12th of June is another busy one for contests. Saturday the 11th is the day of the RSGB’s Jubilee Tournaments. The first is the CW Jubilee Tournament which runs from 0900 to 1010UTC. Using the 3.5, 7 and 14MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. This is followed by the Jubilee Tournament which runs between 1400 and 1510UTC on the 144MHz band. Using phone and CW, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Finally, the SSB Jubilee Tournament runs between 1900 and 2010UTC. Using the 3.5, 7 and 14MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note that the three Jubilee Tournaments are 70 minutes in length in keeping with the Platinum Jubilee theme.The IARU ATV Contest runs from 1200UTC on Saturday the 11th of June to 1800UTC on the 12th. Using the 432MHz band and up, the exchange is the P number, serial number and locator. On Sunday the 12th of June, the second 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.Also next Sunday, the 12th, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP contest runs from 0900 to 1600UTC. It is phone only and the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The maximum power allowed for this contest is 5\W.The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August, with contacts on the 50MHz band exchanging your 4-character locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Wednesday the 1st of June 2022.What a difference a week makes! Last week we were looking at a solar flux index of 137 and a mass of sunspots. This week the SFI is standing at 101 with only three active regions visible, and one of those is about to rotate out of view.Geomagnetic conditions have been relatively stable, but a little unsettled with a maximum Kp index of three over the past few days as this report was being prepared. The solar wind stream remained elevated above 500km/s due to a coronal hole stream combined with possible weak Coronal Mass Ejections, or CME, effects. As a result, HF conditions have been a little lacklustre with the Chilton Ionosonde showing a critical frequency of between four and five Megahertz. This equates to a maximum usable frequency of around 18-21MHz over a 3,000km path. As we said, nothing to write home about.But all is not lost as the experts feel this will be a short-lived decline in solar activity and normal service will soon resume! NOAA thinks the SFI will decline a little more by the end of this week, before coming back with a roar from around Tuesday the 7th of June.It predicts the SFI could be 110 on Tuesday the 7th and then rise to 150 by the 14th. So next week could see the bands opening up again, at least for a while.Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to remain quiet with a maximum Kp index of two, at least until the 10th when it could rise to perhaps four or five. It looks like the Jubilee weekend may offer fairly flat HF conditions, but this may improve as we head into next week. And now the VHF and up propagation news.There are no signs at the moment of really strong long-lasting areas of high pressure so any Tropo is likely to be temporary. On today's forecast charts, the only one that shows up develops over Scotland during the holiday weekend but declines as the weekend finishes.The rest of the weather story is focused upon showery activity and with the prospect of some being heavy and thundery, it bodes well for rain scatter, but could also play havoc with HF CW NFD static levels.The early days of June are regarded as prime time for Sporadic-E, and with this season getting off to a slow start, it's high time we saw some activity. There are a few jet stream segments over Europe during the week to come, but nothing looks too strong. This may be compensated for by the increase in the background meteor input in this period and, hopefully, there will be plenty to celebrate.After the excitement of last week’s “will they, won’t they” Eta Aquarids meteor shower, this week is going to be something of a back to normal situation. June is usually a slow month for meteors with no major showers. However, the daytime Arietids, which is a minor meteor shower, may provide some useful radio reflections on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 7th and 8th.Sky noise will be quite low this week with the Moon full next Tuesday, the 14th of June. Declination reduces throughout the week as the moon moves towards perigee. Path loss for Moonbounce will reduce as the week progresses. Once again, low declination will favour stations with little or no antenna elevation, potentially increasing operation time beyond that around moonrise and moonset.And that’s all from the propagation team this week.  

GB2RS NewsSunday the 29th of May 2022 The news headlines:Jubilee call signs go live from the 1stGB70 special event stationsATV columnist interviewed It isn’t long now until the RSGB’s Platinum Jubilee activities kick-off. You can start using the Regional Secondary Locator, the letter Q, on the 1st of June. The free-of-charge Notice of Variation to your licence that is needed is available via the RSGB website, see rsgb.org/jubilee. If you want to retain your usual Regional Secondary Locator you may use the suffix /70 to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. An NoV is not necessary for the /70 addition to your callsign.The GB70 Special Event Stations will be operating next weekend, including the bank holidays, and you can get a special QSL card for contact with any of the GB70 stations. The Guernsey club's use of the QO-100 satellite is causing a lot of interest. The call signs to look for are GB70E in England, GB70M in Scotland, GB70W in Wales, GB70I in Northern Ireland, GB70J on Jersey, GB70U on Guernsey and GB70D on the Isle of Man. You can find out more about these special events at gb70.co.uk.The June edition of the Raspberry Pi magazine, MagPi, features an article about amateur digital television and an interview with RadCom ATV author Dave Crump, G8GKQ. You can find out more at magpi.raspberrypi.com, issue 118.Please note that due to the long bank holiday weekend, the GB2RS script for the 5th of June will be prepared early. The deadline for news is 10 am on Tuesday the 31st of May for inclusion in that script. Thank you for your understanding.An exhibition about Marconi’s famous Chelmsford wireless factory will take place at Anglia Ruskin University. Chelmsford is known as the birthplace of radio thanks to the world’s first purpose-built radio factory, established in 1912 by Marconi. The year 2022 marks 100 years since the world's first regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment began from the Marconi laboratories at nearby Writtle. The exhibition will open on Wednesday the 22nd of June and will run on specific days until Friday the 15th of July. Attendees need to book their place and more information and full details of times can be found at eventbrite.co.uk. Type in Marconi into the search bar and you can select a date to visit. Following the introduction of the RSGB’s upgraded Membership Services system, the Board proceedings and reports have moved to a new location. They can now be found inside your new Membership Services portal under the ‘About’ tab. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Today, the 29th, the Durham & District ARS Radio Rally takes place at Bowburn Community Centre, Durham Road, Bowburn DH6 5AT. The organisers wish all those attending a warm welcome. Doors will be open from 10.10 am to 2.30 pm, with disabled visitors gaining access 10 minutes earlier. Admittance is £2. There will be a Bring & Buy, RSGB bookstall and trade stands. For more information, contact Michael, G7TWX, 0782 692 4192. Next Sunday, the 5th of June, the Spalding Radio Rally will be held at Holbeach United Youth FC, Pennyhill Road, Holbeach, Lincolnshire PE12 7PR. Doors open at 10 am, with disabled guests gaining access at 9.30 am. Entry is £3. There will be a car boot area, flea market and trade stands. Catering is available on site. A prize draw/raffle will take place. More from Graham, G8NWC on 0775 461 9701. Now the DX newsTake, JI3DST will be active from Shodo Island, AS-200, until the 4th of July. He will operate SSB and CW as JI3DST/5, JJ5RBH and JS6RRR/5, as well as JS6RRR/P on FT8. The QSOs will be made available for both Club Log and Logbook of The World matching on the IOTA website.Erwin, DK5EW will be operating as SV8/DK5EW from Crete, EU-015, between the 30th of May and the 10th of June. This will be a 144MHz operation with EME, meteor scatter and Sporadic-E operations. QSL direct to his home callsign.  Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World later.3D2RRR will be active from Rotuma, a Fijian island, for a couple of weeks. Plans are to run two stations on CW, one on SSB, and five on FT8 using Fox & Hound mode. QSL via Club Log's OQRS.  Now the Special Event newsGB0LIZ will operate on the 4th and 5th of June to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It will be operated by members of Guisborough & District ARC from the Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge, Kirkbymoorside YO627LQ. They will be using as many bands as possible and visitors are welcome.GB1SCW, to celebrate the work of coastal communities, will be on the air until the 31st of May. More information can be found on qrz.com.Northwest Group Amateur Radio Club are activating GB0AEL as part of the 90th Anniversary of Amelia Earhart's landing in Londonderry until the 30th of May. See qrz.com. Now the contest newsThis weekend is the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. It runs for 48 hours ending at 2359UTC today, the 29th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are allowed, the exchange is signal report and serial number.Today, the 29th, the 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.Also today, the UK Microwave Group High Band contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using the 5.7 and 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.On Monday, the FT4 Series contest runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using the 3.5MHz band only, the exchange is your 4-character locator.On Wednesday, the 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. The exchange is a report and your 4-character locator.Next weekend is a busy one for contests and the UK Six Metre group’s Summer Marathon starts.The ARRL International Digital Contest runs from 1800UTC on the 4th to 2359 UTC on the 5th. Using digital modes, but no RTTY, on the 1.8 to 50MHz bands where contests are allowed, the exchange is your 4-character locator.The UK Six Metre group’s Summer Contest runs from 1300 UTC on the 4th to 1300 UTC on the 5th. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and membership number.The group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August, again exchanging your 4-character locator.Running for 48 hours next weekend from 0000 UTC on the 4th is the International Pride Contest. You can enter as a single operator, multi-operator or a single QRP operator. Check out the rules at prideradio.group/contestThe RSGB National Field Day runs from 1500UTC on the 4th to 1500 UTC on the 5th of June. Using CW only on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number.Next Sunday, the 5th of June, the UK Microwave group’s Low Band Contest runs from 1000 to 1600 UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3, 2.3 and 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 27th of May 2022.The solar flux index remained above 130 last week, being at 137 on Thursday as this report was prepared. It peaked at 165 on Sunday and reached a massive 180 on Wednesday the 18th. All this means that DX is workable on the upper HF bands with the 3D2RRR DXpedition on Rotuma Island near Fiji being chased from the UK. A little closer to home, V51WW in Namibia has also been putting in an appearance.Sporadic-E has also seen some short-skip signals from Europe on 10 metres, but we haven’t seen many rock-crushingly strong signals as yet. The Sun remains very active with a CME associated with an M1.3 flare detected around region 3016 at 1824UTC on Wednesday, the 25th of May. The bulk of the plasma released was off the Sun-Earth line, although closer examination revealed a fainter Earth-directed component was evident and could sweep past Earth within 48-72 hours. If correct, this means the Kp index may rise this weekend.Coronal mass ejections remain a risk to HF propagation with a massive one on the far side of the Sun being observed on the 24th of May. We have been lucky last week with the Kp index generally in the ones and twos, that is, indicating settled geomagnetic conditions. But we think it is only a matter of time before we get hit with a “big one”, which could cause disruption and a general reduction in maximum usable frequencies.Next week, NOAA predicts that the SFI may decline into the 130s or even 120s. In fact, by the 5th of June, it thinks it will be at a low of 114 before rising again. Luckily, NOAA also predicts that the Kp index will remain low. This will help the ionosphere develop and should bring good conditions. However, we issue a caution that a single Earth-directed CME could put paid to low Kp indices and bring disruption. As always, keep an eye on solarham.com for updates. And now the VHF and up propagation news.The next period of weather is dominated by high pressure, although not in exactly the right place for good Tropo conditions everywhere. The main position of the high will tend to drift away to the northwest, which leaves room for a cool northerly pattern over most areas. This will probably confine the best Tropo conditions to the southwestern half of the UK.Elsewhere, the main weather type will include summer showers, possibly heavy, and likely to be of interest for rain scatter activity. Showers in a cold northerly airmass are usually strictly diurnal, so rain scatter prospects are for the afternoon and early evenings.Sporadic-E is showing good signs of coming to life and we are starting to hear limited openings for traditional CW/SSB QSOs and more widespread activity for digital modes. Some promising multi-hop paths have been seen to Asia in the mornings and the States and the Caribbean in the evenings.This week contains potentially the most exciting meteor shower of the year. The Tau Herculids shower, associated with Comet 73P and discovered in 1930, appears early during Monday night into Tuesday morning. In 1995 the comet was seen to suddenly brighten. This was discovered as being due to its nucleus starting to break up, creating a debris cloud. Comet 73P orbits the Sun at 5.4-year intervals. The Earth next crosses its orbit on the night of the 30th of May, into the morning of the 31st. It is due to peak in the UK at about 0500UTC on the 31st.Depending on how the nucleus started to eject debris, we may have a spectacular shower or something that is, at best, disappointing. As it will be light in Europe during the peak the visual display may not be very impressive, but the possibility for a radio reflection shower must be strong. This is one to look for, as a meteor scatter enthusiast. The new Moon occurs on the 31st of May and illumination will be low all the following week.A maximum declination of +28.1 degrees occurs on the 2nd, and this also coincides with the greatest distance from Earth to Moon, which in turn means the highest path loss.From experience, this should still be a good week for EME on the microwave bands despite the path loss. The VHF EME bands will suffer noise from the proximity of the Moon to the Sun for the first few days of the week. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NewsSunday the 22nd of May 2022 The news headlines:Platinum Jubilee activitiesHigh altitude balloon launchIARU Region 1 interim meeting It isn’t long now until the RSGB’s Platinum Jubilee activities kick-off. There is a wide range of things to be part of, from using the /70 suffix to creating something for the Innovation 70 competition or having a go at the WSPR 70 fun challenge. There is also still time to activate one of the seven special GB70 call signs. Details of how to take part are on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/jubilee.A team from hi-impact on the Wirral will be working alongside the Oaktree Multi-Academy Trust, a Wirral based group of schools, on a High Altitude Balloon launch. This is planned for Thursday the 26th at 11 am from a location near Welshpool. The frequency in use will be 434.250MHz USB. There will be RTTY signals and the flight will be SSDV enabled, so there will be pictures too. You can see activity on the day on Facebook at facebook.com/hiimpactconsultancy.IARU Region-1 is holding its Interim Meeting on the 23rd of June. As outlined in the recent June RadCom, feedback is welcomed on proposals for global HF band changes to accommodate growth in digital modes and related matters. The meeting will also consider a series of EMC and Spectrum topics. RSGB have a consultation page with the background and document links at thersgb.org/gb2rs/017. Feedback should be posted to the RSGB-Workshop forum groups.io/g/RSGB-Workshop.The Commonwealth Games will be held in Birmingham later this summer. It will see around 4,500 athletes from 72 nations and territories, compete in 19 sports across 14 competition venues. The RSGB has just published news of the various activities it is planning to link with the Games. You can get involved in one of the seven special event stations or gain one of two special operating awards. Find out more on the Society’s website at rsgb.org/cwg.The New Zealand Amateur Radio Transmitters Society reports that their regulator has continued their 60m Sub-Licence for 5351.5 to 5366.5kHz.At the RSGB Regional Forum meeting on the 16th of May, the Regional Representatives elected David De La Haye, M0MBD as Chair and Neil Yorke, M0NKE as its Secretary. The RSGB Board would like to thank Mark Burrows, 2E0SBM and Tony Miles, MM0TMZ for their service in previous years as Chair and Secretary respectively.After two years of lockdown, the ITU building in Geneva is back in operation. 4U1ITU is on the air until the 3rd of June. A Stepp-IR is used for the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands. A second transceiver is now also being set up for the 6m band, including FT8. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Today, the 22nd of May, the National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale organised by Dunstable Downs Radio Club will take place at Stockwood Park in Luton. Entry and car parking is £4 per vehicle and the gates open at 9am for buyers.Next Sunday, the Durham District ARS Radio Rally takes place at Bowburn Community Centre, Durham Road, Bowburn DH6 5AT. Doors will be open from 10.10 am to 2.30 pm, with disabled visitors gaining access 10 minutes earlier. Admittance is £2. There will be a Bring & Buy, RSGB bookstall and trade stands. For more information, contact Michael, G7TWX, 0782 692 4192. Now the DX newsFabian, DF3XY is operating from Mauritius as 3B8/DF3XY until the 2nd of June. Activity is holiday style on the 40, 30, and 20m bands using SSB and FT8. QSL to his home callsign.OG5O and OH2HOD will be active as OH0/OG5O and OH0/OH2HOD respectively from Lemland Island, EU-002, until the 27th of May. Activity will be on the 6 to 160m bands, using CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8 and FT4. QSL via Logbook of The World.Ryan, K0EFW is operational as S9EFW from Sao Tome and Principe until the end of May. Activity is on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands using SSB. QSL to his home callsign. Now the Special Event newsGB6VER will be on the air today, the 22nd. Operated by Verulam ARC from the Durham District RC Rally. They plan to operate on the 40m, 20m and 2m bands depending on the noise levels on the day. More on qrz.com.GB1SCW to celebrate the work of coastal communities will be on the air from the 28th to the 31st of May. This event is also registered with SOS Radio Week. More information can be found on qrz.com.Northwest Group Amateur Radio Club are activating GB0AEL as part of the 90th Anniversary of Amelia Earhart landing in Londonderry until the 30th of May. See qrz.com. Now the contest newsThe 144MHz May contest runs for 24 hours until 1400UTC today, the 22nd. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Note that UK stations also send their postcode.Today, the 22nd, the First 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Note that UK stations also send their postcode.On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest takes place from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3GHz and up bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.On Thursday the CW leg of the 80m Club Championships runs between 1900 and 2300UTC. The exchange is a signal report and serial number.Next weekend is the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. It runs for 48 hours from 0000UTC on the 28th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are allowed, the exchange s signal report and serial number.Next Sunday, the 29th, the 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.Also next Sunday, the UK Microwave Group High Band contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using 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 20th of May 2022.Solar activity reached a new peak for this cycle this week, with the solar flux index hitting 180 on Thursday the 19th. This was partly down to the very large active region 3014, which is almost big enough to be seen with the naked eye if suitable precautions are taken. To put this into perspective, the sunspot number is 147, which is higher than the estimated smoothed maximum prediction of 115 for Cycle 25.Meanwhile, geomagnetic conditions have been favourable with the Kp index moving between one and three since Monday. This is all good news and is being reflected in the band conditions at the moment, with round-the-world echoes being heard on some DX signals.Make the most of them as there is the ever-present threat of X-class solar flares to contend with. Two active regions, which have already been emitting X-class flares, are about to rotate into view. The USAF predicts that the SFI may stay above 175 until at least Wednesday, before declining into the sub-150 range. This is at odds with the NOAA prediction, which never really thought that the SFI would get to 180 last week. In other words, it is anyone’s guess what we will get!Don’t forget that Sporadic-E is also livening up the upper HF bands and providing strong short-skip signals. These can often link into multi-hop Es or join with F2-layer hops to give surprise long-distance DX that is hard to predict.We have never had it so good for some time and let’s hope it continues into the Autumn when HF can really come into its own. And now the VHF and up propagation news.It seems we are in a typical summer unsettled pattern with areas of thundery rain and heavy showers drifting north from France. This will obviously keep rain scatter as an option.Summer can also be a time of strong Tropo, especially around coasts and over the adjacent seas. This is because a strong temperature inversion can develop over cool seas with areas of mist and fog at sea level overlain by warm dry air blowing off the continent. These paths are likely to persist over long periods, particularly across the North Sea, English Channel and Irish sea with extended options south across Biscay.To finish off we have the early stirrings of the 2022 Sporadic-E season, which is starting to show some promising signs, and not just on digital modes. A major controlling influence is often associated with the presence of jet streams nearby and the upper air forecast charts suggest that there should be some reasonable opportunities during the coming week. Don’t forget that jet stream upper air charts are available daily with commentary on the Propquest.co.uk website.There is no major meteor shower this week, but we are at the tail end of the Eta Aquarids shower, which began in late April and is generally regarded as petering out next weekend. Eta Aquarids are associated with Halley’s Comet. But don’t expect to see the comet until 2061!The Moon will be waning throughout this week with decreasing declination and increasing distance as it moves towards apogee and that, therefore, leads to increasing path loss. Moon libration will be low. This week’s TK/HB9CRQ Corsican EME microwave DXpedition should enjoy favourable lunar path conditions if the weather cooperates.And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

   GB2RS NewsSunday the 15th of May 2022 The news headlines:Innovation 70 project for Platinum JubileeYoungsters On The Air contestIARU Monitoring Service newsletter The RSGB has launched the Innovation 70 competition as part of its Platinum Jubilee activities. The challenge is to design and build a useful piece of equipment with no more than 70 connections, or a useful piece of software with no more than 70 lines of code. A selection of the most innovative entries will be published in RadCom and on the RSGB website. The RSGB Technical Forum will judge the entries and the results will be announced at the end of the year. The closing date is the 30th of September. Go to rsgb.org/jubilee and click on the Innovation 70 section to find out more. The next Youngsters On The Air Contest takes place on the 21st of May between 0800 and 1959UTC. Everyone can take part and show their support for young amateurs across the world. There are eight different categories, including special ones for those under 25 years of age. Using the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands, the contest is CW and SSB only. The exchange includes the age of the participating operators, which acts as multipliers. Find out more at ham-yota.com.The IARU Monitoring Service for Region 1 has published its April newsletter. It talks about emissions that are often received on the 40 and 20m bands with a bandwidth of about 8kHz. Thoughts are that it could be a jammer where the signal is intentionally transmitted over other transmissions in order to disrupt or nullify their reception. The newsletter includes a report by Richard, G4DYA, the RSGB Intruder Watch Coordinator, that includes many radar sightings. You can read more at iaru-r1.org.All RSGB Members who have an email address linked to their membership should have received an email in the last few days. This email explains how to set up a new password to access the updated membership portal. The email will have been sent to the email address linked to your membership account. If you are an RSGB Member and don’t think you have received an email, please do check your junk folder. If you still can’t see an email, please contact membership@rsgb.org.uk or call the RSGB during office hours on 01234 832 700 and choose option two. While the Society has been sending out the emails, access to the online members’ resources such as RadCom have been turned off, but it plans to make them accessible again early this week. Sad news now. Nancy Bone, G7UUR, the co-founder and long-time secretary of the Angel of the North ARC became a Silent Key last week. She was an RSGB Deputy Regional Manager for a number of years, a repeater licence holder, exam tutor and GB2RS newsreader. In everything that she did, she approached it with enthusiasm and commitment that challenged and inspired others. We are thinking of her husband Warren, G7MWB, their family and many friends at this difficult time.Since the AGM, the RSGB Board has made two appointments. Richard Horton, G4AOJ will be the new Board Chair and Stan Lee, G4XXI has taken on the role of Company Secretary. The Board would like to record its thanks to General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB for carrying out the additional role of Company Secretary since June 2020.Brickworks is a scheme run by local amateur radio clubs that have committed to helping all licensed amateur radio operators discover more about what the hobby has to offer. It was originally launched in early 2020 by the RSGB under the name of the Beyond Exams Club Scheme. When Covid struck, clubs were no longer able to meet in person and it was harder to help radio amateurs to work through the Club Scheme activities. Now life is opening up again, the RSGB is delighted that Brickworks, as it will now be called, is being relaunched. Whether you are a new licensee, returning to amateur radio or want to try something new, Brickworks has something to offer you. For more information see rsgb.org/brickworks. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Next week the Dayton Hamvention takes place between the 20th and 22nd of May at the Greene County Fairground in Ohio, USA. Now in its 70th year, this is one of the largest amateur radio shows in the world, famous for its massive flea market. There will also be lectures, traders and a strong ARRL and RSGB presence, including a bookstall.  Next Sunday, the 22nd of May, the National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale organised by Dunstable Downs Radio Club will take place at Stockwood Park in Luton. Entry and car parking are £4 per vehicle and the gates open at 9 am for buyers. Now the DX newsIrek, SP3SUX will be operating as DV8/KH7EA from Mindanao Island, OC-130, in the Philippines until the 27th of May. Activity will be during his daytime hours on the 6 to 80m bands using CW and SSB. QSL to his home callsign.Members of the Radio Club of Haiti will be active as HH18MAI between the 18th and 23rd of May. The special callsign is for Flag Day, which commemorates the creation of the flag of Haiti in 1803. QSL via W3HNK.Dick, K2KA will be active holiday style as V4/K2KA from St. Kitts, NA-104, until the 18th of May. QSL via his preferred method of the logbook of The World, Club Log, or direct to K2KA.Andrey, R9YU and Gennady, R5QA are on the air as JV0YU from Mongolia until the 10th of June. Activity is on the HF and VHF/UHF bands using CW, SSB and FT8 in DXpedition mode. QSL via RW6HS. Now the Special Event newsNorthwest Group Amateur Radio Club in Londonderry are activating GB0AEL as part of the 90th Anniversary of Amelia Earhart landing in Londonderry. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. They will activate GB0AEL until the 30th of May. More information on qrz.com under the callsign GB0AEL. Now the contest newsToday, the 15th, the 70MHz CW contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.The UK Microwave Group’s millimetre-wave contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC today, the 15th. Using all modes on the 24, 47 and 76GHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.The data leg of the 80m Club Championships runs on Wednesday from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is a signal report and serial number.On Thursday the all-mode 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs between 1900 and 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.Next weekend is the 144MHz May contest. It runs for 24 hours from 1400UTC on the 21st. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Note that UK stations also send their postcode.Next Sunday, the 22nd, the First 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Note that UK stations also send their postcode. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 13th of May 2022.Well, it looks like the US Air Force was more accurate than NOAA with their solar flux index forecast last week. While the week started with an SFI at 117, by Thursday it had grown to 133. It has been mostly quiet from a geomagnetic point of view with a maximum Kp index of three, with mostly ones and twos. The only downside has been a number of solar flares, which includes an X-class flare on Tuesday the 10th. The X1.5 event was observed from sunspot region 3006 at 1355UTC and resulted in a radio blackout over the Atlantic, Africa and South America. The critical frequency, as measured by the Chilton Ionosonde, dropped below 7MHz for a time, before recovering.Despite this short-lived phenomenon, there has been plenty of DX to be worked on the higher bands. The 15m band has seen Asia and the Far East romping in on FT8 and there have been 10m band openings to Australia and the Middle East. Next week NOAA predicts that the SFI will be in the range 118-122 with generally quiet geomagnetic conditions. But we give the same warning as we did last week. NASA gives a 45% chance of an M-class flare and a 15% chance of an X-class flare occurring at the moment. Any solar flare could trigger a coronal mass ejection and, if Earth-facing, we can expect a degradation in HF paths, perhaps 36 to 48 hours after the CME event as the solar plasma hits and the Kp index rises.The better news is that the Sporadic-E season is now in full swing and plenty of low-power 10m beacons are becoming audible between 28.160 and 28.325MHz. These are often a good indicator of openings. A list of 10m beacons can be found on the RSGB website under On the Air. Just click on Beacons and Repeaters. And now the VHF and up propagation news.There is a typical flavour to the current weather pattern with high pressure, initially to the south, being displaced east as an Atlantic low tries to push its associated weather fronts into western Britain. This will eventually lead to unstable, thundery bands of rain spreading into the country from the southwest. It makes detail complicated, but some rules still apply. There will be some Tropo, especially at first and perhaps occasionally next week along the east coast and across the North Sea. However, the changing element is going to be how effectively the thundery rain areas move across the country, and they will reduce the Tropo chances and introduce some rain scatter.There are some small meteor showers this week, the Eta Lyrids peaked on the 10th of May but the o-Cetids, peaking on the 20th of May, are the most significant. With this addition to the seasonal increase in random meteor flux, expect good conditions for meteor scatter DXing. Apart from the random meteor scatter options, the growing interest is in Sporadic-E and most days you can find something on the clusters to confirm that the new season is starting to simmer nicely.The position of jet streams and the type of upper-air weather pattern this week suggests that the main features will slow down and leave marked meanderings north and south. Preferred directions would be to Scandinavia and the Baltic plus secondly looking south towards Spain and Portugal.The Moon gets to minimum declination on Thursday, and today, Sunday is the perigee. The week’s trend will therefore be for shorter Moon windows until Thursday and rising path losses. 144MHz sky noise is high all week, reaching 2200K on Wednesday. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday the 8th of May 2022 The news headlines: Could you join the RadCom Editorial team? IARU Region 1 wants your bright ideas for the hobby RSGB Convention bookings open If you are interested in becoming part of the RSGB RadCom Editorial team, the Society is recruiting for a Managing Editor and a Technical Editor. There is further information about both roles on the Society's website at www.rsgb.org/careers. The IARU Region 1 is looking for ideas that could lead to more licensed radio amateurs. Draft proposals are welcome by the 31st of May. The best ideas will be shared with the proposing teams so they can work on a more detailed project on 10th June. Details are at iaru-r1.org. The RSGB is holding an in-person Convention again between the 7th and 9th of October at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre, Milton Keynes. Booking is now open and, if you book by the 31st of August, you can take advantage of the early-bird discounts. For further information see rsgb.org/convention. Canada's amateur radio regulator has granted amateurs in Canada the right to use special callsigns in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee for the period of the 14th of May to the 14th of July. For example, VE3 calls become VX3, VA7 becomes VG7 and so on. The special callsigns may also be used during the IARU World HF Championship Contest. Today, Sunday the 8th of May is the deadline for young radio amateurs to apply to represent their country and national society at this year’s Youngsters on the Air, or YOTA, summer camp. The camp will be held in Croatia from the 6th to the 13th of August. To apply, you need to be a Member of the RSGB, aged between 15 and 25. For further information see rsgb.org/yota. The digital TV repeater, GB3JV, has undergone some major upgrades. A new 70cm reduced bandwidth TV input and a new repeater controller have been added. Justin, G8YTZ, the repeater keeper, hopes the upgrades will encourage more users. Listeners may be interested to know there is an article in the CQ-TV magazine, number 275, about the repeater controller. More at gb3jv.co.uk. A reminder that the RSGB’s summer programme for Tonight@8 begins tomorrow, Monday the 9th of May. Mark Haynes, M0DXR will talk about contesting. He will explain how this aspect of amateur radio can not only be a good test for your station but also a great way to make lots of QSOs with many countries in a short period of time. You can watch and ask questions live on the RSGB YouTube channel or find out more on the Society’s website at rsgb.org/webinars. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Today, the 8th, the Lough Erne ARC Annual Rally will be held at the Arena @ Share Discovery Village, 221 Lisnaskea Road, Lisnaskea BT92 0JZ. Doors open at 11.30 am for the public. Facilities are available on-site for breakfast, lunches and tea & coffee. Next Saturday, the 14th, the Barry ARS Rally will take place at Sully Sports & Social Club, South Road, Sully near Barry CF64 5SP. Open to the traders from 7.30 am and to the public from 9.30 am, admission is £2.50. There is free parking on site. Now the DX news Mike, W6QT plans to be active as DU3/W6QT from Subic Bay in the Philippines until the 15th of September. He will operate SSB and FT8 on the 6 to 80m bands. QSL via W6QT. The log will be uploaded to Logbook of The World and Club Log. Ilya, R5AF and Igor, R4FCN will be active as EX/R5AF and EX/R4FCN from Kyrgyzstan until the 14th of May. They will operate CW, FT8 and some SSB on the 10 to 40m bands. QSL cards will be sent to everyone via the bureau. They also plan to upload to Logbook of The World, eQSL, HamLog and Club Log. Three operators will be active as 5P1EG from Romo Island, EU-125, until the 14th of May. They will operate CW, SSB and digital modes on various bands. QSL via SP1EG. Yuris, YL2GM will be active as VU4W from the Andaman Islands, AS- 001, until the 16th of May. Look for activity on the 10 to 160m bands CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 Fox and Hounds mode. QSL via Club Log's OQRS or direct to YL2GN. Now the Special Event news Northwest Group Amateur Radio Club in Londonderry are activating GB0AEL as part of the 90th Anniversary of Amelia Earhart's landing in Londonderry. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. They will activate GB0AEL from the 13th to the 30th of May. More information on qrz.com under the callsign GB0AEL. GB0SCW will be on the air from Stone Cross Windmill, East Sussex between 10 am and 5 pm on the 7th and 8th of May. They plan to use SSB on the 3.5, 7 and 14MHz bands, as well as 2m and 70cm FM. There may also be HF operations from a car parked on the windmill grounds during the evenings. See qrz.com for more details. Other special event stations to look for during the next week are GB2WTM from Woodbridge Tide Mill and GB1TLB from Torbay. GB2PHC will be operating from Macclesfield and GB5CBH from Broad Hinton. Finally, from the Ofcom data, GB2IPA will be on the air from Southwold. Now the contest news Running for 24 hours next weekend, the 432MHz to 245GHz contest ends at 1400UTC today, the 8th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also running for 24 hours is the ARI International DX Contest. This finishes at 1200UTC today, the 8th. Using CW, RTTY and SSB on the 3.5MHz to 28MHz bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note that Italian stations will also give their Province code. Three contests are due to take place today, the 8th of May. The UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also running between 0800 and 1400UTC is the 10GHz Trophy contest. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Finally, for today, the 8th, the Worked All Britain 7MHz Phone Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Phone modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and your Worked All Britain location. On Monday the SSB leg of the 80m Club Championships runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is a signal report and serial number. The 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC on Tuesday. It is followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is the same for both, the signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday it is the 432MHz FT8 Activity Contest running from 1900 to 2100UTC. The exchange is your report and 4-character locator. Thursday sees the 50MHz UK Activity Contest taking place between 1900 and 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next Sunday, the 15th, the 70MHz CW contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Microwave Groups millimetre-wave contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC next Sunday, the 15th. Using all modes on the 24, 47 and 76GHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 6th of May 2022. Last week was characterised by solar flares. At the time of writing, we have seen more than 50 since the 1st of May, including one high-energy X-class flare. This occurred on the 3rd of May at 1325 hours and caused a radio blackout over much of the Atlantic. Luckily, the Kp index has remained low, which has enabled the ionosphere to develop. And solar flux indices have been steadily climbing and reached 130 by Thursday. There have been many reports of good propagation. It has been a simple case of being in the right place at the right time. Ten metres has been open well into the evening at times, as well as providing paths to Australasia in the morning. At other times people have reported the band as being dead. We have also seen the beginnings of the Sporadic-E season with reports that 10 metres has been wide open to Europe at times. Hopefully, this will develop as the month goes on. Next week, NOAA predicts that the SFI may dip before climbing back into the 120s. However, the US Air Force says that it will just continue to rise, perhaps hitting 140. This seems more plausible going on past performance. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be quiet with a Kp index of two. However, it would only take one Earth-facing coronal mass ejection to spoil this entirely. And now the VHF and up propagation news. Starting with Tropo news, this weekend sees the new week starting with high pressure right over the British Isles. This high will drift slowly southeast into the continent by midweek, centred over the Balkans. There should be some reasonable Tropo paths, especially to the south into France and northern Spain. This will be fairly short-lived because, starting midweek, a weakening cold front brings rain to northwest Britain and breaks up into showers as it moves south. This brings the prospect of some rain scatter for a while and as per last week, this is likely to peak in the afternoon. After these showery days, another high appears by Friday to end the week, gradually transferring to the North Sea with a further chance of Tropo. Bear in mind that these weather forecasts are 10 days out so there are bound to be differences in the models. From midweek, some models retain the showery risk for longer. Summer Sporadic-E, or Es, propagation is well underway with some early reports up to 2m by Chris, G0DWV who heard an IV3 briefly on 2m before dropping back into the noise. We have had many hints of the new season, mostly on 10m and 6m. Just to remind you that Es activity tends to come in two periods, mid-morning and again late afternoon/early evening. Remember the daily blog on Propquest.co.uk, which gives the current day’s prospects as well as an EPI (Es Probability Index) map to allow you to plan your shack activity. The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is tailing off now but the Make More Miles on the VHF website suggests that meteoroids released from the minor planet 2006GY2 may cause activity on the 15th of May around 1020UTC. Apparently, the stream should be dense, so worth a look. The Moon has passed peak declination and we are a week away from next Sunday’s perigee. The week’s trend will therefore be for shorter Moon windows and peak elevation and falling path losses. 144MHz sky noise is low this week, slowly rising and reaching 400K next Sunday. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday the 1st of May 2022 The news headlines: Access to RSGB systems Open Zoom meeting on the ADIF Processor Apply for the Youngsters on the Air Summer Camp The RSGB President spoke about the new Customer Relationship Management system at the AGM last Saturday. The Society would like to pre-warn Members that they will not be able to update their membership details from Thursday the 5th of May to Tuesday the 10th of May. This applies both to the online membership portal and to any telephone or email requests made to the Membership Team at HQ. This time will be a transition period as the new system is brought online. Once it is active, RSGB members will be asked to create a new password to enable them to access the membership portal and further details about this will be shared next week. This is the first part of a series of upgrades being planned for Membership Services. On Thursday evening, the 5th of May, Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club is hosting an open Zoom meeting. It will be a talk by Mark Wickens, M0NOM on The ADIF Processor. This is an online tool, developed by Mark, for enriching your log files and visualising contacts on Google Earth. Originally developed to help him record additional, useful information in his log files, it became a way of viewing QSOs and propagation paths on Google Earth. You can read more and see some of the graphics of propagation paths on the club’s website at gm4riv.org. To receive the Zoom link, please email in advance to events@gm4riv.org. The link will be emailed to you on Thursday the 5th, shortly before the 'virtual doors' open at 7:40 pm. The 2022 Youngsters on the Air, or YOTA, IOTA region 1 summer camp will be held in Croatia not far from the capital city of Zagreb. The Croatian Amateur Radio Association will be hosting the event, which will take place from the 6th to the 13th of August. This is a chance in a lifetime for young RSGB members to represent their country and national society. Participants will join workshops where they will gain the skills to start similar amateur radio youth events when they return home. There will also be time to enjoy operating the latest amateur radio equipment, both locally and remotely, kit-building and visiting the seaside and the capital city. To apply, you need to be a Member of the RSGB, aged between 15 and 25. The deadline for applications is Sunday the 8th of May. For further information see the RSGB website at rsgb.org/yota or for an application form please email youth.champion@rsgb.org.uk. The results of the RSGB election, annual trophies and the 2022 Construction Competition were announced at the Society’s AGM on the 23rd of April. You can read the results on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/agm under the AGM 2022 proceedings tab. The summer programme for Tonight@8 begins on Monday the 9th of May. It will be a presentation by Mark Haynes, M0DXR on contesting, which is also sometimes known as radiosport. He will explain how this aspect of amateur radio can not only be a good test for your station but also a great way to make lots of QSOs with many countries in a short period of time. The presentation will cover the basics of contesting but will also give a flavour of the more advanced techniques adopted by experienced and extreme contesters. It will also include an explanation of what it takes to achieve a world win in the largest events of the year. The RSGB is looking to recruit a Technical Editor for RadCom. Reporting to the Managing Editor, the successful candidate will need a wide range of radio and electronic knowledge, including amateur radio. The RSGB is looking for someone who is positive, enthusiastic about technology, has an excellent command of English and has a good eye for detail. For more detailed information about the role and how to apply, see the Careers page on the RSGB website rsgb.org/careers. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. Today, the 1st of May, Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre Radio Amateur Rally will be at Thorpe Camp, Tattershall, Thorpe, Lincolnshire. It is open to the public from 9 am till 1 pm and entry is £4 with under 12s free. There will be hot and cold food on-site and car parking inside the grounds. Contact Anthony on 07956 654481. On bank holiday Monday, the 2nd of May, the Dartmoor Radio Rally will take place in the Yelverton War Memorial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton PL20 6AL. There is free parking and the doors open at 10 am, with admission being £2.50. There will be a Bring & Buy as well as trader stands. Refreshments will also be available. Contact Roger on 0785 408 8882. Next Sunday, the 8th, the Lough Erne ARC Annual Rally will be held at the Arena @ Share Discovery Village, 221 Lisnaskea Road, Lisnaskea BT92 0JZ. Doors open at 11.30 am for the public. Facilities are available on-site for breakfast, lunches and tea & coffee. Now the DX news Renato, PY8WW will be active as HK0/PY8WW from San Andres Island, NA-033, between the 7th and 12th of May. He plans to operate on the 6 to 40m bands. QSL via his home call. Hitoshi, JR0UIU will be active as JR0UIU/0 from Awashima Island, AS-206, until the 3rd of May. He plans to operate CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 on various bands and also via satellite. QSL via his home call, direct or via the bureau. Janusz, SP9FIH and Leszek, SP6CIK are operating from Nepal as 9N7WE and 9N7CI, respectively, until the 19th of May. Activity is on the 6 to 40m bands. QSL to their home calls. Michael, W6QT is operating as DU3/W6QT from Subic Bay in the Philippines during the month of May. Activity is on the 6 to 80m bands using SSB and FT8. QSL to his home call. Now the Special Event news GB0SCW will be on the air from Stone Cross Windmill, East Sussex from 10 am to 5 pm next Saturday and Sunday. Using SSB on the 3.5, 7 and 14MHz bands, they also plan activities on 2m and 70cm. There may also be some HF operations in the evenings from a car parked on the windmill grounds. See qrz.com for more details. Dom, F5SJB will operate CW only as TM5RDL between the 1st and 15th of May. The special callsign commemorates the composer, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, who wrote the song that eventually became the French national anthem. QSL via F5SJB. Now the contest news The UK EI Contest Club DX contest runs for 24 hours until 1200UTC today, the 1st of May. Using CW only on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note that EI and GI stations also send their District code. Today, the 1st of May, the UK Six Metre Group Summer marathon starts. It runs until the 2nd of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz bands, the exchange is your 4-character locator. On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is the same, signal report, serial number and locator. The 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest takes place on Wednesday from 1900 to 2100UTC. The exchange is your report and 4-character locator. On Saturday, the 432MHz trophy takes place between 1400 and 2200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Running for 24 hours next weekend, the 432MHz to 245GHz contest ends at 1400UTC on Sunday the 8th. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also running for 24 hours is the ARI International DX contest. This finishes at 1200UTC on the 8th. Using CW, RTTY and SSB on the 3.5MHz to 28MHz bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note that Italian stations will also give their Province code. Three contests are due to take place next Sunday, the 8th of May. The UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also running between 0800 and 1400UTC is the 10GHz Trophy contest. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Finally for the 8th, the Worked All Britain 7MHz Phone Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using AM, FM and SSB, the exchange is signal report, serial number and your Worked All Britain locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 29th of April 2022. A week of high solar flux indices brought good openings on the higher bands. With the SFI consistently above 140 all week (at the time of writing) there have been reports of 10-metre openings well into the evening. As Ian Goodier on the 10m UK Net Facebook group reported: “Tonight on 10m you could mistake the band for 20m - East Malaysia in one direction, Mexico in the other.” There were also reports of Australian and New Zealand stations being worked on 10 metres, making this possibly one of the best weeks for 28MHz so far this solar cycle. But there were some spanners in the works too. There were a lot of C-class solar flares and two M-class events this week. Geomagnetic conditions have also been disturbed at times with Wednesday being the worst day with the Kp index hitting five twice on one day. Solarham.net said this was an unexpected geomagnetic storm as the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) tipped south. Another solar storm is forecast for the 29th of April, thanks to a large coronal hole on the Sun’s equator. NOAA predicts more of the same next week with the SFI probably above 130. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be quiet next week, with an average Kp index of two. That is, at least until the 7th of May when it could rise to four. However, this presupposes that we don’t have any coronal mass ejections to contend with. At this point in the solar cycle, solar flares and associated CMEs are commonplace and could push the Kp index higher roughly 48 hours after any Earth-directed CME. As always, keep an eye on Solarham.net for daily updates. And finally, we can now expect a big upturn in Sporadic-E openings on the higher HF bands. Keep an eye on the European 10m beacons for openings and find out more in our VHF news. And now the VHF and up propagation news. As we move into May, the chances of Sporadic-E begin to increase and it's worth keeping a close eye on the usual bands from 10m up to 6m, later in the month, the 2m band might surprise us. The Propquest.co.uk website contains a useful EPI map plot of regions where Sporadic-E may be more likely based upon weather triggers of atmospheric gravity waves that are part of the formation process. It also contains a daily blog with commentary to highlight significant jet streams and other regions of interest. The main focus on the weather charts starts with high pressure bringing fairly good Tropo conditions at the end of last week. Over this weekend a small low will drift into western areas and generally disrupt the Tropo propagation, producing a weaker pattern for next week with a hint of isolated showers. Later in the week, some models bring another low southeast from Iceland to Denmark introducing a cooler north-westerly flow with a few showers until a new high builds next weekend. The result of this will be possible Tropo windows later towards next weekend. There is a possibility of a little rain scatter in between, but generally limited. The Eta Aquariid meteor shower will peak between midnight and dawn on Friday the 6th of May 2022. Its ZHR is a very respectable 50. The shower favours the Southern Hemisphere and the radiant is low in the sky for the UK in the early pre-dawn hours. The predictable cycle of Moon-bounce propagation continues this week with positive Moon declination peaking on Thursday, now almost coinciding with apogee and therefore highest path losses. After mid-July, the trend of rising declination and rising path loss reverses, until, in mid-2026 maximum declination coincides with perigee and minimum path loss again. 144MHz sky noise is generally low this week, reaching 500K on Wednesday. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday the 24th of April 2022 The news headlines: Two new GB2RS broadcasts Take part in SOS Radio Week VMARS nets The RSGB GB2RS News Service is delighted to announce two new broadcasts on Sundays. With a nod to how it all started back in 1955, we have introduced a transmission using amplitude modulation. This takes place in the 80m band on 3650kHz at 8 am UK time from the station of G4JBD in Bedfordshire. The intended coverage is the Midlands and the South East of England but it may be heard more widely when propagation is favourable. For those in the South West Glasgow area who are busy on Sunday mornings, we are now offering an evening broadcast on 2m. Delivered by 2M0GUI on 145.525MHz FM, the transmission is at 6.30 pm UK time. Every year thousands of people get into difficulty around our coast. Thousands of unpaid volunteers swing into action to save and rescue them. SOS Radio Week celebrates the work of these selfless volunteers. Amateur radio stations get on the air to raise awareness of the invaluable work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, National Coastwatch Institution and the many independent lifeboat and rescue organisations around our coasts. The activity starts at 0000UTC on the 1st of May and concludes at 2359UTC on the 31st. Participants are encouraged to become an official Registered Station and make as many contacts as possible, mentioning the reason for the event during their contact. For further details visit sosradioweek.org.uk The Vintage Military Amateur Radio Society will be displaying at the Blackpool Rally today. They have regular nets on 3.615MHz at 8.30 am on Saturdays using AM and at 8 pm on Wednesdays using USB to facilitate the use of ex-military equipment. On Fridays, the frequency remains as 3.615MHz at 7.30 pm using LSB. More at www.vmars.org. As part of the forthcoming Jubilee celebrations, the RSGB has announced further details of its GB70 special event station activities. The seven SES callsigns will be active across the Jubilee weekend, from the 2nd to the 5th of June, on multiple bands and modes by various clubs. After that weekend, these special callsigns will be available for activation by RSGB affiliated clubs or individual RSGB members until the 28th of June. Each callsign has a volunteer coordinator responsible for allocating operating slots in a published schedule. They will also collect the log files from those who have been activating the calls. For further information see the GB70 page in the RSGB Jubilee web section at rsgb.org/jubilee. Provisional results for the 2021 IARU Region 1 Marconi Memorial VHF Contest are available. A total of 762 logs from 27 different countries in Region 1 were received. You can read the provisional results at iaru-r1.org. This year’s CDXC Convention will take place on Saturday the 7th of May at The Link Hotel, Loughborough. The AGM will take place on the same day but, for those who cannot attend, online voting will be available a few days before and instructions will be sent out nearer the time. An interesting list of speakers has been arranged and can be found at www.cdxc.org.uk. And now for details of rallies and events Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. The Cambridge Repeater Group Rally takes place today, the 24th. The venue is Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton, Cambridge CB22 6RN. Doors open at 9.30 am and admission is £3. There will be a talk in station, trade stands, car boot area and a Bring & Buy. Catering is available on site. More at cambridgerepeaters.net. Also today, the 24th is the Northern Amateur Radio Societies Association Exhibition, also known as the Blackpool Rally. It will be held at the Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, Blackpool FY2 9AA. More details at narsa.org.uk. The Andover Radio Club Spring Boot Sale is due to take place today, the 24th, at Wildhern Village Hall, SP11 0JE. It is open at 10 am and is organised by the Andover Radio Amateur Club. Details at arac.org.uk. Next Sunday, the Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre Radio Amateur Rally will be at Thorpe Camp, Tattershall, Thorpe, Lincolnshire. It is open to the public from 9 am till 1 pm and entry is £4 with under 12s free. There will be hot and cold food on-site and car parking inside the grounds. Contact Anthony on 07956 654481. Now the DX news Thierry, F6CUK will be active as TM8C from Brehat Island, EU-074, until the 30th of April. He will operate SSB, CW and FT8 mainly on 40, 30 and 20m bands. QSL via F6CUK either direct or bureau and Logbook of The World. Lubo, OM5ZW will be active holiday style as 3B8/OM5ZW from Mauritius, AF-049, from the 29th of April to the 6th of May. He will operate CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 on the 10 to 80m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World and Club Log's OQRS. John, W5JON will be active as V47JA from St. Kitts, NA-104, until the 28th of April. He will operate SSB and FT8 on the 6 to 160m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World or direct only to W5JON. Now the Special Event news Flight Refuelling ARS will be operating from the club station using GB2FRA to celebrate the club’s 40th anniversary. It is intended that the callsign will be used on all the bands and modes that are available from the club shack including 10GHz EME. Operations will run throughout April. Medway Amateur Receiving and Transmitting Society will operate GB5MW between the 3rd and 30th of April to celebrate the society's centenary year. QSL via eQSL. Now the contest news The SP DX RTTY contest runs for 24 hours ending at 1200UTC today, the 24th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number with Polish stations also sending their Region code. Running until 2130UTC on the 24th, the First MGM contest uses the 50 and 144MHz bands. The exchange is your report and 4-character locator. Today, the 24th, the BARTG Sprint 75 Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using 75 baud RTTY on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is the serial number. On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3GHz and up bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Wednesday sees the UK EI Contest Club 80m CW contest running from 1900 to 2000UTC. Using CW only, the exchange is your 6-character locator. On Thursday it’s the RTTY and PSK63 leg of the 80m Club Championships. Running between 1900 and 2030UTC, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Next weekend, the UK EI Contest Club DX contest runs from 1200UTC on the 30th of April to 1200UTC on Sunday the 1st of May. Using CW only on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note that EI and GI stations also send their District code. Next Sunday, the 1st of May, the UK Six Metre Group Summer marathon starts. It runs until the 2nd of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz bands, the exchange is your 4-character locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 22nd of April 2022. Last week was characterised by solar flares – lots of them! There were numerous strong flares, although the majority occurred in the early hours and so didn’t affect the ionosphere over Europe. Solar flare events can cause short-lived radio blackouts as the energetic photons penetrate deep into the D-layer. Solar activity during the past 30 days has increased drastically with five of the top 10 strongest flares of Cycle 25 detected during this period alone. We have also had very strong sunspot activity with the solar flux index peaking at 160 on Thursday the 21st. The current crop of four sunspot groups probably means we can expect the SFI to stay high until at least early next week. NOAA predicts the SFI will stay above 130, but we may get even higher figures for a time. It also predicts a maximum Kp index of two next week, although that could easily rise if we get hit by matter from any incoming CMEs, which are getting more prevalent as the cycle continues. The good news is that, at the time of writing, it didn’t look like we will get any coronal hole activity. There have been numerous reports of good conditions on the higher bands - 21, 24 and 28MHz – including openings to TX5N on the Austral Islands. Braco, 8Q7DX, who is on holiday in the Maldives, has also been worked. There have also been some signs of early Sporadic-E with very loud openings to Spain on 10 metres. So if the SFI stays this high and we don’t get many geomagnetic disturbances it could be a good week for HF. And now the VHF and up propagation news. We have a classic spring start to things with low pressure over the near continent, aided by the increasing warmth of the spring sunshine, while colder regions to the north become home to high pressure near Iceland. Between the two, we will have a strong and cold-feeling east to northeasterly wind over the UK; not really the setup required for Tropo, since the strong winds and turbulence destroy any temperature inversion. The changes come along after this weekend as the low weakens and a ridge of high pressure extends south across the country with much lighter winds and a chance of Tropo, especially overnight. It is possible that isolated showers may offer a little rain scatter, but not a high probability. It would be better to consider possible aurora and meteor scatter as your exotic modes. In this closing part of April, the best is within reach, since Sporadic-E is a serious possibility on 10m and perhaps 6m. Use the beacons and clusters to guide you, but if you start to adjust to your summer operating rule of checking for Es mid-morning and late afternoon or early evening, then Es QSOs will soon come. The Winter minimum of meteor show activity is at an end with Sporadic meteor rates increasing towards their usual maximum in late summer. The Lyrids shower has passed the peak but continues to be active until the 30th. Moon declination starts the week negative with low peak moon elevations and short visibility windows but turns positive again on Thursday. Path losses are on the increase again as we are past perigee. 144 MHz sky noise is low all week except Saturday afternoon when the Sun and Moon are close in the sky for the five hours leading up to Moonset at approximately 1900hrs. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.