GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 18th August 2019

The news headlines:

• IARU prepares for key CEPT meeting

• YOTA 2019 finishes this weekend

• 146MHz band gets extra year

The final CEPT Conference Preparatory Group meeting prior to WRC-19 takes place from the 26th of August. Most of its papers are now available, including on current hot topics in the 6m, 2m and 23cm bands, where RSGB volunteers have been working hard to support the IARU. In summary, at 50MHz IARU hopes that the European Common Proposal for WRC-19 will be supported, with as many administrations as possible signing the optional footnote to allow amateurs Primary access on a national basis in the lower part of the band. The 144-146MHz band is subject to the French proposal for a WRC-23 agenda item for aeronautical use. IARU and its Member Societies have been busy in recent weeks. IARU has submitted a paper to the meeting that includes background on amateur usage and regulatory concerns. It also includes a basic technical analysis showing the impracticality of such a proposal and believes there are much more appropriate parts of the spectrum for such an application. Turning to 23cm, there has been concern about a few cases of interference from amateur signals to the Galileo navigation system, specific to its E6 sub-band at 1260-1300MHz. It is IARU’s firm view, and stated in the paper it has submitted, that this should be properly studied within CEPT, rather than proposed as an agenda item for WRC-23. IARU experts will be present in the CEPT meeting to explain on these topics and other agenda items of interest, including other microwave bands and wireless power. You can read more at www.rsgb.org/wrc-19 

The ninth annual Youngsters on the Air Summer Camp comes to a close this weekend. Special callsign LZ19YOTA will be on the air during the event, hosted by the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs. QSL LZ19YOTA via the bureau to LZ1BJ. The experiences of the British team are at www.rsgb.org/yota2019.

Ofcom has agreed to extend for a further year the Notice of Variation (NoV) for 146-147MHz to encourage radio amateurs to experiment and test new communications schemes and systems. The current NoVs expire on 31 October 2019. Any Full licence holder may apply for an experimental NoV for the 146-147MHz band: go to www.rsgb.org/nov for details. In the last year, 578 NoVs were issued for this segment.

In Australia, Roland, VK4FB and Stefan, VK4CSD completed what is being claimed as the world’s first FT8 contact on 122GHz. The distance spanned during the 11th of August contact was 92.08km. The received signals were –17dB on one end and –20dB on the other.

The RSGB Convention takes place in Milton Keynes from the 11th to the 13th of October. The Buildathon on Saturday evening is a little different. Presented as an alternative to the Gala Dinner, those attending the Buildathon get a hot & cold buffet and an evening of surface mount construction. The event includes the food and also the SMD Sudden 2, a 40m direct conversion receiver made and supplied by Kanga Products UK. All necessary equipment will be provided and there’s a helpful team of volunteers to assist you through the build. For more info, to book your Buildathon place, weekend packages or day tickets, go to www.rsgb.org/convention. Early Bird discounts have been extended until the 1st of September.

The G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to recommend someone to be awarded the G5RP Trophy for 2019, now is the time to send in your nomination. Your nominee should be an up-and-coming HF DXer who has made rapid progress in the last year and has some real achievements to show. Please send your nominations to Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, by e-mail to hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk to arrive no later than Friday the 6th of September.

The ATU African Preparatory Meeting prior to WRC 19 takes place between the 26th and the 30th of August. ATU is one of the four Regional Telecommunications Organisations in Region 1 and the IARU will be present at the meeting. The IARU has particular interest in the 50MHz, 5 and 47GHz issues being discussed. There is no evidence yet that the 144-146MHz and 1240-1300MHz band issues being considered in CEPT will be discussed in the African Preparatory Meeting but the IARU will be prepared should this happen.

Six News issue 140 is now available for UK Six Metre Group members to download from the website. Go to www.uksmg.org for more details.

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

Today, the 18th of August, the Rugby ARS Rally will take place at Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby CV23 9PY. Admission is £3 and the NGR for sat navs is SP395710. Doors open from 10am to 4pm, with traders having access from 8.30am. There is a car boot area. Catering is available on site. Details from Steve, G8LYB on 0795 685 5816.

Next weekend, on the 24th and 25th, the Montrose Air Station open Day and Radio Rally will take place at Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, Waldron Road, Broomfield, Montrose DD10 9BD. It is an indoor event and tables are available to sell your own equipment. The event opens to the public from 10am. Minor catering will be available. Details from Ewan, MM0BIX on 01674 676 740.

Next Sunday, the 25th, the Torbay Annual Communications Fair will be held at Newton Abbot Racecourse, Devon TQ12 3AF. Doors open at 10am, with disabled visitors gaining access at 9.30am. The indoor event has plenty of free parking on site. There will be a Bring & Buy and catering will be available on site. Details from Pete, G4VTO on 01803 864528.

Next Sunday, the 25th, the Milton Keynes ARS Rally will take place at MKARS, Irish Centre, Manor Fields, Watling Street, Bletchley MK2 2HX. Entry is £3 per person. There is free parking and on-site catering. Doors open from 9am. Additional information is at www.mkars.org.uk/rally

On Bank Holiday Monday, the 26th, the Huntingdonshire ARS Annual Rally will be held at Ernulf Academy, St Neots PE19 2SH. Talk in will be on 145.550MHz by GX0HSR. Gates open at 9am for the public and entry is £3. There is free car parking, an RSGB Bookstall, Bring & Buy and indoor and outdoor stands. Catering is provided on site. Contact Malcolm, M0OLG via events@hunts-hams.co.uk for details.

Now is the time to let us know your rally and event plans for 2020. To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – the earlier you tell us the better. We need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom, and do our best to give you free publicity for as many months as possible.

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

Thor, DK7RD, Paul, G4PVM and Col, MM0NDX will be active as MS0INT from the Shiant Isles, IOTA reference EU-112, between the 23rd and the 25th of August. Plans are to operate CW, SSB and FT8 on the HF bands. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS, or via M0SDV.

Michael, DL2GMI will visit Bernhard, H44MS / DL2GAC on Malaita, OC-047, in the Solomon Islands from the 23rd of August to the 3rd of September. He plans to be active as H44MI on 80, 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10 and 6m using SSB and FT8. QSL via Logbook of The World or via his home call, either direct or via the bureau.

Alessandro, IZ1AZA will be active as OY/IZ1AZA from the Faroe Islands, EU-018, between the 21st and the 26th of August. He will operate SSB and CW on the 40 and 10m bands. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS, Logbook of The World, or via his home call.

Michele, IW7EGQ will be active as SV8/IW7EGQ from Zakynthos Island, EU-052, between the 20th and the 28th of August. QSL via M0OXO’s OQRS.

Now the special event news

Two local clubs are taking part in the bicentennial commemoration Peterloo Massacre incident in Manchester, which happened on the 16th of August 1819. South Manchester Radio Club is running GB200PLM for the next three weeks, for which you can find information via www.smrcc.org.uk. Oldham ARC is organising a special event, GB2PL, to take place during a picnic and unveiling of a memorial stone. They’ll be using on UHF, VHF and some HF from about 11am today, the 18th of August. QSL via the bureau and eQSL.

Special event station GB8NCI will be on the air from 10am to 8pm on the 24th and 25th of August. Operating from the National Coastwatch Institution station in Exmouth, Devon, it’s celebrating the 25th anniversary of the NCI. There will be an open house and the public will be invited to view the radio station and, where appropriate, pass a greetings message under supervision. SSB and CW will be mainly on 40m, 20m and 2m, together with other HF bands if conditions allow. Locator is IO80HO. Region 11 Regional Representative Dean, G0UIL and District Representative DR117 Tony, M0THJ will be coordinating and operating on both days, helped by a member of the Exmouth ARC and an NCI Watchkeeper who holds an amateur licence.

British Inland Waterways on the Air 2019 takes place over the August bank holiday, the 24th to 26th of August. The event is open to all amateurs who are boaters, cyclists or who otherwise use the canals, rivers, towpaths or riverbanks for work or recreation. If you are interested in registering your station for the event or for more information, please visit www.nharg.org.uk/biwota 

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. It is a licensing condition that stations using a UK special event callsign must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

Just a reminder that August is the month of the traditional summer holiday, so there are no RSGB HF contests this month.

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.

Next Sunday, the 25th, the UK Microwave Group High band contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 16th of August.

We had more of the same last week with zero sunspots, but no geomagnetic disturbances. The good news is that there appear to be no Earth-facing coronal holes coming around the Sun, although there are significant holes around the solar polar regions.

The tool at Propquest.co.uk has been showing an interesting phenomenon over the past week. It appears that the critical frequency, and therefore maximum useable frequency, have been increasing after sunset. This means that the higher HF bands, such as 20 or even 17m, may be staying open longer. It also means that 80m is often open for UK contacts after dark, at least until nearly midnight. Daytime DX is still a little harder to come by as D-layer absorption still reigns supreme, but it is worth looking for greyline contacts around sunset.

Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be at 67 and the geomagnetic K index will be at two. This means we can expect 20 or perhaps 17m to be the highest bands in use, other than contacts via Sporadic-E, which is now declining as we head towards September.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The recent run of unsettled weather has produced some heavy thundery downpours in places and some nice rain scatter propagation across the UK on the microwave bands. This weekend is looking like more of the same, but as pressure builds again in the south it’ll change to Tropo as the preferred mode for paths into the continent. Northern Britain will however remain nearer the low pressure and provide a few further options of rain scatter.

Sporadic-E is putting in the odd appearance on 10m, 6m and 4m, but getting very hard to find now. Next week should start with the best chances with a jet stream over the near continent, but this will probably weaken later, so focus on the first half of the week.

As we move away from the peak of the Perseids meteor shower, don’t feel all is over, as it’s a broad peak and always worth exploring meteor scatter propagation if you haven’t tried it yet.

The Moon was at apogee yesterday so EME path losses are at their highest this weekend. They will fall as the week progresses and with declination going positive again late on Monday, Moon windows will lengthen and the Moon’s peak elevation will increase all week.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 11th August 2019

The news headlines:

• Record numbers visit NRC

• YOTA 2019 in Bulgaria

• ILLW next weekend

The RSGB’s National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park experienced record numbers of visitors in July. Before last month, the highest number of visitors was 10,713 in August 2018. July 2019 saw 10,860 visitors to the NRC, with several days seeing over 500 visitors through the door. If you’re interested in becoming an NRC volunteer you should be passionate about meeting people, feel confident explaining the hobby, as well as operating the NRC’s radio station, GB3RS. You should be a licensed amateur, an RSGB Member and be prepared to work a minimum of one (preferably two) days per month. You will be joining a team of enthusiastic, friendly and dedicated volunteers and full training will be given. Travel expenses are paid to volunteers living within reasonable travelling distance and NRC volunteers enjoy numerous benefits associated with volunteering at Bletchley Park. Please email nrc.support@rsgb.org.uk for further information.

Up to 80 young radio amateurs, primarily from IARU Region 1 but including participants from other parts of the world, will gather in Bulgaria from today, the 11th of August for the ninth annual Youngsters on the Air Summer Camp. Special callsign LZ19YOTA will be on the air during the week-long event, hosted by the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs. Activities will include kit building and an opportunity to visit the surrounding region, including the Acom amplifier factory. QSL LZ19YOTA via the bureau to LZ1BJ. You can read about the experiences of the British team at www.rsgb.org/yota2019.

The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend runs from 0001UTC on Saturday the 17th August to 2359UTC on the 18th. The event came into being in 1998 as the Scottish Northern Lights Award, run by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group. ILLW now attracts over 500 lighthouse entries located in over 40 countries. To see a list of this year’s special event stations, go to https://illw.net/ and this week’s propagation report has details on which lighthouses you are likely to be able to hear and work.

The RSGB Convention takes place in Milton Keynes from the 11th to the 13th of October. Dave Sumner, K1ZZ will open the convention with his talk on Our Global Amateur Radio Community. Dave is the Secretary for the IARU and has recently written a very thought-provoking article in the ITU’s magazine on the value of radio amateurs around the world, see https://tinyurl.com/rsgb-itunews. Nobby Styles, G0VJG will speak about his DXpedition to Wallis Island and RSGB Members can read a brief account of this in the September RadCom. To book weekend packages or day tickets and to read more about the RSGB Convention, go to www.rsgb.org/convention. The Early Bird discounts have been extended until the 1st of September.

Region 1, Scotland South and Western Isles, has a number of vacancies for Deputy Regional Representatives. District 13, Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, District 16, the Borders, and District 17, Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire, are all vacant. If you would like to know more about the role and what it entails, contact the Regional manager for Region 1, Tony Miles, MM0TMZ by email to rr1@rsgb.org.uk.

The DXCC Most Wanted entities list has been updated on Club Log. The complete list contains 340 entities, with the top five most wanted being North Korea, Bouvet Island, Crozet Island, Scarborough Reef and San Felix Islands. The list is available at https://secure.clublog.org/mostwanted.php

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

Today, the 11th sees the Flight Refuelling ARS Hamfest take place at Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne, Dorset BH21 3DA. A talk-in station will be on S22. There is car parking on site and doors are open from 10am to 4.30pm. Admission is £4, which includes parking. There will be trade stands with indoor and field pitches and a car boot area. Lectures will take place during the day. No dogs are allowed, except Guide dogs, which is a condition set by the landowner. More from Tony Baker, G3PFM on 0774 347 5018.

Next Sunday, the 18th of August, the Rugby ARS Rally will take place at Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby CV23 9PY. Admission is £3 and the NGR for sat navs is SP395710. Doors open from 10am to 4pm, with traders having access from 8.30am. There is a car boot area. Catering is available on site. Details from Steve, G8LYB on 07956 855816.

Now is the time to let us know your rally and event plans for 2020. To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – the earlier you tell us the better. We need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom, and do our best to give you free publicity for as many months as possible.

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

A group of mainly German amateurs will activate TO5M from the St Pierre and Miquelon Islands, IOTA reference NA-032, until the 18th of August. They will be on all bands from 160 to 6m on SSB, CW and FT8. QSL via Club Log OQRS.

A team of ZS operators will activate Robben Island, AF-064, from the 15th to the 20th of August. They will use the callsign ZS9V. Look for them mainly on 10, 15 and 20m SSB. Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. QSL manager is M0OXO.

Gil, IZ2DLV is active as 8Q7GB from Nika Island, AS-013, until the 18th of August. Activity is holiday style on the 40, 30, 20, 17 and 15m bands using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via Logbook of The World or ClubLog.

Members of the DX Punta Maya Group will be active as T45FM from the Punta Maya Lighthouse, NA-105, in Cuba from the 15th to the 19th of August. Activity will be on the 160 to 10m bands using CW, SSB and the digital modes. An emphasis will be on the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. QSL via RW6HS.

Now the special event news

Advance notice now for British Inland Waterways on the Air 2019. This annual event takes place over the August bank holiday, the 24th to 26th of August. The event is open to all amateurs who are boaters, cyclists or who otherwise use the canals, rivers, towpaths or riverbanks for work or recreation. Many clubs and individual amateurs who are on or near the UK inland waterways obtain Special Event Station callsigns. Others operate mobile or portable stations using their own callsigns. If you are interested in registering your station for the event or for more information, please visit www.nharg.org.uk/biwota 

Bushvalley ARC is taking part in the lighthouse on the air event this year from Rathlin Island. The club has eight members travelling to the island to activate the three lighthouses there. The event runs from the 17th to the 18th of August. For live updates and frequencies please keep an eye on their Facebook page.

The FT8 Digital Mode Club is commemorating its 2nd anniversary and eight special event stations will be on air in a number of countries until the 24th of August. An FTDMC Anniversary Award can be earned, with various levels to the award. Full details of the participating stations, and the awards, are at www.ft8dmc.eu

The bicentennial commemoration of the Peterloo Massacre incident in Manchester that happened on the 16th of August 1819 has two local clubs marking the event. South Manchester Radio Club is running GB200PLM for the next three weeks with information on www.smrcc.org.uk. Oldham ARC are organising a special event to take place during a picnic and unveiling of a memorial stone using GB2PL on UHF, VHF and some HF from the park’s Rotary Club Wheel area from about 11am on the 18th of August. QSL via the bureau and eQSL.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. It is a licensing condition that stations using a UK special event callsign must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

Just a reminder that August is the month of the traditional summer holiday, so there are no RSGB HF contests this month.

Today, the 11th, the 5th 70MHz Cumulative Contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The WAE DX CW contest runs for 48 hours over this weekend ending at 2359UTC on the 11th. It’s CW only on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands. The exchange is signal report and serial number, but EU stations must only work non-EU stations to count.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday the 70MHz UK Activity Contest takes place from 1900 to 2130UTC. 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 9th of August.

Matter from a solar coronal hole hit the Earth last week as predicted. However, we got the date wrong, as it actually impacted us on Monday and not Sunday, as it was moving slightly slower than we thought. This sent the Kp index up to five as the Earth’s geomagnetic field was disturbed and where it stayed for four consecutive Kp sessions, or 12 hours in total. There were reports of a pre-auroral enhancement on 10 metres, but overall HF conditions were down as a result.

Tuesday was characterised by reduced maximum usable frequencies, but by Wednesday the solar wind stream had calmed down and the ionosphere soon got back to its normal sunspot minimum doldrums. There was DX to be chased though, with the CY9C St Paul Island DXpedition off Nova Scotia being workable on the lower HF bands, especially 20m, and being very audible in the UK.

Next week NOAA predicts a calm Sun with a solar flux index of 67 and zero sunspots. After potentially unsettled geomagnetic conditions this weekend due to a coronal hole, the rest of the week should be fine, with a maximum Kp index of two or three.

Don’t forget that it is International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on the 17th and 18th, which should attract more than 500 lighthouse entries located in over 40 countries. A full list can be found at illw.net, but please note that with ionospheric conditions the way they are you may struggle to work nearby UK lighthouses on 40m due to the low critical frequency, and 80m may be closed from mid-morning until late afternoon due to D-layer absorption. But feel free to try for the European stations and those further afield on 40 and 20m.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The next week or so is looking decidedly unlike summer with a tendency for low pressure, especially in the north. Wind, rain, thunder and no Tropo is hard to sell, but there are usually some positives even in bad weather! Let's start with a strong positive, which is a good jet stream pattern for Sporadic-E. In this case a marked upper trough crosses the country with segments of strong jet stream winds over the UK and near continent. In the closing weeks of the Sporadic-E season, a strong jet stream is a real bonus, so pursue the usual summer operating rules and check the 10m and 6m bands late morning and late afternoon.

Another positive is that the Perseids meteor shower is approaching its peak, so expect excellent meteor scatter conditions over the coming days. The broad peak of the 11th to the 13th of August may cause meteor ionisation, which is an important component in the formation of Sporadic-E.

Now the bad news. There is pretty much a total absence of high pressure, so it's unlikely that Tropo will feature much, if at all. Strong winds will remind us to check the antennas are in good shape for winter. Trying to end on a positive note, thunderstorms are useful if you are into GHz bands rain scatter from the large cumulonimbus clouds.

Moon declination is at its minimum, most negative, today, so the Moon will be very low in the sky at its zenith. Losses are still increasing as we approach apogee on Saturday, so it’s a poor week for EME.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 4th August 2019

The news headlines:

• WRC-19 - Request to Support 50MHz

• Celebrating W5LFL from space

• RSGB Convention news

As the run-up to WRC-19 gathers pace, the UK Six Metre Group has also written to Ofcom in support of a positive approach to Agenda Item 1.1 concerning the future of the 50MHz band in ITU Region 1. At present, harmonisation and activity is impeded by the lack of a formal 50MHz ITU Region 1 amateur allocation. Whilst seeking positive UK support for the agenda item that is at the final preparation stage in CEPT, the UK Six Metre Group also expressed concern at recent proposals by some countries to cut the entire band down to just 200kHz wide. The RSGB welcomes the latest submission and is also continuing its own efforts to promote and defend amateur bands at 50MHz, 144MHz and 1296MHz, amongst others that are in scope of the various WRC-19/23 proposals.

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, otherwise known as ARISS, is celebrating the life and accomplishments of astronaut, scientist and amateur radio pioneer Owen Garriott, W5LFL, who became a silent key earlier this year. There may just be time to catch the end of the commemorative slow-scan television event featuring images from his work with ham radio during his missions in space. Transmissions began on the 1st of August and are scheduled to continue until 1815UTC today, the 4th. Transmissions will be on 145.800MHz FM using SSTV mode PD-120. Received images may be posted, so visit the ARISS website for updates and more information at www.ariss.org.

The RSGB Convention takes place in Milton Keynes from the 11th to the 13th of October. With use of the first geostationary satellite for amateur use rapidly climbing, visitors will be able to listen to Dave Crump, G8GKQ talk about Use of the QO-100 Wideband Transponder for DATV. Neil Smith, G4DBN will speak on Choosing the right digital mode for the job, particularly useful when digital modes are so useful at this point in the solar cycle. Alwyn Seeds, G8DOH will draw on his long professional and amateur experience to explain many of the pitfalls and mistakes made when selecting feedlines and coaxial connectors. Although focused on VHF/UHF issues, this talk, Coax and connectors, the forgotten ingredient of high performance VHF/UHF stations, should be of interest to all radio amateurs. To book weekend packages or day tickets and to read more about the RSGB Convention, go to www.rsgb.org/convention. The Early Bird discounts are due to end on the 18th of August.

ARISS has successfully completed a battery of stressful tests required as part of the final certification of the next generation radio system for launch to and operation on the International Space Station. In July, compatibility tests were undertaken to ensure that the ARISS hardware will not interfere with the ISS systems or other payloads. These tests verified that the ARISS Interoperable Radio System, or IORS, will not introduce harmful signals back into the ISS power system and is quiet enough to meet ISS acoustic requirements. Successful completion of these tests represents a key milestone in preparing the IORS for launch. ARISS can now begin final assembly of the flight units and prepare for their safety certification before launch. ARISS is working towards launch-ready status by the end of the year.

The latest edition of the VHF Newsletter is now available from the IARU Region 1, as is the VHF Handbook, version 8.50, with the recommendations of the Interim meeting in Vienna. You can download a copy from the IARU Region 1 website, www.iaru-r1.org.

A new edition of RadCom Basics is now out. RSGB Members can read it today by going to www.rsgb.org/radcom-basics, where you can also register to receive notification of subsequent issues as they become available. This edition looks at using repeaters in other areas, using WSPR and how to take part in September’s SSB Field Day.

Celebrating the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group’s 60th anniversary, special callsign GB60ATG will be used from the various DXCC Entities in the UK until the 30th of June 2020. QSL via M0OXO. Complete information on the event and the BARTG Diamond Jubilee Award can be found at http://bartg.org.uk.

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

Today, the 4th of August, the 30th King’s Lynn ARC Great Eastern Radio Rally will take place at Gaywood Community Centre, Gayton Road, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE30 4EL. Doors open at 9am and traders have access from 7am. Admission is £2.50, with free car parking. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy. There are amateur radio pitches outside as well as tables in hall. Details from Ted, G4OZG on 01553 768701.

Today, the 4th of August, the Crianlarich Radio Rally, organised by Lomond Radio Club, will be held at Crianlarich Village Hall, Main Street, Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8QN. The doors will open at 10am. There will be a Bring & Buy, traders and an RSGB Bookstall. Catering will be available on site. Contact Bill, via mm0elf@blueyonder.co.uk for further details.

On Friday the 9th of August the twenty-sixth Cockenzie & Port Seton Mini Rally will be held in the Community Centre, Main Hall, Port Seton. Bring along your own junk and sell it yourself. Tables on a first come first served basis. The entry fee is £2 and the doors open from 6pm to 9pm.

Sunday the 11th sees the Flight Refuelling ARS Hamfest take place at Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne, Dorset BH21 3DA. A talk-in station will be on S22. There is car parking on site and doors are open from 10am to 4.30pm. Admission is £4, which includes parking. There will be trade stands with indoor and field pitches and a car boot area. Lectures will take place during the day. No dogs are allowed, except Guide dogs, which is a condition set by the landowner. More from Tony Baker, G3PFM on 0774 347 5018.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.

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

The slightly delayed CY9C St Paul Island DXpedition is now on the air. CY9C has been spotted on the 40, 30, and 20m bands, with a lot of initial activity on FT8 using Fox/Hound mode, in addition to some CW and SSB. The DXpedition will continue until the 8th of August. All operations will be from the Northeast Island and the DXpedition has already has been approved for DXCC credit. The IOTA reference is NA-094. The propagation report later in this bulletin has info on your best chances of working the DXpedition.

Sugi, JI3KDH will be in the Maldives, AS-013, until the 7th of August. Using the callsign 8Q7SU on the 20 to 10m bands, the operation is CW only. QSL via Logbook of The World.

Darek, SP9DLM will be active as 4L/SP9DLM from Kobuleti, Georgia from the 4th to the 16th of August. He will be active on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World, eQSL, or via SP9DLM either direct or via the bureau.

Giovanni, IZ2DPX will be active as 5R8PX from Nosy Be, AF-057, until the 17th of August. He will operate SSB and digital modes on the HF bands. QSL via IK2DUW direct and Logbook of The World; the log will be uploaded to Club Log.

Rick, AI5P is on Lord Howe Island, OC-004, operating as VK9APX until the 10th of August. Look for him on the 40 to 17m bands using on CW and FT8. QSLs go via his home call.

A multi-national team of YL operators will be active as OL88YL from the OK5Z contest station near Brno in the Czech Republic until the 8th of August. QSL via HB9FPM.

Now the special event news

GB100HAL has been issued to commemorate 100 years of RAF Halton, in conjunction with the many events that are taking part celebrating the anniversary. The call may also be claimed towards the Airfields on the Air Award and is recognised by RAFARS for all their awards. The callsign will be used most Saturdays up until the end of the year.

The FT8 Digital Mode Club is commemorating its 2nd anniversary and eight special event stations will be on air in a number of countries between the 10th and the 24th of August. An FTDMC Anniversary Award can be earned, with various levels to the award. Full details of the participating stations, and the awards, are at www.ft8dmc.eu

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. It is a licensing condition that stations using a UK special event callsign must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

Just a reminder that August is the month of the traditional summer holiday, so there are no RSGB HF contests this month.

Today, the 4th, the 432MHz Low Power contest runs from 0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.

On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM only, its exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. At the same time the 144MHz Machine Generated Mode contest takes place, with the exchange of signal report and 4-character locator. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest, from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for this contest is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday the 50MHz machine Generated Mode Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. The exchange is signal report and 4-character locator. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 50MHz UK Activity Contest, from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for this contest is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Sunday the 11th the 5th 70MHz Cumulative Contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The WAE DX CW contest runs for 48 hours over the weekend of the 10th and 11th of August. Starting at 0000UTC on the 10th and ending at 2359UTC on the 11th, it’s CW only on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands. The exchange is signal report and serial number, but EU stations must only work non-EU stations to count.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 2nd of August.

A solar coronal hole pushed the Kp index to three last week and the solar flux index was static at 66. The plasma from the hole impacted the Earth on Wednesday, but it didn’t have the dire results that many had predicted. In fact, there was a pre-auroral enhancement that saw the maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path climb to more than 18MHz at 2030UTC on Tuesday the 30th. Two even larger coronal holes followed, matter from which is expected to hit the Earth today, the 4th. These latter holes have a positive polarity though, so the solar wind may not connect fully with the Earth’s magnetic field.

Next week NOAA has the solar flux index pegged at 67, but the good news is that once the high-speed solar wind stream from this latest coronal hole calms down we can expect more settled geomagnetic conditions.

In other news, 40m has been humming at night with many reports of US and Caribbean stations being worked.

The CY9C DXpedition to St Paul Island, off Nova Scotia, should now be under way. It’s planned to last until the 8th of August. The VOACAP online HF prediction tool shows that 20m from 2100 to 2200UTC may be favourite for a contact. Thirty metres offers an even better opportunity from 2000UTC to midnight, but is obviously restricted to CW and data modes. Later, 40 and 80 metres take over through the early hours, until sunrise. Good news for lesser-equipped stations is that CY9C is using FT8 in Fox and Hound mode at times.

And now the VHF and up propagation news

The end of this last week and most of next will still be on the unsettled side of high summer with areas of low pressure close to the British Isles. At this time of the year it often means heavy showery bursts of rain with a risk of thunder in places, so that’s a good signal for rain scatter on the microwave bands. High pressure is just putting in an appearance over the North Sea and Biscay, which means that some Tropo paths might develop to the continent.

We have a feeling that the Sporadic-E season is in its last phase now, but don’t abandon the idea that Sporadic-E can still occur, since some good openings have been seen in previous years even into the first week of September. Keep a check on the clusters for the much rarer openings in August. They can be productive, although tend to be short-lived.

Moon declination goes negative on Monday so peak Moon elevations will be under 20 degrees by the end of the week. EME Moon windows will therefore be short. Path losses will still be reasonable though as we are still two weeks from apogee.

While the Perseids meteor shower doesn’t reach its peak for another week, the shower is quite broad so you can expect improving meteor scatter conditions as the week progresses.

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

GB2RS NEWS
Sunday 28th July 2019

The news headlines:
ARISS Russia SSTV test transmissions
Learn how to build a medium wave radio receiver
New RadCom Basics out now

A Russian MAI-SSTV event is planned from the International Space Station for Monday the 29th of July from 1315 to 2125UTC. There will be a second session on Tuesday the 30th of July from 1350 to 1950UTC. Transmissions are expected to be on 145.800MHz FM in SSTV mode PD120. The callsign in use will be RS0ISS. This session is the routine MAI-75 activity that is only active for a few orbits.
On the 6th of August, the RSGB invites young people – and an accompanying adult if the child is under 16 – to join them at the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park for a fun and hands-on workshop where they can learn more about radio and electronics. The workshop offers a short introduction to wireless communications before moving on to the construction of a medium wave radio receiver. Aimed at people aged 10 to 18, all tools, test equipment and supervision will be provided. The event is organised by the RSGB, including a goody bag for each young person, and the RCF is kindly funding the kit. There is a choice of two sessions, 9.45am to 12.15pm or 1 to 3.30pm. Tickets are just £7 and you can book at tinyurl.com/rsgb-workshop
A new edition of RadCom Basics is out this weekend. RSGB Members can read it today by going to www.rsgb.org/radcom-basics, where you can also find out how to sign up for the RadCom Basics mailing list. Each edition of RadCom Basics explores key aspects of amateur radio in a straightforward and accessible way. RadCom Basics is sent as an email alert to subscribers when each edition is published. This email provides a list of contents and a link to the articles on the RSGB website. This edition looks at using repeaters in other areas, using WSPR and how to take part in September’s SSB Field Day.
Ofcom have confirmed their approach for innovation and sharing for mobile phones and wireless broadband in a number of microwave bands, following a consultation earlier this year. In the case of the 2390 to 2400MHz band, they acknowledge the RSGB Spectrum Forum input made in March 2019. Typical amateur uses include datalinks, DATV reception and the ARISS HamTV downlink for schools contacts. The Ofcom statement now confirms amateurs as one of the secondary incumbent users and the basis for our ongoing access. The original RSGB input and a link to the Ofcom consultation and statement is at tinyurl.com/rsgb-2400MHz
The RSGB Convention takes place in Milton Keynes from the 11th to the 13th of October. Jim Loughlin, G4DKQ will give a talk on A Brief History of Baldock Monitoring Radio Station. From its opening in 1929 as a receiving station for the Imperial Wireless Chain, Baldock Monitoring Radio Station has seen many changes throughout the ninety years of operation. The talk will cover the milestones in its history up to the present very different operational capabilities of the station. On the 12th, as part of the Contest University, Steve, G0KYA, will look at how propagation plays an important role in contesting and the tools available today for helping to predict for the big event itself. To book weekend packages or day tickets and to read more about the RSGB Convention, go to www.rsgb.org/convention.
Celebrating 55 years of offshore radio broadcasting, the Martello Tower Group will be active as GB55RC between the 1st and 5th of August. Activity will take place from the MV Ross Revenge, home of Radio Caroline, moored in the Blackwater estuary. If members of the public are interested in visit the station, a fully insured tender will depart from Mersea Island at 10am and 1pm on the 3rd and 4th of August for the approximately twenty minute journey to the Ross Revenge. Details of the trips can be found on Qr Z.com under GB55RC.
The RSGB Radio Communication Foundation is a sponsor of the Arkwright Engineering Academy. On Wednesday the 7th of August, an Arkwright Engineering Academy Foundation Licence training event is being organised by the RSGB at the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park. The NRC Radio Room and the station, GB3RS, will be in use for training and practical assessment purposes for most of the day. Whilst GB3RS will still be operational, it does unfortunately mean that the station won’t be available for any visiting radio amateurs to operate. During the day the NRC will remain open to visitors to look around but, we apologise for any disappointment or inconvenience caused by the radio room itself being unavailable.
The G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to recommend someone to be awarded the G5RP Trophy for 2019, now is the time to send in your nomination. Your nominee should be an up-and-coming HF DXer who has made rapid progress in the last year and has some real achievements to show. Please send your nominations to Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, by e-mail to hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk to arrive no later than Friday the 6th of September.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, the 28th, the Wiltshire Radio Rally and Electronics Fair takes place at Kington Langley Village Hall & playing fields, Church Road, Kington Langley, Chippenham SN15 5NJ. Doors open from 9am to 1pm, with disabled visitors gaining access at 8.30am. Admission is £2. There is a car boot sale, flea market and trade stands. Catering is available on site and there is an RSGB Bookstall. For more information contact Brian, G6HUI on 0772 224 2741.
Today, the 28th, Horncastle Summer Rally will take place at the Horncastle Youth Centre, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6DZ. Entry is £2 and the doors open at 10am. Refreshments are available. Contact Tony, G3ZPU on 01507 527835. This will be the last radio rally at the Horncastle Youth Centre as the County Council are closing the building. A new venue is being sought.
On the 4th of August, the 30th King’s Lynn ARC Great Eastern Radio Rally will take place at Gaywood Community Centre, Gayton Road, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE30 4EL. Doors open at 9am and traders have access from 7am. Admission is £2.50, with free car parking. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy. There are amateur radio pitches outside as well as tables in hall. Details from Ted, G4OZG on 01553 768701.
On the 4th of August, the Crianlarich Radio Rally, organised by Lomond Radio Club will be held at Crianlarich Village Hall, Main Street, Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8QN. The doors will open at 10am. There will be a Bring & Buy, traders and RSGB Bookstall. Catering will be available on site. Contact Bill, mm0elf@blueyonder.co.uk for further details.
To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.
And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources
SP3PS will be active as C5SP from The Gambia until the 5th of August. He will operate SSB and FT8 on the 20 to 6m bands. QSL via his home callsign.
Sebastien, F8BDQ will be active as IS0/F8BDQ the main island of Sardinia, IOTA reference EU-024, until the 6th of August. QSL via his home callsign, direct only.
Frank, K3TRM will be active as J6/K3TRM from St Lucia, NA-108, until the 3rd of August. He will operate SSB, CW and digital modes of RTTY and FT8, plus satellite, on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS, Logbook of The World, or via his home call either direct or via the bureau.
LA/OK1XC and LA/OK3EE will be active from Flemsoya, EU-056, until the 4th of August. QSL via OK1XC.
Rick, AI5P will be active holiday-style as VK9APX from Lord Howe Island, OC-004 from the 31st of July to the 10th of August. He will operate CW and FT8 on the 40 to 17m bands. QSL via AI5P.
Now the special event news
Arrowe Jamboree 2019 is a weekend camp celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the 3rd World Scout Jamboree held at Arrowe Park, Birkenhead, Cheshire. Wirral ARS will put GB2APJ on the air from Helsby High School today, the 28th July, using most bands and modes from 3.5MHz through to 5.6GHz.
Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. It is a licensing condition that stations using a UK special event callsign must be open to the public.
Now the contest news
The big contest this weekend is the Island On the Air, or IOTA, contest. It runs for 24 hours until 1200UTC today, the 28th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and IOTA reference.
Today, the 28th, the UK Microwave group contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
There are no RSGB HF contests in the month of August.
On Saturday the 3rd of August the fourth 144MHz Backpacker contest runs from 1400 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode. Starting at the same time, but running for two hours longer, the 144MHz Low Power Contest runs from 1400 to 2000UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.
The WAB 144MHz Low Power Phone contest is also on the 3rd of August from 1400 to 1800UTC. The exchange for this one is signal report, serial number and WAB area.
On Sunday the 4th, the 432MHz Low Power contest runs from 0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.
Don’t forget that the UK Six Metre Group Marathon runs until the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just your 4-character locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 26th of July.
Last week HF was once again dominated by Sporadic-E openings. On Wednesday FT8 contacts were being made across Europe on 28MHz, from Finland in the North to Spain in the South. It was a similar story on Thursday with S9 signals from the Balearic Islands to Norway. As we head towards August it is best to make the most of these as the Es season will start to fade quite soon.
Other than Sporadic-E it has been quiet on the HF bands in general.
NOAA predicts that next week the Sun will continue to be spotless, with a solar flux index of 67. Geomagnetic conditions are likely to remain settled, with the Kp index predicted to be around two to three. The solar wind is currently more settled, with speeds down into the 300 to 400km per second range. However, a large solar coronal hole is making its way around the Sun. Its equatorial position means it is likely to have an impact on the Earth. Our best guess is that this could be mid-week, likely resulting in increased solar wind speeds, an elevated K index and depressed maximum useable frequencies.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
There is a warm, but unsettled theme to the weather in the next week, but like the last few days this hot weather can produce some very strong ducting over the seas around the British Isles. This means that Tropo is always a possibility during this period. The unsettled nature of the weather is also going to lead to some potentially heavy showers on some days, bringing with them a chance of rain scatter.
We are still in the Sporadic-E season, so it's always worth checking for openings. They tend to favour mid morning, late afternoon or early evening. Follow the jet stream charts on the various websites, for example propquest.co.uk and use the daily blog to guide you as to which directions seem most likely to produce results. Sporadic-E patches are created by the horizontal wind shear on the edges of these strong upper flows of air in the troposphere. These generate turbulence and launch atmospheric gravity waves up to the E region, where they produce vertical wind shear.
The Moon reaches maximum declination on Tuesday and perigee next Friday so it’s a good week for EME.
Another propagation mode to signal for attention is meteor scatter, with two small showers this week peaking on Tuesday. The Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids are then followed by the major shower, the Perseids, in the next week or two, with a broad peak around the 12th and 13th of August.
And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 21st July 2019

The news headlines:

• Keeping the spectrum clean

• G5RP nominations sought

• Ian White, GM3SEK to speak at the RSGB Convention

The radio communications consultancy LS telcom held its 24^th annual spectrum summit on the 3^rd of July and invited the IARU to participate in a panel session on “Keeping the Spectrum Clean”. The IARU was represented by Barry Lewis, G4SJH, who is the RSGB Microwave Manager. He summarised the impact of the increase in man-made noise observed by radio amateurs in recent years across the HF to UHF frequency ranges and how the amateur community is dealing with this. LS telcom is a consultancy that specialises in spectrum monitoring and was particularly interested to hear the views from the amateur community. The audience of 200 came from 34 countries and included a wide range of representatives from across the radio communications industry and regulatory fields. For more on the summit, go to www.spectrum-summit.com/en/home/

The G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF DXing. The award is not limited to youngsters or the newly-licensed; it is open to anyone who has recently discovered and made significant progress in HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to recommend someone to be awarded the G5RP Trophy for 2019, now is the time to send in your nomination. Your nominee should be an up-and-coming HF DXer who has made rapid progress in the last year and has some real achievements to show, for example, a good total of new countries worked or some serious HF DXpedition activity. This prestigious award will be presented this year at the RSGB Convention in October. Please send your nominations to Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, by e-mail to hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk to arrive no later than Friday the 6th of September.

The RSGB Convention takes place in Milton Keynes from the 11^th to the 13^th of October. Ian White, GM3SEK will present Clean Up Your Shack - Revisited. This is sure to be a popular talk as there has been around 7000 views on the RSGB YouTube channel of Ian’s 2017 talk. To book weekend packages or day tickets and to read more about the RSGB Convention, go to www.rsgb.org/convention.

With the summer holidays looming, where can you take youngsters that’s fun, educational and free? Bletchley Park, the former top-secret home of Britain’s Codebreakers, is now a vibrant museum and has a packed calendar of interactive exhibitions and events that tell the story of this historic site. Engineering challenges, codebreaking games and immersive displays are just some of the fun summer activities on offer. For a full list of What’s On visit the Bletchley Park website https://bletchleypark.org.uk. Don’t forget RSGB Members can download a free entry voucher and you can always visit the RSGB National Radio Centre whilst you are there. Bring your licence and you can operate the permanent special event station GB3RS.

ICQ Podcast has announced a partnership in the founding of the Homebrew Heroes Award. This annual award is to recognise persons, groups or organisations who help define the frontiers in amateur radio technology through the long-standing tradition of home brew construction. The new awards program is independent of the ICQ Podcast and you can read much more at https://homebrewheroes.org

The VX2A11 team is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing during a DXpedition on Grosse Iles, Iles de la madeleine, NA-038, from the 23^rd to the 30^th of July. They will also participate in the IOTA contest. See www.facebook.com/vx2a11 for more information.

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

Today, the 21^st, sees the Finningley ARS Rally take place at The Hurst Communications Centre, Belton Road , Sandtoft, Doncaster DN8 5SX. Doors open 10am and there is free parking. An indoor and outdoor area will have with major traders and club stalls from microwave components to QRP kits. Hot food and drinks are available all day. Admission is £3. Contact Kevin, G3AAF on 07831 614640 for other details.

Next Sunday, the 28^th, the Wiltshire Radio Rally and Electronics Fair will be held at Kington Langley Village Hall & playing fields, Church Road, Kington Langley, Chippenham SN15 5NJ. Doors open from 9am to 1pm with disabled visitors gaining access at 8.30am. Admission is £2. There is a car boot sale, flea market and trade stands. Catering is available on site. For more information contact Brian, G6HUI on 0772 224 2741.

Next Sunday, the 28^th, Horncastle Summer Rally will take place at the Horncastle Youth Centre. Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6DZ. This will be the last radio rally at the Horncastle Youth Centre as the county council are closing the building and a new venue is being sought. Entry is £2 and the doors open at 10am. Refreshments are available. Contact Tony, G3ZPU on 01507 527835.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.

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

The FT8 frequencies for the CY9C DXpedition to St Paul Island, NA-094, planned between the 31^st of July and the 8^th of August have been announced. See https://cy9c.com for details. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, Logbook of The World or direct to WA4DAN.

Lukas, HB9EBT will be active as D44TEG from Sao Tiago, AF-005, Cape Verde between the 22^nd and the 29^th of July. He will operate CW on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via his home call, direct or bureau.

Gil, F4FET and Antoine, F5RAB will participate in the IOTA Contest as TM7P from Ile Petite, EU-107. They will be active for a few days before and after the contest, with two stations on the 80 to 6m bands using SSB, CW and RTTY. QSL via F4FET.

Cray Valley Radio Society will be active from St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, EU-011, between the 24^th and the 30^th of July, including an entry in the IOTA contest as M8C. Outside the contest, the team will be on the air as G3RCV/p. QSLs via Club Log's OQRS either direct or bureau and Logbook of the World.

Thierry, HK2SM and other seven operators will be active as HK1NA from El Morro Grande, SA-082 in Santa Marta Bay on the 27^th and the 28^th of July. They will operate SSB on the 80 to 10m bands. The log will be uploaded to Club Log and Logbook of The World.

Now the special event news

Leicester Radio Society will be hosting GB5EHL for Eagle Has Landed will be on air today, the 21^st of July using HF and VHF, all modes. A special QSL card will be available.

Baldock Radio station in Hertfordshire will be on air with GB9BRS celebrating 90 years since the station was opened. Operation will be on 2m FM and FT8 as well as 20 and 80m CW and SSB. It is part of a IET open house aimed at young people on the 26^th of July, go to www.theiet.org and search for open house.

Arrowe Jamboree 2019 is a weekend camp celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the 3rd World Scout Jamboree held at Arrowe Park, Birkenhead, Cheshire. To mark the 90^th anniversary, Wirral ARS will put GB2APJ on the air from Helsby High School on Friday the 26^th until Sunday the 28^th July using most bands and modes from 3.5MHz through to 5.6GHz.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. It is a licensing condition that stations using a UK special event callsign must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

Today, the 21^st, the 70MHz Trophy contest runs from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number locator and postcode.

The Low Power Contest runs from 0900 to 1600UTC today, the 21^st. Using CW only on the 3.5 to 14MHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and power.

On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2200UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3GHz and up bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday the 80m Club Championships data let takes place from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

The big contest next weekend is the Island On the Air, or IOTA, contest. It runs from 1200UTC on the 27^th to 1200UTC on the 28^th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and IOTA reference.

On Sunday the 28^th, the UK Microwave group contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Don’t forget that the UK Six Metre Group Marathon runs until the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just your 4-character locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 19th of July.

There is very little to say about HF propagation last week. Conditions were relatively settled, thanks to a respite from solar coronal hole activity, but the HF summer doldrums are still taking their toll. The summer ionosphere is composed mainly of diatomic gases rather than monatomic, and these are harder to ionise. This means maximum useable frequencies are lower during the Summer daytime than they are in Winter. However, night-time MUFs tend to be higher, with perhaps 14MHz remaining open much later into the evening in Summer.

The good news was that station 1A0C, The Order of Malta’s Italian Relief Corps, was active on HF, which gave DX chasers something to aim for. Sporadic E was the main mode of propagation to the station, which confusingly, is based in Rome and not Malta. And the result was that many hams were able to put 1A0C in their log on many band slots.

NOAA predicts more of the same next week with the solar flux index around 67 and the K index at two, thanks to a quiet Sun. However, a week is a long time in terms of HF propagation, so there is always the chance we may get a solar coronal hole rotating into view later in the week.

Meanwhile, make the most of the Sporadic-E season, which is now less active than it was. Es can bring forth propagation on all the HF bands, not just 28MHz, so keep looking and call CQ – you might get a surprise.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

Mixed weather at the end of last week, with some weather fronts crossing the country, brought patchy rain and some rain scatter. Thereafter, pressure probably remains low to the north and west of Britain, while a weak ridge remains close to southeast Britain with a chance of Tropo, especially across the North Sea and English Channel. By mid-week the pressure pattern has weakened and after some very warm weather, there is a trend for thundery showers to develop - once again good conditions for rain scatter.

Sporadic-E continues to show a presence as we move to the latter stages of the season. However, the jet stream pattern looks less active over Europe, although the Atlantic domain offers some activity as the jet stream buckles to provides options for paths to the States.

Moon declination goes positive on Tuesday and we are past apogee now, so EME conditions will improve throughout the week with lengthening Moon windows, lower losses and increased moon elevation.

Again there are no major meteor showers this week, but the Piscis Austrinids on the 28th is a small one and just above the horizon in the UK, so continue to look for best DX opportunities via random meteors around dawn.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 14th July 2019

The news headlines:

• RSGB President writes to Ofcom

• New Science Museum exhibition

• RSGB Convention lectures

After due consideration, and as reported in GB2RS news on the 5^th of July, RSGB President Dave Wilson, M0OBW wrote to Ofcom strongly expressing the RSGB’s concerns about the proposed WRC-23 aeronautical Agenda Item that includes 144-146MHz. A set of appendices were attached to the letter, to enhance understanding of amateur radio usage in this band, and emphasise why any study for such new use would inevitably be fraught with complexity and likely to be unsuccessful. The letter requests regarding three other WRC Agenda Items; 50MHz, Wireless Power Transfer and 23cm/Galileo, where UK/Ofcom support is also sought. For further information please see our focus pages at www.rsgb.org/wrc-19

Discover the remarkable world of codebreaking, ciphers and secret communications in a new exhibition at the Science Museum in London. From the trenches of the First World War to the latest in cyber security, Top Secret explores over a century’s worth of communications intelligence through hand-written documents, declassified files and previously unseen artefacts from the Science Museum Group's and GCHQ’s historic collections. It includes the story of Alan Turing and the team of Bletchley Park codebreakers who broke the Enigma code in 1941. Top Secret coincides with the 100th anniversary of GCHQ and runs until the 23^rd of February 2020. The exhibition is free but booking is required. See the Science Museum website at www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/‎ for more details.

The RSGB Convention takes place in Milton Keynes from the 11^th to the 13^th of October. Two of the interesting lectures over the weekend will be Don Field, G3XTT talking about Guest Operating. Being part of a multi-operator contest or DXpedition effort can be fun, it's a great learning experience and he has been involved in many such operations. Tony Canning, G2NF will be speaking on a subject very close to many radio amateurs’ hearts, Urban QRM; What can I do? To book weekend packages or day tickets and to read more about the RSGB Convention, go to www.rsgb.orf/convention

Confused by all the recent talk about the World Radio Conference, CEPT Project teams etc? The RSGB has put together a few slides that explain the layers in the international regulatory cake. They are available at https://tinyurl.com/rsgb-slides and are also part of the wider resource on WRC-19 at www.rsgb.org/wrc-19.

Join VERON, the Dutch National Society, in a 2m propagation experiment on Saturday the 20^th of July from 1700 to 1900UTC. Make QSOs on the 2m band in any mode you prefer. It’s not a contest but an experiment to get as many radio amateurs on the band as possible. Club Log is handling the statistics. Upload your QSOs in ADIF format. Find out more on the VERON website www.veron.nl

The RSGB invites young people, and an accompanying adult if the child is under 16 years, to join them at the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park on the 6th of August for a fun and hands-on workshop where they can learn more about radio and electronics. Details are on the Bletchley Park website at https://bletchleypark.org.uk under the What’s On tab.

A further meeting on Wireless Power Transmission was held in Copenhagen in week beginning the 1st of July. This was a sub-group of CEPT Committee SE24 charged with work on a report on generic WPT devices. Don Beattie, G3BJ, representing IARU, made input on its projections of harmful emissions from WPT systems, both generic and wireless electric vehicle charging, operating at the existing harmonic emission limits. The IARU also reported on tests carried out on small WPT devices. The IARU continues to argue for tighter emission limits on harmonics and other spurious emissions from WPT systems, which have the potential to cause sustained harmful interference to incumbent radio services.

A new G-2800DXC rotator has been installed on the tower driving the SteppIR beam for GB3RS, the permanent special event station at the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park. The work was completed ahead of schedule and GB3RS is now both back on air and available for visiting amateurs to operate during their visit, please bring your licence with you.

The TX Factor video recently made at the RSGB National Radio Centre about the new geostationary satellite OSCAR 100 is now online. Go to http://www.txfilms.co.uk/txfactor/ and view Episode 23.

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

Today, the 14th, the Cornish Radio Amateur Club Rally will be held at Penair School, St Clements, Truro TR1 1TN. Doors open from 10.30am to 4pm. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy. Catering is available on site. Contact Mike Halloway on 01209 211 069.

Today, the 14th, the McMichael Radio Rally and Boot Sale will take place at Reading Rugby Football Club, Sonning Lane, Sonning on Thames RG4 6ST. Doors open 9.30am to 3.30pm, admission is £3. There will be trade stands and exhibition displays as well as a car boot area. Catering is available on site as well as a bar. More from Min, G0JMS on 07917 830 410.

Today, the 14th, the 23rd Red Rose QRP Festival will be held at St Joseph’s Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh, WN7 2PR. There is free car parking and the halls are all on one level. Doors open 10.30am. There will be a Bring & Buy, RSGB bookstall, refreshments and bar. Details from Colin, M0IQY on 0741 936 3131.

Next Sunday, the 21^st, sees the Finningley ARS Rally take place at The Hurst Communications Centre, Belton Road , Sandtoft, Doncaster DN8 5SX. Doors open 10am and there is free parking. An indoor and outdoor area will have with major traders and club stalls from microwave components to QRP kits. Hot food and drinks are available all day. Admission is £3. Contact Kevin, G3AAF on 07831 614640 for other details.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.

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

Ignazio, IT9AGZ will be active as IF9/IT9AGZ from Levanzo Island, EU-054 between the 16^th and the 28^th of July. QSL via his home call.

Harry, JG7PSJ will be active as JG7PSJ/7 from Oshima, AS-206, one of the new IOTA designations, starting around 2200UTC on the 19^th of July until around 0600UTC on the 21st. He will operate CW, SSB and RTTY on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via his home call.

JI3CEY will be also be active holiday style as JI3CEY/0 from the island of Sado, AS-206, one of the latest IOTA destinations, between the 20^th and the 22^nd of July. Plans are to operate SSB and CW on the HF bands. QSL via his home call.

Rick, K6VVA plans to be active as K6VVA/KL7 from Endicott Island, NA-004 from about 2200UTC on the 16^th of July until about 1600UTC on the 19th. He will operate CW and some SSB on 40, 30 and 20 metres. IOTA credit for this operation will be obtained only via the Club Log Matching function on the IOTA website.

Now the special event news

Gilwell Park also hosts GB2GP and has been getting Scouts on the air for over 50 years. To celebrate Scouting’s 100 years, GB100GP today, the 14th of July, when Gilwell Park is open to Explorer Scouts and Ranger Guides.

Leicester Radio Society will be hosting GB5EHL for Eagle Has Landed throughout the whole of July to celebrate the first moon landing. In particular they will be on air for the whole weekend of 20^th and 21^st July using HF and VHF, all modes. A special ASL card will be available.

GB100BM will be on the air to celebrate 100 years of Bentley Motor cars. The station will be operated by members of South Cheshire ARS. Throughout July they will operate on the 80m to 2m bands using SSB, CW, FM and datamodes. A special full colour QSL will be available. QSL is via OQRS, Bureau, Logbook of The World and eQSL.

On the 20^th of July, members of Poldhu ARC will be operating GB50AML from the Goonhilly Earth Satellite Station in Cornwall to commemorate the part Goonhilly played in relaying TV signals of the Apollo 11 Moon landing 50 years ago. Look for activity on 40 metres SSB, and 20 metres CW and SSB. QSL via Club Log's OQRS or via G3UCQ.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. It is a licensing condition that stations using a UK special event callsign must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

Next The IARU HF Championship 24 hour run ends at 1200UTC today, the 14th. Using SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands the exchange is signal report and ITU Zone, which for the UK is 27.

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 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Saturday the 2^nd 40m QSO Party runs from 1000 to 1200UTC. Using SSB only the exchange is 59 and your name.

Next Sunday, the 21^st, the 70MHz Trophy contest runs from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number locator and postcode.

The Low Power Contest runs from 0900 to 1600UTC on Sunday the 21^st. Using CW only on the 3.5 to 14MHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and power.

Don’t forget that the UK Six Metre Group Marathon runs until the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just your 4-character locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 12th of July.

Last week saw poor geomagnetic conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Kp index hitting five. This was due to a weak coronal mass ejection followed by the onset of a solar wind stream from a coronal hole. A solar wind speed above 650km/s, coupled with a strongly south-pointing Bz field, led to geomagnetic unrest at higher latitudes.

The net result was poor conditions on HF, with even the Chilton ionosonde failing to show much of an ionospheric return on its plots.

The poor conditions continued on Thursday with 20m looking distinctly lacklustre and only one or two stations audible on the band. Conditions are predicted to recover by the weekend.

Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux will continue to be around 67, with zero sunspots. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be settled with a maximum Kp index of two. This means HF conditions may be better next week, although still subject to the summer doldrums.

We have probably seen the best of the Sporadic-E season, but do keep an eye on 10m for short-skip openings. A long-term view is that we may not see better HF F2-layer conditions until the Autumn. On the bright side, today, the 14^th, is the last day for the Cricket World Cup special event stations, so make the most of the final activity.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

A period of high pressure is crossing the country this weekend, which should have suppressed the heavy showers of recent days in some areas. Thus rain scatter is now replaced by some Tropo, for a time at least.

Early next week the weather position gets very uncertain with weather models split. One version brings a low across northern Britain from the Atlantic, which brings a showery cold front south by the end of the week to offer a chance of rain scatter again.

The other model outcome is for low pressure to drift into southern Britain from the continent, leaving pressure higher in the north, but introducing showers to the south. Either way, the end result is that the early week Tropo is replaced by the chance of rain scatter again.

As we move into mid-July, Sporadic-E can become less commonplace, but still produce some good openings when they do materialise. The FT8 factor means there’s plenty of chance for QSOs via this mode if signals are too low for SSB and CW.

Moon declination is at a minimum tomorrow, Monday, and apogee is just a week away so path losses will continue to increase as the week progresses and Moon windows will be very short with the moon at low elevations.

There are no major meteor showers this week so continue to look for best DX opportunities via random meteors around dawn.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 7th July 2019

The news headlines:

• RSGB President writes to Ofcom

• Bletchley youngsters’ hands-on radio

• Microwave Manager addresses Spectrum Summit

In our next step in an ongoing effort to protect the 144MHz band, the RSGB President has written to Ofcom regarding the recent World Radio Conference WRC-23 aeronautical proposal. Our input summarises the basis for our deep concerns, but also includes an appendix highlighting the multi-faceted nature of amateur radio activity and innovation in this strategically important global Primary allocation. This comes in the run up to a key CEPT meeting in August, where its 48 member states – including the UK – will confirm their common positions for the World Radio Conference this autumn. The letter also includes requests regarding other WRC agenda items including 50MHz, 23cm/Galileo and Wireless Power. The RSGB anticipates being able to publish more details and supporting material in due course.

The RSGB invites young people, and an accompanying adult if the child is under 16 years, to join them at the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park on the 6th of August for a fun and hands-on workshop where they can learn more about radio and electronics. The workshop offers a short introduction to wireless communications, radio propagation and electronic construction, before moving on to the construction of a medium wave radio receiver. The event is aimed at young persons aged 10 to 18. There is a choice of two sessions, a morning or afternoon workshop. Only 8 places are available on each session. Tickets cost £7 each and entry is by pre-booked ticket only. Details will be on the Bletchley Park website at https://bletchleypark.org.uk

This week IARU expert and RSGB Microwave Manager Barry Lewis, G4SJH presented a key address to a panel session on ‘Keeping the Spectrum Clean’ at the 24th Annual Spectrum Summit in Germany that attracted 200 delegates from 34 countries. He said, “The amateur radio community struggles with an ever-growing level of electro-magnetic pollution that is crowding in across the radio spectrum from the lowest frequencies up into the VHF bands. In some frequency ranges, efficient and useful radio communication is becoming compromised. Aftermarket regulation and slowly evolving standards are struggling to be effective in keeping the spectrum clean for all users.” 

Professor Cathryn Mitchell, M0IBG, academic director of the University of Bath Doctoral College and Trustee of the Radio Communications Foundation, has received the 2019 Edward Appleton Medal and Prize for her pioneering research in tomography and data assimilation. This revealed a completely new perspective on the ionosphere in response to extreme space weather. Read the full story at https://tinyurl.com/yxs3k5lc

An item of radio equipment was handed in after the Houghton-le-Spring Free Radio Rally. Please spread the word so the organisers can find the rightful owner, who can contact Ian Laidler, M0RZE on 07977 310 928.

IARU was represented at the recent meeting in Switzerland of CEPT Project Team D. This was the last of the CEPT project team meetings preparing European Common Proposals for a number of agenda items of the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference that takes place during November 2019. From an amateur radio standpoint, WRC-19 agenda item 1.1, which addresses the possibility of an allocation in Region 1 of the 50-54MHz frequency band, was the key issue to be resolved. PTD agreed the text for WRC-19 which, if adopted at the WRC, would see an entry in the international table of allocations for Region 1 and would allocate the 50 to 52MHz frequency band to the amateur service on a secondary basis. In addition a footnote to the international table was agreed which would permit individual CEPT countries to introduce a national primary allocation in the 50.0 – 50.5MHz sub-band. The final meeting of CEPT’s Conference Preparatory Group will take place in the week beginning the 26th of August and will finalise CEPT’s input to WRC-19. The IARU will attend the CPG to represent the views of the Amateur Service.

Visitors to the RSGB’s National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park in June numbered 9,041, which is almost 5,000 more than in June 2018. This gives a total for the first six months of 2019 of 45,588. The RSGB would like to thank the volunteers, who ensure that visitors feel welcomed and find the NRC team knowledgeable, enthusiastic and helpful. A reminder that the main SteppIR beam aerial is having its rotator replaced and feeder cable trays installed between the 8th and the 10th of July. There will be no radio demonstrations using GB3RS during those three days.

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

Today, the 7th of July, the Barford Norfolk Radio Rally will be held at Barford Village Hall & Green, Barford, Norwich NR9 4AB. Doors open at 9am, with talk in on S22. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, a Bring & Buy, raffle, repeater groups, catering and free car parking. Entry is £2 per person, with under 16s free. Contact radio@dcpmicro.com.

Next Sunday, the 14th, the Cornish Radio Amateur Club Rally will be held at Penair School, St Clements, Truro TR1 1TN. Doors open from 10.30am to 4pm. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy. Catering is available on site. Contact Mike Halloway on 01209 211 069.

Next Sunday, the 14th, the McMichael Radio Rally and Boot Sale will take place at Reading Rugby Football Club, Sonning Lane, Sonning on Thames RG4 6ST. Doors open 9.30am to 3.30pm, admission is £3. There will be trade stands and exhibition displays as well as a car boot area. Catering is available on site as well as a bar. More from Min, G0JMS on 07917 830 410.

Next Sunday, the 14th, the 23rd Red Rose QRP Festival will be held at St Joseph’s Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh, WN7 2PR. There is free car parking and the halls are all on one level. Doors open 10.30am. There will be a Bring & Buy, RSGB bookstall, refreshments and bar. Details from Colin, M0IQY on 0741 936 3131.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.

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

Saty, JE1JKL will be active as 9M6NA from Labuan Island, East Malaysia, IOTA reference OC-133 between the 11th and 16th of July. He will concentrate on the 6m band using FT8. QSL via Logbook of The World and Club Log’s OQRS.

Janusz, SP9FIH returns to Bethlehem in Palestine from the 6th of July to the 3rd of August. He will be using the 80 to 6m bands as E44WE. QSLs go via his home call.

David, DL7ZM will be active as 4L/DL7ZM from Georgia between the 13th and the 21st of July. He will be operating on 6 metres CW, SSB and FT8. QSL direct only to AD0PY; he does not use Logbook of The World.

Dave, WJ2O will be active as MD/WJ2O from the Isle of Man, EU-116, between the 11th and 17th of July. QSL via N2ZN.

John, W2GD will be active as P44W from Aruba, SA-036, between the 11th and the 16th of July. He will operate primarily CW, with main activity during the IARU HF World Championship. QSL via Logbook of The World, or direct to N2MM.

Now the special event news

GB1CMS will be operating today, the 7th of July at a display of military vehicles and battle re-enactments located 7 miles south of Dorking in Capel, Surrey. A listening watch will be maintained on 51.60MHz and a full list of frequencies can be found via tinyurl.com/yx92b4uy

Grey Point Fort ARS will be open for visitors during the Military Vehicle Weekend today, the 7th of July from 10am to 4pm. Visit them at Grey Point Fort, Fort Road, Helen’s Bay, Crawfordsburn BT19 1LD.

Gilwell Park also hosts GB2GP and has been getting Scouts on the air for over 50 years. To celebrate Scouting’s 100 years, GB100GP will be active between the 12th and 14th of July when Gilwell Park is open to Explorer Scouts and Ranger Guides.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. It is a licensing condition that stations using a UK special event callsign must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

The RSGB VHF National Field Day ends its 24 hour run at 1400UTC today, the 7th. Using all modes on the 50 to 1.3GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Today, the 7th, the 3rd 2m Backpackers Contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 80m Club Championships SSB leg runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday the 50MHz Machine Generated Modes Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1900UTC. The exchange is signal report and four-character locator. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 50MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for this contest is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next weekend the IARU HF Championship runs from 1200UTC on the 13th to 1200UTC on the 14th. Using SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands the exchange is signal report and ITU Zone, which for the UK is 27.

Don’t forget that the UK Six Metre Group Marathon runs until the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just your 4-character locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 5th of July.

Good news: this week saw two sunspots appear from the upcoming solar cycle 25. We know this due to their magnetic polarity and locations close to the solar equator. Unfortunately, the sunspots didn’t last very long before vanishing. But it is a start. Earlier this year, an international panel of experts predicted that solar minimum would deepen in 2019 and begin to rebound sometime next year.

Solar conditions continued to be calm, with a low solar flux and a quiet geomagnetic field. This allowed the ionosphere to recover somewhat and there was DX to be had if you chose the right mode and time. For example, T2AR on Tuvalu in the Pacific has been worked by quite a few stations in the UK, on both CW and FT8. The GB19 cricket stations have also been busy and will be active until the 14th of July, so make the most of the time left. KH7XS in Hawaii has also been heard in the UK at S9 on 20m SSB.

The Daily Express predicted doom and gloom for Friday the 5th of July when it said a huge solar storm would hit the Earth. At the time of writing, this seemed unlikely. Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain in the range 67-69, with settled geomagnetic conditions. We hope to get the Propquest.co.uk tool back in action again soon, which has been out of action to a data centre fault in North America.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

We start off with high pressure to the west of Britain and it should provide some Tropo conditions for most areas this weekend, but will decline next week and become confined to the western side of the country.

The main change in the pattern next week is that a trough of low pressure will become established over the North Sea and produce a gentle but cooler northerly flow over the country. This could produce some heavy showers, over eastern areas in particular, and offer a chance of some rain scatter on the microwave bands.

The Sporadic-E season is still performing for us with 144MHz openings to Italy, and there will be suitable jet streams present to make it an interesting prospect for next week. Check the bands late morning and again late afternoon or early evening to have the best chance of finding some Sporadic-E.

The Moon declination goes negative on Tuesday, and path losses will increase as the week progresses. EME conditions will be best early in the week. There are no major meteor showers this week so continue to look for best DX opportunities via random meteors around dawn.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 30th June 2019

The news headlines:

• New Ones for IOTA

• Latest news on VHF spectrum

• LightSail 2 CubeSat to transmit Morse

Every five years the IOTA Board reviews the island list to see if there is scope for a small number of additions to the list of around 1200 island groups. Some ‘New Ones’ were announced at the Ham Radio gathering in Friedrichshafen last weekend. Details are on www.iota-world.org but, in brief, the new ones are AS-206 Honshu Coastal Islands East; AS-207 Chukchi Sea Coast Centre; OC-298 Tatakoto Atoll; OC-299 Yap East group; OC-300 McKean and Nikumaroro Atolls; and SA-101 Alejandro Selkirk Island. AS-206 will probably be activated very soon; the others will take a lot more planning.

The latest stage of our ongoing efforts to protect and develop VHF spectrum saw considerations for the future of 50MHz being concluded with the final meeting of CEPT Project Team D, as they prepare for WRC-19, where the RSGB has been represented throughout. We are also well aware of the concern in the amateur radio community about the 144MHz aeronautical proposal, currently at the CEPT stage and RSGB volunteers continue to work as part of the broader IARU efforts to protect the interests of the global amateur radio community. The RSGB has updated the special focus page with the latest documents and CEPT meeting minutes at tinyurl.com/yxfgfkqt. All amateurs are encouraged to go and read the details, which will be updated as necessary.

The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 CubeSat, launched on the 25th of June, will transmit Morse code from space. LightSail is a citizen-funded project and the satellite is due to be deployed on the 2nd of July. Once deployed, LightSail 2 will automatically transmit a beacon packet every few seconds, which can be decoded into 238 lines of text telemetry describing the spacecraft's health and status, including everything from battery status to solar sail deployment motor state. Every 45 seconds, the spacecraft will transmit ‘LS2’ on the spacecraft's frequency of 437.025MHz. Further details can be found at tinyurl.com/ae22jvd.

We have added some more detail to the lectures for the 2019 RSGB Convention at www.rsgb.org/convention. You can read about the latest confirmed lectures for the HF, VHF, AMSAT and General Interest streams, as well as information about Contest University, Awards and Contests. Booking is now open for both weekend packages and day tickets. For full details go to www.rsgb.org/convention

The annual SAQ VLF transmission on Alexanderson Day on 17.2kHz from the Alexanderson Alternator takes place today, starting from 0830UTC for the message at 0900UTC, then 1130UTC for the transmission at 1200UTC. Both transmission events will be broadcast live on YouTube. SK6SAQ will also be operating on 7.035kHz or 14.035MHz CW or 3.755kHz SSB. For more information see grimeton.org and alexander.n.se

Last weekend, RSGB President Dave Wilson, M0OBW demonstrated the UK's online exam system at the Ham Radio show held in Friedrichshafen. Online trials are taking place in several countries and representatives were very interested to see how the UK system works.

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

Next Saturday, the 6th of July, the Stockport RS Rally will be held in Walthew House, 112 Shaw Heath, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6SQ. Doors open from 9.30am, with disabled visitors gaining access at 9.15am. Admittance is £2. There will be trade stands, special interest groups and an RSGB Bookstall. Catering is available on site. A talk-in station will be on the air. Details from Nigel Roscoe, G0RXA, on 07506 904422.

On Sunday the 7th of July, the Barford Norfolk Radio Rally will be held at Barford Village Hall & Green, Barford, Norwich NR9 4AB. Doors open at 9am, with talk in on S22. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, a Bring & Buy, raffle, repeater groups, catering and free car parking. Entry is £2 per person, with under 16s free. Contact radio@dcpmicro.com.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.

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

Bruce, 3W3B will be in Laos until the 7th of July, where he will activate his XW4XR callsign. Look for him on the 40 to 6m bands on CW, FT8 and RTTY. The QSL manager is E21EIC.

Peter, LA7QIA will be operating as JW7QIA from Spitsbergen, IOTA reference EU-026, from the 29th of June to the 6th of July. Activity will be on 6m from Grid Square JQ68. QSL to his home callsign.

Janusz, SP9FIH returns to Bethlehem in Palestine from the 6th of July to the 3rd of August and will be transmitting on the 80 to 6m bands as E44WE. QSLs go via his home callsign.

Anders, SM0HPL is operating as 5X7W from Kampala until the 6th of July while on work assignment. Activity is in his spare time on the HF bands using QRP and CW, JT65, FT8 and FT4. QSL direct to home callsign.

Paul, SA6PIS will be on the air as SV9/SA6PIS/p from Chania, in Crete, from the 30th of June to the 7th of July. Activity will be holiday style on 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres using SSB. QSL to home callsign.

Tony, 3D2AG and John, KK7L are on the air as T2AR and T2R, respectively, from Tuvalu until the 5th of July. Activity is on the 160 to 6m bands, using CW, SSB, RTTY, JT65 and FT8. QSL T2AR direct via 3D2AG and T2R direct via N7SMI.

Karel, OK2ZI is QRV as 9Y4/OK2ZI from Trinidad, SA-011, until the 6th of July. Activity is on the 40 to 10m bands using CW, SSB and various digital modes. QSL to home call.

Now the special event news

GB1CMS will be operating over the weekend of the 6th and 7th of July. The event is a display of military vehicles and battle re-enactments located 7 miles south of Dorking in Capel, Surrey. A listening watch will be maintained on 51.60MHz and a full list of frequencies can be found via tinyurl.com/yx92b4uy

GB100BM will be on the air to celebrate 100 years of Bentley Motor cars. The station will be operated by members of South Cheshire ARS on the 80 to 2m bands using SSB, CW, FM and data modes from the 1st to the 28th of July. A special full colour QSL will be available. QSL is via OQRS, Bureau, Logbook of The World and eQSL. More information and QSL policy is available at QRZ.com

Leicester Radio Society will be hosting a special call GB5EHL, Eagle Has Landed, between the 1st and the 28th of July. It is 50 years since Apollo 11 lifted off from Cape Kennedy carrying the command module, Columbia and the Lunar Module, Eagle with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins heading for the moon on the 16th of July. On the 20th of July the lunar module touched down on the moon’s surface, which was announced by the now-famous words, “The Eagle Has Landed”.

The special callsign GB100HAL has been issued to commemorate 100 years of RAF Halton in conjunction with the many events that are taking part celebrating the anniversary. The call may also be claimed towards the Airfields on the Air Award and is recognised by RAFARS for all their awards. The callsign will be used most Saturdays up until the end of the year.

The annual Original 13 Colonies Special Event will mark its 11th anniversary this year. The event gets under way on the 1st of July 1300UTC and runs until the 7th July at 0400UTC. Special event stations with 1×1 callsigns will represent the original 13 US colonies, plus bonus stations K2Z, WM3PEN in Philadelphia and GB13COL in Durham, England. Each special event station will have its own QRZ.com profile page.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. Remember, it’s a licensing condition that stations using UK special event must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

Today, the 30th, the UK Microwave Group’s 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the two bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Monday the 80m Club Championships run from 1900 to 2030UTC. It is the CW leg and the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC, using FM only with the exchange of signal report, serial number and locator. It runs simultaneously with the 144MHz Machine Generated Mode Activity Contest, whose exchange is signal report and 4-character locator. They are immediately followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for this contest is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next weekend is RSGB VHF National Field Day from 1400UTC on the 6th to 1400UTC on the 7th. Using all modes on the 50 to 1.3GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next Sunday, the 7th, the 3rd 2m Backpackers Contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Don’t forget that the UK Six Metre Group Marathon runs until the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just your 4-character locator.

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

Last week saw a continued quiet sun with zero sunspots at the end of the week and a settled geomagnetic field. A feature in Nature magazine has suggested that we may be heading for a Maunder Minimum in the next three decades. The report cites a study of long-term oscillations of the solar background magnetic field associated with double dynamo waves generated in the inner and outer layers of the Sun, which indicate that the solar activity is heading for a grand minimum.

Another report says an international panel of experts coordinated by the NOAA and NASA have released its preliminary solar cycle 25 forecast, predicting that cycle 25 will peak no earlier than 2023 and no later than 2026, with a minimum peak sunspot number of 95 and a maximum of 130. This would make it similar to cycle 24, which was predicted to reach a maximum smoothed sunspot number of 90 in May 2013. In fact, solar cycle 24’s maximum was reached in April, 2014 and peaked at an average sunspot number of 82. Meanwhile, we continue to head towards sunspot minimum, which is predicted no earlier than July 2019, and no later than September 2020.

The HF doldrums continue, although evenings and night-times seem to be best for DX, with 20m remaining open until very late indeed. OD5TX in Lebanon was romping in at around 1930UTC on Wednesday. 40m is also very active with Roger, G3LDI reporting many stations from the USA on the band around 0330UTC.

Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be in the range 67-69 with settled geomagnetic conditions and a maximum Kp index of two or three.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

This coming week, Tropo should be fairly productive at times, especially across nearby sea paths over the North Sea and English Channel. High pressure remains a primary feature of the weekend and part of next week, although the centre of the high being close-by will mean that the inversion is quite close to the ground, so paths may suffer if this gets too low. That said, it looks like a good week to get those beams and some CW/SSB going on VHF bands.

Moving on to Sporadic-E now, which relies indirectly upon the presence of jet stream flow. This can make gravity waves that propagate up to the E region and play a role in the formation of Sporadic-E propagation.

The location of jet stream winds recently has been driven by an upper low west of Biscay, which has favoured paths to Spain and Portugal, but this is about to change as the pattern shifts to a jet stream across Scandinavia into eastern Europe. This will favour paths to Scandinavia, the Baltic and Ukraine. There is an outside chance of an upper ridge over western Europe, which could introduce a chance of Sporadic-E into Italy or Spain, but this is not a clear signal this far ahead.

The Moon reaches peak declination on Tuesday and perigee on Friday, so EME conditions will be at their best all week with low path losses and long Moon windows. There are no major meteor showers this week so continue to look for best DX opportunities via random meteors around dawn.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 23rd June 2019

The news headlines:

• 2m crosses the Atlantic

• SAQ transmission next weekend

• Update on 144 MHz and 23cm threats

An historic contact was made on Sunday the 16th of June 2019, when the Atlantic was spanned for the first time on 144MHz. D41CV on Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa managed to work FG8OJ in Guadeloupe on 144.174MHz using FT8. The distance was 3,867km. This was bettered on the 18th with QSOs between Cape Verde and Puerto, KP4. The distance was 4,458km. There was also a QSO with WP4G at 4,358km. The propagation mechanism was tropospheric ducting and the path has been predicted as being workable for a long time.

The annual SAQ VLF transmission on Alexanderson Day on 17.2kHz from the Alexanderson Alternator will take place Sunday the 30th of June. Two transmissions are scheduled. Tuning will start at 0830UTC for the message at 0900UTC, then 1130UTC for the transmission at 1200UTC. Both transmission events will be broadcasted live on YouTube. QSL reports to SAQ should be via the new reception report form, via the SM bureau or direct by postal mail, not by email. SK6SAQ will be operating on 7.035kHz or 14.035MHz CW or 3.755kHz SSB. QSL instructions are on the website. QSL details and other information are on the websites grimeton.org and alexander.n.se

The IARU was represented this week at the meeting of CEPT Project Team A, which is one of the groups leading WRC-19 preparations and has just finished in Prague on Friday the 21st. Of particular interest were discussions on two proposed Agenda items for WRC-23, concerning the sharing of the 1240-1300MHz band with the Galileo satellite navigation system and the proposal from France to study a range of frequencies, including the 144MHz amateur band, for future primary aeronautical applications. The meeting considered views that the Galileo issue did not currently warrant a WRC23 Agenda item and should be first investigated within CEPT. However, regarding new aeronautical frequencies including 144MHz, the proposal was unfortunately not strongly opposed by other administrations; this has been carried forward to the higher level CEPT-CPG meeting in August. The IARU and RSGB views with grave concern any proposal to include the global amateur and amateur satellite 144MHz primary band in the proposed aeronautical agenda item; and will be making every effort to fully protect amateur radio interest and seek the support of regulators in this regard. More details can found at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0623A and on the RSGB’s own special focus page at https://rsgb.org/wrc-19

A newly-digitised classic film of the 25th Anniversary Congress of the IARU has been uploaded to the RSGB YouTube channel. Taking place in 1950, the Congress was attended by many well-known amateurs from around the world. The silent film also includes some marvellously authentic street scenes – and some decidedly odd motor vehicles. You can find it in the Film Archive section at www.rsgb.org/videos, where you’ll also be able to find the Bulletin report from August 1950 on the same event.

Former Colliery Sites on the Air takes place on the 25th of June from 7 to 9pm. It’s easy to take part and there are very few rules: all you need is a 2m handheld. For full details visit http://fcsota.org.uk/

The latest edition of Six News is now available for UK Six Metre Group members to download from www.uksmg.org. The printed edition has been sent out to those members who take it but all members are able to access the digital version.

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

Today, the 23rd of June, the Newbury Radio Rally and Boot Sale takes place at Newbury Showground, next to M4 Junction 13. There will be talk-in on S22. Car parking is free. Traders can gain access from 8am and visitors at 9am. Admission is £2.50, car boot sale pitches are £12.50. There’s a huge radio, electronics and computing boot sale, plus demo marquee with amateur radio on air, plus clubs and national society stands. There’s catering on site. Contact Phill, G6EES on 0777 150 4738 or by email to NewburyRally@nadars.org.uk

The Houghton-le-Spring ARC radio rally takes place on Saturday the 29th of June at Dubmire Royal British Legion Club, Britannia Terrace, Fencehouses DH4 6LJ. Doors open 10.15am, or 10am for disabled visitors. Admission is free. Donations welcome to the Royal British Legion Club. Hot drinks will be available and a licenced bar will be open from 11am. More from Amanda, M6LXK, on 0778 715 5745.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.

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

John, AD8J will return to Dunbar Rock near Guanaja Island, Honduras, IOTA reference NA-057, until the 6th of July. He will be active holiday style as AD8J/HR9. He will operate CW, SSB and FT8 the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World, or direct to home call.

Giuseppe, IW1EGO will be active as ID9/IW1EGO from Vulcano Island, EU-017, until the 30th of June. QSL via his home call.

Dave, W9DR will be active as PJ5/W9DR from Sint Eustatius, NA-145, from the 25th of June to the 2nd of July. He will operate SSB, CW and FT8 on 6 metres only. QSL direct to home call.

Bruce, 3W3B will be active as XW4XR from Laos from the 26th of June to the 7th of July. He will operate CW, FT8 and RTTY on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World or via E21EIC.

Now the special event news

GB1SCW, operated by members of Worthing & District ARC, will be on the air from the National Coast Watch Institution lookout at Shoreham By Sea, Sussex BN43 5HY today, the 23rd of June, using 40, 20 and 2m from 10am to 4pm. QSL via bureau or eQSL. More information on QRZ.com.

Christian Vision for Men holds an annual event called The Gathering, attended by some 2000 men. Today, the 23rd, special event station GB0CVM will be operating on 80, 40 and 20 metres.

GB4SRC will be operating, mainly on 40m SSB and 2m FM, from the South East Big Bang STEMfest at the South of England Showground on the 26th of June. GB4SRC was the callsign used by the ARISS team in April 2016 at St Richard’s, one of the ten schools who earned the right to talk to British astronaut, Tim Peake. The station will be operated by St Richard’s College Radio Club, under the supervision of Phil, G3MGQ, who set up the radio club when the College asked the Hastings Electronics & Radio Club for help after that ISS contact.

Coventry ARS will be supporting The Nuneaton Armed Forces Day event, at Riversley Park, Nuneaton, Warwickshire on the 29th of June. Operating GB6AFD, mainly 40m SSB, 2m FM and digital modes, the event is open to the public from 11am. Further information from Brian G8GMU on 07801 86 26 86.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. Remember, it’s a licensing condition that stations using UK special event must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

Today, the 23rd, the 50MHz CW contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also today, the 23rd, the 70MHz Cumulative Contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3 to 10GHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday, the 80m Club Championships runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB only the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Next Sunday, the 30th, the UK Microwave Group’s 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the two bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 21st of June

The week was dominated by thunderstorms and rain. While not strictly HF propagation-related, this did cause havoc on the lower bands, with frequent static crashes. This was particularly noticeable in Thursday’s RSGB 80m Club Championship CW contest, where storms over the low countries made the contest hard going.

Other than that the week was once again marked by a lack of sunspots, but more settled geomagnetic conditions. The solar flux index was pegged at 67-68, with the Kp index fluctuating between one and two. F-layer propagation has generally seen maximum useable frequencies over a 3,000km path around 14-18MHz, although frequent Sporadic-E openings have seen this boosted to 28MHz and higher on short-skip paths.

As an example, the five watt IW3FZQ/B beacon on 28.227MHz in Monselice, Italy and ED4YAK/B on 28.251MHz in Henares, Spain were both booming in on Thursday at 0900UTC, with no other CW or SSB signals on the band.

Next week NOAA has the solar flux index remaining at 68-69, with generally calm geomagnetic conditions other than around Monday the 24th to Wednesday the 26th when it predicts the Kp index could rise to four.

At the time of writing most coronal hole activity was around the solar poles, which shouldn’t threaten the Earth.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The weekend starts with a weak high transiting across the British Isles, which could give some Tropo enhancements for southern stations, while the north remains closer to the old low and its showery weather type. Some models retain a tendency for higher pressure in the south and further possible Tropo.

The fact that showery weather is not far away and continues to put in appearances during the week ahead, means that rain scatter should again be an option for GHz band enthusiasts, especially for northern and western areas.

There have been a few active days recently for Sporadic-E and, in a jet stream sense, the coming week offers some useful directions for Sporadic-E paths. South to Spain and north-east into Scandinavia should be favoured. Additionally there is a broad upper ridge pattern over eastern Europe and this can produce good openings in the high summer. Remember the peak periods for Sporadic-E are late morning and late afternoon or early evening.

The Moon is at apogee today with declination rising and going positive on Wednesday, so EME conditions will slowly improve as the week progresses, with falling path losses and lengthening Moon windows.

As mentioned last week, the Bootids meteor shower peaks on Thursday but no unusually high zenith hourly rate is predicted for 2019.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 16th June 2019

The news headlines:

• IARU addresses 2m & 23cm threats

• High altitude balloon launches on 20th at 27th

• Emergency Comms meeting at Friedrichshafen

As October’s World Radio Conference, WRC-19 draws closer, proposals that would need to be agreed for the future WRC-23 agenda are also in progress. On Monday the 10th of June, IARU Region 1 provided detailed background and serious concerns it has regarding two proposals under discussion in CEPT/Europe that may potentially impact important amateur bands at 144-146MHz and 1240-1300MHz on a global basis if initially adopted and eventually agreed at the 2023 conference. The 2m band has a proposal for a Primary Aeronautical Mobile service allocation, whilst 23cm faces potential restrictions with respect to the European Galileo and similar satellite navigation services. RSGB and IARU volunteers are actively involved with the CEPT meetings and other fora considering these initial proposals. The RSGB’s own special focus page is at https://rsgb.org/wrc-19. Whilst IARU and RSGB wish to draw this information to the attention of the amateur community, we urge restraint in pubic and social media comments until further progress has been made in the regulatory discussions. More details can found at www.iaru-r1.org

hi-impact will be launching two high altitude balloon flights this month, on the 20th and 27th of June. Working alongside Altrincham Prep School and South Wirral High School, they plan to launch from Welshpool at 11am, subject to any operational changes, which will appear on their Facebook and Twitter feeds, @hiimpactconsult. Both flights are HABDuino equipped, and assistance from amateurs and SWLs in receiving the data and feeding it into HABHUB via DL-FLDigi is appreciated. The HABduino is set up on 434.650MHz USB, RTTY, 50 Baud, 425Hz Shift with 7 Bits, No Parity and 1 Stop Bit, or 7N1, for both flights. The callsign for the 20th is ALTRIPREP and for the 27th it is SWHS_HAB. Mark, MW1MDH will be on site, and will try to be on S22, but as he’s part of the launch team, this may not happen!

IARU Region 1 will be hosting a meeting for radio amateurs interested in Emergency Communications in Friedrichshafen on Friday the 21st of June, starting at 12 noon. There will be talks on new technology, satellite use, drills, data networks and responding to a power grid failure. The working language for this meeting will be English.

The second Midlands ARDF event takes place today, the 16th of June, at Cademan Wood near Whitwick. The assembly area is in the small car park at the Eastern end of the wood. The event is designed for members of radio clubs in RSGB Regions 5 and 13, although anyone is welcome to participate. Registration opens 10am and there will be tuition on how to operate the 80m DF receiver. Details are at www.rsgb.org/ARDF

There are two International Space Station contacts with schools planned for this coming week. On Wednesday the 19th of June a contact has been planned for David St-Jacques, KG5FYI with participants at King Island District High School in Australia. It will begin at approximately 0849UTC and will be a telebridge operated by IK1SLD, located in northern Italy. The downlink signals will be audible in parts of Europe on 145.800MHz. The International Space Station school contact for Nick Hague, KG5TMV with participants at Rowan Preparatory School in Surrey is planned for Thursday the 20th of June at 1248UTC.That contact will be a direct link between NA1SS and GB4RPS. The downlink signals will be audible in many parts of Europe on 145.800MHz.

A new APRS iGate and Digipeater has come online in Aylesbury, callsign MB7UDJ. It is planned that it will be operational 24 hours a day 7 days a week, in order to fill a gap in APRS coverage in the Aylesbury area. For further information, please contact the keeper, John Gascoigne, M5ET, via email to m5et@m5et.radio

The May/June ITU-R Study Group 1 meeting, together with its Working Parties, has just completed its 2019 meeting in Geneva. The IARU was represented for the whole seven days of meetings by Region 1 President Don Beattie, G3BJ. The meetings spent a large amount of time discussing the emerging Wireless Power Transmission technologies and their applications. Work was advanced on Reports on WPT at 100-148.5kHz for low power charging of portable devices, for WPT for electric vehicles at high power around 20, 60 and 85kHz and for wirelessly beamed WPT for remote charging. All these technologies, particularly their harmonics, have the potential for harmful interference to radio communications services, if not carefully managed. The IARU has submitted formal studies on the impact on the amateur service and these have been incorporated into one completed report and will inform a new Recommendation being developed on emissions from WPT. The IARU is advocating proper emission limits to protect radio services and is working with other spectrum users and administrations which share its concerns. The ITU meetings discussed the emerging CISPR proposals for WPT-EV emission limits, where there is a level of concern that they fall short of providing the necessary protection to radio communications services.

The RSGB Cricket World Cup Radio Marathon has been running for 13 days and has already exceeded the UK QSO total of the 2013 RSGB Centenary activation, making this the biggest UK amateur radio event ever, measured by QSO count. Thirty-one GB19 series callsigns are active, with 200 volunteer operators having made over 132,000 QSOs so far. Nine International stations are taking part and they have made an additional 21,000 QSOs. Awards are available for numbers of QSOs with the activating special stations. Alek, SP2EWQ, the leading award chaser, has already made over 500 QSOs with Cricket World Cup stations, all on different bands and modes, and has been awarded the first Platinum Certificate. It is not too late for you to take part, either activating one of the GB19 callsigns or chasing awards by calling the GB19 and International stations. Full details are on the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/cricket.

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

Today, the 16th, the sixteenth West of England Radio Rally will take place at the Cheese & Grain, Market Yard, Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BE. Doors open at 10am. The event will feature inside and outside trade stands, an RSGB book stall, a café and car parking. Further information from Shaun, G8VPG, on 01225 873 098, or email rallymanager@westrally.org.uk

Today, the 16th, the Scottish Amateur Radio and Electronics Rally will take place at INTU Braehead Centre, Glasgow. Doors open at 10am. There will be traders, radio clubs and a Bring & Buy, and areas for clubs to operate from. Talks and presentations will be running throughout the day. Refreshments are available on-site. For more information call Tony Miles on 07702 134 188.

The Ham Radio Exhibition in Friedrichshafen will take place between the 21st and the 23rd of June. The RSGB will be represented by its usual large book stall, with volunteers and staff to answer queries, and some will attend the various meetings that take place. The IARU will be in the main hall, also with staff and volunteers available for informal discussions on important amateur radio matters.

On Saturday the 22nd of June, the Bangor & District ARS Rally will be held in The Hub, Hamilton Road, Bangor. A Council pay car park is nearby. Doors open 11am and entry is £3 including a raffle ticket. There will be traders, a Bring & Buy and a bookstall. More from 0289 042 2762 or by e-mail to samanumi11@gmail.com

On Sunday the 23rd of June, the Newbury Radio Rally and Boot Sale takes place at Newbury Showground, next to M4 J13. There will be talk-in on S22. Car parking is free. Traders can gain access from 8am and visitors at 9am. Admission is £2.50, car boot sale pitches are £12.50. There’s a huge radio, electronics and computing boot sale, plus demo marquee with amateur radio on air, plus clubs and national society stands. There’s catering on site. Contact Phill, G6EES on 0777 150 4738 or by email to NewburyRally@nadars.org.uk

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.

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

Gildas, FG/F6HMQ and Michel, FG/F6GWV will be active from Guadeloupe, IOTA reference NA-102, until the 25th of June. QSL via home calls. They will also operate as TO1T. QSL via F6HMQ.

Nobu, JA0JHQ will be active as T88PB from Koror, Palau, OC-009 until the 23rd of June. QSL via Logbook of The World, preferred, or direct to JA0JHQ.

Matteo, IZ4YGS is on the air as 9G5GS from Sanzule, West Takoradi in Ghana until the 2nd of July while there on work assignment. He is active in his spare time during his evenings on 160 to 6m using mostly FT8 and SSB. QSL direct to home call.

Special event station CB2E is on the air in Chile until the 2nd of July to mark their total solar eclipse. Activity is on the HF bands using SSB and FT8. QSL via the bureau.

Now the special event news

On Thursday the 20th of June, Tom, M0HYE is running GB19RG from noon until 6pm using the HF bands for the Cricket World Cup Marathon 2019.

Members of the Government Communication ARC will be operating two special event stations in celebration of the centenary of Government Communication Headquarters, or GCHQ. Operation will be from approximately 0800 to 1600UTC on Friday the 21st. GB100GCHQ will operate from the organisations’ HQ in Cheltenham and GB100GCB will operate from their station in Bude, Cornwall. Operation will be primarily on HF using a mixture of voice, CW and datamodes. All contacts will be confirmed via eQSL and Logbook of The World.

GB1SCW, operated by members of Worthing & District ARC, will be on the air from the National Coast Watch Institution lookout at Shoreham By Sea, Sussex BN43 5HY on the 23rd of June using 40, 20 and 2m from 10am to 4pm. QSL via bureau or eQSL. More information on QRZ.com.

Christian Vision for Men holds an annual event called The Gathering, attended by some 2000 men. From the 21st to the 23rd, special event station GB0CVM will be operating on 80, 40 and 20 metres.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. Remember, it’s a licensing condition that stations using UK special event must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

The 50MHz Trophy ends its 24 hour run at 1400UTC today, the 16th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The All Asian DX contest ends its 48 hour run at 2359UTC today, the 16th. Using CW only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and your age.

Today, the 16th, the UK Microwave Group 24 to 248GHz band contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The Worked All Britain 50MHz phone contest takes place today, the 16th, from 0800 to 1400UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and, for UK stations, their WAB square. Entries must be with the contest manager by the 7th of July. Full details are at www.worked-all-britain.org.uk

On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest will run from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 80m Club Championship CW leg runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Thursday the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next Sunday, the 23rd, the 50MHz CW contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also on the 23rd, the 70MHz Cumulative Contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday 14th June 2019.

We had another quite settled week. The Kp index rose to four on the 8th thanks to a glancing blow from an earlier coronal mass ejection. It rose to three again on Thursday the 13th due to an enhanced solar wind stream. The solar flux index remained around 70 thanks to a total lack of sunspots. It is hard to believe we are heading for the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere, especially with last week’s weather! Summer solstice is characterised by lower daytime maximum useable frequencies than winter, but higher night-time MUFs. Don’t write off 20 or 30 metres in the evening as the bands may well be open all night. Otherwise, the highlights are likely to be due to Sporadic-E, with June perhaps offering some of the best, with openings from 40 through to 10 metres.

Next week, NOAA predicts more of the same with the solar flux index pegged at 68-70 with the Kp index averaging around two. There is the risk of an increase in the Kp index this weekend thanks to an Earth-facing coronal hole, but this is unlikely to be long lasting.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

We ended the week with the last of the very wet unsettled weather, but high pressure is making an appearance in the far south, which could well put Tropo back on the agenda again for the coming week. The regions most likely to benefit are southern England into the continent and across Biscay to Spain. These improved conditions may extend into northern Britain later.

The heavy thunderstorms last week brought almost daily GHz bands rain scatter conditions for those fortunate enough to be around to catch them. These showers should still be present in some northern areas at first next week, again providing a potential source for rain scatter.

As we said earlier, it’s high season for Sporadic -E and the jet stream distribution suggests that there will be some options for Sporadic-E because of the placement of these jet streams, although the strength looks weaker as we move through the coming week.

The Moon is at minimum declination this coming Tuesday and with apogee just a week away the Moon is only up for a few hours either side of midnight and path losses increase all week.

June has three daytime meteor showers. Two are over, but the Bootids shower, associated with comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke and peaking on June the 27th, produced high activity in 1998 and 2004. The last perihelion passage of the comet was in 2015, and no unusual activity is predicted for 2019.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 9th June 2019

The news headlines:

• Use 6m on the 13th

• IARU Kids Day next Saturday

• GB3RS QSOs now at Logbook of the World

At the 2019 ITU World Radio Conference there is an important motion on the agenda to consolidate and extend access to the 50MHz band in IARU Region 1, which is Europe, Africa and Asiatic Russia. To gather solid evidence of the high level of amateur activity on the band, and at the same time to demonstrate that amateurs can co-exist with other band users including the military, the IARU is supporting a monitoring trial in the middle of June. It will be run by the Czech national radio society, in conjunction with their regulator, and it is part activity period, part contest. Government and professional users will also be monitoring and some will be transmitting so it is important that if you do hear any non-amateur stations you must make sure you do not cause them any interference. The monitoring operation is on the 13th of June from 0730 to 0900UTC and from 1100 to 1230UTC. There needs to be as much activity as possible on the band during these two periods, preferably sticking to the Czech power limit of 25W ERP. It doesn't matter whether the band is open or not, just get on the air using SSB, CW, digital, or all three. IARU would like as many logs as possible to be sent in by the 15th of June, whether or not you take part in the contest, to provide solid evidence that can be used in pre-WRC planning. For full details, including the contest info, please see https://tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0906A

This year’s second Kids Day will be held on Saturday the 15th of June. This event is especially created to promote amateur radio to youth. This is a moment where you can share your amateur radio hobby with your family, grandchildren, friends, Scouts or even to the general public. Suggested frequencies for IARU R1 and ARRL stations can be found at www.iaru-r1.org and you should call CQ Kids Day to take part.

GB3RS, the permanent special event station at the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley, is now registered for Logbook of the World. Martin Atherton, G3ZAY, has uploaded 17,000 QSOs with GB3RS into the database so that operators can receive electronic confirmations.

Kuwaiti telecom regulator, CITRA, has released the new WRC-15 60m Secondary allocation to Kuwaiti 9K2 licensees under ITU Footnote 5.133B, which in the case of Kuwait means a maximum of 15W EIRP.

CQScotland.com, funded by the RSGB Legacy Committee and supported by the Mid Lanark Amateur Radio Society, will be attending the Braehead Arena Rally on Sunday the 16th of June. Donations of surplus components, books and magazines that will be shared among local community groups would be most welcome. The group would like to thank amateurs all for the tremendous support received so far. A current Project Update may be downloaded from www.cqscotland.com

The International Museums Weekends are the 15th and 16th, and 22nd and 23rd of June. More details about the event can be found at www.radio-amateur-events.org/ including a list of the stations registered. An award certificate can be obtained for 5 and 20 stations worked, or 10 heard by a SWL. Registration is still open if you wish to enter a museum station.

The second Midlands ARDF event takes place on the 16th of June at Cademan Wood near Whitwick. The assembly area is in the small car park at the Eastern end of the wood. The event is designed for members of radio clubs in Regions 5 and 13, although anyone is welcome to participate. The event will use the 80m amateur band and there will be five hidden transmitters deployed. Suitable directional receivers will be available on loan and there will be a small fee, around £2, to cover the cost of the maps and other incidental expenses. If you are taking part, bring a pair of headphones with 3.5mm plug, wear clothing suitable for walking around in woodland, a compass with a rectangular base plate, a lightweight A4 board, a red spirit pen, some safety pins and a whistle to summon help if needed. Registration opens 10am and there will be tuition on how to operate the ‘sense’ feature on the 80m DF receiver. Details at www.rsgb.org/ARDF

Two new 2018 Convention videos are now available on the RSGB YouTube channel. These are an introduction to 3D printing for the radio amateur by James Patterson, M1DST and The Iceni high-performance 70cm transverter by Sam Jewell, G4DDK. There are also two new lectures for RSGB Members only – these are An HF DXpedition to the Andaman Islands by John Warburton, G4IRN, and Arduino, GPS, RF and Si5351A for Radio Amateurs by Bo Hansen, OZ2M. To see any of these lectures go to www.rsgb.org/videos

To give UK amateurs an opportunity to work all the GB19 Team and Ground callsigns, the organisers are holding a UK Special on the evening of Saturday 15 June. This will be for four hours from 8pm until midnight, local time, to try to achieve good UK propagation. Team and Ground stations will be on 40m from 8pm, moving to 80m from 10pm, switching hourly between CW and SSB. See www.rsgb.org/cricket for more details.

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

Today, the 9th, the Junction 28 Radio Rally takes place at Alfreton Leisure Centre, Alfreton, Derbyshire. Doors open at 10.15am and admission is £3. Run by South Normanton & Alfreton & District ARC, there will be a hot and cold drinks plus a bar, and a selection of cobs and hot food. There’s free parking and over 100 tables, all indoors, with dealers & private traders, RSGB, local & national clubs. Contact Alan Jones, on 01332 679 913.

Today, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival, the Ipswich Rally, takes place at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW, just off the A14. Doors open at 9.30am and admission is £2. The venue has free car parking. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, a Bring & Buy, special interests groups, GB4SWR HF station and an RSGB bookstall. Catering is available on site. Contact Kevin, G8MXV on 07710 046 846.

Next Saturday, the 15th, the Rochdale and District ARS Summer Rally will take place at St Vincent de Paul’s, Caldershaw Road, Norden, Rochdale OL12 7QR. Proceeds from this rally ensure the continued operation of DMR repeater GB7MR. Doors open at 10.15am, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10am. Admission is £2.50, with those under 12 free. Refreshments will be available including bacon and sausage butties. Further details from Robert, M0NVQ by email to m0nvq@outlook.com or 0777 811 3333.

Next Sunday, the 16th, the sixteenth West of England Radio Rally will take place at the Cheese & Grain, Market Yard, Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BE. Doors open at 10am. The event will feature inside and outside trade stands, an RSGB book stall, a café and car parking. Further information from Shaun, G8VPG, on 01225 873 098, or email rallymanager@westrally.org.uk

Next Sunday, the 16th, the Scottish Amateur Radio and Electronics Rally will take place at INTU Braehead Centre, Glasgow. Doors open at 10am. There will be traders, radio clubs and a Bring & Buy, and areas for clubs to operate from. Talks and presentations will be running throughout the day. Refreshments are available on-site. For more information call Tony Miles on 07702 134 188.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.

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

Christian, EA3NT and Col, MM0NDX will be active as JW/EA3NT and JW/OJ0Y respectively from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, IOTA reference EU-026, between the 12th and the 16th of June. They will operate CW, SSB and digital modes on whatever bands are open, and will upload their logs to Club Log.

S9A will be the callsign of the LazyDXers, who will be on Sao Tome Island, AF – 023, until the 18th of June. They will be on all bands from 160 to 10m on CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL manager is EB7DX.

Elixander, W7HU and his son Elixander Jr, N4EVJ will operate SSB and FT8 as homecall/HC7 from Ecuador from the 8th to the 11th of June. QSLs via Logbook of the World, or via W7HU.

Jacques, CT2IXX will be active as LA/CT2IXX/p from Melandsjoen, Hitra Island, EU-036, until the 12th of July. He will operate SSB only, in his spare time.

Bo, OZ1DJJ will be active as OX3LX from Nuuk, Greenland, NA-018, between the 11th and the 21st of June, with possible activity also from Kook Island, NA-220. Bo will operate in his spare time, typically around lunch and after dinner. QSL via OZ0J, Club Log OQRS and Logbook of the World.

Lars, SM6CUK will be active as SA6G/7 from Ven Island, EU-137, between the 10th and the 14th of June. He will operate CW only on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via SM6CUK.

Now the special event news

DL0WUN will be on the air from the 10th to the 16th of June to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Airlift from Wunstorf to Berlin. On 28 June 1948, the first RAF C47 started to transport goods to the then-blockaded Berlin from Wunstorf Air Base. By September 1949, more than 277,000 flights had been made from various airfields in West Germany. Exact operating times and frequencies can be found on QRZ.com

The Galway Radio Experimenters Club will be active as EI100ABC for the Alcock & Brown Centenary Festival in Clifden, Co. Galway, between the 11th and the 16th of June. The festival celebrates the 100th anniversary of the first non-stop transatlantic flight, made in June 1919 by British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown from St John’s, Newfoundland to Clifden, Ireland. QSL via EI2II.

GB5HH will be on the air from Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre, Bournemouth BH6 5EN for Museums on the Air on the 15th and 16th of June.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible so we can give you free publicity. Remember, it’s a licensing condition that stations using UK special event must be open to the public.

Now the contest news

The IARU Region 1 ATV Contest will end its 30 hour run at 1800UTC today, the 9th. Using the 432MHz and up bands, the report is picture quality, serial number, four digit code and locator.

Today, the 9th, 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 9th, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP contest runs from 0900 to 1600UTC. Using phone only, the exchange is signal report, serial number band locator. Please note the maximum power for this one is 5W.

On Monday, the 80m Club Championships runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. This is the data leg and the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator.

As mentioned in the main part of the news, there’s a special 50MHz contest and activity session on Thursday morning. The future of the 6m band will be affected by the number of users during the test period, so please take part or at least get some signals up on 6m. Full information is at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0906A

On Thursday the 50MHz Machine Generated Mode Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1900UTC, with the exchange being your signal report and 4-character locator. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 50MHz UK Activity Contest, from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next weekend the 50MHz Trophy runs from 1400UTC on the 15th to 1400UTC on the 16th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also next weekend, the All Asian DX contest runs for 48 hours from 0000UTC on the 15th to 2359UTC on the 16th. Using CW only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and your age.

On Sunday the 16th the UK Microwave Group 24 to 248GHz band contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The Worked All Britain 50MHz phone contest takes place next Sunday, the 16th, from 0800 to 1400UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and, for UK stations, their WAB square. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 7th of July. Full details are at www.worked-all-britain.org.uk

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday 7th June 2019.

We had a very quiet, settled Sun last week. The solar flux index never got above 70, reflecting a complete lack of sunspots, while the Kp index eventually decreased to one or two, due to a lack of coronal holes on the solar surface. The net result was that HF conditions were not bad, but definitely not outstanding. Last weekend’s NFD saw many teams with better scores than last year, although the bulk of the propagation was to Europe.

40 metres has become the new 20m, being open during the day as well as in the evening, while openings on the bands above 20m have been fleeting and largely restricted to short-skip Sporadic-E. A station on the west coast of the USA was worked by G4ARN/P, but that was largely due to the other station’s antenna system.

Another DX nugget this week has been 3D2CR on Conway Reef in the South Pacific. This has been worked by a few UK amateurs equipped with high-mounted beams. As the long and short path routes both go over the poles, this is an indication that geomagnetic conditions have been good.

Sporadic-E has not been so prevalent this week, but there have been short openings. A surprise was hearing GB19CH, the Scotland World Cup HQ Station, on 28MHz CW on Thursday, here in Norfolk. This was undoubtedly short-skip Sporadic-E. Special Event Stations AM70C, AM70L and AM70P in Spain were also frequent visitors to 28MHz.

Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will continue around 70-72, while geomagnetic conditions will be settled, with a maximum Kp index of two. Maximum useable frequencies over a 3,000km-long path will peak at about 16-17.5MHz, so 20 metres continues to be the daytime DX band of choice.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

With an unsettled weather week coming up, this time of the year often means some potentially heavy rain with a chance of thunder. Therefore the first propagation mode to get a mention this week is rain scatter on the microwave bands. Use one of the many radar displays available on the web to track the storms.

Now it’s high summer, the Sporadic-E season is well under way. Recent days have been a bit lacklustre in a European sense, although some choice DX has been worked on six metres into Central Africa. Given that jet streams at 10km altitude in the weather part of the atmosphere are known to play a role in the location of Sporadic-E at 100km, it's reassuring to see that there will be some significant jet streams over our part of Europe during the coming week. At various times they will support possible Sporadic-E paths from Scandinavia round to Spain. The main operating tip is to check the bands late morning and again late afternoon and early evening, starting with 10m and working up through six, four and two metres. Unfortunately all of this depends upon the other parameters that influence Sporadic-E coming into line, but at least the weather part looks promising. With predominantly low pressure, there is a limited chance of Tropo featuring much during the coming week.

The Moon is past peak declination perigee, but it is still a good week for EME, albeit with shortening Moon windows and path losses increasing. After last week’s peak of the daytime Arietids meteor shower, there are no significant showers in the upcoming week. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 2^nd June 2019

The news headlines:

• RadCom Basics out this weekend

• GB100GP marks Gilwell Park’s centenary

• Latest Cricket World Cup Marathon news

A new edition of RadCom Basics is out this weekend. RSGB Members can read it today by going to www.rsgb.org/radcom-basics. You can also register to receive notification of subsequent issues as they become available at the same address. Each edition of RadCom Basics explores key aspects of amateur radio in a straightforward and accessible way. RadCom Basics is sent as an email alert to subscribers when each edition is published. This email provides a list of contents and a link to the articles on the RSGB website. This edition looks at Antennas and explains impedance and reactance, as well as looking at the locator square systems that exist – and how to use them.

Gilwell Park is recognised by many people involved in Scouts as the movement’s spiritual home. It is also home to Scouting’s UK administrative headquarters. Gilwell Park also hosts an amateur radio station, GB2GP, which has been getting Scouts on the air for over 50 years. 2019 is the centenary of the site being donated to Lord Baden Powell, and there are numerous events taking place to mark this. There is a special call sign to mark the site’s centenary: GB100GP. It will be active at a Funday for Beavers and Cubs on the 8th and 9th of June. If you hear the station, give the young people a call.

The ICC Cricket World Cup has started and so has the RSGB’s Cricket World Cup Marathon. UK and international callsigns will be active on nine HF bands on SSB, CW, and digital modes. Award certificates will be offered based on the number of contacts made with the special UK and international stations. A total of 31 special callsigns will be on the air in the UK, with GB19CWC representing the 2019 Cricket World Cup Headquarters in England. Listen for other GB19 prefix callsigns too. Teams will field special event stations as well. Full details are at www.rsgb.org/cricket

Logbook of The World is now accepting FT4 contacts. The latest TQSL update, released on the 22nd of May, includes FT4 as a sub-mode of MFSK. It also adds AISAT-1 and PO-101 in the satellite category. As of the 23rd of May, over one thousand million contact records have been entered into the system, resulting in 200 million contact confirmations. Logbook in The World has 118,328 users.

Now some advanced warning about restricted access to the RSGB’s National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park. On Thursday the 6th of June the NRC will be running a special event station GB2DAY to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. On that day, access for visiting radio amateurs wishing to operate the station GB3RS will be limited.

Thursday the 6th of June is the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. HMS Belfast was the flagship for the flotilla supporting the British and Canadian troops at Gold and Juno beaches. Commemorating this important event, the radio station in the Bridge Wireless Office aboard the preserved cruiser will use the special callsign GB75DDAY throughout June, manned by members of RNARS (affiliated) London Group and Imperial War Museum volunteers. See www.gb2rn.org.uk for more details.

GB2ORM will be on the air from the 7th to the 9th of June commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings from The Great Orme, Llandudno. This location played a vital role in WW2 with its Gunnery School Positions, RAF Radar Station and, of course the famous Mulberry Harbour construction site. North Wales RS and Dragon ARC will be operating the station. A small party of Air Cadets, Army Cadets & Sea Cadets will also be involved.

To commemorate the work of the many D-Day signallers who were responsible for maintaining essential wireless communications during the Normandy landings, members of VMARS, the Vintage & Military Amateur Radio Society, are co-ordinating wireless nets of equipment types that were in use on that historic day. Those already planning to take part in the nets include portable stations being established at British Gold King Red Beach and near to the Bénouville bascule bridge on the Caen Canal, better known today as Pegasus Bridge. In the UK will be stations operating from a former navigation station at Beachy Head and from Windy Ridge, the site of the WW2 transmitting station at Whaddon Hall in Buckinghamshire. The 75th Anniversary nets will be established from early in the morning of the 6th of June on 3615kHz AM. Communications will take place throughout the entire day. The net is open to all licenced amateurs who can operate using AM equipment of any vintage, but it is hoped that vintage military equipment will be used wherever possible. All amateur radio stations are invited to join in on the AM and FM nets on the 6th of June to celebrate and honour the work of the D-Day signallers, many of whom were targeted by enemy snipers attempting to disrupt the wireless communications of the invasion troops.

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

Today, the 2nd, the Spalding DARS annual rally takes place at Holbeach Community Sports Academy, Pennyhill Lane, Holbeach PE12 7PR. Doors open at 9.30am and admittance is £3. The venue offers easy access from the A17, a large area for boot traders and modern hall for indoor traders. There will be a car boot sale, RSGB Book Stall, special interest groups and trade stands. Catering is available on site and there will be a prize draw. Contact Graham Boor, G8NWC, on 0775 461 9701, or email rallysecretary@sdars.org.uk.

Next Sunday, the 9th, the Junction 28 Radio Rally will be held at Alfreton Leisure Centre, Alfreton, Derbyshire. Doors open 10.15am and admission is £3. Run by South Normanton & Alfreton & District ARC, there will be full disabled facilities and a bar selling alcoholic, hot and cold beverages, and a selection of cobs. Hot food is also available in the on-site café. There’s free parking and over 100 tables, all indoors, with dealers & private traders, RSGB, local & national clubs. You’ll find new rigs and accessories to vintage spares and components. Contact Alan Jones, snadarcsec@gmail.com or 01332 679 913.

Next Sunday, the 9th, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival will be held at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW, just off the A14. Doors open at 9.30am and the entry fee for visitors is £2. The venue has free car parking. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, a Bring & Buy, special interests groups, GB4SWR HF station and an RSGB bookstall. Catering is available on site. Contact Kevin, G8MXV on 07710 046 846.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – the print cycle means we need to know four months in advance to get your information into RadCom.

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

Sven, HB9DXB expects to be active as XV9DXB from Nha Trang in Vietnam, starting around the 2nd of June. Plans are to operate SSB and CW on 80, 40, 20 and 10 metres. QSL via EB7DX.

Audie, DU1ZDR and Gazelle, DU1ZDQ will be active as DZ1A from Kalanggaman Island, IOTA reference OC-129, on the 3rd of June. They will operate QRP on or around 14260 and 7055kHz.

Oliver, SV8/DK7TX will be active from IOTA group EU-052, Antipaxos, Paxos and Kerkyra, between the 2nd and 9th of June. He will operate SSB on 40, 20, 17 and 15m bands. QSL via DK7TX, direct or bureau.

Now the special event news

GB0RBW will be active this weekend from the Bath and West Show near Shepton Mallet. Organised by Mid-Somerset ARC, with support from Yeovil and South Bristol clubs, the station will be on the air from 9am to 6pm each day.

The Marconi museum ship, Elettra, which was Marconi’s moving laboratory, will be on the air this weekend as part of the Museum Ships weekend. 2019 is the centenary of the purchase of Elettra by Marconi.

GB2DAW will be on the air for Dementia Awareness Week between the 3rd and 9th of June, to raise awareness of dementia. Operating from the Shetland Islands, Scotland, they will transmit on varying bands and frequencies depending on conditions and time of day. All information is be on QRZ.com.

The Windmill Amateur Radio DX Group will be operating GB1RY on the 6th of June from RAF Ramsbury for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. They will be operating again on the 8th and 9th during the unveiling of a commemorative plaque and information board about RAF Ramsbury.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. Remember that stations using UK special event callsigns must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

This weekend will see the lower parts of the bands very busy for the RSGB CW National Field Day, which is part of the IARU Region 1 Field Day. Ending it 24 hour run at 1500UTC today, the 2nd, it’s CW-only on all the contest bands from 1.8 to 28MHz. The exchange is RST and serial number. Note that although the RSGB and IARU events coincide, European data protection laws mean you need to send your log to each organisation separately. RSGB can’t forward logs to the IARU on your behalf as has been the practice in earlier years.

The SEANET contest ends its 24 hour run at 1200UTC today, the 2nd. CW and SSB can be used on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, and the exchange is signal report and serial number.

The UK Six Metre Group Summer Contest ends its 24 hour run 1300UTC today, the 2nd. Using all modes on the 50MHz band only, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and UKSMG membership number.

The UK Microwave Group Low Band contest takes place today, the 2nd, from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 23, 13 and 6cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC, using FM only. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. It takes place concurrently with the 144MHz Machine Generated Mode Activity Contest, where the exchange is signal report and 4 character locator. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest, from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for this contest is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Saturday the 8th, the 1st 40m QSO Party runs from 1000 to 1200UTC. Using SSB on the 7MHz band, the exchange is 59 and your name.

The IARU Region 1 ATV Contest will be held on the 8th and 9th of June from 1200UTC on the 8th to 1800UTC on the 9th. Using the 432MHz and up bands, the report is picture quality, serial number, four digit code and locator.

Next Sunday, the 9th, the second 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also on Sunday the 9th, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP contest runs from 0900 to 1600UTC. Using phone only, the exchange is signal report, serial number band locator. Please note your maximum power for this one is 5 watts.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday 31st May 2019.

A couple of small Earth-facing coronal holes were the source of an elevated solar wind stream that pushed the Kp index to four on Wednesday. Otherwise solar conditions were generally quite flat last week. This helped Sporadic-E production, which saw 10 metres come alive, with the band sounding more like 20 metres on a good day. Unfortunately, this came to an end mid week when the Kp index soared, as we’ll explain later. One highlight was the start of the Cricket World Cup, with special stations GB19AUS, for Australia, and GB19LL, for Lord’s London, starting the ball rolling on Thursday.

The Sun remained distinctly spotless and that trend is due to continue. NOAA predicts more of the same with the solar flux index between 68 and 72 next week. The good news is that geomagnetic conditions should remain quiet with a maximum Kp index of two forecast over the next seven days. This should help the ionosphere replenish itself.

This weekend has seen National Field Day take place and while we can’t say how conditions have been we are sure that there have been the odd instance of DX openings, albeit fleetingly. This is an example of how you can write off a band, only to find it opening up in one direction for ten minutes or so. F2-layer openings do occur on the higher bands, even at sunspot minimum – it is just a case of being lucky enough to catch them.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

There has been some spectacular Sporadic-E across much of Europe during the last week or so, reaching up to 144MHz in a few cases. However, this changed from midweek as conditions reverted back to normal and Sporadic-E barely made it to 10m.

So what changed? Well, on Wednesday the Kp index was four at a critical time when Sporadic-E might form. This is higher than ideal; typically a K index of less than three is good. Also there has been a gradual deterioration in the positioning of the jet streams in the upper air and these look to be less likely to intersect with the Alps or Pyrenees as we move through this weekend. Sporadic-E paths into Europe may well be biased towards northern Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia.

Regarding other modes, we appear to be lined up for being associated with low pressure and a showery weather pattern, so offering the prospects for rain scatter on the GHz bands. Watch out for thundery showers today. High pressure does try to return at the end of the week, but may not bring strong Tropo, although sea paths around Britain may offer the better paths.

The Moon reaches peak declination on Wednesday and perigee on Friday, so a good week for EME with long Moon windows and low path losses.

Next Friday/Saturday sees the peak of the daytime Arietids meteor shower, with a zenithal hourly rate of 30.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 26th May 2019

The news headlines:

• New propagation prediction tool released

• Cricket World Cup Radio Marathon is imminent

• New forum for Easy-100 satellite upconverter

The RSGB’s Propagation Studies Committee has released a new propagation tool for amateurs. Based on the ITU’s ITURHFPROP program, the new tool is the work of programmer and Committee member James Watson, HZ1JW. It gives hour-by-hour monthly median propagation predictions from a location you specify to one of 28 locations around the world. You can select your operating mode, eg SSB, CW or FT8, local noise levels, the antenna type at each end and other variables. The results are presented in tables, using colours and numeric values to indicate path properties. There is more information on the RSGB website and the tool itself, which is free to all amateurs worldwide, is at www.rsgb.org/proppy

It’s only a few days until the start of the Cricket World Cup Radio Marathon. Some brand-new awards have been added, including Worked all Teams and Worked all Cricket Grounds. The Marathon runs from the 30th of May to the 14th of July and full details can be found at www.rsgb.org/cricket

There has been a great deal of interest in the Easy-100 DIY upconverter for geostationary satellite QO-100, published in the June RadCom. A special interest group has now been created for discussions and support at groups.io/g/easy-100 and all are welcome to join.

Dementia Awareness Week is run by Alzheimer’s Scotland from the 3rd to the 9th of June. Peter, MM0NQY will be running GB2DAW during this time to help raise the worldwide amateur community’s awareness of dementia. Operating from the Shetland Islands, Scotland, on various bands and times, Peter hopes that the end result may be a world-wide net where operators with dementia could talk to each other. For more information please see the QRZ.com entry for GB2DAW.

Next Saturday and Sunday sees this year’s Museum Ships weekend. Transmissions will be sent from all sorts of old and special ships worldwide, enabling unique QSOs. Around 110 museum ships around the world have registered to take part, including seven or so that are new to the event. Ships and boats from submarines to aircraft carriers will be on the air and a full list can be found at www.qsl.net/w/wa2tvs//museum

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

Today, the Durham District ARS Radio Rally takes place at Bowburn Community Association, Durham Road, Bowburn, Co. Durham DH6 5AT. Doors open 10.10am to 2.30pm, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10 am. Admittance is £2. There will be traders, a Bring & Buy as well as an RSGB bookstall and special interest groups. Catering and a licensed bar is on site. Contact Michael, G7TWX on 07826 924 1192.

Next Sunday, the Spalding DARS annual rally takes place at Holbeach Community Sports Academy, Pennyhill Lane, Holbeach PE12 7PR. Doors open at 9.30am and admittance is £3. The venue offers easy access from the A17, a large area for boot traders and a modern hall for indoor traders. There will be a car boot sale, RSGB Book Stall, special interest groups and trade stands. Catering is available on site and there will be a prize draw. Contact Graham Boor, G8NWC, on 0775 461 9701, or email rallysecretary@sdars.org.uk.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – the print cycle means we need to know four months in advance to get your information into RadCom.

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

M0PAI will be active from the 1st to the 8th of June on the Isle of Lewis/Harris, IOTA reference EU-010, Isle of Skye, as MM0PAI/p. He will be active all week on 80m to 2m, including 4m SSB, and on FT8. New references for World Flora Fauna will be activated, there will be WAB references up for grabs and possible SOTA activations depending on weather.

Ric, LA/DL2VFR, Friedrich, LA/DL4BBH and Klaus, LA/DL7UXG will be active from the Vesteralen Islands, EU-033, from the 27th to the 31st of May, and from the Lofoten Islands, EU-076, on the 1st to the 5th of June. They will operate CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via home calls, Club Log and eQSL.

Akio, JE2QIZ has received a licence to operate in Naypyitaw, Myanmar as XZ2B. It covers 20 to 300MHz at 25W maximum and expires at the end of June. Details are on QRZ.com

Dwight, VE7BV is on the air from Guatemala as TG9BBV until the 13th of June. QSL via home call, direct, bureau, or Logbook of the World.

Yuki, JH1NBN is active as 9N7BN in Nepal until the 4th of June. Bands in use are 80m to 6m using CW and FT8. QSL via home call.

Now the special event news

GB0RBW will be active for four days from Wednesday the 29th from the Bath and West Show near Shepton Mallet. Organised by Mid-Somerset ARC, with support from Yeovil and South Bristol clubs, the station will be on the air from 9 am to 6 pm each day.

Burton Amateur Radio Club will be operating GB2RTF for Rolleston On Dove Transport Festival on Bank Holiday Monday. The station will be active on HF, VHF & UHF using SSB, FM, FT8, FT4 and CW using SDR and traditional transceivers.

Unusual callsign GB9SOS comes to the end of its month-long run on the 31st of May. Run by G8XQB in aid of SOS Radio Week, full information can be found on QRZ.com

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. Remember that stations using UK special event callsigns must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

The 48 hour CQ Worldwide WPX CW contest is in full swing, ending at 2359UTC tonight. Using CW only on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, the exchange is a signal report and serial number.

Also today, the 26th, the UK Microwave Groups contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is a signal report, serial number and locator.

The 3rd 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC today. Using all modes, the exchange is a signal report, serial number and locator.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2000UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both contests is a signal report, serial number and locator.

Also on Tuesday, the SHF UKAC takes place from 1830 to 2130UTC, Using all bands on the 2.4 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is a signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday the 80m Club Championships CW leg runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is a signal report and serial number.

Next weekend will see the lower parts of the bands very busy for the RSGB CW National Field Day, which is part of the IARU Region 1 Field Day. Running from 1500 UTC on Saturday to the same time on Sunday, it’s CW-only on all the contest bands from 1.8 to 28MHz. The exchange is RST and serial number. Note that although the RSGB and IARU events coincide, European data protection laws mean you need to send your log to each organisation separately. RSGB can’t forward to the IARU on your behalf as has been the practice in earlier years.

Also next weekend, the SEANET contest takes place from 1200UTC on Saturday until the same time on Sunday. CW and SSB can be used on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, and the exchange is a signal report and serial number.

The UK Six Metre Group Summer Contest runs from 1300 UTC next Saturday to 1300 on Sunday. Using all modes on the 50MHz band only, the exchange is a signal report, serial number, locator and UKSMG membership number.

Finally, for next weekend, the UK Microwave Group Low Band contest takes place next Sunday from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 23, 13 and 6cm bands, the exchange is a signal report, serial number and locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday 24th May 2019.

Geomagnetic conditions have been much quieter over the last week as the result of reduced coronal hole activity and a lack of coronal mass ejections. The solar surface is now devoid of sunspots, so we are back to settled conditions.

Many listeners are reporting that 20 metres is staying open longer at night. This is to be expected as we move towards summer ionospheric conditions, characterised by lower maximum useable frequencies during the day, compared with winter, but sustained MUFs at night. This is due to a mixture of increased D-layer absorption during daylight and a change in the ionospheric chemistry to more molecular, rather than monatomic species, which are harder to ionise. Some long-distance contacts into the USA have been reported even at 2 am and we can expect these to continue. Twenty metres may even become a 24-hour DX band by mid-summer.

There is a slight chance of an elevated K index on Friday 24th or Saturday 25th due to an Earth-facing coronal hole, but otherwise the geomagnetic field is predicted to be quiet. NOAA predicts unsettled conditions on the 28th and 29th when the K index could rise to three or four. The solar flux index will start at about 68 and is predicted to rise to 74 or 76 by next weekend, presumably due to the return of a sunspot group.

And finally, as mentioned in the main news the RSGB’s Propagation Studies Committee has launched a new HF prediction tool that uses the ITURHFPROP engine. The tool can create predictions to 28 different locations around the world, based on your particular antenna, mode and power. It joins the VOACAP-based tool launched earlier this year, which can be found via www.rsgb.org/psc

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

This week we will find a tendency for high pressure to be located to the southwest of the British Isles, with any Tropo prospects biased towards southern UK into France across Biscay into Spain perhaps. The bulk of the country is dominated by low pressure to give a showery type of weather and offer some possibility of some rain scatter, since it’s likely at this time of the year to be a case of some showers being heavy and thundery.

Sporadic-E is working well this season with some openings reported on most days, often as high as 50MHz and occasionally higher. Obviously, not all paths have been accessible from the UK, but some have and so far this season many of the paths have been associated with jet streams. The coming week suggests some further jet stream activity over northern Europe and Scandinavia, while flows over southern Europe become weaker. Maybe it is time for paths to Scandinavia and the Baltic to come to the fore. It’s always worth remembering to check the clusters and, as an operating principle, try a late morning or early evening check on 10m and 6m beacons for signs of activity.

The Moon is at apogee today so losses are at their highest, but falling as the week progresses. Declination is rising and goes positive on Thursday so EME conditions will become more favourable towards next weekend. Again there is no significant meteor shower activity this week so in between the Sporadic-E, keep looking for the early morning random meteor peak on the lower VHF bands.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 19th May 2019

The news headlines:

• Book now for RSGB Convention

• CQ Hall of Fame inductees named

• GB2DAY at NRC on 6 June

Booking is now open for the 2019 RSGB Convention, which is sponsored by Martin Lynch & Sons. Join us between the 11th and 13th of October at Kents Hill Park, Milton Keynes. The lecture programme is in the process of being finalised, and will feature streams including HF, VHF, AMSAT-UK and general interest. The Convention will include the annual Construction Competition, an SMD Buildathon, the Contest University and a Pi workshop. Our after-dinner speaker will be Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, Secretary of the IARU. Dave was active with the IARU during his entire 44-year career on the staff of the ARRL. Making a weekend of it? Why not come and visit the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park on the Friday? RSGB Members can download their free entry voucher from the RSGB website. See more at www.rsgb.org/convention.

Five amateurs have been inducted into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. They are John Attaway Senior, K4IIF, SK, who served for more than 20 years as CQ magazine’s DX Editor, proposing the establishment of the CQ DX Hall of Fame in 1967; Dave Bernstein, AA6YQ the author of the DXLab software suite, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, KD2JTX, the Director of the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Development Bureau and the first woman ever to hold a senior elected position in the ITU, Predescu Florin Cristian, YO0CNU, the founder of Europe's Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) program and Ellen White, W1YL who served as the ARRL's Deputy Communications Manager, was QST magazine's DX editor, recorded QST on tape for the Library of Congress’s Talking Book Program for the visually-impaired. Bruce, WA7BNM; Dean, N6BV, and Chris, 9A5K, SK, have been inducted into CQ Contest Hall of Fame. Joe Taylor, K1JT, the Nobel Prize winning-astrophysicist who created the suite of WSJT weak-signal digital modes, including FT8, and Silvano Borsa, I2YSB and the Italian DXpedition Team who have made more than 20 major DXpeditions in the past 20 years, mostly to Africa have been inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame.

Advance notice now that RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park will have restricted access for visiting radio amateurs wishing to operate the station, GB3RS on the 6th of June. On the 6th, the NRC will be running a special event station, GB2DAY to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The NRC will remain open to visitors but access to the radio room will be restricted and visiting amateurs will be unable to operate the station.

New videos have been added to the RSGB website for Members to view. They are two 2018 RSGB Convention lectures. John Worsnop, G4BAO talks about The Wednesday Night Digifest and Steve Nichols, G0KYA speaks on The top HF propagation questions and some possible answers. Go to www.rsgb.org/videos for these and many more interesting talks. There is also new archive video, National Field Day 1947, plus the original RadCom article written about the event now live in the Film Archive section at www.rsgb.org/videos

This year the ITU World Radio Conference takes place and there is an important motion on the agenda to consolidate and extend access to 50MHz in Region 1, which covers Europe, Africa and Asiatic Russia. One of the national telecoms administrations that is actively supporting the proposal is the Czech Republic; unfortunately some other administrations are actively opposed. To gather solid evidence of the high level of amateur activity on the band, and at the same time to demonstrate that amateurs can co-exist with other band users including the military, IARU is supporting a monitoring trial on the 13th of June. The event is being run by the Czech national radio society, in conjunction with their regulator and it is part activity period, part contest. Government and professional users will be monitoring and some will be transmitting as well so it is important that amateurs make a good showing. Remember, by the way, that if you do hear any non-amateur stations you must make sure you do not cause them any interference. Full details of the event can be found at https://tinyurl.com/yxngnmlw

The 200th registration for this year's International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend has been received and it is from Latvia, which is a rare country for the event and a new lighthouse as well. This highly popular event, now in its 22nd year, takes place on the 17th and 18th of August with over 500 entries expected. It is a fun weekend with many entrants returning year after year with some taking part every year since 1998. All the details and registration form are on the ILLW website, https://illw.net

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

Today, the 19th of May, the Dunstable Downs National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale takes place at Stockwood Park, Luton LU1 4BQ. More details can be found on the website www.ddrcbootsale.org.

On the 26th of May, the Durham District ARS Radio Rally takes place at Bowburn Community Association, Durham Road, Bowburn, Co. Durham DH6 5AT. Doors open 10.10am to 2.30pm, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10am. Admittance is £2. There will be traders, a Bring & Buy as well as an RSGB bookstall and Special Interest Groups. Catering and a licensed bar is on site. Contact Michael, G7TWX on 07826 924 1192.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – the print cycle means we need to know four months in advance to get your information into RadCom.

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

Juha, OH5CW and the OH5C group will be active as OG0C from Kokar, in the Aland Islands, IOTA reference EU-002, between the 22nd and the 28th of May. They will operate CW, SSB, FT8, FT4 and MSK144 on the 160 to 2m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World, via the bureau, or direct to OH5CW; logsearch on Club Log.

Thomas, F4HPX will be active holiday-style as FR/F4HPX from Reunion Island until the 5th June. He will operate mainly SSB and FT8 on 40, 20 and 15m.

Waldi, SP7IDX will be active as LA/SP7IDX from Store Molla, Lofoten Islands, EU-076, until the 29th of May. He will operate SSB and FT8 on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL direct to home call or via Logbook of The World.

Members of the Old House Radio Club, OH5C, will visit the Aland Islands from the 22nd to 28th of May using the callsign OG0C. QSL via OH5CW.

Zorro, JH1AJT will visit Eritrea from the 25th of May to the 3rd of June. The main purpose of his trip is to support the Eritrea National Olympic Committee. He will be joined by Franz, DJ9ZB, David, WD5COV, Johannes, PA5X, Dima, RAUSU, Sergey, RZ9UN and Champ, E21EIC, who will be active as E31A on the 160 to 6m bands using CW, SSB and FT8 Fox & Hound mode. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS, or via JH1AJT.

Laci, HA0HW will be active as SW8WW from Thassos Island, EU-174, from the 23rd of May to the 5th of June. He will operate mainly CW, with some SSB and RTTY/PSK, on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS, or via HA0HW direct or bureau.

Now the special event news

W7K celebrates the redefinition of the SI unit kelvin, which will take place on the 20th of May. This station will be operated from one of the most accurate temperature standards laboratories in the world, at American Fork, Utah. Times of operation will be 0000UTC to 2359UTC. The station will operate on both HF and VHF. For HF, operation will be on the 20, 40 and 80m bands. The VHF operation will be accessible via Echolink for those out of the area at specific times. For more information, go to tinyurl.com/w7kelvin

Two special event radio stations will be on the air from Shetland. GB0DAW, for Dementia Action Week, will be on the air between the 20th and the 26th of May; GB2DAW for Dementia Awareness Week between the 3rd and 9th of June. All information will be on QRZ.com.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. Remember that stations using UK special event callsigns must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

The 144MHz May Contest ends its 24 hour run at 1400UTC today, the 19th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.

Today, the 19th, the 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also today, the 19th, the UK Microwave Group High Band contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 24 to 76GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and 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 Wednesday the 80m Club Championships data leg runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

Next weekend the CQ Worldwide WPX CW contest runs for 48 hours from 0000UTC on the 25th to 2359UTC on the 26th. Using CW only on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Sunday the 26th, the 3rd 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Sunday the 26th, the UK Microwave Groups contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 17th of May.

Last week saw the Kp index rise to seven on Tuesday thanks to an enhanced solar wind stream containing a sharply south-pointing Bz. This is the direction of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field and south-pointing means it was more likely to couple with the Earth’s magnetic field. This was due to a number of filament eruptions in the vicinity of sunspot region 2741.

While not entirely unexpected, the Kp index rise to seven was quite severe and resulted in auroral conditions on HF. A number of B-class solar flares on Wednesday didn’t help much either. The FoF2 plot at Propquest.co.uk looked a bit like a roller coaster as the predicted MUF over a 3,000km path went rapidly from nearly 20MHz to 16MHz. Luckily, things were more settled on Thursday with a Kp index of two, although HF conditions remained flat.

Sunspot group 2741 is now rotating off the Sun’s disk, with NOAA predicting the solar flux index will go back down to around 68 next week, due to an absence of spots. As a result the K index is predicted to be around 2 to 3 as the risk of coronal mass ejections declines.

Phil, GU0SUP, the RSGB newsreader for Guernsey, reports that FT8 has been quite active. On the morning of Friday the 10th he heard lots of Ws on 30 metres, including a W7 in Idaho. Moving to 20m he then then saw K2GT calling CQ and found out he was in Hawaii. Phil says he was very surprised at just how loud he was. He adds that he usually expect to work KH6 later in the day, although he has worked Hawaii in the mornings before, but when the SFI was much higher.

And now the VHF and up propagation news

The weak high pressure nearby may reassert itself as a shallow area of low pressure over France drifts away. This does not look anything like as strong as the exceptional high of 1042mb of last week. Therefore some weak Tropo is always possible, especially along the east coast.

Sporadic-E has been doing fairly well with a comprehensive selection of jet streams to offer potential triggers for Sporadic-E at first, but the coming week looks much thinner with the main jet stream activity displaced south over the Mediterranean. This may put Sporadic-E patches too far south, although it should be productive across the Mediterranean region. Best prospects from the UK look to be south into Spain and Portugal.

As we head down to minimum Moon declination on Wednesday and are just a weak away from apogee, Moon windows are short and losses high. It’s a good time put aside QSO attempts and to check out EME system performance using Sun to cold sky measurements as the sun is nice and high in the sky at noon now.

There is no significant meteor shower activity this week so in between the Sporadic-E, keep looking for the early morning random meteor peak on the lower VHF bands.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 12th May 2019

The news headlines:

• Midland series ARDF event in Leicestershire

• Monk Apollo, SV2ASP, Silent Key

• BBC explains amateur radio emergency comms

The first of the Midland series ARDF events takes place on Saturday the 18th of May at Burbage Common, between Hinckley and Earl Shilton in Leicestershire, map reference SP446953. Anyone interested should meet at the visitor centre off the B4668, that’s the old A47, at 10am. Suitable radio receivers will be available on loan. There will be tuition if you would like this and also mentors to help you get started. The 80m band is being used and there will be five transmitters to be located. You will find it helpful to bring a compass with a rectangular base plate, a fine tipped spirit pen and a lightweight A4 board to which you can tape the map that will be provided. Dress appropriately for a walk in the woods. There is a fee of £2 to cover the costs of the maps and incidentals.

Sad news now. Mount Athos’ best-known radio amateur, Monk Apollo, SV2ASP, became Silent Key on the 5th of May after complications resulting from cancer. He was 64. Monk Apollo was essentially the lone DX voice from Mount Athos, the 20th most-wanted DXCC entity, where he operated from his Orthodox Monastery.

An interesting item about amateur radio was broadcast on the BBC World Service this week. It dealt with the importance of amateur radio emergency communications during the recent cyclone in India. You can listen to the broadcast, Digital Planet – Ham Radio Aids Cyclone Relief Effort, at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csy664

New videos have been added to the RSGB YouTube channel for anyone to view. Dan McGraw, M0WUT presents ‘Designing an HR WSPR Transceiver’ and Noel Matthews, G8GTZ talks about ‘The Farnham WebSDR – DC to microwaves on your smartphone’. Go to www.rsgb.org/videos for these and many more interesting talks.

A BBC Earth PodCast featuring Eleanor Griffin, M6NWZ talking about her experience with an ISS link from Kings High School, Warwick was broadcast this week. Go to www.bbcearth.com/podcast, scroll to the bottom and listen to the one called ‘Looking Up’.

There are several interesting publications available on the IARU Region 1 website at www.iaru-r1.org. You can read the latest edition of the IARU Region 1 Monitoring System newsletter that contains detailed reports from the various national coordinators showing the various stations that have been monitored on the amateur bands and any action that has been taken. The IARU Region 1 VHF newsletter contains reports on the recent IARU meetings in Vienna preparing for the next ITU conference and has details of a 50MHz test that will take place on the 13th of June.

Recently added to the Syllabus 2019 updates on the RSGB website is a presentation on Digital Signal Processing Without The Maths. This is aimed at tutors preparing training material. On the page you will also find the Exam Specifications, details of the Tutors’ meeting in March, and model tutorial slides on SDR and Digital elements.

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

There are no rallies in the diary for this weekend, the 11th and 12th of May.

Dayton Hamvention^® takes place on the 17th to the 19th of May at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA. The RSGB will be represented with a Book Stall and Membership stand.

On Sunday the 19th of May, the Dunstable Downs National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale will be held at Stockwood Park, Luton LU1 4BQ. More details can be found on the website www.ddrcbootsale.org.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk.

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

To celebrate World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on 17th May a special station, 8J1ITU, will be on the air throughout May from the Japanese island of Honshu. QSL via the Bureau.

Tom, DL7BO will be active again as XV9BO from Mui Ne, Vietnam on 13-19 May. He will operate sporadically on the HF bands SSB, CW, RTTY and FT8. QSL via LoTW or DL7BO.

Lance, W7GJ will be active as CP1GJ from Copacabana, WWL FH53kt, Bolivia on 7-16 May. This will be a 6m EME DXpedition. Lance urges people to gain experience with JT65A and especially review the QSO procedure. When not aimed up at the moon he may be on SSB, or FT8 on 50.313MHz. QSL direct only to home call. See www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/ for planned operating schedules and other information.

Members of Tynemouth ARC, G0NWM, are travelling to the Isle of Mull, IOTA reference EU-008, from Friday the 17th of May until Friday the 24th, where they will be operating using the callsign GS0NWM. Subject to conditions the group will be operating up to four stations across the HF bands on SSB, CW, RTTY, FT8 using Fox and Hound mode and they hope to have a go at VHF/UHF satellite operation. QSL is via m0urx.com.

Thomas, F4HPX will be active again as FR/F4HPX from Reunion Island, AF-016, between mid-May and early June. He will operate SSB, FT8 and maybe some CW on 40 to 15 metres from different locations around the island. QSL via LoTW, Club Log’s OQRS, or via home call, direct or bureau.

Jacques, F6HMJ will be active as SV8/F6HMJ from Ios Island, EU-067, on 14-28 May. He will operate SSB and CW on 80 to 10 metres.

Now the special event news

This weekend you can expect to hear special event stations taking part in SOS Radio Week, Pubs and Clubs on the Air and Mills on the Air. Several of these stations are mentioned in local news this week.

Cwmbran ARC will be operating from Llanyravon Mill, Llanyravon Way, Cwmbran over the weekend for Mills on the Air. Visitors are welcome.

Windmill Amateur Radio DX Group will be operating GB1WW from Wilton Windmill, Wilton, near Marlborough.

Members of West Kent ARS are operating from the Nutley Windmill on Ashdown Forest today, the 12th, using GB2NW. Operation will be on HF and 144MHz SSB and FM.

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is being held in Tel Aviv, Israel and to mark the occasion five special event callsigns will be on the air until the 18th of May. Look for 4Z64EURO, 4X64S, 4X64O, 4X64N and 4X64G.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. UK special event stations must be open to the public, and our free publicity can help.

Now the contest news

The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon runs until the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just your four-character locator.

Today, the 12th of May, the 70MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.

Also today, the 12th, the Worked All Britain 40m phone contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using SSB only, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB area.

On Monday the 80m Club Championships takes place from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB only the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest, from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next weekend the 144MHz May Contest runs from 1400UTC on the 18th to 1400UTC on the 19th. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.

On Sunday the 19th, the 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also next Sunday, the 19th, the UK Microwave Group High Band contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 24 to 76GHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4DDK on Friday the 10th of May.

Sunspot group 2740 has now returned and is emitting a lot of radio noise. Solarweather.com reports large bursts have been recorded on 20 and 25MHz. The bursts sound like waves breaking on the shore and are caused by beams of electrons accelerated by explosions in the sunspot’s magnetic canopy. As the electrons slice through the Sun’s atmosphere, they generate a ripple of plasma waves and radio emissions detectable on Earth.

The last week saw slightly better HF conditions. Andy, M0NKR reports working Nobby, FW5JG on 20 metres on Wallis and Futuna Islands. Jim, G3YLA also reported working James, K6AR just north of San Diego in California at 1400Z, also on 20 metres.

Sporadic-E has also been growing this week. Beacon signals were logged on 10 metres from Poland on Wednesday, and Spain and Italy on Thursday. The 10m beacons, from 28.160 to 28.325MHz are a good guide to propagation, especially as many of them run less than five watts.

Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be 76, thanks to the two sunspots groups now visible on the solar disk. A weak, slow-moving coronal mass ejection observed on Tuesday the 7th of May is predicted to deliver a glancing blow to our geomagnetic field this weekend. Otherwise, geomagnetic conditions will be settled with a maximum K index of two next week, although more coronal mass ejections from sunspot groups 2740 and 2741 are a strong possibility. This could lead to an elevated K index and poorer HF conditions in the short term.

Daytime critical frequencies remain in the 4-5MHz range, with the maximum usable frequency over 3,000km occasionally exceeding 18MHz. The night-time critical frequency is mostly now staying above 3.5MHz, which means 80m should remain open to NVIS signals around the UK throughout the night.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

It’s an unsettled end to the week with further showers for many areas, so there is still some scope for rain scatter on the microwave bands. Some of the showers could be heavy with a chance of hail and thunder, so watch out for rain static.

The big change will come after the weekend when the pressure builds quickly to produce a large area of high pressure over the country and improved weather all round. It also means a good chance of Tropo and maybe checking out those solar panels for your off-the-grid portable set up.

Sporadic-E has been showing its hand during the last week and there should a reasonable chance of jet streams in good locations for further Sporadic-E in the coming week.

Use the Propquest.co.uk website to see the daily updates. Starting this weekend, there will be a jet stream over the Pyrenees that translates east to the Alps. This means we could start off with paths to EA/CT and gradually move to Italy and IS0 in the central Mediterranean.

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower has now peaked, although there are still meteors associated with this shower up to about the 24th of May, so expect to hear some pings throughout this week. We now enter a bit of a lull in shower activity until the July Delta Aquariids.

Full Moon occurs next Sunday, the 19th of May. This is a low declination full Moon, meaning that the moon reaches full illumination at its lowest point in the sky of this lunar cycle. This period should be more favourable for stations without antenna elevation, although the low declination often means more terrestrial obstructions for the antenna view of the Moon. Path loss will increase through the week, as will libration – the Moon’s apparent “wobble” that lets us see up to 59% of its surface.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 5th May 2019

The news headlines:

• New RSGB talks online

• ARDF Champs in Thames Valley

• NRC visitor figures rise

After the formal proceedings and the trophy presentations at the recent RSGB AGM, attendees were treated to an introductory talk on Qatar Oscar 100, the new geostationary satellite. Noel Matthews, G8GTZ, Dave Crump, G8GKQ and Phil Crump, M0DMY gave an introduction to the QO-100 amateur transponders on the Es’hail-2 commercial satellite, which was launched in February. It has already seen many stations making contacts across a third of the globe on the narrow band voice/data and wide band DATV transponders. The presentation included a brief history of how the project came about, an overview of equipment required to operate QO-100 and a demonstration of the webSDR and spectrum monitor. You can listen to the talk and view the presentation slides at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0505A.

This Bank Holiday weekend sees the annual three day RSGB ARDF Championships taking place in the Thames Valley. The areas chosen are Christmas Common near Wendover, Whiteleaf near Princes Risborough and Hodgmoor Woods near Amersham. The competitions will comprise ‘classic’ ARDF events on 144MHz and 3.5MHz on two of the days, with the final day devoted to the two ‘short format’ variants. More information is available on the ARDF pages of the RSGB website.

9,092 visitors went to the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park in April, bringing the total in the first four months to 27,077. That’s nearly three times more than the 9,355 in the same period last year. The radio room in the NRC will have reduced access on the morning of Tuesday the 7th of May. The NRC will remain open to visitors but access to the radio room will be restricted as filming will be taking place. We apologise for any inconvenience but this means that any visiting radio amateurs won’t be able to operate the station GB3RS until after midday.

RSGB Club Insurance and Beacon and Repeater Insurance has now been renewed for the year to April 2020. Club Insurance Certificates can be downloaded from the RSGB website; please use your Membership Services login to obtain a copy of your Certificate. To ensure that your beacon and repeater is covered under the RSGB Insurance a £10 admin fee is required and you may renew this via the RSGB shop. Please allow a couple of days after renewal for your certificate to be dispatched.

At the IARU Region 1 Interim meeting last week, a special Sunday morning session that focussed on enhanced VHF/Microwave activities was kicked off by John Regnault, G4SWX, the RSGB VHF Manager. Joining the meeting by Skype, John explained how the UK had gained access to the experimental 71 and 146MHz bands for digital innovation. Amongst other things this had fostered ground-breaking developments in reduced bandwidth digital ATV by BATC, which has transformed activity on VHF/UHF. More recently this innovative work has supported the IARU WRC-19 case for 50MHz; and has also proved to be a popular mode on the new QO-100 geostationary satellite. Details are at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0505B.

SOS Radio Week has started and will continue until the end of May. This annual event raises awareness of the amazing work that the brave volunteers of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution perform and to honour the volunteer watchkeepers of the National Coastwatch Institution, who provide eyes around the coast of the UK to observe and report potential disasters unfolding that technology cannot detect. For further information, visit www.sosradioweek.org.uk.

The UK DX Foundation will be holding its convention, dinner and 2019 AGM at the Link Hotel, Loughborough, on Saturday the 11th of May. The programme includes the AGM in the morning, afternoon DX and technical talks, and an evening dinner – with plenty of time for socialising in between. Members, XYLs and non members are welcome. Booking details can be found on the CDXC website www.cdxc.org.uk.

New videos have been added to both the RSGB Members section of the website and the RSGB YouTube channel for anyone to view. Members can view Troposcatter on the VHF Bands by Palle Hansen, OZ1RH; and Cezar Trifu, VE3LYC talking about the IOTA DXpedition to H44R & H40D. Available on the RSGB YouTube channel is why the digital mode PI4 is a success for beacons by Bo Hansen, OZ2M; and Ian White, GM3SEK’s talk on VHF baluns – fact and fancy. Go to www.rsgb.org/videos to find these and many more interesting talks.

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

Today, the 6th of May, sees the 35th Dartmoor Radio Club Rally at The Butchers Hall, Pannier Market, Tavistock. Entrance to the rally will be from the square and doors open at 10am. Admission is £2. There will be traders, a Bring & Buy and an RSGB bookstall. Refreshments will be available. Contact Roger, 2E0RPH on 07854 088 882, or email 2e0rph@gmail.com

There are no rallies in the diary for next weekend, the 11th and 12th of May.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – the print cycle means we need to know four months in advance to get your information into RadCom.

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

Brian, GW4DVB will be operating a small holiday DXpedition from the 6th to the 15th of May to Palm Island, also know as Prune Island, IOTA reference NA-025, in St Vincent and the Grenadines. He will use the callsign J88PI from the locator FK92HO. QSL, direct only, to PO Box 20:20, Llanharan, Pontyclun, Wales CF72 9ZA.

Andrey, R9YU will be active as JT9/R9YU from Mongolia until the 12th of May. He will operate SSB on the 40, 20 and 15m bands. QSL direct to his home call; note he does not use Logbook of The World or Club Log.

Mike, AC0PR will be on the air as OA3/AC0PR from Peru between the 5th and 11th of May. Activity will be limited to his spare time, most likely in one-hour sessions on the 40 to 10m bands using QRP CW. QSL via home call, and Logbook of The World.

Bernd, DL9LBR will be active as OZ/DL9LBR from Fano Island, EU-125, until the 11th of May. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the bureau.

Roland, DL1EAL will be active as PA/DL1EAL from Texel Island, EU-038, until the 9th of May. He prefers CW and all digital modes, and will be operating holiday style on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands. QSL via his home call either direct or via the bureau, eQSL and Logbook of The World.

Now the special event news

From the 4th to the 31st of May, GB9SOS will be operating as part of SOS Radio Week. The station will be operating on as many different HF and VHF bands as possible during the 28 days the station will be active. The station will be operating from 1900 to 2100UTC on weekdays and 0900 to 1600UTC at weekends. Further details can be found at www.docsvruk.com/g8xqb

Pubs and Clubs on the Air is taking place between the 10th and the 12th of May. More details can be found at www.g6tw.org.uk.

Cwmbran ARC will be operating from Llanyravon Mill, Llanyravon Way, Cwmbran on the 11th and 12th of May for Mills on the Air. Visitors are welcome.

Windmill Amateur Radio DX Group will take part in Mills on the Air on the 11th and 12th of May from Wilton Windmill, Wilton near Marlborough Wiltshire, using the callsign GB1WW.

Many other club stations will be taking part in Mills on the Air; the details we’ve been given are in the relevant parts of Local News.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. Remember that stations using UK special event callsigns must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon runs until the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just your four-character locator.

The 432MHz to 248GHz Trophy contest ends its 24 hour run at 1400UTC today, the 5th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The ARI International DX contest ends its 24 hour run today, the 5th, at 1200UTC. Using CW, phone and RTTY on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number with Italian stations also sending the Province code.

Today, the 5th of May, sees the UK Microwave Groups 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 on today, the 5th of May, the IRTS 40m Counties contest runs from 1200 to 1400UTC. Using SSB and CW the exchange is signal report and serial number. Irish stations also send their County.

On Tuesday the 144MHz Machine Generated Modes Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC with the exchange of signal report, serial number and four-character locator. It takes place at the same time as the 144MHz FM Activity Contest. Both are immediately followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest, running from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for the FMAC and UKAC is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday the 50MHz Machine Generated Mode Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and four-character locator. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 50MHz UK Activity Contest, running from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for this contest is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Sunday the 12th of May, the 70MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.

Also on Sunday the 12th, the Worked All Britain 40m phone contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using SSB only, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB area.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 3rd of May.

Well, it is now May and that means the Sporadic-E season has started. There have already been some Sporadic-E openings on 10m, but the best is yet to come. Meanwhile, a lack of sunspots and continuing coronal hole activity means F2-layer DX is a little harder to come by.

Last week’s International Marconi Day saw some reports of poor conditions, but with a few propagation nuggets to keep the spirits up. GB0CMS at Caister Lifeboat in Norfolk worked 36 countries, including eight US States and a contact with Indonesia on 20m, so there is propagation about if you look for it.

NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain around 68-72 next week and we can expect unsettled geomagnetic conditions this weekend with a maximum K index of four. Once that has passed, the rest of the week should be more settled. This is due to a large elongated coronal hole on the solar surface, the same one that was responsible for poor geomagnetic conditions on Thursday the 2nd of May. By next weekend we may see the return of sunspot groups 2738 and 2739 as they rotate into view again. The STEREO Ahead spacecraft shows they have been active, emitting solar flares and coronal mass ejections, so we might be in for a bumpy ride.

Otherwise, the HF bands are starting to stay open longer in the evening as we move towards summer, but a change in the ionospheric chemistry may mean we may have to wait until the autumn to see the return of optimum DX conditions.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

The weather charts for next week appear to be fully tilted towards the unsettled side, with low pressure either over the country, or close-by. At first this weekend there is a weak ridge of high pressure near western parts of Britain, but it will soon decline and does not look good for Tropo.

The Sporadic-E season has started for traditional modes now with paths opening into Spain on 24th and Eastern Europe on the 26th on CW and SSB.

To keep up to date, use www.propquest.co.uk to see the daily weather jet stream charts with a Sporadic-E blog detailing possible areas of interest. The main advice is to follow the jet streams and check the clusters. There is a reasonable link between meteor debris and potential Sporadic-E, so the Eta Aquarids peaking tomorrow should keep the enthusiasm going.

Look out for rain scatter on the GHz bands due to the heavy showers that are likely to be a feature of the coming week. The bigger storms with hail and thunder are the most promising, and you’ll be able to track them down using one of the many online weather displays.

The Moon reaches maximum declination this coming Thursday, and path losses are falling as it moves in to perigee a week on Monday, so it’s a good week for EME.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 28th April 2019

The news headlines:

• RSGB at IARU Region-1 Interim Meeting

• RSGB ARDF Championships next weekend

• Could you volunteer to support amateur radio?

The IARU Region-1 Interim Meeting is being held this weekend, the 27^th and 28th of April, in Vienna. It is a key opportunity for National Societies to consider changes and opportunities across at HF, VHF/Microwave and EMC matters. The RSGB has been a major contributor of inputs to the overall total of 70 papers and will have representatives in all three topics. The inputs can be found on the meeting website at https://vienna.iaru-r1.org/

The first Bank Holiday weekend sees the annual three day RSGB ARDF Championships taking place in the Thames Valley. The areas chosen are Christmas Common near Wendover, Whiteleaf near Princes Risborough and Hodgmoor Woods near Amersham. At this time of the year the forests in this country are at their best. The weather is reasonably warm and the nettles, brambles and bracken are not yet fully developed. We are welcoming small groups from Romania and the Czech Republic this year, to add an international flavour to the weekend. The competitions will comprise ‘classic’ ARDF events on 144MHz and 3.5MHz on two of the days with the final day devoted to the two ‘short format’ variants. These both use the 3.5MHz band and are FoxOring where the location of each transmitter is marked by a circle on the map. The transmitter is extremely low power (typically 30 milliwatts), which is only audible when the competitor gets close to the circle. DF is then used to actually find it either inside or close by the circle. The second is a sprint race with a total of ten 3.5MHz transmitters operating on two frequencies (five transmitters on each frequency). The top competitors will be coming back in about 20 minutes having located all ten transmitters. Needless to say the transmitters are quite close to each other. More information is available on the ARDF pages of the RSGB website and late entries are possible.

There are a number of volunteer vacancies available within the RSGB. These range from District Regional Representatives who work with clubs and individuals within part of one of the 13 Regions to the role of Beyond Exams Champion. Beyond Exams is a suite of initiatives designed to promote engagement, learning and enjoyment in amateur radio for all and someone is needed to look after the schemes under this banner. If you think you would like to volunteer within the hobby of amateur radio, go to www.rsgb.org/volunteers

Joe Taylor, K1JT has announced a new digital mode, FT4, which is 2.5 times faster than FT8 and is an experimental digital mode designed specifically for radio contesting. FT4 can work with signals 10dB weaker than needed for RTTY, while using much less bandwidth. The message formats are the same as those in FT8 and encoded with the same low-density parity check code. Transmissions last for 4.48 seconds, compared to 12.64 for FT8. Full information on FT4 is at https://tinyurl.com/y5yl66nj

SOS Radio Week will take place between 0000UTC on the 1st May and 2359UTC on the 31st of May. This annual event has been extended for 2019 to raise awareness of the amazing work that the brave volunteers of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution perform and to honour the volunteer watchkeepers of the National Coastwatch Institution who provide eyes around the coast of the UK to observe and report potential disasters unfolding that technology cannot. Individual amateur radio operators and clubs are invited to register as official SOS Radio Week stations and operate during the month to raise awareness of the invaluable work these two organisations perform. Stations can be run under individual, club, or special event callsigns, from home or other locations. There are few restrictions at to what can be done when, how, or where, other than to warn participants not to operate within the vicinity of a lifeboat or Coastwatch station without clearing it with them first. To register to take part, or for further information, please visit our website at sosradioweek.org.uk

The May edition of HackSpace magazine features amateur radio articles by Jo, MW6CYK. It is available as a free PDF. You can download it from https://tinyurl.com/y3k795t8

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

Today, the 28th of April, the Northern Amateur Radio Societies Association Exhibition will take place at the Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, Blackpool FY2 9AA. There will be a talk-in station and plenty of car parking. There will be trade stands, a Bring & Buy, special interest groups and an RSGB bookstall. Doors open at 10.30am, or 10.15 for disabled visitors. Catering is available on site. Contact Dave, M0OBW on 01270 761 608.

Today, the 28th of April, the Andover RAC Spring Car Boot Sale will be held in the Wildhern Village Hall, near Andover SP11 0JE. Opening at 10am, admission is £2. Catering is available all day. There is ample on site parking and indoor shelter should it rain. Contact Paul, G4KZY on 07775 738 200.

Next Saturday, the 5^th of May, the Thorpe Camp Hamfest will be taking place at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre. Tattershall Thorpe LN4 4PL. Doors to the public from 9am and entry is £4 per person, children under 12 free entry. More information in the events page of thorpecamp.org or Sylvia or Ant on 0795 665 4481.

Sunday 6^th of May sees the 35^th Dartmoor Radio Club Rally at The Butchers Hall, Pannier Market, Tavistock Entrance to the rally will be from the square and doors open at 10am. Admission is £2. There will be traders, a Bring & Buy and an RSGB bookstall. Refreshments will be available. Contact Roger, 2E0RPH on 07854 088 882, or by email to 2e0rph@gmail.com

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – the print cycle means we need to know four months in advance to get your information into RadCom.

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

Jean-Marc, F5SGI will be active as TM6ILE from Groix Island, EU-048, until the 4^th of May. He will operate CW only. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the bureau.

Hiro, JF1OSL, Toru, JH0CJH and Shin, JR1NHD will operate as MD0HWX, MD0ITP and MD0IUX respectively holiday style from the Isle of Man, EU-116, until the 1^st of May. They will operate SSB, CW and digital modes on the 40 to 10m bands. Plans are to upload the logs to Logbook of The World and Club Log.

A team of eight Belgian operators will be active as GJ6EFW from Jersey, EU-013, until the 5^th of May. They will operate mainly SSB with some CW and FT8 on the HF bands and 6 metres. QSL via ON6EF, direct or bureau, and eQSL; they will not use Logbook of The World.

Pasi, OH3WS will be active as OJ0W from Market Reef, EU-053, until the 4^th of May. Activity will be limited to his spare time. QSL via home call, direct or bureau.

Jun, JL8AQH will be on the air as XV9XX from Hue in Vietnam until the 4th of May. He hopes to be on 40, 30, 20 and 17m and QSL requests go via Club Log OQRS.

Now the special event news

From the 4^th to the 31^st of May, GB9SOS will be operating as part of SOS Radio Week. The station will be operating on as many different HF and VHF bands as possible during the 28 days the station will be active. The station will be operating from 1900 to 2100UTC on weekdays and 0900 to 1600UTC at weekends. Further details can be found at www.docsvruk.com/g8xqb

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. Remember that stations using UK special event callsigns must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

The SP DX RTTY contest ends its 24 hour run at 1200UTC today, the 28th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number, with SP stations also sending their Province code.

Today, the 28th, the BARTG Sprint 75 contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is the serial number.

There are no contests in the diary for MONDAY TO Friday this week. But it’s a busy weekend over the 4^th and 5^th of May,

On Saturday the 4^th, the 432MHz Trophy contest runs from 1400 to 2200UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The 10GHz Trophy contest runs at the same time, also using all modes and with the same contest exchange.

The 432MHz to 248GHz Trophy contest runs for 24 hours from 1400UTC on the 4^th to 1400UTC on the 5^th. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon starts on the 4^th of May and runs until the 4^th of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just your four-character locator.

Starting at 1200UTC on the 4^th and running for 24 hours the ARI International DX contest uses CW, phone and RTTY on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands. The exchange is signal report and serial number with Italian stations also sending the Province code.

Sunday the 5^th of May sees the UK Microwave Groups 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 on Sunday the 5^th of May, the IRTS 40m Counties contest runs from 1200 to 1400UTC. Using SSB and CW the exchange is signal report and serial number. Irish stations also send their County.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4DDK on Friday the 26th of April.

Last week saw the start of the Sporadic-E season. There were reports of openings on 10m, and Andy, M0NKR even reported working The Gambia on 28MHz. This may have been a lucky F2-layer opening, but a contact is a contact!

Es signals from Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Spain, and the French beacon F5ZEH beacon on 28.231MHz, were heard on Thursday the 25th at 1300UTC.

Don’t forget that Sporadic-E can affect all the bands from 20m to 10m. The best guide may be the 10m beacons across Europe, which can act as good propagation indicators.

We’ll look at Es a little more in the VHF section.

The solar flux level dropped below 70 last week as a result of sunspot number 2738 rotating off the visible disk. Sunspot 2739 never really amounted to much and since then the solar disk has been bare. One bit of news is that the cosmic ray flux has been increasing. This is to be expected as we head towards solar minimum.

Solar activity will remain very low, unless a sunspot crops up unannounced. A small coronal hole may cause some disruption on Friday or Saturday this weekend, just in time for International Marconi Day.

HF conditions remain challenging with even 20m not fully opening until later in the morning.

NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain at about 60-70 this next week thanks to a spotless Sun. Geomagnetic conditions will be unsettled on the Saturday 27th as we said, and again on the 30th, 1st and 2nd, when the Kp index may rise to four.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

We have a low-pressure feel for many areas at first, so this spell of showery weather continues to provide a chance of rain scatter on the Gigahertz bands. The high pressure is only temporarily displaced, so as it rebuilds, to the north of Scotland in one model and to the south of Britain in another, there is clearly scope for changes to the forecast as the week progresses. Either way it does suggest that we may be able to talk of some Tropo returning in the second half of the week.

The Sporadic-E season is upon us (and has been for some time using digital modes) and on Wednesday evening the 6m band gave a brief opening from the UK to Spain and the Balearics for SSB and CW. This seemed to tie in with a strong jet stream over the Pyrenees. From the 1st May the daily Es blogs will restart on Propquest.co.uk to give some ideas as to where to find these useful jet streams.

The forecast jet stream charts at the moment suggest that this region may migrate eastwards to affect the Alps before weakening and therefore paths towards Italy and the Balkans may be activated in the first part of the week.

After the excitement of the Lyrids meteor shower, this coming week will be a little slower. The Eta Aquarids shower will peak on the 5th of May, but there are meteors associated with the shower from around the 19th of April, so expect to see bursts and pings all this week.

The Moon will continue to wane this week with the new Moon appearing on the 5^th of May. Libration will be at a minimum, but path loss will be quite high with the Moon coming off apogee (furthest distance from Earth) at the start of the week. The Moon will rise in the very early morning at the beginning of the week and with the low declination, it will set quite early. As the week progresses the Moon will set later in the day, making the later part of the week probably best for casual EME activity.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 21st April 2019

The news headlines:

• RSGB AGM on Saturday

• Ham space pioneer Owen Garriott, W5LFL, SK

• International Marconi Day next weekend

The 92nd RSGB AGM will be held at Jurys Inn, 24 Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2HQ on Saturday the 27th of April, commencing at 12 noon. Details for the 2019 AGM appeared in the April RadCom. Arrangements have been made for Members who are unable to attend the AGM to cast their votes by proxy. Details of this are at www.rsgb.org/AGM2019. Votes must be received at www.ersvotes.com/rsgb19 before 9am on Thursday the 25th of April. Lunch will be provided at the AGM for Members who notify their attendance in advance. Please register using the form on the website at www/rsgb.org/attendagm. After lunch there will be a Q & A session and a short presentation on the Es’hail-2 satellite by Dave, G8GKQ and Noel, G8GTZ.

Former US astronaut and long-duration spaceflight pioneer Owen Garriott, W5LFL, who operated the world’s first amateur radio station from space, died at the age of 88 on the 15th of April 2019. He spent a total of 70 days in space and 13 hours and 43 minutes in three separate spacewalks. According to his family, he passed away at his home in Huntsville, Alabama. You can read much more about Owen and his career, including his work to get amateur radio into space at www.ariss.org

The May RadCom includes a report that an authentic World War 2 Spy Set was recently donated to the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park. We are delighted to announce that it is now on display in the reception area, providing a focal point to engage visitors’ interest from the moment they enter the building. RSGB Members can download a free entry pass to Bletchley Park from the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org

International Marconi Day 2019 will take place on the 27th of April. Last year 74 stations were registered, all operating from a site that Marconi operated from or had a personal connection with. To see the stations involved this year, go to www.gb4imd.co.uk

The Syllabus 2019 edition of the Foundation Licence Manual is now available from the RSGB in both in hard copy and Kindle version. It has been fully revised and contains all the information required for those looking to gain their Foundation licence. Full details are on the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org

For those who send large numbers of QSL cards directly to other bureaux there is a change of address for the Canadian Incoming QSL Bureau. From the 1st of May, cards should be sent to RAC National Incoming QSL Bureau Manager, Ed Spingola, VA3TPV, PO Box 83, Streetsville, Ontario L5M 1L5, Canada.

The IARU was represented in Turkey, where committee SE24 on Short Range Devices met to undertake further work concerning Wireless Power Transmission, or WPT. SE24 is considering both WPT for electric vehicles and also generic WPT applications. The IARU has made extensive input on the potential impact on radio communications from spurious emissions from WPT devices and was represented by Region 1 President, Don Beattie, G3BJ, who is leading the IARU work on WPT.

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

There are no rallies in the diary for the Easter weekend.

On the 28th of April the Northern Amateur Radio Societies Association Exhibition will take place at the Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, Blackpool FY2 9AA. There will be a talk-in station and plenty of car parking. There will be trade stands, a Bring & Buy, special interest groups and an RSGB bookstall. Doors open at 10.30am, or 10.15 for disabled visitors. Catering is available on site. Contact Dave, M0OBW on 01270 761 608.

On the 28th of April the Andover RAC Spring Car Boot Sale will be held in the Wildhern Village Hall, near Andover SP11 0JE. Opening at 10am, admission is £2. Catering is available all day. There is ample on site parking and indoor shelter should it rain. Contact Paul, G4KZY on 07775 738 200.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – the print cycle means we need to know four months in advance to get your information into RadCom.

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

Max, DK1MAX will operate as XT2MAX from Burkina Faso until the 25th of April. He will be on CW and FT8. Please note that he will not be issuing paper QSLs. Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World.

Anders, SM0HPL is on the air from Kampala, Uganda until the 27th of April. He is operating on CW and digital in his spare time using the callsign 5X7W. QSL via Club Log OQRS.

Bruce, AD7MM, Doug, W6HB and Marilyn, KI7DLK will be active holiday style as E51BAS, E51DLD and E51MAS respectively from Rarotonga in the South Cook Islands, IOTA reference OC-013, between the 21st and the 28th of April. QSL via the operator’s instructions.

Look for JL3YWN/6, JI3DST/6 and JS6RRR to be active from the Miyako Islands, AS-079, from the 24th of April to the 7th of May. Activity will be on the 80 to 6m bands using SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL via Club Log OQRS.

Tak, JR1LZK/6 and Mitsu, JE1HXZ/6 will be active from Iriomote Island, AS-024, from the 26th of April to the 6th of May. They will operate CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 on the 80 to 6m bands. QSL via home calls, either direct or via the bureau and Logbook of The World.

Now the special event news

Special callsigns 4Z64EURO, 4X64S, 4X64O, 4X64N and 4X64G will be active from the 18th of April to the 18th of May for the 64th Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel between the 14th and 18th of May. QSL via Logbook of The World and eQSL. Certificates will be available for download, see 4Z64EURO on QRZ.com for the rules.

During the Easter Weekend, broadcasts from Radio Caroline are being sponsored by Martin Lynch, G4HKS in memory of former employee Graeme Platts, G4XOF who sadly passed away due to cancer last November. Listen on 648kHz or via their website www.RadioCaroline.co.uk

OE19M will be on the air for 72 hours between the 26th and 28th of April as an official International Marconi Day station. Contacts made on Saturday, the 27th of April, are valid for the IMD Award. QSL info is on QRZ.com

EI0MAR will be part of International Marconi Day on the 27th of April, operating from the Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio in Howth. The Marconi Company conducted wireless telegraphy tests at the Martello Tower in 1905. If you would like to come along that day as a visitor or operator you will be most welcome.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. Remember that stations using UK special event callsigns must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

This weekend the First Machine Generated Mode Contest ends its 24 hour run at 1400UTC today, the 21st. Using MGM on the 50 and 144MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and four-character locator.

On Monday the IRTS 70cm Counties Contest runs from 1200 to 1300UTC. It is immediately followed by the IRTS 2m Counties Contest from 1300 to 1500UTC. Both contests use FM and SSB. The exchange is signal report and serial number, with EI and GI stations also sending their county.

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.

On Wednesday the UK EI Contest Club contest takes place on 80m between 1900 and 2000UTC. Using CW only, the exchange is your 4-character locator.

On Thursday the 80m Club Championships runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using RTTY and PSK the exchange is signal report and serial number.

The SP DX RTTY contest runs from 1200UTC on the 27th to 1200UTC on the 28th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number, with SP stations also sending their Province code.

On Sunday the 28th, the BARTG Sprint 75 contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is the serial number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4DDK

As this version of GB2RS is being compiled early on Thursday, rather than the normal Friday, the propagation report has not yet been prepared. Once it is available, likely to be on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, a new version of the script will be uploaded and the RSGB website will be suitably updated.

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 14th April 2019

The news headlines:

• Artistic SSTV from Iceland

• ML&S sponsors Radio Caroline

• GB2RS Manager Ken Hatton, G3VBA, SK

Until the 29th of April, as part of an art installation in Iceland by Lucy Helton, KD2MFV, SSTV images will be transmitted by TF3JA. The images, appropriated from the Reykjavik Museum of Photography’s collection, are of Icelandic glaciers photographed many years ago. Amateur radio operators who receive these transmissions are being asked to print out the images received and post them back to Lucy, using instructions on the website www.lucyhelton.com. In exchange, when she has assembled the printed pieces to reconstruct the whole image transmitted, QSLs of the completed images will be sent back to the participating amateurs. Each single transmission consists of 12 SSTV images and five different glacier images will be transmitted over 15 days. Look for USB signals on 14.230MHz at 1300, 1800 and 2300UTC.

Over the Easter Weekend of the 18th to 21st of April, Martin Lynch of ML&S is sponsoring broadcasts transmitted from Radio Caroline in memory of his old employee Graeme Platts, G4XOF, who passed away last November due to cancer. One of Graeme’s last ‘bucket list’ visits was to the ship itself arranged by Martin. The history of Radio Caroline is an interesting one being one of the most famous Pirate Radio Stations in the 1960s. There are several radio amateurs on the ship and the full history can be seen on their website. Listen on 648kHz AM or via their website, www.RadioCaroline.co.uk

Sad news next. Ken Hatton, G3VBA, the GB2RS Manager, became silent key at the end of last week. He was appointed as GB2RS Manager on the 1st of January 2014, taking over from Gordon Adams, G3LEQ. Ken will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park will be holding its first-ever ElectroJumble on Sunday the 21st of April. Over the years they have accumulated many pieces of electronic apparatus and components that are surplus to requirements. Items for sale will include test equipment, military items, domestic radios, telecommunication equipment and vintage components. Details can be found via www.tnmoc.org

The IARUMS Region 1 Newsletter for March 2019 is now available at www.iaru-r1.org. The Monitoring System report includes details of intruders on the amateur bands from Richard, G4DYA, the Intruder Watch Coordinator who runs the RSGB Monitoring System.

GB2DAY is on the air for its final day today, the 14th, to promote the opening of the Teleprinter Building at Bletchley Park, which houses a fantastic D-DAY exhibition entitled Interception / Intelligence / Invasion. The new exhibition is open as part of the general admission to Bletchley Park museum, located near Milton Keynes. RSGB members can gain free access to Bletchley Park and the National Radio Centre by downloading and printing a voucher from the RSGB website. See www.rsgb.org/bletchleyvoucher for instructions.

The RSGB has released a vintage silent black and white video of an Amateur Radio Direction Finding field day. The video, called D/F Field Day North of the Thames, May 18th 1947, was filmed at Chipping Barnet. It has been added to the many amateur radio videos that can be viewed on the Society’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_LHb3wPAfE

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

We have been asked to clarify definitively that the Andover rally is on the 28th of April and NOT on the 18th, as has been reported incorrectly by some non-RSGB sources.

Today, the 14th, the West London Radio & Electronics Show will take place at Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames TW16 5AQ. A talk-in station will be on air. Car parking is free and doors open at 10am, with disabled visitors gaining access 10 minutes earlier. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy as well as special interest groups and lectures. Catering is available on site. More details from Paul, M0CJX on 08451 650 351.

Also today, the 14th, the Hack Green Bunker Rally will be held at the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, French Lane, Hack Green, near Nantwich, Baddington, Cheshire CW5 8AL. It is a sale of electronic equipment, amateur gear, components, military radio items and vehicle spares. Doors open 10am, and there will be refreshments available onsite. Contact 01270 623 353 for more information.

The Ripon Radio Rally, on the 14th, will take place in Hugh Ripley Hall, Ripon, HG4 2PT. Doors open at 10am. Refreshments will be available on site. Information and a table booking form are at www.ripon.org.uk

There are no rallies in the diary for Easter weekend. The next ones are on the 28th at Blackpool and Andover.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know about four months in advance for RadCom.

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

Mart, DL6UAA will be on the air as OH0UA from the Aland Islands, IOTA reference EU-002, until the 19th of April. He will operate on CW and digital and QSLs go via his home callsign.

Chris, VK3FY and Dindo, DU1UD will be active as 4E8T from Tawi Tawi Island, OC-174, from the 19th to the 23rd of April. They will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on the 40 to 20m bands. QSL via M0OXO’s OQRS.

Evert, PA2KW will be active as 5T2KW from Nouadhibou, Mauritania until the 19th of April. Operating as a guest at the QTH of 5T5PA, he will use CW and maybe some SSB. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS, preferred, and Logbook of The World.

There will be some IOTA activity from Djibouti in the coming weeks. Christian, EA3NT with MM0NDX and MM0OKG and will travel to Sept Freres Island, IOTA AF-059. They hope to be on the island from the 16th to the 18th of April using the callsign J20DX. This will be followed by activity from Moucha Island, IOTA AF-053, on the 18th and 19th of April signing J20DX/P. Dates may vary due to local conditions.

Now the special event news

A special event station to commemorate the Battle of Culloden will be on the air on the 16th and 17th of April from the Highland Astronomical Society, Culloden Battlefield, Culloden Moor, Inverness IV2 5EU. Using the callsign GB0BOC, the station will be on the air from 9am to 8pm.

GB0GKA, operated by Tony, G3ZRJ, and GB0GKB, operated by Larry, G4HLN, will be representing Portishead Radio during this year’s Maritime Radio Day. The event will run from 1200UTC on the 14th of April until 2200UTC on the 15th.

Special callsigns 4Z64EURO, 4X64S, 4X64O, 4X64N and 4X64G will be active from the 18th of April to the 18th of May for the 64th Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel between the 14th and 18th of May. QSLs via Logbook of The World and eQSL. Certificates will be available for download, see 4Z64EURO on QRZ.com for the rules.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. Remember that UK special event callsign stations must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

Today, the 14th, the First 50MHz contest takes place from 0900 and 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number locator and Postcode.

Also today, the 14th, the Worked All Britain Data Contest runs from 1000 to 2200UTC. Using the 3.5 to 14MHz contest bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB number.

On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next weekend the First Machine Generated Mode Contest runs from 1400UTC on the 20th to 1400UTC on the 21st. Using MGM on the 50 and 144MHz bands the exchange is signal report and four-character locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4DDK on Friday the 12th of April.

This has been a difficult time for HF. The solar wind has remained active and the Bz component exhibited several periods of prolonged southward deflection, meaning it more easily coupled with the Earth’s magnetic field. Solar wind speed ranged mostly from 425-475km per second and this was enough to keep the Kp index elevated, often to four. The net result was that conditions were pretty rotten, with even 14MHz struggling to open at times. However, the solar flux did increase to 78 thanks to the return of sunspot number 2738. This is large, but appears to be only producing very minor B-Class flares. An isolated C-Flare may also be possible.

Next week should be more settled, geomagnetically, with a maximum Kp index of two and solar flux of 74. If the solar wind drops we may expect fair HF conditions next week.

This current solar cycle had a peak average of 82 sunspots. The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel experts have just said the next may have a slow start, but is anticipated to peak with solar maximum occurring between 2023 and 2026, and a sunspot range of 95 to 130. This is well below the average number of sunspots, which typically ranges from 140 to 220 sunspots per solar cycle.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

It seems that high pressure remains firmly in control to the north of Britain and over Scandinavia for much of the coming week. This would normally mean that Tropo should get a mention, certainly for eastern areas, but the air mass is fairly dry and therefore not ideal for producing the required change in refractive index needed for Tropo.

In the south and west there will be some spells of rain and a possibility of some rain scatter, but it will also be rather windy at times. There should be a trend later next week for a more moist and warmer flow to cross the North Sea and this could introduce extensive misty low cloud along the east coast. This is exactly what’s needed for better Tropo prospects in eastern areas.

We are rapidly approaching the Sporadic-E season and should start to see some paths on 10m and possibly 6m opening up within Europe. It is worth checking the clusters and beacons for band activity. Digital modes like FT8 will benefit first, but it is possible that SSB and CW will start to show in the second half of the month. The typical early paths are often out to the eastern Mediterranean and over the Pyrenees, usually just out of reach from the UK, but a good sign should they occur.

Although the Lyrids meteor shower does not peak until next week, the first indications of the shower will begin to be noticed around the 16th of April, probably with a gradual increase in the number of meteors encountered growing during the forthcoming week. Don’t expect great things this week, but do keep an eye on the ON4KST chat for reports of meteor bursts. Better still, keep listening on one of the more distant 6m, 4m or 2m beacons for the occasional ping.

As the moon declination decreases during the week, 144MHz moon background sky noise gradually increases. However, path degradation is low due to the moon’s closest approach, or perigee, on the 17th. Libration is also low on the 17th and this will help 1296MHz EME, as CW characters will be less ‘chopped’. The 17th would be good day to try EME.

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

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 7th April 2019

The news headlines:

• New Syllabus tutorial slides available

• Work GB2DAY at Bletchley Park

• New videos from the RSGB

The RSGB has released SDR and digital model tutorial slides to assist tutors prepare for the new 2019 syllabus, which is expected to be used for amateur radio exams from September. The slides were first presented to tutors at the SDR and Digital Syllabus Matters meeting held on the 17th of March. You can download the Model Tutorial Slides from tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0407A

GB2DAY is a special event station to celebrate and promote the opening of the Teleprinter Building at Bletchley Park, which houses a fantastic D-DAY exhibition entitled Interception / Intelligence / Invasion. The new exhibition is open from Wednesday the 11th April as part of the general admission to Bletchley Park museum, located near Milton Keynes. Operating from the RSGB’s National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park, GB2DAY will be on the air from Wednesday until Sunday, with activity in CW and SSB on the 80 and 40m bands. RSGB members can gain free access to Bletchley Park and the National Radio Centre by downloading & printing a voucher from the RSGB website.

Two new videos are now available on the RSGB YouTube channel. They are Improving your Morse Code Skills by Ray Burlingame-Goff, G4FON and FT8 performance secrets by Neil Smith, G4DBN. You can access these lectures via the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/videos

Visitor numbers to the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park continue to be high. On some days around 40% to 50% of Bletchley Park visitors visit the NRC. In March, the NRC volunteers welcomed 8,268 visitors, a significant increase on last year’s number, 2,156, and the second highest monthly number of visitors on record. With the increasing visitor numbers, Nigel Ambridge, G4FRL has joined the NRC volunteer team. If you are interested in becoming an NRC volunteer, contact martyn.baker@rsgb.org.uk

The GB3LEX 10GHz beacon was re-installed by G3TQF at the Leicestershire Repeater Group site at IO92IQ on the 30th of March at 1200UTC. Two reports from G3UKV in IO82RR and G0API in IO80XS have already been received, but further reports are always welcome via Leicestershirerepeatergroup.org.uk, beaconspot, etc. For further info see www.leicestershirerepeatergroup.org.uk.

The RSGB is looking for an enthusiastic volunteer to perform the role of Beyond Exams Champion. The post holder will play a key role in supporting the implementation of Strategy 2022, especially in the priorities of Growth, Participation and Diversity. Beyond Exams is a suite of initiatives designed to promote engagement, learning and enjoyment in amateur radio for all. As a member of the newly-formed Amateur Radio Development Committee, the Champion is needed to look after the schemes under this banner. To find out more and to apply, please email, Mark Jones, G0MGX via g0mgx@rsgb.org.uk. The closing date is Friday the 3rd of May. There is more information on the website at www.rsgb.org/volunteers

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

Today, the 7th, the Cambridge Repeater Group Rally takes place at Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Cambridge CB22 6RN. There will be a talk-in station and car parking is free. Doors open 9.30am and entry is £2. There will be traders, a Bring & Buy and an RSGB bookstall. A burger van has been booked for on-site catering. Contact Lawrence, M0LCM on 07941 972 724 or see www.cambridgerepeaters.net

Also today, the thirty-fifth Yeovil ARC QRP Convention takes place at Digby Hall, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AA. Doors open at 9.30am and admission is £3. No dogs can be admitted except Guide Dogs. The event is supported by the RSGB, RAFARS and BYLARA. There will be club stands as well as new and second-hand stalls. Two talks are scheduled: A Remarkable Very Young Lady Radio Amateur and An Introduction to Mag Loops. Refreshments will be available on site. Contact Bob Harris, G8UED via wjh069@gmail.com or see http://Yeovil-arc.com.

Next Sunday, the 14th, the West London Radio & Electronics Show will take place at Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames TW16 5AQ. A talk-in station will be on air. Car parking is free and doors open at 10am, with disabled visitors gaining access 10 minutes earlier. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy as well as special interest groups and lectures. Catering is available on site. More details from Paul, M0CJX on 08451 650 351.

Also on the 14th, the Hack Green Bunker Rally will be held at the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, French Lane, Hack Green, near Nantwich, Baddington, Cheshire CW5 8AL. It is a sale of electronic equipment, amateur gear, components, military radio items and vehicle spares. Doors open 10am, and there will be refreshments available onsite. Contact 01270 623 353 for more information.

Finally for next Sunday, the Ripon Radio Rally will take place in Hugh Ripley Hall, Ripon, HG4 2PT. Doors open at 10am. Refreshments will be available on site. Information and a table booking form are on the website www.ripon.org.uk

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website, please send details as early as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we need to know about four months in advance for RadCom.

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

John, W5JON will be on the Caribbean island of St Kitts, IOTA reference NA-104, throughout April. He will activate his V47JA callsign on all bands from 160 to 6m on SSB and FT8. QSL directly to his home call.

A group of Dutch operators will sign HB0/homecall from Liechtenstein until the 13th of April. The QSL manager is PE1FLO.

Livio, IZ3BUR is now about halfway through his month-long visit to Guinea-Bissau. He is very active using his J52EC callsign. QSL via his home call.

Jerry, F4HJO will be active as F4HJO/P from Belle Ile en Mer, EU-048, from the 13th to the 21st of April. He will operate SSB, RTTY and FT8 on 80 to 15m. QSL via Club Log OQRS, or via the bureau to home call.

Harald, DF2WO will be active as XT2AW from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso between the 7th and the 26th of April. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS and Logbook of The World.

Now the special event news

The Windmill Amateur Radio DX Group will put GB1RY on the air today, the 7th of April. Operating from RAF Ramsbury near Marlborough in Wiltshire, they are taking part in Airfields on the Air over the weekend. Details are at www.rafars.org/rafaota/

Special event station OL75CLAY will be active from the 12th of April to the 31st of July to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the Clay paratroops in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The main mode will be CW, but they also want to be active on SSB, FM and possibly digimodes. Every first QSO will be answered by a special QSL card sent via the Bureau. Please do not send your cards. They will also answer every SWL report sent via bureau to OK2PXJ or via email. Send a SASE for direct requests.

2019 will see the 50th anniversary of landing men on the Moon. One of the places that the astronauts trained was the mile-wide Meteor Crater in Arizona. During 2019, Northern Arizona DX Association will set up and operate K7M until the 13th of April from the Meteor Crater National Natural Landmark. Other activations will follow throughout the year.

The Yukon Canam Contest Club has secured Canadian special prefixes for use by all Canadian licensees until the 28th of May. VEs can use CK, VAs can use CJ, VYs can use CZ and VOs can use CY. The special prefixes are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act of Canada. The club itself has secured the special call CZ1Z. Please QSL via Logbook of The World.

Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, as early as possible, for free publicity on GB2RS, in RadCom and online. Remember that UK special event callsign stations must be open to the public, so our free publicity can help make your efforts more widely known.

Now the contest news

The 24-hour SP DX contest ends its 24 hour run at 1500UTC today, the 7th. Using CW or SSB on 1.8 to 28MHz, the exchange is signal report and serial number. SP stations also send their Province code.

Today, the 7th, the First 70MHz contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, signal report, serial number and locator form the exchange.

Also today, the RSGB RoLo HF Championship event takes place. Running from 1930 to 2030UTC, this SSB contest uses the 80m band only. The exchange is signal report plus the locator you received.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 80m Club Championships runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB only, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Thursday the 50MHz Machine Generated Mode Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1900UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and four character locator. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 50MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next Sunday, the 14th the First 50MHz contest takes place from 0900 and 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchanges is signal report, serial number locator and Postcode.

Also next Sunday, the 14th, the Worked All Britain Data Contest runs from 1000 to 2200UTC. Using the 3.5 to 14MHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 5th of April.

Last week saw more of the same as we head towards solar minimum, which is now expected to be some time in 2020. There was a slight increase in the solar flux index later in the week as a new embryonic sunspot appeared on the visible disk. A group of three solar coronal holes threatened to cause disturbed conditions this weekend and again on the 12th of April, with NOAA predicting the Kp index could rise to four. Otherwise the geomagnetic conditions will remain settled and the solar flux index is forecast to remain at about 69-70.

This is a good time of year for North-South paths, such as the UK to South Africa and UK to South America. Maximum usable frequencies are expected to be about 14 to 18MHz. But don’t ignore 30 and 40 metres, which could still throw up some surprises, especially around sunset. There is a slight chance of openings to Australia and New Zealand on these lower bands and the HF propagation prediction tool at www.predtest.uk will help show you the best times to attempt a contact. Contacts into North Africa are also a possibility on 20-40m, especially in the early evening.

Do make the most of HF at this time as conditions are likely to get worse as we head into summer, apart from the Sporadic-E season, but more of that later.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

It’s looking like a finely balanced weather pattern with high pressure to the north of the British Isles and low pressure near to southern areas. The influence is more from low pressure at first, so there is a continuing chance of heavy April showers bringing some rain scatter to the GHz bands, just as we had last week.

As the northern high becomes stronger, it will introduce an easterly or northeasterly weather pattern, so the North Sea coast will feel very chilly. The strong winds at times will mean that Tropo doesn’t get much of a look-in in the south, although there is a possibility in the north. So, the main theme of the VHF/UHF bands will be a possible occasional bit of weak Tropo in the north, plus some rain scatter in the south. Use the online radars to see where the echo points might be.

We are approaching mid April now, so it’s time to start monitoring the 6 and 10m bands for some Sporadic-E. Last week already saw cluster reports of FT8 QSOs so it will be interesting to note how this new mode is extending the Sporadic-E season.

Moon declination is positive and rising and path losses are falling this week, so it’s a good one for EME. There are no significant meteor showers, but we are only a couple of weeks away from the Lyrids on the 23rd.

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