RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for 11th August 2024

GB2RS News

Sunday the 11^th of August 2024

 

The news headlines:

• The RSGB 2024 Convention will have a mix of presentations, workshops and forums to suit a broad range of interests
• The RSGB welcomes University Technical College South Durham Radio Club to its School Zone webpage
• The RSGB’s Awards Manager has issued an update about operating awards

 

The RSGB Convention this year will have a mix of presentations, workshops and forums to enable you to take part in the content that suits you. On Saturday morning there will be an EMC and EMF Update presentation, followed by an informal EMC and EMF Clinic in the afternoon. Led by RSGB EMC Committee Chair John Rogers, M0JAV with Ian White, GM3SEK and Peter Zollman, G4DSE who are two of the committee’s EMF Consultants, these sessions are not to be missed. Head to the presentation to hear the latest updates and then take your EMC and EMF problems to the clinic where John, Ian, Peter and other specialists will be available to help. This is just one of the great amateur radio topics being covered at this year’s event. To book your Convention tickets, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/convention

The RSGB is thrilled to welcome the University Technical College South Durham Radio Club to its School Zone webpage. The Club, which is operating using callsign M1UTC, is being led by Professor Ian Neal, M0KEO who is also the RSGB's British Science Week Coordinator. The Club is looking forward to operating at the start of the new term in September. If you’d like to view contact details for this, or any of the other school and college amateur radio clubs, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/school-zone  The RGSB also has a list of university amateur radio clubs, which you can find by visiting rsgb.org/university-corner  If you are part of a school, college or university club that isn’t currently listed on any of these pages, please email the name of the club, contact details and any supporting weblinks to comms@rsgb.org.uk

As part of the RSGB’s commitment to keeping members updated, the Awards Manager has issued some key messages about RSGB operating awards so far this year. Lindsay Pennell, G8PMA is always keen to hear from radio amateurs about the type of awards they enjoy and new ones they would like the RSGB to develop if possible. One of the ideas he is considering is a series of variations on the Marathon/Challenge idea that runs over a specified time period to achieve target criteria – would that interest you? Also, if you’re a keen award chaser and would like to share your story, Lindsay would love to hear from you! You can contact him via awards@rsgb.org.uk and you can see the key messages on his page of the RSGB website. Go to rsgb.org.uk and search for Awards Manager.

Don’t forget to listen out for all the stations that will be on the air during International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on Saturday the 17^th and Sunday the 18^th of August. This is one of the most popular amateur radio events in the calendar and in past years there have been more than 500 entries from over 40 different countries. More details about the event and a registration form can be found at illw.net

The British Inland Waterways on the Air event will take place between Saturday the 24^th and Monday the 26^th of August. The event is open to amateurs who use canals, towpaths, rivers, lakes or reservoirs for work or recreation. Registration for the event is now open. To sign up, visit Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group’s website at nharg.org.uk and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2024’ link.

National Hamfest 2024 is taking place on the 27^th and 28^th of September and promises to be an unforgettable celebration of all things amateur radio. As always, the traders and manufacturers are lining up to bring you the best in amateur radio equipment and accessories. Many exhibitors will be offering exclusive deals, making it the perfect time to upgrade your gear or add new items to your shack. For those eager to secure their spot, online ticket sales are open and an early-bird discount is available until the 31^st of August. For more information and to purchase your tickets, visit nationalhamfest.org.uk 

Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk  The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week.

 And now for details of rallies and events

Flight Refuelling Amateur Radio Society’s Hamfest is taking place today, the 11^th of August. The venue is Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne in Dorset. The doors are open from 9 am to 4 pm and admission, which includes parking, costs £5. Catering and a bar are available on-site. For more information visit frars.co.uk/hamfest

Rugby Amateur Transmitting Society’s Annual Radio Rally is scheduled to take place on Sunday the 18^th of August at Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby. The doors will be open from 10 am to 4 pm, but sellers can gain access from 8 am. The admission fee is £4 per person. Pre-booked pitches cost £15. On the day, pitches will cost £20. For more information email rally@rugbyats.co.uk or visit rugbyats.co.uk

West Manchester Radio Club’s Red Rose Summer Rally is set to take place on Sunday the 18^th of August at St Joseph’s Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh, WN7 2PJ. The doors open at 10 am. For further information and bookings, email rally@wmrc.co.uk or phone 07796 264 569.

Now the Special Event news

Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club will be active from all three lighthouses on Rathlin Island during International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on Saturday the 17^th and Sunday the 18^th of August. Operators will be working on the 80 to 10m bands using SSB, CW and FT8.  Listen out for special event callsigns, GB1RP, GB2EL and GB2WL which will all be in use. For more information, visit the QRZ.com page for each of the callsigns.

Danish Amateur Radio Experimenters are activating special event stations in Denmark to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of Islands on the Air, or IOTA. There will be various activities from both fixed island amateur radio stations and from island expeditions to some of the 101 Danish IOTA islands. All amateur radio bands can be used with CW, SSB, RTTY and several digital modes. A diploma for contacts, and shortwave listener reports, with special event stations achieved during the period from the 1^st of July to the 31^st of August 2024 will be available. All logs will be uploaded to Clublog and Logbook of the World. For more information visit the OZ60IOTA page at QRZ.com

The Unicom Radio Club is operating using the special event callsign GB1URC until the 4^th of September. The activity marks the official introduction of this international Club to the amateur radio community. For more information visit unicomradio.com/gb1urc

Now the DX news

Emil, DL8JJ is active as OX/DL8JJ from Greenland until the 15^th of August. He is operating on the HF bands using CW from a camp at Tasiilaq, NA-151, and from various locations on the main island, NA-018.

Rafael, NN3RP is active as YN2RP from Nicaragua until the 20^th of August. He is operating using SSB, CW, FT8 and FT4 on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World, eQSL, or directly to NN3RP.

Now the contest news

On Tuesday the 13^th, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also, on Tuesday the 13^th, the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The Worked All Europe DX CW Contest started at 0000UTC on Saturday the 10^th and runs until 2359UTC today, Sunday the 11^th of August. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Wednesday the 14^th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 14^th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest.

On Thursday the 15^th, the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 8^th of August 2024

Well, so much for the experts! NOAA predicted that the solar flux index would fall last week when it increased to a whopping 303 on Thursday the 8^th.

But this high solar flux number was accompanied by a strong risk of solar flares, so it was not all plain sailing. We have had 15 M-class and two X-class solar flare events over the past three days and the threat remains high.

Coronal mass ejection activity on Wednesday resulted in NOAA and the Space Weather Prediction Centre warning of possible moderate G2 geomagnetic storming towards the later part of week ending the 11^th of August. This could see the Kp index rise and the maximum usable frequency fall.

Hopefully, conditions will improve after the weekend.

Last week was a good one for HF propagation with a high solar flux index and low Kp index. The 10m band was open to Brazil in the late afternoon, and this appeared to be F2-layer propagation and not multi-hop Sporadic-E.

Meanwhile, the 15m band has perhaps been the DX band of choice with long openings to the Far East, at least on FT8, and North America at the same time. HF conditions should also improve as we move into September, but more on that closer to the time.

Attention now shifts to N5J on Jarvis Island, an uninhabited 4.5-kilometre-squared coral island in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. The DXpedition is active on all bands and their website at Jarvisisland2024.com can provide you with personalised propagation forecasts – let us know if you work them.

Using Proppy at soundbytes.asia or VOAcap at voacap.com, shows that 20, 17 and 15m  short-path seem to offer the best chance of working the DXpedition, with morning openings from around 0600 to 1000UTC. There is also a potential long-path opening between 1800 and 2000 UTC, with a possibility of the 10m band at 1900 UTC. Both are near polar paths and may be adversely affected by a high Kp index.

CDXC members with good stations have already reported QSOs with N5J on the 17m band using FT8.

Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be in the range of 185 to 240. Geomagnetic conditions will depend on whether we have more solar flares and coronal mass ejections, and the chance of those remains high.

An Earth-facing coronal mass ejection could send the Kp index soaring, and that will no doubt lead to reduced maximum useable frequencies and noisy bands. So, fingers crossed for more quiet geomagnetic conditions and low Kp indices!

And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO

The summer tries to deliver but, overall, the pattern has a rather unsettled flavour to it for the coming week.

On the positive side, we see a transient area of high pressure crossing southern Britain over this weekend, ending today the 11^th. This could give some Tropo conditions but, after this, the Atlantic westerly flow brings a succession of fronts and showers to most areas.

In terms of propagation, this suggests that rain scatter will have the best of it in the week ahead.

The Sporadic-E season remains a good fallback and surprised us in East Anglia mid-morning on Tuesday the 6^th of August with 144MHz Sporadic-E propagation to YU, HA, 9A and LZ moving around towards Italy as the opening progressed.

All were workable with 100W and a white stick antenna on FT8. For the coming week, the jet stream activity will probably start by favouring paths to Scandinavia and the Baltic. Later in the week, a new jet stream will drive southeast into Iberia, opening up chances for paths to EA and CT.

The Perseids meteor shower this week will provide welcome new fuel for Sporadic-E and, as a result, like most years, we’ll see openings into the first week of September.

The meteor scatter highlight is the Perseids meteor shower, which peaks on Monday and Tuesday. So, there are plenty of opportunities to try a new mode or fill in some missing grid squares if you are already involved in meteor scatter.

Many websites explain what it's all about, but one to start you off is g7rdx.co.uk  Also, try looking for videos of meteor activity on SDR radios to get an idea of what it all sounds like.

The solar conditions lately have been rather disturbed. It would not be surprising if the Kp index was to suggest that aurora could be a possibility if it gets to 5 or higher.

Moon declination is negative and reaches minimum on Thursday the 15^th, which means there will be short Moon visibility windows and low peak elevation. Path losses will decrease throughout the week and 144MHz sky noise is low over the weekend, but climbing to reach a high peak of over 3200 Kelvin on the 15^th. 

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