RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for February 26th 2023

GB2RS News

Sunday the 26^th of February 2023

The news headlines:

• RSGB Board Update
• New RSGB Youth Champion
• Celebrating BBC Broadcasting in Scotland

 

The RSGB President Stewart Bryant, G3YSX has reported that due to the workload of the Board and the number of remaining members, the Board thought it prudent to ask Ian Shepherd, G4EVK to re-join the RSGB Board as a co-opted Director until the AGM. After the AGM and the elections, the Board will look at its membership and will likely make further co-options. The RSGB Company Secretary fulfils an important role in the AGM proceedings and so Stephen Purser, GW4SHF was asked to return to this role until the AGM, whilst the Society appoints a new Company Secretary through the usual process. If you are an RSGB Member and would be willing to undertake the duties of RSGB Company Secretary, or if you would like further information about the role, please contact the General Manager’s department via gm.dept@rsgb.org.uk

Liam Robbins, G5LDR has been appointed as the RSGB’s new Youth Champion. He gained his Foundation licence in 2021 and his Full licence in late 2022. Liam plans to encourage the use of amateur radio with local Scouts and he is also keen to revive radio societies at universities and colleges. He is eager to work with younger radio amateurs and to engage with outreach programmes that clubs are already running. Liam is looking forward to working with the current RSGB Youth Team. You can email him at youth.champion@rsgb.org.uk

At 7 pm on the 6^th of March 1923, BBC broadcasting in Scotland officially began. The studio was housed in a small attic apartment at Rex House in Bath Street, Glasgow, and the transmitter at Port Dundas. Using 1.5kW on 722kHz, the station was allocated the callsign 5SC. This year, 100 years to the day, the BBC Amateur Radio Group will be celebrating the anniversary with a special event callsign GB5SC. The operation will take place on the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th of March, from the present BBC Pacific Quay headquarters, using HF, VHF, UHF and QO-100. The BBC club team is being joined by operators from the West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society. For more information, visit the GB5SC page at QRZ.COM and the wosars. club website.

The next RSGB Tonight@8 live webinar takes place on Monday the 6^th of March. Barry Lewis G4SJH, RSGB Microwave Manager, will talk about contesting in the microwave and millimetre wave bands at 23cm and above. He’ll cover the frequency bands, contest activity sessions, special rules and equipment needed. Although similar to VHF and UHF contesting, the microwave and millimetre wave bands bring additional challenges which will be discussed, along with the awards and trophies that can be won. You can watch and ask questions live on the RSGB YouTube channel. Find out more on the Society’s website at rsgb.org/webinars

This is a final call for entries in the RSGB Construction Competition as the deadline is this Wednesday, the 1^st of March. The four categories are Beginners; Construction excellence; Innovation; and Software. The judges will give special recognition to entries submitted by radio amateurs under the age of 24 and also to those who have just gained their Foundation licence. There are cash prizes in every category. If you’re a new licensee or new to construction, don’t be worried about submitting your entry – read the stories of last year’s winners and runners-up and be inspired to enter your project! You can read their stories and find out how to enter on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/construction-competition

SOS Radio Week 2023 starts at 0000UTC on the 1^st of May and concludes at 2359 on the 31^st of May. It is an opportunity to support the many voluntary organisations in the British Isles whose members volunteer to save the lives of others at risk around the many miles of its coastline, and out at sea. These organisations include the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the National Coastwatch Association and numerous independent lifeboat and coastal rescue groups. Individual amateur radio operators and clubs are invited to register to become an official SOS Radio Week station and operate under their own callsign, their club’s or a special event callsign to raise awareness of the great work these volunteers perform. Awards are available for registered stations that make the most contacts on each of the 160m to 70cm bands and use various modes. Registration is now open and further details can be found at sosradioweek.org.uk

 

And now for details of rallies and events

West Manchester Radio Club’s Red Rose Rally will take place today, Sunday the 26^th of February. The event is being held at St. Joseph’s Hall, Leigh, WN7 2PJ. Free parking, café services and a raffle are among the attractions on offer. For further information visit: wmrc.co.uk/rally.htm

The Lagan Valley Amateur Radio Society is holding its annual rally on the 4^th of March. The venue will be the Hillsborough Village Centre, 7 Ballynahinch Road, BT26 6AR. Doors open at 10.30 am. For more information visit www.lvars.uk

Exeter Radio and Electronics Rally is taking place on Sunday the 5^th of March. The venue for the event will be America Hall, De la Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter EX4 8PW. The doors will open at 10.30 am for everyone and 10.15 am for disabled visitors. Admission is £3. Entry for those under 16s is free. There will be trade stands and bring and buy.

The South Kesteven Amateur Radio Society Junk Sale will take place on Saturday the 11^th of March at the  Railway Club, Grantham, NG31 7AU. Doors open for traders at 8 am. Traders are asked to bring their own table. Doors are open to the public between 9.30 am and 1 pm. Admission for traders is £5, and for the public £1. Refreshments will be available on-site. Contact Stewart, M0SDM for more details via s.mason@skars.co.uk

 

Now the Special Event News

Members of Radio Club Jean Bart, F6KMB will be active as TM6C until Monday the 27^th of February during the traditional Dunkirk Carnival. QSL via F6KMB.

The Vienna International Centre Amateur Radio Contest DX Club is expected to be active as 4UNR until Tuesday the 28^th of February. The location counts as Austria for DXCC and for the Vienna International Centre for the CQ DX Marathon. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS or via UA3DX.

Special callsign OZ625E will be active until Tuesday the 28^th of February for the opening of the new Enigma Museum of Communications in Copenhagen. An award will be available for contacts with OZ625E stations with different suffixes. More information about the special callsign and the award can be found via the OZ625E QRZ.com page.

This year Dennis, G7AGZ will again be running a radio project in aid of Cornwall Hospice Care. This will be in two parts. The first part will be a special event station with the callsign GB0CHC and will run from the 1^st of April for 28 days. Dennis plans to activate all bands from 80m to 70cms and operate using SSB, FM and DMR. The second part will be a coast-to-coast walk in Cornwall in the summer. Details will be released nearer the time. More details, including a link to Dennis’s JustGiving page, are on the G7AGZ QRZ.com web page.

Now the DX news

Philippe, F1DUZ will be active as FG4KH from Guadeloupe, NA-102, until the 8^th of March, including participation in the SSB leg of the French HF Championship and the ARRL DX SSB Contest. QSL via Logbook of the World, eQSL or via F1DUZ.

Jozef, ON6HX will be operating as YB9/ON6HX from Lombok Island, OC-150, until Wednesday the 8^th of March. He expects to be available on the 80 to 10m bands using all modes including CW. QSL via his home call, directly or the bureau, Logbook of the World and eQSL.

Lars, SM6NT will be active as HS0ZME from Thailand until Thursday the 2^nd of April. He will operate mainly using CW on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via SM6NT.

Now the contest news

The CQ 160m DX Contest ends at 2200UTC today, Sunday the 26^th of February. Using SSB on the 160m band, the exchange is signal report and CQ Zone. American stations send a signal report and their State. Canadian stations send a signal report and their Province.

The French HF Championship, also known as the REF Contest, ends at 1800UTC today, Sunday the 26^th of February. Using SSB on the HF bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. French stations send their department number or overseas territory prefix.

On Wednesday the 1^st of March, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 1^st of March, the 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest.

On Wednesday the 1^st of March, the UK and Ireland Contest Club Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator.

The ARRL International DX Contest begins at 0000UTC on Saturday the 4^th of March and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 5^th of March. Using SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and transmission power. American stations send a signal report and their State. Canadian stations send a signal report and their Province.

The March 144MHz and 432MHz Contest begins at 1400UTC on Saturday the 4^th of March and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday the 5^th of March. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Sunday the 5^th of March, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 1000 to 1600UTC. 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 March, the Worked all Britain 3.5MHz Contest runs from 1800 to 2200UTC. Using CW and SSB, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked all Britain square, if applicable.

 Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 23^rd of February 2023

Last week was characterised by many low- and medium-level solar flares. At the time of writing, in the past seven days, the Sun has emitted more than 60 C-class flares, six M-class flares and one X-class flare.

The X-class flare coincided with the measurement of the solar flux index meaning an erroneous reading of 343 was logged. The next day it was back to a more accurate 167.

The solar flux index has generally declined from the 200s we saw earlier in the month and stood at 152 on Thursday the 23^rd. Nevertheless, daytime maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path still exceed 28MHz on a daily basis.

Geomagnetic conditions have been mixed with the Kp index hitting 4.67 on Thursday due to a fast solar wind.

We are heading towards the equinox period as we leave February next week and enter March. This is a time that favours North/South paths, such as the UK to South Africa and the UK to South America.

We’ll start to lose propagation to the USA on the higher bands as the Spring progresses, but don’t worry – it will be back in the Autumn!

A coronal hole is turning into an Earth-facing direction, which may cause some disruption with an increasing Kp index this weekend.

NOAA also predicts slightly worse conditions for the next week with the solar flux index declining to the 125-145 range. Unsettled conditions are predicted for the period of the 5^th to the 7^th of March, with the Kp index perhaps hitting five again.

As always, this is a guide as we are living in unpredictable times with regard to solar activity.

And now the VHF and up propagation news

The coming week looks likely to be another high-pressure period on the weather charts. As we ended this week, the high was offset to the west of Ireland but will become centred over Scotland with a colder north easterly over southern Britain.

This means that Tropo may become a mode of choice, particularly for northern areas, although this may well decline as a colder northerly starts at the end of next week. This could offer rain or snow showers with the chance of some associated GHz band scatter propagation.

As secondary options, aurora and meteor scatter remain viable, of course. Watch for a high Kp index for aurora and remember that random meteor scatter is always likely to be best around dawn.

For EME operators, the positive and rising Moon declination this week will see Moon availability windows lengthening until maximum declination on Wednesday. So, there will be high moon elevations, but path losses will continue to increase until apogee next Friday when the path loss trend will reverse.

144MHz sky noise is moderate to low for the rest of the week, only reaching 500 Kelvin on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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