RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for July 2nd 2023

GB2RS News

Sunday the 2^nd of July 2023

The news headlines:

• RSGB Tonight@8 webinar
• High-altitude balloon launch
• Alexanderson Day

 

 

Don’t forget that the RSGB’s next Tonight@8 webinar is this Monday the 3^rd of July, when Eric P. Nichols, KL7AJ will be presenting “Receiving antennas are different”. The Tonight@8 webinars are live-streamed for free on the RSGB’s YouTube channel and special BATC channel, allowing you to watch the presentations and ask questions online. You can find out more at rsgb.org/webinars

The team from hi-impact, based on the Wirral, is planning another high-altitude balloon launch. This time, working alongside staff and pupils from West Kirby School and College, they will launch a high-altitude balloon at 11 am, on the 11^th of July 2023, from their usual location in Cilcewydd, near Welshpool in Wales. They will be running a HABduino and encourage all amateurs and short-wave listeners to upload telemetry to SondeHub. The frequency will be 434.650MHz USB, transmitting 50 Baud RTTY, 425Hz Shift and using 8N1 data format. The callsign is WKRS_HAB. More information can be found on hi-impact’s Facebook page and on Twitter via @hiimpactconsult

Today, Sunday the 2^nd of July is Alexanderson Day and the Alexander Association plans to activate the Grimeton VLF transmitter. The transmitter is located in Sweden and is the only remaining example of an early radio transmitter known as an ‘Alexanderson Alternator’. To read more about the Alexander Association visit tinyurl.com/ALEXDAY23

Marcus, G0IJZ has recently carried out antenna modelling of the Grimeton VLF antenna using NEC-5 software. You can read more about this on a blog that Marcus has contributed to via tinyurl.com/MWALDEN

Amateurs are reminded that the special callsign GB23C, used to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, stopped being available for use on Friday the 30^th of June. The availability of special callsigns GB23BAA to GB23BZZ, used for Beaconnect events, also ended at the same time. The optional ‘R’ Coronation regional secondary locator prefix is also no longer available for use.

The RSGB’s National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park will be closed on the morning of Monday the 3^rd of July. This is to allow time for work to install a new amateur TV display. Following the work, the Centre plans to re-open around lunchtime.

This year the popular British Inland Waterways on the Air event will take place between the 26^th and 28^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, nharg.org.uk, and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2023’ link.

And now for details of rallies and events

The Barford Norfolk Radio Rally is taking place today, Sunday the 2^nd of July. The venue is Barford Village Hall and Green, Barford, Norwich, NR9 4AB. The doors open at 9 am for visitors and 8 am for traders. The event will feature trade stands, car boot sales, bring and buy, a raffle, repeater groups, catering and free car parking. Entry costs £2.50 per person. Under 16s will be admitted free of charge. For more information contact radio@dcpmicro.com and visit norfolkamateurradio.org

The Cornish Radio Amateur Club Rally will take place on Sunday the 9^th of July at Penair School, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 1TN. Doors open at 10.30 am and admission is £3. There will be traders, bring and buy and club stalls. Car parking and catering are available on-site. Contact Ken, G0FIC on 01209 821073 for more information.

The McMichael Radio and Electronics Rally and Car Boot Sale will take place on Sunday the 16^th of July. The venue will be Reading Rugby Club which offers a bar and catering facilities and has ample free parking. Admission will be £3 per person and £10 per table for traders. Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue will be in attendance to provide a First Response service. Visit mcmichaelrally.org.uk for more information and contact details.

 

Now the Special Event News

Today is the last chance to work F1IEH who is active as TM100GPF in celebration of the ‘24 Hours of Le Mans' event. The special callsign's suffix stands for ‘Grand Prix de France’, the motor race held in June 1906 that has become known as the first Grand Prix. QSL via F1IEH’s home call.

As part of the ‘Crank It Up!’ STEM Event at Beamish Museum today, the 2^nd of July, The Bishop Auckland Radio Amateur Club is operating a special event station GB4BM from the 1950s Welfare Hall. They will be operating a range of amateur radio equipment covering HF Voice, HF Data, VHF FM, SSB, DMR and internet-assisted modes. The digital and internet-assisted stations are being run by the Extended Freedom Network team and will allow the special event station to be contacted by a very diverse range of connection types from across the world. For further details visit extendedfreedom.network

Commemorating the role that radio, and radio amateurs, had in rescuing the survivors of the airship 'Italia' disaster, special callsigns RT95NS, RT95MS and RT95KG are active until the 12^th of July. The suffixes memorialise the radio amateurs who first picked up the SOS call on the 3^rd of June 1928, and radio operators on board two of the ships that participated in the search and rescue operations. R1LK will also be active onboard the amateur radio station of the 'Krasin', the icebreaker that reached the castaways on the 12^th of July 1928. Certificates will be available on hamlog.online for contacts made with these stations.

 

Now the DX news

Don, K6ZO will be active as 7Q6M from northern Malawi until, possibly, the end of July. He expects to put special emphasis on the 6m band during his visit. He is joined by Jerry, W1IE and Bill, KC4D today, the 2^nd of July. Their operations will likely be restricted to the evening hours of 1800 to 0000UTC and occasionally the early morning hours of 0300 to 0500UTC. See QRZ.com for QSL information.

Roland, F8EN is active as TR8CR from Gabon until the 12^th of August. He operates CW only, usually on the 30 to 10m bands. QSL via F6AJA.

 

Now the contest news

The VHF National Field Day Contest ends its 24-hour run at 1400UTC today, the 2^nd of July. Using all modes on the 6m, 4m, 2m and 70cm bands, and 1.3GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also today, the 2^nd of July, the 3^rd 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Monday the 3^rd of July, the 80m Club Championship CW Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Tuesday the 4^th of July, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also on Tuesday the 4^th of July, the 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 5^th of July, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 5^th of July, the 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest.

On Sunday the 9^th of July, the UK Microwave Group 24, 47 and 76GHz Contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 24, 47 and 76GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The IARU HF Championship starts its 24-hour run at 1200UTC on Saturday the 8^th of July. Using CW and SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and ITU zone. The UK is in zone 27.

 

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 29^th of June 2023

The solar flux index stayed in the 150s and 160s last week, which is good news for HF propagation. From a flare and CME perspective, we have been lucky in that we have only had a few solar flares, all of which have been C- or M-class.

As a result, the Kp index has remained fairly low, being in the range of one to three after the rise to a Kp of five on the 25^th due to the solar wind’s magnetic field, or Bz, tipping south.

We are, however, still in the summer doldrums, so daytime DX is limited thanks to D-layer absorption. We still recommend checking the bands at night as the MUF over 3,000km is still exceeding 14MHz and often reaching 18MHz at times. During the day Sporadic-E may still keep you entertained on the higher HF bands.

 

Daytime critical frequencies are around 5.2 to 6.7MHz according to the Dourbes ionosonde, which means you may find close-in contacts tricky on the 40m band at times, whereas more DX distances are still fine. Near vertical incidence skywave or NVIS, 40m signals may not be returned to Earth with that critical frequency.

Looking ahead, active sunspot region 3354 was pointing directly at the Earth on Thursday but has so far been behaving itself with mostly C-class flare events. It is still the most likely candidate for a coronal mass ejection, or CME, over the weekend.

Next week the Space Weather Prediction Centre has the Solar Flux Index declining to 130 before picking up later in the week to perhaps 145. The Kp index should remain around two unless we have a CME which could see it rising to five with the attendant lowering of the MUF.

Meanwhile, you can get an idea of the best times to work various parts of the world by using the free Proppy software at soundbytes.asia/proppy or via VOACAP.com

 

And now the VHF and up propagation news

The next week or so looks likely to continue in a very unsettled theme with low pressure residing over Scandinavia for much of the time and producing a west or north-westerly pattern over the UK.

This will mean that tropo propagation will not be a large part of our operations during the period ahead. On the other hand, the frequent spells of fronts with prolonged rain or heavy summer showers will make rain-scatter modes a good use of time on the GHz bands.

Talking of scatter modes, we are not in a major meteor shower at present, so random meteors are a good fail-safe although it can entail spending a lot of time in the process.

The solar conditions, as previously mentioned, can be unsettled at the moment, and thus there is a potential for radio aurora if the Kp index goes above seven or so, even though daylight makes visible events unlikely at this time of the year.

Lastly, the Sporadic-E situation is still our primary focus as we move into July. Days with good jet stream activity over Europe are good signs, whereas a high Kp index or solar flares are generally not so good.

Of course, there are many other parameters involved and one of the critical components is likely to be the random meteor count which shows how much meteor debris might be available to make the Sporadic-E patches. In a roundabout way, if you monitor the meteor pings you might get a feel for how the Sporadic-E prospects are stacking up.

The Moon declination is negative all week so there will be short Moon windows. Tuesday’s perigee means that path losses are at their lowest for the month. 144MHz sky noise is high this weekend but falling back to low levels by the end of the week.

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