RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for May 14th 2023

GB2RS News

Sunday the 14^th of May 2023

The news headlines:

• Coronation activities
• RSGB Trophy Manager
• Women in Engineering Day

 

Although the Coronation itself has taken place, the RSGB’s Coronation activities run until the end of June. After the successful Special Special Event Station run by Cray Valley Amateur Radio Society, the GB23C callsign is now open for individual radio amateurs and clubs to use. You can find out how to register via the GB23C web page on the RSGB website. You can also get involved in Beaconnect using one of the hundreds of callsigns that Ofcom has made available for this activity. RSGB District Representative Martyn, M0TEB activated GB23BIR with Furness Amateur Radio Society and said the callsign attracted a lot of interest, so they would encourage others to get involved too! You can also download a special Coronation QSL card and work towards three different RSGB Coronation awards. Details of all of these activities are on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/coronation

After serving for nine years, the RSGB Trophy Manager is retiring and the Society is looking for a new volunteer for this role. The position is part of the RSGB Volunteer Leadership Team, reporting to the Board. Working in close relationship with the three Contest Committees and the RSGB General Manager, the Trophy Manager looks after the RSGB’s trophies arranges for their engraving and presentation to recipients and maintains the trophies’ history. If you are interested in applying for the role or would like to find out more, please email gm.dept@rsgb.org.uk

We know that amateur radio is a great foundation for STEM careers. With that in mind, why not help the RSGB celebrate International Women in Engineering Day this June? The Society would love to share your stories of women in engineering roles to inspire future generations. If you, or a girl or woman you know, aspire to work in engineering, are currently working as an engineer or are retired from the profession, do get in touch with the RSGB comms team. Please send a photo and a brief story to comms@rsgb.org.uk by Monday 22 May.

Don’t forget that the RSGB’s May Tonight@8 webinar will be live tomorrow, Monday the 15^th of May. Watch the live stream and ask questions as Jack Purdum, W8TEE and Al Peter, AC8GY talk about the T41-EP ALPS: A High-Performance CW Decoder.

This a reminder now that Mills on the Air is taking place this weekend. There are plenty of stations on the air, so why not give them a call? For more information, visit the www.ddars.net website or contact millsontheair@gmail.com

Pubs and Clubs on the Air is also taking place this weekend. Today is the last chance to work stations from all over the UK that are active for the event. For more information, email g1puv@yahoo.co.uk or visit the g6tw.co.uk website.

 

And now for details of rallies and events

The Braehead Rally is taking place today, Sunday the 14^th of May. The venue is Braehead Arena Foyer, 150 Kings Inch Road, Renfrew G51 4BN. Free parking will be available. The doors open for everyone at 10 am and admission is £4. The event will feature Bring and Buy and the Central Scotland Repeater Group AGM. For more information and contact details visit www.braeheadradiorally.com

RetrotechUK, hosted by the British Vintage Wireless Society, will take place on Sunday the 21^st of May. The venue will be Sports Connexion, Leamington Road, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry, CV8 3FL. This large annual vintage technology fair will feature up to 200 indoor stalls. Private sellers, clubs and dealers will offer vintage items, including radio, television, hi-fi, vinyl, 78s, gramophones, telephones, communications equipment, spare parts, and much more. There will also be a bring-and-buy area and free parking available. The event is open to everyone and general admission from 10.30 am is £10. Early entry from 9 am costs £25. For more details contact Jeremy, G8MLK via email on jezzer3@hotmail.com, by phone on 07799 110 080, or visit www.retrotechuk.com

The Dunstable Downs Radio Club Annual National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale will be taking place on Sunday the 21^st of May. The venue will be Stockwood Park in Luton. All the usual facilities will be there. For more information visit www.ddrcbootsale.org

The Barry Amateur Radio Society Rally will take place on Saturday the 27^th of May. The venue will be Sully Sports and Social Club, South Road, Sully, CF64 5SP. Doors open from 9.30 am for the public and 7.30 am for traders. Free parking is available on-site. For more information contact Steve on 07368 140 795.

Now the Special Event News

VI2023HRH is the special callsign for members of the Wireless Institute of Australia to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. The callsign will be active until the 31^st of May. QSL via operator's instructions.

Look for the special callsign AU40NRO which is active until the 30^th of June to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the National Institute of Amateur Radio in India. QSL via VU2NRO.

Members of UBA Mechelen will be operating special event station OS23SOM until the 31^st of May in celebration of Special Olympics Belgium's annual National Games, this year to be held in Mechelen, between the 17^th and 20^th of May. A certificate will be available and details of how to download it will be published via the OS23SOM QRZ.com web page.

 

Now the DX news

Harold, DF2WO will be active again as 9X2AW from Rwanda until tomorrow, the 15^th of May. He will operate using CW, SSB and digital modes on the HF and 6m bands. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS page.

Giorgio, IU5HWS will be active as 5UA99WS from Niamey, Niger until the 15^th of June. In his spare time, he will be QRV on the 40 to 10m bands using FT8 and SSB. QSL via Logbook of the World, or via EA5GL.

James, KI7MGY will be stationed in Djibouti until June and plans to be QRV as J28HJ on the 80, 40, 20, 17, 15 and 10m bands using SSB and FT8. QSL via Logbook of the World.

Pete, M1PTR, Tom, M0DCG and Kieron, M5KJM / EI6KP from Stockport Radio Society are planning to operate as EJ6KP from Great Blasket Island, EU-007, on the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th of May. Operating during daylight hours, they will be active on the 40, 20 and possibly 15m bands using SSB. QSL via the bureau or OQRS.

 

Now the contest news

Today, the 14^th of May, the 70MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using CW on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK and Crown Dependency stations also send the first two letters of their postcode.

Also today, the 14^th of May, the UK Microwave Group Millimetre-Wave Contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 24, 47 and 76GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Tuesday the 16^th of May, the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3GHz band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 17^th of May, the 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using data modes on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Thursday the 18^th of May, 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.

On Saturday the 20^th of May, the 144MHz May Contest starts its 24-hour run at 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK and Crown Dependency stations also send the first two letters of their postcode.

On Sunday the 21^st of May, the 1^st 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK and Crown Dependency stations also send the first two letters of their postcode.

 

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 11^th of May 2023

Our topsy-turvy world of HF propagation continued last week with geomagnetic storms, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, proton events and more.

The good news is that the solar flux index was at 170 by Thursday, but the bad news was that we had two episodes where the Kp index hit five and there were at least five M-class flares. 

At least one of these flares was responsible for a coronal mass ejection, or CME, which swept past the Earth on the 10^th of May with a solar wind speed close to 700km/s. Although it was fierce, it was relatively short-lived and the Kp index was back to three on Thursday the 11^th.

The CME caused the maximum usable frequency over 3,000km to decline to around 21MHz at times on Wednesday, but by Thursday morning it was back up to nearly 28MHz.

The high proton flux also caused problems on the 10^th of May. The protons, mainly from CMEs, move down the Earth’s magnetic field lines into the polar regions and cause massive ionisation of the polar D region leading to increased, or total, absorption of HF waves.

This effect may last for as long as ten days and is called a Polar Cap Absorption event, or PCA. This affects signals going over the poles, such as the UK to the west coast of Canada and the USA, or to Japan and the far east.

Meanwhile, we are now underway with the Sporadic-E season, so make the most of the short skip and potential multi-hop Sporadic-E DX on 14 to 28MHz.

Next week, the Space Weather Prediction Centre has the Solar Flux Index declining slightly into the 150s. This is still more than enough to maintain DX on 21MHz and higher at times. It also predicts that the Kp index will be no higher than a stable 2 all week.

However, that is hard to believe, with the level of solar activity at the moment, and we could reasonably expect the Earth to be hit with a CME or two at some stage. This could see the Kp index rising with the potential of reduced MUFs at times.

 

And now the VHF and up propagation news

After a very unsettled end to the week, with lots of rain scatter reported, it will soon quieten down as a ridge of high pressure builds across the country to give some limited Tropo opportunities for the start of the weekend.

This will not last long and by this evening, it will be heading back to unsettled with low pressure, heavy rain and rain scatter. This unsettled theme will last through the first half of the new week together with strong north-easterly winds. Thereafter, high pressure will build again for the second half of the week, providing further Tropo options.

Keep a watch for Aurora, especially in view of the current unsettled solar state. CMEs will mean a very unsteady Kp index and anything higher than five should get your attention for auroral propagation. No significant meteor showers are expected this week, but QSOs using random meteors are always a possibility in the dawn hours.

Likely to be of interest in the summer months ahead, there have already been Sporadic-E openings on 6m CW and FT8 into Europe. Early evening trans-equatorial 6m FT8 QSOs to South America, the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic were reported from the UK last week.

Check Propquest.co.uk for daily blogs and make use of the DX cluster and map plots to see where the actual centres of activity are located.

Timings can be a bit random early in the season, but there tend to be two ‘openings’ per day – one in the morning and a second during the late afternoon or early evening.

Moon declination is rising, going positive again next Tuesday. But last Thursday’s perigee means path losses are on the increase. 144MHz sky noise is low until Friday when the Sun and Moon are close in the sky for the whole Moon window. Things return to normal early on Saturday and sky noise is moderate.

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