RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for 22nd October 2023

GB2RS News

Sunday the 22^nd of October 2023

The news headlines:

• RSGB 2023 Convention
• ARISS contact with St Peter-In-Thanet CE Junior School
• Tonight@8 webinar

The RSGB’s 2023 Convention took place last weekend and brought together hundreds of amateurs in person as well as many more across the world who watched the livestream. RSGB General Manager and Convention Chair, Steve Thomas, M1ACB said that in addition to the usual varied programme of lectures, he was delighted as Convention Chair to have led the team that introduced new aspects to the weekend, such as the all-day drop-in Buildathon on Saturday which encouraged people to enjoy making something for themselves, and also to learn how to run a similar event at their local club or group to help others develop practical skills. The RSGB Convention saw presentations about taking amateur radio into schools, young radio amateurs travelling to YOTA camp, as well as the usual mix of fascinating technical talks about many aspects of amateur radio today. There were also more RSGB Committees and Groups at the Convention to highlight the important work that the RSGB does through its volunteers. Steve said that the Convention planning team is already receiving an overwhelming amount of positive feedback, but he encourages anyone who attended the Convention to complete the feedback form if they haven’t already done so - go to rsgb.org/feedback and share your thoughts. The Society will share a small number of Convention presentations on YouTube over the coming weeks and will provide many more for members to view as part of the benefit of RSGB membership. In addition, you will be able to watch a series of special interviews that were recorded over the weekend. The interview with the RSGB and IRTS Presidents has been released this week and you can see it on the RSGB YouTube channel and also on the RSGB Convention web page at rsgb.org/convention 

Children at St Peter-In-Thanet CE Junior School in Broadstairs, Kent had an ‘out of this world’ experience this week, with an ARISS contact between the school and NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, KI5WSL on board the International Space Station. It was an exciting and inspiring day for all involved. RSGB Board Chair Stewart Bryant, G3YSX attended the event and met ESA reserve astronaut Meganne Christian, who encouraged the children to ‘dream big’. The event, which featured on local BBC and ITV news programmes that evening as well as BBC Radio Kent, can be watched on the ARISS YouTube channel.

The RSGB polled its Facebook group for new and returning licensees, which showed that basic introductions to contesting and antennas were the top two topics of interest. In October the RSGB ran a Tonight@8 webinar which covered an introduction to contesting, and in November it is focusing on antennas. On Monday the 6^th of November, Colin Summers, MM0OPX will give an entry-level introduction to antennas generally, including a focus on end-fed half-wave antennas, transformers, construction and performance. Join the presentation and ask questions live on the RSGB YouTube channel or special BATC channel. To find out more about this, and other RSGB webinars, go to rsgb.org/webinars

Today is the last day of Jamboree on the Air, also known as JOTA. The event promotes friendship and global citizenship and is a brilliant celebration of amateur radio among the Scout Association. There are many stations active over the weekend so please listen out for the young operators on the air. Some groups have shared details of callsigns that are active over the weekend and the RSGB has compiled a list on its website – go to rsgb.org/jota and choose the “JOTA Stations on the Air” link on the right hand side of the page. The RSGB would love to see your photos of Scouts getting involved with JOTA, so tag the RSGB and also use the hashtag JOTAJOTI to be involved in the conversation on social media. There will be a report in RadCom so please send details and photos from your event to radcom@rsgb.org.uk by the 14^th of November.

A reminder that the RSGB National Radio Centre will be closed to the public from Saturday the 28^th of October until Sunday the 5^th of November inclusive because Bletchley Park will be hosting the first global summit on Artificial Intelligence. Please note that this closure period includes an additional two days than was previously announced by Bletchley Park. For information about the closure, please see the Bletchley Park website at bletchleypark.org.uk

Today, the 22^nd, is the second day of the RAF Air Cadets Blue Ham Radio Communications Exercise. Cadets are contacting radio amateurs on the shared section of the 5MHz band. A Blue Ham participation certificate is available to those who contact 15 or more special Cadet callsigns during the exercise. Just search online for ‘Exercise Blue Ham’ to find out more.

There is just over one week of UK Bunkers On The Air 2023 to go, and what a month it has been so far! Activators have reported multiple pile-ups and higher-than-expected levels of hunters. Due to the popularity of the event, the organisers have decided to continue with a rolling programme from the 1^st of November. Look out for new bunker references and challenges in the New Year. All activators who submit an activator tracker will be entered into a prize draw. To view the rules and information visit bunkersontheair.org

And now for details of rallies and events

The Galashiels Radio Rally is taking place today, Sunday the 22^nd of October at the Volunteer Hall, St Johns Street, Galashiels, TD1 3JX. The doors open at 11 a.m. Entrance is £2.50, although under-16s will be admitted free of charge.

Carrickfergus Amateur Radio Group Rally will take place on Saturday the 28^th of October. The venue will be Elim Pentecostal Church, North Road, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. The doors will open for vendors at 9 a.m. and for everyone else at 11.30 a.m. Refreshments will be available. There will be a bring-and-buy stall, and everyone is very welcome to attend.

The Essex CW Boot Camp will take place on Saturday the 28^th of October. The venue will be 3^rd the Witham Scout & Guide HQ, Powers Hall End, Witham, Essex, CM8 2HE. The doors open at 8.30 am for registration. Entrance is £10 and this includes free drinks and cakes. Advance registration is advised as places are limited. For more information email g0ibn1@yahoo.com or phone 0745 342 60 87

Now the Special Event News

Members of ARI Pordenone and ARI Belluno will be active as II3RDV until the 31^st of October. The special callsign is active to mark the 60^th anniversary of the Vajont Dam disaster. On the 9^th of October 1963, a massive landslide plunged into the reservoir, causing a 250m-high mega-tsunami. QSL via IV3EHH.

“Amateur Radio” magazine, the official journal of the Wireless Institute of Australia, will reach 90 years of continuous publication this month. To mark this milestone, the Wireless Institute of Australia has obtained the special event call sign VK90AR. The callsign will be in use until the 31^st of December and may be used by any member of the Wireless Institute of Australia as well as any affiliated club. QSL via Logbook of the World and OQRS.

Now the DX news

Today, the 22^nd, is the last chance to work The Radio Club de Provins, F6KOP which is active as TO8FH from Mayotte, AF-027. A large team is operating CW, SSB and digital modes, as well as QO-100, on the 160 to 6m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World, OQRS, or via F5GSJ. See the TO8FH Facebook page for more information and updates.

Harald, DF2WO is active as XT2AW from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso until the 26^th of October. He operates all modes on the HF bands, the 6m band and via QO-100. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS.

Now the contest news

Today, Sunday the 22^nd of October, the 50MHz Affiliated Societies Contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The Worked All Germany Contest started at 1500UTC on Saturday the 21^st of October and ends at 1500UTC today, Sunday the 22^nd of October. Using CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations also send their DOK reference.

On Tuesday the 24^th of October, the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 25^th of October, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator.

On Thursday the 26^th of October, the Autumn Series SSB Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

The CW World Wide DX SSB Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 28^th of October and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 29^th of October. Using SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and CQ Zone. The UK is in Zone 14.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 19^th of October 2023

We had a quieter week, with both lower sunspot numbers and better geomagnetic conditions. The Solar Flux Index was at 135 on Thursday the 19^th, down from 156 the week before. Let’s hope this is a temporary lull in Solar Cycle 25’s progression.

We had no M-class or higher flares to contend with and the Kp index was generally below 3 all week. Only on Thursday did things start to become a little more unsettled as the Kp index climbed to 3.67 in the morning, with warnings that worse may be to come due to a coronal mass ejection on the 16^th of October.

So, the earlier part of the week was best for HF propagation with many stations reporting DX contacts including T2C, a German DXpedition to Tuvalu, and YL2GM’s one-person DXpedition to Tristan da Cuhna.

It's nice to see DX opening up, especially on the higher bands.

Propquest.co.uk reports that, generally, the maximum useable frequency over a 3,000km path remains above 28MHz during daylight hours so make the most of the 10 and 12m bands. The maximum usable frequency, or MUF, is the highest radio frequency that can be used for transmission between two points on the Earth by reflection from the ionosphere.

Next week NOAA predicts that the Solar Flux Index will rise to around 145 all week while geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be stable with a Kp around 2 to 3. But, as always, watch out for coronal mass elections and their impact.

And now the VHF and up propagation news

We are struggling to find anything optimistic regarding Tropo in this unsettled spell of weather and again it may well be down to rain scatter to provide the entertainment.

Once out of the summer thunderstorm season, the results are rarely as good, even though you’ll be spoiled for choice! There will be a transient weak ridge over some eastern areas on Tuesday, but only acts as a separator between the lows and is not expected to be effective for Tropo.

Incidentally, in this fairly typical spell of unsettled autumnal weather, strong winds and heavy rain can be a notable feature and put stress on antennas and coax, so make a note of any weak points and use the next fine spell to put things right!

What propagation remains is the usual stop-gap pair of modes – meteor scatter and aurora – both of which could be worth checking during the coming week.

A reminder that the Orionids shower, active from the 2^nd of October to the 7^th of November, peaks today, the 22^nd, with an average Zenithal Hourly Rate, or ZHR, of around 20.

For EME operators, Moon declination reached minimum on Friday the 20^th so the following week will see lengthening Moon windows. Next Thursday’s perigee means path losses are at their lowest this week. 144MHz sky noise starts high but falls throughout the coming week remaining low to moderate.

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