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G4TNU > NEWS 29.03.20 01:37l 253 Lines 12549 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 29 Mar 2020
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 29th of March 2020
The news headlines:
* RSGB responds to Covid-19
* Farewell GMT, hello BST
* Contest updates
Dave Wilson, M0OBW, RSGB President, and Ian Shepherd, G4EVK, RSGB
Board Chair have a message to radio amateurs. "We hope that you all
understand the very serious nature of the current health crisis. As
you are now aware, the situation has dramatically worsened and we
have all been ordered to stay at home unless travelling for a
specific and unavoidable reason. As radio amateurs we are in the
fortunate position of being able to talk to other amateurs and chat
to those who are finding it tough going. Ian and I are asking you, as
radio amateurs, to please do one thing for us: search out local
amateurs and arrange a sked, not necessarily on air: there are many
alternatives we can all use such as video calls, or even a simple
phone call. Pay particular attention to those who you know or learn
to be alone or who are vulnerable for whatever reason. We are all in
this together! Keep safe."
As the UK the clocks went forward 1 hour at 1am this morning, the
29th of March, this means we will be on British Summer Time. Please
note that many contests and other events often state the timings in
UTC or GMT, which is one hour behind the local clock time here in the
UK.
As a result of the Government's updated position on people's
movements, the VHF and HF Contest Committees has taken the decision
that, until further notice, they can no longer allow any entries from
stations operating from portable or alternative addresses or from
multi-operator stations. Single operator entries from shared stations
will also not be accepted unless the station is being shared by
family members living at the same postal address.
We have reached a point with Covid-19 that it is inappropriate for
the RSGB to run the IOTA Contest in July 2020 in its usual format. We
cannot encourage our participants to operate in multi-operator groups
nor to travel to island locations where visitors are not currently
welcome. We would like your opinion on whether we should cancel
outright or should retain a contest this year for single operator,
home stations only. We are also conscious that a large number of our
Members are going to be spending more time at home than normal.
Unable to enjoy many of our favourite outdoor contests we are
proposing a series of home-based day-time contests to entertain and
support one another. Both of these issues are detailed in a survey
which we invite you to complete. This is at
www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RSGB_HFCC_2020. The survey is open until
Friday the 3rd of April, after which the outcomes will be made public.
Whilst the National Radio Centre itself is currently closed, as is
the Bletchley Park museum, the NRC volunteer team have taken the
opportunity to run some nets to keep in touch with each other. We are
acutely aware that whilst in self-isolation, it is more important
than ever to stay in communication, so what better way than using
amateur radio? The NRC volunteers are running an 80m net on 3.730MHz
most mornings at 10.30am and a 2m net on 144.330MHz most afternoons
at 2.30pm. The NRC team have been enjoying an increasing number of
stations calling in – and not just volunteers who work at the
National Radio Centre. They have been joined by amateurs who had
previous enjoyed a visit to the NRC, or had planned to do so, all are
welcome. Even if you can't join the 80m net, remember that the Hack
Green webSDR site provides an excellent monitoring resource. They
look forward to greeting more amateurs and listeners in the weeks to
come.
Planning continues for the 2020 RSGB Convention, which is being held
at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre from Friday the 9th until Sunday
the 11th of October. As in previous years our convention is being
held in conjunction with the AMSAT UK Colloquium. The lectures are
split into HF, VHF, Technical and General streams and there is, of
course, the separate AMSAT stream which all of those at the
convention are welcome to attend. It's not too late to request a talk
on a particular subject or to volunteer to give a talk yourself on a
subject that you feel would be of interest. Please send an email to
convention<at>rsgb.org.uk with your suggestions or comments. Bookings
will be opening shortly via the RSGB website. As details of the
lectures and other activities become available you will find them at
www.rsgb.org/convention
Radio amateurs will share the concerns of everyone about the
seriousness of the Covid-19 outbreak. Governments all over the world
are advising ‘social distancing' to slow the spread of the virus
and to give health services the chance to cope. Field days bring
radio amateurs together and therefore represent an environment where
social distancing is difficult to achieve. The IARU will not sponsor
the Region 1 HF-CW Field Day in June. Single operator contests,
however, remain a great way for those forced to stay at home to enjoy
the magic of amateur radio.
The DATV beacon on the QO-100 satellite has changed frequency and
symbol rate to allow more space on the transponder for other users.
The new transmission is on 10491.5MHz with a symbol rate of 1500kS,
DVB-S2, FEC 4/5. A new band plan is being developed and will be
published on the Wideband Spectrum Monitor
https://eshail.batc.org.uk/wb/ as soon as it is finalised.
The RSGB has just launched a new award designed for those aged under
26. The Youth Award encourages young people to build their on-air
experience through a range of activities from listening on SDR,
talking in contests to building antennas for specific bands or modes
such as satellites. The award has four levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold
and Platinum) and each level requires a minimum number of modes to
make a minimum number of contacts. For further information see the
Society's website, www.rsgb.org/youth-award.
The Cornish Radio Amateur Club organise International Marconi Day
every year. This year it was due to be held on the 25th of April,
Marconi's actual birthday. Regrettably, due to Covid-19, this
worldwide event has now been cancelled. So far 57 stations worldwide
had registered and if you have any queries please contact
crac.imd<at>gmail.com.
Denby Dale and District ARS has announced the Mills on the Air
special event has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They
are starting planning for 2021 now and hope to have a bumper event
next year. The organisers say thank you to all who intended to join
in this year, stay in and keep well.
Pubs & Clubs on the Air 2020 will not go ahead on the 15th and 17th
of May. The organisers suggest that amateurs could still get on the
air from home that weekend; you may make some new local friends.
The RSGB has a Coronavirus Updates page that brings together some of
these great ideas as well as its important announcements. Take a look
at www.rsgb.org/coronavirus-updates
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Due to the Covid-19 virus, all events in the forthcoming weeks are
cancelled or postponed in line with Government advice. We will keep
the Rallies page on the RSGB website as up to date as we can. Please
send updates of your rally and event plans as soon as possible to
radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk.
Now the contest news
Please note that most contest organisers are not accepting entries
from multi-operator groups or from portable entries. Check the rules
before taking part.
This weekend the CQ World Wide WPX SSB contest ends its 48 hour run
at 2359UTC today, the 29th. It's SSB only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest
bands, with the exchange of signal report and serial number.
On Tuesday, the 50MHz MGM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC.
The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Also on Tuesday, the 144MHz MGM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to
2130UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Wednesday, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m contest runs from
1900 to 2000UTC. Using SSB only, the exchange is your 4-character
locator.
On Sunday the first RoLo, Rolling Locator, contest runs from 1900 to
2030UTC. Using SSB, the exchange is signal report and the locator
received.
Also on Sunday, the First 70MHz contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC.
Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and
locator.
The UK Microwave Group second contest runs on Sunday from 1000 to
1600UTC. Using 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
Next weekend, the SP DX contest runs from 1500UTC on the 4th to
1500UTC on the 5th. Using CW and SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, the
exchange is signal report and serial number, with SP stations sending
their Province code.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 27th of March.
With the solar flux index remaining at 70-71 all week, conditions
were pretty predictable. The Kp index rose to two or three at times,
but on the whole geomagnetic conditions were stable. There was a
large coronal mass ejection off the Sun on March 20, but it wasn't
Earth directed and didn't affect us.
It is at times like this when the slightest HF enhancement stands
out. At 1030UTC on Wednesday the 25th the critical frequency as
measured by the Chilton Digisonde rose to 5.675MHz, which meant a
maximum usable frequency of more than 21MHz over a 3,000km path. But
why did it rise?
NOAA issued a warning that the greater than 2 MeV electron flux
reached high levels on Wednesday, with a peak flux value of 1,398
particle flux units. At about this time the GOES-16 satellite showed
a fall in the X-ray flux coming off the Sun. Solar X-rays from the
Sun penetrate to the bottom of the ionosphere to around 80km and
create an enhancement of the D layer. So, it could be that the lower
X-ray flux meant less D-layer absorption and, coupled with the
increased electron flux, HF signals were able to more easily reach
the now-enhanced F2 layer.
The moral of this story is that HF propagation isn't all about
sunspots! If anyone did work any interesting DX on the higher bands
around 1030UTC on Wednesday, please email the details to
psc.chairman<at>rsgb.org.uk.
Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain at around
70. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be settled with a Kp
index around two. This weekend may have unsettled HF conditions due
to a large solar coronal hole, which became Earth facing on Thursday
the 26th. Things should be more settled by Monday.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
The recent high pressure has certainly looked promising on the
weather maps, but as hinted last week, the air near the surface is
very dry and since good Tropo needs moist air near the surface,
overlain by warmer dry air above, we have not seen the bands live up
to expectations based on the ‘hall barometer' alone.
This high is being nudged west over the Atlantic, which will allow a
cold northerly flow down across the country with a few wintry showers
in the east at first, but maintain dry, high-pressure weather for
most of the week. This means that there is a continuing chance of
Tropo, but don't expect too much of it!
There has been some Sporadic-E on 10m and 6m. The primary driver of
this appears to be related to an east-north easterly jet stream over
the continent at just the right distance from the UK to support paths
to SE Europe and round to Italy and Spain. This favourable jet stream
will decline by this weekend, but next week a further northerly jet
stream may offer some chances, this time towards Scandinavia and
eastern Europe.
The spring aurora period is upon us, so it is always worth checking
for activity if the Kp index shows a disturbed magnetic field. The
Moon reaches maximum declination on Wednesday and with just over a
week to go to perigee, path losses will fall all week. 144MHz sky
noise is at its lowest next weekend.
And that's all from the propagation team this week.
And that's the end of the main news for this week prepared by the
Radio Society of Great Britain. Items for inclusion in subsequent
bulletins can be emailed to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
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