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G4TNU  > NEWS     04.04.21 08:08l 213 Lines 9806 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 04 Apr 2021
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T:From: G4TNU@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EURO <g4tnu@gb7ipf.ampr.org>
T:Newsgroups: ampr.news.europe
T:Message-Id: <E113623_G4TNU@gb7ipf.ampr.org>

GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 4th of April 2021

The news headlines:

* Tonight@8 on 12th April
* Vote in RSGB Elections
* Free Emergency Comms Training

Tonight @ 8 in April has moved back a week and will be at 8pm on 
Monday the 12th of April. Alan, W2AEW will give an introduction to 
VNAs and the NanoVNA. You can watch and ask questions live on the 
RSGB YouTube channel. For more information about all the Tonight@8 
webinars see the Society's website at rsgb.org/webinars.

Have you voted yet in the RSGB elections? You can find voting 
guidance and read statements from all the candidates on the RSGB 
website at rsgb.org/agm. Both candidates for RSGB President have also 
been part of an interview with Callum, M0MCX on YouTube at 
youtube.com/dxcommander.

A Radio Emergency Communications Training Event will take place on 
the 10th and 11th of April between 1600 and 2359UTC each day. 
Previously an in-person event in Seattle, this year it will be 
virtual. The event's theme is Disasters Here, There, and Everywhere 
– Are We Prepared? The two days of training, talks, and information 
on emergency communications and amateur radio is free to attend, 
register at commacademy.org.

The latest episode of ICQ Podcast features an in-depth interview with 
three senior RSGB representatives. They are Board Director John, 
M0JAV; Exam Standards Committee Chair Tony, G8PBH; and General 
Manager Steve, M1ACB. Listen to an explanation about the new EMF 
regulations, an update on exams, an overview of the RSGB in 2020 and 
a look forward to 2021. Go to rsgb.services/gb2rs/008 and the RSGB 
piece starts at 1 hour and 2 minutes.

Chelmsford Civic Society has a Zoom talk by Chris Neale of the 
Chelmsford Science and Engineering Society on Wednesday the 14th of 
April at 7.30pm. Entitled RDF to RADAR, my parents contribution to 
Hitler's downfall and how I came to be!, it is a free event to 
attend. This talk highlights the roles played by two of the many 
hundreds of RAF personnel who helped deliver this initially-primitive 
radar capability to a level that ensured that a German invasion was 
thwarted. To book a place, search for Chelmsford Civic Society and 
click on the Events tab.

SOS Radio Week starts at 0000UTC on the 1st of May and runs until the 
31st to coincide with the RNLI's own Mayday fundraising month. 
Stations are encouraged to register to become an official station. 
For further details of the event please visit sosradioweek.org.uk.


Now the DX news

Toni, EA5RM is in Bolivia working on a non-governmental 
organisation's project until the 27th of April. In his spare time he 
will operate SSB and digital modes as CP1XRM. QSL via EA5RM and 
Logbook of The World.

Stationed at Casey Station in Antarctica until at least November, 
Paul, VK2PAD is active as VK0PD in his spare time. Currently he has a 
20/40m dipole 10m above ground level and so far he has some contacts 
on 20m. QSL via EB7DX.


Now the Special Event news

Celebrating World Amateur Radio Day, DA21WARD will operate from the 
1st of April until June. QSL via the bureau, or direct to DK5ON.

John, MW1CFN will be active as GB1004FTS from Anglesey, IOTA 
reference EU-005, until the 8th of April. He will operate SSB and 
digital modes on the HF bands, 6 and 2m. QSL via Logbook of The World 
or direct. 

The Wireless Institute of Australia is celebrating the centenary of 
the Royal Australian Air Force with two callsigns. VI100AF will 
operate until the 29th of May. It will be used by radio amateurs that 
are either current or veteran military personnel; some activities may 
be from military bases. VK100AF will be active until the 31st of 
August. Full details are on QRZ.com.


Now the contest news

With different part of the UK having different lockdown restrictions, 
please make sure you follow the appropriate rules. Several contests 
now accept portable entries, so please check the contest rules. Above 
all, please follow relevant national and local restrictions. 

The SP DX contest runs for 24 hours until 1500UTC today, the 4th. 
Using CW and SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is 
signal report and serial number. SP stations will also exchange their 
Province code.

Today, the 4th of April the First 70MHz contest runs from 0900 to 
1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial 
number and locator.

On Monday the IRTS 70cm Counties Contest runs from 1300 to 1330UTC. 
It is followed by the IRTS 2m Counties Contest from 1330 to 1500UTC. 
Both contests are FM and SSB and the exchange is signal report and 
serial number. Irish stations also give their county.

On Tuesday, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. 
It is followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 
to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and 
locator.

On Wednesday, the third FT4 series contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. 
Using the 3.5 to 14MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report 
and your 4-character locator.

The 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC on 
Wednesday. The exchange is signal report and your 4-character locator.

The UK EI Contest Club 80m contest runs from 1900 to 2000UTC on 
Wednesday. Using SSB only the exchange is your locator.

On Thursday, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. 
Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and 
locator.

Next Sunday, the 11th, is a busy day for contests. The First 50MHz 
contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC and uses all modes. The exchange is 
signal report, serial number and locator. 

The UK Microwave Group second 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.

Running from 1000 to 2100UTC, the Worked All Britain Data Contest 
uses the 3.5 to 14MHz contest bands. The exchange is signal report, 
serial number and WAB square. Note this contest has two sessions.

The first RoLo Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC using SSB only on 
the 80m band. The exchange is the signal report and the locator 
received.


Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on 
Thursday the 1st of April.

This last week has certainly been quieter from a geomagnetic 
disturbance point of view. We have seen the Kp index at one for much 
of the time, and it even hit zero in the early hours of Tuesday the 
30th. We have not been quite so lucky on the sunspot front, with zero 
spots being recorded on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, 17 metres has provided some good DX paths, especially 
via FT8, and even 21MHz has opened up at times. The Far East and the 
Caribbean have been favourites on 17 metres, but a quick scan through 
15 metres showed nothing, except for a spike at 21.074MHz where a 
good sprinkling of European stations, plus Brazil, Saudi Arabia and 
Israel could be copied.

There have been some North-South paths worked on 10 metres via 
Trans-Equatorial Propagation or TEP, but these have mainly favoured 
stations located south of the UK. Coming down to 40 metres, there is 
always fun to be had contacting Summits on the Air operators, who are 
always keen to make contacts. SOTA ops in Switzerland, Austria and 
Germany can usually be worked on CW around 7.032MHz, even with QRP 
power, no doubt due to their very low noise levels on mountain tops.  

Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain in the 
low 70s, with quiet geomagnetic conditions for the first half of the 
week. From the eighth to the tenth we may expect more disturbed 
conditions due to the return of another coronal hole. There is also 
the slim chance of the odd Sporadic-E opening, particularly on 10 
metres, but more of that in the next section.


And now the VHF and up propagation news.

Conditions in the warm air part of the high pressure have been good 
with some strong Tropo, especially over England and Wales. The fronts 
over Scotland and Ireland have prevented any Tropo there, but will 
weaken by this weekend when we will find the main high centre to the 
north and west of Britain introducing some chance of temporary Tropo 
here also. The big change is the development of a dominant low over 
Scandinavia during this weekend and this will bring strong northerly 
winds and a return of very cold air with a chance of wintry showers 
moving south today, Easter Sunday, and Monday. This will potentially 
be a good time for some rain scatter on the GHz bands. These 
springtime showers can be sources of hail and thunderstorms, so be 
ready to track them on the many online radar sites. Conditions remain 
cold and unsettled for much of the next week.

For Sporadic-E enthusiasts, we are entering the period when the first 
fleeting openings may make a surprise appearance even for the 
traditional modes like SSB and CW, so perhaps give 10m a look now and 
again and possibly 6m too. Obviously, digital modes will potentially 
be a good early warning sign of activity, or at least the directions 
of interest.

Moon declination is at minimum today, so peak Moon elevations are at 
their lowest but will increase as the week progresses. We are past 
perigee so losses will also increase.

With no significant meteor showers this week, the best time for 
meteor scatter contacts is the pre-dawn random meteor enhancement.

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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