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G4TNU > NEWS 28.11.21 02:45l 239 Lines 11493 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 28 Nov 2021
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 28th of November 2021
The news headlines:
* Centenary of transatlantic amateur signals
* RSGB features in ICQ Podcast
* National Radio Centre holiday season openings
December 2021 marks the Centenary of the first amateur radio signals
crossing the Atlantic. Signals from the USA were received by Paul
Godley, 2ZE, at a specially prepared receiving setup at Ardrossan in
Scotland. From the 1st to the 26th of December, all UK and Crown
Dependency licensees may add the suffix /2ZE to their amateur
callsign to mark the centenary. A programme of celebratory events
will take place throughout December on both sides of the Atlantic;
more details will be included in next week's GB2RS News. Meanwhile,
you can learn more on the story at www.transatlantic.org.uk
The team at ICQ Podcast invited the RSGB to have a chat with them in
their latest episode. RSGB President Stewart Bryant, G3YSX talks
about the IARU Region 1 workshop; ESC Chair Tony Kent, G8PBH gives an
update on training and exams; whilst General Manager Steve Thomas,
M1ACB and Comms Manager Heather Parsons discuss the recent online
Convention and the way forward for the event. Go to icqpodcast.com
and find episode 364. The RSGB section starts just after one hour and
29 minutes into the podcast.
The RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park has announced its
opening times for the Christmas and New Year period. The NRC will be
closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's
Day. On New Year's Eve the Centre will close at 2pm. See
www.nationalradiocentre.com for useful info to help you plan your
visit.
It's not too late to support December YOTA Month 2021. We need your
help to get youngsters on the air and interested in radio
communications. We have been granted the callsign GB21YOTA, for
allocation to youngsters to operate throughout December. To see what
operating slots are still available please look up GB21YOTA on
QRZ.com. You can register your interest by emailing
yota.month<at>rsgb.org.uk. You must be a Full licence holder or have
a Full licence holder willing to supervise the activity.
Recently in the media spotlight was Dave Rowntree, M0IEG. Apart from
being a radio amateur and a county councillor in Norfolk, Dave is the
drummer for the rock band Blur and has recently signed a solo
contract with record company Cooking Vinyl. The story in Music Week
quotes Dave describing how he enjoyed tuning around the spectrum in
his youth. You can read the report at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-2811A
The German national amateur radio society DARC has studied the recent
flooding disasters in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate
and will use the information to help develop future plans. The DARC
department for emergency and disaster radio aims to be able to
support the population and independent helpers on site in times of a
prolonged communications failure. The aim is to build up a pool of
material and helpers who can then set up and operate a temporary
network with access to the internet, for example. The full report, in
German, is on the DARC website at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-2811B
The RSGB understands that its sister society in Norway, the NRRL, is
working to establish a beginners' licence in that country, which
presently has only one licence class. Hoping to target those as young
as 12 or 13, the licence is proposed to permit 10 watts and to
encourage newcomers to build their own equipment.
And now for details of rallies and events
As previously announced, the Bishop Auckland RAC rally, which was
planned for today, has been cancelled.
Now is the perfect time to let us know your group's rally or event
plans for 2022. Email radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk with details and we'll
publicise your event for free.
Now the DX news
Take, JI3DST is operating from Shodo Island, IOTA reference AS-200,
as JI3DST/5, JR8YLY/5, and JR8YLY/p until the 2nd of December. QSL
via ClubLog OQRS and LoTW.
Lester, W8YCM is in Jamaica, NA-097 until January next year and will
be on the air as 6Y6Y. QSL via W8YCM.
Peter, HB9DVG is on the air as A52CC from Phodrang in Bhutan until
the 21st of December. Activity is in his spare time on the HF bands
using SSB and FT8. QSL via N4GNR.
Brian, ND3F is active as C6AQQ on the HF bands until the 7th of
December from New Providence Island, NA-001. QSL via EA5GL.
Elvira, IV3FSG is on the air as C92R from Mozambique until the 30th
of November. Activity is in her spare time on the HF bands using SSB
and digital modes. QSL direct to IK2DUW.
Bob, WX4G is active as V4/WX4G from Calypso Bay on St Kitts, IOTA
NA-104, until the 2nd of December. Find him anywhere from 160 to 6
metres, including 60 metres, using CW, SSB, FT8 and FT4. QSL via LoTW.
Tom, DL7BO and Tom, DJ6TF will be on the air as Z22O [Zulu two two
Oscar] and Z21A, respectively, from Harare in Zimbabwe, from the 2nd
to the 15th of December. CW, SSB, FT8 and FT4 will be used from 160
to 10m. QSL both via DJ6TF.
Now the Special Event news
Throughout December, Crocodile Rock Amateur Group will operate
Special Special Event Station GB1002ZE and Special Event Station
GB2ZE. Activities will be from near Ardrossan, Scotland, marking the
first amateur transatlantic communication a century ago.
Special event stations 8H13H, 8H13U, 8H13T, 8G13T, 8G13A, 8G13N,
8G13G, 8G13S, 8G13E, and 8G13L will be on the air until the 12th of
December to commemorate the 13th anniversary of South Tangerang City,
Indonesia. Activity will be on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres using SSB
and FT8. QSL via operators' instructions.
Friday the third of December is the United Nations International Day
of Persons with Disabilities, or IDPD. GB1NHS will be on the air in
the UK and many other countries will see special event stations to
mark the day. Members of Tanzania Amateur Radio Club will be active
on the 3rd from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as 5H3ARC. They will operate
on 20, 15, 10m and possibly other bands. QSL via 5H3ARC. In Bosnia &
Herzegovina, radio club Tuzla will be active as E71AVW on 14MHz SSB
from 10am to 6pm on the 3rd. Those on the air will include a group of
blind and otherwise disabled amateurs. In Switzerland, HB9IPHA will
be on the air from 0900 to 1600 UTC on the 3rd from Restaurant
Pfaffenboden, Walchwil, locator JN47GC. Their activities will be on
40 to 10m.
Now the contest news
When operating in contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs
safe by following relevant pandemic-related government
recommendations.
The CQWW DX CW contest concludes its 48-hour run at 2359UTC tonight,
Sunday. Using CW only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange
is serial number, signal report and CQ Zone, which for the UK is 14.
On Monday the FT4 Series #9 takes place on the 80m band from 2000 to
2130 UTC. The exchange is signal report plus Locator.
The 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest takes place on Wednesday from 1900 to
2100 UTC. Using FT8 only on the 2m band, the exchange is signal
report and locator.
Wednesday sees the start of the UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon.
It's not a contest, just an invitation to work as many people as
possible on the 50MHz band using any mode. The exchange is signal
report plus locator. The event ends on the 31st of January next year.
The ARRL 160m CW contest begins at 2200 UTC on Friday the 3rd and
continues until Sunday at 1600UTC. Using CW only on the 160m band,
the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. W and VE
stations also send their ARRL or RAC section info. During the contest
the RSGB will activate special event 1920s vintage callsigns to
commemorate the transatlantic tests.
Sunday the 5th sees the 144MHz AFS contest, running from 1000 to 1600
UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO
on Friday 26th November 2021.
We had yet another week with low solar activity. The solar flux index
started the week at 79 and by Thursday had only climbed to 83.
Ideally, we want the SFI to be above 100 to guarantee good 10m
openings. Geomagnetically, the Sun has been quiet with a maximum Kp
index of three. On Thursday it was at one for most of the day.
Propquest says that the MUF over a 3,000km path has exceeded 28MHz at
times, but was stuck below 24.9MHz on Thursday. As a result, 10m
sounded very quiet indeed.
This weekend is the CQWW CW contest, which is bound to generate some
interest across the bands. Do take a look, especially on 21 and
28MHz, where we can expect some good DX at times, albeit somewhat
fleetingly.
NOAA has the SFI pegged between 82 and 85 next week as well. There
are signs of a possible new sunspot building on the STEREO Ahead
spacecraft imagery, but we will have to wait and see.
The Kp index may rise to three this weekend, but next week looks
quite settled with a Kp index of two forecast. There are coronal
holes on the solar surface, but these are relatively small at the
time of writing and look non threatening. As always, things can
change quite quickly so don't take out word for it. Keep an eye on
solarham.com for updates and Propquest.co.uk for near real-time
critical frequency figures.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
The current unsettled spell of weather has curtailed any thoughts of
Tropo for the period, which includes all of the coming week. This
leaves rain scatter to discuss and these heavy showers, some wintry
with hail or even thunder, may prove useful for the GHz bands. It is
usually the case that showers can be quite vigorous early in the
winter season, gaining their energy from the still relatively warm
seas. This means that rain scatter paths will often involve showers
running south or southeast over the North Sea or Irish Sea, which
online weather radars or lightning displays can locate easily.
Other modes are available, such as meteor scatter or aurora and it's
well worth finding a good activity-logging website that displays
these exotic paths to be there when the propagation is present. Most
of the November meteor showers are past their peak, with the
exception of the small November Orionids, active from the 13th of
November to the 6th of December, peaking on the 28th of November.
The big Geminids meteor shower with a ZHR of 120+ is getting closer.
It usually starts to build up from the beginning of December so watch
out for improving meteor scatter conditions. Remember that the period
around dawn is the best for random, ie non-shower, meteor scatter
conditions.
For EME enthusiasts, Moon declination is still positive until Tuesday
and reaches perigee on Saturday. Expect shortening Moon windows and
lower peak elevations, but decreasing path losses as the week
progresses. Next Saturday morning the Moon and Sun are close in the
sky so expect high sky temperatures due to Sun noise, with levels
reaching over 3,000 Kelvin at 144MHz on Sunday.
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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