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G4TNU > NEWS 10.11.23 03:21l 267 Lines 12905 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 05 Nov 2023
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 5th of November 2023
The news headlines:
* Exam funding for youngsters
* Tonight<at>8 webinar
* RSGB affiliated club Course and Exam Finder map
The Radio Communications Foundation, or RCF, is a small charity that
seeks to promote radio engineering and amateur radio. Last year, a
number of teachers identified the cost of Foundation exams as a
barrier for some young people. The RCF Trustees considered how they
might help. Funding exams for every youngster was seen to be
unaffordable, and unnecessary, in many cases. As a start, and to help
those with greatest need, the Trustees have agreed to fund 60
Foundation exams each year. The funding will be available to anyone
who is under the age of 21, in full-time education and needs help
with the exam fee. Fifteen exams will be funded every three months.
The first batch of 15 exams will be funded in January 2024. If any of
the allocated funds are not used, they will be rolled over to the
next quarter. No money will change hands as the RCF Trustees will
simply make the bookings and pay the RSGB. In time, there will be a
simple online application form. In the meantime, anyone seeking
funding should send their details to
rcfsecretary<at>commsfoundation.org with a supporting statement from
a parent or guardian about why they would benefit from an RCF-funded
exam. Details of their interest in amateur radio, and how they have
trained, or are training, for the Foundation exam will also help the
Trustees make their decisions. If the scheme proves to be successful,
and amateurs continue to donate to the RCF, there may be scope for
increasing the number of exams funded each year. Further details
about the RCF, and how to donate, can be found at commsfoundation.org
Don't forget to be part of the RSGB's Tonight<at>8 webinar tomorrow,
Monday the 6th of November. Colin Summers, MM0OPX will give an
entry-level talk aimed at newcomers to amateur radio. He will touch
on antennas generally but will focus on the end-fed half-wave antenna
including details of construction, transformers and performance. Find
out more at rsgb.org/webinars
The RSGB affiliated club Course and Exam Finder map has been
relaunched this week. All affiliated clubs were invited by email to
submit information about courses and exams that they run. The replies
that were received are now on the RSGB website. If you use the search
function and it doesn't show any results, you will need to widen your
search area. If your club provides training or holds exams and it
isn't shown on the map, please go to rsgb.org/examupdate and complete
the form. If you need any help, you can email exams<at>rsgb.org.uk
Additional information will be uploaded each week, so please submit
any changes before 3pm on Fridays.
The RSGB is delighted to welcome Elaine Richards, G4LFM as the new
volunteer RSGB Archivist. Elaine is a former RadCom Managing Editor
and was keen to continue to oversee the RSGB archives when she
retired from her RadCom role last year. If you would like more
information about an old amateur radio photo or document, or want to
check something in the RSGB archives, you can contact Elaine
via archivist<at>rsgb.org.uk
Thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets at the RSGB
Convention last month to raise money for the DXpedition Fund. The
Fund has already made donations to expeditions such as Bouvet,
Swains, Rockall and Tuvalu this year. If you're planning a DXpedition
to a rare destination and would like to apply, go to the RSGB website
and search for ‘DXpedition Fund'.
And now for details of rallies and events
Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club Rally is taking place today, Sunday the
5th of November. The venue is Limavady United Football Club, Rathmore
Road, Limavady, BT49 0DF. Several traders are in attendance and there
is a bring-and-buy stand. The doors open at 11am and car parking is
available on site. For more information visit bushvalleyarc.org or
email bushvalleyarc<at>gmail.com
Holsworthy Radio Rally is also taking place today, Sunday the 5th of
November. The venue is Holsworthy Leisure Centre, Well Park, Western
Road, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 6DH. There are traders, a bring-and-buy
area and catering available. Access for traders is available from
8am. The doors open to the public at 10am. See m0omc.co.uk
[MIKE-ZERO-OSCAR-MIKE-CHARLIE] for more information and contact
details.
A final reminder now that the 2023 Scottish Microwave Round Table, or
GMRT, will be held between 10.30am and 5pm on Saturday the 11th of
November. Please email Colin, GM4HWO via gm4hwo<at>gmail.com for more
information.
The Rochdale and District Amateur Radio Society Winter Rally will
take place on Saturday the 18th of November. The venue will be St
Vincent de Paul's Hall, Norden, Rochdale, Lancs, OL12 7QR. The doors
open from 10am and entry will be GBP 3. The usual traders, caterers
and plenty of free parking will be available. All proceeds from this
rally will go to a local charity. Last time GBP 1000 was given to the
Rochdale Springhill Hospice. For more information, please contact
Dave Carden, G3RIK on 01706 633 400 or email dave<at>cardens.me.uk
The Coulsdon Amateur Transmitting Society Bazaar will take place on
Sunday the 19th of November. The venue will be Oasis Academy,
Homefield Road, Old Coulsdon, CR5 1ES. Doors open for the public from
10am to 2pm and the entrance fee will be GBP 3. Traders, bring and
buy, club tables and car parking will be available. Tables cost
GBP 12, with additional tables priced at GBP 8. Please forward
general enquiries to bazaar<at>catsradio.org.uk
Now the Special Event News
The ONZ Oostkust Radioclub, ON6HC is active on all bands and modes as
OR79CLM until the 12th of November. The special callsign's suffix
stands for Canadian Liberation March, the annual event that
celebrates the liberation of the Belgian town of Knokke [KNOCK] on
the 1st of November 1944. QSL via the bureau. For more information,
and details of an available certificate, visit onz.be
The Amateur Radio Union of Serbia, YU1SRS, hosted the 26th IARU
Region 1 General Conference between the 1st and 4th of November.
Special callsign YT26IARU was issued to mark the occasion and may be
operated until the 31st of December by the hosting Society, as well
as by the Conference amateur radio station. QSL via Logbook of the
World.
Now the DX news
Pierre, VK3KTB and Alexey, VE1RUS are active again as VY0ERC from the
Eureka Amateur Radio Club station on Ellesmere Island, NA-008, until
the 22nd of November. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS.
Philippe, F1DUZ is active as FG4KH from Guadeloupe, NA-102, until the
7th of November. QSL via Logbook of the World, eQSL, or via F1DUZ.
Now the contest news
The 144MHz CW Marconi Contest started at 1400UTC on Saturday the 4th
of November and ends at 1400UTC today, Sunday the 5th of November.
Using CW on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number
and locator.
On Monday the 6th, the Autumn Series Data Contest runs from 2000 to
2130UTC. Using RTTY and PSK63 on the 80m band, the exchange is signal
report and serial number.
On Tuesday the 7th, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to
1955UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
Also on Tuesday the 7th, the 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from
2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
On Wednesday the 8th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs
from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is
report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 8th, the
432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using
FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character
locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the
two-hour contest.
On Thursday the 9th, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to
2230UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator.
On Saturday the 11th, the Club Calls 1.8MHz Affiliated Societies
Contest runs from 2000 to 2300UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 160m band,
the exchange is signal report, serial number and your affiliated
society information.
The Worked All Europe DX RTTY Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday
the 11th and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 12th of November. Using
RTTY only on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the
exchange is signal report and serial number.
On Sunday the 12th, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from
1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on 1.3 to 3.4GHz frequencies, the
exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO
on Thursday the 2nd of November 2023
The last two weeks have not been too bad for HF propagation, but not
particularly good either. The solar flux index hit lows of 119 on the
22nd of October and 121 on the 24th, but subsequently recovered and
stood at 159 on Thursday the 2nd of November.
This at least allayed the fears of some amateurs that Solar Cycle 25
was over!
But, as the solar flux index rose, geomagnetic conditions became
slightly unsettled. The maximum Kp index was 4.67 on the 29th of
October but has subsequently recovered to between 1 and 3.
This didn't affect HF too much with the daylight maximum useable
frequency over 3,000km remaining steadfastly over 28MHz all week,
even hitting 43MHz on Thursday the 2nd.
As a result, the bands have been humming with lots of DX being
worked. Phil, GU0SUP reports working Jan [YAN], E51JAN on the North
Cook Islands on 12m FT8 Fox and Hound mode at around 1630UTC. He said
that, as it was almost dark, he didn't expect to hear anything, but
had a good copy on him at 190 degrees, so gave him a call. He came
straight back.
Phil said that this was a big surprise, and he is not sure how it
worked. It was quite a skewed path, with pretty much no copy on the
real headings, short or long path.
He also worked YJ0TT Vanuatu on 10m at 0843UTC that morning, and
later at 1741UTC on 20m FT8 Fox and Hound mode. As Phil said: "Two
new DXCCs in one day!" So, the moral of the story is to keep on
trying – you never know what you will work!
Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will decline
slightly to the 130s. A bigger problem is a massive coronal hole,
which is rotating into an Earth-facing position. This could cause the
Kp index to rise, possibly on Sunday the 5th or Monday the 6th.
NOAA also predicts a geomagnetic disturbance on November the 9th when
the Kp index could rise to four. Otherwise, it suggests fairly
settled conditions and a general Kp index of two. As always, keep an
eye on solarham.net for up-to-date information.
And now the VHF and up propagation news
The current spell of unsettled weather with areas of low pressure,
strong winds and rain or showers will probably remain over the coming
week to the 12th of November. This again suggests that Tropo will not
be a feature of VHF/UHF operating and perhaps there are just a few
weak options for rain scatter to lift the mood.
Since comments last week about out-of-season Sporadic-E propagation,
we are still getting weak Sporadic-E signals on the graph plots on
propquest.co.uk which peaked at 5.35MHz at Dourbes on Wednesday the
1st of November, at 1700UTC. This may have been enough to produce
paths on 6m band data modes. Favoured times of day for these chance
events are typically around 10am or 5pm.
Meteor scatter prospects are still good since the decaying Orionids
are probably lingering up until the 7th, and we approach the peak of
the Taurids around the 12th of November. The week after, we'll be
looking forward to the November Leonids. So if you've not tried
meteor scatter yet, this may be a good time to read up on modes,
frequencies and operating techniques.
Lastly, a brief mention of aurora, which is always possible given a
decent coronal hole event like last week. So keep a check on the Kp
index for larger values above, say, 5.
For EME operators, Moon declination is at maximum this weekend,
meaning long Moon windows and high Moon elevation. Path losses are at
their highest over the period due to apogee on Tuesday the 6th and
144MHz sky noise is low all week.
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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