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G4TNU > NEWS 01.12.10 18:03l 207 Lines 11324 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 05 Dec
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 5th December 2010
The news headlines:
* RSGB extends its Amateur Radio Survey to National Clubs
* Final RSGB Museum Sale
* GB2RS broadcasts for the end of the year
The RSGB has launched a short set of questions for national clubs to
address. The questions are available on www.rsgb.org/survey and
responses are requested by 31 January 2011. Members will be
interested to know that steady progress has been made with the
numbers completing the online questionnaire. It is likely by this
weekend we will have broken through the 2,500 responses. Unexpected
maintenance work on the questionnaire's internet server these past
two weekends, which made the questionnaire unavailable for a short
while, will hopefully not need to be repeated. One aspect of the
maintenance is that the server has a much greater capacity than
before. The individual survey closes on 31 December, so if you
haven't completed it yet there is still time.
The high level of interest in the RSGB Museum Surplus Sale caused the
RSGB eBay account to reach an activity ceiling of which we were not
aware. Regrettably, the RSGB eBay account has been shut down and the
final auction could not go ahead as planned. The Society is making
alternative arrangements to continue the eBay sale and hopes to offer
the final set of items starting today, Sunday 5 December. Links to
the listings will appear on the auction section of the RSGB website,
www.rsgb.org.uk/auction. As usual, all monies from the auction will
go to the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park.
Please note that there will be a GB2RS bulletin as usual on Sunday 19
December, but not on the two following Sundays, 26 December and 2
January. The first GB2RS of the New Year will be on Sunday 9 January.
Anyone with news of events taking place between now and 9 January
should send it to the RSGB by e-mail to gb2rs<at>rsgb.org.uk as soon
as possible. We would like to thank all those who regularly send in
items for GB2RS and look forward to hearing from you in 2011. We
would also particularly like to thank the network of Main and Reserve
Newsreaders, without whom the News would not be heard.
Professor Sir Maurice Wilkes, G5VF, died on Monday aged 97. He led
the Cambridge University team that built the world's first
operational stored-program computer. After obtaining an amateur radio
licence he constructed radio equipment in his holidays. He stayed on
at Cambridge to do a PhD on the propagation of radio waves in the
ionosphere. When war broke out, Wilkes left Cambridge to work with R
Watson-Watt and JD Cockroft on the development of radar. Later he
became involved in designing aircraft, missile and U-boat radio
tracking systems. He was a member of the Cambridge University
Wireless Society from its very early days and, we understand, was the
first holder of the club's callsign, G6UW.
Pai, VU2PAI has uploaded about 100,000 QSOs to the Logbook of the
World, dating back from 1995. It is not complete as he still has a
lot of paper logs, especially from his IOTA activations to AS-096 and
AS-161. Please do not send cash or IRCs while sending QSL cards; he
would prefer it if you can put two or three beautiful stamps on your
envelope when you send your card. He's been a keen collector of
postage stamps from round the world since he was a schoolboy. Please
include a self addressed envelope or an address sticker along with
your QSL card. Pai can be reached by e-mail to vu2pai<at>gmail.com.
Eddie Murphy, G0VVT is a GB2RS news reader for the North and last
Sunday, 28 November, the news was read on 433.525MHz and GB3SX, the
Stoke-on-Trent 6m repeater. Eddie was using solar power charge
batteries and would like to know if that's a first for GB2RS and
would welcome any news of other news readers using solar power. You
can contact Eddie by e-mail to eddie<at>g0vvt.freeserve.co.uk.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
The first two rallies of 2011 will both be on Sunday 16 January.
Dover Radio Rally will be held at Whitfield Village Hall, Dover
CT16 3LY which is on the A2 just outside of Dover. The event was
revived last year and was such as success that they have hired extra
space for the rally this year. The focus will be on radio related
items not other electronic bits and bobs. The website
www.doverradiorally.com has all the usual information required.
The Red Rose Winter Rally will be held at the George H Carnall
Leisure Centre, Kingsway Park,
M41 7FJ. There is free car parking available and doors open at 11am.
There will be trade stands, a Bring and Buy as well as an RSGB
bookstall. Details from Steve on 07502 295 141.
Now for the news of special events
Ripon and District Amateur Radio Society will be on the air today,
Sunday 5 December, celebrating their 30th Anniversary using the
callsign GB2RIP. All QSOs will be acknowledged with a commemorative
QSL card. Details from Rob Hall, M0RBY on 0787 608 5631.
Saturday 11 December marks International Mountain Day. For the second
year a group of amateurs will climb their local mountain, Montgó in
the Alicante province in Spain. They are encouraging other amateurs
to climb to the top of their nearby mountain. Weather permitting,
they will be active from the summit at noon with EH5MM on 145,475MHz
± QRM as well as the HF bands. Montgó is reference EA5/AT-029 for
the Summits On The Air programme.
And now the HF DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
The Buddies in the Caribbean DXpedition group, which specialises in
100 watt or less radios and the Buddipole portable antenna systems,
will be back on the island of St Lucia from 8 to 13 December. QSL via
Logbook of the World, eQSL, or post to the individual operator's home
callsign with a self addressed stamped envelope.
Members of the Russian Robinson Club plan to operate from the Ujelang
Atoll in the Marshall Islands during the period 7 to 12 December. The
callsign will be V73RRC. QSL Manager one is N7RO.
The 37 operators from 15 countries who make up the DX0DX DXpedition
Team that will go to the Spratly Islands are finalising preparations
for the almost month-long DXpedition that begins 6 January 2011. The
Spratlys are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and
islands in the South China Sea between Vietnam, the Philippines,
China, Malaysia and Brunei. They comprise less than 4 square
kilometres of land area, spread out over more than 425,000 square
kilometres of sea. The DX0DX Team is keen to give out contacts on 160
meters and will have two 65 foot phased verticals and a back-up
antenna for this.
The DXpedition to Sable Island, which is IOTA reference NA-063, that
has been well planned and postponed for several times, will take
place from 6 to 13 December. They plan to work with three stations
simultaneously on 160m through to 6m in CW, SSB and RTTY. All direct
QSLs should be sent to N0TG, and bureau QSLs via the home callsigns.
Now the contest news
The ARRL 160m contest is the first event of the December and finishes
tonight, Sunday 5 December. It is a slightly unusual event in that
the duration is 42 hours. The good thing is that those 42 hours
include two full nights, which is when there is likely to be
propagation between Britain and North America.
The 144MHz Affiliated Societies Contest takes place today, Sunday 5
December. It's the first of the new Super League series. If you
operate as a member of a club in an AFS event there's no need to be a
member of RSGB, just the club. However, if you partake as an
individual, you do need to be a member, although check logs from non
members are always welcome. There's a limit of five members per team,
but active and ambitious clubs are welcome to field multiple teams.
The contest takes place between 0900 and 1700UTC and the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
7 December sees the 144MHz Activity Contest take place between 2000
and 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
And now the solar factual data for the period from the 22nd to the
28th of November, compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS on the 29th of
November
Solar activity was very low with no solar flares taking place.
However, on the far side of the Sun several coronal mass ejections
occurred from active regions that were caught by the STEREO
spacecraft and the images were spectacular. Solar flux levels were 75
units on the 22nd and the 23rd, but gradually increased to 80 by the
28th when a new sunspot region emerged on the visible disc during the
27th. The average was 77 units. The 90 day solar flux average on the
28th was 81 units. That's the same level as last week, although
earlier in the week it was 82 units. X-ray flux levels increased from
A4.3 units on the 22nd to A6.5 by the 28th. The average was A4.9
units. Geomagnetic activity was quiet, the Ap was down to only 2
units on the 26th. Then, during the evening of the 27th, a coronal
hole disturbance arrived. The Ap index on the 27th was 12 units, this
would have been much higher if the disturbance had arrived earlier in
the day. The next day the Ap was 6 units. The average was Ap 6 units.
Solar wind data from the ACE spacecraft saw solar wind speeds decline
from 520 kilometres per second on the 23rd to 310 during the morning
of the 27th. During the afternoon speeds increased to peak at 500
kilometres per second later in the evening. Particle densities were
low until the 26th and the 27th when densities increased to 20
particles per cubic centimetre. Bz on the quiet days varied between
minus 2 and plus 3 nanoTeslas and between minus 13 and plus 14
nanoTeslas at the height of the disturbance during the evening of the
27th.
And now the solar forecast. This week, solar activity could increase
to low levels with the chance of C class solar flares taking place.
Solar flux levels should be in the 80s for most of the week and with
a chance of going even higher into the 90s at some stage. Geomagnetic
activity is expected to be quiet every day. MUFs during daylight
hours at equal latitudes should be about 25MHz for the south and
22MHz for the north. Darkness hour lows are expected to be around
8MHz. Paths this week South Africa should have a maximum usable
frequency with a 50 per cent success rate of around 29MHz. The
optimum working frequency with a 90 per cent success rate will be
about 23MHz. The best time to try this path will be between 1100 and
1500 hours. The 28MHz band could well be worth a check around midday
for any Sporadic-E taking place. A good number of days have witnessed
openings recently. Take a look for any openings at www.vhfdx.info,
click on real time QSO and propagation maps at the bottom of the
page, then click on Europe and 28MHz.
And that's all for this week from the propagation team.
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 gb2rs<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
09:00 on the Tuesday before transmission.
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