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G4TNU > NEWS 02.03.11 20:12l 218 Lines 10945 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 06 Mar
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 6th March 2011
The news headlines:
* Hands-On Experience for National Science Week
* 2011 Dayton Hamvention Awards announced
* New Train the Trainers at Helensburgh
The subject for National Science Week 2011 is Communications. To
support the Week, Sheffield Amateur Radio Club is providing hands-on
experience of amateur radio at a local school as well as to the
community at large. On Saturday 12 March Sheffield ARC will be at
Tapton School at Crosspool, Sheffield, from 10am to approximately
4pm. Using two temporary radio stations and aerials, they will put
the school on the air for the day using the club callsign GX3RCM/P.
Then on Monday 14 March the club will be holding an open house from
7.30 to 9.30pm at their HQ, Sheffield Transport Sports Club,
Greenhill Main Road, Meadowhead Roundabout, Sheffield S8. The evening
will include demonstrations of short wave and VHF/UHF amateur radio
including HF, VHF satellite communications, datamodes and the state
of the art D-Star repeater system. In addition there will be a
display of equipment, amateur radio videos and printed information.
More details at http://krystynahaywood.co.uk/sarc. Also for National
Science Week, Sands Contest Group is operating from Heron Corn Mill
in Cumbria and will be active on 16 & 17 March using the callsign
GB4HCM. The group will be active on 20, 40 and 80m between 10am and
4pm each day. Activity will be on SSB and data modes and there will
be a number of interactive displays. For more information visit
GB4HCM on QRZ.com.
The winners of the 2011 Dayton Hamvention awards have been announced.
Amongst the various awards, the Technical Excellence Award went to
Roy Lewallen, W7EL for his development of EZNEC, the antenna
modelling software system. This software is now the basis for
numerous amateur radio antenna training courses. The Special
Achievement Award goes to Fred Lloyd, AA7BQ, who developed the
QRZ.com website that is used by amateurs worldwide.
A Train the Trainers day is being organised for 19 March at the
Carman Centre, Helensburgh. The purpose of the Train the Trainers
course is to offer tutors some guidance on running courses and
teaching techniques. If you are interested in attending, please
contact GM0ONX by e-mail to GM0ONX<at>rsgb.org.uk or call
01563 534383. The course will start at 10am and finish around 6pm.
The YL International Meet 2012 will take place in Adelaide in May
2012. Those interested in attending, whether licensed or not, should
check out the website www.ylinternational2012.com for full details.
The plan is for delegates to arrive in Adelaide around 3 May. Over
the next few days several tours and outings are planned that will
culminate in a 7 or 9 day tour ending in either Alice Springs or
Darwin.
If you are planning to visit Cyprus this year, the Pafos Radio Club
would like to welcome you. They meet on the 3rd Thursday of each
month at the Pafos Gardens Hotel at 7pm. They also have a weekly net
on Wednesdays at 7.30pm using the local repeater, 5B4PRC, on
145.750MHz. More details from Don, 5B4AGQ.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Bournemouth Radio Society is holding their 23rd annual sale today,
Sunday 6 March, at The Kinson Community Centre, Millams Road,
Bournemouth. Doors open at 9.30am and the sale closes at 2.30pm.
Admission is GBP 1.50. Refreshments will be available. Further
details by email from tonyg3ywg<at>gmail.com.
The Exeter Radio & Electronics Rally will take place today, 6 March,
at America Hall, De la Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter, EX4 8PW. Doors open
at 10.30am, with disabled access from 10.15. Admission is GBP 2.
There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy. All profits from the
event are shared between GB3SW, GB3EW and GB3EX, the local 2m and
70cm repeaters. Contact Pete, G3ZVI on 07714 198374.
On 12 March the Dutch National Radio Flea Market will take place at
"Autotron", Rosmalen 's-Hertogenbosch, just off the A59 motorway.
Doors open from 9am to 3.30pm and talk-in is available on 145.250MHz.
Check out www.radiovlooienmarkt.nl for more details.
On 13 March, Cambridge & District Amateur Radio Club Rally will be
held at Wood Green Animal Shelter, King's Bush Farm, A1198 London
Road, Godmanchester, Cambs PE29 2NH. Doors open at 10am and admission
is GBP 3. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy. Contact John,
G0GKP, on 01954 200072.
Also on 13 March, the 26th Wythall RC Radio and Computer Rally will
be held at Woodrush Sports Centre, Shawhurst Lane, Hollywood,
Birmingham B47 5JW. The venue is on the A435, 2 miles from J3 of the
M42. Entry is GBP 2 and there will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy.
Contact Chris, G0EYO, on 07710 412 819.
Now for the news of special events
GB1OOD has been issued for 2011 by Ofcom as a special event callsign.
It will be used throughout 2011 to celebrate the 100 years of the
Derby Wireless Club, founded in 1911. Until 25 March the station will
be operating from the Silk Mill Museum located in the city centre of
Derby, alongside the River Derwent. The station will have restricted
operation – mostly at weekends – due to the museum's opening
hours. Information on GB1OOD can be found on QRZ.com.
GB1IMW will be on the air from Mepal & Witcham Primary School, Mepal
near Ely in Cambridgeshire. The operation is part of the children's
study and participation in National Science Week for Communications
from 14 to 18 March, including 'Red Nose Day'. They will be operating
nationally on 80m and 40m HF and locally on 2m, 6m and 70cm. The
organisers ask that amateurs please do answer the children's CQs.
Between 13 March and 3 April GB8HBW and GB0CMR will be on the air
celebrating 85 years of Hospital Radio in the UK. GB8HBW will be
operating in the Newbury area and GB0CMR is in Hinckley for Castle
Mead Radio.
And now the HF DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
Four stations will be active from Port Blair in the Andamans from 15
to 31 March. Details are on the web at
http://arsi.info/dxpeditions/vu4pb-mar-2011.
Frosty, K5LBU, and Wayne, W5KDJ, are heading to Lesotho as 7P8CF and
7P8KDJ from 11 to 20 March. Plans are to have two stations for
activity on 160 through 10m on CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK.
Nick, G3RWF, will be returning to Uganda from 20 February until 14
April. This is not a DXpedition as he will be doing voluntary work at
a university, but will include plenty of operating as 5X1NH on 80
through 10m. He does not have room for a 160 metre antenna.
SP5EAQ and SP5DRH will operate from West Kiribati from 1 to 17 March.
Calls will be T30AQ and T30RH. They'll be on 160 to 10m CW, SSB and
RTTY, with a focus on the low bands and 30m.
Now the contest news
The ARRL International DX Contest takes place this weekend, 5 and 6
March, between 0000 and 2359UTC. Work W/VE stations only, in as many
of the 48 contiguous States and Provinces as possible. Send a signal
report and your transmitter power and expect to receive a signal
report and 2-letter State or 3-letter Province code.
Monday 7 March sees the data leg of the 80m Club Championship taking
place between 2000 and 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report and
serial number.
The following day, 8 March, is the 432MHz UK Activity Contest from
2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
The Commonwealth Contest takes place for 24 hours on 12 and 13 March
from 1000 to 1000UTC. This is a contest that only takes place between
Commonwealth countries, so it is largely free of Continental European
stations. Infrequently activated countries always appear in this
contest and, without the mega pile-ups that occur in many other
worldwide contests, the owner of a modest station in Britain stands a
decent chance of working some real DX. Be aware though that some DX
openings are very short, so it helps to know when to look for
particular areas, especially on the upper HF bands. The exchange is
signal report and serial number.
Finally for this week, 13 March sees the 2nd 70MHz Cumulative contest
taking place from 1000 to 1200UTC. Using all modes the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
And now the solar factual data for the period from the 21st to the
27th of February, compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS on the 28th of
February.
Solar activity was mostly low with a number of C class solar flares
taking place. Activity increased to moderate when the only M class
solar flare took place on the 24th. Conversely, on the 22nd solar
activity declined to very low levels. None of the solar flares had
any significant effect on propagation. Solar flux levels declined
from 97 units on the 21st to 88 by the 25th. The average was 91
units. The 90 day solar flux average on the 27th was 87 units. That's
one unit up on last week. X-ray flux levels varied little day to day
and averaged B2.2 units. Geomagnetic activity was quiet every day.
The most disturbed day was the 21st with an Ap index of 7 units. The
average was only Ap 3 units. Solar wind data from the ACE spacecraft
saw solar wind speeds decline from 450 kilometres per second on the
21st to 300 by the 26th. Particle densities were low throughout. Bz
varied no more than minus and plus 6 nanoTeslas during the period.
And now the solar forecast. This week the active side of the Sun is
expected to rotate into view on or around the 6th of March. A lot
will depend on how active the returning region is after spending the
last two weeks on the far side of the Sun. Remember, this is the
group that produced numerous M and one X class solar flares on its
last rotation. Solar activity should be low with a chance that
activity could increase higher than that. Solar flux levels are
expected to be about the 100 mark or even higher. Geomagnetic
activity should be quiet, however, if any large solar flares take
place and a coronal mass ejection that is heading our way, then
activity could increase. MUFs during daylight hours at equal
latitudes should be about 22MHz for the south and 19MHz for the
north. Darkness hour lows should be around 9MHz. Paths this week to
the east coast of North America should have a maximum usable
frequency with a 50 per cent success rate of around 20MHz. The
optimum working frequency with a 90 per cent success rate will be
about 15MHz. The best time to try this path will be between 1400 and
1900 hours.
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
10:00 on the Tuesday before transmission.
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