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G4TNU > NEWS 22.03.20 03:26l 256 Lines 12883 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 22 Mar 2020
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 22nd of March 2020
The news headlines:
* Coronavirus affects amateur radio events worldwide
* RSGB Board changes AGM arrangements
* BATC offers free streaming & chat service
There is no doubt that these are challenging times. However, licensed
radio amateurs have a great way of keeping in touch with one another
across the world. Clubs and groups are launching virtual meetings to
make sure no-one feels isolated in the coming weeks. We have also
seen radio amateurs step up with extra nets and repeater check-ins to
provide welfare checks on all local amateurs.
The RSGB has launched a new Coronavirus Updates page that brings
together some of these great ideas as well as its important
announcements. Take a look at www.rsgb.org/coronavirus-updates.
RSGB General Manager, Steve Thomas, M1ACB explains more about how the
RSGB is adapting to the fast-moving situation: "We took the decision
to close the RSGB National Radio Centre earlier this week to help
protect our staff, volunteers and visitors. You will also have seen
announcements about changes to our AGM, exams and contests over recent
days. During this difficult time we have also been focused on protecting
the welfare of our volunteer teams and the staff at RSGB HQ in Bedford.
The majority of the sixteen RSGB staff are now working remotely but we
will maintain a skeleton staff at the office, to receive deliveries, for
as long as we can. Our staff have a very positive team spirit as they
adjust to new working environments while we strive to maintain the usual
services. We are still supporting Members and volunteers through the
usual telephone and online services, so do continue to contact RSGB
HQ in the usual way. Thank you for your support as we face these
challenges together."
In response to the government's latest Covid-19 recommendations, the
RSGB Board has changed the arrangements for the Society's AGM due to
take place on the 25th of April. The physical meeting in Birmingham
will not take place, and the information that would have been made
available at the AGM will now be made available online. The
Resolutions to be voted on are on our website at www.rsgb.org/agm2020
where you will also find links to the Board candidate statements and
to cast your vote. You should continue to vote online as normal. The
accounts will be published on the 1st of April on the AGM web page.
As you will not be able to vote in person at the AGM, please remember
to vote online by 9am on Thursday the 23rd of April. If you do not
have the facility to vote online, you can request a postal vote by
contacting RSGB HQ. Postal votes must be returned to Civica Election
Services, in the envelope provided, to arrive there no later than 9am
on Thursday the 23rd of April. Please bear in mind that postal
services may well be delayed so leave plenty of time if you need to
vote in this way. Results of the voting will be published on the RSGB
website and social media channels on Saturday the 25th of April.
Trophy winners will be announced on the RSGB website and social media
channels on Saturday the 25th of April. Arrangements to present the
trophies in person will be made later. We appreciate that the AGM is
an important date in the RSGB calendar and some Members have attended
it regularly for many years. But the Board cannot ignore the current
health climate and put Members, staff and volunteers at risk by
continuing with the AGM as intended. Every effort will be made to
hold the AGM as usual in 2021.
In order to support the worldwide amateur radio community during the
Covid-19 virus pandemic, BATC is offering free use of the BATC Video
Streaming Service and chat facility to any radio club or group of
radio amateurs. This will enable clubs to hold virtual meetings with
HD video and audio streaming and a chat window for real time feedback
and discussion. To enable this, the BATC is offering free one-year
cyber membership to any radio club or group of radio amateurs. For
details of how to apply, please go to the BATC website,
https://batc.org.uk.
Following on from the exam announcement earlier this week, it has
been decided that with immediate effect and until further notice, the
RSGB Exam Department will not be accepting or processing any new exam
bookings. If you have already carried out a practical assessment for
a Foundation or Intermediate exam and it is still valid, the period
of validity – normally one year – will be automatically extended
by the length of time that we are not offering exams. Exams already
booked can, of course, go ahead at the discretion of the club, or can
be postponed until a future date. The RSGB recommends that all clubs
carrying out exams, training and practical assessments should carry
out a risk assessment to ensure they are not putting themselves or
candidates at risk.
It is with regret that the HF and VHF Contest Committees have decided
that, with immediate effect and until the end of June 2020, they will
no longer accept multi-operator contest entries for any RSGB Contest.
Single operator entries from shared stations will also not be
accepted, unless the station is being shared by family members living
at the same postal address. The RSGB HF CW NFD Contest scheduled in
June is cancelled for this year. They have decided not to ban
portable operation by single operators because of the potential
mental health benefits associated with engaging in hobbies as well as
the lack of person-to-person contact in normal single operator
contesting. However, they encourage everyone to follow the government
guidelines regarding social distancing and unnecessary travel. They
will review these rule changes regularly in line with the most recent
government advice to determine if they need to extend or modify the
restrictions. In early June they will decide if the VHF NFD, the IOTA
Contest and SSB NFD can go ahead as planned.
The RSGB band plans are now available in a number of formats online
at www.rsgb.org/bandplans. The page also includes a background
article that was published in RadCom earlier this year. If you have
any questions, please follow the web links to the RSGB Spectrum
Managers, who can help.
Some advice from the Intruder Watch Co-ordinator next as the bands
get busier. If you hear an HF intruder, please just note the date,
time and exact frequency and report it to Intruder Watch, via email
to iw<at>rsgb.org.uk. Amateurs should never transmit over intruding
signals in an attempt to disrupt them, no matter how frustrating
their presence may be. This can hamper regulators throughout Region
1, not just Ofcom, in gaining concise and accurate evidence.
Finally, don't forget, in the UK the clocks go forward 1 hour at 1am
on the 29th of March, next Sunday. This means we will be on British
Summer Time.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Due to concerns raised over the Covoid-19 virus, many events in the
forthcoming weeks are being cancelled or postponed. We will of course
keep you posted as we learn of any updates during this
rapidly-changing situation, and we will keep the Rallies page on the
RSGB website as up to date as we can. Please check carefully before
travelling to any event. So far we have heard that the following
rallies have definitely been cancelled or postponed.
March and April events that are cancelled include the Callington
Radio Rally, the Yeovil QRP Convention, the MFARS Surplus Sale and
Radio Meet and the Andover Radio Club Spring Boot Sale.
March and April events that have been postponed are the CW Boot Camp
at Stirling, the 23rd annual GMDX Convention, the Dover ARC Hamzilla
Radio Fest and Electronics Fair and the Kempton Rally.
Rearranged dates can be found on the RSGB website, at least for those
that we get told about. Please send updates of your rally and event
plans as soon as possible to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk.
And now the DX news
Due to travel restrictions around the world changing daily, we have
decided not to include any DXpedition and similar news until the
situation changes.
Now the special event news
Covid–19 is affecting special event stations too. GB1SCW was due to
take place on the 7th of June from the National Coastwatch
Institution facilities at Shoreham. However, the NCI has closed their
watch stations until further notice. When there is more information,
any updates will be shown closer to the event on QRZ.com.
Now the contest news
Running for 48 hours until 0200UTC on the 23rd, the BARTG HF RTTY
contest takes place using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands. The
exchange is signal report, serial number and time.
Running for 24 hours until 1200UTC today, the 22nd, the Russian DX
Contest uses CW and SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands. The
exchange is signal report and serial number, with Russian stations
also sending their Oblast code.
On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1930 to 2230UTC.
Using all modes on the 2.3 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal
report, serial number and locator.
Also on Tuesday, the IRTS 80m Evening Counties contest runs from 2000
to 2100UTC. Using CW and SSB, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and County code.
On Wednesday the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m contest runs from
2000 to 2100UTC. Using CW only, the exchange is your four-character
locator.
Next weekend the CQ World Wide SSB contest runs from 0000UTC on the
28th to 2359UTC on the 29th. It's SSB only on the 1.8 to 28MHz
contest bands, with the exchange of signal report and serial number.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 20th of March.
Last week saw a continuation of the zero sunspot regime we've been
seeing for the past few months. The solar flux index remained in the
range 70-72, with settled geomagnetic conditions and with the Kp
index remaining in the range of one to two. Thursday the 19th was the
exception, when the Kp index rose to four between midnight and 0300.
This was undoubtedly due to a high-speed stream from a returning
solar coronal hole, but it was relatively short lived. The critical
frequency graphs at Propquest.co.uk show that this had minimal
adverse effects.
This weekend marks the spring equinox, which is normally a good time
for HF conditions. With equal illumination on both hemispheres, it is
a good time for north-south paths such as the UK to South Africa, and
the UK to South America. Predtest.uk shows that you probably have a
30-40% chance of making an FT8 contact with South Africa on 14MHz,
perhaps even 18MHz, around 1600UTC this month. The path to Buenos
Aires on 14MHz is similar, being optimum around 1900- 2000UTC.
Next week NOAA predicts more of the same, with the solar flux index
remaining around 70. Geomagnetic conditions should remain settled,
other than on Friday the 27th when the Kp index is predicted to rise
to four.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
The coming week appears to be dominated by high pressure, so this
will bring a chance of Tropo to many parts of the country, although
it's not a very favourable-looking feature in a Tropo sense. There
are three phases to this period. First, this weekend we are in the
easterly flow, probably fairly dry air so not necessarily a good
Tropo spell, especially with the brisk southeasterly winds.
Secondly, into next week a cold front moves into northwest Britain
and drifts southeast, disrupting the high pressure and any potential
Tropo.
The third phase, from midweek, sees the cold front weaken and high
pressure build again as a weak ridge across the country, which
remains into next weekend. This may be a better prospect for Tropo,
but still not a strong steer.
As for the other exotic modes, Sporadic-E seems a relatively low
probability and rain scatter in high pressure also tends to be rare.
That just leaves the spring preference for aurora to keep us hopeful.
We have a daytime Moon all week, with declination going positive
again on Tuesday. Peak Moon elevations will continue to increase, but
with apogee also on Tuesday, path losses are at their highest for the
Lunar Month. 144MHz sky noise is low all week.
With no major meteor showers due until the Lyrids at the end of April
now, just keep looking for random meteor scatter QSOs around dawn.
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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