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G4TNU > NEWS 04.04.21 09:08l 213 Lines 9806 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 04 Apr 2021
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 4th of April 2021
The news headlines:
* Tonight@8 on 12th April
* Vote in RSGB Elections
* Free Emergency Comms Training
Tonight @ 8 in April has moved back a week and will be at 8pm on
Monday the 12th of April. Alan, W2AEW will give an introduction to
VNAs and the NanoVNA. You can watch and ask questions live on the
RSGB YouTube channel. For more information about all the Tonight@8
webinars see the Society's website at rsgb.org/webinars.
Have you voted yet in the RSGB elections? You can find voting
guidance and read statements from all the candidates on the RSGB
website at rsgb.org/agm. Both candidates for RSGB President have also
been part of an interview with Callum, M0MCX on YouTube at
youtube.com/dxcommander.
A Radio Emergency Communications Training Event will take place on
the 10th and 11th of April between 1600 and 2359UTC each day.
Previously an in-person event in Seattle, this year it will be
virtual. The event's theme is Disasters Here, There, and Everywhere
– Are We Prepared? The two days of training, talks, and information
on emergency communications and amateur radio is free to attend,
register at commacademy.org.
The latest episode of ICQ Podcast features an in-depth interview with
three senior RSGB representatives. They are Board Director John,
M0JAV; Exam Standards Committee Chair Tony, G8PBH; and General
Manager Steve, M1ACB. Listen to an explanation about the new EMF
regulations, an update on exams, an overview of the RSGB in 2020 and
a look forward to 2021. Go to rsgb.services/gb2rs/008 and the RSGB
piece starts at 1 hour and 2 minutes.
Chelmsford Civic Society has a Zoom talk by Chris Neale of the
Chelmsford Science and Engineering Society on Wednesday the 14th of
April at 7.30pm. Entitled RDF to RADAR, my parents contribution to
Hitler's downfall and how I came to be!, it is a free event to
attend. This talk highlights the roles played by two of the many
hundreds of RAF personnel who helped deliver this initially-primitive
radar capability to a level that ensured that a German invasion was
thwarted. To book a place, search for Chelmsford Civic Society and
click on the Events tab.
SOS Radio Week starts at 0000UTC on the 1st of May and runs until the
31st to coincide with the RNLI's own Mayday fundraising month.
Stations are encouraged to register to become an official station.
For further details of the event please visit sosradioweek.org.uk.
Now the DX news
Toni, EA5RM is in Bolivia working on a non-governmental
organisation's project until the 27th of April. In his spare time he
will operate SSB and digital modes as CP1XRM. QSL via EA5RM and
Logbook of The World.
Stationed at Casey Station in Antarctica until at least November,
Paul, VK2PAD is active as VK0PD in his spare time. Currently he has a
20/40m dipole 10m above ground level and so far he has some contacts
on 20m. QSL via EB7DX.
Now the Special Event news
Celebrating World Amateur Radio Day, DA21WARD will operate from the
1st of April until June. QSL via the bureau, or direct to DK5ON.
John, MW1CFN will be active as GB1004FTS from Anglesey, IOTA
reference EU-005, until the 8th of April. He will operate SSB and
digital modes on the HF bands, 6 and 2m. QSL via Logbook of The World
or direct.
The Wireless Institute of Australia is celebrating the centenary of
the Royal Australian Air Force with two callsigns. VI100AF will
operate until the 29th of May. It will be used by radio amateurs that
are either current or veteran military personnel; some activities may
be from military bases. VK100AF will be active until the 31st of
August. Full details are on QRZ.com.
Now the contest news
With different part of the UK having different lockdown restrictions,
please make sure you follow the appropriate rules. Several contests
now accept portable entries, so please check the contest rules. Above
all, please follow relevant national and local restrictions.
The SP DX contest runs for 24 hours until 1500UTC today, the 4th.
Using CW and SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is
signal report and serial number. SP stations will also exchange their
Province code.
Today, the 4th of April the First 70MHz contest runs from 0900 to
1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
On Monday the IRTS 70cm Counties Contest runs from 1300 to 1330UTC.
It is followed by the IRTS 2m Counties Contest from 1330 to 1500UTC.
Both contests are FM and SSB and the exchange is signal report and
serial number. Irish stations also give their county.
On Tuesday, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC.
It is followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900
to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and
locator.
On Wednesday, the third FT4 series contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC.
Using the 3.5 to 14MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report
and your 4-character locator.
The 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC on
Wednesday. The exchange is signal report and your 4-character locator.
The UK EI Contest Club 80m contest runs from 1900 to 2000UTC on
Wednesday. Using SSB only the exchange is your locator.
On Thursday, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC.
Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and
locator.
Next Sunday, the 11th, is a busy day for contests. The First 50MHz
contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC and uses all modes. The exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
The UK Microwave Group second Low Band contest runs from 1000 to
1600UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
Running from 1000 to 2100UTC, the Worked All Britain Data Contest
uses the 3.5 to 14MHz contest bands. The exchange is signal report,
serial number and WAB square. Note this contest has two sessions.
The first RoLo Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC using SSB only on
the 80m band. The exchange is the signal report and the locator
received.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on
Thursday the 1st of April.
This last week has certainly been quieter from a geomagnetic
disturbance point of view. We have seen the Kp index at one for much
of the time, and it even hit zero in the early hours of Tuesday the
30th. We have not been quite so lucky on the sunspot front, with zero
spots being recorded on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, 17 metres has provided some good DX paths, especially
via FT8, and even 21MHz has opened up at times. The Far East and the
Caribbean have been favourites on 17 metres, but a quick scan through
15 metres showed nothing, except for a spike at 21.074MHz where a
good sprinkling of European stations, plus Brazil, Saudi Arabia and
Israel could be copied.
There have been some North-South paths worked on 10 metres via
Trans-Equatorial Propagation or TEP, but these have mainly favoured
stations located south of the UK. Coming down to 40 metres, there is
always fun to be had contacting Summits on the Air operators, who are
always keen to make contacts. SOTA ops in Switzerland, Austria and
Germany can usually be worked on CW around 7.032MHz, even with QRP
power, no doubt due to their very low noise levels on mountain tops.
Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain in the
low 70s, with quiet geomagnetic conditions for the first half of the
week. From the eighth to the tenth we may expect more disturbed
conditions due to the return of another coronal hole. There is also
the slim chance of the odd Sporadic-E opening, particularly on 10
metres, but more of that in the next section.
And now the VHF and up propagation news.
Conditions in the warm air part of the high pressure have been good
with some strong Tropo, especially over England and Wales. The fronts
over Scotland and Ireland have prevented any Tropo there, but will
weaken by this weekend when we will find the main high centre to the
north and west of Britain introducing some chance of temporary Tropo
here also. The big change is the development of a dominant low over
Scandinavia during this weekend and this will bring strong northerly
winds and a return of very cold air with a chance of wintry showers
moving south today, Easter Sunday, and Monday. This will potentially
be a good time for some rain scatter on the GHz bands. These
springtime showers can be sources of hail and thunderstorms, so be
ready to track them on the many online radar sites. Conditions remain
cold and unsettled for much of the next week.
For Sporadic-E enthusiasts, we are entering the period when the first
fleeting openings may make a surprise appearance even for the
traditional modes like SSB and CW, so perhaps give 10m a look now and
again and possibly 6m too. Obviously, digital modes will potentially
be a good early warning sign of activity, or at least the directions
of interest.
Moon declination is at minimum today, so peak Moon elevations are at
their lowest but will increase as the week progresses. We are past
perigee so losses will also increase.
With no significant meteor showers this week, the best time for
meteor scatter contacts is the pre-dawn random meteor enhancement.
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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