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G4TNU > NEWS 05.02.12 13:44l 291 Lines 15044 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 5th February 2012
The news headlines:
* The first two weeks of WRC-12
* Using Olympics logos, also called Games Marks
* Advanced exam processed in record time
Colin Thomas, G3PSM, is the RSGB representative on the UK Delegation
to WRC-12. He reports here on the first two weeks of work.
After two weeks of intense discussions, the 3000 plus delegates at
the World Radio Conference 2012 are slowly but surely coming to
consensus on many of the agenda items. A number of items have been
finalised, including agenda item 1.22 that looked at the subject of
Short Range Devices. It was decided that no changes were necessary to
the Radio Regulations with regard to this subject.
Unfortunately no such consensus has yet been reached on agenda item
1.23, which proposes an allocation to the amateur service in the
region of 500kHz. After 12 meetings of the sub working group dealing
with this matter, the segment 472-479kHz has been identified as the
most suitable band. This represents a very small compromise from the
European proposal of 472-480kHz. It is however a major compromise by
those administrations and regional groups who proposed 461-469 plus
471-478kHz or 472-487kHz. Despite this, and considerations taking
into account the protection of aeronautical non-directional beacons,
the Arab Spectrum Management Group and Iran still maintain a position
of no allocation to the amateur service. This agenda item will next
be discussed next Tuesday in a higher authority committee.
Another agenda item taking up a lot of talk time is 1.15, which deals
with allocations for HF Oceanic Radars. While not directly affecting
existing amateur services, there have been discussions around a
possible allocation around 5MHz. This is the frequency area in which
many countries, including the UK, have agreed channels for the
amateur service. The original proposal from the United States for a
200kHz allocation has been drastically reduced to a 25kHz allocation
in this area, but discussions continue.
Under agenda item 8.2, Future Conference Agenda Items, Cuba has
proposed a 50kHz allocation to the 5MHz amateur service. This
proposal was unexpected and has little support from other
administrations; however, the International Amateur Radio Union has
pledged their support and is lobbying administrations to support it.
The conference still has two weeks to run and nothing concerning the
amateur service has yet been decided.
Colin Thomas is posting daily reports from WRC-12 on the RSGB
website.
Although Ofcom has now granted permission for UK radio amateurs to
use special prefixes over this summer, this permission does NOT
extend to use of the various logos associated with the Games on QSL
cards etc. These logos, or Games Marks as they are called, are
strictly controlled by LOCOG and are not free for individuals and
organisations to use without express permission. You can read about
their use at the Frequently Asked Questions on the www.london2012.com
website. Project ECHO, concerned with the two main special stations,
is the exception and has been granted permission to use the Inspire
logo in a limited way. If any further information emerges we will
inform members.
An Advanced licence exam took place across the country on the evening
of Tuesday 31 January. By 3pm on Friday 3 February, all papers that
had arrived back at RSGB HQ had been processed and the results
uploaded to Ofcom. A few papers have not yet reached RSGB HQ; these
will be processed when they arrive.
Provisional results of the 2011 Islands On The Air contest have now
been published. Despite low sunspot levels, the contest organisers
received over 2,300 logs, the highest number yet. More than 632,000
QSOs were made and this has enabled them to adjudicate 75% of all
QSOs. The highest scoring station in the contest was the Bristol
Contest Group, GJ6YB, who operated from Jersey and achieved a score
of just under 15 million points from over 3,300 QSOs. The 2012
contest takes place on 28 and 29 July. The contest organisers have
indicated that there will be a number of significant rule changes in
2012, notably to the scoring to emphasise island QSOs. For the same
reason, there will no longer be a World multi-op category, as they
are anxious to refocus the contest on working islands, rather than
building points through non-island stations working other non-island
stations.
On 12 February, amateurs worldwide will be able to enjoy a virtual
tour of the station at ARRL HQ in a live webcast starting at 2200UTC.
W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, at ARRL Headquarters in
Connecticut has appeared in many logs. Anyone with an internet
connection will be able to watch the tour at
www.awecast.tv/channels/arrl/.
The FCC Spread Spectrum tests have got off to a good start. At
0052UTC on 1 February, Jose Ros, EA5HVK made the opening decode of
the first FCC – SS authorised experimental station, WF9XJD, on
10.132MHz, at a rock bottom level of -22dB S/N. With worsening
conditions and after a change to 7.055MHz, the QSO was completed
using MF-4 mode. Taking advantage of the north-south propagation, a
10 minute QSO with YV5MM followed at substantially higher signal
levels. A further eight or more experimental stations are due on the
HF bands over the next few weeks, taking the first steps to clarify
the data mode designations applicable to the USA amateur radio data
mode operators.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
Today, 5 February, the 27th Canvey Radio & Electronics Rally will be
held at The Paddocks, Long Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 0JA, which
is at the southern end of A130. Doors open at 10.30am. Details from
Dave, G4UVJ, on 01268 697 978 during the evening please.
Also today, 5 February, the Radio-Active Rally will take place in the
Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 5DG. Doors open at 10.30am and
there will be trade stands and Bring & Buy. More information from
Simon Chettle, G8ATB, on 01270 841 506.
The G3TFC Silent Key Auction of ex military & commercial radio
equipment will take place on 11 February in the Coventry area.
Admission is by ticket only. Details and lists of the equipment for
sale can be obtained from Stuart J Mckinnon, G0TBI on 07860 496 516,
or by email to stuartjmckinnon<at>aol.com.
The Harwell Radio & Electronics Rally will take place on 12 February
at Didcot Leisure Centre, Mereland Road, Didcot. Doors open at
10.30am and there is plenty of free carparking. Admission is GBP 2.50
with accompanied under 12s free. There will be trade stands and a
flea market as well as special interest groups at the event. More
details from Ann, G8NVI on 01235 816 379.
The Northern Cross Rally will take place at Thornes Park Stadium,
Horbury Road, Wakefield WF2 8TY on Sunday 12 February. The usual mix
of traders and groups will attend, including the RSGB bookstall and a
local wind up mast manufacturer. Entrance is GBP 3 per person and
refreshments are available. Doors open at 10.30am. You are advised
NOT to park on the road outside as it has double yellow lines on it,
but use the available car parks. For more information, contact Ken,
2E0SSQ on 07900 563117, before 8pm please.
The organisers of the Swansea Rally, planned for 26 February, have
been obliged to cancel it. They hope to be able to re-schedule it
later in the year. Details from Roger, GW4HSH, on 01792 404 422.
Now for the news of special events
GB80PW will be on the air on 9 February to celebrate the 80th
anniversary of Practical Wireless magazine. On air on the 2nd
Thursday of the month throughout 2012, Rob Mannion, G3XFD and Phil
Ciotti, G3XBZ plan to be active from 10am to 4pm. They will be
concentrating on 7MHz, mainly SSB and PSK31, with some operation on
14MHZ SSB and PSK 31.
GB50WVR will be on the air, starting on Friday 10 February, and then
throughout 2012 on various dates, to celebrate 50 years of the
Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. Full details are on qrz.com.
And now the HF DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
W6HGF will be on the air stroke FP from Miquelon Island between 10
and 20 February. Activity will be on 10 through to 160 metres but
focused on the digital modes, mostly RTTY. QSL via Logbook of the
World or to W6HGF, direct or via the bureau.
HU2DX will be on the air from El Salvador until 10 February. The
usual prefix in El Salvador is YS so this operation will also be of
interest to prefix hunters. The QSL manager is DH7WW.
3B8GY will be on the air from Mauritius Island, IOTA reference
AF-049, from 5 to 25 February. They will be on all HF bands using CW,
SSB and RTTY. They will participate in the ARRL DX CW Contest on 18
and 19 February. QSL via SP2JMB.
Expect quite a bit of activity to take place from Guantanamo Bay in
February. KN4KL will operate as KG4KL until 18 February using SSTV,
RTTY, SSB, PSK and maybe CW. WB4DNL will operate as KG4DL from 6 to
14 February using mostly CW. Finally, W4WV will operate as KG4WV from
6 to 23 February using SSB, PSK, RTTY and maybe CW. QSL via their
home callsigns.
DO5ALX, operating as V31RU and DG7RO, operating as V31TF plan to be
active from Belize until 26 February. They plan to concentrate on 30,
17 and 12 metres RTTY and SSB and to take part in the CQ WW WPX RTTY
Contest as a Multi-Two entry. QSL via home calls.
Now the contest news
The 432MHz AFS contest is the final Super League event of the
2011/2012 season. It takes place for four hours today, Sunday 5th,
from 0900 to 1300UTC. A French contest coincides with the first
couple of hours, so don't forget to take advantage of the activity by
beaming that way early on. The exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
The European Phase Shift Keying Club's PSK63 Contest finishes today,
5 February, at 1200UTC. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz, the exchange is
signal report and serial number.
The wait for the start of the new 80m Club Championship series is
over and it begins this month with an SSB session on the 6th.
Remember please that for the entire Club Championship series the
maximum power that should be run is 100 watts output. For Foundation
licensees and those who welcome an additional challenge, there is
also a QRP, 10 watt output, section. Look out for SSB activity from
2000 to 2130UTC, with the exchange being signal report and serial
number.
The 144MHz UK Activity Contest takes place from 2000 to 2230 on 7
February. Using all modes on the band the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
The First 1.8MHz Contest takes place for four hours, from 2100 on the
evening of the 11th to 0100 on the 12th. Entries can be CW-only,
SSB-only or mixed mode. Exchange a signal report, serial number and
your District Code, which is the first two letters of your postcode.
For those who live in postcode areas that begin with a single letter,
these are padded out to two letters. A full list of District codes
can be found on the Contest Committee website or in the RSGB Yearbook.
The first of this year's CQWW WPX contests is the RTTY, which takes
place for the entire 48 hours of the weekend of 11/12th. There are
categories for QRP, low and high power, single or multi-operator
stations, various numbers of transmitters and even single-operator
stations where the operator has been licensed for less than three
years. With the HF bands now in good shape, 10m could well be busy
for long hours. The exchange is signal report and serial number.
For 24 hours of the same weekend the PACC Contest will be running on
CW and SSB. Work as many Dutch stations as possible per band, giving
RST and serial number. Dutch stations give RST + two-letter Province
abbreviation and there are twelve in all. The multiplier is the
number of provinces worked per band and once again there are numerous
entry categories.
And now the solar factual data for the period from Friday the 27th of
January to the 2nd of February, compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS on the
3rd of February.
On the 27th, as one of the large active sunspot groups was rotating
out of view, it produced an X1 solar flare. This is the first X class
solar flare since the beginning of November. Associated with this
flare was a coronal mass ejection and a sudden ionospheric
disturbance. After this flare, solar activity was very low to low,
with only small C class solar flares taking place on some days. Solar
flux levels on the 27th were 142 units, this figure was enhanced due
to the X class solar flare, a more realistic figure would have been
around 120 units. Levels then declined to 110 units by the 29th but
then recovered to 118 units by the 2nd. The average was 119 units.
The 90 day solar flux average on the 2nd was 141 units, that's two
units down on last week. X-ray flux levels declined from B5.9 units
on the 28th to B2.2 units by the 1st. The average was B3.3 units.
Geomagnetic activity was quiet every day. The coronal mass ejection
from the X1 solar flare missed planet Earth and headed for the STEREO
ahead spacecraft. The solar wind measuring equipment there detected
the blast as it passed. Back here, the average for the period was Ap
5 units. Solar wind data from the ACE spacecraft saw solar wind
speeds decline from 580 kilometres per second on the 27th to 330 by
the 31st. Particle densities were low except for the morning of the
31st, which increased briefly to 23 particles per cubic centimetre.
Bz varied between minus and plus 8 nanoTeslas on the 30th and between
minus 4 and plus 3 nanoTeslas on the quieter days.
And finally the solar forecast. The slightly more active side of the
sun is expected to rotate into view as the week progresses. At first
solar activity is expected to be at low levels but activity could
increase to moderate levels later in the week. Solar flux levels
should increase and by next weekend be around the 130s. Geomagnetic
activity is expected to be mostly quiet but could increase slightly
around the 12th when a weak coronal hole disturbance could take
place. MUFs during daylight hours at equal latitudes should be around
29MHz for the south and 26MHz for the north. Darkness hour lows
should be about 8MHz. Paths this week to the Middle East should have
a maximum usable frequency with a 50 per cent success rate of around
30MHz. The optimum working frequency with a 90 per cent success rate
will be about 24MHz. The best time to try this path will be between
1000 and 1400 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 Thursday before transmission.
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