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G4TNU > NEWS 05.05.13 01:20l 231 Lines 11731 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 05 May 2013
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 5th May 2013
The news headlines:
* Latest news for G100RSGB
* G0M series QSL manager steps down
* Spring 5MHz Newsletter published
G100RSGB, the special event callsign celebrating the RSGB Centenary
will be operated today and tomorrow by Horsham ARC, who plan to use
the 10 to 80m bands as well as 2m and 70cm with SSB, CW, data and FM
signals. On Tuesday, the callsign moves to Brede Steam ARS who will
run CW, SSB, PSK and FM on the 10 to 80m bands as well as 2m.
Wednesday, Crawley ARC have organised a station to run on the 160m to
23cm bands using CW, SSB, FM and data. Banbury ARS are running the
callsign on Thursday and Friday of this week, using the 10 to 160m
bands plus 2m and 70cm. On Saturday Newhaven Fort ARG take over with
a station on the 20 and 40m bands using SSB and CW. Next Sunday, 12
May, Fort Purbrook RC will put the callsign on the air on the 20 and
40m bands as well as 2m and 70cm using SSB, CW and FM. Details of how
to get your QSL card are on the website, www.rsgb.org.uk under the
Operating drop down menu, clicking on Centenary Station.
Phil, G7BZD was the sub manager for the G0M series of callsigns but
has had to give up the job due to health reasons. The RSGB would like
to thank him for his service to the Society and his fellow amateurs.
All the remaining cards and envelopes have been returned to the QSL
bureau. Please do not send envelopes to Phil as details of the new
QSL manager will appear in RadCom and on the RSGB website.
The Spring 2013 edition of The 5MHz Newsletter is now available for
free download. This edition features news about 5MHz amateur band
allocations, the latest update of the Worldwide Amateur 5MHz
Allocations Chart, plus stories on 5MHz Web software defined radios
and much more. You can download your copy at tinyurl.com/dxlpgyj.
A NASA funded sounding rocket mission will launch from an atoll in
the Pacific in the next few weeks to help scientists better
understand and predict the electrical storms in Earth's upper
atmosphere. These severe weather outbursts can interfere with
satellite communication, the global positioning system and other
space-based communications including some used by radio amateurs. The
EVEX mission will consist of the launch two rockets from the Marshall
Islands for a twelve minute information gathering journey through the
equatorial ionosphere above the South Pacific. The twin spacecraft
will measure events in two separate regions of the ionosphere to see
how they work together to drive the ionosphere from placid and smooth
to violently disturbed. The launch window for EVEX runs until 10 May.
More on this propagation study mission is online at
tinyurl.com/nasa-storm-rocket.
The Radio Communications Foundation will be holding a Trustees
meeting on 15 May. The objectives of the charity are "to advance the
education of the public in the science and practice of radio
communication and electrical engineering and to promote the wider
benefits to the public resulting from such education and training".
The Trustees welcome requests for funding for projects that are in
line with these objectives. At its May meeting the Trustees will be
looking specifically at smaller projects. If you have a project that
you think would benefit from RCF funding and would qualify, then
please send details of it to marilyn.slade<at>rsgb.org.uk or by post
to The Secretary, Radio Communications Foundation at RSGB HQ. If you
are proposing or considering undertaking a major project requiring
funding then please let the Secretary know so it may be considered at
a later date. All decisions on whether to provide financial support
are made by the Trustees and there is no certainty that any project
proposed will receive funding.
Due to the demand for tickets, the RSGB Centenary dinner booking
deadline has been extended. In addition to the after dinner speech by
Prof Peter Cochrane, OBE, G3RVC, we can now announce that Steve Dean,
a close up magician who will be familiar to regular Convention
diners, will mix and mingle with guests during the early part of the
dinner. He is a popular part of the RSGB Gala dinner at recent RSGB
Convention and will add an interesting element to the event.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
The Dambusters Hamfest will take place today, 5 May, at the Thorpe
Camp Visitor Centre, Coningsby, Lincs LN4 4PE. Doors open at 10am and
entry is GBP 3. This year there will be a Bring & Buy, and GB617SQN
will be on the air.
Bank holiday Monday, 6 May, sees the Dartmoor Radio Rally taking
place at Tavistock College, Crowndale Road, Tavistock, Devon
PL19 8DD. Doors open at 10.30am with entry costing GBP 2. There will
be trade stands and a Bring & Buy. Details from Viv on 01752 823 427.
The next rallies take place on 19 May and include the 30th National
Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale in Luton and the Wolverhampton ARS Table
Top Sale.
Now for the news of special events
The Radio Society of Harrow will be running demonstration station
GX3EFX at the Harrow Museum May Day celebrations, at the Headstone
Manor in Harrow on bank holiday Monday, 6 May. Details from Linda,
G7RJL on 020 8386 8586.
GB4PEN is a CW only special event running from 10 May for 14 days to
remember the loss of the Penlee Lifeboat. Full details on QRZ.com.
Huntingdonshire Amateur Radio Society will be active for Mills on the
Air on 11 and 12 May from Duloe Windmill, near St Neots, using the
callsign GB2DWM.
On the 16 and 17th May, the Lincoln Short Wave Club are operating
GB70DAM in memory of the Air Crew and German civilians killed during
the 617 Squadron's raid on the great Ruhr dams of Germany. The
station will be on RAF Scampton's bomb dump where Barnes Wallis's
bouncing bomb was delivered on 16 May 1943. The station will operate
from 3pm on the 16th until 3pm on the 17th using 40 and 80m, band
conditions permitting. A limited edition QSL card will be available,
details on QRZ.com.
And now the DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
JA9LSZ is currently active from Nepal as 9N7SZ. His operation is on
the HF bands only. Please QSL to JA9LSZ.
JJ8DEN will be active from Puka Puka Atoll, IOTA OC-062, in French
Polynesia until 7 May. This will be followed by an operation from
Raivavae Island, OC-114 in the Austral Island group as KH0PR stroke
FO from 8 to 15 May. He will be active on the HF bands using CW, RTTY
and PSK. QSL via JJ8DEN.
The Oceania DX Group will activate Norfolk Island, OC-005, as VK9NT,
until 13 May. Four stations on the 10 to 80m bands will use CW, SSB
and RTTY. An Online QSL Request Service will be available for bureau
and direct cards on Club Log, which is the preferred method. Paper
QSL can go direct to VK2CA.
A group of nine operators will be active as SX5KL from Kalolimnos,
IOTA EU-001, from 10 to 20 May. They will operate CW, SSB and RTTY on
the 6 to 160m bands. QSL via SV2FWV, direct or bureau and Logbook of
The World.
Pierre, HB9AMO is currently active as 5U9AMO in Niger. It is a
holiday-style operation and he will be there until 30 May. Listen for
his CW signal on all bands from 10 to 80m. QSL manager is M0URX and
logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World.
ZL1AAO will be on Rarotonga Island, OC-013, in the South Cook
Islands, until 14 May. He will use the callsign E51AAO running 100
watts on SSB on the 10 to 40m bands. QSLs go via the home callsign.
A team of Egyptian IOTA enthusiasts will operate from Nelson's Island
in the Nile Delta and Sinai Region until 10 May. The callsign will be
SU8N. This will be the first operation from this island, and the
Islands on the Air reference number is AF-109.
Now the contest news
The Worked All Britain LF phone contest on the 40, 80 and 160m bands
takes place today, 5 May. Running from 1000 to 1400UTC, the exchange
is signal report, serial number and WAB square. Entries need to be
with the contest manager by 26 May. Full details of the rules and
logsheets may be obtained from the WAB website,
www.worked-all-britain.co.uk or from the contest manager, G3XKT, by
email to aebbooks<at>ntlworld.com.
May 6 sees the 80m Club Championships SSB leg take place from 1900 to
2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.
The following day, 7 May, it is the 144MHz UK Activity Contest from
1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report,
serial number and locator.
Next weekend, 12 May, the 70MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC.
The exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.
Now the solar report for the period from Friday 26 April to Thursday
the 2nd of May, compiled by Martin Harrison, G3USF, on Friday 3rd May.
Solar activity was mostly low, though numerous C-class flares were
reported every day. The level rose to moderate on the 2nd, when an
M1.9 flare was reported. The solar flux increased from 122 on the
26th to 165 on the 30th, the highest level since January. The average
over the week was 144, which is 33 higher than the previous week. The
90-day average gained 3 points to 115. The X-ray flux was also up,
from an average B4.5 units to B7.9. Geomagnetic activity was
variable. A C7 flare on the 24th resulted in a short, sharp
disturbance early on the 26th and an Ap index for the day of 18
units. HF MUFs were depressed by a couple of MHz for most of the day.
During the next few days geomagnetic activity was low, with the Ap
index in single figures. There was another disturbance on May 1st. A
high-speed coronal stream caused a minor storm when the
interplanetary magnetic field turned south to -11 nanoTeslas.
Particle densities, which were generally low, surged to 43 per cubic
centimetre. The Ap index for the day was 21. VHF aurora was reported
from midday through to the evening. As usual, its main UK
beneficiaries were in Scotland. However, just before that
disturbance, the whole UK had strong Sporadic-E at both 50 and 70MHz,
and the MUF was reported to have reached 87MHz.
Now the forecast. Solar activity is likely to remain mostly low.
However, several sunspot groups now on the solar disc or about to
turn into view have the potential for M-class flares. The solar flux
may fall back from the level of recent days, possibly into the 130s.
The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly quiet, though a
recurring coronal hole may lead to slightly higher levels at the
start of the week. The major uncertainty is whether one of the
sunspot regions facing us will produce a coronal mass ejection,
bringing a disturbance later in the week. MUFs at equal latitudes
will be around 23MHz in the south and 20MHz in the north. Darkness
lows will again be about 12MHz. Sporadic-E up to 70MHz should occur
on most days. It is still a little early in the season for openings
on 144MHz, but they have been known. So it's a good idea to keep an
ear on Band 2 FM for rising MUFs. Paths to South America this week
should have a maximum usable frequency, with a 50 per cent chance of
a contact of 28MHz. The optimum working frequency, where there should
be a 90 per cent prospect of success, will be 22MHz. The best times
will be between 1300 and 2100UTC.
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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