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G4TNU > NEWS 22.12.13 01:23l 248 Lines 12624 Bytes #999 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 22 Dec 2013
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 22nd December 2013
Season's greetings from the GB2RS Editorial Team: Elaine Richards,
G4LFM (who compiles the Main News) and Giles Read, G1MFG (who puts
together the Local News section).]
The news headlines:
* Last GB2RS of 2013
* RSGB Past President becomes SK
* Special prefix announced for Scottish stations
This is the last GB2RS broadcast of 2013. There will be no news
readings on 29 December or 5 January. We will be back on Sunday 12
January, bringing you the all the latest amateur radio news. We would
like to take this opportunity to send warm season's greetings to all
our listeners and wish everyone a prosperous New Year. The RSGB HQ
will close for the Christmas and New Year holiday at noon on 24
December. It will re-open on 2 January. You will be pleased to know
that the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park will continue to be
open Thursday to Sunday throughout December and January, whenever
Bletchley Park is open. Please check the website before travelling.
We would like to thank those volunteers who continue to give their
time to keep the NRC open and on the air.
The RSGB is saddened to hear that RSGB Past President Tim Hughes,
G3GVV is now a Silent Key. Tim served on the RSGB Council in the late
1960s. He became President in 1972 and worked tirelessly in
international affairs for the RSGB, attending a number of IARU and
ITU conferences. He later became Secretary of IARU Region 1, taking
over when John Allaway, G3FKM became unable to continue through ill
health in 1998. He remained active and on the air until the last few
months of his life and passed away peacefully at home on 13 December
at the age of 95. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at
this time.
Ofcom has advised that licensed amateurs with a main station address
in Scotland will be allowed to use the special prefix A instead of
the usual M for the period from Burns Night to St Andrews Day during
2014. Further details will be published on the Ofcom and RSGB
websites as they become available, and a Notice of Variation will be
available for download from the RSGB website in the New Year.
The KW Radios Yahoo group is dedicated to restoring and using
equipment made by KW Electronics. It is planning its first KW Weekend
on 4 and 5 January. This offers a chance to bring some of those shack
and barn finds back into use, keep the shack warm and have a little
fun on the first winter weekend of 2014. Weekend centres of activity
will be plus or minus 10kHz of 7.1 and 14.3MHz for phone and FISTS
activity centres for CW. Owners are encouraged to use all bands, and
to share KW serial numbers to help the group build up a better
picture of KW ownership in the 21st century.
The RSGB Board has appointed Ken Hatton, G3VBA as GB2RS Manager with
effect from 1 January. Ken first became interested in amateur radio
as a schoolboy and has been licensed 47 years. He told GB2RS that he
is proud to become GB3RS manager following on from Gordon, G3LEQ,
whose contribution to the news service has been immense.
The special event callsign celebrating the RSGB Centenary will be
operated today by MI0MSR Ballymoney using PSK 31 and RTTY on the 20,
17, 15 and 10m bands. On Monday and Tuesday, Hilltop Radio Group will
operate from Castlederg using the 10 to 40m bands with SSB and PSK
signals. On Christmas Day and Boxing Day it's the turn of MI0WJC in
Coleraine using SSB, FM and PSK on the 40m, 20m & 2m bands. Friday
and Saturday sees Grey Point Fort ARS operating from Helens Bay using
CW, SSB, FM and PSK on the 10 to 160m bands as well as 2 m and 70cm.
The penultimate day of operation is by the Castles & Stately Homes on
the Air team from Milltown using CW, SSB and PSK on the 15, 20, 40
and 80m bands. Finally for this Centenary year, on 31 December,
GI0AZB will operate from Dungiven using SSB and FM on 10 to 40m as
well as 2m and 70cm. Details of how to get your QSL card are on the
RSGB website, www.rsgb.org.uk, under the Operating drop down menu,
clicking on Centenary Station. The RSGB would like to thank every
operator who has taken part in the Centenary Year, making it better
than was ever hoped.
Brian Justin, WA1ZMS/4 is an active participant in the ARRL's WD2XSH
600 meter experimental project and will transmit voice and music on
486kHz as WG2XFQ on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and again on New
Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Transmissions will begin at 0001UTC
and end at 2359UTC. Justin will use an AM audio loop modulating his
vintage-style, homebrew transmitter to honour Reginald Fessenden's
Christmas Eve 1906 AM voice transmission.
And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week
The Bath Buildathon takes place on 4 January. Booking is essential
and the project is the 20m PSK RSGB Centenary Receiver. Intermediate
practical assessments will also be available on the day. Contact
Steve Hartley, G0FUW, via G0FUW<at>tiscali.co.uk.
Now for the news of special events
3 January 2014 is the official opening of Bedworth Lions Awareness
Month and GB4BLC will be on the air from 11am. Further information
for this event can be obtained from G8GMU QTHR or 07801 862 686.
SOS Radio Week 2014 will take place between 25 January and 2
February. Stations wishing to take part in the event should visit
www.sosradioweek.org.uk and register using the online registration
form.
And now the DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources
Alan Doyle, G0FAU will be in Accra, Ghana using the callsign 9G5AD
from 9 January 2014 for an initial period of 3 weeks. He will be
operating a 100W Kenwood TS-570S with a Pro Whip antenna or a
Carolina Windom for 20 metres.
Felix, DL5XL will be working at the German Antarctic station Neumayer
III until 8 February. He will operate mainly CW as DP1POL in his
spare time. QSL via DL1ZBO, direct or bureau, and LoTW. Logsearch on
Club Log. Holger, DH1HB will be located at the same research station
until February 2015, and will be QRV as DP0GVN. QSL via DL5EBE.
Sigi, DK9FN will be active again as H40FN, mainly on CW, from Temotu
Province from 21 December to 10 January. This year he will operate
from Lomlom Island, IOTA OC-065. QSL via DK9FN, which is a new route,
direct or bureau.
Alex, DL1NX/PY2SEX will be active as JW/PY2SEX from Spitsbergen,
EU-026, Svalbard, on 24-25 December. He plans to operate mainly CW
and SSB on 40-10 metres. QSL via DL1NX.
Nao, JN1RVS will be active as PJ5/K6NAO from St Eustatius, NA-145, on
22-29 December. He will operate CW and RTTY/PSK on 40-10 metres. QSL
via JA1HGY; logsearch and OQRS on Club Log.
Raimundo, PT7CG will be active as ZX8DX from Ilha Grande de Santa
Isabel, SA-025, on 26-30 December. QSL via his home call.
Dietmar, DL3DXX will be active as V5/DL3DXX from Namibia from 24
December to 8 January. He will operate CW only on 160-10 metres. QSL
via home call.
Steve, VE3OC, to be active holiday style as VP5/VE3OC from
Providenciales, Caicos Islands, NA-002, on 18-27 December. QSL via
home call, direct only, and eQSL.
Now the contest news
The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon continues over the Christmas
period, ending on 31 January 2014. It's a 100% locator square chase,
with no points for individual QSOs, but as well as normal QSOs you
can claim the squares worked in other 6m contests over the period.
The exchange is signal report and locator.
The Christmas Cumulatives take place for two hours on Thursday to
Sunday the 26 to 29th. Activity is on all bands from 6m to 70cm and
the exchange is RST, serial number and locator.
The DARC Christmas Contest runs for 2½ hours on Boxing Day morning.
Operating on CW and SSB, the exchange is RST plus serial number. DLs
also send DOK or NM.
The RAC Canada Winter Contest takes place for the full 24 hours of
Saturday the 28th. There are numerous entry categories and everyone
can work everyone. Concentrate on working Canadians because Canadian
Provinces and Territories are where the multipliers are. Use all
contest bands from 160m to 2m on CW and phone; the exchange is RST
plus serial number, with VEs also sending their Province code. This
event has a festive Wallpaper Alert, because from the UK in 2012 only
six entries from England were submitted and there were no logs from
GW, GM, GI etc.
The IRTS 80m Counties contest takes place on the afternoon of New
Year's Day. Work anyone, but EI/GI/2I/MI stations are worth more
points, and collect counties for multipliers. Use CW or phone on 80m
only; the exchange is RST and serial number, plus County for stations
on the island.
The ARRL RTTY Roundup takes place on the weekend of the 4th to 5th,
but operate for no more than 24 of the 30 hours. Work everyone,
sending a signal report and serial number. US and Canadian stations
will also send their State or Province code. On the same weekend the
European Association's CW 160m QSO Party takes place. There are two
sessions, the first on Saturday evening and the second in the early
hours of Sunday morning. You can work the same stations in each
session. The exchange depends on whether you are a member of an
affiliated club. In the UK that means FOC, FISTS, G-QRP and the Essex
CW Club. If you are, send RST + name + club + membership number; if
not, send RST + name + NM for non member.
Tuesday the 7th sees the 144MHz UKAC from 2000 to 2230. Using all
modes, the exchange is serial number and locator.
The CW AFS contest is on Sunday 12 January from 1400-1800. Using CW
on 80m, exchange RST and serial number.
Now the solar factual data for the period from Friday the 613th to
Thursday the 19th of December, compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS on
Friday the 20th of December.
During the period several new sunspot regions appeared but none were
capable of producing anything stronger than small C class solar
flares, which had no effect on propagation. However, with less than
an hour to go before the end of the period an impulsive M3 class
solar flare took place from a region that is just starting to rotate
into view. Solar flux levels declined slightly from 163 units on the
13th to 153 by the 19th. The average was 158 units. The 90 day solar
flux average on the 19th was 140 units, which is five units up on the
previous week. X-ray flux levels varied little day to day and
averaged B7.1 units. Geomagnetic activity was quiet every day except
for the 14th, which increased slightly due to a small recurring
coronal hole. The Ap index was 12 units and the average was Ap 4
units. Solar wind data from the ACE spacecraft saw solar wind speeds
increase from a slow 270 kilometres per second on the 13th to 610 by
the next day. Speeds then gradually declined to 340 by the 18th.
Particle densities were low most days but increased to 108 particles
per cubic centimetre on the 13th. On the quiet days the Bz varied
between minus 4 and plus 3 nanoTeslas and between minus 12 and plus
14 nanoTeslas on the 14th which was the most disturbed day.
Finally, the solar forecast. For the next two weeks solar activity is
expected to be mostly at low levels but there is a chance that
activity could increase, mostly to moderate levels on some days.
Solar flux levels are expected to be around the 160s for most of the
period but could increase slightly during the second week.
Geomagnetic activity is expected to be mostly quiet, however, two
coronal hole disturbances are expected to increase activity, the
first on the 26th and the 27th of December and again on the 3rd and
the 4th of January. MUFs during daylight hours at equal latitudes
should be around 30MHz or slightly higher. Darkness hour lows should
be about 7MHz. Paths for the next two weeks to the east coast of
North America should have a maximum usable frequency with a 50 per
cent success rate of around 34MHz. The optimum working frequency with
a 90 per cent success rate will be about 28MHz. The best time to try
this path will be between 1200 and 1700 UTC. A short but reliable
sporadic E season takes place during the Christmas and New Year
period, with openings up to 50MHz.
Good DX for 2014 to everybody.
Please note that there will be no RSGB News for the next two weeks;
the next scheduled bulletin will be for Sunday 12 January 2014. Items
for inclusion in that bulletin can be emailed to gb2rs<at>rsgb.org.uk
to arrive no later than 10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
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