RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for August 23rd 2020.

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday the 23rd of August 2020

The news headlines:

Nominate a new DXer for G5RP Trophy

Latest Online RSGB Convention news

Vacancies on important RSGB committees

The G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF DXing. The award is not limited to youngsters or the newly-licensed; it is open to anyone who has recently discovered and made significant progress in HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to recommend someone to be awarded the G5RP Trophy for 2020, now is the time to send in your nomination. Your nominee should be an up-and-coming HF DXer who has made rapid progress in the last year and has some real achievements to show, for example, a good total of new countries worked or some serious HF DXpedition activity. Please send your nominations to Ian Greenshields, G4FSU by email to [email protected] to arrive no later than the 25th of September.

During the online RSGB Convention for 2020, you will be able to enjoy some excellent lectures. On Saturday the 10th of October, the RSGB will be putting on two streams online for everyone to enjoy. In An introduction to… we will have Kevin, G0PEK and Lauren, 2E0HLR talk about youngsters using amateur radio and combining it with other activities such as cycling, hiking, canoeing and kayaking. In the Learn more about.... stream, the popular RSGB Convention lecturer Jim Bacon, G3YLA will talk about VHF propagation and weather. Jim will describe the processes behind compiling the GB2RS propagation bulletin. He’ll look at weather forecasting, tropospheric propagation, rain scatter and how to identify suitable candidates from forecast charts as well as Sporadic-E and its relationship to weather. We’ll highlight more lectures in the coming weeks, but you can find out more at www.rsgb.org.uk/convention.

The RSGB is looking for two people to fill the important volunteer roles of Legacy Committee Chair and Nominations Committee Chair. Full details of the roles and the committees can be found on the Society’s website at www.rsgb.org/volunteers.

The CW Open for 2020 takes place over the first weekend of September and is sponsored by The CW Operators’ Club. The three sessions are all on the 5th of September, from 0000 to 0359UTC, then 1200 to 1559UTC and finally 2000 to 2359UTC. See https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/cw-open/ for full details.

Tim, G4YBU and Richard, G8ITB have planned a Summits on the Air activity weekend ending today, the 23rd. The objective is to activate as many of the 15 summits in the Southern SOTA region of England. The event is for everyone and it is suggested that the popular 2m and 40m bands are used, on FM and SSB. For a detailed summit list see www.sotadata.org.uk.

International Lighthouses and Lightships Weekend is still going ahead this weekend. Participation will depend on local circumstances and government rulings regarding Covid-19 restrictions, see https://illw.net. Wirral ARS will be operating using GB2BHL from the club premises. Moray Firth ARS will be using GB0CSL from individual club members homes.

The RSGB has released two more 2019 Convention presentations to its YouTube channel. In the first one, Don Field, G3XTT talks about the fun and experience you can have by ‘Guest Operating’ as part of a multi-operator contest or DXpedition. In the second presentation, Nobby Styles, G0VJG builds on that by giving details of the DXpedition to Wallis Island. You can watch both on the RSGB YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/theRSGB

The Grid and Prefix Award Program has announced a comprehensive Digital Awards Program. Awards are available for radio amateurs and short wave listeners for confirmed grids and prefixes worked or heard using digital modes. Contacts made under any callsign you may have used in the past are valid for confirmations; there is no start time, so all confirmed digital contacts are acceptable. The program accepts electronic confirmations. See www.gapawards.com.

The RSGB 2020 Construction Competition is open for entries. There are four categories, including one specifically for people who are new to amateur radio. Deadline for entries is the 25th of September. For more details, including how to enter, see www.rsgb.org/construction-competition.

Now the special event news

Since the change of regulations applying to special event stations in the UK, many activations are now able to go ahead. UK amateurs would like to thank Ofcom for their help in making this happen.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of VJ Day, the RSGB has organised a VJ Day amateur radio marathon on the HF bands and 6m using SSB, CW and digital modes. Three special UK callsigns GB75PEACE, GB1945PE, GB1945PJ will be on the air until the 31st of August. See www.rsgb.org/ve-vj-marathon.

August sees two GB80 special event stations on the air, marking the critical role that radar played in the Battle of Britain 80 years ago. GB80BRS will be operated to commemorate Bawdsey Radar Station in Suffolk, where radar was developed in the late 1930s. This was the location of the world’s first operational radar station. Activity will be on 80 to 10m using SSB, CW and FT8. GB80CH, Chain Home, will be operated from Chelmsford in Essex.

And now the DX news

Many stations will be on the air this weekend from lighthouses around Europe and beyond. Listen out for T45FM, CQ0ODX/P, TM2LW, GB9UL and OV1LH amongst many others. A full list can be found at https://illw.net.

Giorgio, YI/IU5HWS is with the military in Iraq and will be operating on 40, 20 and 10 metres until the end of November.

Now the contest news

There are no RSGB HF contests this month, as August is the month of the traditional summer holiday. Please remember to check before the contest for new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. The RSGB strongly advises obeying your own national and local government’s advice first and foremost, especially in the instance of local lockdowns.

On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next Sunday, the 30th, The UK Microwave group’s High Band contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Over the weekend of the 5th and 6th September, three RSGB contests occur. On Saturday the 5th, there is SSB Field Day that starts at 1300UTC and the 144MHz Trophy Contest that starts at 1400UTC. On Sunday the 6th, there is the fifth 144MHz Backpackers Contest, which starts at 1100UTC.

Sadly, the HF and VHF Contest Committees have come to the conclusion that the Government guidance on Covid-19 does not yet allow the restart multi-operator sections in RSGB contests. As a result, the multi-operator sections in the 144MHz Trophy Contest have been removed. The single operator sections will continue as normal. For the 5th 144MHz Backpackers Contest and SSB Field Day, all sections are being restricted to single-operator entries only. The committees realise this announcement will disappoint some people, but they do hope that many will be able to enter the contests as single operators, whether from home or as portable stations. These contests normally bring exciting DX and weekend contest activity levels have been high this year, so please do come on and have some fun. The rules for all RSGB Contests are at www.rsgbcc.org.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 21st of August.

Sunspot region 2772 was rotating off the Sun’s limb at the end of the week. As a result, the solar flux index declined from 74 down to 71 as the Sun’s surface cleared. There was some activity though. A solar storm cloud was hurled into space on the 16th of August by a slow-motion solar flare in the Sun’s southern hemisphere. The coronal mass ejection was due to sweep past Earth on the 20th. A group of three smaller coronal holes passed the Sun’s central meridian on Wednesday and Thursday, which could spell unsettled conditions at the weekend due to the solar wind emanating from them. NOAA predicts that the Kp index will rise to three until the threat passes. This is not really high enough to cause big problems, but keep an eye on the Kp index at solarham.com as a guide.

Next week, NOAA has the SFI pegged at 71 to 72 reflecting a lack of sunspots. The Kp index should also be pegged at two, at least until Sunday the 30th of August when it could climb to four. Look out for a potential positive pre-auroral phase enhancement, followed by a decline in maximum usable frequencies as any potential geomagnetic storm progresses.

Current daytime MUFs over a 3,000km path are still in the 14-18MHz range, with night-time MUFs covering 10-14MHz according to Propquest.co.uk.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

A deep low and gales over the northern and western part of the British Isles is not ideal summer holiday weather and not good for antennas either. In fact, this unsettled pattern will stay with us through to Thursday, when some models show temporary high pressure over the country to end the week.

It’s fair to say that not all models do this and instead of a high, it’s no more than a one-day weak ridge before further lows arrive. In terms of propagation, it’s looking like another period of weather more suitable for GHz bands rain scatter.

Tropo may put in an appearance later in the week, but it might only be a brief visit and perhaps not with a well-developed inversion if it’s a temporary visit. As an aside, it’s a particularly good period of summer Tropo over the Mediterranean at the moment, with potential for east to west paths, say from EA to IT9 or IT9 to SV or 5B4.

The Sporadic-E season is hanging on, particularly for digital modes, and next week should continue to offer several nicely placed jet streams for paths into Europe.

Note that the propquest.co.uk website, which contains a daily blog on where the weather triggers may be more active, now contains a single Sporadic-E probability index, EPI. This combines many of the contributory factors into one experimental index on a map showing where the chance of Sporadic-E is highest. Click on the map or enter your locator to overlay the ideal distance rings for Sporadic-E from your QTH.

Moon declination is now negative and falling all week, and, as perigee was Friday, EME path losses are low but rising. Moon windows will shorten as the week progresses. 144MHz sky temperatures are rising, peaking at over 3000K on Thursday, so your masthead preamps won’t help you! Read G4BAO’s GHz bands column from the April 2020 RadCom for an explanation of why.

And that’s all from the propagation team this week.