RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for June 19th 2022.

GB2RS News

Sunday the 19th of June 2022

The news headlines:

Region 1 Monitoring Service newsletter

IARU VHF and up matters

GI-QRP Convention

The latest IARU Region 1 Monitoring Service newsletter detailing intruders in the amateur bands is available at iaru-r1.org. Radars continue to be the most numerous and harmful intrusions in our bands. For the last couple of months monitoring have been receiving signals whose function they have not yet been able to identify. The most common one has a bandwidth of about 8kHz, seems to consist of a central carrier and is most frequently found in the 20 and 40m bands.

For those with a particular interest in VHF matters, the IARU Region 1 VHF+ Newsletter number 89 is available from the same website, iaru-r1.org. It contains details of the interim hybrid meeting due to be held during the radio show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Subjects for discussion include preparation for the ITU World Radio Conference, WRC23, particularly regarding the 23cm band. It also has details of IARU VHF and up contests and trophies.

Throughout June, many UK radio amateurs may use the letter Q in place of the Regional Secondary Locator. If you would like to join them, the free-of-charge Notice of Variation to your licence that is needed is available via the RSGB website, see rsgb.org/jubilee. If you would rather, you may use the suffix /70 to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. An NoV is not necessary for the /70 addition to your callsign. There are two awards available for logging or working stations using both the Q RSL or /70 suffix, see rsgb.org/jubilee and look at Award 70.

The GI-QRP Convention will take place on Saturday the 25th of June at the Tandragee Golf Club. This event is supported by the G-QRP Club. There will be trade stands, talks and presentations relating to QRP construction and operating. The talks will be streamed live online for those unable to attend. A Buildathon will also take place, where participants, under supervision, will construct a Morse tutor. Advance booking for the Buildathon is advised. There are concessionary prices for junior constructors. Doors open at 9.30am and the event closes at 5pm. Details are at gqrp.com, just click on the GQRP Convention tab on the left-hand side.

A date for your diary now. The next Tonight @8 lecture will take place on the 4th of July. This is the final lecture before the summer break. On the 4th, Peter Duffett-Smith, G3XJE will be looking at Radio waves and antennas…and all that. His presentation covers a range of antenna-related information so there should be something for everyone. Tonight@8 webinars are live-streamed on the RSGB’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/thersgb.

James Bertram, GM0GMN has been involved in amateur radio since he was a teenager when he first joined the RSGB. He is very active on HF, VHF and UHF with a particular interest in HF DX and DMR. James is also the Secretary of The International Police Association Radio Club, which has more than 100 members. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

The radio station VP8GGM at the Goose Green Military Museum in the Falkland Islands will be on air during the International Museum Weekends. You can listen for them today, this weekend the 18th and 19th and next weekend, the 25th and 26th. QSL direct to VP8ADR.

The KL7RRC IOTA DXpedition to Kiska Island, NA-070, has been rescheduled and is now expected to take place between the 23rd and the 28th July. The team includes KL5CX, N3QQ, N7QT, NL8F and W8HC. They will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on the 6 to 40m bands with three stations. QSL via N7RO. See na-234.com for more information.

And now for details of rallies and events

Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to [email protected]. We’ll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.

Today, Sunday the 19th of June, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival will take place at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW. The venue is just off the A14. There is free car parking, and doors open at 9.30am. Admission is £2. There will be trade stands, a car boot sale, Bring & Buy, special interest groups, GB4SWR HF station and an RSGB bookstall. More from Kevin, G8MXV on 0771 004 6846.

Between the 24th and 26th of June, the HamRadio show in Friedrichshafen, Germany will have exhibitors and visitors from 52 countries. There is also a large flea market with around 300 stalls, talks, meetings, socialising and much more. There will be an RSGB stand and staff and volunteers look forward to meeting the many amateurs from around the world. The RSGB President, Spectrum Forum Manager and General Manager will be attending a variety of IARU meetings, representing the interests of all UK amateurs.

Next Saturday, the 25th June, the GI-QRP Convention will be held at the Tandragee Golf Club in Craigavon. Doors open at 9am and presentations start at 10am. Contact Philip, MI0MSO, 0784 902 5760, [email protected].

Now the DX news

Alex, SQ9UM is on the air as SV2/SQ9UM from Poliouri in Greece until the 24th of June. In addition, Chris, OE5CFH is operating as SV8/OE5CFH from Corfu Island, EU-052, until the 21st of June. QSL to home calls.

Ali, EP3CQ is operating as 6O1OO [six Oscar one Oscar Oscar] from Mogadishu and is there for about one month while working for the UN Department of Safety and Security. Activity is in his spare time on the 15 to 80m bands using some CW, with FT8 and FT4. QSL direct to home call.

Now the Special Event news

GB100MW will be operated on Saturday the 25th of June by Medway Amateur Receiving Transmitting Society. They will be located at the Medway Armed Forces Day regional event at the Heritage Park on the Lines, Gillingham, Kent. Further details of this event can be found on QRZ under GB100MW.

The G-QRP Club Callsign will be active as GI5LOW for the first time in the lead up to, and during, the Convention.

Kevin, ZB2GI is operating with special event callsign ZQ2GI until the 30th of June to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. QSL to his home callsign.

Members of The Angel of the North ARC will be running GB0UUR to celebrate the life of their late Club Secretary and RSGB ex Deputy Regional Manager, Nancy Bone, G7UUR. This event will take place during the afternoon of Saturday the 2nd of July.

Now the contest news

The 50MHz Trophy Contest ends its 24-hour run at 1400UTC on the 19th. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The All-Asian DX contest runs for 48 hours and ends at 2359UTC on the 19th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and age.

The Worked all Britain 50MHz contest takes place today, Sunday the 19th of June, from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using AM, FM and SSB, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square if applicable. For the full rules please see the WAB website. Entries should be with the contest manager by the 29th of June.

The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August, with contacts on the 50MHz band exchanging your 4-character locator.

On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Thursday, the SSB leg of the 80m Club Championships runs between 1900 and 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

Next weekend, on Sunday the 26th of June there are three contests taking place. The CW leg of the 50MHz Contest runs between 0900 and 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The fourth 70MHz Cumulatives contest runs between 1400 and 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The UK Microwave Group 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 17th of June 2022.

We said that last week’s relatively low solar flux index wouldn’t last very long and it looks like we were right. This week we have had an SFI that started at 121 and just kept climbing, peaking at 149 on the 15th. Unfortunately, we have also had some plasma to contend with thanks to the combined effects of a coronal hole high-speed stream, along with a bright coronal mass ejection observed on Monday. These pushed the Kp index to five on Wednesday the 15th.

Luckily a long-duration eruption, LDE, measuring M3.4 detected around active region 3030 on Monday was directed away from Earth and missed us completely. But it does show that we can expect more in the way of CMEs as we head towards the peak of solar cycle 25.

F2-layer MUFs over a 3,000km path have regularly exceeded 21MHz and often 24MHz. There have also been some occasional 10m F2-layer openings, with Sporadic-E and multi-hop Es events as other likely modes of propagation. As a result, there have been many reports of DX being worked, including Vasco, 7Q7CT in Malawi and Harald, 9X2AW in Rwanda on 10-metre FT8.

The USAF predicts that the SFI will be around 136 this Sunday, falling back to 100 as the week wears on.

Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be unsettled around the 24th, although we could be in for a rough ride overall next week due to any unexpected CME from one of the numerous sunspots that have been flaring recently.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

We ended last week with high pressure nearby for southern Britain with a low-pressure north of Scotland pushing a cold front south. So Tropo in southern areas is getting displaced as the pattern becomes more unsettled and after some very high temperatures.

The bulk of the coming week sees high pressure off to the west and a cooler north-westerly flow over the country with some showery periods too. This presents the prospect of rain scatter, but somewhat limited Tropo conditions, chiefly for western-most parts and Ireland down to Biscay and Spain.

The Sporadic-E season is in full swing, although in the last week conditions have not been quite so exciting, apart from the magnificent opening to the States last Sunday evening. Widespread activity as far as Mexico and Texas doesn’t happen often and plots of the weather patterns showed that there were multiple jet stream areas of activity to make up the required sequence of four or five hops of Es.

Since the weather pattern driving this was not exceptional, it suggests that it could happen again, so perhaps keep the notion of checking 6m as late as mid-evening 2000-2200UTC in your back pocket during the rest of the month.

There are still plenty of meteor showers to fill in between the Sporadic-E in June. The Aretids, Zeta-Perseids, Beta-Taurids and June Bootids are all active this week. The latter is generally low activity, but it produced unexpected activity in 1998 with a ZHR up to 100 for more than half a day and in 2004 with a ZHR up to 50 over a similar period.

Moon declination goes positive again on Wednesday, and we are past this month’s perigee, so increasing Moon availability and increasing path losses is the story for EME enthusiasts this week. 144MHz sky noise is low, not exceeding 300 Kelvin until Thursday.

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