RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for March 8th 2020.

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday the 8th of March 2020

The news headlines:

RAYNET helps in flooding emergency

Blue Ham this weekend

6,873 February visitors to NRC

North Humber RAYNET were recently activated during the widespread flooding that occurred on the 27th of February in Snaith, East Yorkshire. A temporary control station was first established at the ‘washlands’ near the village of the East Cowick during the afternoon of the 26th, with thirteen members attending the developing situation over three days. Members were positioned at Vehicle Check Points, flooded roads and worked alongside Yorkshire 4x4 Response vehicles as well as being co-located in the local Town Council emergency control centre and Bronze Command. Most of the radio traffic was carried over 144MHz, with some on 70MHz. A VHF/UHF talk-through was located in a vehicle outside Snaith Fire Station to provide local access and an increased range as the 4G mobile phone coverage was patchy in some areas and there were issues with access at times. The group were finally stood down late in the evening of Saturday the 29th of February as the flooding and the situation stabilised.

The RAFAC tell us that the next Blue Ham Radio Communications Exercise will be this weekend, the 7th and 8th of March, using the 5MHz band. Details of the exchange of information to count as a QSO is at https://alphacharlie.org.uk/exercise-blue-ham. A Blue Ham Certificate is available if you contact 10 or more special MRE callsigns during the exercise with the Cadets.

No fewer than 6,873 visitors were welcomed to the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park during February. As part of the on-going recruitment campaign, two new volunteers joined the NRC team: Mike, G0RBB and Nick, M0NPH. The RSGB would like to thank them and the other NRC volunteers for their time.

Yves F5PRU / 6W1TA in Senegal has been informed by the Senegalese Telecom Regulatory Authority that the new WRC-15 Amateur Secondary Allocation 5351.5 – 5366.5kHz is now allowed in the country. The IARU Region 1 band plan should be used with a maximum power limit available of 15W EIRP. Yves has been living in Senegal for 18 months. He is mainly on the air around 5354kHz on CW and sometimes on 5357kHz FT8.

Venues and dates for the 2020 series of Train the Trainers courses can be found on the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/train-the-trainers. In order for the organisers to ensure that courses are run as cost-effectively as possible, between 20 and 25 candidates are required for each venue. To reserve a place on any course please email [email protected] with your name and telephone number. The first course to run will be held in Telford on the 21st of March; it now only has two places available. Following Telford will be Cardiff on the 18th of April. This course needs more candidates, so if you want to attend this event please book as soon as possible. Details of other courses available are on the website.

The RSGB is delighted to announce that Tony Jones, G7ETW has been appointed as Amateur Radio Development Chair and Chris Colclough, G1VDP has been appointed to the role of Beyond Exams Coordinator. Both were licensed in the 1980s, have been active in a range of amateur radio activities and are looking forward to being part of these initiatives.

The first lecture as part of the Marconi Centenary 2020 has been announced by the Chelmsford Civic Society. Professor Danielle George has kindly agreed to speak at Anglia Ruskin University, Bishop Hall Lane, Chelmsford, CM1 1SQ on Tuesday the 31st of March at 2 pm. The lecture is free to everyone but must be pre-booked. Go to https://tinyurl.com/eventbrite-marconi.

The RSGB has created a new policies page where you will find all the Society’s main policies in one place: www.rsgb.org/policies. Where relevant you can also still find them on the appropriate sections of its website. The policy documents have been updated into the RSGB’s current branding so please make sure you refer to the most recent versions.

And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week

The Pencoed ARC Table-Top Sale scheduled to take place on the 8th of March has been cancelled.

Due to concerns raised over the Covoid-19 virus, the committee of Wythall Radio Club have decided to cancel this year’s Wythall Hamfest, originally planned for next Sunday the 15th of March. They would like to thank the traders for their support for this year’s event and hope to see everyone next year.

On the 22nd of March, Stirling & District ARS is holding a CW Boot Camp in conjunction with GMDX. Further information is at www.gmdx.org.uk/cwbootcamp

Please send details of your rally and event plans as soon as possible to [email protected] – we give you valuable publicity online, in RadCom and on GB2RS, all for free.

And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources

David, F8AAN will be active holiday style as 3B9AN from Rodrigues Island, IOTA reference AF-017, between the 10th and 19th of March. He will operate CW on the 80 to 17m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, or direct to his home call.

Richard, G3RWL will be active as 8P6DR from Barbados, NA-021, from the 8th of March to the 9th of April. He will operate CW and possibly some RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, Logbook of The World or via his home call, either direct or via the bureau.

Noel, F6BGC will be active as 8Q7NC from the Maldives, AS-013, between the 12th and the 21st of March. He will be operating holiday-style on the 80 to10m bands using SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL via Logbook of The World, or direct to his home call.

9K2HQ and other members of the Kuwait ARS will be active as 9K2F from Faylakah Island, AS-118, between the 11th and the 15th of March. They will operate SSB, CW and FT8 on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via 9K2RA and Logbook of The World.

Thierry, F6CUK will be active as TM8C from the lighthouse on Cordouan Island, EU-159, between the 13th and the 15th of March. He will operate CW and SSB on the 40 and 20m bands. QSL via his home call.

Now the special event news

On the weekend of the 14th and 15th of March, the Shepparton & District ARC will connect amateur transceivers to the curtain array and rhombic antennas at the Broadcast Australia site in Shepparton, which is located in North Central Victoria, Australia. This site was previously a short wave Radio Australia location. VI3RA will be on the air from 2300UTC on Saturday the 14th of March until 2300UTC on the 16th using the 7, 10, 14, 18 and 21MHz bands.

The Maine Bicentennial Special Event celebrates the 200th anniversary of Maine statehood between the 16th and the 22nd of March. Twelve special event callsigns will be active, each representing one of Maine’s nine original counties, plus three special locations that have historical significance, including K1B, K1J, K1P, W1C, W1H and W1Y amongst others. Certificates will be awarded to those who contact special event stations, with endorsements available for bands, modes, and a clean sweep for contacts with each of the Maine 200 Special Event call signs. See https://maine200specialevent.com/ for more information.

Please send special event details to [email protected] as early as possible to get your event publicised here on GB2RS, in RadCom, and online.

Now the contest news

The ARRL International DX contest ends its 48 hour run at 2359UTC today, the 8th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and transmitter power. US stations also send their State and Canadians their Province.

The 144/432MHz contest ends its 24 hour run at 1400UTC today, the 8th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The UK Microwave Group’s Low Band Contest takes place today, the 8th, from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The Worked All Britain 3.5MHz contest also takes place today, the 8th of March, from 1800 to 2200UTC. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 18th of March. The exchange will be RS plus serial number plus WAB square. Full details of the rules and methods of entry may be obtained from the WAB website, www.worked-all-britain.org.uk.

On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 80m Club Championships CW leg runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Thursday the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The longest-running RSGB contest of them all is the Commonwealth Contest, formerly known as BERU. It runs for 24 hours over the weekend of the 14th and 15th. There are always some travellers who fly off to activate Commonwealth countries that are not heard every day and they will all be pleased to work anyone in the UK, contester or not. The contest runs from 1000 to 1000UTC, it’s CW only on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bans and the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Next Sunday, the 15th, the 2nd 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from 1000 to 1200UTC. 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 6th of March.

The VP8PJ DXpedition to the South Orkney Islands has now finished, with the last active day on the 5th of March. The DXpedition resulted in many UK stations putting South Orkney into their log, on all bands and modes from 160 to 15 metres, with a few reports even of 10m contacts.

This was a good example of how ionospheric propagation can be hard to predict as some of the paths looked very difficult if not impossible. But over a week-long period, there were times when signals were able to get through, if only for short periods. It also showed how localised HF propagation can be, with some stations in the UK hearing them, while 100 miles away there was nothing.

Solar figures wise, the week ended pretty much as it started with zero sunspots and a solar flux index of 69 to 70.

The week was mainly settled geomagnetically, apart from the night of Saturday, February the 29th and Sunday the 1st of March when the Kp index rose to four. This was due to a solar wind stream from a coronal hole on the Sun, which we predicted last week. Luckily, this was pretty short-lived and after it struck the Kp index fell back again to one or two representing more settled geomagnetic conditions.

NOAA predicts that next week will be pretty similar to last with zero sunspots and a solar flux index around 70 to 71. The US Air Force predicts fairly quiet geomagnetic conditions with a Kp index around one or two.

At the time of writing a small coronal hole has appeared on the Sun’s equator, which should become geoeffective this weekend. Another polar coronal hole is also growing towards the solar equator. This means that any solar matter from these holes could impact the Earth sometime over the weekend or early next week. If it does, expect a possible short-lived pre-auroral enhancement followed by a general reduction in the MUF as the Kp index rises.

Don’t forget that next weekend is the Commonwealth Contest with CW HF stations on from Australia, New Zealand and Canada, as well as exotic locations such as Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, Belize and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

March is usually a month of typical spring gales and storms with the main Atlantic jet stream across the British Isles. Next week’s forecast is therefore not unexpected, and the main theme is a very changeable one with quite strong winds at times and periods of rain. No surprise then, that there is little prospect of high pressure and Tropo for the VHF/UHF bands.

What's left is a challenge for microwave operators to seek out some rain scatter from fast-moving scatter points in this train of lows and fronts crossing the country.

Also, if you have heavy local rain between you and the QO-100 satellite, look out for a reduction in signal strength from the transponders. This is due to the scattering effect of the water droplets causing a blockage at the GHz band downlink frequency.

The strong jet stream will also produce some small opportunity for out-of-season Sporadic-E, probably towards the south into Spain or Italy.

Moon declination goes negative on Wednesday so the best peak Moon elevation will be in the early half of the week. Tuesday is perigee so, with path losses at their lowest, it’s still a good week for EME. 144MHz sky noise is low for the early part of the week but climbs slowly, reaching 750K a week today.

The small Gamma-Normids meteor shower peaks next Saturday, but with a zenithal hourly rate of just six, it’s nothing to get excited about, so keep looking for random meteor scatter QSOs around dawn.

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