RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for November 24th 2019.

GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 24th November 2019

The news headlines:

Big news for 6m band

RSGB Board responsibilities change

Five Train the Trainers courses next year

The World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 has concluded in Egypt. The 3,300 delegates have considered many aspects of radio including several that will affect our hobby. Perhaps the biggest news is that the conference has approved an allocation in the 50MHz band for amateurs in Region 1. The Amateur Service now has a baseline Secondary allocation of 50-52MHz in the main ITU Allocation Table for Region 1. A total of 44 named Region 1 countries will now have a Primary allocation in all or part of the 50-54MHz band. You can find full details on this and all of the WRC-19 outcomes that affect amateur radio at www.rsgb.org/wrc-19 and on the RSGB social media channels. The RSGB gratefully acknowledges the work done by our volunteers and all of the IARU team, and thanks everyone involved for an outstanding effort over the last four years.

Recent appointments to the Board have given the RSGB an opportunity to redistribute responsibilities and activities. These are now grouped across four teams, assisted by a support team. Each team comprises several Committees, Honorary Officers and other groups with a related purpose. For further information about the teams see the RSGB Board web page at www.rsgb.org/board

The RSGB would like to thank all the clubs that have offered to host a Train the Trainers course in their area during 2020. Five courses have now been confirmed. These are Telford on the 21st of March, Cardiff on the 18th of April, Stockport on the 30th of May, Abergele on the 20th of June and Margate on the 11th of July. If you would like to attend a Train the Trainers course, then you can register by contacting the Train the Trainers Administrator by email to [email protected] indicating which course you would like to attend.

We have released two more videos from the RSGB Convention to Members. In the first, Sam Jewell, G4DDK explores the Icom IC-9700 and looks at how it measures up as a VHF DX transceiver. In the second video Neil Smith, G4DBN looks at the ins and outs of digimodes in I can hear it, why won't it decode? Both of these videos can be found at www.rsgb.org/video and he accompanying slides for Neil’s talk are at www.g4dbn.uk.

Are you signed up to the RSGB Members’ email alert service for vouchers and offers? Black Friday is coming up this week, so make sure you hear about everything the RSGB will be doing to coincide with this event. Signing up is very easy – RSGB Members just need to go to their online Membership Portal at www.rsgb.org/login. That’s also the place to manage your RSGB Membership account. 

You could still host the callsign GB19YOTA for this year’s Youngsters on the Air Month in December. It is a great opportunity to encourage youngsters to get on the air and to learn more about the practical side of the hobby. The RSGB is keen for people to take part across the UK and is particularly looking for groups in Scotland and anywhere in Ireland. Operations can be any mode on HF, VHF or UHF. Certificates and awards are given out by the IARU for participating in the event. To find out more go to www.rsgb.org/yota-month.

There’s still time to book onto our Introduction to Amateur Radio workshop, which will take place on Saturday 14 December at Bletchley Park. Open to anyone aged 17 or over, it will provide an insight into the world of amateur radio through talks, videos and demonstrations. Attendees will gain knowledge on short wave communications including voice, Morse code and digital signal transmissions, and learn how to track satellites and the International Space Station. Pre-booking is essential. Go to www.bletchleypark.org.uk/whats-on for more information and to book.

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

The 42nd CATS Radio & Electronics Bazaar takes place today, the 24th of November. The venue is Oasis Academy Coulsdon, Homefield Road, Old Coulsdon CR5 1ES. Doors open from 10am until 2pm and the £1.50 entry fee includes a free tea or coffee. There will be second-hand equipment, flea market tables, traders, a Bring and Buy stand and an RSGB bookstall. Refreshments are available on site. Contact Andy, G0KZT on 0772 986 6600 or see www.catsradio.org.

Also today, the 24th, is the Bishop Auckland Radio Amateurs Club rally. It takes place at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, 32 High Street, Spennymoor, County Durham, DL16 6DB. The venue has good parking and access to the large ground floor hall. There will be the usual radio, computer, electronics, and Bring & Buy stalls as well as catering and bar. Doors open at 10.30am, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10.15. Admission is £2, with accompanied under-14s free of charge. More details from John, G4LRG on 0777 569 6568.

The annual Hog Roast at Martin Lynch & Sons will take place on the 30th of November at their premises in Staines, TW18 2AP. Doors open from 8am. Lecture streams will take place in the ML&S Training Academy in the morning by SDRplay and Steve Venner giving an insight into running the ML&S radio workshop. This year’s event is kindly sponsored by Icom UK, JVC-Kenwood and Yaesu Japan.

We have no more rallies or events listed for 2019. Please send details of your 2020 rally and event plans as soon as possible to [email protected].

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

The Radio Club of Sevran will be active as 6W7PCT from Senegal until the 25th of November. A team of four will operate CW, SSB and digital modes with three stations, including activity during the CW WW DX CW Contest. QSL for this is via Club Log's OQRS, or via the bureau to F5KKD, or direct to F8GGV.

A team will be active as OC3CS from the archaeological site of Cerro Sechin in northern Peru on the 29th and 30th of November. Two stations will operate SSB and digital modes on the HF bands. QSL via OA4O either direct or via the bureau and Logbook of The World.

Alex, KU1CW will be active as P4/KU1CW from Aruba, IOTA reference SA-036, until the 26th of November, and as P40C during the CQ WW DX CW Contest. QSL via Logbook of The World.

Members of the Slovenia Contest Club are operating as 9G5W until the 27th of November. Activity is on the 160 to 10m bands using CW, SSB, RTTY and other digital modes. This includes being an entry in the CQ World Wide DX CW contest. QSL via Logbook of The World.

Masa, JA0RQV will be operating as A35JP from Tongatapu Island, OC-049, while involved in an international project. Activity will be on the 160 to 6m bands using CW, SSB and FT8. He also plans to activate IOTA references OC-191, OC-123, OC-064 and OC-169 during his stay. QSL to his home call.

Eric, OE4AAC is on the air as D4CC from Sal Island, AF-086, until the 30th of November. Activity is on the 40 to 10m bands using CW and some FT8. This includes being an entry in the CQ World Wide DX CW contest. QSL to home call.

Now the special event news

We have no details of any special event stations this week. Please send special event details to [email protected] as early as possible. We have not received special event station info from Ofcom in recent months so you MUST let us know to get your event publicised on GB2RS, in RadCom and online.

Now the contest news

The CQWW DX CW ends its 48 hours run at 2359 today, the 24th. This CW-only event uses all the contest bands from 1.8 to 28MHz. The exchange is signal report and Zone, which is 14 for the UK.

On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1930 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday it’s the UK EI Contest Club 80m contest, running from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using CW only, the exchange is your 4-character locator square.

On Thursday the Autumn Series runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. Using CW only on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

The UK Six Metre Group’s Winter Marathon begins on Sunday the 1st of December and runs until the end of January. There are no specific operating modes or periods. Just work as many locator squares as you can on the 50MHz band.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 22nd of November 2019.

The predicted poor geomagnetic conditions forecast for late on the 16th didn’t amount to much. In the event, the Kp index rose to three before settling back down again quite quickly. The Sun remained spotless all week again as we get close to the minimum. As such, HF propagation was relatively poor all week.

Daytime critical frequencies have mostly been in the range 4.5 to 5MHz, which really prevents short-range propagation on 40m. Thursday 21st was the exception when the Chilton Ionosonde recorded a critical frequency of 5.925MHz at 1130UTC, which equates to a maximum usable frequency of more than 24MHz over a 3,000km path. This may have been due to a short-lived ionospheric enhancement caused by a coronal hole solar wind stream, which saw the speed increase to more than 500Km per second.

Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain at 69-70. Geomagnetic conditions will likely be poor but recovering this weekend after a predicted Kp index rise to five on the 21st or 22nd. Once the coronal hole has moved and is out of the Earth’s strike zone, the ionosphere should settle for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, Chris, GM3WOJ and Keith, GM4YXI are still active as VK9CZ on Cocos Keeling Island, OC-003. The best time for propagation from the UK can be checked at vk9cz2019.com. It’s a long way to the Indian Ocean, but a contact is achievable with the right mode and at the right time.

Don’t forget that it’s CQWW CW this weekend, which always guarantees HF activity.

And now the VHF and up propagation news.

This week seems to be a good week to try satellites if you’re not active on the microwave bands! There seems to be a majority view amongst the weather models that this will be another low-pressure week. It means further periods of rain and showers, with a chance of rain scatter on the GHz bands again. This unsettled weather type with a strong jet stream over the country can lead to the rapid development of lows and potentially very strong winds. Not identifiable beyond a day or two, but well worth checking the daily forecasts, particularly the wind speeds.

Of course, the opposite side of the coin is high pressure, and it looks to be completely off the playlist during the coming week, which takes Tropo off the agenda.

Moon declination is negative again this week, reaching a minimum on Friday. Moon windows and maximum Moon elevation will fall accordingly. The Moon reached perigee yesterday, its closest approach to the Earth of the lunar month at 366,709km, so losses are low but will increase throughout the week.

The Sun and Moon are very close on Tuesday and generally, 144MHz sky temperature will also be high, reaching a peak of over 3,000 Kelvin on Thursday.

There is one small meteor shower on Thursday, the November Orionids, but nothing to get excited about because they have a zenithal hourly rate of just three.

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