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GB2RS News Sunday the 30th of August 2026 RSGB Board Chair change as part of planned transition Tonight@8 is back! Last chance to buy your RSGB Convention ticket at early bird prices  The RSGB Board is pleased to announce that, following its meeting on the 22nd of August 2026, Graham Smith, G4NMD has been appointed Chair of the Board. This appointment forms part of a planned and orderly leadership transition agreed by the Board. Stewart Bryant, G3YSX, who has served as Chair since 2023 with distinction, fully supports the change and will remain a Director until the 2027 AGM. He will continue to contribute his considerable experience to the Society and its activities. Licensed since 1974, Graham has been active in many areas of amateur radio, including service as an RSGB District Representative, RAYNET-UK Controller and member of the Emergency Communications and Resilience Group. Since joining the Board, he has led work on resilience, volunteer development, and governance improvement, as well as serving as Board Liaison for Training and Education. The Board looks forward to continuing its work with volunteers, members and staff across the Society as it delivers its strategic priorities and supports the amateur radio community throughout the UK and beyond. For the full announcement please see the RSGB Notices section of the RSGB website. The Tonight@8 autumn programme begins on Monday the 7th of September with an engaging webinar on amateur radio and the future of satellite communication. RSGB Board Director Patrick Wood, 2E0IFB will be delivering a presentation that will start with a brief history on the subject before looking ahead to the future. He will touch on FUNcube developments, FUNcube+ and missions such as Jovian-1, whilst also considering how radio amateurs are now using geostationary satellites like QO-100. He will also ask how radio amateurs can adapt their skills and equipment for a rapidly changing communications world. Patrick is an expert in the subject having had a 38-year career in the aerospace, defence, and space sectors, with over 30 years dedicated to the space sector. RSGB webinars are live streamed on its YouTube channel and special BATC channel, allowing you to watch the presentations and ask questions online. Find out more about September's presentation and other upcoming webinars, by going to rsgb.org/webinars The RSGB Convention ‘NanoVNA Essentials' workshop has now sold out! Make sure you don't miss out on the remaining spaces for the two other workshops by securing your ticket now. On Friday the 9th of October you can take part in a five-and-a-half-hour workshop offering practical advice on identifying the sources and mitigating the effects of Radio Frequency Interference. On the afternoon of Saturday the 10th of October or the morning of Sunday the 11th of October you can take part in a two-hour workshop offering practical and interactive exercises that show you how to use AI more effectively in your own amateur radio projects. Both workshops are available to purchase at the same time as your Convention ticket. Go to rsgb.org/convention-workshops  to book your place. Don't forget that you only have until 9am on Tuesday the 1st of September to purchase your ticket at the early bird pricing. Time is running out to submit your nominations for the annual RSGB G5RP Trophy. You have until Friday the 11th of September to send in a nominee who has recently discovered and made significant progress in HF DXing. Perhaps you know someone who has worked a good total of new countries, or perhaps they have taken part in some substantial HF DXpedition activity. Please send your nominations to RSGB HF Manager Ian Greenshields, G4FSU at hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk The DMR Youth Net, organised by the RSGB Youth Committee, is back at 7pm BST on Tuesday the 1st of September following a break over the summer holidays. Since the launch of the net in 2025, young operators have joined from across Europe to build confidence speaking on the radio, connect with fellow young operators from around the world, and join in without needing to set up antennas at home. The RSGB Youth Talk Group 23554 is available on the DVSPh and Brandmeister Networks. The net will take place on the first Tuesday of each month. We're delighted to announce that Steve Chalk achieved a Bronze Medal at the IARU Region 1 ARDF Championships in Romania last week. He was one of a small team competing on behalf of the RSGB. Steve gained his medal in the M60 category of the Sprint race, in which the transmissions are just 12 seconds in duration. Congratulations to Steve! Don't forget to listen out for the stations that are taking part in this year's British Inland Waterways on the Air event. Stations have been operating since yesterday, the 29th, and activity continues until tomorrow, Monday the 31st of August. To find out more, visit Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group's website at nharg.org.uk  and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2026' link. And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 30th, Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place at Heron's Lodge Guide Activity Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, Milton Keynes. The doors open to the public from 9am. The entrance fee is £3 and parking is free of charge. For more information visit mkars.org.uk/mkrally Also today, the 30th, Torbay Amateur Radio Society's Annual Rally is taking place at The Courtenay Centre, Kingsteignton Road, Newton Abbot, TQ12 2QA. This new venue is a town centre site and is adjacent to a large car park. The entry fee is £3 and visitors are welcome from 10am. More details are available at torbayars.org Tomorrow, Monday the 31st, Huntingdonshire Amateur Radio Rally will take place at Ramsey Rural Museum, Wood Lane, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. The doors will be open to traders from 7am and to visitors from 9am. Hot and cold refreshments will be available on site. For more information email harsrally2026@hotmail.com On Sunday the 6th of September, Telford Hamfest will take place at Harper Adams University near Telford, TF10 8ND. The doors open at 10.15am. Admission costs £5 but children up to 16 will be admitted free of charge. The G-QRP Club Convention will be held at the same venue on Saturday the 5th of September. For more information contact the Hamfest team via hamfest@tdars.org.uk Now the Special Event news REP, Portugal's national amateur radio association, is active with special callsign CT100REP until the 31st of December. The station is operating to mark the group's 100th anniversary. Look for activity on the HF, VHF, and UHF bands using CW, digital modes, SSB and satellites. Now the DX news Mark, WB2OIL is active as WB2OIL/VY0 from Broughton Island, NA-130, until Tuesday the 1st of September. He is operating using CW, FT8 and SSB on the 40 to 10m bands. More information is available via QRZ.com Now the contest news The World-Wide Digi DX Contest started at 1200UTC yesterday, the 29th, and ends at 1200UTC today, Sunday the 30th of August. Using FT4 and FT8 on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your four-character locator. On Tuesday the 1st of September, the RSGB 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday the 1st of September, the RSGB 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 2nd, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 2nd, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. Also, on Wednesday the 2nd, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator. The All Asian DX Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 5th and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 6th of September. Using SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, the exchange is signal report and your age. On Saturday the 5th, the CWops CW Open takes place in three four-hour sessions between 0000 and 2359UTC. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is serial number and name. On Sunday the 6th, the Worked All Britain 144MHz SSB Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using SSB on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain square. RSGB SSB Field Day, IARU Region 1 Field Day and IRTS SSB Field Day start at 1300UTC on Saturday the 5th and end at 1300UTC on Sunday the 6th of September. Using all modes on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The RSGB 144MHz Trophy Contest starts at 1400UTC on Saturday the 5th and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday the 6th of September. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Sunday the 6th, the 5th RSGB 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 27th of August 2026. Last week we said there were no coronal holes to threaten HF propagation. However, guess what appeared just after the time of writing. Coronal holes can appear at any time, which is why we recommend going to solarham.com  for daily updates. This week another coronal hole has appeared and this one really does look like it could threaten Earth. This, coupled with coronal mass ejections, means that today, the 30th, could see the Kp index rise and maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs, fall. On a brighter note, the Kp index has been very low this past week, mostly below 2, with the result that HF propagation has been very good. Top DX being worked includes RI1FJL on Franz Josef Land in the Arctic Circle, which has been loud on many bands, right up to the 12 and 10m bands. Other DX to be worked in the coming week includes V5/HB9BFM from Namibia; J38DX and J38LD from Grenada; and P29YY working from Papua New Guinea. A quick check of the NCDXF beacon chain revealed very good propagation on 14MHz and 21MHz. This includes reception of the following beacons: CS3B in Madeira; RR90 in Siberia; 4S7B in Sri Lanka; 4X6TU in Israel; and 4U1UN in New York. So, it looks like we are starting to leave the summer doldrums and entering better autumnal HF conditions. Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will be around 120, falling to 90 as the week progresses. After the potential for geomagnetic disruption this weekend, ending today the 30th, the forecast is good with a Kp index of around 2. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The weather has changed to autumnal conditions with lows bringing periods of rain or showers and quite windy conditions at times. The coming week will turn out in similar fashion and means that we won't be dealing with much, if any, tropo for VHF. The main weather-dependent mode will be rain scatter for GHz band operators. The chances of aurora will need to show a Kp index above 5 to be of much interest, and probably a bit higher for southern areas. The prospects for meteor scatter are likely to be reduced to random activity which tends to give better results in the early morning hours before dawn. Lastly, we are coming to the close of the Sporadic-E season and, with probably a week or so to play out, any openings will be few and far between. Try checking during the main operating windows of mid-morning and late afternoon. As a back-up, consider the middle of the day since towards the edges of the season the traditional timings are less reliable. For EME operators, Moon declination went positive again yesterday, the 29th, with increasing peak elevation and lengthening Moon windows. Path losses are falling all week towards perigee on Sunday the 6th of September. 144MHz sky noise is low, increasing to medium by Friday the 4th of September. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT and  Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief, and the episode's feature is Krampus event and Yaseu UK We would like to thank Pete Leng (ZL4TE), Daniel Robson (GM6CMQ) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate Happy 12th Birthday to AO-73 (FUNcube-1) Neural Codec Called 'Milestone' for Digital Voice Pirate Radio Broadcaster Agrees To $7,200 Payment Opinion: futureGEO is the Most Important Amateur Radio Initiative of this Decade. Why is no one Talking About it? Yasme Grant Supports Hams' Initiatives at Bangladesh Universities Santa Net Returns for 20th Consecutive Year The RSGB Accessibility Champion FT8 Warning to UK Hams

In this edition: 01. New AMSAT CubeSatSim Lite 02. CubeSatSim Lite info 03. FunCube-1 AO-73 04. CatSat 05. CatSat audio 06. Lobachevsky RS83S 07. Iowa State University Linear Transponder 08. Below are recurring links that normally do not change 09. AMSAT Awards 10. Donate to AMSAT 11. FO-29 Schedule 12. FO-99 Schedule 13. AMSAT Keps Link 14. AMSAT Distance Records 15. AMSAT Membership 16. AMSAT President Club 17. Satellite Status Page 18. Satellite Status Page 2 19. FM Satellite Frequencies 20. Linear Satellite Frequencies 21. ISS pass prediction times 22. AMSAT Ambassador Program 23. AMSAT News Service 24. AMSAT GOLF Program 25. AMSAT Hardware Store 26. AMSAT Gear on Zazzle 27. AMSAT Remove Before Flight Keychains 28. AMSAT on X (Twitter) 29. and more.

In this edition: 01. HB9RG Trophy Competition 02. FunCube 73-on73 Award 03. Yuma Hamcom 04. Midwinter Madness Hamfest 05. Southeastern VHF Conference 06. Below are recurring links that normally do not change 07. Donate to AMSAT 08. FO-99 Schedule 09. AMSAT Keps Link 10. AMSAT Distance Records 11. AMSAT President Club 12. Satellite Status Page 13. Satellite Status Page 2 14. FM Satellite Frequencies 15. Linear Satellite Frequencies 16. ISS pass prediction times 17. FO-29 Schedule 18. AMSAT Ambassador Program 19. AMSAT Getting Started with Amateur Satellites digital 20. AMSAT News Service 21. AMSATs GOLF Program 22. AMSAT Hardware Store 23. AMSAT Gear on Zazzle 24. AMSAT Remove Before Flight Keychains 25. AMSAT Membership 26. AMSAT Donations 27. AMSAT on X (Twitter) 28. and more.

In this edition: 01. AMSAT-UK Colloquium Opening Address 02. AMSAT-UK Colloquium Getting Started with Satellites 03. AMSAT-UK Colloquium Report on Operations via QO-100 04. AMSAT-UK Colloquium FUNcube Lite on Jovian-1 05. AMSAT-UK Colloquium Surrey and Space Based Solar Power 06. AMSAT-UK Colloquium ARISS-UK Update 07. AMSAT-UK Colloquium SDR Transponder 08. AMSAT-UK Colloquium Automated Reception of FUNcube and APRS 09. AMSAT-UK Colloquium AMSAT-DL Update 10. AMSAT-UK Colloquium AMSAT-NA 11. Oro Valley ARC 12. Stone Mountain Hamfest 13. Pacificon 14. Radio Society of Tucson 15. Central Kentucky Hamfest 16. North Star Radio Convention 17. Below are recurring links that normally do not change 18. Donate to AMSAT 19. FO-99 Schedule 20. AMSAT Keps Link 21. AMSAT Distance Records 22. AMSAT President Club 23. Satellite Status Page 24. Satellite Status Page 2 25. FM Satellite Frequencies 26. Linear Satellite Frequencies 27. ISS pass prediction times 28. FO-29 Schedule 29. AMSAT Ambassador Program 30. AMSAT Getting Started with Amateur Satellites digital 31. AMSAT News Service 32. AMSATs GOLF Program 33. AMSAT Hardware Store 34. AMSAT Gear on Zazzle 35. AMSAT Remove Before Flight Keychains 36. AMSAT Membership 37. AMSAT Donations 38. AMSAT on X (Twitter) 39. and more.

01. FUNcube Data Warehouse and Dashboard software 02. FUNcube email group 03. FUNcube website 04. WRC-23 05. EIRSAT-1 Frequency Coordination 06. EIRSAT-1 Beacon 07. Below are recurring links that normally do not change 08. FO-99 Schedule 09. AMSAT Keps Link 10. AMSAT Distance Records 11. AMSAT President Club 12. Satellite Status Page 13. Satellite Status Page 2 14. FM Satellite Frequencies 15. Linear Satellite Frequencies 16. ISS pass prediction times 17. FO-29 Schedule 18. AMSAT Getting Started with Amateur Satellites digital 19. AMSAT News Service 20. AMSATs GOLF Program 21. AMSAT Hardware Store 22. AMSAT Gear on Zazzle 23. AMSAT Remove Before Flight Keychains 24. AMSAT Membership 25. AMSAT Donations 26. AMSAT on X (Twitter) 27. and more.

GB2RS News Sunday 19th of September 2021 The news headlines: RSGB Convention on 9 October Join in with Exercise Blue Ham on 5MHz New RSGB VHF UHF award   The RSGB Online Convention is taking place on the 9th of October. There will be two live streams of talks available all day with a Q&A session at the end of each talk. After the event, on the RSGB YouTube channel, you can view the lectures as many times as you wish. Callum, M0MCX from DX Commander is no stranger to YouTube videos. He will talk about An Obsession with Antennas, covering everything from very basic antenna modelling, through antenna shapes to achieving an impossible gain. You can watch a video trailer about the Convention and read about the other talks in the two streams at rsgb.org/convention. Whether you're new to amateur radio or have been enjoying it for years, do put the 9th of October in your diary. The RAF Air Cadets are planning to run the next Blue Ham Radio Communications Exercise on the 16th and 17th of October. They hope that radio amateurs can put some time aside to join in with the cadets and staff on the shared section of the 5MHz bands. A Blue Ham participation certificate is available to those who contact 15 or more special Cadet callsigns during the exercise. Details will be on the alphacharlie.org.uk website. The RSGB has introduced a new VHF UHF award. It is intended to encourage people to use their new handheld and the substantial bandwidth we have at VHF and UHF. There are five levels of awards available for progression. Full details as rsgb.org.uk/awards Another casualty of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic is the 2021 Tokyo Ham Fair, scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd of October. Due to the latest wave of infection this summer, the Japanese national society, JARL, has reluctantly decided to cancel the Ham Fair. They hope that the Tokyo Ham Fair will be back in 2022 under safer conditions. The recently formed Amplitude Modulation Amateur Society has announced the date of its very first monthly AM net. It will take place today, Sunday the 19th of September, at 1830UTC on 3.625MHz. Robert, GW6GBY will be the net controller, using the callsign GC5AMS from the historic transmitter site at Criggion. Members and non-members are welcome to join in, using AM. More information is on QRZ.com under G5AMS. Next week, after a few months of normal eclipse periods, FUNcube-1, AO73, will re-enter full sunlight for about two months. It has been in continuous transponder mode for some time now and AMSAT-UK has decided that, during this sunlight period, FUNcube-1 should operate in continuous high-power telemetry mode. The change will be made within the next few days. FUNcube-1 has now been in orbit for almost eight years and the telemetry indicates that all systems, including the battery and solar panels, appear to be operating as well now as they did immediately after launch. The IARU Region 1 Monitoring Service newsletter, dated August 2021, is now available. Generally, August showed a very similar situation to previous months. Well-known intruders were regularly present in the 7MHz band. From time to time, an intermodulation artefact of 13855kHz and 13710kHz was heard on 14000kHz. Also, several over the horizon radar systems were active almost daily. You can read the full report, including the UK report from Richard, G4DYA, at iaru-r1.org. And now for details of rallies and events Before travelling to any rally or event, please check the event's website as there may still be alterations or cancellations due to the pandemic. Today, the 19th, the Cambridge Repeater Group Rally will be held in Foxton Village hall, Hardman Road, Foxton CB22 6RN. Please be aware that there will not be a Bring & Buy, but car boot traders are welcome. Visitors are recommended to wear face masks for the indoor section. Doors open at 9.30 am and entry is £3. Weston-super-Mare Radio Society be holding its 6th Radio & Electronics Rally on the 26th of September. It will be held in The Campus Community Centre, Highland Lane, Worle BS24 7DX, which is just off M5 junction 21. Over 60 tables have been booked and the doors will be open at 10 am. The entry fee is £3. The 3rd of October Welsh Radio Rally is cancelled, as previously publicised. Now the DX news SP9FIH and SP6CIK will be active as D60AC and D60AD respectively, from the Comoros archipelago, IOTA reference AF-007, until the 2nd of October. They will operate SSB, CW, RTTY and FT8 on the 80, 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10m bands. The preferred method of QSL is via Club Log's OQRS, otherwise use their home callsigns. Look for JI3DST/5, JR8YLY/5 and JR8YLY/p using FT8 from Shodo Island, AS-200, until the 23rd of September and again between the 25th and 28th September. All QSOs will be uploaded to Club Log and made available for Club Log Matching on the IOTA website. Stian, LB5SH will be active as OY/LB5SH from the Faroe Islands, EU-018, until the 20th of September. He will operate mainly SSB and FT8, possibly with some CW during the SAC Contest. QSL via Logbook of The World. Now the Special Event news Thurrock Acorns Amateur Radio Club will be operating GB2BB for the Battle of Britain until the 20th of September. Riviera Amateur Radio Club will be running GB8BB in September in commemoration of those who served in the Battle of Britain. Apologies for the error last week, this is the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Britain. GB8ROC will be operating from Scotland's Secret Bunker, in Fife, on Thursday the 30th of September. Further activity may take place the following weekend. This is to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the national stand-down of the Royal Observer Corps, and also to mark the 80th anniversary of the award of Royal title to the Observer Corps, in recognition of their services in the Battle of Britain. The operation will be on HF and VHF. QSL via the bureau. GB4SRM will be on the air for Railways On The Air on the 25th and 26th of September from Locomotion at Shildon in County Durham. All are welcome and entry to the venue is free. Now the contest news When operating in contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following relevant pandemic-related government recommendations. Today, the 19th, is the 70MHz Affiliated Clubs Contest, running from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The IRTS 70cm Counties contest runs from 1300 to 1330UTC today, the 19th. Using SSB and FM, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note that EI and GI stations also give their County. The IRTS 2m Counties Contest is also today, but running from 1330 to 1500UTC. Details and exchange are the same as for the 70cm contest. Finally, the BARTG Sprint PSK63 contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC today. The exchange is just the serial number. 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. Thursday sees the data leg of the 80m Autumn Series take place from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number. Next weekend is the 48-hour CQ World Wide DX RTTY Contest, ending at 2359UTC on the 26th. Using the contest bands between 3.5 and 28MHz, the exchange is signal report and Zone, which is 14 for the UK. The UK Microwave group contest runs next Sunday from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Practical Wireless 70MHz contest runs from 1200 to 1600UTC next Sunday, the 26th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 17th of September. After last week's very active Sun, we have had a quieter week with little solar activity. As of Thursday, there were zero sunspots and the solar flux index had declined to 75, pretty much as predicted. The upside is that the Sun has been quiet geomagnetically with a maximum Kp index of three over the past week. This means the ionosphere has not been adversely affected. HF conditions have been adequate rather than exceptional, with FT8 F2-layer openings on 10 metres as well as some late-season Sporadic-E. Brazil has been logged in the late afternoons on 10m FT8, as have a few other stations from the Caribbean and South America. We haven't seen much of the long-awaited Autumnal trans-Atlantic DX on 10 metres, but it is still early days. We may not see this until later in the month or even early October. At the moment it isn't looking too good for next week either. NOAA predicts the SFI will be in the range 76 to 78. This could, of course, change if we have a sudden outburst of sunspots. Geomagnetically, NOAA predicts more of the same with the Kp index at two to three. Propquest shows that the predicted maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path is likely to just touch the lower end of 21MHz at times. And now the VHF and up propagation news. The continuation of the mixed weak Tropo and rain scatter modes seems to be the way to go during the period to next weekend. At the moment the primary Tropo period comes along for the first half of next week, before being eroded from the west as Atlantic fronts move in. The preferred Tropo directions are probably east across the North Sea and south into northern France. The other modes such as meteor scatter and aurora and of course, the most reliable of DX modes, aircraft scatter, are always worth checking out. Now international air travel is getting frequent again, the dip in aircraft scatter opportunities that we had at the height of the pandemic, should be reducing, so check the beaconspot.uk website for the latest on VHF and up beacons and monitor them to see some interesting propagation, and set up some skeds on VHF and up via the ON4KST.info chat. Look on www.airscout.eu to download an excellent aircraft scatter path prediction program from Frank, DL2ALF. No meteor showers this week, and random meteor activity will be declining from the August/September peak, but keep checking in the early morning for the best random meteor scatter conditions. Time to put the EME system back in the dish for this month as we return to positive Moon declination on Tuesday. Losses are still low but increasing this week. The Moon is up from early evening to the early hours. And that's all from the propagation team this week.  

There are *billions* of dollars' worth of invaluable imagery, information, and data available, for free from NASA, NOAA, ESA, and more but unfortunately, sometimes it can be hard to get to… and hard to use. The folks at Element 84, a software development firm specializing in large scale geospatial data systems and remote sensing believe that the more they can help make that data accessible and usable, the more we can learn about our planet and how it's changing.    “How hard can it be?” is a question Dan Pilone often asks his team. As the CEO & CTO of Dan oversees the architecture, design, and development for Element 84's commercial and government data clients including NASA, USGS, Stanford University School of Medicine, and Capella Space. “   About Element 84  “We are impatient optimists.”  “It's not magic, but it can *feel* like that - you can literally *see* the world changing, see storms, progress of wildfires, patterns of burning and growth, how to plan for changing water levels, how to help people impacted by disasters, or even just see some fantastic images of leaves changing in the fall.... Space gives us an incredible view of the planet we live on- and we want as many people to be able to take advantage of that unique view as possible.” – Dan Pilone   More at: www.element84.com    Dan mentions:   FunCube: https://amsat-uk.org/funcube/funcube-cubesat/   More about Dan Pilone:   ​Dan has supported NASA's Earth Observing System for over 15 years; currently acting as Chief Technologist for the NASA EOSDIS Evolution and Development contract. He has supported transitioning NASA's Petabyte scale archive to the cloud, contributed to metadata standards, led multiple working groups on data services and cloud architectures, authored studies on architecture and transition plans for cloud-native data management solutions, and helped shape software development processes for both government and commercial clients. Mr. Pilone has authored multiple books on software development and taught Software Engineering at Catholic University in Washington DC.

In this edition: 01. IARU Coordinated Frequencies 02. AMSAT TLE update 03. Funcube data warehouse 04. Last Man Standing Special Event 05. Clint Bradford Presentations 06. AMSAT-EA English Language Newsletter 07. Southgate ARC YouTube video 08. Radio Surfer Award 09. K0FFY Interactive QSL 10. ARISS Operation Mode 11. Join the 2021 Presidents Club 12. AMSAT Getting Started with Amateur Satellites digital 13. AMSAT Getting Started with Amateur Satellites print 14. AMSAT News Service 15. AMSAT Office Closed 16. AMSATs GOLF Program 17. AMSAT Hardware Store 18. AMSAT Gear on Zazzle 19. AMSAT Remove Before Flight Keychains 20. AMSAT Membership 21. Join AMSAT Presidents Club 22. AMSAT Donations 23. AMSAT on Twitter 24. and more.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 27th of September 2020 The news headlines: RSGB introducing Full exam remote invigilation Solar Cycle 25 is officially here Latest Online Convention news   Following on from the success of the remote invigilation exams for the Foundation and Intermediate licence, the RSGB is now expanding that to include Full licence exams. The automated booking system is now accepting exam bookings for all three licence levels. Please note that the earliest date available for exam bookings at any level is Wednesday the 21st of October. It is important to read the Candidate Instructions before booking an exam. You can find a link to these and the calendar to book your exam on the Society’s website at www.rsgb.org/exampay. The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, an international group of experts co-sponsored by NASA and NOAA, announced that the solar minimum occurred in December 2019, marking the start of a new solar cycle. Because our Sun is so variable, it can take months after the fact to declare this event. Scientists use sunspots to track solar cycle progress; the dark blotches on the Sun are associated with solar activity, often as the origins for giant explosions, such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections, which can spew light, energy, and solar material into space. This and more has been explained in a video on the NASA website. Go to https://tinyurl.com/gb2rs-nasa. 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 presenting two online streams for everyone to enjoy. In An introduction to… we will have Getting Started on Low Earth Orbit Satellites by Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL. He will look at using low earth orbit satellites, what they are, how to use them and what equipment is required both from low-cost system using a handheld and a Yagi to automated tracked systems. In the Learn more about… stream, Bruce Pea, N9WKE will explain how to Take your CW to the next level. Happily, a lot of people are learning the code, getting on the air, and having fun with CW. This presentation explores methods and options for improving your CW, head copy skills, and increasing your speed. Bruce is the founder and host of Dit Dit FM, the podcast celebrating Morse code, the CW operating mode and amateur radio. You can find out more about the whole day of lectures at www.rsgb.org.uk/convention. Like the RSGB Convention, the AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2020 will also be online this year. Taking place on Sunday 11th of October, there will be a lecture stream from 11am to 4pm. Amongst the lectures on the day, Daniel Estévez, EA4GPZ will look at Decoding Mars spacecraft and explain the bit and pieces you can learn from spacecraft telemetry. Phil Ashby, M6IPX will talk about the FUNcube and creating an open platform in space. You can find out more at www.amsat-uk.org/colloquium. The registration URL is https://tinyurl.com/amsatukreg2020. The RSGB’s next Tonight@8 webinar on Monday the 28th of September is a bumper edition! RSGB Convention Chair David Bondy, G4NRT will give a short pre-recorded interview about this year's online Convention. After that, Tim Kirby, GW4VXE will give a usual Tonight@8 live presentation on My world of VHF. You can watch and ask questions on the Society’s YouTube or BATC channels. For more details see our website at www.rsgb.org/webinars. In the lead-up to this year’s online Convention, the RSGB has just published two more 2019 Convention presentations. In the first, Alwyn Seeds, G8DOH talks about Coax and connectors, the forgotten ingredient of high performance VHF/UHF stations. Whilst focused on VHF/UHF, this talk should be of interest to all radio amateurs. The second presentation features Chris Deacon, G4IFX talking about More on the polarisation of 50MHz signals via Sporadic-E. He looks at results from previous years and from newer experiments using more comprehensive measurement techniques, which are beginning to help answer key questions about the true nature of Sporadic-E propagation. Both can be found on the Society’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/theRSGB. The RSGB’s Examinations Standards Committee has published its 2020 report that looks back on activities during 2019 – you can read it and previous reports on the RSGB website via tinyurl.com/esc-reports. 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. PJ4TEN is a special event station that will be active during October 2020 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 10th of October 2010. On that date the former country of the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and Bonaire became a special municipality of the Netherlands. As a result, Bonaire became a new DXCC entity on that date. Bonaire's radio amateurs are organising a month-long operating event. The rules for the award can be found on the PJ4TEN QRZ.com page. Hannes, OE1SGU will be active as OE1990SGU between the 1st and the 31st of October to celebrate his 30th anniversary in amateur radio. QSL via LoTW, eQSL, or via OE1SGU either direct or via the bureau. K1A will be operated as a special event station for the Amateur Radio Software Award until the 4th of October. Look for activity on 20 and 40 metres SSB. QSL direct to Claus H Niesen, PO Box 126, Ames IA 50010, USA. Now the DX news David, M0VDL will be active from Lundy Island, IOTA reference EU-120, between the 26th of September and the 1st of October. He plans to operate SSB and FT8 on 20, 40 and maybe 80 metres, primarily in the local morning and evening hours. Now the contest news 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. This weekend, the CQ World Wide DX RTTY contest ends its 48 hour run at 2359UTC today, the 27th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and Zone, which is 14 for the UK. Today, the 27th, the UK Microwave group contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, the 27th, the PW 70MHz contest runs from 1200 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday, the seventh FT4 Series contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using the 80m band, the exchange is your 4-character locator. On Tuesday the 50MHz Machine Generated Mode Activity Contest and the 144MHz MGM AC run from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is the same for both contests, signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the UK EI Contest Club 80m contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. It’s CW only and the exchange is your 4-character locator. Next weekend the IARU 432-245GHz contest runs for 24 hours from 1400UTC on the 3rd to 1400UTC on the 4th of October. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 3rd of October, the 1.2GHz and 2.3GHz Trophy contests runs from 1400 to 2000UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is the same for both contests, signal report, serial number and locator. The Oceania DX SSB contest runs for 24 hours next weekend from 0800UTC on the 3rd to 0800UTC on the 4th of October. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The Worked All Britain DX Contest takes place on the 4th of October from 0500 to 2300UTC. Using SSB only on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB area. The DX Contest takes place next Sunday from 0500 to 2300UTC on the 4th of October. Using CW and SSB on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The Portable Operations Challenge a new kind of HF contest, which takes place on the 3rd and 4th of October. The aim of the challenge is to create a level playing field for small portable stations against the large contest stations by using handicapping algorithms similar to the one used in golf. Open to all, participants choose their own 8 hour contiguous time window within the 48 hour weekend. Operating portable, contact distance, power level and mode affect the final score. Details can be found at foxmikehotel.com/challenge. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 25th of September. We finally broke our long-running record of zero sunspots last week thanks to active region 2773. This new solar cycle 25 spot appeared over the Sun’s limb and pushed the solar flux index to 73. The end of the week also saw unsettled conditions due to a high-speed stream from a coronal hole. The hole in the Sun’s North-Eastern quadrant pushed the Kp index to four on Wednesday evening and five by Thursday morning. A pre-auroral enhancement on Wednesday saw MUFs rise to nearly 21MHz over a 3,000km path, but by Thursday morning they were struggling to reach 14MHz. As the month has moved on we have started to see an improvement in HF conditions generally. Laurie, G3UML reported working ZL4RMF in New Zealand on 40m SSB at 0645UTC on Tuesday and Andy, G3SVD worked FK8IK New Caledonia at 1006UTC on 20m CW. If you are looking for South Pacific contacts, Rob, F5VHN reports that Jim, E51JD on the South Cook Islands is often on around 14.225MHz SSB most mornings. Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be around 70 again. The week may start unsettled thanks to a coronal hole, but the Kp index should improve as the week goes on. We expect HF DX conditions to improve as we move towards October and hopefully, we can expect to see some more sunspots from the new Solar Cycle 25 as well. And now the VHF and up propagation news. The weather patterns at this time of the year can be very fickle as the major driving jet streams can be seriously distorted by former-hurricanes from the USA side of the Atlantic. The predicted return of Tropo after midweek in the week just gone, was a bust for that reason. Other major distortions of the driving jet stream pattern are likely in the coming week, so the story is one of unsettled, changeable weather with periods of rain or heavy showers. That should mean another good week for rain scatter on the GHz bands, but tropo will not get much chance during this period. Moon declination is rising this week, going positive late on Thursday night, so we’ll see longer Moon visibility windows as the week progresses, reaching a minimum on Thursday. Path losses are still increasing until we reach apogee on Saturday. 144MHz sky temperatures are low all week, but low peak Moon elevations early in the week won’t help. The daytime Sextantids meteor shower peaked today but should still be active until the 9th of October. Continue to check around local dawn for the best random meteors, ie meteors that aren’t associated with any particular shower. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Martin Rothwell M0SGL, Ed Durrant DD5LP, Frank Howell K4FMH and Bill Barnes N3JIX to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief and this episode’s feature is the GB55RC activation onboard Radio Caroline at the start of August. ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS We would like to thank Joe Ferguson (W4JF) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate - Parks on the Air Come to England - World's First FT8 Contact on 122 GHz - VRT Withdraws Slur Against Radio Amateurs - BBC Service to Kashmir on Shortwave Increased - Ideas Sought for the Next FUNcube Satellite - Hiram Percy Maxim 150th Birthday Celebration - Radio Hams Continue Support of RNLI - Automated Contacts Prohibited - RSGB Release Mock Exam Papers

Exploration of the edge of space, first by astronaut Jordan Kittinger in Project Man-High, began Bill Brown’s, WB8ELK’s, fascination with, adaptation of amateur radio to high altitude weather balloons and later to smaller pico balloons that Bill tracks around the world using amateur radio beacons that he fabricates for his balloon launches.  With over 600 launches to his credit, it easy to say that WB8ELK is an expert in high altitude ballooning and amateur radio.

In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Matthew Nassau M0NJX and Bill Barnes N3JIX to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s feature is - Hamfest 2018 ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS We would like to thank Avi Solomon, Danny Robson (GM6CMQ), Brett Stalbaum, Gair Matthews (G1VWC) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate The Chill of Solar Minimum WW2 Allied Bombing Altered Ionosphere Rare Lizard Tracked by Tiny Radio Tags ARRL and FCC Discuss Uncertified Imported VHF/UHF Transceivers FUNcube Operations Update RSGB Past President GI3KYP SK EchoLink Now Connected to Irish DMR Network

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Leslie Butterfield (G0CIB) and Matthew Nassau (2E0MTT) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature is International Marconi Day. New Entry Level Licence for Germany? Ofcom Considers 10.475 and 47 GHz Bands for 5G Digital Activity Days RDRC Ham Radio Operator Flies Model Tricopter FUNcube-1 Transmitting Again Australian Balloon Circumnavigates the Globe New Award Scheme for Portable Operators Surprise Decrease in Australian Ham Licence Renewal Fees

In dieser Folge war Miguel vom Chaostreff Basel bei uns zu Gast und hat uns erklärt, was Amateurfunk und Funkamateure sind, wie das mit den Lizenzen und den dazugehörigen Prüfungen ist, und was man damit alles machen kann. Musik Download: Sound of SceneSat Vol. 3 Chaostreff Basel :: Chaostreff Basel in Muttenz Handy :: Miguels Handfunkgerät Miguel :: Miguel mit dem Handy an der Mikrophonspinne USKA :: Union Schweizer Kurzwellenamateure Bakom :: Bundesamt für Kommunikation Prüfungen :: Infoseite zu Funkerprüfungen des Bakoms PMR :: Wikipedia zu PMR-Funk CB-Funk :: Citizen Band Jedermannsfunk auf 27 MHz SCBO :: Swiss CB Organisation ISM-Band :: Wikipedia zum ISM-Band APRS :: Automatic Packet Reporting System Regelungen :: Regelungen im Amateurfunk Q-Code :: Wikipedia über den Q-Code Notfunk :: Wikipedia über Notfunk SDR :: Software Defined Radio Osmocom SDR :: Osmocom SDR FUNcube :: UK Amateur Radio Educational Satellite Flexradio :: Flexradio Debian Pakete :: Debian GNU/Linux Pakete rund um HAM Radio File Download (172:27 min / 175 MB)

In dieser Folge war Miguel vom Chaostreff Basel bei uns zu Gast und hat uns erklärt, was Amateurfunk und Funkamateure sind, wie das mit den Lizenzen und den dazugehörigen Prüfungen ist, und was man damit alles machen kann. Musik Download: Sound of SceneSat Vol. 3 Chaostreff Basel :: Chaostreff Basel in Muttenz Handy :: Miguels Handfunkgerät Miguel :: Miguel mit dem Handy an der Mikrophonspinne USKA :: Union Schweizer Kurzwellenamateure Bakom :: Bundesamt für Kommunikation Prüfungen :: Infoseite zu Funkerprüfungen des Bakoms PMR :: Wikipedia zu PMR-Funk CB-Funk :: Citizen Band Jedermannsfunk auf 27 MHz SCBO :: Swiss CB Organisation ISM-Band :: Wikipedia zum ISM-Band APRS :: Automatic Packet Reporting System Regelungen :: Regelungen im Amateurfunk Q-Code :: Wikipedia über den Q-Code Notfunk :: Wikipedia über Notfunk SDR :: Software Defined Radio Osmocom SDR :: Osmocom SDR FUNcube :: UK Amateur Radio Educational Satellite Flexradio :: Flexradio Debian Pakete :: Debian GNU/Linux Pakete rund um HAM Radio File Download (172:27 min / 175 MB)

Series Seven Episode Fourteen of the ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast has been released. The latest news, Martin (M1MRB & W9ICQ) and Colin (M6BOY) discuss the new ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast mobile recording set-up and then review the Wouxon UV-8D 70cm/2m Handheld Radio. FUNcube-1 – One millionth packet milestone! Less New UK Amateur Radio Operators in 2013 Moldova has joined CEPT licences Ham Radio Show Friedrichshafen a success 70 MHz access for German Ham Radio Operators DB0IH beacon upgraded picoLog Free Android Amateur / Ham Radio Logger New Ham Radio Regulations for Thailand Youngsters On The Air and ERTC 2014 UK radio ham copies Canadian 144 MHz signal Production End for Noise Polluting Plasma TVs

December 2013 This month, we join Bletchley Park historian Dr Joel Greenberg & AS Level history students from Milton Keynes College as they discover hidden treasures under The Mansion car park. Footings of what the Bletchley Park Trust believes were the first few wooden huts built at the outbreak of World War Two were found when the tarmac was removed. We find out what happened at a specially set-up monitoring station in the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park, when AMSAT-UK launched FUNcube-1, a 10cm cubed satellite weighing less than a kilogram, over Russia. We have an exclusive interview with Professor’s Barry Cooper & Jack Copeland who spoke about some of the lesser known heroes of Bletchley Park at the day of sold-out talks, Codebreakers’ Legacy. They talk about the continuing interest in Alan Turing & what also what they think about the forthcoming film of his life. Yet again we have the honour of interviewing one of our Veterans. Cynthia Legge (nee Mould) was a Wren Bombe Operator based at Stanmore during WW2. She shares her recollections with us including blind dates, Doodlebugs & the job with tweezers she describes as hell on earth. You can find AMSAT-UK at www.amsat-uk.org Picture ©mcfontaine #BPark, #BletchleyPark, #Bombe, #Enigma, #Veterans, #AMSAT_UK, #FUNcube-1, #audiowrangler, #mcfontaine