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GB2RS News Sunday, the 15th of June 2025 The news headlines: Book now to secure your place at the RSGB 2025 Convention The RSGB launches the “SES Cookbook” The RSGB Operating Advisory Service issues advice The RSGB annual Convention is a fantastic opportunity for radio amateurs to meet, learn and share experiences. Whether you're newly licensed or have years of experience, there is always more to discover. That's why the Society is excited to introduce this year's theme: “Discover, Learn, Progress”. Whether you want to discover something new, learn more about a particular aspect of amateur radio, or progress and develop your skills, you'll find something at the Convention to explore and enjoy. The prestigious event will take place between October 10th and 12th at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. Book now to secure your place in joining like-minded people for what is also one of the best social events in amateur radio. Take advantage of the early-bird prices by going to rsgb.org/convention. The Society is delighted that the event will be sponsored again by Martin Lynch and Sons. Special event stations are popular around the world and a great source of fun and excitement for organisers and QSO chasers. They can also be a fantastic tool for outreach, allowing you to demonstrate amateur radio and encourage people to find out more. But how do you organise an event to achieve all those objectives? The RSGB has just launched a new web section that focuses on special event stations. For RSGB members and Affiliated Clubs, there is an online guide called the SES Cookbook, which offers a wide range of practical guidance to help you deliver the best experience for your visitors and the organisers. The guide covers a wide range of topics, including how to apply for a special event station callsign, the stages of the planning process, publicising your event to attract visitors and how to make a good number of contacts. For non-RSGB members, there is a simple guidance document that outlines the main things to consider when planning this type of event. The new section also draws together existing information about permanent special event stations as well as QSL guidance. If you're planning an event for this year, or even for next year, now is the time to make the most of this comprehensive guide. Go to rsgb.org/ses to find out more. The RSGB Operating Advisory Service, or OAS, provides advice to members on dealing with situations that are not within the spirit of amateur radio. From time to time, this activity goes beyond what is classed as acceptable behaviour and requires action to be taken. In these circumstances, the OAS recommends reporting the matter directly to Ofcom and to the police in the case of issues which could be classed as harassment, stalking or hate crimes. Experience has shown that this carries more weight coming directly from the people hearing or suffering the problem rather than a third party, such as the RSGB. If you hear anything that is not acceptable behaviour, contact the RSGB OAS first, and the team will suggest the correct course of action. Once Ofcom and the police have issued reference numbers, these should be passed to the Operating Advisory Service. You can contact OAS via oas@rsgb.org.uk The RSGB has submitted responses to a pair of Ofcom consultations. The first considered a series of licence exemption updates, including arrangements for some visiting radio amateurs to the UK. The second concerned filing procedures for the growing number and variety of satellites. Both replies were developed by the RSGB Spectrum Forum, drawing on its members' wide breadth of expertise. The Spectrum Forum expects that there will be further updates to both topics. Find the full replies by going to rsgb.org/spectrumforum and selecting the ‘Papers and Consultations' option from the right-hand menu. The RSGB recently announced two new volunteering opportunities. The RSGB CW Champion will help the Society in taking Morse code to new audiences. Tasks will vary from developing the CW content on the RSGB's website through to developing and supporting a team of enthusiastic individuals who can support CW-related activities. The second role requires an individual with experience in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The RSGB STEM Champion will help the Society to reach new audiences, build relationships with related organisations and encourage more young people into STEM careers. Go to rsgb.org/volunteers to read the full role descriptions and learn how to apply. And now for details of rallies and events The East Suffolk Wireless Revival, also known as ‘The Ipswich Radio Rally', is taking place today, the 15th, at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton, IP10 0PW. The doors open at 9.30 am and the entry fee for visitors is £3. The venue has free car parking. Visitors can enjoy trade stands, a car-boot sale, a bring-and-buy area and special interest groups. An HF station is operating with the callsign GB4SWR. Catering and an RSGB bookstall are available on site. For more details, contact Kevin, G8MXV, on 07710 046 846 and visit eswr.org.uk Bangor and District Amateur Radio Society's Annual Radio Rally is due to take place on Saturday, the 21st of June, at Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church Hall. The doors will open at 11.30 am and admission costs £5. The Cornish Radio Amateur Club Rally will take place on Sunday, the 29th of June at Penair School, St. Clement, Truro, TR1 1TN. The doors open at 10.30 am. For more information, contact Ken, G0FIC on 01209 821 073. Now the Special Event news Special callsign HS30DXA is active until the 21st of June to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Thailand DX Association. Look for activity on all HF bands and the amateur radio satellites. QSL via HS6MYW. The Amateur Radio Society of India, VU2ZH, is celebrating the centenary of the International Amateur Radio Union by activating special callsign VU1IARU until the 29th of June. The Indian Society has been a member society of IARU Region 3 since 1958. The station has been spotted recently using CW and FT8 on the HF bands. QSL via VU2ZH. And finally, don't forget to listen out for all the amateur stations that will be on the air during International Museums on the Air weekend on the 21st and 22nd of June. For more information about the event, visit tinyurl.com/IMOTA2025 Now the DX news Gerry, G3WIP is active as VP8DPD from Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, until the 12th of July. Recently, the station was spotted on the HF bands using FT8. QSL via EA5GL and Logbook of the World. Don, KW7R, is active as V73KW from the Marshall Islands. He is there on a work assignment until September 2025. In his spare time, he operates CW and FT8 on various bands. QSL via Logbook of the World. Llanelli Amateur Radio Society is operating with special callsign GB1BAF during June to honour the British Armed Forces. Look for activity on the HF, 6 and 2m bands using CW, FT8 and phone. For more information, visit the GB1BAF page at QRZ.com Now the contest news Today, the 15th, the RSGB 2nd 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 0900 to 1300 UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, the 15th, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP Contest runs from 0900 to 1600 UTC. Using AM, FM, SSB and CW on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Note that 5W is the maximum power allowed in this contest. On Monday the 16th, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. On Tuesday the 17th, the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday the 19th, the RSGB 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The All Asian DX Contest starts at 0000 UTC on Saturday, the 21st and ends at 2359 UTC on Sunday, the 22nd of June. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and your age. The RSGB 50MHz Trophy Contest starts at 1400 UTC on Saturday, the 21st and ends at 1400 UTC on Sunday, the 22nd of June. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Sunday the 22nd, the Worked All Britain 6m Phone Contest runs from 0800 to 1400 UTC. Using SSB on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain square. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 12th of June 2025 Propagation was a mixed bag last week, with occasional Kp index rises but a solid solar flux index, which hit 141 on Thursday, the 12th. We also had some sporadic-E short-skip conditions on the HF bands, which brought some surprises. We are now in June, so the summer HF doldrums are well underway. But that doesn't mean that the fun has gone from the HF bands. Daytime maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path have been around 18 to 20 MHz, so the main active band has been 20m. Paul, GM4ULS, reports that there was a spectacular inter-G event on the morning of Tuesday, the 10th of June. Whilst activating special event station GB70RS from Perth, he worked a mini pile-up of English stations from anywhere between Southampton and Manchester. This was between 0949 and 1022 UTC on 14.210 MHz. He said it sounded like the 40m band at times! We think this was probably a Sporadic-E event, which often creates strong but short-lived paths across the UK on the HF bands in the summer. We normally think of Sporadic-E as affecting the 10m band, but the lower bands are also often implicated. Have you worked anything unusual via Sporadic-E? If you have, please send your reports to radcom@rsgb.org.uk Otherwise, DX on the HF bands has been a little sparse, with paths opening to South Africa and South America on the 20 and 17m bands at times. Perhaps this is a good time to work some Summits on the Air or World Wide Flora and Fauna stations in Europe. These are usually QRP stations that appreciate your contacts. Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be in the 120 to 130 range. Unfortunately, geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be unsettled, thanks mainly to the return of a massive coronal hole on the Sun. Disruption was due to start around the 14th, but due to the hole's size, this could continue for at least three days with a maximum Kp index of 6. Expect the HF bands to be disrupted with lower maximum usable frequencies as the plasma in the solar wind hits the Earth. It may be a good time for visible aurora hunting, though. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The high summer conditions have brought an increasing chance of Sporadic-E, particularly on digital modes, with DXmaps.com plots showing plenty of paths on most days. Many of these are possibly associated with turbulence generated by jet streams in the weather part of the atmosphere. These send atmospheric gravity waves upwards to affect the E region. It's this association with specific weather features that makes Sporadic-E sporadic in a geographical sense. If so, in the coming week, the jet streams are mainly over the northern fringe of Europe. These suggest a better chance of paths to Scandinavia with fewer options to the south to support paths to the Mediterranean and the Balkans. In any event, June is high season for Sporadic-E, so remember to check the 6m band either mid-morning or late afternoon. The early thundery weather at the end of last week was useful for rain scatter on the GHz bands, and it is just possible it will return for the end of the coming week. In between times, it will be a high-pressure story that will dominate and may well produce some useful Tropo conditions. However, note that in the hot days of summer, inversion conditions and Tropo will be better at night and tend to weaken by the middle of the morning. Meteor scatter will have been boosted by two showers on the 7th and 8th of June, and, since they were broad peaks, there should be some meteor input left to see us through the coming week. For EME, sky noise is dropping. Low declination is now starting to decrease. So, Moon windows and peak elevation are improving. EME conditions are classed as poor to moderate today, the 15th of June, but are then good on the 21st and 22nd of June. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
GB2RS News Sunday, the 8th of June 2025 The news headlines: The RSGB releases a video to celebrate Volunteers' Week Get involved with the GR2HQ contest challenge Join the RSGB Regional Team As Volunteers' Week comes to a close, the RSGB would like to thank its volunteers once again for all they do. As part of the week-long event, the Society released a video about the volunteer team at the RSGB National Radio Centre. These volunteers welcome over 80,000 visitors to the Centre every year and share amateur radio with them. Watch the video to discover the variety of things that they do as well as what they enjoy most about their role. You'll find the video at rsgb.org/volunteers-week, and on that web page, you'll also be able to read about several volunteers in other RSGB roles. If their stories have inspired you and you would like to give some time to support the RSGB and amateur radio, look at the vacancies on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/volunteers The RSGB Contest Committee is looking forward to the IARU HF Championship contest on the 12th and 13th of July. This is a great opportunity for both individuals and clubs to get involved. During the contest, Headquarters Stations represent their countries, and the RSGB's station GR2HQ will be run by a network of about a dozen stations around the UK and its islands. Building on the success of last year's GR2HQ Challenge, the RSGB Contest Committee has made some changes to encourage individual stations to work the GR2HQ station on each band-mode slot. Sharing your QSOs for scoring has also been made easier. The contest is open to both individuals and clubs, so why not encourage your club members to take part, whether they are regular contesters or not? Last year, thanks in part to those entering the GR2HQ Challenge, the RSGB Contest Committee improved its position from third to second and would like to improve that result even further. Could you take part and make a difference? For the full rules, go to the GR2HQ Challenge page on the Contest Committee website via rsgbcc.org The RSGB has several volunteer vacancies within the Regional Team. If you are passionate about the future of amateur radio and support the work of the Society, then apply now. These rewarding roles are an opportunity to support fellow radio amateurs in your area. Vacancies include District Representative positions in Staffordshire, Oxfordshire and Dorset. To view the full list of regional team volunteering vacancies, go to rsgb.org/volunteers. If you have questions about the District Representative roles, contact the Regional Representative in that region, or you can contact Board Liaison Nathan Nuttall, 2M0OCC, for a chat via 2m0occ@rsgb.org.uk A special interactive spy event is taking place on Father's Day, Sunday the 15th of June, at the RSGB National Radio Centre. You'll have the opportunity to become a spy hunter and, using your special gadget, will be tasked with finding hidden transmitters located around Bletchley Park. You'll need to decode Morse signals and uncover the location of the secret spy base. Two time slots are available, however, spaces are limited to 12 groups for each. Secure your place and treat your Dad, Grandad, or a father figure to a fascinating day out by going to bletchleypark.org.uk and selecting the ‘What's on' option in the main menu. The activity is free to take part in, however, entry to Bletchley Park is required. Don't forget that RSGB members get free access to the historic site as a membership benefit. Download your voucher via rsgb.org/bpvoucher BunkerFest 2025 is taking place on the 14th and 15th of June. This exciting international festival will bring together amateur radio operators from over 13 national Bunkers on the Air schemes. For rules and activation details, visit wwbota.org/bunkerfest25 The British Inland Waterways on the Air event will take place between Saturday, the 23rd and Monday, the 25th of August. The event is open to amateurs who use canals, towpaths, rivers, lakes or reservoirs for work or recreation. Registration for the event is now open. To sign up, visit Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group's website at nharg.org.uk and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2025' link. Are you called Nigel? If so, you can join other amateur Nigels who are making plans to operate a special event station at what is hoped to be the largest ever gathering of Nigels in the world. The event will run from the 20th to the 21st of September in Worcestershire. Details on how to get involved are on the GB1NN page at QRZ.com And now for details of rallies and events Mendips Radio Rally is taking place today, the 8th of June, at Farrington Gurney Memorial Hall, Church Lane, Farrington Gurney, BS39 6UA. The doors open at 9.30 am and refreshments and free parking are available on site. For more details, contact Luke on 07870 168 197 or email luke@mymixradio.co.uk On Saturday, the 14th of June, Rochdale and District Amateur Radio Summer Rally will take place at St. Vincent de Paul's Hall, Norden, Rochdale, OL12 7QR. The doors open at 10 am and entry costs £3. The usual traders and caterers will be on site, and plenty of free parking will be available. For more information, contact Martin Shore on 07587 709 006 or email rally.radars@hotmail.com The East Suffolk Wireless Revival, also known as ‘The Ipswich Radio Rally', is due to take place on Sunday, the 15th of June at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton, IP10 0PW. The doors open at 9.30 am and the entry fee for visitors is £3. The venue has free car parking. Visitors will be able to enjoy trade stands, a car-boot sale, a bring-and-buy area and special interest groups. An HF station will be operating with the callsign GB4SWR. Catering and an RSGB bookstall will be available on site. For more details, contact Kevin, G8MXV, on 07710 046 846 and visit eswr.org.uk Now the Special Event news The A.R.I. Fidenza Radio Club is operating today, the 8th, as IY4RXO. The station is active to raise awareness of the historical value of Guglielmo Marconi's steam yacht ‘Elettra'. A number of important radio communication experiments were conducted on board the vessel. For more information, visit IY4RXO at QRZ.com Members of The James Clerk Maxwell Radio Society will be active with special callsign GB2JCM, from Parton Kirk near Castle Douglas in Dumfriesshire, on the 14th and 15th of June. The station will be active to commemorate the birth of the Society's namesake. Operators will be waiting for your call on the 40 and 20m bands. For more information, visit the GB2JCM page at QRZ.com Now the DX news Martin, MW0BRO, is active again as ZC4GW from Dhekelia on Cyprus until tomorrow, the 9th. He is operating using CW and some SSB on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via M0URX's OQRS. Remo, HB9SHD is active as V51/HB9SHD while touring Namibia until the 15th of June. He is using SSB and digital modes on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World. Now the contest news RSGB National Field Day started at 1500 UTC on Saturday, the 7th and ends at 1500 UTC today, Sunday, the 8th of June. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Today, the 8th, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0900 to 1500 UTC. Using all modes on the 23, 13 and 9cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 10th, the RSGB 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855 UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday the 10th, the RSGB 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 11th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 11th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Wednesday the 11th, the RSGB 80m CW Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday the 12th, the RSGB 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The IARU ATV Contest starts at 1200 UTC on Saturday, the 14th and ends at 1800 UTC on Sunday, the 15th of June. Using TV on the 70cm band and up, the exchange is picture quality, serial number, four-digit code and locator. On Sunday the 15th, the 2nd 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 0900 to 1300 UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Sunday the 15th, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP Contest runs from 0900 to 1600 UTC. Using AM, FM, SSB and CW on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Note that 5W is the maximum power allowed in this contest. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 5th of June Last week's HF propagation was heavily influenced by unsettled geomagnetic conditions. This was caused by a combination of coronal mass ejections and a strong solar wind from a coronal hole. The coronal mass ejection, or CME for short, followed a solar flare from sunspot 4100 on the 31st of May at 0005 UTC. The explosion lasted more than three hours. Type 2 radio emissions from shock waves within the CME cloud suggested it was travelling at 1,938 kilometres per second, or 4.3 million miles per hour! Eventually, the Bz swung south. This meant that the interplanetary magnetic field more easily coupled with the Earth's magnetic field. The result was that the Kp index got up to 7.67 on the 1st of June. The auroral effects were reported as being due to a co-rotating interaction region, or CIR – a region in space where fast and slow solar wind streams collide, creating a compressed area with enhanced plasma and magnetic fields. The Kp index was 7 or more for four three-hour periods. This pushed the maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path below 14 MHz at times, which wasn't conducive to good DXing. On Thursday, the 5th of June, it looked like we were past the worst, and the Kp index was back to a more reasonable 2.33. Meanwhile, the solar flux index declined from a recent high of 164 on the 31st of May to a low of 134 on the 5th of June. HF propagation was being driven by the geomagnetic conditions, with a general lowering of the maximum usable frequency. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will start the week at around 155 and remain around 150. More worryingly, geomagnetic conditions are again predicted to be unsettled after this weekend, with a maximum Kp index of 6 on the 13th of June. So, unsettled geomagnetic conditions, plus the HF summer doldrums, mean HF DX via F2-layer propagation may be hard to find. So, make the most of the 10m Sporadic-E short-skip openings instead! And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO Last week offered an example of what a good Sporadic-E season should look like. On Tuesday, the 3rd of June in particular, the 6m band sounded like the 20m band and, at its peak, activity extended all the way up to the 2m band. This coming week has an unsettled flavour with several areas of low pressure and weather fronts involved, together with heavy showers in between. This means rain scatter will be a supported mode on the GHz bands. There is a slight hint of a slow improvement during the week, but not really any high pressure showing up until right at the end of the coming week. So, there is a chance of Tropo propagation for the 2nd 144MHz Backpackers Contest on Sunday, the 15th. Meteor scatter is always interesting in June, with four showers to play with during the month. The early ones are the Arietids, which peaked on Saturday, the 7th of June – good news for the 50MHz UK Activity Contest on Thursday the 12th. The Zeta Perseids peak tomorrow, the 9th of June, and there will be a couple of other showers later in the month. This is probably also why the Sporadic-E prospects improve about now. Aurora has also been much in evidence recently. Despite the light summer evenings and short nights, the chances of radio aurora continue to be important, so monitor for high Kp values above about 5. The advice for some who have not yet worked Sporadic-E is to check the 6m band around teatime. There are, of course, usually two primary periods when Sporadic-E is more likely: one in the morning, and the second in late afternoon and evening. A morning opening may repeat in the afternoon in similar locations, although usually the weather trigger may have moved a little in the meantime. Check the jet stream charts at propquest.co.uk by following the Sporadic-E blog tab. The daily commentary will highlight the important directions each day. You can hopefully test out the system on Thursday, the 12th of June, in the 50MHz UK Activity Contest. EME path losses were at their maximum with apogee, when the Moon is at its furthest from the Earth, on Saturday, the 7th of June. Declination reaches a minimum on Wednesday, the 11th, so Moon windows are short and peak elevation is low. 144MHz sky noise peaks around the 11th and 12th of June. EME conditions were classed as poor this weekend and are classed as poor-to-moderate on the 14th and 15th of June. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
Bacteria vs the Sun, and your life hangs in the balance. More today on this episode of SSB.Music by Muzaproduction from Pixabayhttps://www.instagram.com/sciencewithdr_k/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2EttB4pjdZ4WrU3-z4RqPghttps://www.jidonline.org/article/S0022-202X(25)00405-1/fulltext
GB2RS News Sunday the 1st of June The news headlines: Volunteers' Week begins tomorrow, Monday the 2nd of June Be part of the RSGB 2025 Convention and put the date in your diary now Don't miss tomorrow's Tonight@8 webinar on Morse code Volunteers' Week 2025 begins tomorrow, Monday, the 2nd of June. As part of this national event, the RSGB will share a number of volunteers' stories on its website and social media channels to recognise their hard work and contribution. Go to rsgb.org/volunteers-week to find out what inspires people to get involved and what they gain from volunteering. During the week, the Society will also release a video about the volunteer team at the RSGB National Radio Centre, where they welcome over 80,000 visitors every year. If there is a volunteer you would like to thank, or you'd like to share your own volunteering story, please add a comment on the daily social media content that the RSGB will be posting on Facebook and X. You can also read about a few of the RSGB's amazing volunteers in the July edition of RadCom. Whether a volunteer's involvement is behind the scenes or front and centre, the RSGB would like you to know that your work makes a real difference, not only to the Society, but to every radio amateur who benefits from your efforts. The RSGB is delighted to announce that its annual Convention will take place from the 10th to the 12th of October at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. Whether you want to discover something new, learn more about an aspect of amateur radio, or progress and develop your skills, you'll find something at the RSGB 2025 Convention to explore and enjoy. The Society is giving you the chance to help shape this year's programme by suggesting a presentation, a topic, a practical session or a project. Are you involved in some new research or an interesting project that will take amateur radio to new audiences? Have you helped to make amateur radio more accessible to people with different abilities? Or have you heard a brilliant speaker who has inspired you? Get involved by sending your proposals to convention@rsgb.org.uk If you've never been to an RSGB Convention, or you'd like a reminder of what happened in 2024, go to youtube.com/thersgb and choose from the wide selection of presentations and videos from last year. The Society is pleased that AMSAT-UK will, once again, be holding its Colloquium at the Convention. Don't forget to join the RSGB for the next Tonight@8 webinar, which will be going live tomorrow, Monday the 2nd of June. The presentation will include an introduction to Morse code, how to start learning it, the different types of Morse keys and the Achilles heel that can occur when learning this mode. The webinar will be livestreamed on the Society's YouTube channel and special BATC channel, allowing you to watch and ask questions live. Find out more by going to rsgb.org/webinars The RSGB National Radio Centre will be involved in a radio sked as part of the opening ceremony for the ENTER Technology Museum in Switzerland on Saturday, the 7th of June. The museum is opening a radio room that will operate the amateur radio station HB9E. Volunteers from the NRC will be operating GB3RS to deliver the first radio message in the sked, which is scheduled for 1145 CET on the 40 or 20m bands using SSB. Find out more about the ENTER museum by going to enter.ch Radio amateurs have long been interested in the mystery and phenomenon of spy communications, and many will be aware of number stations. If you'd like to discover more on the topic, you can attend a talk at Bletchley Park on Saturday, the 28th of June. RSGB National Radio Centre volunteer Paul Beaumont, G7VAK, will be delivering the engaging session on ‘Number Stations, 1950 to the Present'. He will look at modes used, the different styles of sending and will present several examples where number stations were used and stated in the prosecution of the recipients. The session is being delivered as part of the RSGB's ongoing strategy to promote amateur radio to wider audiences. RSGB members who would like to attend the talk can benefit from a 10% discount, reducing the price to £14.40. To find out more, go to the Bletchley Park ‘What's on' web pages via bletchleypark.org.uk The May 2025 edition of RadCom Basics is now available. RadCom Basics is aimed at new amateurs and those who wish to refresh their skills and knowledge. Among others, this edition contains articles to help you learn about getting the maximum signal to an antenna, constructing an 80m band receiver and making an audio amplifier. To access RadCom publications, visit rsgb.org/radcom Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Spalding and District Amateur Radio Society's annual radio rally is taking place today, Sunday, the 1st of June. The venue is Spalding Rugby and Football Club, Centenary Park, Drain Bank North, Spalding, Lincolnshire. Free car parking is available, as well as traders, on-site catering and a bar. For more information, visit sdars.org.uk Mendips Radio Rally will take place on Sunday, the 8th of June at Farrington Gurney Memorial Hall, Church Lane, Farrington Gurney. The doors will be open from 9.30 a,m and free parking and refreshments will be available on site. For more detail,s contact Luke on 07870 168 197. On Saturday, the 14th of June, the Rochdale and District Amateur Radio Summer Rally will take place at St Vincent de Paul's Hall, Norden, Rochdale, OL12 7QR. The doors will open at 10 am and entry will cost £3. The usual traders and caterers will be in attendanc,e and plenty of free parking will be available. For more information contact Martin Shore on 07587 709 006 or email rally.radars@hotmail.com Now the special event news Special callsign HS30DXA is active until the 21st of June to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Thailand DX Association. Look out for activity on all HF bands, the 2m band and the amateur radio satellites. QSL via HS6MYW. In celebration of this year's German World Heritage Day, special callsign DM0LIMES is active until the 1st of July. The Limes was the border line of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent. In 2005, the remnants of the Upper German-Raetian Limes were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire'. The station was spotted recently on the 40m band using SSB. QSL via the Bureau and eQSL. Now the DX news Morten, LA9GY is active as 3DA0GY from Eswatini until tomorrow, the 2nd. He will operate CW and some SSB with a focus on the 20, 15 and 10m bands. There may also be activity on the 80, 40, 30, 17 and 12m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World or directly to Morten's home call. Roland, F8EN, has extended his stay in Gabon and now expects to be operating as TR8CR until the middle of June. He operates CW only. QSL via F6AJA. Now the contest news Tomorrow, the 2nd, the RSGB 80m Club Championship Data Contest runs from 19 00 to 2030 UTC. Using RTTY and PSK63 on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 3rd, the RSGB 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855 UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday the 3rd, the RSGB 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 4th, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and a four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 4th, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and a four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. The IARU ATV Contest starts at 1200 UTC on Saturda,y the 7t,h and ends at 1800 UTC on Sunda,y the 8th of June. Using TV on the 70cm band and up, the exchange is picture quality, serial number, four-digit code and locator. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Contest starts at 1300 UTC on Saturday, the 7th, and ends at 1300 UTC on Sunda,y the 8th of June. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and Group member number. RSGB National Field Day starts at 1500 UTC on Saturda,y the 7t,h and ends at 1500 UTC on Sunda,y the 8th of June. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The ARRL International Digital Contest starts at 1800 UTC on Saturday, the 7th, and ends at 2359 UTC on Sunday, the 8th of June. Using digital modes on the 160 to 6m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your four-character locator. On Sunday the 8th, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0900 to 1500 UTC. Using all modes on the 23, 13 and 9cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 29th of May 2025 Last week's high-speed solar wind, from a massive coronal hole on the Sun, took its toll on the HF bands. However, this week has been little better. Another coronal hole running diagonally across the Sun has been emitting particles that have pushed the Kp index up to a maximum of 6.67 w,hich puts us into visible aurora territory. Nevertheless, some DX has been worked, including CP4BT in Bolivia, ZP5KP in Paraguay and V44KAI in St Kitts and Nevis. These were reported by Karl, G0SKW on the CDXC Slack alerting system. BA100IARU, a special event station celebrating the 100th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union, has been active from Beijing, China and has been worked on 20m CW. The station's QRZ.com page provides real-time updates on which band the operators are working on. Most of the DX has been worked on 21, 18 and 14 MHz, with the 10m band mostly closed due to the summer doldrums. There have not been too many Sporadic-E openings on the 10m band. Instead, most of the Sporadic-E reports have been on the 6m band. The solar flux index has increased, standing at 144 on Thursday, the 29th of May, which is always a good sign. The solar disk is looking quite healthy at the moment with spots in both hemispheres. As of last Thursday, the 29th of May, there had been 43 C-class flares over the previous five days, as well as six more potent M-class events and one X-class flare. So, the Sun is still very active. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will reduce again, perhaps going as low as 110 by Wednesday, the 4th of June. It does look like we are in for a rough ride with unsettled geomagnetic conditions forecast for the coming week. Looking further ahead, the 13th and 14th of June seem to be the worst days, when a Kp index of five is forecast. As usual, a high Kp index can result in lowered maximum usable frequencies and aurora-like conditions, with a slow recovery. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The weather continues to be unsettled into the coming week, especially for northern areas, but with some drier and warmer spells in the south. There do not appear to be strong signs for any Tropo success, but there should be a chance of occasional rain scatter on the GHz bands. Some models suggest we are on the edge of high pressure over the North Sea. Others drive a deep low right across the country. This will resolve itself next week, but for now, it's not at all clear which forecast will win through. The prospects for meteor scatter are mostly random meteors, but towards the end of this wee,k the daytime Arietids will peak to enhance chances further. The solar auroral alerts keep coming, so it's reasonable to expect the chance of some radio response, such as watery-sounding signals on HF, even if we don't go to the full effects on VHF. It's certainly worth watching for those increasing Kp values. The Sporadic-E prospects often burst into life about now. So, after a few reasonable 6m band openings, like the one into southeast Europe on Wednesday the 28th, make sure you are ready for the first week in June – one of the prime weeks for Sporadic-E opportunities. This is partly due to meteor input and the fact that the tidal winds in the E region are taking on their summer pattern. The long polar days mean that the low-pressure weather patterns are also beginning to affect the northern polar routes to China and Japan across northern Russia, with their possible weather triggers, like jet streams. EME path losses are increasing again. Moon windows shorten, and peak elevation is falling as the Moon's declination goes negative again on Wednesday, the 4th of June. 144MHz sky noise is low and remains low as the week progresses. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
GB2RS News Sunday, the 25th of May 2025 The news headlines: Apply to become the RSGB's new CW Champion The Tonight@8 series continues in June with Morse code Could you be the RSGB's new STEM Champion? As part of the RSGB's ongoing strategy to take amateur radio to new and diverse audiences, it is seeking to appoint a volunteer CW Champion. Whilst the need for a CW test has been removed from the licensing requirements, there is still a strong interest in the mode. Recent communications and activity involving Morse have received high levels of interest, and the Society would like to do all it can to encourage and promote CW within the hobby. This new role will take the lead with activities including managing RSGB web content relating to Morse code and contributing to the GB2CW broadcasts. The volunteer will also be tasked with building a team of enthusiastic individuals who can support CW-related activities undertaken by the Society. This role is intended to help take Morse to new audiences with an emphasis on learning and development to further the skills of RSGB members. Read the full role description, as well as details of how to apply, by going to rsgb.org/volunteers The next webinar in the Tonight@8 series is on Monday, the 2nd of June. The RSGB's Morse Test Coordinator, Eric Arkinstall, M0KZB, will lead the webinar and will be joined by a panel of Morse experts, including RSGB Morse Assessor and GB2CW broadcaster Michael Topple, GM5AUG. The presentation will include an introduction to Morse, how to start learning the code, the different types of Morse keys and the Achilles heels that can occur when learning Morse. There will also be a panel discussion on how they each became interested in the mode and how they overcame any problems they have encountered along the way. Find out more about this and future webinars on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/webinars Would you like to become the RSGB STEM Champion? This new volunteer role is part of the Society's strategic plans to encourage more young people into STEM careers and to demonstrate the contribution that amateur radio can make to those careers. The focus of the role will also be to develop and strengthen the Society's relationship with the STEM Learning organisation. The Champion will need to work closely with licensed STEM Ambassadors, attend STEM events to promote amateur radio, and support radio amateurs who would like to become STEM Ambassadors. The STEM Champion will work closely with the Board Liaison, Ben Lloyd, GW4BML and members of the RSGB Outreach team. To make the most of the role, you will need to have the right skills and experience. This includes being a STEM Ambassador with involvement in the STEM sector, and also being proactive, enthusiastic, organised and willing to find new ways to achieve the role's objectives. For full details of this challenging but rewarding role and how to apply, see the RSGB website at rsgb.org/volunteers Staff and volunteers from the RSGB had a successful time at the Dayton Hamvention last weekend. The event was a brilliant opportunity to engage with radio amateurs from around the world and resulted in 134 people joining the RSGB or renewing their membership. These included ARRL First Vice President, Kristen McIntyre, K6WX and ARRL CEO, David Minster, NA2AA, as well as Phil Karn, KA9Q and many more who took advantage of the new RSGB Digital Membership. Members of the RSGB team are always delighted to hear how much the Society's publications, videos and other content are appreciated by radio amateurs in other countries. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Durham and District Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place today, the 25th, at Bowburn Community Centre, Bowburn, County Durham. The doors are open from 10.10 am to 2.30 pm, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10 am. Entry costs £3. There is a bring-and-buy sale, trade stands, special interest groups, an RSGB bookstall and catering available on site. For more information, phone Michael, G7TWX, on 07826 924 192 or visit the sdars.org.uk website. Spalding and District Amateur Radio Society's annual radio rally is set to take place on Sunday, the 1st of June. The venue will be Spalding Rugby and Football Club, Centenary Park, Drain Bank North, Spalding, Lincolnshire. There will be free car parking available, traders, on-site catering and a bar. For more information, visit sdars.org.uk Mendips Radio Rally will take place on Sunday, the 8th of June at Farrington Gurney Memorial Hall, Church Lane, Farrington Gurney. The doors will be open from 9.30 a,m and free parking and refreshments will be available on site. For more details, contact Luke on 07870 168 197. Now the Special Event news Special event station YO160ITU is active throughout the month of May to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the ITU. See QRZ.com for details of diplomas that are available for working the station. The North West Group, MN0NWG, is running special event station GB0AEL until the 31st of May to commemorate the anniversary of Amelia Earhart's transatlantic flight. In May 1932, Earhart became the first woman to fly nonstop and alone across the Atlantic. She left Harbor Grace in Newfoundland and landed 15 hours later in Northern Ireland. QSL via MI0HOZ directly or via the Bureau. Now the DX news Frank, PH2M is active as PJ4M from Bonaire, SA-006, until the 29th of May. He is operating mainly FT8 and some SSB on the 80 to 10m bands. There may also be some 6m band work, if conditions allow. QSL via Logbook of the World, Club Log's OQRS, or Frank's home call. Remo, HB9SHD is active as V51/HB9SHD, while touring Namibia, until the 15th of June. He is operating using SSB and digital modes on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World. Don, KW7R, is active as V73KW from the Marshall Islands. He is there on a work assignment until September. In his spare time, he operates using CW and FT8 on various bands. QSL via Logbook of the World. Now the contest news The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest started at 0000 UTC on Saturday, the 24th of May and ends at 2359 UTC today, Sunday, the 25th of May. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Today, the 25th, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0600 to 1800 UTC. Using all modes on the 3 and 6cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 27th, the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 3 and 13cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday, the 29th of May, the RSGB 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 22nd of May 2025 A high-speed solar wind, originating from a massive coronal hole, took its toll on HF this past week. During the weekend of the 17th and 18th, the Kp index was above four for nine of the three-hourly recording periods. Unfortunately, the feed from the Dourbes Digisonde failed over this period, so we can't comment on what effect this had on maximum usable frequencies, or MUFs for short. Later in the week, geomagnetic conditions improved, despite the coronal hole still being Earth-centric, and the Kp index fell to more reasonable levels, sometimes in the ones and twos. An M3.2 solar flare was observed at 08:21 UTC on the 19th of May. The source was located off the northeast limb, so perhaps we can expect more as it turns to become more Earth-facing. Unfortunately, the solar flux index also fell to lower levels, reaching 119 by Thursday, the 22nd. In fact, on that day, it had been below 120 for more than seven days. But all is not lost, as a solar flux of more than 100 is usually enough to keep the HF bands open. MUFs over a 3,000km path have generally reached 21 MHz and have often peaked at 24 MHz at times. It is quite normal for the F2-layer MUF not to reach 28MHz due to a change in the ionospheric chemical make-up in the summer – the so-called summer doldrums. However, Sporadic-E may keep 10m alive, so don't write the band off. Propagation, at the moment, favours paths into the southern hemisphere, although each band can have different characteristics at different times. A quick play with the propagation tool at tinyurl.com/propcharts will show you what we mean. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain around 120 until the 27th of May, after which it could rise to 140 by the end of the month. Unsettled geomagnetic conditions are forecast for the period from the 28th of May to the 2nd of June. This could see the Kp index peak at five or six with corresponding drops in the MUF and DX. As we are now on the downward portion of this solar cycle, we may expect more geomagnetic disturbances from coronal holes and coronal mass ejections. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The long run of fine settled weather seems to have drawn to a close. We have a period of changeable and, at times, wet and windy weather to deal with over the coming week. I doubt we will see much, if any, Tropo except perhaps towards the end of the week as some models show a new high building as we move into June. Before then, the various fronts and showers will bring several spells of rain and a much greater chance of rain scatter on the GHz bands than recently. The solar conditions have again provided weak auroral events, with fluttery signals on the HF bands being a good indicator, since the bright evenings and early dawns leave little chance of any visual clues. As usual, the measure to follow is the Kp index. So, look out for values of Kp going above five to generate interest. Meteor scatter is declining as the last of the Eta Aquariids play out, following a long tail from the peak on the 6th of May. Meteors also make up the content of Sporadic-E because, as they burn up, they produce long-lived metallic ions that can be focused into thin layers of Sporadic-E. There are some less well-known meteor showers in June. So, next week there may be more to say. In the meantime, random meteors and declining Aquariids will have to suffice. Now, on to Sporadic-E. This is beginning to be the primary mode in these summer weeks. It is sensible to check during main operating windows in the morning, late afternoon and early evening. Ideally, we require meteor input, a low Kp index, plus some weather triggers to set up atmospheric gravity waves which produce the right wind shear in the E region. Jet streams are usually the best clues for where Sporadic-E might form. Use the daily Sporadic-E blog on the Propquest website to get an insight of the current day's weather patterns – see propquest.co.uk If you have very limited time and have still not worked Sporadic-E, just checking 50MHz in the late afternoon will ensure that you make a start this year. EME path losses are still falling as the Moon reaches perigee, its closest point to Earth, on the 26th of May. Moon windows and peak elevation are again rising, reaching a maximum on the 29th of May. 144MHz sky noise is low and remains low as the week progresses. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
I'm frequently asked for the best marine weather apps. Cruising the Florida coast and Bahamas, I've found a few favorites. Summary Apps are helpful. But don't forget to look out the hatch to see what's happening in your area. If you need more information, here's what we relied on while cruising Florida and the Bahamas. Windy Windy is great for a color-coded, big-picture view of the wind, wave, and rain forecasts. The motion feature shows changes over the hours and days. We've found Windy pretty accurate. It does require internet access to use. RADAR Radar programs come and go. So I can't recommend a specific one. I prefer ones that show how fast the storm cells are moving and in what direction. Hurricane Tracker Everything Hurricane Tracker offers is available on the (US) National Hurricane Center website. What Hurricane Tracker does brilliantly is to make the information easy to access. This is critical if you either have slow internet or pay by data used. For each storm (and Invest and Potential Storm), Hurricane Tracker has all the NHC maps, satellite images, and the official forecasts and analysis. It's quick and easy to tap or click from one to another. Its ease of use is why I'm willing to pay for lifetime access. Marine Weather Center Marine Weather Center is the “proper” name for what most East Coast and Caribbean cruisers call “Chris Parker's weather.” Chris and his staff are full-time marine forecasters for this area and provide subscription forecasts by SSB and email. Subscribe via SSB to talk with him during his designated times for your location. But we use email for time to digest the information. Chris is a former cruiser who understands weather as it applies to boats. And he's trained other forecasters to do the same. Forecasts are quite accurate. They tend to err on the side of caution. To read and for cost information for the apps or information about apps for other cruising grounds, visit Favorite Weather Apps or listen to the complete podcast. Subscribe to the Boat Galley Newsletter! - https://theboatgalley.com/newsletter-signup-2 Links: Windy - https://www.windy.com (also avaialable for iOS and Android) Hurricane Tracker - http://www.hurrtracker.com/Main/web-app.html Marine Weather Center - https://www.mwxc.com/signup.php The Boat Galley podcast is sponsored by FastSeas.com. Plan your next passage using FastSeas.com. Whether you are after speed or comfort, FastSeas will find the optimum route to your destination. FastSeas - making weather routing simple. Use coupon code GALLEY for an exclusive 10% discount. Click to see all podcast sponsors, past and present. - https://bit.ly/3idXto7 Music: “Slow Down” by Yvette Craig
I'm frequently asked for the best marine weather apps. Cruising the Florida coast and Bahamas, I've found a few favorites. Summary Apps are helpful. But don't forget to look out the hatch to see what's happening in your area. If you need more information, here's what we relied on while cruising Florida and the Bahamas. Windy Windy is great for a color-coded, big-picture view of the wind, wave, and rain forecasts. The motion feature shows changes over the hours and days. We've found Windy pretty accurate. It does require internet access to use. RADAR Radar programs come and go. So I can't recommend a specific one. I prefer ones that show how fast the storm cells are moving and in what direction. Hurricane Tracker Everything Hurricane Tracker offers is available on the (US) National Hurricane Center website. What Hurricane Tracker does brilliantly is to make the information easy to access. This is critical if you either have slow internet or pay by data used. For each storm (and Invest and Potential Storm), Hurricane Tracker has all the NHC maps, satellite images, and the official forecasts and analysis. It's quick and easy to tap or click from one to another. Its ease of use is why I'm willing to pay for lifetime access. Marine Weather Center Marine Weather Center is the “proper” name for what most East Coast and Caribbean cruisers call “Chris Parker's weather.” Chris and his staff are full-time marine forecasters for this area and provide subscription forecasts by SSB and email. Subscribe via SSB to talk with him during his designated times for your location. But we use email for time to digest the information. Chris is a former cruiser who understands weather as it applies to boats. And he's trained other forecasters to do the same. Forecasts are quite accurate. They tend to err on the side of caution. To read and for cost information for the apps or information about apps for other cruising grounds, visit Favorite Weather Apps or listen to the complete podcast. Subscribe to the Boat Galley Newsletter! - https://theboatgalley.com/newsletter-signup-2 Links: Windy - https://www.windy.com (also avaialable for iOS and Android) Hurricane Tracker - http://www.hurrtracker.com/Main/web-app.html Marine Weather Center - https://www.mwxc.com/signup.php The Boat Galley podcast is sponsored by FastSeas.com. Plan your next passage using FastSeas.com. Whether you are after speed or comfort, FastSeas will find the optimum route to your destination. FastSeas - making weather routing simple. Use coupon code GALLEY for an exclusive 10% discount. Click to see all podcast sponsors, past and present. - https://bit.ly/3idXto7 Music: “Slow Down” by Yvette Craig
Hello and welcome to episode 69 of The DX Mentor – A discussion with Jim, WB2REM. Thank you for joining us. I'm Bill, AJ8B.If this is the first time you are joining us, Welcome! We have a back catalog covering many aspects of DX. Please check us out. If you like what you find, please subscribe to always be notified of a new podcast! Another way to keep in touch and to see what we are up to is via the DX Mentor Facebook page. I will be posting aboutupcoming podcasts as well as other DX events so please follow us. Our guest today is Jim, WB2REM. Jim is an experienced, passionate operator and the conversation should be lively and informative.Here is the Mission Statement for this DXPedition: "In the spirit of the 7163/7156 MHZ DXGroup, this DXpedition was formed to provide the Amateur Radio Community with the opportunity of working the Faroe Islands on 6-160 Meters. We plan to be active on SSB, CW and FT8. We also hope to get to know the Amateur community in the Faroe Islands and when possible, explore the natural wonders of the islands, when not operating. Some members also plan to work SOTA and possiblyPOTA from the Faroe Islands." Jim and the team will be QRV from the Faroe Islands, June 1st to the 10th.Jim exhibited excellent patience when we were trying to schedule this podcast as we had to cancel twice. Unfortunately, the date that we finally agreed upon was adate that Joe had a personal conflict and could not be with us. Boy, did I miss him!Resources mentioned include:DXPedition Website - https://faroeis.com/7163 Net - https://7163net.com/Marlin Brandohttps://greylineperformance.com/blogs/news/famous-ham-radio-prepper-marlon-brando-fo5gj-tropical-south-pacific?srsltid=AfmBOop-SjYxYwMEvIhtp7VhxvI_Gzo0YQdI6M7d-JnJC4ZfMgShBZC3New World of Amateur Radio Videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJDz2UlcY58Psychology of a QRMer - Page 13https://www.swodxa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Issue4_03012018A.pdfDX Cop - Page 11https://www.swodxa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Issue5_050118.pdfSouthwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.orgDaily DX https://www.dailydx.com/DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/
GB2RS News Sunday, the 18th of May 2025 The news headlines: The RSGB announces new Convention Chair for 2025 RSGB members can now read over 300 RadCom editions in the RSGB web app Become a volunteer at the RSGB National Radio Centre RSGB General Manager, Steve Thomas, M1ACB, is delighted to announce the appointment of Pete Joyce, M0OFM, as the new volunteer RSGB Convention Chair. Pete is a regular attendee at RSGB Conventions and has a keen interest in balancing the different needs of attendees through a varied programme. He also understands the importance of making the Convention accessible to everyone, both in person and online. Pete brings to the role a range of experience in planning and managing events for other organisations. The RSGB Convention planning team look forward to supporting Pete as he takes on this challenging and important role. The RSGB is excited to announce that more RadCom editions have been added to its web app. RSGB members are now able to browse back to January 2000, which is over 300 magazines! Go to rsgb.org/radcom to explore all the RadCom content from this millennium. You'll need your RSGB membership portal details to access the editions. If your RSGB membership is due for renewal soon, why not swap to a digital membership? You'll still get all the great benefits of being a member, and you'll save money as well as RadCom storage space. If you're not yet an RSGB member, there's never been a better time to join the Society. Take out a digital membership and choose to read RadCom via our app, and you'll have easy access to 25 years of RadCom editions. The RSGB will be releasing mobile versions of the app soon, so you'll be able to download copies of its publications and read them on the go. Volunteering at the RSGB National Radio Centre is a wide-ranging and highly rewarding role. Thanks to the variety of visitors and the number of events and activities that the Centre is involved with, no two days at the NRC are the same. If you'd like to join the friendly and dedicated team, the NRC is currently looking for new volunteers. Full training is given, including the operation of the GB3RS radio station. NRC volunteers also enjoy numerous benefits associated with volunteering at Bletchley Park. If all of this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, and you can volunteer for one or two days per month, please email NRC Coordinator Martyn Baker, G0GMB, via nrc.support@rsgb.org.uk. You can find out more about the RSGB National Radio Centre by going to rsgb.org/nrc The RSGB Outreach Team is offering qualified amateur radio operators under the age of 18 the opportunity to take part in a new DMR project. The project's aim is to help young people get on the air and build their confidence in making QSOs. The Team has nine DMR handheld transceivers and hotspots available to borrow for three months, completely free. As part of the offering, the Outreach Team will be hosting regular youth nets that you would be welcome to join. You can apply for the DMR kit as an individual or as a school group, as long as one member of the group is licensed. Another part of the project is to support teachers who would like to take their amateur radio licence and set up a school club. In collaboration with the Radio Communications Foundation, the RSGB is offering to pay the licence exam fee for nine teachers to help get them and their school club started. If you're a teacher who is interested in discovering more about amateur radio and sharing that excitement with your students, get in touch. Once you have your licence, you can apply for the free DMR kit on loan for three months to help set up your club. If you are interested in applying for a DMR kit, fill out the application form by going to tinyurl.com/DMRyouth. If you are a teacher interested in starting your own radio club, please email RSGB Youth Chair Chris Aitken, MM0WIC, via youthchampion.school@rsgb.org.uk As we come to the end of Mental Health Awareness Week 2025, let's remember to show the very best of amateur radio and make sure we are there for one another. Let's listen to each other, share our appreciation for our fellow radio amateurs and celebrate kindness within our community. You can read how amateur radio helped Lee Aldridge, G4EJB, in the July 2023 edition of RadCom. You can access mental health support by going to mentalhealth.org.uk Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The East Midlands Ham and Electronics Rally is taking place on Saturday, the 24th of May at Beckingham Village Hall, Southfield Lane, Beckingham, DN10 4FX. Traders can set up from 7 am, with doors open to the public between 9.30 am and 3 pm. There will be hot food and refreshments available. Free parking is located behind the hall. For more information and to book, please go to emerg.uk/rally The Durham & District Amateur Radio Society Radio Rally is taking place on Sunday, the 25th of May at Bowburn Community Centre, Bowburn, County Durham, DH6 5AT. Doors will be open from 10.10 am to 2.30 pm, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10 am. Entry is £3. There will be a bring-and-buy sale, trade stands, special interest groups and an RSGB bookstall. Catering will be available on-site. For further information, please call Michael Wright, G7TWX, on 07826 924192 or email dadars@gmx.com Now the Special Event news Special event station GB0SAR is active until the 30th of May in support of SOS Radio Week. The station will mostly be using FT4 on the 20m band, but you might also catch it on the other HF bands using phone. For more information, visit QRZ.com Humber Fortress DX Amateur Radio Club is once again raising awareness for men's mental health through amateur radio. Club members will be operating special callsign GB0MMH. Other special call signs will also be active. The station is active today, Sunday the 18th of May, as well as the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of June. Please listen out for the operators and give them a call. Your support will help raise awareness of men's mental health. If you would like further information, please contact secretary@hfdxarc.com The International Amateur Radio Club will be active as 4U0ITU until the end of 2025. The club is celebrating the 160th anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union. QSL is available via Logbook of the World, Club Log, or direct to P.O. Box 6, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. Now the DX news Antonio, DL4EA, will be active as FY/DL4EA from French Guiana between the 19th and 21st of May. Antonio plans to be active on QO-100 and RS-44 and maybe some HF QRP. Emir, E77DX will again be active as D4DX in Cape Verde on the 24th and 25th May for the CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest. He'll be operating as Single Operator All Bands in the high-power category. QSL is available via E73Y and Logbook of the World. Morten, LA9GY will be active from Eswatini between the 22nd of May and the 2nd of June. He plans to be operating holiday-style as 3DA0GY mainly on CW but also some SSB. QSL is available via his home call LA9GY. Now the contest news Tomorrow, Monday, the 19th of May, the FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. On Tuesday, the 20th of May, the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on 1.3GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 21st of May, the 80m Club Championship data leg runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using data modes on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest starts at 0000 UTC on Saturday, the 24th of May and ends at 2359 UTC on Sunday, the 25th of May. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Sunday, the 25th of May, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0600 to 1800 UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 15th of May 2025 This week, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Solar Cycle 25 maximum is now over. With a reduced solar flux index and an almost blank Sun, there was little to get excited about. By Thursday, the 15th of May, the SFI was 122, but previously, on the 12th, it had been down to 116, which is the lowest it has been for some time. There is still a lot of solar activity going on, but most of it is not conducive to good HF propagation. Over the past week, we have had two X-class solar flares and five M-class events. The X-class events were associated with coronal mass ejections, but these appear to have been directed away from Earth. A fast solar wind has resulted in the Kp index standing at four for a lot of the time, namely on the 9th and 10th of May and again on the 14th and 15th. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon at this point in the solar cycle and adds some evidence that we are now in the declining phase of Cycle 25. Next week, NOAA predicts that things may improve with the SFI set to rise from the 19th of May. It forecasts the SFI will start the week around 115, but then will climb steadily, reaching 145 by the 1st of June. After a brief rise on the 19th with a Kp of four, things then become more settled with a Kp of two between the 22nd and the 28th of May. A large elongated coronal hole became Earth-facing on 16th May, which could cause raised K indices and lower MUFs from today, the 18th of May, onwards. It looks like the best HF F2-layer conditions may occur between the 22nd and 28th of May. And don't forget, despite the HF doldrums, we are now well into Sporadic-E season with short-skip occurring, predominantly on 10m. But more of that shortly. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The prolonged spell of high pressure is likely to remain until near the end of this week, so there is plenty of time to get some more Tropo in the log. Cloudier and cooler air over eastern Britain at the end of last week may enhance the Tropo by adding moisture under the inversion. For most places, the strongest Tropo conditions will be overnight and early morning, then they will degrade as the daytime heating destroys the surface temperature inversion. Meteor scatter is declining a little, apart from a few stragglers from early May showers, so it's probably better to keep to the early morning period as your go-to time for meteor scatter to focus on any random input. Rain scatter is unlikely until next weekend, but it might be worth thinking about the GHz bands from this Friday, the 23rd of May, onwards. Aurora is a different matter, and the solar activity is likely to keep things interesting as a large sunspot group rotates into an Earth-facing position. Strong Es opened on Wednesday, the 14th of May, so it's definitely the season to be checking the upper HF and lower VHF bands for Sporadic-E. In this recent opening, the Dourbes ionosonde peaked at an Es critical frequency of 14 MHz, which is a very high value, even for mid-season. There were strong signals from the central Mediterranean on 6m CW, and some may have even got some 2m digital mode action from the brief opening. Check the Propquest NVIS tab for the day to see the details of this event. Although weak jet streams were present, the opening may well have been helped by some very intense, slow-moving thunderstorms over France. Remember to start checking on 10m and, if it's open, look to the higher bands of 6m, 4m, up to 2m. EME path losses are still falling. Moon declination ended last week at minimum but goes positive again this Thursday, the 22nd of May. Moon windows and peak elevation are again rising. 144MHz sky noise is high this weekend, falling back to low as the week progresses. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
GB2RS News Sunday, the 11th of May 2025 The news headlines: The RSGB EMC Committee has updated leaflets on mains wiring and earthing requirements Last chance to apply and be part of the RSGB team at YOTA in Paris Help the RSGB celebrate International Women in Engineering Day The RSGB EMC leaflets on mains wiring and earthing requirements have been updated by the EMC Committee to reflect the latest version of “Part P” of the Building Regulations for England and Wales. Part P deals with electrical safety in domestic homes. There are two leaflets, a basic version and an advanced version, and both are available to download from the RSGB website. Go to rsgb.org/emc and select ‘EMC Leaflets' from the menu located on the right-hand side. Choose the “EMC Leaflet 7: Earthing and the radio amateur” links. You will also find many other resources on the same web page that will help you deal with a wide range of EMC problems. Time is running out to apply and be part of the RSGB team going to France for this year's Youngsters On The Air Summer Camp. The camp takes place between the 18th and 25th of August near Paris and is a chance of a lifetime for young RSGB members to represent their country and their national society. If you are aged between 16 and 25 and are passionate about amateur radio, then the RSGB would love to hear from you. The deadline to apply is Friday, the 16th of May. Don't delay, apply now by going to rsgb.org/yota-camp The RSGB is celebrating International Women in Engineering Day on the 23rd of June. The day celebrates the amazing work of women engineers across the globe. We know that amateur radio is a great foundation for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. This year, the Society would love to share stories of how amateur radio has helped female engineers in their careers, as well as being an enjoyable part of their lives. If you are a woman working in any engineering sector, or know someone who is, the RSGB would like your help to inspire future generations of girls and young women. It doesn't matter whether you are established in your career, just starting out or even still studying. Stories, along with a photo, should be sent to comms@rsgb.org.uk by the 26th of May. This event contributes to the RSGB's Growth strategic priority by helping to reach new audiences. Members of the RSGB HQ Team and RSGB volunteers will be attending the Dayton Hamvention between the 16th and 18th of May. Held at the Greene County Fairground in Xenia, Ohio, USA, the event is one of the world's largest amateur radio gatherings and attracts radio amateurs from around the world. If you are attending, make sure you pop along to stand numbers 2305 and 2405 to say hello and ask the RSGB about digital membership. Find out more about the Dayton Hamvention by going to hamvention.org Don't forget that the next RSGB Tonight@8 webinar is tomorrow, Monday, the 12th of May. Dr Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF and RSGB Propagation Studies Committee membe,r Gwyn Griffiths, G3ZIL, will present “Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation: Space Weather We Can Do Together”. The talk will cover some of the key findings of recent HamSCI research, what's next for the organisation, as well as how you can take part. The webinar will be livestreamed on the Society's YouTube channel and special BATC channel, allowing you to watch and ask questions live. Find out more by going to rsgb.org/webinars Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Barry Amateur Radio Society Rally is on Saturday, the 17th of May at Sully Sports and Social Club, South Road, Sully CF64 5SP. There is a large free car park on site. Admission is £3. Doors open to traders at 8 am and to the public from 9.30 am. Traders and exhibitors can call Nigel, GW1CUQ via 02920 892580 for further information. For general enquirie,s please ring Steve, GW5VOG, on 07900 560080 or email s.cawsey@sky.com The Dunstable Downs Radio Club will be holding its Annual National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale at the usual venue, Stockwood Park in Luton, on Sunday, the 18th of May. Excluding a break for Covid-19, this is the 40th consecutive year that the event has been run. For further information, go to ddrcbootsale.org The West of Scotland Braehead Radio Rally is on Sunday, the 18th of May at Braehead Arena, 150 Kings Inch Road, G51 4BN. The venue is just off the M8 and has free parking all day. It also has great bus links with Glasgow, Paisley and Inverclyde. Entry is £4. Doors are open between 10 am and 4 pm. There will be hot food and drinks available, and a licensed bar. There will be over 50 tables of traders and club stands as well as a Bring-and-Buy and an RSGB Book stand. For further information, go to braeheadradiorally.com The Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club's 41st Annual Radio Rally is taking place on Sunday, the 18th of May at Share Discovery Village, 221 Lisnaskea Road, Lisnaskea, Enniskillen, BT92 0JZ. There will be the usual facilities, food and drink, and a Bring-and-Buy. Doors open at 9 am to traders and 11 am to the general public. Entry is £5 and includes a draw ticket. To arrange a table, please contact Alan via argault91@gmail.com Now the Special Event news Special event station GB0SAR is active until the 30th of May to support SOS Radio Week. The station will mostly be working using FT4 on the 20m band, but you might also catch it on the other HF bands using phone. For more information, visit Qrz.com Humber Fortress DX Amateur Radio Club will be operating special callsign GB0MMH to raise awareness of men's mental health. Other special call signs will also be active. The station will be active throughout the weekend of the 17th and 18th of May, and also of the 21st and 22nd of June. Please listen out for the operators and give them a call. Your support will help raise awareness of the important issue of men's mental health. If you would like further information, please contact secretary@hfdcarc.com Now the DX news Roberto, IW7DEC will be active as PJ2/IW7DEC from Curacao, IOTA reference SA-099, until Wednesday, the 14th of May. He'll be active on 40m to 20m, FT8 and SSB. QSL available via his home call and Logbook of the World. Yuris, YL2GM continues to be active as ZS8W from Prince Edward and Marion Island, IOTA reference AF-021, until Friday, the 16th of May. Yuris will be on Marion Island as a radio engineer and member of the SANAP station communication equipment maintenance team, and he hopes to find good periods of time to be operational. A team of five Italian operators is active in the Republic of Kosovo until Saturday, the 17th of May. The operators will be active as Z68TT on CW, SSB and RTTY, and as Z68ZZ on FT8. QSL is available via OQRS and Logbook of the World. Now the contest news Today, Sunday, the 11th of May, the UK Microwave Group Millimetre-wave Contest runs from 0900 to 1700 UTC. Using all modes on 24, 47 and 76 GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Sunday, the 11th of May, the 70MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200 UTC. Using CW on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK stations also send their postcode. Tomorrow, Monday the 12th of May, the 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday, the 13th of May, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855 UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday, the 13th of May, the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 14th of May, the 432MHz FT8 Activity Four-Hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday, the 14th of May, the 432MHz FT8 Activity Two-Hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and a four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday, the 15th of May, the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 8th of May 2025 Active region 4079 turned out to be not quite so bad as we had predicted. The sunspot was large, about ten times the width of our Earth, so we expected it to be more active. It was regions 4081 and 4082 that produced most of the flare activity last week. Two filament eruptions also occurred within two hours of each other. The first event began at 16:20 UTC on the 6th of May in the southern hemisphere and was responsible for a plasma wave across the surface of the Sun. The second filament eruption began in the northern hemisphere around 17:50 UTC to the northeast of AR 4079. A large amount of plasma was flung to the north. The filament eruptions on Tuesday, the 6th of May, did produce coronal mass ejections, but an Earth-directed component was not apparent. So we dodged a bullet! The solar wind speed remained high for most of last week which didn't help propagation. It did help to push the Kp index to five across the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of May. Things were more settled later in the week. On Thursday, the 8th of May, the solar wind speed was down to around 500 kilometres per second, the Kp index was three, but MUFs over a 3,000km path were still down at about 20 MHz. An Earth-facing coronal hole may add to the solar wind this weekend, the 10th and 11th of May. It looks like summer HF propagation is kicking in, with lower MUFs during the day but higher ones at night. Next week, NOAA predicts that the SFI will be in the range 155 to 165. Settled geomagnetic conditions are forecast for the beginning of this coming week, but unsettled geomagnetic conditions are expected for the 16th to the 19th of May. At that point, we could see the Kp index rise to five again, coupled with poorer propagation and reduced MUFs. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO Tropo has been a key propagation mode during the previous couple of weeks, but there have been variations in the location and timings of these conditions. Sometimes this will be due to increased moisture below the temperature inversion, so although the cloudier areas have been cool, they have probably done better for Tropo. This is due to the improved quality of the inversion, which performs better when there is a big moisture contrast across it, as you find with these layers of cloud. Otherwise, we find that the better conditions are driven by night-time cooling, forming a low inversion near the ground which tends to disperse during the morning as the Sun warms it away. This should still be beneficial for the 70cm UK Activity Contest on Tuesday, the 13th of May, over eastern areas, but perhaps less so farther west. Good conditions will last into next week, but not everywhere. The main change will see an area of showery rain, possibly thundery, moving north into western Britain this weekend and perhaps some central areas early next week. This raises the prospect of some GHz band rain scatter in the west. The Eta Aquariids meteor shower peaked last week. In the decaying tail of activity, together with other lesser showers, this should keep an enhanced meteor input for the coming week. The Sporadic-E season typically runs from May to mid-September and the daily jet stream blogs have started on www.propquest.co.uk. As usual, the main season offers two periods of activity, one in the morning and the second from late afternoon to the evening. Remember, Es is not guaranteed since it depends upon many factors, but jet streams help, and these are shown on the website maps. Use the map clusters to find out where any activity is starting on 10m and then follow it up in frequency through the lower VHF bands. EME path losses are at their maximum but falling after apogee on Friday, the 9th of May. Moon declination is negative, reaching a minimum this coming Thursday, so we'll have very short Moon windows and low peak elevation. 144MHz sky noise is moderate, increasing to high by next Friday. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
GB2RS News Sunday the 4th of May 2025 The news headlines: The RSGB's Tonight@8 series continues with HamSCI Learn about radar through an RSGB Convention presentation and a new members' benefit RSGB club insurance and beacon and repeater insurance have been renewed On Monday the 12th of May, Dr Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF and RSGB Propagation Studies Committee member Gwyn Griffiths, G3ZIL will be delivering a Tonight@8 webinar on “Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation: Space Weather We Can Do Together”. Since the 2017 Solar Eclipse QSO Party, HamSCI has been bringing together amateur radio operators and professional space scientists. They have been developing new and innovative ways to study space weather and its impacts on the ionosphere and radio propagation. In the presentation, Nathaniel will show results from the 2023 and 2024 HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science. Gwyn will explain why he enjoys the HamSCI experience, from exchanges with scientists to learning from students while pursuing his studies on HF propagation. They'll also talk about what's next for the organisation and how you can participate. Find out more by going to rsgb.org/webinars In the latest RSGB 2024 Convention video to be released by the Society, Graham Murchie, G4FSG presents “Radar - the eyes of the few”. In the talk Graham gives a brief history of early radar, events leading up to the development of a viable system and the establishment of the world's first operational radar station at Bawdsey. Watch the video by going to youtube.com/@theRSGB If you're interested in learning more about Bawdsey Radar Museum then check out the new benefit for RSGB members, which offers a 20% discount off the usual entrance price. Go to rsgb.org/partner-museums to find out more! RSGB club insurance, and beacon and repeater insurance have now been renewed for the year to April 2026. Club insurance certificates can be downloaded via rsgb.org/repeaterinsurance. You will need to log in to obtain your certificate. Beacon and repeater insurance certificates are available for an admin fee of £15 from the RSGB shop. Please allow a couple of days after renewal for your certificate to be dispatched. The RSGB Contest Club has recently exceeded one million QSOs. These have been made by RSGB members activating historic RSGB callsigns and special event callsigns, either in contests or in radio marathon activations. The QSOS have all been uploaded to Logbook of the World. The most prolific callsign has been G6XX with over 154,000 QSOs, and the most recent has been GB0IARU which was active in April to celebrate 100 years of the International Amateur Radio Union. Find out more about the RSGB Contest club, including how to join, by going to the RSGB website and selecting Contest Club from the ‘on the air' menu. Celebrations for the 70th Anniversary of GB2RS are well underway. To find out how you can get involved with special event stations and awards go to rsgb.org/gb70rs . The RSGB has recently updated the web page to add a selection of newsreader stories, which you can access by clicking ‘GB2RS Newsreader Stories' from the menu on the right-hand side. If you've ever wanted to learn more about the voice behind your weekly GB2RS broadcast, this is your chance. More stories will be added throughout the year. On Saturday the 10th of May, RSGB volunteers will be attending a regional Girlguiding event at Ardingly in West Sussex. Amongst other activities, Girlguiding members will have the opportunity to operate special event callsign GB25MAY via the QO-100 satellite. The volunteers would welcome contacts via QO-100 between 10.30 am and 3.30 pm on the day. Put the date in your diary and make time to encourage these youngsters as they try amateur radio! The German amateur radio society, DARC, is once again hosting the traditional HamCamp for youngsters during the HAM RADIO fair in Friedrichshafen between the 26th and 29th of June. It is open to participants under 27 years old and includes three nights at HamCamp, three breakfast vouchers and a three-day ticket for the HAM RADIO fair. The package price is €80 and the deadline for registration is the 8th of June. You can find further information via tinyurl.com/hamcamp25 Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Dartmoor Radio Rally is taking place tomorrow, Monday the 5th of May, at the Yelverton War Memorial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 6AL. Free parking is available. There will be the usual Bring and Buy as well as trader stands and refreshments. Doors open at 10am and admission is £3. For further details, please call Roger on 07854 088882 or email him via 2e0rph@gmail.com The popular Mills on the Air event is taking place on the weekend of the 10th and 11th of May. There are currently 35 stations taking part, with registrations still being accepted. Find out more by going to tinyurl.com/millsontheair or by visiting the Mills on the Air Facebook page. Now the Special Event news The Ramsbury Amateur Radio DX Group will be active on the 3rd, 4th and 8th of May using special callsign GB1VE to celebrate VE day. The group will be operating on 20m and 40m using CW, SSB and digital modes. The Vintage and Military Amateur Radio Society will be commemorating VE Day on Thursday the 8th of May. Members will be controlling a number of nets on varying frequencies between 7 am and 2 pm. They will be using vintage military equipment dating from the WWII period and beyond. The full programme of events can be found via vmars.org/news Worthing Radio Events Group are planning to operate GB8OFP for the anniversary of VE Day on the 8th of May. Operation will take place on the seafront at the Ferring Pillbox, Patterson's Walk, West Sussex. Members will be active between 10 am and 2 pm on the 40m and 20m bands using SSB. The East Midlands Electronics and Radio Group will be on the air between the 8th and 11th of May to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Using the callsign GB1BK, the group will operate from the former RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire. Members expect to be operational on at least 40m, 20m and 2m, using SSB and possibly some FT8 and SSTV. Guernsey Amateur Radio Society will be operating special event radio station GU80LIB between the 9th and the 11th of May in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Guernsey at the end of World War Two. See QRZ.com for more information. Special event station GB0SAR will be operating between the 3rd and the 30th of May to support SOS Radio Week. The station will mostly be working using FT4 on the 20m band but you might also catch it on the other HF bands using phone. For more information, visit QRZ.com Now the DX news A team of radio amateurs is active as TX9A from Tubuai in the Austral Islands, IOTA reference OC-152, until Wednesday the 7th of May. The group will operate on the HF bands. QSL is available via DK8ZZ. For all direct requests, use Clublog OQRS. Further information is available via austral2025.com Yuris, YL2GM is active as ZS8W from Prince Edward and Marion Island, IOTA reference AF-021, until Friday the 16th of May. Yuris will be on Marion island as a radio engineer and member of the SANAP station communication equipment maintenance team, and he hopes to find good periods of time to be operational. Now the contest news The ARI International DX Contest started on Saturday the 3rd of May and ends at 1159UTC today, Sunday the 4th of May. Using CW, RTTY and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Italian stations also send their province. The 432MHz to 245GHz Contest also started on Saturday the 3rd of May and ends at 1400UTC today, Sunday the 4th of May. Using all modes on 432MHz to 245GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The 10GHz Trophy runs today, Sunday the 4th of May, from 0800 to 1400 UTC. Using all modes on 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The May 144MHz Contest also runs today, Sunday the 4th of May, from 0800 to 1400 UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, the 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1100 to 1500 UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK stations also send their postcode. Today, Sunday the 4th of May, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1400 UTC. Using all modes on 1.3 to 3.4GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Britain 7MHz Phone Contest runs today, Sunday the 4th of May, from 1000 to 1400 UTC. Using SSB on the 40m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain Square. On Tuesday, the 6th of May, the 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 6th of May, the 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 7th of May, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and a four-character locator. Also on Wednesday, the 7th of May, the 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. On Thursday, the 8th of May, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 1st of May 2025 After the previous week's geomagnetic disturbances, as described in last week's GB2RS, the last seven days have been relatively quiet. The Kp index has mostly been in the ones and twos, however the rise to a Kp value of four on Thursday the 1st of May could herald a return to unsettled conditions. The solar flux index peaked at 170 on the 24th of April, before declining to 148 at the end of the month. HF conditions have been acceptable rather than outstanding and many stations struggled to work DX at times during International Marconi Day on the 26th of April. Nevertheless, there is DX about including ZS8W Marion Island, TX9A Austral Islands and HD8G Galapagos Islands. A look at the Proppy propagation prediction tool will help you work out the best times for making a contact with each station and on each band. You can find it by going to rsgb.org/propagation-tools Looking ahead, a large sunspot has rotated into view. Now designated 4079, this region has returned and was previously sunspot region 4055. It has already emitted an M-class solar flare, and we may expect greater activity as it becomes more Earth-centric over the next week. NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will climb again in the coming week, perhaps rising to between 160 and 165. Geomagnetic disturbances are also due to rise, with the Kp index forecast to reach five on the 5th and 6th of May. If this becomes a reality, expect lowered MUFs and poorer HF paths, especially over the poles as the Kp index rises. And finally, this week traditionally marks the start of the Sporadic-E season so keep an eye on 10m and 12m for short- and medium-range openings to Europe. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The current spell of high-pressure Tropo weather weakened a little as last week ended and we'll see the return of unsettled conditions with showery rain, perhaps even the odd thunderstorm. This is unlikely to lead to a total removal of high pressure and Tropo will still be worth looking for, especially over the western side of the UK. Some models place a new high just west of Britain during the coming week. This means that the rain prospects are not great, although probably just enough for a hint of rain scatter in any isolated heavier showers. The HF bands sounded a bit ‘watery' at times last week, which is a classic sign of potential aurora to explore on the higher bands. Look out for aurora in the coming week if the Kp index climbs above five. Meteor scatter is worth thinking about and, after last week's Lyrids, we now have the Eta Aquariids shower peaking in the early hours of the 6th of May. Remember that Sporadic-E ionisation is largely composed of long-lived meteor ions, so be on watch for Es openings. From now onwards through to mid-September, Sporadic-E will dominate the lower VHF bands, so check the clusters for signs of activity. Remember that Es starts on 10m and moves HF as an opening develops, even reaching 2m in the peak summer. Unlike Tropo, Es events are often fleeting, so the best you can do is monitor conditions as the Es intensifies and be ready when it reaches the band you want. Don't forget to check the daily Es blogs on www.propquest.co.uk which discuss the potential links between location of jet streams and Es formation. EME path losses are increasing, but apogee is still a week away. Moon declination passed maximum last Thursday so Moon windows are shortening along with reducing peak elevation. 144MHz sky noise is low all week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
Manager Minute-brought to you by the VR Technical Assistance Center for Quality Management
We're celebrating a major milestone with the return of our very first guests: Kristen Mackey, Director of Arizona Combined, and Natasha Jerde, Director of Minnesota Blind. As Vocational Rehabilitation leaders navigate rising demands, shifting funding, and major structural change, Kristen and Natasha join us again to reflect on the post-pandemic landscape—and how it's testing directors like never before. From managing centralized services to sustaining staffing under fiscal strain, they share the real-world challenges that keep them up at night—and the strategies they're using to adapt. With transparency, persistence, and a mission-first mindset, these leaders dive into: · Navigating state and federal priorities · Responding to workforce volatility · Staying connected to data and purpose Their insights are a must-listen for anyone leading in today's VR environment. Tune in and be inspired to lead with clarity and resilience. Listen Here Full Transcript: Natasha: Our program income is significantly dropping. The inflation, the cost of services. We've had four and a half and 5.5% salary increases with no additional state appropriations. So all of these things together keep me up every single night. Kristen: We want job placements, we want employment, we want independence. If somebody's saying increase your job placements, fine, we can do that. It's how do we then take what they're giving us and make it not be a distraction, and we can mold to the thing that they want, but still do it at the base level. {Music} Intro Voice: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow. Carol: Well, welcome to the manager minute. Joining me in the studio today is Kristen Mackey, director of Arizona Combined, and Natasha Jurdi, director of Minnesota Blinds. So how are things going in Minnesota, Natasha? Natasha: I think the Minnesota word for today is going to be interesting. It's interesting. How about I leave it at that and I'll talk a little bit more as we dive into the questions. Carol: Awesome. That is interesting. I want to know about that. How about you Kristen? How's it going in Arizona? Kristen: You know what? I think I might steal Natasha's word. There's so much happening. We're trying to keep managing and keep abreast of all of the changes that come out on the news and everywhere, trying to keep centered and just keep doing what we do to get the work done. It's been a lot of fun. Carol: Well, I couldn't think of two better people to bring on because this is super exciting. This is actually our 50th episode of The Manager Minute, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the milestone than by bringing back my two incredible guests from episode number one in May four years ago. It's so crazy. And back then I just laughed. We were diving into the world of post-pandemic VR. What's it gonna look like? How are we going to navigate all these changes? You guys were working on things like electronic signatures and how you equipped your staff, you know, to work remotely and all of that. So a lot has changed since those early days, and I'm excited to catch up with you both to see how far that you've all come. So just reflecting back to my time as a director, I remember many a sleepless night and Natasha can attest to that. I remember coming to a meeting like, I don't sleep at night and I keep a pad of paper by my bed. And it was so funny. I heard a director tell me they did the same thing. This was a month or so ago. They were like, you know, I keep this pad of paper by my bed because, you know, we were worried about so many things. There was WIOA implementation back then, and we had a less than stellar monitoring report and a financial picture that was super tough and it just wasn't very pretty. And so I kept that notepad because in the middle of the night was always my best thinking I'd wake up, I'm like, oh, I gotta write this down. And so I can remember in the morning. So I know now, four years later, from talking to you all last on the podcast, the pendulum has certainly swung in a new direction, and I'm really eager to see how things have evolved for the both of you. You know, like what's changed, what's stayed the same, and what lessons have you learned? So let's dive in. So, Natasha, will you kick us off and just give our listeners a little snapshot about yourself and the agency that you lead? Natasha: Sure. So I have worked at State services for the blind since I was a baby intern 2008. I have been a deaf blind counselor, a supervisor, the director of our policy and program administration, and I became the director in August 2019. Our agency, we have about 140 staff across the state. We have a Voc Rehab program, an older blind program, our Randolph-sheppard program. But we also have a communication center where we do braille audio transcription and have a radio reading service. So we have a little bit of everything at State Services for the blind. We've grown a bit since 2019. Yeah, there's a lot of fun. Carol: It is a lot of fun. Blind agencies are always near and dear to my heart. And since I came from Minnesota blind, Natasha knows that I just love that whole variety and all of the work. It's so fun. Kristen, how about you give our listeners a little snapshot about yourself and the agency that you lead? Kristen: Sure. Similar to Natasha, I started as a VR counselor in the field transition. That was my first job in first entrance into VR. I moved into policy manager policy and then became the director of the Arizona Combined Unit in 2016. Arizona is combined and we are also under a safety net agency. All of the VR, IL OIB, BEP is in a division. That division is in a department. So our DSA is really rather large and we are kind of shuffled 3 or 4 deep down. So we have enterprise services, shared services, which makes things a little bit more difficult to manage than it was when I started the job, when we didn't have some of those other items. So it's been a learning lesson and trying to figure out how do we get done what we need to get done with all these people involved now. Carol: Yeah, your structure makes me nuts. I'm just saying, full disclosure, but having gone on site with you and your team several times, I'm like, what? You have to always explain. We had DIRs and we have this other thing and all these different levels. I'm like, oh my Lord, I just don't even know how you do it. So I know there's been a lot of big changes since we spoke last, so I'm going to kick it to you first. Natasha, what are some of the biggest changes you've seen in your program since we last spoke? Natasha: I was actually talking to one of my outreach coordinators, Lisa Larges, and she's like, I think you brought some bad juju because the timing when I started and then everything that happened since I started has just been wild. So since we last met, I've experienced a global pandemic, a civil rights movement that essentially started literally down the street and around the corner from our headquarters. A roller coaster ride of funding at both the federal and state level. We went from having too much to now we don't have enough. We have a new federal administration with very different priorities than we have seen before. We have settled into this new hybrid work, which isn't new anymore. It's kind of our new normal. It's just been, I think you name it, it has changed or it's different or it feels different or it looks different. I think the biggest question right now that we're all faced with is, in light of all of these changes and challenges and opportunities, how do we maintain the integrity of the program, continue to provide high quality services that get people into competitive careers and retain the staff that we have worked so hard to get. While these past few years that's been a focus of a lot of our agencies is how do we recruit? And now with everything happening, is all of that recruitment efforts going to go to waste? Carol: You know what's kind of funny when you talk about that? Because I look back to when I started at SSB, you know, and so in 2013 I become director. You go at the very end of the year, I was the interim and then made permanent in 14. And you just go, okay, I thought I brought bad juju with me to because WIOA went into play and then we had all this wacky stuff going on. We owed all this money for the case management system. So now, you know, just hearing you, it's like, well, maybe it's just the cycle of the program. Like there is no spot in time where everything is ever just copacetic and all smooth sailing. I think it just continues on. Kristen: I think that I really feel like that's so good to remember because I think you can in this position, you can take a lot of things like, oh my gosh, am I not doing this right? What skills don't I have? How am I not doing this, that or the other. And it just is a constant. Like it just changes constant. And you have to constantly readjust your focus and your priorities and your strategy. And so it's helpful to remember that our environment is constantly changing at state and federal level. And we just have to be able to manage and navigate and not beat ourselves up over it. Carol: Oh, that's a super good point. Natasha's going to laugh at this, but I'm actually going to hold up so our listeners won't see it. But I still have my Strengths Finder. So we used to always do strengths Finder at SSB. I still have my top five strengths. And staff used to ask me one of them is adaptability. So my fifth strength was adaptability because people would be like, how can you just roll with the flow? Like you need to just tell like Central Office, we're not going to do that thing that they want for the legislative session. And I'd be like, okay, we're going to pick our battles. That is not the battle we're going to pick right now. We're going to answer the question they need, because the sooner you do that, you get that off your back and then you get back to your business and do your things. And so for me, it's easier because in me is adaptability. I've always been able to kind of go with the flow, whether administration changes or, you know, any of that, where that is more difficult for other people when you want things to be very set and it's hard for you to pivot and make that move. So, Kristen, what are some of the biggest changes you've seen in your program in the last four years? Kristen: Wow. Well, as I indicated, the state was kind of in that move and shift to centralized services, you know, some of those shared service models. So, you know, it started with our training department and, you know, but we got to keep our policy and we got to keep our contracts and procurement. And the next thing you know, like air moves out and then, oh, we're going to move out all of your facilities management. And so slowly, piece by piece, the staff that you had working with. You have been now pulled to a different reporting structure and a different requirements to do their job. And so when, you know, we used to have a staff of like 500 people that were fully dedicated on board, directly connected with me, I had direct relationships with them. I was able to really work with them. And over the last five years, I've seen that direct connection and relationship with people fade out because those folks are no longer in those positions. They've graduated or moved to other things. They didn't stay within the agency. So, you know, within our VR program, IOB program, BEP, those program staff super dedicated and want to really fulfill the mission of the work in serving individuals with disabilities. And then we have all of our shared service team dedicated to their job to don't necessarily have the same focus on the mission and the outcome of serving individuals with disabilities. It's been very difficult to try to figure out how to play nice with them, because they got to do stuff for you, right? I need you to manage my budgets. I need you to manage my contract. But I also, you know, don't quite like the way you're doing it or you're not doing it fast enough or you're not following my vision for how that would work. So it's just been a real challenge to see how to grow and manage the different structures that are in play now. Carol: I think you hit the nail on the head on that with that centralization, because it's happening across the country. I mean, we see it everywhere. Every director like just struggling as your people move out from under you, whether it's the IT, the HR, the whoever you had. And now they're centralized, which Congress allows. It was written in the rehab Act, like you can structure that way. But they lose that connection to the mission and what you're trying to do. So when you're doing that work sort of in isolation of what's the end game and how you impact, you know, the staff person having their computer so they can do the work with the customer. You don't see that urgency in it. So it's like, yeah, so we get to you in two weeks, you know, really need your computer or whatever. It's just hard. It makes the job so much harder. So I know not only those changes have happened, the financial landscape is shifting drastically for the VR program. How has this impacted your ability to serve individuals? And Kristen, I'll send it your way first. Kristen: We've been fortunate in that Arizona with the formula grant. You know, we still receive a little increases every year. So the not getting the cost of living this last year was not as impactful as it had been to some other agencies. So I do, you know, knock on wood for that a bit. Now if that continues we're going to have another, you know, constantly evolving story there. We have had to take a look at for our cases. How do we spend more money faster. And that's been again the challenge of working with shared service opportunities is, well, they don't have capacity to put these contracts in place that I need in order to be able to spend the money that we have, right? We have been successful in keeping it in the VR bucket, but now we need to spend it on our consumers and our clients. But I need a contract to do that and don't have the resources or the capacity from that team to be able to put that out the door. So it's super challenging to know that you're sitting on money that you could spend and do a lot of good things with, but there's then that external factor of not having the capacity to put all of that together to get that money spent. Carol: So you're in actually a pretty lucky position. You know, other people listening to this podcast are going, What? Kristen Mackey, you've got all this, you've got all this money. Because almost all the calls I get on a daily basis with my list of people all going on the order of selection, I keep a little sticky note, you know, and everybody calling and just frantic. They are literally like tapped out. There is no money, but yet you're trying to spend your money and you don't have the resources to really help you get some of the plans in place. Kristen: It is challenging, but I feel fortunate that I'm challenged on that end of the spectrum versus the end, where there's not enough money or capacity or staff resources. One of the other pieces, too, is, you know, in this current landscape, budget wise, can't bring on as many people as we would like to, you know. Can't do all of the support services that we or support staff that we would like to. So downsizing your footprint, right? All of that, those are our major expenditures. And we're asked to shrink that. It creates a really kind of a nightmare for projection and and budgets all of that. Carol: Oh, 100%. How about you, Natasha? How's the finances looking at SSB? Natasha: It's getting tight. It's getting tight. We were on the other side of that a few years ago. We had more money than we could spend, and we used that as an opportunity to do things that we've always wanted to do or needed to do, and we never had the funding to do it, but we always did things that we could course correct quickly on them or aren't forever. So we didn't make a lot of permanent decisions with that money because the writing was on the wall. We knew that once the pandemic shifted, we were going to see an influx in applications. Inflation was already on the wall that prices were increasing. So we made some, I think, pretty strategic and smart decisions with the money we had and how we spent it. However, it's still tight because we are getting an increase in applications. The cost of services is increasing. We ended our order of selection September 2021. I have no desire to go back there for me. I don't even want to speak it out loud. I know it's an option. I know I may need to use it one day. I can't say never, but I don't think that is the best direction for us because people need our services just as much as before, if not more. And for individuals who are blind or low vision or deaf blind, there really aren't any comparable options available, at least in Minnesota. And we're here for a very specific reason. And so I have always said it's my responsibility to ensure that we can continue doing what we are here for. That may mean that services are going to take a little bit longer to get started. We are increasing our supervisory oversight. We have a ton of financial reports, which I'll talk about in another question that have helped us get ahead of sudden spikes that we're seeing so we can do those course corrections. This also may mean that we're not backfilling or we're freezing some of those positions for a little bit that aren't essential. I'm using the term we're going to freeze, flick or fill, and every position that's our litmus test will freeze it, meaning we don't need it right now. It's not essential for service delivery. We'll revisit this. Flick means you know what? This position really isn't serving its purpose anymore. Let's figure out a different way of doing the work or fill. And we've prioritized counselors and VR techs and anyone doing direct service provision. But it's also all of this is going to force us and continues to force us to find new ways of doing things, which I don't think is a bad thing. One of the goals I've put in place this year is that all of the extra noise. You know, that can happen when you're working in a state government agency. Things that pretty much distract you from what you're supposed to be doing. My goal is we don't do those things if it doesn't stem back to our mission and actually help people get jobs or live independently, we're not going to do it. And I told that to the commissioner's office. You can ask me all day long to do all of this extra stuff, but it's not serving a purpose for us. I'm sorry. I'm not going to do it. And they've been okay with it so far. Carol: That's awesome. Until you get a legislative request that they need you to answer in ten minutes and analyze. Natasha: Yeah, I can't say no to those. Yeah, all these extra work groups and task forces and let's do this and that. We got other things we gotta do. Carol: So what's the biggest thing, Natasha, that's keeping you up at night right now? Because I know there's always something, something is niggling somewhere. What would you say is the biggest thing keeping you up at night? Natasha: Well, I have a few, but the biggest one is that. So we're not a combined agency. We have a separate general agency and that separate general agency is an incredibly tight budgetary situation. I would go so far as to say they're in a budgetary crisis, and because match maintenance of effort and carry forward determinations are at the state level, not agency, it is very possible that their constraints will impact our funding. And specifically I am very worried are Carryforward is in jeopardy. And we had a scare where we had a very high chance of losing all of our carryforward this last end of the federal fiscal year. Because of those budgetary constraints, the general agency is doing workforce reductions and doing layoffs, and they have the same type of staff classifications that we do. And we are a union state, which means bumping, which means my staff are in jeopardy. And so I'm up every night between 2 and 3 a.m. thinking of ways that we can help in any way possible. Our program income is significantly dropping. I think I've heard other states experience something similar. The inflation, the cost of services. We've had four and a half and 5.5% salary increases with no additional state appropriations. So all of these things together keep me up every single night trying to figure out how do we sustain. Carol: Now they're going to keep me up at night, too, because of course, I worry about you all. And of course, I really worry about SSB. So I always hold that near and dear to my heart. But oh man, that is a lot. But I know you instituted some things, though, between you and the general agency, just to make sure you guys were communicating better about those financial reports and such, didn't you? Like, what did you do? Natasha: We have an amazing relationship. We review our federal reports together. I sat closely with the VA's fiscal team, walking through what I know about the fiscal processes, the federal regulations. That's something that Carol taught me very well. I understand it quite well. So we worked hand in hand. We've been doing that since October. Carol: That's good. Good stuff. How about you, Kristen? What's keeping you up at night? Kristen: We had a recent monitoring that monitoring. We get through it, Right? And, you know, you haven't always have an inkling of things that need to be fixed and things that we should address, right? And sometimes those get shuffled because priority is whatever. So we had the monitoring very much highlighted certain areas that we need to address and take care of. And one of those was our fiscal management and continue as managed outside of my direct staff and even two and three layers above me. So it's one of those concerns of like, I wonder what's going to happen next. I never quite know what the fiscal situation is going to be. Emails flying around, you know, I'll get an email at the end of the day and it's I need more information. What is this about? How did you come to this conclusion? Who was involved in making this decision? It's kind of just a plethora of items that, you know, any given night, and mine is usually between 3 and 4. Like, oh, wake up and go like, oh, shoot, that sticky note fell off the roster somewhere. I need to go and send that email or this project. We started it, but now it's like kind of hanging, languishing. I need to poke somebody about getting that back on the roll again. I don't know that it's one specific thing, but it's just kind of just the size of the job is not a 40 hour a week job. It is a all encompassing. I dream about work. I it wakes me up at night, you know. Carol: Well, my newest trick with not having my notepad beside my bed, but I actually been waking up more just because I've had so many more phone calls. Things have been really crazy lately with our fiscal team and people just reaching out. And so maybe end of the day or, you know, people's time change, you could get a call from Guam. You know, it's a way different time. So people are calling all the time. So now at night when I wake up, I text myself, you know, a note like, just so I remember, like remember to get back to so and so tomorrow. So now I just am picking up my phone. I don't have the pad there anymore, but I had two messages from last night for today that I didn't want to forget. Kristen: I sent texts because I don't put my work phone by my side, but I have my personal. So my work cell phone is embedded in my personal and I just send text to myself. Carol: Yeah, my work and my personal are all together, so it makes it a little challenging. So I know we're going through an administration change on the federal level right now. And a lot of state administration, you know, that changes every four years to with governors, sometimes you keep a governor twice in a row, but a lot of times not. And it will bring these shifts in priorities and just all of this change. How do you guys navigate and adapt to those changes, whether it's on the state level or federal level, when you're approaching your work? And I'm going to kick that to you, Natasha, first. Natasha: I think the biggest thing, at least for us, has been a lot of communication and transparency, not only with our staff, but our customers, our community partners and stakeholders in the face of unknowns. People look to steadiness and information even if you don't have a lot to share. The absence of information often speaks very loudly, and people will fill in the blanks, sometimes not in a way you want them to. So we are communicating frequently, even if we don't have information. People look to me, am I panicked or am I calm? And know if I am panicked, it will not be good. People feed off of that and so I am always calm. I am always just. I can't guarantee or promise anything, but I can say we're in this together and I remind everyone why we're here. We have a mission. As Carol knows, the mission is on the wall. We look at it frequently and nothing has changed. No matter what happens federally or at the state level, that mission has not changed. We have proved that during a global pandemic. VR agencies are adaptable, creative for us in Minnesota, SSB was one of the first agencies, if not the first, allowed to go back into people's homes and provide services. That's because we know how to do things quickly and strategically to respond to whatever comes our way. We don't wait for people to tell us what to do or how to do it. We take charge and we lead the way. And I feel that is how VR is across the country. We tend to be leaders in faces of crisis and urgency. We tend to step up when others don't. Carol: Yeah, good advice. That's all good advice. Kristen, how about you? Because you've had major shifts. I mean, you've already alluded to this, this whole like take away your people. And that's been all shifts in the structure within the state government and such. You know we've got the federal different priorities. So how do you navigate and adapt to those changes in your work and for yourself, even, like how are you taking care of yourself through all this. Kristen: Being able to adapt the work that we do? Natasha says that we have a mission. We have a very clear outcome that we have whatever side, whoever's telling you what they want to do or how they want to do it. You need to be able to mold what that strategy looks like so you can speak to it. And I always talk about it. It's a spin. I don't like the terminology of spinning, you know, for the sake of trying to hoodwink anybody or not be transparent. But at the end of the day, we want job placements, we want employment, we want independence. So if somebody's saying increase your job placements, fine, that we can do that. It's how do we then take what they're giving us and make it not be a distraction and we can mold, you know, whatever we're measuring to the thing that they want, but still do what we are doing at the base level. And so I do feel like that's really part of our job as leaders is to and Natasha spoke to this earlier is take that noise and then see how we can like get it to stop with us and push it back in a way that still supports the work we're doing, whatever comes to us in terms of work group where you need to measure this, or we want some kind of change in X, Y, or Z. Okay. I can give you this back that will meet your needs. And it doesn't change or distract from what I'm doing in our department or in our programs. I think it's just being flexible in your thinking, being able to not have to have a certain way of approaching things, because you got to understand what that landscape is. You got to speak the words that they're speaking in order to get them to listen to you and kind of play with you so that we can all get to the same end goal. Carol: One thing I've seen from you, Kristen, just working with you these past years in my TA capacity is I'm like, I love your persistence because you've had to navigate this really tough, internal, weird structure. It just is weird. And you are super persistent in messaging. Okay. Like you send a message to this person, oh, I'm not the person. Okay, then who is the person? Okay, I'm going to go to this person and you will not let it go till you find till the end the little trail of crumbs you get to and you're like, all right, I'm finally getting to the person because I have to get this thing answered. Some people just give up. They're like, oh, I don't know. And then staff ask and you're like, well, I don't know. We don't know who's doing what. Oh not you, you. You don't let that happen. Kristen: That is one piece of advice I give to people when they come on. This is a state government, federal government, there are all sorts of red tape, barriers, hoops. Everything will get in your way if you let it. You're going to have to be persistent. Don't get jaded with it. Don't give up. Just know that you're going to have to be persistent with getting to the thing that you want to get done. Carol: So switching a little bit. There's a lot of different structures in hiring VR agency leaders. I mean, you can be a political appointee. You can be more of a career professional where maybe you have some protections, maybe it's not a full blown union, but you got something. And we've had 14 new directors in the last less than ten months. Again, 14 new directors in VR. You know, people don't always realize like, how does that and each of you represents a different bucket here. How does that distinction, whether you're a political appointee or you have a little more protection influence your agency. Kind of how you approach the operations and your decision making. And I'll ask you first, Natasha. Natasha: I am a career professional. I'm the highest level you can go before you start hitting the politically appointed positions. So that means I get the privilege of bringing some stability to the agency. Granted, that doesn't mean I can't get fired or laid off, but I am not politically appointed. So when the administration changes, I don't change with it. So that means staff can expect some consistency, and they don't have to wonder who's going to be coming in now to shake things up with their own ideas and views. They know what my priorities and goals are. They know how I work and they know what to expect. And so I have the luxury of time to create a culture that will sustain anything that comes our way. I have the time to develop that succession plan, offer professional development and mentorship opportunities. But when I was thinking of this, I can see the value of Having fresh new faces, coming in with different perspectives and experiences, and that they may have a better idea for how we do things. You know, we talk about people who have been in the position for 30, 40 years. Is there some value to having that new life coming into an agency? So I recognize that being a career professional could also be a limitation of mine, which means that I really need to surround myself with people who think differently from me, and I can't get stagnant. Carol: Yeah, that's a really good point. Although there are very few 30 year or 40 year career leaders in the VR program anymore, I think we got Diane Delmas out in Vermont and Greg Trapp, those are the two I always think of. Otherwise, boy, people have been coming and going pretty fast, but that is good advice because you can get a little stuck. Now, Kristen, you're on the other end of the spectrum because you are a political appointee. Kristen: I am not a political appointee, but I am an at will employee. Carol: Oh, you're an at will though. Kristen: Yeah,. Carol: So it's very similar. So you're an at will person, does that impact you at all, like in decision making or as you go about doing your job? Kristen: Well, certainly. You think, you know, is this decision going to make me the scapegoat for something that goes south, right? So, you know, it does impact my thinking. I don't let it impact whether it's right or wrong. To do that is just my base. You know, you just have to have that gut kind of commitment to. This is what I said. It's the truth. I don't have any qualms about how I do the work or the transparency that I have in the work that I do. So keeping it all above board, hope that that serves you in the end. Natasha, you had a very positive outlook on new people coming in. In my tenure, I've experienced a lot of changes in different people at different levels coming in and not having any idea about the rehabilitation programs that we run. And so it is a kind of a continuing education of individuals who are coming and going to have them see the value of the programs and the way that they need to operate. Carol: Yeah, I appreciate that. So let's look a little bit at kind of leveraging both of you like this leveraging your data. And we're kind of skipping around a little bit here. But how do you guys like to leverage data to inform your financial and programmatic decisions? Now remember we've got a lot of new directors. We have listeners out there that are they don't know we I get this question all the time. You know, we talk about data informed decision making. People are like, yeah, we talk about it, but what does that mean? And how do you really do it in practicality? So Kristen, what would you say do you have like an example or how do you like to best leverage data when you're looking at making decisions, whether programmatically or financially? Kristen: Just because I have a little bit more programmatic data that I have access to and ability to manipulate, we really look at that in terms of, you know, when we're setting our annual strategic goals, what is our five year goal? Take a look at what have the last three years look like. You know what the percentage of increase or decrease is? How are we adjusting those things? Use the data to understand where are the gaps, what's not working, and something we expected the needle to move and it didn't. What's not working in that process. And so you know, what lever do we pull to say this is going to be quote unquote a countermeasure for that thing, and then measure that data over the next three, six months. And if there's a change, then we can kind of understand then did that work or didn't it work? I think far too often in our workforce we say, well, this is a problem, but we don't really have any data around it. Should we gather a ton of data for the program to being able to use that data to help inform what decisions or what changes to processes should we be making and how should we make those. And then we can track it to see did it make a difference or what difference did it make? And is it something we should replicate? Is it something we should pull back. So I really like to use our data from our program, you know, participant program data to inform our strategy on what we're going to be doing in the next 1 to 5 years. Carol: I know before you have presented at CSAVR and showed like you had some really cool ways you were able to look at data and you did a lot of it by your region so you could start narrowing in, because you can have this tendency to go, oh, you look at the data broadly and then you're like, oh, we must have this problem everywhere. Well, you realized you had regions, you know, in your state you're like, well, why am I like spanking everybody? What we write, we need to focus over here. Kristen: Yeah, we have those metrics. And it's a metric per counselor, per rehab tech, per purchasing specialist. That unit of counselors rolls up to the supervisor. The supervisor rolls up to the program manager. So I can drill down from a state level perspective to a region perspective. Is it a supervisor office problem? Is it a person problem? And that has really helped us understand. Also, where do we need to direct the energies and efforts in terms of making changes. Carol: Yeah, I really like that. That was really good stuff. How about you, Natasha? What are you doing with leveraging data? Because I know that's in your wheelhouse, too. Natasha: We actually hired within, like, the last year or so, a data analyst who is skilled in data visualization and being able to take a bunch of raw numbers and tell a story. And we have been working with her to develop not only the programmatic data, which we now have a ton of that we can look at, but also our fiscal forecasting and what's happening on a budgetary level. It is because of those reports which I am getting weekly, monthly and quarterly reports, depending on the nature that we were able to suddenly see this huge, unexpected spike in case services authorizations. Within just a month of it happening, we were able to drill in. What exactly is going on? What are the bucket items that are the red flags we were able to look at by staff member by region, and we found that our interpreters have gone up over 300%, which then led us down to, okay, what's going on with that? What's the story behind the data? We also are every week meeting as a fiscal team. So the three fiscal staff that I have and myself, we meet every single week. I am intimately involved in our federal reporting. I look at every single report that they put together before we submit our 17. We walk through it. I know where we're at with match. I know where we're at with maintenance of effort. I know exactly where our 15% set aside is, and I can tell you that every single month how we're doing and what issues we're going to be facing. And that's because we have the data. If a director never looks at data and doesn't know what's happening in their programs, they're not going to be able to spot issues. You have to know whether you're doing good or you're not doing good. You need to be able to catch those things. Carol: Yeah. And unfortunately, you have many colleagues across the country. And I will come in and they're being told by like the DSA fiscal staff, hey, don't worry about it. We got it. And so there have been directors of programs of 150 plus million dollars, have never seen a budget report. Zero idea. So literally anything they want to do. Hey, can we send a staff to training? They're asking this group of fiscal people sitting over here because they don't even know what's in the budget. It is the most insane thing I've ever seen. So you really hit the nail on the head. Like, you have to have access and it is required in the law, in the act, in setting up the agency org structure, you have the sole responsibility over the allocation and expenditure of your funds. And how can you have that sole responsibility and not have any data that goes with it? So I preach. Natasha: I will say, data is if you have a legislative ask and you are requesting more funding, the stories are important, but they also want to see the data behind it. Carol: 100%. And it can't be data that's changing by the day. Oops, we forgot this because I've seen people get burned on that as well. And then the legislators are going, okay, well, this data now is suspect, and I think they need a legislative audit report and review because what are they doing over there? Kristen: From a data reporting perspective, like having historical data to the same reports they pull, they cannot keep changing the reports that you're changing the methodology of that. That was a lesson learned for us is we had to understand what data we were pulling, how were we calculating the numbers we were calculating. And now we have data since 2018, and we can tell when we've made any changes. And so then we can see what are our trends. What does that look like. How can we use that to help us predict in the future. So that was a lesson learned for me. We came in and it wasn't much in terms of data. We built some reports and then it was like, oh, but now we need to kind of be able to track, oh, well, this thing happened. And that's why maybe that spiked or dipped or we did this thing and here's the change we saw. So we were able to speak to that year over year as well. Carol: Well super cool. So what advice would you guys have for other leaders out there? All the lessons you all have learned. We can try to read the tea leaves, like where is VR heading in the next few years? But what do you all think? Like what do you think where's VR going? And what advice would you have for other leaders? And Kristen, I'll go to you. Kristen: I just think remain committed to the mission and the purpose of the programs that we have. we're here to serve individuals with disabilities. We'd keep that at the forefront. And, you know, I heard Natasha say to you, the mission is on the wall, right? We all have our missions. We all have our visions. Just don't let that get buried in all of the craziness that is happening and continue to be persistent. Carol mentioned the persistence. I think that is key. You don't let it drag you down. Don't let it burn you out. Just be persistent and know that all of the work that you're doing is for a good reason, good outcomes. Carol: Good stuff. Natasha, I'm going to give you the last word. Natasha: Don't get comfortable with how things are going right now. Speaking to what Kristen said earlier? Things will change, and probably for reasons completely outside of your control. And also remember that easy decisions aren't always the best decisions, and the best decisions aren't always the popular ones. Carol: Well said. Very true. Well, I appreciate you both. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to see what you all have done. You're two of my favorite directors. Don't tell the, don't tell the other directors that are listening. Natasha: Yeah, cut that out, Jeff. Don't have that in there. Carol: Thanks for joining me today. Sure appreciate it. Kristen: Thank you. Natasha: Bye. {Music} Outro Voice: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!
This week, we've got an iconic duo in the studio, Ayamé & Ieuan are HERE and they are spilling all the tea! ☕
Discover the inspiring journey of Jaideep Ahlawat, the versatile Indian actor known for Paatal Lok and Gangs of Wasseypur, as we unveil lesser-known facets of his life! From his early dream of joining the Indian Army (he attempted SSB interviews multiple times!) to pivoting toward acting through theatre in Punjab and formal training at FTII, Ahlawat’s discipline shines through. Did you know he postponed his wedding for his debut film Khatta Meetha? Or that his FTII batchmates like Rajkummar Rao and Vijay Varma remain close friends in their Mazboot Actors Association WhatsApp group? Despite intense roles, he craves romantic characters inspired by legends like Shah Rukh Khan and recently stunned fans with viral Haryanvi dance moves in Jewel Thief’s “Jaadu”!
GB2RS News Sunday, the 27th of April 2025 The news headlines: RSGB delegates attend special IARU Region 1 Interim Meeting in Paris Join the RSGB in celebrating World Morse Day Be part of the RSGB's team at the Youngsters on the Air summer camp The RSGB is participating in the International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 Interim Meeting in Paris this weekend. The event is of particular historical significance as it coincides with the centenary of the founding of the IARU in 1925, as well as the 75th anniversary of the establishment of IARU Region 1 in 1950. The French host society, REF, is also marking its 100th anniversary. This year's meeting in Paris reflects a broader scope than in previous years and, for the first time, includes ‘Youth Matters' on the agenda. It also covers the usual focus areas of HF, VHF, UHF and Microwave, as well as Electromagnetic Compatibility. The RSGB has been a key contributor to the meeting, submitting papers that include future options for the 23cm band and the harmonisation and protection of HF bands. Three delegates from the RSGB are attending the meeting in person, including the newly appointed RSGB President Bob Beebe, GU4YOX. There will be eight other RSGB representatives attending remotely. The meeting serves as both a celebration of amateur radio's rich heritage and a forward-looking forum to address the challenges and opportunities facing the global amateur radio community. You can view meeting documents at conf.iaru-r1.org In celebration of the centenary of the IARU the RSGB has created a web page to share information about its part in the celebrations. This includes a link to an RSGB archive video from the IARU meeting in Paris in 1950, as well as the RSGB's July 1925 T & R Bulletin that contains an announcement detailing the formation of the IARU. Go to rsgb.org/iaru-centenary for further details. Today, Sunday the 27th of April, is World Morse Day. The day honours the birthday of the inventor of Morse code, Samuel Morse, who was born on this day in 1791. To celebrate the occasion, the RSGB has released a video with a question in Morse code for you to answer. Once you have used your Morse skills to decipher the question, get involved by leaving your answer in the comments section under the post. You can view the video on the RSGB YouTube channel via youtube.com/theRSGB or search for @theRSGB on Facebook or X. The deadline to apply to be the Team Leader for this year's Youngsters On The Air Summer Camp is Friday, the 2nd of May. This year's camp takes place between the 18th and 25th of August near Paris and is a chance of a lifetime for young RSGB members to represent their country and their national society. If you are an RSGB member, aged between 21 and 30, and are able to motivate a team of young people, then the RSGB would love to hear from you. Download an application form and apply for this exciting opportunity by going to rsgb.org/yota-camp. Applications to be a Team Member will remain open until the 16th of May. The RSGB Exams Quality Manager would like to remind everyone that clubs can still run exams if they are a Registered Exam Centre. Exams will be conducted online unless a candidate has a special requirement for a paper exam. The introduction of remote invigilation to allow people to take an amateur radio licence exam in their home does not affect this. If clubs have any queries about delivering exams, they should contact the RSGB Examinations Quality Manager, Dave Wilson, M0OBW, via eqam@rsgb.org.uk. If anyone has special requirements for an exam, they should contact the RSGB exams team via exams@rsgb.org.uk As part of the IARU centenary celebrations, the RSGB has been activating callsign GB0IARU throughout April. On Wednesday, the 30th of April, the RSGB President Bob Beebe, GU4YOX, will be activating GB0IARU from 2 pm on 40m SSB, and then from 5 pm on 80m SSB. Frequencies will be spotted on the day, and times may vary to suit propagation. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Dartmoor Radio Rally is taking place on Monday, the 5th of May at the Yelverton War Memorial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 6AL. Free parking is available. There will be the usual Bring and Buy as well as trader stands and refreshments. Doors open at 10 am and admission is £3. For further details, please call Roger on 07854 088882 or email him via 2e0rph@gmail.com RetrotechUK is taking place on Sunday, the 11th of May at Sports Connexion, Leamington Road, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry, CV8 3FL. The annual event is organised by the British Vintage Wireless Society and will include nearly 200 stalls of dealers, clubs and private sellers. Doors open at 10.30 am and entry is £10. Early doors entry is available from 9 am for £25. Full details are available from Greg Hewitt via info@retrotechuk.com or by going to retrotechuk.com Now the Special Event news The Spanish national society, URE, is on the air to mark the 100th anniversary of the IARU. Members are active on 160m to 6m until the 30th of April with ten different special event stations, including AO100IARU. Special awards will be available, as well as medals for the top participants from each continent who achieve the highest number of contacts with the stations on different bands and modes. Go to ure.es for further details. The Amateur Radio Society of Moldova is operating special event station ER100IARU until Wednesday, the 30th of April, in honour of the IARU centenary. Full details can be found via qrz.com The Kuwait Amateur Radio Society is pleased to announce its participation in the IARU centennial celebrations. Members of the Society will be operating special event station 9K100IARU until Wednesday, the 30th of April. Now the DX news Dom, 3D2USU is active again as 3D2AJT from Nadi in the Fiji Islands until the end of April. The call sign is in memory of JH1AJT, now a Silent Key. QSL via Club Log's OQRS and Logbook of The World. Yuris, YL2GM plans to operate as ZS8W from Prince Edward and Marion Island, IOTA reference AF-021, until Friday, the 16th of May. Yuris will be on Marion Island as a radio engineer and member of the SANAP station communication equipment maintenance team, and he hopes to find good periods of time to be operational. For further details, go to lral.lv/zs8w Now the contest news The UK and Ireland DX CW Contest started at 1200 UTC on Saturday, the 26th of April and ends at 1200 UTC today, Sunda,y the 27th of April. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. UK and Ireland stations also send their district code. The SP DX RTTY Contest started at 1200 UTC on Saturday, the 26th of April, and ends at 1200 UTC today, Sunday, the 27th of April. Using RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. SP stations also send their province code. On Monday, the 28th of April, the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group Sprint 75 Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using 75 baud RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your serial number. Also on Monday, the 28th of April, the FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. On Wednesday, the 30th of April, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m Contest runs from 2000 to 2100 UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator. On Thursday, the 1st of May, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and the four-character locator. Also on Thursday, the 1st of May, the 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and the four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Saturday, the 3rd of May, the 432MHz to 245GHz Contest starts at 1400 UTC and ends at 1400 UTC on Sunday, the 4th of May. Using all modes on 432MHz to 245GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Six Metre Group's Summer Marathon starts at 0000 UTC on Saturday, the 3rd of May and ends at 2359 UTC on Sunday, the 3rd of August. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is your four-character locator. The ARI International DX Contest starts at 1200 UTC on Saturday, the 3rd of May and ends at 1159 UTC on Sunday, the 4th of May. Using CW, RTTY and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Italian stations also send their province. The Worked All Britain 7MHz contest will take place on Sunday, the 4th of May, from 1000 to 1400 UTC. All entries need to be with the contest manager by the 14th of May. Please note that all Worked All Britain contests use SSB only. Full details of the contest rules can be found on the Worked All Britain website. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 24th of April 2025 We had yet another week of unsettled geomagnetic conditions. The Kp index peaked at 5.33 on the 21st of April as the solar wind speed hit just above 600 kilometres per second, and active geomagnetic conditions were observed. This was caused by a massive coronal hole on the Sun's surface, which measures nearly 700,000km in length. At the time of writing, part of it is still Earth-facing, but the Bz or interplanetary magnetic field is facing North, so its negative effects are not being felt. The Kp index was down to 3.67 on the morning of Thursday, the 24th of April, but it wouldn't take much for the Bz to swing southwards and for the Kp index to rise again. Meanwhile, the solar flux index has risen from a recent low of 148 up to 168. This has meant MUFs over a 3,000km path have reached 25 MHz at times, but have usually been slightly lower. If the Kp index can stay low, there is a good chance of higher MUFs being attainable, but we have probably seen the best of 10m propagation until the autumn. Much of the recent DX has been worked on slightly lower frequencies, such as VP2VI British Virgin Islands on 40 and 20m, C5R The Gambia on 20 and 12m, and HD8G Galapagos Islands on 20, 17, and 12m. There is still the chance of DX on 10m, but it may be fleeting. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will stay high, perhaps reaching 170 to 175. We may get a slight respite from unsettled geomagnetic conditions from the 26th to the 30th of April, when the Kp index is forecast to be around two to three. However, unsettled geomagnetic conditions are forecast for the beginning of next month, with Kp indices of five or six on the 1st and 2nd of May. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO Next week, high pressure should dominate, meaning a chance of Tropo for much of the time which will probably favour paths to the east, to Scandinavia or northern Europe. Rain scatter won't have featured much other than over northwest Britain in recent days, and meteor scatter is reducing back to random activity, which tends to be better in the early hours before dawn. The solar conditions have continued to keep the Kp index up, and there was a fine auroral opening last week on the 16th of April, so for more aurora, it's still worth checking for when Kp values nudge above five. As the end of April moves into May, we can start to give serious thought to the coming Sporadic-E season. Hesitant beginnings often show up on 10m and 6m, and, as usual, the digital modes will be best for any weak events. CW and SSB are just possible in the stronger openings, especially on 10m. The background rule is that there are usually two preferred activity periods, one in the morning and a second in late afternoon and early evening. However, at the start of the season, there can be a lot of spread in the timings. EME path losses are at their lowest with perigee today, Sunday the 27th, and the Moon declination is positive and rising. Moon windows will lengthen along with peak elevation, and 144MHz sky noise starts the week low but increases to moderate as the week progresses. From late Sunday to early Monday, the Sun and Moon are close. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
Foundations of Amateur Radio Over the years I've talked about different ways of using our license to transmit. I've discussed things like modes such as voice AM, FM, and SSB, and digital modes like FT8, WSPR, RTTY, FreeDV, Hellschreiber, Olivia and even Morse code. Recently it occurred to me that there is something odd about how we do this as a community. Now that I've realised this it's hard to unsee. Let me see if I can get you to the same place of wonder. Why is it that we as amateurs only use one such mode at a time? Let me say that again. With all the modes we have available to us, why do we only use one mode at a time, why do we get our brain into the mindset of one activity, stop doing that in order to move to another mode? It's weird. Amateur radio is what's called "frequency agile". What I mean by that is we are not restricted to a fixed number of channels like most, if not all other radio users. We can set our transmission frequency to whatever we want, within the restrictions imposed by our license conditions, and start making noise. There's agreement on what mode you can use where, but within that comes a great deal of flexibility. We have the ability to find each other. Call CQ and if the band is open and your station is transmitting a signal, the chance is good that someone somewhere on planet Earth will respond. We change frequency at will, almost without thought, but why don't we do this with modes? The closest I've seen is local VHF and UHF contests where you get different points depending on which mode you're using, and even that seems hard fought. It's weird. We have an increasing range of Software Defined Radios, or SDR, where your voice, or incoming text, can be transformed to a different mode at the touch of a button, but we rarely if ever actually use this ability. In case you're thinking that the restriction relates to the availability of SDR in the average amateur radio shack, most amateur modes fit within a normal audio stream and that same flexibility could be applied to the vast majority of transmitters scattered around the globe, but to my knowledge, it isn't. Why is that? Better still, what can we do about it? Can we develop procedures and processes to make us more, let's call it "mode agile", giving us the ability to change mode at the same ease as we change frequency? What would a "mode and frequency agile" amateur look like? What processes would you use? Right now the best we have is to QSY, or announce that we're changing frequency, but I've never heard anyone use that to describe a change of mode. Of course it's possible that I've led a sheltered life and not been on-air enough, but if that's the case, I'd love to hear about it. So, what is stopping us from becoming even more flexible? Do we need to practice this, develop better tools, teach new amateurs, have multimode nets, invent new modes that share information across different modes simultaneously, build radios that can transmit on different frequencies, or something else? I'm Onno VK6FLAB
GB2RS News Sunday the 20th of April 2025 The news headlines: Take advantage of new RSGB membership benefits for 2025! The RSGB Board has announced Directors' liaison roles The RSGB has released a 1925 bulletin containing the original announcement of the formation of the IARU As a new benefit, the Society has teamed up with several museums to offer RSGB members discounted entry for 2025. Members can receive between 20% and 50% off admission fees at Amberley Museum, Bawdsey Radar Museum, Internal Fire Museum of Power, PK Porthcurno Museum of Global Communications and The National Museum of Computing. So, whether you're into engines, radar, transport, computers or communications there's sure to be something for you. To find out more, visit rsgb.org/partner-museums Following the RSGB 2025 AGM on Saturday the 12th of April, a brief Board meeting was held. The Board elected Stewart Bryant, G3YSX to continue in the role of Board Chair and Peter Bowyer, G4MJS to continue as Vice Chair. Both will remain in these roles until the 2026 AGM. The Board liaison roles with RSGB committees, Honorary Officers and areas of RSGB strategy have also been agreed. To find out more or to see contact details for each Board Director, go to rsgb.org/board World Amateur Radio Day was on Friday the 18th of April. It was also on that day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris. In celebration of this, the RSGB has shared a T & R Bulletin from 1925 that details the original announcement about the IARU's formation. This unique document has been made publicly available for all radio amateurs to be able to enjoy. To start reading, simply go to rsgb.org/radcom then click on the image to enter the web app and select the ‘RadCom Sample' option in the header. The RSGB website has a wealth of information available to you, and the search function is a useful tool to find what you are looking for. However, to make things as straightforward as possible, the Society has updated the contacts page on its website. If you need to get in touch about something specific, you'll be able to find the correct contact details at a glance. Each Headquarters department is listed with the range of services they offer. For example, you'll see that the Sales Team can also help with club insurance, Membership Services will help with any issues logging into its online membership portal, and that GB2RS news items should be sent to the RadCom Team. Whatever your query, the Team is there to help. If you need more local help, please contact your Regional Team representatives. Head over to rsgb.org/contact to find out how to get in touch. Professor Gwyn Griffiths, G3ZIL is a well-known member of the RSGB Propagation Studies Committee, as well as someone involved with Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, also known as HamSCI. In celebration of Citizen Science Month during April, the RSGB has shared Gwyn's HamSCI presentation from the RSGB 2024 Convention on its YouTube channel. In the talk, Gwyn outlines the organisation's activities, particularly during the 2023 and 2024 eclipses. Go to youtube.com/theRSGB to watch the talk now. If you'd like to find out more, join the RSGB for May's Tonight@8 webinar when HamSCI lead Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF presents ‘Space weather we can do together'. Both Gwyn and Nathaniel recently won awards in the RSGB 2025 AGM Trophy Presentation. You can also get involved with HamSCI's preparations for a series of meteor scatter experiments in August and December. You can find further details via hamsci.org/msqp Have you ever wondered about the origins of the smart doorbell? Although a modern phenomenon, it has a history dating back over 100 years. During the latest series of The Secret Genius of Modern Life, Hannah Fry explores its early origins with a device created by Leon Theremin. During the episode radio amateur Neil, G4DBN, re-creates Leon's device. The episode will air on BBC2 at 20.00 on Wednesday the 23rd of April. Many of you will know Neil from Season One, Episode One of the series when he re-created the Great Seal Bug. Both episodes are available to watch now via BBC iPlayer. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Cambridge Repeater Group Rally is taking place on Sunday the 27th of April at Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton, Cambridge, CB22 6RN. Doors open at 7.30am for traders and 9.30am to the general public. The entrance fee is £4. The event will include a car-boot sale, trade stands, a bring-and-buy area, catering, disabled facilities, an RSGB Bookstall and a free, marshalled car park. A cash and card burger van will open at 8am. The venue rules state strictly no dogs except assistance dogs on the field. Go to cambridgerepeaters.net for further details and bookings. The Dartmoor Radio Rally is taking place on Monday the 5th of May at the Yelverton War Memorial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 6AL. Free parking is available. There will be the usual bring and buy, trader stands and refreshments. Doors open at 10am and admission is £3. For further details, please contact Roger by phone on 07854 088882, or email 2e0rph@gmail.com Now the Special Event news The Spanish national society, URE, is on the air to mark the 100th anniversary of the IARU. Members are active on 160m to 6m until the 30th of April with ten different special event stations, including AO100IARU. Special awards will be available, as well as medals for the top participants from each continent who achieve the highest number of contacts with the stations on different bands and modes. Go to ure.es for further details. The Portuguese national society, REP, is also activating a number of special callsigns as part of celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the IARU. This includes CR1IARU from the Azores, CR3IARU from Madeira and CR5IARU from mainland Portugal. Members will be active on multiple bands and modes. Look out for activity until the 24th of April. Full details can be found via tinyurl.com/CR1IARU The Amateur Radio Society of Moldova is operating special event station ER100IARU until Wednesday the 30th of April in honour of the IARU Centenary. Full details can be found via qrz.com The Kuwait Amateur Radio Society is pleased to announce its participation in the IARU centennial celebrations. Members of the Society will be operating special event station 9K100IARU until Wednesday the 30th of April. Ten teams of radio amateurs from around the world are commemorating 80 years since Operation Manna and Operation Chowhound. The two operations were humanitarian food drops that helped to relieve the famine in the Netherlands behind Nazi lines late in World War Two. The teams will be active between the 25th and 27th of April on HF, VHF and the DMR Brandmeister Talk Groups unique to this event. A number of the teams are also welcoming visitors and arranging activities at their locations. To find details of Talk Groups for this event, the teams involved, as well as how to collect a commemorative award, go to manna80.radio Now the DX news Aldir, PY1SAD is active again from Georgetown in Guyana as 8R1TM until the 26th of April. Aldir will be operating on all bands using CW, SSB, digital and satellite. QSL via eQSL and Logbook of The World. Arno, DK1HV is active from Greenland as OX/DK1VK until Sunday the 27th of April. He'll be QRV on 160m to 10m mainly SSB using wire antennas and 100W radio. QSL available via his home callsign. Dom, 3D2USU is active again as 3D2AJT from Nadi in the Fiji Islands until the end of April. The call sign is in memory of JH1AJT, now Silent Key. QSL via Club Log's OQRS and Logbook of The World. Now the contest news On Tuesday the 22nd of April, the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday the 24th of April, the 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using PSK63 and RTTY, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The UK and Ireland DX CW Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the 26th of April and ends at 1200UTC on Sunday the 27th of April. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. UK and Ireland stations also send their district code. The SP DX RTTY Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the 26th of April and ends at 1200UTC on Sunday the 27th of April. Using RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. SP stations also send their province code. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 17th of April 2025 Last week was characterised by increased Kp index numbers and severe geomagnetic storms, peaking at G4. These drove down maximum usable frequencies and disrupted DX contacts, especially on the higher HF bands. The solar wind speed increased from 380 kilometres per second to around 500 kilometres per second on the 15th and an increase in plasma density was noted as well. Subsequently, the Kp index peaked at 7.67 on Wednesday the 16th, causing visible aurora alerts in the UK. This was caused by a pair of CMEs that left the Sun on Sunday the 13th of April. We had a total of 22 M-class solar flares over four days, so a CME event was inevitable. Unsettled geomagnetic conditions are a feature on the declining side of a solar cycle, so we could unfortunately be in for many more. According to Propquest, MUFs over a 3,000km path fell to below 18MHz for long periods on Wednesday the 16th, before climbing to around 21MHz at the end of the day. Meanwhile, the solar flux index fell from a high of 170 on Friday the 11th of April to a low of 148 on Wednesday the 16th of April. Next week, NOAA predicts that the SFI will start the week around 145 but could increase to 165 as the week progresses. Unsettled geomagnetic conditions are forecast for the 22nd to the 24th of April, with a predicted maximum Kp index of four. As always, keep an eye on solarham.com for daily updates, but more importantly, get on the bands, which are a much more effective guide to HF propagation! And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The current period of unsettled weather looks likely to continue into the coming week. This does not mean rain every day, but periods of rain or showers with some intervening drier spells. These drier interludes are not really dominated by high pressure, just gaps between the wetter periods, so it's unlikely to produce much significant Tropo. In terms of propagation, there may be some rain scatter, although it won't be very reliable. However, the prospects for meteor scatter are more promising with the peak of the Lyrids due on Tuesday the 22nd of April. It is worth checking up on procedures for meteor scatter working if you've not done it before and you may find a new part of the hobby to add to your operating schedule. The prospects for aurora continue to be raised by what seems like an almost daily supply of aurora alerts. Continue to monitor the Kp index for signs of elevated values, where Kp is above five, for radio activity. Early signs such as fluttery signals on the LF and HF bands may suggest it's worth looking on the VHF bands for auroral activity. As we move towards the new season it is good to get into the habit of looking for Sporadic-E. The Propquest website www.propquest.co.uk shows several useful components for analysing the Es prospects. If you look at the position of the jet streams shown on the Es blog tab, these can produce favourable conditions geographically to give a hint of the right direction in which to listen. The opening season typically favours 10m or 6m. EME path losses are now decreasing towards perigee on Sunday the 27th of April. Last Friday, the 18th of April, saw minimum Moon declination, so Moon windows will lengthen along with peak elevation. 144MHz sky noise starts this week very high but decreases to low as the week progresses. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
GB2RS News Sunday the 13th of April 2025 The news headlines: Apply to be in the RSGB team for YOTA Camp 2025 Be part of the RSGB Exam Tutors Review Panel Catch up with the RSGB 2025 AGM on YouTube If you are aged between 16 and 25 and are passionate about amateur radio, then this news is for you. This year's Youngsters on the Air Summer Camp will take place between the 18th and 25th of August at the historical Château [SHA-TOW] de Jambville [ZHOM-VIL] near Paris in France. The event is being organised by the French national amateur radio society, REF, and the IARU. It is a chance of a lifetime for young RSGB members to represent their country and their national society. If you are ready for exciting experiences, would like to make new friends and want to help shape the future of amateur radio, then the RSGB would love to hear from you. If you'd like to find out more about what's involved and to submit an application, go to rsgb.org/yota-camp The closing date for applications is the 2nd of May for Team Leader and the 16th of May for Team Members. Apply today and don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity. The RSGB is looking to recruit volunteers from the exam tutor community to help pre-screen documentation prior to public release as part of the process of improving the quality of documents issued by the Exam and Syllabus Review Group (ESRG). The Exam Tutors Review Panel is intended to be an informal group of approximately six tutors who are currently involved in providing training for amateur radio licence exams at any of the three current levels. Panel members will be asked to use their skills to help improve the quality of the syllabus, the questions in the published question bank and other published documentation. They will receive advance copies of documents that are due to be published, and they will be expected to return any comments within an agreed timescale, which typically will be two weeks. The ESRG is not obliged to accept the recommendations from panel members, but if they do not accept a recommended change, they will explain why. All documents and additional correspondence sent to panel members will be under an embargo until the final versions are released to the public. The Exam Tutors Review Panel is intended to run for an initial six months and will then be reviewed. If you are interested in becoming a member of this panel, please email Board Director Len Paget, GM0ONX via GM0ONX@rsgb.org.uk The RSGB would like to thank everyone who joined the RSGB 2025 AGM which was held yesterday, the 12th of April. If you missed the live event, you'll still be able to watch the full livestream on the Society's YouTube channel. As well as the formal AGM business, the Board answered questions from RSGB members on a wide range of topics. You'll also be able to watch the President's review of 2024, delivered by John McCullagh MBE, GI4BWM, who was the RSGB President at the time. The AGM also included a presentation about the Society's strategy. Led by Board Director Mark Jones, G0MGX, there were contributions from Board Director Ben Lloyd, GW4BML; Spectrum Forum Chair Murray Niman, G6JYB; and the current President Bob Beebe, GU4YOX. Timestamps will be available in the video summary on YouTube, allowing you to skip to any particular section you may want to watch. Go to rsgb.org/agm to find out more about every aspect of the AGM, including personal statements from the new President, Board Directors and Regional Representatives. Don't forget that as part of the celebrations of the centenary of the International Amateur Radio Union, the RSGB will be activating the callsign GB0IARU throughout this month. A Commemorative QSL Card is available for QSOs made during the period from the 1st of April to the 30th of April 2025. On qrz.com you can find full details of the special event station, how to apply for your commemorative card, and a spreadsheet showing who is activating the callsign. World Amateur Radio Day 2025 is taking place on Friday the 18th of April, and coincides with the centenary of the International Amateur Radio Union. This year's theme is “Entering the Next Century of Amateur Radio Communications and Innovation”. All radio amateurs are invited to take to the airwaves to show their skills and capabilities to the public. You can read more about the event on the IARU website via iaru.org Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Moray Firth Amateur Radio Society Surplus Equipment Sale is taking place on Saturday the 19th of April at Roseisle [ROSE-ISLE] Village Hall, near Burghead. Doors open to traders at 10am, and to the general public between 11am and 4pm. There is ample parking on site and catering will be available. Entry is £5, and tables for sellers are £10. Find out more by going to mfars.club The Cambridge Repeater Group Rally is taking place on Sunday the 27th of April at Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton, Cambridge, CB22 6RN. Doors open at 7.30am for traders and 9.30am to the general public. The entrance fee is £4. The event will include a car-boot sale, trade stands, a bring-and-buy area, catering, disabled facilities, an RSGB Bookstall and a free marshalled car park. A cash and card burger van will open at 8am. The venue rules state strictly no dogs except assistance dogs on the field. Go to cambridgerepeaters.net for further details and bookings. Now the Special Event news The Experimental Danish Radioamateurs association, also known as EDR, will be celebrating World Amateur Radio Day on the 18th of April with special event station 5P0WARD. The group is also operating special callsign OZ100IARU between the 19th of April and the 27th of April to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the IARU. More information can be found at QRZ.com The Polish Amateur Radio Union is celebrating 95 years since its founding, as well as the centenary of the International Amateur Radio Union. To mark the occasion, ten special event stations are active until the 25th of April. Full details of the event, as well as available awards, can be found via Hamaward.cloud The Spanish national society, URE, will also be on the air to mark the 100th anniversary of the IARU. Members will be active on 160m to 6m between the 15th of April and the 30th of April with ten different special event stations, including AO100IARU. Special awards will be available, as well as medals for the top participants from each continent who achieve the highest number of contacts with the stations on different bands and modes. Go to ure.es for further details. Now the DX news Paul, GW0NGA will be active from Jamestown in St Helena as ZD7PG from the 12th of April until the 19th of April. He will be active on the HF bands during his spare time. QSL via his home callsign and possibly eQSL. Aldir, PY1SAD is active again from Georgetown in Guyana [GAI-AA-NUH] as 8R1TM until the 26th of April. Aldir will be operating on all bands using CW, SSB, digital and satellite. QSL via eQSL and Logbook of The World. DA1DX, DK9IP, DM6EE and DL8LAS will be active from Anegada [A-NE-GA-DA] Island in the British Virgin Islands as VP2VI from the 10th to the 27th of April. Full details via QRZ.com Now the contest news On Tuesday the 15th of April, the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 16th of April, the 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday the 17th of April, the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using All modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 10th of April 2025 A fast solar wind caused some disruption last week, often sending the Kp index up to five, with many three-hour periods in excess of four. The solar wind speed was in the 600-700 kilometres per second range, which caused a moderate, G2, geomagnetic storm and visible aurora at higher latitudes mid-week. Glancing CMEs that left the Sun on the 9th of April brought a small chance of enhanced geomagnetic activity at the end of the week. Meanwhile, the solar flux index declined slightly from a high of 184 on the 5th of April to 167 on Thursday the 10th. There have been quite a few C-class solar flares, but only two M-class flares and no X-class events over the past seven days. This geomagnetic activity has taken its toll on HF propagation, with lower critical frequencies at times and lower MUFs. This, coupled with the start of a change to summer ionospheric conditions, has meant that MUFs over a 3,000km path have often struggled to get past 19.7MHz at times. We have probably seen the best of the long-range 10m propagation until the autumn. But we will have Sporadic-E and its associated short skip from next month to make up for it. Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will fall further, perhaps to between 135 and 140 by the 15th of April. Geomagnetic conditions are also likely to improve with a Kp index of two to three, forecast for the period after tomorrow, the 14th of April. We may expect more problematic geomagnetic conditions, with a predicted Kp index of four, from the 21st to the 24th of April. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The long spell of fine settled weather and strong Tropo is leaving us for a while, starting this weekend, and the high pressure is giving way to slow-moving areas of low pressure with cloud and rain for the coming week. Although it won't rain all the time it will be considerably wetter than recent weeks, with some heavy spells of rain at times and good prospects for rain scatter on the GHz bands. It is possible that there could be some thunder in the heavier rain, so it's now the season to be aware of lightning risk. The meteor scatter prospects are staggering towards the 22nd of April Lyrids, which peak on Tuesday of the following week, so we're still probably relying on random activity for most of this coming week, but with improving chances. The solar conditions have been feeding low-level auroral activity and it remains a good time of the year when some effective auroral conditions can appear - so stay alert to the state of the Kp index, just in case. The good news at this time of the year is that Sporadic-E will eventually make an appearance, usually on 10m or 6m, and is quite often first picked out on the digital modes. It will be into late April before we need to get too excited about this, but there is no harm in getting a set of beacons in mind for tracking an opening. Remember the main characteristic of Es is that it starts on the lower frequencies like 10m, and works up through 6m to 4m and then finally 2m in a high-summer opening. EME path losses are at their maximum at apogee this evening, the 13th, and Moon declination is negative and falling further. Moon windows will continue to shorten with peak elevation reaching only eight degrees at the end of next week. 144MHz sky noise starts the week low but will increase during the week to more than 2300 Kelvin on Friday. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
How have S-Reit's fared amist the global market turmoil? We saw this during COVID — a sharp drop followed by a V-shaped recovery in S-REITs,” says REIT specialist Kenny Loh. What are investors on the search for yield doing? As markets step back from the cliff edge following Trump’s tariff pause, are Singapore REITs on the cusp of another rebound — or is volatility here to stay? Hosted by Michelle Martin with Kenny Loh, this episode explores: How tariffs are impacting S-REITs today. What investors should know about Stoneweg European REIT’s proposed stapled trust structure. Key considerations for Paragon REIT’s upcoming privatisation vote. Where to find yield as T-bill, FD, and SSB rates decline. Core risks and strategies for income investors in 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
GB2RS News Sunday, the 6th of April 2025 The news headlines: Last chance to submit your question ahead of Saturday's RSGB AGM Tom Wardill, 2E0JJI has been appointed as RSGB Maker Champion Reduced exam slots over Easter weekend The RSGB 2025 AGM is taking place at 10 am next Saturday, the 12th of April. The Society is encouraging RSGB members to take the time to vote for the two resolutions that need your approval. During the AGM, Board members will be answering your questions. Whether your question is about the RSGB, the Board, any of the RSGB services or even the future of amateur radio, your contribution to the discussion is important. Priority is given to questions submitted live by Zoom or by the Society's web form, so get in touch now rather than waiting for the live chat option on the day. The Zoom question deadline is 9 am on Monday, the 7th of April, and the deadline for submitting a written question is when voting ends at 0900 on Thursday, the 10th of April. Following the formal business of the AGM, the RSGB is delighted that RSGB President John McCullagh, GI4BWM will be sharing his review of 2024. There will also be announcements of trophies and awards, the construction competition results, as well as a presentation about the Society's strategy, which will be led by Board Director Mark Jones, G0MGX. There will be contributions from Board Director Ben Lloyd, GW4BML; Spectrum Forum Chair Murray Niman, G6JYB; and Bob Beebe, GU4YOX who at that point will be the new RSGB President. Make sure you don't miss out by putting the date in your diary now. Go to rsgb.org/agm to find further information. The RSGB is pleased to announce that Tom Wardill, 2E0JJI has been appointed as the RSGB Maker Champion. In his role, Tom will assist the RSGB to take amateur radio to new audiences in the hackspace and makerspace communities. Tom will also investigate opportunities to encourage crossover in both directions, offering new areas of experimentation to more traditional license holders. If you have any ideas you'd like to discuss with Tom or would like to congratulate him on his appointment, please email him via maker.champion@rsgb.org.uk A reminder that the RSGB remote invigilation team will be taking a break over the Easter weekend. You will be able to book to take an exam on Friday, the 18th and Saturday, the 19th of April; however, no exam slots will be available on Sunday, the 20th or Monda,y the 21st of April. Exam bookings will resume as normal after that. The next webinar in the RSGB's Tonight@8 series will be live tomorrow, Monday the 7th of April. Nick Wood, M0NTV will show you how to use a regular glue stick housing in a rather novel way to form the basis of a variable tuning inductor in a homemade 40m receiver. Nick has a lifelong fascination with radio and electronics, and an insatiable curiosity to discover how things work. His passion is for designing and building his own radio equipment, particularly SSB transceivers, and he has just completed his sixth. Visit rsgb.org/webinars to find out more. Join the presentation live on the RSGB YouTube channel or special BATC channel and ask questions via the live chat. The GB3WR VHF Repeater, located on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, was switched back on at 12:30 pm on the 16th of March 2025. The Group is delighted to report that it is working as well as before. It covers a wide area of the South West, and the Bristol Channel area. Amateur stations are regularly heard from the south of the Midlands, South Wales and as far south as Swanage and Basingstoke to the east. The Mendip Repeater Group would like to express its thanks for the generosity of all who have made it possible to put GB3WR back on the air. Find out more via gb3wr.uk One of the GB2RS newsreaders is retiring from reading the news ahead of his upcoming 101st birthday this Saturday, the 12th of April. Peter Valentine, G0NQZ from Eastbourne, remains an active radio amateur and operates daily, as well as taking part in regular nets such as ISWL and RAOTA. The Society would like to thank Peter for his dedication to GB2RS and wishes him a very happy 101st birthday! Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Yeovil Amateur Radio Club QRP Convention is taking place on Saturday, the 12th of April at Digby Hall in Sherborne. Doors open at 9.30 am. The convention will include traders, bring and buy, club stalls and a café. For more information, please visit the club's website via yeovil-arc.com The Holsworthy ARC Spring Radio Rally is taking place on Sunday, the 13th of April at the Holsworthy Livestock Market, New Market Road, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 7FA. There will be traders and a bring-and-buy. Catering will be available. Doors open to traders from 8 am and to the public from 10 am. Entry costs £3 per person. The venue has disabled access. Also taking place on Sunday, the 13th of April, is the Northern Amateur Radio Societies Association Exhibition, or NARSA for short. It is also known as the Blackpool Rally. The event will take place at Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, Blackpool, FY2 9AA. For further details, please go to narsa.org.uk or contact Dave, M0OBW, on 07720 656542, or via email using dwilson@btinternet.com Now the Special Event news The Royal Air Force Amateur Radio Society, also known as RAFARS, has started its popular Airfields On The Air event. RAF Stations are active this weekend as well as on the 12th and 13th of April. More information can be found via rafars.org/rafaota The Polish Amateur Radio Union is celebrating 95 years since its founding, as well as the centenary of the International Amateur Radio Union. To mark the occasion, ten special event stations will be active between the 11th and the 25th of April. Full details of the event, as well as available awards, can be found via Hamaward.cloud Now the DX news The Toshiba Fuchu Amateur Radio Club, JA1YVT, is celebrating its 60th anniversary and, as part of the celebration, team members are staging a DXpedition to the Ogasawara Islands. They will be QRV as JA1YVT/JD1 until Thursday, the 10th of April. The operating schedule, frequencies and QSL information are available via QRZ.com DA1DX, DK9IP, DM6EE and DL8LAS will be active from Anegada Island in the British Virgin Islands as VP2VI from the 10th to the 27th of April. Full details via QRZ.com Now the contest news The FT4 International Activity Day started at 12:00 UTC on Saturday, the 5th of April and ends at 12:00 UTC today, Sunday, the 6th of April. Using FT4 on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. The SP DX Contest started at 1500 UTC on Saturday, the 5th of April and ends at 1500 UTC today, Sunday, the 6th of April. Using CW and SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. SP stations also send their province code. Today, Sunday the 6th of April, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 1000 to 1600 UTC. Using all modes on 1.3 to 3.4GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, Sunday the 6th of April, the Worked All Britain Data Contest runs from 1000UTC to 1400UTC and from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8, FT4, JS8, RTTY and PSK on the 80, 40 and 20m bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number, and your Worked All Britain square. Club and multi-operator stations can only score points in one of the two operating periods. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 17th of April. The full rules are available on the Worked All Britain website. On Monday, the 7th of April, the IRTS 70cm Counties Contest runs from 1300 to 13:30 UTC. Using FM and SSB on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. EI and GI stations also send their country. Also on Monday, the 7th of April, the IRTS 2m Counties Contest runs from 1330 to 1500 UTC. Using FM and SSB on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. EI and GI stations also send their country. On Monday, the 7th of April, the 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday, the 8th of April, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855 UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday, the 8th of April, the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 9th of April, the 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday, the 9th of April, the 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and a four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday, the 10th of April, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 3rd of April 2025 We had a week of mixed solar conditions, but it ended with an SFI of 182 and a Kp of 3.67 on Thursday, the 3rd of April. The geomagnetic field declined to quieter levels following a prolonged period of active, Kp4 conditions earlier on Wednesday due to solar wind enhancements. This impacted propagation, with the critical frequency struggling to get much above 7 MHz on Wednesday. Compare this with the following day, when the critical frequency hit 10.4MHz by 0830 UTC. Nevertheless, there was DX to be worked on Wednesday with FT8 allowing signals from Australia, Japan, Indonesia, China, and Surinam to get into the UK on 21MHz. The solar proton flux was also high on Tuesday, the 1st of April, affecting signals passing through the polar regions, but this had declined by Thursday and was heading back to normal levels. This was due to a large CME observed off the east limb of the Sun on Frida,y the 28th of March. If it had been Earth-directed, we may have seen a massive aurora. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will stay in the 175-185 region. A Kp of six was forecast for yesterday, Saturday the 5th of April, followed by a further period of unsettled geomagnetic conditions due to an enhanced solar wind. If this is the case, we may not get more settled conditions until the 14th to the 16th of April. Nevertheless, this remains a good time for North-South HF paths, such as the UK to South Africa, and UK to South America. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The old forecasting maxim that the ‘longer a high lasts, the longer it will last' is built upon the presence of blocked upper air weather patterns. When the jet stream gets so distorted into a high-amplitude north/south wave, its lateral movement, from west to east, becomes very slow. On the upper air charts, this takes the shape of the Greek letter omega, and this is the current set-up. It means that the weather associated with it also lasts a long time. In this case, it's the high pressure and its spell of fine weather that is likely to last for the whole of the coming week. The position of the high will change, though, starting over the North Sea and ending over the UK and the nearby Atlantic. This means that Tropo will be the mode of choice for the coming period, which includes the 70cm UK Activity Contest on Tuesday and the 6m UK Activity Contest on Thursday. Rain scatter is unlikely during this extended period of dry weather. The meteor scatter options are still mainly driven by random meteors for the coming period into next week, but the next important shower, the Lyrids, peaks on the 22nd of April. The auroral alerts continue to come through, raising interest. As usual, the clue will be fluttery-sounding signals on the bands, particularly noticeable on CW, but they can also be pronounced on speech transmissions. Monitor the Kp index for values above Kp5. There have been a few trans-equatorial openings to Southern Africa on 50MHz digital modes for the fortunate few who live in the extreme south and southwest of the UK, but it did extend up to Cambridgeshire and Suffolk briefly on some days last week. The long drought of Sporadic-E will soon be over, but we're still in the realms of very isolated events for 10m and 6m, which will be short-lasting. The jet stream, which can be a good clue as to potential locations, suggests looking to Scandinavia, the Baltic and northern Europe. EME path losses are falling again, but Moon declination has been at its highest this weekend, so we have long Moon windows. 144MHz sky noise is low throughout the coming week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
En ny SSB-rapport viser at det norske skattenivået har gått nedover de siste 25 årene, mens det i verdens rike land i snitt har gått oppover. Hva har skjedd? Hva slags skatter er det vi betaler i Norge? Og hva er det vi får for skattepengene? Axel Fjeldavli snakker om skattetrykk og offentlige utgifter med Olav Slettebø fra SSB.
En este episodio nos sumergimos en la historia, el presente y la técnica de la modulación en banda lateral única, la SSB. Un recorrido por sus orígenes, su tardía adopción por parte de los radioaficionados, sus ventajas frente a la AM… y cómo sigue siendo la reina indiscutible de la HF. Pero también explicamos y escuchamos la modulación en AM, FM y CW (telegrafía). Escucharás también a EA5GOZ y EA5U, este último activando la estación de concurso EF5U. Además, repasamos el informe mensual de escucha de la AER para abril, y abrimos un pequeño pero apasionado debate sobre la antena telescópica china tipo PAC-12, surgido en el grupo de mecenas del podcast, con intervención destacada de EA9ADD y David, EA3IPX. Consejos de operación, eficiencia de modos, curiosidades históricas y un montón de buena radio... ¡en tu auricular! ¿Nos apoyas para que podamos seguir haciendo este podcast? Puedes apoyarnos en QRP con 1,99€ al mes o un poco más de potencia en QRO, con 5,99€ al mes aquí: https://cqenfrecuencia.com/apoyar/ Notas del Episodio - Los ajustes de la “chintena”, por tramos, para HF (Gracias a Riojanos por la Radio) https://cqenfrecuencia.com/ajuste-tramos-antena-china-de-aliexpress-bandas-hf/ - Web del CQ WW WPX https://www.cqwpx.com/ - Web de la AER https://aer.org.es/ Envía tus preguntas, propuestas de temas o lo que quieras: https://cqenfrecuencia.com/contacto/ O en nuestro canal de Telegram: https://t.me/cqenfrecuencia Y no olvidéis de visitar nuestra web: https://cqenfrecuencia.com No olvides el like, subscribirte y/o darle a la campanita para no perderte ningún episodio de nuestro podcast! Nos encontrarás también en Spotify y Youtube.
This Blind Abilities episode features peer ambassadors Amy and Maddy, who share how Minnesota's State Services for the Blind (SSB) has supported their educational and vocational journeys. From summer camps to career exploration and technology training, SSB has played a vital role in helping them develop independence, self-advocacy, and professional readiness. Transition Coordinator Shane DeSantis explains how SSB collaborates with students, schools, and families starting at age 14, providing individualized services like job shadowing, orientation and mobility training, and Braille instruction. The episode highlights real-world experiences, resources, and the long-term impact of SSB on the lives of blind and visually impaired students. To learn more about the services available through State Services for the Blind and how they can support your independence, contact Shane DeSantis at Shane.DeSantis@state.mn.us or call 651-385-5205. Full Transcript
GB2RS News Sunday, the 30th of March 2025 The news headlines: RSGB AGM – your chance to ask the Board a question The RSGB has published new forms for exam question queries The April Tonight@8 webinar – using a glue stick in a homemade 40m receiver Do you have a question about the RSGB's strategy? Perhaps you have a query about recent licence changes? Or maybe you'd like to understand more about membership growth? Whatever the topic, the Society is asking you to get in touch. RSGB Board members will be answering your questions during the RSGB 2025 AGM on Saturday, the 12th of April. You can submit your question in three ways; live via Zoom, send a written question in advance, or during the live chat on the day. If you'd like to ask a question about the formal part of the AGM, you'll need to do this via Zoom or by submitting a written question in advance. Don't miss out on this opportunity to discuss what matters to you. Your participation in the AGM is important, and the Society looks forward to hearing from you. Find out more about how to be involved and the deadlines for submitting questions by going to rsgb.org/agm As part of its modernisation of the exam systems, the RSGB has introduced online forms for reporting possible errors found in exam questions. These forms replace the current procedure of writing to the Exam Department. RSGB Examinations Standards Chair Tony Kent, G8PBH, explained that there are two forms. The first can only be submitted by exam candidates and is to formally challenge questions in actual exams, where the outcome of a challenge may affect a candidate's result. The second form can be submitted by anyone and is for informal queries of published exam questions, for example, in mock exams. A separate form is needed for each question that you challenge. Please check carefully that you are using the correct form, otherwise, it may delay the process. Your query will be considered by the RSGB Examinations and Syllabus Review Group, who will let you know the outcome. For more information and to find the forms, go to rsgb.org/exam-challenges The next webinar in the RSGB's Tonight@8 series will be with Nick Wood, M0NTV, on Monday, the 7th of April. Nick will show you how to use a regular glue stick housing in a rather novel way to form the basis of a variable tuning inductor in a homemade 40m receiver. After a brief description of a Direct Conversion Receiver and a short technical explanation of how it works, Nick will dive into four separate modules. At the end of the webinar, he will string it all together, and you'll be able to see some video footage of how it sounds and what it can do. Visit rsgb.org/webinars to find out more. Join the presentation live on the RSGB YouTube channel or special BATC channel and ask questions via the live chat. The RSGB is delighted to announce that Chris Aitken, MM0WIC, who is the current RSGB Youth Champion for Schools, is taking on the new position of RSGB Youth Chair. For now, Chris will continue to fulfil his Youth Champion for Schools role but will also take on more responsibilities by leading the Youth Champion team. Chris will work closely with the Board Liaison for Youth, and IARU Youth contacts, to help attract more UK youngsters to amateur radio. Find out more about youth activities by going to rsgb.org/youth If you live in Region 9, London and the Thames Valley, why not support fellow radio amateurs in your area? There are several volunteer vacancies within the region, including several District Representative positions, as well as the Regional Representative role. If you are passionate about amateur radio, enjoy talking with people, and want to give something back to the hobby, get in touch. Go to rsgb.org/volunteers to find out more, and then email the Regional Forum Chair Keith Bird, G4JED, via rr10@rsgb.org.uk SOS Radio Week is an annual event that celebrates the invaluable life-saving work of the volunteers of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the National CoastWatch Institute and the independent lifeboats around the coasts of the British Isles and the Channel Islands. This year, the event starts at 0000 UTC on the 1st of May and concludes at 2359 UTC on the 31st of May. SOS Radio Week stations can be run by individuals or groups, from home or at a special location. To register, go to sosradioweek.org.uk This year's Mills on the Air weekend is taking place on the 10th and 11th of May. Find out more at tinyurl.com/millsontheair or search Mills on the Air on Facebook. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Hack Green Military Surplus and Military Radio Hangar Sale is taking place on Sunday, the 6th of April at Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8AL. Items on sale will include electronic equipment, amateur radio gear, components, military radio items and vehicle spares. For further details, please go to hackgreen.co.uk or email coldwar@hackgreen.co.uk The Yeovil Amateur Radio Club QRP Convention is taking place on Saturday, the 12th of April at Digby Hall in Sherborne. Doors open at 9.30 am. The convention will include traders, bring and buy, club stalls and a café. For more information, please visit the club's website at yeovil-arc.com Now the Special Event news The Royal Air Force Amateur Radio Society, also known as RAFARS, will be holding its popular Airfields On The Air special event activity from the 1st of April. RAF Stations will be activated primarily during the 5th and 6th of April, as well as the 12th and 13th of April. More information can be found via rafars.org/rafaota The Polish Amateur Radio Union is celebrating 95 years since its founding, as well as the centenary of the International Amateur Radio Union. To mark the occasion, ten special event stations will be active between the 11th and 25th of April. Full details of the event, as well as details of available awards, can be found via Hamaward.cloud Now the DX news Alex, K6VHF/HR9 will again be active from the 30th of March until the 6th of April from Roatán island, IOTA reference NA-057. He'll be QRV on 80m to 6m using verticals, Hexbeam, Slopers and a Delta loop using FT8, FT4, SSB, RTTY and CW. QSL direct via K6VHF, OQRS Club Log, and Logbook of The World. Aldir, PY1SAD, is active again from Georgetown in Guyana as 8R1TM until the 26th of April. Aldir will be operating on all bands using CW, SSB, digital and satellite. QSL via eQSL and Logbook of The World. Now the contest news The CQ World Wide WPX SSB Contest started at 0000UTC on Saturday, the 29th of March, and ends at 2359 UTC today, Sunday, the 30th of March. Using SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday, the 1st of April, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855 UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday, the 1st of April, the 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 2nd of April, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and a four-character locator. Also on Wednesday, the 2nd of April, the 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. The UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m Contest is on Wednesday, the 2nd of April and runs from 2000 to 2100 UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator. The FT4 International Activity Day starts at 1200 UTC on Saturday, the 5th of April and ends at 1200 UTC on Sunday, the 6th of April. Using FT4 on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. The SP DX Contest starts at 1500 UTC on Saturday, the 5th of April and ends at 1500 UTC on Sunday, the 6th of April. Using CW and SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. SP stations also send their province code. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 27th of March 2025 Last week's space weather was dominated by a large coronal hole on the Sun. This was probably one of the largest we have seen for many years. Moderate, G2, geomagnetic storming was observed following the arrival of a solar wind stream from the hole, with the wind speed exceeding 600 km/s on Wednesday, the 26th. This pushed the Kp index to 6.33, depressing the MUF slightly. Luckily, the daytime MUF over a 3,000km path mostly stayed above 28 MHz, but it was slow to rise on Thursday, the 27th, when it took until 0900 UTC to reach 28 MHz. At the time of writing, the solar wind speed was more than 800km/s, so we can expect more disruption until at least Saturday, the 29th. Meanwhile, the solar flux index declined to 152 by Thursday, the 27th, with only four small sunspot regions visible. CDXC members have been discussing working New Zealand in the morning at the ZL sunset, often on low power. Listen and look for ZL4OL and ZL2CC, usually on FT8, but if conditions allow CW and SSB. 20m or 40m seems to be the favourite, and the VarAC data mode seems popular in ZL as well. Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will climb again, perhaps to 180 by the 4th of April. However, unsettled geomagnetic conditions are forecast again, beginning on the 3rd. We may expect the Kp index to reach six, which could be the start of at least ten days of disruption. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The overall picture for the weather patterns in the coming week is that of high pressure, which means that Tropo should be available as a good mode for VHF bands. There can be quite strong temperature inversions in the region of large well-developed areas of high pressure. The best performance will usually be around the edges of the high where the height of the inversion and ducting layer is typically between 0.5km and 2km above the ground, and can cover large distances for excellent DX prospects. Occasionally, a shallow ducting layer can form near the ground overnight but often disperses by mid-morning. If you are in a good inversion region, try SSB or CW on the VHF/UHF bands, as paths of up to 1,500km can often be achieved from a good ‘tropo lift'. The reverse side of the high-pressure systems is that we will have low pressure nearby, mainly to the north and west of the UK. Any potential for rain scatter will mainly be over northwestern Britain, although an active front that was moving south on Friday, the 28th of March, was a good candidate for chance rain scatter on the GHz bands. The prospects for meteor scatter are still largely dependent upon random meteors, which are usually best in the hours before dawn. Current solar activity will continue to trigger auroral alerts in the coming week. Now onto Sporadic-E, and last week we had a few out-of-season isolated foEs ‘blips' to between 5- 7 MHz, which was enough to produce propagation on 10m and 6m, albeit very fleetingly. There have already been some equinox-related 6m trans-equatorial propagation or TEP workable from the Southern part of the country, so keep an eye open late morning for Africa and late afternoon for South America. EME path losses have continued to improve until perigee this morning, the 30th of March. Moon declination is still falling, and reached a minimum last Friday, the 28th. Moon windows will increase throughout the coming week. 144MHz sky noise is low, apart from Saturday the 29th when the Sun was close to the Moon in the sky, rising to moderate next Thursday before dropping back to low for the weekend. And that's all from the propagation team this week.
Vi kunne nesten ta og føle på rentenedgangen. Så kom det nye tall fra SSB. Prisveksten er kjempehøy. Rentefesten er avlyst. Eller er den det? Økonomijournalist Sigurd Bjørnestad realitetsorienterer og ser inn i den økonomiske fremtiden. Foto: Jan Thomas Espedal
MIchelle Martin and Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, Alētheia Capital's Head of Consumer and Internet discuss the latest turns of the Chocolate Finance story On 4 March, users of Chocolate finance learnt they could no longer use their Chocolate debit card at AXS. On March 9, a influencer and former affiliate of Chocolate finance Sethify, posted a video sharing why he was pulling all of his funds out of Chocolate finance citing weak relative rates, safety compared to instruments like SSB, and his experience as an affiliate. In this discussion, hear what investors looking for fuss free returns on spare cash can take from this chapter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Double Tap Episode 400 This episode of Double Tap is brought to you by: Brownells, Black Rhino Concealment, Swampfox Optics, Night Fision, and Bowers Group Welcome to Double Tap, episode 400! Your hosts tonight are Jeremy Pozderac, Aaron Krieger, Nick Lynch, and me Shawn Herrin, welcome to the show! Dear WLS Ben Dover - Sent in a question a while ago about muzzle devices for suppressors. It will be a pin and weld 14.5". I was originally going to go with an OCL Polonium but I'm interested in the Griffin dual-lok suppressor package. Is it hearing safe/comfortable? Zack K - What firearms do your wives and Nick's partner either carry or enjoy shooting? Also, in reference to double tap 362, Jeremy how much would one of your hogs cost to test the pig suppressor? Dependable Don - Who would win, Jermey vs a pack of coyotes but locked in a bus? (No notes) Eli K - I have an MPX and a PTR 9CT. Since the PTR already has a tri lug, should I get the ILWT (In Lead We Trust) MPX Tri Lug Adapter? I plan to get a Wardog K9 with the Vers 3-Lug adapter. Also, will I be happy with the Wardog on these guns? I know I'm sacrificing some performance vs the VERS 9, but the Wardog looks awesome. This will be my first suppressor. Mike - Dear WLS! I can't keep this to myself any longer! I've been watching you for so long Aaron. I just need to say I want to pummel your SSB like there's no tomorrow! Shawn has to sit in the cuck chair to see what will be cumming for him in the end days when the cult comes for their pound of his SSB. Oooookay now the real question. I work construction and I want your opinions on how to carry everyday when going to work. I can't keep the pistol on me all day because I'm doing to much movement that would expose the firearm so should I get a safe for my car and just leave it in my car during the day or what are your suggestions. Also most sites are not a fenced in site. PS. Get Savages bitch ass back on the damn show. If we have to go to his house as the cult to take him back then we shall! Thanks gays! You're the best and sorry for the long one. Keep pounding our ear pussies! Alex W - Hi. I have an old Ruger Blackhawk that I bought used with an aftermarket set of white plastic imitation ivory grips on it. I like how they look but they hang down below the bottom of the grip frame by like 1/32 of an inch. Is there a good way to sand down plastic grips like that to match the grip frame without them ending up looking like shit? I wouldn't care but that little overhang tends to bite into my hand with hard kicking rounds. Nick B - Hey guys I just picked up a raging hunter 500 magnum with the 8” barrel. Looking for suggestions on which Gideon red dot you'd recommend. Don't have anything from them yet, but since they meet the criteria for you to work with them I really want to give them a try. The use case is just a range toy really and I like red dots. Thanks in advance and keep up the awesome work! the gat lab - Opinions on forced reset & binary triggas and Hoffman Tactical Super Safety's. More importantly are they made of cast metal, steel or STAINless steel?... cuz there's a difference, obviously. WLS is life gang gang bang gang gang bang 4eva The winner of this week's swag pack is Zack K! To win your own, go to welikeshooting.com/dashboard and submit a question! Gun Industry News Dead Air Launches New Mojave 45 Suppressor Dead Air released the Mojave 45 suppressor, featuring an advanced baffle design for better sound reduction and less recoil. It's lightweight, made of titanium, and comes in two sizes. The MSRP is $1,099. It supports various firearms, has a modular setup for quick changes, and is full-auto rated for certain calibers. The suppressor is currently available. Adept Armor Launches New Lightweight Foam for Safety Adept Armor launched Ivoryguard™,
This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #HamradioOur guests today are Max, ON5UR, Ron PA3EWP, and Joe, W8GEX. All three are experienced, passionate DXers and the conversation should be lively and informative. The best description of the upcoming DXPedition comes from Bernie, W3UR. He wrote “The DX-Adventure team is embarking on a DXpedition to the Andaman Islands (AS-001) as VU4AX from March 10th to March 20th, 2025. The team, consisting of 12 experienced operators, will be active around the clock on multiple bands from 10m to 160m, including WARC + 60m, using CW, SSB, and DIGI modes. They will operate six stations, transporting 1,150kg of meticulously prepared equipment to ensure the best possible experience. The DXpedition aims to provide a rare opportunity for QSOs, especially for USA operators, as VU4 ranks #28 for the USA and #53 worldwide. The team is supported by three experienced Pilot Stations: W2IRT Peter, E21EIC Champ, and ON9CFG Bjorn. They will closely monitor propagation conditions to maximize the chances of contacts with stations across the United States. Updates and contact details for the Pilot Stations can be found on the DX-Adventure website - https://www.dx-adventure.com The DX-Adventure team looks forward to making a QSO with you from VU4 South Andaman. Resources mentioned include:DX Adventures https://www.dx-adventure.com/en/home-eng/Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.orgDaily DX https://www.dailydx.com/DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/
Hello and Welcome to the DX Corner for your weekly Dose of DX as part of Ham Radios oldest Ham Radio Magazine on the air, “This week in amateur radio.” I'm Bill, AJ8B. I am not sure how many of you are interested in 60M, but overall interest is growing. One of my best friends, Joe, W8GEX, produces a 60-meter newsletter. Joe is considered by many as the godfather of 60m. With almost 250 entities confirmed on 60, I can understand why. New Zealand stations ZL4OL and ZL2CC have been heard around 0700z. Watch your 60m packet cluster for these advid 60M operators. 4U1UN has been on 60m recently. Keep an eye out for that one also. Some of the rare DX on 60 meters recently has included A51AE, 7Q6M, and T77C.Don't forget to have a look at our website 60metersonline.com. There are details about our DXCC and WAS Awards for 60 meters. . Thanks, Joe, for letting me use this information. You can learn more about 60 meters by checking out the DX Mentor podcast, episode 24. (https://youtu.be/Mq7YN6euHHM ) Just go to YouTube or your podcast app and search for The DX Mentor. Episode 24 will give you all the details about getting on 60 meters. This section of DX News comes from Bernie, W3UR, editor of the DailyDX, the WeeklyDX, and the How's DX column in QST. If you would like a free 2-week trial of the DailyDX, your only source of real-time DX information, just drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com Inveterate DXpeditioner IV3FSG, Elvira, will operate D68Z from March 3 until at least March 18. Elvira is currently QRV. She will be operating on 160-6M CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8, and FT4. Elvira will use three ICOM IC-7300 radios, with one dedicated to 6M (grid locator LH18og) operational around the clock. The antenna setup will include a 6M delta loop, a DX Commander vertical for 30-10M, and an IWØRGN multiband vertical for 160-10M. To minimize duplicate QSOs, please verify Club Log online and Club Log LiveStream. For digital QSOs, monitor D68Z on PSK Reporter. IKØXBX, Francesco, will be the pilot station for this DXpedition. QSL cards are available via OQRS and LoTW. The VK9XU team ended their Christmas Island operation on Tuesday at 0257Z with around 58,000 QSOs, surpassing expectations. They thanked everyone for their discipline in the pileups. The team is now heading to Cocos (Keeling) Island. Arriving after sunset, they will start limited activity the first night and set up antennas the next day. They look forward to working everyone as VK9CU on Cocos. The DX-Adventure team is embarking on a DXpedition to the Andaman Islands (AS-001) as VU4AX from March 10th to March 20th, 2025. The team, consisting of 12 experienced operators, will be active around the clock on multiple bands from 10m to 160m, including WARC + 60m, using CW, SSB, and DIGI modes. They will operate six stations, transporting 1,150kg of meticulously prepared equipment to ensure the best possible experience. The DXpedition aims to provide a rare opportunity for QSOs, especially for USA operators, as VU4 ranks #28 for the USA and #53 worldwide. The team is supported by three experienced Pilot Stations: W2IRT Peter J. Dougherty, E21EIC Champ, and ON9CFG Bjorn. They will closely monitor propagation conditions to maximize the chances of contacts with stations across the United States. Updates and contact details for the Pilot Stations can be found on the DX-Adventure website - https://www.dx-adventure.com The DX-Adventure team looks forward to making a QSO with you from VU4 South Andaman. The DX Mentor podcast recently interview the DX-Adventure team. When that is available, I will let you know, or you can subscribe to the DX Mentor podcast and YouTube Channel to be updated.Until next week, this is Bill, AJ8B saying 73 and thanks to my XYL Karen for her love and support. I Hope to hear you in the pileups!
SCRIPT:Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2471 for Friday, March 7th, 2025 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2471 with a release date of Friday, March 7th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.The following is a QST. A survey reveals some important trends in Brazilian amateur radio. Huntsville's new museum of communications and technology is open -- and the founder of the Hurricane Watch Net becomes a Silent Key. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2471 comes your way right now.** BILLBOARD CART**SURVEY GIVES DETAILED SNAPSHOT OF HAM RADIO IN BRAZILPAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to Brazil where a recent survey is providing a detailed look at trends among hams in South America's largest nation. Jeremy Boot G4NJH shares some of its findings.JEREMY: An important snapshot of the state of amateur radio in Brazil has provided the national ham radio society and the telecommunications regulator with insights into relevant trends. The sampling of 940 hams in 27 states and 350 cities was conducted in May of 2024 by Guillermo Crimerius, PY2BIL, a member of the board of the Sao Paulo chapter of LABRE, the Liga de Amadores Brasileiros de Rádio Emissão. Guillermo told Newsline that the findings are also being shared with the regulator ANATEL.He said that the findings held no surprises but many details were nonetheless significant. Brazil's ham radio community remains predominantly male, with women comprising only 2 percent of the hobby. Survey results also showed that hams are an aging population in Brazil: 72% are between 40 and 70 years old, with most of them between 40 and 60. While new licensees continue to join Brazil's ham community every year, there is low membership in clubs and associations, giving little opportunity for the networking and skills training usually provided by them. Guillermo writes: [quote] "This scenario has had an impact on new generations of hams,who face difficulties in learning the essential technical matters and especially the operational and cultural activities." [endquote]For a full copy of the report, which is downloadable, visit the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.orgThis is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.(GUILLERMO CRIMERIUS, PY2BIL)**NOMINATE THE NEXT "YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR"PAUL/ANCHOR: We remind our listeners that young hams who live in the continental United States have an opportunity to make news, if they aren't already doing so, by being a recipient of this year's Amateur Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award. Consider nominating an amateur radio operator 18 years of age or younger -- someone who has talent, promise and a commitment to the spirit of ham radio. Find application forms on our website arnewsline.org under the "YHOTY" tab. Nominations are now open. We are accepting nominations through May 31st.**BRANDMEISTER DMR PHASING OUT SOME RADIO IDSPAUL/ANCHOR: Certain Radio IDs that have been in use on the Brandmeister DMR network are going away later this year. Sel Embee KB3TZD explains.SEL: The Brandmeister DMR network has announced that it is phasing out its support of certain Radio IDs that do not comply with the Mobile Country Code, or MCC, numbering system. This means that by June, radio operators with certain DMR IDs will need to request new numbers to be assigned to their radios. The first phase of these changes will begin on the 1st of June, when Brandmeister will stop supporting five-digit CAP+ IDs. Starting on the 1st of January, 2026, radios with seven-digit personal radio IDs that begin with the numeral 1 will also stop working on the network. In making this announcement, Brandmeister assured repeater operators that it will continue indefinite support of repeaters that have six-digit radio IDs.Brandmeister said in its announcement in late February that this an effort to address improperly numbered Radio IDs – something Brandmeister has been trying to contain for seven years. It said on its website: [quote] The Brandmeister DMR platform is a constantly evolving system, requiring regular optimizations and maintenance to ensure its efficiency, reliability, and alignment with global open standards.” [Endquote]New IDs can be obtained through Radio ID (Radio Eye Dee) dot net (Radioid.net).For further instructions visit the Brandmeister link that appears in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.orgThis is Sel Embee KB3TZD.[DO NOT READ: news.brandmeister.network](NEWS.BRANDMEISTER.NETWORK, AMATEUR NEWS DAILY)**3 IRISH "KILMOLIN CLUSTER" BEACONS GO QRT TO RELOCATEPAUL/ANCHOR: A trio of beacons in Ireland have been taken out of service in preparation for being moved, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.JEREMY: In Ireland, three beacons that have been operating from a site south of Dublin have gone QRT to allow for their relocation. The EI4RF, EI1KNH and EIØSIX beacons have been part of what is known as the Kilmolin cluster. They had been hosted by Paddy Geoghegan, EI5HS, who became a Silent Key last year.The beacons, which have a new owner, went off the air in mid-February and are expected to slowly come back. According to reports on groups.io and the SWLing Post blog, the EI4RF 4-metre beacon is expected to be the first to return, perhaps by May just as sporadic-E season begins. The EIØSIX beacon is expected to follow sometime afterward on 6-metres. It was unclear how and when service will be restored on the EI1KHN beacon, which operated on 40 and 60 MHz. It is also unclear whether this beacon will need to be assigned a new callsign.This is Jeremy Boot GF4NJH.(EI7GI BLOG, QRZ.COM, SWLING POST)**UNIVERSITY IS W. BENGAL'S 1ST TO HAVE HAM CLUB STATIONPAUL/ANCHOR: Students and faculty in India are celebrating the establishment of the first state-of-the-art shack on a West Bengal state university campus. Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us more.GRAHAM: Aliah University, a state university that created for the education of many of India's minority populations, is about to become the first university in West Bengal with its own state-of-the-art ham radio club station.The announcement was made in late February in connection with a seminar held on the Kolkata campus introducing students and faculty to various aspects of amateur radio. The one-day session, held on the 24th of February, covered emergency communications and radio technology and included hands-on experience for the estimated 250 attendees. It was led by members of the West Bengal Radio Club, the Indian Academy of Communication and Disaster Management and organized by the school's Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering. A number of other schools have hosted similar amateur radio workshops throughout the region, which is a coastal area subject to violent storms and other natural disasters that rely on alternate forms of communication. This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.(MILLENNIUM POST)**BROADCAST TRADE SHOW DROPS RECEPTION FOR HAMSPAUL/ANCHOR: Hams will no doubt be among those visiting the National Association of Broadcasters annual trade show again this year but something will be missing, as we learn from Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.RALPH: The annual trade show of the National Association of Broadcasters is welcoming industry professionals once again this year to Las Vegas in April. One traditional event will be missing from this year's show, however: There will be no separate reception for amateur radio operators.Hams, of course, are still welcome. Indeed, many broadcast professionals - especially those on the engineering side - enjoy an active and robust time on the air on the amateur bands. A posting on the Radio World website said that this year's ham reception was not on the schedule. The reception had been hosted for a long time by Bob Heil K9EID, who became a Silent Key last year.The article said that organizers are hoping to [quote] "reinvent the event for next year by exploring fresh partnerships and innovative ideas." [endquote]In the meantime, licensed hams who work in the industry can still look forward to the usual opportunities for networking and learning about new technology. The NAB Show takes place between April 5th and 9th at the Las Vegas Convention Center.This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.(RADIO WORLD)**BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WB3GXW repeater in Silver Spring, Maryland and simultaneously on EchoLink Conference Server Node 6154 on Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM Eastern time.**DX INDIA FOUNDATION PREPARES FOR DXPEDITIONNEIL/ANCHOR: In India, there's a new DX foundation that has lots of energy and ambition - and plans for a rarely activated island. We learn more from Jason Daniels VK2LAW.JASON: It's still early in the game for the newly organized not-for-profit DX India Foundation but the team has already announced ambitious plans to increase India's presence on the DX map. As part of its mission to activate rare IOTA islands, conduct DXpeditions and provide DX and POTA chasers with a chance to work different entities in India, the team has its sights set on Arnala Island, IOTA number AS-169, which is near Mumbai. According to an announcement from the team, the island has had no amateur radio activity since 2006. Hams from the DX India Foundation have applied to use the callsign AU2M and hope to be on the air from the 29th of May through to the 1st of June. Later plans include a 10-day adventure to the Lakshadweep archipelago off the coast of Kerala [CARE-ruh-luh] in southern India.The DX India Foundation has also established an online forum in groups.io to encourage a sense of international community for chasers and activators. In between trips, the foundation's activity will be focused on training and mentoring other radio operators.This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.(DX INDIA FOUNDATION)**HUNTSVILLE'S ‘SIGNALS' MUSEUM OPENS IN ALABAMAPAUL/ANCHOR: Huntsville, Alabama, home of the Huntsville Hamfest, has a new way to celebrate technology and, of course, amateur radio. To welcome the museum and honor the spirit and advancements made in technology, Newsline is departing from the norm this week. This report is being read via artificial intelligence and a correspondent known as AI-Drew.AI-DREW: On March 1st, the SIGNALS Museum of Information Explosion opened its doors to what founders hope will be an immersive and hands-on environment for visitors. The museum, housed a short drive from where the Huntsville Hamfest is held each year, has an array of exhibits devoted to communications technology in all its forms throughout history. Amateur radio operators who are visiting will be particularly interested in the ham shack, a welcoming space for regional radio clubs and other radio operators to meet or work on building equipment. The museum also has an on-site radio tower.Whether you live in the area or plan to visit Huntsville this year, the museum will welcome you. Visit their website at signals hyphen museum dot org. (signals-museum.org)This is AI-Drew.(SIGNALS MUSEUM)**SILENT KEY: GERRY MURPHY, K8YUW, FOUNDER OF THE HURRICANE WATCH NETPAUL/ANCHOR: Atlantic hurricane season is still a few months away but hams and forecasters will be going forward into this year's season without the man who created the Hurricane Watch Net 60 years ago. He has become a Silent Key, as we hear from Randy Sly W4XJ.RANDY: It can be said that the seeds of the Hurricane Watch Net were planted in 1965 as Hurricane Betsy raged its way through the Bahamas, making landfall in the US that September. Gerald Murphy, K8YUW, who was stationed by the US Navy in Rhode Island at the time, was also handling messages and phone patches for the Intercontinental Amateur Radio Net. When hurricane-specific traffic started to overwhelm the regular net's messages on their 20m frequency, Gerry suggested that those messages be handled 5 kHz higher. Marcy Rice, KZ5MM, who was in the Panama Canal Zone QSY'd with him up to 14.325 MHz and that was the genesis of the Hurricane Watch Net.The net has become the backbone of a robust communications system during storm season. Trained hams share advisories, data and post-storm damage information in affected areas with national hurricane centers in the US and, when needed, Canada.Gerry, who became a Silent Key on the 25th of February at the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky, leaves behind this vibrant legacy. He served as net manager from September of 1965 until February of 1988, staying on afterward as assistant net manager. Health issues compelled him to retire from the net in March 1991.The Hurricane Watch Net has been planning an on-air special event in September to mark its 60th anniversary. Net manager Bobby Graves,KB5HAV, told Newsline [quote] "I was hoping and praying Jerry would make it to see his creation's 60th Anniversary this coming Labor Day....We will endeavor to make it even more special." [endquote]Gerry was 88.This is Randy Sly W4XJ.(BOBBY GRAVES, KB5HAV; EDDIE MISIEWICZ, KB3YRU)**WORLD OF DXIn the World of DX, Chris, WA7RAR, is on the air until the 16th of March from Barbados, IOTA Number NA-ØØ21. He is using the callsign 8P9CB, operating SSB and CW on 20-10 metres. Some of his locations are POTA sites. See QRZ.com for QSL details.Rockwell, WW1X, is using the callsign VP5/WW1X from Providenciales, IOTA Number NA-ØØ2 in the Turks and Caicos Islands from the 8th through to the 15th of March. This is a QRP operation using only SSB, although Rockwell has not ruled out occasional use of FT8. QSL via LoTW.Listen for Aldir, PY1SAD, who is using the callsign 8R1TM from Georgetown, Guyana, between the 11th of March and the 26th of April. Aldir is using CW, SSB and the digital modes on the HF bands. He is also operating via satellite. See QRZ.com for QSL details.Members of the Korean Amateur Radio League are on the air in March and April to celebrate the centenary of the International Amateur Radio Union. They are using the callsign HL1ØØIARU. See QRZ.com for QSL details.(425 DX BULLETIN)**KICKER: ECHOES OF A DIFFERENT WAY TO LEARN CWPAUL/ANCHOR: We end this week's report with an alternate way in which some hams in New Zealand got to learn and practice CW while having real QSOs. We'll let Jim Meachen ZL2BHF explain how it happened.JIM: If you've ever wondered whether Echolink is a viable mode for teaching or learning CW, just ask Ted ZL1BQA, who is proud to have logged a respectable number of CW contacts during the recent Jock White Memorial Field Day in New Zealand. Studying CW for almost a year with the Franklin Amateur Radio Club, Ted was able to restart his long-ago code skills in sessions led by the club president Peter Henderson ZL1PX. It was done over Echolink.Ted had enrolled last May along with three younger members who were first-time learners - Francois, ZL4FJ, Steve, ZL1TZP and Steve ZL1SPR. With only Ted able to copy Peter's signal over HF, the club followed a suggestion made by Gary ZL1GAC: try Echolink, a computer-based ham radio mode that incorporates VoIP technology. Loading CW software onto his computer, Peter was able to send the code intended for each session, confident that everyone had an equal chance of copying clearly.Weekly sessions soon expanded to twice a week as the students concentrated on letters, then numbers - and eventually basic punctuation.After a break in the action, the club is back on Echolink with CW sessions three nights a week. As for Ted, he's on a roll. Peter told Newsline in an email that he has resumed making CW contacts on a daily basis on HF using the Vibroplex that once collected dust instead of QSOs.This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.(QUA, Peter Henderson, ZL1PX)**Have you sent in your amateur radio haiku to Newsline's haiku challenge yet? It's as easy as writing a QSL card. Set your thoughts down using traditional haiku format - a three-line verse with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the third. Submit your work on our website at arnewsline.org - each week's winner gets a shout-out on our website, where everyone can find the winning haiku.NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur News Daily; Bobby Graves, KB5HAV; Brandmeister; David Behar K7DB; DX India Foundation; Eddie Misiewicz, KB3YRU; EI7GI Blog; Guillermo Crimerius, PY2BIL; Millennium Post; Peter Henderson, ZL1PX; QRZ.com; QUA Newsletter; Radio World; shortwaveradio.de; SWLing Post; Wireless Institute of Australia; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.
Foundations of Amateur Radio Recently I received a lovely email from Michele IU4TBF asking some pertinent questions about the Bald Yak project. If you're unfamiliar, the Bald Yak project aims to create a modular, bidirectional and distributed signal processing and control system that leverages GNU Radio. The short answer to how I'm doing getting GNU Radio to play nice with my computer is that I have bruises on my forehead from banging my head against the wall. When I get to success I'll document it. To be clear, I'm not sure what the root cause is. I suspect it lies between the GNU Radio developers, the people making packages and the manufacturer of my computer. I'm the lucky one stuck in the middle. A more interesting question that Michele asked was, for Bald Yak, what is the A/D and D/A requirement for making GNU Radio talk to an antenna? This is a much deeper question that meets the eye and I think it serves as a way to discuss what I think that this project looks like. Ultimately in the digital realm, to receive, an analogue antenna signal needs to be converted to digital using an Analogue to Digital or A/D converter, and to transmit, the reverse uses a Digital to Analogue or D/A converter to make an electrical signal appear on your antenna. The specific A/D or D/A converter determines what you can do. The sampling rate of such a converter determines what frequencies it can handle, the sample size determines the range of signals it can handle. You can compare it with a video screen. The sample rate determines how many pixels on the screen, the sample size determines how many colours in each pixel. The sample rate of an A/D converter is measured in samples per second. If the device only has one channel, you could think of this as Hertz, but if there are multiple channels, like say a sound-card, the sample rate is likely equally divided across each channel. You might have a sound card capable of 384 thousand samples per second, or kilo-samples, but if it supports simultaneous stereo audio input and output, only 96 of those 384 kilo-samples will be allocated to each channel and only half of those will actually help reconstruct the audio signal, leaving you with 48 kHz audio. In other words, the advertised frequency response might not have a direct and obvious relationship with the sample rate. At the moment I have access to a few different A/D and D/A converters. The simplest one, a USB audio sound card, appears to do up to 192 kilo-samples at 16 bits. The next one, an RTL-SDR tops out at a theoretical rate of 3.2 million or mega-samples at 8 bits. The Analog Devices ADALM-PLUTO, or PlutoSDR handles 61.44 mega-samples at 12 bits. Now, to be clear, there are other limitations and considerations which I'm skipping over. Consider for example the speed at which each of these devices can talk to a computer, in this case over USB. I'm also going to ignore things like mixers, allowing devices like the RTL-SDR and PlutoSDR to tune across frequency ranges that go beyond their sample rate. Each of these three devices can convert an analogue antenna signal into bits that can be processed by GNU Radio. All of them can also be used to do the opposite and transmit. Yes, you heard me, several amateurs figured out that an RTL-SDR can actually transmit. Credit to Ismo OH2FTG, Tatu OH2EAT, and Oscar IK1XPV. The point being that whatever Bald Yak looks like, it will need to handle a range of A/D and D/A converters. As I've said previously, I'm aiming for this to work incrementally for everyone. This means that if you have a sound card in your computer or an $8 USB one, this should work and if you have an $33,000 NI Ettus USRP X410 lying around, this too should work. Also, if you have an X410 lying around not doing anything, I'd be happy to put it to use, you know, for testing. So, kidding aside, what about the rest of the Bald Yak experience? GNU Radio works with things called blocks. Essentially little programs that take data, do something to it, then output it in some way. It follows the Unix philosophy, make each program do one thing well, expect the output of every program to become the input to another, design and build software to be tried early and use tools rather than unskilled labour. Amateur radio transceivers traditionally use electronics blocks, but if we move to software, we can update and expand our capabilities as the computer we're using gets faster and the GNU Radio blocks evolve, and because it's all digital the computer doesn't actually have to be in the same box, let alone the same room, it could be in multiple boxes scattered around the Internet. So, the idea of Bald Yak is a collection of blocks that allow you to do radio things. You might have a separate box for each amateur radio mode, AM, FM, SSB, RTTY, CW, WSPR, FT8, FT4, Q65, but also modes like Olivia, FreeDV, SSTV, Packet, PSK31 or Thor. Instead of having to figure out how to wire these modes into your radio and your computer, the infrastructure is already there and you just download another block for a mode you want to play with. We'll need to deal with variables like which A/D and D/A converter is being used and what their limitations are. We'll also need to build a command and control layer and probably a few other things. I'm considering a few other aspects. For example, GNU Radio is mostly run with text files. We might distribute those using something like a web store. GNU Radio is proving hard to install, perhaps a LiveCD is the way to go. We'll need to come up with a base level of functionality and the documentation to go with it. I'm still contemplating how to best licence this all, specifically to stop it from being exploited. Feel free to get in touch if you have ideas. I'm Onno VK6FLAB
Hvor annerledes hadde Norge sett ut dersom økonomer fikk bestemme politikken? Hadde skattene vært lavere? Hadde velferdsstaten vært mindre omfattende? Og hva med samferdselspolitikken? Og hvor uenig er økonomer internt om hva som er den beste politikken? Gjester: Steinar Juel, samfunnsøkonom i Civita, Øystein Olsen, samfunnsøkonom i Civita, Ola Kvaløy, professor i samfunnsøkonomi ved Universitetet i Stavanger, Maria Berg Reinertsen, journalist i Morgenbladet, Ellen Kathrine Nyhus, professor i markedsføring ved Handelshøyskolen ved Universitetet i Agder og Olav Slettebø, seniorrådgiver i SSB.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could bacteria help organisms survive the cold? More on today's episode of SSB.Music by Muzaproduction from Pixabayhttps://www.instagram.com/sciencewithdr_k/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2EttB4pjdZ4WrU3-z4RqPghttps://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adk9117
Hvorfor har så mange politikere omfavnet Martin Bech Holtes bok hvis den er så full av feil som en del økonomer hevder? Hvor langt kommer man med en plausibel hypotese og god historiefortelling? Og er ikke egentlig alle enige om at vi kan kutte hundre milliarder med sløseri? Minervapodden har fått besøk av SSB-økonom Olav Slettebø
Foundations of Amateur Radio The other day I was sitting on the couch lounging about when I came up with an idea and there and then I picked up a circuit board, soldered down a hundred or so components and built a noise cancelling gadget, all within about an hour .. right there, on my couch. Yeah, that didn't happen, least of all, my soldering skills are not up to scratch, never mind the couch. I did however build a noise cancelling circuit, on my couch, in about an hour, but no soldering iron was hurt and the room didn't smell of chicken afterwards. Instead I used GNU Radio to put together a series of blocks that allow me to apply noise cancelling to a signal. How does this work? Well, imagine a signal mixed together with the negative version of that signal, think of it as swapping positive and negative if you like. If you mix two identical signals together, one of them inverted, you end up with nothing, because they cancel each other out, where one is high, the other is opposite and low and vice versa. Mix a high signal with a low signal, you end up half-way. If they're the same but opposite, half-way is zero. Hearing nothing is not helpful, but what if the two signals were slightly different, let's say, one is connected to a proper 10m antenna and the other is connected to an antenna that picks up local noise. We'll call the antenna on 10m the "signal" and the local noise antenna the "noise". If you mix these together, you end up with a signal and noise combined, but if you invert the noise signal, you can, at least theoretically, filter out the noise that's common to both antennas. Now I did say "theoretically" and that's because while it sounds simple, it's far from it. Unless you have a special radio, the two signals are not coming from the same device and won't really be identical where it matters. For example, let's call it the volume or gain of one might be higher than the other. One might arrive slightly later than the other if the coax isn't the same length or the electronics in both radios are different. There are other things too, but let's just stay with this for a moment. You could amplify or attenuate one or both signals to make them the same or similar levels. You could change the phase, think of it as the time when a signal starts, and synchronise the two signals in time manually. Of course whilst you're doing this, inside GNU Radio, the computer is doing some serious math, which takes time to make these changes, which introduces further delays you'll also need to account for. Building it was simple. Testing it much less so. After coming to grips with the USB port on my computer, which for reasons best known to the manufacturer, cough, Apple, switches off ports that are in use, I managed to get two RTL-SDR dongles connected and working. This involved removing GNU Radio, which was installed using a tool called "homebrew", then installing it instead using "radioconda", twice, since the first time the installer failed with an error, actually three times, because the failed installation left all manner of rubbish behind, so that needed to be removed; then I had to disconnect my keyboard and track pad, because for reasons only known to the manufacturer, yeah, the same one, they won't play nice if there's an RTL-SDR dongle plugged into the USB-C hub, I finally got this running, which in turn involved figuring out what the GNU Radio "Device Arguments" look like for a locally connected dongle, in case you're wondering, it's "rtl=0" for the first one and "rtl=1" for the second. Clearly this project is living up to its name, Bald Yak. Now I can invert a signal, I can amplify and attenuate it, change the phase, shift the frequency, swap the I and Q, do a complex conjugate, and have a user interface that can change these settings as required. I'm going to ignore the hour of my life I'm not getting back to understand how variables, parameters and user interface items hang together and how they interact. It's logical, but it takes a bit to wrap your head around it and I'm a software developer, so I don't envy you if you're not. Anyway, I tuned to a local FM broadcast radio station and couldn't make any noise go away. I then discovered that my noise antenna was picking up the station just fine, so that didn't help. Then I swapped radios, actually, I just swapped the zero and the one in the "Device Argument" fields and tried again. In the process I discovered how you can create a so-called "Hierarchical Block" in GNU Radio and to my delight also discovered that there is one that can have a user interface, so I can make a stand-alone block, that has a user interface, that I can use in another project, which is how I intend Bald Yak to function. So, changing stations, I could finally hear noise, but still no reduction. Then I realised that I was using FM, not single side band, so I started hunting for an SSB decoder but had to abandon ship to go and do life. Overnight I realised that if everything went to plan, the two FM signals should have cancelled each other out, making silence, which they didn't, despite my efforts. So, at this point I have a thing that can alter noise and mix it with a signal for the purposes of noise reduction. That it doesn't work is potentially because I have not enough range in my adjustments, or too much range with not enough steps, just as likely it's because I'm missing some fundamental understanding somewhere. If you have any documentation I should read, please don't be shy. As life adventures go, I'm hooked, but it's not without shaving Yaks, Bald or otherwise. I'm Onno VK6FLAB
Send us a textIn this exclusive fireside chat, Dr. Jacque Sokolov, Chairman and CEO of SSB, shares his journey through 30+ years of healthcare innovation, investment, and entrepreneurship. With multiple billion-dollar exits, including a Decacorn, and managing one of the largest LLCs with over 1,000 investors, Dr. Sokolov offers invaluable lessons on scaling businesses, identifying healthcare opportunities, and navigating complex markets.Key highlights include:- The $5 trillion U.S. healthcare market's untapped potential.- Opportunities in physician practice management, mRNA, DNA, and AI-enabled applications.- Building strategic partnerships for growth.- Advice for founders and investors seeking 10x to 30x returns.Don't miss this deep dive into healthcare and life sciences with one of the industry's most accomplished leaders.
Foundations of Amateur Radio When you key your transceiver, as-in, you trigger the Push To Talk or PTT button, you close a switch that activates the transmitter and in turn allows your voice to make it through the microphone and radio, via the coax out to the antenna and the world. When you release the button, the transmission stops. This is pretty much how we're taught that a radio transceiver works, essentially switching between transmit and receive, depending on the state of that magic switch. If you want to create a transmitter in software using GNU Radio, you might get to a point where you start looking for a conditional block, a magic piece of code that you can add to the system that checks the state of the PTT button and sets the state of your contraption accordingly. In programming terms, you might start looking for an IF .. THEN .. ELSE block, as in, IF PTT THEN transmit ELSE receive. Let me save you the trouble of looking for such a thing, because it doesn't exist. With that revelation you are forgiven if you come to the conclusion that you cannot create a PTT system using GNU Radio. It's a perfect example of attempting to think in a certain way and I'd like to show you that there are alternatives if only to help you experience an insight into how we do the things we do. I've told this story before, but it bears repeating. Over a decade ago I was helping with the erection of an antenna during a field day. It was a massive multi-element 10m yagi, heavy, unwieldy and precariously bolted to the top of a spindly mast strapped to the tray of a ute. Before lifting it to the top of the mast I was tasked with checking the SWR. I dutifully plugged in the coax, turned on my radio, keyed the microphone and confidently reported a 1:1 SWR. Over the next hour the antenna was manhandled into the air by half a dozen people and we set about making noise only to discover that the SWR was horrible. My lesson was that you need to whistle or hum into the microphone when you use SSB to test the SWR. Said differently, using SSB, if you transmit no sound, there is no signal and no standing wave to measure. Right now you're likely to picture a PTT switch as switching between open and closed. In one state nothing gets through, in the other, everything gets through. For example, you could construct a switch where in one position your analogue signal is connected to ground and disappears. In the other state it reappears. If you think about it, yelling into the microphone whilst not activating the PTT does exactly this. A Software Defined Radio or SDR uses an Analogue to Digital Converter, or ADC, to receive an analogue signal from an antenna and convert it into a series of numbers. To transmit, it uses the reverse, a Digital to Analogue Converter, or DAC, that converts a series of numbers into an analogue signal. No analogue signal means a voltage that doesn't change. In the digital world, it's the same, a series of numbers that don't change. When you multiply a number by zero, you get zero and when you multiply a number by one, you get the number. So, if you were to take a digital signal, which is nothing more than a series of numbers, and multiply it with zero, you'd get a series of zeros. If you multiply it by one, you'd get the original numbers. If you sent that series to a SDR transmitter, remember, it's essentially nothing more than a Digital to Analogue Converter, you'd get either no signal when you were converting only zeros, or you'd get an analogue signal when you're converting numbers. So, if you made a button that changed a variable to one when you pressed it and changed it to zero when you released it, you could multiply your digital signal by that variable and switch between getting a series of numbers or a series of zeros. Remind you of anything? That button, that changes between zero and one is your software defined PTT. It represents the software version of a switch and it shows us that signal processing requires that you look at problems in subtly different ways. This all to illustrate that using GNU Radio is going to take some time to get your head around. For some this happened years ago, for others like myself, we're in the thick of it. While you're thinking about that, consider time. What type of time accuracy would you need to synchronise two signals from two different antennas and why would you want to? I'm Onno VK6FLAB
Frp har tatt en politisk finte og fått oppsiktsvekkende tall fra SSB om kriminalitet og bakgrunn. Oslo-politikerne har rotet litt, men landet såvidt på bena etter budsjettbråk og Jonas Gahr Støre fikk både en måling og interne avslag rett i fleisen denne uken. Lars har lest seg opp på den store melkestriden og Sarah tar et oppgjør med dating-kutyme. Hør episoden hos Podme eller i Aftenposten-appen.
Send us a textThis week Nate and Liz discuss Nate's prep for his upcoming meet on the 17th as well as the Fortis Powerlifting Team prep as they prepare to compete the 16th and 17th. Then they discuss more fun movement pairs including shrugs vs heavy deadlifts, SSB vs Cambered bar and more. Tune in for a fun, informative conversation.Support the showThanks for listening! Please remember to subscribe to the podcast, leave us a rating and share it with your friends so we can continue to grow.-You can now become a Fortis Powerlifting Podcast + subscriber by using the link below! This will help support the podcast as we continue to grow and we will give you a shoutout on the next episode after you subscribe as well as give you top priority for different topics or discussions you'd like us to have on the podcast. Thank you for your support!https://www.buzzsprout.com/1369834/support-Follow us on social media for daily powerlifting content including workouts, helpful tips and client sucess stories!@fortispowerlifting-SPONSORED BY@trashpandatactical FORTISPOWER to save
Foundations of Amateur Radio The hobby of amateur radio is one of experimentation and change. For decades this came in the form of circuit diagrams, components and scrounged hardware from anything that wasn't bolted down. New functionality came with the aid of a soldering iron. More recently, functionality comes from participation in the global electronics market where you can buy any radio you like and have it shipped to your door within hours at an unbeatable price. Mind you, buying all those unbelievably cheap radios does start adding up and if you want to use more sophisticated hardware, that too is possible, at a price, somewhere between $50 and a new Porsche. Whilst that's an option for some, for the rest of us, there are better and cheaper ways. Of course it doesn't stop there. If you connect any radio to a computer, you can use whatever software you like to encode and decode any signal you can imagine. With a traditional radio connected to a computer you can make it participate in hundreds of different so-called digital modes. Before I continue, let's look at radio in a slightly different way. Consider an antenna as a continuous source of voltages that are amplified, filtered and demodulated in some way by a radio. You can think of the combination of antenna, radio and computer as a stream decoder. To decode a signal in a new way requires a new decoder, which you could build from components or as I've said, buy online. During the week I've continued experimenting with GNU Radio. If you're unfamiliar, it's a toolkit that allows you to build so-called flow graphs that can process a signal stream. Think of it as a box of Lego that you can put together to build any type of decoder. Let me say that again. Imagine that you want to decode or transmit a mode like FreeDV, M17, APRS, Olivia, Contestia, or Hellschreiber. With the GNU Radio toolkit, all of this is possible and you won't need to buy new hardware or bust out the soldering iron every time you want to experiment with a new mode. If you have been playing with digital modes already, you'll likely point out that you can already do this today by using software running on a computer, and that's true. What that doesn't tell you is that this comes with a very specific limitation, namely that all those modes require that they fit inside a single audio channel because all those digital modes you might be familiar with are essentially using an SSB or FM signal with the audio generated or decoded by a computer. Even if you have a modern radio like for example an ICOM IC-7300, you'll still be limited in what modes of transmission you can make. ICOM limits the transmit bandwidth to 2.9 kHz. Flex Radio appears to double that to 7.9 kHz, but numbers are sketchy. The point remains, most current amateur radio technology is based around the notion that a mode essentially fits within a single audio channel and a very narrow one at that. So, why does this matter? If you run out of FT8 space on a band, right now you need to change to an alternate frequency to play, but you'll only be able to see the stations that are using the same alternate frequency, as long as they fit within the bandwidth of an audio signal. If you wanted to check out the main frequency, you'd have to change frequencies and keep switching back and forth. Using this idea, monitoring all of FT4, FT8, WSPR and all CW beacons, all at the same time becomes unimaginable, not to mention costly if you needed a radio for each band and each mode. What if you wanted to use another mode that took more than about 4 kHz, like say a 5 MHz wide DVB-T signal which you could be experimenting with on 70cm? Or, what if you'd like to compare a repeater input with its output at the same time? Or compare two repeaters together? Or find the best band to operate on right now? The point being, that there are things that simply don't fit within a single audio channel that you won't be able to play with using a traditional radio. As it happens, that too is a solved problem. Remember that I mentioned that you can think of an antenna, radio, and computer combination as a stream decoder? What if I told you that an SDR, a Software Defined Radio, is essentially a device that translates antenna voltages into numbers which you can process with GNU Radio? Whilst that does imply replacing your radio, you don't have to jump in at the deep end to start playing and even if you do decide to buy new hardware, you can get your toes wet with all manner of self build or commercial kits. Even better, you can start with the gear you already have today and become familiar with GNU Radio and when you're ready to expand your station, you can add in an SDR and continue to use the same tools to experiment. Not only that, you can do interesting things by combining what you already have. Consider for example the idea of using an RTL-SDR as the receiver with a traditional radio as the transmitter. You could decode all of the FT8 signals on a band and transmit where there was space to do so. The point being that you can do this one step at a time. Every time you download or build another GNU Radio flow graph, you can have a new decoder and as time goes on, you'll be able to decide what hardware you might want to pair it with. To be clear, I'm talking about the gradual change from component based radio using audio interfaces into software based radio. It's not like we haven't done this before. Anyone recall spark gaps, or valves? The future of experimentation is bright and it's filled with bits. I'm Onno VK6FLAB
Curious about how to navigate college life as a blind or low vision student? Anjie Hall, an expert in disability resources, shares essential strategies for setting yourself up for success. From early connections with disability offices to embracing technology and building a strong support network, Anjie's journey offers a powerful roadmap. Her insights on self-advocacy, resilience, and preparing for the workplace make this episode a must-listen for anyone planning their next big step. Here is the link to the mentioned podcast episode: Building Career Paths: Insights For Young Adults from SSB's Student Career networking Event. Full Transcript: To find out more about the services provided at State Services for the Blind, and what they can do for you, contact Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us or call Shane at 651-385-5205.
Walt Hudson, K4OGO, has always lived by and had a love of the sea, pursuing a career in ship building, beginning in Port Smith, Virginia. While he always had an interest in radio, including Citizens band radio, it wasn't until just a few years ago that Walt became a ham radio operator. Since he is always near the shore, operating portable QRP SSB from the water's edge and making DX contacts is what excites him. K4OGO loves to experiment with vertical antennas on the beach to fine tune his technical and operating skills. K4OGO is my QSO Today.
Foundations of Amateur Radio One of the unexpected benefits of this hobby is how it provides you with the ability to connect to others in ways that are not directly related to radio. Take for example Steve. Steve appears at unpredictable times and locations, been hunted by citizens and scientists and unlike Steve's potential invisible cousin, the proton arc, has been photographed by aurora hunters many times. It looks like observations go back as far as 1705. In 2017, physics professor Eric Donovan saw some of these photos and got curious. Assisted with GPS coordinates from an aurora hunter in Alberta, Song Despins, Eric correlated the time and location and it turns out that Steve was observed as a ribbon of gas 25 kilometres wide, 300 kilometres above Earth with a temperature of 3,000 degrees Celsius by the European Space Agency's Swarm, a constellation of magnetic field measuring satellites in orbit since 2013 and planned as a four year mission, so-far it has almost managed eleven years. Steve? Yeah, it's not named after Steven Hawking or Steve Martin, rather, if you're seeing something unexplained, you might name it something less scary, like the hedge in the movie "Over the Hedge". Steve was given a backronym, finding words after the fact, Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, but I prefer Steve. The NASA team at Goddard Space Flight Center have adopted Steve, so it looks like a keeper. I would never have even stopped to read the recent article in the local news, let alone dig into the various publications, if it weren't for the notion that Steve is one of many phenomena affecting the ionosphere and with it our hobby. Here's another example. Vance KV4P published a plan on kv4p.com, outlining a $35 project that requires minimal soldering that makes any Android phone into a handheld radio for 2m. Using a radio module, a micro-controller, a short USB cable, antenna connector, antenna and some sticky gel pads, Vance has come up with an open source project and circuit-board design that will get you on your way. He's even designed a 3D printable enclosure so you don't have to scare your friends with a bare circuit board. Whilst the Android app is in beta, that is, not quite fit for human consumption, you'll need to drop an email to Vance to get in on the action. Source code is on GitHub. I came across this project after breakfast, reading the "Y Combinator - Hacker News" which features all manner of weird and wonderful projects, links and questions from all over the technology sphere. The post has expansive discussion on Vance's project, including thoughts on other ideas on how to do interesting things related to our hobby. Again, if it weren't for the fact that I'm already an amateur, I would never have taken more than a glance at this and I would never consider that this was a doable project, let alone discover other amateur radio projects like HamWAN and AREDN, or the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network. The point being that we as amateurs are often pigeonholed by society into the idea of obsolete, disconnected and quaint. I'm here to tell you that our hobby has made me more alive than ever, more connected to others around me, more observant to electrical and physical phenomena and if that makes me quaint, I'm Okay with that. Also, while we're on the topic of being Okay. Charles NK8O reached out and told me that after listening to me talk about FT8 and his Morse code achievements, he cracked up and then raised the stakes by pointing out that you can get on HF with CW, that's continuous wave, or more commonly, Morse Code, for about $100, where a kit capable of SSB, Single Side Band, or more generally audio, will likely set you back significantly more. His advice, which I cannot fault, "Get on the air!", presumably to make some noise. I'm Onno VK6FLAB
This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Today we will be discussing the upcoming DXPedtion to Sao Tome & Principe, S9Z. The following is from their website: “The Dateline DX Association (DDXA), a world-wide DX organization, is pleased to announce to the amateur radio DX community the activation of Sao Tome & Principe, a small island nation off the coast of Gabon from November 11 through November 20, 2024. The license, issued by The General Regulatory Authority (AGER) in Sao Tome and Principe, authorized the call sign S9Z. The international team is comprised of all highly experienced DXers, DXPeditioners, Contesters and Activators. The team will activate all HF bands from 10 through 160m on SSB, CW and Digital modes using stations with amplifiers, hex beams, tall verticals and wires; Will also operate EME on VHF 6m and UHF 432. Our guests today are Ralph, K0IR, Kimo, KH7U, Max, I8AHJ/N5AHJ, and Joe, W8GEX. Resources mentioned include: S9Z Info https://www.qrz.com/db/S9Z S9Z Website https://s9z.org/ Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/
Send us a textCover Image: Artist's MFA Studio - Tribeca Ball.To learn more, please visit Stefania Salles Bruins' site.Show Notes:1:15 art school's training to visually think2:00 Bruins' work as attorney2:30 overview of grad program at New York Academy of Art5:00 medium: use of linseed oil and paint without medium5:30 tools: importance of brushes6:15 support: Bruins' preference for aluminum7:15 Vincent Desiderio's Cockaigne 8:00 Lesson 1 Perspective8:45 Point of View9:30 Lesson 2 Light 10:50 Lesson 2.5 Shadow11:30 Rembrandt's The Nightwatch12:00 Lesson 3 Value 12:55 Lesson 4 Temperature13:05 Courbet's The Madman or The Desperate Man 13:50 Steven Assael - king of temperature shifts 14:20 Lesson 5 Depth15:00 Value is King, Temperature is Queen and Color is a Fool 15:30 Lesson 6 Lines 15:40 shapes within da Vinci's Mona Lisa 17:00 Adam Miller - narrative large oil paintings17:20 Carl Dobsky 17:30 NYAA Big Stories exhibit artist talk 18:00 transitions within grad school and post-grad19:40 learning to be your own voice of reason - parallel with work as general counsel20:55 Old Masters Rembrandt and Vermeer21:55 Alan Robertshaw: Vermeer's use of optics23:00 SSB: application of illusions in cinema and inspiration from movies more than paintings24:00 Kubrick's Barry Lyndon 24:50 use of grids and projectors27:15 use of technical and human assistants28:45 critiques 30:00 art historical references to read the work 31:20 Nnebundo Obi: time commitments within art grad school32:50 Escoda brushes33:00 use of aluminum34:45 advice for individuals who want to begin painting35:30 always clean your brushes!see also:JP Roy's IG post re lightcheckerboard illusionPlease share your comments and/or questions at stephanie@warfareofartandlaw.comTo hear more episodes, please visit Warfare of Art and Law podcast's website.Music by Toulme.To view rewards for supporting the podcast, please visit Warfare's Patreon page.To leave questions or comments about this or other episodes of the podcast and/or for information about joining the 2ND Saturday discussion on art, culture and justice, please message me at stephanie@warfareofartandlaw.com. Thanks so much for listening!© Stephanie Drawdy [2024]
This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio Our guests today are Rolf, DL7VEE, Christian, DL6KAC, and Joe, W8GEX. We are going to be discussing the upcoming DXPedition to C21MM, Nauru with Rolf and Christian. The DXpedition to Nauru, C21MM, will run from October 10th, 2024 to October 29th, 2024. I normally don't do this, but from the Daily DX, I can share the following information, which is essentially what we discussed in the first 12 minutes: With less than 4 weeks to go, the team of 14 German operators are ready. We follow our main principles being light-weight and cost effective. As always, only transceivers from Elecraft will be used. All equipment including antennas will be transported by the team members using “traditional luggage” partly oversized. However, this does not mean that we compromise on the antennas. For the high bands we are going to use our 2-element full size wire beam from LZ Antennas. That provides us with some dB more gain compared to a vertical. By using the LBS Pentaplexer we can operate 3 high bands together at the same time on this antenna. As always, we follow our strategy to use resonant and full-size single band antennas on all bands (except 160 m). No grounded verticals will be used. Verticals with an elevated radial are even better for reception, also known as Up & Outer. This time we will carry two 22 m (72 feet) Spiderbeam fiberglass poles for 160 m & 80 m (compared to 18 m poles on our last DXpeditions). That is perfect for 80 m and an improvement for the top band as well. We will also bring the brand new 14-m-HD-fiberglass pole from Spiderbeam which gives us 2 m more height compared to the 12-m-HD-pole. This one is perfect for bands from 60 m and up. For low band receiving we plan BOGs. Jan, OK2ZAW (QRO.CZ), supported us with RX band filter boards for splitting one BOG to different receivers on different bands. For 40 & 30 m we try loops this time. We always use small band pass filters for each band between transceiver and amplifier and additional bigger band pass filters to the antennas. We will run our proven shift system with radio and free time slots 24/7, ensuring that our experienced operators will have full concentration in their shift. 5 stations between 160 and 6 m in CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 are planned. Starting with a first group of 6 men from October 10th only on high bands for few days. Second part of the group will arrive October 15. Here are some of the links that we mention during the discussion: https://c21mm.mydx.de http://www.dl7vee.de https://c21mm.mydx.de/?Welcome https://c21mm.mydx.de/?Donate_here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFh_EW64gDo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1KrGZRzVGY Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org DX Code of Conduct : https://www.dx-code.com/ Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/
This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #Hamradio DF4GV, DL4SVA, DK2AMM, DJ7TO, DL1KWK and DL2AWG went to Kiritimati (OC 024) from the 13th of March to the 27th of March, 2024. We ran 3 Stations, 24 hours per day. Our main modes were CW, SSB, RTTY, and some FT8. Members of our team had also participated (amongst others) in the following past DXpeditions: 3D2AW, 3D2EU, S7GWG, 4S7RTG, 5B/DJ7TO, 5R8MM, 5R8WG, 5WØGW, 5WØM, 8Q7IO, 9H3O, 9N7AN, A35WG, C21EU, H44WG, HU1DL, J48IO, J48M, J79WG, KH8/DL2AWG, MD/DL4SVA, P29RO, S79GG, TX7EU, T2C, T3ØD, T31EU, V6EU, V73D, VP6EU, XRØYD, XX9D, YJØAWG, ZBØ/DJ7TO, ZK1AWG, ZK3N, ZL/DJ7TO, ZM4T. The Guest for this episode is DF4GV Elmar : (https://www.qrz.com/db/DF4GV) Resources mentioned include: DX Code of Conduct : https://www.dx-code.com/ Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.org Daily DX https://www.dailydx.com/ DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/ Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/
Long before there was a CIA or even an OSS, an MI6 or the SSB, modern intelligence began forming among the far-flung outposts of the Great Game between the British n Russian empires. Among Shahs, Kalifs, Sheiks and a new form of recruited intellectuals of the German universities. Today we tell you how a group of Swedish explorers became the teenage idols of Hitler, Göring, Himmler and Rosenberg. How in the late 19th they coined the term Geopolitics, fused together Vitalism (Lebensphilosophie) and Vital Space (Lebensraum) for the sake of the Aryan myth. How they robbed graves for skulls from Turtle Island in the west to Lhasa and Edo in the east. We will see how all the subspecies of bourgeois irrationalism i.e US pragmatism, UK utilitarianism and continental positivism synthesised in a fascist vehicle of imperialism. This a behemoth episode for the real heads. Packed with the typical macabre mood setting intro which throws Nietzsche under the bus like never before. Travel journals, letters and dark comedy about some of the most despicable people the world of spooks has ever called their own.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEW BNC CHANNEL: https://bit.ly/45Pspyl Ad Free & Bonus Episodes: https://bit.ly/3OZxwpr NEW MERCH: https://shoptmgstudios.com This week, while Brooke is jet setting in Europe, Connor calls in the big puss: Jake Shane! Jake and Connor discuss their favorite dystopian movies, how technology is hacking into our brains, and debate when SSB is allowed. Plus, Jake breaks down why Planet of the Apes is the best movie franchise to exist. Join our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5356639204457124/ Get the dog DNA test that is trusted by millions. Go to http://Embarkvet.com to get free shipping and save $50 with promo code BANDC. Head to http://acorns.com/bandc or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today! Client testimonial. May not be representative of all clients. Tier I compensation provided. Compensation provides an incentive to positively promote Acorns. View important disclosures at Acorns.com/bandc. Investing involves risk, including the loss of principal. Please consider your objectives, risk tolerance, and Acorns' fees before investing. Acorns Advisers, LLC (“Acorns”) is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Brokerage services are provided to clients of Acorns by Acorns Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. For more information visit Acorns.com. Whether it's in-person, or on the phone with your local agent, or on http://statefarm.com, you know someone is there to help you choose the coverage you need. B+C IG: https://www.instagram.com/bncmap/ B+C Twitter: https://twitter.com/bncmap TMG Studios YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/tinymeatgang TMG Studios IG: https://www.instagram.com/realtmgstudios/ TMG Studios Twitter: https://twitter.com/realtmgstudios BROOKE https://www.instagram.com/brookeaverick https://twitter.com/ladyefron https://www.tiktok.com/@ladyefron CONNOR https://www.instagram.com/fibula/ https://twitter.com/fibulaa https://www.tiktok.com/@fibulaa Hosted by Brooke Averick & Connor Wood, Created by TMG Studios, Brooke Averick & Connor Wood, and Produced by TMG Studios, Brooke Averick & Connor Wood. 0:00 HAWTJNCMAP! 0:34 Intro 0:55 Jake Shane Is Here!!! 4:20 Crashing Weddings 7:15 Just Virgo Things 8:00 The Driving Rule of Thumb 10:53 Embark 12:49 Cruising On A City Bike 13:50 Responding To Insta Stories Drunk 15:45 Jake Is The Best Podcaster 16:38 Technology Is Listening To Us 19:45 Scary Middle School Books 22:15 What Would YOU Do? 24:02 Acorns 25:52 Reality TV Drama 28:13 Locking Phones At Comedy Shows 32:49 Connor's Fear of Sharks 35:10 Connor's Shark Diving Trip 38:23 State Farm 39:56 Jake's First Live Show 41:29 Performing at Colleges 43:07 Quitting Your Job For Social Media 45:09 Getting Words Stuck In Your Head 45:45 Ducks Getting Wet For Food 47:25 The Blue/Gold Dress Divide 48:35 Spending The Weekend Together 50:16 Hangover Cures 51:23 Eating Is Like Your Birthday 52:56 Jake's Weed Origins 53:49 State Farm 55:43 The House Plant Event 57:43 Drinking Canns 58:57 Breaking Down Planet of the Apes 1:07:50 James Cameron's Timeline 1:10:57 Debating SSBs 1:13:47 The Nudist Cruise 1:17:01 The New York/Dublin Portal 1:18:37 Reclaiming Puss 1:20:20 Thank You Jake!!! 1:21:54 See You In Bonus!!!
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