Podcasts about vhf uhf

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.  

Show Notes (contains affiliate links): Did Everyone Forget Ham Radio Is A Service?   On this week's episode of Ham Radio Crash Course, a podcast roughly based on amateur radio but mostly made up of responding to emails from listeners, hosted by Josh Nass - KI6NAZ and his reluctant wife, Leah - KN6NWZ, we talk about VHF/UHF in the car, how we remind people that ham radio is a service and the Preparedness Executive Order.    Announcements: HRCC Net - https://hrcc.link.   Gigaparts Link (get 10% with code JOSH) - https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=JOSH   The HRCC Coffee Club has arrived! https://hamtactical.coffee/shop   Ham Radio Minute: VHF/UHF in the car   Ham Radio Test Study with Leah - Extra Exam HamStudy: https://hamstudy.org Support by getting something from Signal Stuff: https://signalstuff.com/?ref=622   Gordon West Ham Radio Test Prep Books with HRCC Links  -Technician: https://amzn.to/3AVHGU1 -General: https://amzn.to/4ehQ5zz -Extra: https://amzn.to/4efCqJ2   Free Fastrack to Your Ham Radio License Books on Audible (for new to Audible readers): https://www.amazon.com/hz/audible/mlp/membership/premiumplus?tag=hrccpodcast-20   Join the conversation by leaving a review on Apple Podcast for Ham Radio Crash Course podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ham-radio-crash-course/id1400794852 and/or emailing Leah@hamtactical.com. Leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts will help Ham Radio Crash Course reach more hams and future hams and we appreciate it!   Show Topic: Back to Basics - Ham Radio Is a Service   Hog Wild in the Salted Ham Cellar.    Preparedness Corner - Preparedness Executive Order   https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/test/   https://www.floods.org/news-views/fema-news/executive-order-issued-on-state-and-local-preparedness/   https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/emergency-preparedness/white-house-orders-major-overhaul-in-disaster-preparedness-shifts-focus-to-state-and-local-governments/ Email Correspondent's Tower: We answer emails with ham radio questions, comments on previous podcasts, T-shirt suggestions and everything in between.   Links mentioned in the ECT:    12v “laptop” https://amzn.to/4hASd6D HRCC Movie Club    Voted and suggested movies here - https://poll.ly/N7Jt2ACU1Epz5PSJmknw   CJ's Nifty List of HRCC Movie Club movies here - https://letterboxd.com/roguefoam/list/ham-radio-crash-course-podcast-movie-club/   The 5th Wave 10/30 War of the Worlds (2005) 10.5/30 Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy 11/30 Maximum Overdrive 11/30  The Tomorrow War 11/30 On The Beach (1959) 12/30 The Postman 12/30 Soylent Green 12/30 World War Z 12/30 Waterworld 13/30 San Andreas 13/30 Airplane 14/30 The Day After (1983) 14/30 The Day After Tomorrow 14/30 Z is for Zachariah 14/30 Fall (2022) 14.5/30 Signs 15/30 Deep Impact 15/30  The Birds 15/30 Twisters (2024) 15/30  Armageddon 15.5/30 Sean of the Dead 16/30 Zombieland 16/30 The Book of Eli Ranked: 16.75/30 Love and Monsters 17/30 Frequency 17/30 2012 17/30 Greenland 17/30 12 Monkeys 17.5/30  Threads 18/30 The Survivalist 18/30 Independence Day 18.5/30 Contact (1997) 19/30 The Towering Inferno 19/30 Don't Look Up 19.5/30 Twister  19.5/30 Dante's Peak 19.5/30 Tremors 20/30 The Road 21/30 The Quiet Place 21/30 Red Dawn (1984) 22/30 Wall-E 23/30 Blast From The Past (1999) 23.5/30 28 Days Later 24.5/30 Apollo 13 24.5/30 Contagion 25/30 I Am Legend 25/30 10 Cloverfield Lane 26.5/30 The Martian 27/30   On Hiatus Indefinitely    Thank you all for listening to the podcast.  We have a lot of fun making it and the fact you listen and send us feedback means a lot to us!   Want to send us something? Josh Nass  P.O. Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101 Support the Ham Radio Crash Course Podcast: Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasi Shop HamTactical: http://www.hamtactical.com Shop Our Affiliates: http://hamradiocrashcourse.com/affiliates/ Shop Our Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hamradiocrashcourse As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.   Connect with Us: Website...................► http://hamradiocrashcourse.com YouTube..................► https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse Podcast...................► https://hamradiocrashcourse.podbean.com/ Discord....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDT Facebook................► https://goo.gl/cv5rEQ Twitter......................► https://twitter.com/Hoshnasi Instagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasi (Josh) Instagram.................►https://instagram.com/hamtactical (Leah) Instagram.................►https://instagram.com/nasscorners (Leah)

There are a variety of antennas that a ham can use on the VHF and UHF bands, from simple whips, all the way up to directional beams. This month's podcast walks you through the various types and their use cases.

Special thanks to  @VE6LK  for sending me this info. Yaesu has revealed 3 new radios, 2 are VHF only, 1 is a dual band. Let's take a look at see what they're all about.This video is sponsored by M&P Coax - save 10% all on coax, connectors and tools with code HR2CABLES at this link - https://hr2.li/cablesVince's Twitter Post - https://x.com/VE6LK/status/1856896082153718224/photo/3Vince's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@VE6LKBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

En este episodio de CQ en Frecuencia, dedicamos la primera parte a responder algunas de las consultas que nos han hecho llegar nuestros oyentes. Exploraremos temas tan diversos como: Cómo construir un repetidor casero con dos walkie-talkies, una solución ingeniosa y económica para ampliar cobertura, especialmente útil en emergencias. Dónde encontrar referencias de activaciones de diplomas como SOTA, POTA o WWFF y cómo registrar QSOs para que sean válidos. Si es seguro llevar un walkie al aeropuerto y cómo hacerlo sin problemas, respetando siempre la normativa. El uso de licencias extranjeras en España, en este caso, cómo puede operar un radioaficionado con licencia chilena desde Barcelona. En la segunda parte, cambiamos de rumbo y nos adentramos en el fascinante Diploma de Castilla Navegable de la mano de Luciano, EA1FE, quien nos contará cómo ha logrado poner en el aire más de 30 esclusas y cómo este proyecto está conectando historia, geografía y radioafición. Un viaje fluvial que muchos estamos siguiendo y disfrutando QSO a QSO. Y para cerrar el episodio, os dejo con una pequeña sorpresa sonora: un par de audios muy especiales que resumen la magia de nuestra afición y que, sin duda, son el broche perfecto para este programa. ¿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 - Paises en zona CEPT https://www.cept.org/cept/membership-and-observers - Repetidor/Reflector pasivo para VHF/UHF http://elrincondelasantenas.blogspot.com/2010/02/reflector-pasivo-o-repetidor-pasivo.html 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.

Esta semana, en el episodio 91 del podcast, arrancamos respondiendo una consulta de Alfonso, EA4IES, sobre referencias que escuchamos en las bandas, como MVA y DME, y qué significan en nuestras activaciones. Además, os cuento mi experiencia construyendo un dipolo sencillo para la banda de VHF y probando la Biquad 270 de Big Signal, ¡una antena que promete! También nos metemos de lleno en el Cocido Contest de VHF, con la colaboración de Julio Eiroa (EA1FTW), que nos comparte su experiencia en este divertido concurso. ️ Y, por supuesto, no podía faltar un vistazo al CQWW CW 2024, uno de los eventos más esperados del año, y un guiño al reciente encuentro entre el Grupo Conecta Radio de Tenerife y la URVAG (Unión de Radioaficionados del Valle de Güímar), un ejemplo de la magia que ocurre cuando los radioaficionados se unen. Para cerrar con broche de oro, os dejo un poquito de audio en código morse del concurso. ¿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 - Hazte un dipolo sencillo para VHF https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0_g-Xaz6tE - Flowerpot para VHF/UHF https://vk2zoi.com/articles/half-wave-flower-pot/ 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.

HF/VHF/UHF and Avionics with Mike (KM5Y).

//The Wire//1800Z September 18, 2024////ROUTINE////BLUF: SUSPICOUS INCIDENT OCCURS AT TRUMP RALLY IN LONG ISLAND. UKRAINE STRIKES MAJOR RUSSIAN ARMS DEPOT. ANOTHER WAVE OF EXPLODING DEVICES STRIKES LEBANON.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: As expected, another wave of device explosions has struck Lebanon. This morning, hundreds of handheld radios reportedly exploded throughout Beirut, in a probable continuation of yesterday's targeting efforts by Israel. So far, handheld VHF/UHF radios have been targeted, along with sporadic reports of other consumer-grade electronics such as televisions, laptops, cellphones, etc.Russia: Overnight, Ukrainian forces conducted a substantial strike on an ammunition storage facility in Toropets, Russia. The resulting explosion was so substantial it was detected as an earthquake by local seismic sensors.-HomeFront-New York: This morning, reports circulated involving explosives being found the vicinity of President Trump's rally in Long Island. A suspicious vehicle reportedly breached the security perimeter, prompting closer investigation that revealed the possible explosives. However, after the initial notice of this incident, the Nassau County Police Commissioner stated that the reports were false, and that the incident involved mistaking a training incident for a real-world incident.AC: Details of this incident remain highly suspect, and contradict statements made by police. The driver of the vehicle initially fled from the scene on foot, taking cover in a wooded area adjacent to the site of the initial incident. It's also not entirely clear as to if the personnel involved in the alleged training scare were actually law enforcement entities, nor is It clear as to how a training scenario could be undertaken in such proximity to a real-world event such as this. Training exercises are usually not conducted in any situation where a fake IED threat could be confused with a real threat; smaller training opportunities at real world events can happen (especially with the use of K9s), however a VBIED training scenario being conducted in the vicinity of such a high-profile event, is highly suspect. One detail that lends to the suspicious nature of this incident is that authorities have confirmed that the individual with the K9 that initially reported the explosives, has been detained.Consequently, though entirely and completely speculative at this time, this event could have indeed been a real incident. Again, this is completely speculative, however the details of this event as presented to the public are highly suspicious and not in keeping with standard law enforcement practices involving training with explosive devices. Considering the lack of trust and confidence in the varying agencies assigned to protect Trump, the possibility (however speculative it may be) that there is more to this story than a simple training mistake, would be wise to consider.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: After a second wave of Israeli clandestine targeting in Lebanon, it's extraordinarily likely that more Israeli IED attacks will continue, as previously stated. The continuance of this targeting vector also strengthens the assessment that Israel is preparing for future combat operations in Lebanon. This operation generally fits within the realm of “shaping fires”, and is doctrinally aligned with softening up an adversary before more substantial targeting takes place.The precedent of this continuing operation cannot be overstated. No Positive Identification (PID) criteria, Hostile Intent/Hostile Act, or Rules of Engagement criteria have been provided by Israel lending any sort of legitimacy to these latest targeting efforts in an entirely separate sovereign nation. As a reminder, Lebanon is not Palestine.It is not clear how Israeli targeting efforts such as these are in accordance with Ar

I met Joshua N5FY at Hamvention 2024. I joined him and Thomas K4SWL for a couple of POTA activations following the hamfest. Joshua has designed some very nice 3D printed accessories for Summits on the Air and Parks on the Air stations. He designs the accessories and then uses them in the field, so they are thoroughly tested. Josh joins us today to talk a little bit about his SOTA and POTA adventures, as well as his business making 3D printed accessories. Joshua's Website: https://tufteln.com/ vfcomms VHF/UHF j-pole: https://vfcomms.com/ Join us as we talk about how YOU can get involved in portable radio in this episode of the All Portable Discussion Zone “AP/DZ”. Every aspect of Portable Ops is explored in this biweekly live stream as we discuss news, gear, achievements, the workbench, contests, awards and more - find all Portable Ops related topics here. X: Charlie NJ7V @NJ7V_ Dan KC7MSU @KC7MSU Brian W7JET @BBW7JET Help support this channel - buy us a Coke: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/RedSummitRF Red Summit RF Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/redsummitrf #APDZ #SOTA #HamRadio #PortableOps #POTA #QRP --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nj7v/support

For the past 10 days, ARRL's Logbook of the World and online courses have been down. Something slowed down QST production (the print version) for a day or two. But the website and email forwarding service are working.What's happening? ARRL is only saying that “a serious incident involving access to our network and systems” has occurred. Is it a fire in the engine room? Malware? Ransomware? Somebody didn't pay the ISP? All those and more are filling the information vacuum. So are we

Best Mobile Antenna for VHF/UHF in your vehicle for 2024 - Best mobile Ham Radio antenna for your car. Here is my list:SPONSOR: Save 10% off of all M&P Coax with code HR2CABLES at this link - https://hr2.li/cables1 - https://amzn.to/3PRUkIf2 - https://cometantenna.com/amateur-radio/mobile-antennas/ma-dual-band/ 3 - https://www.rfwiz.com/austin-500c-antenna/austin-model-500c-2000104 - https://www.rfwiz.com/austin-metropolitan/austin-metropolitan-2010005 - https://www.diamondantenna.net/Product_Catalog/mobile.html6 - Larsen Monoband Antenna - https://www.gigaparts.com/136-512-mhz-tunable-1-4-wavelength-chrome-mobile-antenna-black-nmo-base.html?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkB34WpSV2RsbKxHB2B371f0jTDSfdw3sqLh2ZSyeU7GM6qiI9-ucZUaAhlUEALw_wcB7 - Comet CA-2X4SRNMO Wide Band Antenna - https://www.gigaparts.com/comet-antennas-ca-2x4srnmo.html?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkAwtxixqjKRamKJxt3R0T_66oJWxuWgUhLyH1C0tnbzukMkPnTVj7EaAs5PEALw_wcB8 - Comtelco A11331B-X Triband Antenna - https://www.rfwiz.com/comtelco-a11331b-x-tri-band?search=A11331Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

Greetings from the Redcliffe Radio Club VK4RC Robert Thomson VK4TFN reporting. Redfest 2024, is now only three weeks away on Saturday 6th April, at St Michael's College, Abbey Place Caboolture. Redfest is not just a swap-meet with pre-loved bits and pieces. This year there'll be even more commercial vendors. For the technically minded - and that;s all of us - there will be a demonstration of the new ICOM IC-905 by the Brisbane VHF Group which will also host a presentation on microwave propagation. Doug is prepping the barbie for his famous bacon and egg rolls, and the ladies are ready and raring to go with the cafè. Food is available from 8:00 am and the gates open at 9:00 am. Don't forget the major raffle prize - the ICOM ID-5100A, VHF/UHF digital transceiver. Tickets are only $5.00. For more information go to: redclifferadioclub.org.au Hello, I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I've been thinking. It was about 70 years ago that the Communist Party in the Soviet Union produced a statement which set out their meanings of what language would mean. The common use and understanding was thrown out like dirty dish water and diplomats had to struggle to decipher the messages given out in the early stages of the Cold War. One book that most households had on a shelf was a dictionary which was important to children doing homework and then became a tool for crosswords and board games. What it meant was that language tended to be stable in what it conveyed and that lasted over time. You could read a newspaper that was thirty or more years old and not be confused by the meaning of words. In the past couple of weeks, we have seen a melee amongst one of the popular sporting codes which revolved around the use of the word “monkey”. It seems that that word has transformed into an insult when used in certain contexts. We have seen this attitude portrayed over the past few years with people finding offence with words and objects in a movement that is known as woke. If you are a social media user, you will probably have come across the mindless minions known as fact-checkers and algorithms upholding some universal set of community standards. Like the guards in the land ruled by a dictator, these creations seem to lack understanding of what people enjoy such as humour and irony and the standards seem to appear like ectoplasm during a phoney seance. Such is the world that we live in. In the past, there have been quite explicit rules applied to the type of language which was permitted on radio services. These days we can hear expressions on broadcast radio and TV that would have had a charge of obscenity laid by the police a few decades ago. During my student days, I was taught that language was an evolving item in our social structure and I have lived to witness much change in what words mean and how they are used. So how does this reflect in our use of language as radio amateurs? My feeling is that we should still consider what is respectful to and by our fellow operators. If a word or expression can be offensive then we should use an alternative. This is the courtesy that amateurs have encouraged for over 100 years regardless of regulations. Like good manners are appropriate to the occasion we should remember that generally what we put to air can be monitored by people of all ages and backgrounds. I have listened to the operator who was drunk behind the microphone use obscene language and I have memories of monitoring UHF CB many years ago whilst standards sank lower and lower. Sadly, as I travel a major road, I do monitor the notorious Ch40 and have to accept that most of the transport drivers use obscenity as punctuation. If you hold religious beliefs or are raising young children, this is a great deterrent to using a very effective road safety tool. I'm Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that's what I think….how about you?

GB2RS News Sunday the 4th of February 2024 The news headlines: The RSGB is seeking resources for British Science Week New RSGB Tonight@8 webinar coming up RSGB District Representative opportunities in Region 5 The RSGB is collecting resources to help you get involved with British Science Week, which runs from the 8th to the 17th of March. The theme this year is ‘Time'. If you have any resources and are willing to share them, please send them in. The RSGB has provided some already, including an example risk assessment and some lesson plans. You can also get advice about how to contact your local school or college to offer help. The Society would like to add to its resource base, so please share your ideas. If you already have an event planned, please let the RSGB know. This will be useful for others to see. Let the RSGB know whatever you're planning so it can be added to the web page. If you're going on the air, tell everyone when to listen out for you by sending dates, times, bands and modes. Send your information to the RSGB British Science Week Coordinator Ian Neal, M0KEO at bsw@rsgb.org.uk and to see all the resources go to rsgb.org/bsw  The RSGB's next Tonight@8 live webinar is this Monday, the 5th of February. Gwyn Griffiths, G3ZIL will be giving a presentation called “Propagation at HF: What can we learn using digital modes WSPR and FST4W?” Gwyn is an associate member of the RSGB Propagation Studies Committee and will present some new and exciting research. You can watch and ask questions live on the RSGB YouTube channel and special BATC channel. For more information about the presentation go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/webinars Do you live in RSGB Region 5? Region 5 covers the West Midlands area of England, from Staffordshire to the Welsh borders and down to Gloucestershire. The RSGB is looking for three volunteers to take up the roles of DR52 for Central and East Birmingham; DR53 for Shropshire, North Worcestershire and West Birmingham; and DR54 for Gloucestershire, Hereford and South Worcestershire. If you live in one of those areas and would like to promote amateur radio and support the local amateur radio community, please get in touch with the Regional Representative Neil Yorke, M0NKE via rr5@rsgb.org.uk – he will be delighted to hear from you! The RadCom team is looking for a VHF/UHF columnist. James Stevens, M0JCQ has recently retired from this role following the birth of another child. The RSGB thanks James for his work on the column and wishes him well for the future. If you are interested in this opportunity to contribute to RadCom, please email radcom@rsgb.org.uk HamCation is one of the world's largest annual gatherings of radio amateurs. This year it starts in Orlando, Florida on Friday the 9th and runs until Sunday the 11th of February. The event's website contains lots of information including details of forums, speakers, prizes and a special event station. You can read all about it via hamcation.com  And now for details of rallies and events The Canvey Rally is being held today, Sunday the 4th of February, at Cornelius Vermuyden  School, Dinant Avenue, Canvey, Essex, SS8 9QS. For more information contact Richard Stanley at 07725 551 263 or email g7oed@icloud.com  The MIDCARS Radioactive Rally will be held on Sunday the 11th of February at Nantwich Civic Hall, Market Street, Nantwich, CW5 5DG. The doors open at 10 am and admission is £5. There will be a wide variety of trader stalls covering every aspect of amateur radio. Raffles will be held throughout the Rally. Refreshments and snacks will be available in the hall, and parking is immediately adjacent to the venue. The Red Rose Winter Rally will take place on Sunday the 25th of February. The venue will be St Joseph's Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh, WN7 2PJ. Access for exhibitors will be from 8.30 am. The event will be open to the public from 10 am. Hot and cold refreshments will be available. Further details can be found via the West Manchester Radio Club's website at wmrc.co.uk  Send enquiries to Les, G4HZJ via lesjackson@ntlworld.com or phone 07796 264 569.   Now the Special Event News Today, the 4th, is the last chance to work the special call sign TM26PVJ. The station is active, on the HF bands, for the 26th festival celebrating the ‘Opening of the Yellow Wine'. This year, the festival is taking place at Arbois in the Jura region of France. QSL via F8GGZ. VI100MB is the special call sign for the Manly-Warringah Radio Society, VK2MB, in Australia, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its formation. The station is active until the 25th of February. QSL via Logbook of the World and eQSL.  Now the DX news Keith, G3WRO is active as 8Q7WR from the Maldives, AS-013, until the 6th of February. He is operating SSB on the 40 to 10m bands, and possibly also on the 80m band. QSL via Keith's home call.  Michel, F5LRL is active as CN2DX from near Kenitra, Morocco until the 10th of February. He will operate CW and SSB on the 40 to 10m bands. He is also using FT8 on the 6m band. QSL via EA5GL.  Now the contest news Today, the 4th, the 432MHz Affiliated Societies Contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday the 5th, the 80m Club Championship runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 6th, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday the 6th, the 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 7th, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 7th, the 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. 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. On Wednesday the 7th, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator. On Saturday the 10th, the First 1.8MHz Contest runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. Using CW on the 160m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Also on Saturday the 10th, the Worked All Britain 1.8MHz Contest runs from 1900 to 2359UTC. Please note that this is an SSB-only contest, and all entries need to be with the contest manager by the 20th of February. See worked-all-britain.org.uk for full details of the rules. The CQ Worldwide WPX RTTY Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 10th of February and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 11th of February. Using RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The PACC Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the 10th of February and ends at 1200UTC on Sunday the 11th of February. Using CW and SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Dutch stations send their province.   Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 1st of February 2024 We had another week of relatively calm geomagnetic conditions with a maximum Kp index of three. The solar flux index declined from 172 on the 24th to 135 on the 30th. Nevertheless, that is still enough to support propagation on the 10m band, with the maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path generally being between 29 and 36MHz during daylight. Solar activity has been at low levels with only minor C-class flares and one M-class flare detected. Active region 3559 is now located behind the west limb of the Sun and out of direct view. New active region 3567 in the northeast quadrant is showing the most promise as it appears to be in a growth phase. There is currently a 25% chance of a moderate M-class flare, according to the latest NOAA and SWPC update. Earlier in the week, we had a period of moderate S2-level radiation storming. Proton levels streaming past Earth, following a solar flare early on Monday morning, increased but this has now declined. A minor coronal hole also became Earth-facing on the 2nd of February, so we may still expect some disruption today, Sunday the 4th. The 10m band is still romping along, with beacons along the eastern seaboard of the USA coming alive in the afternoon. This weekend, the 3rd and 4th, sees the 10-10 International Winter SSB Contest, so there should be plenty of stations to work on 28MHz. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may rise again, perhaps to 150 today Sunday 4th, and up to 165 a week later. We may have unsettled geomagnetic conditions on the 5th and 6th, with the Kp index predicted to rise to three.   And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO This week, ending the 4th of February, saw high pressure to the south of Britain and fronts over northern areas. For some stations in the southern half of the country, there could be useful Tropo conditions for the 432MHz Affiliated Societies Contest taking place today, the 4th. Unfortunately, the frontal activity over the north will move south on Tuesday to remove any chance of these better conditions lasting into the 144MHz UK Activity Contest on Tuesday the 6th of February. The period from mid-week onwards looks dominated by low pressure with rain or showers and generally flat VHF and UHF prospects unless you are set up for rain scatter. Other propagation modes like meteor scatter, aurora or Sporadic-E seem likely to remain in the background for the coming week. For EME operators, moon declination is negative and falling to a minimum on Tuesday the 6th. Path losses are also decreasing since their maximum at apogee on Monday the 29th. But with the low peak moon elevations, only eight degrees on Tuesday, moon windows will be short. 144MHz sky noise is moderate to very high all week going over 3100 Kelvin on Tuesday the 6th. Friday and Saturday see the moon and sun very close together, so Sun noise in antenna beamwidths will be an issue. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

This is Graham VK4CEG for the Brisbane Amateur Radio Club. It was an excellent first day back at Brisbane Amateur Radio Club. Rick, S77RP, VK4HC when in Australia, visited from the Saychelles. We contacted two stations in the Saychelles on 20, 15, 24, and 10 meters using the Club station VK4BA. Several members all took turns passing the microphone around. Surprisingly 10 meters was excellent armchair copy from Brisbane. On the same day, Michael, VK4MWL showed his home built VHF UHF antenna and explained Satellites Communications. Mike made two contacts through the International Space Station to VK2 and VK3. Mike's antenna can be seen on the Brisbane Amateur Radio Clubs facebook page. This is Graham VK4CEG for the Brisbane Amateur Radio Club. Hello, I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I've been thinking. It is hardly a mystery that the weather has loomed large in most peoples' minds with both a moderate heat wave affecting comfort and sleep for many in the east of VK4 and then we have the promised cyclone. The disruption to lives of people in the areas targeted by the tropical low with its deluge of rain and winds is both a mental issue and a physical one with stress and property damage being issues that reflect the personal impacts of so-called “acts of God.” However, the shops are not only sporting early entrance to Easter with buns and chocolate eggs but the earlier festive day, the 14th of February, now sporting items to tinkle the keys of the cash registers and point of sale terminals. Love may have been the motive for the majority of popular music but it is surely the reason for Valentine's Day to also be the anniversary date of the change over to decimal currency back in 1966. Love may make the world go round but the almighty dollar keeps us motivated in survival mode. Regardless of these traditional things, there is coming change which will impact all amateur licences on the Australian register and that is the introduction of class licensing. Like many, we have received the letter from the ACMA telling us of the immediate effects on our own licences. From posts to various groups, it is patently obvious that the language being used is causing much confusion to many people who have also received this letter. One of the useful publications for many people who have to put into writing the things that others need to be aware of and that is the Australian Government Style Guide. It is a book that is readily available and often is used as an adjunct to course work in college courses. The premise is that the language we use should be appropriate to our audience and it seems this letter misses the mark. I find that I peck at the material which the Australian Communications Authority has provided us as my mind tires in interpreting bureaucratise into plain English, these days. I had hoped for a smaller set of instructions in plain language but it seems the subject matter has been rendered into prolix language for what reason? On the ground, or in the shack, there will be little change to what we radio amateurs do so really there should be little cause for concern. The annual dip into the wallet to pay a licence fee is being abolished so many people will find it easier to join the WIA and receive the benefits of being a member as a result. We live in hope of better days ahead and to those who are surviving the weather conditions, you are in our thoughts. I'm Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that's what I think….how about you?

Foundations of Amateur Radio Walking into your shack is often a joyous experience. You take a moment to smile at your setup and, at least mentally, rub your hands in glee anticipating some fun. Well, that is how it is for me, but recently it's been less of that and more of an audible groan at the accumulated cruft that makes it nigh on impossible to sit down, let alone achieve anything fun. It's not as bad as it could be. I'm forced to keep my station at least operational to host my weekly net, but if that wasn't there, it would have been overtaken by anything and everything finding a flat surface to put stuff on. It got to the point where I had to move some radio equipment off my desk, just so I could pile more stuff onto it. So, on Tuesday I finally had enough. It was a pretty normal day, waiting for others to get stuff done, deadlines be damned, but I took one look at the shack and snapped. This has happened before and I suspect that it will continue to happen throughout my life, but that day I'd crossed the line. Before I share what I achieved, I should mention a couple of other things. If you've been here for a while you'll know that I am an unashamed computer geek. Software Defined Radio, or SDR, appears to have been invented just for me, embedded computers, digital modes, networking, data analytics, Linux, Docker, you name it, I'm there. Mind you, this isn't new. It's been true for nearly forty years now, ever since I set foot into my high-school computer lab where I found myself looking at a bank of Apple 2 computers. Then I bought the first computer in my class, a Commodore VIC 20. Life was never quite the same. This to tell you just how much computing features in my day-to-day. I have a long term plan to use embedded computers like for example a Raspberry Pi to essentially turn my analogue Yaesu FT-857d into a networked SDR. The idea being that I use my main computer to do the processing and the Pi to control the radio and feed the audio in and out across the network. I want to make it so that you can use any traditional SDR tool with such a radio, and if I get it right, any other radio. For more context, I'm getting more and more deaf. I swear my SO is speaking softer each day and hearing tests tell me that audio above 2 kHz is pretty much gone. I have been playing with audio signal processing with a view to tailoring the audio coming from my radio into something more audible to me. On Tuesday I had an ah-ha moment. I could keep waiting until I got all that done and then set-up my shack just so, or I could embrace the analogue nature of my gear and use the mixing desk I have to feed the audio through its on-board audio processing and at least improve my audio experience today, rather than some nebulous future time. Finally, I purchased a peg board some time ago for the specific purpose of strapping my coax switches to so I would not have to contend with coax all over my desk whilst trying to remember which switch did what when I finally had a moment to play. All this came together in a new version of my shack, albeit an alpha pre-release, to be treated with extreme caution, if you break it, you get to keep both parts and it will kill a kitten without notice. To get started, I removed all non-radio stuff from my desk. Including half a dozen computers, a dozen patch leads and adaptors left over from the harmonics testing project, there were monitor cables, USB cables, a variety of power supplies and a stray binder with empty pages. I found all the radio gear that I really wanted to have on my desk, placed it where I could actually use it and figured out how to connect the audio output from each radio to the mixing desk which also found a home. Then I jumped on the RF side of things. Getting started was the hardest part. I decided that it would make sense to split the peg board in two, one half for HF, the other for VHF and UHF. I have two coax switches that I use as the entry point onto the board. They're each fed with the antenna coax and each have one port connected to the other. The idea being that during a thunderstorm I can connect the two antennas to each other and isolate the rest of the shack. It won't protect against an actual direct hit, but all charge being built up should dissipate between the two antennas. Feel free to give me suggestions on how better to do this in a shack located on the second floor of a house in Australia. Note that the rules for grounding across the world are drastically different, so don't assume that your laws apply in Australia. The HF coax side has a strapped down Bias-T which powers the SG237 antenna coupler that's outside. Then there's a switch so I can connect HF to a radio or to a beacon, which I also strapped to the peg board. On the VHF side there's just a second coax switch to select between two radios, but only one is currently connected. I plan to strap my PlutoSDR to the other port. I powered everything up and couldn't trigger the local repeater. I got out my handheld and tried. That worked fine. I could even hear it on my main radio, but it wouldn't trigger. No SWR issues, I could hear local broadcast stations, but still couldn't trigger the repeater. It took an embarrassingly long time to discover that I had managed to feed the HF antenna into the VHF/UHF side. The SWR was fine because it was triggering the SG237, so, fun. On the audio side I can now change the compression of a signal, change the low, mid and high frequencies and if I feel inclined change the balance between my ears. Microphone is via the hand microphone, for now. There's no CAT control at the moment and I still need to plumb in the push to talk, or PTT, foot pedal. I also need to move the peg board so RF cables aren't dangling in the breeze, but overall, a massive improvement and best of all, I turned on my radio and it wasn't even Saturday morning. So, what's your excuse for procrastinating? I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Today I get to unbox a brand new radio from Guohetec (how do you pronounce that??) - This SDR radio will go from HF to VHF and UHF, and will do DMR, plus APRS. Let's take a look at the menu system and user manual, and let me know in the comments what video you would like to see next.You can save a $10 discount with coupon code FRTPWPMCMFKQ on this radio at the link below: http://hr2.li/5irmz

Esta semana hablamos de la presencia de la radio, de la magia de la radioafición, en una de las rutas más mágicas del mundo: el Camino de Santiago. Desde la experiencia de EA9ADD, Juan Mondejar, que realizó el camino con su walkie de VHF y UHF Quanseng y mantuvo activas las bandas más altas hasta los más de 28 días que Luciano, EA1FE, pasó en la ruta jacobea activando en HF los diferentes puntos del camino. Sus iglesias, sus ermitas y sus monumentos románicos. Y que derivó en el Diploma del “Románico en el Camino de Santiago” que se pudo hacer durante los veranos del 2012 y el 2013. Acompañadme en este recorrido por el camino de dos radioaficionados hasta Santiago de Compostela. Notas del episodio Sota en la credencial de peregrino de EA9ADD https://twitter.com/CQenFrecuencia/status/1719707030213042554/photo/1 Diario de un peregrino radioaficionado, por EA1FE, Luciano https://cqenfrecuencia.com/diario-de-un-peregrino-radioaficionado-en-el-camino-de-santiago-salida-canfranc-2013/ ¿Nos apoyas para que podamos seguir haciendo este podcast y más contenidos? 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/cq-en-frecuencia-podcast/apoya/ 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 dejéis 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.

GB2RS News Sunday the 12th of November 2023 The news headlines: RSGB Construction Competition RSGB 2023 Convention videos RSGB QSL Bureau    Now the nights are drawing in, don't forget about the RSGB Construction Competition. To enable members across the country, and even the world, to take part, entries will again be judged over the internet rather than in person. This year two new categories have been introduced so there are six categories you can enter: Antennas; Beginners; Most creative and/or elegant PCB Design; Construction Excellence; Innovation; and Software and Systems. Special recognition will be given to entries submitted by radio amateurs under the age of 24, and to those who have just gained their Foundation licence. A cash prize will be awarded for the winner of each section, with a bonus for the overall winner, who will also be given the Pat Hawker G3VA Award. The deadline for entries is the 1st of March 2024 and you can find out more, including how to enter, on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/construction-competition The RSGB has released three presentations from its 2023 Convention. The first is the keynote speech in which Colonel John Doody talks about his life in the RF Spectrum during the last 60 years and asks, “Is this a life for you?”. The second presentation is by the RSGB President, John McCullagh, GI4BWM who talks about his experience of 50 years of RSGB membership and explains the wide range of services that are offered to members. He finishes with an overview of the four strategic priorities that the RSGB Board has set until the 2024 AGM. The third presentation is the Discussion with the Board session that was hosted by Don Beattie, G3BJ who has been both an RSGB President and President of IARU Region 1. This builds on the four strategic priorities, includes questions from those attending this discussion forum and answers from the Board Directors. Although the three presentations are separate, the presentation by the RSGB President was immediately before the Board session at the Convention and is referred to in that discussion. You can find all three on the RSGB YouTube channel at youtube.com/theRSGB The RSGB QSL Bureau is pleased to advise that a replacement QSL sub-manager is now in place for the  M1, M3, M5, M6 and M7 QSL sub-groups. Ann Eastwood, M7ERT has kindly volunteered to take on all five busy groups. Members can again send 2nd Class stamped, C5-sized collection envelopes to the new address. Contact details are available from the RSGB website. Please remember to number each envelope and indicate your callsign and membership number in the top-left corner as usual. Essex CW Amateur Radio Club's activity week runs from Monday the 13th of November to Sunday the 19th of November 2023. This is a friendly non-contest style event to encourage both experienced and new Morse operators. Slow speed operators are especially welcome. Whilst the objective is to contact as many radio amateurs as possible in a week, it is hoped that QSOs go beyond just an exchange of signal reports and become longer chats. Anyone who works at least 25 other stations qualifies for a free PDF award certificate. The stations worked don't have to be Essex CW Amateur Radio Club members. So, please dust off your key or paddle and get on the air! Listen out for Essex CW club callsigns GX1FCW and GX8CW during the event. More information, and a list of preferred frequencies, can be found at essexcw.uk Please send details of your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk  The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursday before the Sunday broadcast. And now for details of rallies and events The Rochdale and District Amateur Radio Society Winter Rally will take place on Saturday the 18th of November. The venue will be St Vincent de Paul's Hall, Norden, Rochdale, Lancs, OL12 7QR. The doors open from 10am and entry will be £3. The usual traders, caterers and plenty of free parking will be available. All proceeds from this rally will go to a local charity. Last time £1000 was given to the Rochdale Springhill Hospice. For more information, please contact Dave Carden, G3RIK on 01706 633 400 or email dave@cardens.me.uk The Coulsdon Amateur Transmitting Society Bazaar will take place on Sunday the 19th of November. The venue will be Oasis Academy, Homefield Road, Old Coulsdon, CR5 1ES. Doors open for the public from 10am to 2pm and the entrance fee will be £3. Traders, bring and buy, club tables and car parking will be available. Tables cost £12, with additional tables priced at £8. Please forward general enquiries to bazaar@catsradio.org.uk The Wiltshire Winter Radio Rally will take place on Saturday the 25th of November from 9am to 1pm. It will take place at Kington Langley Village Hall and Playing Field, Kington Langley, Wiltshire, SN15 5NJ. Depending on the weather, there may be a small car boot section. Entry costs £3. There is no charge for under 16s. For further information please contact chairman@chippenhamradio.club Now the Special Event News Special callsign HB8DELOY is in use by members of the Swiss Air Force Museum's Radio Club, HB4FR, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first transatlantic amateur two-way contact between Leon Deloy, 8AB and Fred Schnell, 1MO in November 1923. Listen for activity until the 31st of December. QSL via HB9ACA, preferably via the bureau. RAF Waddington Amateur Radio Club is operating Special Event Station GX3LQS/P from the 17th to the 19th of November. The event is being held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the RAF receiving its first Typhoon on the 18th of December 2003. To help commemorate the event, members of the former RAF Coningsby Amateur Radio Club will be putting GX3LQS/P on the air from various locations during November and December. Some former club members, supported by RAF Waddington Amateur Radio Club, will be operating the callsign from RAF Binbrook from the 17th to the 19th of November. For more details visit QRZ.com Now the DX news Ken, LA7GIA and Shani, HA5DDX are active as 7O8AD and 7O8AE respectively, from Socotra Island, AF-028, in Yemen until the 16th of November. The team plans to have up to three stations working on the 160 to 10m bands and will operate using SSB, CW and FT8. QSL via OQRS and Logbook of the World. A team of amateurs is active as TJ9MD from Cameroon using CW, FT8 and SSB. QSL direct to IK2VUC or via Logbook of the World. For more information visit mdxc.support/tj9md Now the contest news The Worked All Europe DX RTTY Contest started at 0000UTC on Saturday the 11th and ends at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 12th of November. Using RTTY only on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Today, the 12th, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on 1.3 to 3.4GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 14th, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday the 14th, the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 15th, the Autumn Series SSB Contest runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday the 16th, the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 18th, the second 1.8MHz Contest runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. Using CW on the 160m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and District Code.   Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 9th of November 2023 Last week was characterised by very unsettled geomagnetic conditions which took their toll on the high-frequency bands. The Kp index hit seven on the 5th of November, sparking visible aurora all over the UK. This also caused auroral conditions on the bands with many people commenting on the auroral flutter on the lower HF bands and hearing auroral-type signals on the 10m band. Unfortunately, these conditions didn't improve very quickly, and the upper bands were badly affected as the subsequent geomagnetic storm continued. By late afternoon on the 6th, HF began to return to normal with MUFs over a 3,000km path hitting more than 28MHz again. The solar flux index, at this point, was 146, with eleven C-class flares being detected on Monday, but nothing worse. Unsettled geomagnetic conditions continued on and off until the morning of Thursday the 9th when the Kp index finally got down below four and stayed there. A quick check of the 10m band on Thursday afternoon revealed the W1AW CQ practice transmissions on 28.0675MHz, plus two to ten-watt beacons audible from Gibraltar, Italy, Greece and the Eastern seaboard of the USA. The band was open, but not exactly humming! Also on Thursday, the data feed to Propquest.co.uk failed, resulting in a lack of graphs for the F2-layer critical frequency and extrapolated MUFs. Let's hope it returns quite quickly. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will be around 150 and the Kp index will be around 2 or 3. If that is the case, we can expect conditions to be a little better. But, as always, a coronal mass ejection could soon put an end to the fun with an increased Kp index and decreased MUFs. And now the VHF and up propagation news The current spell of unsettled weather is likely to continue for another week at least, with some fairly strong weather systems possible, which could bring gales and heavy rain. With fast-moving systems it's pointless, with such a long lead time, to try and nail down the exact timings of each individual system. Once again, Tropo will not be a big player in VHF/UHF operating this week, except perhaps over this weekend, the 11th and 12th, as a transient weak ridge crosses the country. You might still see the odd 'spike' of higher E-layer critical frequencies on the propquest.co.uk NVIS charts when it comes back online. Lately, these have been during the mid-morning period so maybe give the 10m and 6m bands a cursory check during the coming week. It's not entirely clear why the bands have been so reliable during the recent week, but may be a response to meteor input. We are approaching the peak of the Taurids meteor shower over the 12th and 13th of November. This is followed by the much larger Leonids towards the end of next week on the 17th and 18th of November. This also means that it's worth listening for some meteor scatter signals throughout the next week or so. There was a nice auroral opening on 6m up to 2m late in the afternoon on the 5th of November, with the planetary Kp index reaching 6 to 7. This produced rare visual aurora sightings down to the south coast. Auroral CW and SSB signals sound  ‘watery' on the LF bands and very raspy and whispery on HF and VHF. For EME operators, Moon declination is negative and falling again, reaching a minimum on Thursday the 16th. Path losses continue to fall and 144MHz sky noise is low, apart from Monday the 13th when the Sun and Moon are close in the sky. From Wednesday, it rises to a high of 2,900 Kelvin on Thursday. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday the 5th of November 2023 The news headlines: • Exam funding for youngsters • Tonight@8 webinar • RSGB affiliated club Course and Exam Finder map The Radio Communications Foundation, or RCF, is a small charity that seeks to promote radio engineering and amateur radio. Last year, several teachers identified the cost of Foundation exams as a barrier for some young people. The RCF Trustees considered how they might help. Funding exams for every youngster was seen to be unaffordable, and unnecessary, in many cases. As a start, and to help those with the greatest need, the Trustees have agreed to fund 60 Foundation exams each year. The funding will be available to anyone who is under the age of 21, in full-time education and needs help with the exam fee. Fifteen exams will be funded every three months. The first batch of 15 exams will be funded in January 2024. If any of the allocated funds are not used, they will be rolled over to the next quarter. No money will change hands as the RCF Trustees will simply make the bookings and pay the RSGB. In time, there will be a simple online application form. In the meantime, anyone seeking funding should send their details to rcfsecretary@commsfoundation.org with a supporting statement from a parent or guardian about why they would benefit from an RCF-funded exam. Details of their interest in amateur radio, and how they have trained, or are training, for the Foundation exam will also help the Trustees make their decisions. If the scheme proves to be successful, and amateurs continue to donate to the RCF, there may be scope for increasing the number of exams funded each year. Further details about the RCF, and how to donate, can be found at commsfoundation.org Don't forget to be part of the RSGB's Tonight@8 webinar tomorrow, Monday the 6th of November. Colin Summers, MM0OPX will give an entry-level talk aimed at newcomers to amateur radio. He will touch on antennas generally but will focus on the end-fed half-wave antenna including details of construction, transformers and performance. Find out more at rsgb.org/webinars The RSGB-affiliated club Course and Exam Finder map has been relaunched this week. All affiliated clubs were invited by email to submit information about the courses and exams that they run. The replies that were received are now on the RSGB website. If you use the search function and it doesn't show any results, you will need to widen your search area. If your club provides training or holds exams and it isn't shown on the map, please go to rsgb.org/examupdate and complete the form. If you need any help, you can email exams@rsgb.org.uk  Additional information will be uploaded each week, so please submit any changes before 3 p.m. on Fridays. The RSGB is delighted to welcome Elaine Richards, G4LFM as the new volunteer RSGB Archivist. Elaine is a former RadCom Managing Editor and was keen to continue to oversee the RSGB archives when she retired from her RadCom role last year. If you would like more information about an old amateur radio photo or document or want to check something in the RSGB archives, you can contact Elaine via archivist@rsgb.org.uk Thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets at the RSGB Convention last month to raise money for the DXpedition Fund. The Fund has already made donations to expeditions such as Bouvet, Swains, Rockall and Tuvalu this year. If you're planning a DXpedition to a rare destination and would like to apply, go to the RSGB website and search for ‘DXpedition Fund'. And now for details of rallies and events Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club Rally is taking place today, Sunday the 5th of November. The venue is Limavady United Football Club, Rathmore Road, Limavady, BT49 0DF. Several traders are in attendance and there is a bring-and-buy stand. The doors open at 11 am and car parking is available on site. For more information visit bushvalleyarc.org or email bushvalleyarc@gmail.com Holsworthy Radio Rally is also taking place today, Sunday the 5th of November. The venue is Holsworthy Leisure Centre, Well Park, Western Road, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 6DH. There are traders, a bring-and-buy area and catering available. Access for traders is available from 8 am. The doors open to the public at 10 am. See m0omc.co.uk for more information and contact details. A final reminder now that the 2023 Scottish Microwave Round Table, or GMRT, will be held between 10.30 am and 5 pm on Saturday the 11th of November. Please email Colin, GM4HWO via gm4hwo@gmail.com for more information. The Rochdale and District Amateur Radio Society Winter Rally will take place on Saturday the 18th of November. The venue will be St Vincent de Paul's Hall, Norden, Rochdale, Lancs, OL12 7QR. The doors open from 10 am and entry will be £3. The usual traders, caterers and plenty of free parking will be available. All proceeds from this rally will go to a local charity. Last time £1000 was given to the Rochdale Springhill Hospice. For more information, please contact Dave Carden, G3RIK on 01706 633 400 or email dave@cardens.me.uk The Coulsdon Amateur Transmitting Society Bazaar will take place on Sunday the 19th of November. The venue will be Oasis Academy, Homefield Road, Old Coulsdon, CR5 1ES. Doors open to the public from 10 am to 2 pm and the entrance fee will be £3. Traders bring and buy, club tables and car parking will be available. The tables cost £12, with additional tables priced at £8. Please forward general enquiries to bazaar@catsradio.org.uk Now the Special Event News The ONZ Oostkust Radioclub, ON6HC is active on all bands and modes as OR79CLM until the 12th of November. The special callsign's suffix stands for Canadian Liberation March, the annual event that celebrates the liberation of the Belgian town of Knokke on the 1st of November 1944. QSL via the bureau. For more information, and details of an available certificate, visit onz.be The Amateur Radio Union of Serbia, YU1SRS, hosted the 26th IARU Region 1 General Conference between the 1st and 4th of November. Special callsign YT26IARU was issued to mark the occasion and may be operated until the 31st of December by the hosting Society, as well as by the Conference amateur radio station. QSL via Logbook of the World. Now the DX news Pierre, VK3KTB and Alexey, VE1RUS are active again as VY0ERC from the Eureka Amateur Radio Club station on Ellesmere Island, NA-008, until the 22nd of November. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS. Philippe, F1DUZ is active as FG4KH from Guadeloupe, NA-102, until the 7th of November. QSL via Logbook of the World, eQSL, or via F1DUZ. Now the contest news The 144MHz CW Marconi Contest started at 1400UTC on Saturday the 4th of November and ends at 1400UTC today, Sunday the 5th of November. Using CW on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday the 6th, the Autumn Series Data Contest runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. Using RTTY and PSK63 on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 7th, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday the 7th, the 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 8th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 8th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. 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 Thursday the 9th, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 11th, the Club Calls 1.8MHz Affiliated Societies Contest runs from 2000 to 2300UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 160m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and your affiliated society information. The Worked All Europe DX RTTY Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 11th and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 12th of November. Using RTTY only on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Sunday the 12th, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on 1.3 to 3.4GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 2nd of November 2023 The last two weeks have not been too bad for HF propagation, but not particularly good either. The solar flux index hit lows of 119 on the 22nd of October and 121 on the 24th, but subsequently recovered and stood at 159 on Thursday the 2nd of November. This at least allayed the fears of some amateurs that Solar Cycle 25 was over! But, as the solar flux index rose, geomagnetic conditions became slightly unsettled. The maximum Kp index was 4.67 on the 29th of October but has subsequently recovered to between 1 and 3. This didn't affect HF too much with the daylight maximum useable frequency over 3,000km remaining steadfastly over 28MHz all week, even hitting 43MHz on Thursday the 2nd. As a result, the bands have been humming with lots of DX being worked. Phil, GU0SUP reports working Jan, E51JAN on the North Cook Islands on 12m FT8 Fox and Hound mode at around 1630UTC. He said that, as it was almost dark, he didn't expect to hear anything, but had a good copy on him at 190 degrees, so gave him a call. He came straight back. Phil said that this was a big surprise, and he is not sure how it worked. It was quite a skewed path, with pretty much no copy on the real headings, short or long path. He also worked YJ0TT Vanuatu on 10m at 0843UTC that morning, and later at 1741UTC on 20m FT8 Fox and Hound mode. As Phil said: “Two new DXCCs in one day!” So, the moral of the story is to keep on trying – you never know what you will work! Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will decline slightly to the 130s. A bigger problem is a massive coronal hole, which is rotating into an Earth-facing position. This could cause the Kp index to rise, possibly on Sunday the 5th or Monday the 6th.  NOAA also predicts a geomagnetic disturbance on November 9th when the Kp index could rise to four. Otherwise, it suggests fairly settled conditions and a general Kp index of two. As always, keep an eye on solarham.net for up-to-date information. And now the VHF and up propagation news The current spell of unsettled weather with areas of low pressure, strong winds and rain or showers will probably remain over the coming week to the 12th of November. This again suggests that Tropo will not be a feature of VHF/UHF operating and perhaps there are just a few weak options for rain scatter to lift the mood.  Since comments last week about out-of-season Sporadic-E propagation, we are still getting weak Sporadic-E signals on the graph plots on propquest.co.uk which peaked at 5.35MHz at Dourbes on Wednesday the 1st of November, at 1700UTC. This may have been enough to produce paths on 6m band data modes. Favoured times of day for these chance events are typically around 10 a.m. or 5 p.m. Meteor scatter prospects are still good since the decaying Orionids are probably lingering up until the 7th, and we approach the peak of the Taurids around the 12th of November. The week after, we'll be looking forward to the November Leonids. So if you've not tried meteor scatter yet, this may be a good time to read up on modes, frequencies and operating techniques. Lastly, a brief mention of aurora, which is always possible given a decent coronal hole event like last week. So keep a check on the Kp index for larger values above, say, 5. For EME operators, Moon declination is at maximum this weekend, meaning long Moon windows and high Moon elevation. Path losses are at their highest over the period due to apogee on Tuesday the 6th and 144MHz sky noise is low all week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

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Welcome We are going to explores the fascinating world of radio propagation and its impact on communication and in today's brief yet informative episode, we'll be diving into the phenomenon of tropospheric ducting and its effect on VHF/UHF radio waves. So, let's tune in!   LINKS https://github.com/km4ack/73Linux http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar   NEWS: http://www.arrl.org/news/update-fcc-uls-system-restored http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-helps-air-show-fly-high http://www.13colonies.us   Social Media https://twitter.com/TheHamRadioGuy https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thehamradioguy    73, W0MET Have an idea for a podcast? Want your project/video featured in the my blog section? Just email for me at W0MET@arrl.net Thank you for your continued support of the podcast. Every download and share helps propel the channel forward so more hams can enjoy and learn from the content. Want to do more? Support the channel throughhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com    

Esta semana hablamos sobre una de las formas más sencillas de hacer radio con un equipamiento super asequible y sencillo y que nos reportarán horas y horas de diversión: los repetidores. Encontramos repetidores de VHF, UHF, 10m, CB, 6m... que están ahí, mantenidos por las asociaciones de radioaficionados, para que los disfrutemos, pero siempre manteniendo unas normas claras para el buen funcionamiento de todos. En este episodio hablamos de todo esto, escuchamos algunos QSO curiosos en repetidores y mucho más. Notas del Episodio: EB1Y subiendo a reparar el R3 de León - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1_gvopejtA EC1AME en HB9HD - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue13qeVWfP4 EB1DJ en R4 de El Hierro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BxuhQug1YA QSO en RV58 ASTURIAS (ED1YBH) ALTO DE PAJARES entre EA1AWY-EB1CON-EA4HLQ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpMI3UHtlUg&t=11s Documentado en EA4T.es, ure.es... y charla de Repetidores en URE Valencia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6YZ659tUtw Envía tus preguntas sobre equipos y/o compras de segunda mano: https://cqenfrecuencia.com/contacto/ ¿Quieres participar en nuestro concurso y conseguir un Walkie Bibanda Luthor TL-45? Participa en nuestra web: https://cqenfrecuencia.com/concurso/ Y no dejéis 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.

In this interview, we sit down with Mike Kennerknecht, amateur radio operator N2MAK, to discuss his journey in the world of amateur radio. Mike shares how he got started in the hobby, his experiences with portable operations like Parks on the Air (POTA) and Summits on the Air (SOTA), and his gear setup for both HF and VHF/UHF. He also talks about his involvement in the Rochester Amateur Radio Association and his passion for educating and encouraging others through his YouTube channel. If you're interested in amateur radio and want to learn from an experienced operator, this interview is for you. Join us as we talk about how YOU can get involved in portable radio in this episode of the All Portable Discussion Zone “AP/DZ”. Every aspect of Portable Ops is explored in this biweekly live stream as we discuss news, gear, achievements, the workbench, contests, awards and more - find all Portable Ops related topics here. Join this channel and become a Premium Member for early access, behind-the scenes-content, and exclusive chats https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHriEQX4EK2b0QS7EgSvjmg/join Twitter: Charlie NJ7V @NJ7V_ Dan KC7MSU @KC7MSU Brian W7JET @BBW7JET Help support this channel - buy us a Coke: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/RedSummitRF Red Summit RF Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/redsummitrf #APDZ #POTA #PortableOps #HamRadio #SOTA --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nj7v/support

East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ presented a forum on Digital Voice for VHF/UHF 2023 at the Charlotte Hamfest in March. Gary ‘inherited' the forum from Roland Kraatz W9HPX, who became a Silent Key the previous December. Gary put in too many hours making ‘too many PowerPoint slides' to just do a one-hour forum, so he recorded this Special Edition for HamRadioNow. This version clocks in at about 90 minutes. Gary had to cut a lot of the slides he worked so hard to create to bring his talk down to an hour, so he put some of them back in for this version. Then, just for those of you with limited time, he took a digital axe to the whole thing and chopped it down to 15 minutes. It isn't pretty, but the essential elements are there. Maybe.We're also presenting Gary's original 2008 documentary Digital Voice for Amateur Radio, which includes his investigation of D-STAR and P-25, and the original DV mode for HF. Somehow all that is squeezed into less time than his slide show.Audio podcast listeners are being treated only to the 90 minute slide show. If you want to see the truncated version, or the documentary, here's the link to the web site: https://www.hamradionow.tv/episodes/2023/3/15/hrn-special-digital-voice-2023-vhfuhf-edition

En este cuarto episodio vamos a hablar, de forma muy muy resumida, de cuales son las diferentes bandas de radioaficionado dónde podemos operar, desde las más bajas (HF) hasta las más altas (UHF y SHF). Comentamos un poco sus condiciones de propagación, modos de operación, etc... Además, nos damos una vuelta por la banda de 10m en HF para comprobar como el amigo EA1GHA consigue realizar un contacto DX tras varias llamadas, un poco de CW y modos digitales (FT8)... Un poco de radio para los que os interesáis por este fantástico mundo de las ondas.

Even if you're accessing a repeater, the range of your VHF/UHF handheld can be a bit constraining. You'll probably never achieve coverage of, say, the entire US Eastern Seaboard or the Continental Divide in the lower 48. But with a couple of handhelds and the right Yagi antenna, you can access satellites in low Earth orbit that will provide you with a much wider “footprint” than just about any repeater. Sean Kutzko, KX9X, characterized satellite operation as “a bit of a competition. It's a bit of a game. It's a bit exciting.” In this month's episode, he talks about how to get started using satellites and details the reach that satellites beyond low Earth orbit are only now making available to every licensed amateur radio operator.

Even if you're accessing a repeater, the range of your VHF/UHF handheld can be a bit constraining. You'll probably never achieve coverage of, say, the entire US Eastern Seaboard or the Continental Divide in the lower 48. But with a couple of handhelds and the right Yagi antenna, you can access satellites in low Earth orbit that will provide you with a much wider “footprint” than just about any repeater. Sean Kutzko, KX9X, characterized satellite operation as “a bit of a competition. It's a bit of a game. It's a bit exciting.” In this month's episode, he talks about how to get started using satellites and details the reach that satellites beyond low Earth orbit are only now making available to every licensed amateur radio operator.

Can't put up an antenna due to restrictions? Do you rent, hate heights, or have Homeowner's Associations that have rules you need to follow? Today's podcast is dedicated to all of those who have antenna restrictions. For those of us who have free access to what we put on our homes, we can forget at how difficult this hobby can be for those who can't have outdoor antennas. Here are some creative antenna solutions for those who can't attach antennas to their homes, rentals, or live in apartments. What You Need to Know Before thinking about adding antennas, we need to ask ourselves a few questions. Do we have adequate reception now with our stock antennas? If you go outside your home or apartment, does reception noticeably improve? Are we satisfied listening to what we can hear now, or do we need to pull in more range that only a better antenna can accomplish? Conventional scanning can have more challenges than monitoring trunk systems. Conventional frequencies are typically repeated and can be in the VHF UHF range. These frequencies typically work well with penetrating buildings and getting indoors. Simplex may be nearly impossible to receive well without an antenna with gain. Here are some ideas to improve your reception without adding antennas:If your radio is located in an interior corner of the house or apartment moving it closer to a window Another option is to relocate the radio from an interior wall to an exterior wall One of the easiest ways to stealth an antenna is to use attic or dead space, if you have access to them. You can try hiding antennas behind curtains or other interior designs. Mag Mount antennas can be attached to A/C units, the top of refrigerators, or anything else that has a metallic base. Bringing coax from outdoors to indoors without drilling can be a challenge. There are simple solutions for that as well. ====================================

PODCAST: This Week in Amateur Radio Edition #1225 Release Date: August 20, 2022 Here is a summary of the news trending This Week in Amateur Radio. This week's edition is anchored by Terry Saunders, N1KIN, Chris Perrine, KB2FAF, Rich Lawrence, KB2MOB, Don Hulick, K2ATJ, Eric Zittel, KD2RJX, Will Rogers, K5WLR, George Bowen, W2XBS, and Jessica Bowen, KC2VWX. Produced and edited by George Bowen, W2XBS. Approximate Running Time: 1:37:23 Podcast Download: https://bit.ly/TWIAR1225 Trending headlines in this week's bulletin service: 1. Simultaneous APRS and Voice Repeater Operations On Board The International Space Station 2. Young Amateurs Radio Club To Host Inaugural Special Event 3. Volunteer Monitor Program Report For July 2022 4. Upcoming 2022 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test: Consider Running It Under the Incident Command System 5. HAARP To Host Open House At Alaska Facility 6. ARRL Welcomes Director of Information Technology 7. Rice University In Houston, Texas, Is Offering A New Class, Entitled Physics Of Ham Radio 8. Court Rules FCC Is Allowed To Reassign 5.9 GigaHertz Bandwidth, Effectively Killing V2X 9. Amateur Radio Publications In Finland Will Be Going Digital 10. Wisconsin Amateur Celebrates A Century Of Challenges 11. Researchers Discover The Key To Making Capacitors Smaller 12. Fierce Telecom Says The FCC Idea For New Broadband Minimums Already Obsolete 13. Study Of Arecibo Telescope Collapse Focuses On Cables and Sockets 14. MFJ Enterprises celebrates its 50th anniversary 15. Russian space debris squalls are really gumming up the works for Space X and Starlink 16. An amateur radio club in Pennsylvania hits its tenth anniversary aboard the Mars Rover 17. Amateur operators in sections of France hosting the 2024 Olympics are told to share a few VHF/UHF bands 18. International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend 2022 is underway this weekend 19. Brooklyn New York Wireless microphone marketer faces hefty fine from the FCC 20. Ham Radio for Papua New Guinea - Something new. 21. BBC TV feature 8-year-old's amateur radio contact with the space station...and it goes viral 22. VERON sponsored Bicycle Mobile competition at ham radio event in the Netherlands 23. Algerian broadcaster Télédiffusion d'Algerie has been causing interference to the 21 MegaHertz to radio amateurs 24. Video streaming revolution stretches TV generation gap 25. Cell phone charger interference audio demonstration Plus these Special Features This Week: * Technology News and Commentary with Leo Laporte, W6TWT, will bring us up to date on all the latest news in the world of science and technology, and he will take a quick look at what a time traveler from the 1950's would think about todays technology. * Working Amateur Radio Satellites with Bruce Paige, KK5DO - AMSAT Satellite News * Tower Climbing and Antenna Safety w/Greg Stoddard KF9MP, this week Greg puts aside his tools and climbing belt for Part Five of his six part series at composing and successfully submitting a public service announcement to local broadcast media, to promote your upcoming hamfest or club special event to the public. * Foundations of Amateur Radio with Onno Benschop VK6FLAB, will take a close up look at the amateur radio code, past and present. * Weekly Propagation Forecast from the ARRL * The latest from Parks On The Air and Summits On The Air (May 2022 Report) with Vance Martin, N3VEM * Bill Continelli, W2XOY - The History of Amateur Radio. This week Bill returns with another edition of his summer series entitled, Amateur Radio History Headlines. This week, Bill takes a look above the fold for what made amateur headlines during the early 1970's. ----- Website: https://www.twiar.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/twiari/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/twiar RSS News: https://twiar.net/?feed=rss2 iHeartRadio: https://bit.ly/iHeart-TWIAR Spotify: https://bit.ly/Spotify-TWIAR TuneIn: https://bit.ly/TuneIn-TWIAR Automated: https://twiar.net/TWIARHAM.mp3 (Static file, changed weekly) ----- Visit our website at www.twiar.net for program audio, and daily for the latest amateur radio and technology news. Air This Week in Amateur Radio on your repeater! Built in identification breaks every 10 minutes or less. This Week in Amateur Radio is heard on the air on nets and repeaters as a bulletin service all across North America, and all around the world on amateur radio repeater systems, weekends on WA0RCR on 1860 (160 Meters), and more. This Week in Amateur Radio is portable too! The bulletin/news service is available and built for air on local repeaters (check with your local clubs to see if their repeater is carrying the news service) and can be downloaded for air as a weekly podcast to your digital device from just about everywhere, including Acast, Deezer, iHeart, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, iVoox, Blubrry, Castbox.fm, Castro, Feedburner, gPodder, Listen Notes, OverCast, Player.FM, Pandora, Podcast Gang, Podcast Republic, Podchaser, Podnova, and RSS feeds. This Week in Amateur Radio is also carried on a number of LPFM stations, so check the low power FM stations in your area. You can also stream the program to your favorite digital device by visiting our web site www.twiar.net. Or, just ask Siri, Alexa, or your Google Nest to play This Week in Amateur Radio! This Week in Amateur Radio is produced by Community Video Associates in upstate New York, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. If you would like to volunteer with us as a news anchor or special segment producer please get in touch with our Executive Producer, George, via email at w2xbs77@gmail.com. Also, please feel free to follow us by joining our popular group on Facebook, and follow our feed on Twitter! Thanks to FortifiedNet.net for the server space! Thanks to Archive.org for the audio space.

Answering a question from email, about VHF simplex.

The Live Stream has shifted to 7 PM Pacific, 10 PM Eastern Sunday,0200Z (Monday, during US Daylight Saving Time) (not that you podcast listeners care, but maybe it opened up a window to watching the live show on YouTube or Facebook)How do you program your VHF/UHF radios? Totally by hand? Using software? Either way, do you have a plan? A strategy? Or do you just chunk channels in there willy-nilly?In tonight's show, hosts Gary K4AAQ, David W0DHG and Midwest Correspondent Kyle AA0Z reveal their elaborate plans for programming their radios, and the software they use.So there's that, but so much more. Starting with the Hammy awards. And finally, thanks to Jason Johnston KC4HWB from Ham Radio 2.0 for giving us the lead-in at the end of his show. LINKS:RT SystemsChirpRaleigh ARS Field Day 1990Ham Talk for that amazing show introHammy Awards 2020

   GB2RS News Sunday the 15th of May 2022 The news headlines: Innovation 70 project for Platinum Jubilee Youngsters On The Air contest IARU Monitoring Service newsletter The RSGB has launched the Innovation 70 competition as part of its Platinum Jubilee activities. The challenge is to design and build a useful piece of equipment with no more than 70 connections, or a useful piece of software with no more than 70 lines of code. A selection of the most innovative entries will be published in RadCom and on the RSGB website. The RSGB Technical Forum will judge the entries and the results will be announced at the end of the year. The closing date is the 30th of September. Go to rsgb.org/jubilee and click on the Innovation 70 section to find out more.  The next Youngsters On The Air Contest takes place on the 21st of May between 0800 and 1959UTC. Everyone can take part and show their support for young amateurs across the world. There are eight different categories, including special ones for those under 25 years of age. Using the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands, the contest is CW and SSB only. The exchange includes the age of the participating operators, which acts as multipliers. Find out more at ham-yota.com. The IARU Monitoring Service for Region 1 has published its April newsletter. It talks about emissions that are often received on the 40 and 20m bands with a bandwidth of about 8kHz. Thoughts are that it could be a jammer where the signal is intentionally transmitted over other transmissions in order to disrupt or nullify their reception. The newsletter includes a report by Richard, G4DYA, the RSGB Intruder Watch Coordinator, that includes many radar sightings. You can read more at iaru-r1.org. All RSGB Members who have an email address linked to their membership should have received an email in the last few days. This email explains how to set up a new password to access the updated membership portal. The email will have been sent to the email address linked to your membership account. If you are an RSGB Member and don't think you have received an email, please do check your junk folder. If you still can't see an email, please contact membership@rsgb.org.uk or call the RSGB during office hours on 01234 832 700 and choose option two. While the Society has been sending out the emails, access to the online members' resources such as RadCom have been turned off, but it plans to make them accessible again early this week.  Sad news now. Nancy Bone, G7UUR, the co-founder and long-time secretary of the Angel of the North ARC became a Silent Key last week. She was an RSGB Deputy Regional Manager for a number of years, a repeater licence holder, exam tutor and GB2RS newsreader. In everything that she did, she approached it with enthusiasm and commitment that challenged and inspired others. We are thinking of her husband Warren, G7MWB, their family and many friends at this difficult time. Since the AGM, the RSGB Board has made two appointments. Richard Horton, G4AOJ will be the new Board Chair and Stan Lee, G4XXI has taken on the role of Company Secretary. The Board would like to record its thanks to General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB for carrying out the additional role of Company Secretary since June 2020. Brickworks is a scheme run by local amateur radio clubs that have committed to helping all licensed amateur radio operators discover more about what the hobby has to offer. It was originally launched in early 2020 by the RSGB under the name of the Beyond Exams Club Scheme. When Covid struck, clubs were no longer able to meet in person and it was harder to help radio amateurs to work through the Club Scheme activities. Now life is opening up again, the RSGB is delighted that Brickworks, as it will now be called, is being relaunched. Whether you are a new licensee, returning to amateur radio or want to try something new, Brickworks has something to offer you. For more information see rsgb.org/brickworks. And now for details of rallies and events  Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We'll publicise your event in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.  Next week the Dayton Hamvention takes place between the 20th and 22nd of May at the Greene County Fairground in Ohio, USA. Now in its 70th year, this is one of the largest amateur radio shows in the world, famous for its massive flea market. There will also be lectures, traders and a strong ARRL and RSGB presence, including a bookstall.   Next Sunday, the 22nd of May, the National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale organised by Dunstable Downs Radio Club will take place at Stockwood Park in Luton. Entry and car parking are £4 per vehicle and the gates open at 9 am for buyers. Now the DX news Irek, SP3SUX will be operating as DV8/KH7EA from Mindanao Island, OC-130, in the Philippines until the 27th of May. Activity will be during his daytime hours on the 6 to 80m bands using CW and SSB. QSL to his home callsign. Members of the Radio Club of Haiti will be active as HH18MAI between the 18th and 23rd of May. The special callsign is for Flag Day, which commemorates the creation of the flag of Haiti in 1803. QSL via W3HNK. Dick, K2KA will be active holiday style as V4/K2KA from St. Kitts, NA-104, until the 18th of May. QSL via his preferred method of the logbook of The World, Club Log, or direct to K2KA. Andrey, R9YU and Gennady, R5QA are on the air as JV0YU from Mongolia until the 10th of June. Activity is on the HF and VHF/UHF bands using CW, SSB and FT8 in DXpedition mode. QSL via RW6HS. Now the Special Event news Northwest Group Amateur Radio Club in Londonderry are activating GB0AEL as part of the 90th Anniversary of Amelia Earhart landing in Londonderry. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. They will activate GB0AEL until the 30th of May. More information on qrz.com under the callsign GB0AEL. Now the contest news Today, the 15th, the 70MHz CW contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Microwave Group's millimetre-wave contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC today, the 15th. Using all modes on the 24, 47 and 76GHz bands the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The data leg of the 80m Club Championships runs on Wednesday from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is a signal report and serial number. On Thursday the all-mode 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs between 1900 and 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend is the 144MHz May contest. It runs for 24 hours from 1400UTC on the 21st. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Note that UK stations also send their postcode. Next Sunday, the 22nd, the First 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Note that UK stations also send their postcode. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 13th of May 2022. Well, it looks like the US Air Force was more accurate than NOAA with their solar flux index forecast last week. While the week started with an SFI at 117, by Thursday it had grown to 133. It has been mostly quiet from a geomagnetic point of view with a maximum Kp index of three, with mostly ones and twos.  The only downside has been a number of solar flares, which includes an X-class flare on Tuesday the 10th. The X1.5 event was observed from sunspot region 3006 at 1355UTC and resulted in a radio blackout over the Atlantic, Africa and South America. The critical frequency, as measured by the Chilton Ionosonde, dropped below 7MHz for a time, before recovering. Despite this short-lived phenomenon, there has been plenty of DX to be worked on the higher bands. The 15m band has seen Asia and the Far East romping in on FT8 and there have been 10m band openings to Australia and the Middle East.  Next week NOAA predicts that the SFI will be in the range 118-122 with generally quiet geomagnetic conditions. But we give the same warning as we did last week. NASA gives a 45% chance of an M-class flare and a 15% chance of an X-class flare occurring at the moment. Any solar flare could trigger a coronal mass ejection and, if Earth-facing, we can expect a degradation in HF paths, perhaps 36 to 48 hours after the CME event as the solar plasma hits and the Kp index rises. The better news is that the Sporadic-E season is now in full swing and plenty of low-power 10m beacons are becoming audible between 28.160 and 28.325MHz. These are often a good indicator of openings. A list of 10m beacons can be found on the RSGB website under On the Air. Just click on Beacons and Repeaters. And now the VHF and up propagation news. There is a typical flavour to the current weather pattern with high pressure, initially to the south, being displaced east as an Atlantic low tries to push its associated weather fronts into western Britain. This will eventually lead to unstable, thundery bands of rain spreading into the country from the southwest. It makes detail complicated, but some rules still apply.  There will be some Tropo, especially at first and perhaps occasionally next week along the east coast and across the North Sea. However, the changing element is going to be how effectively the thundery rain areas move across the country, and they will reduce the Tropo chances and introduce some rain scatter. There are some small meteor showers this week, the Eta Lyrids peaked on the 10th of May but the o-Cetids, peaking on the 20th of May, are the most significant. With this addition to the seasonal increase in random meteor flux, expect good conditions for meteor scatter DXing. Apart from the random meteor scatter options, the growing interest is in Sporadic-E and most days you can find something on the clusters to confirm that the new season is starting to simmer nicely. The position of jet streams and the type of upper-air weather pattern this week suggests that the main features will slow down and leave marked meanderings north and south. Preferred directions would be to Scandinavia and the Baltic plus secondly looking south towards Spain and Portugal. The Moon gets to minimum declination on Thursday, and today, Sunday is the perigee. The week's trend will therefore be for shorter Moon windows until Thursday and rising path losses. 144MHz sky noise is high all week, reaching 2200K on Wednesday.  And that's all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday the 13th of March 2022   The news headlines: Saint Patrick's Day stations on the air Read about WRC-23 Looking ahead to international Marconi Day   Saint Patrick's Day stations will be running from midday on the 16th of March to midday on the 18th of March. For further information and to register as a participating station go to stpatricksaward.com. The International Telecommunication Union, ITU, has released its World Radio Conference-23 booklet. It provides easy access to the WRC-23 agenda and pertinent resolutions. It can be freely downloaded in all 6 languages of the ITU via the IARU Region 1 website at iaru-r1.org. The Cornish Radio Amateur Club will be running this year's International Marconi Day on the 23rd of April. Anyone wishing to register as an official station should please email crac.imd@gmail.com. The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo takes place this weekend. Saturday's lectures start at 1600 and Sunday's at 1500UTC. The Expo platform will remain open until the 10th of April for viewing presentations on-demand. Go to qsotodayhamexpo.com for more information. GB3YA in Cwmbran is now operational on 145.7125MHz with input 600kHz lower at 145.1125MHz. Initial tests show that stations as far away as Bath and Newbury are able to use the repeater. The repeater keeper says, ‘please, all feel free to use it'.   And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 13th, the Hamzilla Radio Fest takes place at the Discovery Science Park, Gateway House, Ramsgate Road, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9FF. Those who bought tickets and tables for 2021 will have had their bookings carried forward to Hamzilla 2022. Tickets from £3 and tables £12. More at www.hamzilla.uk. The Callington ARS Rally takes place on the 27th of March. It will be held in the Town Hall at Callington in Cornwall. Please send your rally and event news as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. We'll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online.   Now the DX news Paul, G8AFC will be operational from Pereybere on the north coast of Mauritius island as 3B8HE until early April. He will principally use SSB on the 7, 14 and when propagation permits, the 28 and 50MHz bands. Operation will be mostly during the daytime as propagation dictates and occasionally in the evenings. QSL details are on QRZ.com Don, K6ZO will be operating as D60AB [ Pron: Dee Six Zero A B]  from the 16th to the 18th of March from the Comoros islands. QSL direct to his home callsign. Diya, YI1DZ will be transmitting as Z81D from Juba in South Sudan until the 11th of September. Activity will be holiday style. QSL via OM3JW.   Now the Special Event news On Tuesday and Wednesday, Humwick Primary School will be operating GB4HJS for Science Week. On Thursday and Friday, St Andrews Primary School also in Sunderland, will be operating GB2SPS for Science Week. Both stations will operate using data modes on HF as well as using the VHF & UHF bands. More on both of these special event stations from Ian, G7MFN by email to g7mfn@hotmail.co.uk. Two special event stations, GB1900HA and GB1900HW, will run throughout the year to commemorate 1900 years since the building of Hadrian's Wall. Austin, M0MNE in South Shields and Roy, M0TKF in Hexham will be operating the stations from near Hadrian's Wall and will be active on the HF and VHF bands in voice, CW and digital modes. QSL via Logbook of the World and Club Log's OQRS. See QRZ.com for more information.   Now the contest news When operating in any contest, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following all relevant pandemic-related government rules. For RSGB Contests, until further notice, all logs received from stations located in the Russian Federation or Belarus will be treated as check logs. The second 70MHz Cumulative Contest takes place from 1000 to 1200UTC today, the 13th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The RSGB Commonwealth Contest ends its 24-hour run at 1000UTC today, the 13th. This is one of the longest-running contests in the HF contesting world. It is CW only on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands. The exchange is signal report and serial number. The 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest takes place on Tuesday from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the CW leg of the 80m Club Championships takes place between 2000 and 2130 UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number. Also on Wednesday, the 1296MHz FT8 Activity Contest runs between 1700 and 2100 UTC. The exchange is callsign and your 4-character Maidenhead locator. Thursday sees the all-mode 70MHz UK Activity Contest take place between 2000 and 2230UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend the BARTG HF RTTY Contest takes place from 0200UTC on the 19th to 0159UTC on the 21st. Using the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands where contests are permitted, the exchange is serial number and time in UTC.   Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 11th of March 2022. We may not have had a large number of sunspots this week, but at least the Sun was consistent. We started the week last Sunday with a sunspot number of 116, and by Thursday it was still at 115. This sounds worse than it actually was as there were six sunspot groups active on Thursday, including newly-assigned active region 2965, which is coming into view off the east limb. As we predicted, last weekend was characterised by unsettled geomagnetic conditions with a maximum Kp index of five across Saturday and Sunday. This affected HF a little, but there were still some good UK scores put in for the ARRL DX International SSB contest, with Andy, M0NKR making 812 contacts in just seven hours on 40, 20 and 15 metres. He also reports working many USA west coast stations on 15 metres, which appeared to be the money band. NOAA predicts that next week we will have a decline in solar activity with a predicted solar flux index of 110 falling to 100 by the end of the week. From a geomagnetic point of view, it may be a repeat of last weekend. NOAA says that it predicts a maximum Kp index of four this weekend, then we may have quieter conditions next week. But then it predicts an elevated Kp index the following weekend (19th to the 21st) of up to four again. Finally, don't forget we have the Commonwealth Contest this weekend, which is a great opportunity to work some choice DX stations with no competition from non-Commonwealth entities - this doesn't happen very often! And now the VHF and up propagation news. This first weekend sees a continuation of the unsettled weather type, especially in western areas, but there is a large area of high pressure just out of reach over central Europe. This looks as though it could edge towards the eastern side of the UK as we move into the new week and may give some Tropo to the east into the Baltic regions. The problem is that there is a chance of some, much colder, air moving in from the east with a chance of some wintry showers. Although the main feature is likely to be the strength of the winds, bitter cold is not really conducive to good Tropo. The other modes can still play a role, so check the solar data for high K indices, indicating a chance of aurora, as well as the usual early morning random meteor scatter. Perhaps start to dust down your techniques for Sporadic-E as we head into the second half of the month. We are not there yet, but maybe it is worth the occasional look at 10m. The Moon's declination is positive until next Saturday, and path losses are falling with perigee still more than a week away. 144MHz sky noise is low all week, creeping to just over 300 Kelvin next weekend. And that's all from the propagation team this week.  

This is a list of what I consider to be the best mobile ham radios for your vehicle as we roll into 2022. All of these ham radios are currently in production and used for the VHF/UHF bands in ham radio.Check this link for a list of places to purchase: https://www.livefromthehamshack.tv/2021/12/28/best-mobile-ham-radio-for-2022

Vince d'Eon, VE6LK, has taken hold of the many amateur radio opportunities on HF SSB, VHF/UHF mobile operation, repeater building and maintenance, and supporting events with his Calgary based amateur radio club.  Vince is a regular contributor to the bi-weekly Ham Radio Workbench Podcast and made a presentation at the last QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo on Disaster Communications and Leadership Imperatives for Radio Amateurs.  VE6LK is my QSO Today.

GB2RS News Sunday the 19th of December 2021 The news headlines: GB2RS Christmas arrangements Volunteers sought for Board and Regions Comoros DXpedition postponed Next Sunday, the 26th, will see the final GB2RS script for 2021. The deadline for news is being brought forward to 10 am on Tuesday the 21st of December, instead of the usual Thursday. The news reading on the 26th is optional, as the RSGB appreciates that not all newsreaders will be available, but the script will be on the RGSB website so all can see it. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the newsreaders who read the news on a variety of platforms for their service to their fellow amateurs throughout the year. We'd also like to remind amateurs that there has been a long-standing convention to keep 145.525MHz free of traffic at 10 am on Sundays, to allow the news reading to go ahead without interference. Thank you to all those who listen on Sunday mornings, and the other times that the news is read, to those who call in afterwards to speak to the newsreaders, and to everyone who listens via platforms. There will be no script prepared for broadcast on Sunday the 2nd of January 2022 due to RSGB HQ being closed. Newsreaders may, of course, choose to run a net at their normal transmission time, but under their own callsign only. We'd like to remind Members that the RSGB is looking for volunteers for roles in the Regional Team and on the Board. The deadline for completed nominations is 23:59 on 31 January 2022. There are eight vacancies for Regional Representatives and one for an elected Board Director. You can see further details about the roles and about how to apply at rsgb.org/election The Comoros Islands DXpedition that was to take place sometime between mid-to-end January in 2022 has been postponed. The Covid situation makes it safer for the team not to travel now. It should take place later in 2022. Having listened to feedback, the RSGB is delighted to announce that from the January 2022 issue onwards, it has been making RadCom available online for Members to read in the same week that the hard copy arrives through the letterbox. The January 2022 RadCom is now online at rsgb.org/radcom Have you ever thought of becoming a GB2RS Newsreader? The team to the northwest of Manchester is looking for someone to join them, to broadcast on Sunday morning and/or evening on 2m and 4m. Applicants must be members of the RSGB and hold a Full or Intermediate licence. For more information, please contact the northwest team via Annick, M0HDE, email annickmorris@gmail.com. For general guidance about joining the GB2RS service, please contact the GB2RS Manager, Steve, G4HPE, via gb2rs.manager@rsgb.org. To mark 100 years of British broadcasting, the BBC will be putting on special events throughout 2022. As part of the celebrations, the staff amateur radio club, the BBC Radio Group, will be active throughout the year using the special callsign GB100BBC. Ofcom has kindly permitted operation from club members' home stations, as well as from BBC premises around the UK, and locations associated with BBC broadcasting such as transmitter sites. In addition to online QSL options, a traditional commemorative QSL card will be available via the bureau. View the GB100BBC page on QRZ.com for more information and look for GB100BBC on all bands and modes. Operations will commence on New Year's Day from the club shack in Broadcasting House, London. The winners of the RSGB and ARRL 160-Meter Transatlantic Centenary QSO Party are Rick Niswander, K7GM and Bob Barden, MD0CCE. They receive a quaich, a traditional Scottish drinking cup representing friendship, from the GMDX Group of Scotland. For more information see the RSGB website. Gwyn Williams, G4FKH has decided to stop running the Predtest.uk website. It will cease on the 22nd of December 2021. The site has been running for a few years now after Gwyn worked with numerous programmers to give a more user-friendly and graphical output to the ITU's ITURHFPROP propagation prediction program. Predtest has been a very useful tool in the HF user's armoury, allowing point-to-point and area coverage predictions among others. The RSGB Propagation Studies Committee would like to thank Gwyn for all his hard work on Predtest over the years. Users are being encouraged to move over to James Watson's Proppy tool, which offers a similar experience to Predtest and is also based on ITURHFPROP. You can find Proppy at soundbytes.asia/proppy/ Alternatively, VOACAP.com offers a similar experience and is based on the well-known VOACAP software. RSGB HQ will close for the Christmas and New Year period from 4.30 pm on the 23rd of December. It opens again at 8.30 am on the 4th of January. During that time, if you need information about amateur radio, exams or RadCom you'll find lots of information on the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org. And now for details of rallies and events Now is the perfect time to let us know your group's rally or event plans for 2022. Email radcom@rsgb.org.uk with details and we'll publicise your event for free in RadCom, on GB2RS, and online. There are already over twenty rallies in the calendar for 2022. Now the DX news Chris, ZS1CDG plans to be active as 7P8GOZ from Lesotho between the 20th and 26th of December. He will operate holiday style on 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres using FT8. QSL via Logbook of The World or his home call. Brad, VK2BY will be active as HS0ZNR in north-eastern Thailand until the 21st of January. QSL direct to VK2BY and Logbook of The World. Victor, WB0AA will be active as V4/WB0AA from St Kitts, NA-104 between the 22nd and the 30th of December. He will operate CW and SSB on the 10 to 160m bands. QSL via his home call and possibly Logbook of The World. Now the Special Event news GB120MT is being operated by Chelmsford ARS to mark the first successful reception in Newfoundland from the Marconi transmission at Poldhu in Cornwall. The station will be on the air at various times until the 1st of January 2022. Now the contest news There are no RSGB HF contests at all this month. When operating in any contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following pandemic-related government rules. The Stew Perry Top Band Challenge ends its 24-hour run at 1500UTC today, the 19th. It is CW only and the exchange is your 4-character locator. On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Christmas Cumulatives take place between the 26th and the 29th of December from 1400 to 1600 each day. Using the 50 to 432MHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On the 26th of December, the DARC Christmas Contest runs from 0830 to 1100UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations also send DOK or NM. The Worked All Britain Christmas Party runs from the 26th of December to the 6th of January. Using all modes on any band, the exchange is your WAB book number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 17th of December After a period with zero sunspots, we're pleased to announce that the drought is over. There are now at least five active groups on the solar surface and this could even increase over the coming days. The solar flux index had leapt up to 103 from 89 on Thursday and could go even higher. This puts us in the fun zone for 10 metres and it will be interesting to see what is workable over the next week. There is an increased risk of solar flares during this time and we have already seen some C- and M-class events. Solar flares and their associated coronal mass ejections are generally detrimental to HF propagation, with flares causing short-lived blackouts and CMEs causing a lowering of MUFs a few days later. On Thursday the solar wind speed had increased to more than 500 kilometres per second and with a negative interplanetary magnetic field, or Bz, the Kp index had climbed to three as a result. Let's hope it doesn't climb much higher. The US Air Force predicts that the Solar Flux Index will remain above 100 until perhaps Wednesday the 22nd, when it may decline to the high 90s. But we really are in uncharted territory at the moment so keep an eye on SolarHam.com for regular updates. And finally, this week is a good time to contact Santa Claus in Lapland. OF9X is on the air in the Arctic Circle over Christmas and has been spotted on 80, 40, 30, 20 and 10m so far. He will be operating CW, SSB and FT8. The DX cluster is probably the easiest way of knowing where the station is on the bands at any one time. Good luck with making contact! And now the VHF and up propagation news. The welcome return of high pressure and tropo conditions from the middle of the past week should last through to the middle of the coming week. This means there will be plenty more chances for further enhanced propagation on VHF/UHF bands and hopefully for the SHF UKAC on 23cm on Tuesday evening. The position of the high is such that even Scotland will enjoy some of the tropo and paths to the south across Biscay and into northern Spain are worth investigating. From mid-week, there are signs that the Atlantic weather systems will break through again, which will take away the Tropo options. One intriguing set of charts shows a front across the middle of the country with mild air to the south and cold air to its north on Christmas Day. Plenty of excitement potential there, but at such long lead times it's no more than one of many possible outcomes at present. For a little extra joy this Christmas, we are moving into a time of year that can offer surprise winter Sporadic-E, that's mid-December to mid-January. Little predictability is available for these events, but do make use of the Propquest charts at propquest.co.uk to get a hint of your chances; focus upon the jet stream maps, the NVIS tab to see the foEs values and the EPI index for mapped distribution of any possible hot spots. Last week's Geminids meteor shower produced some excellent QSOs up to and including 70cm for the well-equipped stations. The tail end of the shower should continue to make meteor scatter interesting. The Moon is at peak declination meaning plenty of time for EME contacts but with yesterday's apogee path losses are at their highest. 144MHz sky noise will be low this week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

Show Notes (contains affiliate links): Tools For The Ham Shack   On this week's episode of Ham Radio Crash Course, a podcast roughly based on amateur radio but mostly made up of responding to emails from listeners, hosted by Josh Nass - KI6NAZ and his reluctant wife, Leah - KN6NWZ, we talk about finding VHF/UHF on the air, year end preparations including free preps, and ham shack tools.    Have a drink with us! Today, we're drinking… Sierra Nevada Slighty Sour Ale, Coconut Hiwa and The Bruery's So Happens It's Tuesday Bourban Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.    Josh has a short tip with the Ham Radio Minute: Finding VHF/UHF on the air.   Join the conversation by leaving a review on iTunes for Ham Radio Crash Course podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ham-radio-crash-course/id1400794852 and/or emailing Leah@hamtactical.com. Leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts will help Ham Radio Crash Course reach more hams and future hams and we appreciate it!   What We Used This Week:    Josh suggests Shortwave Radio.    Leah suggests Monopoly Deal (https://amzn.to/3nvMB4C) and Blockus (https://amzn.to/3nws5kH) Ham Radio Crash Course A-store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hamradiocrashcourse   Preparedness Corner: Leah takes a look at preparing for holidays. Thanksgiving, camping trips and vacations. Walmart and Ibotta Free Thanksgiving. https://ibotta.onelink.me/iUfE/1005cd3f?friend_code=ddfvpnc Email Correspondent's Tower: We answer emails with ham radio questions, comments on previous podcasts, T-shirt suggestions and everything in between.   Links mentioned in the ECT:    Rocky Mountain Ham Radio: https://www.rmham.org   Karl VonDribble: https://youtu.be/Vn2ZyRUZ4-s   Alton Brown Egg Nog: https://altonbrown.com/recipes/aged-eggnog/   Ham Nation Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ham-nation/id440405696   Show Topic: Tools for the Ham Shack Thank you all for listening to the podcast.  We have a lot of fun making it and the fact you listen and send us feedback means alot to us!   Want to send us something? Josh Nass  P.O. Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101 Support the Ham Radio Crash Course Podcast: Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasi Shop HamTactical: http://www.hamtactical.com Shop Our Affiliates: http://hamradiocrashcourse.com/affiliates/ Shop Our Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hamradiocrashcourse As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.   Connect with Us: Website...................► http://hamradiocrashcourse.com YouTube..................► https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse Podcast...................► https://hamradiocrashcourse.podbean.com/ Discord....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDT Facebook................► https://goo.gl/cv5rEQ Twitter......................► https://twitter.com/Hoshnasi Instagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasi (Josh) Instagram.................►https://instagram.com/hamtactical (Leah)  

GB2RS News Sunday 19th of September 2021 The news headlines: RSGB Convention on 9 October Join in with Exercise Blue Ham on 5MHz New RSGB VHF UHF award   The RSGB Online Convention is taking place on the 9th of October. There will be two live streams of talks available all day with a Q&A session at the end of each talk. After the event, on the RSGB YouTube channel, you can view the lectures as many times as you wish. Callum, M0MCX from DX Commander is no stranger to YouTube videos. He will talk about An Obsession with Antennas, covering everything from very basic antenna modelling, through antenna shapes to achieving an impossible gain. You can watch a video trailer about the Convention and read about the other talks in the two streams at rsgb.org/convention. Whether you're new to amateur radio or have been enjoying it for years, do put the 9th of October in your diary. The RAF Air Cadets are planning to run the next Blue Ham Radio Communications Exercise on the 16th and 17th of October. They hope that radio amateurs can put some time aside to join in with the cadets and staff on the shared section of the 5MHz bands. A Blue Ham participation certificate is available to those who contact 15 or more special Cadet callsigns during the exercise. Details will be on the alphacharlie.org.uk website. The RSGB has introduced a new VHF UHF award. It is intended to encourage people to use their new handheld and the substantial bandwidth we have at VHF and UHF. There are five levels of awards available for progression. Full details as rsgb.org.uk/awards Another casualty of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic is the 2021 Tokyo Ham Fair, scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd of October. Due to the latest wave of infection this summer, the Japanese national society, JARL, has reluctantly decided to cancel the Ham Fair. They hope that the Tokyo Ham Fair will be back in 2022 under safer conditions. The recently formed Amplitude Modulation Amateur Society has announced the date of its very first monthly AM net. It will take place today, Sunday the 19th of September, at 1830UTC on 3.625MHz. Robert, GW6GBY will be the net controller, using the callsign GC5AMS from the historic transmitter site at Criggion. Members and non-members are welcome to join in, using AM. More information is on QRZ.com under G5AMS. Next week, after a few months of normal eclipse periods, FUNcube-1, AO73, will re-enter full sunlight for about two months. It has been in continuous transponder mode for some time now and AMSAT-UK has decided that, during this sunlight period, FUNcube-1 should operate in continuous high-power telemetry mode. The change will be made within the next few days. FUNcube-1 has now been in orbit for almost eight years and the telemetry indicates that all systems, including the battery and solar panels, appear to be operating as well now as they did immediately after launch. The IARU Region 1 Monitoring Service newsletter, dated August 2021, is now available. Generally, August showed a very similar situation to previous months. Well-known intruders were regularly present in the 7MHz band. From time to time, an intermodulation artefact of 13855kHz and 13710kHz was heard on 14000kHz. Also, several over the horizon radar systems were active almost daily. You can read the full report, including the UK report from Richard, G4DYA, at iaru-r1.org. And now for details of rallies and events Before travelling to any rally or event, please check the event's website as there may still be alterations or cancellations due to the pandemic. Today, the 19th, the Cambridge Repeater Group Rally will be held in Foxton Village hall, Hardman Road, Foxton CB22 6RN. Please be aware that there will not be a Bring & Buy, but car boot traders are welcome. Visitors are recommended to wear face masks for the indoor section. Doors open at 9.30 am and entry is £3. Weston-super-Mare Radio Society be holding its 6th Radio & Electronics Rally on the 26th of September. It will be held in The Campus Community Centre, Highland Lane, Worle BS24 7DX, which is just off M5 junction 21. Over 60 tables have been booked and the doors will be open at 10 am. The entry fee is £3. The 3rd of October Welsh Radio Rally is cancelled, as previously publicised. Now the DX news SP9FIH and SP6CIK will be active as D60AC and D60AD respectively, from the Comoros archipelago, IOTA reference AF-007, until the 2nd of October. They will operate SSB, CW, RTTY and FT8 on the 80, 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10m bands. The preferred method of QSL is via Club Log's OQRS, otherwise use their home callsigns. Look for JI3DST/5, JR8YLY/5 and JR8YLY/p using FT8 from Shodo Island, AS-200, until the 23rd of September and again between the 25th and 28th September. All QSOs will be uploaded to Club Log and made available for Club Log Matching on the IOTA website. Stian, LB5SH will be active as OY/LB5SH from the Faroe Islands, EU-018, until the 20th of September. He will operate mainly SSB and FT8, possibly with some CW during the SAC Contest. QSL via Logbook of The World. Now the Special Event news Thurrock Acorns Amateur Radio Club will be operating GB2BB for the Battle of Britain until the 20th of September. Riviera Amateur Radio Club will be running GB8BB in September in commemoration of those who served in the Battle of Britain. Apologies for the error last week, this is the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Britain. GB8ROC will be operating from Scotland's Secret Bunker, in Fife, on Thursday the 30th of September. Further activity may take place the following weekend. This is to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the national stand-down of the Royal Observer Corps, and also to mark the 80th anniversary of the award of Royal title to the Observer Corps, in recognition of their services in the Battle of Britain. The operation will be on HF and VHF. QSL via the bureau. GB4SRM will be on the air for Railways On The Air on the 25th and 26th of September from Locomotion at Shildon in County Durham. All are welcome and entry to the venue is free. Now the contest news When operating in contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following relevant pandemic-related government recommendations. Today, the 19th, is the 70MHz Affiliated Clubs Contest, running from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The IRTS 70cm Counties contest runs from 1300 to 1330UTC today, the 19th. Using SSB and FM, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note that EI and GI stations also give their County. The IRTS 2m Counties Contest is also today, but running from 1330 to 1500UTC. Details and exchange are the same as for the 70cm contest. Finally, the BARTG Sprint PSK63 contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC today. The exchange is just the serial number. On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Thursday sees the data leg of the 80m Autumn Series take place from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number. Next weekend is the 48-hour CQ World Wide DX RTTY Contest, ending at 2359UTC on the 26th. Using the contest bands between 3.5 and 28MHz, the exchange is signal report and Zone, which is 14 for the UK. The UK Microwave group contest runs next Sunday from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 and 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Practical Wireless 70MHz contest runs from 1200 to 1600UTC next Sunday, the 26th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 17th of September. After last week's very active Sun, we have had a quieter week with little solar activity. As of Thursday, there were zero sunspots and the solar flux index had declined to 75, pretty much as predicted. The upside is that the Sun has been quiet geomagnetically with a maximum Kp index of three over the past week. This means the ionosphere has not been adversely affected. HF conditions have been adequate rather than exceptional, with FT8 F2-layer openings on 10 metres as well as some late-season Sporadic-E. Brazil has been logged in the late afternoons on 10m FT8, as have a few other stations from the Caribbean and South America. We haven't seen much of the long-awaited Autumnal trans-Atlantic DX on 10 metres, but it is still early days. We may not see this until later in the month or even early October. At the moment it isn't looking too good for next week either. NOAA predicts the SFI will be in the range 76 to 78. This could, of course, change if we have a sudden outburst of sunspots. Geomagnetically, NOAA predicts more of the same with the Kp index at two to three. Propquest shows that the predicted maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path is likely to just touch the lower end of 21MHz at times. And now the VHF and up propagation news. The continuation of the mixed weak Tropo and rain scatter modes seems to be the way to go during the period to next weekend. At the moment the primary Tropo period comes along for the first half of next week, before being eroded from the west as Atlantic fronts move in. The preferred Tropo directions are probably east across the North Sea and south into northern France. The other modes such as meteor scatter and aurora and of course, the most reliable of DX modes, aircraft scatter, are always worth checking out. Now international air travel is getting frequent again, the dip in aircraft scatter opportunities that we had at the height of the pandemic, should be reducing, so check the beaconspot.uk website for the latest on VHF and up beacons and monitor them to see some interesting propagation, and set up some skeds on VHF and up via the ON4KST.info chat. Look on www.airscout.eu to download an excellent aircraft scatter path prediction program from Frank, DL2ALF. No meteor showers this week, and random meteor activity will be declining from the August/September peak, but keep checking in the early morning for the best random meteor scatter conditions. Time to put the EME system back in the dish for this month as we return to positive Moon declination on Tuesday. Losses are still low but increasing this week. The Moon is up from early evening to the early hours. And that's all from the propagation team this week.  

GB2RS News Sunday 5th of September 2021 The news headlines: Prof Cathryn Mitchell to headline Convention Newbury children to contact ISS IARU responds to European Commission   The RSGB is delighted to announce that Professor Cathryn Mitchell, M0IBG has agreed to be the keynote speaker at the Online Convention on the 9th of October. Her talk, Radio technology and space science – a perfect partnership, will explore the connections between radio and space and will look at the many ways that everyone can get involved. Cathryn is the Academic Director of the University of Bath Doctoral College and recipient of the 2019 Edward Appleton Medal. She was recently inducted into the CQ Hall of Fame. You can read more about the talk, and all the others in the two streams, at rsgb.org/convention. Whether you're new to amateur radio or have been enjoying it for years, do put the 9th of October in your diary. A group of children at the Mary Hare School for deaf children in Newbury will be talking to an astronaut aboard the International Space Station in October, using amateur radio equipment set up with the help of Newbury and District ARS. The children will each ask a question to the astronaut who will then answer the question live over amateur radio. The reply will then be interpreted into subtitles and sign language for the children to understand. More details when the October date is announced. The IARU Region 1 Political Relations Committee, PRC, has responded to two recent European Commission consultations to promote the amateur radio viewpoint. In the case of the consultation on ‘Designing mobile phones and tablets to be sustainable – ecodesign', the PRC responded with a written submission. It is expected to set a precedent for all wireless equipment needing to be 'greener' in due course. In the second instance, the consultation on the Delegated Act under the Radio Equipment Directive on the subject of ‘Internet-connected radio equipment and wearable radio equipment, the IARU response was one of 26 received by the Commission. The Delegated Act aims at strengthening the security of internet-connected devices, most of which are expected to be part of the Internet of Things, and of wearable radio equipment. However, the IARU has concerns as to how the Act will be implemented and how it might affect amateur radio. On Monday 6 September the RSGB starts its autumn Tonight @ 8 webinar series. Gavin Nesbitt, MM1BXF will introduce meteor scatter communications. These free webinars are live-streamed on the RSGB YouTube channel and you can ask questions during the presentations via live chat. For more information about this and other webinars in the series go to rsgb.org/webinars Roger Castle-Smith, G3IOT is presenting an IET webinar at 7 pm on the 8th of September. It is about the Broadcast Group of the Diplomatic Wireless Service that had its origins in the Political Warfare Executive at the beginning of World War Two. This illustrated talk will look at the transmission of black propaganda and associated activities during WWII. There will be many pictures and descriptions of the equipment and aerials used at these stations. Also covered will be an introduction to the progress of amplitude modulation techniques that enabled transmitters to become more compact. This lecture will last for two hours, with a 10-minute break at around halfway. To sign up for the event, which is open to anybody, not just IET members, go to events.theiet.org. Scroll down to 08 Sep and click on the one that mentions Aspidistra, then follow the registration instructions. Churches and Chapels on the Air is taking place on Saturday the 11th of September. Most activity will take place on the 80 and 40m bands in SSB from 10 am to 4 pm local. For anyone intending to put a station on at their local church or chapel, do ensure that permission is obtained and any Covid guidance is observed. A list of CHOTA stations is at wacral.org. This year's International Air Ambulance Week will take place between the 4th and 12th of September. The focus is on supporting and generating donations for flying medical services around the world. The event covers two weekends, giving amateurs a great chance to get involved and support the event. For full details, including how to register, search for ‘amateur radio air ambulance week' on the internet. And now for details of rallies and events Before travelling to any rally or event, please check the event's website as there may be alterations or cancellations due to the pandemic. The annual Telford HamFest takes place today, the 5th of September, at the Harper Adams University campus near Telford, Shropshire. The event opens at 10.15 am, with talk-in via GB4THF. Details can be found at telfordhamfest.org.uk. Next Sunday, the 12th, the Caister Lifeboat Rally will be held at Caister Lifeboat station, Tan Lane, Caister on Sea, Norfolk NR30 5DJ. Doors open at 9.30 am. There will be a raffle and the onsite café will be open. The museum will also be open. Also, on the 12th, the Exeter Radio and Electronics Rally will take place in America Hall, De la Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter EX4 8PW. Now the DX news Tina, HB0/DL5YL and Fred, HB0/DL5YM will be active from Liechtenstein from the 5th to the 28th of September. Usually, they operate CW, RTTY and some SSB on the 160 to 6m bands. QSL via home calls, direct or bureau. Claudio, HB9OAU will be active holiday style as SV5/HB9OAU from the Greek island of Karpathos, IOTA reference EU-001, until the 17th of September. He will operate SSB, RTTY and FT8 on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World, eQSL or via his home call, both bureau and direct. Now the Special Event news GB2SCC will be activated at St Cynllo's Church in Coed Y Bryn as part of CHOTA this year. They expect to be active mostly on 80m and 40m SSB between 10 am and 4 pm from IO72TB, with perhaps some 20m, 17m and 15m SSB excursions if conditions permit. QSL will be via the bureau. Thurrock Acorns Amateur Radio Club will be operating GB2BB for the Battle of Britain from the 10th to the 20th of September. Riviera Amateur Radio Club will be running GB8BB in September in commemoration of those who served in the Battle of Britain. This year is the 80th anniversary. Now the contest news When operating in contests, please keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe by following any government recommendations during the pandemic. This weekend is a busy one for contests. The SSB Field Day ends its 24-hour run at 1300UTC today, the 5th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The IARU Region 1 Field Day ends its 24-hour run at 1300UTC today, the 5th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The 144MHz Trophy Contest ends its 24-hour run at 1300UTC today, the 5th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The All Asian DX contest runs for 48 hours this weekend ending at 2359UTC today, the 5th. It is SSB only on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands. The exchange is signal report and your age, although ladies can just send 00. Today, the 5th, the fifth 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes on the 144MHz band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Britain 144MHz QRO contest takes place today, the 5th of September, from 1000 to 1400UTC. The full rules are on their website. Entries to be with the contest manager by the 15th of September. Mobile and portable categories have resumed, but the organisers ask that participants please act sensibly. On Monday the 80m Autumn Series contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. It is SSB only and the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator. Thursday sees the 50MHz UK Activity Contest run from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend the WAE DX SSB contest runs for 48 hours from 0000UTC on the 11th to 2359UTC on the 12th. Using all the contest bands from 3.5 to 28MHz, the exchange is signal report and serial number. European stations work non-European stations only. On Sunday the 12th, the UK Microwave group contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using the 24 to 76GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 3rd of September. Well, NOAA got the solar flux index prediction wrong last week. The SFI actually ended up higher than the prediction, thanks to active region 2860, which grew as the week went on. NOAA also issued a G1 or Minor, and G2, or Moderate, geomagnetic storm watch for the 1st and 2nd of September, just days after two CMEs occurred on the 28th of August. The first was associated with an M4 X-ray flare or R1-Minor Radio Blackout. The second CME was associated with a filament eruption. As of 1800 on Thursday it looks like this may have been overcautious as no disturbance had occurred. Active region 2863 has now rotated into view, but on Thursday it still looked quite small and non-threatening. There are signs of HF propagation improving as we move to more autumnal ionospheric conditions. Antoine, 3D2AG and Dominik, 3D2USU in Fiji were both logged on 17 metres this week and ZS1OIN in South Africa was noted on 15 metres. Chris, G3SJJ reports working Chile on 15 and 20 metres, along with Uruguay, Peru and Puerto Rico on 20m. The equinoxes are typically very good for North-South paths so we can expect conditions to improve as the month wears on. Propquest shows that the maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path is generally struggling to reach 18MHz during the day. Next week NOAA predicts the SFI will decline into the low 80s, due to a lack of serious sunspot activity. It also predicts a maximum Kp index of two. However, a large equatorial coronal hole was Earth-facing on Thursday, so we may expect a geomagnetic disturbance and higher Kp index across this weekend, due to the incoming plasma from the high-speed solar wind. And now the VHF and up propagation news. The prolonged spell of high-pressure weather has produced some strong lift conditions across the country and surrounding seas. Unfortunately, it seems the high will probably suffer some knocks during the coming week and there will be some rain or showers. However, there is a good chance the high will fight back, to some extent, and there may be further Tropo periods during the week. The rain events are unreliable with marked changes in outcome from run to run of the forecast models but may provide occasional opportunities for rain scatter on the GHz bands. The main Sporadic-E season has pretty much finished and, although occasional outliers can still provide activity into September, the events may be very brief. Of course, random meteor scatter and auroral propagation modes are always possible. For one reason or another, it is good to periodically check the VHF/UHF beacons; they are there for this very purpose. Perhaps now is a good time to update your VHF/UHF beacon list by looking at the real-time, updated lists at www.beaconspot.uk to ensure you are there for the next chance opening! Random meteor activity is still high and there is just one small meteor shower again this week. The September Epsilon-Perseids have a low Zenithal Hourly Rate of five. It is active from the 5th to the 21st of September, reaching a maximum on the 9th at 1100UTC. Moon declination goes negative again on Wednesday so we'll have decreasing peak elevations shortening Moon visibility windows. It reaches perigee on Saturday so path losses will be getting lower all week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

Episode 41 Awesome Feedback Show Notes 00:00 LHS Promo 00:34 Theme 01:27 Intro Back in the studio this time.The Resonant Frequency website has been moved and blacksparrowmedia.com is no more. The new web site is rfpodcast.info. Linux in the Ham Shack is at lhspodcast.info. To contact Richard, use kb5jbv@gmail.com. 03:00 Donations The two podcasts are now financially separated, so please consider making a donation to the Resonant Frequency podcast to show your support. 04:46 Feedback Craig, KD8NJZ, posted a comment at the forums on the old site. He enjoys the podcast as well as The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast and Teen Radio Journey. Ray, KO4RB, also posted a comment on the web site to welcome Resonant Frequency back "on the air". BB, KC5PIY, writes to ask for help finding episodes 1-11 and 33. BB is the webmaster for Intertie, Inc., http://www.intertie.org, "a private amateur radio 501(c)(3) organization whose members have constructed and operate 23 remotely controlled base stations, (Remote Base), interconnected through full duplex links. These linked systems cover a large part of Texas and are an integral part of the larger Cactus Intertie System consisting of over 150 Remote Base sites and 20 affiliate clubs." There is some sort of problem with the feed to iTunes. We're working on it, but if you have any experiance with RSS feeds and Drupal, please contact Richard. If you're looking for old episodes, they are all available at rfpodcast.info under the "Podcast Archive" button near the top of the page. WW, KB9TMP, also writes to welcome back Resonant Frequency. He agrees that most of the repeaters in his area go quiet after about 6:00pm. The only busy repeater is a linked repeater www.w9win.org, and even it is not that busy. He has a simplex EchoLink node 7492, KB9TMP-L. David, N5DBK, writes to express his appreciation for the return of Resonant Frequency, and shares his thoughts about the 2-meter "wasteland" Richard talked about in Episode 41. 22:31 Song "Do You Mean It" by Magic Slim and the Teardrops, from the album "Raising The Bar". 25:57 If you're involved in the Section Manager election for the ARRL North Texas section, please contact Richard. 27:24 Feedback Gary, WR1U, also writes in about the lack of traffic on his local repeaters, and even simplex is quiet. Gary has started a Facebook www.facebook.com continued group for blind amateur radio operators. If you're on Facebook, look for it. Richard notes that part of the reason simplex VHF traffic has fallen off is due to uncoordinated repeaters, some D-Star, that have cropped up on the simplex portion of the band. Ray, KO4RB, writes again to welcome Resonant Frequency back. BB, KC5PIY, also signed up as a listener on the web site and had some problems with the process. If you're have trouble signing up, please contact Richard for assistance. Chris, NW5W, writes to say he is having problems subscribing to the podcast through iTunes.Ted welcomes RF back and usually agrees with Richard's opinions. 38:22 Song "Shame" by Magic Slim and the Teardrops, from the album "Raising The Bar". 42:16 Topic More thoughts about the VHF/UHF wasteland. Remember that we lost part of the 220MHz band partly because it was under-utilized by hams. So, get out there and use the repeaters! Resonant Frequency has taken on an advertiser to help defray costs. Look for a show about 2010 Field Day coming soon. If you're in the North Texas ARRL Section, contact Richard to discuss the current situation. You may hear Richard on D-Star, VHF or HF. Give him a call! And send us you feedback. Without your participation and feedback we don't have a show. Check out our Glossary of Amateur / Ham Radio Terms used on the shows HERE Visit our Youtube channel for videos on Amateur Radio www.youtube.com/c/RichardBaileyKB5JBV Contact Info For Richard KB5JBV: Website: www.rfpodcast.info

amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "resonantfrequ-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "aba86e8a04d76f12dc9bdb49e5f9f58c"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B07PND51CR,B00X6FYWWS,B088PPDRT7"; amzn_assoc_design = "in_content"; Episode 41 VHF / UHF Waste land 00:00 Intro Music 00:54 Intro Recording live from the vehicle, Dave Yates style. http://lottalinuxlinks.com/Migration to the web hosting service is complete, though some things were lost. If you were signed up for an account on the old site, you'll need to sign up again.After a long hiatus, Resonant Frequency is back. Tell your friends. If you're on iTunes, new episodes should arrive automatically.To contact Richard, use kb5jbv@gmail.com. 04:51 Dayton The Dayton Hamvention is coming up. Look for the Linux in the Ham Shack table at Dayton and say hello to Russ, K5TUX. Unfortunately, Richard will not be able to attend due to job commitments. 05:14 Thanks, again, to Jerry Taylor for his kind remarks about us on his podcast, The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast.There are a number of good amateur radio podcasts, now. Some are: The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast (http://myamateurradio.com)Low SWR http://www.lowswr.com/Teen Radio Journey http://www.teenradiojourney.com/Linux in the Ham Shack http://lhspodcast.info/Resonant Frequency http://rfpodcast.info/ 06:08 This episode is being recorded on a Sansa Clip while Richard is driving. Apologies for any pops and clicks. 07:12 Song "Funky Way" by Mark Hummel, from the album "Retro-Active". 11:52 Rant VHF / UHF Waste landEvery VHF and UHF repeater pair within 70 miles of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is taken. So, why can't you find someone to talk to after 11:00pm? Years ago, that was not the case. Is the 2m band dead at night in your area? Any idea why? Let me know. Around here, 2m is busy at drive times, and a few nets in the evening, but after that, nothing. If we don't use it, we'll lose it. Don't let VHF and UHF become a Waste Land 26:05 Song "Smack Talkin' Mama" by Ray Campi, Kevin Fennell from the album "Hard Rockin' Head Knockin'" 31:11 Conclusion Visit our Youtube channel for videos on Amateur Radio www.youtube.com/c/RichardBaileyKB5JBV Read More About Resonant Frequency: The Amateur Radio Podcast At www.rfpodcast.info Check out our Glossary of Amateur / Ham Radio Terms used on the shows HERE amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "resonantfre0c-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "search"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = "ham radio aprs"; amzn_assoc_default_category = "All"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "6bf6f2cec828e054a7a9576e5c8be77a"; amzn_assoc_design = "in_content";

GB2RS News Sunday 4th July 2021 The news headlines: Join Monday's Tonight @ 8 NRC closure for tree felling GM0GMN to lead IPA Amateur Radio Section Don't forget to join the RSGB's Tonight @ 8 webinar on Monday evening. RSGB EMC Chair John Rogers, M0JAV will explain how to assess your station against ICNIRP EMF levels. The EMC Committee has been working hard to help all radio amateurs understand more about how to comply with the new Ofcom licence conditions. So take this chance to hear from an expert and ask questions. Tonight @ 8 will take a break in August and then will be back with another great programme for the autumn. To find out more about this and previous webinars, go to rsgb.org/webinars. The RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park will be closed on the 5th and 6th of July. This is due to the large tree in the immediate vicinity of the NRC being felled. It is planned to re-open on Thursday the 8th as usual. Note that the NRC is not open on Wednesdays. Following the very sad passing of Regional Representative Tom Reilly, G0NSY, the International Police Association has appointed James, GM0GMN to lead their UK Amateur Radio Section. James is keen to make contact with current and former members of the group and to encourage new members. To contact James, see QRZ.com. Following the update from Ofcom to their guidance What you need to know as an Amateur Radio user, the RSGB has updated its calculator to version rsgb10a. This can be found on the EMF pages of the website at rsgb.org/emf. Please treat this as a beta release and report any problems to m0jav@rsgb.org.uk. The main changes are to implement band dependent antenna gain and the low power compliance condition in line with Ofcom's change to guidance. The other changes made by Ofcom to their calculator were already in the RSGB version. Have you ever thought about taking up an awards challenge as part of your amateur radio activities? Whether you enjoy HF or VHF/UHF, the RSGB awards are open to everyone, whatever your age, licence level and personal interests. Along the way, you will learn more about propagation, experiment with equipment and make tweaks to your station to maximise performance. Awards encourage you to push yourself further. The RSGB has launched a new web page that highlights the stories of radio amateurs who enjoy chasing awards. Take a look and be inspired by them at rsgb.org/award-stories. The GB2RS service is seeking a newsreader to cover the Western Isles of Scotland. You would be joining an existing team as a reserve reader and there are opportunities for more than one applicant to broadcast the News on Sunday using HF, VHF or UHF. You should be an RSGB Member and have good coverage of the region. If you want to find out more without obligation, please contact the GB2RS Manager at gb2rs.manager@rsgb.org.uk. A date for your diary now. The popular Churches and Chapels on the Air event will take place on the 11th of September. Most activity takes place on the 80 and 40m bands. Please register your station with organiser John, G3XYF, see QRZ.com. And now for details of rallies and events We heard from several rally organisers that their events will not be taking place this year. Rugby ATS regrets that it is not able to run its rally this year, but they look forward to seeing everyone next year on Sunday the 21st of August 2022. The organisers of the Welsh Radio Rally, which was due to take place in October, have said that it will return in 2022. They would like to thank the traders and visitors that have supported them over the years and look forward to seeing everyone again in 2022. Also cancelled are the East Sussex Wireless Revival and McMichael rally & boot sale, both originally planned for next Sunday, the 11th. On a much brighter note for later this month, the Finningley ARS Car Boot bring & buy is scheduled to go ahead on Sunday the 25th of July. You can check for updates at g0ghk.com/cbr21 Finally, the Wiltshire Radio Rally, Electronics Fair & Car Boot Sale is planned to go ahead on Sunday the 1st of August. Details of this one are at chippenhamradio.club. Now the DX news Ed, ES2TT will be active as ES2TT/0 from Saaremaa Island [sar-eh-mah], IOTA reference EU-034, on the 10th and 11th of July. He will operate CW and SSB on the 30 to 20m bands. QSL via his home call, direct or via the bureau. Frank, K3TRM will be active as VP2V/K3TRM from Tortola, British Virgin Islands, NA-023, between the 4th and the 17th of July. He will operate on the 40 to 6m bands using SSB, RTTY, FT8 and satellite. QSL via Logbook of The World, Club Log's OQRS, or via home call. ZD7GB is the callsign issued to Gerry, G3WIP for use during his stay on St Helena Island, AF-022, until the 6th of September. In his spare time he will operate SSB, FT8 and FT4 on the 40 to 10m bands and via the QO-100 satellite. Now the Special Event news Coventry ARS is running two special event stations until May 2022 to celebrate Coventry being the City of Culture. GB1COC & GB8CCC will be running most days, with GB8CCC passing between members of the club. Dates and times will vary. Now the contest news With different parts of the UK having different lockdown restrictions, please make sure you follow the appropriate regulations. Keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe. This weekend is the RSGB VHF National Field Day. It runs for 24 hours until 1400UTC today, the 4th. Using all modes on the 50MHz to 1.3GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Please note that with the current Covid-19 restrictions, teams with multiple operators should ensure they are following the regulations in their area. Today, the 4th of July, is the 3rd 2m Backpackers contest. It runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday the CW leg of the 80m Club Championships runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is the same, signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. The exchange is your report and 4-character locator. On Thursday it is the turn of the 50MHz UK Activity Contest, running from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend the IARU HF Championship runs for 24 hours from 1200UTC on the 10th to 1200UTC on the 11th. Using CW and SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and ITU Zone. For the UK that is 27. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon runs until the 1st of August. Just exchange your 4-character locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 2nd of July. Well, NOAA certainly got the sunspot predictions wrong last week. It said that the solar flux index would be in the range 76 to 78 with a maximum Kp index of two. As it turned out, the SFI ended up way higher than this, peaking at 94 on Thursday. Active sunspot regions 2835 and 2836 ended up being bigger and more vigorous than predicted, pushing the sunspot number to a high of 53. This bodes well for the future and could mean that Solar Cycle 25 is now truly under way. The CDXC group has reported 10m FT8 openings to China, Japan and South Korea, plus 10m and 12m openings to the Caribbean and South America. Sporadic-E has started to tail off a little as we enter July and this is probably not helped by an increase in the Kp index to four on Wednesday night. The major IT outage at the University of Massachusetts Lowell continues. This means there is still no ionosonde data on the Propquest.co.uk website for foF2 graphs at the moment. Luckily, you can still access the live Chilton ionosonde data directly at ukssdc.ac.uk/ionosondes, although you may need to register. A check on Thursday showed that the critical frequency mid-morning over the UK was around 4 to 4.5MHz, meaning a maximum useable frequency over a 3,000km path of about 16.5MHz. Other than Sporadic-E openings, we can't expect the MUF to rise much further until the Autumn. NOAA predicts the solar flux index will decline from around 92 to perhaps 85 next week, as regions 2835 and 2836 rotate off the visible face of the Sun. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to remain relatively calm with the Kp index at two to three. And now the VHF and up propagation news. Tropo opportunities have gradually diminished over the tail end of the week just gone. We had a super North-South duct up the East Coast on Wednesday evening allowing a close-to 700km 10GHz Tropo QSO between Keith, GM4ODA/P at IO99IV in Shetland and Neil, G4DBN in IO93NR, who's almost at sea level on the Humber estuary. We are now left with what is essentially a low pressure-driven weather pattern, with a small low crossing southern England early in the week. This will mean that periods of rain or heavy and possibly thundery showers are likely, so good for rain scatter on the GHz bands. The main development will see low pressure over the British Isles or just to the west. The accompanying upper air pattern suggests a jet stream becoming established just to the south, over the near continent. This is a perfect location for supporting Sporadic-E paths into much of Europe, should other factors be in favour. The jet stream strength also looks to be a bit stronger again, which is another good sign. Just keep in mind that the band will seem dead if you don't call CQ! Mid-morning and late afternoon to early evening are going to be the most profitable times to do that. Moon declination is positive and rising again so Moon visibility windows will lengthen. With apogee on Monday, path losses will be high. There are no significant meteor showers until the end of the month, so continue to look around dawn for the best random meteor scatter opportunities. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday 27th June 2021   The news headlines: Covid-19 affects VHF NFD Tree-felling to interrupt National Radio Centre Durham is 13 Colonies bonus station   Covid restrictions are extending into July and this means that VHF NFD is taking place with more controls in place than the organisers were hoping for. It is still viable to run the contest on the 3rd and 4th of July, but it will require some additional precautions and control to be exercised by entrants. All entrants, group organisers and individuals involved must fully comply with all local Covid-19 restrictions and advice that apply at the time of the event. This includes, but is not limited to, social distancing, meeting people outside of their household/bubble and travel restrictions. Any enclosed operating space such as a car, caravan or a tent without two open sides is treated as an indoor location and will be subject to the tighter limits on the number of people visiting that space for the duration of the contest. The rules are different in each of the devolved nations and are regularly changing. So please satisfy yourself that you are compliant with your local rules at the time of the contest. The RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park will be closed on the 5th and 6th of July whilst a large tree is felled in the immediate vicinity. Booked entries to Bletchley Park itself are unaffected. Durham & District ARS is participating as one of the bonus stations in the 13 Colonies Special Event. The event began in 2009 as a way of celebrating American Independence with the original 13 colony States of 1776. Since the UK was a major historical player in the Revolutionary War, GB13COL from England will present an added challenge. The event will run from 1300UTC on the 1st of July to 0400UTC on the 8th. The primary focus of the event will be the HF bands, including VHF & UHF for QSOs using SSB, CW, FM and various digital modes. There is also an opportunity to exchange QSL cards with all 13 Colony State stations, plus the bonus stations. For further information go to 13colonies.us. A polite reminder now concerning the frequencies used each Sunday by the RSGB's GB2RS News service. The News is intended for all radio amateurs and listeners, and a clear frequency ensures that it may be heard as widely as possible. The national frequencies on HF are 1990, 3643, 3650, 5398.5 and 7127kHz. Some of these frequencies carry a succession of broadcasts from more than one location. On VHF and up, the principal frequencies for more localised broadcasts throughout the day are 70.425, 145.525 and 433.525MHz. Most amateurs appreciate that no individual or organisation has ownership of any frequency on the amateur bands, it has always been ‘first come first served'. But, in the case of GB2RS, there is a restriction on how far the broadcast is allowed to move to avoid interference. So, whether you're a club planning to set up a regular net, a contest station rapidly jumping frequencies, or someone just looking for a spot to call CQ, if it's a Sunday please spare a thought for the RSGB's volunteers who are trying to deliver the news. The full GB2RS frequency list and transmission times can be viewed at rsgb.org/gb2rsschedule and many webSDRs label the News spots on their waterfall displays. The RSGB would like to thank amateurs for respecting these frequencies. The Youngsters On The Air Contest's first round is complete and the claimed results have been posted on the YOTA website at contest.ham-yota.com. Worldwide participation was very good. In the YOTA-class categories, more than 100 entries were from contesters between 7 and 25 years old, and three entered as short wave listeners. There were more than 600 entries of participants above the age of 25, with the oldest participant at age 87. The next round will be on the 8th of July. Today, the 27th is the final day of the three-day Ham Radio World event. Instead of physically meeting in Friedrichshafen participants are able to listen to lectures, look at exhibiting companies and view the virtual exhibition site. Go to www.darc.de and click on the Ham Radio World advert at the top of the page, then chose the English language option for more information. The vintage Alexanderson alternator transmitter in Grimeton, Sweden, will conduct its annual Alexanderson Day transmission on the 4th of July using its usual callsign, SAQ. The CW transmission will be on 17.2kHz, CW. Startup and tuning for the first SAQ transmission will take place at 0830UTC, with a message transmission to follow at 0900UTC. Startup and tuning for the second SAQ transmission will take place at 1130UTC, with a message transmission to follow at 1200UTC. Now the DX news Loick, HB9HBY will be active again as HB0/HB9HBY from Liechtenstein from the 30th of June to the 4th of July. He will operate CW, SSB and FT8/FT4. QSL via EB7DX. Jerome, F8FKJ is active as J20EE from Djibouti until mid-July. He operates CW. QSL via Logbook of The World and eQSL. Alex, AK4AM will be active as AK4AM/P from Atlantic Beach, Bogue Banks, IOTA reference NA-112, until the 3rd of July. He will operate SSB only with a focus on the 80, 40 and 20m bands. QSL via Logbook of The World. Gerard, G3WIP will be working as a doctor on St Helena until the 30th of September. He plans to be on the air in his spare time. Now the Special Event news Coventry ARS is running two special event stations until May 2022 to celebrate Coventry being the City of Culture. GB1COC & GB8CCC will be running most days, with GB8CCC passing between members of the club. Dates and times will vary. The Boy Scouts of America Radio callsign K2BSA/8 will be on the air from the Trail To Eagle event. This takes place between the 29th of June and the 2nd of July. A QSL card is available when requested. Kent Weald Radio Club will be at the Headcorn Aerodrome in Kent today, the 27th, for Museums on the Air. They will operate as GB1HA. Harlow and District ARS will be operating today, the 27th from their clubhouse for Museums on the Air. Using GB0HMG on HF and 2m, operations are expected from 9.30 am to 4 pm. QSL cards will only be sent out on receipt of a card. GB0UTA and GB5UTA will be on the air until the 28th of June promoting the University of the Third Age. See the QRZ.com entries for more information. Now the contest news With different parts of the UK having different lockdown restrictions, please make sure you follow the appropriate regulations. Keep yourself and fellow amateurs safe. Today, the 27th, the 50MHz CW contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The 4th 70MHz Cumulative contest also takes place today, the 27th, from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Today, the 27th, the UK Microwave Group 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday, the 5th FT4 Series contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using the 80m band only, the exchange is your 4-character locator. Next weekend is the RSGB VHF National Field Day. It runs from 1400UTC on the 3rd to 1400UTC on the 4th. Using all modes on the 50MHz to 1.3GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Please note that with the current Covid-19 restrictions, teams with multiple operators should ensure they are following the regulations in their area. Next Sunday, the 4th of July, is the 3rd 2m Backpackers contest. It runs from 1100 to 1500UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon runs until the 1st of August. Just exchange your 4-character locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 25th of June. We had another week that was largely dominated by Sporadic-E openings. It is worth pointing out that Sporadic-E can and does have a blanketing effect on HF signals, which can prevent them from reaching the F2 layer of the ionosphere. This means that predictions created by a program like VOACAP or ITURHFPROP can often be over-optimistic. VOACAP and ITURHFPROP do not take into account seasonal Sporadic-E and, in any event, the localised and changing nature of Sporadic-E clouds means it would be very hard to make monthly median predictions. During the summer months, take computerised propagation predictions with a pinch of salt. While short-skip propagation may be better at times, longer distance signals may in fact be worse than the predictions. Sunspot region 2833 has now rotated out of view off the Sun's edge and we can expect the solar flux index to decline from the 80 reached on Thursday. The good news is that at least two returning regions, 2830 and 2831, will be turning back into view over the weekend. A lack of coronal holes means geomagnetic conditions should remain quiet over the next week. NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be in the range 76-78 with a maximum Kp index of two. Lastly, due to a major outage at the server in the States at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, there is no ionosonde data on the Propquest.co.uk website foF2 graphs at the moment. The server has been subjected to a cyber attack and restoration of the academic services rightly takes priority; the graphs will be there as soon as the server is back online. And now the VHF and up propagation news. It's another week of mixed fortunes for VHF/UHF users, with a tendency for high pressure over northern areas after the unsettled weather moves through during the tail end of this week. It eventually leaves an area of low pressure close to, or over, southern areas and this remains in place for much of the next week. Towards the end of the week, another low will drift south across eastern areas. The best chance of Tropo is over Scotland and Ireland, while unsettled and potentially thundery weather will be a good source for some rain scatter activity in southern areas. The Sporadic-E prospects are looking a bit quiet at first, but as a new upper-low moves into the southern UK and France, we should see prospects improve again into next week, particularly for paths to Iberia and the eastern Mediterranean. Moon declination goes positive again on Friday, so peak Moon visibility windows and peak elevations will increase. Path losses will rise throughout the week. The June Bootids meteor shower peaks today. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday 30th May 2021   The news headlines: Phillip Brooks, G4NZQ, SK RSGB to report survey results Listen for ISS on Monday   We start with the sad news that following a recent illness, Phillip Brooks, G4NZQ became a Silent Key last week. For many years, Phillip worked tirelessly for the RSGB in a variety of roles, including reading the GB2RS news script every Sunday morning for almost 23 years, only retiring in 2017. He was also the RSGB Regional Manager for Region 12 for several years as well as a member of the RSGB Board and several RSGB Committees. Described as “always a gentleman, in all senses of the word”, he really will be sadly missed by many, both on the airwaves and within the RSGB. The RSGB’s amateur radio survey has now closed. Over 1,000 people took the time to reply and the Society is very grateful for their responses. Once the data has been reviewed, it will initially be used for the IARU workshop alongside that from other countries in the IARU region. However, the RSGB will also publish a summary of the responses in RadCom and on the website in due course. If you’d like to listen to a wider discussion about the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats to amateur radio in the UK, the RSGB President Stewart Bryant, G3YSX was interviewed on ICQ Podcast. You can find the interview on Episode 351 and it begins at 51 minutes and 43 seconds. Go to icqpodcast.com to listen. An ARISS educational school contact is planned for Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG with students in France. The contact is scheduled for the 31st of May at approximately 1349UTC. The link to the ISS will be operated by the amateur radio telebridge station IK1SLD, located in northern Italy. Downlink signals will be audible in Europe on 145.800MHz, narrow FM. Some of the RSGB’s GB2RS web pages have been updated recently and the Society has launched a video to explain more about the news service. The RSGB is always keen to find additional newsreaders so do get in touch if you’d like to join the team. To see the video, find out more about GB2RS or apply to be a newsreader, go to rsgb.org/gb2rs-manager. Dragon ARC is running a VHF Day on Saturday the 12th of June from 10 am until 5 pm. They are encouraging all amateurs to get active on the 6, 4 and 2m bands using FM, SSB or AM. Club members will be using the callsign GB0VHF from Parys Mountain on the island of Anglesey, locator IO73TI. The aim of the day is to create activity on the VHF bands, so please do join in! If you email a copy of your log to Simon, MW0NWM at darc.secretary@gmx.co.uk you will be sent a pdf participation certificate via email. Vinny, M0TAV, the Region Representative for Region 5, which is the West Midlands, is looking for a District Representative for area 51, Staffordshire & Warwickshire. If you are an RSGB Member living in the area and are interested in representing the RSGB and supporting local amateurs, you can find out more from Vinny via email to  rr5@rsgb.org.uk. The inaugural Gateways On The Air Event takes place between the 12th and 20th of June. The main aim is to increase RF communications and portable or mobile activity over an eight-day period through linked analogue & digital simplex gateways. More details can be found at www.gota.org.uk.   Now the DX news Jean-Louis, 5N7MSF is active from Nigeria until the 15th of September. He works for Doctors Without Borders and will be operating during his spare time and the weekends. QSL via eQSL. Steve, VK6SJ now plans to be active as VK9XX from Christmas Island, IOTA OC-002, until the 11th of June. Expected hours of operation are 1100 to 1500UTC and 2200 to 2359UTC on a daily basis. All FT8 operation will be Fox & Hound mode. SSB operation will be split frequency, listening 5kHz up and ±QRM. See VK6SJ on QRZ.com for updates. QSL via EB7DX.   Now the Special Event news Hull & District ARS continues its GB1OOH centenary celebrations, now with over 1,500 QSOs logged from around the world. GB5UTA will be on the air between the 1st and the 28th of June promoting amateur radio among the 450,000 strong University of the Third Age members. U3A is an organisation that aims to help people learn, stay active and have fun in later life. This special event station will be operating on behalf of the Cirencester and Tetbury branches of the U3A. Look up GB5UTA on QRZ.com. On the 2nd of June, the branches will be celebrating U3A Day alongside other UK branches. More information about 2 June at u3a.org.uk. The former minesweeper HNLMS Hoogeveen will be taking part in the Museum Ship Weekend. Between 0000UTC on the 5th of June and 2359UTC on the 6th of June, PA827HGV will be on the air. They plan to use all HF bands using both CW and SSB. HNLMS Hoogeveen is moored in Den Helder, Netherlands. For more about the weekend go to nj2bb.org/museum.   Now the contest news With different parts of the UK having different lockdown restrictions, please make sure you follow the appropriate regulations. Several contests now accept portable entries, so please check the contest rules. Above all, please follow relevant national and local restrictions. The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest ends its 48 hour run at 2359UTC today, the 30th of May. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Today, the 30th, The UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is the same, signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 144MHz FT8 Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. The exchange is signal report and your 4-character locator. Next weekend, the CW National Field Day runs for 24 hours from 1500UTC on the 5th to 1500UTC on the 6th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Also next weekend is the 24-hour SEANET contest. This runs from 1200UTC on the 5th using CW and SSB on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands. The exchange is signal report and serial number. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Contest runs from 1300UTC on the 5th to 1300UTC on the 6th. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next Sunday, the 6th, the UK Microwave Group Low Band contest runs from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3, 2.3 and 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon runs until the 1st of August. Just exchange your 4-character locator.   Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 28th of May. “May you live in interesting times.” So says the ancient Chinese curse, and last week was interesting, to say the least. Sunspot region 2824 was joined by region 2826, pushing the solar flux index to 88. At the same time, a coronal mass ejection from region 2824 threatened to push the Kp index high on the 25th. The reality was that the solar matter actually struck the Earth late on the 26th, elevating the Kp index to five. The after-effects of the enhanced solar wind were still being felt on Thursday the 27th with the Kp index still fluctuating between three and four. The solar wind speed stayed above 400km per second affecting MUFs over a 3,000km path. On Thursday they were distinctly below 18MHz after an enhancement the evening before had pushed them to nearly 24MHz. The good news is that Sporadic-E was much in evidence last week with numerous multi- and single-hop openings reported. VU2XO in India was worked from the UK on 10 metre SSB, as was YI1SAL in Iraq. An unusual copy was the German icebreaker Polarstern signing as DP0POL/MM on 28MHz WSPR. The solar flux looks like it will diminish next week, according to NOAA, with the SFI in the mid-70s again. But at the time of writing, there were few signs of major coronal hole activity next week and NOAA predicts that the Kp index will hover around two. So it looks like it could be another week where Sporadic-E propagation dominates HF activity with perhaps reduced F2-layer activity, but with more settled geomagnetic conditions.   And now the VHF and up propagation news. At long last, there are signs of some proper summer weather as high-pressure returns. This will mean that Tropo should appear as a good VHF/UHF mode for much of the next week. Worth noting that paths can be limited during the daytime as heating breaks down any surface night-time inversion, so the operating rule is to concentrate on evenings and overnight for Tropo paths. The Sporadic-E season is well underway but due to its sporadic nature, it was no surprise that we failed to predict the short opening on 144MHz from the UK to Italy and the Balkans last Tuesday. Late May and especially the first weeks of June usually produce something spectacular, but the jet stream positions look slightly less favourable in the coming week. Remember that optimum times for Sporadic-E are the mid-morning period and again late afternoon and early evening. Toward the end of next week, the models suggest that we may see a showery breakdown with a possibility of thunderstorms. These are ideal sources of GHz band rain scatter from the large cumulonimbus clouds. The Moon passed minimum declination yesterday, so visibility windows and peak Moon elevations will increase throughout the week. We also passed perigee last Wednesday so path losses will also increase. No significant meteor showers this week so continue to be active around dawn for the best random meteors. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.  

Episode 36 Seductive Conductor Size 00:00 Theme music 00:54 Intro: Resonant Frequency is now on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Resonant-Frequency-Podcast/113008802469?v=feed&story_fbid=132140745279Lots of traffic on Twitter, too. 02:10 Feedback: Mike, KF7AME, appreciates comments on previous shows about how difficult it may be for new hams to afford new equipment. We've all been there, and wire antennas are cheap and effective.Barry, K4RUE, also a recently licensed ham, enjoys the show and the music.George, N0JRJ, likes the podcast and listens on his commute. He also liked the live show, and appreciates Richard's attitude toward new hams.Kirk, KG6HPF, says Resonant Frequency helped inspire him to pass his General exam.Lance, K7LDS, suggests that the show notes be updated to include website URLs and other information. He also suggests that interaction with the chat room during the live show be made more descriptive for folks listening to the recorded version. Lance suggests doing a future show on mobile radio installation hints. Good idea! Send in your mobile installation hints via email or the forum. 16:05 Check out Linux Cranks (http://linuxcranks.info) as Richard has been a guest onthat podcast, too. 17:30 Live Show: We're still trying to schedule another live show. It will likely happen the night afterwe record Linux in the Ham Shack. Look for it at ustream.tv: "Now Defunct"http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Resonant-Frequency-Live0Also keep an eye on other sites such as http://blacksparrowmedia.com, and look for KB5KBVon Identi.ca (defunct) and Twitter for announcements of future live shows. 19:30 Promo: Ohio Linux Fest promotional announcement. See http://www.ohiolinux.org for more details.Russ, K5TUX, of Linux in the Ham Shack will be there. Will you? 19:54 Song: "Mississippi Moon" by Too Slim and the Taildraggers, from their album "Time to Live". 25:21 Topic: Conductor diameter versus frequency.Richard once suggested to Bob, KC5JTF, that he could assemble an antenna similar to theArrow dual-band VHF/UHF antenna from rifle cleaning rods. This prompted a discussion abouthow "broad banded" such an antenna might be, and how conductor size affects the usablefrequency range of an antenna. 45:18 Song: "You Gonna Wreck My Life", by Too Slim and the Taildraggers, also from their album"Time to Live". 52:40 Conclusion: Contact info.Visit IODA Promonet ) for more great music. Visit our Youtube channel for videos on Amateur Radio www.youtube.com/c/RichardBaileyKB5JBV Read More About Resonant Frequency: The Amateur Radio Podcast At www.rfpodcast.info Check out our Glossary of Amateur / Ham Radio Terms used on the shows HERE

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 18th of April 2021 The news headlines: Vote now in RSGB elections New 122GHz DX record Video explains EMF Calculator   Voting in the RSGB elections closes at 0900 on Thursday the 22nd of April. Don’t miss your opportunity to decide who you would like to represent you as RSGB President and on the RSGB Board of Directors. You can find voting guidance and read statements from all the candidates on the RSGB website. RSGB Members can submit written questions in advance for Board Directors. Please note that the form will only be available until voting ends. The AGM takes place on the 24th. After the formal business ends there will be a presentation by John Rogers, M0JAV on the new EMF licence regulations. For all information, including how to watch the AGM live, go to rsgb.org/agm. UK amateurs continue to create new DX records on the 122GHz millimetre-wave band. On the 7th of April, using barely one milliwatt, a new all-time UK record was set. The contact was between Roger, G8CUB and Chris, G0FDZ, from Danbury Hill in Essex to the Isle of Sheppey, a distance of nearly 36km. This is all the more remarkable given the very low powers and high atmospheric loss due to an oxygen resonance that affects this particular microwave band. RSGB Board Director and EMC Chair, John Rogers, M0JAV, has created a helpful video to demonstrate how to use the RSGB/Ofcom EMF calculator. The calculator itself has also been updated on the RSGB website. You can find links to the video and the calculator at rsgb.org/emf. The RSGB’s new Friendship on the Air Award links in with the chosen theme of Home But Never Alone for World Amateur Radio Day today, the 18th of April. It is a chance to get on the air, represent your club and have a proper chat with radio amateurs across the airwaves. There are monthly and annual awards for individuals, clubs and the highest-scoring club in each region. To find out how to take part, visit rsgb.org/friendship-award. Belgian individual operators and radio clubs are authorised to replace their ON prefix with OS between the 18th of April and the 12th of December. This is to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day on the 18th of April and the 120th anniversary of Marconi's first reception of transatlantic radio signals on the 12th of December 1901. The RSGB remote invigilation exams have been very successful during the Covid-19 lockdown. Last week, the remote invigilation exam team saw the 1000th Intermediate candidate pass their exam. Congratulations to all the students. Over 3,100 candidates have made the first step into the hobby by obtaining a Foundation pass and over 330 to the Full licence. Thanks go to the team of volunteers who run the programme. We are very grateful for their effort during these difficult times. The latest GB2RS Broadcast Schedule can be downloaded from rsgb.org/gb2rsschedule. We’re always looking for new readers to join the teams around the UK and Crown Dependencies. If you would like to find out more, and you are an RSGB Member with a Full or Intermediate licence, please contact the GB2RS Manager via email to gb2rs.manager@rsgb.org.uk. Eugene Marlow is in the very late stages of producing a documentary about China starting in the 1920s. He is looking for high-resolution photos of the use of radio in the 1920s in China to incorporate into the documentary. If you think you have photos that could be used, contact Eugene via email to meiienterprises@aol.com. Now the DX news Joe, 9H5JO will be on the air at weekends during April from Malta. Between 1200 and 1300UTC each Saturday and Sunday, he will listen specifically for Foundation licensees on, or very near to, 14.268MHz. This could be a really good opportunity to get Malta in your logbook. Mark, W5MED is stationed at McMurdo Station on Ross Island in Antarctica, AN-011, until October. He will operate as KC4USV on the 18th of April at 0600 to 0800UTC and from 2100UTC until midnight. Look for him on 14243kHz SSB and 14070 kHz FT8. QSL direct to K7MT and Logbook of The World. JW1I is the club callsign for the Meteorological Station on Bear Island, EU-027, Svalbard. The operator is Erling, JW/LB2PG, who is expected to stay there until the 15th of May. QSL via the bureau. Now the Special Event news Today, the 18th of April, is World Amateur Radio Day, with the theme Home But Never Alone. The South African Radio League is holding a WARD QSO Party from 0600 to 1800UTC on all bands and modes. Participants must contact various stations to obtain points adding up to 96 because the IARU and the SARL are both celebrating their 96th anniversary in 2021. Special certificates are available. For full details, search online for SARL WARD QSO Party. GB1PF will be on the air from the 23rd to the 26th of April, operated by members of Fort Purbrook ARC. Activity will be from members’ homes, with activity planned on HF using CW, SSB and data and VHF/UHF using SSB and FM. GB1PPP has been issued to G0CCT until the 30th of April to commemorate the life of Prince Philip, who passed away on the 9th of April. Now the contest news With different parts of the UK having different lockdown restrictions, please make sure you follow the appropriate rules. Several contests now accept portable entries, so please check the contest rules. Above all, please follow relevant national and local restrictions. On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday it’s the SSB leg of the 80m Club Championships, running from 1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend the SP DX RTTY contest runs for 24 hours from 1200UTC on the 24th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. SP stations also exchange their Province code. Next Sunday, the 25th, the BARTG Sprint 75 contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is just the serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 16th of April. The Sun continued to remain quiet last week with a maximum solar flux index of 75.3 on the twelfth and a maximum sunspot number of 17. Sunspot region 2814, whose physical width was equivalent to four Earth diameters, spawned a few B-class solar flares but showed little sign of growth and as you read or hear this report will be rotating out of view on the Sun's limb. The STEREO Ahead spacecraft is showing some future potential spots, with two areas exhibiting magnetic activity, but it is too early to say whether these will amount to actual spots when they rotate onto the visible solar disk. What is more obvious is a large coronal hole that will be Earth-facing by Friday and promising a high-speed solar wind that will hit us by late Saturday or Sunday. This is predicted to make the Kp index rise to an estimated five, although, rather like the rise in the Kp Index on Thursday the 15th, it will likely be short-lived. As the Kp Index rises expect a decrease in maximum usable frequencies until the ionosphere recovers. NOAA predicts the SFI will be in the range 72-75 next week with relatively calm geomagnetic conditions once we get past the Kp increase this weekend. We are now probably just a couple of weeks away from the start of the Sporadic-E season, and as the weather forecast for this next week is quite good, it may be an ideal opportunity to check your 10m antennas. One upcoming highlight is International Marconi Day on Saturday the 24th of April when special event stations in locations with significance to Marconi's work will operate around the world. For more details, just search online for GB4IMD. And now the VHF and up propagation news. With another week of high pressure on the charts, it will be a Tropo theme for propagation. Although for some of the time the surface air, which ideally should be cool and moist, looks likely to be cold and dry, so Tropo may not be as strong as it could be. Sometimes the presence of misty low cloud or fog in the morning will put things right temporarily, but conditions will fade thereafter as the fog or cloud clears. Northwestern parts of the British Isles will have some spells of frontal rain and a chance of some rain scatter, but even here the high will become more dominant later. That leaves us with the approaching Sporadic-E season to consider. It's coming, but these early season opportunities tend to be fleeting and more likely on the lower bands like 10m and 6m using digital modes. With the Moon at maximum positive declination today and falling path losses, towards perigee a week on Monday, it’s a good week for EME. There will be long Moon windows and high peak elevations. Thursday the 22nd sees the peak of the April Lyrids meteor shower and on Friday the smaller Pi-Puppids. These showers signal the end of the annual meteor activity minimum and already there are signs of more meteor reflections being reported, so get looking at the usual frequencies for the mainly digimode activity. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 7th of March 2021 The news headlines: 350 days of Covid-19 net Ofcom EMF Notification news NHS lauds Get on the air to care   On Thursday the 4th of March, Hambleton ARS passed the 350th consecutive day of a daily net on 2m. It started on day one of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. Its aim was to keep members and amateurs in the area in touch and able to summon help or assistance if required. The net starts at 11 am on the calling frequency and usually moves to S18 if clear. The net is now looking forward to a full year of operating, which occurs on the 18th of March. All amateurs are invited to join and topics are wide and varied. So far, over 70 different stations have called in. A Cabin Fever award is available for any station taking part. It’s issued by Tim, G0TYM via email, see QRZ.com for details. On the 1st of March, Ofcom published a General Notification on their website that proposes to vary all amateur radio licences. It requires licensees to comply with the ICNIRP general public limits of EMF. Licensees have until the 18th of April to make any representations to Ofcom. They have also informed us that they are contacting all licensees, either via email or letter, to make them aware of this process. More information on the variation process and EMF conditions can be found on both the Ofcom website at ofcom.org.uk/emf, or the RSGB website at rsgb.org/emf. A report about the hugely successful RSGB and NHS 'Get on the air to care' campaign has been publicised in a blog on the NHS Networks website this week. The RSGB has committed to keeping 'Get on the air to care' running as long as the restrictions exist. The aim is to support radio amateurs and to share the benefits of amateur radio with the general public. The Society is about to launch several new initiatives and resources as part of the campaign. Look out for announcements shortly. To read the NHS Networks blog, use the link from the RSGB website at rsgb.services/gb2rs/005. Have you given your views in the RSGB’s consultation on a proposed new, Direct to Full licence exam? Over 1,000 people have responded already so make sure your voice is heard by completing the Society’s survey. The consultation closes on Sunday the 14th of March. The background to this consultation as well as links to the proposed syllabus and the survey are on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/direct-to-full. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is inviting eight members of the public to join him on a trip around the Moon. The journey, planned for 2023, will be the first civilian mission to the Moon, not to mention the first human visit for over 50 years. According to his website, dearmoon.earth, anyone can apply, and the trip will be financed entirely by Maezawa. There is no word about whether amateur radio operation will be possible on the flight, but it is an interesting possibility. Sadly, another rally has been cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dartmoor Radio Rally, planned for Monday the 3rd of May Bank Holiday, will not take place this year. US Army researchers have built a so-called quantum sensor. It can analyse the full RF spectrum and real-world signals, a report on Physics.org says. The quantum sensor can sample the RF spectrum from 0 to 20GHz and is able to detect AM and FM radio signals, as well as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other RF communication protocols. The peer-reviewed Physical Review Applied published the researchers’ findings. Now the DX news Bill, K9HZ Dan, W0CN and Kyle, WA4PGM will be active from St Lucia operating as J68HZ, CN and PG respectively. They will be there until the 11th of March. QSL via Logbook of The World or direct to home callsigns. Andy, DK5ON is in Curaçao until the 23rd of March. He plans to operate SSB, CW and digital modes on the 80 to 6m bands as PJ2/DK5ON. QSL via Logbook of The World, Club Log's OQRS, or via his home call either direct or via the bureau. Now the Special Event news Chris, GM3WOJ will be active as GB2CR until the 18th of March. He will operate SSB and some CW on the 80 to 10m bands using vintage valve radio equipment manufactured by the Collins Radio Company. QSL via Logbook of The World. Paper QSLs will not be available. GB2VAX will be operational from the QTH of Andy, G4ISN of the Welland Valley ARS, from the 1st to the 28th of March. Modes will be SSB / FT4 / FT8 on HF bands. Coventry is The City of Culture in 2021. GB1COC is being operated until the 13th of March on behalf of Coventry ARS by Brian, G8GMU. He will be mainly on the 80m band using SSB, 2m FM and digital speech modes. See QRZ.com. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the contest for any new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. The RSGB strongly advises obeying your national and local government’s advice. This weekend it’s the ARRL International DX Contest. It runs for 48 hours until 2359UTC today, the 7th. Using SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and transmit power. American stations will also exchange their State, and Canadian stations their Province. The 144/432MHz contest also takes place this weekend. Its 24-hour run ends at 1400UTC today, the 7th. All modes are permitted. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Today, Sunday the 7th, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Britain 3.5MHz phone contest takes place today, the 7th from 1800 to 2200UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square. Entries should be with the QSL manager by the 17th of March. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there will be no mobile or portable categories, and entries will not be accepted from mobile or portable stations. However, there will be a club category, with members operating from their home QTH. On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. It is followed by the all-mode Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday it’s the CW leg of the 80m Club Championships from 2000 to 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number. Thursday sees the 50MHz UK Activity Contest take place from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend the longest-running RSGB contest takes place. The Commonwealth Contest runs from 1000UTC on the 13th to 1000UTC on the 14th. It’s CW only and runs on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands. The exchange is signal report and serial number. HQ stations around the world will also send the letters HQ. Next Sunday, the 14th, the second 70MHz Cumulative Contest runs from 1000UTC to 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 5th of March. We had another week of geomagnetic disturbances due to high-speed solar wind streams. Although the week started well, with a Kp index of zero to three on Sunday, it went rapidly downhill. Monday saw the Kp index hit six and Tuesday evening saw it hit five after the solar wind speed exceeded 600km per second. The strongly-negative Bz field of the solar wind meant it coupled more easily with the Earth’s magnetic field – and plasma flooded in. It was not all bad news for HF propagation though. Earlier on Tuesday, the 17m band was open simultaneously to the Far East and the Caribbean via FT8. You were able to work both South Korea and Saint Lucia at the same time, which felt novel. This may have been a pre-auroral enhancement. But by Wednesday, with the Kp index at five, conditions had taken a hit. Maximum usable frequencies were struggling to get up above 14MHz, at least in the morning. There has been little to talk about regarding sunspots. We’ve had two groups, 2806 and 2807, but they have been relatively small, generating a solar flux index of 74 and a sunspot number of 30 on Thursday. As such, HF propagation has generally been a little lacklustre, other than the event noted earlier. Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be in the range 70-76. We should start the week with a relatively quiet geomagnetic field and a maximum Kp index of two. But by Friday the 12th, the Kp index is predicted to rise to four due to returning coronal hole activity. As we head towards the Spring equinox we may expect geomagnetic disturbances to increase, due to the Russell-McPherron effect. The tilt of the Earth’s axis means the Sun and Earth’s geomagnetic field and solar winds all come into alignment and therefore encourage an enhanced chance of the particles emitted from the Sun entering our atmosphere. Fingers crossed that we have better HF conditions for the Commonwealth Contest, which takes place across next weekend, the 13th and 14th. And now the VHF and up propagation news. Good to see the return of some tropospheric propagation last week. It certainly perked up the 144MHz UK Activity Contest last Tuesday evening. All is set to change in the coming week though, so make the most of any lingering Tropo this weekend. The high will decline early next week, and thereafter, the week offers a succession of fast-moving weather systems crossing the country, bringing rain and, at times, strong southwesterly winds. At the end of the week, the unsettled weather comes more from the northwest, and it will turn colder again and perhaps wintry in the north. Either way, the main terrestrial mode of interest next week to VHF/UHF operators is likely to be predominantly GHz bands rain scatter. We are in an extended period where the lowest EME path losses coincide with low Moon declination. Declination is minimum today and tomorrow so moon visibility windows and peak Moon elevations will be at a minimum. As we passed perigee last Tuesday, path losses will still be low but increasing. The Gamma Normids meteor shower is just starting, peaking on Sunday the 14th of March with a Zenithal Hourly Rate of six and lasting until the 23rd. Nothing special, so pre-dawn continues to be the best time for random meteor scatter contacts. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 17th of January 2021 The news headlines: RSGB publishes EMF Calculator New AllStar Gateway in North Lancashire Enter Construction Competitions! As agreed with Ofcom last month, the RSGB’s EMC Committee has published its EMF calculator, which incorporates the Ofcom calculator but adds a front end specifically for radio amateurs. It is currently an evaluation version, so the EMCC welcomes feedback to help it move towards a final one. You can download the calculator from the EMF page at www.rsgb.org/emf. Recently, the MB7IMB repeater came on the air in North Lancashire. It is a simplex AllStar gateway on 145.2375MHz narrow FM, with a CTCSS access tone of 110.9Hz. The North West AllStar Group has been formed, linking AllStar nodes and repeaters throughout north-west England. The group is encouraging the use of the repeater. All that’s needed is a standard 2m FM transceiver with CTCSS capabilities. If you have a node or gateway they welcome links to the system. The group has a Facebook page where you can find out more. Have you entered the RSGB’s ‘Get on the air to care’ construction competition? The deadline is the 1st of February. Your project can be hardware, software or a system and may be based on a kit. If you made something during the autumn lockdowns, over the holiday season, or are in the middle of something during the current restrictions, you could win £100 if you enter the competition. Send a short description of your project to gm.dept@rsgb.org.uk and include a few photographs, a video if possible and any related circuit diagrams. Whether you’ve just got your licence or you’ve been a radio amateur for years, you’re encouraged to take part. If you enter this competition you can also resubmit the same project to the 2021 RSGB Annual Construction Competition. Very low frequency enthusiast Joe, VO1NA reports that Stefan, DK7FC copied his 50-character EbNaut message transmitted from Newfoundland on 8.271kHz, with a radiated power of 10mW. We believe this is a new record for amateur transatlantic VLF. Joe’s tower supports a VLF rotated L, which is 10 metre average height and 100 metres long. The RSGB is delighted that 4,000 people have taken amateur radio exams via remote invigilation. This number covers exams at all three licence levels. We know that all radio amateurs will be encouraging as people progress and enjoy the diversity of amateur radio. Could you be the RSGB’s next President? Do you have the time and skills to serve on the Society’s Board of Directors? We’re into the final weeks of the nominations process for the RSGB elections, which will end at 2359UTC on the 31st of January. In addition to these two roles, there are three Regional Representative vacancies in Regions 2, 6 and 12. Each post-holder has indicated their willingness to stand for election but applications are also welcome from all RSGB Members living in these particular Regions. For more information visit www.rsgb.org/election. The results will be announced at the RSGB’s online AGM on Saturday the 24th of April. The Dayton Hamvention will not take place for a second year. Sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association, it was set to take place between the 21st and 23rd of May in Ohio. The committee said the show would return in 2022 and hinted at a QSO party for Hamvention weekend. The 80m RSGB National Radio Centre net continues to run each weekday at 10.30 am on 3.727MHz. The NRC volunteers have run 260 of these nets since March 2020 to support radio amateurs. They are keen for people to call in during the current lockdown. Get on the air and have a chat – they’d love to hear from you!   South Dublin Radio Club hosted Michael O’Connell from the I87 Astroshot Observatory to the club’s first online live lecture of 2021, via Zoom. The lecture is titled Amateur Observations of Meteors and is now available to view on the club’s YouTube channel. Michael’s presentation covers Meteors, Meteor related radio phenomena and how radio techniques are used by amateurs to detect and track meteors. Now the special event news Hull and District Amateur Radio Society is celebrating 100 years of amateur radio clubs in the Hull area with a year-long special event station, callsign GB1OOH. The station will operate most days throughout 2021 on bands ranging from 160m to 70cm and using different modes. Further details about the station and QSL options can be found on QRZ.com. During 2021, the British Railways ARS will be celebrating its 55th anniversary. They will be running the special event call GB0LMR, operated by BRARS member Mark, G1PIE from Preston in Lancashire. Bands of operation will be 40 to 10 metres using PSK-31, PSK-63 and SSB, plus VHF/UHF. Further information is on QRZ.com and www.brars.info. Now the DX news 4L1PJ is the callsign issued to Peter, 4L/G4ENL. He expects to operate SSB on various HF bands for the next few years while on work assignment in Svaneti, Georgia. QSL via N4GNR. Bo, OZ1DJJ will be active in his spare time as OX3LX from Tasiilaq Island, IOTA reference NA-151, until the 30th of January. QSL via Logbook of The World, Club Log’s OQRS or direct to OZ0J. Garry, 2M1DHG is active as ZC4GR from the UK Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia for the next two and a half years. He operates SSB and digital modes on the 40, 20 and 10m bands, typically between 1700 and 1900UTC a few nights a week. QSL via EB7DX. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the contest for any new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. The RSGB strongly advises obeying your national and local government’s advice. On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday it’s the all-mode 70MHz UK Activity Contest. Running between 2000 and 2230UTC, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend the BARTG RTTY Sprint runs from 1200UTC on the 23rd to 1200UTC on the 24th. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is simply the serial number. The UK EI Contest Club DX CW contest starts at 1200UTC on the 23rd and runs for 24 hours. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and District Code. Don’t forget, the UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon runs until the end of this month. Just exchange a signal report and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Thursday the 14th of January. Well, no one predicted last week’s geomagnetic disturbance. In case you missed it, the Kp index rose to four on Monday the 11th January. This was caused by the arrival of an interplanetary shock wave from a coronal mass ejection on the Sun, which occurred on Thursday the 7th. NOAA had been predicting a settled Sun, which shows just how unpredictable our nearest star can be. The CME’s effects on the ionosphere were quite startling. The Chilton Digisonde data, as plotted at propquest.co.uk, shows that the predicted MUF over a 3,000km path dropped to below 14MHz by 1530UTC, although it did recover to more than 18MHz within an hour. That night there were widespread reports of visible aurora, but the ionosphere had recovered by Tuesday afternoon with the Kp index back to one by 1500UTC. Other than that element of ionospheric excitement there has been little to report, with the solar flux index down as low as 72 by Thursday the 14th with zero sunspots. The only other noteworthy event has been widespread winter Sporadic-E, which saw 12, 10 and six metres become wide open to Europe this the week. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain in the mid to high 70s. The STEREO spacecraft show a coronal hole is about to rotate into view around the Sun’s eastern limb. The high-speed solar wind from this, and other polar coronal holes, may cause the Kp index to rise to four by Sunday the 17th and we may not see a recovery back down to two until the 21st. So it looks like the latter half of the week may be best for HF DX. And now the VHF and up propagation news. The current unsettled spell of weather should have taken a brief pause on Friday but may have returned this weekend, with an active front crossing the country, followed by a transient ridge in the second half of the weekend. These ridges are rarely good for widespread Tropo and the unsettled regime returns for the bulk of the coming week. Strangely enough, you can find temporary enhancements of Tropo conditions parallel to, and just ahead of, approaching weather fronts. It’s marginal but can make a difference to scores in the VHF/UHF UK Activity Contests. But GHz band rain scatter is probably a more reliable mode for the next week. The unsettled story also implies some strong jet stream activity, so it’s still worth a look at the usual Sporadic-E bands of 10m and 6m for one more week, although this is probably our last chance before the mode returns in force in April. Moon declination turns positive again on Tuesday, so we’ll have increasing Moon windows and peak Moon elevations this week. With apogee on Thursday though, path losses will be high. This trend of high declination and path loss only starts to reverse from May 2022, so get used to it! 144MHz sky noise is low. There are no significant meteor showers this week so continue to check pre-dawn for the best random meteor contacts. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 10th of January 2021 The news headlines: Happy New Year from RSGB Volunteers invited to stand for election Celebrating 200 years of Greek independence The news team and all the staff at RSGB HQ would like to wish our newsreaders, listeners and online readers a very Happy New Year. We would like to remind everyone that we always welcome your news, by email to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, and the deadline is 10 am sharp on Thursday mornings. The GB2RS script is uploaded to the RSGB website by 4.30 pm each Friday afternoon. We’re into the final weeks of the nominations process for the RSGB elections, which will end at 2359UTC on the 31st of January. The Society is looking for its next President as Dave Wilson, M0OBW will retire at the AGM. There is also a place for one elected Board Director. In addition, there are three Regional Representative vacancies in Regions 2, 6 and 12 because the current post holders were co-opted into a vacancy after the last AGM. Each one has indicated their willingness to stand for election but applications are also welcome from all RSGB Members living in these particular Regions. For more information about any of these roles, how to nominate someone or for information about the election process, visit www.rsgb.org/election. The results will be announced at the RSGB’s online AGM on Saturday the 24th of April. To commemorate the 200th anniversary, the Greek Independence Award will run throughout 2021. Anyone can take part and all mode and types of QSO are valid. The website https://sv2rck.gr/200YEARS lists a number of award stations. Get on the air for Christmas finished yesterday, Saturday the 9th of January, but you still have time to enter the construction competition. Projects can be hardware, software or a system and may be based on a kit. There is a prize of £100 and the winning entry will be featured on the Society’s website and in RadCom. The deadline for entries is the 1st of February. See the details at www.rsgb.org/gota4c. Elettra is the vessel on which Marconi conducted many experiments. The Elettra: the miracle ship award commemorates the centenary of the ship's official registration under the name of Elettra. The award period lasts the whole year and there will be a different special event callsign each month. Detail at www.arifidenza.it. Were you one of the 19,000 people who enjoyed the RSGB’s Tonight @ 8 webinars last year? The 2021 series starts tomorrow, Monday the 11th of January, when Steve Hartley, G0FUW and Pete Juliano, N6QW will talk about amateur radio construction. Despite what many people think, building your own radio equipment is still a very popular aspect of amateur radio. This presentation will share some ideas on how to get started and provide some examples of homebrew gear, using hardware and software. Watch live and ask questions on the RSGB YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/theRSGB. A QSO Party to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Marconi Club AR Loano will take place on the 16th of January. Running from 0800 to 2200UTC using the 20, 40 and 80m bands with CW only, you can find out the rules at www.ariloano.it/marconiclub. Permission has been announced for Category 1 Uzbek licensees to operate in the new WRC-15 Amateur 60m Secondary Allocation of 5351.5 – 5366.5kHz with a maximum power of 100W. Now the special event news Hull and District Amateur Radio Society is celebrating 100 years of amateur radio clubs in the Hull area with a year-long special event station, callsign GB10OH. The station will operate most days throughout 2021 on bands ranging from 160m to 70cm and using different modes. Further details about the station and QSL options can be found on QRZ.com. During 2021, the British Railways ARS will be celebrating its 55th anniversary. They will be running the special event call GB0LMR, operated by BRARS member Mark, G1PIE from Preston in Lancashire. Bands of operation will be 40 to 10 metres using PSK-31, PSK-63 and SSB, plus VHF/UHF. Further information is on QRZ.com and www.brars.info. Now the DX news Grant, VK5GR will be active as VK5KI from Kangaroo Island, OC-139, until the 22nd of January. He plans to operate holiday style on the 80 to 6m bands using CW, SSB and FT8, possibly with some RTTY and PSK. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS. Seba, SQ1SGB and Will, M0ZXA expect to be active as VP8/SQ1SGB or VP8HAL and VP8DOI from Halley VI Research Station, Antarctica until the 4th of February. In their spare time, they will operate SSB and digital modes FT8 and JT65 on 40 and 20 metres. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the contest for any new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. The RSGB strongly advises obeying your national and local government’s advice. Today, the 10th, the Datamodes AFS contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. The SSB AFS contest takes place on Saturday from 1300 to 1700UTC. Both use the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, and the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Monday and Tuesday, the 2nd Christmas Hope QSO Party has two sessions. The first is 0930 to 1100UTC on the 11th using FT4 on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands, with an exchange of your 4-character locator. The second is 1100 to 1230UTC on the 12th using CW on the same bands with an exchange of signal report and serial number. Tuesday sees the 432MHz FM Activity Contest run from 1900 to 1955UTC. It is followed by the All-Mode UKAC from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator. Wednesday and Thursday see two more sessions of the 2nd Christmas Hope QSO Party. The first is on the 13th from 1230 to 1400UTC using RTTY. The second session is on the 14th from 1400 to 1530UTC using SSB. The exchange is the same for both, signal report and serial number, as are the bands to be used, 3.5 to 28MHz. On Thursday, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday, the Worked All Britain 1.8MHz Phone Contest runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square. Don’t forget, the UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon runs until the end of January 2021. Just exchange a signal report and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Thursday the 7th of January. We start by welcoming in 2021, and here’s hoping that it proves to be more fruitful than 2020 in terms of HF propagation. We’ve started the New Year with zero sunspots and a solar flux index back in the mid-70s on Thursday the 7th. The STEREO Ahead spacecraft is not showing anything of note around the back of the Sun, but we know that spots can suddenly appear. HF propagation has been relatively poor, but with seasonal ionospheric changes mainly being responsible for an uplift in daytime critical and maximum usable frequencies. Daytime critical frequencies have generally been in the range of 4.5 to 5.5MHz, falling to below 3.5MHz by 1930UTC on most evenings. This means that 80m is ceasing to be suitable for local NVIS contacts as the evening progresses, which is normal for this time of year. Daytime maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path have exceeded 18 and even 21MHz on most days, with winter Sporadic-E being the main DX mode on the higher 12 and 10 metre bands. There has been the odd F2-layer opening on 28MHz, but we will need some more sunspot activity to make band openings more reliable. NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain in the high 70s at the beginning of next week, reflecting the lack of sunspot activity. The Kp index is predicted to reach a maximum of only two, due to a lack of coronal hole and coronal mass ejection activity. This means we may have a more settled ionosphere, which may be good for HF DX. So in summary, it's more of the same in terms of HF propagation next week, with no real highlights. But don’t ignore the lower bands, such as 1.8, 3.5, and 7MHz, which can really come into their own in mid-winter. And now the VHF and up propagation news. Despite no Tropo for a number of weeks, there has been high pressure to the west of Britain for some time. During the weekend and next week, it will become more dominant over much of the country, initially favouring Tropo for the south-western parts, but perhaps more generally later. This may be temporarily curtailed by frontal systems moving across the country around midweek and thus add some options for GHz rain scatter, but some models bring a ridge of high pressure back later in the week. As hinted at in the last bulletin, a sudden stratospheric warming did indeed develop on the 4th of January 2021. As mentioned, it can have impacts on not just the stratospheric flow but can influence weather patterns nearer the surface about a couple of weeks later. In a related note, it appears the models, after a milder next week, are hinting at a colder northerly spell again after the following weekend. Staying with the stratospheric wind flow changes, these may have a possible link to winter Sporadic-E events and it’s worth monitoring 10m and 6m for activity in the next couple of weeks or so, especially FT8, but CW and SSB are not impossible. After the excitement of the Quadrantids meteor shower we are now entering the annual quiet period in meteor activity with just two significant showers between now and the April Lyrids, so back to pre-dawn random meteors for the best chance of DX. The Moon was at perigee yesterday, so path losses are at their lowest, but it’s at minimum declination on Tuesday meaning Moon windows are short and low elevation. The Moon only reaches 12 degrees elevation on Tuesday, meaning horizon noise will be an issue all week at VHF. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

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

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 13th of September 2020 The news headlines: RSGB Online Convention announces two more great talks AMSAT-UK Colloquium news Six Metre Group AGM goes online During the online RSGB Convention for 2020, you will be able to enjoy some excellent lectures. On Saturday the 10th of October, the RSGB will be putting on two streams online for everyone to enjoy. In An introduction to… we will have a pictorial introduction to data modes by Mike Richards, G4WNC. He will guide viewers through the basics of data modes operation, explaining the commonly used terms and the development of the modes in general use today. In the Learn more about… stream, Alwyn Seeds, G8DOH will look at VHF/UHF radios for contesting and DXing. The talk will discuss the important specifications for high-performance VHF and UHF radios and how these can most easily be achieved. For transmitters, the importance of achieving low radiated noise will be explained. The talk will be illustrated with measurements for a variety of radios based on both conventional and software-defined radio design approaches. You can find out more at www.rsgb.org.uk/convention. The AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2020 will also be online this year. Taking place on Sunday the 11th of October, there will be one lecture stream from 11 am to 4 pm. You can find out more at www.amsat-uk.org/colloquium. The registration URL is https://tinyurl.com/amsatukreg2020. The UK Six Metre Group will hold its Annual General Meeting by videoconference on Sunday the 27th of September at 1700UTC, that’s 6 pm UK time. The brief formal part of the meeting will be followed by a talk from Peter Lund, JW7QIA on his recent 50 and 70MHz operations from Svalbard, which is the northernmost year-round settlement on Earth and only 1000km from the North Pole. Non-members of the Group will be welcome to join the call, but will not be able to vote. Connection instructions will be issued the week before the meeting via the group website, www.uksmg.org. The RSGB administers a number of award programmes for HF and VHF, including the enhanced special awards for Foundation and Intermediate licence holders. A vacancy has arisen for a volunteer to promote and manage these programmes. For further information about the role, including how to apply, visit the Society’s volunteer web page at www.rsgb.org/volunteers. The IARU R1 has just published a further news release following the online CEPT-PTC and CEPT-PTA meetings for WRC-23 prep. The RSGB Spectrum Forum Chair and the RSGB Microwave Manager have been closely engaged at these meetings. Details at www.iaru-r1.org. Details of the Portable Operations Challenge given in last week’s news should have read the 3rd and 4th October. Find out all you need to know at foxmikehotel.com/challenge. The RSGB 2020 Construction Competition is open for entries. There are four categories, including one specifically for people who are new to amateur radio. The deadline for entries is the 25th of September. For more details, including how to enter, see www.rsgb.org/construction-competition. Mark, G0KZZ, has started a new internet forum for CW enthusiasts. It is wide-ranging, covering amateur CW operating to radiotelegraphy history and key collecting to internet-based CW contacts. In the UK, the 5MHz, or 60m band, has been available to Full UK licensees since August 2002. This we owe to the initiative of the late Gordon Adams, G3LEQ, who at the time was Spectrum Director of the Radio Society of Great Britain. He was central to negotiations with the Regulator and the UK Ministry of Defence, the Primary User of the band. One of the elements of Gordon’s proposals was a country-wide news reading of the GB2RS. This has taken place regularly on a Sunday since the band’s inception by a team of newsreaders. Gordon became a Silent Key in February 2018 and the GB2RS 5MHz newsreading team, as The 5MHz Pioneers Group, applied for and received the call G5MHZ. The call will be on the air in recognition and remembrance of the work done by Gordon at 5MHz for UK radio amateurs. Now the special event news Since the change of regulations applying to special event stations in the UK, many activations are now able to go ahead. UK amateurs would like to thank Ofcom for their help in making this happen. Members of the Royal Air Force ARS will be operating GB80BOB from the 1st to the 28th of September to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Due to Covid-19, Ofcom are allowing this call to be operated from homes. A list of operators and postcode locations will be displayed on the RAFARS website. A special QSL card is available. Details are at www.rafars.org/GB80BOB/ and QRZ.com. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the contest for new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. The RSGB strongly advises obeying your own national and local government’s advice first and foremost, especially in the instance of local lockdowns. The WAE DX SSB contest runs for 48 hours ending 2359UTC today, the 13th. Using SSB on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Note the EU stations only work non-EU stations. The UK Microwave Group contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC today, the 13th. Using all modes on the 24 to 248GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, the 13th, the IRTS 70cm Counties contest runs from 1300 to 1330UTC. This is followed by the IRTS 2m Counties contest from 1330 to 1500UTC. Both use SSB and FM only and the exchange is signal report and serial number, with EI and GI stations also giving their county. On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the CW leg of the 80m Autumn Series runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday it’s the turn of the 70MHz UK Activity Contest, running from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next Sunday, the 20th, the 70MHz AFS Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The BARTG Sprint 75 contest takes place next Sunday, the 20th, from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 11th of September. It was another week with zero sunspots, but the upside was that we had settled geomagnetic conditions. The maximum Kp index of two, but more often than not just one, was brought about by an absence of coronal holes last week. This meant that the ionosphere was pretty stable, with Maximum Useable Frequencies over a 3,000km path heading towards 18MHz at times. Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index to be 70 and the largest Kp index to be two, so expect similar conditions. NOAA also predicts the Kp index could rise to a maximum of three on the 18th and 19th, due to a high-speed stream from a returning coronal hole. Due to seasonal changes we do expect ionospheric conditions to improve slightly as we head towards the end of the month. We also expect to see transatlantic paths and openings to South Africa and South America improving around the time of the Autumnal equinox. There will also be a gradual improvement in daytime maximum useable frequencies as we head towards Autumn, but night-time MUFs will decline. Expect October to probably be the best month all round for HF propagation. And now the VHF and up propagation news. It seems like the main Sporadic-E season is over for the summer. With even FT8 paths hard to spot on the DX clusters. So, unless something exceptional turns up you’ll have to wait at least until the small secondary December Sporadic-E peak for that DX mode again. The basic weather pattern to end the current week and take us into early next week has high pressure over southern areas of the UK and cloudy unsettled weather over the north-western areas with wind and rain. This means that there is likely to be Tropo on offer over the next few days, with paths to the south across Biscay initially and later biased more towards northern Europe. There could be an unsettled showery period of weather in the south as the high weakens by midweek and, typically after a few hot days, there may be thundery showers, which is great news for the GHz rain scatter operators. A temporary return of high pressure later will probably put Tropo back into play again, but with a further return of unsettled weather after a day or two. Expect a good week for EME, with the Moon at maximum declination this weekend followed by shortening Moon windows as the week progresses. Declination goes negative on Friday and this coincides with perigee where losses are at their lowest. 144MHz sky temperatures are low apart from next Thursday morning when the Sun and Moon are very close in the sky. No meteor showers this week, so look for the best random meteors around local dawn while the Earth is rotating towards the orbital random meteor flux. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 24th of May 2020 The news headlines: YOTA Online programme launched SARL celebrates 95 years Change to the exam booking system As all planned YOTA 2020 events have been cancelled until September, a new programme called YOTA Online has been developed. This will be a monthly Livestream gathering, free to all participants and available afterwards as a recorded version. In each meeting, the YOTA team will present different topics and answer questions from the YOTA community. There will also be opportunities to share stories of recent YOTA events. The first meeting will be on the 28th of May. Details of the Livestream link will be publicised on the YOTA website and social media channels the day before Last Wednesday, the 20th, the South African Radio Relay League celebrated its 95th anniversary. It was formed on Wednesday the 20th of May 1925, just a month after the world’s radio amateurs met in Paris to form the world body, the International Amateur Radio Union. In 1947 the word Relay was dropped from the name. Their message is that amateur radio has withstood the test of time because it is based on three major guiding principles: communication between people, continuous technology development and self-education and training. In response to the demand for remote invigilated exams, the RSGB is launching a new, automated booking system. It will make each part of the process smoother for applicants and HQ staff. As all 600 exam slots in June have now been filled, the new booking system will go live on 1 June in readiness for booking July exam slots. Over the next ten days, the Society will share more details about the system and how to use it. In the meantime, please note that the RSGB is not accepting any new bookings via the old application form. The RSGB’s national ‘Get on the air to care’ campaign in partnership with the NHS has received more media coverage this week, including a BBC radio interview with 11-year-old Anne-Marie who was nominated by her primary school headteacher as the local hero of the week for the two weekly nets she has been running during the lockdown. Telford and District Amateur Radio Society were featured in their local paper and other radio amateurs have been sharing their stories with us. Thank you to everyone who is showing their support by getting on the air, caring for other radio amateurs and trying new aspects of amateur radio. More details about the campaign, media coverage and stories from clubs and radio amateurs can be seen on the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/gota2c. Users of the Islands on the Air programme may now obtain contact credits via the ARRL’s Logbook of The World. A similar arrangement is already in place with Club Log. To claim a new island group from matched Logbook of The World contacts, users should click on Retrieve QSOs from LoTW to retrieve matching records. Within 30 minutes, IOTA users will receive an email listing the matches added to a list of pending contacts. Joe Taylor, K1JT reports what is possibly the first FT8 contact via Moonbounce that took place on the 21st of May between Paul, W2HRO and Peter, PA2V. They used WSJT-X 2.2.0-rc1, a beta-release candidate for version 2.2 of the program WSJT-X. Both stations have moderate 4-Yagi setups on 432MHz. Conditions were not particularly good, with degradation around 3dB and the Sun only 20 degrees from the Moon. The Royal Air Force Air Cadets are pleased to announce that the next Exercise Blue Ham will be held on the MoD 5MHz shared band over the weekend of the 6th and 7th of June. There are plenty of call signs available for Cadets over the period of the exercise using both SSB voice and data modes. Details can be found at https://alphacharlie.org.uk/exercise-blue-ham Now the special event news Since the change of regulations applying to special event stations in the UK, many activations are now able to go ahead. UK amateurs would like to thank Ofcom for their help in making this happen. The RAF Amateur Radio Society will be activating the special event GB75VED until the 28th of May. Operations will be from members’ homes. Details are at www.rafars.org/GB75VED and on QRZ.com. Dragon Amateur Radio Club and North Wales Radio Society are operating GB0GIG throughout May, named after the National Health Service in the Welsh language. The station will be active on HF, VHF and UHF using as many modes as possible. An award certificate is available and full details can be found on QRZ.com. Durham and District Amateur Radio Society is participating as one of the bonus stations in the popular 13 Colonies special event. The special callsign GB13COL has been issued for this event and will run from 1300 UTC on the 1st of July to 0400 UTC on the 8th. The primary focus of the event will be the HF bands, including VHF & UHF for QSOs using SSB, CW, FM and various digital modes. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the events for new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. RSGB strongly advises obeying your own government’s advice first and foremost. Today, the 24th, the third 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2.3 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday it’s the CW leg of the 80m Club Championships. Running from 1900 to 2030UTC, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Next weekend is the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. It runs for 48 hours from 0000UTC on the 30th to 2359UTC on the 31st. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Next Sunday, the 31st, the UK Microwave group High Band Contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7 to 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is your 4-character locator. And finally, join the fun of the next round of RSGB Hope QSO Party on weekdays. See www.rsgbcc.org/hf. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 22nd of May. Last week was dominated by extensive Sporadic-E openings that made 10 metres sound like 20 metres on a good day. The openings were steady and stable, with lots of stations around Europe being very workable. These openings extended to multi-hop as well, with Chris, VO1CH being heard on 10m FT8 at 1240UTC on Monday the 18th for example. Low-power beacons have also been heard – the IW4EIR beacon, running just 1.5W, was heard on 28.195MHz at 1600UTC on Monday as well. If you are interested in monitoring 10m beacons, Martin, G3USF has updated his 10 metre beacon list. It is available on the RSGB website under the Propagation section, using the link on the right-hand side, Propagation Beacons. Hopefully, the Sporadic-E season will continue to improve over the next few weeks. Other than Sporadic-E, HF conditions have been average for this time of year. Late Spring and Summer are traditionally times when maximum usable frequencies decline during the day due to a change in ionospheric chemistry. However, the good news is that night-time MUFs are higher, with bands like 20 metres remaining open long after sunset if there is sufficient ionisation. The Sun remains very quiet. Two lighter plage areas – bright regions in the Sun’s chromosphere – have moved into view, but are unlikely to turn into sunspots. As a result, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain around 70. It also predicts that the Sun will remain stable geomagnetically, bringing a maximum Kp index of two. So it looks like Sporadic-E will continue to provide the HF fun on the higher HF bands. And now the VHF and up propagation news. Most of next week will be dominated by high pressure just south of the UK and hence Tropo will be a good mode to try. At this time of the year, the strong sunshine makes any nocturnal enhancement of conditions temporary and soon disappears after sunrise and the new thermals destroy the night-time cooling inversion. However, the main high-pressure subsidence inversion is a different case and extends across the same region as the area of high pressure and will be present throughout. This will mean paths across the North Sea, English Channel or Bay of Biscay should do well. Unlike Sporadic-E, Tropo contacts need not be rushed. A fairly strong Atlantic jet stream will push across the UK this weekend and when it reaches the near continent it will be in a good place for Sporadic-E in a broad direction range from Scandinavia round through the Balkans to Italy and Spain. Meanwhile, the Atlantic will continue to provide jet stream segments for openings across the pond. The association of Sporadic-E with jet streams is useful since the charts show the meandering jet stream extending well east over Russia and could be used for paths to the Far East. There is a hint that a region of showers may develop around the middle of next week to give an opportunity for some GHz rain scatter propagation. The Moon’s reaches peak declination on Tuesday and path losses are falling all week. 144MHz sky noise is low. A number of small showers keep May and June an active time for meteor scatter operations, so keep looking for early morning opportunities before the Sporadic-E. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 17th of May 2020 The news headlines: More media coverage for #GOTA2C 2nd Hope QSO Party starts tomorrow New beta of WSJT-X updates FT4 & FT8 The RSGB’s national campaign ‘Get on the air to care’ in partnership with the NHS has received more media coverage this week, including two BBC radio interviews with local radio clubs and a video message from the NHS. Thank you to everyone who is showing their support by getting on the air, caring for other radio amateurs and trying new aspects of amateur radio. More details about the campaign, media coverage and stories from clubs and radio amateurs can be seen on the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/gota2c. The RSGB Contest Committee is running a second Hope QSO Party event, starting on Monday the 18th of May. The rules are at tinyurl.com/Hope-QSO – please note that there are two rule changes for this second event. The calendar is at www.rsgbcc.org/hf. A new beta version of the WSJT-X software suite has been released. It includes the first updates since last autumn to the popular FT8 and FT4 protocols. Installation packages for Windows, Linux, and Macintosh are available on the WSJT-X Development Group web page. Scroll to Candidate Release WSJT-X 2.2.0-rc1. The WSJT-X Development Group request those using the new beta version to alert the developers and to report any bugs or improvements they have implemented, using instructions included in the User Guide. The transponder on HuskySat-OSCAR 107 has been activated and is open for use and testing. It’s fairly sensitive, and 5 to 10W of uplink power is plenty most of the time. The linear transponder is inverting, with an uplink passband of 145.910 to 145.940MHz and a downlink passband of 435.810 to 435.840MHz. The 1200-baud BPSK telemetry beacon is at 435.800MHz. The Air Defence Radar Museum at RAF Neatishead usually runs the permanent special event station GB2RAF. But, with the museum closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, G4PSH has obtained permission to operate the callsign from his home under a temporary licence. This will continue until the museum is able to open to the public again. QSL cards are available via the RSGB or RAFARS bureau, EQSL.com or direct to G4PSH with a SAE. The Radio Amateur Society of Australia has conducted a 60 metre band monitoring program over the past few months to build a picture of 60m activity during daylight and evening hours. The information will be used in a response to the latest Australian radio authority’s paper that proposes various options for sharing of the band between amateur and commercial users. Now the special event news Since the change of regulations applying to special event stations in the UK, many activations are now able to go ahead. UK amateurs would like to thank Ofcom for their help in making this happen. GB2SHS for STAY HOME SAFE will be on air until the 24th of May in support of the NHS and care workers. It will operate from the QTH of G4ISN, a member of Welland Valley ARS, on the HF bands. QSL via e-QSL. The RAF Amateur Radio Society will be activating the special event GB75VED until the 28th May. Operations will be from members’ homes. Details are at www.rafars.org/GB75VED and on QRZ.com. Dragon Amateur Radio Club and North Wales Radio Society are operating GB0GIG throughout May, named after the National Health Service in the Welsh language. The station will be active on HF, VHF and UHF using as many modes as possible. An award certificate is available and full details can be found on QRZ.com. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day, the RSGB has organised the VE/VJ Day amateur radio marathon on the HF bands and 6m using SSB, CW and digital modes. Three special UK callsigns, GB75PEACE, GB1945PE and GB1945PJ, will be on the air throughout May and again between the 1st and the 31st of August. If you wish to operate one of these stations, please email csc.chair@rsgb.org.uk. Full details are at www.rsgb.org/ve-vj-marathon. Kent Active Radio Amateurs will run GB80MQ on the 22nd and 23rd of May. This station is usually run from the vessel Medway Queen, but will be operational from operator’s home addresses instead this time. Durham and District Amateur Radio Society is participating as one of the bonus stations in the hugely popular 13 Colonies Special Event. The special callsign GB13COL has been issued for this event and will run from July 1, 2020 1300 UTC to July 8, 0400 UTC. The primary focus of the event will be the HF bands, including VHF & UHF for QSOs using SSB, CW, FM and various digital modes. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the events for new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. RSGB strongly advises obeying your own government’s advice first and foremost. This weekend, the 144MHz May Contest ends it 24 hour run at 1400UTC today, the 17th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode. Today, the 17th, is the UK Microwave Group millimetre-wave contest, running from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 24 to 76GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday the fourth FT4 series contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC on the 80m band. The exchange is your 4-character locator. On Tuesday the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday it’s the 70MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next Sunday, the 24th, the third 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon runs until the 2nd of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is you 4-character locator. And finally, join the fun of the next round of RSGB Hope QSO Party on weekdays. See www.rsgbcc.org/hf. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 15th of May. We had another week dominated by Sporadic-E openings. While the Sun remained quiet with zero sunspots, Sporadic-E proved to be the major mode of propagation. It offered both single and multi-hop openings, with 10m being open to Spain, Portugal and beyond on most days. Likely multi-hop paths have seen openings to Chad, Mauritania, St Lucia and further afield. On 20m and 15m there have been F2-layer openings to the Far East, Hawaii, Alaska and South America reported, although most of these have been on FT8 by well-equipped stations. An easier catch for Chris, G3SJJ was C31CT in Andorra who “popped out of the noise” on 17m. This shows the importance of monitoring the bands and watching the cluster for those elusive short HF openings. Next week NOAA predicts that the Sun will likely remain spotless with a solar flux index of 68-70. On Thursday a polar coronal hole with a long finger pointing towards the solar equator was likely releasing a high-speed solar wind stream. This could result in unsettled geomagnetic conditions over the weekend. NOAA predicts the Kp index could rise to three on Monday the 18th. And now the VHF and up propagation news. The weather models are showing a mainly high-pressure week and therefore there should be some good prospects for Tropo. Since the high does not have a great source of moist air underneath the inversion, the Tropo may be less than ideal. However, the position of the high over this weekend may allow better Tropo conditions across southern Britain and across the Channel into France. The north and west of the UK are going to be close to fronts on several occasions next week, and on Monday a weakness in the high may allow a few showers to develop and bring some rain scatter on the GHz bands. One of the models does break the high-pressure trend and bring a deepening low past northwest Britain in the second half of next week with further rain scatter possibilities. We have seen a good number of Sporadic-E days in the last week, especially for digital modes, but CW and SSB have produced results too. The position of the jet streams suggests that Scandinavia, the Baltic and northern Europe may be the preferred regions of interest next week. Check the beacons and clusters for signs of activity, and keep QSOs short, since conditions can change suddenly from an easy 5/9 to lost in the noise. We should see the start of the Arietids meteor shower this week lasting from the 22nd of May until the 2nd of July, peaking on the 7th of June. Moon declination is increasing again, going positive on Monday but this coincides with apogee, so path losses are at their highest. 144MHz sky noise is low apart from Friday afternoon where the Sun and Moon are close to eclipse. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

Welcome to Episode 343, the latest release of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts take an in-depth look at the workings of Yaesu's System Fusion communication technology and the associated Internet linking platform known as WiRES-X. If you're interested in digital radio and VHF/UHF chat with folks around the world [...]

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 12th of April 2020   The news headlines: IARU turns 95 EMC help is on hand Commonwealth War Graves Commission at NRC Saturday the 18th of April is World Amateur Radio Day, this year marking the 95th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union. Around the world, amateur radio special event stations will mark the event on the air, starting on the 18th at 0000UTC and continuing until the 19th at 2359. The theme this year is Celebrating Amateur Radio’s Contribution to Society and the COVID-19 pandemic casts the event in a different light than in years past. IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, says “A few short weeks ago, many of us could not imagine the levels of isolation that we are now dealing with and the sacrifices of many on the front lines of the pandemic. As we have done in past challenges to our society, amateur radio will play a key part in keeping people connected and assisting those who need support.” Looking for help with an EMC problem? The RSGB’s EMC web page has a range of resources that will help including guidance on several EMC issues and helpful leaflets to download from www.rsgb.org/emc. The RSGB’s YouTube channel also has the RFI Clinic 2019 Convention lecture by the EMC Committee’s John Rogers, M0JAV and David Lauder, G0SNO. Take a look at the 2019 Convention playlist on www.youtube.com/theRSGB. A few weeks ago, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission visited the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park to make a film about the B2 Mk III Spy set on display in the foyer. The video features RSGB member John Ellerton, G3NCN and can be viewed on YouTube. Go to https://youtu.be/U3ZZUJmItSU From the 13th of April, Matt, M0PTO will be uploading videos to YouTube for a new course called Lockdown Morse. The YouTube channel is at https://youtu.be/RWDqg8bCSqM. He has also created a Facebook page for the course at www.facebook.com/lockdownmorse. The RSGB has released onto its YouTube Channel a video by the Society’s Propagation Studies Committee entitled Understanding HF Propagation. It looks at sunspots, ionospheric layers, critical frequencies, solar flares and much more. You can see it at www.youtube.com/theRSGB Nordics on the Air was scheduled to be held this weekend. It has postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the youth NOTA camp, there would have been two HF stations with the callsign LA1YOTA spreading the voice of youth all around the world. Even though the camp is not going to happen there will be NOTA activation skeds from the 10th onwards. Look out for SK8YOTA on the 12th and TF3YOTA on the 13th. The RSGB HF Contest Committee has just completed a survey, which was open to all, to help determine its strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions focused on two issues. Firstly, how best to proceed with its flagship IOTA Contest in 2020. Secondly, whether or not there was a mandate for introducing a temporary HF contest series to provide some entertainment and support to RSGB Members and others who are currently staying at home. The committee had 656 survey respondents, of whom just less than half are regular RSGB HF contest participants. You can read the results at https://tinyurl.com/HFCC-survey-results. The RSGB has decided to postpone all Train the Trainers courses for this year. They had been planned to run up until July, so the team will start rescheduling them when the pandemic situation improves and full travel is restored. Icom has announced that delivery of the new IC-705 HF to 430MHz all-mode 10W transceiver, which was scheduled to be released in March, has been pushed back to later this year because the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the delivery of some components. More information will be posted on their website and via social media in due course. A long-silent repeater in Birmingham has successfully reactivated. GB3BM is on 145.7125MHz with 67Hz CTCSS tone. In the current situation of everyone being at home a great deal more than usual, this will no doubt be welcome news to amateurs in the area. Don’t forget that voting for the RSGB elections is still open. If you’ve struggled to find your Membership number, the Society has made it easier for you by adding it to the righthand sidebar of your Members’ page when you log into the website. This is your opportunity to choose who you want to be part of the RSGB Board and help lead the Society over the next few years. The special web pages at www.rsgb.org/agm have details of the Calling Notice, Resolutions, candidate statements and information about how to vote. Internet voting closes at 9am on Thursday the 23rd of April. The RSGB has a Coronavirus Updates page that brings together some great ideas as well as its important announcements. Take a look at www.rsgb.org/coronavirus-updates. Now the contest news Due to social distancing and movement precautions around the world, most contest organisers are not accepting entries from multi-operator groups or from portable stations. Check the rules before taking part. Today, the 12th, the First 50MHz contest takes place from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode. The Worked All Britain Data contest takes place from 1000 to 1400 and 1700 to 2100UTC today, the 12th of April. All data modes except machine-generated CW may be used, but it is expected that most contacts will be by RTTY, PSK or FT8. The exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 22nd of April. See www.worked-all-britain.org.uk. On Monday the Irish 70cm Counties Contest will run from 1300 to 1330UTC using FM and SSB. It is immediately followed by the 2m Counties Contest from 1330 to 1500UTC. This is SSB only. The exchange for both contests is signal report and serial number with EI and GI stations also exchanging their county. On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. It is followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 80m Club Championships runs from 1900 to 2030UTC using SSB only. The exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday it is the 70MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC, using SSB only. The exchange is signal report and serial number. Next weekend, the First Machine Generated Modes contest runs from 1400UTC on the 18th to 1400UTC on the 19th using the 50 and 144MHz bands. The exchange is signal report and your four-character locator. The YU DX contest runs from 0700UTC on the 18th to 0659UTC on the 19th. More information can be found at http://yudx.yu1srs.org.rs/2020. And finally, don’t forget the RSGB Hope QSO Party on weekdays, see www.rsgbcc.org/hf for further details. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 9th of April. Sunspot group 2759, as reported last week, never really amounted to much and vanished before it got to the solar disk’s edge. The matter from a solar coronal hole did hit the Earth last weekend as we predicted, sending the Kp index to four in the early hours of Saturday morning. Even though we don’t have any sunspots, we are now benefiting from seasonal changes in the ionosphere and longer days. Monday’s 80m CW Club Championship contest saw the critical frequency stay comfortably above 4MHz, which guaranteed a lively event with high scores all round. Stations in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden and France joined in, which made for some head-scratching for amateurs expecting to hear mostly UK-based callsigns. But daytime on HF is still a little lacklustre as we continue towards sunspot minimum. Next week, NOAA predicts more of the same with the solar flux index pegged at 68 and zero sunspots. The Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft showed a large coronal hole was Earth facing on Thursday, which suggests we might get disrupted conditions over the weekend. Although we don’t know the solar matter’s expected Bz signature, if its locked-in magnetic field shows a strong south-facing Bz component we can expect it to couple strongly to the Earth’s magnetic field, resulting in a raised Kp index. So lookout for the possibility of a pre-auroral enhancement at first and then auroral conditions on 10m as it progresses. Meanwhile, there are signs that this year’s Sporadic-E season could soon warm up. Some Spanish low-power beacons have been spotted on 10 metres, but they are currently quite weak. We expect Es conditions to improve towards the end of April/early May with daily short-skip openings out to around 1,500 miles. So it is a good time to make sure your 10m antennas are working properly before the Es season starts. And now the VHF and up propagation news. In a general sense, this period of weather is essentially high-pressure driven except for a couple of brief incursions from low-pressure systems. Easter weekend sees the first visit by a low drifting from the north with April showers and some rain scatter potential. This is followed by a high moving from northwest Scotland southeast into Germany and again producing some good Tropo potential, which may well coincide with the 70cm UKAC on Tuesday evening, so a good result. The second half of the week models show a low moving from the south and affecting the southern half of the UK bringing some showery rain, perhaps thundery, so again some more rain scatter on the microwave frequencies. Lastly, the following weekend sees high pressure returning to Scotland and later the North Sea with further Tropo options. As we are pushing well into April we can expect to see the new Sporadic-E season developing in the next couple of weeks and the Easter Sunday 50MHz contest could well flush out any early stirrings! While we are still close to Lunar perigee, losses are low, but Moon declination is minimum on Tuesday. Moon visibility windows are just a few hours at low elevation, making EME difficult due to ground noise. Added to this is high 144MHz sky noise in the first part of the week, making it a poor week for EME. This Thursday sees the start of the Lyrids meteor shower, so we are coming out of the period of low meteor activity. Keep checking around dawn for the best random meteor contacts. Overall it’s a good week for activity on the VHF/UHF bands. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

Understanding feed line loss; VHF/UHF digital vs analog; all about SKYWARN.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 8th of March 2020 The news headlines: RAYNET helps in flooding emergency Blue Ham this weekend 6,873 February visitors to NRC   North Humber RAYNET were recently activated during the widespread flooding that occurred on the 27th of February in Snaith, East Yorkshire. A temporary control station was first established at the ‘washlands’ near the village of the East Cowick during the afternoon of the 26th, with thirteen members attending the developing situation over three days. Members were positioned at Vehicle Check Points, flooded roads and worked alongside Yorkshire 4x4 Response vehicles as well as being co-located in the local Town Council emergency control centre and Bronze Command. Most of the radio traffic was carried over 144MHz, with some on 70MHz. A VHF/UHF talk-through was located in a vehicle outside Snaith Fire Station to provide local access and an increased range as the 4G mobile phone coverage was patchy in some areas and there were issues with access at times. The group were finally stood down late in the evening of Saturday the 29th of February as the flooding and the situation stabilised. The RAFAC tell us that the next Blue Ham Radio Communications Exercise will be this weekend, the 7th and 8th of March, using the 5MHz band. Details of the exchange of information to count as a QSO is at https://alphacharlie.org.uk/exercise-blue-ham. A Blue Ham Certificate is available if you contact 10 or more special MRE callsigns during the exercise with the Cadets. No fewer than 6,873 visitors were welcomed to the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park during February. As part of the on-going recruitment campaign, two new volunteers joined the NRC team: Mike, G0RBB and Nick, M0NPH. The RSGB would like to thank them and the other NRC volunteers for their time. Yves F5PRU / 6W1TA in Senegal has been informed by the Senegalese Telecom Regulatory Authority that the new WRC-15 Amateur Secondary Allocation 5351.5 – 5366.5kHz is now allowed in the country. The IARU Region 1 band plan should be used with a maximum power limit available of 15W EIRP. Yves has been living in Senegal for 18 months. He is mainly on the air around 5354kHz on CW and sometimes on 5357kHz FT8. Venues and dates for the 2020 series of Train the Trainers courses can be found on the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/train-the-trainers. In order for the organisers to ensure that courses are run as cost-effectively as possible, between 20 and 25 candidates are required for each venue. To reserve a place on any course please email trainthetrainers@rsgb.org.uk with your name and telephone number. The first course to run will be held in Telford on the 21st of March; it now only has two places available. Following Telford will be Cardiff on the 18th of April. This course needs more candidates, so if you want to attend this event please book as soon as possible. Details of other courses available are on the website. The RSGB is delighted to announce that Tony Jones, G7ETW has been appointed as Amateur Radio Development Chair and Chris Colclough, G1VDP has been appointed to the role of Beyond Exams Coordinator. Both were licensed in the 1980s, have been active in a range of amateur radio activities and are looking forward to being part of these initiatives. The first lecture as part of the Marconi Centenary 2020 has been announced by the Chelmsford Civic Society. Professor Danielle George has kindly agreed to speak at Anglia Ruskin University, Bishop Hall Lane, Chelmsford, CM1 1SQ on Tuesday the 31st of March at 2 pm. The lecture is free to everyone but must be pre-booked. Go to https://tinyurl.com/eventbrite-marconi. The RSGB has created a new policies page where you will find all the Society’s main policies in one place: www.rsgb.org/policies. Where relevant you can also still find them on the appropriate sections of its website. The policy documents have been updated into the RSGB’s current branding so please make sure you refer to the most recent versions. And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week The Pencoed ARC Table-Top Sale scheduled to take place on the 8th of March has been cancelled. Due to concerns raised over the Covoid-19 virus, the committee of Wythall Radio Club have decided to cancel this year’s Wythall Hamfest, originally planned for next Sunday the 15th of March. They would like to thank the traders for their support for this year’s event and hope to see everyone next year. On the 22nd of March, Stirling & District ARS is holding a CW Boot Camp in conjunction with GMDX. Further information is at www.gmdx.org.uk/cwbootcamp Please send details of your rally and event plans as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we give you valuable publicity online, in RadCom and on GB2RS, all for free. And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources David, F8AAN will be active holiday style as 3B9AN from Rodrigues Island, IOTA reference AF-017, between the 10th and 19th of March. He will operate CW on the 80 to 17m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, or direct to his home call. Richard, G3RWL will be active as 8P6DR from Barbados, NA-021, from the 8th of March to the 9th of April. He will operate CW and possibly some RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, Logbook of The World or via his home call, either direct or via the bureau. Noel, F6BGC will be active as 8Q7NC from the Maldives, AS-013, between the 12th and the 21st of March. He will be operating holiday-style on the 80 to10m bands using SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL via Logbook of The World, or direct to his home call. 9K2HQ and other members of the Kuwait ARS will be active as 9K2F from Faylakah Island, AS-118, between the 11th and the 15th of March. They will operate SSB, CW and FT8 on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via 9K2RA and Logbook of The World. Thierry, F6CUK will be active as TM8C from the lighthouse on Cordouan Island, EU-159, between the 13th and the 15th of March. He will operate CW and SSB on the 40 and 20m bands. QSL via his home call. Now the special event news On the weekend of the 14th and 15th of March, the Shepparton & District ARC will connect amateur transceivers to the curtain array and rhombic antennas at the Broadcast Australia site in Shepparton, which is located in North Central Victoria, Australia. This site was previously a short wave Radio Australia location. VI3RA will be on the air from 2300UTC on Saturday the 14th of March until 2300UTC on the 16th using the 7, 10, 14, 18 and 21MHz bands. The Maine Bicentennial Special Event celebrates the 200th anniversary of Maine statehood between the 16th and the 22nd of March. Twelve special event callsigns will be active, each representing one of Maine’s nine original counties, plus three special locations that have historical significance, including K1B, K1J, K1P, W1C, W1H and W1Y amongst others. Certificates will be awarded to those who contact special event stations, with endorsements available for bands, modes, and a clean sweep for contacts with each of the Maine 200 Special Event call signs. See https://maine200specialevent.com/ for more information. Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible to get your event publicised here on GB2RS, in RadCom, and online. Now the contest news The ARRL International DX contest ends its 48 hour run at 2359UTC today, the 8th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and transmitter power. US stations also send their State and Canadians their Province. The 144/432MHz contest ends its 24 hour run at 1400UTC today, the 8th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Microwave Group’s Low Band Contest takes place today, the 8th, from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Britain 3.5MHz contest also takes place today, the 8th of March, from 1800 to 2200UTC. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 18th of March. The exchange will be RS plus serial number plus WAB square. Full details of the rules and methods of entry may be obtained from the WAB website, www.worked-all-britain.org.uk. On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 80m Club Championships CW leg runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The longest-running RSGB contest of them all is the Commonwealth Contest, formerly known as BERU. It runs for 24 hours over the weekend of the 14th and 15th. There are always some travellers who fly off to activate Commonwealth countries that are not heard every day and they will all be pleased to work anyone in the UK, contester or not. The contest runs from 1000 to 1000UTC, it’s CW only on the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bans and the exchange is signal report and serial number. Next Sunday, the 15th, the 2nd 70MHz Cumulative contest runs from 1000 to 1200UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 6th of March. The VP8PJ DXpedition to the South Orkney Islands has now finished, with the last active day on the 5th of March. The DXpedition resulted in many UK stations putting South Orkney into their log, on all bands and modes from 160 to 15 metres, with a few reports even of 10m contacts. This was a good example of how ionospheric propagation can be hard to predict as some of the paths looked very difficult if not impossible. But over a week-long period, there were times when signals were able to get through, if only for short periods. It also showed how localised HF propagation can be, with some stations in the UK hearing them, while 100 miles away there was nothing. Solar figures wise, the week ended pretty much as it started with zero sunspots and a solar flux index of 69 to 70. The week was mainly settled geomagnetically, apart from the night of Saturday, February the 29th and Sunday the 1st of March when the Kp index rose to four. This was due to a solar wind stream from a coronal hole on the Sun, which we predicted last week. Luckily, this was pretty short-lived and after it struck the Kp index fell back again to one or two representing more settled geomagnetic conditions. NOAA predicts that next week will be pretty similar to last with zero sunspots and a solar flux index around 70 to 71. The US Air Force predicts fairly quiet geomagnetic conditions with a Kp index around one or two. At the time of writing a small coronal hole has appeared on the Sun’s equator, which should become geoeffective this weekend. Another polar coronal hole is also growing towards the solar equator. This means that any solar matter from these holes could impact the Earth sometime over the weekend or early next week. If it does, expect a possible short-lived pre-auroral enhancement followed by a general reduction in the MUF as the Kp index rises. Don’t forget that next weekend is the Commonwealth Contest with CW HF stations on from Australia, New Zealand and Canada, as well as exotic locations such as Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, Belize and the Turks and Caicos Islands. And now the VHF and up propagation news. March is usually a month of typical spring gales and storms with the main Atlantic jet stream across the British Isles. Next week’s forecast is therefore not unexpected, and the main theme is a very changeable one with quite strong winds at times and periods of rain. No surprise then, that there is little prospect of high pressure and Tropo for the VHF/UHF bands. What's left is a challenge for microwave operators to seek out some rain scatter from fast-moving scatter points in this train of lows and fronts crossing the country. Also, if you have heavy local rain between you and the QO-100 satellite, look out for a reduction in signal strength from the transponders. This is due to the scattering effect of the water droplets causing a blockage at the GHz band downlink frequency. The strong jet stream will also produce some small opportunity for out-of-season Sporadic-E, probably towards the south into Spain or Italy. Moon declination goes negative on Wednesday so the best peak Moon elevation will be in the early half of the week. Tuesday is perigee so, with path losses at their lowest, it’s still a good week for EME. 144MHz sky noise is low for the early part of the week but climbs slowly, reaching 750K a week today. The small Gamma-Normids meteor shower peaks next Saturday, but with a zenithal hourly rate of just six, it’s nothing to get excited about, so keep looking for random meteor scatter QSOs around dawn. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 1st of March 2020 The news headlines: Guidance for limiting exposure to EMF US amateurs respond to 3.4GHz threat Ofcom’s policy on two-letter callsigns Following last week’s launch of an Ofcom Consultation on EM Field exposure, the RSGB has released a briefing paper for all UK amateurs. This gives more details as the proposals involve a change to licence conditions for any station operating with greater than 10W EIRP. The Society has formed a team to prepare a considered response to Ofcom’s Consultation and will be offering further guidance ahead of the 15th of May deadline. The briefing paper is available at www.rsgb.org/emc-papers. A proposal by the FCC in the USA to remove the entire amateur 3.4GHz allocation without compensation has seen strong opposition as ARRL, AMSAT and hundreds of individual amateurs have filed comments in response to a current consultation. The ARRL highlighted decades of active usage and experimentation including mesh networks, amateur television, weak signal long-distance communication, Earth-Moon-Earth or moonbounce communication, propagation research and emerging amateur satellite developments. In its comments, ARRL argued that it would therefore be premature to remove the current secondary amateur radio allocation. The FCC is also inviting comments on changes to the 5.9GHz band that has an amateur allocation in the USA. Ofcom has recently updated its website to clarify its policy relating to the issuing of callsigns with two-letter suffixes. The notes can be found at tinyurl.com/gb2rs-ofcomcall and selecting Amateur Radio Callsign Allocation. The first lecture as part of the Marconi Centenary 2020 has been announced by the Chelmsford Civic Society. Professor Danielle George has kindly agreed to speak at Anglia Ruskin University, Bishop Hall Lane, Chelmsford, CM1 1SQ on Tuesday the 31st of March at 2pm. The lecture is free to everyone but must be pre-booked. Go to https://tinyurl.com/eventbrite-marconi. The coronavirus has impacted a couple of DXpeditions due to a requirement to spend 14 days in quarantine in Hawaii or Guam before entering some of the smaller Pacific island nations. Swains Island, OC-200, and T30ET from Tarawa Atoll, OC-017, are postponed until the autumn, and planning for Pulap, OC-155, and Satawal, OC-299, both new Islands in Micronesia is on hold. The next section in the 2020 SOTA Challenge is the Digital Voice and will take place in the first week of March. All SOTA QSOs completed on DMR, C4FM, D-Star or FreeDV will automatically attract scoring credit in the Challenge. As repeaters and gateways are not valid for SOTA contacts, all QSOs will need to be simplex. There is substantial C4FM activity planned in the Shropshire Hills today, the 1st of March, and in the Clywydian Hills on Saturday the 7th of March. On the evening of Monday the 2nd of March, there is a SOTA DV activity night. Several activators will be out on the summits with DV modes and will be supported by Stockport RS and Macclesfield & District RS, chiefly on C4FM mode on the 2m band. On the evening of the 4th of March, another SOTA DV activity night takes place, this time supported by the Lancashire-based North West Fusion Group. This will be mainly on 70cm C4FM. For more information about Summits on the Air please visit www.sota.org.uk. And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week Today, the 1st of March, the Exeter Radio & Electronics Rally will be held in America Hall, De la Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter EX4 8PW. Doors open at 10.30am, 10.15am for disabled visitors, and admission £2 with under 16s free. There will be trade stands, a Bring & Buy and catering is available on site. Details from Pete, G3ZVI on 0771 419 8374 or by email to g3zvi@yahoo.co.uk. The Pencoed ARC Table-Top Sale scheduled to take place on the 8th of March has been cancelled. The next rally in the diary is the 35th Wythall Radio Club Hamfest on the 15th of March. Please send details of your rally and event plans as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we give you valuable publicity online, in RadCom and on GB2RS, all for free. And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources Rudi, DK7PE will be active as CP6/DK7PE from Santa Cruz, Bolivia until the 6th of March. He will operate CW with a focus on the low bands. QSL via his home call, direct or via the bureau. Yuri, R2DY, Pavel, R2DX and Eugene, RW3FB will be active as EX0QR from the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan between the 6th and 17th of March. They will operate CW, SSB and digital modes on the 160 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, or via R2DX either direct or via the bureau. Hans, DK8RE, Wolf, DL1CC and Wies, SP1EG will be active as MH0ESP from Jersey, EU-013, between the 7th and 16th of March. QSL via SP1EG. HP1DAV, HP3AK, G4BVY, G4CLA and GD4XUM will be active as H33K from Volcan in Panama between the 2nd and the 13th of March. They will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on various HF bands. QSL direct to HP1DAV; the log will be uploaded to Logbook of The World and Club Log. Phil, N2HX will be active holiday style as PJ4/N2HX from Bonaire, SA-006, between the 1st and the 15th of March. He will operate SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL via his home call. Now the special event news We have received no details of special event stations operating this week. Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible to get your event publicised here on GB2RS, in RadCom, and online. Now the contest news On Monday, the 80 Club Championships take place between 2000 and 2130UTC using datamodes only. The exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. This is the SSB leg and the exchange is your 4-character locator. Next weekend the ARRL International DX contest runs for 48 Hours from 0000UTC on the 7th to 2359UTC on the 8th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands the exchange is signal report and transmitter power. US stations also send their State and Canadians their Province. The 144/432MHz contest takes place between 1400UTC on the 7th and 1400UTC on the 8th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Microwave Group’s Low Band Contest takes place next Sunday, the 8th, from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Britain 3.5MHz contest takes place next Sunday, the 8th of March, from 1800 to 2200UTC. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 18th of March. The exchange will be RS plus serial number plus WAB square. Full details of the rules and methods of entry may be obtained from the WAB website www.worked-all-britain.org.uk. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 28th of February. Interest in the VP8PJ DXpedition to the South Orkney Islands remains high. The team has now been on the island for one week and many UK amateurs have worked them. At the moment, it looks like beams and linears are the norm for a reliable contact, although they have been heard in the UK on 17 and 20 metres FT8 at -10dB SNR in the afternoon using just loft-mounted dipoles. As they work their way through the pile ups more opportunities to work them may become available. They are currently due to remain on the island until the 5th of March. As always, the point-to-point facility at rsgb.org/predtest will give you an indication of the best times to work VP8PJ from the UK. Conditions have been quite settled with the Kp index moving between one and zero. The Sun continues to remain spotless with a solar flux index of 71. As this report is being prepared there are two small coronal holes on the Sun that are rotating into an Earth-facing position. If these develop, they could cause the Kp index to rise this weekend due to their associated high-speed solar wind streams. This may result in a pre-auroral HF enhancement. Otherwise, NOAA predicts the Kp index may rise again to four on March the 4th and 5th, presumably due to a returning coronal hole. We are now heading towards the Spring equinox, which is a good time for north-south HF contacts. With the Commonwealth Contest on Saturday the 14th of March this may be a good time to try as you won’t have any competition from continental contesters. And now the VHF and up propagation news. It feels like 'groundhog day' for the VHF/UHF propagation prospects with another week of unsettled weather on the way. There are likely to be several occasions when low pressure systems pass by northern Britain, thus bringing strong winds to Scotland again, but with some windier spells in the south too, though mostly not as strong. The principal outcome of this weather pattern is that it leaves no room for high pressure to develop over the UK and therefore no chance of Tropo for yet another week. As before, that means that potential exists for some rain scatter activity on the GHz bands using the heavy rain, hail and snow as good scatter points. Sometimes individually from fast-moving small shower clouds, but also from larger areas like active weather fronts making it easier to latch onto the scattering area. The upper air patterns continue to show strong ‘winter’ jet streams nearby or over the country, so this leads to the slim chance of ‘out-of-season’ sporadic E on 10m and 6m, especially if using the digital modes and, if forced to pick a favoured direction, it would probably be south towards EA and CT. Moon declination reaches maximum mid-week and path losses are falling with perigee a week on Tuesday, so a good week for EME. 144 MHz sky noise reaches 500K on Tuesday but is generally low for most of the rest of the week. There are no meteor showers peaking in the coming week, so keep looking for random meteor scatter QSOs around dawn. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

VHF/UHF ground plane antenna tips; the benefits of windowed "ladder line"; and a chat with a public service volunteer in Indiana.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 2nd February 2020 The news headlines: New IARU Region 1 website live RSGB Operating Awards QSL Checking Service GB3RS at the NRC due for maintenance on the 11th Earlier this week the new IARU website went live with new material added. Also live is the new IARU Region 1 website at its normal address of iaru-r1.org. Please take a moment to explore the new Region 1 site and also remember that if you link to that site from your own website, you will need to update the hyperlinks to reflect the new page addresses. Don, G3BJ, IARU Region 1 President, said, “Thanks go to the many content owners in Region 1 who have reviewed and updated their content as part of the process and to Marko, 9A8MM, the webmaster”. The RSGB is now offering a QSL card checking service for RSGB award applicants. When submitting your award application, you will have the option to request a QSL card check. The RSGB Awards Manager will arrange for your cards to be checked in person, please do not send cards to RSGB HQ. Did you know that clubs can apply for the RSGB HF and VHF/UHF awards? Your club may apply under its club callsign for any award for which it has met the criteria. For more information, see www.rsgb.org/awards Due to essential maintenance, the Radio Room at the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park will be closed to visitors on Tuesday the 11th of February. Whilst the NRC itself will remain open to visitors, it means that the station GB3RS will be ‘off-air’ and hence will be unavailable for any visiting radio amateurs to operate. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. The work should be completed by mid-afternoon and hence GB3RS may be on-air later in the day but, by closing for the day, we are allowing for any over-run needed to complete the work. On the 30th of January at 1400UTC, AMSAT Argentina deployed a WSPR / APRS drifting Buoy on the South Atlantic Seas. The WSPR beacon will run 900mW on 14095.6kHz with the callsign LU7AA. The APRS beacon, callsign LU7AA-11, will initially be on Argentina's APRS frequency of 144.930MHz but will change frequency to 145.825MHz so that it can be digipeated by the amateur packet radio satellites. The release was 100km offshore Mar del Plata coast, seeking east aiming currents and winds. The objective is to track Sea currents and conduct HF, VHF and satellite ultra-QRP propagation tests. AMSAT Argentina, LU7AA, would appreciate WSPR stations receiving and reporting of the 20m beacon. Further information and pictures at http://amsat.org.ar?f=buoy The RSGB has released another selection of lectures from the 2019 RSGB Convention for Members to enjoy. Ian White, GM3SEK revisits and updates his popular 2015 Convention lecture Clean up your shack; Richard Banester, G4CDN looks at 2m weak signal ionosphere scatter and Tony Canning, G2NF asks Urban QRM; What can I do? Head to www.rsgb.org/videos to view them. During the month of February, the Polish national society PZK will have 14 different special event stations on the air to mark the 90th anniversary of PZK and the 95th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union. Six of the stations will have 90PZK in their callsigns, two stations will have 2020PZK and six stations will have 95IARU in their callsigns. Prefixes will be 3Z, HF, SN, SP, SQ and SO. A free downloadable award will be available to European station who make seven QSOs on either phone, CW or digital modes. Full details available on 90.pzk.org.pl And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week Today, Sunday the 2nd of February, the 36th Canvey Radio & Electronics Rally will take place at Cornelius Vermuyden School, Dinant Avenue, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 9QS. Talk in will be on 145.550MHz. There is free car parking and easy level ground floor access to two large halls. Doors open at 10 am, or 9.45 am for disabled visitors. Admission is £3, with children under 10 free. Tea, coffee and soft drinks will be available, as well as bacon butties. There will be radio, computing and electronics traders. More details from Tony, G0JYI, via email to tony@tonystreet.net. If you happen to be holidaying in Florida soon you may be interested in the 74th Orlando Hamcation on the 7th to the 9th of February. Held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park, in Orlando, there will be trade stands, a flea market, a swapmeet, US Licence exams & more. Go to www.hamcation.com for details. Next Sunday, the 9th of February the Harwell Radio and Electronics Rally will be held at Didcot Leisure Centre, Mereland Road, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 8AY, that’s about 3 miles from the A34 Milton Interchange. Doors open 10 am to 3 pm and admittance is £3 with under 12s free. Talk in will be on 145.550MHz, using G3PIA and there is free car parking. Local and national traders, as well as Special Interest Groups and an RSGB Bookstand, will be in attendance. Home-made refreshments are available all day. Details from rally@g3pia.net or 01235 816379. Please send details of your rally and event plans as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we give you valuable publicity online, in RadCom and on GB2RS, all for free. And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources Nando, IT9YRE and Mike, K9AJ will be on the air as CB0Z from the 3rd to the 5th of February to activate the new IOTA reference Alejandro Selkirk Island, IOTA SA-101. Activity will be on the 40, 30, 20, 17 and 15m bands using CW, SSB and possibly FT8. QSL via IT9YRE. A DXpedition to Cocos Island will take place until the 9th of February using the callsign TI9C. The operators will be Mark, XE1B and Frank, HK5OKY and they plan to be on all bands from 160 to 6m on SSB and FT8. QSL via Club Log OQRS. A large group of operators will be operating as 5I5TT from Zanzibar Island, IOTA AF-032, from the 4th to the 18th of February. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY with four stations active. QSL via I2YSB. A German DXpedition team will be on the air from El Salvador until the 13th of February. They will be using the callsign HU1DL. The usual prefix for El Salvador is YS so the HU prefix will attract added attention to the expedition. They will be active on all bands from 160 to 6m on CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL via Club Log OQRS. Matteo, IZ4YGS will be operating as 9G5GS from Sanzule in Ghana from the 1st to the 26th of February. Activity will be on the 160 to 20m bands using FT8 and SSB. He also plans some activity on QO-100. QSL direct to home call. Russell, G5XW will be operating holiday-style as C5XW in the Gambia until the 7th of February. Activity will be mainly SSB on the 40 to 17m bands and possibly some CW. QSLs go via the RSGB bureau Now the special event news On Wednesday the 5th of February GB0GLS will be on the air from Gilnahirk Listening Station, BT5 7SL. Operations run from 10 am to 6 pm. There is no parking on Gilnahirk Road, but the organisers plan to have a field available for parking. Details on qrz.com Members of the Kuwait Amateur Radio Society are operating as 9K59NLD during February to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Day. QSL via 9K2RA. Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible to get your event publicised here on GB2RS, in RadCom, and online. Now the contest news Today, Sunday, the 2nd of February, the 432MHz AFS contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday the 80m Club Championships runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. Using SSB only the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC, it is followed from 2000 to 2230 by the 144MHz UK Activity Contest where all modes may be used. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the UK EI Contest Club 80m contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using SSB only the exchange is your 4-character locator. Next weekend the CQ WW WPX Party runs from 0000UTC on the 8th to 2359UTC on the 9th. It’s RTTY only on the 3.8 to 28MHz bands. The exchange is signal report and serial number. The PACC Contest runs from 1200UTC on the 8th to 1200UTC on the 9th. Using CW and SSB on the 1.8 to 28MHz bands the exchange is signal report serial number with PA stations also sending their Province. On Saturday the 8th the 1st 1.8MHz contest of the year runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and District. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 31st of January. We had a new sunspot group last week, but don’t get too excited – region 2757 was from the old Cycle 24. We know this because it was close to the Sun’s equator and had the older magnetic configuration. As you read or hear this, the spot will be rotating out of view off of the Sun’s eastern limb. A new plage region belonging to upcoming Cycle 25 also appeared high in latitude on the southwest limb but didn’t amount to anything. The Kp index peaked at three last week, possibly due to a minor geomagnetic storm triggered by a coronal mass ejection from sunspot group 2757. But otherwise, with the solar flux at 74, it was business as usual! There was DX to be had. Andy, M0NKR reports working 7Z Saudi Arabia, 9W West Malaysia, HS0 Thailand and 4S7 Sri Lanka on 40 metres. He also reports working 8P Barbados, SO Western Sahara and FJ Saint Barthelemy on 17 metres. SO1WS at the Sahrawi Amateur Radio Club has been very active on 17m, so keep an eye on the cluster for their current operating frequency. Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will be around 74, declining to 71 as sunspot 2757 disappears from the Earth-facing solar surface. Geomagnetic conditions will be mainly settled with a maximum Kp index of three. Expect to see openings up to the 18MHz band, with the 14MHz band being more reliable. The 21MHz band and higher are still not really playing ball, other than for FT8 contacts with Germany being spotted on 10 metres on Thursday. And now the VHF and up propagation news. The coming week’s weather has a continuing unsettled flavour, especially in the north, but with a hint of a brief ridge of high pressure passing across southern areas around mid-week. This means that it's mostly GHz Bands rain scatter on offer this weekend and into the beginning of next week, but again this appears to be mostly for northern parts of the country. As the high builds later on Tuesday and through Wednesday we could see some Tropo conditions extending to the south into the continent and across Biscay towards Spain, perhaps. This is a relatively brief period of high pressure and may not have enough time to build a strong inversion with moisture trapped beneath the inversion as required for a good lift. The upper air charts for the coming week provide a significant chance of a strong jet stream in the upper atmosphere over or near the UK. This is the sort of pattern that can produce Sporadic-E in the summer season and may just tip the balance in winter if it goes in our favour. Take a look for digital mode activity on 10m for a “heads up.” With Moon declination still rising, reaching maximum on Thursday, it's a good week for EME. With just over a week to perigee, path losses are falling. 144MHz sky noise is highest on Wednesday, falling to its lowest on Saturday. There’s a small meteor shower in progress, the Alpha-Centaurids, reaching its peak on Saturday. Due to the southern declination of its radiant, the best time is before dawn when the radiant lies highest above the horizon. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 12th January 2020   The news headlines: First Tunisian licences in 6 decades Intruder Watcher DK2OM retires IET Wiring Reg changes affect Syllabus   The IARU reports that the first three Authorisations to Operate have been issued to three Tunisian amateurs. These are the first amateur permits issued since 1956. 3V8HB, 3V8MN and 3V1MB will soon be on the air from their homes, rather than being restricted to operating from a club station. Issuing individual authorisations to operate is a new process in Tunisia and involves a number of stages, including equipment conformity checks. This is great news for Tunisians that the process now exists so that radio amateurs can practice their hobby from homes in full compliance with the Tunisian Laws. The IARU Member Society ARAT extends its thanks to the National Agency of Frequencies, the Ministry of Telecommunications and all involved parties for making this happen. After many years involvement in monitoring intruders on the amateur bands, Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, has decided to retire at the end of 2019. His work stretching back over 30 years first with DARC and, since 2005, for IARU Region 1, has been recognised with an IARU Diamond Award. Region 1 Vice-Coordinator Peter, HB9CET will take up the role on an interim basis until the Region 1 Conference in October. Changes to The IET Wiring Regulations, BS7671, which are now at the 18th edition, affect syllabus item 8A2 in the Safety section of the amateur radio examination syllabus. There is a notice at www.rsgb.org/electricalsafety that explains more – and it’s relevant to all three exam levels. Last week we told you about Ian, GM3SEK setting a new 70cm world record distance of 4,565km on tropo on the 28th of December. The record didn’t stand for long as Nick, G4KUX worked D21CV using FT8, establishing a new world record of 4644km. Congratulations to him. You will be able to read more about the excellent VHF conditions in the February edition of RadCom in the VHF UHF column. Any reports you may have for the column can be sent to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. The RSGB is looking for people to step forward for election at the RSGB AGM. There are vacancies for two elected Board Directors and six Regional Representatives. Full details of the nominations process can be found at www.rsgb.org/election. The deadline for your nomination is the 31st of January. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus members of the Cyprus Amateur Radio Society may use the prefix 5B60 during 2020 instead of the usual 5B4 prefix. The latest IARU Monitoring System newsletter for Region 1 is now available from www.iaru-r1.org. It contains detailed reports from the national coordinators within IARU Region, including the UK report compiled by Richard, G4DYA. In his report you can see where the Russian Kontayner Over The Horizon radar is appearing on the 40m band and the occasional broadcast station that appeared on the wrong part of the band. And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week We have no details of rallies in January. The first couple of the year will be the Barry ARS Table Top Sale on the 1st of February and the South Essex ARS Canvey Rally on the 2nd of February. Please send details of your rally and event plans as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we give you valuable publicity online, in RadCom and on GB2RS, all for free. And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources Sergey, RX3AMY will be active as 8Q7MA from the Maldives until the 23rd of January. This is a holiday-style operation and he will be mainly on 40 and 20m SSB. Jean, FG8NY, will be active with the special callsign TO10CWO from Saint Claude, Basse Terre Island in Guadeloupe, IOTA reference NA-102, between the 17th and the 31st of January. Activity is to celebrate 10th anniversary of CW Ops Club. Operations will be on various HF bands on CW. QSL via FG8NY. PP2OK, PY6ZK, PU6JEL and PY6TV will be active as ZW6C from Tinhare Island, SA-080, between the 16th and 19th of January. Activity will be on the 40, 20 and 10m bands using CW and SSB. Janusz, SP9FIH will be active as VK9NK from Norfolk Island, OC-005, between the 12th of January and the 12th of April. He will operate SSB, RTTY and FT8 in Fox & Hound mode on the 160 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS or via SP9FIH. Now the special event news John, M0XIG will operate GB200FN until the 3rd of February to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. QSL direct to M0XIG. The British Amateur Radio Teledata Group is celebrating its diamond anniversary. Members of the Group will be active as GB60ATG until June 2020. More information can be found at bartg.org.uk. Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible. We have not received special event station info from Ofcom in recent months so you MUST let us know to get your event publicised here on GB2RS, in RadCom, and online. Now the contest news Today, the 12th, the Datamodes AFS takes place from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC, using FM only. It is followed by the all-mode 432MHz UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the Worked All Britain 1.8MHz Phone contest runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. Using SSB only, the exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square. Also on Saturday the SSB AFS contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using SSB only on the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Don’t forget that the UK Six Metre Group’s Winter Marathon and runs until the end of January. There are no specific operating modes or periods. Just work as many locator squares as you can on the 50MHz band. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 10th of January. Having predicted in last week’s broadcast that there would be no geomagnetic disturbances, we did in fact have two periods with an elevated Kp index this week. The first occurred on the 5th January, when the Kp index hit four. This was due to the impact of the solar wind. The Kp index rose again to four on Thursday the 9th, again due to the effects of a high-speed solar wind stream from a large geo-effective coronal hole. On Thursday a new spot was seen forming in the Sun’s north-east quadrant. This event, coupled with other recent reports of new solar cycle 25 sunspots, suggest that the cycle is starting to get under way. The next few months should give us a better idea of how it is progressing. Andy, M0NKR reports that he has now worked more than 100 countries since January 1, so there is DX to be had on HF! Meanwhile, ten metres was alive this week due to winter Sporadic-E. An opening at lunchtime on the 8th saw short-skip path openings on FT8 to Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and others. More on this in the VHF report. Interestingly, there were no CW or SSB signals on the band at this time. This just goes to show that you shouldn’t write 10m off at this time of year. Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain around 70, with mainly quiet geomagnetic conditions. We may have a geomagnetic disturbance on the 14th and 15th which could see the Kp index rise to four again. As always, look out for a pre-auroral enhancement at the beginning of the disturbance, but as it progresses expect to see lowered maximum usable frequencies and noisy bands. And now the VHF and up propagation news. As we recover from the excesses of Christmas Tropo and start a New Year, the weather continues to provide some interest. Firstly, the northern half of the country will be dominated by deep Atlantic lows, which will mean strong winds at times with rain or snow in the north and a good chance of further episodes of scatter paths on the microwave bands. The south will, for the most part, be on the edge of the main low track and there may just be a chance to link into the high pressure via Tropo, but this doesn’t look like a good option. Believe it or not, there is still one more roll of the dice for upper HF and VHF propagation and that may indirectly be the result of all this disturbed weather. The jet stream has been very strong, which is typical of winter months and, lying across the UK and northern Europe into Scandinavia, has produced some out-of-season Sporadic-E on 10m and 6m. Always worth a check, but the position of the jet stream and its strength may not be as favourable later in the week. Moon declination is still positive but declining, going negative again on Thursday. Path losses are at their lowest at perigee on Monday. This and the low 144MHz sky noise means a good week for EME. We are now entering the winter minimum of meteor activity, with just two more showers before the Lyrids at the end of April. Best opportunities for random QSOs will continue to be in the early morning around dawn. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.