GB2RS News

Sunday the 24th of March 2024

The news headlines:

• New RSGB ‘Join a friend’ referral scheme launched
• The RSGB’s Planning Advisory Committee seeks volunteers
• The RSGB’s 2023 Committee reports are available

The RSGB has just launched a new opportunity to get even more out of your RSGB membership. If you recommend a friend who hasn’t been an RSGB member during the last 12 months, you will both receive £10 cashback when they become a member paying by direct debit. Whether you’re an individual RSGB member or an affiliated club, you can sign up as many friends as you like. Membership of the RSGB gives you a range of fantastic benefits so why not encourage others to join? Members have access to RadCom, exclusive online resources, RSGB award schemes and contests, as well as advice from the Society’s specialist committees. The RSGB’s representation to Ofcom, and its ability to defend the spectrum nationally and internationally, is more powerful through strength in numbers. Go to the special RSGB 'Join a friend' web page at rsgb.org/join-a-friend  to find all the information you’ll need to take advantage of this offer, including a link to the online form.

The RSGB Planning Advisory Committee would like additional volunteers to join its advisory panel. Volunteers deal with queries from members about problems they face in getting planning permission for masts and antennas. These enquiries can be for support in making an application to the local council or in submitting an appeal. If you have a relevant professional background, not necessarily as a planner, or have some knowledge of how the planning system works, please get in touch. The Committee Chair will be happy to give you more information about what is involved and how you can help other radio amateurs. Find out more about the Committee on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/pac and then email John Mattocks, G4TEQ via pac.chairman@rsgb.org.uk to arrange a chat.

The April edition of RadCom contains the annual reports of the RSGB Committees, Honorary Officers, Teams and Groups. These reports give an overview of activities for the many important areas of the Society that support and develop amateur radio. You can also read them on the RSGB website if you go to rsgb.org/vlt and choose the committee reports section in the menu on the righthand side. The RSGB thanks all its many volunteers who give their time to support the Society and the amateur radio community.

Leicester Radio Society has launched an Amateur Radio Clubs on the Air activity this weekend, the 23rd and 24th. The aim of the activity is to encourage amateur radio clubs and societies to get on the air and operate. You can read details about an award that is available to both licensed amateurs and shortwave listeners by visiting the G3LRS page at QRZ.com

For more information, contact Sandra, G0MCV on 07930 274 044.

International Marconi Day is coming up on Wednesday the 27th of April and, once again, the Cornish Radio Amateur Club is organising and running the event. Lots of amateur radio stations will be operating from sites that Marconi operated from or had a personal connection with. For more information, and to view a list of the stations that are taking part, follow the ‘International Marconi Day’ link on the gx4crc.com website.

This week, please send all your news and updates to radcom@rsgb.org.uk by 10 am on Wednesday the 27th of March. The GB2RS News will be compiled a day earlier than usual, due to the Easter bank holidays, and will be available for download on Thursday the 28th of March.

And now for details of rallies and events

Dover Amateur Radio Club Rally is taking place today, the 24th of March, at Saint Radigunds Community Centre, Poulton Close, Dover, CT17 0HL. The doors are open from 10 am to 2 pm and the entrance fee is £3. Tables cost £15 each with a maximum of two tables per vendor. For more information visit darc.online/rally

The Ripon Rally is also taking place today, the 24th of March. The venue is Great Ouseburn Village Hall, Lightmire Lane, Great Ouseburn, York, YO26 9RL. Lots of parking is available adjacent to the venue. Traders are welcome from 7 am and tables cost £10 each. The doors open for visitors from 10 am and entrance is £3 per person. Visit radars-g4sjm.club for more information.

Holsworthy Spring Rally will be held on Sunday the 7th of April at Holsworthy Livestock Market, Holsworth, Devon. The doors open to traders from 8 am, and to the public from 10 am. Wheelchair access, catering and free parking will be available. For more information email m0omc@m0omc.co.uk

Dunstable Downs Radio Club boot sale was due to be held in May. It has been postponed until the 30th of June due to the site being used by BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend music festival. Updates will be posted to Dunstable Downs Radio Club’s Facebook page and reminder emails will be sent out closer to the time. To add yourself to the list, visit ddrcbootsale.org  and sign up for email reminders.

Now the Special Event News

Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the first amateur radio association in Romania's Arad County, a series of special callsigns, including YR95AR, will be active until the 31st of  May.  The event is being organised by Radioclub Admira, YO2KBQ which is the successor of the club that was established almost a century ago. See QRZ.com for more information.

Christian, OE5CCN is active as OE24BI until the 30th of June from the city of Bad Ischl, one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2024. All QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the Bureau and Logbook of the World. Recently, the station was heard on the HF bands using FT8.

Now the DX news

Gerard F5NVF, Luc F5RAV and Abdel M0NPT are active as TY5C from Cotonou, Benin until the 29th of March. They are operating CW, SSB and FT8 on various bands, including 6m, and will also be QRV via the QO-100 satellite. QSL directly to F5RAV or via Logbook of the World.

Peter, DC0KK is active as 4S7KKG from Sri Lanka, AS-003, until the 30th of March. He operates FT8, FT4, RTTY, and sometimes CW, on the 20 to 6m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World, Club Log's OQRS, or directly to his home call.

Now the contest news

On Tuesday the 26th, the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1930 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 27th, the UK and Ireland Contest Club Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator.

On Thursday the 28th, the 80m Club Championship Contest runs from 2000 to 2130UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

The CQ World Wide WPX SSB Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 30th of March and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 31st of March. Using SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 21st of March 2024

As we said last week – what a difference a month makes. Only in this case, what a difference a week makes!

On Friday the 15th, the solar flux index, or SFI, was at 129 and the Sun did not look very spotty at all. This week it’s all changed. On Thursday the 21st, the solar flux index stood at 176 with seven active regions visible.

For HF propagation forecasts, the golden rule is to use smoothed sunspot numbers, or SSN for short, rather than a daily figure – that is, sunspot numbers averaged over the past 12 months.

The current SSN is 129, which equates to a solar flux index of about 144. Perhaps the daily figure of 176 has the psychological effect of giving us confidence that the bands will be open!

A moderately strong M7.4 solar flare was observed around active region 3615 at 0736UTC on the 20th of March. The region continues to rotate into a better Earth-facing position and will remain a threat for additional solar flares above the M5.0 threshold.

If a flare leads to a coronal mass ejection or CME, we could expect a disturbed ionosphere roughly 48 hours later, depending upon the solar wind speed.

Also, a large coronal hole on the solar equator became Earth-facing on Thursday the 21st. A coronal hole is a lower-energy area on the Sun with open magnetic field lines that let solar plasma escape. This may lead to a geomagnetic disruption this weekend, ending today the 24th, with increased Kp numbers and a lowering of the maximum usable frequency.

Next week, NOAA predicts that the SFI will be in the 155 to 165 range. Geomagnetic conditions are hard to predict, due to coronal hole effects and CMEs, but NOAA puts the Kp figure at two to three. If we get a CME, this could easily rise to five or more.

Finally, we are now at the equinox which means that auroras are more likely due to the Russell-McPherron effect. The equinox is also a good time for north-south HF paths. Also, note that the HF bands are staying open for longer with the 4U1UN beacon in New York, the YV5B beacon in Venezuela, and the 4X6TU beacon in Israel audible on 14.100MHz around 2230UTC last week.

And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO

It’s not good news for weather-related propagation with a total absence of high pressure on the charts again and a resulting lack of Tropo for the majority of the coming week.

But Tropo is not the only mode to be affected by the weather, rain scatter is too.

This has been a player quite often recently and, as we move into the spring, the characteristic ‘April showers’ can be very useful for rain scatter. Their effectiveness is related to the sixth power of the raindrop diameter, so the larger drops in heavier ‘April showers’  can be increasingly valuable on the GHz bands. Many good online weather radar displays are available to allow you to track them for maximum benefit.

Other promising mentions should go to Aurora which, as we said earlier, can be more likely around this time of the year when the Earth’s magnetic field is more favourably coupled to the solar wind. Meteor scatter is a lesser option and rests with random chance activity as we are still some way off from any major meteor showers.

Sporadic-E and related Trans-Equatorial Propagation, or TEP, in the shorter term during the next month or so, will soon be a major player. For TEP between Europe and southern Africa, check clusters around the middle part of the day. Although usually favouring stations in southern Europe, it can occasionally turn up for UK operators, particularly for those located in the southern half of the country.

As for Sporadic-E, the new season is starting to wake up, so the usual maxim of checking clusters is the best advice, starting with the 10m band and working up to the 6m band. The traditional morning and late afternoon ‘windows' are less reliable in early-season events, so just check anyway if you’re in the shack.

For EME operators, Moon declination is still positive, but going negative again this coming Monday. Path losses are at their maximum due to apogee on Saturday the 23rd. 144MHz sky noise is low but rising to moderate by the end of the coming week, reaching more than 1,000 Kelvin on Sunday the 31st.

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