RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for 4th August 2024

GB2RS News

Sunday the 4th of August 2024

The news headlines:

• Bookings are open for the RSGB 2024 Annual Convention
• Schools will soon be able to apply for an ISS contact
• The RSGB has announced its National Coding Week Coordinator

The RSGB is delighted to announce that bookings are now open for its 2024 Annual Convention. This year, in response to requests for more flexibility, the Society has created a new booking system that allows attendees to create a Convention package that suits their preferences for attendance and hotel accommodation. In addition, the keynote speaker for the event has been confirmed. Rafal Lukawiecki, EI6LA has led the projects to modernise the Irish licence teaching curriculum and is also part of the International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 working group tasked with modernising its Ethics and Operating Procedures guide. Rafal has been a popular speaker at major IT conferences since 1998 and has shared keynote platforms with Bill Gates and Neil Armstrong. For further details, including how to book, visit the RSGB website at rsgb.org/convention

Schools in Great Britain and Northern Ireland will soon be able to apply for an amateur radio contact with an astronaut on the International Space Station. If the application is successful, the contacts could take place in the latter half of 2025. The RSGB is encouraging schools to apply as it is a great opportunity to integrate space into the STEM curriculum and to have the excitement of their pupils speaking to an astronaut! Go to the ARISS website at ariss-eu.org  to find out more and download an application form in the ‘School Contacts’ section. The timeframe for submitting applications is between the 1st of September and the 26th of October 2024. If you want to be inspired, watch the RSGB’s celebration video of the ten Tim Peake school contacts in the ‘Excitement of amateur radio’ playlist on the RSGB YouTube channel at youtube.com/theRSGB

The RSGB is delighted to announce that Nigel Thrower, G3YSW will be the RSGB’s National Coding Week Coordinator this year. The Society took part in this national event for the first time last year and many groups had fun with the activities it supplied. You can see the activities on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/coding  This year the RSGB wants to develop its involvement and Nigel will help to lead and coordinate that. This event isn’t just for youngsters, so people of all ages and experience can take part. The RSGB is planning to publish some new activities but, if you enjoy programming or coding as part of your amateur radio activities, please get in touch! The society is looking for people to share tried and trusted ideas or activities that will inspire others. It is also keen to hear from radio amateurs who could help to lead activities with groups or clubs in their area. National Coding Week runs from the 16th to the 22nd of September. If you’d like to get involved or want to find out more, please contact Nigel via ncw@rsgb.org.uk

The RSGB’s popular Tonight@8 webinar series takes a break in August, but there are two great presentations lined up for the start of the autumn programme. On Monday the 2nd of September, Brian Coleman, G4NNS will give an update on the Meteor Beacon Project. The following month, on Monday the 7th of October, there’s a chance to hear about "Aircraft Scatter – the Hitch-Hikers Guide" by Ian White, GM3SEK. Put the dates in your diary now and find further details on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/webinars

The G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF DXing. The award is not limited to youngsters or the newly licensed. It is open to anyone who has recently discovered and made significant progress in HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to recommend someone to be awarded the G5RP Trophy for 2024, now is the time to send in your nomination. Your nominee should be an up-and-coming HF DXer who has made rapid progress in the last year and has some real achievements to show, for example, a good total of new countries worked or some serious HF DXpedition activity. Please send your nominations to Ian Greenshields, G4FSU by email to hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk  to arrive no later than Friday the 13th of September 2024.

The RSGB remote exam invigilation team was delighted that the 8,000th Foundation candidate took and passed their exam online recently. This is a significant milestone since the Society introduced remote invigilation exams in 2020. The RSGB would like to thank the dedicated remote invigilation team and send its good wishes to all the candidates as they discover more about amateur radio!

The July 2024 edition of RadCom Basics is now available on the RSGB website for members to read. RadCom Basics is aimed at new licensees or anyone who enjoys reading about the fundamental principles behind the many facets of amateur radio. Among others, this edition includes articles which cover the checking and testing of components, building and tuning dual-band end-fed half-wave antennas and the benefit of operating by the sea. To read RadCom Basics visit rsgb.org/radcom-basics

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

Part 1 of the British Amateur Television Club Convention for Amateur TV 2024, also known as CAT 24, is taking place today, the 4th, from 10 am to 4 pm. The venue is Midland Air Museum, Rowley Road, Coventry, CV3 4FR. The Convention provides opportunities for amateurs to meet, take part in show-and-tell activities, use test and fix equipment, and enjoy a bring-and-buy event. For more information follow the ‘Events’ tab at batc.org.uk

King’s Lynn Amateur Radio Club’s 34th Great Eastern Radio Rally is taking place today, the 4th. The Rally is being held at Gaywood Community Centre, Gayton Road, King’s Lynn in Norfolk. The doors open at 9 am and admission will cost £2.50. Traders are welcome from 7 am. An outdoor pitch will cost £8, and indoors it will be £10 per table. Car parking is free. There will be trade stands, a bring-and-buy area and catering will be available on-site. For further information and reservations email rally.klarc@gmail.com

Flight Refuelling Amateur Radio Society’s Hamfest is taking place on Sunday the 11th of August. The venue is Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne in Dorset. The doors will be open from 9 am to 4 pm and admission, which includes parking, costs £5. Catering and a bar will be available on-site. For more information and to make bookings visit frars.co.uk/hamfest

Now the Special Event news

International Cat Day is taking place on Thursday the 8th of August. To celebrate this, GB4CAT will be on the air from West Sussex from Thursday afternoon until the following Sunday evening. Activity will be on the HF bands, mainly on the 40m band, but the higher bands as well if they are open. As cats are loved internationally, Ed, M0MNG will attempt to speak as many foreign languages on the air as possible... even if it's just a word or two! Please see QRZ.com for more details.

In celebration of the Olympic Games, Thierry, FY4JI is active as TO973FY from French Guiana until the 10th of August. He is operating SSB and FT8 and was spotted recently on the 10m band. QSL via EA5GL.

Now the DX news

Tom, W1EAT, is active as W1EAT/VK4 from Hamilton Island, OC-160, until tomorrow the 5th of August. He is operating QRP on the 20m band only. QSL via Logbook of the World or directly to Tom’s home call.

Pierre, VK3KTB is active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Amateur Radio Club station on Ellesmere Island, NA-008, until the 7th of August. He is mainly available on the 20, 15 and 10m bands, and also occasionally on the 17 and 12m bands. He operates SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS.

Now the contest news

Today, the 4th, the 432MHz Low Power Contest runs from 0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and two-letter postcode.

On Tuesday the 6th, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also on Tuesday, the 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Wednesday the 7th, 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 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.

On Thursday the 8th, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon started on Saturday the 4th of May and ends today, Sunday the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is your four-character locator.

The Worked All Europe DX CW Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 10th and runs until 2359UTC on Sunday the 11th of August. Using CW on the 80 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 1st of August 2024

We had another week of high solar flux but unsettled geomagnetic indices.

The solar flux index, or SFI, was above 200 from the 27th of July onwards. There was a worry that multiple coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, might push the Kp index up during the week. In the end, the Kp index didn’t rise above 5. But why was that?

The first of several CME eruptions was expected to pass Earth on the 29th of July. The solar wind speed increased from 330 kilometres per second to around 450 kilometres per second, but only a brief period of minor G1 geomagnetic storming was observed. The solar wind stream was fast, at more than 450 kilometres per second, but its frozen-in magnetic field was predominantly North-facing or neutral. So, it didn’t couple with the Earth’s magnetic field, and we ended up with a Kp index of only 5.

If we had had a south-facing interplanetary magnetic field or Bz it could have been much worse.

As it was, the ionosphere was affected on Wednesday the 31st of July. However, by 1830UTC things were back to normal, with a critical frequency of 7.4MHz, which gives a maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path of around 21MHz.

Further disturbances on Thursday the 1st of August saw the Kp index rise to 5 again, but it was short-lived and only lasted for one three-hour period.

So, we are still in a period of high solar activity, with numerous M- and even X-class flares, coronal mass ejections and high sunspot numbers. With a cluster of sunspots rotating into view right now, it should be an interesting week ahead!

The SFI is predicted to fall next week, perhaps to the 180s or 190s. Meanwhile, HF propagation remains good at times, although we are still feeling the effects of the summer doldrums, with reduced daytime maximum usable frequencies.

Keep an eye on solarham.com for up-to-date geomagnetic information.

The 15m band is still the favoured daytime DX band, with occasional F2-layer openings on the 12m and even 10m bands. However, most 10m openings are still due to Sporadic-E.

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

The weather patterns that drive some of our radio propagation conditions are in the process of changing.

As we ended the previous week, there were still regions of high pressure near enough to southern areas for some useful Tropo across the North Sea, English Channel and south over Biscay. 

The slow change towards low pressure dominating the charts will be gradually extending its influence over the whole country as we move into next week, so less Tropo and more interest in rain scatter.

This has been available over some northern areas recently and from heavy thunderstorms in the south. It is probably going to be a useful mode for exploring the GHz bands in the coming week, particularly where heavy thundery rain occurs. 

Meteor scatter is also a worthwhile pursuit since we are still in the broad period of the Delta Aquariids meteor shower and that eventually blends into the August Perseids later in the month.

The solar conditions continue to be challenging and the Kp index has been high enough to make it worth thinking of checking for auroral conditions – either fluttery signals on the LF bands overnight, or perhaps auroral conditions on the VHF bands. The Kp index gets mentioned on all propagation websites these days, but spaceweather.com is a good source for that and much else too.

Sporadic-E is still worth checking out and, although the summer jet stream pattern is usually pretty weak, it is still there, and the position is perhaps a bit more northerly now than earlier in the summer. This means that paths towards the east to Scandinavia and the Baltic might be worth looking for, although other directions can still happen, of course.

Moon declination started to fall from Friday the 2nd, so Moon window lengths and peak Moon elevation will follow suit. With apogee on Thursday the 8th, path losses will be at their highest for the month. 144MHz sky noise is low until the evening of Saturday the 3rd when we see the Moon and Sun close in the sky until moonset on Sunday. After that, the sky noise is low.

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