GB2RS News

Sunday the 28th of April 2024

The news headlines:

• New mock papers for amateur radio licence exams have been published
• A revised amateur radio examination syllabus has been released
• The RSGB has released the video review of 2023 by its President John McCullagh, GI4BWM

The RSGB Exam Syllabus Review Group has published a new set of mock papers covering each of the amateur radio licence exams, from Foundation through to Direct to Full. These papers are in addition to those already available. They are each marked as ‘mock exam paper 3’ and you can find them on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/mock-exams

The new amateur radio licence has now been in effect for a few weeks. Changes to the licence conditions have made it necessary to revise the examination syllabus. The RSGB is pleased to release version 1.6 of the syllabus which includes these revisions. Compared to version 1.5 in current use, the only section that has seen major changes is Section 1 – “Licensing and station identification”. In Section 7 – “Operating practices and procedures” – there were some minor changes, for example regarding suffixes. Exams will start using version 1.6 of the syllabus on the 1st of September 2024.

The Society has released the video review of 2023 by RSGB President John McCullagh, GI4BWM. Filmed at the Ofcom Spectrum Management Centre near Baldock in Hertfordshire, the video covers a wide range of very positive activities, events and achievements. The President also talks about the RSGB’s strategic priorities, gaining publicity in the mainstream media, and the important work done by the Society on behalf of all radio amateurs to protect the spectrum. One example is the WRC Conference, where the RSGB Microwave Manager Barry Lewis, G4SJH, led the IARU team responsible for defending amateur use of the 23cm band. You can watch the video on the RSGB YouTube channel at youtube.com/theRSGB

At the April Regional Forum meeting, Regional Representative 10, Keith Bird, G4JED was elected as Chair, and Regional Representative 3, Martyn Bell, M0TEB was elected as Secretary. They will both volunteer in these roles until the 2025 AGM. You can find contact details for both Keith and Martyn on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/regions

The next in the series of the popular 145 Alive events, to promote the use of 145MHz FM, is scheduled to take place on the 11th of May 2024, from 1 pm to 3 pm. The event and the supporting Facebook Group was started by Tim, G5TM and from the start of 2024 has been organised by Mark, M0XIC and John, M0XJA. The last successful event took place in January this year, when over 30 nets operated simultaneously across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern and Southern Ireland. Over 900 QSOs took place, with many amateurs operating portable, mobile or from their club or home QTH. If you would like to take part and find out more about the event and 145 Alive in general, then join the 145 Alive Facebook Group. If you would like to run a net on the 11th of May, contact Mark, M0XIC or John, M0XJA via the Facebook Group.

Mills on the Air Weekend 2024 is coming up on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of May. The event takes place across the UK every May with more than 300 windmills and watermills usually taking part. For more information, to register, and to view a list of registered stations, visit ddars.net/mills.html

The RAF Air Cadets are pleased to announce that they are running the ever-popular Blue Ham Radio Communications Exercise in June on the 60m band. The exercise will take place between the 17th and 21st of June. Subject to your licence conditions, the Blue Ham team hopes that you can put some time aside to join in with the cadets and staff who will be ready to take your calls. The Blue Ham Team will issue you with a participation certificate if you contact 20 or more special MRE callsigns over the period of the exercise. For more information visit alphacharlie.org.uk  Please note that only Full licensees may operate on the 60m band.

South Bristol Amateur Radio Club is running a free online Foundation licence course in May. Anyone who is interested in taking part can find out more by emailing training@sbarc.co.uk When emailing, please include your name, postal address and date of birth. Please also indicate which weekday evenings and times you are available. The weekday evening that the course will take place will be decided by majority preference.

MFJ Enterprises has announced in a letter to its customers that it will be ceasing its on-site production at its premises in Starkville, Mississippi on the 17th of May 2024. The news also applies to the sister companies Ameritron, Hygain, Cushcraft and others. MFJ Enterprises has been in business for 52 years and will continue to sell its existing stock after the 17th of May. It will also continue to offer a repair service for out-of-warranty and in-warranty units for the foreseeable future.

And now for details of rallies and events

The Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club’s 40th Annual Radio Rally is due to take place on Sunday the 5th of May. The venue will be Share Discovery Village, 221 Lisnaskea Road, Lisnaskea, Enniskillen, BT92 0JZ. The event will feature food and drink, bring and buy, RSGB books, the QSL Bureau, and the usual variety of traders. The doors open at 11 am. Traders are asked to arrive around 9 am. Admission, which includes a ticket for the prize draw, will cost £5 or five Euro. Contact Alan at argault91@gmail.com to arrange a table.

Thorpe Camp Hamfest will also take place on Sunday the 5th of May at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall Thorpe, Lincolnshire, LN4 4PL. Traders are asked to arrive no earlier than 7 am. The doors open at 9 am for buyers and the entrance fee is £5 per person.

The Retrotech UK event will be held on Sunday the 12th of May. The venue will be Sports Connexion, Leamington Road, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry, CV8 3FL. The doors open at 10.30 am with an entry fee of £10. A fee of £25 applies for early-doors entry at 9 am. This is an annual event organised by the British Vintage Wireless Society. There will be almost 200 dealer stalls, clubs and private sellers. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the wide range of retro equipment. For more information email info@retrotechuk.com and visit retrotechuk.com

Now the Special Event News

Special callsign SZ0WARD is in use by the Radio Amateur Association of Greece in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day until the 30th of April. Look for activity on all bands using SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL via the Bureau and Logbook of the World. See sv2rck.gr/SZ0WARD for details of an available award.

Also in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day, the special callsign TC3WRD is active until the 30th of April. QSL via Logbook of the World. For details of a certificate that is available, see tadx.org/awards The station was spotted recently on the 40m band using FT8.

Today is the last chance to work special event station GB6WW which is active from Glasgow, Scotland to commemorate the end of the Second World War. If you have made QSOs with GB6WW on three or more bands, you are eligible to apply for an award. To apply for the award, send an email to gb6ww@ft8.me with the details of your contacts. Please include your callsign, dates of QSOs, and the bands on which they occurred. There is no application fee. Once your QSOs have been verified, the PDF award file will be emailed to you.

Now the DX news

Jeff, K5WE and Craig, W5CCP are active as TX7W from Raivavae, OC-114,  in the Austral Islands until the 30th of April. They are operating using mainly CW and FT8, with some SSB, RTTY and FT4, on the 160 to 6m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS is preferred but is also available via Logbook of the World, or directly to K5WE. Depending upon a reliable internet connection, logs will be uploaded to Club Log daily, and Club Log's Livestream will be enabled. See k5we.com/tx7w for more information and updates.

Listen out for a group of 13 Camb-Hams which is active from the Isle of Mull, EU-008, as GS3PYE until the 3rd of May. The team is QRV on the 80 to 10m bands as well as via the QO-100 satellite. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS. You can read a report of the team’s previous visit to the island in 2015 at tinyurl.com/Mull2015

Now the contest news

The UK and Ireland DX CW Contest started at 1200UTC on Saturday the 27th and ends at 1200UTC today, the 28th of April. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. UK and Ireland's stations also send their district code.

The SP DX RTTY Contest started at 1200UTC on the 27th and ends at 1200UTC today the 28th of April. Using RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. SP stations also send their province code.

The MGM Contest started at 1400UTC on the 27th of April and ends at 1400UTC today the 28th of April. Using machine-generated modes on the 6 and 2m bands, the exchange is your report and four-character locator.

Today, the 28th, the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group Sprint 75 Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using 75-baud RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your serial number.

On Monday the 29th, the FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report.

On Wednesday the 1st of May, 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 1st of May, 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 Saturday the 4th, the 432MHz Trophy Contest runs from 1400 to 2000 UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The 432MHz to 245GHz Contest starts at 1400UTC on Saturday the 4th and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday the 5th of May. Using all modes on 432MHz to 245GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

The UK Six Metre Group’s Summer Marathon starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 4th of May and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is your four-character locator.

The ARI International DX Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the 4th of May and ends at 1159UTC on Sunday the 5th of May. Using CW, RTTY and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Italian stations also send their province.

On Sunday the 5th, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on 1.3 to 3.4GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Also on Sunday the 5th, the UK Microwave Group Millimetre Wave Contest runs from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 24, 47 and 76GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Sunday the 5th, the Worked All Britain 7MHz Phone Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using SSB on the 40m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain Square.

Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 25th of April 2024

We had another week with plenty of sunspots, and HF conditions were quite good in the second half.

Earlier, the Kp index reached 3 and 4, which didn’t help maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs for short. For example, on Sunday the 21st, the Kp index rose to 4 and the MUF over a 3,000km path remained stubbornly below 21MHz until later in the morning.

This could have been due to a coronal hole on the Sun’s equator, which added to the solar wind. By Wednesday, conditions were nearly back to normal, with a Kp index below 2 and an MUF of more than 24MHz. By Thursday the improvement had continued, giving us an MUF of more than 28MHz by 0900UTC.

There have been many reports of 10m band DX being worked, including Sebastien, FK4AX and Pat, FK8HA in New Caledonia in the Pacific on SSB. Sebastien has just got his licence and is keen to work DX from the UK.

This shows that it is worth keeping an eye on the CW and SSB portions of the 10m band, which can often throw up surprises.

Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will decline to around 160. The Kp index is predicted to be around 2 to 3, but that may be wishful thinking. With 16 active regions visible on the Sun’s surface on Thursday, anything could happen. Only minor C- and M-class flares have occurred recently but, as we always say, it wouldn’t take much for those to turn into X-class events.

So, make the most of quiet geomagnetic conditions when we have them as, by the time you read or hear this, we could once again have very unsettled conditions indeed.

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

The cold, unsettled weather will ease its grip over the last few days of this week, ending the 28th of April, but only because the whole area of low pressure is moving across the country this weekend.

Low pressure remains close by for much of the following week and only a hesitant return of high pressure west of Ireland will improve things for western Britain at the end of the week.

The result is a chance of Tropo for western Britain next week, but it will probably be of limited quality since it is likely to form in cold, dry air across any temperature inversion.

The remaining option in such weather patterns is primarily rain scatter for those on the GHz bands. The many online weather radar displays can be used to highlight the areas of heaviest rain.

We are past the peak of the Lyrids meteor shower, but the Eta-Aquarids, with a Zenithal Hourly Rate of 50, peaks next Sunday the 5th around 2100UTC. Until then, rely upon random activity which tends to be better around dawn.

The Sun has been more active again recently, so monitor the clusters and Kp index for signs of geomagnetic activity and the chance of an aurora if the Kp index exceeds 5.

Sporadic-E tends to produce a few early examples in May ahead of its June peak. Check the DX clusters during the late afternoon or early evening as openings can be very brief early in the season. Start on the 10m band and, if short skip within Europe is present, move up to the 6m band. Digital modes are more sensitive so check FT8 reports to give clues as to where the chances are greatest.

For EME operators, the Moon is at minimum declination today, Sunday the 28th, meaning we’ll have short Moon windows to start the coming week. Path losses are falling but perigee, when the Moon is at its closest point, is still over a week away. 144MHz sky noise is high this weekend, ending the 28th of April, but falls too low by the end of the coming week.

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