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GB2RS Main News for Sunday 30th June 2019

The news headlines:

* New Ones for IOTA
* Latest news on VHF spectrum
* LightSail 2 CubeSat to transmit Morse

Every five years the IOTA Board reviews the island list to see if
there is scope for a small number of additions to the list of around
1200 island groups. Some ΓÇÿNew Ones' were announced at the Ham Radio gathering in Friedrichshafen last weekend. Details are on
www.iota-world.org but, in brief, the new ones are AS-206 Honshu
Coastal Islands East; AS-207 Chukchi Sea Coast Centre; OC-298
Tatakoto Atoll; OC-299 Yap East group; OC-300 McKean and Nikumaroro
Atolls; and SA-101 Alejandro Selkirk Island. AS-206 will probably be
activated very soon; the others will take a lot more planning.

The latest stage of our ongoing efforts to protect and develop VHF
spectrum saw considerations for the future of 50MHz being concluded
with the final meeting of CEPT Project Team D, as they prepare for
WRC-19, where the RSGB has been represented throughout. We are also
well aware of the concern in the amateur radio community about the
144MHz aeronautical proposal, currently at the CEPT stage and RSGB
volunteers continue to work as part of the broader IARU efforts to
protect the interests of the global amateur radio community. The RSGB
has updated the special focus page with the latest documents and CEPT
meeting minutes at tinyurl.com/yxfgfkqt. All amateurs are encouraged
to go and read the details, which will be updated as necessary.

The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 CubeSat, launched on the 25th of
June, will transmit Morse code from space. LightSail is a
citizen-funded project and the satellite is due to be deployed on the
2nd of July. Once deployed, LightSail 2 will automatically transmit a
beacon packet every few seconds, which can be decoded into 238 lines
of text telemetry describing the spacecraft's health and status,
including everything from battery status to solar sail deployment
motor state. Every 45 seconds, the spacecraft will transmit ΓÇÿLS2'
on the spacecraft's frequency of 437.025MHz. Further details can be
found at tinyurl.com/ae22jvd.

We have added some more detail to the lectures for the 2019 RSGB
Convention at www.rsgb.org/convention. You can read about the latest
confirmed lectures for the HF, VHF, AMSAT and General Interest
streams, as well as information about Contest University, Awards and
Contests. Booking is now open for both weekend packages and day
tickets. For full details go to www.rsgb.org/convention

The annual SAQ VLF transmission on Alexanderson Day on 17.2kHz from
the Alexanderson Alternator takes place today, starting from 0830UTC
for the message at 0900UTC, then 1130UTC for the transmission at
1200UTC. Both transmission events will be broadcast live on YouTube.
SK6SAQ will also be operating on 7.035kHz or 14.035MHz CW or 3.755kHz
SSB. For more information see grimeton.org and alexander.n.se

Last weekend, RSGB President Dave Wilson, M0OBW demonstrated the UK's
online exam system at the Ham Radio show held in Friedrichshafen.
Online trials are taking place in several countries and
representatives were very interested to see how the UK system works.


And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week

Next Saturday, the 6th of July, the Stockport RS Rally will be held
in Walthew House, 112 Shaw Heath, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6SQ. Doors
open from 9.30am, with disabled visitors gaining access at 9.15am.
Admittance is GBP 2. There will be trade stands, special interest
groups and an RSGB Bookstall. Catering is available on site. A
talk-in station will be on the air. Details from Nigel Roscoe, G0RXA,
on 07506 904422.

On Sunday the 7th of July, the Barford Norfolk Radio Rally will be
held at Barford Village Hall & Green, Barford, Norwich NR9 4AB. Doors
open at 9am, with talk in on S22. There will be trade stands, a car
boot sale, a Bring & Buy, raffle, repeater groups, catering and free
car parking. Entry is GBP 2 per person, with under 16s free. Contact radio<at>dcpmicro.com.

To get your event into RadCom, onto GB2RS and on the RSGB website,
please send details as early as possible to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk ΓÇô
we need to know four months in advance to get your info into RadCom.


And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources

Bruce, 3W3B will be in Laos until the 7th of July, where he will
activate his XW4XR callsign. Look for him on the 40 to 6m bands on
CW, FT8 and RTTY. The QSL manager is E21EIC.

Peter, LA7QIA will be operating as JW7QIA from Spitsbergen, IOTA
reference EU-026, from the 29th of June to the 6th of July. Activity
will be on 6m from Grid Square JQ68. QSL to his home callsign.

Janusz, SP9FIH returns to Bethlehem in Palestine from the 6th of July
to the 3rd of August and will be transmitting on the 80 to 6m bands
as E44WE. QSLs go via his home callsign.

Anders, SM0HPL is operating as 5X7W from Kampala until the 6th of
July while on work assignment. Activity is in his spare time on the
HF bands using QRP and CW, JT65, FT8 and FT4. QSL direct to home
callsign.

Paul, SA6PIS will be on the air as SV9/SA6PIS/p from Chania, in
Crete, from the 30th of June to the 7th of July. Activity will be
holiday style on 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres using SSB. QSL to home
callsign.

Tony, 3D2AG and John, KK7L are on the air as T2AR and T2R,
respectively, from Tuvalu until the 5th of July. Activity is on the
160 to 6m bands, using CW, SSB, RTTY, JT65 and FT8. QSL T2AR direct
via 3D2AG and T2R direct via N7SMI.

Karel, OK2ZI is QRV as 9Y4/OK2ZI from Trinidad, SA-011, until the 6th
of July. Activity is on the 40 to 10m bands using CW, SSB and various
digital modes. QSL to home call.


Now the special event news

GB1CMS will be operating over the weekend of the 6th and 7th of July.
The event is a display of military vehicles and battle re-enactments
located 7 miles south of Dorking in Capel, Surrey. A listening watch
will be maintained on 51.60MHz and a full list of frequencies can be
found via tinyurl.com/yx92b4uy

GB100BM will be on the air to celebrate 100 years of Bentley Motor
cars. The station will be operated by members of South Cheshire ARS
on the 80 to 2m bands using SSB, CW, FM and data modes from the 1st
to the 28th of July. A special full colour QSL will be available. QSL
is via OQRS, Bureau, Logbook of The World and eQSL. More information
and QSL policy is available at QRZ.com

Leicester Radio Society will be hosting a special call GB5EHL, Eagle
Has Landed, between the 1st and the 28th of July. It is 50 years
since Apollo 11 lifted off from Cape Kennedy carrying the command
module, Columbia and the Lunar Module, Eagle with astronauts Neil
Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins heading for the moon on
the 16th of July. On the 20th of July the lunar module touched down
on the moon's surface, which was announced by the now-famous words,
"The Eagle Has Landed".

The special callsign GB100HAL has been issued to commemorate 100
years of RAF Halton in conjunction with the many events that are
taking part celebrating the anniversary. The call may also be claimed
towards the Airfields on the Air Award and is recognised by RAFARS
for all their awards. The callsign will be used most Saturdays up
until the end of the year.

The annual Original 13 Colonies Special Event will mark its 11th
anniversary this year. The event gets under way on the 1st of July
1300UTC and runs until the 7th July at 0400UTC. Special event
stations with 1×1 callsigns will represent the original 13 US
colonies, plus bonus stations K2Z, WM3PEN in Philadelphia and GB13COL
in Durham, England. Each special event station will have its own
QRZ.com profile page.

Please send special event details to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk as early
as possible so we can give you free publicity. Remember, it's a
licensing condition that stations using UK special event must be open
to the public.


Now the contest news

Today, the 30th, the UK Microwave Group's 5.7 and 10GHz contest runs
from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the two bands the exchange
is signal report, serial number and locator.

On Monday the 80m Club Championships run from 1900 to 2030UTC. It is
the CW leg and the exchange is signal report and serial number.

On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC,
using FM only with the exchange of signal report, serial number and
locator. It runs simultaneously with the 144MHz Machine Generated
Mode Activity Contest, whose exchange is signal report and
4-character locator. They are immediately followed by the all-mode
144MHz UK Activity Contest from 1900 to 2130UTC. The exchange for
this contest is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next weekend is RSGB VHF National Field Day from 1400UTC on the 6th
to 1400UTC on the 7th. Using all modes on the 50 to 1.3GHz bands, the
exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Next Sunday, the 7th, the 3rd 2m Backpackers Contest runs from 1100
to 1500UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.

Don't forget that the UK Six Metre Group Marathon runs until the 4th
of August. Using all modes on the 50MHz band, the exchange is just
your 4-character locator.


Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Friday the 28th of June.

Last week saw a continued quiet sun with zero sunspots at the end of
the week and a settled geomagnetic field. A feature in Nature
magazine has suggested that we may be heading for a Maunder Minimum
in the next three decades. The report cites a study of long-term
oscillations of the solar background magnetic field associated with
double dynamo waves generated in the inner and outer layers of the
Sun, which indicate that the solar activity is heading for a grand
minimum.

Another report says an international panel of experts coordinated by
the NOAA and NASA have released its preliminary solar cycle 25
forecast, predicting that cycle 25 will peak no earlier than 2023 and
no later than 2026, with a minimum peak sunspot number of 95 and a
maximum of 130. This would make it similar to cycle 24, which was
predicted to reach a maximum smoothed sunspot number of 90 in May
2013. In fact, solar cycle 24's maximum was reached in April, 2014
and peaked at an average sunspot number of 82. Meanwhile, we continue
to head towards sunspot minimum, which is predicted no earlier than
July 2019, and no later than September 2020.

The HF doldrums continue, although evenings and night-times seem to
be best for DX, with 20m remaining open until very late indeed. OD5TX
in Lebanon was romping in at around 1930UTC on Wednesday. 40m is also
very active with Roger, G3LDI reporting many stations from the USA on
the band around 0330UTC.

Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be in the range
67-69 with settled geomagnetic conditions and a maximum Kp index of
two or three.


And now the VHF and up propagation news.

This coming week, Tropo should be fairly productive at times,
especially across nearby sea paths over the North Sea and English
Channel. High pressure remains a primary feature of the weekend and
part of next week, although the centre of the high being close-by
will mean that the inversion is quite close to the ground, so paths
may suffer if this gets too low. That said, it looks like a good week
to get those beams and some CW/SSB going on VHF bands.

Moving on to Sporadic-E now, which relies indirectly upon the
presence of jet stream flow. This can make gravity waves that
propagate up to the E region and play a role in the formation of
Sporadic-E propagation.

The location of jet stream winds recently has been driven by an upper
low west of Biscay, which has favoured paths to Spain and Portugal,
but this is about to change as the pattern shifts to a jet stream
across Scandinavia into eastern Europe. This will favour paths to
Scandinavia, the Baltic and Ukraine. There is an outside chance of an
upper ridge over western Europe, which could introduce a chance of
Sporadic-E into Italy or Spain, but this is not a clear signal this
far ahead.

The Moon reaches peak declination on Tuesday and perigee on Friday,
so EME conditions will be at their best all week with low path losses
and long Moon windows. There are no major meteor showers this week so
continue to look for best DX opportunities via random meteors around
dawn.

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


And that's the end of the main news for this week prepared by the
Radio Society of Great Britain. Items for inclusion in subsequent
bulletins can be emailed to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.


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