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Weekly RSGB News Broadcast read by Jeremy G4NJH.

This is the weekly RSGB GB2RS broadcast. Please send any news items to radcom@rsgb.org.uk.

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  • #514
    Friday · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for September 13th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday, the 13th of September 2026 The news headlines: Final RSGB Convention speakers announced RSGB experts contribute to IARU Region 1 general conference Could you be the next RSGB Youth Champion for Scouts? Advance ticket sales for the RSGB Convention close in three weeks – have you purchased your ticket yet? The not-to-be-missed Convention takes place between the 9th and 11th of October at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. This year’s speaker programme is crammed full of fascinating lectures including Paul Whiting, G4YQC who will be describing how the 21cm neutral hydrogen emission line can be used to map the Milky Way galaxy. He will explain how this can be done from your back garden using inexpensive equipment. You’ll also get to hear from Dave Robinson, G4FRE, who will be talking about GPS disciplined oscillators, both past and present. Several lectures on the programme have changed time slots, so make sure you keep up to date with the latest version by going to rsgb.org/saturday and rsgb.org/sunday Which presentations are your must-sees? Have you picked a workshop? And have you booked your evening dinner tickets yet? The Convention is open to all radio amateurs, so whether you are newly licensed and looking to broaden your knowledge or have 50 years of experience and are looking to engage in technical debates on the latest technology, the Society looks forward to seeing you there. The International Amateur Radio Union general conference is taking place from the 19th to the 23rd of September in Vienna. Representatives of national societies from across Region 1 will meet to discuss 100 papers on a wide range of amateur radio topics. A significant body of work has been done by RSGB volunteers and specialists to prepare for the conference, and the RSGB has submitted ten papers, making it the largest contributor of any of the member societies. The four key areas where the Society will have input are spectrum protection and HF strategy, protecting 430 to 440MHz, IARU Region 1 Governance, and licensing and examinations. The Society would like to thank Spectrum Forum Chair Murray Niman, G6JYB who led the RSGB expert team who prepared the Society's papers for the conference. Murray will attend the conference in person with RSGB Head of Delegation RSGB President Bob Beebe GU4YOX, RSGB HF Manager Ian Greenshields, G4FSU and RSGB Board Director Nathan Nuttall MM9OCC who has been contributing to the international development of youth amateur radio through the IARU Region 1's Youth Committee. For further information about the RSGB’s input go to the RSGB Notices section of the Society’s website. You can read all the papers submitted for the conference at tinyurl.com/iaru-r1 Are you a radio amateur who is also active within the Scout Association? Would you like to support the RSGB in encouraging Scouts to take part in amateur radio activities through the Scout programme? If so, you could be the next RSGB Youth Champion for Scouts. This exciting volunteer role will build on the success of the current Scout Champion and will be supported in developing and furthering this over time. The Champion will work with Scout groups, the National Radio Scouting Support Unit, and local radio clubs to encourage participation in radio, technology, and STEM activities, and to support young people on their journey towards an amateur radio licence. To apply for this role, first read the full role profile by going to rsgb.org/volunteers and then email the current RSGB Youth Champion for Scouts Samuel McCutchion, M0UEL via youthchampion.scouts@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for applications is Wednesday the 14th of October 2026. As we get closer to WRC-27, which is the 2027 ITU World Radio Conference, Ofcom has released a consultation for the provisional UK views and positions on the current, and proposed, agenda items. This WRC is notable for a large number of space-related topics, as well as more common items such as spectrum for 6G mobile broadband. This year there are also a record number of proposals for the next conference agenda in 2031. The RSGB has a special focus section on its website which highlights the topics which are of concern to amateur radio, and where the RSGB spectrum team and its IARU colleagues have been preparing for some time. You will find more information at rsgb.org/wrc-27 including a link at the bottom of the page to the Ofcom consultation. The consultation closes on the 24th of November. Don't forget to listen out for all of the stations that are taking part in the 145 Alive activity today, the 13th. Hundreds of operators will be making contacts using 145MHz FM and 144MHz SSB between 12pm and 3pm. For more information, go to the 145 Alive Facebook page or email 145aliveuk@gmail.com Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 13th, Caister Lifeboat Radio Rally is taking place at Caister Lifeboat station, Caister on Sea, NR30 5DJ. The doors are open from 10am to 3pm and entrance is free of charge. For more information, email Zane, M1BFI via m1bfi@outlook.com The Broadcast Engineering Museum has open days on Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of September from 11am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information visit becg.org.uk/events Now the Special Event news The Turkish Amateur Radio Society will be active with special callsign TC8KHT from Friday the 18th until Sunday the 20th of September. Operators will be on the air to promote the historical and cultural significance of the Neolithic archaeological site Karahan Tepe. Look out for activity on the 80 to 10m bands using CW, FT8 and SSB. Contacts will also be possible via the QO-100 satellite. For more information, visit QRZ.com Special callsign YR100RC is on the air until Wednesday the 30th of September to celebrate 100 years of amateur radio in Romania. Look for activity on the HF bands using a variety of modes. For details of a certificate that is available for working the station, visit tinyurl.com/romania1786 Now the DX news Harald, DF2WO is active as D44TWO from Santiago Island, AF-005, until mid-September. He operates using CW, FT8 and SSB on various bands and via the QO-100 satellite. For more information, visit QRZ.com. QSL via OQRS. Suvarna, OM0GA is active as 9N/OM0GA from Nepal until Saturday the 19th of September. He operates mainly using CW on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via OQRS. Now the contest news The Worked All Europe DX SSB Contest started at 0000UTC yesterday, the 12th, and ends at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 13th of September. Using SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Today, Sunday the 13th, the UK Microwave Group Millimetre Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 24 to 76GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, today, the 13th, the IRTS 70cm Counties Contest runs from 1300 to 1330UTC. Using SSB and FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. EI and GI stations also give their county. Also, today, the 13th, the IRTS 2m Counties Contest runs from 1330 to 1500UTC. Using SSB and FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. EI and GI stations also give their county. Also, today, the 13th, the Practical Wireless 70MHz Contest runs from 1200 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 15th, the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 16th, the RSGB Autumn Series CW Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday the 17th, the RSGB 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Sunday the 20th, the RSGB 70MHz Affiliated Societies Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Sunday the 20th, the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group PSK63 Sprint runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using PSK63 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 10th of September 2026. As we head into September, autumnal HF conditions are fast approaching. We can expect the maximum useable frequency, or MUF, to climb during the day and DX to become more plentiful. However, we are not there yet and it may take a few more weeks before we see much of a change in HF propagation. Meanwhile, solar activity remains quite low, with a solar flux index around 100 to 110. Geomagnetic disturbances are still occurring, but their effects have been minimal. The Kp index rose to 5 on the 8th of September, due to the effects of a coronal hole stream. Luckily, this was short-lived and the following day the Kp index was back to being in the 2 to 3 range. The last four days have seen only minor C-class flares but, with seven sunspot groups visible leading to the risk of solar flares and associated coronal mass ejections, activity remains quite high. MUFs over a 3,000km path have reached 24.9MHz at times, although the 17 and 15m bands have been more usable. Expect the daytime MUF to climb to perhaps 28 or 29MHz by the end of the month. Two coronal holes appear to be developing on the Sun and will become Earth-facing today, the 13th, so there could be a coronal high-speed stream hitting us between tomorrow, the 14th and Wednesday the 16th of September. DX to be worked next week includes RI1FJZ from Franz Josef Land; V47YA and V47RCX on St Kitts and Nevis, KH8WW from American Samoa; and S79/DL2SBY from the Seychelles. Also, look for PJ2/K5SL from Curaçao from the 18th of September and 8Q7JH in the Maldives from the 20th of September. Next week the Space Weather Prediction Centre forecasts that the solar flux index may remain in the 105 to 115 range. We can expect unsettled geomagnetic conditions from the 14th to the 16th of September. This is possibly due to the coronal hole activity mentioned earlier, with a predicted Kp of 4. Otherwise, the rest of the week may remain calm with a Kp index of 2 to 3. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The current spell of changeable autumnal weather looks likely to remain with us for most of the coming week. However, the UK covers a broad span from south to north and some differences will be apparent. We have seen the arrival of some fronts with rain in the south. These will probably be weaker than in northern Britain and with only occasional patches of rain. For the rest of the time, look out for weak ridges of high pressure and periods of tropo into the near continent and possibly south across Biscay to Spain. For the northern half of the country, the weather systems will be more active and tropo will be less likely, but you could find some occasional rain scatter opportunities on the GHz bands. Meteor scatter options are still only available via random activity with no major showers playing a role. The aurora prospects are probably not zero, but recently alerts have been for minor levels of disturbance with a Kp index up to 5, but nothing dramatic on the radio aurora front. However, with it now being autumn, it is always worth monitoring. As we head towards the autumnal equinox on the 23rd of September, it is a good time of the year for aurora if the triggering solar activity is sufficiently strong. EME now, and Moon declination continues to fall until its lowest point around Friday the 18th of September. Meanwhile, path losses continue to rise until apogee, the Moon’s furthest point from Earth, also on the 18th of September. Sky noise remains low and then rises again around Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th of September, when the Moon is in Sagittarius. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #513
    September 4 · 17 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for September 6th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 6th of September 2026 The news headlines: Learn about HF propagation studies at the RSGB Convention Which coding activities will you be trying? WRTC 2026 results have been rescored Are you aware of the GB0PSC Baldock space weather station? The RSGB Propagation Studies Committee recently installed a HamSCI HFRx at Ofcom’s spectrum monitoring site at Baldock. The station is part of HF propagation studies that will allow the Committee to learn more about space weather and its effects including radio blackouts, Doppler flashes and travelling ionospheric disturbances. You can find out how the Committee is progressing with its studies by joining Gwyn Griffiths, G3ZIL on Saturday the 10th of October at the RSGB Convention. If amateur radio construction is something you’d like to find out more about, then join RadCom Plus Editor Paul Marks, G8FVK on Sunday the 11th of October to learn about his approach to modular design of amateur radio equipment. In particular, he’ll be looking at QRP HF and VHF gear, using readily available circuit boards and modules such as the AD831 RF mixer module. You can attend both lectures at the Society’s annual Convention at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes between the 9th and 11th of October. Secure your place via rsgb.org/convention National Coding Week is back this month! To support radio amateurs in building their digital skills and explore the world of programming, the RSGB has shared three new activities for you to try. The first builds on the Python Pocket Morse activity developed last year and guides radio amateurs to use a BBC Micro:bit to send Morse code either on a telegraph wire or wirelessly. The second is ‘Ener-G use’ which is great for unlicensed and younger radio amateurs and allows them to compare increasing forces and energy use with a fun Micro:bit activity. The third activity is based on the Raspberry Pi Pico 2W. It is a demonstration of Pulse Width Modulation and uses just a couple of components, including an LED and a resistor, and will give you a better understanding of the concept of duty cycle. All three activities are available via rsgb.org/coding You can try them at home, set up a practical club night or use them as an activity with a youth or school group. Let the Society know how you get on by sending photos and a summary to ncw.coordinator@rsgb.org.uk by the 30th of September. Following the conclusion of the on-site WRTC 2026 adjudication process at Wyboston, UK on the 13th of July 2026, significant new information became available resulting in necessary further work by the Judging Committee. In order for the WRTC event to be reflective of the most accurate assessment of contesting conduct and ability, the Organising Committee and Sanctioning Committee agreed collectively to support this work and have now published revised scores. This report voids and replaces the previously announced results. To read the full report visit wrtc2026.org Don’t forget that the RSGB Tonight@8 webinar series is back tomorrow night, Monday the 7th of September. Join RSGB Board Director Patrick Wood, 2E0IFB live for a presentation on amateur radio and the future of satellite communication. You’ll also be able to hear how you can get involved with World Space Week, which takes place from the 4th to the 10th of October. The webinar will contain lots of useful information on how your club can host an event and show that amateur radio is part of space exploration, education and communication. Watch the webinar and ask questions via the RSGB YouTube channel or special BATC channel. Find out more at rsgb.org/webinars The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station programme is an opportunity for educational organisations to host an amateur radio contact with a crew member on board the International Space Station. The window to submit an application is now open and ends on the 23rd of October 2026. This is for a contact to take place between July to December 2027. If you are a school, college, university or youth group, take a look at the information available on the ‘School Contacts’ tab via ariss-eu.org If you would like to view videos of different contacts, go to the RSGB YouTube channel at youtube.com/thersgb and search for 'ARISS'. Don't forget to listen out for the amateur radio stations that will be on the air during International Air Ambulance Week. The event started yesterday, the 5th, and runs until Sunday the 13th of September. For more details visit tinyurl.com/IAAW2026 On Saturday the 12th of September, lots of amateur radio stations will be on the air to take part in the Churches and Chapels on the Air event, also known as CHOTA. The event will take place from 1000 to 1600UTC. Although stations will be working on a variety of bands and modes, most operating will take place on the 40m band using SSB. More details are available at wacral.org The next in the popular 145 Alive series of events takes place on Sunday the 13th of September from 1200 to 1500UTC. Many hundreds of operators are expected to be on the air using 145MHz FM and 144MHz SSB. For more information, go to the 145 Alive Facebook page or email 145aliveuk@gmail.com Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Today, Sunday the 6th of September, Telford Hamfest is taking place at Harper Adams University near Telford, TF10 8ND. The doors open at 10.15am. Admission costs £5 but children up to 16 will be admitted free of charge. For more information contact the Hamfest team via hamfest@tdars.org.uk On Saturday the 12th of September, East Midlands Ham and Electronics Rally will take place at Beckingham Village Hall, Southfield Lane, Beckingham, DN10 4FX. The doors will be open from 9.30am to 4pm and free car parking is available behind the hall. Hot food and refreshments will be available on site. More information is available via emerg.uk/rally On Sunday the 13th of September, Caister Lifeboat Radio Rally will take place at Caister Lifeboat station, Caister on Sea, NR30 5DJ. The doors will be open from 10am to 3pm and entrance is free of charge. For more information email, Zane, M1BFI via m1bfi@outlook.com Now the Special Event news Huntingdonshire Amateur Radio Society will be running special event station GB1PPF on Saturday the 12th of September from 9.30am until 4pm. The station will be located at St Peter and St Paul Church, Church Lane, Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire PE28 9JS. Listen for activity on the HF, VHF and UHF bands. Special event station GB0SXW will be on the air on Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of September at the Stone Cross Windmill near Eastbourne BN24 5EA. Operators will be using SSB on the HF bands and FM on the 2m band. Visitors are welcome. Find out more via QRZ.com Special event callsigns EO210WLP and EM70WWW are in use until the end of year to celebrate 210 years of Lviv Polytechnica University and 70 years of the Lviv Polytechnica club station. More information, including details of awards that are available for working the stations, is available via QRZ.com Now the DX news Gunter, DK2WH is active as V51WH and V55Y from Namibia until the 10th of October. He is operating using FT8, SSB, RTTY and some CW on the 160 to 6m bands. QSL via Gunter's home call, directly or via the Bureau. Now the contest news RSGB SSB Field Day, IARU Region 1 Field Day and IRTS SSB Field Day started at 1300UTC yesterday, the 5th, and ends at 1300UTC today, Sunday the 6th of September. Using all modes on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The RSGB 144MHz Trophy Contest started at 1400UTC yesterday, the 5th, and ends at 1400UTC today, Sunday the 6th of September. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The All Asian DX Contest started at 0000UTC yesterday, the 5th, and ends at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 6th of September. Using SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and your age. Today, the 6th, the RSGB 5th 144MHz Backpackers contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Tomorrow, the 7th, the RSGB Autumn Series SSB Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 8th, the RSGB 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday the 8th, the RSGB 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 9th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 9th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday the 10th, the RSGB 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 Worked All Europe DX SSB Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 12th and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 13th of September. Using SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Sunday the 13th, the UK Microwave Group Millimetre Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 24 to 76GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Sunday the 13th, the IRTS 70cm Counties Contest runs from 1300 to 1330UTC. Using SSB and FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. EI and GI stations also give their county. Also, on Sunday the 13th, the IRTS 2m Counties Contest runs from 1300 to 1500UTC. Using SSB and FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. EI and GI stations also give their county. Also, on Sunday the 13th, the Practical Wireless 70MHz Contest runs from 1200 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 3rd of September 2026. Solar activity has continued to decline, leaving us with a solar flux index around 100. The upside is we haven’t had any solar flares and associated coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, to contend with. Over the last week, we had only one M-class flare and no X-class events. The solar flux index declined to 102 on Thursday the 3rd of September – down from 122 a week ago. But the Kp index has been firmly in the range of 1 to 2 which bodes well for ionospheric stability. This has led to maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs, over 3,000km being around 21 to 24MHz. However, FT8 has stretched this up to 28MHz at times. There have been some good 10m band FT8 openings to South America late in the afternoon. Chile, Brazil and Argentina were workable during these periods. DX to be worked this week includes 3W9C from Vietnam; T99PB from Palau; Z68PX in Kosovo; P29YY in Papua New Guinea; HP/WE9G from Panama; D44TWO from Cape Verde; T32AZ from East Kiribati; and J38DX and J38LD operating from Grenada. V47YA and V47RCX from St Kitts and Nevis will be active from the 8th of September until the end of the month and KH8WW, in American Samoa, will be on the air from the 10th to the 24th of September. Two rare ones to look for are VK0DS from Davis Station and VK0TBC from Casey Station, both in Antarctica. Operations are mostly using SSB and FT8, as time permits. Both stations have been spotted on the FT8 frequencies of the 20, 15 and 10m bands at times. Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain around the 100 mark. However, the good news is that, barring any flares or CMEs, the Kp index should remain low, perhaps around 2 all week. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G0KYA. The weather remains in a rather unsettled state. However, there are some signs of a transient area of high pressure brushing past the south of the country today, the 6th. This may create a chance of some tropo into the continent. This could tie in very well with the RSGB 144MHz Trophy and Backpackers Contests, which are taking place today the 6th. The unsettled pattern returns for the rest of the week and may not provide much help for the RSGB 432MHz UK Activity Contest on Tuesday the 8th, or the RSGB 50MHz UK Activity Contest on Thursday the 10th. In occasional bursts of heavier rain there may be some potential for rain scatter on the GHz bands. The prospects of meteor scatter remain in the random territory. So, it is best to listen just before dawn for the better chances. The solar conditions have not been very dramatic lately with the Kp index staying below 3. However, if it perks up a bit, say above 5, there may be a chance of aurora. The Sporadic-E season has more or less ended now. The next period to consider checking usually comes at the end of the year, and the first week in January, for out-of-season surprise openings. EME now, and sky noise should remain low during the coming week. Moon declination remains high. The Moon reached perigee, its closest point to Earth, yesterday, the 5th, so path losses remain low. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #512
    September 4 · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for August 30th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 30th of August 2026 RSGB Board Chair change as part of planned transition Tonight@8 is back! Last chance to buy your RSGB Convention ticket at early bird prices The RSGB Board is pleased to announce that, following its meeting on the 22nd of August 2026, Graham Smith, G4NMD has been appointed Chair of the Board. This appointment forms part of a planned and orderly leadership transition agreed by the Board. Stewart Bryant, G3YSX, who has served as Chair since 2023 with distinction, fully supports the change and will remain a Director until the 2027 AGM. He will continue to contribute his considerable experience to the Society and its activities. Licensed since 1974, Graham has been active in many areas of amateur radio, including service as an RSGB District Representative, RAYNET-UK Controller and member of the Emergency Communications and Resilience Group. Since joining the Board, he has led work on resilience, volunteer development, and governance improvement, as well as serving as Board Liaison for Training and Education. The Board looks forward to continuing its work with volunteers, members and staff across the Society as it delivers its strategic priorities and supports the amateur radio community throughout the UK and beyond. For the full announcement please see the RSGB Notices section of the RSGB website. The Tonight@8 autumn programme begins on Monday the 7th of September with an engaging webinar on amateur radio and the future of satellite communication. RSGB Board Director Patrick Wood, 2E0IFB will be delivering a presentation that will start with a brief history on the subject before looking ahead to the future. He will touch on FUNcube developments, FUNcube+ and missions such as Jovian-1, whilst also considering how radio amateurs are now using geostationary satellites like QO-100. He will also ask how radio amateurs can adapt their skills and equipment for a rapidly changing communications world. Patrick is an expert in the subject having had a 38-year career in the aerospace, defence, and space sectors, with over 30 years dedicated to the space sector. RSGB webinars are live streamed on its YouTube channel and special BATC channel, allowing you to watch the presentations and ask questions online. Find out more about September’s presentation and other upcoming webinars, by going to rsgb.org/webinars The RSGB Convention ‘NanoVNA Essentials’ workshop has now sold out! Make sure you don’t miss out on the remaining spaces for the two other workshops by securing your ticket now. On Friday the 9th of October you can take part in a five-and-a-half-hour workshop offering practical advice on identifying the sources and mitigating the effects of Radio Frequency Interference. On the afternoon of Saturday the 10th of October or the morning of Sunday the 11th of October you can take part in a two-hour workshop offering practical and interactive exercises that show you how to use AI more effectively in your own amateur radio projects. Both workshops are available to purchase at the same time as your Convention ticket. Go to rsgb.org/convention-workshops to book your place. Don’t forget that you only have until 9am on Tuesday the 1st of September to purchase your ticket at the early bird pricing. Time is running out to submit your nominations for the annual RSGB G5RP Trophy. You have until Friday the 11th of September to send in a nominee who has recently discovered and made significant progress in HF DXing. Perhaps you know someone who has worked a good total of new countries, or perhaps they have taken part in some substantial HF DXpedition activity. Please send your nominations to RSGB HF Manager Ian Greenshields, G4FSU at hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk The DMR Youth Net, organised by the RSGB Youth Committee, is back at 7pm BST on Tuesday the 1st of September following a break over the summer holidays. Since the launch of the net in 2025, young operators have joined from across Europe to build confidence speaking on the radio, connect with fellow young operators from around the world, and join in without needing to set up antennas at home. The RSGB Youth Talk Group 23554 is available on the DVSPh and Brandmeister Networks. The net will take place on the first Tuesday of each month. We’re delighted to announce that Steve Chalk achieved a Bronze Medal at the IARU Region 1 ARDF Championships in Romania last week. He was one of a small team competing on behalf of the RSGB. Steve gained his medal in the M60 category of the Sprint race, in which the transmissions are just 12 seconds in duration. Congratulations to Steve! Don't forget to listen out for the stations that are taking part in this year’s British Inland Waterways on the Air event. Stations have been operating since yesterday, the 29th, and activity continues until tomorrow, Monday the 31st of August. To find out more, visit Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group’s website at nharg.org.uk and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2026’ link. And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 30th, Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place at Heron’s Lodge Guide Activity Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, Milton Keynes. The doors open to the public from 9am. The entrance fee is £3 and parking is free of charge. For more information visit mkars.org.uk/mkrally Also today, the 30th, Torbay Amateur Radio Society’s Annual Rally is taking place at The Courtenay Centre, Kingsteignton Road, Newton Abbot, TQ12 2QA. This new venue is a town centre site and is adjacent to a large car park. The entry fee is £3 and visitors are welcome from 10am. More details are available at torbayars.org Tomorrow, Monday the 31st, Huntingdonshire Amateur Radio Rally will take place at Ramsey Rural Museum, Wood Lane, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. The doors will be open to traders from 7am and to visitors from 9am. Hot and cold refreshments will be available on site. For more information email harsrally2026@hotmail.com On Sunday the 6th of September, Telford Hamfest will take place at Harper Adams University near Telford, TF10 8ND. The doors open at 10.15am. Admission costs £5 but children up to 16 will be admitted free of charge. The G-QRP Club Convention will be held at the same venue on Saturday the 5th of September. For more information contact the Hamfest team via hamfest@tdars.org.uk Now the Special Event news REP, Portugal's national amateur radio association, is active with special callsign CT100REP until the 31st of December. The station is operating to mark the group's 100th anniversary. Look for activity on the HF, VHF, and UHF bands using CW, digital modes, SSB and satellites. Now the DX news Mark, WB2OIL is active as WB2OIL/VY0 from Broughton Island, NA-130, until Tuesday the 1st of September. He is operating using CW, FT8 and SSB on the 40 to 10m bands. More information is available via QRZ.com Now the contest news The World-Wide Digi DX Contest started at 1200UTC yesterday, the 29th, and ends at 1200UTC today, Sunday the 30th of August. Using FT4 and FT8 on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your four-character locator. On Tuesday the 1st of September, the RSGB 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 1st of September, the RSGB 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 2nd, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 2nd, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. Also, on Wednesday the 2nd, 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. The All Asian DX Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 5th and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 6th of September. Using SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, the exchange is signal report and your age. On Saturday the 5th, the CWops CW Open takes place in three four-hour sessions between 0000 and 2359UTC. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is serial number and name. On Sunday the 6th, the Worked All Britain 144MHz SSB Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using SSB on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain square. RSGB SSB Field Day, IARU Region 1 Field Day and IRTS SSB Field Day start at 1300UTC on Saturday the 5th and end at 1300UTC on Sunday the 6th of September. Using all modes on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The RSGB 144MHz Trophy Contest starts at 1400UTC on Saturday the 5th and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday the 6th of September. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Sunday the 6th, the 5th RSGB 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 27th of August 2026. Last week we said there were no coronal holes to threaten HF propagation. However, guess what appeared just after the time of writing. Coronal holes can appear at any time, which is why we recommend going to solarham.com for daily updates. This week another coronal hole has appeared and this one really does look like it could threaten Earth. This, coupled with coronal mass ejections, means that today, the 30th, could see the Kp index rise and maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs, fall. On a brighter note, the Kp index has been very low this past week, mostly below 2, with the result that HF propagation has been very good. Top DX being worked includes RI1FJL on Franz Josef Land in the Arctic Circle, which has been loud on many bands, right up to the 12 and 10m bands. Other DX to be worked in the coming week includes V5/HB9BFM from Namibia; J38DX and J38LD from Grenada; and P29YY working from Papua New Guinea. A quick check of the NCDXF beacon chain revealed very good propagation on 14MHz and 21MHz. This includes reception of the following beacons: CS3B in Madeira; RR90 in Siberia; 4S7B in Sri Lanka; 4X6TU in Israel; and 4U1UN in New York. So, it looks like we are starting to leave the summer doldrums and entering better autumnal HF conditions. Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will be around 120, falling to 90 as the week progresses. After the potential for geomagnetic disruption this weekend, ending today the 30th, the forecast is good with a Kp index of around 2. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The weather has changed to autumnal conditions with lows bringing periods of rain or showers and quite windy conditions at times. The coming week will turn out in similar fashion and means that we won’t be dealing with much, if any, tropo for VHF. The main weather-dependent mode will be rain scatter for GHz band operators. The chances of aurora will need to show a Kp index above 5 to be of much interest, and probably a bit higher for southern areas. The prospects for meteor scatter are likely to be reduced to random activity which tends to give better results in the early morning hours before dawn. Lastly, we are coming to the close of the Sporadic-E season and, with probably a week or so to play out, any openings will be few and far between. Try checking during the main operating windows of mid-morning and late afternoon. As a back-up, consider the middle of the day since towards the edges of the season the traditional timings are less reliable. For EME operators, Moon declination went positive again yesterday, the 29th, with increasing peak elevation and lengthening Moon windows. Path losses are falling all week towards perigee on Sunday the 6th of September. 144MHz sky noise is low, increasing to medium by Friday the 4th of September. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #511
    August 21 · 13 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for August 23rd 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 23rd of August 2026 The news headlines: View the action-packed RSGB Convention programme Find out more about Experimenters’ Corner at Hamfest The RSGB continues to support young radio amateurs The RSGB has released the full draft programme for its Convention, which takes place between the 9th and 11th of October at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. The programme includes details of the inspiring lectures that have been lined up for your enjoyment. They have been organised into three engaging streams: Learn, Connect and Inspire. You’ll also find three newly announced speakers. John Carter, N6YU will be talking about “The spec is the new schematic: Reproducible station software with spec-driven development” whilst Paul Marks, G8FVK will explain “A modular approach to construction”. Dr Tom Cheetham from Bletchley Park will give a fascinating historical presentation called “The Fox shall not escape: The RSGB and signals interception during WWII”. The Society has also announced that it has extended its early-bird pricing until 9am on Tuesday the 1st of September. This means you can snap up your weekend ticket for only £49, which gives you access not only to the programme, but also to the AMSAT-UK Colloquium, Special Interest Groups, a great social scene, and much more. View the programme and secure your ticket by going to rsgb.org/convention Do you enjoy amateur radio construction? Or perhaps you enjoy trying out new and emerging technology? Each month RSGB Board Director Mark Jones, G0MGX writes a column called ‘Experimenters’ Corner’ for RadCom, which focuses on a new aspect of experimenting within amateur radio. He has also been giving a brief introduction to each column in a monthly reel shared on the Society’s social media channels. Mark covers topics ranging from home-brew construction techniques and 3D-printing to software development and cost-saving tips. You can speak to Mark and talk about his column at this year’s Hamfest at the Newark Showground on the 25th and 26th of September. He will be in the RSGB village with a selection of interactive displays which you won’t want to miss. You can find out more on Experimenters’ Corner by going to rsgb.org/experimenters-corner The Youngsters On the Air Summer Camp 2026 took place in Wagrain [VAH-GRAIN], Austria earlier this month. If you missed out on the daily updates sent by the team of young radio amateurs who represented the RSGB, go to rsgb.org/yota-camp The daily blogs, photos and some fantastic sketches will remain on the Society’s website to view in your own time. If you are a young radio amateur looking to meet like-minded people, have you seen the youth activities being offered at this year’s RSGB Convention? There will be a wide range of youth-specific activities to inspire you, including an update from the YOTA team. Go to rsgb.org/convention-youth to find out more. You can also get involved with youth activities in December by taking part in YOTA Month. The RSGB will once again be taking part in this special IARU initiative, which encourages young amateur radio operators to get on the air, make contacts around the world, and promote the hobby among young people. Keep an eye out for announcements on how to get involved by going to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/yota-month In the USA, the FCC has released a further proposal for new commercial satellite allocations that overlap existing amateur spectrum. This time the 900MHz, 2.4GHz and 5.7GHz bands are the topic. The ARRL has already made an initial response. Further information and links for this are available via rsgb.org/spectrum-forum This follows the unwelcome FCC authorisation of 70cm last year for telemetry for a 248-satellite constellation. For more information on satellite challenges visit tinyurl.com/rsgbsf2026 This year’s British Inland Waterways on the Air event will run from Saturday the 29th until Monday the 31st of August. The event is open to radio amateurs who use canals, towpaths, rivers, lakes or reservoirs for work or recreation. To find out more, visit Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group’s website at nharg.org.uk and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2026’ link. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events On Sunday the 30th of August, Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society Rally will take place at Heron’s Lodge Guide Activity Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, Milton Keynes. The doors open to the public from 9am. The entrance fee is £3 and parking is free of charge. For more information visit mkars.org.uk/mkrally Also on Sunday the 30th of August, Torbay Amateur Radio Society Annual Rally will take place at The Courtenay Centre, Kingsteignton Road, Newton Abbot, TQ12 2QA. This new venue is a town centre site and is adjacent to a large car park. The entry fee is £3 and visitors are welcome from 10am. More details are available at torbayars.org On Monday the 31st of August, Huntingdonshire Amateur Radio Rally will take place at Ramsey Rural Museum, Wood Lane, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. The doors will be open to traders from 7am and to visitors from 9am. Hot and cold refreshments will be available on site. For more information email harsrally2026@hotmail.com Now the Special Event news The German DX Foundation is using special callsign DQ30GDXF until December to celebrate its 30th anniversary. QSL via OQRS and Logbook of the World. Contacts made between the 1st of July and the 30th of September count towards an award. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/DQ30GDXF To celebrate its 15th anniversary, members of the Croatian Flora and Fauna Amateur Radio Club are active as 9A44FF and 9A44FF/P until December. For details of an award that is available for working the station, visit QRZ.com Now the DX news Rafal, SQ4O is a member of the 50th Polish Antarctic Expedition to the Henryk Arctowski [ART-STOF-SKEE] Station on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, AN-010. In his spare time, he is operating as HF0PAS on the HF bands using CW and SSB, and on the 6m band using FT8. Tom, VK2TBC is active as VK0TBC from Casey Station, Antarctica until December. Look out for him using FT8 and SSB on the HF bands. For more information visit QRZ.com Now the contest news Today, Sunday the 23rd of August, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 6 and 3cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 25th of August, the RSGB SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The World Wide Digi DX Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the 29th and ends at 1200UTC on Sunday the 30th of August. Using FT4 and FT8 on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your four-character locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 20th of August 2026. Last week was characterised by geomagnetic disturbances, due to high-speed solar wind streams from coronal holes, and a slightly increasing solar flux index. The Kp index hit 5 on the 18th and 19th of August reducing maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs, and generally being detrimental to HF propagation. We also had more than 50 C-class solar flares and one M-class event this past week, so nothing too severe. It was coronal holes that did the damage with two large areas on the Sun. A coronal hole is an area of the Sun with open magnetic field lines that allows solar plasma to escape. HF conditions were relatively poor during International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on Sunday the 16th, with little DX and heavy QSB or fading. The MUF struggled to get to 21MHz and most activity was on the 40 and 20m bands. Some transatlantic signals were logged, but they were weak and watery. That didn’t stop people from enjoying the event though! DX to be worked this week includes 3B8/SQ9UM from Mauritius; RI8KR from Asiatic Russia; RI1FJL operating from Franz Josef Land; V47JA on St Kitts; and V51WH and V55Y active in Namibia. Good news this week as Propquest is back online, showing near real-time MUFs over various distances. Jim, G3YLA says this is a temporary fix pending further work. NOAA predicts that we will see a solar flux index around 100 to 120 next week, with relatively poor geomagnetic conditions forecast for today, the 23rd. The Kp index is predicted to be around 2 during the coming week. At the time of writing, there are no coronal holes threatening HF propagation, but keep an eye on solarham.com for updates. We are still analysing the eclipse experiment data, but a video of the 80m WSPR contacts has been produced and can be found at tinyurl.com/80mWSPR And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The return of unsettled weather last week pauses over this weekend, ending today the 23rd, as a new high moves across the country from the Atlantic. This gives a good chance for some tropo and, if the land temperatures pick up again and drift offshore, it could produce some good conditions across sea paths like the North and Irish Seas. Before mid-week, probably during Tuesday, low pressure will return and push a frontal system across the country followed by further fronts and showery periods for the rest of the week. This could be very good for rain scatter on the GHz bands, especially if the showers turn thundery. Meteor scatter will be largely random activity for most of the coming week. We will also see the end of the Delta Aquarids today, the 23rd , and the final trailing off from the Perseids, which end tomorrow, the 24th. The solar conditions are worth monitoring after recent activity saw the Kp index reach 5 on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. Ideally, we require something a little higher to start considering auroral propagation from the southern UK. Sporadic-E can last into the first week of September but tends to become harder to find and shorter in duration. There is no reason to stop checking though; anytime from mid-morning to late afternoon should cover it. For EME operators, the Moon was at apogee and at minimum declination yesterday, the 22nd. With minimum peak elevation and maximum path losses, it’s a good excuse to check out the mechanics of your antenna. 144MHz sky noise is very high today, the 23rd, falling back to low as the week progresses. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #510
    August 14 · 15 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for August 16th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 16th of August 2026 The news headlines: Apply for the new RSGB Training and Development Lead Honorary Officer vacancy Get ready for National Coding Week 2026! Build a radio workshop at the RSGB National Radio Centre The RSGB is launching a new Training and Development Lead pilot. This is a 12-month volunteer Honorary Officer role for someone who cares deeply about how people learn, progress and stay active in amateur radio. The pilot will focus on listening, mapping, evidence gathering and supporting the training community. If you enjoy connecting people and want to build bridges across the training landscape, this role could be for you. To find out more about the role go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/volunteers To discuss the role informally, please contact Board Director Graham Smith, G4NMD via g4nmd@rsgb.org.uk Applications close on the 18th of September and interviews will take place during the week of the 28th of September 2026. National Coding Week returns between the 14th and 20th of September, bringing a fantastic opportunity for radio amateurs of all ages to build confidence in digital skills and explore the world of programming. This year, the RSGB Outreach Team has released three coding activities designed especially for National Coding Week. These are available on the RSGB website via rsgb.org/coding for all members to enjoy and they will also be shared directly with youth groups. Whether you’re a complete beginner or are already tech savvy, there’ll be something fun and accessible for everyone. You’ll also find a coding feature in the September edition of RadCom. The RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park is hosting another of its popular Build Your Own Radio workshops. Morning and afternoon sessions will be held on Thursday the 27th of August and will offer young people aged between 12 and 18 the opportunity to learn more about amateur radio and electronics. The workshops are funded by the Radio Communications Foundation and allow participants to build their own VHF FM broadcast receiver, which they can take home with them. Attendance at the workshop costs £11. You can find out more and secure your place by selecting the ‘What’s on’ menu at bletchleypark.org.uk The RSGB has launched some new web pages demonstrating how amateur radio aligns with the STEM curriculum. Whichever part of the hobby you enjoy, you’re bound to be using skills relating to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths every day! And what better way to encourage people into STEM-related study or careers than getting them involved in amateur radio. If you want to give back to the hobby, why not consider becoming a registered STEM Ambassador for amateur radio. The RSGB already has a fantastic team of volunteers who are STEM Ambassadors and use their skills and passion to showcase wireless communication to young people. Why not join them? You can find out how you can get involved at rsgb.org/stem The IARU has published the fourth edition of ‘Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur’, bringing together updated guidance and best practice for radio amateurs around the world. The latest edition also includes improved accessibility features for those with visual impairments. Whether you’re newly licensed or have been on the air for many years, it’s a useful reminder of the operating standards, courtesy and good practice that help make amateur radio enjoyable for everyone. The RSGB welcomes this updated guide and is particularly pleased that the RSGB Operating Advisory Service Coordinator Ian Suart, GM4AUP, was among those who contributed to its development. The Society would like to thank Ian, and everyone involved, for the considerable time, expertise and effort that has gone into producing this important resource for the international amateur radio community. To find out more and read the new edition, go to tinyurl.com/rsgb-eop The RSGB is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Peter Chadwick, G3RZP, a former President and Life Vice-President of the Society, and one of the most knowledgeable and respected technical figures in British amateur radio. Peter worked tirelessly for the RSGB, IARU and for all radio amateurs through his spectrum, technical and regulatory work. Read a full tribute to Peter at rsgb.org/sk On Saturday the 12th of September lots of amateur radio stations will be on the air to take part in the Churches and Chapels on the Air event, also known as CHOTA. The event will take place from 10am to 4pm. Although stations will be working on a variety of bands and modes, most operating will take place on the 40m band using SSB. More details are available at wacral.org The Fourteenth Scottish Microwave Round Table GMRT 2026 will take place between 10.30am and 5pm on Saturday the 31st of October 2026 at the Museum of Communication, Burntisland, Fife. An interesting programme of speakers has been arranged. Microwave test facilities will be provided and there will be an opportunity to buy components and microwave-related items. An optional dinner will be held in the evening at the Kingswood Hotel, Burntisland. Full information and online registration are available at gmroundtable.org.uk Alternatively, email Colin, GM4HWO via gm4hwo@gmail.com for more information. The numbers for the day event are limited to 50 so please book early to avoid disappointment. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 16th of August, the North Wales Amateur Radio Group Rally and Tabletop Sale takes place at the Bryn Cadno Community Centre, Upper Colwyn Bay. The doors open at 10am and the entry fee is £3. Light refreshments are available. Rugby Amateur Transmitting Society Radio Rally is also taking place today, the 16th of August at Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby, CV23 9PY. The doors open to the public from 10am. More details are available at rugbyats.co.uk Also today, the 16th of August, West Manchester Radio Club Red Rose Summer Rally takes place at Mather Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh WN7 2PJ. The doors open at 10am. For more information and bookings, contact rally@wmrc.co.uk Now the Special Event news Thornbury and South Gloucestershire Amateur Radio Club has its annual field weekend on Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd of August in a field off Hook Street, Berkeley GL13 9TH. All are welcome to visit or catch us on the air, club call sign GX4ABC. For further details, contact the Secretary via email at secretary@tsgarc.uk Members of the Scarborough Amateur Radio Society will be operating as GB400SCA on the HF Bands between 10am and 4pm on Sunday the 23rd of August from the grounds of Scarborough Castle. The callsign celebrates 'Scarborough 400', marking 400 years since Scarborough became the UK’s original seaside resort when health-giving spa waters were discovered in the cliffs above the beach. This led to the start of seaside tourism in 1626 and the idea of seaside holidays subsequently spread throughout the UK. Now the DX news Special event station EN35UKR is active until the 30th of August to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. QSL via Logbook of the World or direct via UT2UCN. Curtis, MW0USK and Kevin, MW9KJC are operating as GB64MOD until the 31st of August. The special event station is active to “celebrate the spirit of the Mod movement through amateur radio". Find out more at gb64mod.co.uk 9A10SOTA is the special callsign celebrating ten years of SOTA Croatia. Look out for activity until the 30th of September. QSL via Logbook of the World. Sands, VK4WXW has returned to Willis Island (OC-007) and will be stationed at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s weather monitoring facility until late October or early November. He expects to be increasingly active in the coming weeks and operates SSB and FT8 on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands with a vertical antenna. QSL via M0OXO’s OQRS. Now the contest news Tomorrow, the 17th of August, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT4 on the 80m to 10m bands where contests are permitted bands, the exchange is your report. On Tuesday, the 18th of August, the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 1.3GHz, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday, the 20th of August, the RSGB 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Sunday the 23rd of August, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 5.7GHz and 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 13th of August 2026 The 2026 solar eclipse is done and dusted, so we can get back to normal HF propagation predictions. The Solar Flux Index dropped below 100 this week, which is more symbolic than anything. But it shows where we are heading as Solar Cycle 25 drops away. The SFI was 99 on the 13th of August with five sunspot groups visible on the solar surface. Activity has been settled with only 12 minor C-Class solar flares over the past seven days. The Kp index has remained low over the past few days, with just one excursion to 5.33 on the 8th of August thanks to an incoming solar wind stream from a coronal mass ejection. Otherwise, it has been mainly in the ones and twos which bodes well for HF. Sporadic-E effects are still showing up on HF, while we haven’t yet seen the first signs of an autumnal change in conditions. A plot from the Dourbes Digisonde shows that the Maximum Usable Frequency, or MUF, over a 3,000km path only got as high as 16.8MHz at noon on the 12th of August. There were excursions up to 21.5MHz later in the day but this suggests that 15 and 17m are opening now and again. So keep an eye on the bands. It may sound quiet but they may open up at any time. DX to be worked this week includes A50QO from Bhutan, 3B9/SQ9UM in Rodrigues Island, J68TT from St Lucia, C6AUB in Bahamas from the 19th of August, OJ0JR and OJ0YL from Market Reef and RI1FJL from Franz Josef Land. Next week NOAA predicts that the SFI may remain around the 100-115 mark. We may have unsettled geomagnetic conditions around the 17th to 19th of August, with a predicted maximum Kp of five. More settled conditions are forecast for the 20th of August onwards with a maximum Kp of two. So, it looks like later next week and next weekend will be best for HF DX. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The long spell of settled weather for most southern parts of the country may get a shake up during next week as the high pressure to the east of the country weakens to allow low pressure to move in, bringing some much-needed rain. Northwestern parts of the UK have had cloudier spells with patchy rain recently and there will be more to come next week. The result is that any Tropo effects will be tailing off after this weekend and then it will be the turn of rain scatter as more unsettled weather arrives. Meteor scatter is probably going to ease back slightly after the peak of the Perseids meteor shower last week, although there will still be a random component to keep things going so stick to the hours around dawn for best results. The solar conditions have shown the occasional increase in the Kp index but not enough to get too excited about aurora, although it's still worth keeping an eye out for values going above a KP of six. We are still in the Sporadic-E season and the recent input of Perseids meteor debris has provided some new fuel for Es so it’s by no means all over. The DXcluster maps give a very good idea of the current directions that might prove rewarding. The main North Atlantic jet stream will run across the UK into Scandinavia so paths to the east and northeast could do well, together with the usual paths to the south. In general, it’s still the time of year to check in the morning and again late afternoon for signs of Es activity and if the bands seem quiet then call CQ. For EME operators, we have passed maximum Moon declination and minimum path losses for the month but there's still a few more days of usable Moon time next week if you have a low horizon. Minimum declination and apogee are still over a week away. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #509
    August 7 · 15 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for August 9th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 9th of August 2026 The news headlines: RSGB announces updated Contest Entry Policy Take part in solar eclipse experiments with the RSGB Propagation Studies Committee Improved RSGB Course and Exam finder is now available The RSGB Board has approved an updated Contest Entry Policy following a review, consultation and careful consideration. From the 1st of January 2027, eligibility to participate in RSGB contests will be open to all appropriately licensed radio amateurs, regardless of nationality or location. Entry will be subject only to the legal and regulatory obligations applicable to both the Society and the entrant, together with the relevant contest rules and any applicable RSGB membership requirements. The implementation date has been chosen to allow the Society's HF and VHF Contest Committees sufficient time to prepare contest administration and adjudication systems ahead of the 2027 contest season. The Board considers that this approach reflects the long-established principles of amateur radio, including friendship, cooperation and goodwill between individual operators across national boundaries. It is also consistent with the principles promoted by the International Amateur Radio Union, encouraging international understanding and cooperation through amateur radio. The policy also ensures that all RSGB activities continue to comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations. The Board is grateful to the Board subgroup, the members of the HF and VHF Contest Committees, and everyone who contributed to the review of this policy, including the many members who took the time to submit their comments and observations. Full details of the updated Contest Entry Policy are available on the RSGB website. There will be a partial solar eclipse on Wednesday the 12th of August and the RSGB’s Propagation Studies Committee would like your help with some radio experiments. There are three ways that RSGB members can get involved and support the Committee in investigating how the Sun’s ultraviolet and X-ray output affects our ionosphere and how radio waves are propagated. If you are active on the lower bands, including medium wave, 80m and perhaps even 40m, you can report back on your findings on how transmissions are impacted during the eclipse. Alternatively, you could run WSPR on 160, 80 and 40m during the main eclipse period and then repeat the exercise, either the day before or the day after so comparisons can be drawn. Or you could take part in two specially organised RSGB contests on 80m CW and 40m FT8. These are open to non-RSGB members as well. For more details go to rsgb.org/psc and select ‘Projects’ from the right-hand menu. The Course and Exam finder page on the RSGB website is now back online at rsgb.org/examfinder The application has been completely redeveloped, following major works on the Society’s website this summer. It now features a fully responsive layout for mobile devices, plus a clearer and more accessible user interface. You’ll find colour-coded banners for the exam levels offered by each club, plus useful and easy to read accessibility information for each venue. Training providers and exam centres are reminded that any updates need to be submitted to the RSGB Examinations Team via exams@rsgb.org.uk by 3.30pm each Friday, for them to appear the following week. You have one week left to secure your RSGB Convention ticket at early bird prices. Weekend tickets currently stand at £49 and are available until Sunday the 16th of August. Your weekend ticket gives you access to two days’ worth of engaging and informative content from over 40 speakers, including the AMSAT-UK colloquium. Buy your ticket at rsgb.org/convention Find out what else is going on during the weekend by selecting ‘What else is happening at the RSGB 2026 Convention?’ from the right-hand menu of the Convention web pages. Ofcom and the RSGB have formally signed the Memorandum of Understanding under which the RSGB provides the amateur radio licence examinations currently and in the future. The main changes from the original relate to the confidentiality of examination questions and the replacement of the Examinations Audit Committee with 'independent' voting members of the ESC. You can read the latest document by going to rsgb.org/esc The first of this year’s International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekends will run from 0001UTC on Saturday the 15th to 2400UTC on Sunday the 16th of August. The event usually attracts more than 500 lighthouse entries located in over 40 countries. To register for the event, and view a list of participating stations, visit illw.net And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 9th, Flight Refuelling Amateur Radio Society Hamfest is taking place at Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 3DA. The doors are open from 9am to 3pm. Car-boot and field traders are welcome from 7am. Admission costs £5 and includes parking. Talk-in is on 145.550MHz. For more information visit frars.co.uk On Saturday the 15th of August, DX Commander Fest will be taking place at Holly Farm Business Park, Honiley, Warwickshire, CV8 1NP. More information is available at dxcommander.com On Sunday the 16th of August, the North Wales Amateur Radio Group Rally and Tabletop Sale will take place at the Bryn Cadno Community Centre. The doors open at 10am and the entry fee is £3. Light refreshments will be available. To book a table email secretary@nwarg.org Rugby Amateur Transmitting Society Radio Rally will be taking place on Sunday the 16th of August at Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby, CV23 9PY. The doors will be open to the public from 10am. More details are available at rugbyats.co.uk Also on Sunday the 16th of August, West Manchester Radio Club Red Rose Summer Rally will take place at Mather Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh WN7 2PJ. The doors open at 10am. For more information and bookings, contact rally@wmrc.co.uk Now the Special Event news Special callsign YR100RC is on the air until the 30th of September to celebrate 100 years of amateur radio in Romania. Look for activity on the HF bands using a variety of modes. For details of a certificate that is available for working the station, visit tinyurl.com/romania1786 Marking the 70th anniversary of the DARC's weekly news broadcast, special callsign DB70DLRS will be on the air until the 31st of December. Look for activity on all bands and modes. QSL via DK5ON, Logbook of the World and the DARC Community Logbook. More information is available at QRZ.com Now the DX news Darek, SP9DLM and his 13-year-old son Greg, SN9GM are active as UK/SP9DLM and UK/SN9GM from Uzbekistan until Saturday the 15th of August. The stations have been worked recently on the HF bands using SSB. QSL via OQRS. Sands, VK4WXW has returned to Willis Island, OC-007, and will be stationed at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's weather monitoring facility until late October or early November. He expects to become increasingly active as VK9WX in the coming weeks. He operates using FT8 and SSB on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands. QSL via OQRS. Now the contest news Today, Sunday the 9th, the UK Microwave Group 25GHz Trophy contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 1.2cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The RSGB Machine Generated Mode Contest started at 1400UTC on Saturday the 8th and ends at 1400UTC today, Sunday the 9th of August. Using machine-generated modes on the 6 and 2m bands, the exchange is report and your four-character locator. The Worked All Europe DX CW Contest started at 0000UTC on Saturday the 8th and ends at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 9th of August. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 11th of August the RSGB 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday the 11th, the RSGB UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 12th of August the RSGB Eclipse CW Contest runs from 1630 to 1930UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is report and serial number. Also on Wednesday the 12th, the RSGB Eclipse FT8 Contest runs from 1630 to 1930UTC. Using FT8 on the 40m band, the exchange is your report. On Wednesday the 12th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 12th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday the 13th of August, the RSGB 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. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 6th of August 2026. The Sun was mostly settled last week with very little to report. The solar flux index declined to 108 by Thursday the 6th of August, with most of the sunspot activity being on one half of the solar surface. Geomagnetic conditions have also been settled with a Kp index mostly below 3 for the past few days. A coronal mass ejection impacted the Earth and pushed the Kp index to 5.67 on Sunday the 2nd of August, but conditions recovered within 24 hours. We’ve even been almost solar flare free with, at the time of writing, only seven minor C-class events over the past three days. So, this all bodes well for HF propagation. 24 and 28MHz are mostly only open to Sporadic-E. Some multi-hop paths are still opening up to the Far East especially, so don’t write off 10m, even if you have to listen to noise for a lot of the day! F2-layer propagation still favours North-South paths on the 10m band. Next week, DX to be worked includes E51KEE from the Cook Islands; YS/WE9G in El Salvador; UK/SP9DLM from Uzbekistan; and OX3LX operating from Greenland. Later in the week look for A50QO in Bhutan; J68TT from St Lucia and OJ0JR and OJ0YL working from Market Reef. NOAA predicts that next week the Sun will remain pretty calm and be in the 105 to 110 range. The Kp index is forecast to be mostly around 2 to 3. So, conditions should remain fair but not disrupted. And don’t forget the solar eclipse on Wednesday the 12th of August. The RSGB has lots of activities planned including two HF contests, WSPR activity and medium- and long-wave monitoring. See the August issue of RadCom for details. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The main theme of the weather during the coming week is one of some settled high-pressure with tropo options, especially early in the coming week. This is likely to be interrupted by occasional periods of low pressure with rain for north westerly areas. The summer weather patterns typically produce a more showery type of rain, even from fronts, giving a reasonable chance of rain scatter. However, activity may be low in the south and east. Of the two modes mentioned above, next week will probably be more biased towards tropo than rain scatter. The Kp index made a brief excursion to 5 last week but seems a bit quieter now. However, it's useful to check now and again in case we find some radio aurora. The meteor scatter options feature strongly this week as the Perseids meteor shower peaks around Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th of August. It's quite interesting to simply leave a receiver on a meteor scatter calling channel to hear the transient signals. The Sporadic-E season continues and, since meteor debris plays a role in providing the ionisation required, the Perseids week is always worth checking for a surprise opening. In terms of jet stream weather patterns, the stronger hints come from looking east towards the Baltic. However, other directions are not to be ignored since even quite small features, such as a slow-moving severe thunderstorm, can have an influence. For EME operators, Moon declination reaches maximum today, Sunday the 9th, when Moon window length and Moon elevation will be at their peak. Path losses are at their lowest at perigee tomorrow, Monday the 10th of August. 144MHz sky noise is low to moderate until Wednesday the 12th, when the Sun is close to the Moon in the sky due to the partial eclipse that day. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #508
    July 31 · 15 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for August 2nd 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 2nd of August 2026 The news headlines: Exciting opportunities within the RSGB Regional Team RSGB Examinations Standards Committee publishes annual report Changes to the Youth Committee An exciting volunteer opportunity has arisen to lead the RSGB Regional Team following the decision by George Crawford, GM1DSV to stand down as Regional Forum Chair once the right candidate is appointed. The RSGB would like to express its thanks to George who will be focusing his time on serving Region 1 as its Regional Representative. The role of Regional Forum Chair is ideal for someone who is passionate about amateur radio, teamwork and empowering volunteers. This is a standout volunteer opportunity for someone who wants to make a meaningful impact across all regions, support our dedicated Regional and District Representatives, and strengthen the connection between members, volunteers and the wider organisation. The RSGB is also looking for a Regional Forum Secretary to support the smooth running of activity behind the scenes. This is a fantastic volunteer opportunity for someone who thrives on coordination, communication and teamwork, and wants to play a key role in supporting the Regional Team Chair and the entire Regional Forum. Find out more about both roles, along with details of how to apply, by going to rsgb.org/volunteers You can use the same link to find out about District Representative roles in various regions around the country. The RSGB Examinations Standards Committee, or ESC, has published its annual report, relating to activities in 2025. The report shows that, although overall candidate numbers in 2025 decreased a little compared with 2024, they remain about 20% higher than predictions based on the extrapolation of pre-2019 trends. The ESC believes that this is largely due to the increased accessibility of training courses and examinations online. The ESC noted that the initial feedback received from candidates on the publication of the Full level question bank has been very positive. However, a few months of exam data are needed before the full impact of the measure can be assessed, and then consideration given to rolling it out at other levels. You can read the report by going to rsgb.org/esc and choosing the ‘Minutes, papers and reports’ tab on the righthand side of the web page. RSGB Board Director and Board liaison for the Youth Committee Nathan Nuttall, MM9OCC has announced that the RSGB Youth Chair Chris Aitken, MM0WIC has stepped down from his role as Chair. Chris, who is a teacher at Wick High School, has secured an ARISS contact for his school and will be using his time to focus on activities surrounding this. The current RSGB Youth Vice-Chair Leon Shaw, M0VUF will step up as Chair and the RSGB Youth Champion for Scouts Sam McCutchion, M0UEL will take on the Vice-Chair position. Sam will continue in his role as Scout Champion until a suitable replacement can be found. The RSGB is preparing to launch a new Training and Development Lead pilot role to help rebuild structured engagement with trainers, support new licensees, and strengthen the wider training environment. This 12-month pilot will focus on listening, mapping, evidence gathering and supporting the training community. Some initial information was outlined in the August RadCom strategy update and more details will be shared in August, including how trainers and providers can get involved. The July 2026 issue of RadCom Basics is now available in the RSGB mobile and web app for members to enjoy. RadCom Basics is aimed at newcomers to amateur radio and those who enjoy refreshing their skills and knowledge. The July issue includes articles on DMR for beginners, RF connectors and dummy loads. The full collection of RadCom Basics back issues can be found in the RSGB app or via rsgb.org/radcom Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 2nd, Part 1 of the 2026 British Amateur Television Club Convention 2026 is taking place at Midland Air Museum, Rowley Road, Coventry, CV3 4FR. The event is running from 10am to 4pm and includes show-and-tell, test-and-fix-it and bring-and-buy elements. There are comprehensive test facilities available for all bands from 144MHz to 24GHz. Non-members are welcome. For more information, visit batc.org.uk/events Also today, the 2nd, the Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day from 11am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information, visit becg.org.uk/events Also today, the 2nd, Finningley Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place at the Hurst Communications Centre, Belton Road, Sandtoft, Doncaster, DN8 5SX. The doors are open from 10am. Entrance costs £5 per person but under-16s will be admitted free of charge. For more information, visit g0ghk.com Kings Lynn Amateur Radio Club Rally is also taking place today, the 2nd, at Gaywood Community Centre, Gayton Road, King’s Lynn PE30 4EL. The doors open at 9am and the entrance fee is £2.50. For more information, email rally.klarc@gmail.com or call 0770 907 4951. On Sunday the 9th of August, Flight Refuelling Amateur Radio Society Hamfest will be taking place at Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 3DA. The doors will be open from 9am to 3pm. Car-boot and field traders are welcome from 7am. Admission costs £5 and includes parking. Talk-in will be on 145.550MHz. For more information visit frars.co.uk Now the Special Event news To celebrate its 15th anniversary, the Croatian Flora and Fauna Amateur Radio Club is active as 9A44FF until the 31st of December. For information about an award that is available for working the station, visit QRZ.com Special callsign LZ75HSC is active to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Radio Telegraphy Highspeed Club. The club was founded in 1951 and to date membership has grown to include more than 1,400 operators spanning every continent. For more information, visit highspeedclub.org Now the DX news Rafal, SQ4O is a member of the 50th Polish Antarctic Expedition to the Henryk Arctowski Station on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, AN-010. He will be working there until October. In his spare time, he will be operating as HF0PAS on the HF bands using CW and SSB. Rafal is also active on the 6m band using FT8. Jan, DL4XT is active as 4K/DL4XT from Azerbaijan until Saturday the 8th of August. Look out for activity using CW, FT8 and SSB on the 20 to 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World, OQRS and QRZ.com Now the contest news Today, the 2nd of August, the RSGB 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 your two-letter postcode. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon started on the 2nd of May and ends today, Sunday the 2nd of August. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is your four-character locator. On Tuesday the 4th of August, the RSGB 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 4th, the RSGB 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 5th, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 5th, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. The RSGB Machine Generated Mode Contest starts at 1400UTC on Saturday the 8th and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday the 9th of August. Using machine-generated modes on the 6 and 2m bands, the exchange is your report and four-character locator. The Worked All Europe DX CW Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 8th and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 9th of August. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Sunday the 9th, the UK Microwave Group 24GHz Trophy Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 1.2cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 30th of July 2026. We’ve had quite a reasonable period of HF propagation over the past seven days. The solar flux index remained quite high and conditions have been quite stable, apart from a geomagnetic disturbance on Thursday the 23rd of July that saw the Kp index rise to 5.33. The solar flux index has been in the 140s and 150s, which bodes well for HF. There have been reliable openings up to at least the 15m band. We are still around eight weeks away from the start of better Autumnal HF conditions, but it is looking promising. At the time of writing there were nine active regions visible on the Sun, bringing a solar flux index of 143 and a sunspot number of 123. However, for software prediction purposes you are better off using August’s current smoothed sunspot number of 84. The sunspots we do have are mostly clustered around the Sun’s equator, which is quite normal for this point in the solar cycle. We normally associate high-latitude sunspots with the beginning of a new cycle, which is still many years away. Paul, GM4ULS reported a contact suddenly vanishing on 5MHz SSB around 1530UTC on Sunday the 26th of July. This was caused by a sudden ionospheric disturbance, or SID, due to an M-class solar flare. A SID usually sounds like someone has just ‘switched off’ the ionosphere, although recovery can be quite quick. DX to be worked next week includes E51KEE on the Cook Islands; YS/WE9G from El Salvador; C6AYM in the Bahamas; T2JK in Tuvalu; UK/SP9DLM from Uzbekistan and OX3LX working from Greenland. The Arctic Legends team is now operating as RI0BU from Uedineniya Island until Friday the 7th of August. The higher bands, such as 15 and 10m, currently favour north-south paths, for example UK to South Africa and South America. The 20m band should be more usable for paths to North America. NOAA predicts that the Sun’s activity may decline slightly in the coming week. A solar flux index in the range 120 to 130 is predicted. A geomagnetic disturbance is forecast for Tuesday the 4th of August, with a predicted Kp index of 4. This should recover over subsequent days, back to a more usual 2 to 3. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The current spells of very hot weather have set their own agenda for radio conditions when it comes to tropo. We have a tick for the high pressure, but the extreme temperatures have meant that the tropo-producing temperature inversions seldom survive the daytime heating over the land. It is only coastal stations that remain in the lift conditions during the daytime. The weather forecast models for the coming period suggest that the weather pattern is trying to become more unsettled but, as in recent weeks, it seems to take a while to materialise in some parts of the country. However, it will bring two changes for radio activity. One is slightly cooler weather and some showery rain, so there is a chance of rain scatter. Secondly, there will perhaps be less reliable tropo as the high pressure weakens. Some potential tropo paths probably remain from the fragmented elements of high pressure, but it may be rather hit and miss. Meteor scatter is worth checking out during the next few weeks with two smaller showers, the Southern Delta Aquarids and the Alpha Capricornids peaking at the end of July before the lead-up to the Perseids in mid-August. The solar conditions are still in play for the effects of coronal mass ejections from the Sun and the potential for auroras. So that’s another mode to keep on the list. Lastly, a mention for Sporadic-E which continues through August and produced daily North American openings for many last week. Jet streams are often the driving force for turbulence in the lower atmosphere, and can influence the location of Sporadic-E. In the coming week they will probably not help greatly due to a very weak pattern over Europe. It’s still worth checking out during the two usual windows of activity in the mid-morning and late afternoon. For EME operators, Moon declination is increasing again with consequent northern hemisphere increases in Moon window length and peak Moon elevation. Path losses will decrease as the week progresses towards perigee on Monday the 10th of August. 144MHz sky noise is low to moderate all week. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #507
    July 24 · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for July 26th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 26th of July 2026 The news headlines: Youth activity at the RSGB 2026 Convention Keep up to date with the YOTA camp in Austria RSGB Club Finder back online Are you a young radio amateur? Have you secured your RSGB Convention ticket yet? This year’s Convention at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre in Milton Keynes will include a wider range of youth-specific activities. This is being arranged by the RSGB Youth Committee in tandem with the main Convention organising team. You’ll find a youth forum with ten-minute lightning talks on youth-focused topics, as well as an opportunity to share your practical projects. There will be a youth panel discussion on how the radio amateur community can encourage and support young people coming into amateur radio. To top that off there will be a chance to get involved with a POTA activation and join an informal youth dinner on the Saturday night. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to meet with like-minded people, develop your network and have lots of fun. If you’re under 21, you will receive free admission to the RSGB Convention. Tickets do not need to be pre-booked and are given on the day. If you’re under the age of 16 you will need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. If you are aged over 21, buy your ticket at rsgb.org/convention This year’s Youngsters On The Air summer camp is taking place in the Austrian Alps from the 25th of July to the 1st of August. A team of four young radio amateurs has been selected by the RSGB Youth Committee to represent the Society. The group will be spending six days engaging with like-minded youngsters and learning more about amateur radio. They’ll be taking part in a range of activities including Summits on the Air and also experimenting with underground propagation. From tomorrow, the 27th, you will be able to see regular updates from the group by going to rsgb.org/yota-camp and selecting ‘YOTA Austria 2026’ from the right-hand menu. You can also see updates via the Society’s Facebook, Instagram and X pages. The Club Finder on the RSGB website is now back online at rsgb.org/clubfinder This has been completely redeveloped and now features a fully responsive layout for mobile devices, plus a much clearer and more accessible interface. Clubs are reminded to check their data and to submit any required updates via their club’s Membership Services portal or by emailing membership@rsgb.org.uk Data in Club Finder is updated at 3.30pm every Friday, so please submit updates by then, so that they appear the following week. RSGB members and non-members alike can read the report on this month’s World Radiosport Team Championship in the RSGB’s August publications. The report, written by WRTC Organising Committee member Keith Haynes, G3WRO is available to members via RadCom and to non-members via the Affiliated Clubs Newsletter in the RSGB app. This can be viewed online, on a tablet or mobile phone. Also, you can catch up on all the WRTC livestream videos and additional content at youtube.com/@WRTC2026 The first of this year’s International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekends will run from 0001UTC on Saturday the 15th to 2400UTC on Sunday the 16th of August. The event usually attracts more than 500 lighthouse entries located in over 40 countries. To register for the event, and view a list of participating stations, visit illw.net Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events On Sunday the 2nd of August, Part 1 of the 2026 British Amateur Television Club Convention 2026 will be held at Midland Air Museum, Rowley Road, Coventry CV3 4FR. The event will run from 10am to 4pm and include show-and-tell, test and fix-it and bring-and-buy elements. There will be comprehensive test facilities available for all bands from 144MHz to 24GHz. Non-members are welcome. For more information visit batc.org.uk/events The Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day on Sunday the 2nd of August from 11am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information visit becg.org.uk/events Also on Sunday the 2nd of August, Finningley Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place at the Hurst Communications Centre, Belton Road, Sandtoft, Doncaster, DN8 5SX. The doors will be open from 10am. Entrance costs £5 per person but under-16s will be admitted free of charge. For more information visit g0ghk.com Kings Lynn Amateur Radio Club Rally is also taking place on Sunday the 2nd of August at Gaywood Community Centre, Gayton Road, King’s Lynn PE30 4EL. The doors open at 9am and the entrance fee is £2.50. An outdoor trader’s stall costs £8 and an indoor one is £10. To book, email rally.klarc@gmail.com or call 0770 907 4951. Now the Special Event news To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the German DX Foundation is active with special callsign DQ30GDXF until the end of the year. QSL via OQRS and Logbook of the World. For details of an award that is available for working the station visit tinyurl.com/gdxf2026 To celebrate his 50th anniversary in amateur radio, Nick, US8AR is active throughout 2026 using special callsign EM50AR. Electronic QSL cards can be downloaded from em50ar.pp.ua Now the DX news Red, DL1BUG is active as TY5FR from Cotonou in West Africa until Tuesday the 4th of August. He is operating using CW and SSB on the 160 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, Logbook of the World or via Red’s home call. The CG2C Group is active on various bands and modes from Cap-aux- Meules, in the Madeleine Islands, NA-038, until Friday the 14th of August. QSL via Logbook of the World and F5JYD. Now the contest news Today, the 26th, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The RSGB IOTA Contest started at 1200UTC on Saturday the 25th and ends at 1200UTC today, Sunday the 26th of July. Using CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report, serial number and IOTA reference. Tomorrow, the 27th, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. On Tuesday the 28th, the RSGB SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 1st of August, the EU HF Championship runs from 1200 to 2359UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and the last two digits of the first year you were licensed. Also, on Saturday the 1st of August, the RSGB 4th 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1400 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and your two-letter postcode. Also, on Saturday the 1st of August, the RSGB 144MHz Low Power Contest runs from 1400 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and your two-letter postcode. On Sunday the 2nd of August, the RSGB 432MHz Lower Power Contest runs from 0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and your two-letter postcode. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon started on the 2nd of May and ends on Sunday the 2nd of August. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is your four-character locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 23rd of July 2026 We said last week that there were no coronal holes to worry about. Yet two days later a massive crack appeared on the Sun, stretching over one million kilometres. Luckily, this didn’t amount to much and it had little effect on HF propagation, but it does go to show that solar events can rapidly develop and that long-term forecasts can be tricky. The solar flux index has increased over the past week, and was sitting at 150 as this report was being written. As we suggested earlier, geomagnetic conditions have been quiet with the Kp index generally below 3.5, which bodes well for HF. Solar conditions have been good with only four M-class solar flares and no X-class events. Any coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, have been directed away from Earth. We are still in the summer doldrums, so D-layer absorption remains high and maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs, are generally lower than in the autumn and winter. However, we have the IOTA contest this weekend, which is a great opportunity to work some far-flung DX. So why not dust off your radio and get on the air? With mainland Great Britain being an island, you might find you are in demand as EU-005! Other DX to be worked this week includes RI0BW, the Arctic Legends IOTA DXpedition; 3B9HR from Rodrigues Island; PJ7/LA5IIA on St Maarten; TY5FR from Benin; E51CZZ and E51KEE on the Cook Islands; VU4R from the Andaman Islands; and VP5G operating from Turks and Caicos. In the coming week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may fall back to 125 at first, and then down to around 108. Luckily, the Kp index is predicted to remain low, with a predicted Kp of 2, at least until the end of the month. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO There have been good examples of both tropo and Sporadic-E in the last week and there are reasons to continue with some optimism for the coming week. This is still a good period for summer tropo. However, remember that hot days are the enemy of tropo over land and it tends to be sea paths that survive throughout the day, whereas land stations have to make the best of nighttime operations. That said, the main change in the weather pattern this coming week will be that the high pressure, which has been over the Atlantic just west of Britain, shifts into the continent and eventually out of reach by the end of next week. So, the message is to get into the tropo while it's here and use the latter part of the week for perhaps meteor scatter, with the Delta Aquarids peaking in the coming week. There is reserved optimism for this since it’s primarily a southern hemisphere event. Rain scatter has been very hard to find recently but looks like making a comeback as the weather turns more unsettled with sequences of fronts crossing the country. Maybe only patchy weak fronts, but still worth considering. The summer aurora prospects are staying on the marginal side but watch out for Kp index values creeping above 5 before turning your beams north. Sporadic-E, which is rolling along in main summer season fashion, has been very good lately and was producing a full set of bands, up to 2m, last Thursday the 23rd of July. As the weather turns a bit more unsettled, this could help with Sporadic-E. This could happen if the fronts move into the continent and weak jet streams, and possibly thundery cold fronts, create turbulence at the right sort of range over Europe. This will probably favour paths to Scandinavia and to the Balkans. For EME operators, Moon declination reaches minimum today, the 26th, so Moon window lengths and peak Moon elevation are at their lowest value. With apogee yesterday, the 25th, path losses will decrease as the week progresses. 144MHz sky noise is high to start the week, peaking at over 2800 Kelvin today, the 26th, before slowly decreasing in the coming week. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #505
    July 10 · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for July 12th 2026.

    GB2RS News Sunday the 12th of July 2026 The news headlines: Upcoming IARU Region 1 Conference WRTC 2026 is supported by the RSGB Have you enabled RSGB app notifications on your mobile device? The IARU Region 1 Conference is held every three years. The next one will be in September 2026 and will be hosted by the Austrian member society ÖVSV, which is also celebrating its centenary. Reports and proposals on a wide range of amateur radio topics are available from the conference website at conf.iaru-r1.org/documents The scope includes the more regular topics such as band plans, spectrum matters, EMC and youth. This particular event will also consider updates for amateur radio development, operating and organisational matters. The RSGB has contributed several inputs. More about the event will be shared via the Society’s comms channels and a future edition of RadCom. This year’s World Radiosport Team Championship is taking place in East Anglia in the UK between the 8th and 13th of July. The RSGB is an official partner to the event and representatives from the Society have been on site throughout the week. The team has been supporting various activities including media liaison to raise awareness for WRTC 2026, the RSGB and amateur radio as a whole. You can see coverage of the event in a range of radio and online outlets including BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC News Online, Shropshire Live and the East Anglia Gazette. Links to the coverage are available on the RSGB website. Volunteers at the RSGB National Radio Centre have been busy welcoming competitors, referees, and supporters of WRTC to the Centre, with some enjoying time operating the GB3RS station. Keep up to date with more WRTC news, including the winners of the Championship, by visiting wrtc2026.org Remember to enable RSGB app notifications on your mobile device to be the first to hear when the Society releases the latest edition of RadCom and its sister publications. You’ll also be notified when new editions are added to the collection of back issues. For iOS devices, go to Settings then tap Apps. Locate the RSGB app in the list, and toggle to allow notifications. For Android devices, go to Settings, navigate to Notifications and then tap on App notifications. Locate the RSGB app in the list and toggle to allow notifications. If you haven’t yet downloaded the RSGB app, get the links by going to rsgb.org/radcom RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB visited the RSGB National Radio Centre earlier this month. Steve was on site to deliver two awards to volunteers including the Norman Keith Adams prize and another for outstanding services to the Centre. The RSGB National Radio Centre Coordinator Martyn Baker, G0GMB is currently looking for friendly and enthusiastic radio amateurs to join this successful team. If you are able to volunteer a minimum of one, or preferably two, days per month, find out more about the role by visiting rsgb.org/volunteers Don’t forget to listen out for all of the stations that will be on the air today, the 12th, during the 145 Alive event. From 1100 to 1400UTC, many hundreds of operators will be on the air using 145MHz FM and 144MHz SSB. For more information, go to the 145 Alive Facebook page or email 145aliveuk@gmail.com Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 12th, McMichael Radio and Electronics Rally is taking place at White Waltham Airfield, Maidenhead, SL6 3LW. The doors are open from 8am for traders and to the public from 9am. The entry fee for visitors is £4 per person. More details are available at mcmichaelrally.org.uk On Sunday the 19th, Lincoln Short Wave Club Summer Radio Rally will take place at The Festival Hall, Caistor Road, Market Rasen, LN8 3HT. The doors open at 10am and admission costs £3. This in an indoor event and ample free car parking will be available. For more information email m5zzz@outlook.com Amateur radio will feature at the Electromagnetic Field EMF 2026 event taking place from the 16th to the 19th of July at Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Eastnor, Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 1EN. AMSAT-UK, the British Amateur Television Club and the UK Microwave Group are teaming up to showcase satellite communications, amateur television and microwave radio experimentation. Throughout the weekend, they plan to demonstrate how radio amateurs communicate via satellites in both low-earth orbit and geostationary orbit, including contacts and digital amateur television via the QO-100 satellite. They also hope to demonstrate microwave operating techniques and experimental radio systems used on the higher amateur bands. Visitors can see live satellite ground-station setups, microwave equipment, an amateur television demonstration and learn how hobbyists build and operate space-related radio technology. Special event callsign GB26EMF will also be active on site. If you are attending the event, drop by to explore satellites, video over radio and the microwave spectrum. More details are available at amsat-uk.org Now the Special Event news To mark the centenary of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters, special callsign ZL100C is on the air until Thursday the 6th of August. QSL via the Bureau and Logbook of the World. Special callsign DL0SOP is active until the 31st of July for the 68th edition of the Sea of Peace Award. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, Logbook of the World and eQSL. More information, including the rules and how to apply for an award, is available at dl0sop.darc.de Now the DX news Emil, DL8JJ is active as OX/DL8JJ/P from Greenland until Tuesday the 14th of July. He is operating CW from the main island, NA-018, as well as from Tasiilaq, NA-151. Aldir, PY1SAD is active as 8R1TM from Guyana until Sunday the 26th of July. He operates using CW, digital modes and SSB on the 160 to 6m bands as well as via satellite. QSL via Logbook of the World, eQSL, QRZ.com or directly to Aldir’s home call. Now the contest news Today, the 12th, the UK Microwave Group 24, 47 and 76GHz Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 24 to 76GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The GR2HQ Challenge and IARU HF Championship started at 1200UTC yesterday, the 11th, and ends at 1200UTC today, Sunday the 12th of July. Using CW and SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and ITU Zone. The UK is in Zone 27. On Tuesday the 14th of July, the RSGB 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday the 14th of July, the RSGB 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 15th of July, the RSGB 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday the 16th of July, the RSGB 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 18th of July, the RSGB 70MHz Trophy Contest runs from 1400 to 2000UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and your two-letter postcode. On Sunday the 19th, the RSGB International Low Power Contest runs from 0900 to 1600UTC. Using CW on the 80, 40 and 20m bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and transmitter power. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 9th of July 2026. We have had another week of mixed HF propagation. We started with a Kp index of 6.33 on Saturday the 4th of July which was caused by a coronal mass ejection, or CME. This caused a strong G3 geomagnetic storm and auroral conditions. A check on the bands on the 4th of July showed poor HF propagation with lower maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs, and weak and watery signals from the NCDXF beacons on 14.100MHz. But conditions have since improved and we had a Kp index of less than 3 over the past few days which means the ionosphere has returned to normal. Meanwhile, the solar flux index declined from a high of 203 on Thursday the 2nd of July to a low of 116 on Wednesday the 8th of July. That’s quite a change and means that HF propagation has declined somewhat. An Earth-facing coronal hole has now passed with few effects and currently there is nothing of significance rotating into view. Solar flare activity has also declined with only two M-class flares over the past three days. So, the big question is: what happens next? Active region 4482 on the Sun continues to be a major threat. A solar flare and accompanying CME could soon ruin our chances of good HF conditions. The declining solar flux index hasn’t helped either. Again, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be in the 120 to 145 range over the coming week with a Kp index of 2 to 3. So, good news overall. DX to be worked this week includes D73G on Ch’ongsan Island; T22TT from Tuvalu; TY5FR in Benin; RT9K, the Arctic Legends IOTA DXpedition; JK1HFB/JD1 in Ogasawara, OX3LX from Greenland; and VP5G operating from Turks and Caicos. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The weather is becoming a talking point in terms of the heatwave developing over much of the country, but especially in the south. This has propagation implications too. It's all being driven by a large area of high pressure, which for much of the coming week resides to the north and west of the British Isles. This will give a north-easterly breeze over the south-eastern half of the UK which means it will be blowing in from the North Sea, possibly with areas of low cloud at times. The propagation implication is that this represents almost ideal tropo potential. This is especially the case when the low cloud moves inland and we find a marked contrast between the hot dry air above the inversion and the cool, moist and shallow cloud layer below. However, in high summer the daytime heating over the land degrades the lift during the morning as the temperature inversion gets broken down by the strong sunshine. Northern areas will see the occasional weakening front clip the northwestern fringes of the UK to offer up the only rain scatter prospects available at first. However, some models are starting to suggest a breakdown by the end of the week, so more rain scatter and an end to the tropo. The prospects for aurora depend upon the Kp index, which at the moment is mostly cycling between 1 and 3. This is not anything to generate radio interest, for which a Kp index of 7 is nearer the mark. Meteor showers are still in the random state with the next shower, the Delta Aquarids, coming late in the month. The Sporadic-E season is doing well this year, particularly for digital modes. There have also been events for CW and SSB up to 2m at times. However, not all parts of the country experience an opening, so watch the clusters for early notice of workable paths. EME now, and declination reaches maximum today, the 12th, so Moon window lengths will peak along with maximum Moon elevation. Path losses are still falling, until perigee tomorrow, the 13th. 144MHz sky noise is moderate until Tuesday the 14th when the Sun and Moon are close in the sky, then low for the rest of the week. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #504
    July 3 · 16 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for July 5th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 5th of July 2026 The news headlines: Don’t miss the WRTC award opportunities New EMC workshop added to the RSGB Convention programme The RSGB has announced a new Legacy Committee Chair The World Radiosport Team Championship is nearly here! Fifty teams from around the world will come to the UK to compete in the prestigious event, and you have an opportunity to work these special stations and apply for your award. The WRTC contest will be live on a dedicated online platform provided by World Radio League. This is a live scoreboard where you can track your favourite team in real time. Also, when you contact one of the special WRTC stations, you can see it on the WRL platform. If you’re an SSB operator, there are 250 possible QSOs across 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m. Similarly, there are 250 possible QSOs if you are a CW operator. Certificates will be downloadable after the contest, and these will display your total number of QSOs made with the special callsigns. There are different award tiers depending on how many you contact. For full details go to wrtc2026.org and under the competition tab on the righthand side of the page you will see the Awards section. If you want practical advice on identifying the source, and mitigating the effects of, Radio Frequency Interference, the Society’s ‘Finding RFI workshop’ is for you. Part tutorial, part hands-on workshop, the session is an opportunity for RSGB members to learn from RFI experts within the RSGB EMC Committee. Running on Friday the 9th of October at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre in Milton Keynes, the morning will cover sources and effects of RFI with examples of radiated and conducted emissions. In the afternoon, you’ll be exploring radiated emissions by constructing a small loop antenna. Attendees will also see how to use SDR to identify signals and measure their strength. SDR hardware will kindly be provided by SDRplay. You will also be able to seek advice on any RFI problems you may have. You are welcome to join this workshop even if you are not attending the rest of the RSGB 2026 Convention. To find out more and secure your spot visit rsgb.org/convention-workshops The RSGB Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Nuttall, M5BAN as the new Chair of the RSGB Legacy Committee. Brian already has experience of the Legacy Committee having been a member for the last three years. He has been licensed since 2007 and brings extensive amateur radio experience to the role. The RSGB Honorary Treasurer Chris Wood, GD6TWF is the Board Liaison for the Legacy Committee. Chris says that he is looking forward to working with Brian to develop the role of the Legacy Committee and how it operates. You can find out more about the work of the Committee by going to rsgb.org/legacy The RSGB Youth Committee Chair, Chris Aitken, MM0WIC has announced that two new Youth Champions have joined the Committee. Angus Dare, M7NZM is the new Youth Champion for Cadets, whilst Katelyn How, M9KFH is the Youth Champion for Guides. Each has a good level of experience in leading in their respective fields and the Youth Committee is looking forward to seeing youth engagement progress in both areas. Sam McCutchion, M0UEL will continue as the Youth Champion for Scouts. You can contact each of the Champions via the email addresses shown at rsgb.org/youth RSGB representatives attended the Ham Radio exhibition in Friedrichshafen last week. They used the opportunity to talk to the wider amateur radio community, liaise with international colleagues and raise awareness and support for the Society and amateur radio in the UK. The team was delighted by the positive response to the RSGB app and international membership and were happy to welcome new members from around the world. GB2RS Newsreader Esther, GI0AZA also attended the event and read the Society’s weekly broadcast from Germany. Look out for a fuller report on Friedrichshafen in the August issue of RadCom. The RSGB Board would like to thank Andy Talbot, G4JNT for serving as the Chair of the RSGB Technical Forum for 14 years. Andy has recently stepped down from that role and the post will be advertised through RSGB communications channels shortly. The RSGB is pleased that Andy will continue to contribute to the work of the Society through his role as a RadCom technical author. The next in the popular 145 Alive series of events takes place on Sunday the 12th of July from 1100 to 1400UTC. Many hundreds of operators are expected to be on the air using 145MHz FM and 144MHz SSB. For more information, go to the 145 Alive Facebook page or email 145aliveuk@gmail.com Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Barford Norfolk Radio Rally is taking place today, Sunday the 5th, at Barford Village Hall and Green, Barford, Norwich, NR9 4AB. The doors open at 9am for visitors. The event features trade stands, car boot sales, bring and buy, a charity raffle, repeater groups, catering and free car parking. Entry costs £3 per person but under 16s will be admitted free of charge. For more details visit tinyurl.com/Barford2026 or email David, G7URP at radio@dcpmicro.com Today, Sunday the 5th, The Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day from 11am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information visit becg.org.uk/events Also today, Sunday the 5th, Newbury Radio Rally is taking place at Newbury Showground, RG18 9QZ. The entrance fee for visitors is £4 per person but there is no charge for under 16s. Free parking is available on site. For more information visit nadars.org.uk/rally.asp On Saturday the 11th of July, the Humber Fortress DX Amateur Radio Club Radio Rally will take place at Welwick Village Hall, Northfield Lane, HU12 0SH. The doors open at 10am and entrance costs £3.50 per visitor. Under-14s will be admitted free of charge. For more information or to book a table, email rally@hfdxarc.com Now the Special Event news Amateur radio operators across the USA, Canada and Mexico are activating a series of special callsigns to celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Stations are active until the 19th of July from each of the cities hosting the tournament. Look out for activity on all bands and modes. For more information visit wc2026ses.org Members of Swissair Radio Amateur Club, HB9VC are active as HB200LF until the 31st of July. The special callsign is in operation to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Favre. In 1872 the Swiss engineer built the first Gotthard railway tunnel – the longest railway tunnel in the world at that time. See QRZ.com for details of a certificate that is available for working the station. QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World and Club Log. Now the DX news Franco, IZ5IUY is active as IL7/IZ5IUY from San Domino Island, EU-050, until the 9th of July. He is operating using SSB on the 40 to 6m bands, as well as on the 2m and 70cm bands. QSL via Franco’s home call is preferred. Pierre, VK3KTB is active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Amateur Radio Club station on Ellesmere Island, NA-008, until Wednesday the 22nd of July. He operates CW, FT8 and SSB on various bands. QSL via Logbook of the World and OQRS. Now the contest news RSGB VHF National Field Day and the RSGB VHF Fixed Station Contest started at 1400UTC yesterday, the 4th, and run until 1400UTC today, Sunday the 5th of July. Using all modes on the 6m, 4m, 2m, 70cm and 23cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, today, Sunday the 5th of July, the RSGB 3rd 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Tomorrow, the 6th, the RSGB 80m CW Club Championship Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 7th, the RSGB 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 7th, the RSGB 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 8th of July, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 8th of July, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday the 9th, the RSGB 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 GR2HQ Challenge and IARU HF Championship start at 1200UTC on Saturday the 11th and ends at 1200UTC on Sunday the 12th of July. Using CW and SSB on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and ITU Zone. The UK is in Zone 27. On Sunday the 12th, the UK Microwave Group 24, 47 and 76GHz Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 24 to 76GHz 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 July 2026 Last week we warned you about some large sunspots about to turn into view. It turns out that regions 4478 and 4479 were even bigger than we thought! The result was that the solar flux index climbed into the low 200s, but we also had solar flares and coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, to contend with. As well as one X-class flare, the strongest, we also had 13 M-class flares. The X-class event inevitably led to a CME which could potentially affect the ionosphere today, the 5th. Expect the Kp index to rise with a corresponding fall in the maximum useable frequency, should the Bz swing south. Note that the solar wind speed has been at more than 400 kilometres per second for a few days, but so far its north-facing Bz field has saved us from more HF disruption. Daytime maximum useable frequencies have been peaking to around 21 to 22MHz, but blanketing Sporadic-E is often preventing signals from reaching the higher F2 layer. DX to be worked this week includes TJ1GD/P on Mondoleh Island; FO/F6BCW from French Polynesia; JD1BQP in Ogasawara; OX/DL8JJ in Greenland; TY5FR from Benin; FP/KV1J from St Pierre and Miquelon; FS/F4EQE in Saint Martin; and RT9K, the Arctic Legends IOTA DXpedition. This weekend also features the Marconi Memorial HF Contest; the Original QRP Contest; the PODXS 070 Club 40m Firecracker Sprint; and the FOC Old School Classic 1960s QSO Party. So, there's plenty to get your teeth into. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may decline to be in the 140 to 175 range. The Kp index is forecast to be unsettled on Wednesday the 8th and Thursday the 9th of July, perhaps hitting 4. Otherwise, it should be around 2. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The bulk of the coming week will see high pressure centred to the southwest of the British Isles with a broad north-westerly wind across the UK. This will mean that tropo will remain a feature, especially for southwestern areas up the Irish Sea and down across Biscay to Spain, the Azores and Canaries. The presence of a weak frontal zone running southeast across the UK will provide some occasional patchy rain which is not particularly good for rain scatter. We're not expecting too strong a showing for aurora either. However, look out for a Kp index greater than 5, if that’s your interest. There are no significant meteor showers at the moment so random activity favouring the early dawn period will probably be the best chance for QSOs. Sporadic-E has been outstanding recently, especially on digital modes, with long openings up to 144MHz. We are still very much in the main part of the season. The distribution of the jet streams during the coming week still appears to favour Scandinavia and the Baltic paths for Sporadic-E, but with possible extensions into the Balkans as the jet stream digs south. The coming period will continue to provide Sporadic-E and tropo on the same day but, due to different causes, should be separable by the direction of the opening. Tropo events will usually be longer in duration, whereas Sporadic-E is more fleeting. Remember, on a busy day, not all VHF DX will be the result of Sporadic-E and you could be dealing with a hybrid Sporadic-E and tropo day. EME now, and declination is rising, going positive tomorrow, the 6th, so Moon window lengths increase. Path losses are falling, but perigee, the Moon’s closest point to Earth, is still over a week away on Monday the 13th of July. 144MHz sky noise is low all week. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #503
    June 24 · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for June 28th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 28th of June 2026 The news headlines: Join Tonight@8 in July to learn about this summer’s solar eclipse and how you can take part New speakers confirmed for the RSGB 2026 Convention Send your nominations for the RSGB G5RP Trophy Did you know that a solar eclipse will be visible in the UK this Summer? It will be a total eclipse for areas west of the UK and at its maximum there will be about 90% totality. This lends itself to unique opportunities for HF propagation experiments, and you can get involved! In a special Tonight@8 on Monday the 6th of July, RSGB Propagation Studies Committee Chair Steve Nichols, G0KYA will explain how the Committee has been drawing up plans for RSGB members to participate. These include experiments with monitoring medium wave stations in the UK, Morocco and Algeria. An 80m CW contest is also being arranged and other radio amateurs are being encouraged to run WSPR on 80m during the eclipse. During the webinar, Steve will outline what you can expect and why, as well as how you can take part. You can join the webinar and ask questions live via the RSGB’s YouTube channel or special BATC channel. You can view the latest Tonight@8 programme by visiting rsgb.org/webinars Are you up to date on the latest developments in the Microwave community? Or perhaps you’d like to learn about Low Earth Orbiting satellites? Maybe you’d like to improve your knowledge on the pioneering women of British amateur radio? Or are you interested in understanding your SDR through IQ visualisation? These are all topics that the RSGB is excited to have on the programme for its upcoming Convention between the 9th and 11th of October 2026. You can see the full speaker list by going to rsgb.org/convention and selecting ‘RSGB 2026 Convention – speakers’ from the righthand menu. The Society has confirmed that it has frozen ticket prices, and you can buy this year’s ticket at last year’s price! This means you can make the most of the early-bird pricing and buy your weekend ticket for just £49. Buy your ticket now and enjoy a weekend of learning, inspiration and making connections. The RSGB G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF DXing. The award 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 2026, 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 substantial HF DXpedition activity. Please send your nominations to RSGB HF Manager Ian Greenshields, G4FSU via hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for nominations is Friday the 11th of September 2026. Are you studying for your Foundation or Intermediate level exam? Did you know that the RSGB recently released three new mock exams for each level? The new papers take into account all the changes to the syllabus and exam question bank that have been made since the last sets of mock exam papers were published. Make sure you are using these latest versions for your revision by going to rsgb.org/mock-exams The famous Grimeton Radio Station will be on the air on Sunday the 5th of July. The unique Alexanderson alternator, with the callsign SAQ, is scheduled for two transmissions on 17.2kHz using CW. At 0830UTC, the alternator will be started up and at 0900UTC the first transmission will take place. A second transmission is scheduled for 1300UTC. You can read more about the event and the historic transmitter at alexander.n.se And finally, don’t forget to listen out for all the amateur stations that will be on the air for International Museums on the Air today, the 28th of June. For more information about the event visit tinyurl.com/imota2026 Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 28th, the Cornish Radio Amateur Club Rally is taking place at Penair School in Truro. The doors open at 10.15am and admission costs £3. Traders, bring and buy and refreshments are available on site. For more information email janluke1954@hotmail.co.uk Barford Norfolk Radio Rally will take place on Sunday the 5th of July at Barford Village Hall and Green, Barford, Norwich, NR9 4AB. The doors open at 9am for visitors. The event features trade stands, car boot sales, bring and buy, a charity raffle, repeater groups, catering and free car parking. Entry costs £3 per person but under 16s will be admitted free of charge. For more details visit tinyurl.com/Barford2026 or email David, G7URP at radio@dcpmicro.com The Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day on Sunday the 5th of July, from 11am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information visit becg.org.uk/events Also on Sunday the 5th of July, Newbury Radio Rally will be taking place at Newbury Showground, RG18 9QZ. The entrance fee for visitors is £4 per person but there is no charge for under 16s. Free parking is available on site. For more information visit nadars.org.uk/rally.asp Now the Special Event news Special callsign DQ40CNP is in use until the 11th of July to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. The station has been worked recently on the HF bands using FT8. QSL via DL1EAL. QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, eQSL, the DARC Community Logbook, QRZ.com and Club Log. Amateur radio operators across the USA, Canada and Mexico are activating a series of special callsigns to celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Stations are active until the 19th of July from each of the cities hosting the tournament. Look out for activity on all bands and modes. For more information visit wc2026ses.org Now the DX news Chas, NK8O is active as 5H3DX from Tanzania until Thursday the 2nd of July. He operates using CW, FT4 and FT8 on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World or directly to NK8O. Darek, TJ1GD is active from Mondoleh Island in Cameroon, AF-095, until Wednesday the 15th of July. See QRZ.com for QSL instructions. Now the contest news Today, the 28th, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, the 28th, the RSGB 50MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using CW on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 1st of July, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 1st of July, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. RSGB VHF National Field Day and the RSGB VHF Fixed Station Contest start at 1400UTC on Saturday the 4th and run until 1400UTC on Sunday the 5th of July. Using all modes on the 6m, 4m, 2m, 70cm and 23cm bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Sunday the 5th of July, the RSGB 3rd 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Tuesday the 23rd of June 2026. Things have been quiet on the solar front but that may be about to change. The solar flux index has been sitting around the low 120s for a few days and the geomagnetic Kp index has been below 2. Other than a couple of M-class solar flares, activity has been rather quiet. One of the flares was the source of a faint, easterly-directed coronal mass ejection, or CME, with no Earth-directed component. But there are a number of solar features that could change all that. Firstly, a coronal hole on the Sun’s surface became geoeffective on Wednesday the 24th meaning a solar wind stream could impact the Earth. Expect the Kp index to rise, perhaps to 4 as a result, and maximum useable frequencies to drop. Hopefully today, the 28th, this will clear. Meanwhile, a large sunspot group is due to appear from around the Sun’s eastern limb. The cluster as observed by the ESA solar orbiter spacecraft shows arch-like structures known as coronal loops seen towering over the east limb. Quite what this will do for HF propagation is hard to say so keep an eye on solarham.com for updates. DX to be worked next week includes FP/KV1J from St Pierre and Miquelon; JD1BQP from Ogasawara; 5H3DX in Tanzania; CN2NQV from Morocco; FO/F6BCW in French Polynesia; and PJ2/PH2M operating from Curacao HF conditions have been relatively poor with many stations complaining that there is not much activity. A quick check revealed little action on 21MHz and higher, other than Sporadic-E openings. So, it looks like 14 and 18MHz are the main DX bands at the moment. NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may increase to 145 by Wednesday the 1st of July. Once we get over the effects of the coronal hole’s high-speed solar wind stream the Kp index is predicted to go back down to 2. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The typical high summer patterns of jet streams take a step back in mid-summer. However, any that do crop up can give plenty of value for Sporadic-E since the ionosphere is well primed by meteor debris from the June Bootids. Multi-hop Sporadic-E paths to the US and Far East are likely to be a surprise at times, often short-lasting for individual stations, but overall it is a good time of the season to be optimistic. It can be a challenge at this time of year since tropo is also a strong player due to the hot air from the land moving out across the cooler sea water around the UK. This provides ideal duct conditions that persist over the waters throughout the day but may struggle for stations well inland. It can also cause confusion as to whether you are working Sporadic-E or tropo on occasions. If it is tropo, it will be much longer lasting and particularly good overnight on the high bands. If the path works on the 70cm band it is probably tropo. Meteor scatter is best around the random period maximum, which is just around dawn. Rain scatter is a good option. Watch for lightning activity as a clue for intense precipitation. If you are fed up with all that, the long-shot option might be aurora, but that is relatively rare in high summer and not visible easily. EME now, and path losses are high as the Moon is near apogee, its furthest point from Earth. Declination is also at a minimum. Sky noise is currently high but will improve as the week goes on. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #502
    June 19 · 15 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for June 21st 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 21st of June 2026 The news headlines: The RSGB QSL Bureau issues final notice on the use of the old address The RSGB Intruder Watch team is looking for volunteers Join the RSGB in commemorating the closure of BBC Radio 4’s Long Wave service on 198kHz The RSGB QSL Bureau has issued a final notice to those still using the old QSL Bureau address. A new system was introduced in January 2026 and users of the Bureau were advised that all outgoing QSL cards now need to be sent to RSGB QSL Bureau, PO Box 73, 20 St. Loyes Street, Bedford, MK40 1ZL. Anything sent to the old address from Wednesday the 1st of July 2026 will either be returned by Royal Mail, where the address is known, or otherwise is likely to be lost or destroyed. Details of the new RSGB QSL Service can be found at rsgb.org/qsl The RSGB would also like to remind amateurs with G7 callsigns that the new sub-manager is Anthony Holles, G4AAV. Anthony has many cards waiting to be sent but has received very few stamped addressed envelopes, so please make contact with him if you wish to receive your cards. Contact details for all sub-managers can be found by selecting ‘List of QSL sub-managers’ from the right-hand menu on the QSL Bureau web pages. The RSGB Monitoring System, more popularly known as Intruder Watch, is a service that monitors the primary amateur service allocations. The team reports any unauthorised transmissions to the IARU Intruder Watch team and, where appropriate, Ofcom. The RSGB Intruder Watch Coordinator Ian Suart, GM4AUP is looking for volunteers to assist the team with this important service. You would monitor the amateur allocations as required and pass any concerns to Ian. If you’d like to find out more, contact Ian at iw@rsgb.org.uk The RSGB, together with the BBC Amateur Radio Group, will be marking the closure of BBC Radio 4’s Long Wave service on 198kHz. The Long Wave transmitting stations at Droitwich in Worcestershire, Westerglen near Stirling in Scotland and Burghead overlooking the Moray Firth also in Scotland, will all be closed down on Saturday the 27th of June 2026. The special event station GB1500M will be active from today, Sunday the 21st, until Sunday the 28th of June. Three radio clubs will also be commemorating the closure by activating special callsigns. A commemorative QSL card is available. You can find out more by going to rsgb.org/longwave-transmitters You can also find out how to become a GB1500M activator using the same link. Ham Radio 2026 takes place in Friedrichshafen this week from the 26th to the 28th of June. For the first time ever, the event will bring together amateur radio and astronomy in a single platform as the Astro trade fair will take place alongside the Ham Radio exhibition. The opening event will provide information on current developments in amateur radio and the many connections between radio technology and astronomy, which are central to this year’s trade show focus. RSGB President Bob Beebe, GU4YOX is one of the guest speakers at the opening event. He will speak about the collaboration between DARC and the RSGB in providing an updated QSL Bureau Service for RSGB members – an innovative project that brings amateur radio together across borders. If you’re going to Friedrichshafen this year, why not come along to the RSGB stand and say hello – the team would love to see you! International Women in Engineering Day is on Tuesday the 23rd of June and has the theme of Engineering Intelligence. The day is an opportunity to recognise the women engineers who solve complex challenges and help drive change. STEM subjects, which include engineering, can be an effective way for the RSGB to introduce amateur radio to new audiences and young people. The RSGB has supported this day over a number of years and has interviewed women to find out how amateur radio has helped them in their STEM careers. You can read these profiles by going to rsgb.org/inwed The RSGB Youth Committee has announced that a fourth person will be joining the RSGB team at this year’s YOTA Summer Camp in Austria. Henry, M0KUQ is an active radio amateur and was recently involved in re-forming the Imperial College London Wireless Society, of which he is President. You can find out more about Henry, as well as the rest of the team, by going to rsgb.org/yota-camp and selecting YOTA Austria 2026 from the right-hand menu. And finally, don’t forget to listen out for all the amateur stations that will be on the air for International Museums on the Air today, the 21st of June. For more information about the event visit tinyurl.com/imota2026 Please note that the submission deadline for the GB2RS News on Sunday the 28th of June is earlier than usual. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk by 12pm on Tuesday the 23rd of June. And now for details of rallies and events Today, the 21st of June, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival, also known as the Ipswich Radio Rally, will be held at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW. The doors open at 9.30am and the entry fee for visitors is £3. More details are available at eswr.org.uk On Sunday the 28th of June, the Cornish Radio Amateur Club Rally will take place at Penair School in Truro. The doors open at 10.15am and admission costs £3. Traders, bring and buy and refreshments will be available on site. For bookings contact James on 01209 716 351 or email janluke1954@hotmail.co.uk Now the Special Event news Herts and Essex Amateur Radio Society will be active with the callsign GB0MHF during International Museums on the Air on Saturday the 27th and Sunday the 28th of June. Operators at Much Hadham Forge will be waiting to take your call on 40m SSB and 2m FM. See QRZ.com for more information. Special callsign YR100RC is on the air until the 30th of September to celebrate 100 years of amateur radio activity in Romania. Look for activity on the HF bands using a variety of modes. For details of a certificate that is available for working the station, visit tinyurl.com/romania1786 Marking the 70th anniversary of the DARC's weekly news broadcast, special callsign DB70DLRS will be on the air until the 31st of December. Look for activity on all bands and modes. QSL via DK5ON, Logbook of the World and the DARC Community Logbook. More information is available at QRZ.com Now the DX news Olafur, TF1OL is active as D4OL from Boa Vista Island, AF-086, in Cape Verde until tomorrow, the 22nd. Look for activity using FT8 and FT4 on the 80 to 6m bands. QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World and QRZ.com Chas, NK8O is operating as 5H3DX from Tanzania until Thursday the 2nd of July. He is active using CW, FT8 and FT4 on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World or directly to NK8O. Now the contest news Today, the 21st of June, the Worked All Britain 50MHz Phone Contest runs from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using SSB on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain square. The All Asian DX Contest started at 0000UTC yesterday, the 20th, and ends at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 21st of June. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and your age. The RSGB 50MHz Trophy Contest started at 1400UTC yesterday, the 20th, and ends at 1400UTC today, Sunday the 21st of June. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 23rd of June, the RSGB SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday the 25th of June, the RSGB 80m SSB Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Sunday the 28th, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on, Sunday the 28th of June, the RSGB 50MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using CW on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 18th of June 2026. We had a quiet week geomagnetically, but the solar flux has also declined. Over the past week, the Kp index never rose above 2 or 3, with only one three-hour excursion to 5 on Thursday the 11th of June. This bodes well for HF propagation, but the solar flux index has declined from its recent high of 148 on Thursday the 4th of June to be in the 110 to 120 range over the past week. As a result, the Sun is looking a little sparse when it comes to sunspots. This, coupled with the summer doldrums, has seen maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs, drop and DX has been limited to 21MHz and below. The 10m band has been mainly open to Sporadic-E, with some multi-hop openings giving the appearance of F2-region propagation at times. DX to be worked over the coming week includes: D44EC from Cape Verde; PJ2/PH2M from Curacao; 3G0YM on Easter Island; FS/K9EL operating from St Martin; 5R8EC from Madagascar; and OX3LX working from Greenland. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may increase slightly to be in the 130 to 140 range, although this will need some new additional sunspots. Geomagnetic conditions are forecast to be quiet with a maximum Kp index of 2. We may see a slight upturn on Tuesday the 23rd of June, when the Kp index is predicted to rise to 4, mainly due to an enhanced solar wind. To recap, Summer is a time when paradoxically daytime maximum useable frequencies, or MUFs, tend to be lower than in autumn and winter. However, nighttime MUFs can be higher, with the potential for the 30 and 20m bands to be open all night. ARRL Field Day will run from 1800UTC on Saturday the 27th of June to 2100UTC on Sunday the 28th of June. This may be an opportunity to work some US portable stations who will be very pleased to contact you. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The weather models are a bit undecided about how the coming week will evolve. One option is for predominantly high pressure and a chance of some summer tropo, which may persist over the sea, but is limited inland by daytime heating. Tropo operators should focus on nighttime conditions, unless located right on the coasts. The other weather model suggests that low pressure will probably win out over northern areas and occasionally in the south, so rain scatter may be likely and it would need some heavy thundery showers to get the best results. High summer is not the best for aurora. The Kp index ideally needs to be at least above 5 before we can get excited. Meteor scatter operators have been making use of the decaying Arietids from earlier in June. The second shower of interest this month is the June Bootids. The window of activity will be from tomorrow, the 22nd, to Thursday the 2nd of July with the peak on Saturday the 27th of June. The Sporadic-E season is progressing with most days offering something from the 10 and 6m bands within Europe. However, there are limited possibilities on the 2m band. As usual, digital modes will be the first to see results, so use the FT8 paths as a guide for the other modes which should follow as the Sporadic-E intensifies. Multi-hop paths do happen regularly but require beams and a lot of luck for several Sporadic-E patches to align. This means the best policy will be listening at the right time. This is in the morning for the paths to the Far East and in the evening for those to the States and Caribbean. EME now and Moon declination is decreasing again, going negative today, the 21st, with path losses rising now the Moon is past perigee. This means shortening Moon windows and lower peak Moon elevation as the week progresses. 144MHz sky temperature is low, rising to moderate by Friday the 26th of June. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #501
    June 12 · 17 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for June 14th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 14th of June 2026 The news headlines: IARU President announced as the keynote speaker for the RSGB 2026 Convention The RSGB has updated its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy Make use of the RSGB Full question bank Four years ago, IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA shared his thoughts on the changes and challenges to the amateur service and what the future held for amateur radio. On Saturday the 10th of October 2026, Tim will return to the RSGB Convention and in his presentation he will touch on whether the future turned out as expected! Tim is currently serving his fourth term as IARU President and the RSGB is delighted to welcome him back as the keynote speaker. Buy your ticket for the RSGB Convention by going to rsgb.org/convention As well as the keynote, the Society has a speaker programme that will bring radio amateurs a wide-ranging selection of lectures. Whether you are keen to enhance your knowledge on propagation, FT8, or you want to learn more on VHF and above, there is something for everyone. You can keep up to date with the latest speakers by visiting the Convention speaker page. The RSGB Convention takes place between the 9th and 11th of October 2026 at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. The RSGB is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful and accessible amateur radio community in which all individuals can participate fully and safely. It aims not only to prevent discrimination, but to actively remove barriers to participation, promote equity, and create an environment where diversity is valued and inclusion is embedded in all that we do. The Society reviews all its policies regularly and this week it has published an updated Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy. The policy has clearer language to explain the responsibilities of Directors, staff, volunteers, RSGB members and affiliated clubs, as well as participants in RSGB events, training, and programmes. The policy also applies to all RSGB platforms and environments. The Society encourages all members and affiliated clubs to read the policy. You can find it on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/policies The RSGB will review this policy at least annually and monitor its implementation to ensure continuous improvement. In April, the RSGB Exams Team published the entire Full licence exam question bank on the RSGB website. This means that anyone studying for their Full licence has this valuable resource at their fingertips. The interface also allows users to generate their own mock examinations from the question bank. Feedback by radio amateurs has said how useful the resource is and that anyone studying for their exam should take a look. To get started go to rsgb.org/exam-questions The RSGB Examinations Standards Committee has also prepared some FAQs to support the publication of the question bank. You can access these on the Exam FAQs web page. Have you seen the ‘About the RSGB’ playlist on the Society’s YouTube channel? There are nearly 50 videos to choose from including a number of recently released videos with RSGB representatives. You’ll be able watch RSGB Propagation Studies Committee Chair Steve Nichols, G0KYA talk about a range of propagation topics including the best months for propagation and the possible effect of AI on propagation forecasts. If you’d like to learn more about the work of the RSGB EMC Committee, you can watch Committee Chair John Rogers, M0JAV discuss some of the upcoming projects it has planned. You can watch the full playlist by going to youtube.com/thersgb The next Bath Based Distance Learning Full Licence course will run between August and December 2026. The course will include weekly tutorials and work packages via an online classroom as well as access to a remote tutor. Applicants must work through pre-course material and complete a quiz to be eligible for a place. To request full details, and an application form, please email Bath Based Distance Learning’s Team Leader, Steve, G0FUW via g0fuw@bbdl.org.uk If you’re one of the nearly ten thousand HamClock users, please be aware that the original HamClock backend server will stop working sometime in June 2026 following the original developer passing away in January. To continue using HamClock after this date and to keep receiving updates, you must switch the HamClock backend server. To find out more about this and for links to guides for both Raspberry Pi-based HamClocks, or those using an Inovato Quadra, visit hamclockisnotdead.com The replacement open-source HamClock backend server is called ‘OpenHamClock Backend’ and more details can be found at ohb.works Unlike the original, this is completely open source and is run by a team of developers so there is no one particular person responsible. The same team is also providing updates to the HamClock client itself which is now up to version 4.26. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Junction 28 Radio Rally is taking place today, Sunday the 14th of June, at The Post Mill Centre, South Normanton, Derbyshire, DE55 2EJ. The doors open at 10.15am and admission is £4. For more information visit snadarc.com or contact j28rally@snadarc.com Also today, Sunday the 14th, the Mendips Radio Rally is taking place at Farrington Gurney Memorial Hall, Church Lane, Farrington Gurney BS39 6UA. The doors open at 7.30am for traders and at 9.30am for visitors. Entrance costs £3. For more information contact Luke on 07870 168 197 or email luke@mymixradio.co.uk On Wednesday the 17th of June, the Lincoln Short Wave Club Used Equipment Sale will take place at the Village Hall, Aisthorpe, Lincoln, LN1 2SG. Booking in will be open from 6pm and the auction starts at 7pm. On Saturday the 20th of June, Inverness and District Amateur Radio Society GM North Radio Rally will be held at Glachbeg Croft Centre, Allanglach Wood, North Kessock, IV1 3XD. The doors will be open from 10am. For more information email invernessradiosociety@gmail.com Also on Saturday the 20th of June, Rochdale and District Amateur Society Summer Rally will take place at St. Vincent de Paul’s Hall, Norden, Rochdale, OL12 7QR. The doors open at 10am and entry costs £3. For more information call 07587 709 006 or email rally.radars@hotmail.com On Sunday the 21st of June 2026, the East Suffolk Wireless Revival, also known as the Ipswich Radio Rally will be held at Kirton Recreation Ground, Back Road, Kirton IP10 0PW. The doors open at 9.30am and the entry fee for visitors is £3. More details are available at eswr.org.uk Now the Special Event news Special event station GB8GAW will be active from Monday the 22nd of June until Sunday the 12th of July to promote Glaucoma Awareness Week. Look for activity on the HF bands using FT8, FT4 and SSB. Special event station GB1SCW will be on the air on Sunday the 21st of June from the Shoreham by Sea National Coast Watch Station, BN43 5HY. The station will be operated by members of Rustington Amateur Radio Group and Worthing and District Amateur Radio Club to celebrate the work of coastal communities. Activity is expected to be mostly on the 40m band using SSB. See QRZ.com for more information. Members of the Vintage and Military Amateur Radio Society will be at this year’s Military Vehicle Trust Show at Badsey Farm in Evesham. They will be operating special event station GB26WVE from Wednesday the 17th until Tuesday the 23rd of June. Several ex-Military Signals vehicles will be operating on the VHF, UHF and HF bands. The operators are keen to make lots of contacts so if you hear the station give it a call. Now the DX news Paul, MM0ZBH is active as 5Z4/MM0ZBH from Kenya until tomorrow, Monday the 15th of June. He operates using CW, FT8 and SSB. QSL via Logbook of the World and OQRS. Rafal, SQ4O is a member of the 50th Polish Antarctic Expedition to the Henryk Arctowski Station on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, AN-010. He will be working there until October. In his spare time, he is operating as HF0PAS on the HF bands using CW and SSB. Rafal may also be active on the 6m band using FT8. Now the contest news The IARU ATV Contest started at 1200 UTC yesterday, the 13th, and ends at 1800UTC today, Sunday the 14th of June. Using TV on frequencies from 432MHz and up, the exchange is picture quality, serial number, four-digit code and locator. Today, Sunday the 14th of June, the RSGB 2nd 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, Sunday the 14th of June, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP Contest runs from 0900 to 1600 UTC. Using AM, FM, SSB and CW on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. A maximum of 5W of power can be used in this contest. Tomorrow, Monday the 15th of June, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. On Tuesday the 16th of June, the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday the 18th of June, the RSGB 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The RSGB 50MHz Trophy Contest starts at 1400UTC on Saturday the 20th of June and runs until 1400 UTC on Sunday the 21st of June. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The All Asian DX Contest starts at 0000 UTC on Saturday the 20th and ends at 2359 UTC on Sunday the 21st of June. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and your age. On Sunday the 21st of June, the Worked All Britain 50MHz Phone Contest runs from 0800 to 1400 UTC. Using SSB on the 6m 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 11th of June 2026 Last week we warned you about a potential geomagnetic disturbance caused by a triple coronal mass ejection, or CME, from the Sun. As it turned out, the Kp index rose to 6.33 and poor HF conditions ensued, just in time for RSGB National Field Day. Luckily, Sunday the 7th wasn’t quite so bad, but it did show how a Kp index rise can damage HF propagation. A further CME warning has since been cancelled, but we are not out of the woods just yet. A long-duration mid-level C-Flare was observed in the northeast quadrant of the Sun, peaking at just after midnight on Thursday the 11th of June. A CME with a possible Earth-directed component is possible, which could lead to a Kp index rise. Meanwhile, the solar flux index declined to 124 on Thursday the 11th, as predicted, but that’s still enough for some DX potential. Sporadic-E has been providing lots of entertainment, so make the most of it during June, which is one of the best months for Sporadic-E activity. Settled geomagnetic conditions, with a low Kp index, appear to provide the best time for Sporadic-E. DX to be worked this week includes 5Z4/MM0ZBH in Kenya which is active until the 15th of June. The station has been spotted on the 10m band using FT8 and on the 20m band using CW and SSB. PJ2/PH2M is active from Curacao until the 29th of June using mainly FT8 and some SSB. D4OL from Cape Verde is active on FT8 and FT4 until Friday the 22nd of June. Finally, look out for the FS/K9EL station from St Martin which is active until Wednesday the 24th of June. While we are in this period of Summer thunderstorms, a reminder that it may be a good idea to unplug the antennas from your HF radios when not in use. But make sure you do this before any storm approaches! Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will be in the 120 to 130 range. Quiet geomagnetic conditions are forecast all week, with a maximum Kp index of 3. But be aware of CMEs which are not easily predicted. Any solar flare and subsequent CME could upset the apple cart, so keep an eye on solarham.com for up-to-date news. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO There have been some very good Sporadic-E conditions recently. This was particularly true at 50MHz with openings at lunchtime and into the evening towards the USA on Tuesday the 9th and Wednesday the 10th. There was also an opening into Japan during the morning of Thursday the 11th of June. 70MHz has seen openings, mainly to eastern Europe and Spain. Notably we haven’t seen much in the way of 144MHz Sporadic-E yet, but QSOs have been made by a lucky few. All this Sporadic-E activity has probably been aided by the extra long-lived metallic ions from meteors of the daytime Arietids, an important shower in early June. The other ingredient often associated with Sporadic-E is the presence of jet streams, which are very effective at generating turbulence that can propagate up to the E region and aid Sporadic-E formation. The coming week looks to be reasonably set up with jet stream activity. This is probably more relevant for the northern half of Europe so may favour Scandinavia and the Baltic, with the occasional opportunity farther south. As for meteor scatter, there is a gap in the calendar and it's probably a case of relying upon random activity which tends to peak around dawn. Rain scatter may fare better with a chance of showers, especially in northern parts of the country. The solar conditions have recently been at the low end of the scale, with a Kp index between 1 and 3 which is typical of high summer. This also reduces the chances of radio auroras. There will be a period of high pressure today, the 14th, before low pressure returns to northern Britain next week, although the south may stay close to higher pressure. This offers a chance of some tropo conditions. EME now, and Moon declination continues to increase to a maximum tomorrow, the 15th, with path losses falling towards minimum at perigee. 144MHz sky temperature is moderate, becoming high tomorrow, the 15th, with the Sun close to the Moon, before falling back to low again from Wednesday. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #500
    June 5 · 17 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for June 7th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday the 7th of June 2026 The news headlines: Discover how vibe coding can help radio amateurs RSGB Board Director attends ARISS International Conference Trio of RSGB experts added to the RSGB Convention programme RSGB Board Chair, Stewart Bryant, G3YSX, delivered a technical seminar called 'Vibe Coding for radio amateurs' at the Four Days In May Symposium. The event was organised by the QRP ARCI and held before the start of the Dayton Hamvention. You can now enjoy the presentation from the comfort of your own home by watching it online at tinyurl.com/fdim-vibecoding Stewart's presentation demonstrated additional things AI can do to aid radio amateurs. His talk was delivered to a packed audience and was based on the workshops he ran at last year's RSGB Convention and in Blackpool this April. If you are interested in finding out more about how radio amateurs can utilise AI, the RSGB is hosting workshops on the topic at its Convention in October. Find out more at rsgb.org/convention-workshops Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, held its annual conference in London last week. The event was organised by RSGB Representative to ARISS, Ciaran Morgan, M0XTD, and attended by Board Director Patrick Wood, 2E0IFB. On behalf of the RSGB President, Patrick delivered a short welcome at the event opening and attended an RSGB-sponsored evening reception along with other RSGB Board Directors. ARISS International contacts are a fantastic way to demonstrate the place of amateur radio within STEM, and the RSGB continues to support this excellent outreach work. The RSGB was a founding member of the European division of ARISS in the 1990s, along with AMSAT-UK, and is pleased it continues to be such a globally recognised STEM activity. The RSGB has added a trio of experts to its Convention programme. RSGB ETCC member John McCullagh, GI4BWM will deliver a lecture on ETCC, repeaters and new technology, whilst RSGB EMCC Chair Dr John Rogers, M0JAV will be on hand to enhance your knowledge on EMF exclusion zones. You’ll also be able to discover the results of the 12th of August eclipse propagation experiment with RSGB PSC Chair Steve Nichols, G0KYA. These presenters have years of experience in their field and this is your opportunity to learn directly from them. Join them at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes between 9-11 October by securing your ticket at rsgb.org/convention The Region 12 team is looking for a volunteer to become the District Representative for Cambridge. If you live in the area and are passionate about supporting local radio amateurs, then please get in touch with the Regional Representative Brian Woolnough, M5ADQ via rr12@rsgb.org.uk. The role of District Representative varies from attending rallies and making club visits, to supporting individual radio amateurs and responding to queries via email. View the full list of Regional Team vacancies by going to rsgb.org/volunteers After a three-year wait since the last World Radiosport Team Championship in Italy, WRTC 2026 in the UK is nearly upon us. The RSGB is proud to be an official partner of the event and will be highlighting UK participants in its ‘Photo Friday’ feature on social media. Each Friday throughout June, the Society will share an image showing you a different aspect of the Championship, from the UK team to a UK volunteer, a referee, and a member of the WRTC organising committee. Head to the RSGB’s Facebook, Instagram or X pages to see the latest post. You can also read more about WRTC on page 45 of the July edition of RadCom, which will be available from the 17th of June. The Blue Ham Team has been actively monitoring the 60m band over the past weeks. Due to the current propagation conditions, the team has decided to cancel the planned Exercise in June. The next Exercise is planned for October 2026, and updates will be provided closer to the time. For more information visit tinyurl.com/BlueHam26 Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day today, Sunday the 7th of June, from 11 am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information, visit becg.org.uk/events Also today, the 7th of June, Spalding and District Amateur Radio Society’s Annual Radio Rally is taking place at Spalding Rugby and Football Club, Centenary Park, Drain Bank North, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE12 6AF. Free car parking is available, and the entrance fee is £3 per person. Traders, catering and an RSGB stall are on site. For more details, visit sdars.org.uk/spaldingrally On Sunday the 14th of June, the Junction 28 Radio Rally will be held at The Post Mill Centre, South Normanton, Derbyshire, DE55 2EJ. The doors open at 10.15 am and admission is £4. Indoor and outdoor tables are available. For more information and to book tables, visit snadarc.com or contact j28rally@snadarc.com Also on Sunday the 14th of June, the Mendips Radio Rally is taking place at Farrington Gurney Memorial Hall, Church Lane, Farrington Gurney BS39 6UA. Doors open at 7.30 am for traders and at 9.30 am for visitors. Entrance costs £3. For more information and table bookings, contact Luke on 07870 168 197 or email luke@mymixradio.co.uk Now the Special Event news The Ramsbury Amateur Radio DX Group is active as GB1DDAY until tomorrow, the 8th of June, to commemorate the D-Day landings. The station is operating from the decommissioned RAF and USAAF site in Ramsbury, Wiltshire. Activity is on the 80 to 10m bands using CW, FT8 and SSB. Amateur radio operators across the USA, Canada and Mexico are activating a series of special callsigns to celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Stations are active until the 19th of July from each of the cities hosting the tournament. Look out for activity on all bands and modes. For more information, visit wc2026ses.org To mark the 90th anniversary of Akashvani, also known as All India Radio, the state-owned public radio broadcaster in India, VU3YBH will be active as AT90VANI until the 16th of August. The station is operating using FT8 and SSB on the 20, 15, 12 and 10m bands. QSL via the bureau. QSOs will be uploaded to Club Log and Logbook of the World. Now the DX news Mike, VE2XB is active as VY0ZOO from Coral Harbour on Southampton Island, NA-007, until mid-June. He usually operates using CW and SSB on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL directly to Mike’s home call. Mike, 9M2/KM9D is operating from Teluk Kelubi Beach on Rebak Island, AS-058, in West Malaysia. He operates low-power CW on various bands. QSL via Logbook of the World. Now the contest news RSGB National Field Day started at 1500 UTC yesterday, the 6th, and ends at 1500 UTC today, Sunday, the 7th of June. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Contest started at 1300 UTC yesterday, the 6th, and ends at 1300 UTC today, Sunday, the 7th of June. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and member number. The ARRL International Digital Contest started at 1800 UTC yesterday, the 6th, and ends at 2359 UTC today, Sunday, the 7th of June. Using digital modes on the 160 to 6m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your four-character locator. Today, the 7th of June, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0900 to 1400 UTC. Using all modes on 1.3, 2.3 and 3.4GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday, the 9th of June, the RSGB 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday the 9th of June, the RSGB 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 10th of June, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 10th of June, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. Also, on Wednesday, the 10th of June, the RSGB 80m Club Championship CW Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday, the 11th of June, the RSGB 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The IARU ATV Contest starts at 1200 UTC on Saturday, the 13th and ends at 1800 UTC on Sunday, the 14th of June. Using TV on frequencies from 432MHz and up, the exchange is picture quality, serial number, four-digit code and locator. On Sunday, the 14th of June, the RSGB 2nd 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Sunday the 14th of June, the Practical Wireless 2m QRP Contest runs from 0900 to 1600 UTC. Using AM, FM, SSB and CW on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. A maximum of 5W of power can be used in this contest. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday, the 4th of June. We are awaiting the arrival of solar material as a result of three coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, that erupted off the Sun. These were sparked by three solar flares. These, coupled with a high-speed solar wind stream from an Earth-facing coronal hole, threaten to initiate a geomagnetic storm. A strong G3 geomagnetic storm has been predicted, which could push the Kp index up to 6 or 7, and push maximum usable frequencies down, perhaps lasting through the weekend and affecting RSGB National Field Day. Meanwhile, the solar flux index has crept up and stood at 147 on Thursday, the 4th of June. This has meant that the ionosphere has been playing ball, with lots of reports of DX being worked, either through F-region propagation or Sporadic E. The 10m band has been sounding like 20m at times, especially around the FT8 frequency of 28.074MHz. DX to be worked this week includes 5Z4/MM0ZBH in Kenya, 8Q7ML in the Maldives, VJ2L on Lord Howe Island, 5H1KB in Tanzania and 9X5KM operating from Rwanda. We are now heading for midsummer, which means the 20m band may be open 24 hours a day. In general, F-region maximum usable frequencies, or MUFs, will be lower than in the winter or spring. However, Sporadic-E makes up for that with strong signals on the higher HF bands out to 1,500km on a single hop, with occasional multi-hop openings. Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will decline, perhaps into the 120 to 135 range. After the recent geomagnetic upset clears, conditions are predicted to stabilise, with the Kp index forecast to be around 2 for the beginning of the coming week. Unsettled geomagnetic conditions are then forecast from Thursday the 11th to Sunday the 14th with the potential for the Kp index to hit between 4 and 6, with a corresponding drop in the MUF. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The unsettled weather has brought some heavy rain and a few chances of rain scatter for the GHz bands, but it does also tend to limit the chances of tropo. However, it is the UK that retains the unsettled weather, whereas the continent is still enjoying relatively higher pressure. So perhaps stations in southern Britain may be able to gain some occasional tropo advantage. There are options for meteor scatter from the Arietids, which peak early this coming week. Some predict that it will be a strong shower this year. Since it's a daytime meteor shower, it can be very useful for Sporadic-E, which makes use of the ionisation they leave behind. The Kp index has been gently disturbed at times, but not enough to generate any exciting radio aurora. However, it has possibly been disturbed enough to subdue Sporadic-E at times, as this depends on a stable and low Kp index to be most effective. Sporadic-E itself has provided some reasonable European openings and a few longer multi-hop paths for the digital modes. This unsettled weather produces strong jet streams, for summer, and should continue to be useful for providing the turbulence needed as part of the process for making Sporadic-E. The placement of the jet streams may, however, be confined to the northwestern fringe of Europe and perhaps prompt a focus on Scandinavia and northern Europe for any resulting Sporadic-E. EME now, and after last week's low declination and apogee, this week sees Moon declination increasing again and path losses falling. The 144MHz sky temperature is low all week. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #499
    May 29 · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for May 31st 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday, the 31st of May 2026 The RSGB celebrates Volunteers’ Week 2026 The RSGB Youth Committee has announced the YOTA Austria team The closure of BBC Long Wave Volunteers’ Week 2026 begins tomorrow, Monday, the 1st of June. This national campaign is an opportunity for organisations like the RSGB to recognise the contribution and hard work of its volunteers. In celebration, the Society asked some of its volunteers why they chose to step forward. You’ll be able to see their answers and view more in-depth profiles from tomorrow via rsgb.org/volunteers-week. The answers, along with a short video, will also be shared on the RSGB’s social media channels throughout the week. If there is a volunteer you would like to thank, or you’d like to share your own volunteering story, please add a comment on the daily social media content that the RSGB will be posting. You can also see these profiles in the July edition of RadCom. Volunteers are at the heart of the work that the Society does, and on behalf of the RSGB Board, HQ and the amateur radio community, it would like to thank everyone who gives their time and expertise to support the RSGB across such a wide range of roles. The RSGB Youth Committee is delighted to announce the team for this year's Youngsters on the Air summer camp in Wagrain, Austria. Team leader Tom, M1TJM, will be joined by team members Filip, M7SZW and Milo, M9ILO. They will be going to the Austrian Alps at the end of July for a week of exciting activities and challenges designed to allow youth members to push their skills within amateur radio, while meeting other amateurs from across the world. The Youth Committee's hard work in promoting amateur radio to young people has seen great success, with applications increasing by 200%. All the applications received were outstanding, and the Committee was blown away by the calibre of enthusiastic youth members of amateur radio. Tom, Filip and Milo impressed them with their variety of interests and clear dedication to the hobby and promoting amateur radio. The RSGB looks forward to hearing what they get up to in Austria this summer! This year’s camp is being organised by ÖVSV, the Austrian Amateur Radio Society, and the IARU Region 1 Youth Committee. You can read more about the camp and the team at rsgb.org/yota-camp The BBC has announced that its Long Wave service on 198kHz, currently transmitting BBC Radio 4, will close on the 27th of June 2026 at 1 am BST. The Long Wave transmitters at Droitwich in Worcestershire, Westerglen near Stirling, and Burghead overlooking the Moray Firth will be closed that day. The RSGB and the BBC Amateur Radio Group will be marking this occasion on the air and are looking for volunteers to activate a special callsign in the week leading up to and including the day of the closure. In addition, three radio clubs have volunteered to activate special callsigns to celebrate the almost-92 years of these historic transmitters on the day that they are finally turned off. You can find more information on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/longwave-transmitters The weekend of the 13th and 14th of June is 1940s weekend at Bletchley Park. The RSGB National Radio Centre will be open to visitors and is supporting the occasion by hosting the special event station GB1SOE using CW on 40m. There will also be a display of World War Two radios. Remember that RSGB Members can gain free access to the Bletchley Park museum by downloading and printing the entry voucher via rsgb.org/bpvoucher The May 2026 issue of RadCom Basics is now available in the RSGB mobile and web app for members to enjoy. RadCom Basics is aimed at newcomers to amateur radio and those who enjoy refreshing their skills and knowledge. The May issue includes articles on DMR for beginners, building a 2m and 70cm travel antenna and understanding radio waves. The full collection of RadCom Basics back issues can be found in the RSGB app or via rsgb.org/radcom 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 Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day on Sunday, the 7th of June, from 11 am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information, visit becg.org.uk/events Also on Sunday, the 7th of June, Spalding and District Amateur Radio Society’s Annual Radio Rally will take place at Spalding Rugby and Football Club, Centenary Park, Drain Bank North, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE12 6AF. Free car parking is available and the entrance fee is £3 per person. Traders, catering and an RSGB stall will be on site. For more details, visit sdars.org.uk/spaldingrally Now the Special Event news The Blind Veterans UK Amateur Radio Society will be active from the new Blind Veterans UK Rustington Centre in West Sussex, from the 1st to the 6th of June 2026, using the MX0SBV callsign. Listen for activity on the HF bands using CW and SSB. The team will also be available on the 6m, 4m, 2m and 70cm bands. For more information, visit QRZ.com Special callsign PA40AC will be active from the historic minesweeper Abraham Crijnssen during Museum Ships Weekend on Saturday, the 6th, and Sunday, the 7th of June. Look for activity on the HF bands using CW, FT8 and SSB. For more information, including details of awards that are available for working the station, visit QRZ.com Now the DX news Didier, F6BCW, is active as FO/F6BCW from Tikehau Atoll, OC-066, in French Polynesia until the 20th of July. He operates using CW and SSB on the 80 to 6m bands. QSL to FO/F6BCW via Logbook of the World and OQRS. Phill, FK1TS is active as C21TS from Nauru, OC-031, until July. He operates mainly using FT8 as well as some SSB. QSL via Logbook of the World or OQRS. QSOs are live-streamed on Club Log. Now the contest news The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest started at 0000 UTC yesterday, the 30th, and runs until 2359 UTC today, Sunday the 31st of May. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Tomorrow, the 1st of June, the RSGB 80m Club Championship Data Contest runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using RTTY and PSK63 on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday, the 2nd of June, the RSGB 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 2nd of June, the RSGB 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 3rd of June, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and a four-character locator. Also on Wednesday, the 3rd of June, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and a four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. RSGB National Field Day starts at 1500 UTC on Saturday, the 6th and ends at 1500 UTC on Sunday, the 7th of June. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The ARRL International Digital Contest starts at 1800 UTC on Saturday, the 6th of June and ends at 2359 UTC on Sunday, the 7th of June. Using digital modes on the 160 to 6m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your four-character locator. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Contest starts at 1300 UTC on Saturday, the 6th and ends at 1300 UTC on Sunday, the 7th of June. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and member number. The IARU ATV Contest starts at 1200 UTC on Saturday, the 6th and ends at 1800 UTC on Sunday, the 7th of June. Using TV on frequencies from 432MHz and up, the exchange is picture quality, serial number, four-digit code and locator. On Sunday, the 7th of June, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0900 to 1400 UTC. Using all modes on 1.3, 2.3 and 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 28th of May 2026 What a difference a week can make! Last week, we reported that the solar flux index was down in the 100s, but that it looked like there were spots coming around the Sun. This week, they’ve arrived, pushing the solar flux index up to 142 on Thursday, the 28th. But with sunspots comes the risk of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, so don’t get too comfy! So far, we have only seen minor C-class flares, so keep your fingers crossed. Upper HF activity has been split between F2-layer propagation and Sporadic-E. As always, there seems to be more activity on FT8 than CW or SSB. However, it is also worth keeping an eye on the 10m band beacons, which often spring out of the noise. You can find a list of 10m beacons at rsgb.org/main/technical/propagation. Just follow the link to ‘Propagation Beacons’. DX to be worked this week includes 5Z4/MM0ZBH in Kenya; 3G0Z and XR0Z on the Juan Fernández Islands; ZL7IO from the Chatham Islands; CP7DX in Bolivia, and VJ2L on Lord Howe Island. More details can be found at dx-world.net Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain in the 140 to 150 range, with generally calm geomagnetic conditions and an estimated Kp index of 2. There may be a brief excursion to 4 around Thursday, the 4th of June, but it is predicted to return to 2 the next day. As we mentioned earlier, with up to ten sunspot groups visible on the Sun’s surface, anything could happen, so keep an eye on solarham.net for news of solar flares and CMEs. Otherwise, enjoy the good HF conditions while they last. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO. The lengthy spell of heat is releasing its grip, and we are now seeing the start of a change to unsettled weather driven by Atlantic weather systems crossing the country. It can often take a while to properly reach the southeast, but there will be some rain there eventually. For most parts of the country, it will be a mix of occasional spells of rain or scattered heavy showers. Apart from transient ridges of high pressure in between the fronts, there is only a limited option for tropo, in favour of rain scatter for the coming week. The first week in June is often regarded as a prime period for Sporadic-E, and the return of unsettled weather means that there should be some jet stream activity to generate atmospheric gravity waves that provide the wind shear in the E region. There is also a lesser-known meteor shower to provide the fuel for Sporadic-E propagation. This is the Arietids, which is mainly a daytime shower. The solar conditions have provided a few recent minor enhancements of the Kp index between 1 and 4, but not enough to get excited about in a radio sense for aurora. EME now, and this is a week to check out your kit. Moon declination reaches its minimum tomorrow, the 1st of June. We also reach lunar apogee tomorrow. Conditions will improve after this period. 144MHz sky temperature is moderate to high all week, peaking at nearly 3,300 Kelvin on Tuesday. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #498
    May 22 · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for May 24th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday, the 24th of May 2026 The news headlines: Volunteer at the RSGB National Radio Centre Buy your RSGB 2026 Convention ticket at 2025 prices Tonight@8 is back in June The RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park welcomes thousands of people through its doors each month, and in 2025 it was recognised in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards. Much of this success can be attributed to the amazing team of volunteers. They share a strong sense of pride, enthusiasm and have a wonderful team spirit, all with the purpose of promoting amateur radio. If this sounds like something you would like to be part of, the NRC is now looking for extra volunteers to join its team. If you enjoy meeting people and are able to work a minimum of one or two days per month, get in touch with the NRC Coordinator, Martyn Baker, G0GMB, via nrc.support@rsgb.org.uk. Find out more about volunteering at the NRC by watching a short video on the RSGB’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/thersgb and selecting the ‘Volunteering for the RSGB’ playlist. The RSGB wants to make its Convention as accessible to as many people as possible. That’s why it has frozen ticket prices, and you can buy this year’s ticket at last year’s price! This means you can make the most of the early-bird pricing and buy your weekend ticket for just £49. On top of this, the Society has confirmed that, as usual, under-21s can attend the Convention for free. This week, the RSGB also announced further speakers to its growing programme. You’ll find engaging and informative presentations from Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA, on the 3Y0K DXpedition to Bouvet Island, as well as Christian Entsfellner, DL3MBG, on the DARC QSL Bureau and the cooperation with the RSGB. It has also confirmed that Ian Henry, G0LFT will be delivering a lecture on understanding FT8 through DNA-sequencing parallels, which was featured in the May 2026 edition of RadCom. Go to rsgb.org/convention to secure your tickets and guarantee your place at this not-to-be-missed event. The Convention will be held at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre in Milton Keynes between the 9th and 11th of October. Following a break in May, the RSGB’s Tonight@8 series is back on Monday, the 8th of June, with a fascinating webinar by John Warburton, G4IRN, on building a remote station. If you live in an area where restrictions such as conservation areas may limit your activity, this is for you. Following his move to rural Shropshire in 2020 and encountering conservation area restrictions, he decided to develop a fully remote HF contest and DX station. In this presentation, John outlines the search for a suitable site and the key technical and operational lessons gained from several years of remote operation over Internet and 4G links. You can join the webinar live via the RSGB’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/theRSGB or its special BATC channel at batc.org.uk/live/rsgb. Keep up to date with the latest programme by visiting rsgb.org/webinars The RSGB Board has announced further updates to the Board Liaison roles. Go to rsgb.org/ board to view the full list of responsibilities for each Board Director. RSGB Members will be able to use this as a guide to help them know who to contact if they have questions, concerns or ideas about any areas of the Society’s activities. You can contact each Board Director via the email address shown by their name. The RSGB team had a very successful time at the Dayton Hamvention last week. They spoke to hundreds of attendees, signed up a lot of new members, and were delighted by the very positive response to the RSGB app. Many radio amateurs hadn’t realised that as an RSGB member, they can read RadCom Basics, RadCom Plus and 25 years of back issues of RadCom all in one place and were keen to sign up to membership as a result. Two AGM trophies were also presented in person by RSGB President Bob Beebe, GU4YOX and RSGB Board Chair Stewart Bryant, G3YSX. Look out for a fuller report in the July issue of RadCom. International Museums Weekends 2026, also known as ‘Museums on the Air’, will take place on the 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th of June. Venues from all over the world, including ships, castles and air museums, are expected to take part. For more information and registration details, visit radio-amateur-events.org/IMW Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Durham and District Amateur Radio Society Radio Rally is taking place today, the 24th, at Bowburn Community Centre, Bowburn, County Durham, DH6 5AT. The doors are open from 10.10 am to 2.30 pm, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10 am. The entry fee is £3. There is a bring-and-buy sale, trade stands, special interest groups and an RSGB bookstall. Catering is available on site. For more information, contact Michael Wright, G7TWX, on 07826 924 192 or email dadars@gmx.com The Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day on Sunday, the 7th of June, from 11 am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information, visit becg.org.uk/events Also on Sunday, the 7th of June, Spalding and District Amateur Radio Society’s Annual Radio Rally will take place at Spalding Rugby and Football Club, Centenary Park, Drain Bank North, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE12 6AF. Free car parking is available on site and the entrance fee is £3 per person. Traders, catering and an RSGB stall will be available on site. For more details, visit sdars.org.uk/spaldingrally Now the Special Event news To commemorate the centenary of the passing of Antoni Gaudí, the famous Catalan architect and designer, special callsign EH100AG is active until the 7th of June. Look for activity on various bands and modes and via the QO-100 satellite. QSL via the bureau. QSOs will be uploaded to eQSL, Logbook of the World and Club Log. Special callsign LY100RADIO is active until the 12th of July to celebrate the 100th anniversary of regular radio broadcasting in Lithuania. QSL via LY2QT. For details of awards that are available for working the station, visit QRZ.com Now the DX news Paul, MM0ZBH, is active as 5Z4/MM0ZBH from Kenya until Monday, the 15th of June. He operates using CW, FT8 and SSB while volunteering at a local school. QSL via Logbook of the World and OQRS. Pascal, F8NQV, is active as CN2NQV from Sidi Rahal Chatai in Morocco until the 11th of July. Look for him on the 40, 20, 17, 15 and 10m bands using SSB. Now the contest news Today, the 24th, the RSGB 10GHz Trophy runs from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also today, the 24th, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday, the 26th of May, the RSGB SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday, the 28th of May, the RSGB 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday, the 30th and runs until 2359UTC on Sunday, the 31st of May. Using CW 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 May Last weekend’s geomagnetic disturbance didn’t turn out to be quite as bad as predicted. A high-speed solar wind stream from a massive coronal hole and a coronal mass ejection caused the Kp index to rise to 6.33 on Friday, the 15th of May, but it subsided, and we were soon back to more normal figures in the range of 2 to 4. The last week has seen more usual Kp figures in the range of 2 to 3, which bodes well for HF propagation. Unfortunately, the solar flux index has been stuck in the low one hundreds, ranging from 109 on the 16th to 106 on the 20th. It rose to 114 on the 21st, which may continue into the coming week. Meanwhile, ESA’s Solar Orbiter has been monitoring solar activity on the far side of the Sun, which continues to feature a number of large sunspot groups. A number of C-class Flares and one low-level M-flare have been detected on the far side. We will have to wait until next week for that activity to rotate to an Earth-facing position. Much of the activity on the higher HF bands is currently due to Sporadic-E, and Jim, G3YLA, reports several multi-hop paths showing up between Europe, the Caribbean and the USA on the 6m band. A quick check on the 10m band revealed only low-power beacons out of Spain and Andorra, unfortunately. NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may rise to 115 tomorrow, the 25th, and then increase to 135 by the end of the month. The start of the coming week should see settled geomagnetic conditions, but we are predicted to see a rise in the Kp index to 4 on Wednesday, the 27th. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The recent lengthy period of indifferent weather has now changed over to a predominantly high-pressure type. This should last through to the end of the coming week when a possible return to unsettled weather edges up from the south. Starting with the large-scale pressure pattern, it will be a period of improving tropo conditions for the VHF and UHF bands as the high builds over the country. The conditions should cover a large area across the North Sea and into the near continent. It is often the case that lift conditions may be improved by nighttime cooling and fade slightly during the day, unless over a sea path, which doesn’t change much from day to night. The late May and early June period is a reasonable time for meteor activity, although this is mostly minor. Remember that there is still the tail end of the Eta Aquarids to work through this month. The solar conditions have offered up some reasonable coronal holes recently, although the light evenings don’t allow visual confirmation, the Kp index going above 7 should make life more interesting for aurora. Needless to say, rain scatter will not feature in a predominantly high-pressure period of weather. Lastly, a thought about sporadic-E, which is coming into full bloom now and is typically at a peak around early to mid-June. There have been some successful openings on the 6m band with some multi-hop paths to the Far East and across to the States and Caribbean. On the basis that jet streams may be useful indicators of where Sporadic-E is more likely, the coming week will see the main jet stream flow being pushed well north to a typical summer position from Iceland to Scandinavia. This might make paths to Scandinavia and the Baltic a good option, including northern multi-hop paths to the Far East. EME now and Moon declination is falling again, going negative tomorrow, the 25th. Combined with increasing path losses, conditions will worsen as the week progresses, but there is still plenty of time to make some QSOs, albeit with shorter Moon windows and lower peak elevation. 144MHz sky temperature is low but increasing to moderate by Friday, the 29th. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #497
    May 15 · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for May 17th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday, the 17th of May 2026 The news headlines: The RSGB releases a new set of mock exam papers Which RSGB Convention workshop will you take part in? Listen to Milton Keynes Hospital radio for an interview with the RSGB National Radio Centre Coordinator The RSGB Exams Team is pleased to publish new mock exam papers for Foundation and Intermediate levels. There are three for each level, and you can find them on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/mock-exams. These take into account all the changes to the syllabus and exam question bank which have been made since the last sets of mock exam papers were published. The Exams Team will not be publishing new mock papers for the Full level as the entire Full licence question bank is now available online. Candidates and Trainers can create their own full-level mock papers using the questions at rsgb.org/exam-questions The RSGB is running a practical and thought-provoking workshop for radio amateurs, makers, and home constructors, who want to understand what AI really is, what it is good at, where it can go wrong and why it matters. The session will run during the RSGB Convention on both Saturday, the 10th and Sunday, the 11th of October. It will use plain English and real examples from personal projects and will show how large language models can act as useful thinking partners for learning, writing, coding and building. At only £15 for a two-hour session, this is an opportunity not to be missed. As well as this, the Society is running an additional workshop on Friday, the 9th of October. In this six-hour workshop, you will learn how to use the NanoVNA effectively, understand its practical limitations and apply it confidently in your shack. You will also learn to calibrate the device correctly and complete hands-on exercises using your own NanoVNA. This RSGB member-only workshop costs £50 and includes lunch and refreshments. Both workshops are filled on a first-come, first-served basis and are limited to 20 people per session. Book now at rsgb.org/convention Listen out for RSGB National Radio Centre Coordinator Martyn Baker, G0GMB on Milton Keynes Hospital radio tomorrow, Monday the 18th of May. Martyn met presenter Sophie at the Hospital Broadcasting Association’s annual conference in March, when NRC volunteers spoke with attendees about amateur radio. During the interview, you’ll hear Martyn talking about a range of topics, from why amateur radio can be an exciting and rewarding hobby to his work at the Centre and the role of the RSGB. He will also explain how amateur radio can contribute to mental well-being and prevent social isolation. You can listen to the broadcast from 1 pm by going to mkhrs.org.uk and selecting ‘click to listen’ in the top right-hand corner. Today, Sunday the 17th of May, is the last day of Mental Health Awareness week, and this year’s campaign looks at taking action to support good mental health. The RSGB highlights some of the small actions that radio amateurs can do that can have a big impact. This includes showing kindness to one another, listening to each other and taking a few extra minutes to engage in a conversation. Over four days in May and June, Humber Fortress DX Amateur Radio Club is playing its part in raising awareness for men’s mental health. Club members will be operating special call sign GB0MMH, and they are inviting radio amateurs to make contact. As the club says, let’s break the silence one transmission at a time. Find out more on QRZ.com and support this great initiative. If you have a story you’d like to share that relates to amateur radio and mental health, please email comms@rsgb.org.uk 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 Today, Sunday the 17th, Dunstable Downs Radio Rally is taking place at Stockwood Park in Luton. The boot sale is open to traders from 7.30 am and to visitors from 9 am. The entrance fee, which includes car parking, is £4 per vehicle. Find out more at dunstabledownsradioclub.org/bootsale Durham and District Amateur Radio Society Radio Rally will take place on Sunday, the 24th of May at Bowburn Community Centre, Bowburn, Co Durham, DH6 5AT. The doors will be open from 10.10 am to 2.30 pm, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10 am. The entry fee is £3. There will be a bring-and-buy sale, trade stands, special interest groups and an RSGB bookstall. Catering will be available on site. For more information, contact Michael Wright, G7TWX, on 07826 924 192 or email dadars@gmx.com Now the Special Event news The Cornish Radio Amateur Club is active from Pendennis Point in Cornwall until the end of May with special event callsign GB1SOS in support of SOS Radio month. Look out for activity each Sunday on the 40 and 20m bands using SSB. Special event station SP100CVO is active to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ludomir Mączka, SP1CVO. Mączka was an outstanding Polish geologist, sailor and amateur radio operator. His legendary vessel ‘Maria’ was the first Polish yacht to circumnavigate the globe twice, crossing the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans multiple times. For more information, including details of awards that are available for working the station, visit QRZ.com The Salamis radio team in Greece is active with special callsign SX85CB to mark the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Crete during the Second World War. More details are available via QRZ.com Now the DX news Harald, DF2WO, is active as XT2AW from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, until Tuesday, the 19th of May. He operates using CW, SSB and FT modes on various HF bands and via the QO-100 satellite. QSL via OQRS. Pascal, F8NQV, is active as CN2NQV from Morocco until the 11th of July. The station has been spotted recently on the 20, 17 and 15m bands using SSB. Now the contest news The RSGB 144MHz May Contest started at 1400UTC yesterday, the 16th, and ends at 1400UTC today, Sunday the 17th of May. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK stations also send their postcode. Today, the 17th of May, the RSGB 1st 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK stations also send their postcode. Tomorrow, the 18th of May, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. On Tuesday, the 19th of May, the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 1.3GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 20th of May, the RSGB 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using data modes on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday, the 21st of May, the RSGB 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Sunday, the 24th of May, the RSGB 10GHz Trophy runs from 0800 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Also, on Sunday, the 24th of May, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 14th of May 2026 We hate to start the report on a negative note, but we are about to experience unsettled geomagnetic conditions over the next few days. The culprit is a large coronal hole on the Sun, which rotated into an Earth-facing position on Thursday, the 14th of May. This large coronal hole, an area with open magnetic field lines, has already been responsible for an increase in the solar wind speed to more than 420 kilometres per second. We can expect it to get worse as the weekend progresses. The hole spans the solar equator, so it is ideally placed to create maximum disruption to Earth. If the Bz interplanetary magnetic field swings south, we could see the Kp index rise and maximum usable frequencies, or MUFs, decline. If this happens, expect poor conditions until tomorrow, Monday, the 18th of May. Meanwhile, the solar flux index declined to 103 on Thursday, the 14th of May, which starts to put us in a difficult spot. Usually, we say that a solar flux index of 100 or more is needed for the 10m band to open. So it may be that you’ll need to move lower in frequency for reliable HF openings. DX to be worked next week includes 3B9IDX from Rodrigues Island, T31TTT on Kanton Island, the last few days of XT2AW from Burkina Faso, and FO/F6BCW in French Polynesia. The Propagation Studies Committee’s space weather station at Baldock identified a solar flare on Sunday, the 10th of May. The Doppler Flash, or Sudden Frequency Deviation, was triggered by an M5.7 solar flare that began at 1319UTC. While ‘Flash’ is a good term for the fast-rising edge, the GB0PSC receiver has captured fine detail on the 20MHz signal from the WWV station in Colorado, showing multiple oscillations over a few minutes. X-ray radiation from the flare quickly increased absorption in the D region, reducing signal levels into the noise after ten minutes. But those minutes are crucial as they provide data to test whether X-rays or extreme UV from the flare were responsible for the Doppler shift and propagation anomaly. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index could rise to be in the 120 to 130 range, which puts us back in the fun zone. Unfortunately, and for the reasons mentioned earlier, we can expect to see a Kp index of 5 this weekend, but it will eventually decline to perhaps 2 or 3 as the week progresses. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The background pattern of unsettled weather remains with us for a while over the UK as a whole, but subtle changes from a cold northerly to a warmer southerly wind will bring higher temperatures back again. To end the previous week, the cold northerly has brought some heavy showers with hail and thunder in places, and the GHz bands will have seen some rain scatter opportunities. The transition to a more southerly origin of the air will be taking place over this weekend, and although high pressure develops later in the week, we may have to wait until after midweek for any chance of tropo. The next few weeks encompass a couple of minor meteor showers, the Tau Herculids and daytime Arietids, to add to the random background input. There should be something to interest those looking for meteor scatter activity, and of course, it all contributes to the ‘fuel’ for Sporadic-E, which is largely comprised of meteor ionisation. The solar activity has recently been offering a few minor enhancements of the Kp index, but no great results on the aurora front. Sporadic-E has been producing results on 6m digital modes, where there have been brief openings to VK, XT, DU2 and the USA for those lucky enough to catch them. The usual technique of checking during the two main activity windows of mid-morning and late afternoon should improve your chances. If you get an opportunity to look at the jet stream patterns, it can be worthwhile trying paths that cross these since it’s believed they are good sources of atmospheric gravity waves that can reach the E region to aid the production of Sporadic-E. EME now: with maximum declination, the period of longest moon windows, now almost coinciding with perigee, the period of lowest path loss, conditions are at their best for the northern hemisphere. Moon declination is positive, reaching maximum tomorrow, Monday, the 18th of May. Path losses are at their lowest as we reach perigee today, the 17th. The 144MHz sky temperature is low all week. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #496
    May 8 · 14 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for May 10th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday, the 10th of May 2026 The news headlines: RSGB Board liaison roles announced Women in amateur radio and STEM A message from the RSGB President at the 2026 AGM Each RSGB Board Director has a liaison role between the Board and specific aspects of the Society’s work. This focuses very much on the work done by RSGB volunteers in committees, groups and teams as well as by the Honorary Officers and Champions. In a role swap that has been planned for some time, Ben Lloyd, GW4BML, will become Board Liaison for the RSGB Regional Team and Nathan Nuttall, MM9OCC, will become Board Liaison for the RSGB Youth Committee. New Board member Graham Smith, G4NMD, has taken on responsibility for the exam portfolio previously held by retired director Len Paget, GM0ONX. Other roles and responsibilities will be announced shortly. In the interim, if you have any doubts as to where to direct an enquiry regarding a Board Liaison matter, please contact Board Chair Stewart Bryant, G3YSX. To find out more or to see contact details for each Board Director, go to rsgb.org/board This year, International Women in Engineering Day takes place on the 23rd of June 2026. It is a celebration of the amazing work of women engineers across the globe. People who have an interest in amateur radio often work in careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, also known as STEM. STEM subjects can be an effective way for the RSGB to introduce amateur radio to new audiences and young people. To mark the day, the Society is planning to share stories of how amateur radio has helped female engineers in their lives and careers. The theme for International Women in Engineering Day 2026 is Engineering Intelligence and is an opportunity to recognise the women engineers who solve complex challenges and help drive change. Are you involved in a research project? Perhaps you are designing something new, or reworking a project to make it more accessible to others? Maybe you’re part of a team that is analysing data to find a solution to a problem? Whatever your story, the Society would love to hear from you so it can help to inspire future generations of girls and young women. If you’d like to share your story, please send a photo and a summary of what you have been doing to comms@rsgb.org.uk by the 31st of May. Membership sits at the heart of the RSGB, and at its AGM in April, RSGB President Bob Beebe, GU4YOX, shared a message on this important topic. During his video message, Bob spoke about the wide range of services that the RSGB offers its members. He went on to explain that the Society is reviewing its membership offering and how that will be implemented in the coming months. This important message is available for all radio amateurs to watch via the RSGB YouTube channel. Go to youtube.com/thersgb and select the RSGB 2026 AGM playlist to start watching now. Remember to share this video with your friends, local club and the rest of the amateur radio community. The BBC has announced that the Droitwich Transmitter on 198kHz will be permanently closed down in 2026. The Scottish Long Wave transmitters at Burghead and Westerglen will also be turned off. The Droitwich transmitter was commissioned during September 1934. These transmissions have always been part of our lives as radio enthusiasts. A date has not yet been formally given, but the BBC is committing to providing two months’ notice to listeners. The RSGB and the BBC Amateur Radio Group are planning to mark this occasion on the air. More details of how this will be achieved will be available soon. Please email ContestClub@rsgbcc.org if you would like to register your interest. Remember to listen out for the stations that are taking part in the Mills on the Air event today, the 10th of May. Radio amateurs are on the air from a wide range of interesting locations and are keen to take your call. 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 On Saturday, the 16th of May, East Midlands Ham and Electronics Rally will take place at Beckingham Village Hall, Southfield Lane, Beckingham DN10 4FX. The doors will be open from 9.30 am to 3 pm. Free car parking is available behind the hall, and traders are invited to set up from 7 am. Hot food and refreshments will be available on site. For more information and booking details, visit emerg.uk/rally Dunstable Downs Radio Rally will be taking place on Sunday, the 17th of May at Stockwood Park in Luton. The boot sale will be open to traders from 7.30 am and to visitors from 9 am. The entrance fee, which includes car parking, is £4 per vehicle. Find out more at dunstabledownsradioclub.org/bootsale Now the Special Event news Special callsign HG333DEB will be active from the 15th to the 24th of May to celebrate the city of Debrecen in Hungary. Listen out for activity on all bands using CW, digital modes, FM and SSB. More information, including details of awards that are available for working the station, is available via QRZ.com Antwerp Port Contest Club, ON8APC, is active with special callsign OT26EPIC to promote this year's Antwerp Port Epic cycling race. Look for activity until the 25th of May. QSL via ON8JJ. See QRZ.com for more details, including how to view a livestream of the event on YouTube. Now the DX news Pascal, F8NQV, is active as CN2NQV from Morocco until the 17th of July. Look for him on the 40, 20, 17, 15 and 10m bands using SSB. Tom, VK2TBC, is on the air as VK0TBC from Casey Station, Antarctica, until December. He operates using SSB and FT8. Updates on Tom’s station are posted at vk2tbc.com Now the contest news Today, the 10th, the RSGB 70MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200 UTC. Using CW on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK stations also send their postcode. Also, today, the 10th, the UK Microwave Group Millimetre Wave Contest runs from 0800 to 1700 UTC. Using all modes on 24, 47 and 76GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday, the 12th of May, the RSGB 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855 UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday, the 12th of May, the RSGB 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 13th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 13th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. 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 14th of May, the RSGB 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The RSGB 144MHz May Contest starts at 1400 UTC on Saturday, the 16th and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday, the 17th of May. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK stations also send their postcode. On Sunday, the 17th of May, the RSGB 1st 144MHz Backpackers Contest runs from 1000 to 1400 UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK stations also send their postcode. On Monday, the 18th of May, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 7th of May 2026 We had another mixed week of HF propagation, with a Kp index of 6 one day and then three days later a Kp of less than 1. The index hit 6.33 on the evening of Monday, the 4th of May, sparking aurora and poor HF conditions. But by Wednesday, the 6th of May it was back down to 0.67. So, you can see why it is hard to predict what HF conditions are going to be like with ionospheric propagation being driven by the geomagnetic status rather than the solar flux index. According to the CDXC Slack group, DX worked over the past week included TZ4AM in Mali on 10m CW; T31TTT from Central Kiribati on 12m and 15m FT8; XQ6CF in Chile on 17m CW; VP8A on the Falkland Islands on 60m CW; 3B9G on 20m CW and TL8BNW from the Central African Republic on 40m SSB. So, there is DX about if you hunt for it. Interestingly, all of the above, apart from T31TTT, were on southward paths, perhaps reflecting poorer conditions on polar paths at times due to the elevated Kp index. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain around 115 to 130 with calm geomagnetic conditions for the first half of the week. However, unsettled geomagnetic conditions are forecast for the 15th to the 18th of May with a possible Kp index of 5. With five sunspot groups visible on the Sun’s surface, and active region 4419, the source of two X-Flares on Friday, the 24th of April, now about to turn back into Earth’s view, it is anyone’s guess what could happen next! As we enter mid-May, we are getting closer to summer HF conditions. So Sporadic-E on the higher HF bands, lower maximum usable frequencies overall, but perhaps 14MHz staying open all night, are all features to watch out for. Also look out for 10m band openings to Southern Africa around midday and paths to South America during early and late evening. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The current period of weather seems to be a mix of weak high-pressure and low-pressure systems vying for dominance. Therefore, it implies a mix of radio conditions will share our attention, with weak tropo from ridges of high pressure, but no big highs on the chart; and frontal rain bands or heavy showers bringing a chance of rain scatter for GHz operators. The prospects for meteor scatter may remain elevated for a while since we have only just passed the peak of the Eta Aquarids on Wednesday, the 6th of May. Remember, the early morning hours tend to be best for meteor activity in general. The aurora alerts have continued to provide a glimmer of hope, but mostly for weak enhancements, so look for a Kp value of 5 or greater and signs of ‘watery’ sounding signals on the HF bands before turning the VHF beams to the north. As we move into the early part of the Sporadic-E season, it will become the mode of choice for us during the next few months. The general rule is to check for the two main periods of activity, in mid-morning and again late afternoon or early evening. Listen for strong signals on the 10m band from Europe and then, as the event develops, the higher frequency bands will open up too. In a strong event, the 2m band can even show up sounding like 20m. However, early-season events tend to favour the 10 and 6m bands. EME now. The Moon is past minimum declination and increasing, giving lengthening Moon windows and increasing peak elevation. Path losses are decreasing now after apogee on Monday, the 4th of May. 144MHz sky temperature is low all week until Saturday, the 16th of May, when the Sun and Moon are close in the sky. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #495
    May 1 · 15 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for May 3rd 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday, the 3rd of May 2026 The news headlines: Ticket sales for the RSGB 2026 Convention are now open! RSGB appoints a new volunteer Accessibility Champion FCC authorises commercial satellite constellation use in the 70cm band You can now buy tickets for the RSGB 2026 Convention in Milton Keynes. The event takes place between the 9th and 11th of October and is a must for any radio amateur looking to learn, connect and be inspired. Several lecturers have already been confirmed, and include Nobby Styles, G0VJG, talking about the South Georgia DXpedition in March 2027, as well as recent Wortley-Talbot Trophy winner Gwyn Griffiths, G3ZIL, on HF propagation studies from the Baldock space weather station. Ticket sales for workshops taking place over the weekend are also open. These are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and with only 20 spaces available for each, secure your place now to ensure you don’t miss out. Go to rsgb.org/convention to read the latest Convention news and purchase your tickets. RSGB Board Director Nathan Nuttall, MM9OCC, has announced that Jane Joyce, M8WVJ, has been appointed as the new RSGB Accessibility Champion. Jane brings a wealth of experience in the areas of disability and accessibility, making her ideally suited to this important role. As Accessibility Champion, she will share real stories from members that highlight both the challenges and successes within the hobby, helping to raise awareness and improve understanding of accessibility issues. Jane will also be available to help direct individuals to the support they need, which will help to improve accessibility across amateur radio as a whole, and she will advise the RSGB on meaningful improvements. Jane can be contacted via the email address access.champion@rsgb.org.uk In the USA the FCC has authorised AST-SpaceMobile to launch its full constellation of 248 large satellites that includes 430-440MHz for emergency telemetry and control when not over the United States. This is despite there being no such frequency allocation. However, the FCC permitted the use of the frequencies using Article 4.4 of the ITU Radio Regulations. This follows an initial filing and review last year, and extensive amateur concerns that resulted in over 2,500 comments being submitted. The IARU has released a statement on the matter, which you can read via tinyurl.com/IARU-AST The RSGB has more background and earlier responses on its Spectrum Forum web page at tinyurl.com/RSGB-AST RSGB club insurance, and beacon and repeater insurance, have now been renewed for the year from the 30th of April 2026 to April 2027. Club insurance certificates can be downloaded via rsgb.org/repeaterinsurance. You will need to log in to obtain your certificate. Beacon and repeater insurance certificates are available for an admin fee of £15 from the RSGB shop. Please allow a couple of days after renewal for your certificate to be dispatched. The Society would like to remind RSGB members with G7 callsigns who collect QSL cards that they should now send their stamped addressed envelopes to Mr Anthony Holles, G4AAV. You can find his details in the sub-manager list of the RSGB QSL Bureau web section at rsgb.org/qsl Volunteers at the RSGB National Radio Centre will be operating the GB2BP special event station on Friday, the 8th and Saturday, the 9th of May, to commemorate the anniversary of VE Day. Put the date in your diary and make sure you add this callsign to your logbook. RSGB members, don’t forget you can receive free entry to Bletchley Park, which includes the NRC, by downloading and printing your personalised voucher at rsgb.org/bpvoucher The annual Mills on the Air event is taking place on Saturday, the 9th and Sunday, the 10th of May. Operators will be on the air from a variety of historic locations. If you hear them, make sure to give them a call. Don't forget to listen out for the stations that are taking part in this year’s Pubs and Clubs on the Air event from the 8th to the 10th of May. For more information about the event, email Chris via g1puv@yahoo.co.uk 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 Today, the 3rd, the Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day from 11 am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS and is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information, visit becg.org.uk/events Thorpe Camp Hamfest is also taking place today, the 3rd, at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall Thorpe, LN4 4PL. Traders can arrive from 7 am, and visitors are welcome from 9 am. The entry fee is £5 per person. For more information, visit thorpecamp.org Tomorrow, the 4th, Dartmoor Spring Radio Rally will take place at Yelverton War Memorial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 6AL. There will be the usual bring and buy, trader stands, refreshments and free parking available. The doors will be open from 10 am to 1 pm, and admission costs £3. More details are available at dartmoorradioclub.uk On Saturday, the 9th of May 2026, Barry Amateur Radio Society Rally will be held at Sully Sports and Social Club, South Road, Sully, CF64 5SP. The doors open at 9 am, for traders and visitors are welcome from 10 am. A large free car park is available, and admission costs £3. Now the Special Event news On Saturday, the 9th, and Sunday, the 10th of May, Harlow and District Amateur Radio Society will be taking part in Mills on the Air from John Webb’s Windmill in Thaxted, Essex. The station will use special event callsign GB0TWM and operate between 8.30 am and 4 pm. Amateurs, shortwave listeners and visitors are welcome to join in with the fun. For more information, visit QRZ.com To celebrate his 50th anniversary in amateur radio, Nick, US8AR, is active throughout 2026 using the special callsign EM50AR. Look out for activity on the HF and VHF bands using all modes. Electronic QSL cards can be downloaded from em50ar.pp.ua Now the DX news TJ, PE1OJR is active as PJ4TB from Bonaire, SA-006, until tomorrow, Monday the 4th of May. He operates FT4, FT8 and SSB on the 40 to 6m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World. Paul, MM0ZBH, is active as 5Z4/MM0ZBH from Kenya until the 15th of June. He operates using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via Logbook of the World and OQRS. Now the contest news Today, Sunday the 3rd of May, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0900 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on 1.3 to 3.4GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The ARI International DX Contest started at 1200UTC yesterday, Saturday the 2nd, and ends at 1159UTC today, Sunday the 3rd 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 give their province code. The RSGB 432MHz to 245GHz Contest started at 1400UTC yesterday, Saturday the 2nd and ends at 1400UTC today, Sunday the 3rd of May. Using all modes on 432MHz to 245GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Britain 7MHz Contest takes place today, Sunday the 3rd of May, from 1000 to 1400UTC. Entries need to be with the contest manager by Wednesday, the 13th of May 2026. Please note that SSB is only used in all Worked All Britain contests. Full details of the rules can be found on the Worked All Britain website. On Tuesday, the 5th of May, the RSGB 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 5th of May, the RSGB 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 6th, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and a four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 6th, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and a four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Sunday, the 10th of May, the RSGB 70MHz CW Contest runs from 0900 to 1200UTC. Using CW on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. UK stations also send their postcode. Also on Sunday, the 10th of May, the UK Microwave Group Millimetre Wave Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 24, 47 and 76GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 30th of April Last week was about as good as it gets at this point in the solar cycle. We had a solar flux index in the 140s and a Kp index that was pretty flat, often below 2. That’s good news for HF as it means the ionosphere had a chance to settle and, although not record-breaking, a solar flux index of 140 to 150 is very usable. There were numerous C and M-class solar flares, but these were relatively minor, and the latest forecasts show a 70% chance for additional M-flares and a 20% chance for an isolated strong X-flare. This all came together to give a maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path of around 21 to 24MHz, often just peaking around 28MHz. This gave the odd 10m band opening, but these were sparse and not very strong. DXpeditions to be worked this week, according to DXWorld.net, include E51TLM in the South Cook Islands; T31TTT from Kanton Island; FO/F6BCW in French Polynesia; XT2AW from Burkina Faso and 3G0Z on Robinson Crusoe Island. So, which bands should you be looking at? The 20, 17 and 15m bands will probably give the best results, but don’t completely rule out the two higher bands that may show occasional surprises. We are now starting the Sporadic-E season, so look out for short-lived but strong openings around Europe on the 12 and 10m bands. Next week, NOAA predicts a solar flux index of between 130 and 140, with a Kp index of 2 or 3. Unsettled conditions are forecast for the 7th and 8th of May with a potential Kp index of 5. As always, keep an eye on solarham.com for almost real-time reports of solar activity. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The excellent tropo conditions for some parts of the country recently are likely to be slightly subdued over this weekend, but there are signs that another period of high-pressure weather will return as we move through the coming week. Unlike the recent dry weather, there are likely to be a few showery spells with a chance of rain scatter on the GHz bands. Meteor scatter is probably enhanced next week by the Eta Aquarids, which peak on Wednesday, the 6th of May, and are associated with Comet Halley. The aurora prospects are probably moving away from their spring activity period, but check the Kp index as usual for high values above 5. The Sporadic-E season is slowly limbering up, and it's well worth checking for activity, initially on the 10 and 6m bands. Check for SSB and CW activity as well as digital modes. Work continues on the propquest.co.uk website. There are still some missing elements, but it is hoped that these will be back soon. EME now. The Moon is moving towards minimum declination today, Sunday, the 3rd of May, so there will be short Moon windows and low peak elevation. Path losses are still increasing until apogee on Monday, the 4th of May, when the Moon is at its furthest from Earth at 405,840km. 144MHz sky temperature reaches a maximum of more than 2,800 Kelvin on Wednesday, the 6th of May. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

  • #494
    April 24 · 18 min

    RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for April 24th 2026

    GB2RS News Sunday, the 26th of April 2026 The news headlines: The RSGB Board holds its first post-AGM meeting RSGB 2026 Convention announcement Celebrate World Morse Day with the RSGB Following the RSGB 2026 AGM on Saturday, the 18th of April, the new Board met and co-opted Dr Stewart Bryant, G3YSX, onto the Board under Article 37. The Board then elected Dr Bryant as Board Chair. The purpose of these decisions is to allow newly elected Directors to learn more about the Society and the Board, with the intention that a new Board Chair will be elected from within the new Board in due course. The RSGB Board would like to record its thanks to Stewart for being willing to extend his role in this way. Board Directors also appointed Will Richardson, 2E0WYA, to the volunteer role of Executive Director of Strategic Oversight to help drive forward work on Board effectiveness. As announced previously, Stephen Purser, GW4SHF and Stephen Ramsden, M0CCA, swapped roles after the AGM, so Stephen Ramsden is now Company Secretary and Stephen Purser is Deputy Company Secretary. The Board congratulated John Moss, G0KTW and Ben Lloyd, GW4BML, on their election as Directors and Patrick Wood, 2E0IFB and Graham Smith, G4NMD, on their endorsement as Nominated Directors. The Board Liaison roles are being discussed and will be announced in due course. If you were unable to join the event live, you can catch up with all the AGM proceedings at rsgb.org/agm Tickets for the RSGB 2026 Convention go on sale on Friday, the 1st of May, and ahead of this, the Society has made some exciting announcements. Not only has it released the first round of speakers, including one on a highly anticipated DXpedition, but it has also shared details of two new workshops that will be taking place. Will you choose NanoVNA Essentials or AI – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? For those looking to extend the weekend’s activities, the RSGB has confirmed that it has partnered with The National Museum of Computing to offer Convention attendees the opportunity to visit on Friday, the 9th of October. The RSGB is delighted that this fantastic annual event is being sponsored by Martin Lynch & Sons and that AMSAT-UK will once again be holding its Colloquium during the Convention this year. The RSGB 2026 Convention is taking place between the 9th and 11th of October at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. Find out more by going to rsgb.org/convention Tomorrow, Monday the 27th, is World Morse Day. The day honours the birthday of the inventor of Morse code, Samuel Morse, who was born on this day in 1791. The RSGB is continuing its annual celebrations of this day by releasing a video with a question in Morse code for you to answer, which this year is sent by the RSGB CW Champion, Laura Robertson, MM7BFL. Once you have used your Morse skills to decipher the question, get involved by leaving your answer in the comments section under the post. You could even share a video of you sending your answer in Morse! You can view the video tomorrow on the RSGB YouTube channel, or via the RSGB’s Facebook, Instagram or X pages. RSGB members, if you are planning a trip this spring, why not include a visit to one of the Society’s partner museums? Whether you’re heading to West Wales, Cornwall, Suffolk, Dorset, West Sussex or Milton Keynes, you will be able to save between 20% and 50% on standard admission prices. Visit rsgb.org/partner-museums for your personalised discount voucher. RSGB members also receive free entry to Bletchley Park, which includes the RSGB National Radio Centre. Time is running out to apply and be part of the RSGB team that will be going to Austria for this year’s Youngsters on the Air summer camp. This fantastic opportunity is for radio amateurs aged between 16 and 30. The programme will include activities such as experimenting with underground propagation, Summits on the Air, Caves on the Air, as well as having the chance to ascend a 2,000m summit in a cable car and make a long-distance VHF/UHF QSO with your handheld. All in the incredible surroundings of the Austrian Alps. The deadline to apply for this exciting opportunity is Friday, the 1st of May. Get involved by going to rsgb.org/yota-camp and selecting ‘YOTA Austria 2026’ from the right-hand menu. UKBOTA's Historic Counties event will be running throughout May for both activators and hunters. Stations will be on the air to celebrate the unique historic structure of the UK. More details can be found at ukbota.net/HC26 Did you know that the weekly RSGB News can be viewed on air and via the web as a television stream? Join Alison, G8ROG, each Sunday at 9 am UK time for a live broadcast of the GB2RS News. Kindly hosted by the British Amateur Television Club, go to batc.org.uk/live/gb2rs to watch the show. Alongside Alison’s live presentation, you can view additional text and pictures relating to each news item. The transmission is also relayed via GB3HV in Hampshire using Digital ATV. If you enjoy watching GB2RS as well as listening, there is a live Digital ATV broadcast from Clive, G3GJA, via the Hull 23cm repeater GB3EY at 10 am UK time. If you are not in range of the repeater itself, you can still watch the broadcast, again courtesy of the BATC website, by going to batc.org.uk/live/gb3ey And now for details of rallies and events The EMC & Compliance International Exhibition will be held at the Holiday Inn in Oxford from the 29th of April to the 1st of May 2026. The exhibition is open to all interested parties and is concerned with all aspects of EMC. For more information, including registration details, visit emcandci.com The Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day on Sunday, the 3rd of May, from 11 am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. Visitors will be treated to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information, visit becg.org.uk/events Thorpe Camp Hamfest is taking place on Sunday, the 3rd of May at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall Thorpe, LN4 4PL. Traders can arrive from 7 am, and visitors are welcome from 9 am. The entry fee is £5 per person. For more information, visit thorpecamp.org On Monday, the 4th of May, Dartmoor Spring Radio Rally will take place at the Yelverton War Memorial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 6AL. There will be the usual bring and buy, trader stands, refreshments, free parking and available. The doors will be open from 10 am to 1 pm, and admission costs £3. More details are available at dartmoorradioclub.uk Now the Special Event news Special event stations OL900CO, OL900JAR and OL900LT are active until December to celebrate the town of Jaromer in the Czech Republic. For more information, including details of awards that are available for working the stations, visit hamawards.eu On Saturday, the 2nd of May, between 9 am and 5 pm, Dundee Amateur Radio Club will be operating from Broughty Ferry Lifeboat Station using the callsign GB1BFL. The station will be active in support of SOS Radio Week. For updates on frequencies and modes in use, visit the Club’s Facebook page. More details are available via dundee-amateur-radio.co.uk Now the DX news Using the callsign GB9IOW, a team of Belgian operators will be active from the Isle of Wight, EU-120, from Tuesday, the 28th of April until Tuesday, the 5th of May. Listen for activity on the HF bands, via the QO-100 satellite and on 23cm EME. For more information, visit QRZ.com Paul, VP9KF, is active from Bermuda, NA-005, until Thursday, the 30th of April. He is operating using CW only on the HF bands. The station was spotted recently on the 17 and 20m bands. You can find more details at vp9kf.com Now the contest news Today, Sunday the 26th, the UK Microwave Group EHF Band Contest runs from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 76 to 241GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The SP DX RTTY Contest started at 1200UTC yesterday, the 25th, and runs until 1200UTC today, Sunday, the 26th of April. Using RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Polish stations also send their province code. Also, today, the 26th, the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group Sprint 25 Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using 75 baud RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your six-character locator. The UK and Ireland Contest Club DX CW Contest started at 1200UTC yesterday, the 25th, and ends at 1200UTC today, Sunday, the 26th of April. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Full rules, including UK and EI area codes, are available via tinyurl.com/ukeiccrules Tomorrow, the 27th, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. On Tuesday the 28th, the RSGB SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 29th, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator. On Thursday the 30th, the RSGB 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using PSK63 and RTTY on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Saturday, the 2nd of May, the RSGB 432MHz Trophy Contest runs from 1400 to 2000UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The RSGB 432 to 245GHz Contest starts at 1400UTC on Saturday, the 2nd of May and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday, the 3rd of May. Using all modes on 432 to 245GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon starts at 0000UTC on Saturday, the 2nd of May and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday, the 2nd 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 2nd of May and ends at 1159UTC on Sunday, the 3rd of May. Using CW, RTTY and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Italian stations also give their province code. On Sunday, the 3rd of May, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest runs from 0900 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 3rd of May, the Worked All Britain 7MHz Phone Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using SSB only 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 23rd of April Last week’s HF propagation was dominated by the effects of a high-speed stream from a large coronal hole on the Sun. This pushed the Kp index up to 4 and 5 at times, with the result that maximum usable frequencies, or MUFs, were lowered. The ionosphere struggled, and often the MUF over a 3,000km path was below 21MHz. Yes, there were some openings up to 10m, but they were generally weak. Checks showed that paths opened up to Brazil, Kenya and Chile on the 10m band using FT8, but the signals were well down in the noise and barely workable. Get used to this, as it could be the norm for the next few years! Meanwhile, the solar flux index increased to 116 by Thursday, the 16th of April, no doubt aided by active sunspot group 4420. Next week, NOAA forecasts that the solar flux index could rise to 125. It also predicts that the Kp index may remain low due to a lack of coronal hole activity. Fingers crossed that we don’t have any coronal mass ejections over the next week. If this pans out as predicted, we could have some decent HF conditions over the next seven days. Yes, the MUFs may be lower, but 14, 18 and perhaps 21MHz could be usable, with very occasional openings on 24 and 28MHz. DX to be worked this week includes TX9W from the Marquesas Islands; VP9KF in Bermuda; 7P8WR from Lesotho; C5B, C5C and C5D in The Gambia; D60DX in Comoros; and JD1BMH operating from Ogasawara And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The strong region of high pressure will remain with us for the next two weeks. So tropo should be considered a first-choice mode for a while. The main criteria for the quality of any resulting tropo is moisture. This is because moisture is a component in the calculation of the refractive index of the air. High pressure usually produces dry air above any temperature inversion, but we may not always get the moisture below the inversion. The end of last week was good with reports of beacons in Norway and Sweden into JO02 on 1.3GHz because of moisture present below the inversion. However, if the dry easterly wind returns, it may not go so well. Meteor scatter should continue to be uplifted by the declining Lyrids meteor stream, which peaked last week, and rain scatter is off the menu since the charts are dominated by high-pressure systems. Aurora is showing as occasional weak alerts, but apart from the odd fluttery signals on the LF bands, nothing too interesting at the moment. As usual, watch for the Kp index going up to 5. Keeping the best until last, we are approaching the period when Sporadic-E usually becomes a mode of interest. Work is well underway on a rewrite of the Propquest website, which should be ready soon. This will be the go-to place for the daily updates during the 2026 Sporadic-E season. EME now, and the Moon is moving into a lower noise position. Declination is high, but falling, and path losses will increase as we move away from the Moon’s perigee, its closest point to Earth, which occurred on Friday, the 17th of April. Apogee, the Moon’s furthest point from Earth and the point of highest path losses, occurs on Sunday, the 17th of May. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

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