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GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 6 April

The news headlines

* HQ staffer in world record attempt

* RadCom editorial team strengthened

* Belgians plan D-Star satellite

On Sunday 13 April an RSGB staff member hopes to set a brand new world
record. Michelle Frost, of the Commercial department, will be running
the London Marathon - on four foot high stilts! Michelle, 22, has been
stiltwalking for around ten years but only graduated to such high
stilts about three years ago. She is raising money for REACH, a charity
dedicated to helping children with upper limb deficiencies. No-one has
ever competed in a marathon on stilts like this before, and the
Guinness Book of Records is starting a new record category to
celebrate. To find out more, and to sponsor Michelle, go to
www.justgiving.com/rainbowdave.

The RSGB has announced changes to the RadCom editorial team. The
Society is keen to build on RadCom's reputation as being a world leader
for technical expertise and innovation as well as being first for all
Amateur Radio News and articles. Elaine Richards, G4LFM, will be
joining the editorial team in May, to take on the role of News and
Features Editor. She will also be taking over the general editors
duties. This will allow Giles Read, G1MFG, to concentrate fully on the
technical aspects of the magazine. Elaine and Giles represent the
strongest Editorial team that RadCom has enjoyed for a number of years.
More details will be published in the May RadCom.

Students at the University of Liege in Belgium are working on a D-Star
amateur satellite. The project, OUFTI- 1, is being used as a way of
students obtaining hands-on experience of designing satellite systems.
The planned Cubesat is 10cm on a side and will weigh under a kilogram.
Future plans suggest that the data capability of D-Star could be used
for satellite telemetry and telecommand. OUFTI-1 is a first step in
this exciting new direction.

Some years ago the RSGB changed its main telephone and fax numbers to
National Rate 0870 numbers. When the Society moves its administrative
headquarters, these numbers will continue to work. However, please
ensure that you replace any of the old 01707 Potters Bar numbers in
address books and phone diallers, as these will be discontinued. The
correct numbers are 0870 904 7373 for telephone and fax 0870 904 7374.
E-mail addresses will also remain unchanged.

We understand that new four metre beacon J5FOUR is now operational on
70.010MHz from Guinea-Bissau. According to CT1FFU, the J5FOUR beacon
came to life on 10 March. It uses 20 watts to a four element Yagi
antenna beaming at 20º to cover all Europe. Interest in four metres
seems to be gaining popularity as more administrations permit
operations on that band.

DARC, the RSGB's sister organisation in Germany, has announced that it
will recognise Kosovo for the Worked All Europe award. This eases the
path for CQWW and the CQ DX Marathon, among other contests, which use a
combination of DXCC and WAE as the basis for their country lists.
Kosovo will be considered a separate entity for the 17 February CQ DX
Marathon and the forthcoming CQWW DX Contests.

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And now rallies and events for the coming week [Note to Newsreaders:
Please use your judgement on which of the 6 April events to read out,
based on your location and time slot.]

On Sunday 6 April the West London Radio and Electronics Show is at
Kempton Park Racecourse. Attractions include the RSGB Top Ham
Competition. For more details contact Paul, M0CJX, on 0845 165 0351, or
email him at . The rally web site is
www.radiofairs.co.uk.

The Northern Mobile Rally takes place on Sunday 6 April at St Francis
Xavier School, Richmond, North Yorkshire. Doors open at 10.30am.
Further information is available from Paul Hunt, email
, or at www.northernmobilerally.co.nr.

On Sunday 6 April the Spring Militaria, Electronics and Radio Amateur
Hangar Sale takes place at Hack Green secret Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich,
Cheshire, CW58AP. The sale is held concurrently with the Ex- Military
Landrover Association's large display of military vehicles. Further
information is from Rod Siebert, telephone 01270 623353 or email
, or on the web at www.hackgreen.co.uk.

The Cambridgeshire Repeater Group Annual Rally takes place on Sunday 6
April at Bottisham Village College, six miles east of Cambridge. Doors
open at 10am. More information can be obtained from Paul, G2PA,
telephone 01462 683574, or email .

On Sunday 13 April the Andover Radio Club Boot Sale takes place at
Wildhern Village Hall and Playing field, SP11 0JE, just off the A343.
Details from Martin, M0MWS, on 01980-612070 or on the web at
www.arac.co.uk.

On Sunday 13 April the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club has its annual
rally from noon at The Share Centre, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh.
Details from Alan Gault, GI6PYP, on 07771 811484/028 66341108, or by
email to .

And now the HF DX news compiled from 425 DX News and other sources.

JD1BMM will be active from Minami Torishima on HF CW, SSB and digital
modes until about 7 April. QSL via the JARL bureau or to his address on
QRZ.com.

Petrus Kritzinger, ZS6GCM says that he will be active from Marion
Island within the next month or so. He says that he will be active on
160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 12 and 10 meters using SSB, CW and RTTY. He
expects to start operation in May 2008 depending on his work load on
the island.

Now for the news of special events

GB0CD will be celebrating Cosmonautics Day on Saturday 12 April. The
day celebrates the anniversary of the first manned space flight by Yuri
Gagarin on April 12, 1962.

Amateurs in Munich, Germany are currently operating special call DR8M,
celebrating 850 years since the city was founded. More information is
at www.erkr.de/c11.

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Now the contest news

Sunday 6 April sees the RSGB 70MHz contest, held between 0900 and
1200UTC. All modes are permitted and the exchange is RST, serial number
and locator.

On Monday 7 April thee RSGB 80m Club Championship takes place from 1900
to 2030 on 80m. Mode is CW only, and the exchange is RST plus serial
number.

The 75th SP DX Contest takes place on 7 and 8 April. To celebrate, the
Polish Amateur Radio Union and SP DX Club are sponsoring a special
Jubilee Award. This SP DX Contest 75th Anniversary Award is available
free to all licensed operators and SWLs who meet specific criteria.
Complete rules are on line at www.spdxcontest.info.

The EU Sprint contest takes place on Saturday 12 April from 1600 to
1959 on 80, 40 and 20 metres, SSB. The exchange is your callsign, the
other station's callsign, serial number and your name or nickname.

And now the solar factual data for the period from the 24 to 30 March,
compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS and Martin Harrison, G3USF

By the 25th three sunspots groups had appeared unexpectedly on the
solar disc * bearing out a frequent theme of these reports: that the
Sun can surprise us at any time. These were old-cycle 23 spots. So far,
we have seen only one spot from the new cycle 24. All three sunspot
groups were magnetically simple and from the 28th were in gradual
decline. Solar activity was very low except for the 25th when a small M
class solar flare took place. This is the first M class flare since
June last year. Solar flux levels responded well and peaked at 89 units
on the 25th before gradually declining to 81 by the 30th. The average
was 83 units. The 90 day solar flux average on the 30th was 73, that's
one unit up on last week. X-ray flux levels increased to A8.1 units on
the 25th but declined to A3.7 by the 30th. The average was A4.9 units.
Geomagnetic activity started at quiet levels but on the 26th a coronal
hole disturbance commenced and lasted till the 28th. The most disturbed
day was the 27th with an Ap index of 31 units. The average was Ap 15
units. The ACE spacecraft saw solar wind speeds increase from 360
kilometres per second to 730 on the 28th. Particle densities were low
throughout. Bz varied between minus 3 and plus 4 nanoTeslas on the
quiet days and between minus 10 and plus 9 nanoTeslas during the
disturbance. There had been signs of improved HF propagation at the
start of last week. The F2 daytime critical frequencies declined by
3MHz during the disturbance with east-west paths particularly poor.
However, by the 29th, better conditions had returned, with even 28MHz
open to Africa. The darkness hour lows averaged 2.4MHz. On the 26th to
the 28th auroral working was reported on 50 and 144MHz. Since the
disturbance was fairly mild the main beneficiaries were, as usual,
operators at high magnetic latitudes. However, some Scottish stations
are known to have made contacts.

And finally the solar forecast. This week the quiet side of the Sun is
expected to be looking our way. Solar activity should be very low.
Solar flux levels are expected to be around the 70 mark for most of the
week. The geomagnetic field will be at unsettled to active levels till
towards the end of the week. Hopefully, activity next weekend will be
quiet. MUFs during daylight hours at equal latitudes are expected to be
about 18MHz for the south and 15MHz for the north. The darkness hour
lows should be around 8MHz. Paths this week to the Middle East should
have a maximum usable frequency with a 50 per cent success rate of
around 22MHz. The optimum working frequency with a 50 per cent success
rate will be about 17MHz. The best time to try this path will be
between 0900 and 1700 hours UTC.

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

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Next, the Local News:

Please note that details of all RSGB-affiliated clubs and societies

can be found on the RSGB website, including e-mail addresses

and website links where known.

[Note to newsreaders: Please read the local news items appropriate to
the service area of your

transmission.]

NEWS FOR THE SOUTH-EAST

and EAST ANGLIA The GB2RS news reading at 10am on 145.525MHz from the
Chigwell/Ilford area has had to be suspended. As a temporary measure,
G3MEH will read the 10am news from his location in Tring. If any RSGB
member in the area would care to undertake the 10am reading each
Sunday, please contact the GB2RS News Manager Gordon Adams, G3LEQ, on
01 565 652 652 for further details. Ideally, a team of two or three
readers is required, so they can take turns at reading the news. They
could be situated on either the North or South side of the River
Thames.

On Sunday 6 April Cambridgeshire Repeater Group is having its annual
rally at Bottisham Village College. Contact Paul, G2PA, 01462 683 574,
, or on the web at www.gb3pi.org.uk.

On Sunday 6 April Whitton Amateur Radio Group starts its Intermediate
Course. Contact Chris, 0870 760 5082, or on the web at www.warg.info.

On Monday 7 April Braintree and District Amateur Radio Society is
having its construction contest. Contact John, M5AJB, on 01787 460 947.

On Monday 7 April Burnham Beeches Radio Club is having a surplus
equipment sale. Contact G4XDU, on 01628 625 720.

On Monday 7 April Surrey Radio Contact Club is holding its AGM. Contact
Ray, G4FFY, on 020 8644 7589.

On Tuesday 8 April Stevenage and District Amateur Radio Society is
looking at the MKARS 80m SSB transceiver project. Contact Neil, M0ARH,
on 01438 217 077.

On Wednesday 9 April Chesham and District Amateur Radio Society is on
the air. Contact Terry, G0VFW, on 01442 831 491, or by email to
.

On Wednesday 9 April Dover Radio Club is having its club net on GB3KS.
Contact Brian, G4SAU, by email to .

On Wednesday 9 April Harwich Amateur Radio Interest Group is having a
lecture on "An SDR experimental test bed" by Jonathan, G0DVJ. Contact
James, M0ZZO, on 01255 242 746.

On Wednesday 9 April Havering and District Amateur Radio Club is having
an informal evening. Contact Dave, 2E0EBV, on 07956 594 514.

On Wednesday 9 April Newbury and District Amateur Radio Society is
visiting Martin Lynch's shop. Contact Richard, G3ZGC, on 01635 46241,
.

On Wednesday 9 April Norfolk Amateur Radio Club is having a talk on
crossing the Atlantic single handed with HF operation by M0EAZ and
G3LDI. Contact Mark Taylor, G0LGJ, on 01362 691099, or by email to
.

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On Wednesday 9 April South Essex Amateur Radio Society is testing
equipment with Allan, G7CDO. Details on the web at
www.southessex.ARS.btinternet.co.uk, or by email to
.

On Thursday 10 April Echelford Amateur Radio Society is having a talk
by John Cleeve, G3JVC, on his personal quest for an electrically quiet
radio environment. Contact John Osborne, G4GSC, on 01784 451898.

On Thursday 10 April King's Lynn Amateur Radio Club is having a club
night and 2 metre club net. Contact Ray, G3RSV, on
, or on the web at www.klarc.org.uk.

On Thursday 10 April Reading and District Amateur Radio Club is having
a talk on the Falkland Islands by Roger Eeles, G0SWC. Contact Pete,
G8FRC, on 01189 695 697.

On Thursday 10 April Shefford and District Amateur Radio Society Club
is having an SDR construction test. Contact David, G8UOD, on 01234 742
757.

On Friday 11 April Itchen Valley Amateur Radio Club is having a members
evening. Contact Liz, M0ACL, on 02380 254599.

On Friday 11 April Loughton and Epping Forest Amateur Radio Society is
on the air on VHF. Contact Marc, G0TOC, on 020 8502 1645, or by email
to .

On Friday 11 April Mid-Sussex Amateur Radio Society is having a radio
night. Contact Sue, G6YPY, on 01273 845 103, or by email to
.

On Friday 11 April Radio Society Of Harrow is having a talk on D-Star
radio by Gavin Nesbit from the Cambridge Repeater Group. Contact Linda,
G7RJL, on 020 8386 8586, or on the web at www.g3efx.org.uk or Chris
01895 621 310.

On Friday 11 April Torbay Amateur Radio Society is having a natter
night. Contact Dave, G6FSP, by email to .

On Friday 11 April Wimbledon and District Amateur Radio Society is
having a talk on the construction of antennas for VHF DFing. Contact
Jim, M0CON, on 020 8874 7456, or on the web at www.gx3wim.org.uk.

On Saturday 12 April Hastings Electronics and Radio Club is having an
auction of used and surplus equipment. Contact Gordon, 01424 431 909,
or by email to .

On Sunday 13 April Andover Radio Amateurs Club is having its car boot
sale at Wildhern Village Hall. Contact Martin, M0MWS, on 01980 612 070,
or on the web at www.arac.co.uk.

On Sunday 13 April Leiston Amateur Radio Club is having a talk on
weather by Jim Bacon, G3YLA. Contact Dave, G4HUP, on 01473 737 717, or
by email to .

NEWS FOR THE SOUTH-WEST On Tuesday 8 April Chippenham District Amateur
Radio Club is holding its AGM. Contact Ian, G0GRI, on 01225 846 698
evenings and weekends, or on the web at www.g3vre.org.uk.

On Wednesday 9 April South Bristol Amateur Radio Club is having a wine
and cheese evening with Muriel, G4YZR. Contact Len, G4RZY, on 01275 834
282.

On Wednesday 9 April Taunton and District Amateur Radio Club is on the
air. Contact William, G3WNI, on 01823 666 234, or by email to
.

On Thursday 10 April Yeovil Amateur Radio Club is having a briefing for
the QRP Convention. Contact Gary, 2E0BFJ, by email to
.

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NEWS FOR THE MIDLANDS On Monday 7 April Aldridge And Barr Beacon
Amateur Radio Club is preparing for the PW 144MHz QRP contest. Contact
Roy Horton, G4GRM, on 01922 691646, or by email to
.

On Monday 7 April East Kent Radio Society is having an operating
evening. Contact Paul, G3VJF, on 01227 365 384, or by email to
, or on the web at www.paulnic.com/ekrs.

On Monday 7 April Gloucester Amateur Radio And Electronics Society is
having a construction evening. Contact Anne, 2E1GKY, on 01452 548478,
daytime, or on the web at www.g4aym.org.uk.

On Monday 7 April Midland Ax25 Packet Radio Users Group is holding its
AGM at The Sir Robert Peel, Bloxwich. Contact Miles, G4GSB, on 01384
254 199, or on the web at www.maxpak.org.uk.

On Tuesday 8 April Eagle Radio Group is having a talk by Mark, 2E0NCG,
on HF and DXing. Contact Terry, G0SWS, on 07979 733 640.

On Tuesday 8 April Loughborough and District Amateur Radio Club is
having a vintage radio and test equipment evening. Contact Chris,
G1ETZ, on 01509 504 319.

On Tuesday 8 April Telford and District Amateur Radio Society is having
a hamfest committee meeting. Contact Mike, G3JKX, on 01952 299 677, or
by email to .

On Wednesday 9 April Lincoln Short-Wave is having a club news and views
meeting. Contact John, G1TSL, on 01526 323 153.

On Wednesday 9 April Telford and District Amateur Radio Society is
planning for 2008. Contact Mike, G3JKX, on 01952 299 677, or by email
to .

On Thursday 10 April RAF Waddington Amateur Radio Club is visiting Eden
Camp in Yorkshire. Contact Martin, M0MDF, on 01522 752 785, or by email
to .

On Thursday 10 April Salop Amateur Radio Society is calibrating its
power meter project. Details on the web at www.salop-ARS.org.uk.

On Thursday 10 April Tamworth Amateur Radio Society is having a
construction night. Contact Colin Marks, G4ZPJ, on 01827 700 893, or by
email to .

On Friday 11 April Coventry Amateur Radio Society is having a committee
forum and is on the air. Contact John, G8SEQ, on 02476 273 190, or by
email to .

On Saturday 12 April Lincoln Short-Wave Club is having a club meeting.
Contact John, G1TSL, on 01526 323 153.

NEWS FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND On Monday 7 April Angel Of The North
Radio Amateur Radio Club invites people to come and talk and take to
the air. Contact Nancy, G7UUR, on 07990 760 920 (day), 0191 477 0036
(night), or by email to , or on the web at
www.anarc.net.

On Monday 7 April Sheffield Amateur Radio Club is having a video
evening and UHF/VHF planning meeting. Contact Trevor, M0TWS.

On Monday 7 April Thornton Cleveleys Amateur Radio Society is having a
show and tell evening. Contact Jack, G4BFH, by email to
.

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On Wednesday 9 April Hornsea Amateur Radio Club is talking about
antennas for DF. Contact Sue, G6UQA, on 01482 668 041, or on the web at
www.hornseaarc.co.uk.

On Wednesday 9 April Wirral and District Amateur Radio Club is having a
talk on women in radio by Lisa, M0LSA. Contact Tom, G4BKF, on 07050 291
850.

On Friday 11 April East Cleveland Amateur Radio Club is on the air.
Contact Alistair, G4OLK, on 01642 475 671, or by email to
.

On Friday 11 April Mexborough and District Amateur Radio Society is
having a talk from M1LOU and M0ALA on IRLP. Contact Sharon, M0BOH.

On Friday 11 April South Manchester Radio And Computer Club is showing
a video on World War 2 aircraft. Contact Ron, G3SVW, on 0161 969 3999.

On Friday 11 April Tynemouth Radio Club is having a talk on PC
Virtualisation by Glen, G0SBN. Contact Tony, G8YFA, by email to
.

NEWS FOR SCOTLAND On Wednesday 9 April Lothians Radio Society is having
a talk on safety in the shack by Norman Stewart, GM1CNH. Contact Toby,
MM0TSS, on 07739 742 367, , or on the
web at www.lothiansradiosociety.com.

On Thursday 10 April Aberdeen Amateur Radio Society is having a talk on
switched mode power supplies by Tony, GM4HTU. Contact Lewis, GM4AJR, on
01224 575 663, or on the web at www.aars.freeserve.co.uk.

On Friday 11 April West Of Scotland Amateur Radio Society is having a
quiz. Details on the web at www.wosars.org.

On Sunday 13 April Central Scotland FM Group is holding its AGM.
Details on the web at www.csfmg.com.

NEWS FOR WALES On Monday 7 April Dragon Amateur Radio Club is having a
talk about the work of the Air Ambulance Service. Contact Martin,
GW3PRL, on 01248 430 848, .

NEWS FOR NORTHERN IRELAND No news items have been received for Northern
Ireland this week.

And that's the end of this week's GB2RS news broadcast,

prepared by the Radio Society of Great Britain.