GB2RS NEWS

Sunday 13th May 2012

The news headlines:

* Special WAB award for Olympic Flame stations

* Volunteers wanted for RSGB Centenary Working Group

* DXCC approves Yemeni and Somali DXpeditions

The Worked All Britain Awards Group has organised special awards to
coincide with the passage of the Olympic Flame around the country.
Various clubs around the UK will be operating from locations along the
route used by the Torch Bearers for that particular day. They will use
the callsigns G4WAB and G7WAB. The main call will be G4WAB, the
exceptions for this being Shetland and Orkney, Jersey and Guernsey,
when both callsigns will be used on the same day. There will be Bronze,
Silver and Gold versions of the award, depending on the number of
stations worked. Full details of the cost, route and club stations are
available on the WAB website, www.worked-all-britain.co.uk.

With the RSGB Centenary now just over 6 months away detailed planning
of events to mark the occasion, as well as publicise our hobby to the
public, is under way. Rob Harwood, G0HRT has been appointed to chair a
Centenary Working Group to lead the work. He is looking for a few
volunteers to join the Centenary Working Group to help plan and
implement a number of events. The scope for the events is still under
consideration, but it is likely to include a yearlong sequence of
themed Special Event Stations, local events with clubs, and events to
both publicise the hobby to our national and international partners as
well as highlight the supporting role that Society plays. Rob is
seeking a few volunteers from our membership who can think creatively,
work mostly virtually, and have the necessary skills and self-
motivation to drive the ideas forward to implementation. Please contact
Rob along with a brief CV and interests to .

The current 7O6T DXpedition to Yemen and the February 2012 6O3A
DXpedition to Somalia have both been approved for DXCC credit. If you
had cards that were recently rejected for the 6O3A operation, contact
the ARRL DXCC Desk. Once your record is updated, results will appear in
Logbook of The World accounts or in the live, daily DXCC Standings. On
1 May, YT3PDT, become the 50,000th person to join Logbook of The World.

If you can't make it to the Dayton Hamvention next weekend but would
like to know what is going on, Tom Medlin, W5KUB may be your answer.
Since 2002 Tom has run a live web video stream of the event,
traditionally starting with his 500 mile drive from Tennessee. The live
broadcast starts at around 2pm BST on Wednesday 16 May at
www.W5KUB.com.

The life of Tony Sale, who was best-known for his work in re-creating
the Colossus computer at Bletchley Park, is to be commemorated by the
creation of an award for the best computer restoration project.
Overseen by the Computer Conservation Society (CCS) and backed by
Google, the award will seek out those projects carried out in the same
spirit that Tony Sale brought to his work, said David Hartley, chairman
of the CCS. An article in the publication Computer Weekly notes that
Tony Sale, who passed away in August 2011, was principal science
officer at the Security Service MI5 and says he was also a radio ham,
although it is not clear if he actually held a licence.

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

The RSGB will be represented at Dayton Hamvention on 18 to 20 May by
RSGB President Dave Wilson, M0OBW and there will also be a RSGB book
stall at the event.

The Dunstable Downs Radio Club Boot Sale takes place on Sunday 20 May
at Stockwood Park, Dunstable. Entrance and car parking is £2 and the
event opens at 9am. More information is at www.ddrcbootsale.org. Now
for the news of special events

Botley Flour Mills near Southampton is one of the UK's oldest known
milling sites, is listed in the Doomsday book and is believed to have
been a mill site in pre Roman times. The Mill will be activated with
the callsign GB0BFM for Mills on the Air weekend on 12 and 13 May from
10am to 4pm. Using 80m, 40m, 2m & 70cm, the station will be run by
M0IED and G6FRT and other members of Itchen Valley Radio Club, with
added assistance from Southampton University Wireless Society.

Today, 13 May, Shannon Basin Radio Club will operate from Elphin
Windmill, Co. Roscommon as part of the Mills on the air weekend. The
call will be EI2EWM and will be active on all bands, SSB and CW.

Also today, 13 May, Cray Valley Radio Society will be airing GB6MW from
Meopham Windmill, Meopham Green, Kent DA13 0QA as part of the National
Mills Weekend. The stations will be active on HF, 2 and 4m. Anyone in
the area or planning to visit will be welcome to see the mill and meet
some of the CVRS members.

Lincoln Short Wave club will be operating GB5DAM on 16 and 17 May to
remember air crew of RAF Bomber Command who lost their lives during the
raid by 617 Squadron, the Dambusters, on the great dams of the Ruhr
Valley in the early morning of 17 May 1943.

GS5NB will be on the air from Ness Battery, Stromness, Orkney from
0800UTC on 19 May to 2000UTC on 21 May using the 80 through to 10m
bands, running SSB, CW RTTY and PSK. Run by Orkney Amateur Radio Club,
it celebrates the official opening of this Scheduled Ancient Monument
to the public after its restoration by Scapa Flow Landscape
Partnership. There will be some activity during set up in the preceding
week. QSL is direct only via GM0WED and LoTW. Full details on
http://eu009.webplus.net, and qrz.com.

The Geoparks communications weekend this year takes place on 26 and 27
May. South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will again operate from
Tankardstown on the Copper Coast Geopark in Co. Waterford. The callsign
should be EI2GEO and activity will mainly be on HF.

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

Barry, 9V1FJ will be operating from a number of Caribbean countries in
the coming weeks. From 12 to 14 May he will operate from Saba Island
signing PJ5/G4MFW. He then plans to appear as FJ/G4MFW from St
Barthelemy from 15 * 16 May. Next on the list is Curaçao as PJ2/G4MFW
and finally Bonaire as PJ4/G4MFW from 17 * 20 May.

A group of Japanese operators will be on the air from the Maldives
until 16 May. Callsigns to look out for are 8Q7NK, 8Q7IC, 8Q7TE, 8Q7CJ
and 8Q7ZS. Activity will be on all bands from 160 to 6m using CW, SSB,
RTTY and PSK.

A group of operators from the Charente DX Group will be active as TM0CI
from the Chausey Islands (EU-039) on 19-25 May. QSL via F5EOT, direct
or bureau, instructions are on qrz.com.

XX9E is the callsign for the 17-23 May DXpedition to Coloane Island
(AS-075), Macau. A large team will be active on 6 to 160m using CW, SSB
and RTTY with at least three stations. QSL via EB7DX and LoTW. Further
information at www.adxg.org/xx9/

Now the contest news

The 70MHz CW Contest takes place from 0900 to 1200UTC today, 13 May.
The exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode. The
Worked All Britain LF phone contest takes place today, 13 May, from
1000 to 1400UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB
square. Full details of the rules and logsheets may be obtained from
the WAB website www.worked-all-britain.co.uk or from the Contest
Manager, G3XKT, via e-mail to .

On 15 May the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest takes place from 1900 to
2130UTC. Using all modes the exchange is signal report, serial number
and locator.

On 16 May the data leg of the 80m Club Championships takes place from
1900 to 2030UTC. The exchange is signal report and serial number.

The weekend of 19 and 20 sees overlapping VHF events. The 144MHz May
Contest takes place for 24 hours, with the First 144MHz Backpackers
overlapping the final three hours of it and that contest then continues
for another hour on its own. The exchange for the 144MHz contest is
signal report, serial number locator and postcode, whilst the
Backpackers exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

And now the solar factual data for the period from Friday the 4th to
Thursday the 10th of May, compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS on Friday 11th
of May.

First this week the latest smoothed monthly sunspot numbers which are
for August, September and October 2011 and are 59, 59.5 and 59.9
respectively.

On the 5th a large complex sunspot group rotated into view and with it
solar activity increased to moderate levels with M class solar flares
taking place every day. In total, 11 M class flares took place, along
with dozens of C class solar flares. With these M class solar flares
several sudden ionospheric disturbances occurred, which affect the
daylight side of the Earth. Also, several coronal mass ejections
occurred. Those that were directed towards us were small and weak.
Solar flux levels increased from 114 units on the 4th to 131 by the
10th. The average was 121 units. The 90 day solar flux average on the
10th was 113, that's one unit up on the previous week. That's the first
rise so far this year. X-ray flux levels increased from B3.9 units on
the 4th to B6.5 by the 10th. The average was B5.1 units. Geomagnetic
activity was quiet at first with an Ap index of only 4 units for the
first 3 days of the period but by the 9th a coronal hole disturbance
arrived and the Ap index increased to 25 units. The average was Ap 9
units. Solar wind data from the ACE spacecraft saw solar wind speeds
increase from a slow 290 kilometres per second on the 4th to a fast 670
by early on the 10th. Particle densities were low every day except for
a brief increase to 22 particles per cubic centimetre on the 8th. Bz
varied between minus 1 and plus 7 nanoTeslas on the quiet days and
between minus and plus 13 nanoTeslas during the disturbance. For most
of week propagation reached predicted levels but the magnetic storm
reduced MUFs by 5MHz or more, particularly over high latitude paths.
Aurora associated with the disturbance during afternoon and evening of
the 9th appears to have been confined to high latitudes - but a
Canadian 6m beacon was heard in Scotland. Otherwise, sporadic- E
reached 60MHz on several days with occasional openings on 70MHz, mainly
to southern Europe.

And finally the solar forecast. This week the active side of the Sun is
expected to be looking our way. Solar activity is expected to be
moderate most days with a slight chance that activity could increase to
high with an X class flare taking place. Solar flux levels should
increase and be around the 140 mark by midweek. Geomagnetic activity
should be quiet most days but a solar flare related coronal mass
ejection could increase activity at any time. A weak coronal hole
disturbance could arrive right at the end of the period. MUFs during
daylight hours at equal latitudes should be about 24MHz for the south
and 21MHz for the north. Darkness hour are expected to be around 12MHz.
Paths this week to the Middle East should have a maximum usable
frequency with a 50 per cent success rate of around 23MHz. The optimum
working frequency with a 90 per cent success rate will be about 18MHz.
The best time to try this path will be between 1000 and 1500 hours UTC.
Sporadic-E is expected to take place most days with openings up to
50MHz and 70MHz on some days.

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

Next, the Local News:

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

can be found on the RSGB website, including email 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 MIDLANDS We start with clubs that have several events this
week. Friskney and East Lincolnshire Communications Club has a club net
on 144.165 USB, vertical polarization, from 7pm on Monday 14 May. On
Wednesday there is a M3+M6 club net on GB3FR from 7.30pm. On Friday 18
May there is a club net is on GB3FR from 7.30pm. For more information
contact the FELCC Information Line on 07554 362 020.

Lincoln Short-Wave Club is taking part in Mills on the Air on Sunday 13
May, operating GB5EM at Ellis Mill, and also taking part in the WAB LF
Phone contest from the shack between 10 and 2. Tuesday sees them taking
part in the 1.3GHz UK AC. On Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 May Lincoln
Short-Wave Club is operating GB5DAM in memory of the Dambusters raid in
1943. On Thursday evening they are taking part in the 80m CC Data and
holding a simplex club net on 145.375MHz from 20.00. Finally, Saturday
in the Shack starts at 9am on the 19th. For more information contact
Pam Rose, G4STO, on 01427 788 356.

South Birmingham Radio Society is holding a field day planning meeting
on Monday 14 May. Thursday the 17th sees training classes with Dave
Murphy, G8OWL, and on Friday there's shack and aerial work. Contact
Don, on 01214 581 603.

Wythall Radio Club continues its Intermediate course on Monday 14 May,
then on Tuesday is having an interactive demo on Instant Morse by Steve
White, G3ZVW. On Sunday 20 May it's the club trip to Dunstable Downs
Rally. Details from Chris, G0EYO, on 07710 412 819.

Now we return to the traditional listing in date order. On Monday 14
May Gloucester Amateur Radio & Electronics Society is holding a
construction and operating evening. Contact Anne, 2E1GKY, on 01452 548
478, daytime.

On Monday 14 May Stratford Upon Avon District Radio Society is having a
talk on amateur radio satellites by AMSAT-UK committee member Ciaran,
M0XTD. Contact G0CHO, on 01608 664 488.

On Tuesday 15 May Derby & District Amateur Radio Society is having a
talk on the Glenn Miller wartime broadcasts with audio memories by Fred
Tagg. Contact Richard Buckby, by email to .

On Tuesday 15 May Loughborough & District Amateur Radio Club is having
a talk on `going loopy' by Art, G3KWY. More information from Chris,
G1ETZ, on 01509 504 319.

On Tuesday 15 May Worcester Radio Amateurs Association is on the air.
Details from Rich Moles, M0UVA, via email to .

On Wednesday 16 May Midland Amateur Radio Society is holding a review
of the station at Cottage Farm and holding training classes. Details
from Norman, G8BHE, on 07808 078 003.

On Wednesday 16 May South Kesteven Amateur Radio Society is having an
informal evening. Contact Nigel, M0CVO, on 01476 402 550.

On Wednesday 16 May Telford & District Amateur Radio Society is holding
a 2m walking DF hunt. Contact Mike, G3JKX, on 01952 299 677. On
Wednesday 16 May Welland Valley Amateur Radio Society is taking part in
the 80m CC DATA contest. For more information contact Peter D Rivers,
G4XEX, on 01858 432 105.

On Thursday 17 May Brigg & District Amateur Radio Club is having a talk
about the recent changes to the RSGB QSL bureau by Richard, G3UGF.
Members and guests are most welcome. Contact James, M6JKC, on 0785 403
7708.

On Thursday 17 May Cheltenham Amateur Radio Association is holding a
texting versus Morse code challenge. More information from Derek Thom,
G3NKS, on 01242 241 099.

On Thursday 17 May Salop Amateur Radio Society is holding a fox hunt.
Details are online at www.salop-ars.org.uk.

On Friday 18 May Coventry Amateur Radio Society is having a VHF and UHF
radio workshop evening. Contact John, G8SEQ, on 07958 777 363.

On Friday 18 May Melton Mowbray Amateur Radio Society is holding its
annual construction contest. For more information contact Geoff, G3STG,
on 01664 480 733.

NEWS FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND On Monday 14 May Angel of the North
Amateur Radio Club is on the air. Contact Nancy Bone, G7UUR, on 01914
770 036.

On Monday 14 May Bolton Wireless Club is having an evening of radio DF
hunting on foot with Ross, G6GVI. For details, send an email to
.

On Monday 14 May Sheffield Amateur Radio Club is having a talk on the
Elecraft K2 transceiver by Mike, G0NEY. More information from Peter
Day, G3PHO, by email to .

On Tuesday 15 May Chester & District Radio Society is holding its
annual dinner. Contact Bruce Sutherland, M0CVP, on 01244 343 825.

On Tuesday 15 May Morecambe Bay Amateur Radio Society has a committee
meeting. Contact Sheila, on 07867 516 836.

On Tuesday 15 May Stockport Radio Society is having a talk on logging
programs by Peter, M1PTR. More information from Nigel Roscoe, on 07973
312 699.

On Wednesday 16 May Denby Dale Radio Club is having a club night.
Details from Richard, M0RBG, on 07976 220 126.

On Wednesday 16 May Sheffield Amateur Radio Club is taking part in the
RSGB 80m Contest DATA from the club station, G3RCM. More information
from Peter Day, G3PHO, by email to .

On Wednesday 16 May Wirral & District Amateur Radio Club is having a
drink and waffle at Pollards, Willaston. Contact Simon, G6XHF, on 0151
601 3269.

On Thursday 17 May Ripon & District Amateur Radio Society is working on
the DCD/RBY Beverage project. Details from Rob Hall, M0RBY, on 07876
085 631.

On Thursday 17 May South Manchester Radio and Computer Club is having a
talk on amateur satellite communications by Peter, G0BHP. Details from
Ron, G3SVW, on 01619 693 999.

On Friday 18 May East Cleveland Amateur Radio Club is having a bring in
something interesting evening. For more information contact Alistair,
G4OLK, on 01642 475 671.

On Friday 18 May Tynemouth Amateur Radio Club is having a talk on the
Hexbeam antenna by 2E0KLO. Contact Bob, M6KLO, by email to
.

On Sunday 20 May North Cheshire Radio Club is holding training classes
at 7.30pm, followed by the AGM at 9pm. Contact Gordon, G3LEQ on 01565
652 652.

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

NEWS FOR SCOTLAND On Tuesday 15 May Ayr Amateur Radio Group is holding
a School Radio Day. Details from Tom Ferguson, GM1OST, on 01292 532
088.

On Tuesday 15 May Livingston & District Amateur Radio Society is having
Morse Code Practice. Details from Norman, GM1CNH, on 07740 946 192.

On Wednesday 16 May Ayr Amateur Radio Group is having a group meeting.
Details from Tom Ferguson, GM1OST, on 01292 532 088.

On Wednesday 16 May Glenrothes & District Radio Club is having a
demonstration of contest and other software. Details from Laurie,
MM0LJA, via email to .

On Thursday 17 May Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club is having a talk by
Wul, 2M0WUL, on Bernie The Bolt. Contact Ellis Gaston, GM0HPK, on 07979
692 580.

NEWS FOR THE SOUTH EAST and EAST ANGLIA We start with clubs that have
several events this week.

Bedford and District Amateur Radio Club is running a club net on GB3BF
on Monday 14 May from 20:30, and another net on GB3BF from 20.30 on
Thursday 17 May. On Saturday 19 May the club is participating in
Castles on the Air weekend, and Sunday 20 May sees a club trip to the
Dunstable Downs boot sale. Details from Bob Leask, G3XNG, by email to
.

Bromley & District Amateur Radio Society is having a talk on Tuesday 15
May on technology in eco-houses by Justin, G8YTZ. On Sunday 20 May its
Intermediate course continues. Details from Andy, G4WGZ, on 01689 878
089.

Chesham & District Amateur Radio Society is taking part in Windmills on
the Air on Sunday 13 May, and on Wednesday 16 May is having a technical
talk on computer logging by Terry, G0VFW. More details from Terry,
G0VFW, on 01442 831 491.

Mid-Sussex Amateur Radio Society is having a radio night and post event
equipment on Friday 18 May, then on Sunday 20 May it's the club
Aspidistra visit. Details from Rob, 2E0RJA, on 01444 232 129.

Now we return to the traditional listing in date order.

On Sunday 13 May South Essex Amateur Radio Society is taking part in
Mills on the Air as GB2RWM from Rayleigh Windmill. Contact Dave, G4UVJ,
on 01268 697 978.

On Sunday 13 May Southdown Amateur Radio Society is operating GB2PW for
Mills day at Polegate Windmill. Details from John, G3DQY, on 01424 424
319.

On Sunday 13 May Surrey Radio Contact Club is operating GX3SRC/P at the
Sutton model Engineering Club open day. Details from John, G3MCX, on
020 8688 3322. On Monday 14 May Coulsdon Amateur Transmitting Society
is having a talk on WSPR by G3JKV. Details from Steve Beal, G3WZK, by
email to .

On Monday 14 May Southdown Amateur Radio Society is having a talk by
John, G3DQY on GB2PW, QSL cards and memorabilia. Details from John,
G3DQY, on 01424 424 319.

On Monday 14 May Surrey Radio Contact Club is having a construction
evening. Contact John, G3MCX, on 02086 883 322.

On Monday 14 May West Kent Amateur Radio Society is having a talk about
GB3MH by the repeater keeper, Malcolm G3NZP. Details from Keith, G4JED,
via email to .

On Tuesday 15 May Brede Steam Amateur Radio Society is at the shack.
For more information contact Steve, on 01424 720 815.

On Tuesday 15 May Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society is running a club
net from 8.30. Contact Martyn, G1EFL, on 01245 469 008.

On Tuesday 15 May Verulam Amateur Radio Club is having a talk on DX for
the busy person by Alan, G4DJX. Contact Ralph, G1BSZ, on 01923 265 572.

On Wednesday 16 May Havering & District Amateur Radio Club is having a
talk by Ollie Tillett, G3TPJ on the C in electronics. More information
from John, M0UKD, on 07890 222 111.

On Wednesday 16 May Norfolk Amateur Radio Club is having an informal
meeting and taking part in the RSGB 80m Club Championship DATA leg.
Details from Chris Danby, G0DWV, on 01603 898 678.

On Thursday 17 May Bredhurst Receiving and Transmitting Society is
holding a general and committee meeting. Details from Andrew, M6AAE, on
07403 325 075.

On Thursday 17 May Colchester Radio Amateurs have a talk on pedestrian
mobile by Peter, G8BLS. More information from Kevan, 2E0WMG, on 07766
543 784.

On Thursday 17 May Horndean & District Amateur Radio Club is watching
the T32C DXpedition DVD. Contact Stuart, G0FYX, on 02392 472 846.

On Thursday 17 May Horsham Amateur Radio Club is having a social
evening at The Chequers Inn, Rowhook. Details are on the web at
www.harc.org.uk.

On Thursday 17 May King's Lynn Amateur Radio Club is having a club
night. Contact Ray, G3RSV, by email to ral- .

On Thursday 17 May Lowestoft & District PYE Amateur Radio Club is
having a club night at the shack. Details from Lee, 2E1LJL, on 01502
564 242.

On Thursday 17 May Shefford & District Amateur Radio Society is having
a 2m mobile fox hunt, the foxes being Ken, G4YRF and Ian, G3ORG.
Details from John Burnett, M6JBU, on 07860 804 793.

On Friday 18 May Wey Valley Amateur Radio Group is having a talk on six
metres by Peter Bacon, G3ZSS. Details on the web at
www.weyvalleyarg.org.uk.

On Saturday 19 May Fort Purbrook Amateur Radio Club commences its
CASHOTA field weekend at the Fort. Contact Mick Ponsford, M0GWD, on
02392 366 699.

On Sunday 20 May Radio Society of Harrow is at Old Redding calling CQ
GX3EFX/P. More information from Linda, G7RJL, on 02083 868 586.

NEWS FOR THE SOUTH WEST Exeter Amateur Radio Society is having a talk
on antenna design and construction on Monday 14 May, then a club net on
145.575MHz at 19:45 on Tuesday. Thursday 17 May sees the club 4m net on
70.425MHz at 19:00. Contact Nick, 2E0NRJ, on 01363 775 756.

On Monday 14 May Riviera Amateur Radio Club is having a club night.
Details from Alan Wyatt, G2DXU, by email to .

On Monday 14 May Weston Super Mare Radio Society is holding Morse
classes and having a natter night. Details from Paul, G3SDH, on 01761
221 206.

On Wednesday 16 May Thornbury & South Gloucestershire Amateur Radio
Club is holding a video night. Contact Tony, G0WMB, on 01454 417 048.

On Wednesday 16 May Trowbridge & District Amateur Radio Club is having
a natter night. Details from Ian, G0GRI, on 01225 864 698, evenings and
weekends.

On Thursday 17 May Cornish Radio Amateur Club is having a workshop
evening. Details from Steve, G7VOH, on 01209 844 939.

On Thursday 17 May South Bristol Amateur Radio Club is having a talk on
kite antennas by Henryk, M0HTB. Details from Andrew Jenner, G7KNA, on
07838 695 471.

On Thursday 17 May Swindon & District Amateur Radio Club is having an
activity night and preparing for the 144MHz Contest. Contact Den,
M0ACM, on 07810 317 750.

NEWS FOR WALES On Tuesday 15 May Carmarthen Amateur Radio Society is
holding its AGM. Contact Lloyd, 2W0LLT, on 01239 711 297.