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G4TNU  > NEWS     23.02.25 11:10l 251 Lines 12300 Bytes #10 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 23 Feb 2025
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 23rd of February 2025

The news headlines:

* The RSGB announces the unopposed candidates in its elections
* The RSGB releases 2025 Band Plans
* A year in numbers 2024 – some great things to celebrate!

Nominations in the RSGB elections have closed. For some roles a 
single nomination was received, and the candidate is therefore 
elected unopposed. They will take up their role at the end of the 
RSGB AGM in April. These unopposed candidates include the roles of 
President and also Regional Representatives in Regions 1, 4, 7, 8, 
10, 11 and 12. In Region 9, no valid nomination was received. For 
more information about each of these unopposed candidates, see the 
March issue of RadCom or the RSGB website at rsgb.org/election
The RSGB Band Plans for 2025 were published in the March 2025 issue 
of RadCom. They are also available on the RSGB website via 
rsgb.org/bandplans. This year's plans incorporate further VHF and UHF 
changes in response to the increased demand that has been prompted by 
the new Ofcom amateur licence. There are also a few changes from the 
2023 IARU Region-1 General Conference. All amateurs are reminded to 
consult the Band Plans before operating.

Despite continuing challenges nationally and across the world during 
2024, the amateur radio community stayed strong and the RSGB 
supported it. The RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB wrote his 
annual feature called ‘A year in numbers' for the March RadCom and 
shared some great things to celebrate, in which RSGB HQ staff often 
led the way. You can also see the highlights in a brief video on the 
RSGB YouTube channel. The April RadCom will show in detail the work 
of the committees and other specialist volunteers.

Girlguiding groups will be celebrating World Thinking Day on the Air 
this weekend so listen out for them and encourage the young 
operators. To highlight the opportunities for young people to get 
involved in amateur radio activities, this week the RSGB has 
published two new videos that celebrate the fantastic ISS contact and 
STEM day held in the autumn and attended by HRH The Duchess of 
Edinburgh. You can watch both the videos on the RSGB YouTube channel.

Between January and March 2024 Bob Bower, GM4DLG took on a one-man 
antipodean adventure. The DXpedition is currently being serialised 
in RadCom, and on Monday the 3rd of March, he will be delivering a 
Tonight<at>8 presentation to complement these features. The trip was 
eight weeks long and covered 27 activations from 11 sites on six 
islands. Bob operated on 20, 40 and 80m with 100W SSB into vertical 
arrays of his own design, with his holy grail being a valid 80m 
greyline QSO with Great Britain. Visit rsgb.org/webinars to find out 
more. Join the presentation live on the RSGB YouTube channel or 
special BATC channel and ask questions via the live chat.

Don't forget to submit your entry to the RSGB Construction 
Competition by Saturday the 1st of March. You'll need to email a 
short description of your entry and up to four photographs. It is 
also recommended to send a link to a video that demonstrates your 
entry working. More details on submitting your application can be 
found via rsgb.org/construction-competition  The results of the 
competition will be announced during the 2025 RSGB Annual General 
Meeting in April.

Exercise Blue Ham will take place on the 29th and 30th of March on 
the 60m band. Stations will be active between 9am and 6pm. Blue Ham 
exercises provide a platform to further develop Cadet radio operator 
skill and confidence by engaging with the amateur radio community via 
the MOD 5MHz shared band. Cadet radio operators, under supervision, 
will exchange radio messages with amateur radio operators in the UK 
and Europe. The Cadets hope to speak to many radio amateurs on the 
air. For more information visit alphacharlie.org.uk/exercise-blue-ham

The 26th European Hamradio School Stations Day will take place on 
Monday the 5th of May from 0700 to 1700UTC. This is an activity day, 
not a contest, so the focus is on personal radio contacts and QSO 
partners should take time for a short exchange. The organisers look 
forward to seeing many schools, universities and training centres on 
the air again. To find out more, go to tinyurl.com/european-schools
Please send details of all your news and events to 
radcom<at>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 Red Rose Winter Rally is taking place today from 10am at Mather 
Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh, Lancashire, WN7 2PJ. Please note that the 
maximum number of five-foot tables per trader has had to be reduced 
from six to five. On a brighter note, the price remains as it has 
been for several years at GBP 10 per table. For more information 
visit wmrc.co.uk

The Lagan Valley Amateur Radio Society Annual Rally will take place 
on Saturday the 1st of March at Hillsborough Village Centre, 7 
Ballynahinch Road, BT26 6AR. The doors open at 10.30am. For more 
details visit lvars.uk 
[LIMA-VICTOR-ALPHA-ROMEO-SIERRA-DOT-UNIFORM-KILO]

On Sunday the 2nd of March the Exeter Radio Rally is taking place at 
a new venue. The event will be held at The Kenn Centre, EX6 7UE, from 
10am. Traders and catering will be available on site. For more 
information phone Pete, G3ZVI on 07714 198 374 or email 
g3zvi<at>yahoo.co.uk


Now the Special Event news

On 26 February 2025, the 90th anniversary of the Daventry Experiment 
will be commemorated, marking a pivotal moment in the development of 
British radar technology. The Daventry Experiment had a lasting 
impact on both military strategy and civilian applications. To honour 
this milestone, several special event stations will be active. The 
Bawdsey Radar Museum will be hosting GB2BRS, with BRS representing 
Bawdsey Radar Station, whilst Coventry ARS from near Daventry will 
operate GB9ORE, [GB9 Oscar Romeo Echo], with RE representing Radar 
Experiment.  Chelmsford ARS from Great Baddow in Essex will activate 
GB9OCH [GB9 Oscar Charlie Hotel], with CH representing Chain Home, 
since Chelmsford is where one of the original Chain Home radar masts 
still stands. 

Special callsign S5701DX is running during February in memory of 
Slavko, S57DX who became a Silent Key last February. The station has 
been heard recently using CW and SSB on the HF bands. For more 
information visit QRZ.com

From the 1st to the 28th of March George, MM0JNL will once again be 
activating special event station GB0GTS. This year the station is 
active in support of the Great Tommy Sleepout. This national 
challenge aims to raise funds and awareness for all former UK service 
personnel who are living homeless. More details are available at 
QRZ.com and rbli.co.uk


Now the DX news

Datta [DAH-TAH], VU2DSI is operating from Lonar [LOH-NAR] Lake in 
India until tomorrow, the 24th of February. This unique location was 
formed by the impact of a meteor around 

550,000 [FIVE-HUNDRED-AND-FIFTY-THOUSAND] years ago. The station will 
be active on the 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands using SSB. More information 
can be found at QRZ.com 


Now the contest news

The CQ 160m DX Contest started at 2200UTC on Friday the 21st and ends 
at 2200UTC today, Sunday the 23rd of February. Using SSB on the 160m 
band, the exchange is signal report and CQ zone. USA stations also 
send their state and Canadian stations send their province.

The REF Contest started at 0600UTC on Saturday the 22nd and ends at 
1800UTC today, Sunday the 23rd of February. Using SSB on the 80 to 
10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal 
report and serial number.

The UBA DX CW contest started at 1000UTC on Saturday the 22nd of 
February and ends at 1300UTC today, Sunday the 23rd of February.  
Using CW on the 80 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the 
exchange is signal report and serial number. Belgian stations will 
also give their section code.


Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO 
on Thursday the 20th of February 2025

It seems we were a little over-ambitious in suggesting that last week 
would be better for HF propagation. It looked like we would avoid 
coronal mass ejections and see the Kp index fall to lower levels.

Unfortunately, the Sun had other ideas and a fast-moving solar 
stream, often moving faster than 500 km/s, had a south-pointing Bz, 
which coupled more easily with Earth and sent the Kp index up to four 
or more.

So even by Wednesday the 19th the Kp index was hitting five.

But it seems that the geomagnetic disturbance merely lowered the MUF 
from around 40-45MHz to 31-32MHz, so it barely affected HF 
propagation.

At the time of writing there had only been one M-class solar flare in 
the past five days, but more than 50 minor C-class events. There were 
no Earth-directed CMEs.

Nevertheless, there was DX to be had with the standout stations being 
the V73WW DXpedition to Majuro [MA-JU-RO] Atoll on the Marshall 
Islands, TI1RRC Costa Rica, and 5N9DTG in Nigeria. Upcoming DX next 
week includes OX3LX (Greenland), Dave G4BUO as 5W0UO (Samoa), TO3Z 
(Guadeloupe), 4S7SPG (Sri Lanka) and FS/VA3QSL (St Martin).

Next week, NOAA predicts that the week commencing the 23rd of 
February could see the solar flux index starting at 170, but then 
rising to 195-200 as the week progresses. Geomagnetic conditions are 
predicted to start quietly, with a Kp index of two, but then become 
unsettled by the 27th to the 29th, with a maximum predicted Kp index 
of five.

If this scenario does pan out then we may expect the best HF 
conditions to occur at the beginning of next week, from the 23rd to 
the 26th.

As always, keep an eye on solarham.com for day-to-day solar news, and 
perhaps monitor PSKreporter, the Reverse Beacon Network and DX 
Clusters for digital, CW and SSB HF propagation updates.

And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO
The current spell of unsettled weather seems likely to continue 
through to the end of next week. There will also be significant windy 
weather at times. It is therefore not a particularly good period for 
Tropo, or big antennas for that matter.

This leaves us with rain scatter on the GHz bands and some of these 
scattering regions will be large areas affecting the whole of the 
country as active weather fronts pass by, rather than more isolated 
and harder-to-follow showers which often provide our rain scatter. 
Meteor scatter is still within its quieter period with no major 
showers and better chances coming from random meteor activity, which 
tends to peak in the hours before dawn.

Recent solar activity has provided some weak auroral conditions on 
many days.  As usual, check for high values of the Kp index as a good 
indicator, or even listen for a watery tone on the LF bands. 
Ultimately you will need to see the Kp index going to at least five 
to make it worth checking for auroral signals on VHF.

We are still in the dormant period for Sporadic-E propagation, which 
is a shame in view of the powerful jet streams likely during this 
stormy weather. These would produce good Es prospects in the main 
summer season, but weaker Es at low VHF are still a possibility 
despite being out of season.

Moon declination is at minimum today, Sunday the 23rd of February, 
and path losses are decreasing as the Moon moves closer to Earth as 
it heads to perigee on Saturday the 1st of March. 144MHz sky noise 
goes high this weekend, beginning Saturday the 22nd. 

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


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


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