RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 16th December 2018 The news headlines: Kenilworth pupils speak to astronaut SAQ to transmit on Christmas Eve Call in to YOTA stations Pupils at Kenilworth School in Warwickshire conversed with astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor aboard the ISS on Friday afternoon. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station contact was facilitated by the ARISS volunteers and streamed live via the internet. Ten children asked around twenty probing questions, and we learned...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 9th December 2018 The news headlines: Watch an ISS contact on Friday Turkey gets 60m and 6m RSGB responds to CEPT Wireless Power report An amateur radio contact with the International Space Station, facilitated by ARISS, is planned for Friday the 14th of December. The contact with Kenilworth school is scheduled for 1255UTC and will be streamed from around noon at https://live.ariss.org Turkey’s telecom regulator, BTK, in a government gazette notice on the 29th of...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 2nd December 2018 The news headlines: Listen for YOTA stations Intro to Amateur Radio workshops at Bletchley High Altitude Balloon news YOTA month has just started. The first club to activate the GB18YOTA callsign was Aberkenfig Radio Club in Bridgend on the 1st of December. Sandringham School Amateur Radio Club, with help from Verulam ARC, will activate it on Monday the 3rd. On the 5th, it’s the turn of Swansea Radio Club, then Silcoates School on the 6th and...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 23rd November 2018 The news headlines: Share your love of radio Black Friday book sale ends Monday UKFM Group seeks opinions Do you have friends or family members who are interested in getting into our amazing and varied hobby? Why not encourage them to book onto one of the RSGB’s brand-new workshops, An Introduction to Amateur Radio? Running in association with Bletchley Park, the workshops will take place at the RSGB’s National Radio Centre on the weekend of 15...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 18th November 2018 The news headlines: First geostationary amateur satellite success New RSGB Convention videos on YouTube Lithuania and Montenegro get 60m On Thursday the 15th of November, a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle lifted off flawlessly at 2046UTC from Cape Canaveral. It was carrying the first amateur radio payload destined for geostationary orbit. About 32 minutes after launch, SpaceX reports the spacecraft was successfully deployed into a geostationary transfer...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 11th November 2018 The news headlines: India gets 60, 630 and 6000m Join the Legacy Committee Register for next Bath Distance Learning course The Indian Government’s Telecommunications regulator has published a 2018 Update to the Indian National Frequency Plan, effective from the 25th of October. It lists new amateur bands at 5MHz, 472 and 136kHz. In more detail that means 5351.5 to 5366.5kHz as Secondary users with 15W EIRP. 472 to 479kHz is also as a Secondary user,...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 4th November 2018 The news headlines: RSGB Spectrum Forum meeting reports available ARRL opposing possible charger QRM Italians gain 60m allocation The reports, presentations and minutes from the recent RSGB Spectrum Forum annual meeting are now available. The material provides a unique overview, as a wide range of topics from EMC, HF to VHF and microwaves is covered from both the Society and Nationally Affiliated Groups. This year there was a particular focus on...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 28th October 2018 The news headlines: NRC opening 7 days a week Register for GB18YOTA Contesting consultation ends The RSGB is pleased to announce that the RSGB’s National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park will now be open seven days a week, starting from this week. Thanks to all the volunteers that make this possible. RSGB Members can download a free admission voucher to Bletchley Park from the RSGB website. Last call for applications to host GB18YOTA during YOTA Month...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 21st October 2018 The news headlines: Call for IARU R1 input RSGB Convention Construction Competition winners First of six new IOTA groups announced The RSGB has opened a call for inputs as part of its preparation and consultation process for the 2019 IARU Region 1 Interim Meeting that will be held next April. Topics on HF, VHF/Microwave and EMC matters will be considered. Whilst suggestions are welcome at this stage, full Draft papers are required by December, ahead...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 14th October 2018 The news headlines: RSGB Past President GI3KYP SK VHF Contest Consultation Now On Do you want to activate GB18YOTA? RSGB Past President Alexander Davidson Patterson OBE, FIEE, GI3KYP, died on October 10, 2018, peacefully, at home, surrounded by his family. Better known as Barney, he was RSGB President in 1967. Barney travelled widely during his Presidency and, among many other achievements, oversaw the purchase of 28 Little Russel Street, London, as...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 7th October 2018 The news headlines: RSGB Club of the Year winners announced Jamboree on the Air looms large Renew your 146 to 147MHz NoV At the National Hamfest on the 29th of September the winners in the RSGB’s National Club of the Year 2017 competition were presented with their prizes. Once again, we thank Waters and Stanton for sponsoring this year’s event. There are two categories, Large clubs with 25 members or over, and Small clubs with under 25 members. The...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 30th September 2018 The news headlines: Renew your 146MHz NoV NOW DXCC card checking at Convention Enigma Reloaded at National Radio Centre All current 146-147MHz band Notices of Variation (NoV) expire on Tuesday the 31st of October. Ofcom has agreed that the band will be made available for another year. However, to continue to use the frequencies you must obtain a new NoV. These are available free from the RSGB website via www.rsgb.org/nov Currently, 548 NoVs have...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 23rd September 2018 The news headlines: Railways on the Air this weekend Planning Permission guide update for RSGB Members RSGB Operating Advisory Service pages online This weekend is Railways on the Air and many clubs will be operating special event stations from railway related sites around the country. It celebrates the anniversary of the first steam powered passenger railway that took place on the 27th of September 1825 – the first passenger train ran on a line in...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 16th September 2018 The news headlines: Amateurs prepare for Hurricane Florence IARU plan for the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference Details on more RSGB Convention lectures CNN reports the American Radio Relay League has sent seven amateur radio kits to South Carolina to assist with emergency communication ahead of Hurricane Florence. The group used the same kits in Puerto Rico last September when Hurricane Maria knocked out power to most of the island. Short...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 9th September 2018 The news headlines: Brazil gets 60m and other new bands soon South Africans’ YOTA report Exciting Buildathon opportunity ANATEL, the Brazilian telecoms regulator, has produced an updated band plan, effective in a couple of months, which releases 60m to their amateurs. This is the WRC-15 Secondary allocation 5351.5 to 5366.5kHz with 25W EIRP for Class A operators. In addition they have been granted another two new bands, 135kHz with 1 watt EIRP and...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 2nd September 2018 The news headlines: Annual Reunion of Code Breakers Respond now to Ofcom consultation New Exams Standards appointment Today, Sunday the 2nd of September, it’s the Annual Reunion of Code Breakers at Bletchley Park, including those who were Voluntary Interceptors. This event is organised by Bletchley Park and more can be seen at www.bletchleypark.org.uk Preparations for the next World Radio Conference, WRC-19, are increasing. An important Ofcom...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 26th August 2018 The news headlines: FT8 in UK and EU contests Petition launched to save WWV GB3RS and GB7BP service interruption Recently, the RSGB Contest Committee has seen some FT8 QSOs being claimed within contest logs. At present it is difficult to complete a full contest exchange using FT8, although an EU contest compatible version is under development. A, machine generated modes, or MGM-specific contest ran in April this year, with a set of rules...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 19th August 2018 The news headlines: Norway gets 1kW on 6m and other bands Train the Trainers in Wolverhampton Share your VHF NFD experiences On the 8th of August, Norway got an updated amateur licence, allowing all Norwegian amateurs access to 50 to 52MHz with a power of 1kW. Other new privileges include permission for non-amateurs to operate an amateur station, under supervision of a licenced amateur, for training and educational purposes. On higher bands,...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 12th August 2018 The news headlines: More Newcomers on 5MHz – Ecuador and Bosnia-Herzegovina Early Bird deadline for the RSGB Convention approaching ARISS contact for German school The Ecuadorian telecoms regulator, ARCOTEL, has authorised operation on 5MHz under the new WRC-15 Secondary Allocation 5351.5 – 5366.5kHz with a maximum power of 25W EIRP. Bosnia & Herzegovina have also been authorised by their regulator, for 5MHz operation under the new WRC-15...

GB2RS NEWS Sunday 5th August 2018 The news headlines: New Exams Syllabus soon YOTA 2018 gets under way 71MHz activity thriving The RSGB is pleased to announce that, following its formal approval by RSGB Board in July, the new syllabus will be released during the week commencing 13 August. This will link with the publication of the first set of project communications in RadCom to give a fuller understanding of the milestones of the changeover. The Society will also release a...