WADARC meets at – Lions Hall, 21 Roberts Road, Lancing. BN15 8AR.
THE PAST WEEK
Last weekend was Mills On The Air when GB0HSM was setup at Salvington Mill. There wasn’t sufficient time to buy a new club laptop and set it up, so Roger, G7VBR’s laptop was dragged into service and with the IC7300 working fine, logging was once again fairly straightforward. Pete, G4LKW reported that many QSOs took place mainly on 80 and 40 metres.
Wednesday’s Tea and Chat did just what it said on the tin, with some discussion regarding Mills On The Air and various other chatterings. There was even some Morse Code practice – well done Ray, keep it up!
Please note: Although there was talk about the forthcoming Foxhunt, it DOES NOT take place NEXT Wednesday, it’s the Wednesday after that – 30th May!
CLUB MEETINGS & EVENTS
- Practical Evening-Antennas – Lions Hall, Lancing – Wednesday 23rd May – 8.00pm-10.00pm
- 1st Bi-Annual Fox Hunt – Lions Hall open for those who can’t travel – Wednesday 30th May – 7.30pm-10.00pm – Note: Early start time.
- Sunday Breakfast – Goring Cafe – Sunday 3rd June – 9.00am-10.00am
- Tea and Chat Evening – Lions Hall, Lancing – Wednesday 6th June – 8.00pm-10.00pm
- Outside On The Air, bring rigs and antennas – Bignor Hill Car Park, Bignor – Wednesday 13th June – 8.00pm-10.00pm – Note: Lions Hall CLOSED.
- Tea and Chat Evening – Lions Hall, Lancing – Wednesday 20th June – 8.00pm-10.00pm
- Practical Evening – Subject TBA- Lions Hall, Lancing – Wednesday 27th June – 8.00pm-10.00pm
For further information as it occurs, please visit the WADARC website: www.wadarc.org.uk
NETS
Monday – 2 metres 145.425 MHz, FM, 7.30pm (local)
Thursday – 40 metres 7.106 MHz +/-QRM, SSB, 11.00am (local)
Saturday – 70 cms on GB3WO, 7.00pm (local)
Sunday – 80 metres 3.712 MHz +/- QRM, SSB, 7.30am-8.00am (local)
RALLIES
17-20 May 2018 Dayton Hamvention [Thursday-Sunday]
Greene County Fair & Exposition Centre, Xenia, Dayton, Ohio, 45385, USA.
Coordinates: 39.702N – 83.9420W
Open 08:00. Flea market. Trade. RSGB books. SIGs. Daily lectures. Catering &.
Family pastimes on-site. Raffle. US exams.
Further details: international@hamvention.org http://www.hamvention.org
20 May 2018 35th Dunstable Downs RC Car Boot Sale
Stockwood Park, Farley Hill, Luton, LU1 5PP.
Entrances: Visitors-51.869155N 0.428050W Traders-51.865229N 0.417671W
Open 09:00/Traders 07:30. Entry/Car park £3.00 per vehicle.
5m x 5m plots available; one vehicle per plot £7.50 prebooked, £10 on
the day. All unsold items and scrap must be taken off the site.
Details/bookings: bootsale-web@magstripe.co.uk http://www.ddrcbootsale.org
1-3 June 2018 Ham Radio Show, Friedrichshafen [Friday-Sunday]
Neue Messe 1, 88046 Friedrichshafen, Germany. GPS 47.678150N 9.505990E.
Trade. IARU Member Societies’ stands. Trade. Large flea market. Lectures (some
in English). RSGB books. Parking €5. Entry: daily-€11/10; 3-day-€23/20; concessions;
lower entry price is for online tickets. Open: Fri/Sat 09:00-18:00; Sun 09:00-15:00.
Contact: http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de Tel 0049-7541-708-405.
17 June 2018 15th West of England Radio Rally [Was listed for 24 June]
Cheese & Grain Venue, Market Yard, Bridge St, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1BE.
Open 10:00-14:00. Admission £3/kids free. Inside & outside traders. RSGB books.
Free parking. Disabled access. Café.
Details: Shaun G8VPG, 01225-873098 rallymanager@westrally.org.uk
http://www.westrally.org.uk
24 June 2018 31st Newbury Radio Rally
Newbury Showground, Jcn 13/M4, Chieveley, Berks. RG18 9QZ.
Open 09:00/08:00-sellers. Entry £2.50-visitors, £12.50-boot sale seller’s pitch.
Discounted advance bookings via http://www.nadars.org.uk/rally.asp
Free parking. Display area. Exhibits SIGs. Clubs & Societies. On-site catering
Disabled facilities. Amateur radio station.
Contact: NewburyRally@nadars.org.uk http://www.nadars.org.uk
Details of other UK rallies can be found on this excellent website: http://www.g4rga.org.uk/All.html
RAGCHEW
Winter 2017 edition published – http://www.wadarc.org.uk/ragchew/winter-201718
PROPAGATION
HF:
Last week continued with zero sunspots after the 13th and a solar flux index of around 70. NOAA had forecast poorer geomagnetic conditions from Thursday, the 17th. The solar wind speed, as measured at the ACE spacecraft, did increase on Thursday morning but the K-index hadn’t got above three by Thursday afternoon.
Overall, HF conditions were average with daytime critical frequencies tending to be in the range 4 to 5MHz. This translates to an F-layer maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path of about 15-17MHz. This means that the most reliable daytime DX band remains 20 metres, 14MHz.
As we move towards more summer-like ionospheric conditions the higher HF bands are remaining open later. The 30 and sometimes even 20 metre bands are staying open longer after sunset, although 20m is still closing by late evening.
Sporadic E is still bringing some interest to the upper HF bands, particularly 10 metres, but you can see the short-skip effects down to 20 meters as well.
The FT8 frequency of 28.074 MHz is now a good first check point for band openings. The 10m beacons are also worth checking because SR5TDM, a three watt low-power Polish beacon on 28.215MHz, was audible during the week. You can find a 10 and 6m beacon list by searching on the web for G3USF beacons.
Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain around 70. A lack of coronal hole activity means the K-index may only reach a maximum of two.
In summary then, it’s more of the same for HF!
VHF/UHF:
The charts show a lot of high pressure over the next week and this means a good chance of some tropo. The best paths will be over the surrounding seas, especially the North Sea at first. There may be a trend for drier air to remove some of the low-level moisture after this weekend, so paths won’t necessarily be good all of the time. The overnight conditions under high pressure can also produce temporary nocturnal lifts over land, but these paths tend to decay quickly after sunrise, when the heating breaks down any surface inversion.
Since it looks like a largely dry spell of weather, there may be a shortage of rain scatter clouds about for the microwave bands. All is not lost and there is some hope that sporadic E will continue to put in an appearance now and again. However, one of the main ingredients, a strong jet stream over Europe, may be hard to find in this fine, settled weather. This means the fall-back option of upper ridge patterns may be the trigger to watch. Check the daily sporadic E blogs on propquest.co.uk to see the current location of jet streams and ridges.
The Moon is past perigee, but losses are still low and will fall as the week progresses. Similarly, declination is falling but still in double figures until Wednesday, so another good week for EME with moon visibility from late morning through to after midnight most days.
Beacons often heard in our area:
VHF:
GB3WSX – IO80QW – 70.007 MHz
GB3BAA – IO91PS – 70.016 MHz
F1ZXK – JN18KF – 144.438 MHz
F5ZSF – IN88GS – 144.409 MHz
GB3VHF – JO01EH – 144.430 MHz
ON0VHF – JO20HP – 144.418 MHz
UHF:
F5XBA – JN18KF – 432.830 MHz
GB3UHF – JO01EH – 432.430 MHz
ON0UHF – JO20ET – 432.567 MHz
DX NEWS
HF:
This week’s bulletin was made possible with information provided by
W1UE, The Daily DX, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, DXNL, Contest
Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites.
Thanks to all.
CYPRUS, 5B. Bob, 5B4AGN and Nick, G3RWF are QRV as 5B80FOC during
May in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the FOC. QSL via
M0URX.
BOTSWANA, A2. Dave, VE7VR will be QRV as A25VR from May 24 to June
3. Activity will be holiday style on 40, 30 and 20 meters. QSL to
home call.
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, DA. Special event station DQ2018KTMS
is QRV until the end of the year to mark the 101st gathering of
German catholics in Muenster. QSL via bureau.
IRELAND, EI. A group of operators will be QRV as EJ7NET from
Inisheer Island, IOTA EU-006, from May 19 to 23. Activity will be
on the HF bands and 6 meters. QSL via operators’ instructions.
ENGLAND, G. Special event station GR9RW will be QRV from May 19 to
23 to celebrate the marriage of Great Britain’s Prince Harry to
Meghan Markle. Activity will be on 80 meters to 70 centimeters
using mainly CW and SSB and some FM with three stations active. QSL
via G4DFI.
ISLE OF MAN, GI. Bob, MD0CCE will be QRV with special event call
MR0CCE from May 19 to 21 to celebrate the marriage of Great
Britain’s Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. Afterwards, he will be
active as GT4FOC from May 21 to 25 to celebrate the 80th anniversary
of the FOC. QSL MR0CCE via MD0CCE and GT4FOC via G3SWH.
HONDURAS, HR. Rudy, N2WQ, Paul, K1XM, Charlotte, KQ1F and Dennis,
W1UE will be QRV as homecalls/HR9 from Roatan Island, IOTA NA-057,
from May 19 to 28. Activity will be on the HF bands. They will be
active as HQ9X in the upcoming CQ World Wide WPX CW contest as a
Multi-2 entry. QSL HQ9X via KQ1F and all others to home calls.
FINLAND, OH. Operators DL2VFR, DL2YBG and DL7UXG will be QRV as
OH1/homecalls from Reposaari, IOTA EU-173, from May 20 to 23, and
then from Parainen-Pargas, IOTA EU-096, from May 23 to 26. Activity
will be on the HF bands using CW, SSB, PSK and FT8. QSL to home
calls.
DENMARK, OZ. Special event station OU7G will be QRV from May 19 to
21 from a vintage technology fair that will be held on Sjaelland
Archipelago, IOTA EU-029. Activity will be on 80 to 20 meters using
CW and SSB, and daily from 0800 to 1600z. QSL via OU7G.
ST. MAARTEN, PJ7. Zorro, JH1AJT and Nao, JN1RVS will be QRV as PJ8Z
and PJ8RV, respectively, from May 20 to 27. Activity will be on 40
to 10 meters using CW, SSB and various digital modes. QSL PJ8Z via
JH1AJT and PJ8RV via JA1HGY.
EGYPT, SU. Nacho, EA1AK is QRV as SU9JG from Gezira Island in the
Nile River. Activity is on 30 to 10 meters using FT8. QSL via
EA5GL.
GREECE, SV. Members of the Radio Amateur Association of Greece are
QRV with special event call SX60RAAG to celebrate their 60th
anniversary. QSL via bureau.
SOMALIA, T5. Baldur, DJ6SI is in Hargeisa and plans to be QRV as
6O0X until June 6. QSL this current operation via DJ6SI.
INDONESIA, YB. Yosuke, JJ1DQR will be QRV as YB9/JJ1DQR from Bali,
IOTA OC-022, from May 18 to 21. Activity will be on the HF bands
only SSB. QSL to home call.
GIBRALTAR, ZB. Michael, DF8AN is QRV as ZB2/DF8AN and is active on
6 meters, 4 meters, 2 meters, and 70 centimeters. QSL to home call.
THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. His Majesty King of Spain CW Contest,
NCCC RTTY Sprint, NCCC CW Sprint, Portuguese Navy Day Contest,
Slobozhansky Sprint Contest, UN DX Contest, NZART Sangster Shield
80-Meter CW Contest, EU PSK DX Contest, Aegean RTTY Contest, Feld
Hell Sprint and the Baltic 80-Meter Contest are all on tap for this
upcoming weekend.
The Run for the Bacon QRP CW Contest is scheduled for May 21.
The CWops Mini-CWT CW Test, SKCC CW Sprint and Phone Fray are
scheduled for May 23.
The ARRL International Grid Chase runs during all of 2018.
Please see May QST, page 83, and the ARRL and WA7BNM Contest Web
Sites for details.
VHF/UHF:
13th May – 70MHz CW Contest – 09.00-12.00
19th/20th May – 144MHZ VHF Championship – 14.00-14.00
20th May – 1st 144MHZ Backpackers – 11.00-15.00
27th May – 70Mhz Cumulatives # 3 – 14.00-16.00
FINALÉ
Sometimes on the Thursday morning 40 metre SSB net, reception can be impossible due to high noise levels, unless the required station is quite strong and there’s no QSB. It often pays to use an online SDR in parallel with the K3S. I normally use the Hack Green SDR, but I recognise that it’s a bit too far up country to be sure that my signal may be heard from Shoreham, although it can be an aid to propagation checks if I can hear my transmitted signal coming back from the SDR, which means that I can be heard further up-country.
However, I was searching for an online SDR that’s much closer to home and eventually found one, located at Farnham in Surrey, which although not ideal, is good enough for now. The software and display is different to some of the other SDRs, but works well and is easy to use. Fortunately it also has memory facilities so favourite frequencies can be stored for later recall. Another nice feature is that when you specify a label for your saved memory, it’s displayed on the waterfall, when the memory’s recalled.
Although the SDR is labelled as a Top Band facility, it will also receive 80 and 40 metres. Here’s the link: http://topband.ddns.net:8901/
Online SDRs are particularly useful because their antennas are generally situated in optimum positions away from man-made noise. They do have some limitations such as not being great with handling adjacent strong signals and may suffer dropouts etc., if your Internet connection isn’t good. However, they are a useful tool and can be regarded as a remote receiver on the end of a 100 mile cable to home, with no losses!
73,
Alan. G4GNX
