WADARC meets at – Lions Hall, 21 Roberts Road, Lancing. BN15 8AR.
THE PAST WEEK
Last Wednesday’s meeting was supposed to be some practical work on antennas, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it had to be called off, so we had Tea and Chat instead. Although there was no actual work on antennas, there were two different antenna analysers available for members to become familiar with. There were reports on the Dayton Hamvention and advice was given on how to attach the steel rope to my new mast winch. Comment was also made on the ill-founded online petition that’s circulating, regarding removing the need for planning permission for Radio Amateurs’ antennas.
CLUB MEETINGS & EVENTS
- 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
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:
A glancing blow from a high-speed solar wind stream caused the K-index to rise to three on Wednesday. This was a little unexpected as it came from a polar coronal hole on the Sun that didn’t look like it would impact the Earth. This brought mixed blessings as an initial positive phase saw the maximum usable frequency over 3,000km exceed 18MHz. But conditions soon dropped back and 20 metres became the highest viable band for F-layer propagation.
Sporadic E has been bringing some good short skip to the higher bands so do make the most of it, with the peaks generally around mid-to-late morning and again in the late afternoon and early evening.
The good news is we are seeing some sunspot activity, albeit very weak. At the time of writing there were two small visible regions and another coming around the sun’s limb. Nevertheless, NOAA predicts the solar flux will remain around 70.
Geomagnetic conditions are set to be settled this week, at least until Friday the 1st when NOAA has the K index rising again. This is due to another coronal hole, which may cause unsettled conditions over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd with a maximum predicted K index of six.
So better HF conditions may occur in the first half of the week, but the weekend might not be the best time for DX. A high-speed solar wind may also not be conducive to stable Sporadic E cloud formation either, although this is an area that needs some more research.
VHF/UHF:
The next week carries on in similar fashion with low pressure close to southern Britain, offering a chance of rain scatter in any showers. The north of the country remains close to high pressure over Scandinavia with a chance of further patches of enhanced tropo across the North Sea.
The southern half of the country will be nearer to low pressure over the continent and will have an enhanced risk of showers, some thundery. This will make rain scatter a possibility for the microwave bands.
Sporadic E is amongst us and hopefully this next week will continue to provide options. However, since jet streams are often implicated in the formation of sporadic E, the news is not so good in that the main Atlantic jet stream is displaced well to the north of Europe.
The main operating rules are to check the clusters and beacons for activity, initially on 10m, but then upwards through 6m to 4m and 2m as the opening develops. Conditions may only happen for brief moments, so keep the overs short with report and locator in case the path fades.
Moon declination is negative this week, and apogee just a week away so losses are approaching their highest and moon windows will be at their shortest. This means low antenna elevations and increasing noise at VHF and UHF.
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 HA0HW, CS5CRE, SV2CLJ, 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.
TUNISIA, 3V. Ash, KF5EYY will be QRV as 3V8SS in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest as a Single Op entry. QSL via LX1NO.
AZERBAIJAN, 4K. Alim, 4K6FO will be a Single Op/All Band/Low Power entry in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. QSL via DC9RI.
GEORGIA, 4L. Mamuka, 4L2M will be QRV in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest as a Single Op/Single Band entry on 160 meters. QSL via EA7FTR.
MALTA, 9H. Thomas, SV2CLJ is QRV as 9H3SV until May 27. Activity is holiday style on 80 to 2 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK and FT8. QSL direct to home call.
KUWAIT, 9K. Abdallah, 9K2GS will be QRV as 9K2K in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest on all bands. QSL via EC5AC.
EAST MALAYSIA, 9M6. Saty, JE1JKL is QRV as 9M6NA from Labuan Island, IOTA OC-133, until June 11. He will be active in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest as a Single Op/All Band/High Power entry. QSL to home call.
BOTSWANA, A2. Dave, VE7VR is QRV as A25VR until June 3. Activity is holiday style on 40, 30 and 20 meters. QSL to home call.
PORTUGAL, CU. Members of the Clube Radioamadores do Entroncamento will be QRV with special call CS2JU from May 31 to June 2 from the Juromenha Fortification. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW, SSB and various digital modes. QSL via operators’ instructions.
ECUADOR, HC. Alexey, HC2AO plans to be QRV as HC2GRC as a Single Op/All Band/Low Power entry in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. QSL via LoTW.
THAILAND, HS. Champ, E21EIC will be QRV as E2A as a Single Op/All Band/High Power entry in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. QSL to home call.
SVALBARD, JW. Karl, LA8DW will be QRV as JW8DW from Spitsbergen, IOTA EU-026, from May 26 to 29. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL to home call.
GUAM, KH2. Operators JI3ERV and JO1RUR will be QRV as AH2R as a Multi Op entry in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. QSL via LoTW.
ALAND ISLANDS, OH0. Matti, OH4SS and Voitto, OH3JVE are QRV as OH0/OH4SS until May 27. Activity is on 80, 40, 30, 20 and 6 meters using mostly FT8. QSL direct to OH4SS.
ARUBA, P4. John, W2GD will be QRV as P44W in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest as an All Band entry. QSL direct to N2MM.
SURINAME, PZ. Olli, OH0XX is QRV as PZ5XX from Lelydorp until May 29. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters using CW. This includes being an entry in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. QSL direct to home call.
GREECE, SV. Laci, HA0HW is QRV as SW8WW from Thassos Island, IOTA EU-174, until June 5. Activity is on 40 to 6 meters using CW, some SSB, RTTY and PSK. This includes being an entry in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. QSL to home call.
SOMALIA, T5. Baldur, DJ6SI is now QRV as 6OX from Hargeisa until June 6. Activity is on 20 meters. QSL to home call.
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, VP2V. Kevin, K6TOP is QRV as VP2V/K6TOP from Tortola until June 1. Activity is on 40, 30, 20, and 17 meters using only CW from 0000 to 0200z, and then from 1000 to 1200z. QSL via NR6M.
MEXICO, XE. Members of the Radioclub Cancun are QRV as 6E6RM until June 1 in celebration of the Rally Maya Mexico 2018. Activity is on 80 to 6 meters using SSB, RTTY, FT8, along with some satellite activity. QSL via XE3N.
MACEDONIA, Z3. A group of operators will be QRV as Z3Y in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest as a Multi/Single/Low Power entry. QSL via Z37Y.
KOSOVO, Z6. Joe, K7JOE will be QRV as Z6/K7JOE from May 28 to 30. Activity will be on 40, 30, 20 and 17 meters using CW. QSL direct to home call.
THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest, NCCC RTTY Sprint and the NCCC CW Sprint are all on tap for this upcoming weekend.
The QRP ARCI Hootowl CW Shootout is scheduled for May 28. The CWops Mini-CWT CW Test and Phone Fray are scheduled for May 30.
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:
27th May – 70Mhz Cumulatives # 3 – 14.00-16.00
FINALÉ
Having already started to get my affairs in order – getting a Will drawn up, then having an impending operation dumped on me at short notice, tends to focus the mind somewhat. Without wishing to be morbid, I’d like to remind all members that WADARC has a ‘policy’ (course of action) should your executors require it. However, you should make it quite clear in your Will that WADARC are to be charged with selling your Amateur Radio equipment on your estate’s behalf and of course mentioned in any donations you may wish to make.
WADARC is mentioned in my Will, is it in yours?
73,
Alan. G4GNX
