Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday 20th December 2020
The 5 MHz Newsletter by Paul Gaskell G4MWO
The latest edition of the 5 MHz Newsletter edited by Paul Gaskell G4MWO (No 25) is now available for free pdf download from the RSGB Website 5MHz Page. This edition includes 5 MHz news from four countries, the latest World of 5 MHz Map, the G4UDU 60/60 Antenna, G5MHZ, a new callsign Remembering Gordon G3LEQ and the new Croatian QRPp 60m Beacon 9A5ADI/B.
Contest University on Zoom
Contest University normally held in conjunction with the Dayton Hamvention in May will hold a Propagation Summit on the Zoom platform on Saturday January 23rd 2021. Registration is free and the link is available on www.contestuniversity.com/ There are four topics covered as follows: At 1600utc, W2NAF will talk on the Personal Space Weather Station project and at 1700utc K9LA will give a talk on Solar Cycle 25, Predictions and Progress. At 1800utc, WA3FET will talk on Maximising Performance of HF Antennas with Irregular Terrain and W3LPL will discuss HF Ionospheric Propagation at 1900utc. All participants will be included in a draw for an Icom-705 sponsored by Icom America and DX Engineering.
IARU Participating in the CEPT Project Team SE40
Throughout 2020 the IARU has been busily contributing to and participating in the work of CEPT Project Team SE40 concerning the 23cm band Galileo/GLONASS coexistence topic. Project Team SE40 conducts technical studies relating to space services under the direction of the CEPT/ECC Spectrum Engineering working group WG-SE and was assigned the task at the beginning of 2020. During this year the IARU R1 has provided 7 written contributions and 2 information documents providing the necessary details of amateur applications and activities specific to the 23cm band to enable SE40 to carry out the coexistence studies. The last SE40 meeting in 2020 was held from 2nd to 7th December and the IARU R1 was represented by Barry Lewis, G4SJH (Region 1 SRLC chair). At that meeting the draft project team working document was further developed with the addition of the Galileo ground-based receiver protection criteria which are needed for the coexistence studies. Without these criteria no meaningful studies have been possible, however now it can be expected that the technical studies will begin in earnest as we move forward into 2021. This work is also important in the global preparations for the next World Radio Conference where this topic is on the agenda. To address this the ITU R Study Group Working Parties 4C and 5A are working on the issue but with a wider scope covering the global set of radio navigation satellite systems (RNSS) operating in the band 1240?–?1300 MHz. The IARU supports the action to do this work in CEPT but continues to hold a view that the potential for interference being caused by the amateur and amateur satellite services to the RNSS is being over-stated.
Videos Available from QRP Virtual Convention
The G-QRP Club, which devotes itself to low-power ham radio, is making presentations from its two-day Virtual Convention available on its new YouTube channel. Welcoming visitors to the opening session, Nick Bradley G4IWO called the virtual event "a first for the QRP community" and called the attendance overwhelming. Presentations covered such topics as HF propagation tools, going portable QRP with SDRs, battery technology for QRP use and the FT4 and FT8 modes. To find the archived presentations from the convention, visit the G-QRP Club channel on YouTube. Formed in 1974 by Rev. George Dobbs G3RJV, the GQRP Club is a non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers to promote Low Power Radio. Whether you have a ham licence or not - everyone is welcome. Their quarterly magazine SPRAT provides a fascinating read containing articles of varying complexity, from simple test equipment, to fully functioning radio transmitters and receivers. Membership fees are about as low as you will find anywhere and their club sales service to members is second to none... Log on to gqrp.com for all the details.
Christmas Greetings from the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group would like to take this opportunity to wish all our radio friends and their families in Ireland and around the world a very happy and peaceful Christmas 2020. We hope you all have a wonderful time, and that Santa is good to you. We would also like to extend every good wish to you all for the new year ahead. We hope 2021 brings you all good health, good wealth, and plenty of new DXCC’s. For anyone that wishes to find out more about the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group and their activities you can drop them an email to southeasternarg /at/ gmail.com or please feel free to go along to any their meetings. You can check their website www.searg.ie and you can also join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
On the Air next week
RSGB is running a "Christmas Hope QSO Party" commencing tomorrow, Monday 21st December and running until 14th January, with a short break around Christmas Day and New Year's Day. This is a series of weekday 90 minute contests for single operators with a different mode and start time each day. The contest modes are Phone, CW, RTTY and FT4, and all contests are on the five contest bands 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m. More details on the RSGB web site. On Saturday, the 26th, the DARC Christmas Contest runs from 0830 to 1100utc. Using CW and SSB on the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations will also exchange either DOK or NM. The Worked All Britain Christmas party takes place between the 26th of December and the 6th of January. Using all modes on the amateur contest bands, the exchange is the WAB book number. The Stew Perry Top Band Challenge runs from 1500utc on the 26th to 1500utc on the 27th. It’s CW only on 160m and the exchange is your 4-character locator square. For New Year's Day, we have the IRTS 80 metres Counties Contest, at 1700utc for one hour. See www.irts.ie/contests for more details.
And now to some DX news. Kenji, JA4GXS will be active as JA4GXS/4 from Otsu Island, IOTA reference Asia-117, on the 25th and 26th of December. He will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on 40, 30 and 20m bands. QSL via home call. Nobby, G0VJG, will once again be active from the Maldives as 8Q7CQ between January 14th and the 29th. Operations this time will be from Reethi Faru, Filaidhoo Island (Asia-013). Activity will be on 80 to10 metres and possibly 60metres. QSL via M0OXO OQRS, direct or ClubLog's OQRS. AO50UPC will be active between December 15th to the 30th to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Operations will be on all authorized bands using CW, SSB, EME and the satellites. The special event station DR165TESLA will be active throughout 2021 to celebrate the 165th birthday of Nikola Tesla. QSL via DK8ZZ. Members of the Radio Scouting Fellowship of the PA3EFR/J-Plusscouts will activate two special callsigns: PH20XMAS from December 6th, 2020, until January 3rd, 2021 and PH21HNY from December 10th, 2020, until January 31st, 2021 Diya, YI1DZ, is expected to return to South Sudan after his holiday and should reappear on the bands before the end of this year. Activity will be on 80-10 meters (including 60 metres) using SSB and FT8. No CW. QSL via OM3JW. All QSOs will be uploaded to QRZ.com, ClubLog, eQSL and LoTW.
Last Bulletin of the Year
As this is the final news bulletin of 2020, we wish to take the opportunity of saying thanks to all who contributed to the content over the past year. Thanks also to all who called in on HF and VHF to support the service and a big thank you to the newsreaders who, week in, week out made themselves and their stations available to read the news bulletins. There will be no bulletin next week, but we will resume normal service on January the 3rd. Please feel free to call in at news time next week and exchange seasons greeting with your fellow news supporters. On behalf of the Newsteam, we wish you all a very happy and healthy Christmas and best wishes for the coming new year.
That is the news for this week. Items for inclusion in next week’s radio news can be submitted by email to newsteam/at/irts/dot/ie for automatic forwarding to both the radio and printed news services. The deadline is midnight on Thursday. Urgent items for the news may be telephoned to 087-6290574
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