Also in GB2RS this week…

| August 31, 2018

The Yasme Foundation has announced the election of Marty Woll, N6VI as the newest Foundation Director. The Board of Directors now includes President, N0AX, Vice President, K4ZW, Treasurer, W6OAT, PB2T, OH2BH, K3ZO, W6RGG and N6VI. The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organised to support scientific and educational projects related to amateur radio, including DXing and the introduction and promotion of amateur radio in developing countries. See yasme.org for more information on their work.

Saturday, 8 September 2018 is the annual Churches and Chapels on the Air event. Activity will be mainly on 40m from 10am to 4pm using SSB. There is a list of stations taking part and to get your event on the list, send details to wacralweb@gmx.com.

A new Buildathon has been announced for this year’s National Hamfest. Aimed at the younger person and those who are newly or non-licensed, this activity is being sponsored by the RSGB Legacy Fund. A place costs only £5, which is refunded as an RSGB book voucher if you complete the project on the day. As a bonus, the Hamfest organisers are offering free entry to those who book for the Buildathon so the £5 covers entry to the Hamfest too. The project is a Poldhu Kits ‘Redruth’ receiver. Help, technical expertise and all necessary equipment will be provided on the day. Many thanks to Poldhu Kits for their help in providing the kits. If you would like to attend or bring some one along to participate, Buildathon tickets can be purchased from rsgb.org/hamfestbuildathon.

During the summer the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park has been open seven days a week. It will revert to being closed on Tuesdays throughout September 2018 and the early part of October 2018 to enable essential maintenance work to be completed. The intention is to open on Tuesdays again in time for the school half term holiday in October. Meantime, the NRC will be open each day, apart from a Tuesday, from 9.30am to 5pm, which is in line with the Bletchley Park museum opening times.

The latest edition of The 5MHz Newsletter is now available to download (4-page/1.4MB PDF) from the RSGB 5MHz page. This edition includes 5MHz news from eight countries, features the World of 5MHz, the Wikipedia 60m band page, CEPT, a section on whether you monitor the UK 5MHz beacons, useful propagation sites for 5MHz and reader’s feedback from G4DWV.

This year’s International Air Ambulance Week will take place between 8 and 16 September 2018 with the focus on supporting and generating donations for flying medical services around the world. Whilst amateur radio operators are encouraged to promote the donation causes, it is requested that any donations generated go to the station’s chosen local or national cause. Registration is mandatory and all stations taking part will be issued a registration number that will be listed on the event website. A free series of awards will be available for those who support the event. All information and registration details are at tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0902-D.

The 22 September 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the first wireless transmission between Australia and the United Kingdom. Messages were transmitted from the Marconi station at Waunfawr in Wales and were received by Ernest Fisk at Wahroonga near Sydney. As part of the Centenary celebrations, the Wireless Institute of Australia will hold an on-air event that will run throughout September. State and territory special call signs VI#MARCONI will be active on a roster basis. In addition, the Hornsby and District ARC will be active as VK100MARCONI. Complete information can be found via tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0902-E.

The AO73/FUNcube-1 satellite has been in space for almost five years and the original Sun synchronous orbit has now changed slightly such that the spacecraft will no longer be in eclipse for 35 minutes every orbit. The eclipse period has already reduced and will again become zero on the 8th. This means the usual autonomous switching between transponder in eclipse and high-power telemetry when in sunlight will no longer be effective. It has been decided to have AO73/FUNcube-1 initially operate for alternate periods of one week in either safe or educational modes. Full details at amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb.

The G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF DXing. The award is not limited to youngsters or the newly-licensed; it is open to any one who has recently discovered and made significant progress in HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to recommend some one to be awarded the G5RP Trophy for 2018, please send your nominations to Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, by email to hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk to arrive no later than Friday, 14 September 2018. This prestigious RSGB award will be presented this year at the RSGB Convention on 12 to 14 October 2018.

Category: GB2RS Headlines