Also in GB2RS this week…
To mark the 50th anniversary of the first France-to-US moonbounce contact, special call signs TM8DO and TM1BF will be on the air until 11 February on 2m and 70cm EME using JT65. The original contact was between F8DO in France and W6DNG in California on 27 January 1967. TM8DO will be on 144.21MHz and 432.060MHz, and TM1BF will operate on 144.128 MHz. Stations will transmit in sequence. Real-time information and skeds may be arranged via the N0UK (A) and (B) or HB9Q chatrooms.
The RSGB Convention this year will be held on 13-15 October at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Milton Keynes. We are starting to identify speakers for the Convention and would particularly like to develop the HF and DXpedition content further. If you have suggestions for any topics or speakers you would like to hear, please email an outline suggestion to convention@rsgb.org.uk.
Plans for YOTA 2017 at Gilwell Park are progressing. The IARU YOTA team had a very difficult job in selecting the countries to be represented; they had more applications than can fit into the venue. To allow as many as possible to take part they decided to reduce the size of each team to three, including a young team leader. This resulted in 27 Region 1 countries and Japan being offered places. It seems the Japanese team will be looking at how the YOTA camp works to see if the idea can be exported to Region 3. The IARU team also raised the minimum age for attendance at YOTA camps to 15 and asked that all team leaders be under 30 years of age.
Paulo, PV8DX has released a video describing the new TubeSat Tancredo-1 and shows reception of the 437.200MHz downlink by Drew, KO4MA. Tancredo-1, mounted in a TuPOD deployer, was ejected from the International Space Station on 16 January. The satellite is a STEM project built by middle school students in Brazil. The video is in Portuguese but try enabling the YouTube closed caption subtitles and use the auto-translator to get English—see https://youtu.be/8tvSp0eNPww.
On 2 February, RSGB President Nick Henwood, G3RWF was interviewed about amateur radio on BBC Radio Northampton. Nick explained that amateur radio is not only alive and well, but flourishing among people of all ages. It was a prelude to the documentary on Frank Wright, a schoolmaster at Bugbrooke school, who more than 100 years ago taught boys and girls to send and receive Morse messages. This was at a time when rural children were expected to leave school barely literate. Business houses, shipping companies and the military were seeking out young people from Bugbrooke to staff their wireless cabins and run their communications. The documentary will be available on iPlayer after broadcasts on the 5th and 6th. Listen to Nick, G3RWF at about 44 minutes into the recording—see www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04p017c#play.
QSL bureau sub-manager for the G7 group, Chris Flanagan, G7NRO, changed his address some time ago. The Post Office divert on his mail has now expired. Some Members are still using his old address to send collection envelopes. The Post Office divert on his old address has expired, so unless you use the correct address he will not receive your mail. Whatever your call sign series, this is perhaps a timely reminder to check the details of your QSL sub-manager.
Category: GB2RS Headlines
