Also in GB2RS this week…

| March 3, 2017

The North American 4m transatlantic licence for WG2XPN has been renewed for another two years. The trustee of WG2XPN advises that the beacon is still operating 24/7 using its usual operating parameters; 70.005MHz CW, GPS locked, ERP 3kW from a Yagi aimed at 60 degrees true North from grid square FM07fm. The QTH is 1280m ASL. The beacon has been heard via multi-hop E-skip in the UK and other locations in the EU over the past few years. QSL reports are encouraged via the DX cluster or beaconspot.eu.

To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the ARI, the main Italian amateur radio association, many Italian club stations will be on air on all bands and all modes until the end of the year. These stations can be easily detected from the prefix IQ. They will give a letter and number that shows the region and the club station involved. Each month two Italian regions will be on-air. More information on the event, and the associated award, is available in English.

Quantum Amateur Radio and Technology Society is pleased to announce that their new System Fusion/WiRES-X gateway, 31369, MB6IOK-ND, is now live, as is their associated room of 41369, MB6IOK-Ormskirk, alias Quantum Tech Club. The gateway is free for all to use and is operating on 431.1625MHz with no CTCSS or digital squelch codes required. The gateway is operating under an NoV assigned to Derek Hughes, G7LFC and is, at present, on an attended basis, which means that the gateway will not be switched on 24/7, but should be available most evenings. Further details about the gateway will be posted on www.mb6iok.uk—a website that is currently under construction.

Amateur radio operators in Uruguay now have access to 60m. General and Superior licence holders have Secondary access to 5351.5 to 5366.5kHz. The range 5351.5 to 5354.0 is for CW and Digimodes, 5354.0 to 5366.0 is all modes and 5366.0 to 5366.5 is more CW and digimodes. The maximum power is 15W EIRP for General licensees and 25W EIRP for Superior licensees.

The 60th anniversary of the world’s oldest amateur radio beacon is being marked by running the NAC-contests from the OZ7IGY QTH at JO55wm, with the call sign OZ7IGY. Specific frequencies and other details can be found at www.oz7igy.dk/event-log.

Stations are being encouraged to prepare for the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations, when many amateurs worldwide will turn the bands green as they celebrate on air as part of the St Patrick Award. With many stations already registered to take part from 16 to 18 March, you can find out more information or register at http://stpatrickaward.webs.com.

The UK Six Metre Group will be holding a short formal 2016 AGM via Skype on Sunday, 12 March at 5pm. Any paid-up UK Six Metre Group member is entitled to join the meeting but please notify the group of your intention to do so by sending an email to chairman@uksmg.org as soon as possible, so that the right online conferencing arrangements can be put in place.

The local telecommunication authority in Hong Kong, OFCA, has now allocated 5351.5 to 5366.5kHz to the amateur radio service on a secondary basis.  The maximum power permitted is 15 watts EIRP.

Category: GB2RS Headlines