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G4TNU > NEWS 26.04.26 05:34l 302 Lines 14825 Bytes #60 (0) @ EU
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Subj: RSGB Main News - 26 Apr 2026
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GB2RS Main News for Sunday the 26th of April 2026
The news headlines:
* The RSGB Board holds its first post-AGM meeting
* RSGB 2026 Convention announcement
* Celebrate World Morse Day with the RSGB
Following the RSGB 2026 AGM on Saturday the 18th of April, the
new Board met and co-opted Dr Stewart Bryant, G3YSX onto the Board
under Article 37. The Board then elected Dr Bryant as Board Chair.
The purpose of these decisions is to allow newly elected Directors to
learn more about the Society and the Board, with the intention that a
new Board Chair will be elected from within the new Board in due
course. The RSGB Board would like to record its thanks to Stewart for
being willing to extend his role in this way. Board Directors also
appointed Will Richardson, 2E0WYA to the volunteer role of Executive
Director of Strategic Oversight to help drive forward work on Board
effectiveness. As announced previously, Stephen Purser, GW4SHF and
Stephen Ramsden, M0CCA swapped roles after the AGM, so Stephen
Ramsden is now Company Secretary and Stephen Purser is Deputy Company
Secretary. The Board congratulated John Moss, G0KTW and Ben Lloyd,
GW4BML on their election as Directors and Patrick Wood, 2E0IFB and
Graham Smith, G4NMD on their endorsement as Nominated Directors. The
Board Liaison roles are being discussed and will be announced in due
course. If you were unable to join the event live, you can catch up
with all the AGM proceedings at rsgb.org/agm
Tickets for the RSGB 2026 Convention go on sale on Friday the
1st of May, and ahead of this the Society has made some exciting
announcements. Not only has it released the first round of speakers,
including one on a highly anticipated DXpedition, but it has also
shared details of two new workshops that will be taking place. Will
you choose NanoVNA Essentials or AI – The Good, the Bad and the
Ugly? For those looking to extend the weekend's activities, the RSGB
has confirmed that it has partnered with The National Museum of
Computing to offer Convention attendees the opportunity to visit on
Friday the 9th of October. The RSGB is delighted that this
fantastic annual event is being sponsored by Martin Lynch & Sons and
that AMSAT-UK will once again be holding its Colloquium during the
Convention this year. The RSGB 2026 Convention is taking place
between the 9th and 11th of October at Kents Hill Conference
Centre in Milton Keynes. Find out more by going to
rsgb.org/convention
Tomorrow, Monday the 27th, is World Morse Day. The day honours the
birthday of the inventor of Morse code, Samuel Morse, who was born on
this day in 1791. The RSGB is continuing its annual celebrations of
this day by releasing a video with a question in Morse code for you
to answer, which this year is sent by the RSGB CW Champion, Laura
Robertson, MM7BFL. Once you have used your Morse skills to decipher
the question, get involved by leaving your answer in the comments
section under the post. You could even share a video of you sending
your answer in Morse! You can view the video tomorrow on the RSGB
YouTube channel, or via the RSGB's Facebook, Instagram or X
pages.
RSGB members, if you are planning a trip this spring, why not include
a visit to one of the Society's partner museums?
Whether you're heading to West Wales, Cornwall, Suffolk, Dorset,
West Sussex or Milton Keynes, you will be able to save between 20%
and 50% on standard admission prices. Visit
rsgb.org/partner-museums for your personalised discount voucher.
RSGB members also receive free entry to Bletchley Park, which
includes the RSGB National Radio Centre.
Time is running out to apply and be part of the RSGB team that will
be going to Austria for this year's Youngsters on the Air summer
camp. This fantastic opportunity is for radio amateurs aged between
16 and 30. The programme will include activities such as
experimenting with underground propagation, Summits on the Air, Caves
on the Air, as well as having the chance to ascend a 2,000m summit in
a cable car and make a long-distance VHF/UHF QSO with your handheld.
All in the incredible surroundings of the Austrian Alps. The deadline
to apply for this exciting opportunity is Friday the 1st of May.
Get involved by going to rsgb.org/yota-camp and selecting ‘YOTA
Austria 2026' from the right-hand menu.
UKBOTA's Historic Counties event will be running throughout May for
both activators and hunters. Stations will be on the air to
celebrate the unique historic structure of the UK. More details can
be found at ukbota.net/HC26
Did you know that the weekly RSGB News can be viewed on air and
via the web as a television stream? Join Alison, G8ROG each Sunday
at 9am UK time for a live broadcast of the GB2RS News. Kindly
hosted by the British Amateur Television Club, go
to batc.org.uk/live/gb2rs to watch the show.
Alongside Alison's live presentation, you can
view additional text and pictures relating to each news item. The
transmission is also relayed via GB3HV in Hampshire using Digital
ATV. If you enjoy watching GB2RS as well as listening, there is a
live Digital ATV broadcast from Clive, G3GJA via the Hull 23cm
repeater GB3EY at 10am UK time. If you are not in range of
the repeater itself, you can still watch the broadcast,
again courtesy of the BATC website, by going
to batc.org.uk/live/gb3ey
And now for details of rallies and events
The EMC & Compliance International Exhibition will be held at the
Holiday Inn in Oxford from the 29th of April to the 1st of May 2026.
The exhibition is open to all interested parties and is concerned
with all aspects of EMC. For more information, including registration
details, visit emcandci.com [Newsreaders: that is ‘EMC and
CI‘.com]
The Broadcast Engineering Museum has an open day on Sunday the 3rd of
May from 11am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell
Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. Visitors will be
treated to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting
equipment in the world. For more information visit becg.org.uk/events
Thorpe Camp Hamfest is taking place on Sunday the 3rd of May at
Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall Thorpe, LN4 4PL. Traders can
arrive from 7am and visitors are welcome from 9am. The entry fee is
GBP 5 per person. For more information visit thorpecamp.org
On Monday the 4th of May, Dartmoor Spring Radio Rally will take place
at the Yelverton War Memorial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton, Devon,
PL20 6AL. There will be the usual bring and buy, trader stands,
refreshments and free parking and available. The doors will be open
from 10am to 1pm and admission costs GBP 3. More details are
available at dartmoorradioclub.uk
Now the Special Event news
Special event stations OL900CO, OL900JAR and OL900LT are active until
December to celebrate the town of Jaromer in the Czech Republic. For
more information, including details of awards that are available for
working the stations, visit hamawards.eu
On Saturday the 2nd of May between 9am and 5pm, Dundee Amateur Radio
Club will be operating from Broughty Ferry Lifeboat Station using the
callsign GB1BFL. The station will be active in support of SOS Radio
Week. For updates on frequencies and modes in use visit the Club's
Facebook page. More details are available via
dundee-amateur-radio.co.uk
Now the DX news
Using the callsign GB9IOW, a team of Belgian operators will be active
from the Isle of Wight, EU-120, from Tuesday the 28th of April until
Tuesday the 5th of May. Listen for activity on the HF bands, via the
QO-100 satellite and on 23cm EME. For more information visit QRZ.com
Paul, VP9KF is active from Bermuda, NA-005, until Thursday the 30th
of April. He is operating using CW only on the HF bands. The station
was spotted recently on the 17 and 20m bands. You can find more
details at vp9kf.com
Now the contest news
Today, Sunday the 26th, the UK Microwave Group EHF Band Contest runs
from 0800 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on 76 to 241GHz frequencies,
the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
The SP DX RTTY Contest started at 1200UTC yesterday, the 25th, and
runs until 1200UTC today, Sunday the 26th of April. Using RTTY on the
80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal
report and serial number. Polish stations also send their province
code.
Also today, the 26th, the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group Sprint
25 Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using 75 baud RTTY on the 80 to
10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your
six-character locator.
The UK and Ireland Contest Club DX CW Contest started at 1200UTC
yesterday, the 25th, and ends at 1200UTC today, Sunday the 26th of
April. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted,
the exchange is signal report and serial number. Full rules,
including UK and EI area codes, are available via
tinyurl.com/ukeiccrules
Tomorrow, the 27th, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to
2100UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are
permitted, the exchange is your report.
On Tuesday the 28th, the RSGB SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830
to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange
is signal report, serial number and locator.
On Wednesday the 29th, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m Contest
runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is
your six-character locator.
On Thursday the 30th, the RSGB 80m Club Championship runs from 1900
to 2030UTC. Using PSK63 and RTTY on the 80m band, the exchange is
signal report and serial number.
On Saturday the 2nd of May, the RSGB 432MHz Trophy Contest runs from
1400 to 2000UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is
signal report, serial number and locator.
The RSGB 432 to 245GHz Contest starts at 1400UTC on Saturday the 2nd
of May and ends at 1400UTC on Sunday the 3rd of May. Using all modes
on 432 to 245GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial
number and locator.
The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon starts at 0000UTC on Saturday
the 2nd of May and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 2nd of August. Using
all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is your four-character locator.
The ARI International DX Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the
2nd of May and ends at 1159UTC on Sunday the 3rd of May. Using CW,
RTTY and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, the exchange is signal report
and serial number. Italian stations also give their province code.
On Sunday the 3rd of May, the UK Microwave Group Low Band Contest
runs from 0900 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on 1.3 to 3.4GHz
frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.
Also on Sunday the 3rd of May, the Worked All Britain 7MHz Phone
Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using SSB only on the 40m band,
the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain
square.
Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO
on Thursday the 23rd of April
Last week's HF propagation was dominated by the effects of a
high-speed stream from a large coronal hole on the Sun.
This pushed the Kp index up to 4 and 5 at times with the result that
maximum usable frequencies, or MUFs, were lowered. The ionosphere
struggled and often the MUF over a 3,000km path was below 21MHz.
Yes, there were some openings up to 10m, but they were generally
weak. Checks showed that paths opened up to Brazil, Kenya and Chile
on the 10m band using FT8, but the signals were well down in the
noise and barely workable.
Get used to this as it could be the norm for the next few years!
Meanwhile, the solar flux index increased to 116 by Thursday the 16th
of April, no doubt aided by active sunspot group 4420.
Next week, NOAA forecasts that the solar flux index could rise to
125. It also predicts that the Kp index may remain low due to a lack
of coronal hole activity. Fingers crossed that we don't have any
coronal mass ejections over the next week. If this pans out as
predicted, we could have some decent HF conditions over the next
seven days. Yes, the MUFs may be lower, but 14, 18 and perhaps 21MHz
could be usable, with very occasional openings on 24 and 28MHz.
DX to be worked this week includes TX9W from the Marquesas Islands;
VP9KF in Bermuda; 7P8WR from Lesotho; C5B, C5C and C5D in The Gambia;
D60DX in Comoros; and JD1BMH operating from Ogasawara
[OH-GAH-SAH-WAH-RAH].
And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO
The strong region of high pressure will remain with us for the next
two weeks. So tropo should be considered a first-choice mode for a
while. The main criteria for the quality of any resulting tropo is
moisture. This is because moisture is a component in the calculation
of the refractive index of the air.
High pressure usually produces dry air above any temperature
inversion, but we may not always get the moisture below the
inversion. The end of last week was good with reports of beacons in
Norway and Sweden into JO02 on 1.3GHz because of moisture present
below the inversion. However, if the dry easterly wind returns it may
not go so well.
Meteor scatter should continue to be uplifted by the declining Lyrids
meteor stream, which peaked last week, and rain scatter is off the
menu since the charts are dominated by high pressure systems. Aurora
is showing as occasional weak alerts, but apart from the odd fluttery
signals on the LF bands, nothing too interesting at the moment. As
usual, watch for the Kp index going up to 5.
Keeping the best until last, we are approaching the period when
Sporadic-E usually becomes a mode of interest. Work is well under way
on a rewrite of the Propquest website, which should be ready soon.
This will be the go-to place for the daily updates during the 2026
Sporadic-E season.
EME now, and the Moon is moving into a lower noise position.
Declination is high, but falling, and path losses will increase as we
move away from the Moon's perigee, its closest point to Earth, which
occurred on Friday the 17th of April. Apogee, the Moon's furthest
point from Earth and the point of highest path losses, occurs on
Sunday the 17th of May.
And that's all from the propagation team this week.
And that's the end of the main news for this week prepared by the
Radio Society of Great Britain. Items for inclusion in subsequent
bulletins can be emailed to radcom<at>rsgb.org.uk to arrive by
10:00 on the Thursday before transmission.
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