Good morning. It's Sunday the 21st of March and here is the GB2RS news
broadcast, prepared by the Radio Society of Great Britain.

First the headlines:- An RSGB Council Member is the Amateur of the Year; a
statement about RAEN Limited; and there are two new RLOs.

The RSGB's Project YEAR Coordinator, Hilary Claytonsmith, G4JKS, has been
awarded the title 'Amateur of the Year' by the magazine Ham Radio Today. The
announcement was made at the London Amateur Radio Show last weekend. Hilary is
a member of the RSGB Council and her work in the fields of EMC, HF Contests
and recruiting young people into amateur radio is well known to members. Our
congratulations to her.

At the RSGB Council Meeting held in London on the 12th of March 1993, an
application from RAEN Limited for Affiliation was discussed, and considered at
some length. Council decided that the Society were able to affiliate RAEN Ltd
as the Management Committee, but not the individual Groups associated with
RAEN Limited. However, the Society sees no reason why individual Groups should
not seek affiliation in order to obtain the benefit of the use of the Raynet
logo, in accordance with the notice which appeared in the January edition of
Radio Communication, together with the enhanced Insurance Cover, recently
negotiated by the Society, and receipt of the Society's house magazine. The
current arrangements for insurance cover will expire at the end of June 1993.
As from the 1st of July 1993, emergency communication groups operating under
the name of Raynet, whether they be associated with RAEN Ltd or RSGB Ltd, will
not be covered by the RSGB Ltd (Raynet) insurance unless they are affiliated
to the Society. Groups who are associated with RAEN Ltd and who affiliate to
the Society will not be required to register their members details with the
Emergency Communications Officer, for the purpose of insurance cover, provided
their details are properly registered with RAEN Ltd. Groups who are not
associated with RAEN Ltd will be required to register with the Emergency
Communications Officer in accordance with the current arrangements. Note: Only
Groups with the name 'RAYNET' in their title can be covered by RSGB (Raynet)
insurance. These are conditions imposed by the Insurance Company. A full
statement and explanation for Council's decision has been sent to the Company
Secretary of RAEN Ltd at the Company's registered office.

News now of the appointment of two RSGB Liaison Officers (RLOs): For the
Lancashire/Greater Manchester area it is Mr Bob Catlow, G4ARP. His address is
137 Haven Lane, Moorside, Oldham, Lancs OL4 2QQ and his telephone number is
061 652 8617. For the Merseyside area it is Mr Keith Brookes, G0SPH. His
address is 43 Northwood Drive, Windmill Hill, Runcorn WA7 6QG. His telephone
number is 0928 701096. RLOs hold a wide range of information and should be
used by RSGB members seeking advice.

A new UHF voice Repeater GB3CG is scheduled to become operational at 12.00 hrs
on Saturday the 27th of March. The repeater will be on Channel RB14 and is
located near Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd. Further details and/or reports to
the Repeater Keeper, GW6IMS, QTHR.

We are sad to report that Lieutenant Commander Ellis Diggle, G3LSD of Stoke
Damerel, Plymouth died on the 1st of March. Until his recent illness, Ellis
was a GB2RS news reader on 80 metres. The news is now read from Plymouth by
G0LRJ.

Now some items of HF DX news from the weekly RSGB DX News Sheet which is
edited by Brendan McCartney, G4DYO. From Tuvalu, JF1WQC will sign T20WQ from
now until Tuesday the 23rd of March on all bands, using CW and SSB running
100w to an all band vertical. He will then move to Wallis and Futuna, and will
sign FW/JF1QWC from Wednesday the 24th until Wednesday the 31st of March on
all bands, using CW and SSB. From Papua New Guinea, P20X will be active in the
CQ WW WPX SSB Contest on Saturday and Sunday the 27th and 28th of March. From
the United Arab Emirates, WD2DND will sign A61AD from Wednesday the 24th to
Monday the 29th on all bands including 160m.

Rally news now, and we know of two events for today, Sunday the 21th and three
events for next Sunday the 28th: The Norbreck Radio Rally, a Radio,
Electronics and Computing Exhibition is being held today at the Norbreck
Castle Hotel Exhibition Centre, Queens Promenade, North Shore, Blackpool.
Doors open at 11.00am, or 10.45am for disabled visitors through a ramped
entrance. There are over 100 trade stands, Novice Licence details and
practical demonstrations, an RSGB stand and book stall, and a bring and buy
stall. Free car parking includes a shuttle service. Refreshments are
available. Talk-in is on channel S22. Also today, the Tiverton South West
Radio Club Rally is being held at the Pannier Market, Tiverton, Devon. There
is easy access, only minutes from junction 27 of the M5 Motorway. Doors open
at 10.00am. There are the usual trade stands in two halls and a bring and buy
stall. There is a mobile snack bar and free parking. Further displays and full
refreshments facilities are available in the club-room bar. Talk-in is on
channel S22. Next Sunday, the 28th, the Bournemouth Radio Society Annual Sale
is to be held at the Kinson Community Centre, Pelhams Park, Millhams Road,
Kinson, Bournemouth. Doors open at 11.00am. There will be amateur radio and
computer traders, clubs and specialised groups. Refreshments will be available
and talk-in is to be on channel S22 via G1BRS. Further details can be obtained
from Ian, G2BDV, QTHR or by telephoning 0202 886887. Also next Sunday, the
Magnum Rally will be held at the Magnum Leisure Centre, Irvine, Ayrshire.
There will be the usual trade stands and a bring and buy stall. Details can be
obtained from Peter, GM0FCI on 0294 72253. The last event for the 28th is the
Pontefract and District Amateur Radio Society Annual Components Fair & Spring
Rally, is to be held at the Carleton Commununity Centre, Carleton, near
Pontefract. There will be trade stands, bring and buy stall, bookstall.
Refreshments will be available. Talk-in is to be on Two Metres. Further
details can be obtained from Colin Wilkinson, by telephoning 0977 677006.

Next the contest news:

The BARTG Spring RTTY contest started yesterday at 0200 and finishes at 0200
tomorrow, the 22nd, using the 3.5MHz to 28MHz bands. The CQ WW WPX SSB Contest
is scheduled to run from 0000 on Saturday the 27th to 2400 on Sunday the 28th
of March using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands. See March RadCom page 15 for further
details. The RSGB 70MHz Fixed Contest takes place on Sunday the 28th of March
from 0900 to 1500GMT. See February's RadCom page 66 for full details. The
RSGB's First 1296/2320MHz Fixed Contest is scheduled for Sunday the 11th of
April from 1600 to 2200GMT. See February's RadCom page 66 for the rules.

And now the solar factual data:

The period from the 8th to the 14th of March has seen a number of large M type
flares, a proton event, and a Scottish type aurora, and more proton events are
expected. Sun spot counts generally declined in spite of the flare activity.
They meaned about the 100s, despite declining to only 75 by the 14th. A number
of flares occurred almost every day, ranging from an M1.1/SF up to an M7.7/3B
on the 11th. Further M7-plus flares were reported almost every day, sending
magnetic levels up to 'storm'. SIDS, Sudden Ionospheric Disturbances, have
occurred every day, though most have been short lived. A proton alert was
issued on the 9th and it turned up on the 12th at 20.10 UTC, reaching a peak
of 44 particle flux units on the 13th at 01.55 and ending at 12.45. The solar
flux levels declined slightly over the period and averaged 146 units. The
geomagnetic Ap index averaged 31 units, the highest level since last
September. However, it was up to storm levels of 51 on the 9th and 43 on the
11th, with sub-storm levels still being reported as this bulletin was being
prepared. The higher latitudes were most affected. Auroras were reported on 6
metres on the 9th, 11th and 13th, with the Lerwick beacon putting in a good
signal to Yorkshire. The state has been proton alert, mag alert throughout the
period. The radio quality indices not surprisingly declined to poor and were
only coming back to normal by the 14th. The New York and Stavanger circuits
were particularly poor. The aa indices, as supplied by the British Geological
Survey for the 2nd to the 8th March, averaged 32.3 nanoTeslas for the daily
levels, about K3. However, the 8th was disturbed, being up to 137 nanoTeslas
around midnight. This is about K6. The only quiet day was the 5th which was
down to 8 nanoTeslas, or K1. The X-ray flux has generally declined from B6.2
on the 11th, down to B3.2 by the 14th. The high energy particle input levels,
as seen by the satellite, increased considerably up to the 9th, then steadily
declined.


Now the ionospheric data for Central France:

The F2 daytime critical frequencies at Poitiers, as reported by Meudon,
averaged 9.3MHz, though the 8th and 11th were down to 8.3MHz with the magnetic
disturbances. The darkness hour lows averaged 2.6MHz, though at times spread F
was reported, lasting for 8 hours on the 11th with the auroras.


Now the ionospheric data for the north:

The F2 daytime critical frequencies at Ekaterinberg have been seriously
affected by the magnetic activity and only averaged 6.7MHz. The darkness hour
lows averaged 2.8MHz. The ionosphere is affected by the seasonal changes, with
the higher frequency DX bands being best in the winter months when a higher
level of ionisation occurs. As the intensity of solar radiation directly
affects the ionospheric levels, in theory the higher ionospheric levels ought
to be in the summer. So far this F2 anomaly has not yet been fully explained.

And lastly the solar forecast:

This week, the quiet side of the sun will be looking our way. Solar flux
levels are expected to be at about the 120s. On past history the geomagnetic
activity is expected to be quiet to just unsettled. Ionospheric levels are
expected to be about normal, with particularly north/south paths being open
during daylight up to 30MHz. The darkness hours should be open up to 18MHz.
East/west paths are now becoming more difficult and 14MHz may be the best
band.

And that is the end of the solar information.


Finally in the main news, SSL has informed the Society that as of last
Wednesday morning, the latest callsigns issued were in the G0 Tango India and
G7 Oscar Tango series, and Novice calls in the 2 0 Alpha Echo and 2 1 Bravo
Papa series.


You're listening to GB2RS, the news broadcasting service of the Radio Society
of Great Britain, transmitting in the 80, 40, 6 and 2 metre bands.