Subject: gb2rs news 3rd jan 1993
Distribution: world
Organization: 5/10
X-Mailer: Simple NEWS 1.90 (ka9q DIS 1.18)
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 12:54:27 +0000

Good morning. It's Sunday the 3rd of January and here is the GB2RS news
broadcast, prepared by the Radio Society of Great Britain.

Listeners may remember that for many years we presented a retrospective GB2RS
bulletin at this time of year. Unfortunately, staff resources have not been
available to do this in recent years. To the rescue has come GB2RS news reader
Vic Kusin, GM4HCO, who volunteered to provide his own GB2RS highlights. Here,
then, is his review of the past year in amateur radio, as we reported on
GB2RS:

We started the year with congratulations to RSGB Member Sir Brian Rix, CBE,
G2DQU who was made a Life Peer in the 1992 New Year Honours list in
recognition of his work for the mentally handicapped. The first meeting of the
new RSGB Council took place in January at Bangor, Northern Ireland, where
Peter Chadwick, G3RZP, was elected Executive Vice President for 1992. At a
ceremony at Bangor Castle, Terry Barnes, GI3USS, was formally installed as
President of the Society in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Bangor. Extracts
from the GB2RS broadcast of the 12th of January were read out over Television
and Radio in Northern Ireland to promote amateur radio and the Society.
Stations in Finland used the prefix OG instead of OH during 1992 to celebrate
75 years of Finnish independence and stations in Cyprus used the prefix P30
during January and February for the 30th anniversary of amateur radio in
Cyprus. Kenya signed a reciprocal licensing agreement with the UK. The Society
produced an information booklet 'A Closer Look at the Novice Licence' which
put the RA's Novice Licence terms and limitations booklet into simple
language. Copies are available from RSGB Headquarters. The Radiocommunications
Agency released an information sheet: Advice on TV and Radio Reception, form
RA179. This gives helpful advice, sets out procedures to be followed and
includes a complaint form. Copies are available by telephoning the RA Library
Service on 071 215 2072. The beacon GB3LER, located at Lerwick in the Shetland
Isles returned to service on 50.064MHz after having its aerials damaged during
a severe gale in December. This beacon, operating on 6 and 2 metres is an
important auroral warning indicator.

The month long ITU World Administrative Radio Conference, WARC'92, started on
the 3rd of February in Torremolinos in Spain. The RSGB's representative on the
UK delegation was David Evans, G3OUF. John Allaway, G3FKM, was also at the
conference as part of the IARU observer team. The conference was opened by Her
Royal Highness Queen Sophia of Spain, who was familiar with the Amateur
Service because King Juan Carlos of Spain is licensed as EA0OLC. This major
International Telecommunication Union Conference attracted over 1200 delegates
from some one hundred countries. At least ten countries attending the
conference, including the United Kingdom, had licensed amateurs as delegates.
OSCAR 14 was taken out of service on the 17th of February to be replaced by
OSCAR 22. The Pacsat handbook which fully describes the operations of OSCAR 22
is available from AMSAT-UK. The special callsign 4G2VOA was used from the
Philippines during February to celebrate 50 years of broadcasting by the Voice
of America. A new 2 metre repeater came on the air in Scotland. GB3LG, on
channel R3 is located at Lochgilphead, Argyll. The Girl Guides Association's
Thinking Day on the Air took place on the 22nd and 23rd of February. The event
is run on the weekend nearest to the birthdays of the founders of the Guide
Movement, Lord and Lady Baden-Powell. In the UK some 172 stations took part,
and during the event the Guides were able to exchange greetings messages with
some 36 countries world-wide.

March saw the ending of the WARC'92 Conference without the expected change
being made to the 7MHz amateur band. The alignment of this band on a
world-wide basis will be discussed at a later date. The 2.3GHz band, which is
allocated on a Secondary basis to radio amateurs, will have to accommodate
other services in the future which raises the question of sharing. Wind
profiler {newsreaders, this is wind as in weather, not as in wind-up} radar,
which concerned frequencies around 50MHz, 400MHz and 1000MHz was referred back
to the CCIR, the ITU's technical advisory committee, for further study. The
International Amateur Radio Union participated in a Project aimed at
establishing amateur radio in Korea. The authorities of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea indicated their positive attitude towards such an
initiative. After 67 years, the final scheduled transmissions from the
historic BBC HF transmitting station at Daventry, Northants took place on the
28th of March. To mark the occasion, GB67XX operated on the HF bands for a few
days after the closedown using some of the large broadcast aerial arrays.
Sergei Krialyov, the cosmonaut who travelled with Helen Sharman to the Mir
space station, returned to Earth after a year of providing frequent amateur
radio activity from the space station. This did not, however, leave space
without an amateur radio presence as the NASA Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on
the 24th of March with a crew particularly rich in radio amateurs.

The RA announced that from the 1st of April 1992, UK Class A licence holders
could use 26dBW, 400 Watts, PEP output power from 1.830 to 1.850MHz. This was
a direct result of negotiations with the RSGB. In commemoration of the April
opening of the Euro Disney Resort near Paris, the Disney Amateur Radio Clubs
operated five Special Event Stations at Disney sites in the USA, Japan and
France. On Sunday the 12th of April, RSGB member Mike Costello, G3YPP,
completed the London ADT Marathon in 4 hours 31 minutes and raised a
substantial sum towards the RSGB Mencap Albania appeal. The West Midlands
Raynet Group was asked to return to Romania, following their earlier
expedition with the Yorkshire Dales Relief Team. Raynet provided essential
communications for the teams of relief workers who were renovating and
equipping 27 medical centres in the same region. A new RSGB award was
introduced. The 50MHz Transmitting Award requires confirmation from 40
counties and 12 countries on 50MHz. For the Senior Transmitting Award, 60
counties and 20 countries are needed and this certificate counts as credit
towards the RSGB Supreme Award. Information and application forms may be
obtained from the RSGB VHF/UHF Awards Manager, Ian Cornes, G4OUT. The major
event at the end of April was RSGB'92, the RSGB National Convention and
Amateur Radio Exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham.
The centre-piece of the event was a diamond-shaped village of RSGB stands. In
addition to the trade and flea-market areas, there were lectures on a variety
of subjects, from 'Propagation' by Jim Bacon, G3YLA to 'The Future of Raynet'
by Geoff Griffiths, G3STG. On the Saturday there was an all-day Packet Radio
Seminar. Traditionally, the 'RSGB Show' has become a meeting point for many
national amateur radio organisations.

In May, the RA announced a Reciprocal Licensing Agreements between the UK and
Malaysia, and between the UK and Sri Lanka. In a massive auroral opening on
the 10th of May, RSGB VHF Manager Dave Butler, G4ASR, made 146 CW contacts on
the 144MHz band, with 66 locator squares in 17 countries. Many of his contacts
were around 2000km. World Telecommunication Day was celebrated by member
countries of the International Telecommunication Union on the 17th of May,
coinciding with the date of signature of the first International Telegraph
Convention in Paris in 1865. The Geneva station 4U7ITU was active on all
bands. The Council of the RSGB issued a statement regarding the reorganisation
of Raynet, emphasising how important it was that liaison and support should
continue between the RSGB and all those involved in this public service aspect
of amateur radio. The RSGB would, for the present time, provide insurance
cover for all involved in this aspect of amateur radio, whether or not they
are members of the Society. From the 29th to the 31st of May the 50MHz band
produced double hop sporadic E openings to Turkey, Cyprus and Israel from
GJ4ICD in the Channel Islands.

Two RSGB members were awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in
June: Past RSGB President Barney Patterson, GI3KYP, and Britain/s first
astronaut Helen Sharman, an honorary member of the Society. The RSGB HF SSB
National Field Day took place during the first weekend in June. The Open
Section was won by the Reading and District Amateur Radio Club, G3ULT/P, the
Restricted Section by the Gravesend Radio Society, G3GRS/P and the QRP
Restricted Section by the Adur DX Club, G4BUE/P. Overall 93 groups entered for
the contest. The RA announced that from the 1st of January 1993 the 12 Words
Per Minute Morse Test will change to the QSO-type format currently used for
the Novice 5 words-per-minute test. Both the current format and the new one
will be available to candidates for the first three months of 1993, after
which the new format only will be used. The RA announced that Ireland had
signed the CEPT agreement TR61-01, which means that a reciprocal licence is
not required by UK Class A and B licensees for operation in the Irish
Republic. Novices are not included in this agreement. A widespread sporadic E
opening on the 22nd of June affected the 50, 70 and 144MHz bands. On 50MHz the
band opened to North America for 8 hours. During the 144MHz opening the RSGB's
VHF Manager, G4ASR, worked 60 stations in Yugoslavia, 17 Italians and 12
Austrians as well as Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and a Greek station at a
distance of 2,400km.

In July Peter Kirby took up his appointment as the RSGB's new General Manager
after many years in management, mainly in the Navy. One of his first duties
was to attend the Society's Strategy Conference at Warwick University on the
10th and 11th of July. Around 100 people attended the two-day event which
proposed marketing the Society more aggressively, a new category of membership
for those with at least ten years' service, a bigger RadCom, a higher profile
for affiliated societies, a members' help-line service and an investigation of
the pros and cons of a code-free HF licence. The aim of the conference was to
plan for the next three to five years and it will be some time before all of
the proposals can be fully discussed and costed. The first Novice licensee to
receive an RSGB VHF/UHF/Microwave Award was eleven-year-old Alice Blackwell,
2E1AIZ, who claimed the 1.3GHz distance award for her contact with LA8OJ at a
distance of 720km using just 1 Watt. A very Special Event callsign GB500GRC,
Grand Regatta Columbus, was aired from the 21st of July celebrating the 500th
year of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. This culminated in
the Grand Parade of Sail at Liverpool, marking the end of a four-month voyage
of the world's finest sailing ships. Peter Chadwick, G3RZP, was elected RSGB
President for 1993. He takes up his appointment on the 1st of January. Armenia
and Uzbekistan became Members of the ITU bringing the membership to 172. The
AMSAT-UK Colloquium, the annual get-together for those interested in
satellites, took place at the University of Surrey at the end of July. The
event comprised lectures and demonstrations arranged to provide delegates,
from beginner to the expert, with a complete educational and fun weekend with
an opportunity to talk to those who design, build, command and launch the
satellites.

August saw the 60th anniversary of the BBC's first venture into television
when, in 1932 they took over responsibility for programmes previously
broadcast by the Baird Television Company. To commemorate this, members of the
Baird Amateur Radio Society used the callsign G2TV. This callsign, the first
to be issued anywhere for television transmissions, was held by John Logie
Baird from 1926 until 1939. A series of articles appeared in the press at the
end of August regarding the so-called 'Diana Tapes', which caused widespread
condemnation from the licensed amateur radio community over the use of the
term 'Radio Ham' in the articles. The RSGB issued Press Statements explaining
the difference between the hobbies of CB, scanning and amateur radio, and
pointing out that the eavesdropper did not hold an amateur licence.

In September, the UK Amateur Radio Satellite UoSAT OSCAR-22 provided a
humanitarian service in connection with the hurricane in the Hawaiian Islands.
At the end of September over 200 DX amateurs from more than 30 countries
attended the RSGB International HF and IOTA Convention. It featured talks on
the RSGB's popular Islands On the Air Award programme as well as those from
well-known personalities like Peter Hart, Mike Grierson, Peter Chadwick and
Ross Clare, covering transceiver performance and construction, linear
amplifiers and EMC. The UK DX Packet Cluster Group demonstrated how to use
this DX Information system. Also at the HF convention, the RA announced its
continuing support for Project YEAR - Youth into Electronics via Amateur Radio
- with a further two years of sponsorship of the Young Amateur of the Year
Award. This annual award goes to the most outstanding young licensed amateur
and this year's winner was seventeen-year-old Martin Saunders, G7JCJ from
Dorset, a keen computer enthusiast who operates a Packet Cluster node serving
the local HF DX community.

The 35th Jamboree On the Air took place over the weekend 17th and 18th of
October when Scouts and Guides all over the world used amateur radio to
celebrate their shared interest. Some joined with the World Federation of
Great Towers to put on stations at towers round the world, including Blackpool
Tower, the Empire State Building, Centre Point in Sydney, CN Tower in Toronto,
the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Euromast in Rotterdam and the Telecom Tower in
London. The report on the June Novice RAE was published, showing a record
number of candidates - 369. The City and Guilds attributed the 74% pass rate
and high standard of candidates to the RSGB's "well organised training schemes
and the standard of instruction and guidance given". A report on the May RAE
mentioned a pass rate of over 81%, the highest for several years. It went on
to say that "most candidates had an excellent understanding" of EMC. The
report also expressed a hope that future candidates will gain more practical
experience before sitting the exam. Tests of the RSGB's high power propagation
data beacon, GAM1, proved to be successful thanks to all of those who sent in
reports from all over the country. It proved necessary to apply for a new
frequency for reasons of international cooperation and final approval is still
awaited.

In November, Morag Howell, GM0MUV, was given permission by the RA to use the
callsign GB4MSS/VP8 from her expedition base camp in the Patriot Hills,
Antarctica. She is part of the Pentland South Pole Expedition in which Sir
Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Mike Stroud are walking unsupported 2000 miles across
the Antarctic. They are also raising money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The City and Guilds RAE syllabus had to be changed to incorporate the
application of valves as RF power amplifiers, and their advantages and
disadvantages. This is to bring the UK in line with other CEPT countries who
are working towards a Harmonised Amateur Radio Examination Certificate which,
when implemented, will enable a radio amateur to obtain a permanent licence in
countries which have signed the CEPT agreement. The conditions of the Amateur
Radio Licence and the Amateur Radio Novice Licence were amended by a new
paragraph added to Note 1 of the Notes to Terms, Provisions and Limitations
Booklets BR68 and BR68a/N. The original proposed paragraph was studied by the
RSGB EMC Committee, who raised some areas of concern and, as a result, it was
revised by the RA. The first year of the Novice Licence scheme was reviewed at
a meeting between the RSGB, the RA and the City and Guilds. The RA felt the
scheme had been a success and that only minor modifications were required. The
high operating standard of Novices was a testimony to the effectiveness of the
practical element in the RSGB's training scheme. Some minor changes to the
examination syllabus were agreed and some small extensions to the band plan
were proposed. It was felt that Novices should not have access to the two
metre band as this provided the best incentive for them to upgrade to a full
licence. No changes are to be made to the power levels. By the end of
November, The Pentland South Pole Expedition was well ahead of schedule. Using
their Yaesu FT70G transceivers, running 10W to a dipole, they had been in
direct communication with Lawrence Howell, GM4DMA in Aberdeen. Morag,
GM0MUV/VP8, reached her base station at Patriot Hill after being held up by
bad weather. GM4DMA relayed the GB2RS News Bulletin to the expedition and it
is understood that they were delighted to hear that we were following their
progress.


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Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc