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GB2RS > NEWS 17.05.07 20:00l 314 Lines 11453 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: MAIN NEWS - 20 May 07 1/11
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Sent: 070517/1750Z @:GB2RS.GB7COV.#29.GBR.EU
From: GB2RS@GB7COV.#29.GBR.EU
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* First school in Britain to run a radio station
* Successful reunion of surviving WW2 radio operators
* West Lancashire Scouts expedition
* AREN help out at road racing championships
* SSeti ESEO launch delay
* Colchester RA Foundation Licence Assessment Day
* Ofcom put online licensing helpsheet on the web
* Amateur Radio Full Licensees - Special Research Permits
* RSGB & IARU Respond to 10GHz Auction
* Rallies and Events
* Special Event News
First school in Britain to run a radio station
.
A Lothians high school has been awarded a licence by Ofcom, enabling it
to be the first in Britain to have its own community radio station.
Pupils at Queensferry High are delighted to have won a five-year public
service licence for Jubilee FM, which they will run with local volunteers.
They will broadcast music, news and entertainment twenty-four hours a day
to South Queensferry, as well as North Queensferry and parts of Fife.
Station director Charles Fletcher commented that they are absolutely
thrilled. The plan is to launch on St Andrew's Day.
The school can now contact the community radio fund, the lottery, and
other potential sources of funding. It will also be a great way of
helping train young journalists on how to run a radio station.
Successful reunion of surviving WW2 radio operators
.
Surviving WWII radio operators, who intercepted the highly secret traffic
from the German Secret Service attended a reunion on April 29 at
Bletchley Park.
Hams who attended were previously involved with Ultra, the top secret
material which was deciphered at Bletchley Park and disseminated only to
those who had direct responsibility for directting the war.
Mike Coleman, G1YVR, gave the group an illuminating history of Direction
Finding from before WWI to the present day. Direction Finding was a vital
part of the WWII operations and was directed by Major Dick Keen with
assistance from G5RV, G6LL, G8LT and G6CJ working on aerial systems and
distribution wideband amplifiers. A well-known D/F operator was G2BTO,
who unfortunately could not attend the reunion.
Bob Painter, G3BPF, described how he was member of the party given the
task of tracking down the illicit transmitters of the Stern Gang and the
Voice of Israel, in 1946. This was in extremely dangerous circumstances
but he survived to locate the Stern Gang, though not the Voice of Israel,
which was perhaps fortunate for him.
The 1,500 hams who became Voluntary Interceptors during the war were
recruited by various, sometimes bizarre, means. The RSGB was called upon
to help and of course could not advertise in the T&R Bulletin of that
period. Mostly it was by the Old Boy, who do you know, method.
To see a picture from the reunion click here.
.
West Lancashire Scouts expedition
West Lancashire Scouts Expedition to Renland East Greenland 2007 will be
taking place from the 23 July to 20 August.
A party of 50 Scouts and Leaders from West Lancashire will be exploring
the ice cap and mountains of Renland East Greenland. As well as mountain
exploration a number of scientific and wildlife studies and experiments
are being carried for various academic bodies. The Expedition will also
be operating an amateur radio station for a considerable period of time.
Operation will be on the 40m, 30m and 20m bands, SSB, Data and some CW,
under the call sign G3WGU/OX.
One of the major issues with operation for this period of time is energy
as all the power requirements will come from solar cells. Although there
is almost 24hr day light at this time of year the efficiency so far north
is somewhat reduced. The expedition is therefore looking for the loan of
a small number of light weight solar panels to ensure operational
capability.
For more information log onto www.greenland.westlancashirescouts.org.uk.
AREN help out at road racing championships
Hams will be helping at the national under 23 road racing championship in
Waterford, Ireland, on the 1 July.
This year's race will be on a greater scale with over 160 riders
taking part. The Civil Defence has come on board this year to help with
marshalling and RTE will be filming the event. AREN will provide the
communications for safe traffic management and accident reporting.
There will be more radio reporting points and mobile stations than last
year, so more radio operators are required. Again newcomers are welcome
and training will be provided on the morning of the race. Richie EI9HR is
event co-ordinator and he is being assisted by John EI8JA. This is an
excellent opportunity for operators to put their radio skills to good use
in a very enjoyable and rewarding way for the benefit of the Community.
All operators irrespective of experience are welcome. Locals should
contact Richie by e-mail at ei9hr@yahoo.com
SSeti ESEO launch delay
The launch date for SSeti ESEO, a European Space Agency led student
satellite project intended for geostationary transfer orbit has been
delayed by approximately one year.
It had originally been hoped that this satellite would be a secondary
payload on Ariane launch in late November of 2008 but it now seems that
opportunity will not be available.
Colchester RA Foundation Licence Assessment Day
Colchester Radio Amateurs are holding a one day Foundation Licence
Assessment day on Sunday 24th June 2007.
To enrol or for further information please contact Kevan 2E0WMG on
07766543784 or e-mail colchesterradioamateurs@hotmail.co.uk
Ofcom put online licensing helpsheet on the web
.
Following the introduction of the Lifetime Licence and online licensing
system in December 2006, Ofcom have recently made available a guide on
how to use their online system.
The comprehensive document, which runs to fifteen pages, is presented as
a pdf file and has step-by-step instructions on how to use all the online
features. It includes specific instructions on the areas of the system
which have caused particular confusion to users, such as the need to
edit' your details to force the system to generate your licence.
The document, entitled "User Guide for Amateur Radio Applicants", can be
downloaded from the Help and Guidance section of the Ofcom web site at
www.ofcom.org.uk/licensing/olc/guidance/.
Amateur Radio Full Licensees - Special Research Permits
in the region of 501 kHz
.
Ofcom has decided to permit a limited number of Amateur Radio Full
licensees to operate under a Special Research Permit between 501 and 504
kHz for a 12 month period commencing from 1 March 2007.
This follows representations made by the Radio Society of Great Britain
and negotiations with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Special Research Permits under a Notice of Variation to the Licence may
be made available to holders of Full Amateur Licences on a case by case
basis to applicants who can demonstrate a genuine interest in
experimentation at these frequencies and provide adequate supporting
documentation for assessment.
Due to the usage of the spectrum around 500 kHz, applicants should pay
special attention to demonstrating technical and operational competence
in terms of transmitting within the frequency and Effective Radiated
Power (e.r.p.) parameters agreed with Ofcom. Previous experience at 73
kHz as well as 136 kHz will be considered desirable in this respect to
ensure adequate steps are taken to limit any potential interference.
Ofcom will monitor any interference reports with a view to limiting
numbers in the use of the band if necessary. In general, considerably
lower e.r.p. levels than that permitted in the 136 kHz band are likely to
be favourable and this will only be permitted where it can be
demonstrated that increased powers are necessary for research. On no
account will an e.r.p. level of greater than - 10 dBW be permitted
under any circumstance.
The standard application form (OfW306) for a Special Research Permit can
be downloaded at:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/amateur/applicatio
ns/ofw306.pdf
Form OfW306 is also available on request from the Ofcom Licensing Centre
at:
Ofcom Licensing Centre
Amateur Radio
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
Tel: 020 7981 3131
You can also find more information on the RSGB Spectrum Forum website at:
http://www.rsgb-spectrumforum.org.uk/mf.htm
RSGB & IARU Respond to 10GHz Auction
.
RSGB and IARU Region-1 are continuing their defence of the 10GHz band.
Their responses to the latest Ofcom consultation on the Spectrum auction
can be found on the Ofcom website at
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/10-40GHz/responses/.
The RSGB & IARU responses are the second formal submission on this topic
and continues the joint effort in conjunction with affiliated societies
including AMSAT-UK, the UK Microwave Group and the British Amateur
Television Group BATC. Ofcom plans would have potentially serious
consequences for innovative developments by the Amateur Satellite Service.
Rallies and Events
On Sunday 20 May the Dunstable Downs National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale
takes place from 9am at Stockwood Park, Luton, and it is signposted from
M1 junction 10.
On Sunday 20 May the Magnum rally takes place from 10.30 at the Magnum
Leisure Centre, Harbourside, Irvine, Ayrshire KA12 8PP. Details from
Helen on 07776 3895247.
On Sunday 20 May the Mid-Ulster Amateur Radio Society rally takes place
from 11am at the Discovery Centre in Oxford Island, Craigauon.
More details of these and future events can be found on the Rallies and
Events page.
Special Event News
Finningley Amateur Radio Society, FARS, ran a successful Special Events
Station on 6 and 7 May at the 2007 European Festival of the Plough. The
event hosted by the Society of Ploughmen at the former RAF Lindholme to
the east of Doncaster, and attracted large numbers of visitors from
Europe and the UK. FARS operated both a HF and VHF shack with members
operating in shifts. Well over a 100 contacts were made by each shack. A
G5RV in an inverted V, with the top at about 35 feet on one of the
Club's mobile towers, was used on HF, with the VHF antenna also
being at the top of the tower.
Three clubs in East Anglia; Clacton Radio Club, Felixstowe and District
Amateur Radio Club and Harwich Amateur Radio Interest Group have joined
forces to operate the GB400AA special event station. The station will
commemorate the founding of Jamestown, Virginia 400 years ago. It will be
operate at the Mayflower Museum on the Halfpenny Pier at Harwich where
The Harwich Society on 25 May.
GB1HYS will be operational from Guides Camp in Scarisbrick, Lancashire,
between Friday 25 May and Monday 28 May. The Southport District Scouts
have taken over the camp for the weekend to celebrate the centenary
together. The station will be manned by members of the Southport &
District Amateur Radio Club and will be utilising whatever HF bands are
available together with 2m, IRLP and possibly 70cm. They would like to
hear from anyone and hope to blitz the Centenary Award, whilst giving as
many Scouts as possible a taste of Amateur Radio.
.
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This news item was prepared by the Radio Society of Great Britain
and was downloaded from http://www.rsgb.org, converted from HTML
to plain text and uploaded at GB7COV.#29.GBR.EU by G3ZFR.
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