Good morning. It's Sunday the 5th of March and here is the GB2RS news broadcast, prepared by the RSGB and intended for all radio amateurs and short-wave listeners. Now this week's headlines:- The RSGB London Amateur Radio and Computer Show takes place next weekend, Three new RSGB Liaison Officers have been appointed, and Andorra is to use a special prefix this month. Next weekend, Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of March, the RSGB London Amateur Radio and Computer Show takes place at Lee Valley Leisure Centre, Picketts Lock Lane, Edmonton, in north London. This major annual event features over 100 trade stands, an RSGB book and information stand, lectures, special interest groups and a bring and buy stall. RSGB Morse tests will be available on demand, but don't forget to take two passport-size photographs along if you wish to take your test at the Show. There will be talk-in stations on 2-metres and 70-centimetres, and doors open at 10.00 am on each day with priority admission for the disabled. Refreshments are available on site. Further details may be obtained by calling 01923 893929. The official 8-page Show guide, which was published in the March edition of Radio Communication, includes a full programme of events and travel details. Three new RSGB Liaison Officers have been appointed in Zone B. For Derbyshire, the new RLO is Ken Frankcom, G3OCA, of 1 Chesterton Road, Spondon, Derbyshire DE21 7EN, telephone: 01332 662818. For Nottinghamshire, the RLO is John Coates, G4GYU, whose address is 30 Abbott Road, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG19 6DD, telephone: 01623 27257, and the RLO for Shropshire is Tony Colton, G0UYE, 9 Pineway, Lodge Farm, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV15 5DS, telephone 01746 761203. RLOs hold a wide range of information and are available to help RSGB members in their county. During the whole of March, members of the URA - the national society in Andorra - will be able to use the special prefix C37 in place of their normal C31 calls. This is in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the foundation of the URA. Special QSLs will be available to confirm contacts made with stations using the C37 prefix. Now a note for your diary: on Friday the 24th of March, there will be a 'Radio and Communication Day' at King's College, London, starting at 10.00 am. In addition to an exhibition - where the public will be invited to gain hands-on experience with much of the equipment on display - there will be a series of presentations on the development of radio, from its beginnings and into the next century. The RSGB will have a stand, and representatives will be available to answer questions about amateur radio and the Novice licence scheme. Following the presentations, a plaque will be unveiled commemorating the pioneering work of Sir Edward Appleton. The exhibition and presentations will be held at the King's College Strand campus, located next to Somerset House and close to Waterloo Bridge. The closest underground stations are Temple, Covent Garden, Charing Cross and Holborn. For further information call Anne Robinson on 0171 873 2696. On the 70-centimetre band, two packet repeaters have closed down. They are GB7TN in Woodbridge, Suffolk, and GB7TV in Tiverton, Devon. Now some items of HF DX news from the weekly RSGB DX News Sheet which is edited by Brendan McCartney, G4DYO. From Bermuda, N2MZH will sign 'stroke VP9' until Tuesday the 7th of March. Activity will be on all bands, especially LF and the WARC bands. From Sri Lanka, ON6TZ and ON4ASQ are active signing '4S7 stroke own calls' from now until Saturday the 1st of April. And from Madagascar, a German group including DL5UF, DK1CE and DF5WA should be active until the 10th of March on all bands and modes. Next the Rally News: We know of no rallies for today, the 5th of March. Next weekend, we know of one event apart from the London Show mentioned earlier: Next Sunday, the 12th of March, is the Wythall Radio Club Rally, at Wythall Park, Silver Street, Wythall, near Birmingham. It will feature the usual traders in three halls and a marquee, a bring and buy stall, and bar and refreshment facilities. Talk-in will be on S22. For further details contact Chris, G0EYO, on 0121 430 7267. Now for the HF contest news: The ARRL DX SSB Contest is taking place this weekend on all HF bands, excluding the WARC bands. Contact only USA and Canadian stations and send an RS report followed by your power. The contest ends at 2359 UTC tonight. Brief rules were published in the February RadCom. Next weekend, the 11th and 12th of March, the RSGB Commonwealth contest will take place from 1200 UTC on Saturday until 1200 UTC on Sunday. Work Commonwealth call areas on CW only and send RST and serial number. The full rules were published in the November 94 edition of Radio Communication. As usual, HF National Field Day this year will be held over the first weekend in June, the 3rd and 4th. There is a small change to the rules this year - a second receiver will be allowed in both the Open and Restricted sections. That is, you will be allowed to use one transmitter and one receiver (or one transceiver) plus an additional receiver. Note that a transceiver with a built-in second receiver, such as the FT-1000, counts as two receivers. Groups wishing to compete must send details of the site to be used to: David Hill, G4IQM, 14 The Garrones, Worth, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 7YT, to arrive no later than the 6th of May. The full rules will be published in the April edition of RadCom, but groups wishing to receive an advance copy are welcome to request one from the RadCom office at RSGB Headquarters. Next some VHF contest news: The 144 and 432 MHz contest is taking place this weekend. This 24-hour event will finish at 1400 UTC this afternoon. The rules can be found in the February RadCom. Next Sunday, the 12th, sees another event in the 70MHz Cumulative Contest which takes place between 1000 and 1200 UTC. The rules can be found in the January RadCom. Special event stations GB0JAS and GB6 JAS in Nottingham, and GB2JAS in Liverpool, will be on the air this week in conjunction with the 'JASON Project - (Expedition Island Earth)'. GB0JAS will operate from today, the 5th of March, until this Saturday on HF, while GB6JAS will use the 6-metre, 2-metre and 70-centimetre bands. GB2JAS will be active weekday evenings and all day on Saturday until the 11th of March. A special aim of the JASON special event stations is to encourage a greater interest in the UK Novice Licence scheme and there will be Novices operating the stations from time to time. And now the solar factual data: The period from the 20th to the 26th of February saw the sunspot indices and solar flux levels decline. Solar activity was very low except on the 20th and the geomagnetic field was very quiet. HF band conditions were better than expected. The sunspot indices declined from 77 on the 21st to 39 on the 24th, but increased to end the period at 46. The mean for the period was 58. Solar flux levels declined from 91 units on the 20th to 83 units by the 24th but increased to 86 units on the 26th. The average for the period was 86 units. Solar flares were reported on the 20th and the 21st, the largest being a M1.1/1N at 0321 on the 20th, but nothing came of it. The electron fluence declined from a high level on the 20th to moderate levels by the 22nd. The x-ray flux declined from B1.4 units on the 20th to A4.8 units on the 26th and averaged A6.5 units for the period. The 90 day solar flux average on the 26th was 84 units. Geomagnetic levels were very quiet with a daily Ap index of only 1 on the 22nd and the 25th. And on the 22nd, six out of the eight three-hourly Kp observations were zeros. Unsettled conditions were reported on the 26th with an Ap index of 12 units, the average for the period was Ap 4 units. The state has been 'nil, nothing to report'. The aa indices, as supplied by the British Geological Survey for the period from the 14th to the 20th of February, declined from active levels on the 14th, at 34.9 nanoTeslas down to quiet levels with only 8.8 nanoTeslas being recorded on the 20th. The average for the period was 18.6 nanoTeslas, about K2. Bartell's rotation number 2207 starts on the 7th of March. I'll repeat the figures: spots - 58; flux - 86; Ap index - 4; x-ray flux - A6.5. Now the ionospheric data for Central France. The F2 daytime critical frequencies at Poitiers, as reported by Meudon for the period from the 17th to the 23rd of February, saw a welcome increase over the last few weeks. The HF bands responded well, particularly on the 17th with the 28MHz band open to South Africa and the 21MHz band full of stations from North America. The average for the period was 8.1MHz. The darkness hour lows also showed some improvement and averaged 3.4MHz with the 22nd up to 4.2MHz. The daytime highs taking place between 11.00 and 16.00 hours with the darkness hour lows mostly around 06.00 hours, but on the 18th as early as 22.00 hours. I'll repeat the figures: highs - 8.1MHz; lows - 3.4MHz. And lastly the solar forecast. This week the quieter side of the sun is expected to be looking our way. Solar activity should be very low and the solar flux levels are expected to decline to the mid 70s. Geomagnetic activity is expected to be quiet for most of the week but active levels may be reached on the 6th, the 10th and the 11th. Ionospheric MUFs during daylight hours for the south are expected to be about 23MHz and for the north 20MHz, with the darkness hour lows about 10MHz. And that's 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 allocated were in the G0 Victor Tango and G7 Uniform Oscar series, and Novice calls in the 2 0 Alfa Juliet and 2 1 Delta Uniform series. -- NEWS FOR THE SOUTH EAST Meetings for Monday the 6th of February: Basingstoke Amateur Radio Club meets to discuss test equipment, plus some simple and inexpensive construction tips. For details telephone 01256 25517. Braintree and District Amateur Radio Society has a talk entitled 'Satellites, Part 2' by Frank Howe, G3FIJ. Details from Margaret on 01376 327431. Dengie Hundred Amateur Radio Society has a talk on 'HM Coastguard Services'. Contact Bob, G0UKV, on 01621 776237 for more information. Southend Amateur Radio Society meets for a talk entitled 'Nodes and Bulletin Boards' by Frazer Lees, G0JDR. Details from Tony on 01825 763022. Surrey Radio Contact Club meets for the 'Sid Morley Memorial Lecture'. Details from Berni, G8TB on 0181 660 7517. Meetings for Tuesday the 7th of February: Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society has talks entitled 'JVFAX' by G0IPU, and 'Noise Bridges' by G2HNF. Call Charles, G0GJS on 01245 256654 for details. Meetings for Wednesday the 8th of February: Bracknell Amateur Radio Club meets for a 'Bring and Show' evening. More details from Steve, G4AUC, telephone 01344 420577. Chesham and District Amateur Radio Society has a technical topic evening on 'Switch-Mode Power Supplies' with Mike, G0DNJ. Further details from Ian, G0RTF on 01494 676391. Cheshunt and District Amateur Radio Club has a Members' Forum. Contact Roger, G4OAA on 01992 464795 for information. Meetings for Thursday the 9th of February: Colchester Radio Amateurs meet for a talk entitled 'Local Radio in the UK' by Bill, G1WJR. Further details from Adrian, G0APP, telephone 01206 383510. Edgware and District Radio Society has an 'Old Bygones' evening. Details from Rod, G0SQL, telephone 0181 204 1868. Reading and District Amateur Radio Club has a Quiz with Maidenhead Amateur Radio Club, at Reading. Details from Tony on 01734 698274. Shefford and District Amateur Radio Society has its G8EMJ Constructors' Contest. Telephone Paul, G1GSN on 01462 700618 for more information. Southdown and District Radio Society meets at its new venue, The Druid Venture Scouts Hall, Eastern Avenue, Southend, to discuss the Club's 75th anniversary. Details from Bob, G0RSW, on 01585 442776 during the day. Southgate Amateur Radio Club meets for a talk entitled 'Digital Signal Processing in Communications' by Mr Harvey Collins. More details are available from Brian, G0MEE, telephone 0181 360 2453. Vange Amateur Radio Society has a Quiz Night. Telephone Doris on 01268 552606 for more details. Meetings for Friday the 10th of February: Itchen Valley Amateur Radio Club has a talk and demonstration on 'Slow Scan TV' by G6OLK. Further details from Les, G3ABA on 01703 732997. Medway Amateur Receiving and Transmitting Society has a Construction Contest. Details from Gloria, G3VUN, telephone 01634 710023. The Radio Society of Harrow has a Junk Sale. All are welcome. For details contact Jim Ballard, whose home telephone number is 01895 632377. NEWS FOR THE SOUTH WEST Meeting for Wednesday the 8th of February: South Bristol Amateur Radio Club has a Loop Antenna demonstration with Bob, G0LHD. For more information telephone 01275 834282. Meeting for Thursday the 9th of February: Yeovil Amateur Radio Club has a talk by a Planning Officer on 'Applying for Planning Permission'. Details from Cedric, G4JBL on 01258 473845. Meeting for Friday the 10th of February: Poole Radio Society has a Novice Evening. All Novices welcome to attend to meet other Novices. For details contact Vernon, G3BCI on 01202 762110. Meeting for next Sunday, the 12th of February: Flight Refuelling Amateur Radio Society has a talk on 'Repeaters (and EME Update)' by G0API. Details from John, G4POF, telephone 01425 653404. NEWS FOR EAST ANGLIA Meetings for Tuesday the 7th of February: Leiston Amateur Radio Club meets for a talk on 'Flying Saucers - the Truth' by Professor John Allen. For details call Fergie, G6FS on 01728 832924. Sudbury and District Radio Amateurs meet for a talk and demonstration on 'Weather Satellites' by Mark, G3CQL. The venue is Wells Hall Old School, Great Cornard. Call Tony, G8LTY on 01787 313212 (before 10pm) for details. Meeting for Wednesday the 8th of February: Norfolk Amateur Radio Club has a Construction QRP evening. For further information contact Mike, G4EOL on 01603 789792. Meeting for Friday the 10th of February: Cambridge and District Amateur Radio Club meets for a Rally Preparation evening. More details from John, G0GKP on 01954 200 072. NEWS FOR THE MIDLANDS Meeting for Tuesday the 7th of February: Radio Society of Bloxwich meets for a slide show on DXpeditions and Contesting. Contact Chris, G0MLY, telephone 01922 683877 for details. Meetings for Wednesday 8th of February: Derby and District Amateur Radio Society has an illustrated talk entitled 'Orlando - 100%' by G3SZJ. Details from Hayley, G7PXA, on 01773 856904. Telford and District Amateur Radio Society has a talk on 'The Radio Amateur Relief Expeditions Group' by Don Sunderland, G6FHM. For further details contact Dave, G4EIX, on 01952 588878. Meeting for Thursday the 9th of February: Salop Amateur Radio Society has an Equipment Sale. For further details contact Ian, G7SBD who is QTHR. Meetings for Friday the 10th of February: Coventry Amateur Radio Society has an Indoor Direction Finding evening and a Construction evening. Further details from John, G8SEQ on 01203 617367. South Notts Amateur Radio Club has a Construction evening at Fairham College. Contact Julie, G0SOU on 01509 672734 for further details. NEWS FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND Meetings for Monday the 6th of February: Central Lancashire Amateur Radio Club has its Annual General Meeting. Details from J Procter, G0FQN, telephone 01772 423741. Sheffield Amateur Radio Club meets for a talk on 'The Workings of Raynet' by Rick, G7DSD. Further details from David, G0JJR on 0114 244 6282. Thornton Cleveleys Amateur Radio Society meets for a talk by Les, G0ETV. Further details from G4BFH who is QTHR. Meetings for Tuesday the 7th of February: Eccles and District Amateur Radio Society meets to discuss the Club Stand at Norbreck. For details call Dr C G Harrison, G8KRG, on 0161 773 7899. Liverpool and District Amateur Radio Society has a talk on 'Radio Controlled Flying' by G0OSC. Contact Ian, G4WWX, for more information. Wakefield and District Radio Society meets to discuss final preparations for the Northern Cross Rally. Details from Roy, G0TBY, on 01924 893321. Meeting for Wednesday the 8th of February: Hornsea Amateur Radio Club has a talk entitled 'Short Way to Valves' by G4IGY. Details from Mr J R Thompson, G0TPS, telephone 01964 562258. Meetings for Thursday the 9th of February: Keighley Amateur Radio Society has a talk entitled 'Keighley During the 2nd World War' by Ian Dewhirst. Call Kathy, on 01274 496222 for further details. Pontefract and District Amateur Radio Society has a talk on 'Computers' by Derek, G6NDF. Details from Colin, G0NQE, telephone 0977 677006. Meetings for Friday the 10th of February: Goole Radio and Electronics Society has a talk on 'Emergency Planning'. Further details from Steve Price, G8VHL on 01405 769130. South Manchester Radio Club has a talk entitled 'Setting up Computers' by G4HON. For further details call Edward, G7FQY, on 0161 969 1964. Meeting for next Sunday the 12th of February: Sunderland and District Amateur Radio Society has a Junk Sale and Auction at The Alexandra, Queen Alexandra Road, Sunderland. Doors open at 10.30am for a 12 noon start. NEWS FOR SCOTLAND Meeting for Tuesday the 7th of February: Dundee Amateur Radio Club has a Construction evening. Details from Allan, GM7ONJ who is QTHR. Meeting for Wednesday the 8th of February: Lothians Radio Society has a Video evening. For details contact Brian, GM4DIJ, whose home telephone number is 0131 337 7311. Meeting for Thursday the 9th of February: Lerwick Radio Club has a Video and Social evening for members, visitors and friends. Telephone Bob, GM4CAQ on 01595 696411 for more information. Meeting for Friday the 10th of February: Aberdeen Amateur Radio Society meets for a Radio Software evening. More details from Martin, GM0JCN on 01569 731177. NEWS FOR WALES The Mid Glamorgan Radio Group is looking for another Novice Instructor to cope with their busy programme. Contact Tom, GW0TOM on 01656 736954. Meeting for Monday the 6th of February: Dragon Amateur Radio Club has a talk entitled 'Underwater Explorations'. Details from Tony, GW0FMQ on 01248 600963. Meeting for Wednesday the 8th of February: Cardiff RSGB Group has a talk on 'Computer Aided Design of Computers'. Details from GW4HWR on 01222 810368. Meeting for Thursday the 9th of February: Aberystwyth and District Amateur Radio Society meets for a DIY Project - Building an RF Noise Bridge. More information from Katy, GW0SFO, telephone 01545 580675. -- GB2RS is prepared by the Radio Society of Great Britain and is broadcast in the 80m, 40m, 6m and 2m bands. Tel +44 1707 659015 Fax +44 1707 645105