Good morning and a Happy New Year. It's Sunday the 1st of January and here is the GB2RS news broadcast, prepared by the RSGB and intended for all radio amateurs and short-wave listeners. Before the review of the second half of 1994, there are a few news items: Firstly, some HF DX news from the weekly RSGB DX News Sheet which is edited by Brendan McCartney, G4DYO. From the Cayman Islands, JH1ROJ is active as ZF2RO until Thursday the 5th of January on all bands 160 to 10m, SSB and CW. From Belize, AE0Q will sign V31RYfrom now until Monday the 9th of January, taking in the ARRL Data Contest on the 7th and 8th of January. We have no rally news for you this week as the next event notified to us is not until Sunday the 22nd of January. Now for the HF contest news: The ARRL Data Contest takes place from 1800 UTC on Saturday the 7th until 2359 UTC on Sunday the 8th, on all bands 80 to 10 metres, but excluding the WARC bands. The RSGB Affiliated Societies Team Contest takes place next Sunday, the 8th of January, from 1400 to 1800 UTC. The rules can be found in the December edition of RadCom. Next some VHF contest news: The next RSGB VHF Contest is the 144MHz CW Single Operator, Fixed / All Others, from 1000 to 1600 UTC on Sunday the 15th. See January RadCom page 81 for further details. GB2GP will be operating next weekend from Gilwell Park during the Scouts Winter Camp weekend, from Friday the 6th until Sunday the 8th. Operation will be on HF and VHF. Further details from G6OLK on 01256 843782. And now for the second part of our traditional Review of the Year. We are grateful to newsreader Vic Kusin, GM4HCO, for researching and compiling it. In July, congratulations were due to a couple of the youngest candidates ever to pass the RSGB 12WPM Morse test. The two, both girls, were successful at their first attempt at the test. Nine-year-old Jannelle lives in Portadown, Northern Ireland and is the daughter of GI0UJG. Diane, who lives in Standon, Staffordshire is ten years old and her parents are G0UUM and G0UUN. Later in the year Katie Cannon passed her 5WPM Novice Morse test at the age of only seven, being one of the youngest people ever to have passed this test. The Amateur Licences were amended by the Radiocommunications Agency in July - power restrictions on 1.81 to 1.85MHz and 50 to 51MHz were removed, allowing the full 26dBW to be used. The ERP and antenna height restrictions on the whole of the 50MHz band were also lifted. Holders of all amateur licences were required to notify their local RIS office of unattended digital operation and to agree suitable close-down procedures. Changes were also made to computer logging requirements. On the 17th of July, Raynet member, Ron Oswald, G7PIP of Hastings, helped a yacht in distress to contact the coastguard. He heard a Mayday transmission from the yacht ''Aida'' which had lost its rudder. Dover coastguard was unable to hear the stricken craft so Ron proved to be their only lifeline, relaying messages via the telephone. He was eventually joined by a local coastguard and a helicopter was launched. The 'Aida' was observed until it arrived safely at Newhaven. July saw the opening of the Bletchley Park Trust Museum by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Kent. The museum, located near Milton Keynes, commemorates the work of codebreakers and intelligence specialists who made a vital contribution to the allied war effort. Two groups of amateurs provided exhibits to show the role of radio operators during the war. Members of the Milton Keynes ARS created a working replica of a wartime Y service station, and a large exhibition of radio and radar equipment was created by with the help of radio amateurs from the Communications and Electronics Museum Trust. At its meeting on the 23rd of July, the RSGB Council elected Clive Trotman, GW4YKL as President for 1995. BBC Television's 'The Sky at Night' reported in August that amateur observations of the radio noise from Jupiter had shown a correlation between noise at 20.4MHz and the impact of fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Dave Sumner, G3PVH, presented a paper on his own observations of Jupiter noise at the AMSAT-UK Colloquium at the end of July. From the 20th to the 25th of September, a huge consumer electronics show, LIVE'94, was held at Earls Court in London, covering a wide range of activities including music, broadcasting, computers and photography. The RSGB co-ordinated an 'Amateur Radio Village' in conjunction with seven other companies. The aim was to introduce the hobby to as many people as possible and well over a hundred thousand visitors attended the event. At the beginning of October, the RSGB International HF and Islands On the Air Convention was held near Windsor in Berkshire. A large number of top DXers from around the world attended and the event had something for the beginner as well as the expert. There was a full programme of lectures, slide shows and discussion sessions and many special interest groups were represented. The special event station used the unusual call GB 301 OTA. The IOTA honour roll showed a massive 43% increase in participation this year, with 509 stations listed. Many who have taken up island chasing say that IOTA is now a greater challenge than DXCC. The highest placed UK station was GM3ITN who was 7th equal with 743 islands confirmed. Six stations, had been awarded the IOTA Plaque of Excellence for contacting 750 of the 800 islands or island groups which have been activated. The 1994 Young Amateur of the Year was seventeen-year -old Robert Aley, G7SRR, who was selected after interviews by the RSGB and the RA. Robert, who was first licensed as 2E1AXZ, enjoys participating in special event stations, construction, packet radio and designing his own QSL cards. He has been an RSGB Novice Instructor since September 1993 and has recruited several more instructors. In July he received his Full Licence. His examination fee was earned by writing questions for the Novice RAE, which were accepted by the City and Guilds. A number of prizes donated by the RSGB, the RA and Industry were presented to Robert and to the runner-up Stephen Conner, GM0TET, at a ceremony held at the RSGB HF Convention. The 37th Jamboree on the Air took place over the weekend of 15 and 16 October. Over 250 Special Event Callsigns were issued for the year's largest amateur radio youth event. Scouts and Guides from all over the world combined with radio amateurs to experience the fun of the hobby at first hand by exchanging greetings messages with each other over the air. The Science Museum announced that, due to a change of policy to produce more interactive exhibits, a decision has been made to close down the GB2SM station. As a result of a meeting between the RSGB General Manager and the Director of the Science Museum in October, the future of amateur radio at the museum was secured. The existing GB2SM exhibit closed on the 7th of November pending further discussions. The RA announced that the minimum age limit on the Full Amateur Radio Licence had been reduced, thus removing the anomaly whereby young people who had passed the RAE were unable to obtain a Full Licence until they reached the age of 14. Holders of the Amateur Radio Novice Licence who are between the ages of 10 and 14 years will now have the opportunity to obtain a full Amateur Radio Licence, provided they have held an Amateur Radio Novice Licence for at least one year and have passed the RAE. During mid October, a major tropo opening affected all bands from two metres up to the microwave bands. For much of the week the bands were open right across Europe. Signal levels were the strongest that many people could remember, and even UHF broadcast Television was seriously affected. The lift conditions which covered much of the UK, and extending into Central Europe, enabled many operators to experience really good propagation for the first time. At its peak many Novices and others were able to work into the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany using QRP. On UHF many contacts in excess of 400km were made, with a possible new UK record on 10GHz of 1137km, made jointly by G3FYX and G3JMY in Bristol and SM6ESG in Sweden. The RSGB was represented at the launch of the Radiocommunications Agency's Annual Report on 1 November. During the press conference, RA officials spoke of the huge increase in demand for radio services but the Society was assured that the Government believed in a balance of types of radio service, so this was not a direct threat to the amateur bands. Note would, however, be taken of the parts of the spectrum which were under-used. The RA's Report revealed a six per cent increase in the number of amateur radio licences in force. The total was 63,033 which put amateurs at the top of the list. Ships' radio licences were second with nearly 58,000 and CBs third with 51,000. Of the amateur licences issued, 50.5% were full class A, 47% class B, and the remaining 2.5% were Novice licences A and B. The Radiocommunications Agency announced that the contract to distribute Amateur Radio licences should, once again, be awarded to Subscription Services Limited, initially for a three year period. All licence holders were sent a letter with details of the new arrangements. The Annual Meeting of the RSGB took place at the Royal Society of Chemistry, London on the 3rd of December. The results of the Council election and a full list of the 1995 RSGB Council is published in the January edition of Radio Communication which was due to be posted before Christmas. At an Extraordinary General Meeting called by Council to make a number of amendments to the Society's Articles of Association, all six special resolutions were carried overwhelmingly. The Radiocommunications Agency announced in December that, in certain cases, they may publish details of those whose amateur licences had been revoked. Until now this information has been regarded as confidential, but the decision to publish would be based on the consideration that it is important to make others aware of the revocation of a licence and the ensuing ban on radio use for the person concerned. Estonia, Israel and Turkey have signed the CEPT TR 61-01 agreement this year, which permits temporary amateur operation in those countries without additional paperwork. There are now 27 countries who have implemented this recommendation - the full list is given in your Licence Validation Document. And that concludes our review of the year 1994, as reported by GB2RS. And now the solar propagation review of the year 1994 and what's to come, written by our regular propagation news contributor Charlie Newton, G2FKZ: The major propagation story this year was the massive sporadic E openings during the summer, particularly on the 50MHz band. These covered the whole of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Iceland, Newfoundland, Canada, the USA, the Caribbean, French Guiana, and much more. The 2m band opening on the 23rd of June to Portugal was one of the best that most people can remember. It is well-known that sporadic E is more prevalent during the sun spot minimum, but this year it surpassed all our expectations. Next year is expected to be even better. UK amateurs have taken part in the ITU Beacon Project. The reported results from the LN2A beacon, covering 5.4 to 20.9MHz, showed significant results, with considerable variations from Scotland to Cornwall. There is little doubt that we will gain as much out of this survey as the ITU. The burning question is "When will the minimum be?" Well, all the expert forecasters burnt their fingers very badly over the maximum, so they have been very quiet about the minimum. My own forecast is that the first positive sign of the minimum will be when the first bipolar spots appear at high solar latitudes with reversed magnetic polarity. Up to now this has not happened. Some extremely small spots have appeared but not a bipolar one. When this happens the minimum will be about one year away,. To sum up, it looks as though next year will not see the minimum. Some time during 1996 is the best bet that I can give you. The solar flux is also a good guide. Previous minima have been around 68 units; and so far we are well above this with monthly averages about 80 units. This indicates that the flux minimum is at least a year away. The troposphere has given us a lot to think about. For over a year, tests have been carried out on the 50 MHz band over the 350 kilometre path between G4UPS in Devon and G3CCH in Humberside. These have shown that at 0800 hours each day CW QSOs can take place with 96 percent reliability, giving RST levels around 579. In order to see results at other times, a 24-hour licence has been applied for. The weekly solar data preliminary report and forecast, which we receive from SESC Boulder by airmail, passed its 1,000th issue on the 1st of November. The USA Finance Committee authorised us to have this free, for which we were duly thankful as it is our best source of data. RSGB Propagation Studies Committee member Neil Clarke, G0CAS, is now supplying solar geophysical and ionospheric data to the packet network daily on the TO field under SUN. The electron fluence levels have been very high for most of the year which is to be expected near sunspot minimum. This has affected many satellites due to electron static charging, both GOES 6 and 7 have been seriously affected. The beacon networks have proved their worth by showing up openings when people thought the bands were dead. To encourage short wave listeners, the Italian national society ARI is issuing a new award for reception reports. Details can be found in the December edition of RadCom on page 31. The British 28MHz beacon GB3RAL moved to a new site at DRAL Didcot, resulting in good overseas reports. The German national society DARC launched an experimental propagation beacon on 3.558MHz to fill in zones where DK0WCY on 10.144MHz is not well received. The 10MHz transmissions are continuous giving every 5 minutes warnings of solar and magnetic data, updated every day. The 3.5MHz transmission runs from 0700 to 0800 and 1530 to 1700 UTC. DARC has applied for authority to continue this service throughout 1995. 1995 is expected to see the start of a state-of-the-art world-wide beacon network, with stations sharing a common frequency. Time sharing on the 14,18,21,24, and 28MHz bands will involve brief transmissions synchronised by satellite. Our own proposed propagation broadcast transmitter, GAM1, is still waiting for licence clearance from ITU Geneva. And that's the end of the solar propagation review of the year 1994. -- NEWS FOR THE SOUTH EAST Meeting for Monday the 2nd of January: Surrey Radio Contact Club has a talk entitled 'SSTV' by Peter, G4WPB. Further details from Berni, G8TB on 0181 660 7517. Meetings for Tuesday the 3rd of January: Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society has a Film Show. Further information from Charles, G0GJS on 01245 256654. Stevenage and District Amateur Radio Society has a General Get Together, plus Morse practice. Details from Peter, G7HCL on 01438 724509. Vale of White Horse Amateur Radio Society has a Discussion evening. Visitors are welcome. Details from Ian, G3SEK on 01235 531559. Meetings for Wednesday the 4th of January: Three Counties Amateur Radio Club has a talk on 'Electronic Warfare'. For further details contact Tom, tel: 01428 606298. Worthing and District Amateur Radio Club has a Discussion evening. Details from Roy, G4GPX on 01903 753893. Meetings for Thursday the 5th of January: Horndean and District Amateur Radio Club has a talk entitled 'The Video Signal' by Stephen, G4JGS.Details from Stuart, G0FYX, tel: 01705 472846. Horsham Amateur Radio Club has a Photo-Quiz with Adrian, G4LRP. Further details from Peter, G8SUI on 0173784 2150. Meeting for Saturday the 7th of January: Southdown Amateur Radio Society has its Annual General Meeting. Details from Tony, G1SHH on 01825 763022 NEWS FOR THE SOUTH WEST Meeting for Tuesday the 3rd of January: Salisbury Radio & Electronic Society has a talk by a Sound Engineer from BBC Wiltshire. Details from David on 01722 330971 (evenings or weekends). Meetings for Wednesday the 4th of January: South Bristol Amateur Radio Club has a CW Activity evening. For more information tel: 01275 834282. Trowbridge and District Amateur Radio Club has a Social evening. Further details from Ian, G0GRI, 01225 864698 (evenings). Meetings for Thursday the 5th of January: Cornish Radio Amateur Club has a talk entitled 'A Good Day in VK, part 2' by Les. For further information contact Robin, G0MYR on 01209 820118. Yeovil Amateur Radio Club has a talk on 'Yagi Antenna Design' by G3ZXX. Further details from Cedric, G4JBL on 01258 473845. Meetings for Friday the 6th of January: Axe Vale Amateur Radio Club has a Demonstration of members' gadgets and a discussion night. Details from Pat, G0GHH, tel: 01297 33756. Saltash and District Amateur Radio Club has a 'Bring Along your New Christmas Gadgets'. Further details from Brian, G7SSH, on 01752 844321. NEWS FOR EAST ANGLIA Meeting for Tuesday the 3rd of January: Sudbury and District Radio Amateurs have a talk:'Harnessing Solar Energy' by G4GGC. Details from Tony, G8LTY on 01787 313212 (before 10pm). Meeting for Wednesday the 4th of January: Norfolk Amateur Radio Club has a talk on'Weather and Propagation' by Jim, G3YLA. For further information contact Mike, G4EOL on 01603 789792. NEWS FOR THE MIDLANDS Meetings for Wednesday 4th of January: Gloucester Amateur Radio Society has an 'Equipment Set-up and Demonstration' evening. Further details from Les, G0ULH on 01452 421510. Telford and District Amateur Radio Society has a Station Equipment night. For further details contact Dave, G4EIX on 01952 588878. Meeting for Friday the 6th of January: South Notts Amateur Radio Club has its Annual General Meeting, this is for members only. For further information contact Julie, G0SOU on 0115 921 6342. NEWS FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND Meetings for Tuesday the 3rd of January: Eccles and District Amateur Radio Society has a 'Bring-Some-Gear' night. Details from Chris, G8KRG, on 0161 773 7899. Liverpool and District Amateur Radio Society has a talk on 'The Discovery of X-Rays' by Dr David Edwards, from Liverpool University. Details from Ian, G4WWX, who is QTHR. Meeting for Wednesday the 4th of January: Denby Dale and District Amateur Radio Society has a talk entitled 'Transatlantic on 2 metres' by Roy, G3OTE. Details from Kevin, G1FYS on 01484 547553. Meeting for Thursday the 5th of January: Grimsby Amateur Radio Society has its AFS Organisation evening. For further details contact John, G3DOT on 01472 825899. Meetings for Friday the 6th of January: North Ferriby United Amateur Radio Society has a talk entitled 'Packet Radio'. Further details from David, G7PER, tel: 01482 656324. South Manchester Radio Club has a Demonstration of the club Packet System. For more details contact Edward, G7FQY, on 0161 969 1964. NEWS FOR WALES Meeting for Monday the 2nd of January: Dragon Amateur Radio Club has a Chairman's evening, with a 'QSL card' and other competitions. Further details from Tony, GW0FMQ on 01248 600963. -- 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