Narc Contest News (17) Friday 21st January 2022

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Published: 21 January 2022

Last Updated: 21 January 2022

 Welcome to week seventeen of NARC’s contest news.

If you would like anything mentioned or have any contest news please contact me on the email address at the end of this article.

NARC contest net takes place every Friday evening at 9pm clock time on 145.250MHz. This is a useful place to exchange contest information and get help with logging and station setup issues etc.

We are always on the lookout for new contesters to add to our team and welcome people of any ability who either wish to add their score to ours or develop their skills.

Last year we have won the local club section of the CC contest series which runs on 80m including CW, SSB, and RTTY/PSK modes. The new CC season starts on 7th February.

We have also come first by a large margin in the final results of the RSGB Autumn series of contests.

We hope to repeat these successes and add to them this year.

We are still waiting for the final UKAC results for 2021 (only the 1.3 GHz one is still due) but should have come in a reasonably respectable overall position.

The DATA AFS on 80m and 40m attracted 189 entries with 16 logs from NARC members with some excellent scores being obtained. Consensus seemed to be that it too was an enjoyable contest with reasonably good conditions particularly on 80m. An initial look at the scores suggests our 'A' team may have won this one.

The UKACs continues this week with the 1.3GHz contest on Tuesday night. 4 logs were submitted for NARC out of 106 logs in total. Thursday night saw the 70MHz UKAC with the promise of more good Tropo with high pressure over the west of the country. In the end conditions were reasonably good to the west. 3 logs will be submitted for NARC.

Dick, G3WRJ has been taking ADIF files from NARC members to look at performance in the last AFS contest (DATA). At the moment his graphs are quite busy and he's looking at ways of making them more readable. They are certainly interesting.

See my example below:- 

Dick writes - "Well the red (QSOs per 5 min rate) needs to have nice high peaks and valleys should trigger change of band, mode, or run/s&p to bring back up. The higher the average red the higher the overall score obviously. Peaks will get lower as contest progresses as available contacts are worked out – unless of course new ones are opened up by band or skip changes. Post contest analysis – are there any extended or deep valleys which did not trigger a change? The orange (Mins since last QSO) needs to be as low as possible and peaks should trigger change of band, mode, or run/s&p to bring back down. The lower the average orange the higher the overall score obviously. Peaks will get higher as contest progresses as available contacts are worked out – unless of course new ones are opened up by band or skip changes. Post contest analysis – are there any extended or high peaks which did not trigger a change?

I’m afraid the plots are getting quite busy now and the format is still a work in progress, but if you stare at it long enough you will get the gist! Any comments or observations are welcome."

Upcoming contests in the next 2 weeks:-

On VHF / UHF / SHF

Before each of the 2m and 70cm UKACs there is an FM leg starting 1 hour before for 55 minutes. I hear almost no activity in this from here but others may have more luck! Rules etc on RSGBCC site.

Tue Jan 25th 2022 2000-2230 SHF UKAC (I don't think any club members are equipped for this but please let me know if you are entering!)
Tue 1st Feb 2022 2000-2230 144MHz UKAC
Wed 2nd Feb 2022 1900-2100 144MHz FT8 AC

On HF

Sat 22nd Jan 1300-1700 RSGB AFS 80m-40m SSB AFS super league and HF championship.
Sat 22nd Jan 1200 for 24h BARTG RTTY sprint see WA7BNM for rules and exchange.
Fri 28th Jan 2200z for 48h CQ 160m contest CW see WA7BNM for rules.

Wednesdays throughout the year, CW ops 1 hour mini tests 13:00, 19:00, Thurs 03:00 exchange Name and G or CWOPS number.
From January the 7am session on the Thursday following will count towards awards. See CWOPS website for more details.
Also on Fridays 2000 to 2100 and Mondays 0000 to 0100 each week CWops runs the K1USN slow speed CW contests. Any speed up to 20wpm is acceptable. For rules see :- CW OPs SST page this contest is open to anyone.

All RSGB contest rules and further details plus log submission at RSGB contest site
Look to WA7BMN’s contest calendar for other contests and links to rules etc at WA7BNM weekly contest calendar
A link to John 2E0TWQ’s site’s Narc contest history page - 2E0TWQ's NARC contest results page

Submissions or comments for this news to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

73 until next week,

Phil G4LPP

Propagation News, Friday 21st January 2022

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Published: 20 January 2022

Last Updated: 20 January 2022

HF News

We had a bit of a geomagnetic roller coaster ride this week. The Kp index was down as low as one and up as high as six, which sparked visible aurora in northern latitudes,

This was caused by a solar wind stream, which reached nearly 600 km/s and contained a significant southward Bz component. This meant that it more easily coupled with the Earth’s magnetic field, allowing the plasma to flow in.

With regard to sunspots, we had a decline in sunspot numbers as the week progressed as the more active regions rotated off the visible disk.

So ionospheric propagation was a mixed bag last week, buoyed by sunspots, but adversely affected by the raised Kp index.

However, there were 10m openings to Australia and Malaysia reported by CDXC members, and other 10m openings into Europe noted, on Monday the 17th. Indonesia also put in an appearance on 10m FT8 on Tuesday, according to Chris 2E0EEY on the 10m UK Net Facebook group.

As always, keep an eye on the upper bands, where you may get the odd surprise.

Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will continue to decline, perhaps starting at 102 and potentially finishing in the low 90s.

But geomagnetic conditions are predicted to be more stable, with a maximum Kp index of two or three for most of the week.

And finally, there appears to be a problem with the data feed for the Propquest foF2 critical frequency graph data from the US. The graphs will return as soon as we start receiving information again.

VHF and up

The coming week once again looks dominated by high pressure over the country with some good Tropo prospects. Also, like last week, the high centre may become displaced just to the west to allow a showery northwesterly in across Scotland and eastern England, thereby reducing the Tropo for the eastern side of the country at times.

As a general rule, long-lasting highs can provide some good options for DX Tropo 1000-2000km along the side of the high pressure area, but aiming through the centre may be risky since the temperature inversion often descends to the surface and ducts the signal into the ground.

Other propagation modes are worth a look or at least it’s worth getting a list of useful beacon frequencies at the ready. If activity is low, check what’s doing on FT8 or MSK144 Meteor scatter by calling CQ and using the PSKreporter website (Google it!) to see how far you are getting.

As we are in the annual low period of meteor activity, random meteor scatter will be hard going unless you stick to the pre-dawn period. In view of the solar activity recently, perhaps there’s a chance of an aurora.

Moon declination goes negative again today, so Moon windows will shorten. With perigee a week away, path losses are low and falling so good for GHz bands EME, but Moon time will be limited due to the negative declination. For VHF EMEers, 144 MHz sky noise starts low this week, but increases, hitting a peak of over 3,000 Kelvin next Saturday.

Ian GM3SEK Filter kit

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Published: 18 January 2022

Last Updated: 20 January 2022

Several people have asked where they can buy parts from for the Filter kit, either because they missed the NARC bulk buy in December, or they want to buy a few extra parts.

The article as described on NARC Live was recorded and the recording can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVTuBsj3U0o

Ian's GM3SEK website with excellent projects - scroll down for the Filter project

https://gm3sek.com/

The following are the main components of the kit as specified by Ian along the suppliers you can buy them from which are either used by Ian and or myself when I organised the NARC bulk buy. They are not necessarily always the cheapest supplier, but they are consistent suppliers and all parts are in stock as I write this on 18.1.22.

73 de, David G7URP

Enclosure

CE-TEK GR17012             Suggested supplier: www.cpc.co.uk       CPC code EN84544

https://cpc.farnell.com/ce-tek/gr17012/abs-enclosure-170x170x75mm-ip65/dp/EN84544?CMP=TREML007-003

Cable Gland (2 per kit)

ProPower PG-11 Black                     Suggested Supplier: www.cpc.co.uk      CPC code PG-11 Black

https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/pg-11-black/pg11-cable-gland-black/dp/CBBR7352

Mains filter

Schaffner FN2030-16-06                  Suggested supplier: Mouser.co.uk   Mouser code: 631-FN2030-16/06

https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Schaffner/FN2030-16-06

Main Ferrite 

Fair-Rite core 0431177081                 Suggested supplier:  Mouser.co.uk   Mouser code: 623-0431177081

https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Fair-Rite/0431177081

Smaller Ferrite (2 per kit)

Fair-Rite core  2643167851                Suggested supplier:  Mouser.co.uk   Mouser code: 623-2643167851

https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Fair-Rite/2643167851

Tip: Label your Ferrites with their part numbers as soon as you receive them as they look identical to others yet perform very differently!

Cable

High temperature flex such as 3093Y 2.5mm is recommended for the filter and this is available from several sources online and locally, eg Screwfix supply 5m lengths as below for collection from a local branch and you will need at least 3m for the filter as described.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/time-3093y-white-3-core-2-5mm-flexible-cable-5m-coil/80786

Buying note

Note that Mouser has warehouses in Germany and USA but currently if you order over £45 shipping is free and VAT prepaid - the £45 should be exceeded if you purchase the mains filter and ferrites from them all at once.

This information was my experience and is offered in good faith but neither NARC or I can accept responsibility for any errors or problems ordering parts or performance of the filter etc.

David G7URP     18.1.22

What on Earth is this....?

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Published: 23 December 2021

Last Updated: 17 January 2022

This is our competition where each week we show an unusual object, tool, gadget or thing-me-bob from one of the NARC members and you have to guess (or you know!) what it is or what it does...

Have a good look at this weeks mystery object below - can you work out what on earth it is, or what on earth it is for?!    

Please let us know by WEDNESDAY 3pm latest by emailing David & Tammy at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please email your answers with the subject 'What on earth' to David & Tammy This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 3pm on WEDNESDAY LATEST and on NARC Live we will read out all of the entries and tell you what it is!

Whats your mystery object?

We also need your photos of unusual items to feature in future weeks. To enter please send us a good quality photo of your 'What on earth is this' along with a brief description and ideally at the same time include a second photo of it in use by email to the same email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Surely everyone has one of those 'must-have' kitchen gadgets they bought at a show or one of the strange inventions by Ronco or KTel that you just had to have at the time, but only used once! Please use your own photo if you possibly can, but if you do send us a photo from someone else please be sure to tell us who owns the © copyright.

73 

David G7URP & Tammy M0TC 

Remember please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. not reply to the newsletter or any other email address or Facebook or David & Tammy will not receive it directly and may never receive it!     

GB2CW Morse Corner Week ending 14.1.22

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Published: 14 January 2022

Last Updated: 14 January 2022

GB2CW Morse Corner.
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First of all a Happy and Healthy 2022 to what readers do read this section of the Newsletter.
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Local Classes are still suffering again this week. Propagation on HF is improving and as we are on the upward swing of cycle 25 this is a good time to devote some time to learning Morse and joining in all the fun that can be had. Don't forget that if you don't use CW you automatically lose 45% of the amateur spectrum!

Local Classes are as follows:

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The sending class is on Zoom. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for sign-in string.
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We would also like to see more participants in the NARC Net on 3543 on Monday evenings at 2030 local time. This net was started with a view to improving both conversational Morse and Net protocol. Please give it a try. If you hear Net control calling at 25wpm, please do not be disheartened. We always slow down to the speed that suits you. Improvement in both speed and protocol comes with time and practice.
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Propagation on 80m in the evening is not always very good at this time of year, but please do try to take part.
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CWOPS changes this year.

More Medallions for Norfolk.  Six gold, G3LDI, G3YLA, G4DYC, G4LPP, M0RYB and G4PFZ, two silver, G0OOR and G4CCX  and one bronze, G4KQY.  Two other winners from Norfolk but representing the North Coast Club, G0OOD and 2E0OBO.

You do have to register your call if you actually wish to receive the medallion. Send an email with your call to:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There are now four sessions in which to take part. 1300 - 1400, 1900 - 2000, 0300 - 0400, and the newest one which is 0700 - 0800. The points have also changed so take a look at the rules to see the needs for the various medallions.
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The sessions are still well supported, indeed several locals did all four this week! If you wish to be nominated, please make it known and you will be nominated. You then need four sponsors in order to become a member. It's great fun, and you will meet lots of like-minded people on there and will be working them outside the sessions for other awards too.
There were a few that did all four sessions again, but it is difficult to get out of bed at 0300! Just think of the medallion!!
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The RUFzxp table changes this week! Not by much, but yours truly has managed an increase of 1wpm. I was quite pleased with that so I am now equal standing with Mr President.

Do have a go at this and see just where you can get in the table. You may be surprised! This should also appear in your New Year Resolutions! Send your new score to Jim G3YLA by Thursday evening at the latest. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
It would be nice to see some more new entries in this table. I keep practising but I am having trouble getting past 47wpm. One day.....

TABLE:
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This is a little like the story that took place back in the days of Western Union.

A telegraph office had placed an ad in the newspaper advertising a telegrapher job. It stated the usual requirements such as hard-working and attentive as well as telegraphy skills. As you might expect a number of telegraphers showed up at the office to apply for the job. They all sat patiently in the waiting room to be interviewed.

The office was a busy place with the sounds of telegraph equipment sending messages back and forth. WU the the big dog back then.

Suddenly, without being asked, one candidate jumped up and went into the interview room. A few minutes later he came out with a WU official congratulating him on getting the job and dismissing the other candidates.

Clearly unhappy, some of the other candidates wanted to know why they were never even interviewed. The interviewer replied that they all heard the invitation. The noisy office clatter was actually a message being sent over and over again in code saying that the first person to enter the interview room gets the job. But only that one man followed the instructions.

I don't know if this is real or fiction, but it's a good story.

That's it, open the cage, play the music.
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If you have any input, please email me.

73 de Roger, G3LDI GB2CW Coordinator. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. May the Morse be with you.

NARC Club news, previous NARC Live recordings and show notes...

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Published: 02 December 2021

Last Updated: 16 January 2022

73 88

David G7URP & Tammy M0TC  

Weekly CW Training by NARC, all on repeater GB3NB:

Mondays 1000 – 1100: Head Copy with Roger G3LDI. This will encompass a wide range of copying ability. i.e. 15 – 25 WPM.

Tuesdays 1000 – 1100: Higher Intermediate Class with Chris G4CCX 20 – 25 WPM

Tuesdays 2000 – 2100: Lower Intermediate Class with Jim G3YLA 10 – 15 WPM.

Thursdays 1000 – 1100: Intermediate Class with Chris G4CCX 15 – 20 WPM

Thursdays 1500 - 1600 Sending practice on ZOOM, NEW!! see below.

Thursdays 2000 – 2100: Advanced Class with Malcolm G3PDH 25 – 30 WPM

Fridays 2000 – 2100: Raw Beginners Class with Phil G4LPP which will be for just beginners, those knowing absolutely nothing up to 10 WPM