Welcome to week one hundred and fourteen of NARC’s contest news.

Results:-

On VHF

The results of the 432MHz UKAC of 14/11/23 were released on 25/11/23. NARC came 5th in this one having fielded 11 station entries. Top scorer for NARC was Stewart G4AFF. Link

The result of the 50MHz UKAC of 9/11/23 were released on 29th November. NARC had 9 stations in this one and have comfortably held on to 4th place in this series. Link

We remain in 6th place in this year's UKAC series. Link

On HF

The results of the 2nd 1.8MHz Contest of 18/11/23 were published on 24/11/23. DX was not in evidence for this one and 65 stations submitted logs to RSGB. Activity seemed poor but this may have been driven by poor conditions. The only NARC station enetering was myself managing 7th in the UK assisted section. Winner there was M7W. Link

The results of the final leg of the Autumn Series of 80m contests were released just now. (30/11/23). They confirm that NARC won the CW contest by a good margin and won the series by a margin of 24,679 points over Bristol in second place. Of interest we also beat the winners of the General section, De Montford, by a similar margin! Congratulations to all who participated. This means we have once again won the Newbury Trophy. Link

Enjoy the month long respite from RSGB HF contests but please continue to support the VHF UKAC series which finishes at the end of December.

If people are entering other contests of whose results I am obviously unaware please e-mail me to let me know the outcome and I'll mention it here.

Contests:-

On VHF

The SHF UKAC took place on Tuesday 28th November. Our only entrant was Graham G3SGC who managed 12 contacts on 2.3 GHz. He's still working on getting his 10GHz station set up. Conditions were dreadful and nobody scored very highly. See link to claimed scores

On HF

The second RSGB CW 1.8MHz contest ran on Saturday 18th November. This contest is part of the HF championship. 75 logs were received by RSGB with two logs from NARC, G3LDI and myself. See link

The CQ World Wide CW contest took place over the weekend of 25 to 26 November. Several NARC stations were involved and I include reports from several below. Band conditions were quite good for a change with 10m running particularly well. So far 7150 logs have been received by the organizers.

This from Mike G4KQY:-

HI Phil,
Here's my report for my CQWW entry if you want to use it for the next newsletter.
Conditions were good and my tri band mini beam pointing west at 4 meters worked well.
Bands were very crowded where even a 300Hz filter in places was to wide!
I made 152 contacts, 37 Zones, 83 Cty across the bands and claimed 30480 points
cheers
73
Mike ...

This from Ray G3XLG:-

Good Morning Phil
I did some 15 hours in the contest over the weekend. Conditions were great especially to the Far East and South America.
I made 570 QSO’s, had 456 Mults, worked 34 CQ Zones and made 495K points.
73
Ray G3XLG G3G

This from Tony G0OOR:-

Hi Phil.

Just a quick report for last week's WW contest, 10M band only 228 Q's 28 Zones and 66 Entities for 52076 points.

Tony

Finally on this, Peter M0RYB put together a multi operator multi station entry see his 3830 scores entry details. He informs me that a fuller write-up should be coming for next week's news:-

Call: MØRYB/P
Operator(s): GØTZZ G4WUG MØRYB
Station: MØRYB/P

Class: M/2 LP
QTH: JO02NJ
Operating Time (hrs): 45
Location: Northern Europe
Summary: Compare Scores
Band QSOs Zones Countries
160: 427 12 48
80: 556 16 53
40: 754 19 66
20: 534 21 59
15: 485 21 64
10: 290 23 67
Total: 3046 112 357 Total Score 2,193,982

Link to logs received for this contest

The RSGB FT4 contest took place on Monday 27th November. Gordon G3PXT worked 31 stations and Alan G8OO worked 58 although he has only entered a checklog. 111 logs have so-far been received by RSGB. Link

If any other contests have been worked by NARC members writeups are always welcome here. Please e-mail content to me at the address below.
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.
Note, 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.

Of interest is a report from Ofcom widely mirrored and commented on about an unlicenced DQRMer from Hull who has been the target of an Ofcom investigation for interfering with, amongst other things, hf contests. Some of you may have been aware of this a year or so ago. His equipment and van have been confiscated and he has been awarded a 26 month suspended jail sentence. Link to Ofcom report / Link to news commentary regarding what was possibly a previous conviction

It's good to know something is being done about this sort of antisocial activity.

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.

* Sun 3rd Dec. 1000-1400 144MHz AFS (AFS super league)
* Tue 5th Dec. 2000-2230 144MHz UKAC
* Wed 6th Dec. 1700-2100 144MHz FT8 AC 2h and 4h sections
* Tue 12th Dec. 2000-2230 432MHz UKAC
* Wed 13th Dec. 1700-2100 432MHz FT8 AC 2 and 4 h sections
* Thu 14th Dec. 2000-2230 50MHz UKAC

Also of interest for some on the vhf / uhf bands are the EU FT8 activity tests - see the following link for more information. These are on the first (144 MHz), second (432MHz) and third (1.3GHz) Wednesdays of each month. 1700-2000 Hrs EU FT8 series website https://ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/

On HF

* Fri 1st Dec. 2100 for 24h SEC QSO party (CW, Phone, RTTY, FT4/8) - see WA7BNM
* Fri 1st Dec. 2200 to Sun Dec. 3rd 1600z ARRL 160m contest CW - see WA7BNM
* Sat 2nd Dec. 1200 to Sun Dec. 3rd at 1159 PRO CW contest - see WA7BNM
* Sat 9th Dec 0000 for 48h ARRL 10m Contest CW and Phone See WA7BNM
* Sat 9th Dec. 0000 for 72h PODXS 070 Club Triple PLay Low Band Sprint PSK31 160m, 80m & 40m See PODX site ( http://www.podxs070.com/o7o-club-sponsored-contests/triple-play-low-band-sprint )
* Sat 9th Dec. 0600 for 36h TRC Digital Contest RTTY - See WA7BNM

* RSGB HF contests finish for this year here.

Wednesdays throughout the year, CW ops 1 hour mini tests 13:00, 19:00, Thurs 03:00 and 07:00, exchange Name and G if not a member or CWOPS number if you are a member.
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 these contests are open to anyone.

All RSGB contest rules and further details plus log submission at RSGB contest site

Look to WA7BNM’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

GB2CW Morse Corner 30.11.23
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Morse Classes

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The upcoming autumn schedule is reproduced below.

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Classes have generally got off to a reasonable start with only a few attending.
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Mihai has dropped out of classes but is continuing to use the G4FON program for practice at home. I think there was too much pressure on him to memorise the alphabet to start with and considering that English is not his first language it was getting too much for him with a demanding job as well. You are always welcome to return to the class whenever you feel like it Mihai.
.
A very real surprise this week was when John G8VPE called in. Starting a ground zero I shall be taking time for both John and Frankie to keep up. Progress depends on Practice however so there are TWO Big P words there! Perseverance makes for a third. There is no hurry and perhaps taking our time is the best way to keep both in the class. The old expression softly softly catchee monkey applies here!
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My class on Thursday mornings with David M7BLX is also going well. I am including real-time QSO and conversational tuition on 80m at the same time as using 145.250. Speed is around 20wpm so if anybody needs the Practice then feel free to call in at 1000 on Thursday mornings.

.

At the auction on Wednesday morning of some of Chris' G4CCX gear, the Morse keys sold very quickly and bidding was brisk so I expecting an influx of new students after this. Wilson G6WQN managed to buy the star of the show, the M0AGA Chevron, shown above. Hope to see you in the classes Wilson.
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The two Zoom classes are private and one-to-one so do not appear on the schedule.
It would be nice to see a few other newly licenced amateurs take part as well.
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CW OPS

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There are a nucleus of around 6-8 locals joining the sessions, except for the 3 a.m. one. If you happen to listen on that one you will hear G3LDI and G4DYC and perhaps M0RYB, but that's about it!
I managed to work South Dakota this week in the form of Bill W0EJ. If you need SD try calling CQ on 21.040, or 28.040 or 17.080 or 14.040 around 1500 beaming NW> If you are seen on the RBN chances are that Bill might come back to you.
Those of you who worked Yuri UR5MM will no doubt be sorry to hear that he has had a severe stroke. Unfortunately Yuri moved to be with relations and he actually moved into an area that was heavily bombed by the Russians. He is OK, but will take a while to recover. At present it is affecting his keying so he is not on the air. We all wish him well, together with all other Ukrainian amateurs of course.
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DX-peditions
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If you feel like trying to bust the pile-ups and it can be fun, although time consuming, there are several DX-peditions active at this time
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NARC NET 3543KHz plus or minus QRM 2000 local time

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Net Controller this coming Monday will be Roger G3LDI. Other Net Controllers and tutors will not join in but will leave the frequency to those that need the experience, tuition and practice. Speed will be maintained at 18wpm.
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There may be a problem, now that we are into winter, with propagation. It would pay to listen obviously but also to check the fo/F2 on PropQuest at:
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https://www.propquest.co.uk/graphs.php
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The winter conditions usually last until late February. Last Monday was bad so the Net may be compromised for a few weeks.
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Malcolm G3PDH
Phil G4LPP
Dick G3WRJ
Roger G3LDI
Jim G3YLA
Colin G4EYT
.

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.

HF News

We were lucky last week - the solar flux remained quite high and after the geomagnetic upsets around the 25th, we had settled conditions, with the Kp index below two.

Unfortunately, it looks like that is all about to change.

On Tuesday the 28th, two M-class solar flares and associated CMEs caused a plasma cloud to be directed towards Earth. It is expected to catch up with an earlier CME, or perhaps arrive shortly thereafter.

Moderate (G2) storming with a chance for strong (G3) storming can therefore be expected, with an increased Kp index.

If this wasn’t bad enough a very large coronal hole is rotating into an Earth-facing position as well.

This became geo-effective on December 2, and we can therefore expect any associated plasma in the solar wind early next week. Just how bad it will be is hard to say as it will largely depend on the interplanetary magnetic field of the plasma coming off the Sun. If it's north-facing we might just dodge the bullet, but if it is south-facing we can expect significant auroral displays and propagation to match.

Either way, it will be worth keeping an eye on solarham.net and also the upper HF bands for signs of auroral-type activity. After an initial surge in the MUF we can expect band conditions to decline for at least a day or two

So all in all then, we can expect the bands to be disrupted at the end of this week (December 1st) and across the weekend.

Next week NOAA predicts the worst will be over by the eighth of December, but we are in uncharted territory and can expect anything to happen, so work the HF DX if and when you hear it!

On a side note, we are now heading towards winter propagation conditions so expect to hear DX activity on Top Band and 80 metres, at night and especially around sunrise. Forty metres may also throw up some surprises during late afternoon.

VHF and up

The weak but cold easterly pattern is providing some sharp frosts and although scattered showers, some wintry, suggest that Tropo is not likely; the overnight cooling temperature inversion inland, or anywhere away from the east coast, could see temporary Tropo develop overnight and up to about mid-morning. The showers themselves are mostly fairly shallow and don’t look wonderful from a rain scatter perspective.

All of this changes by mid-week as low pressure starts to dominate again and really takes control for the rest of the coming week. This will bring stronger winds, spells of heavy rain and a return to milder air again. It does not, however, encourage thoughts of Tropo becoming a big player next week!

What's left is to check early mornings for random meteor scatter opportunities and keep an eye on the Kp index for possible aurora. This is the better option with such an active sun at the moment, and, as we said earlier in the HF report, seems to be a strong player as we start the first weekend on December 1st.

For EME operators, Moon declination is positive and falling going negative on Thursday 7th. Monday 4th is apogee when the Moon is furthest away so expect path losses to be at their highest. 144 MHz sky noise is low all week.

Tonight we meet in the 6th form common room of CNS School for a social evening and there is also an informal Raspberry Pi Jam get together.

It is also your last chance to book your place for the NARC Christmas Dinner at The Village Inn on Tuesday 19th December. You can either download a booking form from a recent newsletter and pay by BACS, or complete one of the printed forms and pay cash tonight (£12 per person for a three course meal).

Wheres the fault in my cable?  

Donard M0KRK has a fault somewhere in the length of coax underground feeding his antenna and has asked the club if we have something to help him work out where the fault is... The traditional piece of equipment used for this is a Time Domain Reflectometer and we are hoping to borrow one to show this evening, but apparently you can use some Antenna Analysers and Nano VNA's. Do you have a solution you can bring on Wednesday or are you interested to discuss and find out more, then join us for this informal session.

As usual we meet from 1900-2130 - Cold drinks and biscuits will be available to purchase and there is a hot drink vending machine in the adjacent canteen room.

UPDATE:  There is now normal access to Eaton Road from Newmarket Road  

Last Wednesdays NARC Live - The Gibson Girl Transmitter...

Our apologies for the delayed start for NARC Live on Wednesday which, for those who have asked, was caused by a rogue problem with Fred's Libre Office which caused his slides and pictures to only show around 70% of their content when in 'presentation' mode.

Frustratingly this did not happen in the technical rehearsal we held with Fred last week (as we do with all our guests) and so was a nasty surprise when we made contact with him just before the show at around 1920, but Tammy managed to create a workaround by zooming into the right area of Fred's Libre Office window remotely using a picture in picture function on our vision mixer and asking him to step through his slides manually on his screen, however it took us around 30 minutes to work with Fred to develop this and hence our late start.

If this caused you to miss the programme live we apologise and have uploaded a recording which you can watch here:  https://youtu.be/_CtvnPlE18s

David G7URP

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NARC Live

Most of our talks are given by speakers from all over the world and delivered live online on approximately alternate Wednesdays.

We also make a studio recording of live editions of NARC Live and upload them to our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@norfolkamateurradio/videos

I am pleased to publish details of our Christmas Dinner which will be on Tuesday 19th December at The Village Inn, Little Melton, NR9 3AD, meeting from 18.45 and Dinner served from 19.30.

It is open to every NARC member and either their immediate family or a friend and the club is subsidising it so that the three course dinner is only £12 per head - you will just need to buy drinks on the evening.

We have our own private room for the event and we will also be holding a Christmas Raffle in aid of our 2023 charities as chosen by the membership at our AGM; Diabetes UK and the Norwich based PHAB Club. Please bring a preferably wrapped gift for the raffle on the night if you can.

Booking is open now and I advise you to book asap as space is limited to 72 people in this room which may sound a lot, but we had this number last year and we have to make this first come first served (Update 28.11.23 - 70% places sold).

A booking form is attached to the newsletter and I will also be bringing printed copies to the club on Wednesday 29th November. Payment may be made by either BACs direct to the clubs bank, or alternatively by exact amount cash in an envelope with your booking form inside and your name, callsign and Xmas on the outside and given to me at the club meetings this coming Wednesday 29th November - the booking deadline.  If you pay by BACS make sure you use the reference XMAS+ your callsign and also be sure to email me with your completed booking form.  

I am sorry that we cannot take cheques but they are now both very expensive to deposit in our business bank account (£2 per cheque!) and difficult to deposit with the lack of banks in many towns now. Having said that if neither BACs or cash works for you please drop me an email and we will work out something between us as I want everyone who wants to go be able to.

Any queries to me by email preferred please. Hope to see you there!

David Palmer G7URP

Christmas dinner organiser for NARC

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Frankie M7EQR has the clubs FT817 on loan for HF bands and would like to know how he can do data modes on it using his Windows 11 laptop.

If you have any specific experience of using data modes with an FT817 or advice on what interface or plug in USB sound card he can use with his laptop please let me know.

Many thanks

David G7URP

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