RSGB statement concerning 40MHz in the UK

In a previous post, I outlined how several radio amateurs in the UK were in the process of applying for Innovation and Trial licences from OFCOM to carry out tests on the 40 MHz band. 

The RSGB have now outlined the position of OFCOM on the issue...

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RSGB statement concerning 40MHz in the UK

There have been recently a number of reports of individual holders of UK Amateur licenses gaining Innovation and Trial licences from Ofcom to conduct experimental transmissions on 40MHz (8m).

Ofcom has made it very clear for several years that there was no likelihood of UK radio amateurs gaining any access to 40MHz which included NoV (Notice of Variation) to a UK amateur licence or an amateur SRP (Special Research Permit). 

The RSGB has consulted Ofcom as to the exact status of these Innovation and Trial licences. Ofcom’s reply was as follows:

“We have been approached by a couple of individuals wanting to conduct experiments in the band. Like all other research and innovation requests Ofcom receives we have put these through our Innovation and Trial licensing regime. If the coordination checks are passed, they are being issued with an Innovation and Trial licence. These are issued for up to 12 months on a non-interference, no protection and non-operational basis. 

These are not Amateur Radio Special Research Permits and licensees do not fall under the Amateur Radio licence terms and conditions. Therefore, applicants are not required to have passed an amateur exam or hold a callsign. Although we are allowing this experimentation, we would like to make it clear that we have no proposals to allow wider amateur radio access to the 40 MHz band.

Clause 9(6) of the UK amateur terms states “The Licensee may receive Messages from an overseas amateur or from an Amateur duly authorised by Ofcom on a frequency band not specified in Schedule 1 but the Licensee may only transmit on a band specified in Schedule 1 which is authorised under Clause 9(2).”

Users of 40 MHz under an Innovation and Trial (I&T) licence are not authorised under the Amateur Radio licensing regime and there is no requirement to have passed an amateur radio exam to obtain such a licence. Clause 9(6) of the Amateur licence is designed to cover additional frequencies, such as 70 MHz and 146 MHz, which are not contained in Schedule 1 of the Amateur Radio licence but Ofcom has authorised via a Notice of Variation (NoV). 

We would like to make clear that we have not duly authorised any amateur to use a frequency band not specified in Schedule 1 through this process. Reception of transmissions authorised under an I&T Licence should therefore be treated the same as those authorised under other licences that Ofcom issues such as business radio or maritime.

We would also like to make clear that I&T licences do not permit operational or commercial use. These licences are designed to support individuals and companies in carrying out research, development, testing and demonstrations of equipment. 

Therefore, the use of the 40 MHz band under this licence should be for these purposes only. The licences are granted on the basis that the user will be carrying out such research and not operating on the band in a similar way to the frequencies listed in Schedule 1 of the licence.”

Ofcom’s view is very clear. Any operation on 40MHz in the UK is not Amateur radio and therefore cross-band contacts to such stations by UK radio Amateurs operating on the bands licenced for amateur radio are not permitted.

*** RSGB Statement Ends

Just to highlight that the RSGB are just outlining the position of OFCOM so there is no point in bashing the RSGB over this.

VIDEO: Beginners guide to digital voice modes (D-STAR, DMR & FUSION) ...by Tim, GW4VXE

As part of the RSGB Tonight at 8 video series, Tim GW4VXE gave an interesting presentation on digital voice modes like D-Star, DMR & Fusion. This is really aimed at beginners or anyone who is not familiar with these modes.

The video is shown below. The presentation lasts from about 06:00 to 1:09:30 and there is a Q&A session after it which lasts until 1:43:40.

Video: Amateur radio construction with Steve Hartley, G0FUW and Pete Juliano, N6QW

 A video titled 'Amateur radio construction with Steve Hartley, G0FUW and Pete Juliano, N6QW' was recently posted on YouTube by the RSGB as part of their ongoing Today at 8 talk series.

The first part of the talk (1:09 to 35:30) is by Steve, G0FUW as he introduces the subject of making your own radios and circuits. This section is aimed at beginners and is a good place to start.

The second part of the talk from 35:30 to 1:17:00 by Pete, N6QW covers more advanced designs and is aimed at more experienced experimenters.

The Q&A session goes from 1:17:00 to 1:39:23.

RSGB PSC 28 MHz Propagation Study - Nov 2020

 

In this months RADCOM magazine from the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), there was an interesting news article about a new propagation study on the 10-metre amateur radio band. 

The RSGB Propagation Studies Committee are interested in looking at the modes of propagation responsible for signals in the 150km to 800km range.

For example, the map below shows some of the FT8 signals I heard on the 28 MHz band on the 17th of November 2020.

The signals from the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark (1000 kms plus) are easily explained as they were via Sporadic-E propagation. As the skip distance gets shorter however, it gets harder for the signal to return from the Sporadic-E layer.

Tropospheric propagation also happens at 28 MHz but it's a lot weaker than on the higher VHF bands. On the map above, the two stations about 100kms to the north of me and the station on the west coast of Wales who was about 200kms distant are probably via tropo.

The question then arises as to what is the propagation mode for the signals from England and Scotland in the 400km to 700km range? On the day, it seemed to be too close for Sporadic-E and too far for tropo.

This wasn't unique to just this particular day. It happens pretty much most of the time. Over the Summer months for example, I seem to hear G0OYQ near Hull (579 kms) on FT8 on 28 MHz practically every day.

Are these signals due to meteor scatter? Sp-E backscatter? Aircraft scatter? Tropo? The RSGB study hopes to address this.

The news article from RadCom is shown below...

* * * * *

RSGB's Propagation Studies Committee (PSC) has launched a new study to look at the mechanism behind long-distance inter-UK 10m propagation.

The study came about after PSC chairman Steve Nichols, G0KYA noticed that he was often seeing inter-UK 10m contacts on FT8 occurring between stations that were more than 100 miles apart.

"Normally you would expect 10 metres to give contacts out to about 30-50 miles at best," Steve said, "But these contacts, which are often fleeting, were over distances of about 150 miles. I also that they often appeared in the early mornings, but disappeared as the day progressed. We've had to wait for the Sporadic-E season to end to exclude Es as a possible propagation mode."

Steve said that the likely propagation mode was tropospheric, although aircraft scatter or ionospheric scattering can't be ruled out. Either way, it warrants closer examination.

To take part in the study, just log any UK stations heard via FT8 on 10 metres in excess of 100 miles, making a note of date, time, received SNR and the location of both you and the distant station. Please also include details of your antenna and any beam heading if applicable. Steve can then compare this with weather patterns and barometric information at the time.

PSKReporter.info and DXMaps.com can also be used to track contacts online. "We'd like to encourage new amateurs to take part as the reporting isn't too onerous, but the information you supply could be invaluable," Steve said. Steve can be contacted via email to psc DOT chairman AT rsgb DOT org DOT uk

Source: RadCom Nov 2020 Page 7

Video: RSGB - My World of VHF with Tim Kirby, GW4VXE

 

As part of their ongoing lecture series during the COVID-19 pandemic, the RSGB had a presentation on Monday the 28th of September 2020 from Tim Kirby, GW4VXE titled 'My World of VHF'. Tim writes a popular VHF column in the Practical Wireless magazine as well as writing for other radio related publications.

In the presentation, Tim gives an overview of amateur radio operation on the various VHF and UHF bands and is a good introduction for anyone who is not aware of what these bands have to offer. The first 9-minutes of the video concern the upcoming online RSGB convention and Tim's presentation starts after that.

Videos about VDSL Broadband interference

VDSL (Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line) is currently the main way to deliver broadband to  residential customers in the UK. A similar ADSL system is used in Ireland.

VDSL uses the existing twisted-pair traditional telephone cables to carry high speed broadband data signals between the network provider’s “cabinet” (typically an above ground street-furniture box) and the customers premises.

The frequencies used in the UK are shown below...

The problem however is that the existing telephone cables were only supposed to carry a simple telephone signal in the audio spectrum up to several kHz and not signals of several MHz. As a result, VDSL broadband signals can cause widespread interference as seen in the plot below...

VDSL interference to the 7 MHz (40m) & 10 MHz (30m) bands

Videos... Two videos featuring presentations by John Rogers, M0JAV have been uploaded to YouTube recently.

The first one on the Mid-Ulster Amateur Radio Club account outlines what VDSL is and ways to deal with interference...



The second one on the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) account describes VDSL and how people in the UK can complain to OFCOM, the UK regulator...



For further reading, RSGB have provided some additional information...

RSGB Frequently Asked Questions about interference

VDSL Interference Reporting

VDSL Interference Advice Leaflet

RSGB Video: Antennas for small gardens with Steve Nichols, G0KYA

The RSGB have recently put a video up on YouTube entitled "Antennas for small gardens with Steve Nichols, G0KYA"

Most radio amateurs have modest or small gardens and those on HF will have an interest in getting the best antenna working in a limited space.

In this video which is 80 minutes long, Steve G0KYA presents plenty of options for radio amateurs to consider.



Note that the video doesn't really start until 1:40 so fast forward to skip the static screen.

RSGB Cricket World Cup Radio Marathon 2019

The RSGB are currently holding a Radio Marathon in association with the 2019 Cricket World Cup Championships which are being held in England and Wales. There are numerous GB19 stations now on the bands until the 14th of July 2019.

Award details below....

Special stations in England and Wales will represent the 11 venues and 10 participating countries of the Cricket World Cup. In addition England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man will have a number of Cricket HQ stations.

Awards will be available for numbers of QSOs with the activating special stations. A QSO with a special callsign will be valid for awards on three different modes: CW, Phone and Digital; this will apply on each band: 160m, 80m, 40m, 30m (not SSB), 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m & 10m. The maximum number of qualifying QSOs, for award purposes, with each special callsign will be 26; that is 8 SSB, 9 CW and 9 Digital.

All QSOs must be made between 30 May 2019 and 14 July 2019 inclusive.

Awards will be: 
a. Bronze – 50 QSOs 
b. Silver – 125 QSOs 
c. Gold – 250 QSOs 
d. Platinum – 500 QSOs
e. Worked all Cricket Grounds – at least one QSO with each of the eleven GB19 cricket ground callsigns
f. Worked all Teams – at least one QSO with each of the ten GB19 team callsigns
g. SSB Half-Century – 50 QSOs on SSB; SSB Century – 100 QSOs on SSB
h. Datamodes Half-Century – 50 QSOs on digital modes; Datamodes Century – 100 QSOs on digital modes
i. CW Half-Century – 50 QSOs on CW; CW Century – 100 QSOs on CW

More info on the RSGB website and on this one... https://cricket2019.hamlogs.net/

RSGB Presentation on VHF baluns by GM3SEK

At the 2018 RSGB Convention, Ian White GM3SEK gave a presentation on VHF baluns and that has now been put up on YouTube.

It is perhaps not the most exciting of subjects but it is required viewing for anyone with an interest in build their own VHF and UHF antennas.

There are some good nuggets of info in there including how to feed a beam properly and what pitfalls to avoid.

It's interesting to note that GM3SEK does not recommend the use of the Gamma match which is used in a huge number of antenna designs.

Video below...

These are Ian's websites...
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek/
https://gm3sek.com/