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Our very own Rob M0KPD/M (don't forget the /M) is now bigger in America than Harry and Meghan.
Get to have a proper nosey around his Ford Transit and see just where that big fat signal comes from.
Here he is chatting to Tim K3LR about van-based radio that Ford never envisioned.
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The changes to our licences (now finalised by Ofcom) will be implemented pretty much as proposed in the consultation draft, albeit with some consideration having been given to feedback from various parties including UK amateurs and the RSGB.
These conditions will impact all UK radio amateurs, although having said that, maybe not some QRP operators.
Speaking to some of the other club members, it's clear that if you radiate a signal that falls into the qualifying criteria for having to assess your station for EMF compliance, then that's what you should do - and in that case you should fully document that process. I've re-written this part of my article, because it was factually incorrect, and was itself misleading. The point I wanted to make was that the flowchart below (click to enlarge) clearly states that if you stay under the specified power output (10W EIRP, 6.1W ERP), then NO ACTION is required. This chart is a generic one however, and not specifically aimed at amateur radio licensees. The one that was previously issued by Ofcom (and posted here) from their amateur-specific guidelines document is very different. This has currently been withdrawn from their website, pending a re-write and will be re-issued again by June 8th. We'll have to wait to see exactly what the new version says, but the old one stated that if your usage fell below the 10W EIRP / 6.1W ERP limit, then you SHOULD DOCUMENT that fact and the reasons that you don't have to complete an EMF assessment. We shall see what transpires.
The 'no action' outcome does seem to be more reasonable than saddling low-power users (particularly many Foundation level licence holders) with the responsibility of additional EMF record-keeping. It's still not completely clear in my mind though. It seems at first glance that Ofcom have over-simplified the flowchart below to the point of ambiguity.
It's also true that Foundation licence holders can quite legitimately take their allotted 10W output power, top it up to compensate for feedline losses and insert it into the feedpoint of a high-gain Yagi, or even a modest colinear, and be very much in a position of needing to assess their station for EMF compliance (see bottom illustration) so beware of falling into that trap.
What has become a lot clearer - and this may not be any great consolation to UK amateurs - is that we have been given a little longer to either get our compliance documentation in order, modify our antennas, or give up the hobby. Let's hope that there are only a small minority of us in that latter category. In reality though, with many folks having to cram compromised antennas into postage-stamp-sized back gardens, we may be left with such crippled capabilities combined with the frustratingly high levels of noise pollution from VDSL broadband and cheap imported power supplies etc. that it may not be worth carrying on for some of us.
Perhaps if Ofcom were to go after the big noise polluters out there, then we wouldn't need to run any more than 10W to speak to each other, although that would be a very sad state of affairs.
None of that is going to impact the timeline for compliance though, and here it is:
a) Until 18 November 2021 for any equipment which operates on frequencies at or above 110 MHz.
b) Until 18 May 2022 for any equipment which operates on frequencies above 10 MHz but below 110 MHz.
c) Until 18 November 2022 for any equipment which operates on frequencies at or below 10 MHz.
To view and download the new terms, conditions and limitations you can follow the link below:
Amateur Radio Licence Terms, Conditions and Limitations
Above: Yagi, sure - but I was surprised that even a standard colinear can tip you over into a compliance situation using 10W.
I'm sure there will be lots more to play out in the EMF shake-up.
Berni M0XYF
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Just a quick note regarding the above. I've already sent out an email on this subject via groups.io, but want to follow it up here for the benefit of anyone in Ken's address book that isn't on the club mailing list.
Ken has sadly had his computer and email account hijacked by criminals who are trying to con individuals in his contacts list with potentially multiple scams including a request to purchase Google Play vouchers and then reveal the codes to a second bogus email address. Please don't fall for that.
Ken's original email address is still under the control of the bad guys, so you cannot trust anything from Ken until we have it confirmed by other means that this is resolved. Meanwhile, I've been having a nice little chat with the thief, who is quite angry with me for spoiling his fun. He asked if I would please stop emailing him! Funny guy.
His email address is
Berni M0XYF
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It’s nice to have firsts!
Yesterday afternoon the planetary K index (https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index) rose from a dormant Kp=1 to a healthy Kp=7.
Kp characterises geomagnetic storms.
In parallel, the aurora-predicting geomagnetic disturbance level went from green to amber and then red, breaching the 200nT threshold at about 15:30 UTC (https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/plots/?project=awn&site=sum&date=2021-05-12).
So, I turned the newly installed 6 metre Yagi north. And there was a radio aurora in full swing with MM5DWW on Orkney working the world - or at least those north of 55 degrees. We exchanged 5/7 both ways and went on our way - him to work yet more, and me to listen to a couple of CW stations. There were also some ethereal voices that might - or might not - have been other SSB stations.
My Great Circle distance to Orkney is 400km, but the actual path length will have been significantly more to the scattering medium further north and back to Orkney. In an aurora, all stations generally beam north.
The radio aurora was gone by 16:30 and 6 metres reverted to its normal flat state.
I’d heard radio auroras as a teenager but never had the necessary kit to work them, so it was good to tick that box. I’ve now got a feeder run and Yagi to install for 2 metres, so next time I’ll be able to compare the bands.
And next time I’ll remember to record the activity. The voices are heavily distorted by the Doppler shift caused by the movement of the free electrons in the auroral columns doing the reflecting. You’ve to listen hard. There’s no time for exchange of pleasantries.
Radio auroras are infrequent. Sometimes, they are intense enough and at a low enough latitude to support southern stations. If you're interested, install the AuroraWatch and SpaceWeatherLive apps.
Regards,
John GM8JBJ
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News on this event has been very low-key this year, but it is going ahead. It doesn't look like Jill Mill at Clayton will be activated, but Chailey Heritage Mill (also known as Beard's Mill) with special event station callsign GB0CHW will be.
It seems that Gavin Keegan G6DGK has registered the mill for the Downland Radio Group and Gavin and other DRG club members will be operating from their home QTH's, as special restrictions obviously apply with regards to Covid-19 and the mill itself is still closed to the public.
GB0CHW is nominally located at locator square IO90XX, WAB TQ32, OS Grid TQ 387 214, Postcode BN8 4DJ.
If you'd like to go and walk around the mill (outside the grounds) this weekend, it's located in North Chailey on 'Red House Common'. It's a beautiful location, particularly if the weather is good - which it was when I visited a couple of weeks ago and took these photos. You can park for free in the car park just off Warrs Hill Lane.
More information on the mill can be found here: http://www.chailey.org/amenities/chailey-windmill-museum
...and here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Mill,_North_Chailey
GB0CHW has its own QRZ page here: https://www.qrz.com/db/gb0chw
Denby Dale ARS have organised and managed the amateur radio side of The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) National Mills Weekend (now known to us as 'Mills on the Air') for all of the 25 years it has been running - huge credit and thanks to them.
You can find details of all the other registered participants on their website here: https://www.ddars.net/registrations.html
This year is the 25th anniversary of Mills on the Air, so be sure to call in if you can.
Good luck to all stations (this is just for fun - it's not a contest) and I hope the weather is better in actuality than it is in the forecast!
Berni M0XYF
