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RSGB GB2RS News Bulletin for April 19th 2026
Episode 493
Friday, 17 April, 2026
GB2RS News Sunday, the 19th of April 2026 The news headlines: The RSGB has published a question bank for full-level examinations Catch up with the RSGB 2026 AGM on YouTube The RSGB has announced two new youth team volunteers At its 2024 meeting, the RSGB Examination Standards Committee agreed, with Ofcom approval, to publish the Full level examination question bank after a thorough vetting of the questions by the Examinations and Syllabus Review Group had taken place. ESC Chair Tony Kent, G8PBH, is pleased to announce that the question bank is now available via rsgb.org/exam-questions. It will also be accessible via links on the RSGB web pages for exam candidates and trainers. The copyright to the question bank is held by the RSGB. Developed by Aubrey, M8AUB, the user interface works on PCs and mobile devices with a web browser. It allows users to access questions in different ways, for example, by syllabus section, and even to create and take their own mock examinations. The Society believes this initiative will make a significant contribution to training and should become a valuable resource for both candidates and trainers. After it has had time to assess its impact at Full level, the ESC will consider rolling it out to the other examination levels of Foundation, Intermediate and Direct to Full. As candidates and trainers will now be able to use the interface to generate their own mock examinations from the question bank, the RSGB has removed all the Full Licence level mock papers currently on its website. If you encounter any issues with the questions or the question bank interface web page, please report them via the online examination informal query form. You can find this at the bottom of the exam forms web page at rsgb.org/exam-forms The RSGB would like to thank everyone who joined the RSGB 2026 AGM, which was held online yesterday, 18 April. If you missed the live event, you’re able to watch the full livestream on the Society’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/theRSGB As well as the formal AGM business, there was a special message from the RSGB President, and the Board answered questions from RSGB members on a wide range of topics. The AGM was followed by a presentation on the Society’s work to defend the spectrum and ensure that radio amateurs can enjoy amateur radio across the bands. If you would like to read more about the RSGB’s work in protecting the spectrum, including successes in spectrum access and defence, as well as current concerns, visit rsgb.org/spectrum-protection. Winners of the RSGB 2026 Construction Competition and the RSGB Trophies were also announced. Timestamps will be available in the video summary on YouTube, allowing you to skip to particular sections you wish to watch. Go to rsgb.org/agm to find out more about the AGM, including personal statements from the newly elected and nominated Board Directors, as well as the Regional Representatives. The RSGB is delighted to announce two new volunteer youth team roles as it continues to grow and strengthen its support for young radio amateurs across the UK. Leon Shaw, M0VUF, will be the Youth Vice Chair, working closely with the Youth Chair Chris Aitken, MM0WIC to help guide and develop the expanding Youth Team. Sophie Bourne, M9LBW, will collaborate with Chris over the coming months with the intention of taking on full responsibility for the Youth Champion for Schools role later this year. Both Leon and Sophie represented the RSGB at last year’s YOTA summer camp, supported the Youth stand at the RSGB 2025 Convention and took part in a Tonight@8 episode to share their experiences of amateur radio and how it has shaped their interests. Sophie also brought fresh ideas to the recent RSGB Membership Strategy Workshop, which will help to shape future youth engagement. The RSGB National Radio Centre will be closed to visitors on Monday, the 27th and Tuesday, the 28th of April 2026, due to essential maintenance work taking place. RSGB volunteers look forward to welcoming you on an alternative day. Don’t forget that if you are an RSGB member, you can receive free entry to Bletchley Park, which includes the RSGB National Radio Centre, by downloading and printing a personalised voucher at rsgb.org/bpvoucher International Marconi Day is on Saturday, the 25th of April. This worldwide event is organised by the Cornish Amateur Radio Club to celebrate the birth of Italian radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi. Stations from around the world are coming together to celebrate the life of this remarkable man. For more information, including details of how to take part, visit gx4crc.com/imd Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk . The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events Cambridge Repeater Group Rally is taking place today, Sunday the 19th of April, at Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton CB22 6RN. Traders can gain access from 7.30 am, and the doors open to visitors at 9.30 am. Entry costs £4, but there will be a discount for multi-occupancy vehicles. For more information, email rally2026@cambridgerepeaters.net and visit cambridgerepeaters.net The Broadcast Engineering Museum is having an open day on Sunday, the 3rd of May, from 11 am. The museum is located at 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5XS. It is home to one of the largest collections of historic broadcasting equipment in the world. For more information, visit becg.org.uk/events Now the Special Event news The Ramsbury Amateur Radio DX Group will be active as GB80RY on Saturday, the 25th and Sunday, the 26th of April 2026. The station will be on the air to commemorate 80 years since the decommissioning of RAF Ramsbury in Wiltshire. Operators will be using CW, FT8 and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands. Special event station GB2JAF will be active on Saturday, the 25th of April, from 10 am to celebrate the life and work of Professor Sir John Ambrose Fleming, the inventor of the Thermionic Valve. Look out for activity on the 40 and 20m bands using SSB. There will also be some activity via the GB3LV repeater and EchoLink. More information is available at QRZ.com Now the DX news Phill, FK1TS is active again as C21TS from Nauru, OC-031, until July. He mainly operates using FT8 but may also try some SSB contacts. QSL via Logbook of the World or OQRS. QSOs are live-streamed on Club Log. Tom, VK2TBC, will be active as VK0TBC from Casey Station in Antarctica until December. He operates using FT8 and SSB. For more information and updates, visit vk2tbc.com Now the contest news On Tuesday, the 21st of April, the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 22nd of April, the RSGB 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The United Kingdom and Ireland Contest Club DX CW Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday, the 25th and ends at 1200UTC on Sunday, the 26th of April. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Full rules, including UK and EI area codes, are available via tinyurl.com/ukeiccrules The SP DX RTTY Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday, the 25th and runs until 1200UTC on Sunday, the 26th of April. Using RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Polish stations also send their province code. On Sunday, the 26th of April, the UK Microwave Group EHF Band Contest runs from 0800 to 2000UTC. Using all modes on 76 to 241GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Sunday, the 26th of April, the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group Sprint 25 Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using 75 baud RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your six-character locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday, the 16th of April 2026. Last week was characterised by a low Kp index and an equally low solar flux index. The Kp index was predominantly below 2 all week, thanks to a lack of Earth-directed CMEs or coronal holes. Unfortunately, that is about to change. The solar index has been consistently around the 100 mark, dipping as low as 93 on the 11th and only as high as 105 on Thursday, the 16th of April. This has meant settled ionospheric conditions that have not been outstanding but have at least been reliable. The maximum usable frequency, or MUF, over a 3,000km path has reached 24MHz at times, but often battles to reach 21MHz. This is a taste of things to come over the next few years as we descend towards sunspot minimum. The settled conditions mean, however, that there has been DX to work. The CDXC Slack group reports FT8 and CW contacts with 3X3A in Guinea on the 17, 15 and 12m bands. 3B9G in Mauritius has been logged on the 15m band using CW. D60DX in Comoros was worked on the 15m band using CW. Another DX includes 9V1DW in Singapore on the 17m band and TN8GD in the Republic of the Congo on the 20m band using CW. Now the bad news. A very large coronal hole on the Sun is rotating to become Earth-facing. A high-speed solar wind stream flowing from this zone reached the Earth last Friday, the 17th of April. Active Kp4 and minor G1 geomagnetic storming may be possible today, the 19th of April. So, we can expect reduced MUFs and poorer HF conditions. DXpeditions active this week include V47EM on St Kitts and Nevis; OX3LX from Greenland; T31TTT in Central Kiribati, TX9W from the Marquesas Islands; D60DX in Comoros and 3X3A in Guinea. NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will climb next week, perhaps reaching a high of 145 by Thursday, the 23rd of April. After the geomagnetic disturbances from the coronal hole die down, we may have two or more days of settled conditions before more disruption around Saturday, the 25th of April. This is coupled with a predicted Kp index of 4 – just in time for International Marconi Day! And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The main note on the weather influence is that once high pressure becomes established at this time of the year, it can be remarkably persistent. In this case, the high pressure that is now developing over the UK may remain in control until the end of the month. Tropo will therefore be a mode of choice, but a cool north or north-easterly flow over the eastern side of the country will mean that western Britain fares best for any lift conditions. Over eastern areas, a cool northerly breeze will bring cloud and a few showers. The prospects for aurora are still worth checking out by noting the Kp index for values above 5 and preferably above 7. As we reported earlier, the effects of a large coronal hole may be reaching us today, the 19th. So, check the Kp index and listen for fluttery signals on the HF bands. Then get ready to turn your VHF beams northeast. As for meteor scatter, we are now coming up to the peak of the April Lyrids on Wednesday, the 22nd of April. We should see some activity increase beyond the random fare of recent weeks. In contrast, rain scatter may not be a good option with high pressure, or just isolated showers, not offering much for the microwave bands. We are rapidly heading towards May, when the prospects for Sporadic-E start to be worth checking. In the coming week, there are not too many suitable jet streams, which can be good regions to check for Sporadic-E. To get into practice for the new season, check the Sporadic-E blog on propquest.co.uk for a jet stream map and look for spikes in the foEs trace on the graphs. The site is currently being worked on, so apologies for any dropouts. An update on EME prospects now. Moon declination reaches a maximum on Tuesday, the 21st of April. Moon perigee, its closest point to Earth, is today, Sunday, the 19th of April, so path losses will be at a minimum. Sky noise is slightly higher on Tuesday, the 21st of April, but this is minor and returns to low again on Friday, the 24th of April. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.
