GB2RS 40m news broadcasts to resume

Last week we reported some important changes to the GB2RS news reading arrangements on 7.150MHz in the 40m band.

The RSGB have now appointed two main readers who are some 1300kms apart and whose skywave signals will jointly cover the UK.

The reading at 10am UK local time is now re-instated and will serve listeners to the North of Birmingham, whilst the new 1030 hours reading will generally cover those to the South of Birmingham. Listeners as far away as Iceland and Poland should be able to receive one of these readings under the present propagation conditions.

As the new Sunspot cycle climbs back to its hoped-for peak around the time of the London Olympic Games in 2012 and beyond, one news reader only may then be able to cover the whole of the UK.

At present Near Vertical Incidence Skywave Propagation (NVIS) is not possible on 7MHz at 0900 hours UTC, because the Critical Frequency is no higher than 5MHz.

Listeners who would like 24-hour real-time ionospheric data can download this from a sounder at Fairford, Gloucestershire.

Furthermore, if you have PowerPoint on your computer, a link is also provided to a site where you can download an illustrated lecture on NVIS HF propagation.

Source: RSGB