A live, off-air, half-hour recording of the BBC World Service special Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast on 21 June 2024 beginning at 21:30 UTC. The broadcast, hosted by Cerys Matthews, featured messages and music for the 47 members of the staff of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) overwintering in Antarctica at the Rothera (Antarctic Peninsula) and King Edward Point and Bird Island (South Georgia) research stations. In addition to personal messages from family and friends, there were interviews with Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director of BAS; Olivier Hubert, a former chef at Rothera and the Halley VI research station; and Nadine Frontier, a marine biologist at King Edward Point; and Allie Clement, an ocean scientist at Rothera. The transmitter came on the air with a test tone (1108 Hz plus harmonics) about a minute before the program started. As sometimes happens, the first few words of the introduction were missed.
The recording is of the transmission on 11685 kHz from the BBC's Woofferton, England, transmitting station. The sender had a registered power of 300 kW with antenna beam 182 degrees. The transmission was received on a Belka-DX receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna outdoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in pseudo-synchronous (AM2) mode with 50 Hz - 2.7 kHz bandwidth. Reception was quite good with little noise or fading and very good signal strength. The additional parallel frequencies of 9585 kHz from Woofferton and 9870 kHz from Ascension were heard but not as well as 11685 kHz. There was a break in transmission at about the 21-minute mark in the recording for approximately one minute. A studio quality, slightly longer, podcast version is available on the BBC World Service website.
Rocket launches, Morse and American licences Day three saw us continue with more workshops and activities. In the morning, we built paper rockets that were launched using an air compressor. The rockets launched surprisingly high, with Emily’s reaching 29m – the highest of the morning! This was a really fun activity and we all enjoyed […]
The RSGB Examination Standards Committee is pleased to announce the publication of an updated version of the Direct to Full syllabus. The significant changes from the previous version are the moving of some points between Section One on Licensing and Section Two on Operating. These changes bring the Direct to Full syllabus into line with […]
The RSGB Youth Team is looking for a proactive, enthusiastic and innovative person to join its team as the Society’s volunteer Youth Activities and Engagement Champion. The role will take the lead on youth-focused activities and create resources for young Foundation licence holders. If you would like to help inspire young people to explore new […]
The Tonight@8 autumn programme kicks off on Monday 1 September with a fascinating presentation from Kristen McIntyre, K6WX. During the 45-minute session Kristen will explain Maxwell’s Equations in a visual and relatable way that aims to leave viewers with an understanding of a topic that can often feel impenetrable. Maxwell’s Equations are essential for radio […]
Hans Summers, G0UPL from QRP Labs has been confirmed by the RSGB as the after-dinner speaker at its Convention in October. Following the gala dinner, Hans will be sharing the emotions he experienced during the nine months he spent adding SSB to the QMX transceiver. Tickets for the gala dinner, along with those for the […]
The RSGB Examination Standards Committee is pleased to announce the publication of an updated version of the Direct to Full syllabus. The significant changes from the previous version are the moving of some points between Section One on Licensing and Section Two on Operating. These changes bring the Direct to Full syllabus into line with […]
RSGB members, and the wider amateur radio community, are invited to a ‘Meet the President Day’ at the RSGB’s National Radio Centre on Thursday 28 August. The Society’s President, Bob Beebe, GU4YOX, will be present throughout the day to welcome members, hear their views, and discuss the work of the Society in supporting and promoting amateur […]
Today, the 24 August, the Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place at Heron’s Lodge Guide Activity Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, Milton Keynes. Free on-site parking, catering and disabled facilities are available. The entrance fee is £3. The doors open to the public from 9am. For more information visit mkars.org.uk/mkrally The Torbay […]
