Continue reading »]]> As HF Amateur Radio operators we are always looking forward to the next solar maximum, the peak of the next eleven-year solar cycle. It’s a time when enhanced propagation enables even those of us equipped with modestly equipped lower power radio stations to work the world on the 10m band. However, are we really prepared for the lethal consequences of another geomagnetic storm like the one that erupted during the solar maximum in 1921?

The Sun

The Sun is a volatile ball of, mainly, hydrogen and helium gas that is constantly suffering from nuclear reactions that generate immense amounts of energy^[1]. Huge explosions on the Sun cause it to radiate charged particles out in to space^[2]. Some of these charged particles head in the direction of Earth.

Amateur Radio signals

When an Amateur Radio operator transmits a signal, some of the signal is shot up in to Earth’s atmosphere, whilst some of the signal will travel along Earth’s surface. The signal that travels along Earth’s surface ^[3] will be reduced in power by obstacles and absorbed by the ground, so it’s range is fairly limited. At HF frequencies it’s the signal that gets beamed up in to the atmosphere that gives us our long-distance contacts.

The ionosphere

The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere that ranges from around 50 to over 500 KM above the surface of Earth. When the Sun radiates charged particles in the direction of Earth they ionise the ionosphere to produce ionised gas and this ionised gas refracts^[4] certain radio frequencies back to Earth. The power of the Sun’s radiation determines the frequencies that are refracted back to Earth, the stronger the radiation the higher the frequency that will be refracted. The height of the ionised gas within the ionosphere determines the distance over which a radio signal can travel around Earth – the higher the ionised gas, the further refracted radio waves will travel. The visual effects of a ionised region in the ionosphere are auroras.

Aurors over Greenland (Courtesy of NASA)

As Earth rotates, parts of it will be dark, so ionisation of the atmosphere on this side of the globe is less pronounced than on the daylight side. This results in radio signals at higher frequencies not travelling as far – any signal being received is more likely to be a result of ground waves propagation rather than ionospheric propagation.

Solar cycles

Activity on the Sun ranges from extremely quiet (little radiation) to positively violent (masses of radiation), though there is a pattern – it’s not random. The solar cycle lasts approximately eleven years^[5] and includes a period of solar minimum (little activity on the Sun, therefore small levels of radiation) rising to a period of solar maximum (lots of activity) before falling away to the next solar minimum.

At solar minimum less activity results in less radiation from the Sun, so only low frequencies^[6] are refracted back to Earth, whereas at solar maximum there is lots of activity and this results in much higher frequencies ^[7] being refracted back to Earth due to the increased radiation.

The danger of solar maximum

The 13th March 1989 will go down in modern history as the day that we were caught unaware of what the Sun could do to us on Earth.

Four days earlier, on the 9th March, a huge solar flare erupted from the Sun’s surface and eight minutes later Earth’s outer atmosphere was struck by a bombardment of ultra-violet and x-ray radiation. The next day larger explosion launched a cloud of gas charged particles at Earth^[8] which arrived four days later.

As is normal with such eruptions an Aurora was spotted close to the Arctic Circle, but it was something special, spectacular even. So strong was the Sun’s radiation that the Aurora was visible as far south as Cuba – this was no ordinary eruption, this was enormous. Unfortunately, it’s not only pretty lights in the sky and enhanced propagation that follow such a collision with Earth’s atmosphere – Earth’s magnetic field had been significantly enough distorted to cause large electric currents to flow in the ground of the North American continent. These large currents found their way up the earthing systems of the power grid and within minutes power was lost and millions of people were without an electric supply in the Quebec district of Canada due to transformers tripping and failing^[9].

This wasn’t the largest solar storm in living memory, back in 1921 Aurora’s were seen as far south as the tropics. John Kappenman^[10] estimates that the earlier event was much more intense and had a much larger geographical footprint than the 1989 event, to the point were it may have engulfed the whole planet. The fact that so little is popularly known about the event is down to the fact that technology wasn’t in such proliferation as it was in the eighties. Power distribution networks operated at lower voltages that today’s systems and aren’t, therefore, as affected by such strong magnetic disturbances. Furthermore, much of the inhabitants of the cities, let along the more rural areas, were without electricity supplies, relying on gas for heat and light. So the effects were less obvious to the public, but that was as a result of circumstances. What would happen today if such an eruption were to occur?

That technology has moved on since 1989 is not in question. We’re using ever higher voltages in our power distribution networks to overcome power losses due to resistance and the like, so they are actually more susceptible to large ground currents. Power transformers take months to build by highly skilled workers, so if lots of transformers failed, recovery could take years. In fact, Kappenman’s theory suggests that the result of a ‘super’ solar storm such a power failure could result in food shortages, water scarcity, reduced medical aid, failure of the normal commerce system, increases in black marketeering and crime and the ultimate unravelling of society. It sounds grim, but worse case scenarios always do.

Going nuclear

However, a more recent event has caused people to sit up and think about how we should protect ourselves against such an event.

On the 11th March 2011 a huge tsunami struck the east coast of Japan. Due to inadequate backup power, power to the Fukushima reactor and spent fuel rod cooling systems lasted only a short period of time after the original disaster struck, triggering another one – the melt down of three reactor cores and the resulting emission of radioactivity. It took the authorities two weeks to stabilise the failed reactors^[11].

There are over 400 such nuclear power stations around the world. Kappenman explains that nuclear power stations are vulnerable in a super solar storm because of the number of transformers that are required to connect them to the distribution grid – each being an entry point for the dangerously high ground currents that would result. Furthermore, their power back up systems would be compromised (either due to the effects of the ground currents themselves or simply through lack of fuel to power the generators) resulting in meltdowns all over the globe.

Be careful what you wish for

So the next time you wish for a great solar maximum and memorable HF propagation, spare a thought for the other possibilities and consequences. It could be the end of civilisation as we know it.

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Lytham Lifeboat Station

Earlier this year the Southport and District Amateur Radio Club took part in SOS Radio Week by running a sponsored special event station at Lytham Lifeboat Station and raised over £360 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Due to a number of circumstances the club has been unable to present this money until now and a date has now been set for the presentation.

The St. Annes off-shore lifeboat, a fast Mersey Class carriage-launched craft, will be undertaking an exercise at around 18:00 on the 22nd December and members of the Southport & District Amateur Radio Club have been invited to make the presentation and take a tour of the lifeboat station and the lifeboat prior to it’s launch. This will be a good opportunity to take photographs of the boat in action in the dark.

Members wishing to attend the presentation should meet at the St. Annes lifeboat station (not the Lytham lifeboat station that we operated the special event station from and which houses the inflatable inshore lifeboat) at 16:45 so that the presentation can be made at around 17:00.

Furthermore, the club has been given permission to operate at the Lytham lifeboat station again on the 28th January during SOS Radio Week 2012 and we’d like to thank the station for their support of the event.

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Celebrate Lancashire Day with the Southport & District Amateur Radio Club

The Southport & District Amateur Radio Club will, once again, be on the air to support Lancashire Day. Despite Lancashire Day being on the 27th November, the club will be celebrating a day earlier on the 26th as this is the best day to get a venue and all the participants together.

Nonetheless, the Southport Club will be celebrating in style with a special event station operating under the callsign GB5LB, a Lancashire Hot Pot lunch for all those attending at around 13:00 and a toast to the Queen, the Duke of Lancaster, read out over the air at 15:00.

Lancashire Day is celebrated each year on, or around, November 27th by Lancastrians all around the world to celebrate the day in 1295 when representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by Edward I to attend the “Model Parliament”.

Real Lancashire boundaries

It has long been thought that the county of Lancashire has shrunk over the past thirty years, or so, as parts of the county have been hived off to form the counties of Cumbria, Merseyside, Greater manchester, Yorkshire and Cheshire, and latterly to form the numerous unitary authorities. However, this is not the case. The county of Lancashire’s boundaries today are pretty much the same as they were back in 1889 and beyond – it’s just that parts of the county are administered by different councils. So Merseysiders’ Mancunians, South Cumbrians and many more can still count themselves as true Lancastrians.

The Lancashire Day Declaration which will read out over the air at 15:00 from the event’s base at St. Marks’ Church Hall in Scarisbrick during the toast to the Queen will read…

To the people of the city and county palatine of Lancaster GREETINGS!

Know ye that this day, November 27th in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Eleven, the 60th year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Lancaster, is Lancashire Day.

Know ye also, and rejoice, that by virtue of Her Majesty’s County Palatine of Lancaster, the citizens of the Hundreds of Lonsdale, North and South of the Sands, Amounderness, Leyland, Blackburn, Salford and West Derby are forever entitled to style themselves Lancastrians.

Throughout the County Palatine, from the Furness Fells to the River Mersey, from the Irish Sea to the Pennines, this day shall ever mark the peoples’ pleasure in that excellent distinction – true Lancastrians, proud of the Red Rose and loyal to our Sovereign Duke.

GOD BLESS LANCASHIRE AND GOD SAVE THE QUEEN, DUKE OF LANCASTER.

Continue reading »]]> Yes, no sooner has the summer finished but Christmas is looming. Our Christmas meeting, as usual, takes place on the second Monday of the December (12th) instead of our usual third Monday.

Keep your wives and girlfriends happy

Being the Christmas meeting it is traditional that we hold our annual “Keep the wife happy” evening, otherwise known as our junk sale. This is your opportunity to swap/sell your junk with/to other members of the club, or to buy that elusive piece of kit you’ve been after for ages.

Christmas raffle

We’re also asking that everyone who attends brings a wrapped Christmas present with them (to the value of £5) to be placed in the raffle. Everyone who brings a present will be given a free raffle ticket and the idea is that everyone should go home with a present to put under the Christmas tree.

Membership fees

Please remember that membership fees become due on the 1st January 2012 and that to vote at the Annual General meeting you must have paid your subscriptions before hand. As a result we will be accepting 2012 membership fees at the Christmas meeting.

Membership fees remain at £15 and £12 for concessions. Please remember that young folk aged 16+ on the 1st January 2012 pay full membership fees.

Continue reading »]]> The paper presented by the Committee at the recent member’s meeting is now available for download and can be found in the ‘Membership Issues’ section on the club’s new forum.

Please note - this is a new forum and requires registration to gain access. We regret that we have been unable to transfer the contents of the old forums to the new ones and, as a result, existing forum members will need to re-register. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Continue reading »]]> The Southport & District Amateur Radio Club has announced that it is to run a Buddy Scheme for newly licensed Amateur Radio operators. When candidates pass their Foundation Course they will be allocated a buddy within the club who will help them through the first months in their new hobby.

To make the scheme work we need volunteers to act as Buddies.

Read more…

Continue reading »]]> The original forums have served their purpose – enabling members to discuss various Amateur Radio and club related topics. However, the system has not been without its issues and relatively few club members have registered to use it.

In an attempt to address these issues we have obtained a new forum system that is embedded within the web site – making it easier to use, manage and maintain.

Unfortunately there is no way to transfer the postings on the old discussion forums to the new system, nor the user data, at this time. As a result you will need to re-register to gain full access to the forums. However, those who have experienced difficulty getting registered on the old system shouldn’t experience the same problems now.

The forums can be accessed from the Forum option on the menu above.

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M6XJP operating up to his knees in......water!

On the 25th June, Southport & District Amateur Radio Club member Chris, M6XJP, walked across Morecambe Bay. Why? Chris was the mobile component in a special event station operated by the Lifeboat Amateur Radio Society alongside the RNLI Cross Bay Walk.

The event was the annual Cross Bay Walk which raises thousands of pounds for the RNLI each year. Our special event station, GB5RNLI, was run from the start and finish at Holker Hall. Chris’ job was to take part in the walk and provide us with an Amateur Radio operator’s view of the walk’s progress in real time.

Find out how he got on…