17 & 18 March 2018
Main Operating Times 08 00 to 20 00 Local
Some stations may be on air at other times
Please note:-
If you are operating on 5398.5MHz you must change to another available frequency by 14.30hrs local on Sunday as the GB2RS Weekly News Bulletin will be read out to all Radio Amateurs from 15:00 on this frequency. Do not tune up or operate until this station has announced that the frequency is clear for use.
On this page you can
View Communicatons Centre Status
On the dates above the RAFAC (Royal Air Force Air Cadet) will be organising and running a military style national radio exercise named ‘Exercise Blue Ham’. To make this successful we would like to invite Amateur Radio Operators to take part with us and make this the biggest radio exercise that the organisation has been involved in.
The exercise will take place on the MOD 5MHz (60 Metre) Band and a significant part of the exercise will be on the section of the band that amateurs are authorised to use.
Various Cadet stations will be operating on each of the days, mainly from 08:00 to 20:00, but could also be outside these times, and will be on various frequencies within the band. Where possibly stations will advertise which frequency, they are listening on live on this website as the exercise is in progress and amateurs are welcome to check this page and call in on the advertised frequencies. The website will be going live at the start of the exercise and before that time it may be running test software where all data will be simulated.
Cadet stations will call ‘Alpha Charlie’ which is the equivalent of CQ, and amateur stations are welcome to reply. Exercise Callsigns will all be in the range MRE01 up to MRE98 although other MR, MF and MA prefixed callsigns may be taking part.
The information exchange to score the contact will be
- Your Callsign,
- Signal Report,
- Antenna Type,
- Transmitter Power
- Your Location. 6 Digit Maidenhead. Need not be precise.
We would prefer your location to be in 6 digit Maidenhead Square format as it makes it easier to log and can be a location near you if you prefer to not give a precise one over the air. Cadet stations will also be using 6 digits, but not necessarily accurate. As Cadet stations change frequency contacting them again on a different frequency will score as an additional contact, as these frequency changes they will be reported on the exercise website where possible.
The contacts will be plotted almost live on the exercise web server.
We will issue Certificates for amateur stations that contact 10 or more Cadet stations during our period of operation using your callsign contact details on QRZ.com. Contact with the same station on different days count as separate contacts. Email your callsign and contact details to claim a PDF Certificate to: blueham@alphacharlie.org.uk
We will also issue to Squadrons and Wings a ‘Certificate of Operation’.
This exercise does not give amateur stations permission to operate outside of their normal licensing conditions.
The ACO looks forward to operating as many of you that we can during the period of the Exercise and it will give our young operators an ideal opportunity for them to utilise their radio operating training on HF equipment to a different audience.
Once a contact is logged into the system it shows up onto a map which can be accessed at http://alphacharlie.org.uk/blueham/showmap.php
Feedback again has been good and thanks go to those who have sent in the detail.
Thank you for taking part and giving the operators plenty of ‘Air time’ which cements their radio training that they have received.
A big thank you to those that have assisted with the Exercise.