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Cockenzie & Port Seton
Amateur Radio Club is
affiliated to the Radio So-
ciety of Great Britain and
holds the call signs
MM0CPS and GM2T which
are used for our special
event and contest entries.
The Club was formed by
Bob Glasgow GM4UYZ in
1984, to help the local am-
ateurs get to know each
other.
Far from being just a local
club we have members
regularly attending from
the Borders, Dumfries,
Strathclyde, Fife and New-
castle.
The Club meets on the first
Friday of every month
(Second Friday of January)
in the lounge of the
Thorntree Inn on the old
Cockenzie High Street from
7pm till late.
Another month has flown by and here we are now in the fifth month of the year. Isn’t time flying by .It is hard to believe that we will soon be into the major holiday season of the year, oh how time flies.
So what has happened this month, from the club events point of view? It is still to happen as I write this early editorial and it that we will have had our first outing of the year running GB2VEF at the Museum of Flight. I am sure it will have been a great success and all being well I hope to have an article ready for this month’s newsletter.
My Training Program has now totally finished for the 2012/2013 session. The 2013/2014 training program has been announced and full dates, fees, etc. can found on the website under Training and in this newsletter. Anyone interested in any of our courses please get in touch with me so that I can get them registered for that course.
To the future, this month we have our annual DF night, Friday 10th May on 144MHz; the rules will be included in the newsletter and will be posted on the web-site as well. Starting off from the Ship Inn car park (east) at 19:00, assemble at 18:30. This is a real fun night and has produced many funny stories over the years that we have done it so come on folks come along and join in I can assure you, you will have fun. (By the way DF’ing is not as easy as you think).
This year Cambell Stevenson MM0DXC has offered to be the fox so another change of personnel with no doubt some different tactics but that is what makes this event all
the more interesting...
Also starting soon is the “Contesting Season”, as I like to think about it with PW QRP, 6M Trophy, VHF Field Day and also IOTA from Tiree. There has been lots of talk and now the preparation has started for Tiree, which really has to be done, but we must not forget about the other contests particularly VHF Field Day off which preparations is also underway. The Tiree IOTA trip is already full as we are limited to the number of operators that can go, sadly that is the way it is. VHF Field Day this year will be at the same site down around the Dumfries area. The site registration has still to be submitted to the VHF Contest Committee and if I get chance I hopefully will have it done before you read this newsletter. If you want to take part, the offer is open to everyone, then please contact John McLean MM0CCC who is co-ordinating the event [email protected] John also deals with some of the other VHF contests i.e. 6M Trophy, 2M Trophy, etc. and if you would like to get involved he will be really pleased to hear from you.
Moving on, one thing that has come out of the Tiree organisation is finding out who is going and who is not as this has enabled operating rota’s to be produced which at the end of the day does give everyone time on the radio but just as important, a well earned rest. The question is who is interested and who is definite about taking part during VHF Field Day?
(Continued on page 2)
20th
Anniversary
Edition!
Can you spare a couple of hours? Whatever the answers can you let John know. This year we will be operating on 70cms, 2M, and 6M on the Saturday and 4M on the Sunday, basically 3 stations will be operational.
If you haven’t done any contesting why not come and give it a try you may just like it.
I do think it is like the “old” CW scenario you either love it or hate it.
Not forgetting those less interested in contesting, we still have our demonstration and special events. The events start off the Port Seton Gala Day on 8 June then over the
weekend of 15/16 June we have Museums Weekend at the Museum of Flight, so if you fancy a little bit of relaxed operating then come along to these events.
Not forgetting the Club’s “Summer Solstice Activity Night” on the 19th June as well.
As you can see there is plenty scope for getting on the air one way or another.
That’s it then with something for you all to think about and give some sort of reply enjoy the newsletter and we will see you all on DF night and all our other events
Bob GM4UYZ
(Continued from page 1) The Club
The Club is run in a very
informal way, just a group
of like minded people
doing something they
enjoy!
This does not mean that
we don’t do anything, we
enter (and win!) contests,
train newcomers, hold
talks and video nights and
run a popular annual Junk
Sale. Our newsletter has
won the Practical Wireless
‘Spotlight’ competition on
several occasions.
The Club supports the
British Heart Foundation
in memory of a member
who died from heart dis-
ease by donating the
profits from some of the
events we hold, we have
raised over £15,832 since
1994.
2
Supported by BT Community
Champions
In the club’s editorial I mentioned that our
main event in May is our DF Night. For all the
newcomers that hopefully will be taking part
to win the above trophy then you may be
wondering where it came from.
The trophy has been donated by Ron Fraser
GM0NTL in memory of one of our club stal-
warts Bill Gordon MM0BXK/GM8ZLI who
passed away on the 11th January 2010. Ron
felt he had to do something to keep the
memory of Bill alive so he decided to donate
a trophy. Before donating the trophy Ron
visited Margaret, Bill’s widow to show her it
and she was overwhelmed of what Ron was
doing in Bill’s memory and gave her blessing
for it to go ahead.
Bill was a real character and although he was
a really quiet man he was a fountain of
knowledge and experience. A great loss to all
who knew him.
Why is the trophy called The HYBSZER TRO-
PHY well, Bill came from Poland and this was
his Polish surname. When moving to Scotland
and marrying Margaret he decided to change
his surname to Gordon to make life easier
particularly for his two daughters when
attending school.
Ron GM0NTL decided the trophy was to be
awarded to the winner of our DF Nights and
the reason being that this was the event that
Bill thoroughly enjoyed taking part in so it is
fitting that the trophy is to be awarded to the
winner of the event. It is also to try and en-
courage more people to take part in the
event so I hope that everyone will take this
on board and really support the DF night.
Have a bit of fun, see how difficult DF hunting
is and commemorate Bill’s memory by trying
to win the trophy.
As we have two DF Nights in our yearly events
program, one in May and the other in Sep-
tember it will mean that the winners of each
event will keep the Trophy for the time peri-
od between the DF nights.
See you all on DF Night – Friday 10th May....
Bob GM4UYZ
3
1. A product detector is used to
a. Recover the audio from a SSB transmission
b. Indicate the received signal strength
c. Recover the audio from a FM transmission
d. Produce an amplitude modulated signal
2. Which one of the following oscillators would ensure
the highest stability of transmitted frequency?
a. Variable frequency
b. Crystal controlled
c. Carrier insertion
d. Beat frequency
3. One advantage of SSB over FM is that
a. Higher output power levels are possible
b. It is possible to operate with lower audio distortion
c. SSB uses less of the frequency spectrum
d. SSB is less likely to cause interference
4. A transmitter operating on a frequency of 10.13MHz
could generate a fifth harmonic on a frequency of
a. 20.13MHz
b. 30.39MHz
c. 20.65MHz
d. 50.65MHz
5. The purpose of a low pass filter in the output of a
transmitter is to
a. Increase harmonic output
b. Decrease harmonic output
c. Improve audio quality
d. Increase RF power output
6. The IF amplifier
a. Is tuned to a fixed frequency
b. Can be tuned over a wide range of frequencies
c. Is tuned to the local oscillator frequency
d. Tracks the RF input frequency
7. A radio receiver is set to receive on a frequency of
14.1MHz and the local oscillator is set to 13.6MHz.
What is the IF frequency?
a. 500KHz
b. 13.6MHz
c. 14.1MHz
d. 27.8MHz
8. In a single sideband (SSB) transmitter, which stage
removes the carrier?
a. Oscillator
b. AF amplifier
c. Balanced modulator
d. Mixer
9. Amplitude modulation (AM) consists of
a. Radio frequency signal which is changing in frequency
b. A single sideband with no carrier
c. A single sideband with a full carrier
d. Two sidebands and a full carrier
10. What is the third harmonic of a transmitter set to
21.100MHz
a. 42.200KHz
b. 63.100MHz
c. 63.300KHz
d. 63.300MHz
Club Attire
The club has a design for
Club Tee-shirts, Polo-
shirts, Sweat-Shirts, Fleec-
es and Jackets and all of
these can be obtained
from the address below.
When making an order
please quote ‘Cockenzie &
Port Seton Amateur Radio
Club’ as this will ensure
that the Club Logo will be
placed on the required
ordered garments.
If you wish to add your call
-sign to the logo then
please ask at the time of
the order.
Cost will depend on gar-
ment and should cover the
garment and logo, call-sign
addition will be extra.
Order from:
PATRICIA BEWSEY DESIGNS,
UNIT 11,
FENTON BARNS RETAIL
VILLAGE,
FENTON BARNS,
NORTH BERWICK,
EAST LOTHIAN
EH39 5BW
Tel/Fax: 01620 850788
Mobile: 07970 920431
4
Training Courses Available – to Spring 2014
If you are interested or you know of anyone who is interested in the following courses can
you contact me and also get them to contact me so I can get everyone registered, etc……
There is a fair amount of paperwork involved so the earlier I am contacted the better, plus
fees paid allows me to purchase all the course material and confirm room bookings for the
courses.
Note: Fees could change if RSGB Exam Fees or Community Centre Fees are raised.
2013 – 2014 Fees Higher this year due to increase in Community Centre Fees
Bob GM4UYZ
Tel: 01875 811723
FOUNDATION COURSES 2013 & 2014
Course 1: Resources Room 1
Saturday 7th September Exam at 14:00
Closing Date for Course Fees (£60): 3rd August 2013
Course 2: Resources Room 1
Saturday 9th November Exam at 14:00
Closing Date for Course Fees (£60): 5th October 2013
INTERMEDIATE COURSES 2013 & 2014
Course 1: Resources Room 1
Saturday 31st August 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 7th September 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 2nd November 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 9th November 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 21st September 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 28th September 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 5th October 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 12th October 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 19th October 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
5
Saturday 19th October Exam at 12:00
Closing Date for Course Fees (£80): 24th August 2013
Course 2: Resources Room 1
Saturday 21st December Exam at 12:00
Closing Date for Course Fees (£80): 26th October 2013
ADVANCED COURSES 2013 & 2014
Course 1: Resources Room 1
Closing Date for Course Fees (£85): 3rd December 2013
ADVANCED COURSES SELF-STUDY
If anyone self-studies for the Advance Licence Exam then they
can sit the exam at the club’s RSGB Registered Centre.
We will book the venue, administer the examination paper-
work and invigilate the exam.
See below for exam dates and the fees must be with the RSGB
one month before the exam date.
Fees for the self study exam are as follows:
RSGB Exam Fees £37.50 (RSGB Member and Non-Member)
Advanced Licence Examination dates for 2013
Thursday 2nd May 2013 19.00hrs
Monday 1st July 2013 19.00hrs
Tuesday 20th August 2013 19.00hrs
Sunday 13th October 2013 10.30hrs Convention
Friday 6th December 2013 19.00hrs
Advanced Licence Examination dates for 2014
Thursday 30th January 2014 19.00hrs
Saturday 1st March 2014 14.00hrs
Friday 2nd May 2014 19.00hrs
Tuesday 1st July 2014 19.00hrs
Wednesday 20th August 2014 19.00hrs
Sunday 12th October 2014 10.30hrs Convention
Monday 8th December 2014 19.00hrs
Saturday 23rd November 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 30th November 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 7th December 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 14th December 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 21st December 2013 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 18th January 2014 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 25th January 2014 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 1st February 2014 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 8th February 2014 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 15th February 2014 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday 22nd February 2014 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Saturday EXAM DATE 1st March 2014 (14:00) 09:00 – 16:00 Resource Room 1
Thanks to the sterling
work by M0RNR, our club
has been added to the
excellent Clublog system
developed by Michael
Wells G7VJR.
www.clublog.org
The system allows
members to upload their
logs in ADIF format and
have them displayed in a
table with all the other
club members.
Clublog also has great
facilities for tracking your
DXCC status etc so is well
worth taking the time to
register and get your log
uploaded.
To update your log with
the next set of contacts
(SSB, CW or Data) you can
simply upload your whole
log again and the system
will take care of the
duplicates. Alternatively
you can export the bits
you want from your own
log and just upload that.
The tables we’ll publish
here will be the club,
filtered by the current
year, so everyone starts a
new year at 0 contacts.
Due to several amateurs
across the world
accidentally adding
themselves to the CPSARC
tables, we now approve
all additions which might
take a day or two.
6
Date: 10 May 2013
Time: Meet at 6:30pm for a briefing prior to a
7:00pm start
Place: "Old Ship Inn" car park (bar entrance
side), Port Seton
Grid ref. NT408 759
Ordnance Survey Landranger Map No.66
Entry fee: £2:00 per person, to be donated to
the club funds
Frequency: 145.275MHz, FM, vertical polarisa-
tion
Callsign: announced before the start
Hunt area: The fox will be located within the
area on Ordnance Survey Landranger Map
No.66 bounded by the Firth Of Forth to the
north, the line joining grid ref. NT560728 and
NT560855 to the east, the line joining grid ref.
NT370728 and NT370738 to the west.
A small map showing this area will be issued to
all competitors at the start.
Tx times: Transmissions by the fox will be 30
seconds every 5 minutes. The first transmis-
sion beginning at 7:00pm, following transmis-
sion times will be 7:05pm, 7:10pm.etc.
The final transmission will be at 8:45pm and
will reveal the location of the fox
Access: The fox will be in a position which is
accessible by car (4wd not necessary!)
Tx ban: No transmissions, other than those of
the fox, should be made on the hunt frequen-
cy at any time during the event
Vacate: Once a team has found the fox they
should leave the immediate area and should
not transmit on any frequency while in the
vicinity of the fox
Equipment: Only one set of DF equipment is to
be used per team at any one time.
Hunting: During the hunt please try to be con-
siderate to other road users when choosing
your stopping points any teams found to be
breaking the road speed limits in any area will
be disqualified immediately similarly, any
teams found to be breaking any of the above
rules will be disqualified
7
One club night in the Autumn of 2012 Bob asked for suggestions for Winter activities that could be organised to give those who might be interested something radio-related to do in the long dark nights.
As I like building stuff I suggested an electronics project night where something fairly simple could be built using the club’s training equipment. There were quite a few positive comments but no clear agreement on what people wanted to do.
So, working on the theory that consensus would never be achieved I set off to do some homework to see what was possible. The easiest option would be to build a kit and I came up with four essential criteria. It would have to be;
Reasonably easy to build, i.e. 1 or 2 evenings
Radio related
Reasonably cheap
Useful, or at least instructive.
After a lot of internet searching I found that there aren’t actually a lot of kits that can tick all those boxes. I came across the Acorn Software Defined Receiver (SDR). It was designed as a radio club project and had been built by several clubs at Winter evening events. To cut a long story short I ordered a kit from Kanga Kits (www.kanga-products.co.uk) to try it out. It arrived in a couple of days and I assembled all the necessary tools on the kitchen table.
Unfortunately I was struggling with a left arm which wasn’t behaving properly, a pair of eyes which were thirty years older than when I last worked with small components and a cat which seemed to want to see everything that was going on. However after a couple of nights I had it built and when I powered it up - no smoke!
I also ordered a more advanced kit (from www.radio-kits.co.uk ) which was a SWR / Power meter with a digital display. It was a bit more expensive and a lot more fiddly but not actually very difficult at all. I decided to offer it as an option for those with slightly better soldering skills.
The test builds had shown that working over two nights would be a better idea than one so a thread was started on the forum on the CPSARC website and I did a short article for the newsletter to drum up interest. By ordering the kits in bulk we saved a bit on the postage which was handy as the spare cash paid for some extra tools we needed.
The nights chosen were 15th and 22nd of February in the usual room at the community centre. I decided not to hand out the kits beforehand as I know I would have been tempted to start work as soon as I had mine in my hands. As it turned out one member did ask for his kit as soon as it arrived and built it before the night – but he will be nameless.
Setting up the room on the night was easy. Bob being Mr organised has all the equipment in boxes and the room is easy to configure. I brought along a couple of extra magnifying desk lamps for our more mature members who like myself needed a bit of help with seeing the smaller components. The kits were handed out and the soldering, drilling, cutting and measuring began.
Those who were building the SDR found that they needed to enlarge some of the circuit board holes but as mentioned above we had bought plenty of small drills and pin vices for the job. “Cheapo” versions from China but they were good enough.
The Digital Power / SWR meter kit is very well documented and those who built it were methodical, followed the
(Continued on page 8)
instructions and came up with working meters. The calibration tests involved using a jumper point and setting a couple of variable resistors. The faces of the constructors where the digital display actually appeared and the control switches worked were a picture and I’m sure they felt that they had really achieved something.
The SDR kit although easier to put together was definitely more of a challenge to get working. Unfortunately none of us had much experience of SDR and the software, although free and stable the programs were had weren’t particularly intuitive.
Tom GM4LRU who finished his receiver first had it set up with a small antenna and a laptop but couldn’t resolve any signals. As more people completed their kits they were tried alongside Tom’s and mine. Various parts were interchanged to see what we were doing wrong. It seems that we weren’t doing anything wrong at all but that the Acorn just needs quite a strong signal.
Our attempts at makeshift antennas in the craft room just weren’t up to the task. As far as I know only Tom has got his receiver properly working. For the money it costs I think it is a good introduction to software radio but it can’t compete with the professional offerings around. I would have done more work on experimenting with mine but continuing problems with my arm has prevented me from doing anything much with it yet.
We had made it clear that we would not be able to help with building cases for the projects as the craft room wasn’t really suitable for metal working but Bob being Bob managed to find a recycled die cast case for his SDR from his junk box so he ended up with an almost complete project. The rest of us had a biscuit tin full of boards, wires and connectors and a task of finding cases for our handiwork later.
All in all I think the evenings were a success and there was a great spirit in the room of people helping each other out and there was much more laughing than cursing. It’s certainly more fun that building a kit yourself at the kitchen table. However due to my inability to count I have a couple of spare SDR kits if anyone wants one at a discount price get in touch.
I’d be happy to run a similar thing next Winter if I can find some suitable kits so watch out for an announcement on the club’s website later in the year.
Cephas MM0INS
(Continued from page 7)
8
We all need a hobby, something to do other than work, but why Ham Radio? What’s in it for me?
After a little persuasion from Bob Glasgow GM4UYZ, I’ve decided to have a look at the various reasons why anyone would enjoy our hobby of amateur radio. Through a series of articles, I’ll look at some of the different aspects of our hobby.
The hobby of amateur radio goes back before any of us were around. Marconi perhaps lit the imagination of inquisitive enthusiasts with his first transatlantic communication back in 1902, followed 8 years later with the formation of the first radio society, the Wireless Institute of Australia.
We can maybe understand why Australia was the first to get into the hobby of HAM radio. You only have to think of the distances in that country, and of how useful radio must have been when emergencies occurred or supplies were needed. And to be honest, that’s true in VK land today.
But surely HAM radio is not just popular because of its practical uses; we now have land lines, androids, satellite communications, texting, email, twitter, facebook, Skype and a host of apps for our smart phones that can easily allow us to talk to our friends down the road or family on the other side of the world. There must be something else that still interests people enough for the hobby to continue to flourish. After all, the UK has some 60,000 licensed operators.
I don’t think it’s just one part of the hobby that interests us all, but rather it’s that there are many features of the hobby that appeal to so many different types of people. I mentioned Australia as being an obvious place where the use of radio can be beneficial in times of need and disaster, and indeed there are many cases of amateur radio being used in emergency situations even in modern times. Locally, we have our own members who participate in Raynet; a group of enthusiasts who regularly give up their time to help marshall sporting events and the like, but are also brought into play when there are major disasters. Why? Because often when there is a disaster, mains electricity supplies can go down, and as our amateur radios mainly work off batteries or 12v car supplies found in vehicles, our radio communications continue to operate.
In difficult circumstances, our emergency services can often be overstretched and our Raynet teams provide a valuable back up to them. For the Raynet members, they enjoy the challenge
of providing good radio coverage for events, providing valuable support for emergency services in times of need and gaining comradeship from working together as a team.
There are many well-known examples of amateur radio enthusiasts stepping up to the mark in times of need. Hurricane Katrina in USA resulted in over 1,000 amateur radio volunteers being deployed to help co-ordinate emergency help. And on that terrible day 12 years ago, amateurs proved to be a useful addition to the emergency services in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
During a DX-pedition to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Islands, VU2RBI – Bharathi – and her team witnessed the 2004 tsunami resulting from what’s now known to have been the world’s 3rd largest recorded earthquake. Communications went down in the Andaman’s, but Bharathi and her team changed mode from DX-pedition to emergency communications, leading to invaluable co-ordination and no doubt the saving of many lives. I’ve had the privilege of talking with Bharathi a few times over the radio; a few times when she was in her home country of India, and also when she returned to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands after the disaster. She’s an inspiration and has gained recognition for her good work, which now includes teaching others about communications during emergency situations.
Closer to home in 1988, a Boeing 747 tragically fell on Lockerbie. It cut through the telephone lines buried in the A74, destroying normal communications in that area. Within minutes, Raynet was contacted and deployed in what was the UK’s worst terrorist attack. I think we can all see the benefits of why we have HAM radio in these circumstances, but also why people would want to be part of helping our fellow man through our hobby of HAM radio. The use of amateur radio in emergency situations isn’t that widely known within the general population. And yet it still quietly provides a vital service when all else fails, and when our usual services can’t cope. But beyond that, it provides an enjoyment and community for those who take part and it’s thanks to those HAMs with their sense of duty to community and humanity that the wonderful world of HAM radio remains strong today.
Next issue I shall look at another façade of our hobby that keeps our interest going after over 100 years of HAM radio.
73 Jim Hume MM0DXH
9
19th to 21st April 2013
As mentioned in a previous newsletter article that the club
was approached at the end of November by a member of the
Vulcan To The Sky Club to see whether we as a club would be
interested in taking part by running a Special Event Radio Sta-
tion to promote the last ever flying Vulcan Bomber (XH558)
during 2013.
We are to be the sole representative in Scotland for this event
which will give us some great publicity. Other clubs that are
taking part over the year (2013) as I write this article are New-
bury and District Amateur Radio Society, Finningley Amateur
Radio Society and the Doncaster Radio Club. The Vulcan to the
Sky Club plus the other radio clubs will be operating through-
out the air display season using the call sign GB2VUL.
After emails back and forwards I suggested rather than use
the GB2VUL call sign that I would like to apply for the Special
Event call sign GB2VEF (Vulcan East Fortune) and the reason
being as at the time I was hoping we would be able to operate
from the Museum of Flight, East Fortune.
The Museum of Flight
has a Vulcan Bomber
(XM597) on display so
getting the museum on
board to allow as the go
ahead with the Special
Event hopefully would
be made easier as it
would offer the opportunity to tell others about it as well.
Glad to say that the Museum was more than pleased to allow
us to use our normal location up in Hanger 1 where we oper-
ate annually as GB2MOF, so after submission of all the re-
quired paperwork and obtaining the Special Event call sign
GB2VEF we were all ready to go.
Friday the 19th April arrived and the build team turned up
about 13:00 to the Museum of Flight as a few people had to
work in the morning. After the normal arrival procedures we
proceeded to build the station. I as normal have the task to
build the “shack” area with all the radios, computers, etc. As
in the last few years we set-up our equipment inside the Mili-
tary Hanger (H1) and this year our two stations ran on both
40M and 20M. Each station comprised of a FT1000MP and an
Alpha Linear, logging comput-
ers networked together and
running Win-Test logging soft-
ware. Each computer was
linked to the radio plus a
Band Decoder Box which con-
trolled the Voice Keyer and
respective Dunestar Filters.
The antennas consisted of a 3 Element Tri-Band YAGI for
20/15/10M installed 60 feet up on a tower and a 40M dipole
hung between the tower and a 40 foot pole. These were
erected by the antenna team consisting of Cambell Stevenson
MM0DXC, Gary Bourhill MM0FZV, Bob Purves GM4IKT, Robin
Farrer MM0VTV, Duncan Taylor MM0GZZ, Taner Sener
MM0SEN and Alistair Lark MM6LRK. All this equipment was
set-up on the Friday afternoon in preparation for the Saturday
and Sunday main event. Pictures of the event are now on the
website.
As in previous years when we have been using GB2MOF from
the same location, I had requested and obtained the GB2VEF
call to start on the Friday. After the setting up and getting on
the air we managed 162 QSO’s in the log before we departed
at 17:00. The first QSO was made with G0FBO, Clive at 13:21
UTC (14:21BST), one hour and twenty minutes after arriving. I
think that is the quickest that we have ever erected a station
but to be honest it comes down to fantastic team work.
On the Saturday we arrived bright and early and our first con-
tact took place at 08:20 BST (07:20 UTC) with VK5PAS/P in
Australia. What makes this even more significant was that he
was only using 2.5W into a dipole, yes you are reading it cor-
rectly only 2.5W. Just goes to show what can be done with
low power!!!. Regard making QSO’s well as has been normal
for a good few years it was just a continual pile-up on both
bands until it was time to go home at 17:00 (BST). Our last
QSO for the day on Saturday at 16:55 BST (15:55 UTC) was
with EA3HLM on 20M. Both 20M and 40M had gone like a fair
all day and we managed a total of 829 QSO’s, a great day’s
work
On the Sunday again another bright and early start with the
first QSO in the log 08:10 BST (07:10 UTC) with RV6HLH on
20M and our last for the day and the event being with G3LAZ
10
at 15:30 BST (14:30 UTC), Like Saturday both 20M and 40M
had gone like a fair all day and we managed a total of 629
QSO’s, another great day’s work We ended up with 1660
QSO’s in the log another impressive weekend so well done
everyone.
The highlight for me personally was once again seeing great
team work in progress in setting up and dismantling the sta-
tions and the working of the VK station running 2.5W. With-
out this the whole event would end up in complete disarray....
It was very pleasing to see many club members turn up, not
just for a general supporting visit but to help operate and even
dismantle the station on Sunday. Here is a list of call signs who
attended on each day so thanks for all your support.
Friday:
Bob GM4UYZ, Alistair MM6LRK, Duncan MM0GZZ, Cambell
MM0DXC, Bob GM4IKT, Gary MM0FZV, Robin MM0VTV, and
Taner MM0SEN.
Saturday:
Bob GM4UYZ, Alistair MM6LRK, Duncan MM0GZZ, Cambell
MM0DXC, Bob GM4IKT, Gary MM0FZV, Robin MM0VTV, Taner
MM0SEN, Eleonore 2M0ECS, Paul MM0VTR, Cephas MM0INS,
Jim MM0DXH, Nick MM0NJC, Tom MM0TTM, Rachael
MM0RRM and Gordon MM0MUR.
Sunday:
Bob GM4UYZ, Alistair MM6LRK, Duncan MM0GZZ, Cambell
MM0DXC, Bob GM4IKT, Gary MM0FZV, Robin MM0VTV, Taner
MM0SEN, Eleonore 2M0ECS, Jim MM0EEH, Cephas MM0INS,
Colin GM4HWO and Sandy MM0CJT.
We had a small amount of interest from the public over the
weekend compared with what we have had other years but to
be fair it is early in the season so there weren’t as many visi-
tors as during the warmer summer months. This is certainly a
great opportunity to sell and demonstrate to the general pub-
lic what Amateur Radio is all about, who knows, we may have
given someone the “bug”.
It was hard to believe that we saw the sun all weekend apart
for a couple of hours on Sunday mid-morning when it rained.
The “man upstairs” was for once very kind to us in that re-
spect. The only downside of operating from the hanger is that
it is always cold. We certainly need a good warm jacket and
clothing to keep the chill at bay as you operate.
I have emailed the Museum of Flight giving them a summary
of what we achieved over the weekend plus thanking them for
allowing us to use their facilities. We will be back in June to
operate as GB2MOF so already looking forward to that
event....
I am in the process of compiling a spreadsheet of what we
have achieved over the years at the Museum and when it is
completed it will be uploaded to the website.
Lastly, many thanks for all those who came along and helped
out at the event without you it cannot happen. I do hope you
all enjoyed yourself I know I certainly did. For those who didn’t
attend well you missed a great opportunity to play radio from
an impressive station.
Till 14th to 16th June
when we will be back
using GB2MOF…
Bob GM4UYZ
(Continued from page 10)
11
Last year, two events came together for us.
The first was that some friends of
ours brought a couple of Mystery
Objects which had come, via her
late father's estate, from an uncle
who had once worked for Marconi.
Here's one of them.
When we opened it up, it looked like this:
Could we please tell them what these things were?
No, we couldn't, but we promised to do some digging. and as
luck would have it, we were just about to fulfil a long-standing
promise to ourselves to visit Bletchley Park.
Anyone with the slightest interest in radio, code breaking, mili-
tary or industrial history or the technologies that surround
them will be fascinated with what is happening in the once top
secret site near Bletchley - a little railway town now dwarfed
by nearby Milton Keynes. For us though the special links were
through Jane's Mum, who was an Enigma operator, and
through both of our backgrounds in computing.
The museums at Bletchley are fascinating place, and getting
better. Be warned though: we only took a day, and it really
isn't anywhere near enough. If we were to be planning a visit
now, we'd be a bit smarter, and choose a single theme to fol-
low - any thread would fill a day easily.
For instance, you could come at it from the perspective of ra-
dio enthusiasts. Start with the Diplomatic Wireless Service, Hut
1 and follow up the history of the development of the record-
ing stations and the techniques used for their secret morse
monitoring. Apart from the technical and human challenges of
monitoring, just the sheer size and complexity of the (very
secret) logistics of encrypted message delivery from the sta-
tions to Bletchley is mind-boggling, and more on this next
time. Radio exhibits have extended since our visit with the
opening of the National Radio Centre, and this follows a
Bletchley trend. Museums showing the development of tech-
nologies since the second world war are growing, so that what
started in Bletchley's huts can be brought up to date.
Or you could trace the cryptography story, still being revealed
after all this time, stretching from early Polish and French
efforts through to the Bletchley teams, with their personal
human intellectual trials and triumphs. Enigma and Lorenz
take centre stage, but it is a revelation as to how many other
rotor-based encryption systems were around, and for how
long after the second world war they were used.
Here's a couple of hand-held models, for the spy on the move.
Or you can track the automated attacks on code-breaking
which led to the earliest computers, both specialised and gen-
eral purpose.
(Continued on page 13)
12
I was asked how many people who had done training at
CPSARC and had attended a Club Night.
As off 02/03/2013....
237 People I have trained (From all over: Lothians, Bor-
ders, Fife, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Perthshire)
o 133 did one course with me
o 61 did two courses with me
o 43 did all three courses with me
263 People have attended at least one club night since I
started taking records in November 1992
o 85 People from the above training courses have
attended at least one club night.
Might have had more but as mentioned above I have deliv-
ered training to people all over the country.
There you go then a bit of useless information but it gives you
an idea some of the sorts of questions I am asked.
Bob GM4UYZ
The Bombes and Colossus are just astounding, and again, the
industrial effort to build these highly novel, high-precision
machines, in quantity, during a war which was already stretch-
ing our factories and skilled workers, is a tale as absorbing as
the machines themselves. The work involved in Bletchley's
restorations and rebuilds are jaw dropping in their own right.
And, like the radio exhibits, a museum dedicated to the ongo-
ing development of computing is now open.
Personal stories (and tragedies) of the main actors are on dis-
play. It would take a day just to follow up the likes of Tommy
Flowers, Alan Turing, and the others. For us, their lives
seemed much more real and affecting when viewed from
where they worked. The tight-lipped era is now passing, and
people are more willing both to speak of the heroic efforts,
and criticise the waste and costs to British Industry of sup-
pressing the publication and development of those successes,
backed up by once-secret documents and artefacts.
So what about our Mystery Object? Do you know what it is?
We took it to Hut 1, and checked in with the curator: we'll tell
you next time what he said.
Phil Odor & Jane Hesketh
(Continued from page 12)
13
Thanks to everyone who responded to Bob’s plea for more
articles for the Newsletter, you can see this month we have
several new contributors.
I’m now in the happy position that I have more articles than I
can fit into this month so don’t panic, if your article didn’t get
published this month, it will appear in a subsequent issue.
More people contributing takes a great deal of the load off
Bob who writes much of the material you see every month so
keep those articles coming, it makes the newsletter more in-
teresting for everyone!
Bob also reminded me that this month is the 20th Anniversary
of the very first Club Newsletter produced in May 1993 by Bob
GM0KDC.
Our newsletter has come a
long way from those hum-
ble beginnings but even
then Bob was appealing for
people to write articles,
nothing changes...
John MM0JXI [Editor]
General correspondence,
training and contest
entries
Bob Glasgow
7 Castle Terrace
Port Seton
East Lothian
EH32 0EE
Phone: 01875 811723
E-mail:
HF Contests
Cambell Stevenson
VHF Contests
John MacLean
Club Tables
Bob Purves
Contest Reports
Robin Farrer
Newsletter, website,
event calendar
John Innes
3 May 2013 Club Night
5 May 2013 Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower
10 May 2013 1st 144MHz DF Hunt
22 May 2013 Newsletter Deadline (early due to Editors’ holidays)
7 June 2013 Club Night
8 June 2013 Port Seton Gala Day
9 June 2013 PW QRP Contest
15/16 June 2013 Museums on the Air GB2MOF
19 June 2013 CPSARC HF Activity Night
22 June 2013 Newsletter Deadline (early due to early Club Night)
28 June 2013 Club Night (early due to VHF Field Day)
6/7 July 2013 RSGB VHF Field Day
26 July 2013 Newsletter Deadline (early due to IOTA Contest)
27/28/ July 2013 RSGB IOTA Contest
2 August 2013 Club Night
9 August 2013 Annual Mini Rally / Junk sale
11 August 2013 Perseids Meteor Shower
17/18 August 2013 Lighthouses Weekend GB2LBN
6 September 2013 Club Night
27 September 2013 DF Hunt
4 October 2013 Club Night
18 October 2013 Video Night
26/27 October 2013 CQWW SSB Contest
1 November 2013 Club Night
6 December 2013 Club Night
Answers from May 2013 newsletter “Test Your Knowledge”.
1A, 2B, 3C, 4D, 5B, 6A, 7A, 8C, 9D, 10D
Rank Callsign 160 80 60 40 30 20 17 15 12 10 6 4 2 70 DXCCs Slots Range
1 MM0DXH 0 23 0 52 8 70 3 47 0 9 0 0 0 0 108 212 10 yrs
2 M0RNR 0 0 0 34 0 54 0 40 0 3 0 0 0 0 79 131 14 yrs
3 GM4IKT 0 0 0 0 0 28 1 44 0 7 0 0 0 0 74 80 9 yrs
4 MM0GZZ 0 2 0 30 40 9 0 13 6 18 0 0 1 0 65 119 3 yrs
5 GB2VEF 0 0 0 19 0 59 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 62 78 0 yrs
6 GM2Y 0 19 0 22 0 31 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 80 3 yrs
7 MM0XXW 0 1 0 12 8 4 9 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 36 54 7 yrs
8 GM4UYZ 0 3 0 0 0 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 34 33 yrs