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- Written by: Maintenance Guy
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Alan and Stella recently suffered what all of us who don't religiously backup our data dread the most, a hard-disk failure, and that has obviously meant a backlog of meeting minutes being prepared for publication on the website.
Credit to them then, that they have pushed on and generated those minutes (as well as other society documentation that they have responsibility for) and these have now duly been uploaded for our members to read.
Alan has also edited video recordings of the last two society lectures by speakers Gwyn Griffiths G3ZIL on HF noise reduction, and Geoff Budden G3WZP on the Royal Signals Museum, which will both now be uploaded to YouTube and listed in our Videos section very shortly.
I hope you enjoy consuming all this fresh material, and don't forget the last Direction Finding event of 2024 this evening!
Berni M0XYF
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- Written by: Chris G4ZCS
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At the beginning of the month there was a special activity celebrating the 13 Colonies. These were the forerunners to the states that became the USA in later times. I know several club members were chasing contacts, but I was a bit slow off the mark, however I did manage 10 stations in the end. According to QRZ.com the QSL cards are much sought after and limited in numbers, so, have a go next year?
FT8 is still throwing up surprises, new islands and new DXCCs for the year. At the end of the first week, I got a 'decode' from one of the remotest parts of the planet, Pitcairn Island. My look-up shows a total population of just 46 people. How many amateurs there are I don’t know but VP6MW’s QRZ page is well worth the read even if you have never heard of the place.
In August there will be an expedition to Jarvis Island in the Pacific (No 17 on the most wanted list.) K8R in American Samoa has been experimenting with equipment and FT8 software. I had tried without success to work them on 15 metres hearing strange signal characteristics. A quick update to the program at both ends and bingo, first attempt and 4th call got a full QSO.
This month’s picture is just one of the far-off places worked earlier in the year.
I know that some think that these new modes are not real radio, however some are game changers while others are dead-enders. I remember when PSK31 arrived and the scramble to use it, but now hardly any activity.
In the middle of the month, I worked Haiti for my darts score 'treble top' of 180! Only 20 more to get the magic 200 for the year.
This time of year is usually quiet for DX but with some expeditions there is some to work (if you can hear them.) On the FT8 front I managed at least 24 islands for IOTA and 35 of the USA 'lower 48' states. Paperwork-wise I have started claiming confirmation for historic contacts, many using ClubLog’s 'OQRS' automated system for claiming cards for matched contacts. Really useful tech.
Cheers & Good DXing
Chris, G4ZCS
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- Written by: Maintenance Guy
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Last month (23rd June) Chris M7VJE and I set up the Special Event Station GB0BH at St John's Park in Burgess Hill for Burgess Hill Town Day (aka 'Summer Fayre').
We got there in plenty of time, and had no problems getting the gazebo and table layout organised. We had quite a few bits of radio gear to demonstrate to the public, including two remote setups - one from my laptop back home to my Yaesu FTDX10, and the new club laptop configured to operate the club Flex 6400M just behind us in Cyprus Hall.
Chris also had his classic Yaesu onsite connected up (eventually) to Phil G4UDU's helically-wound 1/4 wave vertical, as seen in the background below. We also had plenty of handies, DMR radios etc. and some Meshtastic kit. We made good use of the club's 100Ah LiFePO4 battery and EE 4G LTE hotspot to connect everything together, which worked extremely well.
The day was not really about making loads of contacts, but raising our profile and trying to generate some more interest. We had several notable visitors during the day, including two potential new members and Dave Rowntree, drummer with the band Blur, candidate for the Mid-Sussex seat in the recent general election, and full amateur radio licence holder, as indeed is his partner!
Alan and Stella turned up on their return from a trip away and spent the afternoon with us, finally helping pack up and transport everything back into storage.
We also had a visit from club member Phil M5BTB and Terry M0TPJ, whose Sunday morning net we rather rudely interrupted from our very noisy park location!
See you at the next one, where we will hopefully be positioned further away from the plate-smashing stall :)
Berni M0XYF
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Following further testing today by a handful of members, the evidence is fairly conclusive that two-way communications are far easier on the 40m band than the 80m band right now, and so the Sunday morning HF net will switch to 7.085MHz starting this weekend. We'll continue to monitor the situation, but the change will remain in place until further notice.
Please note that this means that the Wednesday 40m net will NOT become a permanent fixture and will cease immediately.
Ken commented that Sean, Gerry, Phil, and Mervyn enjoyed the relatively good operating conditions this morning, with Sean at 5/8 rather than being unreadable on 80m. It will be intriguing to see what other MSARS members make of it on Sunday. Sean did comment that after a year on 80m in 1977, the net temporarily migrated to 40m for similar reasons, and It will be interesting to see how many MSARS members manage to make the band change on Sunday morning.
73, M0XYF
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- Written by: Chris G4ZCS
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Operationally, I have still been using FT8. As an experiment, I logged a short dash one lunchtime. Mostly Europe, there were just short of 25 in the first half hour but a few fewer in the second - but over 30 contacts and 24 DXCCs in the hour.
DX activity has been a bit slow this month, probably due to the summer 'E' layer absorption, however those working the higher bands have had some Sporadic E to play with.
As part of my reminiscing during the D-Day celebrations, I was reminded of Harry Patch, the oldest surviving veteran of WW1. The attached QSL shows him with Viv G4PLY, who operated a station in his memory.
I am also reminded of more peaceful times with this E40VB card from 2012.
This autumn sees the 100th anniversary of the first 'proper' DX between ZL4AA and 2SZ.
I was fortunate enough to have worked and confirmed both ends of this during the 90th anniversary. At the time of writing there are plans to repeat the celebration, so watch out nearer October.
I had another small bit of luck when the postman dropped a heap of envelopes on the mat with hundreds of bureau cards. These cards should give the 'newbies' a taste of things to come. Cards are ideal for showing friends what you have been up to in the shack, as well as being the proof needed for the major award schemes. Some of the pictures give spectacular views of far-flung corners of the globe and would make a great geography lesson for youngsters.
The photo shows just some of the recent cards from Germany!
This has also re-triggered my interest in the IOTA programme. I did a quick search of my log and found 54 contacts that had not been confirmed, so I have started to catch up on cards, ClubLog and hopefully LOTW (as it has just been restarted). My list shows 14 Oceana islands that need cards, so I’ll be busy for a while!
Don’t forget we are nearing the peak of the sunspot cycle - so make the most of conditions while they last, especially the DXpeditions that are only active for a short period.
Cheers & Good DX
Chris
