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- Written by: Maintenance Guy
- Category: News
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I was glad to meet one or two members at last weeks AGM that I had not met before and encouraged them to take part in one or more of the nets operated by MSARS to help keep members in touch.
We run HF, VHF and UHF nets on most days of the week and the operating times are set out in the website. The HF nets have been running for more than 45 years and now include members and friends spread across 3 continents with other amateurs spread even further afield sometimes calling in just for a chat.
These nets help MSARS members to set up their equipment and improve their efficiency and have proved very helpful now that the recent Ofcom licence changes permitting increased power output levels have come into force. You don’t need a beam or high power, wire antennas and 25 watts will be enough.
All the MSARS nets are primarily there to encourage members to keep in touch with each other, no rules just keep the overs short and the net controller will (try to) keep things in order.
You don’t have to come on every day or stay for hours at a time so why not warm up your gear and drop your callsign in when the net controller calls for joiners. You will be made very welcome.
73, Ken G3WYN
President MSARS.
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- Written by: Chris G4ZCS
- Category: News
- Hits: 269
February got off to a good start as conditions seem to be improving all the time. Just for a change from working 60 metres, I spent some considerable time setting up the station for 15 metres, both voice for the lunch time net, and the FT8 segment of the band. The tuning is very sensitive but eventually I got to put 200W out on voice and 100W on FT8, all without smoke! This band is almost the opposite to the 5 Meg’ band that I have been using this last 6 months, being open during daylight hours and dying off late in the evening. My usual operating period is late afternoon to evening time.
The propagation is such that I have multiple contacts with Australia, Indonesia, China, and many Middle East stations. Southern Africa is pretty good as well. To the west, USA is very busy, for example, one evening I worked (without trying too hard) 10 DXCCs and 22 USA States. In fact, this month I worked so many US stations that my county count rocketed well above 600. Apparently, there is an award for working 500 and another for 1,000. For those who don’t’ know this, there are 3,077 US counties all together. Another target? I don’t think so. However, a quick check of the log for February showed that I had worked all but 1 of the 'Lower 48 States'. I just need Vermont. Mississippi and Nevada were a bit tricky to get - there is a guy working out of Vegas but a bit difficult to get through his pileups. One evening I was trying for Mississippi but got called by an Hawaii station instead. So only VT and Alaska for a full house, and all in a month!
Some evenings I leave the station turned on just to see if there is any activity. One day I put out a CQ on a very quiet band and was inundated with DX. Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Dominica, Colombia, and half a dozen Caribbean islands. All just before bed- time!
By the middle of the month I noticed that I had worked the magic 100 DXCCs (just behind Dick, and way behind George) so I guess my next target is to try and work 200 in the year.
Following a discussion on the lunch time net, we discovered that Bob N4XAT has been using FT8, so we arranged to watch out for each other one evening. Sure enough a success. I had just worked St Helena Island ZD7, quickly followed by a rare DX from Haywards Heath, Dick G0LFF, then about 45 minutes later I was called by N4XAT with good reports both ways.
On the technical front, the amplifier PSU started to run warm with the cooling fan cutting in occasionally. Some checks with my multi-meter showed the 'capacitor' car battery had decided to give up. Well, it was over 10 years old and 3rd hand anyway. A quick hunt around Burgess Hill produced a brand new one that has cured the problem.
For anyone reading this, it's not as complicated as it might seem to get the DX in your log, so some tips next month.
PS. As I write this Alaska has been on the band. 3 stations to work, One however was in Florida but the one I worked is in Fairbanks! Now just Vermont.
PPS. This evening I worked Vermont for a full house of USA in a month and 4 days!
There were several new African stations on, I bagged 3!
Last night it went really dead, apparently the aurora was the culprit, but today made up for it.
73's
Chris G4ZCS
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- Written by: Maintenance Guy
- Category: News
- Hits: 265
I hope you all had fun yesterday. A big day in amateur radio here in the UK for sure. Very significant changes to our licencing conditions were waved through by Ofcom, as the proposed variations we've all been mulling-over were finally implemented.
Large nets were run to mark the occasion, with many calling in just to flaunt their increased power limits and callsign freedoms. I joined the MSARS 70cms net with the brand spanking new identifier ME0XYF/BONKERS just to see what it sounded like. It sounded worse than it looks on paper, which surprised nobody at all. It was also an excuse to give an inaugural outing to my brand new Quansheng UV-K5(8), which went down better than my new callsign.
If you were caught a little bit on the hop, then here is a catch-up of the changes now in effect, and some supplementary changes yet to follow:
Phase 1 - Changes now in effect (as of 21st February 2024)
Power increases:
- Foundation: 25 watts (most bands) - The consultation proposed 20 watts
- Intermediate: 100 watts (most bands)
- Full: 1000 watts (primary bands)
Other:
- Regional Secondary Locators ('W' Wales, 'M' Scotland, 'I' Northern Ireland, etc.) are now optional (except for Intermediate 2x)
- Those in England are now able to add an optional 'E' to their callsign at Foundation and Full (e.g. ME7XXX)
- Any suffix (after the '/' slash) is now allowed after a callsign (e.g. M7XXX/TEST01)
- New applicants will only be allowed to hold one personal licence
- Supervision of unlicensed people allowed at all 3 levels
- Airborne to be permitted to a maximum of 0.5 watts EIRP (primary bands)
- Relaxing / clarification of operating maritime (now at all licence levels)
- More flexibility for Beacons, Gateways and Repeaters (including the ability to run 5w ERP without an RSGB-issued callsign)
- More flexibility and clearer terms for remote and unattended operation
- New 'Data Station' operation clause (intended for unattended machine-to-machine modes)
- Foundation licence holders can now build their own transmitters (including kits)
- Foundation licence holders now have access to 2.4GHz and 5GHz (max 2 watts)
- If a special prefix is allowed by Ofcom (as for Queen’s Jubilee), there is no need to apply for an NoV
Ofcom will be issuing around 100,000 new licences, which will obviously take some time. The new rules come into effect today, but it may take until Autumn 2024 before all of the licences get reissued.
Phase 2 - Planned for 'Later in 2024'
- Ofcom to cease issuing 2x Intermediate calls - to be replaced with M8 and M9
- Existing Intermediates will be encouraged (but not forced) to move to M8 / M9 callsigns
- Simplified rules for Special Event (e.g. GB) callsigns
- Restrictions on the number of callsigns held (one per person for personal use, up to 5 callsigns for clubs)
Phase 3 - Planned for 'Before April 2025'
- Revoking lower-class licences begins (leaving one for personal use, and up to 5 for clubs)
- Improved online validation process
- The ability for amateurs to choose any available callsign
- The ability for amateurs to change their callsign once every 5 years
- Reissuing of old callsigns after a 5-year grace period since the licence was surrendered or revoked. This includes SK callsigns
The official Ofcom document can be downloaded below.
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- Written by: Maintenance Guy
- Category: News
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NOTICE is hereby given to all voting members that the 57th Annual General Meeting of the Mid Sussex Amateur Radio Society will take place as follows:
Date: 22nd March 2024 - Time: 19.45hrs.
Venue: Millfield Suite, Cyprus Hall, Cyprus Rd, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8DX
Notice of nominations for the following Officers/Committee Members
- The Secretary
- The Program Secretary
- 1 Ordinary Member
Positions to be held for TWO years from the date of the 2024 AGM, as per the Constitution. This way it gives our Society some continuity when changing any of the Officers or Ordinary Committee Members each year when needed.
We would love you on the Committee for as many years as you feel able to serve. In our Constitution, it states that ‘Ideally nominations for committee posts to be received by the Secretary, not less than 2 weeks before the meeting.’ Therefore if you wish to record a nomination you may do so by email to the Secretary.
Please return any nominations to arrive no later than 8th March 2024. Proxy Votes may be sent to either the Secretary or your Appointee.
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- Written by: Chris G4ZCS
- Category: News
- Hits: 279
Well, I have made it into another year, and started off to see what I could work during 2024.
I have not set any targets yet, but time will tell.
Thanks to Ken providing a replacement for my duff high power ATU. I have dabbled a bit on several bands using Voice, CW and data. I reset the counter for the 60m band and to date have contacted over 60 DXCCs. Last year I worked data from August to the year-end with a count of 98, and filled two logbooks.
On the propagation front I have enough data to guess at least part of the mechanics of this band. Local contacts out to about 500 miles make up the bulk of contacts and are unlikely to be ground wave, more likely NVIS from my low-level dipole. Using the grid square map, I have worked just about all squares out to 1200 miles, so a second hop of NVIS or a regular F2 reflection could be the path.
I have now enough confidence to guess that the elusive DX I mentioned last year is appearing to be a form of grey-line. Usually we expect to work the sunrise/sunset track to DX stations for an hour or so. 60m seems to be different. The contacts seem only to last a couple of minutes at most and not only use the SR/SS route but also SR or SS to darkness. My daytime is generally dead for most days but as darkness falls the band opens - not only to the locals but also the DX that is already, or still, in darkness. During our late dark evenings, contacts can be made with sunrise stations to the far east and to sunset ones in the far west.
It's all very strange to me, and I hope that someone reading this can shed some light on what is really going on!
One unfortunate trait I have noticed is 'out of band' working. Here in the UK, we are strictly limited to keep within our allocated frequencies. On 60m FT8 the operating dial setting is 5.357 MHz. The upper edge of our band slot is 5.358, so, the highest audio tone we are allowed to transmit is 1 kHz (5.357 +.1 = 5.358).
Unfortunately, far too many UK calls can be seen well above this limit, having said that, when I started to use this band, I did make the same mistake and got 'shouted' at for my troubles. Ironically this was from a station that was himself too high!
At a recent ham-meet I enquired of an expert why my 60 metre contacts were not appearing in some databases? The answer is that, as yet the ARRL have not recognised this band for scoring DXCCs. Their reasoning is that there are still a number of countries that have yet to allow amateurs on this band so until then that would not represent a fair playing field!
Until next time,
73's
Chris G4ZCS
