Weekly Club Meeting

M7HFY

bloke who works with wood and plays with radios

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  1. M7HFY says:

    12 present

    Geoff Harris G4KWZ

    Geoff, who owns the field we used for VHF National Field Day, was introduced and gave his background in amateur radio. Geoff has a particular interest in vintage radios and was presented with some of the exhibits from our museum as a thank you. This donation benefits both parties as it will allow us to start a reorganisation of our equipment, and give some room for the installation of a broadband connection within the bunker. Geoff has also become a member of RADARS, we welcome him into the fold.

    Website

    Thanks go to Stephen HFY for getting an updated website started. Please visit and register. Comments and content welcome.

    David Cutter G3UNA

    It was my pleasure to present David with a Begali professional morse paddle to commemorate his service as Chairman of the club for the last 26 years. The paddle was housed in a wonderful presentation case made by Stephen HFY.

    VHF NFD

    A few early comments on our performance at VHF NFD over last weekend, full post mortem to follow. First, thanks to everyone who helped, particularly Andy DCD without whom we would not have been able to get the 4m station on the air on Sunday.

    Our two biggest issues were a problem with Steve KOV’s FTdx10 and very high levels of QRM. The rig problem is a known issue to Yaesu, although they have kept very quiet about it, and has been fixed with a firmware upgrade. The source of the QRM is not fully understood although at the time it was considered to be an inverter in a neighbour’s camper. When KOV and I tidied up the site on Monday there was no sign of the QRM so it remains a mystery.

    We need to replace our headphones, preferably all of the same type. Disposable covers have been sourced for the earpieces which will make them far more hygenic.

    Steve KOV, Contest Manager, is considering changing the category we enter next time to Mix & Match to allow for greater power. He explained that relays that handle power are very expensive and gave us a presentation on how we could reduce the number of relays required on higher power systems with the effective use of a Low Noise Amplifier. A demo amplifier was passed round. More to follow.

    UKAC 144MHz

    I opened the bunker on Tuesday evening and Mervyn joined in the 2m UKAC contest. Challenging conditions, but a good learning process.

    HF

    Stephen HFY worked 40m from the bunker on Tuesday using the IC-7300. Roy RDY has been present on 40m & 20m this week. Neither noticed the predicted poor conditions due to sunspot activity.

    Noted that we should bear in mind and prepare for (if sufficient interest) CHOTA (churches and chapels), JOTA (Jamboree), TDOTA (Thinking Day).

    It was mentioned there is an 80m Club event on Thursday nights. Worth listening to once the radio room is in a fit state.

    Steve KOV raised the possibility of buying a licence for CW Skimmer, this could be useful for HF CW Field Day as we don’t currently participate.

    Digital Modes

    Roy RDY to present the modes he uses, plus requested contacts for his forthcoming visit down under.

    RADCOM

    I did a quick skim of this month’s RadCom. It was particularly noted that many Region 4 clubs advertise their club nights, also there were no Region 4 event reports. With Stephen HFY looking over Media this is a great opportunity for us to get noticed.

    Have a great week everyone, and let’s get on the air!

    Rod G4TEW

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