Issue 28 - Jan 20

QUA Welcome, to issue 28 - December 2019 of the Stockport Radio Society (SRS) Newsletter Written and compiled by SRS members, ‘QUA’ (Have you news of… ?) is your source of news, views and informed opinion on all matters relating to - and about - your hobby.

Wishing all our members, near and far, a very merry Christmas and a very happy SRS Centenary year StockportradioSociety

@G8SRS @SRSContestGroup

www.g8srs.co.uk

A Message from your SRS President l would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Committee for their dedication and hard work to make the Club a success over the past year.

May l also thank all the Tutors, Exam Secretary and Invigilators for all time and patience that they give to members to progress them through the Foundation, Intermediate and Full Licence courses Thanks must also be given to the Net Controllers who have given their time, help and encouragement to the new M6/7 licence holders to get them on the air for the first time.

Special Events Group and the Contest Group. Thank you for taking part in promoting Stockport Radio Society who have a good name in amateur radio in the North West of England.

Finally a thank you must be given to all members who have supported us over the last year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Alan Gurnhill G0ROW— President

Contact Emails General - info@g8srs.co.uk Treasurer - treasurer@g8srs.co.uk Website / QUA - srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk Membership - membership@g8srs.co.uk Courses - courses@g8srs.co.uk Contesting - contesting@g8srs.co.uk

Website -

www.g8srs.co.uk

SRS Contest Group is the ‘Contesting Arm of Stockport Radio Society’ 2

Chairman’s Corner Well we are fast approaching the end of another busy year at SRS. It has been another successful one, with all activities being fully supported. The digital radio, the Morse training, HF tuition, skills sessions, outside events etc all fully supported

by SRS members. Our contest group, along with support from none operating members, lhave had another successful year.

Unfortunately it takes quite a while to receive confirmation of scores and positions in the contests.

By the time you read this we will have had our AGM, and there may have been changes to the committee. This year you, the members, have had the opportunity to vote for individual members as opposed to the full committee in previous years.

The Committee are there to run the club to your satisfaction, and I hope that you will put forward any suggestions that you think would be of value to the Committee in the smooth running of our club.

We have now started on the new RSGB Syllabus for the remaining FLC and ILC courses. With new tutors on board it is hoped that we can continue to be a leading North West club for the RSGB courses.

We are hosting an RSGB Train the Trainers course in May 2020, and the UKFMNW repeater groups AGM in September 2020.

Don’t forget our Presentation Evening Friday 17 January 2020, to be followed by our Centenary celebration in June 2020, when we hope to have organised an event for all to enjoy.

Thank you for all your support during 2019, and I hope that you will continue to support in 2020. Let’s keep our club a forward thinking North West number one club.

All the very best for Xmas and a prosperous New Year. Keeping fingers crossed for better HF propagation in 2020.

73 de Tony M0SAV Chairman

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Diary of Events - January 2020 Fri 3 Tue 7 Fri 6 Tue 14 Thur 16 Thur 16 Fri 17 Mon 20 Tue 21 Fri 24 Sat/Sun 25/26 Mon 23 Tue 28 Wed 28 Fri 31

70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Talk Night 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm 6m SRS Net 51.550 FM 7.30-8,30pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm Committee Meeting SRS Presentation Night C4FM Fusion Net 144.725 Simpex Radio Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Foundation Course Part 1 and 2 Advanced Tutorial 2 Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm

February 2020 Sat/Sun 1/2 Tue 4 Fri 7 Sat/Sun 8/9 Tue 11 Thur 13 Fri 14 Mon 17 Tue 18 Fri 21 Sat/Sun 22/23 Tue 25 Wed 26 Fri 28

Foundation Course Part 3 and Exam Talk NIght 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Intermediate Course Part 1 and 2 6m SRS Net 51.550 FM 7.30-8,30pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm C4FM Fusion Net 144.725 Simplex Radio Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pmm Intermediate Course Part 3 and 4 Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net 433.350 7.30-8.30pm

If you know of anyone who may be interested in giving a talk or demonstration at SRS on one of our society nights, please let Evan know either at a society meeting or email: treasurer@g8srs.co.uk 4

March 2020 Tue 3 Fri 7 Sat/Sun 8/9 Tue 10 Thur 12 Fri 14 Mon 16 Tue 17 Fri 21 Tue 24 Wed 25 Fri 27 Sat/Sun 28/29

Talk Night 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Intermediate Part 5 and Exam 6m SRS Net 51.550 FM 7.30-8,30pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm C4FM Fusion Net 144.725 Simpex Radio Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm CQ WPX SSB 48hr Contest

December 2019 Thurs 2 Fri 3 Tues 7 Fri 10 Tue 14 Thur 16 Fri 17 Mon 20 Tue 21 Fri 24 Sat 25 Sun 26 Tue 28 Wed 29

Committee Meeting 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Talk Night 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm 6m SRS Net 51.550 FM 7.30-8,30pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm C4FM Fusion Net 144.725 Simpex Radio Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 70cm Net - 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Advanced Primer 1 NARSA Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm

You can also view the updated diary of events upto the end of 2019 on our website - www.g8srs.co.uk

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Birthday Celebrations are underway Come and celebrate with SRS ‘Save the Date’ 20 June, 2020 Venue : Stockport County Football Club, Hardcasle Steet, Edgeley Stockport Time : 7pm till late We hope you will join us to celebrate SRS’s 100th birthday.

We are now one of the oldest radio clubs in the UK. Booking for this event is essential.

All XYLs, partners, girl/boyfriends are welcome.

We are planning a carvery and dessert (buffet style) at a cost of £22 per head.

We would like to ask members if they would contribute £10 per head towards the meal. Stockport Radio Society will pay the balance.

A glass of sparkling wine/orange juice on arrival.

There will also be prizes to win.

We are also hoping to have other dignitaries, including members of the RSGB and members of the local Council.

If you would like to pre-book on this event, please see Heather at any club meeting who will take your name and ‘of course’ your money or email her your confirmation m6hns@btinternet.com

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Digital Software Update from Neil M6NAE November saw a new C4FM digital node being launched in the Stockport area.

Keith 2E0JPY is now the keeper of MB6IKS on 431.125 mhz which is connected through the american link on C4FM. Please contact Keith for more information on the node.

Jack 2E0JEH. as we all know has been on C4FM digital now for a good number of weeks, and has worked many radio stations with just 5 watts.

Jack highly recommends the C4FM radio kit. as he needs no antenna.

Many ham radio operators are now using C4FM digital on HF, especially on the 10 meter band and the 6 meter band.

Do you have an Android device, and wish to connect to MB6SL. NEW FUSION GATEWAY. Download "DVSwitch Mobile" from the app store, For those not within the Gateway footprint, access can be made with a hotspot using C4FM. Select FCS004 Room 32.EchoLink users can also access on 377.545 2E0ENN-L.. AllStar users can access on node 46826 The digital radio kit at the club is now taking time slot bookings, so if you would like to try your hand at C4FMdigital radio, please see myself Neil M6NAE or Tony M0SAV, and we can book you in.

You may just find that the mode that you thought was not for you just could be.

So when the bands are down, why not give C4FM digital a try.

All members are welcome to try the fusion kit, including any short wave listeners at the club..

Watch out for another article from Neil in the next issue on the latest updates and changes in the world of digital radio 7

Opening a ’Gateway’ Keith 2E0JPY MB6ISK Gateway Just a short insight into my experience of opening a Fusion gateway.

It came to my attention that I could use my Yaesu FT2D handheld connected to my computer as a Fusion gateway, so I ordered the connection kit from Martin Lynch which consisted of the scu19 interface cable and also an analogue cable.

I then registered with Yaesu and downloaded the wires x software to my laptop.

The next step was to download the necessary driver from Yaesu and install that to my laptop, then after connecting it all up - bingo it worked.

The FT2D allows two modes of access to the pc pdn mode and hri mode. pdn is digital only and hri allows both digital and anologue provided the anologue cable is connected.

Now this is where it gets confusing!!! The two modes each have two settings direct and Wires x node in direct. Basically the radio becomes a speaker mic to the pc and allows you to talk and change rooms via pc throughout the network no RF involved.

In wires x mode the radio becomes a node and transmits activity via whatever antenna you have connected and whatever frequency and power you set.

You then need another digital radio to connect to the node set to the same frequency. The node radio just becomes the access point, a bit like a repeater but simplex unless you set any off sets.

Then I researched and found you need an Notice of variation from Ofcom to operate a simplex gateway so the next step was to fill in a form online on the RSGB website which is quite daunting at first, as it is the same form used for applying for repeaters. However after various emails back and forth to the RSGB for guidance I managed to get it filled in.

You then enter what is called the ‘vetting stage’ and wait for your NOV from Ofcom which came via email a few days later - valid for 12 months after which it needs to be renewed.

8

So I can now operate my gateway which is MB6ISK on 431.1250mhz on an attended basis only 1watt output power 2-8hrs per day 2-7 days a week.

So if you can access it, feel free when it’s on. It is set to CQ UK room but you can change rooms via wires x commands if you wish. After disconnecting from the room of your choice it will default back to CQ UK. the coverage should be reasonable even on 1watt as my antenna is a Diamond V2000 8.5 metres high approx. on the roof of my property.

If you have any questions please see me at the club or email me best regards 73 Keith 2E0JPY

The Northern Amateur Radio Societies Association annual rally will be held in Blackpool, Sunday 26 April 2020.

As affiliated members of NARSA, Stockport Radio Society attends the rally each year displaying our activities and achievements from the previous 12 months.

2020 is the centenary year for SRS and we have a unique opportunity to showcase our club's activities and achievements from the last 100 years.

The NARSA team comprising Heather M6HNS, Nigel 2E0CKA, Neil M6NAE and myself would like to hear your suggestions for what we display on the stand in 2020.

We are also looking for volunteers to help design and develop the display material in advance of the rally.

Also on the day to help on the SRS stand and on behalf of SRS doing some specific rally duties.

Pete, M1PTR SRS NARSA Manager

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My most exciting and rewarding experience on the radio My Brother, Jack and myself, like many in my family, served in the Royal Navy, Jack as. telegraphist on convoy duty in the Atlantic, Arctic. and finally in the Mediterranean on convoys to Malta. I served in the BPF (British Pacific Fleet) which was a small force attached to the American 6th Fleet under the command of Admiral Chester Nimitz.

After we were ‘demobbed’ and having got ourselves married and settled into civilian life, we decided in 1950, to join the R.N.V.(W).R. The Royal Naval Volunteer Wireless Reserve based at Stretford - long since closed down-both signing on for a 10 year term. we had to attend training sessions two nights per week and 14 days per year training on either a ship or wireless establishment. The very first thing I had to do was to pass my morse test, after that I was allocated the callsign, Mike Fox Mike 74 (not Foxtrot, as is nowadays. I was then loaned two wonderful pieces of equipment a transmitter and an HRO receiver with a complete box of crystals. My very first DX contact was a chap name of Pieter from Pietermaritzburg in South Africa, I was thrilled.

Anyway, I must get to the point in question, which was my long-lasting experience on radio.

Being in the RNV(W)R, it was compulsory that we, my brother and I, had to keep a watch, about every 6 weeks or so on the Distress frequency, the watch being shared by other RNV(W)R branches in the North West on the ‘Mayday’ frequency. The Distress frequency watch was usually a very boring watch, rarely anything ever happened but this particular evening everything exploded.

I was listening on one frequency and my brother was on the distress frequency. Suddenly, Jack asked for “QUIET PLEASE.” Immediately I shut down, he was receiving a distress call from a fishing trawler in trouble, we got his exact position as being about two miles south of Chicken Rick, which is part of a nasty group of rocks south of The Isle of Man. She had a crew of six including the Skipper, they were in terrible trouble with complete engine failure, taking on water and sinking. The Skipper could only describe his situation as dire. Jack immediately got in touch with our control station for the North West, at Preston, they in turn contacted the nearest Lifeboat Station.

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After some time they found the stricken trawler, broadside-on to very heavy sea and taking a real battering, fortunately, all the crew were taken onboard, but only just in time. As I remember reports saying the boat was lost. That was of no consequence, boats can be replaced, lives are precious. Jack and I were so pleased that we were able to help with our little, but powerful radios, helping to play a small part to save these young men.

The incident was reported in all the daily newspapers the next day without mentioning the part played by the RNV(W)R. The RN however, never published what they were up to, or even to mention any of the names of people involved. Our branch at Stretford however, did receive acknowledgement from Preston for the part it played. Apparently, they were completely unaware of what was happening until my brother sent all the Information necessary. It was he, my brother therefore, that did all the essential work, I was only a small part of this very successful watch which I shall always remember, it was also the end of our involvement in this rescue.

THIS WAS OUR REALITY and also a very, worthwhile two hour watch on the MAYDAY frequency.

Alan M6KOY

Date of Next Issue -

March 2020

Articles to be sent to QUA by middle of February If you have news, events, contest information etc that you would like to share with your fellow members, please email : srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk As you will see from this issue, it does not have to be radio related, but a subject that other members maybe interested in

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Stockport Radio Society Courses Tutors / Practical Assessors / Invigilators Foundation Course Phil M0XYA

Lead Tutor

FICHM0XYA

Slawek M0SQJ

Assistant Lead Tutor

Tom M0DCG

Tutor

FIACHM0DCG

Pete M0PTB

Tutor

FILAM0PTB

John M0PEK

Tutor

FICHM0PEK

Alan M1FHN

Tutor

Nigel M0VNL

Tutor

Neil M6NAE

Tutor

FICHM0VNL

Intermediate Course Tom M0DCG

Lead Tutor

FIACHM0DCG

Alan M1FHM

Assistant Lead Tutor

John M0PEK

Tutor

FICHM0PEK

Nigel M0VNL

Tutor

FICHM0VNL

Pete M0PTB

Tutor

FILAM0PTB

Phil M0XYA

Tutor

FICHM0XYA

Slawek M0SQJ

Tutor

Full Licence Pete M0PTB

Lead Tutor

FILAM0PTB

Bernard G3SHF

Assistant Lead Tutor

FICHG3SHF / DBS*

Tom M0DCG

Tutor

FIACHM0DCG

Phil M0XYA

Tutor

FICHM0XYA

Slawek M0SQJ

Tutor

* DBS - DBS Registered 12

Course Practicals Roy G6RSU

Neil M6NAE

Examination Invigilators John M0JFM

FICHM0JFM

DBS Registered

Alan G0ROW

FIAGMG0ROW

DBS Registered

Tony M0SAV

FICHM0SAV

DBS Registered

If you are interested in joining the courses group and becoming a tutor, please contact Tony M0SAV at any club meeting.

On behalf of the SRS Committee can we thank everyone involved in the courses for their time and continuing support of the students coming through the system.

Talk Night - 7 January 2020 ‘Questions to Ask SRS’ We thought that we would begin the New Year with something a little different: a chance to have questions answered that you may have relating to any aspect of amateur radio, whether it’s electronics, antennas, transmission lines, propagation and licence conditions, or whatever.

Given that the 2020 committee will have just been elected by the time of the meeting, you may wish to send in any queries that you have regarding the society itself.

If you want to submit a question/s, please email our secretary at info@g8srs.co.uk with the subject heading ‘Questions for Ask SRS’ - preferably before 31 December - and a response will be given at the meeting.

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QRP Project by Phil M0HNJ Im sure most members are aware of the ongoing skills night QRP (low power) project.

The project started out as a kit from QRP labs. A 5 watt transceiver for CW and digital modes. The second part is a GPS receiver.

The transceiver has embedded (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter code) WSPR. WSPR requires accurate TIME and frequency to operate correctly the GPS module can set this automatically. More on the GPS later.

Two notable features of this kit are the built in test equipment, signal generator, power meter, frequency counter etc usually only found in high end equipment, and embedded WSPR coding. This means its a stand alone WSPR beacon. You do not need a PC to operate it.

WSPR "weak signal propagation reporter" pronounced wispier" is a type of digital transmission designed by Joe Taylor. If you use digital modes you will be familiar with JT65 / WSJT etc.

They sound high tech and they are, but the JT has no technical meaning - it stands for Joe Taylor well done Joe! The WSPR system transmits your call sign, grid locator, transition power (as entered buy you during setup). Each transmission takes a little less than two minutes. Transmissions start at the beginning of even minutes, this is why a GPS to set your time is desirable.

Any WSPR station receiving your transmission decodes it and sends the decode to wspr.org via the internet. If you log on to the WSPRr site you will find a map. If you are transmitting, a flag with your call sign will be placed on the map at your location (QTH) coloured lines link you to each of the receiving stations where you will find a flag containing their call sign.

This is good fun watching the receiving stations pop on to the map, see how many spots you get in 24 hours, see how many countries.

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Good fun it may be, however it also has a number of practical uses. For example, if you want to compare two antennas you can use the WSPR transmit / receive signal and a relay to switch antennas, so that antenna 1 transmits for two minutes then it receives, then antenna 2 transmits and so on. The decoded data as well as map format is available in database format, so you can look at the results for each antenna over a period of time.

The project is going well. We placed a bulk order on QRP lab, the boxes arrived two weeks later with no tax or duty incurred. We have seven members are building the kits.

The rate of progress is dependent on individual circumstances, work, illness, etc so all kits are in different stages of construction ranging from completed to still in the original packet.

For the GPS I decided it would be advantageous to do our own thing. QRP labs sell a kit for about £30 but its just a GPS—its expensive and dedicated to the Transceiver kit.

The unit we are about to build uses a GPS chip, manufactured by Ublox.

This unit is easy to interface, feature rich, and easily configurable using Ublox Ucenter software which is free to download. We are going to use an external 30mm x 30mm patch antenna on a 3 meter lead.

Some images from the QRP Manual 15

QRP Project Continued I have designed a small printed circuit board to accommodate the receiver card and ancillary cards. I added a 3.3 volt to 5 volt bi-directional level shiftier and a 3.3 volt regulator (please note the GPS card has a 5 volt input however the signal lines operate at 3.3 volts!, so its easy to see +5 volts written on the card and assume it operates at 5 volts) output to the transceiver. Level shift is Transistor Logic TTL and connection is via pin headers.

I have also included a TTL to universal serial bus (USB) card to allow easy connection to a PC via USB. The PCB is now at revision 3 which includes a 1 pulse per second (PPS) output via an SMA connector. Jim has a revision 2 PCB for test. If all is well I will produce more pcb’s One of the features of the Ublox receiver is that the 1 PPS output can be changed to any frequency between 1Hz and 10 MHz. Locked to the GPS satellite atomic standard, this is most useful for all kind of things I use one to lock a 10 /25Mhz crystal oscillator to a 1 Mhz output from the Ublox receiver this then provides reference signals to a modified SKY Low Noise Block (LNB) for 10 Ghz reception, and a 2.4 Ghz synthesizer for transmission.

Or feed the output into a TLV3501 4.5 Nano second (Ns) schmitt trigger mounted on an evaluation board for £5 on ebay and you have harmonics up to 423 Mhz and beyond. Check your receiver calibration. I also use the square wave output of this card to calibrate my power meters (I checked the results against a lab power calibrator and I am within 1%).

The great thing about modern day home construction is that most of the exotic integrated circuits are available mounted on evaluation boards with SMA connectors for less than £20, you are only limited by your imagination.

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The Joys of General Aviation Kieron M5KJM Last year was my memorable trip to Morocco. This year’s was planned for Monday 23 September, hopefully to the south of France and then Corsica.

The weather forecast was good for the morning but a band of heavy rain across England by mid-afternoon.

On the Sunday night, I received a call from a group member who reported problems that day with the fuel pump and difficulty starting the engine. After much discussion, I took ‘CD to Leeds Bradford for the engineers to investigate. They couldn’t replicate the fault. I’d sat around for four hours and by then I’d missed the weather window and returned to Liverpool.

Tuesday and Wednesday were a complete washout with heavy rain and strong winds.

Thursday beckoned and I set off for Le Touquet to clear Immigration and Customs. Approaching Dover, the latest weather at Le Touquet and along the northwest coast of France had stalled which meant a diversion into Lydd.

Again, after sitting in the airport for three hours the weather hadn’t improved and meant an overnight stay in nearby New Romney.

Friday, the weather still remained stalled along the French and Belgian coasts and was set to deteriorate over England for the weekend and returning home would prove unlikely.

I duly departed for Southend and spent the day and night there.

Saturday was spent flying to Nottingham, as strong winds were forecast, and Nottingham had an into wind runway. I also needed a weather update for Liverpool as a band of rain was forecast to stall from East Midlands to Liverpool. Dodging large black heavy showers I managed to make it in time.

No overseas trip this year, the only highlight being getting the train into London from Southend and spending the afternoon with my son.

Hopefully more from Kieron’s travels next year.

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Frequencies LF (Low Frequency) 2000m : 135.7 - 137.8Khz MF (Medium Frequency) 630m : 472 - 479Khz 160m : 1.81 - 2.0Mhz HF (High Frequency) 80m : 3.5 - 3.8Mhz 60m : Consists of 11 spot frequencies check band plan 40m : 7.0 - 7.2Mhz 30m : 10.1 - 10.15Mhz 20m : 14 - 14.35Mhz 17m : 18.068 - 18.168Mhz 15m : 21 - 21.45Mhz 12m : 24.89 - 24.99Mhz 10m : 28 - 29.7Mhz Note for operating on 60m Only available to advanced licence holders

VHF (Very High Frequency) 6m : 50 - 52Mhz 4m : 70 - 70.5Mhz 2m : 144.0 - 146.0Mhz

UHF

(Ultra High Frequen-

cy)

70cms : 430.0 - 440Mhz 23cms : 1240.0 - 325Mhz

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Club Nets

Membership You can become a member of Stockport Radio Society by completing a membership form and, either emailing it to membership@g8srs.co.uk or handing the form to the Membership Secretary, Nigel 2E0CKA, at any Society meeting.

Subs Payable Annually on Dec 1, each year Senior Family Country Pensioner Junior

£15.00 £15.00 £10.00 £10.00 £ 5.00

Juniors upto 18 yrs of age Senior upto 64 yrs of age Pensioner from 65 yrs of age. If you are interested in paying your subs by standing order, please contact the Treasurer on treasurer@g8srs.co.uk

Meeting Admission £2.00 per meeting.

It has been decided, that the following callsigns may be used by any full licence holder chairing the nets - G8SRS, G6UQ, G3LX, M5MDX All club call signs will be used on a rotational basis by full licence holders authorised by Alan G0ROW. 2m net, 6m net, 70cm net and now C4FM Fusion Digital Net If you have any queries about the use of these callsigns, please speak to either Tony M0SAV or Alan G0ROW at any Club meeting

Net Controllers We are also looking for net controllers to chair a specific net. If you have the equipment and would like to try and chair a net, please contact Alan G0ROW who will happily help you.

If you would like to try a net with a current net controller with you, again speak to Alan G0ROW The current Net Controllers are: Alan G0ROW Neil M6NAE Heather M6HNS Keith 2E0JPY Bob M0CPP

Tony M0SAV, Nigel 2E0CKA, Nigel M0VNL Slawek M0SQJ Jim 2E0URD

A list of all our nets, times and frequencies is available on the website 19

Morse Code

Morse Code

Phonetic Alphabet

1

._ _ _ _

A

._

A

Alpha

2

.._ _ _

B

_...

B

Bravo

3

..._ _

C

_._.

4

…._

D

_..

C

Charlie

5

…..

E

.

D

Delta

6

_....

F

.._.

E

Echo

7

_ _...

G

_ _.

F

Foxtrot

8

_ _ _..

H

….

G

Golf

9

____.

I

..

H

Hotel

0

_____

J

._ _ _

I

India

K

_._

J

Juliet

Our Morse

L

._..

classes run

M

__

K

Kilo

on each club

N

_.

L

Lima

night from

O

___

M

Mike

7.00 to 7.30

P

._ _ .

N

November

pm.

Q

_ _._

O

Oscar

R

._.

P

Papa

Come and

S

…

Q

Quebec

speak to Evan

T

_

R

Romeo

M0TJU if you

U

.._

would like to

V

…_

S

Sierra

give this part

W

._ _

T

Tango

of the hobby

X

_.._

U

Uniform

a try.

Y

_._ _

V

Victor

Z

_ _..

W

Whiskey

X

X-Ray

Y

Yankee

Z

Zulu

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Soldering Project with Bob M6TMA

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Training Courses Course Secretary John Marsh - M0JFM courses@g8srs.co.uk

Are you interested in taking a course with Stockport Radio Society.

We run all three courses at Walthew House, in Stockport. If you would like to put your name down for one of the three courses, please email John on courses@g8srs.co.uk. These courses fill up very quickly, so don’t delay - book NOW!

Course Fees Foundation - £50.00

Based on a minimum of 6 students

Intermediate - £116.00 Based on a minimum of 4 students (Inclusive of construction kit) Full - £95.00 - Based on a minimum of 4 students These prices were correct at the time of printing.

Foundation Dates for 2020 are as follows, these are daytime courses which run from 9am to 5pm, over two weekends THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL - PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME ON THE WAITING LIST  

Saturday 25 January and Sunday 26 January 2020 Saturday 1 February and Sunday 02 February 2020 22

Intermediate Dates for 2020 are as follows, these are daytime courses which run from 9am to 5pm. This is run over three weekends.   

Saturday 8 February and Sunday 9 February 2020 Saturday 22 February and Sunday 23 February 2020 Saturday 29 February and Sunday 1 March 2020

Full Below are the dates for the Full Licence Tutorials are          

Saturday 25 April 2020 Saturday 27 June 2020 Saturday 15 August 2020 Saturday 5 September 2020 Saturday 19 September 2020 Saturday 3 October 2020 Saturday 17 October 2020 Saturday 7 November 2020 Saturday 21 November 2020 Saturday 5 December 2020

Primer 1 Primer 2 Primer 3 if required Tutorial 1 Tutorial 2 Tutorial 3 Tutorial 4 Tutorial 5 Tutorial 6 Examination

Remember when you have your new callsign do not forget to inform the Membership Secretary Nigel 2E0CKA on m6bbl@btinternet.com and he can update his records and then forward onto Heth M6HNS to update the website.

QUA is compiled by Heather Stanley M6HNS. If you have any articles, reviews or announcements that you would like to see in the pages of QUA, please send your information to srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk or give Heather a call on 07506 904422 23

SRS Links RSGB www.rsgb.org UKFM Group Western www.ukfmgw.org.uk Ofcom www.ofcom.org.uk ARRL www.arrl.org

Club Log (HF Ladder) If you wish to join Club Log and also get entry into the HF Ladder with the end reward of entry in the HF Ladder competition at the end of the year, and you chance to win a trophy for the year, follow the information below. If you wish to join SRS DXCC league in Clublog, please follow these instructions:

QRZ.com www.qrz.com



UK Repeaters www.ukrepeater.net



Raynet www.raynet-uk.net



Summits on the air www.sota.org.uk BYLARA www.bylara.org.uk Echolink www.echolink.org



Register your details with Clublog at www.clublog.org Click ‘settings’ and then go to the ‘clubs’ tab Select SRS - Stockport Radio Society and click ‘join club’ Your membership of SRS will show as pending until approved by the Administrator

The SRS DXCC League can be viewed from this link http://www.clublog.org/ league.php?club=99

Ham Links www.eham.nets Hack Green SDR www.hackgreen.co.uk

Get your logs in and get yourself on the HF ladder with your chance to win a trophy at the end of the year.

If you have any Links you would like to see on this page please email info@g8srs.co.uk

If you are new to the HF Ladder speak to Pete M1PTR at a club meeting or email info@g8srs.co.uk for further Information.

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Repeaters - www.ukfmgw.co.uk 23cm

Output

RX1

Mode

Location

GB3SE

1297.0750 Mhz

1291.0750 Mhz

Analogue

Stoke on Trent

70cm GB3CR

433.1500 Mhz 434.7500 Mhz Analogue

Caergwrle

GB3LI

433.2500 Mhz 434.8500 Mhz Analogue

Liverpool

GB3LL

434.0000 Mhz 434.6000 Mhz Analogue

Llandudno

GB3MF

433.0500 Mhz 434.6500 Mhz Analogue

**

GB3MR

433.3500 Mhz 434.9500 Mhz Analogue

Disley

GB3PZ

430.9000 Mhz 438.5000 Mhz Analogue

Dukinfield

GB3SM

433.3250 Mhz 434.9250 Mhz Analogue

Stoke on Trent

GB3ST

433.2250 Mhz 434.8250 Mhz Analogue

Stoke on Trent

GB3WP

430.9375 Mhz 438.5375 Mhz Analogue

GB7MN

439.4125 Mhz 430.4125 Mhz DMR

Disley

GB7ST

439.4500 Mhz 430.4500 Mhz DMR

Stoke on Trent

GB7WC

439.4875 Mhz 430.4875 Mhz D-Star

Warrington

GB3MN

Analogue Digital 145.6500 Mhz 145.0500 Mhz C4FM Fusion

Disley

GB3MP

145.7500 Mhz 145.1500 Mhz Analogue

Prestatyn

GB3VT

145.7250 Mhz 145.1250 Mhz D Star

Stoke on Trent

50.7900 Mhz

Stoke on Trent

**

2m

6m GB3SX

51.2900 Mhz

Analogue

** Currently off air awaiting a new site If you use the repeaters on a regular basis, please subscribe to them www.ukfmgw.co.uk. Please check the website to confirm which are currently working 25

SRS DXCC Ladders 2019 Well, here we are again. Another year of Amateur Radio nearing completion and my last report before this year’s competition closes. During the year we have seen an increased use of weak signal modes (e.g. FT8), growing interest in Digital Voice Radio and continued popularity of traditional RF modes. Regardless of the mode used, it’s led to a record number of entrants and confirmation that we are actively using our hobby to make contacts around the world.

Propagation - With a continued lack of sunspots and a Solar Flux of 60-70, making contact on the upper HF bands has been challenging for traditional modes but there’s generally some FT8 activity most days. The lower HF bands have been more reliable and the SRS contest team will tell you that vertical antennas on these bands work very well for DX. VHF propagation saw some high pressure openings to Europe mid-September though generally contacts remained local in the UK. As mentioned before, collecting DXCC points on 2m RF is generally limited to local countries.

However, reception of the International Space Station is excellent when overhead, though I wouldn’t like to call them to ask for their DXCC! HF & 6 DXCC Ladder - The standing at the top of the leader board is unchanged from last time. Pete, M0PTB remains in pole position adding to his score in particular 15m. In second place is Barry, VK2BJ. Keith, 2E0JPY adds a few more points across the bands and remains in third place. I uploaded my holiday log from France (F/M1PTR) just for fun. In my last report I was puzzling what mode to use. In the end I stuck with SSB using 20 & 40m verticals and 100w. I enjoyed some good openings to Africa with QSOs worldwide including several from the UK. It prompted me to get back on air when back at home and beat my F/M1PTR score! Lastly, a warm welcome to Rob, M0ORA recording his activity, mainly on 20m.

2 & 70 DXCC Ladder - Neal, M6NAE jumps into first place, Keith, 2E0JPY keep second place with Carsten, G0SYP in third. I do wonder about the fairness of the VHF ladder as it stands. As mentioned above, getting more than 2 or 3 DXCCs using RF on 2m is rare so the Internet based contacts will always win out. I suggest a rethink of the rules is needed. Let me or Neil have your views and suggestions on changes to level out the playing field for this section of the SRS Ladder.

The awards will be made at the SRS Presentation night in January 2020. If anyone needs help with a submission please drop me an email or catch me or Neil at the club. We’ll be glad to help.

73 and Good Dxing, Pete Ridley, M1PTR

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Stockport Radio Society Walthew House, 112 Shaw Heath, Stockport SK2 6QS Tel : 07506 904422 Email : info@g8srs.co.uk Print Sponsor of QUA, and general printers of all SRS Literature Olympic Press Soapstone Way, Irlam, Manchester M44 6RA Tel : 0161 775 2555 Email : sales@olympicpress.co.uk

Stockport Radio Society are affiliated members of RSGB (Radio Society of Great Britain) and NARSA (Northern Amateur Radio Society Association) 28