Ragchew April to June 2015

GB4BBS AT THE 1ST BEEDING AND BRAMBER SCOUT GROUP FROSTY CAMP

JONATHAN G1EXG’S SHORT CIRCUIT EDMUND G0MNG’S MORSE DIARY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES RALLIES & CLUB DIARY MEMBERS’ SHACKS FREE STUFF

April – June 2015

Worthing & District Amateur Radio Club Established 1948 Website: www.wadarc.org.uk

E-mail: info@wadarc.org.uk President: Chris Smith G3UFS

Life Vice President: Peter Robinson G8MSQ

WADARC meets every Wednesday at 8pm in the Lancing Parish Hall, South Street, Lancing BN15 8AJ. All who have an interest in radio communications and associate subjects, whether a licensed amateur or not, are invited. WADARC can also arrange training for the radio amateur Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced licences.

The WADARC Committee 2014 - 2015 Phil G4UDU Andy M6RFE Dawn 2E0ESK Jonathan G1EXG Peter G4LKW Norman 2E0RKO Andrew G1VUP Andrew 2E0TCB Peter 2E0FVL Dawn 2E0DSK

Chairman Secretary Treasurer Ordinary Member Ordinary Member Ordinary Member Ordinary Member Ordinary Member Ordinary Member Ordinary Member

WADARC Ex Officio 2014 - 2015 Membership Manager Contest Manager Ragchew Editor Website Training Officer

Peter Graham Roger Andrew Andrew

2E0FVL G4FNL G4TNT G1VUP G1VUP

WADARC Club Nets (all times are local) 07.30

Sunday

19.30 11.00

Monday 145.425MHz (V34/S17) Thursday 7.106MHz ± QRM SSB

3.725MHz ± QRM SSB

CONTENTS Editorial .................................................................... 4 Presidential Ponderings ............................................ 6 Chairman’s Chatter .................................................. 7 GB4BBS ................................................................... 8 Members’ Shacks ..................................................... 11 Jonathan G1EXG’s Short Circuits ............................ 12 Edmund G0MNG’s Morse Diary ................................ 14 Free Stuff .................................................................. 20 Mailbag ..................................................................... 25 Committee Meeting Notes ......................................... 26 Rallies ...................................................................... 28 Club Diary ................................................................. 30 3

EDITORIAL elcome once again to the latest edition of Ragchew. It’s a pretty full issue this time so I’d like to start off by thanking everyone who contributed to it. As always, if you have something you’d like to send in, please do. Ragchew would soon become very boring if I wrote everything in it!

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Inside This Issue This issue sees the start of what I hope will be two new regular columns. The first is called Mailbag and it’s for readers’ letters, e-mails, comments and feedback. I’ve introduced it because Ted G3EUE wrote in with some interesting reminiscences about his chance introduction to Morse and I thought there might be others out there who would be willing to send in something similar even if they don’t want to contribute a full article. So, if you have any feedback on Ragchew or anything to do with our Club, a recollection you’d like to share or just something you’d like to say to other members, please do send it in. My e-mail address is roger@radiouser.co.uk The other new column is Members’ Shacks. Pete 2E0FVL sent in a photo of his shack and a list of his equipment and that made me think that other members might want to do the same. I know I find seeing what other people are using interesting and I’m pretty sure others do too. Again, please contribute, even if you just send in a photo of your shack and a list of your equipment. There’s no need to write about it if you don’t want to, just a list will do.

Also in this issue is a report on the special event station GB4BBS at the 1st Beeding and Bramber Scout Group Frosty Camp at the Hillside Campsite in Small Dole. Pete G4LKW and Pete 2E0FVL were there and they kindly sent in some words and photos. If you’re taking part in Club events, please think of Ragchew and take photos and jot down a few notes. Many members who haven’t been able to take part in previous Club events have said they enjoyed reading about them so if you are taking part, please share your experience.

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P Following on from his article about resistors in the last issue, in his Short Circuits column this time Jonathan Hare G1EXG takes a look at capacitors. He also sent in an excellent article on antennas but rather than try to squeeze it into an already packed issue, I’ve held it over until next time so that I can give it the space it deserves. It’s an interesting read so make sure you don’t miss it.

We also have an article that should appeal to radio amateurs, given their reputation for ‘thriftiness’. It’s about a few things you can get for nothing. eAudio and eBooks, digital magazines, expensive software and even an electronic daily newspaper are all available if you know where to look and most are completely free.

We also have the latest instalment of Edmund M0MNG’s account of his progress with learning Morse code. Despite the lack of headway he told us about last time, there has been a breakthrough. Not quite his first full QSO in CW but still a milestone, especially as he had to use his ingenuity to achieve it.

We finish with a rally calendar and the Club Diary. The rally season is just getting started so the calendar should help you plan your trips out and the diary will tell you about our forthcoming events. It’s up to date as of the time of writing but for the latest information, visit the Club’s website. The latest version of the diary can be found at http://www.wadarc.org.uk/cms/index.php/news-andinformation/year.listevents/2015/04/02/As with all the links in this magazine, to save typing, you can simply click on the link above. That will then automatically open your browser and take you directly to the diary page. If for some reason that doesn’t work, just manually open your browser and go to www.wadarc.org.uk and then click on Events Diary in the menu on the right-hand side.

73, Roger G4TNT

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PRESIDENTIAL PONDERINGS t was on a Wednesday when Roger whispered in my ear “It’s that time again”. “What time again?” I mumbled. “Presidential Ponderings” he said so here are my thoughts on matters current. I suppose the first thing to mention is that as we’re moving from winter into spring, now is the time when we should be inspecting our antennas, feeders and so on to see if they need any sort of maintenance work. My main period of radio activity usually starts about now so in between household chores such as cutting grass and hedges and painting things, I’ll be making sure my antenna rotators still rotate and seeing if I can raise my 6m beam a little higher before the Sporadic E season really gets going, usually April/May through to August/September.

Moving on, we have a very interesting program of events and talks lined up this year and thanks must be given to Phil, our very busy and dedicated Chairman, along with others for arranging them. They are, I believe, instrumental in attracting new members and the main reason why ours is the premier club in this area. Plus the fact that we have a good few laughs at our meetings; it’s not all ‘stodge’, sitting in rows and not talking to one another.

Of course, outside events such as Club Breakfasts, Mills on the Air, Selsey Lifeboat Weekend, the Lighthouse at Shoreham weekend, Worthing Fire Brigade Day and SSB Field Day need participation by members willing to give of their time and effort. Please help when and if you can. The monthly Breakfast meet is something I personally look forward to and it would be great if a few more members could extract themselves from their respective beds and attend. It’s very near where the Club meets and it’s only for about an hour!

Regarding the membership, we have recently seen an increase in the number of members and a corresponding increase in the Club’s training program so thanks to Andrew, Phil and Ron for their excellent efforts.

I’m also very glad to see that the badge wearing initiative has taken off. We now have a supply of badges available and they can be designed by wearers to whatever pattern they want so long as the callsign and name are prominent.

I also think that if anyone is seen without a visible badge, a slight nudge should be applied, perhaps with a ‘withdrawing of biscuits at tea time’ threat!

Finally, let’s hope that the summer provides us with some decent weather and, of course, decent conditions for amateur radio and less QRN from some of those confounded ‘broadband noise generators’.

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73, Chris G3UFS

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CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER

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must start by apologising because the delay in publishing this issue of Ragchew is down to me. I should have written this a week or so ago but finding the time has been difficult because I’ve been more busy than usual recently.

A lot has been happening in the Club, including getting new members with Foundation licences plus a number who have upgraded to Intermediate and Advanced licence status. This is a result of Andrew’s training schedule so special thanks must go to him for this.

The meeting schedule remains busy. Juggling the dates to get a good mix of discussion and guest speaker evenings is difficult so we sometimes get a few weeks in between ragchew nights but we do our best to maintain a balance. I still need more talks by club members so please contact me if you are willing to give one. There’s a wealth of experience and expertise amongst Club members and it would be nice if we could share our cumulative knowledge.

In January we had a very successful radio special event station with the Beeding & Bramber Scouts at Small Dole. They have now asked the Club if we can do the same again on Saturday July 4th, with setting up on the evening before and take down on the Sunday. Luckily, this is also the weekend of the RSGB VHF Field Day so if we can get the 2m antenna up on a high mast, we’ll be able to take advantage of the activity for that.

We have the Club Dinner at the Tollgate in Bramber later this month and then there’s the outing arranged by Alan G4GNX. It’s on Wednesday May 20th and it’s to the East Sussex National Resort and Spa at Little Horsted. The trip starts with a meal and then Michael Wooldridge, a top class musician, will play the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ to accompany a 20-minute Buster Keaton silent film. After the film, there will be an opportunity for everyone to inspect the actual innards of the Wurlitzer organ. If you’d like to go, you can put your name on the list at https://doodle.com/4di6npcnq8aaqbkq Alan will need a deposit of £20. This is the full cost of the film and meal – there’ll be nothing else to pay other than for any drinks bought at the bar.

When I look at the club events calendar and attend the SCARF forums to discuss what is happening with radio clubs in the South East, it is very obvious we have more outside radio events than any other club in this area. Please try to find the time to come along and take part in them.

73, Phil G4UDU

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GB4BBS On January 23rd to 25th 2015, the Club manned special event station GB4BBS at the 1st Beeding and Bramber Scout Group Frosty Camp at the Hillside Campsite in Small Dole. Pete G4LKW and Pete 2E0FVL tell us all about it.

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e were invited to set up a station at the Hillside Campsite

by Helen, one of the Scout Leaders. Her father has in recent years gained his foundation license after years of listening so she is very used to the sound of radio.

We arrived at 14:00 on Friday January 23rd to get everything ready for the event and found a good number of members were on site to help with the setting up.

The Shack, Station and Antenna Our shack for the weekend in this purpose-built Scout camp was the duty warden’s office. It adjoins the main room so we could still use the shack while the Scouts were carrying out actives other than radio.

The station we set up was an Elecraft K3 along with its matching tuner and P3 Panadapter, all of which were recently bought by the Club from the estate of John G8FMJ. On the other side of the room we set up a data station so that the Scouts could have the chance to see computers in use. We also had computer logging for the main station. The complete station was all set up and on the air before 18:00.

The antenna was a full-size Windom. Getting it up proved a bit of a challenge but eventually we managed to string it between two trees at about 35ft above the ground. It performed very well even though it had just a little bias towards the southwest, particularly on 40m.

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P It’s possible the Scouts will ask us back in July and if they do, I doubt we will be able to use the trees again because their leaves will be out then. I think we might have to consider using masts instead.

Operating It was a good weekend and we had almost 200 QSOs, mainly on 40 and 80m. The Scouts spent plenty of time on the radio too. In fact, interest from the group and, in particular the youngest section the Beavers (6-8 years), was amazing. When their leaders brought them into the shack, I didn’t expect them to stay very long but they stayed for almost an hour.

Several of the contacts we made were with Scouters, either current or past, and one of them will be sending in a QSL card and a Radio Scouting badge for us to pass on to the Scout Leaders.

Helen (pictured in the background) also had a go and, luckily, on Saturday afternoon she was able to talk to her dad Fred M6FRE, which was a bonus and the icing on the cake for all of us!

The only downside to this event was that we did not have a lot of time to operate on the Sunday but we did finish with a few contacts on 10m, including one to Asiatic Russia.

When we’d finished, as is usual, packing up of the station took a fraction of the time that it took to set it up.

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P Thanks It was great to have so much help from members of the club, including Phil G4UDU, Andrew G1VUP, Bryan G3GVB, Alan G4GNX, Edmund M0MNG, Chris 2E0PML and Brian G0SIU plus, of course, all those who called in via the radio.

Worthy of a special mention are Andrew’s setup for digimodes and Bryan’s for the Morse key, both of which proved very popular with the Scouts.

We’d like to thank everyone from the Hillside Campsite involved in the weekend for their hospitality, the Scouts for showing so much interest in radio and the Leaders for looking after us so well.

There is a chance we could do it again for their Summer Camp – keep an eye on Ragchew and Club’s website.

73, Pete 2E0FVL and Pete G4LKW

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MEMBERS’ SHACKS To kick off an occasional series showing WADARC members’ shacks, Pete 2E0FVL sent in an e-mail listing the equipment that he uses at;

The 2E0FVL Operating Centre at Tangmere Towers

Equipment HF: An Adonis AM-308 desk microphone and a SignaLink USB for data modes used with a Yaesu FT-450D which feeds into a 66ft Windom that’s in a straight line only about 15ft above ground or, for DX, it goes into a ground-mounted Hustler 4-BTV. V/UHF: A Yaesu FT-8800 fed into a Diamond X50 colinear on the chimney.

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G1EXG’S SHORT CIRCUITS This time Jonathan Hare G1EXG takes a look at capacitors.

Short Circuit No. 6: Capacitors

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apacitors store energy and the first capacitors were

made by separating two metal plates by a small insulating gap. If one plate is made a different voltage to the other, charge will flow onto the inside surfaces of the facing plates.

Early capacitors were found to be losing their charge over time and it was hundreds of years before this was completely explained.

Amazingly, part of the reason for the loss is that high energy cosmic rays, which were created billions of miles away in a process occurring deep within our galaxy, were entering and discharging the capacitors!

Capacitance (C) is measured in Farads and the greater the voltage, the greater the charge (Q) given by Q = CV. The voltage is a measure of the energy stored between the plates by these charges.

Typical capacitor values can range from a few pf to 10,000ÎźF and as with resistors, a series of preferred values has been created to provide a practical range.

Recently 'super capacitors' have been produced. They can have values over 100F. Construction and Types If you had to make capacitors using square parallel plates they would be massive. However, if you can insulate long parallel plates, you can then roll them up to get a lot of capacitance into a small volume.

A movable set of parallel plates can be enmeshed to create a variable capacitor, which can then be used in tuned circuits.

Varicap diodes are semiconductor devices whose self-capacitance is dependent on an applied (reverse biased) voltage. These are used in electronically-tuned amplifier stages.

An array of tiny capacitors can be used to store voltages to represent binary numbers (0V = "0", 5V = "1"). Millions of capacitors (each with a transistor 'reader') form the basis of modern computer flash memory cards.

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P In Use If you wire capacitors in series (like a daisy chain), the total capacitance is given by the same formula that’s used for resistors in parallel;

1/C = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + 1/C3 and so on.

If you connect capacitors in parallel (one piggybacked across the other), the total capacitance is simply the sum of all the values, which is the same formula used for resistors in series; C = C1 + C2 + C3 and so on.

73, Jonathan G1EXG

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MORSE TUITION DIARY Edmund M0MNG has been reporting on his attempt to learn Morse code using the memory stick course supplied by Phil G4UDU. In the last instalment he said that although he’d not made much progress, he was feeling optimistic. Now he’s found his optimism was justified.

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am pleased to report that I have now had my first faltering contact in CW. I write “contact” rather than QSO deliberately, and the reason why will become clear. The way in which the contact was achieved is also probably just as notable as the contact itself!

January Tropo The early weeks of January brought a number of good tropospheric openings into Europe, so good that I put up my 5-element 144MHz Yagi in the hope of working some French stations using SSB or FM. I saw that 144.300MHz is taken to be the SSB calling channel even though this part of the band is not channelized as such. The 144.150 to 144.400MHz portion is not exclusive to SSB either as it is acceptable to use CW on those frequencies. However, convention, also known as “the bandplan”, suggests that CW activity really ought to be clustered around 144.050MHz. That’s why I was rather surprised to hear a slow CW CQ call on 144.300MHz on the evening of January 5th 2015. My beam was pointing northwards and as soon as I rotated it by 180 degrees, the initial 539 signal shot up to 599.

The station was F8IQS, operator name Fernand. He called CQ several times, seemingly without reply. I considered calling him using SSB but would he hear and understand me if, for example, he was using a homebrew CW-only transceiver? Worse, would he hear me and stop sending altogether, believing that someone was using the frequency for SSB? No Key! My radio is a Trio TR-9130 with a 3.5mm jack socket for a CW key. The only ‘key’ I had available has a ¼ inch jack on the end of the cable so I couldn’t plug it directly into the Trio. In fact, it’s not really a key; it’s the

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P Heathkit Morse practice oscillator that I bought last year from our very own Pete 2E0FVL. Then I had an idea. I’ve heard of people practicing in a group by sending each other tone-modulated CW using FM on 2m. I reasoned that if it’s possible to do this using FM, then it ought to be possible to send tone-modulated SSB and perhaps F8IQS might even be able to hear and copy it. Using my left hand to hold the fist microphone just above the Heathkit’s loudspeaker and my right hand to do the keying, I very slowly sent: “F8IQS DE M0MNG M0MNG 599 599 SK” I sent SK rather than K or KN because I was not intending to return to him with any more transmissions! I doubted that my CW skills would be good enough to understand his reply.

F8IQS immediately started to send again and, as predicated, I was not able to copy his response but I could tell that he had not sent my callsign back to me.

Silence then followed on 144.300MHz and after a while I began to tune around, believing that he had not heard me. I soon found him again on 144.305MHz but by this point he was working a DL station, who I could also hear.

I didn’t know if Fernand had heard me and replied, with the German station QSYing with us and then calling F8IQS as soon as it became obvious that I wasn’t on the new frequency, or if he had never heard me at all and all his communication had been with the DL station.

Once the QSO with the DL station had finished, I sent the same message as before. F8IQS sent some CW but, once again, I didn’t hear my own callsign and I couldn't copy his message so I didn't know if it was aimed at me or not.

Close But No QSO So my first ‘proper’ CW QSO had eluded me. As I understand it, for a contact to be deemed valid as a QSO, certain pieces of information must be exchanged successfully and acknowledged both on air and at the time. Clearly this had not happened.

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P Nevertheless, I looked up F8IQS on qrz.com and decided to send him a QSL card direct. I included a covering note in French, explaining what I’d done, how and why I did it and that I was a complete beginner in CW. I thought he would like to receive my card because it would have value even as just an SWL report.

I received an extremely enthusiastic reply from Fernand just a few days later, so quickly in fact that he must have written and posted it virtually the same day my card arrived in his letterbox. I had mentioned that a reply via the bureau would be fine!

Successful Contact It turns out that he had heard me on my second attempt; furthermore I was the only UK station that he had heard during the whole of that evening. What he had sent back to me was “UP 5”. “P” is one of the letters I have trouble memorising so that’s my excuse for not understanding!

Here is a very literal translation of Fernand’s handwritten letter: “Dear Edmund, Very best 73. I was delighted to have this QSO with you. I understand your working conditions, and I understood perfectly everything you transmitted.

“CW is so simple that you can do it with a spoon and a fork [I assume Fernand means by tapping one against the other! – M0MNG] “You were, incidentally, the only QSO that I had with England on that evening. In England, like in France, CW operators are becoming rare.

“I encourage you to use CW; you will make contacts that you will never make using voice. Personally, I never use voice. Using CW, I have contacted the South Pole using 5W. “When you called me, we were on 144.300MHz, the calling channel for voice/SSB, so we needed to QSY to another frequency. I transmitted ‘5 up’ to you, meaning QSY to 5kHz higher.

“I thought that you hadn't understood to begin with. A German operator (DL8YE) followed me to 144.305MHz and we had a QSO. Distance between us was about 400 miles.

“Then we had a QSO, you and me, afterwards.

“I take part very often in the ‘English Evening’ every month. [I take it Fernand is talking about the UKAC 144MHz contest on the first Tuesday

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P of the month – M0MNG] I hope to contact you as part of that. I make, on average, 10 to 12 contacts in CW. “I only use CW. I started in 1959 but I had a 33-year break when I didn't do any amateur radio at all.

“Voila, my dear Edmund. With my best wishes, I wish you good operating using CW. Cordially, 73 from F8IQS Fernand.”

QSL Cards As well as sending his own card, he also sent me a couple of additional QSL cards for Special Event Stations (SES) that he has been involved with. That was a stroke of good luck because I do love SES even though F8IQS had no way of knowing this! I'll forgive him for only giving me a 549 report!

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P TM5BBC shows Le Chateau de Creully (Creully Castle) where the BBC established their first studio in France after D-Day. From there, news of the Allies' progress in Normandy was broadcast to the whole world. F8IQS and several of his friends put on an SES at the Chateau around June 6th every year, using both CW and voice. In the past, TM5BBC has been visited by English veterans who landed on Gold Beach. If I can find this SES on 40m and my CW is good enough at the start of June, I would definitely like to get this station in my log.

TM6VER took to the airwaves in 2004 to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day. I gather they used CW only and the SES was a one-off that year rather than being a callsign that reappears every time there is a major D-Day anniversary.

F8IQS and friends made 3,000 QSOs altogether, many of them with British stations. The beach at Ver-sur-Mer is just in front of F8IQS' house – this is the beach that’s known to the Englishspeaking world as Gold Beach. The black and white image that appears on the front of the QSL card was kindly provided by the Imperial War Museum in London.

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P The information about the cards on the previous page comes from my translation of the words on the QSL cards themselves and from Post-It notes that Fernand stuck to the back of them!

Fernand’s Page I urge everybody to have a look at Fernand’s qrz.com page, fans of valves especially. His page is covered with photos of them – there must be several hundred images.

At the very bottom there is a photograph of a drawer filled with unused and unloved microphones!

F8IQS operates exclusively in CW on 160 to 2m inclusive, clearly with a great deal of success.

The Future For my part, the studying continues. I have ordered a small key that’s designed especially for my Yaesu FT-817ND and the goal of working some overseas lighthouses in CW come August still stands.

I really must knuckle down and study more, and do it far more regularly than I have been doing. Regrettably, real life often gets in the way!

Quiz: If A1A is CW, and J3E is SSB, what was I sending?

Suggestions please – I don’t actually know the answer!

73 for now, Edmund M0MNG Phil G4UDU’s Morse Course Some time ago Phil gave out memory sticks to members who, like Edmund, wanted to try to learn Morse code – did you take one of them? If you did, are you still trying? If you’re not, what made you decide to stop? If you’d like to share with other members your experience of trying, just drop me a line at roger@radiouser.co.uk

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FREE STUFF Magazines, books, software and daily newspapers are all available free online if you know where to find them. Here Roger G4TNT tells you where to look and how to get them.

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t was a chance comment that Jonathan G1EXG made in one of his weekly updates on the reflector that gave me the idea for this article. He recommended WebUser magazine and said that it was good value at just £2. I agree, it is an excellent magazine and I read regularly but I don’t pay £2 for it – I read it for nothing. I also read lots of other magazines without paying for them and this saves me several hundreds of pounds a year.

I don’t only read them online, I also download them and keep them on my laptop, desktop, tablet and phone so that I can read them when I’m offline or travelling.

There’s nothing illegal or underhand about what I do because it’s all part of a wonderful service offered by the West Sussex eLibrary. eLibrary I first discovered the eLibrary when I read this announcement, “West Sussex Libraries are excited to announce the launch of eBooks, eAudio, and eMagazines. These services are available for FREE to West Sussex library members.”

I was about to go abroad for a holiday so I visited the website and signed up for an account. I then downloaded a couple of factual eBooks to read on my tablet and three detective eAudio books to listen to on my phone. Having a story read to me while I was sitting on the plane and then when lying in the sun was a very pleasant way of passing the time.

To read eBooks on a tablet, laptop or desktop computer, you have to download and install a free reader program. This is very easy and installation is self-explanatory.

All eAudio books are in MP3 format so they can be listened to on any device that can play these files – phones, iPods, MP3 players and so on.

Books can be borrowed for up to 21 days and after that time they are automatically deleted from your device.

If you want to borrow eBooks and eAudio books, all you have to do is join your local library, which you can do online, and then sign up for an

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P account with the eLibrary. This is a simple process that should take no more than a few minutes. Once you’ve joined the regular library, you simply enter your library card number in one box on the eLibrary site and then give yourself a PIN number in another box. That’s all there is to it.

Once you’ve enrolled, you will have access to thousands of fact, fiction and reference books so there’s bound to be something there you’ll want to read.

Reference There’s much more to the eLibrary. For example, the section called eInformation: The Online Reference Library contains almost every source of reference information you could possibly want. These are just some of the headings for sections you can refer to; Ancestry, CANS Legal Information, Cobra, Dictionaries, The Economist, Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Illustrated London News, the London Gazette, Oxford Music, Oxford Reference, The Times, Which? Online, Who’s Who, the World Burial Index and more.

I used the newspaper archive recently. It’s a section of the website powered by ProQuest and there you can search the contents of more than 300 newspapers, some dating back many years. Almost every national and local newspaper is on there.

I knew that I’d read a particular article in the Daily Mail some years ago but I couldn’t remember when. By simply searching the Mail archives, I found every article they’d written on the subject in about two minutes and the specific one I wanted a minute later.

If there’s anything you need to research, you’ll almost certainly find it in the eLibrary reference section.

Sales Another interesting section deals with sale of surplus and withdrawn library books and audio-visual material that is no longer need by the library for one reason or another. There are all sorts of books, CDs and DVDs for sale at very reasonable prices. The books cover more subjects than I can list here; the CDs are Classical, Easy Listening, Folk/Country, Jazz/Blues and Pop music and the DVDs contain Children’s material, Feature Films and Television Drama.

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P Magazines The most interesting section for most people is the part where you can get free magazines. The West Sussex eLibrary provides over 100 eMagazine titles for library members to choose from and there is no limit on the number of magazines that you can check out nor is there a time limit on how long you can keep them!

The range of titles covers most interests and there seems to be something for everyone there. There are magazines on gardening, classic cars, photography, computers, cycling and so on. My two favourites are New Scientist, which would cost me almost £200 a year if I were to buy every £3.80 weekly issue, and Fortean Times, a quirky magazine that is always an interesting read. I also enjoy Popular Science, National Geographic, Newsweek, Amateur Photographer and a couple of digital photography magazines along with a selection of computer magazines.

I get an e-mail each time a new issue comes out and then all I have to do is visit the Zinio website and download it to my tablet, laptop, desktop or phone – or all of them. I have to go to the Zinio site because the scheme operates in conjunction with them in order to make the issues compatible with all devices.

Links Although getting books, magazines and so on is very easy, it would take me pages to talk you through it here so I’ll just provide the links that will get you to the starting pages. If you’d like me to go into more detail in future issues of Ragchew, just let me know and I will. eLibrary Main Page: www.westsussex.gov.uk/libraries/elibrary Reference Section www.westsussex.gov.uk/libraries/elibrary/einformation-the-onlinereference-library Magazines https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/libraries/elibrary/borrow-emagazines

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P Daily Mail I know many people like to get away from the news when they’re on holiday but there are some who, like me, miss their daily newspaper while they’re away, not just for the news but also for the crossword, quizzes and so on.

I read the Daily Mail and getting it is not a problem if I’m in one of the southern states in America because they print a version of it in Florida and distribute it quite widely. However, it costs about $4.

When I’m in other countries, I can look for a newsagent that stocks the paper but even if I do manage to find one, it usually stocks just a couple of copies for regular customers so I often miss out.

I’ve now solved this problem by getting the digital version of the full newspaper delivered every morning. It doesn’t matter where I am in the world, it automatically pops up on my tablet every day.

Free to Regular Readers The usual price of a digital subscription is about £120 a year but there is a way of getting it for about half that or for nothing extra if you normally buy the paper every day.

If you’re a regular Daily Mail reader, you might have noticed some numbers printed on the back page. These are lottery numbers and if they match the numbers printed inside the paper, you can win up to £5,000.

From talking to other Mail readers, I’ve found that most haven’t realised that these numbers are also a way of collecting points and those points can be used to claim benefits such as £25 vouchers for various large retailers, days out, flowers and much more. All you have to do is open a free account on the MyMail website and enter those numbers every day. When you reach the required number of points, you can claim the reward.

For me, the most interesting reward is the digital subscription. All you have to do to claim it is enter the numbers from 16 different daily editions in any given month. Once you’ve done that, you’ll then get a digital subscription for the whole of the following month.

It might not be free but if you’re a regular reader, it will save you money because instead of buying a Daily Mail every day, you can now

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P buy just 16 a month and have a digital version delivered every day, saving you about half the money you’d usually spend buying issues.

The digital version of the Daily Mail is only available on tablets, not smartphones, laptops or desktop computers.

The MyMail website can be found at www.mymail.co.uk Free Adobe Software At a recent Club meeting someone (sorry, I’ve forgotten who it was) told me that they were using a ‘borrowed’ version of Photoshop, which is part of Adobe Creative Suite (CS). We use paid-for versions of CS in our art department as there really isn’t anything better for producing magazines.

I also use it at home but I didn’t pay for it because it’s now freely available legally. CS2 is a legacy version so it’s not the latest one (CS6) but it is a genuine Adobe product, available from the Adobe website and it’s the full suite. It contains Acrobat 3D, Acrobat Standard 7.0, Acrobat Pro 7.0 (which lets you edit PDFs), After Effects, Audition 3.0, GoLive, Illustrator, InCopy, InDesign, Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro. Official Serial Numbers On their website, Adobe say that this suite is entirely free and they give you official serial numbers you can use. Authentication isn’t needed as Adobe have switched off their verification servers for this version.

However, they do say that although it is free, the suite is meant to be an additional service for existing customers who legally bought a license for Adobe CS2. We did, just as we have for every version since, so we’re fine but anyone else who downloads the suite and uses it with the supplied serial numbers is probably not keeping to the spirit of this offer unless, of course, they bought CS2 at some time in the past.

Adobe ID To get CS2, you need an Adobe ID. Simply go to Adobe.com and sign up for a free account, just the usual e-mail address and password. They then become your Adobe ID and you can use them to sign in and download all the programs in the suite from: https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/cs2-product-downloads.html

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MAILBAG Morse Recently, I bought some books at a Club meeting, thinking that they might be a good read. One of them was an updated history of the First Class Operators Club which was formed in the late 1930s and is, as I am sure many members know, a specialist group of competent active CW operators. Browsing through it I came across references to the name LH Thomas G6QB, an early pre-war member.

‘Tommy’ Thomas lived at Thornton Heath, which adjoins Norbury (North Croydon), where I lived. In the Thirties, one of my activities was a local Scout group, which continued after I left school and I maintained regular contact with several troop friends through weekend camping at Forest Row. G6QB used to appear at meetings and was known to us as ‘Radio’ Tommy so I presume he used to teach Morse. My activity then was Semaphore!

One evening a group of us got together for some reason or another and Tommy came in to talk to us. This would have been towards the end of 1940 and he was in uniform. He said that we were all approaching the stage of military call-up when there would be no choice of destination but if we were interested in doing something where one worked as an individual, then perhaps we should consider signals, irrespective of the branch of the Services.

One way around the selection problem was to volunteer beforehand. If successful, then one got one’s choice. If not, then one waited to be called up. I’d had several years of army cadets at school and didn’t like it very much so I volunteered for the RAF by joining the RAFVR. The following April I was learning Morse at Blackpool and then at Compton Bassett. Eventually, somehow, I became involved with amateur radio and took out my licence in 1948.

It is an interesting thought that but for a casual conversation some 75 years ago, I probably would not be penning these few word now.

Ted G3EUE

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COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES The Committee has agreed to publish short notes taken from the minutes to keep Club members up to date with its discussions. These notes are from the meeting that was held on February 10th 2015. Present at this meeting were: Phil Godbold G4UDU, Chairman Jonathan Hare G1EXG Ordinary Member Dawn Manning 2E0DSK Ordinary Member Sally Holland, Treasurer Peter Penycate 2E0FVL, Membership Secretary

Andy Braeman M6RFE, Secretary Peter Head G4LKW Ordinary Member Andrew Cheeseman Ordinary Member Norman Jacobs 2E0RKO

Chairman’s Report.

The meeting started with the Chairman’s Report. This covered a possible club dinner at Singing Hills Golf Course that’s being investigated by Alan G4GNX, the high-power ATU being offered for sale to club members and the sale of the Club’s Icom IC756. He also said that Club meetings are now planned through April and May 2015 and he will not be available for two weeks in March, much of June and he might be away in September too.

Secretary‘s Report The Secretary then reported on the difficulties he’s encountered with the Club Reflector that were preventing him from receiving e-mails.

Treasurer‘s Report The Treasurer reported that the Club’s bank account balance has decreased due to the purchase of John Slater’s Elekraft equipment for use by the Club.

Ragchew The Committee was told that more articles for publication are still required and Andy Braeman M6RFE agreed to provide an article on constructing a G4UDU antenna.

Dawn Manning raised the requirement for printed copies of Ragchew.

Membership The Membership Secretary said that the club membership now stands at 65.

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Website The Members Only section of the Club’s website is not yet available but it will be enabled by Andrew Cheeseman.

Andrew also recommended that all committee members should have the ability to edit the website.

Publicity Phil Godbold suggested a mail drop to local amateurs who are not currently Club Members.

Peter Penycate suggested possible entries in local newspapers with a ‘What’s On’ section.

Phil Godbold suggested that contact be made with the Worthing Youth Council and he will give Andrew Cheeseman the contact details.

Clubroom Events The Chairman asked the committee members if they could give talks or if they knew of anyone else who could. Jonathan Hare G1EXG offered to give a talk on PICs or 3D printing.

Contests and Special Events An entry for the PW QRP contest was discussed.

The SSB Field Day planning phase will take place in June. Phil Godbold will be available to assist with setting up the station but he will be unavailable following that. Graham Bubloz will also not be available but Alastair Weller and Andrew Cheeseman will be available to assist.

The Scouts have expressed interest in the club providing a station at an event in June.

Phil Godbold raised the ‘Work All Britain’ event in July.

Training An advanced exam will be taking place on March 7th 2015.

Both a Foundation and an Intermediate course and exam have now been scheduled Next Meeting It was then agreed that the next meeting will be held on April 28th 2015.

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RALLIES APRIL 12th – 31st Yeovil QRP Convention Digby Hall, Hound Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AA 12th – Blackpool Rally Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, Blackpool FY2 9AA 19th – Andover Radio and Computer Boot Sale Wildhern Village Hall, near Andover, Hampshire SP11 0JE 19th – Kempton Rally Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury on Thames TW16 5AQ 25th – Sandford Mill Museum International Marconi Day Sandford Mill, Sandford Mill Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 6NY 26th – Cambridge Repeater Group Rally Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton CB22 6RN M AY 3rd – Scottish Highland Radio Rally Aviemore Primary School and Community Centre, Aviemore PH22 1SF 3rd – Dambusters Hamfest Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Coningsby, Lincolnshire LN4 4PE 4th – Dartmoor Radio Rally Tavistock College, Crowndale Road, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8DD 10th – British Vintage Wireless Society Vintage Communications Fair Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, Fosse Way, Leamington Spa CV31 1XN 10th – Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club Annual Rally Share Centre, Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh BT92 0EQ N. Ireland 15-17th – Dayton Hamvention Hara Arena, Dayton, Ohio, USA 17th – Dunstable Downs RC National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale Stockwood Park, Luton

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P 17th – Weston Radio Rally Old Pumping Station, Westonzoyland, Somerset TA7 0LS 23rd – Rochdale & DARS Summer Flea Market Indoor Sale St Vincent de Paul’s, Caldershaw Rd, Norden, Rochdale OL12 7QR 31st – Black Country Radio Rally Portway Lifestyle Centre, Newbury Lane, Oldbury, W. Midlands B69 1HE

JUNE 6th – Sussex Electronics & Radio Fair Eastbourne Sports Park, Cross Levels Way, Eastbourne, E. Sussex BN21 2UF 7th – Central Scotland Mini Ham Radio Convention Crofthead Farm Community Centre, Templar Rise, Livingston EH54 6DG 7th – Spalding & DARS Annual Rally The Sir John Gleed Technology School, Halmer Gardens, Spalding PE11 2EF 14th – Junction 28 QRP Rally Alfreton Leisure Centre, Church Street, Alfreton, Derbyshire DE55 7BD 14th – Ipswich Radio Rally The Orwell Crossing Lorry Park, A14 Eastbound, Nacton, Ipswich IP10 0DD 20th – South Lancs Summer Rally Bickershaw Labour Club, Bickershaw Lane, Bickershaw, Wigan WN2 5TE 21st – Newbury Radio Rally Newbury Showground, next to J13 of the M4 21st – Barnsley Lamfest Radio Rally Building 21, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8HJ 26-28th – Hamtronic Show Friedrichshafen Messe, Friedrichshafen, Germany 28th – West of England Radio Rally Cheese & Grain, Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BE

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CLUB DIARY APRIL 1st .......................... Home Construction Part 3 – Ron Bravery G3SKI 5th .......................... Monthly breakfast meeting at the Rainbow Café 8th .......................... Truleigh Hill Radar Station – Roy Taylor 15th ........................ LF & HF Antennas – Peter Dodd G3LDO 22nd ....................... Discussion Evening 25th ........................ Intermediate Course and Exam 26th ........................ Intermediate Course and Exam 29th ........................ Club Meal at the Old Tollgate, Bramber ...............................

MAY 3rd .......................... Monthly breakfast meeting at the Rainbow Café 6th .......................... Introduction to Working DX – Keith G3VKW 10th ........................ Mills on the Air – High Salvington 13th ........................ Discussion Evening 20th ........................ Meal at the East Sussex National Hotel and Spa 27th ........................ GX3WOR On-The-Air Evening

JUNE .....................

3rd .......................... Radio Quiz – Bob G3VXJ and Phil G4UDU 7th .......................... Monthly breakfast meeting at the Rainbow Café 10th ........................ Discussion Evening 24th ........................ GX3WOR On-The-Air Evening

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