Surface Mount Electronics and Soldering Techniques By Alan G4GNX
Jonathan G1EXG looks at how cascode amplifiers work and explains why they are often used in preselectors.
April – June 2016
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 2015 - 2016 Andrew Cheeseman Alan Baker Andy Braeman Sally Holland Jonathan Hare Peter Head Norman Jacobs Alastair Weller Bodie Goodall Peter Penycate
G1VUP G4GNX M6RFE SWL G1EXG G4LKW 2E0RKO M0OAL 2E0VRM 2E0FVL
Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary Treasurer Press & Publicity Coordinator Outside Events Coordinator Quartermaster Content Coordinator Training Coordinator Membership Manager
These Members have volunteered to accept these responsibilities for 2015 - 2016 Contest Manager Ragchew Editor Website Website
Graham Bubloz Roger Hall Andrew Cheeseman Alastair Weller
G4FNL G4TNT G1VUP M0OAL
WADARC Club Nets (all times are local) 07.30
Sunday
3.725MHz Âą QRM SSB
19.30
Monday
145.425MHz (V34/S17)
11.00
Thursday
7.106MHz Âą QRM SSB
CONTENTS Editorial ........................................................... 4 Chairman’s Chatter ......................................... 6 Presidential Ponderings ................................... 8 SMD Soldering Techniques by Alan G4GNX ........ 10 Short Circuits by Jonathan G1EXG ......................... 17 Committee Meeting Notes ............................... 20 Club Calendar for April .................................... 22 Rallies ............................................................. 25
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EDITORIAL
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elcome once again to the latest edition of Ragchew. At last I’m back on schedule and this, the April to June issue, is actually out on time at the beginning of April. It’s been a bit of a rush but it’s been worth it because I can now take my time with the next one and make sure it’s packed full. That shouldn’t be too difficult because the Club has lots of activities planned for the next few months and I’ve been promised plenty of words and pictures. In This Issue This time the main article is on soldering and surface mounted devices. Following a very successful Club evening that was devoted to soldering, Alan G4GNX was inspired to send in an article on the subject but it was so comprehensive that I couldn’t fit it into the last issue so I had to hold it over until this time. If you’re thinking about dabbling with SMDs, be sure to read Alan’s article before you start. In his regular Short Circuits column Jonathan Hare G1EXG takes a look at how cascode amplifiers work and explains why they are often used in preselectors. He also shows you a simple circuit for one along with photos of the one he uses in his shack. The rally season has just started so I’ve included a complete list of rallies for April, May and June for those of you who like to plan ahead. The list for the following three months will appear in the next issue. One rally that could be of special interest to members is the new fairly local one on June 4/5th at the Eastbourne Sports Park. I know several members have said that there should be a rally in Sussex so it will be interesting to see if this one succeeds.
There’s also a list of Club activities for the next three months so you can put the ones that you don’t want to miss in your diary. In their respective columns, both Chris G3UFS and Andrew G1VUP have mentioned the Club’s new Windom antenna and the proposed 70cm repeater. The new antenna hasn’t been up for long but it already looks like a success and members have been using it. If you don’t have a good setup at home or can’t erect a decent antenna, you now have the opportunity to come along to an On the Air evening and operate using the Club’s radio and a good antenna.
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The proposed 70cm repeater could be a great way for members to keep in touch with each other. It will have good local coverage and users inside its area should be able to access it with just a cheap handheld. I’ve dug out a radio in anticipation. Ragchew The future format of Ragchew has been discussed at several Committee meetings recently and now Andrew has mentioned it in his column. The suggestion is that it should be incorporated into the Club’s website so that it can be updated regularly to ensure it contains more up-to-date news and articles. A problem with all publications is that they always contain old information. For example, daily newspapers publish yesterday’s news, articles in monthly magazines are written about six weeks before they’re published and those in quarterly magazines are even older. On the other hand, articles and news on websites can be published instantly. However, there is more to it than just the age of the content. Ragchew is a separate entity and we have to decide if it should stay that way or if it should be integrated into the Club’s website. Quite some time ago the suggestion was made that we should stop publishing a paper version of Ragchew, which we used to do for those members who don’t use the internet or who just prefer to read it on paper. Members never did get to make a decision because we were overtaken by events with the sad demise of Steve Glew, who used to provide very cheap printing. That meant we no longer had the option of supplying a printed version of Ragchew because we couldn’t find another source of really cheap printing so the cost would have been too high. This time, members will be able to make a decision so if you have any thoughts on the subject, please make sure you read Andrew’s column because he has posed some interesting questions and then try to make it to the meeting on May 4th, which is when there will be a discussion on the future of Ragchew. 73, Roger G4TNT
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CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER ello fellow members. As I’m writing this edition of Chatter, I see that WADARC has 84 members, which make me a very happy custodian of the Club. Also at the time of writing, I’m looking at my Zepp, which was broken in the mad winds we had over Easter. Mike G4TSQ and Christine G4WYL had their tower break and other members have told me about their broken aluminium. Let’s hope we don’t see winds like that again for some time.
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New Antenna As you probably already know, the clubhouse antenna has been replaced with a Windom. I would like to offer our thanks to Alan, Phil, Norman and Bob for their hard work in getter the job done and to Les for his help with steering the application through the Parish Council. Calendar I have been looking at the calendar that Bodie and Alastair have put together and it looks like we will have a lot fun outside things going on this summer, starting with what’s shaping up to be a very competitive fox hunt on Wednesday April 6th. 70cm Repeater I’m very excited about the application we have in for a 70cm repeater. For those of you who have not been to the Club meetings recently, we are in the final stages of getting approval for a 70cm analogue repeater that will be sited on the Parish Hall. I truly believe an analogue repeater will become a focal point for the on air presence of the club. Although It will have a limited range, it should encompass most of our local members. You can also read our President’s thoughts on it in his Ponderings in this issue. Ragchew I mentioned at a meeting recently that I wanted input from the members regarding the future format of Ragchew so with this in mind, I would like to dedicate some of the meeting on May 4th to discussing this topic. This is because I would like to suggest some alternatives to the current way Ragchew is published and to find out what members want in the future.
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C Many years ago, the most common way people got their news and information was from the printed word. Today they can choose from many more sources, including the internet, which has become a major source of this information. WADARC has seen the effect of this phenomena with the increase in the number of people applying for training and joining the Club. Building on the hard work of Martin, John and Alastair, over the last four years we’ve worked on improving the website and turning it into today’s incarnation and I believe that this has been the reason of the increase in the number of members and applications for training. For a website to be visited regularly the content has to be current. At the moment, there is a delay getting content into Ragchew, which makes some of it out of date when we do publish it. Therefore, I would like the club to consider moving the concept of Ragchew to the web with all the articles and other items being published on our website. To do this, we as a Club would have to answer the following questions and unless we can come up with good answers to these questions, we do not move forward.
■ Who is going to be responsible for providing and chasing the content? ■ Who is going to be responsible for managing and editing the content? ■ How do we present it for users who like printed content? ■ How do we ensure the legacy of Ragchew is not lost? I do not want Ragchew die because it has an amazing legacy but I do want Ragchew to evolve into the public face of WADARC. Finally On a personal note, I’m off on holiday on April 15th and when I return, I will be out and about over the south east with a portable setup. Until the next Chatter, good DX and 73, Andrew G1VUP
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PRESIDENTIAL PONDERINGS
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i Everyone and welcome once again to my Ponderings or, as some might say, ‘Witterings’. So, as you read this, visualise me sitting at my desk, removing my hair by the fistful as I’m trying to think of something original to say. Windom I was very pleased to hear that the new Windom antenna has been erected on the roof of the Parish Hall. As yet, although Norman has received reasonable signals from it. I believe the antenna has yet to be finally checked for VSWR and other parameters. Maybe now some of our new members will be able to cut their teeth with the Club’s K3 and get some reasonable DX under their belts. 70cm Repeater On the subject of things about to happen, it would appear that the Club is about to get frequencies allocated so that we can operate a small lowpower UHF repeater from the Parish Hall, utilising our somewhat redundant VHF/UHF antenna that is in situ. As yet it remains to be seen whether Club members will have the requisite UHF transceivers in their possession or if they will be required to obtain equipment. Whichever is the case, the proposed repeater, which will essentially be for local use, will have restricted coverage. This should present the Club with a very handy means of keeping members active and informed. Hoarding It’s a funny thing but all radio amateurs I know hoard things just like magpies. Things are kept on the premise that “One day this might be useful!” I have just been clearing out my very dilapidated shed because it is due to be dismantled and a number of things that I’d completely forgotten about resurfaced, only to be thrown away again, this time permanently! However, I must admit to keeping some pieces of multi-cored cable in the hope of either using it or giving it away at Club meetings.
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C With a Junk Sale evening coming up soon, be aware, you might be tempted by bits you feel you really need or consider keeping for that time in the future when, “I might need this!” Spring Changing tack now, it seems that spring may have arrived at last. Although, as I pen this on Easter Saturday, the weather forecast predicts very strong winds and rain, so a quick check of the antenna farm will be carried out as soon as I have finished this ‘ink slinging exercise’. I have to admit that as I get older, I find that winters really get me down. I sort of feel continuously cold so the warmer weather is very welcome. Radio Activity Once again I have to admit that my radio activities have recently been virtually non-existent because so many other activities seem to take precedence these days. However, I am hoping to be able to reactivate my 4 and 6m equipment very soon because there are a couple of contests coming up. The first is a 70MHz cumulative contest from 0900 to 1200 on April 3rd and after that there’s a 50MHz cumulative contest over the same times on Sunday April 10th. Then there’s the onset of the Sporadic E season that I’m hoping will be starting sometime towards the end of April and the beginning of May. It would be nice to hear some of our newer members activating these VHF frequencies and finding out for themselves just how interesting they can be. 73 and 88s for now, Chris G3UFS
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PRACTICAL Surface Mount Electronics and Soldering Techniques Following the excellent soldering sessions that were held in our clubroom recently, Alan G4GNX thought that a few helpful hints about soldering surface mount devices (SMD) might be useful.
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lthough SMD technology has been around for quite a while, for much of that time it’s been in parallel with ‘through hole’ construction, which has been the major method of producing printed circuit boards since they were first invented. Recently, however, SMD has dominated the electronics scene and since the advent of cheap tools, it is now well within the grasp of radio amateurs and other electronics hobbyists. There’s now a good case for all new construction to use SMD because it saves drilling as many holes in the PCB and if you purchase your boards ready-made, this will reduce the cost. Equipment There are four major things you will need and they can all be found on eBay. The item numbers in blue are links, just click on them to be taken to the eBay page. The first is a hot air soldering station. Very rarely can you obtain good results with a normal soldering iron, especially if you don’t have a very steady hand! An adequate hot air device can be obtained for under £30, which is less than the cost of a good temperature controlled soldering iron. I use one of these 380886340960 but if this link expires, just type 858D into the eBay search box and you should find plenty on offer at varying prices.
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C The second thing you’ll need is something to help you see the components such as a good magnifying glass, a jeweller’s loupe or a pair of magnifying glasses – ideally, you should buy all three items. If you want the best and most convenient, you can buy an illuminated magnifier for bench mounting from Rutlands for under thirty quid. www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+magnifying-glass-with-light+DK1300?tyah=y If you already wear spectacles, you can buy a set of clip-on flip-up glasses, 271694072218. Next you’ll need a pair of fine point tweezers, preferably the reverse action type. 271137011567 will find a pair of these for under £3.50. Then there’s an anti-static mat at 391272106780 for under a fiver and preferably an anti-static wrist strap too. You will also need these smaller items. Liquid flux (171939395617), some solder paste (111640530095 or 161651151135), some de-soldering wick (351437274356) and possibly a conventional solder sucker. Along with those, you’ll need a soft tooth brush, cotton buds (Q tips), some board/flux cleaner (usually based on isopropyl alcohol) and a few old commercial electronics SMD boards that you won’t mind ruining while you’re practising component removal. It’s also worth building some practice kits to help you gain confidence with construction. Alastair M0OAL has some of these at £1 each for club members or take a look on eBay at 111820826792. Finally, you will definitely need a bucket of patience! Precautions When handling solder, be aware that some solders contain lead, which is considered to be harmful, so you might want to consider wearing gloves. If you’re asthmatic, you might also want to wear a mask to guard against
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C breathing in irritating fumes. It’s also good practice to wear safety glasses to prevent hot particles from damaging your eyes. In addition, always read, understand and follow the instructions and warnings that came with your tools and components. When handling electronic components, especially ICs (chips), it’s very important to observe anti-static precautions. If you don’t, no doubt some components will probably work okay at first but then they might start to fail without warning. The reason is that static electricity builds up to several thousand volts within your body and it will discharge via the components, even in air. CMOS parts are particularly susceptible to static charges and when viewed under a microscope, internal components can look like they’re littered with bomb craters! The build-up of static is made worse by the use of man-made fibre so it’s a good idea not to wear any nylon clothing, including underwear, or sit in a room with a nylon carpet! Even if you think you have a static-clean environment, you should always use an anti-static mat and a wrist strap that’s been specially constructed for Antistatic mat and straps. the job. The mat and wrist strap are electrically conductive and connect to mains earth via a large value resistor to conduct static charges safely away. Never, ever connect your body to the mains earth directly! It’s always good practice to use anti-static mats whenever you are handling any components and PCBs because they are generally soft and non-reflective, which helps you visually and prevents components from bouncing off shiny surfaces. Getting Started The best way to learn and to get a feel for the tools is to practice removing components from an old circuit board. Perhaps start with a capacitor or a resistor, then progress to a multi-pin chip. Don’t be tempted to start with a large multi-pinned chip just because it looks like fun and presents a challenge.
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C Start by setting the air flow at about 75% then adjust the nozzle temperature on your hot-air station to A multimeter with a about 300⁰ C. If you want to be really accurate and temperature probe. set the actual temperature where the air hits the component and board, you can use a cheap multimeter with a temperature probe. Point the nozzle at the component to be removed and lower it to within about 15mm. With very small components you can keep the nozzle steady but with the larger components you will need to keep the nozzle moving across each pin or leg, usually in a circular motion. It is essential to get the solder to melt simultaneously on every pin otherwise the component will not detach. If you find that the hot air does not spread sufficiently, you can increase the airflow. Observe the solder (use a magnifier) and you should see it melt and change colour slightly. When this occurs, remove the heat and then you can either pick up the component with your tweezers, flick it off the board with a suitable implement (not recommended because it can drag solder across the tracks and you’ll have a mess to clean up) or if you’re very fast, you can turn the board upside down and watch the component disappear into oblivion. Whichever method you use, you need to be reasonably quick or the solder will cool and re-stick the component to the board and you’ll have to reapply the heat. Remember that the idea is to remove the component as cleanly as possible without damaging the board underneath. The old component is not important and (relatively) cheap and you should never try to reuse it so it doesn’t matter if it gets damaged in the process. Do not touch the old component with your fingers, it will be very hot! It’s good practice to clean the board afterwards with isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush. Soldering Once you’ve gained some confidence, you’ll probably want to replace the old component or perhaps start building your own project. The first rule
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C for this is absolute cleanliness. If your PCB is a bit grubby, clean it as above. If it’s new, bright and the tracks are shiny, you can skip this step. However, you must apply liquid flux to every pad that your component is going to contact. Flux is a cleaner and it prevents oxidisation during the soldering process. Some suppliers give you a plastic pipette, which makes it very economical to apply the flux, otherwise you can apply it with a cotton bud (Q tip) but this is more wasteful. Applying solder paste to the same pads is usually done with a cotton bud. You don’t need huge dollops of the stuff, just enough to give the pads an even coating. A possibly preferable alternative is to apply flux to the board and solder paste to the component pins. Try both methods and see which one suits you best. The component needs to be placed on the appropriate pads very carefully and precisely, taking care to centre the pins centrally on the pads. Be aware that some components are polarity sensitive and your PCB should be marked accordingly. With multi-pin chips (usually in a square configuration) there will usually be a white dot or triangle in one corner or sometimes a figure ‘1’. With the dot towards you and placed bottom–left, pin 1 is the first bottom left pin and should be placed on the PCB on the pad which will be marked with a similar symbol, often a figure ‘1’ but sometimes a white dot. If you make and etch your own PCBs, you should always mark the polarity/orientation of components on the board. Before you start, a word of warning – you should reduce the air flow to about 30% and then try a couple of dry runs on an old board with similar components and no flux or solder. This is to make sure the air flow isn’t set so high it blows the component(s) off the board! You can then try increasing the air flow until it does move a component and then back it off by at least 10%. Now that you’ve double-checked that your component is in exactly the right place, you are ready to apply hot air. As with component removal, hold the nozzle squarely above the component pins and lower it to within 15mm. With 2- or 3-pin components you can apply heat to one end and
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C then the other but with multi-pin components you should start at any single position and keep the nozzle moving round all of the pins in a circular motion to avoid causing hot-spots on the board or component. Observe the pins, pads and solder and watch for the solder to melt and flow across each pad. Once this process starts, keep the heat applied for a few more seconds and then remove the nozzle. You will now need your bucket of patience! Do not be tempted to touch the board or component for at least a full minute and don’t be tempted to blow on the solder to cool it because the chances are you’ll blow the component out of position. After everything has cooled down, you can visually inspect the solder for integrity and just as an added precaution, you might want to use a multi-meter to check continuity between each pin and its associated pad and track. The solder should be well-defined and rounded with no pits or holes and it should be bright in colour. It should never be matt grey or crazed, which is an indication of a dry joint, which means that the joint between pin and pad is unlikely to be electrically sound. If you find any doubtful joints, you should apply a small amount of flux and then reapply the heat to that pin or pad. Also check between the pins for solder bridges. These can be removed by reapplication of heat or with a scalpel blade. For really heavy bridges, apply solder wick to the bridge and use a very fine point soldering iron applied to the wick to suck the solder off the board. Inspect the pins either side of where the bridge was located because you might need to apply more flux, solder paste and heat to dry joints. Cleaning Up Once all components are safely soldered in place, it’s always good practice to clean the PCB with a good quality flux cleaner/remover. Use a toothbrush between components but be careful not to scrub so hard that you remove any silk-screening marks from the board. As a final touch of professionalism to a completed project PCB, you might want to protect the solder and tracks from oxidising and becoming dull. This can be achieved by painting on a solder mask – the green stuff
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C you see on top of most circuit boards. It’s a thin lacquer-like layer that is usually applied to the printed circuit board for protection against oxidation and to prevent solder bridges from forming between closely spaced solder pads. It can be bought as a liquid that you paint on, a UV-curable ink or as a thin dry film.
There’s a good discussion about the use of differently coloured solder masks on this site – yes, they do come in several colours other than the usual green. http://andybrown.me.uk/2015/01/05/pcb-colours
A pcb with a purple solder mask. It’s for a vape box mod and it’s from a prototyping service that specialises in providing individual boards for projects. https://oshpark.com
73, Alan G4GNX
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G1EXG’S SHORT CIRCUITS This time Jonathan Hare G1EXG takes a look at how cascode amplifiers work and explains why they are often used in preselectors.
Short Circuit No.11: The Cascode Amplifier
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receiving preamp can be a useful device to boost weak signals. Tuned circuits should always be included before and after the preamp, to provide good selectivity, that is, to minimise receiver problems with strong out of band signals. A tuned preamp is often called a preselector. There are many preamp circuits that use a single transistor or FET. However high gains can limit frequency range (the Miller effect) and at VHF and UHF instabilities can arise that often calls for special adjustment (neutralisation). A typical cascode circuit diagram.
Cascode Amplifier The Cascode amplifier is an interesting two transistor circuit that overcomes a lot of these problems. Each transistor uses a different amplifier circuit configuration (usually a common source amplifier followed by a common gate amplifier), resulting in a more versatile amplifier with much better specifications. Developed in the 1930s, its name is derived from its initial application, which was to mimic a pentode circuit from two triodes: CASCaded triodes having similar characteristics to a pentODE.
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This arrangement produces a high gain, wide band, high input impedance and a high frequency response. In addition, the Cascode circuit configuration creates very little coupling between the input and output so it is also very stable. A dual gate MOSFET amplifier acts as a simplified one transistor basic cascode. I recently made an 80m band Cascode preselector to add a bit more RF gain to my homemade direct conversion (DC) receiver because although DC receivers can be very selective, they tend to be a bit deaf compared to a superhet. I’ve been using a 2N3819 FET pre-selector for years and have found it extremely effective but the Cascode amp is noticeably better - I am really happy with it. The two transistors in the Cascode should be matched. I used a U257 device that contains two identical FETs in one package. Because the transistors are effectively stacked in series, the supply needs to be higher than normal (for example, 18V instead of 9V). If you suffer from high noise, a Cascode pre-amp could be useful for boosting the weak signals from a small receiving loop (or ferrite rod antenna) turned to null out the local noise source.
Inside my 80m band cascode preselector. 18
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This is my 80m band DC receiving setup under the IC-706. The Cascode pre-selector is on the left and the DC receiver is to the right.
73, Jonathan G1EXG
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COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES The Committee has agreed to publish short notes taken from the minutes of its meetings in order to keep Club members up to date with its discussions. Chairman’s Report. The Chairman reported that the club now has its highest level of membership for a number of years and that it is in a good position financially. Secretary’s Report The secretary reported on the timing and distribution of minutes to the committee. Treasurer’s Report The treasurer reported on the current balance in the Club’s bank account and the anticipated expenditure and income. A copy of the accounts was presented. Andrew Cheeseman advised that he has chosen not to be a club signatory. The cost of the HF antenna hardware and installation at Lancing Parish Hall was discussed. Programme of Events The program of events is now complete up to the beginning of 2017. The frequency of Discussion Nights and On the Air Evenings was raised. A direction finding (DF) antenna construction evening was suggested ahead of the start of the DF events that start in April. Ragchew It was agreed that a Club evening would be allocated to discuss the future of Ragchew. There was then a discussion about potential Ragchew content and the possible publication on the Club’s website of the content.
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RALLIES Membership The Membership Secretary reported that the club currently has 80 paid members, which represents an increase of 7 on the previous month. It was reported that this is the best level of membership since 2010. Website Jonathan Hare requested access to the club website in order to upload his Short Circuit articles. It was reported that the new website format has continued to attract interest in the Club. The possible uploading of historic Ragchew articles was discussed. Publicity The design of a Club leaflet or flyer for issue to the public at special events was discussed. Alan Baker confirmed that he has access to a designer who would be able to undertake the task. Contests and Special Events The Club’s attendance at the forthcoming scout event was discussed. Details relating to the Mills on the Air weekend were also discussed, as was the possibility of Club representation during VHF field day. Training Alastair Weller raised the shortage of trainers, in particular for Foundation courses. Students are booked for forthcoming Foundation and Intermediate courses with a possible change of date for the Intermediate course being proposed. Equipment A spreadsheet detailing equipment owned by the club has now been completed. The purchase of an antenna analyser was agreed and its use by Club members discussed. Any Other Business The signing over of the Club callsign to Alan Baker was discussed. An update on the proposed club 70cm repeater was given. Phil Godbold is to supply suitable equipment.
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RALLIES 2016 APRIL 3rd – Hack Green Bunker Rally Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 8AL 10th – NARSA Exhibition (Blackpool Rally) Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, Blackpool FY2 9AA 10th – Yeovil QRP Convention Digby Hall, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AA 17th – West London Radio & Electronics Show (Kempton Rally) Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road, Sunbury on Thames TW16 5AQ 23rd – RSGB AGM Glasgow City Hotel, 36 Cambridge St, Glasgow G2 3HN 24th – Cambridge Repeater Group Rally Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton, Cambridge CB22 6RN 24th – Ripon and District ARS Rally Hugh Ripley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 2PT
MAY 1st – Dambusters Hamfest Thorpe Camp Museum, Tattershall Thorpe, Coningsby, Lincolnshire LN4 4PE 2nd – Dartmoor Radio Club Rally Tavistock College, Crowndale Road, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8DD 8th – Lough Erne Amateur Radio Rally SHARE Centre, Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland BT92 0EQ 15th – LAMFEST Elescar Heritage Centre, Wath Road, Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8HJ 15th – LAMFEST Elescar Heritage Centre, Wath Road, Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8HJ 21-22nd – Dayton Hamvention Hara Arena, Dayton, Ohio, USA
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C 21st – Rochdale and District ARS Flea Market Indoor Sale St Vincent de Paul’s, Caldershaw Rd, Norden, Rochdale OL12 7QR 22nd – Black Country Radio Rally Portway Lifestyle Centre, Newbury Lane, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 1HE 22nd – Dunstable Downs RC Annual Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale Stockwood Park, Luton 22nd – BroadBand HamNet Meeting Tilgate Forest Rec. Centre, Hut 18, Tilgate Forest, Crawley RH11 9BQ 22nd – Waters & Stanton Open Day 22 Main Rd, Hockley SS5 4QS
JUNE 4-5th – Sussex Electronics and Radio Fair (SERF 2016) Eastbourne Sports Park, Cross Levels Way, Eastbourne BN21 2UF 5th – Central Scotland Amateur Radio Mini-Convention Crofthead Community Education Centre, Templar Rise, Livingston EH54 6DG 5th – Spalding & DARS Annual Rally The Sir John Gleed Technology School, Halmer Gardens, Spalding PE11 2EF 12th – Junction 28 Rally Alfreton Leisure Centre, Church Street, Alfreton DE55 7BD 12th – East Suffolk Wireless Revival (Ipswich Radio Rally) The Orwell Crossing Lorry Park, A14 Eastbound, Nacton, Ipswich IP10 0DD 18th – South Lancs Summer Rally Bickershaw Labour Club, Bickershaw Lane, Bickershaw, Wigan WN2 5TE 19th – Newbury Radio Rally Newbury Showground, next to J13 M4 24-26th – Hamtronic Show, Friedrichshafen Messe, Friedrichshafen, Germany 26th – West of England Radio Rally Cheese & Grain, Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BE
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CLUB CALENDAR APRIL 2016 7th ........................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 10th ......................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 11th ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 13th ......................... On the Air Evening 14th ......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 17th ......................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 18th ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 20th ......................... Junk Sale 21st ......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 24th ......................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 25th ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 27th ......................... Understanding HF Propagation - RSGB Film 28th ......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 30th ......................... Foundation Training Course and Exam
MAY 2016 1st ........................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 1st ........................... Monthly breakfast at the Lancing Harvester 2nd .......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 4th ........................... Discussion Evening 5th ........................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM
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C 8th ........................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 8th ........................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 11th ......................... Meal at the Old Tollgate, Bramber 12th ......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 14/15th .................... Mills on the Air 15th ......................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 16th ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 18th ......................... Discussion Evening 19th ......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 21st ......................... Foundation Training Course and Exam 22nd ........................ 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 23rd ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 25th ......................... Restoring Radios by Andy M6RFE 26th ......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 29th ......................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 30th ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz
June 1st ........................... Discussion Evening 2nd .......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 4th ........................... Intermediate Training (Day 1)
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C 5th ........................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 5th ........................... Monthly breakfast at the Lancing Harvester 6th ........................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 8th ........................... Fox Hunt 9th ........................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 11th ......................... Intermediate Training (Day 2) and exam 12th ......................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 12th ......................... PW QRP Contest 13th ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 15th ......................... Discussion Evening 16th ......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 19th ......................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 20th ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 22nd ........................ Discussion Evening 9th ........................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM 23rd ......................... Intermediate Training (Day 2) and exam 26th ......................... 80m SSB Net 07.30 to 08.00 3.712MHz ±QRM 27th ......................... 2m Simplex Net 19:30 to 20.00 145.425MHz 29th ......................... The first outside on the air event of the year 30th ......................... 40m SSB Net 11.00 to 11.30 7.106MHz ±QRM
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