A25UK DXPEDITION TO BOTSWANA BY GRAHAM G4FNL
Plus
TED G3EUE LOOKS AT SEMI-AUTOMATIC KEYS
JONATHAN G1EXG’S SHORT CIRCUIT SETTING UP A 70MHZ ANTENNA PRESIDENTIAL PONDERINGS CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER SOFTWARE SELECTION CORRESPONDENCE CLUB CALENDAR EGM MINUTES RALLIES
Summer 2017
Worthing & District Amateur Radio Club Established 1948 Website: www.wadarc.org.uk
E-mail: info@wadarc.org.uk President: Chris Smith G3UFS 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 2016 - 2017 Andrew Cheeseman Alan Baker Vacant Sally Holland Andy Braeman Ian MacDonald Chris Suddell Norman Jacobs
G1VUP G4GNX SWL M6RFE M0IAD M0VUE 2E0RKO
Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary Treasurer Quartermaster Membership Secretary Member Member
These Members have volunteered to accept these responsibilities for 2016 - 2017 Contest Manager Ragchew Editor Training Coordinator Website Website Website
Graham Bubloz Roger Hall Andrew Cheeseman Alan Baker Alastair Weller Andrew Cheeseman
G4FNL G4TNT G1VUP G4GNX M0OAL G1VUP
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 ........................................ 5 Presidential Ponderings .................................. 6 Setting Up a 70MHz Antenna by Alan G4GNX ....... 8 Semi-Automatic Keys by Ted G3EUE .................... 11 Short Circuits by Jonathan G1EXG ........................... 14 DXpedition to Botswana by Graham G4FNL ............ 16 Software Selection by Jonathan G1EXG ................... 24 Correspondence .............................................. 30 EGM Minutes .................................................. 32 Rallies ............................................................. 34 Club Calendar ................................................. 36
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EDITORIAL
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elcome once again to the latest edition of Ragchew. I must start by thanking everyone who responded to my recent appeal for contributions – I’ve received more than ever before. In fact, so many I’ve had to hold a few over for the next issue! It was the best response I’ve ever had and it certainly made putting this issue together a lot easier. In This Issue Ted G3EUE wrote in with his reminiscences about how he moved from military to amateur radio and a tongue in cheek mention of an interesting alternative hobby that’s caught his eye and then he also supplied an interesting article about Vibroplex Morse keys. In his Short Circuits column Jonathan G1EXG takes a look at the BBC micro:bit and then, in a separate article, he brings you a selection of electronics and amateur radio software and apps that are suitable for PC, Android and iOS. The Club now has its own antenna analyser and Alan G4GNX wrote in to explain how he used it to help him set up his 70MHz antenna. Following on from his well-attended recent Club talk about taking part in the A25UK DXpedition to Botswana, Graham G4FNL shares his experiences with Ragchew readers. We also have the minutes of the EGM that was called to see if the members wanted the Club to spend money on a shack, a list of forthcoming rallies and the latest Club calendar. Finally Once again, my sincere thanks go to everyone who helped to make this a bumper issue of Ragchew. If you have anything you’d like to contribute to the next issue, please do get in touch with me at ragchew@wadarc.org.uk 73, Roger G4TNT
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CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER ello and welcome once again to another Chairman’s Chatter. I’m writing this just after the EGM, where the membership made what I believe to be a very good decision when it rejected the motion put before it. However, when Bob G3VXJ suggested an alternative motion that the Committee set up a shack as an experiment for no more than 12 months at no cost to the membership, this was agreed by all but two of the membership attending with the proviso that the Committee spends no more than £2000 of Club monies it. Bob’s motion gave the Committee a vote of confidence to pursue this venture and it seemed to me the feeling of the membership attending or being proxied was that the Club has not had a shack of its own for a long time and it should have one. Unfortunately, the room in the Parish Hall where we were going to house the shack has fallen through so we are now looking for an alternative.
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Help Wanted The late Peter G8MSQ left behind a large amount paper detailing the history of the Club and this has now been passed to us. He was a committed member for almost 70 years and I would love to see a section of our website dedicated to his work chronicling the Club’s history. To do this, I need the paper records to be scanned in and turned into PDFs. There are a lot and it will take some time so I will need help from volunteers. If you can help, please do get in touch. AGM It’s just five months until the next AGM so I would like to remind everyone that Sally (Treasurer), Alistair (Secretary), Myself (Chairman) and Chris (Committee Member) will be stepping down and we’ll need new people to take over. Over the summer months, please ask yourselves if you can help. To paraphrase JFK, “My fellow WADARC members, ask not what your Club can do for you, ask what you can do for your Club.” I will promise that my next column will be about radio. In the meantime, enjoy the summer and please use your radios… 73, Andrew G1VUP
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PRESIDENTIAL PONDERINGS nce again it’s time for me to ponder on things that have happened and things that might happen. For me it’s been a very reduced period of radio activity as I’ve been away from the shack for quite lengthy periods of time. The spring and early summer months always bring forth the jobs that must be done such as my garden and hedges along with my friend’s garden and various other jobs. However, I have managed to make a couple of 6m contacts and two 4m ones, which, at least, proves that the equipment and the antenna are all still working! Another thing I managed to do was to build a quite simple 100/400W dummy load, as per Practical Wireless March 2017. It was easy to build and perhaps it could be considered for a Club constructional project? The main components are a diecast metal box, a suitable heatsink, an SO239 or N-type socket and four RFP1109 50Ω 100W resistors, all obtainable from eBay. The cost of the resistors can vary from £5.37, the price I recently paid, up to £16.24 for 5, the price I originally had to pay. There are two other requirements; some 4BA plastic or nylon nuts and bolts and, if you build the 400W version, some thermal conduction silicon pad material.
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Homebrew Following on from the above, I sometimes wonder how many of our esteemed membership still build equipment to add to their shack. I first became interested in radio many years ago when I was in the latter stages of my schooling. At that time, military surplus was finding its way onto the market and a continual place of residence for me was GWM Radio in Worthing. I have modified many a piece of surplus equipment from there for amateur use and this, of course, added to my knowledge of radio in general. Unfortunately, GWM is no more and surplus equipment has all but dried up. However, many of the radio magazines contain practical projects so there’s still plenty to build and use if you want to.
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C My personal opinion is that just purchasing a transceiver, plugging it in to a power source and transmitting with it is not best the way to learn about amateur radio so I’d like to encourage you all to get to it and build something. You’ll find it’s great fun. Allowance Rethink Now a little departure from radio. I’m not quite sure how to put this but as I’m an old age pensioner on quite a low income, I was delighted when I read that the Government has reconsidered the removal of the £200/£300 fuel allowance for us old-uns. I find that the money really does help considerably over the long and miserable winters we now seem to be experiencing. On the other hand, one thing the Government could do to save money is to remove the derisory £10 Christmas Box, which is also given to us pensioners. It does seem a rather pointless gift to the individual receiving it as that amount buys very little in today’s world but it would save the Government many millions of pounds if it stopped distributing it. Club Callbook This might be considered to be controversial but I do regret the Club’s decision not to have a formal and distributed callbook. I used to find having a membership list helped me to identify a person, his callsign and so on, especially as many members still don’t wear a name and callsign badge. It seems the list was stopped because some Club members objected to having their contact details published for other Club members to see. Surely all that was needed was to leave out the part that those members wanted withheld, not the abandonment of the entire list. Enough for now. I hope this screed has not been too much. Until next time. 73, Chris G3UFS
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ANTENNA PROJECT Setting Up a Ring Ground Plane for 70MHz Alan G4GNX explains how he used the Club’s new Rig Expert AA-600 antenna analyser to help him set up his 70MHz antenna.
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was fortunate to be given an ex-commercial low band antenna, often known as a Ring ground plane, which is ideal for the 4m amateur band. It even came with a Shelley clamp to allow it to be mounted on a stub pole so I just had to clean it a bit and decide on a suitable place to mount it. Prime position on my main mast is already occupied by the 6/2/70 collinear so I decided rather than erect yet another scaffold pole, I would fit it to a lightweight ‘L’ shaped TV antenna mount screwed to a redundant wooden post. Once that was done, it was time to run some co-ax between the antenna and the shack. Mini 8 co-ax is quite suitable for this band, with negligible loss, and it makes the cable run less obtrusive. I would have preferred to have used N-type connectors throughout but as the antenna already had an SO239 connector mounted on it, I decided not to try to change it but I did make sure that there was sufficient self-amalgamating tape wrapped around the connectors to keep the weather out. Calibrating for Resonance The next job was to calibrate the antenna for resonance at the required range of frequencies and then to set it up for optimum VSWR. I remember Bryan G3GVB used to insist that it was easy to set up an antenna by connecting a rig with an inline SWR meter to it. I can assure you that this is not a method to be used with this type of antenna. Low VSWR alone will not necessarily mean that the antenna is resonant. Also, the best way to set it up is to connect the transmission source as close to the feed point as possible or use a short (half wavelength maximum) co-ax feeder.
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C One suggested method is to make a small diameter loop out of copper wire, soldered to a suitable connector, plugged into the feed point (the SO239) and then couple it to a grid dip oscillator (GDO). Unfortunately, at these frequencies, that coupling method tends to pull the oscillator off frequency, giving you false dip readings and, in fact, I found that I could obtain dips at two different frequencies either side of the wanted frequency so which one do you choose? Obviously, this method is pretty useless so another course of action needed to be found. Antenna Analyser The obvious choice was to use an antenna analyser and although I own one, unfortunately, despite covering 160m through to 70cm in set bands, it doesn’t cater for 70MHz! Luckily, WADARC has purchased a new Rig Expert AA-600 for members’ use so it was an ideal candidate for this job. Another reason for using an antenna analyser is that it’s lightweight and it runs on batteries, which is much easier than hauling a transceiver and a PSU 20 feet up a ladder! To use the analyser, it has to be inserted as close to the feed point as possible and then set to scan a range of frequencies while you’re looking at the display, looking for the lowest dip in SWR. As the antenna length is adjusted, that SWR dip will move along the frequency plot as the resonant frequency of the antenna changes. This antenna has two vertical sections, where one slides within the other and then a Jubilee clip is used to secure the top section once resonance has been found. In addition, this particular antenna has a tapping point on the ring ground plane which is then adjusted for the lowest SWR reading once you’ve finished adjusting the two sections for resonant frequency. Fortunately, although moving the tapping point is theoretically changing the antenna length, I found that interaction was insignificant, so setting it up was fairly straightforward. The AA-600 is very easy to use; you set the centre frequency that you require for the antenna and then you set a range for it to scan. When you get close to the required parameters, you can also set the analyser to scan continuously and display a readout of relevant data in figures.
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C Because I wanted to use this antenna for FM contacts, I chose the recommended calling frequency of 70.45MHz as my preferred resonant frequency. I entered this into the analyser as the centre frequency for scanning and then I initially set a range of 200MHz, which gave an initial sweep of 100MHz either side of centre. Once the antenna’s resonant frequency was found, I adjusted length to move the SWR dip closer to the required frequency – shorter to raise the frequency and longer to lower the frequency. As each successive adjustment brought the resonant frequency closer to 70.45MHz, I reduced the scan range to allow better plot accuracy until the range was down to 100kHz, 50kHz either side of centre, which is more than accurate enough. Finishing Off Once the Jubilee clip was finally tightened and one more reading taken to ensure that nothing had moved, it was time to reduce the SWR to as low a value as possible. This involved leaving all the analyser settings alone and performing further scans whilst sliding the tapping clip around the ring until the lowest reading is obtained. My best reading was 1.09:1 at 70.45MHz, which is, of course, highly satisfactory. The final task was to connect the co-ax feeder from the transceiver to the antenna and test to see if the transmitter was happy with what it ‘saw’. Let’s hope there will now be enough 4m activity to warrant the effort! 73, Alan G4GNX
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FEATURE Semi-Automatic or Bug Keys Ted G3EUE is sure there must be a number of members who don’t know much about Vibroplex Morse keys is so he sent in this interesting article.
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any years ago, normal straight Morse keys were often plagued with mechanical problems. However, these were mostly resolved in 1881, which is when Jesse Bunnell, a telegraph equipment manufacturer, designed an all-steel lever key. Another problem that arose in those days was the sheer volume of high speed code traffic using an up and down wrist movement caused many operators to complain of severe wrist pains known variously as ‘Telegrapher's Paralysis’ or ‘Glass Arm’. To overcome this, in 1888 Bunnell designed a key where the sending movement was side-to-side, which was said to virtually eliminate the paralysis. Horace Martin By 1900, telegraph operators were handling tremendous amounts of traffic and there was a need for a way to send code more rapidly than was possible with a conventional hand key. This arrived in 1902, when Horace Martin’s invention of the semi-automatic (also known as a bug) key dramatically increased the message handling capacity of an operator by allowing dots to be made automatically. His first key in was the Autoplex. It was not very convenient because it needed batteries to power the mechanism but, nevertheless, it was the first semi-automatic key. In 1904 came the Metal Autoplex and then Martin produced the Vibroplex Original, which made dots automatically with a totally mechanical vibrating mechanism. This model has remained virtually unchanged to the present day.
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P Popular though they were, bug keys were not universally accepted and it’s interesting to read an opposing point of view. In his 1920 reference book Telegraphy, T.E. Herbert made the following comments about the Vibroplex key. "This device is in extensive use in America to prevent telegraphists' cramp by relieving the operator of the work of forming separate dots. It consists of a lever which is moved to the right to send dots and to the left for dashes. It carries a weighted spring which, when the movement is to the right, is thrown into vibration, thus making and breaking a contact at a predetermined rate depending upon the position of the timing weight. The dashes are formed by the operator by movements of the lever to the left. This device necessitates the formation of the signals sent out on a local sounder so that the sender may only hold the key over to the right whilst the required number of dots are formed by the automatic vibration of the weighted spring. The sender does not feel any movement of the lever whilst it is held to the dot side. What it amounts to is that the operation of the key is from side to side and that instead of 2,3,4 or 5 movements necessary to send the dots required, the lever is merely maintained on the right side for a varying period of time until the required number of dots have gone out. “It is contended that the device permits faster sending with less fatigue to the operator and that the strain on the receiving operator may be reduced by taking messages on a typewriter. In this way, it is claimed that higher output is secured and the possibility of telegraphists' cramp is reduced. Whether these claims, any or all of them, can be substantiated in practice remains to be determined since the experiments in progress are not yet conclusive. It is, however, true to say that when the device was tried some 20 years ago [1900] it was, at that time, condemned by most practical telegraphists in this country [UK]. “Telegraphists' cramp is neither very rare nor is it extensive and there are reasons to think that in many cases where it does occur the prime cause lies in bad teaching and the consequent development of unnatural jerky methods of sending. The replacement by properly adjusted double-
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C current keys for single current keys on all busy circuits should tend to reduce the risk of cramp, even where the art of rhythmical sending has either never been acquired nor has been impaired due to some obscure physical condition of the operator." Reference: Telegraphy by T.E. Herbert, 1920. Published by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd. 1921. Variations When Horace Martin’s very broadly written Vibroplex patent ran out in the 1920s, many other manufacturers began making bug keys. In his book Telegraph Collector's Guide, Tom Perara W1TP identifies some 21 versions of the Vibroplex. “I believe the key made in the largest number was the military Vibroplex No 6 Lightening J-36 version of the Vibroplex No. 6 Lightning, which was produced from 1941 to 1945 and marked as the J-36. In addition to the Vibroplex company, the military key was also made by the Lionel Electric Company whilst Bunnell made their own version of the J36. It is said that after the War these keys were on the surplus market by the barrelful for 25¢ each or five for a dollar! The collectors' price in 1999 was $150. “For the keen collector there are an awful lot of Morse keys out there; over the years more than 50 American companies alone produced their own versions of bug keys.” Reference: Tom Perara W1TP Telegraph Collector's Guide, second edition, 1999. 73, Ted Jones G3EUE
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G1EXG’S SHORT CIRCUITS Jonathan G1EXG takes a look at the BBC micro:bit and explains how this tiny computer could be used in amateur radio projects.
Short Circuit No. 15: The BBC micro:bit ast year I wrote a beginners’ guide to the BBC micro:bit in RadCom. It’s available as a free PDF download from my website, see the link at the end of this article. Since then, I’ve spent some more time experimenting with this tiny computer that packs a lot of technology into a very small space and found that it could be a useful device for a range of amateur radio projects.
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Hardware The micro:bit is a small circuit board (ca. 4 x 5 cm) and it can run on 3V from, say, 2 x AA or AAA batteries or on 5V from a USB source. It has two switches on the front that can be programmed, as well as a 25 LED display that can show alpha numeric information and be used to scroll messages. It also has a tiny 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis magnetometer built in, which will be fun to use for all sorts of experiments. The board also has Bluetooth built in along with a standard USB connection so it can be programmed from your computer via a USB lead using many different languages and platforms, including Java script, Microsoft Block Editor, Microsoft TouchDevelop and micro Python. There are links on my website to a PDF that introduces micro Python and also Mu, which is a free program you can use to 'flash' programs into the micro:bit computer. The micro:bit is also part of mbed, which is an interesting platform to program the device in C. When you plug the micro:bit into a computer, a drive comes up, rather like a memory stick drive. You can then program the micro:bit via the website (you don't need to download any software to your computer).
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C Radio, Science and Technology I have written some simple programs that can be downloaded from my website to help you explore what the BBC micro:bit can do. These include programs to demonstrate the on-board 25 LED screen, to test out input and output ports (light LEDs and so on) and those that start to show how to make use of the magnetometer, the accelerometer and an on-board thermometer. I have also started to develop some simple science based programs. So far, we have a chemistry program that randomly selects one of the first 20 elements of the period table, displaying the chemical symbol, the chemical name, the atomic number and the atomic weight. This program is an example of the way Python uses directories and databases. I also have several amateur radio programs, including Morse code letters, numbers and signs. Other radio amateurs have very kindly shared their own micro:bit programs, including Morse code tutors and Morse senders. The micro:bit is cheap and widely available (for example, on eBay) so why not get one and try out the programs on my website – here are a few of them: Morse code (letters): www.creative-science.org.uk/bbcmicrobit/prog/morse_letters.py Chemistry program: www.creative-science.org.uk/bbcmicrobit/prog/chemistry_1.py Accelerometer test program: www.creative-science.org.uk/bbcmicrobit/prog/spirit_level.py Magnetometer test programs: www.creative-science.org.uk/bbcmicrobit/prog/compass.py Thermometer test program: www.creative-science.org.uk/bbcmicrobit/prog/temperature_1.py RadCom article (PDF) by kind permission of The Radio Society of Great Britain: www.creative-science.org.uk/articles/micro%20bit%20final%20p25_radcom_jan17.pdf
Link to Jonathan's CSC BBC micro:bit page: www.creative-science.org.uk/bbcmicrobit.html mbed website: www.mbed.com/en/ 73, Jonathan G1EXG
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FEATURE DXpedition to Botswana – A25UK Graham G4FNL looks back at his time on the A25UK DXpedition to Botswana and describes what it’s like being on the other end of a pileup for the first time .
L-R Daniel ZS6JR, Drew (Reserve Manager), Nick G4FAL, Zoe (Reserve Manager) (& Brutus), Graham G4FNL, Tony G4LDL, Guy G0UKN, Toby M0TBS (& Wilson), Nobby G0VJG, Dave G4BUO, Glenys G8KWD, Martin M0MDR and Giles M0TGV
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leven of us made up the 2017 team that operated from A25UK from April 25 to May 6 2017. We were led by Nobby G0VJG and Nick G4FAL and the trip was fantastically organised by Giles M0TGV. The other operators included Dave G4BUO, husband and wife team Tony G4LDL and Glenys G8KWD, Guy G0UKN, Martin M0MDR, Toby M0TBS, Daniel ZS6JR and me. You might recall that the callsign was aired in 2016 and many of the operators from that expedition once again made the 26-hour trip from the UK to Botswana. This time there were twice as many people and bits of equipment. The better weather in Botswana is during the months of April and May and that was part of the reason why this time of year was chosen to activate this prefix. In addition, it was standing at number 120 on the 2017 ClubLog most wanted list for 2017 – just behind ZD7 and one ahead of 9X5.
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C Most us travelled as one party, flying from London to Johannesburg, via Istanbul. We left London at 5pm on April 24th and landed at Johannesburg at 10.30 the following morning. There then followed a six-hour car journey over the border into Botswana and we arrived at our final destination of Stevensford Game reserve at around 7pm. The reserve is right on the Limpopo River border with South Africa. This was my first visit to Southern Africa and my first ever DXpedition. My world is usually centred around individual contesting but this was different as the aim was to work the world and be the centre of attention at the other end of the pileup for a couple of weeks as one team. Amongst other things, I was keen to experience the differences in propagation from the conditions that I know in the UK. In addition, I had no knowledge of the culture, the food or the people and I was keen to try and get to know as many of these and the other fascinating aspects of travel as possible. Arrival We arrived in darkness (it goes The Operating Shack from full daylight to darkness within 10 minutes in this neck of the woods) and were met by the managers of the Reserve, Drew and Zoe. They were the absolute perfect hosts and immediately allowed us to convert their dining area into a giant operating shack. In preparation for our visit, two days earlier Daniel ZS6JR had started to erect the main HF antennas. There were two towers: the 50ft tower supported a Cushcraft beam for 17/12m and 10ft above that was a Cushcraft A4S beam for 20/15/10m. On the second slightly lower tower was a Create beam for 17/12m topped by a Cushcraft A3S for 20/15/10m. In addition,
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C Tower 1
Cushcraft 4-element A4S Yagi above a 3-element WARC Yagi.
he had put up a 60ft vertical plus radials for 80 and 30m. So, most of the hard work with antennas had been done before we arrived.
160m top loaded vertical with 30m 4-square surrounding it.
On the Air We got on the air straight away and made 100 QSOs on 30 and 80m and then we grabbed a few hours’ sleep because the main effort was due to start the following morning. Whilst some of us ran the pileups, Guy and Dave helped Daniel to put up the four 40m verticals for the 4-square array. They soon learned about the 'Devils Thorn', a plant that catches in your shoes, socks, clothing, everywhere! The following day the team put up the 18m high top-loaded vertical for 160m and the 30m 4-square array.
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C The camaraderie was excellent. I was new to the team and with a group of this size, it was important to ensure that the dynamics of the team weren’t spoilt by one or more individuals. So, it was no great surprise that I discovered (afterwards) that certain ‘background’ checks had been made on me (all fairly casual – and I am pleased to say that I managed to ‘pass’ successfully). In fact, everyone got on very well – with no cross words. Of course, there was the occasional leg-pulling, but that was taken in good jest. We took along six laptops, two Elecraft K3 transceivers and one amplifier, but things were made very much easier by Daniel ZS6JR who through his company CQ-DX African Safaris provided all the antennas and most of the remaining transmitting equipment.
Tower 2
An 80m ¼ wave vertical surrounded by a 40m 4-Square
A Cushcraft A3S above a 2-element Create WARC Yagi
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C All the equipment we took with us managed to survive and get back in one piece, apart from Nick’s Tokyo HyPower amplifier. The 48V PSU died just one day into the operation. We were very fortunate to have technical support engineers as well as operators on the team and with some ingenuity, a separate 48V unit was found and grafted into the amplifier. We were back in business with a few hours. Propagation I was keen to experience the differences in propagation from this part of the world and was immediately struck by the near-instantaneous opening and closing of HF bands. For example, on 17 and 12m propagation would start in the mornings and suit working JA and Asia and then within a few minutes, switch over to Europe and after a few hours, it would suddenly seem to die. We often had two stations running on the same band (one on CW and the other on SSB) and even the mode would yield slightly differing propagation. After a few days and in addition to the Yagi antennas, Daniel also rigged up a small Cushcraft R5 HF vertical some distance from the main antennas and that helped to keep us operational on the same band – but on different modes. We were fortunate in that most of the amateur population are in a general northerly direction from Botswana so we could quickly adapt to any sudden geographical change in propagation. Another phenomenon that I noticed during daylight hours was that an HF band would suddenly die and then ten or twenty minutes later the propagation would recover for a while before finally dying for the remainder of the day. I hadn’t experienced that before. For the LF bands, we put up a Beverage antenna pointing to Europe but, unfortunately, it just didn’t work as well as we had expected. The QRN levels on
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C both 80 and 160m were high and we only had one evening on top band when signals from Europe were easy copy through the QRN. Leading up to the start of the DXpedition, we had been very concerned that radio conditions would not be good but we were pleasantly surprised to be able to work into the UK on 12 and 10m in the first few days of the trip. However, this tailed off as conditions worsened towards the end of our time there. It was also evident why so many Southern European stations appear in DXpedition logs. Propagation simply makes them loud, albeit badly disciplined and it was plain to me that many rely on CW readers to make their Morse QSOs. This necessitated frequent repeats of their callsigns when we responded before they would come back. They also don’t seem to understand about amplifier switching and frequently the first CW character would be badly clipped so IK6 sounded like EK6 and SV8 like IV8 and so on. These issues did somewhat dent the run rate. Although we had a few good nights on 40m SSB, it was mostly CW overnight. There were times during the day on HF when we couldn't get anything going on SSB but when we switched to CW we could rustle up a pileup pretty quickly. So, it turned out that the Morse operators, who were all the G4 ops – me, Dave, Nick G4FAL and Tony - made the bulk of the QSOs. Whenever possible, we turned over to the phone operators and the phone pileups were very fierce at times. Unfortunately, throughout our stay conditions to the US were poor. The openings on HF tended to be short but we did well on 40m with a respectable percentage of QSOs on that band being with North America. Bands were frequently open to Japan with signals noticeably louder than the Europeans and the JA operators were so much more disciplined, which allowed faster QSO rates. RTTY As part of the planning, we had resolved to devote plenty of time to RTTY because Botswana is rare on that mode. We had one radio permanently hooked up to facilitate this. Martin M0MDR started out as our chief RTTY operator but
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C he soon handed over to Glenys G8KWD, Tony's wife. She was not so confident on the microphone but she was very happy to sit and operate the RTTY station and she made 56 percent of our RTTY total. Most operators (even the ardent SSB-only ones) made at least a few RTTY Qs. Aside from Radio Outside of the radio operations we were extremely well fed by Zoe, the conservationist who manages the reserve together with her partner Drew. Botswana is a large, sparsely populated country and once a month Zoe and Drew have to make the 700-kilometre round-trip to the capital, Gaborone, to buy food and provisions for everyone staying on the reserve. They have to plan carefully as they can’t just pop down to the shop if they’ve forgotten something! Our group was ‘fully-catered’ and we had virtually sole use of the reserve, hence Zoe was busy nearly all the time getting meals prepared and served throughout our stay. The food was absolutely first-rate ‘home-style’ cuisine. I noticed two other things that should have been obvious but they fascinated me at the time. The first is that the sun goes across the sky from right to left in the Southern Hemisphere. This doesn’t matter but it is different to what we’re used to here on the South Coast. The second was that the night sky looks very different. We were many miles from any sources of light so at night the sky was absolutely ablaze with stars and the constellations look different to the ones we see from the UK. Safari In the second week, we split into two groups of five and went on safari on successive days. We had an 80 kilometre ride along a dirt road to a nearby Reserve which was 23,000 hectares (one hectare is about the size of a football pitch). The highlight for me was getting within about ten yards of a female white rhino with a single juvenile. Rangers patrol the reserve to guard against poachers and they track the rhino. We also saw zebra, giraffe, impala, baboon and lots of smaller creatures. It was a marvellous wildlife experience.
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C Wrapping Up We continued to operate day and night for 11 days and then our operation came to an end, with the last QSO in the log at 03:57z on May 5th 2017. The final QSO total was 44,384. This was more than ten percent ahead of our 40k target, which put us onto the GDXF Mega DXpedition honour roll. We uploaded to ClubLog on a daily basis thanks to Toby M0TBS and to LoTW within a week of our return to the UK. I hope we made it into your log. For me, it was great being at the sharp end of things for a change and to hear how signals from the UK compared to the rest of Europe (surprisingly well in some cases). We are fortunate to have a World-class QSL Manager in Charles M0OXO, who has been (and will be for some time) taking care of the QSL duties, for which we are extremely grateful. Would I go again? You bet I would! 73,
Graham G4FNL
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SOFTWARE Software for Electronics & Amateur Radio Jonathan G1EXG brings you a selection of electronics and amateur radio software that will help you get the most from your hobby.
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have collated some useful software, drawing upon the considerable experience of Club members but, of course, these are only a few of the many programs out there. Perhaps we can add a version of this article to the WADARC website so we can keep it up to date and so new software can be added as its comes up. Please note – you install these programmes at your own risk. Many modern programs, along with their corresponding extensive databases, might affect the running of an older PC (e.g. XP) so please remember this and check to see if your computer has the correct specification to support the software. Notes on Downloading Software Many websites offer easy, free download of software but, unfortunately, a lot of unwanted 'junk' can also get installed on your computer at the same time! You should always remember to make sure unwanted extras are not going to be included when you go through the first steps of downloading and installing software. Various other programs are often ‘helpfully’ bundled with the original one and installing them as well is usually the default option – you have to opt out of installing them. It usually takes no more than unticking a box but it’s easy to forget to do this and then you end up with all sorts of extra programs you don’t want. Read the Help Files When you download folders for software installation (for example, after they have been unzipped) there will often be a text file that will have important information about how best to install the program.
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C It's worth remembering to read this before you install the software because it might tell you where you should best install the files on your computer (see below) and it might also offer advice on installation issues that could arise. Where to Install It? If the software automatically starts installing, then it's probably best to let the operating system decide where everything should go. However, some of the programs I’ve suggested here don't need installing and will run just by clicking on the icon or running the file once you have downloaded it. In this case it is better to put everything associated with the program in its own separate folder. It might be best to put everything in the 'Documents' folder rather than 'C/programs', which is where Windows usually puts program files. This is because some programs need to regularly modify files associated with the program. Therefore, these files need to be 'writable' but sometimes Windows makes files in this part of the memory 'read only' after installation, leading to the programs not working properly. By putting them in the Documents folder, you prevent this from happening as Windows doesn’t make files in there read only. Keeping File Structures Simple The Basic compiler I use to program PIC chips stopped working for a while and the error it gave didn't help clarify what was wrong. It turned out that there is a limit to the length of the file name and how 'far away' from the root the files can be in the folder structure of the computer. For example, if there are too many characters and '/'s in the full file location address, the program will not be able to find or write to them. For instance, when I stored my files in a 'PIC' folder in my documents folder, the program would not work but if I stored them 'close' by in the folder of the program itself, then it worked without any problems.
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C Final Notes These programs often need some experience 'driving' them to get the most out of them. For example, the HDSDR program may well need an extra .dll file to be copied into the folder where the main program resides so that the particular software defined radio (SDR) hardware you’re using will work with the program. If you search the internet you can usually find someone who has tackled and solved your own particular problem but make sure you read through a few to get a proper solution rather than a quick fix. DL4YHF Audio Spectrum Analyser (Spectrum Lab) This is a useful and relatively easy to use audio analyser, filter, frequency converter, waterfall display, hum filter, data logger and so on. It should work on all versions of Windows from XP to Windows 10. www.qsl.net/dl4yhf/spectra1.html FLDIGI This is a widely used free program that accommodates a wide range of data modes. It runs on OS, Windows and Linux and it looks the same on each platform so it's easy to swap between them, which is useful if you have to use someone else's computer, say, during a contest or field day. There is also an interesting section on the website where you can hear snippets of how the data modes will sound when you hear them on air. There are so many data modes on offer through this software, maybe club enthusiasts might try out one mode a week to work through them all! https://sourceforge.net/projects/fldigi/files/ HDSDR One of many programs used to 'drive' a software defined radio (SDR). I brought a HackRF SDR from one of the club junk sales and recently used HDSDR to operate it. http://hdsdr.de/
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C Other SDR Software Here is a helpful link that explains how to get the HDSDR program to work properly, including information, hints and tips as well as feedback from people who have used the software. It also includes other SDR software, including SDR# and SDR-RADIO V2. www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-quick-start-guide/ Thunderstorm App The Isle of Wight weather centre. www.isleofwightweather.co.uk/live_storm_data.htm CCleaner This is not radio software but it is a really useful program for tidying up unwanted files from your system. You can even select a mode that will securely delete/write over deleted files so they really do 'go'. www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download Apple Software for Tablets and Phones Here are a few of the apps on my iPad mini that were suggested by Club members and that I use regularly. Some are also available for Android. There are lots more, of course, but please note, not all of these are free but they are not usually more than about £3 each. Waveguide This shows the current amateur radio activity band by band (at least those stations that have added their data into the system, of course). It shows station callsigns, time and date, distance between contacts and type of propagation – you get a snapshot of activity going on around the world. QRZnow This is the newsletter of QRZ.com. There are extras included in addition to the news and stories offered in the app.
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C Morse Pad This is a Morse code reader that decodes the audio from your radio speaker. You can set the audio centre frequency and Morse rate and an auto function is included. Electronic TB This is an interesting and useful collection of electronics, computer and radio apps. There is an audio signal generator, frequency counter, audio spectrum analyser, apps for working out many calculations (e.g. filters, divider networks and so on), look up and pin connection tables, links to thousands of PDFs of components, PICs and much more. iMoxon This app lets you design your own 2-element Yagi based on the Moxon design (the element ends are brought around together to create a very compact 2-element beam). You can enter frequency, size of rod or wire elements you will be using and so on. iDream This is a space weather app from Los Alamos national laboratory. It shows various flux rates, Kp indexes and so on. DXToolBox This app provides a range of solar weather data with radio calculations including MUFs, Greyline and propagation maps. Koch Morse Trainer This Morse trainer will help you to learn Morse code Yaesu FT-817 Guide This is a useful checklist for your Yaesu FT-817 menu settings with a written description of each function. It's basically the user manual set up
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C for viewing on your iPad (including pin outs of sockets and so on). There are addition links to Solar data sites, dipole length calculator and much more. Pocket SOTA This is a worldwide look-up table for high places for the Summits On The Air scheme. There’s lots of information about SOTA rules, summits near you and a lot more. HamPal This is a QRA locator calculator, a bearing and distance calculator and there’s plenty of information on the beacon project. SpectrumView This app is a waterfall display audio spectrum analyser. You can record and playback spectrums and you can also change a wide range of settings. PSK31 Pad This is an audio waterfall display showing PSK31 decoding. SWBC Sked This app shows the transmission schedules of short wave radio stations around the world. It will also show you those stations that are currently transmitting. 73, Jonathan G1EXG
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CORRESPONDENCE AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT‌ Ted G3EUE wrote in with a look back at how he moved from military to amateur radio and then he suggests an interesting alternative hobby.
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mateur radio is a marvellous hobby where, in addition to the core activity of communication, one's interest can veer off into unexpected areas. Initially, I trained as a wireless operator in the RAF, where basic communication was by hand-sent CW. A later six-month conversion course to wireless operator mechanic at the Middle East Signals School in Helwan, near Cairo, resulted in my spending a final year of overseas service in Cyprus, mainly servicing diesel/electric sets on an HF/DF outstation. The only radio work I did was retuning the transmitters and I don't remember anything going wrong in the transmitting hall, which was probably just as well, but it was a very different story with the diesels. The unit had just three mechanics to cover 24-hour operation. After the War, I joined the RSGB and took out a full amateur licence in 1948. This was a great move and meant I could continue with CW, which I have always enjoyed. As a side interest, I started collecting information about pre-war RAF sets and there is a wealth of material in Air Publications, which date back to 1918 with even earlier servicing papers from the days of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. This diversion meant that I hunted through second-hand book shops. The pleasure of finding something really interesting made the hunt worthwhile. For instance, an early edition of the Admiralty Handbook and Herbert's Telegraphy along with numerous other books which looked interesting. I must add that one of the reasons why I enjoyed browsing through such publications was that I could more or less follow what was written whereas once transistors were invented, my level of understanding took a sharp turn downhill. The substance of this is centred upon material I came across in a large book I found in one of the Worthing shops. I spotted it with the word Amateur on the spine so there was an inevitable knee-jerk reaction. In fact, it was a Victorian publication called Amateur Work- Every Man His Own Mechanic. It is typical of publications of that era, where weekly or monthly magazines were re-edited to produce a massive volume.
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C I couldn't resist it at just £2.00. It contains detailed information about numerous subjects which could be turned into a hobby. There’s no publication date but there is a written name inside the front cover with an 1886 date. If anyone requires information on making their own violin, dulcimer, velocipede or magneto-electric machine, I may be able to help. Brass Founding The subject which really took my eye was Brass Founding at Home. It’s not something that immediately springs to mind as a common domestic activity. However, there might be one or two members thirsting to have a go but not quite sure where to start. The whole article covers four sections, including patterns and moulds, so I have decided to limit the information here to the more interesting bit in the home. Technical details and ‘safety’ advice is just as is published. “If the reader doesn't possess a Fletcher furnace then one had to make do with the ordinary fireplace. Previous to melting, store-up all the halfburnt cinders which drop out of the fire and clear the ashes, use gas coke if available. Mount the crucible in the centre of the fire with support from additional cinders and fill the container with about two pounds of scrap brass, turnings etc. Put a large piece of cinder on top as a lid. To improve airflow, use an old tea tray to block the front of the fire to ensure the maximum airflow is up through the fire. Bellows would help. If the brass is dirty add a little salt or borax as a flux and skim off the dirt with an iron rod. When ready, pour the liquid brass into the mould with a pair of crucible tongs., failing which bind two pieces of thick iron wire to ordinary fire tongs. Pour smartly until you see the metal rise. Various types of alloy could be made in the same way using different quantities of copper, tin, zinc etc. Finally, it was recommended that the hearth rug should be removed in case you spill any metal and set fire to the house." In these enlightened days, perhaps a quiet word with the other half might be advisable before you start. However, if you are faced with an implacable No, leaflets used to be available on piano tuning or practical taxidermy (fully illustrated), which might just help to support your suggestion. 73, Ted Jones G3EUE
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EGM
Minutes of the Worthing & District Amateur Radio Club EGM 14th June 2017, 20:15 Lancing Parish Hall, South Street, Lancing
1. Apologies Apologies for absence were received from: Bodie 2E0VRM, Roger M6CJK, Howard M0HJF, Edmund M0MNG, Sally, Jim M6MPF, Russell M6HQM, Dorian 2E0FSI, Ninesh M6KTK and Kenn G0NKZ 2. Shack at Lancing Parish Hall Andrew G1VUP outlined the reason for the EGM and that suitable locations are both in short supply and expensive. The Committee had looked at a number of venues and contacted both Worthing District and Lancing Parish Councils, looking for free or cheap locations. The offer that is being presented came out of further discussions and is renting an 8 x 7 foot office space from Lancing Parish Council at a commercial rate of around ÂŁ1800 a year. A lively discussion took place covering topics such as: Club funds, insurance, access, times of access and 32
C amenities within the proposed shack, minimum rental terms, ability to install antennas, Club activity levels, training and development, donations of equipment and funds specifically for the shack. Andrew G1VUP then read the motion: “Shall WADARC take on the financial and physical reasonability of renting the space to build in to a radio shack for use of the club members?” and a secret ballot was undertaken. Votes were counted by Al M0OAL and then verified by Roger G7VBR. Including proxy votes held by the chairman, instructed to the vice-chairman or held by other members, the result was 19 for votes for, 25 votes against. The motion was not carried. 3. Additional Proposal Bob G3VXJ made an additional proposal that approximately £2,000 of Club funds should be set aside to pay for the shack at no additional cost to members. The terms of the EGM did not permit this to be taken to a vote, however, as the Committee manages Club funds on behalf of the members it was felt that a mandate for the committee to explore this already existed. Andrew G1VUP asked the members present for a vote of confidence in the Committee proceeding in this manner and a majority was received. 4. The meeting closed at 21:12
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RALLIES SUMMER 2017 JULY 8th – LAMFEST Elsecar Heritage Centre, Wath Road, Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8HJ 8th – Stockport Radio Society Rally Walthew House, 112 Shaw Heath, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6QS 9th – Cornish Radio Amateur Club Rally Penair School, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1TN 8/9th – uWave Round Table The Hurst Communications Centre, Belton Road, Sandtoft, Doncaster DN8 5SX 14-16th – Ham Radio Show, Friedrichshafen Messe, Friedrichshafen, Germany 16th – McMichael Rally Reading RFC, Holme Park Farm Lane, Sonning Lane, Reading RG4 6ST 23rd – Finningley Amateur Radio Society Rally The Hurst Communications Centre, Belton Road, Sandtoft, Doncaster DN8 5SX 30th – Chippenham & District Amateur Radio Club Rally Kington Langley Village Hall, Church Road, Kington Langley SN15 5NJ.
AUGUST 6th – King’s Lynn ARC Great Eastern Radio Rally Gaywood Community Centre, Gayton Road, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 4DZ. 6th – Lorn Radio Rally Crianlarich Village Hall, Main Street, Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8QN 11th – Port Seton Annual Mini Rally Night Resource Community Centre, Sth Seton Park, Port Seton, E Lothian EH32 0BQ
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13th – Flight Refuelling ARS Hamfest Cobham Sports & Social Club Ground, Merley, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 3DA 20th – Rugby ATS Annual Radio Rally Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby, CV23 9PY 27th – Milton Keynes ARS Rally The Irish Centre, Fenny Stratford, Bletchley MK2 2HX 28th – Huntingdonshire ARS Rally Ernulf Academy, Bardord Road, St Neots PE19 2SH
SEPTEMBER 2/3rd – Telford Hamfest & G-QRP Convention Enginuity Technology Centre, Coalbrookdale, Telford, Shrops. 9th – Caister Lifeboat Radio Rally 9/10th – BATC Convention (CAT 17) Finningley ARS, Hurst Comms Centre, Belton Road, Doncaster DN8 5SX 10th – Torbay Annual Communications Fair Newton Abbot Racecourse, Devon TQ12 3AF 17th – Weston-Super-Mare Rally The Campus, Highlands Lane, Weston-super-Mare BS24 7DX 22nd to 24th – WACRAL Conference & Fellowship Weekend Elim International Conference Centre, W. Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 4DF 24th – Pencoed ARC Table Top Sale Pencoed RFC, The Verlands, Felindre Road. Pencoed CF35 5PB 29/30th – National Hamfest Newark & Nottinghamshire Showground, Lincoln Road, Newark, NG24 2NY.
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CLUB CALENDAR JULY 2nd ......................... Monthly breakfast at the Lancing Harvester 12th ........................ Video Night with Chris Suddell 19th ........................ VHF/UHF Outside Event, Chantry Lane Car Park 26th ........................ Tea & Chat Night
AUGUST 2nd ......................... Building & Testing Baluns & Transformers 6th .......................... Monthly breakfast at the Lancing Harvester 9th .......................... TBA 16th ........................ Club BBQ 23rd ........................ Tea & Chat Night 30th ........................ 2m Fox Hunt
SEPTEMBER 3rd .......................... Monthly breakfast at the Lancing Harvester 6th .......................... Building & Testing RF Filters on a budget 13th ........................ Talk on Band III by Ron G3SKI 20th ........................ Construction Competition 27th ........................ Setting Up Your Laptop for Digital Modes
OCTOBER 1st .......................... Monthly breakfast at the Lancing Harvester 4th .......................... AGM 11th ........................ Talk on the Rampion Windfarm 18th ........................ Junk Sale 25th ........................ Set Up Your Radios for Repeaters & Beacons
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