Welcome, to the December 2016 edition of the Stockport Radio Society (SRS) Newsletter Written and compiled by SRS members, ‘QUA’ (Have you news of… ?) is your source of news, views and informed opinion on all matters relating to - and about - your hobby.
JOTA with Heald Green, Cheadle & Gatley Scouts
Tom M0DCG and Bernard G3SHF talking to the Scouts @G8SRS @Peak_Contest
StockportradioSociety peakcontestgroup
Diary Dates 2016 December 2016
Monday 5 December – Advanced Examination 6.30pm start Tuesday 6 December – Society Meeting Tuesday 13 December – Radio Night
Thursday 15 December – 2m Net from 145.375 +/- 7.30pm - using callsign G8SRS Tuesday 20 December – AGM & Social Evening Tuesday 27 December – Christmas/New Year Radio Night from HQ
January 2017
Tuesday 3 January – Society Night Tuesday 10 January – SRS 6m net - 19.30 local on FM 51.550 MHz +/- QRM, at 20 15 local we will QSY to USB ON 50 .270 +/- QRM till close down callsign G6UQ Thursday 12 January – SRS 2m net 145.375 +/- 7.30 start - using callsign G8SES Tuesday 17 January – Radio Night Saturday/Sunday 21/22 January – Foundation Course Part 1&2 Theory Practical’s Tuesday 24 January – Skills Night Wednesday 25 January – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.3pm using callsign M5MDX Sunday 29 January – Foundation Course Part 3 Revision, Mock Exam & RSGB Exam pm If you are interested in doing a presentation please contact Tom M0DCG at a club meeting or email secretary@g8srs.co.uk QUA is complied by Heather Stanley M6HNS. If you have any articles, reviews or announcements that you would like to see on the pages of QUA, please send your information to srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk, or give Heather a call on 07506 904422 2
Contact Emails General Secretary Treasurer Website / QUA Courses Contesting
info@g8srs.co.uk secretary@g8srs.co.uk treasurer@g8srs.co.uk srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk courses@g8srs.co.uk peakcontestgroup@g8srs.co.uk
Websites SRS - www.g8srs.co.uk Peak Contest Group www.g8srs.co.uk and click on Peak Contest Group
Stockport Radio Society are affiliated members of RSGB (Radio Society of Great Britain) and NARSA (Northern Amateur Radio Society Association)
The Peak Contest Group is the ‘Contesting Arm of Stockport Radio Society’
Date of Next Issue of QUA 1 February 2017 - Articles to be with QUA by 10 January 2017 If you have news, events, contest information etc that you would like to share with your fellow members, please email : srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk 3
Chairman’s Corner
SRS Links: RSGB www.rsgb.org RSGB Region 3 www.rsgb-region3.org.uk UK FM Group Western www.ukfmgw.org.uk Ofcom www..ofcom.org.uk ARRL www.arrl.org QRZ.com www.qrz.com UK Repeaters www.ukrepeater.net Raynet www.raynet-uk.net Summits on the air www.sota.org.uk BYLARA www.bylara.org.uk Echolink www.echolink.org Ham Links www.eham.nets Hack Green SDR www.hackgreen.co.uk
Where has this year gone? It only seems like a short while ago it was Christmas, and it is almost upon us again. If you know of anyone who would like to book a place on the January Foundation course, tell them to book a place with a £20 deposit. I hope that what you have seen taking place over the past months is what you want from the club. Remember it is your club, as a committee we are here to try to accommodate what you, the members would like to see on club nights. So please keep the committee informed. We are progressing well with the control unit for the new antennas and mast. Phillip 2E0XYA is in the process of assembling the unit. Once all the bits are ready then the two antennas will be installed. The quad band (40 Meters to 10 Meters) trapped dipole that was used for JOTA weekend will be installed along with a crossed 2 Meter Yagi, switchable from horizontal to vertical operation from within the JB room. This should give a wide scope for FM and SSB plus other modes on 144 to 146 MHz. As you will see elsewhere in this issue of QUA, some members ran the JOTA communication badge at 2nd Heald Green Scout HQ. Cheadle and Gatley Scouts were also in attendance. A great weekend with the Scouts. Now for a stiff drink and a lie down. Hi Hi As this is the last QUA before Christmas may I take this opportunity to wish all members and friends a happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. Let’s hope all the noise on the bands takes a holiday next year, and gives us a chance for some good long distance contacts. 73 de Tony M0SAV Chairman 4
Our next AGM takes place on December 20, 2016.
Minutes of the last AGM Treasurers Report Reports from Committee Members Trophy Presentations
Local Radio Clubs: Macclesfield Wireless Society Manchester Wireless Society Mid Cheshire ARS North Cheshire RC Northern Amateur Radio Societies Association (NARSA)
Oldham Radio Club
There will then be a social evening with a buffet This is always a fun filled night — try and come along
UKFMGW Repeaters Group They need your help.
RSGB Region 3 Website Radio Millennium Lodge Rochdale & DARS South Cheshire ARS
UKFMGW, the group that administers the local repeaters, is running short of funds. They plan to reduce expenditure by shutting down some repeaters.
South Lancashire ARC
If you value the repeaters and use them but are not a member of UKFMGW you could help to keep the repeaters alive by joining the group. Subscription information is on the website. If you join you could take part in the decision making there's an EGM scheduled for 5 December in Grappenhall near Warrington to decide the plan for the future. 73 de M0PTB
The Simpson Amateur Radio Society
www.ukfmgw.co.uk 5
South Manchester Radio & Computing Club
Warrington Radio Club West Manchester RC
F/G8SRS Dxpedition to Ouessant Island (EU-065) Ouessant is an island at the southwestern end of the English Channel, which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ouessant is the only place in Brittany, except the name Kieron M5KJM & Peter M1PTR Brittany itself, with a separate name in English - Ushant as well as its Bretagne name, Eusa. Visitor access to the island can be via a passenger ferry or scheduled flights from the French mainland. Residents are allowed cars on the island but they must remain there for several months due to the infrequency of a car carrying ferry. The population of around the 800 is supplemented by tourists throughout the year giving the main town of Lampaul a lively atmosphere in restaurants and bars. From a radio perspective Ouessant is a good HF location being sparsely populated, with remote cottages and surrounded by sea. As an island it has only been claimed by 58.3% of Islands on Air (IOTA) participants. With that in mind Kieron, M5KJM and I Pete, M1PTR decided it was well worth a visit. Initial planning for our Dxpedition began back in Feb 2016 starting with travel and accommodation. As Kieron is an experienced pilot holding a current private pilot’s licence, it was an easy choice to use his four-seat aircraft to get us there, especially as Ouessant has its own Airport. Accommodation was selected to be remote from the town but near to the airfield, as once on the island we would have no transport for the gear, and it would have to be hand carried from and to the airport.
Yet more planning meetings took place. Deciding what radio kit to take was limited by the weight and size to fit inside the aircraft. In the end we selected two ICOM 706 MkII G transceivers, lightweight 20A switched mode PSUs, two laptops, a 10M roach pole with a 40/15M inverted-vee antenna, and a 6BTV Hustler for the upper HF bands, plus cables and assortment of ‘useful’ bits and bobs. All the kit fitted neatly onto a newly purchased lightweight two-wheel trolley and weighed 36Kgs. This was to be the hand-pulled equipment transporter on the island. 6
47 hours before scheduled departure the weather was looking decidedly mixed, and reports of thunderstorms and showers threatened to scupper well laid plans. With 24 hours to go, after another weather check, Kieron gave us the green light – final packing was underway for an early morning departure. The day of travel arrived but weather fronts and showers were slow to clear so we delayed for an afternoon take-off. This was handy as I was still trying to pack the last few items of equipment! At 3pm local time 30 September, we took off into a clear blue sky; the weather for the trip could not have been better. Flying at around 3000ft and speed of 150knots the English countryside is a picture book. We tracked from waypoint to waypoint down the west of England keeping regular contact with air traffic control. After a 45mins channel crossing, we landed at the Brest Bretagne Airport to refuel and clear immigration. The final leg was a 15mins hop to Ouessant airport landing at 7pm local time and met by Anne, who kindly loaded our kit in her car and led the way to the cottage 1km away while we frantically peddled rental bicycles behind her to keep up. After quick site recce, and without further delay we set off to sample the local cuisine and beverage in the main town of Lampaul where we held a final planning meeting. Next day, after a good nights rest, the station build commenced. Kieron went QRV before 10am UTC with the first station on 40m using the inverted -vee while I assembled the Hustler. By midday UTC both stations were QRV and we had made contact with Alan G0ROW. During the stay we worked other SRS members including G3SHF, G8WPL, M6MPC, G6GUT, G0RXA and M0DCG. Band conditions were not that good, though our received signal reports varied from 5,3 to 5,9+20dB with prevalent QSB. We worked several G and European stations and best DX were YB3, VK3, and a couple of North American contacts. The total count for two days operating was 143 QSOs split as 73 on 40m, 66 on 20m and 4 on 15m. Overall the Dxpedition was judged a huge success giving IOTA chasers the opportunity to work EU-065 and us lots of fun. There were times that we both felt we were in an episode of ‘Allo ‘Allo but that all adds to the adventure of visiting a foreign country and mixing with the locals. Many thanks to SRS for the use of the call F/G8SRS and to those club members we contacted. We used the opportunity to mention Stockport RS where possible and were pleased to hear that we are well known on the HF bands.
73 de Pete, M1PTR and Kieron, M5KJM - October 2016 7
Morse Code
Ouessant / Memories I was contacted by Tom, M6NER on 40m who only ever knew of one Kieron, some young guy he used to chase up for the subs at Manchester and District ARS G3HOX.
A
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B
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One guy, Arthur Flood, who was effectively my elmer, helped me build a power supply for the HRO.
K
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Tom also visited our stand at NARSA this year.
L
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73s Kieron M5KJM
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2m nets - G8SRS
U
.._
6m nets - G6UQ
V
…_
HF nets - M5MDX
W
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X
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Y
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This was based in Newton Heath at the time and would be circa 1970.- I was an active SWL then and bought the club's HRO after building my own TRF receiver. I remember listening to Radio Moscow, Radio Tirana, VOA and Vatican Radio on the TRF, I may still have the QSL cards. Once I had the HRO I was into the amateur bands. We had quite a long QSO, talked about several people we remembered - Most are SK's now.
Club Nets Callsigns to be Used It has been decided, that the following callsigns are to be used by any full licence holder chairing the nets
If you have any queries about the use of these callsigns, please speak to either Tony M0SAV or Alan G0ROW at any club meeting 8
Upsetting News - John Shufflebotham 2E0GCX in Hospital (02.10.16) On 2 October, we received some sad news from Tom M0DCG who had been advised by John’s XYL Linda, that John suffered had a serious heart attack last week and was in hospital. At the time the news went out John was recovering in hospital. We have since heard that his operation has gone well. John is well known to the membership of SRS for his very informative and entertaining talks and I'm sure you'll all join with me in wishing him a full and speedy recovery. Get well soon, John, we're thinking of you! - Tom M0DCG and all at Stockport Radio Society. Many thanks to all those that signed the card for John which I know made him smile when he received it. Here are a few of the comments that were sent on email. Get well soon John. Hope to chat about the 19 set sometime Best wishes Jeff M6MYL
I hope you get mended soon as your workbench will start to clutter! All the very best - Mike in Tintwistle
Morse Code 1
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Our Morse classes run
on each club Get well soon John. Sending you very best wishes for a speedy recovery — Christine LA9CSA/M0LYC Hope you get well soon John, your advice and practical help have been invaluable to me down the years. Stick in there youth and let me know if there is anything you need Ray M1REK
Get well soon, John, you really are a legend!!! Regards and best wishes, Ed - 2E0CFM
John is an inspiration to us all. With his knowledge of the valve era of radio, and his informative presentations. We all wish you a speedy recovery. Tony M0SAV SRS Chairman
John is such a nice man and always makes time to speak to people (including me). Wishing John all the best and hope he is back at the club soon Heather – M6HNS
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night from 7.00 to 7.30 pm. Come and speak to Mike M6MPC if you would like to learn.
Silent Key - Sales/Bequests As part of his new role for the committee, Nigel 2E0CKA, has taken responsibility for sorting out any silent key sales/bequests that SRS is asked to assist with. A gentleman called Bill Forrester, whose father had recently passed away, and was not a member of the club, but found us on the internet, and ask for some help to clear his dad’s shed. Nigel contacted Bill to make arrangements. Bill (snr) had his shack (or shed) in the garden. It was extremely well insulated and contained a lot of equipment. The majority of the equipment was test equipment or home brew kits, but we came away with a car full, and after logging all the equipment, and putting out an email to the membership, we had a table top sale at the next meeting. The meeting brought in a large number of members, and we also sold a lot of items for Bills mother, Mrs Forrester. Further conversations have taken place, and the remaining few items are either with members to see if they can be tested and used, and then an offer made, or have been put onto eBay. The silent key was William John David Forrester - G3XAN. On the next page is a letter that was sent to Nigel 2E0CKA to thank him and members of SRS for what they had done for Mrs Forrester We understand that the passing of members is am emotional time, but with our help and compassion, we can assist the widows and family members.
Friday 30 Sept - Club of the Year Presentation at Newark Unfortunately SRS did not win the Club of the Year .
Congratulations to the winners in the small and large clubs. Small Club of the Year 1st – Greenisland Electronics ARS 2nd – Leiston ARC 3rd – South Kesteven ARS Large Club of the Year 1st – Norfolk ARC 2nd – Hilderstone AR&EC 3rd – Telford & District ARS
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Phonetic Alphabet A
Alpha
B
Bravo
C
Charlie
D
Delta
E
Echo
F
Foxtrot
G
Golf
H
Hotel
I
Indigo
J
Juliet
K
Kilo
L
Lima
M
Mike
N
November
O
Oscar
P
Papa
Q
Quebec
R
Romeo
S
Sierra
T
Tango
U
Uniform
V
Victor
W
Whiskey
X
X-Ray
Y
Yankee
Z
Zulu
JOTA - With Heald Green, Stockport Radio Society were approached by the Scout Master of 2nd Heald Green Scouts as to whether we would be able to support a Technical weekend camp, running an operational radio station, in conjunction with JOTA and JOTI on the 15/16 October 2016. Cheadle and Gatley Scouts also took part in this Technical weekend camp. We were only to pleased to assist. A meeting with the Scout Leader, Matt, was arranged. Bernard G3SHF and Tony M0SAV took on the task of organising the equipment and presentations for the Scouts JOTA communication badge. Bernard applied to OFCOM for a special event call sign. GB2CGS which was issued for the weekend. As this was a first for SRS, a lot of time was spent on the Radio Scouting and the Scouts web sites so that we got it right. Our previous roles at Linnet Clough JOTA Technical camp had been assisting in setting up and supervising the stations. It was decided to operate two stations, an HF and a VHF, this would cover worldwide and local JOTA scouting activities. The kit used was a Yaesu FT-857 for VHF, running 50 watts into a tri band collinear at 40 feet. The HF set up consisted of a Yaesu FT-1000 into an amplifier running 400 watts. This was fed into an antenna switcher to select between either 40 meter, 80 meter wire inverted V dipoles and a Comet H-422 trapped quad band dipole on a rotator. 12
Cheadle & Gatley Scouts The main interest on the HF set was the MRP-40 Morse reader, the Scouts were intrigued at the fact it was showing both the Dots and Dashes and also converting the Morse into readable call signs etc. Quite a few of the Scouts had a chance to make a CQ call live on air with other local Scout groups. Some were a little mike shy.
The feedback was excellent, and Matt is looking to do it all again next year. Possibly bigger and better and SRS will be there supporting the Scouts.
Frequencies LF (Low Frequency) 2000m : 135.7 - 137.8Khz
MF (Medium Frequency) 630m : 472 - 479Khz 160m : 1.81 - 2.0Mhz
HF (High Frequency) 80m : 3.5 - 3.8Mhz 60m : Consists of 11 spot frequencies check band plan 40m : 7.0 - 7.2Mhz 30m : 10.1 - 10.15Mhz 20m : 14 - 14.35Mhz 17m : 18.068 - 18.168Mhz 15m : 21 - 21.45Mhz 12m : 24.89 - 24.99Mhz 10m : 28 - 29.7Mhz Note for operating on 60m Only available to advanced licence holders
VHF (Very High
I would like to say thank you to all members who assisted, as your help made it a success.
Frequency) 6m : 50 - 52Mhz 4m : 70 - 70.5Mhz 2m : 144.0 - 146.0Mhz
These are events that attract the younger generation into the hobby.
UHF
(Ultra High Frequency)
70cms : 430.0 - 440Mhz 23cms : 1240.0 - 325Mhz
Tony M0SAV Chairman
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WSPR - Weak Signal Propagation Reporter By Ray M1REK WSPR (pronounced " whisper" ) stands for " Weak Signal Propagation Reporter". I have recently started to use WSPR for sending and receiving low-power transmissions to test propagation paths on the HF band. I can watch the results in real time at the WSPRnet website which includes a mapping facility.
WSPR is a computer program used for weak signal communication between amateur radio operators. The program was initially written by Joe Taylor, K1JT, but is now open source. The program is designed for sending and receiving low-power transmissions to test propagation paths on the MF and HF bands. WSPR implements a protocol designed for probing potential propagation paths with low-power transmissions. Transmissions carry a station's callsign, Maidenhead grid locator, and transmitter power in dBm. The program can decode signals with S/N as low as -28 dB in a 2500 Hz bandwidth. I am using WSPR with a Flex 1500 SDR radio transmitting at about 500 mW. The flex unfortunately has the disadvantage of only running on Windows software. I prefer to use Linux, but apart from that it proves to be a very capable radio. 14
The type of radio emission is "F1D", frequency-shift keying. The WSPR protocol compresses the information in the message into 50 binary digits. These are encoded using a convolutional code with constraint length K=32 and a rate of r=1/2The long constraint length makes undetected decoding errors less probable. I have run WSPR overnight 17-18 October 2016 on 30 metres I was spotted by 63 stations. The locations vary from Macclesfield to Tasmania. You can check out my results by entering my callsign (M1REK) at WSPR.net
Power SDR 0n the left, controlling the Flex 1500. WSPR 2.2 on the right running the communication program.
My station showing flex radio bottom left.
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PLEASE CAN YOU HELP? PAY YOUR MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION BY STANDING ORDER Dear Member SRS is run by volunteers who work hard to make the club vibrant, interesting and welcoming for us all. The less time these people devote to admin activities, the more time they can devote to society activities. With that aim in mind, I would like you to consider paying your membership subscriptions by Standing Order, which facilitates automatic payment of your subscription on a set date each year. Payment by Standing Order is safe, secure and, once set up, will take no effort on your part to pay your subs. Facilities to pay in cash and by cheque will still be available. Paper receipts will be issued for all subs payments – including those made ‘electronically’ (i.e. by standing order and bank transfer). Please set the date for your first payment as ‘1 December 2016’, with the payment frequency showing as ‘yearly, until further notice’. If you have already paid your 2017 subscription (thank you), please make this date ‘1 December 2017’, so that the initial payment will cover your 2018 subscription. Once you have set up a Standing Order, you do not need to inform SRS that you have done so, as your subscription will be shown on the SRS account with your reference. All of the information that you will need about paying by Standing Order (e.g. SRS bank account details and membership categories) is outlined in the attached Standing Order Guidance document. Please read this carefully. If you have any questions, please contact me and I will be happy to answer them. If you wish to pay your subscription by bank transfer ('BACS') each year, contact your bank at least a few days before each due date, and provide SRS’s account details and your payment reference (as shown on page 2 of the Guidance document). If you wish to contact me, my email is treasurer@g8srs.co.uk. Alternatively, leave a message on 07506 90442 and I will call you back. Best wishes. Evan Duffield Stockport Radio Society
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A big thank you to all the members who contributed to this issue of QUA. We have increased this magazine again by a further four printed pages to 24pp from 20pp to incorporate the extra articles. To keep this at 24pp I need your input. Whether you have a short or long article, a profile, a review of a new piece of kit, some new software etc, please send it in. If you are not good at writing, unsure or how to set it out, email me and I will meet with you at the club, and take some notes and get the article wrote for you.
Without your input there will be no QUA. Thanks to all - keep the articles coming in Heth M6HNS
2017 Monthly 80m Nets with Don G8WPL Using Club Callsign M5MDX Wednesday 25 January – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 22 February – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 29 March – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 26 April – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 31 May – HF Net on 3.675Mhz 7,30pm Wednesday 28 June – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 26 July – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.3pm Wednesday 30 August – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 27 September – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 25 October – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 29 November – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Wednesday 27 December – HF Net on 3.660Mhz 7.30pm Thank you Don for hosting these nets. SRS Committee 17
Repeaters www.ukfmgw. co.uk
GB3MN
Courses - FLC/ILC Course Secretary
145.650 Mhz FM Analogue Digital Fusion Stockport
John Marsh - M0JFM courses@g8srs.co.uk
If you, a friend, or colleague is interested in taking a course, please email John above
GB3SM
433.3250 Mhz FM Analogue Stoke on Trent
GB3ST
433.2250 Mhz FM Analogue Stoke on Trent
Foundation Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 January 2017 9am to 5pm Sunday 29 January 2017 9am to 5pm Our July course dates are as follows
GB3SE
1297.0750 Mhz FM Analogue Stoke on Trent
GB3SX
50.790 Mhz FM Analogue Stoke on Trent
GB3MP
145.7500 Mhz FM Analogue Denbigh
GB3VT
145.7250 Mhz FM Analogue Stoke on Trent
Sunday 9, 16 & 23 of July 2017.
Intermediate Sunday 5 & 12 February, 2017 Monday 20 February, 2017
Monday 27 February, 2017 Monday 6 March 2017 Monday 13 March 2017 Monday 20 March 2017 (Examination) A deposit will secures your place on a course Prices correct at publication but maybe subject to change
GB3LI
433.2500 Mhz FM Analogue Liverpool
GB3LL
434.000 Mhz FM Analogue Llandudno 18
If you use a repeater on a regular basis please support them by subscribing to them
Repeaters
Courses - ALC
www.ukfmgw. co.uk
Advanced
GB3MR
On behalf of Stockport Radio Society we would like to wish all those taking their advanced examination all the very best.
New dates for 2017 to be published soon
433.3500 Mhz FM Analogue Stockport
GB3PZ
430.9000 Mhz FM Analogue Dukinfield
Course Fees Foundation £45.00 - Based on a minimum of 6 students
GB7WC
439.4875 Mhz Digital Warrington
Intermediate £90.00 - Based on a minimum of 4 students Other costs : Kit from Kanga : £26.00 inc P&P / Text
Advanced £95.00 - Based on a minimum of 4 students
If you, a friend, or colleague is interested in taking the foundation course, please email courses@g8srs.co.uk or call the bat phone on 07506 904422 for further information
Join the Repeater Group Individual £15 Family £25.00 per yr By Paypal add £1 to each of the above
Information correct as at Oct 16
GB3WP
430.9375 Mhz FM Analogue Hyde
Book RSGB : £6.99 plus P&P
GB7MA
145.600 Mhz Digital Bury
GB7DV
439.6125 Mhz Digital St Helens
GB3MA
433.0250 Mhz FM Analogue Bury 19
GB3MF
433.0500 Mhz FM Analogue Macclesfield
GB3CR
433.1500 Mhz FM Analogue Marches
Membership You can become a member of Stockport Radio Society by completing a membership form and, either emailing it to
treasurer@g8srs.co.uk or hand the form to the Treasurer at any Society Meeting.
Payable Annually on Dec 1st Senior Family Country Pensioner Junior
£12.00 £12.00 £ 7.00 £ 7.00 £ 1.00
Meeting Admission £ 2.00 per meeting.
If you are interested in paying your subs by Standing Order, please
Membership Outings Kieran M5KJM has previously arranged two membership outings which were a great success. The first one was to Bletchley Park and the second was to Jodrell Bank. If you are interested in future trips, and would like to advise the committee of a place to visit, please email Heather on srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk, and then we can put this to the January committee meeting. Your input is important to us.
CQ WW SSB & CW Contests (Oct&Nov) Peak Contest Group will be participating in the above two contests at the end of October and November. Can I take this little bit of space and wish them good luck in the contests. Don’t forget as members of SRS you are more than welcome to go upto the contesting site and see the boys in action. Tea and Coffee is available and plenty of biscuits - there may even be choccy biscuits and jammie dodgers if the operators have not got to them first. They guys need you help, why not have a chat with them in the new year and have a go. As a novice at this hobby, I can highly recommend going to the contesting site, I had Kieran training me during a contest, and he was exceptionally patient. They are there to help you. All details of the contesting site are on our website.
contact the Treasurer on 73 Heth M6HNS
the above email address 20
Club Log (HF Ladder) If you wish to join Club Log and also get entry into the HF Ladder with the end reward of entry in the HF Ladder competition at the end of the year, and you chance to win a trophy for the year, follow the information below. If you wish to join SRS DXCC league in Clublog, please follow these instructions:
Register your details with Clublog at www.clublog.org Click ‘settings’ and then go to the ‘clubs’ tab Select SRS - Stockport Radio Society and click ‘join club’ Your membership of SRS will show as pending until approved by the Administrator
The SRS DXCC League can be viewed from this link http://www.clublog.org/league.php?club=99
Get your logs in and get yourself on the HF ladder with your chance to win a trophy at the end of the year. If you are new to the HF Ladder - speak to Evan M0TJU at a club meeting or email info@g8srs.co.uk for further information.
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HF Ladder as at 24 October 2016 As we head into the home stretch of the 2016 HF Ladder, I can report that there has been no change in the leaderboard since the last snapshot was taken, in early September. Barry VK2BJ is still out in front, with a large (and insurmountable?) lead. However, with a month to go, and with band conditions generally improving, there are still plenty of opportunities to boost scores – and positions – on this year’s Ladder. Despite the absence of any positional change, four of the contestants have managed to boost their tallies so far this autumn: Graham G3ZOD added four slots, to take him to 31; Pete M1PTR seems to putting his recent retirement to good use, gaining 11 slots for a total of 79; Alan G0ROW and Evan M0TJU each boosted their totals by 23, taking their respective scores to 148 and 260. One contestant who hasn’t been listed in any of the reviews so far this year is Eric G3GMM, an HF Ladder veteran. Eric does not use Club Log, and I do not have a slot figure for him, unfortunately. However, I know that he has a formidable tally of European DXCCs that he has worked on 160 metres (1.8MHz) – the most difficult of all of the bands below 30MHz for getting international contacts. While not a habitual contester, Eric makes great use of the CQ World Wide Morse contests, which take place each May and November, to boost his (CW-only) slot total. I hope to have a complete scorecard from Eric after the CQ World Wide DX CW event, held just before the 2016 Ladder concludes. Autumn’s arrival grants participants improved opportunities to work stations on the extreme ends of the HF spectrum: Daytime maximum useable frequencies tend to rise above summer’s levels, making even east-west contacts on 10 metres (28MHz) possible from time to time. (Over a third of the slots earned since 1 September were on either the 15-, 12- and 10-metre bands.) Also, there will be plenty of dark paths available as the nights draw in – perfect for chalking up slots on Top Band and 80 metres. Please note that the HF Ladder for 2016 will close at 2359UT on 30 November. In other words, the final QSO must be logged at or before that time. I will take a snapshot of the leaderboard at some point in early December; the exact date of this will be advised. The trophy and award winners will be announced at the AGM, on 20 December.
73 - Evan Duffield M0TJU 22
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Name 160m Barry S. 27 Evan D. 0 Bernard N. 0 Mike C. 5 Alan G. 0 Ray K. 0 Kieron M. 0 Pete R. 0 Andy K. 0 Bob G. 0 Graham S. 0 Tom S. 0 Carsten S. 0 Nigel R. 0 Tony S. 0 Totals: 32
80m 59 24 10 27 0 9 4 0 0 3 1 13 8 0 0 158
60m 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
40m 133 62 49 45 34 15 3 32 15 6 4 6 9 6 2 421
30m 110 12 51 24 0 8 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 216
20m 158 58 41 30 37 29 33 36 26 37 5 2 1 3 1 497
17m 15m 70 88 16 40 30 17 16 30 32 18 13 10 9 29 0 10 10 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 1 1 197 254
12m 35 1 11 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 55
10m 6m 55 2 30 17 12 13 10 0 6 8 6 6 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 123 68
Slots 737 260 234 187 148 96 83 79 67 46 31 23 19 14 6 2030
HF Ladder as at Oct 24, 2016
Ran k Callsign 1 VK2BJ 2 M0TJU 3 G3SHF 4 M6MPC 5 G0ROW 6 M1REK 7 M5KJM 8 M1PTR 9 MM1LOL 10 GM4UYZ 11 G3ZOD 12 M0DCG 13 G0SYP 14 G0RXA 15 M0SAV
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