QUA Welcome, to issue 24 January 2019 of the Stockport Radio Society (SRS) Newsletter
Written and compiled by SRS members, ‘QUA’ (Have you news of… ?) is your source of news, views and informed opinion on all matters relating to - and about - your hobby.
Three Wise (!) Monkeys
www.g8srs.co.uk @G8SRS @SRSContestGroup
StockportradioSociety
Chairmans Corner Wishing all readers of QUA a happy and prosperous 2019. Lets hope the all the bands are more active in 2019. Thank you to all members who attended the AGM in December 2018. It was a pleasure to see so many in attendance. We start off 2019 with a new Committee member and a slight change of responsibilities.
Neil Rydings M6NAE is a new member to the Committee, co-ordinating the transition to digital radio, for those members interested in this mode of operation. Nigel Smithies M0VNL moves into the role as Station Manager, and will be overseeing all aspects of the stations and antenna installations. My thanks to Phillip Hodges M0XYA who has stepped down from the Committee due to intense work commitments. Phil will still be Lead Tutor for the Foundation Level Course.
Your Committee will have its first meeting in January when it will set out the plans for 2019. So if any members wish to have a say as to what they would like to see happening in 2019 please contact any committee member. As I keep saying "It is your club please advise us as to what you want from it". We are trialling a scheme in January, February and March. On Radio Nights the JB room will be for radio operation only. The main room will be the social gathering room. Any member wishing to operate the stations will go to the JB room, we are hoping that this will eliminate the background noise for easier hearing of the weak stations. Morse and Digital Radio will take place in the Main Room. The Committee will be working hard to provide a full program of events and talks of interest for the coming year. If any member has an interest that they would like to give a talk on please come forward. It doesn't’ have to be radio related, just interesting. We are now seeing specialist groups within SRS, The Contest Group, Special Events Group, Digital Group, Morse Code Group,and Course Tutor Group. All are under the banner of amatuer radio and show that we are a diverse club moving forward within the hobby. All the Very Best for 2019 - de Tony M0SAV SRS Chairman 2
Contact Emails General Treasurer Website / QUA Membership Courses Contesting -
- info@g8srs.co.uk treasurer@g8srs.co.uk - srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk membership@g8srs.co.uk courses@g8srs.co.uk contesting@g8srs.co.uk
Website -
www.g8srs.co.uk
SRS Contest Group is the ‘Contesting Arm of Stockport Radio Society’
A big thank you goes out to Olympic Press - to Chip, Ian and the team for all the help and support over the previous 12 months with QUA. The Committee thanks you very much. All the best for 2019.
Date of Next Issue Articles to be sent to QUA by 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
Diary of Events - January 2019 Fri 4 Tue 8 Fri 11 Tue 15 Thur 17 Thur 17 Fri 18 Tue 22 Fri 25 Sat 26 Sun 27 Tue 29
70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Vector Network Analysis Talk / Morse Class 7,00-10.00pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm 6m SRS Net 51.550 FM 7.30-8,30pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm SRS Committee Meeting SRS Presentation and Social Evening 7pm onwards Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Foundation Course Part 1 Foundation Course Part 2 Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm
February 2019 Fri 1 Sat 2 Tue 5 Fri 8 Sat 9 Sun 10 Tue 12 Thur 14 Fri 15 Tue 19 Fri 22 Sat 23 Sun 24 Tue 26 Wed 27
70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Foundation Course Part 3 and Examination Propagation with Ron Smith 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Intermediate Course Part 1 Intermediate Course Part 2 6m SRS Net 51.550 FM 7.30-8,30pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Radio Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Intermediate Course Part 3 Intermediate Course Part 4 Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm
You can also view the updated diary of events upto the end of 2019 on our website - www.g8srs.co.uk 4
March 2019 Fri 1 Sat 2 Tue 5 Fri 8 Tue 12 Thur 14 Fri 15 Tue 19 Fri 22 Tue 26 Wed 27 Fri 29
70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Intermediate Course Exam Online Examinations with Dave Wilson (RSGB) 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm 6m SRS Net 51.550 FM 7.30-8,30pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Radio Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm
April 2019 Tues 2 Thurs 4 Fri 5 Tue 9 Thur 11 Fri 12 Tue 16 Fri 19 Tue 23 Wed 24 Thur 25 Fri 26 Sun 28
Talk Night SRS Committee Meeting 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm 6m SRS Net 51.550 FM 7.30-8,30pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Radio Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm Skills Night and Morse Class 7.00-10.00pm 2m SRS Net 145.375 7.30-8.30pm Advanced Tutorial - Primer 1 70cm Net using GB3MR 433.350 7.30-8.30pm NARSA Rally at the Norbreck Hotel Blackpool
If you know of anyone who may be interested in giving a talk or demonstration at SRS on one of our society nights, please let Evan know either at a society meeting or email: treasurer@g8srs.co.uk
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IOTA Contest July 2018 Arranmore Island, Donegal I often ask myself, “Where does the time go?” No sooner was IOTA 2017 behind us than we were back in the 3Tunnes holding regular meetings and planning IOTA 2018. After the associated problems with some of our This was our view fromweather the marquee. equipment in 2017, we began by taking a fresh look at our station design with a view to improving our performance, making the equipment more suited to adverse weather conditions and easier to transport and assemble given that we knew we would have less manpower to call on than on previous years. As with the equipment, we also spent considerable time analysing the results of the previous visits to our Donegal site, taking into account the likely performance of each band given the state of the present sun cycle. The small hours of July 23rd saw our party of five set off from Stockport in two cars towing the mast and equipment trailers, in time to catch the 0855 Stena “Superfast” sailing from Holyhead to Dublin. The crossing was smooth and uneventful, punctuated by a visit from an air sea rescue helicopter from the Irish coastguard which arrived to carry out a practice pick-up of an injured person from the deck of the moving ship. The exercise proceeded smoothly and with the ship continuing to sail at high speed you have to admire the skill of the aircraft and deck crews. After docking at Dublin Port our party headed for Burtonport, Co Donegal, stopping overnight in Dungloe before catching the Fast Ferry to Leabgarrow on Arranmore the following morning. With this being our third visit to the island it soon became apparent our group had become “kent faces” to the ferry staff as we were invited to take a look at their ship/shore vhf equipment which appeared to be faulty. As we could see nothing obviously wrong during the crossing we were invited back to have another look during our stay, time permitting!
Antenna setup We had the trailer mast positioned once again on the tarred roadway near the main outer gate. As the wheels were on a steep slope great care had to be taken with levelling, braking and staking, to prevent the trailer going down the hill and over the cliff! This 75ft mast, which was dedicated to SSB, carried 6
the rotator with our TH5 Yagi covering 10, 15 and 20m, as well as the 40m steerable Cushcraft dipole positioned on a short extension pipe a few feet above the Yagi. To minimise interaction on 15m this was set at right angles to the Yagi elements. This mast also carried an 80m inverted V wire dipole on a halyard. An unplanned trip to visit Tony the island’s car mechanic/blacksmith was required at one stage when we discovered we needed an additional hole drilled in the pipe carrying our Yagi and Cushcraft antennas. In the adjacent sloping field we positioned our “antenna farm” for the CW part of the station. This consisted of GRP masts carrying the two 40m phased verticals each with 4 raised radials, the 70ft GPR mast with our 80m vertical fitted with 2 raised radials, and a 30ft lightweight sectioned scaffolding pole mast carrying our multi-band much strengthened “Spiderbeam” covering 10,15 and 20m. Beneath the masts was an array of coaxs, switch boxes, control and rotator cables all leading back to the lighthouse accommodation. Finally, well separate from the transmitting antennas and running from the lighthouse balcony towards the cliff we positioned our spotting antenna, a multiband folded dipole, fed back to our Skimmer and FT1000mp sets via suitable attenuation. We were fortunate during setting up to experience mostly good weather, with moderate winds and several sunny days, in contrast to 2017 when we were beset by rain and gales! Carrying heavy equipment up steep slopes is so much easier when the sun is shining! Because of our reduced numbers we had spent considerable time over the winter, over pints, planning the allocation of work to individuals/groups to reduce unproductive delays. For example, Bernard would focus on the station and its infrastructure, Peter on TH5 antenna assembly, Internet and station networking, Kieron and Peter on “wiring up and preparing our much The story so far - turn over to read more 7
IOTA Contest July 2018 continued modified “Spiderbeam multibander”, Carsten, Kieron and myself on verticals and field cabling. Since the erection of the trailer mast was considered our most hazardous task, all hands were required for that operation! Time spent at Common Barn arranging, labelling and testing our equipment and its manipulation so as to make it more conveniently useable, through the use of lighter guys and stakes, cable labelling, having cables on reels and having the particular equipment required for each mast boxed and “grouped” where possible to reduce strength sapping trips up the sloping field, all helped improve efficiency and allowed us to complete preparations with time to spare. In combination with our operator shift rota this meant we were rested and got off to a good start when the contest began. In fact time allowed Carsten and me to go over with some test gear to Leabgarrow to take a further look at the vhf radio system being used on the Morvern. Our efforts were appreciated and we had a free return trip to Burtonport in the course of the work.
Unplanned events! During the week two of our members sustained injuries. Carsten got his fingers trapped in a window frame while opening a kitchen window when the sash chords broke and he had to be taken to the island’s health centre in Leabgarrow for examination and bandaging. Fortunately his Morse finger was undamaged! A day later, Kieron received a deep cut on his shin requiring eight stitches when he caught his leg on a bolt on the trailer tow-bar. This necessitated a ferry trip to the mainland and drive to Letterkenny for A & E treatment. Again the ferry staff came to our assistance, arranging immediate boarding for the Range Rover and passengers and a free crossing because it was a medical emergency. A short term fuel loan was even provided as driver and injured passenger had set off forgetting their wallets! After repairs to his leg, Kieron was also able to return to full-time duty and the work proceeded as planned.
The Contest After last minute checks and a brief photoshoot the EJ6KP team were all set. The contest itself ran smoothly starting on time at 1200UTC on Saturday and ending 24hrs later; the weather held for us with all pieces of equipment performing as expected. All too soon the contest was over and all that remained was to clear the site. Monday was spent packing the equipment back in the trailers before heading over to Leabgarrow for a final meal and a few pints of Guinness to celebrate and share experiences from the contest. 8
Homeward bound We set off for home early on Tuesday 31st, catching the first sailing of the Morvern to Burtonport, before heading for Dublin. On the way we heard the Jonathan Swift sailing at 2.15pm had been cancelled due to bad weather and that we’d been offered a transfer instead to the evening sailing on the Ulysses. Carsten and I decided to take this although it meant not getting home until the small hours, while Kieron. Bernard and Peter chose to stay in Dublin overnight, before crossing on the Swift the following morning. By Thursday all equipment had been returned to Common Barn Farm and we could all take a well-earned rest and contemplate what turned out to have been a really enjoyable expedition.
Results Summing up, with 2586 QSOs, which was over 500 more than last year, we came overall seventh in the Multi-2 category and fourth for Dxpedition stations. Our rival UK Dxpedition stations on Benbecula (GM7V) in the Outer Hebrides came second with GM2T on Tiree, third. Radio conditions were not ideal with little activity on 10m, however given the state of the sun cycle, this was to be expected and we felt our performance met expectations. Now to start planning IOTA 2019! Tom, M0DCG
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Gibraltar and Morocco Trip in N203CD 2018 Apart from Amateur Radio, I also have my private pilot’s license which I’ve held since 1986 and have a share in N203CD, a 2004 Cirrus SR20. I have flown around most of Western Europe. Once I’d read that Gibraltar now accepts light aircraft and that Morocco are quite happy for private pilots to visit plus they have avgas, this year’s trip was planned. I bought the relevant paper charts as a backup and set about planning my route with the intention of a surprise visit to see my mother who lives outside Benidorm. ‘CD is based at Liverpool, but it was in Leeds Bradford for some maintenance and I duly departed there on Wednesday 26 September for the first leg to Limoges. The next day was my “surprise visit “day and my route was to Sabadell Airport, Barcelona’s general aviation airport before setting off along the coast for Muchamiel aerodrome, just north of Alicante where I made the call to let my mother know where I was to her delight. Friday was another fine day and next stop, Gibraltar. I’d been on holiday there before with my wife and had to stand at the road barrier crossing the runway as aircraft took off and landed. This time it was my turn to keep everyone waiting. With Gibraltar, the rock can create severe turbulence depending on the strength and direction of the wind. Fortunately, the wind was straight down the easterly runway and not too turbulent. A pleasant afternoon and evening followed strolling around “little Britain”. 10
Again, the next day was perfect weather and shortly after take-off, the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa was visible, though you are not allowed to fly over it. I had elected to land at Tetouan rather than Tangier or Marrakesh as I wanted to see the real Morocco. It can be fair to say that my arrival caused quite a stir. They only spoke French or Arabic, of which I can speak neither. All the aircraft documents were checked which took about an hour as eventually one person who could speak English arrived. Then it was time to refuel. The avgas arrived in a big steel drum with a hand pump. They poured me a sample to show it was clear and tested for water contamination and proceeded to fill the tanks. It took 125 litres. Normally on refuelling you can pay for the fuel on departure, but not in Tetouan. I had no Dirhams and they wanted paying in cash there and then. Subsequently I was driven to a bank to get the requisite amount only for the ATM to say no. Ultimately, I ended up paying in Euros at a ridiculous exchange rate, almost €3 a litre; he did have the heart to drop me at the hotel. I had planned to stay two nights though nearly changed my mind when I found out that the hotel didn’t have a bar. Most of Tetouan is alcohol free but a fascinating place. At no time did I feel threatened walking around the narrow streets of the souk and wasn’t pestered at all. Taxis are shared and are treated like busses, just stick your hand out and if the driver can squeeze you in he will. They are also very cheap, just 5 Dirhams (50p) to the coastal resort of Matil, 10km away. Sadly it was time to start the homeward leg and I needed to clear customs so Jerez was the next destination and also provided me with an opportunity to buy some sherry to take home. Jerez was straight forward and on to Cascais, just to the west of Lisbon, where I spent the night in a hotel overlooking the small beach and harbour. 11
Next stop was Vigo, just north of the Portuguese border where I had to pay handling of £156 only to be told afterwards that I didn’t need handling. The next stop was to be La Rochelle following the Spanish and French coasts, and then this is where things started to go wrong. Really strong headwinds along the coast of Spain meant that I would be into my fuel reserves by the time I got to La Rochelle and that bad weather was arriving earlier than expected and so a diversion to Biaritz was in order. The weather had blown through overnight and another crystal clear day for my flight to St Nazaire, flying past La Rochelle and the heading indicator (HI) and HSI (horizontal situation indicator) dropped out. On landing at St Nazaire to refuel only to be told you can only get fuel with an Air Total card. OK, Cherbourg it is. The HSI and HI had dropped out again. Taxiing off the fuel pumps at Cherbourg and the ELT (emergency locator transmitter) went off. ATC informed me of this as did the French Coastguard who phoned me to check is all OK. By the time I got it reset, it was too late to late to get to Liverpool so I elected for Oxford only for the ELT to go off again. In the end I ended staying the night in Cherbourg. After discussion at home with our engineering guru I made the decision to go to Guernsey for a certified Cirrus maintenance facility to look at CD the next day . Again the ELT went off on take-off but we reckoned it was the radar head at Cherbourg that was tripping it. A night in Guernsey followed and a route to Exeter was planned as bad weather was heading towards Liverpool and most of the airports on the way. On landing at Exeter and after the autopilot acted up on the way there, it was time to leave flying to professional pilots and I got a Flybe back to Manchester. I then collected CD a few days later and flew her back to Leeds Bradford for more investigative work. All in all, approximately 3300 miles were covered in 9 days, 10 new airports added to the log and a new continent. Oh, the joys of flying….. Kieron M5KJM 12
The SRS Contest Group in the CQ WW DX RTTY Contest After consistently participating in SSB and CW (Morse) contests since its inception over a decade ago, the SRS Contest Group (CG) decided to try something new: enter a digital mode contest, specifically the CQ World Wide DX RTTY contest, held on the final weekend in September. Despite some frustration in the setting up of the kit, we managed to get on the air and enjoyed the operating experience. RTTY contests are like those for CW and SSB in their key aspects: the winner is the participant who gets the greatest score, which equals the total of QSO points times the total number of multipliers. [In this contest, a ‘mult’ is earned each time a new example of the following is worked on a particular band: CQ Zones (40 of these cover the globe); DXCC entities (300+ ‘countries’); US/Canadian states/provinces.] ‘RTTY’ (pronounced ‘ritty’) is short for radio teletype, and is heard as jingling on the bands, most commonly between 14080 and 14090kHz. What causes its distinctive sound is the rapid shifting (45.45 times per second) of the carrier between two frequencies 170Hz apart. The highest of the two (RF) frequencies is known as the ‘mark’, which corresponds to the ‘1’ in the binary code; the lower frequency is the ‘space’, representing the ‘0’. Each string of five ones and/or zeros denominate either a letter, number or symbol of punctuation. This type of five-bit code is known as ‘Baudot’, and has been the encryption used by landline telex machines since the early days of teleprinting.
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What makes RTTY unique among the modes used in contests is that the PC does all of the ‘listening’; the computer displays the text received from other stations (e.g. callsign, serial number), with the operator passively accepting the information and putting it into the log. It all sounds very easy, and for much of the time it is. Sorting out the wheat from the chaff in terms of operating prowess is the ability to correctly copy signals that are weak while the background noise itself is producing proxy ones and noughts and, by extension, phony characters. A clever operator will sense whether or not that array of letters and numbers on the screen does, indeed, relate to text that is true – or, in old teleprinter parlance, represent a ‘good print’. All up, RTTY is one of those modes that are easy to do at a basic level but challenging to do at the highest level. With all this in mind, we set about organising for the contest. What was assumed in the planning to be the molehills turned out instead to be the mountains. Despite us having a proper PC-radio interface and the correct leads to the radio that we intended to use, a Yaesu FTDX5000, the rig locked in transmit when we attempted ‘FSK’ RTTY – the method of producing RTTY most suitable for this particular Yaesu model. Thankfully, Pete M1PTR managed to find a workaround – although using the ‘AFSK’ method – before the contest commenced.
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(‘FSK’ RTTY involves the PC commanding the radio’s synthesiser to carriers on the frequencies of either the mark or the space; ‘AFSK’ RTTY, on the other hand, is the production of subcarriers on the desired RF frequencies for the mark and space by way of audio tones modulating an RF carrier – like what is done with PSK or voice SSB. ‘FSK’ is generally thought to be the method that produces the cleanest signal.) Despite the palaver with PC-radio interfacing, the operation went fairly smoothly, and it turned out that the problem that I’d most expected to occur – ‘RF in the shack’ – didn’t. RF pickup on cabling is always an issue, but it is especially the case with RTTY, given that it’s a full-duty-cycle mode: you are using peak power over the entire duration of your transmission, as opposed to about half of the time during a typical CW over. High duty cycle is a concern for amplifiers, too, so we used a valve external linear and put out half the usual power: 400W at the source; about 200W at the antenna. The only trouble we had was when yours truly didn’t retune the amp after changing bands, popping the fuse in the mains plug. Other limitations that we imposed on ourselves included having only a single transmitting rig (the FTDX5000), a single mast erected and only dipoles for the MF bands. Total operating time was also restricted: the experimental nature of the operation and shortage of personnel meant that we participated in only 17 hours of what was a 48-hour contest, with shifts lasting from 1400-2200UTC on the Saturday and 0500 to 1400UTC on the Sunday. Even with the time and equipment handicaps, we amassed a fairly decent score: 167,817, which resulted from 391unduplicated QSOs, 34 CQ zones and 86 countries. All up, the contest was a success and, in the areas in which we had difficulties – like interfacing – we’ve learned our lessons for the future. While RTTY may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it is able to done to a reasonable standard by beginners, and mic shyness isn’t really an issue. Join us next time.
Evan M0TJU 15
Jamboreee On The Air 2018 First Poynton Scout Group GB1POY Stockport Radio Society were contacted by Steve Shaw, Scout Leader from the First Poynton Group for assistance in running a ‘Jamboree On The Air’ session from their HQ in Poynton village. On making contact with Steve we quickly learnt the group was looking to make contact with a number of their troop away at their Barnswood camp near Leek, and also make contact with foreign JOTA stations on only the evening of Friday 19t October rather than the whole weekend. To address these requirements we planned to establish 2 stations and associated antennas. The first would be for VHF using a FT857 feeding a 2m and 70cm collinear offering a direct path or via a local repeater if necessary to contact Barnswood.
While a 80/40m dipole should provide HF SSB contacts around UK and into Europe using a FT1000. Both stations were provided with Internet access using the clubs external 4G router for DX Cluster and QRZ.COM access. Assembly of the stations was planned to start at 2.00pm on Friday afternoon by SRS members Tony M0SAV, Kieron M5KJM, Pete M1PTR, Tom M0DCG, Neil M6NAE, Jim M6URD and myself.
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The operation started c19.30 after a short introduction to Amateur Radio and the SRS team going onto approx. 22.00 local time. Support for the event was received by Nigel 2E0CKA who ended up running the 2m stations with the scouts and Heather M6HNS who ended up on HF as soon as she got through the door. Elaine 2E1BVS also joined the group from her home QTH and spoke to the scourts on HF Neil M6NAE also provided a short demonstration on the digital side of amateur radio using Icom ID51 Dstart handheld, blue DC app running on android phone and powerbank. This was tethered to my mobile phone for internet access to the Dstar and Fusion network. Bernard G3SHF
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Frequencies LF (Low Frequency) 2000m : 135.7 - 137.8Khz MF (Medium Frequency) 630m : 472 - 479Khz 160m : 1.81 - 2.0Mhz HF (High Frequency) 80m : 3.5 - 3.8Mhz 60m : Consists of 11 spot frequencies check band plan 40m : 7.0 - 7.2Mhz 30m : 10.1 - 10.15Mhz 20m : 14 - 14.35Mhz 17m : 18.068 - 18.168Mhz 15m : 21 - 21.45Mhz 12m : 24.89 - 24.99Mhz 10m : 28 - 29.7Mhz
Trophy Presentation (In advance of 18 January 2019) Due to this winner not being able to attend the presentation evening to collect his award, the Committee decided to take the award to him. Winner of G3SHW Trophy for Operating Achievement
Note for operating on 60m Only available to advanced licence holders
VHF (Very High Frequency) 6m : 50 - 52Mhz 4m : 70 - 70.5Mhz 2m : 144.0 - 146.0Mhz
UHF
(Ultra High Frequency)
70cms : 430.0 - 440Mhz 23cms : 1240.0 - 325Mhz
Alan M6KOY Keep up the good work 18
Club Nets
Membership You can become a member of Stockport Radio Society by completing a membership form and, either emailing it to membership@g8srs.co.uk or handing the form to the Membership Secretary, Nigel 2E0CKA, at any Society meeting.
Payable Annually on Dec 1st Senior Family Country Pensioner Junior
£12.00 £12.00 £ 7.00 £ 7.00 £ 1.00
Juniors upto 18 yrs of age Senior upto 64 yrs of age Pensioner from 65 yrs of age
Meeting Admission £2.00 per meeting. If you are interested in paying your subs by standing order, please contact the Treasurer on treasurer@g8srs.co.uk
It has been decided, that the following callsigns may be used by any full licence holder chairing the nets G8SRS, G6UQ, G3LX, M5MDX All club call signs will be used on a rotational basis by full licence holders authorised by Alan G0ROW. This will give members a chance to gain points for the SRS Centenary award 2m net, 6m net, 70cm net If you have any queries about the use of these callsigns, please speak to either Tony M0SAV or Alan G0ROW at any Club meeting
Net Controllers We are also looking for net controllers to chair a specific net. If you have the equipment and would like to try and chair a net, please contact Alan G0ROW who will happily help you. If you would like to try a net with a current net controller with you, again speak to Alan G0ROW The current Net Controllers are: Alan G0ROW, Neil M6NAE, Heather M6HNS, Keith 2E0JPY
Tony M0SAV, Nigel 2E0CKA, Nigel M0VNL Slawek M0SQJ
The Friday 70cm Nets are now transmitting at 7.30pm via GM3MR
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Morse Code
Morse Code
Phonetic Alphabet
1
._ _ _ _
A
._
A
Alpha
2
.._ _ _
B
_...
B
Bravo
3
..._ _
C
_._.
C
Charlie
4
…._
D
_..
D
Delta
5
…..
E
.
E
Echo
6
_....
F
.._.
F
Foxtrot
7
_ _...
G
_ _.
G
Golf
8
_ _ _..
H
….
H
Hotel
9
____.
I
..
I
India
0
_____
J
._ _ _
J
Juliet
K
_._
K
Kilo
Our Morse
L
._..
classes run
M
__
L
Lima
on each club
N
_.
M
Mike
night from
O
___
N
November
7.00 to 7.30
P
._ _ .
O
Oscar
pm.
Q
_ _._
P
Papa
R
._.
Q
Quebec
Come and
S
…
R
Romeo
speak to
T
_
S
Sierra
Evan M0TJU
U
.._
T
Tango
if you would
V
…_
U
Uniform
like to give
W
._ _
V
Victor
this part of
X
_.._
W
Whiskey
the hobby a
Y
_._ _
X
X-Ray
try.
Z
_ _..
Y
Yankee
Z
Zulu
20
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Courses - FLC/ILC/ALC Course Secretary John Marsh - M0JFM courses@g8srs.co.uk
Are you interested in taking a course with Stockport Radio Society. We run all three courses at Walthew House, in Stockport. If you would like to put your name down for one of the three courses, please email John on courses@g8srs.co.uk. These courses fill up very quickly, so don’t delay book NOW!
Course Fees Foundation - £50.00 - Based on a minimum of 6 students Intermediate - £116.00 - Based on a minimum of 4 students (Inclusive of construction kit) Advanced - £95.00 - Based on a minimum of 4 students These prices were correct at the time of printing.
Foundation Here are our new dates for the next course Saturday and Sunday 26 & 27 January 2019 Saturday 2 February 2019 for examination
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Intermediate Our 2019 intermediate dates are as follows Saturday – Sunday 9 & 10 February 2019 Saturday – Sunday 23 & 24 February 2019 Saturday 2 March including the exam.
Advanced Below are the dates for the current course. Congratulations to all those that took their advanced examination Full callsign holders are below Nigel S - 2E0NGE now M0VNL Steve B - 2E0ISB now MOMWB Dave A - 2E0VTD now M0LGO New dates will be published in the next issue
Remember when you have your new callsign do not forget to inform the Membership Secretary Nigel 2E0CKA on m6bbl@btinternet.com and he can update his records and then forward onto Heth M6HNS to update the website. QUA is compiled by Heather Stanley M6HNS. If you have any articles, reviews or announcements that you would like to see in the pages of QUA, please send your information to srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk or give Heather a call on 07506 904422 23
SRS Links RSGB www.rsgb.org UKFM Group Western www.ukfmgw.org.uk Ofcom www.ofcom.org.uk ARRL www.arrl.org 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
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
Ham Links www.eham.nets Hack Green SDR www.hackgreen.co.uk
If you have any Links you would Like to see on this Page please email srswebsite@g8srs.co.uk
Get your logs in and get yourself on the HF ladder with your chance to win a trophy at the end of the year. If you are new to the HF Ladder speak to Pete M1PTR at a club meeting or email info@g8srs.co.uk for further Information. 24
Repeaters - www.ukfmgw.co.uk 23cm
Output
RX1
Mode
GB3SE 70cm
1297.0750 Mhz 1291.0750 Mhz Analogue
Stoke on Trent
GB3CR
433.1500 Mhz 434.7500 Mhz Analogue
Mold
GB3LI
433.2500 Mhz 434.8500 Mhz Analogue
Liverpool
GB3LL
434.0000 Mhz 434.6000 Mhz Analogue
Llandudno
GB3MA
433.0250 Mhz 434.6250 Mhz Analogue
Bury
GB3MF
433.0500 Mhz 434.6500 Mhz Analogue
Macclesfield
GB3MR
433.3500 Mhz 434.9500 Mhz Analogue
Stockport
GB3PZ
430.9000 Mhz 438.5000 Mhz Analogue
Dukinfield
GB3SM
433.3250 Mhz 434.9250 Mhz Analogue
Stoke on Trent
GB3ST
433.2250 Mhz 434.8250 Mhz Analogue
Stoke on Trent
GB3WP
430.9375 Mhz 438.5375 Mhz Analogue
Hyde
GB7DV
439.6125 Mhz 430.6125 Mhz Digital
St Helens
GB7WC 2m
439.4875 Mhz 430.4875 Mhz Digital
Warrington
GB3MN
Analogue 145.6500 Mhz 145.0500 Mhz Digital Fusion
Stockport
GB3MP
145.7500 Mhz 145.1500 Mhz Analogue
Denbigh
GB3VT 6m
145.7250 Mhz 145.1250 Mhz D Star
Stoke on Trent
GB3SX
50.7900 Mhz
Stoke on Trent
51.2900 Mhz
Analogue
Location
If you use the repeaters on a regular basis, please subscribe to them www.ukfmgw.co.uk. Please check the website to confirm which are currently working 25
2018 HF & 6 Ladder
There was a total of 16 entrants - a mix of full and foundation licence holders
Last years winner VK2BJ - Barry did not complete but entered as a checklog
Band conditions remained quiet with most activity favouring low bands. However the 6m magic band produced a lead score from Carsten G0SYP
Band activity and active DXCCs always peaked during contests
Data modes, especially FT8 provided some new DXCCs when bands were quiet.
26
2 & 70cm Ladder
This is the first year this table has been trialled.
There was a total of 11 entrants - a mix of full and foundation licence holders
Internet QSOs dominated the table, so not exactly a level playing field.
The SRS Committee will review the rules for this section to make it a more balanced competition. Suggestions from members for improvements are welcome..
And the 2018 Winner’s are You will have to wait for the next issue
27
Stockport Radio Society Walthew House, 112 Shaw Heath, Stockport SK2 6QS 07506 904422 / info@g8srs.co.uk Print Sponsor of QUA, and general printers of all SRS Literature Olympic Press Soapstone Way, Irlam, Manchester M44 6RA Tel : 0161 775 2555 / sales@olympicpress.co.uk
Stockport Radio Society are affiliated members of RSGB (Radio Society of Great Britain) and NARSA (Northern Amateur Radio Society Association) 28