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SPRING IS HERE AND SO IS THE WYTHALL RADIO CLUB 2024 EASTER CONTEST (WELL NEARLY!)

March 24, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club, Contest, Fun, News

THE WYTHALL RADIO CLUB EASTER CONTEST IS ANNOUNCED

SPRING IS HERE!!

“ONLY CONNECT”

Calling all 52 members of Wythall Radio Club !!!

Get active .. get on the air.. talk to folk.. communicate..exchange greetings..meet up on the air with old friends… …only connect….. and have fun with RF!!

G0ICJ All Band Easter Contest Shield

G6ZDQ 2m/70cm Bands Easter Contest  Shield

 This contest is in recognition of two dedicated members of Wythall Radio Club:

COLIN  BAKER:  THE G6ZDQ The EASTER VHF CONTEST SHIELD (pictured left above)

DAVID DAWKES:  THE G0ICJ EASTER HF CONTEST SHIELD (pictured right above)

Where does the time go? It seems only yesterday that we were taking down the decorations , disposing of the tree, watching the rain and preparing to receive the Xmas Contest Results

Now the Wythall Radio Club 2024 Easter Contest is upon us..it’s still raining  but there are trophies and certificates to be won 

The aim of the Contest is quite simply to promote activity amongst members of the Club and of course is open to all members.. especially our new members!

The contest starts 1000 local Maundy Thursday (28th March 2024)

The contest ends 2000 local Easter Monday (1st April 2024)

Full details have been posted on the Club reflector as per usual but one new initiative  this time:

MEMBERS CAN MAKE CONTACT WITH TWO DIFFERENT NON-CLUB  MEMBERS EACH DAY FOR AN EXTRA POINT PER QSO.

THE ONLY STIPULATION IS THAT IT IS A ‘MEMORABLE’ QSO EXCHANGING AT LEAST A NAME AND SIGNAL REPORT AVOIDING THE QUICK FIRE 599/PILE UP QSO’s (SO FT4/FT8 QSO’S ARE NOT VALID!)

 

 Maundy Thursday ..1000 local time ..’Only Connect !!’

 


The Vibroplex Champion Semi-Automatic Bug Key-A Restoration Story

March 11, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club, Fun, News

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN CHRIS G0EYO WAS CONFRONTED BY  THESE 5  MORSE KEYS BOUGHT FROM A  STOURBRIDGE AUCTION HOUSE AND EMBARKED UPON A LABOUR OF LOVE  AND RESTORATION………….

…..and chose this Vibroplex Semi-Automatic  Bug key for restoration? (pictured below)

The Vibroplex key in its original condition

In this wide ranging and fascinating article Chris takes us through not only the restoration project, but his own  experience of CW in the past  working once as a CW intercept operator in the Government agencies of Bletchley Park and GCHQ and, since then  his determination to improve his sending of CW.

Fresh from the Auction House.. 5 Morse keys in need of some TLC!

With a brief history of the development of Morse keys from simple circuit breakers .. straight keys to the foundation of the Vibroplex Company and the semi- automatic Bug in 1905 Chris leads us to  the present day and the not previously- viewed arrival of a collection of old keys from a Stourbridge Auction house.

His gaze is drawn magnetically to a  Vibroplex Champion Semi-automatic Bug key (serial number 164719)  much in need of some TLC.

THE AUTHOR IN HIS WORKSHOP

 

It is this process that Chris documents in some detail describing the painstaking process and subsequent realisation of an immaculate example of this iconic key.

Read the full article in the Website Library .


On-the-air evening at Wythall Club

March 01, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News

Visitors are welcome at Wythall Radio Club’s on-the-air evening, next Tuesday 5th March from 8.00pm.

We’ll be using the Club’s 260ft doublet and TS590 rig.

Let’s see what we can work – have a go if you hold a licence (Foundation licensees can use 100w with our Club call).

 

Find us in the Darts Room on the ground floor, or in our usual spot on the far side of the bar.

Refreshments are available.

(PS well spotted – that’s not a TS590 in the photo!)


The Full Licence? An Introduction and Guide to the full Amateur Radio Experience- by G0EYO

February 13, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club, News, Training

The full amateur radio experience is within your grasp: read on and discover.

A recent pass of the Full Licence Examination by our Hon Sec. Clive (now M0KNP) got our Training Co-ordinator Chris G0EYO thinking about how wonderful it is that people who have an interest in radio communications, but no technical, engineering or academic training can pass an examination in which some of the questions require them to learn a high level of technical and electronic theory and scientific calculations.

Chris G0EYO has written an article “Achieving the Impossible by Getting That Full Amateur Licence”  where he describes how the structured approach of the Bath Distance Learning Team has got around 1000 amateurs through their Intermediate and Full Licence examinations with their courses which have an award winning success rate.  It is based around a Syllabus which is produced by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) and approved by Ofcom. Each course ties in the material in Course Books (again published by the RSGB) with the requirements of the Syllabus, so that everything that is examinable is covered by the course.

The team behind the course have put in an incredible amount of time and research to make sure there are no gaps in the training and that each week’s topics tested by a quiz which the students do under timed conditions. The weekly tutorials are optional but are at the same time every Wednesday evening on Zoom. If a student is unable to watch a tutorial in real time a YouTube video of it is available to watch the next day. The tutorial is also supported by a power point presentation and this also available as a PDF to download the next day. 

At the end of the course, the student is expected to have a go at several Mock exams similarly structured to the ones set by the RSGB. It is the tutor’s job to supply the students with worked answers for all the quizzes and mock exams after they have been submitted and to help them with any queries they may have on the questions or course material. The tutor also keeps in contact with the student over his progress and will chivvy them along if they fall behind.

The BBDL Intermediate course runs for 19 weeks and the Full course runs for 20 weeks. Both of these courses call for a serious commitment from the student. In addition to the 2 hour weekly tutorial, you will need to spend another 2 to 4 hours studying each week’s material, preparing for and doing the weekly quiz.

https://www.wythallradioclub.co.uk/?page_id=13341&preview=true

 

YOU WILL FIND THE ARTICLE IN THE LIBRARY/ARTICLEOF THE WEBSITE OR THROUGH THE URL LINK ABOVE


How Low Can You Go? Try 0.1 watts!

February 07, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News

There were 100mW QSOs during Wythall Radio Club’s QRP month in January.s_meter_2.gif

John M6KET wound down the wick and used 0.1 watt to work Germany, France and England on 30m cw. 

Upping the power to 500 milliwatts gave him QSOs with Germany and Hungary also on 30m.  

Overall, 48 countries were worked using 5 watts or less on CW, and 50 countries using 10 watts or less on FT8.

It was harder work on SSB, with only 9 countries worked.

John M6KET and Kev G4XLO topped the CW and FT8 leader boards with 46 and 48 countries respectively.

Not bad for one month’s operating!

Using 1 watt on 30m, the big surprise for John was working C6AAE (Bahamas) at 16.45 UTC.  He also had a QRZ from  TZ4AM, but unfortunately Jeff in Mali wasn’t able to copy all John’s callsign.

Using 5 watts – the full CW QRP power allowance! – John had great success on 12m cw including Nepal, Kuwait and Qatar.

Kev G4XLO in Torbay had spectacular results on FT8, working 48 DXCC entities despite gradually reducing power during the week – starting with 10 watts for the first week, then 5 watts, and finally 2 watts from the FT817. 

Amongst his highlights were Antigua (an all time new one), Cyprus – the op. was Sergio Rebrov ex-Tottenham manager!, San Marino and Puerto Rico.  

Kev found that 5 watts was enough to get across to west coast USA.

Lee G0MTN was also active, although other commitments limited his operating time using his new battery-powered QRPLabs QMX rig.

Darren GW7HOC used QRP in the past:

“I’ve worked VK4 from a tent in Cornwall on 20M SSB with 5W… I was in a tent! The antenna was an 80M mobile whip via an ATU.

I’ve crossed the Atlantic hundreds of times on 2.5W or less, mainly on SSB. I’ve crossed the pond many times on 1/2W or less on CW.

QRP is the best way to enjoy the hobby. No computers. No weak signal modes, either phone or CW.”

Chris G3YHF was mainly been on 7030kHz CW with his Rooster at 1w working around Europe.

He added a Sotabeams audio filter which made a big improvement to selectivity and a Kanga kits keyer module, but this left the operating desk now a bit of a rats nest!

You can read more about Chris’s adventures with the Rooster here.

 


Next Week to Wythall Radio Club. Tuesday 6th February at 8.30 pm. All welcome- Members and Non Members Alike

February 02, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club

 

 

 

 

HOW I BECAME INTERESTED IN SATELLITE COMMUNICATION AND THE BENEFITS OF USING THE QO-100 SATELLITE AS AN EVERYDAY SET UP

 

 

 

I became interested in satellite quite soon after getting my licence, but it was very expensive to take up. The complexity of tracking the satellite across the sky was not within my budget. I did try the Armstrong method and really struggled. So, I decided to move on from that.

Many years later I started listening to the ISS from a simple handheld and received a few slows can pictures. I also heard stations working through both on voice and packet. Again, I parked the hobby but on this visit back to the hobby I have set my station up so that it is permanent and I can simply lock things away when I’m not working.

Some time in mid 2022, I happened to be reading an item, I forget where exactly, about a geostationary satellite that had been launched. This seemed more interesting. A satellite I could just point at and leave set up. Yes it’s lazy but it is also reliable. What was also interesting was the fact that the satellite was available on a webSDR. This became my first port of call, which quite soon made me realise that this was a thing I would be interested in.

I did some research and decided on purchasing a ready- made transverter. Unfortunately, due to my own mistake, I managed to wire up a couple of connections incorrectly and damaged the transverter. The manufacturers were very supportive and we eventually got me on the air.

It has become a bit of a passion of mine, even going portable from time to time, with a foldable 60cm dish.

Hopefully my talk on 6th February at 8.30 pm in the Darts’ Room at Wythall House will give an insight as to how we got to this point, with a quick history of satellite communication and the benefits of using the QO-100 satellite as an every day set up.

 


Rig Review: Yaesu FT3 with C4FM/Fusion

January 27, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News

Wythall Radio Club member Kev G4XLO, based in sunny Torbay, Devon, recently splashed out on a new handy. Here’s his review…
 
I had thought about getting a new HT for a couple of months. I normally read reviews and get other hams’ opinions before I take the plunge. 
 
I’ve always been a Yaesu ham as I find these are the best quality (personal preference). I considered what options I had and what cash I had available. 
 
I took the plunge this week and found a Yaesu FT3 for sale from one of the main dealers here in the UK. On arrival the radio was in perfect showroom condition without a mark or blemish and came with everything that was with it when it was new. 
 
The first thing I noticed was the size.  It’s small, fits perfectly in the palm of my hand and feels ‘right’.
 
On power up it asks you to enter your callsign, essential for the Fusion network, then takes you to the main VFO screen. Swapping between VFO A and VFO B is a breeze.
 
I had a quick read of the manual and very soon had programmed the first repeater in.  I was hitting it on just the 2.5 Watts to the stock antenna, so getting into the Fusion network was flawless. 
 
The menus seem pretty easy and self explanatory but I find I refer to the book of words quite a bit still. I have the ADMS software which I am still populating with ham, marine as well as airband chanells. 
 
The screen has a lot of information cleverly organised and for once easy to use.
 
Cons – I think the main concern of the radio is the slight ‘tinny’ sound of the speaker especially compared to the FT70 that was a lot ‘fuller’.  I would say that’s the only fault!
 
I love this radio as a) it’s easy to use as well as b) I’ve had some good audio reports back on both Fusion as well as analogue. 
 
I had read online about the charge time for the radio. For a radio in this price bracket I would have expected a rapid charger as standard.  Also some people had commented that when the radio is charging, the status bar does not move from one or two bars, although not the case of the one I have. 
 
Yes, it takes about 9 hours to charge it but it does say ‘charge complete’ at the end of the cycle. Talking of the battery, I find it holds the charge really well and easily lasts 11 to 12 hours on rx with a bit of playing around and a few quick QSOs. 
 
I’m really impressed with this HT. 
 
I have read other reviews from people that say it’s one of the worst HTs out there but come on… I think this is a great little radio and is now my ‘go to’ HT and for the money I paid very well worth it. 
 
Well done Yaesu!
 
Kev is also a big fan of low power FT8 with basic antennas – he’s been very active during our Club’s QRP ‘How low can you go’ January – watch this space for a report!
 
All we need to do now is convince him to get back to some CW as a few years ago he won the Lew Williams Shield for most improved CW operator!
 
An earlier version of this review was published on eham.net

The Results in Full: Wythall Radio Club Xmas Contest 2023

January 19, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club, Contest, Fun, News

Contest Organiser Lee presents Martin M7XFD with his certificate as Leading Foundation Member in the Xmas Contest.

David G7IBO, a veteran of many Wythall Radio Club Contests, receives his certificate from Lee


Wythall Radio Club Xmas Contest 2023 Presentation Evening

January 18, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club, Contest, Fun, News

G7OJO All Band and 2E0BLP 2m/70cm FM Christmas Contest 

 

Wythall Radio  Club held their 2023 Xmas Contest Awards evening recently , hosted as ever by Lee G0MTN. The event was well supported with some 24 members attending through Zoom and in person.

The aim of the Contest is quite simply to have fun and boost band activity amongst members (and has absolutely nothing to do with getting away from family for a while during the stressful festive period.)

Anyway the above aims were achieved with most activity taking place on the Club frequency 145.225 and using GB3WL.

HF activity was evident with SSB, FT8 and even CW QSO’s recorded.

Lee also reported an increase in digital voice activity but the seasonal bad weather meant little portable and mobile activity!

Bravery Awarded -2E0NCO out in the Lickey Hill during the 2023 Xmas Contest!

Kevin 2E0NCO did however brave the elements (and was rewarded for his efforts).

Other highlights included the bonus multipliers provided by Allen M0PPX, Dave GM3YXM on 1942kHz (160m) and the very welcome involvement of our two newest members Martin M7FXD and John G7PIR.

Log checking was occasionally  a challenge (guilty as charged) as a few failed to cope with the electronic logging system kindly provided by organiser Lee , but neatly written copies are always welcome. (2E0XET should take note in the future!)

AND SO TO THE RESULTS: 

THE 2E0BLP 2M/70CM TROPHY

           CONGRATULATIONS TO KEVIN 2E0NCO    HONOURING    A LONGSTANDING FAMILY TRADITION

 

The leading Foundation member award went to Martin M7XFD

 

The All Modes SectionTHE G7OJO TROPHY:

 CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRIS G3YHF

       John G7PIR received the Newcomer’s Award

 

 

                    (The full result board will be published here in the coming week)

Lee was thanked for his fantastic work in organising and running  the event and we now look forward to Neil’s G1TZC  Satellite Presentation on Tuesday February 6th in the Darts Room at Wythall House (8.30 p.m.)

 

 

 

 


From the Workbench – Operating the Kanga Rooster, Part 2

January 10, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News

Over the last month I’ve had a lot of fun with my Rooster rig.  The build was described in a previous post

It’s xtal-controlled on 7.030 MHz – the 40m qrp frequency – and with a 12 volt supply my power meter reads 1 watt out.

The current set-up with added peripheral circuits and my Palm paddle is shown in the photo left.

I soon decided that I needed to add an electronic keyer.  My traditional telegraph key, hand-made by G0NVT, is a lovely piece of engineering and a delight to use.  However, I’m out of practice and can only manage a couple of QSOs before fatigue sets in!
 
So I built the Kanga OSK electronic keyer module (photo left) in order to use my Bencher Hex paddle.  This worked first time as well, which is always a relief!
 
The Rooster’s sidetone was quite loud relative to daytime signals so I changed capacitor C16, that sets the sidetone volume, for one that’s half the value and this quietened it down.
 
Night-time signals are very loud and the Rooster lacks a volume control.  Club members made a number of suggestions as to how I could add one, and inserting a 50k ohm potentiometer (the value used in the earlier Foxx 3) between the phone jack and the headphones seemed the most feasible solution.  
 
I haven’t yet done this.  I only use the rig in daylight hours as 40m band conditions in the winter evenings are not currently suitable for my qrpp.
 
The other addition is a Sotabeams dual bandwidth audio filter (photo right).  This comes ready-built and just needs wiring up for power, bandwidth switching and audio in and out.  I power it from a pp3 battery.Digital Filter PCB
 
This makes a huge difference to selectivity, and is an improvement on the Roosters own active audio filter.
 
My winter antenna is a 120ft inverted L fed against radials laid around the garden.  With current band conditions I’ve mainly been working inter-G during the day and western European stations later in the afternoon – usually F, DL, I and PA.
 
Many of my contacts are responses to my CQs (inevitably, as I’m restricted to one frequency), and often from qrp stations.
 
Signal strength reports I’ve received vary from s3 to s7.  Using RBN, I can see occasional spots from around 1000 miles – OH, EA, TF and I.  Some are just above the noise while others are reasonably strong.
 
It will be interesting to see if I can get across the pond to W or VE as we move into the spring and band conditions change.
 
I haven’t yet put the keyer or audio filter in enclosures so the operating desk is a bit of a rats nest at the moment, as you can see from the first photo. 
 
Overall, a fun project to see what I can work using a very simple set-up compared with my main rig – an Elecraft K3S!