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Archive for the ‘Fun’

Activities for next 12 months!

October 05, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News

What’s happening at the low frequency end of the amateur spectrum?

Dave Pick, G3YXM, RadCom’s LF correspondent, will be revealing all on 5th November at 8.30pm, Darts Room, Wythall House.

All welcome. 

Have some refreshment at Wythall House bar before and after the event.

This is just one of the features in Wythall Radio Club’s new 12 month programme now available here – and on right hand side of our home page.

We’ll post updates as events are added and finalised.  

Photo of Droitwich aerial system courtesy of an anonymous rigger in late 1960s – source and more info here

Is 10 meters open?

September 30, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News, Training

Is 10 open today?

That’s the question many of us are asking as we wait for the summer doldrums to disappear and sunspot maximum conditions to reappear.

One way is to put out a call and see if anyone answers. 

When I first got my licence I was told it’s always worth calling on a band that seems dead – it may just be that everyone assumes the lack of activity means it’s dead, when in fact it’s open!

Another way for voice mode and CW operators is to see if they can hear any FT8 burbling on 28.074USB.  If there is, decoding signals may indicate what paths are open.

Then there is the VERY extensive beacon network.  There are beacons on all amateur bands, but 10 meters is very well served.  

Most 10 meter beacons are found between 28.200 and 28.300, with some below and above these frequencies.

Beacons transmit their callsigns in Morse code, and may also give their locator square, power and antenna details.  Listening to them can be good practice for copying Morse code!

There is a recently updated list of beacons here.

Remember to enable CW on your receiver to get the correct frequency!

Early this morning I could only hear the German beacon DL0IGI, transmitting on 28.205. 

At lunchtime, I couldn’t receive this beacon – but instead the Faroe Islands beacon OY6BEC was very strong on 28.235. 

This is part of a comprehensive set of beacons in a radome to protect from the weather – shwon in photo left!

 

 

 

There is a special worldwide set of 18 beacons on 28.200 – the International Beacon Project. 

Each beacon transmits for 12 seconds once every 3 minutes at 100 watts.  There are then 4 x 1 second dashes sent at 100, 10, 1 and 0.1 watts. 

Beacon MapThis lunchtime I could only hear 4X6TU in Israel, and I copied the 100 and 10 watt dashes, I could just hear the 1 watt dash, but not the 0.1 watt dash. 

Beacons may transmit a continuous tone between sending the callsign – so if you hear a tone, listen for a bit and see if a callsign appears.

At least it’s something to do if the band doesn’t have any QSOs on it!

 

 

 

The Great Stoke Prior Steam Rally: Spreading the word about Amateur Radio

September 25, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club, Fun, News

                     Got to keep dry!!

Sometimes it just seems that the elements only need a whiff of our  ‘Easy-Ups’ to unleash their worst weather!

So it came to pass that under the approving gaze of the twin masts at Droitwich the team survived and indeed enjoyed a very productive  weekend of radio on CW, SSB. Satellite and Digital at this years Stoke Prior Steam Rally

Read on for first hand accounts from esteemed team leader Neil, G1TCZ and Ian M0LQY.

This happy band .. Neil, Gary, Phil, Ian and John

NEIL G1TZC writes:

For me, as always, the challenge is to be part of the team but stay as self-contained as possible. For satellite communication the site was as perfect as it gets. Plenty of south sky, short feeders and ground that you could get pegs in to easily.

Neil gets the operation station ready to go

On arriving on Saturday morning to set up the equipment I realised I had forgotten the second tablet and a feeder. Most of the station was set up and then a quick dash back home to grab the missing items was done. Although wet, there were a steady stream of people interested in what part old TV dishes had in our hobby. Explaining that a small amount of modification was required but they were basically still TV dishes seemed to be helpful for the level that people wanted to know about.

Most found it interesting that we were bouncing signals off a satellite at 25000 miles with a frequency used for wi fi. How come I have such a struggle getting wi fi from one side of my house to the other and you can do this, is often a question.

Also visiting amateurs from other clubs were welcomed to the stand, including a member of the Aberdeen Radio Club. For me, spreading the word about our hobby is almost as enjoyable as the operations side.

Ian and Darren swap a yarn or two. Darren and Carol are regulars at this event

As far as operation was concerned, around 35 contacts were made via satellite using SSB and FT8. As supportive of our events as ever was Garry, ZD7GWM, on St Helena with a rag chew during a quiet and rainy period. EU6DZ, was a very low signal with us but after a few attempts we managed to confirm the contact, sending a 4/5 report. Kadri, TA1D, often calls in to our activities from Antalya and did not disappoint. Also notable on FT8 was BG9HKP.

IAN M0LQY writes

On Friday evening with cars full to overflowing an intrepid group of WRC members set off to continue a ‘summer’ program of event attendance helping to promote amateur radio.

The event chosen this time was the traction steam rally nr. Bromsgrove. This rally in fact has much more than just the mighty steam traction engines with vintage cars, military vehicles, miniature working models and a steam organ all on display.

Ian M0LQY in digital mode

Using a selection of wire and vertical antennas and satellite equipment we made contacts throughout Europe and the UK. For the first time we utilized a recently donated vertical multiband antenna, this performed extremely well and was a definite success. Sustained by tasty bacon sandwiches and hot drinks (Thanks Phil) we bravely battled the worst of this year’s British weather.

Accompanied by a background of steam whistles, organ music and the adjacent mainline railway our hardy group cheerfully demonstrated the fun to be had by Amateur Radio. Clearly global warming having  took the day off tried its best to derail us off but was never likely to win. Great fun was had by all with many laughs and much interest.  People came to our stand to ask questions and hear us operating and of course shelter from the many downpours.

Saturday morning provided the best of the weather and we entertained lots of interested visitors. We were even visited by a fellow Radio Ham all the way from Aberdeen.  A couple of our group even stayed overnight preferring the elements to a warm comfortable bed.  Now there is commitment or maybe madness: the jury is out!!   (Commitment! Ed)

Anyway a great weekend of fun and enjoyment ending in dampness. The hope is that next year (September 20th-21st 2025 ) we get some better weather and we can begin again and WRC can continue with having fun with RF……

The tea and bacon butter maker..(mischievous smile.. what went into those sandwiches and who was lucky enough to get one?)

JOHN M6KET writes

….Yes we welcomed visitors from as far afield as Aberdeen George MM0TGG and old friend and current member Darren GW7HOC (last seen on a Sinclair C5!!) and wife Carol…Dave from the Wirral who helped me set up an instant sked with Bill G4YWD and many folk who just stopped by to chat including the Original Chairman of Bromsgrove Radio Club and his wife.

Chris’ CW table was visited and worked but on this damp occasion no certificates were awarded!!

We were pleased to see Gary G5RGS. He had made the effort to come down from Sutton Coldfield and the extra vehicle made all the difference in getting the three Easy- Ups down and back to Wythall.

ALL IN ALL A VERY SUCCESSFUL AND ENJOYABLE WEEKEND.. GREAT TEAM SPIRIT…AND WE CAN’T WAIT TO HAVE ANOTHER GO NEXT YEAR 2025.

COMING SOON: THE PRE-AGM MEETING .8.00 pm WYTHALL HOUSE TUESDAY 1ST OCTOBER

 

 

 

 

FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT: KEV G4XLO ON DADDYHOLE PLAIN, TORQUAY

August 28, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club, Fun, News

Members of Wythall Radio Club are not just based in the West Midlands: we can boast membership as far afield as  St. Helena , Cardiff and Torquay! Kev G4XLO is a tremendous supporter of our activities and a real QRP enthusiast. Here he writes of a successful low noise G4XLO/P outing to Daddyhole Plain. (Lovely place name: Ed.)

Kev G4XLO in relaxed mode with friends

“Ever since I moved to Devon in late 2016 I’ve wanted to operate portable as the noise level here in Torquay is really bad- there is so much noise it’s sometimes impossible to really ‘see’ what is out there .

I was quite lucky last year as I’d saved some pennies for a portable setup and has taken a few attempts to get it all working as it should and streamlining the setup so it deploys quickly. Sadly with family and work   I can’t get out as often as I’d like but these are the times I really look forward to.

I woke up this morning and as I have a weeks leave and the station manager (!) gave me a pass out to play some radio, I headed to my normal place I love here called Daddyhole Plain which is in Torquay and the spot I use is a clifftop car park (free of course!) located 300 yards from the Coast watch station.

My equipment is quite simple, this is the station I use:

1.Yaesu FT817ND

2.Yaesu SCU17 digital interface

3.LDG Z817 auto tuner + 4. Long wire supporter on a SOTABEAM 6m mast

          Kev’s very neat mobile set up.

The kit  can be quickly up and working and in 20 minutes I was fully charged on batteries and ready to go with  2.5 Watts maximum. 

It was a breezy morning on the plain so I had secured the mast with velcro supports (again purchased from Sotabeams.) 

Sotabeam 6 metre mast supporting Kev’s long wire mounted high on Daddyhole Plain

I initially started calling CQ on 20m FT8 and then calling individual stations

I worked just the 4 stations in about an hour, Balearic Islands, Mainland Spain as well as a new one for this year Algeria 7X3WPL which was just over 1200 miles away from my QTH; there was also an SSB QSO I didn’t log as I forgot the last letter of his callsign. (note to self, next time take paper and pen!)

There were a couple of people walking on the Plain who were keen to see what I was doing so I spent a good 20 minutes explaining what Ham Radio is and how we communicate using different modes; they were witness to my HB9 SSB QSO. (Incidentally he gave me a 5 by 2 report) 

Another reason I forgot the last letter of the call for the log as I was busy explaining how the radio was working !!

The breeze picked up…. the mast fell down…..  so time to head for Tesco up the road from where I was to get lunch for the XYL and the junior op!!

G4XLO’s impressive log for the mobile QRP session on Daddyhole Plain

 

A morning well spent  and  some very satisfying  QSO’s with  very low power.”

 

 

Kev G4XLO in Torquay

Visit us on Sunday!

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

POSTPONED DUE TO POOR WEATHER

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR A RESCEDULED EVENT

Wythall Radio Club members will be demo-ing their radio equipment at their ‘Plug and Play’ event this Sunday 8th Sept.

Come and visit us!

We’ll be in the field behind Wythall House, near the Scout Hut.

We’ll have antenna masts up and Club flags flying!

If you do visit us, don’t forget there is a modest charge to use the Wythall Park car park until mid-day.

Summer evening RF fun – and inspiration!

August 20, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News

More sunny Tuesday evenings extended Wythall Radio Club’s portable operation from the lawn outside our base.

On our third week of activity, we had three stations operational. 

The Club call GX4WAC/P was activated using Neil G1TZC’s portable satellite gear. 

This resulted in an impromptu net through the geostationary satellite QO-100 with DJ4FF (Robert), HB9FIY (Chris) and our new Club member Garry ZD7GWM.

The station was the usual ground-station with the 60cm folding dish. The Goonhilly webSDR was used on receive because the satellite was partially obscured by a tree, but the up-link signal into QO-100 was enough to be given a 58 signal report from receiving stations.

Martin 2E0XFI/P set up on another part of the lawn and was delighted with the results using his IC705 and 17 foot-long telescopic vertical, achieving 5 watt FT8 QSOs with Indonesia and 3W9A Vietnam. 

To complete the trio of stations, Chris G3YHF/P brought a home-made 20m delta loop on an 8m pole. 

With Ian, M0LQY, he worked around Europe on the key and had a very pleasant chat with Torgen SA5TBE on SSB – 59 both ways. 

Finally, the light faded, the midges came out and the lawn was emptied of kit and activity.

But that’s not the end of the story!

Our portable lightweight antennas inspired Ian M0LQY to search the SOTABEAMS web-site, where he found a design for a multi-band doublet

Quickly purchasing some lightweight SOTABEAMS cable and spaces, he had one constructed within an hour. 

For the doublet centre, he crafted a small piece of plastic tube with two holes drilled in it and a cable tie to fit the top of a telescopic mast.

The following week the doublet was quickly raised on Chris G3YHF’s 8m telescopic mast. 

The mast survived some bending as the two doublet legs were untangled – as the photo shows!  But within a few minutes we were on the air.

Using an FT817 and small auto-atu, a very low SWR achieved on the higher HF bands and 5 watts of FT8 gave PSK-Reporter spots across Europe.

Even as dusk turned to night, members – and visiting RSGB District Representative Martin M0JZT – could be seen discussing the results of Ian’s experiments.

Members went home for an early night or retired inside the Wythall clubhouse for refreshment, and to continue sharing experiences and ideas.

Very pleasant evenings! 

Our Club meets every Tuesday evening and visitors are always welcome there and at our special events, the programme for which is on our web site.

Our next big event will be ‘Plug and Play’ on Sunday 8th September on the rugby pitch behind the Wythall House complex. 

Members will be bringing along their own equipment to operate, using power kindly provided by Martin G8VXX’s generator.  Come and visit!

 

NO SUMMER DOLDRUMS AT WYTHALL RADIO CLUB.TUESDAY NIGHT ACTIVITIES LAST WEEK

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

 

August may be traditionally a downtime for activities but last Tuesday the Club was humming with activity both inside and out as   members turned off the Olympics and convened at Wythall house  
 Inside in the Dart’s room Martin 2E0XFI linked up his impressive Icom 705 to the Club 240′ doublet and was active on both FT8 and SSB. A problem with SSB TX was resolved when club members rallied round to problem solve (see picture)  
 Outside on the Wimbledon-shaped lawn members erected the recently donated Cushcraft HF Vertical (Thank you G0EYO) and were delighted to record impressive SWR’s on all the major bands; this will be a useful addition to our Plug and Play Field days, the Transport Museum activation and the upcoming Steam Festival in September.   
In a quiet corner of the Patio (?) Neil G1TZC had set up his QO 100 satellite station with a drone antenna and before long M6KET was relieved from his duty of holding a guy rope and was calling CQ on CW and working Gabriele IK7FMQ on the satellite. The next challenge to download the QSO on LOTW!!  
 Meanwhile back in the Dart’s room Martin’s TX problem with SSB transmission had been diagnosed as a faulty microphone – members  Neil G1TZC and Gary G5RGS and Mike G4VPD  rallying round to problem solve.

           Great to meet up during this usually quiet time for Amateur radio activity and share expertise and experiences .. and just chat!!

COMING SOON.. BRILLIANT CONDITIONS ON THE HF BANDS (!??)…..  HOW TO WORK THE BEACONS ON 10M …PLUG AND PLAY ON THE FIELDS OF WYTHALL PARK (7-8TH SEPTEMBER)…THE STOKE PRIOR STEAM RALLY WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 21ST-22ND

FULL DETAILS TO FOLLOW

A Summer’s Evening…The VNA.. Vertical Antennas and the very handy Lawn at Wythall House

August 04, 2024 By: john daws Category: Club, Fun, News

Neil G1TZC  describes yet another successful Tuesday Evening Activity at Wythall Radio Club

” This evening we had an outdoor activity to demonstrate the use of the nano VNA tool. The aim of the evening was to demonstrate how we can see what our antenna is actually doing rather than what you think it is doing.

Several members brought along an array of interesting antennas for testing

                                               The test station ready for use

The test equipment was the VNA with the N type connectors. This was my preferred choice only because I find the N type more durable than the SMA. The VNA was connected to a Fusion 5 tablet with a clip on keyboard, running Windows 11. My reasoning is that I find the software easier to use than using the touch screen.

An important thing that many people don’t understand is how to set the unit up for use. Until recently this included me. This next bit is vital!

Once you have selected the device you must set the sweep parameters BEFORE you run the calibrate sequence.

The sweep parameters will give you the lowest hand highest frequency that you are interested in. For the first round of tests we used 1MHz to 31MHz so that it showed the full HF band for people who thought they might have multi band antennas.

Neil (foreground) demonstrates to R-L Mike, Peter and Martin. Phil and Dave G7IBO in earnest conversation in the background

Next is the calibration sequence. Connect the short / open / load adaptors to the port you are using (we used 0). After connecting each adaptor click on the button on screen. There will be a short pause as that calibration is done. This is repeated three times. Then apply the calibrations.

We were looking at SWR so we set both the SWR11 and SWR21, from the dropdowns, as what we were looking at in this instance. As soon as the antenna is connected you get to see the SWR for the entire sweep that you set. The SOTA vertical was resonant at around 6.6MHz and with a quick shortening of the antenna it was retuned to 7.1MHz.

                                        Phil’s mystery military vertical

The military antenna was attached as Phil didn’t know what it was. Instantly on connection it was showing that the it was a 28MHz antenna. We recalibrated the VNA to sweep 25MHz to 55MHz and Phil removed a couple of the lengths that made the whip and moved it down to 51MHz, so he now has two bands on the old bit of military kit.

Martin and Pete also came along with compact HF antennas designed for portable working. Martin left understanding much more about the way his antenna does what it does. Pete liked the confirmation that his antenna really did work as it said on the packet.

Chris works on his impressive 40m vertical.. with a shortening of the vertical wire an impressive SWR achieved for CW operation at the lower end of the band.

It was a very productive evening and already people are asking for a re-run focussing    on seeing how portable VHF, UHF and SHF antennas work.

If you live in the south Birmingham area, please pop along to the Tuesday club night. Sometimes we are doing stuff, other times it is a pint and a chat. “

 

 

                               TUESDAY  6TH AUGUST   8.00 ONWARDS ON THE ‘LAWN’ WYTHALL HOUSE.

RADIO ACTIVATION  AS WE TRY THE RECENTLY DONATED  HUSTLER VERTICAL (THANK TOU CHRIS EYO) WITH THE FT857

Wythall Wisdom?…. delve into our archive of members’ projects, ideas and activities!!

July 27, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News, Training

Do want to know how to use cheap drone transmitter/receivers to get on 5.7GHz? – the photo shows one in operation at Broadway Tower.

Or build a J-pole antenna for bicycle mobile operation? 

Or with more activity on the HF bands as we approach the solar cycle peak, perhaps you’d like to build a small profile ‘C’-beam for 20m using easily available plastic conduit?

It’s shown in the photo left.

It’s all there – and more – in the Wythall Radio Club newsletter archive!  Click here to find the index to articles.

Or brouse the issues by clicking here.

You’ll find lots of invaluable advice, projects and ideas.

We don’t publish a newsletter these days, but try to keep the world informed on this web site.

Or come along to the Club any Tuesday evening or to one of the special events. 

Our location and contact details are on this web site.

 

COMING SOON .. A REPORT ON OUR RECENT EVENING SPENT ON THE LAWN OF WYTHALL HOUSE WITH OUR VERTICALS AND THE VECTOR NETWORK ANALYSER (VNA)

 

Use a VNA to analyse your antenna

July 20, 2024 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News, Training

Tiny VNAs can now be bought cheaply.

Here’s one Lee G0MTN used to test his rebuilt band-pass filters.

But how can we use them to analyse our antenna systems and improve their performance?

Wythall Radio Club members will be gathering next Tuesday 23rd. July for a practical workshop. 

We’ll be using a VNA to analyse some portable antennas.

We will plot SWR over a given frequency range and display this as a line graph.  And see what else the VNA will tell us!

As usual, 8pm at Wythall House (in the garden if the weather is ok).

Visitors always welcome – bring an antenna!