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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!
 

From the Workbench – Kanga Rooster QRP Kit Part 1

December 17, 2023 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News, Training

Kanga? ROOster? Christopher Robin meets ham radio?

No, just the latest kit from Kanga products.

With Wythall Radio Club’s ‘How low can you go? QRP month looming in January, I thought I’d dig out some of my kit QRP radios. 

Back in 2000 I built the Foxx 3 kit from Kanga Products.  This 1-watt CW rig was crystal controlled on 7030KHz.  It was based on the original 1983 Foxx circuit by George GM3OXX (SK) published in Sprat – the magazine of the G-QRP Club.

Club members have had a lot of fun with this kit.  It’s produced contacts with other QRP-ers around Europe.

However, being a direct conversion receiver mine suffered from considerable break-through from the Droitwich Long Wave transmitter about 15 miles away from my QTH.

Now Kanga have produced an updated version of this design called the Rooster

Like Foxx 3, this is a QRP CW rig for 7030KHz.  However, power output has been increased to 2-watts and there is much improved sensitivity and selectivity due to its active audio filter.  This is centred on 750 Hz with a 500 Hz bandwidth.  

And rather than being mounted in an Altoids tin – the preferred method for Foxx 3 builders – the Rooster is supplied with its own aluminium case.

There are less components and tasks to undertake than when building the Foxx 3 as it uses SMD (surface mount devices) that are pre-installed on the PCB and 20 through-hole parts that the builder needs to solder in place.

The kit arrived with components neatly packaged in small bags so checking they were all there was a simple task.  The 26-page downloadable instructions are in Kanga Products’ usual excellent clear and illustrated format, with instruction for testing each stage after it is completed.

A current limited 12v supply is recommended for testing, but there is probably low risk of damage using a conventional 12v (not 13.8V) supply or battery PROVIDED the location and soldering of components is thoroughly checked after each stage

I use a magnifying table lamp for checking my soldering, especially for identifying any solder splashes that might result in short circuits.

I spent about 3 hours building and testing the kit.  I could have taken less time, but I like to savour the process of construction.  In addition, I had a couple of problems (discussed later) that added some time.  Kanga suggest that the rig could be built in an hour, eg at a Build-a-thon.  It could be with experienced builders, but it would be a rush!

I only had 2 problems.  The first was in testing the audio amplifier, where plugging in the headphones and touching a metal screw-driver to particular components should result in a ‘buzz’.  It didn’t.  There was a weak scratching noise but no buzz. 

Using the circuit diagram and my trusty analogue multi-meter, I checked continuity of the audio section, and it was all OK.

The soldering was very straightforward, so I decided just to press on.  My faith was rewarded as the next task was to install the side-tone components.  When I tested this, it worked perfectly.  So clearly, the audio-amp was ok.

The other problem was my error in installing the diode in the neighbouring holes intended for one of the inductors.  Just lack of concentration.  Unfortunately, I’d trimmed the leads before I realised what I’d done!

However, I use minimal amounts of solder, so it was easy to remove the diode and clear the holes by pushing one of the trimmed leads into the hole, heating it with the soldering iron, and pulling it through with fine-nosed pliers.

Luckily, the holes the diode should have gone in were not spaced as far apart, so I could fit it and have a tiny bit of the leads poking through the PCB for soldering!

In the final desk test I could hear CW using the short length of coax to the dummy load/watt meter as an antenna.  Always a good sign!  And the rig produced 2-watts of RF.

So it worked first time – hurrah!

Now let’s get it on the air!

I plugged in my 40-meter dipole and I could hear masses of stations within the receiver’s passband, but unfortunately they were all engaged in an international CW contest!  I copied stations in 9A, SP, E7 and YO, so that proved the receiver was working very well.  And no sign of Droitwich long wave!

Just to check, I plugged in my Foxx 3 and there it was – a football programme over the top of those CW stations!

The Rooster definitely has a much better receiver! 

It also has masses of audio output but no volume control, so DON’T POWER UP WITH HEADPHONES ON!  I need to wear my ‘phones off my ears to reduce the volume.

As the connections between components are not visible on the PCB, I can’t see how to add a small volume potentiometer similar to the one on the Foxx 3.  Maybe someone at the Club will advise!

What are the lessons from this build?

Some of the components have solder-points in close association, so if your soldering is rusty – or you’ve never soldered – find or scrounge some Veroboard and components and practice.  Check continuity afterwards with a multi-meter set to resistance.

A narrow chisel-type soldering iron tip will work much better than something bigger.  It will provide more control where there are components near to each-other.

A temperature-controlled iron will also help with getting enough heat onto the big lugs of the antenna socket so that they have a good electrical and structural connection.

A dummy load is required.  One can be built from resistors, or there are also dummy load/watt meter kits for QRP rigs available.

The fittings that go through the front and back panels (eg DC input, RIT) must be aligned with the edge of the board.  I used the panel to make sure they were in the right place, and a bit of tape helped hold them in place until the first lug was soldered.

Overall, this has been a very enjoyable little kit to build.  It’s priced at £37.99 plus P and P and given it includes a metal case I think that’s a reasonable cost. 

It’s a good first step for anyone starting out with construction, and could then lead to the QRP Labs QCX-mini one band, fully featured CW rig (not crystal controlled!) currently at £44 plus £16 for the case plus P and P.

Once I’ve had a play with the Rooster on 7030 I’ll post an update on how it performs.

 

Festive Spirit at Wythall Radio Club

December 14, 2023 By: john daws Category: Club, Fun, News

A distant thumbs up from Martin G8VXX and a cheery wave from Peter M5DUO. New member John M7PIR is nearest the camera on the right and behind him Martin M7XFD

               Tuesday night saw a healthy gathering of members of Wythall Radio Club for their informal annual Christmas Social. 

 

(Not knowing the collective noun for an assembly of Radio Amateurs the Club would welcome suggestions for future posts.. polite entries only please.)

 

Mince pies, cake and even some (Wensleydale) cheese were also provided by members and,  as is evident from the smiling faces (one Scrooge in the foreground!), a good time was had by all.

The Club were delighted to welcome new members Martin M7XFD and John M7PIR.

Amongst those  present were the President Mike and Chairman Chris behind the camera.

 

 

The M0LQY Guide to the World of FT8 at Wythall Radio Club

December 06, 2023 By: john daws Category: Club, Fun, News

“The best laid schemes of Mice and Men

Gang oft a-gley”

Despite an unavoidable late alteration to the programme  Wythall Radio Club hosted a  very successful and informal session on HF, Digital  Radio and FT8 at their recent very well attended meeting on Tuesday Night.

Visitors Gary , Derek and (very much hidden) Paul with Ian M0LQY in the operating seat. Clive 2E0IKN and a rather sceptical looking John M6KET

With numbers boosted by three very welcome visitors from  Sutton Coldfield, Gary, Derek and Paul, Ian M0LQY took us through the basics of  FT8 radio on 7074, the 40m band, and even obliged with a QSO with a Ukranian station to prove the point.

M6KET had previously warmed up the Kenwood TS 590 with some 40m CW and a QSO with SP2DGV on 7027 but thereafter  it was the After8 show (FT8!) with Ian at the helm, answering questions and demonstrating the potential of this mode.

There was also an  very welcome opportunity for more wide-ranging Amateur radio chat after Ian’s presentation and it was good to hear animated conversations still going on past 9.30 p.m.

Many thanks to Ian for his expertise and very clear demonstration of HF Digital Radio.

The session on Allstar node, Fusion and D star will be rescheduled for another Tuesday night  and all visitors will again be very welcome. 

LOOKING AHEAD WE HAVE OUR INFORMAL XMAS GET-TOGETHER IN THE BAR NEXT WEEK FROM 8.00 PM (MINCE PIES FROM ANY SOURCE WELCOME) AND LEE WILL SOOM BE CIRCULATING DETAILS OF THE XMAS CONTEST TO RUN FROM TUESDAY 26TH-31ST DECEMBER

Activating Mauritius

November 24, 2023 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News

Jamie, 3B8/M0SDV in Mauritius, has been contacted by several Wythall Radio Club members.

Now a very experienced DXer and contester, Jamie was a member of our Club as a young person at the start of his amateur radio exploits.

Besides several trips to Mauritius, Jamie has also operated from Curacao, Togo and Bonaire – amonst other DX locations.

He’s also been very active in helping to secure the future of our hobby by promoting youth amateur radio – especially through YOTA.

He’s seen here on a previous dxpedition to 3B8 – sitting next to the 40m vertical.

Dave M0IFT and Mike G4VPD were amongst the Wythall club members catching Jamie on SSB this week, before he puts his mic away and turns to CW for this weekend’s CQ WW CW contest.

Best wishes for a great score, Jamie!

 

A year in the Life of Wythall Radio Club

October 28, 2023 By: john daws Category: Club, Fun, News

 SOMETIMES IT TAKES  AN AGM TO REMIND MEMBERS OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR ,

AND SO IT CAME TO PASS THAT CLUB CHAIRMAN, CHRIS G3YHF REMINDED US.

The chairman in his natural habitat: out doors and portable!

An abbreviated version of his report follows

NOVEMBER  ‘How  low can you go?’ asked CW/QRP obsessive 2E0XET and a week was spent on low power , highlighting the ever popular FT817/8 and the Wonder Whip.. Kev on the South Coast reporting his results on the reflector.

        Lee addressing the RSGB Convention.

 Later in the month Lee G0MTN gave a presentation to the RSGB Convention on HF antennas and repeated this for the benefit of Club members at one of our regular Tuesday night meetings.

DECEMBER:  Lee G0MTN hosted several members at his well-equipped contest station to use the special call G5AT in the 10m SSB/CW Contest. (G5AT celebrating the first European amateur contact with the USA in 1922.)

MARCH: The Club hosted a lively and fun evening for the local Beaver colony: Roger M0WGM ran a phonetics session using licence-free handhelds, John 2E0XET and Chris  G3YHF inducted the eager Beavers into the mysteries of Morse Code and Les 2E0LRV stole the show setting up a digital voice link enabling the Beavers to talk to amateurs in Seattle.

Les and the eager Beavers at the March Event- with Seattle at the other end of the line.  

APRIL: We put GX4WAC on the air on a Tuesday night to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day.

JUNE:  GB0BUS was a special event station at the Transport Museum Wythall to celebrate International Museums’ Weekend. A team of 9 members erected 2 wire aerials for HF with Dave G3YXM again impressing with his catapulting skills. The team had QSO’s with stations in 20 countries with the best DX being Texas. Ian M0LQY’s FT8 operation attracted a steady stream of visitors and the weather stayed kind.

AUGUST:  Chris G0EYO took on the challenge of coordinating the many responses to the OFCOM consultation regarding amateur radio regulations. Thanks also to Chris for the tremendous amount of work updating and spring cleaning the Club’s website: an onerous task and long overdue.

      Neil and some fascinated onlookers

SEPTEMBER: Our Plug and Play in the Park involved 12 members setting up portable stations : Phil 2E0WTH and Peter M5DUO disappeared into the shade of the trees in what turned out to be improbably the hottest day of the year. Neil G1TZC QO100 portable satellite station impressed the many visitors and included a contact with the St Helena’s island in the South Atlantic Ocean. A few days prior to the Plug and Play Ian M0LQY and Clive 2E0IKN hosted a ‘come and meet us’ evening with aim of attracting several potential new members.

OCTOBER: Clive 2E0IKN and Chris G3YHF  gave a talk on SOTA, POTA and WWFF schemes highlighting the attraction of the great outdoors and amateur radio.

OTHER EVENTS IN THE YEAR

Meanwhile   Lee’s G0MTN ever popular DXCC Challenge has continued with some great DX worked particularly the stand out performance of  M0IFT (216 countries); as we approach the peak of this sunspot cycle expect scores to rocket!   

The ever competitive Christmas and Easter Contests have continued ,, expertly run by Lee G0MTN. The Easter All band winner was Chris G0EYO and,  appropriately the 2 metre/70cm section was won by Jim 2E0BLP.

Don G0NES receiving the Christmas Trophy (All bands/all modes) from Club President Mike G4VPD

In the Christmas Contest Ian M0IDR won the 2m/70cm Trophy and Don G0NES won the all modes Trophy.

An effort has been made by John 2E0XET to regularly update the Club’s website and Radcom has been provided with a steady stream of Wythall Radio Club reports and photos.

Other achievements during the year include Neil G1TZC’s great success with with his QO100 satellite operation and  his bronze award for working 50 DXCC . G0MTN was just pipped into  place second place in the QRP unassisted portable section of National Field day  but at the time of writing in the CQ WW RTTY contest the raw scores suggest he may be the leading European operator in the single operator, all band , low power category: some achievement.

Clive (ex M7OCB) is now 2E0IKN and studying hard for his full licence. Chris G0EYO has dusted off his CW skills through regular schedules with John M6KET and thriving with both  straight key and paddle.

Sadly the Club lost two of its much loved and longstanding members with the passing of Vic M0AEJ and Jim 2E0BLP. Vic joined the Club in the 1990’s and was always very supportive of the rallies and field days; he was always there as a volunteer and highly dependable: a wonderful member of the Club Jim, the Voice of the Midlands, was a big presence in the Club a mainstay of the Easter and Christmas Contests and a regular at our Plug and Play events; he was also a regular on the club frequency 144.225 , often chatting to Peter M5DUO whilst mobile on the way to work: both will be very much missed.

 

and so what of the next year?

Well for starters..

TUESDAY  7TH NOVEMBER.. THE VENUE : THE DARTS ROOM AT WYTHALL HOUSE. THE TIME 8.00 P.M..

AN ACTIVITY EVENING FEATURING THE CLUB EQUIPMENT (AND OTHER ) WORKING DIGI MODE , HF, CW AND  SSB.

NEW MEMBERS AND INTERESTED PARTIES VERY WELCOME TO ATTEND

COME ALONG AND MEET OUR EVER OBLIGING CLUB MEMBERS!!

 

 

Signals from Space with a Handheld

September 22, 2023 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News, Training

The ISS (international space station)’s digipeater can be heard with a 2 meter handheld when one of the ISS passes is overhead.
 
And if you can connect your 2m FM rig to a computer, you can send and receive messages through it – and receive the special ISS QSL card!
 
Now is a good time to try as the ISS is passing over the UK at a good elevation twice most early evenings.
 
Find the ISS pass times HERE – remember to add 1 hour as times are UTC.  Ideally, look for 70° or 80° elevation when ISS is passing close to overhead.
 
The live ISS locator is useful to track its position and digipeater footprint.
 
Tune to 145.825 FM with squelch OFF and listen for the short bursts of data.  You will only hear these for a couple of minutes during each pass.

The contents of data packages received by the ISS are instantaneously retransmitted by the digipeater and received by one of the SATGATEs where they are automatically uploaded to the ARISS web site HERE along with the list of stations whose transmissions were received and maps of their locations.
 
Only short messages can be sent, and here are some examples from earlier this evening:
 
00:00:01:12 : G0GOO]CQ,RS0ISS*,qAR,ED1ZBF-3::G7HCE :QSL and 73 via ISS
00:00:01:32 : G6UQZ-1]APDW17,RS0ISS*,qAU,DO6DD-10:!5204.75N/00034.94EyPHG200073 de Andy in Clare, Suffolk
00:00:01:39 : G3YHF]CQ,RS0ISS*,qAU,DO6DD-10:=5226.15N/00152.30W-IO92BK 73 de Wythall RC {UISS54}
00:00:01:41 : RS0ISS]0P0PS3,APRSAT,qAR,ED1ZBF-3:’v&l SI]ARISS-International Space Station=
00:00:01:42 : G7HCE]APK004,RS0ISS*,qAR,F1ZRP-3::G0GOO :Copy 59{5
 
The highlighted message is the one I sent this evening that was received and retransmitted by the digipeater after 6 or 7 attempts!
 
It gives the age of the retransmission, my call, the callsign of the digipeater – RS0ISS* is the Russian ISS call sign, DO6DD is the German SATGATE station that received and uploaded the packet to the ARISS site, and then there is my message: my APRS location in lat and long and Maidenhead square, and a few words of greeting!  The ‘ – ‘  instructs the ARISS site to add my QTH to its map.
 
Occasionally, the digipeater is temporarily shut-down for spacecraft operational activity like a spacewalk.
 
To send a message through the digipeater, connect a rig that can transmit 2m FM to a computer.  The rig will need an internal soundcard or if not use an interface like Signalink.  
 
I use my Yaesu FT7800 mobile rig on 5 watts with Signalink and a collinear. 
 
I also have an old Kenwood TH-D7 handheld with internal TNC and APRS functionality – this puts out 2.5 watts and I’ve been received by the digipeater again using my collinear.
 
Then download and configure UISS , which has been designed for communicating with the ISS digipeater.  Configure so it talks to your radio.  Then set ‘path’ to ARISS and add your APRS data and a short text.
 
There’s lots of on-line advice on how to set up UISS and use it to send a message – e.g.  on the AMSAT site
 
DON’T USE HIGH POWER!  ISS is line of sight, so 5 watts to a collinear will work very well.  High power will put exessive demand on the ISS rig’s batteries and block other stations from using the digipeater. 
 
The digipeater is simplex and lots of European stations will be calling so it may take several goes to get through.  On the current west to east trajectory of ISS, it’s best to try early on a pass before it’s in range of continental Europe
When your message is retransmitted by the digipeater, it will often appear as a highlighted message in UISS.
 
However, you may not receive this retransmit due to fading or other factors causing even one bit of data to be lost, so affecting the checksum.  
 
So it is always best to search for your call on the ‘Amateur Radio Stations heard via ISS’ page at ariss.net as a ground station operating a SATGATE may have received the retransmission and automatically uploaded it to the ARISS site.
 
Wythall Radio Club members had a go with conducting a brief QSO using the digipeater a couple of years ago, and two of us used it to score points in our Christmas Contest.  
 
Have fun!
 
 
 

Free radio demo this Saturday!

September 06, 2023 By: Chris G3YHF Category: Club, Fun, News

Visitors welcome at Wythall Radio Club’s free demo of short-wave and VHF radio communication, on Saturday 9th Sept. between 10 and 3.

We’ll once again be operating various radios from Wythall Park, using a variety of antennas – and hopefully we’ll have some contacts via a satellite!

You can find us on the far side of Wythall Park, furthest from the car park. 

Follow the tarmac footpath on the right hand side of the small playground, and keep going bearing right at any junction!

You’ll see vehicles, antenna masts and flags – that’s where we are. 

Here’s a report on a recent radio field-day in Wythall park.

Neil’s G1TZC Canadian Adventure

September 02, 2023 By: chris pettitt Category: Club, Fun, News

Neil operating in IARU HF World Championship weekend 11/7/20

Our resident satellite member, Neil G1TZC, amused us all recently with a tale from his past on the club’s group.io forum with a tale about a visit to Canada. We thought this would make good first addition to our Articles’ section in the Library folder on the club’s website.  READ IT HERE 

 

 

 

Enjoy!