Read the rules online, its not complicated the exchange is serial, location and first two letters of your postcode.
http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_rules.pl?year=2013&contest=144backpack1&seq=

A typical exchange would be “you 57 001 in JO01DP postcode CM”

I took part from Brentwood, hardly a hilltop and setup a station, with John M0UKD. All operators have to be RSGB members, if you are not a RSGB member then you can take part, give away points and submit a check log but you can’t enter the contest “as such”

The other advantage of this event is it only lasts 4 Hrs, they usually start at 12 and finish at 4.

The basic setup used was Icom 7000, 6m pole, 9E portable beam. Power was from a battery. We operated in the 10w category.

We worked 43 station including 2xDL, GD, GW, MM and ON best DX for the day was DF0WD at 560Km.

You can see our claimed score, and how others done  here
http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/claim.pl?Contest=1st%20144MHz%20Backpackers&year=2013

Be sure to check out the contest calendar, and even if you can’t get out /P maybe give some points away…
http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/readcal.pl

73 Dave

M0TAZ (email: m0taz@lefars.org.uk)

I was visiting family in Pontsbury near Shrewsbury for a few days and took the opportunity to do some operating from the hills, especially as the club was on the air from the gun powder mills, GB2RGM.

The weather was cloudy, with a few periods of sun, plenty of rain showers and none too warm.

As can be seen the light was poor and I erected the aerials between heavy showers. The actual Stiperstones known locally as the devils chair are on the summit behind the car. The car park had a few cars mainly from the hardy souls who walk in all weathers.

The equipment was my trusty Icom 706 mk11G and just a droopy 10x10m doublet. This type of aerial I have used portable for many years and I consider it to be on of the best all round aerials for this job. One problem I did encounter was the fact that I could not operate the set at my normal 30 – 50W power as the volt drop from the accessories plug fell to 12v at those levels. So I opted to run 10w SSB on 40m.

Forty metres from there is usually good with a low noise floor. However, as the rain/hail came over the noise levels rose from 1 to s9+ wiping out even the strongest signals. I did work 15 stations all over the UK including GB2RGM, and club members operating from Mountnessing and Upminster mills.

I would have worked more but conditions were becoming very noisy and the wx was getting worse so I decided to close down at about 1500. Even then I had to wait for some very heavy showers to cross before I managed to get everything packed away.
All in all an enjoyable afternoon even with rain, sleet, hail and a gale.

73

John G0VEH
[Email: g0veh@lefars.org.uk]

CQ WPX Sideband event
I do not like SSB (washes mouth out) very much but last month there was the CQ WPX Sideband event. I was advised that if I entered and only had a few QSOs, then my ‘contest call’ would get in the ‘Partial Call Database’ a lot quicker and I would not get so much hassle as to which country I am from etc.
So I read the rig’s instruction manual, break out the Microphone, and have a grand total of 35 QSOs over the two-day period. I only work some very strong stations who I know will send in logs (LX7I, EI7M, RL3A etc).
The day after the contest I send in a check log to the CQ people. (Why I do this after their stupidity last time, I do not know.)
A day later the CQ ‘Robot’ says that it cannot recognise the heading ‘Operator’ in the Cabrillo file, apparently it wants to see ‘Operators’, plural, even though there was only one person operating, and it also says it does not recognise Crete as a country!

Compared to the Russian PSK ‘Robot’, the CQ ‘Robot’ is utter crap. Last time the CQ people did not even bother to answer my e-mail regarding a log they requested and I said I would never send them a log again. So be it. There is the CQ-WPX-CW event at the end of May. I will have a small play, I will work a few, I will be a multiplier for most of ‘em and that will be it. I will not send in a log and, within a week, they will ask for one. I will not tell you what my reply will be as it may offend the Ladies who read this . . .

J49C
Have had some fun with the J49C call on PSK recently as part of the 100 yr celebrations of Crete becoming part of Greece. I was using Fldigi and after digging around I found that you can save the Macros automatically when you leave the programme, rather than having to remember to click a couple of button as I said in my review of the software some time back. Must say that it has made things so much easier . . .
I guess if I had actually read the destructions when I first tried the software, I would never have had the problems in the first place!
I used the call on the 18th for World Amateur Radio Day and emailed my log to the Polish Magazine on the following Saturday afternoon. I received the award by email within the hour! Now is that fast or what?

UK visit in September
Have just about got permission from ‘The Head Warden’ to visit the UK again at the end of September. My plan is to visit the National Hamfest on 27th. The trip will only be for a few days – Hamfest – Daughter – Work colleague – Home.

RSGB website
Seen the new RSGB Web thingy? If you haven’t, don’t bother.
Again I will not use the words I think are applicable as ‘the Ladies’ may become upset again but for several months (years?) work, it is abysmal.
A look today (20th) revealed that if you try and find a page, you get transfered to the old site in most cases. If you type something in the ‘search’ box the first thing is that you will need to adjust your screen in order to see what you have typed as it is so pale, then, if, like me, you just type in ‘Board Members’, you are offered lots of old information, twice!
The first item was ‘The Latest Board Meeting Minutes’ – this was dated last November but two items further down the page was the same item again and I never did find the list of Board Members I wanted. I was looking because on Page 1 of ‘News’ there is a thank you note from someone called Alan Messenger, G0TLK who says he is a ‘Director’ – I didn’t think that the RSGB had Directors and I just wanted to check this out . . .

Re the above: I now assume that G0TLK is a director of the company that came up with the new web thingy, if so, it is a bloody awful representation of the work his company do . . .

On the ‘new’ site, the picture of the RadComic cover is also two months out of date – this really shows how ‘on the ball’ they are!

I do not follow any of these Forum things (wouldn’t know how to anyway) but gather that the site has been rubbished by all and sundry. Even locals out here think it is awful. More technical people than I have panned it as being too complicated to navigate while showing a totally dumbed down face of Amateur Radio. As someone said “It looks like it was put together by two men in a shed with a budget of 2/6d” For younger members, 2/6d is now 12½ pence, which is about all the RSGB has in its coffers after paying all the Boards inflated salaries and travel expenses.
Those of you who were at the Club Meeting 12 months ago when the subject of the crap web site was raised with Norman, will remember his ‘stock RSGB answer’, that the new site would be all-signing, all-dancing, and be ready within a few months.
Like the new web site, his answer was a load of bo—-ks!
If the RSGB Web Site is the new ‘front’ of Amateur Radio in the UK then as a hobby and a group, we are doomed.

Old XP PC for data…
Acquired an old tower pc this past week from some friends who did not want it any more. They said it was ‘clean’ and only had XP on it. Brilliant!
With no virus software, as it will never go on t’internet, no MS Office or other junk to slow it down, and with just MixW, Fldigi and Digipan on it, it flies along! Best of all is that being in a metal case and sitting under the desk, it is not prone to RF problems like the old XP Laptop was that sat next to the rig. A really good buy at £10!
Used it in anger in the SP DX RTTY contest this past weekend and it passed with flying colours.

Visit from UA9CSA
A regular reader of this column arrived in Crete this week. This was Serge, UA9CSA, and his XYL Irini. We will see them next weekend but this will be after May 1st, so a full report of the meeting may be in the next edition. That is if I can remember all that happens as sometimes when we get together, a fair bit of local ale is consumed and the old memory cells fail to work afterwards!

Basting time
Time to go and turn the XYL over and baste her other side. She is catching some rays and will be cooked to a crisp if I do not attend to her needs.

Yammas!
Dick. SV0XBN/9

Although Love Loughton Fun Day officially began at midday, dry and relatively warm conditions seemingly enticed many local residents out earlier to visit the exhibitors’ stands that had been setup in St Mary’s Church and on the High Road.

During the course afternoon we were kept occupied by talking to members of the public about amateur radio and about the club’s activities and we also encouraged many younger visitors to “send” their name in Morse Code. And, apart from the visiting club members Elaine and OM Stephen M6SRE and Paul G6XIP, we also welcomed to our stand Loughton Town Mayor, Cllr. Stephen Pewsey who was accompanied by Epping Forest MP, Eleanor Laing. Before moving-on, Mrs Laing’s son took the opportunity to tap out “Matthew” in Morse Code.

By 14.00 there was a noticeable drop in temperature and the wind had built from an early light breeze to strong gusts. So by 14.50, with the threat of rain materialising we, along with the majority of the visiting public, decided to cut and run.

Not a bad day overall, but LEFARS are unlikely to return to “Love Loughton” unless the organisers stage future events during the warmer and possibly drier, “summer” months…

73, Marc Litchman – G0TOC
Secretary, LEFARS

Can I just return to March RadComic for a moment? The report by the HF Manager (Page 67) goes on about PSK31 still being used below 7.040 on 40m. [also mentioned in my May 2012 Blog ]. A look at the waterfall the other evening showed traces of nearly every country in Europe including G, all working away below 7.040. Somehow I don’t think that ‘special foot notes’ added to the RSGB band plan are solving the problem!

So, you work someone on PSK (even below 7.040) and at the end of the QSO they say that they only QSL via eQSL. I say that I don’t and only QSL via the Buro or direct. The QSO ends and we still part company as friends and I make a note in the log and carry on.

12 months later a bunch of QSLs arrive from the Buro and there amongst them is a card from this chap who said he only deals with eQSL and on the card, in large print, are the words Pse QSL via Buro!

I looked at that site where you can see if you have any of these eQSL things waiting for you and lo and behold, despite me saying I do not use the system, he had sent me one of these electronic things. A look at the total said that I had approaching 1,350 of these ‘cards’.

Why do people send this stuff even though you say you do not use the system, and also in my case, don’t even understand it?

I have been using the SW9FF call in a few contests recently. On CW about 10% of the people I call ask me which country I am from – I just send ‘same as SV9’ and they all seem quite happy. On RTTY, those who are connected full-time to the Interweb thing, always come back with “SW9FF GM Richard UR 599 etc etc “, this because on QRZ.com it says my name is Richard and they pick up my name from this. I am thinking of changing my name on QRZ.com just before contests to something like Zygote, just for the fun of it!

Just a small reminder here that it is World Amateur Radio Day on Thursday 18^th April. The Polish RSGB equivalent, QTC, usually offer an award for having 20 QSOs on that day and it is free if applying via email. A good excuse to skip work for a day get on the bands.

WX: We have been having some pleasant warm weather of late but the downside to this has been the wind and on the 21^st we were forecast Force 8 winds for most of the day. If they forecast Force 10, I usually take the fishing poles down so I did not bother. During the day the wind did seem somewhat stronger so imagine our surprise when on the national weather forecast in the evening it said that just down the road in Aghios they had winds speeds of 113km/h, Force 11!

All my poles survived but the far end of the long wire came detached but was an easy fix.The more southerly Jet Stream is playing havoc here as well . . .

I know you think I keep having a go at RadComic but they make it so easy. Take a look at the April edition that arrived recently. Not only is The Last Word full of notices announcing special event calls that are also reported on other pages [Gordano ARC in the letters and on page 46, and on page 87 ], but the RSGB are now allowing funeral directors to advertise! [Page 90] I know the average age of Radio Amateurs in the country is advancing but is there any need to remind them that soon they will soon become a Silent Key?

Once again we have an equipment review that could have been written by the supplier as the accompanying advert used all the quotes from the ‘review’. This is not right. The review should be done independently and reported without the manufacturers, or retailers, knowledge.

I would like to win the brand new FT-897D from W&S as they say that the latest model runs nearly 2 KW [Page 4  but could do without a review of a book on ‘Flying Saucers’. Why does the RSGB stock such rubbish?

The obituary for Pat Hawker, G3VA, was lamentable. To cover his life in about two thirds of a page is unforgivable. It did not help having that stupid ‘story’ taking up a quarter of the page either.

I am not too sure now about delivery of the new Icom IC-7100. W&S say it is ‘Just about to arrive’ while Lynchie says it is ‘Due later in the year’. You pay your money etc. I know I am not into programming rigs and know nothing about it (or why you do it) but in the W&S advert for something called ADMS programming software, it shows a 3.5” floppy. Now, when was the last time you saw a pc or laptop with a slot for a 3.5” floppy in the front, and who uses them now? (John, G3WFM, need not answer this question!)

Now, I know what you are thinking – has he found anything good in the latest edition?

Well, the answer is YES! In the ‘Getting Started In Datamodes’, Andy Talbot does NOT mention HRD! [Maybe he has finally seen the light!] He recommends to starting with Digipan and Fldigi, both used by yours truly.

I was hoping to have a proper look at the new RSGB web site thing before uploading but I see that the ‘launch’ has been postponed again. I took a look at the Beta version again but cannot find any access to the Members area. If you click on the RadCom cover, up pops a box to say that you must sign in with your call and Membership number as usual – however, you have already done this to get into looking at the Beta version in the first place so I left the site feeling a bit confused but will dabble again when it is finally up and running.

I still think that it looks better as it fills the screen but has a real ‘dumbed down’ feel about it.

I should be on 21Mh/z on 18^th if anyone fancies a ‘proper’ QSO with Names, QTHs and a keyboard to keyboard chat, or, if you are feeling really daring, I will wind up the keyer to about 16 WPM and use some Carrier Wave!

Yammas!

Dick. SV0XBN/9

Update 3rd April 2013  - Special Call J49C

A quick update. The local Radio Club have been issued with the call J49C for the next three months. This is to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Crete becoming part of Greece.

The call will be used by lots of people at different times, so you may even hear the call on SSB and CW on the same band at the same time.

I will be using the call on PSK on Thursday 18^th April, World Amateur Radio Day, on 15m from around 06.00 GMT, probably 20m in the afternoon and during the evening I should be on 40m.

QSL will be via SV9COL and details are on QRZ.com.

Yammas

Dick.

There were four main objectives for this day

• paint the shack,
• install the VHF aerial
• put up the HF dipole
• run in all the cables necessary

Painting was to be undertaken by Ron G6LTT and John G8DZH. The VHF mast and collinear installation was to be installed by Brain 2E0FHU and Cliff 2EORCW and the HF dipole erected by John G1DJI and myself. The cabling was to be done by Derek M0XDC but he was ill and was unable to attend. However Marc G0TOC took his place and became the cable man.

One person who does deserve a mention is the chief tea maker Dave G3ZXF. He provided copious amounts of tea and coffee to all of us to keep us warm and stop energy levels from dipping too low

John & Ron or bodgeit and legit

They managed two good coats of paint in the shack and it looked pretty good by the time we packed up. It also dried much quicker than we thought it would.

On the VHF side, Brian 2E0FHU had made some brackets in his usual manner i.e. something that would hold up a jumbo jet. He doesn’t skimp on such things.

The VHF mast and collinear installed on the wall.

The view of the mast from outside the front of the shack. It is unobtrusive it is unlikely the public would notice it.

An unusual shot of John G8DZH assisting Marc with the cabling. It was not as precarious as it seems. Dusty yes.

The HF dipole being lifted up.

A number of problems were encountered in that some dead tree branches at the back of the shack prevented us from hoisting the aerial as high as we would have liked. However it is reasonably high and when the RGM remove the trees, as scheduled, we will have gained a lot more height.

On inspection, the general manager was very pleased with the installations. The next part of the operation will be to install the equipment and finish off cable ends and generally tidy up before we are open to the ‘public.’

An operating regime will have to be organised amongst members when the RGM is open. This is from the end of March to October. A number of LEFARS members have already volunteered and if you wish to do so please let me know.

We are arranging an induction course for a couple of hours one day of a weekend for all those who wish to operate from the RGM. This will be mandatory for operating on non LEFARS weekends. Details will be posted in due course.

[Photo credit: Marc G0TOC]

73

John Mulye G0VEH
RGM project
Email: g0veh@lefars.org.uk

This is where I went !

To get to the viewing level you have to go in a rickety lift which takes you up to the 864 feet level but takes 7 minutes . A reassuring notice in the lift advises that if you have a power failure then the lift can be brought down manually ! You have a manual brake lever which you operate, lift drops 60 feet then you apply ! It does advise that after each drop of 60 feet you wait a minute to allow the brake to cool and let your nerves return to normal before repeating the operation !

As you can guess the view from this level is spectacular although on thursday weather was not the best with snow at ground level and around -2C with high winds. Luckily at 864 foot level there is an enclosed viewing gallery so relatively warm !

This is view from the gallery, not ideal picture as just taken with cameraphone through dirty glass window and window cleaners do not seem to like cleaning these windows !

                                                                                        Internal gallery below

If you fancy some low loss coax these are the UHF feeders going the aerials on the top, they are 6.25 inch in diameter, interesting to try and fit an N connector on those ! Total length is about 2000 feet so could be lossy with RG213 !

This is a view from the bottom looking up the tower. You can see the liftcage in the middle.

The lady taking us up in the lift had to give us a safety briefing and seemed to delight in telling us that the tower is built to sway a little to stop it snapping in two in high winds and is safe unlike the previous mast which collapsed due to ice in 1969 !

Having put our minds at rest once we got to the top I decided to see if the Baofeng UV3R would actually work or as suspected be swamped with all the RF. I decided not to try 70 cms as the proximity of many KW of DTV energy would upset the wide band front end. 2M was a little better and by positioning myself in a couple of shielded areas I could hear various repeaters and stations but in reality a radio with a far better front end would be necessary to make it possible to work anyone properly.

This is what the tower should have looked like but this must have been taken on the one day of summer we have had over the years.

So an interesting trip up the tower to play radio for a short while but as suspected you would need a radio with a bomb proof front end plus access to this level is severely restricted.

However the local area has plenty of places at around the 1000 feet ASL level that you could play portable but unfortunately time did not permit this for me, I had to choose between portable or going back to the hotel / pub for a few ales so you can guess which won !

Richard G8BXC / G4DDP

SSB
I now have to hang my head in shame. I have to admit that, after over 25 years, the other weekend, I actually (and this is really hard for me to admit) had QSOs on single sideband . . . (Washes mouth out)

Please forgive me! It was not really my fault, honest. Two of the Club members were involved in the formation of the first SV Triathlon Contest earlier in the month. This is one where the first eight hours are RTTY, the second eight are SSB and the last eight are CW.

Like all members of the Club, we were asked to enter and have a few QSOs on each mode as Crete was a multiplier and the more people we could get on from SV9, the better. I had seven SSB QSOs, including a ‘sked’ one with my old friend JJ, ON3ND.

I would hope that will be the end of it at least until the next Triathlon Contest . . .!

Contests Pt. 2
I had a small play in the Russian PSK Contest the other week. Not really into PSK contesting [See comments in next Newsletter] but gave away some points. After the contest, as usual, you send in your Cabrillo log, however, in the Russian, you only have 5 days to do this and you send it to a ‘Robot’ computer in Siberia. This was amazing as soon as my log went off, a notice appeared saying that I needed to change my class of entry. I did this with one click and less than a second later the machine said that it had checked my log, it was all in order and my claimed score was so many points. Not only that, it gave a list of points, multipliers and totals for each band! The best thing? It gave me 200 points more than I had worked out!

A really neat piece of software that was far better than most ‘Robots’ used by other contest organisers that just send an acknowledgement after a few days. Here one thinks of the CQ organisation whose ‘Robot’ cannot even understand the words: ‘Check Log’!

Oh, by the way. I entered the CQ-WPX RTTY contest earlier in the month. On principle I did not send in a log and, lo and behold, I get an email from them asking for one. The reason? Well, I was the only person to enter with an SW9 call and more than half of the people I worked submitted a log. I had several queries about the call while in the contest because (a) not all logging programmes recognise SW9 as Crete, (b) I had not put out an advanced notice of the call and the bands I would be on and (c) being the first time the call was aired, it was not in any ‘Partial Call Database’ and so people asked if the call was new.

Greek lessons
The XYL now goes to two Greek classes a week, once on a Thursday with a group of other like-minded idiots but also on a Tuesday afternoon for an hour on her own so that she can ‘talk’ with Manolis, her teacher, rather than just be in a formal lesson.

This is helping her speak the language much better but each week she has fresh words to learn and use in sentences. She writes the English word down and puts the Greek one next to it. She then wanders up and down the lounge muttering to herself while she tries to learn the words. After a while she asks me to test her.

I say the English word and she says the Greek equivalent. Of course the Greek words are written in Greek and I have to do my best at listening to what she says and seeing that it ‘matches’ the Greek word. In doing this I have to remember that P in Greek is really an R, there is only a capital B, no lower case one, that a backwards looking y has a sound like a ‘mew’, an ‘n’ that is really an ‘s’, and so on . . .

Anyway, it went like this:

I said the English word.

The XYL said the Greek word.

I did not understand.

She said it again.

I still did not understand.

Here is the reason I did not understand and why I will never learn Greek: -

The Greek word was 6 letters long and had in it, 3 ‘u’s. Each of the three letter ‘u’s was pronounced differently. The first was pronounced as an ‘e’, the second as an ‘i’ and the last one as a ‘u’. Now how the hell is anyone meant to cope with a language like that?

The Olive picking went on a lot longer this Winter. Word has it that all over Crete the Olive harvest has been the best for a number of years, the quality is very good and the price received from the processing plants has also been higher this year, partly due to the failure of the Spanish Olive harvest. From the oil we have been given, we can certainly vouch for the quality!

RSGB 
Seen the Operational Plan for the RSGB?

There is a lot of ‘management speak’ in it and if you read it all, you will see that they should have been doing 95% of it anyway. One wonders what will happen if, after the AGM, there are a host of new people on the Board who have differing ideas about where the RSGB should be going and how to get it there. With any luck the new people will divorce themselves from anything to do with IOTA and will also look again at why the RSGB are constantly promoting this stupid ARDF thing that less than 2% of the Membership are interested in.

[The last paragraph was written before RadComic arrived]

Around the 19^th, March RadComic arrived and while waiting for some paint to dry, and with nothing else to do, I took a quick look. Again I feel that the RSGB are still ‘finding their way’ about lots of issues. There are adverts for a Software Support person (bloody IOTA again), someone to edit the Yearbook, QSL managers wanted and they are still asking for ideas for the Centenary thing. The AGM is only a few weeks away but there is little on it. Yes, I know there will be more next month but they do not seem to have pushed for nominations to the Board, do they? Only three people have applied for the vacancies which means that some of the current incumbents will still be in post in a months’ or so’s time. Also, no one has applied for the Presidents’ position. If no one comes forward, then the current chap keeps his job for another year. This means that the actual Board and the people at the top will not have changed very much and so the same old nepotism will continue.

On the positive side, in the last paragraph of the IOTA Steering Committee report it is good to see that no one wants to take up a couple of vacant positions, the IT one (see above) and a Managerial one.

I read that GB4FUN is being scrapped. About time . . .

Avian Stuff: It would appear that Spring is here as for the past couple of weeks we have been fending off Sparrows who wish to nest in the air-con units or the top of the boiler flue. There is a Chaffinch singing its heart out on one Almond tree while a few hundred yards away there is another one shouting back. We seem to have a family of Blue Tits in the Carob tree next door who just chase each other about all day. They will wear themselves out by the time they get round to building a nest . . .

We had some warmer weather (23°C some days) around the middle of the month and with the wind coming from the South we had some early migrants coming through. Although we have seen swallows this early, this year we saw some Red-breasted Fly Catchers. There were a group of about six of ‘em in an Almond tree just down the lane where they were busy jumping up, catching bugs, and returning to their perch. They must have spent several hours just feeding before flying off . . .

Our young Eagle would appear to be camera-shy. Each time he appears and I try to get a decent picture of him, he moves away. The closest he has got to us was earlier in the month when he sat on a telegraph pole that sits near a house below us. We reckon that he was 60ft away, but again, as soon as I even move towards the camera – he’s off!

A few days later the XYL was driving up from Plaka when she saw ‘our’ young Eagle being mobbed by two Buzzards as he had obviously impeded into their territory. They chased him off but he returned after a couple of days and was seen up by the old mills waiting for some small rodent or lost French tourist to pass close by . . .

I’m off now to enjoy some fresh lamb chops. Enjoy your Horseburgers . . .

Yammas

Dick. SV0XBN/9

As usual:

“These are my opinions and only my opinions, unless you share them as well, which would make them our opinions, but I am not of the opinion that I can express your opinion as my opinion without your prior expression of said opinion, and then my re-utterance of that opinion would, in my opinion, be foolish unless I were expressing agreement to your opinion, and then it wouldn’t be my opinion but your opinion to which I only agree.”

Blog Update

 The RSGB must be getting desperate. The latest edition (#1821) of the DX Newsletter from the DARC contains the following:

G, England:
GB3RS is station located in the “National Radio Centre” in
Bletchley Park, an exhibition of the history and technology
of radio communication. The RSGB is always looking for volunteers
for the operation of the station. Please contact
carlos.eavis[at]rsgb.org.uk

How come the RSGB are putting adverts in a DX newsletter for volunteers to run the Green Shed?

Can’t they fill the vacancies any other way? Maybe they shouldn’t have upset the Milton Keynes group by getting them thrown out of Bletchley Park, then they would have their volunteers . . .

Overall, my trip over went very well (apart from the Wolf) and I got to see most of the people I wanted to see and visited a couple of Emporia. The only thing I would say is that for most of my time in the UK the temperature was below zero. I am not used to this and driving to Heathrow in the snow just emphasised the fact.
Mind you, to return to a temperature of 17°C was very pleasant . . .
While at Heathrow and on my return flights, I now realise what the i stands for in all these ipads, ipods or iphones that I see everywhere. The i stands for idiot. It would seem that these people cannot exist without waving a finger up and down a screen. Err – why?

Contest Call – Part 1: I received notification that I now have the contest call: SW9F and can use this throughout the year. I will use it mostly in RTTY events as, on CW, I cannot hear a call, type it into a keyboard, and send a reply in the usually demanded 35 milliseconds. It takes me nearly 5 minutes to find the correct letters on the keyboard when trying to enter a call, real hunt & peek typing . . .
[The above was written on the 7th of January after I received official notification from the Authorities in Athens.]
Contest Call – Part 2: On Friday 11th of January I was driving up the A10 towards Brookfield Farm when the phone rang. It was George, the Official in Aghios who helped me apply for the contest call. He said that I must NOT use the call under any circumstances as it has been reserved for a repeater here on Crete. I was to pop in and see him when I returned and we would sort it out.
We ended the call and I drive on.
I am approaching Cheshunt when the phone goes again. It is George again and he says that if I can tell him the call I want now, he will organise it while I am in the UK.
He says that I must have two suffixes so I go for SW9FF and, true to his word, when I returned he had everything sorted.

I first used the call in the BARTG Sprint contest. Had a few QSOs on the Saturday afternoon and was a multiplier for a few. Could not spend for than a couple of hours at it as we had to go out but it was fun to use the call for the first time. The calls next outing will be in the Greek Triathlon Contest on 2nd Feb. Eight hours of RTTY, eight hours of SSB and then eight hours of CW. I may enter the RTTY section for a while and the CW bit for a couple of hours and see how we get on seeing as, not only am I a multiplier but also count as 4, 5 or 6 points depending on who works me.

This not a boast but I have two mobile phones, one Greek one and a UK one. Both are very simple phones with no cameras, radios or other hidden devices, just phones. I guess that, like me, you detest getting rubbish sales texts on your mobile. I get them from Orange on my UK phone. The problem is that Orange cannot tell the time. They send me a nice text saying that it is only going to cost me several hundred pounds a minute to phone the UK from Greece, where they obviously know I am, so why do they send me a sales text at 1 o’clock in the morning Greek time?
They must know that Greek time is different from UK time, mustn’t they? Or are they really that stupid?
I vote for the latter . . .

For some years now the authorities in Athens and other major cities are being plagued by pirate FM stations. There are the usual national BBC-type stations and a lot of legal commercial ones but a plethora of illegal QRM. About three years ago, the authorities went up to the hills around Athens where all the masts are situated, climbed some of the masts and, with a large pair of cutters and a chain saw, proceeded to cut chunks out of lengths of coax!
They closed down some illegal stations but also chopped the feeders to some legal ones as well. The legal stations jumped up and down about this and so after some ‘discussions’ and a Government decree, all radio masts/and or antennas must have a fixed sign attached saying which station everything belongs to. Then some jolly Government official, obviously wanting to keep his job, suggested that this ruling be extended to ALL radio masts and aerials.

You can guess the rest – we now all have to have an aluminium sign fixed to our mast or antenna feeder. Failure to fix this plate will result in a €10,000 fine! Mine is pictured below prior to fixing on the solar panel which supports the auto-ATU. The fact that my middle name is incorrect does not seem to worry anyone.

Question: Why do the RSGB continue to publish drawings that are too small to make sense of? I refer to the plan of an aerial installation in the ‘Sports Radio’ Contesting article. The article describes the aerial set up in a small garden and is quite informative but, and it’s a big but – there is no mention of the aerial length or the size of the chaps garden. It is not until you look on the RSGB website, find the page and enlarge it 800%, yes, 800%, that you can see the size of anything.

Seen the new RSGB web site? Hmmm. Yes it now fills the screen but it looks really dumbed down. I have not had chance to look at it fully yet but was not impressed with the bits I did see. I also read that the RSGB IT budget is higher than expected and more will be needed to incorporate the IOTA stuff. As I have said before, ‘Why can’t the IOTA mob pay for their own bloody IT system?’ They can afford it.

If you have been – thanks for listening.

Yammas!

Dick. SV0XBN/9

(Happy New Year!)

I trust that Santa brought you the new rig you wanted and that you obtained the planning permission for the 80ft tower and 4 ele Quad.

I have lost my J49XF contest call. J4 calls are now only issued to Greek citizens and then only for special events. The Club expect to get J49A for the IOTA contest but from Crete, that will be about it.

So at the time of writing, I am now waiting to hear if I can use a different call for contests. With the changes in the rules out here, if you want a special contest call you now have to pay and this is roughly €10 for a two day contest. I was going to apply for 12 contests during 2013 but now find that for the same price, €120, I can use the contest call in any contest I like, so for the same money (the Government must be desperate) I can play with the call whenever I want. This is not a bad deal as if I find that there is XYZ contest on at the weekend, rather than use my longwinded, SV0XBN/9 call, I can just switch to my contest call and use it for a few hours without having to plan ahead, apply for the call, send cash and wait for an answer, which must be done at least 6 weeks in advance of the contest you wish to play in. I have applied for a SW9 call . . . We wait . . .

I have never been much of a Christmas sort of person (19 years of fixing TVs around the Xmas period knocks any festive spirit out of you) but a couple of weeks ago we went to a ‘Carol Concert’ put on by a local choir, made up of people of various European nationalities who live in and around Aghios. Carols in several languages, some where you join in, some when you don’t, along with free wine and nibbles.

An excellent evening but the best parts, to my mind, were two performances by a local Cretan dance ensemble. This was not your ‘tourist fare’ with everybody trying to dance round in a circle but intricate movements and gestures. Just to watch their foot-work was amazing. Probably why they received the largest applause of the evening.

RadCom:
January RadComic arrived but did not keep my interest awake for very long. Lots of ‘one-page’ articles which usually means that the Editor is running out of decent stuff.

Anyway, one of these ‘one-pagers’ was a piece about the CDXC DX Archive. I left the CDXC as they now just exist for only the really well-to-do Amateurs as well as support the stupid IOTA thing.  However, the haste at which the article was put in the magazine shows as the references that the little numbers refer to, such as [1] [2] [3] etc, are missing so even if you were interested, you could not follow up on anything. In the article itself they refer to ‘Q4’. Anyone know what this is? Probably some form of ‘Management Speak’.

I see that once again the equipment review, this time the Elecraft linear, has a corresponding advert on the opposite page complete with banner that says: “The review says it all!” Why do I think that these reviews are not impartial? It just seems that Peter Hart is in the pocket of these manufactures or Emporiums (Emporia?). Oh, and by the way, the advert says that the linear will work with any transceiver. This is a change from the last advert which said most transceivers. If you look at the Elecraft web site, they do not mention about using the linear with a Kenwood rig as they only supply connecting leads for Icom and Yaesu.

Now to upset a few people: I see on page 10 of RadComic that the RSGB announced some ‘Exciting Initiatives’ (their words, not mine). These revolve around new Licensees and will involve a new section in the magazine dealing with the fundamentals, such as: Antenna safety, the half-wave dipole, end fed wires, EMC issues, minimising interference to others etc. If we still had a proper Radio Amateur Examination, these items would have been covered in the syllabus – like they were in the City & Guilds RAE Exam – and if you had a half-decent lecturer, all the other items listed in the article on page 10 would have been covered as well.

Is this RSGB Centenary thing a sudden afterthought by Abbey Court?
There does not seem to be a huge take-up in using the special call and the Centenary Award is so complicated, and difficult for someone outside the UK, that I’d be surprised if anyone, other that a G or close-to European station will actually work all that is required. How will the people that work Gx100RSGB know which Region they are in, and why bring IOTA into the equation when there will only be about three different numbers to get? This whole thing was obviously not thought out enough as even in the instructions they admit to it being complicated. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the spreadsheet you have to decode and fill in. I also doubt that anyone, other than a G, will try to get the VHF version either.

Avian Happenings:
Returning to the village the other afternoon, a bird of prey took off from a tree as we were passing and flew down the road in front of us. We were not sure what it was but it was not as big as a Buzzard and was not the Sparrow hawk that lives in the hills behind Plaka. Then, about a week later, the bird must have been perched on our roof because, as we were standing by the lounge windows, it swooped down within a few feet of us and picked off a Sparrow in mid-flight. It then flew off up towards the old mills only to be harassed by a Buzzard who happened to be close by. Investigation revealed that it is an Eleonora’s Falcon. [Confirmed on 25/12/12 by a local Ornithologist]  They are a migratory bird but a few over-Winter in the Eastern Med, usually on Crete and the islands offshore.

On 28^th our young Golden Eagle returned and perched for about 15 minutes in a dead tree down by the old wells. Good to see him again . . .

WX Report:
Winter is with us now and, like you, we have had some rain. Maybe not as much, but some heavy rain never the less. Early in the month we had a day of heavy showers and a day later we noticed that the bottom 3 feet of our garden, and a retaining wall, had fallen away into the Olive grove some 15 feet below. Our neighbour also lost his wall and some of his garden and when the WX improves, he will repair it all.

On the Lassithi Mountains we have snow but this was late in arriving this year. Usually they get their first dusting of snow in late October but this year it was mid-December before they had any snow at all.

Meanwhile, Christmas Day was warm and sunny at 18°C – a pleasant enough day although around 9.15pm local time we did have an earthquake centred out in the Mirambello Bay just 6kms east of Aghios Nikolaos. Only 3.71 on the Richter scale and of very short duration, but it certainly shook the house a bit! Nearly spilt my beer . . .

That’s it for this time.

Have a Happy and Peaceful New Year es hope to see some of you at the Christmas Bash on the 13^th.

Yammas.

Dick. SV0XBN/9

The pictures below using an Newsky DVB-T dongle, with ASDB# decoder and COAA Planeplotter. Further information, and how to download the ADSB# decoder software from here

Also working with adsbSCOPE from here

73

Derek M0xdc
Email: m0xdc@lefars.org.uk

Digital Radio:
I see that the switch over to Digital is on hold as according to Ofcom, not enough people have already been conned to buying new strange-looking radios. I read that: “A new advertising campaign has been devised by Digital Radio UK, the industry body, in an effort to convince the public of the merits of the new system. “. A lot of people still don’t get it – they don’t understand what digital radio offers and why it’s important,” said Ford Ennals, its chief executive”
May I offer Mr Ennals a simple answer? Well, Mr Ennals, basically Digital Radio is crap.
The quality is worse than FM, you still get QRM from other stations and the idea of moving all broadcasters to Digital is so that the Government can sell off the VHF frequencies currently occupied and make a few quid. One again the populous are being conned into believing something is better that it really is because ‘those in power’ say so.

I also read that when the switchover does eventually come (probably around 2020, that’s the year, not the time), an estimated 25 million motorists will be left with no radio signal as Digital radios are only fitted to about a quarter of new cars.

In the last Blog I mentioned that the RSGB web site thing was meant to be changed by the end of September. I see however, that at the Board Meeting on 22nd Sept, it was decided to shift this commitment to ‘by the end of March 2013’, as they are having to overhaul their IT structure. OK, I understand this but why must they incorporate the new IOTA database and logging system that is being dreamt up as well?

The RSGB are looking at cost savings everywhere and they jumped onto the IOTA bandwagon some years ago by being persuaded that this was the best thing to do. It is time they told the IOTA mob to run the whole shebang themselves and not rely on the National Society to do it for them. In Russia, the group that run the highly successful RDA series of awards do not go to the Russian RSGB equivalent to get them to do things for them, so why should IOTA be any different? The rich buggers at the CDXC should put their hands in their pockets and pay for their own IT system themselves.

I also read that the RSGB cannot get enough volunteers to help run The Green Shed. Is it any wonder when they stitched up the Milton Keynes Club and their position at Bletchley Park? If I were a member of the MK Club, or any Club close to Bletchley, I think I’d tell the RSGB what they could do with their volunteer requests!

Oh, and talking of IOTA, did you know that should you live on an island, the UK for example, and you decide to up-sticks and operate as an ‘DXpedition’ to the Essex Marshes in the IOTA Contest because it is better for your 80m activities, that you cannot claim to be a ‘DXpedition’ as you normally live in the country you are operating from. You didn’t know this? Neither did our local Radio Club! Seems you have to read the very very small print in the rules . . . and they must be small as we haven’t found ‘em yet!

Missed Opportunity:
On page 11 on December RadComic there is a short news item about the Wakefield District RS running a special event station, GB0IDD, to raise awareness and understanding of disability issues. This is a fine ideal and should be commended, however, they missed a great opportunity to spread the word by not using QSL cards and opting to use only the faceless eQSL. Why? On their QSLs they could have publicised the whole idea of the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, but now they can’t.

So, the Special Resolution was passed overwhelmingly at the RSGB EGM meeting on 17th. I am afraid I still have my doubts about it all and see no real change in the running of the organisation for many years to come. It will still be a ‘job for the boys’ organisation I fear.

Have only been playing on 28Mc/s for the past few weeks. Put up two different aerials and switch between the two depending on condx and QRM. One aerial is a 7.6m wire fed through the 9:1 UnUn while the other is a Delta Loop set in a triangle shape and fed in the corner via a 4:1 Balun, and, being corner fed gives it vertical polarisation. Used them in the CQ-WW CW event at the end of November but condx were not too good at this end of the Med.

The CQ-WW event is an easy contest to enter as if you use a simple contest logging programme, such as N1MM, just for recording your QSOs, when you type in a call, the logging window puts in the CQ Zone for you. Even old versions of SD do this, so why then do a lot of Russians ask for a repeat of your Zone? Most odd . . . It was the same the previous weekend in the LZ CW where you exchange ITU Zones. Again SD and N1MM fill the Zone in for you but several Ruskies seem not to know this.
After these contests I see that my uncollected eQSL total has reached over 1,200.

We have several local TV stations here on Crete. Their content is ‘variable’ to say the least. There are the usual programmes, news, current affairs, quizzes etc but in order to fill their schedules they often use older programmes to fill a slot. KPHTH TV (Crete TV) used an old travel programme the other Sunday. You know the sort of thing, places to go to on holiday etc. Anyway, it showed old Palaces, huge marble floors, Souks, ancient buildings and statues. It looked quite impressive with the presenter walking around showing us the local markets and spice stalls – pity then that it was Aleppo in Syria.
Think the schedulers got that one a bit wrong!

I am waiting to hear about my ‘Contest Call’, J49XF, as the J4 series of calls are being withdrawn and only issued, so we are told (26/11/2102), to Greek Citizens. As of a few weeks ago we all thought that the rule meant Greek Callsign holders, SV1, SV6, SV0 etc, but now we are not so sure and await clarification. If I cannot us the J49 call, I will have to think of something else . . .

I have my flights and hotel booked for my January trip and a very kind soul (Tnx John!) has paid for my place at the Christmas Bash. With luck I should also be at the previous Friday meeting as well.

I mentioned last time about the Raki making that has been going on. I can now report that this years’ brew is as potent as last years and should not be consumed when (1) you might drive in the next 48 hours, (2) you might want to walk in the next 48 hours or (3) you intend trying to stand in the next 48 hours. Other than that, enjoy a glass or two!

Yammas!

Dick.. ‘XBN.

The later part of October and early November is quite a busy one for the locals as important things happen – the most important being the making of Raki, the local firewater. This really starts at the end of September when the first of the grapes are harvested and after pressing, the left over must-resin is then distilled to make Raki. These days those who make it have to be licensed by the Government, however, looking down the valley from the Kritsa house early in the morning, one can see the tell-tale signs of smoke rising from ‘illegal, family’ stills tucked away in the olive groves.
The big event of October was ‘Oxi Day’ on the 28th. This is when the Greeks said NO (Oxi in Greek) to the Italian/German demands in WW11 for the Greeks to capitulate but the Italians invaded anyway without waiting for an answer. Perhaps they wanted to get their towels on the sun-beds first.

Now we have had some decent rain, we can have bonfires again.
Out here it is illegal to have an ‘open’ fire between May and October because of the risk of wild-fires. This applies to all of Greece and even so every so often a fire will start and do considerable damage. At least 30% of the island of Chios was severely burnt in August.
Some of you may remember that during the late 80’s and early 90’s there were some horrific fires across Greece with loss of life, damage to property and to thousands of olive trees and thus people’s livelihoods. A few months ago, an ex-president of Turkey and an ex-Prime Minister of Greece, who just happened to be friends outside politics, were talking and it came to light that most of the serious wild-fires during that time were started deliberately by the Turkish Secret Service! Is it any wonder that the people on the other side of the Aegean cannot be trusted?

Our month started off well when the XYL hit a kerb while trying to park the car and damaged the front nearside wheel by putting a large V shape in it. Driving round these narrow winding roads with one of those limited speed safety wheels on is not the most confidence building thing in the world!

Radio Stuff:
Have you heard of ‘Castles and Stately Homes on the Air’, or CASHOTA?
Their initials are very apt as they seem to want CASH for every QSO they have.
GB4C has been running recently and they want 2 IRCs for a direct card, even if you live in the UK. Don’t have any IRCs? Don’t worry; they will also accept two dollars in cash just to put a second class stamp on an envelope for you and send you a card, even if you live down the road in Loughton. Good Eh?
I, and a lot of my friends, do not like the current trend of asking for direct QSLs only as this smacks of making money, and yes I know it is only a small amount, but it does seem that a lot of people are trying to cash in and make a few bucks out of the people who, in this case, want a GB QSL card.
Why did they not use the RSGB QSL Buro?
Probably because they did not want to pay out a couple of years subs just to send and receive QSL cards.

Is it me or do all ‘On The Air’ (OTA) groups try and make themselves more important than they really are?
You have the, awful, IOTA (Islands), CASHOTA (Castles), SOTA (Summits), DOTA (Distilleries), ROTA (Railways), BIWOTA (British Inland Waterways) and pretty soon we will have PUTOTA (Public Toilets) and PABOTA (Park Benches) if things keep going the way they are.
Not one of these OTAs project a good ‘front’ to Amateur Radio and, if truth were known, put more people off taking up the hobby than wanting to join it.

November RadComic arrived and contained much about the forthcoming EGM. I read a lot of the stuff but they do make rather boring, probably hoping that most people will just scan the main bits and miss all the important stuff. By the way, did you know that no Member has a right to check the finances or books? This does seem rather odd as the basic reason for all this kafuffle over the past couple of years has been because no one was checking the finances!
I see that the December issue of RadComic will be with Members before the 19th of November. Now, how stupid is that? The publication dates get earlier and earlier and so you would think that with the EGM on 17th, publication would be held up for at least a week or so while a report was written up for the magazine. Not very much joined up thinking at Abbey Court then . . .
[At the time of writing the above, I had just written to the RSGB General Manager about a couple of the things including the publication date and I have received a reply and so will do a Blog Update in a couple of days time when I have studied his answer.]

I seem to recall that the RSGB were to make big changes to their web site from September 23rd so as to make it more welcoming to newcomers and those who may be interested in taking up the hobby.
As of today (31st October) nothing has changed and the site looks as boring as it has ever done. This subject was brought up with Norman at the Club Meeting back at the end of April where he just gave the ‘standard’ RSGB answer that it was ‘going to change’. Anyone want to guess when?

I also see that HRD is on special offer at $69.95 as they cannot sell it at full price.
Surprise surprise!

Avian Happenings:
Highlight of October has to be a visit from a striking looking bird a few weeks ago. The Blue Tits were busy picking off all the midges they could when a male Golden Oriole arrived and sat in the Almond tree watching what they were up to. A really beautiful bird, vivid yellow, black wings and a pink bill. He stayed long enough for us to get the binoculars and view him ‘close up’ before he flew up towards the old mills. We hope he visits again . . .

With the reduction in tourist activity and disturbance generally, our Buzzards and Vultures have returned to the hills opposite. This is really good to see and we await the return of our Golden Eagle to complete the trio.

I see that the Christmas Bash is set for Sunday 13th January and all being well I will be there. The XYL has already started a list of what I should pick up while in the UK so it looks like I will arrive with an empty suitcase and return with an overweight one!

Yammas

Dick. SV0XBN/9

Update – 3rd November
This is just an update to my note  about writing to the RSGB. I received an answer to my comments from the RSGB General Manager within a couple of days of sending them. The first acknowledgement was on a Saturday which I found surprising but showed at least that someone at the RSGB looked at email over the weekends.

The first comment in my letter was the fact that I now have my RadComic sent to a UK address as delivery to Crete was either slow or not at all. His answer to this was to ‘upgrade’ me to ‘Standard’ delivery so I would now get my RadComic, sent to me in Crete within 5 working days.

This worried me on two counts: 1 – he did not read my letter fully when I said I already have RadComic delivered to a UK address, and 2 – if I am now ‘upgraded’ to a ‘Standard’ delivery service, what the hell was I on before when it took over three weeks to get here? I assume that most Members living abroad who receive their magazine a month after publication and on this ‘never never’ service will only get a quicker delivery if they complain. One assumes that the ‘never never’ service is a lot cheaper . . .

My next comment was about the benefits of the RSGB that I and other overseas do not use, such as the QSL Buro. He replied thus:
“..Your point about the limited benefit to you, and other overseas members, of RSGB membership is noted. When I lived abroad I also used the QSL bureau (which I found more reliable than the Greek equivalent) but that is a matter of choice..”
His point about using the Greek QSL Buro is not quite valid as when he had the call SV0XBA, he knew he would be returning to the UK and would not be living in Greece all the time.

My main comment was about a downloadable version of RadCom, somewhat like the ARRL now offers with QST. His answer covers a lot of stuff including things I had not thought of with a .pdf version such as advertising. I also commented that my input to the Strategy thing was not acknowledged. This was answered thus:
“..Every submission was seen by each board member but it was never the intention to reply to each contributor and I apologise if this was not made clear to you at the time. This does not mean that your points were ignored, however..”

The answer to the question about RadCom on the internet was:
“..The issue of an electronic version of RadCom continues to be something that is under active consideration – indeed we are discussing it again at a meeting tomorrow [30th Oct]. We are certainly watching closely the experience of the ARRL in this regard.
You can of course, read RadCom on-line at the moment albeit not yet in fully downloadable form. When we reach that position, the pricing structure of any online-only offering is something we will have to consider very carefully.
Unlike the ARRL we do not charge a premium for overseas members who receive their printed magazine. The ARRL has, however, provided an overseas membership which includes a CD copy of QST instead of the printed paper at the same rate enjoyed by domestic members. Their new electronic offering is, in fact, replacing the CD.
For the domestic customer in the US, the electronic version is an additional benefit, not a replacement for the paper copy.

There are 2 main issues:
Costs
The technical issue is not one of providing a fully downloadable version of RadCom, but providing it in a way that it cannot be “pirated” and forwarded. The technology for achieving this is still evolving and, at the moment, is expensive. Once we solve this problem, we will need to provide the electronic version to all members (like the ARRL does) and make it available on a number of platforms, such as tablets.
Advertising Revenue
The revenue obtained from the advertisements in RadCom represents 11% of the Society’s total income. At the moment, advertisers value highly the opportunity to appear in the printed magazine, and the indications are that this interest will not be sustained if we move to a digital offering. This attitude may change, but we need to proceed with caution..”

My last comment was about the publication date of December RadCom being received by Members before the EGM so that no EGM details or reports could be included.  His answer is as follows:
“..Publication Dates
In common with every publisher in the World we publish our magazines so that that most have received it as the month in question starts. Magazine publication dates are set several years in advance and cannot for practical reasons be varied greatly. To have delayed the December issue to accommodate the EGM result would have resulted in RadCom appearing well into the month for some members (particularly overseas members) and domestically would have also impacted on the January edition which is produced earlier than normal in December.

It is clear that, in the current age, RadCom is not the most effective vehicle for conveying news quickly, and we will be turning more and more to our website. In effect, therefore, all those with an interest in the outcome of the EGM will have been able to read about it online and we shall be providing a full report as soon as we can after 17th November..”

I cannot believe that all publishers agree publication dates years in advance. There was nothing to stop the December edition being published on or around the 21st of November so as to include a basic EGM report, even if this was a ‘flyer’ in the cellophane cover. The magazine would still have been with most Members by December 1st.

So there you have it. Some answers to my questions. I have to accept what the General Manager has said in good faith but I still feel that the basic issue of an electronic RadCom is being delayed purposefully. Those who wish to receive RadCom via the internet should be able to have it watermarked and sent to them direct by email, similarly to the way FISTS and others do with their magazines.

73

Dick. SV0XBN/9

Much of the preparatory work had been done by Cliff 2E0RCW, a volunteer at the RGM. LEFARS has been offered a room (and brew up facilities) to be turned into a shack near the visitors centre and backing onto the river. The RGM is primarily a science and technology exhibition and those who have operated from there in recent years will have seen the “LAB” and the mad professor demonstrating chemicals and explosives.

This does fit in with the clubs ethos of science and radio technology exhibition for the public. The general manager was very enthusiastic to have LEFARS as part of the RGM display. He also indicated he would like us to take part in the science and technology days on the 20th & 21st June with our exhibition and show amateur radio in operation. Many schools and students come to this event. I am sure we can find enough old and bold to cover this event.

As far as LEFARS is concerned there are two operating weekends that we would wish to do from the RGM, the mills weekend and the railways weekend. There is a narrow gauge industrial railway being refurbished and extended around the site.

The amount of operating will depend on other commitments during the year, but it is hoped that members will be able to operate from there under their own or the clubs callsign (take your own kit).

There is a proviso in that if the event is a LEFARS one then members are covered by our own insurance and don’t need to be registered, if however, the event is a RGM event then club members will need to be registered as ‘ radio section volunteers’ to be covered by the RGM’s insurance. This will not be a problem as far as LEFARS is concerned.

The next step is to go to the RGM with a view to a full recce of the area of the shack and to start to organise and plan aerials, feeders and exhibition materials. Club members will be asked to assist and the usual suspects will no doubt be there to do the work. There is a good deal of work to be done before we will be operational and I consider this will be a good wintertime project for the club.

Briefings and reports are to follow.

73

John GØVEH, Chairman
Email: g0veh@lefars.org.uk

The number of tourists drops off at the end of August when the Greeks return to work [Somewhat like the French taking the month off] and so the place is a little quieter. September is also the time when the more mature tourist, those without school-kids, arrive and those that chose the end of the month have been rewarded with some excellent WX.
However, during October we should get some welcome showers . . .

Kos Vacation:
Kos is very different from Crete. Crete is all mountains with very little in the way of flat areas whereas Kos is mostly flat apart from a range of hills. Because of the ‘no traffic’ policy in Kos Town and with the flat landscape, you could be misled for thinking you were in Holland as there are so many cycle lanes and bikes everywhere. Radio-wise there are some very good sites on the North coast which has a long (20 mile) sandy beach and there are also some good sites near the airport.

As arranged, on the first evening of our visit we met up with Jean-Jacques, ON3ND, and his XYL, Yolande. A most charming couple, and, despite our language worries, everything seemed to work out OK. JJ speaks some English, my XYL speaks some French while I just grunt from time to time, but all went well . . . We met each evening and generally put the world to rights, as you do. Of course JJ and I spoke mostly radio while the XYLs spoke mostly about other stuff. JJ and I sing off the same Hymn sheet when it comes to direct QSLs, Contests, deliberate QRM, cheating by using the Cluster etc and so we often found that as one was about to speak or comment on something, the other one of us would know what was going to be said and agree before the comment was fully made. The XYL and Yolande seemed to chat about most things, and despite the XYL’s ‘schoolgirl’ French, they got on like a house on fire with Yolande being very tolerant of the XYL’s mistakes.

JJ has been to Kos before and advised us on places to visit including the nearby island of Kalymnos. We did this trip on a Sunday and despite what the Internet said on the Saturday evening, the boat times were wrong, the bus timetable was wrong, and several places we intended to visit were closed. However, after catching a later ferry and having an early lunch we met up with a local taxi driver who took us round and about for most of the day, stopping here and there for loads of photos, showing us places of interest and letting us lounge about on a beach for an hour, and all for less than 30 quid. We expect that he was a better guide to the place as well.

The following day we were to return the hire car but with other things going amiss, I extended the hire by a day. This was OK except that the place we set off to see was closed on a Monday! Undaunted, the XYL suggested we drove to a town on the southern coast.

After an hours’ drive through some spectacular scenery we arrived at the town and parked up. The XYL crossed the road, tripped up the kerb, fell flat on her face, damaged her nose (and the pavement) and so after getting a local doctor to stop the flow of blood, we drove back to Kos Town to the hospital. A really good day out! (*)

Overall though, the whole Kos trip was a great success due mainly to Jean-Jacques and his wife Yolande who have both became true friends.

Radio Stuff:
A few weeks ago I received details of some more Russian CW Club Awards. These are an on-going series and are based on the signs of the Zodiac. Using the first letter of the Suffix, you spell the month and Zodiac sign, depending on the dates, e.g. ‘September Virgo’ and so on. I thought this would be quite easy but even after a couple of contests and some casual operating I failed to get my first month/sign combination and so will have to try again next year. Meanwhile, I’m now onto the next month – October Libra.

Although September RadComic did not stay on the desk very long, sometime later I found myself looking at the ‘Around Your Region’ bit and the goings on at various Clubs. This is when you miss being in the UK. Out here, our Club meets on a Wednesday and we sit and chat and then go out to eat. There are no lectures or talks as, in order to get anyone to talk to us, you must first fly them in from Athens or Thessaloniki. Over in Blighty you have a really rich vein of talks available to you, even if it means an hour or so’s drive down the road. Although not all subjects would interest me personally, recently, regionally there were talks about SOTA, Digital Amateur TV, HF propagation, SDR receiver kits and various visits. Your Club Committee does a brilliant job in organising various projects, outings and events and you should be grateful and support them in any way you can – believe me, without their enthusiasm, life at the Club would be very different . . .

October RadComic arrived and apart from the K3 review, had little of interest. I do not know why we needed to see a picture of someone’s bum [Page 70 ] but was intrigued to see the advert for the new Icom 7100. This is basically an updated Ic-7000 but with a touch screen, however, with the same IF, 124 Mc/s, I think that at this QTH we would still have the IF breakthrough problems from the marine relay on yonder hill. Would still like to play with one though!  [more photos here - recent trip by John G8DZH to the Newark hamfest and the opportunity to play with the IC-7100 on the Icom stand]

‘Not A Lot Of People Know That’ Dept:
Chatting to a lady who gives talks on the local flora and fauna the other day, she came up with a mind-boggling statistic: – There are some 35 million Olive trees on Crete and in this total there are 75 different varieties. However, she failed to answer my follow-up question: Who counted ‘em?

Music Muse:
I am not much into music. I like some, and dislike other stuff. Some classical is Ok while most other bits just sound awful. But how about you?

Question: Do you like the Ukulele – like George Formby used to play? (Younger members might like to look him up on Google)

T’other day the XYL received an email with a link to The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain on YouTube. Look them up and watch them playing the theme tune to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Brilliant! Some of the other clips are really funny (You Don’t Bring Me Flowers) and show that not all orchestras are fuddy duddy – Enjoy!

Radio Stuff Part The Second:
On the last weekend in September, RASC, the local Radio Club, held its first ever ‘Hamvention’ as they liked to call it. It was really a junk sale with several people selling stuff from tables. However, although I saw nothing to interest me, I was amazed at the turn-out. On the Sunday morning (I did not go on Saturday, CQWW RTTY Contest) there must have been around 75 people in the venue, and 90% were licensed SV9s. I was introduced to so many people that I cannot begin to remember all the calls but they came from all four corners of Crete which meant a good three hour drive for some people.

Although the Club did not sell a lot of the items we priced up last Wednesday, I think that overall they were pleased with the attendance and will look to expand next year.

Horror of horrors – I have been asked to break out the microphone that came with the rig and work a local who needs SV9 on all bands, except 30m – on phone!

Off now to pour a cold one. It is still quite warm this evening at 28°C (20.00 local), so I think it is deserved. Will also need it to calm the nerves when I unpack the Mic . . .

73

Dick… XBN/9

(*) The pavement has recovered physically but is still suffering mental distress.

So, for ground stake use, I have to two antennas to choose from.  One is small Clansman 320 whip, with balun and ground spike, bought as a kit from ‘Pro-Whip, while the second option is a 10 metre Pro-Whip.  Both antennas have a single counterpoise, but they would benefit from having more.  They allowed for a good few stations to be received, but I couldn’t get any contacts using the Clansman 320 whip.  Having said that, I had only been trying for 30 minutes or so, which is not enough time to make a real judgement.

After ten minutes with the 10 metre Pr0-Whip though, I spoke with a radio amateur from Calabria, in Italy.  Although not such a big deal for many experienced Radio Amateurs on HF, it was for me, as it was my first contact.  A coincidence also, in that the counterpoise I used, could only be fully laid out in one direction, effectively pointing to France and Italy.

It was good enough to make that first contact but, as I am lucky enough to speak Italian, so we also had a longer conversation than I would have expected.  In future, I will try to relocate the antennas to allow for additional counterpoises to be laid out.  Perhaps then, my HF signal may achieve a more omni-directional pattern.  Antenna-wise then, the curse of the small garden, may turn out to be something that can be conquered, with a lot of patience and experimentation, a principle which may just have some value within the hobby.  (Yes, I am stating the obvious on purpose!)

Have fun!

Frank, M1CPD  (email: m1cpd@lefars.org.uk)

Whilst I am not yet ready to trade in my trusty IC-706MKIIG for a newer model, it was interesting to see the evolution to IC-7000 and now the latest version with Slant Top controller and integral D-STAR DV mode.  Max power output  SSB/FM/DV is 100W HF/6m, 50W 4m/2m and 35w 70cm. AM HF 40W.

Physically the IC-7100 base unit looks like the IC-7000  minus the front panel. However  the Touch Screen Interface used by the Slant Top Controller allows a combination of ‘real’ buttons and a tuning knob touch selection of features and modes.  The microphone plugs into the back of the controller.

There are links at the end of the blog to the info page on the Icom UK website and also the pre-release information which gives further details. The price hasn’t been announced yet, nor availability.

Derek M0XDC and I took a few photos; below an extract to show the salient features together with comments.

IC-7100 with controller.

Another view, with microphone.

Close up of controller, HF AM mode.

70cm – D-STAR DV mode

Controller unit rear. L to R. phone socket, morse key, mic connector. interface to base unit. Large speaker on the right.

Rear view of IC-7100 (right). Note the RJ45 Ethernet socket underneath the SO-239 antenna socket. (optional remote control software needed).

Further info

Icom UK product announcement

IC-7100 datasheet (PDF) here

73

John G8DZH  (email: g8dzh@lefars..rg.uk)

No LUSO tower this time but a smaller British portable tower (24m) from Upshot  had pride of place on entering the hall.   Either side were the corporate stands (Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood) showing their latest wares.

There was plenty of room to move around, the main dealers being positoned around the hall.  These included W&S, MLS, Moonraker and also LAM Communications from Yorkshire plus Sandpiper. The RSGB book stand was spacious and well-stocked, an opportunity to purchase the latest callbook (or check you are still licensed!!).  Near the catering area, various RSGB committes had their own booths, a useful opportunity to ask questions. Also a chance to get an insurance quote!  OFCOM were present and showing photographs detailing their involvment with the recent Olympics as well as providing useful advice.

It was nice to see Innov Antennas with an interesting display  of unusual antennas. For those looking for components, perhaps less this time but plenty of chance to see the new radios in their pre-production forms.  Two of the dealers had come from Germany (and were going on Saturday back to mainland EU and Auxerre in France for the rally on Sunday). From Icom there was the IC-7100 multimode with a touch screen interface. The Japanese model was being demonstrated; without 4m, although to be included on EU models (review here)

Icom IC-7100

From Kenwood, under protective perspex was the TS-990S. No chance to try out though.

Icom however had the new IC-7600 and this was accessible.

MLS  had a show offer for  the Kenwood TS-590S, down to £1159.95. SDR radios were much in evidence. WinRadio demonstrated their latest model with wide frequency coverage.   On offer also the Kinetic SBS-3, a multi-SDR radio specialising in aircraft location and ID etc. but also including wider range frequency coverage and decode options as well as internet control (next two photos).

Test Equipment and tools were well catered for.  There was plenty of coax as well although the price varied.

Others LEFARS members spotted included Dave G4FKI, Peter G4FQF, Paul 2E0VLT and John G0XBJ. For John ‘XBJ it was a local rally living in Peterborough.

(L to R). John G1DJI, John G0VEH and Derek M0XDC.

This year less computer bits but other interesting accessories including military surplus radio masts and other specialist antenna bits.

We left the Newark Showground as it started to rain at 3pm and got back to Loughton at 5.40pm. All in all an enjoyable day. My purchases were modest. A £1 roll of gaffer tape, 12 port cat5e patch panel for  a fiver plus cups of coffee and an excellent lincoln sausage-filled roll (3 of them) for breakfast.  Oh, and the penultimate bag of apples from the Apple man in the GB12MH tent.

73

John G8DZH   Email g8dzh@lefars.org.uk

More photos

On arrival, I connected up my FT-817 and proceeded to work the contest. The installation is a 100Ah battery / 2KvA generator, and a 9 element tonna that can be adjusted from 15 to 30ft.

I checked the ON and PA beacons, which we normally hear at about 5 & 3, these were 5/7 so conditions were good. 14 stations were worked  in 40 minutes, ON, PA, DL, F, GD, GW and of course G.

George, M1GEO and David G7UVW arrived and we swapped the rig for an Icom 7000 and a 100w linear. This enabled us to work further afield and of course we could now compete with the other portable stations. George worked into SK7 (Sweden) and a good number of stations on the continent.

All in all a good evenings operating was accomplished.

Why more amateurs don’t get on 2m SSB is strange, it’s the only way to work the DX. It’s real radio not 2m FM(CB), D-Star etc.

73

John G0VEH  (email: g0veh@lefars.org.uk)

Further info
144MHz UKAC  contest details here
RSGB contest calendar (overview) here

One half of the tri-band trapped dipole under test, built by Dave Messenger M3WMV.

Dave Messenger M3WMV had built a 160/80/40m trapped dipole which was the first aerial to be tested. The traps measured slightly out of band, due in the most part to being unable to get the design height of 85ft at the apex.

The next aerial to be tested was a terminated tilted folded dipole (TTFD). I made the aerial many years ago but never really gave it a test. The aerial proved as good a match as the main aerial, a doublet at some 45ft.

One end of the TTFD was at 45ft and the other end at 10ft. It was a little noisier than the main but some signals were stronger on the TTFD than on the doublet. This was to be expected as the TTFD is in essence a vertical dipole.

The TTFD being hoisted up the mast….

The aerial was left in the operating position until Sunday morning so its performance could be judged against the doublet. This aerial may solve the problem of length for those in postage stamp gardens. It does seem to work quite well.

More information on the TTFD  here . Note that the non-inductive terminating resistor is a series-parallel arrangement (mine was  450 ohms) and capable of dissipating 33 watts (for 100W output). Also, a 6:1 balun is preferred.

Many years ago now the club was requested to clear Clive G6FWT’s shack who had become SK. We attended the funeral in Sheffield and among his items was a loaded telescopic aerial. I rescued this from the junk pile and cleaned it up. Unfortunately it had been mounted outside for many years and the adjusters on the sliding sections were steel on aluminium and had rusted completely. The repairs completed it was then put in the shed with all the other projects waiting to be tested.

On assembly it was tested on receive and seemed to be reasonably directional, as you would expect from a dipole. However when the analyser was connected it told a different story. The dipole was ‘as is’ from Clive’s and appeared complete. The resonant range of the dipole was fully closed, 17 odd MHz and fully extended 14.800 MHz. This is well outside any amateur band and would have needed an ATU to match, which of course defeats the object of the exercise. The telescopic part of the dipole is too short to be of any use.

John, G8DZH said that Clive had problems getting out with this. Now we know why. In the end Brian 2E0EFX took the aerial to play with. Whether or not it had been modified at some time is anybodies guess.

All in all a good weekend, even the weather was kind, i.e. no rain, a good meal at the R&D and happy campers.

73

John G0VEH (email: g0veh@lefars.org.uk)