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BARSCOMDUNMOW STEBBING
NOTLEY
RAYNE HALSTEAD
WITHAMBRAINTREE
COLCHESTER
COGGESHALL
Monthly Communication of theBraintree and District Amateur Radio Society
G3XG GX3XG G6BRH
March 2013
BADARS awarded BritishWireless for the BlindFund cup for raising thegreatest amount at the lastactivity weekend.
You see junk… Edwinsees another possibleconstruction cup winner.
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March 2013
Club ActivitiesTony GØIAG
Club meeting 18th Feb'.
The first item of the evening wasMelvin GØEMK showing off thetrophy which our club had won. Ithad been awarded by the BritishWireless for the Blind charity, to theclub that raised the most money forthem on the 2012 special eventweekend. Well done to us, andthanks to Melvin for organising.
The main part of the evening was atalk by Edwin GØLPO about
building power supplies, probablythe most useful bit of equipment inthe shack. His plan is to build avariable voltage multi-outlet powersupply for the construction contest.The cost of components should not
cost any more than £15, usingcomponents sourced from rallies,e-bay and old equipment. Edwin isadapting designs from old circuits tosuit his requirements by making thepower supply in a modular fashion,connections between modules bypoint to point wiring. This enablesmodule change or upgrading withouta complete rebuild, good idea! Thetalk was well received by all, thanksEdwin.
The remainder of the evening wasspent with Dave GØDEC doingequipment testing.
ContentsPrizewinners Cover
Club Activities 2
Club Meetings and Nets 4
Lincolnshire Airfields 5
Receiver Replacement 8
Rally Report 9
Magazine Reviews 10
Rallies 11
Contests 14
Members’ Info 15
Committee 15
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March 2013
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March 2013
Club Meetings and NetsClub Net - 08.00pm local time
2 Metres (145.375Mhz)70 cms (433.575Mhz)
March4 Morse Evening - Keys, Programs, On-Air11 Club Net - 2 Metres18 Baluns & their construction - GØEMK25 Club Net - 70 cms
April1 Equipment Safety Testing - II8 Club Net - 2 Metres15 RSGB Regional Officer22 Club Net - 70 cms29 Club Net - GB3BZ Repeater
May6 Mills Planning - Natter Night13 Club Net - 2 Metres20 AGM27 Club Net - 70 cms
June3 Essex Air Ambulance10 Club Net - 2 Metres17 Construction Contest24 Club Net - 70 cms
July1 Rig Clinic8 Club Net - 2 Metres15 Evening DF Hunt22 Club Net - 70 cms29 Club Net - GB3BZ Repeater
August5 Club BBQ12 Club Net - 2 Metres19 Aerial Clinic26 Club Net - 70 cms
September2 Junk Sale9 Club Net - 2 Metres16 TBD23 Club Net - 70 cms30 Club Net - GB3BZ Repeater
October7 JOTA Planning14 Club Net - 2 Metres21 TBA28 Club Net - 70 cms
November4 TBA11 Club Net - 2 Metres18 TBA25 Club Net - 70 cms
Do you know?The ubiquitous BNC plug hasbeen around for many years, butfor what do the letters BNCstand? Answer on page x.
BARSCOM ©BADARS 2013
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March 2013
The meeting on Feb' 4th was atalk by Tony GØIAG, and withthe help of over 60 slides hetalked about the museumsdedicated to the "bombersquadrons" of WW2, and theconservation and restoration workcarried out at these museums. Theevening was completed with aslide show of the 2012 RAFWadington air show, which wasenjoyed by all.
DC3 Dakota, part of Battle ofBritain memorial flight in thehanger at R.A.F. ConingsbyLincolnshire.
One of the "bouncing bomb" fullsize prototypes in the main hangerat East Kirkby air museumLincolnshire.
The Airfields of LincolnshireIan G8MKN
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March 2013
Tony about to climb into aCanberra bomber trainingcockpit module at East Kirkby.It is the genuine article - cutoff the front of an aircraft.
Wartime, and post war, mobile canteen atEastKirkby. Some of these were still in use inthe 1960's.
Lancaster bomber "JustJane" sits on the apron, inthe late afternoonsunshine at East Kirkby.This aircraft is capable of"taxi runs", and themuseum owner plans to getthe aircraft flying again.
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March 2013The "Kinema" at WoodhallSpa, Lincolnshire. Know as the"cinema in the woods". It wasused by the air force personnelfrom surrounding bomberairfields. Although the buildingis very little changed, themodern projecting technologyhas been introduced. R.A.F.personnel from nearbyConingsby still use it.
A "Blue Steel" missilefrom the cold war era.These were an early"fire and forget"missile. They weredesigned for use withthe "V Bomber", andwould be armed andreleased 200 miles fromtarget. It carried anuclear warhead ofsufficient power to wipeout a small town.Ann standing with the missile gives an idea of its size.
The Red Devils in for a servicewith guest MIG
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March 2013
The grave of “Nigger”, at RAFScampton, Lincolnshire, a maleblack labrador retriever belongingto Wing Commander Guy Gibson,V.C., D.S.O., D.F.C.
Gibson led the famous Dam-busterraid on the Möhne, Edersee, andSorpe dams.
"Nigger" was the codeword Gibsonused to confirm the breach of theMöhne Dam.
Photos ©Tony King, GØIAG
Following a successful insuranceclaim the club has now replaced thedamaged FT757GX with an FT897;the replacement, which waspurchased from Martin Lynch andSons, is detailed below.
HF/VHF/UHF Transceiver
TX Freq 160-10m - 6m - 2m -70cmRX Freq 0.1-56 /76-108/
118-164/420-470 MHz
Mode TX AM/FM/SSB/CW RX AM/FM/WFM/
SSB/CW
Output FM/SSB/CW 100 watt AM 25 watt
The transceiver will be used at clubevents, and is best suited for portableuse , school and or JOTA etc becauseof is portability, weighing in at only3.9kg.
Club Purchases Replacement TransceiverEdwin GØLPO
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March 2013
Well, it did not snow on us this year.Last year we had lots of the whitestuff, settled to about 4 inches deep,so the visitors to the 2012 rally werefew. I had not long had the LandRover, so it was a good test for itshandling. I had got there quitequickly, although there was lessthere to buy and I came home thenwith very little, apart from a 27/81CB radio already converted to 10 mFM for £3. It cleaned up very nicely!
The weather this year was chilly butkind, so a few of us shared transportfor the quite easy journey to thevenue, The Paddocks, Long Road,on Canvey Island.
Edwin drove Ann, Tony & me to therally, and we arrived just after 10.15am. The queue was starting to snakeround the side of the building. In thequeue with the very cold wind, wewere joined by Jim Frost and hiscolleague.
Inside the building, it is always niceand warm. The bacon rolls and cupsof tea were ever popular, althoughthe staff there insisted that peopleentered the cafeteria through the
‘out’ door – causing muchconfusion!
Most of the usual traderswere present. It was
packed out with people, with thecentre isle most congested, so Ichecked out the stalls in the backroom, got myself a coffee and metwith the others.
When it had quietened down a little,I found that there seemed to be lessof the useful junk under the tablesthan usual. I did not see any booksthat I would add to the club library.I did buy an ICOM AT-160 autoATU. I also bought a Wellertemperature controlled solderingiron, sold as working, but quitecheaply priced. It is an iron, whichwill be quite useful to me as is bettersuited for close work, such as surfacemounted components. Tony andEdwin were buying components forpower supply construction. Ann wasbeing the scout for required items.
Getting home, the ICOM ATU is notsuitable for my modern ICOM radio,so this unit will have to be sold. Thisis a shame, as it is quite a compactand well constructed unit.
On testing, the soldering iron did notwork properly - although at £25 it isstill a bargain. On the ‘Ebay’ website
Canvey Island Rally Report 2013Howard G6LXK
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March 2013they sell for >£100. The solderingpencil was just only just gettingwarm, even though it checked outOK electrically with the meter. Iassumed it was a control problem, soopened the case and found that thecontrol PCB made from a whiteceramic with the components surfacemounted. One of the electrolyticcapacitors seemed raised (it had
burst) so I changed them both for asingle, larger capacitor. I reckon thatthe burst capacitor was short circuit,because after this the iron burst intolife, with the characteristic hot smell.The first job for it was to remove thetiny diode in my Icom transceiver sothat I can go and play on the 60 mband (5.250 to 5.405 MHz).
RadCom, cover price £4.95, 96pages of which 35 advertising. 8.1pence per page editorial (news,reviews, features, technical,construction and regular items).
Practical Wireless, £3.75, 80 pagesof which 29.5 advertising. 7.4 penceper page editorial etc.
Radiouser, £3.75, 80 pages of which20.5 advertising. 6.3pence per pageeditorial etc. (In the more detailedreviews that follow, broadcast radioand TV are omitted)
Cover Pages: Radcom has an almostfull page picture of Jack, SP5AUYchecking his 4 element 10m Yagi),entitled “Antenna overhaul time-Check your antennas have survivedthe winter”. A smashing picture, but
searching through the magazine, noarticle on overhauling antennas!Also, there are three thumbnailsalong the bottom of the page leadingto articles on mobile mounts, GHzbands and review of a componentanalyser.
P.W.’s cover images and thumbnailslead to articles on Amateur RadioAustralian Style, Communicationswith Light, Voltage ControlledOscillators, Pedestrian HF DXingand finally HF Activity including anew QRP transceiver review.
Radiouser’s cover is a mix of imagesof reviewed equipment and HMSMersey (Radio Communications andFishery Protection), and a list ofregular features with the additionthis month of part 2 of
Around the Magazines - A Personal ReviewGeoff G1WRH
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March 2013
Rallies3 MARCH
BRATS RAINHAM RADIO RALLY - Rainham School for Girls,Derwent Way, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent ME8 0BX. TI, OT 10.00, DIS9.30am, C. Trevor, G6YLW, 07717 678 795, www.trevwig1.co.uk.
CAMBRIDGE & DISTRICT A.R.C. RALLY - Wood Green AnimalShelter, King's Bush Farm, A1198 London Road, Godmanchester, CambsPE29 2NH. OT 10.00, CP, £3, TI S22, TS, B&B, LB, C, DF, SIG, FAM,David, MØZEB, 01353 778 093, www.rally2013cdarc.co.uk.
EXETER RADIO & ELECTRONICS RALLY - America Hall, De La RueWay, Pinhoe Exeter EX4 8PW. TS, B&B, C. OT 10.15/10.30, £2. Pete,G3ZVI, 07714 198 374, [email protected].
SPRING MILITARIA & ELECTRONICS & RADIO AMATEURHANGAR SALE - Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich,Cheshire, CW5 8AL. OT 10.00, civil, military & vintage radio equipment,vehicle spares & more. Rod Siebert, 01270 623 353, www.hackgreen.co.uk [email protected].
10 MARCHWYTHALL RC RADIO AND COMPUTER RALLY - Woodrush SportsCentre, Shawhurst Lane, Hollywood, nr Birmingham B47 5JW on theA435, 2mi from J3 M42. OT 10am-3pm, TS, C, £2.50, B&B, CP, TI S22(V44). Chris, GØEYO, 07710 412 819, [email protected] website: www.wrcrally.co.uk
23 MARCHDUTCH NATIONAL RADIO FLEA MARKET - "Autotron", Rosmalen,just off A59 motorway. TI PI4SHB, 145.500MHz, CP, OT 0900, €7. TS,FM, C. Details: [email protected] website: www.radiovlooienmarkt.nl
Did you know?The letters BNC stand for Bayonet-Neil-Concelman.
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March 2013G4MIU Keith’s feature articleon Dealing with QRM.
Letters: Radiouser does not haveany letters this month. P.W. has oneexpressing concern about thepossibility of restricting theFoundation Licence to v.h.f. andabove, and another about pulsedinterference from auto a.t.u.’s.RadCom carries a varied selectionof letters including a possiblesolution for amateurs experiencingQRM to be able to transmit from anoisy location and receive from aquiet one (Lionel G3PPT), ideas tohelp new users (Ray M6FAX),Restricted Antennas – attic location(G3MFO), and to end with a trulydelightful letter about one amateurhelping out another (GrahamG4FAU).
Reviews: Radiouser carries a reviewof Mode-S Virtual Radar, i.e. lowcost dongles that enable the user totrack ship and planes. The majorreview in this month’s edition is ofthe Wavecom W-Code SignalAnalyser. The four page highlydetailed and illustrated report givesan insight into signal analysis, andthe capabilities of this piece ofequipment, which unfortunately at£6000 ex VAT will never find aplace on my bench.
RadCom reviews two books, “TheLong Silence Falls”-The Life andTimes of the Merchant Navy RadioOfficer 1900-2000. “To my mind,one of the oddest moments in thebook and yet in a strange way themost sensible is a brief descriptionof the cheerless waiting room at theMarconi office in East Ham, whereRadio Officers were called to theirappointments via a Tannoy system –in Morse!” £19.99. The secondbook review is of “The Spratbook”.“The best of the first 150 issues ofSPRAT”, £12.74 (which links nicelyto construction (below) where theRev George Dobbs G3RJV has anarticle in P.W.) RadCom alsoreviews the Peak Atlas DCA Procomponent analyser. In a test theanalyser correctly identified a P-channel FET including identifyingthe gate lead. A graphic displayshows the component schematics.£115.95.
P.W. has a single column preview(not review) of the new Ten-TecArgonaut VI, but GWØVSW CarlMason’ initial curiosity is around thefact that the 5 and 24 MHz bandshave been omitted from the updatedtransceiver. There are no major newradio reviews anywhere this month.
Construction: P.W. The Rev.George Dobbs looks at Voltage
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March 2013Controlled Oscillators. A dearth ofair spaced variable capacitors hasforced George to use more readilyavailable two gang polyvariconcapacitors. Tony Nailer G4CFYgives details of a design for a 555timer based linear scale directreading capacitance meter. (This isa design close to my heart as Iconstructed something similar in1976 from a design in “Television”magazine). The P.W. Editor, RobMannion G3XFD who has limiteduse in one of his hands has had hisfriend Phil G3XBZ assemble anElecraft K3 rig for him. Rob iswinding down prior to him leavinghis editorial position.
Radcom’s Eamon Skelton continueshis series of simple receiver projects,this month dealing with a SSB filter.Giles Read G1MFG describesconstruction of a novel voiceoperated switch that could switch onbefore he starts speaking!-Not reallyof course, just bit of magic usingdelayed audio to the radio basedaround IC’s 2830P and PT2399.Andy Talbot G4JNT deals withintegrated frequency modulators inhis regular feature design notes.
In Radiouser the only constructionelement is contained within thesecond part of G4MIU KeithRawlings’ feature article Dealing
with QRM. Keith shows the designand upgrades of his active loopreceiving antenna with both thecircuit diagram, and the finishedproject on veroboard of the antennaamplifier. Keith also shows hisconstruction of his triple NullSteerer, which unfortunately he hasfound does not work as effectivelyin as low a frequency as acommercial unit - yet!
Features: Stuart Wisher G8CYWintroduces a new series in P.W.featuring communications with light.Very much a DIY system usingeither a low powered laser or an ultrabright 5mm led. Obviously directline of sight of needed, but it isclaimed that contacts over severalkilometres are possible. A slightlyoff beat series to watch. Also inP.W. Pedestrian Portable HF DXingfrom Roger Lapthorn G3XBN. AQRP portable transceiver such as theYaesu FT-817 and a base loadedwhip with counterpoise wire havegiven the author good results.
Editorial: finally, from RadCom“RSGB Matters” Is an editorialregarding the RSGB commitment topromote, defend and developamateur radio in the U.K. This itemis highlighted in the light that thepromotion aspect is one close to thehearts of the Braintree club members.
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March 2013
ContestsVHF/UHF
March2-3 1400-1400 March 144 432MHz5 2000-2230 144 MHz UK AC10 1000-1200 70 MHz Cumulatives #212 2000-2230 432 MHz UK AC19 2000-2230 1.3 GHz UK AC26 2000-2230 50 MHz UK AC26 2000-2230 SHF UK AC
April2 0900-1200 First 70 MHz Contest7 2000-2230 144 MHz UK AC9 2000-2230 432 MHz UK AC14 0900-1200 First 50 MHz Contest16 2000-2230 1.3 GHz UK AC23 2000-2230 50 MHz UK AC23 2000-2230 SHF UK AC30 2000-2230 (Local) 70 MHz UK AC
May4 1400-2200 432 MHz Trophy4 1400-2200 10 GHz Trophy4-5 1400-1400 432 MHz-248 GHz7 2000-2230 144 MHz UK AC12 0900-1200 70 MHz CW14 2000-2230 432 MHz UK AC18-19 1400-1400 144 MHz May19 1100-1500 144 MHz #1 Backpackers
HF
March4 2000-2130 80 m CC DATA LOW QRP9-10 1000-1000 Commonwealth Contest OPEN RESTRICTED Multi-Op HQ Commonwealth Contest (S2)13 2000-2130 80 m CC CW LOW QRP21 2000-2130 80 m CC SSB LOW QRP
April1 1900-2030 80 m CC CW LOW QRP7 1900-2030 RoPoCo SSB ALL10 1900-2030 80 m CC SSB LOW QRP18 1900-2030 80 m CC DATA LOW QRP
May6 1900-2030 80 m CC SSB LOW QRP15 1900-2030 80 m CC DATA LOW QRP23 1900-2030 80 m CC CW LOW QRP
21 2000-2230 1.3 GHz UK AC26 1400-1600 70 MHz Cumulatives #328 2000-2230 50 MHz UK AC28 2000-2230 SHF UK AC
Talk is NOT CheapARRL
On February 25, the FCC issued aNotice of Apparent Liability forForfeiture (NAL) in the amount of$10,000 to Jared A. Bruegman, ex-KCØIQN, of Bolivar, Missouri afterit received a complaint from anAmateur Radio operator reportinginterference on 14.312 MHz.
The FCC said that Bruegman “...wilfully violated ... theCommunications Act of 1934… by
operating an unlicensed radiotransmitter on 14.312 MHz".Bruegman does not currently holdan Amateur Radio license - hisTechnician class license expired in2010.
FCC Agents determined the sourceof the transmissions as an unlicensedradio transmitter in a bedroom inBruegman’s residence. He has untilMarch 27, 2013 to pay the forfeiturein full, or file a written statementseeking its reduction or cancellation.
WarningDave G3PEN
Apparently, there are a lot of bogus orfake components "out there", oftensold via E-Bay, or appearing at ralliesetc. These components (which aredominantly solid-state but may beanything) may be made by ananonymous company but marked asfrom a reputable one, they may berejects from the production line of agenuine maker ("rescued" byunscrupulous staff), but all normallytypified by being sold at bargain prices.
The advice is to buy from dealers with a good reputation - but the problemis - how do you learn which dealers are reputable? One tip is to test allpurchased components as soon as possible, and certainly before solderingthem into any equipment.
Silent KeyWe regret to have to report thedeath of the legendary PatHawker MBE, G3VA, on 21February 2013. He was 90 yearsold.
Pat was first licensed in 1936 as2BUH, becoming G3VA in 1938.He was an RSGB Life VicePresident and regular contributorto Radcom for 50 years.
We send our condolences to Pat'sfamily.
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