or, as my thoughtful brother wrote to me, Happy New Millennium - at any rate, the 4% of it that you might see!
No nasty bugs to report on my PC, or elsewhere, I am pleased to report, so no excuses for a late newsletter.
Much talk about the future of Amateur Radio from 2K onwards. Will it survive? Who knows. I suppose the threat posed by computing will increase as older PCs are re-sold to third world countries, but for me the thrill is still there, despite the Internet. If we want the hobby to continue then it will, as long as we all remain active. That means supporting the local clubs, supporting representative bodies, and each doing our bit to promote new interest in Amateur Radio. I believe there is a lot of curious and latent interest out there, but lack of understanding and knowledge prevents people from signing up to the hobby. Much of what we do is behind closed doors, and most laymen would view us as Tony Hancocks and no more. What he never portrayed is the skill of operating, the fun of group activities, the joy of learning more about the world in which we live, and we have to get these things over. Anyway ... lecture over - and out. Here's to another good club year ........
Those who know Graham Lascelles may be interested to know that he could be heard on 21.400 MHz daily at 1300 UTC. This is the Transatlantic Maritime Mobile net frequency, which enables radio amateurs at sea to call in and log their positions. Run by Trudy 8P6QM (for many years) from her QTH in Barbados, other stations may call in and make contact with friends, provided they are sensible and do not hog the frequency. On 16th January Graham, Ann and family were mid-atlantic and going well, having set out from Teneriffe. The temperature was 20C, and Graham had bathed in the ocean for ten minutes that morning! We have since heard that he arrived safely in Antigua. We wish him luck.
Many thanks to Terry and Peter who reported that the club longwire antenna was on the ground due to the fraying of one or more guy ropes. Within the week the aerial was back up again, this time with wire stays, so the problem should not recur. Their prompt attention to the task is appreciated, for otherwise G3SKY may not have taken part in the AFS Contest .
Sunday 20th Feb Sandown Park VHF Convention & Rally. Please make it known if you are interested in going so car-sharing can be arranged.
Friday 25th Feb 8 pm Talk and Video on the Settle & Carlisle Railway - David A'Bear.
I realised I had let my DX-ing slip lately when my QSL cards arrived on the door mat (courtesy of my subbie Peter M0AXD), and I found only four in the envelope. Not long ago I would have received more like forty cards. So it was that, having completed my Christmas shopping, I decided to go /M and get a few stations in the logbook.
It was the morning of 23rd December, and I decided to park at Yaverland car park, where I could at least gaze at the view, (in case I found myself talking only to the microphone). But our brave adventurer was in for a pleasant surprise ... Calling "CQ DX" on 15 metres, and working 100 watts into a Pro-Am Whip antenna, reports that came in included VK2 - Australia, 9G - Ghana, VP8 - Falkland Islands, JA - Japan, PY - Brazil, KF4 - South Carolina, VE - Canada, OD - Lebanon, RU9 - Asiatic Russia and 4U1WB - Washington Bank! I suppose you might say that David was laughing all the way to the bank ... whatever, it was his most successful attempt at DX-ing, and a morning to remember, because he had never worked five continents in one session before, and had certainly never expected to achieve it with a wire one metre long for an aerial. So can I anticipate more QSL cards to arrive next time? Well, I have sent cards off to all stations worked, but then you know as well as I do how long it takes to get cards back - that's if they are ever sent. We will see......
Contest Readers may recall our success in the RSGB Affiliated Societies Contest last January. We came 51st out of 89 stations in the CW section, and 52nd out of 201 stations in the phone section. Not bad at all for a first attempt. So it was that we entered the contest again, fielding four stations again in the CW section, namely John G3LWI, Terry G0WVD, Brian M0MWU, and G3SKY with Alan G4ZFQ and David G0VZV at the helm. The contest was for four hours duration on 80 metres. Between them they worked 303 stations! Not bad going, you might say, and congratulations must go to John whose expertise netted nearly half this number.
The following weekend saw the SSB leg of the contest, with David and Alan once again straining at the leash with the club station. They worked 113 stations, and Peter M0AXD aided by Brian M1DBM logged a further 94 exchanges. Additionally, Terry and Shirley together added another 74 contacts, making a total of 281 stations. On the basis of 10 points per contact and no mistakes incurred, our final points stand at 3030 and 2810. Based on last year's scores (for what it's worth) this would put us up to 36th in the CW section and 4th in the SSB section! Rather unlikely, I feel, since we heard stations that had worked nearly 300 others, but any improvement would be a real achievement.
We were sorry to hear that Peter M0AXD suffered tooth ache following the AFS Contest - I'm sure there is a joke in there somewhere - but for Peter it was no joke: he ended up having an extraction which led to complications due to an infection. We hope he is soon feeling better.
It is our sad duty to inform you of the death of Larry G7TDJ. He had a heart attack and died last week. The funeral is at the crematorium on Wed. 16th Feb. at 11am.
He will be missed by us, his knowledge of the BBC. and weather satellites was useful to tap, and his interest in computing and digital photography tought us a lot. Our condolences to his family and relatives.