m0xhs

Alastair tried out an end-fed dipole, JJ tried the DP-200 on a taller tripod which David provided, and Gregor brought a Windom that he’d had for years but never tried … and it was very successful.

JJ has put together a 2/70 go-bag but we didn’t make any contacts with the aerial barely 3m above ground. However, we think we’ve got a way to safely mount a 7m or 10m GRP pole so we may have more success another time.

The 2/70 go-bag- FT-8100 with either a small PSU or battery and cables in an easy to carry bag.

David found that it was the school Wi-Fi that was blocking the remote control of his rig at home, so either we’ll have to approach the school to see if anything can be done, or see if we can source a sensibly priced 5G router.

The evening will run from 7:00pm until 10:00pm, but the room will be available from 6:30 onward if anyone wants to arrive slightly earlier (e.g. to set up any equipment). Nothing special planned other than trying to get radios working better than at the last meeting but if you have any suggestions post them on the Discord meetings channel.

People coming by car are encouraged to use the gated carpark (to avoid neighbours complaining about parking). The roads in the area tend to be very busy until at least 6:30pm, so don’t arrive too early.

To access the room (and car park) you will need to be let in through the security gates. Once you’re right outside the gate Just summon someone using your handheld on 145.500MHz. If you can’t use a radio for entry then contact us in advance and we’ll provide a mobile number you can call instead.  (One planned task is to figure out how to mount a wireless doorbell near the gate so it’s subtly accessible but won’t be abused or stolen.)

Wifi is available in the annex, which also features hot drink making facilities (you’ll need to bring your own cups and ingredients), toilet, and you can bring your own beverages, alcoholic or otherwise.

Don’t forget that the Events calendar on our website https://www.m0xhs.uk/events/ has some links at the bottom that allow you to synchronise it with Outlook or Google or iCalendar so meetings will automatically appear in your normal calendar. 

As usual check the Discord server for up to the minute info and email if you don’t have a Discord link.

Usual meeting on Friday 14th with chat about forthcoming events and a club project.

Link to be sent on the day as usual.

Incidentally, the Events calendar on our website https://www.m0xhs.uk/events/ has some links at the bottom that allow you to synchronise it with Outlook or Google or iCalendar so meetings will automatically appear in your normal calendar.  The online meeting is easy to do manually but the meeting at the school is harder as it’s the second Wednesday (12 days) after the online meeting.  Setting up synchronisation will make it much easier.

We had much the same radio setup as last month and Alastair achieved some success with his IC-705 and a length of wire but Dave and JJ spent some time configuring a new dedicated laptop and while we were able to receive plenty of FT8 before the bands shut down we were thwarted by the school firewall apparently blocking the ports used by PSKreporter and by an SWR problem with the DP-200 aerial or cable. The firewall also seems to be preventing HamClock from initialising so we’ll do some testing with VPNs between now and next meeting.

We welcomed another visitor who works nearby alongside two licenced amateurs who promise to attend when they’re able. He saw demonstrations of the radios and was given information about getting a Foundation licence.

The evening will run from 7:00pm until 10:00pm, but the room will be available from 6:30 onward if anyone wants to arrive slightly earlier (e.g. to set up any kit).

People coming by car are encouraged to use the gated carpark (to avoid neighbours complaining about parking). The roads in the area tend to be very busy until at least 6:30pm, so don’t arrive too early.

To access the room (and car park) you will need to be let in through the security gates. Once you’re right outside the gate Just summon someone using your handheld on 145.500MHz. If you can’t use a radio for entry then contact us in advance and we’ll provide a mobile number you can call instead.  (One planned task is to figure out how to mount a wireless doorbell near the gate so it’s subtly accessible but won’t be abused or stolen.)

Wifi is available in the annex, which also features hot drink making facilities (you’ll need to bring your own cups and ingredients), toilet, and you can bring your own beverages, alcoholic or otherwise.

Don’t forget that the Events calendar on our website https://www.m0xhs.uk/events/ has some links at the bottom that allow you to synchronise it with Outlook or Google or iCalendar so meetings will automatically appear in your normal calendar. 

As usual check the Discord server for up to the minute info and email if you don’t have a Discord link.

Usual meeting on Friday 14th with chat about forthcoming events and a club project.

Link to be sent on the day as usual.

Incidentally, the Events calendar on our website https://www.m0xhs.uk/events/ has some links at the bottom that allow you to synchronise it with Outlook or Google or iCalendar so meetings will automatically appear in your normal calendar.  The online meeting is easy to do manually but the meeting at the school is harder as it’s the second Wednesday (12 days) after the online meeting.  Setting up synchronisation will make it much easier.

We hit the road running with our first meeting of the new year being among the best yet.

We had a decent turnout and were able to operate two stations.  The first was a shiny new Yaesu FTdx10 currently on loan to the club with the amazing HamGeek DP-200 portable telescopic vee aerial that David introduced us to some months ago.  The other was Alastair’s equally shiny new IC-705 and his new JNC MC750 telescopic vertical aerial.  Both aerials punched above their weight as simple portable freestanding aerials go, and between them we made voice contacts into mainland Europe and FT8 into the far east.

We had a new visitor wanting to learn about amateur radio so it was fortunate that we could demonstrate several facets of the hobby.

JJ talked briefly about the new antenna project and showed a 3D printed spacer as proof of concept. By next month we should have most of the necessary parts and be in a position to begin assembly, with a view to being able to tune and test it in March when hopefully the weather will be a little kinder.

The evening will run from 7:00pm until 10:00pm, but the room will be available from 6:30 onward if anyone wants to arrive slightly earlier (e.g. to set up any kit).

People coming by car are encouraged to use the gated carpark (to avoid neighbours complaining about parking). The roads in the area tend to be very busy until at least 6:30pm, so don’t arrive too early.

To access the room (and car park) you will need to be let in through the security gates. Once you’re right outside the gate Just summon someone using your handheld on 145.500MHz. If you can’t use a radio for entry then contact us in advance and we’ll provide a mobile number you can call instead.  (One planned task is to figure out how to mount a wireless doorbell near the gate so it’s subtly accessible but won’t be abused or stolen.)

Wifi is available in the annex, which also features hot drink making facilities (you’ll need to bring your own cups and ingredients), toilet, and you can bring your own beverages, alcoholic or otherwise.

Don’t forget that the Events calendar on our website https://www.m0xhs.uk/events/ has some links at the bottom that allow you to synchronise it with Outlook or Google or iCalendar so meetings will automatically appear in your normal calendar. 

As usual check the Discord server for up to the minute info and email if you don’t have a Discord link.

Usual meeting on Friday 10th with chat about forthcoming events and a club project.

Link to be sent on the day as usual.

Incidentally, the Events calendar on our website https://www.m0xhs.uk/events/ has some links at the bottom that allow you to synchronise it with Outlook or Google or iCalendar so meetings will automatically appear in your normal calendar.  The online meeting is easy to do manually but the meeting at the school is harder as it’s the second Wednesday (12 days) after the online meeting.  Setting up synchronisation will make it much easier.

Usual meeting on Friday with chat about forthcoming events and socials or scheduled operation over the Christmas period, a brief demo of HamClock and an introduction to a club project we have in mind for the new year.

Link to be sent on the day as usual.

Incidentally, the Events calendar on our website https://www.m0xhs.uk/events/ has some links at the bottom that allow you to synchronise it with Outlook or Google or iCalendar so meetings will automatically appear in your normal calendar.  The online meeting is easy to do manually but the meeting at the school is harder as it’s the second Wednesday (12 days) after the online meeting.  Setting up synchronisation will make it much easier.