Hello once again,i am pleased to report that 6 Air Cadets sat the foundation licence exam this monday evening and all six passed.
The Cadets have attended a 9 week course at the Starcentre which is part of Keighley College. During the weekly sessions, louise M3TLL,and my self 2E0HTS have been training the Cadets both practical and theory regarding Radio and ham operation.
We were both delighted with their results and we are looking forward to working them on Air soon.
The Cadets are from the 44F squadron based at Bradford, now they are licenced they can operate the squadrons Ham radio station and hopefully some of the newly licenced Hams will aquire their own Station at their home QTH.
This is the second group of Air Training Corps Cadets we have had the pleasure of training for the foundation licence,and as an ex Air Cadet its great to be able to give something back to the Corps.I hope that we get the chance to teach many more in the future.
Well Done 44F Squadron!!!!!!
This is the press release from the College/Starcentre
Air Cadets from 44F Squadron Bradford are celebrating today following examination success.
The six air cadets aged between 13 and 19 completed a 9 week course at Keighley College through the Constructive Partnerships project to gain their Foundation Licence for amateur radio.
The course which took place using the College’s STAR Centre facility involves both practical and theory and students need to have a keen grasp of the fundamental physics involved.
The Foundation Licence enables the cadets to operate amateur radio equipment with a power limit of 10 watts, with this they will be able to communicate worldwide. They will also be able to use radio equipment they have at their Cadet base.
RSGB registered instructor Simon Davison 2E0HTS was extremely pleased with the results “The students have worked hard and deserved to pass. It will be good to hear some new voices entering the hobby.”
unfortunatly i am not permitted to show the group photo due to the child protection act as some of the cadets are under 18 years of age.
This is a short film of my station as i operate on psk which involves the use of radio and computer interfaced and making a contact with other ham stations using digital modes. T94KC is the other station in the film which i manage a QSO,i hope you enjoy the film!!!!
Ive been on 40m using PSK mode this week with some good results.I worked LU5ENM from Argentina using 40 watts through a G5RV earlier in the week and managed 15 different DXCC in total.
The Rigblaster that i recently aquirred has been a good investment as i have had many hours of fun experimenting with SSTV and now PSK modes. I seem to have become quite addicted to these great DX Tools especialy when the bands drop off on phone, as these two modes continue to be working even with very weak signals.
Hope to catch you on Air 73 and thanks for visting this site.
. I regulary Work 7X4AN Mohammed on 20m from my Mobile Station which comprises of Yaesu's Field Commando the mighty FT100,50watts and the amazing Maldol 20m hfc whip.
I have worked 7X4AN at least 20 times from my mobile usually travelling back and forth on my work journey..Many thanks Mohammed I look forward to our next QSO ma salam a 73
I hope the New year is going good for you all.The Bands have been much improved over the past several days or so,with good DX been worked on HF and VHF by my Humble self 2E0HTS.
It Started During the Christmas Break when the UK was suffering some terrible weather such as Fog,Gale Force Winds and Heavy Rain.
This was when the 2M Band was wide open.I worked many stations with 5/9 reports all over the UK on FM and SSB was active with some strong German stations blasting through.
I was using the FT857 and 50w into a X200 colineer on 2M FM when i was Rag chewing with 2 locals Barry G7OFR and Ron 2E0DOG/M.This was when I was Called by a Station from Newcastle Derrick G1XXF,then Dave G3VUS QTH Cumbria,M3VGK Brian QTH Derbyshire,M0FEW Bill QTH Somerset,G0VJI Robin QTH London and also 5/9, i also worked Tom M3AGS QTH Seaview ISLE OF WIGHT.
All worked on 2M FM with an excellent VHF lift which lasted a week or so with still some intermittent good conditions.
On HF the conditions proved to remain poor with no sign of improvement on any HF Bands.
so i continued to get used to operating on SSTV mode around about 14.230 mHZ with some good contacts into Europe until New Years Day when operating on FT857,HUSTLER 6BTV i nearly fell of my chair when i herd HI8HH Mike QTH Dominican Republic, i had success and we Exchanged 5/5 reports both ways.Good News at last a bit of propagation on HF.
I also worked some European stations and a few US Stations K3N,WX3B and Vince NT4I.It sure makes a change for a little noise and some familiar, and new voices to RX.
Radio propagation is what Radio Hams Love Best!!!
Radio propagation is a term used to explain how radio waves travel when they are transmitted, or ‘propagated’ from one point on the Earth to another. Some radio waves can be reflected by objects in their path, even by gases in a certain state.
Shortwave frequencies (high frequency signals) are capable of reaching the other side of the planet because they can be refracted by the ionosphere. Amateur radio operators use the ionosphere to reflect their shortwave radio signals around the globe.
Low frequency signals have the property of following the curvature of the earth, making them ideal for continuous, continental communications. Unlike shortwave radio, longwave signals do not reflect or refract using the ionosphere, so there are fewer interference-caused fadeouts.
Higher frequency waves are used for satellite communications as they pass through the Ionosphere
HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!! Sometimes even when its raining you end up helping out.... AS you can see here i am helping Ron 2E0DOG get that antenna to stand out a bit more
Greetings once again to all Radio people and Bloggers,this post is about operating Radio and Computer with a device connected to my Com-port on my P.C which connects to my Yaesu FT847. Last weekend i bought a Rig-blaster off a fellow Ham operator G1YPQ-Karl a good friend of mine. Ive had the Nomic Rig-blaster for a while on loan but had not got round to using it,Karl G1YPQ asked me if i wanted to buy it so i dropped off the cash and decided to give it a go.
The Rig-blaster was fairly straight forward to connect,it fitted directly to my Com port1 and came with a couple of of output leads with mic plugs fitted. The mic lead went into the 847,the Rig-blaster has different jumper connections inside which are quite simple to set for most Rigs microphone wiring. The audio out of the 847 went to the line in on my p.c sound card. You then connect your p.c speakers to the audio out on the Rig-blaster.
Hey presto! that's the connecting done, the next stage was to transmit some data and get the output level set correctly. I decided to try out SSTV as i have the software and i have been receiving SSTV pics for the last 3 years or so with good results, finally i get to send some. I used my Kenwood TH 7e handheld to monitor my first transmissions as this 145/433 TX handheld also has 0-1300mhz receive capabilities with AM,FM,CW and SSB so it is ideal.
Once i was happy i decided to get in touch with another fellow Ham M1PAC Phil, Phil was the guy who came to my QTH in the days of M3HTS(my old call sign) and introduced me to MMSTV, WINPSKse, SATSCAPE and anything impressive in the World of Ham software, so it was only right that my first TX would be to his good self on 2M SSTV frequency.
This Image is Transmitting my SSTV image, as you can see i have a few templates to choose from. I have no shortage of pictures which i can take directly from my Computer.
This image is in receive mode on the 2M band on FM and yes of course its Phil M1PAC, the small image in the bottom left hand corner is my Transmission sent back from Phil's QTH. Not bad for my first SSTV Transmission ever!
M1PAC This SSTV image and the ones that follow are on 14.230 mhz the 20M band operating onSSB I0ZSG HA6FQ S57LP So if you are an SSTV operator i will hopefully work your station in the very near future even though the bands have still been in an extremely bad way.
I have also tryed out PSK which again is quite good fun using Computer and radio together, again my friend Phil M1PAC was worked during PSK operation and i have herd some interesting QSOs taking place. I will have a post on PSK operation in the future but for now its 73 to all readers and thanks for visiting my Blog.
Sunday evening is radio night for me I usually chat to my friends who are local however this week none of my locals were on air so I spent some time trying to works a few stations up and down the HF bands. I listened on 20m and found there was no-one on until I came across PT7CB Barreto from Brazil. We had a quick 5 and 9 on 20m I have worked him many times in the past and we have exchanged QSL cards.
I went on to the other HF bands it was very strange as again there were only a handful of stations from Europe so I headed down to 80m and worked a British and German station and heard a VK at the top end of 80m. Back up to 40m where it was still fairly quiet and to my astonishment I cam across Barreto PT7CB for the second time this evening. And amazingly managed another 5 and 9 on 40m using the good old G5RV.
Who says G5RVs don't do DX?! Especially amazing as propogation is very poor. It just goes to show you should never give up hope when the bands are poor.
Tonight I have been operating on 80M in QSO with John F4AWH whilst waiting for a Contact with my YL M3TLL Louise who was operating from the STAR CENTRE with some SCOUTS on 2M.
The SCOUTS were working with Louise in the Radio Shack Logging Stations, learning Q codes and radio Knowledge to obtain the Scouts Communication Badge.
Hello Radio People and Bloggers, I wonder what the HF Bands have been like in your neighbourhood?
Here in wet and windy West Yorkshire it has been extremely poor propagation for the last two weeks, infact ive not heard any Stations on 20M after mid afternoon and by the time i get in from work its been totally flat.
Early morning has not been much better on 20M, however i did here a ZL Station this morning whilst operating on my mobile-Toyota Rav4,Ft100 DX machine.
I have worked a few Stations in Europe whilst been /M, last weeks best contact from the home QTH was 5A7A from Libya operating on my FT847 with 50watts through the Hustler 6btv i managed a 5/9 report both ways.
The Hustler Vertical still seems to be an excellent performer for working DX stations, My antenna is ground mounted to a solid steel bar 1 &1/2 inch diameter by 5 feet long this is hammered into the ground. I do have a great take off of 1000ft above sea level and no QRN from mains powered households as i am out in the sticks on the top of the Moors.The only things to worry about is 100mph winds,wet and cold winters and wildlife.
The Hustler did me justice on 15m with a new Country/DXCC to add to my list and a well recieved eQSL from Darren G0TSM who was operating with the callsign C52T from The Gambia with another 5/9 QSO.
I have been active on 40m on monday evenings with the Air Cadets operating the Star Centre Station using the Ft1000mp and carolina windom 160.We worked a few European stations and the Cadets passed some greetings messages to some friendly Hams.
I have also been in QSO with some of my Ham friends operating on the 2M band from the home QTH and also working /Mobile, M5ZZZ Steve, G0GNU Jeff, M1PAC Phil and also 2E0DOG Ron are some of the Stations ive worked. At least when HF is quiet it is always nice to catch up with my regular QSOs and Radio pals.
I hope things improve on HF in the very near future, it would be nice to make some good DX on monday evenings so that the young up and coming Hams to be,The Air Traing Corps cadets get to see the real magic of propagation.
All the best 73 to each and all until the next post, have a good week Simon
The Last couple of weeks The YL M3TLL Louise and Myself have been running a training course at the works QTH The STAR CENTRE,this is where the Ham Station is based down at Keighley College. The picture above shows the Communcation Centre where the rigs are in company with computer technology.To the right is a 6/2/70 tri-band Beam parrallel to an Oscar 437 30 element XSat-Beam.Below a view across the mars landscape to a Science Pod and Rocket, and bottom right shows an image recieved from NOAA 12.
The Cushcraft MA5B mini beam for HF operation We also use a Hustler 6BTV and a Carolina Windom160
We have been Teaching some Air Training Corps Cadets.The Air Cadets are from Bradford and are 44F squadron A.T.C. We have worked with other squadrons and some have become Licenced Amatuers. This Course covers theory and practical tasks followed by an Examination so hopefully these cadets will achieve the Foundation licence
We will be both on Air with the Cadets on Monday evenings 7-9PM
here is a picture of me and my lovely YL Louise M3TLL.
This weeks session Louise is operating CW so the Cadets will have to decode and then resend.
I am taking my FT890 a PSU and a Hombrew Dipole for 20m so they can adjust the length for the best SWR,and also use an ATU.
This Weeks Radio Report
Ive had some good Contacts from the mobile operating on 20m and 15m through to USA and lots of Europe.Also herd big signals from VK and ZL early mornings whilst driving to work.
I havent worked so many Stations from the home QTH, but when on i have had the best results on 40m in the evenings.
I am pleased to report lots of QSL cards via the buro have been coming in, one was from Energia Russion space Station, another from BOGATA in Columbia, and many from across Europe also cards from SWLs. So many thanks to all QSLers and eQSLrs.
On Sunday Morning myself and the YL headed down the M1 to Barnsley South Yorkshire.It was the 2006 Barnsley Ham Radio Rally and i was on the lookout for another mobile Antenna.I already own quite a few tryed and tested beautys which include Maldol 80m,40m,20m,mono-banders a Maldol multibander 40m,15m,10m,6m,2m & 70cms.A mono-band 6M,10m,2m,and a Tri-band 6m,2m,70cms from Watson. This mission was to obtain a 15m-21mhz mobile Antenna,after a tour round the stalls i ended up at the Lam Communications stall where Lee the owner offered me a Comet 15m mobile Antenna. I was really after Maldol but i decided to try the comet and after the friendly discount i was quite happy with the purchase. I installed the Antenna to my second HF mount which is fed through a 2Way Antenna Switch in my DX machine (RAV4 TOYOTA powered FT100). On the return journey back up North to my QTH i was recieving good signals from the Blueridge Mountain in the USA,also South America, and I had a QSO with a 5/9+ signal both ways with SV9GPV (Greece)despite the Band conditions been poor. Im looking forward to working on 15m more regulary from the mobile so HAMS AND SWLs listen up!
A few Stations from this years World Wide CQ Contest. I was operating on the FT847 Earth Station From Yaesu.The Antenna's i used were Hustler 6btv on 21mhz,and on 14mhz i was expermenting between the Hustler and a Hombrew 20m Dipole, which was horizontal in an L configaration.It is 33ft in total length and is made from good quality 3mm multi strand copper wire which is sleeved.The Antenna is resonant across the 20m band so i run direct from the 2 way switch i use to change between the Hustler and the Homebrew 20m Dipole,i was extremley surprised with the Dipole's excellent performance i managed 14 Zones and 8 new countries.
Here are some DXCC Worked on 21mhz using the Hustler 6BTV and 50W.
6W1RY Senagal,PR2A Brazil,3V6T Tunisia,CX5BW Uruguay,FY5KE French Guiana,K9BGL USA,V26B Antigua and Barbuda,VC3R Canada,ZS9X South Africa,8R1EA Guyana all worked and many others.
DXCC Worked on 14mhz using a combination of Hustler and Hombrew 20m Dipole
KC1XX USA,7S2E Sweden,UU7J Ukraine,VE2IM Canada,SX5P Dodecanese Is, all worked along with many others on the Hombrew Dipole and 50W on 14mhz.
FM/K9NW Martinique,P49Y Aruba,WP2Z U.S.Virgin Is,8P2K Barbados,YV4A Venezuela,9Y4NZ Trinidad & Tobago,CU2/OH1VR Azores, just a few of the many Stations i worked on 20M using the Hustler 6BTV and 50W on 14mhz.
On 80M i worked a couple of stations.
OT6A Belgium,CN2R Morocco and CT3YA Madeira on 3.5mhz using the G5RV which is about 25ft up.The Shack is situated on top of the edge of a very steep drop off on a nice hill known as Baildon Moor, my QTH is just about 1000ft above sea level.
I have had a fairley unactive week on the bands on an evening this week but have been operating mobile on the morning drive to work,i worked a few stations around Europe and i have herd activity on 20m from ZL and VK so who knows who's next H.I. IF your a HAM maybe you will be on my next video! if your a blogger thanks for logging on to this blog. 73 to all
Yaesu Ft767GX HF,6,2 and 70cm
Yaesu Ft767GX HF,6,2 and 70cm
