ffiW CF"ristmss19e6Ner*;sfsttr Wffi\---J vo,rune4,ssue,2 W ffi W W W ffi W W ffi ffi ffi W W W W W *"* DECEMBEREDITORIAL NOVEMBER'SANSWERS AMATEUR ANAGRAMS welcome to christmas Amateur Anagrams. As you will seebelow we havea specialseasonalgrid this month. The answersshouldstill be entered horizontallyandthis monthsword in the verticalbox will havea festive link. The black box, onceagain, indicatesa spacebetweentwo words. 73 Colin (GMOCLN) Cockenzie& Port SetonARC ,:ltii "ti r!1 r]I i j
ffiffiwwffiwwffiffiwwffiwwww ffi CatfreTLzle g,Port Setaw A R C W@, ffiW CF"ristmss19e6Ner*;sfsttr Wffi\---J vo,rune4,ssue,2 W ffi W W W ffi W W ffi ffi ffi W W W W W *"* DECEMBEREDITORIAL Here I am now writing the December editorial and honestly I cannot beliwe how quickly this year has passed.It only feels like yesterday that I rvas thinking about what does 1996 have in store for us, but I am glad to say that once again we have had another extremely successfiil Club year. I know I havesaid this in the past but it really is all down to you for making it that way by attending club nights and participating in the events that have been organised over the year. Again I personally would like to thank all those who do make the effort to corne an extremely long distance to attend it is much appreciatedI can assure ycu. For those at "homeu pleasedo not feel let down by that last statement as your efforts are greatly appreciated as well but I arn sur€ you know what I mean by saying to those who travel a long way. Enough of that, so *'hat low's and high's have gone in the year past. Well I will stari with the low's first which really are the pssing away of Tom GMTOUV and tlre death's in the family of Brian GM0EHL and John GM?TKA who both lost their respective fathers. It is something that none of us can escape,sad to say, but I know that when these occurrences happen all our thoughts and sympathies do go out to the respective fatnilies. Moving on to the high's I think I will start with my old favourite, that being Club Attendance..who say's I don't pay attention ! remember it all goes in the big black book.....This year saw another record being set and that was that 4t people came to the November club night. I find that absolutely staggering but again I put it down to the way that our little"club runs, open and friendly. AIso as said before it is all down to you all you make it that rvay.This year our average attendance each month was 33 an increase of 5 on last5'ear with 6l people through the door, samenumber as last .vear...not bad eh !!! It was nice to seeIain, Euan and Stevenpass their Novice exam earlier on in the year and join the funaieur Radio World. This also applies to Cambell, Dave and Wallace who all passed their RAE. Well done to all. Again a number of events were undertaken throughout the year, Radio Check Nighl Taik by the British Heart Foundation, Talk by the Radio Communications Agencl and our DF Night with all being enjoyed b1'everyone who attended. Our biggest event was the Junk Night and this year once again was a great success. The money raised on the Jurrk Night and through out the year exceeded all our expectationsby raising a grand total af {727 for the British HeartFoundation, well done to everyonein achieving this. This was officially handed over to Heatirer Gregory of the British Ffeart Foundation on otu October Ciub Night. We again were invited to take part in a SpecialEvent weekendin August by the Ayr Amateur Radio Club with the theme beingHistoric Scotland. We set up our stationat Tantallon Castle usingthe callsign GB2HST andonce againhad a tremendous bit of fun taking part. What nextyears event will be that I have no idea.We werealsoasked to put on a Demonstration Stationat the GullaneModel Showwhich onceagain allorved us to Sell this great hobby ofours. This year also saw us take part in a numberof contests which were enjoyed by all of thosewho took part. Suc-cesses this year were that we retainedthe Tennamast Trophy for the leading Scottish Station in the PW QRP Contest. We alsowererunners up in the RSGB 2nd Backpackers 3W Multi operator Section. Other contests as yet the results are not in so who know's..With reference to VHF Field Day well this year we entered a different section, the RestrictedSection,so r,te have not retained the Scottish Trophy rvhich is awarded to the leading Scottish Station in the Lor,v Po'"lerSection so that means there r'vill be no trip to Sandou"n ne\t )€ar. This year I must say the presentation at Sandorvn when we collected the Trophy for winning it in 1995 *ent like clo,ckrvork sothere lYere no complaints this year on that score. Our other trip of the year was to Blackpool and I must sayit wasoneof the best frornthe social side, the rally wasgood as well that I rnustadd. so look out soonfor details for 1997's visit. We also managed a couple of social nights as well, one our Chinese Night last ).Iovember ( I can addthat as it falls into my annual coverage)..an excellent night had fu all and our second night rvas the l0 pin bolvling night, I am sure there rvere some cheats at that,another success..so look sut for nert years one. Right I think that'sit. if I havemissed anlthing ah! well never mind, so all thatis left to say is to WISHEVERYONE OF YOU Al.lD YO{-IRFA-\iIILIFS A VERY MERRY CHzuSTMAS AND A HAPPYNEW YEAR. Bob GM4UYZ @ GBTEDN
Transcript
f f i f f iwwffiwwffif f iwwffiwwwwffi CatfreTLzle g,Port Setaw A R C W@,ffiW CF"ristmss19e6Ner*;sfsttr Wffi\---J
vo,rune4,ssue,2 W ffi W W W ffi W W ffi ffi ffi W W W W W *"*
DECEMBER EDITORIAL
Here I am now writing the December editorial andhonestly I cannot beliwe how quickly this year has passed. It
only feels like yesterday that I rvas thinking about what does1996 have in store for us, but I am glad to say that once againwe have had another extremely successfiil Club year. I know Ihavesaid this in the past but it really is all down to you formaking it that way by attending club nights and participating inthe events that have been organised over the year. Again Ipersonally would like to thank all those who do make the effortto corne an extremely long distance to attend it is muchappreciated I can assure ycu. For those at "homeu please do notfeel let down by that last statement as your efforts are greatly
appreciated as well but I arn sur€ you know what I mean bysaying to those who travel a long way.
Enough of that, so *'hat low's and high's have gone inthe year past. Well I will stari with the low's first which reallyare the pssing away of Tom GMTOUV and tlre death's in thefamily of Brian GM0EHL and John GM?TKA who both losttheir respective fathers. It is something that none of us canescape,sad to say, but I know that when these occurrenceshappen all our thoughts and sympathies do go out to therespective fatnilies.
Moving on to the high's I think I will start with my oldfavourite, that being Club Attendance..who say's I don't payattention ! remember it all goes in the big black book.....Thisyear saw another record being set and that was that 4t people
came to the November club night. I find that absolutelystaggering but again I put it down to the way that our little"clubruns, open and friendly. AIso as said before it is all down to youall you make it that rvay.This year our average attendance eachmonth was 33 an increase of 5 on last5'ear with 6l peoplethrough the door, same number as last .vear...not bad eh !!!
It was nice to see Iain, Euan and Steven pass their Noviceexam earlier on in the year and join the funaieur Radio World.This also applies to Cambell, Dave and Wallace who all passedtheir RAE. Well done to all.
Again a number of events were undertaken throughout theyear, Radio Check Nighl Taik by the British Heart Foundation,Talk by the Radio Communications Agencl and our DF Nightwith all being enjoyed b1'everyone who attended.Our biggest event was the Junk Night and this year once againwas a great success. The money raised on the Jurrk Night andthrough out the year exceeded all our expectations by raising agrand total af {727 for the British HeartFoundation, well doneto everyone in achieving this. This was officially handed over toHeatirer Gregory of the British Ffeart Foundation on otuOctober Ciub Night.
We again were invited to take part in a Special Eventweekend in August by the Ayr Amateur Radio Club with thetheme being Historic Scotland. We set up our station at TantallonCastle using the callsign GB2HST and once again hada tremendous bit of fun taking part. What next years event will bethat I have no idea. We were also asked to put on a DemonstrationStation at the Gullane Model Show which once again allorved usto Sell this great hobby ofours.
This year also saw us take part in a number of contests whichwere enjoyed by all of those who took part. Suc-cesses this yearwere that we retained the Tennamast Trophy for the leadingScottish Station in the PW QRP Contest. We also were runnersup in the RSGB 2nd Backpackers 3W Multi operator Section.Other contests as yet the results are not in so who know's..Withreference to VHF Field Day well this year we entered a differentsection, the Restricted Section, so r,te have not retained theScottish Trophy rvhich is awarded to the leading Scottish Stationin the Lor,v Po'"ler Section so that means there r'vill be no trip toSandou"n ne\t )€ar. This year I must say the presentation atSandorvn when we collected the Trophy for winning it in 1995*ent like clo,ckrvork so there lYere no complaints this year on thatscore.
Our other trip of the year was to Blackpool and I mustsay it was one of the best frorn the social side, the rally was goodas well that I rnust add. so look out soon for details for 1997'svisit.We also managed a couple of social nights as well, one ourChinese Night last ).Iovember ( I can add that as it falls into myannual coverage)..an excellent night had fu all and our secondnight rvas the l0 pin bolvling night, I am sure there rvere somecheats at that, another success..so look sut for nert years one.
Right I think that's it. if I have missed anlthing ah! wellnever mind, so all that is left to say is to WISH EVERYONE OFYOU Al.lD YO{-IRFA-\iIILIFS A VERY MERRY CHzuSTMASAND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Bob GM4UYZ @ GBTEDN
Page 2 Cockenzie & Port Seton ARC
Cofi n' E &m stwrAs AmA gr.x/n
AMATEUR ANAGRAMS
welcome to christmas Amateur Anagrams. As you will see below we have aspecial seasonal grid this month. The answers should still be entered
horizontally and this months word in the vertical box will have a festivelink. The black box, once again, indicates a space between two words.
THIS MONTHS CLLTES ARE AS FOLLOWS :-
l. cFc, 2. THREE, 3. TO DETE& 4. IMPERIAL F, 5. REPORT HOPES,6. A TORRID CUBIC, 7. GEOMETRIC LANCET, S. BE SAM. 9. TREES.
NOVEMBER'S ANSWERS
I, LICENCE. 2. DUMMY LOAD. 3. MEDIUM WAVE. 4. AMATEUR RADIO.5, MULTIBAND. 6. WIRELESS. 7. FERRITE.
The vertical box should have contained the word ,EMITTER' if you rnanagedto get those correct. Have a very Happy Christmas.
j
ir ] I
" t ir !1
,:ltii
73 Colin (GMOCLN)
Page 3Cockenzie & Port Setod'ARC
QRP Power meter for the HF Bands by I*n Braithwaite G4COL
While measuring the DC input power to our transmitters is very straight forward, it can be quite difficult to
get an aocurate idea of the power the transmitter actually puts out. VSWR meters allow- power to be
estimated while feeding the antenna, but are usually very approximate. More accurate measurements can be
obtained by feeding the power into a well matched load consisting of non-inductive load resistors, or a parallel
combination of many.eiistcrs, (to reduce unwanted inductance), and measuring the RF voltage across it using a
diode detector. The power is then calculated from Vr^2 /Rl +, where Vr is the RF voltage measured and Rl is the
load resistan"", u*,riily 50 ohms. Accurate rneasurements can be made, but accuracy suffers if harmonics are
present. They should not be of course if you measure after the low pass filter at the transmitter output, (you have
got one haven't you!). However, if you are measuring prior to the output filter, such as a driver stage, or if you
want to measure the loss of the output filter, then harmonics may well be a problem since their effect on the
measured voltage depends on their phase relative to the fundamental.An alternative common method is to use the brightness of a lamp to indicate power, by using the lamp as,
(or part of), the RF load. Harmonics are then much less of a problem since the brightness of the lamp depends on
the total applied power, and not on the peak voltage. UnfortUnately, as the brightness of the lamp varies, so does
its filament resistance, and the mismatch to the system, (e.g. 50 ohms), changes. Unless the match is held
*" ??""1#ilfi':fftJ::tJi$t"ffi:lll"r., based on a ramp in Radcom in Decenrber re85 which ovefcomes
the problem of varying lamp resistance. The method used is so called DC substitution, used in a lot of
instrumentation, where a variable DC, which is then measured, is substituted for the applied RF.
The design shown here is a greatly pruned down version of the RadCom one, but preserves the essential
principle. The main difference is that the applied RF power has to be calculated or looked up from a calibration
chart, whereas the RadCom design used quite a lot of circuitry to produce a direct reading of power'
The principle of meazurement is to adjust the resistance of a small (6V O.1A) lamp to 50 ohms with no RF
applied by setting a DC current through it. The DC power supply is then supplying the meters maximum power
to the lamp. The brightness of the lamp is monitored by an infra-red photo transistor, and kept constant by
means of a negative feedback loop using an integrator to adjust the DC feed to the lamp. Because the brightness
of the lamp is always the same, the good impedance match is kept constant, and should be very good over all
the tIF bands. The maximum power reading will be about 40OmW, reasonable accuracy being obtained down
to about 10mW. With a l0dB pad, the range can be extended upwards to 4 watts, providing an ideal
range for most QRP work. The main drawbacks to this method are that it needs a DC power supply, and is
relatively slow compared with a diode detector, so is only. suitable for meazuring continuous power. As can be
seen from the measurements table, accuracy is very reasonable. Note that the accuracy can only be worse than
the DC voltmeter used, so the better this is the better all round will be the results.Circuit description - RF appearing at the input socket SK is passed to the lamp via Cl which blocks DC.
The lamp is also fed with DC from current source TRl, with the RF blocked by the choke RFC. When the lamp
lights a current flows in the collector of the infra-red photo transistor and a voltage is dropped across R5. ICI is
used in an integrator circuit and its output voltage will change until the voltage at its inverting input, (pin 2)
is equal to the reference voltage at its non-inverting input (pin 3), which is set by potentiometer R8. The
integrator output controls the current fed to the lamp by TRl so that the lamp is always operated at constant
brightness; and therefore constant filament resistance. Power and lamp resistances are both monitored by the
external meter. With 51 in the upper position, the voltage across R2 and R3 is measured by the externalvoltmeter. This voltage is proportional to the lamp current. with 51 in the lower position, the voltage across thelamp is measured. Since the parallel combination of R2 and R3 is 50 ohms, when the lamp resistance is 50ohms, the two voltage readings will be equal. This condition is found by adjusting R8. With the switch in
either position a reading of V volts is now obtained, and the DC larnp power is V^2/50 *. With no RF applied,
Cockenzie & Port Seton ARePage 4
this will be the maximum power that can be read. When RF is being absorbed by the lamp, the amount of DC
required for the original brightness is less, and a new, lower power reading can be calculated. The difflerence is
the applied RF power.If Vo is the voltage reading without RF and Vr the reading with RF, the RF input power is given by (Vo -
Vr )/50 (Watts) or (Vo+Vr) (Vo-Vr)/50' If you prefer to work in a75 ohm system, I reconrmend still runningthe lamp at 50 ohms; with a 25 ohm,
(two sf resistors in paratlel), resistance in series with the input and Cl. Power measurements then have to
be multiplied by 1.5.Note that Rl prevents TRI from over dissipating if the external mster is set to read current rather than
Construction - keep the connections from the input socket to the lamp and lamp to case as short as possible' It
helps to make them with thick wire or tape, (e.g. a piece of used de-soldering braid), as this reduces the series
inductance of the connection. position the lamp abwe the phototransistor at the start of construction and build
the rest of the circuit around this, since this is the only other critical item. The spacing between the surfaces
of lamp and transistor should be about 8mm. It can h-elp to make the holes for the lamp holder slightly over size
so that there is some adjustment. The circuitry is non-critical and can be built on Veroboard or whatever takes
your fancy.Just for reference, I built my meter in a die-cast box with the input socket, meter switch, lamp resistance
pot. and four terminal posts for power supply and meter on the outside of the box. The die-cast box is very
good for keeping the lamp transistor **purution fixed, since otherwise frequent re-setting of the pot. could be
needed if the meter is knocked.Testing - check that the voltage on the external rneter can be made the same for both switch settings by
adjusting the pot. If this cannot be done then adjust the lamp transistor separation slightly. If this does not
do the trick, and the separation has turned out a bit in error, then adjust R5. Do not lower its value very nfirch
though, but instead."-iit th" lamp holder to move it further from the photo transistor. To check that the
opticat feedback loop is working, put an opaque object between the lamp and transistor. If the loop is working,
the brightness of the lamp should increase when the loop is broken'Having made both voltages the same, put in some external RF within the normal working range, (about l0
to 400mW). Both voltage r"uding* should d""."ure, and remain equal to each other. The instrument is now
*"otat;;-"t;ents - the values of the resistors and capacitors are shown in the circuit di1ql*:.
RFC not critical; about 20t on high permeability toroid (Fair-Rite59-61001101).Dl 3V9 zener (any zener of several volts should suffice)'TRl2N2905 or similar (only power rating is important)'
TRZ Infra-red photo transistor (Maplin YY66W).lcl 7 4l or similar general purpose op-amp (LF3 5 I or TL07 I )
Lamp 6V 0.lAMES Cycle lamPMeasurements - were made by first measuring the source on a Marconi Instruments 6960 Power Meter,
(using a calibrated l0dB attenuator), and then transferring the source to the QRP power meter under test. The
DC meter used was a Beckman RMS 3030 digital multimeter set to the 20V range.Vo: voltage reading with no applied RF power.Vr: voltage reading with applied RF power.
Circuit on Page 5
I Scanned tltis article frorn SPRAT 48 Autum 1986 for a Norwegian andI thought that you may like to use it for the Newsletter.Acknowledgement also to G4COL
The term dBm refers to decibels relative to imW. For example,iW: 30dBm, 0.5W:27dBm and so on. The instnrment's maximum power reading isgiven by Vo^2/50 . In the case described, this wouldbe 25.9dBm.
For Sale
Kenwood R5000 Receiver c/w VHF Convertor. Only 18 months old and immaculate.In box, with power cord and manual. t600.00.
Contact Wallace MM0AMV 01875 8IA2O7
* to keep things simple I have inserted ̂ rneaning eg. Vr squared 73 Wrallace GM0GNT
Page 6 Cockcnzic & Port Scton ARC
Rig Review
After shorving offmy ncw to)'at the lastclub night. I thouglrt I'd put in rvriling m1findings on holl'the radio behaves in use.
Yaesu F'f8500
For those g'ho are not familiar witli thisradio it is a dual band mobile with 50w on2m and 35w on 70cm. The distinguishingfeature is that the detachable front panelonly has one control on it! EverJ'thing elseis mounted on the 'Srnart Controller' ormicrophone to you and me.
The radio transmits 144-l46MHz and 430-440MHz and receives ll0-l74MHz plus400--50t')MHz with AM in the airbandsection.There are 5 banks of 10 rnemories for eachband plus two sets of scan edge limits anda home channel for each band. The displayis large, shorring both bands at once withseparate S meters and alphanumeric tagsfor each memory. The display is backlit inorang€ with a variable level and anautomatic dimmer.The single rotary control on the front panelchanges the memory or frequency on thecurrent band, a press ofthe knob changesband and holding it down tu.rns the radioon and off" The only other indicator on thefront panel is the red TX led.
On to the Smart Controller, this holds allthe other controls you lvould expect to findon the fronl panel of a conventional radio.There is a nurneric keypad for dirsct entryof frequency= or memory position, trvinrotary volume and squelch knobs, variousbuttons for repeater shift, reverse repeater.paging. scan and home. There are alsobuttons to activate the spectrum scan and toswitch bet$een rnemory and frequencymodes. If these werenrt enough there is alsoa three axis joystick which is used tocontrol frequenry or memory as required.Oh ' and there is a PTT and tone burstbutton round the side. All the buttons arebacklit.The Controller fits in all these buttons loyusing both sides of the nric, one side hasthe numeric keypad and the pagingbuttons, the other has the joystick and thespectrum analyser controls. You can then
lake ycur pick as to ho'vv -vou opcrate theradio as you can do most things from eitlicrside.Thc Controller is larger than aconventional microplione but not so largethat it *'ill not fit in the hand (even myfairly small hands).
{/,ring the ratlioOnce I had set up sorne memories r'vith thecommon frequencies I rvanted, most of thefunctions of the Controller becameredundant. All I use normally is SCAN andCONTROL to sr,vitch bands. Onceeverlthing is set up you get alarge numberof u.ays to opemte.1. Single frcquency on one band2. Single frequency on both.bands3. Tno frequencies on either band4. Scan one back of memories (either orboth bands)5. Scan all the memories6. Scan befiaeen the scan limits7. Scan the whole band (either or bothbands)
There are lour r.ra-ys to react to a carrierwhile scanning, you can stop, pause, lookfor the next free channel or wait until thecurrent frequency is clear.Using the Spectrum Analyser you can geta display ofthe activity on either side ofthetuned frequensJ: or memories. This can bea one shot process which gives you asnapslrot of the band while you still listen,or a continuous process where you navigateto a channel in use r-ith the joystick andpress it dorvn to stop the scan and operateon that frequenc_v.Several people have asked how thejoystickrvorks. up and down incremcnt thefrequencyby lMHz (or change the memorybank), left and right increment thefrequency by the step size (or step throughthe memories).Pressing down on the joystick stops thespectrum scan.The joystick is also used to navigate themenu system rvhere up/dorvn change themenu, left/right select items, pressingdown accesses the parameters for changes.
The radio has twin speaker sockets to allowtwo external speakers or a combination ofthe internal and an erternal speaker ifyouwish. The audio from the internal is loud
enough but I prefer a tr,etter quality :
exlernal speaker.The aerial connection is via a single N ['pefemale socket (no need for an ellernalduplexer).Should you u'ish to use the radio for packet(and I do) there is a dedicated socket on theback readl'to be connected to a TNC rrhichcan be switched to either 1200 or 9600baud.
The FT8500 has all the usual CTCSSencode, DTMF ca]ling and paging bellsand s,histles (tunes actually) that havebecome colnmon on rnodern radics (doesanyone actually use these facilities)?Perhaps those ofus who have them shouldset up a club channel rvitlt DTMF calling.
So there we have it, the Controller is a bitintimidating at first but it soon becomessecond nature to use, the facilities forscanning are \:ery good and the scan is fast.I don't think that the Controller wouldpresent any more problems than aconventional microphone for mobile usebut I am a firm believer in headsetsan)'way. There is an optional kit to bringthe mic connections out to an 8 pin socketwhich will allow you to use a headset andkeep the controller mounted on the dashready for use when required. Indeed youcould dispense with the Controller alltogether for mobile use, just using the largeknob to change channel andband.
Hope to hear you on the air with theFT8500 norv that it's set up in the house(mostly on 70crn until I can rnake theconnector for packet).
John GMTOLQ
Ron GM0NTL & Stevie GM0WRYconcentrating during Historic
Year resolutions for 1997 is almost here please remernber YOUR radio club.We are ALWAYS looking for input to this newsletter, after all if everyone thought"Oh I wont bother because someone else will do it" then there would be no monthlynewsletter...... and I bet that would generate a reaction from you all!
This year why not make a resolution to try and submit at least one article, large(preferably) or smali, to the ciub newsieiter. It doesn't have to be on atechnical subject and if your English gnrmmar isn't too hot don't worry, ifnecessar! it can be re-written or cleaned rrp. Just so iong as the bsicinformation is there we can sort almost anlthing outl! The simplest ideas willdo just fine. Here are sorle prssibilities...
* Write a report on a piece of equipment you have just bought giving YOUR viewson how it performs. Even if it isn't brand new equipment the informationwill be usefi.rl to someone.
* Perhaps you have been to an Amateur Radio rally (or olher went) scmewhereout of the ordinary. Why not let others know what it was like compa.red tothe events we all know so w-ell?
* Have you visited someone else's shack recently and if so did you learn anythingor pick up any good ideas or tips. Tell us all about it.
* Were you at a club event recently? Give us YOUR views on how it went andwhat happened. I'm sure it will be a nice change instead of reading what Ithought or what Bob GM L|YZ or Ron GM4IKU have to say about it.
* Have you been on holiday in the last few months? Why not tell us whatamateur radio experiences you had while away. Did y'ou find any radio shops?W'ere they any good? 11'e would all iove to know.
* Finally, how about more ideas for club events or suggestions on what we canput in the newsletter. Il-you dont spreadthe word or do something aboutit yourselfhow do you expect things to happen?
It doesn't take much effort and it ea-n aetually be good fun writing articlesfor the newsletter. A little input from everyone would rnake the finisheditem so much better and please don't think that if you rvrite something onceit rvill be expected erery month because it rvont. We are not all ogres youknor.v! (At least not all of us!).
Artieles of all shapes and sizes can be subrnitted handwritten, typed, printedout froru a computer, on packet or on a complrter disk (preferably as a tert file).All ef the abor,e should be passed to Bob GM4UYZ, Ron GM4II(U or myself. If youare to submit via packet then rve can all be fou*d @ GBTEDN. Just rememberthat to catch the deadline each month any articles should be submi*ed at least2 weeks before the nerl club right.
As yau can see it isn't too difficult so make that New Years resolution andput,voru vie$'s in the nervsletter. AFTER ALL. TIIE NEWSLETTER IS MEANTTOBE FORYOLT!!
73 de ColinGM{ICLN {fj GBTEDN
_ "---E_-
my present Nor,ice Class of Sylr,ia, Les andJim all the best with their Nor,ice Exam onMonday night the 9th December. I am surethat these good wishes come from ynu all aswell.Good luck e\,€rynne on the night.
CONTEST RESULTS UPDATE
Just a quick note, specifically for those whodidn't see nry packet lnessage, to bring you thelatest 1996 contest results released.First of all the lst 144MHz BackpaekersContest which took place on i9th May.We entered the 10W Multi-Operator Sectionand finished 5th out of 9 entries.The results for the 2nd 144MF{z BackpackersContest, which ran on l6th June at the sametime as the PW QRP Contest, were alsoreleased. Some of Jnu may halc heard at thelast club night that w€ were 2nd overall in the.lW'Multi-Op€rator Section on that occasion.Finally, the 144MHz Trophy Contest, whichiohn GMTTF{A and Robert MM0ANT enteredfrorn the Mull Of Kinfyre on the weekend ofTthlSth Septenrber. Despite not being QRVfor tire fuli 24 hours of the contest and trsingonly a single antenna with about 80W outpt*thel'' managed a creditable lStir out of 19 inthe Open Section. This was against oppositionwhich mainly had tnulti-antenna arrays andlots of powerlI think congratulations are in order foreveryone who took part in all of these events.Well done to you all.
BobGM4UYZ @ GBTEDN
SYMPATHIES
I would like too tirough the Newsletter passon from ever]-one at the Radio Club otuDeepest Sympathies to John GMTTKA andhis family on their recent sad loss of John'sfather, whojust before last club night, passedaway after a long illness.As always in these occasions words are verydiffrcult to find but you can guarantee ourthoughts are all with you.
Bob GM4UYZ @ GBTEDN
Remember!!Next Club Nieht.January LOVk-,
73 de Colin (GM0CLN)
o rug,Itl r lta(l uggrl Lllrrrlt.lltg ul ttlllurrlrg Lrrti dl-x,
the possibiiity'was by no lneans certain. The weather forecast was for winds of approximately 4t) miles per hourand heary showers... not ideal contesting w€ather! ! As erer, being keen to give it a go, I loaded the car on ihe Saturday night 'Justin case!". The final forecast on the Saturday night hadn't changed so I thought i wouid just g€t np in time to leave and see whatthe weather was actuallv like.
Just after 6am on the Sunday morning I got up and as e.rpected the forecast hadbeen colrect but I decided to go anJway. Do I hearcries of "Fool!" and nHe's mad!". I rvas on the road by 6.20am and on site at Mainslaughter Law by 6.50am having managed toavoid several kamikaze grollse on the way! It was just about light when I arrived and having only i hour and l0 minutes before the8am contest start i got to work erecting the antenna(s). I had taken two i4 element yagis with me on the basis that if weather andtime allowed I would put upboth on tJre 20 foot mast I was going to use. The mast was put up andtire guy ropes set,I lowered the mast and attached the top antenna before checking my watch. Only 20 minutes left to the start of the contest and noequipment set up in the car yet!l Wealher and time talien into consideration I decided that a singie antennawould have to suffice on this occasion. The feeder was attached and the mast re-erected. This was much easier than expected as I
Right
Calin GiII0CLN operuting GB2HSTwith Callilm ZMIDZS loSCroSd*rixg the Hi&oric SeotlandWeekend
was pushing up the mast with the wind behind me, I think that two antennas would also have gone up in the air without anydifficulty! Please nste that I had the bse of the mast firmly anchored to the ground so that I was free tc push up the mast duringantenna erectionl! The guy ropes were once again adjusted and the equipment in the car set up. This was all achieved with 5minutes to spare before the start of the contest... just encugh time fcr a coffee!!To summarise, the equipment to be used was :-Antenna : l4 element MET yagiTransceir,'er : Trio TR9130 (set to 10W ouQut)Amplifier : Microware Modules 100W Amp (abaut 80W output using car battery)CW Key'er : Star Masterkey memory keler with Hi-mound paddle keyThe contest began l'ery slow{y with not a great deal being heard or worked. In fact nothing was worked for the first half hourlActir,ity then seemed to pick up as all the sensible people got out of their beds! From then on there was a steady flow of stations tobe warked until approximately midday when things went \,€ry quiet again.On several occasions I was caught out, while tuning the ban4 by stations which would be there and would suddenly disappear. This,in fact, turned out ta be meteor bursts which I was haring ftom both UK and continental stations. These meteors were probablyfrom the Taurids South meteor shower which was due to peak on the day of the contest.As actfuity had gone l'ery quiet and the weather was clear again, following some !-ery healy squally showers, I decided to pack up atabout 12.50prn. This was one hour and ten minutes before the end of the 6 hour contest but as it was only really a half hearted entryI didn't think it would matter tao much. In total I managed ta compiete 25 contacts in just under 5 hours, my best DX beingG4)GF/P in JOOOEW (580km), almost in the English Channel!. Also heard but not worked (unfortunately) were ON4TKA andDL0V-R/P. I'm nct sure if I managed to hear these ones on peaks of QSB cr on metecr bursts although I thinli that itwas QSB which brought them out of the noise.When it came to lcwering the antenna it was again surprisingly easy-, although I actually had to physicatly pull the mast over untilit was about -15 degrees to the horizontal (into the wind) before it started to drop on its own!! Packing up was not too much of aproblem, except for the wind and I was home again inPon Setonby 2pm.AII things considered it was an enjoyable contest. It let me brush up my CW,one of rny reasons for taking part, and althoughcondifions n'ere generally poor was quite pleased with the distances achieved. I hav"e sent in an entry for the contest but don't holdout much hope of a far,aurable result. We will just hale to wait and see! !
I'djust like to take this opportuniiJ* to let everybody- know that, I think that we havea great club.In ny job I travel quite a lot with the radio in the car and have spoken to manypeople up and down the country and as conversations go-on a wee bit I tend to askabout local radio cluba and tell people about ours, and our very formal and strictmonthly meetings. I hav'e spoken to people who tell me that their club is ok but theywish that their meetings were as strict and formal as ours!People have also told me that at their club, on contest days it appears that all
everybody wants to do is turn up and operate, but not take part in the setting up ofthestation or the very important things like food and hot drink supplies. I am glad to saythat does not appear to be the case rvith us. This is my first year of going to contestsand I was pleased and impressed with the way everyone works together toward thesame goal.
Aryrvay, better go before I start singing the club anthem ( The skot drinking song ).
P.S. Have a Merry Christmas and a Hapry New Year everybod5'
73s Canrbell MM I AYA C&PS ARCCockenzie and Port Seton Alchoholic Radio Club.
HAM IT IIP!Here are a few slightly different definitions ofcornmon nnrds for you to have a look at. Seewhat you think...
HAMLET - A radio amateurs house for rentHAMMOCKS Makesfun of a radio amateurHAMSTER - An amateur radio addictHAMMING - Calling CQHAMMERED - Blotted out by a strongersignalHAMBURGERS - Annoying amateursHAMPERING - A dutch amateurs net!HAMSTRINGS - Guy ropesHAMSTRUNG -Tied to being a radio arnateurHAM-FISTED - Suffering from PTT cramp
73 de Colin CM0CLI
Page 10 Cockenzie & Port Seton ARC'
EVENTS COLUMN
A very long list of events again this monthPlease make swe that you havenoted them all...
DECEMBNR8th SDX Cluster Support Group Rally,Maryhill Community Centre Halls.lvlanhill Road, Glasgow. Near JnlTof the M8" Talk-in on S22.Entry. Adultsfz.}A,IJB4\lOAp [1.50, Under 14 free.
Seton, Tpm till late lgth I,t,lMHz Low power Contest 1400
"Computing For Amateur Radio" dealingwith both hardware and softrvare
1997JANUARY10th Club night in the Thorntree Inn.Port Seton, Tprn till late
F'EBRUARY7th Club night in the Thorntree Inn, portSelon, 7pm till late
21st Calibration and Test Night. Anotherchance to check out your radios with JohnGMTOLQ your host once again. A Tpmstarf as usual in Resources Room 2 at portSeton Community Centre. Entry t1
MARCII7th Club night in the Thorntree Inn, portSeton, 7pm till late
l6th NORBRECI( Rallv. Blackpoot. Nodoubt a boory affair again!!! Bob will beasking around soon to see rvho is makingthe trip this time.
21st Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation(CPR) night with Heather Gregory of theBritish Heart Foundation and arepresentative from Heartstart. Learn theABC of resuscitation, it could help savesgtn€ones life! Starting at Tpm prompt buttime is short so be there on time pleasel InResources Room 2 at port SetonCommunity Centre. Fntry f,I.
1l th Lothians RS Talk entitled
23rd lst 70MHz Fixed Contest1300 UTC (See note)
APRIL4th Club night in the Thorntree Inn, port
JUNE 6fith t441,/fttz Trophy Contesr 1400_14006th CIub night in the Thorntree Inn, port UTC (See note)Seton, 7pm till late
MAYZnd CIub night in thePort Seton, Tpm till late
f6th C&PS ARC 144MI{z DF Hunr. Starthrilding your antennas now!!
lEth 1st l,l4MHz Backpackers Contest1100-1500 UTC (See note) .,
7th lst 50MF{z Backpackers Contest1300-1700 UTC (See note)
Isth Practical Wireless l44MHz eRpContest 0900-1600 UTC
JULY
lsth C&PS ARC Junk Sale. port SerorCommunitl Centre
SEPTEMBERsth Club night in the Thorntree Inn. porrSeton, 7pm till late
7tb 5th l44MHz Backpackers ContestIt00-1500 UTC (See note)
OCTOBER3rd Club night in the Thornfree Inn. portSeton, 7pm till late
NOVEMBER7th Club night in the Thomtree Inn, portSeton, 7pm till late
DECEMBERsth Club night in the Thorntree Inn, portSeton, 7pm till late
'T* NOTE *<*{< TrM CONTESTS ABOVEWHICH REFER TO THIS NOTE ARETHOSE WHICH TIIE CLUB ''MAYU TAKEPARTIN NEXTYEAR. THOSE WITHNOREFERENCE TO THIS NOTE AREALREADY DEFINITES. IF YOU HAVEANY PREFERENCES AS TO WHICHCONTESTS WE ENTER PLEASE LET MEKNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
2200 UTC (See note)lSth Quiz Night in Resources Room 2 atPort seton communiry- centre Entry Jl per 20th 432lvIftz Low power contest 0g00person. Susan 2M1EPK and Colin 1400 UTC (See note)GM0CLN will be setting the questions.
AUGUSTtst Club night in the Thorntree Inn. por
Thorntree lru, Seton, 7pm till late
3rd 4th l44MFIz Backpackers Conteslld 432Vrrz Trophv contest r4oo-zz}a r 100-1500 urc (see note)UTC {See nore)
15th Znd ll4tvfrrzBackpackers contest t0th Eventtobeorganised!l!900-1300 UTC
4th Club night in the Thorntree Inn, Port Yet another brunper nonth! Hope you all6966- Seton, 7pm till late enjoy the SDX Rally on Sunday.
FAULTS on YAESU FP700(l) Output voltage 2-5 volts.
Resolutiania) Found Ql02 (2SA1012), Q103(2SA950) fault"v so replaced. Found Dl03short Circuit so replaced. Found wirefrom transformer to 16.5v at Diode Blocka dry joint so resoldered.
FAULTS on YAESII FRG7700
( l ) The set \\'as deaf on receire.
Resolution(a) Found that more than one band passfilter was being selected at the front end.Replaced D12 as short circuit and D09 asit was leaky by fitting 1N4148's
FAULTS on YAESU FRG8800
(i) There was no display at all and also
the set appeared to be dead with only thepower light showing on the display.
Resolution(a) The CPU Chipwas lockeduP. Iinaova'ertently shorted pins 3 & 4 andtheradioburst into life. I suspectthebattery
backup was causing the problem after achat with the service dept of SMC.Replaced3 xAA batterieswith3 xAArechargeables.
{b) Problem again that the CPU chipappearing to hang.Putting AVO on pin 4the set bursts into life -- guess what thisgoes back to the backup kttery. checkedbtteries found I totally faulty and theother 2 at 1.05 volts.- backup voltageshould be 3.6 volts. Replaced batteries.
FAULTS on YAESU FTlOlZD
(l) Blowing the mains input fuse plusexlremely "smelly".
Resolutian(a) The mains transformer hadjust packedin due to old age and it had gone all"gungi" so replaced the transformer. Alsoreplaced diodes Dl to D4 with 1N4007'sand resistors Rl to R4 with 470KR 0.5watt on PCB P81967 as they had all gone.(32Ov to 90Ov circuit)
FAULTS on YAESU FT102
(1) Thermal Runaway when transmitting.ie the IC Current suddenly starts to
rise and keeps going.
Resolution(a) This is a problem with the Valves andonly happens when SYLVANIATYPeSare used. Replaced the predrfuer 12BY7Aand 3 output PA Valves 61468's.
(2) Meter Lamps going oul
Resolution(a) Replace lamps. see GMzIUYZ fcr
details on how to do this.
(3) No Power Out on Transmit (onlYputting out about 5 Watts if awthing)
Drive, Loading, Plate controls have noeffect. No ALC indication on meter
Resohttion
(a) The Pre-drive value was faulty.Replaced I2BY7A
(4) Shattering the Mains Input Fuse onthe radio.
Resolutian
(a) On the Rectifier'B'PCB diodes D01&D02 short circuit and Resistors R03,R04, R05, R06 all open circuit. ReplacedD01.D02,D03,D04 with 1N4007 andresistors R03. R04 , R05, R06 with48OKR
HOPE THAT THESE ARE USEFLIL,{}ID MORF NEXT MONTH
25 Watts V.H.F. on a Tight Budget.
Hi folksI'm drop'ping you a wee note this month to Iet everyone know about a radio that I
have and converted from taxi frequencies, (approx I72.AAO Mhz) to two metres. Its arelatively quick and very easy modificatisn. The radio in question is a CleartoneCMU300, rvhich cornes in 10 or 16 channel versions. and after the modification isprogrammable from 136-150 Mhz via the front mounted on-board digital keyboard"gil'ing control of simplex or half duplex operation, ctcss tones, transmit / receivefrequencies and any combination thereof.The nrodification is a simple matter of replacing 20 components and following the
realignment instructions ( I have the workshop manual for this radic and would behappy to let anyone who needs one, photocopy it ) and hey presto 'A 2 METRE RIG.'I did have a couple ofcomplaints about quiet audio from this radio, but a decent 600ohm microphone insert sorted that. other than that I really can't find anfhing wrongwith it.There are three versions of the V.H.F. CMU300,covering 3 "bands". A band: 134 -
150 Mhz, B band: 150 - l62Mhz, and C band :162 - l74}l[hz The same radio canbe modified for any of these "bands".This radio also has a U.H.F. version called the CMU350. which also has three"bands"A band :421.4 - 450 Mhz. B band:450 - 482NIhz. and C band :482 - slzMhzModification to 70cms also seems eaqy as far as I call see ffom the manual.I have seen these radios atjunk sale nights and bring and buy stands at rallies for
as little as fwo or three pounds ( show me the amateur rvho can resist a 2 metre rigfor a couple of quid ), after all this hobby of ours is meant to be all about "self trainingthrough experimentation" or something like that.i hope to have the finished article with me on December club night so ma1'be a wee
shot will be available. any,vay, I'd better go before I put you all to sleep.
73s all Cambell /MM I AVA
BOB GM4r"rYZ (4GB7EDN
Cockenzie & Port Seton AR.CPage 12
For Sule
Pye Westminster Dash mount Radio. ( A classic asus*db'y Ron GM4IKU )C$talled for GB3FF" GB3CS and packet frequencies.Offers around 25 GBPMotorola CD 100 Radio VHFCrystalled for 144.650 ( Packet )Offers around 20 GBPMotorola CD 100 nadio UttCrystalled for 432.625 ( Packet )Offers around 20 GBP
contact Allister GMTRYR
YOU MIGIIT BE A RADIO AMATEUR IF...
+ Staffat your local electrical superstore can't answer any of yourquestions* Youle ever tried to repair a f2.50 radio* You say 73 instead of goodbye to someone on the telephone* Your father sat 2 inches away from 1'ow familys first colour TVwith a magnifying glass to see how they made the colours, andyou grew up thinking that was normal* You think your radio and PC look better with the cover off* You introduce your wife as MYXYL @ HOME.WIFE.LIK* You have more friends on the Internet than in real life* Your ideal wening consists of flicking through radio manualslooking for technical inaccuracies* You only look at possible nerv houses when there is no higherground within a l0 mile radius and they have half an acre ofground attached* You talk morse code in your sleep* You see something metal and wonder what frequncy it rvillresonate on
ALINCO DJ-1008 VHF FM Transceiver&instructions f85:00 O.N.OMicrophone/headsetwith remote control to match above wasbought especially with mobile use in mind f,20:00
Both items if sold together f,*Oo gertkhffdFder. goodcondition.ask Gavin GM0ALW for any more details at clubnight or telephone 01573 226372
##Qv/
ITS THAT TIME .......AGAIN
" Christmas time, a Christmas tre€ ...- "Abrandnew rig foryouandme ?
Or will our hopes be dashed to rockswith'aftershave', a tie or socks ?Or for our 'Lady Op's' perfume
Or'scented soap'to'make thern bloom...' ?All fine if thegg things filla need
Yet. poignanilsfu 'Hamming Breed'Wilt long onttristmas Day to besurprised with some accesssory.
That coftes, with love, from Santa's sackA Gmdie for the radio shack I
Well all have dreams, sornetime of wealth'Things' may be bought, but not good health,And while's it seems 'much' counts for 'less'
The caring thought brings hap'piness....So, hopefully, the day is good
With Turkey andwith Christmas Pud !Party games and films on Telly,
New Tie, Aftershave ! (Qnite Smelly)and, dinner over, vlarm, replete,
With glass in hand. put up your feet,And daydrearn. (munching Brandy Chocs)
Horv to 'Load Up' a pair of socks l!!
We u'ould like to take this opportunity to wisheverybody a very Happy Christmas and a veryProsperous New Year.Good wishes go to all in Cockenzie add PortSeton ARC (boozers group) and I'm sureeverybody will agree that a very big thank youshould go to Ron IKU for all the hard effortwhich goes into our newsletter each and el'erymonth. this is greatly appreciated by all I'msure, even those who use it for PaP€raeroplanes hi.Also a big thanks to everyone through the yearfor doing their bit at field weekends etc etcetc., ws always say it takes e!€ryone to make itwork and it does, and works well, so toan)fudy who hasn't yet joined' in for ourvarious events, try to do so next year.vou willenjoy yowself so come and see what we get upto on our x'ild weekends in hills, lots oflaughter and fun. well worth the hassle.Okay don't get too drunk with Santa but enjoyvour$ehesAll tile best in 1997 from Gavin and Margaret.
Grease and flour a I l" x 7" hking tin, mix all ingredients in a bowlot a mixer, turn into tin andbake at 180c, 350f or gas mark 4 for20-25 minutes until golden brown and the top springs back whengently pressed with a finger,leave to cool and cut into fingers.
Cream butter and sugar, gradually add 2 eggs (beaten) sift in flourstir in milk choc chips and cherries. spoonfiils onto greased bakingsheet, and cook for l5minutes 190c. 375for gas mark 5.
73 Margaret GM0ALX
And jinally,
Well that's snother club newsletterput to bed as the newsmen saY and Imust say a big thank you ta all
contributors moking it a somewhatbigger issue for Christmas.
I tried some experimenting withphotos this month which were scanned
for me by Russ GM)CBX and I thinkyou will agree that their inclusion hasimproved the look of the newsletter.. Ihope so anyway!
This is the last issue of Volume 4as we start the nau year with Volume 5which means fhe newsletter has nowbeen on the gofor some 4 years! qnd Imust admit that it does not seem that
long ago that Bob GM4KDC started itall offon his new computer!
I don't know exactly how many Ihave prepared but we must be gettingto No. 50 during the next year so Ihope that contributions continue andyou all.find it a worthwhile exercise.
My special thanks must ofcourse go to Bob GM4WZ and toColin GM4CLN for their regular
contributions each month and to allwho send in copy.
This club as you lcnow would notexist without the hard work o"f thevoluntcry"Committee" who do thework fo keep it going and its nocoincidence that this is because thecommiltee room is the bar in theShip Inn, Port Seton and ad hocmeefings are held on a very regularbasis!! I would like also to thank them
for the discussion andfun we have BUTthis does result in having a good clubelJbrt in all aspects oJ'amateur radiowhich in turn, refl.ects in lurcontributions mode to the British HeartFotmdstton each year.
And Finally, I would like to wishall our readers A Very Happy,Healthy and Merry Christmas and aProsperous 1997
