What’s On

An Extraordinary General Meeting is to be held on 4 January 2022  prior to the AGM on 11 January 2022.  Please see the 'Notice of Calling' forwarded to all members on 17 December by our Club Secretary, Jeff, G1DYNfor full details.  Also note that the location is the “playroom” next to the WARC meeting rooms. It is a large room and allows for safe distancing between attendees. The meeting would, we hope, be a very short in person only meeting.

The Annual General Meeting will take place this evening, subject to any change in current Covid restrictions/recommendations.

We welcome Oscar Wood, 2E1HWE who will talk about MB7ISX, his AllStar Analogue Simplex Gateway.  Topics include:

What is a Analogue Simplex Gateway?  MB7ISX Equipment set up.  NoV requirements.  What is the Allstar system?

What is the FreeSTAR Network?  Echolink Access.  GOTA (Gateways On The Air Event).  Equipment you need and operating etiquette.

The Blackpool (NARSA) Rally is a major event in the Club's year and is due to be held on Sunday 24 April this year.  It seems like the right time to take an early look at what the club's involvement will be, including who can attend, our role in the rally, club stand exhibits etc etc.

From the left coast of the US, we welcome Pete Juliano, N6QW.  Pete will present information on the Art of Homebrewing.  He will use his latest radio project, the PSSST, a 7 transistor fully functional 20M Transceiver to explore this wonderful facet of our hobby - DIY.  Join Pete for a bit of humour, the revealing of the Secret Tribal Knowledge and learning how not to solder your fingers together.

In the interim Pete suggests that we look at these three sites for some insight into his talk and approach:

https://www.n6qw.com/CNCMILL.html

https://www.n6qw.com/MC1496.html

https://www.n6qw.com/PSSST_20.html

https://youtu.be/3c4n0i3dr-M

Fascinating presentation at Denby dale amateur radio club features John G3UCQ and Neil N4FN talking about the first ever contact involving two original Spitfire morse keys. John will explain and show what the Spitfire morse key was built for along with some more information about the iconic Spitfire itself.

After the presentation John will reactivate the GB1SMK call ready to make CW contacts on 80m using the Spitfire key.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 9TH AT 7.30PM (1930 UTC) ON ZOOM 842 5221 3056

ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND !

Discussion and planning for Liverpool NARSA etc.

Radioactive Fair 2022 - Ham Radio, Electronics and Computers

Sunday 20th February 2022 Nantwich Civic Hall. Cheshire. CW5 5DG

http://radioactivefair.co.uk/index.php

At last, we can look forward to another NORTHERN AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY ASSOCIATION (NARSA) rally! This will be held on Sunday 24 April 2022 at the usual Norbreck Castle venue, Blackpool.

Please note the date change to Sunday 24 April 2022.

This is an important event for WARC and tonight we take a detailed look at our involvement in the event ranging from organisational tasks, ideas for our own club stand exhibits/demos etc, members who can attend, preparations etc.

Colin, M0NVJ will give short presentation on the operation of Blue Ham from the perspective of the RAF Cadets.  This will be most useful in front of our participation in the next Blue Ham  event on 26 & 27 March.

Project circuit simulation – Dave and James

On 1st feb this year, Pete Juliano, N6QW gave us an excellent talk on the art of homebrewing.

He emphasised the role of simulation in designing and building equipment. In this talk, we'll explore some of the tools available for us to use and give a few step by step demos on how to use them.

We have participated successfully in Exercise Blue Ham on several previous occasions.  The next one is as follows:

RAFAC stations will operate on Sat/Sun 26-27 March 2022 between 0800/1800Z daily (as staff/cadets are available) on 60M band using the amateur frequencies segments. Use will be made of prearranged 'spot' frequencies, changing frequently.

MRE??[A-Z) callsigns will be used during the exercise. Use will be made of prearranged 'spot' frequencies on the band, changing regularly.

Exchange details are as in previous years, callsign, radio report, maidenhead locator (6 figures), antenna type & direction, power used, optional are details of equipment/wx etc.

Steve, M0MOI will take us through some of the technical issues relating to satellite operation:

Ever wondered what a geostationary orbit is or where it is? Why do we use satellites for communications? What are the path losses to and from a satellite? Why do we use different encoding for terrestrial TV? Some of these will be answered, some not, you be the judge.

Tonight we have a range of topics to discuss and share the views of members, including:

NARSA Rally - arrangements for 24 April 2022

Ideas for the celebration of WARC's 75th anniversary

Club net - possible rescheduling of dates and restructuring?

Practical Wireless QRP Contest - This takes place on Sunday 12 June 2002.  A gauge if interest and an approach to how we go about participating is needed.

etc

As you may remember, we were kindly given a 2.9GHz HP spectrum analyser by David Waine.

Tonight, Dave will show you how to use it – measuring things such as the output of a transmitter and an HF filter.  The aim is to enable you to use the shack equipment with confidence to perform similar measurements.  It’s a practical session rather than a talk but it will still be broadcast on zoom for those not able to attend.

Note New Date

https://narsa.org.uk/

David G0BCU will describe his design basis, thoughts and layout for a self contained portable hf / vhf / uhf station for seaside and event operation e.g. CHOTA.

We again welcome Pete N6QW. This evening, Pete will provide an insight into the "build process" of home brewing a rig.  His presentation will focus on CNC MIllng of circuit boards, fabricating enclosures, a bit of new technology and taking your project from "Rude and Crude to Absolutely Amazing".  This also includes a brief sojourn to a Takeaway for some Fish n' Chips!

The KIWI software defined radio is a high quality receiver that supports 0 to 30 Mhz in all modes and is capable of streaming onto the internet.  Tonight we welcome Dave Cutts, M0TAZ from Hornchurch, London who will describe the operation of this web based receiver system including it's ability to geolocate hf transmitters.

On 12 July we’ll be holding  a DF hunt in Grappenhall. Many of you are old hands at this but many have never done a DF hunt before.  Therefore we’re holding a practice session on Tuesday 7^th June.  Do you have a 2m FM handheld and an aerial? Come along and try it out.  No aerial?  There will be a chance to make a simple dipole on the evening and then try it out but let Dave know beforehand (secretary@warc.org.uk) who can get you started with what you will need.  No rig? Come along and learn how a DF hunt works (and team up with someone else?)

Mike G4VSS and Vincent M0LCR took part in the recent 'Kittens 22' event hosted by Wirral ARC.   They will give us their account of how the day went!

Tonight we have two topics for the price of one.

Dave, G0BCU has been making good progress on his “Go Box” and will give a short presentation on it’s current form.

Meanwhile Mike, G4VSS and Steve, M0MOI went to Friedrichshafen (and Vincent was there in spirit).

Mike will treat us to a resume of the event, what he saw and learned.

It is proposed that WARC take part in the RSGB 144Mhz Low Power Contest on 6 August 2022.

To help us prepare for the event and put on an effective station, we propose a discussion on:

..what type of contest is this?

..what kit will be required?

..relevant operating and logging methods

..very important - what location to use!

(349) RSGB Tonight@8 - Radio waves and antennas...and all that by Peter Duffett-Smith, GM3XJE - YouTube

Peter, G4LLG was convinced that narrow band operation through the QO-100 geostationary satellite was not possible at his QTH.  He will show how this was finally achieved with the help and advice of club members and some club equipment.

We hope for a fine evening for the WARC summer barbecue.  This is a social event so bring along the family to the beer garden at the Bellhouse Pub.

Watch this space for details of price per head etc.

Following our discussions in early July, we hope to participate in this popular contest.   Keep an eye on this space and we'll have regular updates at club meetings for the station location and times to meet to set up etc.

BATC CAT 22 at Coventry

http://www.midlandairmuseum.co.uk

A double bill this evening.

First, Mike, Vincent and Glen went to the BATC GM at Coventry. Mike will present an update on the day.

Second, Dave, Alan, Vincent and Peter took to the hills near Frodsham for the RSGB low power 2m contest. Hear about how they got on.

CHOTA takes place on 10th September.

Last year Dave G0BCU kindly arranged for us to use his local church and we had great fun erecting aerials - a nice site.

This year we hope to do CHOTA again. This eveing will be a premeet to plan what, where and when (and who)

Join us tonight to hear all about the newer digital modes.

James G5JIM will explain all.

This evening we welcome Joe Chester M1MWD.  Joe is known for his popular column in Practical Wireless and has spoken at the RSGB Convention.

Some years ago there was a club project to build a high quality noise source.

Recently, Vincent found that he still had a stock of the PCBs left over and provided we can get the diodes, thought it would be fun to rerun the project for members.

So join us to hear all about it, what it does, how it works, the companion measurement software and how to use it with a rig or an SDR such as a Pluto to measure device noise figures.

PLEASE NOTE: CHOTA EVENT CANCELLED.

As a mark of respect and following the
passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I1, the
organisers of this annual event have decided
to cancel this year's event and therefore the
WARC will not be running special event
station GB5CCC this year.

WARC will be participating in this year’s CHOTA event by operating special event station GB5CCC from Christ Church Croft in Warrington. When we last took part in this event in 2020, we contacted 57 stations mainly on the 80m band from all over the UK with a few continental stations on 40m. It is hoped this years event will be more successful and also introduce amateur radio to folks visiting on the day. Further details can be found at https://www.wacral.org/tag/chota/

CHOTA was cancelled as a mark of respect for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II so in a change to the advertised schedule David G0BCU will give us an update on his  go box and talk to us about the new HF/6m/4m beam which went up on Sunday.

The second project proposed for this year.

Join us to hear an update from Mike on progress and information on the QDX digital transceiver kit

Dave G0BCU has been making good progress on his Go box - with liberal use of his CNC machine.

Tonight's talk by Dave will be all about home CNC machines and how to use them

This evening we will look at possible ways to restructure the club nets.  We will also talk about the use of the club's C4FM reflector, possibly as a new mode for a club net and it's general use by club members.

Which other radio clubs do we know?  Who do we know in these clubs?  How are they different to WARC?  Tonight we discuss ways to communicate with other clubs in order to share knowledge and look at possible social interactions etc.

Also, we look at what's going on on the amateur bands, propagation, band conditions, special events and look for operating opportunities we may be missing!

There are two very practical threads to this evening:

James will take us through his recent mobile installation and Colin will demonstrate the Yaesu Fusion rig, the FTDM400 (same as in the club shack).  

The online part of CAT 22 will be held on Saturday 22 October 2022.

Please save the date for an interesting set of talks about all aspects of ATV. Probably starting at 10 am and finishing mid-afternoon.

https://batc.org.uk/events/

https://alphacharlie.org.uk/exercise-blue-ham/

https://www.m0plt.me.uk/blueham.php

David, G0BCU describes his experience of using a small CNC machine in pursuit of producing that near professional looking project.

Having implemented a P25 software transceiver by extending Quisk, Dave G8KBB moved on to other digital modes.

Before starting on M17, he has implemented D-Star.

This talk will be on how D-Star works and how to implement it in software

David, G0BCU discusses some interesting and alarming aspects of electrical installations and those who we trust to safely install electrical cables and equipment.

Join us for a presentation from RSGB Convention on The Transatlantic Centenary Tests, followed by a discussion.

Dave G7SKR spoke to Nick about WARC participating and we have an opportunity to do so with a special event station.

We need to discuss when, how and on what bands we wish to operate

Ray, G7BHQ has known Eric Edwards, GW8LJJ for years and he has persuaded him to let us watch his video on his approach to QRO a.m. using modern components and techniques. Eric is also a long time writer for Practical Wireless with his 'Doing it by Design' column and he produces a line of kits, mostly covering a.m. transmission.

Mike G4VSS and Vincent M0LCR are attending the UK Microwave Group (UKuG) Midlands Roundtable on 03/12/22.

After the success of the last “On The Air” evening, we'll again be discussing what we’ve heard on the air, where the bands are at, any projects we’ve been working on and anything else we may have been doing recently.

• What have you worked on the air?
• What have you heard but did not work?
• How are the bands doing?
• Tried any new modes recently?
• Got a new rig? How is it performing?
• Working on any projects?
• Anything else to discuss?

It's Christmas and we'll be celebrating, chatting and having a quiz, join us and celebrate before Father Christmas maybe, just maybe brings you some new gear to play with!

Photo credit ARRL