2024 Islands on the Air Contest
This weekend sees the 2024 IOTA Contest take place on the usual HF contest bands kicking off at 12.00UTC (1PM BST) tomorrow Saturday 27th July ending 24 hours later on Sunday.
The society’s contest team will be taking part using the callsign G5O and preparations have been taking place all week at the hilltop farm site. You can follow the team’s progress through the contest by visiting Pete M1PTR’s handy monitor page and if you haven’t a HF receiver of your own then the various WebSDRs around the world may help you to join in. The receiver in Enschede is a particularly good one and can be reached through this link.
As well as the team there is at least one club member (Stephen M0RDN) entering the contest. Anyone new to contesting and wishing to take part may want to have a look at the beginners guide which can be found through this link.
Good luck to all entering the event.
Posted: 26th July 2024
Table top sale – Saturday 20th July 2024
Saturday just gone saw our latest table top sale take place at Walthew House which was another success with plenty of members turning out to view what was on offer whilst sampling one or two bacon sarnies provided by Neil M6NAE and Bill M0WBS.
In preparation, Friday afternoon witnessed a team descend on the store room @ Walthew tasked with clearing out some of the surplus gear whilst at the same time repositioning the resident radio kit into a more practical format.
Saturday began early with Neil lighting the grill shortly after 7am in time for the first arrival which was new licensee Adam M7GKE who was first in the queue for some early morning refreshments. Joining Nigel M0VNL in the reorganised shack, Adam was able to join in the operation of our FT897 operating some digital modes on both HF and VHF. With more members arriving there was an audible buzz around the room with some deals being done and goods changing hands. At the same time, Tom M0DCG was reviewing some of the gear from the store room which he was delighted to view.
Back in the shack, Nigel M0VNL was tuning through the 2 Metre band and came across GB4BCW being operated by Richard G4HGI from the Brindle Cold War Bunker nr Chorley, Lancashire. Whilst Richard’s signal was not the strongest, Nigel called in using our callsign GX8SRS and a brief QSO followed. Follow this link for a short YouTube video of the contact.
Mid afternoon saw everything packed away and what’s more thanks to Roy G6RSU the IC7610 reconnected to the roof top aerial ready for use again at forthcoming meetings. Well done and thank you to everyone who attended, we hope you had an enjoyable day.
Present were in signing in order: M0SAV, M0WBS, M6NAE, M0VNL, G0RXA, M7GKE, M0FVD, G6RSU, M0TJU, M0JYP, G0LLU, M0SQJ, M0UNG, M0DCG, M0RDN, G7LWT, M3HHY, M0TYY, M0LAR, G0HJQ, M0HNJ, M5KJM, M0NEA.
Posted: 21st July 2024
Avro “Wings & Wheels” Fair 2024
The weekend of the 13th & 14th July 2024 saw the team head for the Avro Heritage Centre Woodford for the annual Wings & Wheels Fair which this year wasn’t blessed with the nicest of weather.
As usual, first on the scene at the crack of dawn were Neil M6NAE and Bill M0WBS who had the marquee erected in double quick time. The rest of the team, Tony M0SAV and double Nigels M0VNL & G0RXA arrived shortly afterwards following which the task of setting up the kit began in earnest and which was completed with the minimum of fuss.
This time the operating side of things would feature Neil’s Yaesu FTM200 on VHF/UHF as well as Wires X linked via the internet plus our QO-100 kit with our club callsign GX8SRS being called into use. Both days analogue VHF/UHF was very quiet with less than a handful of contacts being made mostly via the local repeater network. However, it was a different story on Wires X with many stations both in the UK and beyond entering the log.
Perhaps the highlight occurred on Saturday morning when Neil established contact with a team at RAF Waddington who were preparing for their families day. Contacts were exchanged and in reply we received a volley of pictures of the Red Arrows display team now stationed at the Lincolnshire airfield and which later that day would appear at the Southport Airshow.
Meanwhile, across on QO-100 Nigel M0VNL was slowly accumulating contacts with far afield places such as Chennai, Heidelbug, Helsinki and Helston. The latter QSO took place following a call from Bob G0FGX who some may recognise as the presenter of the popular amateur radio YouTube programme TX Factor. The most recent episodes have featured Bob setting up his QO-100 station & Nigel was chuffed to spend more than a few minutes comparing notes.
Sunday dawned and whilst the weather remained disappointing we were pleased to receive a steady array of visitors most of whom were either licensed, or lapsed licensees interested in seeing what the hobby now has to offer. Highlight here must be the trio of young air cadets from the Woodford & Bramhall Squadron who were persuaded to pick up the microphone by Neil and have a brief contact.
As in previous years the event saw the usual array of stalls and attractions attend which included a posse of classic cars and military vehicles with the latter category including SRS member John M0PEK with his Dodge. This year there would be no Lancaster flypast, but the Sleap resident Avro Anson (G-VROE) did its best to entertain the fewer than usual crowds with visits on both days.
Thank you to those members who came along and visited the team. As well as John we were pleased to see Ron M7RJL and Tracy, plus Chris G8HCB who called on Saturday in time to sample Neil’s delicious Lancashire hotpot which along with various other delights kept the team fed on Saturday. The Sunday menu featured Bacon sarnies and gammon sandwiches for lunch, well done Neil & Bill.
With the rain settling in time was called mid Sunday afternoon with the kit and marquee being dismantled in fairly quick time most of which was returned to the store room at Walthew House by teatime. With that another event had drawn to a close but with the knowledge that we will do it all again in two weeks time (27th & 28th) when we will be attending The Aviation Society Summer (hopefully) Memorabilia fair at the Runway Visitor Park, Manchester Airport. We will be in the usual spot inside the Concorde hangar, so why not come along and visit the team.
Posted: 18th July 2024
CQ WPX CW 2024 Contest Results published
Congratulations to all involved. The team finished with the following placings:
England: 1st
Europe: 15th
World: 25th
Posted: 3rd July 2024
Wires X Presentation – Tuesday 2nd July 2024
Tuesday 2nd July saw Neil M6NAE with the assistance of Andrew M7USL deliver a presentation describing the operation of the Yaesu Wires X system which was well received.
With the interest in the room and breakdown of our technology the presentation will be repeated in the near future.
Also Neil, thanks for the after meeting refreshments, very tasty!
Posted: 3rd July 2024
GB0COL – Colossus 80th Anniversary – Saturday 22nd June 2024
Another opportunity to activate the special event callsign presented itself on Saturday with stations on HF, VHF, QO100 and digital D-Star. Elsewhere Tom worked his magic on an apparently dead oscilloscope and everyone was fed by Neil & Bill with their excellent hotdogs.
Posted: 22nd June 2024
GB0COL – Colossus 80th Anniversary, the story so far.
Tuesday 4th July saw GB0COL take to the air with 2 stations powered up and ready to go.
First on the air was the VHF station with Roy G6RSU at the helm ably assisted by Brian G8NHN and first in the log was Chris M0LZA who’d been waiting for the call to appear on the air. The station employed our Yaesu FT897 housed in it’s flight case hooked up to the colinear antenna on the roof of Walthew House. Taking advantage of the Tuesday evening 2 metre FM contest Roy and Brian soon swelled the log with some local calls.
In the shack however, things weren’t moving quite so quickly. First to take command of our 7610 was Evan M0TJU assisted by Simon M0TYY. CW yielded a few stations with SSB adding some more but the general consensus was the HF was not in good shape.
Onwards to the following Saturday (8th June) where it was felt we could make a real impression on the bands but once again, HF proved to be difficult with once again just a handful of calls making it into the log. VHF faired little better however, top marks today goes to the QO100 team who bagged some good calls once the soggy early conditions allowed setup of the gear by Nigel M0VNL assisted by Roy G6RSU.
Just before midday UTC GB0COL took to the air and first in the log was Depak operating VU2BK, callsign of the Mount Abu International Ham Radio Club in locator ML64JM, a distance of 4,266 Miles. A very nice opening contact and sat alongside Nigel was Farid M0UNG who took the opportunity to work Depak using his own callsign.
In a two hour session on the satellite, Nigel assisted by Farid worked a total of 7 stations, locations varying from UK, Europe to Brazil as well as of course India in the east. Final call was John operating G8FC, the callsign of the RAF Amateur Radio Society who were setting up their station at RAF Cosford in preparation for the Airshow the following day.
Being Saturday, we can’t let things pass without commenting on Neil M6NAE and Bill M0WBS’s excellent breakfasts and bacon sarnies which all helped to make the event a successful one. Thank you both and to all 23 of you who came along to Walthew.
Our next session at Walthew is on the 22nd June where we will once again be activating GB0COL from as early as 8am until late afternoon. So, make a note in your diaries and if you would like to have a go using the special event callsign, please let us know so arrangements can be made and a “slot” reserved. Oh, and yes refreshments will be available.
Posted: 10th June 2024
RSGB National Field Day (NFD) 2024
The annual RSGB National Field Day (NFD) took place over the weekend Saturday 1st June and Sunday the 2nd June. As usual, SRS took part from the regular hilltop site at Common Barn Farm with the team are keen to emulate their excellent 1st place finish in 2023.
Over the 24 hours, the team of operators ensured a steady stream of stations entered the log with a number commenting on conditions during their time in the hot seat.
Carsten G0SYP
After a late start and a panic trying to change the call sign after the first QSO, all went well. Started on 10, then down to 15 and 20. Stayed there a while until it got slower. Down to 40 to work some mults and back to 20 until Evan took over and probably went to 40
Evan M0TJU
Me, M0TJU, in the chair at G5O/p at 8pm Saturday. Not the greatest of conditions, as expected, but Sporadic E helping on 20m. Plenty of traffic to work on 40 and 80m before my shift ended at midnight.
Tom M0DCG with Dave G0LZL
Night shift (Dave) started working top band, having a good run before moving through 80m, 40m, and 20m before finishing up on 15m. He felt the conditions on the bands throughout the shift were on the whole, reasonable.
Picking up the baton from the night shift was Bernard G3SHF who after an eventful but positive few hours handed over to Kieron M5KJM to take us to the finishing line at 4pm local time.
Time will tell as to whether 2023’s result is repeated but by all accounts those who took part had fun.
Posted: 4th June 2024
CQ WPX CW Contest 2024
Final weekend in May, as well as a bank holiday in the UK sees the CW leg of this year’s series of contests.
Construction of the antenna farm began early the week before and the team are happy to report that apart from a few minor issues all equipment operating as expected.
Come the final whistle the team had amassed a fairly healthy score of just short of 9 million points.
Posted: 29th May 2024
Carsten’s Aurora story
Just a quick recap of the big Aurora from a couple of weeks ago, just from Log and memory.
Operators were warned of something coming already early on the 9th/10th. There had been several X class flares by sunspot region 3664 and accompanying Coronal Mass Ejections. NOAA modelled these to arrive at Earth from midday (UTC) on the 10th and issued their first G4 (Severe) geomagnetic storm warning since 2005. Impact of the CME was reported late afternoon and the K index steadily rose.
For me, 6m opened first and the first QSO was with F4VPC (IN87VV – Bretagne) at 17.43z. At this time I didn’t hear anything to the East. I worked G7RAU (IN97JX – The Lizard) and G4ITR (IO95CA – Newcastle) on 6m and EI3KD (IO51VW – nr Cork) and G4DHF (JO02 – Norfolk) on 2m. At 18.12 I had my first QSO in the Q65 digital mode (Q65-30C to be exact) with MM0AMW (IO75 – nr Glasgow). I heard a couple of GMs on 2m, too, but I had had contacts with them only recently so didn’t call. I probably went QRT for tea at this point. The next QSO was at 19.10z with G4BRK (IO91HP – nr Oxford) on 6m but that was it for the time.
I may have missed a few possible QSOs watching TV but I did have an eye on the Cluster so I guess there wasn’t anything exciting reported. Unfortunately, the next period was after the curfew on WhatsApp
so no warning was sent. I started on 6m with another Q65 contact at 21.29 with LA3EQ (JO28XJ – Southwestern Norway), then on CW G4LOH (IO70JC – Cornwall) on 2m at 21.42 and PB8DX (JO21NV – Netherlands) on 6m at 21.57z. From then on I concentrated on 2m CW.
The main QTF (antenna direction) for me in the opening was between 60 and 80deg (ENE) and mainly was calling other stations. Next QSO was at 22.05 with ON4LDP (JO10UN – Belgium) and after that the real DX started to come in:
22.17 9A2AE JN86HF Croatia 1574km
22.32 OM4CW JN88UN Slovakia 1500km
22.34 9A5RJ JN86EL Croatia 1542km
22.35 F6DRO JN03TJ France 1155km = nr Toulouse, this was the furthest South
22.38 OK1DSZ JN79AT Czech Republic 1200km
22.41 9A1UN JN65TF Croatia 1470km
22.45 F6DWG/p JN19AJ Northern France 544km
22.47 9A5R JN95FM Croatia 1734km
22.50 YO5LD KN05IS Romania1862km – my Aurora ODX
22.52 IV3NDC JN65RV Italy nr Trieste 1410km
22.58 DM4KCS JO30HU Germany nr Cologne 677km
23.03 F8BRL JN19FH Northern France 568km
I started getting adventurous and called CQ which started a little run. Between 23.12 and 23.29 I worked DL2RMC JN59IF 1020km, OK1FPR JO80CE 1323km, HB9CYN JN36RW 1005km, F6DCD JN38RQ 865km, HB9DHF JN37XG 1002km and G3LGP (missed the Loc). There was a bit of a lull with no new stations then.
Back to Search and Pounce with G4PIQ at 00.04z (JO02OD, 280km), PA3CWN 00.07 (JO33AH 560km), SP7EXY 00.13 (Poland KO00QV nr Kielce, 1636km). This was my contact furthest to the East.
Another little run between 00.46 and 01.03 brought DK1PZ (JO41 ca. 800km), DL4WK (JO64SQ 1049km), DL1BUG (JO72AI 1105km), S51ZO (Slovenia, JN86DR 1520km), 9A1CAL (JN65DM 1373km), I1DMP (JN34XU 1212km), OK1TEH (JO70FD 1211km), DL9FCM/p (JN49IN 879km), OE5VRL (Austria, JN78DK 1289km), OE3JPC (JN87EW 1450km) and OK2PWY (JN89KW 1378km) into the log.
The bands were still wide open but new stations were now hard to come by. I had a duplicate QSO with SP7EXY, worked HA5FB (Hungary, JN97NN 1647km) at 01.48 and F6DBI (IN88IJ 564km) at 02.20z. In between DL8ZAW on 6m. At 3.30h local time I went to bed.
In the morning around 09.00z (not sure exactly) there were still some weak Au signals to be heard but no QSOs. That started again at 13.10z with some strong Scottish signals. GM4YXI (IO87WK 445km), GM4BYF (IO85JV 279km) and GM0WDD (IO85LV 277km).
Then the continent started to appear and between 14.05 and 14.43z I worked DF2ZC/p (JO43WJ 811km), DL5XJ (JO54AE 818km), PA2RU (JO32LT 626km), PA0LMA (JO22FF 478km), DL6BF (JO32QI 665km), HA6NQ (JN98WA 1669km) and DL5FDP (JN49LP 889km).
Another CQ yielded GM4ILS (IO87IP 471km), DF1LON (JO31 ca. 670km), OK2YT (JN88IP 1431km), HA1FV (JN87JJ 1509km), DK7AW (JO51 ca. 930km), F6FET (IN98UD 606km) and HA0HO (KN07SU 1792km) until 15.04z.
No more QSOs (not sure if the band was closed or no new stations heard) until the last session from 16.26z to 16.56z with both S&P and CQ that filled the log with OK2EW (JN89DE 1376km), G4JBH (IO80QW 279km), OK1SC (JO70OB 1264km), G4ALG (IO81RD 255km), OE5XBL (JN68PC 1247km), DL3DXX (JO61VE 1125km), OM5AW (JN98 ca. 1575km), F6IIV (IN88GT 520km) and last but not least OK2BZM (JN89OI 1427km). At this point the band slowly died.
End result was 64 QSOs with 17 DXCC entities. (14xDL, 7xF, 7xOK, 6xG, 5x9A, 4xHA, 4xGM, 3xPA, 3xOE, 2xOM, 2xI, 2xHB9, EI, ON, SP, S5, YO).
This was the best Aurora I have ever experienced. I worked a few from DL and also from here but nothing even close. No new locators or DXCC were worked but it was great fun working everyone in CW for a change. I hope I don’t have to wait 20 years for the next one:)
Posted: 24th May 2024
Tales from the very wet (and windy) hills
Thursday 23rd saw the team of Dave G0LZL, Bernard G3SHF, Peter M1PTR and Tom M0DCG back up at Common Barn Farm working on the station in preparation for the CQWW WPX CW contest over the weekend of the 25th/26th May.
Our planned visit for Wednesday had to be put off due to the amber rainstorm warning in place for the Northwest area, accordingly we were not sure if the remaining work would run over into the Friday. While work continued installing the in-station equipment, despite the inclement weather work continued outside, raising and tuning the wire antennas on the two masts.
Our efforts were successful and by late afternoon all antennas were performing as desired. Finally, following a brief familiarisation session on the operation of the in-station equipment, we left around 4.30pm satisfied a further visit on Friday morning would not be required before the start of the contest.
Please look out for us this weekend using call G5O on 160, 80, 40, 20 and 10m.
We can be found by searching for G5O on new.dxsummit.fi/#/
Posted: 24th May 2024
M0RDN visits SK0TM
On assignment in Stockholm, Stephen M0RDN visited the National Museum of Science & Technology where he discovered the amateur radio station SK0TM located within the museum. Whilst there Stephen met with some of the operators, one of which Paul SM0WCF was happy to exchange a QSL card.
Posted: 23rd May 2023
Tales from the Farm….the story continues…
Following on quickly from the CQWW WPX SSB contest at the end of March, Monday 13th saw G5O members Dave G0LZL and Tom M0DCG back up at Common Barn Farm, continuing with preparations for the CQWW WPX CW contest scheduled to run over the weekend of May 25/26th.
Since the main work of station assembly is scheduled to start for the CQWW WPX CW contest on Monday 20th May and with the assembly team likely to be smaller than usual on this occasion it was felt necessary to fit in some extra maintenance beforehand.
The luffing winch on the Buxton mast had partly seized during station disassembly at the end of the previous contest due to weathering corrosion, making the task of tilting the mast very difficult and slow. Accordingly, freeing the mechanism was given top priority. After the seized parts had been partly dismantled and soaked for some time first in releasing fluid, then oil, the winch was reassembled on the mast. A sharp tap with a hammer was then applied, releasing the seized braking mechanism allowing its normal operation once again.
Work also continued checking out a number of issues highlighted during the previous contest as well as beginning preparations for the National Field Day CW 24 hour competition scheduled to run from 4pm on Saturday 1st to 4pm Sunday 2nd June.
Finally, congratulations and well done to all team members for an excellent finish in the previous event where team G5O came 1st in England, 14th in Europe and 22nd in the World. Also, well done to all SRS members who took part notably Stephen M0RDN, Andrew M0AQM (G1D), Ron & Tracy M7RJL & Keith M0JYP. Please follow the links below for further information.
https://www.g8srs.co.uk/cq-ww-wpx-contests-results/
https://www.g8srs.co.uk/news/
Posted: 16th May 2024
SRS Centenary Plus Gold Award to M0JYP
Posted: 12th May 2024
Saturday @ Walthew House including 145Alive activity
Fabulous day at Walthew House with many activities taking place. Saturday breakfast club, QO100 activity, The Repair Shop and a successful 145Alive activation with over 70 stations in the log. Well done all.
Posted: 10th May 2024
Review of Yaesu’s FTM-200DR FM/C4FM Mobile Transceiver, presentation and discussion lead by Neil M6NAE
Thank you to Neil M6NAE for an excellent presentation regarding this popular Yaesu rig which was followed by a lively discussion surrounding the merits of digital operation and the various methods of doing so.
Posted: 8th May 2024
TCARS SES at Fleetwood RNLI for SOS Radio Week
Had a wander up into town to see the chaps from TCARS operating GB0FLB for SOS Week,200 years of the RNLI and 165 years of the Fleetwood lifeboat station and 165 years of the town of Fleetwood itself.
Spent a few hours with the TCARS guys outside the RNLI station and had some very interesting chats on common club and radio related topics. Also got invited down to their club meetings after helping to dismantle and pack away the kit. Nothing like inter-club assistance and co-operation.
Bit of info on their kit and ops: G5RV up the flagpole with a ladder line, X50 on a 30ft telescopic pole with pre-amplifier, ICOM 5100 for 2m/70cms at 100W (their D-Star repeater is off-air) HF sets were 7300 and a Kenwood I think but the HF had a 50hz signal across all bands after 10am this morning and so HF was pretty much a no-go. Probably due to all the power-lines and possibly generators from the events in the Euston Gardens over the road. 2 metre was quite active though with some SOTA contacts early afternoon and some good distances covered around 50-70 miles.
Nigel M0VNL SRS Club Secretary.
Posted: 7th May 2024
Saltee Islands DXpedition May 2024
A note for your diary:
Pete M1PTR, Carsten G0SYP/DL1EFD and Kieron M5KJM/EI6KP are in advanced planning for this year’s mini DXpedition to the Saltee Islands (EU-103) departing Monday 13th May, returning home by Friday the 18th of May.
We’ll be operating as EJ6KP/p and will be based in Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford.
This is the second attempt to visit the island having in April 2018 been beaten by the weather. There had been a storm, and the swell was too great for the small boat to travel the 5 kilometres to the island.
We operated from a beach in Kilmore Quay and could see the islands. It was very frustrating to say the least.
The plan is to operate for four days, travelling to and from the mainland each day. Unfortunately, nighttime operation will be from the mainland as EI6KP.
Operations will be on 40 through to 10 Metres.
We’ll let SRS members know when we’ll be on 40 Metres, which will probably be the first day as we would like to get as many SRS members as possible in the log.
For more information about the island, including its location and a short video please visit http://www.salteeislands.info/
73’s for now
Kieron M5KJM/EI6KP
Posted: 26th April 2024
Updates underway
Tuesday evening’s meeting at Walthew House saw updates being performed to some of the society’s digital equipment in readiness for the forthcoming special event station GB0COL and outdoor events such as the Avro Wings & Wheels Fair and TAS Memorabilia in July. Thanks to Neil M6NAE, Andrew M7USL and Roy G6RSU.
Elsewhere, in the shack Simon M0TYY and Evan M0TJU were engaged in similar updates to the IC7610 with sounds identified as being RTTY coming through the walls.
During the evening, we were also joined online by Tom M0DCG, Farid M0UNG and Nigel M0VNL.
Posted: 24th April 2024
Latest YouTube video: CQ WPX SSB 2024 Sunday evening on 80 Metres with Evan M0TJU
Posted: 20th April 2024
Plans Afoot – 145Alive & GB0COL
A select band of members joined the latest Webex meeting where plans were made for the forthcoming 145Alive event on Saturday 11th May and GB0COL special event station during the month of June both from Walthew House.
If you would like a slot operating in the 145alive event, please email info@g8srs.co.uk or speak to Neil M6NAE during any of our meetings/nets.
Posted: 17th April 2024
Professor Ian Morison G0DMU, now SK
Folks, I got the news of Ian Morrison’s passing from the Macclesfield Astro Society. (See email below.)
I guess that most people knew of him through his astronomical accomplishments, both professional and amateur, particularly his association with Jodrell Bank. He was also a noted radio amateur and as some may recall hosted an SRS tour of the facility some years ago.
73 Evan M0TJU
From: Maccastro Member Update
Sent: 13 April 2024 15:00
Subject: Our dear Professor Ian Morison
Dear All,
I am very sorry to have to inform you that our Patron, Professor Ian Morison, sadly passed away this morning after his battle with cancer.
His family was with him at home and I was also fortunate to be with him to let him know how valued he was to us. You will be pleased to know that he was comfortable and pain free at the end. Judy, Ian’s wife has coped with Ian’s illness remarkably well, but she will of course need some time to come to terms with her loss.
Ian will be dearly missed as one of the pioneers of Astronomy and Astrophotography within our Society and the wider community. His lectures, workshops and evening classes that he delivered were superb. His expert and modest approach to teaching will be remembered by all.
Posted: 14th April 2024
Saturday @ Walthew House
Once again, we had a cracking day at Walthew House with plenty of activities going on in the room such as a CW HF session in the shack with Evan M0TJU and David M0WDD, plus Tracy (pictured) joining in the action. Elsewhere Tom M0DCG and Phil M0HNJ were busy in the “repair shop”, Andrew M7USL with the digital kit and of course, Bill M0WBS and Neil M6NAE serving up their usual culinary delights.
Posted: 13th April 2024
CQ WPX SSB Contest 2024 – Raw Scores
The “RAW” scores for this year’s contest have been published on the CQ WPX website, see below details of the G5O score showing our achieved position of 23rd in the world in the chosen section. We can also advise G5O achieved 14th position in Europe and 1st in England.
Also taking part in the contest and submitting entries in their own right and on behalf of SRS were Stephen ME0RDN, Keith M0JYP, Andrew M0AQM (operating as G1D), and Ron & Tracy M7RJL. Check out their scores at https://www.cqwpx.com/raw.htm?mode=ph.
Well done to all.
Posted: 11th April 2024
SRS Centenary Plus Award
Congratulations to Ron M7RJL and Keith MOJYP two of our members on achieving the Centenary Plus Silver Award (25) points, making contact with members of Stockport Radio Society.
Today they have now been issued with their Certificates, well done guys.
If you wish to take part in this Award please see our website for details or contact me on award@g8srs.co.uk.
Kind regards, Alan G0ROW.
Posted: 11th April 2024
QSLing for beginners
Once again a fair gaggle of members gathered both at Walthew House and online to receive an excellent presentation by Keith M0JYP describing the traditional QSLing process plus the addition of modern procedures using the likes of Clublog.
Excellent presentation Keith, well done.
Posted: 3rd March 2024
The G5O score at the final whistle.
Posted: 1st April 2024
Carsten operating on Saturday afternoon at CBF in CQ WPX SSB
Posted: 31st March 2024
CQ WPX SSB Contest underway
With this year’s contest underway, remember to visit Pete’s contest monitor to see how things are going up at the farm.
Also, if you fancy a go then here’s a guide and what to look for produced by Evan M0TJU to accompany this year’s event.
Posted: 30th March 2024
A message from our contestors
Posted: 29th March 2024
Tales from the farm – 2024 CQ WPX SSB Contest – G5O Preparations
This week has seen preparations for the Easter weekend’s CQ WPX SSB contest gather pace with work commencing ar the Common Barn site on Monday. Unfortunately, Tom our roving reporter was absent at the start, however, a camera was available to witness Dave G0LZL performing a dismount any Olympic gymnast would have been proud of.
Back in harness on Tuesday, Tom reports…….
Tuesday saw Bernard, Kieron, Evan, Pete, Roy, Dave and Tom gather once again to continue with station assembly work.
The weather was quite pleasant considering the time of year, sunny early on and more importantly dry, although there was quite a cold wind.
Efforts were focussed on getting the Buxton mast fitted out with its antennas together with the erection of the adjacent subsidiary mast carrying the 10 Metre quad. The assembly of the 40 Metre phased vertical antenna system was completed before being fine tuned for resonance and optimised SWR. Finally, work continued getting the radios and linears inside the caravan set up.
By the time the team left at 4pm it was felt the work was still about on schedule, leaving us the time to focus on preparation of the Worcester mast on Wednesday and any trouble-shooting on Thursday.
Wednesday saw Bernard, Kieron, Evan, Pete, Dave and Tom assemble once again at the farm to press on with preparatory work on the station for the weekend.
As the caravan was quite cluttered with equipment etc., which was making station set-up more awkward, it was decided to take the club trailer up to the farm to be used as a temporary store for unused items. After the trailer had been positioned, work continued on the antennas.
A further check on the 10 Metre quad on the Buxton mast revealed a problem, necessitating the subsidiary mast being lowered briefly while further adjustments were made to achieve resonance on the desired part of the band. In the meantime, work continued to be focused on preparation of the Worcester mast. This was fitted out to take the TH5 antenna for 20, 15 and 10 Metres and with inverted V dipoles covering 80 and 40 Metres. After staking and guying the antennas were tested for resonance and SWRs, the rotator checked out and the set-up declared satisfactory.
In the caravan work continued setting up the two stations including the logging computers and the WIFI link which was eventually established after some initial difficulty.
After a reasonable start to the day, the weather worsened with very strong winds and intermittent heavy showers especially around noon making outside work difficult. These eased off towards the middle of the afternoon.
Despite the weather we achieved most of our objectives for the day, leaving the final checks for Thursday.
Cheers,
Tom M0DCG
Sixty Years of Radio Tracking with Ross G6GVI
Tuesday 26th March saw members gather at Walthew and online for an eagerly awaited presentation by Ross G6GVI on the subject of radio tracking and we were not to be disappointed.
Ross took us on a journey through the ages and the history of radio tracking through the ages up till the modern day which included the use of APRS with ground based stations and the latest LoRa techniques for monitoring HAB (High Altitude Balloons).
An excellent evening enjoyed by all. Thank you Ross.
Posted: 27th March 2024
Webex Evening – Tuesday 19th March 2024
Members gathered from far and wide for a discussion evening on WebEx with various topics being discussed.
Posted: 19th March 2024
Common Barn Farm Maintenance Day Report – Wednesday 13th March 2024
One week on and Wednesday 13th March saw Bernard, Kieron, Pete, Dave, Evan and Tom gather once again at the farm to continue with maintenance tasks in preparation for the CQ WPX weekend SSB contest at the end of the month.
In contrast to the previous Wednesday when the weather had been clear, calm and sunny, this time we had to endure harsher conditions with rain showers and very cold high winds from the southwest, nevertheless progress continued to be made.
A new rotator for our new lightweight mast carrying the 10 Metre antenna was evaluated and the new exterior plywood floor for the equipment storage boxes on the Worcester mast fitted. This had previously been cut to size, edged with flashing tape and creosoted in preparation for fitting.
Work also continued getting the 40 Metre phased verticals antenna system to perform satisfactorily. The strong winds and driving rain showers which were increasing in frequency as the afternoon progressed, made the adjustment of the field L/C matching unit difficult and we only just succeeded as we were about to call it a day!
After stowing everything away in the caravan and the club trailer we finally departed feeling we had achieved most of our maintenance day objectives in preparation for the station build commencing on Monday 25th March.”
Bernard G3SHF testing the repaired Yaesu Amplifier with Pete M1PTR standing by with fire extinguisher.
Cheers & 73’s, Tom M0DCG
Posted: 14th March 2024
Saturday Session – March 2024
Well, what a day our Saturday session was with a host of activities taking place lead by Neil and Bill’s fabulous hearty breakfast.
We were also very pleased to welcome Richard G4HGI who broke journey on his way to a rendezvous point in Leek to deliver a car load of gear for onward transport to Ukraine as part of the project he is leading to supply surplus radio and other related gear. After sampling one of Neil and Bill’s dishes Richard was pleased to receive a donation of laptops from Kieron M5KJM (left) adding to kit already donated by SRS members. We are pleased to report that although being slightly heavier due to the breakfast Richard made it in time to deliver the goods which are now well on their way to their destination. Please see Richard’s thank you message.
Elsewhere in the room, our repair shop was helping return an FT290 to life and in our shack the IC7610 was being put through it’s paces making contacts both locally and further afield, notably Canada. Also, out in a rather chilly car park contacts of a different nature were being made as with the acquisition of a new antenna our QO100 kit was making significant world wide contacts with Jussi OH5LK leading the way followed by contacts in Germany, Brazil, Iceland and Turkey. A very pleased Nigel M0VNL came back in from the cold outdoors with a huge smile very pleased at the vast improvement the new antenna had made.
Please click here for a log of the QO-100 QSOs plus details of the station.
Posted: 10th March 2024
Common Barn Farm Maintenance Day Report – Wednesday 6th March 2024
With this year’s contest season about to kick off with the CQ WPX SSB event at the end of this month our contestors have sprung into action to ready the gear in time for the first whistle. So, here with his first report of 2024 is our roving reporter Tom M0DCG.
Wednesday 6th March saw Bernard, Pete, Kieron. Evan, Dave and Tom up once again at Common Barn Farm for a maintenance day in preparation for the CQ WPX SSB contest taking place over this year’s Easter weekend of the 30th & 31st March.
The weather was kind; dry and cool with blue skies which made working outside enjoyable. We were relieved to find the winter storms had not done too much damage to our equipment, however we were delayed at first when it was discovered we had lost our power supply to the caravan. This was traced to a faulty circuit-breaker in the garage. We also had the wooden base of the equipment platform on the Worcester mast to replace as the previous plywood sheeting had finally rotted and collapsed. In addition the assembly of a scaffolding pole light-weight mast to carry a 10 Metre antenna was checked out and finally two 12 metre fibreglass masts were erected temporarily, carrying our 40 Metre phased vertical antennas.
The antennas were tuned individually and then connected to the field L/C tuner. However, problems were then encountered getting the SWR of the combined system down sufficiently to give efficient, safe operation with a linear amplifier. It was therefore agreed a further maintenance day on Wednesday 13th March would be required to complete the tasks we had set ourselves and I shall report further afterwards.
With the contest weekend getting closer SRS members are most welcome to join us in the station build period (25th to 28th March) to see our set-up. Also visitors can see the station in action over the weekend of 30th & 31st March.
Details of our site location can be found www.g8srs.co.uk/where-we-operate-from/ and information about the group can be found by visiting https://www.g8srs.co.uk/peak-contest-group/
I and my other members look forward to seeing you.
Best wishes and good DX
Tom M0DCG
Posted: 6th March 2024
Contest ‘Chalk ‘n Cheese’
Members gathered both at Walthew House and online for an interesting and informative presentation by Evan M0TJU on the subject of contesting. Evan provided an insight into how to bit your toes in the world of competitive amateur radio, or radio sport as it’s known in some countries.
Posted: 6th March 2024
TAS Memorabilia Fair February 2024
The last weekend in February once again saw the team descend on the Runway Visitor Park, Manchester Airport for the first of this year’s memorabilia fairs. Over the weekend we were pleased to meet many visitors and introduce some to the joys of amateur radio.
One in particular, Justin from North Wales came over to say hello whilst his son was outside with his camera. Justin is presently studying with Hamtrain for his Foundation Licence and thanks to the change in the regulations earlier in the week we were pleased to let him take the mic and join in our Sunday morning 2 Metre net.
Another successful event with plans already being made for the summer fair over the final weekend in July when hopefully the weather will be kind.
Posted: 27th February 2024
SRS Centenary Plus Award
Tuesday (20th) saw members gather to see the launch of the society’s new activity award aimed at encouraging contacts between members. The 2024 award season begins on the 1st March 2024 and all the details can be found on the dedicated webpage.
The award will be managed by Alan G0ROW to whom we express our thanks for putting the guide together as well as the certificates.
Posted: 21st February 2024
Saturday Table top Sale
A rather cool Saturday morning saw members turn out in their droves to attend our monthly Saturday event which this month included a table top sale. As is now the norm, the breakfast as provided by Neil M6NAE & Bill M0WBS is proving a popular addition to our sessions leaving members partaking suitably fed & watered.
This month we were pleased to welcome Richard G4HGI from our local neighbours, the Bolton Wireless Club who was calling to collect some donations for the “Ukraine Relief Amateur Radio Project” which featured in our Tuesday evening meeting.
A very satisfying event which also featured our usual “Repair Shop” with Tom M0DCG & Phil M0HNJ, shack operating with Evan M0TJU and Keith M0JYP plus a demonstration of Mesh Networking by Stephen M0RDN.
Posted: 11th February 2024
Ukraine Relief Amateur Radio Project
Following contact from the Zaporizhzhian Radio Club, Richard G4HGI of the Bolton Wireless Club and NARSA, set up a relief operation to facilitate donations of radios and related equipment to war-torn Ukraine. In true ham radio spirit, amateurs have generously responded.
Tuesday 6th February we were very pleased to welcome Richard via WebEx who delivered an amazing presentation outlining the project and it’s progress in providing radio gear and accessories to the radio club in Ukraine.
Any member who has surplus gear which they believe the project may benefit from, please contact us by email so we may pass on the details to Richard and arrange collection if appropriate.
Ukrainian Amateur Radio Relief Project
Posted: 7th February 2024
RSGB AFS (Affiliated Societies) Contests 2024
Following on from the CW leg of this year’s AFS contests the Data and SSB results have now been announced with certificates being awarded (see below). Thanks to Pete M1PTR and Tom M0DCG for entering on the club’s behalf and in the case of the SSB event were the leading 2 man station.
Well done to both and to see further details of our AFS entries please visit our contest results page.
Posted: 4th February 2024
RSGB Photo Friday
SRS featured in the RSGB Photo Friday posts both on Facebook and X (Twitter).
The photos taken at our last Saturday meeting feature Neil M6NAE & Bill M0WBS preparing to serve up the delicious SRs Breakfast, plus Stephen M0RDN with his Xeigu X6100 preparing for a future trip away.
Posted: 2nd February 2024
Meshtastic – Mesh Networking a beginners guide
Tuesday 30th January saw members gather on a cold evening for an impromptu and hastily arranged meeting, the subject Mesh Networking into which Stephen M0RDN has been researching.
Those present were treated to an informative presentation including some helpful videos which has spurred a 2024 club project.
Stephen has helpfully prepared a beginners guide including links to the YouTube videos shown. The guide can be found by following this link.
Posted: 2nd February 2024
Neil M6NAE Chairs 145Alive
The latest 145Alive event took place today, Saturday 27th January between the hours of 1 and 3pm. This popular initiative lead by Tim G5TM is aimed at increasing activity on the 2 metre band which at times can be devoid of activity.
Recognising the opportunity to publicise SRS and spur some activity, Neil M6NAE applied for a slot and was accepted on 145.525MHz. Kicking off at 1pm, a steady stream of callsigns, members and non, entered the log. Neil live streamed the event through the SRS YouTube channel which was viewed by many both near and far.
Well done Neil, a cracking event and some good publicity.
Posted: 27th January 2024
RSGB AFS (Affiliated Societies) Contests 2024
The 2024 series of RSGB HF AFS (Affiliated Societies) contests ended on the 20th January with the final SSB leg. The previous weekends had seen the CW leg on the 6th followed by the Data event on the 14th.
We are pleased to say SRS have entrants in each event and as has already been reported Evan M0TJU, Tom M0DCG and Bernard G3SHF took part in the CW contest at the beginning of the year. We can now report Pete M1PTR represented the society in both the Data and SSB events with Tom M0DCG adding to his CW participation by joining the fun on SSB.
The results of the CW event have been published with SRS achieving 26th place out of 56 entrants in the local clubs category. We will bring you more news as soon as we have it, in the meantime thank you to Pete, Tom, Evan, and Bernard for entering these events on our behalf.
Posted: 22nd January 2024
Saturday @ Walthew House
Our first Saturday meeting of 2024 (13th) saw a fair posse of members gather at Walthew House to partake in the various activities on offer many suitably fuelled by a hearty breakfast provided by our chefs Neil M6NAE and Bill M0WBS (pictured).
Phil M0HNJ and Tom M0DCG got stuck into repairing an old Trio transceiver whilst Tony M0SAV with help from others set too completing the setup of our new audio visual unit. Elsewhere, noises were emanating from our new shack where under the control of Evan M0TJU followed by Keith M0JYP our IC 7610 was being employed on the HF bands making contacts around Europe using both CW & SSB. Still with his CW hat on, Evan then turned to offering Bob G4GDG some CW training. Stephen M0RDN (pictured) had brought along his new Xeigu X6100 to try out prior to his trip to South Africa.
A busy day with everyone looking forward to our next Saturday event next month.
For more information about our Saturday meetings, please click here.
Updated 17th January 2024
RSGB AFS CW Contest 2024
This year’s AFS contests got underway on Saturday 6th January with the CW leg taking place between 1pm & 5pm local time with a number of entrants from SRS. Competing on behalf of SRS were Bernard G3SHF, Tom M0DCG and Evan M0DCG. Please follow this link for details of logs uploaded.
The digital leg takes place on Sunday 14th January, whilst the SSB legs rounds off the season on the 20th January.
Evan M0TJU has produced a guide as to what to expect which can be viewed here.
Updated: 8th January 2024
An evening with the Yaesu FT-710
Tuesday evening, 2nd January saw Neil M6NAE deliver an interesting illustrated presentation describing the new Yaesu transceiver followed by a lively discussion. Thank you Neil and all who attended at Walthew House and online via Webex.
Posted: 3rd January 2024
SRS HF Ladder 2023 Standings & Results
Well, SRS members have been busy on the HF bands last year with a total of 5799 a slots in all modes, CW, SSB and Data. There were 18 SRS members entering the HF ladder along with GB0DBA and EI6KP SES.
On CW, a total of 632 slots were made with Evan, M0TJU, being the winner with 208 slots out of 7 SRS members.
On SSB, a total of 1266 slots were made with Keith, M0JYP being the winner with 402 slots out of 14 participants.
Data, a total of 3901 slots were made, with some very impressive slot numbers. There were 13 participants with Peter, G8BCG being the winner of the data section and overall winner of the 2023 SRS HF Ladder.
Congratulations to all participants, and it would be great if a few more members participated in the ladder, especially as HF conditions are very good at present.
Any member who wants to join this year’s ladder, drop me an email: hfladder (at) g8srs.co.uk
See SRS HF Ladder 2023 Standings & Results for details.
73 and DX
Kieron, M5KJM/EI6KP
Review of 2023 – QUAlite edition 47
The latest edition of our newsletter which features a review of 2023 is available to download by clicking on the picture opposite.
Posted: 1st January 2024