AmateurRadio.com

I have been a member of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) for 52 years now. When I first joined I was an SWL associate member – A3554 – as a young teenager.   In those days you had to be proposed and seconded. Joining is much easier today.  When I started there was just one licence. I took my RAE exam in 1966. It was on Friday 13th May as I recall.  I attended RAE classes at Plymouth Tech every Monday night, catching the bus to Plymouth after school. Long gone days!

Over the years I have not always agreed with the RSGB’s decisions. In fact, quite recently, I did not like the decision worked up with OFCOM to allocate the 146-147MHz band to some UK amateurs by NoV.  I think the RSGB could have got a much better deal for UK amateurs, but that is my personal view.

Despite this, the RSGB is our national society and deserves our support. Over the years they have supported UK amateurs very well and have a much better relationship with OFCOM than the ARRL has with the FCC in the USA where bands we have had access to for years are still not available! The monthly RadCom magazine is a good read with a mix of technical and non-technical articles.

So, if you are not an RSGB member and you live in the UK, may I encourage you to join?

See www.rsgb.org .

Episode 6 is now live at txfactor.co.uk. It features the best from the UK’s biggest rally, National Hamfest 2014. The team meets the exhibitors and visitors and brings a flavour of this amazing annual ham event to those who couldn’t make it this time.

There’s also a chance to win the compact, yet function-packed dual band VX-3 transceiver in our next free-to-enter competition.

We hope you enjoy the show and look forward to your comments and feedback at [email protected]

73 from the TX Factor team

A post I read online today reminded me of something. Last week a friend’s XYL ask me for some good Christmas stocking stuffer ideas for her husband. I drew a blank! I didn’t have a good answer for her.

Mugs? Vehicle decals? T-shirts? That was about the best I could come up with on short notice.

So, what under-$30 ham-related items would you like to see in your Christmas stocking this year? Leave your answers in the comments and we’ll have a list of good ideas!

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far…

Laser Engraved Ham Radio Callsign Plaque

This is a pretty unique idea. They take your ham license details and put it into a template. Then they laser off the metal lacquer leaving shiny metallic writing underneath and mount it on a oak plaque.– $22.99 from HamCrazy.com

Carved Oak Call Sign

Another unique gift idea, this is a beautifully crafted 3-D version of your call sign. Available in several different varieties of wood.— $4 per letter on k7bon.com

Engraved Brass Plate for the Elecraft K3

Granted, we’re all not lucky enough to own an Elecraft K3. But if you do, here’s a beautiful way to let everyone know who assembled it!— $5.50 from Arkay Engravers Associates

Please don’t forget the awesome t-shirt designs offered by our sponsors, HamShirts.com and Hip Ham Shirts! They always make great gifts — who couldn’t use another t-shirt?!

I find it extremely odd that OFCOM has granted access to an additional 1MHz of VHF when the existing 144-146MHz band is grossly under-occupied most of the time. Take a listen 144-146MHz in YOUR area in the UK or elsewhere in Europe. Mostly you will hear white noise!

This is only ad interim, only by NoV to full licence holders, and only in some areas. It is clearly a sop for messing with the microwave allocations. It is very unlikely much new (to radio science) will be gained by this 1MHz allocation. MUCH more would have been learned by a 100kHz allocation around 40 or 60MHz or by allowing UK amateurs free access below 8.3kHz or back onto the withdrawn 73kHz band.

I know it is heresy to say “no, I am not interested” but OFCOM could have done so much better and it has lost credibility in my eyes as a result. I cannot believe allocating this spectrum to radio amateurs serves any useful purpose at all. The RSGB talks about digital TV etc. Sorry, this is rubbish: it is hard enough getting anyone on digital TV on 432MHz and 1296MHz where most ATV activity takes place! I can see perhaps a small handful of people forcing themselves to use this band. On 40MHz, the Es possibilities would have been wonderful.

No, in my humble opinion OFCOM should not have given radio amateurs this band at all. It would really have advanced radio science if they had allocated new, smaller, bands at more interesting places in the spectrum. Let us at least hope OFCOM supports moves internationally to a contiguous new amateur band at 5MHz (60m) at WRC2015 next year. This will be useful in the quieter years to come.

Ever since the spring when Moonraker supplied me with rubbish patch leads that just fell apart because the crimping was so poor, and a dual band VHF/UHF yagi antenna that had to be glued to fix one of the loose elements, Moonraker has not been my favourite supplier. They clearly did zero quality checks on the goods sold. I hope they have improved.

However they have some nice 10m radios at sensible prices including a 20W FM/AM unit for under £100 and a multi-mode 10m rig for under £150.

See http://www.moonraker.eu/ .

UPDATE 2200z:  Moonraker also supply PMR446 and LPD433 dual band transceivers. The latter band is within the 70cm amateur band, which is perfectly legal at 10mW with no amateur licence, here in the UK. On UHF, 10mW goes a long way from a local high spot. See http://www.moonraker.eu/professional-radio-and-446/pmr-446 . There are several to choose from.

http://www.moonraker.eu/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/602f0fa2c1f0d1ba5e241f914e856ff9/S/L/SL-02_big.jpg

I added a bungee cord on each end to prevent damage from the radio accidentally falling off the table.

The cord does not touch the buttons.

View from the back

All in one, QRP seat, table,  umbrella and antenna anchor! The bottle on the table is bug spray! LOL

The table is a cutting board attached to the existing shelf.

The cutting board is bigger than the existing shelf, so I have more room for logging and a sturdy place to attach the antenna!

A bungee cord takes up the slack from the antenna in the wind. In a real world test, I found that one radial is all I need.

I tried an experiment, adding two, then four radials. There was no detectable change in signal level by ear on or the S meter.

One radial did the trick, and 4 radials didn’t improve the signal at all.

Note the guy ropes. This is to hold the chair in place. The golf umbrella is stuffed into  a piece of PVC pipe.

The PVC pipe is tied to the chair with cable ties.

Wind and the antenna pulling on the table would easily turn the chair over.

Satisfaction! I can’t wait for the next ham radio outing with my QRP buddies.

On the internet you can buy a dual-band handheld with antenna, battery, chargers(2), earpiece and belt clip for just £25.29. At this price I find it unbelievable they can make a profit. I think it is even cheaper if you buy a batch of 3.
 .
See http://www.banggood.com/LBaofeng-UV-5RA-Yellow-Dual-Band-Transceiver-Radio-Wakie-Talkie-p-947385.html  .

Shipping is just 29p. shipped to the UK by registered air parcel. It is available in a variety of case colours.