Posts Tagged ‘RSGB’
Hamfest HAB Launch likely to be postponed to Saturday
September 24th, 2015 | 
Author: The forecast for tomorrow is strong gusty winds at ground level which isn't ideal for launching, but that is the least of the issues.
The current flight predictions for tomorrow are not good. The prediction model used is accurate and for the size of balloon I have and the amount of helium at my disposal even a maximum fill giving the maximum ascent rate and assuming the calculated decent rate for the parachute it is still putting the likely landing right on the coast. Earlier in the week the landing wasn't quite as marginal but as the model's data set have been updated it has drifted further eastward, it is odds on it will actually land out to sea.
However the real show stopper was when I received the CAA approval for the launch this morning. They have put a restriction not permitting a launch if the balloon and payload is likely to go on a North Easterly or Easterly path that could interfere with operations on local military airfields.
This is the predicted flight path, generated by the CUSG Landing predictor at predict.habhub.org and the flight path currently goes directly over RAF Cranwell but not at a high enough altitude.
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| Flight prediction for Friday |
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| Flight prediction for Saturday |
There would be no issues with the airfields for that flight path and has the advantage of going almost straight up and landing close by.
Apologies to those wanting to track on Friday, but the situation is out of my control and I would be foolhardy to ignore the prediction and it is very unlikely it will change significantly to allow a flight tomorrow so I hope you can all track on Saturday. I will still be at the Hamfest tomorrow with the equipment if you want to know more about what it is all about.
Acorn II SDR Kit
This year however we are using a new kit. The Acorn II kit developed by Kanga Products and M0XPD, is a Software Defined Radio kit that runs on the SSB portion of 40m. But the kit can also be configured to run on any HF band – assuming you have a Band pass filter & a suitable Local Oscillator. The kit has been developed to allow you to pipe in an external Local Oscillator and allow you to connect Band pass filters for other HF bands.
The kit was developed to run with the M0XPD Si5351A Arduino shield, which allows you to use the Arduino as a VFO. And can plug straight into the radio as a local oscillator
Using just a stereo line in on a sound card, and some widely available SDR software (Such as HDSDR), you can get great results from little financial outlay. It is indeed a great introduction into SDR.
I built one of the prototypes here is a video of the build. I will cover configuration & set up in a forthcoming video – perhaps when I have access to a good 40m antenna
Acorn II SDR Kit
This year however we are using a new kit. The Acorn II kit developed by Kanga Products and M0XPD, is a Software Defined Radio kit that runs on the SSB portion of 40m. But the kit can also be configured to run on any HF band – assuming you have a Band pass filter & a suitable Local Oscillator. The kit has been developed to allow you to pipe in an external Local Oscillator and allow you to connect Band pass filters for other HF bands.
The kit was developed to run with the M0XPD Si5351A Arduino shield, which allows you to use the Arduino as a VFO. And can plug straight into the radio as a local oscillator
Using just a stereo line in on a sound card, and some widely available SDR software (Such as HDSDR), you can get great results from little financial outlay. It is indeed a great introduction into SDR.
I built one of the prototypes here is a video of the build. I will cover configuration & set up in a forthcoming video – perhaps when I have access to a good 40m antenna
Four Metre Band and OFCOM rubbish decisions?
There was an announcement on the RSGB and OFCOM sites advising some UK full licence holders that 70.5 to 71.5MHz is being made available for one year by special permission for further digital experiments, a bit like 146-147MHz here in the UK.
Sorry, but has OFCOM gone stark raving mad???
I can see no good justification for this 1MHz of spectrum. 2m was already under-used and the 146-147MHz allocation is probably being used by a tiny handful of people from time to time only. DATV tests could quite as easily happen at 70cms.
I can think of far better parts of the spectrum OFCOM could have allocated e.g 100kHz around 40MHz (for Es propagation experiments), 73kHz, below 8.3kHz and a contiguous 5MHz allocation. Oh no, these require a brain to be engaged by OFCOM people.
Maybe this is an April fool’s wind-up, although I suspect it is true.
Surely if OFCOM wants to further real experimentation in radio science there are better ways of going about it? Yet again, I am totally unimpressed. Between OFCOM and the RSGB, I think this is, yet again, a stupid stupid decision. So we now have 2MHz of extra spectrum for 12 months that a very few might use. Big deal. OFCOM, engage brains, think radio science. If you want to help grow future engineers that we so badly need, these allocations will not help at all. Think again!
See http://www.rsgb.org/ .
See http://www.70mhz.org/ .
VHF AM and the RSGB
Recently, I wrote to the “Last Words” column in Radcom. I very much doubt my letter will be published. The main thrust of the letter is the (very negative) attitude of the RSGB to the AM mode.
My letter (as sent) is reproduced here. I’d be interested to hear your views.
At the present time G6ALB is experimenting with very low cost 70cms AM modules as the heart of a possible short range (3km) voice transceiver. We have had some success already.
“Thank you for publishing the latest Band Plans in the February 2015 RadCom. Although because of my poor voice (stroke) I tend to use digital techniques, I still enjoy the occasional outing using AM. Like many, I have worked transatlantic AMers on 29-29.1MHz with real QRP and simple antennas.
Yet again, one could be forgiven for thinking AM, especially 28MHz and up, is a dirty word at the RSGB. AM gets no mention on 28MHz and 50MHz and gets a (begrudging?) comment as a footnote only in the 144MHz Band Plan when other modes get “centres of activity” mentions. For the avoidance of any doubt, AM is alive and well in the 29-29.1MHz sub-band. AM on the 144MHz (2m) band can be found on and around 144.550MHz. There has been AM on 29-29.1MHz for years and years and years! Yes, this is the all-mode section, but why not say this is the 28MHz (10m) AM sub-band? Also, why are 144MHz AM users asked to “consider adjacent channel activity”? AM should easily fit in 6kHz!!
Sorry, yet again, AM is being treated as a dirty and outdated mode. May I remind readers that ex-PMR AM rigs ripe for use on VHF can be picked up for virtually nothing and that there is room for AM on all bands from 28MHz upwards. AM has its enthusiasts on other bands too, but yet again the RSGB seems hell bent on killing off this mode. Why?
73s
Roger Lapthorn G3XBM”
RSGB
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 .
Over The Moon – M0NRD
I now have a full licence and a new call sign M0NRD.
I sat the advanced level examination held during the RSGB Convention on the 12th October. The results were due at least six working days later so wasn't expecting to know how I had done till this week so I surprised when the certificate arrived on Saturday morning and was over the moon to discover I'd passed with a distinction.
I only decided to apply to sit the exam last month. Regular readers may have missed the announcement as it was an after thought at the end of another post.
I became a licensed ‘foundation level’ radio amateur last September (M6GTG) and an ‘intermediate’ (2E0NRD) in May this year. It was a bit of a bold decision to attempt the final stage as I hadn't been actively studying for it. There have been many people who have progressed in a shorter time but going through the levels in just thirteen months is a big undertaking especially when time and concentration is taken up with work, career and domestic commitments.
After a cursory glance at the syllabus and a quick leafing through the RSGB Advance! book I had decided while there were quite a few areas that I didn't know in depth the electronics theory and mathematics were okay due to my higher education background (though it has been 26 years since I left University) so I just needed to fill in the blanks.
After posting off the application the plan had been to spend the month going through the book, learning, refreshing and revising the subjects as necessary. Of course I got sidetracked and distracted so it got left it to the last minute, well in fact to the week before the exam.
As soon as I started studying properly I soon realised I'd seriously underestimated the amount of details and facts that I need to understand and recall. I knuckled down and despite doing full days at work I studied in the evenings, making notes, working the questions on the Hamtests website and in the QADV program and gained confidence of getting at least the 60% pass rate. I tested myself on the QADV practice papers and mock papers on the RSGB website and seemed ready.
I had intended to be at the RSGB Convention proper however I agreed instead to spend that weekend at the Mother-in-laws in Cambridge and drove over to Milton Keynes in thick fog on the Sunday morning.
The actual exam seemed reasonable there were a few head scratchers and several questions on topics I suddenly found myself unsure of. I took my time deliberating and checked every single 'licence condition' question against the supplied licence document even if I thought I knew the answer. Double and triple checking questions, values, calculations and answers and with 10 minutes of the alloted time remaining I had filled in the marking sheet and made a quick exit in time to get my Sunday roast dinner.
I had left confident and reasonably happy but over the next few days doubt inevitably started setting in. I kept remembering questions.. had I got that one wrong? I resisted the temptation to check the text book and keep thinking well it is only 60% I need...
To achieve a distinction was very satisfying, a lot of people have said they expected me to walk it but self doubt and a lack of self confidence is something I have suffered from for many years. When I was a spotty student I would probably have agreed but now an overweight, slightly befuddled middle aged man with greying hair you do have your doubts.
I would like to thank all those people who have congratulated me and those who have encouraged me along the way and wish everyone studying and taking the exam in the future the best of luck.
