Volume 4Issue l0

Coclrenrte frPortSetwrA*4laitevr Rabio Club

NEWSLETTER October 1996

EVENTS COLUMN

Here is the latest list of local events.Please note that there are a fewnew additions this month....

OCTOBERllth C&PS ARC talkby TheRadiocommunications Agenry in theResources Room at Port SetonCommunity Centre. Due to start at 7pmprompt sa be there at 6.45pm please.Admissi*n is once again f 1.00.

18/19th Leicester AR Exhibition. A fewpeople are making the trip south soask around to either offer a lift or get onefrom someone else!

27th Demonsfration station for GullaneModel Show. The show runs from12 nocn to 4pm so we will be setting upfrom abcut 10am onwards.Helpers are as always appreciated.

31st Dunfermline RS AGM

NOVEMBf,R27th Lothians RS Junk Sale, OrwellLodge Hotel, Polwarth Terrace,Edinburgh.

30th Club Christmas Meal. Meet at8pm in the Hop Step & Jump Pub for abeer prior to the rneal which starts at8.30pm. Please do not be late!!

DECEMBER8th SDX Support Group Rally,Maryhill, Glasgorv.

1997JANUARY10th Club nigltt.

OCTOBER EDITORIAL

Unfortunately I start offthis month's editorial with the sad news thatTom GMTOUV passed away on Saturday 21st Septernber. As you are probbly awareTorn had not been very well recently after suffering one or two minorheart attacks, but the week prior to Tom passing away, he hadbeen taken intoHospital, a very ill man, seemingly his Heart had stopped plus his Kidney'shad failed and to crown it all he had taken pneumonia.I am sure you will all go along with me in passing on all our deepestsympathies to Tom's widow, Margaret and the farnily.

With Torn passing away with Heart problerns it really makes what we are doingin the Radio Club by raising money for the British Heart Foundation a moreworthwhile cause. I know Tom was a great believer in our cause and was nevershy to dip his hand into his pocket for it, so when we do a little hasslingfor your penniesjust give scme thoughts for Tom and old Bunny.

The method I have been using to keep you informed so far is by using theSERVER Service in GBTEDN, I know at present tlere are a few errors in thecallsign's, etc but I hope this will be rectified soon. The reason for delayis that Fred GM0ALS who looks after GBTEDN has been on holiday so before heleft he didnt want to make any changss to GB7EDN...for obvious reasons, soplease be patient..thanks.

Last month also seen us take part in the 4th Backpackers Contest for ourusual place, most enjoyable as well with 50 contacts made in the 4 hours allmade in the luxury shack of Ron GMONTL's caravan" thanks Ron ..."This contest saw us use Computer logging for the first time in earnest, yesI know others have used it before but from Colin GMOCLN's and my point ofview it was the first time...and rvhat a difference it rnade..IT IS NOW FIERE TOSTAY I CAN ASSIIRE YOU.Also on the contest front John GMTTKA and Robert GMTAVE also represented theclub by taking part in tlie l44MIIz Trophy Contest from the Mull of Kintyre..must be different sheep across there !l! fu)*'uy glad to say that tlrcy didreasonably well in the contest.

Now to the future..Just a reminder that on October I lth is the talk by theRadio Agency see the events column for ftirther details but I hope you willall take the oportunity to come along and meet the RA and get all yourqrestions answered....The Chinese meal is now booked..see arlicle giving full details.Lastly, I have had no feed back on lvhat you r,vant for next year so come ongive it a thought and let me knorv.That's it then till nerl month so once again en-ioy the newsletter...

Bob GM4UYZ aA GBTEDNContinued page 2

Cockenzie & Port Seton ARCPage 2

HAMMING IT UP

There's IIHF and VHF and F{F and Packet.As the hobby that we all enjoy you really 'canna whackit' !

There's AM and FM, 'phone' and'Chadie whiskey'and pre-amps and linear amps that make your signal frisky !

Thereqs QRM and QSB that cause us much frustration,Then "5 and 9" from DX chimes that fill us with elation !There's short skip and long skip and sunspot cycles drearyand QSL's and rigs with bells designed to keep us cheery !

1/4 waves andl/2 waves, beams and quads fantasticDelta lops, nmagnetic hoops', to beat conditions drastic,

Straight keys and paddle keys, keyers automatic,Vitroplexing,'multiplering', filters fighting static,

SSB and DSP, vo4 mox, semi-breakin,Sig resolving, problem solving, thirst for knowledge shaking...

Power supplies and bleary eyes" ( real keen,that we'll agree on ! )Seeking in the wee small hours DX anticipation !

But then, when all is said and done, the hobbys what you make it '''The friendships made, the hours of fun,

Its worth ? You canna fake it !Here, from my car, to reach afar, VK, ZL, whatever

If fnrth be rold, ( I'll make it bold ! )" No finer hobbv- ever ! "

John GM4INE 2918196

TOM RUTHI RFORD GM7OUV....

As you are all aware Tom passed a!!ay on2lst September after suffering a Heart

Attack so I thought I would say a few u'ords aboutom-

"I personally met Tom back in 1982 when I

was studing for my RAE. Tont uas in the sameand during our break times along with a few

hers we were always having active discussionsthe subjects in what we w€re being taught,

needless to say I was often being used to "answerthe queries", an)'way Tom at that time for otherreasons decided not to take his RAE, a subjecthimandl oftenchattedabout, but his answerwas"I just wasn't ready". After the course our path's

more and more as Tom was very muchinto CB, Legal and Illegal and also very active inthe Dalkeith CB Club and it was normally whenradio repairs, etc were needed 1!!!! Eventually

did take his RAE and joined the merry band.He also became an active member of the radio

and supported with great enthusiasm ourmove to raise money for the British HeartFoundation with Tom nearly alway's first to puthis hand into his Pocket to helP.

Tom as a person I found was most helpful,generous and friendly and wouldo anJthing foryou if he possibly could. To be honest I know for

that I will miss Tom and that cheery smile.I know now that Tom will be "chasing that elusrve

X up in the sky"..good luck, Tcm...."

Bob GM4IIYZ @ GBTEDN

CHINESE MEALThe meal has now been booked forSaturday 30th November at 20:30 atKAREN's CANTONISE Restaurant| 3 I | 4 Dalziel Place, MeadowbankEdinburgh Tel: 013 1-661-2686 or8981The cost is [15 per head so I amlooking for the full amount from all

those who are going by the lSthOctober as that is when I have topay the deposit and finalise thenunrbers so YOURHELP WOULDBtr APPRECIATED.

Thanks in advance...

Bob GM4UYZ @ GBTEDN

NoteE ENTS (Continued)

F'EBRUARY7th Club night.

21st Calibration and Test Night.Another chance to check out your radioswith John GMTOLQ your host once again.A 7pm stat as usual in Port SetonCommunity Centre.

MARCTI7th Club night.

21st CardiopulmonaryResuscitation(CPR) night with Heather Gregory of theBritish Heart Foundation and arepresentative fiom Heartstart. Learn

the ABC of resuscitation, it could helpsave someones life! Starting at7pm prompt but time is short so be thereon time please!

APRILlth Club Night

18th Quiz Night in Port SetonCommunity Centre t'rr{c DATE TO BEcoNFIRIvtED *'|<t<

See you nert month.73 de Colin (GM0CLN)

Please let Colin Knorv of any futureevents ]'ou may hear of rvhich would beof interest and for inclusion in thiscolumn

The events column and any other clubnews can be accessed on packet byconnecfing to GM4IKU

Note (Not GM4IKU-2)And tlping /news

1,ou will be sent the complete contents ofthe news file held on my computer. If youwould like an1'thing added to the file forinterest of club members please forward amessage to me.It should be noted that this will not beavailable 24 hrs but most of the daJtimehours. Let me know if you would find thisuseful

73 Ron GM;IIKU

Cockenzie & Port Seton ARCPage 3

IARU/RSGB 144MIIz TroPhY' 7/8SePtember 1996.

Friday 6 September, club night, and as at the July club night it

was best behaviour due to the following days activities' I took

part in the above contest from The Mull of Kintyre last year and

having enjoyed my first solo venture into contesting was keen

to return to the same location this year-

After a little persuasion I managed to secure Robert (GMTAVE)

for the weekend. Bearing in mindRobert's late appearance at

the Bac@ackers (May) and VHF NFD (July) contests, this must

be quite an achievement.......Only kidding Robert !!

Neither Robert or myself were keen to take our cars (they aregetting on a bit in years now) so we decided on a hire car for the

weekend.

With all the radio equipment in place on Saturday, it all seemed

to be going well, too well I thought. Unfortunately I was soon

proved correct when on arrival at the car depot at Haynarket,

Robert discovered he'd left his driving licence at home' Fastjourneys from H4rynarket > Tranent > Haymarket > Tranent >

tufuU of fioty." folowed although arrival on site in time for the

tpm start was bry now imPossible.

5pq and after a l0 minute assessment of the terrain we decided

on the exact same spot as I had used last year. A small grass

verge, just off a passing place approximately lKm East of The

VtJt of Kintlre Lighthouse. From the o/s map, we were about

350m ASL, with an excellent sea path to the south' Our site had

the bonus of a small stream with an accompanying water tank

about 20ft away......VERY HANDY.

Having put up a l4ele MET on 2 interlocking steel poles myself

last year, the 27ft" telescopic mast @ought at KELSO, Margaret

& Gavin please note !!) proved it's worth. At a push, you could

put this up on your own. Add to this an 8ele JayBeam and a

Ford Escort adjacent to the mast and we were ready to go "on

air".

As in 1995, the lst station worked was GM4CCC/P' At abbut

30 miles away on the Island of Arran, and running 400watts, he

was rather easy to find on the band' 20 minutes later, and we

had already worked GM, G, PA' and TM (French Contest

Group Prefix).Conditions were very good at this point with a couple of the

French stations 59++. The addition of Robert's 100watt MM

amplifier was proving it's wortlr"and it was particularly pleasing

to receive numerous good signal reports from fixed operator

stations in G and GW. Best DX for the day was DKOBN/P in

JN93. who was as chuffed as ourselves at making the contact'

Having said that, it was a bit demoratsing to hear an EA station

on GM4CCC/P's freq...Ah well

there's always next time. The good conditions continued late

into the night andloy closedown at 0023h$, we were up to 56

contacts.

Conditions were not so good on Sunday with aU the French

Contests Groups much lower in signat strength' By closedown

at lpm ow total had risen to 91, split as follows'

G - 52, GW - 10, F - 9, GI - 9, GM '3,D'2,ON.2, PA. I , GB. I , GU- I , GD - I .

Despite a 3 hour overlap, we failed to make contact with Colin(GM0CLID who was taking part in the 4th Backpackerscontest........Ships That Pass In The Night, perhaps!!

The journey home was much slower pace{ with numerous

stopi for Robert to play the role of scenic photographer' The

weather was superb all weekend and when we stopped at

Tarbert (Loch Fyne) for papers and a bite to eat, the

temptation was there, certainly on my part, not to return home'

A short boat trip in one of the most picturesque villages I

have ever visited would have been the icing on the cake for a

great weekend"

Summarising this was a gleat trip, a fun contest to take part

in. and a beautifirl site location. ff anyone else is tempted for

next year, by all means consider it..'--.I WLL l!

Thanls to Cambell for the Speech hocessor (which helped

with our 2 DL contacts) and Base Microphone.Thanks to Colin (as usual), this time for the guy wire pegs'

73 de Johr" GMTTKA.

Page 4Cockenzie & Port Seton ARC

Hope you all enjoYed SARCONanswers horizontallY in the grid'

correctly. Good luck... f

THTS MONTHS CLUES ARE AS FOLLOWS .-l .BDANDIES,z. tRtrcAlLgtc ' ,3.scoRNcTROUT,4.POLYTI{ENE'5. REPEAT O, 6. OR TAROT, 7. VILEST E CITY.

SEPTEMBER'S ANSWERS1. PIPTONE, 2. AMPLITUDE, 3. SPECTRUM, 4, STATION, s.IOMSED' 6' VOLTAGE' 7' EDDYSTONE'

If you got those correct the word in the vertical box should have been 'PASSfVE"' See you next month'

73 Colin (GM0CLN)

AMATEUR ANAGRAMS'96. Here are this months anagrams for you to have a bash at. As gver, you should enteJ the

This month the vertical box should contain a computing related word when the grid is completed

1.

2-

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

VHT CONTEST RtrST}LTS

I have just rranagedto find out how we

did in a couple of contests this year'

Firstly, we entered the RSGB 50MHz

Trophy Contest at the beginning of June

using Robert's callsign, GMTAVE/P'Conditions in Scotland were very poor

and being far from main centres of

population we didn't manage many

"ontu.t.. Overall we were 13th from 13

lwho entered the Multi-Operator section'

When added together these scores put us7th overall in the Restricted Section fromthe 20 entries which were received

I think you will agee that this is a

fantastic result, particularly on 701'frIz'We have certainly faired better than I

imagined and not so badly as I thouglrt wewould on 432 and 1296MH2. Once

again, well done to all those involved'

73 de Colin (GM0CLN)

SARCON MORSE TESrs Il-

After much arm bending and a Iguided tour of Glasgow to get pa:Pgr-t If,hoto., courtesy of Stevie GM0WRY' Itwo club members sat their morse tests at

ISARCON'96. I

Robert GMTAVE and Wallace IMMIAN4U were the nervous candidates' IAfler the tests Robert was quite con'fident Ibut Wallace thought he may have failed

Ion his receiving. I

Well, we are glad to report that on IThrnsday 26th September both received IPASS siips in the post. On behalf of I

everyone at the club well done and many

congratulations on passing. we look

forward to hearing You both on IIF!

@lor?ttf inealpfreq.tu q77t4K0l

Q 22 0crd6s, Flmtn

lHow*"t, it still gives us some points (only

ll ttroughl towards the VHF Contests

I Championship for 1996.

I SeionAy, the long awaited results for

lVHf National FieldDay. Ifyou remember

lconditions were not very good in general'

loarticularly on 432 and 12961'/ft1z,

latttoueh we thought we had done well on

lzotnttL. Well, the llnal positions are as

lfollows :-

lBand (MI{21 Position No. Of Entrieslzo | 29

l tc+ 6 28l+sz e 25lnge 12 20It - , -" , -

" ,__: : : : : :

DO YOU NEED QSL CARDSPRINTED?

Stevie GMOWRY is trYing to get afew people together who are interested inhaving some personal QSL cards printed.He has been in touch with FDS Graphics(see advert P22 Oct'96 R.adCom) and hasarranged discount ifwe approach them asa club with several orders.

Stevie will probablY have somesamples and details of prices at the clubthis month so have a word with him if you

are interested.