Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Issue 142 A publication of the Vintage and Military Amateur Radio Society January 2015
www.vmars.org.uk M0VMW Affiliated to the Radio Society of Great Britain
1 January 2015
Operating position at the very fine station belonging to Les Thacker 2E0IBN.
Photo G0TBI. See page 4
VMARS Membership Renewals 2015
VMARS Membership renewal forms for 2015 were circulated with the November Issue of Signal. The
deadline for renewing your Membership has now passed. This
will be your last VMARS publication if you do not renew before 21st February
VMARS Committee Chairman:
Ian Underwood M0YMK Roundwyck Farm Pipers Lane Balls Cross, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 9JZ +44(0)1403 820185 [email protected]
Hon. Secretary:
John Keeley GW6RAV 93 Park Crescent Abergavenny Gwent NP7 5TL +44(0)1873 850164 [email protected]
Hon. Treasurer & Publications Manager:
Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF 22 Farmers Way Copmanthorpe, York North Yorkshire Y023 3XX +44(0)1904 708704 [email protected] [email protected]
Membership Secretary:
Peter Shepherd G7DXV 25 Tomkins Close Stanford-Le-Hope Essex SS17 8QU +44(0)1375 640618 [email protected]
Ordinary Member:
Peter Jones G8CDC Tudor House Stoneleigh Road Blackdown, Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV32 6QR +44(0)1926 883345 [email protected]
Ordinary Member:
Ron Swinburne M0WSN 32 Hollywell Road Sheldon, Birmingham West Midlands B26 3BX +44(0)1217 421808 [email protected]
Co-opted Member and Public Relations Officer:
Stuart McKinnon G0TBI 145 Enville Road Kinver, Near Stourbridge West Midlands DY7 6BN +44(0)1384 872157 [email protected]
Co-opted Member:
Tony Barron G3YYH Wren Cottage, Foxcote, Andoversford Gloucestershire GL54 4LP +44(0)7785 376518 [email protected]
Issue 142 The VMARS News Sheet
January 2015 2
From our Chairman
Rebecca, Eureka – homing in
A group of us with an interest in technical subjects were having a discussion about wartime electronics equipment the other day when one of our number made the reference “…….and all that gubbins” when talking about some of the more obscure items of equipment that had been developed. It is not a phrase that I have heard for many years and it took me back to the training I received in the RAF on the Rebecca homing system. A few decades ago it was common for people to refer to items that were too complicated to explain in detail as “…all that gubbins”, as a shorthand way of summarising it. Our corporal instructor at RAF Cosford injected considerable interest into the subject of Rebecca by first giving the origins of the phrase which, he explained, centred upon Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins, who spent several years during WWII, first as Deputy and then as Director of the SOE, the Special Operations Executive. The instructor had now assured our full attention and he continued with his explanation. SOE, known privately as the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, funded, equipped and trained resistance workers in countries occupied by Axis forces and Gubbins worked tirelessly to ensure that their unusual equipment requirements were fulfilled. Items such as silent de Lisle .45 carbine rifles and the Welrod .32 and 9 mm pistols, miniature cameras, rubber stamps for the production of false documents, developments of the SIS B1 Mk7 which SOE adopted as the ‘paraset’ and B2 suitcase wireless sets were just a few of the items authorised by Gubbins for delivery to resistance workers. For SOE, one of the greatest difficulties in need of an urgent resolution was the safe and reliable delivery by air of equipment and personnel to resistance organisations operating in enemy-occupied territory. Aircraft dispatched to deliver supplies and drop off or pick up agents were frequently returning without completing their task due to poor visibility, navigational errors or enemy activity. By necessity, the delivery operations were undertaken under the cover of darkness and locating the dropping zones or small temporary airstrips accurately at night was frequently an epic feat of navigation. Pilots would endanger their aircraft, their crews and those on the ground by spending time in enemy airspace searching for the designated zones and could often attract the attention of ground and air defences in the area. In the early stages of these operations, ground operatives would light bonfires and make signals with lamps to mark their positions, but the longer these location aids were active the greater the risk of detection by the enemy. A much improved method of locating these remote areas was required. In 1941, Gubbins heard of a prototype aircraft homing beacon system being developed by 25 year old physicist Robert Hanbury-Brown at TRE, under the code names of Rebecca and Eureka. Hanbury-Brown had been identified as a rising star by Sir Henry Tizard who, in 1936, had recruited him to work on the Chain Home RDF system and later appointed him to his Tizzard Mission in Washington from 1942 to 1945.
After producing a working prototype of Hanbury-Brown’s design, TRE passed the project to Murphy Radio for further refinement and contracted early production of the sets to the highly regarded Hacker brothers who, before the war, had achieved a considerable reputation for the quality of their domestic radio products using the trading name of Dynatron. The airborne Rebecca set transmitted a series of encoded 300 W short pulses using a quarter-wave vertical aerial which was usually installed immediately under the nose of the aircraft. The companion Eureka receiver was positioned on the ground at the drop or landing site from where a 12 W
output transponder was triggered by the Rebecca signal to send a return signal to the aircraft on a separate frequency.
An RAF Dakota with the starboard Rebecca aerial clearly seen just below the cockpit window
The Rebecca set in the aircraft measured the time lag between its own transmitted pulse and that received from the Eureka ground transponder to provide distance to target information on a CRT display with a vertical line calibrated in miles and varied in range by operator switch selection as the aircraft closed on the target location. A directional two element Yagi receive aerial was fitted to each side of the aircraft nose and the signals from each were displayed as lobes to the left and right hand side of the vertical display on the CRT, intersecting the vertical line display at the indicated calibration distance of the Eureka beacon from the aircraft. If the two side lobes were equal the aircraft was on a direct heading to the target, while an unequal left/right lobe display informed the pilot to change his heading by turning the aircraft in the direction of the larger lobe until lobe equilibrium was achieved.
Rebecca display on board the aircraft, which is indicated at the base of the vertical line. Near the top is the received signal lobe from the Eureka transponder, which indicates range to target (range scale not visible) and direction. In this
instance the pilot needs to turn slightly to port in order to correct his heading
The VMARS News Sheet Issue 142
3 January 2015
Early airborne tests of Rebecca had found that the received signal from Eureka could be partially modulated by the aircraft propellers causing range errors and this was overcome by mounting the two aerials on the aircraft nose rather than on the outer underwings where, theoretically, they would have provided better heading discrimination. Operationally, the Rebecca/Eureka homing system worked at up to 100 miles distance and could achieve an accuracy of 200 yards on its approach. From the pilot’s point of view, this was an excellent system which enabled him to locate his drop zone or landing strip accurately, even in periods of poor visibility, complete his task as quickly as possible and return home. While it had many advantages for the reception party on the ground, they disliked the bulk and weight of the Eureka equipment which consisted of the transponder, fitted with an explosive charge, an aerial array and batteries for about 30 hours of operation, all weighing in at 112 pounds and presenting great difficulties for concealment and transportation.
Early Rebecca/Eureka systems operated on single duplex channels but were improved rapidly as more applications for the homing system were found. The MkII version had five channels spaced at 5 Mc/s intervals between 214 Mc/s and 234 Mc/s and listed as channels A to E. Radio company AC Cossor, the valve, CRT and radio manufacturer and builder of the Chain Home RDF receivers, was appointed to develop lighter equipment for easier transportation on the ground and for use in fighter aircraft and gliders. Cossor used their experience with thermionic valves to utilise the new and much smaller B7G based valves then entering service and applications for the system extended to paratroop drop zones, forward airfield location, aircraft carrier location, assault glider landing zone identification and even target location. Among troops arriving on the Normandy landing beaches in June 1944 were Royal Air Force ground crews equipped with mobile Eureka beacons mounted onto small three-quarter ton lorries containing batteries, generators and other support equipment. Their dangerous task was to establish a Eureka beacon at map co-ordinates designated to them by senior commanders, usually very close to front line activity, where they would act as beacons for photo-reconnaissance Mosquito aircraft operating with Rebecca sets modified to receive signals from two separate Eureka stations simultaneously. Because it utilised two ground beacons, this Rebecca/Eureka system was classed as ‘R-Squared’ equipment with a designation of Rebecca-H and Eureka-H. Identifying enemy dispositions accurately was crucial to securing worthwhile PR intelligence and, where possible, this was achieved by comparing the two Eureka signals with GEE position indicators, although often the GEE signals, which emanated from UK based stations, were easily jammed by the enemy.
Later versions of Rebecca/Eureka were developed as BABS, the Beam Approach Beacon Signal for airfield approach, and were ultimately adapted as the Mark X version used for in-flight refueling. The tanker aircraft was equipped with a Eureka transponder operating at around 1 GHz and the Rebecca-equipped customer aircraft could covertly home onto it without the necessity of using radar which could alert hostile defences. Rebecca/Eureka certainly made a major contribution to navigation, air safety and combined operations in WWII and went on to serve, in its various guises, for many years after the war.
Information sources: VMARS Archive – http://www.vmarsmanuals.co.uk/archive/ 271_AP2914B_Rebecca_Eureka_ARI5506.pdf The above link is for those with an interest in further reading on this equipment. The VMARS Archive has a 70 page Air
Publication describing the full technical operation of Rebecca/Eureka MkII, its operating procedures and all that gubbins, including a reminder to set the explosive charge switches should you have to evacuate the aircraft in an emergency
VMARS Website – A 30-minute film classified “Most Secret” was produced by TRE and issued by the Air Ministry to help train aircrews and ground crews in the use of Rebecca/Eureka and can be viewed on the VMARS website at :http://www.vmars.org.uk/Film_Recordings under the heading of WWII Electronic & Countermeasures Warfare. The film is owned by the Imperial War Museum and may be used under a non-commercial licence
World Wide Web – A detailed account of the operational life of Eureka-H ground crews can be found online at http://www.rquirk.com/cdnradar/cor/chapter14.pdf. Eureka-H Radar Beacons – FR Hunt from documents released by WD and endorsed by Air Marshall A Coningham, AOC 2nd Tactical Air Force 5th June 1945
Ian Underwood M0YMK
From the Membership Secretary
This is the final ‘call’ to those who have not yet renewed their membership for 2015. The database is currently being updated for 2015 and will be used for the mailing of VMARS publications from the end of February, i.e. the February issue of the News Sheet and the next issue of Signal. If you would like to continue receiving these publications please renew your membership without delay.
VMARS membership renewal forms to use for paying your subscription for 2015 were included with last month’s News Sheet. As reported earlier this year, it was agreed that subscriptions would be increased and the amounts to be paid, including the extra postage cost for the News Sheet where hard copy is ordered, have been amended on the renewal form.
Can I remind all those who pay by standing order to amend their payment with their bank. This will save hours of my time trying to contact you for the additional amounts. Some members have not changed their payment for many years.
Those who pay by standing order or bank transfer are asked to please return the renewal form to me in order that I can see that your subscription has been paid by this method. Much time is spent between the treasurer and myself trying to work out who has paid what and please ensure that your payments are referenced with your name or callsign. Without such notification, electronic payments direct to the bank are not seen immediately by us and this delays the database and membership renewal.
In order to reduce the number of queries we receive concerning non-delivery of the News Sheet electronically, can you please ensure that you update, on the renewal form, the e-mail address to which you would like the News Sheet delivered. Please write clearly as deciphering the e-mail address is usually the greatest source of error.
Those members who enquire about payment via Paypal are advised that, unfortunately, we are unable to accept this method of payment and we are sorry for the inconvenience. Payment using cash will be accepted and a receipt sent by return. However, such payments are sent at the member’s risk.
Pete Shepherd G7DXV
Issue 142 The VMARS News Sheet
January 2015 4
VMARS Reflectors (Groups) on the Web
The Society hosts two official Yahoo Groups (VMARS-Member and VMARS-Collector) exclusively for VMARS Members. These are closed groups and the discussions cannot be viewed by non-subscribers. Members can join both groups by invitation only. Invitations to join VMARS-Member are issued automatically to new Members or by application to Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF. Invitations to VMARS-Collector are issued by application to Ian Underwood M0YMK. Both Groups are moderated by the Committee and their purpose is as follows:
The VMARS-Member Group is a forum where Members can share technical and other specialised information about all aspects of VMARS Members' interests and within the scope of the Society. It is not to be used for the posting of advertisements for trade. The VMARS-Collector Group is a trading platform for VMARS Members. Its purpose is to enable Members to buy, sell, exchange or request items which relate directly to vintage and military radio, radar and associated items.
Members are advised that another Yahoo Group calling itself VMARS is not an official VMARS site and correctly identifies itself as having nothing to do with the Society except in name.
Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF
A visit to Les Thacker 2E0IBN
I first met Les Thacker several years ago during the MVT National Show at Kemble Airfield, where I was with the VMARS contingent. This gentleman strolled up whilst we were doing the usual: drinking tea, playing radio and swinging the lamp.
Les introduced himself as the owner of one of the military vehicles at the Show, a WWII Willys Jeep with a recalcitrant GRC-9. “No problem” we said and, after the obligatory cuppa, we arranged to sort out the ‘Angry Nine’ From memory, it was a cabling and PSU setting level that had been the problem, but it was soon sorted out there being four or five knowledgeable VMARS members to hand.
I was delighted when Les subsequently joined VMARS and members will be well aware of his considerable contribution to the Society. In recent years Les and other members of VMARS have assisted Anne and myself at the regimental reunion of the Grenadier Guards, Grenadier Day, putting on a fine display of his classic wartime and post-war military vehicles (some illustrated below) and associated equipment and weaponry, much to the delight of those few remaining veterans from 60–70 years ago, many of whom enjoy stopping by to reminisce.
WS19 set up in Les Thacker’s 1942 Daimler Dingo Scout Car. One of the classic WWII vehicles
appearing at Grenadier Day
Les Thacker’s 1944 Bedford MW 15 cwt truck (left) alongside his 1942 Daimler Dingo Scout Car
I could not resist in calling Les when on a recent visit to Gatwick, trying to combine work with pleasure wherever possible. I was not disappointed; the kettle was hot and we sat and chatted about radio and our Army experiences, Les having served in the Royal Green Jackets. Swapping anecdotes, Les told me a story about the morning after a particularly heavy Officers ‘mess night’; whilst out very early that morning on exercise his driver operator responded to Les' request to pass him the radio. Les made a comment to the effect “Rigsby, the radio's not working”, only to be stopped in his tracks by this youngish lance Corporal: “you might like to switch it on, sir”.
Uppermost in my mind, was a visit to Les' shack, I have been there previously but it is always nice to see how things change.
Currently in pride of place was the T1154 and R1155 (see front page of this issue of the News Sheet) that Paul M1PVC had recently helped to restore. The sets are in fine fettle and look great. Recently, Les has been heard testing the combination and, on advice from Paul, adjusting some pot or other to get the right audio. I never saw this mysterious pot (forgot to ask) so it may have been cleverly hidden.
Of course, being an ex-Army officer, Les had to have a bit of green in the shack and he certainly has a fine selection of Clansman, a good supply of batteries, apparently taking advantage of batteries being offered by Paul Giacomelli at Luton and other rallies a year or so ago. According to our Chairman Ian Underwood such batteries can be a ‘lottery’ as he bought some that were faulty, but the price meant that the risk to Les’ pocket had not been all that great.
I was impressed by Les' twin feed from a Clansman dipole-centre into the shack and then a short run of coax to the coaxial switches. This arrangement, together with the fact that he has a choice of antennas as well as a horizontal loop, provides an excellent set-up for a good transmitted signal. Those who listen on 3615 kHz need no reminding that some of the strongest signals on 80 m are heard from stations using horizontal loops for NVIS propagation.
In early March 2010, Les was approached by the BBC to see if he would participate (or more to the point would he make available his 1944 Bedford MW 15 cwt truck fitted with the not quite historically correct WS19 set) for an hour-long documentary they were intending to produce on the subject of the 70th anniversary of Operation Dynamo – the evacuation of Dunkirk.
So, for a week in late March, the Bedford was used by Dan Snow to cover the filming of the retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk. The researchers had managed to locate four veterans of this incredible feat of evacuation including a survivor of the Wormhoudt massacre from the Royal
The VMARS News Sheet Issue 142
5 January 2015
Warwickshire Regiment. It was a very moving experience to spend time with this veteran at the very spot where the atrocity took place. It was interesting also to witness how Dan Snow approached this sometimes very delicate and emotional situation. No prompts or notes just engaging the veterans in their memories. Although the documentary was originally scheduled for BBC4, the senior management at the BBC, on seeing the finished product, decided it should be broadcast on primetime BBC2.
BBC’s Dan Snow in Les’s 1944 Bedford MW truck with WS19 used in filming the BBC Dunkirk
Anniversary Documentary film Four weeks after returning from Dunkirk, Les was back again for the actual anniversary celebrations in conjunction with the Dunkirk City authorities and the British Army. This time he was asked if he would also take over the Daimler Dingo Scout Car as well as the Bedford. With a friend from his former Regiment as crew for the Dingo, the Bedford MW this time was crewed by VMARS member Simon Dabbs G4GFN/DU9AQQ to operate the WS19.
Stuart McKinnon G0TBI
Dambusters Hamfest 2015
The Dambusters Hamfest has become the premier East Coast rally for vintage and modern amateur, commercial and military radio equipment. Held annually at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre near Coningsby, Lincolnshire the next event will be on 3rd May 2015. Uniquely, we believe, the only charge for visitors and traders is the site standard admission charge, currently £3 per person, which includes admission to the Visitor Centre itself and the Radio Shack, home of M0TCM net control station. No additional charge is made for traders, whether individuals or businesses, though donations are welcome if you have a good day! Mostly outdoors but some limited indoor pitches are available.
Tea/coffee, sandwiches and cakes are available from the NAAFI and hot food from the burger van. For those who prefer something more substantial, the nearby Blue Bell Inn
does a wonderful Sunday roast, but booking is essential as they do get very busy. www.bluebell-inn.com 01526 342206.
Limited caravan/camping is available at Thorpe Camp from Saturday to Monday by prior appointment with the rally organiser (small charge for electric hookup).
For anyone wishing to stay longer to visit this lovely part of Lincolnshire, touring caravans and motorhomes are welcome at the nearby Blue Bell Inn caravan park, 07815 085799 for caravan bookings at the Blue Bell.
Owners of vintage/military vehicles (especially if radio-related) are particularly welcome; please contact the rally organiser in advance to secure a display location.
Rally talk-in on 145.55 MHz. We will also be monitoring 51.7 MHz and 3615 kHz. Other frequencies by arrangement – please contact G4DDI.
As last year, VMARS members who are staying over are welcome to get together with the Rally team at the Blue Bell for a Saturday evening meal. Places are limited so please contact G4DDI as soon as possible to secure places.
Contact details:
www.dambusters-hamfest.net
Rally organiser Tony Nightingale G3ZPU 01507 527835 [email protected]
Saturday evening meal and talk-in matters Colin Guy G4DDI [email protected]
Colin Guy G4DDI
Club Award for Hack Green SDR
The Stoke-on-Trent ARS presented the their annual award for innovation and services to Amateur Radio to the Hack Green SDR team, consisting of Tony G1HMO, Martin G7CKX and Joe G4PMY.
The team were recognised for their work in designing and building the SDR facility located at Hack Green, Cheshire. The SDR has proven to be very popular with users located all around the globe and very often exceeds the 100 simultaneous users. The collected statistics are amazing and indicate the system is in use 24/7.
The system in use presently is the third generation of SDR designed by the team and much work has also gone into the filtering and aerial systems at Hack Green.
Presentation of the award by club chairman Albert G4DHO (right) and accepted on behalf of the team
by Joe G4PMY
Issue 142 The VMARS News Sheet
January 2015 6
Joe commented “the down side is we have virtually lost our very quiet green field site for ad hoc transmitting and have to give long notice to SDR users when we want to use the site for transmitting” which requires the SDR to be taken off line.
Joe Bell G4PMY
Canvey Island Rally
Despite the biting wind and chill in the air, a large number of punters attended the annual Canvey Island Rally.
There was the usual steady stream of some 25–30 VMARS members and many non-members interested in our VMARS stand, which had on display an ART-13 and its associated BC-348 receiver, the dynamotor and control box. The amount of passing knowledge that is out there is amazing, including one potential member who has an ART-13 that he has owned since the 1970s but has really not been active since. Also turning many heads was the very nice TR9 Spitfire aircraft radio owned by Pete G7DXV, including its original RAF transportation box. We were curious as to why there was such an abundance of vintage/military knowledge in the south east of England; perhaps it is connected with the defence/wartime history of the region. It is encouraging that many information leaflets and membership application forms were taken.
The Rally stand with Pete Shepherd G7DXV (left) and Stuart McKinnon G0TBI modelling the new
VMARS sweat shirt The rally itself had a good number of stalls with much equipment on display; I obtained an inline female 'N-Type’ connector for £2.00 BNIP (brand new in packet), which I needed for refurbishment of my Moseley TA-33. I also bought a WS19 mast kit, the one in the golf bag, at a very reasonable price, and finally an early Cossor manpack radio for the VHF bands, a very nice purchase for historical reference.
After a successful rally which saw Spencer Tomlinson M0STO sign up to VMARS, I had the pleasure of visiting Pete’s shack where he has a fine selection of AM equipment. Pete can be heard on 80 m or top band on occasions. Pete’s aerial systems, like mine, need a little TLC but, despite my doubts, he is convinced that the tree which sprawls across the centre of his garden actually helps matters.
There was much interest in our stand
Alan Gladding G4MOM (left), a keen AM-operator with KW Vanguard, HRO and AR88, visiting the
stand My visit ended when Pete and I went to his local to enjoy a quick pint and a Sunday roast; very nice on a chilly day.
Pete Shepherd G7DXV in his shack Stuart McKinnon G0TBI
The VMARS News Sheet Issue 142
7 January 2015
The VMARS Archive
Work has been going on behind the scenes, though not as quickly as I had hoped due both to a number of personal problems and the fact that I have been working at Thorpe Camp as much as possible. Most of the problems I have had in the last two years have now been resolved and I hope to speed the work up this year.
We have been steadily cataloguing boxes of documents, some recently donated and some inherited from the original Vintage Technical Services stock. The paper is then stored in an ordered filing system at Thorpe Camp so it can easily be located if needed.
It is possible that some newer members may not realise what the Archive involves and offers so I thought I would go over some points again. The original concept of the VMARS Archive was, and I believe still is, to digitise older documentation and make it freely available to the world before the original paper copies deteriorate to the point where they are unusable. The process is not simply a matter of scanning to a pdf file using a domestic scanner as many people think, the results of which are all over the internet, with skewed pages, visible tears and punch holes, etc. Our purpose is to provide digital copies that can, if needed, be printed out to look as near as possible to the original. We use a professional document scanner to start the process, this outputs files in .tiff format which then have to be gone through page by page to remove the marks as far as possible, the pages straightened where necessary, any half-tone or colour images are separately processed and re-inserted into the document. The completed pages are then assembled into a pdf file and blank pages inserted where necessary so that, when printed on a professional printer, the pages always appear in the right order, even numbered on the left and odd on the right as in a book. A3 and foldout pages are scanned at their original size but scaled down to A4 in the document so that they can be printed on any printer; the original resolution is retained so that anyone with facilities to do so can scale them up to the original size and print them in full resolution. The documents are catalogued electronically and uploaded to the VMARS Archive website.
The primary purpose of the Archive is to preserve and store documents that may become lost in the future rather than to provide free copies of modern documents which are readily available from other sources (although often of such poor quality that the demands for payment made for them cannot be justified). However we are building up a collection of manuals for more recent equipment as time permits.
We are often offered, in good faith poor, scans in pdf form of documents that we do not have – it may seem a little difficult to believe, but it is actually easier to scan the original paper and publish from there than it is to bring a poor quality pdf up to publication standard.
Some documents are complex, including fold-outs and colour photos/drawings and have several hundred pages so you can understand that it can take many man-hours to process such a document from scanning to publication to the website.
Most of our electronic files are made freely available to the world at no cost, however some more recent documents are subject to Crown Copyright. VMARS have secured an agreement with the MoD that we can make copies of these to bona fide Society members for “research and private study” purposes only. Such documents are placed on a secure part of the website and it is necessary to request a one-time download key to obtain the copy.
Requests for download keys should be sent to the e-mail address on the secure part of the site, the email only needs to contain the required document reference numbers (and the name (and callsign if applicable) of the requestor – they are processed semi-automatically to check the validity of the requestors membership and the keys sent out, with instructions for downloading and a disclaimer stating what the documents may be used for. This is usually completed within 24 hours of the request. Requests requiring an individual reply may take longer to receive a response as I only get chance to deal with emails two or three times a week at the moment.
This year I hope to continue with the cataloguing of the paper documents with the aim of making the catalogue available to the membership, to update the website and to add several very large documents to the site.
So, to help me provide the best service please when requesting documents from the secure area send an e-mail from your VMARS registered address to [email protected]. Requests sent to any other address may be delayed.
If you are enquiring about other documents please check first if they are already available be searching the main site at www.vmarsmanuals.co.uk. If not, an e-mail to the above address will bring a reply within three or four days (holiday times excepted).
Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Martin Longmore who patiently and efficiently cleans up the files (the most time-consuming part of the process) and returns them to me for final assembly and to Iain Moffatt who provides the Society with the secure server at no costs and always replies promptly to my enquiries and requests for changes to the programming of the server.
Colin Guy G4DDI
VMARS Members’ badges
Once again, Stuart McKinnon G0TBI is taking orders for VMARS Members’ badges, which he orders several at a time. If you would like to order a badge (at very reasonable cost) please let Stuart have details of your name and call sign as you would like for it to appear on the badge. He will be placing the next order shortly.
Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF
From our Spectrum Forum Representative
Members will no doubt be pleased to see that the latest band plans published by RSGB include reference to 5317 kHz as designated for AM use which no doubt is the result of VMARS involvement in the Spectrum Forum.
Other news is the proposal that the NoV for the 472 kHz and 5 MHz frequency bands will be phased out and added to the full licence parameters along with the other changes to the Amateur Radio Licence. However, until we are all notified that these changes have been implemented (by post or e-mail) an NoV is still required to operate on these bands.
Ofcom are still advising that several thousand licence holders have not yet renewed their Amateur Radio Licences which have now expired. Members who operate their transmitting equipment or wish to maintain their licences are advised to check that they have renewed accordingly.
Ron Swinburne M0WSN
Issue 142 The VMARS News Sheet
January 2015 8
Saturday AM Net-Controller’s Rota
Date 1st op 2nd op 3rd op
7th Feb G0TBI G3XGW M0TCM
14th Feb G3XGW M0TCM M0DAF
21st Feb M0TCM M0DAF M0YMK
28th Feb M0DAF M0YMK G4GEN
7th Mar M0YMK G4GEN G4BQF
14th Mar G4GEN G4BQF GW8TBG
21st Mar G4BQF GW8TBG G3YYH
Whenever possible Ian Underwood M0YMK posts a recording of the Saturday AM Net from his QTH in West Sussex on the VMARS website:
http://www.vmars.org.uk/Regular_NETS_Details
Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF
Committee Notices Committee Meeting 10th January 2015
Committee Meeting No. 2 of 2014/15 was held on Saturday 10th January 2015 beginning at 1000 UTC. The meeting was kindly hosted by Peter Jones G8CDC at his QTH near Leamington Spa.
The following were present: Ian Underwood M0YMK (Chairman), Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF (Hon. Treasurer & Publications Manager), Peter Jones G8CDC (Committee Member), Ron Swinburne M0WSN (Committee Member), Stuart Mckinnon G0TBI (Public Relations & Publicity Officer) and Tony Barron G3YYH (co-opted Member).
Apologies were received from John Keeley GW6RAV (Hon. Secretary) and Pete Shepherd G7DXV (Membership Secretary).
The principal decisions taken and topics discussed were as follows:
1. Email decisions (a) Agreed that a VMARS calendar for 2015 should be
produced with most of the profit going to RBL; 100 had been printed; 25 had been sold to date, with more orders being received daily.
(b) An auction and social event is to be planned for 14th February 2015.
2. Health & Safety Nothing to report but it was noted that Health & Safety Risk Assessments will be needed in respect of VMARS attendance at the Blackpool and Harwell rallies.
3. Ad hoc Committee Meeting
A short ad hoc meeting was held by Committee Members present at the National Hamfest event at Newark. In attendance were: Ian Underwood M0YMK (Chairman), Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF (Hon. Treasurer & Publications Manager), Pete Shepherd G7DXV (Membership Secretary), Stuart Mckinnon G0TBI (Public Relations & Publicity Officer) and Ron Swinburne M0WSN (Committee Member).
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future of the rented storage container located at Rosswood Farm, Baginton. The owner of the Container (R Lan) had notified the Society that he wished to move the container to a new location. The owners of Rosswood Farm had also submitted a proposal whereby the container would be retained and the facility improved. Peter Jones G8CDC had also offered a container that he no longer required to the Society, however, a new location would have to be found for the container. The Society also rents heated indoor secure storage located in Wolverhampton. After full discussion, recognising that the Society needs to maintain secure storage, thanking Peter Jones for his kind offer and also considering the proposal from Rosswood Farm, it was decided that the best solution was to relinquish the container at Rosswood Farm and make use of the secure indoor storage at Wolverhampton. The rental agreement with Mr Lan has now been terminated.
4. Society membership
Bronek Wedzicha reported that (from the evidence of the bank statement) membership renewals were occurring at the expected pace. The follow-up procedure for non-payers was discussed and it was agreed that the surcharge should be enforced from 25th January. The January News Sheet would be sent with a reminder, but the February News Sheet and Signal would not be sent to those who had not renewed their membership. Non-payers would be removed from both Yahoo reflectors in March. Telephone follow-up would occur where deemed appropriate. There remained issues with individual members failing to amend the value of standing orders.
5. Silent key bequest form
Tony Barron had produced a draft SK bequest form and after discussion and some amendments, Tony is to produce a second draft
6. The commercial structure of the Society Discussion continued on the topic raised by Peter Jones at the previous meeting. Further information on the proposed strategy being developed to maintain the financial viability of the Society will be provided in due course
Copyright Notice The VMARS News Sheet is a publication of the Vintage and Military Amateur Radio Society. Copyright remains vested in the authors, thus no material in this News Sheet may be copied and published elsewhere, in part or in full, by any means, without the express permission of the author. This may be sought either from the author direct, or from the News Sheet Editor, Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF.
The VMARS News Sheet Issue 142
9 January 2015
7. Society finances (a) Current balance
BW reported that as of 1st January 2015 the current account bank balance had stood at £12,258, and the investment account balance of £10,000 plus interest. Membership subscriptions (along with payments for calendars and the February social event) were arriving daily, so the situation was changing rapidly. BW reinforced the need for each VMARS activity to break-even or better, allowing for some ‘free’ events (e.g. the AGM). There was discussion as to whether the 10% auction commission being charged at the February event was adequate; it was agreed to review the situation following that event.
(b) Members individual liability
Ian Underwood has undertaken some exploration of this matter, but had yet to conclude. Ron Swinburne offered to approach the Francis Motorcycle Club to see if and how they managed liability.
8. Archives & Publications
(a) Society Archive There was general discussion about progress with the Archive, and it was agreed that Colin Guy should be invited to the next meeting for a review; the venue and timing for the meeting would probably be associated with the Dambusters Rally to facilitate Colin’s attendance. Stuart McKinnon to approach Colin.
(b) VMARS Handbook and Index to Signal
Bronek Wedzicha reported that there was slow progress on the Handbook. He had taken a sample chapter for members to examine at the AGM. There was little significant feedback. Progress continues. However, progress was being made on an index for Signal. So far, the first five issues have been indexed (in Excel format) and the plan is to print this index for ‘road-testing’; offers of support had been gratefully received from Anthony Wedgwood and Peter Chadwick. Learning would be taken from the road-testing exercise, and the remaining 30 editions would be indexed. It was agreed that, if possible, the publication should coincide with the May edition of Signal. The index would be maintained with each new edition, and would be held online on the VMARS public site.
(c) Distribution of Signal
Noted that copies of Signal have been sent to the IET library, to the Oxford University Museum of Science, and to the RSGB. It was agreed that the Oxford University Museum of Science copy should be reviewed as no response had been forthcoming.
(d) Sharing of published material with the DEHS
There was discussion about the sharing of materials with DEHS as a policy was required. VMARS has historically avoided re-publishing other agencies’ materials. DEHS were particularly keen to re-publish Ian Underwood’s historical leaders in the Newsheet. Bronek Wedzicha made it clear that the copyright for articles in Signal remained with the author, and was not owned by VMARS.
9. Working parties The container in Baginton had been cleared, the assets being re-located to the store in Wolverhampton. Shelving had been erected in that store. It was agreed that it was important that an inventory of the store was produced and published, and that a process for members to access the valve stock be put in place. The inventory may initially be high-level, with further detail being recorded as resources allowed.
10. Public Relations & Publicity Noted that: a) Successful press releases had been made to Radio
User and PW. b) Work was in hand to plan the AGM and Flixton
events in detail. c) It was agreed that a trial batch of sweatshirts
embroidered with the VMARS logo would be produced; a price of £15 (including postage) was suggested, which allowed a small margin to the Society.
11. Rallies & Events (a) “Valentines” Social Event and Auction.
Noted that 29 bookings had been received to date, including 10 partners. The equipment being auctioned appeared to be of high-quality and there is expectation of a successful and enjoyable event.
(b) Rally Calendar for 2015
Proposed that the Society would attend the following rallies and events in 2015:
Canvey Island Harwell/ Didcot Blackpool NVCF Wartime in the Vale Flixton Newark ‘Hamfest’ Dambusters
This list is not exhaustive and attendance at the above is subject to confirmation. Other events may be added to the list at a later date.
(c) Event at Brooklands Ian Underwood is investigating a possible event at Brooklands and will report back in due course.
(d) DEHS Joint Symposium
Stuart McKinnon had met with DEHS, who were proposing a joint symposium to be held at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham in October 2016. This would be a one-day, weekday event with a series of presentations on the theme of ‘mobile communications’. Further discussion was held over to a future meeting.
12. Improvements to members services This is a regular agenda item and although there were no specific items to report the production of a VMARS calendar and the “Valentines” Social Event and Auction are continuing examples of improvements to members services.
13. Reserved Business
An item of reserved business was discussed.
Issue 142 The VMARS News Sheet
January 2015 10
14. Further Committee Meetings. The next meeting was provisionally set for 2nd May 2015, the day before the Dambusters Rally; confirmation and detail of venue and timing to be agreed.
There being no further business, the meeting was formally closed at 1700 hours.
Applications for Membership
We wish to welcome the following new applicants for VMARS Membership:
Name, Callsign (Region) Interests Mr RJ Langford G4FAD Hereford
Anything to do with radio and Morse code.
Mr I Prince G6EZG Hull
Refurbishing an AR88.
Mr P Gill GD3YTE Sulby Bridge
Restoration of Ex-military radios for Amateur band, particularly Clansman PRC320. Refurbishment and use of early HF SSB amateur equipment.
Mr SJ Tomlinson M0STO Stanford-Le-Hope
Motor Mechanics.
[Membership rules require names of applicants for Membership to be published, before they are formally accepted as Members. This allows existing Members to object, if they wish. If you want to object to any of the above, please write to our Hon Sec, John Keeley – Ed.]
Helplines 142/1 Slow motion drive
Attached are photographs of a slow-motion tuning drive. ZN.0320 is stamped faintly on the edge of the housing.
I was given it to play with when I was a kid in the late 1950s/ early 1960s along with other gear my grand dad and uncle used to experiment with after the war. Sad to say, all but a few bits and pieces are long gone now.
I wonder if any VMARS members would identify the slow motion tuning drive and let me know what it came from, or anything about it please?
I am hoping to make a VFO with it or reunite it with whatever it came from.
Chris Moreton MW0LUK
Advertisements FREE TO GOOD HOME: Telequipment Type 43 oscilloscope. Grotty condition but with manual and a second one for spares. Buyer collects (Rutland), donation to VMARS. Gerald G3MCK 01572 756444 before 10pm please
WANTED: Rectifier board for Yaesu FT101B. Dave 2E0NBC [email protected]
WANTED: Electroniques series 2 455 kHz IF transformers. Gerald G3MCK 01572 756444 before 10pm please
WANTED: for a Clansman 320, one gooseneck, one whip aerial and one lightweight headset. Cash waiting for good-clean or unused-new items.
Derf Mockford G8ZGK 07775664064 [email protected]
Sending in articles, news items, letters and advertisements for VMARS Publications
Please send copy to Colin Guy G4DDI by post or e-mail, 7 Herrick Court, Clinton Park, Tattershall, Lincs. LN4 4QU Tel 01526 344715 [email protected] The copy deadline for the next issue of the News Sheet is 15th February. For articles for the next issue of Signal the deadline is 9th February, but copy would be appreciated as far in advance as possible.
VMARS 2015 CALENDARS Still available and may also
be obtained at the Valentines Day Event, post-free
