Please note that our talk on Kite supported antenna’s by Roger G4ROJ has had to be moved to the 18th March 2015. I have updated our Programme calendar accordingly.
Andrew
G0RVM
Programme change…
Reply
CANCELLED – TSGARC XMAS Meal – Tuesday 9th December
All,
With respect to the meal out idea at the Hungry Horse near Aztec West the selected date is Tuesday 9th December.
Can you all either confirm that you wish to attend or let me know that you are not interested? Those that wish to attend please let me know whether you wish 2 or 3 courses?
I will book this up sometime next week, after which I believe a £5 per head deposit will be required.
Paul
M0ZMB
‘Chief Cat herder in charge’
TSGARC Programme update
G4ROJ – Kite supported Antenna
I have secured us a new talk.
Roger, G4ROJ has kindly agreed to come and give us a talk on kite supported antenna’s. The presentation has been entered into programme for Wednesday 25th March 2015.
Roger has been doing some amazing stuff with kite supported antenna’s and I can highly recommend a look at his website. He has also reached stardom, appearing in episode 3 of the TX Factor.
Roger suggested that on the day of our talk he would most likely get to our patch mid/late afternoon and, weather permitting, have a couple of hours free prior to the talk to fly an antenna. So, have a think people and if anyone has time before the talk and we identify a suitable location in our neighbourhood there is an offer to get some hands-on time. Roger also indicated that he is willing to come down on a Saturday or Sunday and fly from a field, salt flat or beach.
Andrew
G0RVM
JOTA callsign update
The logbook on QRZ.com is now active and the first 50 requests to confirm our QSO’s from the Jota weekend at Conygres have been issued to the stations responding to our CQ’s.
We have opened an eQSL.cc account and will be sending electronic and direct email QSL cards. The design for the card will be based on some photographs taken by Paul. I will make this available on QRZ.com when we have completed it.
BIG antennas…
I’ve had this long held dream of getting on top-band with a full size antenna! Just imagine what could be achieved on a winters night with a full wave loop 😉 Even a full sized 1/4 wave vertical with a good counterpoise should be a magnificent antenna… Don’t image I’m thinking shortened antenna’s here, no, I’m thinking BIG 😉
So, who is up for a bit of fun this winter? We have several sandy beaches nearby with vehicular access that offer more than enough space to erect such an antenna… OK, so what planet am I on, you ask? Ah, well like Baldrick I have a cunning plan 🙂 But I’m pretty sure my plan will work as its been done several times before and by Marconi himself…. Yes, I’m thinking kite antenna’s. 🙂
First off, the 1/4 wave vertical seems like an achievable start and flown above the worlds best counterpose it should be phenomenal! Other configurations would work too – why not a delta loop? OK it needs a couple of kites but that should be doable… There are lots of video’s on Youtube but check out the website of G4ROJ and also note that he lives just up the road and is willing to do a club talk…..
Who’s in?
Andrew
G0RVM
TSGARC in the News
The Thornbury and South Gloucestershire Amateur Radio Club (TSGARC) has this week appeared in the Gazette as part of a write-up on the recent Scouts Jamboree on the Air (JOTA).
A full write-up of the story can be seen at TSGARC in the News
Paul
M0ZMB
Club night 5th November- Cancelled
Due to the Chantry not booking any rooms for tonight we have to cancel tonight’s meeting. The Chantry are holding a firework party.
History of Bob Heil (K9EID)
You have heard of Heil Sound, right? Of course you have. Bob and his company are mostly known in this country for their amateur radio microphones. But do you know his background? Do you know what he has done for our hobby? No, well take a few minutes and watch this video. Its inspirational and reminds us just what ‘Ham Radio’ is all about and has achieved over the years.
http://youtu.be/zl5k0YLalBk?list=UUzgG5iIOZpqFBBkAgg5iN1w
TSGARC – can we get Bob, George and co to give us a presentation one evening? They do this for other clubs as you will hear in the video. What do you think?
Andrew
G0RVM
JOTA after the Scouts had gone…..
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The dynamic trio in action……..
The camera stayed in the same position, apart from the order of the dynamic trio can you spot the difference between the two pictures?
The pictures were taken with a Raspberry Pi with a camera module using a time lapse. The time lapse was created using a simple Bash script and a “CRON” job. The script had to be edited a couple of times before it did what was required.
Garry
G7NVZ
Successful JOTA
This year’s Jamboree on the Air at both Conygres and Woodhouse Park was another resounding success. In addition to members of the club we were also assisted by members of the Gloucester Amateur Radio and Electronics Society (GARES) and Woodhouse Park amateur Radio Club.
Paul, John, James and Garry at JOTA 2014
A successful two and a half days saw three stations (HF, VHF and UHF) assembled with CW practice and Flight Radar. A number of contacts were made to UK, European and two American stations. During the weekend a number of Beavers, Cubs, Brownies, Guides and Scouts practiced their Morse and spoke on the radio.
The operating conditions at Conygres having been improved over those last year with a new roof being installed. The catering once again was excellent with 6 Gourmet meals being consumed.
The three stations consisted of two FT-857s connected to a log periodic 70cm antenna and a crossed 5 element Yagi with the HF station being fed into a G5RV. The CW practice station utilised two oscillators and a decoding laptop. The Flight radar station was projected showing the location of aircraft as far afield as Heathrow.
I would personally like to thank all members who attended at both Conygres and Woodhouse Park for their assistance and planning.
Paul
M0ZMB