RSGB Radcom 2011 01

RadCom
THE RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN MEMBERS MAGAZINE. WWW.RSGB.ORG
JANUARY 2011
VOLUME 87
NUMBER 01
4.25
Sebatik Island
DXpedition puts rare
IOTA on the air for only
the second time
0 1 1 1
Kenwood TS-590S
Homebrew
SMD Unsoldering
DIY Mini DXpedition
Latest HF and
50MHz rig reviewed
Prototype RF amplifier
for the HF transceiver project
How to remove SMD

without damaging the PCB
A small scale operation put

GP0STH on the air from Guernsey
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RADCOM JANUARY 2011 | VOLUME 87 | NUMBER 01
CONTENTS
Operating from
Sebatik Island
described on
page 70.
RadCom
THE RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT
BRITAINS MEMBERS MAGAZINE
Photo:
9M6DXX.
MANAGING EDITOR:
ELAINE RICHARDS, G4LFM
E-mail elaine.richards@rsgb.org.uk
TECHNICAL EDITOR:
GILES READ, G1MFG
E-mail giles.read@rsgb.org.uk
News and Reports
RSGB ADVERTISING:
KIM MEYERN
All contributions and correspondence
concerning the content of RadCom should
be posted to: The Editor, RadCom, 3 Abbey
Court, Fraser Road, Priory Business Park,
Bedford MK44 3WH
Telephone. 01234 832700
Facsimile. 01234 831496
E-mail. radcom@rsgb.org.uk
RSGB Matters
RSGB President Dave Wilson, M0OBW looks back
at his first year in office
10 News
All the amateur radio news including club news
Advertising. All display and classified

advertising enquiries (except Members Ads)
should be sent to: Chris Danby, G0DWV,
Danby Advertising, Fir Trees, Hall Rd,
Hainford, Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 3LX
Tel./Fax. 01603 898678
E-mail. adsales@rsgb.org.uk
Closing date for contributions, unless

otherwise notified, is five weeks prior to
publication date.
All material in RadCom is subject to editing for
length, clarity, style, punctuation, grammar,
legality and taste.
No responsibility can be assumed for the
return of unsolicited material (if in doubt,
call us first!)
Radio Society of Great Britain.
Articles are accepted on the strict
understanding that they are not currently
on offer to any other publication.
Unless otherwise indicated the RSGB has
purchased all rights to published articles.
Original concept, layout and design
by Imotea Creative Mediadesign.
E-mail. radcom@imotea.com
IOTA fascinates Sebatik Island's school children

P70
Reviews
39 Kenwood TS-950S
Peter Hart looks at Kenwood's new HF + 6m
compact base radio
60 Bandmaster Universal Band Decoder
So much more than just a CAT decoder,
writes Dick Pascoe, G0BPS
74 Book Review
Personal favourites of 2010 by Giles Read, G1MFG
Features
17 Battleship New Jersey, NJ2BB
Terry Stow, G0SWS describes his visit to this
WWII ship's amateur radio station
RSGB MEMBERSHIP
Annual Rates from 1 January 2011
19 Homebrew
Eamon Skelton, EI9GQ, continues his transceiver
project
26 Simple antenna for 13cm
Part 1 of a two-part article by Rover Paskvan, WA0IUJ
35 Start Here
Radios with dual watch / two VFOs by Jonathan,
M5FUN and Tatiana, MM6TAT
66 Unsoldering SMD
Harry Weston, M0SOP
explains how to remove
SMD without damaging
the PCB
72 Design Notes
A direct-from-audio
I/Q upconverter by
Andy Talbot, G4JNT
79 Morse code examined
using modern
Morse's code
communication theory
is remarkably
Morse is remarkably
efficient says David Bird,
efficient P79
G6EJD
Regulars
78
51
32
84
58
52
86
88
Full membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.00

(individual & club)
Family membership . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00
Paying by Direct Debit saves 4 on the rates
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Student (21-25) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free
Ham Club (under 21) . . . . . . . . . . . . Free
Subscriptions include VAT where applicable.
Special arrangements exist for visually
impaired persons. Details and membership
application forms are available from
RSGB HQ.
All aboard the Battleship New Jersey P17

P&P on RSGB orders:
1.95 for 1 item, 3.50 for 2 or more items.
Different postage rates may be available online.
Overseas rates on request.
24 Mini DXpedition to Guernsey

DXpeditioning doesn't have to cost a fortune,
by Ron Bennett, G4DIY
62 RSGB Convention
Elaine Richards, G4LFM looks back on the most
successful Convention to date
70 Sebatik Island on the Air
A very rare IOTA activation by Steve Telenius-Lowe,
9M6DXX
Technical Features
Notices to readers concerning errors and

omissions and advertisments can be found
at www.rsgb.org/radcom/notices.
RadCom is published by the Radio Society
of Great Britain as its official journal and is
sent free and post paid to all members of the
Society. The February issue of RadCom is
due to be delivered by Monday 24 January.
The heart of a highly linear amplifier P19
83
76
92
54
ARDF, Bob Titterington, G3ORY

ATV, Roy Powers, G8CKN
Antennas, Peter Dodd, G3LDO
Club Calendar
GHz Bands, Sam Jewell, G4DDK
HF, Don Field, G3XTT
Members Ads
Rallies & Events, Special Event Stations
and Silent Keys
Propagation, Gwyn Williams, G4KFH
Sport Radio, Steve White, G3ZVW
The Last Word
VHF UHF, David Butler, G4ASR
Would members please note that the HMCA leaflet with this edition contains details of a Travel Plan.
We have been asked to point out this is only available to those under 70 years of age.
05
RSGB MATTERS
THE RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN MEMBERS MAGAZINE WWW.RSGB.ORG
RADIO SOCIETY
OF GREAT BRITAIN
THE NATIONAL SOCIETY WHICH
REPRESENTS UK RADIO AMATEURS
Founded in 1913 incorporated 1926.
Limited by guarantee
Member society of the
International Amateur Radio Union
Patron: HRH Prince Philip,
Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT
Membership is open to all those with an active interest in
radio experimentation and communication as a hobby.
Applications for membership should be made to the
Subscriptions Department from which full details of Society
services may also be obtained.
General Manager:
Peter Kirby, FCMI, MISM, G0TWW
Honorary Company Secretary:
Rupert Thorogood, G3KKT
Honorary Treasurer:
Dr R Dingle, G0OCB
BOARD OF THE SOCIETY
PRESIDENT
Dave Wilson, M0OBW
MEMBERS
D Beattie, G3BJ
P Brooks, G4NZQ
L Butterfields, G0CIB
D Field, G3XTT
J Gould, G3WKL
C Morrison, GI4FUE (until 31 December 2010)
I Phillips, G0RDI (until 31 December 2010)
B Reay, G8OSN
J Stevenson, G0EJQ (until 31 December 2010)
REGIONAL MANAGERS
L Paget, GM0ONX - Region 1
D Morrison, GM1BAN - Region 2
K A Wilson, M1CNY - Region 3
H Scrivens, G0UGE - Region 4
Vaughan Ravenscroft, M0VRR - Region 5
M Harper, MW1MDH - Region 6
J Sneddon, MW0EQL - Region 7
P Lowrie, MI5JYK - Region 8
A Johnston, G8ROG - Region 9
G Keegan, G6DGK - Region 10
P Helliwell, G7SME - Region 11
Neil Whiteside, G4HUN - Region 12
J Stevenson, G0EJQ - Region 13
Details of the Societys volunteer officers can be
found in the RSGB Yearbook and on the RSGB website.
HEADQUARTERS AND REGISTERED OFFICE
3 Abbey Court, Fraser Road,
Priory Business Park,
Bedford MK44 3WH
Tel: 01234 832700
Fax: 01234 831496
QSL Bureau address:
PO Box 5, Halifax, HX1 9JR, England.
Tel: 01422 359362
E-mail: qsl@rsgb.org.uk
E-mail addresses:
sales@rsgb.org.uk (books, filters, membership and general
enquiries) GB2RS@rsgb.org.uk (GB2RS and club news items)
RadCom@rsgb.org.uk (news items, feature submissions, etc)
AR.Dept@rsgb.org.uk, RCE.Dept@rsgb.org.uk
(Examinations) IOTA.HQ@rsgb.org.uk (Islands On The Air)
GM.Dept@rsgb.org.uk (managerial)
Website: www.rsgb.org
Members Area: www.rsgb.org/membersonly
Log-in using your callsign in lower case as the user name,
and your membership number (see RadCom address label)
as the password.
The online RadCom can now be found at
www.rsgb.org/radcom.
06
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
Time Flies When Youre Having Fun

BUSY TIMES. Whats
that age-old saying?
Time flies when youre
having fun. Well its
certainly been true
for me this year.
What a start to
the year! There I was
looking forward to
chairing the first Board
meeting of 2010 followed by an inaugural
dinner in the evening. Then, on the Thursday
before the weekend, while in work, I took a
phone call from my daughter telling me that
Kath had just tripped over a box of RSGB books,
broken her wrist and was on her way to Leighton
hospital! No sign of any ice (remember the ice?)
That certainly made for, should I say, an exciting
weekend first Board meeting, three new Board
members, an inauguration dinner planned for
Saturday evening and a rally the following day
all with my key player injured! I have to say that
thanks to the efforts of friends and family, where
everyone pulled together, the whole weekend
was just so much fun thanks to those people,
they know who they are.
Since then I must say Ive had an equally
great time, as some of you often comment
when we meet Seen you in RadCom jetting
off to yet more exotic places. Well yes it is nice
to visit new places, meet new people, face new
challenges but its always nice to get home, isnt
it? Meeting people chatting with people is
probably the best of this great hobby and has
always been the highlight as far as Im concerned.
That combined with the honour of being RSGB
President makes it something really special.
By the way the title President doesnt mean
Im any different than I was before, what do
they say, you cant make a leopard change
its spots. Well I always have and always will
enjoy the face to face part of being an amateur
be it meeting people at rallies, meeting people
at radio clubs up and down the country or at
events like the RSGB Convention.
THIS PAST YEAR. What sort of year has 2010
been, not for me so much but for the hobby?
Unfortunately, for various reasons the largest
project the Society has ever undertaken the
National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park, has
suffered some slippage. Whilst this slippage
is disappointing I know the end result wont be
the new layout promises to be spectacular
with a huge WOW factor. I know thats a phrase
that is often over used but I think, in this case,
its a justifiable comment. The plan now is,
if youre not already aware, to open on April
18th, thats not the official opening, that will
be a little later in the year, but the idea is that
members will be able to visit the Centre from then.
That date is tight but Im advised is achievable
and to that end the project team regularly review
progress etc and provide feedback to the Board
and the Management Committee.

2010 has seen the Society taking part in
some significant amateur radio events here in
the UK and in other places. The Society made
significant contributions in effort and bodies
rather than just pure cash terms in being a major
player in the team that put together a week-long
exhibition of amateur radio in the European
Parliament building in Brussels. Its always
difficult to gauge the results of such efforts or
the worth of such events, but it has to be said if
we didnt take opportunities like that to promote
the different aspects and facets of the hobby
wed be failing the amateur population. People
might think its a jolly, well if you feel like that,
next time theres an opportunity to take part
why not offer your services. It is hard work but
its also very rewarding think about it, if we
didnt enjoy it we wouldnt do it would we?
ASKING YOUR VIEWS. By the way, when
I say we in this next item I mean the Board, the
Regional team the Management team. Im not
saying that weve got all the answers - in fact,
I know we havent, thats why we launched the
web-based questionnaire at the National Hamfest
at Newark at the beginning of October. This gives
you, both members and non-members alike,
the opportunity to point us in the right direction.
Where do you think the hobby and the society
should be in, say, 10 years? The questionnaire
is aimed not just at you as members but anyone
who has an interest in the hobby, from whatever
angle, is invited to take part in the questionnaire.
Im not saying well be able to implement
everything that everyone suggests but Im quietly
confident there will be something that comes out
of the survey that will be a winner maybe its
your idea. The online questionnaire runs until
31 December 2010.
In a similar way, wed like to see what clubs
and groups think as to how the hobby should
look in say 10 years and so weve formulated
a couple of questions designed to be debated
at say your next meeting. Again an opportunity
for you to tell us what you want. Weve asked
the clubs/groups to send us their thoughts by
31 January 2011. With the amount of data
we know were going to have, the analysis
will take time, so my expectations are that we
won't see much by way of an outcome until
mid-summer 2011.
PUBLIC SERVICE. In November, I spent a
really enjoyable day and evening in Durham
together with Charlie Morrison, GI4FUE, the
Board member who holds the Public Service
portfolio, as guests of the Network. Im pleased
to say their Committee of Management approved
the new working agreement between the Society
and the Network. (See separate news item
later). Both sides had put a huge amount of
effort into getting us to that stage.
The following weekend at our Board meeting
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
we likewise approved the agreement and,

as you may have seen, both sides signed the
agreement at the Spectrum Forum meeting
held a couple of weekends ago. As I said to the
Network, the Board and everyone else, this isnt
the end; it marks the beginning of a process of
co-operation. Getting the agreement in place
I think has to be my highlight of 2010 thanks
once again to everyone who played a part.
PROTECTING THE BANDS. November has
been a significant month from another angle
Ofcoms successful prosecution an individual
in Hull who, for a long time, had been plaguing
the lives of many amateurs. I know in some
instances it was so bad that he caused a number
of people to leave this great hobby, thats
indefensible isnt it? Whilst this prosecution is
undoubtedly a great success and we sincerely
thank Ofcom and all those that were involved
over the many months that it took to bring this
person to book. We all have a lesson to learn.
A comment the local Ofcom field operations
engineer made to me, and others, worries me!
In a nutshell he advised that the operating
standards of some amateurs left a lot to be
desired. OK, you might argue that they were
RSGB MATTERS
being provoked but as we all know thats no

excuse. The only way to react to that sort of
provocation is? We all know its to switch off
isnt it? Easy to say but, for some people, its
hard to do. There might have been provocation
but thats no excuse. Talking with Ofcom, they
did say that, unfortunately, a number of the
complainants against this individual were
operating outside their licence conditions,
which made the case more difficult for Ofcom as
they didnt want to incriminate the complainants
or necessarily take action against them. It made
the whole process take that much longer too.
The Ofcom official went on to say that all activity
from now on needs to be using the correct
procedures. Peoples operating standards have
drifted not just those new to the hobby but
often older experienced operators. We all need
to consider this and just think for a few minutes
on how we operate.
This is national, in the same vein internationally
we are keen to provide support to Bob, G3PJT
and others involved in the DX Code of Conduct
since, in addition to conveying a memorable
educational message, the Code challenges each
of us to sign up to and follow a moral code in our
DX operating. As a Society we will be doing what
we can during 2011 to voice our concerns on

deliberate QRM (DQRM) within IARU; somehow
we need to balance the competitive nature of
DXing with more respect of our fellow amateurs.
In recent years, the ratio of large, nonstandard multi-page and assorted home brew
cards from UK amateurs has risen alarmingly,
from less than 20% to more than 33% of
everything that we currently see. This greatly
impacts on shipping costs, which ultimately
affects all members. Non-standard cards require
additional sort and packing time to prevent being
damaged and, logistically, space per shipment for
large cards is always limited. We would like to
remind users that cards should be single page,
standard postcard size, (190 x 40mm) printed
on 130-230g board, not paper. In fairness to
all members, as from 2012, only cards meeting
the Yearbook definition will be accepted.
be sent as First Class mail, being too wide or

too thick when folded. C5 envelopes are the
correct size. First or Second Class will be
honoured by the Post Office but stamps with
a monetary value will not. Contact Cliff, G4MAR
at g4mar@blueyonder.co.uk.
M0 CALLSIGN HOLDERS. Your QSL sub
manager may have changed. To bring M0M-N-O
calls into line with other sort groups, outstanding
cards and envelopes have been transferred to
the current M0P-Z manager. Wayne Thomas,
M0WAY. This group is now M0M-Z. Calls in the
M0G-L group remain unchanged and continue
to be managed by David Mappin, G4EDR.
QSL MANAGER CHANGES. M6 & G4G

manager Andy, G8GNI, reports that despite
mailing users, many cards remain uncollected.
Alarmingly 90% of all M6 cards remain
uncollected, presumably as operators move
on to other callsigns and forget about their
earlier contacts.
G4M-N sub manager Cliff, G4MAR advises
that as of January, he needs to remove some
185 envelopes from his files. Most are old,
many have monetary values that no longer
apply and many larger envelopes (A4) cannot
ATTENTION ALL AMATEURS IN WALES.

After taking an extended summer break,
long serving QSL sub manager John Harris,
GW0MOW has retired. Wales has now been
unified under the current 2W- MW6 manager
Lloyd Thomas, 2W0LLT.
The RSGB is most grateful to John for
his dedicated service to amateurs in Wales.
Welsh members are advised that there may
continue to be some delay whilst Lloyd gets
to grips with his enlarged role and clears the
backlog.
THANKS. There are lots of other highlights

I could mention but space is at a premium so
suffice it for me to say to everyone, thanks for
all your hard work and support, keep up the
good work and most importantly remember
to keep on enjoying what youre doing.
Looking forward to 2011 we all know
its not going to be an easy year, there are
challenges facing us that were working
through but, undoubtedly, therell be others
coming round the corner that we cant even
see as yet. Whatever those challenges are,
whatever actions we need to take, whatever
the results are you can rest assured well do
them with the best of intentions.
On behalf of myself, the Board, the Regional
Team and the staff at HQ wed all like to wish
you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous
New Year.
RSGB President
Dave Wilson, M0OBW
QSL Matters
DESPATCHES. End of year dispatches saw 20kg
to Germany, 10kg each to Canada, Greece,
Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain,
Sweden and 6kg packs went to Argentina
and Turkey. Periodically, we look to sending
packages to smaller destinations and 15kg
went to Andorra, Algeria, Bahrain, Bermuda,
India, Kuwait, Paraguay and Uzbekistan.
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS. Please make
it a priority to collect your QSL cards this year,
even if you have never actually sent one. Royal
Mail has recently been given permission to
raise its charges so now is the time to send
C5 envelopes to your manager.
The most common call that we receive at
the bureau is, who is my Sub Manager? Mark,
G1CSS has recently brought to our attention, six
websites offering QSL sub-manager information.
Much of it is misleading and way out of date.
For up to date information, keep a note of your
RSGB membership number/password and
always check the official RSGB site.
Following numerous pleas from sub managers
for a spring clean we are advising them that
all old, unused envelopes held for more than
5 years, can be despatched or disposed of at
the end of June 2011.
Competition Winners
European Appointments
RSGB Election Results
The winner of the M0CVO antenna is Matthew,

M6BJM, who correctly answered 1-C 2-B 3-C.
His prize is on his way to him weather permitting!
The winners of the October 2009 Caption
Competition were G2DPA and M1VTR.
Peter Chadwick, G3RZP has been re-appointed as Chairman

of ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)
Committee ERM_TG30, 'Wireless Medical Applications'
Nigel Wilson, G4VVZ, has been appointed Chairman
of ETSI ERM_TGDMR, 'Digital Mobile Radio'.
Following the RSGB Region 4 Election,

which closed on 2 December,
Harold Scrivens, G0UGE has been
re-elected as the Regional Manager
of Region 4.
07
RSGB MATTERS
CONGRATULATIONS
The Society would like to apologise unreservedly
to the following Members, whose 50th and 60th
anniversaries were missed from the June 2010
RadCom due to a production error:
60 years
Mr T N Green
G3GLL
Mr A W Wright
GM3IBU
Mr J D Smith
G3KGW
Mr E F Harverson
G3OEG
Mr R A Rimmer
G3RQS
50 years
Mr G D Lively
G3KII
Mr G A Maclauchlan
GM3NVU
Mr M J T Smith
G3RMN
Mr J F Kelly
GM3TCW
Mr P Barville
G3XJS
Mr G D Hodgkinson
GI7TPO
Mr L Arnold
G8AHE
Congratulations to the following members whom
our records show as having reached 50 or 60 years'
continuous membership of the RSGB in January
2011.
60 years
Mr AJF Powell
G3GYF
50 years
Mr BJR Davies
G3OYU
Mr JFC Johnson
ZL2AMJ
Morse Passes at
National Hamfest
At the National Hamfest in October, four
amateurs took their Morse Proficiency Test
and three were successful. Ray Bullock, G0EML
passed at 20wpm, Gareth Warriner, 2E0BKW
passed at 12wpm and Larry Partington, G4BZP
passed at 15wpm. Congratulations to them all.
Network and RSGB announce new Agreement

The Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network,
the UK's principal organisation of volunteers
providing radio communications in time of
need, and the Radio Society of Great Britain
(RSGB), are pleased to announce the signing
of a formal agreement between the two
organisations providing a framework to
progress the closer working relationship
between them.
The Network Chairman, Cathy Clark, said,
I am delighted to sign this agreement, which
promises to bring the two organisations closer
together for the benefit of our members and the
service they provide to our many User Services.
RSGB President Dave Wilson, said
I would like to thank all those whove been
working behind the scenes on what was
undoubtedly not an easy task to get us to
the position we are today. The signing of
this agreement cements on-going cooperation between the two organisations.
Joint working will continue to ensure the
smooth implementation of the Principles of
Co-operation described in the agreement.
The RSGB Public Services Co-ordinator,
Charlie Morrison, commented "It was the
obvious way forward for our two organisations
to work more closely together, making use of
our own capabilities for the greater good of
Welcome
The RSGB would like to welcome
to the RSGB family the following
new Members who have joined
their voice to ours and are helping
to keep the RSGB strong.
Mr P White
Mrs S Jones
Mr A Warman
Mr Black
Mr J McLean
Mr J L Jenkins
Mr JM Capuz
Mr B Stehle
Mr P Serrano
Mr I Wilson
P Pokusinski
Mr D Ince
Mr DJ Miller
Mr NI Royle
Mr JB Condron
Mr S Warner
Mr M Brady
Mr T Jones
Mr A Wright
Mr B Morgan
Mr R Allard
Mr W Berg
S Bounanos
Mr L Zywicki
Leicester DX ARG
Mr AP Cross
Mr A J Moye
Mr J Brunton
Mr R Rawson
Mr D Slade
Mr P Richmond
Mr G G Heard
Mr L Rich
Miss LJ Marriott
Mr M Payne
Mr NE Hoare
Mr P D Chell
Mr P Sipple
08
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
2E0PDW
2E0SUJ
2HPK
2M0GRK
AC5QE
ATG1025
EA3HHX
F6GYY
F8BXI
G1JXP
G4JQU
G4UPO
G6LYM
G7CAA
G7KDZ
G8AQP
GM7VEY
GW0HGN
GW0LIS
GW1MIK
KC2TFI
KR9A
M0GLD
M0ICJ
M0LRG
M0ONZ
M6AEF
M6AJQ
M6BFD
M6DFS
M6EPM
M6GGH
M6LHR
M6LJM
M6MDP
M6NEH
M6PDC
M6PSI
emergency communications. I am pleased

that both parties found the agreement so easy
to accept.
The agreement, which had unanimous
acceptance by both the RSGB Board and the
Networks Committee of Management, was
signed on Saturday 20 November 2010
during the RSGB Spectrum Forum meeting in
which all parties consider frequency planning
and usage issues.
Charlie Morrison, GI4FUE watches Dave Wilson,

M0OBW and Cathy Clark, G1GQJ sign the
Agreement (Photo: G1MFG)
Ms R Johnston-Stuart M6RBY
Mr PF Wilson
M6RFW
Mr S Hopkins
M6SDH
Mr S Page
M6SDX
Mr T Akay
M6TAA
Mr AP Amos
M6TAV
Mr I Hoey
MI6AJO
Mr R P Tomalin
MI6RPT
Mr NG Robertson
MM6GWW
Mr S Fenton
MM6TCH
Castle Rock ARS
MN0GVC
Mr CJ Sweeney
MW6CJS
Mr ET Sweeney
MW6ESW
Mr R Duckhouse
MW6GWR
Mr L Chang
MW6HKL
Mr A Moriarty
N8CX
Mr T Anderssen
OH6NT
Mr R Bakker
PA0RDT
H Roubos
PA3D
Mr RM Higgins
RS07104
Mr Andrew Pounce RS200426
Mr K Yates
RS206693
Mr T Horsten
RS206837
Mr DG Bailey
RS207075
Mr JH Harrison
RS207130
Mr SC Melton
RS207141
Mr M Courtenay
RS207160
Mr N F Bisiker
RS207161
Ms E Musselle
RS207174
Mr E Musselle
RS207175
Mr JA Roberts
RS207180
Mr A Rampon
RS207195
Mr P Pain
RS207210
Mr BF Withers
RS207228
Mr N P Stewart
RS207229
Mr JA Bischoffe
RS207237
Mr R Jarman
VK2FVRJ
Mr L Martin
VK3BLM
Mr J Reed
ZL2AH
The RSGB would like to welcome
back the following Members who
have rejoined the Society.
Mr C Howard
Mr A Burleton
2E0CTH
2E0GHD
Mr R E Railey
Mr C R Warr
Mr RWF Palmer
Mr B Sweeney
Miss TM Morris
Mr I Wilson
Mr PL Williams
Mr G D Barnes
Mr R Young
Mr G N Wheatley
Rev J McKae
Mr A G Prior
Mr P Thurlow
Mr T W Russell
Mr C E Brett
Mr M A Saunders
Mr D J Perry
Mr D M Surgey
Mr E J Hornby
Mr W J Pugh
Mr E A Smyth
Mr R J Wilson
Mr M G McIntyre
Mr G A Ward
Mr J Stephen
Mr P Scott
Mr W Goudie
Mr A L Swiffin
Mr G P Budge
Mr D P Harris
Mr M I Owen
Mr J I Swann
Mr J Clarey
Mr R J Wyatt
Mr P Holmes
Mr C Bell
Mr PS Dunnicliffe
Mr D H Morgan
Eng MS Khayat
Mr M Vinquart
Mr PJ Roelse
Mr KR Avery
Mr A Devine
Mr DMA Stockton
Mr R Gaschk
AD6LV
G0AWM
G0TYX
G1ETQ
G1IWU
G1JXP
G1OMQ
G4AAO
G4GWC
G4HNJ
G4ILA
G4UWW
G4YUP
G4ZRV
G6AXF
G6IWC
G6JIE
G6MBF
G7CYQ
G8IAY
GI0UTS
GI0VKP
GI3YDH
GI3ZCK
GM0CHM
GM0VOU
GM4WXQ
GM8OEG
GW0MGQ
GW0ONU
GW0PZZ
M0BUY
M0CGR
M0CIO
M0IRK
M0RTM
M6FIL
MW1FDN
OD5SK
ON4TU
PA1PSD
RS170886
RS179702
RS203035
W6FYA
25%
OFF RRP
from
Most Secret - Orford Ness 11.24
Images Across Space
By Paddy Heazell
The Electronic Imaging of Baird Television
Orford Ness was so secret a place that most people have never
even heard of it. Yet this remote stretch of the Suffolk coast has seen the
development of Radar, testing of atom bombs, Secret US projects and
much more in its eighty year history.
This book details how Orford Ness developed from its WW1 origins
testing and developing all manner of aerial weaponry through to highly
secret radar projects of the cold war. In between, Watson Watt and his
team worked in the 1930s developing the highly secret radar systems
that were to prove so crucial in WW2. All manner of ordinance was
tested at Orford Ness from hand held WW1 bombs to Barnes Wallis
WW2 bouncing bombs, all manner of rockets and missiles and even
Cold War Atom bombs (without ssile material). The top-secret UK-US
COBRA MIST project was built at Orford Ness with its antenna that
alone covered a massive 132 acres. Always at the forefront of military
technology from 1913 to the 1990s, Orford Ness was involved in much
else as well and readers will nd it all detailed here.
This extraordinary book details the story of Orford Ness and the work
conducted here by some of the greatest bofns of past generations.
The role Orford Ness played in inventing and testing was crucial
over the course of the twentieth century and this book published in
conjunction with the National Trust recounts the history of one of
Britains truly historic sites.
Size 156x254mm, 288 pages, ISBN 9780-7524-5741-3
Non Members Price 14.99
RSGB Members Price 11.24
from
14.99
By Dr. Douglas Brown

Written Dr. Douglas Brown a leading authority on TV Images Across
Space provides a unique and fascinating insight into the pioneers of
television and in particular to Scottish inventor John Logie Baird. From
the initial concept of television though to the patent for 3D TV that
far surpasses that offered to modern consumers, this book gives a
fascinating insight into the man and his developments.
Lavishly illustrated, Images Across Space not only provides the
background to the development of TV but the story of the Baird Television
Ltd. up to its demise and its continuation as Cinema Television Ltd. There
are many previously unpublished photographs that illustrate the level
of sophistication practiced by the Baird Television Ltd. and revealing
photographs of the Baird cathode-ray tube facility, laboratories in the
Crystal Palace and Rotunda outbuilding, equipment installed at Alexandra
Palace. The book reveals the implications of the devastating re that
spectacularly razed the Crystal Palace to the ground in 1936, taking
with it the Baird facilities and an analysis of the television systems on
trial for the BBC at Alexandra Palace. Readers will nd this book a mine
of fascinating material with even a comprehensive listing of the British
patents of Baird and his associates at Baird/Cinema Television.
John Logie Baird is remembered as the inventor of the rst working
system of television but Images Across Space shows that there was
much more to the story. Images Across Space is a rare book of technical
detail and an extraordinary story - thoroughly recommended reading.
Radio Society of Great Britain

3 Abbey Court, Fraser Road, Priory Business Park, Bedford MK44 3WH Tel: 01234 832 700 Fax: 01234 831 496
www.rsgbshop.org
E&OE
SAVE
NEWS
Young Amateur's
Success
Matthew, aged 9, who attends Corsham
Primary School, took the Foundation
exam in November at the Chippenham
and District ARC HQ and was successful
with a score of 19/25. He's been on to his
father, G0IUE, for ages about obtaining
an amateur radio licence. Thanks to the
Chippenham Club and, in particular, the
sterling efforts of Ian Carter, G0GRI, the
last two months of lessons have certainly
paid off. Matthew hopes to be on the air
from his own shack (bedroom) soon.
Foundation success
at Dover ARC
In November five prospective amateurs
sat their Foundation course in Dover.
The trainees' hard work paid off as all
five passed and are eager to join the
rest of the club members on the bands.
Over the next few weeks the club will
have a dedicated operating shack ready
for use at the flick of a switch. This, along
with a superb location are just two of the
reasons why they hope to attract new
members and see some old faces turning
up as well. Details of the planned events
and other useful information can be found
at the website www.darc.org.uk. The photo
shows, from left to right, Catherine Block
(Instructor), Sarah Love (2nd Invigilator),
Paul Barker, Louise Flynn, Leon Lee, Neil
Fairbairn, Graham Cahill (Invigilator),
Stephen Ward.
10
FUNcube help needed

AMSAT-UK's FUNcube is an educational
satellite project with the goal of enthusing
and educating young people about radio,
space, physics and electronics. Additionally it
features a 435 to 145MHz linear transponder
for SSB/CW operation for use outside school
hours. The target audience consists of school
pupils and young people generally. FUNcube
will feature a 145MHz telemetry beacon that
will provide a strong signal for the pupils to
receive.
A simple FUNcube dongle SDR receiver
has also been developed. This will connect to
the USB port of a laptop to display telemetry
and messages in an interesting way.
As the technical work on the satellite
itself is now well under way, AMSAT-UK
is looking to develop the educational
outreach part of the project. This will
include the design and contents of the
ground station laptop display, the best
method of providing the information so
that it relates to current curricula and all
the supporting information that will be
needed by teachers. As they have little
current educational experience, AMSAT-UK
needs additional professional advice as to
how to carry it forward.
If you are in the educational field and
have experience in curriculum matters then
please consider helping AMSAT-UK with
this. In the first instance please contact
Richard, G3RWL for further information by
e-mail to g3rwl@amsat.org. More details
on the project are at www.funcube.org.uk.
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
Preston's Mobile
Radio Room
The photo shows
Preston Amateur
Radio Societys
new mobile radio
room. It has been
fitted out ready
for events. Other
items to be added
soon will be maps
and other publicity
material.
Details at www.prestonars.co.uk.
Passes
The Foundation licence course run at Mold
& District Amateur Radio Club culminated
with five successful passes in November.
Those candidates were Paul, M6AKF,
James, MW6WXM and Dan, MW6BUT.
They are still waiting to hear the callsigns
of Anne and her son, 14 year old Tom.
Unfortunately, two candidates just failed
but with a little help and encouragement
the club is sure they will pass the retest in
December. Thanks go to Keith, GW4OKT
and the rest of the training team. The club
plans to run a Full licence course early in
the New Year. Anyone wishing to join this
or any other course is welcome. Contact
Steve, GW7AAV or Keith, GW4OKT who
are both QTHR and on QRZ.com.
SADARC Foundation
Passes
Southport & District Amateur Radio
Club held its latest Foundation course
in November. Five candidates passed
including Alison and Rebecca, the wife
and daughter of the chairman Derek,
G7LFC. The photo shows on the back
row the instructors Keith, G0OXV, Stuart,
G0MJG, Brian, G0JCQ, Derek, G7LFC
and the front row shows Stephen Moorcroft,
David Horrocks, Amanda Nutt, Rebecca
Hughes and Alison Hughes.
JOTA Activity
Southport & District ARC took part in this
years JOTA from the Scout hut in Ormskirk
using the club callsign GX2OA. They were
on the air using PSK31, IRLP and SSB on
both the HF and VHF bands. In the photo
are Gordon, M6CWA, Stuart, G0MJG and
Chris, M6XJP operating the HF station.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
GB70CBC, Coventry
Members of
the Coventry
Amateur Radio
Society operated
GB70CBC as
part of the
commemoration
of the Coventry
blitz. Much of
central Coventry
was destroyed
Photo courtesy M3HBM.
including the
near destruction of the Cathedral, with over
560 dead, 863 seriously wounded and at
least another 393 persons who reported
their wounds.
GB70CBC was situated in the grounds
of Coventry cathedral. There was so much
activity and lack of space that the station was
confined to a shopping trolley. The station
consists of an Icom IC-708, Versatuner,
12V battery and loaded vertical made from
a carbon fibre fishing pole resonant on 40m
(and covering 20m with the tuner). The
trolley modifications were performed by
Brian, G8GMU and grandson M3HBM.
New Intermediate
Callsigns at Darton
In November, three members of the
Rose and Crown ARC in Darton, Barnsley
took and passed their Intermediate licence.
Mark Riley, who also took the course,
took his exam at the RSGB Convention
in October at Milton Keynes and is now
the proud owner of his new callsign
2E0CDC.
In the photograph are (left to right)
Mark, 2E0CDC, Alan, M0ZTG (2nd
instructor), Earnest, M6EWS, William,
M6WLC, Peter, M6PJE and, in front,
Jan, G6KOB (lead instructor). All students
and instructors would like to give special
thanks to the Rose & Crown for the facilities
they provide for members of the amateur
radio club.
Yeo Project
Walford Electroncis have developed a new
entry level home construction kit the Yeo.
It is a low cost direct conversion Rx that can
be built for any single band from 20 to 80m.
The kit includes all parts to build it, including
a 9V PP3 battery holder and a small PCB
mounted speaker. For ease of use with a low
tuning rate, it has two sub bands (selected by
a toggle switch) and a single large knobbed
PolyVaricon tuning capacitor. There are double
tuned RF filters and a double balanced mixer,
which is driven by the Colpitts VFO. The two
main audio stages provide plenty of gain for
normal aerials and are separated by an AF
gain potentiometer. The output stage includes
a buffer for driving a small loud speaker or
phones. The supply needs to be between
9 and 16 volts and reverse protection is
included. It is easy to add improvements
such as a full sized external loudspeaker,
or your own cabinet etc.
The price is 33 with 3 for P&P, details
at www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~walfor.
NEWS
New Radio Enthusiasts

Congratulations to four new radio enthusiasts,
Robert Blackman, Jonathan Bethell, William
Jones and Linda Thomas who passed their
Foundation licence under the care of the
Bittern DX Group trainers, Duncan, M0WTG,
Steve, G7VRK, Alan, G0NTJ and Alec,
G3YOA. The course was held in North Norfolk
in November. Candidates and trainers alike
are to be commended not only on their
success but on the fact that they actually
managed to get to the training centre
through the first snow of the winter.
Thanks also to Linda, G0AJJ, Bittern
DX Secretary, who ran the examination.
The club plans to hold one more course
this winter. Anyone in the North Norfolk
area who may be interested, please contact
Linda, G0AJJ on 01692 404154 or by
e-mail to secretary@bittern-dxers.org.uk.
Left to right: Jonathan Bethell, Alec, G3YOA,

Linda Thomas, Duncan, M0WTG, William
Jones, Robert Blackman and Linda, G0AJJ.
A Visit by Martein,
PA3AKE
LEFARS Intermediate
Success
Martein Bakker is well known around

the world for his website postings of his
research on how to build state of the art
short wave receivers. He and G3SBI have
both been involved in some of the research
for the AR7070 short wave receiver being
designed by John Thorpe. Marteins visit
was to see the production prototype
receiver and meet John Thorpe and Mark
Sumner who is organising the build of the
AR7070.
The photograph shows (left to right)
Martein (seated), Mark Sumner and
John Thorpe. The AR7070 production
prototype can just be seen on the bench
next to Martein.
All five candidates, having previously

obtained their Foundation licences earlier
this year, went on to complete a single day
Intermediate licence practical assessment
course followed immediately by the exam.
Loughton & Epping Forest ARS are fortunate
to be able to call upon the continued support
and good will of a number of experienced
instructors, assistants and exam invigilators.
Although the 19th LEFARS Foundation
course, taking place in January, is already
fully enrolled, they expect to stage at least
two more weekend courses in 2011. Please
contact Marc Litchman, G0TOC by e-mail
to g0toc@lefars.org.uk for details.
Photo courtesy of G3SBI.
(L-R) David, G3ZXF (lead tea-maker and

assistant invigilator), Derek, M0XDC (assistant
instructor), Lee, M6LXC, John, M6JRO, Jason,
M6AGD, Simon, M6IBM, Brian, M6EFX, John,
G8DZH (lead instructor) and Ron, G6LTT
(assistant instructor).
11
NEWS
GB0LD
6m Repeater
Chorley & District Amateur Radio Society put

on a special event station with the callsign
GB0LD to celebrate Lancashire Day. They
ran the station from the village of Hoghton
and spoke to many other radio amateurs
around the UK and the world. The Deputy
Mayor of South Ribble, Councillor Jim Marsh,
was invited along to read the loyal toast over
the radio at 9pm on Lancashire Day, 27
November. The photograph shows the
Deputy Mayor shaking hands with Stuart
Whittaker, M6SCW, who gained his radio
amateur licence earlier this year at the
Chorley & District Amateur Radio Society.
The Five Towns Repeater Group has

put the 6m repeater GB3WY (formerly
GB3HX) on the air from the groups site
just west of Wakefield, co-located with
GB3YW (2m) and GB3WC (23cm). The
new repeater operates on R50-9, which
is 50.800/51.300MHz and requires
continuous CTCSS of 82.5Hz. All the
equipment was transported to site and
installed by Dave, G4RQI, Michael,
G1XCC and Martin, 2E0RFE. Early
indications are that coverage is excellent
with reliable access available from as far
away as Deepcar in Sheffield using only
5 watts and easy access from hand
portables throughout West Yorkshire.
More information is available on the web
at www.gb3yw.co.uk/GB3WY.html.
Reception reports would be appreciated
and should be sent to either Michael,
G1XCC or Dave, G4RQI, both of whose
details can be found on QRZ.com.
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
MARS Passes
Recently, two more students sat and

passed their Foundation licence with
Midland Amateur Radio Society. Adrian,
M6AIY is planning to go for the Intermediate
exam as soon as possible and Paul, M6PDC
is planning to start his Intermediate
training after Christmas. The tutor was
Martin, G1TYV.
4th Bath Buildathon

Bath Morse Class
New Radio Club
A new radio club, the Peterborough and
Huntingdon Region Amateur Radio Society
(PHRARS) has been formed to promote
professional development within the
Peterborough Regional College and IET. It
aims to link amateur radio to encourage an
enriched knowledge and learning base for
Science Engineering and Technology (SET)
curriculum. They also hope to inspire people
from all walks of life to give a greater
understanding of electronic communications.
Larry Smith, RSGB DRM, gave a very
detailed presentation on Amateur Radio
for Everyone.
In September, seven students enrolled

on the Bath Morse class, soon after the
Intermediate and Advanced classes. The
Morse group is run by Steve, G0FUW and
Lewis, G4YTN with additional help from
Robin, G3TKF all Bath based. It was
decided from the start of the course that a
combination of teaching methods would be
used. Tools included the excellent G4FON
software and a combination of straight keys
and electronic paddles. As Region 11 didnt
have an approved Assessor, keen local CW
operator Robin, G3TKF volunteered to
apply! Robin was keen to encourage the
use of electronic paddles once the students
could receive 5wpm proficiently. November
saw five passes at 5wpm and at least two
students will be going for their 12wpm
soon. The courses are run at the Bath
Scout HQ for more information contact
Steve, G0FUW, QTHR.
The date of the 4th Bath Buildathon has

been confirmed as Saturday 8 January
2011. For those that are not familiar with
the concept, the basic idea is for a group
of radio enthusiasts to lock themselves
in a room for a day and build a radio
project under the watchful eye of a few
experienced mentors. These events are
ideal for Intermediate students or licensed
amateurs who have never raised solder
smoke in anger before.
The event will cost 55 to include
a 20m SSB superhet receiver kit, room
hire, tea, coffee, etc. The Bath Buildathon
Crew will be providing all tools and test
equipment required and no previous
experience is required, just a bucket load
of enthusiasm! Booking forms for the
Buildathon are available on request from
g0fuw@tiscali.co.uk or by post: Steve is
QTHR in the Yearbook and on QRZ.com.
ATC Cadet Success

In November, eight ATC cadets and a staff
member of No 1 Welsh Wing, Air Training
Corps completed their Foundation course
held at the club HQ of No 1 Welsh Wing
ARS. All passed the examination with flying
colours and are now looking forward to
obtaining their licences and getting on the air.
Group photo of IET and PHRARS committee

with guest speakers. Pictured at the front
(seated): Professor Colin Pillinger and Grant
Smith (Past Chairman) of IET P & H Network
receiving a signed copy of My Life on Mars
The Beagle 2 Diaries by Professor Colin Pillinger.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Mark, G7LEU has developed an iPhone application
that may be of interest to RadCom readers. The app,
Ham Square, uses the iPhone's built-in GPS receiver to
determine the current location, then presents that location
in decimal degrees and Maidenhead Locator, i.e. it shows
the current square. The app is free and available to
iPhone users via the iTunes App Store as usual.
Please see www.kramstuff.com for more details
and a screenshot.
12
Proudly holding the Pass Certificates for 5wpm

are (L-R) Simon, M0TTE, Dan, M0TGN, Matt,
G7FBD and Dave, 2E0DNC, seated (L-R) Robin,
G3TKF (Region 11 Morse assessor) and Steve,
G0FUW.
ARRL Handbook 2011
from
from
Pic Programming for Beginners 28.04
32.39
88th Edition **Whilst stocks last - hardback version at no extra cost**

At 1416 pages, the 88th edition of the ARRL Handbook (2011) is bigger
than ever. Part reference and part applied theory and lled with practical
treatments of basic electronic fundamentals, RF design, digital and
software radio technology, antenna construction, the ARRL Handbook
is a must have for every radio amateur. The books accompanying
CD-ROM inside the back cover once again includes a searchable PDF
version of the entire book and includes companion software, PC board
templates and other support les.
This 2011 edition has been signicantly enhanced, featuring brand-new
projects and the most up-to-date information. It provides both a useful
introduction to radio communication and features the most current material
on electronics and Amateur Radio.
By Mark Spencer, WA8SME

Microcontrollers control virtually everything we use in our everyday
lives, from microwave ovens, remote controls and even electronic tooth
brushes. ARRL PIC Programming for Beginners is an introductory guide
to understanding this fascinating eld. This book also includes a useful
CD packed with programming resources, supplementary reading, short
video clips and other helpful data.
Size 206x273mm, 256 pages. ISBN 9780-8725-9089-2
Non Members Price 32.99 RSGB Members Price 28.04

from
Remote Operating for Amateur Radio 16.99
A Guide to Design, Installation and Construction
By Steve Ford, WB8IMY

Many amateurs are now discovering the advantages remote operating
when confronted with restricted antenna locations or interference issues.
Remote Operating for Amateur Radio is the essential guide to establishing
your own remote controlled station and is the ideal solution to getting on the
air across the internet.
By Don Daso, K4ZA

from
Antenna Towers for Radio Amateurs 23.79

For those who have ever thought of installing a tower or already have one
from the most modest upwards Antenna Towers for Radio Amateurs
provides everything you need to know about constructing and
maintaining antenna towers.

from
Storm Spotting for Radio Amateurs 16.99
Antenna Towers for Radio Amateurs outlines the basic tower types, the
realities of climbing towers and much more. The entire installation process
is covered from selecting a tower, digging the base, pouring concrete,
working with cranes before moving into tips for working with rope and
pulleys, guy wires and associated hardware. This book also teaches the
correct procedures for taking down existing towers, conducting inspections
and even performing maintenance.
By Michael Corey, W5MPC and Victor Morris, AH6WX

This book is aimed directly at those who interested in tornados and other
severe weather phenomenon. Many amateur radio operators are trained
storm spotters and this book includes information on resources, training
and equipment available to them. Thoroughly recommended reading for
those interested in all severe weather, including hurricanes, tornadoes, hail,
oods, damaging wind, and winter weather.
www.rsgbshop.org
E&OE

NEWS
Three Years of Success
GB2AD
Hinckley Amateur Radio and Electronics

Society had six students take the Foundation
exam in early November and four passed.
This takes the total of exam passes to
25 Foundation, 7 Intermediate and
5 Advanced in the last three years.
Currently students are also taking
Intermediate and Advanced courses
that the club hope will take the passes
to over 40 students. The tutor for this
course, Mike, M0MPF, is himself one
of those students who has taken all three
courses and exams in the last three years.
In the picture are, left to right, Dave
Crashley, Mark Swann, Andrew Heritage,
Mike Finn (tutor), Mark Hughes, Gareth
Southall and Kelvin Whootton.
On 11 November, the Mid Ulster Amateur

Radio Club set up a special event station to
commemorate Armistice Day. Using GB2AD,
the club transmitted from Brownlow House,
Lurgan in Northern Ireland. This site was
chosen as it had been battalion HQ in
WWI and American HQ in WWII and
where Eisenhower was reported to have
stayed two days before D-Day. Although
extremely stormy, the members managed
to enjoy themselves, making contacts on
HF and 2 metres.
St John Exam Success

NEWS IN BRIEF
Waters & Stanton have completed their first
military contract. This is the culmination of two
years development work on an intelligence
gathering system using some of the most
advanced radio equipment available. Indeed,
some of the equipment did not even exist at
the time that the work on this project began.
In addition, software had to be written and
developed specifically for the purpose. This
project has been the culmination of cooperation
on both sides of the Atlantic with the hardware
coming from TenTec Commercial Division
and RF Space. The system comprises a multireceiver installation with panoramic linked
display and Ethernet network connection.
Following the recent activation of the new
6m repeater GB3WY on 50.800/51.300MHz,
the Sunday morning North of England GB2RS
news team of Dave, G4CLI, Ken, 2E0SSQ and
Robin, G1MHU now read the bulletins through
that repeater. The former bulletins by this team on
51.530 will cease. In addition, the time of the
bulletin has changed from 1100 to 0900.
The Wakefield & District Radio Societys IRLP
and Echolink Node MB7IWR (which operates
on 145.3375MHz from Dewsbury) has had
an antenna upgrade. Thanks to the generosity
and work of Michael, G1XCC and Nathan,
M0KKH, the new antenna seems to be
performing well. Reception reports would be
appreciated to the node keeper, Dave, G4CLI by
e-mail to g4cli@wdrs.org.uk. More information
about the node can be found on the society
website at www.wdrs.org.uk.
14
In October,
Mid Ulster
Amateur Radio
Club ran three
Foundation
courses and
exams for
members of the
St John Ambulance and other prospective
radio amateurs. The club would like to
congratulate all the new licensees and
hope to hear them on the air soon.
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
More Foundation
Stones at Warrington
November
saw the
successful
finale of
the second
formally
organised
Foundation
course run
by the
Warrington
Amateur Radio Club, Bellhouse Lane,
Grappenhall. The course was once again
very well organised by Paul, G7ODJ and
led by lead instructor Albert, G3ZHE.
The enrolled students studied very hard
over the two days, which resulted in five
successful passes.
Students James Whalley, Brian Ardrey,
Peter Cunliffe, Thomas Porter (12) and
Christopher Quinn (11) proudly display
their pass certificates accompanied by
course tutor Vincent, M0LCR. Thomas
was presented his pass certificate by a
very proud grandfather, Tom, G0MYN.
Both Thomas (1st Appleton Scouts) and
Christopher (28th Warrington Scouts) also
qualified for their Scouting Communication
Badge well done!
This achievement was not only due
to the hard work of the students but also
to the dedication of the instructors and
assistants. These included, Mike, G4VSS,
Alan, G8WQE, Carmel, M3CFI, Vincent,
M0LCR and Jeff, G1DYN.
SOS Radio Week 2011

Every year the Royal National Lifeboat
Institution (RNLI) organises a fund-raising
day and the next SOS Day will take place
on Friday, 28 January. The Lifeboat
Amateur Radio Society will, once again,
be organising SOS Radio Week to coincide
with it. SOS Radio Week has so far raised
over 4,000 for the RNLI.
In 2011, it will start at midnight on
Saturday 22 January and conclude at
midnight on Sunday 30 January. Taking
part is easy. You simply register on the
event website (www.sosradioweek.org.uk)
and download the sponsorship paperwork.
You get as many sponsors as possible and
then work for as much time as you can
spare during the event theres no
pressure. You can operate from anywhere
you like: home, work, on top of a mountain,
at a lifeboat station, or even out on a gas rig.
For further information, please visit the
event website at www.sosradioweek.org.uk,
or e-mail the organisers at
info@sosradioweek.org.uk.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
NEWS
Skye High
RAIBC Audio Books
South Lancashire Success
Following the latest Stirling & District

ARS visit to Skye, they are getting more
candidates for their amateur radio exams.
In the latest round of exams, Gaynor
passed for Foundation exam with her
husband, Ian, 2M0VVS helping her
with the studying.
As usual, thanks to Jim, GM4VGR and
Wullie, GM0MZ who held the exam and
Stirling District Amateur Radio Society for
hosting the courses
The RAIBC audio reading team has updated

the Advanced Licence Course talking book
to the 2010 copy of the Advanced Manual.
The disks are produced with the permission
of RSGB for the use of anyone with visual
impairments, text reading difficulties or
disabilities that restrict the ability to read
printed material. The disks are available
post free for the use of VI and dyslectic
students and all the RAIBC ask in return
is a small donation to funds to cover the
cost of the disk and packing and to further
their work for amateurs with disabilities.
RAIBC has an expert team with
experience of assisting amateurs with
disabilities and if you require any help in
a personal capacity or as an instructor
please contact the RAIBC Helpline on
08000 141 743 or e-mail
russell.bradleyg0okd@ntlworld.com.
Full details of RAIBC Services and
activities are available at www.raibc.org.uk.
The RAIBC would like to thank the
authors of the books for the excellent
material and Mark Allgar at the RSGB for
permission to copy them to audio format.
The South Lancashire Amateur Radio Club

would like to congratulate the candidates
who successfully passed the Foundation
and Intermediate licence exams in October.
There were two Foundation and two
Intermediate candidates. Congratulations
on their successful passes.
Pro Antennas
Nevada will carry the new Dual Beam Pro
and the iPro home antennas, developed
by Pro Antennas last year. The design of
both models incorporates high efficiency
capacitive end loading elements, together
with a matching unit, allowing coverage
of all bands from 20 to 10m (plus 30 &
40m with a suitable tuner).
More information can be found on
the Nevada and Pro Antenna websites
www.nevadaradio.co.uk and
www.proantennas.co.uk.
NEWS IN BRIEF
On the brink of the Second World War, the huge
Graf Zeppelin airship crossed the North Sea on a
daring spy mission. What happened in the next
24 hours was to decide the future Battle of
Britain. Fighter Command assumed that all the
secrets of Chain Home the RAF's vital radar
network were now being analysed by the top
wireless experts of the Luftwaffe. When war was
declared just a few weeks later the radar stations
braced themselves for a knockout blow but it
never came.
With exclusive interviews, reconstructions and
expert analysis, a new documentary is available
on this story. To see more and view clips please
visit www.boffinstv.co.uk.
SOS Week Sponsor

Icom UK
is pleased
to sponsor
SOS Radio
Week by
providing
two radio
transceivers
worth over
800 as
prizes for the amateur radio stations that
raise the most money for the RNLI during
the week. The two transceivers donated to
SOS Radio Week are the ID-E880 D-Star
dual band mobile and the IC-E80D D-Star
dual band hand-held. These models will
be awarded to the group and individual,
respectively, that raise the most money
for the RNLI during SOS Radio Week 2011.
Icom UK is already involved with raising
money for the RNLI by being a member of
RNLI Ambassador Scheme. This involves
Icom promoting RNLI membership on
selected marine radio communication
products. To this end, Icom UK offers
a years introductory membership with
the purchase of either the IC-M71 VHF
Marine Transceiver, IC-M505 or IC-M603
VHF/DSC Marine Transceivers.
So, if you want to be in with a chance
to win one of these great radios, get
registered for SOS Radio Week 2011
now and start planning your fundraising
operations.
Rear (L-R) Brian, G1EIO (Club President),

Derek, 2EOBQO (candidates mentor). Front (LR) Peter (Foundation), Darren (Intermediate),
Keiron (Foundation). Also, not in the
photograph, Gordon (Intermediate).
Norfolk RAYNET
Exercise
Special Event Station GB4CLB (Cromer
Life Boat) will be operational on 28 to
30 January 2011 from the RNLI Boat
Shed, Cromer Pier, Cromer, Norfolk
NR27 9HE. The event is combined
with a RAYNET Coastal Exercise Sea
Over Sand and the RNLI Annual SOS
Radio Week. The station will be primarily
on 80m SSB but will be operational also
on CW and RTTY from time to time
depending on available operators and
propagation.
Special event QSL card will be available
via the RSGB Bureau or direct with an
SAE to G4PSH, QTHR or www.qrz.com.
This Exercise will give the public, who
can visit the station over the three days, the
opportunity to find out more about RAYNET
and what it does. If an emergency rescue
call out occurs, the SES may have to close
down until such times the RNLI station is
stood down and back on normal ops.
G4SKS on the Air

W H Bradshaw DSM, ISM held the
callsign G4SKS and became a silent
key in February 2006. Since then, his
son, G4DTD was granted his callsign
to hold along with his own.
Every year starting from 2007, he has
transmitted 1 to 11 February using the
callsign G4SKS in his memory. In 2011,
he will be transmitting CW as always,
using the call G4SKS and using the highest
band open at the time, usually 14MHz in
the day and 7MHz at night-time.
15
NEWS
New Linear Amp
More Stevenage Success
Linear Amp Ltd has launched its latest HF

amplifier, the PIONEER. Based on the well
proven RANGER, the PIONEER is a 1kW
HF amplifier covering all bands from 160m
to 10m. It has four 572B valves in a fully
neutralised grounded grid configuration
and a raised HT voltage, nominally 2,200V.
The metering has also been improved and
now measures HT voltage and true forward
power output. There is a new antenna
changeover PCB incorporating forward
power metering circuitry and an improved
input PCB featuring individual pi matching
circuits for every band, resulting in
improved input VSWR.
Full details can be found at
www.linamp.co.uk. The price will be
1722, with free carriage.
The Stevenage & District ARS held another

successful Intermediate courses, held with
kind permission at the Army Cadet Force
headquarters in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.
There were six students; all passed with
flying colours and hope to be operational
with their new power entitlement very soon.
For more information of their
forthcoming Foundation, Intermediate
and Full licence exams, please visit
www.sadars.org.
Lancashire Day
From left to right: Joe, Krzysztof (Chris), Eddie,

Christopher, Matt & Richard. Photo courtesy
Rob, G2BKZ/9H1KZ.
Preston ARS ran a special event station,

GB1LD, for Lancashire Day on 27
November. The venue was in the car
park at the Lonsdale club in Preston.
They were using the new mobile shack
that had been fitted out by Steve, M3ZIX
for use on events and contests.
The day was very cold 0C all day.
They used the clubs HF set and 132'
Windom and worked 36 stations, with
the furthest being N8QS on 17m.
The event was well publicised and they
had visitors come and see amateur radio in
action, especially their youngest operator,
club member Alex, M6CDA, just 8 years old.
Preston ARS will be out and about round
the area in shows and fairs this year and
will be contesting using the mobile shack.
Sheffield Intermediate
Passes
Sheffield Amateur Radio Club had three
more Intermediate passes in November.
Darren, 2E0DBN, Chris, 2E0PAM and
Peter, 2E0ERA would like to thank their
tutors Tony, G1TKX and Peter, M0TWG
for all their hard work over the last few
weeks.
16
Anniversary Open Day

Despite the
dreadful
weather
conditions
around the
country,
several
hundred people ventured out to Chertsey,
joined in the festivities, got through a huge
hog roast and bought lots of pieces of kit at
bargain prices. The day was topped by the
raffle prizes donated by Yaesu, Kenwood,
LDG and ML&S raising over 800 for the
Macmillan Cancer Support Nurses.
Visitors had the chance to browse
around the shop chatting to Yaesu and
Kenwood representatives about the radios
on display. Yaesu UK very kindly brought
along a very unusual cake an oversize
VX-7R! CDXC were there with members
talking about the forthcoming Five Star
DXers Association Dxpedition to Christmas
Island, T32. Neville, G3NUG and Gordon,
G3USR will be out on Christmas island
for the whole of the four week DXpedition
(www.T32C.com).
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
NEWS IN BRIEF
The Bodleian Libraries are calling for
applicants interested in researching the history
of science and technology. Thanks to a grant
from the Wireless Preservation Society, the
Bodleian Libraries offer an annual fellowship
Douglas Byrne Marconi Fellowship to
support a scholar in residence. The value of
the award in 2011 will be 4000.
Applications are encouraged from those
wishing to consult the Marconi Archive at the
Bodleian Library and the collection of objects
held at the Museum of Science, Oxford. The vast
archive, occupying some 400 linear metres of
shelving, includes personal papers of Guglielmo
Marconi and business records relating to the
radio industry up to the late twentieth century.
Objects in the collection include devices from
early experiments in transmission.
For details of funding and how to apply for
the Douglas Byrne Marconi Fellowship at the
Bodleian Library, visit the library website at
www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/csb, or write to:
Fellowships, Centre for the Study of the Book,
Bodleian Library, Oxford OX1 3BG. Applications
for the 2011 fellowship must be submitted by
31 December 2010.
Scout Foundation
Course
In December Tamworth Amateur Radio
Society, after running a Foundation course
on the previous two Sundays, held a
Foundation exam for nine members of the
Scout association one Beaver Scout, one
Cub Scout (who's grandfather is G4EHT),
one Scout, four Explorer Scouts and two
Scout Leaders. Eight out of the nine passed.
All nine will be the founder members of
Tamworth Radio Scouting Group. The exam
certificates were presented by Tamworth's
current Mayor, Clr Lee Bates, who himself
is intending to obtain a Foundation licence
as soon as his mayoral duties allow. The
course was organised by Tamworth's
Assistant District Commissioner for Scouts
Steve Smith, M6TSD as a follow on from a
successful JOTA. Thanks must go to Tony,
G0FEO who assisted during the course and
intends to become a registered tutor soon.
In the photograph are (L-R) Josh Harriot,
Jane Hilton, Owen Smith, Russell Hilton
Clr Lee Bates, Adrian Maye, Thomas
Granahan, Josh Smith, Heather Allison
and Sam Kingstone.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
TERRY STOW, G0SWS E-MAIL: TERRYG0SWS@AOL.COM
Battleship New Jersey

Amateur Radio Station,
NJ2BB
Bob, N4XAT inside one of the restoration shops (SP-600 on bench & RB receivers in background).
BATTLESHIP TOUR. Last year, a group of

us visited the Battleship New Jersey Amateur
Radio Station, NJ2BB, during their quarterly
membership meeting. After the usual business
and social meeting, Vice-President Ed Clark,
W2KP, gave a tour of some of the shipboard
spaces used by the group. Ed, whose father
was one of the thousands who built the ship,
explained how the curator had started calling
the group Bean-jars, a nickname based on
the radio stations initials, BNJARS.
Ed showed us Radio Central, FACCON 1,
FACCON 2, two of the restoration shops and
their ongoing work in what had been the radio
room of WWII, the Korean conflict and the ships
time off the coast of Vietnam. The room needs
restoration because in 1982 the compartment
was converted to a 400Hz power generation
space. At that time all radio communications
(excepting the transmitters) was moved to the
modern radio room located on the main deck.
Along the way Ed explained terms like demilled, a process during which the military
removes any items that could be used by the
fleet as repair or replacement parts or disables
equipment by cutting wiring harnesses or
literally taking an axe or hammer to it. Other
sensitive equipment was also removed for
security reasons. Much of the gear in the photos
has been restored to operation, even if it does
not have amateur capability, although most of
the stuff will find its way onto the airwaves.
After the tour we met up with Dave Burgess,
WA2TVS, the Chief Engineer for BNJARS. Dave
continued our visit by explaining the history

of the ship, BNJARS and what the future may
hold for amateur radio aboard this piece of
naval history.
HISTORY LESSON. To save space in this
article, I suggest you visit www.nj2bb.org
and other sites for a complete history of the
ship. High points are that the BB-62 is the
second of four Iowa Class Fast Battleships
designed in 1938. She is 886 feet 6 inches
long (the longest of the four sisters and a story
in and of itself), 108 feet wide with a designed
displacement of 45,000 tons, a maximum
displacement of 54,000 tons and a top speed
of 34 knots. Her nine main guns are 16" inside
diameter, 66 feet long and each turret of three
guns weights almost 1,100 tons. Launched on
7 December 1942, she was commissioned in
May of 1943 and entered the conflict shortly
after that date.
In 1999 the care of the ship was turned over
to the Home Port Alliance who planned to use
her as a museum and education centre. This
is when amateur radio appears on the scene.
A couple of local amateurs joined forces to
create BNJARS and approached the HPA about
working on the ship as volunteers. With luck
on their side, the amateurs discovered that
the Curator had been a college room-mate of
an amateur and had even been to the Dayton
Hamvention. The first visit to the ship resulted
not only in work requests but also a space
that could be used as a shack.
FEATURE
THE SHACK. In addition to the three HF

operating positions that use modern day
solid state transceivers, NJ2BB also has
restored three AN/URT-23 HF transmitters,
several R-1051 receivers and two R-390A
receivers. The group occasionally operates
in a All Navy, All Battleship mode. The all
navy part refers to the number of operators
(4) needed to get on the air while the all
battleship refers to the equipment used.
For this reason most operating is with the
more modern civilian transceivers.
BNJARS is still hard at work on completing
the restoration of the WWII Radio Room.
Currently this space is home to several restored
RBA, RBB, RBC and RAL series receivers.
Cables have been pulled that will allow amateur
operations from this compartment, utilising the
TCK, AN/WRT-2 or the URT-23 transmitters
located some 200 feet away in the transmitter
room. This form of operating is still a couple
of years away, but someday the ship will
once again be on the air from her original
radio central and transmitter room that are
located inside her armoured citadel.
Dave ended our session by mentioning that
BNJARS is also active with the Youth Overnight
Encampment Program by offering classes for
the Boy Scouts Communications Merit Badge.
Here I need to add that BNJARS is the
sponsor of the annual Museum Ships on the
Air Weekend held in early June of each year.
In 2009 some 85 museum ships from around
the globe participated in this weekend long
event, in 2010 even more. Check out the
website for details of this fun event. As one
of the nearby members added, its an event,
not a contest.
Harry, AA2WN operating the Harris, AN/URC119(V) transceiver at NJ2BB.
Aft view of the superstructure starboard side:

antennas, missile launchers, CIWS, chaff
launchers and 5" guns.
17
The Evolution of the FT DX 9000 Series

The Powerful FT-2000
Strong receiver front end includes VRF (Variable RF Tuning) preselector and
optional external High-Q Tuning for the 1.8 - 14 MHz bands
First IF Roofing Filters of 3 kHz, 6 kHz and 15 kHz included (Main VFO-A)
Strong receiver design provides wide dynamic range and high 3rd order
intercept point
Wide array of IF-DSP interference-rejection filters (Main VFO-A)
External display port for viewing a wide range of information including RF
and Audio Scopes (Optional DMU-2000 Data Management Unit and monitor are required)
Now including the
PEP-2000
(Performance
Enhancement
Programme)
FT-2000D 200 W with External Power Supply

FT-2000 100 W with Internal Power Supply
Commercial Radio
www.vertexstandard.co.uk
www.yaesu.co.uk
Amateur Radio
www.yaesu.co.uk
Marine Electronics
www.standardhorizon.co.uk
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
EAMON SKELTON, EI9GQ E-MAIL: HBRADIO@EIRCOM.NET
HOMEBREW
Homebrew
Transmit mixers and band pass filters
for the HF transceiver project
PHOTO 1: The assembled triple balanced mixer with BNC terminations.
TRANSISTORS. This month's project uses

several NPN transistors. The stages that we
have built so far have been based on the well
known and widely available BC547, 548
and 549 series of transistors. Transistors
used in broadband amplifiers should have
an fT (unity gain transition frequency) that
is many times the upper frequency limit of
the amplifier. To ensure that the broadband
amplifiers described here will have good
performance from 1.8MHz to 52MHz,
I will use VHF/UHF transistors in these
stages. This will leave me with the option
of covering the 6m band if I decide to add
an extra set of RF filters at some time in the
future. Many of our previous projects have
used some of the old favourites like the
BFY90, BFR91, 2N5179, 2N2369A etc.
These devices are still available, but they
are now quite old and prices tend to be high.
After trawling through the data sheets and
price lists, I have chosen the MPSH10 as
the new standard Homebrew VHF transistor.
This transistor is currently in full production
and available in both leaded and surfacemount packages. It is RoHS compliant
and can be bought in bulk for about 7p per
device. The MPSH10 is specified as a low
noise UHF/VHF amplifier [1].
The SSB exciter described last month
is capable of producing a high quality SSB
IF signal. This intermediate frequency signal
is passed through a crystal filter that does a
very good job of suppressing the opposite
sideband and any other out-of-passband

signals. At this point in the circuit, the signal
quality is very high. Everything we do in the
following stages will degrade the signal quality
to some extent. Our task is one of damage
limitation. We must convert this milliwatt
level IF signal to a different frequency within
one or more of the amateur bands, filter out
and suppress any spurious signals that are
generated in the frequency conversion
process and then amplify the low level
RF signal up to a level of several tens or
possibly even several hundred watts.
Any harmonics generated in the
transmitter amplifier stages are easily
removed by a simple low pass filter (LPF)
between the PA stage and the aerial. Other
distortion products are not so easy to remove.
Odd-order intermodulation distortion (IMD)
products are particularly problematic because
they tend to produce spurious signals at
frequencies that are close to the transmit
frequency. To keep distortion to an acceptably
low level, all of the transmitter stages beyond
the IF filter must have excellent linearity.
As the intermediate frequency (IF) signal
is at a very low power level, it would be
possible to use a low level mixer for the IF
to RF conversion. Many published designs
use active IC mixers for this application. This
approach has the advantage of simplicity but
does not offer the best performance. To meet
my requirement for excellent linearity, I have
decided to use a high level passive diode
mixer as the transmit mixer. My previous rig

used a conventional diode double balanced
mixer (DBM) as the transmit mixer. This has
served me very well for many years. The DBM
offers excellent local oscillator (LO) to RF and
LO to IF isolation of 40-60dB. This makes it
a lot easier to keep the very strong LO signal
out of the transmit RF amplifier stages. The
IF to RF (and vice versa) port isolation of a
typical DBM is not quite so good: typical
values range from 15-25dB. This could
lead to problems where the IF is close to the
intended output frequency. Poor suppression
of a 10.7MHz IF would be likely to cause
problems in a 10MHz (30m) transmitter.
A 40m transmitter with a 7.8MHz IF is
another tricky combination.
Like most home constructors, I have a
long list of things I would like to build. I will
eventually get around to making some of
them; others will probably stay on the to-do
list forever. One interesting device that I have
never built before is the triple balanced mixer
(TBM) or, if you prefer, the double-doublebalanced-mixer. A typical TBM consists
of a pair of diode rings. This configuration
offers good isolation between all three ports.
The circuit is a bit more complex than the
standard DBM. Eight well-matched diodes
and as many as five ferrite cores may be
required. As the local oscillator power
is switching twice as many diodes, the
TBM requires more LO drive than the more
common DBM. Another disadvantage of the
TBM is that the IF port is not DC coupled.
+13.8V DC 100
3k3
In from
SSB filter
01
MPSH10
SSB IF out
to TX mixer
10n
10n
T1
680
100
22n
FIGURE 1: Buffer amplifier between the SSB

filter (exciter unit) and diode mixer IF port.
19
HOMEBREW
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
suitable binocular type cores for D,

the two remaining options were B
A
and C. After a few failed attempts
at using balun transformers based
on C, I eventually decided to use
transformers based on Figure 3B.
This is a miniature version of the
'choke balun' that is often used
B
in aerial feedlines. A typical choke
balun consists of several metres of
co-axial cable wound on a plastic
drainpipe. My miniature version is
twelve turns of bifilar wound wire
on a T37-43 ferrite toroid. The wire
C
is 0.375mm enamelled copper
(Maplin YN86T or similar). Two equal
lengths of wire are twisted together at
2 twists per cm. I took a 20cm length
PHOTO 2: The double-decker arrangement of the post mixer amplifier
transistors.
of this line and measured the opencircuit capacitance and short-circuit
inductance using the VK3BHR L/C
Loc-Osc
meter (May 2008). The measured
RF
D
values were 90nH and 31.2pF. The
standard formula Z0=(L/C) gives a
characteristic impedance of 53.7.
This is reasonably close to the
FIGURE 3: Some of the
industry standard I/O impedance
many mixer configurations.
of 50. The first (quarter wavelength)
A - conventional transformer
resonance was measured at 190MHz
with an optional centre tap on
using a signal generator, RLB and
the secondary. B - simple 1:1
transmission line transformer
50 load resistor. Comparing the
or 'sortabalun'. C - another 1:1
physical line length (20cm) to a
transmission line transformer
IF
free-space quarter wavelength (75/f)
with an extra winding to improve
shows that the velocity factor is just
voltage balance. D - 1:4 balun
over 0.5. This is a little lower than
made from a pair of transmission
I expected. Testing several different
FIGURE 2: Prototype mixer using two rings of well-matched
line transformers, often known
line lengths for resonance showed
1N5711 Schottky diodes.
as a 'Guanella balun'.
some small variation in VF which
suggests that the relative permittivity
of the wire insulation is frequency dependant.
TRIPLE BALANCED MIXER. I have several
This means that it is not suitable for use as
However, in every case, the VF was always
home- and commercially-made DBMs
a phase detector or AF product detector. The
between 0.50 and 0.57.
gathering dust on the shelf. I will do a few
advantages of the TBM are a high third order
Each of the five transformers in the TBM is
tests on a home-made triple balanced mixer
intercept point and good IF/RF port isolation.
12 turns on a small high permeability ferrite
before I decide whether I should use the TBM
This should result in greater dynamic range
and fewer spurious signals at the mixer output. or stick with the easier and well tried option of toroid (FT37-43 or similar). As stated, the
characteristic impedance of the line through
using a DBM. Figure 2 shows my prototype
We will need to find a way of matching the
the transformer is close to 50. Line loss for
IF filter termination impedance (usually around mixer. I used two rings of well matched
normal mode signals is extremely low at MF/HF,
1N5711 Schottky diodes. I considered a
500) to the 50 IF port of the diode mixer.
rising to just 1dB at 200MHz. Because it is
few different options for the mixer I/O balun
A simple emitter-follower buffer amplifier is one
transformers. Figure 3 shows a few of the many wound on a ferrite core, the line presents a very
of the easiest ways of making a high to low
high impedance to common mode current.
configurations available. A is a conventional
impedance transformation. Figure 1 shows the
transformer with an optional centre tap on the 12 turns on the FT37-43 has an inductance
buffer amplifier that I used between the output
of 50.4H: an inductive reactance of 570 at
secondary. B is a simple 1:1 transmission line
of the SSB filter (exciter unit) and the IF port
1.8MHz, rising to more than 9k at 29.7MHz.
of the diode mixer. T1 is a 4:1 impedance ratio transformer, often described as a 'sortabalun'
This large common mode to normal mode
in American publications. C is another 1:1
(2:1 voltage ratio) transformer made from 10
impedance ratio guarantees good current
transmission line transformer with an extra
turns of enamelled wire, trifilar wound on a
balance at the balanced end of the line.
winding to improve voltage balance. D is a
FT37-43 ferrite toroid. As the voltage gain of
Photo 1 shows the assembled mixer.
1:4 balun made from a pair of transmission
an emitter-follower is approximately 1, the
Take care with the polarity of the diodes and
line transformers. This configuration is often
transformer reduces the overall gain to 0.5.
the transformer windings. I took reasonable
However, this amplifier has a small power gain, described as a 'Guanella balun'. Two separate
care with mine and I still managed to get one
ferrite cores are usually required, although it is
about 4dB, because the input impedance of
of the transformers wrong at the first attempt.
possible to wind the two separate transmission
500 is higher than the output impedance.
lines on a single two-hole 'binocular' type of
For instance, if the input voltage is 1V (RMS),
balun core. Previous experience has shown
PERFORMANCE. Testing the LO-RF and
the input power is V/R=1/500=0.002W
that transmission line transformers can operate LO-IF port isolation with a signal generator
(or 2mW). The output power is 0.5/R=5mW.
over a wider bandwidth than conventional
and sensitive power meter shows that the
The circuit was built dead-bug style using a
flux-coupled transformers. As I didn't have
performance of this mixer compares very
MPSH10 transistor.
20
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
HOMEBREW
well with a conventional DBM. Isolation is

better than 50dB from 6.5MHz to well over
100MHz. Isolation falls to 39dB at 1.8MHz
due to the reduced reactance of the transformer
windings at LF. The measured RF-IF isolation
is also in the 40-60dB range from top band
to VHF. IF-RF isolation at the most common
IF frequencies in the 8-12MHz range is
54dB. This is a substantial improvement
over a conventional DBM. Measured IF
to RF conversion loss is around 6.5dB.
The tests were performed with 22.5mW
(+13.5dBm) of local oscillator injection
and 0.1mW (-10dBm) of IF injection.
POST MIXER AMPLIFIER. The signal from
the mixer RF port is amplified by a 20dB
broadband amplifier, which is followed by
a 4dB attenuator pad to give an overall gain
of 16dB. The amplifier is based on a parallel
pair of MPSH10 transistors. As this amplifier
is placed before the RF band pass filters, it
is critically important that it has very good
linearity. Figure 4 shows how the amplifier
fits into the chain we're building this month.
The amplifier schematic is shown in Figure 5.
The amplifier was built on a strip of copper
PCB laminate. T1 is 10 turns bifilar wound
on a FT37-43 toroid. The base and collector
leads of the two transistors are soldered
together. The 5 degenerative feedback
resistor is distributed equally between the
two transistors by putting a 10 resistor in
the emitter circuit of each transistor. As well
as providing RF negative feedback, the resistors
encourage equal current sharing between the
two transistors. Photo 2 shows the doubledecker arrangement of the transistors.
The strongest signals at the amplifier input
are the wanted RF signal and the IF image. The
local oscillator signal is much reduced because
of the LO-RF isolation of the mixer, but it is still
relatively strong at about 15-20dB below the
RF signal.
The first prototype had a measured gain
FIGURE 5: The post mixer amplifier
is extremely linear and gives about
16dB of gain.
PHOTO 3: The prototype broadband RF amplifier.
of just over 20dB, falling to

19dB at 0.9MHz and 73MHz.
The -3dB points were at
0.5MHz and 102MHz. This
meets or exceeds our design
requirements. Output return
loss (RL) was measured at
FIGURE 4: Block diagram of this month's project elements
better than 20dB (SWR=1.2:1)
showing distribution of gain and loss.
from 1.5MHz to 87MHz.
Input return loss was a
is not shown in this photo. So far I have built
slightly disappointing -14dB (SWR=1.5:1)
three of these amplifiers: one as the post mixer
from 2.1MHz to 120MHz. I have used
amplifier and one as part of my test rig for
several 47nF capacitors in the amplifier
evaluating the performance of the circuits
instead of my usual choice of 100nF. 47nF is
made so far. The third has been boxed up
just about ideal for the input/output coupling
as a general purpose 20dB amplifier.
capacitors. The 47nF capacitor used to bypass
As an experiment, I replaced the
the 56 resistor in the emitter circuit has a
transistors with a pair of BC548s. This
reactance of 1.88 at 1.8MHz. This is
reduced the amplifier bandwidth to less than
relatively high when compared to the value
30MHz. I then substituted a single BFG135.
of the 5 degenerative feedback resistance.
This is a surface mount UHF 1W transistor
Putting a 470nF capacitor in parallel with
with an fT of 7GHz. I was surprised to find
this capacitor improved the input RL at low
that this transistor did not give significantly
frequencies. The modified amplifier shows
wider bandwidth than the MPSH10 pair.
input RL of 14dB from 1.2MHz to 177MHz
Obviously, transistor fT is not the only factor
and 16dB (SWR=1.4:1) from 3.5MHz to
70MHz). The prototype RF amplifier is shown that determines amplifier bandwidth. I suspect
that the inductive reactance of the emitter
in Photo 3. Note that the extra 470nF capacitor
+13.8V DC
22
L
PIN diode
FB
3k9
40p
560
RF
01
T1
FIGURE 6:
Link coupling
can be used
with PIN
diode or relay
switcing.
47n
Out
+12V DC
47n
In
RF
47n
2 x MPSH10
10
L
10
1k
+12V DC
56
47n
047 *
Relay
21
HOMEBREW
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
PHOTO 4: The finished 17m filter.

C12
C
50
Lk
40p
40p
40p
L
A slightly wide filter bandwidth of 850kHz

was chosen because it gives reasonable
values for the coupling capacitors and low
insertion loss of about 2dB.
C34
C23
40p
L
C
L
Lk
50
FIGURE 7: 17m filter configuration.
inductors wound on
T50 powdered iron
cores. The new filter
unit should be more
suitable for use in a
high dynamic range
receiver. Although,
I must admit, there
was never any obvious
sign of distortion caused
by non-linearity in the
BPF of the old rig.
The filter design is
based on the same
formula as the 144MHz
BPF from September
2010. The design
procedure is as described
FIGURE 8: QUCS simulation of the transmission (red) and return loss
in The Handbook of
(blue).
Filter Synthesis by
A Zverev and in several publications by
feedback resistors is significant at VHF/UHF.
Wes Hayward, W7ZOI. See page 19-23
Perhaps a microstripline layout and a change
of the September 2010 RadCom for more
to surface mount resistors and capacitors
detailed information.
would result in a greater bandwidth. We
I decided to use inductive link coupling at
might return to this subject in a future
the filter input/output because this offers the
Homebrew.
greatest flexibility in the choice of switching
method. Figure 6 shows how this arrangement
BAND PASS FILTERS. The next stage in
is equally well suited to relay or PIN diode
the transmit chain is the RF band pass filter
switching. So far, I have built and tested five
unit. As this will be a multiband transceiver,
sets of filters covering the 160, 80, 40, 17
I will have to build a separate filter for each
and 10m bands. The filter configuration is
band. My old rig has nine sets of filters,
shown in Figure 7. The filter is a 4th order
one for each of the nine HF bands. Each
Butterworth type designed for 50 I/O
filter has three capacitively coupled LC
impedance. Working through the design
resonators. PIN diodes are used for filter
equations for the 17m band (18.1MHz)
switching. In keeping with the general theme
gives the following component values.
of improvement over the old design, the new
The inductors are 15 turns on a T50-6
BPF will use four resonators (N=4). The
(yellow) core with an inductance of 0.9H.
filters will be switched by miniature relays
An unloaded Q of 200 is assumed for each
instead of PIN diodes. This is quite expensive
because two separate relays are used for each resonator. This is very close to the measured
value of Qu. Each resonator is tuned to
band. The miniature Toko type inductors of
the old rig have been replaced by home made resonance by a 40pF trimmer capacitor.
22
C0=85.9pF
C12/C34=3.3pF
C23=2.2pF
C1/C4=82.6pF (47pF + trimmer)
C2/C3=80.4pF (47pF + trimmer)
Rp=1816
The turns ratio for the I/O coupling coils
is (Rp/50)=6. This calls for a rather
inconvenient 2.5 turns. The filter was
tested with three turns and two turns.
As two turns gave the best passband
shape and I/O return loss, this value was
used in the finished design. The completed
filter is shown in Photo 4. A QUCS simulation
showing transmission and return loss is
shown in Figure 8. Measurements of the
finished filter show that the QUCS model is
quite accurate.
The output of the circuit is quite
impressive. Photo 5 shows the spectrum
of the 80m version - no harmonics or spurs
are detectable. Next month, more BPFs and
the TX low-level amplifiers.
RECOMMENDED READING. Low Cost,
Triple Balanced, LTCC Mixer, Mini-Circuits,
and Mixer Basics Primer: A Tutorial for
RF & Microwave Mixers by Ferenc Marki &
Christopher Marki.
WEBSEARCH
[1] www.fairchildsemi.com/pf/MP/MPSH10.html
PHOTO 5: The output spectrum is remarkably

clean, as shown in the 80m spectrum plot here.
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25%
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E&OE

FEATURE
RON BENNETT, G4DIY E-MAIL: RONG4DIY@TISCALI.CO.UK
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
A DIY Mini DXpedition

G4DIY & G0DBE put GP0STH on the air from Guernsey
We moved to 20m SSB at about 1800 hours
each day and then ran huge pileups from the
USA and South America until about 2200
nightly. A lot of the US guys simply did not
believe that we were only using quarter wave
verticals as many said we were the loudest
EU station on the band at that time. It shows
the location right next to the sea really enhanced
our signal.
The same pattern went on and on for the
whole four days of our operation. We ended
up with nearly 4000 QSOs in total with an
on-air time of 34 hours, so our true hourly rate
was over 100 QSOs per hour on air on CW and
SSB. We also worked over 100 DXCC countries.
PHOTO 1: G4DIY (left) and G0DBE with the antenna, generator and radials.
SMALL SCALE. The memory of our last

operation to Guernsey was still fresh in our
memory, with all the amateurs still calling
when we had to go QRT, so I felt we had to
go back. A quick call to Lee, G0DBE and that
was it we were going again. We must be mad
but then again somebody has to be!
But a DXpedition doesnt have to be a big
logistical operation or cost lots of money. You
can have a real ball on the HF bands with huge
pileups and plenty of QSOs with a little thought,
effort and planning. Whilst our yearly trips
will never be as huge as the G3TXF or CDXC
operations, we are very busy and the pileups
are always hard work but so much fun.
Testing and planning makes sure all our kit
is 100% operational and any little problems
that popped up last year were attended to. Its
important to us that our station goes together
and works efficiently from our operating
location because we cannot stay set up for
more than 23 hours at a time. We stayed
at the Wayside Hotel, near our operating
location, which is only a few feet above sea
level. This is a real boon when trying to put
out a big signal. Our station itself is set up in
the car and is surprisingly comfortable in use.
It could certainly not be considered as being
a mobile station though!
Our callsign is for the St Helens Radio Club,
which also adds a bit more interest as it differs
from the usual GU prefix we would have to
use if we used our own callsigns.
24
PILE UPS. It was amazing but some of the

DX stations calling us were ones that usually
would have had the pileups calling them, so
it was nice to be at the other end. The JA CW
pileups were mind boggling with rates easy to
maintain at over 130 per hour and, as always,
easy to control, as were the USA stations.
EU stations were, in some cases, typical EU
station with the usual non listeners causing
considerable QRM by simply ignoring what
we asked for and calling anyway. Sometimes
they seem to purposely wish to cause you
QRM if you try to work any other area except
the EU. This was a problem as it really did
slow down everybody, especially as we make
point of really trying to only work the caller
that we think we may have only got a partial
bit of their callsign. Some of the EU callers
didnt seem to know where EU actually is
as when we asked EU to standby, we were
still greeted by lots of callers from countries
within the EU - even operating in split mode!
To be honest, if you can accept that you
will encounter this problem even before you
start then at least youre expecting it. Just
2010 TRIP. After overnight travel by road to

Weymouth then boat to Guernsey, we arrived
extremely tired the following afternoon but,
as they say, no pain no gain! Having dropped
off all of our suitcases in our rooms we needed
to buy fuel for our 5kW generator that we use
to power the station. The generator is also our
antenna mount that, due to its weight, is very
stable even in windy conditions with a 33ft
vertical in use. We do put a cord guy or two
on the windward side of the antenna just to
help this stay vertical.
Once set up, we opened up on 17m to
be greeted by huge pileups that went on
for hours with rates of over 130 QSOs per
hour until we simply had
to break off for some sleep.
That turned out to be a bit
difficult due to never ending
pileups continuing but in
our heads! The following
morning we were greeted
by lovely sunshine with blue
skies. Again we opened up on
17m CW to be met with a pile
up from EU, then one from JA.
Many of these JA callers were
a real 5/9+. This lasted for a
few hours then the USA began
to put in a big appearance.
Those stations were, in some
cases, even louder than the JA
boys, some often 5/9+20dB. PHOTO 2: Lee, G0DBE running a pileup.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
FEATURE
dont get angry, stay calm and stay in control

of your pileup. Lee, G0DBE has a method
that seems to quieten them all down just by
simply asking them all to QRX as he wanted
to hear mobiles and genuine QRP callers.
This did work.
KIT LIST. The equipment used was an IC-756
Pro 2 transceiver and a Dentron Mlb 2500 linear
amp powered by a Honda 5kW generator. The
all-important antenna was a vertical system
with its many radials we used about 120
radials under our antenna. At first sight these
might appear as overkill but they really do make
a vertical antenna system so much more efficient
and we are helped by that location on the
beach. At no time did we need to use or even
have an ATU with this setup as its efficient
and resonant in its own right. It can be a real
eye opener to run a simple system like this.
Quite a few locals who were located a
mile or so inland paid us a visit and most of
them said they could not hear 75% of the
stuff we were not only working but running
in numbers. Its well worth spending some
time making these radials and deploying
them. We have, in the past, used up to 250
radials under a single antenna and these
can be deployed in less than 20 minutes.
We did have some minor visits by Mr
PHOTO 3: Not exactly what you would call a mobile station despite being set up in a car!
Murphy but only smallish problems sand

getting in the footswitch microswitches causing
them to stick now and again plus a minor
cable fault. But, as we take two of everything,
we are very rarely off the air for too long.
If you are interested in the antenna system,

take a look at my article "A Portable Ground
Plane System" in the December 2006
RadCom.
Will we go and do it again? You bet we will!
25
TECHNICAL FEATURE
ROGER PASKVAN, WA0IUJ E-MAIL: ROGERP@PAULBUNYAN.NET
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
Simple antenna for 13cm

A two-part article on designing and then
improving a simple tube antenna
The wavelength inside the closed cylinder
is different from the wavelength in free space,
being rather longer. The reasons it's stretched
out are due to in-phase and group velocities
within the cylinder. The critical placement of
the injection probe reinforces these wave
fronts within the pipe waveguide, thus
providing signal gain out of the open end
of the cylinder. This cylindrical waveguide
is physically closed on one end and can be
thought of as a shorted piece of coaxial cable.
PHOTO 1: The finished basic 2.4GHz tube antenna gives around 9dB of gain.
INTRODUCTION. For those interested in

a relatively easy to build antenna for the
2400MHz band, the design described here
might be the answer. It features high gain,
good capture area and directivity, with
shielding from strong local signals. The
antenna will operate in either vertical or
horizontal polarisation as a function of
mounting. Design data with complete
construction and tuning procedures take
the guesswork out of building this wonder
antenna, out of a simple copper pipe. It can
be used over quite a wide bandwidth centred
on 13cm, including the amateur and Wi-Fi
allocations.
This article has a step-by-step description
of the design and construction of the basic
'tube' antenna that boasts some 9dBd of gain.
Next month we will add a capture hood that
increases the gain by 3dB for only a small
additional effort.
APPLICATIONS. This antenna is currently
in use to link the authors radio shack with
the home, a distance of around 200m.
A pair of these horn antennas can easily
link data services using milliwatt-power
Wi-Fi access points. The antenna can in
fact be used for any 2.4GHz point to point
communication. A one watt amateur television
signal has been sent over a pair of these horn
antennas at a distance of six miles with good
P5 results. With appropriate respect for F/d
ratio, this horn antenna could be utilised
to illuminate a dish antenna. Polarisation
is a function of the direction of the probe.
26
Up and down is vertical and 90 to that is

horizontal. Both ends of a path need to be
orientated in the same polarisation. Your
imagination is the limiting factor in applications
for this antenna.
THEORY. According to Kraus [1] a horn
antenna is regarded as an opened-up
waveguide. The function of this arrangement
is to produce an in-phase wave front thus
providing signal gain in a given direction.
Signal is injected into the waveguide by
means of a small probe that must be critically
placed. The type of horn described in this
article is known as a cylindrical horn. It was
chosen for simplicity of construction utilising
available copper pipe.
Sometimes relationships that appear
to be relatively simple are in fact very complex.
This is certainly the case for the horn antenna.
First, the only thing that determines the
lowest and highest operating frequencies
is the tube diameter. These are referred to
as the upper and lower cut off frequency;
above and below these, performance
deteriorates rapidly. Secondly, there is a
critical optimum location for a probe that
excites the waveguide horn cylinder. Finally,
the length of the tube, shorted on one end,
is a modified version of wavelength, but not
in free space.
What goes on inside a waveguide is complex
to say the least. Instead of propagating in
straight lines, the energy bounces off the
walls of the cylinder, causing constructive
interference due to multiple reflections.
DESIGNING YOUR ANTENNA. To begin

our design, a suitable cylinder must be
found. The author used three inch inside
diameter (ID) copper pipe since it was
surplus from the local public TV station.
Offcut pieces of rigid hard line work well
and so does copper pluming pipe. Any type
of cylinder will work including coffee cans,
but thin walled tinplate does not seem very
stable and has lower surface conductivity
compared to copper. Larger diameter copper
pipe sections can sometimes be obtained
from pluming/heating contractors. Many
commercial boilers utilise 3-4 inch diameter
copper pipe. There are often small cut-off
pieces (under two feet) that could be available
for the asking. [Editor's note: in this article
WA0IUJ uses 3 inch inside diameter copper
pipe that is fairly readily available in the
USA. Pipes between 76mm and 90mm
diameter will work, but will require the
dimensions to be re-calculated. Details of
how to do this are contained later in the
article, and a possible UK source is at [2].]
No matter what material you want to use,
it must pass the frequency cut-off tests.
If the diameter is too large or too small,
the pipe will not function properly at your
frequency of your choice. The lowest
frequency that this cut-off phenomenon
occurs is known as the horn low cut-off
diameter [3]. Without getting into propagation
modes, lets refer to this number as the
low cut-off frequency. There is also a
high cut-off frequency, but we will deal
with that later. This low cut off-frequency
can be found using the equation below [4]
(all dimensions in mm).
c = x d/2
where c = cutoff wavelength, = 3.142
and d is the inside diameter of the tube
Re-arranging slightly,
c = 1.706 x d
(Equation 1)
TECHNICAL FEATURE
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
FIGURE 1: Calculated dimensions of the 2.4GHz horn antenna.
PHOTO 2: Raw 76mm copper tube cut to length.
The low cut-off frequency fl is then found by

using a modified version of the standard
wavelength formula:
Critical frequency fl = 300/c (GHz)
(Equation 2)
The low cut off frequency is a function of
only the diameter of the pipe and can be
calculated for any diameter.
(Step 1) In the authors particular case, the
76mm (3 inch) diameter copper pipe gave
c = 1.706 x 76mm
= 129.656mm
Critical frequency in GHz, fl = 300 / c
= 300 / 129.656
= 2.307GHz
The lower cut-off must be below the lowest

frequency on which you want to operate and
the high cut-off must be above the highest
frequency. Pipes of 76-95mm.
We now have to choose a design frequency
within this critical frequency range that you
intend to operate this antenna. Lets decide on
a design frequency of 2.45GHz for our example.
It is at the top end of the amateur band and
allows some crossover into the Wi-Fi world.
Step 3 is to calculate the free space
wavelength for your design frequency.
= 300 / Frequency in GHz
(Equation 3)
= 300/ 2.45
= 122.44mm
This is the lowest critical frequency that the

76mm diameter pipe will operate.
So the wavelength in free space of 2.45GHz

is 122.44mm.
Step 2 is to calculate the highest cut off

frequency (h) that this diameter pipe will
operate as a waveguide antenna [4].
Step 5 is to calculate the overall cylinder length

of the horn antenna. The travelling waves inside
the tube travel slower than the speed of light,
which means that a slightly more complex
formula must be used to figure these physical
length dimensions of the tube. This modified
wavelength distance will be called Lg, the
wavelength inside the waveguide. The cylinder
is cut to 75% of Lg [5].
h = 1.3065 x d
So, using the 76mm example,
h = 1.3065 x 76
h = 99.29mm
So, 99.29mm is the critical upper wavelength
of this 76mm pipe.
Using Equation 2 again, we can calculate the
critical upper frequency:
Critical frequency in GHz, fl = 300 / h
= 300/ 99.29
= 3.02GHz
(Equation 4)
= 122.44mm (from Equation 3)
c = 129.656mm (from Equation 1)
So the upper critical frequency for h is

3.02GHz.
You now have the critical lower and upper
frequencies that your pipe will operate as a
circular waveguide antenna. For a 76mm
pipe, these are 2.30GHz and 3.02GHz,
which (just) encompasses the 2.31-2.45GHz
13cm amateur band. A slightly larger
diameter pipe of ~80mm would give a
more comfortable lower frequency cutoff.
Repeat this process for every diameter
pipe you measure until you find one that
will operate in the frequency range you
desire you can do the calculations for
any pipe diameter or frequency band.
28
Lg = 372.39mm
The cylinder length is 75% of Lg, ie
Cylinder length = 0.75 x Lg (Equation 5)
= 279.29mm
The cylinder should therefore be 279.29mm
long, closed at one end.
CONNECTING IT UP. Now that we know
the critical dimensions of your ready-made
cylindrical waveguide, some means of feeding
this antenna is needed. The behaviour of

microwaves inside the waveguide is similar
to that of a shorted coaxial cable. The excited
signal inside the cylinder reflects off of the
closed end of the tube and sets up standing
waves that travel through the cylinder toward
the opening and are radiated out. If some
sort of voltage measuring device (signal
probe) was slid inside along the length of
the cylinder, we would see points of signal
maximum and minimum. Starting at the
closed end, the voltage would be zero and
maximum at odd quarter wave intervals
all along the distance of Lg. The first signal
maximum from the closed end occurs at
one quarter wavelength in, and this is the
best place to excite this waveguide antenna.
Now, we have to find this distance [6].
Calculating the distance and depth so a
suitable N connector can be installed on the
side of the cylinder is done with Equations 4,
5, 6 and 7.
Probe distance from closed end = Lg / 4
(Equation 6)
Lg = 372.39 (from equation 4)
Probe distance = 372.39 / 4
= 93.09mm
An N female chassis connector will be
mounted on the side of the cylinder at
93mm from the closed end with a stiff
2mm (14SWG) wire soldered to the
connectors centre conductor. This wire
needs to be a quarter of the free space
wavelength at the operating frequency
(2.45GHz).
Referring to Equation 3, the free space
value of wavelength () for 2.45GHz is
122.44mm.
Probe length = / 4
(Equation 7)
= 122.44mm / 4
= 30.61mm
So the probe length is 30.61mm.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER. Now the hard
mathematical work is done, lets start
construction of this new horn antenna.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
TECHNICAL FEATURE
PHOTO 3: The hole for the N connector. Note that

the slot either side of the hole is not necessary,
although you will need mounting holes for the N
connector flange.
Our final dimensions are as follows:

PHOTO 5: The end plate can be any shape as
long as it's larger than the outside diameter of
the tube.
Cylinder (tube) inside diameter = 76mm

Design frequency = 2.45GHz
Free space wavelength, = 122.44mm
(from Equation 3)
Wavelength inside tube, Lg = 372.39mm
(from Equation 4)
Cylinder length, Lg = 279.29mm
(from Equation 5)
Probe distance, Lg / 4 = 93.09mm
(from Equation 6)
Probe depth, /4 = 30.61mm
(from Equation 7)
Don't be put off by the fact that all of these
dimensions are specified to a hundredth of
a millimetre. You do not need to be able to
work to anything like this sort of tolerance
the nice thing about waveguide aerials is
that they are quite wideband and forgiving!
As long as you try to work to the nearest
millimetre or two you will be fine.
The feed point will be a chassis N
connector mounted 93mm from the closed
end. A 2mm diameter (14SWG) wire stub
will be soldered to the centre conductor
of the N connector and will protrude
30.61mm into the cylinder, including a
flat eyelet soldered to the end. The eyelet
helps broaden the frequency response. The
general layout of the basic horn antenna is
shown in Photo 1 and Figure 1.
CONSTRUCTION. The first step is to cut
the copper tube to the correct length. In our
example, Equation 5 showed this to be
279.29mm. Cut the cylinder to length
using a hacksaw (Photo 2). It is important
that the ends of the tube are cut 'true' and
square. De-burr and remove tooling marks
after cutting.
Next, the hole for the probe should be
measured and drilled. In the prototype, the
end plate was soldered first but it was quickly
learned that this only made it very difficult to
put the screws on the connector inside the
cylinder! So, first, measure the quarter wave
PHOTO 4: The completed feed assembly.
distance from the closed end of the tube to

the centre of your N connector. This would
be the probe distance, from Equation 6,
93.09mm (3.66 inches on my ruler).
Mark this point and drill out the hole,
starting with a small 'pilot' hole and then
widening the opening progressively to fit
the inner edge of the N connector. In the
prototype, a slot (Photo 3) was made
to move the connector for best output.
After testing, there was no improvement
in signal within a quarter inch of the exact
quarter wave point. The lesson here is that
the precise feed position is not that critical
93mm plus or minus a few mm is close
enough.
At this point, the probe must be carefully
fabricated to fit into the cylinder hole at the
length specified. In our example, this is the
result of Equation 7, 30.61mm (1.2 inches),
see Photo 4. Note the small crimp connector
soldered to the top of this wire. In experimenting
with the probe depth and SWR, the flat
crimp-on connector improved the match
over a plain wire. Please make sure that
the overall length is exact to the end of the
crimp connector and solder all connections.
Now place this entire N connector
assembly into the hole and secure with
bolts and nuts. Note that the bolt head
should be inside the cylinder and the nut
on the outside. When things are secure,
it is time to solder the end plate.
Cut a flat plate of copper, brass or
copper-clad printed circuit board that is
larger than the diameter of the tube as shown
in Photo 5. Place the tube on the plate solder
all the way round. You will need a substantial
soldering iron to do this, or possibly a gas
torch there's a lot of copper in that tube
to heat up.
Mark the diameter of the cylinder end
onto flat copper stock or PC board, Place
the cylinder over the plate and solder neatly,
PHOTO 6: The end plate is soldered to the tube.

The corners can be trimmed off after soldering.
as shown in Photo 6. The corner excess

copper can be trimmed after the plate has
cooled, but leaving the plate square will
have no negative effect on the operation
of the antenna.
Once cool, the antenna is ready for
testing and can be used in its present form.
It will boast a good match and offer about
9dB of gain with a good directional pattern.
Next month we will look at how to add a
simple capture hood to the antenna that
will add an extra 3dB of gain. We will also
look at scaling the antenna for use on other
amateur bands.
REFERENCES
[1] John Kraus, Antennas, McGraw-Hill, 1988,
pp 644-653
[2] One possible source for 3.1/8" copper tube is
Abacus Tubes Ltd, 01484 515 386; cost is likely
to be around 10-15 plus VAT and delivery.
See www.abacus-tubes.co.uk/pages/
view_products.php?category
=half_hard_copper_tubes
[3] Wheeler, Gershon, Introduction to Microwaves,
Prentice-Hall, 1963, pp 60-63
[4] G R Jessop, VHF-UHF Manual, 4th edition, RSGB,
1985, p9.27
[5] Andy Barter, International Microwave Handbook,
RSGB, 2002, p58
[6] Norm Foot, Cylindrical Feed Horn, Ham Radio,
May 1976, p18
29
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ZL12-70 70cm 12 Ele, Boom 120cm, Gain 14dBd .................. 49.95
SPX-100
Multiband Mobile
Why buy loads of different antennas when Moonraker has one to cover all!
SPX series has a unique y lead and socket for quick band changing
9 Band plug n go portable, 6/10/12/15/17/20/30/40/80m, Length 165cm retracted just 0.5m, Power 50W
complete with 38th PL259 or BNC tting to suit all applications, mobile portable or base brilliant! ...................................... 44.95
SPX-200
6 Band plug n go mobile, 6/10/15/20/40/80m, Length 130cm, Power 120W, 3/8th tting ............................................................ 39.95
SPX-200S 6 Band plug n go mobile, 6/10/15/20/40/80m, Length 130cm, Power 120W, PL259 tting........................................................ 44.95
SPX-300
9 Band plug n go mobile, 6/10/12/15/17/20/30/40/80m, Length 165cm, High Power 200W, 3/8th tting ................................... 54.95
SPX-300S 9 Band plug n go mobile, 6/10/12/15/17/20/30/40/80m, Length 165cm, High Power 200W,PL259 tting ................................. 59.95
AMPRO-MB6 6 Band mobile 6/10/15/20/40/80m, length 220cm, 200W, 3/8th tting, (great for static use or even home base
can tune on four bands at once)..................................................................................................................................................... 69.95
ATOM-AT4 10/6/2/70cm Gain 2m 2.8dBd 70cm 5.5dBd, Length 132cm,
PL259 tting (perfect for FT-8900R). ............................................................................................................................................... 59.95
ATOM-AT5 5 Band mobile 40/15/6/2/70cm, Length just 130cm, 200W (2/70) 120W (40-6M) PL259 tting,
(great antenna, great price and no band changing, one antenna, ve bands)............................................................................ 69.95
ATOM-AT7 7 Band mobile 40/20/15/10/6/2/70cm, Length just 200cm, 200W (2/70) 120W (40-6M) PL259 tting,
(Brilliant antenna HF to UHF with changeable coils)..................................................................................................................... 79.95
Yagi Antennas
Diamond performance from the superb Diamond factory
A502HBR 6m 2 Elements, Power 400W, Gain 6.3dBi, Radial Length 3m........................ 89.95
A144S10R 2m 10 Elements, Power 50W, Gain 11.6dBi, Boom Length 2.13m ............... 84.95
A144S5RR 2m 5 Elements, Power 50W, Gain 9.1dBi, Boom Length 95cm .................... 45.95
A430S15R 70cm 15 Elements, Power 50W, Gain 14.8dBi, Boom Length 224cm .......... 65.95
A430S10R 70cm 10 Elements, Power 50W, Gain 13.1dBi, Boom length 119cm . 49.95
HB9CV
Brilliant 2 element beams ideal for portable use
HB9-70 70cm (Boom 12) ....................................................24.95
HB9-2 2 metre (Boom 20).................................................29.95
HB9-4 4 metre (Boom 23).................................................39.95
HB9-6 6 metre (Boom 33).................................................49.95
HB9-10 10 metre (Boom 52)...............................................69.95
HB9-627 6/2/70 Triband (Boom 45)......................................69.95
Halo Loops
Our most popular compact antennas, great base, mobile,
portable, or wherever!
HLP-2 2 metre (size approx 300mm square)...........................19.95
HLP-4 4 metre (size approx 600mm square )..........................29.95
HLP-6 6 metre (size approx 800mm square)...........................39.95
HF Mobiles
Get great results with the Moonraker range of HF mobiles !
from as little as 17.95!
AMPRO-10 28MHz, Length 220cm, 38th tting (slimline design). ......... 17.95
AMPRO-12 24MHz, Length 220cm, 38th tting (slimline design). ......... 17.95
AMPRO-15 21MHz, Length 220cm, 38th tting (slimline design) .......... 17.95
AMPRO-40 7.0MHz, Length 220cm, 38th tting (slimline design) ......... 17.95
AMPRO-80 3.5MHz, Length 220cm, 38th tting (slimline design) ......... 19.95
AMPRO-160 1.8MHz, Length 220cm, 38th tting (heavy duty design) ... 49.95
ATOM-20S 14MHz, Length 130cm, PL259 tting (compact design) .... 24.95
ATOM-40S 7.0MHz, Length 165cm, PL259 tting (compact design) ... 26.95
ATOM-80S 14MHz, Length 165cm, PL259 tting (compact design) .... 29.95
G5RV Wire Antennas

The most popular wire antenna available in different grades to
suit every amateur . All from just 19.95!
G5RV-HSS Standard Half Size Enamelled Version, 51ft Long, 10-40 Metres .......................... 19.95
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G5RV-DSS Standard Double Size Enamelled Version, 204ft Long, 10-160 Metres.................. 49.95
G5RV-HSH Half Size Hard Drawn Version, pre-stretched, 51ft Long, 10-40 Metres .............. 24.95
G5RV-FSH Full Size Hard Drawn Version, pre-stretched, 102ft Long, 10-80 Metres .............. 29.95
G5RV-HSF Half Size Original High Quality Flexweave Version, 51ft Long, 10-40 Metres ...... 29.95
G5RV-FSF Full Size Original High Quality Flexweave Version, 102ft Long, 10-80 Metres ...... 34.95
G5RV-HSP Half Size Original PVC Coated Flexweave Version, 51ft Long, 10-40 Metres ...... 34.95
G5RV-FSP Full Size Original PVC Coated Flexweave Version, 102ft Long, 10-80 Metres....... 39.95
G5RV-HSX Half Size Deluxe Version with 450 Ohm ladder, 51ft Long, 10-40 Metres.............. 44.95
G5RV-FSX Full Size Deluxe Version with 450 Ohm ladder, 102ft Long, 10-80 Metres ............. 49.95
New Ground Plane Free

Colinear Verticals
We have always wanted antennas without radials without the
compromise of performance well now you can.
SQBM110P 2/70cm, Gain 3/6dBd, RX:25-2000MHz, Length 100cm, SO239 tting
................................................................................................................................................54.95
SQBM1010P 6/2/70cm, Gain 1.5/2.0/5.0dBd, RX25-2000MHz, Length 140cm, SO239 tting
................................................................................................................................................79.95
SQBM1010N 6/2/70cm, Gain 1.5/2.0/5.0dBd, RX25-2000MHz, Length 140cm, N-Type tting
................................................................................................................................................84.95
SQBM225P 2/70/23cm, Gain 2.5/5.0/8.5dBd, RX25-2000MHz, Length 130cm, SO239 tting
................................................................................................................................................74.95
SQBM225N 2/70/23cm, Gain 2.5/5.0/8.5dBd, RX25-2000MHz, Length 130cm, N-Type tting
................................................................................................................................................79.95
The CHAMELEON V1
HF/VHF/UHF Multiband
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that stands at a mere 8.5
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unique trap coil design.
This antenna is ideally designed for mobile,
portable or base station purposes were limited
space is a concern.
Frequency Range: 80/60/40/30/20/17/15/12/11
/10/6M + 2M/1.25M/70cm (144MHz - 500MHz)
+ USAF MARS/CAP (3.3MHz, 4.5MHz &
7.6MHz) .................................................279.95
GP2500
All Band HF Vertical
This is the perfect answer
for anyone with limited
space and requires no
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through to 6M with a
VSWR below 1.5:1!
Frequency 3.5-57MHz without tuner,
Power 250 Watts, Length 7.13M
All at an amazing
199.95!
NEW GP2500F breglass version now in
stock ......................................249.95
Accessories
G5RV-IND Convert any half size G5RV to full with these great inductors, adds 8ft on each leg24.95
MB-9 Choke Balun for G5RV to reduce RF Feedback.............................................................. 39.95
TSS-1 Pair of stainless steel springs to take the tension out of a G5RV or similar .................... 19.95
Trapped Wire Dipole An

A
Antennas
tennnas
Commercial quality trapped wire dipoles that resonate, so
require no ATU!
MDT-6 FREQ:40 & 160m LENGTH: 28m POWER:
1000 Watts .................................................................................. 79.95
MTD-1 (3 BAND) FREQ:10-15-20 Mtrs LENGTH:7.40 Mtrs
POWER:1000 Watts .................................................................... 69.95
MTD-2 (2 BAND) FREQ:40-80 Mtrs LENGTH: 20Mtrs POWER:1000
Watts ........................................................................................... 79.95
MTD-3 (3 BAND) FREQ:40-80-160 Mtrs LENGTH: 32.5m POWER:
1000 Watts ................................................................................ 129.95
MTD-4 (3 BAND) FREQ: 12-17-30 Mtrs LENGTH: 10.5m POWER:
1000 Watts .................................................................................. 69.95
MTD-5 (5 BAND) FREQ: 10-15-20-40-80 Mtrs LENGTH: 20m
POWER:1000 Watts .................................................................. 119.95
(MTD-5 is a crossed di-pole with 4 legs)
GF151
MRM-100
MR700
MR777
MRQ525
MRQ500
MRQ750
MR2 POWER ROD
MR3 POWER ROD
MRQ800
MRQ273
VHF/UHF Mobiles
Glass Mount 2/70cm, Gain 2.9/4.3dBd, Length 78cm complete with 4m cable and PL259..................................29.95
MICRO MAG 2/70cm, Gain 0.5/3.0dBd, Length 55cm, 1 magnetic base with 4m coax and BNC...................... 19.95
2/70cm, Gain 0/3.0dBd, Length 50cm, 3/8 tting ...................................................................................................... 9.95
2/70cm, Gain 2.8/4.8dBd, Length 150cm, 3/8 tting ...............................................................................................17.95
2/70cm, Gain 0.5/3.2dBd, Length 43cm, PL259 tting (high quality) .....................................................................19.95
2/70cm, Gain 3.2/5.8dBd, Length 95cm, PL259 tting (high quality) .....................................................................24.95
2/70cm, Gain 5.5/8.0dBd, Length 150cm, PL259 tting (high quality) ...................................................................34.95
2/70cm, Gain 3.5/6.5dBd, Length 50cm, PL259 tting (breglass colinear) ......................................................... 24.95
2/70cm, Gain 2.0/3.5dBd, Length 50cm, PL259 tting (breglass colinear) ......................................................... 29.95
6/2/70cm Gain 3.0dBi/5.0/7.5dBdBd, Length 150cm, PL259 tting (high quality) .................................................39.95
2/70/23cm Gain 3.5/5.5/7.5dBdBd, Length 85cm, PL259 tting (high quality).......................................................49.95
Dual and Triband Colinear Verticals

Diamond quality Moonraker prices ! These high gain antennas have been pre-tuned for your convenience, easy
to use, easy to install, and a choice of connection look no further
SQBM200P
2/70cm, Gain 4.5/7.5dBd, RX 25-2000MHz, Length 155cm, SO239 ........................................................ 54.95
SQBM200N
2/70cm, Gain 4.5/7.5dBd, RX 25-2000MHz, Length 155cm, N-Type ........................................................ 59.95
SQBM500P
2/70cm, Gain 6.8/9.2dBd, RX 25-2000MHz, Length 250cm, SO239 ........................................................ 64.95
SQBM500N
2/70cm, Gain 6.8/9.2dBd, RX 25-2000MHz, Length 250cm, N-Type ........................................................ 69.95
SQBM800N
2/70cm, Gain 8.5/12.5dBd, RX 25-2000MHz, Length 520cm, N-Type ....................................................129.95
SQBM1000P 6/2/70cm, Gain 3.0/6.2/8.4dBd, RX 25-2000MHz, Length 250cm, SO239 ............................................... 79.95
SQBM1000N 6/2/70cm, Gain 3.0/6.2/8.4dBd, RX 25-2000MHz, Length 250cm, N-Type ............................................... 84.95
SQBM223N
2/70/23cm, Gain 4.5/7.5/12.5dBd, RX 25-2000MHz, Length 155cm, N-Type ........................................... 69.95
MTD-300 2-30M Broadband wire dipole antenna ......................149.95

The MTD-300 broadband dipole antenna is
designed to provide optimum performance over a
wide frequency range and is very easy to assemble and use.
O Frequency 2-30MHz O Radiator length: 25m (82ft) O Type: Terminated Folded Dipole O Radiation:
directional O Feedline: 50 Ohm coax (30m) O Connector: SO239
O SWR: <2.0:1 to <3.0:1 depending on factors O No transmatch required O Power: 150W (PEP)
O Spreaders: 46cm (18in) O Weight 3.1kg.
Moonraker Retail Shop & Mail Order
Cranfield Road, Woburn Sands,
Bucks MK17 8UR
Tel: 01908 281705
Open Mon-Fri 9-5:30pm
HF Verticals
Brilliant HF antennas that can be ground
mounted if required which in todays limited
space is a popular option. Also extra trap tuning is also available to get that perfect
match if required.
Hustler 4-BTV 4 Bands 40-10m 1000W Length 6.52m Weight 6.8kg................179.95
Moonraker Satellite Shop
@ M5 Communications
Moto Services Area, Junction 30 M5 South
Exeter EX2 7HF. Tel: 01392 427269
Open Mon-Thur 9-6pm Fri 9-4pm
ANTENNAS
PETER DODD, G3LDO E-MAIL: G3LDO@UKONLINE.CO.UK UNTIL 14 JANUARY, THEN PETER-DODD2@SKY.COM
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
Antennas
Modelling, measuring and more on loops
PHOTO 1: Roy Lewallen, W7EL giving an antenna lecture at the RSGB Convention.
COMPUTER MODELLING PROGRAMS.

Antenna performance modelling using a PC
and appropriate software is used extensively
these days although my first encounter with
an antenna modelling program was not very
auspicious. Early in 1989, I received a letter
from a reader in the USA regarding an article
I had written on in the G QRP club Sprat
magazine. This article described an antenna
I had devised called the Double-D and included
performance measurements. The writer said
that my VHF model polar diagrams were
suspect because I did not give details of test
methods and my full-sized HF model groundwave tests with a local radio amateur irrelevant
because they were not taken at the elevation
angle of maximum radiation.
He then gave figures that had been obtained
from a computer program called MININEC 3
that gave the 'correct' results and showed that
the reflector of my antenna design was in fact
working as a director.
Meanwhile my antenna on the roof, totally
unaware of MININEC 3, continued to operate
with the parasitic element working as a reflector.
It turned out that these early programs were
inaccurate when modelling bent elements,
a characteristic of the Double-D antenna.
I hasten to say modern programs are accurate
in this respect.
A year later, a derivative of MININEC 3
became available called MN, which I used
and described in The Antenna Experimenter's
32
Guide. Later a new program by Roy Lewallen,

W7EL called ELNEC became available. Again,
it was essentially based on the original NEC
program but was much more user friendly.
W7ELs program has been constantly upgraded
and improved and is now EZNEC5.
So it was with great pleasure that I finally
met Roy at the RSGB Convention on 9 October
to talk about antennas in general and modelling
in particular. I also attended his lecture 'Blowing
away the smoke and mirrors of antenna
operation', see Photo 1, which was both
entertaining and informative. It exposed the
sort of stuff you sometimes see in antenna
sales literature. W7EL noted that for antenna
performance to mean anything it has to be
compared with a known reference and that
phrases like "exceptional performance" or
"compared with any other whip you have
used you will be amazed" are meaningless.
DIP OSCILLATORS. A dip oscillator is an
instrument for measuring the resonant frequency
of a tuned circuit or an antenna element, or
even a length of transmission line. The main
advantage of this instrument is that a direct
connection between it and the tuned circuit
being measured is unnecessary, the coupling
being either inductive or capacitive.
The dip oscillator is simply a calibrated
tuneable oscillator. Energy from this oscillator
is absorbed by a resonant circuit under test
when it and the oscillator are tuned to the same
frequency. A meter is used to give an indication

of oscillator energy loss. In practice, this results
in a dip in the meter reading as the frequency
is swept past the test resonant circuit, hence
the name of the instrument.
I was also pleased to meet Richard BrettKnowles, G3AAT, at the RSGB Convention.
He was demonstrating the principle of the
dip oscillator.
The demonstration setup is shown in Photo
2 and comprises a FET oscillator powered from
an old PC power supply. The milliammeter
with the wooden surround is used to measure
the current through the gate resistor of the FET,
which indicates the RMS level of oscillator
waveform. The Marconi valve voltmeter
measures the voltage across the circuit being
investigated, comprising a coil plus a tuning
capacitor that can be attached using crocodile
clips. The arrangement is used to show the
difference in coupling required to induce the
same voltage across the test circuit with or
without the capacitor when resonant.
The small item wound on a yellow former
near the edge of the table is a 7MHz aerial
trap; it is bifilar wound using PTFE covered
wire. The inter-turn capacity of this device
resonates with the inductance.
COMMERCIAL DIP METERS. I do like radio
club junk sales. Not only is there a chance to
get you hands on some bargain goodies but
also the whole evening can be very entertaining,
particularly when you have a good auctioneer.
Then there is the fun of smuggling your acquired
treasure into the house before the station
manager sees it!
Most of the collection of dip meters I possess
have been acquired this way. The one I bought
at the last Worthing and District Amateur
Radio Club junk is shown in Photo 3 and is
the Trio DM-800, which covers 700kHz to
250MHz in seven bands. It has many good
engineering features. For a start it is built into
a case made of 2mm thick aluminium and
is constructed so that it comes apart in two
sections. The coils are colour coded to match
the scales on the dials and the unused ones
are stowed away in plug-in box that fits into
the bottom of the instrument. Furthermore,
you dont have to take the instrument apart
to change the battery; access to the battery
compartment is achieved by just removing
the coil case.
So how did it perform? Well, rather badly,
Im afraid. With the DM-800 coupled to a
test tuned circuit set to resonate at 7MHz as
shown in Photo 3, the meter dipped about
Stealth Antennas
from
11.89
from
The Amateur Radio Operating Manual 14.44
By Steve Nichols, G0KYA
7th Edition
Tiny postage stamp-size gardens, intolerant neighbours, planning

permission problems, living in apartments: these are some of the
challenges facing the modern radio amateur when trying to get on the
air. Stealth Antennas offers clear practical advice to those who might
have thought they were unable to put up a suitable antenna.
By Don Field, G3XTT & Steve Telenius-Lowe, 9M6DXX
Some think of amateur radio antennas and expect a 100ft steel lattice
tower bristling with polished aluminium beams. For the rest of the
radio amateur world, Stealth Antennas offers a wide range of antenna
solutions to get your signal out. From using house rain gutters and drain
pipes, or a magnetic loop in the loft, through to a tuned loop around the
window frame a wide range of ingenious solutions are offered. Designs
include magnetic loops, tuned wire loops, small verticals, zig-zag loaded
dipoles, the W3EDP wire antenna, and even controversial designs such as
the EH antenna. There are even reviews of a number of commerciallymade stealth antennas. Stealth Antennas also looks at the best way to
work DX with a modest station.
Stealth Antennas does not neglect VHF/UHF antennas. While easier
to conceal because of their small size compared with HF antennas,
what are the effects of mounting a VHF antenna in the loft? Roof tile
absorption is discussed, as are the effects of detuning caused by
copper water pipes or house wiring.
Despite what many believe amateur radio is a fast-moving hobby and the
last ve or six years in particular have seen numerous changes. The RSGB
Amateur Radio Operating Manual provides the best practical guide to the
hobby as it is today.
Since the rst edition of the RSGB Amateur Radio Operating Manual, it
has provided practical information on many different forms of amateur radio
operating. This latest edition covers subjects from the basics of setting up a
station for maximum efciency, DX Operating, Radio Sports many guises,
through to D-Star, Satellites and much more. Readers will nd information
detailing the numerous changes to the amateur bands as more countries
have gained frequencies at, or around, 136 and 500kHz, as well as 5,
7.1 - 7.2 and 70MHz. The newer datamodes such Winmor are covered
along with the developments in the WSJT suite of software and the whole
datamode eld. The use of computers in amateur radio is extensively
covered, as are basic operating practices and there are even guides
to making the most from the various bands available. You will also nd
subjects as varied as the RSGB IOTA programme, Chinas rst amateur
radio satellite, XW-1, Skimmer, ClubLog, on-line DXpedition log checking,
and DXpedition operating.
Many amateur radio operators are faced with the fear of interference
being caused to televisions, telephones, hi- systems and anything
with a plug on it. In these circumstances a stealth antenna may be
the solution to allow you to get on the air or even the answer to your
planning difculties. Stealth Antennas has lots of original and ingenious
antenna ideas for radio amateurs who might have thought they were
radiationally-challenged.
With more than 25 new contributors, this Seventh Edition of the RSGB
Amateur Radio Operating Manual has lots of brand new material, as well
signicantly rewritten sections. No matter if you are new to the hobby, or
an established amateur, everyone will nd this book a mine of useful and
practical information about all aspects of amateur radio operating.
If you are able to put up a 100ft tower and 6-element beam this
book may not be for you. For the rest of us, Stealth Antennas should
persuade anyone with an amateur radio licence that they can work the
world without a beam, tower and linear amplier.
Size 210x297mm, 224 pages ISBN 9781-9050-8600-8
www.rsgbshop.org
E&OE

ANTENNAS
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
PHOTO 2: Richard Brett-Knowles, G3AAT, at the RSGB Convention, discussing the principle of the dip
oscillator.
1mm as it was swept through resonance, very

easy to miss. Closer coupling only made the
miniscule dip characteristic asymmetrical.
MORE ON DIP OSCILLATORS. I received
an e-mail from Clive Young, M0BGA, on this
subject. He says, "Some time ago you kindly
helped me trace details of my old Cirkit dipper.
I happened to mention the topic at the local
radio club and was persuaded to give a talk
and demonstration. I would value your opinion
on my proposed answer to question I'm sure
someone will raise, namely: if the impedance
of a parallel tuned circuit is high at resonance
why does the circuit absorb power from the
dip oscillator?
"My answer is on the following lines: The
impedance of the parallel circuit is judged to
be high from the point of view of an external
generator (or signal) as this is the condition
for minimum line current into the parallel
L/C combination. When the coil of the dip
oscillators is coupled to the coil of the parallel
circuit we have, in effect, an RF transformer.
In this case, the coil of the parallel circuit acts
like a secondary winding and this is now in
series with the C as far as EMF generated in
the coil is concerned. Series resonance results
in maximum current at resonance and this
absorbs maximum energy from the dip oscillator."
M0BGA went on to say that a transistor
dippers makes a useful and interesting
projects for Intermediate Licence exam
students. A simple circuit for such a project
can be found in May 2010 Antennas.
I replied that it was interesting to note that
there are no articles I know of that address this
little conundrum for tuned circuits. There is a
chapter in Second Thoughts on Radio Theory
called Conventions and Viewpoints which
starts with a simple circuit of two resistors in
a loop and poses the question, "are R1 and
R2 in series or parallel?" The author then goes
on to discuss the matter at some length.
34
LOOPS. The subject of small transmitting

loops continues to generate interest. Bob,
G3IXZ, e-mailed me to say, "I was interested
by your recent comments on loop antennas,
following on from the piece by G3LHZ in July
RadCom in your column. I am not an EZNEC
user unfortunately so my own observations
are really empirical but I have always been
puzzled by the apparent indifference of the
loop performance to height above ground
level (AGL).
"One would expect a small magnetic loop
with a diameter of a metre or two to almost
look like an isotropic source on the HF bands
and for the performance to be poor unless it
was well elevated.
"The idea that a height of at least 0.75 of a
wavelength AGL is desirable for the transmitted
wavefront to benefit from ground reflection is a
hard one to dispel. Certainly if (as I often hear)
the loop receive performance is only about 2dB
down on a dipole, they ought to be a great
temptation for would be DXers in poor locations
lacking the space for a decent piece of wire.
"I suppose the narrow bandwidth remote
tuning problems mitigate against them in many
cases, however having just acquired a very
good wide spaced twin gang capacitor, which
should enable a reasonable swing in split
stator mode, I am going to have another go
at a loop for 80m - possibly 40/30 as well.
If your work led to any observations of your own
on height AGL I would value your comment."
I am in the process of making lots of
measurement compared with a dipole but
at the time of writing they have not been
completed. In the meantime, to answer G3XIZs
question I will quote part of VK5KLTs paper
An Overview of the Underestimated Magnetic
Loop HF Antenna:
"When a dipole antenna is placed
horizontally above ground, its electrical
image in the ground is of the opposite
phase. As a consequence, if the height
PHOTO 3: Testing the Trio DM-800 dip meter.
above ground of a horizontal dipole is

reduced to less than wavelength, fairly
high system losses develop due to a rapid
decrease in radiation resistance concurrent
with a rapid rise in loss resistance resulting
from dissipation of power within a less than
perfect ground. This represents a classic
double-whammy scenario and deleterious
performance for dipoles deployed at
insufficient height above ground.
"By way of contrast, the oscillatory RF
currents associated with the image of a small
vertical oriented loop antenna above ground
are in-phase with those of the loop. Therefore,
the effect of ground on the performance of
a vertically oriented loop is relatively small.
In fact, because the magnetic component
of an electromagnetic wave is maximum at
the boundary between the ground and the
space above, loop performance is usually
best when the loop is located near the
ground at a distance outside of the loops
close-in induction field (just a loop diameter
or two).
"There is no significant improvement in
performance when a small loop is raised to
great heights; all that matters is the loop is
substantially clear of objects in the desired
direction of radiation. Mounting the loop on
an elevated roof ground plane yields good
results."
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
JONATHAN CONSTABLE, M5FUN & TATIANA MCARTHUR, MM6TAT E-MAIL: JONATHAN.CONSTABLE@UKY.EDU
Start Here
Using a radio with dual watch/two VFOs
INTRODUCTION. One of the defining
features of a modern radio is the ability to
have two VFOs or even two fully independent
receivers contained within one box. In this
months Start Here we consider some of the
ways that you can experiment with these
features to gain more use from your radio.
Dual watch is a feature on some radios

that allows you to listen to two frequencies
at the same time, sometimes even on the
same antenna. However when you transmit,
both frequencies are usually silenced/muted
as the receivers are not fully independent
of each other. Also, you want to avoid your
transmitted signal getting back into the
receiver and causing expensive damage.
Listening to two signals at the same time
requires some patience until you get used
to it. However, in most cases (outside of
contesting) there are rarely times when
you will actually be listening to two stations
speaking simultaneously more likely youll
be listening to one station while tuning across
a band, perhaps looking for openings.
START HERE
If 15m is open it would be nice to make

contacts on the band while not missing
out on exciting opportunities on 10m.
So by setting one receiver to 15m and
the other to 10m, you can monitor both
bands simultaneously and then change
to the appropriate band to transmit on when
you find a station of interest. A particular
advantage when using headphones in
this context is to use stereo headphones
as some radios are capable of routing the
audio from one receiver to one ear and the
other to the other. This makes it easier to
determine which band the station you are
hearing is on, without having to constantly
adjust the volume controls.
WORKED EXAMPLE. As an example of

how you would actually use dual watch,
suppose you are trying to contact a station
on 80m who does not have the same
frequency allocation as you (for instance
a General class station in the United States).
As you tune across their portion of the band
(above 3800kHz), you hear them calling
CQ on this frequency and 3710.
On hearing this, you
make a note of 3710,
turn on dual watch
and tune your second
receiver/VFO to 3710.
Now is the important
part listening on 3710
to see if anyone else is
using the frequency (or
just slightly off frequency).
If the frequency is clear,
you can set your transceiver
to transmit on 3710 and
ask if the frequency is in
use. If its a free frequency,
TWO VFOS, TWO
RECEIVERS OR DUAL
Excerpt from the ARRL band plans showing the split in frequency allocations for different you can listen to the station
calling and give a call at
WATCH? In general, a radio
licence classes.
the appropriate moment
with two VFOs allows you to
on 3710. If the frequency is in use, you could
HOW COULD I USE THESE FEATURES?
switch back and forth between two different
politely ask the station to QSY or you could
There are several areas of our hobby where
frequencies rapidly, but you are unable to
ask the station you are calling to QSY slightly.
you might employ dual watch or two VFOs.
listen to both at once. It is also possible to
This is where dual watch pays its dividends:
Perhaps the most obvious use is in the field
operate split frequency or cross band using
you can listen to both the station calling and
of DXing when working split (see Start Here,
two VFOs, by selecting one frequency to
your own frequency, rather than having to
February 2010). With a dual watch radio
transmit on and the other to receive on.
toggle back and forth to check your own
you can listen to both the DX frequency
Then, when you start to transmit, the radio
frequency is OK.
and your calling frequency (or your calling
automatically switches to the transmit
frequency and the corresponding horde of
frequency and when you have finished,
ANTENNA TESTING. Dual watch or
stations calling you). This means you can
switches back to the receive frequency.
two VFOs can be used to determine the
hear the DX (and their instructions) and also
A radio with two independent receivers
effectiveness of another antenna or to
hear whether there are any stations on your
gives you the flexibility to listen to two
investigate propagation. It is usually possible
frequency so you can gauge how well the
different frequencies (or even different
to select different antennas for each VFO or
DX may be able to hear you. Further, while
bands) at the same time. In particular,
receiver. Tuning each to the same frequency
listening for a clear(ish!) spot to call in, you
you can often listen on one band while
and using dual watch allows you to listen to
can hear who the DX is working and find
transmitting on a different band (providing
the same signal on two different antennas.
that stations frequency. Often a short call
you have multiple antennas and/or some
Then you can determine which is receiving
a few tenths of a kilohertz up or down at
clever protection circuitry). Depending on
the best signal. This is particularly useful
the appropriate moment will reward you
your radio, tuning may be controlled by a
when you have multiple receiving antennas
with a contact.
separate dial for each receiver. Likewise,
(see Start Here November 2010), as you
For those of you interested in propagation,
the volume from each receiver is usually
you can use dual watch to monitor two
can get a good idea of how each antenna
independently adjustable to suit your
bands at once, perhaps 15m and 10m.
is performing in its actual environment.
preferences and requirements.
THE BASIC IDEA. For many beginning
amateurs, owning a diverse selection of
radios to cover a large number of bands
simultaneously is simply a dream rather
than a practicality. However there is a huge
market for multi-band radios that perform
very well on all of the mainstream amateur
bands and modes, so one radio can cover
almost all of your needs. In general, though,
you can only listen to a single
frequency at any one time. Most
modern radios feature at least
two VFOs or, sometimes, two
independent receivers, thus
allowing you to either switch
back and forth between two
frequencies or even to listen
to two different frequencies
at once. But what is the
difference between the two
capabilities and how might
you use it?
35
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*5($73$57(;&+$1*('($/6(9(121'($'5$',26
HF/50MHz All Mode Base 100W Transceiver
6kHz, 2.7kHz and 500Hz Roofing Filters
32-bit Floating Point DSP
Built-In Auto ATU (also covers 5MHz band)
Built-In USB and Serial COM Ports
1st-IF Down Conversion (1.8 - 21MHz WARC bands)
Built-In CW Keyer with selectable Mode A/B Keying
Two-Colour LCD Display (Amber or Green)
Low-level TX DRV terminal for 135.7 - 137.8 kHz output
Sky Command II function with Kenwood TH-D72E (new model coming soon)
WE WILL MATCH OR BEAT ANY ADVERISED OR WRITTEN INSTOCK PRICE!

Among its many appealing features, the new TS-590S employs down conversion for the first IF, resulting in
Excellent Dynamic Range when adjacent unwanted signals are present. It is also equipped with a 32-bit
Floating-point DSP featuring advanced technology that enables unique IF AGC. These and other cutting-edge
technologies realize the first-rate RX performance that HF enthusiasts all over the world have been waiting for.
In addition, the TS-590S offers superb operating ease thanks to such features as a simple menu for intuitive
operation and a large display that ensures outstanding visibility. Equipped with a USB port, this transceiver can
be connected to a computer using a standard USB cable.
CALL 01702 203353 or 0845 5050128 (Scotland) - for Next Working Day Delivery
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
PETER HART, G3SJX E-MAIL: PETER@G3SJX.FREESERVE.CO.UK
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Kenwood TS-590S
Peter Hart reviews the latest HF & 50MHz transceiver
PHOTO 1: General view of the Kenwood TS-590S.
INTRODUCTION. Kenwood has been one

of the key forces in the design and supply
of amateur transceivers ever since these first
became mass-produced items. Many classic
models have been produced by them over
the years and the excellence of these designs
is borne out by the number that are still in
use by their loyal and contented owners.
More recently the number of new models
has reduced; indeed, it is now seven years
since the last Kenwood HF transceiver so the
announcement of a new model, the TS-590S,
has (not surprisingly) been greeted with a great
amount of interest. Shortly after receiving the
review radio I produced a short summary of
my first impressions for the December RadCom
and the full review now follows.
BASIC FUNCTIONS. The TS-590S is a
mid-sized radio measuring 270(w) x 96(h)
x 291mm (d) and weighs about 7.4kg. This
is sufficiently small to be easily transportable
but of adequate size to be comfortable to
operate. The radio requires a 13.8V supply.
It contains a single receiver tuning 30kHz
to 60MHz, although the performance is not
specified over the full range. The transmitter
is enabled on the amateur bands and delivers
nominally 100W output power. Transmit
operation on 5MHz is standard in US models
but can be enabled by Kenwood dealers in the
UK. This gives continuous transmit coverage
across the 5MHz band for all modes but the
discrete channels are best stored to memory
for easy access. A low-level drive output is
provided giving about 1mW transmit signal
on the 136kHz band as well as transverter
drive from any of the HF bands. The low level
LF transmit range can be extended to 522kHz
with a dealer modification, useful if 500kHz
becomes a permanent allocation.

Individual buttons select the bands with
a triple band stacking register where one of
three last used combinations of frequency,
mode and other settings is returned for each
press of the band key. Individual buttons also
select the usual modes, with both sidebands
available on CW and FSK and wide or narrow
deviations on FM. A data button selects data
mode on SSB and FM, the normal way of
interfacing to PC applications (via the sound
card); shifts and bandwidths all settable. Modes
can be selected automatically by setting up a
mode-frequency map.
The front panel is well laid out, with most
functions directly accessible from front panel
controls in a logical way. The display uses
LCD technology with selectable yellow or green
LED backlighting. It is clear and bright with a
good viewing angle. It also retains excellent
visibility in bright lighting or direct sunlight,
unlike many other display technologies.
The meter displays use a bargraph format
and receiver filter bandwidths are similarly
shown as a graphical bar. A separate button
displays filter bandwidths and shifts numerically
for about 1 second. The frequency is displayed
to 10Hz resolution and both frequencies are
displayed for split frequency operation.
The menu system is very comprehensive
with 88 items and is easy to access and set. It
uses scrolling display annotation. Two entirely
separate sets of parameters may be stored, as
Menu A and Menu B. This can be useful for
optimising different operating environments
such as contesting and local rag-chewing or
for field day operation where two operators
have different preferences for the way the radio
is set up. Access to selected menu items can
be simplified by setting up a quick menu,
which is a customised abbreviated menu list,

or by allocating menu items to programmable
function keys. There are two programmable
function keys on the front panel and a further
four with the MC-47 microphone (available as
an optional extra). Alternatively, the up/down
keys on the standard microphone supplied
with the radio can be reassigned as function
keys. All menu items, second level key functions
and some otherwise inaccessible functions can
be assigned to any of the programmable keys.
There are two antenna sockets on the rear
panel and there is also a separate receiveonly antenna connector. Key jacks are only
fitted on the rear panel, one for connecting a
paddle to the internal keyer and a separate
socket for external keying. Other rear panel
connectors are fairly minimal: a DIN connector
for audio and interfacing lines for the data
modes and a separate DIN connector for
linear control. Menu items allow for both
fast and slow linear switching separately for
HF and 50MHz but there is only one linear
control line. A dedicated connector interfaces
to the AT-300 external ATU.
For connecting to a PC, a USB interface and
a 9-pin D connector COM port are provided.
The USB port allows for both PC control
and for passing audio to and from external
applications. Software and port drivers are
available from the Kenwood US website [1].
As with other recent Kenwood radios, the
built-in firmware is upgradeable. Again, full
details are given on the Kenwood US website.
The 90 page instruction manual provided
with the radio is comprehensive and written
in a very compact style but in some cases is
not particularly clear. There are no technical
descriptions, circuit diagrams or CAT details
provided, but a separate CAT manual is
downloadable from the Kenwood website.
A further five instruction manuals in different
languages are provided with the radio, which
seems rather a waste of paper.
RADIO DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE.
The receiver in the TS-590S uses a rather
novel architecture. Over most of the tuning
range it is a triple conversion superhet, upconverting to a first IF of 73MHz, then to the
second IF of 10.7MHz and finally to 24kHz
to feed the DSP. A 15kHz bandwidth roofing
filter is fitted at the 73MHz IF with 15kHz,
6kHz or 2.7kHz bandwidth filters at the
second IF depending on mode and selected
bandwidth. On certain amateur bands (160,
80, 40, 20 and 15m) and with bandwidths
less than 2.7kHz a separate first mixer downconverts directly to the second IF, now at
39
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
PHOTO 2: Top view with covers removed showing PA, output filters and
auto ATU.
11.374MHz, bypassing the up-conversion

process. Narrow roofing filters of 2.7kHz or
500Hz bandwidth are selected automatically
in the down-conversion path, depending on
selected bandwidth, yielding much better
close-in performance compared with the
up-conversion path. A 32 bit floating-point
DSP is used to provide IF channel filtering,
demodulation, noise reduction, audio
processing and AGC functions. On FM,
there is an additional conversion from the
second IF to 455kHz where a separate
FM IC performs demodulation and passes
audio to the DSP. On this mode the DSP is
used purely for audio filtering functions.
The receiver front end uses a switchable
bipolar preamplifier with nominally 12dB gain
up to 21.5MHz and 20dB gain above. There
is a switchable attenuator for really strong
signal situations and 13 input bandpass filters
covering the total frequency range of the receiver.
Both first mixers use a quad arrangement of
MOSFETs and the local oscillator feeds are
derived directly from DDS chips (AD9951)
without the usual PLL. This can result in
much better phase noise performance but
low-level spurious outputs can be more of a
problem. There is a normal crystal reference
oscillator but a 0.5ppm TCXO is available as an
optional extra. The transmit signal path uses
the up-conversion frequency scheme in reverse.
The radio is solidly constructed in
conventional style using a substantial diecast
frame on which the circuit boards are mounted
together with a wrap-around case. A bail stand
tilts the front panel to improve visibility and
operating ease. Dual internal fans cool the PA,
operating only when the temperature rises.
There is substantial internal heatsinking so
these fans rarely operate in normal use. A 7cm
speaker fits in the case top.
RECEIVER FEATURES. The radio is fitted
with a 45mm diameter main tuning drive,
smooth in operation and with drag adjustment.
40
PHOTO 3: Underneath view showing signal processing boards.
With 1000 steps per revolution and 10Hz

steps on CW/SSB or 100Hz steps on AM/FM,
it combines precise tuning with fast frequency
navigation. Fine-tuning at one tenth of these
rates is selectable, as are lower steps per
revolution if desired. Rapid tuning in a variety
of mode-dependant step sizes is performed
by a small click-step rotary control, which
is also used to select menu items, memory
channels and other functions. The frequency
may be entered directly using the band keys
as a numeric keypad and a history list of the
last 10 frequencies entered this way is stored
for rapid recall.
The usual A/B twin VFOs are provided
together with split frequency operation and
a TFSET key for quick monitoring and tuning
the transmit frequency during split frequency
operation. RIT and XIT are both available
to give incremental tuning over a range of
10kHz. An auto-tune feature fine tunes
the receiver to give the correct CW pitch,
but this is best avoided if there are any
interfering signals in the passband. There
are 99 conventional memory channels and
a further 10 for storing programmable scan
limits. The usual memory transfer functions
are provided and name tags of up to eight
characters may be assigned. A separate quick
access memory is included, which stores up
to 10 channels. Comprehensive scanning is
provided between frequency limits, across
memory channels or groups.
Two different methods are used to set the IF
channel bandwidth, depending on the mode,
using dual concentric rotary controls. On SSB,
AM and FM, slope tuning is used, with separate
control of the low and high frequency cut-offs.
The net bandwidth is the difference between
the two. On AM and FM the quoted bandwidth
is somewhat misleading. On FM it relates to the
audio filtered bandwidth; the IF bandwidth is
fixed at 12kHz. On AM it also relates to the
audio bandwidth after demodulation but it
is the IF bandwidth which is filtered to about
double this value. On CW, FSK and SSB data

modes these dual controls adjust bandwidth
and centre frequency (shift). The default shift
setting on CW is made equal to the CW
pitch frequency. Bandwidths are portrayed
graphically on the display but actual values
are displayed for about one second at the
push of a key. Bandwidth settings are stored
separately for each mode. Two separate sets
of bandwidths may be stored and toggled
from a front panel key, the equivalent of
normal/narrow settings on other radios but
more versatile. There is no user access to the
roofing filter selection; this is set automatically
according to bandwidth and mode.
Four different notch circuits are provided.
Implemented at IF is a manual notch with
adjustable centre frequency and wide/narrow
settings, plus a separate auto notch for
automatically locating and attenuating a
single interfering tone on SSB. Implemented
at audio are two beat cancellation filters for
SSB/AM which automatically locate and
remove multiple tones. This is the function
normally called auto-notch on other radios.
One beat cancellation filter is more effective on
continuous beats and the other on intermittent
tones. Two separate DSP noise reduction
functions are provided that use different
algorithms and differ in their effectiveness
depending on the prevailing situation. Finally
in the armoury for combating interference are
two noise blankers. NB1 is a conventional IF
gated analogue system and NB2 performs
blanking using DSP. Quite a selection to
choose from!
Two AGC speeds are selectable, each with
a programmable decay time constant. There
are no separate audio filters for CW or data
modes but a DSP audio equaliser can be
enabled that has eight selectable profiles.
TRANSMIT FEATURES. The transmitter power
output is variable on all modes down to about
5W and can be set separately for the HF bands
Discovering the Hidden

Kenwoods latest HF transceiver takes Amateur Radio to the next level.
Phenomenal RX performance reveals signals that are lost to lesser rigs.
G Best dynamic range in its class versus off-frequency interference

G 500 Hz / 2.7 kHz Roofing Filter
G 32-bit floating point DSP
G 100 W heavy-duty design
G Automatic antenna tuner
G USB port for PC connectivity
HF / 50MHz ALL MODE TRANSCEIVER
TS- 590S
For full details of our dealer network and all Kenwood amateur products contact your local dealer or Kenwood
Electronics UK Limited. 01923 655284 e-mail comms@kenwood-electronics.co.uk
Kenwood Electronics UK Limited

www.kenwood-electronics.co.uk
Introducing the NEW TS-590S

Among its many appealing features, the new TS-590S employs down conversion for the rst IF, resulting
in Excellent Dynamic Range when adjacent unwanted signals are present. It is also equipped with a 32-bit
Floating-point DSP featuring advanced technology that enables unique IF AGC. These and other cutting-edge
technologies realise the rst-rate RX performance that HF enthusiasts all over the world have been waiting for.
Peter Hart
conrms that
the TS-590 is
a real winner!
Superb RX Performance:
Excellent dynamic range, even with
powerful off-frequency interference
The TS-590S is an excellent all-round radio, packed with

really useful features, easy to operate with well thought out
and friendly ergonomics. The performance on the key ve
bands where it is a down-conversion radio is equal to the best
radios available but at a fraction of the price.
Wide range of features thanks to 32-bit

oating-point DSP
Advanced AGC with digital signal
processing from the IF stage onward
Powerful 500Hz / 2.7kHz roong lter

DDS offers superb C/N (Carrier to Noise
Ratio) characteristics, signicantly
cutting noise generated by adjacent
unwanted signals
Built-in automatic antenna tuner
For further information see our website: www.hamradio.co.uk
Stable operation guaranteed. Designed

for high reliability
User-friendly menus, outstanding

operating ease
Large display with 2-colour LED
backlight
USB connectivity for PC control
100W heavy-duty design

Superior ease of operation, plus a more
enjoyable TX/RX performance
FREE Kenwood
MC-60a Desk Mic
worth 118!
Call now to discuss how I can get this 2010 masterpiece from Kenwood into your shack today!
Available from stock in very limited supply. Buy now and beat the VAT increase!
Tel:
0345 2300 599

01932 567 333
(local call number)
Outline House,
73 Guildford Street,
Chertsey,
Surrey KT16 9AS
E-mail:
sales@hamradio.co.uk
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Response (dB) single tone dynamic range
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
-60
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
-120
-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
10
15
20
25
Frequency offset (kHz)

FIGURE 1: Composite selectivity curve on USB. Frequency is 1.9MHz.
Black line - Rx1 bandwidth 2.3kHz, red line - Rx2 bandwidth 2.8kHz.
and 50MHz. This is useful if you use a linear

on the HF bands that needs reduced drive
but still require full output on 6m. Power
output is indicated on the display meter,
which also shows ALC, SWR or compression
level. The radio includes a built-in auto ATU
covering the bands 1.8 to 50MHz (including
5MHz) and will tune antennas with up to 3:1
VSWR. The ATU can be set to be in circuit on
receive as well as on transmit.
On voice modes VOX, speech processor and
a transmission monitor are provided and the
audio bandwidth may be tailored by adjusting
the low cut and high cut response. In addition,
an audio equaliser may be enabled that has
six selectable profiles. FM repeater operation
is best achieved by setting the transmit and
receive frequencies in split operation and
storing to memory together with the relevant
access tones. There is no direct repeater shift
setting. Rx/Tx tone decoders and encoders are
provided for CTCSS operation, which can use
different frequencies.
On CW the rise and fall times of the keying
envelope are settable from 1 to 6ms and there
is the usual provision for full and semi break-in.
Semi break-in drop back delay is adjustable
from the front panel control. At minimum
setting it is full break-in. One useful feature
if you often tune around in different modes is
the ability to select automatically CW mode
when the key is pressed. Another useful
feature is to allocate one function key for
tune-up. This outputs a carrier, irrespective of
mode, at a power level that can be set separately
from the normal transmit power level.
An electronic keyer is built in using a paddle
connected to the dedicated rear panel jack.
It operates over the speed range 4 - 60wpm.
The speed in wpm is indicated on the display.
30
The weighting can be

varied and made to
increase or decrease
with speed. Four
message stores are
also provided, storing
50 characters each,
programmed from the
paddle. The message
stores are controlled
from dedicated front
panel keys. There is
no provision to send
automatically
incrementing
serial numbers but
message stores can be
cascaded seamlessly
and a setting allows
interruption to insert
numbers or text and
then resume.
Messages can
be set to repeat
automatically after
a delay.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES. The VGS-1 voice

guide and message store is an optional extra.
The voice guide provides voice readout in
English or Japanese of the status of various
radio settings depending on how it has been
set up. This includes the frequency, meter
readings and virtually any other settings and
key presses and can be a great help for those
with impaired vision. The second use of this
option is to provide an audio store. This can be
used to record up to two 30 second messages
and a further two 15 second messages for
playback on air as CQ calls or contest
exchanges for example. Store 4 will also
record the receiver output continuously and
retain the last 30 seconds. This can be stored
and played back as desired but this mode
cannot be played back on air and there is an
annoying delay of 20 seconds initially whilst
the contents are stored to flash memory.
For use with transverters, the display can
be set to indicate the transverted frequency.
Three digits are available for the MHz segment,
eg 144 or 432. Offsets can be stored to a
resolution of 100Hz. The transmit drive source
for the transverter in most cases will use the
low-level 1mW drive output which disables
the transmitter PA, but there is a menu option
to use the PA at its lowest power level (5W).
Make sure you avoid transmitting into the
transverter IF output when the transverter is
disabled by using the receive-only input on
the TS-590S.
Kenwood has traditionally been strong in
areas of communication linked with the PC
and remote operation and the TS-590S is
similarly supported. Kenwood provides a
software control program, ARCP-590, to
enable access to virtually all functions of the
radio from a PC running Windows XP SP3 or
later. The radio can also be controlled remotely

over a network or over the internet using the
Kenwood Network Command System. This
uses the ARCP-590 at the operator (remote)
end of the link in conjunction with the
ARHP-590 host program running at the radio
end of the link and with audio lines carried
separately using a protocol such as VOIP.
Kenwood does not supply the VOIP software,
which is readily available from other sources,
but the control and host software is freely
downloadable from the Kenwood website [1].
Kenwood has also developed a remote
control system using a radio link. Sky
Command II uses a pair of the new TH-D72E
VHF/UHF portables to provide full remote
access to the radio, perhaps from the garden
or elsewhere. The 2m and 70cm bands are
used to pass receive and transmit audio and
all control signals. In the USA other Kenwood
VHF/UHF models are also suitably equipped.
Yet another possibility is to access the
VHF/UHF packet cluster network by connecting
through the COM port cable to a VHF/UHF
radio and there are several Kenwood models
suitably equipped. Incoming cluster spots can
be passed to the TS-590S, which is then set
on frequency.
I had the radio linked satisfactorily to the
Logger32 logging program using the generic
Kenwood protocol for control of the radio and
logging data and for passing DX Packet Cluster
spots to the radio.
MEASUREMENTS. The full set of
measurements is given in the table. Sensitivity
measurements showed that the up-conversion
receive path Rx2 was slightly more sensitive
than the down-conversion path Rx1 and had
about 2-3dB higher gain within the signal path.
The receiver is very sensitive, particularly on
24MHz and above, where the preamplifier
has an extra 8dB of gain. The sensitivity holds
well at LF, achieving -123dBm at 136kHz
(preamp on) and only starts to reduce at 50kHz.
Sensitivity is reduced by about 16dB over the
medium wave broadcast band. The S-meter
calibration was moderately linear and showed
about 3dB per S unit. All modes were the same,
except FM which was highly compressed.
The rejection of IFs and images for the
Rx1 down-conversion path was typically
75dB to 90dB. For the Rx2 up-conversion
path these figures were typically better than
90dB. I searched carefully for other spurious
responses as DDS circuits tend to be prone
to this problem. Rx2 was very clean with no
responses less than 80dB down. Rx1 was
exceptionally clean with no other responses
less than 100dB down except an internally
generated birdie on 1827.5kHz, just above
the noise level. In the most popular part of
the 160m DX sector this could not be in
a worse place but will probably not be a
problem with full-size antennas. However,
with small receive-only loops and Beverages
it will be an issue. Switching to Rx2 by selecting
43
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
PHOTO 4: TS-590S rear panel.

PHOTO 6: 2nd IF roofing filters.
a bandwidth greater than 2.7kHz makes this

birdie disappear.
The close-in strong signal performance is
limited in some cases by the AGC. A somewhat
complex AGC system is used, detecting signal
level in three places within the DSP signal
path, one place being prior to the main
channel selectivity. Hence a strong signal
falling inside the roofing filters but still
outside of the final channel filter will result
in AGC action, reducing gain and sensitivity
and result in blocking. This can be heard as
a quietening of the receiver from a very strong
signal just outside of the channel passband.
The effect is most noticeable with the wider
roofing filters and is not an issue with the
500Hz roofing filter in circuit. In other
respects the AGC performance was generally
clean but the attack response inserted a hole
of up to 10ms in the signal. This is seen in
many DSP implemented radios, although
the hole was not as deep as in some radios
I have measured.
The table compares the wide spaced
third order intercept and dynamic range
figures on different bands for Rx1 and Rx2.
By measuring in 2.8kHz bandwidth all
bands use Rx2. For bands that use Rx1 the
measurement was also made in 2.3kHz
bandwidth. The results show excellent frontend performance with Rx1 a few dB better
than Rx2. Close-in measurements were
made in 500Hz bandwidth with Rx1 on
7MHz and Rx2 on 10MHz. Rx1 uses the
500Hz bandwidth roofing filter and Rx2
the 2.7kHz bandwidth filter at the second
IF (15kHz bandwidth filter at the first IF).
The results for Rx1 are really excellent,
achieving 103dB dynamic range at 2kHz
spacing and 90dB at 1kHz. The results for
Rx2 show the effect of the wider roofing
filters. At spacings below 10kHz the dynamic
range reduces by around 10dB as the signals
approach the first IF filter passband. Then at
2kHz and below the signals enter the second
IF filter passband: AGC takes effect (see
previous paragraph), blocking occurs and
meaningful measurements cannot be made.
Measurements of blocking show that the
front-end can handle very strong signals.
Close-in, the effects of the roofing filters can
be clearly seen and signal handling reduces,
although Rx1 with the 500Hz filter maintains
excellent blocking performance down to 1kHz
spacing (where reciprocal mixing noise starts
to be seen). With the 2.7kHz roofing filter
(Rx1 and Rx2), AGC comes into operation
below 2kHz spacing and blocking effects
44
PHOTO 5: The front panel hinged down showing

the PA cooling fans.
are seen at really very low levels.

The reciprocal mixing (RM) figures
measured for Rx1 are excellent, similar to
or better than top-end radios costing two to
four times as much. The RM performance
is best on the lower bands. For Rx2 the RM
performance is fairly average, similar across
the bands and nowhere near as good as Rx1.
This is surprising considering it is the same
DDS but uses a doubler to generate the
higher frequencies required.
As a consequence of the excellent RM
results, it was possible to measure over 80dB
down the channel filter skirts in some cases
(500Hz), although AGC was having an effect
where the wider roofing filters were in circuit.
The table shows the results down to 60dB,
which are fairly typical for DSP filters. Figure 1
shows the composite selectivity curve on USB
for Rx1 and Rx2. The skirt widening with Rx2
is due to AGC close-in and reciprocal mixing
further out.
On transmit, two-tone distortion products
were particularly low for a 12V operated PA and
the processor was very clean with negligible
effect on wideband products. The audio was
very clean with low distortion and most tolerant
of high ALC levels and overdrive. The auto ATU
reduced power by about 10 to 15%. CW rise
and fall shapes were clean with negligible
distortion or character shortening at 40wpm,
even in full break-in mode. There was a 15ms
delay on keying. AM transmit was clean with
low distortion.
ON THE AIR PERFORMANCE. Over the period
that I had the radio for review, I came to really
like the ergonomics and appreciate the thought
that Kenwood has put into implementing the
various functions and features in a userfriendly way. The tuning is smooth and positive,
display clear and bright and functions easy to
access. The dual rotary controls are a bit small
and fiddly but this is inevitable in a radio of this
size. The bandwidth setting controls are a little
confusing, with CW bandwidth and SSB high
cut on opposite controls, but it is something
you get used to.
I used the radio briefly under contest

conditions during the CQWW CW and the
Ukranian DX Contests. The receiver performed
very well: sensitive and lively on the quieter
bands, it coped well picking out weak signals
amongst strong signals and QRM on the lower
bands. I could not detect any real difference in
performance on-air between the up-conversion
and down-conversion receivers under the
conditions I experienced at the time. The audio
quality using the internal speaker was excellent
with good volume and no rattles. Clean
performance extended down to LF, with the
time-code transmissions and was also good
in the AM broadcast bands. The receiver birdie
on 1827.5kHz was clearly audible on my
160m receive loop and significantly stronger
than the ZL8X DXpedition that was active on
1826.5kHz during the review period.
The filters performed well, with minimal
ringing at low bandwidths. The various
notches were all very effective. The two
noise reduction modes were different in
the way they transformed the signal and
different from the noise reduction systems
on other radios. They could be very effective
in certain circumstances and quite aggressive
in operation but tended to produce a digital
sound with strange artefacts if overdone.
On transmit, the audio quality was
reported as being excellent using the supplied
microphone and the processor was clean and
added extra punch. The default microphone
gain setting is a bit on the high side and
should be reduced. On CW the keying and
the sidetone were clean and well behaved.
CONCLUSIONS. The TS-590S is an
excellent all-round radio, packed with
really useful features, easy to operate with
well thought out and friendly ergonomics.
The performance on the key five bands where
it is a down-conversion radio is equal to the
best radios available but at a fraction of the
price. Even on the other bands it returns a
very creditable performance.
With a list price around 1489, it is
generally available with a significant discount
and at this price it is excellent value for money.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I would like to
express my gratitude to Kenwood Electronics
UK for the loan of this radio.
WEBSEARCH
[1] Kenwood USA website for software downloads:
www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/
software_download.html
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
KENWOOD TS-590S MEASURED PERFORMANCE

RECEIVER MEASUREMENTS
---SENSITIVITY SSB 10dBs+n:n--FREQUENCY PREAMP OFF
PREAMP ON
---------INPUT FOR S9-------PREAMP OFF PREAMP ON
1.8MHz
3.5MHz
7MHz
10MHz
14MHz
18MHz
21MHz
24MHz
28MHz
50MHz
50V
50V
56V
45V
56V
45V
56V
40V
40V
35V
0.35V (-116dBm)
0.35V (-116dBm)
0.35V (-116dBm)
0.28V (-118dBm)
0.35V (-116dBm)
0.28V (-118dBm)
0.4V (-115dBm)
0.25V (-119dBm)
0.28V (-118dBm)
0.32V (-117dBm)
0.13V (-125dBm)
0.13V (-125dBm)
0.13V (-125dBm)
0.14V (-124dBm)
0.14V (-124dBm)
0.13V (-125dBm)
0.13V (-125dBm)
0.1V (-127dBm)
0.08V (-129dBm)
0.09V (-128dBm)
16V
16V
16V
18V
16V
14V
11V
13V
10V
10V
AM sensitivity (28MHz) Preamp on: 0.45V for 10dBs+n:n at 30% mod depth
FM sensitivity (28MHz) Preamp on: 0.16V for 12dB SINAD 3kHz pk deviation
AGC threshold Preamp on: 0.56V
100dB above AGC threshold for <1dB audio output increase
AGC attack time: 1ms (see tet)
AGC decay time: adjustable 150ms to 5s
Max audio at 1% distortion: 1.8W into 8 ohm
Inband intermodulation products: -45 to -55dB
S-READING INPUT LEVEL USB

(7MHz)
PREAMP OFF PREAMP ON
S1
S3
S5
S7
S9
S9+20
S9+40
S9+60
3.2V
5.6V
11V
20V
56V
560V
3.2mV
80mV
0.9V
1.8V
2.5V
6.3V
16V
180V
900V
22mV
BANDWIDTH
SET TO
----IF BANDWIDTH----6dB
-60dB
CW 500Hz
USB 2300Hz
AM 2500Hz
AM 5000Hz
FM and FM-N
517Hz
2303Hz
5970Hz
11420Hz
12750Hz
825Hz
3573Hz
9005Hz
15190Hz
20540Hz
INTERMODULATION (50kHz SPACING) ON USB. BANDWIDTH 2.3kHz (Rx1) 2.8kHz (Rx2)

Frequency
---Rx1 PREAMP OFF--- ---Rx1 PREAMP ON--- ---Rx2 PREAMP OFF--- ---Rx2 PREAMP ON--3rd order
2 tone
3rd order
2 tone
3rd order
2 tone
3rd order
2 tone
intercept
dyn range intercept
dyn range intercept
dyn range intercept
dyn range
1.8MHz
3.5MHz
7MHz
10MHz
14MHz
18MHz
21MHz
24MHz
28MHz
50MHz
+25dBm
+28dBm
+31dBm
+29.5dBm
+27.5dBm
-
101dB
103dB
105dB
104dB
102dB
-
+14.5dBm
+16dBm
+22dBm
+15.5dBm
+12dBm
-
100dB
101dB
105dB
100dB
98dB
-
+29.5dBm
+20.5dBm
+21.5dBm
+21.5dBm
+21dBm
+21.5dBm
+22dBm
+18dBm
+18.5dBm
+22dBm
CLOSE-IN INTERMODULATION ON CW WITH 500Hz

BANDWIDTH. PREAMP OFF
Spacing
-----Rx1 on 7MHz----3rd order

2 tone
intercept
dynamic range
-----Rx2 on 10MHz----3rd order

2 tone
intercept
dynamic range
1kHz
1.5kHz
2kHz
3kHz
4kHz
5kHz
7kHz
10kHz
15kHz
20kHz
25kHz
+3.5dBm
+6.5dBm
+23dBm
+29dBm
+29dBm
+29dBm
+30.5dBm
+30.5dBm
+31dBm
+31dBm
+31dBm
see text
see text
see text
+4.5dBm
+5dBm
+7.5dBm
+11dBm
+21dBm
+22.5dBm
+24dBm
+25dBm
FREQUENCY
OFFSET
1kHz
2kHz
3kHz
5kHz
10kHz
15kHz
20kHz
30kHz
50kHz
100kHz
90dB
92dB
103dB
107dB
107dB
107dB
108dB
108dB
108dB
108dB
108dB
RECIPROCAL MIXING 500Hz BW

Rx1
Rx1
Rx2
1.9MHz
21MHz 16MHz
95dB
89dB
AGC blocks
98dB
95dB
79dB
104dB
98dB
83dB
112dB
107dB
87dB
117dB
111dB
98dB
117dB
113dB
104dB
119dB
115dB
106dB
119dB
116dB
108dB
119dB
118dB
110dB
119dB
119dB
112dB
see text
see text
see text
92dB
92dB
94dB
96dB
103dB
104dB
105dB
105dB
106dB
100dB
100dB
100dB
99dB
100dB
99dB
98dB
98dB
99dB
+16dBm
+16.5dBm
+12dBm
+15dBm
+11dBm
+11dBm
+9dBm
+6.5dBm
+10dBm
+1dBm
101dB
102dB
99dB
99dB
97dB
97dB
96dB
96dB
99dB
93dB
TRANSMITTER MEASUREMENTS
---CW---INTERMODULATIONPOWER
-------PRODUCTS------FREQUENCY OUTPUT HARMONICS 3rd order
5th order
1.8MHz
3.5MHz
7MHz
10MHz
14MHz
18MHz
21MHz
24MHz
28MHz
50MHz
98W
103W
101W
102W
100W
100W
100W
100W
100W
96W
------------ BLOCKING PREAMP OFF -----------Rx1

Rx1
Rx2
2.7kHz ROOF 500Hz ROOF 2.7kHz FILTER
-77dBm
noise limited -80dBm
-45dBm
+15dBm
-43dBm
-16dBm
+15dBm
-12dBm
>+20dBm
+16dBm
-6dBm
>+20dBm
>+20dBm
+2dBm
>+20dBm
>+20dBm
+8dBm
>+20dBm
>+20dBm
+10dBm
>+20dBm
>+20dBm
+11dBm
>+20dBm
>+20dBm
+12dBm
>+20dBm
>+20dBm
+13dBm
-65dB
-65dB
-70dB
-63dB
-75dB
-71dB
-68dB
-70dB
-70dB
-68dB
-36dB
-37dB
-37dB
-36dB
-36dB
-38dB
-34dB
-31dB
-26dB
-33dB
-40dB
-34dB
-34dB
-34dB
-34dB
-34dB
-35dB
-33dB
-38dB
-36dB
Intermodulation product levels are quoted

with respect to PEP.
Microphone input sensitivity: 0.3mV for
full output
Transmitter AF distortion: Less than 0.1%
FM deviation: 1.9kHz narrow / 3.8kHz
wide SSB T/R switch speed: mute-Tx 15ms,
Tx-mute 4ms, mute-Rx 35ms, Rx-mute 4ms
NOTE:
All signal input voltages given as PD across
antenna terminal.
Unless stated otherwise, all measurements
made on USB with receiver preamp switched
out, 2.3kHz bandwidth.
45
Open six days a week. Mon - Fri: 9.30am - 5.30pm Sat: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Outline House, 73 Guildford Street,

Chertsey, Surrey KT16 9AS
Tel:
0345 2300 599

(Local Call Number) Tel: 01932 567 333 (Direct Dial Number)
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200Watt version of above, no auto-ATU ............................................ 849.95
TS-2000E
100Watt all mode HF/2/6M with auto-ATU etc.................................. 1499.95
TS-2000X
As above but /tted with 10Watts on 23cm (all mode) ... SPECIAL 1679.95
Kenwood V/U Products
TH-F7E
The only 2/70 FM Handie with SSB/CW WB Receiver ...................... 229.95
TM-V71E
First Class 2/70 FM Mobile with remote head ................................... 289.95
TM-D710E
The only 2/70 FM Mobile/Base with APRS/TNC etc .......................... 429.95
TM-D710E+AvMap Bundle. Personal Navigator for GPS located APRS.................... Call!!
Just some of the new products on show at ML&S

New!
ML-5189 4m 25W FM Mobile.
Only 149.99
New! WO/BSV-E3-10BNC
4m Base Station antenna with 10m coax
ideal for Wouxun 4m Handie or new ML-5189
for home use.
New!
MP-30SW111
13.8V variable 25Amp Mini-PSU. Only

1.5Kilos, Auto-Fan cooled, back-lit Volt/Amps
meter. 2 Year Warranty. 84.95
New! Kenwood TH-D72E
New! MyDEL JCD-201M
ML-5189
Deluxe desk microphone, twin rig output

with leads for any rig. Amazing TX audio.
99.95, leads at 15.95
New! CX-SW4PL
4 way SO-239 Coax switch. Solid die-cast
alloy construction, 49.95
New! Dyneema braided rope

200ft by 2mm, a massive 650Kg braking
strain! 23.45 per roll.
Latest Dual Band APRS Handie now with

GPS & Sky Command .
Only RRP 479.95 MLS CALL!
New! Kenwood PS-60
New! Wouxun KV-UV920R
Woodbox Ham Pad
Latest Dual Band 2/70 Mobile. Due for

release March 2011. tba
Colour touch screen for the Flex 5000 series.

Requires FXPAd software. 169.95
Deluxe matching PSU for the TS-590S

299.95
MyDEL
MP-30SW111
Ham Pad
Yaesu Rotators
Only
319.95
The best available at

very special prices.
One of the oldest names in Ham Radio
Nissei
Nissei
Nissei
Nissei
RX-103
RX-203
RX-403
RX-503
1.6-60MHz, 20/200/2kW ............... 49.95

1.8-200MHz, 2/20/200W ............... 49.95
125-525MHz, 2/20/200W .............. 49.95
1.8-525MHz, 2/20/200W ............... 69.95
New Range to ML&S, HUGE DISPLAY, PEP &

Average reading.
Nissei
Nissei
Nissei
Nissei
TX-102
TX-402
TX-101A
TX-502
1.6-200MHz, 2/20/200W ............... 59.95

125-525MHz, 2/20/200W .............. 59.95
1.6-60MHz, 20/200/2kW ............... 84.95
1.6-525MHz, 2/20/200W ............... 89.95
POWER SUPPLIES
The neatest smartest looking desk top power supplies
that money can buy. Ideal for powering any main rig or
accessory requiring 13.8 Volts at up to 120 Amps.
New MyDel
MP-30SW11
G-450C The most popular medium duty rotator available today. ML&S always guarantee
to have the largest stocks in the UK and of course the best prices. Cable extra.
G-250 Ideal simple to use remote control Antenna rotator for light weight antenna installations.
Ideal use for turning 4/6/9 element Tonna 2m antennas, 9/19/21 element 70 cm antennas.
Also V/U Log periodic (i.e. Maldol LP-1300) and small single
and HF dipoles ....................................................................................................Only 129.95 (Usual RRP 189.95)
G-550 Elevation rotator for satellite operation ........................................................................................Only 299.95
G-5500 Heavy-Duty PC Controlled Vertical rotator for satellite and EME applications. ........................Only 469.95
G-650C Medium duty with higher brake torque than the G-450 ......................................................................359.95
G-1000DXC This new, high-performance rotator is ideal for heavy-duty applications. Its slim-line constructions is ideal for
many crank-up tower installations. Rotation range: 450, with presets........................................................................429.95
G-2800DXC Yaesu's top-of-the-line rotator is for extra-heavy-duty antenna installations. It includes Auto Slow Start and
Auto Slow Stop features to avoid sharp jolts to the antenna array and tower. The G-2800A includes a mast clamp to
simplify installation. Total rotation range: 450, with presets .........................................................................................849.95
For the full range of the worlds most reliable Yaesu Rotator products, see our website.
Microbit RRC-1258mkIIS
13.8V DC variable, metered,

with rear facing terminals.
Small, compact and very lightweight. Only
84.95
MP-925. 99.95
Linear PSU (Not Switch mode) 25-30Amps, 13.8V
DC Variable, Metered with low current terminals for
accessories. DC power supply.
A complete remote control system for Amateur radio

Microbit1258mkIIS 399.95. Leads included
For more info see
www.hamradio.co.uk/rrc-1258.shtml
NEW Mini VNAPro

Now with Bluetooth!
NEW VERSION
OLD PRICE 399.95
A new version of the RRC-1258MkII
which support Rigs with dual
receivers is now available and will
replace the existing RRC. Remote
your rig anywhere in the world where
you have an internet connection.
NEW
Only
349.95
MP-6A. 29.95
The new miniVNA PRO, the big brother of the well-known miniVNA, is an
extraordinary and unique handheld vector network analyzer that makes available a
multitude of new features and capabilities which are perfect for checking antennas
and RF circuits for hams and commercial users.
13.8V DC, 6A power supply.
MiniVNA original still available (without Bluetooth): 259.95
Ideal for FT-817ND or most handhelds.
Tigertronics SL-USB
MP-8230 As used by CDXC. 69.95
ALL sound card Digital and voice modes are supported by

the SignaLinkTM USB. This includes traditional modes such
as RTTY, SSTV and CW (to name a few), as well as today's
hottest new modes like PSK31, MT-63 and EchoLink.
13.8V DC, 25A power supply, switch mode.
Best Seller!
MP-9626. 299.95
"The Brick"
From only 99.95

Call to discuss your rig-to-cable requirements.
120A, 13.8V DC power supply, switch mode.
MP-9600. 179.95
60A switch mode power supply.
Ideal for TS-480HX or other 200W output radio.
Alinco DM-330MW PSU. 99.95

The Alinco DM-330MW is a 30 AMP switch mode
power supply. It is ideal for mobile/portable with
its light weight and low noise.
Yaesu FP-1030A Linear PSU. 169.95

25-30Amp 13.8V xed DC PSU, Twin meters, near silent
running. 2 year Warranty
LDG Auto TTuner Range

NEW! YT-450
NEW! YT-847
NEW AT-600pro
AT-100proII NEW
AT-200pro
AT-1000Pro
TWO NEW
SUPER
MODELS
G
FROM LD
Auto Tuner for the FT-450 & FT-950.................................... 214.95

Want a really good Auto ATU for your FT-847? Here it is! 214.95
600W Auto ATU..................................................................... 329.95
Desktop tuner covering all frequencies from 1.8-54 MHz 199.95
Designed for new generation of rigs.................................. 214.95
1kw 160m-6m (1.8-54MHz) High speed Auto ATU,
tuning range 6-1000Ohms ................................................... 510.95
AT-897Plus
Bolt-on Alternative Auto Tuner for the FT-897. Wider tuning
range and cheaper too! ...................................................... 183.95
IT-100
New version of the AT-7000................................................. 159.95
YT-100
NEW AUTO ATU for FT-897/857 or FT-100 with additional
Cat Port Control ................................................................... 173.95
Z-817
Ultimate autotuner for QRP radios, including the
Yaesu FT-817D...................................................................... 122.95
Z-100Plus
Ultimate autotuner for Yaesu FT-817D ............................... 143.95
Z-11ProII NEW Portable compact & tunes 100mW to 125W ...................... 159.95
RCA-14
4-way DC Breakout Box ........................................................ 49.95
KT-100
Dedicated tuner for Kenwood radios ................................. 173.95
RBA-1:1
Probably the best 1:1balun out there................................... 35.71
RBA 4:1
Probably the best 4:1 balun out there.................................. 35.71
FT-Meter
Neat Analogue back-lit Meter for FT-897/857. S-meter,
TX Pwr, ALC Etc ..................................................................... 45.95
NEW FTL- Meter Jumbo version of the famous FT-Meter.................................. 79.95
Buy an Excalibur during December at

WiNRADiO WRG31DDC EXCALIBUR 649.95 and receive a W-8681 remote
A high-performance, low-cost,
direct-sampling, software-dened,
shortwave receiver with a frequency
range from 9kHz to 50MHz.
weather station worth 89.95
599.95 Perseus VLF-LF-HF

HF Receiver
SPECIAL
LIMITED
OFFER!
ML&S
are Sole
PERSEUS is a VLF-LF-HF receiver based
on an outstanding direct sampling digital Distributors
for Perseus
architecture.
See Peter Hart's review in May

2010. Currently my new No.1 in
terms of close-in dynamic range
in the UK
and Ireland
NOW IN
STOCK!
PERSEUS = Pretty Excellent Receiver for Software-Eager Unperceivable Signals

It features a 14 bit 80 MS/s analog-to-digital converter, a high-performance FPGA-based digital downconverter and a high-speed 480 Mbit/s USB2.0 PC interface.
MFJ Products
MFJ-16010
MFJ-949E
MFJ-901B
MFJ-971
MFJ-904H
MFJ-969
MFJ-993B
MFJ-1786X
MFJ-1788X
MFJ-259B
MFJ-269B
MFJ-260C
Random Wire ATU 160-10M ............................................. 69.95

Manual ATU metered, Dummy Load, 1.8-30MHz, 300W . 179.95
Manual Mini ATU 1.8-30MHz, 200W ................................ 109.95
Manual ATU metered, 1.8-30MHz, 200W .........................118.95
Manual ATU, metered, inc balanced, 1.8-30MHz 150W .. 149.95
Manual Roller ATU Metered 1.8-54MHz, 300W ............... 209.95
Auto ATU Metered 1.8-30MHz, 300W............................. 249.95
Magnetic Loop 10-30MHz, 150W .................................... 429.95
Magnetic Loop 7-22MHz, 150W ...................................... 469.95
Antenna Analyser 1.8-170MHz ........................................ 259.95
Antenna Analyser 1.8-450MHz ........................................ 349.95
Dummy Load 300W SO-239 .............................................. 44.95
Lots more MFJ stocked! See web for details
PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY AND BEAT THE 2.5% VAT INCREASE!

Tel:
0345 2300 599

New! GAP Antennas
Palstar AT-2KP
Available from stock

Eagle-DX 6-Band, 40-10m 2kW .............................................Only 325.95
Titan-DX 8-Band, 80-10m 2kW ..............................................Only 345.95
Voyager-DX 4-Band 160-20m, 2kW 45ft tall!...................................385.95
Challenger-DX 8-Band 802m (no 17) ...........................................295.95
The UKs favourite

rig-mounted
antenna system
NEW! WonderWand Widebander
1.8-460MHz with Monster 1.8M Whip! .................119.95
NEW! WonderWand Mk4
7-432MHz antenna with 1.8m Whip .......................89.95
Wonder-TCP 40-10m Tuneable Counterpoise......59.95
Isotron!
HF-2500 1.5kW HF linear Amp, 2 x 3CPX800A7

Triodes ...................................................................... 3395.95
AT-500 600W PEP Antenna Tuner ........ Special Price 349.95
NEW AT-Auto Now handles a massive 1500W ....... 1099.95
AT-1500DT 1500W Differential Antenna Tuner .......... 449.95
AT-2KP (2000W) Antenna Tuner ........... Special Price 399.95
NEW AT-2KD The AT-1500DT and the AT-1KP have
been combined into a new 2Kw Tuner ....................... 429.95
AT-4K (2.5kW) Antenna Tuner ................................... 769.95
AT-5K (3.5kW) Antenna Tuner .................................. 999.95
BT-1500A Balanced Antenna Tuner ........................... 599.95
PM-2000AMPower/SWR Meter.................................. 159.95
Palstar Dummy Loads
DL-1500 (1.5KW) ....................................................... 119.95
DL-2K (2kW) .......................................................... 229.95
DL-5K (5kW) .......................................................... 349.95
Palstar R30A Receiver
Palstar R30A, <tted Collins <lters for SSB & AM ........ 649.95
MW550P Active preselector & ATU for AM &
160M reception .......................................................... 259.95
SP30 Matching Desk Speaker...................................... 69.95
AA30 Active Antenna Matcher 300kHz-30MHz ......... 109.95
The most compact 1kW HF

Antenna ever!
After 30 years of manufacture and Hot
from the USA, these very clever compact
antennas are available for all the HF
bands. They are easy, quick and simple to
Mark, G8AWO
install. Tunes & performs without radials
showing off the
assembled 10/15/20
or antenna tuners.
The full range can be viewed

on our web-site and prices start
from only 100 through to 200
for the Combos.
& 40/80m Combo

Isotron's before
mounting on the roof
at ML&S HQ.
Hustler Antennas
enn
nnas
nnas
nn
as
Base Station Range
Free standing, max 7.3m tall, 1kW
4-BTV 40/20/15/10m .................................... 178.95
5-BTV 80/40/20/15/10m ............................... 218.95
6-BTV 80/40/30/20/15/10m .......................... 245.95
17-BTV-S 17m add on for 5-BTV or 6-BTV..... 53.95
Mobile Range
200W or 1kW, both stocked. RM10 to RM-80 10M to
80m single-band whips. 24.95 to 56.95
The full mobile and base range and accessories available
from stock, including the high power 1kW mobile range.
Flex SDR Radio
Comet SWR/Power Meter

CMX 2300 2 separate SWR/Power Meters in one box! ...153.21
Comet Antenna Tuner
CAT-300 300W Antenna Tuner .....................................194.08
Comet Wide-Band Vertical
NEW! Comet CHA 250BKII
80m to 6m with no ATU and no gaps.................................299.95
Comet Rotary Dipole
H-422
4 Band trapped dipole ...................................275.82
Comet HF/VHF/UHF Base Antennas
CWA1000 80,40,20,15,10 trapped dipole ........................ 99.95
GP1
144/430 MHz 3.0 / 6.0dbi 1.25m ......................59.95
GP3
144/430 MHz 4.5 / 7.2dbi 1.78m ......................69.95
GP6
144/430 MHz 6.5 / 9.0dbi 3.07m ......................99.95
GP9
144/430 MHz 8.5 / 11.9dbi 5.15m ..................139.95
GP15N
50/144/430 MHz 3/6.2/8.6dbi 2.42m ...............99.95
GP98
144/430/1200 MHz 2.94m long ......................139.01
Yaesu VL-1000 Quadra ................... 3999.95

Icom IC-PW1Euro ........................... 3979.95
Ameritron ALH-811HXCE ................. 999.95
Linear Amp Ranger 572B ............... 1275.00
Linear Amp Challenger Mk1V ........ 2295.95
NEW AT
ML&S
AirNav RadarBox & RadarBox 3D
Radar Box-3D.
ML&S: 489.00
Radar Box-Pro.
ML&S: 399.00
SBS-1eR 479.99
Pocket Radar
The ONLY Virtual Radar system available with Built-in AirBand receiver
& Ethernet connectivity.
See web site for full specications
Base Antennas
X-30 2/70, 3/5.5dB, 1.3m Long .......................................69.95
X-50N 2/70, 4.5/7.2dB, 1.7m Long .....................................75.95
X-300 2/70, 6.5/9dB, 3.1m Long ......................................129.95
X-7000 2/70/23, 8.3/11.7/13.7dB 5m Long ........................225.95
V-2000 6/2/70, 2.15/6.2/8.4dB, 2.5m Long ........................109.95
Mobile Antennas
NR-770R 100W, 2/70, 3/5.5dB, .98m Long..........................35.71
NR-770RSP As above but spring loaded .............................40.82
NR-7900 2/70, 3.2/6.4dB, 1.46m Long ................................51.04
Duplexers/Triplexers
MX-72N 1.6-150/400-460MHz Duplexer ............................45.94
MX-62M 1.6-56/140-470MHz Duplexer ..............................69.44
MX-610 HF/6+2+70 (for FT-8900) ........................................73.52
MX-2000 6/2/70 Triplexer ....................................................85.78
MX-3000N ............................................................2/70/23 Triplexer
Now only 399.95
Comet Duplexers
CF360A 28/50MHz w/leads SO239 - PL259/PL259 .....40.82
CF416A 44/430MHz w/leads SO239 PL259/PL259.......35.71
CF416B 144/430MHz w/leads SO239 PL259/N male ...35.71
CF503C 50/144MHz Sockets SO239 - PL259/PL259 ...45.93
CF530C 50/144MHz w/leads SO239 - PL259/PL259 ..45.93
CF530A 50/430MHz w/lead PL259 SO239/SO239 .....40.825
CF4160B
144/430MHz Sockets SO239 PL259/PL259 ......................33.66
Comet Triplexers
CFX431A 144/430/1200MHz N socket/PL259/N/N ..........51.03
CFX514N 50/144/430/MHz SO239/PL259/PL259/N ........51.03
DX Engineering Products
stocked at ML&S!
MMD-17 17M MIXED MODE DIPOLE + 5 BANDS

WITH ATU.................................................................................. 89.95
MMD-20 20M MIXED MODE DIPOLE, OTHER BANDS
WITH ATU.................................................................................. 89.95
MMD-30 30M MIXED MODE DIPOLE ...................................... 99.95
M
MMD-40 40M MIXED MODE DIPOLE ...................................... 99.95
Miracle Ducker iLHF-70cm Mini ATU with BNC..................... 109.95
Miracle DuckerHF-70cm with PL-259 .................................... 109.95
Miracle AntennaHF-70cm tted with telescopic ..................... 109.95
HF Linear
Ampliers
NEW LOW
PRICE
Comet Handy Antennas

BNC-750 BNC HF whip 7-50MHz TX/RX ........................81.69
CH32
BNC 144/433/900Mhz 45mm ..........................20.39
CH-99
BNC Tel Whip 70-1000MHz 195-1135mm L .......20.38
CHF816 16 3.5/28/50MHz 74cmL 10W/Yaesu FT817 ...51.03
RX5
144/430/900MHz 44cm L 8W SMA ..................30.60
RX7
144/430/900MHz 44cm L 8W BNC ..................30.60
SH95
144/430/1200MHz 37cm L 10W BNC .............30.60
SMA3
144/430/900MHz 25cm L 10W SMA ................25.50
SMA99 70-1000MHz 1.1mm max L Tele SMA .................17.32
Miracle
Antenna
l
d
d
Flex 5000A Ultimate, tted Second

Receiver & Internal Auto ATU ...........3395.95
Flex 5000A Basic ............................2495.95
Flex 3000 ........................................1399.95
Flex 1500 New! .................................599.95
The combination of
affordable pricing and
high quality construction
and performance makes
this the tuner of choice
for many Hams.
DXE-UT-8213
Coax Cable
Stripper
ONLY 45.99!
This tool prepares RG8, RG-213, 9913F7, LMR-400 (not LMR-400UF) and
other similar size coax cable for installation of a
PL-259 connector - or DXE-N1001S two-piece Type N
connector (requires a slight additional trimming of the
cable center conductor length).
Switches
CX-210A 2-way, SO-239 Die Cast.......................................47.98
CX-210N 2-way, N-Type, Die Cast ......................................74.54
CX-310A 3-way, SO-239, Die Cast......................................83.74
CX-310N 3-way, N-Type, Die Cast ....................................109.28
SWR/PWR Meters
SX-100 1.6-60 MHz, 30W-300W-3KW ...........................132.78
SX-200 1.8-200 MHz, 5-20-200 Watts..............................91.91
SX-1000 1.8-1300 MHz, 5-20-200 Watts..........................230.87
SX-40C 144-470MHz X needle Mobile Meter .................88.85
SX-20C 3.5-150MHz X needle Mobile Meter ..................88.85
SX-27P COMPACT 144/430, 60W Portable
Meter ..................................................................45.93
Huge selection of Diamond products always

available ex-stock.
See www.hamradio.co.uk for more details on all of these items ... and much, much more!
E&OE
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
ROY POWERS, G8CKN E:MAIL: ANTENNAS@TISCALI.CO.UK
ATV
Rx & Tx frequency control with a PIC
PHOTO 1: The G6ALU Comtech ATV controller.
CONTROLLERS. Comtech transmit and receive

modules are the dominant force in analogue
(FM) ATV. Following reader requests, this
month's column concentrates on controlling
these modules with a programmable integrated
circuit (PIC). Control functions include selecting
and displaying the operating frequency,
indicating received signal strength, scanning,
additional VFOs and transmit-receive switching
with sequential PA control.
Generally, ATV module controllers fall into
the following categories individual Rx or Tx
module control, combined Rx and Tx and
multiband control, all with an LCD frequency
and function display. There are two further
general categories, push button and tuning
knob tuning.
One of the very first comprehensive
Comtech module controllers was developed
by Giles, G1MFG. Replacement PICs for the
G1MFG controllers are still available, as are
upgrades from single band to dual band,
one for the basic DIL switched Comtech TX
module for 10GHz operation (via a multiplier)
and one for the controller board with LCD
displayed 10GHz TX frequencies. Contact
me for more information.
The controller in Photo 1, by Steve, G6ALU,
is an excellent example of a dual-band (23 &
13cm), multi-function, knob-tuned module
with sequential Rx-Tx switching. An article in
the BATC magazine CQ-TV 204 describes this
controller in detail [1, 2]. Another recommended
controller is produced by a Dutch company,
Mobicomm [3]. This uses push buttons for
up/down tuning. The G6ALU and Mobicomm
kits have comprehensive construction and
operating handbooks.
Some years ago I came across a pair of
separate transmit and receive modules with
built in multi-band controllers covering the 23,
13, 6 and 3cm bands. I understood they were
produced in France, but never found the source.
However, recently I came across a link to a
German company [4] producing a similar
standalone
multiband
Tx and Rx
controller that
physically
appeared to
look like the
Mobicomm
unit.
A feature
with one of
the G1MFG
controller PICs
is that it can
initiate a frequency sweep of the Comtech
transmit module. This makes a useful swept
RF source for antenna match and filter
checking.
Grant, ZL1WTT had a short article in
New Zealand's Break-in Sept/Oct 2010
about a Comtech L-band module (950 to
2150MHz) being used with a PIC controller
providing various features as an analogue
ATV receiver covering 800 to 2200MHz [5].
His website also includes SSTV software
amongst other things.
GOING SMALLER. There are times when
an absolutely minimal front panel, pocket
size Rx or possibly a separate Tx is required.
For me, such a 23 or 13cm receiver, using
the 3.5 Inesun monitor previously highlighted,
are all built into a 'plate' antenna radome
(cover). I use this for signal strength/repeater
coverage checks and general stick it in a
briefcase /P operation. The real size saving
is obtained if a dedicated mini-controller board
is produced that is limited to the hardware
components specific to just receive or transmit.
This has led to the concept of a plug-in minicontroller that directly replaces the original
DIL switched PIC. Power and I2C frequency
control are automatically connected when
plugged in. A 10 way ribbon cable connects
to the LCD display and any special function
controls, with a 3 way cable to the tuning
knob or frequency up-down push buttons.
In a spurt of enthusiasm I have configured
PCBs for several PIC mini-controller types
including the G1MFG controllers.
The unit in Photo 2 is based on a PIC design
by Mike, N0QBH, with modifications by Colin,
G1IVG for the European 479MHz Rx IF [6].
It only requires an 8 way ribbon cable for the
LCD and a 3 way cable for two push buttons.
The buttons are multi-function, providing updown frequency, scan and full ATV or reduced
videosender frequency coverage selection.
The information from [4] is a good beginners
ATV
introduction to producing a homebrew 13cm

receiver or transmitter with a PIC controller.
In the previous ATV column I mentioned a
PIC sequential switcher not specific to ATV that
could be of interest. Full information on this
unit (developed by Dave, GW4GTE and Eric,
GW8LJJ) is not available yet, but you can find
preliminary details along with information on
other projects at [7].
CONTESTS & DX. The IARU ATV Contest was
held over the weekend of 11 and 12 September.
The number of UK entrants was disappointing.
G4TNX/P (Humberside Contest Group) and
M0DTS/P were apparently the only contestants
that returned log sheets to the BATC Contest
Manager Dave, G8GKQ.
However, for a change, September and
particularly October this year had some good
lift (anomalous propagation) conditions. Of
special note on 23 September was a 23 and
70cm P4 analogue and 70cm digital ATV
contact over a distance of 188km between
Mike, G8LES in Hampshire and Rolph, F9ZG
in Normandy. The 70cm digital signal, received
30dB above noise, was one way because
Rolph was not geared up for a compatible
transmission. The weekend of 11 and
12 October saw a return of good conditions
over the UK. Both analogue and digital
23cm television was exchanged between
Colin, G4KLB in the south and Rob, M0DTS
in the Midlands and many 23 and 13cm ATV
repeaters could be seen. A video of Colin and
Robs activity can be viewed at batc.tv if you
look in Film Archive.
CO-AX POSTSCRIPT. Following the feature
on co-ax last time, I have been advised that
Nevada Radio will supply RF cables such as
the Eccoflex 15 in lengths as short as one
metre [8].
WEBSEARCH
[1] www.batc.org.uk/shop/index.html
[2] www.radio-kits.co.uk & www.13cm.co.uk
[3] www.mobicomm.net
[4] www.lechner-cctv.de (from Home page select the
small Union Jack then the Radio Technology tab)
[5] www.qsl.net/zl1wtt
[6] www.ringolake.com/pic_proj/pic_index.html,
www.g1ivg.com/2.4ghz_rx.htm
[7] www.s9plus.com
[8] www.nevadaradio.co.uk/cables-leads-plugs/
antenna-cable/?viewstyle=grid&brand=SSB-Electronic
PHOTO 2: A 13cm receiver mini-controller.

51
HF
DON FIELD, G3XTT E-MAIL: DON.FIELD@GMAIL.COM
HF
Looking forward to some great DXpeditions
Felix DL5XL and Robert SP5XVY operating ZL8X.

Courtesy of ZL8X website.
LOOKING AHEAD. First, a very happy New

Year to one and all. I write this some weeks
before the year-end, so its too early to give a
proper perspective of 2010 but, looking ahead,
2011 looks likely to bring some exciting
DXpeditions on to the bands. Their various
organisers are presumably gambling on an
increase in solar activity as the year progresses
(lets hope they are right). It starts with a
month-long effort from the Spratly Islands,
the first big operation from there for many
years and featuring some top-notch operators,
so it should be a good one to chase, band
conditions permitting. And South Orkney, too,
another rare one.
The reality is, though, that having said
last month that propagation was improving,
I rather felt during November that it was a bit
disappointing for the most part. The ZL8X
expedition, for example, which was the DX
highlight of the month, was generally weaker
and more elusive from the UK than might
have been expected, given their substantial
investment in effective antenna systems. At the
time of writing (they are still active as I write
this) they have been worked from the UK on
all bands 160 through 15m, so I suppose
we cant complain. Previous ZL8 efforts have
generally been loud during the morning 20m
opening, but that certainly hasnt been the
case this time. Even 40m has been quite late
to open and I have struggled to hear them on
that band most days. It has also been notable
that their signals have often been coming in
on skew paths, an indication that the MUF on
the direct path at the time was insufficient to
support propagation on the band concerned.
Having said all that, the CQWW CW
contest weekend proved yet again that the big
contests seem to generate propagation of their
own, perhaps because they bring a lot of wellequipped stations on to the bands. There will,
no doubt, be more feedback before next months
column, but I am already reading reports of
G stations working well over 100 country
52
multipliers on 15m, for example, and one G

station reporting 99 countries on 80m, despite
running just 100 watts into a loaded 30ft
vertical. And I have just noticed a report on
the UK Contest reflector by GM3YEH who
made 721 contacts, 21 zones and 91 countries
on 40m, in a QRP (5 watts) effort. Not bad!
As another example of a pretty modest effort,
G0CKV went 40m single-band running 100
watts to a quarter-wave vertical from his
suburban garden and managed 1233 contacts,
121 countries and 32 zones. The big multiop efforts of G6PZ and M6T have already
posted write-ups on the UK Contest reflector
and I note that 15m was most productive for
both of them in terms of country multipliers
worked (142 and 152 respectively) while 40m
was a close second (141 and 143 respectively).
The M6T team also managed 104 country
multipliers on 10m, which shows that there
was DX to be worked on that band for the
well-equipped (in their case, a 5-element
monoband Yagi at 24m). The trick, it has
to be said, for long-haul DX under marginal
conditions, is to be able to generate very low
radiation angles. This takes a very high Yagi
(in wavelength terms) or a vertical array over
an excellent ground system (ideally by salt
water). Most of us are unable to achieve
either, unfortunately, so have to wait for
better conditions.
DXPEDITIONS OF THE MONTH. The monthlong Spratly operation that I mentioned earlier
includes 37 operators from 15 countries and
looks like being quite a mammoth effort with
some great antenna systems, including a
phased vertical array for 160m. The callsign
will be DX0DX, while the location is Thitu
Island, the second largest of the Spratlys,
with a landing strip, a small harbour and
about 100 local inhabitants. Although the
ownership of the Spratlys is disputed between
the several surrounding countries, most of the
islands are occupied by one of those countries
the Philippines in the case of Thitu hence
the callsign. Operation will be from 6 January
to 1 February, including the CQWW 160m
CW Contest. While on the island, expedition
members VK2FXGR and 4F1OZ, who are
medical doctors, will give medical care to the
islanders as there are no resident doctors there.
There is much more background on their very
comprehensive website, but it is good to see
three Scottish amateurs taking part, GM3POI,
GM0WED and GM0RLZ.
The other big one, running from 27 January
until 8 February, is VP8ORK (South Orkney), by
the well-known Microlite Penguins DXpedition
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
team. Activity will be on all HF bands 160m10m using SSB, CW and RTTY. The press
release says, Those who have enjoyed our
operations over the last 8 years may recall that
our methods and philosophy are somewhat
different from other DXpeditions. Though our
overall goal is still to provide a new DXCC entity
on as many bands and modes as possible,
we also strive to increase the fun factor by
focusing on operational simplicity and radio
skill. Again, the expedition website has lots
of useful background material.
OTHER DX NEWS. Henri, F6EAY (ex 4Z8AY,
J28FF, T6RF) is in Cameroon for the next several
years, operating as TJ3AY. He is running a
vertical and dipoles with an amplifier. Listen
for him on 40m and up. QSL via F5LGE.
Richmond, KI6YIP, has left California after
20 years to return to Africa (he was previously
9L1HR and still holds that call). He is now
EL2BG in Liberia and back on the air, initially
from the club station on Bushrod Island, but
planning to set up antennas from his new
home in due course.
JD1BLY (JI5RPT) and JD1BMH (JG7PSJ)
were due to be on Chichijima Island, Ogasawara,
160-10 focusing on the low bands, from 24
December to 8 January. JD1BLY will be on
from 24 December to 3 January and JD1BMH
will be active 30 December to 8 January. QSL
to their home callsigns.
Jim, ND9M will by now be in Diego Garcia
as VQ9JC for a four-month tour of duty, but
reports that, according to VQ9LA, only one rig
in the ham shack is currently working and all
the power amplifiers are out of commission.
Jim says that without support from the Navy's
Recreation Office VQ9 may become a rare
entity sooner than planned.
Hiroo, JA2EZD (XU7AAA), reports that he has
obtained a Laotian licence for his forthcoming
one year stay in the country. The callsign, for
some reason, is XWPA. He plans to be very
active while there.
Six Japanese operators will go to Christmas
Island, VK9X (this is the Christmas Island in
the Indian Ocean, not the one in the Pacific)
from 14 to 20 January. Each will have and
use his own callsign. A list appears on their
website. QSL to the JARL bureau or direct to
each individual.
60m REPORT (from G4TRA). Making a lot of
effort to raise European stations this last month
was Dale, CX/N3BNA and, as a professional
short wave radio station installer, he sure knows
his antennas. A large vertical for transmit and
Beverages for receive, but still he wasn't strong
in the UK at sunrise. However, at least three
of us have now worked this new country for
the first time on 60m. Other new ones this
month were UR7GG and a certain Frenchman
running maritime mobile from off the coast of
Italy, in addition to which V47JA and YN2N
have been active on the band too. However
a station that didn't show this month was
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
continue to require a
period as an SWL before
ALL MODE
issuing a licence, with
CALL
1.8 3.5 7
10 14 18 21 24 28 TOTAL MODE
G3KMA 280 310 336 336 337 336 337 328 333 2933 Mixed
proof of activity by way
G4BWP 264 308 335 327 338 332 336 320 327 2887 Mixed
of QSL cards received.
G3XTT
256 291 327 311 337 327 335 306 315 2805 Mixed
This certainly has
G3SED
269 302 323 319 329 324 321 291 295 2773 Mixed
GW3JXN 233 284 317 314 335 326 328 303 307 2747 Mixed
been the case in some
GM3YTS 242 289 322 327 336 319 325 280 301 2741 Mixed
countries in the past.
G4OBK 242 270 313 322 334 321 324 310 304 2740 Mixed
So while an SWL card
GM3POI 282 311 321 319 328 306 308 270 272 2717 CW
G3TXF
196 272 319 320 335 317 329 296 308 2692 Mixed
may be of little use to
G3GIQ
160 256 309 288 337 329 335 313 329 2656 Mixed
you, as an HF operator,
GM3YTS 228 283 317 324 334 304 319 257 285 2651 CW
G0JHC
202 236 300 314 310 324 328 300 311 2625 Mixed
if you receive it, I would
G4PTJ
127 249 288 282 332 293 327 280 308 2486 Mixed
urge all readers to respond
GM3PPE 153 241 276 297 326 279 285 249 231 2337 Mixed
by way of a QSL card as it
G3IFB
70 243 299 261 325 263 310 253 289 2313 Mixed
G3VKW 48 216 272 214 336 291 328 276 312 2293 Mixed
will be appreciated by the
G3AKU
277 269 283 275 308 277 257 189 128 2263 Mixed
recipient and encourage
G4DYO
74 207 272 170 331 295 328 245 319 2241 Mixed
him or her to progress in
G4WFQ 127 262 283 300 292 265 255 210 214 2208 CW
GM4FAM 188 249 281 284 276 270 248 211 167 2174 CW
the hobby as no doubt
G0EHO 114 200 237 258 310 271 290 237 250 2167 CW
was the case for us in
G4EZT
148 219 272 266 289 273 257 201 234 2159 Mixed
G4OWT 106 172 250 198 326 256 306 185 273 2072 Mixed
years gone by. That said,
G0BNR 122 174 257 260 298 280 250 208 177 2026 Mixed
it is unfortunate that some
G4NXG/M 43 74 169 0
308 257 297 210 257 1615 Mixed
SWLs, in their quest to
G4FVK
45 90 123 79 212 115 202 88 180 1134 Mixed
2E1RDX 41 60 130 63 220 148 213 133 116 1124 Mixed
collect confirmations,
M0CNP 17 71 107 24 210 129 187 87 131 963 Mixed
are clearly getting their
AVERAGE 163 229 273 252 310 280 295 244 260 2305
information from the
Cluster network or a
remote internet receiver rather than wholly via
the promise of the first signal from Botswana,
the airwaves and are giving other SWLs a bad
A25UQ.
name in the process. I have observed this a
A new Danish beacon may be heard on
number of times, where a basic understanding
5.2905MHz. OV1BCN runs 30 watts to a
of HF propagation would have demonstrated
ground warming TFD antenna at just 1m
AGL, which is really too lossy for any practical that the SWL could not have heard the station
purpose, but at least one or two have reported concerned on that band at that time. This is a
pity, but should in no way negate the overall
hearing it in the UK. Reports go via Lars,
principle of supporting SWLs who are actively
OZ1FJB, the beacon-master.
engaged in the hobby that we enjoy so much.
Whilst talking beacons, here in the UK the
Liverpool based RAF Volmet weather station
on 5.450MHz is a good indicator for intra-UK CORRESPONDENCE AND TABLES. There
continues to be plenty of interest in the 9-band
propagation and, of course, for our friends in
tables and the latest appears this month. Its
the US its a good transatlantic beacon.
been quite some time because, as previously
Another good beacon for us here in the UK
mentioned, the last set of updates found their
is the Florida based AFN/AFRTS USB station
way into the table that was published in the
on 5.4465MHz that comes through very well
RSGB Yearbook, thereby recording the scores
after dark when the transatlantic path is open.
for greater posterity! It should be noted that
(Steve also commented to me that
the latest table was compiled prior to the
chasing unusual ones on 60m really takes
arrival on the scene of the new Netherlands
some patience and late-night operating, not
Antilles entities. To make space I have omitted
unlike some of the other specialist bands,
the annual table this time. Apropos of which
and wonders just how many readers of this
Dave, G3TBK has suggested that, in 2011,
column actually find this material of interest.
in addition to the WARC band columns, there
I would be curious to know! G3XTT)
should also be a total entities regardless of
SWL REPORTS. The letter from Tom, GM4FDM band column which seems a reasonable
in last months RadCom relating to SWL reports idea. Lets see how it pans out.
I was delighted once again to receive a
gave me pause for thought. Many of us, myself
snail mail letter from John, G3BDQ who,
included, served an apprenticeship as SWLs
at 87 years young, still returns to Top Band
while studying diligently to pass the old radio
each winter season. So far this autumn he
amateurs examination. Nowadays, in the UK
notes contacts with A65BP, JW8DW, JA7NI,
at least, SWLing is pretty much moribund,
6V7Z and others but feels that US openings
from what I can see. The good news is that a
have been less frequent than in recent years.
would-be amateur can study for, and pass, a
John has improved both his transmitting and
Foundation course in a weekend and actually
receiving antenna systems for the season,
get some on-air experience, developing his or
her operating skills while studying for the next thereby setting an example to all of us that
we should never rest on our laurels if we
tier of licence. But SWLing is still reasonably
want to remain competitive in the DX chase.
common in some countries. Indeed, I rather
Peter, G4XEX was pleased with conditions
suspect there are some administrations who
9 BAND TABLE No 76
HF
on the higher bands, though 20m proved to be

the mainstay, where he worked KE5AAO/MM
on the anchor handling tug supply vessel off
the Angola coast, ZS6LLS, WP4HSZ, CO2WP,
J6/MJ0SIT and 8P6CW. But his pice de
rsistance was YC9ETJ (Bali), worked on
PSK31 with just 30 watts and his G5RV
antenna.
Graeme, G6CSY worked two all-time
new ones by way of C6ATA on 40 CW and
TG9AHM on 40 and 20 PSK31. He also
added a number of new QRP band slots,
but found it frustrating that his 160m signal
doesnt seem to get him outside Europe,
with DX stations at S9+ simply not hearing
him. This actually puts me in mind of a
conversation recently with a friend who
has been doing very well indeed on Top
Band in recent years. He was telling me
that his antenna (an inverted-L hung from
his 60ft tower) never seemed to work as
expected, and he often found DX stations
failing to hear him, even when he was the
only one calling. The secret of his success
was a huge amount of work on his earth
system, which now consists of some 200
or so earth radials (plus chicken wire)
buried in his fairly typical suburban plot.
The transformation, he tells me, was quite
amazing; with the same antenna he now
has far greater success in working the DX.
Alan, G4NXG/M actually went fixed-station
for once to add ZL8X to his DXCC tally, just
to be on the safe side, but later managed a
greyline contact on 40 SSB from his mobile.
To achieve this, Alan parked by the sea,
ensuring a saltwater take-off. This comes
as no surprise (see my earlier remarks) as
the signals from ZL8X seem to have been
arriving here in the UK at very low angles
for the most part.
Peter, G3HQT says, More sunspots
made the bands shine a little brighter for
me. His log includes 5R8X and 9X0SP
on 40, 5H9PD, V47KP, BA7LO, PJ2/K2TQC
and 6V7Z on 20, A25SL on 12 and JY4NE
on 10, all CW.
I am actually a bit surprised that many
of the recent expedition operations have not
been mentioned by correspondents. ZD9 has
been worked from the UK on several bands
(including 160), while the A25 operation
was very much in evidence, just as a couple
of examples. Maybe it was all overshadowed
by ZL8X who, at the time of writing, had well
over 100k contacts in their log.
THANKS. Special thanks go to the authors
of the following for information extracted:
OPDX Bulletin (KB8NW), The Daily DX
(W3UR) and 425 DX News (I1JQJ).
Please send items for the March issue
by Friday 21 January.
WEBSEARCH
DX0DX: www.dx0dx.net
VK9X expedition: www.nakade.jp/vk9x.htm
VP8ORK: www.vp8o.com
53
VHF/UHF
DAVID BUTLER, G4ASR E-MAIL: G4ASR@BTINTERNET.COM
VHF/UHF
VHF and UHF contests bring
a welcome increase in activity
1100UTC and 1330UTC
on 15 November again to
Hungary and between
1130-1145UTC on 20
November to Hungary yet
again. This is most unusual.
Also on the 20th the station of
IK5YJY (Italy, JN53) reported
hearing the GB3RMK beacon
(50.060MHz) peaking 599
for over 10 minutes. A more
substantial Es opening was
reported on 22 November
with CW and SSB contacts
being made between 12001400UTC with stations
in the Balearic Islands, Italy
PHOTO 1: The 432MHz antenna system at the QTH of Bernd
Wilde, DL7APV.
and Spain. Contacts were
reported to have been made
with EA5/G3XGS, EA6SA, I0JX, IK0FTA,
PROPAGATION SYNOPSIS. The month of
IW3FZQ, IW4BET, I6DVX and IC8ATA.
November was pretty much devoid of any
significant propagation events. There were no Towards the end of the opening the station
periods of enhanced tropospheric propagation of Bryn Llewellyn, G4DEZ (Lincolnshire,
JO03) made a QSO with TR8CA (Gabon,
like those that were experienced on the VHF
JJ40) on 50.110MHz. The initial QSO at
and UHF bands during September. Very few
1350UTC was accomplished using JT6M
Sporadic-E openings were reported on the
50MHz band throughout November, although but as signals were so strong both stations
one event did link into a southerly path to Gabon then swapped over to SSB to complete a
59 telephony contact over a path some
(TR). Only one auroral back-scatter opening
and one auroral-Es forward scatter event were 5924km distant. It is easy to suggest that
reported by stations in Scotland but both were this was northerly Es propagation linking
into a southerly trans-equatorial (TEP) path
brief and uneventful. It was left to the 'digital'
but as Gabon is situated on the geomagnetic
operators to eke out DX contacts via meteor
scatter and the Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) paths. equator it cannot strictly be a TEP link.
Trans-equatorial propagation suggests that
both stations should be located equidistant
SPORADIC-E PROPAGATION. Ian Hogan,
from the equator.
G6TGO commented on my chart of 50MHz
Sporadic-E openings that I placed in last month's
column. The chart showed a substantial rise in EARTH-MOON-EARTH. Martin Andrew,
GM6VXB (Aberdeenshire, IO97) reports that
Es propagation in October during the last 10
on 28 October he contacted the 144MHz
years and this matches similar observation
station of CE/DK2ZF (Chile). Martin runs
made by Ian. I find this peak in activity most
interesting as there is generally little Es in either 400W into a group of four 11-element Yagis
September or November. Propagation has been and was amazed that the DXpedition group
heard him, particularly as they had no receive
generally, but not always, due south of the
preamplifier. The group consisting of Rolf,
UK to areas of Portugal and Spain. Maybe
DK2ZF and Martin, DK7ZB planned to activate
we are experiencing a seasonal shift in the
Easter Island (CE0Y) and Chile (CE) on EME
winter Es season. After all it was freezing
(moonbounce) but suffered from, to say the
cold and snowing heavily throughout the
least, bad luck. The journey from Germany was
UK in November! That's not to say there is
interrupted initially by an air traffic controller
any link with the UK weather but global
strike and as a consequence it took four days
climate change or some other mechanism
before they landed on Easter Island. All baggage
may be having an influence on the formation
arrived with them, however the suitcases
of mid-latitude Es propagation.
looked somewhat damaged. Unfortunately the
Es openings were reported on the
customs had performed some kind of rattling
50MHz band between 1050-1115UTC
test to check for explosives. The result was that
on 2 November to Austria and Hungary, at
54
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
each piece of equipment was mechanically

damaged, including all the amplifiers,
preamplifiers, relays and USB controllers.
At first it did not look possible to get anything
working but somehow DK2ZF and DK7ZB
managed to fix most major components to get
operational from Easter Island on 3 October.
The first 144MHz EME contact from CE0Y
was with the station of I2RV and after that
they completed 160 QSOs, including 3D2RS
from Fiji. They then continued their journey
to the Chile mainland and started 144MHz
operations on 27 October. Even without a
preamplifier they logged a total of 97 QSOs,
including the contact with GM6VXB.
Russ Stewart, G4PBP (West Midlands IO82)
is also active on 144MHz EME. His station
consists of an Icom IC-756 Pro 3 transceiver,
a DB6NT transverter and an SSB Electronics
masthead preamplifier. A solid-state power
amplifier using 8 x MRF150 RF power FETs
develops 400W at the antenna feedpoint.
The feed line consists of Andrew LDF5-50
Heliax with LDF4-50 phasing cables attached
to two stacked 17-element F9FT Yagis. Currently
Russ has no elevation facility so he is stuck
with a 1.5 hour window at moonrise. That is
the amount of time his antennas can 'see' the
Moon as it rises above the horizon. A station
with elevation (and azimuth) facility can track
the Moon from moonrise to moonset, allowing
considerably more time to make EME contacts.
Another advantage is that when the antennas
are elevated they will be looking at cold sky
with a considerably reduced background
noise level.
Russ remarks that his location is now very
noisy compared to the 1980s and 1990s when
he was last active on EME, so he looking forward
to getting an elevation system completed. The
graph in Figure 1 shows his 144MHz noise
profile on a quiet day. As you can see he is
relatively clear from 0 - 120. The plateau
at 210 is the city of Wolverhampton and the
big 'hump' at 280 is spurious noise products
from a communications site on a local hilltop.
RF pollution is a big problem these days and
G4PBP feels it is very bad how commercial
interests have polluted one of our natural
resources. He is amazed that he can work
anything nowadays but all stations worked
have been audible and some, like RU1AA,
were registering on the S-meter. Highlights in
the last month or so have included 144MHz
contacts with A61Q (United Arab Emirates),
JE1TNL, JH5FOQ (Japan), VK4CDI, VK5APN
(Australia) and ZL3TY (New Zealand). Other
recent EME contacts have included the stations
of DM1CG, DL9MS (Germany), GM4VVX,
GM6VXB (Scotland), IK1UWL, I6BQI (Italy),
LZ2FO (Bulgaria), OH2BC, OH9GDT (Finland),
PA2CHR, PA3FPQ (Netherlands), UA4AQL,
UA9SL (Russia), SM5CUI (Sweden), SP2NJI,
SP4K (Poland), UT5UAS, UY5HF (Ukraine),
YL2AJ (Latvia) and YU7XL (Serbia).
Peter Blair, G3LTF has been active in EME
communication for a considerable number of
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
VHF/UHF
TABLE 1: Top VHF DX contacts made from the UK during 2010.

Band
Mode
Date
UK/Locator
DX/Locator
Distance
6m
4m
2m
2m
2m
2m
70cm
Es
Es
Es
Tropo
MS
Au
Tropo
31 May
5 July
2 Aug
18 July
13 Aug
2 May
10 Oct
G0JHC (IO83)
G4DEZ (JO03)
GI6ATZ (IO74)
G4CBW (IO83)
G8VHI (IO92)
G4RRA (IO80)
G8JVM (IO82)
9M2TO (OJ05)
D44TD (HM86)
EA8TJ (IL18)
EA8TX (IL18)
LZ9X (KN32)
LY2WR (KO24)
LY2WR (KO24)
10370km
4530km
3020km
2989km
2319km
1943km
1777km
FIGURE 1: 144MHz noise profile at the QTH of Russ Stewart, G4PBP.
years. His recent contacts made on the 432MHz

band included the stations of ES5PC (Estonia),
G3LQR (Suffolk, JO02), I1NDP (Italy), JJ1NNJ,
JA6AHB (Japan), OK1DFC, OK1KIR, OK2POI
(Czech Republic), PA3DZL (Netherlands),
SM6FHZ (Sweden), K5GW, WA6PY, KL7HFQ,
W7MEM, N8CQ (USA) and WD5AGO for Peter's
440th station worked on 432MHz EME.
Another station active on 432MHz EME
is Bernd Wilde, DL7APV. His antenna system
is shown in Photo 1 and consists of 16 x 39element DJ9BV Yagis with open-wire feed lines.
As it possesses an antenna gain of 30dBd
you only need a 50W transmitter and a single
long Yagi to contact DL7APV via the Moon.
CONTEST ACTIVITY. Tropospheric propagation
on the 144MHz band was very poor during
much of November but there were a few days
when DX stations could be worked from the
UK. These occurred during scheduled contest
periods but I prefer to think of contests more as
being periods of high activity. The word contest
often makes people think of the fast-paced
chaos sometimes experienced at HF but VHF
contests usually have a much different feel.
One of the main issues with the VHF bands
is that they are often under utilised. You put
out a call on the SSB calling frequency during
the week and nobody replies. Dead silence.
But during a VHF or UHF contest you can
be sure that someone is going to be on the air.
So these events dramatically increase activity
by bringing people out of the woodwork. A VHF
contest is, therefore, more like a friendly reunion
of local VHF enthusiasts.
Contest operation is normally carried out in
the SSB or CW part of the band but to get the
most out of the event you should be using a
horizontally polarised antenna. A dipole or a
Yagi beam with radiating elements parallel to
the ground produces a horizontally polarised
signal. A vertical whip antenna, commonly
used for FM mobile operation, produces a
vertically polarised signal. There is a significant
signal loss of many S-points between the two
polarisations, so it is always best to maintain
the same polarisation as used by contest stations
and for serious SSB operators this means
horizontal polarisation. Morse code (CW) is
also used in the weak-signal segment of the
VHF and UHF bands, often intermingled with
SSB operation. It is fairly common to have a
station switch from SSB to CW when signals
get very weak, since CW will often get through
when SSB is down in the noise. You don't
need to be able to work CW to do well in a

VHF contest but it does have advantages.
If you want to work new locator squares,
countries or just make some long distance VHF
contacts then take a long look at the contest
calendar. There really are quite a number of
events each month to keep you busy. For
example, the ARRL EME contest was held
over the weekend of 30-31 October. Although
this is a specialist event all the very large
moonbounce stations were active on bands
between 50 to 1296MHz. Many medium
power single-Yagi stations were able to make
contacts at moonrise or moonset when the
Moon was on or just above the horizon.
An RSGB 144MHz activity contest was
held on 2 November and, as it coincided with
the Nordic Activity Contest (NAC) held at the
same time, there was a reasonable amount
of stations waiting to be contacted. Although
the weather and radio conditions were pretty
abysmal, some stations reported working up to
12 countries during the short evening contest.
A popular 144MHz CW contest was held
over the weekend of 6-7 November. It is better
known as the Marconi Memorial contest and
is run as an international event for the whole
of IARU Region 1. Tropospheric conditions
were rather poor this year but UK stations
did report making CW contacts into Belgium,
Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. Some
of the longer distance contacts made during
the contest included G0JJG (JO02) to HB9FAP
(JN46) at 807km, G3NYY/P (IO92) to DF0CI
(JO51) at 837km, G4ZTR (JO01) to DM5D
(JO61) at 857km and G3XBY/P (IO81) to
EA2TO/1 (IN83) over an 895km path.
An RSGB 432MHz activity contest was
held on 9 November, coinciding with the
Scandinavian NAC event. Although propagation
was pretty dire, some stations reported making
over 70 QSOs during the short event that runs
between 2000-2230UTC. Some quite good
distances were achieved, the best probably
being between the UHF stations of G8OHM
(IO92) and DK5QN (JO42) at 710km.
The French national society, REF, runs
a series of short duration contests (concours
de courte dure) throughout the year. On 14
November between 0500-1100UTC there was
a 144MHz session and Ive always found this
event a very useful way of picking up French
locator squares.
A UK 50MHz activity contest took place
during the evening of 23 November. Although
the weather was dreadful and tropospheric

propagation was really poor many stations
reported making inter-UK contacts of up to
500km. The station of GI4SNA (Co. Antrim,
IO64) reported that his best tropo DX during
the event was G0BBB (IO91) at 495km.
Surprisingly it is only during these contest
periods that stations bother to make tropo
contacts on the 50MHz band. Normally
most stations are only interested in making
DX contacts during the summer months and
don't think about using the band to make
inter-regional QSOs.
As you can see, contests are a rather useful
method of increasing activity on the VHF and
UHF bands and they are often organised by
national amateur radio societies. The RSGB
VHF Contest Committee runs a number of
contests throughout the year from 50MHz
right through to the 248GHz band. Other UK
contests are organised by the British Amateur
Television Club (BATC), UK Microwave Group
(UKG), UK Six Metre Group (UKSMG) and
Practical Wireless' (PW) 70MHz and 144MHz
QRP events.
RSGB activity contests are held on a Tuesday
evening between 2000 to 2230 hours local.
The 144MHz event is held on the first Tuesday
of the month, the 430MHz event on the second
Tuesday and the 1.3GHz activity contest on
the third Tuesday of the month. The fourth
Tuesday in the month is scheduled for the
50MHz section and if there is a fifth Tuesday
(there are four in 2011) then that is for the
70MHz band. So keep a look out for up coming
activity contests on 4 January (144MHz), 11
January (432MHz) and 25 January (50MHz).
These events have now become very popular
and are creating much-needed activity.
Nordic activity contests (NAC) align with
the RSGB 144MHz, 430MHz and 1.3GHz
events but on the fourth Tuesday in the month
a microwave contest is held instead. The
Nordic 50MHz contest is held on the second
Thursday of the month and the 70MHz NAC
is held on the third Thursday of the month.
For up to date details of the UK contest
calendar take a look at www.rsgbcc.org/vhf.
DEADLINES. Good luck and if you do hear
or work any DX stations on the VHF or UHF
bands then please send your reports to
g4asr@btinternet.com to reach me before
the end of each month. Alternatively you
can send letters to Yew Tree Cottage, Lower
Maescoed, Herefordshire, HR2 0HP.
55
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GHz BANDS
SAM JEWELL, G4DDK E-MAIL SAM@G4DDK.COM
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
GHz Bands
More on that big opening and the final
part of Getting Started on 24GHz
QSY to 1.3GHz. Although
the LY was a good signal on
1.3GHz a wall of PA stations
was waiting! Eventually the
LY faded away before he
got a chance to work him.
On 1.3GHz he worked several
OZ and SP stations before
hearing LY2WR (KO24)
again calling CQ on CW.
He came back to Johns
call and is now his best
DX on the band at 1612km.
LY2WR said he was pleased
with his first LY-G on 1.3GHz.
John is happy to claim the
first LY to G contact on the
band.
After sunset on the 10th
FIGURE 1: Part of a screen grab from Planefinder showing
the
higher frequency bands
the position of many aircraft over the UK and Eire on a day in
opened up. On 1.3GHz several
November 2010. The web page gives details of flight numbers
new # were worked including
and heights to aid identifying suitable scatter targets for a QSO
OZ1IEP in rare JO55 locator
over a path up to around 800km. There are several other programs
available with similar capabilities.
and DL3BUA (JO73).
By Monday 11th many
stations in mainland Europe had worked OY
LOOKING BACK. A brief look back across
on 1.3GHz but even though the OY beacon
microwave band happenings in 2010 shows
had been spotted on the Cluster as heard in
that at last we have experienced that longthe UK few, if any UK operators had succeeded
awaited big opening with some spectacular
in making QSOs with OY. During the afternoon
DX worked from the UK on 1.3GHz and
conditions peaked to GM and John worked
above. The move to frequency lock many
GM3SBC/P (IO86) on both 1.3 and 10GHz.
UK microwave beacons, mostly by using
He then put out a CW CQ call on 1.3GHz and
the Reverse DDS technique, finally got under
OY9JD (IP62) answered with a QRZ? on SSB.
way. With this has come the ability to add
OY9JDs 10W and 23-element Yagi showed
interesting MGM (machine generated
that, even with modest stations, if you wait for
messages) such as digital modes like JT4G.
good conditions then easy QSOs are possible.
One of the disappointments of 2010 has
Ducting conditions on Tuesday the 12th
been the continuing logjam in getting new
favoured the northern UK but John was
microwave band beacons approved. This
pleased to work GJ4ISM/P for a new DXCC
seems to be mainly due to a lack of resources
entity on 10GHz. French 10GHz beacons in
within the main primary user organisations.
IN88 and IN99 showed slight sea path ducting.
BAND ACTIVITY. First, more on the great
October opening. After I sent in the December AIRCRAFT SCATTER. Martin, GM8IEM
(JO78) has upgraded his 1.3GHz station
column I received a few more reports. John,
to 120 watts output, using a linear amplifier
G4EAT, is well located in Essex to take
from PE1RKI. This is driven by an Icom
advantage of good conditions to the east.
IC-910H with a 39-element quad loop Yagi
For him the first sign of the opening was
and Microwave Modules MV1296 preamplifier
hearing SP6GWB (JO80) at 1125km on
on receive. His first successful aircraft scatter
CW at 559 working G3XDY. His 50W was
contact was made with Alan, GM0USI (IO75)
insufficient to alert Staszek, whose 250W
at 267km on 13 November using CW. His
was clearly just sufficient. John says the
report was 539. This was followed with a
main fun started on the 10th when SM
52 exchange in SSB. Further tests were
stations were being heard at good signal
conducted using SSB only on 15 November,
strength on 1.3GHz. SM6DVG (JO66) was
when three contacts were made, the best one
worked for a new # (initial contact). He then
lasting 4 minutes with signals peaking at 54.
worked LY3AG (KO06) on 432MHz before a
58
Martin and Alan now believe they can

predict aircraft scatter contacts between
them with some certainty. GM0USI has a
similar setup to Martin but using a 35-element
Tonna Yagi and an SP23 preamplifier on
receive. Alan's antenna fires into a roof in
Martins direction, whilst Martins takeoff is
into a low range of hills about 1km away.
ON4KST chat was used to set up the tests,
and Planefinder.net was used to identify
suitable aircraft. Martin observed that
contacts are often made when the aircraft
are just south of the theoretical scatter zone.
Figure 1 shows an edited screen shot from
such a program, with aircraft positions
indicated at the time of the screen grab.
Tony, G4CBW (IO83) was on ON4KST
chat as Martin was working Alan for the
first time, so they arranged a test straight
away. This resulted in a CW contact at
529, followed by an SSB 52 exchange
20 minutes later at 605km both on 13
November. They had a second CW contact
on 20 November at 529 after calling each
other for about 30 minutes. These contacts
were probably made using aircraft scatter,
although it wasn't clear to them which
aircraft produced the reflections, since
none were close to the scatter zone at the
time of the QSOs. Tony runs 320W into
2 x 44-element Yagis.
Correction: G4ALY is located in IO70,
not as given in the December column.
My apologies to Ralph for my error.
GETTING STARTED ON 24GHz part 3:
expectations. Most amateur microwave
band enthusiasts work their way up through
the bands rather than starting out on the
lowest of our amateur primary microwave
bands. As a result initial expectations are
often very high, only for the newcomer to the
band to find out that it is very unlike the bands
below it. 24GHz is above the frequency range
normally regarded as being in the so-called
low noise window. For radio amateurs, the
window finishes at the top of the 10GHz
band. The low noise window is that part of
the spectrum where external noise sources,
such as galactic noise, no longer dominate the
receiver output noise level (in a well-designed,
low noise receiver), but instead the input
stage(s) of the receiver generate the dominant
noise. In the low noise range it is well worth
the effort of ensuring that the first active stage
of the receiver has a very low noise figure and
is located as close to the antenna as possible
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
GHz BANDS
FIGURE 2: The additional (water vapour) loss on a 24GHz path

compared to the loss at 10GHz where water vapour is not a problem.
Reference RSGB Microwave Handbook, volume 1, System analysis
and Propagation, page 3.6, fig 3.6.
if the greatest sensitivity is required.

24GHz lies close to the water vapour
absorption band that peaks around 22GHz,
the tail of which encompasses the amateur
24GHz band. As a result of water vapour
absorption the band exhibits higher losses
than, say, 10GHz. These losses are in
addition to the normal free space and
obstruction losses. They can occasionally
add as much as 0.3dB/km to the normal
losses on any given path. Over a 150km
line of sight path this means an additional
45dB of loss. This is shown diagrammatically
in Figure 2. When you consider that a signal
of 45dB above noise may be regarded as S9
by many operators, it is not difficult to see
that signal levels would have to be above
normal over many paths for a 24GHz QSO
to take place. Fortunately, the additional
water vapour loss is around 0.2dB/km
much of the time and can be as low as
0.1dB/km in cold, dry, conditions and at
high altitude. Even so we are talking about
30dB extra loss over a line of sight 150km
path much of the time.
The presence of water vapour along the
radio path increases loss and with that comes
a higher noise temperature. Typically a 10GHz
antenna looking at a flat horizon will see a
noise temperature of around 170K (kelvin).
Half of this comes from the 290K ground and
the other half from 3 10K sky that together
fill the receive antenna aperture. At 24GHz
the aperture will see, typically, close to 290K
on most days when relative humidity is in the
normal range in the UK. Figure 3 shows how
some of the amateur bands lie with respect
to the low noise window.
So, what does this mean for the new
operator on 24GHz? The extra losses mean
that high antenna gain is very important to
overcome the high path loss. And with gain
comes narrow beamwidths. The high gain
antenna (at both ends of the path) makes
up for some of the extra loss, but pointing
the antenna is now more difficult because
of the narrow beamwidth. A dish reflector of
at least 30cm diameter is a must; 60cm is
much better.
As explained in an earlier part of this
series, 24GHz power is expensive, so that
2W is often all that is economically available.
Even so, 2 watts directly connected to a
30cm dish with a typical gain of 33dBi
FIGURE 3: Several of our most popular amateur radio bands lie within
(2000 times)
the low noise window. This allows us to take advantage of very low noise
gives an effective
receiver systems. The 24GHz band lies close to the upper edge of the first
isotropic radiated
water vapour absorption band. The actual window edge is only approximate
power (EIRP) of
and can move slightly from day to day.
4kW. With a 60cm
dish that becomes
6dB greater, or 16kW EIRP. This is still
FORTHCOMING MICROWAVE
somewhat short of the recommended 50kW
EVENTS 2011 - 2012
needed for effective troposcatter on the lower
Heelweg Microwave meeting,
bands, not even allowing for the greater water
15 January 2011. Details at
vapour losses on this band.
www.pamicrowaves.nl/website
A positive feature, if it can be regarded as
such, is that super low receiver noise figures
Martlesham Microwave Round Table
are not required and 2dB is usually regarded
meeting, 17 April 2011. Note the move
as adequate. Most good 24GHz preamplifier
of MMRT to the spring. Details from G3XDY,
designs, both home brew and commercial,
g3xdy@btinternet.com
are capable of achieving a noise figure of
Microwave Update, 13-16 October 2011.
this order.
Details from Conference Chairman Bruce
The above may seem like good reasons
Wood, N2LIV n2liv@arrl.net
not to try 24GHz, but this is far from the
case. The reality of 24GHz operating is that
15th International EME Conference,
you shouldnt expect to achieve operating
Cambridge, UK, 16-19 August 2012.
ranges similar to 10GHz and below under
Details at www.eme2012.com
normal conditions. If you do, you will be
disappointed.
Serious 24GHz DX requires patience
But 24GHz can spring surprises. Even
and systematic monitoring of the lower
in foggy weather, when you would expect
bands, looking for enhancements in signal
losses to be high, it has been possible to
level on these bands. Many experienced
work over 200km from my station near
24GHz operators will tell you that signal
Felixstowe to G0EWN near Sheffield during
levels on 10GHz need to exceed 30dB
a lift and contacts have been made across
carrier to noise (in 2.5kHz) in order for
the North Sea from several locations in East
24GHz to work. This is a very rough
Anglia to both the Netherlands and Belgium.
estimate and 24GHz signals have been
The best of these was over 400km. Light
received more strongly than on 10GHz,
rain and snow also provides opportunities
over the same path, on some occasions.
to increase range using scatter modes. In
The above point seems to indicate that
general it is best to be able to elevate the
home station operation is to be preferred
dish to achieve the best signals using 24GHz
over portable operation, simply because of
scatter modes.
the need to continually monitor the band.
Until recently the 24GHz distance record
This is something that is impractical for
was a 542km contact between WW2R/5
portable operators to do. However, by
in Mississippi and W5LUA at home near
carefully watching activity on ON4KST
Dallas, Texas. This was in September 2002
chat and beacon signal levels it is
and used tropospheric ducting and relatively
sometimes possible to detect when 24GHz
high power (for 24GHz). I reported a rain
is likely to open. Then it is maybe time to
scatter QSO of 637km between F2CT/P
head for the hills?
(JN13) and F6DWG/P (JN19) in the
I will repeat the message, in case I didnt
September 2008 GHz Bands column.
make the point well enough above. Dont
This is the current world distance record
expect 24GHz to provide really long distance
for 24GHz terrestrial operation.
QSOs under normal conditions. Various
The UK 24GHz distance record is
anomalous propagation events will however
408km, made in 2008 between G4EAT
occasionally permit some exceptional QSOs,
(JO02) and PA0BAT (JO31) during a
some of which will apparently defy logic.
ducting propagation event.
59
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
DICK PASCOE, G0BPS E-MAIL: DICK@PASCOES.PLUS.COM
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
Bandmaster II
A universal band decoder that senses band information
by monitoring the data going to and from your radio
PHOTO 1: The Bandmaster Universal Band Decoder from Array Solutions.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. A new version of the

Bandmaster Universal Band Decoder from
Array Solutions in Texas arrived in the UK
recently and was soon on its way to me.
On opening the box you are presented with
a very small unit that measures just 165 x
80 x 50mm. The front panel, as can be seen
in the photo, has a series of 13 LEDs, 12 for
the different bands and the other to indicate
the power on/off.
The rear of the unit has two 'D' connectors,
one 15 pin female and one 9 pin male (Photo
2). There is also a 4 pin connector used for
controlling their 8-Pak Antenna Switches,
FilterMax II and other devices via their 4 wire
interface. Power is supplied by an 11 to 16
volt supply at under 1 amp so a simple 'wall
wart' will suffice.
CONNECTIONS. The radio connections are
via the 9 pin D connector for all except Icom
rigs, which use the 3.5mm connector to the
left of the D connector. The computer lead is
a simple USB to printer lead connector.
The first thing to notice is that there are
no cables supplied or a power source, you
have to supply these yourself. I managed to
source a D connector to connect this to my
rig (thanks Ron), I set the FT-847 to 4800
baud and opened up the computer.
The manufacturers claim that "The
Bandmaster II band decoder is a highly
integrated unit that not only decodes
band information using Icom Band
selector voltages or Yaesu band data,
but can sense band information for all
bands from 160m through 6m by monitoring
CAT data going to and from the radio. The
Bandmaster II also contains all circuitry for
level conversion thus eliminating the need
for a separate CAT radio interface".
It also has an internal level converter for
Icom CI-V and other non-RS232 radios and
can replace your existing level converter, thus
60
simplifying your wiring. Band edges can be

custom configured via supplied application
software, a very powerful feature.
It acts by 'sensing' the band information
from your radio and works right through from
Top Band to 6m. It even covers the 75m and
the 60m bands as well. I decided to test this
unit by using my own Yaesu FT-847.
TIME TO PLAY. It was an ideal time for me
to play radio as I was trapped at home with
a nasty cold! So; like all of these units it is
essential that you spend some time reading
the instructions which are supplied on line.
Opening the unit you will see 13 relays,
12 in two rows of 6 and a single one on its
own (see Photo 3). On the right is a row
of 8 switches with a set of jumpers (J7)
in the middle.
The quality of the PCB and the soldering
is excellent with the component overlay
allowing the user to see every part. Although
with my eyesight some of the surface mount
devices needed a strong glass.
Using the Bandmaster software you will
also have the ability to configure the radio
interface and set the frequency limits for each
band. Change the band on the radio and the
Bandmaster automatically 'sees' the change.
PHOTO 2: The rear panel connectors.
The unit can be used as a stand alone

monitor of the CAT commands but this
would be a waste.
I'd had the opportunity to play with the
previous version that required jumpers to
be set for the transceiver you were using.
The Bandmaster II is different: you do not
have to switch over any jumper leads to
determine your radio (you can still do it
this way if you wish) but it can now be
done by using software, which is the
preferred method. The interface type is
automatically determined from the radio
type. All switches on the PCB must be in
the OFF position to allow configuring via
the software. If the user prefers to physically
change the settings full instructions are given.
But it is so much easier using the software
(see Figure 1).
It is essential that the baud rate for your
rig is set to the correct speed. For Icom and
Kenwood radios it should be 9600, whereas
for Yaesu rigs it is 4800. TenTec apparently
uses 57600.
There is one warning given and that is
that the radio to be used must be selected
before the unit is connected to your radio.
Damage might occur to the radio and/or
the Bandmaster if this is not done.
Once the connections have been made
the Bandmaster is then controlled by the
radio and/or your logging software and will
change to the band selected within 2.5 to 5
seconds. Change bands on the rig and the
Bandmaster changes too.
The configuration software allows the
user to set the band segments and the required
COM port. But it should be remembered that
the configuration software cannot be used
at the same time as the logging / control
software.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
FIGURE 1. It's much easier using the software.
So how useful is this in real terms? As a

stand-alone unit the Bandmaster achieves
very little but adding the Array Solutions
RatPack (Remote AnTenna Switch) brings
the unit into the very usable category.
The output on the 15 pin D connector
is designed to permit the control of several
antennas. The control unit may be a commercial
unit such as the RatPack or a homebrew one.
I well remember having a set of six slopers
off a 10m high mast each selected by a set
of relays with a low voltage feed to the switch.
With the output fed to the Array Solutions
RatPack, as the user changes bands on the
Photo 3: Inside the unit you can see the relays and switches.
rig the bandmaster senses the change and

changes to the antenna preset for that band.
The RatPack controller can be used to
control up to six antennas but as this was not
part of the review that is as far as I can go.
Overall I found the Bandmaster to be a
very well designed unit well built and easy
to set up and use.
I was disappointed to find that no leads
or power cable was supplied but as it was
explained leads for the radio are available at

an extra cost. The computer lead is a simple
USB to printer type (square) cable and I guess
that many users will have a spare somewhere.
Thanks to Ron, GW3YDX at Vine Antennas
for the loan of the Bandmaster. More details
can be found at www.vinecom.co.uk.
WEBSEARCH
www.arraysolutions.com/images/
Bandmaster%20RD%20vers%201.9.8.pdf
FEATURE
ELAINE RICHARDS, G4LFM E-MAIL: ELAINE.RICHARDS@RSGB.ORG.UK
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
RSGB Convention
WELCOME. Dave Wilson, M0OBW, opened
the 2010 RSGB Convention by saying,
Welcome to this years Convention at
Horwood House. Thanks for your support
making this the largest event of its kind in
the UK. Its great to see so many familiar
faces and many new ones. Id like to say a
big thank you to the two sponsors, Icom UK
and Martin Lynch & Sons for their continued
support and I encourage visitors to check out
the Icom radios on display outside and also
what radio goodies Martin has on offer.
Putting on an event like this is a team
effort and, as Chairman of the Organising
Committee, Id like to thank all the team for
their hard work. We must say a big thank
you to the 60-odd presenters whove given
up their time to be here this weekend. Building
on the success of previous years we have four
very full streams hopefully with something
for everyone. We have streams labelled, DX &
Operating, Technical, VHF & Up and the ever
popular Contest University. Tomorrow that
will become a Beginners Stream.
But presentations are only one aspect
of the Convention this weekend is a great
opportunity to meet up with old friends,
catch up on the last 12 months and a great
opportunity to make new friends.
As in previous years, the card checking
folk are out there ready to check your DXCC
and other applications. We are very grateful
for the time they give to this. UK amateur
radio exams take place today and tomorrow
and also tomorrow there is the opportunity
to take US amateur exams. Good luck,
particularly to all those taking their UK
exams this weekend.
At the National Hamfest, the RSGB
launched a major survey with an interactive
questionnaire for all radio amateurs and
SWLs, whether they are RSGB members
or not. The objective is to gather as much
information as possible on amateur radio
operation in the UK. The survey, which is
internet based, will run for three months
and the data collected will be used to
determine the direction amateur radio
takes over the next ten years. Over this
weekend we hope to break the 1000
completed survey mark and we have two
computers set up in the traders area if youd
like to fill it in over the weekend. I encourage
all radio amateurs and clubs to participate.
Please give help and assistance to those
who find accessing the internet or using
computers difficult. Its your opportunity
if you want your opinions to be noted, so
please take part.
Finally, if you have any issues, just contact
62
the team at reception and theyll do their best

to sort things out for you.
Have a great weekend and I look forward
to chatting to as many of you as possible over
the weekend.
A NEW VENUE. 2010 was the first time the
Convention was held at Horwood House near
Milton Keynes. Gradually, as the Convention
has expanded, it has grown out of previous
venues. This latest location was able to
supply larger and more flexible lecture rooms
as well as more hotel rooms for those staying
for the weekend. As with any new venue,
learning the lie of the land is difficult and the
organisers have taken on board comments
about better direction signs for next year.
Most visitors found that after a couple of
lectures they soon worked out which lecture
theatre was in which direction.
The organising committee will be looking
at re-arranging the facilities so that the lounge
and coffee areas will be more centrally situated
with more space so that visitors can sit around
and chat more easily.
LECTURES. The lecture programme this
year did present a few problems for visitors
but in a good way. The biggest complaint
seemed to be how am I going to choose
which lecture to go to next?! Whilst the

organising committee tried very hard not
to have the most popular lectures clashing,
with four streams running from 9.30am to
5.45pm on Saturday and 9am to 3.30pm
on Sunday, it was inevitable that visitors
had difficult choices to make. In an article
of this size it just isnt possible to mention
every single lecture. The organising committee
are looking at some new ideas for 2011
more repeat lectures so if you miss the
first one then you may be able to sit in on
the second, the idea of videoing lectures
to be made available after the event and
the possibility of making some of the notes
or presentations available at a later stage.
Despite starting at 9.30am, the IOTA
DXing lectures were very well attended
and there were very few seats empty at
any time. Tomi, HA7RY and Chris, HA5X/
M0XXA flew into the UK via Luton airport to
give their talks on small scale DXpeditions.
Tomi, HA7RY was part of the AA7JV/HA7RY
partnership that received the Yasme Award
for Excellence in 2010 for their Chesterfield
DXpedition, TX3A. The YASME Foundation
is a not-for-profit group organised to conduct
scientific and educational projects related
to amateur radio, including DXing and the
introduction and promotion of amateur
Icom UK sponsored the RSGB Convention again this year.
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E&OE
FEATURE
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
The winners of the two star prizes at the RSGB Convention 2010. Many thanks to the sponsors who supplied the prizes.
radio in underdeveloped countries.

Chesterfield Reef is part of an area of
shallow banks, coral reefs and small cays
located about 500 nautical miles east of
Australia. In 28 days of operation they
made a total of 36,148 QSOs, of which
3,425 were on 160 meters. They had
wanted to make the low bands 160, 80
and 40m a priority for the DXpedition.
As in previous DXpeditions like Mellish
Reef earlier in the year they located the
transmitting antennas in salt water using a
modified version of the VK9GMW antenna
design.
George, AA7JV and Tomi, HA7RY have
certainly turned the idea of two-guys, a radio
and a tent into a DXing art form!
The Technical stream was a little different
this year. For the first time, hands-on drop-in
training sessions were held all day. Richard
Brett-Knowles, G3AAT set up demonstrations
involving test equipment such as dip meter,
noise meter, antenna tuning units and antenna
analyser. He spent his time showing small
groups how these pieces of equipment are
used, what the readings show the amateur
and how to make use of the information.
This turned out to be a popular addition
to the programme and the small groups
allowed everyone to ask their questions
before it was time to move onto the next
lecture (or cup of coffee!).
The RSGB Convention added the VHF &
Up stream last year and this year they put
together an excellent programme. The
highlight of the event must go to the
lecture from Dr Lucie Green on coronal
mass ejections from the Sun. The lecture
was booked for the largest room, seating
around 100 people, but at the last minute
this was switched to the dining room as that
could be laid out for 150+ people. That was
a smart move as there were well over 150
in the room when the lecture started. Lucie
Green has the ability and enthusiasm to
make the subject of the Sun understood by
all. It was completely up-to-date and included
information on the unprecedented amount of
64
solar activity that took place on 1 August

2010. She covered a wealth of subjects
including solar wind, solar flares as well
as her specialist research on coronal mass
ejections. Fortunately, the lecture was just
before the tea break on Saturday afternoon
as that gave the opportunity for a long
question and answer session.
Steve Nichols, G0KYA has an audio
interview with Lucie Green recorded after
her lecture on his website. You can hear the
interview at http://g0kya.blogspot.com/
2010_10_01_archive.html.
Brian, G0UKB and Liz, M0ACL, returning
to the RSGB Convention for only the second
time, talked about the lectures they had
visited. One was Ferrite Chokes for Baluns &
EMC by Ian White, GM3SEK. Brian said,
Chokes and baluns both stop unwanted
RF flow and Ian gave an interesting talk
on how these unwanted flows occur
(which even we now understand) and
his own recommendation for practical
chokes. Was this useful? if I say we plan
to spend some money buying some ferrites
from Farnell then we think that proves the
answer is a positive Yes!
Another lecture Brian commented on
was Blowing Away the Smoke & Mirrors of
Antenna Operation by Roy Lewallen, W7EL.
Ok let's face it; we only went because we
couldn't miss the opportunity to hear Roy
Lewallen! This guy knows about antennas!
Also anyone who can include a Tenniel
picture of Alice on the same screen as
Cheech and Chong just has to have the
promise of 'feeding your head'. We're not
sure he taught us anything we didn't know,
but he taught us a hell of a lot of things we
didn't realise we knew! Forgot the antennas,
just his wit and philosophy made the journey
worthwhile.
Ian Wade, G3NRW gave two talks on
Sunday Introducing and Understanding
the AIM4170 antenna analyzer. He has
made his presentation available on the
internet, splitting it into two 45-minute
parts for anyone interested in learning
about this piece of equipment. See it at

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/wadei/
aim4170.htm.
The 2010 Contest University was again
popular with interest from operators of
many levels of experience. CTUs main
aim is to provide a means of sharing
contesting information with others to help
make it fun for all. The topics covered this
year focused more on the planning and
operation side of contesting, with a little
theory on propagation and antennas,
which always prove to be popular topics.
Stream organiser Mark Haynes, M0DXR,
would like to thank Icom UK for sponsoring
CTU yet again, the professors for delivering
fine sessions, to the RSGB for supporting
this in the Convention programme and of
course all those who attended. Happy
Contesting!
SOCIAL SCENE. The Friday evening buffet
celebrated 20 years of trading by Martin
Lynch & Sons, one of the events sponsors.
Martin and his wife, Jenny, attended the
evening event and everyone enjoyed the
skills of close up magician, Steve Dean.
He entertained the tables of diners with
a variety of illusions, sleight of hand and
card tricks. You could tell which table hed
reached at any time with the laughter that
rang out!
Towards the end of the evening, RSGB
President Dave Wilson, M0OBW presented
Martin with an engraved salver that said
Presented to Martin Lynch & Sons by the
Radio Society of Great Britain for 20 years
of outstanding support of amateur radio.
One event at the Convention that should
not go unrecorded was a greetings call
Roger Balister, G3KMA made to the Russian
Robinson Club on the Saturday evening just
before the Dinner. The Russian Robinson
Club was having its convention at the same
time and the greetings call was put out on
the PA system at their dinner. Anyone visiting
the RSGB Convention in 2009 could not fail
to have noticed the Russians when they
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
FEATURE
Dr Lucie Green had the largest number of visitors

to her lecture.
Richard Brett-Knowles with his hands-on training

sessions.
visited to present a couple of lectures!

Greetings to the Russian Robinson
Club at their annual conference in Orel.
We wish you the very best on this occasion.
We should like on behalf of the IOTA Committee
to thank Sergey Morozov for all the support
he has given to the mounting of operations
from rare IOTA groups. I am referring here
to the operations in Vietnam last year and
particularly to the three new ones NA-233,
234 and 235 in Alaska by KL7DX and
KL7RRC/P where the team did so well
in difficult conditions. We hope that the
Russian Robinson Club will continue to
support the IOTA community with operations
not only from new IOTAs but also from rare
ones that are not new but are very difficult
to reach.
"I am speaking from the RSGB Convention
in the Midlands where we are having a very
enjoyable time We have had talks this morning
on this year's four-island T32 operation, and
the operations by AD5A/KL5 and VY0O and
VY0X. In an hour or so's time we will have
our Gala dinner. For now have an enjoyable
evening. Good luck and thank you."
It ended with three very hearty, albeit
guttural, cheers from the assembled gathering
no doubt they were well into their vodka
by then!
During the Gala Dinner on Saturday
evening, Neville Cheadle, G3NUG announced
the next Five Star DXers Association DXpedition
to Christmas Island, T32 in the Pacific Ocean.
Planned for September/October 2011, this is
to be a major DXpedition: up to sixteen stations
on the air using monoband beams and vertical
dipole arrays, 24 hours a day, for almost four
weeks around the autumn equinox when
DX propagation on all bands is typically at
its best. More detail on the DXpedition can
be found at www.t32c.com.
EXAMS. Several candidates took their UK
amateur exams over the weekend. We are
pleased to say that there was a good level of
success enjoyed too. The Foundation student
and the two for the Intermediate exam all
passed and four out of the six candidates for
the Advanced exam passed too. Congratulations
to all those who passed and we wish the other
students the very best for their next exam.
Steve Nichols, G0KYA demonstrated his small 20m

EH antenna during Professor Mike Underhill's,
G3LHZ talk on tuneable multimode small antennas
at the RSGB Convention. Despite being only four
feet high and mounted on a tripod indoors, signals
were received from around Europe at strengths
of up S9+20dB on a Yaesu FT-817.
The US exams run by Paul, N3SSH/G0VEP

and Betty, N3TFX/G0VJT had several enquiries
and nine candidates sat the exams on Sunday.
In total they administered 19 exams from which
they had 16 passes. The new Technician
licence gained three new licensees, the
Extra gained 5 new licensees of which 4
were achieved by candidates sitting all
three exams. Regrettably one candidate
failed to upgrade to Extra class. It needs
to be said that the US Extra class licence
does require a very high level of knowledge
both of the hobby and the in-depth theory
behind it. Well done to all the candidates
as all made a very good attempt at all the
exams.
VISITORS VIEWS. The organising committee
take a great deal of notice of the comments
made by visitors to the RSGB Convention.
Sometimes things can be changed for next
year, sometimes not. There will always be
clashes between lectures that visitors would
like to attend but the organisers are looking
at repeating more lectures on Sunday, which
will help the visitors that stay for the whole
weekend. The numbers attending the lectures
were noted and, where necessary, lectures
will be moved to larger rooms so theres
room for everyone. Work has already started
on the programme for 2011 and if there is a
lecture you would really like to see, please
contact Dave Wilson, M0OBW (e-mail:
dwilson@btinternet.com) who will pass
on your request to the respective stream
organiser.
NEXT YEAR. The 2011 RSGB Convention
will be held at Horwood House, Little
Horwood, near Milton Keynes, MK17 0PH.
The dates to book in your diary are Friday
7 October to Sunday 9 October. Details
will appear on the RSGB website nearer
the date.
Dave Wilson, M0OBW presented Dave Lawley,

G4BUO with an award for his entry with Andy
Cook, G4PIQ in the World Radiosport Team
Championships.
Martin Lynch received a salver from RSGB

President, Dave Wilson, M0OBW in recognition
of 20 years of ML&S.
Martin Lynch presented Neville Cheadle, G3NUG

with a cheque for the Christmas Island, T32,
DXpedition in 2011.
65
TECHNICAL FEATURE
HARRY WESTON, M0SOP E-MAIL: HARRYWESTON@BTINTERNET.COM
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
Unsoldering SMD components

Following on from Soldering SMDs in November
Flux the joints, apply
the cleaned and wetted
tip to one end. Linger a
moment after melting
the solder, to let the
heat conduct through
to the other end and
pre-heat the solder
there. Transfer the
bit to the other end
of the component and
push gently. If you are
prompt enough it will
flip away from the
board. Avoid pushing
too hard if it doesn't
come off easily, as
that can damage the
PHOTO 1: It is all too easy to pull the lands off when desoldering an SMD. lands. Leave it to cool
and try again later.
Solder smears left behind can be brushed
UNDOING THE GOOD WORK. Sooner or
off. If there is thick solder still on the lands,
later, after carefully soldering up a surface
clean them with whatever you like to use,
mount PCB and admiring it for a while, there
solder wick or solder sucker. For what is left
will come that heart-stopping moment when
on the pad, I find that melting it and brushing
you realise that one of the components is
with a lightly fluxed cotton bud cleans it up
faulty, or you've used the wrong value, or
nicely. The solder sticks to the cotton tip,
you've simply soldered it on the wrong way
round. I've had them all. So, now you're faced leaving the land shiny and tinned, ready for
the replacement component. I remove flux
with the prospect of getting it off again. Oops.
residues with a toothbrush dipped in surgical
Usually, unless you are cannibalising an
spirit. There is some controversy about what,
old board, you want to preserve the PCB so
if anything, to use for cleaning soldered PCBs:
that you can install a replacement component.
I have had no trouble with this myself.
It is all too easy to pull the solder track lands
There is always the fear that such
off with the SMD: Photo 1 shows one of my
treatment will wreck the component you've
early, blundering attempts. I don't want to do
taken off. Well, I reckon that this is no more
that again. So, the problem is to remove the
abusive than soldering it on in the first place
SMD without damaging the PCB, probably
and, on testing the removed components,
needing to preserve the component too.
I have not yet found one spoiled.
A web search brings up lots of tips, but
many of these need costly accessories. A lot
HARD CASES. Multi-pin SMDs are a different
of specialised equipment is advertised, for
kettle of fish. Here, heating and melting all the
example [1], but it is all too expensive for the
pins at once is much more tricky, although
occasional use I would (hopefully) have for it.
So, I looked for low-tech methods using what
there is a technique using a low melting point
I already had to hand. A domestic clothes iron
can be used, as shown in [2], but I haven't
tried that myself the process unsolders
everything and it looks only useful for single
sided boards.
EASY STUFF. Resistors and capacitors are
fairly easy to desolder. Just melt the solder
one end and, while it is still molten, quickly
melt the other end too then gently flick the
component away. In more detail: fix the PCB
in place on the workbench (BluTack comes in
handy again) so that it is easy to quickly reach
both ends of the component with the iron.
66
PHOTO 2: Passing a fine enamelled wire behind

the pins.
metal. This alloys with the solder and the

extra mass helps to keep it molten for long
enough [3] [4]. It looks fairly simple to use.
The "Chip Quik" system is available from
a number of sources in the UK including
online retailers, Farnell and similar outlets.
I haven't tried this: I found out about it after
I had used the method I describe later.
There is plenty of complicated and
expensive professional equipment about,
for instance using a special tip on the iron
with a suction cup to lift the SMD [5]; an
infra-red heater in a precision mounting
system [6] or heating the component with
a hot air gun [7]. The problem with the
latter is that it is difficult to get the correct
air temperature at the SMD, as it varies
enormously with the distance and direction
from the nozzle. All of these methods, in the
end, pull the chip away, always with the
potential hazard of pulling the lands off, too.
NEW METHOD. I am very grateful to Patrick,
TK5EP for posting the method described in
[8] on the web. It applies to SMDs that have
a space behind the pins and, fortunately,
that is true for many of the SMD ICs we use.
It certainly was in my case for the AD9851,
the tiny 28 pin SSOP DIP that I used in my
article on soldering SMDs [9]. I carelessly
ruined mine by plugging the PCB into its
test rig the wrong way round, which applied
a destructively high voltage to a signal pin.
The principle is to pass a wire behind the
pins, as in Photo 2, anchor one end, and,
while heating the joints successively from
the other end, pull the wire firmly but gently.
Keep it low, flat and parallel to the board and,
as the solder melts at each joint in turn, the
wire comes out between each pin and its
land. This separates them and pushes the
solder away so that the joint does not reform.
Use an enamel coated wire so that it does
not itself get soldered to pins or lands. Use
PHOTO 3: Part way through the removal process

with five pins free.
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PHOTO 4: The first side is free.
TECHNICAL FEATURE
PHOTO 5: The other side is unsoldered note

how the last two lands were detached due to the
SMD not being securely fixed. It was moved to
the top later for the photograph.
as thin a wire as
possible that isn't
too prone to breaking
I used 0.38mm
diameter (including
the enamelling).
I found it useful to
flux the pins and add
more solder for a good
thermal contact. Photo
3 shows the first side
half done and in Photo
4 it is fully released.
Because the other
side was still attached,
it had formed a good
anchor while working
on the first side of the
PHOTO 7: The PCB and IC securely fixed before the second side is started,
SMD, but this didn't
to prevent a repeat of the situation in Photo 5.
apply for the second
side. I hadn't realised the significance of
I have successfully repaired several of them
this the first time I tried it and at the last two
by scraping away the coating over the PCB
pins the chip swung round and broke the
track that had been attached to the missing
lands off, as shown in Photo 5. Luckily it
land, exposing the copper, and soldering
didn't matter on this occasion as they are
a fine wire between the pin and track to
not connected inside this particular IC, so
remake the connection.
when I replaced the chip I could leave them
For an example, I could not at first get
floating. If you do intend to re-use the chip,
the specified IC for an early SMD project
it is easy enough to bend any distorted pins
and, in the process of trying and swapping
back to their original shape.
several substitutes, I completely destroyed
I cleaned the board up, Photo 6, and
some of the lands in that region: two of
fitted a new IC. Unfortunately I'd bought
them had gone to a common track. When
my replacement from a Hong Kong supplier,
I finally got the correct IC it was very difficult
to avoid a big payout on minimum orders
to handle just the tiny piece of wire that was
and shipping costs: ostensibly an AD9851
needed for the repair. Figure 1 shows how
sine wave generator, it turned out to be a
I used a longer piece of wire, shaped it to fit,
counterfeit whose output became badly
clamped it at the free end so that I could
distorted as it heated up useless. (I got my
solder the other end and then cut off the
money back, and the Hong Kong company
surplus.
is not happy with their own supplier). I had
The finished repair is in Photo 8 two
to take the chip off again. The first side went
pins to the right of my finger tip are those
as before, and for the second side I made
reconnected. This was a double sided board,
sure that the pressure was taken by a piece
but without soldered through holes, so much
of plywood clamped to the bench. I also used
of the blobby solder is over wire vias joining
a strong spring clip to hold the IC so it could
the ground planes on each side their cut
not move as the last pins came free, as shown ends are visible in places. Not pretty, one
in Photo 7.
of my earliest builds, but it works.
I've used the same method for other SMDs
I haven't covered all the possibilities,
that have the space behind the pins, so it's
no BGAs for example, and I readily accept
now an established technique for me.
that other people will have and prefer
different approaches, but again I hope that
my experiences will encourage you to have
REPAIRING THE PCB. As a footnote, all may
a go and not despair.
not be lost if a land or two does get pulled off.
PHOTO 6: Cleaned up nicely and ready for the

replacement.
PHOTO 8: Broken lands rescued with a short

piece of fine wire.
FIGURE 1: Repairing the connections lost

due to damaged lands (see Photo 8).
WEBSEARCH
[1] www.circuitspecialists.eu/
desoldering-hot-air-rework-c-8.html
[2] www.youtube.com/watch?v=976AIzyTyv8
[3] www.chipquikinc.com/news/ustech_article.pdf
[4] www.youtube.com/
watch?v=FTQqjggeklo&feature=related
[5] www.youtube.com/watch?v=t84XzLV7P1Y&NR=1
[6] www.chinaemall.biz/Manuals/PUHUITDGC/
IRDA%20SMD%20BGA%20Rework%20Station
%20T-862%20User%20Manual.pdf
[7] www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxYhF6Ab2CU&NR=1
[8] http://tk5ep.free.fr/tech/smd/en/unsolder.php
Note: Several times I have found this website corrupted
and rejected by my malware detector, but it has
returned later.
[9] RadCom November 2010 page 60
A useful general article on SMD with a lot of information
on SMD terms and sizes is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Surface-mount_technology
69
FEATURE
STEVE TELENIUS-LOWE, 9M6DXX E-MAIL: TELENIUSLOWE@GMAIL.COM
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
Sebatik Island On The Air

Activating this rare one for only the second time in its history
The SMK Wallace Bay school jetty was the

location for our operation. The Butternut HF6V
vertical was mounted on the post by the Sabah
state flag to the right of the photo.
SPLIT SOVEREIGNTY. Sebatik Island, OC-295,

located off the east coast of Borneo, had only ever
been activated once and so was still needed
by the vast majority of IOTA enthusiasts. In
September, four keen enthusiasts put on a
second Sebatik operation and introduced
amateur radio to two groups of Malaysian
students!
The island is one of only a small number
that has split sovereignty. Ireland is another,
with the Republic of Ireland and Northern
Ireland on its territory; New Guinea is a third,
being partly Papua New Guinea and partly
Indonesian. In the case of Sebatik, the northern
half is part of the state of Sabah and belongs
to Malaysia, while the southern half is part of
the Indonesian state of Kalimantan. Because
Sebatik is one of the very few split sovereignty
islands in the world, it has its own IOTA reference
number, OC-295 (see [1]); while all Sabahs
other offshore islands are lumped together in
Sabahs Coastal Islands Group, OC-133.
OC-295 was added to the IOTA list in 2006
[2] but had only ever been activated once, in
July of that year, immediately after its recognition
as a new one. This was by a team of operators
from the Borneo Amateur Radio Club [3], which
included John Plenderleith, 9M6XRO and me.
Unfortunately, with typical summer conditions,
propagation had been poor and the 2006
operation, signing 9M4SEB, made only
3600 QSOs [4]. Before our return trip,
OC-295 had been claimed by just 14.4%
of IOTA enthusiasts [5] so, logically, nearly
9 in 10 would still need it.
PLANNING. John and I planned to make a
return visit, but repeatedly put off the date,
waiting for more sunspots and better
propagation. We were prompted into fixing
a date now by the proposed visit to Sabah of
Gordon Rolland, G3USR, who was keen to
activate some IOTA islands.
70
So in June 2010 John and I flew to Tawau,

the nearest mainland town to Sebatik, to try to
make arrangements for a visit later in the year.
We met local amateurs Amin, 9W6AMC, and
Lee, 9W6LEE, who had been with us on the
2006 expedition. (9W prefix stations are Class B
amateurs, licensed for 10m, 6m, 2m and
70cm only. Malaysia is one of the few countries
remaining still to have a Morse code test for full
HF access.) There are no hotels or guest houses
on Sebatik and in 2006 we had operated from
the grounds of the SMK Wallace Bay high
school on the island. Amin had contacted the
schools new headmaster who was in town,
so we were able to meet him without having
to cross to the island as we had anticipated.
The headmaster, Mr Sharifuddin Kamarzaman,
had only taken up his position a couple of years
previously, so knew nothing about our earlier
operation. Indeed, he knew little about amateur
radio and certainly nothing about IOTA, but
by the end of our meeting he knew precisely
what we wished to do and had kindly extended
an invitation for us to return to the island. There
and then we fixed mutually convenient dates
24 to 28 September for the second
operation from OC-295.
With this vital permission in the bag,
planning could begin in earnest. Gordon
booked his flights from UK to Sabah; Tim
Beaumont, M0URX, who acts as QSL manager
for both John and me, set up a web page [6]
for the operation; John and I started getting
together the necessary equipment. I approached
the Island Radio Expedition Foundation (IREF,
Inc) [7], which was set up specifically to support
IOTA DXpeditions and, since John, Gordon and
I are all CDXC (Chiltern DX Club) [8] members,
we also asked them for a contribution. John
and Gordon are both Scotsmen and members
of the GMDX Group [9], so Gordon also
approached that organisation. We are pleased
to say that all three groups willingly made
generous donations which helped to cover
a lot of our costs.
No accommodation was available at the
school, so we each had to buy tents and
sleeping mattresses. We wanted to take
two complete HF stations, each with linear
amplifiers, so flying from Kota Kinabalu to
Tawau was out of the question this time.
Instead, we drove the 570km in Johns
Honda CRV that was filled to the brim with
the equipment and three occupants. The
journey takes between 10 and 11 hours:
the road is quite poor in places and rises
to over 1500m ASL (5000ft), affording
spectacular views of Mt Kinabalu (4095m).
A few days before we set out we received

a message from Sharifuddin, saying that his
senior assistant, Mr Ibrahim Mohamed Amin,
would be in Kota Kinabalu and suggesting
that we meet him. To our very great surprise
Ibrahim turned out to have an amateur licence:
9W6IMA. Like Sharifuddin, Ibrahim had only
been appointed recently so he was also unaware
of the previous operation from Sebatik. Ibrahim
is active only on 2m FM but was interested to
hear about IOTA and why his small island is
so much in demand by HF operators. With
this serendipitous contact, we felt sure that
the expedition would be a great success.
ON THE AIR. Amin and Lee had both planned
to come with John, Gordon and me to the
island, but unfortunately Lee had to pull out
at the last minute due to an unexpected work
commitment. The morning after we arrived in
Tawau, we met Amin at the harbour and the
four of us boarded the schools boat. Its two
100HP outboard engines sped us to the island
in only 35 minutes: in 2006 it had taken two
and a half hours on the islands ancient
passenger ferry!
We disembarked at the schools jetty and
immediately began putting up our tents and
assembling the stations and antennas. The
jetty itself was to be our home for the next
four days. It was around 100 metres long
and thus provided an ideal location for radio,
with an almost perfect take-off across the sea.
One antenna, a Butternut HF6V vertical, was
located right at the end of the jetty, some 15
metres above the ocean and completely
surrounded by salt water. The other antennas,
vertical dipoles for 17m and 20m, were
mounted on a 40ft fibreglass fishing rod
towards the land end of the jetty, but still
directly over the sea.
We operated in the open air using desks
and chairs provided by the school: the tents
were only used for sleeping. The hot days and
Walking the plank. Loading and offloading the

schools boat was by way of this precarious and
very wobbly gangplank.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
FEATURE
SMK Wallace Bay, Sebatik Island: the class of 2010.
Map showing position of Sebatik Island in relation

to Tawau, the main town in south-east Sabah.
warm nights made open air operating not just

feasible but actually preferable. Fortunately
part of the jetty was covered by a roof that
provided protection from the occasional rain
showers. Facilities on the jetty were basic: the
toilet was in effect just a hole over the sea and
the shower a hose pipe providing rain water
from a tank. But mains electricity was available
and we were well fed three times a day by the
school canteen cooks: chicken curry, fish and
rice were the main menu items. While not five
star accommodation, we were nevertheless
quite comfortable.
The two stations were my Yaesu FT-2000
with Tokyo Hy-Power HL-1.2Kfx linear amplifier
and Johns Yaesu FT-920 with Icom IC-2KL
linear. Either station could use any of the
antennas. A complete set of Dunestar [10]
bandpass filters helped to reduce mutual
interference, though certain combinations
of bands proved impossible: we suspect the
lack of any proper earth on the mains electricity
to be the reason (later, on Labuan, OC-133,
using the same equipment there was no trace
of any mutual interference when using the
Dunestar filters).
Generally, one station was active on SSB
as 9M6DXX/P and one on CW as 9M6XRO/P.
Amin took a high power 2m FM station and
5/8-over-5/8 collinear from which it was
possible to access the Mt Kinabalu repeater,
nearly 250km away, thus keeping the 9M6
and 9W6 operators informed of our activities.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. We timed
our operation to coincide with the autumn
equinox, with the expectation that conditions
would be better than they had been during the
first Sebatik operation in the summer of 2006.
This plan worked, with big pile-ups from Europe
on 15, 17 and 20m during our evening hours
and some good openings to North America
even the east coast, a very difficult path
from South-East Asia. However, as expected,
the bands were quiet during the day and this
allowed the team time to adjust antennas,
take photos and walk into the nearest village.
The staff and students of the school were
naturally curious about what we were doing,
so two classes were invited to visit the stations

for an introduction to amateur radio and
a demonstration during the day while the
bands were quiet. The students, aged 15
and 16, spoke excellent English and seemed
keen to hear about the countries we had been
contacting. After a short explanation of amateur
radio licensing and the briefest mention of the
difference between HF and VHF propagation,
Amin took a group of boys to the school
buildings with a 2m handheld, while the
girls remained on the jetty with the 2m base
station. Volunteers then took it in turns to call
the other station, using the correct callsigns
and operating procedures, and told them their
name using the recommended ICAO alphabet.
This proved to be a great success and while
it was obviously a lot of fun for the students to
be out of normal lessons for a while, we also
felt they learned at least a little about radio
communications.
While we were really grateful to the
headmaster and staff to be allowed to operate
from such an ideal location, I for one assumed
we were there under some sort of sufferance.
It was therefore a pleasant surprise to be told
by several teachers that they felt honoured that
we should visit them and give up our time to
give the demonstration to the students. We were
told that we would be welcome to return to the
school any time in the future. This welcome
was both sincere and touching.
We made a modest donation to the school
funds, which Ibrahim says will be used as seed
money to form a school amateur radio club.
Who knows how many of the school students
will then go on to get an amateur licence?
The staff and students were not our only
visitors. The local police officer wanted copies
of our passports and licences and came to see
what we were doing. And one night in the wee
small hours there was a great commotion when
a powerful patrol boat with a big spotlight sped
up to the jetty and several large, black-clothed
officials jumped ashore. At first I thought we were
being raided by the marines but it transpired
they were immigration officers who had captured
a group of illegal Indonesian immigrants. They
were rounded up and taken back home.
TALLIES. In all we made 6578 QSOs, almost
equally divided between SSB and CW. We were
pleased with this number roughly 1000 QSOs
per station per day, as we were on the air for
about three and a half days but there were
times when we could only operate one station
due to mutual interference.
My name is Rohana: Romeo Oscar Hotel Alpha

November Alpha. Over.
QSL manager Tim, M0URX, uploaded our

logs to Logbook of The World within 48 hours
of the expedition finishing, and QSLs were
designed and ordered two days after that.
The cards are full colour, printed on both sides
and, since different designs are being used, those
who worked both 9M6DXX/P and 9M6XRO/P
will receive separate QSLs. Tims website has
an online QSL request form [11] for both bureau
and direct cards. Wherever possible, bureau
cards are sent direct to the overseas countries'
bureaus, cutting down the average waiting
time by around 50%. Tim reported receiving
300 direct cards and nearly the same number
of e-mail bureau card requests within two
weeks of the end of the expedition!
THANKS. An article like this would not
be complete without a list of thank yous.
We would like to thank Sharifuddin
Kamarzaman, Ibrahim Mohamed Amin,
9W6IMA, and the staff and students of
SMK Wallace Bay, for allowing us to stay
at the school and for giving us such a warm
welcome; to Tim Beaumont, M0URX, for
being such an excellent QSL manager; and
to IREF, CDXC and GMDX, for their generous
donations that helped to make this operation
a success. Finally, to everyone who took the
trouble to call us: thank you.
REFERENCES
[1] IOTA Directory (45th anniversary edition), eds
Roger Balister, G3KMA, and Steve Telenius-Lowe,
9M6DXX, RSGB 2009.
[2] IOTA column, Roger Balister, G3KMA, RadCom,
July 2006, p14.
[3] Borneo Amateur Radio Club, www.9m6barc.com
[4] 9M4SEB Sebatik Island, OC-295, Steve Telenius-Lowe,
9M6DXX, IOTA Directory (2007 edition), RSGB.
[5] Source: official RSGB IOTA website,
www.rsgbiota.org
[6] Sebatik 2010 website, www.m0urx.com/sebatik
[7] IREF, Inc, www.islandradio.org
[8] CDXC, www.cdxc.org.uk
[9] GMDX Group, www.gmdx.org.uk
[10] Dunestar filters, www.dunestar.com
[11] M0URX online QSL requests,
www.m0urx.com/qsl-request-form
71
DESIGN NOTES
ANDY TALBOT, G4JNT E-MAIL: AC.TALBOT@BTINTERNET.COM
Design Notes
A direct-from-audio I/Q upconverter
Input at
4 x carrier
frequency
S0
Audio
input
S1
Audio driver
with differential
outputs
Quadrature
Network
FIGURE 1:
Outline of the direct
upconverter using
a quad bus switch
chip as the RF mixer.
Binary
count 0 - 3
0
1
+ 0 deg.
I (0 deg.)
Low pass
filter
- 180 deg.
RF Output
+ 90 deg.
0
Q (90 deg.)
- 270 deg.
2
FST3135
Dual 4-way
bus switch
PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER. In

previous months weve mentioned I/Q (or
quadrature) upconverters and looked at
various bits of the circuitry needed. Here,
we pull things together and present a complete
direct-from-audio upconverter that takes
output from a PC sound card and directly
translates it to the final radio frequency
output for amplification. And it's all done
without the need for any other transceiver
hardware. The only part not covered here is
the actual RF source itself, which could be a
crystal oscillator, a synthesiser, VFO or whatever.
The upconverter design is based around
fast CMOS bus switches originally made
famous in Technical Topics over a decade
ago for their high performance when used
as mixers in HF receivers. The SoftRock and
several similar designs of software defined
radios use these as mixers for direct
conversion to audio, with quadrature
downconversion to feed left and right audio
channels of a PC soundcard. By turning the
mixer round a high performance image
cancelling direct upconverter can result.
But first, we need to look at the design
of the quadrature upconverter. The theory
of quadrature, or I/Q upconversion has been
well-covered many times before in RadCom
and elsewhere, so will not be described again.
Figure 1 shows an outline of the upconverter
approach, and dates back almost to the first
time bus switches were used in HF receivers.
The FST3257 dual quadrature bus switch
contains a total of eight CMOS analogue
switches configured as two-pole, four-way
units. There is also a binary decoder whose
function is to turn two binary select lines,
shown as S0 and S1, into a one-of-four
72
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
parts equivalent to those in Figure 1 are all

there. At the lower left hand side the RF input
is buffered by a pair of logic gates biased as a
high gain limiting amplifier then applied to a
ring counter made from a pair of flip flops.
One oddity of this divider, making it different
from a conventional binary counter, is that
the outputs count 0, 2, 3, 1 rather than 0, 1,
2, 3. This changes the order of the connections
needed to the two poles of the CMOS switch.
The end result, however, is identical to that
shown in the table. A ring counter is used
here as it is easier to ensure both output drives
are exactly synchronous than it is with a
conventional counter. While almost certainly
not a problem at LF to MF frequencies, if used
at the upper limit of the logic family, typically
80 100MHz with ACT series logic, it would
be an issue.
The values shown for the output filter
give a cut off of 505kHz. This is followed by a
simple broadband amplifier raising the output
level to around +6dBm maximum. Change
filter values to suit your own requirements.
ALL-PASS NETWORK. The I/Q drive is
generated from a single audio input with
an all-pass network made from a pair of
opamps. Each channel of the all-pass network
maintains a constant gain of unity whatever
the input frequency, with a phase shift over
the audio band depending on the CR product
connected to each op-amp positive input.
This goes from 0 at DC, 90 from input to
output at F = 1/2..C.R and 180 at high
frequencies. By choosing a pair of differing
CR time constants for each channel, the
difference in phase between the two outputs
can be kept sufficiently close to 90 over a
limited frequency band, as shown in the
upper plot of Figure 3.
The simple arrangement can only generate
I/Q signals with a sufficiently accurate 90
phase difference over a limited range of
frequencies. As the phase shift degrades
from the ideal quadrature values the
sideband isolation falls. The deterioration,
in dB, is 20LOG.(I/Q). This assumes the
amplitudes of I and Q are identical; if not,
sideband rejection is further degraded.
At 90 the ARCTAN function is impossible
and would yield an infinite value (perfect
rejection) but at 89 phase shift (1 error)
an isolation of 35dB results. At 5 error,
sideband isolation becomes a rather poor 21dB.
The lower plot of Figure 3 shows the resulting
sideband rejection that can be achieved.
internal drive controlling the switches.

Both poles are selected together so each
pair of inputs labelled 0, 1, 2 or 3 can
be connected to the two output lines, which
here go to a transformer and low pass filter.
By deriving the S0/S1 lines from a fast
synchronous binary counter clocked at
four times the wanted centre frequency
Fout, we rotate the switch at the desired
carrier frequency. Each switch position
corresponds to a successive 90 phase
shift of Fcarrier so we end up with successive
connections as defined in Table 1.
Note that counts 0 and 2 give the same
results, as do 1 and 3, so the net result is
that we have multiplied the carrier at 0 by
the In phase drive waveform and the carrier
phase shifted by 90 by the Quadrature drive
signal and combined them. This is precisely
what's required to reinforce one sideband and
cancel the other. The carrier itself is rejected
or nulled by ensuring the 0/180 and 90/270
signal paths are matched in amplitude.
For now, the quadrature drive is shown
as being generated from an RC network and
we have to generate all four phases of the
audio input signal. At audio frequencies,
even up to several tens of kHz, this presents
no problems for standard opamps. The output
filter is essential. As the RF drive takes
the form of a square wave, all odd-order
TABLE 1: Inputs and outputs of the
harmonics are present; the relative
upconverter in Figure 1.
2
power of these rolls off following a 1/F
Count Phase of Input connections Output
law. So the third harmonic is only
Fcarrier to transformer
Product
10LOG(1/9) or approximately 10dB
0
0
I / -I
I * Fcarrier 0
down, the fifth is at -14dB and so on.
1
90
Q / -Q
Q * Fcarrier 90
Figure 2 shows the complete circuit
2
180
-I / I
I * Fcarrier 0
diagram of an upconverter and, while it
3
270
-Q / Q
Q * Fcarrier 90
looks quite complicated, the individual
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
DESIGN NOTES
+12V
Option
for I/Q
inputs
FIGURE 2: Complete circuit diagram of the upconverter.
15n*
22
+12V
12k
20k #
3
2
82k *
2.5V
8
1
1
4
T1, 5-6
2
10k
LM358
LM358
3k3
10k
82k #
22
15H
2n2 *
033
10n
01
10n
56
20k #
12k
+5V
47k
1k2
150
10k
82k *
2k7
10k
82k #
2.5V
680 x 4
10
2k7
+5V
4
2
3
13
CL
12
2
S1
14
S0
CLK
74HC04
4 X RF
74ACT74
+5V
33n
2B3
2B2
2B1
2B0
3
4
5
6
1B3
1B2
1B1
1B0
10
12
11
2A
9
T1 - 1
1A
7
01
CLK
CL
15
1
OE1
13
12
11
10
+5V
47k
OE2
FST3253
33n x 4
13
+5V
Ring Counter
counts 0, 1, 3, 2
* Remove for I/Q input

# Short for I/Q input
From binary
ring counter
FIGURE 4:
Alternative quadrature
mixer configuration
allowing single-ended
audio drive, but requiring
an accurately balanced
output transformer.
4
5
680
1
2
Single Ended
I/Q Audio Drive
FST3125
9
10
680
FIGURE 3: I and Q channel phase shift

with its resulting sideband rejection.
See [1] for an all-pass network design tool.

Only single I and Q channel signals are
supplied and we need differential drive,
so a second pair of opamps are used as
unity gain buffers to generate minus-I and
minus-Q.
If I and Q signal can be generated by
software instead of having to be synthesised
by analogue networks, the connections shown
by the dotted lines can be used to configure
the first two pair of opamps as buffers rather
than all-pass networks. Several components
need to be shorted out or removed to do this.
They are marked on the diagram.
13
12
11
ALTERNATIVE SWITCH CONFIGURATION.

There is an alternative configuration that
may be preferable in some cases. Instead of
using a dual pole requiring four audio drive
signals, four single switches with a single
ended I and Q drive is possible. A balanced
centre tapped transformer on the output as
shown in Figure 4 then becomes necessary.
The accuracy of this transformers centre
tapping and balance dictates the level of
carrier rejection possible. The arrangement
is simpler than the first design, but does rely
on the output transformer so carrier rejection
and possibly sideband rejection may be worse.
+2.5V
SETTING UP. Alignment is no more than

adjusting the I/Q networks for optimum
sideband rejection and checking / trimming
carrier rejection. As an absolute minimum
you will need a receiver that can be tuned
either side of the output band of interest to
look at sideband rejection and a suitable
clean sinusoidal drive signal. Ideally the
receiver should have a spectral display
several kHz wide any soundcard based
SDR will do admirably.
For the source, it is helpful if the drive
can be mixed with white noise to show
sideband rejection over the whole output
73
DESIGN NOTES
band simultaneously. A suitable test signal can

come from another SSB receiver tuned to a
weak carrier. The audio out from this contains
reasonably flat noise typically from 300Hz to
2700Hz and a tone. First display its audio
output by feeding directly into the soundcard
input while running spectral analysis software
such as Spectran [2]. Tune to any single carrier
and adjust input attenuation / signal pickup until
this sits a few tens of dB above the background
noise. Ensure things stay reasonably constant
and that you can change the tone frequency
with the tuning knob, and the noise stays flat.
Transfer the audio so it becomes the drive to
the upconverter, with a way of controlling the
level from zero to maximum such as by
adjusting the receivers volume control.
Apply a four-times RF source to the
upconverter RF input buffer, and connect the
RF output via suitable attenuation to a test
receiver tuned to the wanted frequency. With
the audio drive set to minimum some carrier
leakage should be observed. Slowly increase
audio drive and observe the upconverted RF
increase in level by several tens of dB above the
carrier leakage, which should remain constant.
Audio sidebands either side of the carrier will
be seen, but a section of the audio band, one
sideband, should be noticeably different from
the other. It may be the upper or lower sideband
it doesnt matter which at this stage. Figure
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
5 shows the sort of plot that can be expected

with a tone plus noise drive. (For this plot the RF
input was set at 2.0096MHz (4 * 502.4kHz)
with the output from the upconverter fed via a
20dB attenuator directly to my SDR-IQ antenna
input. The SDR-IQ was tuned to 502.4kHz
centre frequency and 10kHz span. Leakage
from the carrier appears exactly in the middle
of the display with the upconverted sidebands
on either side. The audio drive was generated
by tuning my IC-746 to a weak carrier while
monitoring the audio output using Spectran.
The RF was attenuated until the carrier sat
about 35dB above noise on the spectral
display, then the audio drive transferred to
the upconverter input).
Adjust the two input preset resistors to
optimise your requirements. 40dB 50dB
rejection can be achieved in a narrow band,
with 35 40dB over a range of a few hundred
Hz. If it is impossible to achieve a particularly
high rejection at even a single point, then likely
the amplitudes of the I and Q channel are not
matched. With 1% resistors used throughout,
little trimming should be needed. RF carrier
rejection of 50dB ought to be possible and
there is a bit of scope for optimising this by
adjusting the inverting buffer gain. But please
note that this will then affect I/Q balance and
it could get very time consuming trying to get
the ultimate all round performance. I found it
FIGURE 5: Measured plot of the upconverter output

when driven by a mixture of white noise and a tone.
best to match resistors using a DVM to around

0.3 0.5% then leave well alone, just accepting
the result. To change between upper and lower
sideband, swap over I and Q drive signals.
Improved All-pass networks
More complicated all-pass networks with two
or three stages in each channel allow accurate
90 phase differential to be maintained over
a wider audio band. In Homebrew recently,
Eamon showed some alternative networks
that can be used over the entire speech band.
WEBSEARCH
[1] All-pass network Design:
www.g4jnt.com/OPA_AllPass.xls
[2] Spectran Audio Analyser:
www.sdrham.com/spectran.html
Honourable Mentions
One of the perils of doing a Top Three of anything is that you have to make some hard decisions,
so I'd like to let you into the secret of the next three that didn't quite make it to the top three places.
74
Remote Operating for Amateur Radio

by Steve Ford, WB8IMY
Images Across Space

by Dr Douglas Brown and Adam Bernard
The Real Enigma Heroes

by Phil Shanahan
ISBN 978 0 87259 092 2

112 pages
Published by ARRL
Non members' price 19.99
Members' price 16.99
ISBN 9781 8742 8921 0, 180 pages

RSGB Edition published in conjunction by
Middlesex University Teaching Resources
Members Price 14.99 (25% off)
ISBN 978 0 7524 4472 7

240 pages
Published by History Press
Members Price 16.99
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
BY GILES READ, G1MFG E-MAIL: GILES.READ@RSGB.ORG.UK
BOOK REVIEW
Book review
January's Book Review usually reflects on the best books of the previous year.
This time I thought I'd share my personal Top Three of 2010.
Most Secret: The Hidden

History of Orford Ness
Stealth Antennas
Homebrew Cookbook
By Steve Nichols, G0KYA
By Eamon Skelton, EI9GQ
By Paddy Heazell
I love secret places
and things. I'll never
forget standing deep
within the bowels of
the rebuilt Colossus
at Bletchley Park,
visiting the Cabinet
War Rooms and
secret nuclear bunkers.
If I can't go there, then
reading about it is the
next best thing and
Most Secret: The
Hidden History of Orford Ness paints a very vivid
picture of goings-on in that very secretive area.
The role Orford Ness played in inventing and
testing was crucial over the course of the twentieth
century, for example the radar development
work by Watson Watt and his team. A relatively
remote and inaccessible spit of land, Orford
Ness was well-suited to providing privacy for
the most confidential experiments, yet with
enough room to conduct quite large-scale
works when necessary.
Orford Ness operated for over eighty years
as a highly classified research and testing site
for the British military, the Atomic Weapons
Research Establishment and, at one point,
even the US Department of Defense. The book
describes such diverse activities as test-dropping
inert nuclear bombs, conventional explosives
testing and even a Cold War over-the-horizon
radar. The radar, codename Cobra Mist, was
never used operationally despite its 132-acre
antenna
Working in association with The National
Trust and using material from the National
Archives, the author has set out to tell that
tale and record the work of the greatest boffins
of past generations. This highly readable book
provides many surprises about that Most Secret
place, Orford Ness.
Perhaps related
to my affinity for
secret places,
secret or stealth
antennas are
very appealing
too. I even
included a
stealth antennas
chapter in my
own recent book,
HF Antennas
for Everyone.
Steve Nichols' Stealth Antennas is very
practical and deals with the sort of real
antenna problems that are faced by today's
amateurs with small gardens and / or planning
limitations on what can be erected.
All of the examples in the book are real
antennas used by real radio amateurs just like
you and me. Whether it's a dipole or loop in the
loft or a stealthy outdoor antenna, all-band HF
or VHF/UHF, there's something really practical
to help you. I particularly liked the chapter
called Let's Get Really Stealthy, which includes
such gems as carpet loops and foil antennas.
There are lots of photos and the all-important
setting-up details that sadly aren't always
included in antenna books.
Not everything is homebrew. There is
a comprehensive section of commercially
available antennas and accessories that
let you get on the air with the minimum of
visual impact.
Safety is not overlooked, with a chapter
all to itself. Likewise, EMC interference to,
or from, domestic equipment, is well covered.
There's even a chapter on improving the
efficiency of your stealth antenna system.
As I read this book I kept on thinking
"Yes, that's a good idea" or "I reckon that
would work for me". It's a very practical
resource that will help many an amateur
whether they have stealth problems or not.
RadCom has
always attracted
the very best
amateur radio
writers and
Homebrew
columnist
Eamon Skelton
is a perfect
example. His
articles are always
accessible and are
underpinned by a
laid-back attitude that belies his experience and
professionalism.
The demands of a monthly column are such
that it is not always possible to tell a linear story.
Sometimes it's necessary to mention something
only in passing, coming back to it later. Now,
for the first time, the first two years' worth of
Homebrew have been re-arranged by theme,
laying everything out in a straightforward form
so there's no flipping backwards and forwards.
The book is in five sections, covering
construction methods, building a receiver,
frequency measurement, transmitter & receiver
projects and aerials. Projects include a simple
direct conversion receiver followed by a more
sophisticated superhet. On the transmit side,
Homebrew Cookbook includes an SSB transmitter,
PA and a VHF transverter. All the designs are
modular, making it very easy to extract sections
for other uses. Everything is eminently buildable
and down to earth. For instance, wherever
possible Eamon tends to use 1mm copper
wire when winding coils, because that's the
diameter of the centre core of 75 TV coax:
most people have some offcuts lying around.
I particularly like the attitude to the novice
constructor. The whole message seems to be,
"Don't worry if you don't understand it at first,
just build it. Once you have built it, it'll make
a lot more sense!" If you are considering or are
already homebrewing then this book is for you.
ISBN 978-0-75245-741-3
Published by History Press
288 pages
Non Members 14.99
RSGB Members 11.24
ISBN 9781-9050-8666-5
208 pages, 174 x 240mm approx
Published by RSGB
Non-members price 13.99
Members price 11.89
ISBN 9781-0-5-8661-0
202 pages, 210 x 275mm
Published by RSGB
Non members' price 12.99
Members' price 11.04
75
SPORT RADIO
STEVE WHITE, G3ZVW E-MAIL: G3ZVW@TALKTALK.NET
Sport Radio
How one club has rocketed to the top of the
UKACs, UBNs and the 21/28MHz contest
Members of the Bolton Wireless Club receiving their own trophy.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS. The success that

Bolton Wireless Club (BWC) enjoys in the
UKACs is quite remarkable. This column is
being written before the final UKACs of 2010
take place, but BWC are so far in the lead that
barring a disaster or a miracle (depending
whether youre from Bolton or not!) the trophy
is effectively in the bag. Every Tuesday evening
there seem to be loads of them active. I just
had to ask how a club that began with barely
a dozen members at the start of 2008 become
a major player in the RSGB UKACs in 2009
and 2010. Ross Wilkinson, G6GVI picks up
the tale
Our story begins in March 2009, when
I spent a few minutes during a club meeting
outlining the new Club Championships aspect
of the weekly UKACs and how to use the online
log generator to post entries. This proved
to be the spark that caught our members
imaginations, as the following evening nine
of them took part in the 70cm UKAC. Even
more surprising was the fact that although our
individual scores were modest, our combined
total easily outweighed other longer-established
clubs with just one or two big gun stations.
From then on we included a review of our
latest UKAC results in all our twice-monthly
club meetings, which helped to build our
participation throughout the year.
By the end of 2009 we had become well
known on the bands and had been joined by
some new members with good VHF stations
(its easy to recruit to a winning team). Thus,
as a result of our 302 logs submitted across
the five bands throughout 2009, we won the
UKAC Club Championships on 70cm, 23cm
76
and 4m, and were runners-up on 6m. The

RSGBCC then decided to instigate a new
award for the best combined club performance
across the six bands (including 13cm) and,
as the inaugural winners, we provided the
new trophy for this event, which was awarded
at the prize-giving in April 2010.
Back in 2009, after a slow start, we could
only achieve fifth place in the 2m UKAC but
in 2010, augmented by our new members,
we hit the ground running and so started the
year amongst the top four clubs on this band.
By Easter we had clawed our way up to be just
one point (out of 30,000) behind the leaders.
Since then we have opened up a lead and so
hope to lift the G6NB Trophy for the first time.
So what is the secret of our success?
Well, its mostly down to individual members
enthusiasm. Out of our membership of 67, 40
of them (including six Intermediate and two
Foundation licensees) have operated on at
least one of the Tuesday night UKAC sessions
in 2010. We regularly have more than 15 club
stations active each week."
Next month Ross will pick up the story
and tell us why theres so much enthusiasm
for portable operating at the club and about
the teamwork.
UBNs. Part of todays contest adjudication
process is the production of a UBN (Uniques,
Broken, Not in log) report for the adjudicator.
For those who participate in the IOTA contest,
everyone is sent a UBN report as a matter of
course when the results are released, but for
most events an individual UBN report is sent
only if a participant requests it. Something to
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
YOUR
RSGB
THE BEST CONTESTS
look forward to this year is a UBN report

for every RSGB contest you enter.
The way it will work is that when you
upload your log, there will be a question on
the upload page asking if you would like a
UBN report. If you answer yes, the e-mail
confirmation of your upload will contain the
URL of a web page specifically for you. The
page will become available when the results
are released and it will be on it that your
individual UBN report will be found.
The purpose of individual UBNs is to help
you achieve a greater degree of accuracy in
future events, by pointing out where points
were docked or QSOs disallowed. You can
see an example of a VHF UBN report in
Figure 1. Broken followed by the reason
is when the adjudication software found
that you incorrectly copied some of the
information given. CoLoc (Co-Located)
means the software found that you worked
someone with such a similar callsign in the
same Locator square as other entrants that
you must have copied the callsign wrongly.
Consensus means that although the station
you worked did not submit an entry, it
appears in the log of other entrants and
they all copied the information given the
same, but not the same as you! AdjInv
(Adjudicated Invalid) means the adjudicator
manually ruled the QSO invalid. This
normally happens when the other log is
not present but the adjudicator is certain
some information was copied incorrectly.
In this instance a reason is added by the
adjudicator. Not in log means that the
QSOs you are claiming does not appear in
your QSO partners log. As regards Unique
QSOs, these are always examined and if
there are a lot they are examined more
closely. They are only disallowed, however,
if there is evidence that the QSO didnt take
place or there is evidence of Cheerleading,
where stations have just come on to work
their own club and nobody else.
A REPRIEVE. At the Contest Committee
meeting that took place in November the
21/28MHz contest was discussed and in
light of the clear wish of those who take
part for it to continue, continue it will.
Naturally the committee will keep an
eye on things, to ensure this years greatly
increased participation isnt a blip. The
event will remain in the HF Championship,
making 13 in all. It will still be your best
five results that matter.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
SPORT RADIO
RSGB HF EVENTS
Date
Event
Times (UTC)
Mode(s)
Band(s)
Exchange
Jan 3
Jan 9
Jan 12
Jan 15
Jan 20
80m Club Championships

CW AFS
SSB AFS
2000-2130
1400-1800
2000-2130
1400-1800
2000-2130
CW
CW
SSB
SSB
Data
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5
RST + SN
RST + SN
RS + SN
RS + SN
RST + SN
RSGB VHF EVENTS

Date
Event
Times (UTC)
Mode(s)
Band(s)
Exchange
Jan 4
Jan 11
Jan 18
Jan 25
144MHz UKAC & Club Championship

432MHz UKAC
UHF UKAC
50MHz UKAC
2000-2230
2000-2230
2000-2230
2000-2230
All
All
All
All
144
432
1.3/2.3
50
RS(T) + SN + Locator
BEST OF THE REST EVENTS

Date
Event
Times (UTC)
Mode(s)
Band(s)
Exchange (info)
Jan 1
Jan 8-9
Jan 8
Jan 9
Jan 15-16
Jan 22-23
Jan 29
Jan 28-30
IRTS 80m Counties

ARRL RTTY Roundup
EUCW 160m CW Party
EUCW 160m CW Party
HA DX Contest
BARTG RTTY Sprint
WAB 1.8MHz Phone
CQ WW 160m DX
1400-1700
1800-2359
2000-2300
0400-0700
1200-1200
1200-1200
1900-2300
2200-2200
SSB/CW
Data
CW
CW
CW, SSB
RTTY
SSB
CW
3.5
3.5-28
1.8
1.8
1.8-28
3.5-28
1.8
1.8
RS(T) + SN (EIs & GIs also send County)

RST+ SN (Ws send State, VEs Province)
See test
See text
RS(T) + SN (HAs send 2-letter County code)
SN
RS + SN + WAB square
RST +CQ Zone (Ws send State, VEs Province)
Italics indicate that provisional information only was available at the time of writing.
For all the latest RSGB contest information and results, visit www.rsgbcc.org.
Entrant Date
Time Call
Correct Call RepTX SnTX RepRX SnRX Reason
Loc
Correct Locator
Notes
THIS MONTHS
G3ZVW 12/06/2010 19:45 OK1VTV
55
7
57
42 AdjInv
JO60RN
Received serial error
EVENTS. January
G3ZVW 12/06/2010 21:02 GM6HR
57
27
57
4 Broken:Locator IO86DD
IO86CD
G3ZVW 12/06/2010 21:28 DJ9WO DG9WO
57
32
59
17 CoLoc
JO40AG
is 80m month,
G3ZVW 12/06/2010 21:38 PA8TFD
53
33
57
5 Concensus
JO21WP JO31WP
the first event of
G3ZVW 12/06/2010 22:09 G9SDO
54
44
55
14 NotInLog
IO82FW
the year being the
G3ZVW 12/06/2010 22:24 G9RLA
G9RMA
43
48
55
41 Broken:Callsign JO01WE
first of the new 80m
FIGURE 1: The kind of UBN report that entrants to RSGB VHF contests can expect to be able to access.
Club Championships.
As regards non-RSGB events, you could
Its CW on the 3rd, SSB on the 12th and
start contesting on New Years Day by entering
data on the 20th. Remember please the
the IRTS 80m Counties Contest. There are
maximum power allowed in Club Champs
sections for SSB only, SSB/CW and SWL.
is 100 watts, but for Foundation licensees
QSOs with EI and GI only count for points.
and those who enjoy low power operation
There are awards (see Figure 2) for the
theres also a 10 watt category. For much of
2010 it looked like Newbury would be placed leading station outside EI in each section.
The ARRL RTTY Roundup takes place for
second to Bristol in the Club Champs, but a
late set of good results by De Montfort Uni, who 30 hours over the following weekend, 8-9th.
There are single- and multi-op categories.
were by far the strongest team in the whole
Oddly enough you can use a variety of
event on datamodes, saw them overtake
datamodes in this event, not just RTTY.
Newbury. The Three As were the strongest
FIGURE 2: You could be awarded a certificate
Work everyone and send a signal report
team on CW, but Bristol were miles ahead of
like this for winning the IRTS 80m Counties
and serial number. USA stations will send
everyone on SSB. Moving on to the HF AFS
Contest.
a signal report and their 2-letter State code,
contests both of which count towards the
station that has been placed in the Top 10
while Canadian stations will send a signal
new AFS Super League Sunday 9th is CW
in any BARTG contest in the past three
report and their 3-letter Province code.
AFS day. Expect the competition to be tough
years must enter the expert category.
Over the same weekend theres also the
in this one, but expect the competition to be
The contest exchange for this event is
EUCW 160m CW Party, which is split across
even tougher in SSB AFS on Saturday 16th.
serial number only (ie no signal report).
two 3-hour sessions. There are five different
On VHF/UHF the new series of UKACs
The CQ WW 160m DX Contest takes place
classes of entry. Members of clubs affiliated
begins with 2m on Tuesday 4th. Its UKACs
to the European CW Association (FOC, FISTS, for the whole 48 hours of 29-30th. Work
only this month, with the other legs being
the contiguous 48 States plus Canada
G-QRP and Essex CW Club are the ones in
70cm on the 11th, 23/13cm on the 18th
only, giving a signal report and CQ Zone
the UK) send RST + name + club +
and 6m on the 25th. Please note that there
(UK is 14). USA stations will send a signal
membership number; others send RST +
are rule changes to the UKACs this year,
report and their 2-letter State code, while
including new entry categories for (a) 10 watt name + NM (for non member). On the
Canadian stations will send a signal report
stations, and (b) active users of the DX cluster 15-16th the HA DX Contest takes place for
24 hours. There are numerous categories and and their 3-letter Province code. The final
and chat channels such as ON4KST. There is
event of the month is the WAB 1.8MHz
three power levels in this one. The BARTG
also a change to the locator squares multiplier
Phone Contest that takes place on the
RTTY Sprint takes place for 24 hours on the
rule. To ensure you enter the right category
evening of the 29th. Its the usual WAB
22nd-23rd. Single band entries are not
and avoid claiming the wrong score, please
contest exchange of signal report, serial
allowed in this event and BARTG have an
check the full rules on the Contest Committee
number and WAB area.
web site at www.rsgbcc.org/vhf before the start. interesting rule whereby any single operator
77
ARDF
BOB TITTERINGTON, G3ORY E-MAIL: G3ORY@LINEONE.NET
YOUR
ARDF
RSGB
Car based DF hunts

ENQUIRIES RECEIVED. Recently there
have been a number of enquiries to the
ARDF Committee concerning the legality
of car based DF hunts. Competitions of this
kind are organised by Affiliated Societies and
not directly by the RSGB. The purpose of this
article is to draw attention to the wording of
the Road Traffic Act and the varying exclusions
of motor insurance policies so that members
and Affiliated Societies can make their own
decisions regarding the organisation and
rules of DF competitions involving the use
of motor vehicles.
Attention is drawn to the provisions of the
1988 Road Traffic Act. Section 12 of the Act
states:
12. (1) A person who promotes or takes
part in a race or trial of speed between
motor vehicles on a public way is guilty
of an offence.
(2) In this section "public way"
means, in England and Wales, a
public highway and, in Scotland, a
public road.
In other words racing or trials of speed on public
roads are illegal under all circumstances by
virtue of the primary legislation. The issue
becomes one of identifying what might be
considered a trial of speed. One possible
criterion is that if driving a vehicle faster
on the public highway has the potential
to improve ones result in the competition,
then this might constitute a trial of speed.
If the rules adopted provide that the person
to find the hidden transmitter in the shortest
time is the winner and that the person has used
a motor vehicle on the public roads during the
competition, then the local magistrates might
be hard to convince that this was not a trial of
speed. The RSGB believes there has never been
a case brought before magistrates where a DF
hunt was involved and so there is no definitive
case law. Organisers and competitors (who
are both liable under the Act) have to come to
their own decisions as to whether their event
complies with the Act. This article can only
provide information that could be useful in
making this decision.
Probably of greater impact in practice is
the fact that most motor insurance policies
specifically exclude racing and trials of speed.
To take part in an event which is a trial of speed
(in the opinion of the insurance company)
means that you are driving uninsured and the
implications of this do not have to be spelled
78
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
ARDF: DEDICATED TO DF HUNTING
out. During the preparation of this article,

the author became aware that some policies
suspend cover if the insured is taking part in
any kind of competition, irrespective of whether
it complies with the Road Traffic Act.
Parallels can be drawn to motor sport in
the form of car rallies on the public roads and
it is interesting to see how trials of speed are
avoided there, so that events can comply with
the law.
These normally involve driving from one
control point to another with a 'target' time
set by the organisers. This time is arrived at,
based on the distance involved and the strict
adherence to the speed limits and any other
factors that would restrict the progress of a
careful driver. The competitor must arrive at
the next control point in the specified time,
normally to the minute and will receive a time
penalty for arriving either early or late. Hence
driving faster than necessary will not improve
the chances of doing well in the competition.
POSSIBLE FORMATS. Readers should not
immediately assume that all forms of car based
DF hunts are therefore illegal. Reference to
Section 13 of the Act shows that events NOT
involving racing or a trial of speed can be
authorised. In practice this usually involves
writing to the local police to ask for authorisation
emphasising that racing or a trial of speed is
not involved. The usual response is a standard
letter advising all participants to take care to
observe the traffic laws, all the speed limits
and to drive carefully, but allowing the event
to take place.
Here are some suggestions about ways in
which a car based DF hunt could be organised
so that driving faster on the public roads does
not give an advantage to the competitor:
1. An obvious possibility is making the winner
the competitor who covers the minimum
distance in finding the hidden transmitter.
With time no longer being a factor, it is
unlikely that magistrates would find this to
be a trial of speed. There might, however,
be other road safety considerations to be
taken into account such as not stopping
on blind bends and not making sudden
unexpected turns.
2. Take a leaf out of the motor rally book
by organising a competition in which
participants gather at the start and take
bearings as the hidden station makes the
first transmission. Competitors are then
given the grid reference of a second
location and the time of the next

transmission. The time interval between
these transmissions is carefully chosen
to allow a safe drive at a modest average
speed plus time to get out of the car at the
second location with all the equipment
needed. Competitors have to be at the
second location for the duration of the
transmission and take a second bearing.
Now, repeat for two or three further
locations after which competitors have
to write down the grid reference of where
they think the hidden station is located.
The closest one wins. Bearing accuracy
now becomes the deciding factor.
3. With either of the above schemes an
element of direction finding against the
clock can be introduced by going to a
public open space after the main part of
the competition and locating a couple of
hidden transmitters on foot. The British
Top Band DF Association has introduced
this idea into some of their competitions.
4. It has been pointed out that the rules for
the (now defunct) Slade Radio Societys
Harcourt Trophy event were intended to
comply with the Road Traffic Act. There
was a three point scoring system. First,
competitors took bearings on the hidden
transmitter from two separate locations.
The timing of the two transmissions was
such that the drive from the first to the
second location could be accomplished
at a sedate pace. These bearings were
assessed on their accuracy for the largest
share of the points. Second, the overall
mileage covered by competitors in locating
the transmitter attracted points on the
basis of fewest miles giving most points.
Finally, there were a small number of
points for finding the transmitter within
a very, very generous time limit that was
to ensure that over zealous competitors
were not out all night trying to minimise
their mileage.
SUMMARY. It must be emphasised that
this article does not give legal opinion. It is
intended merely to draw attention to some
of the legal factors affecting this issue. The
decision regarding the rules to be adopted
for a car based direction finding competition
rests entirely with the members and officers
of the Affiliated Society concerned.
WEBSEARCH
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/12
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
DAVID BIRD CENG MIET G6EJD E-MAIL: D.L.BIRD@O2.CO.UK
TECHNICAL FEATURE
Morse code examined using

modern communication theory
Science and Art are not opposed" - Samuel Morse, c. 1838
communication theory had been developed.
Today, the most famous theorems are those
by Huffman and Shannon. In this article
we compare the code produced by Morse,
Henry and Vail to see how it stands up
against a 'new Morse' produced using
todays analysis techniques.
PHOTO 1: Samuel Finley Breese Morse,

1791-1872.
INTRODUCTION. We have all probably taken

Morse code for granted. Undoubtedly, many
of us thought that the code was just some
random or ad-hoc use of DITs and DAHs
that we simply learned to achieve the Class
A licence. Actually, its a highly sophisticated
and optimal code. Furthermore, when we
compare it against modern analytical and
highly optimised reconstructions of Morse
code, the outcome would be almost exactly
the same, which is testament to the quality
of the original invention and why it has stood
the test of time for 175 years and more.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse was a most
accomplished painter and a member of the
Royal Academy for art. Many of his paintings
are still located in the Washington, DC area of
America. But it was his love and contribution
to communications for which he is most
remembered Morse code. Morse devised his
code together with two others; Joseph Henry
and Alfred Vail. The physicist Henry provided
the science behind their invention and Vail
provided what today we would call the
statistics, but more about that later.
We shall see that Morse, in conjunction
with his co-inventors, developed a highly
efficient codification of the English alphabet
that compares well against what today we
would term an optimum code derivation
a truly remarkable outcome.
The trio of inventors had jointly devised
and constructed their code in around 1832,
long before modern structured and rigorous
EFFICIENT CODING. Modern communication

theory is generally agreed to be based on
the Huffman theorem or entropy encoding
algorithm, a term that refers to the use of
codes that vary in length as a function of
their probability of occurrence. It can be
summarised as highly probable characters
should have short codes'. For example, the
most common (frequent) characters, E and
T, are represented by the shortest code a
single DIT and DAH respectively; the least
probable characters have the longest codes,
such as DIT-DIT-DIT-DAH for V.
HUFFMAN. Lets begin our comparison
of Morse versus modern communication
theories by going through Huffmans theory,
which measures the disorder that exists
in a system, in this case English alphabet
characters. Perhaps a better term for this,
used by engineers, is entropy. In this context
this is a measure of the smallest codeword
length that is theoretically possible for a given
alphabet, with associated weighting factors
applied to each. If we calculate entropy for
Morse code, the weighted average codeword
length is 2.25 bits per symbol. The calculated

entropy for English is only fractionally less
at 2.205 bits per symbol. This means that
Morse code is not only optimal in the sense
that no other feasible code could perform
better, but its entropy is extremely close to
the theoretical limit established by Shannon.
This was a truly remarkable achievement
for an artist who devised the code on a sea
crossing between England and America,
almost certainly derived through good
intellect, the application of common sense
and possibly a small amount of chance.
So why is the match between Morse
and the Huffman theory so close? First lets
examine some English text. For this purpose
I chose a document on NASAs approach to
software quality management as my source.
From the article I determined the character
frequencies; the result is shown in Figure 1
and, in detail, in Table 1.
Beginning to see a pattern? Well, take
a look at the character counts for E and T.
See how they are larger than the rest? Lets
roughly apply the Huffman Theory, which
says we should assign the shortest codes
to these characters, which for Morse is DIT
for E and DAH for T. This is the basis of how
Morse is a near perfect match to modern
communications theory: his code is close
to perfection for optimum communications
throughput and efficiency, a statement that
requires little convincing agreement for most
amateur radio operators!
FIGURE 1: Frequency of occurrence of letters (see text).

79
HF Antennas for Everyone
from
12.74
Homebrew Cookbook
from
11.04
By Eamon Skelton, EI9GQ
Edited by Giles Read, G1MFG

The RSGB has always published the very
best antenna designs available to the
radio amateurs. From the most complex,
to the very basic, these antennas have
provided radio amateurs with much food
for thought and practical designs to build.
HF Antennas for Everyone draws on 90 of
these RadCom and Radio Communication
articles from the last forty years, providing a comprehensive
collection of HF antennas, with something for everyone.
HF Antennas for Everyone is a deliberate mix of designs which
have been divided into sections covering horizontal, vertical and
loop antennas. The book also shows that no matter the size of
the available space you have, there are antenna designs here
that will help you get your signals in and out. There is also a
Feeder section and even if your local regulations prohibit the
erection of antennas HF Antennas for Everyone provides a
section on Stealth antennas that are essentially invisible.
It is often said that there is nothing new in aerials, but HF
Antennas for Everyone shows the considerable developments
and innovations from the last 20 years. Whichever bands you
want to work on and however small your garden, HF Antennas
for Everyone will provide an antenna that will get you heard.
For those interested in home construction,

Eamon Skelton, EI9GQ is the acknowledged expert and a RadCom columnist on
the subject. Eamon brings his enthusiasm,
common sense and easy to understand
approach to the topic in Homebrew
Cookbook. This book starts with the very
rd
basics of hombrew and progresses to
advanced topics. There are construction
methods that take you through all the
main techniques. There is a PCB section
packed with simple ideas that will allow
you to make PCBs cheaply and easily
without any specialist equipment. Construction projects include
a simple direct conversion receiver, superhet receiver, an
SSB transmitter, PA and a VHF transverter. All the designs
are modular, making it easy to extract sections and adapt the
designs to suit your needs. Where test equipment is required
there are simple circuits on hand to allow you to build your own.
There are homebrew antennas made with junk-box components
and throughout the projects use simple construction techniques
with cheap, readily obtainable, components and Eamon even
tells you how to make the most of eBay to nd what you need.
The Homebrew Cookbook is an edited, updated book of Eamons

writings from the pages of RadCom and a fantastic reference
with simple, well-proven solutions to most construction problems.
Homebrew Cookbook will have you itching to dust off the soldering
iron and start construction.
Elimination of Electrical Noise
from
5.94
from 30kHz to 30MHz

By Don Pinnock, G3HVA
Many radio amateurs experience electrical
noise problems and feel forced off the amateur
radio bands. Don Pinnock, G3HVA is a rm
believer that radio amateurs should deal with
the problems rather than be forced off the air.
Elimination of Electrical Noise therefore tells of
Dons personal experiences and provides solutions to noise problems that will help many. Elimination of Electrical Noise details the various types of noise, how it is generated and
how best to deal with it. Don describes how to track down a noise
source, how to deal with it at its source, and how to put up defences
in your own station to reduce noise entering via the mains wiring.
If you suffer from electrical noise problems, Dons experiences and
advice may well provide the solution you are looking for. Elimination
of Electrical Noise provides the help you may need to tackle that
noise problem and get the most from your hobby.
RSGB Prex Guide
from
7.64
9th Edition
Edited by Fred Handscombe,
G4BWP
If you are interested in DX,

awards or simply operate the
HF bands, the RSGB Prex
Guide is the book for you. From
the basic what was that Call?
question through to research for an elusive award, this book provides what is needed. This edition is fully updated with a signicant number of changes to the prex listings, so that it provides
the latest and most comprehensive list of the worlds amateur
radio prexes. The listings also provide a huge range of additional
information covering references for continent, CQ Zone, DXCC,
IOTA, ITU Zone, Latitude & Longitude and a whole lot more.
This popular lay at wire binding makes the RSGB Prex

Guide easy to use and durable. If you are new to amateur radio
or an experienced hand alike, this book is an excellent tool and
a must for every radio amateur.
Order on the internet at www.rsgbshop.org cheques and postal orders crossed and made payable to Radio Society of Great Britain or telephone your
credit card order to 01234 832 700. HQ open 8.30-4.30 (Mon-Fri). Send no cash. Post & Packing 1.95 for 1 item, 3.50 for 2 or more items. Overseas
air 9 for 1 item, 15 for 2 items & 3 for each extra item. Surface 3.00 for 1 item, 5 for 2 items & 1.00 for each extra item.
The Best of 2010

from
RSGB Yearbook 2011
16.14
Edited by Steve White, G3ZVW
With more calls and information than ever before!

There are now in excess of 72,500 amateur radio licences on issue in the UK, a number which
has grown by over 15,000 in less than ten years. If you want to have the very latest listing of UK
licences then the best source is as always the RSGB Yearbook 2011. With nearly 200 additional
pages of the very latest amateur radio information from the UK and worldwide, the RSGB
Yearbook 2011 is an indispensable guide for everyone. If you want details of the UKs D-Star
repeaters, the dates of the 2011 RSGB contests, contact details of your local Regional manager
and EMC help, only one book contains it all the RSGB Yearbook 2011. There are details of how
the Society is organised, the services it offers, committees, who to contact for assistance, etc.
You will nd all manner of local information from clubs, trainers and examination centres to details
of the RSGB Regional Manager Team. There are a wide range of special features including
coverage of the Derby Wireless Club centenary. The RSGB Yearbook 2011 also contains
details on operating abroad, satellites, propagation and much more. Beyond the latest licensing
information there are complete lists of UK Special Contest callsigns, Irish callsigns, plus listings of
UK licensees in surname and Postcode order.
FREE CD
Some buy this book for the CD alone, not only do you get all of the information pages of the
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If you want the ideal guide to amateur radio in the UK and the very latest licensing
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Understanding Basic Electronics ................................

RadCom 2009 CD .......................................................
Virtual Radar Explained ..............................................
Microwave Know How .................................................
Morse Code for Radio Amateurs .................................
The ARRL RFI Book ...................................................
Radio Amateurs World Atlas .......................................
Antenna Designers Notebook ............................................
22.94
16.99
5.94
11.04
6.79
20.39
8.49
23.79
Prices shown are RSGB Members prices
www.rsgbshop.org
E&OE

Last orders for Pre-Christmas
delivery 10am 20th December
TECHNICAL FEATURE
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
FIGURE 2: Binary tree for Morse code.
PHOTO 2: Statue of Morse near Inventors Gate,

Central Park, New York. (Photo: Jim Henderson).
FIGURE 3: Binary tree for Huffman encoding. Shaded boxes show where this is the same as Morse.
CODE TREE. We can deconstruct the

whole Morse character code into the form
of a Morse (or more correctly a binary) tree,
as shown in Figure 2. To use the Morse tree,
move left for a DIT and right for a DAH, so for
example C is DAH DIT-DAH-DIT or RIGHT to
the T, then LEFT to the N, then RIGHT to the
K and finally LEFT to the C. The end of the
character is denoted by the slightly longer
inter-character delay. Trees like these are
useful for software decoding of Morse. The
reception of DITs and DAHs is relatively easy,
as is the measurement of time gaps between
characters. It is therefore (relatively) easy
to move down the tree as each character
is received until the longer inter-character
gap is received. At this point we display the
character we've reached easy!
In Huffman terms we have constructed
the code-tree from a knowledge of the code
(Morse). In using Huffmans coding
technique we would normally start by
analysing a piece of text the larger the
better to determine the frequency of
occurrence of each character. Once derived,
we would move further down the tree as the
frequency of character occurrence decreased.
Just like Morse did!
Now, to compare code lengths to the
characters counted in a random article.

Returning to NASA's quality assurance
document text as analysed in Figure 1 and
Table 1, you will see E and T occur most
frequently as expected. Now lets compare
this with what Morse devise. Indeed, E and
T are at the top of the Morse tree, making
them the shortest code sequences. They
are therefore in accord with the Huffman
Theorem. At the bottom of the tree are
characters such as H, V, F through to Q,
which occur less frequently. Morse codified
these with the longest code sequences,
again exactly in line with Huffman.
Now, let's construct a binary tree using
the Huffman technique to see how close
our modern day code is to Morse code.
Characters with the lowest probability of
occurrence are at the bottom of the tree and
those with the highest at the top.
Begin by listing out all those characters
with an (arbitrary) frequency of occurrence
of less than 2%, next move up the tree a
level and repeat the exercise for less than
10% (arbitrary) and so on until all characters
have been analysed. Figure 3 is the outcome.
In our newly constructed binary tree derived
from character occurrence / frequencies, we
can see the shape and position and correlation
denoted by the shaded boxes is very similar

to Morse's tree (Figure 2). The Huffman
generated code gives a 70% correlation
with the original Morse code. Assuming
Morse used a similar, albeit empirical,
approach to his code generation and also
given that language constructs (word usage)
back then was almost certainly slightly
different than what we use today, it is
reasonable that we have ended up with
a code quite similar to Morse's, with the
benefit of modern communication theory.
CONCLUSION. The comparison between
the distribution of character occurrences in
the chosen article and the code sequences
chosen by Morse is enough to demonstrate
that Morse applied reasoned thought to his
code. They were not random assignments
by any means. He devised a code that went
on to become one of the most versatile and
widely used codes in world history.
Samuel Morse is highly revered in the
USA and if you ever visit 'Inventor's Gate'
at Central Park in New York City, there is a
statue of the American inventor and artist
holding a key in one hand and ticker-tape
in the other, the latter being the original code
medium (Photo 2).
TABLE 1: Frequency of letters in a sample text.
82
694
8.32%
70
0.84%
342
4.1%
325
3.9%
906
10.86%
139
1.67%
141
1.69%
215
2.58%
633
7.59%
0
0.0%
36
0.43%
280
3.36%
713
8.55%
629
7.54%
580
6.95%
277
3.32%
38
0.46%
518
6.21%
579
6.94%
837
10.03%
105
1.26%
88
1.06%
63
0.76%
11
0.13%
107
1.28%
15
0.18%
ADVERTISEMENTS. Although RSGB staff

and the staff of Danby Advertising (its
Advertising Agent) take reasonable
precautions to protect the interests of readers
by ensuring as far as practicable that
advertisements in the pages of RadCom are
bona fide, the magazine and its publisher, the
RSGB, cannot accept any undertaking in
respect of claims made by advertisers,
whether these advertisements are printed as
part of the magazine, or are in the form of
inserts. Under no circumstances will the
magazine accept liability for non-receipt of
goods ordered, late delivery, or faults in
manufacture. Legal remedies are available in
respect of some of these circumstances, and
readers who have complaints should address
them to the advertiser or should consult a local
Trading Standards Office, or a Citizens
Advice Bureau, or their own solicitors. The
publishers make no representation,
express or implied, that equipment
advertised conforms with any
legal requirements of the
Electro Magnetic Compatibility
Regulations 1992. Readers
should note that prices
advertised may not be accurate
due to currency exchange rate
fluctuations, or tax changes.
ERRORS AND OMISSIONS. Whilst the

Radio Society of Great Britain (the publisher)
takes all reasonable care in the production of
RadCom, we can accept no responsibility for
errors, inaccuracies or omissions contained
within the magazine or any subsequent loss
arising from any use thereof. Reliance placed
on the contents of RadCom is at the readers
own risk. We urge any reader to take all
precautions appropriate to avoid any loss or
damage to equipment and ensure the personal
safety of themselves and others when using
material contained in RadCom. It should be
also noted that patent or copyright protection
may exist in relation to any items within this
magazine. The RSGB does not accept any
responsibility for failing to identify any such
patents, copyright or any other protection.
Readers are also reminded that the use of
radio transmission and reception equipment
(including scanning) is subject to licensing
and the erection of external aerials may be
subject to local authority planning regulations.
NOTICES TO READERS. Radio Society

of Great Britain, 2010. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the Radio Society of
Great Britain.
RadCom
6.....577767
...55367645.
......787554
.......34333
968....99989
....5665....
............
......37544.
.....58632..
...87.......
............
............
....7555....
7......36666
3........233
775.....6677
87.....28888
8786....8878
22.5........
23.6.......2
.2.3........
44.3......23
.2.2........
67.6......36
77.72.....77
57.6.....774
66.5...35555
33.2........
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
2........112
............
12.......111
3........222
666.....6666
............
............
............
............
............
3331........
3342.......3
5653.....365
333.........
............
............
............
7372..388688
883....77788
.......25542
.......3222.
.......2212.
............
893....58888
7.0MHz
000011111220
246802468020
3.5MHz
000011111220
246802468020
....6.......
............
.4.......64.
....4...53..
3...33..7...
............
............
............
24.8......22
35.8.....343
.3.5........
35.83....563
4......76534
76.....28878
775.....7777
6......46666
88.7...68888
....6775....
............
......773...
....4886....
...89.......
.....4......
............
....8884....
...77..55...
............
......65....
.......53...
...2..485...
...766783...
10.1MHz
000011111220
246802468020
............
............
.....6346...
....66667...
............
............
............
............
...6........
...6........
............
....7...4...
.......7....
.......776..
...4...587..
.......66...
....666747..
....576.....
............
......76....
....788.....
...79.......
............
............
....686.....
...45.......
............
......6.....
......55....
...65678....
...78887....
14.0MHz
000011111220
246802468020
............
............
......454...
......66....
............
............
............
.......5....
............
............
............
.....6567...
.......5....
............
...755676...
......46....
....8888....
.....54.....
............
............
....35......
....96......
............
............
.....74.....
............
............
.....67.....
......5.....
...68886....
...8999.....
18.1MHz
000011111220
246802468020
............
............
......56....
......66....
............
............
............
.......4....
............
............
............
.....777....
............
............
...77677....
...4.466....
....6666....
............
............
............
............
....9.......
............
............
.....5......
............
............
.....55.....
......5.....
....887.....
...6998.....
21.0MHz
000011111220
246802468020
............
............
......64....
......5.....
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
.....777....
............
............
....7777....
.....47.....
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
.....4......
............
....88......
....88......
24.9MHz
000011111220
246802468020
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
.....56.....
............
............
....776.....
......4.....
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
............
....77......
28.0MHz
000011111220
246802468020
KEY: Each number in the table represents the expected circuit reliability, eg 1 represents reliability between 1 and 19% of days, 2 between 20 and 30% of days, etc. No signal is
expected when a . is shown. Black is shown when the signal strength is expected to be low to very low, blue when it is expected to be fair and red when it is expected to be strong.
The RSGB Propagation Studies Committee provides propagation predictions on the internet at www.rsgb.org.uk/propagation/index.php. An input power of 100W and a dipole aerial has
been used in the preparation of these predictions; therefore a better equipped station should expect better results. The predicted smoothed sunspot numbers for January, February and
March are respectively (SIDC classical method Waldmeiers standard) 30, 32 & 35 and (combined method) 55, 59 & 62. The provisional mean sunspot number for November was
21.6. The daily maximum / minimum numbers were 43 on 13 November and 8 on 24 to 27 November.
Time
(UTC)
*** Europe
Moscow
*** Asia
Yakutsk
Tokyo
Singapore
Hyderabad
Tel Aviv
*** Oceania
Wellington
Well (ZL) (LP)
Perth
Sydney
Melbourne (LP)
Honolulu
Honolulu (LP)
W. Samoa
*** Africa
Mauritius
Johanesburg
Ibadan
Nairobi
Canary Isles
*** S. America
Buenos Aires
Rio de Janeiro
Lima
Caracas
*** N. America
Guatemala
New Orleans
Washington
Quebec
Anchorage
Vancouver
San Francisco
San Fran (LP)
Compiled by Gwyn Williams, G4FKH
HF F-Layer Propagation Predictions for January 2011
RADCOM JANUARY 2011

PROPAGATION
83
CLUB CALENDAR
1 SCOTLAND SOUTH
& WESTERN ISLES
REGIONAL REP: LEN PAGET,
GM0ONX, RM1@RSGB.ORG.UK
COCKENZIE & PORT SETON ARC

Bob, GM4UYZ, 01875 811 723
14 Normal club night
LIVINGSTON & DARS
Norman, 07740 946192,
uk.groups.yahoo/group/ms0liv
11 Club evening
18 Operating evening
25 Club evening
LOTHIANS RS
Andy Sinclair,
lrs_secretary@moosedata.com
12 Video evening with
Peter Dick, GM4DTH
26 R1155/T1154 restoration
and demonstration
by Ian Ropper, GM0UHC
THORNTON CLEVELEYS ARS

Colin Hirst, G0EPY,
colmay@sky.com
3 Closed
10 On the air and natter night
17 Heath & Safety by John, G8RDP
24 Top band whip by Ian, G3ZRZ
31 Quiz with Ted, G3WBB
WEST OF SCOTLAND
(GLASGOW) ARS
Fred Coombes, 2M0BIN,
01415715512,
www.wosars.org.uk
5, 7 Club closed
12, 19, 26 Construction projects
& licence training
14, 21, 28 Presentations, guest
speakers, raffle & quiz
WORKINGTON & DAR&IT GROUP

Barry Easdon G0RZI,
01946 812092
4, 31 Meeting and OTA
17 Baluns, traps and dipoles
by Jim, G3ZPD
REGIONAL REP: DENNY MORRISON,

GM1BAN, RM2@RSGB.ORG.UK
No entries received this month.

Please send any information
to GB2RS@RSGB.org.uk
3 NORTH WEST
REGIONAL REP: KATH WILSON,
M1CNY, RM3@RSGB.ORG.UK
BOLTON WIRELESS CLUB

boltonwireless@gmail.com
10 Annual General Meeting
review of 2010, election
of the new Committee and
plans for the coming year
24 Activity night: tests and
measurements including
RF power, feeder losses
and spectrum analysis,
with Bob, G8DTF et al
CHESTER & DARS
Barbara Green, 07957 870770,
www.chesterdars.org.uk
4 Construction contest entrants
describe their projects
18 Bring and tell at Burley Hall
25 Radio operations at
Waverton Institute
PRESTON ARS
Richard, M0RDZ, 07855873566,
secretary@prestonars.co.uk
27 Talk on HF contesting
84
Getting listed here and on GB2RS is easy. E-mail details of your meetings as early as possible to GB2RS@RSGB.org.uk and we'll do the rest.
We need to know your club name, RSGB Region number, contact name & phone number, date of meeting and detail of meeting. Example:
South Bristol ARS, Region 11, Len, G4RZY, 01275 834 282, 29 October, On the Air. It's that simple. The deadline for the February RadCom
is 4 January and for the March edition it's 28 January. For GB2RS, the deadline is 10am on the Tuesday for the week of broadcast.
SOUTH MANCHESTER R&CC

Ron, G3SVW, 0161 969 3999
6 Homebrew contest
13 Fundamentals of radio
by Ron, G3SVW
20 Antenna analysers revisited
by Dave, G4UGM
31 Monthly technical forum
(bring along your projects
and problems)
2 SCOTLAND NORTH
& NORTHERN ISLES
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
4 NORTH EAST
REGIONAL REP: HAROLD SCRIVENS,
G0UGE, RM4@RSGB.ORG.UK
ANGEL OF THE NORTH ARC

Nancy Bone, G7UUR,
0191 477 0036,
nancybone2001@yahoo.co.uk
3 Closed
10 Operating procedure and
best practice by Nancy Bone
17 Fog on the Tyne Rally
24, 31 On the air and natter night
EAST CLEVELAND ARC
Alistair, G4OLK, 01642 475 671,
alistair.mackay@talk21.com
7 Show us what you got
for Christmas
14, 28 On the air
21 Bring in something
interesting evening
HORNSEA ARC
Gordon MacNaught, G3WOV,
01377 240573,
gmacnaughtwov@yahoo.co.uk
5 New committee meeting
12 Activity night CW/shack
19 Talk by G3TLI
26 Computer Maintenance
by Conor, 2E0CPT
MALTBY & DARS
Keith, G1PQW, 07701 156 678,
www.maltbyradio.org.uk
5 An introduction to contesting
by Peter Day, G3PHO
12 On the air
19 Computer clinic
26 Radio astronomy
by Bob Cochrane, G8DRQ
27 Annual dinner
RIPON & DARS

Rob Hall, M0RBY, 0787 608 5631
or 01677 460449,
www.ripon.org.uk
6 Christmas QSOs what we
worked over the festive period
13, 20, 27 On the air
5 WEST MIDLANDS
REGIONAL REP:
VAUGHAN RAVENSCROFT, M0VRR,
RM5@RSGB.ORG.UK
BROMSGROVE & DARC

Chris, M0BQE, 01905 776 869,
M0BQE@hotmail.com
7 Plans for the New Year
14 New Year construction project
21 Committee
28 HF night
CHELTENHAM ARA
Derek Thom, G3NKS,
01242 241099,
chairman@caranet.co.uk
20 Video evening
COVENTRY ARS
John, G8SEQ, 07958 777363
1 1st Round 2m DF Trophy
10am start
7 Bring your Christmas presents
14 Annual dinner at the
Beechwood Hotel, CV6 2FR,
booking essential
21 Video night
28 Quiz night
GLOUCESTER AR&ES
Anne, 2E1GKY, 01452 548478,
daytime, www.g4aym.org.uk
10 Down under & up a gum tree
talk by Ian Hollingsbee, G3TDT
on his recent exploits as VK3BIH
and about working 100 VKs in
order to celebrate 100 years
since the founding of the
Wireless Institute of Australia
17 VHF operating
24 Workshop / construction
31 Informal evening
MIDLAND ARS
Norman, G8BHE, QTHR,
01214 229 787
5 New Year's resolutions,
Christmas toys, training
and Morse classes
12 Committee meeting and
training classes
19 Open meeting, shack on
the air and training classes
26 Laptop computer training,
foundation and intermediate
classes
SOUTH BIRMINGHAM RS
Don, 0121 458 1603,
www.radioclubs.net/
southbirmingham
3 Shack on the air and ragchew
Christmas leftovers and

New Year's resolutions
6, 13, 20, 27 Training classes
with Dave Murphy, G8OWL
7, 14, 21, 28 Friday construction
evenings
10 Aerials for field day contests
17 Committee meeting
and shack on the air
24 Plans for the Wythall
radio rally in March
31 Rigs on the air, time to change?
STRATFORD UPON AVON DRS
G0CHO, 01608 664488,
cousbey@theiet.org
10 A guide to contesting by G3MXH
24 Soldering school on RF
connectors and surface
mount components
by G1EIX, G8HJS, G0CHO
TELFORD & DARS
Mike, G3JKX, 01952 299 677,
mjstreetg3jkx@blueyonder.co.uk
1 New Year Net 144.6MHz
and GB3TF, 0900hrs
5 Committee meeting,
HF/VHF OTA
12 Progress and updates
on Society projects
19 Planning for portable events
26 eQSLs and all that,
by G0CER
6 NORTH WALES
REGIONAL REP:
MARK HARPER, MW1MDH,
RM6@RSGB.ORG.UK
No entries received this month.

Please send any information
to GB2RS@RSGB.org.uk
7 SOUTH WALES
REGIONAL REP: JIMMY SNEDDON,
MW0EQL, RM7@RSGB.ORG.UK
ABERYSTWYTH & DARS

Ray GW7AGG,
01970 611853,
ray@clocktower.go-plus.net
9 Junk or pre-owned sale
contact Ray, GW7AGG
for space
13 Closed
27 On the air with David,
2W0EDW on 145.500
then 145.550MHz
8 NORTHERN IRELAND
REGIONAL REP: PETER LOWRIE,
MI5JYK, RM8@RSGB.ORG.UK
BANGOR & DARC

Mike, GI4XSF,
028 4277 2383
6 Annual quiz with lots
of prizes up for grabs
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
9 LONDON
& THAMES VALLEY
REGIONAL REP: ALISON JOHNSTON,
G8ROG, RM9@RSGB.ORG.UK
BROMLEY & DARS

Andy, G4WGZ, 01689 878089
18 AGM
3 Contest planning
17 Propagation by Dave, G8XCK
COULSDON ATS
Andy, G8JAC,
g8jac@btinternet.com
10 New Year dinner
CRAY VALLEY RS
Bob, M0MCV,
020 8265 7735 after 8pm
6 Closed
20 Club activity planning
meeting
DORKING & DRS
Garth, G3NPC, 01737 359472,
www.ddrs.org.uk
25 AGM
SUTTON & CHEAM RS

John, G0BWV, 020 8644 9945,
info@scrs.org.uk
20 The GB3VHF story
by Chris Whitmarsh, G0FDZ
WEY VALLEY ARG
www.weyvalleyarg.org.uk
7, 21 Club night
WIMBLEDON & DARS
Andrew Maish, G4ADM,
020 8335 3434
14 On the air, Morse and
Foundation training
28 Microwave beacons
by Denis, G0OLX
10 SOUTH & SOUTH EAST

REGIONAL REP: GAVIN KEEGAN,
G6DGK, RM10@RSGB.ORG.UK
ANDOVER RAC
Martin, M0MWS,
07776181646,
www.arac.co.uk
4 Club night
18 Club night, committee meeting
ECHELFORD ARS
John, G4GSC, 01784 451898
13 Bring & Buy, CW practice,
natter night
27 Ham radio Olympics
by Roger Western, G3SXW
BASINGSTOKE ARC
Clive, G4ODM,
01256 326050
3 Natter night
17 January junk sale
EDGWARE & DRS

Mike, G4RNW,
020 8950 0658,
michael.stewart5@ntlworld.com
14 AGM
28 Pay your subs
BREDE STEAM ARS

Steve, 01424 720815,
M0NUC@aol.com
4 AFS and SSB Contest
preparation
11, 18, 25 At the shack
NEWBURY & DARS

Rob, G3LMW, 01635 862737,
g4lmw@btconnect.com
26 Surplus equipment sale
FARNBOROUGH & DRS

Derek, G3OFA,
mail@farnboroughradio.org.uk
12 Wait & see be surprised
by G3KND
26 The BBC's first outside
broadcast satellite link
by Tony Crake, G0OVA
RADIO SOCIETY OF HARROW

Linda, G7RJL, 0208 386 8586,
www.g3efx.org.uk
14 Talk on PSK31
READING & DARC
Pete, G8FRC, 01189 695 697
13 Powerful transmitters in the
BBC by Tony Crake, G0OVA
27 The world of broadcast DXing
by Robert Hanstock, G0LZB
SHEFFORD & DARS
David, G8UOD,
01234 742 757,
www.sadars.co.uk
13 Welcome back
20 Rig checkout &
data mode contests
27 Club construction contest
SURREY RADIO CONTACT CLUB
John, G3MCX, 020 8688 3322,
john.g3mcx@btinternet.com
10 The GB3VHF story
by Chris Whitmarsh, G0FDZ
HARWELL ARS
Malcolm, G8NRP,
01235 524844,
info@g3pia.org.uk
11 Rally preparation
and quiz night
22 Annual dinner
25 Shack activity night
HORSHAM ARC
www.harc.org.uk
6 Bring, show & tell
20 Social
MID-SUSSEX ARS
Peter, G4AKG, 01444 239371
7 Closed
14 Discussion meeting for the year
21 Radio night
28 50 Years of the Bluebell
Railway by Chris, G4ZCS
SWINDON & DARC
Den, M0ACM, 07810 317750,
www.sdarc.ne
6, 20 Natter night
13 The Channel Tunnel
by Deryck, G3YKC
27 Summits on the Air
by Richard, G4ERP
WATERLOOVILLE ARC
Rich, G4IBW, 02392680852,
g4ibw1@ntlworld.com
28 Natter night
11 SOUTH WEST &

CHANNEL ISLANDS
REGIONAL REP: PAM HELLIWELL,
G7SME, RM11@RSGB.ORG.UK
APPLEDORE & DARC

Brian Jewell, M0BRB,
01237 473251
17 Natter night with QSL cards
BLACKMOOR VALE ARS
Tony G0GFL, 01258 860741,
www.radioclubs.net/bvars
4 VHF evening in the club shack
11 Receiver measurements
by Jim, G3RTD
18 HF evening in the club shack
25 Transmitter measurements
by Jim, G3RTD
BRISTOL RSGB GROUP
Robin, G3TKF, 01225 420442
EXETER ARS
Nick, 01363 775756,
info@exeterars.co.uk
10, 24 Club night
HASTINGS E&RC
Gordon, 01424 431 909,
www.herc.uk.net
23 Annual luncheon, Kings Arms
30 Repeater group auction
SOUTH BRISTOL ARC

Len, G4RZY, 01275 834 282
6 Display of club archives
with Muriel, G4YZR
13 Technical topics forum
20 Training session on
shack equipment
27 On the air
HORNDEAN & DARC

Stuart, G0FYX,
023 9247 2846,
www.hdarc.co.uk
4 Natter night/social evening
25 Quiz evening (other clubs
invited, teams of 4)
TAUNTON & DARC

William, G3WNI, 01823 666 234,
g3wni@btinternet.com
5 Michael Johnson on
Cubesats and PocketQubs:
big science in small packages
19 Christmas / New Year dinner
CLUB CALENDAR
YOUR
RSGB
SUPPORTING YOUR CLUB
THORNBURY & SOUTH

GLOUCESTERSHIRE ARC
Tony, G0WMB, 01454 417048,
tonytsgarc@btinternet.com
5 Surplus equipment sale
12, 26 On the air
19 Video night
TORBAY ARS
Dave, G6FSP, g6fsp@tars.org.uk
7, 14, 21 Natter night
28 Construction competition
YEOVIL ARC
Steve Crask, G7AHP,
steve@g7ahp.co.uk
6 Photo quiz with M0WOB
13 Radio astronomy G0VFK
20 The RA17 by G7LNJ
12 EAST & EAST ANGLIA

REGIONAL REP: NEIL WHITESIDE,
G4HUN, RM12@RSGB.ORG.UK
BITTERN DX GROUP
Linda, G0AJJ, 01692 404154,
secretary@bittern-dxers.org.uk
13, 27 Informal club meeting at
Pinewood Park Leisure Club
CAMBRIDGE & DARC
Ron Huntsman, 012233 501712
7 Baluns revisited talk
by Ian, G4AKD
14 AGM
21 Morse for all abilities
28 OTA
CHELMSFORD ARS
Martyn, G1EFL, 01245 469 008,
www.g0mwt.org.uk
4 IOTA by Martin Atherton, G3ZAY
8 CARS 80m contest
11, 12, 18, 25 Club net nights
12 Committee meeting at
Danbury Village Hall
13 Start of Foundation course
in Danbury Village Hall
15 CARS 80m contest
HARWICH ARIG
Kevan, 2E0WMG, 07766 543784,
kevan2e0wmg@live.co.uk
12 Members' show and tell night
HAVERING & DARC
John, M0UKD, 07817365354,
john@m0ukd.com
5 AGM
12 Summits on the Air by Dave,
M0TAZ and John, M0UKD
19 Informal club evening
26 3D photography by Steve, M6AEI
Continued on page 86
85
MEMBERS ADS
FREE MEMBERS' ADS

Charges are waived for Members' Ads submitted
by e-mail to memads@rsgb.org.uk. One ad per
member per month; other important terms &
conditions apply (see grey box on page 89).
FOR SALE
AMATEUR RADIO FROM SW FRANCE.

Well equipped self-catering apartment sleeps
up to 5, Charente Maritime, large garden,
1km beach, 40km La Rochelle. Use of shack:
FT-990, VHF and aerials. Excellent sea path
to west. Available all year. Tim, F5VID &
Monica Cherry, 00 33 5 46854480 or
robert.cherry@wanadoo.fr (France).
COBWEBB 14-28MHz antenna, long length of

RG213 coax, installed only 2 years in pristine
condition. Comes with complete instructions
150. Winch with pulley and brackets also 20
foot alloy pole 75. Buyer to collect. Dave,
M3KAX, 01977 612457 (Pontefract).
D-STAR EQUIPMENT: IC-2820 + UT-123 GPS
digital adapter, 475 ovno. IC-E92D Handheld
295 ovno. Keith, G0VTV, 01795 431847,
eves/weekends (Kent).
G0PQN GOING QRT due to ill health.
IC71B xcvr, 350. Palstar PS30 PSU, 50.
MFJ969 ATU, 100. All in GWO. Don, G8JMP,
(acting for G0PQN's family), 01276 474042
(Lightwater, Surrey).
G4MH MINIBEAM two element, good condition,
covering 20, 15 & 10m. A generous donation to
the GB3FH repeater fund is required, best offer
secures. Prefer buyer collects, but could deliver
locally. Brian, G4UTM, 01823 412238,
b.dennis@tiscali.co.uk (Taunton).
COLLECTABLE, large marine, oil immersed,

magnetic compass in large wood case
268 L x 268 W x 170mm H, 10kg, 50.
Prefer buyer collects or p&p extra. Andy,
G3PKW, 0151 489 9620 or 07751 640925,
AndyAngement@hotmail.com (Liverpool).
CLUB CALENDAR
RACAL RECEIVERS. RA 1772, 150. RA

1217, 75. Buyer collects. Dave, M0LDQ,
01736 810338 (Penzance).
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TMS320C2X signal

processor starter kit. Unused, with board and
manuals in original packing. Phil, M0GQV,
01642 818475 (Middlesbrough).
YAESU FT-757GX, matching FP-757GX PSU
and original mic, boxed and very good condition.
100W HF, includes WARC. Hardly used and
unmarked. Prefer inspect and collect. Non
smoker. 275. Terry, G3RKF, 01625 535358,
roeves@talktalk.net (Wilmslow).
ZENITH TRANSOCEANIC vintage radio 7000y.
Good condition with charts and mains lead, also
runs on batteries, 100. Buyer to collect. John
Davies, G3YJD, 01908379250 (Bletchley, Bucks).
WANTED
ANY INFORMATION on Collins 180-T2 remote

auto ATU please? Trevor Beamond, G3VLF,
01773 853497, trevor.beamond@btinternet.com
DISABLED FAN OF OLD DAYS seeks pre-1975
QSLs, magazines, etc. Mike, 8 Windsor Road,
Reydon, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6PQ.
I AM TRYING TO TRACE a copy of an old

QEX (ARRL) item, entitled "A comprehensive
Antenna Analyser" by A Tilley, WM6T, published
in August 1994 QEX. Copying / postage costs
reimbursed. Thank you, Bob White, G8SPC,
QTHR.
KW77 CIRCUIT AND MANUAL, Drake
MN4, MS4, AM filter for R4C, other Drake
R4C-T4XC spares. Brian Tibbert, GW3RKZ,
01248 722041 after 6pm (Anglesey).
SK SALE: HRO, working. No visible

modifications. Full set of coils and 7 spares,
original handbook and WD PSU. Offers?
Also, R1155, AR88D (2). Prefer buyer
collects. Details from Tony, GM4HTU,
01224 592104 (Aberdeen).
RACAL MA150 decade frequency generator

and PU150 power supply & frequency
standard. Racal MA350 decade frequency
generator. Rob, G0HJR, 01283 563122,
racalrob17@yahoo.co.uk (Burton On Trent).
TELEQUIPMENT D83 oscilloscope for

spares. Good tube, X amplifier dud. Some
circuit diagrams and instructions. Free! Mike,
G3TOI, 01202 419384 (Bournemouth).
SONY SW100 receiver for spares, any

condition provided LCD is intact. Peter, G8EZE,
01531 636068, swallowp@aol.com
(Ledbury).
LEISTON ARC
Dave, G4HUP, 0777 764 8448,
g4hup@btinternet.com
11 Quiz night
LOUGHTON &
EPPING FOREST ARS
Marc Litchman, G0TOC,
020 8502 1645
14 Video night
15 Foundation licence
course & exam
23 New Years' lunch,
Metropolitan Police
Sports Club, Chigwell
28 OTA, HF
LOWESTOFT &
DISTRICT PYE ARC
Lee, 2E1LJL, 01502 564242,
leejlewis@hotmail.co.uk
13 Annual dinner
86
JRC NRD 525 RECEIVER with manual,

range 90kHz-34MHz, RTTY, CW, SSB, AM,
FM. Memories: 200 channels. Scan sweep
reception. Power: 12-16 DC or mains input.
Exc condition. Cost 1095 in 1990, 179.
John Bennett, M0IIE, 01652 632038
(South Humber).
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
SOUTH ESSEX ARS

Norman, M0FZW, 01268 692776,
secretary@southessex-ars.co.uk
12 Rally preparation
with Dave, G4UVJ
WEST KENT ARS
Les, G6UBM,
westkentars@googlemail.com
10 Experience in the Royal
Signals TA by Malcolm,
G8MCA
13 EAST MIDLANDS
REGIONAL REP: JIM STEVENSON,
G0EJQ, RM13@RSGB.ORG.UK
FRISKNEY AND EAST

LINCOLNSHIRE COMMS CLUB
Chris, M0MFP, 01507 442240
4 Club quiz by Ron, G7ZRT
HINCKLEY ARS
John, M0JAV, 07836 731544,
m0jav@lowgables.co.uk
5 Social / open forum
on summer events
12 80m Club Calls SSB
15 AFS contest
19 Workshop: digital control
of FT-847
26 Using MiniVNA Pro analyser
by John Rogers, M0JAV
LINCOLN SHORT-WAVE CLUB
Pam Rose, G4STO, 01427 788356,
pamelagrose@tiscali.co.uk
1, 8, 15, 22, 29 G5FZ on the air
and work around the shack
5, 9 G5FZ on the air
26 Jim, G0EJQ is showing a DVD
on Antennas for New Amateurs
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
LOUGHBOROUGH & DARC

Chris, G1ETZ,
01509 504 319
4 Welcome back
11 Computer night
register your callsign
18 Video evening members' choice
25 Practical evening
MELTON MOWBRAY ARS
Geoff, G3STG,
01664 480 733,
G3STG@btinternet.com
21 Worked all Britain
by Dave Brooks, G4IAR
WELLAND VALLEY ARS
Peter D Rivers, G4XEX,
01858 432105,
g4xex@fsmail.net
11 Operating night & junk sale
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Complete inventory for servicing amateur
and commercial communications equipment
RF POWER TRANSISTORS TUBES POWER MODULES

MOTOROLA TOSHIBA M/A-COM MITSUBISHI
3-500ZG 811a 572B 4-400a 6146B
3CX400A7 3CX800A7 3CX1200A7/D7/Z7
3CX1500A7 3CX3000A7 4CX250B
001-760-744-0700
www.rfparts.com
Email: info@rfparts.com
435 South Pacific Street
San Marcos, California 92078 U.S.A.
RALLIES & EVENTS
RALLIES & EVENTS
Members of the RSGB Regional Team will be

present with a bookstall at the rallies this month
marked with an RSGB diamond.
16 JANUARY DOVER AMATEUR

RADIO CLUB RALLY Whitfield Village
Hall, Dover CT16 3LY. One of the first events
in the 2011 season. TS, TI via GB3KS, C.
[www.doverradiorally.com].
16 JANUARY NEW VENUE RED

ROSE WINTER RALLY George H
Carnall Leisure centre, Kingsway Park, M41
7FJ. DF, free CP, B&B, C, LB, OT 11am, TS,
SIG, DF, RSGB bookstall. Details from Steve,
07502 295 141 [www.wmrc.org.uk].
30 JANUARY HORNCASTLE
WINTER RALLY Horncastle Youth
Centre, Lincolnshire LN9 6DZ. 10.30am,
1.50, DF, C, free CP. Tony, G3ZPU, 01507
527835, e-mail G3ZPU@yahoo.co.uk.
6 FEBRUARY 26th CANVEY RADIO &

ELECTRONICS RALLY 'The Paddocks',
Long Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 0JA
[southern end of A130]. Free CP, OT 10.30,
2, C, DF, TS. Dave, G4UVJ, 01268 697 978
(evenings) [www.southessex-ars.co.uk].
6 FEBRUARY RADIO-ACTIVE RALLY

Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 5DG.
CP, OT 10.30, TS, B&B, C. Simon Chettle
G8ATB, 01270 841506, e-G3at@aol.com.
[www.midcars.org].
13 FEBRUARY HARWELL RADIO AND

ELECTRONICS RALLY Didcot Leisure
Centre, Mereland Road, Didcot OX11 8AY.
TI S22 (V44), free CP, 2.50 (u12 free), OT
10.15/10.30. TS, FM, SIG, LB, C, DF. Details
from Ann, G8NVI on 01235 816379, e-mail
rally@g3pia.org.uk [www.g3pia.org.uk].
13 FEBRUARY NORTHERN CROSS

RALLY Thornes Park Athletic Stadium,
Horbury Road, Wakefield WF2 8TY. OT 10.30
(10.15), 3, C. free CP, TS. Ken, 2E0SSQ
on 07900 563117 before 8pm please or
e-mail kquinn27@o2.co.uk.
[www.northerncrossrally.org].
27 FEBRUARY RAINHAM RADIO RALLY

Rainham School for Girls, Derwent Way,
Rainham, Gillingham, Kent ME8 0BX. 10.00,
Trevor, G6YLW, 0771 7678 795, e-mail
trev@wig1.co.uk.
27 FEBRUARY SWANSEA ARS RALLY

Court Herbert Sports Centre, Neath Abbey,
Neath SA10 7BE. OT 10.30, 2/50p, free CP,
TS, B&B, SIG, LB, C. Details Roger, GW4HSH,
01792 404422
[www.radioclubs.net/swanseaars].
6 MARCH BOURNEMOUTH RADIO

SOCIETY 23rd ANNUAL SALE Kinson
Community Centre, Pelhams Park, Millhams
Road, Kinson, Bournemouth BH10 7LH.
CP, OT 09.30-14.30, admission 1.50,
TS, SIG, C, DF. Contact John, G0HAT,
07719 700771
[www.brswebsite.org.uk].
88
6 MARCH EXETER RADIO &

ELECTRONICS RALLY America Hall,
De la Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter, EX4 8PW.
OT 10.30 (10.15), 2, TS, B&B, C, TI.
All profits from the event are shared between
GB3SW, GB3EW and GB3EX, the local 2m
and 70cm repeaters. Contact Pete, G3ZVI,
07714 198374, e-mail g3zvi@yahoo.co.uk.
13 MARCH CAMBRIDGE & DISTRICT

AMATEUR RADIO CLUB RALLY Wood
Green Animal Shelter, King's Bush Farm,
A1198 London Road, Godmanchester,
Cambs PE29 2NH. OT 10:00 (09:45),
3, TI, TS, B&B, LB, C, DF, FAM,
Contact John, G0GKP, 01954 200072,
e-mail j.bonner@ntlworld.com.
[www.cdarc.co.uk].
13 MARCH 26th WYTHALL RC RADIO

AND COMPUTER RALLY Woodrush
Sports Centre, Shawhurst Lane, Hollywood,
nr Birmingham B47 5JW on the A435, 2mi
from J3 M42. TS, C, 2, B&B, CP, TI S22
(V44). Contact Chris, G0EYO, 07710 412 819,
e-mail g0eyo@blueyonder.co.uk
[www.wrcrally.co.uk].
19 MARCH LAGAN VALLEY ARS RALLY

The Village Centre, 7 Ballynahinch Road,
Hillsborough. OT 11.30, TS, CP, C.
Contact Jim, GI0DVU, 02892 662 270,
e-mail jim.henry@ntlworld.com.
20 MARCH CALLINGTON AMATEUR

RADIO SOCIETY RALLY Callington
Community College, Launceston Road,
Callington, Cornwall PL17 7DR. TI, CP,
OT 10am, 2.00, TS, B&B, C, DF, WIN.
Contact Chris G7UDX, 07973418371,
e-mail g7udx@mac.com.
20 MARCH 27th YEOVIL QRP

CONVENTION Digby Hall, Hound Street,
Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AA (adjoining the
central shopping car park). OT 9.30am,
TI S22, CP, TS, LEC, B&B, C, DIS.
Contact Derek, M0WOB, 01935 414 452.
27 MARCH SPRING MILITARIA &

ELECTRONICS & RADIO AMATEUR
HANGAR SALE Hack Green secret
Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich, Cheshire,
CW5 8AP. 10am, 2.50, civil, military
and vintage radio equipment plus vehicle
spares and more. Contact Rod Siebert,
01270 623353 or e-mail
coldwatr@hackgreen.co.uk
[www.hackgreen.co.uk].
10 APRIL NORTHERN AMATEUR RADIO

SOCIETIES ASSOCIATION EXHIBITION
(Blackpool rally) Norbreck Castle Exhibition
Centre, Blackpool. TI, CP, TS, B&B, SIG, MT,
LB, C, DF, RSGB book stand. OT 10:45/11:00.
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
SILENT KEYS
We regret to record the passing of the following
members:
MR J Johnson, G0HJJ
Mr A L Sinclair, G0NDK
Mr P W Mortimer, G0ORN
Mr D Roberts, G0TFI
Mr J H Allcroft, G0TMN
Mr J C Hawkins, G1CJH
Mr A Hitchcock, G3ESB
Mr Ivan Rosevear, G3GKC
Mr C Merrett, G3JGH
Mr B H Licence, G4DCG
Mr J P Caledon-Scott, G4LRS
Mr A L Dick, GM6KKP
Mr A Johnstone, M0BCE
Mr A Bell, M0WHY
30/10/2010
19/10/2010
18/11/2010
February 2010
7/11/2010
August 2010
21/10/2010
5/11/2010
1/11/2010
7/11/2010
10/8/2010
October 2010
31/10/2010
Dave, M0OBW, 01270 761 608,

e-mail dwilson@btinternet.com
[www.g1gyc.demon.co.uk/narsa].
3 APRIL SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

AMATEUR RADIO RALLY Avon Scouts
Activity Centre, Fernhill, Almondsbury
BS32 4LX (junction of M4 & M5).
OT 10.00, CP, DF, C. CBS, TI S22 (V44).
Stan Goodwin, G0RYM, 07833 517370,
gentryone@googlemail.com
[www.avonscouts.org.uk/woodhousepark].
17 APRIL WEST LONDON RADIO &

ELECTRONICS SHOW (Kempton Rally)
Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines
Road East, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex
TW16 5AQ. TI, free CP, OT 9.50/10.00.
TS, FM, B&B, SIG, C, DF, WIN, LEC.
Details Paul, M0CJX, 0845 165 0351,
info@radiofairs.co.uk [www.radiofairs.co.uk].
17 APRIL LOUGH ERNE AMATEUR

RADIO CLUB 30th ANNUAL RALLY
The Share Holiday Village, Lisnaskea, Co.
Fermanagh BT92 0EQ N. Ireland. Access
from Erne/Shannon Waterway. OT 11.30,
CP, B&B, TS, LB, C, DF. Details Iain
028 66326693, e-mail iain@learc.eu.
[www.lougherneradioclub.co.uk].
1 MAY DAMBUSTERS HAMFEST

Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Coningsby,
Lincs LN4 4PE. TI S22, GB4FR & GB3FJ,
3 under 12 free (incl traders and their
companions), free parking, Pitches free
but size is limited if not pre-booked. RAF
heritage centre on site. Overnight camping.
C, OT 10.00, RSGB bookstall. David,
david@g1zqc.demon.co.uk..
2 MAY (BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY)

DARTMOOR RADIO RALLY Tavistock
College, Crowndale Rd, Tavistock, Devon,
PL19 8DD. OT 1015/1030. TS, B&B,
TI S22 (V44), CP, DF, C, FAM.
Peter, M1AYI, 01822 860277.
This list shows all rallies and events we are aware of as at 1 December 2010 . If your rally or event is not listed,
TELL US ABOUT IT! Send an e-mail to GB2RS@RSGB.org.uk and your event will appear here and on GB2RS.
Its free! Guidelines for submissions: Please let us know your event details as early as possible. If you submit by
email (to GB2RS@RSGB.org.uk) then we suggest you set your email program to request a 'read' receipt so you
can be sure we've seen the details.
TI Talk-In; CP Car Park; Admission; OT Opening time - time for disabled visitors appears first, (eg 10.30/11am);
TS Trade Stands; FM Flea Market; CBS Car Boot Sale; B&B Bring and Buy; A Auction; SIG Special Interest Groups;
MT Morse tests; MA Foundation Morse Assessments; LB Licensed Bar; C Catering; DF Disabled Facilities; WIN prize
draw, raffle; LEC Lectures/Seminars; FAM Family attractions; CS Camp Site.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
RALLIES & EVENTS
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS FOR JANUARY 2011

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Ofcom has not been able to provide us with a listing of special event stations this
month. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. If you are running a special event station in January
and would like it included in GB2RS, please send details by e-mail to gb2rs@rsgb.org.uk.
12 JUNE 10th JUNCTION 28 QRP

RALLY South Normanton Alfreton and
District Amateur Radio Club (SNADARC) in
association with the G-QRP Club. Alfreton
Leisure Centre, Church Street, Alfreton,
Derbyshire DE55 7BD. Just 10 minutes from
M1 J28 and the A38. OT 10, TS, B&B, SIG, C.
Russell Bradley, G0OKD on 01773-783658,
e-mail russell.bradleyG0OKD@ntlworld.com
[www.snadarc.com].
19 JUNE NEWBURY RADIO RALLY

AND BOOT SALE Newbury Showground,
next to M4 J13. Big display area of amateur
radio stations, exhibitions, special groups,
clubs and societies. TI S22 (V44), free CP,
OT 9.00, 2, TS, C, DF, FM, SIG. Sellers
have access from 8am and pitches cost 10.
Details from rally@nadars.org.uk
[www.nadars.org.uk].
26 JUNE WEST OF ENGLAND RADIO

RALLY Cheese & Grain, Bridge Street, Frome,
Somerset BA11 1BE. TS, RSGB Books, C, CP,
DIS. Contact Shaun, G8VPG, 01225 873 098,
e-mail rallymanager@westrally.org.uk
[www.westrally.org.uk].
10 JULY CORNISH RAC 48th MOBILE

RALLY Penair School, Truro, Cornwall,
TR1 1TN. TS, B&B, C, TI, CP. OT 10.30,
2. Details Steve, 01209844939
e-mail g7voh@btinternet.com.
[www.cornishamateurradioclub.org.uk].
17 JULY MCMICHAEL RALLY AND BOOT

SALE Reading Rugby Club, just off the A4
east of Reading, 2, TI, free CP, LB, C, SIG,
WIN, TS, CBS. OT 9.30. Details Pete, G8FRC,
01189 695697, e-mail g8frc@radarc.org
[www.McMichaelRally.org.uk].
17 JULY QRP IN THE COUNTRY

Upton Bridge Farm, Long Sutton, Langport
TA10 9NJ. SIG, B&B, LEC, C, LB, FAM. Free
entry. Tim Walford, G3PCJ, 01458 241224,
e-mail walfor@globalnet.co.uk
[www.walfordelectronics.co.uk].
31 JULY HORNCASTLE SUMMER RALLY

Horncastle Youth Centre, Willow Road,
Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6DZ. 10.30,
1.50, DF, C. Tony, G3ZPU, 01507 527835.
12 AUGUST COCKENZIE & PORT SETON

ARC 18th ANNUAL MINI-RALLY NIGHT
Community Centre, Main Hall, Port Seton.
Bring along your own junk and sell it yourself.
Tables on first come first served basis. 2 for
everyone. OT 18.30 to 21.30.
14 AUGUST FLIGHT REFUELLING ARS

HAMFEST Mike, M0MJS, 01202 883 479,
e-mail hamfest@frars.org.uk [www.frars.org.uk].
14 AUGUST FRISKNEY & EAST

LINCOLNSHIRE COMMUNICATIONS
CLUB RALLY The Friskney Village Hall,
Church Road, Friskney, Lincs. 6.5 miles
south of Skegness. OT 10.00 to 14.30, 1.50,

CP, C, WIN, TI S22, DIS. Details Bren, 2E0BDS,
01754 820 204, e-mail felcc@btinternet.com
[www.felcc.webs.com].
4 SEPTEMBER TELFORD HAMFEST

Enginuity Technology Centre, Coalbrookdale,
Telford TF8 7DU. OT 10.30. TI S22 & GB3TF
433.200MHz. TS, SIG, discounted admission
to Enginuity Centre. Details from Martyn,
G3UKV, 01952 255 416
[www.telfordhamfest.co.uk].
18 SEPTEMBER 21st GREAT NORTHERN

HAMFEST Metrodome Leisure Complex,
Barnsley S71 1AN. OT 11.00, DF, TS, SIG, LB,
C, FAM. Details Ernie, G4LUE, 01226 716 339
[www.greatnorthernhamfest.co.uk].
23 & 24 SEPTEMBER NATIONAL

HAMFEST brought to you by the
RSGB in association with the Lincoln
Short Wave Club. George Stephenson
Pavilion, Newark and Nottinghamshire
Showground, Lincoln Road, Winthorpe,
Newark NG24 2NY (close to junction
of A1/A46/A17). TS, B&B, CB, C, SIG,
Morse proficiency tests on demand, RSGB
Bookstall, RSGB Services & Committees,
DF, FM [www.nationalhamfest.org.uk].
7-9 OCTOBER RSGB

CONVENTION Horwood House,
Little Horwood, near Milton Keynes.
Full convention programme with lectures
for all interests and all levels of technicality
[www.rsgb.org/rsgbconvention].
9 OCTOBER AUTUMN MILITARIA &

ELECTRONICS & RADIO AMATEUR
HANGAR SALE Hack Green secret
Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich, Cheshire,
CW5 8AL. OT 10.00, 2.50, civil,
military and vintage radio equipment
plus vehicle spares and more. Contact
Rod Siebert, 01270 623 353 or e-mail
coldwatr@hackgreen.co.uk
[www.hackgreen.co.uk].
16 OCTOBER HORNSEA AMATEUR

RADIO CLUB RALLY Floral Hall, 7 The
Esplanade, Hornsea, East Yorks HU18 1NQ.
OT 10.30, CP, TS, B&B, SIG, RSGB, RAFARS,
LB, C, DF, WIN. Details from Rick, M0CZR
e-mail R106221@aol.com or Duncan,
G3TLI, e-mail g3tli@hotmail.co.uk
[www.hornseaarc.co.uk].
6 NOVEMBER WEST LONDON RADIO &

ELECTRONICS SHOW (Kempton Rally)
Kempton Park racecourse, Staines Road
East, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex
TW16 5AQ. OT 10.00. TS, FM, DF, free CP,
RSGB, LEC, TI S22 (V44). Paul, M0CJX,
0845 165 0351, info@radiofairs.co.uk
[www.radiofairs.co.uk].
RSGB MEMBERS ADVERTISEMENTS

RSGB members wishing to place an
advertisement may do so free of charge by
e-mail, or by post provided the advertisement
is accompanied by a payment of 5.00 to
cover administration costs.
The following terms and conditions apply
to all Members' Advertisements.
1) In order to qualify for free insertion,
Members Ads must be submitted
by e-mail to memads@rsgb.org.uk.
Please ensure you include .uk on the
end of the email address.
2) Your advert must clearly show whether
it is For Sale or Wanted and must include
your name, callsign or membership
number, telephone number and postal
town, in that order.
3) The Ad may not contain more than 40
words, excluding the information in (2),
and may be edited for readability at our
sole discretion. Longer ads may be
accepted if there is a good reason,
eg a shack clearance on behalf of a
SK member; e-mail us and ask.
4) Not more than one ad per month will be
accepted from any member. 'Recurring'
ads will not be accepted, but members
may re-submit the same advert each
month if they wish.
5) E-mailed adverts may optionally include
one photograph of the item(s) being
offered. Images must be attached as
a jpg file, at least 800 pixels wide and
of good quality. By submitting any image
you warrant that you own the copyright
and that you permit the RSGB to use it
in any way. We will endeavour to publish
photographs with ads as space permits
but cannot guarantee to publish any
particular photograph.
6) Adverts will be published at the first
available opportunity but no guarantee
can be given as to when a particular ad
will appear.
7) The RSGB believes that it is inappropriate
for members trading in radio equipment
in any way to place members' ads. We
therefore regret we are unable to accept
such ads, although we do welcome these
in the 'Classified' advertising section of
RadCom.
8) The RSGB accepts no responsibility for
errors or omissions, or for the quality
of goods for sale or exchange.
9) Members Ads are accepted and published
in good faith.
10) Members' Ads are accepted at the sole
discretion of the Editor, whose decision
is final.
WARNING
Members are advised to ensure that the
equipment they intend to purchase is not
subject to a current hire purchase agreement.
The 'purchase' of goods legally owned by
a finance company could result in the
'purchaser' losing both the goods and the
money paid.
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THE LAST WORD - LETTERS
THE RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN MEMBERS MAGAZINE
RSGB ARDF
Stan Ames, G4OAV
I was pleased to read the letter published
in November's RadCom by Bernard Spencer,
G3SMW on radiolocation and, like him, I'm
looking forward to reading the column by
Bob Titterington on the subject. But, like
many members I expect, my interest is not
in IARU or any other contests, I'm interested
in the science and technology of radio
direction finding.
I have spent some time researching British
RDF in WWII and there is a fascinating story
to be told there. If the ARDF committee is not
interested in matters outside the IARU rules,
I would be pleased to prepare something and
I feel certain that others would also contribute.
5kHz DEVIATION
Gordon, G8WWD
The suggestion by John McCullagh that the
use of 5kHz should be avoided in order to
avoid clipping etc is, in my opinion and
experience, theoretical rubbish! I am sure
that Derek, G1ZJQ in his letter was not
suggesting using that deviation on repeaters,
but for simplex contacts and why on earth
not if it is getting you good audio reports?
If you live in London or the South East, or
perhaps in a very big city then there may
be a need for more channels and 2.5kHz
deviation with its associated higher noise
levels, but travel further afield and you will
find 2m and 70cm are often silent!
It is 3.30pm on a Monday afternoon
and for the last 45 minutes I have had my
2m rig scanning continuously from 145.000
- 145.9875MHz. How many stations has
it stopped on? ONE short mobile to base
station simplex QSO. Other than that, just
the odd repeater broadcasting its callsign!
My QTH is on the Wirral, 4 miles south of
central Liverpool. I have a reasonably good
take off in most directions and can hear
and work simplex stations in Merseyside,
Lancashire, Cheshire and along the north
of Wales as far as Holyhead, but the 2m
and 70cm bands being silent is the norm
rather than unusual.
I have two rigs for 2m, one of which is
an old Kenwood TR-9000 that I have kept
primarily for SSB. I rarely use it on FM,
but when I do, I often get comments
about the audio being superb quality.
Why would that be? It is a standard rig
with the manufacturer's standard mic
and it is nearly 30 years old. The answer
is that it is still set for 5kHz deviation on FM!
In fact if I put a call out using that rig, I have
considerably more chance of getting a reply
than if I use my far newer Yaesu FT-7100
that can deliver 5 times the output power.
No doubt the receivers that the TR-9000 is
being heard on are set for 2.5kHz deviation,
but I have never had any comments about
it being distorted or clipping, just that it is
punchy and clear!
92
SHORT WAVE LISTENER QSL CARDS

Mike, G4ICC
I think many amateurs would agree with
the comments by Tom, GM4FDM regarding
the usefulness of some Short Wave Listener
QSL cards, but a fair number of people enter
the hobby as SWLs and in time obtain an
amateur radio licence. Others, however,
have no desire to transmit and are happy
to listen to DX stations, both amateur and
commercial, becoming very experienced
in this field.
I built my first 0-V-1 receiver in 1948
and the first station I heard was 0TC2, a
commercial station transmitting English
programmes from Leopoldville in the
Belgium Congo in the 30 metre band.
Reception reports were requested and
I sent a report, which resulted in my first
QSL card.
Many commercial SW stations were
interested in reception reports in those
days and in time I obtained cards from
TAP, Ankara, VLC6, Australia, All India
Radio, CKNC, Montreal, Canada, WRUW,
New York and ZL3, Wellington, New Zealand
amongst others. I still have my log book and
QSL cards from that era. I derived much
pleasure listening to these distant stations
on my simple receiver that ran on batteries,
but I was anxious to obtain a mains power
supply and a more sophisticated rig.
I had no knowledge of amateur radio
until I heard a very strong signal from a
station G3BJQ/A. The conversation was
very informal and nothing like the
programmes of the commercial radio
stations. Further investigation revealed
that G3BJQ/A, Harry Tanser, was a radio
ham and that he lived in the next street.
Anxious to find out more I visited Harry
and he introduced me to the mysteries
of amateur radio. Indeed, Harry became
my mentor and I spent many happy hours
with him in his shack. His transmitter
was homebrew, but his receiver was
a Hallicrafters Sky Champion, which
impressed me greatly after my simple
straight set. Harry helped me with various
home construction projects including power
supplies and more advanced receivers and
he also guided me through the art of sending
QSL cards.
I joined The International Short Wave
League ( ISWL), which is still going strong
and is affiliated to the RSGB. ISWL caters
for all those interested in radio and in
addition to licensed amateurs, welcomes
many short wave listeners who specialise in
the broadcast bands and air bands. Many of
the listener members are very experienced,
but there are quite a few who have just
entered the hobby.
I always reply to cards from SWLs.
I appreciate that many are of little use to
me and that the information from some
leaves much to be desired, but I gently
JANUARY 2011 RADCOM
point out any shortcomings to those

concerned and suggest how their reports
could be improved.
We all had to start somewhere on the
bottom of the learning curve and I feel it is
up to more experienced members of this
fascinating hobby of ours to assist and
encourage newcomers.
John Marshall, G3RKH
Tom, GM4FDM, questions the usefulness
of SWL reports. These seem to me to fall
into one of three categories: (1) those from
relative newcomers to the hobby, (2) those
from listeners who need to demonstrate
competence in receiving as part of the
licensing process in their country, (3) those
which actually provide useful information.
I take the view that types 1 & 2 are worth
a reply because they encourage the growth
of the hobby. Often the reports are worthless,
but I remember even after 50+ years the
encouragement a card received gave me.
Type 3 reports are rare, but much to
be encouraged. Only yesterday I received
a report by e-mail that my 40m PSK31
signals were received in VK at 1600Z.
I wasn't receiving any signals from outside
Europe, though I had heard ZL8A the previous
day at a similar time. That was useful, as
are the spots on the various DX clusters.
I have still a report from the celebrated Eric
Trebilcock, BERS195 near Melbourne on
my CW signals when working W stations
on 20m in 1964, with no clue the band
was open to VK. As a listener myself I used
a very comprehensive report card devised
and printed by G3CGD, which allowed for
3 reports of different dates on a single card.
I know such reports were much more often
appreciated and thus replied. In replying
to type 1 and 2 reports I often write on
the card that something of that kind would
be much more worth while, at the same
time as giving encouragement by sending
a response. For one like me, using only the
simplest of antennas, SWL reports can often
be very enlightening.
As well as going on expeditions himself,
Tom does, of course, act as a QSL manager
for several stations and this rather than age
and grumpiness may affect his view of the
almost unending requests for I heard you,
please QSL reports to rare DX stations.
But for many of us, even older than Tom,
(A1657, for what it's worth), and in my
case with an honorary PhD in grumpiness,
a softer line seems worthwhile in helping
tomorrow's operators.
WHEN FLYING THE FLAG
R G Titterington, G3ORY
The editor and I have both been receiving
e-mails from members to say that the Union
flag is being held upside down in the
photograph on page 78 of the November
edition of RadCom in the ARDF article.
RADCOM JANUARY 2011
In fact, it is being held correctly and the

reasons are now explained.
When a flag has attachments down
one of the short edges to allow it to be
fastened to a halyard on a flagpole, there
are only two ways it can be flown. In the case
of the Union flag, these are either correctly or
upside down. There are several rules of
thumb that allow one to judge if
the flag is being flown correctly.
When a rectangular flag is held up by
a group of people, with the long edges
horizontal, there are four ways in which
it can be held. To illustrate this point,
consider the flag of the United States.
It can be positioned so that the stars
appear in each of the four corners in turn.
Only one of these orientations is correct
and that is the one with the stars in the
top left corner.
However, to complicate things a bit,
the Union flag exhibits diagonal symmetry.
That is to say that the top left corner is exactly
the same as the bottom right corner. If the
flag printed in the November RadCom is
rotated by 180 degrees, the appearance
of the flag itself remains unchanged. This
means that of the four possible orientations of
the Union flag when held up, two will be
correct and two will be (identically) wrong.
Andrew, G4KWQ drew my attention to
an excellent URL that links to a document
written by Graham Bartram, General Secretary
of the Flag Institute. (www.staffordshire.gov.uk/
yourcouncil/civicoffices/flag/). The pdf
booklet shows an image of how the Union
Flag when placed on a flat surface or held
up by a group of competitors, should appear.
This is exactly the same as the flag appears in
the photograph in the November RadCom.
If the flag in the photo in the November
RadCom is rotated by 180 degrees, the
second of the two correct orientations is
reached. To get the two incorrect and
identical orientations, the flag must be
viewed from the side facing the competitors.
It should be clear by now that the
accusation that the flag was being held
upside down, has little or no meaning for
a flag with diagonal symmetry when it is held
up by a group of people and thus there are
four possible orientations. If you want
to find fault, then the critic needs to spot
when the wrong side of the flag is facing
the camera. Happily, the correct side was
facing the camera when the photograph
was taken in Croatia.
REMOTE INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS
Sam, G4UQB
You kindly published a letter of mine earlier
this year, where I explained my dismay on
working a W1 only to find later in the QSO
that he was working through the Internet via
a remote station in Europe that QSO then
became worthless to me whilst experimenting
with a new home-built antenna at my QTH.
WWW.RSGB.ORG
THE LAST WORD - LETTERS
Letters published in The Last Word do not necessarily reflect RSGB policy. Last Word
letters may be e-mailed to radcom@rsgb.org.uk. Please note that letters submitted for
The Last Word may not be acknowledged. The RSGB reserves the right not to publish
any letter, with no reason being given. It is a condition of publication that all letters may
be edited for grammar, length and / or clarity. Due to the limited space available, please
keep letters as short as possible. Additional letters may be published on the RSGB
members-only website at www.rsgb.org/membersonly/lastword.
Yesterday, Saturday 6 November 2010,
it happened again. Listening on 20 metres
a station in the USA, KC9xyz/P called 'QRZ
on frequency'. I jumped in eagerly not
expecting to be heard, but he came straight
back to me! Once again, with my lowly set
up, I was euphoric. I gave my call and name
and then passed the mic back. On his second
over he then said: 'this is KC9xyz/P operating
remotely through OE3xyz'. Further to this,
he then said: 'the antenna at OE3xyz will
turn to face your direction automatically'.
This is not amateur radio as I was brought
up to believe amateur radio to be. First, and
laughably, the KC9 station did not need any
kind of antenna for the contact just a good
telephone connection through an internet
link to his pal in Austria. Also, signal reports
were pointless.
So, apart from feeling cheated, again,
may I make a humble suggestion? If this
mode, or type of amateur radio is to continue,
(to the detriment of the 'technical' hobby as a
whole, in my opinion), can the powers-thatbe introduce a new law, or rule, to the hobby,
whereby in future such stations must first
give the prefix of the country from which
their signal is emanating in this case for
example, the call should have been: OE3/
KC9xyz/P. Then, and only then, will we all
realise exactly from where the signal is
coming. From that moment on, if technical
details are to be exchanged (antennas/rigs/
power whatever), we would need to know
the set up of the remote station only and
nothing whatsoever from the operator's end
at all; except perhaps his microphone and,
socially perhaps, what his weather is doing.
Technically, from an amateur radio point
of view, anything else from his end would
have been worthless and irrelevant unless,
he wished to discuss the hows and whys of
his telephone connection to Europe; but
that's another hobby, not mine; if it is a
hobby, that is?
SPORT RADIO
R Wheeler, G3MGW
I agree with Bob, G4BWB / 9V1RA that
the term 'Sport Radio' somehow seems an
uncomfortable phrase to describe what
is universally understood as 'Contesting'
Just out of interest a Google search
for 'Sport Radio' doesn't yield much to
do with contesting but a search for
'Radio Sport' does.
May I suggest that using the term 'Sport
Radio' introduces both syntax and semantic
problems that could so easily overcome,

why not call the column 'Contesting News'
since that is what it is about?
AMATEUR RADIO SCAM
Roger, G3LDI, the genuine one and only!
One of the latest Nigerian scams going around
involves amateur radio. The scammer will look
on QRZ.COM or indeed anywhere that your
name, call and address appears and will
assume your identity. He then sets up a bogus
Googlemail e-mail account, quite easy to do,
and then looks for wanted adverts. He finds
an amateur advertising for an Icom IC-751
transceiver. Using the bogus Googlemail
e-mail address in your name, he writes to the
advertiser to say he has one in superb condition
but has to sell because he desperately needs
the money (in my case for my son Harry's
education). He is selling at a bargain price
and requires payment using Western Union
ONLY. If he succeeds in the scam he gets
your money and you never see a transceiver.
However, the advertiser then contacts the
police, who in turn contact the genuine third
party only to be told he has nothing for sale.
The police are not really interested in taking
it further, so the advice is to put a disclaimer
and notice on both your QRZ.COM page and
your web page if you have one. Two locals in
Norwich have been scammed in this way.
Take a look at my QRZ.COM page for an
example of the text. The poor English is a
give-away and in my case using Harry as
my son's name because luckily I do mention
my children's names on my website!
WHERE ARE YOU?
Ray Hills, G3HRH
Am I the only one to be irritated by the growing
fashion of withholding addresses in the call
book? It removes any value from the entry.
Back in the 1960s when 144MHz activity
was growing, there was a geographical band
plan that helped to point the beam in the
right direction. That was really a relic of the
days of crystal control. They are long gone
but the need to know which way to point the
beam remains. Equally it helps on the lower
HF bands to know where a station is, giving
a guide to the likely propagation conditions.
There are, I am sure, valid reasons why
an operator would not wish to publish his
full address but could I make a plea either to
provide a town name or at least a four-character
locator. Either will preserve anonymity but
give some useful information about the
station being heard.
93
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PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY AND BEAT

New KV-UV920R
THE 2.5% VAT
INCREASE!
Low cost Dual Band, Cross-band
Repeat High Performance 2/70 FM
mobile Transceiver with wideband
receive, remote head etc.
Due early 2011.
Wouxun KG-UVPD1P 2/70 Full Dual Band FM Handie

5W RF Output 2m & 4W 70cm
Frequency Range: 144-146 & 430-440MHz (RX/TX)
136-174 & 420-470MHz Capable
Work Mode: V/U or V/V or U/U can be set freely
English Voice Guide
SOS Function
1750Hz Tone
DTMF Encoding Function
CTCSS/DCS Scan (Digital/Analog)
Bright Flashlight Illumination
Band can be set freely on the same Channel VHF
TX-UHF RX or UHF TX-VHF RX
Built-in FM Radio (76-108MHz RX)
Wide/Narrow Bandwidth Selection (25khz/12.5khz)
Priority Scan, Add Scanning Channel
High/Low Power Selection
Channel Name Edit and Display
50 Groups CTSS/105Groups DCS

Multi Step Frequency:(5K/6.25K/10K/25K/50K/100K)

Multi Scan
VOX Transmission
Transmit Overtime Voice Prompt
Begin/End Transmitting BEEP Prompt
Auto/Manual Keypad Lock
Wire Clone, Programmable By Computer
Stopwatch Function
Low Voltage VOICE prompt
Busy Channel Lockout
ML&S Price: 89.99

Supplied accessories:
1.3Ah Li-Ion Battery Pack (5W)
Intelligent Base charger (110V-240V &
12V in input)
Belt-Clip
Dualband Antenna
Hand Strap & Handbook
Wouxun KG-679E/2M
2m FM Handie
Also available for 70cm! See below.

5W RF output
English voice guide to under 5W RF
able)
144-146MHz 2m Amateur Band (136-174MHz capable)
8 groups scrambler
Channel name edit available
High/Low power can changeable by top key
VOX (Level adjustable)
DTMF encoding and DTMF decoding
105 groups D.C.S/50 groups CTCSS
DCS/CTCSS of RX and TX can be set respectivelyy
Reverse frequency function
Busy channel lockout
Distant alarm
NI (Caller ID)
Multi scan mode (TO/CO/SE)
rm
Inspection, monitor, stun, kill and emergency alarm
All calls, group calls and selective calls
Calling ring and ring overtime auto answer
Multi silent mode (QT/QTADT/QTXDT)
Channel steps (5K/6.25K/10K/12.5K/25K)
Hz)
Wide/Narrow bandwidth selection (25KHz/12.5KHz)
Wouxun KG-699E/4M
W
K
4m FM Handie
4
ML&S Prices:
KG 679E/2M ...................................... 58.99
KG-679E/U 70cm
(400-470MHz).....................................58.99
or with Voice Scrambler KG-689E/U ..69.99
Supplied accessories:
1.3Ah Li-Ion Battery pack (5W)
Intelligent Base Charger (110V-240V & 12V in input)
Belt-Clip
Dualband Antenna
Hand Strap
Handbook
www.wouxun .co.uk
Dont forget Wouxun have a complete range of Handies

available for Commercial, Marine and Ham. Call for details.
WO/BLO-004
1700mAh Li-ion
BatteryPack
19.99
WO/BAO-001
'AA' Battery
Pack
9.99
WO/ELO-001
Eliminator
9.99
WO/CCO-001
Car charger
9.99
WO/SMO-001
Mic/Speaker
14.99

5W RF output
English voice guide to under 5W RF
70-70.500MHz 4m Amatuer Band (66-88MHz capable)
Dual display and standby modes
128 Memory Channels
8 Groups Scrambler
Channel Name Edit Available
High/Low Power can be changeable by Top Key
VOX (Level Adjustable)
DTMF Encoding and DTMF Decoding
105 Groups D.C.S/50 Groups CTCSS
DCS/CTCSS of RX and TX can be set respectively
Reverse FrequencyFunction
Busy Channel Lockout
Distant Alarm
ANI (Caller ID)
Multi Scan Mode (TO/CO/SE)
Inspection, Monitor, Stun, Kill and Emergency Alarm
All Calls, Group Calls and Selective Calls
Calling Ring and Ring Overtime Auto Answer
Multi Silent Mode (QT/QTADT/QTXDT)
Channel Steps (5K/6.25K/10K/12.5K/25K)
Wide/Narrow bandwidth Selection (25KHz/12.5KHz)
ML&S Price: 89.99

M
Su
Supplied
accessories:
1.
1.3Ah Li-Ion Battery Pack (5W)
In
Intelligent Base Charger (110V-240V & 12V in input)
Be
Belt-Clip
D
Dualband Antenna
Ha
Hand Strap
Ha
Handbook
WO/CASE
WO/AAO-002
WO/AAO-001
WO/CHO-004
WO/PSO-110
WO/CHO-006
SO-239 socket
110-234v AC & Six-way charger
Programming Leatherette case BNC Socket
9.99
to SMA plug
to SMA plug
13.8v DC spare
Software and USB
149.99
antenna adapter antenna adapter charger (allows radio
Programming
4.99
4.99
Cable
& spare battery to be
19.99
charged at same time)
22.95
E&EO
Outline House, 73 Guildford Street, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 9AS

Tel:
0345 2300 599


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RadCom

THE RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN MEMBERS MAGAZINE. WWW.RSGB.ORG

DIY Mini DXpedition

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RADCOM JANUARY 2011 | VOLUME 87 | NUMBER 01

News and Reports

Advertising. All display and classified

Closing date for contributions, unless

IOTA fascinates Sebatik Island's school children

Full membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.00

All aboard the Battleship New Jersey P17

24 Mini DXpedition to Guernsey

Notices to readers concerning errors and

The heart of a highly linear amplifier P19

ARDF, Bob Titterington, G3ORY

THE RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN MEMBERS MAGAZINE WWW.RSGB.ORG

JANUARY 2011 RADCOM

Time Flies When Youre Having Fun

and the Management Committee.

RADCOM JANUARY 2011

THE RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN MEMBERS MAGAZINE WWW.RSGB.ORG

we likewise approved the agreement and,

being provoked but as we all know thats no

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