Category Archives: Talks

Talk on “Summits on the Air”

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 19th January, at Hudswell Village Hall. We’ll be using the large room, with well spaced seating, and encouraging everyone to social distance where appropriate.

Andy, G6PJZ, will be hosting a talk about “Summits on the Air” (SOTA), an award scheme for operating portable amateur radio stations in mountainous locations. Andy is a keen SOTA operator, and will be sharing his experiences of mountain-top operations, such as his recent trip up High Stile in the Lake District, where he was operating on a variety of HF and VHF amateur bands.

Wire Aerials and Feeders

CRDARS returned to Hudswell Village Hall on 1st September for a discussion of wire aerials and feeders, led by Mac, M0RIE. Mac led us through a variety of interesting subjects, including how radio waves behave in near and far field, how aerials are affected by other wires within the near field, and how changing the type or connection location of the feeder can affect the behaviour and/or impedence of the antenna.

Mac provided some useful resources that may be of interest to anyone who would like to learn more:

Club Quiz, Upcoming Meetings and AGM

Congratulations to Paul, G8PYX, for winning the club quiz on 2nd September. We’d also like to extend our thanks to Dave, G8YPN, for his role as quiz master, and also to all of the club members who came along.

On 7th October, Chris, G4FZN, will be giving a talk and demo on “The Sounds different things and different modes make.” So, the next time tuning around HF or VHF and you hear a mysterious signal, you’ll know exactly what you’ve found. We’ll also be challenging you to pick out call signs from a pile up, both with voice and morse, so come prepared!

On 21st of October, we’ll be holding the society’s Annual General Meeting. We hope to see as many members as possible, and we’d appreciate any suggestions for activities that can take place in a safe, socially distanced manner at future club meetings.

Christmas Quiz and New Year Net

This Wednesday’s radio club meeting is the last meeting of the year, and will be Dave, G8YPN’s Christmas Quiz. The quiz is not an individual competition – everyone will be in groups so that no-one need worry about not knowing any or all of the answers.

Pauline, G8HQW, is bringing along some Glühwein and Mince Pies, as well as tea and coffee for the tee-totallers.

You won’t be surprised to learn that there is no meeting on New Year’s Day, so the first meeting of 2020 will be on 15th January when we learn from North Yorkshire Police about Cyber Crime, and how to avoid becoming a victim of it.

Sharp-eyed members who get RadCom will have seen that there is a club New Year’s Net to be held at 7.30pm starting on GB3IR on January 1st. A great opportunity for you to come on the air and wish other club members a Happy New Year!

A Life in HAM Radio, by Peter, G4VUN

On Wednesday 19th June, CRDARS hosted a talk by Peter, G4VUN, on his experiences in amateur radio.

Peter brought along a variety of classic radio equipment, including second hand and ex-military transceivers and ATUs that had been repurposed for use on the amateur bands. He was keen to point out that he’s had many successful contacts with people all over the world, using cheap equipment and simple wire antennas, fed with ladder line. There’s plenty of older but perfectly serviceable equipment in circulation, and getting started with amateur radio doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

Peter was also keen to discuss the challenges facing amateur radio in 2019, from weak propagation and high levels of noise to the lack of apparent activity on many of the amateur bands.

All present were encouraged to get on the air and operate as much as possible. Whether by calling CQ, or coming back to other people’s calls, any activity on the bands is welcome, and the more people we have making even basic, boilerplate contacts, the better.

When it comes to HF, Peter recommends taking the time to check whether the higher frequency bands, such as 21 or 28MHz are open, as propagation may be possible even if the band appears to be dead. When it comes to the 28MHz band, Peter suggests tuning down and listening for Citizens Band signals around 27MHz, as if the CB users’ signals are propagating, there’s a good chance that the 28MHz amateur band is also open.

Regardless of our individual opinions on amateur radio, the evening was certainly thought provoking, and prompted some interesting discussion. On behalf of our members, we’d like to extend our thanks to Peter for coming to visit, and for his perspective on our hobby.

Upcoming Talk “A Life in HAM Radio”, by Peter, G4VUN

On Wednesday 19th June, Peter, G4VUN will be presenting a talk “A life in HAM Radio”. We hope that many of our members will join us for what will hopefully be a fascinating journey through everything Peter has experienced during his many years as a radio amateur.

As always, our Meetings page is where you can find full details of our upcoming events programme. We’ve got a few other guest speakers pencilled in between over the coming months, and we’ll be updating the web site once we’re able to confirm that they’re available.

Summer 2019 Events Programme

The proposed calendar of club events is now available on our Meetings page at https://crdars.org.uk/meetings. Between now and October, we’re hoping to have presentations by several guest speakers, participate in a 6m contest night, and try our hands at Amateur Radio Direction Finding.

We’re still checking the availability of some of our guest speakers, so please watch this space, as we’ll be updating the calendar once we receive confirmation that a particular talk is going ahead. Some upcoming events will not be taking place at Hudswell, so please keep a close eye on our Meetings and News pages, as we’ll be posting meet up times and locations closer to the day of the event.

In a change to our usual routine, we’re planning on adding an extra date to our calendar on Thursday 11th July for the RSGB 6m contest. The usual July meetings on Wednesday 3rd and Wednesday 17th July will go ahead as normal in Hudswell.

We currently intend to hold an Amateur Radio Direction Finding event on Wednesday 21st August, at a location yet to be determined. Please note that there are no meetings at Hudswell Village Hall in August.

Finally, please note that the date for the CRDARS AGM has provisionally been set for Wednesday 2nd October at Hudswell Village Hall.

Optical Communications using Lasers

On Wednesday 20th March, the club hosted a very interesting talk and demonstration by Charles, G4DXP. Charles has been experimenting with line-of-sight transmission of audio, using lasers and pulse width modulation. He brought along his two home-built laser transceivers for members to play with, and gave us an explanation of how they work and how they are constructed.

Charles’ laser transceivers are based on a design by Ron Jones, K7RJ, and are elegant in their simplicity. In fact, most of the complexity in making the system work is in finding a reliable means for aligning the lasers over long distances, rather than in the electronics.

If you’re interested in trying to build something like this, always remember that even low power lasers can be hazardous. Never use a laser in a way that might endanger another person, or where the beam might come close to anyone’s face. Many countries have legal restrictions on the use of lasers, so do your research before buying or using any laser light sources.

Charles clearly loves his construction projects, as he also brought along a differential windlass that he’d built for members to have a play with.

On behalf of Colburn and Richmondshire District Amateur Radio Society, we’d like to extend our thanks to Charles for taking his time to come and visit us, and show off his various projects.