On Wednesday 19^th 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.

The proposed beginner’s introduction to HF digital modes, originally scheduled for 19th September has had to be postponed.

Both Andy and Martyn were originally planning on experimenting with HF digital modes (such as FT8 and PSK31) from home, with the intention of providing a practical demo of what we’d been doing and what we’d learned along the way. Unfortunately, we’ve both run into problems getting our rigs, interfaces and software to communicate with each other, so neither of us have had any real success so far. We’ll both continue to experiment, and hope to be able to reschedule our demo for a future date, once we manage to get the kinks ironed out.

In the meantime, several club members have offered to assist with getting the club’s G5RV antenna erected so that it’s available for members to use during our weekly meetings. We’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who’s offered to assist, and we look forward to reaping the benefits of a permanent antenna in the not too distant future.