Gallery
On Thursday 25th January 2024 the Society held its annual home-construction competition. There were six excellent entries this year -
Bryan M0TXE with an incredibly accurate digital clock made from reclaimed parts;
Ken G8DIR with an LDMOS 2m linear amplifier good for 300 Watts and housed in a reclaimed box.
Pat G3YFK with a K9AY loop control box.
Richard G3ZVG with a VNA front-end protector unit.
Adrian G4AZS with a QRP Labs transceiver, built from a kit.
Shaun M0KDQ with an Internet Gateway unit based on a Pi Zero processor.
Congratulations to Ken G8DIR who received the most votes from members present on the evening and takes home the trophy this year.
2024 home-construction competition.
L-R:
Richard G3VZG, Adrian G4AZS, Shaun M0KDQ, Peter G4SGQ, Ken G8DIR, Pat G3YFK, Bryan M0TXE
The annual Quiz Night with the Powys Club on 28/9/23 had a good turn out from both teams. Thanks to the Powys Club for their good humour in defeat (again) and to the ladies for the excellent food spread afterwards. A very enjoyabe evening!
A 'Morse Code' evening was held at the club on 21/9/23. Several members brought their keys along for members to try out and discuss learning and operating techniques.
Al M0UAL and Bryan M0TXE conducted heliograph tests on 4th September 2023 with Al at Rodney's Pillar and Bryan on The Wrekin, at a range of 21 miles. Al reports:
At this range the Helio. flashes were still very bright and easily seen at both sites. The 'beamwidth' was in line with the theoretical value of 150m on either side the Rx Helio. (I paced out ~100m and could still see Bryan's Helio. but had to stop when I reached a fence). We found the most critical aspect of Helio. operating is tracking the sun to ensure the signalling mirror stays aligned on the target. The signalling mirror throws a black dot appx. 3mm diameter onto a crosshair sight and the dot centre must be kept to within +/- 2mm of the crosshair centre, otherwise the light vanishes. Alignment is done using two fine adjustment screws (horzontal & vertical) and adjustments must be made at least every 15 - 30 seconds. Quite tricky, especially having to do this at the same time as you're sending.
We were hoping to do the QSO 'old school' and not use radio to coordinate our efforts but, sadly, we're not that sklilled yet and the handhelds proved very helpful! Also, sending/receiving visual Morse is hard, with much more training needed, and Adrian,G4AZS has kindly built a practice lamp to help with this.
Attached are some pics and video clips of the expedition. Video is a bit shaky but shows Bryan's Helio. quite well. Of course, on the next expedition, we'll need to increase the distance still further and will aim for 30 to 40 miles. Hopefully, others can join us next time (perhaps on a crisp, clear, late autumn /early winter's day?!).
