CQ WW WPX 2008

This weekend the clocks went forward to British Summertime and also saw a major 48 contest. The CQ WW WPX contest started very early Saturday morning and finished at midnight GMT on Sunday. Conditions appeared to be not as good as previous years but the bands up to 15 metres were quite active and there was plenty of exotic DX to be worked including the odd VK! Unfortunately weather conditions only allowed the beam to be wound up for the last few hours but we managed very well running 200w in sometimes very difficult conditions. The certificate for last years contest also arrived this weekend and is pictured above....third place in England 2007

Rally Observations

It was a long day! Another Blackpool rally over and done with for the year. This time it did seem to be poorly attended compared to previous years and there were plenty of empty tables which is a real shame. Our tables, however, were busy and the display and the Elecrafts certainly drew some attention. We managed to raise some money for funds but, again, this was well down to previous rallies. It was nice to see everyone again and our thanks to those people who came over and introduced themselves. Thanks also to the organisers of the rally who work very hard to put this rally on each year.

Coming Up...the Blackpool Rally

Sunday sees the big radio rally in the North West of England. Held at Norbreck Castle on Blackpool sea front, this is one of the biggest rallies of the year. Sands have several tables this year. Brian will be displaying his vintage collection of wartime radios and communication bits and pieces and Ian will have the Elecraft K3 and K2 on display for people to look at. We also have a selling table to raise funds for the group. If you are coming to the rally please come and have a chat with us and we look forward to meeting friends both old and new!

80M Data Contest

Last evening was the data leg of the March 80m club contest. Various members had a go and for some it was the first time that they had taken part. Conditions started off very well at 20.00gmt with the RTTY part of the band being especially busy. Oddly after the first half-hour conditions changed dramatically and signals faded out. Software used varied from HRD to WinTest, although WinTest seemed to win in terms of ease of use ( it would be nice to see this software incorporate PSK31 at sometime in the future ) All stations sending in their logs seemed to report similar conditions on the band.

M0CBY/G6RUS Silent Key

It was with sadness that we learned that one of Sand's long standing members John, G6RUS/M0CBY, had gone Silent Key whilst on holiday in Malta on 14^th February after suffering an electric shock in his hotel room. John has suffered with a dickie ticker for many years, undergone heart by-pass surgery and defied the odd’s even after being told there was nothing more they could do to repair his heart.

2007 has to have been one of his lowest points suffering with a bad case of Flu in early January and being hospitalised later in the year with serious heart related problems, but john being John bounced back and I quote this with the greatest respect, would often beat his chest lightly in jest with a clenched fist saying “Keep Going You Bugger!”.

At the end of 2007 John decided to take a trip to the warmer climate of Malta for a few weeks holiday, returning on the 5^th of December to spend Christmas in the UK. He came to the Sands meetings and I have never seen him look better in many years. He had a tan and some new found energy and strength we had not seen for a long time. John attended the Sands meeting and told us that he was planning to go back to Malta for the winter because the climate suited him better with a view to returning in the Spring to get his boat ready for the summer season cruising the canal and meeting up with friends….. John was a great showman who was at his best in the company of his friends.

John will leave many local amateurs in the area with fond and personal memories of the time he has spent with them and there is no doubt that he enriched the hobby of Amateur Radio in this area and the lives of people he came into contact with both here and worldwide.

John will be missed but never forgotten and I am sure he will have many a glass raised in his memory as people recount their memories of the man who M0TNX fondly remembers as the man who even had style when giving his callsign " M Zero seeeeeeeebeeeeeeeeeewhhyyyyyyyy"

73 and God Bless John

From G0RDH

Fibreglass Mast Arrives

Our new fibreglass mast arrived today. This mast is again made by the people that make the "Spiderbeam" and is a total of 60' high when fully extended! Only weighing 15lb it folds down to just under 6' for transportation purposes. One person is able to walk the mast up to its full height and if needed Lightweight Kevlar guys can be used for added stability. Not a cheap item to buy but it is money will spent and will allow us to use it as an 80m vertical or a support for a 40m steerable array, other options are being looked at for topband. It will certainly be a welcome addition for the gear going to Jura in the autumn but, in the meantime, there are plenty of contests and other events planned when we can really put it to the test!

So Far This Week....

Monday saw the first SSB leg of the 80M Club championships. Conditions were abysmal and many stations struggled to make anywhere near a decent score, even the bigger contests stations were only heard to be notching scores up only in the thirties or forties! On a lighter note tuesday's evening meeting was a good one as Bob G1OCK came to visit us, its been awhile since he has had chance to see us all and it was good to have his company.

MS0SCG DXpedition 2008

MS0SCG will be operational from the Isle of Jura ( EU-008 ) on 22-29th September 2008. The location will be Jura House on the edge of the island. Dates are yet to be fully confirmed but we hope to be on the air from Monday to Monday this time, so taking in a full weekend. Modes and bands will be confirmed nearer the time but this year we expect to cover most of them. The house is in its own grounds, including its own beach and will comfortably sleep 15 of us. There is a vast amount of room for the antenna farm and this will be put to its best advantage. Look out for more information on the DX bulletins on the internet and also on this blog!

First Contest of 2008

Yesterday a few of our members took part in the Affiliated Societies Team Contest. This was a short 4 hour contest on 80m and a nice way to ease back into contesting for 2008. For once this was not a serious effort to compete with other clubs but a chance to get back in the swing and also to give one of the intermediate students chance to get a feel for what contesting is all about. It was a good contest and conditions were reasonable with plenty of stations taking part!

IOTA 2007 Results

Again this year saw us improve on our performance in the IOTA contest. We managed to achieve 21st place and came 2nd out of the UK stations in our particular class. Not bad for a fairly modest setup and there are many things that can be improved on for the 2008 contest

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Season's greetings from all at Sands. May it be an enjoyable holiday for everyone and we hope 2008 will be a good year for all. We look forward to plenty of good contests and hope to work as many of you as we can during the contest season! Good luck and good DX!

Christmas Meal 2007

All that can be said is that we all had a very good time! The food and the company were excellent!

Its That Time of the Year Again!

Its Christmas again ( well nearly ) and we are out for our Christmas party later this week. Sand's members will be joined by many friends we have met over the last few years. Unfortunately Chris and Bex will not be able to make it from their new home in Coventry and Bob G1OCK will be away in Nottingham. We are trying a new venue this year, which just happens to be very convenient for Mark and Andrew who are only a stone's throw away from the pub involved ;-)
No contests until the start of 2008 but we have plenty planned for the New Year and look forward to our DXpedition to the Isle of Jura and some serious contests in coming months!

Visiting friends

Members of Sands visited our friends at Workington Radio Club last night (26/11/07) and had a great time. We were shown slides and videos relating to their dxpeditions to Skye and Barra. The vertical Moxon aerial was one of the items to take our interest and we may look at that for certain bands in the future ourselves. Our thanks go to all the guys at Workington for a great evening!

Thursday 80M Net

Every thursday we will be taking part in a net on 80 metres for the group. The "Sands net" will start at 20.00 hours on or around 3.662 and last for about an hour. Last night was the first one and although the band was crowded everyone managed to hear one another with Chris M0DWK being a cracking signal from his new location in Warwick. Anyone is welcome to call in, whether they Sands members or not! Our Vice-chairman Ian G0VGS will be in the chair most weeks.