Busy on the Bands

The last two days have seen plenty of activity from us on HF. Today was particularly good with plenty of contacts on 15m and 20m. The pileups have been huge and we have been working through the callsigns by numbers or by 'listening up'. Managed to contact a few of our members back in the UK.


Bob elected to stay back at base today and sample the delights of the pool and the sun (it's a hard life but somebody has to do it)



The weather is very hot and sunny and is forecast to continue like this for the next week at least. We do intend to do more sight seeing as well as radio. That's it for now :)

Stephany

Ian

Hugo

Barrie

Radio Day

Today, conditions permitting, we hope to air the callsign SZ8S.
The holiday continues to be fantastic for all of us and the weather is perfect.

A Visit to Bletchley Park

Matthew and I arrived in Milton Keynes on Saturday afternoon around 3.30.
As we had missed lunch, we found a local pub, appropriately named the
Enigma Tavern. We were pleasantly surprised at the low prices. We had
two reasonable meals for about £7.50 each.

We knew we were on the right side of MK for our accommodation which was a village pub about 4 miles from BP. Getting out of MK in the right
direction proved challenging. (I must get a new GPS.) Eventually we
headed ìn the right direction and found the village. Again the pub meal
prices were very good as we decided to have another meal about 8.30.
The locals in the bar were also very friendly.

Around 10am the next day we set off for BP. We got our tickets and the
brochure. Fortunately it was quite quiet. The main displays are located
in Block B which featured a number of original models of Enigma machines,
as well as Mussolini's encrypting device. One of the guides had just
started a demonstration of a working 3-wheel Enigma, which was
fascinating to watch.

As this finished he was followed by a demonstration of a replica Bombe,
which was shown providing possible solutions to daily Enigma machine
settings for real messages intercepted at Y-stations in WW2. The Bombe
acts as 36 enigma machines running in parallel, to rule out incorrect key
settings. It was all built around authentic Post Office relays (still in
use on our computer Block Switching Chassis at the power station). The
basis of the Bombe is having an identified Crib message, from which a
"menu" is formed . The crib is a predictable message such as "Nothing to
report". Having spent about 30 minutes quizzing the guides, I feel I
have just scratched the surface of the Bombe techniques used at BP for
the breaking of cyphers.

We then moved on to some of the other Blocks and huts, many of which are still being renovated. Hut 6 was used for decrypting German Army and Air Force messages. A special chute was devised to send the messages to hut 3. This was so that each unit would not know what techniques the other was using. Hut 3 would then translate and analyse the plain language messages passed to them. Each decrypted message (known as Ultra) was written as if it had come from an agent in the field, to disguise the fact that they had been decrypted from the original intercepted Enigma transmissions.

The whole process of Enigma decryption was taking place at BP on an
industrial scale, for once the settings for the day were obtained, all
messages intercepted on that particular network could be decoded from
midnight until midnight the next day

We then went to the National Radio Centre on the site. We were met by a
local radio amateur after which we undertook the short journey around the
exhibits. They were well thought out, but a guide would have been useful
for demonstrating to the public each of the interactive exhibits, which
were gain, modulation, detection etc. We then reached the end of the
short set of exhibits to find the GB2RS station operating on 17m. The
bands seemed OK as he was just working a JA on the beam. The station was very professional-looking , but I could not help thinking that it would
have been good to also have a much simpler station on show. Anyone
thinking of taking up the hobby would probably have been put off by the
expensive array of computers, transceivers and displays making up the
station.

We then made our way to some of the other huts including one featuring
the role of homing pigeons during the two world wars. Another hut featured
radios used by the Diplomatic service. Yet another hut had been used by
Ian Flemming (007 fame) and had been kitted out with items showing his
involvement at BP. Around 3.30 we were treated to a very low level
flypass of a Dakota; a part of the Battle of Britain Memorial team.
By 5.00 we had seen most of the site, but not the separate exhibitions
of Colossus, and the National Computing Museum.

We returned the next day (tickets are valid for one year) in order to
see the remaining items. We found out that the Computing Museum does
not open till 1pm. The decision was made to book on a tour in order to
get a better overall feel for the activties which had taken place on the
site around WW2.

This was well worthwhile and finished around midday. The hut housing the
re-built Colossus was now open, so we paid it a visit. This machine was
used to decode the very high grade messages encrypted on the 12-wheel
Lorenz machines used by Hitler and other senior German figures.

The Lorenz machines generated RTTY messages directly, which were
encrypted using binary addition of a key. The same binary addition was
applied at the receiving end which then restores the original message.

After a severe security lapse by a German operative, in which the same
message was resent using the same key and settings, but with abreviated
text; a mathematician was able to determine the number, wiring and use
of the 12 wheels despite never having seen such a device.

Colossus was built using several thousand valves, of which it was said
that it would be unreliable. Designer Tommy Flowers proved otherwise,
as he knew the machines would be running 24 X 7, thus significantly
improving their reliability. (The re-built Colossus has a failure rate
of about 5 valves per year - the equates to a MTBF of 10 weeks).

The Colossus acted as a semi-programmable parallel computer. This
computer, the world's first, used parallel processing techniques such
that only a modern dual core processor is able to achieve anywhere
near the same speeds.

After this we spent a couple of hours in the National Computing Museum.
Just about every computer system I have ever worked on was represented
here, from ICL 2900 mainframes to PDP-8's & 11s and Ferranti Argus
computers as still used in Heysham power station. We also saw the
amazing "WITCH" computer in action. This is the worlds oldest original
computer system still working. You can read the instruction codes and
data directly from the store as it is all visible.

One of the best displays was of the old West Drayton Air Traffic Control
system. A friend of mine (Eddie Richardson, the original owner of Walton
Radar Systems) had designed this PDP-11 based system to enable for the
first time, the recording and replay of ATC data. The system was
re-running in real-time the actual ATC displays from West Drayton some
20 years ago.

We eventually got away from BP around 3.30. Apologies for such a long
post, but hopefully it conveys some of the wonder of yesteryear. If
you get the chance to visit BP, then I would highly recommend it. There
is still a lot more renovation work to be completed, so I will try to
make a return visit in about 2 to 3 years.

It was fascinating to wander around the BP site knowing that the fate
of the entire world once lay in the hands of the dedicated scientists
and cryptologists who worked in total secrecy before, during and also
after WW2.

Andrew, G0LWU

Five Go to Samos......again!

Well
After an uneventful journey down to Gatwick we are still waiting to board the plane. It has been delayed for 3 hours, so we should fly about 10.30!
For Ian G0VGS it is his first flight abroad and for Bob G1OCK it's his first visit to the Island. For Hughie G4UME, Stephany G1LAT and Barrie G1JYB it's a return to this fabulous Greek island.
For now we are going to relax and wait for boarding.

Four Go To Samos

Four Go To Samos

Early morning on 13^th September 2012 saw myself, Baz, Steph, Hugo and Frank motoring down the M6 to Manchester Airport to catch the 0810 flight to the Island of Samos in Greece for a week’s holiday. After a 3½ hour flight and a serious 90 degree right hand turn to avoid hitting one of the many Mountains of Samos our pilot dropped rapidly and before you could say “HOLY SHIT!!” we were firmly placed on the runway and reverse thrust and brakes applied to stop us carrying on into the Aegean.

Samos City Island

Kokarri Samos

Frank, Kristina, Hugo, Stephany

After 30 minutes we had picked up our Hire Car and were heading on the wrong side of the road to our home for the week, “The Cohyli Hotel” in the Fishing Village of Ireon where we were greeted like old friends by the owner Kristina and showed to our Rooms, only Hugo complained so we swapped.

Yannis our friend from the Plori Bar 

By the time we had sorted ourselves out which was late afternoon we ambled down to the main Village Square to have a drink and meet our friend Yannis who runs “The Plori Café and Bar” and have a well-deserved Beer before finding a Taverna/Restaurant.

Pythagorian

Coffee in the Valley Of Nightingales

Next day at my suggestion we drove to the North of the Island and parked our Car almost at sea level near the Village of Ag. Konstantinos and after having a drink we set off up a very steep old Donkey path in “The Valley of The Nightingales” towards our destination for the day, the beautiful Hill Top Village of “Manolates” it was very hot and on our walk we passed many Vineyards carved out of the steep Mountainside and fantastic views of the Coast. It took us about 90 minutes to reach the Village where Hugo thought that was it and promptly parked his Arse at the first Taverna we came to. 

Hugo G4UME

Stephany G1LAT

Frank G8BME

Unfortunately for him we still had probably the hardest part of the walk still to do to the highest Taverna in Manolates where Lunch and some cool Beers are awaiting us. 

Eventually we arrived, hot and sweaty and sat down on a table on the Terrace overlooking the whole of the Valley of the Nightingales and the coast of Samos and of Turkey, absolutely wonderful, and then I discovered that I had left my Camera hanging on a seat at the very bottom of the Village. PANIC PANIC!!!!! Off I went at a run down to the bottom, no one else would come with me and I found it still there and next to it, an English couple who were just about to hand it in to the Taverna.  I set off back up the very steep streets and arrived a TOTAL WRECK and devoured very quickly a couple of Beers and a plate full of Omelettes and then we all just sat and contemplated the views for another hour before plunging back down the Valley to the Car and then back to Ireon which is on the SW of Samos. 

Pygothorion in the background

On the way back, we called in at the local Supermarket and bought Litre bottles of Red Wine for 2 Euros each and also Ouzo and Brandy at similar low prices and then proceeded to sit on our adjoining Balconies and have a few glasses of each before off again into the Village for Dinner. WORRA a fabulous day.

Next day we all hired Bicycles and had many laughs getting them sorted out before “le Grande Depart” to “Pythagorion” possibly my most favourite place on Samos, as it is lively, has lots of Restaurants serving wonderful food and best of all is the Harbour where all the Yachts come and go and in the Evening it is a MAGIC place to visit.

Frank taking his bike for a walk

We cycled first on the Road and then turned off on to a special Cycleway that passes the ruins of the “Temple of Hera” and then runs for a few miles right on the edge of the Coast, finally emerging very close to Pythagorion where we picked up some Sandwiches and Fresh squeezed Orange juice and then the “Sting in the Tail” the cycle up to “Moni Spillianos” and by up, I mean up and it wasn’t long before the whole team was taking their Bikes for a walk and getting hotter all the time, Eventually we arrived and it was a real Oasis, we could sit in the shade and eat our sandwiches and drink our Orange Juice and just look out to the views of Pythagorion, we could even see Ireon where we had started the ride from. Cycling back downhill all the way to Pythagorion was a real pleasure and we stopped at a Café and had a couple of Beers before pedalling back home to Ireon. 

Hugo at Monastery Spilliani

Stephany

Dinner at Pythagorion

A great day out and in the evening we again went in to Ireon and sampled yet another Taverna and finished up having a coffee with Yannis at the Plori Bar.

Some chilling out time:

Boy they look good!

Soul Mates

Theres something Wrong Here

I think I've got a tiddler!

That was too much information for Frank who swims away

Traditional Boat Builder high in the mountains

I won’t bore you with a description of every day, just to say that we visited all parts of the Island and enjoyed it very much indeed, especially the day we went to see the Boat builder high in the Mountains and also our visit to the Radio Shack of “The Aegean Radio Association” which is located high on a Hill called Zervou, although Steph and myself had been before, it took us some time to locate it, but when we eventually did, it was definitely worth the effort as we had a couple of hours working Radio Stations from UK to Japan, see the You Tube Video link below for an idea of what conditions were like.

The problem is that we were only on Samos for a week and the time just flew and before we knew it we were up in the air again and heading back home to a very dismal Manchester and the reality of things like the M6. The good thing is that we are off again in May of this year for two weeks on a Mini Dxpedition and it can’t come soon enough for me anyway.

Enjoy the Videos.

Baz G1JYB

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjoiW_2rEAc G1LAT Working a Japanese Station

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLteZMMAtXI Landing at Samos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYxoLB0yltc With the Local Radio Hams

Report on GB4GBO 2012 Olympics - Para-Olympics

Hello Folks,

This is a somewhat belated report on the group activity over the Olympic period.  Work started on getting the NOv GB4GBO for this event just before the Golf Oscar series was announced by the RSGB, and thankfully this gave us a unique opportunity to operate the station without getting the Golf Oscar tongue twister that plagued so many.

The event was run for the whole period of the Olympics including the Para-Olympics which is something we were very keen on promoting.  We are proud to be associated with such a special event.

Most of the contacts will have been done by Barrie and Stephany with a few members popping in to do some operating during the course of the event.

 Brian G0RDH

 Stephany G1LAT

Most of this event was covered from Barries Radio Room with 

Stephany and Barrie operating the station.

Elecraft K3 transceiver

400 watt amplifier

Antenna 20mt 5/8 wave vertical with 36 1/2 radials

Antenna 40mt inverted V wire dipole

It was always planned for the Members of the Sands Contest Group to run the event for a weekend from Hancock's Radio Hut.  The pictures below show members setting up the antenna's for a weekend of activity between the end of the main Olympics and the start of the Para-Olympics.

We were down on numbers for setting the station antenna's up and are grateful 

to Barrie G1JYB who hosted the event for taking time out of what was 

a busy day to help with the antenna's setup.  Barrie is sporting black fleece 

Other members in the picture are Ian G0VGS and our Elder Statesman Hughie G4UME

Steve G1TLQ joined us just in time to roll the coaxial cable out.  

The antenna's used included a 40m dipole that worked really well for us and the 20mt 5/8 wave vertical with 36 1/2 radials.

Steve would have enjoyed doing some operating with us over the weekend but was suffering with an ear infection he did not want to pass on.

Hancock's Radio Hut

The callsign GB4GBO was used by members of the Sands Contest Group
Operators G1JYB Barrie, G1LAT Stephany, G4UME Hughie, 
G0RDH Brian, G0VGS Ian, Andrew G1LWU

Due to the lack of a linear being available to the group we fell back on my FT-2000D for the weekend which worked very well.  This was a really enjoyable event to be associated with and it was a pleasure to work so many stations around the world.

This picture was taken by vk3alz and shows his FT-2000D this picture was found in a web search

This  has been a fantastic year for sporting events and special celebrations like the Queens Diamond Jubilee and last but not least the Wray Scarecrow Festival.  None of the events mentioned would have been worth doing if they were not supported by radio amateurs world wide.  Thank you for your support and we will see what we can put together for 2013 on the special events front.

73

Brian 

RSGB Top Band Contest 2004

I really thought I had posted this out ages ago but it would appear not.  Here is a diary entry written after the RSGB Top Band contest in November 2004.  It still gives me a chuckle after all these years, I hope you enjoy it too :)

RSGB Top Band Club Call Contest 13th November 2004

Think of all the things you would love to do in life.  Sitting in a Landrover on a salt marsh with a 34 foot vertical aerial lashed to it.  It is night time and pitch black.  The temperature is close to freezing.  The remains of a couple of bags of soggy chips are on the floor at our feet and the flask is all but empty of tea.  Every time I get out of the Landrover to walk around I fall down that blasted hole!  You know the one, deep and full of salt water.  If I fell down that hole once, I fell down it ten times!  Why is it everyone else manages to miss it?  The battery voltage is starting to drop in the cold too.

The day started with G3SZU and G0VGS going down to the shore at Bolton-le-Sands to check out the proposed site for the contest.  It is a lovely day, the sun is shining and there seems to be a complete lack of cocklers.  The site is perfect and should be a really good ground plane for Keith's latest invention, the Szuperdupernotalooperbutavertical.  This has previously been tested in Keith's back garden and found to be good.  We manage to find a way down to the grass for Gary's Landrover and then qsy back to Keith's for a brew and a look at the Szuperdupernotalooperbutavertical.  The aerial is a 34 foot vertical made of aluminium tube with a coil about half way up.  This all splits into 7 foot sections for transport.  Everything is looking good.

The contest is due to start at 20:00 GMT and we all met up at the site at 18:30.  It is now pitch black and the sky is beautiful, stars twinkling and the lights of Grange-over-Sands and Barrow are lovely over to the north.  The lights of Morecambe to the south compliment their siblings and all is well with the world.  There are four of us at this point.  Keith G3SZU, Kev M0TNX, Gary M0RGB and myself, Ian G0VGS.

We positioned the Landrover down on the marsh and illuminated the site with our car headlamps from the carpark above.  The next trick was to raise the antenna to its operating position.  I have never done anything like this in the dark before and it was achieved in several phases.  We needed to get the base of the antenna above the Landrover so we could use the vehicles body to add to the ground.

First we attached a length of wooden baton to the vehicle.  This was vertical and located right behind the cab.  Next, the aerial was assembled and three guy lines attached.  Two of us held a guy line each and Keith was then able to walk the antenna vertical and rest it against the baton.  Gary was stood in the back of the Landrover and the two of them managed to slide the antenna up the baton and lash it.  In the meantime, Kev and I were trying to keep the whole thing straight.  There were only two of us to hold three guys and we had to keep moving around to help the boys trying to lash it.  That was the first time I fell down the hole!  It was to prove my nemesis that night.

We eventually managed to get the whole thing erected and straight by tensioning the guys while Gary stood underneath and shone a torch up the length of the vertical to check.  Job done, we stood back to admire our handiwork and I fell down the bloody hole again!

The antenna was connected with a single wire to the ATU and a second wire was taken from the earthing post on the ATU to a stake hammered into the ground.  We needed nothing more on a salt marsh!  Unfortunately, Gary's auto ATU would not tune the beast and so Keith's homebrew monster manual ATU was drafted into service.  This is the size of a small house and can handle Megawatts with ease.  Antenna tuned we were ready to go.  So was Keith.  He had the onerous task of taking Barbara out for a meal.

Shortly after this, Mark M0DGK arrived and we were four again.  Mark would have been there earlier but I had apparently given him times for meeting up whilst consuming a particularly good Malbec the previous night and been completely wrong, sorry Mark!

So away we went.  Gary on the mic and Mark logging.  Kev and I stood outside and chatted as there was only room for two in the Landrover.  I went to check all was tidy and immediately fell down the damn hole again!  If I had not been wearing walking boots I would have sprained my ankle badly this time I think.  Even so, it is still a little sore as I write.  Of course, everyone was full of sympathy inbetween their hysteria!

So Gary is calling into the ether and gets a contact!  The first of the event is Dave, G6CRV in Heysham.  Gary works him and then calls again.  That is when the fireworks started!  No, I mean it, actual fireworks.  They are being let off about 100 yards away and it sounds like a small war is taking place close by!  None of us can hear a thing while they are going off.  A typical evening for Sands Contest Group!

Anyway, that all soon finishes and we settle into the contest.  Kev takes over on the mic and Gary and I decided to go and get some chips to warm us up.  We got to the chip shop to find that it had just closed!  Fortunately, they obviously realised that we were in dire need of sustenance and opened the door.  They had some chips left and the odd fritter and fishcake.  We accepted these gratefully and returned to the site.  The food was handed out to those in need and we munched contentedly while the contest continued.  Conditions were not ideal but the antenna was certainly working.  With our regulatory 30 watts we were reaching the south coast of England and getting reasonable reports.

Kev left and Mark soon followed.  That left myself and Gary shouting into the night.  At one point Keith called back (having had a warm and comfortable meal at an unnamed hostelry!)  Barbara was in the car and must have thought us completely mad.  To be fair, she probably had a point!  They went again and once more Gary and I carried on bravely.  It was getting quite cold by now but we were somewhat protected in the Landrover.  The antenna was certainly working and at the last, Keith arrived again to help us pack down.  Just as the contest was finishing we heard what we at first thought was a GI station.  It actually turned out to be a GJ!  We worked him with no problems to cap off an interesting evening.

We closed the station down and got out of the cab and I immediately fell down the bloody hole again!

Everything in the back of the Landrover had a sheen of frost on it including Keith's doorstop ATU but nothing was harmed and we got everything packed down in short order.  I was to fall down the hole yet one more time but my evening was made when Keith fell down it a little later.  At last someone else had done it!

We strapped the antenna to the Landrover and went back to Keith's for a quick brew before all going home for the night.

All told a great evening with plenty of fun.  Thirty two contacts will not win us any medals but the antenna worked well and Gary's 857 was splendid.

Ian, G0VGS