Saturday, December 29, 2012

Go Box project for your portable radios

The European Radio Amateurs' Organisation has an interesting video about a "Go Box" project:

EURAO


Radio Amateur breaks the news of the Falklands Invasion

Without Amateur Radio the UK Government would not have been aware at an early stage of the Falklands Invasion.
See the BBC report on this event:
BBC News


Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Raspberry Pi and Amateur Radio

ICQ Amateur Radio Podcast talks about using the Raspberry Pi for Amateur radio projects.
This podcast is made in the UK and is interesting and well produced, listen to the pre-Christmas edition at:
ICQ Podcast



Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Try an Irish 80m contest on 1st January!


Monday, December 24, 2012

Happy Christmas to all Radio Amateur's

  May you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2013

Saturday, December 22, 2012

A new callsign database

While this may seem old news to some amateurs, I have only just been made aware of an Amateur Radio callsign database which has been established this year after acquiring callsign information (without permission) from www.qrz.com.
Because the information for "www.qrzcq.com" was obtained without permission, much of the data is displayed inaccurately (as was my own information). Why not check to see if your callsign is available on the database; should you wish you can edit the data or request that it be removed.
I asked for my information to be removed and received a prompt response from the owners who complied with my request.
(John GD0NFN)

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Become a doomsday radio station!

The end of the World is forecast to be Friday 21-12-12. There will be lots of stations on the air for their last QSO; why not join in and register your station on:
The end of the World
and call CQ Doomsday!
 

Thursday, December 13, 2012

In the shack on Christmas Eve

HAMRADIONOW.tv

What would you like for Christmas?

Just play the video!



472 KHz Amateur Band

Notice of variation:

472 KHz

(RSGB News)

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

AGM - Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society

The Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society held it’s 64 AGM on Tuesday 11th December 2012.

The following was noted from the meeting:
About 20 people attended the meeting.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last AGM.
The Chairman reported as follows:
A repeater update was made available from the repeater keeper and this regretted no progress with GB3GD and GB3IM antenna situation (Snaefell), see www.manxrepeaters.com.
A brief comment was made about the “State of the Society”.
It was noted that the mobile shack is almost completed and is now located with Mike Webb, it is expected to be used during 2013 at some events.
Two new radio’s (FT897’s) have been purchased for the Society use, after the sale of older equipment the Society funded £15 towards the purchase cost.
Note was made of some events which had taken place during 2012.
The Foxdale shack has been re-organised and improved.
The Society held one training course during the year and two candidates achieved Foundation status.
The Society will celebrate it’s 65 year by holding a special event station, previous Society members will be welcomed to this event.
The Chairman's award was presented to the Secretary - Andy Morgan.
Mike Webb (co-opted on to the committee) stated that he had made his contact details available so that he could raise concerns about the Society with the committee, he stated that he had received no emails or phone calls and that he was aware of a small group of individuals who were unhappy about certain matters.
Treasures report stated that there were 32 registered member during the year and the Society was in a strong financial state with some £4,286 available.
The Secretary reported that as there were no nominations received for Committee membership and therefore the current committee should continue to be in office, this was proposed by Rose Caine and seconded by Mike Webb.
It was proposed by Andy Morgan and seconded by Steve Kelly that Mike Webb previously co-opted on to the Committee should now become a full committee member this was accepted by the meeting.
AOB proposed changes to the Society constitution as follows:
The statement that the repeater keeper will be appointed was amended.
The statement about members subscriptions was amended.
The statement about responsibilities of the QSL manager was amended.
Written details of these changes are to be made available.
Please be aware that the above details represent an attenders view of the meeting and are not to be considered as an official record; formal minutes of the meeting are expected to become available to members of the Society.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Advanced examination problems in Northern Ireland

It seems that two candidates who had studied together in Northern Ireland had their results disallowed because they both got wrong answers to the same questions.

Examinations


(Southgate ARS News)


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Gx100RSGB Special event callsign



The RSGB will be celebrating 100 years of service to the Amateur Radio Community in 2013 and have issued in conjunction with OFCOM a special callsign to be used around the regions (Gx100RSGB - the x will change dependant on the region using the callsign).


Monday, November 26, 2012

How many UK Amateurs are there?

Not as many as the Ofcom statistics indicate - interesting article from Southgate ARS News.


Hams Data


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Who is looking at the Blog?

Over the last month, more people from the USA have looked at the blog than any other country.
Amateur Radio on the Isle of Man sends all our viewers best wishes!


Monday, November 19, 2012

High Speed CW on a straight key.

Morse Code Practice.

CW


Intruder Watch


 From RSGB News.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Air Cadet Organisations can now coduct there own Examinations

Air Cadet Organisation can now administer their own Amateur Radio Foundation examinations.
10 Cadets passed their Foundation at RAF Halton earlier this year.
(RSGB News)

RSGB full Licence Examination Dates


Friday, November 09, 2012

Norway gets new allocations

 The Norwegian P & T Authority has made changes to the Norwegian amateur licence regulations. The major changes are that permission has been given to use 472 to 479kHz with a maximum 1W EIRP. The former permission to use 493 to 510kHz has been stopped. Permission has been given to use 70.1875 to 70.2625MHz, except in the three Norwegian southwest counties of Hordaland, Rogaland and West-Agder, where there still is commercial traffic within this frequency segment. Other segments allowing 100W transmitter power and maximum 16kHz bandwidth include 70.0625 to 70.0875MHz, 70.3625 to 70.3875MHz and 70.4125 to 70.4625MHz.
(RSGB NEWS)
 

Monday, November 05, 2012

GT8IOM scores 56th (out of 971 EU Stations)

An Island station recently scored well in the ARRL 2012 International DX Phone contest.

Well done to those Amateurs for once again putting the Island on the International map.

Saturday, November 03, 2012

Radio Amateurs establish critical communications during the Sandy Hurricane.

Radio Amateurs provide vital communication links during the American Sandy disaster.

Emergency Communications

Friday, November 02, 2012

GB3GC, a new six metre repeater

 A new six metre repeater, GB3GC, is up and running in south east Cornwall, on the same site as the 2m repeater GB3PL. This 6m repeater has its input on 51.230MHz FM and 500kHz spacing for its output at 50.730MHz. The CTCSS tone is 77Hz. Any enquiries should be directed to Roger, 2E0RPH, whose details are correct on QRZ.com.
(RSGB News)
 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

GT8IOM did the CQWW contest.


Two members of the GD8IOM group recently entered the CQWW contest  (SSB: October 27-28, 2012) this is the largest contest in the World, usually getting around 30,000 contesters.
The group achieved around 1,760 QSO’s with about 80 multipliers; this should produce a significant score.
Such an achievement certainly gets the IOM well known around the World.
http://www.cqww.com/

Monday, October 22, 2012

UK to phase-out IRCs

Phil, G3SWH, has received the following info from the Royal Mail: "Due to declining international mail volumes and electronic substitution, customer demand for International Reply Coupons has been falling dramatically over the last few years.
"Overall sales of International Reply Coupons have been very low indeed - on average just 4 per annum bought from each Post Office branch. Therefore, it was no longer commercially viable to maintain the sale of coupons and Royal Mail has taken the decision to withdraw them from sale.
"International Reply Coupons have not been withdrawn globally from sale. Under UPU regulations Royal Mail through Post Office Counters is obliged to redeem International Reply Coupons presented having been purchased overseas, but we are not obliged to sell them. However, I can confirm that customers have up to December 2013 to redeem IRCs."

Phil states, "This seems to be much more in line with the Royal Mail's
responsibilities under their UPU membership. Looks like they're safe until 31st December 2013. It may be that the UPU will change their rules after that date (which would be no bad thing IMHO)."

SARS News

Friday, October 19, 2012

Ofcom to legalise AM and SSB CB apparatus

 Ofcom has announced that it intends to legalise AM and SSB CB apparatus, subject to the MOD agreeing to the use of spectrum allocated to it. According to the statement on the Ofcom website, the relevant ECC Decision about harmonising CB across Europe should probably be implemented in the UK by the end of 2013. The statement indicates that there are several legislative and other steps that must first be carried out. It also points out that, until these changes are implemented, it will remain an offence to install or use AM, SSB or any other CB apparatus other than in accordance with the current exemption regulations and Interface Requirement. The full Ofcom statement is at http://tinyurl.com/Ofcom-SSB-CB.
(RSGB NEWS)
 

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The RSGB have just issued a code of practice for use by radio amateurs:

RSGB code of practice


Monday, October 15, 2012

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Nothern Lights

How solar storms create the Northern Lights

In this BBC News video Professor Dag Lorentzen explains how solar storms affected the Earth's magnetic field to create the Aurora Borealis

Watch the video at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19898445

Consultation on the use of 143 to 156 MHz

The RSGB, jointly with the BATC and AMSAT-UK, has submitted a response to Ofcom’s consultation on the future use of VHF spectrum formally used by the Home Office, 143 to 156MHz. The unique nature of this spectrum, and that it surrounds our existing 2m band, suggested a creative response would be needed in order to be competitive with the likely responses from Business Radio (PMR). Details are on the Committees section of the RSGB website under Spectrum Forum.
(RSGB News)


 
 
 



  

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The discusion about the IOMARS continues.

Following the last post on this blog the discussion continues as follows:

continued discussion

Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society asks for feedback!

It seems that the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society is once again unhappy about older Amateurs on the Island “Usually (in my experience) the worst detractors are older (in age)” says the Society Secretary. This comment is supported by the Society Chairman “My sentiments exactly! If the moaners don’t like the way that IOMARS is being run then either speak up and help sort out the problems, or vote with your feet!”
People have indeed voted with their feet as speaking up has failed to resolve some of the issues and the Society has seen a rapid decline in membership over the last 2 years (70+ down to 30+).
The current committee has been subject to significant criticism and this continues to be the case, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel as a co-opted committee member GD6ICR (callsign at manx.net) is offering to represent, disaffected members and has asked that this be known to amateurs who don’t read the Societies ‘official’ blog.
It is very sad to see such an old Society going down the drain; Amateur Radio is a fine hobby and is currently being affected on the Island by personality conflicts; why not contact GD6ICR and express your thoughts and moans and allow the Society the chance to recover from its failures.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

70MHz contest

On Sunday 23rd September, the Practical Wireless 70MHz Contest runs from 1200 to 1600UTC. It has Low Power, that’s 10 watts in this contest, and Open sections. Scoring is 1 point per contact, multiplied by the number of Locator squares worked. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. As this is the 80th anniversary year of Practical Wireless, expect a good turnout.
(RSGB News)

Sands Contest Group to activate Isle of Man

Members of Sands Contest Group (Morecambe Bay area ) will be activating the Isle of Man, IOTA reference EU-116, from 23 to 29 September.
The group will use the club call MT0SCG and will be active on most HF bands using SSB and datamodes.
The base location is next to a small beach, close to the town of Ramsey at the NE end of the island, locator IO74UH. The group is likely to activate at least one SOTA summit during the week, probably on 2m FM.
(RSGB News)

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

The Soap-Box maintains regular monthly activity:

Pages viewed on the blog over the last month and the viewers location:

Isle of Man 448
United States 236
United Kingdom 76
Russia 43
Germany 39
France 21
Ukraine 19
Australia 12
Canada 7
China 7

The most viewed pages related to GT8IOM and lighthouses activity.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Philippines ARS get 7201 - 7300 MHZ

The Philippines Amateur Radio Association (PARA) has announced new frequencies for Philippine radio hams

They report that after countless meetings of the Amateur Radio Consultative Panel (ARCP) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the following changes came into effect on August 30, 2012:

- Recognition of only one national amateur radio organization: Philippine Amateur Radio Association.
- Person who passes the exam but does not own a radio will be given an operator certificate with his own call sign.
- New license class: Foundation License class (must pass element II, VHF only privilege). [Class D]
- Vanity call sign.
- NTC to maintain a database of licensees and made available to the public domain.
- Additional frequencies: 135.7 kHz to 137.8 kHz; 472 kHz to 479 kHz; 7.201 MHz to 7.300 MHz
- Class B and C allowed to operate mobile HF.
- Minimum age for Class D is 9 years old.
- Convergence with internet now explicitly allowed (echo link, voip, etc).
- Question pool committee, oversight committee officially organized.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

GT8IOM enjoy working the World



GT8IOM enjoyed a good week end of radio operating for lighthouses on the air;
Lighthouses
Over 700 contacts were made by the motley crew in poor working conditions!

Friday, August 17, 2012

New Ten-Tec Tranciever only $2,795



TEN-TEC 588


Thursday, August 16, 2012

15th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND

GT8IOM will be active during this event over the forthcoming week end.
Why not give the station a call so that they can fill up the logbook!!

Entrants list 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012

Friday, August 03, 2012

New version of Ham Radio Delux

The latest version of HRD is about to become available, a previously free programme will now cost $79.95.

HRD

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Digital speach for Amateur Radio

Click on the link to hear a very interesting YouTube lecture on a Codec for digital speech on vhf or hf radio.
Digital speech

Friday, July 27, 2012

Contests (RSGB)

The 24 hour IOTA Contest finishes as 1200UTC today, 29 July. The exchange is signal report, serial number and IOTA reference, which is EU-005 for mainland Great Britain and EU-115 for mainland Northern Ireland.
The times given for the 80m Sprint contests in the August RadCom were incorrect. They have all been shortened to 1900-2000UTC. The 2m Backpackers on 4 August should have read 1300-1700UTC. The exchange for this 4th contest in the series is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.
Also on the 4th, the 144MHz low power contest takes place from 1400 to 2000UTC. Using all modes the exchange is also signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.
The following day, on the 5th, the 432MHz low power contest takes place from 0800 to 1200UTC, Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and postcode.
RoPoCo 2 is the first of this month’s HF contests. It takes place for 90 minutes, 0700 to 0830UTC on Sunday 5th, using CW only on the 80m band. In your first QSO you send a signal report and your own full postcode. For subsequent QSOs you send the postcode of the station you worked in your previous QSO. This contest relies on accuracy of the exchange, so if you receive a postcode that you know is wrong, eg impossible, or a corrupted version of your own, you should pass it on as you receive it, not corrected or amended.
The UK Microwave Group’s Microwave Field Day also takes place on 5 August from 0900 to 1700UTC. Using the 1.3 and 10GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.

Special Olympic Prefix update (RSGB)

A number of UK amateurs have asked for clarification on the applicability of the special letter O prefix. Despite being very busy with the Olympics, Ofcom has responded to the Society’s request on this matter. It has been explained that the special prefix is a temporary one that is only available to individuals and clubs where the licensee’s callsign has not been changed by a Notice of Variation, NoV. Thus, it is not applicable to Short Contest Calls or Special Event Station callsigns, as these require the use of a callsign different from that of the NoV holder. For licence variations such as the 5MHz and 500kHz NoVs it would be allowable to use the special O prefix, as the licensee’s callsign has not been varied by the NoV. Amateurs should be aware that this clarification does not affect the other terms and conditions within the licence, or a related NoV. Note too that the use of the special prefix started at 00.00BST on 21 July and finishes at 23.59BST on 9 September. Radio amateurs in the UK may still apply for an NoV to use the letter O in place of their regional identifier. Details are on the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org/olympics. Anyone logging stations using this special prefix can apply for the Olympic QSO Party Award. Again, full details are on the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/olympics/qsoparty

Friday, July 20, 2012

Changes to IOTA Rules

The IOTA Contest takes place on 28 and 29 July and there are some important rules changes for participants. The scoring for Island-World and World-World QSOs has changed, to increase the importance of working island stations. The World Multi-op category has been discontinued. A QSY rule for Island Multi-Op stations has been introduced, because some entrants have been operating with more than one multiplier station. Finally, low power expedition entrants are now allowed to use any antenna. The 2012 rules are on the Contest Committee section of the RSGB website. All operators are asked to please be careful to use contest preferred band segments, as penalties will be applied to stations who do not observe these limits.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Transatlantic on 144Mhz

Updated news on a 2mt and 4mt transatlantic beacon.

news link

Saturday, July 14, 2012

HF propogation predictions for July 2012

Thursday, July 12, 2012

G5RV Antenna talk (Louis Varney)

I have been asked to post a link to the g5rv talks:

g5rv

Enjoy.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

70cm band at risk in Australia

The Australian Communications and Media Authority's Spectrum
Conference this year saw the ongoing work associated on the
review of 400 MHz spectrum. This is a band of frequencies
that also includes the 70 centimeter ham radio allocation.

Currently, the Australian amateur service has a secondary
status between 420 and 450 MHz. In the last report from the
Australian Communications and Media Authority on its review
issued April 2010, it advised that the allocation for the
amateur service between 430 and 450 MHz would not be
affected from any rearrangement. However, they cited, a
possible need for some temporary use by other services in
the segment 440 to 450 MHz during the transition period.

In the Amateur secondary segment 420 to 430 MHz, in some
geographic areas around Australia, amateur use of that
spectrum has already been withdrawn. At the conference, the
Australian Communications and Media Authority indicated that
they will be seeking to consult with the Wireless Institute
of Australia on withdrawal of the amateur service in this
segment across the rest of that nation.

Currently, the major use of this band segment by amateurs is
fixed links and the like. The Australian Communications and
Media Authority database lists around 126 assignments to
some 35 licensees. It is expected these can be relocated to
the 430 to 450 MHz portion of the band.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, -- Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,


Friday, June 15, 2012

Segment of 2m to be used for Olympics

Ofcom has announced that a small block of the amateur radio 144 MHz band is to be used for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

The RSGB have issued the following announcement:

Following negotiations to minimise the impact on amateurs, Ofcom has now announced that it will temporarily authorise a small block of 12.5kHz channels, ranging from 144.0125MHz to 144.1375MHz, for the period
27 July to 28 August 2012 only.

The frequencies to be used specifically exclude 144.0500MHz (CW Calling) and 144.1000MHz (Perseids Meteor Scatter CW Calling).
Ofcom are aware of the various amateur contests scheduled for 4 and 7 August and will work with Game users to keep operations to a minimum on these dates.

Usage of this spectrum by Games users will be in the vicinity of London Olympic venues and will be limited to handheld equipment operating on a maximum of 5W output. Ofcom emphasises that use of Primary Amateur spectrum is only for the specified time period and does not constitute a change of usage.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

CEPT agreement not working in Europe

German amateur arrested in Greece


Last week, news reports came out from Greece that Baldur Drobnica, DJ6SI, had been arrested on the Greek island of Kos. He was reportedly taken into custody for the crime of espionage, which was quickly reduced to operating amateur radio equipment. This came about even though both Greece and Germany are both signatories to the CEPT pan-European Amateur Radio licensing agreement. The Radio Amateur Association of Greece are concerned that public services and institutions, particularly the police, have not been informed properly about amateur radio. DJ6SI has since returned home and is awaiting a further trip to Greece for trial.
(RSGB News)

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Thursday, May 24, 2012

ARRL first digital edition of QST magazine


The ARRL have issued their first digital edition of the monthly QST magazine.
The edition is displayed using Adobe Air and looks very nice on the screen, easy searching is available and it is possible to see archived editions of the magazine.
A first for ARRL, I wonder if the RSGB will follow?

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

New Radio from China.



New Radio

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

GT8IOM and the CQWW WPX Contest

GT8IOM will be operating in the CQWW WPX Contest on 26th May (00:00z) to 27th May (23:59z).
They will be using all bands and a number of Manx operators will be warming up their keys.
This CW element of the contest is supported throughout the World and is very busy every year.
The blog is advised that Mike GD4WBY will be in charge of brewing the tea!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Follow the Olympic torch as it makes it trip around the countries.

Worked all Britain (WAB) are offering a special award for working G4WAB and G7WAB as the stations operate around the route of the Olympic torch.

Have a look at WAB
for more information.

New RSGB General Manager

RSGB

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Yaesu FT-1d Digital Handheld Radio

This new Yaesu radio is to be launched at Dayton.
2mt/70cm - GPS - APRS etc.

New Radio


Monday, May 14, 2012

Blog access statistics today (14.05.12).


Wednesday, May 09, 2012

RAYNET Isle of Man


At a meeting of the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society last night (08-05-12) it was agreed to cease RAYNET activity on the Island until such time that significant interest was generated from Amateurs on the Island and/or the first responder services.
The meeting had been very well advertised and was open to the general public, a small number of individuals attended and it was very clear from the discussion that it was not possible to established a viable RAYNET on the Island able to provide a well trained and organized service which could ensure an adequate response from individuals as required.
Interesting discussion also took place about the possibility of litigation against the organization or it’s individuals in the event of things going wrong when RAYNET participates in an activity or emergency situation; clearly the risks for a voluntary organisation getting it wrong are much greater in today’s society than was previously the case.
The Society will continue to review this matter and remains willing to reopen discussion if required.

Friday, May 04, 2012

Tynwald Day

The IOMARS will not be present at Tynwald day this year; for  many years this has been a fine opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the public, but as a result of changes recently made by Government to the funding and arrangements for the day it is no longer possible for the Society to participate. 

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

RAYNET Isle of Man

The IOMARS would like to review RAYNET on the island as it has been some time since RAYNET  was active. To gauge local interest the Society invite all interested parties (irrespective of membership of the IOMARS) to a meeting at the Sea Cadet Hall Tromode Road, Tromode on Tuesday 08th May 2012 at 19:30 hours.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Understanding AM and FM modulation

1964 US Army training films explaining AM and FM modulation.
Whilst these films are old they are excellent presentations well worth viewing.


Thanks to Southgate ARS for the link.

Monday, April 23, 2012

OFCOM restrict Amateur frequencies during Olympic games

Amateur Radio - Spectrum Use During the Period of the 2012 Games (28th June 2012 to 23rd September 2012)

OFCOM Information


Sunday, April 22, 2012

New Laxey Node frequency on 70.350 MHz


The Laxey node (GD0NFN) is now operating on 70.350 MHz using 110.9 CTCSS for access.
The node is connected to the AllStar network, the node number being 27236.
This node is also connected to the IOM Hub and therefore access to the Island 70cm repeater network is possible through this node.
All reports on this node please to gd0nfn@manxbroadband.com.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Improvements to Carnane Repeater!!

Regarding Carnane, we discovered that the feeders leaving the building had come adrift from their proper places and one had been rubbing against the wall. The result was that a 4-inch section of the outer sheath and the inner braid and foil screen had worn away on one side of the cable. This probably began a couple of months ago and has been a slowly deteriorating situation ever since.

I say this because we dissected the damaged section and found no significant water ingress. Had this been a longer-term issue, there would definitely have been a lot more corrosion.

Myself (Dave Osborn the repeater keeper), Ed, Matty and Andy went to the site last Saturday and cut out the offending section of feeder and re-connected it. It is true to say that the improvement has been dramatic!

So, yes, work was done and we are all glad to see the difference it has made.

There are pictures on the GB3IM page at http://ManxRepeaters.com

Many thanks to all the workers.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Changes to this Blog!

You will note that this Blog no longer represents the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society as it has done for many years; the Society Committee feels that they can no longer post on a Blog edited by a none committee member.

I will continue to post information about Amateur Radio activity on the Island as long as interest in this Blog continues and as before all Amateurs are welcome to post information about their activities, items for sale etc.

John GD0NFN

gd0nfn@manxbroadband.com

Monday, April 16, 2012

MD0DXW resignation from the IOMARS Committee

Having had numerous telephone calls from radio amateur’s on the island and two off asking why I had resigned from the committee of the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society (IOMARS).

I thought I would clear matters up I have only resigned from the committee and not from the club I must make that clear.
My reason for resigning from the committee.

Well, it’s a bit varied and, I don’t wish to overstate specifics, suffice to say that I was not complacent in the attempt to expunge a well-known and long term radio amateur on the island and fervently disagreed with the chairman’s actions as I considered them to be ultra vires and in the end my views were upheld.

Also, having been a reasonably well connected civil servant (now retired) and having time to knock on the “highest of highest” doors in Government I therefore, offered my assistance on several occasions to the club only to have it ignored and the inference that I was interfering with other people’s empires.
The last email I had from the committee when I asked a question regarding RAYNET- I was informed that because of “leaks in the past” I was not going to be emailed answers to my questions.

Over the Christmas period I was not too well and did not attend the club or committee meetings – apart from one committee member who contacted me to see if I was OK the rest were quiescent.

I can now see why older members are no longer in the IOMARS – I have been involved in amateur radio since I was ten or so years old and, had great mentor in GD3FOC.

The club needs to keep the older members… not try to expunge them or ignore them – this is a marvellous hobby we have and most of us have been in it since children share the hobby.

Dr. W Morgan Griffiths
MD0DXW

W Morgan Griffiths LL.B P.hd
MIAP. MA Law
Member of the Health and Safety Lawyers Assotiation
Member of the Local Government Lawyers Assotiation
Trained Arbitration Service

MD0DXW RSARS 3568

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Committee resignation

Dave Cain, 2D0YLX, the Chairman of the IOMARS wishes to inform all Manx based amateurs of a recent resignation from the IOMARS committee.

W Morgan Griffiths, MD0DXW has today 10th April 2012 asked the society secretary Andy Morgan, GD1MIP to 'accept my immediate resignation from the committee of the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society (IOMARS)'.

The Chairman accepts Morgan's resignation and thanks him for the time he has devoted to the IOMARS since he was elected as an ordinary member to the committee in December 2009.

The chair invites any person interested in taking this vacant position on the committee to get in touch to discuss the matter.

Sent by the secretary of the Isle of Man amateur radio society, Andy Morgan GD1MIP.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

IOM Amateur on German TV

2D0RLA

Saturday, March 31, 2012

News from the RSGB

a) Individual insurance arrangements formerly through Bluefin:

Following the previous announcements about the withdrawal of Bluefin from the amateur radio insurance on the 31st March 2012 (for new policies and renewals), the Society is pleased to announce that two brokers are now offering insurance cover for radio amateurs. Whilst we do not and cannot recommend or endorse insurance companies, we can confirm the details as follows:

South West Broking Ltd

This company is offering insurance that has been negotiated specifically for amateur radio enthusiasts. They have gained the commitment of an insurer within Lloyd’s of London who offer cover for both radio equipment and third party liability insurance. Cover is available to both individual members and clubs.

Contact: Julian Dent of South West Broking Ltd. On 01454 806503 or by email at:Julian@southwestbroking.co.uk and they will be pleased to provide further information.

Quotedesk

A specialist insurance cover is also now available from a company Quotedesk. They are offering an all risk cover for your Amateur radio equipment along with Public Liability cover.

Contact: Phone +44 (0) 845 073 7137 or visit www.quotedesk.co.uk

b) Public liability Insurance for beacons and repeaters.

This policy expires today. Earlier this week we were told that the insurer (AXA) wanted to decommit from the business. They were embarrassed that, despite the renewal having been under discussion for weeks, they bounced this on us. They have now agreed to extend existing cover for a 14 day period and we have a proposal with them now which I hope will solve the problem.

c) NoVs for beacons

A large number of NoVs for beacons expire 31 March. We have agreed with Ofcom a process for extending existing NoVs until 31 December 2012, to allow an orderly issuing of new NoVs. Sadly the extension NoV wording has been delayed in Ofcom, and we now expect it next week. As soon as it is available we will go live with a portal on the RSGB website which will be similar to the NoVs for GQ and GO calls, which will allow beacon keepers to extend their NoVs through a webform.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

New QRP FT818 from Yaesu with 70Mhz

FT818

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

RSGB second announcement on Bluefin amateur radio insurance

On the 9 March we announced that the RSGB had learnt that Bluefin, also known as Amateur Radio Insurance Services, was leaving the amateur radio insurance market. Prior to this Bluefin had advised the Society of their intention to move the existing insurance business to a new underwriter and broker. Unfortunately it appears that they were not successful in this which has resulted in them writing to their customers informing them that they will not be taking on any new amateur radio insurance business or renewing existing policies when they expire.

The RSGB has no direct involvement with amateur radio insurance and this announcement was unexpected.

The RSGB is aware that other brokers are interested in offering amateur radio insurance and hopes that an announcement on a new insurance provider might be made by the 31 March when Bluefin ceases to take on new business. We will keep members informed of any developments.

Thursday, March 08, 2012

USA New Frequencies 60 Meter Band

As of March 5, US amateurs have new privileges on the 60 meter band. In addition to an increase in effective radiated power from 50 to 100 W, hams can now transmit CW and PSK31 on the following channel-center frequencies:

Channel 1: 5332.0 kHz
Channel 2: 5348.0 kHz
Channel 3: 5358.5 kHz
Channel 4: 5373.0 kHz
Channel 5: 5405.0 kHz
Amateurs can also transmit USB voice and PACTOR III on the following suppressed carrier frequencies (the frequencies typically shown on transceiver displays):

Channel 1: 5330.5 kHz
Channel 2: 5346.5 kHz
Channel 3: 5357.0 kHz
Channel 4: 5371.5 kHz
Channel 5: 5403.5 kHz

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Looking into the future with Yaesu

And interesting discussion about possible new developments from Yaesu.

New Developments from Yaesu

Twisted' waves could boost capacity of Wi-Fi and TV

Improve radio wave performance!!

Twisted Waves

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Blogger activity is increasing.


Views of the IOMARS Blog are increasing over time - here are today's statistics (26-Feb-2012).
Click on the picture for a clear view!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Yaesu Digital (alternative to D-Star)

This is a large PDF file please give it time to download!

Yaesu Digital

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Band Plans

New Region 1 band plans are now available on the RSGB web site; please note that there have been a large number of changes and the new plans are effective from 1st January 2012.

Please check before you transmit!

Band Plans

Monday, January 16, 2012

An easy way to design and send QSL cards

The following website allows you to design your personal QSL cards, send them your log and the cards are automatically printed and sent to the RSGB for distribution.
Easy, not expensive and works well. RSGB advise that they support the service.

QSL CARDS

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Morse Training 1944 style

Morse 1944 style

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Free mobile Radio Shacks available from Russia!

Radio Shack's

Waterproofing electronic devices!

Interesting technology which could be applied to portable radio equipment.

Liquipel

Friday, January 06, 2012

USA BPL system is closing down! (ARRL News)

IBEC -- one of the very few remaining operators of Access BPL systems -- has announced that it is closing down. In an undated announcement that appeared on the IBEC website, the company announced that it has "no other option than to close our doors and cease operations." IBEC claims that it cannot recover financially from the April 2011 tornadoes in Alabama that "ravished some of our major service areas." IBEC provided Internet service via broadband over power lines (BPL) to rural communities.
"While we regret the loss of jobs brought about by IBEC's BPL business failure, in the long run the rural areas that IBEC was trying to serve will be better served by broadband technologies that are superior to BPL and do not pollute the radio spectrum," said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. "While initially IBEC was cooperative in addressing the ARRL's concerns about interference to licensed radio services -- including Amateur Radio -- the ARRL was dismayed to find that the systems as actually deployed fell short of meeting even the inadequate requirements of the FCC's rules. We hope that this latest in the long string of Access BPL failures will persuade the few remaining fans of BPL to turn their attention elsewhere."