The Big Multimode Nets 2016

Just a reminder that on Monday 27th June 2016 stations across the UK (and Europe) will be on the air to celebrate 2 years of legal AM and SSB. 

It's hard to believe that 2 years have passed by already. SSB has proved to be very popular in many parts of the UK especially on the many 'Midweek DX' nets but I must say that AM is still very rarely used so here's your chance to get on the air and make some contacts!

AM calling will take place on Ch14 - 27.125MHZ

SSB(USB) calling will take place on Ch27 - 27.275MHZ 

Please remember to QSY from the calling channels when contact has been made. 

6m Propagation - GM2T - 18/06/2016

GM2T (From: Cockenzie and Port Seton Amateur Radio Club) is located some 60 miles north of me. Initially heard talking to M0XVF who is located near Bishop Auckland at a distance of 85 miles from GM2T.

Click Images To Enlarge:

2m Propagation 05/06/2016 (Yaesu FT-991)

2m Propagation 05/06/2016 (Wouxun KG-UV9D)

CB Radio Skip 25/05/2016 - 47KP147

CB Radio Skip 28/04/2016

The bands have been very quiet for many weeks so it was nice to hear a little activity yesterday! 

Foundation Guide To Amateur Radio By VK3YE

 
Calling CQ

M0DAD: 30,000KM Contact - Pedestrian Mobile!

Video: YouTube/M0DAD

Some more amazing contacts made by David, M0DAD whilst out pedestrian mobile. Including a contact of nearly 30,000KM!!!

Mid Week Net For Ziggy Hudson (02/03/2016)

Following on from the sad news that the well known and loved radio operator Ziggy Hudson has sadly passed away, tonights mid week net in the UK wil be in honour of the man himself. There are in fact several mid week nets active in the UK every Wednesday/Thursday night from about 7pm. They can usually be found in the top half of the EU (Mid) Band and are always on Upper Side Band, so be sure to check them out. 

The exact frequency of the main mid week net is normally posted on the their Facebook page "Midweek DX", just prior to commencement. 

HF Pedestrian Mobile! - M0DAD

Video: YouTube/M0DAD

A great video from David, M0DAD who likes to operate HF Pedestrian Mobile from North East England with all his gear set up on a trolley. David has managed some amazing contacts with this set up and it's obvious that the seaside location (Away from all the electrical noise we have in our homes) makes a massive difference to the transmit and receive. 

Thunderpole - New Look Forum

Thunderpole have updated their radio forum with a new clean look. The forum has been around for many years and provides lots of interesting and useful information. 

You can see the new look forum by clicking HERE  

The Thunderpole shop can be found HERE

Tim Peake Heard On The International Space Station 26/02/2016

Yet another video featuring Tim Peake on board the Space Station. 

UK CB Radio: Single Side Band (Mobile)

Video: YouTube/Steve Stevens

In this video Steve shows us the advantages of using SSB even in flat conditions. Starting a chat with one other station and by the end of the video he has quite a nice little net going with stations in Luton, The South Downs, Peterborough and London.

SSB activity has increased dramatically in many parts of the UK since it was legalised in 2014 with many weekly nets springing up. Steve's video shows that a call on the UK SSB Calling Frequency (27.275 USB) can lead to some great contacts even in poor/flat conditions. 

So why not give it a try? Give out a call on 27 Mid Band (27.275 USB).

Tim Peake Heard On Board The Space Station 19/02/2016

This time I used one of my Baofeng UV5R radios connected to a home made horizontal dipole antenna which was on a 3m pole in the back garden. The horizontal dipole does a much better job of receiving signals from space than my normal home base vertical. This is due to the fact that the vertical is 'end on' to the direction of the signal source where-as the horizontal dipole is 'side-on'.

UPDATE: Tim's next contact will take place on 26th February 2016 at 14:40 hours GMT with City of Norwich Schools.

Tim Peake's Next School Radio Contact Announced

It has just been announced on the Principia website (LINK) that Tim Peake's next contact will take place on 19th February at 14:23 hours GMT.

"Amateur radio call with Oasis Brightstowe, Bristol

Date: 19 February 2016 

Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm 

Tune into Tim’s radio calls to UK schools. Oasis Brightstowe in Bristol will be hosting the call and although there is no public access to the event, a webcast of the link up will be provided here

Time of call now confirmed for: 14:23 on 19th February

Media enquiries are welcome"

Reminder: Tim Peake LIVE from the Space Station Today!

Just a quick reminder that you may be able to hear Tim Peake on board the ISS at approx 18:11 hours GMT on 145.800Mhz FM.

He will be attempting to make contact with The Royal Masonic School For Girls in Rickmansworth in the second of 10 planned radio events. 

So get your scanner/radio tuned in to see if you can hear him!

HEX (Hill-toppers and Extreme) Ground Wave DX NET

05/03/2016 - 27.405 USB

"Once again the chance to head for high ground and ping some signals around the Country, this is a contact / DX Net for those wishing to log as many +100 mile contacts ( as seen on the placement card ) as possible in a controlled environment .

It's all about the receive and power is not the issue , if you can't hear them_ you can't work them !
Hoping for better weather and Tropo conditions than in December and although I think we all had a great time with some cracking results it only ever reached around 25% of its potential in my opinion . 

QRM from Europe may be a problem and the Net(s) may have move to different channels at times around the mid-block on USB. 

I will be calling out from the Mendip Hills Somerset , at around 6pm on the 5/3/2016 and hope to make contact and be able to pass around as many as possible.

73 & Good DX
Kevin 26CT1685"

Source - Discussion thread on the Charlie Tango Forum: LINK

Magnum 1 - First UK Review!

Video: YouTube/M0OGY

Dave, M0OGY, gives us the first UK look at this new radio from Magnum. Basically its a Maxlog 8800, but it will be interesting to see if there have been any improvements/modifications to the radio. 

Specs sheets are shown below(Click images to enlarge):

CTX January AM Net

The CTX Team have announced their latest AM net, which will take place on Saturday 30th Janaury 2016

    (Click Image To Enlarge)

"The latest in our series of the increasingly popular AM Nets!

6pm until 9pm (18:00-21:00 GMT/UTC)

We will call on Ch14 Mid Block (27.125Mhz) with a QSY channel (which we will pick on the night based upon band conditions), but our preferred net channel is Ch10 (27.075Mhz) - if Ch10 is not usable on the night, we try to stay on the lower part of the Mids (we don't use Ch9, Ch14 or Ch19 to hold the net on though)."

CTX Facebook Page: LINK

C4FM (Fusion) on The Yaesu FT-991