INDEX AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ISSUE No.11 SEPTEMBER 1984 Page 1................Index Page 2................From the Chair Page 3................News & Views Page 3................For Sale Page 4................Backtrack Page 4................Library Page 5................Dry-Fit Charger Page 6................Tech-Ed's Notes Page 6................Club Equipment Page 7................Diary Page 8................Membership List Page 9................Membership Form Editor................Dave Chislett G4XDW Technical Editor......Gerry Thorn G8VNA Printer...............Dave Ayres G6GBC **************************************************************** B.B.R.C. COMMITTEE Chairman..............Dave Bentley G6LKZ Secretary.............Paul Robinson G6DVC Treasurer.............Lynas Newton G6LYN Member................Mike Brown G4RAA Member................Martin Heaver G4WSW Library...............Dave Bentley G6LKZ Club Equipment........Dave Bentley G6LKZ **************************************************************** FROM THE CHAIR The time has come again for me to put pen to paper for this quarter's Beechlog. I do it this time with a sense of pride. The club pleasantly surprised me at the Home Counties Rally in July by rallying round and helping in a great many aspects of the event. The attendance this year was greatly improved and there could be the possibility of the club's receiving a boost to its funds as a result of the event. While on the subject of the rally I would like to thank Dave G4XDW and Dave G4XOW for their support with the rally and on the committee. While on the subject of thanks I would like to thank Martin G4WSW for organising and running the special events station for the Scouts. As we move into the second quarter of this committee we do so with a new secretary Paul G6DVC. Unfortunately Dianna G4MVV had to resign due to pressure of work, but while she was on the committee she was one of the hardest and conscientious workers; many thanks Dianna. Now I look forward to future events. The DX picnic on the 8th & 9th of September is a date not to be missed. Last year, in spite of the weather, it was very enjoyable. I hope this year's is as good. The time has come when I ask you to put your names down for the annual dinner (details elsewhere ED): your support of this function is necessary to keep it going. Another event planned is the visit to the club of G5RV who invented the famous aerial. (for dates see diary ED). As a parting thought, the treasure hunt, which was scheduled for the 8th of July and cancelled, has been planned for Sunday 23rd of September. The entry fee will be 50p per club member. Please support it this time as a lot of time has been spent preparing it. Finally, remember the Open Day on October 6th; it is our chance to show the public that Tony Hancock was wrong about us! 73's Dave G6LKZ NEWS AND VIEWS To start this month, two pieces of very good news. Our Chairman G6LKZ has become a Dad again. Janet gave birth to a boy weighing in at over 11lbs; they have named him Bob. Not to be out done, Sue, XYL of Ted G4XOE, produced a Daughter 6lbs 13oz called Lorraine. I know that you all will join me in congratulating them and hope that the babies will soon be sleeping through the nights. ******************************************************************* The Foxhunt held on the 6th August proved a difficult fox to find. The winner however was our Chairman Dave G6LKZ. Second was G4XOW assisted or otherwise by G4XDW. ******************************************************************* The Christmas dinner this year is to be held on the 10th December at the Palm Suite Restaurant. Booking forms will be available soon. As last year the Restaurant requires a firm booking of numbers by October. The ATV group has been asked to join in as in previous years but of course club members have priority when booking (maximum numbers 52 people) so please book early! ******************************************************************* By the time this is printed the editor should be online to the Prestel Computer and other databases and mailboxes available over British Telecom. In future it should be possible for all you out there with micros and modems to send in your copy for the magazine over BT! Next issue I hope to be able to give more details and of course tell you if it's worth it. ******************************************************************* Heard on the Club Net........Well I can copy everybody in the net at 5 and 9 except those in the noise! ******************************************************************* ITEMS FOR SALE FT230 2mtr FM 25 Watt Transceiver. Less than 1 year old #160 Trio/Kenwood 9130 2mtr Multimode Transceiver. #390 ono For further details Tony G4LQD Telephone. Farnham Common 3286 BACKTRACK In January 1968 a club constitution was being drawn up so that the club could apply for RSGB affiliation. Local pirates were a problem but on the positive side, a new contest site on Stoke Common had been found. Annual subs in 1968 were #1.0s.0d. Little of note is reported over the next three years, although the club continued to enter various contests. In September 1969, the club held a special events station for the Scouts ( Hedgerley, I think ) with the call GB2SAS. In 1972, lots of new ideas were being generated. A catering manager ( with free club membership ) was elected. Raffles were introduced to generate funds, the prizes were to be "small pieces of equipment donated by members." And a photographer was appointed ( G8CXW ) to keep a record of club events and a club scrap-book. Does anyone know anything about that? And to show how history repeats itself, the 2mtr club net was moved to Monday evenings, and a ' mobile picnic ' was planned for the Summer. So all looked very positive and rosy. But what happened next? Wait 'til next Beechlog to find out. Eileen G6EIL ******************************************************************* CLUB LIBRARY HF Antennas for all Locations Moxon 1981 Call Book RSGB 1984 Call Book RSGB Radio communications Handbook RSGB R.S Components Cataloque Confidential Frequency List +Supplement A DRY-FIT CHARGER Recently I acquired a portable video recorder which contained a Dry-Fit Battery. The charging circuit was contained within the Tuner Timer which normally resided at the house. It soon became clear that a suitable charger to carry around would be useful, an added bonus would be the ability to run the recorder from the mains. Dry-Fit batteries are becoming very common these days in equipment that requires high current for short periods. They are similar to the lead acid type found under the bonnet of cars, but do not require topping up and can be used at all angles even upside down. Dry-Fits unlike ni-cads which require a constant current charge, require a constant voltage charge with only an initial limit on current. The maximum voltage for a 12volt battery is 13.8volts: this should be maintained very closely, as over or under charging will result. The circuit shown makes use of a variable voltage regulator, the output voltage is defined by R1 and R2. By changing R2 the voltage can be changed from 13.8 for charging to 12 for operating the recorder. R3 limits the initial charging current and is switched out for 12volt operation. The voltage regulator should be mounted on a heatsink and R3 should be a wirewound resistor. In the prototype, I used a flashing LED to indicate that I was switched to charging. While charging keep the battery in a well ventilated area and upright and do not obstruct the vents. Dave G4XDW TECHS ED's NOTES. Not very much to report on the amateur radio side in this edition but quite a lot on the building front. The main work (bricks and mortar) is now complete, and I have started to fit out and decorate the kitchen. There is still a lot to be done in what will eventually be the dining room i.e. walls to be knocked down, plaster from existing walls to be removed, doors to be painted etc; The reason that the work has taken longer than we expected is the 'PLUMBING' due to the fact that lots of time has been spent putting to rights the original central heating system, which was put in by a 'FRIEND'!!! who was (is - heaven forbid!) supposed to be a plumber. The kitchen units proved to be more difficult to install than originally anticipated. Considerable time was also spent on the outside lights, we finally decided on Thorn low consumption fluorescent tubes in a round light fitting (100watts light output for 18watts consumption). Finally I wonder if anyone has seen the new AOR 2001 scanning receiver,from the details I have read this must be just about the ultimate in scanning receivers. Gerry G8VNA ******************************************************************* CLUB EQUIPMENT 1. 25ft Telescopic Mast/base/guys & pegs (G4XGD) 2. J-Beam 2mtr+70cms Beam/cables (G4XGD) 3. 4x23 ele JVL 23cms Beams (G4XDW) 4. Tent+Awning pegs (G4XOW) 5. G5RV HF Aerial/cable (G4XGD) 6. AM. HF Tranceiver 'valves req' (G4XDW) B.B.R.C. Diary of Events 1984 16th Jan G4HNL. Worked all Britain Award 6th Feb G8JMP. Airport Radio 20th Feb Surplus Equipment Sale 5th Mar A.G.M. 19thMar Computer Forum 24thMar VHF Convention (Sandown Park) 2nd Apr 23cms ATV G8LES 8th Apr(Sunday) FoxHunt 16thApr 28/29thApr RSGB Exhibition (Birmingham) 30th Apr Visit to Radio 210(12people max) 7th May Amtor/RTTY G3NRW (Ian Wade) 21st May 4th Jun FoxHunt 18th Jun 24th Jun Mobile Rally (Longleat) 2nd Jul 8th Jul(Sunday) Treasure Hunt 16th Jul 22nd Jul McMicheal(Home Counties Rally) 6th Aug FoxHunt 12thAug(Sunday)ClubContest 20thAug Meeting for Slough Day 25th Aug SLOUGH DAY 3rd Sep SurplusEquipmentSale 8/9thSep(W/END) DX Picnic(Field Day) 17thSep Foxhunt (G6LKZ Fox) 1st Oct Talk By R.S.G.B. 6thOct(Saturday) Open Day 15thOct Aerials by G5RV 28thOct(Sunday) FoxHunt 5th Nov Could be Bonfire 19th Nov AndorraExpedition G4NNS 3rd Dec TBA 10th Dec Club Christmas Dinner 17th Dec TBA ******************************************************************* MEMBERSHIP LIST 001 Eileen Chislett G6EIL Sl.21896 002 Dave Chislett G4XDW Sl.21896 003 Tony Alderman G4LQD Fc.3286 004 David Ayres G6GBC Md.28108 006 Paul Shayler G6TSF Sl.41396 007 Bill Perkins SWL Sl.32171 008 Lynas Newton G6LYN Sl.75247 009 Mike Brown G4RAA Bn.4262 010 John Duel G6CHO GX.84366 011 Dave Lomas G4XOW Lt.Grn.2847 012 Ann Lomas SWL Lt.Grn.2847 015 John Betts G4HMG Iver.651652 016 Diana Betts G4MVV Iver.651652 017 Gerry Thorn G8VNA Wey.52775 018 Caroll Thorn SWL Wey.52775 021 Peter Harman G4XGD Sl.28826 022 David Tanswell G6LAU Iver 652412 024 Brian Page G1BAP Coln.5029 025 Dave Bentley G6LKZ Sl.25101 026 Kevin Hadley G4HDK 0734-731026 027 Graeme Platts G4XOF Sl.78495 028 Ian Rae G8BUE Sl.20757 029 Graham Stewart G6HEJ Fc.5897 030 Richard Ashberry G6RTM Sl.46012 031 Ted Swaby G4XOE Sl.75099 033 Dave Hemmins G6DRP Bn.64436 034 John Williamson G4XJN Sl.24008 035 George Wall G6TXI Fc.5954 038 Paul Robinson G6DVC Rslp.72125 041 Martin Heaver G4WSW ******** 042 Ron Howlett G1BSQ 0895-445006 043 Bruce Gilson G4WVX Bn.64415 044 Mike Thomson G6WNU Bn.62328 045 Peter Phelps ***** ******** 046 Janette Phelps ***** ******** 047 Peter Melling SWL** Sl.29025 048 Mike Gathergood G4KFK 0895 834167 049 B. Mockett G1DSI ******** ******************************************************************** Please note if your details are not correct please fill in the form on the back of the magazine and hand to a committee member. This will help us to keep the records up to date. ******************************************************************** CHAIRMAN.............G6LKZ DAVE SECRETARY............G6DVC PAUL TREASURER............G6LYN LYNAS ORD'MEMBER...........G4RAA MIKE ORD'MEMBER...........G4WSW MARTIN THE BURNHAM BEECHES RADIO CLUB G3WIR G6WIR The Burnham Beeches Radio Club, affiliated to the Radio Society of Great Britain, serves the Slough/Windsor area, although it got its name from its original meeting place - or that vicinity. We meet twice a month, and our activities cover a wide range of topics related to radio communications, such as lectures, demonstrations, and club operating nights; there is also a keen interest in home computing among our members. We welcome members of any age and sex, who have an interest in Amateur Radio, whether they be licenced amateurs or 'Short Wave Listeners'. Meetings: 1st & 3rd Mondays of each Month at 8.00pm StJohnAmbulanceBrigadeHQ Burlington Road Slough. Secretary: Paul Robinson G6DVC Tel.Rslp.72125 ******************************************************************* MEMBERSHIP DATA FILE NAME:.................................... CALLSIGN:................ ADDRESS:................................. DATE:.................... ................................. TELEPHONE:............... ..................................POSTCODE:................ BANDS WORKED: HF( ) VHF( ) UHF( ) MODES USED: CW [ ] SSB [ ] FM [ ] RTTY [ ] ATV [ ] MAIN INTERESTS: (Building, contests, ATV, RTTY etc;) ................................................................... ................................................................... ................................................................... SUGGESTIONS FOR CLUB ACTIVITIES: ................................................................... ................................................................... ................................................................... COMPUTER INTEREST:.................MODEL:.......................... [All details held in confidence by the committee] *******************************************************************