INDEX AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ISSUE No.15 SEPTEMBER 1985 Page 1................Index Page 2................From the Chair Page 4................News & Views Page 5................Tell the world! Page 6................Technical Editor's Notes Page 7................2Mtr Filter Design Page 8................A Gripe from the Ranks! Page 9................Byter Page 11...............High Finance Page 12...............Diary of Events Page 13...............Membership List Page 14...............Membership Form Editor................Dave Chislett G4XDU Technical Editor......Dave Lomas G4XOW Printer...............Mike Gathergood G4KFK Computer Editor.......Mike Brown G4RAA **************************************************************** B.B.R.C. COMMITTEE Chairman..............David Ayers G6GBC Secretary.............VACANT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Treasurer.............Lynas Newton G6LYN Member................Dave Bentley G6LKZ Member................Dave Chislett G4XDU Publicity.............Eileen Chislett G6EIL Library...............Dave Bentley G6LKZ Club Equipment........Dave Bentley G6LKZ **************************************************************** New Club Rooms...........Haymill Community Centre 112 Burnham Lane Slough. SL1 6LZ Meetings: 1st and 3rd Mondays each month FROM THE CHAIR. Well that's all folks............. 73's, 10-10 'til we do it again, all them golden numbers to you, keep your shiny side up & your greasy side down, catch ya on the flip-flop etc etc etc. Whoops ! Oh no ! Dave's gawn an' cooked it up again !!!! Mean while, back at the ranch.................. CHAPTER 13 When will this prat do something useful ? .......and she said " I've never seen one that shape before!" Boom Boom and that's the funniest joke I know. Oh hello, I didn't see you there. Well now, let's see what we have for Beechlog this time........... Firstly I'd like to thank just about everyone. This year's McMichael Rally was very successful and our investment in time and manpower was substantially rewarded. So a big thankyou to all those who helped make this annual event such a success. Next I would like to thank those of you who were involved with the DX picnic - particularly Dave G4XDU who organised both the events - the September one being especially popular. Look out for more next year .......... WELCOME to all the New Members who have joined (rejoined in some cases !) this year. It's good to see some new faces as well as some 'old' ones ! I am sorry that there have been very few organised meetings over the last few months. This was partly due to my faith in promises as well as a pure lack of experience on my part! Talking of promises, the reason why this BEECHLOG is late is that previously there was very little worth printing. It is quite important that non-committee members do offer some help and occasionally 'produce' information, if not actual articles, for printing. Some Good News and some Bad News............ The Bad News is that Paul G6DVC (Secretary) and Bruce G4WVX (Ordinary Member) have both resigned from the Committee. I would like to thank them for their respective efforts whilst on the committee. The Good News is that Dave G4XDU has taken up the vacancy for Ordinary Member - thanks Dave. And, to keep it in the family, I must thank Eileen G6EIL very much indeed for volunteering to take on the responsibility of Club publicity - it seems the Chisletts are back in control of the BBRC. (ED no comment) With a great deal of help & guidance from Dave G4XDU we have managed to organise the Club meetings right through to Feb 86 (See p.12 for full details). I am, however, still looking for 3 members to sit on our Club team for a Quiz with the Chiltern Club at Haymill Centre on the second meeting in October (21st). The questions will be set by the BBRC and will be very much low level General Knowledge as well as Radio based. Please let me know if you are willing! It will be good fun, so don't be shy. Oh yes, there will be prizes for both teams - so you greedy ones take note! To confirm something brought up at a recent meeting, (No, not dinner!), a number of members AGAIN asked about the Club Net - and I'm not talking about starting a fishing club! Those present, & interested, said that a starting time of between 8 and 8.30 local time was most practical as 8 ties up with our meeting time. This is on the Mondays when we DON'T have a Club meeting. I really don't think that it would be fair to expect a committee member on the air for EVERY net. If enough people are interested then it's up to YOU - I haven't got a home setup, Dave G4XDU has just moved house, and Dave & Lynas are both frequently away on business or very late home. SO, if you are interested, come up on 145.200 (145.225 if .200 in use) FM, from 20.00 local time onwards on 2nd, 4th & 5th Mondays of each month. It's now 6.30 p.m. in my office so I think I'll go home! Now go back to the beginning P.S. Definition of Recurrsion: see Recurrsion NEWS & VIEWS First this issue, "BEECHLOG" is very late in reaching you. Why you may ask? Although this magazine is produced using the latest technology unlike the Fleet St. Dailies . We don't have full time reporters, only members who have something to say or who have been lumbered by me to write special pages. All this means that if you don't contribute to the magazine there is nothing to go into it and so it doesn't get printed. Not long ago I asked in a questionnaire if you wanted "BEECHLOG" - YES you said; so get off your a.. and write something for the magazine. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The autumn DX picnic went very well, with over half the club members putting in an appearance, although as with the spring picnic we picked a 2Mtr contest weekend. After discussions with the 'Regulars' we plan to hold the Spring DX picnic 1986 over the early May Bank Holiday 2Mtr contests willing! So start building your May Dipoles now!!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------- News from the DTI. The Radio Interference Service is to make a profit. Joking apart, many changes are to be made to the service, and we as Amateurs will find that things will change a little. E.G. You cause interference to a neighbour. In the past if you could not cure the problem, you would refer your neighbour to the Interference service which would solve the problem, or act as mediator between the two of you. Today things are different. Your neighbour would have to pay #21 for the callout and even this wouldn't bring them out if he had only an inside aerial. So we may have to do more than we are legally bound to just to keep the peace in the neighbourhood. Yours truly has just moved and we have yet to put up aerials and perhaps check out the resistance to RF of the local TV's. But remember people may move in next door to you with the Hi-Fi problem. Apart from getting from the local Post-Office the new books issued by the R.I.S. we as a club should pool our knowledge to help each other with any problems that may arise. If you have any tips or have had problems and had them resolved or unresolved please pass them on in the pages of this magazine, we should be able to build up information not only on the cures but the all important aspect of winning over the neighbour. How would you like to be told that the new piece of Japanese gadgetry you have paid the earth for is at fault when it only goes wrong when the amateur next door goes on the air!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------- News & Views The recent demise of McMichaels means that the Rally we have at Sefton Park will not take place next year, unless of course we can find a suitable venue quickly. Obviously Haymill could be a suitable site but perhaps you know of some site in the local area where it might take place. If you do, mention it to one of the committee. The Rally is a great money spinner for the club and it would be a shame if it folded. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Christmas dinner is to be held we hope at the Manners Resturant Slough. Price is expected to be about #11.50 per head plus of course wine! Coming soon will be some booking forms as we will need to book early. So check your diaries and fill in the forms quickly. ------------------------------------------------------------------- TELL THE WORLD! Hello! For some reason I've volunteered to tell the world around Slough about the BBRC. I intend to get the message to libraries, magazines, schools, and break into the regular Radcom slot. I would, however, as all 'officers' say with good reason, appreciate any assistance which any of you can offer. Anyone any good at artwork? Ideas for pulicity outlets? What sort of publicity do you want for your Club? Remember that the larger the membership, the greater the opportunities of a varied and stimulating programme of events. It's to YOUR advantage to tell the world about US. I look forward to your comments. Eileen G6EIL TECH EDITOR'S NOTES Due to the fact my article was sent to the editor too early (my little joke Dave), and on the proverbial back of a packet of cigarettes from on holiday in GU land, I decided a second attempt was required. We were camping for two weeks and the weather was rather unkind to us, a few sleepless nights expecting to be blown away or flooded out, but it was a good holiday and well recommended for quite clean beaches. I did take some radio equipment with me, permission for operation in the Channel Islands being simply to write one week in advance to the respective bailiff. Local activity was as to be expected very quiet. I had quite an interesting 'eyeball' QSO with an elderly CB operator who banged on the car window, whilst I was parked up. That band appears to be more civilised there, but I am not going to convert the DNT rig back to 11 meters and pay any more money to the DTI. After calling back to many a station without being heard it is becoming inevitable that the 10 watts from my FT7 transceiver is going to have to go up some 10 more dB's. The recent club DX picnic which was well attended and good fun did show that good contact could be achieved with low power on H.F with a simple G5RV multiband aerial, only a pity it was not quite so easy to erect (as Peter - G4XGD knows only too well). The Mc. Michael Rally was again very successful with even more profit to assist the club funds. It is obvious now that with the announcement of the collapse of the company, next year's event will be uncertain for a while. Mike G4RAA succeeded in selling the remaining screening paint for computer plastic cases, I shall try for the next magazine to have measured details of the improvements achieved and any other ways we can find to cure this menace which is supposed to enhance the hobby. That brings me conveniently to my on-going interference problem on 10 meters from a local telephone system, it just suddenly went, then just as I was thinking the wonderful DTI had come up with a better cure than a pair of inductors in the lines, I noticed the company using the system has moved out. So you all now know the ultimate solution. If any of you members, (or anyone else that is so lucky to receive BEECHLOG ) has any novel circuit designs, hints or problems (of a technical nature please) relevent to amateur radio, please jot them down and give it to one of the magazine editors. I would like to start another club project. So any ideas on what could be a practical but not too complex project would be welcome. 73's Dave G4XOW p.s Don't forget the club net, Monday evenings that are not club nights, At least you can expect Graham G4XOF to be on. 2mtr Low Pass Filter Design An enquiry from a friend who was having trouble with his neighbours prompted this little design. The problem occurred with a Microwave Modules 30Watt Linear! driven from a FT208. While using a little more of the band than usual the call came from the wife that the TV had just been wiped out. The problem was harmonics of 2Mtrs appearing in the UHF band. The neighbours were consulted and they were experiencing similar problems. Investigations using a spectrum analyser showed that the level of harmonic output was exactly as one would expect from an unfiltered Linear.( I bet you all thought they were filtered ) What could be done. The best solution is to fit a bandpass filter on the output of the station. Easier said than done, have a look in Radcom for one! Building one suitable for high powers is not easy involving a lot of plumbing. An easier solution is to use a low pass filter: as the second harmonic is at about 300Mhz, a tight filter is not really neccessary. Yours truly by the way always runs his station through a bandpass filter just to be sure. The design shown costs about 20p and seems to be easily reproduced. The insertion loss is less than 0.5db over the 2Mtr band and at the second harmonic is about 25dbs down. The type of capacitors used depend on the likely through power. With powers up to 50watts the capacitors can be 500volt ceramics or plate types. The coils were wound in one go as shown. No setting up is required: provided the values are as shown and the coils close to those given, the performance should be close to the parameters given above. Dave G4XDU WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT SO FAR ? The AGM was held as usual on the first meeting in March and for the first time at our new venue. From the outset it was obvious that it was going to be a much less formal event than hitherto. The committee members present, though not actually in disguise were keeping a low profile the Chairman being the only one making himself fully visible. As no agenda sheets were issued, we had to rely on the Chairman's memory to guide us through the evening's official business. A balance sheet was produced by the Treasurer and a number of questions were put to him from the floor. All committee members announced that they were prepared to serve again, except Mike G4RAA who had already done 2 years. Dave G6LKZ stood down as Chairman and a vote was taken for the vacant post between Dave G6GBC and Bruce G4WVX. The voting went in favour of GBC and after taking over as the new Chairman, and offically closing the meeting, he found it necessary to re-open it again so that a vote could be taken to see if the members required the club accounts to be audited. The result was a 'NO'. Neither the Chairman nor the Secretary gave the normally expected report on the year's activities or what thoughts they might have for the future. It would appear that the tone set at the AGM was to be continued through the year. The Secretary has not been seen at meetings since, and the club nights have been somewhat an embarrassment. Most nights there has been no speaker but on one night we had a double booking. The DX picnic (spring) was not well attended, but those who went enjoyed themselves. Another McMichael Rally had come and gone - the weather turning out fine and sunny which is remarkable for this summer. We had a good showing of various forms of amateur radio in our tent, including live slow-scan and RTTY. One or two visitors enquired if we were having trouble with an overheating linear but we explained that it was only Dennis's sausages! Two people thought we were McDonalds. Ted did his usual one man show at the recent (unscheduled) junk sale, when many 'interesting' bits and pieces changed hands. Thanks Ted. Hopefully this issue of Beechlog will inform us of the future events which the committee has in store for us, before they happen. Peter G4XGD P.S. Things are certainly getting better. After getting half an hour notice of a junk sale, I got 24hrs notice of a foxhunt! ED's note you write a good letter Peter how about the Secretary's job? THE BYTER BIT Hold the presses! Here's the latest news hot from the Personal Computer World Show: Acorn had the BBC B+ on show but what did your scribe spot on the stand? Only a 128k BBC B+! Seems that Acorn decided that if everybody else could have 128k then so would they. The extra 64k is on a small PC board which stands vertically along the right hand side of the main board (rather like the Solidisk silicon disk). Also announced at the show was the Acorn WD1770 DFS and, at long last, the ADFS double density filing system with a hierarchical directory structure, 10 letter filenames and no limit on the number of files on each disc. Amstrad were showing the new CPC6128 128k computer and also their new word processing system, the PCW8256. The WP system has 256k of RAM, an NLQ printer and a hi-resolution (80 column) monitor with built-in disc drive. All for `399! Lets hope it's not built down to the same standard as their 'hi-fi' racks. Atari had the new 520ST system on show. With a 16/32 bit processor and 512k of memory this was a very impressive computer even before I found out that you not only get the computer with Basic and Logo, but also a 360k 3.5" disc drive and a hi-resolution monitor for `750. Not cheap but it p*??%> all over the Apple Macintosh which is three times the price. My only quibble was the keyboard - it is as bad as the QL. Commodore had the C128 on show. This beast is schizophrenic to the third order, as it can run in any of three different modes. The 64k mode which is totally compatible with the C64, 128k mode which actually has a decent Basic and which can be expanded to 512k of memory and finally the C128 can run in CP/M mode. This means that all those 'proper' business programmes, like dBase II and Wordstar can be run. I just hope that Commodore have arranged cheap software deals because Wordstar costs `295 and dBase II is `395! Sinclair were more notable for what they weren't showing - it had been rumoured that a new computer would appear at the show but the only eye-catcher was the news that the QL is now down to `199. Maybe the new one will be a QL with a decent keyboard, floppy discs and a new operating system! Buying a computer? There are two different ways that you can use a computer for Amateur Radio. It can be used in either a supporting role, say running morse tuition software, or for actually using to communicating with e.g. CW and RTTY. These two types of use have different hardware requirements and it is worth thinking about what you need if you are about to invest in a computer. The requirements for running communication programs are a good keyboard and suitable interfaces so that you can easily get the signals in and out. For other applications the requirements are different - obviously morse tuition would be difficult on a computer that didn't have sound! Bear in mind that there are horses for courses and that you can save a packet by buying the right box in the first place. If you can decide in advance what you want the computer for, then you'll be in a much better position than most of us, who just bought the one their mates all had! RSGB Databox Talking of communications reminds me that there is another way of your micro reaching the outside world - the twisted pair. Having recently become a Prestel subscriber I am now acquainted with the world of modems, mailboxes and Micronet. Most computer buffs know that apart from BT's Prestel and Telecom Gold (electronic mail) systems there are also many privately run 'bulletin boards' that they can hook up to. Anybody with a Prestel type modem (1200/75 baud) and software can now log onto an amateur radio board, the RSGB Databox. Simply dialling Potters Bar 57477 and putting your computer on line as normal will get you a welcome message from the Databox. After telling the system who you are, you are presented with an index page listing the information held on the system. I was quite impressed as there seems to be lots there - from the latest news, repeater and beacon information & amateur software to details of RSGB books. The only disappointment was that I couldnt actually order a book from the comfort of my own shack! The Databox is currently experimental and isn't mentioned in Radcom, so if you plan to give it a try do keep a note of the number! Incidentally, the RSGB will soon have some pages on Prestel - take a look on 810625. Mike G4RAA. HIGH FINANCE! DO WHAT ? you want me to write something for BEECHLOG! Your Joking! your not joking!!! What do you suggest? A six month finance report, oh dear, OK very briefly. The total income to the club since 4th March has been #232.02. This is largley due to a substantial donation from a sponser of the Home Counties Rally. Its a pity that they will not be around next year. ( We hope that it will take place ED ) The total outlay from the club since 4th March was #164.51. This gives the club a total balance of about #431.96. This total is only an approximation as some of the donations could be suspect and I'm sure that the interest collected from the Building Society will not make up that kind of difference. There you go, is that enough to satify the wants of BEECHLOG pages? Don't tell me you want more. As you must be aware I moved last July.( yes, I keep you well informed ) This caused great pain and suffering to the regional Bank Manager, but at last things are picking up. I have finally got round to lashing up an aerial in the loft. Its not brilliant but it gets me out as far as Slough. I had a good week, getting up at 7.30 to talk on the radio to fellow members of the club as they drove to work. All this whilst waiting for the fitters to come and fit in the new kitchen. WHAT A MESS! and thats before they started. Never the less it was a week off work and I'm always glad of that. Lunch that week was provided by the most unlikely of sources (or sauces). Tuesdays was at the residence of the works secretary. But, all in all generated a lot of work for the decorating department, who I might add have not finished yet. Still, it will be nice when its finished this weekend. THIS WEEKEND! my how the year goes by. Before you know it, it will be time for the annual report. I'd better start that now to be sure of finishing it on time. TTFN Lynas G6LYN (Treasurer) DIARY OF EVENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 1985 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 16th September................G4CGS Dave Fibre Optics 7th October..................G4PHS Bob RF Filter Design 21st October..................Chiltern Club visit (Quiz) 4th November.................G8ZWS TV Cameras 18th November.................G8DUZ Raynet 2nd December.................Xmas Dinner (Manners Restur) 16th December.................Film Evening (RSGB+BBRC) 6th January..................Natter Nite 20th January..................Junk Sale 3rd February................. 17th February.................G3VA Pat Hawker 3rd March....................AGM 17th March.................... ----------------------------------------------------------------- Talks planned but not confirmed: 6mtrs operation, PMR equipment Community Radio,UOSAT 2,T.V. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Spring DX Picnic is being planned for first May Bank Holiday. ------------------------------------------------------------------ MEMBERSHIP LIST 001 Eileen Chislett (Publicity) G6EIL Md.25720 002 Dave Chislett (Editor) G4XDU Md.25720 003 Tony Alderman G4LQD Fc.3286 004 David Ayers (Chairperson) G6GBC Md.28108 006 Paul Shayler G6TSF Sl.41396 007 Bill Perkins SWL Sl.32171 008 Lynas Newton (Treasurer) G6LYN Bn.66759 009 Mike Brown (Computer Ed) G4RAA Bn.4262 011 Dave Lomas (Tech-Ed) G4XOW Lt.Grn.2847 012 Ann Lomas SWL Lt.Grn.2847 021 Peter Harman G4XGD Sl.28826 025 Dave Bentley (Committee) G6LKZ Sl.25101 026 Kevin Hadley G4HDK 0734 731026 027 Graeme Platts G4XOF Sl.78495 030 Richard Ashberry G6RTM Sl.46012 031 Ted Swaby G4XOE Sl.75099 033 Dave Hemmins G6DRP Bn.64436 034 John Williamson G4XJN Sl.24008 037 Dave Clifford G6UFV Bn.64567 038 Paul Robinson G6DVC Rslp.72125 043 Bruce Gilson G4WVX Bn.64415 047 Peter Melling G1LHU Sl.29025 048 Mike Gathergood G4KFK 0895 834167 049 B. Mockett G1DSI ******** 051 J.Sanders G1LMI Sl.27150 050 T.Kay G4ZTK Bn.4255 052 D.Slatter G6WZC Sl.821862 053 J.Slatter SWL Sl.821862 ******************************************************************* Please note if your details are not correct please 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. ******************************************************************* 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 Haymill Community Centre 112 Burnham Lane Slough. SL1 6LZ Chairperson: Dave Ayres G6GBC Tel: Maidenhead 28108 ******************************************************************* 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] *******************************************************************