OPEN UNIVERSITY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
NEWS LETTER no:5
G0OUR Affiliated to the OU Club and the Radio Society of Great Britain
Firstly no prizes for those who spotted the slight editorial error in the last newsletter. It was in fact issue 4 not 5. I hope no one was too worried that they had missed something. So here at last is the real newsletter number 5.
I am pleased to say that we have been granted the callsign GB25OU for use next year during, and for a month after Open Day. We have also been awarded a grant that we applied for from the General Purposes Fund. This will pay for the QSL cards for GB25OU, and allow us to repay our debt to the O.U. Club. There should also be sufficient funds remaining to enable us to buy a second hand HF beam and rotator, plus linear amplifier. So things are looking very good on that front, and with luck, by the time Open Day comes around we should be able to give a good account of ourselves on the bands.
Once again our stall at the MKDARS Boot sale was a great success, thanks to a dedicated band of members. Total profit for the day was 147 pounds and 40 pence, some 60 pounds up on last years takings. In addition two Pye Westminster PMR rigs were purchased cheaply, and these have since been converted for use on 4m and 6m packet. Many thanks to all those members who made the event such a success. We have a fair quantity of equipment and components left unsold, and this is in storage pending a future sale. As always we welcome contributions to this. One unsold item that particularly caught my eye was a dumb computer terminal priced at 10p o.n.o. (reduced to clear?). Perhaps some lucky punter will snap it up next year!
We have a further fund raising event coming up on the 26th of November, when we are helping to stage a 60's Disco in the Lecture Theatre. This is in conjunction with the O.U. Disco Club, with D.J.'s Dave and Keith, and PA by Cranfield Sound Hire. We helped at a similar event last year and made 100 pounds for the club. We could do with a few extra helpers on the night, so if you are able to come along please contact a member of the club committee.
A warm welcome to two new members: Brian Davis G3OYU (E0275925) and Len Killip G0APZ (L0163654). Ben G7NRQ and Graham have now returned to Surrey University. Graham has taken his packet station with him, and has at last applied for his licence, so we will be able to keep in touch via packet shortly. Ian G0TLB has taken over from Ben as QSL manager. A small box file has been placed in the shack, and members using the club station are requested to put out going QSL's in it in alphabetical order. This will save Ian time when he sends batches off to the bureau.
Shack news: The two Toms, G3LMX and G0PSU spent some time recently levelling the shack, which for those who don't know is actually a mobile office (caravan). As a result of this the door now shuts properly again without having to slam it. The broken paving slab outside the shack door was also replaced. Our new alarm system has so far proved to be 100% reliable. Tom G3LMX has modified his Z Match ATU, and it should now be useful for 'pulling' the Cobweb aerial to the top ends of the HF bands. The 2m rig's tone burst has been adjusted and now works properly - no more whistling up the repeaters. The RUFZ contest trainer program is now on the shack XT for those wishing to brush up their CW. As before there is also a Morse tutor program available, plus a selection of other ham software.
On the packet front there are plans afoot to move the node away from the shack to the top floor of the Venables building. Ted is negotiating at present to secure a suitable cubby hole for the equipment. This will have the advantage of reducing clutter in the shack, and putting an end to the mutual interference with the HF and VHF station. It also means the tower can be used exclusively for 'proper' ham aerials. The node will be extended to hopefully 6 ports, using the clubs equipment plus equipment on loan from members. Beams will be mounted on the roof for linking on 6m, 4m and 70cm. Omni directional antennas for 2m and 70cm are presently under construction. Adrian G1NIQ has donated an ex computer PSU for the project. He has also helped us obtain a 19" style cabinet for the equipment, and hopefully the loan of a 286 computer to run the network software. Once the node is running we will be able to connect to it from the shack using Baycom on the clubs XT. The node should contribute a major improvement in mail forwarding and cluster access in the area.
Final snippets: We are looking at the possibility of replacing the top section of the tower, since it is in very poor condition. Tom G3LMX, and our Chairman Chris G7BBD, are now active on packet, with Tom G0PSU hot on their heels. There has been little feedback from members regarding a club net on 80m, so we assume there is no demand for this at present. Lastly, please remember subscriptions are due on the 1st January, but now is not too soon! We would welcome your continued support. Any items for the next newsletter please send to Fraser.
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Contact: Adrian Rawlings adrianrawlings@googlemail.com