Category - Blog

Letter received from Ofcom by Don Beattie G3BJ;

Dear Mr Beattie,

Now that the London 2012 Games have come to an end I wanted to express my warm thanks and appreciation for the contribution that you made to the outstanding success of wireless communications during the Games.

One of the critical challenges for Britain was to find enough enough people with the right skills in radio engineering and interference management to support the needs of the Games. Ofcom could not have found enough people from our own resources and we therefore sought help from you and other agencies to help us find expert staff.

The radio amateurs who helped us at the London Games were:
 

• Roger Dixon, Spectrum Engineer in the South River team
  Roger worked at Greenwich Park and The Royal Artillery Barracks
   
• Dave Pick and Jon Lee, Spectrum Engineers in the River Zone team
  Dave and John worked at the ExCel Centre and the North Greenwich Arena
   
• John Pink, Spectrum Engineer in the Testing and Tagging Team
  John worked in the Olympic Park
   
• Darren Storer and Chris Morcom, Spectrum Engineers in LOCOG’s Technology Operations Centre
   
• Richard Meadows, Spectrum Engineer covering activities outside the venues

Your support for this initiative introduced us to people who were very well motivated and with a high level of technical skill and expertise. We could not have provided such good service to our customers without their help. We had the benefit of learning from the experience and knowledge that they brought, and I hope that they too have returned with unique experiences and new skills.

Thank you again for your help in introducing us to these engineers. I think the exchange of knowledge between Ofcom and radio amateurs will be an enduring legacy of the Games. I see this as a model for further fruitful cooperation between us.

With best regards and many thanks again.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Bury

The HARAOA president and DX’Pedition leader Tommy VK2IR has just finished construction of a 40metre, 2 element Moxon antenna – yes that’s right a two element 40 metre beam is going on the ZL9HR DX’Pedition to Campbell Island (IOTA OC-037) for the activation between November 28th. and December 9th.

The element length is 15 ½ metres long! To see the construction of this monster simply search for ZL9HR on Youtube.

just a month away and all is on schedule. All the equipment has arrived at the storage facility in Invercargill, New Zealand. Some of the team are already in New Zealand, others will arrive over the next few weeks. There will be a quarantine inspection of all the gear and then it will be loaded onto the boat that will take the equipment and team down to Campbell Island

Please refer to the web site ZL9HR.COM for the full, up to date, information about this major DX’Pedition to the Great Southern Ocean.

Well the guys on Lundy Island last weekend did a fabulous job and due to an unexpected deterioration with the weather, their stay was extended a little and which ultimately ended with them being airlifted by Helicopter back to the mainland (Photo above).

The team consisting of John, M5JON, Peter, M0ILT, Ant, MW0JZE (pictured above center) used a Elecraft K3 with a KPA500 amp, a Kenwood TS590s with a Expert 1K amp (400W) and a IC706 as a backup radio/3rd station. The antennas were 2 x G3TXQ Hexbeams (supplied and built by Ant, MW0JZE, the main sponsor of the activation) and a 1/4 wave vertical for 40m.

The guys logged 5100 Qso’s in just over 4 days operating. Well done to all, great job and fb operation. (Qsl via MØURX OQRS).

Well for me the answer is ”Yes”. How lucky we are to be able to see this image from our backyards pretty much all day every day when weather is good?

Here are a few facts and stats you may like to know;

The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the image is the Tycho impact basin. The dark areas are lava rock filled impact basins: Oceanus Procellarum (on the left), Mare Imbrium (center left), Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis (center), and Mare Crisium (near the right edge). This picture contains images through the Violet, 756 nm, 968 nm filters. The color is “enhanced” in the sense that the CCD camera is sensitive to near infrared wavelengths of light beyond human vision. More facts below the image…..

Equatorial radius (km) – 1,737.4, Mean distance from Earth (km) – 384,400, Rotational period (days) – 27.32166
Orbital period (days) – 27.32166, Average length of lunar day (days) – 29.53059, Mean orbital velocity (km/sec) – 1.03
Mean surface temperature (day) – 107°C, Mean surface temperature (night) -153°C, Maximum surface temperature – 123°C, Minimum surface temperature  -233°C.

Whilst attempting to keep our On-Line Qsl request Systems (OQRS) up to date and at the forefront of new software, both Tim (MØURX) and myself are currently reviewing new directions in OQRS which give more information not only for us, but also for you the customer. New ideas are currently under discussion and development which we hope to introduce in the coming months.

One new item currently on screen is the ability for you to view the list of Callsigns that we manage. I did have the facility under the administration side of things but now you also have access to this so you may not need to query Qrz.Com in the future. Seen in the image is        Simply click it to see the list in full.

You may also not be aware that if you wish to check progress of a card, click

This will allow you to ‘log in” using your Callsign and Email address and the next screen will then give you a list of all the Qsl cards you have requested via the system and the current progress of the request.

We will keep you informed of changes when they occur but by all means, try the new additions out by clicking the main image above!

Felix Baumgartner, the man who tried to break the world’s freefall record by jumping from 23 miles above the earth, breaking the sound barrier, has jumped from space.

Each year, more than 500,000 Scouts in more than 100 countries take to the airwaves on the third full weekend in October — and this year on the 20th & 21st October, it will be no different.

The Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is an annual Scouting and Amateur Radio event sponsored by the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). JOTA is an annual event where Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from all over the world speak to each other via Amateur Radio. Since 1958 — when the first Jamboree on the Air was held — millions of Scouts have met through this event. Many contacts made during JOTA have resulted in pen pal relationships and links between Scout troops that have lasted many years.

The 55th Jamboree on the Air is on 21st & 22nd October, 2012. The official hours are 0000 (local time) Saturday, 20th October (right at midnight Friday) through midnight (local time) Sunday, 21st October (midnight Sunday evening).

Usually, waking up before sunrise is a good way to get a head start on the day. On 21st October, waking up early could stop you in your tracks.

Blame Halley’s Comet.  Every year in mid-to-late October, Earth passes through a stream of dusty debris from Comet Halley, and the pre-dawn sky lights up with a pretty display of shooting stars.

“We expect to see about 25 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on Sunday morning, Oct 21st,” says Bill Cooke, the head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.  “With no Moon to spoil the show, observing conditions should be ideal.”

“Be prepared for speed,” he adds.  “Meteoroids from Halley’s Comet strike Earth’s atmosphere traveling 148,000 mph.  Only the November Leonids are faster. Click image to view Video Clip.