Activities in 1989 1988 1990
On this page you will find illustrated reports of some of our activities during 1989. These were in addition to our main meetings. The most recent activities are at the top of the page.
Jamboree on the Air (JOTA)
Over the weekend
of 21st and 22nd October we ran a JOTA station for the Third Parkstone Scouts
using the special event callsign GB0TPS.
The weather was
not kind for putting up the antenna, with force 6 to 7 winds and then
rain. By the time the station should have been on the air, there were so
many people trying to see what was going on, that it was difficult to anything
of the station or the display stands.
To start with there were more than enough scouts willing to
speak, even though some proved to be tongue-tied when their time actually came
to talk. Each scout who overcame his tongue-tiedness was presented with a
certificate of confirmation for having spoken over the radio. These,
together with QSL cards, were printed 
on the spot using
a Desk-Top publishing system.
The station consisted of Dave G3ZPR’s hf station feeding a G5RV antenna between two 30-feet poles and a RA17L receiver, together with additional receivers and computers for logging. The RA17 was in almost continual use. 80m proved to be the best band.
On the Sunday Vic, G4AMW popped in and tried to make some contacts on 20m and 15m without much luck, so it was back onto 80m for the last couple of hours before close down at 3pm to leave plenty of time to take the station apart again before the inclement weather threatened to re-appear.
SSB Field Day & IARU 2m Contests
Every few years
we get carried away with ambition and decide to have a go at a contest.
Rather than
tackle a short single band contest we like the 24hour ssb field day event.
In 1989 even this wasn’t enough, and we had a go at the IARU 2m contest the same weekend!
On the morning of Saturday 2nd September we set up our station, and discovered that our original generator which would only allow us to run 50 Watts maximum. We ended up hiring a 4kVA diesel generator (the one we hired was much bigger than usual and would not fit into most cars) we were ready for the start in the afternoon.
We operated
throughout Saturday afternoon and evening, and recommenced at 5:30 GMT next
morning.
On hf we used a
G5RV antenna at about 30 feet above the ground.
Over the weekend on hf we made a total of 277 contacts; 42 on 80m, 118 on 40m (with nearly 40 contacts in the first hour), 50 on 20m, 34 on 15m and 22 on 10m.
Almost all the contacts were with European stations, including 109 with Germany and 102 with the UK.
It was all good fun, and whilst we didn’t expect to win, we liked making some contacts and enjoyed taking part.
There is also a sense of achievement in getting a couple of portable stations on the air and running for 24 hours.
Hamfest
Many members attended Hamfest on Sunday 13th August 1989 to help man the Society’s stand. During the event, the wind picked up, and we bought a pack of 15 cheap screwdrivers to use as additional tent pegs. During the afternoon we used some of the club stickers as badges, affixing them to every visitor. Phil G0KKL ran some Morse lessons using a solar powered oscillator. Incidentally amongst the other stands at Hamfest in 1989 was one from a local 934 MHz CB club.
Barbeque
The
barbeque was held on 7th July at Phil G0KKL’s home. Luckily
the fog and low cloud had dispersed by the evening, and by 7pm three barbeques
were alight when the first guests arrived.
22 members and guests turned up to enjoy chicken drumsticks, some huge sausages and a couple of flagons of beer provided by Arthur. By about 9:30 it was getting dark, we moved indoors and enjoyed some tea and coffee and further conversation, finally breaking about 11pm.
Band Reports
During
the summer, members reported working a number of European stations on 6m and 2m
via sporadic E.
In addition Band 1 broadcast television pictures were seen from Russia, Norway, Sweden (see picture on the left), Italy, Portugal and Spain (see picture on the right).
Km per Watt Contest
During the year we ran a KM per watt contest. Members could use any mode or band. The winner would be the member who worked the furthest distance expressed in Kilometers per Watt.
Meeting Venue
During 1989 we moved from Commander’s House where had met for several years to one of the rooms near the Jellicoe Theatre which was to become our home for the next 15 years.