Attendance at the Blackpool rally and National Hamfest 2020 to hopefully go ahead

This year after booking the dates off early I got approval from the area manager, this means I can now attend the National Hamfest at the end of September and also the Blackpool rally in April as intended, the Ripon rally has not had a date announced yet so I cannot confirm if I am able to attend that until at least the week before it.

This brings me on to what happened last year, I missed the Hamfest as I booked it too late and could not get the days off approved, and on my run down to the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool I was run off a slip road by a very aggressive driver of a Mini, the former certainly cannot happen unless I have issues with the car, and the latter won't happen as the chances of me encountering that Mini driver at Lancaster (Forton) Services again will be nil.

Both events will be filmed for the YouTube Channel, and for Hamfest 2020 I will be camping and hopefully operating radio, maybe by the latter my XYL will be here too and will also be able to attend and camp at Hamfest 2020, and I'll remember the can opener and have a better tent and possibly better cooking stove too.

As for Blackpool, I will be operating 2-meters and 70cm there, including from the top of the world famous Blackpool Tower with my Yaesu FT2D and perhaps my AnyTone AT-D868UV as that seems to have a robust front end unlike my many Baofeng radios.

I'll update as this all progresses and I'd like to extend thanks to my Area Manager for allowing this to happen.

73 de M0WNU

National Hamfest 2019 - I missed it this year...

However I am already planning 2020's visit to the Hamfest, this year was down to tight finances even though I had been paid because of my emergency trips to the continent last month, as well as not being given this whole weekend off as, as it has now transpired, I booked it far too late, as soon as my holidays for next year are allotted I intend to book it off, however as I intend to look for a second job, for reasons I shan't go in to, I will have to book this off with the second company I work for once this happens.

I still intend to get a larger tent, the same one I've been looking at since last year, this means I can set up a station at the Hamfest location, if my wife returns and she gets at least her foundation then this could be very useful if not I'll need to take a CB set as well.

I do have a project and it should be in full swing by the time of Hamfest 2020, as well as a YouTube video of the event, I will be looking at all the latest news for this hamfest, though I was not in attendance.

If you are already planning for Hamfest 2020, keep an eye out for me and say hi, and until then listen for me on the air, I do also monitor GB3IR, an Echolink enabled and IRLP enabled repeater, during my shifts at work so feel free to give me a call, I usually do not respond when in the shop because I generally do not take a HT into the shop as it is a very busy environment, my delivery windows are 30-minutes max (though I aim for 25) so QSOs will be short.

73 de M0WNU

Rallies this year

I have plans to attend all the rallies I make attempts to regularly attend, and I now have some dates on which rallies I can most likely attend this year.

These are:

• Ripon: 14th April
• Blackpool: 28th April (though I may go over on the 27th or 26th) and make a weekend of it
• Bowburn: 26th May (It is taking place this year and it was a good day out last year)
• National Hamfest 2019: 27-28th September (I regularly attend and will be again camping this year)
• BARAC rally 2019 at Spennymoor: 24th November

The last two years I've missed the rally at Spennymoor, and last year due to work I missed the Blackpool rally, and I hope to attend both this year, and planning is already underway for Hamfest 2019.

If you see me at any of these rallies, feel free to say hi.

73 de 2E0EIJ

National Hamfest 2019 planning already underway

With the success of the camping at this year's National Hamfest plans are already underway to prepare for next year, with a few changes to what I had this year, these are:

• A better tent, namely the £99 tent from Go Outdoors that I could not afford this time round
• Solar power aside the generator to run electrical appliances with a heavy duty inverter
• Running of a station on site, hopefully HF as well as 2 and 70, and possibly an amateur TV setup as I look into that aspect of the hobby
• Better Internet access arrangement rather than tethering to my phone as I had to do, the mobile data service on my tablet never worked at Newark so everything was through my phone
• A heater for outdoor use as nights were cooler than expected
• Reworked cooking facilities though I will still keep the existing stove

I may add to that list as time progresses, I also hope to have either filtering on the QYT and Leixen by then to get rid of the pager interference both sets are terribly prone to or a better mobile set for portable ops that is designed properly.

There are still rallies left in 2018 and I hope my next one will be the Spennymoor rally run by BARAC, and if I am there please do say hi.

73 de 2E0EIJ

National Hamfest 2018 - Post Hamfest

So as you know I spent Friday and Saturday at Newark attending the National Hamfest, all the usual attendees were there and of course there was the big prize raffle, which I sadly did not win, however a big congratulations to the people who did, enjoy those radios, I had a look at all three (despite being familiar to some extent with Yaesu's FT991A) so as to get familiar with them, I also had a look at Yaesu's new FTDX101, named after their FT101 series from the 1970s (which they also had with them on show (but no one was allowed to touch those), they were also giving out hats again this year so I got a new one.

The camping arrangements this year were different, instead of across from the hall you'd enter the showground, stop at a wooden hut, get your welcome pack and pass, and make a left turn, as this was my first year I wasn't aware there had been any changes.

I was hoping to run a station but didn't get to do this, however I still had a good time, eating tins of beans and sausages, drinking tea and being around fellow Amateur radio operators.

I arrived on site at 6pm Thursday and got the tent up with some help, after that set up the table, the chair, the stove and filled the kettle with water and made a cup of tea, I had some milk and butter with me so was able to have toast and coffee on Friday morning (on Saturday morning the keeper of GB3IR, Chris G4FZN offered me a bacon sandwich which was very nice of him).

The drive down was beset with traffic jams, rush hour and an accident on the A1 near to Blyth services delayed me some, however the run back was smooth and not once did I slow down below 50MPH, I left the site at 2:15pm (or thereabouts and arrived back into Catterick Garrison at 4pm, a run of 1 hour and 45 minutes, only stopping at the roundabouts near the showground and the lights at Colburn Broadway, White Shops and Gough Road in Catterick Garrison, and the car handled the journey very well.

I had run my APRS beacon the whole way there and back, so click the link on the right of the blog (on the main website) if you want to see it.

I also purchased a Network Radio, I will be doing a video on it for YouTube as I mentioned this in previous posts, which I hope to get up in a couple of days, I didn't get the chance to film at Hamfest 2018 but I will do some in 2019 as I hope to have someone with me next year.

So now I must unpack the car, hope to see you all at next year's National Hamfest, or if not the Spennymoor rally should I get there this year.

73 de 2E0EIJ

National Hamfest 2018, just over 2 weeks to go

And in those two weeks I hope to finalise everything, I already have a tent, a sleeping bag, an inflatable mattress, a mini fridge for food storage (that I have had for years anyway) and a generator for electricity, all I need now is a table, a gas stove, a chair, a jerry can (though the generator's tank is full it's good to have spare), LED lighting (as it is power efficient) and batteries (assuming not AA batteries as I have those) and a means to run equipment off the generator by day and batteries overnight (my jump starter could potentially serve this purpose though would have to be charged up by the generator during daylight hours).

As most local shops will stop selling camping gear around about now, I will source it from Go Outdoors on my next payday as I will know then how much I will have to spend.

Radio wise I only need to take Amateur radio gear as I am travelling alone this year, obviously my FTM-400 will be coming along with me, the Jumbospot and the AnyTone 868 also (but whether anyone is actually active on CQ-UK remains to be seen on the hamfest weekend), if I can get an antenna the CRT SS9900 will also be with me, and most likely the QYT KT8900D (as it has the better pager filtering over the Leixen), and because it was a hamfest purchase my Pofung GT-5 will be making a return to Newark along with the Wouxun KG-UVD1P for analogue 2/70 while I'm wandering around, I'll keep the AnyTone for DMR use, I may even be active on Zello under my Amateur callsign so keep a listen out if you have a network radio or have it on your phone.

As for the Hamfest raffle this year, they have 3 really special prizes up for grabs, these are a Yaesu FT991A, an Icom IC7300, and a Kenwood TS-590SG, all three prizes come complete with an antenna, power supply, coax cable and SWR meter ready to go, as I am there for both days I obviously have an increased chance to win one of these, if I do I'll post after the event, I suspect there will be other prizes too as there are two raffle draws over the Hamfest weekend.

So with the two weeks left to run I eagerly look forward to my first "holiday" in a while, after a stressful year and not having had a holiday as such for a good few years this is perfect, I can be with fellow Amateurs, play radio and even buy some new toys and perhaps even win something fantastic if I am lucky, and those that go to the Hamfest and enter the raffle, best of luck to you too, you're going to win a fantastic prize if you do win one of the "shack in a box" prizes.

73 de 2E0EIJ

National Hamfest 2018 shopping list

I have been out to Go Outdoors today to make a shopping list of the things I may well need for the National Hamfest and have picked a tent, which they actually had on display and the best bit I discovered is that it had a cable entry which I can use to bring in the coaxial and power cables for the portable station (assuming I have a solar charging system operating, I have also selected a camping stove (though this is subject to change) for cooking and those all important cups of tea and a table for the operating position within the tent, though the tent is set in stone the operating position table isn't as I will probably be taking a tape measure to check the size of table I can actually get in the front of the tent as the more working space I have the better it will be for me.

The cable entry on the tent, as if you're looking from the front of it, is on the right hand side, this means antennas would have to be on the right, that is the car is parked on the right hand side of the pitch for the mast stand and space in front or behind the car for the rest, my lowest band of interest until I get an FT-817 or FT-991A will always be 10-metres (I don't count 11-metres as that is CB though I'm using that as a two-way communication between me and guests anyway), this would also apply for any power generation, for instance solar panels and battery boxes as solar panels need to be outside to work and batteries can't be kept inside a tent, the same sort of thing applies to generators though for practicality a solar panel will work much better alongside a charge controller and battery, I shouldn't need mains power.

I also have to look on the Internet for suitable hardware for mounting antennas, my current telescopic fibreglass mast has a couple of the top sections removed from it as these were damaged, shortening it to about 7-8 metres. a replacement can be sourced online though this shorter one should be fine for the T2LT for CB though I want to buy a new one (from SOTAbeams, who usually attend the Hamfest anyway) and guying kits for both (though my shorter one will be in a drive on mast stand it still should be guyed as it will be up overnight both nights.

Of course things will change as time moves closer to the National Hamfest 2018

73 de 2E0EIJ

Preparing for National Hamfest 2018

It may be a long way off yet but I intend to camp at the National Hamfest for both days of the event, a weekend of camping I've not had chance to do for some time, I start by looking on the website of Go Outdoors for a tent, the forms for the National Hamfest camping are not online for this year just yet and the best part is that as my current car does not face an MOT literally 2 weeks before the event it is already cleared for the trip.

So of course I need a tent, a large one with room for a table and a couple of chairs alongside the sleeping accommodation, the table will need to accommodate cooking and radio gear, antenna arrangements will probably be a drive-on mast stand and a fibreglass mast for HF antennas and 2-metres should be on my homebrew groundplane or the car's roof antenna depending on how I arrange the pitch.

Internet will be provided by the mobile networks, electricity will be battery or generator based depending on what I can get in time, my radios all work of 12-volt DC as does my mini-fridge, though I do need to be able to boil water (I like my cups of tea) but a gas stove and camping kettle solves that.

Lighting can be done off batteries, as most camping lights are LED based nowadays and pretty efficient.

As I plan to include a CB station as well as 10-metres (I'd need a second antenna for 10) I plan to replace the batteries in my CB HTs for the basis of staying in contact with whoever I take with me (be at most 2 guests though if I did invite 2 guests one of them would have to travel by train and I'd have to collect them from Newark railway station), I planned to use eneloop batteries in this case as they tend to be the best and long lasting rechargeable batteries one can buy (my CB HTs run off Alkaline batteries as well), this works also so that my non-licensed guests can still use the radio (I would use PMR446 but 500mW is no fun and the signal would probably propagate better into the hall on CB and I don't want my guests to not be able to take some kind of part in radio and maybe even get interested enough to buy the book and get their M6 call (though that has proven to be a tall order), this means I do need to test the T2LT to make sure it has suffered no damage in the time I have moved house, I can do that over the weekend if I have any spare time.

I am keeping my eyes open for the camping forms as well so I can get the camping booked for both days at the National Hamfest as I want that to be done as soon as possible.

73 de 2E0EIJ

National Hamfest 2017

Today I was in attendance at the National Hamfest, and Yaesu have answered my question, they informed me the new TX/RX ID function is similar to CTCSS, works with networked (not Internet linked but radio linked) repeaters and is called System Fusion II, something I had seen advertised, I had also seen the new System Fusion II repeater, I also looked at the new online exams being rolled out and a look at the equipment used for ATV courtesy of BATC.

I picked up the Advanced book from the RSGB book stand and had a look at a smart phone DMR and various other bits and pieces useful to Amateur radio operators, unfortunately I wasn't able to get the handsfree mic for the car as this was unavailable, and other items such as a base antenna due to financial constraints.

Needless to say, the car chose the journey to develop another fault, initially detected as a developing oxygen sensor malfunction (on the sensor post-cat), however when I had chance to look under the car at the exhaust this revealed a massive leak in the exhaust system as the centre pipe (which includes the post-cat O2 sensor) had parted company with the catalytic converter, so my car sounds very much like an old motorcycle or tractor, and I will keep the car off the road until I can fix it unless I have to use it, ruling out October's 2-metre FMAC.

Otherwise I have had a good time at this year's National Hamfest and hope to do it all again next year.

73 de 2E0EIJ

National Hamfest–Planning

As you are no no doubt aware, I have visited the National Hamfest every year without fail since being licenced, this usually takes place at the end of September, and I got the dates this far in advance from the latest RadCom.

My plan for this year is to stop overnight so I can be there both days for a change, I have already got the form to arrange this and this just leaves me to take holiday from work on the Thursday and Friday of that week.

I downloaded a form from the website but obviously need to print this to fill it in, then I can mail this to the Hamfest organisers in good time along with sending payment to them.

As I intend to stop overnight I intend to do some radio activities on site as well, this is where my recently purchased drive-on mast stand will come into it’s own, as I will be able to put up antennas for 2-metres and 70cm at the very least, I probably won’t do any 10-meter operation unless I can get hold of or build a portable antenna for that band in the interim.

Another issue I will have is powering rigs, the FTM-400XDE requires the car be running in order to run it at full power (which as I’ll have a 2E0 by then I should be able to do), though I’d be sat in the car when operating this radio anyway from the magmount on the roof (and I should be able to hit the Lincoln repeater from the Newark showground no problem), for analogue 2-metre operation I can use one of my HTs, as the 10-metre rig is also quite power hungry with the power turned up I would normally run this off my jump starter but I may not have a means to power the jump starter when it needs to be charged again, so I am looking into the possibility of obtaining a generator if possible as the Hamfest doesn’t allow the use of the site’s electricity hookups.

So, I have a lot to plan and 5 months to plan it in, time to get to work.

 

73 de M6RSQ

National Hamfest 2016... post Hamfest

So the National Hamfest is done for another year, and I did not come back empty handed, to replace my Baofeng UV-5RC Plus (as the battery keeps falling off it and for that reason I'm converting it to be used as an APRS radio as I can simply strap the battery on with a rubber band and deactivate the keypad) I picked up another Baofeng, this time a Pofung (Baofeng's newer name) GT-5, a radio that has a unique feature, two PTT buttons, one for each frequency/preset displayed), the RSGB Radio Communications Handbook for £20 with a free backpack, the last one they had too, a free cap off Yaesu (who were in attendance and me being me forgot to ask them about any upcoming improvements to System Fusion, and a LED badge (with blue LEDs) that I programmed with my callsign initially by hand, but since returning home I've managed to program it using the computer so it shows my callsign and name.

The GT-5 radio had charge in it out of the box, it did also come with a 2-pin EU plug rather than a 3-pin UK charger plug but there was an adaptor provided to allow it to plug in, though I've not connected the charger up.

What I did note is that the ARRL (the American Amateur radio organisation) were there, their membership was £60 for one year, and being an American organisation I'd have had to pay that out in one go if I were to join them, trouble is is that Chance Callahan KD0MXN is a member of ARRL and thus receives their QST magazine, which I suspect they publish a list of new joining members in much like RSGB do in RadCom, and if my callsign appeared in there then he would again accuse me of stalking owing to his delusional beliefs about me and possibly attempt to have me ousted from the hobby as soon as possible, it is for this reason and the £60 fee that put me off signing up for a membership of the ARRL, though I may consider it if the FCC finally revoke KD0MXN once and for all after my reports to them earlier this year and several reports to them since then.

Also in attendance were Ofcom, much to my surprise, I decided not to bother them and keep out of their way, perhaps they wanted to advise on their new licencing portal, which I am not a big fan of but find it works OK.

The traders present were otherwise consistent with last year, the GT-5 was purchased from Moonraker as they had them and several other Baofeng radios (including the Intek brand one that can do 8 watts) for a reduced price, I picked the GT-5 as it seemed rugged over the GT-3 and most other UV-5R derivatives.

So, what else to report? Nothing really, another great Hamfest and I plan to do it again next year, perhaps with a little more money to spend

73 de M6RSQ

National Hamfest 2016 - The car gets the all-clear to travel to Newark

Today was the day I submitted my current car for MOT (after removing the antenna and disconnecting the Yaesu FTM-400XDE from the power and taking the control head off the windscreen), and it passed with a clean bill of health, just one advisory but that I will keep an eye on, so it is all clear to travel for the second time to Newark.

Last year I had only just got the car (only a couple of weeks prior to the Hamfest), and I had no Amateur radio equipment installed, most I had was my handies, now I have the Yaesu FTM-400XDE installed I may be able to use the talk in in the Newark area, I believe this should be on S22 as normal if they have one, but I can find out later.

So with no other issues I should be at the Hamfest on the 1st October.


73 de M6RSQ