Issue 144 A publication of the Vintage and Military Amateur Radio Society March 2015

www.vmars.org.uk M0VMW Affiliated to the Radio Society of Great Britain

1 March 2015

Ron Swinburne's hidden 'Nest Eggs' revealed. But, seriously, Ron M0WSN found

this blackbird’s nest while preparing his K9 for the coming rally season which suggests that his rally debut this year could be delayed by a few weeks.

Photo best viewed in colour! See also page 6

From our Chairman

British Patent No. 7777 “for improvements in apparatus for wireless telegraphy”

Saturday April 25th 1874 was the birth date of Guglielmo Marconi and there will be several on air events arranged by various organisations in his memory on what has become Marconi Day. It is fitting that we should remember his tremendous contribution to the development of wireless communications.

Anyone using the chain ferry to take their car from Sandbanks across the

400 yard-wide Poole Harbour entrance to Studland Heath during the high summer holiday period will have queued for over an hour alongside the Haven Hotel. How many of us waiting in that line of cars will have realised that we are at the very site where Guglielmo Marconi completed the final experiments which enabled him to submit his patent and his claim to be “the inventor of wireless”, resulting in him being granted the famous Patent Number 7777 by the British Patent Office in April 1901, a year after his first application?

Marconi had moved to London from Bologna in 1896 to seek patronage for his embryonic wireless telegraph apparatus experiments after failing to find support in Italy. His cousin, Henry Jameson-Davis, introduced him to William Preece, Chief Engineer of the General Post Office, who immediately recognised the enormous potential of both his wireless experiments and of the charismatic Marconi himself. At 40 years Marconi’s senior, Preece was no push over. He had studied electrical engineering under Michael Faraday at the Royal Institution in London and was himself an accomplished experimenter in telephony and wireless telegraphy. He was a shrewd and capable engineer who adopted Marconi as his protégé and provided him with every facility to conduct

VMARS Committee Chairman:

Ian Underwood M0YMK Roundwyck Farm Pipers Lane Balls Cross, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 9JZ +44(0)1403 820185 chairman@vmars.org.uk

Hon. Secretary:

John Keeley GW6RAV 93 Park Crescent Abergavenny Gwent NP7 5TL +44(0)1873 850164 honsec@vmars.org.uk

Hon. Treasurer & Publications Manager:

Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF 22 Farmers Way Copmanthorpe, York North Yorkshire Y023 3XX +44(0)1904 708704 treasurer@vmars.org.uk b.wedzicha@btinternet.com

Membership Secretary:

Peter Shepherd G7DXV 25 Tomkins Close Stanford-Le-Hope Essex SS17 8QU +44(0)1375 640618 memsec@vmars.org.uk

Ordinary Member:

Peter Jones G8CDC Tudor House Stoneleigh Road Blackdown, Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV32 6QR +44(0)1926 883345 peter@air-commuter.co.uk

Ordinary Member:

Ron Swinburne M0WSN 32 Hollywell Road Sheldon, Birmingham West Midlands B26 3BX +44(0)1217 421808 m0wsn@aol.com

Co-opted Member and Public Relations Officer:

Stuart McKinnon G0TBI 145 Enville Road Kinver, Near Stourbridge West Midlands DY7 6BN +44(0)1384 872157 stuartjmckinnon@aol.com

Co-opted Member:

Tony Barron G3YYH Wren Cottage, Foxcote, Andoversford Gloucestershire GL54 4LP +44(0)7785 376518 tbarron@btinternet.com

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experiments, demonstrations and field trials. In December 1896, at a Royal Institution conference, Preece publicly announced the exciting new wireless communication system, stating that Marconi would receive the full support and assistance of the GPO in its further development, a situation that was doomed to last for only a short period. Working for the GPO at the time was 39 year old George Kemp, who had served as an Electrical Instructor in the Royal Navy and whom Preece recommended to Marconi for his development team. The two men hit it off and Kemp joined Marconi as his personal assistant in July 1896, working with him at locations on the south coast of England, organising the logistics of his experiments and helping him with all of his key successes across the Atlantic.

George Kemp, Marconi's irreplaceable personal assistant and good friend

To the dismay of William Preece, the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company was formed by Marconi with his cousin, Jameson-Davis, in 1897. Preece had entertained ambitions for the GPO to take on the mantle of wireless development using Marconi’s expertise and to commercialise it for the benefit of the General Post Office. He felt that Marconi had betrayed his good offices to gain a foothold in England before discarding the support of the GPO and forming his own independent research and development team, causing the relationship between Marconi and Preece to cool significantly. Marconi set up an experimental wireless station and research facility at the Madeira Hotel in Bournemouth but, in 1898, following a serious disagreement with Mr Miller, the hotel manager, over the costs of maintaining his 115 foot wooden wireless mast in the hotel grounds, Marconi relocated his experimental station to the Haven Hotel at the tip of nearby Sandbanks, where he took a long lease on the building. Here he could dedicate himself with his carefully selected team of twenty able technicians and scientific researchers in relative obscurity and privacy, away from rivals and prying eyes. To that date, the principal scientific input to his research and advancement had come from Marconi himself through his dedication to continual trial and error in adapting and applying the research of physicists such as James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, Oliver Lodge and fellow Italian Augusto Righ, who was Marconi’s tutor at Bologna University. Marconi’s skill had been to refine and utilise a variety of innovations and techniques to develop a viable wireless transmitter and receiver coupled to his own aerial designs. It was at the Haven Hotel, with the

appointment of Dr James Erskine-Murray, that Marconi began to assemble a broader scientific team to strengthen the research capabilities of his Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, later to be re-named as Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company Limited. Dr Erskine-Murray had been the assistant professor of physics at Heriot-Watt College, Edinburgh and with his new wife he moved to take up residence at the Haven Hotel as Marconi’s principal scientific assistant. He was an early proponent of the existence of the Heaviside layer region, the ‘E-layer’, predicted by Oliver Heaviside to facilitate long distance transmission of ‘Hertzian Waves’. Visitors to the Haven included the distinguished professor Sir John Ambrose Fleming, holder of the chair of Electrical Technology at University College, London, who was later to hold the patent for the invention of the thermionic diode. Marconi had appointed Fleming as a scientific consultant, along with other carefully selected scientists from Britain, Europe and the United States who held useful positions at universities. The relaxed atmosphere at the Haven Hotel was perfect for the interchange of ideas between all members of the development team who each reported personally to Guglielmo Marconi without the strict hierarchical management structure practiced by the GPO. He was often joined at the Haven by his mother and his brother Alfonso and meals were taken at a communal table where the researchers and technicians would also congregate. Along with the ever present George Kemp, there was Chief Engineer Richard Vyvyan, Charles Samuel Franklin, inventor of the variable capacitor, coaxial cable and the Franklin Oscillator, Captain Henry Round, who was granted 117 wireless-related patents, and Andrew Gray, inventor of the AC circuit breaker and destined to become General Manager of the Marconi New Street Works, who were all notable scientific researchers of the day. They were joined by the two Cave brother technicians and Mr Paget, who was Marconi’s skilful choke winder, scientific advisors and assorted dignitaries as well as visitors from the Post Office which, despite the fall out, maintained a close interest in the work being undertaken. Evenings were often filled with musical entertainment with accomplished performances from Guglielmo playing the piano, Alfonso the violin and Erskine-Murray the cello.

The Haven Hotel on Sandbanks with Marconi’s 115 foot aerial mast in front. In the foreground is

the landing stage for the passenger ferry between Sandbanks and Studland Heath, operated today as

the busy vehicle chain ferry. Photograph reproduced with the permission of the

Poole Museum During the early trials on the south coast, George Kemp was tasked with setting up a second experimental wireless station located in the Needles Hotel at Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight.

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Kemp delivered the huge wooden mast to Alum Bay by sea, reportedly complaining that it had required considerable effort to haul it up the steep cliffs and into position. On the mainland at Lymington Harbour, directly opposite the Isle of Wight, there was a LSWR railway terminus connecting with the ferry services to Yarmouth, which proved useful for bringing in the heavy apparatus that made up the wireless stations and from here Kemp arranged the charter of local steam tugs to undertake the first trials with sea going wireless apparatus. These trials quickly proved to be successful, with good three way signals being established between the Haven Hotel, the Needles Hotel and the tugs, a result that encouraged Marconi to seek methods of improving the working range of his apparatus. One of Marconi’s most successful experiments of this period was carried out from the 14000-ton German liner, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse on 28th February 1900 as she sailed from Bremerhaven with George Kemp on board. She was the first liner to be fitted with wireless and, as she entered the English Channel, the ship’s wireless operator made contact with Marconi’s stations at the Needles and Haven Hotels. For Marconi this was positive proof that his wireless sets could be adapted successfully for commercial use and resulted in his final decision to lodge his patent application.

It was while working at the Haven Hotel that Marconi formulated his patent application employing a ‘Syntonic’ tuning system – tuned circuits for transmitter, receiver and aerial which enabled multiple transmissions to be made on separate frequencies without interfering with each other. ‘Syntonic’ tuning had been shown in public experiments made by Oliver Lodge, then Principal of Birmingham University, and had been patented by him in 1898. These techniques were undoubtedly seen and were refined by Marconi’s team who claimed that they had been developed independently of Lodge and were incorporated into the final submitted designs, forming the basis of Marconi’s patent application made in 1900 and granted as British Patent 7777 in 1901. Marconi’s sea-going Laboratory

The Haven Hotel was occupied by the Marconi Company as a research and experimental station for many years after Patent 7777 had been granted, before finally moving out in 1926. During that time Guglielmo Marconi still occasionally visited the hotel to review developments taking place there and to undertake seagoing trials using his sleek yellow funnelled steam yacht Elettra, which was moored a short distance from the Haven Hotel, just off Brownsea Island. From here the yacht could be used to undertake seagoing wireless communications between the yacht and the Haven Hotel and to undertake experimental AM broadcasts using a valve-based transmitter to broadcast gramophone records and live commentaries of local regattas. Elettra was a 67 metre 700 ton steam powered yacht with a crew of 30, which had been built at Leith for the Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. She was never able to take delivery of the completed vessel, which was commandeered by the Royal Navy and used as a minesweeper in WWI before being purchased by Marconi in 1919, probably with some of the £590,000 he had just been awarded by the English courts following a successful legal claim against the British Government. After her purchase, Elettra was returned to Leith for a complete refit for long distance cruising as a mobile wireless laboratory and was used extensively by Marconi and his family. Elettra travelled much further distances during which Marconi undertook trials comparing the use of VLF frequencies to the newer short wave frequencies being used successfully by radio amateur experimenters to communicate over long distances. Successful trials were also made using Samuel Franklins beam aerial design for communications between Poldhu in Cornwall and Elettra in the South Atlantic. When he died in 1937, Marconi’s family sold the yacht to the

Italian Government, but it was again commandeered, this time by the German Kriegsmarine in 1943 while she was alongside in Trieste at the time of Italy’s capitulation to the Allies. Elettra was rapidly converted to a lightly armed escort vessel. Between 24–30th January 1944, while escorting a small flotilla of converted fishing boats and inshore transports, she was attacked by several Allied aircraft near the ancient village of Trogir, on the Croatian Yugoslav coast, before being sunk by a torpedo fired from a Royal Navy submarine.

Marconi’s 67 m steam powered yacht Elettra Marconi never claimed to be a physicist and, on his patent application, he described himself as an electrician. His real genius was his ability to recognise other people’s scientific research which could be utilised in the developments of wireless, bringing them together to form a viable working system and in recognising their commercial potential. Having obtained his early patents, Marconi quickly and relentlessly set about exploiting his commercial advantage and fought numerous legal challenges to his patents. Sir Oliver Lodge, as he had by now become, fought a legal case for many years over his own claim that Marconi had infringed his patent rights to ‘Syntonic’ tuning and it was not until 1912 that the case was finally settled when Marconi purchased the patent from Lodge.

Marconi on board Elettra Since the company’s departure from the Haven Hotel in 1926, it has been developed into a four star hotel and Sandbanks

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has been transformed into one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the world. Stand in front of the hotel though, looking out across the busy harbour entrance to the rural Studland Heath and you can still imagine Marconi at work on the site and imagine the feelings of great excitement that he must have experienced as his dream of long range wireless communications became a reality. For his work in the development of wireless communication, Marconi was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909.

Ian Underwood M0YMK

Len Maunder G4KRX SK

The Passing of a great and good mate.

I refer to the sad news I heard recently about one of our members and a great mate of mine, Len Maunder G4KRX. Len sadly passed away on or about 26th March 2015.

A very keen radio amateur and good member and supporter of VMARS, Len had been an apprentice in his younger years at Marconi in Basildon back in the heydays of AD 90, AD120, etc. He had considerable knowledge of aviation transmitters and aircraft systems of the late 1960s and 1970s.

I first met Len one night at a local Essex pub. Both of us were well-lubricated and fellow CAMRA members. We soon got chatting and found we had a second common interest other than real ale–amateur radio. I was an SWL to most, but Len soon realised that I was more than that–I just could not be bothered to pass the RAE to further my interest. Len would have been a G8--- licensee at that time though I cannot remember his callsign. After many years and several pints, I was put in a position where I went for a job interview at Marconi; it turned out that one of the staff in the section was Len. I was lucky with my interview, got the job and ended up working with Len on the same test facilities section in the early 1980s.

As the years went by, we worked together on many aviation radio systems in one way or another. We spent many a time working on FLIR and SLIR systems which were infrared-based vision and targeting systems for various aircraft. We both worked on the Phoenix unmanned air vehicle for the Army. So much information in our heads. There is much that could be said about our times at Marconi. Len was one of the best guys you could work with and work for as he ended up as my direct report and with much respect. The team at Basildon was unique. We would disregard all the rules and

cut doors in partition walls just to get to the other side. Lunch time at the pub was a regular daily event.

It was while working together that Len ‘encouraged’ me into sitting the RAE and to obtain my amateur radio licence instead of just ‘dabbling’. The remainder of my radio hobby is now my own history.

Len will be remembered for his many ‘tiring’ events at numerous radio rallies having followed me into working for the charity RAIBC. We spent many hours going through piles of stuff and getting the stock for the rally loaded into my car the night before. Yep, you guessed right, we would have a couple of beers as we went along. His efforts did not go un-noticed and he eventually went on to become a full committee member for the charity, spending countless hours in his then retired ‘spare’ time doing battle with other members of the committee.

As a result of our friendship, Len became a member of VMARS was a very ‘hardy’ supporter of many events. He was often seen at the auctions but, more so, he was a very keen supporter of our weekend Bletchley Park events which he loved (see photo above). He was particularly effective in demonstrating the equipment and publicising the Society to members of the public. He had a love for Indian food which bode well for the evening socials.

Len very rarely came on air although you would hear him most weekends on a Sunday when he was at home. Top Band AM had always been a favourite and he had been a keen CW operator. Len was a very keen home constructor and a fan of the Paraset. He had also been a QRP Club member and it was Len who encouraged me to join.

I could go on but I just want to say “good bye Len”. You are one of the best and don't ever forget it.

Pete Shepherd G7DXV

GB70LV

YORKSHIRE AIR MUSEUM

8, 9 & 10th May 2015

The Yorkshire Air Museum, formerly RAF Elvington, will be operating its amateur radio station to commemorate

70 years Victory in Europe. During May 1944 RAF Elvington became home to the only French Heavy Bomber

Squadrons, 346 Guyenne and 347 Tunisia.

Our call sign, GB70LV (La Victoire), acknowledges the French Squadrons that were operational here on VE day.

Operating times on all days will be 0900 – 1600 (GMT).

We will be using, whenever possible, WWII equipment appropriate for the event. This will include T1154 / R1155, Mk 3 SIS TX, Paraset Mk 7, WS52 and some transmissions will be from the museum’s Dakota (non-flying) using the original ARC-5 Command series equipment.

CW, AM and SSB modes will be used on 80, 60, 40, 20 & 17 m bands.

All contacts / reports are welcome. QSL only DIRECT via SAE

Further information can be obtained from :- Ken Sanderson G4KCF RAFARS 4630 s2sand.aol.com

Operation Varsity and the Jet-Age Museum

Operation Varsity was the largest ever airborne landing of troops. On 24th March 1945, 16,000 paratroops and glider-borne troops were dropped in the Wesel area of Germany to

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create the bridgehead for the Crossing of the Rhine. The operation was largely successful, although losses were high.

The Jet-Age Museum is situated at what was RAF Staverton, between Cheltenham and Gloucester. It is a new museum, and its aim is to present aircraft built in Gloucestershire. This currently includes a number of Gloster Meteor and Javelin aircraft and a Gamecock reconstruction. There is also a fascinating display about Frank Whittle who did much of his work developing the jet engine in a car dealership in the centre of Cheltenham.

The cockpits of many Horsa gliders used for Operation Varsity were constructed by HH Martyn (better known for the interior fittings of the House of Commons and public statuary) in Cheltenham. The museum is in the process of constructing a precise replica of a Horsa glider which has involved producing CAD drawings of many components using the blueprints still available as a starting point.

The museum’s regular visitors include two glider pilots deployed for Operation Varsity, so it seemed natural to commemorate the Operation with a special event on Saturday 21st March. The Horsa replica brought back many memories for the pilots, both of whom are in their 90s. BBC news and local press reported the event and the museum gained valuable publicity.

Giles G0NXA and I decided that a radio element would be a good idea so we ran a static display telling the story of communications between the glider and tug and between the tug and ground.

Horsa tow cable

Air-to-ground communications display

Communication between the glider and tug was achieved with an A1134 amplifier mounted in the glider and wires woven into the towing cable. For this event we borrowed two A1134s from Keith G3XGW. Our story used a Halifax tug and we used my T1154/R1155 combination to represent air-to-ground communications.

The special event resulted in a significantly higher footfall for the museum. Our display triggered many memories from older visitors and intrigued younger ones. More than one made a comment such as “I was trained to use those in 1953”.

We aspire to running a permanent radio station at the museum which should be possible when the museum achieves its current objective of building another hangar to display more of the exhibits it has in store.

Photographs are courtesy of G0NXA.

Tony Barron G3YYH

The Institution of Engineering and Technology

S. Yorks. Network

Presents for Science Week 2015

Sunday 19th April, 2015

A day of lectures - free admission.

10.00 Arrival: tea/coffee 10.30 Welcome and introduction. Dr. Mike Diprose 10.45 Dr. Phil Judkins: Making Vision into Victory: Personalities and Power Struggles in Building British Radar; 1935–41. 11.45 Break 12.00 S/Ldr. Mike Dean: Researching WWII Radar History in the USA. 13.00 Lunch 14.00 Professor Graeme Gooday: The Fullerphone and Communications Security in WWI Trenches. 15.00 Break 15.15 Dr Phil Judkins; Devices and Desires: Personality Clashes and Power Struggles in German Air Defence; 1939–45. 16.00 Finish A light buffet lunch will be provided (free) for those attending the lectures. Venue: The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, Doncaster Aeroventure, Dakota Way, Doncaster. 01302 761616. Please contact: mike.diprose@spectrum-tec.co.uk to register (for catering and free admission) or by letter to 26, Brookfields, Calver, S32 3XB.

VMARS Reflectors (Groups) on the Web

The Society hosts two official Yahoo Groups (VMARS-Member and VMARS-Collector) exclusively for VMARS Members. These are closed groups and the discussions cannot be viewed by non-subscribers. Members can join both groups by invitation only. Invitations to join VMARS-Member are issued automatically to new Members or by application to Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF. Invitations to VMARS-Collector are issued by application to Ian Underwood M0YMK. Both Groups are moderated by the Committee and their purpose is as follows:

The VMARS-Member Group is a forum where Members can share technical and other specialised information about all aspects of VMARS Members' interests and within the scope of the Society. It is not to be used for the posting of advertisements for trade.

The VMARS-Collector Group is a trading platform for VMARS Members. Its purpose is to enable Members to buy,

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sell, exchange or request items which relate directly to vintage and military radio, radar and associated items.

Members are advised that another Yahoo Group calling itself VMARS is not an official VMARS site and correctly identifies itself as having nothing to do with the Society except in name.

Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF

VMARS Members’ badges

Once again, Stuart McKinnon G0TBI is taking orders for VMARS Members’ badges, which he orders several at a time. If you would like to order a badge (at very reasonable cost) please let Stuart have details of your name and call sign as you would like for it to appear on the badge. He will be placing the next order shortly.

Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF

Solar Eclipse Experiment: 20th March 2015

The 80 m Solar Eclipse Net began at 8.00 GMT and ended at 10.25 GMT when UK signals faded out almost completely. Despite local propagation failing, Des Bonner EI3GWB and Trevor Sanderson PA3BOH reported good signals over the more distant paths and it appears that significantly good propagation continued to the Netherlands well after the Net finished. Stations logged were (in Net-order) G0TBI, M0YMK, M0DAF, G3XGW, G3YJO, G3MHX, M1PVC, G3YYH, G4JSX, G0GNE, G4DVN, G6AVI, with M0GXB, G8AQN, EI3GWB calling in towards the end of the Net. Data are being assembled for download to RSGB and will be published in the next issue of Signal. In the meantime, listener reports would be most welcome and should be sent to me as soon as possible. Thank you to all who took part in what turned out to be a most interesting exercise.

Stuart McKinnon G0TBI

Microphone for the Clansman 320

My main radio is the KW Atlanta but I use the Clansman 320 mainly on 5 and 18 MHz as the KW only has the old bands. I have had reports ranging from “I knew it was a Clansman” to the “audio punches through my high noise level” so I decided to look at the output of my radio. The difficulty is trying to monitor our own transmission so I used the help of two local amateurs to report back but I suspect that some adverse reports may be the result of their audio settings in the receiver.

Last year I picked up at a rally a spare Racal handset identical to my Racal TRA 967 but found the plug spigot spacing would only match the Clansman sockets so this was the first step for my tests. The Clansman microphone insert is very small and tends to enhance the ‘top’ but the Racal microphone, about one and a half inches across, has a flatter response

and is more pleasant to listen to. With this in mind, the next step was to try the Clansman respirator microphone which is connected in series with a capacitor in the moulding to reduce the lower frequency response and, with this capacitor removed, it was equally as good.

In the shack I now use a modified fist microphone with this insert, a new replacement lead and plug readily available on Ebay. My most recent contact on 5 MHz told me my audio was excellent even before I told him what I was using.

In future I will use the Racal handset for field trips and keep the original Clansman handset for displays and events.

The pictures below may help to illustrate the exercise and my as-new 320.

Paul Burgess G3VPT

Editorial note – The Pye ‘tulip’ base station microphones also work well and sound nice with Clansman equipment, as evidenced by those members who use them on the Saturday morning AM net – Colin Guy G4DDI.

The ‘lodger’ in Ron’s K9

Sending in articles, news items, letters and advertisements for VMARS Publications

Please send copy to Colin Guy G4DDI by post or e-mail, 7 Herrick Court, Clinton Park, Tattershall, Lincs. LN4 4QU Tel 01526 344715 g4ddi@vmars.org.uk The copy deadline for the next issue of the News Sheet is 15th April. For articles for the next issue of Signal the deadline is 9th May, but copy would be appreciated as far in advance as possible.

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A QSO with a difference

On Sunday 5th and Monday 6th April, Robin G0GNE and I embarked to make contact with each other, away from home.

Robin was situated on the Hogg's back near Guildford in Surrey with his Lightweight Land Rover running 40 W from a RT-321 into an Inverted-L antenna. I was located at the Army Apprentices College in Harrogate North Yorkshire, using my old trusted Racal Syncal 30 (the TRA931 XH frequency hopping version) with a 6 foot whip antenna sloped to ‘fire’ the signal towards Surrey. Dispensing with the hopping facility, a straight forward contact on 40 m was established for 15 minutes after which we decided to exchange reports on 60 m (5398.5 kHz): I gave Robin 5/7 and he gave me 4/4 but every word was copied. We repeated the test on the second day and again it worked well; a great exercise

Stuart McKinnon G0TBI

ShowUp@Ashdown – Wartime in the Vale

For 2015 the organisers are pleased to announce that the show is being run independently by Ashdown but with sponsorship from the MVT and Cherished Vehicle Insurance. The show will also be celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain with a full-size model Spitfire with a working Merlin engine, which should sound terrific. Information about the Show was given in the previous issue of the News Sheet (February 2015, NS143).

Ron Swinburne M0WSN (contact details on the front cover of this issue of the News Sheet) is coordinating VMARS involvement in Wartime in the Vale and any members who would like to take part are asked to contact Ron as soon as possible.

Dambusters Hamfest 2015

The Dambusters Hamfest has become the premier East Coast rally for vintage and modern amateur, commercial and military radio equipment. Held annually at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre near Coningsby, Lincolnshire the next event will be on 3rd May 2015. Uniquely, we believe, the only charge for visitors and traders is the site standard admission charge,

currently £3 per person, which includes admission to the Visitor Centre itself and the Radio Shack, home of M0TCM net control station. No additional charge is made for traders, whether individuals or businesses, though donations are welcome if you have a good day! Mostly outdoors but some limited indoor pitches are available.

Tea/coffee, sandwiches and cakes are available from the NAAFI and hot food from the burger van. For those who prefer something more substantial, the nearby Blue Bell Inn does a wonderful Sunday roast, but booking is essential as they do get very busy. www.bluebell-inn.com 01526 342206.

Limited caravan/camping is available at Thorpe Camp from Saturday to Monday by prior appointment with the rally organiser (small charge for electric hook-up).

For anyone wishing to stay longer to visit this lovely part of Lincolnshire, touring caravans and motorhomes are welcome at the nearby Blue Bell Inn caravan park, 07815 085799 for caravan bookings at the Blue Bell.

Owners of vintage/military vehicles (especially if radio-related) are particularly welcome; please contact the rally organiser in advance to secure a display location.

Rally talk-in on 145.55 MHz. We will also be monitoring 51.7 MHz and 3615 kHz. Other frequencies by arrangement – please contact G4DDI.

As last year, VMARS Members who are staying over are welcome to get together with the Rally team at the Blue Bell for a Saturday evening meal. Places are limited so please contact G4DDI as soon as possible to secure places.

Contact details:

www.dambusters-hamfest.net

Rally organiser Tony Nightingale G3ZPU 01507 527835 tony.nightingale@yahoo.co.uk

Saturday evening meal and talk-in matters Colin Guy G4DDI g4ddi@vmars.org.uk

Colin Guy G4DDI

Saturday AM Net-Controller’s Rota

Date 1st op 2nd op 3rd op

18th Apr M1PVC G0TBI G3XGW

25th Apr G0TBI G3XGW M0TCM

2nd May G3XGW M0TCM M0DAF

9th May M0TCM M0DAF M0YMK

16th May M0DAF M0YMK G4GEN

23rd May M0YMK G4GEN G4BQF

30th May G4GEN G4BQF GW8TBG

Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF

Sunday Morning CW Net

After many years of running the VMARS Sunday Morning CW Net on 3775 kHz, Alan Morris G4GEN has asked that he should step down. I am sure that Members will join me in thanking Alan for his unfailing, enthusiastic and outstanding commitment to keeping Morse alive in this way, but his

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resignation means that a ‘vacancy’ now exists for one or more CW Net Controllers.

Duties would include organising and running a CW net on Sunday mornings at 0900 hrs on 3577 kHz of 30 mins to 1 hour duration. We would expect anyone undertaking this role to be experienced in Morse at 12–25 wpm, to be able to represent the Society and be proactive in promoting this Sunday Morning Net to VMARS Members and non-members.

Anyone who would like to be involved should contact me in the first instance, subsequently to be discussed at Committee for approval. Anyone is welcome to apply and we look forward to the continued development of this VMARS activity.

Stuart J Mckinnon G0TBI

Helplines 144/1 Military tuneable HF vehicle antenna

Some years ago, I picked up at a rally a military tunable HF vehicle antenna in two sections. The 7 foot 6 inches top section is flexible with helical wound element. The bottom section is a rigid 4 foot 9 inches with a hollow to take a sliding fit tuning element which consists of 61 aluminium separated disks and 18 ferrites over a length of 1 foot 8 inches on a fibre rod 3 foot 6 inches long. There is no DC connection between the base and the top clamp.

Any information please: how was it used and how can I feed RF into it. paulburgess68@btinternet.com. 01603 898715

Paul Burgess G3VPT

Committee Notices VMARS AGM 2015

Notice is hereby given that the 2015 AGM will take place at the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum, Near Remote Radar Head (RRH) Neatishead, Horning, Norfolk NR12 8YB on 18th July 2015.

VMARS AGM 2015:

Call for Motions under Members Business

Members are invited to submit any motions for discussion at the AGM under Members Business to the Hon. Secretary

John Keeley GW6RAV by 28th April 2015. The motions will be published in the April Issue of the VMARS News Sheet at the beginning of May.

Applications for Membership

We wish to welcome the following new applicants for VMARS Membership:

Name, Callsign (Region) Interests

DH Rycroft G4OKO Somerset

Restoration and operation of WWII military wireless equipment.

LS Ackroyd North Yorkshire

Clansman military radio systems.

ACK Sword M0SWO Norfolk

Old radios (particularly WWII). Own several WWII receivers, 38 Set, Mk123 and Mk128. Member of Duxford Radio Society and Norfolk Amateur Radio Club.

RD Fell Leicestershire

FFR Land Rovers and Clansman VHF and HF associated equipment. Owns a Lightweight Land Rover, ex-Gurkha Sigs, fitted with PRC352, VRC353 and DMU.

JA Gumb G4RDC Berkshire

1970s, 1980s and 1990s PMR gear. Motorola radios, etc. Adapting sets for modern techniques. SDR. Valved equipment. Has some Clansman systems. 4 m.

F Hall G8IQA Derbyshire

Vintage radio and test equipment.

[Membership rules require names of applicants for Membership to be published, before they are formally accepted as Members. This allows existing Members to object, if they wish. If you want to object to any of the above, please write to our Hon Sec, John Keeley – Ed.]

Advertisements WANTED: Has anyone a callbook from the 1994–97 era please? If so could you look to see if G7PND is listed? The holder, Keith Marriott, is now SK and a colleague of mine is wanting to obtain that callsign but he needs proof to OFCOM that it was held by his friend Keith Marriott. Keith changed his callsign to M5ADM sometime after 1997 and is listed under that callsign on QRZ.com. Colin Guy G4DDI g4ddi@vmars.org.uk 07824 356189

WANTED: Lite cap and bulb for PRC9. Steven Parnell 2E0DIR 07973 830520 trueblue597@googlemail.com

Copyright Notice The VMARS News Sheet is a publication of the Vintage and Military Amateur Radio Society. Copyright remains vested in the authors, thus no material in this News Sheet may be copied and published elsewhere, in part or in full, by any means, without the express permission of the author. This may be sought either from the author direct, or from the News Sheet Editor, Bronek Wedzicha M0DAF.