http://www.g4foc.org/

FOCUS 93

The First Class CW Operators’ Club

President

Ivan Davies, G3IZD 13 Thurlow Way, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA14 5XP Tel: +44(0) 122 982 8572 E-mail: g3izd@sky.com

Membership Secretary

Tyler Barnett, N4TY 213 Camelot Court Georgetown, KY 40324 Tel: +1 859 221 9266 E-mail: n4ty@me.com

Chairman

Rob Ferguson, GM3YTS 19 Leighton Avenue, Dunblane, Perthshire FK15 0EB Tel: +44 (0) 1786 824 199 E-mail: gm3yts@btinternet.com

Internet Services

Ray Goff, G4FON 27 Harley Road, Oxford OX2 0HS Tel: +44 (0) 186 572 7142 E-mail: ray@g4fon.net

Committee Secretary

Roger Western, G3SXW 7 Field Close, Chessington, Surrey KT9 2QD Tel: +44 (0) 208 397 3319 E-mail: g3sxw@btinternet.com

Committee

Dave Lawley, G4BUO 4 Suttons Cottages, Clement Street, Hextable Kent BR8 7PF Tel: +44 (0) 132 266 6062 E-mail: dave@g4buo.com

Treasurer

Graham Bubloz, G4FNL 42 Hillcrest, Westdene, Brighton BN1 5FN Tel: +44 (0) 127 355 1186 E-mail: graham@g4fnl.co.uk

Webmaster

Ed Tobias, KR3E 7408 Bee Bee Drive Derwood, MD 20855 Tel: +1 301 977 9345 E-mail: edtobias@comcast.com

Committee

Wes Spence, AC5K 465 Creekwood Street Lumberton, TX 77657 Tel: +1 409 755 4753 E-mail: ac5k@sbcglobal.net

Non Committee Members • Accounts Examiner G4HZV

• FOCUS Editor

S57WJ • WAFOC Award Manager

G4HZV

•News Sheet Editor V31JP • Windle Award

W4PM

• Call Book Editor N4TY • FOC WAS Award

W4CK • FOCUS Mailing

G3LHJ • Webmasters

N4TY

• FOCUS Mailing NA

WB2YQH G7VJR

• Subscriptions (non-web)

• Activity Co-Ordinator

G3VTT

UK & Overseas G3LIK • Marathon

F5VHY

N. & S. America

K2VUI • FOC QSO Party KZ5D Europe DL8LBK

mailto:g3izd@sky.commailto:n4ty@arrl.netmailto:gm3yts@btinternet.commailto:ray@g4fon.netmailto:g3sxw@btinternet.commailto:dave@g4buo.commailto:graham@g4fnl.co.ukmailto:edtobias@comcast.com

FOCUS 93

Contents From Your President Ivan Davies, G3IZD 4 From Your New Editor Gabor Szekeres, S57WJ 4 23rd Annual Orlando Weekend Vic Abell, W9RGB 5 FOC at 75 Allen Singer, N2KW 7

FOC 75th Anniversary Award Ed Tobias, KR3E 10

GB75FOC Operating Rota-May 2013 11

G3JUL: Sixty Years in Comms Roger Western, G3SXW 12

Greetings from Down Under de LZ1AF/VK4 Dimiter Petrov, LZ1AF 14

An Hour in Ontario Roger Western, G3SXW 16

Marshmallows and Chasing DX Randy Johnson, W6SJ 18

Is There an SCV in Your Future? Allen Singer, N2KW 20

The Sound of Silence Gerd Sapper DJ4KW 26

VK6CG's Wooden Morse Key or 'WK1A' Steve Ireland, VK6VZ 28

A Key for all the Right Reasons? Paul Rollin, G4AFU 29

2012 Bill Windle Memorial Award H. M. “Puck” Motley, W4PM 32

WAFOC and WAFOCC Honour Rolls Bob Bagwell, G4HZV 38

Contesting Allen Singer, N2KW 41

Team 3G Lids at K3LR Dave Lawley, G4BUO 44

CW as Alternative Communication David Wood, G3YXX 45

Welcome to New Members Tyler Barnett, N4TY 46

FOC DXFC Leaders Roger Western, G3SXW 49

Focals 50

Inside Back Cover Photographs: Focals from Florida Dinner – check page 50

Back Cover Photograph-top: Four FOC members attended the Radio Club of America's annual awards banquet in New York City, November 2012. K1ZZ presented the keynote address at the event. Shown (l to r) are Ric Ostrowski, N2NA; Dave Sumner, K1ZZ and Rich Van Tieghem, W2VT. The fourth FOC’er attending the event was Doug Grant, K1DG. (photo W2VT)

Back Cover Photograph-bottom: Wonderful hospitality at the home of Rumen, LZ1MS and Elena, LZ3RY, September 2012. Standing (l to r): John G4IRN and Rumen LZ1MS; sitting (l to r) Bob, K4UEE; Dimiter, LZ1AF and Roger, G3SXW. (photo G3SXW)

FOCUS is the quarterly magazine of FOC which is published four times annually in January, April, July and

October. It is mailed to all members. Articles and contributions for FOCUS are always welcome and should be

submitted to the Editor by mail , CD, disk, typed or hand written. Drawings can be

re-drawn if necessary and original photographs returned after scanning.

© First Class CW Operators’ Club

Articles may be re-published from FOCUS with permission from the Editor

and with the usual credit given.

mailto:gabor.s57wj@gmail.com

FOCUS 93 4

From Your

President, G3IZD

It seems that 2013 is a time for several amateur radio related anniversary celebrations. In particular the UK national society RSGB, Radio Society of Great Britain, is celebrating its centenary and the

special callsign Gx1ØØRSGB is doing the full rounds of the UK throughout the year. The “x” will change to the necessary regional identifier for the other entities which comprise the UK, for example a “D” for the Isle of Man, “U“ for Guernsey etc. My local Club had a full weekend in January using the call so many members were made aware of the pile-ups which ensue by the attraction of this, especially as awards may be achieved by contacting it during its travels. Personally I enjoyed one or two HF SSB pile-ups and an all-too-brief pile-up session on 160 CW using a full top band delta loop, regrettably not mine.

We in FOC are of course celebrating our 75th anniversary this year, bureaucracy is however playing a major part in resisting our wish to have a similar call, Gx75FOC, as the requisite government department now seems unlikely to grant this. So the final call to be used will be announced when talks conclude, it seems likely to be GB75FOC, unfortunately not identifying the various locations throughout the country. Fortunately many other nations are not so hidebound, so that various calls with FOC in them will be active throughout the world. Committee is producing details of the FOC award, but it will of course invite members to work through the list of those using the call.

Continued in Editor’s column…

From Your

Editor, S57WJ

I thought that I would be just a technical editor of Focus. The articles will ‘come by their self’ and my job would just be to prepare them for printing. How wrong

and naive I was! It is a more complex task than just caring about typos and design.

All my worries vanished when I got over 30 feedbacks from our members. Some of them sent me an email and some of them told me their opinion during QSO on the air. Such encouragement gives me strength and confidence to continue my work. But I will cut this gibbering now!

Year 2013 is the 75th Anniversary year of FOC. We have some long-time members who are in this club for over 50 years. Rich, G4FAD’s article about Peter, G3ESY in Focus 92 developed an idea to report interviews with those old-timers, to tell their stories. You will read about Geoff, G3JUL in this issue.

The Marathon 2013 is behind us. Every photo or article on this subject is very much welcomed for the Summer issue. Please keep in mind one thing. The real editors of Focus is you. Help me to make an interesting magazine!

161! Gabor, S57WJ

…continued from President’s column

As it happens my local Club is also having its centenary in 2013 but it also seems unlikely that we would be granted our favoured call. So these and several other interesting calls will be active during the year and it is hoped that many of us will enjoy chasing not only our own, but others as well.

161! Ivan,G3IZD

5 FOCUS 93

Kathleen Robinson, G3LTV/2

Chris, K4EFZ

23rd Annual Orlando Weekend

By Vic Abell, W9RGB

After 23 years of successful FOC weekend gatherings in Orlando, Florida, it’s time for a few well-deserved tributes.

The first is to return the salute that Chris, K4EFZ, is giving in this picture. He has guided the weekend for many of the 23 years and rose to the occasion in 2012 in spite of an exhausting work load.

I’m sure all current and former attendees join with me in returning his salute with overwhelming gratitude. There were over forty attendees at the Saturday night dinner who shared the excellent buffet, the warm conversation and great camaraderie.

One special and honoured attendee was Kathleen Robinson. Former FOC member Bill, G3LTV, and his wife Kathleen attended nine consecutive Orlando weekends until Bill’s illness prevented a tenth return. He persevered and returned with Kathleen for a tenth time in 2010, when they were awarded a special certificate for their attendance. Sadly, Bill’s key became silent in 2011. After a year’s absence we welcomed Kathleen’s return and we offer a special salute to this gallant Irish lady.

The Orlando weekend has always had a willing cast of helpers. In the past, silent key Ink, N4OO, and his wife Shirley, organized the hospitality room. Silent key Vic, N4TO, cared for the W4FOC station. One of Vic’s helpers was John, K9QVB, who was among the attendees this year.

Chris, G4BUE and June, MØBUE have guided the raffle for many years, helped by many others. This year’s special raffle prize, a sideswiper key by G3HGE that he calls the TWanger, went to Al, W1FJ.

Del, W8KJP, has taken over the hospitality room, exercising his logistics skills from past careers in the US Air Force, US Navy and industry. Del asked me to commend my wife, Carol, for her help.

I have taken care of the W4FOC station for the last few years with help from members K9QVB and K9FN and this year, guest Bob W4GJ. This year’s long wire antenna, strung between two wings of the hotel, allowed us to put W4FOC on 160 meters during the ARRL contest and members took advantage of that to participate in the contest.

Across from the hospitality room I set up an Elecraft KX3 and several members crossed the hall to use it to make Windle QSOs with W4FOC.

FOCUS 93 6

Mick, G3LIK, worked his Windle magic with G5LP and DK1WU at the W4FOC key on 160 metres. The wire snaking up the wall had a 9 to 1 SWR, but was good enough to put a signal into the W4FOC antenna and hear the reply.

With the success of this 23rd Orlando fresh in our memories, many of us are looking forward eagerly to its 24th running. Put the first weekend of December on your calendar now and be ready to join us in Orlando in 2013.

Many thanks to Del, W8KJP and Mick, G3LIK for the photos from Orlando Weekend. (S57WJ-Ed.)

Friendly chat in the hospitality room (l to r): Dave, K9FN; Ellen, W1YL; Lionel, G5LP and Red,

K5ALU

Mick, G3LIK operates at W4FOC

7 FOCUS 93

Bill, G8VG at the first FOC NA dinner in 1973 (photo K8MFO)

FOC at 75

By Allen Singer, N2KW

Do you think Bob Webster had any idea what his concept of forming a British version of the A-1 Operators Club would become? It was in March, 1938 that G5BW sent a letter to T&R Bulletin (the RSGB magazine) and it immediately generated 'a remarkable show of interest'. Two months later, there were 18 members. Immediately, some of them felt it was necessary to clarify that FOC was not a British version of RCC, and that 'test calls' should follow a rigid format. Sound familiar?

Neither Bob Webster nor John Hunter, G2ZQ survived WW2, although their demise was not war-related in either case. It was Tuberculosis and Pneumonia that took these visionaries from our midst while both were in their early thirties. It was Gerald Marcuse, G2NM who took over the reins of a dormant club, which he returned to prominence during his term of office. By 1950, the Membership exceeded 300, with the proportion of overseas members hovering around 30%. We tend to concentrate on the achievements of the President of an organization (or Company) and to overlook the contribution of the Secretary. While all members of the Committee contribute, the Secretary probably does the most work of all. Fergie, G2ZC lived for FOC, both as its first post war Secretary and later as Vice-President. G5PS also served in both posts and was an early and avid supporter. Even more work than the Secretary would be the Editor of the monthly News Sheets. G2ZC lasted two years, G5PS lasted three, G2DPY lasted four years. When G3JLB took the helm, nobody expected Les would do it for the next eleven years. G8VG took over, and Bill held on for 14 years. G3FXB took over the role for nine years, but the all-

time record for longevity has to go to Chris G4BUE who took over from Al. Chris didn't miss an issue for the next 23 years! Currently, V31JP is New Sheet Editor, having taken the helm in 2011.

Louis Varney, G5RV, is best remembered for the non-resonant doublet antenna that bears his name. But he put many more hours into researching the suppression of TVI. His first paper on the subject, presented to IEEE in October 1949, formed the basis for the design of 'TVI-proof' transmitters and earned RSGB's Norman Keith Adams Prize. He published designs for the 'Elizabethan' transmitter, which incorporated all of his TVI-elimination principles. Louis, G5RV

FOCUS 93 8

Stan Mercer, G2DPY was a brand-new member when he took over the Circular Letter in 1952. He brought a more personal style to the news and was responsible for elimination of the rota system, with each member now receiving his own copy.

Activity reports kept his 'mail sack' section full so he often had a problem to fit everything in. When he assumed the duties of Secretary Stan transformed that office from a largely ceremonial one into the driving force behind Committee. Les Belger, G3JLB served as Secretary for a decade (1956-1966) but the honour for the longest-serving Secretary goes to the OM himself, Bill Windle G8VG served from 1967-1981, as well as being Chairman of the Committee from 1951-1968. It took the services of three

members to assume the myriad duties Bill had assumed, but Al Slater G3FXB took over publication of the News Sheets, G4GML handled overseas mailing, whilst Ted G2HKU took care of UK mailings. Al was determined to uphold the high standard G8VG had set for the club. He assumed the task of finishing a history of FOC

that Bill had started. In his dedication he says that G8VG deserves the

title of "Mr. FOC" but I think that mantle must be shared. Since we lost Bill there have been others that have upheld the principles he loved so dearly. Al Slater being the first that comes to mind, others who are still amongst us, others that have passed. Truly, the whole is greater than the sum of its component parts.

Much has been written about the past, including Dennis Andrews’ scholarly contribution 'Sixty Years of FOC.' It has been said that 'Yesterday is history, the future is a mystery, and all we have is today....such a gift that it is called 'the present.' Some acknowledgement is due to the living, the ones among us who continue to contribute to FOC year after year.

Roger, G3SXW retired from Committee after ten years of service, including the Secretarial post, over twenty years ago...yet, when FOC needed the guidance of long-time members he answered the call and presently serves as Secretary. Den, G3MXJ now F5VHY still adjudicates the Marathon. Rob, GM3YTS served as President twenty

FOC NA Dinner in 1990 (l to r): W4CK, K8ZH, GM3YTS and G3FXB (photo K8MFO)

Stan, G2DPY

9 FOCUS 93

years ago and returned to Chair the Committee when he heard the call. Chris, G4BUE served as both News Sheet Editor and Editor of Focus for over twenty years. Mick, G3LIK has worn so many hats in FOC I'd be surprised if he had any hair left.

FOC is a member of EUCW, a Federation of CW-oriented clubs all over Europe. There are more CW clubs than you might think. It's all good. All we need to do is to concentrate on what we have in common, rather than our differences. In my opinion, there can never be too many CW clubs.

What can we do, as individuals, to assure the continued success of our club?

Again, this is my opinion alone. I feel it incumbent upon the Membership to seek out, cultivate, and nominate qualified members. Without growth, any club would wither and die. During the early Eighties, Committee became concerned about the 'Old Pal's Act' when four nominations for Membership came in at the same time, from the same US call area. It was for this reason, that the requirement for a "G" sponsor was initiated in August, 1985. Personally, I have never nominated nor sponsored anyone from my own country. I feel it is someone else's duty to find a qualified "W." My selections are strictly based upon merit. For many years, I refrained from any nomination, feeling it just 'wasn't my place.' But as I began to understand the culture of FOC, I realized that I had been remiss in my obligations, and that finding a truly qualified candidate is more difficult than one would assume. Just as I trust that I have been a credit to the judgement of my Sponsors, I remain cognizant of the fact that my nominees are vestiges of my own existence, and they are all that I leave the Club when I move to Zone 41. Within FOC, they will be the only evidence that I ever existed.

My advice, albeit unsolicited, is to find one operator on the air. Someone whose technique you admire. Someone who is consistently active. He need not have the loudest signal, he need not send at supersonic speeds. His characters should be well-formed, he pays attention to his character spacing. He is a courteous operator. Someone who you admire. He need not even be a he. It would be really nice if it were a "G".....but good ops are where you find them. Consider it an obligation of Membership, to find, cultivate, and nominate just one operator per year. If others agree with your choice we will have a new member, selected according to his abilities, not his connections. Remember, your nominees are the legacy you leave to your club. They are how you will be remembered.

Support Club activities. Contesting might not be your cup of tea, but get on and give a few points to your mates. When it starts to bother you, switch off the radio. Hiding on the WARC bands is tantamount to boycotting your own club's activity!

Try to attend one social event every year or two. A good deal of the attraction to FOC is the 'mateyness' among its membership. Although these friendships can and do form over the air, the bond established by interpersonal contact is irreplaceable.

Help a newcomer: 'There is no man so tall, as when he stoops to help a child.' We were all beginners once, and the neophyte you help today may well be tomorrow's crackerjack. He will never forget your kindness.

Happy 75th birthday FOC! I hope I am around to help celebrate # 100!

FOCUS 93 10

FOC 75th Anniversary Award

By Ed Tobias, KR3E

FOC has a big, 75th anniversary coming up in May and we're planning to celebrate in a number of ways. One of them will be a month-long on-air event featuring many special “FOC” suffix calls. FOC has received permission to use a special anniversary call, which will be GB75FOC in England. The special call will be GS4FOC in Scotland, GT4FOC on Isle of Man and GP4FOC in Guernsey. There will be others from the USA, VE and from more exotic locations such as VQ9, 5T and HZ. MØRSE will also be on the air. If you hold a call with an FOC suffix please put it on the air in May and, if possible, allow others in your call area, or country, to use it in rotation with you.

Stations, members and non-members, will gain points for contacting any FOC member and a beautiful certificate will be presented to stations who reach certain point levels: 15 points - Bronze, 30 points - Silver, 50 points - Gold.

• QSO with an FOC member - 1 point

• QSO with an FOC member lasting 10 minutes or longer - 3 points

• QSO with an FOC suffix station (or MØRSE) - 5 points

• QSO with Gx75FOC = 10

One QSO is allowed per station per band. All bands are allowed but QSOs must be CW, of course. QSO’s will also count for Windle points.

We'd like FOC members to identify themselves by calling “CQ FOC 75” during May and we're encouraging you to have a short QSO, rather than just running "contest style."

When we send certificates to non-members we'll be

including a little information about FOC, hoping to educate others about FOC.

Let's have a big turnout for our May 75th anniversary operating event!

FOC 75th Anniversary Award Certificate

11 FOCUS 93

GB75FOC Operating Rota-May 2013

Day Date Call sign Operator Name Location FOC Nr MØRSE

Wed 1 GB75FOC G4BYG Vic Yorkshire 1984 GØORH

Thu 2 GB75FOC G4BYG Vic Yorkshire 1984 GØORH

Fri 3 GB75FOC G4BYG Vic Yorkshire 1984 GØORH

Sat 4 GB75FOC G4BYG Vic Yorkshire 1984 GØORH

Sun 5 GB75FOC G4BYG Vic Yorkshire 1984 GØORH

Mon 6 GB75FOC G4BYG Vic Yorkshire 1984 G3YEC

Tue 7 GB75FOC G3SWH Phil Bristol 1513 G3YEC

Wed 8 GB75FOC GØORH Ken Berkshire 1684

Thu 9 GP75FOC GU4CHY Dick Guernsey 1855

Fri 10 GB75FOC GØORH Ken Berkshire 1684

Sat 11 GB75FOC G7VJR Michael Cambridge 1992

Sun 12 GB75FOC G3YEC Rick Essex 2002

Mon 13 GB75FOC G3YEC Rick Essex 2002

Tue 14 GB75FOC G3RWF Nick Kent 1902

Wed 15 GB75FOC G3IAF Mike Surrey 961

Thu 16 GB75FOC G3ZGC Richard Berkshire 1752

Fri 17 GB75FOC G3ZGC Richard Berkshire 1752

Sat 18 GB75FOC G4RCG John Yorkshire 1899

Sun 19 GS75FOC GM3YTS Rob Sterling 1430

Mon 20 GT75FOC MDØCCE Bob Isle of Man 1914

Tue 21 GB75FOC GØBQV Mary Surrey 1677

Wed 22 GT75FOC MDØCCE Bob Isle of Man 1914

Thu 23 GT75FOC MDØCCE Bob Isle of Man 1914

Fri 24 GS75FOC GM3YOR Drew Inverkip 1926 GØBQV

Sat 25 GB75FOC G3LIK Mick Hampshire 1192

Sun 26 GB75FOC G3LIK Mick Hampshire 1192

Mon 27 GS75FOC GM3YOR Drew Inverkip 1926

Tue 28 GS75FOC GM3WUX Terry Glasgow 1189 G3LIK

Wed 29 GS75FOC GM3WUX Terry Glasgow 1189

Thu 30 GS75FOC GM3WUX Terry Glasgow 1189

Fri 31 GB75FOC GØORH Ken Berkshire 1684

FOCUS 93 12

G3JUL: Sixty Years in Comms

By Roger Western, G3SXW

Geoff Voller, G3JUL is a good friend who lives nearby. I had heard some stories of his escapades and thought it would be interesting to ask him to recount a few of them for the benefit of Focus readers. As with the G3ESY piece in the last Focus there is a fascinating background to reveal.

A major impact on Geoff’s communications career was his time in the Royal Air Force in Habbaniya, Iraq in the early fifties, engaged in the hot seat of Signal Analyses. He describes how in the Cold War Period both sides of the ‘Iron Curtain’ were engaged in probing each other’s defences, including the U2 Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft. It was Top Secret then but now common knowledge in the Public Archives. Air force planes would enter Russian air-space to provoke a reaction. Geoff would then monitor the communication reaction, usually around 2-4MHz, as well as DFing their radar. The USSR was of course doing the same thing. During this period he also operated the club station, YI2AM, sometimes with his own home-brew transmitter. This included skeds with G5LP (Lionel’s father) which provided a valuable link back to Geoff’s XYL.

Returning to civilian life Geoff saw an entry in the RAF Amateur Radio Society magazine for a post at the Science Museum. He applied and Gerald, G5CS gave him the job helping to manage the Communications section of the Museum, including demonstrations to the public. Many of us recall the fabulous station and signal of GB2SM, mostly resulting from Geoff’s efforts, from 1955 until 1994 when he retired. The Museum was a part of the Ministry of Education and government does not licence itself, so GB2SM in theory had the minimum international restrictions on frequencies, power and so forth. To set up the first station Geoff approached various UK manufacturers: Eddystone supplied a 680X RX and Labgear a LG300 AM/CW TX. SSB mode started in the early 60’s but UK manufactures’ could not provide the mode, however Art Collins supplied a full set of their equipment. This caused a question to be asked of a Minister in the House of Commons as to why the Museum did not use British equipment. Fortunately Geoff’s file entries gave the full story and the Minister was saved. Another memorable brush with officialdom was when Geoff became a witness in the trial of a British Radio Amateur, who had earlier signed the GB2SM visitors’ book together with a Ukrainian friend. He was convicted of spying for Russia and jailed for

Geoff as YI2AM from Habbaniya

13 FOCUS 93

ten years. This Book contained hundreds of entries including many leading call-signs world-wide, covering its 39 years of operation.

During the period 1962-72 GB2SM provided an official direct communications link with the British Island of Tristan da Cunha. This started when Alan GW3SWQ/ZD9BE, who Geoff had met in Wales, was posted to TdaC. Whenever the normal link to Cape Town broke down Geoff provided phone-patch facilities a little above the 20 metre band which once proved crucial during a medical emergency. He also collaborated with the Medical Research Council by receiving audio tapes of ECG readings of the whole island population, the first time that this had been attempted on HF.

Geoff is a founder Member and President of the Echelford Amateur Radio Society, in Staines, just west of London, which is still going strong today 48 years on. He operates with wire antennas in an urban environment, DXing and Contesting, always on CW except for his weekly skeds with a Swedish friend lasting over 40 years. In 1985 he was awarded the prestigious RSGB trophy, the Calcutta Key “For outstanding service to International friendship”.

G3JUL was invited to join FOC in January 1959 so has been a continuous member, number 623, for 54 years. Many thanks for your support, Geoff, and our grateful thanks for all you have done for amateur radio.

G3JUL at operating position of GB2SM

FOCUS 93 14

Dimiter, LZ1AF/VK4 at operating position

Multiband dipole 23 feet above the ground

Greetings from Down Under de LZ1AF/VK4

By Dimiter Petrov, LZ1AF

I have been visiting for three months my daughter and family, resident in Brisbane, Australia for 20 years. As a matter of fact, this is my third visit down under during the past 15 years. This time I took along with me my TS-590S transceiver and a five-band dipole antenna to operate as LZ1AF/VK4. A kind of a DXpedition, isn’t it? A lazy holiday-style operation, running more or less normal QSOs, CW only. Regretfully, we did not manage to put up the dipole high enough, just 7 metres above ground, but it worked OK!

Time flies and this Saturday, 22 December, I am flying back home, thus it is high time that I share with FOC members my experience. The ham bands sound very unusual to my European ears, virtually empty in daylight time and becoming animated in the late afternoons. I still wonder whether this is due to propagation conditions or rather lack of activity?

And when the bands open up, they are really hot! What a thrill to hear and work the loud exotic Pacific stations that are so difficult to work from LZ Land! On all HF bands though! All now an easy catch with my weak signal! Just to mention such juicy DXpeditions and DX stations like 3D2C Conway Reef (I worked all 5 different 3D2 stations),TX5EG, T3ØPY, ZL7A, P29VPB, A31KJ, oh, envy me – ZL9HR Campbell Island, E51TLA, XV2RZ, PJ5J, FK8DD/M, FO5PN, FK8CE, FK8IK, V73NS, 5W1SA, T88EC, V85SS, P29CVX, T88KV, P29NI, FO8WBB, PJ7XK, 3W2J, C6AUM,etc., a lot of very

strong JA’s, of course, many VK and ZL… Europe and America turned out to be difficult

15 FOCUS 93

but a few stations were worked. My list of FOC members worked includes VK8AV, LZ1MS, LZ2RS, ZL1AH, ZL2IFB, A45XR, VK4TT, VK4CT, G4RCG, PA5XM, 9V1YC, VK8AV, ZL2AGY, R6AF, VK3DBD, OY1CT, LY2PX, JA1NUT, ZL1MH, W3LPL, DJ3KR, OH6MM, PAØLOU, G3SED, F5IN, VK2AYD, PA5TT, G4BUE. WAC, 75 DXCC entities and about 500 QSO’s logged in altogether so far.

I have enjoyed the hospitality of Keith, VK4TT and his lovely XYL Valery being three times at their home for lunch, the last time visiting FOC member David, GØEBW attending, too – a nice FOC get-together!

I have been in touch with other old friends of mine whom I had met before during my previous two visits like Bill, VK4MCW, Karl, VK4CWS – previously famous with his strong signal from Tasmania as VK7CW. My daughter drove me to his home a couple of days ago and we enjoyed his and his wife Liba’s hospitality! Now this call sign is being used by another Tasmanian ham Steve, so don’t be confused!

I feel saddened that I could not meet again my old friend Russ, VK4XA, who was one of my sponsors to FOC membership and whom I had met several times during my two previous visits. As you know, he passed away a few months ago in his 100th year!

To sum it up, Australia and Brisbane in particular, is a nice place to live in. The people are very kind and friendly. I admire the excellent road infrastructure, the beautiful landscape. A very social country where the law is highly respected. Health care is a top priority. Queensland is called the Sunshine state. It is! I love Australia!

Well, during the day when the bands were empty I was getting a sun-tan and doing some swimming in the swimming pool in the back yard (under the dipole!). As I had promised to myself, a lazy holiday-style DXpedition, hi. A nice experience though!

Focal Down Under (l to r): David, GØEBW; Keith, VK4TT and Dim, LZ1AF

FOCUS 93 16

An Hour in Ontario

By Roger Western, G3SXW

I am honoured to call John Sluymer, VE3EJ, a good friend. His prefix indicates the Canadian province of Ontario but that’s a huge area and I knew nothing about the local geography. Nonetheless, I wondered if I might be able to pay a brief visit just to see John’s super-station and to get on the air for a few QSOs so as to earn my 99th activated country (“DXFC + QRV”). So I looked up John’s address and brought it up on Google Earth. Lo and behold he lives a few minutes’ drive from the U.S. border at Niagara Falls and I was about to spend Xmas with my son and family only an hour or so driving from that border, in upstate New York. John readily agreed that I could drop in and son Russell agreed to drive me there. We fixed the day, Sunday 23 December, and I guessed that we would be there around lunch-time.

Geoff, G3JUL, always enjoys trying to catch me on these fleeting visits of mine and has often severely admonished me when failing to show up as expected! I suggested to him to try 14023 kHz around 1800 GMT (1pm in Ontario) but emphasised that this was rather a long shot, as detailed arrangements would not be in my own hands. I also suggested this time and frequency to my good friend Lionel, G5LP.

Came the day we set off in Russell’s car around 11am, firstly dropping off Russell’s ma-in-law and grandma-in-law at one of the several large casinos right on the border. There was no queue at the border to enter Canada so we were quickly on our way. John lives in the country-side and was not straightforward to find on Google Earth or for the SatNav to find. However, when getting to within about a mile we saw an awesome sight: a large array of a dozen tall towers carrying dozens of antennas! This could only be the VE3EJ station so from that point we had no navigational problems. We said hello to John & Hazel, a cup of tea, then a quick tour of the estate. John has some sixty acres of flat land and one of the most impressive antenna farms that I have ever seen: many big towers, yagis, four-squares, wires, beverages – every type of antenna that I’d ever heard of! Just Google his call-sign to see some images. Indoors again, out of the cold, John introduced me to the shack. As luck would have it, the time was approaching 1pm.

On the Air

Fortunately John uses Elecraft K3 transceivers with which I am familiar. We switched on, tuned to 14023 kHz and found, again as luck would have it, that the frequency was clear. Now, would I be able to use his keyer, which John had switched to Curtis A timing for me. We pointed the stacked beams at Europe, I sat down and sent dit-dit-dit-dah (the letter V) twice. Bang, G3JUL and G5LP immediately called . . . and I hadn’t even sent my own call-sign yet! One of those magical moments!

After a quick QSO with both G3JUL and G5LP, my call-sign VE3/G3SXW appeared on the DX Cluster (courtesy of Lionel) and then all hell broke loose: I had a substantial pile-up of Europeans, especially Western Europe, where it was still only a little after sunset,

17 FOCUS 93

their time. I worked a whole string of Spanish stations, just giving the quick 599 report. Some 15 QSO’s and ten minutes later, I decided to be sociable so went QRT. Mission accomplished: my 99

th activated country. It was odd that I had visited Canada several

times previously without getting on the air.

Home Again Jiggedy-Jog

After expressing effusive thanks to John & Hazel for hospitality, and promising to spend more time with them next time, we got back on the road at 2pm, back across the border, picked up the in-laws from the casino and drove home, on a lovely sunny afternoon. Big thanks to Russell for excellent transportation.

This amateur radio hobby of ours is just fantastic – friends all over the world. I had met John several times before, particularly at WRTC events (the ‘Ham Radio Olympics’). In fact, in Brazil I had been the M.C. announcing the winners and had the pleasure of awarding John the gold medal, along with his team-mate Jim, VE7ZO, in 2006.

Add to this the marvellous pursuit of visiting (DXFC) and activating (DXFC+QRV) as many countries as possible then there is some structure to travel priorities. Travel and radio go together like peaches and cream!

John, VE3EJ (left) hosted Roger, G3SXW (right) for a flying visit at his super-station in Ontario

(photo VE3EJ)

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Marshmallows and Chasing DX *

By Randy Johnson, W6SJ

40 years ago psychologists gathered a bunch of four year old kids. They were given a choice between getting one marshmallow immediately or waiting 15 minutes and getting two marshmallows. This was basically a test of the desire for immediate gratification versus the ability to enable delayed gratification for a longer term reward. Psychologists now realize that self-control and willpower are interrelated and just part of the series of personality traits that end up determining a person’s character.

One learns correct social behavior from some ‘controlling influence’. Parents, teachers, bosses, peers and the like are all there to tell you when your behavior has strayed beyond the acceptable. You need to learn these lessons to succeed in life. But everyone notices today that peoples’ inability to self-regulate their behavior is a major social problem. We hams are not immune to those same forces.

When you get to a hobby like ham radio, there really is no similar controlling influence. We rely upon the ability of the other guy to self-regulate his own behavior. A ham may be a perfect gentleman, courteous and polite on the job and in social situations. Sometimes when he gets in a DXpedition pileup, the self-control he exhibits elsewhere in his life disappears. He gives into the impulse for the immediate gratification of a contact today regardless of what it takes. That is what adds to the chaos of a pileup.

The pileup lacks the control mechanism that we get from various authority figures in our lives. If you act like a jerk in a pile up, propagation is generally such that the people who know you best, the ones in your local club who might tell you to shape up, can’t hear you. They don’t know you are being a jerk. The people who can hear you being a jerk are 3,000 miles away and they don’t know you.

The characteristics of intelligence and grit to learn the technical aspects of radio should mean that most hams’ innate character would have strong willpower. So why is it that enough hams ‘fall off the wagon’ so as to make pileup behavior a problem?

It has been noted before that a fair number of hams tend to be less sensitive to the feelings of others. They simply may not have the built-in social mechanisms of seeing their behavior and understanding, or caring, how that behavior is perceived by others.

But consider this: if you knew that your calling in a pileup was being recorded and would be played at your next club meeting. Would you act differently? Isn’t it likely that the later embarrassment of peer pressure would be a powerful motivating factor to change your behavior?

Which child could resist?

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Unfortunately, as much as we would like to think so, this has relatively little to do with the way humans actually make decisions. Neuroscientists and brain physiologists have learned more about the actual operation of the brain in the last two decades than they did in the last two millennia. No one in Michelangelo’s time thought that our brain could process millions of small chunks of data every second. And on a conscious level, we can’t. But we can on a sub-conscious level.

The rational brain understands that certain operating behaviors are counter-productive. But it's not in control. Ultimately these subconscious decisions coalesce into habits based upon what behavior has led to success. Sadly, for many, immediate gratification has ruled and has resulted in habits of poor operating practices, just as it did when it wanted the marshmallow immediately. Even when hams like this read this sentence, they won’t think I am talking to or about them. Wrong!

Absent a force like the ham police to ‘write tickets’ when they see impolite, rude, or inconsiderate behavior, we have to rely upon each individual making decisions for himself. People with a strong sense of honor and self-control can say, “Maybe no one else will ever know what I am doing, but I will.” It is that sense of personal integrity that results in proper operating procedures.

Psychologists have also shown an effective way to change this behavior: develop a different perception of the norms that govern our behavior. Widespread agreement about what is acceptable behavior and what is not can, with time and energy, change habits.

The energy behind the DX Code of Conduct is based upon encouraging a high standard of ethical behavior. If we all do our job right and get the support of the worldwide amateur radio community, individuals, their clubs, the national societies, we can hope that the presence of a strong, widely-accepted standard of conduct will reaffirm that norm. Ultimately it will have a positive effect on those hams who are tempted to do something less than honorable.

Also it is important to consider the new hams. How will they learn to behave? Hopefully they will learn from the best operators that being honorable is a more pleasurable experience than whatever pleasure is derived from giving into the impulse for immediate gratification. It is better to be honorable today, even if that means having to wait until tomorrow for the QSO.

Ironically, scientists have recently discovered that the chemical that feeds the brain and is responsible for higher willpower is glucose. When glucose levels are low, the brain will not function well in a process requiring mental effort. So if you feel your willpower sagging, maybe you ought to have a marshmallow. With your willpower enabled, you will certainly feel a greater sense of pride when using ethical operating practices gets you into that DXpedition’s log.

* Reprinted with permission from CQ magazine, Jan. 2013 issue. Copyright CQ Communications, Inc.

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Is There an SCV in Your Future?

By Allen Singer, N2KW

There is a largely underutilized antenna design, that would be a fantastic upgrade to your garden "antenna farm" and it won't set you back any more than you would spend on a good night at the pub. Perhaps that is the very reason it hasn't been widely publicized ...because nobody can scheme a way to make money out of it.

Before we get into design specifics, a basic understanding of antenna theory must be established. What our eyes see as the antenna, is only half of what the radio waves see. Whatever exists above ground, has a 'mirror image' below ground. It's like having two antennas, and the electromagnetic waves emanated add and subtract in a classic interference pattern, resulting in lobes and nulls in the vertical take-off angle. A little known fact, is that for a given feedpoint height, the 'nulls' in the pattern for a horizontal antenna, are exactly where the 'lobes' are for a vertical antenna. It is vital that you understand this, before we can proceed.

At a height of only a quarter-wave above ground, the take-off angle for any horizontally-polarized antenna, is almost straight up. This can be a good thing, if your objective is to be as loud as possible, say within 1000 km or so. But if you want to work DX, either you won't hear them at all, or they will be weak (most of the time). Occasionally, a DX signal will be very strong, when propagating via the E-layer, or enhanced multi-hop, but these are the exceptions that prove the rule...a horizontal antenna doesn't even begin to perform until it's up a half-wavelength, and raising it to a full wavelength is noticeably better. But what about vertical polarization? If the feedpoint is up a quarter-wavelength, and a few radials are run at that height, the antenna is a real DX-catcher. But your mates in the next county might wonder what happened to you? Incidentally, it makes very little difference electrically, if the radials are on top, or on the bottom.

No, please don't turn the page. I know how tedious it is to bury radials. I know how unsightly (beauty is in the eyes of the beholder) an elevated counterpoise can be (to some). What you need, my friend, is a vertically polarized antenna, but one that doesn't require a radial or counterpoise system. One that you can string in the trees, or on masts designed for television aerials. What you need, is a self-contained vertical (SCV.)

You would never think of calling to Bulgaria, with your beam pointed at the United States. Take-off angle is at least as important as azimuth, yet we simply settle for what our system delivers, because we don't know how to control it. One way, is to have antennas at different heights. Another way, is to have antennas at the same height, but with opposite polarization. Some receiving systems use multiple receivers, and multiple antennas, in a diversity scheme, but that isn't what we are talking about here. Contesters have known for years..."a successful installation can never have 'too many' antennas." Keep your doublet, but put up a SCV in the same space, and let the DX decide which antenna it prefers. One will almost always be louder than the other.

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Some stations will be inaudible on one, or the other. Because of atmospheric tilting, stations at high latitudes require high-angle transmitting antennas, but the rest of us need those low angles, and if you insist on horizontal polarization, be prepared for towers that are more than one wavelength tall. Not so easy on 40, nearly impossible on 80 metres.

The simplest form of SCV is a design called the half-square. Starting from ground, you go up a quarter-wave, then horizontal for a half-wave, and finally back down, for a quarter-wave. Feeding this design from ground-level, is called 'voltage-feed', and the bottom of those quarter-wave legs are high-impedance and high voltage points. While you could match it there, please allow me to point out, that if your shack is upstairs, you could feed the antenna at the 90 degree bend, directly with coax, and enjoy a reasonably low SWR. Think about that for a minute...one end could be supported from your chimney, the antenna is a half-wave long, and only a quarter-wave high. You could elevate the whole thing, just to keep the wires out of reach, for safety. For performance, there is no need to raise it any higher. In other words, it is the same length as a dipole, only a quarter-wavelength high, and it complements the dipole perfectly.

OK, the half-square design doesn't work for you? How about inverting it? Now the horizontal wire is just inches above the ground, and the quarter-wave radiators (TV masts) are pointing at the sky. Or at the tree (wire). If you use three masts, it is an inverted Bobtail (a.k.a. 'Robert Tail'). Understand that in all of these designs, the horizontal run doesn't radiate, it just keeps the verticals in phase. A horizontal wire at three inches in height might be a tripping hazard in the centre of your backyard, but how about right along the property line?

Now, put down your calculator. Put down the ruler, the pen, or whatever prop you may be holding, because this revelation will astound you! Radiation from any antenna, occurs where the maximum current flows. There are voltage peaks, and current peaks on the antenna. Electromagnetic fields are generated in proportion to the square of the current so one can select the desired polarization by proper choice of the feedpoint. It is important to maintain the proper phase-relationship between multiple radiators. So, if you don't have a convenient way to support the antenna at the proper height, you can still run the design at a lower height, by just making the horizontal run longer. It is the total length of wire that determines resonant frequency to the greatest extent. Other factors affect the resonant frequency, but to a lesser degree, and they can always be offset by adjusting the total length of the antenna.

L.B. Cebik, W4RNL (SK) wrote a scholarly three-part article in NCJ, starting in Volume 26, Number 5 (Sep/Oct., 1998) where he examined loops of various shapes and variations like the 'Double Magnetic Slot" (DMS) (which just happens to fit my available space). While the Bobtail took top honours, with the half-square close behind, even the Delta loop was within a single S-unit. I had previous exposure to the DMS design, having read a description of the 'MU Antenna' by LA6FJA on the internet. Rag says: "DX is my life" and goes on to describe a DMS. There was an article called "The Double Magnetic Slot, on 80 Meters" by K4VX,

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published in ARRL's Antenna Compendium Vol. 4, that I haven't been able to locate. QEX had an article by N6LF on the 'Double L' that I haven't seen either. (If you have either of these, please send me a copy? Any callbook is fine).

Let's go into a bit more detail on the DMS. Russell Prack, K5RP, wrote 'Magnetic Radiators - Low Profile Paired Verticals for HF' in the ARRL Antenna Compendium, Volume 2 (9/89) where he explains how MU has come to describe DMS. He talks about length in degrees, and supplies formulas for determining vertical height, horizontal length, separation of the two loops, and total wire length. Just when you are starting to believe the precise inaccuracy of these dimensions, carefully calculated to three decimal places, he describes a pair of aircraft pilots who wanted a low-profile version of the MU Antenna, so they lowered the height, increased the length, and it worked just fine. At a height under 15 feet on 75 meters, the 110 ohm impedance was almost perfect for a quarter-wave 72 ohm Q-section. K5RP reports keeping daily skeds with G8NV/MM on 7 MHz, using a 40 meter DMS, that was only 11.5 feet tall. Signal strength was better than S9 on 85% of the days, over a 4-month period.

Meanwhile, when Cebik examined the design (NCJ, Vol.27, No.1) he found spacing between the loops had very little effect on gain. If spacing isn't critical, if height isn't critical, if horizontal length simply doesn't matter, there is only one parameter that remains─total length. In the case of DMS, it's two wavelengths of wire. The feedpoint is in the center of one of the vertical legs, and the impedance is about 80 ohms. A Q-section, consisting of an electrical quarter-wavelength of 75 ohm cable can be wound into a choke-balun, and transition to 52 ohm coax ....some users feed it with open-wire line, and use a tuner in the shack. For a short coax run, I simply feed it directly with RG-8X, and wind the last 15 feet into a choke balun.

Parameters: Formulas:

Total wire length:

1988/ f (MHz)

Height (H): 82/ f (MHz)

Length (L): 415/f (MHz)

Spacing (s): S=125/f (MHz)

Spacing from ground:

1-2 feet

The only critical dimension is total length. Multiply results by 0.3048 for metres.

For more information check at: < http://www.la6fja.eu >

http://www.la6fja.eu/

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If you have ever worked KH6MB, you wouldn't forget his signal anytime soon. His simple vertical dipoles are all that are needed on the HF bands. Sigma manufactures a shortened Vertical dipole for 80, and Peter, 8P9NX once built a 4-square, using them. Vertical dipoles are self-contained verticals. Back in the day, W2NQS homebrewed a coaxial antenna for 14 MHz, and I remember how well it worked! He wrote that project up for 73 Magazine, but I can't find the information. (Again, if you find a copy, please send me a duplicate!).

Pete, W1RM, gets great results on top band, from an antenna called 'Double L.' But it isn't an 'L' at all, it is a Vertical dipole, with the top, and the bottom both bent horizontally, to provide the proper electrical length. I believe the actual vertical height is about 75feet, but I am sure it would work at any reasonable vertical height, just so long as the horizontal legs are tuned.

Whoops! I said it. I have given the secret away. The cat is out of the bag now ... Yes, you have to tune antennas.

If you have ever seen a receiver aligned at the factory, when the slugs are adjusted in the IF cans, there is an audible peak in the signal as resonance is reached. You really don't need metrology to do this task, the peak is that well-defined. When we put an antenna up, it too must be adjusted, both to resonance, and to feedpoint impedance. This is usually done with an antenna bridge, but I actually tuned the stubs on a quad reflector once, by monitoring audio on a VHF link from the shack. Every installation is different, and linear measurement is merely intended to provide a starting point. Sometimes it doesn't matter. Sometimes it does. It never hurts. You can make the rig happy with a transmatch. You can fool the rig, but you can't fool Mother Nature.

I used to think that I was unique, in the aspect of my memory being anecdotal and visual. Perhaps in some previous life, I served double duty as the tribal raconteur, as well as signal-drummer. Bow-di-bow-di-bow-bow-di-bow. So let me share some images from my past that have added to my antenna-experiences...

Larry lived in Brooklyn, and had a transceiver, but no antenna. Going from no antenna, to any antenna, represents the most dB per unit currency in radio. The dB's just get more expensive as you go along. Larry put a trapped vertical on the chain-link fence that surrounded the backyard. He was delighted. Good SWR all across all bands, and he worked lots of DX. Finally, his landlord came around, and said he could put his antenna on the roof. With three radials per band, and the new location, he was disappointed. The SWR was much worse, and the bandwidth was narrower. The antenna required adjustment beyond what the kit provided. He was working himself into a real frazzle, when I pointed out that a narrower bandwidth could only be a sign of less lossy ground system, which was borne out over the next months by the outstanding performance of the new configuration.

No conclusion yet...on to the next anecdote...

I was parked in my favourite mobile location for Europe (Saltwater path) and absorbed in a CW QSO, when the voice came over my left shoulder, almost accusatory, it said: "You are a Ham!" .......uhhhhh, yup, tha....."me too! I am KC2XYZ. I am on all bands but

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10. I am on 2 metres, on 220, and on 450 MHz." "What's your SWR on 10?" I asked. "My what?" Realizing that I only had another 40 minutes to operate, and not wanting to turn it into a lesson, I scribbled my number on a piece of paper, explained that I was busy now, but that I would be glad to get him on 10, if he came to my house on Sunday morning. He thanked me effusively and left. On Sunday, he came by, with a Larsen Mag-mount for 10 metres. I adjusted the whip for minimum SWR at 28,400. Base loading may be convenient, but is the least efficient method of adding L. My experience was that, all other factors being equal, the antenna with the most 'capture' wins. In other words, size counts. My Hustler system should have blown him away easily, but a PY station that I copied at S7, was 20 over on his radio, “Must be the S-meters, let’s swap radios" I suggested. I was right, now he was S9 on both radios. My antenna got two S-units better by swapping rigs. But that still meant there was a 20 dB difference between cars, and not in my favour. He had that little Larsen, on the roof, and I had the Hustler system, bumper-mounted, and a survivor of years of abuse. Bing! It was the bumper-mount! The distance from the feedpoint to ground was certainly less than a foot, I don't remember, maybe eight inches? The lesson that I learned, was the importance of an elevated feedpoint, to minimize ground losses.

What does that have to do with Larry and the fence? What does that have to do with self-contained verticals?

Last story. Operating 40 metre SSB, from Paul's QTH, I found Angelo, D4CBS. On 40 metres, Paul used a groundplane, with a dozen radials, on his roof. He also had just installed a triangular-shaped delta loop, for those times when the QRN was just too much on the vertical. We never considered using the loop as a transmitting antenna, but Angelo was very strong, and we were curious how much difference there would be. Despite the fact that he was 20 dB over S9 on the vertical, and only S8 on the loop, Angelo found the transmitted signals to be equal. How is that possible? It was possible, because the noise was S7 on the Vertical, with no signal present, and S1 on the loop. Think about all of the work Paul would have saved, without radials or a counterpoise to be concerned with! Don't get me wrong, a good radial system will improve the performance of almost any antenna, but traditional thinking is that a Vertical is useless without one, and that's simply not true. The SCV is not half an antenna, so the requirement of a resonant radial system is eliminated. Ground conductivity up to a hundred wavelengths affects the radiated signal, but a network of quarter-wave radials has no effect on this. Read ON4UN's book on Low Band DXing, and pay particular attention to the antenna descriptions. Don't underestimate a delta loop, fed as a SCV.

Now, I must digress for a minute, and talk about loops. For most of my life, I have operated from an urban jungle, where there is no room for large antennas, and permission for small ones is next-to-impossible to obtain. What I have learned, is that the very best antenna, is the one that you actually build and put up. The antenna in your dreams doesn't work at all. A full-wave loop antenna is very forgiving. It can be twisted and distorted to fit available space, and any effect on resonance can be compensated at the feedpoint. It can go up, down, or flat like a clothesline. It is smaller than a dipole. It can be vertically polarized, horizontally polarized, or a random mixture.

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It will work much better than you imagine. You can even throw up a 160 antenna for the weekend, preferably Marathon weekend! Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.

An additional advantage to a DC-short antenna, like a loop, is in areas where icing is a problem, the antenna can be connected to the secondary winding on a big filament transformer, and the current passing through the antenna will warm it enough so that ice doesn't form on the wires. This was why I eventually gave up on quad antennas. The ice would stretch the wires, detuning the antenna, and my F/B would deteriorate. But this article is about SCV's, not loops. A loop only becomes a SCV when it is fed for Vertical polarization.

Bringing it all home, it should be obvious that you get more bang-for-your-buck with a SCV antenna that can take up less space, require a single support, and is made from wire, than by using Steel and Aluminum, Yagi antennas up a wavelength or more are a blast, but your money will go a lot further with Verticals, and self-contained Verticals are the least work of the lot.

Caution- High voltage! One more anecdote, a true story...

Art, N2KA, likes to operate on 160 metres. He has a small suburban lot, and an Inverted L antenna behind the house, with the top part running from his tower, to a bush in front of the house. Whatever he has achieved on that band, is due to sheer persistence, rather than brute force. Fifty years of experience has taught him to hear, but he has to run a kilowatt to be heard. One night, he was on the air at 3 AM, when the doorbell rang. "Who the hell could be ringing the door at this hour?" he thought, as he ran upstairs before the ringing woke the family. It was his neighbour from across the street "Do you know that your bush is on fire?" the neighbour asked. Apparently, the bush had grown, and now touched the wire on the wrong side of the insulator. With a dipole, the high-voltage points at the ends are in the air. With a vertical or groundplane, the high-voltage point is in the air. With a vertical dipole, or a SCV that is fed in the air, the high voltage point is within reach. The far end of an Inverted L is also a high voltage point. For a long time, Art's nickname was ‘Moses’.

Letter to the Editor

From Gerald Stancey, G3MCK, 8 January 2013

“Csapjunk a lovak közé!”, I like it. I was born in Yorkshire a region of Northern England and we have a similar saying in the local dialect “Let’s get the gate” which means let us get going or get started. The word gate normally means a door but there are old dialect translations meaning either a street or to get going. (Part of the letter-S75WJ, Ed.)

Gabor, S57WJ replies

Imi, HA7AP is not the only Hungarian member in the club. There were three other members (K2LE, VE3NE, VE3USP) who understood that sentence. If some enthusiast tried to use the Google translator he was quite disappointed.

My first language is Hungarian but I was born in Vojvodina, the northern part of Serbia.

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The Sound of Silence

By Gerd Sapper DJ4KW

This article has no relation to the song of Simon and Garfunkel, but discusses the meaning of spaces in Morse-transmissions, when the transmitter is silent, but you nevertheless hear the message.

History

American Morse Code — also known as Railroad Morse—is the latter-day name for the original version of the Morse Code developed in the mid-1840s, by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail for their electric telegraph. The ‘American’ qualifier was added after and because the rest of the world adopted ‘International Morse Code’. American Morse is now extinct and ‘Morse Code’ today virtually always means the International Morse which supplanted American Morse. The chart below shows the American Morse characters according to the standard of 1911 (now obsolete).

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia:

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Morse_code >

The first public telegram in America, "What hath God wrought" was sent by Samuel Morse in 1844 using this code. Note that letters C, O, R, Y, Z, and the ampersand-symbol & contained embedded spaces. The ‘&’ survived in amateur radio as ES for ‘and’. Although the ampersand character itself is a ligature of the two letters in latin ‘et’, we use ES.

When you write a computer-program for reading CW, to begin is easy. You measure the length of each Dit and Dah and you calculate the average length. Every element received that is shorter than the average is considered a Dit and everything longer than the average is a Dah. This poses no problem. In contrast to common belief Morse Code is not only made up of Dits and Dahs (called ‘Mark’, when the transmitter is on), but also significant ‘Space’ between them.

The meaning of silence The programmer’s problems start, when it comes to the non-audible gaps between the audible elements. If shorter than the average, it is within a Morse-character; if it is longer, it separates characters; if it is even longer it is a space between words.

1911─Chart of the Standard American

Morse Code

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Morse_code

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This sounds easy, but if you look at Morse-decoders reading non-machine-generated CW you see what problems they have understanding the “sound of silence”. I like these programs, but not for receiving, instead for monitoring my own keying or to drill students in my CW classes. Unnoticed or even enjoyed by the human ear, the spaces are mostly sent incorrectly. 1. Words are not separated properly. Spaces between words are too short. 2. Words are interrupted. Spaces within words are too long. 3. The ‘weight’ is often other than 1:1, heavier signals produce more S-meter-

readings, therefore are considered better readable when weak. 4. Bad keying relays send shorter pulses than actually keyed. 5. There are missing spaces between characters (marine radio operators will confirm

that coast stations tended to send no spaces in their call, e.g. German DAN identified as DP).

6. There can be spaces where they should not be (e.g. EN for the letter R when meaning ‘all received’).

All this is QSD while no RF is transmitted.

We can be lucky that we are not in the 19th

century. In its original implementation, the Morse Code specification included elements as listed below

(I intentionally keep the notation of Dot and Dash from Wikipedia, because at that time Morse Code was only read from print on paper tape and not by ear).

1. short mark or dot (·) 2. longer mark or dash (—) 3. long dash (——, the letter L) 4. even longer dash (———, the numeral Ø) 5. intra-character gap (standard gap between the dots and dashes in a character) 6. long intra-character gap (longer internal gap used in C, O, R, Y, Z and ‘&’) 7. short gap (between letters) 8. medium gap (between words) 9. long gap (between sentences) 10. even longer gap (between transmissions)

Omitted gap Our prosign SK was in fact a concatenated 3 and Ø. It had nothing to do with “silent key”. Figure 3 looked and sounded like now the prosign VE, what Germans were taught stands for ‘Verstanden’ (understood). To this a Zero as a single dash was added. In the Western Union landline 92 code of 1859, number 30 stood for “I have no more for you”. (Only two original number-codes, 73 and 88, survived from the Western Union landline code, while others were deprecated or got new meanings, e.g. 33 for greetings between YL’s).

Extended gap There have been many discussions how to terminate a transmission – should we use AR, send PSE K, KN, or only K? Have you tried item 10 of the above list? If not, just stop to transmit. This, although it involves no RF-transmission, will make your partner notice the silence and answer within a second to this sound of silence.

Speech is silver, silence is golden! 30

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VK6CG's Wooden Morse Key or 'WK1A'

By Steve Ireland, VK6VZ

One of my best friends, Bob Crowe, VK6CG is a clever and witty craftsman and enjoys building Morse keys from all kinds of materials. The attached photo shows Bob’s latest masterpiece, which is made of wood and built for the 2012 VK6 Hamfest construction contest (in which he won second prize).

The beam of the key is made from West Australian jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata), a hard wood that is often called ‘West Australian cedar’, owing to its deep red colour. The base is plywood and most of other parts of the key are made from lignum vitae (Guaiacum sanctum), a wood that is 20 times harder than oak and used in bearings. As Bob says: “Lignum vitae is a pleasure to turn. It comes off the lathe smooth”. The leaf spring (situated horizontally and immediately under the beam of the key) is a sliver of wood from a broom handle.

All the threads used are 5/32 inch Whitworth, which Bob made using a metal tap and die. The key is about five inches in length and feels excellent in use.

Now, how does it work? A sewing needle fixed vertically goes down the hollowed ‘leg’ (located just forward of the key handle), where it pushes a contact from a micro switch. Hope you all enjoy looking at Bob’s handiwork. He demonstrated it at the Hamfest using a resonant Morse sounder in the shape of a small dog. This was made from a piece of plastic pipe (the body), perspex (the legs) and the face used the backside of the loudspeaker. One of the legs was, of course, cocked!

29 FOCUS 93

A Key for all the Right Reasons?

By Paul Rollin, G4AFU

Various methods of generating CW

In an effort to improve my CW sending accuracy I have been analysing my sending technique and code sending apparatus. Something, no doubt, many of us do from time to time?

I have four main methods of sending CW – in order of preference:

• CMOS super keyer 2 from Idiom press combined with the N2DAN Mercury.

• K3 internal keyer set for iambic B keying.

• Vibroplex Original Standard bug key.

• K1EL Winkeyer USB keyer with paddles and keyboard.

First on my list is the super keyer. I consider this the best keyer ever invented. I use the standard V0 default setting with the Mercury paddle. Not being heavy handed, the Mercury is set with light magnetic tension and a small gap. Analysis of the mistakes I make seem to suggest that the levers of the Mercury are ‘sticking’ or not returning fast enough when in QRQ sending mode – something to do with the mass and inertia of fairly heavy paddles. I have increased the magnetic tension to overcome this but then the sending needs more effort – I keep dropping the dots or dashes due to the paddle tension so this is not really the best cure. Keep in mind that the N2DAN Mercury was state of the art in custom paddle manufacturing more than 25 years ago and things may have moved on? My thoughts turned to trying a different paddle with lighter tension in an effort to make sending easier – more of this later.

The K3 internal keyer is good but still not as good as the super keyer. I read somewhere that this is because the computer in the K3 (or any other rigs) generating the CW is also processing other tasks, controlling the radio logic etc.; generating CW is done in the background as an ‘add on’. The concentration needed to send good code is higher than with the super keyer. Which seems to suggest the timing is more critical. The iambic A or B doesn’t seem to make much difference to sending errors. The end result is that it’s not as relaxing.

Chrome plated Americana Mercury

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I seem to make far less mistakes when sending the code from my old Vibroplex Original Standard bought new in the 1970’s. Why is this? Probably, because I have been sending code with it for nearly 40 years and have grown accustomed to it. It has to be setup properly to make it easy to play music on. I use this analogy of playing a musical instrument on purpose. For example, like a guitar, no two are ever the same and once set up one has to become acquainted with its playability. This takes time and effort coupled with a degree of concentration of what good code should sound like – from the bug, not the guitar! If the bug is not set up correctly it will never sound good – scratchy dots et al.

Lastly, the K1EL Winkeyer. When programmed and used with the keyboard for contesting etc. it does what is says on the tin. As a standalone keyer it is much like the K3 internal keyer used in either iambic A or B modes. I do find occasional glitches with the keyer ‘hanging’ or hesitating as a function of the Windows workload in the pc/laptop. It’s not that well integrated with my Turbolog 4 logging software either. I find it a “clunky” system to use the keyboard to send CW with TL4. TL3 was much better. Other software logging programmes are probably easier integrated with Winkeyer in this respect. SD being a point in case. Paul, EI5DI has done a great job here.

Where do I go from here? Stay with the bug key/K3 keyer/Winkeyer or move on with the el keyer/paddle combo?

Just before Christmas 2012 I had a couple of QSO’s on 80m with Eliseo, IK6BAK. During the very nice conversations we discussed the finer points of QRQ CW. This had me thinking. Eliseo was using the Pearl paddles made by Pietro Begali, I2RTF and he was sending great code. A long look through the Eham reviews also confirmed Eliseo’s assertions about the Begali paddles. ()

After the QSO I logged onto the Begali website Whoooaaahhh; Paddle heaven!!!

There was the Pearl looking just as its name described. Very tasty! The problem was there were other exotica too.

Much time was spent deliberating over the pros and cons of the various keys/paddles

There was even a nice link to YouTube showing Carlo, IKØYGJ sending code at 50 wpm on a Begali paddle.

I eventually settled on the Sculpture. Did I want it in shiny stainless steel? No, looks too much like a hip joint replacement part. I ordered it in black titanium nitride finish to suit my low key, minimalist shack. No call sign engraved either. Better resale value when my XYL sells it after I have shuffled off this mortal coil.

I ordered the Sculpture on Christmas Eve – Michele, my wife gave me the OK – consider it a Christmas present from me she said. It arrived via DHL on New Year’s Eve. It was a really fast service from Italy over the holiday period.

What better present could one receive from the XYL? None! I’m discounting new born babies here.

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6335

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So, what’s the Sculpture like to use? Marvellous! My CW speed has easily increased by about ten words per minute without really trying. Why is this? The paddles are so light – to use one of the Eham similes, “like stroking the wing of a butterfly”. In comparison, I could never get the setting of the Mercury to such a light touch and still get a positive ‘clicky’ feel on the paddles without a high magnetic tension.

The nice thing about how the Sculpture is made is that the tension and spacing screws don’t need locking off once set. They stay put. The Mercury needs a bit of fiddling around in this respect. Mr. Begali is to be commended on his engineering prowess.

Conclusions from the road testing of both keys

I can liken the Sculpture to a Ferrari – fast and lean. Precision engineered. Light to the touch. Very easy to set up.

The Mercury is a big V8 Chevy. Chrome plated, all show, Americana. Solid and dependable. Takes a bit of time to set up with a hex key and lock screws. Mine even has the chrome peeling from it to add to the old American vibe! It was the first chrome plated Mercury with serial #0200 so the quality control may have not been so good then.

The Begali has the edge for easy, relaxed sending. If you have big hands and are somewhat of a ‘slapper’, the Mercury is more up your street.

Italian engineered Sculpture

Mercury underside with peeling chrome CNC engineered stainless steel

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2012 Bill Windle Memorial Award

By H. M. “Puck” Motley, W4PM

The year 2012 was the 27th anniversary of the Bill Windle Memorial Award. The award was proposed in 1984 and instituted in 1985 as a suitable way of recognizing Bill's tremendous record of involvement in all areas of the Club's work, especially his role in encouraging and building an active club. The intent of the award, in addition to honouring Bill Windle, was to encourage activity! As Bill said, "no member has a right to hold on to membership for having done something towards amateur radio in the distant past. The membership certificates are clear in their intent when they say ‘Elected to Active Membership' and that means just what it says…" In later correspondence he said, "The value of a member to the Club can be measured by his support. All members have the duty by getting on the bands and on the CW end”.

The Award from 1985 to 2001 was based on the number of members worked each year. In 2002 the Award was changed to a point system instead of just members worked. That was done to encourage increased activity on all of the bands. In 2010, the Committee approved the addition of Certificates for any and all members who report working certain levels of members during the year. This allows the recognition of the many who participate all year but who do not have the station and/or the time to compete for the Trophy or the continental points’ awards. There have been some reports that a few members may get a bit over zealous in the hunt for Windle points and break into an ongoing QSO just to get a point. Please be courteous and respect those who don’t care for this type of activity.

For the year 2012, we saw a small increase in the number of members reporting scores. While not great, the increase to 155 participants was indeed encouraging and hopefully a positive trend that will continue. Chris, G4BUE, was the Trophy winner for 2012 with a record setting 1,803 points. The runner up for the trophy and four time North American champ was Vic, W9RGB, with 1,562 points. The North American West Coast winner Pat, N9RV/7, repeated his 2011 victory. Gary, ZL2IFB repeats in Oceania with 517 points, a continental all time points record. Andy, EA8CN wins Africa for the 17

th time since

continent awards have been given! Harry, 7Z1HL, wins Asia for the second year. South America was won by ZP6CW whose 443 points was the only S/A report received.

To sum up the continental and trophy award winners in order of number of reports received by continent:

Reports by continent Continental Winners Score

Europe 72 G4BUE Trophy Winner 1803 North America 55 W9RGB Trophy Runner Up 1562 N/A - West 14 N9RV/7 632 Oceania 6 ZL2IFB 517 Asia 5 7Z1HL 526 Africa 2 EA8CN 1135 South America 1 ZP6CW 443

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The certificates generated an encouraging amount of interest. A total of 64 certificates were earned - 2 Gold, 18 Silver and 44 Bronze level. These compares with 3 gold, 15 silver and 40 bronze won last year. My sincere thanks to all who participated in 2012. The following is a list of all scores received in 2012.

Europe

Call Points/members Cert. Call Points/members Cert.

G4BUE 1803/445 G G4AFU 288/184

G3LIK 1000/330 S GM3YOR 284/186

DK5AD 914/346 S F3AT 275/179

R6AF 909/390 S G3ZGC 265/176

G3KTZ 829/352 S LY9A 264/154

DL4CF 792/353 S OK1RR 261/184

GW3KDB 720/331 S G3LHJ 240/178

SM5CCE 631/278 B G3PJT 231/180

LY2PX 626/273 B GØGKH 214/144

S51WO 603/295 B IKØYGJ 214/144

HA7AP 602/304 S HB9QO 205/156

PA7RA 585/302 S G5CL 192/117

G2JL 516/306 S G3NCN 186/138

ISØAFM 474/260 B G4XRV 184/108

DL1VDL 455/278 B MØPIE 167/112

SM6CNN 451/251 B G3ZRJ 166/134

G5LP 427/215 B PAØDIN 159/119

G4HZV 416/234 B DK7VW 157/124

GØORH 409/230 B LA3FL 156/105

SM5COP 402/227 B S57NW 152/131

G3LWI 400/220 B DK1WU 151/115

DJ5IL 383/239 B OH2EA 137/127

SV1AOW 409/197 G3PDH 132/100

S57WJ 376/229 B G8VG 131/103

DL8PG 380/239 B F5VCT 126/112

DJ4KW / Y31YN 360/231 B G3MBN 122/100

F5VHY 354/194 DK1WU 122/98

IKØIXI 352/242 B OH2KI 117/93

LZ1AF 340/212 B G3JUL /114

SM3EVR 339/204 B GØCHV 107/67

PAØLOU 340/211 B TF3DC 115/97

G3KOJ 322/210 B ZB2CW /102

IK6BAK 316/195 G3MCK /97

DK2GZ 314/188 G3VCN /88

G3VTT 294/124 G3YEC 34/33

US9PA 295/190 DF2IC 30/24

Certificate: G - gold; S -silver; B – bronze

FOCUS 93 34

North America

Call Points/members Cert. Call Points/members Cert.

W9RGB 1562/434 G K1SA 303/194

W8FJ 1212/377 S W4YE 301/160

AA3B 1077/395 S AC5K 295/174

N2KW 931/393 S K9WA 292/211 B

KZ5D 805/348 S WA9AQN 285/174

K4BAI 803/352 S K2NV 279/215 B

W5ZR 767/344 S W1EBI 263/157

K9QVB 733/316 S W5SG 261/164

W1FJ 648/318 S N3BB 251/144

KR3E 619/297 B K5NA 241/154

W1RM 550/266 B K9FN 240/150

AD8P 546/281 B W8PBO 238/140

N2UU 538/262 B VE3USP 232/174

N5AW 487/234 B W1JR 299/176

K2SX 459/251 B AI2Q 228/128

VE1DX 428/265 B W3MC 224/148

W3YY 425/251 B K5TF 214/154

N3AM 425/226 B N3WT 181/120

OX3XR 401/219 B WB2YQH 154/154

N2ATB 398/220 B W1HL 126/107

NA5G 392/213 B VE3HX /77

VE3VA 380/201 B W4ZYT 69/56

K1JD 343/201 B K2QMF /62

K2ZR 337/209 B VE3BHZ 53/52

W4PM 335/219 B K4WJ 24/19

V31JP 327/213 B W4PR0 /9

N5CW 325/257 B WD4LZC /6

K4JJW 311/184

Certificate: G - gold; S -silver; B - bronze

North America-West Coast

Call Points/members Cert. Call Points/members Cert.

N9RV/7 632/296 B WL7E 152/113

K4XU/7 511/273 B W6RGG 149/149 KF7E 352/196 KC7V 128/98 K6RB 324/165 N6TT 106/67 W7QC 310/198 K6XG 106/72 AC2K/7 242/143 W6SJ 66/55 K8RD/6 238/170 NL7G /42 Certificate: G - gold; S -silver; B - bronze

35 FOCUS 93

Oceania Asia

Call Points/members Cert.

ZL2IFB 517/276 B VK2BJ 222/157

VK4TT 179/134

VK3DBD 116/85

ZL1AH /64

ZL1MH 30/27

Call Points/members Cert.

7Z1HL 430/232 B 4X1FC 284/161

HSØ/OZ1HET 213/151

A65BD 213/143

VU2PTT 183/135

Africa South America

Call Points/members Cert.

EA8CN 1135/388 S

ZS1EL 205/146

Call Points/members Cert.

ZP6CW 443/203 B

Certificate: G - gold; S -silver; B - bronze

The following shows record scores of both points and members worked by continent. Note that two records were set in 2012!

Windle Award Historical Records:

Highest number of members worked Highest score

Continent Call Members Year

EU YO3CD 458 1987 NA W2BA 457 1992 NA-W W9KNI 434 1997 SA YV1NX 363 2000 AF EA8CN 409 1999 AS 5B4AGC 376 2000 OC VK4XA 372 1989

Continent Call Score Year

EU G4BUE 1803 2012 NA K4LTA 1591 2003 NA-W W6CYX 794 2003 SA YV1NX 1041 2002 AF EA8CN 1310 2007 AS 5B4AGC 817 2006 OC ZL2IFB 517 2012

Comments from G4BUE, the 2012 Windle Award Trophy Winner

What an unusual year - my worst year ever for equipment failures (both in the UK at G4BUE and in Florida at N4CJ) but my best year ever for the Windle Award! I had to use wire antennas for seven months of the year (I changed towers and had a problem with the Steppir in the UK, and the quad and my K3 took a lightning hit in Florida), and used 100 watts for seven months of the year (the amplifiers broke in both the UK and Florida), thus proving you don't need a big station to make a high Windle score! I think given reasonable conditions and no equipment failures, it would be possible to make 2000 points in a year.

Although I started the year just trying to make 100 Windle points each month, my priority was working members on new bands for the WAFOC Award. I didn't seriously start on the Windle Award until September when I made an exact QSO count (WinFOC doesn’t record 6m and 60m QSOs) and decided to set SM6CNN´s 2011 record score of 1737 points as my target.

FOCUS 93 36

My monthly QSO totals were: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 150 178 177 106 125 131 129 113 177 183 146 188 thus achieving my initial goal of 100 points each month. Thanks to everyone for their QSYs during the last four months of the year, and especially to G2JL, G3LIK, GM3WUX and W9RGB who I worked on ten bands and W1FJ who I worked on 11 bands. Al answered my CQ on 60m just three hours before the end of the year on New Years Eve for the 11th band (I had given Al his first 6m QSO with Europe in July), but unfortunately we had already QSO´d for December and could only count ten points for the year!

The USA being allowed to operate on 60m with CW from March enabled me to make QSOs with 20 USA members, and G3VTT in the UK, while operating in Florida, but I was disappointed not to work more members in the UK, where we have been allowed to use CW since having the band (just one QSO with G3SED). The summer months provided some good activity on 6m giving QSOs with 46 members, including six in the USA. The points per band is as follows:

160m 80m 60m 40m 30m 20m 17m 15m 12m 10m 6m 105 193 15 274 154 313 187 249 122 150 41

I am not QRV on 2m or any other bands.

Soapbox:

AC2K - In spite of being off the air for all of September and October, I ended the year with my best Windle count so far. It was especially good to hear so many members on the air during November and December. DJ4KW/V31YN - Calculation was done by DJ1YFK's program; otherwise I would have overlooked that in fact I had three CW QSO's with members this year on 144 MHz and two on 50 MHz. DK7VW - I think my worst result since I joined FOC. This is due to a very busy year 2012. I started a new business and had to work 14 - 16 hrs per day on 7 days of the week almost no time left for the hobby. But now my small company is running and growing well, there is still a lot of work to do, but hopefully I can get on the air more often this year. G3KTZ - I'm never gonna get gold, and I refuse to use a beam or more than 100watts. I forgot to mention that the idea of the Windle project is to encourage activity and be an incentive to get members on the bands, not as a competition. After all, the foundation of FOC is built on activity. G3LHJ - Sorry I didn't get the 200 mark will try harder this year. G3LIK - My final Windle score for 2012 is 1000 with 330 actual members worked. It was a great years end for me as Bill Windle was one of my sponsors and gave me my number 1192 50 years ago on 24th December 1972. I still have the logbook and details of G8VG QSO on 40m, a great anniversary for me reaching that elusive 1000 mark. G3PDH - 2012 was a less active year on HF due to my beam being down for servicing most of the summer. G3VTT - The QSO's were all non contest and were mainly LF operation keeping in touch with friends and chatting around those lower bands. No 'hit and runs' for me! Activity reduced towards the end of the year by moving house. IK6BAK - Used the DJ1YFK's Windle calculator which works great and fast. K8RD - I might actually retire this year. Then I'll have no excuse for not achieving a certificate. LA3FL - As you may know, I am

37 FOCUS 93

by far the northernmost FOC member, way above the Arctic Circle in the Aurora Borealis (Northern Light) belt. Every QSO I make is more or less DX for me, hi... I am QRV almost daily from my home at various times and bands, radio propagation permitting. Most often making 3 to 10 QSOs each day, mainly ragchew, more rarely in contests. I am also at times QRV from my 2nd QTH Hjartland, just south of the Arctic Circle from my cottage. Antennas there are Cushcraft R8 Vertical and a longwire. I hope to catch you on the bands during this year. I am always running ‘barefoot’ as I have never owned an amplifier. I still feel that I do okay on the bands. N2KW - That Gold certificate continues to elude me, as does 1000 Windle points. TF3DC - Members have welcomed me to the club so I now have a new member a day on average in my log since I came aboard on October 3rd. W8FJ - I think I'm gonna have to retire veterinary practice to reach 400 members worked and have a chance to really compete with Vic. It was fun though, and I'm off to another good start. WB2YQH - Not a big year. Having to work puts a dent in things. I only track Windles per first QSO, the original way. W9RGB - I just barely managed to top my 2011 score, but ol' Mr. Sol didn't help at all with the solar flux bouncing up and down like it did. I wonder if it would make sense to divide Windle scores into two categories, assisted and unassisted? That's being done now in some contests. It's hard for me to imagine anyone amassing a huge Windle score without using the RBN, but I know there are some who can't or don't want to use it. Just a thought. ZL1MH - It is really good to be active again - albeit with a much-downsized station! ZL2IFB - I found 63 Augies making 2012 a fantastic year, thanks in large part to the FOC RBN and the occasional happy coincidence. I still have about 100 left to hunt down.

FOCAL

Vic, W9RGB sent this picture of Fred, KT5X, showing him operating on top of a 13,900 feet (4,236m) mountain. “Fred runs up mountains like this, carrying his station with him - a great demonstration of amazing athletic ability.” says Vic.

FOCUS 93 38

WAFOC and WAFOCC Honour Rolls

By Bob Bagwell, G4HZV

Thank you to all those members who sent in updates. Here is FOC Roll of Honour, based on applications/updates received by 31 December 2012.

WAFOC Honour Roll (Qualifying score 6000 points)

29167 W4QM (808) 12374 G3LHJ (841)

23561 G4BUE (1308) 12066 N2KW (1586)

22252 W4VQ (1299) 11367 W5ZR (1722)

20328 K9QVB (1507) 11079 G3RVM (1407)

19927 EA8CN (1656) 11000 N4UB (1490)

19757 I3BLF (1286) 10340 K2SX (1599)

18802 OZ1LO (1205) 9709 KZ5D (1761)

18000 G3KTZ (1265) 8558 AC5K (1662)

16000 G3IAF (961) 8500 GØORH (1684)

16000 W1AX (614) 8296 G4HZV (1568)

15172 G8VG (331) 8248 W4PM (1687)

150