DXCluster Upgrade

GB7MBC is now up and running on the new PC ( thanks again Mark ) We have also implemented registration for people wishing to post spots and announces, this should hopefully cut down on pirate callsigns. Most of our regular users should be registered by now, if you are not please send an email to registration@gb7mbc.net ! Users should now find the cluster and the webpages a lot faster and we apologise for todays downtime.

DahdeDah

Finally got the Bencher twin paddle out of the cupboard and plugged it in to the back of the FT1000. God what a finicky key to set up, i am sure it is worse than my old single paddle Kent. Never mind, at least i made the effort for once but i do miss my "skeds" with Karl M0ASU. I seriously need to get back in practice again, i have even suggested that members of "Sands" have the odd CW net...we shall wait and see!

Routers and Fishponds!

The problem with the internet dropping out when I am on 80 metres now appears to have been resolved and the new DLink router is working fine. The next problem to solve is the pump on our fishpond switching off every time i transmit on the same band. It appears to be tripping out at the RCB, one option is just to put an ordinary 13 amp plug on instead, as the wiring to the electrics is all run in "pyro" down the garden so it should not be a problem.
As it happens conditions on 80 metres in the morning have been super, with very little band noise. Barry G3WIS has been calling into the net on 3 watts most mornings and has been readable throughout, it just proves what can be done on such little power.

Cat on a Hot Tin Ranger

Here you can see our beautiful Burmilla Kai who always likes to be in the shack when the radios are on. He is seated on my Ranger 811H which does not see a lot of action now, except with our Contest group ( MX0SCG ) Guess he enjoys the heat from the valves, either that or it is a good perch to follow all that is going on....

A Quiet Week

So far this week, apart from the usual 80m net in the morning, I have done very little radio again. The new Dlink router is on and working well (fourth time lucky) We had an outage on our ADSL this evening for about an hour but that seemed to be a fault at the telephone exchange and all is well now. G0VGS has had my permission to order his new Elecraft K3 and the deposit went in on monday, expect delivery in September so it is going to be a few weeks of great expectations. I can hardly wait because I just might get my IC7000 back in my shack! For those of you who have never heard of a K3 have a look at the specs. on the Elecraft site.

Old Friends

All these years i have held my Amateur Radio Licence and i have never spoken to Bernie G3KOQ on the HF bands......well today was a first and he popped up on the Coast to Coast net! Bernie is now the proud owner of a Yaesu FT767 which he got from the widow of G3VSE, who sadly died a month ago! Also news about Roy G4VCT who has decided to keep his 2 metre radio so that he can keep in touch with a few of the locals. Radio this week has been very quiet for me as G0VGS has been working quite a lot on 10 metres, never mind though as i have plenty else to be getting on with for now!

More Trouble with Routers

We are now on our third Dlink wireless router and it has locked up again at the first sign of adding some port forwarding! This one came direct from the company so it has the latest firmware. DLink are now going to add the ports we need before sending a new one out to us. It is very frustrating as you begin to feel it is something that you are doing wrong. The old DLink router continues to be rock solid but is getting on in years and has no wireless facilities, otherwise it would be easier to continue as we are. I cannot believe that 3 different routers would all lock in the same way and its going to be interesting to see how the problem is solved, if it ever is.....

Things are Disappearing!

Bit by bit it would seem that things from my own shack are vanishing upstairs to the G0VGS shack. Missing items include my Icom IC7000, my Ranger 811H linear, power meter and various other bits and pieces. I have also had the coax feed to my Force12 beam intercepted.! I dont mind really as I have had a tremendous time working the DX since the mid nineties, working nearly 300 countries on the HF bands. Now that my other half is retired it only seems right that he should have the time to enjoy his radio and I am quite happy to sit back and listen.... for the moment.
It also looks as if a new Elecraft K3 is on the cards for later this year and once funds allow there will be a deposit placed with Elecraft....
Hmmmm sounds as if he is just working Laos on 20M upstairs, I shall go and investigate.........

I Knew It was a Mistake!

Never encourage your other half to go on 10 metres FM! As a result, not only have i gained another vertical on my washing post at the end of the garden, my Icom IC7000 has vanished from my own shack and found its way into the G0VGS shack upstairs because he says he has nothing for 10m FM! Sometimes it is best just to keep quiet.....

G0VGS Shack nearly finished

After nearly a month of hard work our small office has been totally redone and is nearly finished. It feels bigger and is certainly easier to keep clean ( I hope ). Just a few cables to hide and pictures to hang on the walls and that should be it!

An Old Friend Goes QRT!

Yesterday my dear friend and mentor Roy G4VCT took the decision to sell his HF and VHF/UHF radios, he will, however, still be active on Echolink to keep in touch with the amateur community. Nowadays his hearing is quite bad and he finds it difficult to cope with the noise of HF and has also no real interest in 2M nowadays.
It was Roy who inspired both me and my husband to study for our Amateur Exams many years ago and many people will know his voice well on the bands, especially with his sharp wit and knowledge of the hobby.
Roy will be greatly missed on the 80 metre "Coast to Coast Net" in the mornings, although i have a sneaky suspicion that he may monitor from time to time. I must admit though, it was always a little niggle that he was always a better signal than me even though he is only a few miles down the road ;-)
Will we hear you again Roy?.....somehow i just think we might!

New Shack!

Spent the last week helping out with decorating the "New G0VGS Shack". The room has been his office for the last 8 years and has now been totally stripped out with the help of Mark M0DWK. The next few days will see a new carpet and new furniture and for once, hopefully, he will keep it neat and tidy. All the feeders, telephony and networking for the pc has been redone and it should look great when it is finished. Might get time for some radio later in the week....

New Start, New Car

My husband G0VGS has retired from his job today after 34 years with the same company. Today we picked up our new car and have started to fit the FT8900 in it. It will be nice to have the time to go out in the car and start to do more mobile work with Amateur Radio, both HF and VHF. Its the start of a new era for us and we intend to make the most of it!!

More on Routers

Well finally found one that seems immune to RF on 80 metres, its made again by DLink and seems to be rock solid. Strange how one make is ok and others are not. Anyway its working well but the speed of our broadband has backed right off because of the amount of disconnections over the last few days. Now need to retrain the broadband and get it back up to speed as its working at dialup speeds.

The Trouble with Routers!

Having just got a new router for the internet I find I am having all sorts of problems with it. If I transmit on 80 metres the router just disconnects! Now this would not be a problem normally because I rarely use the internet and radio at the same time. The problem is our DXCluster which runs 24 hours a day and can have upwards of 60 users in at one time and also provides cluster feeds to various other nodes. Tried everything this afternoon to track the problem down and it looks like RF getting into the phone line. Tried ferrites, tried relocating and no luck so we are back on the old DLink router which seems rock solid but is getting very elderly! May try again with another manufacturer next week but have tried Netgear and Linksys so far...