Recent Articles
Antenna Shootout 2021 – Bob (G4PVB)
My antenna is a 2m folded dipole designed by Dave Kimber, G8HQP. I followed his instructions like this: 2m Folded Dipole – a loft-mounted vertical folded dipole for the 144 – 146MHz band. Theory: A vertical antenna most appropriate for 2m. A fat dipole (therefore wideband) will have a lower feed impedance at resonance than a thin dipole […]
The 2021 VARC Antenna Shootout
The annual VARC Antenna Shootout starts today and runs until the end of June. The theme for this year is ‘2-metre activity’ meaning that it can be any mode, any polarisation, and any power (within applicable licence restrictions of course). You can operate from any location but must use your own callsign and not the […]
Activity on 4 metres (70 MHz)
Europe and the Falklands are seemingly the main activity on the 4 metres (70 MHz) band. America and Japan don’t have it so most big ham radio company manufacturers avoid it for the most part. (The Icom IC-7300 is the exception but only the European model.) VARC member Bob Houlston (GVPVB) sent an e-mail to Elecraft […]
ISS FM Repeater
SWLs may have a lot of fun monitoring the new FM voice repeater on the International Space Station. ‘I heard it on 21st May 2021 at 20:05 UTC for an 11-minute pass’, says VARC member Bob Houlston (G4PVB). ‘The Doppler effect is quite noticeable, so I tuned my receiver high to 437.810 MHz and gradually […]
Remote Radio On Air
Verulam Amateur Radio Club now has it’s remote station running from it’s site near Dunstable. This is running most HF bands and proving to be very successful. It is operating using the RemoteHams software, which is a free download from the Remote Hams website. Once downloaded you can search for VARC and access the radio. […]
RSGB Virtual Visit
In January, Ron White G6LTT, the club’s district representative spoke at the club’s virtual meeting. He was joined by Terry Baldwin G4UEM, also a representative. Ron described the changes now taking place, particularly with training and examinations which have moved online, including invigilation of exams, all of which can be booked and paid in the […]
SOTA Radio Interview with VARC member.
VARC member Tim Price (G4YBU) took part in a radio interview on BBC Radio Surrey this morning discussing Summits on the Air (SOTA). Tim is one of the event organisers for SOTA. He was joined by RSGB Board Director Stewart Bryant (G3YSX).
Antenna Shootout 2020 – Peter (G0OIK)
Rhombic for 6m One thing I have fancied playing with for a long time is the Rhombic antenna. It has a very good directional gain and in principal is easy to construct. The problem is that on HF a Rhombic is extremely large. Even on 6m the antenna is pretty big! My idea for the […]
Antenna Shootout 2020 – Roger (M0RBK)
The antenna consists of: 1:1 Balun Lengths of copper brake pipe approximately 1m long pipe and secured into grooves in a length of wood. “Stingers” which can be moved to adjust the length and secured with grub screws. It is secured to the mast with a stainless steel clamp.
Antenna Shootout 2020 – Peter (G4HSO)
Years ago I bought a commercial but cheap HB9CV antenna for 6m. I think in terms of dB per gram of beam aluminium, these antennas are top-notch and great for /P. (I have had a lot of success with good DX with my 2m version.) However, rushing a first activation (contest) a few weeks after […]
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