Once again Marconi day was celebrated by the club at The Needles attraction on the Isle of Wight, one of the first places that Marconi made a wiresless communication from. Interestingly one of the first QSO made by the special station callsign, GB0MAR, on the island was with the Lizard in Cornwall, GB4LD, which was the place that he first contacted. A fitting QSO to remember one of the founders of what has become the hobby for millions of people around the world.
This years station was slightly different from previous years as we were inside. This was a change from last year where we had trouble holding down the clubs gazebo in the wind which suffered damage as a result.
The attendance from the club members was once again great. We were able to field 2 HF stations and a VHF/UHF station from the location. We ran a CW and 40M station from our TS50 attached to an end fed long wire and our FTDX10 was initially attached to a JPC-12 portable HF antenna (see the picture) and then swapped out for a random wire ,through a 9:1 unun, which was literally thrown up into the tree when it was realised that there was a contest on and so quick jumping about the bands was needed. The position of the portable antenna wasnt the best as it was down a hill which had an impact on it. While the portable antenna performed fantastically, having to keep leaving the station and walking around other transmitting antenna meant it got in the way of the enjoyment and so it was abandoned for the wire. Proof if ever it was needed that you can chuck a bit of wire into a tree and talk to the world! This part of Amateur radio never fails to fascinate me and really makes you realise that you can make an antenna out of a random bit of wire and simply throw it into a tree to enjoy a day of radio.
Proof, if ever it was needed, that its not an old hobby and is open to everyone. Efia, M7DCQ, the clubs youngest member enjoyed a day of DX and fortunately there was a YOTA contest running and so she was able to make contacts around the world herself. Efia will soon be off to the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea to spread even more ham radio stories and she has already got her mum through her exam to be an M7 and is now working on her dad. The club regularly works with the scouting organisation on the island which is a great way to introduce youngsters into the exciting hobby.
If you are interested in joining the club, why not come along to one of our Friday meetings and see what its all about. Contact information is on the contact us page along with a map.
Once again the club thanks The Needles Attraction for their help and hospitality.