THE FIRST CLASS C.W.

OPERATORS CLUB
Editor: G4BUE

NEWS SHEET 585

(http://members.aol.com/focuk)

July 1998

A man should keep his friendship in constant repair - Samuel Johnson (1755).

BANDS OF THE MONTH FOR JULY ARE 40 AND 12 METRES

Friends FOCUS 35 is being mailed with this News Sheet. It is the largest ever, a one-off 76 pages, but please dont expect this size every issue! Neither club funds or my staying up to 3am completing the artwork will be able to manage it! A new system for the FOC Calendar - the numbers in brackets after the items indicate the number of the News Sheet that reported it. All North American and some non-North American members will receive a two-sided A4 flyer about the Florida Dinner in December with this News Sheet. If you did not receive one, but are thinking of attending, then please ask either Chris, K4EFZ, or myself for a copy. Thanks for your comments and suggestions for the FOC WARC band QRGs, they will be considered at the July Committee meeting. Early reports indicate the Condin was another success, and many members attended a large FOC gathering at the Friedrichshafen Hamvention at the end of June. Finally, our thanks to G3RXP, assisted by G3PDL, for organising a super Harrogate GetTogether in June. Linda and Dave were unable to attend the actual Dinner due to their daughter being in hospital. Our personal thanks to Diane and Pete for sharing their home and giving June and me a relaxing long weekend.

FOC CALENDAR

(callsign in brackets indicate G4FOC op) July - 40m and 12m (G3PDL) Until 13 July ZF by N6NT (585) July JW/DJ3KR? (584) 13 Deadline G3FXB Trophy (584) 8/15 KG4TO by N4TO (584/5) 18 Committee meeting 24/10 Aug BV3/DJ3KR 25/26 GD3IZD/P (585)

28 Deadline for August News Sheet August - 30m and 10m (GW3KGV) Aug/Sept JW/DJ3KR? (584) 8/4 Sept GB2FOS by G3LIK (585) 24 Deadline for FOCUS 36 28 Deadline for September News Sheet September - 40m and 15m (G3LIK) 17/27 ET by G3VMW etc (585) 26 Deadline for October News Sheet

3. K1AO: G3IY, GW3KGV, N2UU, VE7NH, W1OT (+N6NT, KT5X, K5DQ, W9NN, K1RH, G3XNG). 2. SV1AOW: G3LZK, N3JT, N3SZQ, OH2KI, W8EGB (+ OK1GT, ON4RU). 1. G3KMQ: W4QM, GW3HCL, SM3BCS, W1HT, SMCCE.

Starred List

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION by G3MXJ

New Member
1701 DK8IT (Gerry) - G. Emig, Alte Landstrasse 83, D-69488 Birkenau, Germany; Tel - 6201 24413; Fax - 6201 23893; XYL - Gail (DJCR); e-mail - <EYRIE@t-online.de>.

Additional Nominations
6. K5RC: W4AN, K5DQ, K4BAI, N3JT. 5. W7VR: K4DL, ZL1MH. 4. VE6DXX: W9KNI, G3RTE. 3. N2NT: GW3SYL, N6NT, N5TJ. 1. K6RIM: W6CYX. 1. OK1TN: OK1KT. standards for the operation of the amateur service. Amongst the items for discussion was consideration of whether or not a mandatory CW requirement would continue to be relevant to the service in regulations designed to cover the period up to the year 2010. Following the polling of views from the membership, the Committee discussed this issue in detail. We felt strongly that FOC should become involved in the ongoing discussion to ensure that if and when CW requirements were dropped from licences, the change should only be made as part of a restructuring that ensured that overall operating standards were maintained. FOCs approach to the issue was fully explained in FOCUS 27 (starting on page 11). This remains our view. On the UK domestic issue, we will be voicing forcibly to the RSGB our objection to its proposal to the licensing authority that appears to be fuelled more by commercial pressures from its advertisers and a need to increase membership than by any real concern for maintenance of standards within the hobby. RSGB members will have seen an explanation of the Societys domestic proposals in the July RadCom. They are invited to comment direct to RSGB before the end of August. On the international front, it is of high concern that the RSGB, in the past, a highly respected

Amendments
G3RTE (1225): new address - 55 Ladbrooke Drive, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 1QW. OX3XR (1376): new address - Ved Store Dyrehave 12, st th 3400 Hillerd, Denmark; new call - OZ6XT; xyl - Judith.
organisation in IARU, is now seen to be breaking ranks with the agreed policy of the organisation. The writer was, for many years, a member of the RSGBs team at IARU Region 1 Conferences and is very aware of the importance of showing an agreed and united front. It was in this way that the WARC bands were obtained. For RSGB to publicly fragment this solidarity is nothing short of suicidal. We are fortunate in having, within our ranks, members who are influential in all three IARU Regions. We hope that we will be able to count on their support in limiting the potential damage that might result from the present misguided RSGB direction. However, we must all bear in mind that the preservation of CW as an operating skill rests with us - and not with the legislators. Objections to change are worthless unless they are accompanied by alternative proposals. It is we who must formulate and propose scenarios for the hobby that take account of changing attitudes and requirements. Keeping quiet, in the hope that the issue will blow away, serves no-one.

CW LICENSING IN THE UK by G3MXJ

Considerable concern has arisen, in the UK, over the recent announcement by RSGB that it intends to promote a new class of HF licence in the UK with minimal CW requirements and to lobby IARU for a change in its policy regarding inclusion of mandatory CW testing requirements in the ITU Regulations covering Amateur Radio. It is particularly unfortunate that statements from the RSGB President Ian Kyle, GI8AYZ, contained quotes that purport to show that FOC supports RSGB in these intentions. Nothing could be further from the truth. Quotes from the President, the General Manager of RSGB and various RSGB Council Members at Dayton sought to suggest that various FOC members, past and present, together with senior figures in IARU also supported these proposals. Subsequent enquiries show these statements to be without foundation FOC became involved in the discussions surrounding FASC in 1996, when IARU was formulating a policy to determine what would be required in revisions of the ITU Regulations that could possibly have been made at the 1999 World Radiocommunication Conference. Under consideration was a range of proposals which would have considerably strengthened the international recognition of our hobby by defining agreed

1997 WINDLE AWARD by G3LIK

On page 10 of FOCUS 34, I included 9A2TS amongst those members absent from the logs submitted. My apologies to Davor as a later check reveals one members log included him.

Score updates can be passed to G4BUE or any committee member. An asterisk against the call indicates the score has been updated this month. Table shows the scores received by 1200z 1 July 1998.
W9GIL W1HMD K4KQ* W6CYX N2KW K4FU* N3BB* YV1NX* EA8CN SMCCE GM3POI DL6TQ GORH N3SZQ G4ZDB G4OEC 309 300 298 275 265 261 250 250 246 238 236 223 222 205 200 198 G3LIK* 190 VE1BN 190 G4BUE* 188 NP3F 187 ZL1MH 185 NP3G 184 OH2FOC 177 GW3KDB 173 OZ4UN 172 K5DQ* 171 ZS6QU 171 G3IY* 169 G3HZL 161 G2FDF 160 G4HZV 159 W8KJP 154 G4BJM 150 PABW* 149 G4BUO* 147 N4TY 146 G3LTV 142 N4TO 138 ON4RU 135 PAVDV* 133 G3KKQ* 132 W8EGB 131 WIAK* 130 G4PKD* 128 K4BAI 128 G3AZ 125 G3HEJ* 125 BW 124 F3AT W4DGJ ZS6AL G3PQC* G3RFE* KF2AT K6RA G3IZD* G3KTZ GM3JKS ZL2AGY GEBW* SM5COP K2VCO W2DX* W3NZ 119 119 118 115 113 113 112 110 110 110 109 107 107 106 106 106 GW3KGV K1YT W1NV* G4XRV* I7ALE* AC5K* W8XM 4X1FC* G3MCK JA7SSB K4XU GW3SB* GW3HCL G8VG K6TS WA4SNI 105 105 105 104 104 102 102 101 100 100 100 99 98 93 93 93 K2VUI W4YE W4FOA EA6ZY G3YXX N4LS W9GW W6TZD GCHV K4EF F5VEX GFJT KT5X K7UOT G3MXJ* WB2YQH 92 91 89 88 88 87 87 86 85 85 84 83 83 82 81 80 GW3SYL 78 G3LZK 77 K4DL 76 W1BIH 75 G2HKU* 74 G3NKS 74 PALOU 74 N4WJ 73 VE3AR 72 N4JT 71 GM3HUN* 70 W4TAJ* 70 K4II 68 W9NN* 68 YO4PX 68 W1HL 66 G3SXW SM6AOU DK4LX G3NOH W5GEL* ZL1AH LA3FL* U3DR W1HT G3LHJ W1FJ* W8VSK W2GW K2SX ZP6CW* 65 63 62 62 61 59 58 58 54 52 50 50 47 46 46 W4CK PAINA K6RA* OH6KI GVLW DJ9SB VA3LK KC7V OH2EA VK8AV N1BB N1DG OH2KI W4PM K1AJ 45 43 40 40 36 34 30 29 28 27 26 22 21 21 10

THE 1998 WINDLE AWARD

MEMBERS NEWS by G4BUE

4X4NJ: Riki is planning on attending Lords and the RSGB HF Convention. The January winds demolished his three element KLM 40 metre yagi which has been up and down my tower about once every year since I put it up. He is going to replace it with a heavy duty version M2 three element yagi designed to withstand 125mph winds. DF2IC: Greg was not QRV from HI3 at the end of May (June N/S) while on holiday and says I wish I was!. My apologies for any confusion. EA8CN: Andy will be back in Tenerife at the end of August but is not sure how long for. G3AZ: Our condolences to John on the passing of his wife, Ruby, on 1 June after a heart attack. They had been married for 63 years. G3HEJ: Derek has started a long promised shack change and clean-up which entails moving to another room, which should permit quicker QSYs in future - hopefully for the 1999 Marathon. Until now his QSYs have taken up to ten minutes or more! Derek is taking the opportunity to mend / realign his 15 years old FT-1. G3IY: Jim has found one of the few disadvantages of attending the clubs social events! He says, swanning off to Washington, the Condin and Harrogate has not helped my Windle score at all but I certainly have had a great time. He thought this years Harrogate was one of the best, which of course does not mean that the past ones were not good! he adds. G3IZD: Ivan will be QRV 24/27 July as GD3IZD/P, mainly CW on the WARC bands. He will also be in the IOTA Contest, CW 24 hours (if I last out). G3LIK: Mick made three FOC QSOs from EA7FSF while on holiday. He will be operating the Special Event station GB2FOS 8 August/4 September as part of the Festival of the Sea when 120 ships converge on Portsmouth (correct News Sheet 583). QSL via Mick. G3RTE: Jim has moved to a new QTH, and says I guess with the move I will have to be careful not to upset the neighbours and gradually introduce radio to them over the next few months. G3SED: Mike enjoyed Dayton, although he was working and was planning to be at Friedrichshafen. He is just getting back on 6 metres after a few years, and is looking for members. G3SXW: Roger will be QRV as 9G5SX again before and after the CQ CW Contest effort as 5V7A with the VooDoo Contest Team. G3VMW: Steve, Alan, G3XAQ, and Andy, G4ZVJ, will be QRV 17/27 September from the

ET3AA club station at Addis Ababa, mainly CW 160-10 metres QSX up with emphasis on the LF bands (1829, 3508, 7008kHz) and WARC bands (10108, 18076 and 24896kHz). More information on G3VMWs Web site <http://www. bramham.demon.co.uk> where a log search facility will be available after the operation. QSLs via Steve. Steve says that during the visit to Addis Ababa, it is hoped to obtain personal callsigns from the Ethiopian government in readiness for a sustained two-week DXpedition during 1999. Steve will be QRV from 20 November as 9G5SW before travelling to Lomo, Togo as part of the VooDoo Contest team, 5V7A, for the CQ CW Contest, and again after the contest until 6 December. He has applied for 5V7VM and hopes to be QRV each side of the contest. G3ZEM: Bob and Steve, G3VMW, will be QRV 21 July/5 August as 5B4/G3ZEM and 5B4/ G3VMW from Paphos, while on holiday. They will be seeing George, 5B4AGC, who is kindly loaning them a Ten-Tec Omni VI, leaving them just to take a R7000 vertical, LF doublet, keyer, etc. Bob will also be QRV as 9G5ZM and 5V7ZM before and after the CQ CW Contest effort as 5V7A with the VooDoo Contest Team. G4BUO: A Field Day story from the Gravesend ARC: a fault with our standby generator put 350v AC into my FT1000MP. Martin Lynch came up trumps and agreed to let us have a MP on loan, which Cris, G4FAM, went and collected. G3GRS/P started the contest on my IC735 then we swapped over to the replacement MP when Cris got back from a Saturday afternoon dash around the M25, four hours after the start. We have ended up in the lead on claimed score despite all the trauma. Have now received the repaired rig back from Martin Lynch and it seems to be working fine again. G4GLL: Geoffs station has been dismantled as everything in his house is going into storage to allow remedial work to be carried out on his new home. He thinks it will be about three months before he gets back on the air. G4PKD: Lorraine and Jack attended the Condin again and would like to express sincere thanks to all friends, old and new, for making this weekend such a pleasant one. Special thanks to Herman, DJ2BW, and Margot for their hospitality and organisation of a first class weekend. G4ZVJ: Andy will be QRV from 20 November as 9G5VJ before travelling to Lomo, Togo as part of the VooDoo Contest team, 5V7A, for the CQ CW Contest, and again after the contest un-

til 6 December. He has applied for 5V7VM and hopes to be QRV each side of the contest. LA2UA: Our condolences to Bob on the passing of his wife, Brenda, in June. N4TO: Vic will be QRV 8/15 July as KG4TO while part of the Florida Contest Clubs multiop entry in the IARU HF Championship. N6NT: Bruce is QRV as ZF2NT until 13 July. OX3XR: Peter and his family were due to leave Greenland on 30 June and as from 1 August will have a new address in Denmark. He will also have a new call, OZ6XT. SMCCE: Margareta and Kjell attended the Condin for the first time and had a great time. The arrangements were very fine indeed. Highmarks to Herman and his xyl, who really had everything working very smoothly. VK8AV: Alan was in Brisbane in June after a 4000 mile drive without seeing any rain since 21 April when he moved out of his QTH. He will leave for Kuala Lumpur on 27 July. W1FJ: Al had a nice visit with SMCCE, SM5AHK and EA8CN during a stay in Stockholm in April. He and Ruth were leaving for a trip to Alaska on 27 June and are hoping to meet KL7PJ and KL7HF. They are both planning to be at the Florida Dinner in December again. W2DX: Jay says his recent hospitalisation was made bearable because of the many get-well wishes received. In particular, the card signed by members attending the Washington Dinner, which is now part of Jays permanent possessions. He says Im thankful for my many friends in FOC. Please QSP to them my gratitude.. W2HI: The July QST shows former member Alex as a Silent Key. He joined FOC as 1113 in February 1971 and left in May 1972, joined again as 1389 in November 1979 and resigned in June 1995 (thanks K4BAI). W3TV: The July QST shows former member Art (ex W3VKD) as a Silent Key. He joined as 578 in April 1958 and left in July 1972 and joined again as 1187 in December 1972 leaving in April 1995 (thanks K4BAI). W5GEL: Bob is pleased to report that his health problems have diminished and I am on the air more frequently, mostly on the WARC bands and always looking. YO3AC: Andy asks if any UK member have the following valves (all with 12v heaters) for a KW Atlanta and PSU: 12BZ6, 1ZBA6, 1ZBE6, 6BN8, 7360 and 6EW6. He needs them to get YO9FLE, a paralysed wheelchair bound amateur, back on the air.