Elements 201408

Cockenzie & Port Seton

Amateur Radio Club is

affiliated to the Radio

Society of Great Britain

and holds the call signs

MM0CPS and GM2T which

are used for our special

event and contest entries.

The Club was formed by

Bob Glasgow GM4UYZ in

1984, to help the local

amateurs get to know each

other.

Far from being just a local

club we have members

regularly attending from

the Borders, Dumfries,

Strathclyde, Fife and

Newcastle.

The Club meets on the first

Friday of every month

(Second Friday of January)

in the lounge of the

Thorntree Inn on the old

Cockenzie High Street from

7pm till late.

I am writing this editorial with still a week away from the deadline; to be honest I am trying to get on top of all my outstanding issues before the Tiree trip which by the time you read this will be well and truly over and a part of history. I am also praying that the weather will have been kind to us as well on the trip the same as it was for VHF Field Day this year.

[At the Museum of Flight Bob GM4UYZ was presented with the trophy for the club winning the RSGB Region 1 Club of the Year]

Ok then what have we been doing this month? We had our normal club night although it was a week earlier than normal due to the VHF Field Day event, but regard numbers attending it was very dismal to say the least so I really don’t know what needs to be done to encourage either new blood or get some of the “old regulars” back again. The dream is that everyone will turn up one club night, now that would be something… Right what have we done since the last newsletter? Two people sat the Advanced Exam and as I write this I know one has passed, well done Laurie you deserve it with all the hard work that you did. We have taken part in the RSGB VHF Field Day from the same site we have used since2005 down near Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway. As we have found, it is a fantastic site and worth the travel.

Our July Activity night will also have taken place but due to date and deadline for the newsletter the report will be held over until next month’s newsletter. Lastly this month is

the IOTA contest from TIREE but by the time the newsletter is read it will once again be history. No doubt there will be many tales to tell.

I have also had news from PW to say that Robin MM0VTV is the Leading Scottish Station in the PW QRP Contest that was on the 15th June. Arrangements are already in progress to present Robin with the Tennamast Trophy during our “Junk Night” in August, so fingers crossed that we can manage to do this. Any way congratulations and well done Robin.

To the future, well the major event is our Junk Night / Mini Rally on the 8th August. I am again looking for raffle and food donations so if you can help I really would appreciate it. Let’s hope it is once again a resounding success as it has been in previous years. Also we have Lighthouses Weekend on the 16th & 17th August once again down at Barns Ness so I hope you will all come along and take part and have what is a really fun weekend. This weekend is open to those who are eligible for the VIC GM4GGF Trophy competitions so why not pop along and up your QSO count. Remember also our Club Activity Day on the 13th August it is an opportunity to get on the air and let everyone know what you managed to work. I am interested to hear from you whether you went on but didn’t make any QSO’s, a single QSO or dozens of them. Send me an email with your log and any information so I can update my records....thanks in advance.

(Continued on page 2)

RSGB Region 1

Club of the Year 2014

The Club

The Club is run in a very

informal way, just a group

of like minded people

doing something they

enjoy!

This does not mean that

we don’t do anything, we

enter (and win!) contests,

train newcomers, hold

talks and video nights and

run a popular annual Junk

Sale. Our newsletter has

won the Practical Wireless

‘Spotlight’ competition on

several occasions.

The Club supports the

British Heart Foundation

in memory of a member

who died from heart dis-

ease by donating the

profits from some of the

events we hold, we have

raised over £15,832 since

1994.

2

Supported by BT Community

Champions

Again, if you are eligible for the VIC TROPHY your QSO’s count for that as well.

I am kicking off my winter training sessions of Foundation, Intermediate and the Advanced Training by starting on the 30th August with a Foundation Course. If you know of anyone interested in any of these courses can you now start to get back in touch with me so I can get the Community Centre bookings confirmed?

The Club June 20M activity night was reasonably well supported although it would have been nice to see more take part.

It is only a bit of fun. The day was a bit of a struggle with regard to conditions but it was good fun never the less.

Enjoy club night, and come along to Junk Night and Lighthouses Weekend.

See you all then.

Bob GM4UYZ

(Continued from page 1)

REMINDER, REMINDER, REMINDER

21st ANNUAL

MINI RALLY/JUNK NIGHT FRIDAY 8th AUGUST 2014

Bring along your own “junk” and sell it yourself.

Tables on a First Come, First Served Basis

Time: 1800 till 2100

Note change to accommodate

Community Centre new opening times

Location: Cockenzie & Port Seton Community Centre

(Main Hall) Disabled access available

Entry: £2 ALL PERSONS

Raffle @ 21:00, Food & Drink Available

If any one would like to donate any prizes for the raffle or

food towards the catering it will be greatly appreciated.

3

13th to 15th June 2014

Again we had the privilege of being able to work from a fan-

tastic site during the International Museum’s weekend. As in

the last few years we set-up our equipment inside the Military

Hanger (H1) and this year our two stations ran on both 40M

and 20M predominately with only 35 other contacts on 15M.

Each station comprised of a FT1000MP and an Alpha Linear,

logging computers networked together and running Win-Test

logging software. Each computer was linked to the radio plus a

Band Decoder Box which controlled the Voice Keyer and re-

spective Dunestar Filters. The antennas consisted of a 3 Ele-

ment Tri-Band YAGI for 20/15/10M installed 60 feet up on a

tower and a 40M dipole hung between the tower and a 40

foot pole. All this equipment was set-up of the Friday after-

noon in preparation for the Saturday and Sunday Event. For

pictures of the event please log onto the club’s website where

they can be viewed. If you log onto QRZ.com and select

GB2MOF it gives a small write up of the station, although the

pictures are a couple of years old it was exactly the same set-

up for this year.

As in previous years I had requested and obtained the

GB2MOF call to start on the Friday so after the setting up we

managed 95 QSO’s in the log before we departed at 17:00.

The first QSO was made with TF3ML/P at 13:44 UST.

This weather for the event this year was really kind so no com-

plaints there. Only mishap we had was Cambell getting his van

stuck as he was trying to place the tower up on the grass. Guys

working on the site came to our rescue with their small tractor

by pulling Cambell’s van out and positioning the tower for

us.... a big thanks to them... Cambell MM0DXC, Bob GM4IKT

and Paul MM0VPR they then erected the antenna systems and

I built the shack...

On the Saturday we arrived bright and early and our first con-

tact took place at 08:33 BST (07:33 UTC) with US4AS in the

Ukraine. Regard making QSO’s well as has been normal for a

good few years it was just a continual pile-up on both bands

until it was time to go home at 17:00 (BST). Our last QSO for

the day on Saturday at 16:41BST (15:41 UTC) was with

MW6IEK on 40M. Both 20M and 40M had gone like a fair all

day and we managed to bring our total to 652 QSO’s, a great

day’s work.

Best DX was made by Cambell contacting Hawaii at 08:47 BST

(07:47 UTC). Operators were from 08:00 Cambell MM0DXC,

Paul MM0VPR and me, followed by Bob GM4IKT a bit later on,

then Alisdair MM0XAB and Duncan MM0GZZ then Robin

MM0VTV and then Billy MM0MLD and lastly Brian M0RNR.

One of the aims of these events is to encourage new operators

to go on the air, learn how to run a pile-up and log at the same

time. Alisdair was the most nervous and asked if he could go

on 20M and he did doing an overall 2 hours of operating, Billy

went on 40M and we just couldn’t get him off.... A great induc-

tion and extremely well done by the both operators.

On the Sunday again another bright and early start with the

first QSO in the log 08:22 BST (07:22 UTC) with W0MSP on

20M and our last for the day and the event being with 2E0TAJ

at 15:15 BST (14:15 UTC), Conditions were very variable with

both bands with 40M performing the best It did make oper-

ating at times very difficult although we still managed to work

another 318 contacts. The issue we think was due to a flare

that had been forecast to be sent off from the sun which had

disturbed the Ionosphere... We ended up with 1065 QSO’s in

the log another impressive weekend so well done everyone.

Operators for Sunday were Cephas MM0INS, Cambell

MM0DXC, Brian M0RNR, Billy MM0MLD, Sean MM0SRY and

Chris MM0YAB.

It was nice to see Sean get on the air being another new licen-

see and handling the pile-ups. Billy well what can I say, he got

on 40M and apart from the last hour when he went on 20M

he just wouldn’t come off.

As part of the logging operators were asked to “OPON” and

“OPOFF” so a record could be kept to see how many QSO ‘s

each person made. To be honest it was only really important

for the new operators so that I could tally up the QSO’s that

they made so I could enter the numbers into the Vic Trophy

program that gets run for newly licensed operators.


Club Attire

The club has a design for

Club Tee-shirts, Polo-

shirts, Sweat-Shirts,

Fleeces and Jackets and all

of these can be obtained

from the address below.

When making an order

please quote ‘Cockenzie &

Port Seton Amateur Radio

Club’ as this will ensure

that the Club Logo will be

placed on the required

ordered garments.

If you wish to add your call

-sign to the logo then

please ask at the time of

the order.

Cost will depend on

garment and should cover

the garment and logo, call-

sign addition will be extra.

Order from:

PATRICIA BEWSEY DESIGNS, UNIT 11, FENTON BARNS RETAIL VILLAGE, FENTON BARNS, NORTH BERWICK, EAST LOTHIAN EH39 5BW Tel/Fax: 01620 850788

Mobile: 07970 920431

Operator No of QSO’s

GM4UYZ 173

M0RNR 142

MM0DXC 32

MM0MLD 301

MM0VPR 76

MM0XAB 64

MM0VTV 111

MM0SRY 22

GM4IKT 102

The highlight for me personally was once

again seeing great team work in progress in

setting up and dismantling the stations. With-

out this the whole event would end up in com-

plete disarray.... the other positive thing was

seeing the new operators getting “stuck in”

and operating and efficiently running a pile-

up...well done lads

Summary of QSO’s Made:

Contest : HF DXpedition

Callsign : GB2MOF

Mode : MIXED

Category : Multi Operator - Multi Trans-

mitter (MM)

Band(s) : All bands (AB)

Class : High Power (HP)

Locator : IO85PX

Operating time : 16h57

BAND SSB CW RTTY OTHERS DUP

----------------------------------------

40 459 0 0 0 33

20 526 0 0 0 12

15 35 0 0 0 0

----------------------------------------

TOTAL 1020 0 0 0 45

========================================

TOTAL QSO : 1 065

Regarding the public we certainly had a small

amount of interest over the weekend com-

pared with what we have had other years. This

is certainly a great opportunity to sell and

demonstrate to the general public what Ama-

teur Radio is all about, who knows we may

have given someone the “bug”.

I have emailed the Museum of Flight giving

them a summary of what we achieved over

the weekend plus thanking them for allowing

us to use their facilities. All being well we will

be back their next year…. They have already

said that they are looking forward to it.

I am in the process of compiling a spreadsheet

of what we have achieved over the years at

the Museum so will send it to John MM0JXI

when it is completed for popping up on the

website.

Billy, MM0MLD, Alisdair MM0XAB and Sean

MM0SRYare candidates who are eligible for

the “VIC GM4GGF Trophy” and their QSO’s

have been noted for later adjudication. Lastly,

many thanks for all those who came along and

helped out at the event without you it cannot

happen. I do hope you all enjoyed yourself I

know I certainly did. For those who didn’t

attend well you missed a great opportunity to

play radio from an impressive station.

Till next year then unless we are asked to

come back earlier……… Bob GM4UYZ


4

5

18th June 2014 00:00 to 23:59

This is our sixth one of the year and also was the Summer Sol-

stice... so report below on who or who didn’t take part

Apologies first:

Duncan MM0GZZ

Sorry bob I can't work anything as my computer screen went

so can't computer log.

Bob GM4IKT

Went up to the shack last night intending to update logging

program and get on the radio for an hour or so. Downloaded

update and it did not work! Had to do a new programme

download and in the process lost my log! I have now once

more got a working logger and found I had not backed up

since 25th May so I have lost my log since then. I don't think I

have lost very much but I am ever so slightly cheesed off. End

result I got no contacts yesterday at all.

Lesson to be learned is do frequent backups.

Bob 2M0KLL

Sorry Bob, yet again unable to go on air.

Sohun MM0SBE

I did not manage to get on air this time round. I was not at

QTH and completely forgot about Activity Day, I won't be able

to take part in the July's one as well but I will be back in time

for the August one.

Geoff MM5AHO

Sorry, was away at a conference, no contacts.

Chris MM0YAB

Sorry bob I didn’t get the chance to go on

Brian M0RNR

Sorry bob I was in London

John MM0SNK

Nothing from me I'm afraid - I've had a bit of a roller-coaster

couple of months and it ain’t been pretty :) I'm hoping things

are starting to get a bit more on-track. Fingers crossed :)

Sean MM0SRY

Sorry wasn't on the radio was preoccupied building my little

transmitter on Wednesday

Alan MM0WXT

I went on and was looking forward to seeing if I could get a

few more contacts than last month but unfortunately couldn't

get a thing on PSK. I checked the solar conditions websites and

it warned of solar storms in the preceding days. So I got my

answer, which was that the attic dipole isn't cutting it in chal-

lenging conditions.

Reports:

Bob GM4UYZ (13:22 to 18:29)

This was the sixth of our monthly activity days. I only made a

few QSO’s this month as I not much spare time on my hands. I

decided to do PSK as I could do it from the house whilst I was

doing other things. Nothing spectacular I must admit but en-

joyed what I managed to do. Overall I am really enjoying my

operating and although not many QSO’s this month the Activ-

ity Days are making me go and do some operating...

Ron GM0NTL (05:03 to 17:54)

The conditions pretty dire today and for the last week or so. I

woke early this morning so was on radio just after 05:00. West

coast of USA had a path open and I logged 2 stations in Califor-

nia and 1 in Colorado. The remaining contacts were European.

Colwyn MM0YCJ

I was out for a short time on a small hill called Dumglow

(379m) in the Kingdom of Fife and managed 10 QSO’s. It is

north of Dunfermline and I could hear motor bikes (I think) at

Knock hill. It was a splendid sunny still evening and I saw a


Thanks to the sterling

work by M0RNR, our club

has been added to the

excellent Clublog system

developed by Michael

Wells G7VJR.

www.clublog.org

The system allows mem-

bers to upload their logs

in ADIF format and have

them displayed in a table

with all the other club

members.

Clublog also has great

facilities for tracking your

DXCC status etc so is well

worth taking the time to

register and get your log

uploaded.

To update your log with

the next set of contacts

(SSB, CW or Data) you can

simply upload your whole

log again and the system

will take care of the dupli-

cates. Alternatively you

can export the bits you

want from your own log

and just upload that.

The tables we’ll publish

here will be the club, fil-

tered by the current year,

so everyone starts a new

year at 0 contacts.

peregrine falcon and a curlew and found the

nest (5 eggs) of a skylark. Biting insects were

around as well though!

Andy MM0GYG (07:40 to 15:20)

I was on from 0740z to 0840z and was oper-

ating SSB — I could only hear European sta-

tions and none of them could hear me. I final-

ly realised that there was a fault in the cable

going from my transceiver to the tuner and

although I was seeing SWR 1:1 on the trans-

ceiver it was up at 3:1 or more on the tuner —

not sure how to explain this. I replaced the

patch cable, tried a quick PSK contact, and all

seems well. I was on briefly in the afternoon,

10 minutes at 1510z, but it was sunny outside

and I lazed in the garden instead. I meant to

spend an hour or so in the evening but the

football was too good to miss.

Cephas MM0INS

Here it is Bob. 1 QSO in total

Robin MM0VTV

I had one QSO but I didn’t log it.....sorry

It is great to see that there is still interest in

the Activity Days although this month not

many on. I wonder if it was the after effects of

Museums on the Air weekend or that the

weather was nicer, I suspect the latter . It is

certainly helping in the sense that it is not

restricted to a few hours as it is allowing peo-

ple to come on and take part when time is

available to them. Let’s keep this up as this in

my opinion is what the hobby is all about.

With regard to modes being worked then out

of the 34 QSO’s made: SSB = 12 and Data = 22.

Data Modes seem to be winning hands down

at the moment. Best DX was on 4 watts using

JT9 Data mode working N6TE at a distance of

8379KMs. Made by Ron GM0NTL...well done

Ron. It will be interesting to see how the Ac-

tivity Days progress over the rest of the year

and all being well it might show some statis-

tics of how propagation varies. Hope everyone

will at least take part and submit their logs or

even if they don’t make any contacts tell us

about what it was like. After the year hopeful-

ly it will show us propagation trends, etc.

Good DXing in 2014.

Summary of who did what:

Total QSO’s = 88 17 = SSB, 0 = CW, 71 = DATA

Bob GM4UYZ: Data: 14 x 20M

Ron GM0NTL: Data: 6 x 20M, 1 x 15M

Andy MA0GYG: SSB: 2 x 15M

Data: 8 x 15M

Colwyn MM0YCJ SSB: 5 x 40M, 5 x 20M

Cephas MM0INS SSB: 1 x 15M

Thanks to those who came on it was much

appreciated.

Bob GM4UYZ


6

7

This year’s VHF Field Day was over the weekend of the 5th and

6th of July starting at 14:00 UST on Saturday the 5th until

14:00 UST on Sunday the 6th and as has been normal for a

good number of years now we leave on the Friday to travel to

our site to the south of Castle Douglas to start the “build” of

our contest station. John MM0CCC and I left at 12:00 but as

were not happy with the hired van we took it back for it to be

checked out. Once this was done we headed off and made our

way down the A702. On route we made contact with Geoff

MM5AHO and Ian GM0OQV and his passenger Phil GM0LIR

and as they were in front of us we told them just to continue

down to the site. Cephas MM0INS was due to arrive late even-

ing but due to work commitments he didn’t arrive until Satur-

day morning. Robin MM0VTV the last of the team arrived mid-

afternoon. Call offs were Colin GM0RLZ and Stevie MM0GZA as

both down with the flu.

On arriving at the site the weather was absolutely terrible and

was so bad we couldn’t even see the farmer’s house but as the

day went on it eventually cleared to give us a dry evening. We

located at our normal position where the van was sited. The

plan was to build the tent (thanks to Stewart 2M0SMN and the

Scout Group he runs for the use of their tent) to provide us

with some shelter and a dry working area if needed. The build

of the 6M, 2M and 70cms aerial systems was started with all

of them being built on poles. First disaster was that Geoff for-

got the brackets to join the two booms of the 70cms Yagi’s,

but as normal the issue was overcome with great intuition and

parts out the junk boxes. Once set up tea/supper was cooked

by Geoff and the build of the station came to an abrupt stop

and we all “laid” back and had a real enjoyable relaxing even-

ing.

On the Saturday after a hearty breakfast the station build re-

started and completed. Testing time came so it was time for

“Genevieve” our generator to be brought into action and glad

to say it run faultlessly this year. Issues we ended up with

were with the 70cms pre-amp. This year it was a new pre-amp

and after sorting out the correct fitment of the coaxial relays

we found that when switching in the pre-amp the gain was

amplifying the noise floor to the extent we could not hear any

signals. Decision was to run the 70cms station without the pre-

amp. To be honest a massive disappointment but as they say

that is how it goes. Geoff is taking everything back home and is

going to investigate and sort it all out…. Thanks Geoff from the

team.

How did we fair on each band with regard to the contest….

Weather conditions for the event was fantastic, I just wish we

could guarantee that every year… Radio conditions were really

flat on all bands which were a real disappointment. The talking

point for the weekend was from 6M and the D44TS (Cape

Verde Island) contact. We heard a few others with better serial

numbers than ours although the gap between their numbers

and ours was not as large as we have seen in past years. At

one point per kilometer we have some advantage, and this

year perhaps a weather advantage too.

If you are interested then there are many pictures on the

Club’s website www.cpsarc.com of this year’s event so thanks

for all those who sent them in. It makes a great reminder of a

great weekend, albeit also a challenging one. After any contest

we can see where we need to make improvements so these

are in the plans for next year so hopefully we will achieve

them.

HOW DID WE END – QSO and Points..... Well read the further

article in the newsletter on this....

Apart from the trials and tribulations of getting the station on

the air and although band conditions as mentioned before

were not great, most of all we had a great weekend. What

really was apparent is how well we work as a team. A fantastic

credit to everyone and something we should all be proud off.

That’s it then the end of another venture so looking forward to

our next…

MM0CPS/P from IO84BT

Well that is another VHF Field Day over and I must admit it for

me comes in as one of the best that I have been involved in. I

have been doing them since 1993 which I cannot believe is 21

years ago, oh how time flies. The company was fantastic with

great team work and lots of fun and laughs to go along with it.

We had a couple of technical hitches which considering the

amount of equipment is really not bad going, having said that

prefer none!! It certainly helps leaving home on the Friday

dinnertime to arrive onsite around about 15:00 and starting

the building of the site. This year the concentration was on

getting all the antennas built for all the bands on the Friday

evening which we achieved before we settled down to having

a “beer or two”. The Saturday morning the concentration was

now getting the shack up an operational again it came togeth-

er with ease. On the Sunday we had to drop the 6M mast and

install the 4M beam then in the shack remove the 6M station

and build the 4M station and again no problems.

If you are interested then there are many pictures on the

Club’s website www.cpsarc.com of this year’s event so thanks

for all those who sent them in. It makes a great reminder of a

great weekend, albeit also a challenging one.

For the technically minded this is what we put on each station:

6M:

Transmitter IC756 Pro III + Acom1000 Linear

Power 400W

Receiver IC756 Pro III

Antennas 2 x 5 Element DK7ZB Yagi’s (Stacked)

4M:

Transmitter FT847 + Linear Amp 4M Amplifier

Power 160W

Receiver FT847

Antenna 7 Element DK7ZB Yagi

2M:

Transmitter Yaesu FT847+LinearAmp2M Amplifier

Power 400W

Receiver Yaesu FT847 +Landweher Gasfet Preamplifier

Antennas 2 x 9 Element DK7ZB Yagi's (Stacked)

70cms:

Transmitter Kenwood TS2000 + Discovery 70cms Amplifier

Power 400W

Receiver Kenwood TS2000

Antenna 2 x 23 Element DK7ZB Yagi’s (Stacked)

So how did we do? Well the following are the square maps

worked for each of the bands and finally what score was sub-

mitted for the contest. I must admit it looks really impressive

this year. Well done everyone involved.

70cms Squares Worked 2m Squares worked

4m Squares worked 6m Squares worked

8

9

Score submitted…

Contest : RSGB VHF FD Contest

Callsign : MM0CPS/P

Mode : MIXED

Category : Multi Operator - Multi

Transmitter (MM)

Band(s) : All bands (AB)

Class : High Power (HP)

Locator : IO84BT

Operating time : 14h18

BAND QSO DUP LOC POINTS AVG PTS AVG DIS

--------------------------------------------

50 96 1 26 33432 348.3 349.7

70 68 0 20 20850 306.6 306.6

144 200 4 36 61927 309.6 315.9

432 60 0 18 17000 283.3 283.3

--------------------------------------------

TOTAL 424 5 100 133209 314.2 317.5

============================================

TOTAL SCORE : 133 209

Dupes are not included in QSO counts neither avg calculations

Operators : GM4UYZ MM0CCC MM0VTV MM5AHO GM0OQV MM0INS GM0LIR

BEST DX, LOCATOR and DISTANCE

50MHz D44TS HK74SX 4773Kms

70MHz G5LK/P JO01QD 539Kms

144MHz F6APE IN97QI 860Kms

432MHz G5LK/P JO01QD 539Kms

I think Geoff MM5AHO comment from last year summed up our weekend quite nicely by saying:

Thanks to all who attended for a great weekend.

Good weather (a real plus) Good company (without which no fun) Good kit (which performed) Good site (as ever) Good contacts

Thanks too, to readers here who called us and contributed points.

How we have fared over the years since we starting going to IO84BT

In 2010 we had to abandon the contest on the Sunday morn-ing due to adverse weather conditions.

All QSO’s shown were what was submitted before adjudica-tion.

Red Boxes show the most ever QSO’s made for that Band and on what year.

That’s it then the end of another venture so looking forward to our next…

Bob GM4UYZ

Year 50MHz

QSO 50MHz

Points 70MHz

QSO 70MHz

Points 144MHz

QSO 144MHz

Points 432MHz

QSO 432MHz

Points

2005 237 223567 85 22305 324 117339 115 36210

2006 170 127763 88 28312 414 134698 92 23778

2007 211 195389 64 22676 295 94731 74 20736

2008 132 83573 68 18964 213 62491 65 17152

2009 218 190166 75 22027 400 164165 67 17745

2010 174 123245 0 0 252 75804 70 18104

2011 145 68676 112 33182 363 106572 82 21759

2012 104 29564 80 24712 200 62713 61 17077

2013 195 58756 89 25684 346 130545 96 33139

2014 96 33432 68 20850 200 61927 60 17000

Thanks to a chance conversation with Cephas MM0INS he said

that he can use the Function keys to play his FT2000 saved

messages stored in the radio’s Digital Voice Keyer (DVK).

As I have a Kenwood TS2000 and an internal DVK installed

(note: it is an option that needs to be bought and installed in

the radio) I wondered if I could also use similar WinTest scripts

to assign the Function Keys to play the stored messages,

avoiding the need to use an external voice keyer.

The answer is YES.

Read further on to what the actual scripts are.

Note: These scripts are allowing the use of using the Function

Keys but the downside is that PTT has to be pressed first be-

fore pressing the Function Key. At present there are investiga-

tions being done to try and program when the Function Key is

pressed it will automatically PTT, send the message and drop

the PTT. If a resolution is found then a further document will

be published in the newsletter with the new scripts.

OBTAINING THE FT2000 Scripts

Load up WinTEST then if you go to

Help, Reference manual, and type in User Scripts in the search

box and hit search

The sixth entry down should be "LUA user contributed"

Click that and you will see the script I am using for the FT-

2000.

Below from the README file

This file http://www.kkn.net/~n6tv/FT2000scripts.zip con-

tains some LUA Scripts that may work only with the Yaesu FT-

2000/FT-2000D, and only with Win-Test 4.2 or later

Suggested Key Assignment

RITUp.wts - Move RIT of active radio up 10 Hz Shift-Up Arrow

RITDown.wts - Move RIT of active down down 10 Hz Shift-Down Arrow

ClearRIT.wts - Clear RIT of active radio Shift-Right Arrow

SwapVFO.wts - Swap VFO A/B

VFOAtoB.wts - Copy VFO A -> B Scroll Lock

PlayF1.wts - Play Yaesu DVS Message 1 F1




PlayHalt.wts - Halt DVS playback Esc

Installation:

Place all script files in the {Appdata}\Scripts directory:

Windows XP:

"C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Win-

Test\scripts\"

Windows Vista:

C:\ProgramData\Win-Test\scripts\

By default, these folders may be hidden. You can view the

scripts folder via the

Win-Test menu:

File | Explore | /scripts directory...

To unhide all folders on Windows XP:

1. Double Click the My Computer icon

2. Click Tools | Folder Options

3. Click the "View" tab

4. Under "Advanced settings"

Hidden files and folders

Show hidden files and folders (click to activate)

5. Click the [Apply] button then [OK]

To unhide all folders on Windows Vista or Windows 7

1. Start, Control Panel

2. Classic View: Double click on the Folder Options icon

and go to step 3 above

-or-

Home View: Click on the Appearance and Personalization

Link, then click

"Show Hidden Files or Folders" and go to step 4 above

Usage:

To assign a script to a function key:

1. In Win-Test select: Tools | Scripts manager

2. Select the script (single-click)

3. Click [Properties]

4. Click [Define...]

5. Press the function key you wish to assign

6. Press [OK]

To unassign a script from a function key, repeat steps 1-3.

4. Press [Delete]

10

11

To invoke a script from a CW or RTTY message, use the script

name with a # as prefix, e.g.

1. In Win-test, type MSGS in the callsign field and press [Enter]

2. Program the message, e.g.

[Plus]: $CORRECT TU $MYCALL $CR #CLEARRIT

Note: These scripts were adapted for the FT-2000 by Ray Fallen,

ND8L. The above information was provided by Bob, N6TV

[email protected]

KENWOOD TS-2000

I have adapted the PlayF1.wts, PlayF2.wts, PlayF3.wts and the

PlayHalt.wts scripts from how they are used on the Yaesu

FT2000. When playing the messages on the TS2000 and to

actually transmit them then the PTT must be pressed first be-

fore the F1 or F2 or F3 keys are pressed.

Using the F1 Key to play DVK Message 1

YAESU FT2000 Script

-- Script to play FT-2000/FT-2000 DVR ---> F1-Ch1 <---

-- Written by N6TV, 10 Oct 2009

-- Updated by ND8L, 19 Nov 2009

-- 11 Nov 2009 - Only use DVR for phone contacts

if (wtQso:IsModePhone()) then -- If SSB or FM contact

wtRadio:Send("PB01;") -- Tap F2 button on FT-2000

return -1 -- No further keystroke processing

else -- Else, not phone

return 0 -- Normal keystroke processing

end

KENWOOD TS2000 Script

-- Script to play Kenwood TS2000 DVR ---> F1 Ch-1 <---

-- Written by GM4UYZ, 26 APR 2014

-- F1 key toggles message on and off

-- Only use DVR for phone contacts


wtRadio:Send("PB1;") -- Tap F1 button on TS2000




end

-- If we're in run mode, save the new CQ frequency via Alt-F5

if wtQso:IsOperatingModeRun() then

wtApp:SendAltKey("F5")

end

Using the F2 Key to play DVK Message 2 & 3

The scripts are the same with the exception that you change the pa-

rameters as follows

YAESU FT2000 Script



Using the ESC Key to Stop DVK Messages

YAESU FT2000 Script

-- FT-2000/FT-2000D Script to halt Voice Memory Playback

-- Written by N6TV, 10 Oct 2009

-- Updated for FT-2000 by ND8L, 20 Nov 2009

-- 11 Nov 2009 - Only use DVR for phone contacts


wtRadio:Send("PB00;") -- Send command to halt FT-2000

DVS




end

--

-- Note: CAT function PB00 or PB05 will stop playback.

-- Alternatively, pressing the F key corresponding to the message

being played will also stop the Voice Memory message.

-- In Win-Test: " Tools > Script Edit " to map this script to the Esc Key

--

-- ND8L, 20 Nov 2009

KENWOOD TS2000 Script

-- Kenwood TS2000 Script to halt Voice Memory Playback

-- Written by GM4UYZ, 26 APR 2014


wtRadio:Send("PB0;") -- Send command to halt FT-2000

DVS




end

Bob GM4UYZ


12

I liked the idea of using the internal DVK in the same way that

the relatively expensive MFJ Voice Keyer works.

When I heard Bob GM4UYZ discussing using the modified

scripts shown here, I decided to look into them a bit further as

his method of holding down PTT to transmit seemed a bit

cumbersome and having got used to how the MFJ voice keyer

works in the club contest stations where all you do is press the

Function key and the message plays while keying the radio.

Playing scripts from inside WinTest is all very well but this

doesn’t give much control when trying to experiment so I

opened a terminal program which could talk to the serial port

on my laptop (in my case PuTTY) and tried entering the Ken-

wood commands directly, this worked a treat.

Typing ‘PB1;’ started the message playing and ‘PB0;’ would

abort it but as Bob found, the TS-2000 does not turn on the

transmitter while a message is being played—a strange design

choice by Kenwood.

A little research showed I could send ‘TX;’ to turn the trans-

mitter on and ‘RX;’ to turn it off again, the equivalent of press-

ing SEND on the radio.

Hand typing the sequence ‘TX;PB1;RX;’ worked fine, the mes-

sage played out to air. However, when I inserted that se-

quence into a WinTest script I found that it was sent too quick-

ly and the RX; command turned off the transmitter almost

immediately leaving the message playing on the radio only.

How then could I delay WinTest sending the RX; command

until the message is finished?

We could use the WinTest wtSleep(time) command where

‘time’ is in milliseconds but we don’t know how long a mes-

sage is and the command freezes the entire program while

message completes, not ideal in contest scenarios.

The best alternative I’ve found for the TS-2000 is to turn VOX

on and play the message, this returns the radio to RX when

the message finishes. You can then insert the VOX off com-

mand ‘VX0;’ into the abort script which runs when the ESC key

is pressed.

You just have to remember not to curse at the radio or mum-

ble to yourself while the message is playing as the mic is live

too!

This allows you to press F1 (or 2 or 3) play a message and then

hit ESC to release VOX and continue with the QSO or press F1

again as required.

So the commands to insert into the scripts are as follows

To play a message wtRadio:Send("VX1;PB1;")

To abort a message and release VOX

wtRadio:Send("PB0;VX0;")

What is really needed is a WinTest function to read the reply

the radio returns when a command like PB; is sent—the radio

returns ‘PB1’ until the message is finished then returns ‘PB0’

and use that to determine when the RX command can be sent

but unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be available.

John MM0JXI

-- Script to play Kenwood TS2000 DVR ---> F1 Ch-1 <---

-- Written by GM4UYZ, 26 APR 2014, modified by MM0JXI



wtRadio:Send("TX;PB1;")




end

-- KENWOOD TS2000 Script to halt Voice Memory Playback

-- Written by GM4UYZ, 26 APR 2014, modified by MM0JXI



wtRadio:Send("PB0;VX0;") -- Send command to halt TS-2000 DVS




end

13

1. Which waveform in the diagram shows the audio

signal?

a. Waveform 1.

b. Waveform 2.

c. Waveform 3.

d. None of them

2. Which stage of the transmitter ensures the radio signal

is of suitable power level to be transmitted?

a. Modulator.

b. RF power amplifier.

c. Oscillator.

d. Audio amplifier

3. The most likely place to find a tuning control in the

block diagram of a radio receiver shown, is in

a. Block 1

b. Block 2

c. Block 3

d. Block 4

4. Which plug, in the drawing, should be used to connect

coaxial feeder to the transmitter output?

A

B

C

D

5. Which one of the following antennas has radials?

a. Dipole.

b. End fed.

c. Ground plane.

d. Yagi

6. A dummy load will

a. radiate equally in all directions

b. only radiate in one direction

c. increase the e.r.p of an antenna

d. not radiate very much at all

7. The reason radio waves get weaker further from the

transmitting antenna is that

a. the extra distance travelled absorbs energy from the

wave

b. they spread out over a larger area

c. most of the signal has been picked up by other aerials

d. the ionosphere reflects the signals away from the

receiver

8. The main mode of propagation for long distance

contacts (DX) on the h.f. bands is by

a. ionospheric reflection

b. ground wave

c. meteor scatter

d. direct wave

9. Electro Magnetic compatibility is

a. having all your equipment made by the same company

b. the avoidance of interference between various

equipments

c. the cause of television interference (TVI)

d. the result of using too much power

10. Which mode of transmission is the WORST for causing

EMC problems?

a. SSB

b. Data modes

c. FM

d. CW

General correspondence,

training and contest

entries

Bob Glasgow

7 Castle Terrace

Port Seton

East Lothian

EH32 0EE

Phone: 01875 811723

E-mail:

[email protected]

HF Contests

Cambell Stevenson

[email protected]

VHF Contests

John MacLean

[email protected]

Club Tables

Bob Purves

[email protected]

Contest Reports

Robin Farrer

[email protected]

Newsletter, website,

event calendar

John Innes

[email protected]

1 August 2014 Club Night

8 August 2014 Mini Rally in Port Seton Community Centre

12 August 2014 Perseids Meteor Shower

13 August 2014 Activity Day

16/17 August 2014 Lighthouses Weekend GB2LBN from Barns Ness Lighthouse

20 August 2014 Advanced Course Exam

30 August 2014 Newsletter Deadline

5 September 2014 Club Night

17 September 2014 Activity Day

26 September 2014 2nd 144MHz DF Night

27 September 2014 Newsletter Deadline

3 October 2014 Club Night

12 October 2014 Advanced Course Exam

15 October 2014 Activity Day

17 October 2014 Video Night

19 October 2014 Galashiels Rally

25/26 October 2014 CQWW SSB Contest—GM2T

1 November 2014 Newsletter deadline

7 November 2014 Club Night

14 November 2014 Leonids Meteor Shower

19 November 2014 Activity Day

21 November 2014 Club Talk

Answers from August 2014 newsletter “Test Your Knowledge”.

1A, 2B, 3A, 4A, 5C, 6D, 7B, 8A, 9B, 10A

Rank Callsign 80 60 40 30 20 17 15 12 10 6 4 2 70 DXCC Slots Range

1 MM0GPZ 45 0 17 2 67 15 64 24 63 2 0 5 5 146 309 9 yrs

2 MA0DXH 3 0 71 0 95 16 80 1 50 0 0 0 0 140 316 11 yrs 3 MM0GZZ 1 0 44 31 47 63 30 1 61 14 0 1 0 118 293 4 yrs 4 M0RNR 0 0 0 0 1 10 13 5 99 4 0 0 0 110 132 15 yrs

5 MM0XXW 0 0 39 31 57 35 41 41 49 2 0 0 0 83 295 8 yrs 6 MM0INS 3 0 50 0 33 7 52 0 7 0 0 0 0 81 152 2 yrs

7 MM2N 33 0 2 0 42 0 45 0 32 0 0 0 0 76 154 2 yrs

8 GM4IKT 0 0 0 0 21 4 23 0 25 0 0 0 0 59 73 10 yrs 9 GB2MOF 0 0 12 0 49 0 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 58 79 13 yrs

10 GM4UYZ 6 0 1 0 32 1 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 51 75 34 yrs 11 MM5AHO 14 0 44 0 21 0 1 1 7 0 0 0 0 47 88 19 yrs 12 GM2T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 0 0 0 36 36 15 yrs

13 2M0BEC 1 0 12 0 28 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 43 8 yrs

14 MM0WXT 0 0 6 0 11 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 26 0 yrs 15 MM0CPS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 5 10 6 11 30 16 yrs

16 MM0SNK 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 yrs

Elements 201408

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