Our next meeting is January 10th. Hope to see you then!

Last Thursday was our annual club Christmas dinner.  It was very well attended and as is usual we used it as a way to present the winners of the club competitions their certificates.  Congratulations to all who won and thanks to everyone who took part.

If you were a winner but unable be presented your certificate, it will be presented in the new year.

I was also advised the Andrew CJE helped two more hams through their foundation exams.  Congratulations to Chris M7CKB and Peter M7KAV.

Our next meeting is January 10th. Hope to see you then!

Don’t forget, this coming Thursday (6th Dec) is the Members Christmas Quiz night.

Get your brain batteries charged and a good refreshing night’s sleep on Wednesday !!!

• • The quiz is a TEAM event – no individuals will be identified.
  • Teams of 4 or 5 are best.
  • We start Round 1 at 20:00.

Get in early enough to get yourself into or to form a winning team.

Mince pies available at half time.

A quick reminder for the following week (13th December) is the Members Christmas Dinner. We are meeting at 19.30 at the Harvester, Blunsdon.

See you there in both cases.

Den

Dom posted on Facebook:

Absolutely chuffed! This evening is club night at the Swindon & District Amateur Radio Club. Like most Thursday evenings we set up a modest station to operate, just a Kenwood TS590S and a 40m inverted ‘V’ about 7m off the ground at the apex. Several members of the club operated on 40m both on SSB and CW using the club call G8SRC. I decided to jump on the radio at around 21:15 and promptly worked Greece. I then tried to work Israel for about 10 minutes but failed. I tuned up the band and heard VK6APZ (Australia); he was quite busy, but my persistence and waiting paid off and I finally worked Peter using the club call G8SRC. I then let him work a few more stations before going back and working him with my own callsign, 2E0WHQ. Absolutely fantastic to work him twice and set a new distance record for the club! A great night of radio at the Swindon & District Amateur Radio Club. Thanks to Philip Bond for providing the inverted ‘V’ antenna for the evening and Jonathan Hobbs for helping set up (sorry you didn’t get to work VK6APZ)

Photo credits: Phil Bond.

Just a quick reminder that we are back at Pine Trees from this week now that the summer holidays are over. Hope to see you there.

Here are a few images from our last meeting at Pinetrees before our summer break.

Please remember we are meeting at Barbury Castle throughout August. You’re welcome to bring your radio kit and operate /p.

We came 5th in the recent RSGB 6m Trophy. The most important thing was there were zero logging issues. Well done chaps!

This local rally is being held on Sunday 29th July 2018 at Kington Langley Village Hall & Fields, Church Road, Kington Langley, Chippenham, SN15 5NJ.

Andrzej, M1SKI is currently in Poland and has set up skeds on 3.707MHz at 0800BST and 7.096MHz at 2100BST.

He welcomes calls from club members and we think he is operating as SP/M1SKI.

Please let us know if you manage to work him.

Throughout August we will be meeting out and about. We are meeting in the car park at Barbury Castle. If you don’t know where it is and you have a GPS… 51.483822, -1.777436

Barbury Castle is an Iron Age hill fort situated in Wiltshire, England. It is one of several such forts found along the ancient Ridgeway route. The site, which lies within the Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has been managed as a country park by Swindon Borough Council since 1971. It is situated on Barbury Hill, a local vantage point, which, under ideal weather conditions, commands a view across to the Cotswolds and the River Severn. It has two deep defensive ditches and ramparts. The Old Ridgeway runs close by and the modern Ridgeway crosses through the castle. In the surrounding area are to be found round barrows, Celtic field systems and 18th-19th Century flint workings.

See you there.