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Martin Atherton G3ZAY gave us an interesting talk on the RSGB IOTA program. Martin spoke about the history of the program, from its humble beginnings to what today is a international awards program with some 1,200 separate islands to work. The IOTA program is today run by the RSGB and further details can be found at  http://www.rsgbiota.org

Martin also shared some fascinating stories and pictures of his visits to   OX3 - Ammassalik Island, Greenland, VE8 King William Island, Nunavut and Monhegan Island & Star Island.

The club would like to congratulate the following for passing their exams today!

Foundation: Derek, Tony, Spencer, Michael and Lee.
Intermediate: Sukhdev and Martin.

Well done guys!

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Just an update to the previous post below, ARISsat-1 is no longer operational as it re-entered the earths atmosphere this morning. More information can be read here.

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At the time of writing ARISSat-1 is losing 3.6km per day from it's orbit, this rate of decay means it is due to burn up in the atmosphere sometime this week.

Using the satellite tracking and SSTV reception features from within the Ham Radio Deluxe suite of programs this morning I caught this SSTV picture.

The downlink was on 145.950 fm and giving the TTL predicted for ARISSat-1 there are only a few more days for others to receive SSTV from this bird.

Receiving the pictures are simple, all you need to do is to tune your radio to 145.950 fm when the bird is overhead (see here) for the next pass over your postcode and SSTV software such as DM780, MMSTV etc.

You will also hear a CW ident and greetings messages in 12 different languages.

Arrisat will issue a certificate for anyone who receives the SSTV pictures, the satellite telemetry broadcast or hears the "secret word" broadcast during a pass

Details of the certificates are available here, Tracking is available here and Roland, PY4ZBZ has lots of photos and telemetry on his website.

Just a reminder to all members that the Constructors Cup takes place next Wednesday (30th November). The club has 2 cups, one is the novice cup, for (M3/M6/2EØ) and the other is the advanced cup (for MØ/GØ etc.)

If you have any electronics / radio equipment you have built and want to take part, be sure to bring it along!

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Back from the Pacific, our intrepid cameraman makes a welcome return from filming the story of one of the world’s most successful DXpeditions to date, T32C. Fred, G3SVK, a keen DX chaser and member of the Havering and District Amateur Radio Club has spent several weeks with the Five Star DXers Association (FSDXA) on the island of Kiritimati (Christmas Island), capturing all the excitement and nail-biting moments as the team reaches a world record number of QSOs.

Fred will share his story with the club on Wednesday November 16th with photos and video clips.

More exam success this week.

The club congratulates Sudekh for passing his foundation exam and Bill for passing his intermediate exam. Well done lads!

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A perfect day for some kite flying! Warm october sunshine & a steady wind on a pleasant Sunday afternoon prompted Dave, M0TAZ to do some portable operating from Hornchurch Country Park using a long wire supported by a kite. We worked close on 50 stations from all around the UK & Europe.

Operating equipment: Icom 7000 powered by a 65Ah leisure battery, RF around 60w, 80m Long wire antenna kite supported at ~60 metres.

This week, Dave M0TAZ gave a talk to the club members about contesting. The presentation went on for an hour and was very informative, especially to the new club members.

The presentation slides, which provided the basis of the talk, are available as a PDF document →

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In this months RadCom, Dave M0TAZ and John M0UKD published an article about their SOTA activation ofSkiddaw in the lake district (G/LD-004). The photo on the front page was taken by Dave, of John holding the 2m 5 element beam and shows the fabulous view looking north.

The full article can be read on pages 50 and 51. A PDF version of the article can be read here.
(Made available with permission from RadCom)

On 18th and 19th June 2011 Havering and District ARC (G4HRC) once again took part in the 50 MHz Trophy Cup. We used a ICOM 7400 and 300w from a Hunter Six Linear Amp into a 6 element beam. The magic band once again came alive supporting contacts into Europe and beyond. We did hear stations from the East coast USA but the propagation was just not right to make the QSO. We worked 194 contacts from 31 countries,our best DX was over 3,000 km into 5B4AIF in KM64.

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Congratulations to Dave for passing his foundation exam tonight!

Anyone who worked any of the Mills stations that were operated by the club qualify for a certificate of competence. Just submit your log entries to G3SVK (Awards Manager) and make a donation of £3 to the club for funds.

Photo: Steve Woodmore M0GXN Receives his Windmill Certificate

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The club once again operated three windmills in the 'Mills On The Air' event this year.

The mills we operate are:
GB2UW : Upminster Windmill
GB4MW : Mountnessing Windmill
GB2ARW : Aythorpe Roding Windmill

The club worked around 150 stations on VHF and 370 stations on HF from the three windmills. Some video is available from GB2UW & GB4MW.

Dave M0TAZ gave a presentation this week on WSPR. Unfortunately, there was an issue with the projector, so it was not possible to present the slides. The presentation slides can be viewed as a PDF file to the right. There is also a table comparing Daves G5RV with his 10m vertical.

The Five Star DXers Association (FSDXA) has organised a DXpedition to Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the Northern Line Islands, a part of the Republic of Kiribati and will operate using the call sign T32C between 28 September and 26 October.

The team will arrive on the island on the afternoon of Wednesday 28th September 2011 and depart on the morning of Wednesday 26th October 2011. Allowing for set up and take down of the stations, operations should extend over four full weekends.

Fred, G3SVK from the Havering & District ARC is going as the official videographer and will be producing the DVD for the expedition. Fred is a keen DXer and CW operator and also hopes to be involved with some operating when he is not filming. Please listen out for them. Visit their website for all the information. www.T32C.com

It’s been agreed by Tony G1HIG the repeater keeper and the Radio Society of Great Britain, that RSGB News service GB2RS is now going to be regularly broadcast on GB3OK in Orpington from Sunday 20th March at 20:00 hours and every Sundays thereafter by Steve Woodmore (2E0SPW) which is intended for all radio amateurs and short-wave listeners.

GB3OK is on 70cm Output 430.900 MHz and located in Orpington around 600 feet ASL the repeaters provide good coverage over must of London, South East England and Essex.

Thanks to Elaine Richards, G4LFM, for giving a talk to the members of HDARC on the RSGB members magazine, RadCom.

Elaine gave a very interesting insight into how the magazine is put together, the challenges they face and the history of the magazine, which was enjoyed by all the members who attended.

Dave M0TAZ and John M0UKD gave a presentation on their recent trip to the Lake District and their experiences activating Englands largest mountain, Scafell Pike. The presentation slides can be viewed as a PDF file.

Congratulations to Oliver, G3TPJ for winning the Constructors Cup 2010 with his home made HF tranciever.

Photos from the evening can be seen here.

Fred G3SVK has compiled a 44 minute long video of some of the clubs events. Head over to the videos page to view!

Ian Wilkes, chairman of the Havering Museum Ltd came to Havering DARC to give us an interesting talk on the history of Havering and the recent addition of a Museum in Romford. Ian added "Havering is full of rich history, with the unique status of having been a Royal Liberty"

The museum's collections include medieval silver pennies, 19th century weights and measures, clay pipes sold by local pubs, Blacksmiths' tools, a 1930s wedding dress, sports trophies and World War Two mementoes. Objects in the museum are separated into themes including farming, transport and childhood and there are five pods telling the stories of Havering-atte-Bower, Hornchurch, Romford, Rainham and Upminster and their surrounding areas. http://www.haveringmuseum.org.uk/

Once again we took part in the SSB field day. The last main event of the year for the club. Much fun was had by all and the weather was kind to us. A brief overview of the weekend will be written by Dave M0TAZ here soon. For now there are some photos in the gallery!

Many thanks to Stan Ames G4OAV for giving the club a talk on Secret WW2 Radio Stations on Wednesday.

It was very interesting and enjoyed by all.

Click Here to view some images below

The club took part in this years VHF National Field Day over the weekend. The weather was excellent and was enjoyed by the many club members that attended the event. We operated 6m, 2m and 70cm. Some good conditions on 6m during the Saturday afternoon, but DX was less in the evening. The weekend was very enjoyable.

Thank you to all who attended and all the stations worked. Some photos are availble in our photo gallery...

Havering Radio Club once again operated three windmills in this years 'Windmills On The Air' special event weekend (8/9th May 2010). The windmills were:
GB2UW (Upminster Windmill) Map
GB4MW (Mountnessing Windmill) Map
GB2ARW (Aythorpe Roding) Map
More information can be found by clicking on each callsign, which will take you to each QRZ page.

Read an article from Jim M0MAC who was at the Upminster Windmill - Click Here to view below.

Dennis was an only child. His interest in radio started early in life. He later became a radio presenter for FBS (Forces Broadcasting Service), BBC, LBC and more recently the local radio station, Phoenix FM in Brentwood. His main interest was in the audio side of broadcasting. Dennis produced many radio dramas which were available to download from his HOSIPROG website. He was involved in hospital radio at Basildon and Harold Wood back in the early 80s and later became the Secretary and anchorman at the Essex charity, Eastward Hospital Television. His main love was Folk Music to which he presented the BBC Essex programme called “Essex Folk” in the 90s.

Dennis could also be seen walking across the sets of “The Bill”, “Eastenders”, “Lovejoy” and other popular TV programmes. His interviewing techniques were legendary and his keen interest in photography won him several awards. Dennis also held an amateur radio callsign G1NGO and could often be heard on the weekly club radio net on 2 metres. Dennis was also a keen member of the Havering & District Amateur Radio Club.

Dennis had many friends and acquaintances across many spheres of life. He will be sadly missed. He leaves a legacy behind that will be hard to follow. May he rest in peace.

Written by Fred Curtis

BBC Essex News: Tributes for former BBC Essex presenter Dennis Rookard:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/essex/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_8560000/8560266.stm

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The 2009 constructors cup was held on 2nd December with entries from Oliver G3TPJ, John MØUKD, Alan G3RJI and John G6SPH. There was some impressive equipment on show. It was won by John MØUKD with his small HF linear for the FT-817. John now has a nice bottle of sherry to enjoy over the Christmas period thanks to Derek G3OBX! There are now some images in the gallery.

Thanks to everyone that helped out at this weekends SSB Field Day, and everyone we worked! There was a good amount of club members attended and the weather was good to us! Some photos are online here, and a video edited by Fred G3SVK can be seen on the video's page.

It's with great regret that we have to announce the sad passing of Dave, M3KNL after a short illness. Our condolences to his family. Dave will be sorely missed by all the club members. Dave's Quiz Nights at the club are to be carried on each year in remembrance.

The funeral was held at Chadwell St Mary's Cemetery on Monday, 15th June

A big thank you to all those that came along and helped set-up, operate and pack away the 50MHz Field Day this weekend. The 'magic band' came alive with some good openings to Portugal and most of Europe.

Some pictures are available.

Once again, we activated three mills for the 'Windmills On The Air' weekend 9/10th May 2009, Mountnessing, Aythorpe Roding and Upminster.

Some photos are available online, and can be found here.

Havering and District Amateur Radio Club is over 40 years old. We have been running the special call GB4HRC in 2007/8 to celebrate. Further information is available from qrz.com, qsl is direct via SAE or the RSGB bureau.

Some pictures are available here from the events.

Thanks to John Alexander G7GCK for giving a wonderful and very interesting talk and display of wartime coding machines and how they changed over the years. He brought along many machines from different years and countries, including one of the infamous enigma machines.

Havering and District ARC in the news. Read the article from the lifestyle section of our local paper, the Romford Recorder about our president, Oliver G3TPJ.

Dave, MØTAZ has wrote a small document on working QRP portable on 5MHz

• 1st

Informal Club Evening

• 15th

Informal Club Evening

• 22nd

"The "B" in Electronics" by Ollie G3TPJ

• 29th

Informal Club Evening

• 7th

"QSL cards and QSLing" by Dave M0TAZ

• 14th

Informal Club Evening

• 21st

"Ham Radio Olympics" by Roger Western G3SXW

• 28th

Informal Club Evening

• 4th

Second business meeting (Q1 Review)

• 11th

Informal Club Evening

• 18th

"RAYNET" - an overview. By Paul Harrison (G8MJH) & Phil Williams (G6AQP)

• 25th

Informal Club Evening

• Mondays 8pm

Monday Natter Net
145.525 MHz* FM

• Thursdays 8pm

Havering Radio Club Net
145.525 MHz* FM

• Fridays 8pm

Friday Natter Net
145.525 MHz* FM

• Saturdays 2pm

Top Band Afternoon Net
160 Metres (1910kHz)
LSB