Announcements

UKSMG Copied 3C warbling video at 1600z yesterday into GJ,not very strong but there.
GEOFF G4ICD 15 May, 2008

tnx interesting info Ken, IGO... 73
COSTAS, SV1DH 14 May, 2008

Interesting evening last night. Saw a few reports of UB stations into OE etc - they were also into me for about an hour, up to s9 and plus - KN87 and KN66 2800+ kms. - nice to see the chordal e's back. Also LZ and Z3 and far SP in as well. Very few qrv either end. Also noticeable how selective the reception was. I also took the opportunity during the time I was qrv in the afternoon to use elevation to try and locate the probable position of the reflecting area - I checked siganls as close as JO60 - in all cases the siganls faded as the elevation went up. Still early days so no conclusion - but thought it may be of ineterst to some of you.
KEN, G4IGO 14 May, 2008

Hundreds of QSO's today, 4 to 6 a minute at one time, I/EA/IS0/F/HB9/DL/PA/OM/OK/YO/YT/E74/HA/SP/ and many more, many new op's wanting GJ, QSL information is: Via G4ICD, Geoff Brown, 17, Grove Gdns, Sholing, Southampton, SO19 9QZ with IRC and envelope, QSLs are available ONLY direct...........this is also the address for future Vietnam/Malaysia QSLs when callsigns known
GEOFF G4ICD 13 May, 2008

Caught about an hour this evening but nothing special on 50MHz. 9A and S51 were booming on 70Mhz. Roll on Es to the South West and West.
ROBBIE, EI2IP 13 May, 2008

Good afternoon of E's today. From IO91xr, I had 68 QSO's into 14 countries and 39 locators. ODX was YO3HFY (KN34bj) at 2096Km. Most signals were S9, but with very rapid QSB at times. No real DX, but sure is good to hear some activity on 6m...
STEVE, M5BXB 13 May, 2008

Mega Es on 6 metres. S9+ signals from EA, EA6, SP OK, HA, 9A, YU, I, IS0, etc etc.
DAVID, BRS25429 13 May, 2008

Sporadic-E opening on 6m. Best estimated MUF=74 MHz above KN04 For details please visit [link=http://www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php?Frec=50&Map=EU]VHFDX.NET[/link]
DAVE, G8FXM 13 May, 2008

Pictures from the CY0X DX-Pedition now available in our image gallery courtesy of Pete VE3IKV and team [link=/e107_plugins/autogallery/autogallery.php?show=DX-pedition%27s%2FCY0X]click here to view[/link].
DAVE, G8FXM 13 May, 2008

Posted obo GW0GPQ E's [ by Paul, GW0GPQ on Mon 12th May 08, 9:10pm] Good E openings over the last few days hear in West Wales. May 9th CU3EQ HM68KP, May 10 couple of CT1'S IN50 and May 11 good cluster of EA's...lomg may it go on. Working today so wonder if any activity? Paul GW0GPQ.
TREV G3ZYY 12 May, 2008

FJ, ST. BARTHELEMY Harry, AC8G, will be active as FJ/AC8G between May 22-27th. Activity will be on 160-6 meters. Harry states, "Please avoid asking for band changes, schedules and other interruptions especially if I am running well. Exceptions would be if 12, 10 or 6 meters are open to nearby islands." QSL via AC8G. QSLs from stateside SASE ony. Others SASE or bureau OK. Do not send cards to FJ Bureau. A week or so after returning home, Harry hopes to have his log posted to LoTW.
DAVID, BRS25429 12 May, 2008

Es are back on 6 metres. 73 David
DAVID, BRS25429 12 May, 2008

CY0X SABLE ISLAND UPDATE: We have now added the 6m Es propagation data charts between CY0 and Europe to the CY0X web page ( www.cy0x.com ). The bar graph data for each country shows the number of Es QSOs during our operating period of June 25th through July 7th over the period 1999-2007 on the left hand side, and the UTC time on the bottom. We hope this may be of interest to those trying to work us. Many thanks to Adrian, EA5/G0KOM our talented webmaster! 73, Pete VE3IKV, Dick K5AND, and Chris W3CMP
PETE, VE3IKV 12 May, 2008

Thanks Dave,will do
BILL, GW3MFY 11 May, 2008

Hi Bill, just set the nickname colourisation to black only. If you are still seeing coloured callsigns, just hover your mouse over the small icons below the message input area, the second of these should not be greyed out, if it is just click on it once so it appears in full colour.
DAVE, G8FXM 10 May, 2008

Site loads OK here Adrian, no more than a couple of seconds and the same when I refresh or change site area. Bill, I agree about the colour scheme in the chat pages. I'll see if I can do something with it a bit later else will send a plea to Dave.
TREV G3ZYY 10 May, 2008

Anyone else experiencing this site loading really slowly, been like it for me since yesterday but no problems for any other sites
EA5/G0KOM, ADRIAN 10 May, 2008

Pale colours difficult to read,yellow on white background particularly, on chat page Dave,its the eyes again.
BILL, GW3MFY 10 May, 2008

Now that the Es season is beginning, dont forget th check out out [link=/e107_plugins/phpfreechat_menu/index.php]Sked page[/link].
DAVE, G8FXM 9 May, 2008

Hi All. Just a note to say that Noctlucient cloud season has started - see http://www.spaceweather.com/, the earliest reported sighting so far. Rememeber that NASA etc wouldnt spends millions of pounds ($) on a satetille to study them just for fun - and we can be a part of that study by reporting / observing any occurances - and helping to justify our usefulness as Amatuers. Good seeing.
KEN, G4IGO 8 May, 2008

NASA Science News for May 6, 2008. In September 1859, the sun unleashed a solar flare so intense it was visible to the unaided human eye. A ferocious geomagnetic storm ensued in which Northern Lights descended as far south as Cuba, the Bahamas and Hawaii. Meanwhile, telegraph engineers disconnected their batteries and powered communications by electricity from the auroras! Could it happen again? Read today's story to find out. Full story at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/06may_carringtonflare.htm?list1073151
&QUOT;MATT&QUOT; OZ6OM 7 May, 2008

Back in Montserrat 6th - 19th June. Re-activating VP2MDD primarily on Six (also 80M / 10M). Hoping volcano remains quiet and C&W's new broadband service will enable monitoring of 6M activity.
GRAHAM, M0AEP 7 May, 2008

Posted obo Bernard F5DE message dated 6 May: Hello everybody, today was the first ES opening of this year for me. QSO HA3HV and HA8AR at 1234 and 1240 UTC. Quite a short opening, but very happy to see the ES season coming back ! After that, a nice moment watching the Sheffield Snooker WC on sat-TV made me a pleasant afternoon ! For now, I am often sending (quite every day) CW CQ on (or around) 50.096 MHz. Hope to meet you (DX or not) there soon ! All the best and have an nice 2008 on 6 ! Bernard, F5DE. UKSMG 1453.
TREV G3ZYY 6 May, 2008

!bigsmile A NEW EXCITING CONTEST FOR 4- AND 6-METER OPERATORS !bigsmile : The [b]70-MHz and Cross-band Contest[/b], Sunday, June 15th 2008. The Rome branch (â€œSezione di Romaâ€) of the Italian Amateur Radio League - ARI institutes a new Contest with the main aim to promote the utilization of the 70-MHz band that is getting available in a growing number of countries, including Italy. The Contest rules (which can be downloaded at http://www.ariroma.it/) have been devised so as to also allow participation to stations not having 70-MHz transmit equipment or located in countries where the 70-MHz band is not yet authorized. As a matter of fact the Contest is also open to stations working cross-band (50-MHz transmit, 70-MHz receive) and to 70-MHz SWLs. The selected date falls in the mid of the sporadic-E propagation period, and there are then good chances that a great number of long-distance contacts will be possible. With the aim to encourage participation, numerous prizes will be given, including a plaque for the high-scorer !award of each nation. Due to the short notice, you are kindly requested !please to spread the word about this event as much as possible so as to make the Contest a success. For any question on the Contest please ask the Contest Sponsor Representative: Antonio Vernucci I0JX, e-mail: vernucci@tiscali.it or the Contest Manager: Stefano Castriotta IW0CZC, e-mail: stefano.castriotta@tiscali.it
TONY I0JX 5 May, 2008

Any body got a ant programme that can accomodate 4 ants in a diamond formation?
KEN, G4IGO 5 May, 2008

METEOR SHOWER: If you see a meteor flit across the sky tonight, it's probably a piece of Halley's Comet. Earth is crossing through a stream of dusty debris from Halley and this is causing the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. Sky watchers in the tropics and southern hemisphere (where the shower is most intense) could see as many as 70 meteors per hour during the dark hours before dawn on Monday, May 5th, and Tuesday, May 6th: more. Thanks to SpaceWeather.com
DAVID, BRS25429 4 May, 2008

Has anyone modelled the EF610 yagi versus other yagis of similar lenght over real ground? (i'm not talking about free space simulations!) drop me a mail pse , would like to check out my analysis.
JOHAN, ON4IQ 4 May, 2008

In reading the article by Costas in Issue 90 I was struck by a certain occurrence. I did some checking and found that it fitted a model that I had been seeing for many years. The Path from KM to EM is symmetrical around Sun midday â€“ plus / minus 4 to 5 hours each end (with some movement of course). This is the same as for the JA to G path â€“ with the exception that it is not quite symmetrical â€“ QM to IO â€“ but nearly. I have seen this effect on 144 as well â€“ but in a different way â€“ namely that around 1200 sun time the paths on 144 drop out â€“ they peak generally at 1100 for a short time and then reform from 1300 and later. IMHO these paths are far more common that we think and can probably help us to find the right time and area for an opening. So watch out this year and see what you see. I shall be looking back and see if I can find any more occurances â€“ if you do please let me know.
KEN, G4IGO 4 May, 2008

Is it real that the Eâ€™s season is both late in starting and also down in intensity? Checked my logs for 1976 to 1986 last night. Between April 1 and May 4 on average I had noted 10 TV openings, most occurring at the end of April beginning MAY. Most were not too long (hour or 2) but some were several hours. The point to make is that these openings were recorded before we had the band, I was using a modified dual band TV on a dipole, then I added during the daytime monitoring at work with a 6 db collinear, and then a bit later I put up a 3 ele yagi. It should be noted that for a picture to be noted (not fully visible) signals would need to be in the order of S9+10. So it is clear that we were in fact having more and better openings at the start of the season than now â€“ even with the use of spectran etc and Amateur receivers just to listen to the carrier frequency â€“ let alone see the pictures â€“ and even with the loss of the TV TXâ€™s in EU we are seeing Eâ€™s between Amateurs â€“ again with the much better setups etc.
KEN, G4IGO 4 May, 2008

I would prefer and use different antennas for 6M and 4M. I have the ft-847 for 4M and ts-2000x for 6M. Why is the rig limited to two bands on one so239? The yaesu has 6 and HF connectors. Either can be used. Before I had got the ts-2000x I managed fine. Plus you will need a preamp for 4M if using the ft-847, using one dual band antenna, I can't see how you would work this.
ROBBIE, EI2IP 3 May, 2008

Posted obo Justin G0KSC A great project for E season. Whilst sitting here waiting for the E's I thought I would let you know of a great project which I intend to start within the next few weeks. I love building antennas and currently have a 5el for 10mtrs and a 7el long boom for 6 mtrs. both designed by YU7EF an work very well. Pop (YU7EF) has quite a reputation now for his antennas and I can say they do work very well. One of his pieces though caught my attention. G7CNF uses an ft 847 for both 4 and 6 mtrs and like all of our FT 847 users, is limited by the 2 bands being on the same SO239. Pop designed a dual band 5 el yagi for 4 and 6 mtrs which has one feed line! whats more is as it was a custom development for G7CNF, it uses imperial tubing sizes which are all available in the UK. The link is here: http://www.yu7ef.com/efDUOBANDS.htm If nothing else, it is an interesting read! (By Trev G3ZYY - Sorry we haven't yet got the links to work within the Announcements; I am confident it will happen soon but in the meantime, please cut and paste into your browsers address bar)
TREV G3ZYY 3 May, 2008

A major DXpedition to Christmas Island has been announced for 8 to 20 July 2008. The team includes CT1BWW, EA3GHZ, EA5EOR and EC5BME. Three stations will be active on 160 to 6 metres, using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK31 and SSTV. Callsigns will be VK9XWW, VK9XHZ, VK9XOR and VK9XME. More information can be found on the web at www.dxciting.com/vk9x.
DAVID, BRS25429 2 May, 2008

Hi Colin, I've looked into this and it seems that the software I'm using stores the lattitued and longitude references for any given location down to four digits after the decimal whereas to achieve the accuracy you want (and is used by Google on their website) we need to go down to 6 decimal places. I'll look into this, but I don't any quick resolution. I think this may be a licence issue with Google i.e. they may not want third parties displaying the same level of accuracy as they do. Hopefully you can live with this for now as it gives others some indication as to where your QTH is.
DAVE, G8FXM 2 May, 2008

About 4D Ionosphere maps. Here a nice website for several tools over it : http://terra1.spacenvironment.net/~ionops/ES4Dintro.html Tnx Google boys for this espectacular tool !noworthy . Tony CT1FFU
TONY, CT1FFU 2 May, 2008

Google map entered fom this site is about 1km out for my QTH, although the postcode is correct in the tab. Going directly to google maps it's spot-on. May be a problem transferring postcode to google from uksmg settings form.
COLIN, GW3RYR 1 May, 2008

Tnx Colin. I had overlooked it despite going through the menu several times !dooh
TONY I0JX 1 May, 2008

Tony, google map is in uksmg drop-down menu. Colin/7Q7CM
COLIN, GW3RYR 1 May, 2008

Dave, in the Profile form I am unable to find a place where I can enter my zip code. Also, how can one see Google Maps on this site? I tried to find it with no success. 73
TONY I0JX 1 May, 2008

As some of you will know, we have a Google map on this site displaying the location of every registered user who has entered their location into the "Location" field in their user profile. Usually your post code is good enough for Google to be able to find you and I know that UK and US post codes work without exception, but that doesn't help those of you who live in Eire for example where you don't have post codes! Additionally you may not want to pin point your location with that degree of accuracy and prefer to use your Town or City. Thats ok and I see some of you do that. Unfortunately if there are two or more towns in the world that have the same name, Google seems to pick the US town! I've seen many of you enter Reading or Northampton or even North Yorkshire and Google always seems to find the US town of that name. So please take a moment to check your personal profile and just to make sure your location is correctly identified if not using post codes, enter a , followed by your country e.g. "reading, uk" or "waterford, eire" just so Google maps can find you. If you don't want your location to be displayed on this map, just erase your location details. You can edit your profile by clicking on the profile link in the Welcome box in the left hand column of this page.
DAVE, G8FXM 1 May, 2008

Some of you might be interested in this: Today, NASA-funded researchers released to the general public a new "4D" live model of Earth's ionosphere. Without leaving home, anyone can now fly through the layer of ionized gas that encircles Earth at the edge of space itself. All that's required is a connection to the Internet. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/30apr_4dionosphere.htm?list919424
TREV G3ZYY 30 April, 2008

1clap Congratulations to all Italians for another great year on 4M. Proces here in Holland goes very slow. !sleep Good DX all,
PETER, PA2V 30 April, 2008

Special Event Station Commemorating 2008 Beijing Olympics The Hong Kong Amateur Radio DX Association (HARDXA) is pleased to announce that it has received official permission from The Office Of The Telecommunications Authority authorizing it to use a special event callsign VR2008O for the period from 15th July to 31st August, 2008 to celebrate the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Operations will be primarily HF from 7MHz through to 28MHz and VHF on 50MHz, modes operated shall be primarily SSB ,RTTY and PSK31. Direct QSL only. No e-qsl or LOTW.
ARNE, SM7AED 30 April, 2008

on what band Justin?
BILL, GW3MFY 30 April, 2008

Tony, I alos worked Chris 5U5U on Sunday, it is the first day this year he has been heard in the UK (although there have been many spots on the cluster already). I feel this is more TEP and E's and and mixture of both giving me the access on Sunday! !award
JUSTIN, G0KSC 30 April, 2008

ITALY ON 70 MHz DURING 2008: The authorization for a second 70-MHz ham-radio experimental campaign in Italy has been granted on April 30th 2008. Its validity lasts until December 31st 2008. The technical parameters and the operational conditions are the same as for the year-2007 experimental cycle. The I0JX/B beacon operating from Rome on 70.088 MHz has been re-activated.
TONY I0JX 30 April, 2008

EU-008. By the time you read this, members of the "Camb-Hams" will be active from the Isle of Mull (IOSA NH15, SCOTIA CN10) until May 3rd. The group is expected to sign as GS3PYE/p from their base camp at Carsaig (IO76) on the south coast of the island. They plan to have two stations on the air operating on most HF bands, as well as 6 and 2 meters, on CW, SSB, with some RTTY, PSK31 and SSTV. Look for operators to use their own callsigns when they start SOTA, WAB and VHF operations from IO66. The operators mentioned are: Gavin/M1BXF, Bob/G1SAA, Neil/G4HUN, Daryl/G0ANV, Allan/MM1BJP, Dave/M0VMC, Voi/G0BOE, Geoff/G0DDX and Rob/M1XZG. The group is also planning a brief side trip to the Treshnish Islands (EU-108, IOSA NH17, SCOTIA DI09), on April 30th for 6 hours. More information can be found at: http://www.camb-hams.com/camb-hams-mull-dx-pedition
DAVID, BRS25429 28 April, 2008

Yesterday i QSO with 5U5U on 10m. Naturely i ask him if he was QRV on 6m. He told me that will be in 2 week. 5U is still in a good distance for Es. !phones Let's hope he might be herd. 73's Tony
TONY, CT1FFU 28 April, 2008

St. Barthelemy DXpedition -- W0SD and I will be operating from St. Barth's (FK87) 28 June through 6 July, concentrating on 6 meters. We have applied for a special call sign and are working on having an online log (with the hope of reducing dupes). We will be on 50.103. Keep your fingers crossed for a great summer Es season. 73, Arliss W7XU
W7XU, ARLISS 27 April, 2008

Six News #95 is now available for download from the Members only section.
DAVE, G8FXM 27 April, 2008

Since my earlier post below, Dave has now added a link directly to both the For Sale and Wanted areas. These can be found in the drop down menu under [UKSMG]
TREV G3ZYY 24 April, 2008

In addition to Dave's direct route posted below, you can access the for sale and wanted areas by selecting the drop down menu under [UKSMG] then [Forum]. Scroll to the bottom and you will find them both.
TREV G3ZYY 24 April, 2008

Hi Ian, just like the old site For Sale and Wanted items may be found in the Forum as follows: For Sale: /e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewforum.php?4 Wanted: /e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewforum.php?5
DAVE, G8FXM 24 April, 2008

is there a for sale/wanted page on the web site at all ? , i have had a quick look but dont seem to see a link in the drop down menus . if there isnt , could one be setup please . thanks ,ian
IAN, G5WQ 24 April, 2008

Pete, Ive been out of the country for a while, only just returned, will mail u today Adrian
ADRIAN, G0KOM 22 April, 2008

Anyone know how to get in touch with Adrian, EA5/G0KOM by telephone or by e-mail? I have tried his e-mail as listed on the www.50mhz.org site to no avail. Appreciate the help. 73 , Pete
PETE, VE3IKV 21 April, 2008

Thanks Robbie ! Appreciate the info...and YES, I would love to do another 2-way try again this year with you.......I'll be watching, waiting., . . . . !phones
MIKE, VE9AA 21 April, 2008

CT, PORTUGAL The ADXG - Algarve DX Group will enable seven lighthouses in simultaneously on May 31 and June 1, 2008. 28 operators will be distributed by lighthouses from: CT7LHR - Vila Real Santo AntÃ³nio (POR-057) CT7LHF - Torre Igreja da Fuzeta (POR-074) CT7LHM â€“ StÂª Maria (POR-013,LH-0144,IOTA EU-145) CT7LHZ - Alfanzina (POR-001) CT7LHA â€“ PtÂª do Altar (POR-044) CT7LHP - PtÂª da Piedade (POR-042) CT7LHV - S. Vicente (POR-012) Operators are: CT1ASU, CT1AUO, CT1DVG, CT1EPS, CT1ERY, CT1ETX, CT1EUB, CT1EVE, CT1EWX, CT1FDU, CT1FNT, CT1GFK, CT1GPQ, CT1GZL, CT1IUA, CT2FPE, CT2FZY, CT2GFJ, CT2HTN, CT2IHP, CT2IOV, CT2IPG, CT2JBE, CT2JBK, CT5JJY, EA7AC, EA7AH, EA7TV. Bands: 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, (6m. StÂªMaria LH) Modes: CW, SSB, RTTY It will be assigned a free Award to all who contact all 7 special calls during activity. QSL via CT1GFK or via email. All information can be found at http://ct7lh.no.sapo.pt or by email ct7lh@sapo.pt
MANUEL, EA7AH 20 April, 2008

Plenty of activity this morning in the RSGB 6m Contest with good tropo conditions. Some 30 odd stations heard in IO70, IO74, IO75, IO80, IO83, IO84, IO85. IO90, IO91, IO92, IO93, IO94, JO02, JO03. Best QRB was G2KF/P at 420km, G0RFR at 358km, GI6ATZ at 291 km and GM4NFC at 246km Roll on the Es Season!
DAVID, BRS25429 20 April, 2008

Hey Mike, Yes CT Video is 48.242 and EA 48.250.. I hear them most evenings as weak Es.. It would be nice to complete the 50/70Mhz SSB qso this time around...It was close last year.
ROBBIE, EI2IP 20 April, 2008

I've been out of touch for nearly the last year. Are the CT and EA 48MHz videos still active?...great indicators. Anxious to hear some 50MHz/70MHz signals from across the pond again this summer. - 73 de Mike VE9AA FN66na !on-air
MIKE, VE9AA 20 April, 2008

Hi Alberto, it appears that the form used for the Annual table is the same as the form for the All Time Standings table. I think the best thing is to put your information for the Annual table into the comments box until we replace the form with something better. You are correct, at present the information will be updated by the webmaster.
TREV G3ZYY 20 April, 2008

Hi all, It is unclear how the annual table posting works now. I guess the update is now manual by the webmaster, but I don't seen the worked / new entry box in the form... 73s Alberto I2KBD
ALBERTO, I2KBD 20 April, 2008

Hi Erwin, Google KST files for 6 Metre Beacons are also available under UKSMG Â¦ Downloads on this site
DAVE, G8FXM 19 April, 2008

On Sunday 20 April there is the RSGB 50MHz Contest between 0900 and 1200UTC. All modes are permitted and the exchange is RST, serial number, locator and postal district. On Tuesday 22 April is the RSGB 50MHz Activity Contest between 2000 and 2130 local time. All modes are permitted and the exchange is RST, serial number and locator.
DAVID, BRS25429 19 April, 2008

I would like to contact someone using the I0JXX 7 el. 6-meter Yagi (model 7JXX6). Please send private message. 73
TONY I0JX 19 April, 2008

The Glorioso DXpedition planned for May is postponed. More on my page....
ARNE, SM7AED 19 April, 2008

6m beacons can be found also at http://www.mmmonvhf.de There is a 6m Google earth map and a listing also for download for own uses. You are able to update beacons ! vy73's Erwin/DK5EW
ERWIN, DK5EW 19 April, 2008

Pleased to receive a bunch of cards from UT1FG/MM dating back through the last 3 yrs of operations. Lots of rare grids. Thanks Vlad and happy travels.
NEIL, G0JHC 18 April, 2008

When we first moved to this current site we suffered one or two SPAM messgaes in the Announcements page. I managed to stop this, but to prevent this happening again to either Announcements Pages or Forums etc I have installed some anti SPAM software. The most immeadiate effect of this is that you will be asked to confirm by clicking on a button when posting an announcement message. In Forums you may be asked a simple question e.g what does 1+2=? just to prove that there is a human at the other end and not a SPAM Robot. The system will stop asking you these questions once you have posted a couple of messages sucessfully and therefore knows who you are. I hope these measures will not prove too inconvenient, if so I'll be happy to tone them down or even remove all together. Please give me some feedback on this, good or bad.
DAVE, G8FXM 18 April, 2008

Hi Tony, I have updated your info. The email I received didn't include your squares info for some reason and I missed your antenna info changed. Sorry about that, been a bit hectic at QRL as I'm still in the USA.
DAVE, G8FXM 18 April, 2008

Hi Dave, I mean the Standings Table. Yesterday I entered 960 squares but it still shows the old number (953). Also, I had changed my working conditions, but I still see the old ones. 73
TONY I0JX 18 April, 2008

Tony, the standings update request I received from you at 17:27 was already up to date. Did you mean standings table or annual table?
DAVE, G8FXM 17 April, 2008

OJ, MARKET REEF (EU-053) Six operators will activate Market Reef between July 11-14th, which will include a Multi-Single entry in the IARU HF World Championship (July 12-13th). The group will have three stations on the air on 160-6 meters. Operators mentioned are: Olaf/SM0CKV, Seppo/OH1VR, Markus/ OH3RM, Bob/W6RGG, Vicky/AE9YL and Carl/K9LA. All operators will sign OJ0/homecall before and after the IARU Contest, except for OH1VR who will use OJ0VR. QSL all OJ0/homecalls via operators' home callsigns and OJ0VR via OH1VR. A special callsign for the contest has been applied for and is not yet known. The Market Reef lighthouse has the following reference numbers: ARLHS MAR-001, TWLHD WLH OJ0-001, WLOTA LH-0542 and Admiralty C4472.
DAVID, BRS25429 17 April, 2008

HB0, LIECHTENSTEIN (EME Activity) Operators Kasimir/DL2SBY and Georg/DF1SR (ex-DD0SB) will be active from here between May 5-12th. Activity will be on 80-6 meters, CW, SSB and RTTY, using 600 watts into a Butternut HF9V antenna. They also plan to be active in the EU-EME Contest (May 11-12th) on the 23cm band. Operations will also include EME on 1296 MHz (500 watts/ Dish 3m) and 2320 MHz (200 watts/Dish 3m). Callsigns will be be HB0/DF1SR (EME-activity) and HB0/DL2SBY (HF-activity). Visit the following Web page for more details and photos at: http://home.arcor.de/dl2sby/
DAVID, BRS25429 17 April, 2008

Hi Tony, I believe the standings tables update are manually done by Dave our webmaster at present. Completing the update form sends your information to Dave who will then process the information by hand. He is currently in the USA but does log on here daily and will probably deal with it shortly.
TREV, G3ZYY 17 April, 2008

Sad to hear that KH6CC passed away last Wednesday. Jack gave many of us "HI" 160-6. He is in my log many times in the 1980-00 time frame. RIP.
NEIL, G0JHC 17 April, 2008

I have updated my scores in the Standings Table, but no change has occurred despite I received a positive acknowledgement message !uh
TONY I0JX 17 April, 2008

Peter, there's an Ian Higton, G7RIS, on the group membership list, presumably it's him? 73 Chris
CHRIS, G4IFX 16 April, 2008

I see NEVADA are selling some Trident 6M & 4M beams for half price !bigsmile
STEWART, G1HHO 16 April, 2008

Hi all, The following awards have been processed and posted today: OY3JE - New Moon, EME 10. EA7BYM - 25th Anniversary. G3OHC - Europe 40, 25th Anniversary. UT2AB - Europe 20. These are all the award applications I have to date. I have a cheque here from a Mr Higton, callsign unknown, without any award application. Can you please contact me? 73 de G0KUX UKSMG Award Manager.
PETER 16 April, 2008

!applause Congratulations to Lance, W7GJ for being the first to post a news item onto the site front page. Whos next ;-)
DAVE, G8FXM 16 April, 2008

Hi Stu, the dot org dot uk address is not working at prsent but as you have found, the dot org and dot com addresses, as used on the old site, will direct you here.
TREV, G3ZYY 15 April, 2008

Guys not sure if i had wrong link but the one below seems to have stopped working http://www.uksmg.org.uk That was the one i clicked on and save when the change over was going ahead just tried http://www.uksmg.com and found the site after a few days not sure if any others are having similar problems Stu
STU, MM0BSM 15 April, 2008

You could also have tried an email or PM Adam, both work just as well. I think your suggestion has merit and we'll certainly look at it. Thanks.
TREV, G3ZYY 14 April, 2008

To help drive traffic to the forum, and with regard to the "Latest Forum Posts" area to the right, I think it would be more useful if the topic title was displayed. At present we see three rows: Row 1) latest poster was (wasting half the row) Row 2) the first dozen or so words Row 3) timestamp (wasting more than half a row) Not knowing what the topic titles are does not encourage me to even look further... I can't be bothered. Could I suggest: Row 1) topic title Row 2) first words (if you must, what ever fits on one row only) Row 3) poster & timestamp Screen real estate is at a premium, so "Posted by" can be replaced with "Poster". Saves a few characters. I have proven this works with the VK Logger. Discussion Forum traffic has increased 10 fold by having the Latest Topic title clearly visible. You attempt to display 5 most recent topics... so I would even better success. $0.03 And why did I post this here? Because, sadly, it would largely go unnoticed on the forums.
ADAM, VK4CP 14 April, 2008

Hi Gents, I've posted on the bandplan forum about contests and digimodes, I'd appreciate it if you could add any views or thoughts on the subject. Cheers !beer
IAN G7RIS 13 April, 2008

We enjoyed the short noise free operation. Thank you Max, DK1MAX for the MS CW test and Pertti, OG2M for the complete MS 559/559 QSO beside local HA contacts. Since 8:00 GMT the â€œnormalâ€ S9+50dB video spectrum covers the band again in Budapest. In spite of that I look forward to great Es season soon. 73, Tamas
TAMAS, HA5PT 12 April, 2008

The 50MHz Budapest TV broadcast station (120kW) will break for maintenance from today 22:00 GMT till tomorrow morning 8:00 GMT. This technical break is the very first opportunity for us to work without interference at least for a short time. Please look for HAs via tropo Saturday morning. 1clap
TAMAS, HA5PT 11 April, 2008

Nice, Lance! Hope these guys stay motivated to discover the [b]Magic of Six[/b] via sporadic E or F2/TEP modes. Never hrd/wkd any HL in those big spE events into JA. Must have been too selevtive or simply noone around. !tumbleweed
MAX, DK1MAX 11 April, 2008

Congratulations Lance, good to see that DX is still being worked on Six, well done 1clap
DAVE, G8FXM 11 April, 2008

I am very pleased to congratulate HL4GHT for the first 6m EME contact from South Korea! I completed with Kim today on his moonrise during his first ground gain lobe between 5 and 8 degrees elevation. His JT65A signal peaked at -23 dB here. Kim's 6m station is a 4CX1000A amp (currently only running 500w) and a 10 element YU7EF yagi on the horizon. He also has a fully steerable array of four 4 element yagis to use when the moon is above his second ground gain lobe. MM0AMW also copied him very well (-24 dB), as did W1JJ (-21 dB)on Kim's lower ground gain lobe. His second lobe seemed to be up around 18-20 degrees elevation. After his moon was above 20 degrees, Kim QSY'ed to 2m and I was fortunate enough to get him there for another new country ;-) HL4GHT was my 6m DXCC #127 (DXCC #77 via EME on 6m). Best wishes for DX and VY 73, Lance
LANCE, W7GJ 11 April, 2008

Don't forget the Nordic Activity Contest tonight!
DAVE, G8FXM 10 April, 2008

UT1FG/MM is in JO12 today, route after 1730z - JO22 , JO23 , JO33 , JO43 then through the Kiel Canal to the Baltic Sea.
NEIL, G0JHC 10 April, 2008

Last grid reported for UT1FG/MM was IM75 about 36 hours ago.
STEVE, M5BXB 9 April, 2008

Any news or update from UT1FG/MM yet? I think he's /MM off the coast of CT and monitoring 50.110.
ROBBIE, EI2IP 9 April, 2008

Hi Robbie, yes there is a forum for this subject, as per my previous announcement. It can be [link=/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?16]found here[/link]
DAVE, G8FXM 9 April, 2008

Guys I hope you don't mind me saying but I am find it a pain to keep reading items about the website on the Announcements Page. The announcement page is for "Announcements" i.e. 50mhz related stuff and day by day it's now all web stuff.. Is there any way this can be discussed elsewhere .i.e the Forum.
ROBBIE, EI2IP 9 April, 2008

Further to Dave's post below, the larger font size is currently only viewable on the Home page.
TREV, G3ZYY 9 April, 2008

Just increased the font size on the announcement list at the left of this main page. Let me know if this is any easier to read?
DAVE, G8FXM 9 April, 2008

Neil, this is no different to the old Announcement page, but I'll see what I can do.
DAVE, G8FXM 9 April, 2008

Thanks Trev, yes I do this. i was looking at it more from the Perspective of the casual visitor to this site who may be less familiar with the facilities than "us daily users". Now, going to count to 3 and make sure I press "submit" and not "post announcement" 1clap
NEIL, G0JHC 9 April, 2008

Hi Neil, I am not sure if this will help you, but assuming you are happy to allow cookies from trusted sites (us : -) Ensure you check the Remember me check box in the log in window and just don't bother logging off when you leave the site. When you next join the site, say from your favourites or by simply typing the url, you will find yourself automatically logged in. Reading the Announcements will then simply be a case of selecting the announcements tab at the top. Further to this, you can just save the Announcements page in you favourites folder and assuming you have not logged off, it will take you directly to the Announcements page without further input. This is what I do, I have created a shortcut on my desktop that does exactly that. HTH Trev
TREV, G3ZYY 9 April, 2008

(3) put the SUBMIT button at the top and move the Post announcement button well away from temptation to click it after just writing a long mail, to then lose it, I have seen this mentioned a few times. Ive just lost a posting and dont have time to re-write it. Ref: ANNOUNCEMENTS from not being logged on. I refer to only being able to view in the left hand smaller window. I am now going to try and not double post this.
NEIL, G0JHC 9 April, 2008

All understood Dave, I appreciate its been a tough job. Im still struggling to find where to post away from here (and it actually get read). So please excuse me, two comments here which I havn't seen covered. (1) Please allow viewing of the announcements page WITHOUT having to log in. (2) I need to stop the scrolling text on the left and right, without having to run my mouse over it.
NEIL, G0JHC 9 April, 2008

Members of the ARA (Argelian league) will be heading today to the South in the Sahara desert at Assekrem Hoggar for an expedition using special prefix 7Y3. 6 meters gear is packaged. See some pics of that region at http://www.aginum.net/photos/algerie/vignettes.htm
JOSE, EA7KW 9 April, 2008

Hi Neil, there was quite a bit broken on the old site as a consequence of a PHP upgrade from version 4 to 5 many of the scripts that David wrote started to fail e.g. standings updates, password change and we all remember the summer of 2007 when the site was down for an extended period. Of course had David been here he would have fixed his scripts. But as he isn't here he is a very tough act to follow so we took the action we did as per Trev's post below. I know most of this behind the scenes stuff is invisible to most of the users of the site , just to let you know we made changes because we had to not because we wanted to.
DAVE, G8FXM 9 April, 2008

I have created a forum where site feedback and suggestions for improvement can be discussed in a more structured way than is possible on the announcement page. Feel free to create a new thread for any new topic. You can go directly to the forum by [link=http://www.uksmg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?16]clicking here[/link].
DAVE, G8FXM 9 April, 2008

Hi Peter, a roadmap is actually in development and will be linked to Google sitemaps. I need to effect the transfer of uksmg.org before I put this into place. Just need to carve out a little time to complete and test. Thanks for the suggestion.
DAVE, G8FXM 9 April, 2008

As a very frequent user of the old web site it was difficult to switch to a new one. I know it is normal human behaviour to give resistance to something new. From the very beginning I was visiting the new site, and sure I had my doubts that I published on that new site too. But to be honest, after some time I find the routes on the new site and it doesn't feel bad. Just give it a change and I am sure that after some sun cycles all resistance is gone !biggrin I don't experience problems with readabillity. The speed is quite the same as with the old one. Maybe it will be an idea to add a roadmap to the homepage. 73,
PETER, PA2V 9 April, 2008

Good morning all, Before we go down the route of 'why can't we go back to the old site' I would like to make a few points. There were very good reasons why we changed to where we are now which it appears we have not put across sufficiently well. The old site was effectively 'bespoke', in other words it was built for the purpose and required particular expertise to maintain it on a regular basis. Whilst we still had David G1JDU with his professional expertise, we could do this without difficulty and even managed to make some improvements. Losing David some 18 months ago started an eventual decline as we struggled to maintain the site built in an environment unfamiliar to any of us. In order to reverse this, it was decided that our best (only) option was to rebuild the site using software that we could configure and maintain. The site you see at present is the result of that. It is not possible with the facilities we have to make the new site look exactly like the old as the templates available are not identical. It does have the advantage that not only can the webmaster David G8FXM maintain the site, but also the committee have a much greater input and level of control that is very useful in his absence. Yes, we would all have wished to remain on the old and familiar site and to have continued to improve it but this was just not possible. As far as readablility is concerned, we are not yet done with trying to improve the readability of the site, but this is likely to require altering the existing template which, if possible, will require us to be further up the learning curve and is unlikely to change significantly in the short term. As for navigation, personally I find this system of drop down menus far easier to navigate (as does my XYL who is an amateur but not a regular user of the site). This site has plenty of room for expansion in both the bandwidth and the software senses. It will improve further still as users get used to what is on offer. Trev
TREV, G3ZYY 9 April, 2008

I'm afraid I concur with Neil's assessment
TONY , EI7BMB 9 April, 2008

I'm sorry Neil but I dont agree. The site is a great improvement in my opinion. I encourages the user to browse, add input and to contribute to the group. I dont find that it is hard to navigate, on the contrary, I find it easier !. I think the old site was OK, but in need of a freshen up.
ADE, M5ADE 8 April, 2008

Thank you to everyone who has spent so much time and energy on the new site,but I donâ€™t feel it is currently moving the group forward and encouraging (especially Non-members) to pop in and browse. I appreciate the new site is â€œwork in progressâ€ but find it hard to navigate, difficult to see, and it does not encourage me to â€œlook aroundâ€ like the old one did. To me these are the 3 fundamentals when visiting any site. I much preferred the old style, layout and look, it may have needed â€œtweakingâ€ but I think the fundamentals should have been kept the same. Why fix something that wasnâ€™t broke?
NEIL, G0JHC 8 April, 2008

Anyone hear UT1FG/MM yet?
ROBBIE, EI2IP 8 April, 2008

Previous years contest results are now available from the UKSMG Â¦ Contests menu.
DAVE, G8FXM 8 April, 2008

Hello,Just to let you know I am testing a home brew 3 ele Yagi,modes a1a/j3e jumping from 50.090/50.150 from io83. Looking for reports from Uk users. Just for info, worked yesterday,M5bxb,g4dez,g4pbp,g3rza,g4bqj,gw8asd. Also a first for me was fsk441 g4dez (rx only) as I am learning to use wsjt software. Thanks to all those shown for helping me to assess the yagi. 73 de IAN.
IAN, G6TGO 8 April, 2008

Yes Dave,text in centre of Comong Home can be varied ok.thanks.
BILL, GW3MFY 8 April, 2008

Hi Bill, I see what you mean now. Not sure I can do much about this with the current theme. Is the Announcement text in the Desktop (coming home) page any easier to read?
DAVE, G8FXM 8 April, 2008

Just testing no reply needed off tojavascript:addtext('!sleep',true)
TONY, G0OVA 7 April, 2008

Thanks Dave. Please also put on your to do list the possibility or retrieving the past years UKSMG contest results, as one can currently only see the 2007 contest results and the 2008 contest rules (if I am not wrong). 73
TONY I0JX 7 April, 2008

It's the text either side of the announcements Dave that is much smaller. Tks other info Trev.
BILL, GW3MFY 7 April, 2008

I will listen, over the coming evenings due South for UT1FG/MM, it would be interesting to work him.
ROBBIE, EI2IP 7 April, 2008

Hi Tony, last years announcements are not yet available. This is on my list of things to do.
DAVE, G8FXM 7 April, 2008

Hot to retrieve last year announcements? I cannot find the button or menu to do that. 73
TONY I0JX 7 April, 2008

Will be active agn as GJ4ICD-IN89WF from May 10th for 7/10 days, have a couple of FT897s and other eq, will run a beacon on 50.140, been qrt for several years and doing a lot of traveling in the Far East, looks like i may get a permit in Vietnam and Malaysia later when i re-visit......
GEOFF G4ICD 7 April, 2008

If UT1FG/MM is in European waters, how can other European stations call or answer him on 50.110 without the band police getting upset !uh
STEVE, M5BXB 7 April, 2008

The announcement text is fine with me. Mind you, I am not an old timer yet, just an apprentice at just 42, and I dont need glasses either!
STEVE, M5BXB 7 April, 2008

Hi All, I am happy to report that the results of last years Summer Es contest are now available. Go to the UKSMG tab above and select Contests. The second paragraph has the link to the results. Thanks to all who forwarded logs.
TREV, G3ZYY 7 April, 2008

Hi Bill, as far as I can tel the announcement text is exactly the same size as the old site. I too need glasses to read the computer these days, it seems ok to me anyone else have this problem?
DAVE, G8FXM 7 April, 2008

That'll be 24 hrs per day 7 days per week Bill. Presumably 50.110
TREV, G3ZYY 7 April, 2008

24/7? Neil,please explain,and Dave.... small print a pain.
BILL, GW3MFY 7 April, 2008

Attention EU Ops. Yuri UT1FG/MM has been back in Southern European waters for a couple of weeks now, but has become very lonely, with no one answering his CQs. Today he is in IM48, taking a path through IN40 41 42 43 44 54 55 56 66 67 68 79 â€“ English Channel. He will be along the Dutch coast by April 11th, and is making his way to port in UA1. Try a call on 110 if you are within tropo range this next week, he monitors 24/7 SSB.
NEIL, G0JHC 7 April, 2008

Thanks Arne, and Mark via PM. I now have a list (albeit in Swedish) Calls/Freqs are the same in most languages : -) Thanks again, Trev
TREV, G3ZYY 7 April, 2008

Trev Try the SM VHF manager. sm7eyw (at) telia.com
ARNE, SM7AED 7 April, 2008

A plea to any of our SM members. I need a list (freq offsets callsign) of the 6m and 2m repeaters in Sweden. I cannot seem to locate this information on the net anywhere! I don't want to clog up these pages, so an email with any info would be great; I will post here again if/when I have any joy : -) Many thanks, Trev
TREV, G3ZYY 7 April, 2008

Regarding "Spell Checking" of Announcements. Most browsers have spell checking built in these days was it was not considered necessary to build one into the Announcements page. As I type this Firefox is highlighting selling errors with a red underline, I can correct by right clicking in the highlighted word and picking the correct word from a list.
DAVE, G8FXM 7 April, 2008

Forums may be found in the menu at the top of this page under "UKSMG".
DAVE, G8FXM 7 April, 2008

Hi Adam, I've increased the text box width to 98%, let me know if that improves things at all?
DAVE, G8FXM 7 April, 2008

OK, I can see why there is so much whitespace around each post. Each Announcement table is set to only 85% width: [blockquote]table class='forumheader' style='width:85%;[/blockquote] And there is two line breaks between each announcement table Unless there is a good reason not to (?), may I suggest a width of 95% instead of 85%, and only have one line break between posts. !please !please !please !please !please !please I forgot to add, I am viewing in 1280 x 1024 on a 19"... the content must be horrendously narrow in a lower display setting.
ADAM, VK4CP 7 April, 2008

The margins around the announcements is too excessive, with so much whitespace. This creates a long thin column of content, and requires more scrolling to read all the content. PSE reduce the left and right margin of the announcement block, and the top/bottom margins between each announcement. !please Also, where do we find the forums these days??? There is no obvious "Forum" link in the main menu bar at top??? The harder you make it to get to the forums, the more the Announcment page becomes a one-thread discussion forum. !uh
ADAM, VK4CP 6 April, 2008

Hello, Is there anyone who can help with qsl for YI9OM ? I did send it a few times direct with IRC and/or U$ and did send about 10 emails to the operator and the qsl manager. 73's RenÃ©
RENÃ©, PE1L 6 April, 2008

and where has the spell check icon gone !please [size=22][/size] [size=36][/size]
NEIL, G0JHC 6 April, 2008

How do I make the announcement text bigger? I have my brower on Large view and still need my glasses. Maybe Im just getting old. !surprise
NEIL, G0JHC 6 April, 2008

During the period of parallel running (both sites) I used the user table fo the old site to control access to this site. This enabled you to log in to this site using the same username and password as the old. The downside of this is that new user registrations to this site do not work properly. Therefore I plan to revert to the standard user validation method for this site on Monday 7th April now that everyone has had a chance to log in. For the majority of you there will be no change, you just log in normally. I will be on line all day Monday 7th April to help anyone who may have difficulty.
DAVE, G8FXM 6 April, 2008

Hi Chris, you definatly dont have to be logged in to view Announcements. If you try loggin off, you should see the latest announcements in the left hand column towards the bottom of the page. Many thanks for your feedback.
DAVE, G8FXM 6 April, 2008

One of the issues is that you need to be logged in to see the Announcements page - is this by design or just me? I would also prefer everyone not seeing where I'm browsing in the on-line panel on the left, but I am unable to disable this in my personal profile? Personally, I'm not sure seeing who is logged-on on the home page is good use of valuable real estate. Chris
CHRIS, G3WOS 6 April, 2008

re G3WOS: the same problem existed on the old site. God knows how many times I inadvertently pressed the Post Announcement button instead on the Submit one. Obvious solution is to mask the Post Announcement button when in the message editing page. 73
TONY I0JX 6 April, 2008

Hello all, Just braved the SNOW here, and erected the Home brew 3 ele I will be qrv 50.150 or see HRD CLUSTER to see what freq on 6, I am using. Early indications show it is working but the gain could be down but at least GB3BUX is 6db up over the dipole, so I may be expecting too much hi.....73.
IAN, G6TGO 6 April, 2008

The coming_home page still works, but the anoouncements don't dispaly properly and coding is visible .
NICK, 5B4FL 6 April, 2008

I have a few SWL cards from the now defunct Potters Bar QSL Bureau for GB3RMK. Can anyone tell me who the keeper is, or perhaps put them in touch with me. Marc Litchman - G0TOC g0toc@lefars.org.uk
MARC, G0TOC 5 April, 2008

I just made a long post and it didn't display when clicked Post Announcement. It's gone forever as pressing the back key didn't return me to my post text. It contained comments on the site. Chris The same happened again. I see why now. 'Post Announcement' just brings up the edit panel - which is wrong button text - you have to press Submit. I'll have to remeber what my other comments were. One of them was that I cannot see the announcement page unless I'm looged in? Chris Chris .
CHRIS, G3WOS 5 April, 2008

Today, I have made a 3 ele Yagi, testing will be conducted on j3e/cw on 50Mhz during Sunday 6 April and all day Mon 7th /Tuesday,the 8th. Please could you have a listen on the hour where possible on 50.150. OR 50.090 where a cq call will be made. This is to replace the Home Brew Dipole. Thanks in advance. IAN G6tgo
IAN, G6TGO 5 April, 2008

Aurora alert! http://www.xs4all.nl/~amunters/monitor.html
DAVE, G8FXM 5 April, 2008

Hi Chris, sorry to hear you are having problems. Announcements can be viewed if not logged via the menu panel on the left hand side of the page. Let me know if you don't see it?
DAVE, G8FXM 5 April, 2008

do we have spam here too?
TONY I0JX 5 April, 2008

[color=#000099]I like the new [b]"Sked Page"[/b] (found within the UKSMG tab above) that has been added to the website. It allows users to select a tab for their own preferred mode of operating. It is very clear and simple to use, so arranging skeds should now be much easier. The great thing about the use of the mode tabs, is the user does not have to read through several lines of text that are of no interest. Thanks Dave for adding this useful tool to the website.[/color]
STEVE, M5BXB 5 April, 2008

sorry for multiple posts, but I did not press the Submit button four times...
TONY I0JX 5 April, 2008

Dave, for your information I use a 19" screen with native resolution of 1284x1024. I have configured the screen properties for large fonts, but the announcements text size is still too small (in my opinion). 73
TONY I0JX 5 April, 2008

In summer I will be active in a holiday-style dx-ped. from IM86AR in southern Spain. The rig is small with inverted V half lambda and FT857 with 50Watts. But QTh is in the 10th floor of a house with nice view to north and west. Last years odx were SM1 and HA3. Look for me from June 29th until July 14th 2008 on 6m and 2m. QSL via bureau DH6DAO Ray
DH6DAO 5 April, 2008

Total Electron Content (TEC) is quite weak even over Asia now: http://iono.jpl.nasa.gov//latest_rti_global.html ---- It does not say much about MUF, as it indicates the TOTAL content and not per volume. In addition the critical frequency varies as the square of the electron content, for vertical incidence ---- For our purposes and TEP the gradients and slopes of the layers are much more important --- 2D TEC-maps can provide good hints for the underlying 3D-structure ---- To be successful on small footprintTEP in Solar Minimum it is advisable to look out for the transient phase at the local onset and decay of daily TEP, during which the small footprint tends to sweep accross a wide geographical area (meaning a short time-window for most areas) ---- 73, "Zaba" OH1ZAA/OHoMZA ----
ZABA, OH1ZAA 4 April, 2008

largest but small print is too small
BILL, GW3MFY 4 April, 2008

I'll take a look at that Bill when the dust settles. What screen size and/or resolution do you have?
DAVE, G8FXM 4 April, 2008

need to enlarge text size,normal method using view does not work?
BILL, GW3MFY 4 April, 2008

Dave, Profile / user is now sorted. Thanks for taking the time over this! 73 Graham G4FUJ :-D
GRAHAM, G4FUJ 4 April, 2008

Works for me Alex, anyone else get this problem?
DAVE, G8FXM 4 April, 2008

I'm having difficulty getting copies of 6 news. keep getting a 404. can you have a check for me please Dave. thanks Alex
ALEX, G7KSE 4 April, 2008

!gift Many thanks to Dave and the team that made this new pages available. Good job. The email problem might have been a hickup. No problems anymore. Guess this site will last during some cycles again. !applause 73's
PETER, PA2V 4 April, 2008

Glad to see most of you made it to the new site. I'm busy checking things over at the moment, fixing broken links etc, if you spot anything please let me know.
DAVE, G8FXM 4 April, 2008

8P - I will be on holiday in Barbados from 21st May to 1st June 2008 as 8P9TS. Operating time will be limited but I will focus on 6M/CW. The equipment will be an IC7000 & 100W to a 5 ele Yagi. 73 Darren
G0TSM 3 April, 2008

Hi Peter, I've been receiving email from it all day today. Can you test again and let me know what the error is if it fails please?
DAVE, G8FXM 3 April, 2008

Dave, your email adress from the email search facillity doesn't work. !uh It keep coming back as undeliverable. 73,
PETER, PA2V 3 April, 2008

Just realised that time stamps were showing British Summer Time, just changed to GMT so announcements should show the correct time in GMT now.
DAVE, G8FXM 2 April, 2008

Posted on behalf of Georges [b]F8OP[/b]: "I was very sorry to hear that Kjell, [b]SM7BAE[/b], has past away and is now a silent key. We had many, many contacts on 6 and 2 meters (MS). With my condoleances to Kjell family. Repose en paix, cher Kjell."
DAVE, G8FXM 2 April, 2008

The sun allready start to suprise us hams. !surprise Be prepared for something special. Read this: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/april2008/solar_max_rescheduled.htm !phones
PETER, PA2V 1 April, 2008

Very sorry to hear Kjell SM7BAE passed away. Will remember him from one of my first 2M EME contacts and help with my first big amplifier. Your signals will be missed. R.I.P. Kjell
PETER, PA2V 30 March, 2008

Its all looking good Dave, thanks again for all your hard work, I'm looking forward to the site going fully live shortly.
TREV, G3ZYY 30 March, 2008

No problem Peter, thanks for the feedback.
DAVE, G8FXM 29 March, 2008

Not ment that irritating finger Dave. !applause Was ment. Is it an idea to give the user the abbillity to change their announcement within say 10 minutes? 73,
PETER, PA2V 29 March, 2008

!noworthy Dave this is a fantastic solution. This even works better than the "old and gray" email list. Just keep this in. I am sure many will appreciate this. Thank you!
PETER, PA2V 29 March, 2008

Announcements from this new website are now available via email. If you would like email delivery of Announcements please email me at webmaster@uksmg.org and I will arrange this for you.
DAVE, G8FXM 29 March, 2008

Peter, I've just added a FIND USER facility which can be found under the UKSMG menu, let me know if you find this useful?
DAVE, G8FXM 28 March, 2008

Hi Peter, the old email list will not be in the new site. This list got out of date very quickly so in the new site you can get to a members email in a number of ways. From the announcement page you can find the person who you wish to email, then click on the small envelope icon. Alternatively you can go to the persons profile and view the email address there assuming they have not selected "hide email address". If you still think some kind of list is needed I can certainly provide that?
DAVE, G8FXM 28 March, 2008

Peter I thought you were already old and Grey LOL
ADRIAN, G0KOM 28 March, 2008

Dave, will the email list come on this pages too? It was a very handy tool on the "old" one. After some time and comparisment this page is much more handsome and I like the info on the frames right and left. Hope this one will last forr the next three cyclus. (until I am real old and gray) Thanks for the good work. 73 !cheers
PETER, PA2V 28 March, 2008

Stranged, it appeared 5 mins later with the addition of a CQoogle search box! maybe fred took it off line for a few mins.. Thanks Guys, Ade, got some antennas up yet?
JUSTIN, G0KSC 27 March, 2008

Ok with me Justin @ 20:59.
DAVE, G8FXM 27 March, 2008

Fine here Justin and has been all evening
ADRIAN, G0KOM 27 March, 2008

Anyone else unable to get qrz.com tonight? everything else seems to be there on the Internet, but qrz wil not resolve
JUSTIN, G0KSC 27 March, 2008

Hi Mat, yes your right, I'll update this page when the results are published.
DAVE, G8FXM 27 March, 2008

Think there is a problem with the CONTEST PAGE. The Picture for 2 different callsigns is the same, I think its G0VSM in the picture.... This is on the new site. With Regards (and awaiting to see how bad we did in 2007) Mat
G7FBD 27 March, 2008

could we have the results posted for last years uksmg contest please
IAN, G5WQ 26 March, 2008

MAy I also pass on my condolencies to Graham M5AAV's Family and friends. Being one of the first M5's too, our paths crossed on a few occasions on and off air. A thoroughly nice guy, who will be missed. Adrian Deane, M5ADE
ADE, M5ADE 26 March, 2008

Hi All Just a quick note to announce that the rules and schedule for this years UKSMG Summer 'E's contest have been uploaded. They can be found in the contest section. No major changes this year, and the contest takes place on the first weekend in June (book good weather !). Ade M5ADE
ADE, M5ADE 26 March, 2008

Very sad news indeed Steve. If you have a suitable photo of Graham, I'll add him to the Silent Keys Page.
DAVE, G8FXM 26 March, 2008

I have just heard the sad news that [b]Graham Ridgeway M5AAV became silent key [/b]this morning. He was the QSL sub manager for the M5 prefixes, as well as being the QSL manager for a number of others, Z21KF, ZK3SB, G0OCW, 9M6/G3OOK, M5RIC, TX4PG, 9M6XRO, 9M4SEB, A25OOK, XU7XRO, VK6JB, V8FEO, as well as managing both my M5BXB and OK8XB callsigns. He will be sadly missed.
STEVE, M5BXB 26 March, 2008

Hi Dave, my email adress worked very well. 4 emails in a row 1 minute in between. Fully understood you have fixed it now. Guess it was just a test LOL 73 and good luck!
PETER, PA2V 26 March, 2008

Hi Dave, is this what your looking for? /content/g5kw/Short%20Path%20Summer %20Solstice%20Propagation%20bt%20JE1BMJ.pdf
DAVE, G8FXM 25 March, 2008

Wonder if someone can point me in the right direction as I can't find what I'm looking for in the archives and I haven't found it scanning through the copies I can find of 6 News. Not too long ago one of our members in Japan developed some ideas on JA - European propagation when either last summer or the summer before there were quite a few days when such a path formed. Is there an electronic version of this article on either of the sites? Just thinking about doing the annual switchover from 160m to 6/4m - so will be taking more notice of these pages in the coming weeks! 73s Dave
EI3IO 25 March, 2008

all working here now tnx Dave
STU, MM0BSM 24 March, 2008

Dave thanks for all the work you have put into the new web site !on-air
STEWART, G1HHO 24 March, 2008

Dave thinking about this further, I think it should be addressed, a lot of us (certainly with the old site) leave the announcements page open in a browser window, when the old site is finally closed it may become an issue when everyone moves here
ADRIAN, G0KOM 24 March, 2008

Thanks Dave, I was sure I wasnt going mad and the Forum didnt appear in the Menu, tnx for sorting it out, the posting issue isnt any concern to me, just something that I noticed by accident when I refreshed the page
ADRIAN, G0KOM 24 March, 2008

Forum should be visible now from the UKSMG menu now. The posting issue when refreshing your browser inst a bug as such, more a function of who the post form is designed. IT a common phenomenon with shopping carts etc. Personally I don't see it as much of a problem as I don't see any reason to refresh your browser when posting announcements however if it becomes a problem I'll look into it.
DAVE, G8FXM 24 March, 2008

Same here Ade. After refresh (CTL F5) it is posted again. !no
PETER, PA2V 24 March, 2008

!uh Can't find the forums in the drop down menu. 73,
PETER, PA2V 24 March, 2008

Wow theres a bug, dont refresh this page after posting, it re-posts your message again, weird
ADRIAN, G0KOM 23 March, 2008

R U Sure Dave !idea
ADRIAN, G0KOM 23 March, 2008

Forums may be found under the UKSMG menu drop down at the top of this page.
DAVE, G8FXM 23 March, 2008

Cheers guys thought i was overlooking it somewhere :)
STU, MM0BSM 23 March, 2008

I meant to Add that Im sure Dave will sort it out when he has some spare time
ADRIAN, G0KOM 22 March, 2008

There isnt one Stu, I brought this up in the first incarnation of this page, at least then there was a link in the drop down menu but thats not even there now, only way until such times as it appears is to click on the last forum post and then click back through to the forum root at the top of the page Adrian, EA5/G0KOM
ADRIAN, G0KOM 22 March, 2008

Can anyone point me in the direction of the forums as i can only see last forum post to the right and not a direct link like on the old site or is it hiding from my eyes :)
STU, MM0BSM 22 March, 2008

I can tell you that Dave has spent many hours testing and testing and testing before confirming the site can move to it's current location. He has been on line all hours to get this done! I do know this server is running at less than 10% cpu and has an uncapped 100meg Internet connection in London's Docklands so it will remain fast! Justin 1clap
JUSTIN, G0KSC 21 March, 2008

Thanks to all who made this new uksmg website possible. It looks really great and loads fast! Today at around 16z for abt 1hr I had 9L video on 48248,65 MHz plus two sidebands. Signal was peeking S1 (!) which is a remarkable rise from the usual traces in spectran. We need more like this. !santa
MAX, DK1MAX 21 March, 2008

[b]Glorioso, TO4Gxx[/b]. After many years of effort the permissions have been delivered. This operation can take place, probably, early of May. To start between May 5th to 9th for some weeks. For the moment the operators are Pascal F5PTM, Freddy F5IRO, SpÃ©phane F6KIN, David F8CRS, Yves-Michel F5PRU and may be 3 others. They try to have 3 or 4 stations. HF + 6M. Beacon/RX: 50.096 EU: CW 50.200, SSB 50.205. DX: CW 50.101, SSB 50.123. WSJT-JT6M or JT44 50.245 The sponsors are welcomme, please contact Didier F5OGL (f5ogl.glorioso(at)free.fr)
ARNE, SM7AED 21 March, 2008

!applause This looks very good. Fast download and good behaviour. Good work need some time.. Well done Dave. Happy Easter all. !beer This will be our first white Easter ever... Terrible weather here. 73
PA2V 21 March, 2008

!ops To all those who have received unsolicited email from this sites calendar notification system, please accept my apologies. There is a bug in this system (doesn't show the correct dates either. I will roll back to an earlier (stable) release.
DAVE, G8FXM 21 March, 2008

all working here fine thanks for the hard work and happy easter to all !gift here is hoping for some activity on 6m :) !on-air
STU, MM0BSM 21 March, 2008

Hopefully it won't be for long. Happy Easter everyone
DAVE, G8FXM 20 March, 2008

OK Dave, we can use 2 URLs not to miss any comment
ARNE, SM7AED 20 March, 2008

Many thanks Justin, really appreciate the help you have given me personally and the group. !beer
DAVE, G8FXM 20 March, 2008

Dave, a nice clean look and feel and a lot quicker too :) Appreciate the work you have put in over the last month testing and getting the new site up and running. Justin G0KSC !biggrin
G0KSC 20 March, 2008

Hi Arne, this is correct. The tables for each announcement page are on different servers in different domains. Also the table structures differ so it would be more trouble than it's worth to do this. I hope to migrate to the new site as soon as users have had a chance to log into to it and create their accounts. Hopefully we wont have to live with a dual system for too long. Thanks for the feedback.
DAVE, G8FXM 20 March, 2008

Dave G8FXM The two annoucements pages are not syncronized.
ARNE, SM7AED 20 March, 2008

!ops Sorry Costas, I have been playing with a new feature, I have turned it off for now, let me know if the notifications haven't stopped.
DAVE, G8FXM 20 March, 2008

Dave, G8FXM, how can I stop receiving auto-emais from UKSMG concerning new events,pse?? 73
COSTAS, SV1DH 20 March, 2008

Thanks Steve
G8FXM 18 March, 2008

great to see the new site up and running again. It loaded immediately and seems to work ok. 73 Steve M5BXB
M5BXB 17 March, 2008

Test'n
G8FXM 17 March, 2008

Welcome to the UKSMG Announcement Page! We hope that you enjoy this announcement page.
Note: to reply to a post or create a new one you have to have registered and logged into the site, links to do this are given in the heading above the announcements.