THE FIRST CLASS C.W.

OPERATORS CLUB

NEWS SHEET 614

(http://www.firstclasscw.org.uk)

Editor: G4BUE

December 2000

A man should keep his friendship in constant repair - Samuel Johnson (1755)
(3525, 7025, 10120-10125, 14025, 18080-18085, 21025, 24905-24910 and 28025kHz)

BANDS OF THE MONTH FOR DECEMBER ARE 30 & 15 METRES

If you received a blue paper with your October News Sheet, it means your subscription for 2001 is due by 31 December. Have you paid yet?
As Roger, G3SXW, is away in 9G land for the CQ CW Contest, I thought I would take over his space in the News Sheet to bring you up to date with the discussions that have been taking place, in recent months, that may affect the future organisation of FOC. The Committee meeting held on 11 November was just about the longest on record. Much of the time was taken up with consideration of what action, if any, was appropriate in response to the wide range of opinions that have aired. The discussion was stimulated by items that appeared in Rogers Topical Issues column. Some of these put forward suggestions that the Club might at some point in the future need to change its view on what constituted First Class Operating and possibly alter its traditional stance over nominations and objections. The majority of the Club has, over the years, generally felt that members should display a mix of operating activity that included a reasonable level of inter-Club contacts outside of contesting and DX chasing. From time to time, there have been proposals that this should be a mandatory and measured condition of membership. At present, the checks on activity levels amount to an annual audit by the Committee, based on information from the Windle returns, with investigation following of those who appear to be totally inactive. In addition, the rules covering nomination and sponsoring require that a nominee should not have an operating style that is exclusive to contesting and/or DXing. However, the huge changes that have taken place in our hobby in recent years mean that on-the-air CW operating is increasingly concentrated into these exact areas. So we find the emergence of a grow-

2001 SUBSCRIPTIONS

TOPICAL ISSUES by G3MXJ

ing group of amateurs who many would consider to exhibit all the hallmarks of first class operators but who are, to all intents and purposes, exclusively contesters or DXers. FOCs reaction to this situation has been at the centre of the recent discussions. On the one hand, there is the body of opinion that believes that we should take a broader approach to recruitment and align the Club more closely with changing operating practice. On the other hand is the feeling that we should maintain our traditional values and only support those who actively share them. Mixed in with this is a level of feeling that, although it is appropriate to have some measure that provides a check on the credentials of proposed new members, the current system of objection appraisal raises concerns. There are, at present, no proposals on the table for any changes that might address these issues; none have been received from the membership and none have been formulated by the Committee. Any proposals would, quite rightly, need to be properly communicated through the News Sheet and decisions guided by the feedback received. Some months ago, the Committee asked Roger, G3SXW, to prepare a discussion paper based on his editing of the Topical Issues column. This was a first attempt at defining the areas of concern to members - FOCs place in the amateur radio world, the potential impact of changing operating styles, how we recruit new members, and approaches that might be adopted by the Club. As might be expected, there is a range of views within the Committee and we will be working hard in coming months to resolve those views to the point where we have a consensus on a way forward that will be acceptable to a high proportion of the membership. It may be, as part of that process, we will

decide to carry out a polling of opinion. The last time that this was done was in 1988 and the results from that questionnaire have often proved to be a valuable guide to membership feeling. From a personal point of view, I have always supported the Aim of the Club as expressed in Rule 1 - ...to foster and encourage a high standard of CW operating ability....... That aim appeared in the original rules of the Club and has remained virtually unchanged. However, in the intervening years, the underlying rules that support that aim have been modified on numerous occasions. The outcome of the Committees work will decide if further changes are appropriate. This News Sheet is being produced over the CQ CW Contest weekend as June and I leave for Florida on Tuesday. I have found it very difficult to pull myself away from the contest action because of all the activity from our members, either from their home stations (some using special calls), or on DXpeditions or operating from one of the multi-single or multi-multi stations. Thanks to all of you for giving us noncompeting stations a lot of fun and excitement. I will be QRV as W4/G4BUE from N4TOs QTH until we return home on 18 December. Please note the Club Internet Web site has a new domain name. It is <http://www.first classcw.org.uk> and is always published under the News Sheet heading and on the front page of FOCUS. We will be printing the tick sheets for the 2001 Marathon and Windle Award to mail out with the January News Sheet and FOCUS 45 when we get back from Florida. Please let G3MXJ know as soon as possible if you are going to be using a different call in the Marathon or want your callsign to be shown differently on the Windle Sheet. This is the last month that I will be publishing the table for the 2000 Windle Award. At the end of the year, please send in your sheet and final score to GW3KGV as soon as possible. Ken will adjudicate them and write a report for the Spring 2000 FOCUS 46. If sufficient of you let me have your scores for the 2001 Windle Award in January, then I will publish a table in the February News Sheet. I would like to publish details of our 2001 social events in the next FOCUS, so if you are involved with organising one of them, can you please let me have details by the 20 February deadline. Talking of FOCUS, I am getting very low on articles, so if you have been thinking of writing something, please do so. Alternatively, if you see something in another magazine that you think will be of interest to other members, then please give me details about it. Finally, June and I wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas and a very healthy New Year.

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION by G3MXJ

Starred List
3. SM6CLU: W8XM, K4BAI, KF2AT, 5B4AGC, NP3G, SV1AOW, G4ZVJ. 3. V31JP (K8JP): N9RD, VK6VZ, OK1KT, W4ZYT , DK8IT, ZL1MH, SV1AOW, K8MFO, G3LIK, GW3KGV 2. G4BWP: G3HEJ, G3SWH, G3SXW, KC7V, 5B4AGC (+GW3YDX). 2. DF5JT: K4EWG, DL4CF, K1JD, W8XM, SM5COP N9RD, , DK8IT, GM3UA. 2. OK1RP: OK1RR, W4PM, GEBW, W4ZYT, G8VG, K1SS, W3NZ

EDITORIAL by G4BUE

The objection to G4BWP has been overruled by the Committee. Objections to VK4EMM and K1VR are under consideration by the Committee. Invitations will be sent to KY7M and WCGR.

Additional Nominations

6. K4WJ: K4EFZ, K2UFT, YV1NX, W1HMD 6. W4PRO: W4ZYT, W4IF. 6. VK4XY: VK6WT, G3CWW. 4. DK4AN: DJ5ZN, DL4CF, DL7AKC, KL7HF, W1HMD, DK8IT 4. N6TR: VK6VZ, K4OJ, 4X4NJ, VE7BS 4. G3ZGC: G3RVM, GORH. 2. VE3HX: VA3LK, K5DQ. 2. K6LQA: K6TS. 2. K4UEE: W4ZYT. 2. VE3OU: K2UFT, K4AO. 2. W6JD: W6CYX. 1. K3TF: N2UU.

G3UEN (940): resigned. G5RI (A1031): Silent Key. DL8TWA (1177): change call - K3TW; change address - 5912 Walnut Street, Temple Hills, MD 20748, USA. W4FOA (1672): resigned. NR7O (1409): telephone - 6 655 2170

Amendments

Lords was another great event once again, especially the meeting up with friends. I would like to thank all those involved in the organising and running of Lords, making it another successful day in the FOC calendar. I might add that the day blurred itself into the early hours of the morning back at the hotel, discussing one thing or another, like you do. The past year has again been a very successful one for FOC, but sadly it has had its moments with the passing of friends who are no longer with us, and whos dedication and devotion to the Club was paramount. I am sure that the call signs of those members will remain with us, and we will talk about them on the air and with affection. I have noticed that my Windle score has dramatically improved with taking early retirement, since when I have been on the air at different times of the day from when I was work-

PRESIDENTS CHRISTMAS MESSAGE by G3RXP

ing. We all operate at different times and their are the time zones of course. Arriving home late at night from work, one only sees a small window of those members also operating at that time of the day. To try and improve the scores generally, I will be making a point of still coming on the air after work hours (washing and cooking chores!). Linda and I would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and we hope that the New Year brings you all health and happiness. I will of course be wishing you personal Christmas greetings when I come across you on the bands. At the last Committee meeting it was agreed for G3PDL to take over the responsibility for running the Committee from me. Peter will draw up the Agendas and Briefing Papers, write the Minutes and reports for the News Sheet and liaise with members. Please send your proposals, comments, suggestions and ideas for the Committee to G3PDL.

Other than that, post away, and lets get some interesting and substantive debates going. Remember: discuss topics, not individuals. Just one final thing: please always sign your message with your name and callsign - e-mail addresses are often impossible to decipher! All members and the President attended a 5 hour meeting at G3LIKs QTH on 11 November. G3WGV and GW3KGV are liaising to allow members to submit applications for Club awards electronically. All the feedback from those who attended the Lords Dinner suggested it was very successful once again, despite the disappointing low number attending of 103. The quality of the meal was excellent and G3PDL said he had received many letters of appreciation and thanks. G3VTT has volunteered to organise the 2001 Annual Dinner at Lords, and has booked the Lords venue for 6 October. He will attend the next Committee meeting to discuss new ideas and suggestions. In view of the high level of satisfaction with Lords in 1999 and 2000, it was decided to leave all consideration of finding a new Annual Dinner venue in abeyance for the time being. The suspension of the Discussion Group (DG) was discussed at length and it was eventually decided to re-instate it from 1 December with new guidelines and advice for users. Messages will not be filtered before appearing on the DG but it will be moderated. Messages will have a standard heading reminding users to comply with the guidelines and that views expressed are personal and not those of the Committee. The proposed Review of the sponsoring system was discussed in some detail and it was thought that the process of consultation with members could take the form of a Membership Survey, similar to the one used 12 years ago. Other options, and the extent and objectives of the Review, were also discussed and G3SXW will prepare a paper of options for the next meeting. G3MXJ reported 477 members, plus 10 Permanent and 3 Temporary Associate members. The situation with two of the Temporary members will be considered at the next meeting. Objections to G4BWP were considered and overruled. The criteria for membership and some recent objections, together with the recent amendment to Rule 5 about exclusive contesters and DXers and the Advice on Sponsoring and Objecting in the 2000 Call Book was discussed at some length. It was agreed that all these matters will form part of the Review referred to above. G3PDL volunteered to take over the responsibility for running the Committee from G4BUE, and G3WGV updated progress, including the new URL, of the Club Web site.

COMMITTEE REPORT by G4BUE

COMMITTEE by G4BUE

The Internet e-mail FOC Discussion Group (DG), <foc_dg@egroups.com>, will be reinstated from 1 December 2000. Members who are already signed on will be able to use the service immediately and new subscriptions can be made by sending a blank e-mail to <foc_dgsubscribe@egroups.com>. The Committee has agreed new guidelines for the use of the DG, which all members who wish to use the service are requested to comply with. Guidelines for use of the FOC Discussion Group The FOC Discussion Group (DG) is for members to discuss topics of mutual interest and of relevance to FOC. The aim of the DG is to provide a vehicle for constructive debate on substantive topics. Use of the DG must at all times comply with FOC rules. Messages that in any way undermine the rules, procedures or aims of FOC are not permitted. Nor are messages regarding specific individuals. News items regarding members are, of course, welcome on the News Group (remember the rule: News and information to the News Group; Discussions to the Discussion Group). Do not use the DG to start flame wars or to air personal vendettas or for criticism of individuals, whether members or not. Remember cultural differences - what might be considered acceptable content in one country may offend members of different nationalities. As a general rule, we should discuss things here only if we would be content discussing them on-air with the whole world listening. Messages that are brief and are expressed in a positive vein are always more welcome.

THE FOC DISCUSSION GROUP (DG) by G3WGV

4X4NJ: Riki was QRV in CQ CW Contest as 4X3A on 160m. QSL via WA4WTG. 5B4AGC: George was QRV in the CQ CW Contest as H2G on 10m. He will be QRV with 5B4AGN as ZC4GB in the CQ CW 160 Meter Contest (multi-single) at the end of January. 5B4AGN: Bob was QRV on 13 November and in the CQ CW Contest (SO AB) as ZC4ZM. 9M2NK: Saty was QRV in the CQ CW Contest as 9M6NA. AC5K: Our wishes to Wes on a quick recovery from a motor cycle accident on 11 November. He had 14 stitches in his left knee buy says it will not stop him attending the Florida Dinner. DJOS: Cliff was due to move to a convalescent home on 7 November and after some building work to his apartment, hopes to return there for Christmas. He is very cheerful, positive, and needs a lot of exercise on his right arm and leg but is making slow progress - thanks G3XNG. G3IZD: Ivan will be QRV 4/11 December as CT3/ G3IZD. G3LWI: Referring to his Activity article in last months News Sheet, John says, For fear of upsetting anyone, perhaps I should have said to compliment the present Windle set-up instead of take over from. G3RXP: Dave says the date of the 2001 Harrogate Get-Together has been changed to 9 June. G3TXF: Nigel was QRV for a week as FM/ G3TXF 40-10m and made 7000 QSOs. He was QRV (multi-single) in the CQ CW Contest as J3G with G3WVG and G3TBK. G4GLL: Our sympathy to Geoff who became a victim of the recent flooding in the UK when eight inches of water invaded his bungalow thanks G3IGW & G3LIK. G4UZN: Tony has been QRV as HS/G4UZN. G5RI: I have only just learnt that Derek became a Silent Key at the end of September, does anyone have any further information please? thanks G3RVM & G3XNG. GM3JKS: Frank was QRV in the CQ CW Contest as GM3W. GW3SB: Regarding the use of straight keys mentioned by G3PQC last month, Charles writes, I have never seriously used anything else. In 1938, I bought a bug but I never mastered its use. I have a keyer, for the use of my guests, but I cannot send faster than 8WPM because I miscount the number of dots. I wish others would do the same because I am often called as ZB3H6 etc. Two of my friends who were exMarconi operators say they would never use anything but a straight key as it enables them to make instant changes of speed when conditions are marginal and they are sending a telegram with, for example, stock exchange quotations or a message with lots of accented letters. I appreciate the other operator slowing a little when sending an unusual word, for example, an unusual QTH.

MEMBERSS NEWS by G4BUE

(callsign in brackets indicate G4FOC operator)

FOC CALENDAR

December - 30m & 15m (G3PDL) 2001 subscriptions due 2 11th Florida Dinner 4/11 CT3/G3IZD (615) 25 DL/K1JD & OE/K1JD (612) 25/10 Jan S21YD by SM6CPY (612) 27 Deadline January N/Sheet January - 160m & 20m (G3RXP) 1 Final day for 2001 subscriptions 13 Galveston Get-Together K2LE: Andy is on the air from their new QTH with a Kachina 505 driving an Acom 2000 amplifier into a R-7000 vertical. Andy was QRV (multi-multi) from his contest station in Vermont in the CQ CW Contest and will be QRV as P4/ K2LE again in the 2001 Marathon. K3ZO: Fred was QRV in the CQ CW Contest as HSAC from the club station in Bangkok. K4FU: Zim is now using a 13-28MHz log periodic on his tower. K4LT: Doug was QRV 24/21 November as PJ2/ K4LT from W1BIHs former QTH. K7NAA: Jim was QRV as PJ5/K7NAA before the CQ CW Contest and as PJ5N during it. LA8XM: Tord is now using a Butternut HF6V on his garage roof. It is the same antenna that was used by the 3Y1EE DXpedition. LY3BA: Gedas was QRV (SO AB Low Power) in the CQ CW Contest as LY9A. N2AA: Gene was one of the 20m operators at the A61AJ CQ CW Contest station. N6RA: Tom is awaiting the return of his repaired tower and his normal antennas back; he has been using a temporary set-up since July. He should be QRV 160-2m with the new tower. N7BG: Tony was one of the 15m operators at the N2RM CQ CW Contest station. N9RD: Kathy and Jurgen have purchased a quilting machine which is set-up in the shack so Jurgen can listen to the bands while using it! OH2KI: Jorma was QRV in the CQ CW Contest as ZB2X. PAVDV: Joeke made 2400 QSOs (120 with members) on 10, 12 and 30m as PJ2/PAVDV . VA3UZ: Yuri was one of the operators of the VE2IM CQ CW Contest station from zone 2.

(Only room for the leading scores!)

W8XM* 404 W4QM 378 W1HMD 369 LZ1AF 361 G3SXW 349 EA8CN 344 W6CYX 340 G4BUE* 328 G3TXF* 325 W3NZ* 324 W5ZR 320 SV1AOW 316 SMCCE 314 G3KTZ 313 G2FFO 302 G3LIK 300 N4UB* 300 LY3BA 292 N6NT 291 DL6TQ 286 G3ZEM 285 GW3KDB284 DJ5ZN 281 G4BJM* 280 GW3KGV279 W6TZD 274 F3AT 265 GORH 265 G3HZL W4ZYT* VE1BN* G4OEC K1JD G3LWI W9GW W4CK W4LZ PAVDV ZP6CW N3RS* PADIN PABW 261 261 259 257 257 256 255 252 252 250 250 245 243 242 K9QVB G3MXJ* G4HZV G3JJG G2FDF G8VG K4BAI K2VCO N4AF K4XU W6OV YO4PX NR7O* OK1RR 238 237 237 227 225 223 223 218 216 215 214 212 208 205 SM5COP 204 OY3QN 201 W4CK 201 GW3HCL196 F2MA 194 K4EF 192 NP3G 192 G3IZD* 187 K7UOT 180 W2DX 176 ZL1MH 176 G3NKS* 174 W4DGJ 174 OK1CZ 173

THE 2000 WINDLE AWARD