THE FIRST CLASS C.W.

OPERATORS CLUB

NEWS SHEET 618

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

Editor: G4BUE

April 2001

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 APRIL ARE 30 & 17 METRES

No Topical Topics column from G3SXW this month. Roger is busy getting ready for his next DXpedition (anybody know where?). A reminder that this News Sheet is being published late as June and I only arrived back in the UK from the USA on Wednesday (11 April) morning. We had spent over six weeks in Florida as the guest of N4TO. It wasnt a holiday in the proper sense of the word as we have bought a home there and have spent the last six weeks re-decorating and re-furbishing it. In a way it is nice to come home for a rest! Our Florida home is in Sebring, in the same County as K4LQ, N4TO, W4AI, W4CXH, W4IR and WA4SNI, and used to belong to W2SR before he became a Silent Key. It is therefore used to having RF around it and June and I plan to continue that with the help of the 40 feet tower in the back yard! We intend to spend more of the UK winters in Florida. As you will have no doubt have read in the March News Sheet, the Committee has approved the cost of the tickets for our Annual Dinner at Lords Cricket Ground at 32. The cost has been kept down this year by discussions with the catering company which will result in our staying at Lords for the time being. The Dinner will take place on Saturday 6 October 2001 starting at 9.30 am when the function rooms will be open to our members and guests. It is hoped that there will be various activities during the day catering for both FOC operators and their ladies, and our Annual Dinner will commence at 7pm. The menu for this year will be Roasted Tomato Soup followed by Roasted Shank of Lamb with Vegetables concluding with Lemon Tart, Coffee and Mints. As is traditional during the day, tea and coffee will be served and we would ask members attending for the day function and not stopping for the Dinner to pay a 5 donation towards the daily facilities and beverages. We are planning a small function for the La-

EDITORIAL by G4BUE

LORDS ANNUAL DINNER by G3VTT

dies in the form of a beauty make over which will be provided by staff from a local college and there will be at least one trader, G3TUX, with Morse associated equipment, and of course G4FOC our Club Station. Discussions are being held with certain retailers with a view to providing a display of equipment. Remember this is your chance to meet the friends you make on the air. There will no doubt be many members from abroad visiting the Dinner and it is a pity that so many members from around London do not visit the function and meet them. How about coming this year? With the ticket price held low, this is your chance! Next month I will include accommodation details but for now why not consider staying with one of the London gang? Many UK members open up their homes to both UK and overseas guests and this can be a rewarding experience for all as many life long friendships have flourished within the Club after an initial visit. Tickets should be ordered from Maud Slater as usual at Wychwood, Park Lane, Maplehurst, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 6LL (telephone 01403 891342) with cheques payable to FOC. Alternatively you can reserve your tickets with Maud for payment on 6 October. Any tickets ordered must be paid for of course. If any of you have a particular idea for a display feature or activity during the day function, I would be most interested to hear from you. E-mail me at <g3vtt@aol.com> or telephone 01634 719703. See you at Lords! Further to the announcement on page 39 of FOCUS 46, the following members should be attending: DK8IT, PABW, DJ6SI, DJ5ZN, DL7AKC, PAABM, G4XRV PAINA, PA5XM, , K2VUI, I7ALE, G3LIK, DL6TQ, DL9TJ, DJ2BW, GW3KGV, G4BWP G3IAF, G3TXF, , ON4RU and friends, OZ1LO, OZ1LQH, DK8EI, and non-member DL8LBK. Diary for the weekend: Friday 8 June: early arrivees meet in the hotel in the afternoon. There is the possibility of visiting the town of Echternach or taking a

2001 CONDIN UPDATE by DJ2BW

walk in the Muellerthal. In the evening we visit the Italian Restaurant Le Vesuve. A separate room has been booked for the group. You can eat well and the food is good value for the money. Saturday 9 June: buffet breakfast in the hotel. At 11am we begin a small round trip of Luxembourg. A 45 seater air conditioned coach with WC has been booked and drinks will be available on the coach. The drive follows the River Sauer, which is the boundary between DL and LX, crosses the Wasserbillig bridge and then follows the river Mosel to Remich. We will stop for one hour in Remich and have the opportunity of having a mid-day lunch in one of the many garden-terraced restaurants which can be found on the banks of the river. From Remich the trip continues to the capital city of LX, passing through Bad-Mondorf en-route. In Luxembourg we can visit the cathedral, the old fortifications and the Grand Dukes Palace. From Luxembourg the trip will continue to Muellerthal passing through Junglinster where you can see the high transmitting masts of Radio Luxembourg in the region called Little Swiss Luxembourg Muellerthal. After a short walk in Muellerthal, where you can enjoy magnificent scenery, we will return to Echternach via Grundhof arriving back around 5pm. We will gather in the dining room at 7pm for the FOC Dinner. We will have a choice of two main courses of the four course meal and orders for your choice will be taken at the table. Sunday 11 June: buffet breakfast in the hotel. Around 11am we will drive to a small lake, on the edge of Echternach. We will then have some free-time and you may drink a little coffee. There are many grill places and you even have the possibility of a boat trip in a peddle boat on the lake! Hans, DL6TQ, will again be bringing many bottles of Sekt so that we can enjoy a Sekt lunch in the open air by the lake. Non-alcoholic drinks can be obtained from the nearby small shop Imbiss. Many of the attendees will leave for home in the late afternoon. The cost for the Dinner at the hotel is 65 Dm or 1300 LX Francs per person and the coach trip and the Imbiss together cost 20 Dm. The combined price of 85 Dm per person should be paid to either DJ2BW or DJ6SI in the bar of the hotel during the Saturday evening. The hotel owner has given us a good price for our stay and asks that he is also paid for the over-night cost in the bar. Overseas members can settle their bills, for their overnight stay by cash or credit card, with him at the bar. This years HAMRADIO Hamfest in Friedrichshafen (FN) will be held between 29 June and 1 July (Friday to Sunday instead of Thursday to Saturday as in previous years!). Due to problems some of us had with their rooms last year at the Hotel Rosengarten, and the constant refusal to accept e-mail bookings, we will have our

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION by G3MXJ

Starred List
3. VE3HX: VA3LK, K5DQ, N6NT, G4OEC, G3LZK, ZL1MH, G2FFO, G3NKS. 2. G3ZGC: G3RVM, GORH, K4AO, G3LIK, W8XM, G3LWI, SV1AOW. 2. VE3VA: DK8IT, K4AO, G3LZK, G3IEW, VA3LK, G4OEC. 2. K4UEE: W4ZYT, W1RAN, N1DG, 9V1YC, G4ZDB. 1. K6LQA: K6TS, K1AJ, W4LZ, W1RAN, G3IEW, G4OEC, G3RVM, YV1NX, SM5COP . 1. K3TF: N2UU, W1OT, K5CA, G4ZDB, SV1AOW, W5ZR, SM5COP I7ALE. , 1. AA4Z: G3LZK, G3LIK, N4OO, W4LZ, JA7SSB, LZ1AF, F3AT.

Invitations have been sent to DK4AN and K4WJ.

6. VE3OU: K2UFT, K4AO, W2MEL, KT5X, VE3BHZ. 6. W6JD: W6CYX. 4. KP3R: KP4L, KP4P . 4. LU6EF: K4EWG, K4BAI, W6IJ. 4. G3ORH: K4EWG. 4. OZ7UW: K4EWG 4. K2KQ: W1WEF. 4. OE3GSA: ZS6AL, ZS6QU. 3. KVA: W2DX, K4AO. 3. KZ5D: W5ZR. GKDZ, K6TS, K5AX, W8XM. 3. G5LP: G4XRV, GKDZ, G3LIK, G4BJM, G3JUL, SV1AOW. 2. ZS1WA: G3LIK. 2. G4VHH: G3LPN, G8VG, G3HSP G4BJM, GADE, GBQV, , W4QM. 2. LY2PX: SV1AOW. 2. N6XI: W6CYX, N6NT. 2. K7SS: N6NT, W1WEF. 1. K5RC: W4AN.

Additional Nominations

New Members

1747 DF5JT: (Peter) P Lemken, Solmsstrasse . 40, Berlin 10961, Germany; tel - 177 829 6177; e-mail - <df5jt@qsl.net>. 1748 VK4EMM: (John) J.Loftus, 31 Champagne Street, Petrie, QLD 4502, Australia; XYL - Liz; tel - 7 3285 7292; e-mail - <John_Loftus@ vetweb.net.au>. G4DJX (1441): new tel - 91727 760962. ZS6AL (658): new call - ZS1EL; XYL new call ZS1ESU. K2OZ (1078): tel - 973 972 5869. W4CXH (1384): new address - 324 NE Roosevelt Ave, Lake Placid, FL 33852-5051; tel - 863 465 9924. K6ZSR (1715): new address - 954 Barcelona Ave, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. K8NW (1550): new address - 1360 S Johnsville Road, New Lebanon, OH 45345. evening parties on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Hotel Rad, Lindauer Strasse 2, 88059 Tettnang. Tettnang is about 10 kilometres east of FN. We will have a reduced menu (in German and English) with a Swabian (local) dish, fish and meat dishes, salad and dessert. Expect the prices to be a bit higher than those of the

Amendments

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN by DL7AKC

Rosengarten as it is an upscale place. You can book rooms with the Hotel Rad by telephone: +49 7542 / 5400, fax: 53636 or by email <HotelRad.Tettnang@t-online.de>. Single rooms are available for 110 DM and doubles for 160 DM. Please mention FOC with your booking, otherwise you will not get a room. I have block booked a number of rooms so far. Alternatively you may try the Hotel Panorama, Weinstrasse 5, telephone: +49 7542 / 8074, and fax: 6252 where single rooms cost 110 DM and doubles or twin room are 140 DM. The Panorama is about a five minutes walk from the Rad. All the prices are per night and include tax and a breakfast buffet. This year we will have a ladies program on Friday and Saturday. Alex, XYL of Ken, DL8LBK, has kindly volunteered to organise some sightseeing and shopping trips around Lake Constance. The ladies should get in touch with her by telephone +49 4191 / 72902 or by e-mail <dl8lbk@t-online.de> for further information and suggestions. Please let me know if you are coming as I have to tell the hotel how many people will be attending the dinners. The Breakfast will be at the same old location, the Dayton Crowne Plaza Hotel at 8.30am Sunday 20 May. We will have a breakfast buffet only, just like last year. The cost is $8.25 per person and each person is to pay their own, tip is extra. The location is the John Glenn Room, in the restaurant section of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Looking forward to seeing many of you, if not at the Breakfast, then at the Dayton Hamvention. Just a reminder that the FOC North American Weekend is rapidly approaching, 11-13 May. See page three of the March News Sheet for full details. My very preliminary list of those attending includes W1RM, W4CK, N3JT, N2UU, G3RXP, W4ZYT, KT4P, 5B4AGC, OZ7SM, W3MC, W4DGJ, K2VCO, K5MA and K2VUI. Mike, W3MC, is planning a tour of the Historical Electronics Museum at Linthicum, MD and offers the following: Anyone interested in boatanchors will enjoy this place. They have an extensive collection of older electronics equipment with a heavy emphasis on military hardware, especially World War Two vintage. They have an interesting library with books on all areas of electronics and communications dating back to the early 1900s. Exhibit gallery subjects include fundamentals, communications, early radar, surveillance radar, fire-control radar, electronic countermeasures, underwater electronics and outer space. There is an amateur radio station that includes a TBL-13 and a BC-610. The museum is open on Saturdays from 10am until 2pm, is about an hours drive from Tysons Cor-

ner, and is conveniently located near BWI airport. If there is enough interest, we can arrange for a guided tour. More information is available at <http://user.erols.com/radarmus> for the museum and <http://hometown.aol.com/ wk3p/index.htm> for the Historical Electronics Museum Amateur Radio Club, W3GR. One of the high points of last years raffle was the inclusion of donated items which are representative of the locale where the donor resides. These goodies were well-received last year and, hopefully, attendees will bring similar donations to enhance this years raffle. Also, it has come to my attention that the Doubletree Hotel has rooms available during our weekend at a price considerably less than contracted for with the North American FOC Group. Some members have obtained these rates via Internet services or by calling the hotel (direct) and not affiliating themselves with FOC for reservation purposes. Please contact me (<bweiman@wwfpaper. com> telephone (856) 428-4643) to indicate your intentions or if you have any questions. G2HKU: Ted reports hearing the Woodpecker recently which appeared to be testing and at a faster speed than previously. Congratulations to Ted on working the D68C DXpedition on seven bands with QRP . G3AJP: Johns daughter (Mrs Sally Hunter <sal.hunter@ntlworld.com>) sadly reports that John has a progressive dementia and is currently in Springbank Ward, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge, though he will be moved to a more permanent home later this year. She writes, I know he had many contacts and amateur radio was a major source of pleasure in his life. Would you be so kind as to pass on this sad news to anyone who knew him. I am sure he would welcome any cards. I would also like to ask if anyone has any stories about him, either in later life or during the war. He never spoke about the war when I was a child and now I fear these experiences are lost forever. G3IY: Jane and Jim were due on a cruise at the beginning of April and are planning to attend the Harrogate Get-Together in June. G3LCS: In a recent QSO with SV1NA, a Greek R/O with the INORC No 262, Des learnt they have formed a Greek Telegraphy Club with 123 members to date. SV1NA is GTC 004 and told Des about 70% of the members are ex-Naval operators/brass pounders. G3MRC: Joe is in C9 Maputo for three months from 3 March, has taken some equipment and hopes to get a licence - thanks G3LCS. G3SWH: Jan and Phil will be in the Maldives 4/11 June and Phil will be QRV as 8Q7WH as the usual holiday type of operation with his IC-706 and R-7000 CW only 40 to 10 metres. G4GLL: Geoff is still not back in his flooded home, he says, the whole building has been

FOC DAYTON BREAKFAST by K8NW

MEMBERS NEWS by G4BUE

NORTH AMERICAN WEEKEND by N2UU

stripped of everything, right down to the brickwork. There have been rumours that the plasterers are going in but nothing has happened as yet. I reckon it will be another two possibly three months before I can move back. G4ZVJ: Andy was QRV 8/12 March as 9M6AAC. G8VG: Pete has recently built the K2 QRP transceiver and is QRV with it. GM3YTS: Rob will be QRV with GM4COX, GM4FDM and GMGAV 23 April to 3 May (the others will be QRV until 8 May) as VP8SDX, concentrating on CW on LF and WARC bands and some RTTY and possibly PSK31 during the second week. The web site is <www.hfdx.co.uk/ vp8sdx> and Rob says I will identify myself from time to time so that FOCers will know when it is me operating. K2OZ: Despite still being seriously affected as a result of the 14 feet fall that he suffered almost a year ago and spending much time in hospital, Paul is regaining his level of band activity. With the help of son Wayne, he is up most mornings around 6.30am but spends most of his day in a wheelchair. Following his accident, he had to sell up at his QTH and move in with his son. Paul is operating with a TS850S and a 144 feet wire which the internal ATU handles well on all bands except 80 metres where he has to use an outboard ATU. K6OU: Bruce is managing to get on the air occasionally after his heart attack in December which has slowed the recovery of his hip replacement in August. K8NW: Mike moved to a new QTH in the country with 4.6 acres just before Christmas but is not QRV yet as the weather has not been warm enough for putting up antennas. KF7E: Jim is often QRV 1400-1430z on 10, 12 or 15 metres /M during his 30 minute commute to work. Despite going down with the worst case of flu I have had in memory over the Marathon weekend, he still made 159 QSOs but then missed the deadline for sending in his log. LA8XM: Trond was QRV 29 March/6 April as JX8XM. N3RS: Congratulations to Sig on being elected to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame - thanks LY3BA. N4LS: Lins diabetes has been causing him problems with his feet and, after a couple of surgery attempts, things arent healing properly - thanks W1RM and W4CK. N7BG: Tony spent eight days in hospital recently after shattering six ribs when he fell after cutting a limb away from a guy wire. He says, A ham for 47 years and you can change

(callsign in brackets indicate G4FOC operator)

FOC CALENDAR

Until 1 May Until 20 May

W2ZR/4 from NA62 (617) JW3FL from Hopen Island (EU-063) by LA3FL (616) Until June C9 by G3MRC (618) April - 30m & 17m (G3PDL) 9 Deadline for April News Sheet 20 West Coast Dinner at Visalia (616) 21 Committee meeting 23/3 May VP8SDX by GM3YTS & others (618) May - 80m & 20m (G3LIK) 5/12 HL9DC by W8KJP (618) 11/13 29th North American Weekend

your life in an instant - hopefully that hasnt happened to me but be careful - you just cant say it enough!. OH2EA: Hans says he cut short my stay in Thailand in mid-February, because of Bouvet! The last one for me. So I came home on the 16th and within 24 hours had QSOs on two bands, both modes! I am rather pleased about that, so finally after 38 years I have got them all on CW and SSB! Hans was due to go to China a few days later to attend an international conference on Tai Chi Quan and participate in various workshops and seminars about it. VE6BF: Although Bill posted his 2000 Windle claim in January, GW3KGV did not receive it until mid-March! Consequently Bills score of 166 is not listed in the report on page 18 of FOCUS 46 - thanks GW3KGV. WCGR: Gary has been home recovering from minor surgery in March. W1FZY: Paul had a K2 (5 watts QRP transceiver) for Christmas and says it sure does a lot for a little package. W4CK: Mark was QRV as A61AF at short notice on 24 March and made about 500 QSOs. He met N2AA and S5A who were with the A61AJ CQ WPX SSB Contest team. W8KJP: Del will be in Wonju, South Korea 5/12 May and may be QRV as HL9DC for two days if the Kachina gear still works sunrise/sunset on 7005, 14026 and 21026kHz. - thanks G3LIK. W8KPL: Ex-member Bill Simpson (number 523, March 1957 to October 1983) recently became a Silent Key, aged 93 years - thanks K8EJ. ZS6AL: Vidi has changed his call to ZS1EL, and Hester-Ann is now ZS1ESU, after moving QTH. He says, The new QTH has an excellent take off to the USA and Europe and I am looking forward to getting a wire up into one of the tall pine trees using Hesters bow and arrow method.

Score updates can be passed to any committee member. An asterisk against the call indicates the score has been updated this month. Table shows the scores received by 1300z 13 April 2001.
W8XM* 269 W5ZR* 176 G3HSP 172 SV1AOW*170 G3KTZ* 158 G4BUE* DL6TQ* G4HZV* G4BJM* LY3BA 151 150 147 140 138 G2FFO* W6TZD* G3NKS* DJ5ZN* KT4P* 129 122 115 112 111 W3NZ* G3MXJ* F3AT* WCGR* G2HKU* 111 109 102 100 95 G3IY* F5VEX K2VCO 4X1FC* GW3SB* 90 83 73 59 56 W6THN* G3MCK N2KW G3LHJ G4XRV* 55 52 51 50 50 G8VG* OZ4FF* W1FZY* W4IF* K4II 47 47 44 35 31 W4ZYT W1HT ZP6CW K6OU* OH2EA* 25 24 17 12 4

THE 2001 WINDLE AWARD