July 2017
Goonhilly Earth Station Visit
By Brian Coleman G3NNS
STOP PRESS (see p27) New UK 23cm DX record Terry M0VRL (IO70PO) reports that on July 14th he completed a QSO of 2662km with Pedro EA8AVI (IL28FC) in the Canary Islands that breaks the UK and Region 1 23cm tropo records. In this Issue Loan Equipment!...... 2 Subscription Information!...... 3 UKµG Project support!...... 4 UKµG Technical support!...... 4 UKµG Chip Bank – A free service for members!...... 4 Spectrum Matters!...... 5 Chairman's thoughts on Finningley !...... 6 SK: Philip Bagshaw, G3NEO, of Todwick!...... 12 Modifying a 3.5 GHz Panel Antenna!...... 14 Goonhilly Earth Station Visit!...... 17 Finningley: Antenna Test Range!...... 19 Contest Results!...... 20 UKuG Microwave Contest Calendar 2017!...... 22 80m UK Microwavers net!...... 22 GW4DGU 10GHz Feed For TV Offset Dishes and Dual-Mode Bandpass Filter!...... 22 Activity News : June 2017!...... 23 Events calendar!...... 28 EME 2018!...... 28
Scatterpoint 1707 microwavers. org Page 1 of 28 UK Microwave Group Contact Information Chairman: G4DDK General Secretary: G3XDY Membership Secretary: Treasurer: G4BAO Sam Jewell John Quarmby G8DKK Bryan Harber Dr. John C. Worsnop Email: chairman Email: secretary Email: membership Email: treasurer @microwavers. org @microwavers. org @microwavers. org @microwavers. org Located: Suffolk Located: Suffolk Located: Hertfordshire Located: Cambridgeshire JO02pa JO02ob IO91vx JO02cg Address: Blenheim Cottage Address: Address: Address: 20 Lode Avenue Waterbeach Falkenham 12 Chestnut Close, 45 Brandles Road Cambs CB25 9PX IPSWICH Rushmere St Andrew Letchworth Hertfordshire SG6 2JA Home Tel: 01223 862480 IP10 0QU IPSWICH IP5 1ED Home Tel: n/a Home Tel: 01394 448495 Home Tel: 01473 717830
Scatterpoint Scatterpoint Contest & Awards Beacon Coordinator: Editor: G8BHC Activity News: G4LDR Manager: G3XDY Denis Stanton G0OLX John Quarmby Martin Richmond-Hardy Neil Underwood Email: beacons Email: editor Email: scatterpoint Email: g3xdy @microwavers. org @btinternet. com @microwavers. org @microwavers. org Located: Located: Suffolk (JO02OB) Located: Suffolk JO02pa Address: 122 Foxon Lane Address: Address: NB editor & scatterpoint Caterham CR3 5SD 45 Burnt House Lane email addresses go to both 12 Chestnut Close Home Tel: Kirton Neil and myself. Rushmere St. Andrew Ipswich IP10 0PZ Ipswich NB editor & scatterpoint Suffolk IP5 1ED email addresses go to both Home Tel: 01473 717830 Neil and myself.
UK Regional Reps Martin Hall! Scotland! GM8IEM! [email protected] Gordon Curry! Northern Ireland! GI6ATZ! gi6atz@qsl. net Chris Bartram! Wales! GW4DGU! gw4dgu@chris-bartram. co. uk
Assistants Murray Niman! Webmaster! G6JYB! g6jyb@microwavers. org Kent Britain! USA! WA5VJB/G8EMY! wa5vjb@flash. net Mike & Ann Stevens! Trophies! G8CUL/G8NVI! [email protected] Noel Matthews! ATV! G8GTZ! noel@noelandsally. net Robin Lucas! www. beaconspot. eu! G8APZ! Barry Chambers! 24GHz and up! G8AGN! b. chambers@sheffield. ac. uk Mike Scott! Chip Bank! G3LYP! g3lyp@btinternet. com Denis Stanton! Beacon Coordinator! G0OLX! beacons@microwavers. org Loan Equipment Don’t forget, UKμG has loan kit in the form of portable transceivers available to members for use on the following bands: 5. 7GHz! 10GHz! 76GHz
Contact John G4BAO for more information.
Page 2 of 28 microwavers. org Scatterpoint 1707 UK Microwave Group Articles for Subscription Information Scatterpoint The following subscription rates apply. UK £6. 00 US $12. 00 Europe €10. 00 News, views and articles for this newsletter are always welcome. This basic sum is for UKuG membership. For this Please send them to you receive Scatterpoint for FREE by electronic means (now internet only) via the Yahoo group and/ editor@microwavers. org or Dropbox. Also, free access to the Chip Bank. The CLOSING date is Please make sure that you pay the stated amounts the FIRST day of the month when you renew your subs next time. If the amount is not correct your subs will be allocated on a pro- if you want your material to be rata basis and you could miss out on a newsletter published in the next issue. or two! Please submit your articles in any of You will have to make a quick check with the the following formats: membership secretary if you have forgotten the Text: txt, rtf, rtfd, doc, docx, odt, renewal date. Please try to renew in good time so Pages that continuity of newsletter issues is maintained. Put a renewal date reminder somewhere Spreadsheets: Excel, OpenOffice, prominent in your shack. Numbers Please also note the payment methods and be Images: tiff, png, jpg meticulous with PayPal and cheque details. Schematics: sch (Eagle preferred) PLEASE QUOTE YOUR I can extract text and pictures from pdf files but tables can be a bit of a CALLSIGN! problem so please send these as Payment can be made by: PayPal to separate files in one of the above formats. ukug@microwavers. org Thank you for you co-operation. or a cheque (drawn on a UK bank) payable to ‘UK Microwave Group’ and sent to the membership secretary Martin G8BHC (or, as a last resort, by cash sent to the Treasurer!)
Reproducing articles from Scatterpoint If you plan to reproduce an article exactly as in Scatterpoint then please contact the Editor – otherwise you need to seek permission from the original source/author. You may not reproduce articles for profit or other commercial purpose. You may not publish Scatterpoint on a website or other document server.
Scatterpoint 1707 microwavers. org Page 3 of 28 UKµG Project support The UK Microwave Group is pleased to encourage The application form has a number of guidance tips and support microwave projects such as Beacons, on it – or just ask us if in doubt! In summary:- Synthesiser development, etc. Collectively UKuG • Please apply in advance of your project has a considerable pool of knowledge and experience available, and now we can financially • We effectively reimburse costs - cash on results (eg Beacon on air) support worthy projects to a modest degree. • We regret we are unable to support running Note that this is essentially a small scale grant costs scheme, based on 'cash-on-results'. We are unable to provide ongoing financial support for running Application forms below should be submitted to the costs – it is important that such issues are UKuG Secretary, after which they are reviewed/ understood at the early stages along with site agreed by the committee clearances/licensing, etc. www. microwavers. org/proj-support. htm
UKµG Technical support
One of the great things about our hobby is the idea the volunteers. Without a doubt, the best way to that we give our time freely to help and encourage make people withdraw the service is to hassle them others, and within the UKuG there are a number of and complain if they cannot fit in with YOUR people who are prepared to (within sensible limits!) timetable! share their knowledge and, what is more important, Please remember that a service like our support test equipment. Our friends in America refer to such people can provide would cost lots of money per amateurs as “Elmers” but that term tends to remind hour professionally and it’s costing you nothing and me too much of that rather bumbling nemesis of will probably include tea and biscuits! Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, so let’s call them Tech Support volunteers. If anyone would like to step forward and volunteer, especially in the regions where we have no While this is described as a “service to members” it representative, please email john@g4bao. com is not a “right of membership!” The current list is available at Please understand that you, as a user of this service, must expect to fit in with the timetable and lives of www. microwavers. org/tech-support. htm UKµG Chip Bank – A free service for members Interim Chipbank Update SM Rs and Cs. If you need a value not listed in the current catalogue, ask as it may now be available. By Mike Scott, G3LYP Finally, as a result of a posting I made on the Since the Martlesham Roundtable, I have received a Reflector just before Martlesham, Bill,N6GHZ, kindly number of donations to the Chipbank which will be sent me a large collection of microwave components included in the next catalogue update sometime from California. These are mainly diodes, including after the Finningley Roundtable. Included are a Gunn and varactor as well as some transistors. considerable number of MMICs from G4HUP’s These are listed on the next page. In many cases estate including MARs and the Agilent MSA Google produced full or abbreviated data sheets, equivalents. We also have a further supply of Kent’s some appear to be specials as I could find no data. “Funny” MAR-6s (Thanks Kent!). The quantity available is listed after the item. If you Paul Nickalls G8AQA donated 48 pcb mounting want any items(s) please use the usual Chipbank SMA sockets (through hole ) and Paul Entwistle order form on the website. G8AFC, two large bags of BZX85C5v1 and The catalogue is on the UKµG web site at BZX85C11v 1watt Zener diodes. www. microwavers. org/chipbank. htm John, G8ACE, presented me with a large box of reeled components which has added to our range of
Page 4 of 28 microwavers. org Scatterpoint 1707 Chipbank additions