MONTHLY MEETINGS 1st and 3rd MONDAYS, 7.45 for 8 pm.

AT THE T.S. TERRA NOVA, 34 THE WALDRONS, S. CROYDON.

Dear Members,

In our garden the Lavatera bushes are in full flower and are showing a profusion of colour which helps to make up for the drab days. Hopefully they are a portend of good weather to come for indeed we have not had a very good summer so far. Which brings me nicely to the first item.

NEXT MEETING. SUMMER BARBECUE AT POUND COTTAGE.

Once again this will be held by the kind offices of Peter and Wendy Burton on Monday 3rd August, and PLEASE NOTE, this meeting will not be held at our usual venue at the Terra Nova, unless the weather is so terrible as to stop outdoor activities, it's no fun cooking in the rain!! Time 7.30 for 8 pm at Pound Cottage, 202 Coulsdon Road, Old Coulsdon. Going North it is on the right hand side and the first house after the new estate past Stoneyfield Road, with a bowling club almost opposite. Members should bring their own meat (sausages) chops, hamburgers, fish etc.) and bread. But salad and soft t drinks will be provided, as will the barbies and cooks. If you require alcohol bring your own. This is planned as a FAMILY AFFAIR so bring the XYL and the little darlings! All you have to do is to turn up and pray for good weather. If you are in any doubt ring 01737 551413 after 5 pm. Peter has a large garden and in the past years it has been an excellent evening... it also gives the XYLs a chance to get together and swap news.

LAST MEETING DIGITAL VIDEO.

We were fortunate in having Tim Drew G8JXV to come along and talk to us on the subject of digital video. For some years he has been concerned with the development and introduction of the digital transmission of pictures through telephone lines which have a restricted video bandwidth. His original work was concerned with the possibility of introducing telephones with simultaneous pictures of the speakers and the technical problems of splitting up pictures into the parts that are changing; it is not necessary to constantly send the background that is not changing. His work progressed from this to sending higher quality pictures, again over systems that had restricted bandwidths, and he went on to describe the present state of the art and also what the future may hold. The technical knowledge is there, it is now a question of the capital viability of these systems. Tim presented his talk in a very clear manner which even I was able to follow and with the aid of a projector and transparencies h e was able to demonstrate the quality of the pictures transmitted. This was not a very deeply technical talk, more of the theory and requirements of a system that is somewhat in it's infancy. Anyway, a very good evening and our thanks to Tim for all his efforts.

VHF NATIONAL FIELD DAY.

We again entered this at the beginning of July. The problems we had were all minor ones, and perhaps the most unfortunate one was the lack of operators. We did not have to close down unnecessarily, but some operators had to work long hours which should not be so with a club of our size. This however is a problem with many clubs and each year fewer clubs enter. However the weather was not too bad, and certainly it was dry, no sunbathing. All stations opened on time, the accommodation and the fish and chips were satisfactory. Problems with computers, the new generator cut out due to overheating until we realised why, and minor troubles with rotators. Conditions were not good but I understand that 2 and 70 cms worked several EA stations and the best dx on 23 cms was a German station. We have to wait until the end of the year for the final results, but compared with the adjudicated scores of last year we did not do too badly. 4 meters CW 10887 (9414) SSB 13795 (11575), 2 meters 84708 (69 757), 70 cms 28426, (24514), 23 cms 5691 (5345). We were in the mix and match section i.e. 4 and 2 meters were in the restricted section, 70cms in the open and 23 cms in the low power. The scoring was one point per kilometre. Our score is up on each band assuming (!!) that we have no points deducted but this would not be sufficient to go from 2nd (as last year) to first. Still here's hoping. And a big THANK YOU to all, and I mean all, who took part. CAN WE HAVE A BIGGER EFFORT NEXT YEAR? Or do we gracefully drop out, which would be a pity as we won the first VHF NFD and donated the SURREY CUP to the RSGB.

LE BLOCKHAUS D'EPERLECQUES.

In the last Newsletter was the account of a visit we made to England's Secret Nuclear Bunker at Kelverton (Now no longer secret!) Recently some of us visited France to the site that during the last war the Germans were preparing a structures to build and house Hitler's "ultimate" weapon - the V2, a rocket 14 meters long, 12 tons at launch with 1 ton of explosive and was the predecessor of the space age. The contrast between the two places was very sobering. Kelverton was been maintained in a condition similar to its intended operational state, whereas the one in France was only the shell, the difference being that Kelverton fortunately was not in a war situation, whereas K.N.W (Kraftwerk Nord West) very much was. There are some exhibits of vehicles, weapons, photographs etc. but the real attraction is the awesome state of the buildings. The Germans expected it to be bombed so the emphasis was on the thickness of the reinforced concrete walls and ceilings. It was built by forced labour and u sed some 84,000 cubic meters of concrete, the original plan was for 131,000. It was designed to cover an area 102 X 216 meters ands 28 meters high. It was to be large enough to house the V2s in a vertical position ready to be fired. The structure did contain the apparatus to manufacture the liquid propellant sufficient to fuel some 200 V2s each month but these were launched elsewhere, though in fact only (!) 1,400 were launched at England. Fortunately the many occasions it was bombed stopped production, but it was not finally abandoned until the tallboy bombs (12,000 lbs.) were dropped by the RAF, though one large portion remained more or less intact for you to see.

Most damage was done when a tallboy bomb just missed the building and landed nearby and which made a crater some 100 yards across which caused an "earthquake" splitting many walls. The force of the explosions can be seen by the massive pieces of concrete uprooted and tossed aside, the reinforcing rods over 1" in diameter twisted into grotesque shapes. Many Germans and the slave labourers who did the constructing unfortunately were killed and there are several plaques to their memory. While you walk around there are points with commentaries in your language and also a film show. We all were very interested and thoroughly enjoyed the tour. It emphasised the futility and waste of War. Our thanks to Peter G3ZPB who provided the transport and did an excellent job of driving. We took the Chunnel and one goes on the N43 towards St. Omer but you turn left at Moule. It is well signposted when you get near. One word or warning, it closes for lunch!!!

There are some incomplete ramps for the Vls (Doodlebugs) on show, but I understand that there are other complete ramps with other museums in the area. All are well worth a visit and I hope others will follow us.

I mentioned in my last news-letter the sad news that G5BY had become a silent key in arch. He was a founder member of the SRCC and despite having had typhoid when young, he contributed a lot to amateur radio. I am fortunate in having sight of his scrap books and certificates. He was very meticulous and I have the four books full of his exploits.

In 1929 he won a trophy for the world's best "QST" amateur radio station and in 1931 he won the frequency measuring tests (accuracy 99.98%) and the winner in Great Britain of seven consecutive international Radio Relay Contests. He was the first European station to span the Atlantic on 56 MHz in December 1936. Hilton was then living at Chepstow Road, Croydon, and he had many "firsts" to Japan and Alaska.

In collaboration with G6SM he carried out air to ground transmissions on 5 meters successfully, with the antenna from the wing-tip to tail of a Gypsy Moth, the AM output being 5 watts, it was essentially a push-pull oscillator transmitter, and one report of 150 miles. Another of his firsts was to operate from the top of Snowdon and was heard over 200 miles.

Although the many photographs of his equipment look crude to our eyes, it is obvious that the workmanship was excellent, the components which in those days were all very expensive could not be bought at "junk sales".

After the war he pioneered 2 meters and 432 MHz but there is too much information for this newsletter. However, George Bennett, G5BZ, was a personal friend of Hilton and who knows a great deal of his background has agreed to come to the club on 7th September to sketch out details and to host a "Question and Answer" session. This also will give you an opportunity of seeing the four scrap books which are extremely interesting with photographs of the equipment, antennas, certificates etc.

Apart from the life of Baird we have never done a "biography" like this before and I look forward to this "first".

C.A.T.S QUIZ.

This took place last Monday and some ten members of the SRCC pitted their wits against the other teams. There were members from Crystal Palace, Kingston and Bromley and of course CATS. The winners were a mixed team from SRCC and Bromley, and the SRCC "B" team were second. It is apparent that other local clubs have many more erudite members than in our club 1 It was a very light-hearted contest but was thoroughly enjoyed by all there. Our thanks to CATS for organising it. I understand that Allen is ill in Hospital, we wish him to get well soon. Anyway a very enjoyable evening and our thanks to CATS for their hospitality .

I have received a nice letter from Mrs. Linda Paull of the Diamond Riding School to thank ALL OF YOU for the stamps you have been collecting. Each time they contact the dealer they receive about £50. The Diamond Group was founded in 1968 by Keith Webb, a serving Mounted Policeman (now the President) and his wife June.

They with a small group of helpers started fund raising and providing riding for a few disabled people from the Queen Mary's Hospital. Thanks to their endeavours, the Diamond Centre was opened in Carshalton in 1974 and now is one of the largest centres for disabled riders. It shows that your efforts are appreciated so keep up the good work.... the more the merrier.

WIMBLEDON AND DARS.

I have received notice of their summer camp from Saturday 24th July until Saturday 1st August with the usual Barbecue on that last date. I understand you are all welcome so why not if the WX is good pop along for the Saturday. Further info. from Fred G7VCQ, 01737 356745.

I understand that there were only two on the net, but as it was the VHF weekend it's not suprising. However this week there were six on the air and I expect there were several listeners who do not, or cannot, call in.

FOR SALE.

UNIDEN 2020, 3.5 to 30 MHz TRANSCEIVER. C.W. MIKE AND INSTRUCTION MANUAL. ALL WORKING. £175.00 ONO. Graham G3RJW 0181 669 8722

FOR SALE.

2 ELEMENT MOSLEY TA-32 JUNIOR MULTIBEAM ANTENNA. 10,20 and 40 meters. With instruction leaflet and new rubber seals. CAN BE VIEWED AT G8TB QTH £75 ONO.

Has anyone details of how to fit a centre zero tuning meter to a FT736. This is required by Tony G3GHI. 0181 660 4060

If people wish to read about the club, they may do so on the INTERNET by accessing the SRCC Web Site at: http://www.btinternet.com/~ray.howells/srcc/srcchome.htm.

This site contains an E-Mail address at which information can be sent to the club.

That's about the lot for this month. There are still about 30 wayward members who have not yet renewed their subs so hopefully this reminder will prick their consciences. Hope to see you at Peter's BARBECUE on Monday and pray that the weather is kind to us.

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