l\rmateurn lRadh,o Cllrurlb - Cockenzie and Port Seton Amateur

S,ettornt
Corc]kenrrzl,e& JPtorrrrL
l\rmateurn lRadh,oCllrurlb,
Volume3 Issue7
July 199
JULY EDITORIAL
Ne* wasour cont€sts,the PW Q(P on
the lSth Juneand the tsIG oNE' the
VHF Field Dsy on the lstt2nd July so look
for
full r€pffts on thesein neld months
icyabletime,or hashadif th€Vhar/e
(you will gatherth4t this was
nemrsleter.
awayalready,it is a goodtirne to
gior
to the eryentshrt tbat q/as ForSoIc
wriften
remember
wervoneabwt LC}oSETALK
Deadlines
onthe Newsteter).
drc
to
Citizen Swift 24 Colour Printer
they arechating on the air. One
f,llO or n€rest offer
neverreally knowswho may be listening
this months
14.4lbt€rnal Voice\Fax\DataMod€m
LETS PLAY SAFEanddont mention From the techical side
nerysletter contains infurmafion on
with 99roice mailbocs (like a
that ANYONE is awayon holiday.
"ShrckCoreRenrwals', *GM6HGWs
TelephoneAnswering l\,lachine)
PIT Timer" and RobensGMTA\IE
fllS
Right what hasbeengoing onthis last
Morse Tutot' so hopeyou will at leastfind
Anyonelooking for 4 or 6 coreryr
month. First of all a group of 26 of us
them ofinterest.
insulatedwire (Black or red) or
visited TornessPowerStationon the 3rd
interest€din the aboveit€rnsqrntact
Juneand I mustadrnit it reaty was a grcilt
your
so
it
me
all
enjoy
Ok
that's
from
for full
, soseefurtherin thenswsletter
holidays.
ALAI{HATNES
Bob GM4tryz @ GBTEDN
Tel0l3l 665 1309
Well this neumlefier now brings into the
main holiday period of the year and as
muchas I hopeeveryonerealty hasan
From the Visitor Centre we then
proceededto th€ l,Iain PowerStation
wherewe were shownaround with the
main
concentrationbeiry on the Turtine
Saturday 3rd June saw theclubs
Hall,
Reactor I{all and lvlain Conrol
visit to Torness PowerStation at Dunbar
Room.
Ateachstageof the tourmary
with 26 peopleattending.
questionswereaskedand gratefully
ansmiercdtrutit wasfelt on the d
The visit wasorganisedwith Scottish
occasionthat the specificanswerwas
Nuclearwhich allowedus to usetheir
being
skippe4 was it due to not lnowing
FreeBus aspart of their "Comeand See
not
to ansqrcr,we will never
or
allorred
Program".The busarrived at the Pond
know.
thing
ttut was realty apparsnt
One
tlall Car Pa* at 10:05wherewe all mst
during
the
whole
tour wasthe secrrity
it beforeproceedingat 10:30to Torness.
Power
within
the
Station
"ndyou mn
On routewe received from the Bus
you consider
why
when
really
un&rstand
Courieran enplanationon the history of
it.
ScottishNuclearfollowedby a video on
At the end of the tour we all anived back
"Comeand See".Reachingthe Power
at
the Visitors Centrghad anothercup of
Stationwe wer€taken to the visitors
coffee
and a lmk aroundthe Centre
c€ntre.Therewe ohained a free drink and
before
departingback up on the btls to
welcomebeforewe wereusheredinto the
Fort
Setso.
Visiton Centre Conferenceroom. Here
wewere intro&rc'ed to our Tour Guides On th€ way back it was discoveredthat
SandyGM3FQU and his wife Ef didnt &
for the day followed by a further video
tour errcnthoryh the,ywent in the bus.
the
explaining aboutNuclear Fower.
This was&rc to Sandytaking sud&nly
unwell and needingto get some
After the video we wete split into
antibiotics quickf,vso insteadof the tour
small groupe with eachallocatedtheir
theyboth spent the timetherebeing
specificguide.
( Col 3)
(Col2)
TORNESSVISIT
lookedafter by the residentnurseand
getting a visit from one of the local
doctors.Fromwhat Sandy says trc
real$ got pamperedand looking forwarc
tohis n€* visit, I'm sureitsto seethe
nune again and not to do the tour !!!!
From what hasbeensaid sine weryone
reallyenjoyedthevisit. I mustafuit
from ryfirst initial phonecall to
ScottishNuclear and the wbole went
they havebeenexcellentin all areas and
cant praisethem enough.
If yor didnt makeit I recommendto tak€
sometime out and give Tornessa visit.
BobGM4LIYZ @ GBTEDN
NOVTCE START DATE
My ne* Novice Classis starting on the
2lst August 1995at 19:00ofwhich I
havealready2 placesfilledthus still 2
placc free.
Do you know anyonewhomightbe
intere6t€din filling thece placesif so
c:rnyou get let me know or evenget them
to contactryself direcr
BobGM4UYZ @ GBTEDN
or Tel:01875811723
Page2
Cockenze& Port Seton ARC.
REMOVING STUCK TUIYING COIL CORES
I cameircrossa bulletin that I picked up via the packetnetwork on how to release ilning coil cores. From rny own
personal experiene thereis nothing morefrustrzrtingthan c.oresbreaking and thus making adjustmenttotally uselessplus the fact
the only way to resolvethe prr&lem is oftgn to gFt a neryooil and core.
The following article I must admit I havent personallytried as yet hrt at least its a good starting point.
n' Article ftom Jim G0DPX GBTWRG
@
Philips/$e M290 SeriesTuning Coil Core Remsval ...
A Propos€dmethod..
Thoseof yot who readmy first hdl€tin regardingthe tuning coil coreson tlrc M294 will recall horuI found it impossruleto
renuwe the coreswithr breakingthem.
Well, as a reslt of that hilletin I receivd severalconstructive and usefirl reptes exptainingthe reason for the coils
'sticking' and zugg€stingnetNs fc freeing thein. The reasontbe mils get sbck is that th€,ywere luhicated with casor oil
ftring manufrctureand this castoroil goeshard with age acting like a uaxy glue. The secretof freeing them is to softenthis
castoroil agein. fq/o srggesions we.remade,bch of them mn& gmd sense.They \rrcrc:the addition of rew castoroil (rnd
perhapsheatfiom a fine non-magnetic solderingiron apptiedto tlecore as well) and the addition of met$ated spfuit the coils
shmldbe l€ft to soakbdorc de,meting to tum them.
tlavingreceivedthisimraluableadvice,Idedrcedthatmodelglorrenglne fuel world perhapsombine ttre qualities of
both sggestions. Straigh glow fuel is 80olomethanol ard?fpy'o@or,oil. (lvlettanol is one of the ferwsohentsthat dissolv€s
casor oil)
Soarmedwithafewouncesofmysonsmodelenginefitellset aborr another lt/i294. Below isanaccount of the method
and equipmen I used IVe kept the accomt 'sepalde' so that those of yor thd wish to saveit can edit 6rutrhis introdrction and
savejust the 'method'for the Mod File.
Subjecl Philipeige M290 SeriesTuning Coil Core Removal.
A propomdnethodlry Jim @DPX
For this methodyor will require.
l. 2 ounces(s0ml) of straight model glow enginefirel. This is availablefrom all gmd mo&l shops,althoughit's usgally sold in
ll2 litr€ or larger sizebotttes.
NOTE: 'Straight'fuel is only methanoland castoroil mixture.
Other firel gradeshaveadditivessuchas nitrcmethaneto enhanceenglneperformance.This firel is FLAMMABLE sopleasebe
careful.Nonakedflamesand &gs ort'.
2. A sitable dn pper or qyringefor adding fuel mix to the cores.
3. A set,or at leasttwo each,in the three requk€d sizes,of
plastic coretrimmingtools. NEVERuse metal trimmersorscrew&irrcrs on the ores. they will break instantty.
NOTE: Philips makean ideal setof timmen with dsens of bladescalled sirnpfiyTrinming Kit' SBC317,which shouldbe
availablefrcm major supfly horses.I got my setfiom Farnellsfu l-ee& Farrcll No. 310-50095aostabd$ #15 plus VAT.
4. Sheetsof novspaperor cloth.
5. LOTS OF PATIENCEandaGENTLE HAND.
METHOD
Removethe 290 seriesrig from its caseand lay it componentsideup on a sheetof nemspaperor cldh.
Add the m*lfirclfluidtoeachcoreintur4
allowing it toseep into thecoreuntilyouaresatisfiedthat ttrc fuel has
penetratedthe threadsbetlv€€nthe core and the coil former. Yor may fuid it bener to do someof the coils from the un&ni& of
the PCB. especiallywherethe coil is flush with the top of its former and won't accep ary fuel fluid without spilling. The two
large coils Ll and L2 nay requtresomefonn of plug in one end to prwent the fluid from simply passingthough th€ cmtrc slot
and not penetratingthe threa&,Now, LEA\IE IT ALONE (if you can, and I bet yotl cant....) for 12 houn or more.If you must go
ba* to it thenjust add moreof the firel fluid to eachcore.
When the coils are thorwghly soake4 take two of the CORRECTsizePLASTIC trinmers for each@il (asI saidearlier there
are three diferenr si"es)and with the boardon its side, insertthe trimmen at eachend of the choGenoil and VERY, VERY
gently try to turn the core.Useno more pr€$ure than you would useto roll a pencil betweenyour thumb and forefingc....yes,
really solitle !! Ifthecorerefimstonrd/ethengent$ rotate therinmer toolsbackandforthtryingeachdirectiona couple
of times. If it stilt wont msve it's back to smking agrin with the fuel fluid
NOTE: someof the trinmen in my set had only trim socketso theyhadto be donewith exra carefrom one si& only.
Once the coils movg rotatethem very genfly until your happy that they are truly free and that's it. No needto lubricateany
finther sincewhen tbe methanolevaporatesit leavesthe castoroil lubricant behindI hopethis will helpyou successru$bnsti*'those aores.
My gratiut& to thosefellow amrteurs,G8IAY, G8KNF and G4AON for their invaluable adviceand help.
Jim C'0DPX@ GBTWRG
I Page3
Cockenae& Port SetonA.RC. I
HE NE\'ER,KEEPS ANYTHING F.oR LoNG.
ELB
lv/,Rciltvlu4yE
- HAVE
A\{ALYSEP,l,l33f
s€r,
N!fi SEf,. l€il,yER'S
FR€QAENCy /4€r6q -
-eooD fu sHREt 0R
RtSrOR4noAl;WnULD
SWApron 4 MoRf
wAyEReceivep-
' itv si11i1t1X
oott1in'olt- WnfDottff^u tnnV
-oREyeil A/0r
wlirc: I \NAPl,t?
woQKiNqRuhsigil FoR youBs!!
o
o,
tl
#
i ...
@
IIA.R.S. CALIBRATION
TEST NIGHT
EVENT S
COL UM N
HerearesomewenB for the comingmonths........
6th July
Dunfermline RS l44MI{z Fox Hunt. Seeelsewhire in this
newsletterfor info.
A very enjoyableeveninguas prrovidedby
15/18thJuly Tall ships in the Firth of Forth. Irs e4ected to be very very hrsy!!
John GMTOLQ, Dick GM0FCPandBob
22ndJuly
RSGB l4{lvfrkl,owPowerContest, I,}0O-220OUTC.Secarticle
GM4IKT who all camealongwith masses
for
by GM6VIU
further info.
of equipnrerrtand spentall nigltwith
23rd Jufy. RSGB43z[vt[zlow PowerContest,0SOO-1m0UTC.Seearticle
our club mernberstesting bits of radio
by GM6VIU forfurther info.
gear and coming to all sortsof 'good'
ltth Augurt 2nd Cockenzie& Port SetonJuk Sale,Community Centrg
conclusions,I am cerain that t sp€akfor
junk NOWI Talk-In S22, Rafle,
Port Seton. It wont be long so lmk out
-vour
all concernedwhen I saya ver,vhuge
Refreshmenrgentry ONE POttNDl!!
thank you to all three gmtlemen and
26l27thAugust LighthouseSpecialEvent Station Barns NessLightbouse,
erend a friendly welcomeforthe ne*
Nr Dunbar. Activity on 80. ,10.20 and 2 metresfrom 9am saturdayto 6pm sundav.
Itime theywish to comedown andvisit us Cone and activateGB2LBN.
lhereat the Kelsoclub.
27th August Cralashiels
Rally, FocusCentre.Livingstone Ptacein Galashiels.
Doorsopenat llam.
p.s. The door is openeachMonday night
2/3 September RSGB l44tv/dilzTrophy Contest,14OO-I,100UIC. We witl probbly
from l9OOuntil roughty 2200 upstain
enterthis contesttoo so comealong and lend a hand!
in room 3 of the AbbqvRow
29th September Cockenzie& Fort SetonARC l44MI4z DF Hunt. Warchthis space
Community Centre.Kelso, pleasepop in
for the nrles.
for a visit anytima visitors always
lTth
November Talk by Ron Liveseyabout 'Aumras and the Sun' at Fort Seton
welcome.
Community Centre. A very intercsang tslk!
73 & Margaret,
GMOALX @ cBTrED
.i Y\
n i
-{ vf 'J
Ahd#'
u\ \r}y
Keepthe infonnation coming in and keep us all up to date!!
As usualthe peopleto contactfor info are :
Cockenzie& Port SetonARC - Bob GM4LIYZ
KelsoARC
- Margaret GMOALX
Galashiels
ARC
- JimGMTLUN
DunfennlineRS
- Mrian GM0SRD
LothiansRS
- Mel GMsJAG
Keepthe inforrnation coming in andkeep us all up !o da!e!!
73Colin(c [0CLN)
Cockenzre& Port SetonA.R.C.
Page4
More Contesting:
To glve you someideaas to what
that means.Colin enteredthe Sepember
199{2mtr contestand madewell over
Whenyou readthis the weelcendof
200 contacts.Alan USI and myself did the
VHF NFD will be tut a distant memory.
70cns low powerand didnt enter
I hopethougb, that all of you who took
' 'he
club(aswe didnt lmow of it at that
parthavehada goodtime,andthat
rnadeonly 50 conrcts and
you can't $ait for the nes one. Now on to
we tirushedaboveColfurin the table. So
the meatof this article...
this yezuwe are going m try to get
The vhfluhf low powerweekendis coming as rnany under our beltsto seeif we can
imgove on lastyear.
up later in the month,andwe are
hoprngto enterour ctub in both the
I wouldliketo know how manYPeryle
2mtr.(Sauuday)and70cm.(sunday)
want to comeand help with this contesil'
parts ofthiscontest.
as Colin haseryrcssedanint€r€st in
I dont know how manyofyott are awarc going back o his parentsls alothis. If
tlrst there is an overall VHF cbampionship there is a lot of interestwe will one
!rr: , .r' " r'tf.hhflshf contestsran by againheadoff
,
up the I ammermuirsto mainsleughter
.r {:r
rliij ;,
r a chamfdonship
jri
law and do them from there.
This isnt an wernigtrt contestthe 2mtr
one as I havesaid is on the Saturdayand
7(bms on the Sundaywith the night off.
we wrll promoiv be stayingup there
wernight thotrghasthereis no real
point in doing too manyjourneysback
and forward I would like viervson that
also.
The datesforthis will apear in the
eventscolumn written by Colin, and
to be found rcmewh€r€elsein this
editionCheersthen for anothermontL
Aler GM6VIU.
'i94f.
/'
"
cYR@/r^^
rc (3,UoRKsffi@
G(LGC'TR@rt1
7Uf0 ru"itrnfu*#'*y;l::'x
fuT"d#
ILH-t#s
6W
showsrhe-circuitry
",::jlt:11?:
rhis
articre
---1
3,:"li'""J"x;'51,X
3I"JIi,]ltX,'ilTn""T::;:,H
requiredto makethe CW TUTORde- nal one as iequired. The unit will full instructions
relatingto the cunent
scribedlastmonthin the newsletter. operatefrom any 4.Svto 6v supply software. Softwareupgrades
will be
The software at present allows and will drawa maximumof 25mA. offeredas and whenthey become
fi:'3!::"'H,.qu*JJy1#tr9f,fffil,Tffifi
;l"i:i"'fi8ff'"::
ililiiffil":h:i
il:'lTi?,'lJ:J
' ".'eenlettersto be adiusteg
andputintoa
be
re-programmed
will not be available can
from myselfand
"r the internaloscillatofs ?long by any othermeans.pleaseremem- newcircuitsavingyoumoney.
Tosup
.tone.
i.-rdcan have the tutor send only berthis,as an unprogrammed
programmed
ply
you
lC
will
cost
a
lC will
c
om
p
o
n
e
n
tasr e
€ 1 5 . 0 0 .E x t e rn a l
case.
The
excluding
around€2.00,
projectshouldcost lessthan
whole
ro
€20.00to complete.
C)
ct)
o
@
5
(D
5
TO S I BETOI'IE
I F REGUI REE
H
A workingversionof thiscircuitwillbe
for
availableat the nextfewmeetings
youto lookat andtest.lf youareinterestedin this projector haveideasfor
[ii':3Jf,"',2,(
Possb'e
Yfrlua
RZ
,
c:
IA .^ \A
j. - )
iv
.L
J
i jl
,,.2]|- 4,,
l Tt' I
Nlo
t#
F
4r-r
r{K
7 tt
ysffisd/t
YAEST]FRG96OO
RECEIVE,R
SHORT WAVE CONVERSION
1300MHzCONVERSION
VIDEO I.F.STAGEFITTED
ANY INTERESTED PARTIES CONTACT
GMlEET
(STEVIE)