CTARC Annual General Meeting - 27 Jul '19

Chris ZS1CDG receives the Buck Taylor Award
from CTARC Chairman Rob ZS1ZSA

The CTARC held its AGM on Saturday 27 July 2019 at the clubhouse at the Belvedere Community Centre in Keurboom Park in Rondebosch.

Committee members including Rob and Anne started arriving to set things up from 13h00, Mike ZS1FP set up a microphone and PA system. By the time the meeting formally commenced at 14h00 all seats inside had been taken, with a sizeable number of club members outside. We had a total of 57 attending that day.

Club Chairman Rob ZS1SA called the meeting to order with the gong as is our tradition and, as there was most definitely a quorum present, declared the meeting open.

His first task, and a sad one at that, was to ask the members to hold a minute’s silence for those CTARC members who had become Silent Keys this year. Gerald Meneses ZS1GRM of Vredehoek, and Leon Isaacson ZS1CI of Woodbridge Island were thus acknowledged.

Then Rob asked for acknowledgement of the previous year’s AGM minutes, which was obtained from John ZS1AGH and seconded by Nick ZS1ZD.

Rob then proceeded with the Chairman's Report. Firstly he drew our attention to the fine new solid steel security gate, professionally welded by Richard ZS1RIC. Then he provided a summary of an eventful 73rd year of club activities:

In August 2018 the CTARC held the annual International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend at Green Point lighthouse – our 22nd year at that venue. It was also an opportunity for Chris ZS1CDG to complete the HF Assessments for his fledgling RAE candidates, which will be done again this year too.

The September 2018 meeting was a talk and slide show by Mike ZS1CO on his trip to the USA and some interesting hams he met there.

The October meeting was a video made available by Paul ZS1S on the VK0EK DX-pedition with which our club assisted.

The November meeting was our 2018 end-of-year function which took the form of a braai and social occasion

In December, during the Xmas break, Rob organised a successful fox-hunt, reviving a fun activity that we will see more of in future at the CTARC.

Our January 2019 meeting was a Show-and-Tell format, where members brought and described various homebrew projects they had constructed or found interesting. These are always most interesting meetings, and the standard of construction and interest was high.

As the February 2019 meeting would have been just a week away from our March Flea Market, no formal meeting was scheduled, but nevertheless a second fox-hunt was organised. Word of how much fun these are had by now spread and the fox hunt was well-attended.

On the first weekend in March the CTARC hosted the annual Mega Flea Market. This buying/selling and swopping event has grown through the years and was very well attended. Many radio hams drove off afterwards with heavier car boots and lighter pockets than when they had arrived! That evening will have been punctuated with interesting explanations to wives and spouses about these new acquisitions.

At the end of March, Tom ZS1TA gave us a most interesting talk and slide show on Low Earth Orbit Satellites.

In April Rob ZS1RM gave a fascinating talk and demo on B25 military radios, which are his passion and abiding interest. He demonstrated the modular component aspect of these rigs, taking them apart, reassembling them and then operating them again.

In May Barry ZS1FJ showed us a video on the Scarborough Reef DX-pedition. The location is a precarious piece of rock sticking out of the sea and one of the highly sought-after DX entities.

In June another fox-hunt took place. There was also a DF-Antenna construction workshop run by Rob ZS1SA. We also held a social braai for the RAE candidates to meet the rest of the club. In spite of seriously wet weather, the meeting was well attended

In addition to the monthly meetings, Rob mentioned the four antenna workshops that the club held through the past year. These included refurbishing of the main antenna feed lines, the addition to the mast of the 40m rotatable dipole generously donated to the CTARC by a kindly member. ZS1ZKZ effected some seriously appreciated repairs to the main mast’s lifting system. <There was also a Repeater visit where Paul ZS1S, Rob ZS1SA, Lem ZS1LEM and Dave ZS1SG did repairs to the equipment = dunno if this should be mentioned. Anne, please check with Rob.>

The CTARC’s Remote Station out at Morningstar, generously made available by Fred ZS1FZ and maintained and developed by Alan ZS1LS, continues to be a great success. We currently have 48 subscribers to this system, to which another 5 from overseas will be joining shortly.

The CTARC’s membership continues to grow, in spite of the difficult economic climes. This year our membership increased by 20 new members to bring it up to 111.

The Chairmans report was followed by the Secretary’s report. Anne delivered this with her characteristic efficiency. She thanked us all for our assistance with her communications, emails and admin. She mentioned the CTARC’s FaceBook group now has 269 members. She also mentioned her new role as treasurer, taking care to emphasize the need to maintain transparency as regards the admin of financial aspects of the club, membership fees, donations and catering expenses.

Danny ZS1BL gave the Treasurers report, showing us the spread sheets of the CTARC’s finances. While the club is in a healthy financial state, the income is slightly down from last year due to that year’s substantial donations received. Having been CTARC Treasurer for a goodly number of years, Danny is stepping down and that portfolio will be handled by secretary, Anne.

Rob then gave a breakdown of the various roles of the Committee members and thanked them for their contributions through the year – John ZS1EQ, Chris ZS1CDG, Noel ZS1FW, Paul ZS1S, Paul ZS1PXK (his 18th continuous year on the Committee), Danny ZS1BL, Peter ZS1PGC, Tony ZS1TK, Barry ZS1FJ, and co-opted members Charles ZS1CJO and Nick ZS1ZD. Their roles will remain as before, but with the difference that Danny ZS1BL is resigning as treasurer (which portfolio will be taken up by Anne), Tony ZS1TK becomes Club Events Reporter and Photographer, Paul ZS1S will be Bulletins Manager in addition to his representation on the Western Cape Repeater Working Group. Ettienne ZS1ESB will remain as the CTARC’s honorary auditor.

It was then Rob’s pleasant task to hand out the annual club awards.

The Golden Wellie award went to Keverne ZS1ABU for faithful attendance through thick and thin.

CTARC Life Membership was awarded to both In ZS1SX and John ZS1AGH.

The Fox Hunting Award (a new one, instituted by Rob ZS1SA) was awarded to Colin ZS1RS.

The Len Wells Ham Spirit Trophy was awarded to James ZS1ZKZ.

The Buck Taylor Award - our club's premier award, was awarded to Chris ZS1CDG.

The Sports Award trophy was accepted in absentia by Michael ZS1MJT on behalf of Hughey ZS1YS.

Paul, ZS1S presented our club Secretary, Anne with a beautiful bouquet of flowers to say Thank you from the Committee and Club for another year of sterling service and Ragchew editing.

Following the awards, the CTARC Chairman and Committee were re-elected (with the abovementioned exceptions) for another year.

As a final acknowledgement to Gerald ZS1GRM /SK, his son-in-law Daniel ZS1DEA made two brief announcements. the first was the presentation of a trophy to the CTARC, to be used in commemoration ZS1GRM. Rob gratefully accepted the award, a mounted transmitting valve, on behalf of the CTARC.

The second announcement was that samples from a flagon of Gerald’s finest mountain dew distillate would be available afterwards for those who wished to raise a toast to the fond memory of ZS1GRM. We did so, confident that Gerald would have approved of this, his final contribution to the CTARC. Indeed, it was good stuff ! 

With the business concluded, the meeting broke for delicious refreshments [arranged by Rob and Anne] and the opportunity to have a good chat with all the other members.

The meeting adjourned at about 16h30.

Photos:

A magnificent set of photos by Una ZS1UNA can be seen [here]

Other photos are available [here].

Our next meeting will be the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, which the CTARC will hold at Green Point Lighthouse 17 / 18 August. We look forward to seeing you there!

CTARC Annual General Meeting - 28 Jul '18

Dear CTARC Member

Notification is hereby given that the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre's Annual General Meeting has been called.

Date: Saturday, 28th July 2018.

Venue: CTARC Clubhouse, Round Table (Belvedere) Community Centre, off Laidlaw Road, Claremont.

Time: 14:00.

Social: Join us for afternoon refreshments after the meeting.

PLEASE REVIEW THE ATTACHED DOCUMENTS CAREFULLY:

AGM 2018 Agenda

The Minutes of the 2017 AGM

Proxy Form 2018

Regards,

Anne Bareham
(CTARC Secretary and Editor)
Cell: O72 268 I2O7

CTARC Report on CTARC AGM - 23 Jul '17

Yesterday at 14h00 we held the CTARC’s Annual General Meeting of 2017 at the clubhouse.
(Photos are here).

The meeting was well attended. We counted over 30 heads in attendance.

The meeting was opened by the CTARC Chairman, Rob / ZS1SA and apologies announced. Then formal confirmation of notice of the meeting was obtained and a quorum confirmed.  A minute's silence was held for those Silent Keys who passed away this year.

Confirmation of Minutes of the previous AGM, held on Saturday, 23 July 2016, was obtained and matters arising from these minutes was briefly discussed

Rob then delivered the Chairman’s Report, covering the events of the last year and some future plans for the clubhouse and infrastructure. Anne then delivered her short but sweet Secretary’s Report. This was followed by the Treasurer's Report,comprehensively covered by Danny / ZS1BL and illustrated with PowerPoint slides of the figures. Approval of the accounts was obtained. A necessary (but moderate) increase in membership fees is taking place. This will be detailed in Ragchew and the Blogspot.
 
Then the pleasant task of presentation of Trophies and Awards was done by our Chairman, Rob. 

The Club Participation Award was given jointly to Hans-Jurgen / ZS1HJH and Wolfgang / ZR1WLH, for their great involvement this year with the club and technical development of its antennas;

The Golden Wellie Award, for attendance of Club Meetings and events through thick and thin was awarded to Richard / ZS1RIC (in absentia);

The CTARC's most prestigious award, the Buck Taylor award, was awarded in absentia to Fred /ZS1FZ, for his enormous involvement (in time, vision and funding) for a big project of huge benefit to our club, that he initiated, steered and is busy building, that will be clarified in greater detail presently;

The Sports Award was awarded by Michael /ZS1MJT, backed up by Davey / ZR1FR, to Hendrick / ZS1EEE, for the quality and depth of his involvement in radio comms for Sports Rallies this last year.

We then proceeded with the formal election of office bearers and activity conveners. Rob stood down as John / ZS1AGH took over as temporary caretaker Chairman to call for nominations. 

Rob / ZS1SA was unanimously nominated and elected as the CTARC Chairman for the period 2017 / 2018. This was followed by the election of a new Working Committee and Bank Signatory Mandates.

The CTARC Committee remains (more or less) as before, with the following portfolios:

Anne is CTARC Secretary & Ragchew Editor;
Noel / ZS1FW is CTARC Vice-Chairman, Clubhouse Manager & Convenor of the weekly ZS1CT Net; 

Danny / ZS1BL is CTARC Treasurer;

Tony / ZS1TK is the new Bulletins Coordinator;

Paul / ZS1S is Western Cape Repeater Working Group representative (he's currently the Vice-Chairman of that organisation). He is also responsible for Clubhouse Security;

Paul / ZS1PXK is Meetings Logistics Coordinator;

Barry / ZS1FJ is QSL Manager - Cards;

Charles / ZS1CJO is QSL Manager - Digital;

Peter /  ZS1PGC is Club Assets Manager;
;
Nick / ZS1ZD is Website / Blogspot Manager & Club Photographer.

The following Committee Members stepped down:
Shaun / ZS1RA (former CTARC Public Relations Officer) has relocated from Cape Town;
Tony / ZS1TM (former Bulletins Coordinator);
and Hylton / ZR1HPC (former QSL Manager).
 
Appointment of Honorary Auditor:
As Barry / ZS1FJ has now joined the CTARC Committee, we require the services of a new honorary auditor. This non-onerous responsibility involves casting a proprietorial eye over the accounting figures of the CTARC's  finances.

With the office bearers duly elected, other business was attended to briefly and the Rob offered a votes of thanks to the committee members, new & outgoing. With that, the meeting was formally ended and refreshments were then served. CTARC Members and visitors had the chance to chat over tubs of delicious soup and the occasional glass of sherry.

Our Club's thanks are due to a number of folk:

• Rob, for his leadership and vision through the past years of chairmanship;
• Rob and Anne for organizing the logistics of the AGM event;
• Special thanks to Anne and Elsabe for feeding us with scrumptious chicken soup, beef consomme and sherry and rolls on the cold winter afternoon; and also to Tony /ZS1TK, who made glasses of red wine available for a nominal contribution;
• Thank-you to the CTARC Committee, for their work, insights and contributions throughout the year. Everyone has a role to play and it’s a great team;
• Lastly, but certainly not leastly, thanks to all the CTARC members, for their attendance, support and contributions that make the CTARC the convivial fellowship that it is.

Things wound up at about 16h30. The following meeting at the CTARC will be the Antenna Work Party on Saturday, 29 July.

Photos of the event are [here].

CTARC Forthcoming AGM - 22 Jul '17

The Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre's July meeting will be our Annual General Meeting.
It will take place, as always, at the CTARC clubhouse at 14h00 on Saturday 22 July 2017.

All members are encouraged to attend this important club meeting for the election of CTARC office bearers and committee, reading of club financial statements, reception of club awards and a good get-together in general.

Soup and sherry (served in separate vessels!) will be available for the delectation of the members.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Further details will be announced here, on the bulletins and in Ragchew.

Last year's AGM in 2016

CTARC Report-back on Meeting of 24 Sept '16

The Cape Town Amateur Radio Society held its monthly clubhouse meeting on Saturday 24 September 2016. The meeting was well attended and was opened by our chairman, Rob / ZS1SA. He gave us some feedback on the recent Committee Meeting, some news about repairs to the 145.750 MHz repeater antenna on Tygerberg, he mentioned forthcoming events such as Field Day and JOTA, and then handed us over to the main topic and speaker of the afternoon.

This time we were treated to a talk by Peter / ZS1PGC, proud owner of a RigExpert model AA-600 Antenna Analyser. The "600" portion of the model number indicates how high in frequency the device can measure - in this case up to 600 MHz. There are higher-frequency models, which come with appropriately higher price tags!

Radio hams like to optimise their antennas in order to "get their signals out". This involves measuring the antenna's operating characteristics (resonant frequency, Standing Wave Ratio, impedance, radiation resistance, and capacitive and inductive reactance being the main parameters). We have relied on a range of tools to measure them. Traditional tools such as Grid Dip Oscillators, SWR meters (and even light bulbs!) have been used. More recently the MFJ range of antenna analysers have made the task of tuning antennas to resonance far easier.

The RigExpert range of analysers has, however, shifted the paradigm yet further, as we were to learn from Peter's enthusiastic demonstration. He showed us how his device can not only measure the above parameters for a particular frequency, but draw graphs of the antenna's performance over a wide range of frequencies. In seconds.

By linking his AA-600 to a laptop computer, Peter was able to project the results of each scan onto a screen via the club's video projector, sharing them with the audience

Peter had brought some antennas along to show how the AA-600 quickly draws a graph of the SWR, the Return Loss, Impedance, Resistance and Reactances of an antenna. He zoomed into a portion of the SWR graph to show the low-value SWR's (between 1.3:1 to 1.0:1) on a narrow bandwidth of, say 5kHz., and then even narrower bandwidths. This makes for precision "fine tuning".

Peter then showed us some tricks his analyser can do, such as "Multi-SWR" (showing various frequencies where low SWR's are to be obtained), Time Domain Reflectometry and even Smith Charts! The TDR function was particularly useful to check on quality of coax cable and could even show how far down the cable the barrel connectors were situated! The Smith Chart function was fascinating in its ability to show the true points of resonance and low SWR of an antenna. Peter was even able to show us how two antennae in close proximity to each other (though electrically disconnected) could affect the SWR of the main one.

The purchase price of this versatile instrument was justified, as Peter put it, in that he was "buying a whole training course on antenna parameters and behaviour". We could see his point as we all quietly wondered which heirloom rig we could sell to fund the purchase of an AA-600...

Sadly, the afternoon wasn't long enough to allow for the full range of capabilities of this remarkable instrument, but Frank / ZS1CM and John / ZS1AGH also made appropriate contributions to the topic after Peter's excellent talk.

Paul / ZS1S rounded off the afternoon by showing us a fascinating Dubillier widget that could (theoretically) use the mains wiring of a house for a receiver antenna. Clearly intended for use with hollow-stage receivers and developed long before sensitive MOSFET front-ends were in use.. Eek! Use with caution.

After the meeting, outside, great interest was shown in a mystery high-power RF (transmitter?) unit that has been kindly been made available to our club (photos at the bottom of this article). Festooned with dials, verniers, power valves, coils and other components, this item would be the ideal addition to any shack or man cave (for those of us who have any space left there, that is...)

All-in-all an excellent, educative afternoon for our club. Thank you to all for attending, and especially to Peter and the other contributors.

Our Chairman, Rob / ZS1SA opened the CTARC meeting, reported back on
the recent committee meeting, mentioned forthcoming events and activities,
then introduced Peter / ZS1PGC - main speaker of the day.

Peter has obviously found the RigExpert to be a fascinating
piece of antenna test gear, which offers a wide range of capabilities

He set up the RigExpert to link to his laptop
and the CTARC video projector

Here the RigExpert shows a range of SWR values, with two main
low-SWR "spikes" across the frequency range
(Apologies in advance for the variable quality of screen shots, which were
shot at an oblique angle and later retouched)

Detailed parameters could be called up instantly

Radiation Resistance can be charted against Reactance

SWR can be determined, initially over a broad frequency range...

...And then over a narrower frequency range, for greater accuracy

Peter also demonstrated the units ability to
draw Smith Charts, in order to find
"real" points of antenna resonant frequency

Peter demonstrated how the RigExpert analyser could show how
non-connected metal elements (e.g. reflectors and directors) can affect the
main antenna's SWR and other parameters

Using the RigExpert as a Time Domain Reflectometer, Peter showed us
how to check coax cable for quality, and even how far down that cable
a connector, or a fault, can be located

Frank / ZS1CM also expounded on the complex issues of antenna
performance and Smith Charts

John / ZS1AGH also made a contribution to the debate about cables,
using a medical analogy

Paul / ZS1S ahowed us a fascinating Dubillier widget that purports to let
you use your house mains wiring as a receiver antenna

Tony / ZS1TK brought along this fine yagi that Peter kindly analysed for him

Something attracted the attention of some members over there...

It appears to have fallen from the sky...

Anybody have any idea as to just what
the mystery RF item... is???

CTARC Report-Back of AGM - 24 Jul '16

On Saturday 23 July 2016, the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre held its AGM at 14h00. In spite of some rather soggy winter weather, the meeting was well attended.

The meeting was opened by CTARC chairman Rob / ZS1SA, who welcomed members and visitors, and then delivered his Chairman's Report for the past year.

This was followed by the Secretary's Report by our well-organised secretary, Anne.

Our vice-chairman, Noel / ZS1FW, then read out the Treasurers Report on behalf of Danny / ZS1BL who was unable to attend the meeting.

Our chairman then had the pleasant job of handing over the Club Awards for the year.

The Golden Wellie Award (the Wellington boot is in fact black in colour), which celebrates that member whose attendance of club events (through rain, hail, sleet, snow, dust storms, hurricanes and other meteorological phenomena) has been most consistent, this year was awarded to Tony / ZS1TK.

The Club Participation Award, which is awarded for significant club involvement, assistance and participation, this year was awarded to Barry / ZS1FJ in absentia.

The Buck Taylor Trophy (the CTARC's top award) was awarded to Davey / ZR1FR for his extremely helpful and generous assistance of our club recently.

At this point, the chairman stood down and handed over the reigns to John / ZS1AGH while nominations for the post of club chairman and the committee were called for. The entire committee was re-elected, with Rob as chairman, for another year. The committee's details are [here].

The formalities now concluded, the club's members and visitors were asked to briefly assemble outside the clubhouse for a group photograph (see below).

Thereafter we returned to the clubhouse for a bowl (or two) of not one but two delicious varieties of hot soup kindly provided by Anne and Elsabe, as well as a glass of warming sherry for those who required a little further warming on that cold afternoon. A good opportunity to catch up and natter with friends then ensued.

Paul / ZS1S later on continued with some repair work to the antenna cable feed-in panel, which has been in need of refurbishment since our recent Antenna Work Party.

By about 16h45 the meeting had run its course and we made our way home.

Below are some photos of the event:

The quiet before the storm...
Anne & Elsabe await the arrival of the hungry masses

Rob / ZS1SA has just acquired a transformer,
Note the unique model of his car (next to the number plate)

Members settle down for the meeting

Rob / ZS1SA reads out the Chairmans Report. Throughout the event
the slide show from the 70th Anniversary celebration was projected

Anne delivers the Secretary's Report

Noel / ZS1FW delivers the Treasurer's Report

Tony / ZS1TK receives the Golden Wellie Award from Rob /  ZS1SA

Rob / ZS1SA announces the Club Participation Award for Barry /  ZS1FJ

Davey / ZR1FR receives the Buck Taylor Trophy from Rob / ZS1SA

John / ZS1AGH takes over as temporary club chairman while nominations
are received for chairman and committee and the voting takes place.

Rob / ZS1SA, our re-elected club chairman commits himself
and the committee to another year at the helm of the CTARC,
in service to the club's members

Group shot outside the clubhouse.
In the foreground is John / ZS1AGH'S prized Dart.

Left to right: Wolfgang /ZR1WHL, Hans-Jurgen /ZS1HJH, Mike /ZS1PE,
Noel /ZS1FW and Richard /ZS1RIC

Anne and Elsabe provided litres of very delicious soup!
(Chicken Noodle on the left, Butternut on the right)

And to keep the chill away there was a glass of sherry

Much discussion taking place after the AGM, as is always the case

Paul / ZS1S and Mike / ZS1FP.
In the background are Tony /  ZS1TM and Rob / ZS1SA

Gerald / ZS1GRM makes an emphatic point to John / ZS1AGH
and Geoff / ZR1GFT

Noel / ZS1FW and Charles / ZS1CJO

Wolfgang / ZR1WLH, Hans-Jurgen / ZS1HJH and Richard / ZS1RIC

CTARC Forthcoming Meeting - 23 July '16

The Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre will hold its Annual General Meeting on Saturday 23rd July 2016, at 14h00, at the CTARC clubhouse [here] in Rondebosch. All CTARC members are encouraged to attend.

At this important meeting, the chairman will deliver his report, followed by the treasurer delivering his report. The various awards and trophies will be handed out to their recipients and and the new office bearers will be elected.

Afterwards there will be an opportunity for members to socialise over refreshments.

More details to be published closer to the time.

CTARC Ragchew October 2015

The October 2015 edition of the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre's bi-monthly newsletter "Ragchew" has been published.

You can download the newsletter as a PDF directly from [here]

Alternatively these can be found on our Newsletters Page

CTARC Report on September Meeting of 26 Sep '15

On Saturday 26 September 2015 at 14h00 the CTARC held its September meeting, which was reasonably well attended in spite of rather cold and windy weather.

The afternoon began with our chairman, Rob / ZS1SA, calling us to order. He gave us a report on the recent committee meeting of 21 September, and the various forthcoming events with our club will be involved:

• The club has disposed of its old trailer by selling it to one of our members. The trailer had been sitting unused for several years and was accumulating fines for unpaid vehicle registration fees;

• On the weekend of 17/18 October, the CTARC will run a JOTA station for the Bergvliet Scouts and Guides. Noel / ZS1FW is driving this project;
  
  
• Our Saturday 24 October monthly meeting will be the screening of the video of a DX-pedition to Chatham Island, kind courtesy of Barry / ZS1FJ via Paul / ZS1S;
• We also plan to operate ZS1CT during the forthcoming Field Day exercise;
• Our final monthly meeting of the year will be on Saturday 28 November, which will be the CTARC End-of-Year function;
   
• Next year, the CTARC celebrates its 70th anniversary. We eagerly await members' input and suggestions on how to commemorate this auspicious milestone.

Further details on the above forthcoming activities will be published on this blogspot and announced in the regular CTARC Sunday morning bulletins.

In addition to this, Rob mentioned our club had recently been featured in an article in the Southern Suburbs Tatler newspaper. (See that article here)

We then proceeded with the main event of the afternoon. John / ZS1AGH gave us a fascinating lecture on Decibels - what they are, and how they apply to amateur radio. His talk was illustrated with a PowerPoint lecture, which may be downloaded here.

Those CTARC members with grey hair had to scratch our heads (and watch what hair we have left turn even greyer) at the complexity of it all, having last had exposure to such mental calisthenics when at technical college or university (many years ago...)! At the time, John made it all appear so clear and simple!

John also showed us the tools of the pre-calculator epoch - logarithm tables and a slide rule. They may appear cumbersome to us now, but in experienced and adept hands they were tools of great productivity before cheap digital calculators became widely available.

Hans-Jurgen / ZS1HJH brought along a very useful card published by the German Funkamateur club, of a comparison between decibel values, Voltage and Power levels, and S-Units. He very kindly allowed us to make it available, so you can download it as a PDF file here.

Afterwards we broke for the usual natter over coffee and biscuits. All in all, another great CTARC meeting. We look forward to the forthcoming JOTA field station and October meeting.

Rob / ZS1SA opens the meeting and discusses forthcoming events

John / ZS1AGH begins his lecture

A series of calculations on a loooong sheet of paper!

John's lecture was ably illustrated by a Powerpoint show

The meeting was reasonably well attended, in spite of cold weather

Hans-Jurgen and Paul in discussion

Tea and biscuits and chewing the rag after the meeting