CTARC Forthcoming Mega Flea Market - 5 Mar 2022

Diarise the date NOW.

On Saturday, 5th March 2022, the CTARC will hold its annual Mega Radio Flea-Market and Car Boot Sale. The starting time for buyers and visitors is 12h00 SAST.

The venue, as always, will be the lawn in front of the clubhouse in Rondebosch.

This popular event has grown over the years into the biggest ham radio flea market in the Western Cape, so don't miss it! It's great opportunity to dispose of your surplus equipment, components and , accessories, and to pick up bargains galore.

Where the past two years have put a damper on the event with Covid anxieties and restrictions, we hope, as the situation appears to improve, that this year's flea market will be a good one. Even now, numerous radio amateurs are ransacking their piggy banks and assessing which rigs in their radio shacks must find a new home. And devising creative excuses for their better halves as to why they will have returned home with more items than when they left...

Further details will be announced, but certain requirements hold:

• Sellers may set up their wares on their tables / car boots at the clubhouse lawn from 10h00;
  
  
• A barrier tape cordon will define the selling area. Buyers are requested to wait for the official starting time of 12h00 before they plunge into the fray!...
  
  
• The event is open to all radio amateurs and interested parties (not just CTARC members) to attend, buy and sell radio-related items;
  
  
• Sellers must bring their own tables and chairs. The CTARC will use all its tables to display various donated club items for disposal;
  
  
• All sellers must please pay a modest Seller's Fee to the Committee; Monies collected will go to CTARC club funds to offset expenses;
  
  
• Parking in the market area in front of the clubhouse is limited to sellers only. There is plenty of other parking available on the tarmac off Laidlaw Lane, to the north-west of the clubhouse (see aerial photo)
  
  
• Because of Covid precautions, food will not be on sale. Bring and braai your own food, please. Braai fires will be available. Ice-cold liquid refreshments will be on sale at the usual reasonable club prices;
  
  
• Any and all equipment brought to the flea market and not disposed of must be taken home at the end of the meeting. The clubhouse cannot store any such equipment.

More details will be announced presently via WhatsApp, the Sunday Morning 08h30 bulletins and pn the CTARC Blogspot. We look forward to seeing you there!

CTARC End-of-Year Function Postponed - Nov '21

The CTARC's final official meeting for the year, our "Radio Family Day", was scheduled to take place at the clubhouse on Saturday, 27th November 2021, starting at 14h00.

However, weather predictions indicate that date will be rainy and because of Covid restrictions the End-of-Year function is held outside. Therefore, sadly, the 27th November function is POSTPONED.

The new date for the EoY party wil lbe announced presently. We hope to hol;d it on a weekend in  early December.

CTARC Report on Flea Market of 27 March '21

On Saturday, 27 March 2021, the long-awaited ham boot sale / flea market took place at the CTARC Clubhouse.

At first the weather threatened rain, and indeed there was a small shower early on, but it cleared up sufficiently for the flea market to go ahead without further disruption.

Committee members pitched up early to set up the event, barrier-tape the perimeter to ensure compliance with Covid-19 requirements. Other folk started arriving and by 10h30, the official start of the flea market, browsers were champing at the bit.

All people at the meeting had to wear a mask, maintain social distancing and sanitise their hands appropriately. They also were required to sign a Covid declaration form, which process was capably managed by our indispensable club secretary, Anne. She also sold fine embroidered CTARC face masks, setting new standards for sartorial elegance at our club meetings. While we all are getting tired of face masks by now, at least where we do need to wear them we can represent our Club with pride!

We're glad to report that everyone cooperated with the Covid safety requirements, which gives us hope for the possibility of further clubhouse meetings, subject to the official lockdown re-assessments.

In contrast with previous flea markets, catering and liquid refreshments were not provided this year, but members brought their own food and flasks of coffee.

While current circumstances reduced the number of vendors and attendees compared to previous years, the event was most successful. Tony ZS1TK counted fifty-two visitors in all. Around fifteen people were selling items. A number of happy campers walked away with nice bits and pieces, components, rigs and antennas. There were, as always, some great bargains to be had.

At around 14h30 the fleamarket started winding down and was done by about 15h00.

Most grateful thanks to Rob and Anne for managing the event work so well, and to all committee members for their contributions. And to all the buyers and sellers who were there too!

A more comprehensive report (with photos) is included in the April Ragchew here.

CTARC November Meeting Photos - 29 Nov '20

Yesterday, Saturday 28th November, the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre held its final social gathering of the year. The meeting was well attended, considering the unique circumstances. The weather was good and the breeze outside contributed to the safety as CTARC members met outside the Clubhouse for a bring-and-braai. (For safety reasons, the clubhouse door remained locked so people remained outside.) Covid-19 safety regulations were adhered to - visitors were registered, wore masks (except when tucking into their food!) and practised social distancing.The braai arrangements worked well - people brought their own food, plates and braai utensils. Liquid refreshments were provided at no costs until the stocks ran out.

 

A fleamarket was set up with some interesting bits of equipment available at nominal prices. Because of safety regulations this was only for CTARC members, some of whom walked away with bargains! The next big fleamarket will be in March 2021, where everyone else will also get the chance to bring and buy.

Special CTARC Calendars for 2021 could be purchased from Anne for a reasonable price. The proceeds of such sales will go to assist Club funds.

Thank you to Anne and Rob for organising the event, to the Committee for setting things up before the meeting (and taking things down again afterwards), and to all the members who attended, to make this an enjoyable and safe final meeting of the year. A special thank you to all, who by wearing their masks and keeping a safe distance, kept the meeting safe for all who attended.

Future club gatherings, under the current regulations, are still possible and safe provided we adhere to the anti-virus guidelines.

We look forward to seeing you all in the new year which (we all do hope) will bring some sense of normality once more. Details of forthcoming meetings will be announced through the usual channels.

Below are some photos of the event, kindly provided by Tony ZS1TK. Unfortunately as folk wore masks (as requested), identification of them remained difficult for the captions...

The flea market provided some interesting items...
 

...and for once the tables weren't crowded with competing bargain hunters!

Anne, Paul ZS1S and Rob ZS1SA

Everybody brought and braai'd their own food.

Rob ZS1SA

Anne registers Hans-Jurgen ZS1HJH and Wolfgang ZS1WLH

Committee members set up the meeting area

CTARC More Photos of Fleamarket - 7 Mar '20

Tony ZS1TK kindly sent us his photos of the CTARC Mega-Flea Market of 7 March 2020.

Here they are:

John ZS1EQ provided sterling service at the braai fires.

Tony ZS1TK's stand.

Our dear catering ladies provided scrumptious boerewors rolls
throughout the afternoon

   

Photos by ZS1ZD  *  Photos by ZS1PC

CTARC Photos of Flea Market of 7 March - Batch 5

Batch 1  *  Batch 2  *  Batch 3  *  Batch 4  *  Batch 5  *  Pics by ZS1TK

A Hallicrafters HT-44, a Johnson Viking Ranger II
and an Icom IC-78

The weather was good and many folk were there

In the heat of the afternoon, the trees provide welcome shade.

Chris ZS1CDG [on right]

Paul ZS1S always brings lots of interesting bits & pieces

Tony ZS1TK [left] - lots of equipment on offer,
including a Trio TS-700 and an Ameritron Linear Amp & PSU

Grant ZS1GRC

Left to right: John ZS1EQ, James ZS1ZKZ, Tom ZS1TA and Dirkie ZS1X

Several raffle prizes were announced by Danny ZS1BL and Paul ZS1PSK,
with Andre ZS1F and Mike ZS1CO walking off with prizes

Mike ZS1CO collects his raffle prize

The two catering stalwarts, Elsabe and Anne, take a well-earned
breather after having fed the ravenous multitudes

Afterwards we sat around in a circle discussing the flea market.

General consensus was that it was a great success.
We will do it all again next year!

Batch 1  *  Batch 2  *  Batch 3  *  Batch 4  *  Batch 5
  Pics by Z1TK  *  Pics by ZS1PC

CTARC Photos of Flea Market of 7 March - Batch 4

Batch 1  *  Batch 2  *  Batch 3  *  Batch 4  *  Batch 5

Some very fancy test equipment. The brass item is a beautiful telegraph
signalling indicator from Before the Rinderpest...

Oscilloscopes, specturm analysers, plug in modules

Mysterious test widgets still wrapped in bubble wrap.

Wouter ZS1KE had some interesting items. The item on the left
is a construction microscope. A test-bed PSU is on the right

An Open-Tracker APRS unit, a Barlow-Wadley XCR-30 receiver,
an Atlas 210x HF transceiver, a Triplett multimeter [in AVO box behind] and
a small receiver long-wire ATU.

On the left is an elderly AM/FM tuner,
on the right is a National VP-5100A Oscilloscope.

Peter ZS1PJB [right] shows some heavy-duty RF components,
capacitors and valves. ZS1MM [middle] looks on with interest.

Peter ZS1PJB and Alan ZS1BBR.

Tom ZS1AFS and Sue ZS1AFR had a table-full of goodies for sale...

...including an Icom HF transceiver and an SWR meter

Avron ZS1LA [on left].

Dirkie ZS1X with lots of antennae, an MFJ ATU, test meters, etc.

By midday, the flea market was in full swing.

Chris ZS1CDG and James ZS1ZKZ

Dave ZS1DFR, in consultation with Paul ZS1S, discovers
the MTBF of his ice cream is not all that it's cracked out to be...

Batch 1  *  Batch 2  *  Batch 3  *  Batch 4  *  Batch 5

CTARC Photos of Flea Market of 7 March - Batch 3

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Love at first sight! This fine Marconi Apollo marine boat-anchor receiver,
with Nixie valve frequency display, saw service on the SA Agulhus

A frequency counter, a VHF rig and a Puxing UHF handie

A fine Heathkit HA-14 HF SSB linear amp & PSU

A remote-controlled masthead antenna switch

Jars of connectors and components

CRT monitors and computer peripherals

Something PSU-related...

Plugs and sockets, including a typically unavailable Jones plug and socket

More copper wire and inductors

Circuit boards of indeterminate function...

Meters, a soldering iron and a Tachometer!

Filters, chokes, switches...

Batch 1  *  Batch 2  *  Batch 3  *  Batch 4  *  Batch 5