The Radio Society of Great Britain and Ofcom have reached agreement on the optional use of special callsigns for two significant events during 2012.

For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, all UK amateur stations will have the option of applying for a variation to their licence if they wish, to use a special prefix for a five week period. This will add or substitute the letter “Q” in the place of the Regional identifier in the callsign (MQ0OXO, GQ4RCG etc).

For the period of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, a similar facility will exist for a seven week period, using the letter “O” (MO0OXO, GO4RCG etc)

Furthermore, calls in the series GB2012aaa will be available for Special Event Stations relating to the Olympics and licences will be issued for four “flagship” stations using the prefix 2O12A where “O” is the letter O, and a is a single letter relating to the location of the station.

If you are considering Qsl Cards for this event for personal, special event or club activities, Qsl Cards for these events will be available from both UX5UO and ON5UR. Details of special costs, batch sizes and style of cards can be found on the UX5UO Website, and ON5UR Website or contact Tim ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or Charles (M0OXO) to discuss.

Tags:

What a nice surprise awaited me when I got home from work yesterday, the certificate for the 2011 CQ WPX SSB contest.



I entered from the farm using the clubs contest call MW9W on 15m only, just for a bit of fun and to keep the contest call aired. The result surprised me but here it is in all it's glory - a copy of the Certificate.

Charles, M0OXO, was also down for the weekend and he entered on 10M using his contest call of MW0X where he also got the 1st place certificate for his category - the certificate can be seen on his web page http://www.m0oxo.com/blog.html along with lots of his other news.

While Chris and Charles were having fun down on the farm, Ant, MW0JZE, was over in Jersey with some of his other friends having fun on the radio and also entering the contest where he also got the first place certificate for his category using MJ0JZE.

So a big well done to all the boys for their certificates and placings in this event.

Look out for some news coming shortly about our next get together and fun on the air.

Tags:

Hello to all our friends around the world.

Happy New Year to you all too, a little late but we have all been busy. Some of us were down at the farm with Rob and Jane for the New Years celebrations, and had a fantastic time. Some photos were taken and will be added to the gallery shortly.

Rob with the farm and his Lambs arriving these past few weeks.

Ant with his Hexbeam building, a new one will be installed by Tim, Ant and Chris at the QTH of Pete - M0ILT - Next weekend so another Hex Nut on the band.

Charles, Tim and Chris are all part of the T32C QSLing team and have been knee deep in QSL cards for this activation back in October and November last year. We have been waiting on the printers for the cards on this one and apologise for the delay in getting them out to you guys.

Tony is busy at work and with his duties at CDXC, which again we are all members and worth joining this excellent DX group for the socialising and the bi-monthly digest (see our links pages for the CDXC website).

Chris also had a disaster in the new year where the short pole he was using from his rotator to the hex stub broke in high winds causing the hex to crash heavily to the floor. The Hex survived with minimal damage to the centre hub plate, this was the prototype palate which is now much improved and has been changed since Chris' build. The new plate will be fitted to the Hex in the next couple of weeks and Chris will then be back on the air. He has also put a Windom up for the low bands but the noise from the local houses is S9+ at times so he is looking to change theis mounting as soon as possible.

The lads are also planning some activations for this year so please keep looking at forthcoming activity and the blog for any updates on what they will be up to.

Many thanks for all your support in the past and we look forward to working you on the air soon.

Oh and once again I will mention Clublog and asking to join. SHDXCG is a closed group and we will only invite you to join so please do not try and add Strumble Head DX and Contest Group on Clublog as we will not accept you. Many thanks.

Tags:

As the 2011 year draws ever closer we like to wish all our friends around the world seasons greetings in their home language, and we do appologise if we miss yours off the list. A little earlier than usual with putting it up here this year so here goes.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddn Newydd

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annèe

Felices Pascuas y Feliz Año Nuevo

Vasel Koleda

Froehliche Weihnachten undein gluckliches Nues Jahr

Kala Christougenna Kieftihismenos O Kenowios Chronos

Boldoy Karácsonyt

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

Cestitamo Bozia

Boas Fiestas e um feliz Ano Novo

Nollaig Shona Dhuit

From all at the Strumble Head DX and Contest Group.

May we meet on the air sometime in 2012.

And remember we may be on the air sometime over the holiday period from the farm to celebrate the new year, and we will be on at other times for contests or just some fun.

Also watch this space for a announcement about a special dxpedition we are currently planning along with our yearly trip over to Ramsey Island.

Tags:

Well we have been a little quiet here at the Strumble Head DX & Contest Group, although we have all been busy with daily life.

Tim and Charles are busy with the 4W6A QSLing and are awaiting the cards from the printers - hopefully within the next week so they can be posted out.

























Ant has been inundated with requests for Hexbeams after the success of the antenna on the expedition, and as he only builds them to order he now has a nice waiting list. He also had a go in the CQWW Phone contest on 10M, again using his Hexbeam only.

Tony has also been busy with his duties following the trip to T32C with the FSDXA team, again I understand he has been on QSLing duties as part of the team.

Rob has been busy with is work on the farm, carrying out maintenance around the fences and hedges along with getting the fields ready for next years crops.

Chris has started a job where he works funny hours, starting at 01:00 and finish at 12:00. This is no good for DXing as he is away in the mornings for the Pacific openings, and asleep in the afternoons for the Carribean, South, Central and North American openings.

Oli is still down in Australia and is busy in his work down there.

And finally Villiam has been busy with his holiday cottage business in Slovakia. He also entered the CQWW Phone contest from his home station and was heard by all the other guys making at least one QSO with us all.

The boys are also planning to gather at the farm for New Year, or as many as can get there will. They will also have their wives and partners with them so it may be that they do not get on the air as this is going to be a social gathering for the families, and as usual photo's will follow.

One final thing. SHDXCG is a closed club and we do not accept new members unless invited in to the group, so any of you who try to join on CLUB LOG will not be accepted!!!!!

Tags:

The Strumble boys are pleased to announce (although a little late) that one of their members is taking part in this major DXpedition by the FSDXA.

Tony, G4LDL, is out there enjoying the sun, the pile ups, and sadly not the beer - they have run out of Heiniken and are having to suffer Budweiser (according to latest reports). I can't see a problem with this as Bud is one of the groups regular drinks when at the farm or on Ramsey.

We wish all the T32C team a safe return home and look forward to hearing all the stories from Tony when he returns.

Tags:

This coming weekend is a holiday weekend in the UK and some team members are heading to the farm for a short break.

They may get on the air, if the weather is bad, but it is primarily a chance for them to relax and unwind. Chris is travelling from the Midlands by train and is going to document, in photographs, the journey and the weekend which he will then share on here. He is hoping to get some more photographs of the farm and local area just to show all our radio friends around the world what a beautiful part of the British Isles the farm is located in.

Please give the team a call, but please do remember the DX Code of conduct when you do.

Tags:

Photo's now added to the gallery of our trip to Ramsey Island EU-124. This is just a selection of the photos and vdeos that were taken during our stay on Ramsey island.

We all hope you enjoy them as much as we did being there and taking these photos for our memories.

Tags:

The boys have all landed at the farm. Some of the food and kit have been transported to the island by Rob, Charles and Jane. The team had a nice meal and chat last night and are now setting up all the laptops for logging etc, and they have had a couple of hours operating on the air from the farm.

We will be back on air in a little while after sorting some coax runs and a mast that we are taking over to the island.

We look forward to meeting you all on air over the next few days.

Tags:

The time is near. The boys are almost ready, well they are all ready to go just a thing called work in the way at the minute!

It has been finalised that we will be on Ramsey island (EU-124) on Thursday 9th June at around 08:30 (local) and will hopefully be on the air with all 3 stations running from 14:00 (local) onwards! We aim to be on all bands from 80M through to 6M, so please do listen for us.

This is if all goes to plan, and there are no sudden problems. The only thing we can see that could prevent us landing is the weather, but looking at long range forecasts it is looking like the UK is heading in to a settled and very warm period. Lets hope the bands are as lively, and we can work our friends around the world on as many bands as possible.

Remember we will be looking for Asia on all bands as we know that EU-124 is still in the top 30 most wanted from that area. And as before we will be adhering to the DX code of conduct, see elsewhere on the site.

We ask all callers to listen to what we ask, if we ask for DX outside EU, then please do not call if you live in a European Country! Please also use your full call, this makes the QSO numbers alot quicker. And if we ask for a station with "Delta Kilo" and your call does not have these letters then please be quiet and wait your turn. The number of QSO's will remain higher and less QRM means easier and quicker QSO's. This is especially needed on RTTY, where Chris and Charles will be having some fun.

Many thanks and we look forward to hearing you and seeing you on our screens.

Tags:

We have been informed through the DX Code Of Conduct website about a new  manual for DX'ers. Aimed primarily at new starters in the hobby, although some old hands will also learn from it, it has tips, hints and ideas on getting started in this part of the hobby. It can be found at;

http://dx-code.org/newdxer.pdf

Go and have a read and a look at the DX Code, as on our site below;

http://dx-code.org

All the guys in the group follow the code and we believe that all GOOD operators should also follow it.

See also our Links page for these 2 sites.

Tags:

A number of the photos taken from Ramsey Island 2010 are now on the Gallery. Please view and leave any comments in the guest book.

Tags:

Hello all,

Well a little update on what is happening within the group.

As some of you know Charles (M0OXO) and Chris (G1VDP) operated from the Farm over the past weekend (23rd to 29th March 2011) during the CQWPX weekend. Sadly none of the other guys could make it down so it was just Charles and Chris - with Rob (MW0RLJ) in attendance but he was very busy on the farm sowing the years crops. The 2 guys started in the contest but for some reason neither of them did a serious entry although Chris using MW9W did a bit more on 15M for some fun and a new prefix to the deserving, Charles was on 10M using MW0X and also gave the deserving a new prefix. The other reason the guys were there was to test out a new mast Rob has purchased for portable working, and to make and build the new 80M vertical for the groups trips and expeditions. Luckily the guys had good weather and some excellent sunsets were to be seen. Full report to follow.

Ant (MW0JZE) went on a seperate trip with some friends to the Island of Jersey where he operated as MJ0JZE for most of the weekend, but as it was also a stag do he did enjoy some of the local brew.

Tim (M0URX) was sadly unable to get the time off work, although as it happened he ended up being unable to get to work due to his car breaking down! So he operated from home in the contest and worked some new band slots and prefixes for himself.

Now onto OLi (MW0JRX). Oli has now flown from these shores and will only be joining the group from his new home in Australia, where he now holds the call VK8DX. Oli was active over the weekend and was worked by all of us over here in the UK. We wish Oli all the best and do miss him already.

Tony (G4LDL) was also unable to get down to the farm and was on from home, although he too was busy over the weekend and only managed a few contacts.

Villiam was active from Slovakia as OM0A and also had a good weekend on the air, and was worked by most of the boys for points in the contest.

The group are now planning the next Ramsey Island (EU-124) expedition, which this year will be a little earlier and will not be during the IOTA contest weekend - more details to follow. We also have members planning a trip to Timor Leste for September and a special IOTA activation with some friends from Australia and West Malaysia - again more info to follow.

There may also be a small activation from the farm at some point when the boys go to help Rob with his new mast and antenna building and installing.

We are also planning a big activation for October 2012, this is something we all will be involved with and are all looking forward to announcing as soon as we have more details.

An exciting year ahead for the group and they are certainly looking forward to getting on the air and working you all...

Tags:

Well it is that time of year again, and we would like to send our anual greeting to all our radio friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddn Newydd

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annèe

Felices Pascuas y Feliz Año Nuevo

Vasel Koleda

Froehliche Weihnachten undein gluckliches Nues Jahr

Kala Christougenna Kieftihismenos O Kenowios Chronos

Boldoy Karácsonyt

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

Cestitamo Bozia

Boas Fiestas e um feliz Ano Novo

Nollaig Shona Dhuit

From all at the Strumble Head DX and Contest Group.

May we meet on the air sometime in 2011.

And remember we may be on the air sometime over the holiday period from the farm to celebrate the new year.

Tags:

Hello all,

Only a couple of us come down to the farm this year, Oli and Chris. Oli is doing a 20M entry using his own call MW0JRX, and Chris is going on either 10M or 40M with the MW9W call.

The weekend has not started too good though. Chris has had to take Rob to hospital as he was in agony with kidney stones. He has been kept in over night and will be having some treatment today. I am sure all our friends out in radio land wish him a speedy recovery as do we at the SHDXCG.

Chris has also had to go QRT today due to bad operating and stations calling when he has asked for another call - not even the letters in the callers call sign. This is just poor operating and until people start to listen and realise that they will get a contact quicker this will never stop. If you do hear people keep calling then do tell them how to operate correctly.

Many thanks and see you in the pile ups.

Tags:

Due to us not being able to get a strong signal and slow speeds on the mobile dongle this year, we have been unable to upload a daily blog whilst on the island. But we are now back at the farm.

Anthony and Oliver have returned home. Tim, Tony and Chris are spending an extra night at the farm before their long journey home. Rob and Jane have again provided fantastic company and hospitality once more - and all the boys cannot thank them enough.

A full write up and report will be on here, along with a galery of photos soon. All logs will be uploaded to LOTW this evening, and any QSL requests will be dealt with when Tim returns home.

Tags:

This was recently printed in the GMDX group's digest. And as I have seen this in other publications I thought they would not mind if we borrowed it, certainly as this is what we all here at SHDXCG follow and believe in.

DX CODE OF CONDUCT

1. I WILL LISTEN, AND LISTEN, AND THEN LISTEN SOME MORE!!!

2. I WILL ONLY CALL IF I CAN COPY THE DX STATION PROPERLY.

3. I WILL NOT TRUST THE CLUSTER AND WILL BE SURE OF THE DX STATION'S CALL SIGN BEFORE CALLING.

4. I WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH THE DX STATION NOR ANYONE CALLING HIM AND WILL NEVER TUNE UP ON THE DX FREQUENCY OR IN THE QSX SLOT.

5. I WILL WAIT FOR THE DX STATION TO END A CONTACT BEFORE CALLING HIM.

6. I WILL ALWAYS SEND MY FULL CALL SIGN - MOST IMPORTANT. PLEASE STICK TO THIS ONE!

7. I WILL CALL AND THEN LISTEN FOR A REASONABLE INTERVAL. I WILL NOT CALL CONTINUOUSLY.

8. I WILL NOT TRANSMIT WHEN THE DX OPERATOR CALLS ANOTHER CALLSIGN, NOT MINE.

9. I WILL NOT TRANSMIT WHEN THE DX OPERATOR QUERIES A CALL SIGN NOT LIKE MINE.

10. I WILL NOT TRANSMIT WHEN THE DX STATION CALLS OTHER GEOGRAPHIC AREAS THAN MINE.

11. WHEN THE DX OPERATOR CALLS ME, I WILL NOT REPEAT MY CALL SIGN UNLESS I THINK HE HAS COPIED IT INCORRECTLY.

12. I WILL BE THANKFUL IF AND WHEN I DO MAKE A CONTACT.

13. I WILL RESPECT MY FELLOW HAMS AND CONDUCT MYSELF SO AS TO EARN THEIR RESPECT.

If everyone who calls us follows these then we will make alot more contacts and we will work you alot quicker.

Please only use your FULL call when calling in.

Many thanks and see you in the pile up next week.

 

Tags:

GW - Ramsey Island EU-124 - Once again the Strumble Head DX and Contest Group are heading over the water to activate this rare Welsh coastal island. They will be on the air from 22nd July through to 26th or 27th July (all dependant on tides) using the club call MC0SHL. This trip also takes in the RSGB IOTA contest where they will be on the air using the club contest call MW9W over the weekend 24th and 25th July. Last year they tried to work as many Asian and Pacific stations as this is #18 most wanted on the IOTA listings for that area and they will again try to make as many contacts both before and during the contest. They will have 3 stations using the following equipment;

2 X Elecraft K3 Transceivers
1 X Yaesu FT2000
2 X G3TXQ Hexbeams (built by Ant MW0JZE)
80M Dipole
40M Vertical
3 X Acom 1000

The team will try to use MC0SHL on 17 and 12M during the contest to try to give as many contacts on these bands also. They will be on the air mostly in SSB, but with some RTTY and CW thrown in. This year the team will be Rob (MW0RLJ), Jane (Robs wife), Ant (MW0JZE), Oli (MW0JRX), Tim (M0URX), Chris (G1VDP) and Tony (G4LDL). Sadly Charles (M0OXO) is not joining them but will be acting as a pilot station and will be in contact with the team throughout the trip as they are taking mobile internet so they can get on skype and their website with updates. Full details and photographs of last years operation are on the groups website http://www.mc0shl.com where there may be live access to the station via webcam if they can get this up and running. All QSL requests should go via the teams manager M0URX (see http://www.m0urx.com) where there is on line request and details on how to get the QSL quicker. All logs will be uploaded to the ARRL Logbook of the World (LOTW) and Clublog upon getting back to the farm HQ on their return.

Tags:

What a fantastic weekend.

The weekend started when Tim and I arrived on Thursday evening with the four of us - Tim (M0URX), Rob (MW0RLJ), Jane, and Chris (G1VDP) - all going for a meal at The Sloop pub, in the village of Porthgain, where we were joined by Jane's friend Carrie and her 2 children Rhianon and Gwynne.

A thouroughly enjoyable evening and top food.

The Friday saw us working and getting things prepared. Tim was running Jane around with food and drinks for the reception after the church service, and Chris being Rob's gofer around the farm.

In between the running around and getting things ready we did manage to get on the air. Friday evening saw Ant (MW0JZE), his wife Laura, and daughter Eleri arrive. Sadly Jane left us for th night to stay at her sisters as tradition says the bride and groom should not see each other on the day of the wedding until they arrive in church. So we had a few beers, fish and chips and relaxed. Oli (MW0JRX) and Lucia arrived late Friday. So the team were there to celebrate in style.

Saturday saw us setting up a small marquee, which nearly was a disaster as the roof was not in the box as it should have been. But again Rob came to the rescue and a tarpaulin was substituting the roof. The rest of the day was then spent just finishing off.

The time eventually came to go to the church and the wedding. What a fantastic service and reception.

The Saturday night was even better. The number of people who walked to the back of Rob's and saw the view where it took there breath away. The usual drinks and celebrations went on well in to the night, and it was around 4.30am before Chris and Ant decided to call it a night.

Sunday was clear up, nurse a hangover and suffer England crashing out of the Football World Cup (soccer to our American brothers) to Germany, congratulations gents and we will win the next one! HiHi.

Thanks to Rob and Jane for putting up with us again, and congratulations to you both from all the boys and girls of the Strumble Head DX and Contest Group.

A gallery with Photo's will be on here soon.

Tags:

This is it folks.

The weekend has arrived.

Rob (Mw0RLJ) and Jane are getting married.

Almost all the team are heading down to the Farm for this wonderous occasion. Tim and Chris will be there this evening and enjoying the hospitality of the wonderful couple. Ant and his family arriving tomorrow, Oli and Lucy will also be there tomorrow. Villiam will be absent as it is his busy period at work.

And sadly Charles and his wife Debbie have had to cancel for a family emergency. All the groups thoughts are with them through this difficult time and we just hope all goes well on Friday.

The new boys will also be absent this time round, but Tony (G4LDL) will be with us for the Ramsey trip in a few weeks.

We are hoping to get on the air some time this weekend with the club call MC0SHL from the farm so do please listen for us and call in. We will be pleased to hear you over this special weekend.

Tags: