The committee met last night via Zoom and top of our agenda was restarting the twice-weekly meetings at Hut18.  Since the last national lockdown restrictions were removed some 6 weeks ago,  the statistics have beaten even the most optimistic “expert” models.  While COVID remains in wide circulation around the UK, hospital admissions remain relatively low and the worst consequences of the virus even lower.  The picture is even better for the double vaccinated.  This is excellent news and with booster jabs being rolled out from early next week the committee voted to resume both Wednesday evening and Sunday morning meetings at Hut18.

Of course, this is not a time to be complacent and we will keep a keen eye on the national and local situation going forward.

There are a few things that we can all do to keep each other safe:

• Social distancing remains a key measure to help reduce transmission.  Wherever possible give each other space and be respectful if members want more space
• Ventilation.  We will be keeping doors open for as long as the weather allows
• Masks help protect others.  While not mandatory, they are a real demonstration of your concern for fellow members
• Testing.  Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs) are available to everyone free of charge from the NHS.  Please consider using them before attending meetings.
• Reporting.  If you test positive for COVID in the days after attending a meeting, it is vital that you report this to BOTH the NHS Test and Trace AND to CARC (chair@carc.org.uk)
• Signing in using the normal club book at the entrance is now mandatory.  This allows us to quickly inform all close contacts to enable their testing if necessary.

I hope to see you at the club this Sunday 19^th September, our first Wednesday meeting will be on September 22nd with a talk on VHF NFD which the club entered back in July.  This will be available both in-person and via Zoom to maximise participation, something we intend to continue going forward.

Congratulations to our own Stewart G3YSX on his election to the position of RSGB President.

More to follow…

On the 21st February 2020, Ofcom launched a Consultation on EM-Field exposure —Proposed Measures to Require Compliance with International Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields. Our view is that while we appreciate the need for ICNIRP guidelines we feel that the proposals from Ofcom are not proportionate and indeed potentially onerous for all amateur licensees.

All amateurs are encouraged to contribute to the consultation, full details, and the return can be found here: https://rsgb.org/main/technical/emc/emf-exposure/

Please do take some time to understand what is being proposed, how it might affect you, and MOST IMPORTANTLY send in your response.

The RSGB is supporting clubs and societies to get on the air during the current COVID situation. Click on the picture above to find out what’s happening and to take part in the activities.

Times are certainly strange. I hope that you and yours are all well. Life at KAD towers is slightly strange. My wife works at Crawley Hospital and is leaving home each morning, as usual, I am working from home this week while my kidults (21 and 18) are home and bored.

We’re all getting used to spending much more time indoors and of course, the club is closed for meetings at Hut18.

At CARC, we’ve been experimenting with a few different things to keep the club active and the committee are very busy ensuring the club continues to serve our members.

Below, I’ve added a few of the activities we’ve been running both online, on the air and a mixture of the two.

CARC Talks Online

Stewart, G3YSX has used his experience of working from home to organise series of WebEx talks and discussions for club members online. We are sending invitations for these by email to all members. Click on the link just before the advertised time and if haven’t already done so you can choose to install the WebEx application or continue using your internet browser. I would recommend installing the application as it gives a consistent experience and access to some of the advanced features such as text chat, multimedia and voting. You don’t need a WebEx account just add your name when joining the talks as a guest.

WebEx supports both voice and video (if you have a webcam). I use a simple USB computer headset with a boom mic though this isn’t required to join in.

The CARC website event calendar will have details of these talks but you will need to use the link in the email to join as we can’t support more than 50 participants and want to keep access available to our members.

CARC On-Air Nets

We currently have two nets organised, one for Sunday morning (10:30BST on 80m 3.720MHz +/- QRM hosted by “Net Controller” Richard G3ZIY and the other on Wednesday evenings (19:30BST) on GB3MH, our local 2m FM repeater hosted by “Net Controller” Phil M0TZZ. Join us for a natter.

CARC Whats App Group

We have created an online WhatsApp Group for members. You should have received an invitation to this by individual email. At the time of writing, we have 24 members online in the group. WhatsApp is a messaging platform primarily for smartphone use but there is also very good web browser connectivity to use from a home PC or laptop. You’ll need to supply a mobile number when signing up to WhatsApp and this appears to te group as part of your identity so if you’d rather keep your mobile number private, this isn’t for you.

CARC Web SDR

To help members who don’t have access to an 80m radio we’ve added an Airspy HF+ receiver located at Hut18, connected to the 80m dipole to the Spyserver network. This means that members can access and tune the radio from home using the free SDR Sharp software.

Download the free software here, install and configure to connect to the CARC receiver.

Configuration is simple. Open the SDRSharp program on your computer and follow the steps in the pictures below:

I’ve set a limit of ten connected users at any one time. The first one to connect can tune the radio, others will be able to listen to whatever is tuned. Give it a try.

Given the recently updated advice from the UK Government advising against all non-essential social contact, CARC will not be holding our regular meetings at Hut 18 for the foreseeable future.

We are hoping to offer members a series of virtual talks via Webex and to arrange club skeds on 2m and/or 80m. Keep an eye on your email inbox or check back here for updates.

Let’s hope this doesn’t last too long and we can return to a semblance of normal fairly soon.

Mike, G0KAD. CARC Chair.