Skip to content
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Bluesky
  • Discord
  • X
  • Instagram
  • RSS
Essex Ham Logo

Essex Ham

Supporting Amateur Radio in Essex

  • Home
  • Get Started
    • What is Amateur Radio?
    • Become a Ham
    • Amateur Radio Explained
    • Guide for Parents
    • Amateur Radio Books
    • Common Questions
  • Advice
    • How to Become a Ham
    • Passed? Get Your Licence
    • Just Got Your Licence?
    • Your First Handheld
    • Your First Station
    • Getting Started Guides
    • Returning to the Hobby
    • Getting Started with Data
    • Downloads & Handouts
    • Your Questions (FAQ)
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
      • Calendar View
      • Poster View
      • Upcoming Field Events
      • Upcoming Training
      • Essex Field Events This Year
      • Upcoming Local Rallies
    • Next Essex Ham Events
    • Club Events List
    • Recent Events in Essex
    • Essex 2m Activity Days
    • Annual Event List
    • Latest News & Articles
  • Training
    • How to Get Started
    • Foundation Online Course
    • Training Courses in Essex
    • Other Online Courses
    • Training Videos
    • Training Material
    • Training Information
    • Essex Training Calendar
    • For Tutors
  • Clubs
    • Support for Clubs
    • Clubs in Essex
    • Resources & Downloads
    • Training Material
    • Promotional Videos
    • Essex Speakers Directory
  • Members
    • Join our Community
      • Join Essex Ham (free)
      • Essex Ham Members FAQ
    • Forum
    • Live Chatroom
    • Merchandise
    • Recommended Kit
    • Members-Only
      • Members-Only Area
      • Member Main Page
      • Your Member Profile
      • Email Alerts
      • Essex Ham Newsletter
      • Email Discussion Group
  • About Us
    • What is Essex Ham?
    • Latest News & Articles
    • Forum
    • Videos
    • Internet Radio Stream
    • Podcast
    • Live Weather
    • Essex Ham APRS iGate
    • Essex Ham Meshtastic
    • Essex Ham Newsletter
    • Essex Activity Map
    • About Our Site
  • Net
    • Monday Night Net Info
    • Monday Net Chatroom
    • Monday Net Reports
    • Young Ladies Net
    • Live Audio Feed
    • Danbury Repeater GB3DA
    • Other Nets in Essex
    • Repeaters in Essex
  • Contact/Chat
    • Forum
    • Email Discussion Group
    • Need some help?
    • Contact The Team
    • Our Facebook Group
    • Discussion Group List

CARS Skills Night – 18 August 2014 Report

Posted on 19 August 201429 December 2024 By Pete M0PSX 3 Comments on CARS Skills Night – 18 August 2014 Report

Monday the 18th of August was another busy Amateur Radio Skills Night at the Village Hall in Danbury.

This was the eighth Skills event held by the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS), and due to it being holiday season, the team was expecting a slow evening, however over 40 amateurs attended, including people traveling from St Albans, Colchester and three visitors from MARTS and BRATS clubs in the Medway area.

CARS Skills Night - August 2014
CARS Skills Night – August 2014

Callsign Badges

A first for Skills Night, and possibly the star attraction for the evening – personalised engraved callsign badges. Jim 2E0JTW, ably assisted by Glynis 2E0CUQ, brought along his impressive (and heavy) engraving machine and was able to make callsign badges to order in a range of colours and styles. A rough count shows that around 15 callsign badges were produced, and we’re hoping that we can persuade Jim to result next month as there’s clearly a demand for engraved callsign badges.

Some of the badges produced by Jim 2E0JTW
Some of the badges produced by Jim 2E0JTW
Jim 2E0JTW engraving callsign badges
Jim 2E0JTW engraving callsign badges

Construction Workshop

Despite being tucked away in the smaller of the two rooms, the team was pretty busy helping out with construction advice, with soldering irons at the ready for any repairs or soldering practice – thanks to the team for helping our Sarah M6PSK with a quick fix to a faulty iPhone charger too.

The CARS Construction Corner at the August Skills Night
The CARS Construction Corner at the August Skills Night

HF Antenna Advice

As ever Carl G3PEM was on hand giving out valuable HF advice, with the aid of his trusty whiteboard and his laptop with antenna modelling software.

SSTV Demo

Following discussion on a recent Monday Night Net, Pete M0PSX offered demonstrations of Slow-Scan TV (SSTV) – Using the free software package MMSSTV, Pete showed how to create templates of images and text ready to send, and also how to decode, store and reply to received SSTV CQ images. Pete also provided copies of his SSTV Getting Started Guide, and demonstrated a customised CARS Skills Night SSTV image.

When Pete wasn’t conducting a demo, the station was running a scrolling display of received SSTV images, including some received from the International Space Station.

Pete M0PSX demonstrating SSTV templates
Pete M0PSX demonstrating SSTV templates

Essex Repeater Group

Thanks to the Essex Repeater Group team for setting up a table to help with awareness of ERG and to answer questions about the local repeaters. The stand was manned by Clive G1EUC, Murray G6JYB and James 2E1GUA – the table was located conveniently close to the tea and the custard creams!

Essex Repeater Group table at CARS Skills Night
Essex Repeater Group table at CARS Skills Night

The Quiz

A very interesting mix of questions in tonight’s quiz, hosted by Clive G1EUC. It’s played just for fun to point out different aspects of the hobby and to stimulate debate. Questions this time around covered bandwidth, SWR, gain and satellites.

Free Wi-fi

Those looking to make use of wi-fi, either for demonstrations or a free data connection for web browsing could make use of the free Essex Ham Wi-fi Hotspot – handy for pulling up specs for Slim Jim antennas, and even for cheating on the quiz questions, if reports are to be believed!

The Essex Ham Wi-fi Hotspot
The Essex Ham Wi-fi Hotspot

Summary

Thanks to everyone for the continued support for the CARS Skills Night. As well as many of the regulars, we saw seven newcomers, including John 9H5G, whose normal QTH is on the Maltese island of Gozo. He’s over visiting the UK, and made a point of coming along. His tweet says it all:

“good to see ‘Active Hams’ in a noisy room full of good conversation. Certainly beats a monotone PowerPoint ;)”

John 9H5G (standing), visiting from Malta, watching the SSTV Demo
John 9H5G (standing, in white) visiting from Malta at the SSTV Demo

Thanks also to Myra, David and Sarah for ‘logistics’, Charlie M0PZT for laptop soundcard tech support and to all exhibitors, the CARS Training Team, and to everyone who helped make the latest Skills Night a success.

The next Skills Night is set for Monday the 15th of September. We’re always on the lookout people to help out at Skills Night, so please get in touch if you’d like to help. As always, suggestions for topics, demos and repeat performances are appreciated… Take The Skills Survey!

To sign up for details of the next evening, go to www.hamskills.co.uk

 

Photos from CARS Skills – September 2014

skills-aug14-12
skills-aug14-11
skills-aug14-10
skills-aug14-09
skills-aug14-08
skills-aug14-07
skills-aug14-06
skills-aug14-05
skills-aug14-04
skills-aug14-03
skills-aug14-02
skills-aug14-01

[Show slideshow]
Events Tags:CARS, Danbury, Skills Workshop

Post navigation

Previous Post: SEARS Commemorates Heavenly Body II Aug 2014
Next Post: Thurrock Acorns August 2014 Meeting

Comments (3) on “CARS Skills Night – 18 August 2014 Report”

  1. 2E0NCE says:
    19 August 2014 at 16:29

    An excellent night as always , I think it’s wonderful that people are coming to the skills night from very far and wide, hopefully with happy memories of the evening too, keep them going, it’s needed, , best wishes and thanks to everyone who gives up their time to put on a table for the rest of us to enjoy and learn more about the fascinating hobby, and everyone who comes to support it too, looking forward to the next one , best wishes 2E0NCE xx

    Reply
  2. 2E0PSN says:
    19 August 2014 at 22:22

    Whats this EssexHam Wi-Fi all about?

    Reply
    1. Pete M0PSX says:
      20 August 2014 at 00:29

      Nothing special… A lot of the demos make use of Internet (APRS, RBN, PSKReporter, etc), and messing around with lots of dongles isn’t ideal, so I use a laptop to share a Wi-fi access point out using a 3G connection. As there’s bandwidth, I let anyone use it.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Member Login (Join Essex Ham!)
Remember me




Need help logging in?

Essex Ham Newslettter:

Looking for general updates on amateur radio? Join our free newsletter:

Recent Essex Ham Posts

  • St George’s Day 2025 Activation
  • RSGB AGM – Saturday 11 April 2025
  • Getting a Licence – We need to do better!
  • Ofcom Licence Exemptions Consultation 2025
Callsign:

Upcoming Local Events

  • Monday Night Net on 26 May 2025 20:00
  • CARS: Monthly Club Night Placeholder on 3 June 2025 19:30
  • SEARS: Monthly Club Night Placeholder on 12 June 2025 19:30
  • Ipswich ESWR Rally 2025 on 15 June 2025 09:30
Essex Ham recommends:

Realtek USB SDR

  • Getting started? Baofeng UV-5R 2m/70cm handheld: £30
  • Listen to the bands on your computer: USB Software Defined Radio Dongle: £10 (More)
  • Meshtastic Networking: Meshtasic Heltec V3 (More)

Heltec Meshtashic
More Recommendations

Recent Forum Discussion

Peter M0PWX (2E0PWX) replied to VHF yagi balun 3 days ago Yagi's don't normally need impedance matching baluns, but a 1:1 balun isola...
DarrenSmith78 started VHF yagi balun 4 days ago Hello all. I have a VHF yagi that was gifted to me. The box containing the ...
Peter M0PWX (2E0PWX) replied to Baofeng GT3TP 1 week ago i forgot the file, the CSV you can import into chirp is in the zip file att...

Recent Comments

  • Gary Hayes on RSGB AGM – Saturday 11 April 2025
  • M5AKA on Ofcom Licence Exemptions Consultation 2025
  • M5AKA on Ofcom Licence Exemptions Consultation 2025

Show Your Support for Essex Ham

Free Training. Free Content. Free Help. No Membership Fees. Want to say thanks? PayPal or Coffee donations are always appreciated.
Make a donation

Copyright © 2011-2025 Essex Ham. Home | About This Site | Site Terms & Privacy | GDPR Statement >>

Powered by PressBook WordPress theme

This site uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalised ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to our use of cookies, however you can select "Cookie Settings" to control your consent. View Terms & Privacy Policy
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
apbct_cookies_testsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
apbct_headlesssessionCleantalk set this cookie to detect spam and improve the website's security.
apbct_page_hitssessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
apbct_prev_referersessionFunctional cookie placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to store referring IDs and prevent unauthorized spam from being sent from the website.
apbct_site_landing_tssessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
apbct_site_referer3 daysThis cookie is placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to prevent spam and to store the referrer page address which led the user to the website.
apbct_timestampsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
apbct_urls3 daysThis cookie is placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to prevent spam and to store the addresses (urls) visited on the website.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
ct_checkjssessionCleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
ct_fkp_timestampsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on the site's comments/forms, and to act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
ct_has_scrolledsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to store dynamic variables from the browser.
ct_pointer_datasessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on the site's comments/forms, and to act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
ct_ps_timestampsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on the site's comments/forms, and to act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
ct_sfw_pass_key1 monthCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
ct_timezonesessionCleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
sessionIdsessionThis cookie, set by Microsoft, is used by the website to store the user's session ID and is sent with each request to the ASP.NET application.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
apbct_pixel_urlsessionCleanTalk set this cookie to provide spam protection.
__cf_bm30 minutesThis cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
_gat1 minuteThis cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
ct_screen_infosessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to complete an anti-spam solution and firewall for the website, preventing spam from appearing in comments and forms.
UID1 year 1 month 4 daysScorecard Research sets this cookie for browser behaviour research.
_ga1 year 1 month 4 daysThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
_gat_gtag_UA_*1 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
__gads1 year 24 daysThe __gads cookie, set by Google, is stored under DoubleClick domain and tracks the number of times users see an advert, measures the success of the campaign and calculates its revenue. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
DSID1 hourThis cookie is set by DoubleClick to note the user's specific user identity. It contains a hashed/encrypted unique ID.
ebaysessionThe domain of this cookie is owned by Ebay. This cookie is used for targeting and advertising purpose.
IDE1 year 24 daysGoogle DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
mc1 year 1 monthQuantserve sets the mc cookie to anonymously track user behaviour on the website.
test_cookie15 minutesThe test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
__gpi1 year 24 daysGoogle Ads Service uses this cookie to collect information about from multiple websites for retargeting ads. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
__qcaneverThe __qca cookie is associated with Quantcast. This anonymous data helps us to better understand users' needs and customize the website accordingly.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
DEVICE_INFO5 months 27 daysNo description
dp12 yearsNo description available.
nonsession2 yearsNo description available.
rtid14 years 10 months 2 days 1 hourDescription unavailable.
ssessionNo description
slimstat_tracking_code1 monthNo description available.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo