RobL's world of wonder

Harrowbeer Aerodrome

The patch of land bounded by the Yelverton roundabout and the A386 Plymouth to Tavistock road six miles from Plymouth known as Leg ’o’ Mutton corner was, I am sure a good many of you will know, a second world war airfield known as Harrowbeer Aerodrome.  Little evidence of the airfields previous use remains it having reverted to nature and is now mainly scrub and heathland grazed by sheep but is also enjoyed by families as a large flat area ideal for playing games, flying kites and dog exercising. 

Some 65 years ago the situation was a lot different.  Great Britain was at war with Germany, the Battle of Britain had been won but the end of the war was still some way off and as far as anyone in the UK was concerned the end was nowhere in sight.  The likelihood of invasion was ever present as well as the risk of attack from the air.  Plymouth and most particularly Devonport was a key target being an important naval base and to provide defence to this and other strategic south west targets the RAF built aerodromes at Harrowbeer and Roborough (now the site of Plymouth airport) specifically to defend the city.  Harrowbeer was built not only for this purpose but to act as a satellite airfield for Exeter aerodrome (now Exeter airport) and to cater for aerial patrols extending along the south coast of England and down to the coast of France.  Satellite airfields were intended to provide backup landing fields as main stations were coming under continual heavy attacks from the Luftwaffe.  Most satellite fields were simply grass landing strips with a minimum of facilities however Harrowbeer would be different. 

Fair weather walking!

 Well we seem to have 'cracked it' this time so to speak.  The CBW Plymouth office moor walk for August arranged by yours truly sounded promising, sunny August, good Pub with sensibly priced food and a very scenic route.  So there was a bit of concern getting up early on the Sunday morning when it was grey, cloudy and just starting to rain but driving up through Princetown and on to Dartmoor it soon became clear the poor weather was only low lying.  we had a good number for the walk and the weather was fantastic, bright and sunny but with a refreshingly cool breeze.

We set out from the Warren House Inn near Postbridge (O/S grid reference SX674809), which is certainly remote and is the third highest Pub in England at approximately 427 metres above sea level. 

From the pub we struckout across open moorland (higher moor than last time) an area know as Headland Warren with hut circles stone rows and disused mine workings across and around Hookney Tor and then down to the iron age village of Grimspound.  This brought us on to part of the route of the two moors way (which runs across Exmoor and Dartmoor) on Hamel Down.  From here we continued past the crash site of a WWII bomber as far as Two Burrows and then a detour back down into the valley past Challacombe Farm, and a cut up between the edge of Soussons Wood and Challacombe Down to the Warren House Inn for lunch.

The ultimate covert amateur radio station?

I was in two minds about publishing this one to the blog but it is a 'thumping good yarn' and with due deference to anyone from Argentina "ITS NOTHING PERSONAL" - this entry appeared in PRC's June newsletter, QUA.

25 years ago next year (2^nd April 1982 to be specific) Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands which despite being in the South Atlantic is a dependency of the UK.  Radio communications were vital to island life, in 1982 the manually operated telephone system extended only a short distance from Port Stanley and hundreds of islanders relied on a government administered radio-telephone communications system. 

Lighthouse keeper Reginald Silvey was a former British Antarctic Survey radio expert and enjoyed amateur radio as his hobby from a fairly remote cottage on the islands under the callsign VP8QE.  Two days after the invasion Reg started to transmit information on the invading Argentine forces to the UK.  Propagation was good at the time and Reg was able to transmit on 21MHz using up to 100 watts using an Atlas transceiver, mainly during evenings (UK time). 

Argentine forces had banned radios but Reg had handed in a spare radio smuggled to him by a friend and had taken down his landmark antenna.  Instead he adapted a simple substitute turning a steel cored washing line into a (fairly!) long wire across his garden and illegally acquired a notice signed by the Argentine military governor denying entry to Argentine soldiers and stating that his house had been cleared by the military police.  From this point on Reg started a series of clandestine transmissions which would continue for the remainder of the occupation. 

Photo a go go!

I have always loved picture taking and have been the (very) proud owner of a Canon T90 35mm SLR for fast approaching 15 years!  The T90 is generally acknowledged to be the ultimate incarnation of the manual focus 35mm film based SLR camera, some will even go as far as to say it is superior in operation and build quality to current professional and semi-professional digital SLR cameras.  Well I wouldn’t know – I have had neither the money or the compunction to find out.  What I do know though is that the T90 is still a tremendous package, very capable and produces brilliant results 20 years after its introduction and I wouldn’t be without mine.  That said however it is now becoming apparent that digital is the new God so to speak, not surprising given its convenience and effectiveness, I cheat by getting films printed and put onto CD at the same time!   

It has become increasingly apparent over the last 12 months that the choice of photographic film is becoming less as digital has really taken off.  Almost since I started using the T90 I have also used Kodak Gold Ultra 400asa print film, and use 36 exposure film (otherwise its gone before you know it!) but its getting rarer than the proverbial now!  Its still possible to get some good deals online but it really seems to be an indicator of the way things are going.  Is this going to mean a transition into digital proper?   

Sometimes it’s better just to arrive!!

 Well I’ve been on my travels again…, bit of a mixed bag this time and that wasn’t just the contents of my dirty laundry bag!!  This was to be a two day jaunt to Brussels for two more surveys and to survey a building I didn’t get told formed part of the portfolio last time.  Apparently the selling agent didn’t tell us about it because he’s not the managing agent and didn’t know whom to call!
 
I was to have assistance this time from Clare (the bosses wife) who is also a building surveyor…, and has a company credit card!  Brussels Airlines used to fly out of Bristol on a Sunday evening but have now changed it to the afternoon which would have meant leaving home at lunchtime so neither of us wanted to do that.  It was left I’d collect Clare just after 3.30am (oh yes) to travel up to Bristol for the 6.50am flight (see previous posting).
 
I set my wonderful Nokia phone to wake me at 2.45am and turned in at 9pm, woke up at 11.59pm, then again wondering what time it was, 3.15am and the phone had switched itself off despite having been charged up on Friday and Sunday.  Some slight panic ensued and I left Plymouth with lightning arcing out of the sky to arrive at Clare’s house at 3.45am.  There was a light on but no answer at the door so I switched my work phone on to find 2 missed calls, two texts and a voice mail, all from Clare to say she was travelling up Sunday evening and would meet me at the airport.  Hmm thanks then, how many times has Adrian rung me on my home phone thinking it was my work number yet this time they only used my work number which I always leave switched off at the weekend.  Not to worry.

Always liked this!

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
  And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
  The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
  The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
  Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
  And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
  The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
  And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two!

And through and through
  The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
  He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
  Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
  He chortled in his joy.

Kindred spirit!

 For those of a certain age who remember 'Roobarb and Custard' (green dog, pink cat, fabulously irritating music!) we suddenly realised there was a distinct likeness with a certain family member!!

Travelling Again!

You have to be careful what you wish for as I have recently found out when the question of working in the EU came up at a recent office meeting.  The last time I worked abroad was about three years ago in Brussels and our ‘Belgian connection’ came up trumps again when yours truly was asked to go to the land of paté and pine trees once more.  This time it was to carry out due diligence building inspections of some distribution logistics premises (what used to be known as warehouses!!)
 
All of this fell in the week of the Whitsun Bank Holiday and meant travelling up to Bristol the Monday evening to catch ‘the red eye flight’ at 6.50am the next morning.  The good bit is you at least get in to Brussels reasonably early (though the queue for a taxi was horrendous taking about half an hour!) and then to cap it all the taxi driver didn’t know where I was going and had to keep referring to a map!  Whatever happened to ‘the knowledge’?  Well at least it was a nearly new and leather lined Mercedes which is just as well as we nearly had an altercation with a very large Belgian lorry, I could see what was going on from the back so I wonder about the capabilities of the driver.  He did seem to huff and puff a bit when I asked for a receipt and he didn’t get a tip!!!!  Never mind eh?
 
While I was away the UK weather was apparently really good, yeah cheers, apart from the occasional sunny spell it poured with rain and was cold while I was there.  Anyway all necessary surveying was done, including on day 2 four buildings (at the town of Genk, close to the Dutch border) ranging in size from 10,000sq.m to a thumping great 100,000sq.m.  I was informed on arrival that despite having allocated two days to this I only had the Wednesday and please could I press on somewhat!  No pressure then!?!  Well quite a bit of shoe leather and some 560 photos later all done, though I did spend some time back at the hotel writing up!  The big warehouse had a huge car park almost full of 2000 new Ford C-max cars (the factory is nearby).  Nice looking car but apparently some of the factory staff would be bringing diagnostic equipment to the site in the next few days as they ALL have a computer fault to be fixed, ouch!!
 
The attitude to public transport and for that matter to ‘foreigners’ is different over there,

1. the trains run on time
   
2. people accept that you may need some help to get where you are going despite not speaking the language.

For some funny reason the Belgians (and the Dutch) don’t start to talk louder and ‘over enunciate’ when you don’t understand them!!  Bit different to the British approach to foreign visitors then? 
 
A funny thing happened on the way back from Genk!!  I was all set to get a cab but the local M&E engineer a large man with an equally grandé name offered to give me a lift.  The morning taxi ride had taken about 15 minutes so after a half hour and despite the fact that we were still passing signs for Genk I tried to point out (in menu Italian!) that I wanted Genk centre, some slight panic later he turned the BMW around and back we went, turns out he was taking me to Brussels.  If I do much more of this sort of thing I’d better have a crack at learning French again!!
 
As I write this I am sat upstairs on a double deck railway train travelling quickly, comfortably and fairly quietly through part of the Ardennes Forest heading back to Brussels.  The one unfortunate thing with working somewhere different is that there is seldom the time to see a great deal of the country, that said however its raining again so a walk in the forest may not be such a good idea.  Apparently there is some more survey work coming up so looks like I’ll be back this way sometime soon.  It’d be nice to get an assignment somewhere sunny though…..,

Radio ga-ga!

Right-oh its radio update time – mainly for the benefit of those enlightened individuals who have arrived at this site via my link on QRZ.com.
 
The last couple of months have been an interesting time with the completion of my radio amateur intermediate training and trading my old callsign of M3RZD for the new and shiny 2E0RZD (or 2EØRZD).  This has had some use already with the subtle increase in output power from 10 to 50watts being used to good effect on 20 and 80 metres.
 

I was roped in to help out at the recent Tavistock radio rally by Rob & Anna (2EØONO & 2EØOSO), the good thing with helping lifting shifting and marshalling is that you get first dibs before the doors open.  The result of this was a big old lump of a 2metre multimode (FDK multi 2700) which turned out to be pants, in need of more than the ‘TLC’ as indicated by the seller and was ultimately subject (mercifully) of a refund.  I was also lucky enough to find a clean and tidy Yaesu FT707 (with top band mod) for a decent price and has already provided some very good HF contacts (see below).  The ‘best buy of the day award’ though has to go to the Nevada 10m end fed aluminium dipole complete with co-ax, brackets etc. which I obtained for the princely sum of….., £3.50!!!!!!

 
The dipole is now in service as the ‘portable’ antenna of choice (see photo), being secured to a steel channel driven into the ground and secured to the tow hitch on the back of the Benz, firmly guyed and adjusted to suit the band required.  I can actually get a decent SWR on 10, 12, 15, 17 and 20 and with a suitable reduction in power (to about 20watts) it will just about co-operate on 40.  That’s not too bad for the price of a sandwich and a tin of IRN-BRU!!  First use in anger so to speak was from Cold East Cross above Ashburton the day before the office walk (see previous posting) and using the ‘new’ FT707.  Having given the ‘great white hound’ a run on the moor as a timed (partial) route check for the following days walk we settled down to explore the possibilities that 17metres had to offer!
 
I’ve not used 18MHz before though have always wanted to try it, not too different to 20metres but a much narrower band (18.113 to 18.168MHz for phone) and a whole lot quieter.  Well there was a healthy tally of QSO’s in the log by the time I packed up at about 8pm but the best had to include W2QN Bert in Cornwall Pennsylvania (!!!) but best of all and having completed a QSO with EA5BRE being called by a very distant station who sounded English.  Was this a like minded chum calling in from the far flung parts of Devon just to say hi??  No!!  It was 5U7MA Mike in Niger but normally living in Australia (as VK8ZMA).  Best 73 and good DX to each of you and thanks for making it an enjoyable day.  Now what’s the highest bit of the moor I can get a Merc to without breaking it?
 
73 de Rob 2EØRZD

What to write about this month?!

Probably a bit of a ramble this time around, there being no specific agenda or subject but in the best traditions of contributions to any such publication (with all due respect to the editor) including editorials it can be good to ‘ragchew’.
 
The bands have been a little quiet lately but there is still no shortage of interest if you are lucky enough to be looking in the right place at the right time.  A few weeks ago I was SWL at home late one evening listening to 40 metres and a station in Iceland was putting out a tremendous signal but with a significant pile up trying to work him.  The temptation to run outside and fire the rig up in the car (flat dweller with no workable HF antenna at home) was tremendous but resisted due to the lateness of the hour (and the ambient temperature!).  I was therefore somewhat pleased a few days later to be tuning around 20 metres one morning when up popped the same station in Reykjavik, Iceland!  It was only sensible of course to put out a call and lo and behold a reasonable length conversation followed, r5s7 each way!!
 
2 metres has had its moments as well with March seeing some interesting ‘lifts’ with various French stations being audible, contact possible in some instances to further flung UK repeaters and it was good to hear a station north of Exeter working SSB well into Europe, a decent beam and quite a bit of power required no doubt but it just shows what can be done with the effort and dedication.
 
Talking of 2 metres we recently went away camping in Dorset and the first thing of particular note was how quiet the local repeaters are and how many people are using simplex, the FM calling channel was particularly busy at any time of day too.  There is bound to be a degree of reticence in some quarters due to the inherently limited range of VHF but for local chats/ragchews/technical tests doesn’t it make sense?  I’ll leave that thought with you!