RSGB Convention

Me and my Dad M1EYP will be at the RSGB Convention at Milton Keynes from Friday 12th October to Sunday 14th October. We will be doing a lecture on the Saturday and a lecture on the Sunday. Will any of you be going to the Convention?

Jimmy 2E0EYP

In reply to 2E0EYP:
We are booked to be there; look forward to seeing you both.
Christine and Ken

In reply to 2E0EYP:

I will be there Sat and Sun.

Colin G8TMV

In reply to 2E0EYP:
I’ll be there Sat and Sun and might be wearing my red SOTA T-shirt :wink:

73 de Dominik, HB9CZF

You’ll have seen it all it Radcom anyway by now I expect. But our presentations are:

Saturday 13th October - 10.45-11.30am
SOTA - All about the SOTA programme, awards, web facilities, activities etc

This is more geared towards those who are new to the programme or wondering what this SOTA thing is all about. It is based on the intro/publicity talks we have taken around radio clubs over the last 10 years. All brought up-to-date of course! MT had suspected that this talk might be becoming unnecessary now - because everyone knows all about SOTA right? But it got a massive audience at last year’s convention, so an updated version will run again, in case another room full of people want to learn all about SOTA! It might be quiet though - the T32C talk is on at the same time! (T32C runs again at 2pm on the Sunday if you want to see both).

Sunday 14th October - 9.00-9.45am
The global expansion of SOTA and news/achievements from the last 12 months

For those who already know all about SOTA (like most on here), then if you’re going to pick one of the SOTA talks, pick this one. This is a brand new presentation bringing you all the latest SOTA news about new associations internationally, a new Mountain Goat achievers here in the UK. This includes some terrific footage of activations around the world and a few surprises too.

With only 45 minutes available for each talk, I will do my best to allow some Q+A time, but I’ve got plenty of material for both presentations.

The main thing is - it is two different presentations, not a 2nd showing, as is happening with some of the others. A small selection of SOTA merchandise will be with me at Convention.

I look forward to meeting lots of friends, old and new.

Tom M1EYP

The programme has been finalised, and I see that the main introductory SOTA talk has been moved to the 9.30-10.15am slot on the Saturday. That’s the one for the newer participants, and to direct your fellow AR club members who keep asking questions about SOTA to :wink:

There is something new for the SOTA experts and veterans in the other talk - but set your alarms because it’s straight after breakfast - 9.00-9.45am.

Tom M1EYP

In reply to M1EYP:
Tom,

I hope to catch up with you at the convention again. I won’t get to your talk as I am probably at another one!

On a seperate topic, I have a KX1 for sale, do you know of anyone that wants one? I can bring it to the convention if required. (I bought a KX3 in kit form)

73 to you and Jimmy

Mike G4DDL

It was good to see you at Convention Mike. Also lots of other SOTA friends who came along to our Sunday morning talk in particular.

Anyone who missed the presentation can view it online here:

Feel free to download and use in local clubs etc. Best viewed in fullscreen with the speakers turned on!

Cheers,

Tom M1EYP

This was a long and full weekend, the radio part of which actually began while still at work on the Friday! Jimmy 2E0EYP joined me in my classroom in Stoke-on-Trent as this week’s visiting radio amateur to my Radio Enrichment class, who are studying the Foundation Licence course.

Jimmy and I then set off south for Milton Keynes, arriving at Horwood House hotel in good time. We had a good time dining, drinking and socialising at the MLS Welcome Buffet, before retiring to our twin room for much needed rest ahead of our first presentation.

For we were in the first slot, a 9.30am start for our general presentation about Summits on the Air. To our surprise, this basic introduction to SOTA was still in demand, and we attracted a decent sized audience who wanted to find out more and have their questions answered about the programme.

If anyone wants to see the presentation, or save a copy to edit/customise it, here it is:

We then both went to the T32C presentation, and then separated as Jimmy went to see about the HK0NA DXpedition, while I went to the Trainers Forum. We joined Ken GM0AXY, Christine GM4YMM and John GW4BVE for lunch, before spending some of the afternoon time operating the Yaesu demonstration station including an FT5000.

In the late afternoon session, we went to the presentation about the Rockall DXpedition, which appeared to be daring to the point of lunacy! The evening was taken up with the DX Gala Dinner, in which the food was first class. We were drinking in the bar with a certain G3WGV until well past midnight, until we remembered that we were first on again on the Sunday morning - so had really better go to bed!

Sunday morning 14th October 2012 came around, and after a cooked breakfast we needed to set up quickly as we were on first again - this time at 9am! We had a large room, which was nearly full, for our new talk about the developments and achievements in the last year or so of SOTA. It was good to see many familiar faces from SOTA activating and chasing in there.

Again, this presentation is available to be viewed online, or save a copy to edit/customise it, here it is:

[NB: There is a lot of media content embedded in this presentation. It may take a few minutes to fully load on older PCs].

We were then free to enjoy the rest of the Convention howsoever we wished, so I went to the HK0NA talk on Jimmy’s glowing recommendation, and then later to the Contest Forum. At the start of lunch, we met as arranged with John G3WGV for the final piece of the jigsaw - to get SOTA’s illustrious Founder and President - to do his first SOTA activation for 7.5 years!

To his credit, John did not try to escape. He followed us up the M1 and around the back roads to Vercor Close, Coalville, the unlikely suburban start point for a SOTA activation.

It was a familiar walk for Jimmy and I, but a first-time unique for John. We ambled through the field and wooded area before cutting uphill by the quarry face edge. We turned right at the transmitters and through some trees to the summit, marked by a trig point, jutting out high above the surrounding quarry.

Jimmy 2E0EYP did 2m FM as usual, making 13 QSOs. John G3WGV did 40m and 30m CW, making 23 contacts. I went for 20m CW and made 24 QSOs including two into North America. After descending and bidding farewells, it was time to go home at the end of a long but productive weekend.

Thanks to everyone that came to one or both of the SOTA talks at the RSGB Convention, and thanks to all the chasers that worked any of the three activators on Bardon Hill G/CE-004.

Tom M1EYP