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Celebration of radio
Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society members Wilf Corkish, Dave Cain, Mike Dunning, Steve Kelly and Dave Williamson
THE Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society made more than 650 contacts – as far away as The Falkland Islands – when it set up its equipment at the Sea Terminal, Douglas.
The three-day event was part of celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the Radio Society of Great Britain.
Member Mike Dunning said: ‘Despite the weather, we had a very successful weekend. Our radio teams were made up of both high frequency and very high frequency operators, using voice, coded word and digital (phase shift keying).
‘The total number of contacts appears to be in the 650 to 700 range, which, considering the horrendous conditions, was very good. It seems that the UK, no doubt because of the weather, etc, did not fare well, whereas Europe seemed to be well connected.
‘However, there were some contacts in Russia, but without doubt the cream of the contacts was The Falkland Islands.’
The antennas and radio stations were set up and tested on Saturday, and then operated on the following two days.
Mr Dunning said: ‘Amateur radio is not just a matter of picking up a microphone and chatting away, as there are many different options to take, and observations to be made when operating, particularly the conditions of the frequency bands.
‘All of the bands were extremely noisy, with electrical noise from the building, being the first problem. Following that, the very heavy rain and snow clouds over the rest of the UK made it very difficult to make any contact with other amateurs around both the UK and the rest of the planet.’
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Weather for Isle of Man
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: North west
