On the 3rd of March Martin (2W0NKS) gave the club a talk on producing media for websites.

Martin explained that Good media is crucial for a website because it enhances user experience, engagement, and credibility, boosts engagement and retention, improves communication, enhances SEO and performance, builds trust and credibility, and attracts new interest in the club and members to the club.

In the context of websites, media refers to various types of content that enhance the user experience, including:

1. Images – JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, and WebP formats used for visuals like logos, backgrounds, and illustrations.
2. Videos – MP4, WebM, or embedded videos from platforms like YouTube or Vimeo.
3. Audio – MP3, WAV, and AAC files for background music, podcasts, or sound effects.
4. Animations – GIFs, CSS animations, and JavaScript-based animations (e.g., Lottie files).
5. Documents – PDFs, Word documents, or spreadsheets available for download.
6. Interactive Media – HTML5 games, VR/AR elements, and interactive infographics.

Media helps improve engagement, storytelling, and accessibility on websites but must be optimized for speed and responsiveness to enhance user experience.

Amateur radio operators, often known as “hams,” are known for their deep passion for communication and technology, but their interests rarely stop there. The hobby’s diverse nature attracts people from all walks of life, many of whom bring their enthusiasm for other pursuits into their amateur radio experiences. This blending of hobbies creates a dynamic and fascinating community.
Members of the Dragon Amateur Radio Club are no exception, and the 10-minute talk night provides them with a chance to share their interests, hobbies, careers, or anything else they’d like to discuss with fellow club members in a brief 10-minute presentation.

Danny GW7BZR talked about his ever growing family of Handheld Radios, that he doesn’t use! Simon NW0NWM talked about significant moments in RF history, Martin 2W0NKS talked about the Royal British Legion Riders Branch, Stuart Rolfe told us all about what it was that got him into amateur radio, Harrison M7WXR talked about interesting aviation and shipping frequencies for shortwave listeners, and David GW6MLI talked about interesting idioms, proverbs, and expressions and where they originated from.

Why not come and join us to discover all that we have to offer at the Dragon Amateur Radio Club? Whether you’re a seasoned amateur radio operator or just curious about the hobby, we welcome everyone with open arms. Our club is more than just a place for radio enthusiasts—it’s a vibrant community where you can explore new interests, make friends, and develop valuable skills.

By joining us, you’ll gain access to a wealth of knowledge and resources. From learning the basics of amateur radio to mastering advanced techniques, we’re here to support you at every step of your journey. We also organise engaging events, special event station, special interest nights and social events ensuring there’s something for everyone.

But it’s not just about radio. Many of our members have a wide range of hobbies and experiences to share, creating a dynamic and diverse environment where you can learn and grow. Whether you’re interested in technology, outdoor adventures, or making connections with like-minded people, there’s a place for you here.

So why not come along to one of our meetings or events and see for yourself? We’d love to meet you, hear your story, and show you how joining our club could open up a world of exciting opportunities.

The Contest

The Dragon Amateur Radio Club 24MHz Challenge started on the 1st November 2024 and ran until the 30th November 2024. The aim of the challenge was to encourage club members to get active on the 24MHz band, with a little friendly rivalry. Of course this was not a formal contest so any QSO members had whether it was a good old natter, or a 59 and 73 ‘rubber stamp’ QSO, they all counted. To add to the interest there was a simple set of rules and a scoring system to encourage members to not only work as many QSOs they wished, but to challenge members to work as many different countries as possible.

24MHz Challenge Rules
• 1st until 30th November
• Make as many contacts as possible on the 12m 24MHz band (You can work the same station more than once
• All modes: voice / CW / Digi
• Two power categories: 1) 25 Watts 2) 100 Watts
•You must use a homebrew aerial or aerials.
•Scoring: 1 point per QSO multiplied by the number of DXCC worked.

For example: 103 QSO x 15 DXCC = 1545 points

The Results

There were only five logs submitted, but none the less it was great to see so many QSOs being made.

100 Watt category
1st Marc Bloore MW0PNC (1)
2nd Stewart Rolfe GW0ETF (2)
3rd Brian Davies GW4KAZ (3)
(1)Marc Bloore used 100 Watts into a homebrew half wave dipole.
(2) Stewart Rolfe used 100 Watt CW
(3) Brian Davies used 100 Watts SSB into a homebrew 2 element cubical quad at 6m AGL

25Watt category
1st Ian Capon GW0KRL (1)
2nd Simon Taylor MW0NWM (2)
(1)Ian Capon used a maximum of 10 Watts using the FT4 & FT8 datamodes, into a homebrew close coupled resonant dipole for 17m and 12m, at a height of 20 feet AGL.
(2) Simon Taylor used 25 Watts SSB with a homebrew half wave dipole at 7m AGL.

• The 100Watt category winner Marc Bloore sent in the following information about his contacts:
• Number of DXCC outside of Europe: 28
• Most DXCC Worked in Europe: Italy (x12)
• Most DXCC Worked outside of Europe: Brazil (x6)
• Callsign Worked the Most Often: YL2LW Latvia (x5)
• Farthest DXCC Worked: 3G7X Chile (7165 miles)
  DXpedition Worked:
• Burkina Faso XT2MD
• Namibia V55LA
• Sao Tome & Principe S9Z 
• Sierra Leone 9L5A

Dragon Amateur Radio Club member Marc Bloore MW0PNC has just given his QSL card an update, showcasing a beautiful photo of his charming village, Talysarn, in beautiful North Wales.

But, what is a QSL card?
A QSL card confirms a two-way radio communication between amateur radio stations, or the reception of a one-way signal from another station. QSL cards originated in the early 1900s when radio broadcasting was becoming popular. The term “QSL” comes from an international Q code that means “I confirm receipt of your transmission”.

QSL cards typically include the time, date, and frequency of the contact, as well as other technical information such as what equipment was used, what power and mode was used and gives the operators location.
For more about QSL cards visit the RSGB page on QSL Cards.

These days more and more radio amateurs make use of electronic QSL cards, or eQSL cards. To find out more about these visit the eQSL.cc website.

The antenna shows is Marc’s home brew 20m 40m dipole which replaced the 12m dipole that he used in the recent DARC 12m antenna Challenge,.

He does plan to add some more elements to the antenna and turn it into a fan dipole.

73 Marc MW0PNC 

.

Many clubs across our great nation come together for an Annual General Meeting (AGM), and the Dragon Amateur Radio Club proudly embraces this tradition. This meeting is not just a formality; it’s a powerful opportunity for our members to unite, share visions for the future, and actively shape the direction of our club where members of the club can discuss, vote on, and make decisions about the club’s future, learn about the club’s financial situation and Elect the club’s committee for the upcoming year.

This years AGM was held at the clubs home location at Canolfan Esceifiog Community Centre, Lon Groes, Gaerwen, Anglesey. LL60 6DD on the 2nd of December 2024 with some 50% of the membership attending either in person or via a live zoom meeting.

Reports were presented by the Chairman Danny GW7BZR, Secretary Simon MW0NWM and the Treasurer Stewart GW0ETF which were all accepted and passed unanimously by the clubs membership. A report on the website was also presented by the club Webmaster Martin 2W0NKS

Members present were: Nigel GW3JBJ, Stewart GW0ETF, Simon MW0NWM, Martin 2W0NKS, Sylvia SWL,
Danny GW7BZR, David GW6MLI, Mervyn GW1SGG, John MW7JCX, Marc MW0PNC, Harrison SWL,
Ian GW0KRL, John 2W0JYB, Tom 2W0IJD, Liz GW0ETU, Mike MW7KKE, Jason MW0JYY,
Brian GW4KAZ (Zoom), Tony GW4WZS (Zoom), Martin MW7AUU (Zoom), Beth SWL (Zoom)
& Tristan MW3VJN (guest / Zoom)

Officers elected for 2025
Chairman    Danny GW7BZR
Vice-Chairman    David GW6MLI
Treasurer    Stewart GW0ETF
Secretary    Simon MW0NWM

Committee Members elected for 2025
John 2W0JYB
Ian GW0KRL
Liz GW0ETU
Tom 2W0IJD
Martin 2W0NKS
Harrison SWL

Non Committee Roles for 2025
Refreshments    Sylvia SWL
Door Keeper      Sylvia SWL
Equipment          Ian GW0KRL
Publicity              John 2W0JYB
Webmaster        Martin 2W0NKS

Every year the Dragon Amateur Radio Club holds a construction contest with the aim of encouraging members to build either radio equipment or ancillary items which will enhance their radio operations and then to exhibit the builds to encourage others to follow their example.

Entries could have included any radio-related equipment, for example a morse oscillator, test unit, QRP rig, computer/radio interface, PSU, Tx/Rx, linear, antenna, ATU etc. Entries could also have been built from a commercially available kit or indeed scratch built.

1st Prize winner Les Hayward MW0SEC won with his Signal Generator
Beginners Prize winner Jason Young MWOJYY won with a portable beam rotator

Well done to this years winners

Building amateur radio items can help licensed operators in several ways, including: 

• Understanding equipment
  Building amateur radio items can help operators understand the equipment they’re using. 
• Learning new skills
  Building amateur radio items can help operators learn new skills. 

Some equipment that amateur radio operators may need and consider constructing includes:

• A transceiver, which is the radio that allows for sending and receiving signals
• A power supply for the transceiver
• An antenna, such as a VHF/UHF antenna or an HF wire antenna
• A mobile transceiver
• A mobile antenna mount
• Computers
• Power cables
• Weather stations
• Scanners and receivers
• Towers
• Two-way radios 

It was good to see DARC members on Zoom this evening for the talk by Nick Wood M0NTV called ’40M on a Glue Stick’ where Nick M0NTV tells us of his exploits building a Direct Conversion Receiver. Nick is a UK licensed radio amateur and keen constructor of radio electronic projects who’s main interest is in scratch-building SSB transceivers.

The talks YouTube video can be watched here:

You lucky people can watch more Nick M0NTV’s construction projects on his YouTube channel, M0NTVHomebrewing, which you can find by clicking HERE. Please don’t forget to comment, like, share and subscribe to his excellent channel.

We struggled to get contacts in the beginning but the 7400 and the 80/40 dipole worked well.
We packed up at 1550 when the wind was bad, and it became cloudy. All in all we achieved 63 contacts, most of whom complained about the conditions, even inter G was bad but It did improve a bit in the afternoon but nothing like a pile up. Thanks to Les for his hospitality and for letting us use his annex. Thanks to Stew GW0ETF, John 2W0JWB, Twm 2W0IJD, John GW0WZL, Les MW0SEC and Sylvia. Without your help this would have been hard, if at all  possible. Looking forward to next year!

Article by Danny Shurmer GW7BZR

The Dragon ARC Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday 2nd December at 19:30. This will be a hybrid meeting where you can choose to join us in person at our usual venue, the Canolfan Esceifiog, Gaerwen, or members will be able to join us by Zoom if they cannot join us in person.

If you have anything you wish to add to the AGENDA, please do let the Secretary know by Monday 18th November.

If you are interested in standing for a position on the committee, please do let either the Secretary of Chairman know, they will also be happy to discuss the roles available and the time commitment required.

To be able to vote at the AGM you need to be a paid up member, if you have not already done so please pay your membership dues to Chairman Danny GW7BZR at his home, or contact our Treasurer to find out how to pay electronically.

Finally, please do your best to attend in person or on Zoom, this is your club and your participation in the AGM is vital to the clubs future success.

Secretary, Simon MW0NWM     m3set@yahoo.co.uk

Treasurer, Stewart GW0ETF     gw0etf1@gmail.com

Members of Dragon ARC are busy preparing to take part in their November 24MHZ (12 metre) Operating Challenge. But what is the challenge, and how will it work?

The aim of the challenge is to encourage club members to get active on the 24MHz band, with a little friendly rivalry. Of course this is not a formal contest and any QSO you have can be a good old natter, or a 59 and 73 ‘rubber stamp’ QSO, the choice is yours. But to add to the interest we have created a simple set of rules and a scoring system to encourage us all to not only work as many QSOs as we wish, but to challenge us to work as many different countries as possible.

Remember 24MHz is a WARC Band and therefore a non contest band, so simply call CQ and not CQ Contest, as the scoring is just to challenge a few of us at DARC who want to take part.

24MHz Challenge Rules

• 1st until 30th November

• Make as many contacts as possible on the 12m 24MHz band.

• All modes: voice / CW / Digi

• Two power categories: 1) 25 Watts

2) 100 Watts

•You must use one or more homemade (homebrew) aerials.

•Scoring: 1 point per QSO multiplied by the number of DXCC worked.

        For example: 103 QSO x 15 DXCC = 1545 points.

•To enter a claimed score, you will be asked to complete a simple form which will be emailed to members.

GOOD LUCK!’

On Monday 21st October members met at their usual home in Gaerwen to test their homemade aerials using masts and analysers to check they were resonant on the 24MHz band, in readiness for the November 24MHz Challenge. Whilst not everyone brought their newly built creations along, members encouraged those who were busy tinkering with their wires, whilst drinking hot beverages and eating copious amounts of Jaffa Cakes!

The club also welcomed two visitors who became members the very same evening, a warm welcome was extended to Harrison who is studying for the Foundation exam and Michael MW7KKE. It is great to see Dragon ARC continue to thrive and encourage new members to join our club.