This years Scouting jamboree on the air will be held from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th October 2025. I do hope the bands are favourable and that everyone can link up, make contacts and have a good time.
I doubt I can assist this year, but, I know my own club, West Manchester Radio Club, is helping the 1st Atherton Scout Group to get on the air.
On a Sunday, I take my son to his Taekwando lesson. Parked up waiting for Samuel, so, mobile today doing some CB for a change, what with the storm and the strong Russian stations clearer than UK ones, it was very difficult when only running 4 watts. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Russian.
I can hear Rob 59ST02 in Greece clear as a bell on channel 40, from the island of Rhodes, but, other stations just stomp on my replies! So I never got an over with him.
With a Thunderpole whip on a mag mount, a slightly off SWR of 2:1, and all this heavy rain, I was really struggling.
For next time, I will see if I can get the SWR lower, I used to achieve an SWR of 1.2:1 when I used the same antenna on a roof rack mount. Oddly, my SWR is higher with the mag mount. I would have expected the other way around.
Until next time…
73 de Mark, 26TM998
“Spark Transmitter”
EDIT: The SWR is now down to 1.2:1. It was found that there was some tarnish on the centre pin of the coax from the antenna. Overhauling both ends brought the SWR down nicely.
