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Featured key
Photos and text by brundrit.co.uk
This Royal Naval Admiralty Pattern 5475 key, complete with Remote Control Coil, is a great example of this extremely rare key. The remote control coil consists of a single 1300-ohm coil mounted inside the enclosure at the front of the key under the twin arms.
The coil has the following, stamped on the inner identification label: “Patt. 33 1300 Ohms VMCO 1939” and is in fully working condition. It has heavy contacts, both on the make and break positions, and was probably used with high voltage spark and valve transmitters both as a primary key but also from a remote position by a lighter key or relay. If anyone has further information regarding the use of this key then please contact me.
* If you have an interesting key for this feature, please send a nice clear photo and a few words describing it.
Photo flashback
Who’s the chap in the lovely slippers? You’ve probably recognised him as young Cecil Goyder, seen here c1923 shortly after the Mill Hill School amateur station was relocated to the new science building. The plastering was yet to be done, but that didn’t stop Cecil from getting G2SZ on the air.
Recreation of first transworld radio contact
NZ Net member Greg ZL4GW had a busy few days while camped at Shag Valley, Otago last week. Greg was the CW operator for ZL4AA, marking the 100th anniversary of the first transworld radio contact between Shag Valley farmer Frank Bell Z4AA and 18-year-old Cecil Goyder operating G2SZ at Mill Hill School, London. The contact 100 years ago was an earth-shaking event, and the 100th anniversary was a worthy tribute, with NZART Otago Branch 30 setting up several stations on the site, working various bands and modes.
At 0630 UTC on Friday the 18th, the original QSO was re-enacted on 3510 kHz between ZL4AA at Shag Valley and G2SZ at Mill Hill School. Ten minutes earlier, conditions had been marginal, but greyline propagation was good as Greg answered the call from the UK.
Descendants of Frank Bell still farm the 4900-hectare Shag Valley Station where, 100 years ago, Frank and his sister Brenda had their radio equipment set up on the homestead’s verandah.
Last week, more than 30 members of the family attended a reunion coinciding with the radio anniversary, and they were looking on when the commemorative contact with London was made.
“I was very privileged to be the operator for the event,” says Greg, “doubly so in that I did the same transmission in 1974 at the 50th anniversary, but there wasn’t the fanfare then. Frank and his sister Brenda (pictured) were at the 50th.”
Frank Bell died in 1987, aged 91. Brenda died in 1979, aged 87.
FOC launches Memorial Day QSO Party
By Michele IZ2FME – MM0FME – N2FME
The Memorial Day QSO Party is a new activity sponsored by the First Class CW Operators’ Club but open to all radio amateurs. This activity will run for the first time in November 2024.
Memorial Day QSO Party (MDQP) is an opportunity for each participant to honour a Silent Key. They might have a special memory to share, along with the callsign and name of one who went before us.
MDQP begins at 0900 UTC on 1 November, ending at 0859 UTC on 2 November.
Certificates will be available for all participants submitting an ADIF log and there will be awards for the highest number of QSOs made, the runner-up with the second highest number of QSOs and the participant sharing the most highly-regarded detail about their chosen Silent Key.
Of course, this is a CW-only event (suggested Speed is 15-30 WPM).
At a minimum, each exchange must include RST, QTH and name of operator, together with the callsign of the Silent Key being honoured Additionally, sharing the name and at least one item of interest about the SK operator is encouraged. A participant may honour more than a single SK but only one SK call per band.
QSOs may be on 6, 10, 15, 20, 40, 80 and 160 metre bands only. Stations may be worked once per band.
There are two sections: Single Operator Low Power (SOLP) using 100 watts or less and Single Operator High Power (SOHP) running more than 100 Watts up to their local legal limit.
For more information on the event email MDQP@g4foc.org
Advanced CW skills: hearing words
From Pierpont, WG:The Art & Skill of Radio-Telegraphy, 3rd Edition
Advertising archive
Break-In magazine, Sep 1983
Suggestions?
If you have suggestions on how to make the NZ Net better, or things you’d like to see covered in these updates, please contact ZL1NZ. You might even like to write something for the newsletter.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear you soon on the NZ Net!
—
Neil Sanderson ZL1NZ, Net Manager
New Zealand Net (NZ NET)
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