Mills 2022

QSL Card

Introduction

Saltford Brass Mill is situated on the banks of the River Avon in the village of Saltford, 5 miles west of the City of Bath in the South West of England. Its postal address is Saltford Brassmill, The Shallows, Saltford, BS31 3EY. However, there are some specific details that will be of interest to radio hams:

  • Lat/Long (WGS84 Geoid): 51.401316°,-2.451456°
  • IARU: IO81sj
  • IOTA: EU005 (UK Mainland)
  • WAB: ST66 – England
  • ///unravel.transmits.rely

Location

Operation

After 2 years of COVID restrictions it was good to get back to Special Events and to reacquaint ourselves with the volunteers at the Saltford Brass Mill. There had clearly been some work within the site but as this was the first opening to the public for some time there was much work within the grounds to prune and otherwise tend to the garden area.

Location of the Operating Position

GB0SBM Operation

We were billeted within the grounds of the Mill on the island between the two mill leats as shown above, our hosts kindly erected a gazebo to provide shelter from what turned out to be a lovely warm and sunny weekend and mains power was taken from inside the Mill building.

The Station

  • Yaesu FT-991 HF/VHF/UHF Multi-mode transceiver
  • Nissei DPS-300 Linear Power Supply
  • MFJ 993 Auto ATU
  • Behringer 302USB audio mixer (splits audio out from the FT-991 to operators headphones and external amplified speakers)
  • Logitech USB powered amplified speakers
  • 80m doublet fed with 450Ω ladder-line
  • Fiberglass telescopic mast to support centre of doublet in an inverted vee configuration at approximately 12m
  • Acer Aspire 8942G Laptop running Ubuntu Studio 21.10, logging with PyQSO

Headlines

Mills on the Air marks the start of the Special Event season for the South Bristol ARC, a chance to get the equipment out of the cupboard connect it all up, test it and brush up on those pile-up handling skills. We managed to connect with 16 of the 36 registered Mills on the Air stations giving us about 44% of the participating operations. The map below indicates where we worked another participating Mill.

Location of Participating Mills Worked

The Details

The team on Saturday comprised (in no particular order): Mark M0SKV, Greg MW7BUF, Robin G3TKF, and Andy G7KNA.

The operation started with Mark and Andy arriving on site almost exactly 20 minutes later than planned, those who are familiar with our Special Event operations will know that this is business as usual! There have been a number of changes around the mill following lockdown and the redevelopment of some of the houses opposite the Mill site which has led to a change of parking restrictions, or more accurately the imposition of parking regulations where none have existed before. As a result, having unloaded the equipment from the car it was necessary to move out of the residents parking area and use the free public car park some 200m to the north of the Mill site, this car park is popular with the water sports enthusiasts who park here whilst: kayaking, canoeing and paddle boarding on the River Avon. The moral of this is that if you want to get parked in this small car park you should consider getting there earlier than Mark and Andy!

Mark M0SKV setting upDoublet antenna

Setup went more or less to plan. Erecting the antenna was a little tricky with just two people, a third person would have been a great asset and of course as both people present were busy setting things up then there are no video, audio or photographic records of the setup process, although given that both Mark and Andy were a little rusty after two years of lockdown this might be for the best anyway.

Our TWEET history suggests that we had the station pretty much assembled by 10:37 when just the doublet remained to be erected, by 11:16 everything was in place and connected. These timings may be a little off as there was poor network coverage at the Brass Mill site which might have delayed postings. According to our log the first station worked was GB2CW, Chesterton Windmill operated by Stratford and District Radio Society. Our log has this at 10:28 UTC (11:28 BST) although Twitter suggests 11:39 BST which might give you an indication of the lag on social media.

Greg MW7BUF and Robin G3TKF turned up later in the day. Greg, who had not visited the site before, used the “What3Words” identifier which brought him to the front gate of the Mill, however as parking was some distance from here and the characteristics of the local road were almost as medieval as the Mill itself he had to scurry off and turn around before actually getting himself into the site to take on some logging.

Mark M0SKV operating with Greg MW7BUFMark M0SKV operating with Greg MW7BUF

We remained on 40m more or less throughout the day, there was a brief foray onto 20m where there was a contest taking place and we looked at 80m but found this to be much nosier than we remembered at this location. By the end of the day we had made 54 contacts including 11 special event stations registered as participating in Mills on the Air.

The team on Sunday comprised (in no particular order): Mark M0SKV, Robin G3TKF, and Andy G7KNA.

Having bagged Mark 2D0MUP/QRP on the Saturday we were hopeful to try to collect all of the valid Regional Secondary locators. This is something we have always had a mind to do in each of our Special Events and there is some debate which is worthy of a separate assessment and analysis as to whether or not we have ever achieved this. The usual “problem” RSLs are those associated with the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey (the latter including Alderney and Sark) and the Isle of Man. Having managed to secure the Isle of Man on the Saturday we were keen to work the Channel Islands to complete the set. After much calling we secured the Bailiwick of Guernsey thanks to Malcolm GU0UVH on Alderney but sadly we were unable to collect the remaining Bailiwick of Jersey callsign. Just as we were shutting down Robin was convinced that he’d heard a “GJ” station calling in the pile-up but despite pausing and calling specifically for this station nothing came back.

Mark M0SKV operating with Greg MW7BUFMark M0SKV operating

Despite this we did manage to work a further 78 stations including another 5 participating mills operations. This brought our total for the weekend to 132 stations including 16 registered mills stations. As we typically manage around 100 stations over a typical Special Event weekend this was a good number of stations to work and we were the target of a pile-up of varying intensity more or less throughout the day.

Overall we consider this a good opening Special Event and look forward to both Lighthouses on the Air in August and Railways on the Air in September.

Log for Mills on the Air 2022

Date of Contact Time Station Worked Band or Freq (MHz) Mode TX RX Operator’s Name QTH IARU Locator Distance (km) Notes
RST No. RST No.
07/05/2022 10:28 GB2CW 40m SSB 59   59     Chesterton Windmill     Stratford and District Radio Society
07/05/2022 10:37 GB0TWM 40m SSB 59   59   Sid        
07/05/2022 10:48 G8HBS 40m SSB 59   59   Peter        
07/05/2022 10:53 G3TKF 40m SSB 59   59   Robin        
07/05/2022 10:56 G4UUQ 40m SSB 59   59   Terry        
07/05/2022 11:00 M0ZDD 40m SSB 57   59   Alan Northumberland     QRP
07/05/2022 11:11 GB6GEM 40m SSB         Howard Gainsford End Windmill      
07/05/2022 11:16 M0MNG 40m SSB 59   59   Ed        
07/05/2022 11:20 GB1GSM 40m SSB 59   59     Gunton Saw Mill     Bittern DX Group/Stratford and District Radio Society
07/05/2022 11:27 M0HEM 40m SSB     59   John London      
07/05/2022 11:31 GB1RY 40m SSB 59   59   John Gloucestershire     Possibly incorrect callsign
07/05/2022 11:36 GB0MWM 40m SSB 59   59   Ben       Kidderminster Military Wireless Museum
07/05/2022 11:39 G6YWL 40m SSB 59   59   Tony        
07/05/2022 11:41 G4MKR 40m SSB 59   59   Richard Sandy Bedfordshire      
07/05/2022 11:43 M0IJW 40m SSB 59   58   Steven Ipswitch      
07/05/2022 11:47 G6TEQ 40m SSB 59   59   Ian Torquay      
07/05/2022 11:52 GB4DM 40m SSB 59   59   Martin Daniels Mill      
07/05/2022 11:56 M0KCV 40m SSB 59   59   Kevin Gatwick      
07/05/2022 11:58 M0WPJ 40m SSB 59   59   Peter Canterbury      
07/05/2022 12:02 M0WYB/P 40m SSB 59   59   Ross Swanage      
07/05/2022 12:06 GB1TMI 40m SSB 59   59     Thwaites Mill Island     Used when access to the mill is restricted. Denby Dale Amateur Radio Society. Duplicate contact under GB2TMI
07/05/2022 12:13 GB2GW 40m SSB 55   57     Gleaston Water Mill     Furness Amateur Radio Society
07/05/2022 12:14 M0RWL 40m SSB 59   59   Bob Hull      
07/05/2022 12:18 GB0LM 40m SSB           Llanyravon Mill     Cwmbran Radio Club
07/05/2022 12:20 GB0SXW 40m SSB 59   59     Stonecross Windmill     G1FBH and M0KIL
07/05/2022 12:23 GB0CHW 40m SSB 59   59     Chailey Heritage Windmill     Downland Radio Group
07/05/2022 12:29 PA1AT 40m SSB 59   59   Gerry Gronow      
07/05/2022 12:36 GB0SPN 40m SSB 59   59     Speeton Windmill     Otley Amateur Radio Society
07/05/2022 12:39 2D0MUP 40m SSB 54   59   Mark        
07/05/2022 12:42 GI0KMX 40m SSB 59   59   Chris        
07/05/2022 12:43 M0CTC 40m SSB 59   59            
07/05/2022 12:47 M0TZR 40m SSB 59   58   Paul        
07/05/2022 12:51 GW6STQ 40m SSB 58   58   Robert Colwyn Bay      
07/05/2022 12:54 M7NHC 40m SSB 58   59   Nick Eastbourne      
07/05/2022 12:56 G3OKA 40m SSB 59   59   John The Wirral      
07/05/2022 12:57 ON2KP 40m SSB 59   59   Karel Belgium      
07/05/2022 12:58 M0BJX 40m SSB 58   59   Robert North England      
07/05/2022 13:01 G4AHO 40m SSB 57   59   Ken Worcester      
07/05/2022 13:03 ON4WVK 40m SSB 59   59   Wim Belgium      
07/05/2022 13:15 G0BFJ 40m SSB 59   59   Brian Huddersfield      
07/05/2022 13:18 G0NIQ 40m SSB     59   Phil Felixstowe      
07/05/2022 13:21 GB2ERW 40m SSB 59   59   Phil Cromer      
07/05/2022 13:26 G0SPF 40m SSB 58   59   Terry Paignton      
07/05/2022 13:28 G1PIR 40m SSB 44   57   Dave Manchester      
07/05/2022 13:31 G7WKH 40m SSB 59   59   Paul Nottingham      
07/05/2022 13:34 GB6WWM 40m SSB 58   58   Cliff Polden Hills Street      
07/05/2022 13:37 G0PMJ 40m SSB 59   59   Dave County Durham      
07/05/2022 13:40 G0ORG 40m SSB 59   59   Neil Ipswich      
07/05/2022 13:44 GB0SNM 40m SSB 59   59   Martin Sturminster      
07/05/2022 13:48 G4NXL 40m SSB 59   59   Malc Derby      
07/05/2022 13:52 G8PTD 40m SSB 57   58   Nick        
07/05/2022 14:11 IQOPG 20m SSB 59   59            
07/05/2022 14:28 GB0SPN 40m SSB 59   59     Speeton Windmill     Otley Amateur Radio Society. Duplicate contact
07/05/2022 14:43 GB2RM 40m SSB 58   59   Mark Dudley      
08/05/2022 09:58 G3VBE 40m SSB 59   59   George Hove      
08/05/2022 10:05 G4BGX 40m SSB 59   59   Derek Poole     Stonking signal clean audio. 300W into inverted vee at 50 feet. TS890 15W into Aecom linear
08/05/2022 10:10 G1VNB 40m SSB 59   59   Dave Bedworth (5 miles north of Coventry)     TS 2000 and half wave end fed antenna
08/05/2022 10:16 GB0SPN 40m SSB 59   59     Speeton Windmill     Otley Amateur Radio Society. Triplicate contact
08/05/2022 10:21 G4CFP 40m SSB     59   Bill       IC7300 to long wire
08/05/2022 10:24 M0WPJ 40m SSB 59   59   Peter Canterbury      
08/05/2022 10:26 GX0RGH 40m SSB         Jonathan Colchester     Radio Group of Harwich. Observatory. Home call G0VDJ
08/05/2022 10:30 G7UYD 40m SSB 59   59   Peter Lowestoft      
08/05/2022 10:37 MW0LKX 40m SSB 59   59   Wayne Knighton      
08/05/2022 10:40 GB2RWM 40m SSB 59   59     Rayleigh Windmil     South Essex Amateur Radio Society
08/05/2022 10:42 G7SWS 40m SSB 59   59   Olly South Lincolnshire      
08/05/2022 10:47 M0XCZ 40m SSB 59   59   Mark Bognor Regis      
08/05/2022 10:51 G7VKP 40m SSB 59   59   Adrian 20 miles north of Derby     TS850S into military wire dipole
08/05/2022 10:55 GB2TMI 40m SSB 56         Thwaites Mill Island     Denby Dale Amateur Radio Society. Duplicate contact under GB1TMI
08/05/2022 10:59 G4PDF 40m SSB 59   59   Bob Lincoln      
08/05/2022 11:02 G4TJK 40m SSB 59   59   Malcolm Surrey      
08/05/2022 11:04 GB4DM 40m SSB         Martin Daniels Mill     Duplicate contact
08/05/2022 11:08 G0FRL 40m SSB 59   59   Bob Bolton      
08/05/2022 11:15 M0PBR 40m SSB 57   58   Peter South East of London      
08/05/2022 11:20 G3UCA 40m SSB     58   Peter Chorley Lancashire      
08/05/2022 11:23 MM0GHM 40m SSB 58   57   Graham        
08/05/2022 11:28 PA3BOE 40m SSB 59   59   Reni        
08/05/2022 11:31 MI0DJM 40m SSB     59   Joe        
08/05/2022 11:36 G7AER 40m SSB     59   John Chester      
08/05/2022 11:38 M0BKV 40m SSB 59   59   Damian North Coast of Cornwall      
08/05/2022 11:40 M0JGK 40m SSB 59   59   Andy Colchester      
08/05/2022 11:45 PC5Z 40m SSB 59   59            
08/05/2022 11:48 2E0HVE 40m SSB 57   59   Martin        
08/05/2022 11:51 GX0BRC 40m SSB 59   59   Phil Breadhurst near Medway     Breadhurst Receiving and Transmitting Society
08/05/2022 11:58 GB6DLB 40m SSB 57       Patrick        
08/05/2022 12:00 2E1TAF 40m SSB 59   59   Dave RAF Coltishall Norfolk      
08/05/2022 12:02 GU0UVH 40m SSB 59   59   Malcolm Alderney      
08/05/2022 12:06 2E0XBT 40m SSB 57   59     Worthing West Sussex     Some QSB
08/05/2022 12:09 EI2EWM 40m SSB 57   59     Elphin Windmill     M88 Shannon Basin Radio Club
08/05/2022 12:11 GB2WTM 40m SSB 59   57     Woodbridge Tide Mill     Felixstowe and District Amateur Radio Society
08/05/2022 12:13 EI7HDB 40m SSB 59   59   Dale 50miles south of Dublin      
08/05/2022 12:17 M0RMY 40m SSB 57   55   Tom Nottingham      
08/05/2022 12:20 ON6ER 40m SSB 59   59   Rick        
08/05/2022 12:23 GB0LM 40m SSB 59   59     Llanyravon Mill     Cwmbran Radio Club. Duplicate contact
08/05/2022 12:25 M3KQJ 40m SSB 58   59   Charlie Birmingham      
08/05/2022 12:27 G3SCZ 40m SSB 59   59   Ray Halfway between Reading and Basingstoke     100W FT5000
08/05/2022 12:32 G4RAC 40m SSB     59            
08/05/2022 12:39 M0CGF 40m SSB 59   59   Ian South of Croydon      
08/05/2022 12:39 M0TRJ 40m SSB 59   59   Simon Longwell Green      
08/05/2022 12:45 G3TKF 40m SSB 59   59   Robin Duplicate contact      
08/05/2022 12:46 PA3GWO 40m SSB 59   59   Tony        
08/05/2022 12:50 GB0ASH 40m SSB           Ashton Windmill     North Bristol Amateur Radio Club
08/05/2022 12:54 G4YCA 40m SSB                  
08/05/2022 12:56 M3YSB 40m SSB         John Barnstaple      
08/05/2022 13:01 G1SSL 40m SSB 59       Melvin Didcot      
08/05/2022 13:03 G2NV 40m SSB 59   59   Tom        
08/05/2022 13:05 PA1MV 40m SSB 57       Jaap        
08/05/2022 13:07 F4EPU 40m SSB 57       David        
08/05/2022 13:08 G4XIX 40m SSB 58       Michael        
08/05/2022 13:27 GB2WMS 40m SSB 57   59     Shepshed Water Mill     Loughborough and District Amateur Radio Club
08/05/2022 13:29 GB1RY 40m SSB 59   59   Neil RAF Ramsbury – Wiltshire     WAB – SU27. FTDX10 100W 40m inverted vee
08/05/2022 13:38 G1BLJ 40m SSB 58   59     NW of Birmingham      
08/05/2022 13:42 2E0YPM 40m SSB 59       Stuart        
08/05/2022 13:48 G0FVH 40m SSB     59   David Poole      
08/05/2022 13:50 G0VGB 40m SSB 59   59   David        
08/05/2022 13:53 M6KRI 40m SSB 58   59   Kenny Middlesborough      
08/05/2022 13:56 ON7AH 40m SSB 59   59            
08/05/2022 13:58 G4OBB 40m SSB 59   59   Des Bury St Edmonds      
08/05/2022 14:02 2E0MTR 40m SSB 57       Mike Folkstone      
08/05/2022 14:04 PA1MV 40m SSB 59   59           Duplicate contact
08/05/2022 14:05 G3RXQ 40m SSB 59   59   Stewart Lancaster      
08/05/2022 14:06 GW4TUD 40m SSB 59   59   Wyn Aberystwyth      
08/05/2022 14:12 G3MXH 40m SSB 59   59   Terry Mid Suffolk      
08/05/2022 14:13 M7GTL 40m SSB 47   59   Iain        
08/05/2022 14:17 G8XLH 40m SSB 58   57   Alan Peterborough      
08/05/2022 14:20 M0HHG 40m SSB 59   59   Gary Bishops Stainton      
08/05/2022 14:22 M0STN 40m SSB 59   59   Steve Northampthon      
08/05/2022 14:23 GM4MTI 40m SSB 58       Stuart        
08/05/2022 14:27 MW0CND 40m SSB 59   59   Martin Swansea      
08/05/2022 14:30 G3NKS 40m SSB 59   59   Derek Cheltenham      
08/05/2022 14:34 M1AOB 40m SSB 57   57   Richard       SS30
08/05/2022 14:39 G3LUA 40m SSB 59   59   Alan        
08/05/2022 14:41 G1SSL 40m SSB 59   59   Melvin Didcot     Duplicate contact

Those “Pesky” RSL’s

The Regional Secondary Locators are letters altered or added to an individual or club amateur radio callsign to denote which part of the United Kingdom the station is operating from, the map and table below indicate the principles:

Location Foundation Callsigns Intermediate Callsigns Full Callsigns Club Callsigns Special Event Callsigns
England M#☐☐☐ 2E#☐☐☐ G#☐☐☐
M#☐☐☐		 GX#☐☐☐
MX#☐☐☐		 GB#☐☐☐

Typically Special Event Callsigns are of the form GB + 1 Number (0-9) and 3 letters.
However, Special Special Event Callsigns can have 1, 2, 3 or even 4 letters after 1, 2 or even 3 digits following the “GB” prefix depending on:
1. Ofcoms disposition,
2. Who you ask,
3. Who you know, and
4. How much “clout” you can bring to bear.
Guernsey MU#☐☐☐ 2U#☐☐☐ GU#☐☐☐
MU#☐☐☐		 GP#☐☐☐
MP#☐☐☐
Isle of Man MD#☐☐☐ 2D#☐☐☐ GD#☐☐☐
MD#☐☐☐		 GT#☐☐☐
MT#☐☐☐
Jersey MJ#☐☐☐ 2J#☐☐☐ GJ#☐☐☐
MJ#☐☐☐		 GH#☐☐☐
MH#☐☐☐
Northern Ireland MI#☐☐☐ 2I#☐☐☐ GI#☐☐☐
MI#☐☐☐		 GN#☐☐☐
MN#☐☐☐
Scotland MM#☐☐☐ 2M#☐☐☐ GM#☐☐☐
MM#☐☐☐		 GS#☐☐☐
MS#☐☐☐
Wales MW#☐☐☐ 2W#☐☐☐ GW#☐☐☐
MW#☐☐☐		 GC#☐☐☐
MC#☐☐☐

Map of RSL's

We have long harboured the ambition to work all RSL’s on a single Special Event or contest but have yet to manage this (although we did come close this time, where were all the Jersey operators?). We didn’t manage it this time, but we live in hope!

  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
 
M
o
t
A
 		 England       ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑     ☑
Guernsey       ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐     ☑
Isle of Man       ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐     ☑
Jersey       ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☑ ☐ ☑ ☐     ☐
Northern Ireland       ☐ ☑ ☐ ☑ ☑ ☐ ☐ ☐     ☑
Scotland       ☑ ☑ ☐ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☐     ☑
Wales       ☐ ☐ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑     ☑
 
 
V
H
F
 
F
D
 		 England ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑  
Guernsey ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑ ☐ ☑ ☑ ☐ ☑ ☑   ☐  
Isle of Man ☐ ☐ ☐   ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☑ ☐   ☐  
Jersey ☐ ☑ ☐   ☐ ☐ ☑ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐   ☑  
Northern Ireland ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑ ☑ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☑ ☐   ☐  
Scotland ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☐ ☑ ☑   ☑  
Wales ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑  
 
 
I
L
L
W
 		 England         ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑  
Guernsey         ☐ ☑ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐   ☐  
Isle of Man         ☐ ☐ ☑ ☑ ☐ ☐ ☐   ☑  
Jersey         ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐   ☐  
Northern Ireland         ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑  
Scotland         ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑  
Wales         ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑  
 
 
R
o
t
A
 		 England     ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑  
Guernsey     ☐ ☑ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐  
Isle of Man     ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☑ ☐ ☐  
Jersey     ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐  
Northern Ireland     ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☑  
Scotland     ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☐ ☑ ☑ ☐ ☑  
Wales     ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑