David, G8UOD presented the annual club quiz this year. Most questions were  general knowledge and a few answers generated humorous reactions.  The five teams were chosen by drawing lots and after an interesting evening, the  winning team of four were: Victor, G3JNB, Alan, G4PSO, Quentin, G0BVW and Bryan, M0BIK.

Terry started with the video of ‘Dud’ Charman, G6CJ made in 1981 by the Bristol TV Group. Dud’s aerials were scaled down versions of those used by amateurs today, and due to the small size of the models the frequency needed was in the microwave band (3200 Mhz). Dud wanted to display a three dimensional impression of the antenna’s radiation pattern that was more meaningful than the usual two dimensional patterns presented in books.

Terry had various aerials and showed their output on a meter projected on a large screen. The outstanding difference between Dud’s equipment and that used by Terry was the 1000v that Dud needed to power the klystron while Terry used a chip powered by the output from his laptop’s USB port!

This film described the early achievements in the development of British radar and covered the Chain Home system through to                microwave radar. It  detailed how essential the systems were during WWll.

Paul started by explaining the 23 items of equipment he had brought to display, all of which were shown to be working.

Although the company didn’t actually start with kits for audio and test equipment in 1929, by 1947 their first oscilloscope kit was introduced. This proved very popular and was followed by a valve volt meter. The kits were very well presented and included ready made metal cases.  The documentation insured building and testing resulted in near 100% success, and the company provided help when needed.

Through the years the company was taken over by numerous other companies but always remained a favourite amongst the radio amateur fraternity. However, in the seventies, equipment was coming into the country from Japan which was ready built and tested for the price of the kits.

Today, Heathkit projects, although no longer manufactured, are still popular since they are easy to service or restore if you have access to the original documentation.

Bryan, M0BIK and Brian, G8GHR showed their collections of Heathkit amateur radio equipment. Bryan explained some of the components used and detailed the U.S. made valves which were the choice of the American Heathkit company in kits for distribution over there.