News
The latest news headlines from MKARS
Diary
The clubs calendar of events
Forum
Got a question about MKARS or amateur radio? Say hello via our new forum pages
About us
About the club, its history and our special event station, GB2BP
Training
MKARS Amateur Radio courses including foundation, intermediate and advanced
Rally Info
Details of our annual rally can be found here
Visitors Information
Information for visitors attending the MKARS rally
Repeaters
GB3MK, GB3TG and other local repeaters around Milton Keynes
Projects
Details of MKARS projects such as the MKARS80 kit courtesy of Radio Kits
Committee
Who's who and what they do on the MKARS Committee
Library
A collection of useful articles and presentations
Contact us
Contact details for MKARS including email, postal and our physical location
MKARS News
Welcome to MKARS the Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society.
The club has nearly 60 years of history and an enthusiastic membership with very diverse interests. The club is particularly proud of the association with Bletchley Park and our successful training, for which we have introduced hundreds of members to the hobby.
Please feel free to visit us on our club nights or at any of the events in our diary.
To find out more about MKARS and what we have been up to check out our news items below or subscribe to our news feed. For more information on our news and diary feeds please check out our feed information page.
MEETINGS IN AUGUST - PREP FOR FIELD DAY & MKARS RALLY
Despite it being holiday season, August is a busy month for us.
Please remember that our meetings in August will NOT be at TS invincible, Bletchley Park, but in the upstairs room at the Irish Centre, Manor Fields, Watling Street, Bletchley, MK2 2HX.
This is a time when the club really needs your help.
Our Club meeting nights are Monday 6thAugust with a discussion and planning for the Club entering SSB HF Field Day on the 1st and 2nd of September. We need help with set up, close down and of course operators!
UPDATE : we have revisited our field site, and now have a checklist of what we need to bring to our field weekend (See MKARS Forum Member Area); 'SSB Field Day'). Please review it and sign up for the items that you will bring.
Monday 20th sees us meet to discuss final preparations for our Rally which is on Sunday 26thAugust.
It's that time of year when we need volunteers to help run the Rally.
Even if you can't do the whole day, we need people to assist with all aspects on the day, from car park marshalling, taking entrance fees, manning the club stall etc.
If you can assist then please contact our rally manager, Francis, M0UKF (formerly 2E0FMK) on 07508 188 258 or come along on club night and make yourself known.
Club Construction Competition Sept 17th
Don't forget also that the MKARS Club Construction Competion, with prizes, is set for Monday September 17th. Rules for the construction competition, and how things will work, are now in a document on our library page. We will have two levels to the competition; one for those newly licensed with the hobby, and another for those more experienced.
This competition is intended to encourage home construction for our Club Members. To qualify for entry the entrant must be a member of the Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society, and the entry must have an amateur radio context.
It could cover home construction, kit building, and amateur radio software, but not antennas which are included as a separate club competition.
Projects can be built from kits, which can be complete, or projects using kit modules or commercial PCBs for more major projects. Obviously, you get more marks if you have to do a lot of the project yourself.
Foundation Course passes
We are pleased to announce that all of the 9 Foundation course students who took the exam this evening have passed. We welcome them to Amateur radio and look forward to hearing them all on the air.
Those who passed are:-
Wally Byers
Keith Charlton
Steven Donovan
Fedinando Esposito
Dirk Fair
Dave Gunter
Gary Kattenhorn
Bilal Mohd
Edward Sartin
The Training team
Frank Jackson M0JSZ
Rupert Campbell-Black 2E0YLP
Andy Roberts M0GYK
Graham Parry G7OSR
Weekly Club Net on GB3MK - Sundays 8pm
There is a weekly net on the clubs 70cm repeater GB3MK. All members and prospective members are welcome.
Cooking with Antennas - video of Wills Presentation
For those who missed it the video recording of Wills (G1YYU) club night presentation on 20th Nov is now available for viewing online.
This is a guide on making loop antennas to a budget. The measurements needed to have a go yourself are shown at the end of the video. Have some fun over the Christmas period and see what you can do, there is a competition on 15th Jan clubnight, £5 per antenna to enter, £25 prize for the winner, which should cover most or all of the cost to make one or pay for your membership if not already a member.
» read more
ILLW 400th Entry
Right on schedule the 400th entry was received on the same date as last year and it was from GB2NPL at Nash Point Low Lighthouse in Wales, UK
ARISS contact planned for schools in Zwoenitz and Kaiserslautern, Germany
An International Space Station school contact has been planned for Alexander Gerst KF5ONO with Matthes-Enderlein-Gymnasium Zwoenitz, Zwoenitz, Germany and Hohenstaufen-Gymnasium Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
FCC publish new Part 95 rules in Federal Register
The FCC has reorganized and updated FCC Personal Radio Services (PRS) Part 95 rules and published them in the The Federal Register