Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Information about the Regional Mini-ATV Conventions to be held in 2019
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g8vpg
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Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:35 am

Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by g8vpg » Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:55 pm

A mini-Convention will be held in Bristol on Sunday 31st March 2019. Doors will be open from 10.00am to 4.00pm. It will be held at the premises of the North Bristol ARC, the SHE7 Building, Braemar Crescent, Filton, Bristol BS7 0TD. This venue is easy to find, about two miles down the A38 from the M4/M5 interchange. There is a free car park just around corner from the venue. There is level access to the building.
It is envisaged that the morning will be an informal session. Tables will be available for members to demonstrate items or perhaps sell things, but this is not a rally with traders. It is also planned to have some test equipment available for setting up members projects. During the afternoon, there will be a lecture programme for about three hours. If you would like to volunteer to give a talk, please let us know. The organisers are Shaun G8VPG and Ian G8XZD.
More information will be posted here as our plans are developed; comments and suggestions will be welcome.
73 Shaun G8VPG.

g8vpg
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:35 am

Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March

Post by g8vpg » Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:34 am

FINDING THE VENUE

The Bristol Mini-Convention will be held at the premises of the North Bristol ARC, SHE7 Building, Braemar Crescent, Filton, Bristol BS7 0TD. This is on the Northern outskirts of Bristol and does not require you to drive anywhere near the city centre.

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From the Midlands & the North;
Take the M5 South, pass through the M4 interchange heading M5 South and take the next exit Junction 16. Head South on the A38 for Bristol and follow the maps shown.

From South Wales;
Take the M4 East. At the M4/M5 interchange, take the M5 South. Take the next exit Junction 16 and head South on the A38 for Bristol and follow the maps shown.

From London & the East;
Take the M4 West. Exit at Junction 19 onto the M32. Keep in the lefthand lane and exit at Junction 1. Follow the A4174 West and follows the maps shown.

From the West Country;
Take the M5 North. Exit at Junction 17 for the Mall and the Concorde Museum. Passing the Concorde Museum on the right, continue ahead to the traffic light controlled junction with the A38. Turn right for A38 Bristol and follow the maps shown.

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Car Parking;
There is a free car park off the A38, just around the corner from the venue. Maximum stay is 12 hours. Braemar Avenue & Braemar Crescent are residential roads with no parking controls.

WHY NOT MAKE IT A FAMILY DAY OUT?
Whilst you enjoy the CAT, the rest of the family can visit the nearby attractions;
The Mall at Cribbs Causeway is a huge regional shopping centre. Fully enclosed, John Lewis, M&S and loads of other shops, restaurants, 7000 free parking places. There is a cinema and entertainment complex opposite.
The Concorde Museum is on the road to the Mall. You can go inside the last Concorde to fly and see lots more about Bristols aviation history. Restaurant & free car park.
For the really brave, there is a large branch of IKEA by junction 2 of the M32. Restaurant & free car park.

g8vpg
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:35 am

Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by g8vpg » Mon Feb 11, 2019 9:02 am

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

You may register your intention to attend the Bristol mini-CAT at this link;

https://batc.org.uk/cat19-bristol-registration/

Please note that registration is not mandatory and does not commit you to anything. We will not turn you away at the door if you have not registered. However, it would be very helpful to the organisers to have an indication of how many are attending.
There are also a couple of questions about what you would like to see and hear at the CAT. This will enable us to arrange talks on subjects and at a level to suit those attending. Please also note that we will not publish the list of those who have registered in the interests of your own home security.
There are now two threads for the Bristol mini-CAT; this one headed details will be edited to contain the essential information needed by attendees. The thread headed discussion is the place to ask questions etc.

73 Shaun.

g8vpg
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:35 am

Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by g8vpg » Fri Mar 15, 2019 12:28 pm

PROGRAMME

I am pleased to be able to post details of the programme as follows;

10.00am DOORS OPEN
Thanks to a grant from the BATC which covers the venue hire cost , admission is FREE! BATC membership is NOT required.

Tea or coffee is available at a cost of £1 per cup including three biscuits.

The BATC shop will be present, with all items at special rally prices.

We will have demonstrations of digital ATV, microwave ATV transceivers and Qatar Oscar 100 (Es'Hailsat2) reception.

Dennis Buchan will be operating a test equipment bench with the following facilities;
HP8566B spectrum analyser 100hz to 22GHz
HP8350B + HP83592A Sweep generator 10MHz to 20 GHz
HP4342A 18GHz microwave counter (1Hz resolution)
GPSDO for the 10MHz reference.
Laptop or two and usb to HPIB interface to do phase noise plots, amplitude
measurement, vswr and very accurate frequency measurements.
Eaton Noise source 1MHz to 12MHz Enr 15db
HP 3464B Noise source 10MHz to 18GHz Enr 5db
Plus associated cables, couplers, attenuators, power splitters and various
adapters

10.10am PRACTICAL WORKSHOP "SETTING UP A QATAR OSCAR 100 RECEIVING STATION"
Ian Parker G8XZD, BATC committee member

Ian will demonstrate all the equipment needed to set up a satellite receiving station including finding the satellite and aligning the dish aerial.Depending on demand, this may be repeated during the lunch break.

11.30am OPENING ADDRESS
Dave Crump G8GKQ, Chairman, BATC

Dave will open the first formal session with the latest news from the BATC followed by a short question/discussion period.

11.50am "LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE BATC PORTSDOWN"
Dave Crump G8GKQ, Chairman, BATC

Dave will talk about the latest development's with the club's Portsdown DATV transmitter. He will speak about the integration of the project with the Lime Micro SDR, and how the software is being updated to meet the challenges of
operation via Es'hailsat QO-100.

12.50am LUNCH
Bring your own sandwiches or visit one of the local shops.

2.15pm "GETTING STARTED ON QATAR OSCAR 100"
Noel Matthews G8GTZ, Secretary, BATC

Noel wll take you through the basics of getting going on Es'hailsat QO-100 and what he has learnt after becoming the first amateur television station to work through the satellite.

4.00pm DOORS CLOSE

g8vpg
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:35 am

Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by g8vpg » Wed Mar 27, 2019 10:23 am

LATEST NEWS

Everything is going ahead as planned. We now have over 30 online registrations.

The BATC shop will be present. If you want a Lime mini SDR, these must be pre-ordered and are only available to BATC members.

Don't forget that British Summer Time starts on Saturday night and the clocks go forward by one hour. All event timings are therefore British Summer Time.

See you there! 73 Shaun G8VPG.

g8vpg
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:35 am

Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by g8vpg » Sat Mar 30, 2019 5:36 pm

All plans confirmed for tomorrow. Today's release of the new Minitioune v0.9 will be on display. If you have something interesting to show, there will be some table space available. See you tomorrow!
73 Shaun.

VK5YYY
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Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2015 1:47 am

Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by VK5YYY » Sun Mar 31, 2019 2:23 am

Any streams or videos planned?

g8vpg
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:35 am

Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by g8vpg » Sun Mar 31, 2019 7:00 am

The talks are being filmed and will be available on the BATC Youtube Channel once edited.
73 Shaun.

g7dmo
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Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by g7dmo » Mon Apr 01, 2019 6:36 pm

Evening all.

How did CAT19 go in the end? I did plan to attend but last minute change of plans saw me going north not south.

Cheers
Drew
G7DMO

g8vpg
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:35 am

Re: Bristol mini-Convention 31 March - Details

Post by g8vpg » Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:19 pm

You missed a good day. 46 people signed in, the test bench was busy all day, we had two very good lectures and a live demonstration of QO100. There was a real buzz of enthusiasm the whole day. I am sure that we will organise another. I hope to publish some pictures soon and the lectures were filmed for the BATC Youtube channel.
73 Shaun.

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