RADIAL - raibc

RADIAL 

WINTER/SPRING 2012 

1

RADIAL 

JOURNAL OF RAIBC – THE CHARITY WORKING FOR RADIO 

AMATEURS WITH DISABILITIES 

Patron - The Lord Rix Kt CBE DL, G2DQU 

Vice Presidents – Alec Gaffin G0MWO and John Brown G3DVV 

CONTENTS 

YOUR COMMITTEE 3 

RAIBC CONTACTS 4 

RAIBC SERVICES AND NETS 5 

CHAIRS REPORT 8 

SECRETARY'S REPORT 11 

39 th AGM MINUTES 13 

TECHNICAL REPORT (1) KENWOOD TS-590S 22 

TECHNICAL REPORT (2) TALKING MULTIMETER 33 

RALLY REPORTS 35 

MISCELLANY 37 

Cover Picture: Searching for Signals! 

(A visit to a local TV Transmitter in West Wales) 

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YOUR COMMITTEE 

RUSS G0OKD QUENTIN GW3BV ANDREW G8GNI 

CHRIS M5AGG KELVIN M0AID KEITH G7EDT 

MANDY 2E1GWO ALEC G0MWO TERRY G4EUM 

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RAIBC CONTACTS 

Remember - the help line is free - 08000 141 743 

Chair 

Quentin Cruse, GW3BV 01970 639180 

Vice Chair and Rally Co-ordinator 

Keith Ruffel, G7EDT 01375 674 092 

Secretary 

Russell Bradley, G0OKD 08000 141 743 

Treasurer 

Andrew Thomas, G8GNI 01908 263758 

Radial Editor 

Ray Ricketts, GW7AGG 01970 611853 

Fund Raising 

Chris Ellis, M5AGG 01202 893 126 

Low-vision Liaison 

Kelvin Marsh, M0AID 01823 412 087 

Distribution Manager 

Amanda Higton, 2E1GWO 01773 783 658 

Equipment Manager 

Terry Baldwin G4UEM 01923-673534 

To contact any of the above, please visit the ‘Contacts’ page on the 

web site: www.raibc.org.uk 

The 2 newest members of the RAIBC committee are: Terry 

Baldwin G4UEM as Equipment Manager – who enjoys taking 

part in contests and is a member of the RSGB, GQRP Club and 

the UK Microwave Society, and Ray Ricketts GW7AGG as Radial 

Editor – who is a DRM for Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 

treasurer of the Aberystwyth Club and involved in RAYNET. 

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RAIBC Services 

The RAIBC free helpline: 08000 141 743 

The RAIBC website at www.raibc.org.uk 

RAIBC members have access to a members only area on the 

website which enables them to download MP3 versions of the 

Reading Rattle. 

There is also the RAIBC Yahoo! Group. This is a rich source of 

advice and support. For more details see the website. To join, 

send a blank message to raibc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com" 

Radial: Our quarterly magazine. 

The Reading Rattle: This is an audio collection of the following 

publications Radial, RadCom, Practical Wireless, Radio User, 

Fists’ Keynote and CDXC Digest. 

In addition we have available in audio format: 

The Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced manuals and an 

8-disk video of an intermediate course with audio track. 

Instruction manuals for the Kenwood TS570, TS590, TS480, 

TMV71E, TMG707, and the Icom 703. 

(A vote of thanks to our readers Ian Spencer DJ0HF, Dave 

Brabbants, Bill Laurie, and Graham SV0XBA.) 

Morse practice discs 

There are regular RAIBC Nets. 

Loan of equipment to eligible members with disabilities and 

visual impairments. Contact our helpline for more details. 

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Morse tutors. We have a stock of morse tutors for loan to 

members who wish to learn or improve their Morse. Contact 

the helpline. 

Practical assistance: We are unable to assist with the 

installation or erection of aerials. We will however try to put 

members in touch with local clubs who may be able to help. 

We also try to assist amateurs who find themselves in 

residential care and have difficulties continuing in their hobby 

Advice: Becoming disabled or visually impaired can leave some 

amateurs wondering if they can continue in their hobby. We 

can give advice on many aspects of amateur radio and have 

practical experience of doing so. Please get in touch. 

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RAIBC NETS 

RAIBC Club Nets (All times are local clock time) 

There are regular club nets operated by members and supporters. 

The club call signs are VHF, GB1IBC and HF, G4IBC (If nothing heard 

on 3.473 +/-QRM, then try 7.103) 

Controllers: 

HF G4IBC: Kelvin M0AID, John G3DVV, Gail G0UNF, Colin M0EAO, 

Bill G0OXB 

VHF GB1IBC: Graham M0AXO, Stephen G0TOT, Robert MW0RHD, 

Quentin GW3BV 

SUNDAY 

10:30 CQ100 3.743 MHz 

14:00 (West Midlands) FM 433.500 MHz then QSY M0AXO (GB1IBC) 

MONDAY – No events scheduled 

TUESDAY 

09.30 SSB 3.743MHz Early Birds (M0AID) 

10:00 SSB 3.743MHz G0UNF/G3DVV (G4IBC) 

10:30 (North Wales) FM 145.400 MHz MW0RHD/GW3BV (GB1IBC) 


WEDNESDAY 

13.45 SSB 7.103 Mhz then at 14.00 to SSB 3.743Mhz M0AID (G4IBC) 

(The net will stay on 7.103 if there is UK wide propagation on 40M) 

THURSDAY 

10:30 (North Wales) FM 145.400 MHz MW0RHD/GW3BV (GB1IBC) 


19:30 (Swanage) FM 145.350 MHz G0TOT (GB1IBC) 

FRIDAY 


19:30 SSB 3.743 MHZ M0AID (G4IBC) 

SATURDAY – No events scheduled 

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CHAIR’S REPORT 

Well another year has passed, the sun is shinning and spotty! 

The HF bands have been in good shape and 10 meters has been 

particularly good. I dabbled in the CQWW SSB contest on the 

29 th and 30 th of October. I had already been enjoying 10 

meters but over the contest I split my time between 10 and 15 

meters. I had plenty of contacts including a couple of new 

countries. The 10 meter band was a revelation as there were 

signals from end to end. Let's hope it carries on and who 

knows gets even better. I hope that you have all had chance to 

enjoy something similar. 

Yet again I do have to announce some changes to the 

composition of the committee. Each time I do this I do worry 

that you as members will be concerned that the committee is a 

rough place with us falling out with each other and storming off 

into the sunset! Nothing could be further from the truth, in 

fact it has been a positive development. When I asked for 

volunteers to assist the RAIBC, particularly with regard to the 

Equipment Manager it was heartening to see how many radio 

amateurs responded. 

However I would like to reiterate the reasons why the 

committee does change from time to time. Life is an uncertain 

business and family problems, work issues, financial concerns 

and health problems can all make it difficult for individuals to 

continue assisting the RAIBC. Charity volunteers are just that, 

volunteers. When life gets difficult voluntary things are rightly 

the first to be put to one side in an attempt to cope with life. 

No one on the committee or membership begrudges anyone 

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having to leave the committee or adjust their responsibilities in 

order to care for more pressing personal matters. 

So what are the changes? We have a new Equipment Manager, 

Terry Baldwin G4UEM. Terry will introduce himself elsewhere 

in Radial but he has been in place for a couple of months now 

and so far is doing a sterling job. The committee is very 

pleased to have Terry aboard and I look forward to working 

with him into the future. 

Chris Pearson G5VZ has rejoined the committee though 

currently without portfolio. Chris has always provided us with 

enthusiastic support and advice. However I do believe that his 

tour de force will be SWRchie, the talking SWR meter. More 

details to follow.... 

Ray Ricketts GW7AGG has also joined the committee. Ray 

assisted me to get to the AGM in 2010 and helped on the sales 

stand. The rest of the committee enjoyed his company and 

suggestions and we decided to ask him for assistance with 

regard to Radial. Fortunately Ray agreed to join the committee 

as Radial Editor. Please give Ray your support by means of 

feedback, articles and reports for Radial. 

Due to family responsibilities Sarah Loyd G7TXR has resigned 

from the committee. On behalf of the committee I would like 

to place on record our thanks for her work and input over the 

last couple of years. We wish her and her family all the best for 

the future. 

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The AGM at the Newark Hamfest was very enjoyable though 

not as well supported as last year. All committee members 

were elected and the small changes to the constitution were all 

passed. As usual the committee benefited from the 

opportunity to be together and have a face to face meeting. It 

always helps us to iron out any problems and look to the future 

as well. The weekend of the Hamfest was astonishingly hot 

and the main building was like an oven. Fortunately ice cold 

water was being sold at 

various points around the 

building. Sadly ice cold lager 

was not! 

The RAIBC sales stand raised 

in excess of £2600 which 

considering the current 

financial climate was quite 

remarkable. Keith Ruffell, 

Pete Shepherd and Len 

Maunder all worked very hard 

on our behalf. Sadly we were 

missing several committee members due to ill health. In 

particular we missed Kelvin M0AID and Alec and Jean Gaffin. 

All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend and I for one will look 

forward to the next one on the 28 th and 29 th of September 

2012. 

That's about it from me for this Radial. 

Take care all 

73's until next time 

Quentin GW3BV 

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SECRETARY’S REPORT 

Hello again I hope you have all had a good festive season 

thankfully we have escaped the worst of the winter so far this 

year except for the high winds which caused havoc to many 

aerial installations including my own. 

It was a great pleasure to meet so many members at the AGM 

and Hamfest at Newark last year, we signed up a good number 

of new members again, The club continues to flourish with yet 

another increase in membership to announce this includes a 

substantial increase in the number of supporter members and 

affiliated societies whose help is much appreciated in assisting 

disabled members to get on the air, We are still finding it very 

difficult in certain parts of the country to get help for our 

members who require assistance. May I thank the many clubs 

and RSGB officials who have assisted us over the last 12 

months. 

Mandy Higton 2E1GWO our Duplications and Welfare officer 

recently conducted a loan equipment satisfaction survey to 

enable us to bring the loan records up to date ready for our 

new equipment manager to take over, with the high turnover 

of Equipment Managers, the records had got out of date, 

Thanks to all those who returned the forms all were very 

complimentary about the loan service and grateful for the help 

RAIBC provide. 

The survey produced some amazing feats of equipment 

longevity, some members have had equipment for over 15 

years and the record was a 144 MHz Linear which has been in 

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almost daily use for 22 years, one thing the survey did highlight 

was that some members with loan equipment had not notified 

us of changes of address, please note it is a condition of the 

loan scheme that all changes of details must be notified to the 

Secretary or Equipment Manager. 77 members currently have 

loan equipment. Thanks to MANDY for all the hard work 

We do membership renewal mailshots quarterly and due to the 

delay in getting information about standing order payments 

from the bank this information can be two months in arrears, 

we may send you a notice when you have already paid, please 

accept our apologies if you are affected by this but the bank 

will only send one statement out and the information as to 

come via the Treasurer first. 

Current membership stands at 364 members of which 128 have 

physical disabilities and 123 are Visually impaired , we also 

have 113 supporter and life members and 4 affiliated clubs 

has members if you are a member of a local society mention 

our work , membership is free to affiliate clubs and we can 

offer much assistance to the clubs disabled members. 

Again please notify us of any changes of details this enables us 

to keep our records up to date so that we can offer the best 

service possible. 

Finally may I ask you to remember the families and friends of 

those members who went Silent Key last year and to those 

members who have had to resign due to their health forcing 

them to give up the hobby, Mandy send suitable messages to 

all concerned. 

Thanks for all the support and enjoy your radio operation 

73,s RUSSELL BRADLEY G0OKD SECRETARY RAIBC 

12

MINUTES 

of the 

39th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 

on 

SATURDAY 1 st October 2011 at 11:00 hours 

held at 

National Hamfest, Newark Showground 

1. Present 

Andrew Thomas G8GNI, Amanda Higton 2E1GWO, Chris Pearson 

G5VZ, Russell Bradley G0OKD, Chris Ellis M5AGG, Quentin Cruse 

GW3BV, Mona Thomas M6MNA, Susan Jones 2E0SUJ, Keith 

Ruffell G7EDT 

2. Apologies 

John Owen, Sarah Loyd G7TXR, Alec Gaffin G0MWO, Kelvin 

Marsh M0AID, Robert Hughes-Burton MW0RHD 

3.0 Matters arising from the minutes of the 38 th AGM held on 

2 rd October 2010 None. 

3.1 Approval of the minutes 

The minutes of the previous AGM were approved following the 

amendment of C Pearson call sign to read G5VZ and the meeting 

number to read 38 th annual general meeting. 

Proposed: C Ellis Seconded: S Jones 

4. Reports and Accounts 

4.1 Chairman’s report – Quentin Cruse GW3BV 

Quentin welcomed those attending, and presented his report. 

Good morning all and welcome to the 39 th AGM of RAIBC, the 

charity working for radio amateurs with disabilities. Thank you 

all for making the effort to be here today. Sadly yet again I have 

to point to the empty seats at the table this year. Our vice 

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president Alec Gaffin continues to struggle with serious ill health 

and is unable to be with us this year. This of course means that 

his wife Jean is also missing as she is very busy keeping an eye 

on him! In addition Kelvin Marsh M0AID our Low Vision Officer 

and all round very useful person is unable to be with us. Kelvin 

has recently had major surgery and is still convalescing. 

However I am sure he is making good use of the weekend off by 

doing a bit of DX chasing! We are also without Sarah Loyd who 

for family reasons is unable to be with us. They are all sorely 

missed by the rest of the committee and the rally sales team. 

These announcements really bring me to the first issue the 

RAIBC has faced over the past 12 months, the declining health 

of the committee and the grave difficulty we have in procuring 

and retaining volunteers. We had to say goodbye to Brendan 

Sykes and Chris Pearson had to stand down as Equipment 

Manger over the past year. Through no fault of their own they 

were unable to continue. It is a sad fact that a charity that cares 

for disabled people has as its main volunteer base, disabled 

people! Often the spirit is willing, even eager, yet the body is 

weak. 

Last year I optimistically spoke of the RAIBC looking for ways to 

assist disabled members get through the various license levels 

and generally expand what we do. However it has become clear 

that we are struggling just to accomplish the basics let alone 

attempting to branch out into other areas. Therefore the 

committee is looking hard at our main areas of operation; our 

membership, Radial, loaning of equipment and the Reading 

Rattle. We feel it is essential that we concentrate on doing 

these well even if we have to make some changes. 

On a positive note the nearly new website continues to be very 

popular. Many of you use it to download the audio versions of 

the radio magazines, radio manuals, license course materials 

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and other publications that we produce. We are also trying to 

build up a reasonable archive of such audio material on the site. 

The reviews by Kelvin M0AID of different radio equipment has 

caused a good deal of interest in the UK and indeed around the 

world. 

We continue to loan equipment to our eligible members. Over 

the past year we have loaned 6 FT897s, 3 TS480's, 1 FT7800, 1 

TMV71E, 2 TS570's 1 CW filter, 6 voice chips, 11 PSU's, 4 AATU's, 

1 microphone and 5 aerials. The members who received the 

equipment were very grateful and expressed their thanks to the 

committee and to their fellow members. One thing we would 

very much like the radio companies to consider is the lack of a 

HF receiver with a voice chip. If a visually impaired individual 

comes to us who does not have a license and wishes to try 

shortwave radio, we have nothing to offer them. We can give 

them a HF transceiver which has been transmit disabled or we 

can give them the IC-R8500. A HF transceiver is a complicated 

beast for someone who is new to radio. The IC-R8500 is more of 

a scanner than a HF receiver and is priced somewhere near 

£1500. A simple, easy to use receiver with a voice chip is badly 

needed for visually impaired people with an interest in radio. 

We are only able to afford such loans through the generosity of 

our supporters who donate so generously. We received over 

£8000 in financial donations in the past year. On top of that we 

made more than £13000 through the sale of equipment. This 

was done through our website under the auspices of Chris Ellis 

M5AGG and through the rally stands under the guidance of 

Keith Ruffel G7EDT. We all owe Chris, Keith and their assistants, 

particularly Len Maunder G4KRX and Pete Shepherd G7DXV a 

big vote of thanks for their superb fund raising efforts. 

I also want to give my personal thanks to the rest of the 

committee. Russ Bradley G0OKD and Mandy Higton 2E1GWO 

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work exceptionally hard at “HQ”. They keep our paperwork 

under control and make sure that RAIBC runs reasonably 

smoothly. Andrew Thomas G8GNI makes sure that we are 

solvent and I think the external examiners comments say it all. 

Thanks for doing such a sterling job Andrew. 

So what of the future? The committee is considering some 

major, even root and branch, changes to the RAIBC. We 

desperately want to provide a good level of service for the 

members but we need to care for our own health and sanity at 

the same time. Any decisions we make will always be taken 

with the best interests of the RAIBC at heart. 

Can I also take this opportunity to thank the Lincoln Shortwave 

Club and in particular Clive Catton G1BSN for their continued 

help and hospitality at the National Hamfest. It is an excellent 

event and venue and I am sure we have all enjoyed it. Yet again 

can I pass my thanks on to my fellow committee members who 

work so hard to care for the RAIBC and its membership. Can I 

also thank the members for continuing to put their confidence 

in us the trustees. We will do our best to continue to be worthy 

of your confidence. Thank you. 

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4.2 Treasurers and External Examiners report - Dr Andrew 

Thomas – G8GNI / M5AEX 

Treasurers Report for year ending 31 st March 2010 

My focus again for this year was to ensure that the charity 

income and expenditure were fully transparent, that all 

expenditure was authorised and that we had the minimum of 

missing receipts. We did have a few receipts go missing, but 

these accounted for less than 3% of our annual transactions. 

The accounts have been audited by David Rose, an independent 

examiner. He has signed off the accounts and has made no 

adverse comments, nor recommendations for change. Indeed, 

in his covering letter he states: “Once again, although there are 

missing receipts your accounting procedures in authorising all 

payment and having two signatories for all cheques drawn 

means that this has no significant impact on the veracity or 

otherwise of the accounts and I am happy to enclose the 

report”. 

We began the year with financial assets of £178,273.02, ending 

the year with 180,472.67 (1% up on the previous year). 

£164,329.19 of this (91%) is held in interest bearing accounts; 

the remainder is in our bank accounts and PayPal account for 

day-to-day working. 

Excluding bank refunds on unauthorised direct debits our total 

income for the year was £26,066.44, up just under £5,000 on 

the previous year. This was primarily made up of rally and 

equipment sales, donations and membership subscriptions. 

Equipment sales and rally income made up a very considerable 

portion of the charity’s income - £13,631.48 (52%) – a very big 

thank you to everyone involved. The charity also continued to 

attract substantial levels of donations – this year totalling 

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£8,237.36 (31%). Membership subscriptions were £3,020.75 

(12%). All of these are an increase on the previous year. 

The charity provides a wide range of services: equipment loans, 

Radial, CDs and a web site with downloads of all the popular 

radio magazines and a telephone helpline. Our total 

expenditure for the year was £23,408.89 (up from £18,082.79). 

Of this £15,940.20 was spent providing services; £7,468.69 

covered the running costs of the charity (rally travel and 

expenses, telephone, internet, insurance, carriage for 

equipment loans, postage, etc.). Last year’s AGM cost £1919.57 

and we had an exceptional item of expenditure of £2000 for redesigning 

the charity website. Looking at this another way, 68% 

or our expenditure is spent on providing services to members. I 

consider this to be a very acceptable services / overheads split 

for a small charity and comparable to last year. 

The charity ends its financial year in a very healthy state. 

It was proposed that the independent examiner receive an 

honorarium of £100. 

Proposed: A Thomas Seconded: C Ellis Carried: Unanimously 

4.3 Secretary’s report – Russell Bradley G0OKD 

Russell Bradley G0OKD presented his report. 

Hello fellow members. Once again it is a great pleasure to 

present my annual report to the AGM. 

2011 has been a busy year; membership continues to flourish 

and stands at 363, which comprises 160 disabled members, 123 

Visually Impaired members, 80 abled bodied supporters and 

four affiliated clubs. We have sadly had four members go silent 

key during the last year and also some resignations due to ill 

health. The Welfare Officer sent suitable messages to the 

families of the SK members and to the resigning members. 

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We have had a good response to the rally attendances which 

have resulted in new members joining us. It is a problem 

though that we are still unknown to many amateurs, in need of 

our services, so please mention your membership when 

speaking to the amateur community to spread the word about 

our work. We need to enroll more clubs they are a great source 

of help to RAIBC members in their local area when they require 

assistance. Members continue to praise the work of the readers 

and duplications service, and also say how much Radial is 

enjoyed. 

We recently updated the loan equipment database and sent out 

loan equipment surveys to those members is possession of 

equipment and were very pleased at the number of members 

who were full of praise for the equipment that has been 

supplied. 

The trusted old RAIBC computer finally gave up the ghost and 

has been replaced by a younger model along with extra 

duplicating equipment to cope with the extra disks being copied 

each month. This exceeds 100 discs a month with copies we 

produce for the RSGB. Finally thanks to the membership for 

their support and messages of thanks and a special thank you to 

my fellow committee members for their encouragement as his 

year has been difficult at times due to committee member 

illness and resignations due to external pressures. 

73s Russell G0OKD 

5. Appointment of Committee Members 

Russell Bradley reported he was in receipt of 9 postal votes. 

5.1 It was proposed that Amanda Higton 2E1GWO appointed 

Media, Duplications and Welfare Officer for a period of one 

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year. Vote: Unanimous from those present, plus postal votes: 8 

for, 0 against. 

5.2 It was proposed that Chris Ellis be appointed Equipment Sales 

Officer for a period of 1 year. Vote: Unanimous from those 

present, plus postal votes: 7 for, 0 against. 

5.3 It was proposed that Kelvin Marsh M0AID be appointed Low 

Vision Liaison Officer for a period of one year. Vote: 

Unanimous from those present, plus postal votes: 8 for, 0 

against. 

5.4 It was proposed that Sarah Loyd G7TXR be appointed as an 

ordinary member for a period of one year. Vote: Unanimous 

from those present, plus postal votes: 7 for, 0 against. 

6. Members proposed resolutions None received. 

7. Proposed Changes to the Constitution 

The following changes to the constitution were proposed: 

i. To replace ‘The Radio Amateur Invalid & Blind Club’ with 

RAIBC – The Charity Working for Radio Amateurs with 

Disabilities’. The amended clause 1 would now read: 

1. Club The Club shall be known as RAIBC - The Charity 

Working for Radio Amateurs with Disabilities. 

ii. To increase the current expenditure limit, for the daily 

administration of the club, from £50 to £100. Any expenditure 

below the threshold still needs to be sanctioned by the 

Chairman and issued an Authorisation Number, but does not 

require a decision by the full Committee. The clause would now 

read: 

12. Finances Each purchase made over the value of £100 

must be agreed upon by a simple majority of the club 

committee. Any expenditure below £100 must be with the 

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consent of the Chairperson who must justify such expenditure 

to the Club if so required. 

Unanimous from those present, plus postal votes: 6 for, 1 

against and 2 abstentions. Carried. 

8. Any other business 

A vote of thanks was given to the rally team. It was proposed to 

give both L Maunder and P Shepherd an honorarium of £100 

each in recognition of their hard work at rallies over the past 12 

months. Proposed: K Ruffell Seconded: R Bradley 

A question was raised on whether the club should affiliate with 

the International Short Wave League. It was noted that S Loyd 

was working on affiliation of the clubs to other group and 

hopefully the ISWL would be one of the group approached. 

The Chairman thanked those attending and drew the meeting to 

an end, as a closing comment he said it is planned to return to 

Newark for next year’s AGM. The meeting closed at 11.25 am 

9. Date of next meeting to be confirmed. 

21

TECHNICAL REPORT (1) 

ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW OF KENWOOD TS-590S 

By Kelvin Marsh M0AID 

I first saw the TS-590S, on the Kenwood stand, at the Newark 

rally in October 2010. This radio had excited blind amateurs 

through 2010, as it promised unrivalled accessibility. 

Traditionally Kenwood have taken accessibility very seriously, 

and I had been very impressed with the speech feedback 

offered in other radios I had used in their current range. Using 

the optional VGS-1 ’Voice Guide and Storage Unit’, the spec 

sheet suggested even the SWR reading was available, a first to 

be built in as standard in a modern radio. The evaluation radio 

has been kindly lent to me by Kenwood UK. 

The TS-590S is a mid sized unit, measuring approximately 

280mm wide by 300mm deep by 100mm high. It covers the HF 

bands and 6M with an output of 100 watts. It has an internal 

automatic ATU, and two SO-239 sockets at the rear. It can be 

connected to a PC using a traditional RS-232 serial connector, 

22

or via USB. When using the USB connection, the radio adds an 

external sound card to the PC hardware, and this can be used 

for both sending and receiving audio via the radio. The VGS-1 

Voice Guide was fitted to the evaluation radio, giving verbal 

confirmation of key presses, and recording/playback of stored 

messages. 

The TS-590S has two Programmable Function buttons on the 

front panel. PF A is conveniently positioned in the top left 

corner, and by default reads the Frequency. PF B is positioned 

below the display and above the 2 and 3 keys in the numeric 

keypad, and by default reads the incoming Signal Strength. 

When pressing PF A, the VGS-1 voices: 

‘VFO A 14.200, a slight pause, 00’ 

When in Split Mode, pressing the PF A key elicits: 

‘VFO S A 14.200, a slight pause, 00’ 

The PF A key also reads back many of the adjustable settings 

and Menu options, depending on the current state of the radio. 

For an incoming signal of strength ‘8’, PF B voices: 

‘S 8’ 

The Programmable Function keys can be assigned to perform 

many different commands, so they are not fixed to just read 

Frequency and Signal Strength. If you use an optional 

microphone with four additional Programmable Function 

buttons, these can also be assigned. I was delighted to find the 

TS-590S also allows the microphone Up and Down buttons to 

be programmed. 

23

The Frequency and Signal Strength readouts are shown in the 

manual as Voice1 and Voice2 respectively. In line with the 

anticipation of the SWR readout, there is the addition of 

Voice3. This is not assigned to a programmable function key by 

default, and I chose to assign it to the Down button on the 

microphone. Voice3 works in conjunction with the meter 

display. If the SWR meter is selected and a carrier is 

transmitted, pressing the mic Down will voice: 

‘R 1.0’ 

The SWR appears to be announced accurately up to 5 to 1, and 

if the impedance is out of range, you’ll hear: 

‘R Over’ 

To assist in reading the SWR, I programmed the microphone Up 

button to send a 10 watt tuning carrier. This meant I could 

press mic Up, followed by mic Down and have the SWR spoken. 

Each press of the Meter button toggles the display between 

SWR, ALC, and Speech Compression. These presses give no 

spoken feedback, but when used in conjunction with Voice-3, 

the SWR, the ALC, and the Compression levels are individually 

spoken. 

If ALC is selected, pressing the Voice3 button voices: 

‘A 0’, for no signal 

‘A 10’, if the level is ten 

‘A Over’, if ALC is out of range 

Similar voice outputs are given for Speech Compression, but 

with ‘C’ being used instead of ‘A’. I’m not sure how much 

24

eliance can be placed on setting the ALC and Compression 

accurately using this method. 

The Meter button also engages the Drive feature when held for 

about 1 second. The Drive reduces power output for use on 

the LF bands, and beeps to indicate On and Off. It could be 

easy to accidentally hold in the ‘Meter’ button for slightly 

longer than you had intended, and find you are no longer being 

heard because power has been reduced. There is an option in 

the menu system to increase the time needed to hold buttons 

to engage second level commands, and this might be useful. 

The block of six buttons at the top left of the front panel, are in 

the usual Kenwood arrangement. They include the Attenuator, 

Pre Amp, VOX, Processor, Send/Receive, and the Auto ATU. 

These buttons turn the commands On and Off, and give aural 

feedback with a short high pitched beep for On, and a lower 

toned longer beep for Off. The Auto ATU is engaged by holding 

the button for a second or so, and the ATU relays can be heard 

clicking. Positive confirmation of a good match is given by a 

double beep, or SWR is sounded in CW if the impedance is out 

of range. 

These buttons also perform different commands if held for 

about a second. For example, Antenna 1 or 2 can be selected 

by holding the Pre-amp button, and a single or double beep is 

heard. Holding the VOX button allows the VOX Gain to be 

changed, and this is with full spoken output akin to the Power 

adjustment described below. 

Between the headphone socket and the numeric keypad is a 

vertical column of three buttons. If pressed momentarily these 

allow adjustment of Mic Gain, TX Power, and Keying Speed. If 

25

held for about a second, the buttons adjust Carrier Level, 

Monitor On/Off, and VOX Delay. Some of these buttons are 

also Mode dependent, and perform different commands if CW 

is selected. 

All of these adjustments have spoken output. If the output 

power level is to be adjusted, press the Power button. A short 

beep is heard followed by: 

‘TX Power 100’ 

Turning the Multi-Ch control anti-clockwise by one click, voices: 

‘95’ 

The power is reduced by 5 watts. There is a reassuring beep if 

the Multi-Ch control is turned beyond the 100 watts maximum 

and the 5 watts minimum. A final press of the Power button 

gives a longer beep, to show you have left power adjustment 

mode. 

To the right of these buttons is the numeric keypad. As we 

have come to expect from Kenwood, this is fully voiced. Each 

individual key press is spoken, and the new resultant frequency 

is announced. Kenwood has adopted a three level band 

stacking system for the various numbers on the keypad. A 

press of the ‘3’ will take you directly to a remembered 

frequency on 40M. The next two presses will cycle through 

two further stored frequencies on 40M, with a third press 

cycling back to the original position. 

I found the numeric keypad buttons to be well sized and well 

spaced, with a tactile indication on the ‘5’ key. I would though 

prefer to find more space around the numeric keypad, making 

it easier to differentiate from the buttons above and to the left 

26

and right. I found I needed to account for these surrounding 

buttons, before I reliably entered a direct frequency. 

It’s worth mentioning here, the TS-590S has hard smooth 

rubber buttons, and there is no unpleasant dragging on the 

finger tips, when moving from button to button! 

Mode changes are made using a column of buttons to the right 

of the keypad and directly to the left of the Tuning Dial. 

Feedback is given in CW. If the CW mode is selected, you will 

hear Dah Di Dah Dit. 

The Tuning Dial sits in the Centre of the front panel, and has a 

drag adjustment just below. The Dial sits on a slightly raised 

plinth, and this helps prevent you from accidentally touching 

the dial when locating buttons close to it. The Tuning Dial has a 

useful indent, and moves 10khz per revolution in standard 

mode and 1khz in Fine . This can be adjusted. Using the Menu 

System, I was also able to assign 1khz tuning steps to each click 

of the Multi-Ch control. 

To the right of the Tuning Dial is a block of some twenty 

buttons. The first row of five buttons operate the IF filters, 

Noise Blanker, Noise Reduction, and Notch filtering. These 

buttons use beeps to indicate position 1 or 2 and a longer beep 

for Off. If for example, the first Noise Reduction filter is 

selected, holding the button for about a second enters the 

adjustment mode. The current setting is spoken, and it can be 

changed using the Multi-Ch control. 

The second row has four buttons. These are Split, TF-Set, and 

A/B. The Final button is the first Message button, in a vertical 

column of four. 

27

Split works as you would expect, transmitting on VFO B, and 

adding ‘S’ to the spoken Frequency announcement. You hold 

the TF-Set button to temporarily monitor the VFO B frequency. 

The A/B button toggles between VFO A and B, and when held, 

equalises the second VFO with the primary. 

Split frequency operation gives good feedback, but I personally 

found the continual voicing of the current frequency to be 

tiring and unnecessary. For example, when holding the TF-Set 

button, the VFO B frequency was announced, and then the VFO 

A frequency was announced on the button’s release. If you are 

working a DX station using split frequencies, it is likely you will 

be pressing the TF-Set button every time the DX station gives a 

report, and you will be searching for the frequency he is 

listening on. You will be concentrating on the various signals, 

and having the frequency automatically announced every time 

will be a distraction. 

I found two practical ways round this problem. Firstly by 

turning off the voice completely in menu B. I cover this more 

fully when I discuss the menu system, and the ability to switch 

between menu A and menu B. The second method was by 

turning off automatic Voice announcements. This option is 

well thought out. Basically, all speech is turned off unless one 

of the PF keys is pressed. The TF-Set key will no longer speak 

frequencies, the number pad will not speak, and the menu 

system will be silent. Although I could not fully investigate this 

function in the limited time I had the radio, I found that 

although the menu system was silent, pressing PF A, voiced the 

menu option and setting. If I pressed the TX Power button, 

only the beeps were heard, but pressing PF A, spoke the usual 

28

‘TX Power 100’. In effect, the verbiage was dramatically 

reduced, but speech could be called upon if needed! 

The third row, again has four buttons. Memory/VFO, Memory 

Write, and Memory to VFO. The final button in the row is the 

second Message button. 

In line with previous Kenwoods, I found the Memory system to 

be fully accessible. It is easy to find memory contents and 

move them to the VFO. It Is easy to store frequencies in either 

previously used or vacant channels. 

The fourth row has three buttons, with the last being the third 

Message button. The first two are Quick Memory Write and 

Quick Memory Recall. These are very accessible, with channel 

numbers and contents being spoken. A Menu option allows 

you to choose the number of Quick Memories to be used. 

The final row contains the MHZ, Scan, and Menu buttons, with 

the last being the fourth Message button. Beeps are heard to 

indicate if the MHZ and Scan functions are On or Off, and in the 

case of the Scan, the band noises indicate the band is being 

tuned. 

The Menu, gives typical Kenwood accessibility. In general, it is 

excellent, although it is necessary for a blind operator to refer 

to an external list of descriptions for menu options. For 

example, adjusting the voice chip volume is accomplished using 

menu number 6. As you scroll through the menu, you will hear: 

’06 4’ 

This means you are on menu 6 and the volume level is 4. There 

is no spoken indication to tell you that this is the voice volume 

setting. 

29

Two useful menu features are, the ability to place commonly 

used options in a Quick Menu and the ability to maintain 

different settings in two separate menus. 

If you frequently adjust the voice volume and say the RX 

Equaliser, you can add both to the Quick Menu. When turned 

on, only these options will appear, in this case, options 6 and 

31. This makes it much easier to remember your commonly 

used options! 

Another useful feature is the ability to have different settings in 

Menu A or B. For example, I could set the radio for DX 

operating in menu B. Once in the menu system, pressing the 

A/B key switched between menu A and B, giving one or two 

beeps to indicate which had been selected. 

As previously discussed, there are four Message buttons, in a 

vertical column, to the right of this block of buttons. They 

allow messages to be recorded in voice or CW mode and were 

perfectly accessible for both recording and playback. With the 

option turned on in the menu, the fourth button will play back 

the last continuously recorded 30 seconds of incoming audio. 

There are three buttons, set horizontally, at the top right of the 

radio. RIT, XIT, and Clear. Beeps indicate if these functions are 

turned on or off. 

Below the RIT, are two further buttons. These control the 

various AGC options, and when in FM mode, allow the operator 

to select CTCSS tones. I found these to be fully accessible, with 

the CTCSS tones being spoken. 

The right end of the front panel hosts the usual knobs for RIT, 

Squelch/Manual Notch, Multi-CH, and AF/RF Gain. Concentric 

30

knobs also allow adjustment of the band pass filters. The filter 

band widths are spoken every time an adjustment is made. 

Whilst initially useful, I felt the voice might interrupt the 

incoming audio, as adjustments are made for best reception. 

This is prevented if Automatic Announcements is turned off. 

I was particularly impressed when preparing the TS-590S for its 

return to Kenwood. I pressed the necessary keys to perform a 

re-set, and was astonished to find I had full voiced feedback. I 

was able to choose between the various Full and Partial re-set 

options. 

As the radio is likely to be popular for blind operators, I decided 

to briefly look at the ARCP software. It is difficult to fully assess 

how easy it would be to ‘only’ use the software to operate the 

radio, but personally, I would envisage the software as 

complementing the traditional interface. It is much easier to 

press buttons on the radio itself, than to hunt around a screen 

in a timely manner. The software starts to become extremely 

useful, though, in changing less frequently used settings and in 

getting full Menu descriptions. 

I found the software can be installed without the need for the 

TS-590S to be attached. There are many commands that 

obviously will not work, such as the menu system, but it can be 

roughly tested before a purchase is made. 

I found the ARCP software to be straightforward to install and 

use with my Screen Reader. Using the Tab key, it is easy to 

move through the commands presented on the screen. Hitting 

enter on the Menu button makes this area very accessible, And 

shows the menu system with descriptions. Utilizing the 

Windows Pull Down menus, makes it possible to store data 

31

from the radio on the PC in the form of a backup. It can then 

be written back to the radio if required. One big advantage of 

using software, is the ability to browse round looking for little 

used features. I thought the ARCP software was excellent in 

this respect. During my limited explorations I found I could also 

assign many common commands to Function keys on my PC 

keyboard. For instance, F2 could be made to bring up the 

direct frequency input form. F3 and F4 could change between 

LSB and USB. F5 could change the mode to CW. F6 could make 

the radio voice the frequency etc. I found Memory 

management a little more difficult. I was hoping to find a table 

allowing me to input all of the Memory Channels in one go. I 

am perhaps missing something obvious, but I could only find 

ways of laboriously moving from 

channel to channel one at a time. 

Conclusions. In my opinion, this is 

the most accessible rig currently 

available. I could find no major 

accessibility issues, and indeed, 

most settings give good feedback. At last there is a radio on 

the market, where a blind operator can learn what SWR the rig 

is measuring. I was particularly impressed with the ability to 

turn off Automatic Announcements, there are possibly some 

improvements to this area, but the feature is welcome, and 

demonstrates an understanding that more speech is not always 

better. In conjunction with the ARCP software, a blind 

operator has access to virtually every setting and feature on 

the TS-590S. A remarkable achievement, and Kenwood should 

again be highly commended. 

32

TALKING MULTI-METERS 

By Kelvin Marsh M0AID 

TECHNICAL REPORT (2) 

The talking multi-meter has 

not been available in the UK 

for several years. Some 

amateurs still own the meters 

sold by Tandy, but I knew of 

several blind amateurs who 

dearly wanted to own a 

multi-meter that gave verbal 

feedback. 

In December one of the 

members of the RAIBC email 

group found a talking meter was being sold by the National 

Federation of the Blind in the US. When I enquired about 

costs, it quickly became apparent an individual would need 

extremely long pockets to bring one into the UK. Although the 

meters sold for $50 or £33 in the US, because of the handling 

fees and the traceable delivery method the NFB use, a single 

meter would cost over £90 to import! 

I started to gather interest from other RAIBC members, with a 

view to making a bulk purchase. I soon had ten definite orders, 

and it was decided RAIBC would purchase twenty units, and act 

as an agent for a bulk purchase. 

33

I spent some time looking into getting VAT and Duty 

exemptions, and despite phone calls and an email application 

to HMRC, I’m still waiting for a reply a month later. A good 

thing we decided to go ahead with the order, regardless. 

The meter itself is a very nice unit, and appears to be extremely 

well made. It has a LCD display and backlight, as well as a clear 

female voice. 

The meter measures both DC and AC voltages. There are also 

selections for resistance, Diode, continuity, capacitance, and 

milliamps. 

There is a ‘talk’ button on the meter and another ‘talk’ button 

on the positive probe. Another feature that has been highly 

praised by both low vision and sighted uses, is the LED light on 

each probe, shining directly onto the area to be tested. 

The manual has been recorded, and is available on the RAIBC 

website, in the Members Only area. 

There are still a small number of meters available at the cost 

price of £47 plus P&P. 

The original information about the talking meter, and the 

subsequent interest for a bulk order was organised on the 

RAIBC email group. If you are not already subscribed , you 

might find it useful to join. Just sent a blank email to raibcsubscribe@yahoogroups.com, 

and Reply to the confirmation 

message. 

34

RALLY REPORTS 

KEMPTON PARK RALLY 

by Keith G7EDT 

Attendance this year was noticeably down. Some traders had 

also obviously pulled out. The organisers have now increased 

the admission price by £1. I was informed it is now £4.50, and 

presumably the table charges were higher as well. Many 

thought it was over priced. 

There was also some heated discussion over the catering. This 

year the Burger Bar was not offered, leaving only the very 

expensive restaurant upstairs. There were very long queues, 

and the roll service was withdrawn from the menu leaving only 

highly priced cooked dinners. Many thought it was greedy 

profiteering and said they would not be attending next year. 

It seems the organisers will be killing off the Golden Goose! 

We will have to see next spring if there is a further reduction in 

the attendance, and consider booking Spring rallies only at this 

venue. The cost of table hire there is very high. 

As the Autumn one is quite close to our AGM, there is not a lot 

of high value stock remaining to put on the tables anyway. But 

for all that, we managed to achieve takings of £534.80p from 

mainly valves, components and small value test gear. 

Due to our helper Len's Mothers 90th birthday, the tables were 

staffed by just Peter and yours truly this time. 

We met many of our members, and gave out lots of leaflets 

and copies of Radial to perspective members. 

35

LLANDUDNO RALLY 

by Ray GW7AGG 

It was the first time that the RAIBC had had a stand at 

Llandudno. It was manned by myself and Robert MW0RHD. 

We only had a presence and didn’t sell any goods, although this 

may change in future years. 

Attendance was up on previous years on the Saturday, but was 

well down on the Sunday. The atmosphere was good, friendly 

and enjoyable, and the school canteen provided good food. 

The takings were small – only £20.50 for badges, lanyards and a 

few small donations. However many new contacts were made 

and have been followed up, and some good possible 

suggestions for future rally attendances. 

- Sorry, wrong sort of rally….. A Darrian car (made in West 

Wales) catching air during a rally stage. 

36

MISCELLANY 

VHF FIELD DAY (– a few year’s ago) 

Quentin GW3BV (your chair – taking the picture), Ray GW7AGG 

(your editor - left) and Bob GW7GNF went up to the hills above 

Devil’s Bridge, inland from Aberystwyth to take part in VHF 

Field Day. 

37 

There weren’t enough 

volunteers from the local club 

to be able to enter the 

competition, but the trio 

went up to take part and to 

give points to other entrants. 

The only movement on this 

bleak area of moor land were 

the grey clouds scudding 

overhead and blades of grass 

twitching in the wind. The 

only other life were some 

cattle in the far distance, a 

red kite soaring overhead and 

a territorially concerned 

meadow pipit announcing its 

presence from a nearby fence 

post. 

After a rather inauspicious start, which involved antenna 

repairs, using a TS700 giving out 10 watts on 2 meters into a

HB9CV (a little different to one station which, it is understood, 

that was transmitting 400 watts into 4 stacked 9 element 

beams), they set to work. Having set up at 2.30 on the 

Saturday, the next discovery was that the contest didn’t start 

till 3.00, however several contacts were made with stations 

testing their equipment including a station in Belgium. 

Then the contest started with Quentin on the microphone, Ray 

logging and Bob in charge of the antenna (and the tea), and 

the results were very encouraging. In the first 3 hours of the 

contest, they gave points to 32 stations, not only in England 

and Wales, but also in Ireland, Northern Ireland, France and 

Spain. Conditions were at times a little difficult, with more 

distant stations fading and returning quickly, and the weaker 

stations being swamped by those strong and strongly 

competitive stations. In those 3 hours on the air, they didn’t 

take charge on a frequency, but answered other requests, and 

while they made 32 contacts. 

The best DX was to EA2DR/P at a distance of 637 miles. A total 

of 15 squares were worked. It should have been 16 but either 

we heard it wrong or it was transmitted wrong. The square 

was /MM, very wet, in fact the middle of the North Sea! 

It was pleasing to hear the enthusiasm radiating over the 

airwaves, from patience with the difficult conditions, through 

to beginners getting things wrong and overall much good 

humour. 

38

GUIDE DOG FOR A GUIDE DOG 

(Nothing to do with Radio……) 

by Ray GW7AGG 

A friend of mine has a guide dog as she is almost totally blind. 

She had had one particular dog for around five years when the 

dog one day refused to go out. After being taken to the vet, it 

was discovered that the dog was suffering from macular 

degeneration, in other words was going blind. 

A second dog was acquired at fairly short notice so that my 

friend could go out. The new dog had been rejected by a 

previous owner because he wasn’t responding to the correct 

commands, but responded well in his new environment. 

The two dogs live together with the new dog leading the old 

dog and encouraging outdoor play. The new dog is now the 

guide for my friend, but as everyone locally knows the old dog, 

he is guided along behind the new dog to meet the faces and 

smells he knows. 

FUNNIES 

A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet. 

"My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him? " 

"Well," says the vet, "let's have a look at him" So he picks the 

dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth. 

Finally, he says, "I'm going to have to put him down." "What? 

Because he's cross-eyed? " "No, because he's really heavy" 

Understanding Engineers - Normal people believe that if it isn't 

broken, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it isn't broken, it 

doesn't have enough features yet. 

39

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