woodwose

Yagis and Log Periodics look similar. However, Yagis are more oblong looking with most of the elements about the same length. Log Periodics tend to taper more with the elements getting shorter and shorter. Having said this, there are lots of different designs so it can be a bit difficult to tell. If you are buying a new one, the seller should know. I think RG6 co-ax is commonly used for short runs with freeview and should be fine for boat applications. There are waterproof and low loss cables available if you want to spend more. Lots of places sell it - Screwfix, Amazon Toolstation and many more. Any aerial shop should also have cable. Hope this helps Nigel

I can't recommend any particular aerial as I would not dream of watching TV on the boat and so don't have one. However, I am a radio ham with lots of experience of messing about with aerials so I can give out some information which I hope is helpful: The TV signals on the Broads come from the transmitter at Tacolneston. This is to the south of The Broads and quite a long way from some places. The transmitter power there was increased when the old analogue signals were switched off and this improved reception generally, but boats are low down and often get behind trees and other obstructions which can give problems. The signal from Tacolneston is horizontally polarised so your aerial must be correctly oriented. Cross polarization greatly reduces the signal. The rule of thumb with aerials is the higher and bigger they are, the better they will work. The co-axial cable connecting the aerial to the receiver is just as important as the aerial. It should be good quality, dry, undamaged and have no joints. Connectors must be correctly fitted and preferably soldered. If water gets in then the cable is junk and you need a new one. If reception is poor or suddenly gets worse, look at the co-ax first. The connectors must be clean and free from corrosion. The outer sheath or braid is not a screen. At these frequencies, the co-ax acts as a transmission line with the signals travelling on the surface of both the inner and outer conductors. Any damage or joint can look like a short circuit to the signal. Amplifiers or boosters are no substitute for a decent aerial. They amplify noise and unwanted signals and can cause a range of problems. Passive splitters or diplexers greatly reduce the signal strength. They will at best halve it. If an aerial is advertised as being a miracle aerial then this means it will be a miracle if it works. Aerials that look like dart boards are best for playing darts. Omnidirectional aerials are often small and have no gain so they work best if mounted as high as possible. They have the huge advantage that you don't have to point them at the transmitter so they work on swinging moorings or when you are motoring along twisty rivers. Directional aerials have gain and this means that they effectively boost the transmitter power. As seen in the chart a few posts ago, a gain of 3db is the equivalent of doubling the transmitter power. This is just about enough to notice a difference. However, they work best in static situations. They are not so good when you are on the move. Many aerials have gains much more than 3db and they also reject unwanted signals and noise. There are two types of directional aerials in the shops. Yagis and Log Periodics. They look similar but are not the same and work in totally different ways. Yagis have more gain and are simpler aerials. However, their bandwidth is fairly tight so it is important to buy one made for the Tacolneston transmitter. They will give the best reception and will be cheaper. Log Periodics have less gain than Yagis for similar size aerials but they have a wider bandwidth and are suitable for travelling round the country in a caravan or similar. They usually cost a bit more and are not really necessary on the Broads. So, in summary: Mount it high, use good quality cable. Look at the aerials mounted on the houses in the area, get one the same and point it the same way. Yagis are cheap and high gain. Omnidirectional is best for moving boats but has no gain. Nigel, Ham radio station G4AXA, Ludham

Jocave. You have absolutely made the right decision. Ludham is far more than a holiday destination, it is a community. There are lots of things going on here, winter and summer. It is a great place to live, full of friendly people. You don't see any of this visiting on a boat. You have to live here to be part of it. The best way to get the most out of it is to join in. Don't forget to join us in the Womack Herons (Ludham's own boating and Social Club). I lived in London for 27 years but I always had my holiday home in Ludham and now we live here permanently, I would never go back to living in London again. Ludham has Parish Moorings at very reasonable rates. They are only available to residents and there is a waiting list. Expect to be on the list for 3 to 4 years. Come and see us when you move in. Nigel in sunny Ludham

Hi All Just to let you know that the Ludham Community Archive Group has finally finished the book about Ludham in the 20th Century. It has been over 10 years in the writing but now it is here It is still subject to changes and corrections, but if you would like to read it, it is available on our website now. Just go to the website and click on the button. The full book is on there and there is no charge for it. If you see anything wrong, please let us know. Once upon a time there was going to be a printed version of the book. I am not sure this is actually likely happen, but you never know. The website has also had a makeover and there is now a section on Ludham memories both written and on video. I am still adding videos slowly to this section and a new one from Dolly Grapes went on yesterday. www.ludhamarchive.org.uk I hope this is of interest. Nigel Sunny Ludham

Actually, Amateur Radio Licences are issued free of charge and there are no ongoing charges either. However, to obtain any such licence you have to take an exam. This is fine but if you are tech averse it might prove a bit challenging. There are 3 levels of licence, Novice, Intermediate and Full. Each requires you to take an exam which gets harder as you move up. You can get more information from the Radio Society of Great Britain. The best way to start is as a listener. (known as a Short Wave Listener or SWL). This helps you to understand what is going on and also prepares you for taking part in the next stage. I started as an SWL when I was a teenager. I obtained my licence for G4AXA in 1972. Back then, the levels of licence were different and you had to take a City and Guilds exam in Radio and Electronics. I studied for mine at evening classes and was the only one in my class to pass. Then you had to take a morse code exam like a ship's operator. I took mine at the Liver Building in Liverpool. Morse is no longer a requirement although it is still widely used by Radio Hams. I can still do it no problem. If you want it then the exam is no problem, but you have got to want it. Actually, I think that the internet has killed off Ham Radio a bit. It used to be a big challenge to speak to someone on the other side of the World. These days it is no big deal. Nigel - Ham Radio Station G4AXA. Ludham

I don't own any of these rigs, but I understand that you can turn off the ability to transmit on stored channels. However, some say you can override this by using the VFO. Following Arthur's comments, I had a look to see if there are published tests for spurious emissions. There have been quite a lot of tests carried out in the US and the results varied between examples. Some tests showed outputs on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th harmonics outside the limits allowed in the US. Others were OK. Of course, you could use them with a bandpass filter but that would probably be about as big as the rig itself. As little Ham Radio devices they have the big advantage of being cheap and they are widely used. I don't think I will be buying one. Nigel in Ludham

Question 2: As Arthur says, an Amateur Radio Licence only applies to the Ham Radio Bands and does not cover anything else. Supplementary Question - How do I know? Well..... Ham Radio Licences are not just given out on the payment of a fee. You have to be able to demonstrate that you know what you are doing. This includes knowing which frequencies and modes are allowed. You are also expected to be able to determine if transmitters are operating in the correct bands. Hence Arthur's comments. Arthur - Question for you: Did you have a look at what spurious emissions these rigs are putting out? Nigel (G4AXA) in Sunny Ludham

To answer the question above, an Amateur (Ham) Radio licence does not allow you to transmit on PMR channels. These Baofeng rigs are not legal for use on PMR. You have to use the low power, type approved, devices which are sold for the purpose. Anyone can do this, no licence required. Nigel (Ham radio station G4AXA)

The presentation of the plaque has now taken place both for Ludham and Hoveton St John. Pictures here: http://www.ludhamarchive.org.uk/sotherton.htm Nigel

Did you know that Ludham has a connection with George Washington? Not only that, but with Royalty too. Just an odd bit of history. Not often we go back to the 15th Century. Details here: http://www.ludhamarchive.org.uk/sotherton.htm Hope this is of interest. Nigel Ludham Community Archive Group

I just assumed the bit about the inverter consuming 400W all the time is incorrect. If that was true then it would draw about 34A all the time from the battery and it would be permanently flat. If the inverter is actually doing that, then you urgently need a new one. I would consider any device drawing high current like that to be a serious fire risk. A Scouting friend of mine has one of those machines and takes it to camp with him. He powers it from a lithium ion battery which needs charging every few days. Nigel

If your device is 22W then it will draw just under 2amps from your 12 batteries. If they are 110Ah they will power it for 55 hours in theory. In practice, you will only get half of that and there will be losses in the inverter, but you should get 24 hours easily. Hope this helps Nigel

Chris Boardman from How Hill was one of the crew of Endeavour in the 1934 Americas Cup. They came very close that year. Chris also sailed Shamrock, the predecessor of Endeavour. Endeavour is still afloat and you can charter her if you have the cash. There are some pictures here (scroll down a bit) and a bit more information. I have got lots more pictures. http://www.ludhamarchive.org.uk/bdmstori.htm Nigel Ludham

I am glad to hear that you all liked the pictures. Regarding the Dutch House (formerly known as The Walnuts), photographs 328 to 336 are taken in the garden. Well, OK, one of them is of a Tiger Moth flying overhead but that was taken from the garden. There is some history of the house on this page http://www.ludhamarchive.org.uk/hayhurst.htm I was a volunteer helping load people onto the ferries which ran between the various gardens but I was not involved in the publicity of the event. It was very widely publicised and I had it on the Ludham Archive website. The event takes place every two years so I guess the next one will be in June 2019. If I hear a definite date, I will let you know. There will be a post event meeting but this has not happened yet. As for posting on forums, I have been a member of this forum since the very early days but I only post stuff if I think it is interesting or helpful. Best wishes Nigel (sunny Ludham)

Open Gardens was good this year. here is a link to some pictures. https://www.flickr.com/gp/n-pope/11f65j Nigel Ludham

I spoke to Mike Fuller today. He was not at Woods at that time unfortunately. He says he has no knowledge of the boat and does not think that Woods built it. He asks if it was wood or GRP. If wood then Woods could have built it. Nigel

Mike Fuller might know. He worked there. I will ask him next time I see him. Nigel Ludham

Happy Christmas everyone. Nigel Ludham

The new website for this Group has now been launched and it really is looking good with lots of interesting information and photographs of the village history. See http://www.brundallvillagehistory.org.uk/ The two ladies who wrote it really have put in many hours of hard work and this shines through in the result. They learned how to write the website from scratch at the Ludham Computer Club and I am sure that Wendy won't mind me telling you that she is nearly 90. You are never too old to learn some new tricks and this is a good one. Nigel Ludham

The Undertaker is right. I should have said Outlook Express. Confusingly, Microsoft also renamed Hotmail as Outlook which is a completely different thing. I use this service sometimes and it works OK. If anyone is using Outlook 2010, Microsoft issued a botched update for it yesterday forcing it to start in safe mode. You can get information from here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3114409 Just uninstall the update. Nigel (Sunny Ludham)

These programs may come with your computer but they are not part of Windows 8 or indeed any other version of Windows. I think that Mozilla Thunderbird has group sending capability. I don't use it myself but it is a well respected mail program and would do the job OK. Some programs do not have built in group sending features. This includes Windows Live Mail and the modern app. MailChimp is another way of doing it. I have never used it myself but I know others who do use it successfully. Best wishes Nigel

Sending e-mails has nothing to do with Windows 8 as Windows 8 does not have any e-mail capability in common with all other versions of Windows. What we need to know is which program or app she is using. Maybe it is the modern app from the Windows store. Without knowing this it is very hard to give anything other than very general advice. Outlook is obsolete and long out of support, but Windows Live Mail is a free download which does the same job. Maybe the best thing to do is to download an e-mail app or program that has the functionality she needs. Alternatively, just keep the list of e-mail addresses in Notepad and copy and paste them into the e-mail program. Hope this helps. Nigel (Ludham)

Here is a press cutting from the EDP in 1971 with information about the ownership and sale of Sundog. I hope this is readable on the Forum. If it is hard to read, please PM for a better copy.. By the way, the pictures I posted earlier are very blue. This is because the colours in the original slides have faded unevenly. It could be corrected but it is a lot of effort. I hope this is of interest. Nigel

I don't really have much extra information about these photographs. They are scans I made of colour slides taken by Chris Boardman (of How Hill). The only other information is that Chris has written "Sundog 1960" on them. If you look at the photograph on the Ludham Archive website (follow the link), you can see that the wherry has a counter stern. So I think we can be sure that this is Sundog and it was mobile and sailing in 1960 when Chris made a trip on her. The picture I posted also says "Wroxham" on it so we know that's where it was taken. There is another in the same series with St Benet's Abbey in the background. I attach another picture showing people in deckchairs on the stern. There are no pictures of the complete boat. I don't know who any of the people are in the pictures. One of the ladies might be Chris' wife, Elaine, but I am not very sure as she looks a bit too young here. Sorry, that's all I know but I am glad you liked the pictures. So far as I know, these are unpublished (until now). Best wishes Nigel (Ludham Community Archive Group)

There is a picture taken aboard Sundog on this link. http://www.ludhamarchive.org.uk/bdmcwher.htm I have other pictures in the Chris Boardman collection. (see attached for example) Nigel (Ludham Community Archive Group)