Condin 2025

Condin 2025

The CONDIN 2025 will take place in the old residence city of Karl the Great and the coronation city of 21 Kings.
Date: 9–11. May 2025, Dinner 10. May 19:00
Location: Novotel Aachen City, Tel. 0241–51590, email: <h3557–re@accor.com>
Prices: Double Room 140,00 € Comfort room incl. breakfast
Single Room 115,00 € incl. breakfast
Buffet 33,00 €


Please book using the code “FOC”. Cancellations are free of charge until 3 May 2025. Later is 90% of the cost is charged.


Accessibility by train:

• from Cologne Airport direct to Aachen,
• from Duesseldorf Airport direct to Aachen
• from Bruxelles Airport direct to Aachen
• from Frankfurt Airport to Cologne with change to Aachen
• direct line from Rostock to Aachen

You can expect a lively participation in an interesting city in the border triangle that has shaped Europe.

UK Annual Dinner 2025

This social event is held every year.  It’s FOC’s flag-ship social event and is open to Members and their guests.

This year’s  event is to be held  Saturday, 13th of September 2025 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Details of the venue will be announced soon.

Memorial Day QSO Party

Memorial Day QSO Party (MDQP) is an activity providing participants with an opportunity to honour amateur radio operators who are now Silent Key.

MDQP is being sponsored and managed by FOC and is open to all licensed amateurs: the idea is for each participant to honour a silent key. They might have a special memory to share, along with the callsign and name of one who went before us.

For more information : Memorial Day QSO Party

Florida Weekend

The 35th FOC Florida Dinner will be held at the Holiday Inn Orlando Airport on December 5, 6 and 7, 2025.

Always a well-attended and exciting event with local dining events on Thursday and Friday evenings, FOC and member programs on Saturday, and an outstanding buffet dinner Saturday evening. W4FOC will be on the air and available for attendees to operate from the hotel. 

Free hotel parking, a shuttle between the airport and hotel, and daily breakfast for 2 are included in the $131.00 per night plus tax. Group room rates are available for the period 12/3 – 12/7 for attendees who wish to arrive earlier and/or depart later. The reservation cut-off date is November 3, 2025.

Call 1-800-465-4329 for reservations for “The First Class CW Operators Club”. The Group Booking Code is CW3. A $100.00 per attendee event fee covers the Saturday dinner and other hotel expenses for the event.

Checks covering attendee event fees should be made payable to and sent to Richard Baxter, K5TF (good on QRZ.com)

Questions? Contact Van Richardson N5TOO or Cathy Goodrich W4CMG via email (both good on QRZ.com)

More information to follow.

 

FOC Old School Classic 1960s QSO Party

Purpose: To turn the clocks back to what ham radio was like in the 1960s. To the extent possible, re-create the operating practices and gear used by Amateurs before Computers became a staple in most amateur stations, “contest” software was prevalent, and DX Clusters were used for posting callsigns and frequencies of stations on the air anywhere in the world.

Participation: Open to all Licensed Amateurs

Date and Time: Last Saturday in June or first Saturday in July for 24 hours (00:00 to 23:59 UTC). Date adjusted to avoid conflict with ARRL Field Day and RAC Canada Day events.

Mode: CW Only

Call: “CQ OS” or “CQ OSQP”

Suggested CW Speed: 15-30 WPM with 30 WPM Maximum Speed

Bands: 160M, 80M, 40M, 20M, 15M, 10M and 6M Bands only.

Visit event page to read more

East Africa Dinner

Muthaiga Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya

 

East Africa FOC Dinner 2026
Friday 27st February, 2026
1800hrs Muthaiga Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya 

 

Andy, 5Z4VJ is again organising the 3rd East Africa FOC Dinner and weekend in February in Nairobi.
Several members (from UK, EU and NA) are planning to attend, some combining the visit with a safari, beach holiday or a tour of Nairobi city and its national park.

 

More details and a three day suggested itinerary are available at:
Some photos from the 2024 Dinner here:

 

Please contact Andy, 5Z4VJ for further details and enquiries.

FOC Activity Day

Every day should be an FOC activity day, however those of us who don’t get time during the
week can gather and make QSOs during Activity Days. We have also designated one day every
other month as a ‘meeting point’ to encourage members to be active on all bands. If the bands
are busy with a contest, then perhaps try the nearest WARC band, or 60m if available.

FOC QRS Day

Now and again, we should switch down a few gears and QSO with those operators who are not as fast at CW. Casual operators on the bands appreciate it when we slow down and work people at their own pace. This is a chance to encourage wider activity on the bands with everyone, including other members. Suggested maximum speed of 15wpm.

Bill Windle QSO Party

Here is a special invitation for you to join in the fun during the Bill Windle QSO Party (BWQP), formerly known as the FOC QSO Party (FOCQP), that we schedule twice a year. Many members have reported this is their favourite operating event! The idea behind the BWQP is to offer a stress-free opportunity for members to meet and greet both other members and nonmembers. Each one of us can make this event what you want it to be – some get on for a few casual QSOs, others spend several hours on different bands and still others treat it like a miniMarathon. The basic concept is to work as many stations as you can over the 24-hour period. All the contacts made during both BWQPs count for all the FOC awards. So, if you are chasing Windles, Augies, or WAFOC etc, this is a good opportunity to fill in the stations you still need to work. The BWQP runs for a 24-hour period from 0000z to 2359z. Call ‘CQ BW’ from 015 to 040kHz on all bands, excluding the WARC bands. The exchange is: RST, name, and FOC number (non-members send RST and name). Many also engage in longer QSOs; it is entirely up to you! Please note we still call ‘CQ BW’ to initiate a QSO, a tribute to Bill Windle who did so much to foster activity in our Club will be continued. Having your results listed has been a problem with a few stray emails. Ray, G4FON (SK) developed a new reporting method that allows you to simply enter your results into a web form that will assure that your report is received.

To report your results, use this address: FOCQP.g4foc.org Reports are due 7 days after the event. A complete list of the stations who do report will be included in FOCUS, and on our public website. Handsome certificates are awarded to members and non-members on each continent reporting the highest number of QSOs. Please do not email results to the previous address as these will not be tabulated.

Bug Day

There has been continued interest in an activity twice per year (to run alongside the Mechanical Key Days) where the idea is to get on the air using those bug keys. It is open to both FOC members and non-members. 

The exchange is expected to include, at the very least, a description of the bug being used.

Calling CQ Bug Day is suggested.  Frequencies are 25 khz above most band edges and up as needed.

Please send a list of stations worked using bugs and your vote for best bug fist to Benny K5KV.  

Participants can contact Benny K5KV at email listed on QRZ.com with questions.