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Pete GM4BYF was the controller for a net of 8 on 16th December: Peter GM4DTH, Alan GM3PSP, Mike GM8KCS, Brian GM4DIJ, Melvyn GM4HYR, John GM8OTI and Bill GM8SQM, with apols from Colin GM4HWO. N/H from Peebles. Pete had been busy testing valves for sale. He was on the 23cm activity contest but conditions were very poor with only 8 stations worked and aircraft in the wrong positions to provide reflections! Alan has mostly been doing his Xmas cards. He had worked Colin/P with his new hand-held on the Braid Hills the previous Sunday after GB2RS. Mike was having problems with a faulty IC-706 but his car was now OK. Brian was also busy with his Xmas cards. He had also found the 23cm conditions poor. He mentioned the upcoming Jupiter / Saturn conjunction which will be optimum on 23-25 December - a nice Xmas present to astronomers! Melvyn had delegated the Xmas cards to the XYL! Under his daughter's house he had found  an old aircraft shelter. He asked for info about a very old valve - Osram DEF215 from about 1927. John was busy building a new computer which will be more powerful (of course!) with video processing. As a retired astronomer, he will post a very nice photo of the Jupiter / Saturn conjunction.