The Hillrally quiet season From November to January not a lot goes on in the world of The Hillrally. Well, not a lot for anyone but Organisers to worry about. So, now is the time to make sure your set has been serviced recently, after all it is a condition of your MSA licence that your set is serviced annually by a recognised engineer. The poor radios were bashed and banged as we drove through forests and over hilltops finding posts that no sane radio operator would dream of sitting all day at. They worked through mist on mountain tops and rain that only Sennybridge can produce. I remember one knowledgable RA Inspector who examined our radio and smiled sagely as he told us it was an excellent choice of radio (Choice? Who has any choice? We buy what we can, when we can!) He went on to express surprise that we should even contemplate having a spare, they last for ever, never go wrong, cannot fault these sets. I wondered if he was stuck in the 60s or something. Had he really any idea where these radios are taken in stage rallies, let alone Hillrallies? When we took a radio in a week or two back we were upset to learn that the DTI no longer allow crystals to be replaced - alarming thought, look after your radio now! So we will continue to do the obvious. Namely:- Make sure all connections are secure, especially the power leads Ensure, too, that the output of our radio is within the MSA guidelines - 6 watts at the radio and 5 watts at the aerial. It is all very well being able to transmit as far as the Isle of Man from England or Wales but if a set is powerful enough to do that it causes a dreadful buzz to be transmitted to the other operators at your venue. We will keep within the statutory limits for the sake of everyone's hearing. Please do the same yourself now we are in the less-busy season.