wythall radio club

Dogger, Fisher, German Bight? No, just Jim Lee!

Wythall Radio Club is proud to welcome a very special guest this week.

Jim Lee G4AEH is one of Radio 4’s “continuity announcers” – one of the folk whose voices we hear in between programmes or sometimes reading the Shipping Forecast!

Inevitably, Jim has a plethora of anecdotes about his time on air and this Tuesday evening, 29th March, he will be sharing some of those with us.

This is a return visit; Jim’s first time with us was so well-received that members immediately requested another evening – and at last, it has been made so!

If you would like to come along, please feel free to do so. This Tuesday in the Darts Room at Wythall House, Silver Street, Wythall. B47 6 LZ – the talk starts at 20:30.

Three Wythall Radio Club members are celebrating a very “Icom” Easter this weekend, thanks to our friends at Martin Lynch & Sons.

Mike G4VPD, Simon G4TVR & Mark M0RKX today took delivery of three of the very first batch of IC-7300 radios in the UK.

ML&S had their first batch of this remarkable new radio arrive in the UK on Thursday and customers like Mike, Simon & Mark are receiving theirs via courier today.

The IC-7300 is arguably the most awaited transceiver in our hobby for many years, effectively being a software defined radio in a traditional radio casing and with no external PC necessary for operation.

ML&S will doubtless be selling a lot of these radios and it is a pleasure to see one close up so early on, thanks to the Wythall Radio Club photographer, who was on hand to see one of the arrivals.

Photos below – click to enlarge and get close-ups!

The members of Wythall Radio Club would like to thank all who attended our Hamfest today.

Initial impressions are that this was one of the biggest Hamfests in recent years – probably helped by the pleasant weather and the extras we put on, including the lecture stream.

We are grateful to all of you who came along – we hope you enjoyed yourselves!

Thanks go to all our traders, especially to Martin Lynch & Sons – Rich, Big Dave & Gary, who were on the M40 before most of us were thinking about breakfast!

Thanks also to all who helped, in whatever capacity, whether on car parking, marshalling, organising, burger cooking, clearing away etc. We had a great time and we hope you did too.

Photos below and these will be updated over the next few days so please keep checking back for more – maybe you will spot yourself!

We hope to see you again next year!

The 31st Wythall Hamfest is all systems go!

Members spent this afternoon setting out the halls with tables and power sockets ready for all the traders who will be piling in from 7am tomorrow morning. They will then be busy setting up ready to meet YOU from 10am.

With Martin Lynch & Sons heading the trader list, we are expecting very large numbers just like last year – especially as we have today heard that Gary, the ML&S DMR/SDR guru will be there with some demo gear working live on the stall!

But Wythall Hamfest is more than just the traders – there’s the famous burger van(!)  and this year we have a top quality lecture programme with some of the most experienced hams in their fields giving short talks throughout the day.

The latest addition to this programme is a fascinating presentation by Dave G4DPZ on the ARISS/AMSAT/Astronaut Tim Peake initiative – this is VERY current, as you probably know, and Dave will be giving us the latest news!

So after many weeks of preparation on our side, we look forward to meeting you tomorrow – 10am start (9.30am disabled) at Wythall House, Silver Street, Wythall B47 6LZ.

Admission to the Fest is only £3.50 and that includes access to all areas, including from noon, the main house bar (real ales on tap!) and free admission to the lecture programme.

See you there!

With the Wythall Hamfest just days away, how fantastic to see our event getting top billing at Martin Lynch & Sons website! 

ML&S bill themselves as the “World’s Favourite Hamstore” and indeed their reputation goes well beyond the UK; a reputation for excellence in both customer service and in doing great deals on all kinds of Amateur Radio gear.

We like to think of our event as the “Midlands’ Favourite Hamfest” and we are delighted that ML&S are visiting us for the very first time.

There will be extra special prices on the day but you can take advantage of those early by calling ML&S and pre-ordering your Hamfest goodies by quoting the code “Wythall Hamfest” when you call.

0345 2300 599 is the ML&S Hotline – order today for Sunday pick-up at the Hamfest!

Michael, Jonathan & Greg with pass certificates

In amongst all the excitement over the Wythall Radio Club Hamfest this coming Sunday, it is easy to forget that this is not the only activity going on at our club.

Last night was the culmination of the latest Foundation course and the great news is that all three candidates passed with flying colours.

Training Co-ordinator Chris G0EYO said “All three candidates passed with excellent marks tonight. Well done to Michael, young Jonathan & Greg. Those M6 callsigns will soon be available for you to pick up from Ofcom but don’t get too used to them – we have an Intermediate course starting in early May.”

So that’s let the cat out of the bag then! Click here for news on the next Intermediate Course at Wythall Radio Club.

Meantime, back to dreaming of Hamfests…

Yes, the Wythall Radio Club Hamfest is now officially full!

It will be busier than 2015 this year!

The final traders were confirmed this weekend and, despite overflowing into a fourth hall in order to accommodate more stalls, we have still managed to fill all the spaces.

And for the first time, we have a lecture stream too, with three visiting speakers. All the details will be on your souvenir programme, which you get on admission.

Now it’s over to you, the amateur radio public! We look forward to seeing you at one of the largest Wythall Hamfests in recent years.

Next Sunday 20th March starting at 10am at Wythall House & Park, Silver Street, Wythall B47 6LZ.

Crossing our fingers, it looks like we are in for dry weather all week too… well, it’s important to get one’s burgers and bacon sarnies in the dry!

9 days and counting to the 31st Annual Wythall Radio Club Hamfest on Sunday 20th March at Wythall House B47 6LZ.

And it’s not just the big radios that will be on offer from our main trader on the day, Martin Lynch & Sons.

Why not make 2016 the year you finally enter the world of Software Defined Radio? There are many low cost routes into this fascinating aspect of the hobby.

One such is the UK designed and built Funcube Dongle Pro Plus.

This little powerhouse receiver has a typical frequency coverage of 150kHz to 260MHz and 410MHz to 2.05GHz. That covers pretty much ALL the main Amateur bands – and much more besides!

Boasting extremely simple hardware setup, just two connections, an “in” and an “out”, no additional drivers are required to use it under Windows, Linux or Mac OSX.

This fantastic USB dongle will be on sale at the Wythall Hamfest at a VERY special price – to reserve yours, it is highly recommended that you pre-order by calling ML&S on 0345 2300 599 and quote the code “WYTHALL HAMFEST” – this will not only guarantee you get one on the day but also you will get the best price possible!

Martin Lynch & Sons – the Worlds Favourite Ham Store – coming soon to the West Midlands Favourite HamFest

…at the Wythall Hamfest, that is!

Will one of these tables be yours?

Rally co-ordinator Mike G4VPD informs us that our annual Hamfest on Sunday 20th March is now pretty much at capacity.

If you are a trader reading this, and you want a space for your wares, PLEASE be quick.

Even with an extra hall this year, trading space is limited and Mike now needs you to call him on his mobile (rather than email him) if you want to take one of the final table spaces.

Grab Mike on 07976 744479 to reserve your space.

Meantime, for those of us just coming along to enjoy the day, rest assured there will be plenty of folk looking to take your hard-earned off you!

Click here for a look at the latest list of traders – and see you on the glorious 20th at Wythall House B47 6LZ.