wythall radio club

Here are a few pictures to show you how much fun Wythall Radio Club members had without RF last Saturday! Just click on the photos for a larger version.

Not long to go now before one of the events of the year in the Wythall Radio Club Christmas Calendar.

Our in-house Christmas Contest started from small beginnings and is now a major part of the club’s calendar. Some amateurs have been known to join our club just to take part in it!

The idea is to work as many members as possible every day from 2000 on Christmas Eve till 2000 on New Year’s Day.  It is not quite as straightforward as it seems though and there are bonuses to be gained for using different bands and modes as well as going portable, mobile and operating from each other’s houses!

The G7OJO Trophy & the 2m Trophy

To win, you have to be active and available on the bands over the Christmas period – as if it wasn’t busy enough as it is!  The section winners are presented with the G7OJO Trophy (for all bands) and the 2 Meter Trophy (for members using 144 MHz only.)

This Tuesday 17th December, there is a presentation by Contest Supremo Lee G0MTN about the history and development of the Contest and on the innovations introduced in recent years, which will include more on the latest updates to our fantastic logging spreadsheet which scores you automatically!

It will be a fascinating evening for sure. So be there at 2030 this Tuesday 17th December in the Club Shack. It will be full, so arrive early!

Wythall Radio Club member Colin M0GJM, who passed away 29th November, is now the subject of an appreciation article on this website.

Please click here to visit his page.

Regular readers to this website will be aware that Wythall Radio Club’s motto is “Having Fun with RF”. Well, this weekend, we will doing the polar opposite and “having fun without RF”!

The reason for this is that this Saturday, 14th December, is a very special date in Wythall Radio Club’s Calendar. It is the date for our annual Christmas Party! Members come along and bring friends & family and we have a lot of fun together!

We hire one of the larger rooms (with bar of course!) at Wythall House and have a mixture of excellent food and drink (in the “American Supper” style), live entertainment, games, raffles, and even a skittle alley!

Great chat, a relaxed friendly atmosphere and a “no pressure” environment, it’s the perfect way to start the festive season off with friends.

The party starts from 1900 in the Britannia Room at Wythall House, Sliver Street, Wythall B47 6LZ.

Hot on the heels of Wythall Radio Club’s appearance in Practical Wireless magazine, the club is now featuring in the RSGB’s monthly magazine RadCom.

The January 2014 issue is being delivered to all RSGB members this week and features Wythall Radio Club on pages 68 & 69 under the title “Amateur Radio at its Very Best”. The article is about our activation of G100RSGB and the visit to the station of Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Sajid Javid MP.

As well as featuring in the main G100RSGB article, our group of female operators also makes an appearance on page 84 in the West Midlands Regional News section of RadCom. They are pictured in somewhat frivolous mood, in keeping with our club motto of “having fun with RF”!

Our thanks to RadCom’s editor Elaine Richards G4LFM  for reminding us of some of the great bits of the fun time we had with the G100RSGB callsign.

Following Wythall Radio Club’s highly successful activation of the G100RSGB callsign on 31st October & 1st November, it is good to see the club getting some national publicity for its work.

Practical Wireless magazine is a long standing Amateur Radio publication in the UK and they have picked up on one of the many stories that made the news for the Club at that time.

Click on the article (above right) in this post to see a larger version of the news item that appears in PW’s January 2014 edition, available now. We think there may be a few extra copies sold in the Wythall area this month!

With so much going on at Wythall Radio Club just at the moment, it almost escaped notice that eight intrepid members travelled down the M40 last Saturday to represent the West Midlands at the famous Martin Lynch Hog Roast.

Arriving around 0900 (just in time for bacon sandwiches!) were Chairman Mike G4VPD, Secretary Anita M6DUO & Treasurer Ian M0IDR – also along for the ride were Committee Members Phil 2E0WTH, Jim 2E0BLP & Pete M5DUO. Ordinary members Dave G3YXM & Chris G7DDN completed the party.

A great time was had by all, but then since a picture tells a thousand words, just click on the pics below and you will see for yourself. No explanations necessary!

The question is, will Martin and his staff want to see the rabble again next year?

David G7IBO (left) with Juliet M6RSC (right) at a club construction evening with Barry M0DGQ acting as registrar! “With this soldering iron, I thee wed…”

Now it is not often that you will see a posting like this one at Wythall Radio Club! Yes, two of our members are “getting spliced” this week.

David G7IBO and his partner Juliet M6RSC have decided to tie the knot and they are doing so tomorrow (Friday 6th December).

As it is, how shall we say, maybe not the first time around, the event will be a small affair with just close family and friends attending.  But nonetheless that doesn’t mean that their fellow members will not be celebrating with a drink or two tomorrow night either!

The members of Wythall Radio Club wish all the very best wishes for the happiest of futures to David and Juliet as they continue to build their lives together.

With many readers all around the world, the Wythall Radio Club website is becoming very popular. We get many requests asking if there is a way you can be kept informed about our news feeds.

You can be kept in touch via the orange RSS “Subscribe” button up on the top right of our home page, but our resident “webmeister” Callum M0MCX has now implemented a rather “cool” email alert system for you.

Just go to our home page and look at the top left for the “Subscribe to new Posts” section.  Leave us your email and you will get an automatic reminder whenever a new news item appears on this website.

Like all the best ideas, simple but effective! Why not do it now?

Wythall Radio Club is extremely sad to announce the untimely passing of one of our members. Colin Truran M0GJM died yesterday morning, it was announced today.

Colin was a man who was much loved by all in the club, starting out as a Foundation License holder, later rising to attain his Advanced license and eventually become Secretary of the Club.

A former employee of Birmingham Airport, Colin loved his radio, especially the club fox hunts. He was just 64 years of age.  All the members of Wythall Radio Club send their condolences and best wishes to his widow Jill and his children.

A fuller appreciation of Colin’s life and contribution to the club will appear on this website later.