wythall radio club

It is with extreme sadness that Wythall Radio Club informs both its members and the amateur community at large of the passing, early this morning, of David G0ICJ.

David was a member of WRC for many years and served as a senior officer in the role of Treasurer for a long period too. A former member of the banking profession, he proved to be an excellent pair of hands when the finances of the club needed careful attention.

However, it will be as a person that David will be most remembered. David was a man for whom nothing and no-one was too much trouble.

He would often be the first person to welcome enquirers or visitors to the club; he was someone everyone in the club knew, respected and admired. He had time for everyone and a caring nature which he used to good effect, often sidling up to a member who looked a bit under the weather, whereupon he would encourage and inspire in equal amounts.

Naturally he was a stalwart at many club events, leading the Bring and Buy at the Hamfest, and helping out at many of our radio operating and social events. He was also known to newer members of the club through his work invigilating exams.

Sadly declining health in recent years meant he was unable to take part in club events quite as much as he used to, but nonetheless he was around and about even earlier this year.

David was also a member of the Radio Society of Great Britain for over 50 years and appeared in the Society’s journal RadCom, for his notably long membership of the RSGB.

All members of WRC send our thoughts to his wife Jackie and his family at this sad time. 

Rest in peace David G0ICJ SK.

Wythall Radio Club was in full swing ‘on the air’ last weekend!

Members braved the hot weather to operate all manner of portable radio equipment and antennas and contact other stations around Europe on Sunday morning.  Operating from the field near our Club HQ, this ‘Plug and Play’ event is one of many activities Wythall Radio Club offers to its members.

Cool drinks and a camping grill kept the group hydrated and energised!

At the same time, two Club members were contacting stations around the world in an international radio competition – making over 13,000 contacts in a 24 hour period!  

Lee G0MTN and Jamie M0SDV used powerful radios and antennas on 60 foot towers, as part of the UK national radio society’s ‘M6T’ team based in Suffolk.  

Nine happy students passed their Foundation exam at Wythall Radio Club.

Congratulations to Terry, Tim, Marcin, Mo, David, Darren, Andy S and Andy W, and Paul!  We hope to hear them on the air soon with their new M6 call signs.

The photos show them completing their practical assessments, and three of the successful candidates – Paul, Darren and Andy.

We expect that some will want to progress to the Intermediate course offered by Wythall Radio Club’s training team.  And some of the graduates from this course have recently signed-up to study for their Advanced amateur radio licence!

Perhaps there are more aspiring radio amateurs out there who would like to study our on-line courses? 

Further details are on the Wythall Radio Club web site or visit the Club which meets every Tuesday evening from 8pm at Wythall House, Silver Street, Wythall!

Runners and Wythall Radio Club members are getting ready for Sunday’s Wythall Fun Run 2018.

Over 20 members of the Radio Club will be providing communications and helping to marshal the event.

The Fun Run is a big draw for local runners and families.  Radio Club members always turn out in force, and use their skills and equipment to help ensure a successful and enjoyable day for all! 

May is “Morse Code Appreciation” month at Wythall Radio Club – and some of our new members received special awards to mark their progress in learning the ‘dots and dashes’!

Harry M6NKW, Stuart M0SRZ, Ian 2E0LQY and Kim M6SSV were singled out for special praise.  Kim made his first ever Morse code contact – with a station in Germany – during one of the Club’s Friday morning ‘open shack’ sessions.

The overall winner of the Lew Williams Memorial Shield was Sue 2E0LUJ.  She not only learnt Morse code but also built a small transmitter/receiver.

The Club also recognised the contribution of members who teach and promote use of Morse Code, awarding certificates of commendation to John 2E0XET and John G4OJL.

So very well done to our members, and we look forward to hearing you try out your new skills on the air!

Wythall Radio Club is pleased to announce that GB3WL, our 432Mhz repeater is now back on the air. 

Thankfully the the flood damage was not too severe and power has now been restored. 

Wythall Radio Club is sad to announce that GB3WL is temporarily off the air. This is due to flooding in the area where the repeater is located.

The Wythall area itself was subject to an Amber warning of thunderstorms and rain earlier this evening – much of Wythall village has been under water with vehicles stranded around the area.

Sadly the location of the repeater was not immune to this either. The repeater itself is above water so that is not an issue, but the power to the repeater is, as is the D-STAR capability. Therefore we have had no alternative but to temporality power down the unit.

Needless to say, just as soon as we can assess the situation, the intention is to restore GB3WL to service as soon as possible.

Thanks for your understanding and patience.

‘Chasing a DXpedition requires a certain amount of commitment!’ writes Wythall Radio Club member Tim Beaumont MØURX.  ‘A little studying of what the team’s priorities are, a close eye on the propagation to decide your best band choices and a little bit of luck along the way!’

Here’s his report of chasing 3B7A operating from the tiny island of Saint Brandon in the Indian Ocean.

‘Saint Brandon in the Indian Ocean was last activated 11 years ago in 2007 when we had similar low sunspot conditions and poor radio propagation.

So to contact 3B7A on high frequency (HF) I was going to have to work them either early in the afternoon or later afternoon around tea time. With no sun spots and a Solar Flux Index of just 67, propagation doesn’t get much worse than that!  

Saturday morning I had seen them spotted on DXCluster on 20m, 17m and 15m, but nothing was heard here. 

I came back after a couple of hours and they were still working North America on 15m phone.  Then silence….  Just a brief “3B7A – stand by 5 [minutes]”…. I set my transmitter 8 KHz up from their frequency and poised my foot over the radio foot switch, ready for them to get back on air.  

It seemed an age and I wondered if they had just changed bands or mode? I decided to stay put… then “3B7A listening all stations 5 to 15 up”. The adrenaline starts pumping…. “Mike Zero Uniform Radio X-ray” hoping that the DX was also listening on the frequency I was calling…. “M0URX you’re 59” . I reply quickly “59 TU [Thank you]”

Wow, it doesn’t often happen like that, right place right time and luckily the pile up was sleeping at the re-start. By 6pm 3B7A’s HF signal quickly dropped and was lost for the day.’

Read Tim’s full report here!

There was plenty of radio fun during Wythall Radio Club member Mike G4VPD’s recent holiday on the Costa Brava.  

On the way to a local Spanish restaurant he noticed a portable radio setup in the church car park just a couple of hundred yards from his holiday villa.

The operator was Kico EA5GPC.  ‘We stopped and introduced ourselves – using a mixture Spanish and English’ reports Mike.

‘It turns out he is a taxi driver in Benidorm and had travelled to Javea to operate from its church in a ‘Work all the Province’s Churches’ radio contest (Diploma Ermitas).  He was doing pretty well ’till we interrupted him!’.  He had made over 100 contacts in just over an hour on 40m using his homemade dipole and counterpoise vertical mixture.

He welcomed the interruption and requested some photos be taken so he could prove to the contest organiser that he had been operating from the church!  Kico’s the right and Mike’s on the left.

Any amateurs visiting Benidorm should keep an eye out for Kico’s taxi.  It’s the one with the HF mobile antenna!

Besides this face-to-face contact, Mike also experimented with digital communications using FT8.

‘It took some time to get the software to transmit the digital tones via the USB cable of my mate’s (G8NOF) Kenwood TS-590 but I got there in the end!’ comments Mike.

‘There was very little to be heard on the 20m or 17m SSB (voice) frequencies, but the world was alive on the digital (FT8) frequency of 14.074 Mhz!’

During the morning he made digital contacts with New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Siberia, India, the Middle East states, South Africa and more, using only 50 watts.  Then in the early evening he contacted stations in the Caribbean, USA, Canada, Venezuela, Brazil – to name just a few.

What is so different about this HT?

Wythall Radio Club is pleased to announce a special lecture at this year’s Hamfest.

Club member Chris G7DDN will be giving a talk entitled “Network Radios – The Next Big Thing?”

If you’ve not heard of Network Radios, then this would be a good time to find out what all the fuss is about – if you have heard of them, this is a good opportunity to lean more and even have a bit of a hands on!

Chris’s writings on the subject have already created a bit of stir in the Amateur World. Extracts of his articles are being featured in upcoming editions of Practical Wireless magazine. You can read Chris’s musings on Network Radios here and here, if you want to gen up before the day.

The lecture will take place in the Wythall Radio Club shack at 11.00am on Hamfest day – Sunday 25th March.

Another good reason to come along this year!