wythall radio club

After months of planning , the Friday set up day arrived. Usually the third Friday of the month is reserved for a club get together in the Darts room. Once a year, this is traded for carting large amounts of equipment from the store to a fleet of  vehicles and the  the short journey to Wythall Transport Museum

Neil , project manager (!) in his immaculately presented satellite desk

Six volunteers ferried the equipment from the store. Over the years the equipment needed has been refined and always returned to the same place in the storage cellar, after being checked. Fortunately it is only about a ten minute drive from Wythall House to the Transport Museum.

Once on site the team decided that staying with the same basic set up as last year would be good, so the four tents were positioned and erected. Something that has evolved over time is that things just happen. There always seem to be four people ready to set up each of the tents, while the remaining members busy themselves with HF antenna duties.

The site takes shape in the morning sunshine

It probably took about an hour to have everything ready for initial testing. Due to no overnight facilities we are unable to leave radios on site but some limited on- air time was available.

The HF wire worked well, although condition are not great on the bands at the moment. The satellite station worked as expected, with the disaster that had taken place the night before well behind us. At this point, I would like to give a special mention to Aron who put in a full shift helping out, even though work commitments would not allow him to take part in the full event. Around 2pm the radios were disconnected and packed away.

Aron puts his trusty TS440 (?) through its paces and checks the wire antenna

Saturday morning quickly arrived. The forecast showers did not disappoint, commencing just after Phil had removed the side from his tent. Both showers were very short lived and the rest of the day was as perfect as it gets for radio.

David asked if there was anything he could do to assist in the final prep. He was handed the club vertical. Due to the compact nature of the site the vertical is put up against a fence as far as we can get it away from the wire antenna.

Martin – in charge of FT8

John at last finds a willing listener .. the man from Antartica

These events aren’t all about how many contacts you can get in the log, but are more about introducing our hobby to the wider public and explaining the reasons it is still relevant in the modern world of instant communication. One member of the public enjoyed the sound of CW as it took him back to his days in the Antarctic, where there was only CW!

The station was closed at around 3.30pm local time and completely packed away within an hour. After returning the equipment to the store, there was just time for some of the members to partake in a post event libation at Wythall House to discuss how the day had gone.

and finally … these didn’t last long!

It is worth mention that our hosts at the Wythall Transport Museum could not have been more helpful. If you have never been to visit them, it is well worth while with a very well presented assortment of vehicles and memorabilia on site.

THE TEAM: PHIL, MARTIN, NEIL, DAVID, NIGEL, DEREK, GARY, NEIL AND MARK (VISITORS ON SITE) JOHN, ARON, 

Thanks to all those who attended and supported this event. We have already been

asked if we will be returning next year.

FOOTNOTE

Were these the  verticals erected by David ? – No.. but they ceased operation  ceased operation for ever on June 27th 2026