wythall radio club

Further to the news item below, we totted up the number of Wythall Radio Club members that actually made it to the Martin Lynch & Sons Hog Roast on Saturday and were surprised at the result!

Chris G7DDN gives a lecture at the Hog Roast

It turns out that 12 members were there at some point during the day. More specifically, Jon M1JSS, John M6EGP, Terry 2E0XTV, Chris G7DDN, Phil 2E0WTH, Ian M0IDR, Pete M5DUO, Mike G4VPD, Tim M0URX, Dave 2E0HPD, Jamie 2E0SDV & Jon 2E0CAP all made it down the M40.

Martin has provided a few photos from the day and you can have a look at them below to get a good flavour of how much fun we had. Definitely the best Hog Roast yet!

Rich Radford G1GRD of ML&S with Jamie 2E0SDV & Mark M0DXR of Kenwood UK

There was a particularly pleasant surprise in store for one young Wythall Radio Club member today.

On our club trip to Martin Lynch & Sons today, 15-year-old Jamie 2E0SDV was hoping to get a good deal on his first new HF radio, a Kenwood TS-590SG.

But on hearing about Jamie’s prospective purchase, and to recognise his great achievement in gaining over 1000 QSOs on the recent RSGB Youth DXpedition to South Wales, both the store and the folk from Kenwood UK had a special surprise for him.

In addition to a “better-than-advertised-on-the-day” price for the radio(!), Kenwood UK threw in an internal voice recording board, while Martin Lynch & Sons donated a Kenwood MC-60 desk microphone.

Now that is one lucky youngster and one hell of a Christmas present! Nice one Jamie!

Yum Yum!

This Saturday sees one of Wythall Radio Club Members’ favourite days out of the year – our annual trip down the M40 to Martin Lynch and Sons for the Christmas Hogroast!

This years sees Martin’s 25th year as a Ham Radio Dealer from his own store and we are pleased to be taking part.

In fact, this year we are taking part in more ways than just visitors. Club member Chris G7DDN is giving a talk on “Getting Started in D-STAR” in the new lecture room at ML&S.

There’s plenty of publicity on the ML&S website and even, for those who can stomach it, a picture of last year’s Wythall revellers in full celebration mode. Click here if you dare!

One of Wythall Radio Club’s top home-constructors has just completed one of his long term projects – and it really is a “biggie”! 

Barry M0DGQ is one of the club’s most avid constructors – there always seems to be a project on his bench, but this one has even surpassed his previous efforts.

Barry announced this morning that he had finally completed his home-brew 100 Watt Transceiver.

This project has been going on in smaller segments for some considerable time now. It’s an all band, all mode, dual VFO machine and we can’t wait to hear it on the air!

Barry has promised a write-up in the near future, so stay tuned to this website and we will let you know when you can find out more.

Meantime here are some photos to whet your appetite!

Well done, Barry!

Another newcomer to the Amateur Radio hobby has been born thanks to the team of instructors at Wythall Radio Club.

Proud Paul with pass certificate

Lead trainers Roger M0GWM and Chris G0EYO  are celebrating following the success of wheelchair-bound on-line student Paul Lunn.

Paul is no stranger to education – he is a senior lecturer in Digital Music Technology at a local University. He took the on-line course we held in the summer but was on holiday when his colleagues sat their exam – last weekend was the first day we could find a mutually agreeable date to take it.

We send our warmest congratulations to Paul, who we hear passed with a VERY high mark, and our best wishes for the Intermediate and Advanced exams which he will be doubtless studying for soon.

Jamie 2E0SDV on the mic with Lee G0MTN logging at this year’s SSB Field Day

Great news today for the members of Wythall Radio Club.

We have just heard that we have finished in a “podium” spot in a European-wide contest.

Back in early September, a team of Wythallians took part in two concurrent events, the RSGB’s SSB Field Day Contest and the IARU Region 1 SSB Field Day Event.

The results of the EU contest have been released and our club station G4WAC/P finished in 3rd place out of the 15 entrants.

A very well done to all members involved, including team organiser Callum M0MCX and his “little helpers”, Lee G0MTN and Jamie 2E0SDV and everyone else who took part and supported our team.

A great result – and who knows? Maybe an even better result in 2016?

Lee in “contest” mode!

Well, kind of… To be more precise, one of the lectures from the 2015 RSGB Convention is coming to Wythall Radio Club this evening.

Lee G0MTN, who is a regular speaker at the RSGB event, is also a long-time member at Wythall Radio Club and is also one of the world’s top contesters.

Mind you, with a young daughter in tow, he hasn’t been able to be quite as active as in recent years (but that’s a different story!)

Tonight in the club shack, Lee will be giving the talk he gave in Milton Keynes last month entitled “HF Contest Station Design Tips”.

A talk from Lee is always eagerly anticipated at the club and tonight is no exception.

It’s a great evening to come along as a first-timer too so feel free to join us at Wythall House in Silver Street, Wythall B47 6LZ anytime from 2000 – the talk begins at 2030.

It’s Fireworks time at Wythall Radio Club – not that any of our equipment is going up in smoke, you understand…

Every year, the Wythall Community Association, where we hold our meetings (and indeed our annual Hamfest) puts on a Bonfire and Fireworks display. This brings in much-needed funds for the Association.  And each year, members of the constituent associations are asked to provide volunteers for the event.

While members of Wythall Radio Club have done this faithfully for many years, this year we are going to be using more of our radio skills.

Club liaison Dave 2E0HPD is arranging our shifts so that we can use our radios a little more as we did in the Wythall Fun Run in the summer. And so a bumper load of members is now getting ready to help with comms at the event in a way we have not done in previous years – it should be fun!

If you are thinking of coming along, you should know that the gates are open at 6:00pm with the Bonfire lit 30 minutes later: the two firework displays are at 7.30 and 8.30 – tickets are £7 on the gate but under 11’s get in free! And if you see people with walkie-talkies and wearing a reflective vest, why not tell them you heard about them from this website?

Click the picture once, then click again for more information on Jamie’s scores

Yet more good news for 15-year-old Wythall Radio Club member, Jamie 2E0SDV.  We have just heard that young Jamie has performed very well in the recent CQ Worldwide Radio Contest.

Jamie recently spent the majority of a 24 hour period on the radio, trying to get as many contacts as possible (without falling asleep for too long!) And it looks like he succeeded. Recent raw scores show him in 16th place in the world for his section, 40 metres low power.

Jamie’s licence restricts him to just 50 watts output power, but he certainly uses it to good effect. Using a SOTAbeams dipole, his raw score of 26,325 points also places him 11th in Europe, but a rather magnificent 1st in the UK.

Adjudicated scores are yet to be finalised, but we would bet Jamie will still be there or thereabouts.

Certificate on the way? We hope so!

The latest edition of the Wythall Radio Club Newsletter has been published today. 

Editor Chris G0EYO has been burning the midnight oil just to get the latest fun-filled edition to you!

Highlights this month include not one but two visits to Ian M0IDR’s workshop, reports on SSB Field Day and our club visit to the RSGB Convention; Roger M0GWM provides a training update and we look forward to Youth on the Air in December.

There’s even some news on a new US callsign in the club – what’s that all about?

To find out, click the photo or grab your WRC Newsletter fix here!