wythall radio club

‘Having fun with RF!’ – was how Wythall Radio Club members spent last weekend.

The Club’s Activity Weekend brought members on to the bands to operate portable, work DX, try out new antennas and modes, and get the best from their gear.

Tim M0URX kindly arranged a sked with Arthur ZL1AZM so that Club members could try some early morning antipodean DX!  If conditions were good, there was a chance that Arthur’s 3 element SteppIR (see photo) would put a good signal into G-land.  

After having to move frequency several times due to QRM, both Tim and Lee G0MTN worked Arthur.  Their beams made a difference, as other Club members with wire antennas had difficulty copying ZL and couldn’t make the trip. 

Perhaps this will be possible later in the sunspot cycle!

Meantime, Clive M7OCB and Chris G3YHF had some fun out SOTA’ing to activate Walton Hill, to the west of Birmingham (see photo). 

Despite the strong wind, they erected a 7 meter fishing pole mast bungeed to a fence, supporting a homebrew wire collinear J-Pole for 2 meters and a 40 meter inverted V dipole. 

Using 5 watt handhelds, they had over a dozen QSOs, as far afield as Bristol and north Wales – and locally with Club member Don G0NES.  Unfortunately 40 meter ssb was wall-to-wall French contest, so the little FT817 wasn’t used. 

After an hour in the strong cold winds, it was time to pack up and head for home!

Operating on FT8 HF, Dave M0IFT, Jim 2E0BLP, Chris G0EYO, Ian M0LQY and Mike G4VPD were being heard all around the globe.

The screenshots show the reach of G0EYO’s 30 watts to a low end-fed wire on 20 and 15m (left) and G4VPD’s success with working DX on 10m (right).

Meanwhile, John 2E0XET/M6KET was on the key on 30m using QRP to work stations around Europe.