wythall radio club

We finally have the long-awaited results of the the Wythall Christmas Contest, and it’s great news for both a first time winner and a contest stalwart!

Kevin 2E0NCO’s persistence and stickability proved far too hard for anyone to beat – he finished top of the FM section (and in fact top overall, which is quite an achievement!)

David G7IBO, the reigning all-mode champion repeated his 2015/16 success to win the G7OJO trophy for the second year in a row. That after many years trying to be a winner!

Thanks to our Contest Team, especially Lee G0MTN, for the seemingly increasingly hard work involved in putting the event on and adjudicating it.

It won’t be long either before Wythall Radio Club members are at it again – our Easter Contest is coming up soon with Eggs as prizes! Watch this space!

Wythall Radio Club are pleased to announce that we will soon be running an on-line course for those seeking to gain their Foundation Amateur Radio licence. 

This might be ideal for younger students or perhaps those who cannot make a regular evening on our normal teaching nights.  

With the online course, students can study in their own time with support from tutors.

The course will start on the 13^th March and should be finished by 14^th April. 

Please note that there are a series of practical assessments which require your attendance at a registered centre – if you live in the West Midlands, then Wythall Radio Club will be organising a Practical Assessments workshop on Saturday 29^th April, with a Foundation examination on Sunday 30^th April. 

More information is available on our training page or contact the Training Coordinator, Chris G0EYO via email at g0eyo(at)blueyonder.co.uk

Ian M0IDR won the 2m trophy last year, but what about 2017?

This coming Tuesday at Wythall Radio Club is one of the most eagerly anticipated of our year – the Christmas Contest Results Night! 

Every year, from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day, we have a fest of contacts between club members on as many local bands as we can muster.

The event is hotly contested and though its primary function to encourage members to have fun with RF, it can occasionally get just more than a little competitive!

As usual there are two trophies up for grabs, the G7OJO trophy for the overall winner on all bands and the FM Trophy for the winner of the 2m/70cms FM only section.

Adjudicator Lee G0MTN has all the results ready, so roll with us this Tuesday 7th Feb in the Club Shack at Wythall House, Silver Street. B47 6LZ

This coming Tuesday evening, 31st January, it’s Question Time at Wythall Radio Club.

Maybe this has been done before??

Not the BBC Political programme though… but our version of it. 

We are hosting an “Ask the Panel” evening where 3 of our resident radio “experts” will be answering your questions about the hobby.

Dave G3YXM, Lee G0MTN and John G3VRF will be addressing those technical and operational issues that may have been bugging you. 

So if you want to know, for example, what a TCXO is or does, when high SWR actually matters, or how to set up transmit audio for best clarity, you need to join us this Tuesday. 

The usual venue, Wythall House, Silver Street, B47 6LZ, kicking off at 20.30 – be there!

G3PJT operating remote with just mains and wi-fi

Wythall Radio Club is pleased to announce that Bob Whelan G3PJT will be coming to the club next Tuesday (24th January) to give a talk and demonstration on the Cambridge Community Remote Radio Project.

This is a talk that was given at the RSGB Convention in October 2016.

Bob is travelling some considerable distance to visit us and he has therefore asked to start at 8.00PM instead of the usual 8.30pm. He has also suggested that it might be a good idea to read his article (from RadCom Jan 2016) to give a background to his talk. 

Bob hopes to welcome as many folk as possible. As you might expect, there has also been some outside interest in this talk from members of other clubs, so we expect a large audience and advise that you grab your seat early!

So see you on Tuesday – in the Darts Room, Wythall House, Silver Street, Wythall B47 6LZ.

Great news today for fans of the Wythall Hamfest – local dealer Radioworld are going to be our headline trader for 2017. 

Dave and Annette Hayward from Radioworld confirmed today that they will be in attendance for our next Hamfest on Sunday March 19th.

Annette is definitely the prettier of the Radioworld trio!

The Radioworld family have been friends of the club for many years but sadly couldn’t attend last year due to the move to their fantastic new shop near Cannock. 

But this year normal service is resumed, and together with son Sam, they will be looking to meet friends old and new and helping you out with that new Rig you’ve been promising yourself, maybe an Icom IC-7300?

You could even contact them now and pre-order to pick up on the day!

Remember the date, Sunday March 19th at Wythall House, Silver Street B47 6LZ.

The fun kicks off at 10:00.

From Training Co-ordinator Chris G0EYO…  

“We still have a few places remaining for our January Foundation Class.

It starts on Monday 16^th January taking place in the club rooms, 8pm-10pm for 7 Monday evenings. (If Monday nights do not work for you though, please note that we plan an online version of the course starting in late February/ early March. More news about that later.)

The fully inclusive fee for the classroom course is £40, payable before the start.

It is important that you are able to attend every session, as each week there is some compulsory practical work which has to be signed off before you can take the final exam.”

Contact g0eyo(at)blueyonder.co.uk or click here for more details. 

The M0GJM Trophy, won by Jon and “Santa Phil”

Colin M0GJM was a much-loved member of WRC and when he tragically was taken from us 3 years ago, Wythall Radio Club Members inaugurated the M0GJM Trophy for our annual Christmas “Foxhunt”, something Colin loved.

This year the trophy was as keenly contested as ever, with 5 teams driving around the Warwickshire countryside trying to find the transmitting “fox” with a variety of directional beam antennas.

This year the victors were Jon M0JMM and Phil 2E0WTH, who seemed to be disguised as Santa!

Well done lads, and thanks to all the participants who ended their morning’s entertainment with a nice carvery…  
…well, it’s traditional!

The January 2017 edition of the Wythall Radio Club Newsletter is now online!

Just click here or on the Newsletter Graphic in the left hand sidebar…

…and enjoy!

We are sorry to announce that the GB7SO D-STAR repeater has been switched off permanently due to issues with both Tx and Rx and and subsequent small usage patterns.

Thank you for your support over the years it has been running.

There is more information on the GB7SO page on this site.

If there is any further news of D-STAR in Wythall, we will post it here in future.

Thank you again for your support.