wythall radio club

At Wythall Radio Club, we are fortunate to have in our possession a rather excellent 100ft tall Mobile Versatower.

Thanks to a good turnout of club members this morning, we were able to give it a good check over and clean-up before its use on the forthcoming VHF field day on July 4th & 5th.

After a few years of non-use, we were delighted to find no major problems like stuck brakes or flat tyres and the winches both worked OK.

Grease, oil, and WD40 were liberally applied to various parts before the whole thing was trundled across Wythall Park for a blast with a power washer.

It’s now no longer quite as green as it was(!) and we should be able to put out a nice big signal with our aerials high up this field day.

We would like to say thanks to all club members who turned up to help and to Phil 2E0WTH who bullied us into doing it!

Wythall Radio Club is proud to announce that both of our new D-STAR repeaters are now on the air. 

GB7SO (Solihull) went live Thursday evening, 28th May, after tests during the day from it’s location in Major’s Green. It has now been joined by GB7DG in Bromsgrove which went live today, Saturday 30th May, from the village of Dodford.

Reception reports are welcome of course and so far, coverage seems pretty much in line with the predictions on the coverage maps.

There is more information about GB7SO and GB7DG on their respective pages on this website, so why not pop along and find out more about the latest addition to our repeater family?

December 1958’s PW cover…

It’s the season for “big name” guests at Wythall Radio Club at the moment. Following last week’s thoroughly professional presentation from Don G3BJ, this Tuesday we welcome another Don, G3XTT, the editor of Practical Wireless magazine.

PW, as it is affectionately known, is the largest Amateur Radio magazine in the UK and has been around for many years – her editors have become household names in the hobby – many hams remember the F. J. Camm years, for example.

…and the June 2015 cover by comparison

PW has been undergoing a renaissance under new editor Don, following the recent retirement of Rob Mannion G3XFD, who was also a popular figurehead for the publication for many years.

The members of Wythall Radio Club are really looking forward to welcoming Don G3XTT, who is not only a magazine editor, but is also a book author, as well as a world-renowned DXer and Contester!

Why not pop along this Tuesday 26th May? We will be meeting in the Darts Room at Wythall House, Silver Street, Wythall. B47 6LZ. You will be very welcome (if there’s room!)

RTTY (or Radio Teletype) is one of the oldest data modes in radio, let alone Amateur Radio – and this Tuesday, the members of Wythall Radio Club are going to be getting some expert advice in how to get on the air with it.

Lee G0MTN is one of the world’s top RTTY contesters and better still, he is a member of our club! So we are lucky indeed to have him on hand to give us some expert tuition in taking our first steps into this data mode.

With plenty of practical tips and a live demonstration too, this is sure to be an inspiring evening.

Visitors are welcome of course – just make sure you are at Wythall House in time for the start at 20:30. Silver Street B47 6LZ is the address and you can find us in the club rooms in the basement.

Real ales are on tap too, so what’s not to like? See you there!

The latest issue of the Wythall Radio Club Newsletter has been published this morning. 

Editor Chris G0EYO has been burning the midnight oil to get this issue out as soon as possible.

At 10 pages it is the largest newsletter we have ever produced.

Download it here or just click on the newsletter graphic on the left of this site to get it. It’s a great read!

Oh, and the Easter Contest results and photos are there too, just in case you were wondering…

This Tuesday, the results of the Wythall Radio Club Easter Contest will be revealed!

1st, 2nd & 3rd place prizes! Yum yum!

For the last couple of weeks, adjudicator Lee G0MTN has been sifting the wheat from the chaff and coming up with the winners to present at this week’s club meeting.

Wythall’s Easter Contest is a relatively relaxed affair compared with the busy-ness of our Christmas contest and is much enjoyed by members over the holiday period.

This Tuesday though, someone is in for a late Easter prezzie! The first, second and third placed winners in two sections all receive an Easter Egg – that means there will be no less than 6 lucky winners this week!

Come and see what the fuss is about in the Club Training Room at Wythall House, Silver Street, B47 6LZ at 20:30. Who knows? The winners might even share some of their chocolate? Then again, maybe they won’t!

The members of Wythall Radio Club wish all readers and visitors to this website a very happy Easter!

It’s been a great year for our club, as you can see by a visit to our News Time Machine in the right hand column of this home page. One of the best rallies in recent history and the setting up of no less than 4 repeater stations comes to mind, among many other memorable moments…

At the moment, we are deep into our members’ Easter Contest.

Those of you within earshot of the area will doubtless have been a little bemused by lots of number exchanges going on. Don’t worry, it will all be over by tomorrow night and the airwaves around here will be settling down once more into some sort of normality.

This Tuesday we will having a rest from our usual hectic weekly programme – it’s a “Free ‘n’ Easy” night – a great evening to pop along if you were ever thinking of coming to visit us sometime.

Find us in Wythall House on Silver Street B47 6LZ from 2000, “chewing the fat”(!)…

Much seems to be going on at Wythall Radio Club just at the moment – but then news does seem to come in fits and starts…

Better D-STAR coverage for our local area!

The latest snippet for you is that we have yet another repeater cleared for operation.

This time it is GB7SO, the new D-STAR repeater for Solihull & Wythall.  Based half-way between the two towns, it should provide good coverage of the area and also the M42/M40 links. GB7SO is an update of the simplex gateway we have been running for the past year but will soon provide talk-through coverage as well as links to the wider D-STAR world via the Internet.

We will, of course, let you know when this and its sister D-STAR box GB7DG in Bromsgrove is on the air. Hopefully it won’t be too long away now…

Meantime, keep an eye on the pages for GB7SO and GB7DG by clicking the links…

Wythall Radio Club is now the proud owner of a new trophy.

Chairman Mike G4VPD receives the trophy from Martyn G3UKV

Last night, RSGB Region 5 Manager, Martyn Vincent G3UKV presented our Chairman Mike G4VPD with the “Club of the Year” trophy for our area.

This is the third time we have won this title since it began… and indeed only the third time we have entered the competition, so you could say it’s a 100% record.

It is good to see our club recognised outside of our immediate circle for the hard work that so many members put into making the hobby of Amateur Radio accessible.

Here’s to another great year coming up – will you be part of it?

(Back) Simon G4TVR, Roger M0GWM, Ian M0IDR, Mike G4VPD, Dave M6HPD (Front) Tim M0URX, Chris G7DDN, Phil 2E0WTH

A good time was had by all – well, that was the verdict from yesterday’s Wythall Radio Club trip to the new Martin Lynch Hamstore in Staines.

In true Wythall tradition, food played a major role in the day…

Starting with a visit for a quick breakfast at the local McDonald’s in Staines, (where no-one seemed to be able to understand a good Brummie accent(!)) to pastries and drinks supplied by the store themselves – and ending, of course, with a pint or two in our home of Wythall House once we got home.

Oh yes, and there was plenty of radio gear to play with too.

We are now looking forward to the official lunch (sorry, launch) date of June 6th when a return down the M40 beckons…

More piccies below..