wythall radio club

We hope it will be, for the key in question is Wythall Radio Club’s brand new Morse Paddle Key. 

For some time now, our More Code training class, ably led by the “Two Johns” M6KET & G4OJL, have been short of their own twin paddle key.  No longer!

Last night at the club, Chairwoman Anita 2E0DUO presented the class with a brand new Kent key, with help from our friends at Martin Lynch & Sons.

John Bevan G4OJL received the key on behalf of the group saying, “This is a fantastic addition to our class – it allows us to start teaching members how to use paddle keys more effectively. Thanks to the Club Committee for OK-ing the purchase so quickly.”

Wythall Radio Club’s  Morse Class has been running now for around 5 years and remains very popular with members. If you are interested in taking part, why not contact John M6KET by contacting him at john (at) johndaws (dot) plus (dot) com? Meantime, click on the photos for a better look at our new baby!

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.

Wythall Radio Club are pleased to announced yet another training course. This will be starting a classroom-based Advanced License course.

It will take place mostly on Monday evenings, starting on 7th September and culminating with the exam on 7th December.

Spaces are limited to just eight students and we hear that two of the recent Intermediate passes have already signed up! So if you are interested, please contact our Training Co-ordinator Chris G0EYO as soon as possible at g0eyo@blueyonder.co.uk

Al M6KPO, Carl M6ERA, Zaid, Dave M6HPD & John M6EGP with their indicative pass slips last night

It might sound like an Enid Blyton book title, but in actuality, it is the latest headline for the successes of Wythall Radio Club’s Training Department.

Last night, five students from our current Intermediate course took and passed their exams at the Club HQ.

The results will be officially rubber-stamped later this week but nonetheless in anticipation, the members of WRC send our congratulations to Al M6KPO, Carl M6ERA, Dave M6HPD, John M6EGP and Zaid (who has been waiting to pass this exam before applying for his first callsign).

There will be news of their new callsigns soon, so keep checking back to see what they get and to listen out for them on the air.

Our collective thanks go to Training-Coordinator Chris G0EYO and his team of tutors, Roger M0GWM, John G3VRF, Peter G4LWF and Dave G3YXM. Well done, chaps!

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

The course starts on the 20^th July and finishes on the 21^st August. This will be followed by a practical workshop on Sunday 23rd August and finally the exam itself on Sunday 6th September.

There are more details on our training page here or, for further information, you can contact Wythall Radio Club’s Training Co-ordinator, Chris G0EYO direct on g0eyo@blueyonder.co.uk

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!

For many members of Wythall Radio Club, passing their Amateur Radio exams is something that happened, well…  too long ago! For others however, it is a more recent experience.

However all members benefit from being in touch with what is expected of new entrants to the hobby, so with that in mind…  this Tuesday evening sees a departure from the norm…

Training Co-ordinator Chris G0EYO, aided and abetted by Chris G7DDN, will be presenting a kind of “quiz” evening.

There will be ten typical questions from each of the three Amateur Radio Examinations – each participant will have their own answer sheet – and, in true fun Wythall style, we will see just who can still pass their ham exams!

We expect plenty of laughter as well as a few contentions moments – in the preparation phase for this evening for example, your scribe managed to get three Intermediate level questions wrong, redeemed somewhat by only getting one incorrect answer in the Advanced…

Visitors are welcome of course (just be prepared to be surprised!) – this Tuesday 24th March in the Darts Room at Wythall House, Silver Street, Wythall B47 6LZ. Note the earlier start time of 20:15 – there’s a lot to cram in!

We hope to see you there.

Hot on the heels of our record Foundation results (below), Wythall Radio Club are pleased to announce that we will be running a 9 week course for the Intermediate Licence this summer. 

It will start on Monday 11^th May and culminates in the exam on Monday 6^th July. 

The course will be held at our Club HQ at Wythall House, Silver St, B47 6LZ.  More information is available on the training page here.

The cost of doing the course is just £50 – this covers all course materials, the exam fee and all other costs.

Any interested Foundation licence holders are asked to contact our Training Co-ordinator Chris G0EYO by e-mailing him at g0eyo@blueyonder.co.uk for more information.

Wythall Radio Club is celebrating today after some record breaking news in the latest Amateur Radio Exam results. Last night 8 candidates sat the Foundation level Exam and all 8 passed with flying colours!

The Record Breakers! (L to R) Jonathon, Dave, Zaid, Mat, Zach (rear), William aged 13 (front), Alastair and Kevin

This represents the highest number of candidates passing at the same time since Wythall Radio Club began offering training several years ago.

To become a Radio Amateur it is necessary to take exams to prove your competency to both operate and experiment with equipment that can potentially interfere with life-saving communications systems such as fire, police, ambulance, marine and air traffic. There are 3 levels of exams of which the Foundation is the first level.

We are proud to congratulate all 8 of our new entrants to the hobby – they will sending off to Ofcom for their callsigns very soon now.

So very well done to Mat, Zach and Alastair (who took the club’s on-line Foundation course) and also to Jonathon, Zaid, Dave, William and Kevin (who studied with our talented trainers in the club facilities) – we are proud of you all!

Our Training team tell you to watch out for news of our next course, at Intermediate level  – coming very soon…

Wythall members are proving to be very keen to learn more about D-STAR digital technology. And this weekend sees a third Practical Workshop taking place at the Club.

Some of the delegates at the November D-STAR Workshop

Starting at 1200 on Saturday, we are going to be looking at using software to program your radios successfully for D-STAR use. A side effect of this is that folk will also learn how to program their radios for normal use too!

With Wythall House also open for snacks and drinks, it’s sure to be a couple of hours well spent with plenty of opportunity to ask questions and try things out. And a little birdie tells me that, if there’s time, we might even have a quick look at how the D-STAR data stream can be used to send emails and text messages…

This Saturday, 7th February from 1200 noon in the Club Shack at Wythall House. B47 6LZ – should be a lot of fun!