wythall radio club

Great news! Our friends at Radioworld will again be the top attraction at this year’s Wythall Radio Club Rally. Dave Hayward, Radioworld’s proprietor (pictured right at last years’ event) confirmed yesterday that his company would indeed be attending our Radio fair on Sunday March 8th.

Radioworld is the Midlands’ leading supplier of Ham Radio and Computer Gaming equipment. Dave and Annette are among Wythall Members’ favourite traders for our Radio Rally and have been coming along for more years now that some of us care to remember!

Why not visit their site here and start thinking about pre-orders for the day? Dave always gives excellent deals for attendees of the rally and there’s no postage charges to help keep the prices low.

Meantime, we will see you on Sunday 8th March at Wythall House – remember the new venue!

Fantastic weather has helped to make this year’s Wythall Radio Rally an unqualified success!

Traders began arriving in glorious sunshine from 0700 this morning and, helped by the enthusiastic members of Wythall Radio Club, it wasn’t too long before all the stalls were ready. Bacon Rolls from our caterers helped the morning go quickly and before long it was 10.00 and opening time!

Traders were seen making brisk deals, visitors were caught between the many offerings on display and wanting to stop to catch up and chat with old friends – and despite our inability to use the school playing fields for our car park, the vast majority of visitors were very understanding and helped make today’s event the undoubted success that it was.

Thank you one and all, traders, visitors & hard working Wythall Radio Club members – we cannot do it without you!

Enjoy our pictures of the day below – maybe you can spot yourself in one of them? Also our latest club newsletter with longer stories is now available here!

With one of the wettest Winters on record behind us (fingers crossed!), members of Wythall Radio Club have been heartened by the change in the weather forecast for the annual Wythall Radio Rally this Sunday.

It seems it is going to be a really sunny, even warm(!) day for our big event, which takes place at Woodrush School in Shawhurst Lane, Wythall B47 5JW.

This year, the Radio Gods are blessing us with weather like this!

Sadly the better weather isn’t coming in time to allow us the luxury of parking on the school playing fields. They are still saturated from the drenching we suffered this past few months!

Street parking is the order of the day then, so have a look at our local area on Google Maps and follow the instructions on the day from our team of intrepid car parkers.

We will have refreshments available so that you can get a warming breakfast before the doors open at 10am.

Members are very excited about the rally this year and we will be pulling out all the stops so that our many traders and visitors have a memorable day out.

We hope to see YOU there!

Wythall Radio Club’s annual radio and electronics fair (known to Radio Amateurs in the UK as a “Radio Rally”) takes place very soon now, on Sunday 9th March in fact!

Radioworld staff finalise their tempting offers before the doors open last year!

Club President and Rally organiser, Chris G0EYO says “Club members are pulling out all the stops to make sure that, whether you are a trader or a visitor, you enjoy your visit to us. This Tuesday evening, for example, our weekly club meeting will be taken up with our final preparations for the big day. Visitors are, of course, welcome to join us from 20:30 on Tuesday, though be warned, you may end up with a job to do on Rally day!”

The Wythall Radio Rally itself takes place at Woodrush School, Shawhurst Lane, Wythall, (B47 5JW for those who have SatNavs!) and doors open at 10.00am.

Parking, which usually takes place on the school’s playing fields is not possible again this year, due to the huge amounts of rainfall in recent months. The Primary School next door have the builders in which has not helped either! However with what parking space we do have and our positive experiences of street parking near the school from last year, we are sure that you will still have a fantastic day.

Leaving the last words with President Chris again, “We look forward to welcoming you to one of Ham Radio’s best days out in the Midlands!”

Some very exciting news! Wythall Radio Club are sponsoring a new UHF repeater for our local area.

GB3WL, if approved by the authorities, will serve Wythall and the surrounding areas as well as large parts of South Birmingham, Redditch & Solihull.  Other local areas out towards Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick, including parts of the M42 motorway currently not well served by other repeaters, will also get coverage. 

The repeater workings are all but complete and will be on show at the Wythall Radio Rally on Sunday 9th March, just 10 days or so away.

A team of members has been working hard behind the scenes on this project and we are very excited about the prospects for this unmanned relay station in providing communications across the area for all local Radio Amateurs, members and non-members alike.

Why not come along to the Wythall Rally and see it “in the flesh”? You can read more about it here.

Traders, get your bookings in quickly – there is not much room left at Wythall Radio Rally for 2014!

Radioworld, probably the busiest stall at Wythall 2013!

That is the message from Wythall Radio Club’s organising team.

Club President & Rally Organiser, Chris Pettitt G0EYO spoke at our latest planning meeting, telling members that there were only a few tables left for hire and that traders will now have to be very quick to get one of the few remaining places.

The lads from Sandpiper Aerials enjoyed 2013’s rally!

Club members are now enthusiastically preparing to receive our regular welcome visitors & friends, such as Dave Hayward and his family from Radioworld, the boys from Sandpiper Aerials, and W H (Henry) Westlake, to name just a few!

Wythall Radio Club’s annual Radio and Computer Rally takes place on Sunday March 9th at Woodrush School, Shawhurst Lane, Wythall. B47 5JW. Now close to its 30th year of existence, it is fast becoming one of the longest remaining events of its kind in the Midlands or indeed the country!

Click on the photos to see larger versions and put the date in your diary – it is going to be a year to remember!

While all Wythall Radio Club members are eagerly looking forward to our own Radio Rally on Sunday 9th March, we also like to support and visit other clubs’ events too. Today was one such, the Harwell Radio Club Rally at Didcot Leisure Centre near Oxford.

Phil 2E0WTH, Jon M0JMM, Simon G4TVR, Chris G7DDN, Ian M0IDR & Dave G3YXM with Alton Antenna Arrays in the background

Six of us made the trip – three, Dave G3YXM, Phil 2E0WTH & Chris G7DDN travelled together in one car in convoy with Simon G4TVR in his BMW(!). John M0JMM & Ian M0IDR travelled separately as they live nearer the venue!

A great time was had by all, chatting with traders, meeting old friends, making new ones too like the folks at Alton Antenna Arrays and Sinfully Sweet.  Of course we just HAD  to spend a little hard-earned on some nice radio goodies! This was all topped off with a sit down and a chin-wag over a pint at lunchtime. A great way to spend a Sunday!

And of course an excellent taster of what is to come on March 9th, a date you will just NOT want to miss!

Now we are into February, the thoughts of Wythall Radio Club members start turning to our annual radio rally.

Henry Westlake did a good trade at last year’s rally!

A rally, or “hamfest” as our cousins in North America might call it, is a festival of all that is good in the hobby. Traders come along and turn a local venue (in our case, two halls of a local high school) into a marketplace of goodies for local amateurs to buy to enhance our fun in the hobby. In the West Midlands, Wythall Rally is one of only two left running and is the nearest to the UK’s second city, Birmingham.

Needless to say, putting on this event takes up a lot of our thoughts & efforts in the run up to the event, which this year is on Sunday March 9th.

So this Tuesday’s meeting at the Club Shack is an evening of planning and preparation (and handing out of jobs!) and although the Rally does constitute a lot of work for members, there is nothing quite like the feeling at the end of the day itself when the last trader has gone home and we all reflect on the satisfaction of a job well done (and a hot bath to ease sore muscles!)

Why not get your hands a little dirty this year and come and join the fun? This Tuesday at 2030 in the Club Shack, Wythall House, Silver Street, Wythall. B47 6LZ. You will be very welcome!

2013 Wythall Radio Club Rally

What a fantastic day! Traders, club members and well over 500 visitors combined to overcome some minor obstacles to make the 2013 Wythall Radio Rally one of the best ever!

So a huge thank you to all involved; to our traders, many of who travelled long distances from the middle of the night to get to us early; to all our club members, who were involved in the menial tasks from putting out road signs to printing leaflets and humping tables and traders’ wares in and out of the halls; and to you, our visitors, for turning out in force in very cold weather, on Mother’s Day to boot, and having to cope with a few parking issues that were, thankfully, not of our making.

Pictures follow (click the link below)

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David G0ICJ prepares the Bring And Buy stall for tomorrow

Yes friends, the Wythall Radio Rally 2013 is almost upon us!

Members have been busy this afternoon preparing the halls at Woodrush School, Wythall, for the annual event that is the highlight of our year!

Called “Hamfests” by our cousins across the pond, radio rallies are an important part of UK club activities.  The modest fee (£2.50 in our case) that you pay on our door goes towards keeping our club going, and without the club there would of course be no rally next year, so to some extent it is self-perpetuating; come to our radio fair and there will be another one next year for you!

It takes 3 people (Steven 2E0SDD, Callum M0MCX and Dave G3YXM) to erect the antenna for the talk-in station!

As we half-expected, parking may be a small issue this year.

The school fields where we normally park are waterlogged after the massive amounts of rain and snow we have experienced this winter, so visitors will need to find on-street parking in the vicinity and walk a short distance to us.

We would ask that, since the school is in a primarily residential area, visitors remain aware of this and park with consideration for our local residents. Use talk-in on 145.550 MHz and watch out for our helpers as you approach for further assistance.

We can’t wait to see you tomorrow! We hope you have a great day!