It has been announced that Graham Coomber (G0NBI) an active radio amateur local to Wythall, with interests in both the DX, contesting and WAB has joined the society as General Manager.
We wish Graham well in his new job, particularly during this time of transformational change.
Graham thanked Don Beattie (G3BJ) Acting General Manager, for his enormous contribution over the last 14 months.
0730 this morning, and three of us, Dave G3YXM, Barry M0DGQ & Chris G7DDN together with friend of the club, Mark Hill G4FPH, set off for Dunstable Downs Rally. Mark even provided a breakfast of Pakoras and Samosas for the journey down! Yum yum, even that early!
Dave, Barry and Chris (above left), rally site (centre ) and Paul, M0TVU (right)
Getting there just after 0900 due to a motorway accident on the M6, we found the rally in full swing though it was absolutely freezing cold and with drizzly rain too. Barry was dressed like he was on an Antarctic expedition – and he was still frozen!
Ian, M0IDR
Club treasurer Ian M0IDR had travelled down separately and we soon caught up with him too.
We also managed to meet up with Paul M0TVU who was a trader on one of the stalls together with his dad, but still proudly flying the flag for the club by wearing his Wythall Radio Club fleece!
We even spent some time chatting with friend of the club, Carl G0NZI, who was selling his portable WonderWand antennas from a small gazebo.
Needless to say, a good day was had by all with everyone picking up at least one bargain. Can’t wait for our next trip out to Derbyshire for the Junction 28 QRP Rally on June 10th!
What a fascinating evening last night! Thanks to Steve G3ZVW, we experienced an amazing hour of “whole-brain learning”!
Three “volunteers” (if you can call Steven 2E0SDD, Stacey M6STJ and Howard M6AUL that) managed to learn the vast majority of all 26 letters of the alphabet in around 60 minutes. That is thanks to the method known as Instant Morse. Using a mix of storytelling, picture imagination and letter shapes, Steve took us through the letters of the alphabet while helping us with the CW equivalents.
It will be a long time, for instance, before we forget Mel M0MAJ’s cocktail glasses and fancy bow-tie or, come to think of it, Chris G0EYO’s mouth with the tomato in it! (You just had to be there!!!)
Callum M0MCX obviously didn’t forget anything however – at the end of the evening he could remember all 26 characters in code! (I didn’t write that! Callum.)
Another superb VHF net took place tonight with many participants discussing the special event station from yesterday.
Sunday eve's 145.225
An amazing day out, thanks to all stations who worked us. QSL cards will be posted to all 200 contacts. Chris (G0EYO) said, “I counted 18, G0EYO, M0MCX, M3PMP, Syd (G4?) M6AUL, 2E0WTH, M0NYP, M0JMM, 2E0BLP, M1JSS, M0IDR &XYL, G7DDN, G7IBO, M3RSC, M0YOM, G0MTN, and M0COK. Who have I missed out”? Speak up if your callsign isn’t listed. What a great day team!
Photos courtesy of James Thresher, M0YOM
The clubs newsletter is now available for >download<.
Meet Jake Brookes. He is just 14 years old and is the latest successful candidate to pass the Foundation License exam with Wythall Radio Club.
Jake took the exam last night (Monday 8th) just before the main club meeting and passed with flying colours. He now has the callsign M6SXD.
And it is quite a family affair! Jake is the younger brother of Daniel who also studied with us – he became M6BNP in March – and both are grandsons of club member Peter Brookes G0HPH.
Peter and Jake are not stopping there either; both are enthusiastic members of our weekly Morse Code class!
Fancy learning Morse Code instantly? Next Tuesday maybe you could!
Steve White, G3ZVW, former RadCom Editor and currently Editor of the annual RSGB Handbook certainly thinks you can. And to prove it, he will be our guest at Wythall House on 15th May doing what he terms an “interactive demonstration” on how it is possible to learn the basics of the Code from scratch and in one session!
We have a few “guinea pigs” on standby to
try this out, but perhaps you too might be brave enough to come along and experience for yourself exactly what Steve will be proposing.
Wythall members are intrigued by this coming evening – its been shrouded in semi-secrecy since we booked it and no-one quite knows what to expect. All we know is that Steve has done this demonstration in front of a big audience at a recent RSGB Convention, so we are in good company!
See you there!
Each Sunday, Wythall Radio Club meets on 145.225 FM. A regular hard-core of circa 25 members drop in from time to time. Being a bank-holiday weekend, less of us turned up but we did have one visitor, Arthur (M1BHA) from Wellsbourne.
Sunday eve's 145.225
Non Club
If you hear us, by all means please drop in and say hello.
Elsewhere on this website, you can read a tribute to Lew Williams, former President of Wythall Radio Club and our original CW tutor. Many current members took their first steps in Morse Code with Lew.
Some time ago, after Lew sadly passed away, it was thought appropriate to honour his memory in a suitable manner and so the Lew Williams Sheild was born!
In order to win this trophy, Wythall Club members are being asked to view the 31 days of the month of May as a “Morse Code Activity Month”. The shield will be awarded to the club member who has shown the biggest contribution to the event, and/or shown the greatest improvement in Morse Code skills. Certificates may be also awarded for various levels of achievement.
Morse Code Activity Month
The quantity of contacts will not be the most important factor. Log submissions and personal statements will be equally important in the judging process. The sort of things the judges will look for include… “First live CW QSOs on HF”, or “First CW QSOs not using an automatic reader”, “First ever CW QSOs, but did use receive assistance”, ”Log shows 20 Wythall club members contacted using CW”, “Log shows 30 countries worked during the month.”
As a fun, friendly event, it is hoped that members will recognize improvement in their fellow club members and submit feedback and nominations for them. Like the Oscars, the Lew Williams Shield can be largely decided by your peers!
So it may be time to dust off that key and finally see what you can do with the code!
