Wirral & District Amateur Radio Club

The Wirral & District Amateur Radio Club

Twice Winner of the RSGB Region 3

'Club of the Year' Trophy for 2013 & 2014

WADARC Club News Page

With all the latest Amateur Radio and Technical News
from Wirral, UK and around the World !

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Wirral & District Amateur Radio Club "Club Nights" are firmly back in full swing with an excellent presentation this evening on the subject of "Tropospheric Propagation" by David GW8NZN. Not the first one by David, but another really excellent talk. Thanks David !

For future meetings, keep up to date via the Club Website Calendar, or on Facebook, or better still come along and join and receive weekly emails
from our Club Secretary Simon G6XHF. New members are always most welcome.

As the club emerges from lockdown and club activities resume, it was felt that we could try and upscale the very limited Jamboree On The Air activities of recent previous years for 2022.
However, we did not want to go too far too soon. It was therefore decided that we would operate a full H F station but just operate on one band at a time and keep things simple. So, last Friday (14 th October) the set up started at Irby Cricket Club.
This was completed on Saturday morning and by 11:00 we were on air with a trusty old Kenwood TS440 running into a 40M / 80M linked dipole at 12M AGL. On the outfield of the cricket pitch.
On top of the mast was the club’s three element triband beam for later use on 10M, 15M, and 20M.
The first few contacts on 40 M were just north of Inverness, Sizewell in Suffolk, Plymouth Ho! and the west coast of Eire so we were definitely putting out a signal to all points of the compass.
Later in the day Gail (G4XCP) also set up her home brewed digital hotspot and gave us a demonstration of how that all worked, linking to various locations around the world from a handheld, via the internet.

This evening was the first time we have ever conducted our AGM via ZOOM and it proved to work extremely well. It provided us with the tools to bring together 21 club members via 19 links to complete the business of the meeting in a compliant way.

Our thanks go to everyone who took the trouble to join in with the exception of our Secretary who was working and so excused !

Another great meeting via Zoom this Wednesday with conversation as varied as it is every week covering all aspects of electronics and Amateur Radio. It's certainly a fine opportunity to keep chatting as we would have done at a D&W in the past. Thanks to Gordon G8MMM for the screen scan below.

Members are still enjoying Zoom Nights every Wednesday evening starting at 20.00 hours. Conversation flows about radio, electronics in general and nostalgia about local events radio shops and antennas. Sometimes it's about VHF/UHF contests, sometimes about antenna making, support in response to almost all questions are answered by someone with hands-on experience .. sometimes called an expert .. it's Great !

Like to join in ? then contact our Secretary Simon who will advise how easy it is. This weeks screen scan below.

Another fine evening of conversation and reminiscences over the last 7 days of amateur radio activity.

Glad to report my BT landline problems have been resolved temporarily awaiting Open Reach planning dept to resolve line route change.

L-R Simon G6XHF, Neil G4OAR, Gail G4XCP, 2nd Row Andrew 2E0WAE, Gordon G8MMM, Phil G6IIM
3rd Row Stuart M1SMH, Paul G0JZP (Chairman) Tom G4BKF & Bottom Row Graeme G0KQS

Don't forget, next Wednesday 22nd July 2020 same time, same place .. hopefully see you all there !

Once again members and ex. members joined in another enjoyable Zoom Night (last night 1st July). Conversation covered lots of technical topics exchanging radio and technical experiences from the previous seven days.

It's proved to be a fine way to use what would be a Club evening anyway and to keep our hobby active with each other. Quality of the presentations continues to rise with some excellent lighting now in the BKF shack .. well done Tom. Our Chairman Paul suffered what appeared to be a Deck Chair collapse when he logged in, but perhaps that was due to the high winds whipping up the swell out there at Harrison Drive ! Meanwhile, I unfortunately was suffering from BT problems and as a result what little transfer of broadband bits I had at the beginning .. disappeared completely and I was taken off air early for the remainder of the night for which my apologies to all for my unplanned early exit !

BT are due back tomorrow Friday but as of Thursday afternoon I am still without landline or broadband and will be uploading this to the website via my mobile hotspot.

L-R top Simon G6XHF, Neil G4OAR, Gordon, G8MMM, 2nd row Tom G4BKF, Phil G6IIM, Richard G8NDD,
3rd row Graeme, G0KQS, Paul G0JZP Chairman, Laura M3ELV, Bottom row Andrew 2E0WAE and Paul GW0MDQ
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Last night (Wed. 10th June) we had another great Club Net on 145.325 S13 FM covering Wirral with the added dimension of Zoom. (see pic below).

This time we enjoyed the added company of ex WADARC member Laura M3ELV and Andy 2E0WAE. Also on 2m 145.325 S13 FM was Peter M6OOY.

L-R top Simon G6XHF, Neil G4OAR, Phil G6IIM, Richard G8NDD. 2nd row Stuart, M1SMH, Tom G4BKF, Paul G0JZP, Graeme G0KQS
3rd row Laura M3ELV, Paul, GW0MDQ, Gordon G8MMM, Bob EA5/G4NCI and bottom Andy 2E0WAE

It was a great night with a total of 13 on ZOOM plus one dog from Spain !! Thanks go to Daniel 2E0WED for the use of his 'ZOOM room' and to Tom G4BKF for keeping in order those calling in on 2m, while Simon G6XHF kept control on contributions from the Zoom group.

Ex. WADARC Club members who would like to join in, wherever you may live .. please contact Simon G6XHF secretary@wadarc.com for details.

Don't forget, next Wednesday 17th June 2020 same time, same place .. see you there !

Last night (3rd June) we had another great Club Net on 145.325 S13 FM on Wirral with the added dimension of Zoom. Tom G4BKF controlled those on 2m while Simon looked after those connecting in on Zoom. The trick was for both groups to be able to hear everyone without resorting to feedback etc. and the whole enterprise worked exceptionally well. Those on radio only included Graeme G0KQS and Brian M6OXO although a number were listening S13 and contributing there as well as on Zoom.

The 'ZOOM ROOM' below included ex-Club members Richard G8NDD, Steve G7BBF and Bob EA5/G4NCI all joining in for the first time.

L_R Top Simon G6XHF, Neil G4OAR from Shropshire, Tom G4BKF disappeared for refreshments, 2nd Row. Stuart M1SMH, Paul G0JZP, Gordon G8MMM
3rd Row. Richard G8NDD, Paul GW0MDQ, Phil G6IIM and Bottom Row Brian G0VAX and Bob EA5/G4NCI

Thanks to everyone who took the time to join in and particularly to Daniel 2E0WED who provided the 'ZOOM ROOM' but was working and unable to join in, to Tom G4BKF for being in the Chair for those on 2m and to Simon for being in control of those joining and leaving ZOOM and preventing feedback.

It proved again to be a most enjoyable couple of hours and a lovely way to use our hobby to overcome the constraints of Coronavirus.

Ex. WADARC Club members who would like to join in, wherever you may live .. please contact Simon G6XHF secretary@wadarc.com for details.

Don't forget, next Wednesday 10th June 2020 same time, same place .. see you there !

Message from Rob M0ORA who reports that GB7RA repeater one is back on air from the new site and fully operational.

GB7RA is now back on air it was off air for about 6 weeks owing to an issue where the bench supply to the repeater went faulty which in turn caused an overvolt situation which took out most of the repeater – none of which was a fault on the repeater but the external PSU from another brand…this happened only a few days after the UK went into lockdown due to Covid-19.

I really value this kind of service from companies which is why I’ve put this section up about it. It’s really good to see just how well they are supporting the amateur radio community even under extreme circumstances.

Last Wednesday Night 27th May, club members joined up together for their regular net night on 145.325 S13 FM plus an experimental first night using ZOOM and it proved to be a stunning success !

During the Coronavirus lock-down some members of the Wirral & District Amateur Radio Club have been meeting on 145.325MHz S13 FM with around a dozen people on almost every week. Chaired by Tom G4BKF it has proved a great forum for members to gather for a chat. So this week it was mooted that we experiment by adding the ZOOM video format as well so combining those who could hear each other on S13 with those unable to join in through radio or antennas not available or who lived out of the area.

(L-R Top Simon XHF, Phil IIM, Gordon MMM, middle - Tom BKF, Stuart SMH, Paul JZP, Lower - Neil OAR, Paul MDQ and Brian VAX)

Thanks to Phil IIM for the enterprising screen shot above of 9 but we also had Neil WBG, Colin FPB and Denis UVR who left before Phil took the picture. Off screen and using FM radios from their shacks or mobile were Geoff, G4WUA, Graeme KQS and Russ VEO. Thanks to everyone for their support for the evening.

It was a great couple of hours and as close to a Drink & Waffle as you could get to without the beer, although one or two were enjoying some local refreshment from their fridges and cool box as we chatted. I have a feeling this omission will be corrected by everyone next Wednesday. It also proved that it just wasn't a case of pointing the camera and starting the programme but there was lighting ... or the lack of it in some cases .. to be considered ! One station appeared to be using candles at the start !

Virtual backgrounds will probably feature heavily next week, although I hope they won't all be on my holiday island in North Shropshire !

Finally thanks to Daniel WED for the use of his ZOOM chat room and sad he couldn't make it, Simon XHF for chairing and hosting the ZOOM production and for switching our audio on and off as required and to Tom BKF for chairing the 2m 'real radio' activity, and to everyone for taking time to join in. A really enjoyable evening.

Don't forget, next Wednesday 3rd June 2020 same time, same place .. see you there !

Apologies but no report received for last week, however last night was another fine WADARC Net and congratulations to everyone who took some time out of their evening to support the event.

Thanks go to Tom G4BKF who I understand was in the Chair ! Denis G3UVR, Paul our Club Chairman G0JZP, Graham G0KQS, Geoff, G4WUA, Tom G1GUT, Stuart M1SMH, G0VEO, Rob, M0ORA, Neil M0WBG, Paul GW0MDQ and Simon G6XHF. My thanks to Gordon G8MMM for the report.

Again, another fine WADARC Net and congratulations to everyone who took sometime out of their evening to support the event.

Thanks go to Tom G4BKF in the Chair, G0JZP, G0KQS, G3UVR, G6XHF, M0ORA, M0WBG, 2E0TFM, M1SMH, G0VAX, G0VEO and Gordon G8MMM who I thank again for the information.

Once again at 8pm the WADARC Net on 145.325MHz burst into life and another enjoyable get together 'on-air' passed by. Thanks to Brian G0VAX, Paul G0JZP, Simon G6XHF, Paul GW0MDQ, Neil M0WBG, Stuart M1SMH, Denis G3UVR, George M0HWO, and Gordon G8MMM who kindly passed me the details. Thanks also to Tom G4BKF for keeping the Chair warm during the evening. Well done everyone for contributing.

Good to hear everyone is keeping safe and we wish everyone another safe week ahead. Catch you next Wednesday.

The weekly net on a Wednesday evening at 8pm net has clearly established itself and so we invite those with a few minutes spare on a Wednesday evening to join in whether a WADARC club member or not. Tom G4BKF is doing a fine job as Chairman for the evening and the opportunity is there for fellow amateurs to ask technical questions or raise problems they might be experiencing with equipment etc.

Those taking part were (in no particular order) :- Graeme G0KQS, Stuart M1SMH, Brian G0VAX, Denis G3UVR, Ian 2E0TFM, Russ G0EVO, Paul G0JZP our Club Chairman, Paul GW0MDQ and Gordon G8MMM who kindly passed the details to me.

Well it's wonderful news that we have now successfully enjoyed three successive WADARC Club net nights on 145.325 S13 FM. Thanks go to everyone who called in and to Tom who I understand has been in the Chair. A big well done (in no particular order) to Graeme G0KQS, Paul GW0MDQ, Neil M0WBG, Paul G0JZP, Frank G8REQ, Geoff G4WUA, George M0HWO, Simon G6XHF, Chris M1EEV Gordon G8MMM and Mike M0MKS (walking around Bromborough Gold Course)

I'm disappointed I have not been able to make it but at some 42 miles away it seems that the FM is a bit limiting. It may be better if I can get my antenna a little higher and this is a job in progress. As has been mentioned before, the net starts around 8pm and just call in to the net as your time allows. Topics for discussion are unlimited and should be as open as a chat night at a club meeting would be. My thanks to Gordon G8MMM for the update.

Wednesday night, traditionally our Club night is fast becoming a regular sked night and last night was no exception. Well done to everyone who called in including I believe included Tom G4BKF who was in the chair and did a great job, 2E0MLD Matt in Parkgate, Paul, GW0MDQ in Treuddyn Nr Mold, Geoff, G4WUA in Moreton, Graeme G0KQS in Neston, Gordon G8MMM also in Neston and Steve G7BBF from Leasowe Lighthouse. Stuart M1SMH and Simon G6XHF I believe also called in briefly.

Phil G6IIM was also reported to have called in but was using a "wardrobe antenna" in one of the bedrooms so ended up chatting with himself ! Anyway Phil, you know what they say about Big Oak trees from little acorns grow eh !!

Well done to everyone who made the effort to join in the net. Next Wednesday at 8pm ?

Wednesday night, traditionally our Club Night for the Wirral & District Amateur Radio Club brought another enjoyable "on air" evening instead of our usual Club or D&W meetings. Well done to Simon G6XHF, Brian G0VAX, Tom G4BKF, Graham G0KOS, George M0HWO, Denis G3UVR and Katie 2E1CES who all called in.

Please feel free to join us again next week. We start at 8pm but you can call-in at any time after that and whilst the net has lasted for over an hour and a half the last two weeks, you don't have to stay on air for he whole duration. Dip in and out as suits you. See you next week 8pm 145.325 S13 FM +/- QRM 73

As many of you will be aware we have reluctantly decided to suspend all our Club Meetings at Irby Cricket Club and D&W meetings in local hostelries around Wirral until at least mid June 2020. This is in line and supports UK Government requests due to the seriousness of the rapid spread of Coronavirus.

Last night (Wed 18th March) it was rather hurriedly proposed that since many of us are retired and perhaps now restricted to staying at home for much longer periods than we are used to, it might be that we could encourage a few of us to come on the radio and just have a natter for ½ an hour or so. I didn't even get time to announce it on the website !

However, an email was sent out to a handful of members and we were blown away to find some 14 people responded which included a couple of non-members and great to hear them as well. S13 (145.325MHz) many years ago used to be the Wirral & District Amateur Radio Club's local chat frequency. With something like 30+ mobiles driving around Merseyside for their work, there were often continuous QSO's during the day, both with other mobiles plus those at home as people drove in and out of the simplex coverage area. It was also good fun to call CQ in the Mersey Tunnel and have a QSO while driving through. I remember doing that on many occasions and once had a reply and QSO with the local area Radio Communications (RA) radio enforcement van. Great fun !!

We are going to attempt to repeat the success again next Wednesday 25th April this time at 8pm, same frequency 145.325MHz S13 and we hope for even more local stations coming on to join in. With this Coronavirus not going away in a hurry we will not be meeting together for some time and so keeping in touch by radio in this way is an excellent opportunity to both play radio with a purpose and maintain conversations with friends.

Is 8pm start time suitable for everyone ? If anyone has a problem please feed back to out secretary Simon G6XHF.

Please keep checking the website regularly as any changes and updates will be announced here.

Finally a BIG thank you to those who came on last night. (in no particular order) :- Geoff, G4WUA, Tom, G4BKF, Gordon, G8MMM, Neil M0WBG, Stuart M1SMH, Denis, G3UVR, Paul GW0MDQ, Paul, G0JZP, Simon G6XHF, Russ, G0VEO, Peter, G8CVF, George, M0HWO and Neil G4OAR

This page will be regularly updated to reflect Club News and Activities. If you have an announcement which you think would interest Club members and would like it mentioned here, please send details to:- webmaster@wadarc.com