Author Archives: Andrew Thornton

Club Quiz, Upcoming Meetings and AGM

Congratulations to Paul, G8PYX, for winning the club quiz on 2nd September. We’d also like to extend our thanks to Dave, G8YPN, for his role as quiz master, and also to all of the club members who came along.

On 7th October, Chris, G4FZN, will be giving a talk and demo on “The Sounds different things and different modes make.” So, the next time tuning around HF or VHF and you hear a mysterious signal, you’ll know exactly what you’ve found. We’ll also be challenging you to pick out call signs from a pile up, both with voice and morse, so come prepared!

On 21st of October, we’ll be holding the society’s Annual General Meeting. We hope to see as many members as possible, and we’d appreciate any suggestions for activities that can take place in a safe, socially distanced manner at future club meetings.

Resumption of Meetings, Quiz Night 2nd September

From 2nd September, we will once again be holding club meetings at Hudswell Village Hall. For now, meetings will be held in the larger room, with social distancing measures in place. We do not have use of the kitchen facilities, so we cannot make the usual cups of tea or coffee. So, it is suggested you bring your own refreshment and your own mug or glass along if you want a drink.

The first meeting on 2nd September will be a quiz, run by Dave, G8YPN. Be sure to bring along a pen and paper if you’d like to participate.

Socially Distanced Meeting, and Upcoming Calendar Events

On Wednesday 5th March, a socially distanced club meeting was held on the moors above Hudswell.

Members were treated to a tour of Chris and Pauline’s mobile contest trailer, with an explanation of the design choices they’d made to optimise the mobile shack for VHF contest operation. Chris also led an impromptu discussion on some esoteric techniques for holding long distance VHF contacts, such as meteor scatter, or using aircraft overflying the mid-point of the signal path as a temporary signal reflector.

Dave has been in discussions regarding the re-opening of Hudswell Village Hall, and is hopeful that we may be able to return to holding regular meetings at the hall in the coming months, subject to some restrictions. Further information will be posted here on the website once we know more.

18th March Meeting Cancelled, Club Net

Due to the rapidly developing situation with COVID-19 in the UK, we must unfortunately announce that the meeting planned for the 18th March has been cancelled. The planned talk by Mac, M0RIE, on audio settings for SSB will hopefully be rescheduled once in-person meetings are able to resume.

It has been suggested that club members may instead wish to hold a net on the GB3IR repeater, between 7.30 and 8pm. We hope that some of you will join us.

The committee has not yet had the opportunity to discuss future meetings, but an announcement will be made here once decisions have been made. Please keep an eye on the news and meetings pages, and on your emails if you’re a club member, as there may be further changes or cancellations in the weeks to come.

Video Night: The 2011 T32C Dxpedition

This week, Chris brought along a short documentary on the Five Star Dxers Association’s 2011 DXpedition to Kiritimati (Christmas Island), where they operated under the callsign T32C. This DXpedition was incredibly successful, even though the team’s initial shipping container of equipment failed to reach Kiritimati, forcing the team to acquire replacement equipment and antennas at short notice, and bring everything with them on their flight to the island.

T32C operated for four weeks, with two teams of experienced radio amateurs completing over 200,000 contacts on SSB and CW. The documentary covers the event from planning through to departure, including brief discussions of the island and its culture, as well as technical and logistical aspects of the DXpedition, and time spent on the microphone or morse key.

We’d like to extend our thanks to Chris for bringing this along.

Christmas Quiz and New Year Net

This Wednesday’s radio club meeting is the last meeting of the year, and will be Dave, G8YPN’s Christmas Quiz. The quiz is not an individual competition – everyone will be in groups so that no-one need worry about not knowing any or all of the answers.

Pauline, G8HQW, is bringing along some Glühwein and Mince Pies, as well as tea and coffee for the tee-totallers.

You won’t be surprised to learn that there is no meeting on New Year’s Day, so the first meeting of 2020 will be on 15th January when we learn from North Yorkshire Police about Cyber Crime, and how to avoid becoming a victim of it.

Sharp-eyed members who get RadCom will have seen that there is a club New Year’s Net to be held at 7.30pm starting on GB3IR on January 1st. A great opportunity for you to come on the air and wish other club members a Happy New Year!

Bishop Auckland 2019 Radio Rally

Colburn and Richmondshire District Amateur Radio Society have booked a table at the upcoming Bishop Auckland radio rally. This will take place at Spennymoor Leisure Center, on Sunday the 24th November 2019.

Dave, Paul, and Terry have all volunteered to crew the club table, where they’ll be selling a variety of amateur radio related bits and pieces. If you have any miscellaneous items you’d like to sell at the rally, either for the benefit of the club, or on your own behalf (for a small commission), feel free to contact Dave, G8YPN, to make arrangements.

Likewise, if you fancy lending a hand and supporting the club, then please let Dave know.

2019 AGM and related matters

The CRDARS Annual General Meeting took place on Wednesday 6th November 2019.

The following members were elected to roles on the committee:

Chairman Dave Lutman
Vice ChairmanPaul Hunt
SecretaryChris Kirby
TreasurerMartyn Vann
Additional Committee MemberPaul McGee

Ian Bell has agreed to shadow Martyn in his role as treasurer this year, and assist with duties where required.

We would like to extend our thanks to Irene Lyne for all her hard work as club treasurer over the years. Irene has served as treasurer since the club was founded, and we really appreciate her efforts behind the scenes to ensure that the club could continue to function.

Membership subs are now due, and remain at £20 per year for members over the age of 18, and £5 per year for under 18s. The club does not charge members for attending individual meetings.

It has been suggested that the club may not hold meetings in July or August 2020, as many of our members are on holiday during this time, and are therefore unable to attend meetings at this time of year. A final decision will be made closer to the time.

It has been suggested that we hold a club net on the GB3IR repeater on the Wednesday nights when no club meeting is scheduled.

Finally, the club has begun putting together the events program for 2020. If anyone has any suggestions for events or talks they’d either like see or offer, please pass your suggestions to the club secretary. Feel free to use the web site contact form if you’d like to submit a suggestion electronically.

Junk Sale and Annual General Meeting

Our events calendar has once again been updated with a few bits and pieces to tide us through the next few weeks.

On Wednesday 16th October, we’ll be holding an amateur radio junk sale. Whether you’re into building your equipment, or just looking to add a few extra bits and pieces to your shack, this is an opportunity to pick up a bargain.

The 2019 Annual General Meeting will be held on 6th November at Hudswell Village Hall.

The meetings page has been updated with the dates of the next few club meetings, but there aren’t any talks or events on the calendar yet. We’ll update the news and meetings pages once we have agreed our winter/spring schedule.

All meetings start at 19:30.