Our next meeting will be a pie and chips night at Colburn Village Hall on 11th January. Colin is looking for confirmation of numbers, and of everyone’s choice of pie as soon as possible.
If you’re planning on attending and haven’t contacted Colin yet, please get in touch. You can use our contact form to place your order if necessary.
An overwhelming majority of members have voted in favour of moving the club meetings from Colburn to Hudswell Village Hall. The new venue is in a location that is ideally suited to radio communications, and we’ll be able to install permanent antennas on site. This will provide us with plenty of opportunities for “hands on” activities in the future.
We currently expect the move to take place towards the end of January or beginning of February 2018. We also expect that the meetings will change from Thursday to Wednesday nights. Further details will be announced in due course. We’ll update the news and meetings pages as soon as we know more. In the meantime, we expect that usual Colburn meetings will continue as normal on Thursdays up until the move, with a few additional meetings held on Wednesday nights up in Hudswell.
Please keep a close eye on the news and meetings pages, as there is a possibility that some of our meetings may be cancelled, relocated or rescheduled at short notice during this transition period.
Colin is keen to see member numbers increase, and would like to encourage all of our members to reach out to anyone that they think may be interested in Amateur Radio, and encourage them to come along to see what the club is all about. Over the three year history of the club, we’ve lost more members than we’ve gained, so it would be nice to see the number of members increase from our current count of 18.
We’re also keen to hear from our younger members, and get their opinions on what the club can do to help accommodate their interests in the future. We know that many of them prefer practical activities over talks and presentations, so we’re hoping to have the radio equipment available to use at most meetings in the future. Mac is also working on some exciting new ideas to keep our younger members entertained.
A meeting is to be held at Hudswell Village Hall on Wednesday the 22nd November at 7.30pm. This is our opportunity to have a look around, and see the benefits of moving from Colburn to Hudswell. We will take a vote on whether to move to Hudswell on a permanent basis after the initial visit.
The usual club meeting will still take place the following night, Thursday 23rd November, at our usual venue of Colburn Village Hall.
The CRDARS Annual General Meeting took place on Thursday 9th November 2017.
The following members were elected to roles on the committee:
| Chairman | Colin Lyne |
| Vice Chairman | Andy Thornton |
| Secretary | Chris Watkins |
| Treasurer | Irene Lyne |
| Additional Committee Member | Dave Lutman |
Members have agreed in principle to a change of venue. We intend to trial a few club meetings at Hudswell Village Hall over the coming months. Mac and Dave are already planning to operate portable from the car park over the weekend, in order to test HF conditions at the site.
If everything pans out, it is likely that CRDARS will begin to hold meetings on Wednesdays in Hudswell. Further information will be posted here once we know more. Please assume that the existing meetings will proceed as scheduled in Colburn unless you hear otherwise.
The club finances were reviewed by those present, and are in good order. There is enough money in the bank to fund the purchase and installation of antennas at Hudswell if necessary.
The club has been discussing the possibility of replacing our existing HF radio, and a possible plan has emerged. The club has acquired a repaired Yaesu FT-757, kindly donated from the estate of Grahame Bentley (G3XHB). Richmond School Amateur Radio Society are offering to donate a matching power supply and automatic ATU, which would give CRDARS a fully functional set of HF equipment at no cost to the club.
Finally, as several members are likely to have family commitments in December, it was decided to change the date for our group meal from December to January. A pie and chips night has been provisionally scheduled for 11th January, and it has been proposed that members’ food be paid for out of club funds. Further details to follow closer to the date.
After his brief introduction to digital modes, Mac circulated the following links, which may be of interest to our members:
The date for the 2017 AGM has now been set for Thursday 9th November. It will take place at 19:30, at our usual venue of Colburn Village Hall.
In addition to the election of the club’s officers, a vote will be held on whether or not the club should relocate to Hudswell Village Hall. There are definitely some pros associated with the proposed move, such as a higher, more radio friendly location, and the possibility of installing some permanent antennas on the building. However, Hudswell also looks like it’ll be a bit more expensive, and may be a less convenient location for some of our members.
Colin would appreciate it if our members can let him know whether or not they’ll be able to attend. If you’re unable to attend and would like to cast a vote in absentia, please contact Colin before Thursday 9th so that your vote can be counted in time.
We also plan to discuss plans for a Christmas meal this year. Last year, this took the form of a pie/pasty, chips and peas night, and was enjoyed by all who attended. We’ve scheduled in a Christmas meal for 14th December this year, but need to decide on the final arrangements.
We’d like to extend our thanks to club members who helped with JOTA/JOTI at Richmond School. Unfortunately, we can’t consider the event a success, due to a lack of attendance by the Scouts, but the few Cubs who made the effort seemed to enjoy themselves. The facilities at Richmond School were excellent, so we feel that there’s still potential for using Richmond School as a venue in future. Colin intends to publicise the event more widely next year, and we hope that CRDARS members will once again be willing to support us in 2018.
It will not be possible to hold our Annual General Meeting on Thursday the 12th October, as two of the officials will not be present. We’ll update the meetings schedule once an alternative date has been decided.
The club meeting on 28/10/2017 was a productive one. In addition to arranging the meetings calendar through to March 2018, we had the opportunity to discuss at length the direction and future of the club.
Colin is keen to increase club membership numbers if possible, and several avenues for this have been suggested, including advertising on Dales Radio, and visiting other clubs in the area, such as York, Ripon or Bishop Auckland.
On Saturday 21st October, the Richmondshire Scouts will be participating in the annual Jamboree on the Air, which this year will be taking place at Richmond School. We’re hoping to generate some interest in amateur radio amongst the younger generation, and would appreciate any assistance that CRDARS members can provide on the day. Feel free to contact Colin if you’re free and would like to assist.
We’re also discussing various options to improve our on-air capabilities, including alternative venues, methods for streamlining the set-up of antennas, and the possibility of purchasing a better club radio. A few promising ideas have been proposed.
Our registered trainers are planning to run courses over the winter months, so if anyone is interested in studying for and obtaining a foundation or intermediate licence, now is the time to register your interest.
Our next meeting on the 12th October will be our annual general meeting. As usual, we’ll try to keep the formality to a minimum.
Finally, in an attempt to encourage more of our members to get on the air, it has been suggested that we attempt to start a club net on Thursday nights at 7pm during weeks when no club meeting is scheduled. If you’re free on a Thursday night, feel free to join us on the GB3IR 2m repeater in Richmond.
The next club meeting will be this Thursday, 28th September. It will be held at 7:30pm at Colburn Village Hall.
Membership subs are due this month. The cost is £10 for the year.
Our club is once again supporting Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) for Richmondshire Scouts, which will be held at Richmond School on Saturday the 21st October, from 10.00am until 3.00pm. A number of members have offered help, but anyone is more than welcome. This could be a big event this year!
Our annual general meeting will be coming up shortly. As most members will know, is held in a relaxed way with no real formality. If anyone would like to put themselves forward for a committee position, please let Colin know. CRDARS is run on behalf of its members, so what the members want from the club is paramount. We’d appreciate your support, as well as your feedback, both positive and negative.