Archived News and Events

Barbecue Evening: July 2008

The BBQ was held on 22nd July at the Grappenhall Community Centre. Paul, G1DVA, was ably assisted by Karina and Carmel, M3CFI.

A good variety of fare was on offer including steak, chicken, kebabs, burgers and sausages. The event was attended by about 20 members and wives.

Photos by Ron, G0WJX.

NARSA Rally, Blackpool: March 2008

The 2008 NARSA Amateur Radio Rally was held on the 16th March at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool. The Club stand had a D-STAR theme with Icom IC-2820 rigs being used.

Paul, G1DVA, demonstrated D-Star and received messages via a 2820 D-Star transceiver from another D-Star stand in the main hall.

A web page was used to display the messages that were received from the main hall D-Star stand. Paul wrote custom software to process the messages.

The club had a successful day and received an award for the best Club Magazine which was collected by Chris, G7GZB.

The Club Stand with D-Star Demonstration by Paul, G1DVA

The Sales Table

Chris, G7GZB, receiving Best Club Magazine Trophy

Photos by Ian, M0BXR.

Social and Dinner Evening: January 2008

On Tuesday 15th January a social and dinner was held by the club at The Culcheth Sports Club. The evening was well attended by about 20 members and wives.

The meal was enjoyed by all and there was an informal quiz.

Annual awards for the IQE and constructors Trophy were presented and this year the constructors award went to G3OGQ who continues to build variants on the CDG2000 design to a very high standard. G3OGQ was also presented with the IQE award. Paul, G7ODJ won the interclub contest. The awards were presented by the chairman, Paul G1DVA.

Paul (left), G1DVA, presenting the IQE trophy to George (right), G3OGQ	Paul (left), G1DVA, presenting the interclub contest award to Paul (right), G7ODJ
Jim, G3NFB	Cliff, M0MRC
Ron, G0WJX	Paul, G7ODJ

Photos by George, G0MSF.

Ramps and Disabled Access

Thanks to the National Lottery the club is now in a position to fit ramps and move a support pillar which causes an obstruction if a wheelchair user needs to turn in the clubroom. It is expected that this work will be completed by the end of the year.

Mast replacement at the club

Work on mast repair and resiting is progressing well with several recent work sessions. Bill, G0PZP, aided by Paul, G7ODJ, and George, M0MSF, spent the best part of a morning up ladders and on the roof rawl bolting the bracket which supports the lower section of the mast.

Meanwhile the ground party was led by George, G3OGQ, who was assisted by the rest of the working party in assembling the sections of the mast with the pulleys and cable in place, also the fitting of the top section.

The mast was finally raised into a vertical position and it is hoped that the antennas will be fitted to the mast when another work session is convened in the next few weeks.

Scouts Passage of Time 100th Anniversary: May 2007

Over the bank Holiday weekend of 25-28th May Scout groups throughout the UK celebrated with Centenary Camps. WARC was one of three local radio clubs in the Greater Manchester region running a Special Event station on the weekend to commemorate 100 years of Scouting using the call GB5COS.

View of Both Stations in the Tent	Jim, G3NFB, Operating the 2m Station
Cliff, M0CNP, Operating the HF Station

Photos by Ian, M0BXR.

Disaster Strikes When the Antenna is Upgraded

The new 40 metre section for the SteppIR arrived recently and it was hoped that this could be upgraded easily by a members' working party. The mast was lowered with a substantial steel cable supported by a pulley, although the cable was good enough to take the weight fracture of the pulley's casing had not ben anticipated and the mast tumbled down damaging both the antenna and the top section of the mast.

Thanks to Mike G4VSS and Paul G1DVA this has not left the club without an antenna as they have fitted two trap dpoles which cover the 5 HF bands to 3.5 7 14 21 and 28 Megs. The same antenna setup was also used at the recent special event station for 100 years of scouting.

Damage to the Mast

Temporary Trapped Dipole

Photos by Ian, M0BXR.

Our New Clubroom makes Good Progress: February 2007

Owing to good work by the membership, the new clubroom has progessed well. A suspended ceiling and downlighting has now been installed. The overhead projector has now been properly installed along with other wiring thanks to Mike G4VSS. Many members have been involved in cleaning and painting and the sink, workbench, and operating bench are now in position, with plumbing being done in house thanks to our chairman Cliff, M0MRC and Paul, G1DVA.

There is more work to be done such as the removal of the supporting wall which will be replaced by an RSG but we are already enjoying the benefits of the new room. Our new suite has a separate room at the rear which for the operatiing shack also with an area for construction.

The Old Room

The New Meeting Room (view from back)	The New Meeting Room (view from front)
The Operating Desk Installed in the New Shack	The New Shack

Photos by Ian, M0BXR.

Grappenhall Fun Day: August 2006

The club played a major roll in the Fun Day this year with a demonstration of satellite communications thanks to G4VSS and other members who opened the clubroom so that visitors could view our equipment and be shown around.

This year will probably be the last fun day in our old clubroom as arrangements are being made to hold the club in one of the ground floor meeting rooms.

As well as opening the club shack the Radio Club provided a BBQ for visitors which was manned by our chairman Cliff M0MRC, John G0RPG and Ian M0BXR.

Mike, G4VSS, Installing the Satellite Antennas

Cliff, M0MRC, manning the Barbeque

Photos by Ian, M0BXR

Club Calls Contest: 2006

Once again in 2006 we entered the Club Calls contest and Albert, G3ZHE, offered the use of his shack. He has a good antenna with the end pointing back down towards ground which gives a higher radiation angle for UK working. 22 club stations and 22 member stations were worked giving a total of 792 points.

The operators were Paul G1DVA, Keith G8MKO, Dave G0RVW, Albert G3ZHE and Ian M0BXR.

The Club Calls Contest Station

Operating the Club Calls Contest Station

Photos of the previous year's contest (2005) by Ian, M0BXR