Congratulations to Caspar Pierce, 2E0KRH who was awarded Kenwood Trophy for the work he’s done to re-establish the amateur radio club at University of Surrey and to encourage 23 fellow students to sit the Foundation exam. 
After many years of trying and several wins in the 6-hour Open section, CARC and RATS have won the 24-hour open section of the RSGB 2m Trophy contest. The contest is coordinated across the whole of IARU region 1 with the most participants of any VHF contest each year.
The team logged 736 valid QSOs in 24 hours at an average distance of 419km giving an overall total of 308496 points, all record numbers for the team.
The team consisted of Peter G0VVE, Alwyn G8DOH, Andy G7FWE, Mike G0KAD, Zander M1YAP and Stewart G3YSX. We were joined for the first time, and hopefully not the last by Pete G4CLA.
A super effort by the joint Crawley and Reigate contesting team has been rewarded with the outright win in the Open Section of this year’s RSGB VHF National Field Day.
The team operated on five bands, 6m, 4m, 2m, 70cm, and 23cm with the best four bands contributing to the final score. Band wins on 2m and 70cm laid the foundation and a fantastic effort on 23cm was rewarded with 868 points out of a possible 1000, the best we have achieved in years. 6m and 4m were solid performances matching our closest competitors while GM enjoyed some exclusive Sporadic E not seen in the SE of the country.
For the first time in three years, the RSGB Convention will be taking place in person over the weekend of 8/9 October. It’s open to all so no RSGB membership is required.
The convention is a super event, based in Kents Hill Park, a comfortable residential convention center in Milton Keynes. There are five streams of lectures running constantly each day catering to every level of experience and covering most aspects of amateur radio. These will be published and refined in the coming months.
Of course, there are plenty of opportunities to mingle with new and old friends from “the air” over the free tea, coffee, and biscuits available in the lounge.
Martin Lynch is sponsoring the event so they will have a good selection of shiny kit on display and there is usually a top-line radio operating on HF to drool over.
Tickets have just gone on sale here. There are many options available with pre-booked day tickets starting at £20 (£15 for Sunday) a discount of £5 over on-the-day prices. Of course, the convention has accommodation on site and some may opt to stay for two nights B&B with a seat at the Gala DX Dinner on Saturday evening. Every option in between is possible.
An excellent 3-course lunch is available each day at a very reasonable price, parking is free and a shuttle bus runs to and from Milton Keynes Central station with direct trains from East Croydon should you wish to visit by train.
So there’s really no excuse. Several CARC members will be heading that way so sharing a lift is one of the best ways of getting to the convention.
Hope to see you there (I’ve already bought my weekend ticket).
Mike, G0KAD. CARC Chair
CARC is an Amateur Radio Club based in The Tilgate Recreational Area of Crawley near to the K2 Sports Centre, whose members share a passion for Amateur Radio. Amateur Radio is a hobby dating back to the early 1900s when the radio communications and technology we take for granted today was developed. Designed by individual hobbyists as well as Commercial companies. Amateur Radio experimenters and operators were responsible for many ground-breaking advances in radio communication, and who are still in the forefront today.
In 1901 Marconi broadcast the first transatlantic radio signal between Cornwall England and Newfoundland in Canada. He sent the letter ‘S’ in Morse code, three short ‘dits’, It does surprise many that Morse code is still widely used today. Audible tones are often the easiest thing for human ears to hear weak signals above the static and noise of the airwaves,this allows Morse code to remain a reliable method of communication when others methods fail.
However Amateur Radio has moved way beyond the dits and dahs of the last century, Mobile phones and Wireless internet connectivity have revolutionised the world as we know it – both these technologies have evolved from the original communication methods developed by Marconi, Hertz and the other early radio pioneers. Amateur Radio too has exploded with creativity. Nowadays, you’ll find Radio Amateurs talking directly to Astronauts on the International Space Station, developing Software Defined Radios techniques where solder, components and wire are replaced with lines of computer code, using Amateur Radio satellites to communicate worldwide, Television, travelling to obscure islands to set up radio stations or entering the many competitions running frequently on the Amateur Bands. Many Amateurs still build their own equipment with which they communicate World Wide.
CARC members do all of this and more. Come and visit us to find out more.
Our clubhouse and radio shack is: Hut 18, Tilgate Recreational Centre, Tilgate Forest, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 5PH. Tap here for a map and detailed directions.