Poole Radio Society – In the Community

 

On this page you will find illustrated reports of some of our activities over the years in the community.

Corfe Castle

In September 2023 we ran a special event station at Corfe Castle as part of the open day run by the National Trust.

 

Kingston Lacy

In September 2022 we ran a special event station at Kingston Lacy.

Cub Scout Communications Badge

On 29^th March 2006, several local cub scouts visited us with one of their leaders to cover aspects of their communications badge.

 

We are always pleased to be able to offer assistance in this way, so that future generations can be inspired to join our hobby.

 

  

The Friends of Upton Country Park – Summer Show

On Saturday 2^nd July 2005 we had a stand at the Friends of Upton Country Park Summer Show.  We enjoyed telling many members of the public about our fascinating hobby.

 

Several youngsters went away having shown sufficient aptitude at Morse that we felt that they could cope with the Foundation Licence Morse Assessment.  One of them was the son of an ex-Navy man, who no doubt will talk to his son about Morse on future occasions.

 

Another youngster, was eager to talk on the radio, and ended up exchanging a few words of greetings on the air.

 

In addition we made a number of contacts on the bands.  At least Countries were worked on the 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10 and 6-meter bands on a mixture of cw and ssb.  Tex’s multi-band vertical antenna again proved to be a very versatile antenna.

Oakdale

On 20^th June 2004 We staged a smaller exhibition at the Adult Education Centre at Oakdale as part of the summer fayre.

 

Although the technology is old, we find that children enjoy sending short messages in Morse Code with the aid of crib sheets.  We give a certificate which includes our contact details to those who can send their names with the aid of the crib sheet.

 

We staged a similar exhibition again on Sunday 24^th June 2007.  Despite the rain, we welcomed many visitors to our gazebo to show them some of the many facets of amateur radio. 

Mayor’s Charity Fair in Poole Park

We had a very successful exhibition station in Poole Park on Sunday 2^nd May 2004.  We had stations running on the h.f., vhf, uhf and microwave bands.  We made contacts with stations in many countries, including Croatia, Poland, Italy, and Spain.

 

Visitors were able to try their hand at sending Morse code using the Foundation Licence Morse Assessment Crib Sheets, and received a certificate to confirm that we had received their name correctly – which seemed very popular with the younger visitors.

 

Other visitors had a go at operating, exchanging greeting messages under supervision.  One has subsequently joined Poole Radio Society and passed the Foundation Licence Course.

 

One Chinese visitor works in broadcast radio in China, others included ex-military operators, and many who just wanted to know a little more about our wonderful hobby.  After a misty start, the weather improved into a glorious sunny day – most of us went home with a suntan. 

 

If you visited us, we hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you would like to find out more about amateur radio, then please come along to one of our meetings.  More pictures of the event can be found on the front cover of the July 2004 issue of Practical Wireless and inside.

 

We also attended the same event in 2007.  Despite the weather, it was another very successful couple of days.

School Fete

We staged an exhibition station at the Sopley Primary School Fete on Saturday 24th June 2000.  The morning was dull and overcast and promised nothing better.

 

During the morning we set about erecting the mast and hf antennas, and added the 2m antenna for slow scan television in the afternoon.  A Morse reader supplied by Tex, although small, performed well.  Keys and oscillators were available for those who might wish to try their hand at CW and simple radio receivers, built by Paul’s son Sam, were also on display.

 

Paul and Sam had gone to much trouble to produce an information leaflet and the whole set-up was housed within the marquee.  Sadly the HF station could not be used for, although it was performing brilliantly, it was being picked up on the PA system.

 

SSTV proved to be a winner, attracting much interest and, being a suitable mode for the noisy public conditions, is worthy of further consideration when planning future events.  Members did a good job of engaging the public who showed interest in the activity in conversation.  The general consensus was that it was a worthwhile activity and an enjoyable day out. The organisers expressed their thanks to the club for attending.

Jamboree on the Air (JOTA)

Every year the scout movement worldwide organises a ‘Jamboree on the Air’ (JOTA).

 

We have run various JOTA stations over the years including one in 1989 which we ran for the Third Parkstone Scouts using the special event callsign GB0TPS issued by the Radio Society of Great Britain on behalf of the Secretary of State.

 

By the time the station should have been on the air, there were so many people trying to see what was going on, that it was difficult to see anything of the station or the display stands.

To start with there were more than enough scouts willing to speak, even though some proved to be tongue-tied when their time actually came to talk.  Each scout who overcame his tongue-tiedness was presented with a certificate of confirmation for having spoken over the radio.  These, together with QSL cards, were printed on the spot using a Desk-Top publishing system.

Thinking Day on the Air

We have also supported the Guides ‘Thinking Day on the Air’.  The Guides and Brownies are very appreciative of our participation.

 

A number of them use these events as the basis for obtaining their communication badges.

 

 

Microwaves on the Cliff-top

A talk by Chris G8BKE inspired Colin G6MXL to dust off his 10GHz microwave gear.  We set up on the East Cliff at Bournemouth and made several local contacts including one on the Purbeck Hills.  After a bit of a struggle we managed to make a contact with a station on Guernsey.

 

A crowd soon gathered round and Tex G1TEX was kept busy explaining what we were doing.

 

Colin’s 10GHz transverter uses a G4DDK 2.5GHz local oscillator to feed into a DB6NT x4 multiplier and mixer.  On transmit this is followed by a DB6NT PA giving about 200mW out on 10368 MHz (3cm).  This is fed via some circular wave-guide (copper pipe) to the 30cm dish.  On this occasion it was mounted on a surveyors wooden tripod, which Colin says is much more stable than the photographic tripod he has used in the past.

HF SSB Field Day

Over the first weekend of September 1985 and again in 1997, we took part and entered the open section of the RSGB hf ssb field day at the Lilliput Sea Scouts HQ.

 

182 contacts were made on the 80, 40, 20 and 15m bands.

 

The pictures show:-

 

Phil G3OBD adjusting the hf beam

 

Phil G4XYX operating

 

Dave G3ZPR logging on the Commodore Pet Computer.

 

 

 

 

The Normandy Veterans Association

In 1999 we had a very moving talk from Derek, Brian and Ted of the Normandy Veterans Association, who so willingly came along and gave a very enlightening talk about the few days after the Normandy landings.

 

Although several members of PRS were in the forces at the time of the Normandy landings, we were all completely captivated to hear of the escapades of members of the Combat Engineers Squadron who were among the first ashore onto 'Sword' beach early that morning in June 1944.

 

Their job was to secure the beachhead and drive a pathway through the many devices designed to make an invasion difficult for the landing forces. They told of great feats of courage during those first few hours. They told of members of the squadron who cannot tell their own stories, who paid with their lives or, whose lives were shortened due to terrible injuries.  In spite of the timbre of the stories being told to the enthralled audience, there were also tales that evoked laughter, such as descriptions of opposing forces sharing opposite sides of a hedge at the side of a field. Both sides content to wait until the morning as 'it was damn dark.... and we were all tired'.

 

To round off the evening the speakers and members of PRS did what all 'old-soldiers' do, and that is to gather round mugs of hot tea and swap stories.

Tenth Anniversary Exhibition

In the autumn of 1986 we marked the 10^th Anniversary of Poole Radio Society.

 

We mounted an exhibition at the Haven Hotel at Sandbanks, the site of Marconi’s operations for a period of several years.  Operation using the callsign GB4PRS was on a number of bands.

 

The exhibition attracted a lot of press coverage, including the broadcast by 2CR, our local independent radio station, of some Slow Scan Television!

 

The picture on the right, courtesy of the Daily Echo Bournemouth, shows from right to left club-founder Dave Mason G3ZPR operating the hf station, watched by John G4XGM, Colin Redwood G6MXL, Chairman, Vernon Cotton G3BCI, President, Sten G4ZPU, Geoff G0AEP, Colin G4WCK, Arthur Hobby, and one of the many visitors.

 

Staff at the Haven Hotel were extremely co-operative, even allowing us to erect antennas on the roof.

 

Here, Colin G4WCK mounts a lashing kit on the main chimney in preparation for the 2m beam.

 

 

In addition to the exhibition, we held a special 10^th anniversary dinner at the Haven Hotel.

 

The following year Dorset Life magazine featured Poole Radio Amateur Society in its October 1987 issue.

 

 

Special Event GB2LHQ & Barbeque

When the Worked All Britain Awards Manager approached Poole Radio Society regarding the running of a special event station, it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, as Poole is the headquarters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (R.N.L.I.).

 

Over the weekend of Saturday July 16th to Sunday July 17th, members of the Poole Radio Society set up and ran one of a series of successful Special Event Stations as part of the Worked All Britain group's Lifeboat Station Award.

 

Using the callsign GB2LHQ (Lifeboat Head Quarters), over 400 contacts were made during the period the station was operational.  Most contacts were made from the main station on the 80m band.  A number of contacts were also made on the 40m and 70cm bands using portable equipment.

 

Poole Radio Society Chairman, David Mason G3ZPR, said that every member of the Society contributed towards the successful running of the station.  "It was a wonderful way", he commented, "to involve all club members, and to give those who do not operate very often, a chance to get on the air".  "It also gave many members their first experience of being on the receiving end of a pile-up", he added.

 

There was hardly a moment on 80m when there wasn't at least one station waiting to work the Special Event Station.  At one point, Colin Redwood G6MXL, used to the quieter VHF bands, found that it took several attempts to extract a full callsign from just the Scottish stations operated by ladies!

 

The station was also an introduction to HF operating for novice licence holder Natelie Doherty 2E1CSF, operating under supervision.  "Any one who doubted the effectiveness of Novice licence training would have quickly changed their minds, having watched and heard her operating", observed Phil Mayer G0KKL, the Senior Novice Instructor for Dorset.

 

We received a Lifeboat Awards Certificate from the Worked All Britain Awards group for running the station.  With a donation to the RNLI, Radio Amateurs from across the world applied for the certificate in their hundreds.