 |
| Andy Goldsmith 2E0GOL of the Norfolk Amateur Radio Club operating one of the radios at the Radio Active Weekend |
Norfolk Amateur Radio Club holds fifth 'Radio Active' weekend
Norfolk Amateur Radio Club (NARC) staged its fifth highly successful 'Radio Active' weekend on 4-5 June, attracting radio amateurs of all ages and raising £478 for cancer charities.
The event was held in conjunction with the Radio Society of Great Britain’s 24-hour National Field Day (NFD) CW (Morse) contest.
A variety of radio-related activities and fun events were held throughout the two-day event, along with two HF CW contest stations that ran throughout the whole 24 hours of NFD, with some hams choosing to make a weekend of it and camping overnight. G4ARN/P (open section) made 1,050 contacts and G6NRC/P (restricted) made 575. Another station on site, G8QR/P, made a valiant effort in the 6m contest that was also taking place over the weekend.
Other events included talks on Solar activity, HF and Sporadic E propagation, APRS tracking, and a fun family 2m foxhunt on foot where you had to track down hidden beacons using direction-finding equipment, jointly-owned by NARC and a local Scout group.
Morse assessments with certificates were also available all weekend.
Special deals on construction kits, tools and components were also negotiated and offered to visitors to complement the weekend. A fully-equipped workshop was open throughout the weekend for anyone with a technical problem.
Sunday lunch came courtesy of Club Chairman David G7URP and a raffle was held with prizes donated from a variety of radio manufacturers and retailers, including Icom, Waters & Stanton, Kenwood, Rapid electronics, RSGB, JPR electronics and Martin Lynch.
The event was hosted at DCP Microdevelopments’ business premises Bryon Court near Attleborough, named after Bryon Palmer the late father of NARC Chairman David G7URP. Bryon died from cancer and the raffle raised £478, which was split equally between Cancer Research and Norfolk’s own Big C Appeal.
David Palmer, G7URP, NARC’s honorary chairman and owner of DCP, said: “This was a great opportunity to bring together radio enthusiasts from around the county. It was really an event for all the family with something for everyone – from total beginners to die-hard Morse enthusiasts who had the chance to work other hams around the world in a gruelling 24-hour contest.
“This is the kind of event that other clubs could run and I would thoroughly recommend it as a way of involving families and encouraging newcomers.”
|
