Serving the Amateur Radio Community of South-West Scotland
Weekly meetings Thursday evenings at 7pm in Stranraer — Details
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Recent News and Articles
This reminder was written by Peter GM7NFF. Thank you!
All UK licence holders are required to revalidate their licences with Ofcom at least every 5 years. Radcom are suggesting that you pick a significant date such as your birthday and do it yearly. This would seem to be a good idea and means that you don’t find yourself unlicenced.
Ofcom do not send out reminders. It is your responsibility.
You can do it via the Ofcom website, or Email them at spectrum.licencing@ofcom.org.uk – but if all else fails call 02079813131. I did and got a very helpful lady on [ … ]
A short note: there is the possibility of running a Foundation Course early in 2020. Clive GM4FZH is trying to gauge interest at this time, so please contact us for details if you would like to know more.
Yesterday I presented my talk Programming Computers in Gatehouse. Everything went well and I was asked to make the slides available – here they are:
Enjoy!
Introducing our new concept of Kit and Soldering Nights, Clive encourages everybody to bring kits to build on 2nd Thursdays of each month. (Note that the first such evening will be December 5th, which is the first Thursday in December – there’s no talk scheduled for that month, and the Christmas Quiz is on the 12th.)
Feel free to come along and bring what you’re working on! Kits can be tested when they’re finished — please let us know if special test equipment is required so we can try to arrange it.
The WARC Annual General Meeting took place Thursday September 12th 2019, and we have circulated draft minutes and other relevant documents to members by email.
The election of a new committee and club officers was one of the most important agenda items. Here are the results:
| Member | Role | Callsign | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oli Sturm | President, Webmaster | MM0YOS | QRZ |
| Peter Salmon | Treasurer | GM7NFF | QRZ |
| Nadine White | Secretary, Exam Secretary | MM0WNW | QRZ |
| Clive Smith | Lead Instructor | GM4FZH | QRZ |
| Ian White | QSL Manager | GM3SEK | QRZ | [ … ]
Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club (using callsign GB2LG) took part in the annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on the 17/18 August from the Mull of Galloway (the most southerly point of Scotland). We were upset by two factors â one of our main operators managed to break her ankle when loading the car ready to travel to the lighthouse (we wish her a speedy recovery â it also required a 3hr operation) and the high winds over the weekend which meant we could not put up the main trap dipole up from the lighthouse balcony (one gust was measured at [ … ]
We are now less than two weeks away from one of the club’s major annual events: International Lighthouse and Lightships Weekend at the Mull of Galloway. This year we’ll living in luxury at Puffin Cottage on-site.
Please come along. There’s always plenty to see and do, and it will be a pleasure to see you.
If the Mull of Galloway would be a long way to travel, think about staying overnight. We still have some comfortable, low-cost accommodation for any of Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights (please contact us for details). [ … ]
You may have heard about this: France wants to take away our 2m band for aeronautical purposes. This could happen within four years, as the proposal is on the agenda for WRC-23. If you’re interested in the details, please follow this link for document PTA(19)090R1 (PDF).
The RSGB thinks nobody should overreact while the ARRL reports “no strong opposition” — certainly none by the RSGB.
If you would like to make sure your voice is heard, here is one way to do that:
Sign This Petition On change.org
Let’s try our best to hold on [ … ]
On June 27th 2019, WARC will hold exams as required for Foundation, Intermediate and Full (Advanced) Licences. This is the last set of exams for the “old” exam syllabus.
Please note that applications must be submitted by Thursday 6th June 2019. Payment confirmation from the RSGB website must be included.
Below you can find details of the sign-up process. Please contact us if you need any help!
Signing Up For An Exam
To sign up for an exam, download the form [EX200] Candidate application for examinations (all levels) from the list on the RSGB website.
At the bottom [ … ]
The Braehead Rally is the main Scottish Rally. Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club will be having a table there where you can bring along items for sale. We will also require members to look after the stand – can you help? It is also a good place to meet old friends who you speak to but never get a chance to see.
If members are going, maybe you could let us know to see if it is possible to car share.
Please contact Clive GM4FZH who will collate help offered and possible car sharing / travel details.