New Year, New Shack!

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2019 is going to be an xciting time for Newton le Willows ARC, we have several events planned for 2019, as well as hopefully the new permanant shack. Work on the new shack is being carried out by numerous club members who are all giving their time freely to ensure we make progress.

New operating position installed
New working position installed

The above two pictures show the two new benches that have been assembled, one for operating the club radio’s, and one for project / construction work. Anyone who observed how full and cluttered this room was before it was emptied will realise just how much work has gone into making this space useable.

Planned events for 2019 include a trip to Bletchley Park (April 27th), Penmon Beach activations (May 3rd weekend, August 23rd weekend), Amateur Satellite Experiments on Winter Hill (June 15th), and a PiFox hunting day at Dellamere Forrest (July 20th).

All of these are of course subject to numbers.

We will of course continue to cater for new members, and hope that the new facilities, and some of the excursions will help to engage them more in what Amateur Radio is about. Last year we held more than a dozen exams, introducing many more people to the delights of Amateur Radio.

One last important piece of news – the new shack is obviously costing the club money, both to build, and of course also to rent. This unfortunately means a slight increase in weeekly subs of 50p (£3.00 to £3.50), with annual memberships of £15.

Anyone who wishes to join, but is struggling financially, please talk to one of the clubs officers – we can under special circumstances reduce or waive fees, though exams must be paid for.

New Club Shack

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We will shortly be looking for volunteers to help convert an old store room into Newton Le Willows Amateur Radio Club Permanant shack.

 

This may involve moving boxes, cleaning, decorating, carpentry, electricals etc. The sooner we complete the process, the sooner we can have a permanant readio station set up within the building.

 

If you can spare any time for this project, then please let Allan 2E0RAG, or David M0NZR know.

Saturday Club

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We are currently working towards opening the club every other Saturday for members to use the radio, build kits, or just to come and socialise. There will also be the possibility of running exams and courses during the Saturday day times.

 

We would be looking to start this in February, with the club open the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. This will initially be on a trial basis of three months after which a decision will be made as to the Saturday clubs viability.

 

Cost will be the same as a normal club meeting (£2.50), time will be from 11:00 to 16:00 – exceptional value for money.

Upcoming Events

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David and Kath Wilson will be attending NLWARC on two occasions to give two talks, the first one on the 17th May will be about the RSGB and what it does for Amateur Radio enthusiasts in the Uk. David is one of the ex presidents of the RSGB and so is in an excellent position to give a talk about the RSGB’s role. Kath is the current (long serving) area 3 representative and also has a great insight into the RSGB and what it can do for you and the club.

Dave and Kath return on the 21st June to talk about the local repeater group (UK FM Group Western). Kath is the membership secretary of the group. Most if not all UK repeaters are funded by donations and the generosity of the Amateur Radio Community. If you enjoy using the repeater system and don’t want to see it disappear, then please consider joining the repeater group and help fund their worthwhile cause.

Finally – and only a provisional date as yet – we hope to welcome local GB2RS newsreader (and white stick operator) Annick Morris, M0HDE to give a presentation on what its like to be a white stick operator and also to give an insight into the GB2RS news service which broadcasts (and is the only service allowed to under licence conditions) every Sunday at various times and on various bands.

Hope to see you all there, Lee M0LGL.

***** New Trophy *****

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To go with our Stephen Horsfield Memorial Trophy for construction, and our Chairman’s Trophy for number of contacts, NLWARC are pleased to announce a new trophy for 2016.

The Miles per Watt Trophy will be awarded to the member who makes the furthest contact on the lowest power. ALL modes and bands are permissible, the only rule is that the contact must be two way, and must be made in 2016 – up to November 29th 2016.

Email entries to Lee M0LGL by the deadline.

Miles Per Watt Trophy
Miles Per Watt Trophy

Free membership for under 18’s

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NLWARC is pleased to announce free membership for under 18’s when accompanied by an adult full member.

NLWARC see’s youngsters as the future of the hobby and wants to encourage as many as possible into this exciting hobby.

An Amateur Radio licence looks good on a CV and can improve your career prospects as well as being a great introduction to Electronic engineering, RF Engineering, and other such technical vocations.

If you would like to know more, then please do not hesitate to join us on a Tuesday night from 7pm st

Newton Boys and Girls Club

Haydock Street

Newton – le -Willows

WA12 9AB

or telephone

07414 836945.

New M6 Call Signs

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Congratulations to our three newly licensed Amateur Radio Operators, Mark M6KNM, Francis M6TTO, and Liam M6LTL – all three are now moving onto the Intermediate course, and will be joined by Amanda M6BWV, and Martin M3ISJ.
We wish them the very best for the future!

Courses

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Foundation courses are run throughout the year, an intermediate course will be running from 24/11/2015 (exam February 2nd), followed by an advanced course from February 16th (exam Tuesday 30th June)