GB8KW 2021
GB8KW was active in January 2021 to mark the anniversary of the founding in the mid 1950s of KW Electronics in Dartford by Rowley Shears, G8KW. For many years, KW equipment was used by very many British radio amateurs. Perhaps the most famous piece of kit was the iconic KW2000B transceiver.
Operation from the Cray Valley club shack was not possible due to COVID restrictions, so Guy G0UKN aired GB8KW from his home shack in Eltham throughout the month of January. Guy had hoped to be able to offer guest operator slots to people to help him operate, but the new Tier 3 regulations made this impossible.
Here is a picture of KW equipment in Guy's shack, all restored to good working order.
Many KW receivers, transmitters, transceivers and ancillary equipment are still in regular use today, having been lovingly restored by their owners. They make a special effort to get on the air using KW equipment on this anniversary weekend.
GB2KW was also active from near Inverness throughout January 2021, organised by Chris GM3WOJ.
Club Meetings Cancelled
Following clear Government advice, in-person club meetings have been cancelled from 19th March onwards, but Cray Valley now holds online meetings using Zoom. We had planned to start 'hybrid' meetings on 17th September, with some members present in the hall connected to others using Zoom, but the 'rule of six' has put this on hold for the time being.
Cray Valley members and non-members may like to work for the Cray Valley Award, which has its own web site here
Our hobby is all about communication and so we are well placed to carry on communicating during this crisis. We already have the 2m net and we now run 80m nets to take the place of in-person meetings. The 4m net has also been revived. As well as these nets we hope members will take the opportunity to get on the air, and don't forget to send Bob updates of your latest square or country totals for QUA.
Our hobby is all about communication and so we are well placed to carry on communicating during this crisis. We already have the 2m net and we now run 80m nets to take the place of in-person meetings. The 4m net has also been revived. As well as these nets we hope members will take the opportunity to get on the air, and don't forget to send Bob updates of your latest square or country totals for QUA.
QUA has assumed greater importance each month as a means of keeping in touch so please consider writing an article on any subject however loosely connected to ham radio: Bob is always pleased to receive input for QUA.
In summary -
Zoom meeting - first Thursday of the month at 8pm, usually with an invited speaker
2m Net - 10am every Sunday morning on 145.350MHz run by Frank G0FDP
80m Net - 8.30pm on the third Thursday of the month on 3.720Mhz plus or minus QRM, run by Bob M0MCV
4m Net - 8.30pm on Fridays of the weeks where there is no 80m net, initially on 70.450MHz then moving up to 70.475 or down to 70.425
We hope all club members stay safe and we look forward to seeing you again at club meetings as soon as regulations allow.
Welcome
Welcome to the web site of the Cray Valley Radio Society. We are situated on the SE London/NW Kent border. We hope that this site will be able to provide all the information you require about the Society and its events throughout the year!
If you're a new visitor to this site and you want to know more about Amateur Radio, please scroll down to the next section of this page.
Starting with M2000A to mark the Millennium, Cray Valley has mounted a number of high-profile special event stations culminating in 2012L for the London Olympics. Since then we have re-focused on smaller events such as GB6MW for National Mills on the Air weekend, and GB2CM at Crossness Pumping Station. The Society runs licence training courses each year, with an annual Foundation course and alternating Intermediate and Full courses. We also co-ordinate training dates with other active clubs in Kent and south-east London.
Having secured planning permission from the Royal Borough of Greenwich, our HQ in Eltham has been equipped with a Tennamast 12m telescopic mast supporting a Cuschcraft A3S beam for HF, a 9-element yagi for 2m, and wire antennas for 80/40/17m. The station is open each week for any member who wants to operate, by arrangement with the Shack Manager Trevor, M1TAD.
Membership levels have broken through the 100 barrier, and a good proportion of the membership attends our regular meetings which take place in Eltham on the first and third Thursdays of the month. Members receive a monthly newletter which contains news from the Society; a copy of a past issue can be accessed via this link .
Please look at the Contact Form page to contact our Secretary, and you can follow us on Twitter @G3RCV
We run an award programme for contacting members of our club, click this linke for information on the Cray Valley Award and how to claim it.
We run an award programme for contacting members of our club, click this linke for information on the Cray Valley Award and how to claim it.
About Amateur Radio
Amateur radio is one of the world's most popular hobbies with more than 50,000 active hams in Britain alone. For more info about amateur radio, visit the Radio Society of Great Britain's website - RSGB
Introduction to Amateur Radio
Amateur radio operators ('radio hams') are able to make short-wave radio contact with fellow enthusiasts all around the world. Unlike Citizens Band, which was introduced in the 1980s and intended to provide short-range personal communication, radio hams use their knowledge of short-wave propagation and antennas to make contacts around the world, often using no more radio power than 100 watts – the same as a domestic light bulb.
There are many facets to the hobby of amateur radio. Some people use it to keep in regular contact with friends or family living far from home. Some spend most of their time on the air contacting as many countries as possible and communicating with many exotic locations world-wide: there are over 330 different countries to be contacted.
Others concentrate on designing or constructing equipment or antennas, while some get involved with emergency communications following disasters, such as hurricanes or floods. Through their hobby, most radio hams gain an insight into the people and cultures of other countries, and for young hams it can open up a path into a career in electronics or communications.
Interested?... thinking of becoming a radio ham?
World-wide to become a radio ham a level of proficiency needs to be demonstrated (by examination) to gain a transmitting licence. In the UK the amateur radio licence is structured in three levels that need to be passed in succession - foundation, intermediate and finally the full licence - each level offering more operating privileges. It is down to personal choice how quickly individuals progress through the licence levels towards the full licence.
The foundation licence gives a good grounding in safe responsible operating at low transmit power - enough to make world-wide contacts using most of the amateur bands, and gives new starters a good appreciation of the hobby with minimal investment of their time to get their first licence.
The intermediate licence gives more privileges and finally the full licence with all UK operating privileges including the ability to operate outside of the UK e.g. while on holiday (or aboard a vessel at sea) subject to local regulations and the country visited.
Cray Valley runs a Foundation licence course every year during Feburary and in November an Intermediate or Full licence (alternate years). For more information about Cray Valley and other local SE London / NW Kent radio ham training opportunities please see our Training section
Club Clothing
New Items of CVRS Branded Clothing
We have added sweatshirts and caps to the CVRS clothing range. At the same time we have been able to lower the prices.
|
Item |
Price |
Sizes |
|
Polo shirts |
£14.00 |
XS to XXXXXL (5XL) |
|
Fleece |
£18.00 |
XS to XXXXXXL (6XL) |
|
Sweatshirt |
|
(currently unavailable) |
|
Cap (new) |
£14.00 |
One size fits all |
The prices are for collection at a club meeting.
All clothing is in CVRS colours. You can place an order with our Treasurer Martin M0MDR. Don’t forget to let Martin know the size and what you want embroidered:
- The standard or CVRS70 logo
- Your name or your callsign, or both
Please transfer the amount to the club's account (as printed at the bottom of each QUA) alongside your order.
If you are unable to collect the items at a club meeting, the cost of shipping to UK addresses starts from £2.30 for a cap, and £3.95 for the other items. The cost for larger orders or overseas shipping will be calculated upon request.