Mills in May… GB6MW special event celebration

Cray Valley again supported National Mills Weekend on Saturday 11th May 2019 from Meopham Windmill, Meopham Green Kent DA12 0QA with special event radio station GB6MW  (HF/VHF + displays about amateur radio, becoming an amateur and local licence training courses).

Unfortunately the mill is still closed for renovation, but we set up the station on the grass area in front of the mill featuring the club's brand-new gala tent. HF conditions were very poor but we made 120 QSOs on 80, 40 and 20m and another 100 on 2m FM.

Meopham Windmill

 

Please note there is no visitor car parking at the mill site - please use car sharing wherever possible and park in local roads around the village (note additional restrictions apply around the village green when there is a cricket match) or consider public transport: Arriva bus 308 from Blue Water, Gravesend or Sevenoaks stops at Meopham Green. The bus also links with mainline trains from London Victoria calling at Meopham or Borough Green & Wrotham stations (2 and 6 miles respectively from the mill).

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.
 
 
Guy G0UKN operating the Olympics station 2O12L
 
 
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.
 
 

GDPR Announcement

Members will all have received an email relating to the General Data Protection Regulations which come into force on 25th May 2018. The Society's data policy can be viewed here  http://www.cvrs.org/CVRS_data_policy.pdf 

 

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
 

Foundation licence course

 2019 Foundation licence course success
 
We had great success with our recent Foundation course with ten candidates passing. Our next Foundation course will take place in February 2020 and registration will open in mid-2019. Candidates wanting to get licensed before then should look on the Training page where full details are given of courses in south-east London and west Kent.
 

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.