What We Do

Our 150+ members are a very diverse group and their interests cover many aspects of the radio hobby. This is reflected in the variety of activities the club offers.

Club Meetings

We hold two meetings per month at our club headquarters in Eltham, SE London.

Meetings usually consist of presentations from a variety of speakers. A couple of years ago we welcomed the journalist Laurie Margolis, G3UML who told us how the beginning of the Falkland War made it to the news in the UK via amateur radio. Earlier in 2020, Rainer, DF2NU from Germany explained the challenges setting up a radio station on an Antarctic research station.

**Paul Hyde, G4CSD talks about practical radio astronomy**

We are always happy to welcome guests to those meetings. If you are planning to attend, just drop us a note via the contact form so that we can make sure you find us and have a contact number to call in case you struggle.

We also hold an annual construction contest during which members present the projects they have been working on.

In the time between meetings we keep in touch with regular member chats on the radio. We have about ten of these “club nets” per month; they are on a variety of frequencies so club members whether local or further away can tune in. For more instant communication, we maintain a members-only email distribution list and a WhatsApp group.

Club Station

We have our own club station (“club shack”) for the use of licenced members. During normal operations we use the callsign G3RCV, and M8C during contests.

The station is equipped with modern radios and we have antennas covering the major amateur radio bands.

**Ewan, 2E0HOE operating from Cray Valley RS’s club station G3RCV**

Radio equipment

Yaesu FTDX-101D radio for the HF, 6m and 4m bands
Yaesu FT-857D for VHF
Gemini HF-1K linear amplifier
Lenovo Laptop for CAT control and logging
Internet access for DX cluster

Antennas – 12m Tennamast supporting:

3-element Yagi antenna for 10/15/20m
13-element Yagi for 2m
4-element dual-band Yagi for 6m and 4m
Wire dipoles for: 17, 40, 80 and 160m

Special Event Stations

We regularly organise events on the radio waves. These range from big scale like the station for the London 2012 Olympic Games to smaller scale like an annual exhibition of equipment produced by KW Electronics.

**Cliff, G4HSU holding the relay torch at the station 2O12L for the 2012 Olympic Games in London**

Off-Site Activities and Expeditions

We also organise radio activities from other places than the club headquarters. During these we often showcase amateur radio to the public. We set up stations for example at Meopham Windmill (GB6MW) and Crossness Pumping Station (GB2CM).

**Showcasing amateur radio to the public with a special event station at Meopham Windmill**

Some members take radio even further afar; these are more expedition-style and include operating from places like the island of St. Kilda in the Atlantic or Les Minquiers off St. Hellier, Jersey.

**Dave, G4BUO operating from Conachair, the highest point on St. Kilda**

On a regular basis, members also visit exhibitions in the UK and abroad.

**Members at the Ham Radio exhibition in Friedrichshafen, Germany**

Contest and Radio Sports

The more competitive members frequently take place in radio contests. This ranges from UK club team contests to international 48-hour contests. We are very proud that Cray Valley RS came 2nd in the county-wide 2020 UKAC contest series on both 144MHz and 432MHz.

On a regular basis, the club takes part in the co-called field day events where we set up a station independent from the existing building structures and mains power supply.

**Cray Valley RS station during a field day event**

Inside the club we organise an annual direction finding competition for our members.

But we are not purely focussed on radio. During our summer BBQ and Christmas events members and their families meet in a casual atmosphere.