CALLINGTON AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY Kowethas Radyo Bodhesik Kelliwik
2023 GB23C Special Event Station

GB23C Activation to Celebrate the Coronation 2023

For two Sundays in June, club members resident in the village of Duloe and the surrounding area as far afield as Warleggan, Gunnislake and Saltash, set up radio stations on the recreation ground in the village in celebration of the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, using the special call sign GB23C. 

This call sign was granted to the radio amateur’s national body, The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), by Ofcom for use as a Special Event Station during the months of May and June this year. For the first nine days of May, the London based Cray Valley Radio Society, in their 73rd year, operated a radio station from the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich using it. From the 10th of May until the 30th of June, the RSGB made it available, on an exclusive, daily and ‘first come first served’ basis, to affiliated societies and members throughout the UK. CARS were fortunate in securing its use for two days on the 11th and the 25th of June respectively. On the first day, five stations were operational and three on the second.


Details of the five stations and operating modes are listed in the table below. For the non-technical, SSB (Single Sideband) is a cut down version of AM used in commercial broadcasting, FT4 and FT8 are forms of digital data signal transmission enabling short messages to be decoded from very weak signals, and YSF (Yaesu System Fusion) is a form of voice transmission using digital encoding.

The UHF Digital Voice station comprised a Yaesu T5D handie in communication with an Openspot 3 hotspot that was connected to the internet via a mobile phone, powered by a separate lithium battery pack.

Pictures 2 and 3 respectively show the satellite station with the 1.2m dish antenna, and the HF ‘shack’.

Some of the team members (pictured (l-r)) comprised Chris (G1VNA) from Kelly Bray; Norman (M0JQJ) from Warleggan; Andy (M0ITM) and Alastair (M0KRR) from Manor Park, Duloe; and Peter (G8BCG) from Coombe Farm, Herodsfoot. Those not pictured were Shirley (M0WXG) also from Duloe; Nigel (M7NGL) from Saltash; and John (G4PBN) from Gunnislake.



Unfortunately the hot weather and the threat of thunderstorms resulted in poor operating conditions for all stations, with the exception of the satellite station which produced some good contacts in distant parts of the world, and the contacts using System Fusion which made partial use of the internet.

Over the two Sundays, a total of 271 contacts were made in 52 countries which was very good under the circumstances and a fitting celebration of the recent Coronation of the new King and Queen. The log files from all the stations, excluding YSF, were combined and a composite ADIF file sent to the event organiser, the RSGB Contest Club, via the QSL Manager Charles Wilmott (charles.wilmott@m0oxo.com) so that those working the stations could have their contacts confirmed on LoTW. Visitors are always welcome to pop in to such events to experience Amateur Radio in action, and we had a number over the two days including one of our contacts who was on holiday locally. All were shown around the stations by those not ‘operating’ at the time, and information provided about the Amateur Radio hobby and explanations given about the equipment and how it was operated. Youngsters visiting with their parents were presented with badges and stickers and (hopefully) had some ‘seeds’ planted in their young minds before they went to play in the skateboard park! Of course all these activities required a lot of energy, especially with the hot weather, and this was amply provided by an apparently inexhaustable supply of delicious cake courtesy of Jackie, Peter’s wife! Overall, the operation was considered a great success and great fun was had by all.


Below is a table showing the 52 countries worked during the two days of the event with the number of QSOs made, and the frequency bands and modes used in each. The HF bands worked were 15, 17, 20, 30, and 40m and the satellite was the QO-100 Amateur Radio Geostationary Satellite. QSO maps for European and Non-European contacts are presented as Pictures 5 and 6 respectively.


July/August 2022 Field Days

Three Field Days in preparation for Churches on the Air


On Sunday 24th July we held the first of 3 field days at Duloe Recreation Ground. The intention was to hold these as a workup to the Churches and Chapels on the Air (CHOTA) Special Event to be held in September, and to give all those intending to operate the CHOTA station practice in assembling club equipment, not used since lockdown, and some of the equipment furnished by the members. Initially, a portable HF antenna covering 80m and 40m was tried but was not very successful and was subsequently replaced by a tri-band antenna covering 40m, 20m and 10m and with a shorter mast. For the remaining two days on the 7th and 21st August, several stations covering 40m SSB; 20m SSB and FT8; and SSB via the QO-100 Geostationary Satellite were rendered operational. Those members with less operating experience had the opportunity to acquire the skills needed for the Special Event Station. 


The club Kenwood TS-570D HF set, driving a portable tri-band HF antenna tuned to 40m, was operated by several of the members from a small but cosy utility tent, and numerous European and inter-G contacts made. Other Members brought their own equipment and operated it from the club Event Shelter. Among the contacts made were a 5w QRP contact with a Special Event Station in Spain; a D-Star contact with Australia; and numerous QRP FT8 contacts with countries as far as Japan. Many contacts were also made via the QO-100 Geostationary Amateur Radio Satellite. In addition, some members brought along their own antennas and experimentation with different antennas and rigs carried out. At the end of the three-day session, it was felt that we had enough equipment and expertise to successfully activate the CHOTA station in September and a thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all who attended.


Churches on the Air 2022

This event, scheduled for the weekend 10/11th of September was unfortunately cancelled due to the death Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September.

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