Radio Clubs and All That.....

So coming up on Saturday 21st May is the Rochdale and District Amateur Radio Rally (RADARS) at St Vincent's Hall in Rochdale, an event I had previously organised for the last few years...nearly 20 I think! 

I relinquished my role as organiser due to several reasons but chiefly because of our move to Romiley. I have lapsed my membership and ceased to be a Club member so its good to see the Club get all the organising done without me as, without wishing to sound too big headed, I did it mostly on my own without too much help from other Club members. This was a little bit of a double edged sword in that I prefer to work on my own so other Club members would 'take the hint' and leave it all to me. Occasionally I admit I have moaned a bit about the lack of help but I was the agent of my own isolation!

Sadly the transition from my organisation of the Rally, which was decidedly informal and laid back, as compared to the new regime which is formal and rule ridden, has upset a few of the regular traders with whom I had built up good friendly relationships over many years. The main change is related to access into the Hall on the morning of the Rally.  The current arrangement dictates that trader entry to set up isn't allowed until 8am.  In my experience traders can turn up as early as 5am and want to get in and set up as soon as possible. Evidently at the last Rally in November traders were refused entry and made to wait in the car park. A war ensued and one trader went home...all the way back to Lincoln! I wasn't at the Rally myself but learnt of all the malarkey when I attended a similar Rally in Manchester last January. Several traders surrounded me and demanded to know why I had changed the normal arrangements! So the old idea that mud sticks is true even though I wasn't involved.... I understand the traders dilemma and sadly in my support of them there is an implied citicism of the current regime's organisation which I'll admit is well founded!

I wish the Rochdale Club well but I won't be rushing to join up elsewhere. I'm to old for politics

With all my vintage radio restoration activities I have kind of fallen out with the 'being in a club' idea. Its very hard on a Wednesday night to get up from the dinner table and trek 20 miles up the motorway just to sit in a room sipping coffee and basically not doing anything other than chatting and we can do that on the air.

A picture from NFD a few years back....

Having been an enthusiastic Club member many years ago when I  actually found the Club, I realise how difficult it is for a Club's committee  members to organise activities each week in terms of talks or other activities. After many years of being on the committee myself and being a Novice Licence Tutor I reckon I just ran out of steam. I used to really enjoy the annual VHF Field Day each July but that got tortuous with the site we used being moved to a place behind a locked gate which made access difficult for bods like me who have arthritis and can't do more than a few hours at a stretch. In my younger days I'd enjoy camping out for the 48hours duration of the contest but not now. I'll just enjoy the memories.....

Currently yet again with DABHANDRADIO I'm miles behind on my build schedule and I'm seriously thinking of stopping taking new orders for the foreseeable future. Currently I'm booked up till the New Year and with my grandson's recent arrival the build schedule has been squeezed again. I must stop taking on 'extra' work by way of the repairs and servicing which recently has become much busier and more time consuming for little monetary reward. Hopefully customers will bear with me and hang on.....