Club meetings are held every Tuesday evening at Elim Pentecostal Church, Ryburn Street, Sowerby Bridge, HX6 3AZ. All meetings start at 7.00 pm. If possible, please park on the lower side of the church as parking on the upper side is limited and we would like to reserve that space for disabled or less-mobile people. It is OK to park in front of the garage doors below the church.
If you are interested in becoming a radio amateur, we would recommend that you first visit the website of the Radio Society of Great Britain which represents the radio amateur community in the UK, by following this link https://rsgb.org/main/faq-2/becoming-a-radio-amateur-faq/. The process for becoming a licensed amateur changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with formal training and examinations being moved mainly online. While it is possible to study for the exams using the specified manuals and online tuition, and then sit the exam online without attending any club meetings, you will find the support from our club invaluable, both while studying, and immediately after gaining your license – especially when it comes to exam revision and practical instruction in the use of radio equipment on the air.
For further information on training and coaching please contact us at the club on any club night, or email us at G2UG@hadars.org.uk. The Club is open to members, and also to non-members wishing to visit and meet our members – you will be assured a warm welcome if you would like to come along and see who we are and what we do!
You can also get insight into our club life and activities by joining our Community Facebook page “Halifax and District Amateur Radio Society (HADARS) Community” (where you will also find our quarterly newsletter ‘QRZ’), viewing HADARS past activities or by joining in our regular weekly Nets, which operate Monday through Thursday starting at 7pm.
- Please note that the Monday 2m VHF net alternates between SSB and Slow Scan Television (SSTV) on 144.390MHz for SSB and 144.525MHz FM for the SSTV Net (see calendar below) – we use vertical polarisation in both cases
- Tuesday evenings 6m Net (simultaneous with meetings at Elim church) from 19:00 using the GB3WY repeater– listen on 50.800MHz, transmit on 51.300MHz with CTCSS tone of 82.5Hz
- 70cm FM net on Wednesdays from 19:00 using GB3HD repeater – listen on 433.225MHz, transmit on 434.825MHz with CTCSS tone of 82.5Hz (see Notes below). This net is ideal for new operators as the repeater is accessible on relatively low power (around 10W) from most of the locations in the Halifax and Calder Valley areas.
- The net on Thursday evenings is in conjunction with the West Yorkshire RAF ARS and runs from 19:00-20:00 clock time on 145.350MHz, but may move up or down a bit if the frequency is already in use. The net controller is Bill G4IOD
As a club, we encourage a range of technical, instructional, and social events on club nights, to promote the broad range of amateur radio specialities and interests. Our club calendar for the first half of 2023 is shown here. Please be aware that this is a provisional calendar and is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances. All events are usually confirmed via email and social media in advance closer to the published date. Please note that all formal presentations start at 7pm prompt as a courtesy to our guest speakers.
Forthcoming External Events
We provide full details of all our events here on the Club Website, and also on our Community Facebook Page, where you will find full details of all our external activities both past and present.
We have an active Portable (/P) group within the club who often meet informally at weekends and evenings when the weather is favourable, to take advantage of ‘Off-Grid’ operation, and some excellent high ground locations in the local area. We also organise group portable and field-day type events on pre-arranged dates, courtesy of fellow members who own farmland and smallholdings.
We support local community events (such as the Cragg Challenge), providing radio coverage and marshalling in areas of the Calder Valley where cell phone coverage is unreliable, and through association with the Calderdale Raynet Amateur Radio Group, who help with communications at many of the large outdoor adventure sports events, such as the Calderdale Mountain Bike Marathon.
We operate Special Event stations at various times of the year, most notably Churches and Chapels on the Air (CHOTA), and Railways on the Air (ROTA). We are always looking for new opportunities to further Amateur Radio amongst the local community, through ‘Special Event’ stations and public events.
We support the Contest operation within the club, and field a team in the RSGB 80m Club Championships, which runs from February until July each year. In the 2022 season, we achieved 10th place, which for a relatively small local club is a proud achievement. We help and encourage members wanting to try their hand at contesting through training and practice activities and run a friendly ‘Contest League’ competition amongst the members each year.