John Williams, G6GSV, was last night elected Chairman at the annual meeting of Denby Dale Amateur Radio Club. (He's not on the picture, because he was taking it). One member remarked that it was the first time in living memory that an individual who was neither bald nor sporting white hair had been elected to the post. It became something of a family affair when his dad, Malcolm, G0ISX, was elected vice-chair and his mum, Caroline, G6ZWQ, joined the committee, both on a unani

A number of scouting organisations invited the club to run stations for the annual Jamboree on the Air. As time was short, we accepted the one from the Honley Scout Group (6th Holme Valley). Malcolm, John and Gerald did sterling work in erecting antennas for GB6HVS on VHF and HF and the transceivers were set up in the large and impressive scout hut. Some cubs, scouts and guides were confident at speaking into a microphone; others were more reticent.. One young lad quizzed Rog

By Roger Greenwood, G4UFZ Christian, M0KLF, gave an excellent and engaging talk on batteries at the club's September meeting at the Golden Cock. An electronics engineer by profession, he covered the history, technology and chemistry of these electro-chemical generators – and lots of use cases, including safety warnings. Members were even guided to made a battery. It was fruit powered, but maybe needed a few more juicy elements to reach 12 volts. .(It did light an LED though).

Members gather at the Golden Cock, Farnley Tyas for the 2025 AGM of the Club Here is the agenda for the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Denby Dale Amateur Radio Club to be held on Wednesday, October 21 at 7.30pm at the Golden Cock, Farnley Tyas. As defined by Constitution, one third of the membership is required to be present at the start of the meeting. THE AGENDA (i) Apologies for absence (ii) Minutes of the previous AGM (iii) Chair’s report (iv) Secretary

A flashback to an equipment sale in the Denby Dale PIe Hall, the former home of our radio club. These were sociable, well-attended events which we hope to revive, possibly in Farnley Tyas. Items on sale ranged from rigs to Gerald's 'bags of bits'. Roger, G3XXR was the chief salesman while David, M0DVV and Glyn, M0RGC, kept up with the paperwork at the back. On the right, present to hand items to succesfull buyers, was Chris, M0KLF. The bar was handily placed in the saleroom a

Club members enjoyed a successful and enjoyable weekend operating a special amateur radio station at the Emley Motor and Steam Transport Show. Blessed with hot and sunny weather throughout, the club set up a portable station to demonstrate amateur radio to visitors and showcase the hobby in action. Using a Kenwood TS-590 transceiver paired with an Aerial 51 antenna, operators were able to make radio contacts across the UK and Europe using voice and digital modes. Over the c

The word was that Yaesu was to release a sophisticated version of the FT-817, beloved of the QRP community. But the expected release date came and went and eventually the replacement came in two forms, a low power FTX-1 Field with a 100W add-on, making it the FTX-1 Optima. At our April meeting last night Richard, G3UGF, explained the reason behind the birth of the SDR radio and its twin PA, assessing their features and performance in an excellent illustrated talk, delivered w

​By Richard Blandford, M0RBG Members enjoyed a fascinating and highly informative evening when two representatives of the David Brown Tractor Club visited us at the Golden Cock. John Torley, a fellow DDARC member, and club chairman John Beevers took us on a journey through the history of the David Brown company — from its beginnings in 1860 through to its closure in the 1980s. ​ As well as showcasing the remarkable range of tractors manufactured in Meltham, they gave us a vi

We are very grateful to Mark, M7IXY, for his talk to the club covering the history of Huddersfield hospital radio and how he became involved many years ago. He showed many photos of celebrity visitors to the station and provided plenty of technical details, including how they used fixed lines from the post office to transmit to various locations and how they have now migrated to an online service. At one time one very popular segment was the live broadcast from the local foot

At our monthly meeting last night, David, M0RIU, set out to persuade us of the merits of the Linux computer operating system. He's clearly a big fan, but he didn't have to try too hard to sell its capabilities in his lively and entertaining presentation. It emerged that: Linux is considered better than Windows for stability, security, privacy, and performance. It’s open-source and free. It runs almost any software that Windows can. It can be installed on old computers. It'

A very Happy New Year to all of our members and friends – and a reminder that our eight HNY special event stations will be on the air for the next few days on HF and VHF. The new year has also brought a new club member, so please welcome James Mellor, M7OJM of Huddersfield, and give him a call! Also look out for our event stations, spot them and give them a shout! Here are our operators: GB0HNY , Brian, G0BFJ GB1HNY , Darran, G0BWB GB2

Ofcom has implemented Phases 2 and 3 of its Amateur Radio licensing review. The changes are designed to modernise the licensing framework and improve flexibility for licensees. Updates include: Intermediate M8 and M9 go live . New Intermediate licensees will now be able to choose an M8 or M9 call sign. Existing licensees can change their current 2 series call sign to the corresponding M series. For 2#0 call sign holders we have reserved the corresponding M8 call sign and 2#1

Our Bonfire Night meeting at the Golden Cock may not have had fireworks, but it certainly delivered sparks of enthusiasm! Twenty-two members enjoyed an engaging presentation by Robert M0PIE and Richard M0RBG. Robert showcased his new Xiegu G90, 20-watt HF transceiver, demonstrating its impressive capabilities, including a highly efficient ATU. Compact, lightweight, and priced under £400, the G90 is an ideal rig for portable activations. Complementing this, Richard introduced

By Richard Blandford, M0RBG At 11am on Remembrance Day, our radios fell silent as members of the club paused to honour those who gave their lives in two world wars and more recent conflicts. This moment of reflection was a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made for our freedom. ​ Before and after the silence, our special event station GB6RD was active on HF and 2m bands, with nine dedicated club members braving wet and windy conditions at Farnley Tyas. Despite the challengi

Club members enjoyed a visit to RAF Fylingdales, the UK home of early warning radar, kindly arranged by Richard, G4GCX. It began with a briefing on the role of the station followed by a tour of the new Fylingdales Archive. We are grateful to Roger, G4UFZ, for the pictures, all of which are from the on-site museum of decommissioned equipment. They include: In front of Gerald, G3SDY, is a section of one of the original golf balls. A display board telling the story of how one go

Here are the minutes of our 2025 Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday, October 1 at the Golden Cock, Farnley Tyas.

It is good to report that we have a new member, Craig Towler, M7UPA, from Almondbury. He was unable to attend the AGM this week as he has...

A traditional Christmas Dinner The Denby Dale Amateur Radio Club's annual Christmas Dinner will be held on Wednesday, December 10, at the...

Phil on the stairway to heaven 'Churches on the Air'. It sounds a bit solemn, but our station at St Lucius', Farnley Tyas, was anything...

All members are invited to the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Denby Dale Amateur Radio Society on Wednesday, October 1, at the Golden...