I passed my Amateur Radio Foundation Licence in 2016. That immediately gave me access to a number of facilities available to “Radio Hams” or just Hams. I bought a walky talky, actually a Baofeng – a Chinese built radio, for those “not in the know” these radios look more expensive than they really are, I’ve had people suggest £250, whereas in reality they are in the £15-£30 bracket depending on where and when you buy them. I’ve even had a friend give me one.
Going out for my morning walk back in 2016, I quickly found the Breakfast Club, this was a group of 4 or 5 regulars who were having a chat between 0615 – 0700 ish. At first, I was too shy to call in to the net, but it took only a few days for me to overcome that and introduce myself. I was made to feel very welcome and soon became a regular. I had my own little quirks, mainly the weather report from the end of the Haslar Marina Pier Wall and reporting on life and conditions in and around the Cockle Ponds.
The Breakfast Club ran very successfully from before the time I joined until around mid to late 2023. Unfortunately a few technical events caused the Breakfast Club to fold. But, Radio Amateurs are a determined and inventive bunch, and there is a good prospect of the club being reinvigorated, which would be very nice, and recent chats have shown that there are some exciting events that could come to fruition. That would be very nice.
Bills Posts 