When the Radio Officers Association of Europe was formed
in 1995 it soon became apparent that many of its members
had obtained amateur licences at the same time as getting
their professional qualification. In September 1996 membership
had exceeded 100 of which 54 held amateur licences and QSO
"Amateur Corner".
Membership increased as did the number of radio amateurs and
the amateur corner was expanded and the ROA "Amateur Section"
was formed at the same time it was realised that Radio Officers
Amateur Radio Station formed the acronym ROARS.
ROARS has run a number of Radio Amateur special events as
follows:- October 1996 - To advertise the existence of ROA we
activated GB0ROA and GB2ROA from Cornwall and Cheshire
respectively. Each station made over 1,000 QSO's in two weeks
with a resulting increase in ROA membership.
The first two weeks of April 1999 recognised the role of maritime
radio stations world wide event. Amateur stations were opened on
or near the sites of the "Area" stations that existed from 1946
to 1972 as well as the UK and European Coast Stations being back
on air. Over 52,000 contacts were made and certificates were
issued raising money for the RNLI and The Missions to Seafarers.
ROARS was approached by BT when it announced that Portishead
Radio was closing down. Portishead was at one time the largest
wireless station in the world and was well known to ships radio
officers of all nationalities. We were asked to organise a cross
band amateur/maritime event. On Saturday 29th April 2000
the Portishead Radio site at Highbridge, Burnham-on-Sea took
a step back into the past. Morse keys operated as they did in
the 1960's and 1970's, over 3,000 contacts were made in the
13 hours we were on air.
The station left the airwaves on the following day but many felt
that amateur radio had paid a fine tribute to the maritime radio
service ROARS continues to be active on the amateur bands and
its members are proud to be in a position to help newcomers to
the hobby of amateur radio.We feel that our professional knowledge
can benefit all who are interested in wireless and radio.
ROARS NETS
CW net on Thursday evening at 1930 UK local time, 7018 KHz in
summer and 3538 KHz in winter. During the autumn, it is advisable
to listen to both frequencies 40m at first and then 80m to see
which has the better conditions. There are one or two members on
the continent that find 80m impossible and there will be an informal
listen-out for ROA members on 10.119 MHz 1530zand 1630z on
Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
ROARS QSL CARDS
Any member requiring QSL cards then please contact the ROARS
secretary Geoff Valentine. These are currently £10 per 100 cards
plus postage. For overseas members, due to the prohibitive cost of
postage there is a .pdf file of the actual card, which is available for
home printing purposes.
QRZ Newsletter
in the original hut used for the Lizard Wireless Station it uses the
callsign with the letters LD on the end - the original call letters of
the station. These later became MLD and in 1909 GLD. The station
closed its maritime service in 1913 and moved to St. Just near Lands
End to become perhaps the most famous coast station in the world
LandsEnd Radio GLD. ROA members are welcome to visit the station
and can try their hand on the morse key once again. Contacts have
been made world wide from the web site and it is a great tourist attraction.
QRZ is the newsletter of the ROARS and is published concurrently
with QRZ and ROA Journal. It gives news about amateur radio affairs
as they affect the former radio Officer. Articles about working QRP
(low power), amateur direction finding and other interesting topics
included.
ROARS Call sign and station MX0ROA & GB2LD
ROARS has its own club callsign of MX0ROA which has been
registered since the new M call signs came into being on 1st January
2000. ROARS runs the amateur station at the Lizard Marconi Station
with the callsign GB2LD. This is very fitting as the Lizard station is
the oldest surviving operational Marconi station in the world. Located
Lizard Wireless
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500KHZ Heritage Campaign
Radio Officers’ Association launches 500kHz campaign on centenary.
500kHz was officially recognised as the maritime calling and distress
frequency by the International Wireless Telegraph Convention signed
by 27 countries on November 3rd 1906. In some parts of the world it
remains in use today as the calling and distress frequency using CW,
despite the use of satellites for the GMDSS system.
It was also this conference that declared that SOS would be the
international distress signal, although some Marconi operators
continued to use CQD as well. SOS came into use on 1st July 1908
and was first recorded in use in 1909, this shows that the Titanic
was not the first ship to send SOS in 1912 as is commonly
reported.
The Radio Officers Association is using this centenary to officially
launch its campaign to maintain 500kHz as a “heritage” frequency,
to be operated as it has been for a hundred years and to recognise
the fact that it has saved many thousand lives with the use of SOS.
Report on 500KCS Event...
Over 1,000 contacts were made on the first day of the two-day celebration
in recognition of the centenary of the SOS international distress frequency.
Former Merchant Navy Radio Officers', David Barlow and Geoff Valentine
re-opened the former Lizard Wireless station for one day only, working in
6 hour shifts to keep a 24 hour non stop operation. Over 118 countries were
worked during the operation, using CW only, in the same hut which Marconi
utilised in 1901, the building having been renovated by the National Trust
in 2001.
After a hectic time on the first day, a more leisurely pace was taken when
the operation moved to the Poldhu Amatuer Radio Club the next day. The
operation here was both CW and also SSB. This saw the gathering of no
less than seven former Radio Officers, ten club members and also numerous
members of the public.
Marconi's hut is to the left, the one on the right is the National
Trust's Wardens residence, what a fantastic view!
Antenna in the foreground is an inverted 'V'
Another view of Marconi's hut
Lizard Lighthouse, the most southerly point in the United Kingdom,
photograph shows Marconi's Lizard Station hut to the left.
Lloyd's signal station, before the advent of radio, messages
were sent to vessels by the use of flags, whistles and lights.
Marconi's monument which can be found on the coastal
path from the Poldhu Radio Amateur Club, and adjacent to the
site from where the famous letter 'S' was transmitted across
the Atlantic.