MEMBERS of one of the Midlands’ largest radio clubs are taking part in an event later this month to mark 100 years of radio in the UK.

Wythall Radio Club, based at Wythall House in Silver Street, is putting on a radio station for two days to communicate to the world in celebration of the founding of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB).

In 1913, the enthusiasts who formed the RSGB were among the early pioneers of radio across the UK and the world. Members went on to become leading lights in the formation of the BBC and played major roles in wartime communications and code-breaking during the Second World War.

As times have changed, the radio hobby and the RSGB has moved with them, helping to pioneer radio technologies such as FM, digital, microwaves, satellites, mobile phone and even Wi-Fi technology, all of which still use the humble radio wave to transmit modern day emails and webpages globally
Wythall Radio Club, itself affiliated to the RSGB, was founded in 1981 and with has nearly 100 members.

On Thursday, October 31 and Friday November 1, their members will be helping to celebrate the 100 years of the RSGB with a special call-sign, G100RSGB, which they will be transmitting to the world from their radio communications suite in the basement of Wythall House.

From 8am until 11pm on both days, members will be using various radio bands and technologies to link up with other radio amateurs across the world to celebrate this great milestone.

Club media officer Chris Rolinson said: “We are very proud to have the opportunity to hold this special callsign. It is not every year we can celebrate something like this. We will even be using Morse Code to contact other stations, a little like our founders did at the dawn of the radio age.

“Amateur radio has undergone a resurgence in the past 10 years through a new licencing system. It makes radio as a hobby even more attractive to people. Radio seems to appeal to people who have an interest in how things work; it would not be too farfetched to say that amateur radio is the original social network."

Club President, Chris Pettitt, a former MD of Birmingham-based Eddystone Radio, added: “Wythall Radio Club is a dynamic group of folk, committed to keeping the technological aspects of radio at the forefront of our consciousness. Most weeks, at our regular Tuesday meetings, we are fortunate to learn more about this fascinating hobby. It is more than just a means of communication; it has led to so many innovations, the latest of which we all benefit from, like mobile phone and internet technology. We even get to train newcomers to the hobby ourselves to help them pass their transmitting exams and join in the fun.”

Members of the public are welcome to visit and view members at the public display and can even take the opportunity to talk “on the air” themselves. Contact Chris Pettitt on 07710 412819 for more details.