Radio Signals aid in “Healing The Wounds.”
Radio signals from Swiss Valley have been transmitted all over the world, from Wales to Canada and various states around the US.
Members of Llanelli Amateur Radio Society took part in a 24 hour Special Event on the weekend of the 23rd & 24th October 2010, to raise some much-needed funds for the Golden Grove Mansion Appeal – Healing The Wounds.
The appeal has been launched for the purpose of raising funds to develop the Golden Grove Mansion near Llandeilo into a convalescent home; the first of its type in Wales dedicated specifically for both our wounded Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans. This centre will provide both care and support to the Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans recovering from the traumas and injuries of conflict including stress related illnesses such as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), whilst also providing additional support to the their families.
The small team of radio hams from the club which included a few ex-service men managed to make contact with 378 different radio hams from around the world, they included contacts from 44 different DXCC’s and 12 IOTA’s (Islands On The Air). Many QSO’s were made with various countries around Europe, however some of the more exotic places contacted were South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and even a few into Australia.
During the 24 hours event, various members of the group took it in turns to transmit the GB1HTW callsign around the world using the 3 radio stations which had been set-up in our club HQ. The equipment used included a Yaesu FT-920; a Yaesu FT-897D; and an Icom IC-7400, the antenna set-up included a Hustler 5-BTV; a Cushcraft R-6000 and a homemade “Inverted L” wire antenna for 80 & 40m made by members of the club.
Special thanks must go to the committee running Swiss Valley Community Centre for allowing us to use the hall at our HQ for the 24-hour event free of charge, as it is in aid of a worthy cause. A big thank you must also go to all involved in helping-out with operating the stations and raising funds for the charity.
Following the event, much interest was generated from contacted radio hams accessing the Internet to source more information regarding the GB1HTW callsign and the charity involved. The final amount that has been raised to date for the Golden Grove Mansion Appeal – Healing The Wounds from the event is £668.00; hopefully this can some way go towards repaying the injured individuals for the selfless sacrifice they have made for us all in the line of duty.
More details of the Golden Grove Mansion - Healing The Wounds appeal can be found at www.goldengroveappeal.com
