On Sunday 3rd October from 1000Z to 1500Z the Clacton-on-Sea Radio
Club will be operating a special event station from the world's first
operational Radar Station (1937) situated at Bawdsey Manor in
Suffolk; 75 miles (120km) NE of London.

Its call sign will be GB2BTB (Bawdsey Transmitter Block).

We will be transmitting from the actual room in the transmitter block
that housed the two 450 kilowatt pulse transmitters which operated in
the 20 to 60 MHz range.

We hope to be active on 40m (+/- 7080), 20m (+/- 14330), 17m (+/-
18155), 2m FM and APRS. We will be using simple wire antennas
(G5RV and W3EDP) not the original four 350ft. transmitting masts -
the last of which was taken down in 2000.

So, if you hear us please give us a shout.

There are five photos in the "Bawdsey" album at

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

The first 4 were taken yesterday; and the 5th is courtesy of the
Subterranea Brittannica website listed below. These photos show the
switch gear for the transmitters, an old RAF sign, the transmitter
room and the (broken) glass feed through insulators where the
feedlines left the building. The 5th photo (taken in April this
year) shows the exterior of the transmitter block (the new antenna
mast is very recent and belongs to the Coastguard).

A detailed, multi-page description of the site, with many
photographs, is at

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/s...ar/index.shtml

This makes fascinating reading.

A number of people have set up the "Bawdsey Radar Group" which is
starting the task of restoring parts of this historic site.

http://www.bawdseyradargroup.co.uk

Please visit their site to read about and, if possible, support their
programme to save these most important buildings from further decay.

I will post a reminder of this event on Saturday 2nd October.


Cheers

Tom - GØSBW

(EPRG)