Supporting the International Air Ambulance amateur radio event, Essex Ham has joined over 20 other special event stations in operating to raise awareness of the air ambulance service amongst amateurs and promoting the vital service that they offer.
On Sunday the 28th of September, half a dozen Essex amateurs met up as two stations took to the air using the callsign GB2EAA… at the home of the Essex Air Ambulance.
This marks the first of three special event stations in support of Essex’s Air Ambulance service, who are coming to the end of their “Go Yellow” awareness campaign. As announced on Southgate Amateur Radio news, Essex Ham has “Gone Yellow” in support!
Day One of GB2EAA
We were welcomed by the very friendly team at the Anglian Flight Centres at Earls Colne Airfield, close to Colchester, who’ve kindly allowed us to set up two stations for the first of our three events.
Working GB2EAA
We had two stations running – 40m HF and 2m FM, although with 145MHz so quiet, most of our operations were on HF. We had a total of four operators active and made contact with several stations, including stations representing the London Air Ambulance, Great North Air Ambulance and the North West Air Ambulance.
40m was very busy with Railways on the Air weekend, and we made contacts around the UK with stations close to historic railway sites. We also made contacts with other Essex-based special event stations including GB100MWT (CARS at Sandford Mill), GB0SNB (the Kelevdon Nuclear Bunker) and GB0CVR (BADARS at the Colne Valley Railway)
The Earls Colne Airfield is home to the Essex Air Ambulance Airbase, but is also a busy flying school. We were able to take a break from our radio kit to look at some far more impressive hardware, it he form of some of the light aircraft in the Anglian Flight Centres fleet. As well as a tour of the facilities, we were treated to the opportunity to get up close and personal with the aircraft, and have two of the team explain the controls, the principles of acquiring a pilot’s licence, and the makeup of the aircraft. The team also took the opportunity to see what goes into controlling light aircraft traffic at the airfield – a fascinating insight!
Thanks to David G1DEK for coming along too, and to Owen M3OIL (from Essex RAYNET) for spending the day with the team, the radios and the aircraft.
We also saw some interest from visitors to the flight centre – many pilots make the transition into amateur radio, having already completed radio tests, making amateur radio an obvious extension of their skills – today was a good opportunity to spread the word not only about the Air Ambulance service, but also about our hobby.
Two more events
If you missed out – the team will be operating two further stations in support of Essex Air Ambulance, as follows:
- Wednesday 1st October 2014 (10am to 5pm)
- Saturday 4th October (10am to 5pm)
All are welcome, and you can find details and a map at www.essexham.co.uk/eaa
Donate to Essex Air Ambulance
It costs around £440,000 a month to keep the Essex & Herts Air Ambulances flying, and your support is needed.
If you’re coming along to our amateur radio events, please make a donation, otherwise, you can donate online, by post, or by texting HELI25 to 70070 – See www.essexairambulance.uk.com
Essex Ham is an official supporter of Essex Air Ambulance. Supporter ID: 47279
Our Thanks
Thanks very much to the team at Anglian Flight Centres at Earls Colne Airfield for allowing us to set up our stations in support of the Essex Air Ambulance – Expect to see some of our team taking up some trial flights after being seriously bitten by the bug!
Event Photos
Great stuff guys!!