CHURCHES IN THE AIR (CHOTA) 2024
Saturday 14th September saw our CHOTA 2024 (Churches and Chapels on the Air) Amateur Radio activation from the Church of Saint James the Great. Before I go on to report the events of the day, I must first say a big thank you to the church for allowing us to operate on the day. In particular I’d like to thank Derrick Claridge and Scott Smart for their support and help, not just on the day, but also in the lead up to it. We were made to feel very welcome, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and I know I speak for all of us when I say what a privilege it was to be able to use such a beautiful building for our hobby.
Things on the day didn’t start as planned. Two days before (Thursday) there was what we call a Coronal Mass Ejection (solar flare) that hit the earth. This significantly disturbed the ionosphere. Radio Amateurs rely on bouncing radio signals off the (undisturbed) ionosphere and the earth’s surface to get beyond just line of sight communication. And on Saturday morning the ionosphere was still disturbed. We managed to make contact with the station at All Saints Church in Kingston Seymour, they reported radio conditions as very bad. But we persevered, and it paid off, after lunch conditions improved and by 4pm, when we dismantled the station, conditions were good! According to our log we had made contact with 34 other amateur radio stations, 12 of which were also located in Churches or Chapels. We had made contact with stations in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Belgium, France and The Netherlands. Not as many contacts as we had hoped but more than enough to make the day a very enjoyable experience for us all.
On behalf of Warren, M7RVD, Dave, G4CXQ, Richard, M7AMP, and myself Sean, G7NJX, Thank you again for allowing us to use the Church and making us feel so welcome.
73 Sean G7NJX
