Tenby Radio Repeater Group (Tenby RRG) has received a lottery grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

Tenby RRG was set-up in 1993 by the late David Howells GW0WBQ and a group of like-minded radio amateurs to continue the work first started by the Tenby Amateur Radio Club, to construct a working 6m repeater. It is hard to believe that less than 25 years ago, very few people had even heard of the internet, let alone have access to it, and the idea of building and running a 6m repeater, in Pembrokeshire, was almost tantamount to climbing Mount Everest.

This may sound a bit of a extreme statement, but even trying to find the most basic of information and parts was nearly impossible; all you could hope to get hold of was maybe some second-hand, unmodified PMR radios and without the information on how to convert them, they were next to useless. Of course, someone out there knew what to do and how to do it, but how to find them and then persuade them to show you what to do, was almost impossible in the extreme.

These days, all that is required is internet access and about two to three hours spent behind the keyboard.

After the death of David Howells, the Tenby RRG went into semi-hibernation, with most of the maintenance and running of the 6m repeater being carried out by the Cleddau Amateur Radio Society (CARS). Before David died, he had planned to extend the group work into new areas such as a 2m repeater, which having proven technology, was a safer bet than that of their 6m repeater.

With this in mind, two of the members of CARS, John Rees GW0JRF and Evan Long GW4AKZ, continued slowly along the path that David had started. However, with very little funds and enthusiasm from other members, progress was painfully slow. However, they did manage to put together a working repeater and find a site for it, only to have access to the site withdrawn just before it was due to go on air.

Suddenly, and almost without warning, three things happened almost simultaneously. A younger and more enthusiastic bunch of amateurs appeared on the airwaves through the CARS educational programme; then technology suddenly started to switch from analogue to digital, also the formation of the old Pembrokeshire RAYNET into RAYNET Pembrokeshire, and their purchase of new digital radios, and also their need for some form of gateway to help coverage of the county in case of an emergency, such as the Sea Enterprise oil spill, which caused a major rethink as to where the Tenby radio repeater group was going.

With this in mind, they put out a call to all amateurs in Pembrokeshire to find out whether there was need for further expansion of repeater communication in the county, especially in the form of a new digital repeater, and with a positive feedback, the long process of restarting the group work began and a new committee was formed.

At the same time as this was going on, CARS moved to a new QTH in Pembroke Dock (man shed), which is owned by the Milford Haven Port Authority. The Tenby RRG approached the authority to see if they could help the group; they not only helped, but offered the group the use of one of their old radio masts, also a room in a building to store their equipment.

The building turned out to be the old Pembroke Dock Marconi station. Apart from the significance of the name Marconi, who was the first amateur radio operator, the group is now the only club/society in the world to operate from an ex-Marconi building.

The Port Authority were also very generous with the rent the group has to pay, as it was fixed at £1 a year.

We have also had support from the Pembrokeshire County Council, and Icom UK, who kindly donated £2,600 worth of equipment.

However, unlike the days when GB3AE was built, the equipment for the new repeater is custom-built, and is very expensive. Therefore, without the lottery grant (£4,992), the group could not have considered ever extending the radio repeater network.

The group are planning to switch on GB7PD-C on Monday, August 31, as part of the Cleddau Amateur Radio Society's 'fun on the air weekend and barbecue'.

To find out more about the Tenby Radio Repeater Group, you can text the chairman, John GW0JRF, on 0790 3257 350, or for information about the Cleddau Amateur Radio Society and their free radio training courses, telephone Howard MW0HVB on 01348 874236 or Heinz 01834 843189

Jolly Red Frog