Red Rose Rally 2025 Successful
Red Rose Rally 2025 Successful avatar

Today was the West Manchester Radio Clubs Red Rose Rally.  Over 250 people attended the event, which was judged a success despite it being in an unfortunate smaller venue that cannot be helped.  The club is working on this for a larger and affordable venue.

As secretary of the club, I arrived just before 10am, and offered my services to cover any job position to relieve people allowing them to take a break.  I managed to get involved in taking the money on the door, selling raffle tickets, folding the raffle tickets, clearing up used cups and plates, sorting out the car parking issues, asking vendors to keep the isles clear, helping on the bring and buy.  At 1pm, I did the announcement of the draw, thanking everyone for coming, and inviting Dave Wilson from the RSGB to draw the raffle tickets.  Like everyone else running the rally, a busy day for all.

The main raffle prize, a Yaesu FT70D, was won and collected on the day, and the 2nd prize of a £20 cheque and cap from our sponsor, was won by a newly licensed amateur who only passed his foundation level exam this week on Wednesday..!

I did manage to take a break myself in order to enjoy one of the delicious bacon baps.  And, there may be every truth in the rumour that an hour later I participated in trying one of the sausage baps too.  A big thank you to the kitchen staff for the presentation of the food.

And lastly, a big thank you to all the volunteer members of the West Manchester Radio Club for helping out and making the rally possible.

DXpedition South Andaman Isles 2025 – Callsign VU4AX
DXpedition South Andaman Isles 2025 – Callsign VU4AX avatar

Expedition News

DX-Adventure is thrilled to announce our upcoming DX-pedition to the beautiful South Andaman Islands (IOTA AS-001) operating as VU4AX.
From March 10th to March 20th, 2025, an experienced team of 12 operators will be active from South Andaman, operating 6 stations around the clock on bands from 10m to 160m (incl. WARC + 60m), using CW, SSB, and DIGI.  Months of careful planning and preparation have brought together an international team of experienced DX-peditioners, including: ON4AMX Marc, ON4HIL Patrick, ON5UR Max, ON5RA Pascal, ON5TN Karel, ON6CC Marc, ON7FT Jonas, ON7USB Geert, ON7RU Franky, ON8AZ Francis, PA3EWP Ronald, PA9M Marcel.
Six stations mean a lot of material and it is a big challenge to transport it all to VU4. With 1.150kg of equipment meticulously prepared, we will try to offer the best experience possible for you, covering 24/7 operations to maximize the change on having a QSO with us. VU4 ranks as #28 for the USA and #53 worldwide, making it a rare and exciting challenge.
Needless to say, your support is essential to make this DX-pedition a success. We deeply appreciate our sponsors and suppliers for their ongoing support and welcome further contributions to help us achieve a memorable DX-pedition.
Stay updated with the latest news at www.dx-adventure.com.