Our History

The "Cray Valley RS Radio Transmitting Club" was founded in the autumn of 1946 by eight radio amateurs - G2DS, G2HY, G2ZI, G2CXO, G3FC, G3MZ, G3ANK and G8PT - with the aim of setting up a local organisation that would extend the friendships established over the air. Membership was selective and there was a waiting list. Only transmitting amateurs were elegible to join the Club. It was agreed that free and informal discussion would be encouraged; that occasional lectures would be arranged for members; that there should be at least one social function annually at which the mention of 'Radio' was forbidden and that the Club should hold 'surplus' sales! The Club's first meeting was in Sidcup on the 1st November 1946 and by 1947 it had 34 members.
 

Cray Valley RS 1953

 

Today

The Club has become the "Cray Valley RS". The Society is active in contesting, national and international, HF to UHF. In recent years it has achieved results at the top of the tables under the callsigns M8C and G3RCV. Recent placings of note are:
 

2008, winners of SSB field day and 2m UKAC.

2009, winners of SSB field day.
2m UKAC and VHF NFD restricted section.

2010, winners of SSB field day.
Second in the IOTA island low power section.

2011, winners of 80m SSB AFS.
Third in the AFS super league.

2013, winners of 80m SSB AFS.

2014-2020 placed 2nd, 3rd or 4th in SSB AFS each year

2020, runner-up Local Club on 2m and 70cm in the UKAC Contests

2022-2023, winners of SSB AFS

A group of Cray Valley RS members activated the Minquiers EU-099 in the RSGB IOTA Contest at the end of July 2018, using the callsign MJ8C. 1,800 QSOs were made and they won the GM5VG Trophyt for the leading low-power DXpedition.

The Society holds incentive licence classes for its members to 'climb the ladder' towards the Full Amateur Radio Licence. Lectures, ARDF hunts, informal meetings, technical demonstrations - all help to keep the Society thriving.

Cray Valley RS has a membership base across a large part of the UK, and beyond! The Society has organised some prestigious special event stations to celebrate landmark events: large-scale stations M2000A, GB50 and GB200T and numerous smaller operations such as GB75F, GB4RES, GB3FB, GB2SJS, GB8ST, GB2AF and GB6MW. The Society set up the London station for the 2012 Olympics, for which Ofcom issued the very special callsign 2O12L.

Meetings

The Cray Valley RS meets at 7.30pm for an 8pm start on the first and third Thursday of every month. Refreshments are available, the meeting site is a "No Smoking" venue. Disabled parking and access are available.   Click to here to find us.