GB250RB
The Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club along with Dumfries and Galloway RAYNET played host to the Kilmarnock and Loudoun Amateur Radio Club on the 20th September 2009 at Ellisland Farm north of Dumfries. The occasion was the Ellisland Farm Ploughing Competition and, this being part of the yearlong “Homecoming” celebrations and taking place at the farm where Burns lived for three years, the two radio clubs had approached the organisers to arrange a special event station using the callsign GB250RB.
The station was set up on Sunday morning by Wul 2M0WUL, Davy MM0KBT, Kevin MM3RBF, Maggie MM3PBQ and Richard MM1BHO. We made use of the RAYNET mobile control unit for shack No1 and BHO's gazebo for shack No2. Davy provided the TS 2000 for shack No 2 and Wul's FT 857-D made up shack No 1. Arthur MM0DHQ along with Liliane MM6LIL, David MM3DHL, Graham MM0GHM, Roger MM0BRG and Alan MM6PDX all members of Kilmarnock club arrived on site just as we were ready to go on air, which was fortunate as Arthur has the NOV for the GB250RB callsign so we could not put the call on air until he was on site.
Over the day we made over 100 contacts mainly on 80/40 Mtrs with a few on 20 Mtrs best DX was JH1XFR Toshi in Japan and VA2RIO Rallande in Canada. The most notable contact was with GB2HEH on 40 Mtrs, most notable because, as Graham MM0GHM was working Dave on the radio, Joanna Lumley, who is a patron of Ellisland Farm, was visiting the station and she took time to chat with Dave over the air. To say Dave was stunned would be an understatement.