Shropshire radio hams in world record broadcast
Amateur radio enthusiasts from Shropshire have made a unique worldwide broadcast – from Papua New Guinea.
Retired RAF warrant officer Michael Street and retired headteacher Martyn Vincent made history in the amateur radio world when they were the first people to put out a radio signal from several tiny islands off Papua New Guinea.
Their signal was picked up by 25,000 fellow amateur radio broadcasters from across the world.
The intrepid pair, who were part of a six man team to travel 9,000 miles across the globe, gave a talk at Little Wenlock Village Hall last week about their record breaking trip. They also thanked fellow Telford radio enthusiast Trevor Bate, who runs security firm RMP Guarding, for helping to sponsor the event.
“Without Trevor’s generosity and the help of local Radio Society, Pete Elstub and Tony Woodhouse, we would never have been able to make the trip. It was an experience of a lifetime,” said Michael, of Ullswater Close, Priorslee, who recalled how they flew to Singapore and on to Port Moresby before another short flight and an extended boat trip.
“They were tiny Pacific islands. One island called Feni took just five minutes to walk from one end to the other.We set up our tents, unloaded the radio equipment and broadcast for four days. No-one had ever operated an amateur radio signal from there.”
The airwaves became frantic when thousands of amateur radio enthusiasts from across the world picked up the “rare” signal from the remote “Robinson Crusoe” island, said Martyn , of Long Lane, Wellington, who had travelled with radio hams from Sweden, Portugal and the UK.
The former head of Bomere Heath School added that the historic signal would be a collectors’ item for radio hams across the globe.
The Telford & District Amateur Radio group has 45 members – the youngest being a ten-year-old girl - and meet both at Little Wenlock Village Hall and at the premises of RMP Guarding on Stafford Park, Telford. RMP's Trevor Bate stepped in to offer his premises for the club's meeting and training events when they were unable to attend the village hall due to it being booked up.
Anyone interested in joining the group should contact Trevor Bate at RMP Guarding on 01952 210187.
