Ian Cooke of Cambridge & District Amateur Radio Club (CDARC) reports on International Museums on the Air Day 2016, held at the Cambridge Museum of Technology on Saturday 25 June 2016.

Masts Up!

This was the second year that CDARC has partnered with Cambridge Museum of Technology for International Museums on the Air 2016.

The first job was setting up the mast ‘true’ in the vertical plane.

Mast set, the next test was to unwind the the copper wire, string and feeder.

Switch On

Inside Spackman Building, the kit-out was gathering pace, with volunteers setting up wall posters, maps, videos, and the radio kit build table.

Other attractions for visitors was a selection of working exhibits kindly loaned for the event from CDARC members. A Morse practice oscillator was also ready to spring into action, the idea being that visitors could send their name in Morse, and if successful they would be given a card celebrating the achievement.

For those wishing to communicate visually, the museum had provided paper-coloured semaphore flags, ticks and tape so visitors could make their own flags.

Build Your Own Radio

Constructors at work self-assembling medium-wave radios ...

The first scheduled radio build (a father & son) arrived at 11am. In the afternoon three radio kits were built by visitors perusing the exhibition, one of these kits was built by an absolute novice who had not soldered before. Thanks to the CDARC ambassadors for coaching the constructors, who walked away very happy with their radios.

International outreach, local coverage

During the broadcast, furthest contact was made 3450 miles into Russia, with other contacts across the USA and Europe.

During the Museums on Air a reporter from Cambridge 105FM interviewed members of CDARC