Welcome to Horndean & District Amateur Radio Club (HDARC)
About us
We are a long established amateur radio club, being first formed in 1975. If you are unsure what amateur radio is, then we recommend you first read our “What is Amateur Radio ?” page to learn more about our hobby.
To see some of our recent club activities, please have a look at our events page.
Our club operates regularly from our station at Fort Widley where we have a very versatile array of antennas. Members are able to bring their own equipment and operate from there whenever the site is not required for club arranged activities.
We also meet twice monthly at Deverall Hall, Purbrook where members have the opportunity to chat with others on their current projects, operational experiences and any other aspect of the hobby. A raffle is held on most evenings at the hall, and there are sometimes used equipment, books etc. available for purchase.
If you think you might like to join us, please get in touch.
Our radio shack
Fort Widley, together with several other “Palmerston Forts” is located on the crest of Portsdown Hill overlooking the city of Portsmouth.
Our club caravan is located on the upper parade ground of the old fort and serves as the nerve centre of our club’s on-air operations.
Our Antennas
Our antenna tower sited next to the caravan is equipped with a range of antennas covering many of the frequencies commonly used by radio amateurs. Space exists for temporary installation of other antennas when operation is required on bands not supported by the tower antennas.
The antenna mast at the top of the tower is mounted on a rotator so that the horizontally polarised antennas may be positioned to give maximum signal strength in the direction that communication is being attempted. A rotator controller is permanently installed within the caravan.
The high location of our shack on top of the fort is ideal for very long distance communication. With suitable propagation conditions and the correct choice of frequency, worldwide communication is readily achievable.
All antenna feeders are routed to the operations desk within the caravan where the club’s or member’s own equipment may be attached.