SOARC is an active part of life at Sherwood Observatory. Our activities fall into two main strands: public-facing events that support the Observatory’s STEM and outreach work, and member-focused sessions where we develop skills, stations and projects.
Public open events
At many of Sherwood Observatory’s public open events you’ll find SOARC members on site running live amateur radio demonstrations from the grounds. Depending on conditions and the equipment in use, visitors may see and hear:
- HF and VHF/UHF voice contacts with stations around the UK and Europe
- Digital modes and data signals displayed and decoded on screen
- Coming soon: Satellite and space-related communications where practical
Our aim at these events is not just to “be on the air”, but to explain what’s going on – how signals travel, what modes are being used, and how amateur radio links into space science, astronomy and everyday technology.
Interested in getting involved?
If you’d like to visit us at a Sherwood Observatory open event, find out more about what we do, or talk about training and getting on the air, please get in touch via the Contact page and we’ll be happy to help. Attending open events are by pre-booked tickets only which are available when public events are announced on the Sherwood Observatory website: https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/
Member activities
Behind the scenes, we run a range of activities for Observatory SOARC members, including:
- Operating sessions from the Observatory site
- Member talks and demonstrations on a range of amateur radio subjects
- Practical build and test sessions linked to our projects (such as the QO-100 ground station and hopefully soon our desire for a permanent shack set-up)
- Opportunities to gain operating experience and confidence on HF, VHF/UHF and digital modes
- Coming soon: Support for those working towards Foundation, Intermediate, and in time Full licences too.
As our station facilities at Sherwood Observatory grow, we plan to expand this programme further with more structured training, workshops and focused project sessions, keeping amateur radio firmly embedded in the Observatory’s STEM programme.
To see what we’ve been up to recently, have a look at our News page, and check the Sherwood Observatory website for details of upcoming public open evenings where SOARC may be operating.