CARA holds the callsign G5BK. This callsign was originally held many years ago by the late Bill Brown, a well known and active local radio amateur.
CARA uses G5BK in contests such as National Field Day and occasionally for special events.
The callsign is available for use by any CARA member holding a Full Amateur Radio Licence who wishes to represent the club on the air in, for example, a contest or at a special event. If you wish to use G5BK please seek the prior permission of the G5BK licence holder, currently Tony G3SNN.
Members using G5BK should send a copy of the logs to the G5BK QSL manager, currently Tony G3SNN.
Please remember that if you use G5BK in a contest you are entering that contest on behalf of CARA; if you are using it for another purpose you are still operating on behalf of CARA.
G5BK – A Bit of History
The club’s callsign, G5BK, was originally held by W G H (Bill) Brown, a well known
Cheltenham radio amateur. The callsign is listed in the January 1925 issue of “The
Amateurs’ Radio Directory” published by Popular Wireless, so Bill must have gained
his transmitting licence in the early 1920s – or perhaps even earlier.
G5BK seems to have been issued to the Cheltenham Amateur Radio Society (CARS)
in mid1961, so presumably Bill must have died sometime before then. Previously
CARS had held the callsign G3GPW. The Society had a permanent club shack and
meeting room at the St Marks community centre until 1977 in which year CARS and the
Cheltenham RSGB Group amalgamated to form the Cheltenham Amateur Radio
Association. The callsign G5BK was transferred to CARA by mutual agreement.