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The QRZ Amateur Radio Group of Sussex was first formed in 1998 under the name SCAREG (South Coast Amateur Radio Events Group), by 2000, after a lot of special event activity and still no permanent clubrooms, we decided to change our name to our current name and apply for use of the old Admiralty Weather station at Herstmonceux Castle and Science Centre.
We were granted the use of the building by May 2001 and started the giant task of turning a decayed building and grounds that had not been entered into for 10 years, into a suitable amateur radio station that can be open to the public.
After a year of hard work we had cleared the inside of the building and made some attempt at clearing the undergrowth that was the garden. During this year we did manage to operate in the May 144Mhz contest and come 8th! And also to operate the IOTA contest but we didn’t submit an entry.
In 2003, it was starting to look more like an amateur radio station although we still had no grass where the brambles had been before. The clubroom got its second coat of paint and installation of some aerials could take place but still the only radios were those loaned by members.
Thanks to the kindness of Frank Sheppard’s wife, we were asked whether we could use his equipment as part of our station as it was what she thought Frank would have wanted. So the club gained itself a HF station of quality and we became active for the first time in our new location on a permanent basis.
Into 2004 we made some changes to the work spaces of the clubroom, a desk was fitted and shelves tidied up the working areas. Better arrangements were made for the antenna cables and also for the antennas themselves.
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