A Brief History of the GOTA2C Morning Natter Net

Hello my name is Trevor Griffiths (G7PEE) and I am a member of the Trowbridge & District Amateur Radio Club here in Wiltshire.

I have enjoyed the hobby since the early nineties and live near my very good friend Peter Smythe (M0JVY). Peter and I have over the years talked locally on 2 metres FM and so in mid March of 2020 with the crisis of Coronavirus looming Peter and I talked over the idea of having a daily chat on 2 metres FM on a frequency of 145.375 MHz. We thought at the time this would hopefully generate some interest (and we weren’t wrong). The rationale for this was that due to health issues I had already decided to self-isolate and being widowed it would be good to have the additional channel of communication with friends and fellow amateurs whilst giving 2 Metres a good airing!

145.375 MHz was chosen as it was the preferred frequency of the T&DARC for our Sunday evening net which has run for many years and hosted by David Pow (G6POW), so Peter and I felt it was appropriate to use it.

And so on the 23rd March 2020 we started chatting and within a day or so we were joined by Russ Scully (M0WYB) and Roy Bailey (G0VFS), therefore the Morning Natter Net was established although in fairness it was initially referred to as the Lockdown Net as was the Thursday afternoon net run during the first lockdown and hosted  by M0WYB. We, that is Peter, Russ and myself had some discussion on how to proceed with both nets and so the Morning Natter Net was left open for stations to call in and if there was activity then an informal net would take place.

I decided early on that from inception I would record the duration of each net along with the number of stations present accepting I may not always be present myself. And so I can report that in 2020 I recorded 196 nets but believe that the number for the year was in the region of 220!

It soon became apparent that a number of T&DARC members and importantly new comers who have consequently joined the club were making daily appearances and so in 2020 around 6 to 7 stations on average were calling in.

Coming up to date and in the current third lockdown we continue to see increasingly higher numbers participating. My opinion is that everyone has much more time during this unprecedented period of uncertainty to ‘play radio’ and catch up with old friends. The point is that as we radio amateurs know, it is always good to talk. 

On a personal level I have found this net to be a lifesaver and a good reason to get up in the mornings!

We meet at 10:30 daily on the above frequency and it would be great to hear from any station in the locality or beyond. Apart from covering Trowbridge, Westbury and surrounding areas we have stations from Stroud to Wincanton calling in, so coverage is good. It has been a real success story and we strongly recommend other groups give it a go….

Trevor Griffiths 

G7PEE