Chippenham-> where's that?
Chippenham is a market town in Wiltshire, England, located 21 km (13 miles) east of Bath and 163 km (96 miles) west of London in QRA* locator squares IO81wl and IO81wk. In the 2001 census the population of the town was recorded as 28,065.
The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon and is believed to have existed as some form of settlement since before Roman times. It was a royal vill, and under Alfred the Great a royal hunting lodge. The Great Western Railway arrived in 1841, and while historically a market town the economy has changed to that of a commuter town.
Chippenham is twinned with La Fleche in France and Friedberg in Germany. The town motto is "Unity and Loyalty". Chippenham is set on a prominent crossing of the River Avon and lies between the Marlborough Downs to the east, the Cotswolds to the north and west and Salisbury Plain to the south.
The town is surrounded by sparse countryside and there are several woodlands in or in close proximity to the town, for example, Bird's Marsh, Vincients Wood and Briars Wood.
Chippenham and the Radio Club
The Chippenham and District Amateur Radio Club was formed in 1966 by a group of local amateurs to further thier interest in amateur radio and promote the hobby.
The "District" covers a large area with members coming from many of the other market towns and villages of north Wiltshire, including Malmesbury, Corsham, Calne, Devizes, Melksham, and Trowbridge.
The listings in the RSGB Yearbook, a directory of radio amateurs, shows that there are over a hundred radio amateurs within the SN15 and 14 post code areas that cover Chippenham.
Read more about the club on the About Us page.
Local Repeaters
Some repeaters that give coverage to radio amateurs in the Chippenham area
- GB3WH OUTPUT 145.6500 MHz INPUT 145.0500 MHz LOCATION SWINDON
- GB3WR OUTPUT 145.6000 MHz INPUT 145.0000 MHz LOCATION SOMERSET
- GB3TD OUTPUT 433.0750 MHz INPUT 434.6750 MHz LOCATION SWINDON
- GB3UB OUTPUT 433.1000 MHz INPUT 434.7000 MHz LOCATION BATH
Simplex
Two metre FM simplex activity is generally low during the day in the Chippenham area but does increase in the evening. There is some activity both on 70MHz and 50MHz FM simplex. There is also a small pocket of activity on 1297MHz FM.
*QRA - an international location system used by radio amateurs