Stafford RAYNET

It's been a very quiet couple of years but finally events are starting up again. Our first one is local endurance horse ride on Cannock Chase tomorrow.

Good luck to everyone running in the #StaffordHalf marathon today. Our radio operators are manning several water points round the course and keeping control up to date with race progress.

This weekend we have two events. Saturday we have a competitive equine event on Cannock Chase and on Sunday we are working with @StGilesHospice for their Cycle Autumn event. It's great to be back after a long break.

This weekend we will be supporting @StGilesHospice with their cycle challenge event. Our operators will be keeping an eye on rider progress and reporting back details to control. It's great to be back doing events! #RAYNET

@ldmtechie @RadioGeeks_UK Looks good Liam, it will be great when we can do events again!

New kit day, really looking forward to trying these two antennas from @RadioGeeks_UK out over the few weeks and hopefully on a @StaffordRAYNET event too. Awesome service from Tom would definitely recommend using them in the future. #hamradio #antenna #nagoya #raynet

Firewatch - Our volunteer radio operators are continuing with firewatch duties on #cannockchase this week. Although the weather is cooler and there has been some rain, many parts of the area are still very dry.

STANDBY - Stafford #RAYNET have been placed on standby to assist with firewatch duties on #CannockChase. The recent hot weather has increased the risk of fire.

Stand down - We have now been stood down from firewatch activities for the time being. The ongoing wet weather has reduced the risk of fire on Cannock Chase. We will continue to work closely with the rangers and are ready to respond again if required.

FIREWATCH - Some essential tools for today. Whilst it has rained overnight, the ground is still very dry.

FIREWATCH - Members of the group are currently located in high risk areas of Cannock Chase monitoring the area for fire or smoke. Mobile phone signals on the chase can be poor so all incidents are passed back to control using VHF radio.

CALLOUT - Stafford RAYNET have been tasked to assist with #firewatch duties on #cannockchase

And they're off! around 2000 #staffordhalf runners passed the start line at 10 AM and are making their way round the course. RAYNET operators are keeping control up to date with lead runners and any issues.

Today is the #StaffordHalf marathon. We will be covering specific points round the course and reporting race progress back to control.

#StormCiara is trying it's best here in Stafford and has already caused some damage. Our radio kit doesn't rely on public networks such as satellites or mobile phone technology so whatever happens, we can always get the message through. #RAYNET

It's finally stopped raining! Riders are making their way round the route on a very soggy Cannock Chase. VHF comms between each checkpoint and control are working well even at low power.

Today we are supporting Sport Endurance for an competitive equine ride on Cannock Chase. We are manning checkpoints and reporting rider numbers back to control using radio due to limited mobile phone coverage round the 60 mile course.

This is our TTU setup. It receives signals from distant stations and relays them to control. These distant stations would normally be out of direct coverage. Finding the best location for this equipment is just one of the planning tasks carried out before the event.

Today we are covering comms for the Lymestone Cowboy cycle event in North Staffs. We have a range of kit in using including a cross band repeater, fixed radios in control, mobile radios in the sweep vehicle and some handheld radios.

#stafford10k The race is progressing well. Fortunately, the weather has dried up.

All radio operators are in place and radio checks complete. Weather is cool but some local roads are flooded due to heavy rain overnight.