2O12L Special Event Station
At the London Olympics in 2012
My XYL and I were fortunate to visit London, Enland during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. We had pre-planned the trip for some time but recently found that there would be 2 Special Event stations operating from England, near London (2O12L) and Wales (2012W). We decided to plan a visit to 2O12L while we were in London.
We were staying in Campden Town just North of Central London and the Special Event station was located South East of us at the Royal Greenwich District Scout Activity Centre, New Elthan, London. By boarding London tube (subway) near our rental flat, we took 2 tubes, 1 above ground train, and a nice walk to visit the station. Fortunately, the instructions for locating the station were well publicized by the ARRL. The easy access to the tubes and trains made the visit very manageable.
We arrived at the station mid-morning and was instantly greeted by Bob, M0MCV. After signing in at the station visitors log, he invited us into the station and did a great job of showing us around. There were 20 meter SSB stations, a Morse CW station operating 20 meters, 40 Meter SSB, and VHF station on 6, 4 and 2 meters. At the time of day, the 40 meter station was not too busy and he offered to let me operate the radio for several calls.
Our gracious host also showed us the portable antenna farm that had been installed just outside the building. It consisted of several temporary towers with large yagi beams, wire dipoles, and VHF antennas.
As we were saying our goodbyes, Bob offered to show us into the village to find a spot to eat an early lunch. We really enjoyed our short time at 2O12L and were very pleased to have met some wonderful amateurs from England.
Some of our photos for the station and antenna farm are shown below.
This is at the entrance to the station with a sign giving the particulars. The antenna farm is in the background and shown in great detail below.
Bob, M0MCW, was our host to the station. He was wonderful making us feel at home and giving my XYL and me a tour of the facility that included many educational displays.
Below is one of the Amateur Radio Licence Training Courses displays appropriate for guest with little existing knowledge of radio operations.
One of my favorite dispalys was a model of a realistic amateur's home station antenna. This gives the realistic impression that massive beam antennas are not required to enjoy the hobby but just wire diples streched between the house and trees can do the job. The scale model actually shows the dipole streched horizontal with a small coaxial cable dropping from the center. Bravo to the artist.
The operating positions are shown clearly in the photo below. In the foreground, the CW station is on the left, the VHF station to the right.
In the background is the 20 meter phone station (right side) and the 40 meter phone station to the left. Notice the large number of poster signs all around the room providing a lot of education for the visitors.
My XYL and I enjoy operating from the 40 Meter phone position. Although the time of day precluded a lot of DX, I did manage to work several German stations.
The many DX locations already worked by 2O12L. Every orange dot represents a country worked.
Thanks Bob for the great tour and the welcome extended.
The final view as we left the 2O12L site.
