Visit to NADARS and the Greenham Common Control Tower

On a bright, clear, and warm Friday morning, May 16, 2025, we had the pleasure of visiting the former USAF Air Base Control Tower at Greenham Common. This visit was kindly arranged by club committee member Roy (M0WTP), who liaised with Phil (G6EES) from the Newbury and District Amateur Radio Society (NADARS). Phil graciously agreed to host our group, offering a chance to meet some of their members and tour their impressive Radio Room.

It was a wonderful opportunity to finally put faces to the names and callsigns of the many NADARS members we’ve often heard and spoken with on the air.

Our visit commenced with a welcoming coffee (and a delightful sausage roll!) and an engaging chat. Afterwards, we moved inside the historic Control Tower, where Phil guided us through the NADARS Club’s Radio Room. The location is exceptionally well-suited for amateur radio, boasting ample space for vertical antennas, a long wire antenna, and the 10GHz Beacon antenna. NADARS possesses some serious equipment, including a FLEX Radio SDR that allows them to operate on all HF bands. The site also hosts the C4FM UHF Repeater ‘GB7NT’, conveniently situated in the corner of the room behind the HF operating station.

The ambitious team at NADARS is also developing a QO-100 satellite setup and has plans to explore Amateur TV using the satellite’s wide-band service.

Following our exploration of the Radio Room, we ascended to the top of the tower. There, we received a fascinating and detailed account of the tower’s operations during its active service. We also had the chance to observe real-time ADS-B tracking of local aircraft displayed on the screens.

Before departing for home, we relaxed in the sunny outdoor seating area, enjoying further conversation with the NADARS members over coffee, tea and this time, some delicious cake from the Tower Cafe.

We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone at NADARS and the Control Tower staff for an exceptionally interesting and enjoyable visit, and for making us feel so incredibly welcome.