2022 EVENTS



GOONHILLY 60th ANNIVERSARY EVENT 23rd JULY 2022



To commemorate 60 years since the first Antenna was built by the GPO as the beginning of Britain's involvement in Satellite Communications, the new owners, Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd. deciding to host a special public event on the Goonhilly 1 site, similar to the previous Apollo 50th Event in 2019.


Again, members of the Goonhilly Heritage Society, as retired workers from the early days of Satcomms to present day, were again invited to take part, (a) in reminiscing about the early days, and (b) to have a Society display area in the old Visitor's Centre. This was to show some of the historical equipment and services previously at Goonhilly, and also to demonstrate the GHS continued commitment to educational support.


The morning was spent in putting the display together and connecting the active parts of the display, once the tables had been delivered. The final layout is shown below, with a table of older telephones connected to a small exchange on the end behind the Antenna model on the right.



Visitors began arriving after mid-day, and whilst settling in for the afternoon took advantage of the various refreshment areas around the main stage.


At 13:00, the event started with an open Q and A session on stage hosted by Colin (left) and involving three retirees from Goonhilly (centre) and an ex-BBC local Presenter David George (right) who had covered a lot of the Goonhilly developments throughout the years.


The Retirees (L to R) were Pip (Operations), Des & Tony (Satcomms Development and now Goonhilly Heritage Society Officers).The session lasted until 14:00 when Des & Tony returned to the GHS display area for the rest of the afternoon.​



The Calm Before The Storm



Finally Ready To Go



GHS Display Area



Opening Time



GHS Information Area



Des & Christine with Les



Amateur Radio Satellites



Les showing Es'hail Satellite for Radio Amateurs



Microwave & Satellite Services



Paul Ready to Chat



Inmarsat Services At Goonhilly



Robin & Andy Ready to Explain Services



Telephones of Yesteryear



Instant Nostalgia for Adults



Telephones of Yesteryear



Pat With Parents & Children



Telephones of Yesteryear



Tony With Parents & Children



GOONHILLY SUMMER SCHOOL 11th-15th JULY 2022



With Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd. finally deciding to host their regular Summer School week again, our Heritage Society, with a large range of communications equipment, was again asked for practical support. This year, there were 24 pupils expected from 6 schools (3 in Cornwall, and 3 from the rest of England). In the planning, it was suggested that we host small groups of 6 pupils in four 1 hour sessions divided into morning and afternoon sessions on Tuesday and Thursday.


Three topics were decided; Robin to demonstrate different radio modulation methods; Des a Satellite Link simulation using our Microwave Workbench; and Tony a discussion of technology development during the duration of Goonhilly's existence, under four queries. "What is larger, but smaller?" (Computers), "What is there but not there?" (Waveguide), "What was before Transistors?" (Thermionic Valves), and "Are Geostationary Orbits stationary?" (Orbital problems).



Robin : Modulation Systems



The Demonstration Equipment



Robin : Modulation Systems



Robin Demonstrating AM to Students



Robin : Modulation Systems



Amplitude Modulation Waveforms



Robin : Modulation Systems



AM in the Frequency Spectrum



Robin : Modulation Systems



Recovered Equipment For Education Purposes



Robin : Modulation Systems



Showing A Diagram Of An Antenna System



Des : Microwave Workbench



Members Preparing The Workbench For The Event



Des : Microwave Workbench



Final Testing with Robin



Des : Microwave Workbench



Explaining The Satellite Simulation



Des : Microwave Workbench



Explaining The Waveguide Paths



Des : Microwave Workbench



Digital Data Test for Waveguide "Up-link"



Tony : Puzzles of Yesteryear



About Computers, Waveguide, and Valves,



Tony : Puzzles of Yesteryear



Looking at Computer Ferrite Ring Memory



Tony : Puzzles of Yesteryear



Looking at Waveguide



Tony : Puzzles of Yesteryear



Telstar Transmitter Valves & Geosat Problems