We have around 100 members, and welcome people with different levels of expertise, ranging from experts to those with limited experience, who enjoy meeting others with similar interests.

Our fortnightly club meetings are normally held on Tuesday mornings at the Chichester Yacht Club in West Sussex between October and June. We also operate a hybrid zoom which serves members that may have health related issues.

Our smaller study groups meet once a month in West Stoke Village Hall on a variety of subjects which are chosen by the members with the idea of sharing knowledge and learning new skills. These meetings are also supported by hybrid zoom.

Members need a computer, Tablet or SmartPhone and an email address in order to participate in the club activities, and are encouraged to contribute to the running of the club by presenting a topic, suggesting possible speakers etc.

Members are able to access the password protected part of the club website which contains useful resources such as copies of past presentations, minutes of meetings, general information about the club and a calendar of club activities.

The joining fee is £20.00, the annual fee is £20.00 (Sept to June).

The BetaPlus club has been a registered charity since 2004. Our mission statement ~ To advance the education of the public, in particular, persons living in and around Chichester, by learning, developing and sharing experiences in the use of computers at home. The charity registration number is 1105164.

The Apple Study Group provides a forum for those Club members who either have an Apple device or are interested in buying one. The objective of the Apple Study Group is to encourage a hands on approach to learning how to make the most of their Apple devices. During the time of Zoom meetings this is difficult, but our aim to to return to this, when possible. At the monthly meeting we are strengthening our group solidarity with each other and our devices. The iPad/iPhone are the prime devices at present.

The Group will meet monthly.

Next meeting: Wed 8 Dec 2021

Very much a hands on programming group largely aimed at Raspberry Pi and Python and includes other single board computers. We aim to have at least half of each meeting being hands on programming your own device. Our aim is to encourage and support our members to complete projects of their own. Beginners are welcome, although most members have prior programming experience with other languages. Numbers are somewhat restricted due to space at WSVH. Project aims include making Internet of Things devices, robotics, and just about anything you can do with a microcontroller. Our future aims include using other boards like Arduino and ESP8266.

Next meeting: Not scheduled

Today, digital photography is used across many different devices. Learning, sharing and exploring in how to take a better picture, editing, scanning and copying of photos and slides, photo management from phones, tablets and cameras. Photo stitching, simple videoing and beyond. The subject matter is quite wide but all levels of experience will be addressed. The emphasis will be on a practical approach to extract the most from the sessions.

Next meeting: Thu 16 Dec 2021

This group is for those who are interested in finding out about issues in setting up and running computers such as hardware, drivers, Operating Systems, Security and Back-Up, Networking and Communications, etc. We also have an interest in the 'Internet of Things'. Members are encouraged to undertake research and present it to the Group. The TSG also has a rotating chairmanship: each member is asked to take a turn at finding topics to discuss and chairing the resulting meeting. The TSG meets on the first Wednesday morning of each month at the West Stoke Village Hall.

Next meeting: Wed 1 Dec 2021

Tinkers evolved from a Python group which focussed on absolute beginners who wanted to learn Python. Finding that most Betaplus Python programmers are are also programming Arduinos and robots of one kind or another the group is now much more inclusive. We adopt a rotating chairmanship. See website for meeting dates.

Next meeting: Fri 10 Dec 2021

This group is to help members build their own web sites. All levels of experience are catered for. The club can provide web space to help those getting started. We have also studied the two ways to use WordPress. Exciting new web technologies are constantly being explored; responsive web is a current example. Our primary method of working is to tackle topics raised by our members. The group meets on Friday mornings.

Some subjects that we have discussed recently are:

Next meeting: Fri 17 Dec 2021

This group helps members to learn the day-to-day computing skills needed to use our Windows PCs and Tablets successfully. It also investigates and (hopefully) solves individual members' computer and internet problems, and generally looks into topics submitted by members of the group. The Group meets on the third Wednesday morning of each month at the West Stoke Village Hall.

Next meeting: Wed 15 Dec 2021