Also in GB2RS this week…
If you are thinking of taking an amateur radio exam before Christmas, there are two important dates you need to be aware of. The last date you can take an exam at a club, whether online or on paper, is Friday, 13 December 2024. If you want to take an exam online at home, the last date you can do that is Friday, 20 December 2024. The RSGB Exams Team will, where possible, post out exam results before HQ shuts over Christmas and New Year. Exams will resume on Monday, 6 January 2025 and the booking system will be available over the festive season so you can book exams for January onwards. You can book online on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/exampay.
On Friday, 18 October 2024 the RSGB, Mill Hill School, and a team of radio amateurs in New Zealand took part in a special celebration to mark the centenary of the first successful two-way transglobal communication between radio amateurs in the UK and New Zealand. The original contact between Frank Bell, 4AA in New Zealand and Cecil Goyder, 2SZ in Mill Hill School in North London was reenacted at the school on a wavelength as close as possible to the original. Members of Goyder’s family watched the reenactment and chatted to pupils. As part of wider celebrations for the day, the school put on activities including a build-a-radio workshop. Students at the school showed significant interest in amateur radio, with a number of students signing up to be part of a new radio club that will be set up by the school’s physics teacher. The overall event was led by RSGB Life Vice-President Don Beattie, G3BJ who said that he was delighted by the success of the event and that it had given pupils the opportunity to learn how groundbreaking that first radio contact was with New Zealand. Call sign G2SZ was operational for four days surrounding the centenary, during which operators achieved approximately 1,250 contacts. To find out more about this unique celebration go to the GB2NZ webpage.
The Memorial Day QSO Party is an activity providing participants with an opportunity to honour amateur radio operators who are now Silent Key. The event is being sponsored and managed by the First Class CW Operators’ Club and is open to all licensed amateurs. The event begins at 0900UTC on 1 November 2024 and ends at 0859UTC on 2 November. More information is available at g4foc.org, or by emailing mdqp@g4foc.org or michelecarlone@yahoo.it.
Ofcom has notified stakeholders that the next release of its licensing service will be delayed due to issues that have arisen during software development. According to the Ofcom website, the delays have impacted Phases 2 and 3 of the planned changes to the amateur radio licensing framework. Phase 2 includes changes to new Intermediate callsigns, special event station rules and restrictions on the number of callsigns an individual may hold. Revised plans are expected to be published soon. You can read the update on the Ofcom website.
Category: GB2RS Headlines
