Also in GB2RS this week…

Following the introduction in February of the new Ofcom amateur radio licence conditions, the RSGB has continued to provide information and support to radio amateurs to help them make the most of the changes. This has included updates, club talks and a section of the AGM event focused on those licence changes. Go to the RSGB YouTube channel and choose the AGM recording from the ‘live’ tab and then watch two sections. Firstly, the main Board Q&A which begins just after one hour and eighteen minutes into the event and included some licensing questions from members; secondly, a section from just before two hours and thirty-three minutes which focused entirely on the new licence conditions and included three videos and a full live Q&A with four senior RSGB representatives. The Society has also published a wealth of information on its website.

Nigel Limb, M7FFU, had a motorbike accident in 2015 that left him with permanent brain damage and partially blind in both eyes, but this didn’t stop him pursuing his childhood dream of obtaining his amateur radio licence. In December 2023 he passed the Foundation Licence exam. In the early 1970s Sue Jacob, GW7YLS was a shortwave listener and interested in amateur radio, but it wasn’t until she retired and discovered that the exams no longer contained Morse code, that she decided to get more involved. Within 18 months she had passed all three licence levels. One of the great things about amateur radio is that it is accessible to everyone. The RSGB is celebrating this by collecting stories of radio amateurs who have passed their Foundation licence, or progressed through the licence levels, and are now discovering new aspects of amateur radio to enjoy. If you’d like to read more about Nigel, Sue and others, go to the rsgb.org/student-stories and, if you’d like to share your story with the Society, email comms@rsgb.org.uk and the RSGB will use as many as possible.

A new amateur radio Facebook group has been formed for those who like getting out and about in motorhomes, campervans, and caravans. The group welcomes all radio enthusiasts. To find out more, or to join the group, visit the UK Motorhome and Amateur Radio Group on Facebook.

SOS Radio Week is an annual event that takes place throughout the month of May to celebrate the work of the volunteers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Independent Lifeboats, and National Coastwatch stations around the British Isles. Members of these organisations save many people between them who are in danger along and around the thousands of miles of coastline and further out to sea. This year is the 200th anniversary of the founding of the RNLI and SOS Radio Week is being co-branded SOS Radio Week 200 for those operators that are supporting the RNLI during the event. Participants can operate from home, a public location, or a lifeboat or coastwatch station with the appropriate authorisation from the station manager. A commemorative certificate will be available to all official stations that record their contacts on the website, together with awards for the top individual and club or group stations on each band from 160m to 70cm. Registration for individual and group operators is available on the SOS Radio Week website.

International Marconi Day takes place on Saturday, 27 April 2024. Once again, the Cornish Radio Amateur Club is organising and running the event. Lots of amateur radio stations will be operating from sites that Marconi operated from, or had a personal connection with. For more information, and to view a list of the stations that are taking part, visit gx4crc.com.

Category: GB2RS Headlines