Dear club colleagues, some items of news and information that I hope will be of
interest.
Amateur Radio - a 21st Century Hobby
A new video has been produced by the RSGB to introduce amateur radio to young
people.
This video has been made to show many facets of the hobby, involving young
people making contacts, building projects and talking about what interests and
excites them with the hobby.
It was first released at the recent RSGB convention and was available for use
by clubs during JOTA a few weeks ago. If you have still not seen this video it
can be viewed through YouTube at; https://youtu.be/8x6x_6mDVlQ
World Radio Conference 2015
The latest WRC has begun in Geneva and runs until the 27th of November.
Working with Ofcom in the preparation and during the conference is a critical
part of the RSGB activity portfolio, along with the other national societies
in this ITU region to safeguard the amateur band allocations, and expand on
these where possible.
The demand for radio spectrum from commercial business and the communications
industry at large continues to grow, with further interest being shown in our
70cms allocations. As we often hear, use it or loose it.
Background to the WRC-15 and regular updates from the conference can be found
on the RSGB website http://rsgb.org/main/news/special-focus/wrc-15/
Ofcom Guidance Notes
This week, Ofcom released some guidance notes that they have produced to help
radio amateurs to understand, and ensure that they comply with the terms and
conditions of the amateur radio licence that was revised earlier this year.
The guidance notes should be read in conjunction with your licence, which is
paramount. While the guidance has tried to clarify the licence, it appears that
in some respects it may have added confusion that will need to be addressed in
a later version of the notes.
If you are looking for a copy of the current guidance notes, these can be
found at;
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radiocommunication-licences/amateur-radio/licensing-updates/guidance-oct2015/
2m FM Activity Period
Members of the Thurrock Acorns Amateur Radio Club (G4HKO/GX4HKO) have
instigated a 2m FM activity periods, and the next one is scheduled for
Saturday the 28th of November starting at 13.00hrs.
Earlier this year they arranged a 2m activity afternoon which proved to be a
huge success with all those that took part. This is not a competition and there
is no prize, the afternoon is their to encourage amateurs to operate/return to
the 2m FM band.
Over the years the once very active 2m band has been over looked by many and
the idea of the event is to encourage people to operate on 2m for that
afternoon at least.
They are suggesting that stations remain active on the band until at least
17.00hrs, though their is no reason to stop if you're having good contacts
on-air.
While the Thurrock Acorns ARC is in Essex the signals will no doubt reach into
Kent, and their is no reason why amateurs in Kent shouldn't use the event to
get more activity into our corner of the South East.
More information from www.taarc.co.uk
RSGB Events Listing
May I remind you of the RSGB Events listing on the Societies website, which is
open to view by the wider amateur community, and is available to help promote
your club activities.
The listing may be of your regular club meetings or other special events that
may be of interest to others, and can be seen via the RSGB website;
https://thersgb.org/services/eventsplanner/
If any clubs have questions or face difficulties in listing their events on
this website do let me know.
Reduced Bandwidth TV.
I attended the RSGB Convention a few weeks ago, and was very pleased to make
the event this year, being my first time of attending this annual event.
One of the presentations I attended was on the Reduced Bandwidth TV mode,
which appears to be making an impact on the additional bandwidths amateurs have
been granted in the UK.
While some may not be able to use the new frequencies for transmitting, you
might still be interested to know that RB-TV has attained a level of interest,
and you could at least investigate receiving this new mode.
Their is more information on RB-TV in the latest ATV column of the November
edition of RadCom, along with some background on the Titiioune software that is
used by many for RB-TV.
Electronic Learning Bricks
A range of electronic learning bricks have been produced to encourage and
inspire young people, or anyone generally starting out in electronics.
These are an exciting range of rugged electronic bricks that may be used to
build a vast range of circuits and projects, from simple passive and active, to
more advanced digital and Arduino based, right through to higher level radio
communications and RF.
Quantity discounts for the kits are available for UK radio and electronics
clubs. Further details from Dave Williams G8PUO Tel: 07870 074538 or email
admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx
See the website for further details of the learning bricks at www.ditronix.com
Club of the year
As a reminder, your club entry to the 'Club of the Year' competition will
need to be submitted early in the New Year, so now is the time to look at the
events and activities your club has undertaken in the last year, and prepare to
submit your entry.
The theme of this year’s RSGB Club of the Year competition is Promoting
Amateur Radio.
Details of the competition can be found at www.rsgb.org/coty.
Local Rallies
Kempton Rally - 8th Nov
This Sunday is the autumn Kempton rally, being held at the Kempton Park
Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex TW16 5AQ.
I plan to attend so I expect I might see many of you there. Doors open at 10am
and we will observe the two minutes silence at 11am.
Rainham Radio Rally - 28th Feb 2016
Mark this date in your diaries to attend if you can. I shall be along at the
RSGB table, selling books to support our national society and sign up new
members where we can. Do come over and say hello and to support the RSGB by
purchasing some merchandise or joining up.
Dover Rally - 13th Mar 2016
This is another of our established local rallies in Kent, and I hope that many
of you will be able to support this rally.
The rally is held at the Whitfield Village Hall, Sandwich Rd, Whitfield,
Dover, CT16 3LY. Doors open at 10am and their is an auction at 12.30pm before
the doors then close at 1pm, when we pack up and begin our journeys home.
The contact for any questions or book a table is Peter G0KOK, Tel: 07850
464026 or email peterjlove@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I hope the above if useful to you and your members, if you have anything for
me to share with other amateurs across Kent please get in touch.
73 Keith - G4JED
RSGB DRM - Kent
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