RSGBTech

RSGBTech is technical help for the 21st century. It is an RSGB internet site located on Yahoo! Its purpose is to be the first port of call for technical queries on amateur radio matters. It is open to all radio amateurs and within a short period of time from its inception had hundreds of registered users. Not only are there people from the Society on the site, but people from other special interest groups and radio amateurs from overseas.

If you have just started in amateur radio, can you use it?
Yes, of course! RSGBTech is meant for everyone, the newcomer and the old hand alike. The biggest asset to the hobby is radio amateurs themselves. There is a wide range of backgrounds, knowledge and experience on the site. Even if you require advice on setting up a station for the first time, need to get to the next stage of the licence or want to source that special component which you have not been able to find for ages then RSGBTech could be the place for you. There is always someone willing to advise.

Front page of RSGBTech, the Yahoo! site where you can ask questions and give technical advice.

Is the site moderated?
Yes, but only to ensure that the questions are on topic i.e. they have to be technical and related to amateur radio.

What else you can do on the site?
You can post photographs, files, drawings etc, but please ensure that they are not subject to copyright. If they are, then please ask permission from the person who owns the copyright in the first instance.

How to join the site
Simply go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rsgbtech/
Once you see the RSGB logo you know that you are on the right track. If you are new to Yahoo! then you need to click on ‘new user’ to set up your account (at no cost). Once that is done, click on the box that says ‘join this group’. Confirmation will then be received very quickly. The whole process only takes a few minutes.

Sending a technical query
Once you have set up your Yahoo! account and logged in, simply click on the box that says ‘start topic’, type in the subject details and your technical query. Finally, click on the box that says ‘send’. Your message may take a little while before it appears on the site, as it is now in the process of being moderated. You may get a few replies or lots! It may indeed start a flurry of activity and interest from around the globe on a particular topic that keeps the moderators very busy!

Recently discussed topics Within a few weeks of its formation, literally hundreds of people had joined the RSGBTech reflector. The topics discussed included: Coax relay specification, telescopic mast design, matching stub for 1/4 wave 40m vertical, source of ‘zip’ wire, 23cm band, Archer rotator inside cog, TVI filters, portable masts and antennas, Weller soldering iron bits, Comet 250B vertical antenna, VHF path maps, Yagi tuning, noise gates, antennas for lofts, 160m Class-C PA, antenna simulation, bending a G5RV antenna, UHF SWR meters, FT-290R receive audio problems, FDK Multi-700EX, Standard C58, Yaesu FT-280, GPS, homebrew projects using mobile phone modules, PSK interference with Yaesu FT-1000MP, MFJ-1625 balcony antenna, lack of software innovation in amateur radio.
		Detail of the Yaesu FT-290R audio amplifier that was the subject of a technical query.

Answering a technical query
If you want to respond to a technical query, click on the message and then on the box marked ‘reply’. Ensure that it replies to rsgbtechyahoogroups.com then everyone will be able to see the message.
RSGBTech is one of the most dynamic ways for the modern amateur radio enthusiast to have a technical query dealt with. Join now and good luck!
Further information including links can be obtained from Leslie Butterfields, G0CIB, Acting Chair, Technical Forum, at g0cibrsgb.org.uk