Phew! That was the summer. I guess its time to say "Welcome back" to the General Managers blog.
The last time I wrote, I was just back from Dayton and Friedrichshafen, this time around it’s at the end of the UK's major events, the Hamfest and the RSGB Convention. For those of you who didn't attend either event, can I wet your appetite for next year? The Newark Hamfest despite appalling weather on the Friday was an outstanding success, and despite the heavy rain, attracted a record crowd, Saturday was fine and warm and there were quite a few people about but it was not as busy as the Friday! Strange breed aren't we? We come out in the rain and stay at home when the sun is shining! Anyway, everyone was happy, there were plenty of bargains to be had, so the customer went home smiling as did the traders. The RSGB had fifteen information booths presenting and explaining all the work the Society does, you had the opportunity to meet the people behind the faces that you see often in RadCom and surprise, surprise they are Radio Amateurs just like you. I have been saying for many years that the RSGB is YOUR Society. Run by Radio Amateurs for the benefit of their fellow Radio Amateurs, Newark proved that with over a hundred volunteers manning the RSGB stands. Also in attendance was a team from Ofcom who were on hand to answer your questions. A very welcome guest was Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R who came over from the US and represented ARRL. This was the first time that ARRL have had a booth at a UK show and Bob's presence created a lot of interest, so much so that hopefully he will be back next year.
The annual RSGB Convention took place at the new venue Horwood House between Milton Keynes and Buckingham. Again the event broke the previous record for weekend visitors and day visitors. The convention now has four lecture streams, a DX stream, Technical stream, VHF stream and the Contest University. The event is truly international and attracts the very best lecturers; you can hear of the work and commitment that goes into mounting a major DXpedition or island activation, meet the operators and in most cases watch the video. You can learn about the cutting edge work going on in pushing out the boundaries of Amateur Radio by the world's leading experimenters and of course you hear the latest news, like the exciting announcement that the next "Five Star DX Group" DXpedition will be the activation of the remote "Christmas Islands" next year. This is truly a DXpedition on a mammoth scale with over 40 operators taking part all contributing about £4,000 to be part of the team. Their commitment to Amateur Radio is beyond question.
So remember next year reserve the first week and weekends of October to attend the Hamfest and the RSGB convention and also get involved in "Hamweek" which separates the two events.
At the Newark Hamfest, we launched the UK Amateur Radio survey. This survey is open to all UK Radio Amateurs and Short Wave Listeners, so whether you are a member of the RSGB or a non-member please take part. You can find the survey on-line at www.rsgb.org/survey. It will take you about 15-20 minutes to complete. We want to know what aspects of the hobby you are interested in, are you active, how long have you been licensed? Lots of questions like this. The data collected from the survey will help shape the direction that Amateur Radio will take over the next 15 to 20 years. It’s important that everyone has their say, so please take the time to take part.
Since my last blog, we have continued to meet with Ofcom and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills over our concerns regarding the interference caused by PLA devices on the HF Bands. I would like to report that we have been successful in convincing both Ofcom and the government of the damage that these devices are doing to the HF spectrum but it’s becoming a bit of an uphill battle. I believe that both Ofcom and the government recognize that there will be a problem in the future, but they are comfortable at the moment that the technology that has been proposed to protect the spectrum, dynamic notching and power controls, will prevent widespread interference. We are not so convinced and will continue to take our concerns to Ofcom, the government and Europe. Can you help? Yes you can. If you are experiencing interference and you are not sure what it is, it is important that you report it. Reporting it is simple, just go onto the RSGB website at www.rsgb.org/interferencereport and you will find a wealth of information on PLA/PLT and a simple reporting form. These reports will be forwarded to Ofcom. It is important that they get the full picture of the interference caused by these devices. You can also report it direct to Ofcom—remember there is no cost involved in reporting interference, you will only be charged if the interference is being generated by your own station and not from an outside source. The second way that you can support this campaign is by making a donation to the Spectrum Defence Fund. The fund now stands at £20,000 but we are still in deficit because the Society has spent over £23,000 on the campaign getting legal advice and attending meetings, etc. Your help is urgently needed. If we don't get this right we will lose HF.
Lastly, what’s happening at Bletchley Park, I can hear you say? I am pleased to say we are bang on target to open the National Radio Centre to the public on Monday 18 April 2011 so put the date in your diary. We are working on the historic element of the displays at the moment, but we will be shortly moving onto the "hands on" displays. We are all determined to develop a centre that the minute you walk in the first words you will utter is "WOW".
That’s it for now; see you again in a couple of weeks or so.