Each week I will inform you of life at the RSGB, what's going on, what projects we are working on and generally keep you up to date with all the news and I guess some gossip.
As the blog evolves you will be able to post your comments and observations. I hope you will join me and enjoy the experience.
My last Blog was entitled “Three Days in May”, this one I guess should be entitled “Eight weeks since the last one!” For the reader I apologise but May and June are very busy periods and I have had to fit in a break from the office in as well.
Since the last Blog, I have again been on my travels, this time to Friedrichshafen. The Friedrichshafen Hamfest is the largest amateur radio show in Europe and its very location—Friedrichshafen is situated on the banks of Lake Constance—makes it a very popular meeting place for radio hams across Europe and afar.
This years show was blessed with excellent weather and after a day at the show the lakeside restaurants were teeming with radio amateurs eating dinner ‘al fresco’ and in animated conversation. I guess this initially paints a picture of us all ‘swanning off on a jolly’ but in reality nothing could be further from the truth! Friedrichshafen, for three days, is all things IARU and Region 1 in particular. It’s a very convenient meeting place for all European societies to get together, so a lot of my time, along with the President, is spent in meetings. One day alone there is three meetings and a reception which means the work day starts at around seven-thirty in the morning and finishes around eight in the evening. By the time you get back to the hotel shower and get changed you are normally sitting down to dinner around nine-thirty to ten o’clock which makes for a very long day indeed. Those volunteers who help on the RSGB stand are faced with equally long days but let's not distract from the fact that there is a fun element too. There must be, otherwise they would not put up with what they have to contend with.
Although it was bright and vibrant and blessed with good weather Friedrichshafen was quieter than previous years, it was noticeable that numbers of visitors were down and the ‘flea market’ element of the show was also smaller than in past years. I usually get the opportunity to visit the flea market on Saturday morning and I was disappointed at the lack of genuine bargains to be had and the cost of some of what can only be described as junk on offer. There is no doubt the economic situation and the weakness of the Pound against the Euro had an effect on the spending power of those attending the event. Friedrichshafen was expensive and so was France when I made a brief stop over on the way back. I guess the message is avoid the Euro zone for a holiday if at all possible.
The first of the meetings at Friedrichshafen was the EMC meeting. This was attended by IARU Region 1 societies. For the last twelve years at least the discussions at this meeting have been dominated by PLT. This year was no different but the tone was.
Over the past 12 years the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) of which the RSGB was a founder member and which represents all radio amateurs not just in Europe but across the world, has put up robust arguments against the introduction of PLT. These arguments, which have been centred on what would be a tolerable increase in the RF noise floor level, have been successful in delaying the roll-out of PLT and in some instances have led to companies involved in the development of the systems giving up and moving on to other technologies. Twelve years after discussions started there is still no agreement to the RF noise floor standard and the EU in exasperation have moved the discussions from CISPR which has a fancy French title but is the International Special Committee on Radio Interference to CENELEC which is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation. This move takes the discussions from a technical forum to one that is slightly less technical in a move which is hoped will lead to agreement in reaching a new standard in less than 12 years! The feeling is that it is a bit like “herding cats” so there is very little chance of an agreement being reached. It is fair to say and a little disappointing too that some societies within Region 1 have not necessarily given up the fight but have accepted that with notching being introduced into PLA/PLT devices on a selection of amateur radio bands that the battle has been won and that we have got the best deal we could get. There was also a feeling amongst some delegates that discussions should concentrate on amateur radio and not include the threat to the broadcast frequencies and those enthusiasts who enjoy short wave listening (SWL) as a hobby. The RSGB team disagreed with this approach and we recognise that there is still work to be done and arguments to be won to protect the bands from these unwelcome intruders that are PLA devices so that all those that enjoy amateur radio and SWL can continue to do so. We will continue to put pressure on CENELEC members, especially those UK delegates who sit on this committee, to make sure the message is clearly heard.
The second meeting of the day was the EUROCOM meeting. EUROCOM, as the name suggests, is made up of those societies who are members of the EU. This of course has enlarged in recent years in line with the EU. I have the privilege to be Vice Chairman of EUROCOM and it is always interesting to meet and discuss our mutual problems, especially with those societies who were so recently part of the Eastern Bloc. Some of these societies are long-established but until recent years have been unable to grow. A few years ago their delegates would not have been allowed to travel to Friedrichshafen or the Region 1 conferences, that thankfully is not the case now and they are all becoming strong voices in EUROCOM and in the region which can only be good for the hobby as a whole, not just in Europe and Region 1, but across the world.
The third meeting was an informal International Meeting hosted by the International arm of the IARU. This meeting is open to all societies attending Friedrichshafen and is always a lively and interesting get-together with reports from all around the world, which this year included Australia, India, South America Canada and the USA to name just a few of the countries who turned up. Friedrichshafen is a truly international amateur radio event. Its fun, its hard work but it’s worth it.
Closer to home there have been two developments in the interference arena.
In late June the long-awaited Ofcom commissioned independent report into the effects of PLA/PLT was published. The report as expected did not truly reflect the effects non type approved devices are having on the radio spectrum and it contained a number of assumptions and recommendations for the future introduction and enhancement of these devices, most of which can be challenged as technically inappropriate. Needless to say the RSGB will continue to engage the UK government and Ofcom on your behalf to ensure that amateur radio’s voice continues to be heard. We must not forget we have had some success as a group with the introduction of notching, but the war is far from won. There are, I’m sure, more battles ahead and that is why once more through this blog I implore you to support the Spectrum Defence Fund. We now all enjoy the benefit of a free licence. The £15 we all save on our annual licence fee would go a long way in providing the funding necessary to make a real fight of it if we all made a conscious decision to donate the £15 to the fund.
The second development concerns the recent surprise announcement that Ofcom was transferring the handling of TVI cases to the BBC for investigation and solution. This comes as a surprise because the BBC do not have field staff to investigate such cases and this can be seen in some quarters as Ofcom once again diluting their responsibilities in the management of an interference-free radio spectrum. The RSGB at this time cannot give you a clear steer as to the way ahead in this matter. We have asked Ofcom and the BBC. Ofcom have yet to reply and the BBC seemed as surprised as the rest of us at this move! As soon as the picture becomes clearer we will make a statement.
What’s happening at Bletchley Park? I can hear the roar! Well I am pleased to report that the new building is completed and once a few ‘snags’, as they are called in the building trade, I am reliably informed are ironed out the keys will be handed over from the builders to the Society. The next phase is the fitting out of the exhibition area, the archive and library, and the commissioning of the radio station. So it will be a few months yet before we are ready to open the building to our members and the public. The wait will be worthwhile. On the Bletchley front those of you who live near the A1 between Newark and Biggleswade or from the A1 to Milton Keynes or regularly drive the route keep your eyes open for the LUSO tower. Don’t moan if you get stuck behind it. It’s on its way from Newark to Bletchley Park in the next couple of weeks.
Well I think that’s it for this time around. I am sure it won’t be another eight weeks before the next General Managers Blog.