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- Written by: Maintenance Guy
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This just in...
Ofcom has strongly hinted at changes to Amateur Radio licencing in its latest 'Plan of work 2023-24'.
The intro-blub says:
"Over the next year and beyond, our remit will continue to expand to deliver positive outcomes for consumers and the broader economy while minimising potential harms. Already, we have taken on new duties for video-sharing platforms and telecoms security, and the forthcoming Online Safety Bill will give us an important new task and tools for creating a safer life online."
Yeah, whatever, but the interesting bits are, as always, deep in the detail:
“WTA (Wireless Telegraphy Act) licence simplification. Alongside our move to a new licensing platform, we will review our licensing processes and documentation to ensure we have an efficient approach, reducing the burden on our licensees as far as possible and simplifying their engagement with us. A key part of this program will be our review of Amateur licensing”
and
“Amateur radio licences review. We will consult on proposals to simplify our licensing framework for amateur radio licensing and incorporate new areas of amateur radio activity. Our aim is to provide clear updated rules which afford radio amateurs greater freedom to operate, drawing on feedback provided by the sector”.
Well that certainly seems encouraging if extremely vague at the moment. 'New areas of amateur radio activity' suggests that Ofcom have finally woken up to the fact that amateur radio has moved on leaps and bounds in the last few years, and so much of the modern amateur's playground simply doesn't fit onto the 'map' that Ofcom and the RSGB currently have stuck up on their office walls.
And thank goodness for that. I was beginning to think I was stuck in a terrible recurring sepia-tinged nightmare!
There is an interesting and ongoing discussion as to exactly what this could mean over at Essex Ham. What do you think it will entail?
I guess we'll have to wait and see what the 'consultation' throws up. It's due out imminently, and will run until June this year.
More as we have it...
Berni M0XYF
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- Written by: Chris G4ZCS
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Well, another interesting and busy month on the radio, and a few running repairs in the garden!
As mentioned last month I am going to say a bit about Islands On The Air (IOTA for short).
This is a long running programme that does what it says on the tin. All the islands of the world have been given a code, such as England, which is EU-005. EU is Europe and 005 is its number. If you live on the Falklands, it is SA-002 (South America), whilst Australia is OC-001 (Oceania).
Other groups are Antarctica, Asia, North America, and Africa - about 1200 islands in all. This month, without really trying, I have contacted 66 islands. My prize contact for the whole month was on 15 Metres SSB with FK8GM on New Caledonia, reference OC-032. This was also an ATNO (All Time New One) for me, that only took 40 years to get!
Anyone can have a go at island hunting, I can recommend it especially as the QSL cards can be spectacular, though they are not all tropical paradises (see picture).
This month saw, amongst others, the CQ World Wide SSB contest which is in essence a free-for-all for DXers.
I started with a couple of contacts that were very loud but took a lot of effort to get a reply.
It did not seem right, so having checked the radio, switches & amp’, I took a trip down the garden only to find the antenna lying in the grass.
A quick check showed no damage to the loop so I rushed about and found some bits to bodge it all back into the air (another photo). Now I know that yellow wire works nearly as well as blue!
As pointed out by Ken, our president, there are many new amateurs on the bands since the last sunspot maximum so the bands can be a bit crowded, especially if a 'rare-ish' station is on.
This makes any unusual contact a bit special. One such is 'RI41POL' which I have worked several times. It is a Russian polar research ship active from as close to the North Pole as it can get. Unfortunately, however, contacts with the South Pole are nil so far.
To make up for that, several contacts with Bob VP8LP have been made in Port Stanley. Another unusual contact was with KN6IPA/AM claiming to be flying over Norway in a military tanker aircraft at 30,000 ft. (I’m sure Murmansk wasn’t in Norway).
Well, that’s it for March with 162 DXCCs for the year, now to see what April brings!
Chris, G4ZCS
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Friday evening saw the 56th Mid Sussex Amateur Radio Society AGM take place and there was a fair turnout, although as ever, more would have been appreciated. You can't really have much of a say in how the Society is run if you don't turn up for the AGM, but I was pleased to see most everybody that plays an active role in Society business either in the room or on Zoom. There were a couple of members who were duly excused due to being on holiday.
Overall, it was an uncontentious and generally successful evening. The only fights that broke out were over the chocolate digestives.
Before I go on, I would like to thank Alan G8YKV and Stella M6ZRJ for holding court on the top table. Both did a good job of getting business completed. Chris M7VJE succeeded in wrestling the projector into submission (I think it's time that thing went in the bin), and although he was probably a bit frustrated that the hardware didn't play ball, the Zoom attendees both got to participate, which was the main point. Well done for persevering.
It was great to see Ken and Russell amongst others at the hall, as well as having our RSGB Region 10 Rep. in attendance, one Keith Bird G4JED. Nice to meet Keith, and thank you for your kind remarks regarding the website.
A functional committee was elected, albeit with three vacancies, the most notable of which was the position of Hon. Programme Secretary.
Personally, I don't think it's fair for one person to be lumbered with organising everything everywhere all at once (see what I did there?!) so a plea to all members - pull your finger out, and see if you can't individually find a speaker to give an interesting talk one evening. We only really need 4 or 6 decent talks a year, so come on. You can surely manage that between you!
The other big news regarding the committee is that we have a new chairman! Fantastic news, and I'm really pleased that Chris M7VJE has taken on the role. I for one will be very happy to give him my support going forward.
Following on from that, we should thank Sue G6YPY for doing her bit as Programme Secretary last year, to Peter G4AKG of course as our outgoing Chairman (always a pleasure dealing with Peter) and also to Mike G8KMP who stood down from his committee position as Membership Secretary after countless years of service to the society. A very tasteful engraved goblet was presented to Mike with the Society's thanks.
A couple of other reprobates were jointly awarded the much coveted G5RV trophy, so well done to Phil G4UDU for his sizeable contribution in the last 12 months. You can prize it out of my grip in six months time.
One final thanks to everyone else who served on the committee last year, as well as all those who regularly join our radio nets, contribute content for the website, those who generously donated to the hardware fund this year and everyone else that continues to support the future of the Society by signing up as members each year. Without you, we're just talking to ourselves.
I'll post a proper committee update on the website once they officially take office on 1st April.
Regards,
Berni M0XYF
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This Friday is the MSARS Annual General Meeting.
Members (only) may either attend in person, or participate via Zoom. Please see the calendar and members section for further details.
Date: 24th March 2023; Time: 19.30 for meeting start at 19:45 approx.
Venue:- Millfield Suite, Cyprus Hall, Cyprus Rd, Burgess Hill, West Sussex. RH15 8DX.
Zoom details as sent to you via email.
Please note that the Zoom login details for the AGM are DIFFERENT FROM THE REGULAR ZOOM DETAILS ON THE WEBSITE. You have been warned!
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Here's a great-looking new tool to enlighten everybody on the current state of HF propagation. Congratulations to the developers, and I hope that it gets both well used and supported in the future. You can click on the interactive map to get a perspective from your own locator square, which is very neat. I guess time will tell how faithfully it represents real-world band conditions.
You can find it at http://hf.dxview.org
Berni M0XYF
