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Draft Minutes of the Board Meeting of the Radio Society of Great
Britain held on Friday 16th January and Saturday 17th January 2009 At
The Holiday Inn Garden Court Sandy Bedford
Present :
Directors
Colin Thomas G3PSM President, Spectrum and Regulatory
Robert Barden MD0CCE Technical (Environmental)
Robin Bellerby GM3ZYE Public Services
Phillip Brooks G4NZQ Regional Council delegate
Leslie Butterfields G0CIB Technical and Propagation Studies Committee
Don Field G3XTT Radio Sports, IOTA, QSL Bureau
Brian Reay G8OSN Amateur Radio Development
Jim Stevenson G0EJQ Regional Council delegate
Anthony Vinters G0WFG Education (co-opted).
Dave Wilson M0OBW ETCC and HFC
In Attendance
Angus Annan MM1CCR IARU Region 1 Conference Delegation Leader
Ex-officio
Peter Kirby G0TWW General Manager
Rupert Thorogood G3KKT Company Secretary
Bob Dingle G0OCB Treasurer
The Meeting was preceded by a session on Directors’ financial responsibilities presented
by the Honorary Treasurer, the Financial Controller and the General Manager.
The President opened the meeting at 2010 and welcomed the members to Sandy for the
first Board Meeting of 2009. He welcomed Robert Barden MD0CCE to the Board who is
the first Isle of Man resident to sit on the Board. He also welcomed the presence of
Angus Annan MM1CCR in his role as IARU Region 1 Conference Delegation Leader.
1. Apologies
1.1 There were no apologies.
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2. Minutes of the previous meetings held on Friday 7 November and
Saturday 8 November 2008 at the Holiday Inn Garden Court Sandy
Bedford
2.1 The Minutes were agreed with the following corrections
2.1.1 Item 8.7.2 should read that the meeting decided that all members of the RSGB
Raynet Groups would have free badges for three years.
2.1.2 Item 8.2.1 the intention was that the regional team will promote the interest in TtT.
3. Matters Arising
3.1 Alignment of the Radio Amateurs examination with Vocational Qualifications
previous item 3.1 The papers from the QCA had been circulated at the previous meeting.
The Portfolio Holder said that of the three outstanding items two have been completed
(customer relations and equal opportunities). The outstanding item is the independence of
the assessment for the intermediate and advanced examinations. He will contact Ofqual
and there will be a meeting between the interested parties. Ongoing.
3.2 Pathfinder Group Interim Report previous item 3.2. The Pathfinder group is
closed but the Ascension Market Research is ongoing. The General Manager said that the
National Council agreed to proceed with the Ascension recommendation on the Public
Relations initiative.
3.3 Gifting Policy previous item 3.4. General Manager was to issue a GI on the Gifting
Policy. Closed.
3.4 RAYNET Personal Accident Insurance previous item 3.5 Closed.
3.5 RAYNET ID Badges previous item 3.6 See portfolio report by the Director Public
Services item 9.7.
3.7 HAREC and statement by COMREG previous item 3.8 Closed.
3.8 Amendment of bylaws for Electronic voting Previous item 3.9 The membership
will be advised of the bylaw changes at the AGM.
3.9 Optical marking of exam papers previous item 3.12 the General Manager to liaise
with the RCF and Ofcom regarding the possibility of optical marking and an on-line
examination system. The General Manager said that there has been a requirement for
new software for some time. He said that the current software will shortly expire and
there had been a meeting between the RCF, the General Manager and the Examinations
department to define the requirements. Ongoing.
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3.10 Financial Report previous item 4.6 The Treasurer to post an explanation on the
Board reflector regarding cash levels. Closed.
3.11 List for QSL Manager Previous item 3.14 the CD Rom has not yet been issued.
The General Manager said that the preparation is almost complete and should be
available by the end of the month. Ongoing.
3.12 IARU Annual Report previous item 7.4 the General Manager to locate and action
the IARU Annual Report Form. Closed.
3.13 IOTA Position Paper previous item 8.8.1 the General Manager to issue the revised
Position Paper as a GI and entitled IOTA Policy and Management. Closed.
3.14 Sports Radio Awards Manager previous item 8.8.2 The General Manager and the
Sports Radio Portfolio Holder to liaise on the question of an Awards Manager. The
General Manager said that the post had been advertised and there had been one response
which is under consideration. Ongoing.
3.15 Car stickers - completed previous item 8.9.2. Now available and closed.
3.16 Chairman for the Technical Forum previous item 9.3 the post to be advertised.
Pending the appointment of a permanent Chairman the Portfolio Holder will act as
Chairman.
Action: the General Manager to advertise for the post of Chairman for the
Technical Forum
3.17 Club Ownership of equipment previous item 9.9.2 The General Manager to seek
legal advice on club ownership of equipment. Ongoing.
3.18 Club Constitutions Previous item 9.5 the General Manager said that the copies are
still in store and will not be available for some time. Ongoing.
4. Re-appointment of Honorary Company Secretary and Honorary
Treasurer
4.1 The appointments were confirmed.
4.2 The Terms of Reference for the Company Secretary will be issued as a GI
Action: The General Manager to amend GI3/93.
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5. Appointment of co-opted Board members
5.1 The ETCC and HFC Portfolio Holder asked why the co-opted Education Portfolio
Holder did not stand for election. After clarification the Board agreed that the co-option
should continue for a further and final year.
6. Confirmation of appointment of Committee Chairmen and Honorary
Officers.
6.1 The General Manager asked that this be deferred until he can produce a paper on the
subject.
Action: The General Manager to produce a summary paper by e-mail regarding
the appointment of Committee Chairmen and Honorary Officers.
7. Financial Report and Budget Report
7.1 The Abbreviated Financial Report had been prepared by the Financial Controller and
was presented by the Treasurer.
7.1.1 He said that November was a difficult month with a deficit of £18.9k against a
budgeted deficit of £5k. However, the total accumulated funds at £954167 are £4,010
higher than budgeted. No one factor has caused this outcome but the most significant
drivers are:-
Subscriptions £1,055 lower than budget
Advertising £1,700 lower than budget
Book contribution £3,602 lower than budget
7.1.2 Exam numbers for both foundation and intermediate were better than forecast
7.1.3 Expenditure increases beyond budget include:-
accounts audit costs will be higher due to increased fees
commercial marketing costs are £4.3k over budget
foreign conference costs are over budget
Leicester Rally costs were £7.9k over budget
7.1.4 Balance sheet shows £919k of which £254k is on deposit and £650k on Treasury
deposit.
7.1.5 Questions were asked on relocation expenses and additional salary costs. The
General Manager undertook to provide the details. Questions were also asked about
conference costs and the reimbursement arrangements for partners.
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Action: the General Manager to supply information on relocation expenses and
additional salary costs.
7.2 The report from the Budget sub committee was presented by the Honorary Treasurer
who went through the various items. Questions were asked on the estimation of the lapse
rate, the liability for rates, the Exam fee revision and the CRB renewal policy. The Public
Service Portfolio Holder suggested that the latter should be a burden on the instructors
but the Amateur Radio Development Portfolio Holder noted that the burden on the
instructors was increasing (Ofqual, CRB, etc). There are two aspects to find the finance
and whether the Society should become a registering body. After some discussion the
president suggested that the CRB reference in the budget report be deleted. See also
9.7.3.
Action: The Public Service Portfolio Holder will propose a solution to the CRB
problem for the next Board.
7.2.1 The reference to the exams standards group should read the examination committee.
7.2.2 The recommendations that the Board accept the budget figures as outlined was
proposed by the ETCC and HFC Portfolio Holder and seconded by the Regional delegate
(Phillip Brooks G4NZQ). The second recommendation was proposed by the ETCC and
HFC Portfolio Holder and seconded by the Regional delegate (Jim Stevenson G0EJQ).
Both recommendations were approved on a show of hands.
7.3 The Board then reviewed the Commentary on the Budget which has been issued by
the General Manager and the Financial Controller.
7.3.1 Under the Expenditure item on salaries the ETCC and HFC Portfolio Holder
queried the 2% increase and this did not agree with the Management Committee figure.
7.3.2 On the balance sheet the ETCC and HFC Portfolio Holder queried the CapEx item.
The General Manager clarified what was included under this heading and said that the
Management Committee was cognizant of the items that were purchased.
7.3.3 There was a protracted discussion on the overall thrust of the budget exercise.
The meeting was suspended at 2300 and reconvened at 0900 the next morning.
8. Commercial Report
8.1 The Commercial Report had been prepared by the Commercial Manager and been
previously circulated. It was presented by the General Manager.
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8.2 Advertising. Concerns on advertising continue. He expects additional effort will be
required to maintain the usual levels.
8.3 Books. He said that there is a modest book list for the coming year but the
Commercial Manager continues to seek new authors. The new History of the RSGB is
expected to be completed by mid year.
8.4 Members. There had been a sudden downturn owing to an error in sending reminders
but this has now been retrieved. He hopes that the Regional Council members will play
an increasing part in promoting membership.
8.4.1 The Regional Manager (Jim Stevenson G0EJQ) asked about the membership mail
shots. The General Manager said that the mop up of long term lapsed members was
nearly exhausted.
8.5 Rallies. He said that this is a quiet period but that the Society will be represented at
Dayton and Friedrichshafen. He plans to change the stand at Friedrichshafen which will
now be partitioned as a books area and a separate meet and greet area.
9. Portfolio Reports
9.1 Spectrum and Regulatory Report had been tabled by the Portfolio Holder.
9.1.1 The Amateur Radio Development Portfolio Holder asked about the beacon issue.
The Portfolio Holder said that most of the 100 beacons will be granted individual NoVs
rather than licences held by the Society. There was some discussion on the number of
beacons required to provide a reasonable service. The Radio Sports Portfolio Holder
suggested that interested bodies could be asked to provide a position paper on the subject.
It was agreed that the Technical Committee, the Propagation Studies and the VHF
Manager will be asked to provide a study on the number of beacons required to provide
an effective service.
Action: The Spectrum Director Portfolio Holder to ask the above regarding a
beacons position paper.
9.1.2 The ETCC and HFC Portfolio Holder asked about SRDs. The Spectrum Portfolio
Holder said that the voice enablement of SRDs on the 70cm SRD sub-band will probably
go ahead but there were still formalities to be followed within CEPT and the EU.
9.2 ARDC Report had been tabled by the Portfolio Holder.
9.2.1 This was noted.
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9.3 Education and Training Report had been tabled by the Portfolio Holder.
9.3.1 He said that the specification for the software had been finalised but he was
awaiting information on candidate and tutor feedback following examination.
Consideration is being given to on line examinations but there is some concerns
about security and candidate identity.
9.3.2 He commented on the Ofqual application and the problem of convincing them of
the purpose of the examination.
9.3.3 Angus Annan as the Chairman of the Management Committee asked if the
committee was still totally committed to a paper based system or were considering
electronic alternatives. Discussions were still ongoing. There was some debate about
examination conduct.
9.4 Environment and Planning Report had been tabled by the previous Portfolio
Holder. It was noted that staff member Carlos Eavis G0AKI received a special mention
from the PAC Chairman.
9.4.1 The Regional Council delegate (Phillip Brooks G4NZQ) asked about the regional
team advising on planning issues and suggested that contact should be with the planning
and advisory committee directly.
Action: The Technical (Environmental) Portfolio Holder to ask the chairman of
the Planning Committee to draw up guidelines for regional team members for the
their reactions when approached on planning problems.
9.5 ETCC and HFC Report had been tabled by the Portfolio Holder.
9.5.1 He commented on a possible VHF stream for this year’s Convention. It is hoped
that the VHF Manager will be involved with this. He suggested a name change for the
event and suggested the RSGB Convention. This was describer as long overdue and
agreed.
Action: All Board members to refer to the RSGB Convention in future
9.5.2 On ETCC issues the Treasurer asked about the resignations and the proposed
amalgamation between the NE and NW regions. The Portfolio Holder responded that
they were originally joined and that the split was comparatively recent.
9.5.3 The President asked about the position statement on the 2 metre band GMSK
proposal. The Portfolio Holder responded that Ofcom had suggested that any inactive
repeaters should be closed down to free up spectrum.
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9.5.4 The Amateur Radio Development Portfolio Holder suggested that the ETCC should
provide a situation document (a survey of usage) in order to structure a policy in this
regard. This was agreed.
Action: the ETCC and HFC Portfolio Holder to ask ETCC for a survey of usage
and current coverage of repeaters.
9.6 Technical and Propagation Studies Report had been tabled by the Portfolio Holder
9.6.1 He said that the Technical review system is working well.
9.6.2 It has been noted that The Pic Basics book has a number of inaccuracies.
9.7 Public Service report had been tabled by the Portfolio Holder
9.7.1 Observation service complaint. The President will action the matter raised.
Action: The President to respond to the AROS complaint.
9.7.2 He noted that the Insurance, ID cards and Uniform issues had been resolved.
9.7.3 He raised the question of CRB clearance and proposed that HQ should take the
action. The General Manager disagreed in view of the administration. It was suggested
that the Regional Managers should ascertain the level of requirement. See also 7.2.
Action: the Regional Managers to ascertain the requirements for CRB checks.
9.7.6 National Recognition of Raynet. In the first instance he suggested that we should
have a Display Board at the National Civil Defence College. This was agreed.
Action: the Public Service Portfolio Holder approach the National Civil
Defence College for facilities to display RSGB information.
9.7.7 The suggestion that an approach be made to the Cabinet Office was deferred for the
time being.
9.8 Sports Radio Report had been tabled by the Portfolio Holder.
9.8.1 He added that the proposals for Short Contest Calls for individuals as well as clubs
were under review. The Committee are drawing up guidelines at the request of Ofcom.
9.8.2 He said that there is no volunteer yet for the post of publicity manager for trophies.
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9.8.3 IOTA. Nobody has come forward as IOTA Committee Chairman and he suggested
that the post is not required now that the major issues have been revolved. He proposed
that the committee be disbanded and that the IOTA Manager report directly to the
Portfolio Holder. The President suggested that a proposal is brought forward to the next
meeting.
Action: the Portfolio Holder to produce a paper on the IOTA structure for the
next meeting.
9.8.4 The IARU Region 1 High Speed Telegraphy Championships in Bulgaria in
September was brought to the Board’s attention.
9.9 Regional Team Report
9.9.1 This was presented by the Regional Council Representative (Phillip Brooks
G4NZQ).
9.9.2 The General Manager said that he had written to David Bullock regarding the award
of his MBE. It was suggested that there should be an item in RadCom.
Action: The General Manager will take the matter up with
the Editor of RadCom.
9.9.3 The Portfolio Holder hoped that the money allocated to the Regions would be used
properly and that he would encourage Regional Managers in this respect.
10. London Olympics 2012
10.1 This was introduced by the Radio Sports Portfolio Holder and the meeting was
joined by representatives from the Cray Valley Club (Bob Treacher M3RCV, Mark
Haynes M0DXR and Dave Lawley G4BUO) all of whom have considerable experience
in similar events.
10.2 Bob Treacher spoke to his paper that had been previously circulated by the Radio
Sports Portfolio Holder. He said that there is huge commercial interest in the event but
that only companies that contribute can use the Logo. He thought that amateur radio will
be classified as culture. This will affect the use of the logo on QSL cards. He dealt in
some detail on the proposed locations for the stations at Olympic activity sites.
10.3 The President said that there had been some outline discussion with Ofcom and
there had been some provisional thoughts regarding callsigns.
10.4 The President suggested that a combined meeting with LOCOG, the RSGB and
Ofcom should be set up and asked the Cray Valley Club to coordinate this.
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10.5 The General Manager asked about funding and Bob Treacher stated that it was
hoped to attract lottery funding and also funding from Greenwich Council. Closing the
item the Radio Sports Portfolio Holder summarised by saying there are still many issues
to be resolved. He thinks that a coordinator with HQ will be necessary as guidelines are
necessary for other clubs. It was felt that this would be best done by a member of the
Cray Valley Club.
The President thanked the Cray Valley Club delegates for attending the meeting.
Action: Radio Sports Portfolio holder will liaise closely with the Cray Valley
Club to set up a meeting with LOCOG and Ofcom.
11. RAYNET Issues
11.1 A letter had been tabled emanating from RAEN in January addressed to the South
East Hampshire group. The SE Hampshire group had written to the Network and the
Society regarding the setting aside of the MoU. This had resulted in a decision by the
President, the General Manager and the Portfolio Holder that they would defer any
meeting until the problem was resolved. The Public Services Portfolio Holder will set up
a new meeting.
Action: The Public Services Portfolio Holder will set up a new meeting with
South East Hampshire Raynet.
12 Ofcom Matters
12.1 The President said that this was a continuation of the PLT problem and the ongoing
problems with Ofcom. He was considering legal opinion but is examining other channels.
The Chairman of the EMC committee, the General Manager, the President and Colin
Richards of the EMC will be meeting shortly to discuss a way forward.
12.2 The Technical (Environmental) Portfolio Holder enquired whether this matter was
being taken out of proportion.
14. IARU Region 1 Conference Report
14.1 Angus Annan MM1CCR, who had headed the UK delegation, spoke to his
previously circulated report on the Conference.
14.2 He specifically dealt with the objectives of the delegation regarding the nominations
for President and Secretary and the RSGB proposals for the 40m band plan and deliberate
QRM.
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14.3 He highlighted several issues particularly those concerning financial planning and
the administration within Region 1, and he praised the work of the C4 and C5 committee
teams who had presented a large number of papers and achieved great success in getting
them agreed at the conference.
14.4 The Amateur Radio Development Portfolio Holder asked about the elections and the
changed candidature from the UK. The General Manager explained the intricacies
surrounding the administration of the Conference. He had sensed some anti-RSGB
briefing on arrival in Cavtat. It appeared to him that although R1 are happy with the
funding from the RSGB and DARC they are concerned about the influence this might
bring. He went on to describe in some detail his concerns about the functioning of the
conference.
14.5 The Radio Sports, IOTA and QSL Bureau Portfolio Holder recounted his own
thoughts on the conference. He said that with hindsight he was grateful that Hatfield had
not been chosen as the venue for the next conference, mainly because of the financial
obligations that fall on the hosting Society.
14.6 There were several observations on the EC elections and the Amateur Radio
Development Portfolio Holder thought that a special apology should be conveyed from
the Board to the second candidate who was asked to stand. The President and the
General Manager assured the meeting that this had been done. Various members of the
Board asked for sight of the letters that were sent.
Action: the President and the General Manager.
14.7 The recommendations to the Board were discussed. In essence all the
recommendations were accepted except that regarding partners. The General Manager
said that it would be difficult to impose a ban on delegates taking their partners to
conference. This was a long established policy and partners attended at their own
expense and at no cost to the Society.
14.8 The President announced that the next IARU Region 1 EC meeting will take place at
Heathrow on the weekend of the 28 February/1 March and suggested that someone present who
had not attended the previous meeting would like to attend. This will provisionally be the
Treasurer (since confirmed)..
14.9 The President proposed that in view of the completely misread signals from Region
1 Societies in respect of the Region 1 Executive Committee elections and the
recommendations from the leader of the RSGB delegation, the IARU Liaison Committee
should be resurrected.
Action: The President to re-constitute the IARU Liaison Committee.
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14.10 There was a deferred action from the previous Board meeting regarding the
election of the AC members and the admission of new Societies to IARU and the Board
was asked to vote.
Proposal 241 Timothy S Ellen to serve as President of the IARU agreed
Proposal 242 Ratification of Ole Garpestad to serve as Vice Vresident agreed
Proposal 243 Admission of the Emirates Amateur Radio Society agreed
Proposal 244 Admission of Kazakhstan Federation of Radio sports
and Radio amateurs (KFRR) agreed.
15. Project North
15.1 The General Manager had tabled a paper which had been previously circulated.
15.2 The Technical (Environmental) Portfolio Holder asked about project management.
The General Manager said the constructional side is being undertaken externally and
currently at no cost to the Society.
16. Board Awards 2009
16.1 The General Manager has prepared a paper which had been previously circulated.
16.2 The President asked that the Board review the various proposals and bring
recommendations to the March Board meeting.
Action: All Board Members to review the Awards Proposals in time for
the next Board meeting in March.
17. AOB
17.1 The Public Services Portfolio Holder said that on the 7th February there is a
possibility that JY10 will be on the air from Amman to celebrate the life of King Hussein
on the 10th anniversary of his death.
17.2 The Education Portfolio Holder was concerned about the lack of discussion on the
future of Amateur Radio. The General Manager observed that this meeting had been
useful on a number of policy issues as the Board is too often concerned with routine
matters. There are a lot of issues which we are facing and he suggested that the order of
business be turned around. After some discussion it was agreed that the thrust of the
Board business should be modified.
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17.3 The Treasurer said that he would produce a draft planning framework for Board
consideration at the next meeting which would capitalise on the General Manager’s
suggestion to hold a budget planning sub committee in August and would assist the
Board in developing its strategic activity.
17.4 The Amateur Radio Development Portfolio Holder said he had received an e-mail
from Ian Able G3ZHI regarding Lottery Grants. The Regional Council was aware of
these possibilities.
17.5 The ETCC and HFC Portfolio Holder raised the question of a possibly illegal advert
by Maplin. The General Manager said this is being investigated.
17.6 The Regional Council Delegate (Jim Stevenson G0EJQ) asked if there are any plans
to replace the Leicester Rally. The General Manager said that there is nothing budgeted.
There was a suggestion that we duplicate the Donington experience and have an RSGB
pavilion at Blackpool.After discussion it was agreed to try and host a Meet and greet area in
the main room with members of various committees in attendance to answer questions and
publicise the work the RSGB does on behalf of all Radio Amateurs.
17.7 The Regional Council Delegate (Phillip Brooks G4NZQ) said that some posters had
been laminated for use at Rallies
17.8 The Radio Sports, IOTA and QSL Bureau Portfolio Holder asked if CQ100,
Echolink and D-Star will be discussed on another occasion and asked where are the
boundaries of the Amateur Radio hobby. After some discussion it was agreed that the
Board endorses any technique that encourages communication.
17.9 The Technical and Propagation Studies Committee Portfolio Holder noted that the
Technical Forum is responsible for technical awards but there is a proposal for an award
for an item that had been contributed by a columnist. The General Manager said that
there was no rule for this contingency except for the terms of a particular award and that
this has been done in the past.
17.10 The Technical and Propagation Studies Portfolio Holder said that the Technical
Forum does not usually nominate a forum member for an award and he thinks that this
should continue. The General Manager said that this is not a committee, only a forum, so
this is not a problem.
17.11 The Public Services Portfolio Holder wished to report on a visit to the Pontefract
club and showed their publicity card. He will write to the club congratulating them.
18. Confirmation of date and venue of next meeting.
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The next meeting will be on the 20th and 21st March at the Crewe Arms Hotel in Crewe.
Members should make their own reservations although a block of rooms has already been
allocated. The GM will circulate details
There being no other business the President thanked the members for their work and
closed the meeting at 1600
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