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G3ZHI > ALL 12.05.10 17:05l 29 Lines 6859 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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From: G3ZHI@GB7SYP.#19.GBR.EU
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A busy time recently...
Posted Monday, 10 May 2010 at 21:00 by Peter Kirby, G0TWW
Firstly apologies to all GM Blog readers for the delay since the last blog.
I started the blogs with all good intentions of doing one a week but after a very positive start I came to a stuttering stop a couple of months ago. I have no real excuses apart from pressure of work. Hopefully I can do better over the coming weeks and months.
It has certainly been a busy time recently, lots to occupy the mind from the Audit back in February, preparations for the Eurocom Exhibition in Brussels which took place at the end of April and the Annual General meeting which took place in mid April. All three events have taxed the grey matter and many words and reports have been written. Alongside this there have been meetings with Ofcom, the RCF Trustees and a host of other organisations and individuals. And while all of this has been going on I have been back and forward to Bletchley Park to watch the new centre being built and coming to life, and on the home front the house has had some major work done on it which has occupied any spare time I have had and to keep the peace DIY has had to take a precedent over all other activities!
I am sure that those of you who attended the AGM will have enjoyed the event. The venue and location was first class and after the long, long winter AGM day was the warmest day of the year to date. Everyone was in good spirits and it was great to see all those amateurs who had won VHF trophies in the morning and members of the three clubs contesting Club of the Year. Congratulations to the Chelmsford club for coming top of the pile in 2009. The 2010 competition will shortly be underway and I know many clubs are looking forward to taking part again and having a go for the regional and national top prize.
The Eurocom Exhibition in Brussels was again a success. The themes this time around were Training and Education, Emergency Communications and Amateur Radio in Space. During the week there was a contact with the International Space Station from the EU Parliament building and a visit by European Astronauts which caused much excitement. The aim of the event is to educate and promote amateur radio to the MEPs, their assistants and the legislators who make the laws and introduce the directives which directly affect us as radio amateurs. All UK MEPs were invited to attend and some did but it was a shame that the event took place at the same time that the General Election was underway in the UK; our date came first but politics took the lead. We did, however, receive several letters of apology offering support including one from an MEP who is a radio amateur and who had slipped under our radar so it was a good networking experience.
The new centre at Bletchley Park is coming on in leaps and bounds. The building is up, the windows are in and the internal walls and doors are all in place. All the electrical wiring has also been completed. Updated pictures of the centre should appear on the RSGB website about the same time as this blog. What is left to do? Well, discussions are advanced regarding the fitting out and the displays and of course the building has to be painted inside and out and all the landscaping done around the site.
I am expecting the building to be handed over to the Society towards the end of June and then we will have to make the final decisions on the fitting out.
Since my last blog the RSGB team have had two meetings with Ofcom. The first was a field operations meeting and the second a licensing meeting. At the field ops meetings we concentrate our discussions mainly on interference matters and on this occasion we discussed both organisations. concerns with regards to poor operating and abuse on the bands, especially on repeaters and the ongoing issues regarding interference on the bands from PLAs. Just like what is happening in society in general there seems to be a lack of respect by some radio amateurs for their fellow radio amateurs. I hear much from long-established callsigns that the main culprits are those just entering the hobby, but monitoring by Ofcom and the Amateur Radio Observation Service has proved this to be wrong and it has been found that all call sign series are to blame and that it is more likely to be the old call signs that cause the most trouble. Anyway, as always the message is that there is a place in the hobby for everyone, those who have held a licence for many years and those who are just getting their first licence and starting out. For those who have been around a long time, think back to the courtesy and patience you were shown when you first came on to the bands and for those who are just starting out respect the band allocations and work hard in improving your procedures so that you become a competent and good operator.
The RSGB continues its dialogue with Ofcom regarding PLA and those of you who visit the website regularly will have seen the latest exchange of letters. It is fair to say that we found the response to our letter to the CEO of Ofcom a great disappointment with Ofcom once again missing the point entirely. Needless to say this is not the end of the matter and we continue to pursue the issue of PLAs and the noise these devices produce which adversely affects the bands right across the spectrum.
At our licensing meeting we discussed a range of topics amongst which was a further extension of the 5MHz allocation and what is happening regarding the 2012 London Olympics. Following the meeting we are confident that it will be good news regarding 5MHz and an extension will be granted, and that Ofcom will be making the announcement shortly. We are still a bit in the dark as regards to the Olympics and the role that radio amateurs might play in the organisation prior to, and during, the event. It is all a bit frustrating because in July it will be five years since London was awarded the games, and there is only two years left before the opening ceremony. It.s fair to say that Ofcom share some of these frustrations because LOCOG the organisation responsible for everything to do with organising the London Olympics are still not giving out very many clues. Ofcom have agreed to put pressure on LOCOG, so hopefully by the time our next meeting comes around in September we will have some ideas on how we will be able to do our part to make the games successful.
That.s it for this time. I.m off to Dayton in a couple of days, volcanic ash cloud not withstanding. The weather forecast for this coming week and weekend in Dayton is rain and cooler weather, so nothing will change; it will be the same woolly jumpers being needed that we are still wearing here in the UK as spring and summer try to force their way through. Back in a couple of weeks.
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