RadCom April 2024, Vol. 100, No. 4

RSGB Matters www.rsgb.org 10 April 2024 An update on the amateur radio licence exams As previously announced, the amateur radio licence examinations will need to change to reflect the changes to the licence conditions announced by Ofcom. The scale of the licence changes will have a significant impact on Section 1 of the syllabus (licensing) and a small impact on Section 7 (operating). Following representations, Ofcom published the new licence on 21 February. In parallel with the Ofcom consultation and representation periods, we have been working on the syllabus and published an early draft on the RSGB website. We expect the final version of the syllabus to be ready a few weeks after Ofcom publishes the final version of the licence and we have also had time to consider comments from trainers. The new licence will come into effect before work on the syllabus and examination question bank is completed. We have, therefore, sought and gained approval from Ofcom to continue to examine to the current licence conditions for a period of six months following the publication of the new licence. This will allow trainers time to update their courses in line with the new syllabus and allow candidates that have started their training under the current licence conditions to complete their courses and take the exam. We expect examinations to the new licence conditions will begin on 1 September 2024. Candidates that pass the exam between the introduction of the new licence and the new exam should be advised to read the new licence before starting to operate. We appreciate that some people may wonder why the timing has changed to 1 September from the original target of 1 April which had been proposed in a Tonight@8 webinar in August 2023. We have shared our reasoning on the RSGB website to help all tutors and candidates understand. You can find that explanation at rsgb.org/syllabus2019 We hope that we can work together as an exam and training community to ensure everything is in place for 1 September. Tony Kent, G8PBH Examination Standards Committee Chair New District Representative in Region 11 Welcome to Robert Searby, M0KLG who has just taken up the role of District Representative 111 (Cornwall and Scillies). If you live in that area and would like some help with amateur radio issues, or if you would like to invite Robert to talk to your club, you can contact him via dr111@rsgb.org.uk Bob Wilkinson, G3VVT It is with great sadness that we have to report the passing of Bob Wilkinson, G3VVT on 13 February 2024. Bob had served as ETCC Manager for North England since 2006. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time. RSGB safeguarding policy The RSGB safeguarding policy has been revised in line with modern practices. You can find it on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/policies Affiliated club insurance and safeguarding If your club relies on the RSGB affiliated insurance for activities that may have a safeguarding requirement, it is important that you are aware of the conditions in Section 10 of that insurance. You can find the insurance details in your club portal on the RSGB website. RadCom wrappers We have been trialling paper wrappers for RadCom as part of our plans to be more environmentally friendly. We have been collating feedback and are aware that there have been particular problems with the gluing of the RadCom wrappers. Please be assured that we are discussing this with our supplier to try to resolve the problem as soon as possible. RadCom delivery to Guernsey and the Isle of Man Following complaints from some RSGB members, we have investigated a problem with non-delivery of RadCom on Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It seems that following changes at the Royal Mail, the labelling requirement for these copies was incorrectly applied by our printers and these copies didn’t go through the postal system correctly. We are sorry that this error has occurred and apologise for any inconvenience caused. We have, of course, asked our printers to ensure that there is no repetition of this problem, and they have paid for the two missing copies to be sent to each of our members in those areas. If your RadCom doesn’t arrive in future, please email the RSGB membership team via membership@rsgb.org.uk so they can send a replacement and track any wider problem. 2023 – a year in numbers Despite the global and economic challenges that touched the lives of many, we were pleased to see that the amateur radio community continued to thrive in 2023. Amateur radio may have changed shape and adapted with the times, but as the UK’s National Society we have been there not only to support our members but also to defend the spectrum and provide information for all radio amateurs. On page 40 of the March RadCom there was a feature called ‘A year in numbers’ which shows some of the great things to celebrate, in which RSGB HQ staff have often led the way. If you haven’t read it, take a few minutes to look at the infographic with the highlights, and read the fuller story. You can also see the video and read the feature on our website – go to rsgb.org/strategy-updates and click on “2023 - a year in numbers”. In this April issue, you can read more about the work of the RSGB committees and other specialist volunteers on pages 36 to 49.