RadCom April 2024, Vol. 100, No. 4

Report 40 April 2024 on the air, please also let me know so it too can be publicised. Norfolk Amateur Radio Club is very active in providing Morse classes. We have made several changes in the last year and we have several students joining in each week. Classes are held on the local 2m repeater, GB3NB, as well as simplex. This has the advantage of catering for both tutors and students who might have an inferior 2m antenna, plus it attracts others from further away. We have dispensed with speed-range classes and just cater for whoever turns up at the time, so it could vary, but then we found that limiting classes to speeds also limited those attending. The raw beginner’s class has five students this year. We decided to run it at the level of the student with the lowest fundamental speed and just wait for all to catch up, rather than push too hard and lose students. This is working well at the moment. In my class I have a 12-year- old schoolboy, Frankie, M7EQR. He is extremely keen and has already mastered the learning of the code. He now has to wait for the slower students to catch up. However, this does have the effect of producing confidence. Boot camps have not been so active in the last year or so and Covid still seems to be taking its toll on these. However, Essex CW Amateur Radio Club ran one again and it was very successful. Certificates are still being issued and some of the new volunteers have done well in this respect. The schedule on the RSGB page is still looking reasonably healthy but I would like to add to it. We are still maintaining the status quo but if anybody would like to volunteer, just one hour per week, please email using the address below. I will be only too pleased to add you to the list. The schedule is on the RSGB website: http:// rsgb.org/main/operating/morse/certificate-of- competency/gb2cw-broadcast-schedule/ FISTS and CWops have both been very popular in encouraging newcomers in their activity periods on the air. CWops has a CW Academy that you can sign up for. Take a look at their website: https://cwops.org/cw-academy/ Finally, the picture shows the efforts being put into Morse tuition by the Essex CW Club. These people are undergoing the slow-speed session with Andy, G0IBN. I would like to thank all the volunteers for their dedicated work and effort in the continuing process of teaching Morse Code and letting new students master a unique mode of communication that will never die. Roger Cooke, G3LDI gb2cw@rsgb.org.uk GB2RS Every Sunday, over 100 volunteer Newsreaders broadcast the RSGB News using the special callsign GB2RS. The bulletins can be found right across the amateur bands, from 1.8MHz up to 10GHz. National readings take place on the lower HF bands, with more localised transmissions on VHF and above. The VHF/UHF broadcasts are both simplex and via analogue repeaters; they include club and local event news suitable to the nearby coverage area. An international version goes out via the QO-100 narrowband transponder. Whether your current operating interest is in phone, amateur television or digital modes, there’s a broadcast to suit you. If you prefer to hear the news when it’s more convenient to your busy life, both audio podcasts and catch-up video versions are available. The Broadcast Schedule currently offers around 65 transmissions spread across the UK, ranging from early morning through to late evening. The complete list can be downloaded from rsgb.org/gb2rsschedule and you are quite likely to find a broadcast within range of your station. You can find web links to our online resources there too. Many of our broadcasters are happy to take calls after the news has been read and this can be a great way to check out your signal if you are experimenting with new equipment or antennas. Listener reports are also most welcome. In the past year, we have been able to add a number of new broadcasts to the Schedule as we work to enhance coverage so that as many amateurs as possible can receive the weekly news. For example, we’re delighted to now have a broadcast on the 80m band from North Wales which covers a wide geographical area. Also, digital voice (DV) is a mode that is developing rapidly within GB2RS. We offer a DV HF broadcast on the 80m band each Sunday morning and most of the popular DV networks deliver the News via both hotspots and on-air digital repeaters. The GB2RS Newsreaders are a dedicated group who give their time to deliver the news every weekend. We are always happy to hear from RSGB members that are Full or Intermediate licensees, who would like to be part of the GB2RS team. This can be either to help with an existing broadcast or even to propose a brand-new transmission. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact the GB2RS Manager using the email address below. Steve Richards, G4HPE gb2rs.manager@rsgb.org.uk HF Contest Committee (HFCC) 2023 saw a combination of legacy contests, club- based contest series and innovative FT4 events. Participation was good; we saw a continuing improvement in HF propagation as we move towards the peak of solar cycle 25. Many of our members continue to turn to radio to provide stimulation and contact with other radio amateurs which leads to increased participation in many of our contests. We are encouraged that our historic contests are maintaining excellent numbers of entrants, particularly the Commonwealth Contest which has averaged well over 250 participants for over a decade. Out ‘flagship’ IOTA contest attracts around 2000 entrants each year. 2023 saw the RSGB join forces with the UK and Ireland Contest Club in partnering to promote two annual International 24-hour HF contests – CW on the last weekend in April and SSB on a fifth weekend in the autumn. The number of UK and Irish participants in the first two joint events was significantly increased, showing the value of this strategic alliance. The FT4 Contest Series, which was introduced in 2019, has remained popular with over 150 entrants from UK and Crown Dependencies, plus over 150 non-UK entrants. This was the third year with a multi- band format, on the 80, 40 and 20 bands. For 2024, we are expanding to include the 15 and 10m bands to encourage activity from North America. The FT4 International Day is also being expanded to a 24-hour format in response to requests from overseas participants. The committee has been discussing how best to accommodate the anticipated alterations to our licence conditions. We hope to implement changes that are encouraging to all entrants whether they are newcomers Essex CW Amateur Radio Club Boot Camp 2023.