RadCom April 2024, Vol. 100, No. 4

Report Technical Forum The Technical Forum (TF) is responsible for the technical side of RSGB’s activities and is a reflector and email-based group allowing rapid response and discussion with all the forum’s members having access, and being able to contribute immediately. There have been no annual meetings this year. Technical review of articles for RadCom and the other RSGB published electronic magazines forms the bulk of the activity we perform. Any technical article being considered for publication is sent by the Technical Editor to the Forum for review. We look at its suitability, technical merit and for any safety implications. Articles are sent out as general release to the TF and members respond individually as appropriate within their areas of expertise. Occasionally a few have to be ‘pushed’ in the direction of individuals for their particular area. Absolute technical correctness in certain areas is not always challenged, especially for RadCom Plus where it is realised that experts and beginners will approach some areas in a different light. Certain articles have been ‘allowed through’ in spite of a few concerns and in such cases it is left to readers and the correspondence columns to discuss them. The members of the Forum have a breadth of specialist knowledge to cover many of the areas needed for detailed review. Software Radio and the new data modes and 21st century techniques are rapidly moving into the hobby so it may be necessary to use external experts, particularly if there could be safety and legal implications involved; advice on earthing is one particular point that has caused some problems and which still raises its head from time to time Another task we perform is the selection of award winners for the five RSGB technical awards. The winners are selected through a voting system by Forum members after a list of all suitable publications and candidates is first drawn up and circulated. They are then sent to the Board for approval. Increasingly, comments (and complaints and criticism) on published articles are appearing first on various independently run social media platforms and groups. In an attempt to streamline online discussion around RadCom , and other RSGB publications, the RSGB- Workshop@ groups.io group was set up under the auspices of the Technical Forum in order to try to concentrate online activity into one place. It is hoped, although hasn’t happened in all cases, that the writers of the technical articles, as well as columnists will join the group so that the fastest feedback and turnaround can be achieved. As with all such online forums, subjects and posts often turn into a long discussion, frequently veering way off topic, but so far it has seldom been necessary to step in and cut off further posts. The breadth of subjects has covered too huge a range to even begin to list here, going from basic construction right through to advanced and specialist techniques being discussed. Antennas, EMC matters and licensing issues continue to dominate and are easily the most popular subjects. As is often the case, some seemingly quite trivial subjects often generate a huge discussion thread. Some RadCom articles generate a huge response and discussion, and members of the Technical Forum keep an overview of the threads and can respond with an official view if needed. With the wide range of expertise and experience amongst the subscribers, most questions soon get answered to the satisfaction of their originator. It is difficult to know where the Technical Forum could go on developing technical expertise amongst the society’s members. Technical expertise is not something that is really open to guiding – individuals make their own progress. However, the TF may be able to make some contributions in this area via RadCom Plus . If you have any ideas on areas you would like the Society’s publications to cover, or any direction you think we should take, please let us know. Please note that the TF is not a ‘member-facing’ group, and should not be seen as a point of call for individual technical assistance. The best approach for that is on one of the many specialist groups such as the independently-run RSGBTechnical Group. Finally, I would like to thank all the members of the Technical Forum for their time and the support provided. Andy Talbot, G4JNT RSGB-Workshops@groups.io RSGB Trophy Management Trophy Management is responsible for the care and maintenance of the RSGB trophies and organising their presentation at both the AGM and the RSGB Convention. Although 2023 was free of Covid-19, in that there were no mandatory restrictions imposed, the AGM was again held as a virtual event. This lessened the work required to prepare trophies for the event, with just the engraving needing to be done. The end of the summer saw the annual RSGB Convention at Kents Hill return to more normal levels of attendance and the associated number of trophies to be presented to the contest winners was increased, along with lots more elbow grease being required to polish the trophies. There were two new trophies this year. One was donated to the society by the family of Bill Somerville, G4WJS (SK), who was a member of the development team for WSJT-X software. The other was donated by Camb-Hams Contest Group For more information about the RSGB’s Technical Forums visit: rsgb.org/main/technical/forum The Trophy Room during the RSGB Convention weekend. The Trophy Room before the RSGB Convention. 48 April 2024