Radio Society of Great Britain
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010) |
| Radio Society of Great Britain | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 RSGB headquarters in Bedford, UK, July 2009. |
|
| Abbreviation | RSGB |
| Formation | 1913[1] |
| Type | Non-profit organization |
| Purpose/focus | Advocacy, Education |
| Headquarters |
3 Abbey Court, Fraser Road, Priory Business Park, Bedford MK44 3WH |
| Region served | UK |
| Membership | 22,600[2] |
| President | Dave Wilson, M0OBW |
| Main organ | Board of Directors |
| Affiliations | International Amateur Radio Union |
| Website | http://www.rsgb.org/ |
First founded in 1913 as the London Wireless Club,[1] the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) is the United Kingdom's recognised national society for amateur radio operators. The society's patron is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and it represents the interests of the UK’s 60,000 licensed radio amateurs. A long recognised amateur radio organisation, the society is the national member society representing the United Kingdom and certain dependent territories of the United Kingdom in the International Amateur Radio Union. It also acts as a medium for communication between the enthusiasts and the UK government.
Contents |
[edit] Role of the RSGB
The RSGB has traditionally acted as the organisation through which amateur radio enthusiasts interact with the telecommunications regulatory authority of the United Kingdom, Ofcom. Although Ofcom has recently used its web site to solicit opinions directly from interested parties, the RSGB continues to advise and to seek to influence Ofcom on the likely impact of proposed changes in many areas – from decisions on licensing and bandwidth controls through to the use of Broadband over Power Lines PLT (which it is thought would cause large amounts of electromagnetic noise).
RSGB also acts as a parent organisation to many smaller groups and societies. Some of these societies unite local areas (such as repeater groups) or groups of individuals (such as Forces service groups, or old timer groups) or even people interested in a particular amateur radio band (such as 2 metre band groups).
The society publishes a monthly magazine called RadCom, along with a range of technical books.
[edit] History of the RSGB
The RSGB made the first radio transmission across to the United States, but failed to have any receiving equipment. Many members were slightly annoyed by this fact and so formed other sections of the RSGB which were later absorbed into the RSGB itself.[citation needed]
During World War II, the entire RSGB Council and many of its members were recruited into MI8, also known as the Radio Security Service. Its mission was to intercept clandestine enemy transmissions.[3][4]
In 2006, the RSGB cooperated with Ofcom to revise the amateur radio licence in the United Kingdom. Changes included removing the annual licence fee and removing the requirement to log all transmissions. Amateur radio operators gained permission to operate one's amateur radio station remotely, and the changes increased the spectrum available to the lower classes of licensees.[citation needed]
2011 Expenses Scandal
On March 28th of 2011,the RSGB announced the following... http://www.rsgb.org/news/articlelinks.php?id=0122
The Board of the RSGB has today released the following announcement: Peter Kirby, RSGB General Manager, has left the Society’s employment after the discovery of financial irregularities on his part. For the time being, RSGB Director Don Beattie, G3BJ, will act as General Manager.
[edit] Future of the RSGB
There are competing demands from more and more non-amateur uses of radio (for example mobile operators and wireless devices). Despite this, the RSGB has been able to maintain existing amateur radio allocations and negotiate some new ones.[citation needed]
[edit] Publications
[edit] Books
The RSGB publishes many books on amateur radio and related matters. A very small sample includes
- Brown, Chris (ed) (2001) Radio & Electronics Cookbook Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 0-7506-5214-4
- Dennison, Mike and Lorek, Chris, eds. (2006). RSGB Radio Communication Handbook. 8th Edition. Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 0-905086-09-1.
- Dodd, Peter (1996) Antenna Experimenter's Guide, The Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 1-872309-36-4
- Fielding, John (2006) Power Supply Handbook Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 1-905086-21-0
- Fielding, John (2006) Amateur Radio Astronomy Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 1-905086-16-4
- Hawker, Pat (2002) Antenna Topics Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 1-872309-89-5
- Poole, Ian (2004) Radio Propagation—Principles & Practice Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 1-872309-97-6
- Read, Giles (2010) HF Antennas for everyone Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 978-1-90-508659-7
[edit] Magazines
- RadCom The official journal of the Radio Society of Great Britain.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Clarricoats, John. World at their fingertips. ISBN 0-900612-09-6.
- ^ "RSGB Annual Report - 1 January to 31 December 2008". RSGB. http://www.rsgb.org/rsgbinfo/annualreport/annualreport.pdf.
- ^ West, Nigel. GCHQ: The Secret Wireless War 1900-1986. ISBN 0-340-41197-X.
- ^ "Radio Security Service". CLUTCH Club. http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/emerson00/rss_page1.html.
