PW_4_2021

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On The Air James Bertram (GM0GMN) , Section UK Amateur Radio Section The IPA has had an Amateur Radio section for as long as I can remember. We keep in regular contact with other countries around the world, including France, Germany, Finland and the United States, who are all very active. I am honoured to have been asked to take on the running of the UK section. A mateur radio is a popular technical hobby , that allows us to volunteer as a public service. We use designated radio frequencies for the non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training and emergency communications. Amateur Radio is the only hobby governed by international treaty.

A card sent to confirm an Amateur Radio contact from the German IPA Amateur Radio Club

from individuals who would like to become Radio Amateurs, as well as those already licenced. In these modern times there are online courses to help you gain your licence, which is issued by Ofcom. It’s fairly straight-forward to get on the air and it doesn’t need to be expensive. Amateur Radio equipment comes in a variety of forms, and can cost from just a few pounds up to many thousands of pounds, depending on what you want to do and what you would like to spend. There are also many different aspects to the hobby. For instance, you might have a handheld radio, operating on VHF/UHF and enjoy local contacts or, like me, you might enjoy worldwide contacts either speaking to other stations or using Morse code. Amateur Radio also links to your computer, so some stations communicate via digital programs running very low power. Listening to these signals just sounds like noise being transmitted, but once connected to your computer, the message is decoded on the screen and you simply type your message back. Another aspect of Amateur Radio that has been in the news a lot in recent years, is working via Satellites and communicating with the International Space Station. Many of the astronauts are licenced, and operate during any spare time that they have. It is remarkably simple to communicate with the space station, normally only requiring a simple set-up with a handheld radio.

As a radio amateur, you can transmit radio signals on frequency bands allocated specifically to amateurs. We make use of our frequencies in many ways: • To contact people all over the world by radio, which often leads to developing international friendships • To compete in international competitions, testing how effective your equipment is, and how good you are as an operator • For technical experimentation — many of the leaps forward in radio technology have been initiated by radio amateurs • To communicate through amateur space satellites or with the International Space Station (which carries an amateur radio station) • To provide communications at times of emergencies, and undertake exercises to ensure you maintain the capability to do so. There is no better way to explore the fascinating world of radio communications than by becoming a radio amateur.

A more sophisticated home set up

One of the crew on the International Space Station making contact with a Radio Amateur on earth

A simple handheld radio costs a few hundred pounds. Second hand radios are available and cost a lot less

As a group, we hope to link with other IPA Clubs on the air and also organise regular catch-ups for UK members. We already have a frequency for a Sunday evening catch-up, and our own Talk Group on DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) which is TG 23597. If anyone would like further information on the IPA UK Amateur Radio Section, please contact me at radio@ipa-uk.org or via Facebook.

A 1910 announcement by, the then HM Postmaster General, licenced “experimental wireless”, which still uniquely gives radio amateurs the ability to innovate without commercial or statutory controls, even in the closely regulated environment of the 21st century. We already have a web page and a Facebook page, and the links to both are shown below. Membership is gradually increasing, and I am keen to hear

www.facebook.com/groups/784563675559747 www.ipa-uk.org/News/ipa-uk-amateur-radio-club

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POLICE WORLD Vol 66 No.4, 2021