New Award Scheme for Portable Operators
/The Amateur Radio Portable Operators Club (ARPOC) have unveiled a new award scheme encouraging operators to get out and about.
“We hope that the award scheme encourages operators to get out in the fresh air with their radio equipment and enjoy the benefits that portable operating can bring as well as help with promoting the hobby to the public.”
Any licensed operator can take part in the award scheme and individuals can apply for and claim their personalised award certificates online. Downloadable certificates cost £2.00 each or are free for full members of ARPOC which costs just £5 a year. Funds raised from the award scheme go towards ensuring the scheme can be continued for many years to come.
There are a number of different award certificates that can be gained each with their own challenges. These include awards such as:
- Life’s A Beach
- Portable Professional
- Lighthouse Lurker
- Operating Within Tent
While many licence holders have shacks at home and associated QRM issues, ARPOC want to encourage members to get out and about and experience the joys of operating a portable station away from the noise.
The names of the awards themselves hint towards what situations and locations the members will experience when they work towards these certificates. For instance, a few trips to the seaside will be needed for the Life’s A Beach award, while members will have to travel to five other countries if they opt to work towards their European Sun Seeker award. This award tasks members with operating a station from two different beaches that are in no less than five different European countries. Operators will also need to complete a standard exchange with at least one station at each location.
Once members have successfully completed their tasks, they can apply for the awards they have worked towards. All of these new ARPOC awards are available to download. That means these prized certificates can be downloaded and printed off quickly and easily, ensuring members are able to enjoy them almost immediately.
ARPOC - http://www.arpoc.org
