RSGB’s Commonwealth Games Special Events Station

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The 2022 Commonwealth Games starts on 28 July. Over 5,000 athletes will converge on Birmingham and the surrounding area from an estimated 72 hosts to compete over 12 days as part of the Games.

The RSGB is organising a number of activities to support the event, including a special event station in the grounds of the National Exhibition Centre. The Society wants to showcase amateur radio to the athletes and public for as much of the Games as possible and will need a large number of volunteers to operate the station and chat to visitors.

Due to the location of the station, operators will only be able to access the Games by train and participants will be security checked as part of the accreditation process.

If you’d like to help operate the station during the Games, contact RSGB Region 5 Representative Neil Yorke, M0NKE: rr5@rsgb.org.uk

ILLW turns 25

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ILLW turns 25

This year, 2022, sees the 25th anniversary of this popular event. Several suggestions have been received as to how this milestone could be celebrated but after much thought it has been decided that rather than celebrate the event we are dedicating it to the people of Ukraine, to those who have lost their lives and loved ones at the hands of those who seek power and destruction. By the time August arrives it is hoped that the bloodshed will have ceased and the people of Ukraine can go about rebuilding their lives and their country.

23 years ago two members of the Ayr ARC in Scotland started the Northern Lights award which quickly morphed into the International Lighthouse-Lightship Weekend in 1998. Since then it has grown and become a premier event in the Amateur Radio calendar. Its success is due to the fact that it has few rules, is free and is not a contest but a fun weekend. In 2014 the highest number of registered lighthouses was 544 in 56 countries world wide. One of the founders, Mike Dalrymple, GM4SUC, passed away in December 2005 and the other, John Forsythe, was not involved after the first few years. I created the web site in 2000 and with the help of Ted, W8TTS, we created a list of eligible lighthouses and a list of registrations for each year’s event as well as an online registration form.

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International HEMA Day

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'HEMA' is an interesting alternative to SOTA and is now 10 years old. Having been exclusively a UK and Eire only programme for many years; recently it has branched out and engaged other DXCCs around the world. It’s now active amongst our friends in Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic, and large parts of Australia.

To celebrate this new international flavour and the 10-year anniversary, we announce “International HEMA Day 2022” on Saturday 2nd April 2022.

The operating period can be any time during that day (UTC) and there will be attractive certificates for those successfully taking part. Any station working at least one HEMA activator will receive a commemorative certificate. There will also be additional certificates for any activator achieving a “HEMA to HEMA.”

Alerts and spots can be found on the HEMA website here to facilitate QSOs with stations on the day - http://www.hema.org.uk/indexSpotting.jsp