With just over two months to go until the RSGB Convention 2026, tickets are on sale and the programme is taking shape — and if you hold a Foundation licence, this might be the best year to make your first trip to Milton Keynes.

I know what you’re thinking. “Isn’t the RSGB Convention for the seasoned operators with towers in their gardens and callsigns starting with G3?” Not at all. I went to my first Convention as a relatively fresh licensee and came home with a notebook full of ideas and a shopping list I definitely couldn’t afford. Here’s why it’s worth your time in 2026.

What Is the RSGB Convention, Exactly?

The RSGB Convention is the UK’s flagship amateur radio event — a long weekend of lectures, workshops, demonstrations, and general radio chatter held every October. This year it runs from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October 2026 at the Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. Think of it as a cross between a conference, a hamfest, and a very large radio club meeting where everyone brings their enthusiasm and nobody judges you for not knowing what a balun is (though you’ll probably know by the time you leave).

Tickets are available now via the RSGB website. The full weekend covers lectures across all licence levels, hands-on workshops, and plenty of opportunities to speak to experienced operators who genuinely want to help newcomers get more out of the hobby.

Free Entry If You’re Under 21

This is worth flagging specifically: if you’re under 21, entry to the RSGB Convention is free, with tickets issued on the door. The RSGB Youth Committee has put together a dedicated programme of youth-specific activities running across the weekend. If you’re a younger Foundation licence holder or you know one, this is a genuine no-barrier opportunity to immerse yourself in the hobby for a whole weekend.

The amateur radio community has been working hard to bring younger operators in, and seeing that effort reflected in the Convention programme is encouraging.

A Keynote Worth Listening To

This year’s keynote speaker is the President of the IARU — the International Amateur Radio Union, the global body that represents amateur radio to regulators and international organisations. The IARU does a lot of work most of us don’t think about day-to-day: defending spectrum allocations, negotiating frequency plans, and making sure that when Ofcom or the ITU sits down to review something that affects our licences, there’s a knowledgeable voice in the room making the case for amateur radio.

For a Foundation licence holder who’s still getting to grips with what the hobby actually involves, hearing directly from someone at that level about where amateur radio is heading can be genuinely useful context.

Practical Workshops, Including One on RFI

One of the most talked-about sessions this year is a members-only Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) workshop on the Friday, run using SDRPlay receivers. RFI is the bane of modern amateur radio — the noise floor in suburban areas has crept up considerably over the past decade, driven by everything from switch-mode power supplies to LED drivers and EV chargers. Understanding what it is, how to identify sources, and what you can do about it is genuinely practical knowledge for any licensee.

There will also be lectures covering propagation, FT8, and VHF and above. Propagation talks are always worth attending regardless of your licence level — understanding why signals travel the way they do is fundamental, and the explanations you get in person are usually far more accessible than reading about it online. As for FT8, if you’ve got HF privileges with your Foundation licence and haven’t tried it yet, a Convention lecture is a brilliant way to get oriented before you sit down at the radio.

What to Expect as a Newer Licensee

Going to your first RSGB Convention can feel a little daunting. My honest advice: don’t try to attend everything. Pick two or three lectures that genuinely interest you, wander the exhibition area, and talk to people. The hobby is full of operators who will happily spend twenty minutes explaining antenna theory or software-defined radio to someone who just wants to understand it better.

Bring a notepad. Seriously. You’ll leave with more ideas than you arrived with, and you won’t remember half of them if you rely on memory alone.

If you’re thinking about upgrading from Foundation to Intermediate, the Convention is also a good place to pick up information about courses, exam sessions, and what to expect — the RSGB exam team are usually represented and happy to talk.

How to Get Your Ticket

Tickets for the RSGB Convention 2026 are available now at rsgb.org/main/about-us/rsgb-convention/. Under-21s, remember, get in free on the day — but it’s worth checking the RSGB site for any registration steps. The venue is Kents Hill Conference Centre, Milton Keynes, and the event runs across all three days of the 9th to 11th October weekend.

If you’ve been on the fence about making the trip, consider this a nudge. The RSGB Convention is one of those events where you leave feeling more connected to the hobby than when you arrived — and that’s worth a day out to Milton Keynes.

See you there, hopefully. 73 de M0LGI