Most of us come into amateur radio through a handset and a licence, but sooner or later a different itch appears: what if I built that myself? If you have felt it, this is a good week to scratch it. On Monday 5 October the RSGB’s Tonight@8 webinar series welcomes Tom Wardill (M9TWM), the Society’s Maker Champion, to talk about the modern tools that have made building radio gear far easier than it used to be.

What the Maker Champion Will Cover

According to the latest GB2RS news, Tom will look at sourcing SMT components (surface-mount technology, the tiny soldered parts found on almost every modern circuit board), ordering boards from PCB fabrication services, using 3D printing for cases and mounts, and choosing sensible test equipment. The aim is to help people tackle projects they previously thought were too difficult.

That last point matters. Many of us assume that building anything useful needs a workshop and years of electronics experience. These days you can order a professionally made circuit board online for a few pounds, print an enclosure at home or at a local makerspace, and follow a well-documented design. The webinar streams on the RSGB YouTube channel and via the BATC channels, so you can watch from the sofa and ask questions if you wish.

You Do Not Need to Start Big

As a Foundation licence holder, you are allowed to build and use your own equipment within your licence conditions, which is one of the lovely freedoms of the hobby. Remember that the Foundation licence limits you to 10 watts and to the bands listed on your licence, so a home-built transmitter must stay within those limits and be clean on air. Receivers, on the other hand, carry no such worries at all.

Good first projects include a simple dummy load, a patch lead made with properly crimped connectors, or a dipole cut for a band you already use. A dipole is just two lengths of wire fed in the middle with coax, and it teaches you about resonance, SWR (standing wave ratio, a measure of how well your antenna is matched to your radio) and weatherproofing all at once. If a soldering iron is new to you, practise on scrap wire first. Good joints look shiny and smooth, not dull and lumpy.

Inspiration From Space Radio

If you want ideas, the October edition of OSCAR News from AMSAT-UK (issue 246) is packed with builds. Articles cover constructing a FUNcube-1 ground station, designing a 70cm pre-amplifier for satellite reception, and making an antenna controller interface. There is also a piece on voice-command control of ESA spacecraft on 23cm and one on the RADIANT cislunar amateur radio network.

E-members can download the PDF straight away, while postal members will receive their copy within a couple of weeks. You do not need to be an expert to enjoy reading it. Even skimming the pictures will show you how ordinary amateurs put together receiving stations for satellites passing overhead.

Practical Tips for Your First Build

• Choose a documented design. Pick a project with a clear parts list, photographs and a community of people who have built it before.
• Buy a few spares. Tiny components vanish easily, and ordering extra resistors and capacitors costs pennies.
• Test as you go. Check each stage before moving on, rather than discovering a fault in a finished board.
• Ask your local club. Many clubs run construction evenings, and someone there will happily lend a hand, a magnifier or a better soldering iron.
• Stay safe. Use a well-ventilated space and keep the iron in its stand.

Why Building Is Worth It

There is a particular thrill in making your first contact on a piece of kit you built yourself, and it deepens your understanding of what is happening inside the radio. It also feeds nicely into the next steps of your amateur radio journey, because the Intermediate licence syllabus includes practical construction and the theory behind it.

So set a reminder for Monday evening, tune in to the Maker Champion’s talk, and then pick one small project to try this month. Whether it is a wire antenna or a kit receiver, you will learn more from a single build than from a dozen articles.

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If you’ve only just got your Foundation licence in your hands, the amateur radio calendar can feel like it’s suddenly speeding up. This week it certainly has: tickets for the RSGB Convention are down to their last few days, the AMSAT-UK Colloquium is gearing up alongside it, GB2RS’s Tonight@8 slot is back on the air, and there’s a run of VHF and microwave contests that are far more approachable than they sound. Here’s what’s actually worth your attention if you’re new to the hobby.

The RSGB Convention is nearly here

The RSGB (Radio Society of Great Britain) Convention takes place from 9 to 11 October 2026 at the Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes, and at the time of writing there’s only around a week left to buy a ticket. If you’ve never been, it’s essentially a weekend of lectures, workshops and forums covering everything from antenna theory to artificial intelligence in the shack, plus plenty of informal chat with people who were all beginners once too. This year’s opening address comes from IARU President Tim Ellam (VE6SH/G4HUA), and there’s an expanded youth programme aimed at engaging newer and younger licensees. You don’t need years of experience to get value from a weekend like this: the workshops are pitched at a genuinely wide range of abilities, and the special interest group stands are a brilliant way to find your niche, whether that’s satellites, contesting or homebrew.

AMSAT-UK’s Colloquium and an easy way into satellites

Running alongside the main Convention is the AMSAT-UK Colloquium, the annual gathering for the amateur satellite community. If space radio sounds like something only advanced operators do, it’s worth knowing that QO-100 (Qatar-OSCAR 100) has quietly made geostationary satellite operating accessible to almost anyone. Because it sits in a fixed position over the Indian Ocean, you don’t need tracking equipment or a rotator: a small dish, an LNB and an SDR receiver will get you listening to a beacon and other stations working through the transponder. Full transmit access needs more kit and a bit more know-how, but simply receiving QO-100 traffic is a genuinely satisfying weekend project for a Foundation licence holder, and it’s a great taster before you consider a transmit setup.

Tonight@8 returns to GB2RS

The RSGB’s regular Tonight@8 feature has come back as part of the weekly GB2RS news broadcast. If you haven’t come across GB2RS yet, it’s the RSGB’s news bulletin, read out on air by volunteer newsreaders across the country on Sundays, and also available as text and audio online. For new licensees it’s one of the easiest habits to build: ten minutes a week keeps you up to date with contests, special event stations, rallies and society news, all in plain language, without having to trawl multiple websites. Tonight@8 adds an extra evening slot, so it’s worth checking your local repeater or the RSGB website for the latest broadcast times in your area.

Contests you can actually enter this week

Contesting has a reputation for being a bit intimidating, all fast exchanges and serious-sounding call signs, but several of the events running over the next fortnight are perfectly suited to a Foundation station and modest kit. The UK Microwave Group High Band Contest and the RSGB’s 1.2GHz and 2.3GHz Trophy contests, along with the October VHF/UHF and microwave series, all reward accurate logging and a friendly operating manner rather than a huge station. The exchange in most of these is simply a signal report, a serial number and your locator, which you’ll already be comfortable giving from your training. If microwaves feel like a step too far for now, the RSGB FT4 Series Contest is a gentler introduction: FT4 is a digital mode that runs happily on low power and a simple antenna, and it’s a good way to get a feel for contest logging software without the pressure of a live voice pile-up.

Making the most of a busy few weeks

None of this requires anything beyond what most Foundation stations already have. If you can get to Milton Keynes, even a single day at the Convention is worth it for the people you’ll meet. If you can’t, following GB2RS and Tonight@8 keeps you in the loop from your armchair, and QO-100 or a VHF contest gives you something concrete to try over a weekend. Pick one thing from this list, have a go, and let me know how you get on.

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There is a particular kind of nervousness that comes with your first amateur radio rally. You have passed your Foundation licence, your callsign has landed in the Ofcom portal, and now you are standing in a field surrounded by several hundred people who all appear to know exactly what a roller coaster ATU is and why it matters. I remember mine vividly. I bought a bag of connectors I did not need and failed to ask anyone a single useful question.

So with the National Hamfest landing at Newark Showground on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September, I thought it was worth writing the guide I wish someone had handed me. This is the UK’s biggest amateur radio event of the year, and it is genuinely one of the best things a new licensee can do with a weekend.

So What Actually Is a Rally?

A rally is part trade show, part car boot sale, part enormous social gathering. Major dealers turn up with stock you can actually put your hands on rather than squint at on a website. Clubs and special interest groups set up stands. And then there is the outdoor flea market, which is where amateurs sell off the contents of their sheds at prices that range from delightful to frankly optimistic.

Newark runs from 9.30am to 4pm on both days, with doors opening at 10am on the Friday. It sits just off the A46 north of Newark, there is on-site camping if you fancy making a weekend of it, and booking your ticket in advance through nationalhamfest.org.uk saves you a couple of pounds against the on-the-door price. Worth doing before you set off.

The RSGB Village Is Where New Licensees Should Start

The RSGB is running a substantial presence this year, and almost all of it is aimed squarely at people who want to learn something rather than spend money. Everything is free and nothing needs booking in advance, which takes a lot of the pressure off.

The headline for me is the buildathon being run across both days by the RSGB Outreach team. This year’s kit is the Kanga Morse Tutor, so you can sit down, pick up an iron and build something that works before you go home. If you have never soldered, or you soldered once in a Foundation practical and have been quietly avoiding it since, this is exactly the low-stakes environment you want. Nobody is judging your joints.

There is also 3D printing running live on the stand, a chance to have your CW (Morse code) skills tested at a range of speeds against the RSGB Certificate of Competency, and displays from the RadCom Experimenters’ Corner feature alongside the winner of this year’s Construction Competition. If you have been wondering what people actually build at home, that last one answers the question better than any amount of reading does.

The QSL Bureau will be represented too, along with the Propagation Studies Committee and members of the RSGB Board. These are the people who can answer the awkward questions you have not wanted to ask on air, and in my experience they are delighted to be asked.

Surviving the Flea Market Without Buying Rubbish

The flea market is the fun bit and the dangerous bit. A few things I have learned the hard way:

• Take cash. Plenty of sellers take cards now, but plenty still do not, and the person with the exact thing you need at half price will always be the one with a tin.
• Bring a torch and a multimeter. A cheap meter lets you check continuity on a length of coax or an antenna before money changes hands.
• Ask what it was last used for. Most sellers are honest amateurs clearing space, and a vague answer usually means the item has been in a damp garage since 1998.
• Walk the whole thing once before buying anything. Prices vary enormously between pitches and you will kick yourself otherwise.
• Do not buy a transceiver you cannot test. Buy accessories with confidence, buy radios with caution.

What Is Actually Worth Your Money on a Foundation Licence

With a 25 watt Foundation power limit, your money goes much further into antennas and feedline than it does into a bigger radio. A decent roll of low-loss coax, proper PL-259 or N-type connectors, a length of wire and some insulators will transform what you can hear and work far more than an upgrade to a shinier rig. An antenna analyser, even a basic one, is the single most useful thing I bought in my first year.

Second-hand handhelds, mag-mount antennas, power supplies and coaxial adaptors are all sensible flea market buys. The RSGB bookstall is worth a look too, since the beyond-exam titles usually carry a show discount.

Go With a Question, Not Just a Wallet

Here is the thing I got wrong at my first rally. I treated it as shopping. It is not. It is the one day of the year where the people who can solve your specific problem are standing in one building, wearing name badges, waiting to be spoken to.

So write down a couple of things that are currently stumping you. Perhaps your SWR is stubbornly high, or you have no idea how to get started with data modes. Ask. Clubs and trade stands alike are full of people who will happily spend ten minutes sorting you out, and you will drive home having learned far more than the contents of your carrier bag would suggest.

If you cannot make Newark, keep an eye on what is coming up anyway. World Space Week runs from 4 to 10 October with the RSGB encouraging clubs to put on satellite and space-themed activities, and Jamboree on the Air follows between 16 and 18 October.

Newark is a good day out even if you buy nothing at all. Take a friend, take cash, take questions, and take a bag bigger than you think you need.

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There is a particular kind of moment that hooks people on this hobby for life. For some it is a first contact across the Atlantic. For others it is the day a bit of code they wrote made a radio do something on its own. National Coding Week runs from 14 to 20 September this year, and the RSGB has once again built a set of free amateur radio activities around it. If you have just passed your Foundation exam, or you are still working through the syllabus, this is one of the friendliest on-ramps into the technical side of radio you will find all year.

I know that the word “coding” makes a fair few amateurs reach for the off switch. Stay with me, because the RSGB activities this year are deliberately gentle, cost very little, and they tie straight back to things you already know from your licence training.

What the RSGB has put together for 2026

The RSGB Outreach Team has published a fresh batch of worksheets on the Coding and amateur radio pages, and they are free to download whether or not you are a member. This year’s headline activity uses the BBC micro:bit to send Morse code, either down a length of wire as a telegraph link or wirelessly using the micro:bit’s built-in 2.4 GHz radio. The challenge set is a lovely one: see how far your transmissions will actually travel. That is real propagation work, just at a scale you can carry in a pocket.

Alongside it there is an activity called Ener-G use, which sends data between a pair of micro:bits so you can hear increasing force as a rising pitch. Strap one to a football, or take it on a trampoline, and you have a telemetry link. There is also a short worksheet using the Raspberry Pi Pico 2W, an LED and a resistor to demonstrate Pulse Width Modulation and the idea of duty cycle, programmed through the Arduino IDE rather than Python.

If you have a go at any of them, the RSGB would genuinely like to hear about it. Photos and a short summary go to ncw.coordinator@rsgb.org.uk by 30 September.

Why this matters more than it looks for Foundation holders

Here is the bit I would have appreciated hearing when I was newly licensed. Several concepts that feel abstract in the Foundation syllabus become obvious the moment you build them.

• Duty cycle appears in your EMF exposure calculations. Blinking an LED at varying brightness with PWM turns it from a number in a formula into something you can see.
• Morse timing teaches you why a dot, a dash and the gaps between them have fixed ratios, which makes listening to real CW on 40m far less baffling.
• Sending data between two micro:bits is, in miniature, exactly what every data mode does. Once you have written the sender and the receiver yourself, FT8 and packet stop feeling like magic boxes.
• Measuring how far your micro:bit link reaches across the garden, through a wall, or with the device held high, is antenna and propagation experimenting in its purest form.

None of this requires a transmitting licence, which makes it perfect if you are studying and waiting for your exam date, or if you want to get a family member interested before they commit to the full course.

The kit is cheaper than a decent coax run

A BBC micro:bit costs around £15 to £18, and a Raspberry Pi Pico 2W is roughly £6 or £7. You program the micro:bit in your web browser using the MakeCode editor, so there is nothing to install and no software licence to worry about. Plenty of clubs already have a box of micro:bits sitting in a cupboard from a previous outreach event, so it is always worth asking before you buy.

My honest advice is to pick one worksheet and finish it rather than skimming all of them. The Morse activity is the one I would start with, because it produces something you can immediately demonstrate to another person, and that tends to be what keeps a new interest alive.

A good week to be curious about space, too

The autumn Tonight@8 webinar season has just restarted, and it opened on 7 September with RSGB Board Director Patrick Wood, 2E0IFB, on radio amateurs and the future of satellite communication. He covered FUNcube developments, the Jovian-1 mission and how amateurs are using the geostationary satellite QO-100. If you missed it live, the recordings stay on the RSGB YouTube channel, and they are free to watch. World Space Week follows from 4 to 10 October, so there is a natural thread running from coding week into satellite work.

Worth noting too that the RSGB’s LoRa high-altitude balloon activity from last year is still available on the same coding pages. LoRa is the same long-range, low-power modulation behind the Meshtastic and MeshCore mesh networks that so many UK amateurs have been experimenting with, so a coding week project can lead somewhere surprisingly current.

Amateur radio has always rewarded the people who build and tinker rather than just buy and operate. Writing forty lines of code to make a micro:bit beep out your callsign in Morse is, in spirit, exactly the same thing as winding your own coil or cutting a dipole to length. It is a small act of making something work. Download one worksheet this week, spend an evening on it, and see where it takes you.

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Earlier this month, the RSGB quietly announced something that has got the contesting community talking. From 1 January 2027, eligibility to enter RSGB contests will be open to all appropriately licensed radio amateurs, regardless of nationality or location. It’s a significant moment for the hobby, and one that got me thinking: if you hold a Foundation licence and haven’t yet tried contesting, there’s never been a better time to have a go.

What Is the RSGB Contest Policy Change?

On 7 August 2026, the RSGB Board approved an updated contest entry policy that removes nationality restrictions from RSGB contest eligibility. Previously, some contest categories were limited to UK-based or RSGB-member entrants. From the start of the 2027 contest season, any appropriately licensed operator anywhere in the world can enter, subject only to the relevant contest rules and any applicable RSGB membership requirements.

The Board described the move as reflecting “the long-established principles of amateur radio, including friendship, cooperation and goodwill between individual operators across national boundaries.” It’s a sentiment that resonates: amateur radio has always been an international pursuit, and contests are one of the clearest expressions of that global community.

For Foundation licence holders here in the UK, the practical impact is modest — you were already eligible for most RSGB contests. But the announcement is a useful nudge to ask: do you actually know how to enter one?

What Is Contesting, and Why Would I Bother?

Contesting (also called radio sport) involves making as many contacts as possible within a set time period, usually exchanging callsigns, a signal report, and sometimes a serial number or locator square. Contests run from just two hours to 24 hours or more, and they cover everything from 80 metres HF through to microwave bands.

If that sounds dry, here is the reality: contests are one of the most effective ways to rapidly improve your operating skills. The pace is brisk, the band conditions are unpredictable, and you quickly learn to copy callsigns cleanly, adjust your audio levels, and work a pile-up. Many experienced operators say contests taught them more in a weekend than months of casual operation. For a Foundation licence holder with a 25W limit, there is a genuine thrill in being heard across the country, or even into Europe, on a good evening on 40 metres.

Can a Foundation Licence Holder Actually Compete?

Yes, absolutely. Your Foundation licence (typically carrying an M7 prefix in England, or similar regional variants) allows you to enter RSGB contests in the same way as any other licensed operator. You can operate on all the bands your licence permits, at your maximum power level.

RSGB contests include low-power and QRP categories in many events, which level the playing field considerably. A well-located station running 25W into a simple dipole can make a respectable score, and the contest committees judge entries within their category, so you are not directly competing against someone running a kilowatt into a beam.

Good starting points for beginners include the RSGB 80m Club Championships, which run monthly on Tuesday evenings and last just 90 minutes. They are sociable, low-pressure, and the 80 metre band is forgiving of modest antenna setups. The RSGB AFS (Affiliated Societies) contests are another friendly option, where you enter as part of a club team.

Practical Steps to Enter Your First Contest

Getting started is simpler than it might seem. Here is what I would suggest:

• Check the RSGB contest calendar for upcoming events and pick something short, like the 80m Club Championship.
• Download free logging software such as N1MM Logger+ or FLDIGI — these handle duplicate checking and scoring automatically, so you can focus on operating.
• Listen to a contest before you enter one. Tune across 80 metres on a Tuesday evening when one is running and get a feel for the rhythm of exchanges.
• When you are ready, call CQ Contest, send your callsign, and give it a go. Your first contact will feel memorable.
• Submit your log after the event, even if it is a modest score. Submitted logs count towards adjudication for everyone else, and it is considered good practice.

An Aspirational Goal: The G5RP Trophy

While you are at it, keep an eye on the G5RP Trophy, for which nominations are open until 11 September 2026. It is awarded to someone who has recently discovered and made significant progress in HF DXing, the art of making long-distance contacts on the high-frequency bands. It is a lovely recognition of what a new licence holder can achieve, and it is a reminder that getting into HF operating, whether via contests or casual DXing, can open up the hobby in ways that a handheld on a local repeater simply cannot match.

The new contest policy coming in 2027 is a small but meaningful step towards a more open amateur radio community. If it has prompted you to look up the contest calendar for the first time, then it has already done its job. Find a short event, fire up the logging software, and make some contacts. You might be surprised how quickly you get hooked.

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September is just around the corner, and with it comes a welcome return for one of the most beginner-friendly initiatives in UK amateur radio. The RSGB Youth Committee’s DMR Youth Net is back after its summer break, meeting every first Tuesday of the month at 7pm BST — and if you’ve recently passed your Foundation licence and want to make your first digital voice contact in a welcoming environment, this could be exactly what you’ve been looking for.

What Is the DMR Youth Net?

Launched back in 2025, the DMR Youth Net was set up by the RSGB Youth Committee specifically to give younger and newer operators a space to build confidence behind the microphone. The net gathers on RSGB Youth Talk Group 23554, which is available on both the DVSPh and Brandmeister networks, and since it started, operators have joined from right across Europe.

The aim is simple: give you a chance to make real contacts with other people on the radio, without the pressure of jumping into a busy DX pile-up or a technical HF contest. You just check in, exchange a few words, and leave knowing you’ve actually done it. For many new Foundation holders, that first contact is the biggest hurdle, and a structured net like this really does help.

What Is DMR, and Why Should Foundation Licence Holders Care?

DMR stands for Digital Mobile Radio. Unlike the analogue FM you might be using on your first handheld or mobile transceiver, DMR converts your voice into a digital signal before transmitting it. The result is typically cleaner audio over longer distances, and crucially, it opens up the world of talk groups: virtual “channels” that link radio amateurs from different countries over the internet, using repeaters and hotspots.

Each talk group has a number, and RSGB Youth Talk Group 23554 is the one to know. Think of it like tuning to a specific station, except instead of listening to a broadcast, you’re joining an international conversation with other licenced amateurs.

Foundation licence holders are fully permitted to use DMR, and you don’t need any special endorsement or upgrade to get started. Your M7 or 2E callsign works just as well as any other on the digital networks.

Do I Need a Special Antenna or Lots of Power?

Here’s the good news: not necessarily. While DMR can absolutely be used via repeaters in the traditional sense, one of the most popular options for home operation is a hotspot. A hotspot is a small, low-power device, often about the size of a deck of cards, that connects to your home broadband and acts as a personal repeater, linking your handheld radio straight to the Brandmeister or DVSPh network.

This means you can participate in the DMR Youth Net even if you’re in a flat with no outdoor antenna space, or if you’re not yet confident about setting up HF equipment. You just need a DMR-capable radio (popular options include the Ailunce HD1 or the TYT MD-380, both available for well under £100) and a hotspot such as the MMDVM-based Pi-Star setups that many amateurs already run.

If you want to try before you buy, check whether there’s a DMR repeater in your area. The RSGB’s repeater finder can help, and you may be able to reach Talk Group 23554 directly from your existing radio without any extra kit at all.

Other News from the Shack This Week

It’s been an eventful few days for UK amateur radio more broadly. The RSGB has announced a leadership change, with Graham Smith, G4NMD taking over as Chair of the Board following the 22 August Board meeting, as part of what the Society describes as a planned and orderly transition.

There’s also a reminder that nominations for the annual RSGB G5RP Trophy close on Friday 11 September. If you know someone who has recently discovered HF DXing and made impressive progress, whether working a good number of new countries or taking part in DXpedition activity, you can nominate them by emailing RSGB HF Manager Ian Greenshields, G4FSU at hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk.

And in a result that made this Foundation holder smile, Steve Chalk brought home a Bronze Medal from the IARU Region 1 ARDF Championships in Romania last week, competing in the M60 category of the Sprint race. ARDF (Amateur Radio Direction Finding), sometimes called fox hunting, is a sport where competitors use directional antennas to track down hidden transmitters in a race against the clock. It’s a brilliant crossover between radio skills and the great outdoors, and well worth looking into if you fancy something a bit different from sitting in the shack.

What’s Next for You?

If you’ve been sitting on your Foundation licence and haven’t yet made your first contact, the DMR Youth Net on the first Tuesday of September is a brilliant opportunity to change that. Get your callsign registered on the Brandmeister network (it’s free and straightforward), borrow or buy a DMR-capable radio, and check in at 7pm BST. You don’t need to say much: a callsign, a signal report, and a 73 is more than enough to start.

Amateur radio has always been about community, and it’s genuinely heartening to see the RSGB Youth Committee creating spaces where that community can grow. Give it a go. You might just get the radio bug all over again.

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If you’re a Foundation licence holder looking for a reason to get off the sofa this August Bank Holiday weekend, the British Inland Waterways on the Air event might be exactly what you need. Running from Saturday 29 August through to Monday 31 August 2026, BIWOTA is one of the UK’s most distinctive amateur radio activities, and it’s wonderfully accessible for newcomers to the hobby.

What Is BIWOTA?

BIWOTA stands for British Inland Waterways on the Air, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. Organised by John Rogers M0JAV, Lyndsay Latimer M6YMB, and Stefan Latimer M0OSL, the event encourages radio amateurs of all abilities and licence classes to get out to the waterways, set up a portable station, and make contacts. Canals, towpaths, rivers, lakes, reservoirs: as long as the body of water is accessible to the public and isn’t the sea, it counts. The idea is to combine the pleasure of being near the water with the joy of amateur radio, and to raise awareness of the UK’s fantastic network of inland waterways in the process.

There’s no complicated scoring system to worry about and no special software to install. You simply get yourself to a waterway, set up your radio, and get on the air. It’s portable operating at its most relaxed.

What Bands and Modes Are Used?

The primary frequencies for BIWOTA are 40 metres (7 MHz) on HF and 2 metres (144 MHz) using both SSB and FM. But all amateur bands are welcome, which means Foundation licence holders can absolutely join in. If you’ve got a handheld or a mobile VHF/UHF radio, you can operate on 2m FM from a towpath and make contacts with other BIWOTA stations. If you’ve stepped up to an HF rig, 40m is a brilliant band for portable operating in the summer months, particularly in the afternoon and evening when it opens up nicely across the UK.

For those who haven’t yet ventured into portable operating, this is a great low-pressure introduction. You don’t need a fancy antenna or a high-powered rig. A simple dipole slung between a couple of fishing poles, a battery, and your transceiver is all you need to get started on HF. On VHF, your handheld alone may be enough to reach other stations.

Why Portable Operating Is Worth Your Time

One of the things I love about events like BIWOTA is how they push you out of your comfort zone in the best possible way. Operating from a fixed home shack is lovely, but there’s something genuinely satisfying about making a contact while sitting on a canal bank with a flask of tea and a makeshift antenna. You learn a lot about your equipment and about propagation when you take radio out into the field.

As a Foundation licence holder, you’re permitted to operate up to 10 watts on most bands, and that’s more than enough for portable HF contacts. I’ve made contacts across the UK and into Europe on 40m with far less than that. The key is a decent antenna and a bit of patience. Portable operating teaches you to make the most of what you have, and those skills carry over into everything else you do in the hobby.

What Else Is Happening This Weekend?

If you fancy combining radio with a day out, there are also rallies taking place this weekend. The Huntingdonshire Amateur Radio Rally is running today, 31 August, at Ramsey Rural Museum in Cambridgeshire, with traders from 7am and doors open to visitors from 9am. Rallies are brilliant for picking up second-hand kit, chatting to more experienced operators, and generally soaking up the atmosphere of the hobby. If you haven’t been to one yet, they’re well worth a visit.

A Word on Spectrum: Something to Keep an Eye On

While we’re enjoying our Bank Holiday weekend on the water, it’s worth noting a story developing across the Atlantic that could eventually matter here too. The FCC in the United States has put forward a further proposal for new commercial satellite allocations that overlap existing amateur radio spectrum, this time covering the 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.7 GHz bands. While this is a US regulatory matter for now, these conversations have a habit of influencing global spectrum policy through international bodies like the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). The RSGB keeps a close watch on these developments and represents UK amateurs at the international level. It’s a good reminder of why being an active part of the amateur radio community genuinely matters.

Getting Involved in BIWOTA

If you want to take part today or tomorrow, head to the RSGB BIWOTA page for more information, or search for BIWOTA on Facebook where the organisers post regular updates. Find yourself a canal or river, take the radio out of the shack, and get on the air. You might be surprised how much fun it is.

Events like this are a reminder of what makes amateur radio such a rich hobby. It gets you outdoors, it connects you with other people who share your passion, and it gives you a reason to experiment with your equipment in a new setting. Whether you manage to work a dozen stations or just one, you’ll come away having learned something.

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If you’ve got your Foundation licence and you’re looking for a fun, low-pressure way to get on the air this August, I’ve got just the thing for you. The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW) is coming up on 15 and 16 August, and it’s one of my favourite events on the amateur radio calendar. More than 500 lighthouse entries from over 40 countries get activated every year, which means there’s plenty to listen for, plenty to work, and a ready-made reason to get the radio out on what’s hopefully still a sunny weekend.

What Is the ILLW?

The ILLW has been running since 1998, which makes it one of the longest-established special event contests in the hobby. The idea is simple: operators set up amateur radio stations at or near lighthouses and lightships around the world, and the rest of us try to make contact with as many of them as possible over the 48-hour window. It runs from 0001 UTC on Saturday 15 August through to 2400 UTC on Sunday 16 August, so you’ve got plenty of time to dip in and out.

The event is completely free to enter and there’s no membership requirement. If you want to check who’s operating from where, the official website at illw.net lists all the registered activations ahead of time. You can spend a few minutes before the weekend checking which UK lighthouses are going to be on the air, and maybe even plan a day out if any of them are nearby.

What’s It Like to Chase Lighthouses?

For most Foundation licence holders, the easiest way to enjoy the ILLW is as a chaser. That means you’re at home (or portable, if you like) trying to work as many lighthouse stations as you can. The stations can be on HF, VHF, or UHF, so whatever kit you’ve got, there’s likely something to hear. If you’ve got an HF radio, 40 metres and 20 metres are usually the busiest bands during the event. If you’re VHF-only, keep an ear on the 2 metre calling frequency (144.300 MHz SSB) and you may well catch a portable lighthouse station fairly close to home.

There’s no complex exchange to learn. A typical ILLW contact is short and sweet: you give your callsign, signal report, and that’s more or less it. Perfect for anyone who’s still building their confidence on air.

Could You Actually Activate a Lighthouse?

This is the part that makes the ILLW genuinely exciting. Unlike some events where you need a lot of kit, activating a lighthouse for the ILLW is very much within reach of Foundation licence holders. You just need to operate from a location at or near a lighthouse or lightship, so even operating from the car park of a coastal lighthouse with a handheld or a simple portable HF rig counts.

If you fancy having a go, the process is straightforward: register your activation on illw.net, pick your lighthouse, and head out with your radio. Many UK lighthouse activations are done by small groups, so if your local club is involved, this could be a brilliant first portable operating experience. There’s something genuinely special about running a station from a historic lighthouse with the sea in the background.

Worth noting: the Association of Lighthouse Keepers runs their own International Lighthouse Heritage Weekend at the same time, so you might find some lighthouses hosting open days. That can make for a lovely combined trip with the family, even if you’re just listening rather than transmitting.

And Later in August: British Inland Waterways on the Air

If you get a taste for special event operating from the ILLW, there’s another event to look forward to right at the end of the month. British Inland Waterways on the Air runs from 29 to 31 August and encourages amateurs to get out of the shack and operate from the UK’s canals and rivers. Again, it’s a great excuse for a portable outing, and you don’t need any special equipment beyond your normal licence and a radio.

August is shaping up to be a cracking month for getting on the air. Between the ILLW and Inland Waterways, there are two very different reasons to try portable operating, explore a new band, or simply fire up the radio and see who’s about.

Getting Ready for 15 August

If you want to make the most of the ILLW this year, here’s what I’d suggest doing now:

• Head to illw.net and browse the list of registered activations, especially any UK ones
• Check your radio is working and you know how to operate on the bands you’re planning to use
• If you’re chasing on HF, have a look at which bands tend to be open at the times you plan to operate
• If you fancy activating, contact your local club to see if anyone is organising a group activation

The ILLW is one of those events that reminds you just how much fun amateur radio can be. Hundreds of stations on the air from historic locations around the world, all of it completely free to take part in, and no prior experience needed beyond a valid licence. I’ll be listening out, and I’d love to hear how you get on.

73 de M0LGI

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

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