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.

73 de M0LGI