ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Report by David “Raydah” Harding
Annual
General Meetings should be short and sweet, with plenty of time for Any Other
Business. Without a CB Forum this
year, AOB was extended to provide members with the opportunity to show their
support and make known any ideas and suggestions, or, in one or two cases,
grievances.
Some members asked where
the CB Forum was being held this year.
We referred them to the
Radiocommunications Authority.
Normally, the BCBC takes turns with the RA to organise it. Last year, as many of you will remember, it
was our turn, and the venue was Grimsby.
However, the RA unexpectedly put one on in Glasgow late in the year, so
presumably this was their CB Forum for 2001 a few months early!
Last year at Grimsby, we
had a splendid attendance and a valuable and productive meeting. Having been to the East Midlands in 2000,
it had been decided to hold this year’s meeting in the London Area. By popular request, the attractive seaside
resort of Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey was selected. This was deliberately chosen to make
attendance easy for members from London, Kent, Surrey and Essex. Arrangements were also made with a nearby
Holiday Village to offer favourable terms for those who wished to make a pleasant
weekend of it. As it turned out, the
weather was superb for any who did so, and the sea was reasonably warm for
those who wanted to paddle or bathe.
It was hoped that these
arrangements would appeal to a large number in the South East, but in fact, it
created a remarkable anomaly. Apart
from two members who were relatively local, all the others attending the
meeting came from at least 80 miles away – three, in fact, had travelled all
the way up from Winchester.
Of those who were unable
to attend, we would like to record our appreciation to those members who had
the courtesy to send apologies for absence.
Particularly missed were three councillors: Chris Perry our
Vice-Chairman from Melton Mowbray who is recovering from a serious motor accident,
Tony Jaconelli from Glasgow due to pressure of business, and Mike Shelton from
Grimsby who is also in poor health.
Several messages were most encouraging, especially from these three
members:
Keep up the good work and
keep on going. Good health to all our
working, walking wounded – trust all are improving (Geoff, Reading)
I would like to thank the
committee for their efforts on our behalf (Frederick, Waltham Cross)
Best wishes for the AGM and regards to all (David,
Prestatyn).
We also received advance
notice from a fair number of members, who sent in points they wanted raised at
the meeting. We should also like to
send our warmest thanks to a handful of generous members who very kindly sent
donations.
True to the best
traditions, the formal part of the AGM was disposed of in record time.
The Chairman reported that
more progress had been made with the perennial problem of channel abuse, and
there is now a good deal less to be heard.
The key to dealing with this kind of problem is to provide the solid
evidence as outlined in the BCBC Abuse Pack.
Progress has also been
made in discussions with the RA towards introducing Data transmissions on CB,
and the Working Party has now formally wound up. We are expecting an announcement from the RA very soon, as a
culmination of three years’ planning and testing. However, we do not intend to stop pursuing this topic until we
have achieved a full-blown Packet system on CB. Many members have expressed misgivings about Data or Packet, and
we would like to reassure them that most of their fears are groundless. There will only be a small number of
frequencies allocated to digital transmissions, leaving most of the channels
free for normal operation. Many people
are under the misapprehension that Data or Packet will cause interference; this
is quite incorrect. Such transmissions
cause no more interference that normal voice transmissions, unless, of course,
the operator is taking illegal liberties.
Sideband is also a step
closer – in fact, we are amazed at the length of time the RA has taken,
conducting endless tests and submitting countless reports. This has been going on for about five
years, and we are confident that they are now close to a final result and a
formal announcement. They have almost
left it too late. With the new
Foundationer License, whereby one can become a Radio Amateur in only two days,
anyone can enjoy a wide choice of bands and modes, plus reasonably high power
and first class aerials. It is
therefore rather unlikely that many CBers will be prepared to spend good money
on inferior equipment and poor aerials unless they are very dedicated. The main body of operators to benefit
would, in theory, be the unlicensed ones.
However, one of their main pleasures is to operate illegally, so this is
likely to send them scampering for alternative naughty activities, thereby
defeating the whole object of the exercise.
One member from Norwich
complained of the nuisance of sideband on CB.
He does not specify which channels are affected, but on the Continental
Forty, this would not be unusual since several European countries permit
sideband. If it is on the UK Forty,
the signals are all likely to be coming from abroad, especially from Italy,
Spain and Greece. There has been an
increase in activity on the channels because we are at the sunspot maximum at
present, when the ionosphere reflects signals more effectively. It is likely to get worse before it gets
better, and will not begin to subside for another three or four years. Meanwhile, there is little that can be done
from Britain. Some of the sideband
operators, especially the Italians, are using power levels as high as 1 kW, and
it is up to the authorities of each country to control such abuse. We may complain of the lack of effective
abuse control in the UK, but it is far worse in many countries abroad.
Alongside these successes,
we had not made as much progress as we would have liked on the subject of VHF
channels for CB. Whilst the RA are,
in principle, quite interested in finding a solution to this suggestion, there
is very little spectrum available on VHF.
This may be remedied when new plans for the radio spectrum are drawn up
over the next few years. Meanwhile,
the introduction of walkie-talkies on 446 MHz has been a relative failure so
far; sales have been far lower than
was anticipated and in many parts of the country there is no sign of activity
at all. We are distinctly interested
in making contact with any operators or clubs devoted to 446, in case we can be
of service to them.
One member from North
Yorkshire asked how one could acquire a call-sign for CB. The answer is that he has one already. He will find it listed on his current CB license.
Another member from
Rochester (who was not at the meeting) asked for more information on Packet
Radio. We recommend he consults the
BCBC booklet on the subject; they are currently out of print, but he can
download it complete from the BCBC website.
Several members have
raised the age-old complaint of abuse, and urge for action in cleaning up the
airwaves. Typical of these is a member
from Worcester. In many areas, the
problem has solved itself; the airwaves are not only clear of abuse, but also
clear of any significant activity by the CBers themselves. One should remember the old saying Use
it or lose it. If the RA forms
the opinion that CB activity has declined too far to be worthwhile, we shall
lose the service. This has happened to
one or two amateur bands in the past, so CB cannot consider itself immune from
the possibility. In the same way, CB licenses
are declining at the rate of roughly 5,000 a year, and we are close to
the point where the RA might decide to deregulate the service. This would be a disaster; it would mean
that the RA had washed its hands of us, and we would no longer have any
official protection from interference or abuse.
The Chairman concluded by
warning that the biggest enemy of CB (indeed, of the whole of Hobby Radio) was
apathy. CB is fast approaching a
crossroads which could lead to a decisive outcome; in other words, we are at
present in a make or break situation.
With mobile phones and the Internet luring potential breakers away, with
the lower end of the hobby menaced by 446 sets and the upper end threatened by
the Radio Amateur Foundationer’s License, the future of CB depends on
dedication, enthusiasm and energy.
This has to come from all CBers who care about the hobby; your Council is only a small collection of
people, and they need your support if they are to provide an effective voice at
meetings with the RA.
Sitting back doing
nothing; expecting others to get on with the work without giving encouragement;
offering suggestions and criticisms without any intention of offering action or
support; clamouring for extensions to the existing CB system without using what
is there already; this is the philosophy of too many.
In his report, the
Secretary drew attention to a number of members complaining of a lack of
communication between the BCBC and its members. Whilst steps will be taken to improve this situation in the
future, he also wished to register a plea that members requiring a reply should
give their name and address, or at the very least their membership number. He has received a fair number of letters
during the year where it was difficult to identify the writer, and consequently
send a reply.
The Treasurer presented
the Accounts of the Company, which were adopted unanimously.
Finally, all the present
Councillors were re-elected for a further term of office. We were informed that there had been two
nominations for Council, one from Norfolk and the other from Somerset. The Council is awaiting applications from
the two candidates for their consideration;
if approved, they will be co-opted on to the Council and formally
elected at the AGM next year.
After these reports came Any Other Business. A good number of topics were discussed and
debated, though, of course, no decisions can be taken at an Annual General Meeting
unless they relate specifically to the Company. These will be carried forward to the next Council Meeting and
dealt with then.