Looking back on the launch of a local club back in 2012, and post-Covid clubs – Pete M0PSX
One of the joys of modern life is that our friendly computing devices have the habit of popping up photos from our past with “this day in history” memories. My flashback picture of the day comes from 9 years ago, on the 15th of September 2012 – the launch day for a new amateur radio club in Essex – Thames Amateur Radio Group.
For those not in the know, TARG was conceived back in June 2012 by a band of three new, green and very keen amateurs – Mike 2E0NGY, Tom M6BCK and myself. Looking back through the archives, early names for the club included TEMRA (Thames Estuary Mobile Radio Amateurs), TGARG (Thames Gateway ARG) and NHRG (Nextgen Ham Radio Group) with a blue logo, before the three of settled on TARG with the yellow logo used at launch. With the addition of Sarah M6PSK as Treasurer, the group was able to form. Between June and September 2012, a full committee of 8 was assembled, a bank account opened, web domains registered, the club was affiliated to RSGB, clothing was embroidered, a Constitution was written, club callsign was sorted, a meeting venue was found, and we even had a PR photoshoot day.
Today, exactly nine years ago, amateurs in Essex got to hear of TARG via a launch event at the community radio station, Phoenix FM in Brentwood, including stations set up both inside and outside the radio station, and on-air interviews with the radio station’s presenters. Essex Ham was already up-and-running by 2012, and here’s how the site covered the launch back in 2012 (full story):
Forming a club was quite an involved process, and quite an eye-opener. In the first year, TARG club held several club nights and field days, was one of the few clubs to have a permanent shack, and started running Foundation training courses. Sadly, the original three founders are no longer involved with the running of TARG, but it’s rewarding to know that after laying those solid Foundations, nine years on, TARG continues to be a busy and popular local club, following the founding principles laid down ahead of its launch 9 years ago. Essex Ham too has grown significantly since 2012, now having over 2,600 members worldwide, and having helped thousands enter the hobby via online training.
Since 2012, there are been quite a few club changes in Essex – new groups have come along, including the Thurrock Acorns (2013), the Essex Amateur Radio DX Group (2014), the Secret Nuclear Bunker Contest Group (2015), Langdon Hills Amateur Radio Club/Laindon Radio Club (2018-2021) and the BAE Systems Great Baddow Amateur Radio Club (2018). We’ve also seen the success of the Essex Skills Night in Danbury and the Essex CW Club’s annual Boot Camp.
Also 9 years ago – the 2012 London Olympics had finished, and Apple was about to launch its flagship iPhone 5, the tracks “Somebody That I Used to Know” and “Call Me Maybe” were the year’s big hitters, and Windows 8 was a few weeks away from launch.
Fast forward 9 years
Of course, the Covid pandemic has taken its toll on amateur radio – 18 months after the initial lockdown and things are slowly returning to normal. Some clubs have started up again, albeit with reduced attendees coming to meetings- other clubs are playing it safe and sticking to online meetings for the time being. We’ve seen a few field events, although the bulk of the /P season is now behind us. Training is still an area of concern for some clubs, we understand, as exams shifted to ‘online’ over the pandemic. Over 4,000 people have taken their Foundation exam online between April 2020 and the start of September 2021 – double as many newcomers compared with previous years. There’s now some question marks regarding the future of training and exams at local clubs, with some hoping to return to traditional club-based training/exams, and others looking to focus on supporting the newcomers who were trained during lockdown without meeting others.
An interesting time for clubs, with lots of opportunities to adapt to the post-Covid world as amateurs thoughts return to the idea of going back to clubs and rallies.
If you have any thoughts on returning to rallies and clubs post-Covid, or what you’d like to see clubs (both physical and online) doing for the community going forward, I’d love to see your thoughts below.
73 and stay safe,
Pete M0PSX, founder, Essex Ham
i think clubs still have an important role to play in the support of new amateurs but they need to change with the times a little
something else i haven’t heard is any reason for is why the sudden jump in numbers taking the exams and this i think has some bearing on the future of clubs
also has anyone done any analysis of the ages and genders of those taking the exams before and after lockdown? was there a change in demographic when clubs were removed from the equation?
both of the above may provide clues for how clubs need to evolve
i am glad that currently the RSGB has kept the remote invigilation option for exams
i know my reasons for doing my exams under remote invigilation, it was simply that i didn’t want to have to join a club to do the exams due to below
1:- the image of clubs (retired old men in cardigans etc)
2:- due to my work hours i would have difficulty attending for a set number of weeks at a regular time
3:- i had a good knowledge of electronics and kit construction so didn’t need to be taught ohms law etc
4:- being able to do the exam at a weekend on a date and time of my choosing
5:- i could get through the exams quicker than at a club with rigid course dates (6 months from enrolling for foundation with Pete to passing my full exam)
as to how clubs can support new amateurs going forward, a lot of the nets i have heard are during normal working hours for many so it has excluded many and help to reinforce the idea it is all for retired people
so start having more nets in the evening when people have finished school or work (monday net at 8pm is a great example)
keep the zoom or skype type meetings, even if only once a month for example, maybe several local clubs could collaborate on this and take turns to host it in a local area to ease the load and provide a more varied agenda
have a few open days at weekends to allow new amateurs to go have a look and a chat, may be demo a few things like sstv, digital modes, morse etc to show there are many facets to amateur radio not just voice comms on 2m
improve communications with new amateurs, maybe the RSGB should email those who pass their exams the contact details of clubs within a 10-15 mile radius for example
be more welcoming, i must admit the majority of hams i have spoken to have been very welcoming and encouraging but i have heard some of the opposite where they all but treat channels as their own property on vhf, and even been told by a couple of hams “don’t use frequency x as someone will get the hump”
one i have come up against time and again is a number of established hams do not like digital modes and those who use them, the number of times i have heard “an FT8 QSO is not a true QSO” i have lost count and also heard similar against Echolink on air as it involves using the internet to relay the signal
just my 2p worth (or 6d or those old men in cardigans still working in old money :) )
keep up the good work pete and all at essex ham
Peter
M0PWX