RSGB - Surveying the Landscape (Again)

I seem never to be able to escape the RSGB, even though I am no longer a member.

The reason I was dragged back in this morning was finding an invitation to all UK operators - members of the RSGB or not - to input into the latest survey, which is open until the end of 2015.

One thing that struck me as very odd was the question relating to use of the free access tickets to Bletchley Park that RSGB membership affords.

The reason this is odd is that the answer to the questions surrounding the worth of this aspect of membership is already known, and should already have prompted action.  Out of about 19,300 RSGB members, a mere 450, or just over 2%, made use of the free access in the last published accounting year.  Perhaps there will be a small spike in visits for the 2014/15 year, but I suspect that will be solely down to the screening of "The Imitation Game" film, and very little else.

The attachment of the RSGB to the National Radio Centre project at Bletchley can only be explained by two possible factors: (1) contractual obligations and (2) a misplaced sense of patriotism that the society could ill afford at any point.   All this led to the then RSGB big-wigs buying a massively expensive tower that was never likely to gain planning permission at such an iconic and historic site, and left the society with a useless hunk of metal, paid for at members' expense, when it did indeed fail to be permitted.

The remaining question for the RSGB is: how much longer is it going to keep going at this Bletchley Park nonsense?  If only 2% of its own members visit the NRC, then I suspect the fraction of the general population doing so is infinitely smaller.  You might say that is obviously going to be the case, in which case, I thank you for your confirmation of my thinking. As such, the justification for the NRC - the promotion of amateur radio and attracting new members from amongst the general population - was always a red herring.

I think that, given the past enthusiasm to buy the big tower for Bletchley, and the manner in which the NRC is justified now,  it's reasonable to think that, at least in the early days, the NRC was seen as a place where a contest-class club station could be set up by a select few at others' expense.  It never turned out that way, leaving us with the remnants of a wacky idea that should never have made it out of the pub door.

Add to that the stonking devaluation of assets to pretty much nothing at all at the NRC with each accounting year that goes by, and you can only ever realistically conclude that the NRC should be terminated as the obviously bad idea that it was and remains. I've made this point before, and I make it again.

What really saddens me is that, despite the appointment of a Press Officer recently, it's still essentially impossible to find a story in the mainstream media where Joe Public can find out a bit - and maybe become more interested in - our great hobby.  Why is money not being directed effectively there, at a time when media outlets fall over themselves, looking for print-ready press releases?

As to the rest of the survey, well, you might find yourself ranting on about things you've been ranting on about for years.  Whether or not 2015 is the year anyone sits up and takes notice of the grassroots membership is, well, another big question for the RSGB...