By any stretch of the imagination, the experience I and my daughter have had with the RSGB has never been a good one.
I haven't been a member for many years. Within weeks of joining in 2011, I found myself referring the RSGB to the Information Commissioner's Office for a malicious data breach that can only be described as utterly incomprehensible - and, as the ICO determined - unlawful.
I actually had to ask the society for an apology, which they did issue, but only under the protection of a letter issued 'without prejudice' - showing their lawyers feared being sued for data protection breaches and/or libel.
Apart from all that, I have never felt the RSGB does anything like the kind of lobbying and campaigning work that is undeniably necessary to improve the lot of the amateur radio enthusiast.
Last month, the RSGB launched, with much fanfare, a 'campaign' to tackle VDSL interference, which is quite widespread - and the cause of much angst and terrible disappointment in those who have, in some cases, operated without problem for very many years.
But, quite unlike the kind of society-led campaign you would hope to find, what the RSGB were actually expecting was that each individual would complain to OFCOM themselves!
Roll on a month, and the latest RadCom (already in the bin), announces that a whopping 60 people have made a complaint as requested.
That's 60 people out of an RSGB membership of some 20,000, and a UK amateur population of about 75,000. In other words, less than 0.1% of the total population have reacted.
Now, OFCOM are already widely seen as little more than a seller of microwave spectrum to the mobile phone guys. With few resources, and no income at all from amateur licences, OFCOM is obviously not going to be rushing to the community's aid any time soon.
And then, the wonderful news from the RSGB that, having listened to them and made a complaint about VDSL, those people should now "expect to identify" which stations - precisely - they can't receive as a direct and sole result of VDSL. That is not going to be a trivial exercise and, I would suggest, one that no ordinary member of the radio community will ever be able to demonstrate to a legal standard.
So, everyone's been hyped-up, hardly anyone has bothered listening, but those who have now have an impossible standard of proof to demonstrate. Wonderful! You'll excuse OFCOM for laughing in our faces and continuing to do nothing to help amateurs.
Well, all this, plus some rather dismissive comments only this week from the society about my daughter's achievement in gaining a licence at age 11, means that we no longer wish to be associated with the Home Counties-centric, committee urchin infested RSGB. Nor do we wish to benefit from the free young persons' membership, which we have today cancelled.
Now we're an EURAO family. Not ideal for national issues, but then, what is the RSGB actually changing for the better in terms of planning rights, RFI mitigation, etc? Not even with 20,000 members are they able to offer the extremely valuable free public liability insurance currently offered by EURAO, and which is bound to attract new members.
So, thanks for nothing, RSGB. You won't be missed - at all.
