What is amateur radio?

• It’s a technical hobby, where people use radios to communicate.
• Allows you to talk and listen to people both locally, and worldwide.
• Uses a variety of equipment and techniques, which don’t have to be expensive.
• Covers both traditional shortwave radio, as well as more modern methods, such as digital modes and using satellites.
• Is used by people of all ages.
• Can be used in emergencies when all else fails.

Why would I be interested?

• You’ll learn about electronics and how things work.
• If you’re still at school, touches on subjects covered, e.g. relevant maths, science, technology, languages, engineering, geography, history.
• You’ll gain friends around the world.

S.M.A.R.T. Radio Pilot

I am working on a community project with partners ( Sutton and Cheam Radio, Society, the London Brough of Sutton and the ICQPodcast ) to show how Amateur Radio skills can aid learning of many subjects in a fun way. 

I have been involved in Amateur Radio for 25 years in the local area as well as being a leading committee member of the Sutton and Cheam Radio Society. I am the co-founder of a popular fortnightly Amateur Radio podcast (https://www.icqpodcast.com) for over 15 years which is available for free. As part of the podcast, we promote radio and youth activity worldwide.

The next project we intend to launch in the next few weeks is SMART Radio. SMART stands for Saturday Morning Amateur Radio Time. The idea is to meet regularly on a Saturday morning to demonstrate and explain what Amateur Radio is about. This will be a fortnightly event at a local location.

I am also a registered trainer with the Radio Society of Great Britain. If we find members of the public who wish to join this hobby, we could offer training courses.

Many schools use the STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics) program for teaching. Amateur Radio fits well with these subjects and is a fun way to learn these subjects with real-world applications. As well as covering the main topics of STEM, Amateur Radio also gives a good insight into Art, Languages, Geography and History.

The ICQPodcast is trialling this with two pilot projects, one in the USA and one in the UK.

The best place for the UK trial is the London Brough of Sutton, at the Middleton Road Circle library. The location is served by three bus routes across the borough, free on-road parking and an outside area.

This is NOT a money-making exercise; we give our time for free along with the podcast being free and not a money maker. 

If you wish to find out more, please come along to one or more of our sessions.