{"id":43151,"date":"2020-05-05T07:26:24","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T11:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=43151"},"modified":"2020-05-05T07:26:24","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T11:26:24","slug":"bbc-how-amateur-radio-is-connecting-people-during-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/bbc-how-amateur-radio-is-connecting-people-during-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC: “How amateur radio is connecting people during lockdown”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributors, Kris Partridge and Mark Hirst, who share the following article from the BBC:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Coronavirus: How amateur radio is connecting people during lockdown<\/h2>\n

By Vanessa Pearce
\nBBC News<\/p>\n

Amateur radio use in the UK has seen a “significant” rise during the coronavirus lockdown as people seek new ways of staying connected. The national body that represents users – the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) – has said many people who formerly enjoyed the hobby are also returning to it.<\/p>\n

Mark Rider’s social life before the coronavirus lockdown consisted of the occasional trip to the pub, rehearsing with musician friends and visiting his wife in her care home.<\/p>\n

“But when I knew that wasn’t going to happen any time soon I decided to dust off my amateur radio equipment to seek out some other social interaction,” he says.<\/p>\n

Mr Rider, a retired engineer from North Warwickshire, said “ragchewing” – or chatting to people on the airwaves – “has become one of the highlights of my day”.<\/p>\n

“Because I live on my own, and because of lockdown, I knew I couldn’t do what I used to do, which wasn’t going to be very good for me or my mental health.”<\/p>\n

The 67-year-old says keeping in touch with others has been more important since his wife was taken into care after a stroke.<\/p>\n

“Just speaking to somebody else in the same situation is very rewarding,” he says.<\/p>\n

The RSGB defines amateur radio as a “technical hobby for people who want to learn about, use and experiment with wireless communications”, like Mr Rider, who uses his radio kit to speak to others using designated radio frequencies.<\/p>\n

Steve Thomas, RSGB general manager, says the organisation has experienced a threefold increase in the number of people asking to sit licensing exams since social distancing rules came into place. There are currently about 75,000 licensed users in the UK.<\/p>\n

“Across the country, clubs and individual radio amateurs are supporting one another by setting up ‘nets’, or online meetings,” Mr Thomas says.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Continue reading the full article at the BBC.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for sharing this excellent article! A number of readers have been commenting about how much more activity there is on the ham radio bands these days. I concur! With everyone at home, ham radio certainly does provide a way to reach out and be a part of a larger community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors, Kris Partridge and Mark Hirst, who share the following article from the BBC: Coronavirus: How amateur radio is connecting people during lockdown By Vanessa Pearce BBC News Amateur radio use in the UK has seen a “significant” rise during the coronavirus lockdown as people seek new ways of staying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3],"tags":[8312,8358,4102,5584,5458],"class_list":["post-43151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-ham-radio","tag-kris-partridge","tag-mark-hirst"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-bdZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51169,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/bbc-newshour-and-the-first-shortwave-transatlantic-tests\/","url_meta":{"origin":43151,"position":0},"title":"BBC Newshour and the first shortwave Transatlantic Tests","author":"Thomas","date":"December 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors, Doug and Kris, who both share a link to BBC Newshour which was broadcast yesterday (Dec 12, 2021). 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You can listen to this report over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/BBC-World-Service-Bush-Ho-007.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42983,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/radio-waves-zombie-sats-radio-provides-undemanding-friendship-boom-in-new-stations-and-one-retailers-ham-radio-connection\/","url_meta":{"origin":43151,"position":1},"title":"Radio Waves: Zombie Sats, Radio Provides Undemanding Friendship, Boom in New Stations, and One Retailer’s Ham Radio Connection","author":"Thomas","date":"April 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Philco-Transitone-Radio-Dial.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Philco-Transitone-Radio-Dial.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Philco-Transitone-Radio-Dial.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Philco-Transitone-Radio-Dial.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45440,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/qtc-article-clear-channel-mw-broadcast-stations-in-australia\/","url_meta":{"origin":43151,"position":2},"title":"QTC Article: Clear Channel MW Broadcast Stations in Australia","author":"Thomas","date":"September 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who notes that the July\/August 2020 issue of the Australian amateur radio magazine QTC (an issue we noted in a previous post is free) actually has an article about the mediumwave scene in Australia. 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