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www.southgatearc.org
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QRM on 2m in N.I. to cease on 1st August 2007 ?Although the 2 metres is a Primary Amateur band there is one part of the United Kingdom where it is used by electronic warfare systems that jam large sections of the band. Radio amateurs in Northern Ireland have lived with the problem for many years, but it seems at last there may be relief in sight. David Hutchinson GI4FUM Chairman of the Antrim & District Amateur Radio Society recently attended a briefing by the Army Presentation Team and raised the matter of 2 metre interference. He has supplied this report of the meeting. On Wednesday evening I attended a private Reception and Briefing by the Army Presentation Team given at Galgorm Manor, Ballymena. I had received a personal invitation from Brigadier J F Watson MBE who is Commander of 107 (Ulster) Brigade. I was part of an audience of 300 guests who were treated to a video and presentations by members of the Army Presentation Team led by Col Bibby. At the end of the presentations questions were invited from the audience. I had gone along out of curiosity and had no plan to ask questions but during the video, the Bowman radio system was featured and I felt an urge to ask Col Bibby why this system is still being used in Northern Ireland to QRM the 2m amateur band. I was the first to rise to my feet and I was polite and introduced myself as a local GP, scout district commissioner in Antrim and chairman of Antrim and District Amateur Radio Society. I apologised that the first question to be asked would be a very difficult one to answer but I was going to ask it anyway. I started by saying that I had noticed that the Bowman radio system was featured in the presentation and that I believed that this system was the source of the interference being caused to the amateur 2m band here in Northern Ireland. Col Bibby admitted that my question was a very difficult one for him to answer and that he was probably not the best person to give me an answer but that he would try to do so. He told the audience (and me) that the Bowman System has NEVER been deployed in Northern Ireland and that the Army has no plans to deploy it here. He admitted that the interference was being caused by an earlier electronic warfare system. He explained the need for these systems where soldiers lives are at risk - which of course I had no problem with as I was already aware of this. He also admitted that there is currently no need for the employment of these types of systems here and he didn't know why the interference was continuing. He promised to investigate the matter for me. But now the good news. He told the audience that under the Normalisation procedures that ALL OPERATIONAL UNITS of the Army will withdraw from Northern Ireland by 1st August 2007. Along with these units, the electronic warfare equipment WILL BE REMOVED. There will be NO QRM after 1st August 2007. When the operational units withdraw, there will be one regional brigade and one operational brigade, neither of which will have any security role in Northern Ireland and they will not be assisting the police in day to day security either. He stated that the regional brigade will be a newly formed one and will be called 38 Irish Brigade. The operational brigade will be 19 Light Brigade (now based in Catterick, Yorkshire) and they do not have heavy guns or tanks. There will be a ceiling of 5000 soldiers deployed in Northern Ireland. At the end of the question session I spoke to Col Bibby personally and
he promised once again to investigate my concerns and to email me with
an answer. A member of his team introduced me to Col Mike Frazer Brenchley
who is commanding officer of the TA Royal Signals in Northern Ireland.
We spent some time in relaxed and friendly discussion over the finger
buffet. He too did not know why the interference was continuing on the
2m band here but he told me how to find out the answer. He suggested that
I write to Army HQ for Northern Ireland and ask them for a specific reason
for the interference under the Freedom of Information Act. They will have
20 days to give a reply and they MUST REPLY. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FreedomOfInformation/ Would it surprise you to know that if you search the Army FOI Publication
scheme (available at the URL above) for questions relating to Northern
Ireland there are currently NO answers in the publication scheme and I
suspect that this is simply because NOBODY has used this method of questioning
the Army here before. We have a legal avenue we CAN use – please
use it.
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