BARTG was founded in 1959 with the twin aims of helping to get amateurs on the air using datacoms and encouraging and promoting the use of datacoms in amateur radio. BARTG’s magazine, contests, awards scheme and goods (components and books) were four ways it encouraged and promoted datacoms.
It was a ‘members + subs’ group. Members paid subs to fund BARTG and in return received the BARTG magazine and benefitted from discounts (whenever production costs permitted) on BARTG’s goods. Members were also an essential component of the BARTG Members’ Award.
BARTG has changed. It no longer levies subs. It no longer publishes a magazine nor sells any goods nor runs a Members’ Award. BARTG is now a ‘contest + awards’ group. All its activities are open to everyone; nothing is open only to BARTG members.
The committee feels that BARTG’s membership scheme is no longer necessary and can be closed. The committee believes that this closure would not affect any BARTG member. Members would keep their BARTG number for life and would be welcome to continue to display it and/or the BARTG logo on QSL cards, callsign badges and plaques, car stickers and suchlike. The closure would not in any way affect BARTG’s contests or awards scheme which would continue to be run by the committee, as would the web site.
The committee obviously is interested in hearing from members about this proposed closure. Please send comments to secretary@BARTG.org.uk
The cut-off date for comments is the end of September 2018.
Ian G4EAN,
Secretary of BARTG.