Ham Radio Foundation licence

[RockingDad]

Hi all,

Has anyone been able to study and pass their ham foundation licence without assistance of a club. The club local to me don't run courses and membership is 'invitation only', the most local is an hours round trip which makes it a bit impractical by the time I get in from work etc.

Therefore, am I able to study, perhaps with some assisting material (i'm getting the foundation now book for starters), and go somewhere that holds the exam without the course? I'm not trying to be antisocial here, just want to get licenced in a practical way for me.

I'm not a complete noob when it comes circuit digrams etc. Looking to get the Baofeng UV-5R as a starter radio to learn the craft as it were. I use hand helds at work (licenced back to back) so have some radio etiquette knowledge and the phonetic alphabet like the back of my hand.

Cheers

RockingDad

[Briggs]

Yeah, same here. I'm not able to get to a local club but want to study and take the exam.

[OpSec]

Hi

I did the Foundation last year and I'm now doing the Intermediate and Advanced side by side to get it over and done with. I'm lucky because my local club is not far away and runs several courses through the year.

You can learn the theory without the help of a club by working through the 3 books (one for each level) that are published by the RSGB. There is also plenty of good information on several club website - Google Chemsford Amateur Radio Society and Bredhurst Receiving and Transmitting Society for good online instruction. I can also recommend the RSGB Exam Secrets book - one book covers all three exams.

That takes care of the theory side but for Foundation and Intermediate there are also practical exercises that you need to complete and have assessed, which is much easier if you can get to a club for these elements. They are not difficult but you have to get an assessment sheet signed off by an approved assessor. Strange as it may seem the Advanced is all theory, there are no practical elements.

Hope this helps

[RockingDad]

Cheers opsec, much appreciated. Id be interested to hear about your experience of the intermediate and advanced level exams as longer term id like full amatuer radio power access as well.

Are you a member of your local club?

Ive contacted the club I mentioned to get on a course hopefully.

Cheers

Rockingdad

[Briggs]

Thanks!

[OpSec]

Hi
Yes I joined the club, not very expensive and this got me a discount on the course fee's, which effectively gave me back the cost of joining, so a good deal really.

I'm glad I joined because although I passed the exam and got my licence, I find that I learn a lot more useful/practical info from the guys at the club than is covered in the course.

[Briggs]

Opsec,

I wasn't figuring on becoming an enthusiast, it's more for safety because where I am mobile phone signal is non-existent. I think you're right though, I'll go along to my local-ish club and see what's what.

Cheers!

[OpSec]

Ours is a very active club, over 100 members, who are doing different things, so I've learned loads abouts things I'd never heard of let alone considered. All very useful stuff, especially for a prepper, e.g. portable comms, secure comms, satellite coms, how to get the most out your kit and achieve long distance comms with minimal kit etc.

I'm really glad I joined, the membership fees are only £10 for the year, and you get a £10 discount on course fees, so a real bargin and daft not to join really.

[ClydeBuilt]

First post so hope this helps!

The Foundation exam is so simple you wouldnt believe!
Theres loads of kids passed it, some under ten! If my dog had thumbs to hold the pen, he would pass it!

Its very much a case of a confidence thing than anything else.
So dont fret about it, get that out of the way and get studying for the intermediate as the 'REAL' exam.
Even thats pass mark is based on getting a percentage of the questions right, so some reasonable study, online & on the books and You Will Pass!

[Hamradioop]

The exam fee is Foundation – £27.50, Intermediate – £32.50,Advanced – £37.50.

plus whatever fee the club charges. The foundation course has been passed by a five year old. This is the text book Foundation Licence - Now ! By Alan Betts, G0HIQ

If you want to obtain an Amateur Radio Foundation Licence this book is for you. This is the latest 2013 edition of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) book that contains all that is required to obtain a Foundation licence. Even if you just want to know about Amateur Radio this book provides insight into the technical basics, receivers, transmitters and antennas. How and where to operate with your new licence are covered along with safety considerations and electromagnetic compatibility. Written in an easy to use and understand style this is the ideal book for young and old alike.

RSGB, paperback, 297 by 210mm, 32 pages, ISBN: 9781-8723-0980-4 Price £4.99

the syllabus can be found here http://www.commsfoundation.org/rce/pdf/ ... llabus.pdf

There is all the info you need to pass the foundation exam. The practical for the exam consist of making two radio contacts, one on 2 meter band(144.0 to 146.0 Mghz) and the other on a HF band typically 80 Meter Band. (3.500 to 4.0 MHz)