In order to be able to transmit on the amateur radio bands, you need an amateur radio licence. These are issued by Ofcom to those who have passed an Amateur Radio test/exam.
There are three levels of amateur radio licence that progressively give you greater privileges. They are; Foundation, Intermediate and Full. You can start with a Foundation licence, gain some experience on the air, and then progress to an Intermediate and Full licence – this is the path we recommend. Alternatively, you can go straight for the full licence, but this is really intended for people who have a strong existing knowledge of electronics and radio communication.
Obtaining a Foundation Licence
Being the entry-level qualification, the Foundation Amateur Radio Course is designed to get you involved in amateur radio as quickly as possible. However, before you are granted a licence to transmit it is vital that you demonstrate that you know something about how wireless communication works. This is so that you can avoid causing interference to other users of the radio spectrum, including vital communications networks such as the emergency services, the military, and commercial broadcasters.
Method of studying
This knowledge can be obtained in three different ways; self-study, an on-line taught course, or a face-to-face taught course. At the Quantum Amateur Radio and Technology Society (QuARTS) we run face-to-face training courses. However, we appreciate that this is not everyone’s preferred method of learning, so we’re also happy to support you even if you choose self-study, or an on-line course.
Self-study
You can use the RSGB’s (Radio Society of Great Britain’s) Foundation Licence Manual to self-study. There are on-line resources and apps for your phone/tablet, but: a) make sure that they are for the British exam, b) make sure they’re up-to-date and for the current syllabus (v1.5 for exams taken up to 31st July, v1.6 for exams taken after 1st September).
To test your knowledge, use the RSGB’s mock exams. These papers use actual questions from the exam question bank, so they are 100% representative of the sort of questions you will get when you site your exam. We do not recommend that you use other mock exams as the producers they cannot be guaranteed to test you on subjects you will be tested on in the real exam, they’re not always written in the correct way and we have come across mock exams were the answers have actually been wrong.
On-line training
There are a number of on-line training courses that you can join at Foundation level. These include:
- Foundation Online by Essex Ham. Free of charge.
- OARC Foundation Course by the Online Amateur Radio Community. Free of charge.
- “Gettin Tae Grips” with the UK Foundation Licence by GM6DX. Free of charge.
Between them, these three groups have put thousands of candidates through their Foundation course.
Again, the RSGB’s mock exams will enable you to gauge how well you’re doing, and these groups will have their own methods of checking your progression.
Face-to-face training
Some candidates just can’t get on with self-study, or on-line courses – don’t feel bad about this, everyone learns differently. Face-to-face courses can be run at an amateur radio club, a licensed radio amateur’s home, or some will come to you. The beauty is that the training can be tailored to the candidates attending and you can build a rapport with your trainer and fellow candidates.
Whilst self-study and on-line training is usually free, amateur radio clubs such as ours do have to pay for venues to run courses. We don’t charge for the courses we run, they’re free-of-charge to members. So if you’d like to study with us we would like you to become a member of the club and take advantage of all the other benefits that membership brings.
Practical sessions
One of the big advantages of face-to-face training is that we won’t only take you through the syllabus to prepare you for the exam, we will give you hands-on experiences that help reinforce the theory – self-study and on-line training cannot do this.
We will show you how to assemble your amateur radio station and make your first contact – important parts of the learning process. We will give you the confidence to get up and running quickly once you receive your licence. Many of those who self-study, or undertake an on-line course, can feel like they’re on their own once they receive their amateur radio licence – “what do I do next?”.
Foundation test
The test is nothing to worry about; there are 26 questions and it takes no longer than an hour to complete.
The tests are sat in the comfort of your own home, online, on your computer these days. There is a charge, payable to the RSGB, for sitting the exam and this can be found on the same page as you would use to book your personalised test.
In order to take the exam online you will need a computer equipped with with a minimum of 4GB of RAM, a webcam, microphone and speakers. Desktops or laptops running Windows 7+, or MacOS 10.10+ (but not Big Sur) are fine, but tablets, Chromebooks, or Surface devices running Windows RT will not work.
Alternative arrangements can be made for those that don’t have a suitable computer or who need a written paper for medical reasons (you need to inform whoever you are studying with, or the RSGB, in plenty of time for a paper test as it can take longer to arrange.
After the test
Once the test has been sat you will be provided with an indicative result, but your test paper still needs to be cross-marked by someone at the Radio Society of Great Britain’s (RSGB’s) HQ. Once they have verified the result, they will inform both yourself and Ofcom who will then wait for you to apply for your licence.
This process takes about ten working days, during which time you should be thinking about what you would like your callsign to be. Most people choose the suffix of their callsign (the three letters after the ‘M7’ prefix) based on their initials, name, nickname, or some other piece of information that is important to them. One member of our club has ‘COV’ as the suffix of her callsign because she was born in Coventry. You can can use Ofcom’s web-based callsign application form to discover if the suffix you want is available.
If you are not successful with the test don’t worry; we will help you with any areas that need more work so that you can reapply for your exam as soon as possible.
Brickworks
Once your new callsign has been issued you will be able to operate an Amateur Radio station, in accordance with the rules and regulations applicable to Foundation Licence holders, without supervision. However, this is just the start of your journey through this fascinating and diverse hobby.
The Quantum Technology Club is an RSGB Brickworks Accredited Club. This means that we have promised to support newly licensed radio amateurs, and those returning to the hobby, and provide them with a range of activities, opportunities and support to enable them explore many different facets of the hobby – rather than just leaving them to get on with it themselves.
Discover more about our Brickworks activities >>>
Register now for the Foundation Amateur Radio Course
Register now for our next course and we’ll get back to with the specific details.