Radio Communication needs, wants and fairy tale dreams

[harrypalmer]

Midnitemo, get your Foundation License, its easy enough and while the little 2m Baofeng's et al are handy they are not up to real comms. Ham gear is expensive but you get the mileage from the HF rigs. The Foundation test is more of a quiz than an an exam.

[Midnitemo]

Have looked up the foundation course, £27.50 is not to expensive and i have two clubs within 15 miles to choose from so it's now on my to do list, ordered the study guide to be getting on with, one thing i haven't seen is what the ongoing licencing cost will be once you have attained this basic competence to transmit on 10watts and you're callsign?

[Nemesis]

I just asked one of my sons if he wants to do this coarse and hes up for it, I found a club in Chelmsford I do think this would be good for him and an interest we can share, he can teach me.

Could he set this up in multiple places under one licence for example my house and boat?



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[NorthernRaider]

Chelmsford phonetics
1 Wona
2 twoer
3 Free
4 fower
5 fiver n change
6 sex
7 sevvin
8 ate
9 noyne
10 tenna

[harrypalmer]

"Foundation Licence Now" is the book(let) you need and easy to get hold of.

"what the ongoing licencing cost will be once you have attained this basic competence to transmit on 10watts and you're callsign? "

Right, you do the quizz (its more a quizz than exam at this level) and pass...I think you need to get 19 out of 25 or 26 right, all multiply choice questions. It will take a week or two for your results to be verified and you will then get a certificate from the RSGB (Radio Society of Great Britain) http://rsgb.org/

Once you have that you log on to the Offcom site and register with them. You will have the opportunity to pick a call sign, if in England it will be M6***, you can pick the last three letters if they have not been taken and thats it, no charges incurred and this is ongoing. All they ask is that every few years you confirm on the site that you are still using your call sign.

You can use your rig at various locations, lets say your M6ABC you could call M6ABC/A ( (alternative location) or M6ABC/P for portable) if your up in the hills or camping etc

You can use your kit on inland waterways/rivers etc but using them at sea is another matter but all will be explained when you do the course.

Set yourself up with a fresh email account (gmail or yahoo) for your registration.

Some folk on 'prepper' forums seem to have issues with what they perceive as privacy issues but lets be honest unless your dumb enough to go on a forum and give out your real name and address the privacy issues are totally invalid.

Enjoy the course, if you need any tips give me and or Lightspeed a PM and we'll help you out.

[Lightspeed]

Midnight: No ongoing costs for license. Once you've passed the test the license is yours for life (and beyond actually).

Harry P is right the test is very much a multiple choice quiz. You get your result immediately as marking takes place at the test centre. That result then has to be confirmed to Ofcom, and once confirmed you'll be free to choose your call sign.

M6 will entitle you to operate on Ham bands anywhere in the UK. Frequencies you are allowed to use are HF ( 1.8 -52Mhz) , VHF (144mhz =2m), and UHF (430Mhz =70cms). Max power allowed is 10w into any antenna you like. You will be allowed to use AM, FM, and SSB for voice communications, Morse Code (CW), and digital computer to computer modes.

Nemisis: The Chelmsford club has a very good instructors and everyone I know who has taken the course with them has been both satisfied and successful.

[Lightspeed]

Oh and about the 10w limit.

A very close friend of mine is an M6, and with the max 10w power on the HF bands has great success contacting stations around the world. USA South America, Africa, Asia, Australia etc.

What's even more impressive is that this guy only ever operates as a back pack portable station, with home made antennas constructed from fishing poles and thin loudspeaker wire.

Encouraging eh?

And at that power level, its possible to operate for extended periods of time from remote locations with only minimal battery capacity and a small solar panel to keep it topped up.

[Lightspeed]

(5 June 2016, 16:14)NorthernRaider Wrote: Chelmsford phonetics
1 Wona
2 twoer
3 Free
4 fower
5 fiver n change
6 sex
7 sevvin
8 ate
9 noyne
10 tenna

Wrong..... its "Ferneticks" innit!

[harrypalmer]

Thanks for backing up what I'd said Lightspeed.

Antenna's are vital, I've got fixed antenna's at home including a Yagi beam which I can rotate as its to some extent directional, for mobile I use the likes of a Wander Wand and Dipoles (Windom is favorite just now) when out and about.

Its a great hobby and well worth getting involved in; while the world may end there is nothing to stop you using a hobby for fun until the 'wheel drops off'.

[Nemesis]

Good information in this thread, I want to go ahead with this.

I live bit remote from anything, these three below are my options, each average about 10 miles drive for us, will need to speak again with my son after work see if he wants to go ahead with this.


Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society, G0MWT


South Essex ARS, G4RSE RSGB Region 12


Havering & DARC, G4HRC RSGB Region 12


Been on Ebay a lot of the HAM radios seem to be 20w/25w I understand we are allowed 10w, so do these radios allow use at a lower watt?

I do apologize for the daft question but I am from essex so I can get away with it.



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