How do I get started in amateur radio?
One way is to start listening to the amateur radio ‘bands’, these bands are the frequencies set aside for RA’s to use. It is possible to do this without owning any suitable equipment, or you can get yourself a receiver and antenna, many are commercially available, but an antenna can be just a length of wire.
The internet is a great place to listen to the RA bands by using online Software Defined Radio (SDR) websites. One such sites is run by the University of Twente in the Netherlands. This site covers 0 – 30 Mhz in one band, so you can listen to all transmissions in that range. To concentrate on the RA bands, take a look at the RSGB band plans pages to find out where the RA voice frequencies are. Links open in a new tab/window.
Web SDR is a site where you can connect to lots of WebSDR servers based all over the world.
Do you run courses and exams?
Because the RSGB have moved away from paper exams and now have them online only, we have taken the decision not to run formal training courses ending in an exam. Instead, we will run workshops for those who wish to sit the Foundation level exam. These will probably be run over 1 or 2 weekends when demand is appropriate, rather than the 8 to 10 weeks we did before.
As always, there is no charge for workshops, however, there are charges, payable to the RSGB when an exam is being booked. Check their website for pricing.
Anyone attending a training workshop should also source the current Foundation level course book. These will be availble from the RSGB, however, they can usually be found on Amazon as well.
How restricted are Foundation licence holders?
There aren’t too many restrictions on Foundation licence holders, in fact Ofcom recently lifted some restrictions and relaxed others. For instance, a foundation licence holder used to be restricted to 10 watts but are now allowed 25 watts on most bands. With a foundation licence you can talk to the world.
Is the hobby expensive?
Well, it can be very expensive, but with advances in technology the price of equipment is coming down. If you do spend a lot on a radio, one good thing is that they tend to hold their value, at least in my experience. That said, there are some used bargains out there from private sellers and the array of radio dealers.
You can get on the air these days for less than £30 with a dual band VHF/UHF handheld, a perfect start for a new licence holder. You can also pay £100’s for a handheld, but radios like the Baofeng GT5-R will get a new foundation licence holder on the air. (Link opens in Amazon, other retailers are available)
As a club member you can have access to our club radios to get into operating on all of the amateur bands and attend any field trips we do.