Gloucester Amateur Radio and Electronics Society

Foundation Licence Training Course

Gloucester Amateur Radio and Electronics Society are working with Cheltenham Amateur Radio Association to provide Foundation Licence Amateur Radio Training Courses

You do NOT need to be a member of the RSGB, Gloucester Amateur Radio and Electronics Society, Cheltenham Amateur Radio Association or any other club in order to attend the courses. You simply need an keen motivation to become a Radio Amateur.

The Foundation Licence is the first of three licence classes that are available for Radio Amateurs. A licence is needed in order to transmit on the amateur bands (although you may transmit on the CB and PMR bands without a licence).

Foundation licence holders may use up to 10 Watts on most of the popular frequencies and may normally use aerial arrays to boost the effective power of their signal

Course Content

Day 1

Introduction
What is "Amateur Radio"
Licence types
The course and examinations
A typical amateur radio station
Frequency bands and band plans
HF and VHF
HF and VHF Propagation
FM and SSB
Setting up the equipment
Receivers
Transmitters
Power Supplies
ATU’s (and low pass filters)
Feeders and aerials
A typical HF/SSB QSO
A typical VHF/FM QSO
Practice sessions
Practical examinations 1 (8f.1), 2 (8e.3, 8e.4) and 3 (8e1, 8e.2, 8e.5)

Safety

EMC and Interference

Licence Conditions

Day 2

Technical Basics
Volts, amps, ohms and watts
Units of measure
Ohm’s Law
AC and DC
Frequencies and Wavelength
Transmitters
Receivers
Feeders and Antennas
Decibels
Polarisation
Practical examination 4 (8f.2)

Morse
Practical examination 5 (10)

Mock theory exams will be held throughout the weekend

Before the Course

You MUST:
• obtain and read the "Foundation Now" book ISBN: 9781-8723-0980-4
• read any other course material that may be supplied
• listen to contacts on the Amateur Radio bands (preferably 3.5 to 3.8MHz or 14.0 to 14.35MHz SSB)

What to bring

The "Foundation Now" book
Something to write notes with (e.g. a pen)
Something to write notes on
Lunch on each day (tea and coffee will be provided)
Your brain, which must be working!

Who will run the course?

The lead instructors are Cliff Powlesland (G8CQZ) and Ian Hollingsbee (G3TDT). Both Cliff and Ian are registered to teach courses at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels. They will be assisted by other licensed radio amateurs, both in the training room and to provide the other station for QSO practices.

Questions you may have

Why is the book not included in the course?

Experience has shown that many candidates already have their own copy of the book. There are also sources (eg. Amazon) of cheaper individual copies than are available for bulk purchases through the RSGB. In addition, you will need to obtain the book as early as possible and not wait until the course starts.

If you have any other questions, please contact Cliff by using the Contact Us facility.