Ham radio

[maby]

I did my foundation course about 6 years ago, but let it lapse and then lost my certificate.

There's a few of us in Preston looking at doing the advanced (from foundation), but it's a bit of a pain in the bum. A couple of hours once a month is a bit frustrating. I know they're volunteers and it's cheap, but I'd rather pay a sum and actually get the course done in a reasonable time.

Plus, I don't have the sort of life where I can definitely be somewhere on the 1st monday of every month.

Are there any commercial training outfits?

Is formal training mandatory these days? I passed the exams based on book study alone - and that was the old written RAE, not the modern multiple choice exam - just had to read the books, pay the exam fee and turn up at an examination centre on the day.

I know there is a practical component these days, but I thought that was just a couple of hours and it should be possible to do it at a local radio club one weekend, isn't it?

 

[Conachair]

I did my foundation course about 6 years ago, but let it lapse and then lost my certificate.

There's a few of us in Preston looking at doing the advanced (from foundation), but it's a bit of a pain in the bum. A couple of hours once a month is a bit frustrating. I know they're volunteers and it's cheap, but I'd rather pay a sum and actually get the course done in a reasonable time.

Plus, I don't have the sort of life where I can definitely be somewhere on the 1st monday of every month.

Are there any commercial training outfits?

I had a good look around and seems it's pretty much all clubs doing the exams. Commercial and ham don't really go together well Though my foundation and intermediat were over a weekend, day mentoring and practical, 2nd day more mentoring and exam. Advance was just the exam on one day.

Also, don't think you can jump straight from foundation to advanced, need to pass intermediate on the way.
Sorry

 

[Roberto]

How strict they will be about proving residence, I don't know. I seem to remember that I managed to find some old correspondence that showed my address, but I don't think they have a strict procedure for reissuing licences - it's a question of convincing the person processing your request that you are the same person listed on the callbook page. The first step is to get a copy from the RSGB - you are not going anywhere without that, then talk to the radio licencing authority and ask what other evidence, if any, they want.

Re residency

Ofcom does not require any residency, just a "UK address".
I have a UK amateur licence/callsign, my address is in France and I gave the UK address of a friend. The very courteous lady said "we just need a UK address in case we cannot contact you through your postal address".

In over ten years the only moments they contacted me was when there still was a yearly licence fee, they sent a letter for renewal notification; today licences are free and every amendment/validation of the amateur licence is done through the internet, I moved home a couple of times in France, just filled the form and had a new licence in pdf format in a second.

 

[maby]

Re residency

Ofcom does not require any residency, just a "UK address".
I have a UK amateur licence/callsign, my address is in France and I gave the UK address of a friend. The very courteous lady said "we just need a UK address in case we cannot contact you through your postal address".

In over ten years the only moments they contacted me was when there still was a yearly licence fee, they sent a letter for renewal notification; today licences are free and every amendment/validation of the amateur licence is done through the internet, I moved home a couple of times in France, just filled the form and had a new licence in pdf format in a second.

That's a slightly different issue to the one under discussion. I was responding to someone who had held an amateur radio licence that has subsequently lapsed and he is interested in reactivating it. Presumably he has lost his exam pass certificate, otherwise it would be trivial. The licencing authority is prepared to reactivate a licence if you can give them enough evidence to convince them that you are eligible for it - I guess that you might be able to go to the City and Guilds for a reprint of the certificate but, in practice, the licencing authority is willing to reissue on the strength of a photocopy of the page in an old callbook that lists your name and callsign - provided they believe that you are the "John Smith" in question. Proving that may be a bit more difficult and I don't know how strict they are these days. Quite a few years ago, I had to send them the relevant photocopy and some other item of correspondence showing my name at the address in question.

 

[nathanlee]

Took a while, but I've remembered it now. M3KCI.

I used to spend many an hour in the car on the 2m net's around the north west.

 

[Roberto]

That's a slightly different issue to the one under discussion. I was responding to someone who had held an amateur radio licence that has subsequently lapsed and he is interested in reactivating it. Presumably he has lost his exam pass certificate, otherwise it would be trivial. The licencing authority is prepared to reactivate a licence if you can give them enough evidence to convince them that you are eligible for it - I guess that you might be able to go to the City and Guilds for a reprint of the certificate but, in practice, the licencing authority is willing to reissue on the strength of a photocopy of the page in an old callbook that lists your name and callsign - provided they believe that you are the "John Smith" in question. Proving that may be a bit more difficult and I don't know how strict they are these days. Quite a few years ago, I had to send them the relevant photocopy and some other item of correspondence showing my name at the address in question.

oh I see, you are right

 

[NornaBiron]

A couple of hours once a month is a bit frustrating. I know they're volunteers and it's cheap, but I'd rather pay a sum and actually get the course done in a reasonable time.

Plus, I don't have the sort of life where I can definitely be somewhere on the 1st monday of every month.

Are there any commercial training outfits?

+1

 

[KellysEye]

You do need a Ham licence they won't talk to you if you don't have a Ham call sign.

However I would recommend getting the marine LRC licence. All maritime nets are on Upper Side Band and Ham is Lower Side Band. Once out of the UK you will be amazed how much SSB is used, it's the lifeblood of cruising. In addition to Weatherfax (software needed and an audio out cable) there are long distance cruising nets ( there is a not the ARC net), routing nets (Herb in the Atlantic), local nets in marinas and some of the bigger anchorages, keeping in touch with other cruisers you have met, plus weather nets. You will use SSB every day, we did.

 

[SteveSarabande]

Does an amatuer licence allow you to get a marine licence, or is there a seperate exam for the marine qualification?

 

[maby]

Does an amatuer licence allow you to get a marine licence, or is there a seperate exam for the marine qualification?

No relationship between the two whatsoever. The qualifications for an amateur licence are primarily technical while the qualifications for a marine licence are almost entirely operational. This is because amateurs are allowed to build their own equipment or modify commercial equipment while marine operators are forbidden to touch the internals of the radio.

 

[maby]

p.s. in theory, at least, you would need two separate radios on the boat if you wanted to operate both on the marine bands and the amateur bands. In practice the radios are exactly the same - internally at least - but they are configured to operate on different frequency bands. Your amateur licence would permit you to use a modified marine band radio on the amateur bands - since it is a technical qualification and the authorities trust you to make the modifications correctly and operate within the limitations of the licence. However, the marine licence is a non-technical qualification and requires the use of "type approved" radios which enforce operation within the legal limits of the licence. An open-upped amateur radio would be perfectly capable of working within the marine bands, but would not enforce it, so would fall outside the limits of the marine licence, but operation in the marine bands falls outside the permissoins of the amateur licence.

 

[Conachair]

Does an amatuer licence allow you to get a marine licence, or is there a seperate exam for the marine qualification?

In this country, no and yes. USA there isn't an exam to get a marine ssb license, technically you can't use a ham radio on marine ssb frequencies either, needs to be type approved. But back in the real world you'd probably get away with it. With an advance ham license you'll know loads more about radio than the marine ssb people (unless they are keen and interested in self study). Lots ham sailing nets around as well, it's not just the marine ssb bands.
Though I've never spent much time on the marine nets, are they picky for legal call signs as well, anyone?

 

[Roberto]

Though I've never spent much time on the marine nets, are they picky for legal call signs as well, anyone?

The only one I have tried (illegally, I admit) is Herb on 12359, it works on a simplex channel on the marine bands (maybe you have tried too): no mention of callsigns, people just identify with the name of their boats.
Having met and talked to a few of Herb contacts in Horta, quite a few of them have no idea what is long distance radio, let alone regulations to be respected...

TBH it did not last long, when I left from MArtinique I had to relay a couple of times through "Annie Laurie" (sp?) a very nice chap in Florida, then once direct with Herb, Oh hello roberto and all the like, then lost contact, a couple of days later got in touch again and Herb said "who are you send me an email before contact...", I have the impression if one skips one schedule it's over.
Anyway, it was at the same time as a lot of interesting charts on weatherfax so... I'd say I could cope with the loss?

FWIW, my use of marine frequencies on transmit must have been 0.0001% against amateur bands.

 

[lenseman]

Might be worth a quick call to Ofcom, who issue the licenses. Nice bunch, very helpful. . . . . . . .

I know, I used to work there!

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