Let us tell you more and perhaps you may wish to become more involved.
Amateur radio as a hobby has much to offer, it is multi-facetted and has something to appeal to a wide range of tastes, as the list below demonstrates:-
1. Construction of equipment---there are kits to build, and help and advice is available
2. Once you are licensed there are competitions, or you can "rag chew" with like minded folk.
3. You can experiment with aerial types to get the best results from your equipment
4. You can become involved with Club affairs and activities.
5 You can "chase" long distance contacts across the world, on speech or using morse code.
6 Computers are widely used. Using them you can transmit pictures across the world as well as receive the printed word directly onto your computer screen
FAQs
Q. Do I have to have a license to join the Club?
A No, although most Club members are in fact licensed, you will be made welcome and will be able to take part in most activities of the Club. If you wish to become licensed to operate amateur radio equipment there are courses organized, and you will be helped as much as possible to pass the appropriate examination. It is not difficult, or expensive to obtain the basic license, .
Q. Is it an expensive hobby?
A. As with most hobbies you can spend as much as you can afford, however it need not cost much to get going. To join our Club costs £10 p.a. (less than 50p per evening). There is a variety of used equipment available on the market at various prices. Club members would be happy to give advice on type and price range for your purposes.
Q. What examinations do I have to pass to enable me to transmit and receive on the amateur bands?
A. There are now three licenses in the
.
The Foundation license gives you 10 Watts on most bands, excluding 10 metres and
satellite operation. You need to
take a short course to obtain this licence.
One such course is held at Newbury and normally takes a weekend to
complete. The course includes a practical session where you actually make a QSO
on 80 and 2 metres. The exam, which is held on the Sunday afternoon, is multiple
choice with 25 questions/4 answers per question and the pass mark is 18. You get
instant results and if you pass, you can apply for your license
immediately. The cost to the RSGB is
£15 and at Newbury, charges are the same again, making a total of £30. This
money is used to pay for the hall hire, photocopying costs etc
The Intermediate license, which can only be taken after passing the Foundation
license, takes about two weekends to complete (At Newbury). You need to
construct a piece of equipment, calibrate a VFO, solder on a PL259
co-axial plug and wire a mains plug. There is a limited amount of extra theory,
mainly building on the Foundation license course. Exams can currently only be
taken on specific dates set by the RSGB, and consist of 45 questions, again
multiple choice with 4 possible answers. The pass mark is currently 27, although
this might change in future as it did with the Foundation license. The papers
are marked after the exam, but have to be submitted to the RSGB before a license
application can be made. The first weekend is currently theory, the second is
the practicals and revision.
The Advanced license requires a pass of both the Foundation and Intermediate
licenses and adds lots of theory. Currently, Newbury does not intend to run
these courses as it seems likely that they would take an evening a week like the
old C&G courses.
Initially however with the basic Foundation licence, despite its power
limitation, with a good aerial, you will find no great difficulty, when
propagation conditions are good, in working stations all over the world.
Email for more information and arrange to visit the Club.