Foundation License Course Manual
The entry level qualification to Amateur Radio is the Foundation licence. It is designed to get you involved in amateur radio as quickly as possible. However, before you are allowed to transmit ‘live’ it is important that you know a little bit about how your radio works, the dangers of interfering with other radio users, how not to upset your neighbours or your parents (if you are a young person) and the rules and regulations of holding a radio transmitting licence.
These skills are obtained by taking the Foundation licence training course, which is an integral part of of obtaining a Foundation licence. Most of the training is practical, though there is a small amount of radio and electronics theory – but only enough for you to appreciate things like using the correct fuses in your equipment and how to build an antenna to get the most out of your radio station.
Morse Assessment on a Foundation Course
Don’t be afraid of the thought of having to undertake a training course. The course is run in a friendly informal atmosphere by experienced radio amateurs and will take a single weekend to complete.
At the end of the course you will sit an examination comprising twenty-five multiple choice questions. Your exam paper will be marked on the spot and you will be informed of the outcome before you depart.
Once you have passed the exam you get your ‘Pass’ certificate and you are on your way to obtaining your own individual M6 series callsign and being able to operate on all bands without supervision. You will be restricted to 10 Watts power, a fairly low level, but with the experience you will be able tocommunicate around the world.
Cost & timetable
The Southport & District Amateur Radio Club (SADARC) runs its courses over two one-day sessions on consecutive weekends (wherever possible), starting at 09:00 and finishing at approximately 17:00 on each day. Courses are usually run around the half-term break during February, June and October/November. Please see our calendar for the next available course.
The course cost £45 and this includes your examination fee, a copy of the course manual, refreshments and a contribution towards the hire of the venue.
We like to limit our courses to between six and ten candidates since we find that this atmosphere is more conducive to learning and it enables us devote more time to the candidates individual learning requirements.
We have no age limit on our courses and have helped juniors as young as nine and mature candidates in their eighties to pass the exam. Accordingly, we have staff who hold the relevant CRB certificates and our venue is also equipped to handle the requirements of those with disabilities.
Further information
Further details about our course schedule, together with application forms, can be obtained from our Course Administrator.
Venue
The course is run at Cottage Lane Mission, Ormskirk.
Syllabus & Sample Test
The syllabus shows you what you will need to know to pass the Foundation Course and all of this is covered during the course and in the course manual which you will receive as part of your registration pack.
We encourage all delegates to read the course manual a few times before they attend the course as it will help with your understanding of the subjects taught on the course. The sample test allows you to guage how well your reading has gone before you attend the course, but please do not worry if you are not obtaining pass scores on the sample test – the course is where you will do the majority of your learning.
You can download a copy of the syllabus, sample test and a list of amendments to the course manual, Foundation Now!, though an up-to-date copy of the manual will be sent to you upon receipt of your course application.
Catchment area
We are happy to accept candidates from all over Europe – one of our recent successes was from Czech Rebuplic and he has since gone on to pass his Intermediate Course with us. However, our more traditional catchment area includes West Lancashire (Ormskirk, Burscough, Bickerstaffe, Lathom, Newburgh, Up Holland, Wrightington, Skelmersdale, Aughton, Parbold, Tarleton and Rufford), Lancashire (Chorley, Mawdesly, Croston, Bretherton and Euxton), Wigan, St. Helens, Liverpool, Merseyside and Sefton (Southport, Birkdale, Ainsdale, Formby, Freshfield, Hightown, Crosby, Litherland, Bootle, Maghull, Lydiate, Aintree and Netherton).
