If you are planning to use a radio to transmit you need to get a licence, and for this you need to pass an exam. Please don’t let the words “licence” and “exams” put you off, there is always plenty of help and I have yet to find someone in Amateur Radio who will not offer to help you.
Firstly there are three levels of exams and licences:
- Foundation
- Intermediate
- Full
There is no need to attend a college course, and local as well as online training is available and you can start any time. If you already have some radio experience, or you were a Radio Officer or user in the Force, you may be able to go straight to the Full license.
Most people start with the Foundation. We recommend that you take these options first:
- Purchase a copy of the Foundation Licence Manual – make sure you get an up-to-date one as things like licensing conditions change from time to time. The best place to make sure you have the most up-to-date copy is to purchase one from the RSGB and you will be helping the hobby too.
- Join a local Amateur Radio Club or Society. Why not come and visit if you want to consider joining us?
- Consider joining the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB).
The next thing is to start listening to the Amateur Radio Bands and hear what going on, you may already be a Shortwave Listener. The most cost-effective way of listening if you don’t have a radio receiver already is to look at a USB SDR and like one of the DVB-T dongles and some software like SDR Play https://airspy.com/download/
More resources
- For a light-hearted look at starting Amateur Radio, you may want to look at Alex discovers Amateur Radio.
- More details about the training and exams can be found in the RSGB’s information for students.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask, if you come and visit us you can be assured of a warm welcome.