Nature of amateur radio 1a.1 Recall that the amateur licence is for self-training in radio communications and is of a non-commercial nature. Amateur radio is a hobby in which the
participants use the equipment and frequencies available to train
themselves in the building and operation of radios and their use for
cummunicating using a variety of modes such as speech and data.
Amateur radio is not for use on a commercial basis - for example
amateurs are not allowed to use their equipment for arranging taxi pick
ups or running a business.
Types of Amateur Licence 2a.1 Recall the types of UK Amateur Licence. Recall that more advanced classes of amateur licence exist and that they allow greater facilities and the ability to design /modify transmitting equipment. Recall that many other countries do not currently accept the UK Foundation Licence. There are basically three types of amateur radio licence:
The
Foundation Licence - this allows holders to operate with up to
10Watts of power using transmitters that are either commercial or a kit
designed so that it will meet the requirements of the licence in terms
of stabilty and the supression of unwanted outputs from a
tranmitter.
The Intermediate Licence - this allows operators to use up to 50 Watts and to design and use their own home made equipment
The Full Licence - this
allows powers of up to 400 Watts to be used and allows the holders to
operate in other countries. It should be noted that the majority
of other countries do not recognise the Foundation and Intermediate
Licences, but they do recognise the Full licence. Amateurs can design
and modify their transmitters.
There is a separate
exam for each licence. The exams at Intermediate are more technical
than at Foundation level and more technical at Advanced level than
Intermediate. Amateurs have to have
passed the Foundation exam to enter for the intermediate exam and they
have to pass the Intermediate exam to enter for the Advanced licence.
2b.1 Recall the format of the current Foundation, Intermediate and Full call signs. Recall that secondary identifiers are used but be able to state only those for the Foundation licence.
Foundation licence holders have a callsign in the form M6 + 3 letters e.g. M6QQQ
Intermediate licence holders have a callsign in the form 2E0 + 3 letters e.g.2E0QQQ
Full licence holders have a callsign in the form M0+3letters e.g. M0QQQ. Older Full licence holders may have G2, G3, G4, G7 and G8 at the front of their callsigns. Here
is a full list of the "Regional Secondary identifiers" that are used to
show where in the UK the station is operating. So, for a
Foundation Licensee these would be:
a) England - No Regional Secondary Locator; e.g. G6QQQ
(b) Guernsey - “U”; e.g. GU6QQQ (c) Isle of Man - “D”; e.g. GD6QQQ (d) Jersey - “J”; e.g. GJ6QQQ (e) Northern Ireland - “I”; e.g. GI6QQQ (f) Scotland - “M”; e.g. GM6QQQ (g) Wales - “W”.e.g. GW6QQQ
The diagram opposite shows that the prefixes remain the same for a full licence with a G3 callsign.
