Amateur Radio (Ham radio) in the UK is controlled by the UK Government through Ofcom.
If you want to become an Amateur and gain a UK Amateur callsign you need to sit an amateur exam. The exams are set at three levels : Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced.
You would start off by passing the Foundation level exam which is the entrance level. It is not possible to skip a level and go for a higher level.
This requirement is laid down by Ofcom and is out of our control.
The exam papers come from the national body, the Radio Society of Great Britain who handle exams on behalf of Ofcom. Riviera Amateur Radio Club can provide training for the Foundation exam.
The exams also have practical elements which must be completed prior to sitting the exam. These are assessed by our RSGB registered assessors. The Club also has two RSGB-registered Exam Centres.
Please note that training is run by volunteers and as such times & dates need to fit in with those involved.
Exam costs
Foundation exam £27.50
Intermediate exam £32.50
Advanced exam £37.50
Evening training sessions.
We usually run training as a number of evening sessions on club nights at the club venue. Assessments and Exams are again taken on an evening session.
At this time, Riviera ARC makes no fee for providing training to full club members. All they pay is the RSGB exam fees (which are out of our control and subject to change) and a share of the venue hire fee for training evenings and the evening of the exam.
The club has limited resources, training & exams are run by volunteers. We can provide training, assessments & exams for non members but they will have to be charged an administration fee of £20 on top of the RSGB exam fees. Regrettably this is non negotiable.
Weekend training sessions
The Foundation syllabus has been changed, this will entail more than a weekend to cover the new items on the syllabus.
It will no longer be possible to cover the entire package in less than 2 days along with a further day for practical assessments & the exam.
It will take a little while for the trainers to become comfortable with the new syllabus. Please bear with us.
Pass or Fail ?
After you have sat the exam, the invigilators will check your paper on the night and tell you your mark, this is only an indicative mark which has to be confirmed when the papers get marked at RSGB headquarters.
If you have passed then you will receive your pass certificate in the post a little while afterwards. RSGB take a minimum of 10 working days to process exam papers starting from the date they receive them.
Once you have your certificate you can apply for your callsign on the Ofcom website. We will tell you more about how to do this later.
Self training
It is possible to train yourself by following the Foundation Licence Manual (2019 edition) but we would only recommend this to people with some form of relevant background experience.
Some clubs offer online exams but at this time Riviera ARC are not available to offer these.
Practical assessments have been suspended by the RSGB
Advanced Licence training
At the current time, we are not running formal training for the Advanced courses .
We can administer the Advanced exams in Torquay, they are now bookable on one months notice, this is an RSGB requirement not ours.
For more information or to register your interest in a course, please email the club.
rivieraarc@gmail.com
Please note you cannot skip a level and go straight into a higher level exam without having first passing the lower level(s). This is a requirement from Ofcom and therefore we cannot do anything about this.
RSGB Resources – You can download the syllabus from the RSGB and/or buy the course books from the RSGB shop. The course books are also available elsewhere but please make sure to get the most up to date version. You will need a copy of the relevant book.
Your trainer may have copies of the relevant book and/or calculator for sale at the start of your course.
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Riviera ARC has adopted the RSGB Child Protection Guidelines in regard to Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults.
Exams can be held at our exam centre at the Precinct Centre, St Marychurch which is RSGB-registered.
Exams passed with Riviera ARC
| Year | Foundation | Intermediate | Advanced | Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| 2014 | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| 2015 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 2016 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 2017 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 2018 | 3 | 1 | – | 4 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 2020 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 20 | 10 | 6 | 36 |
The following have gained their amateur radio licence with Riviera ARC
| Year | Licence | Name | Callsign | Formerly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Foundation | Lobster | M6HFD | SWL |
| 2013 | Foundation | Bob | M6DFY | SWL |
| 2014 | Foundation | Ann | M6RWJ | SWL |
| 2014 | Foundation | Ian | M6IDP | SWL |
| 2015 | Foundation | Connor | M6XTK | SWL |
| 2015 | Intermediate | Ian | 2E0IDP | M6IDP |
| 2015 | Intermediate | John | 2E0JNP | M6GSW |
| 2015 | Foundation | Trevor | M6XON | SWL |
| 2015 | Advanced | John | M0JNP | 2E0JNP |
| 2015 | Advanced | Ian | M0IDP | 2E0IDP |
| 2016 | Intermediate | Trevor | 2E0XOL | M6XON |
| 2016 | Foundation | Ted | M6OSM | SWL |
| 2016 | Foundation | Jay | M6TQY | SWL |
| 2016 | Advanced | Trevor | M0XOL | 2E0XOL |
| 2016 | Foundation | Andy | M6KFO | SWL |
| 2016 | Foundation | Sebastian | M6HNH | SWL |
| 2016 | Intermediate | Ted | 2E0OSM | M6OSM |
| 2017 | Foundation | Roy | M6XDV | SWL |
| 2017 | Intermediate | Andy | 2E0IVB | M6KFO |
| 2017 | Intermediate | Phil | 2E0WZP | M6HTD |
| 2017 | Advanced | Ted | M0WTA | 2E0OSM |
| 2017 | Foundation | Debbie | M6IXR | SWL |
| 2017 | Foundation | Stewart | M6XXS | SWL |
| 2017 | Intermediate | Stewart | 2E0XXS | M6XXS |
| 2017 | Foundation | Mark | M6XXY | SWL |
| 2017 | Foundation | Rick | M6PZT | SWL |
| 2018 | Intermediate | Rick | 2E0PZS | M6PZT |
| 2018 | Foundation | James | M7JKM | SWL |
| 2018 | Foundation | Joshua | M7JAM | SWL |
| 2018 | Foundation | Tim | M7TTM | SWL |
| 2019 | Advanced | Rick | M0PZS | 2E0PZS |
| 2019 | Foundation | Andy | M7ALR | SWL |
| 2019 | Foundation | Deni | M7DSR | SWL |
| 2019 | Advanced | Andy | M0IZF | 2E0IVB |
| 2020 | Intermediate | Deni | 2E0HHG | M7DSR |
| 2020 | Intermediate | Andy | 2E0GQU | TBA |