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Author Topic: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass  (Read 541 times)

G3EDM

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When I was 14 years old nearly 50 years ago, I passed the British Radio Amateurs' Examination while at school in England, but fairly soon afterwards left the UK and never applied for a UK ham licence.

Three years ago, after living abroad for my entire adult life, I returned to the UK following a couple of decades in America and settled in Kent, southeast England.

I have just heard from RSGB's exam office that my 1971 Radio Amateurs' Exam pass certificate entitles me to a Full licence in the UK. They have generated a "candidate number" that will enable me to apply for a licence on the Ofcom site next week.

Explanation for U.S. readers: a Full is the highest level of licence available, kind of a blend of General and Extra but capped at 400W in most HF bands. It also gives me the option to choose my own call, including one beginning with "G" which is what I will try to obtain (it is what I would have had if I had applied for a licence back in 1971).

It would be interesting to know whether I have set some kind of record for procrastination!

You can see my 1971 pass slip, and a copy of the exam paper that I passed, here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/uaqutFA6eoe2hmLp9.

The aim now is to get on the air soon, using my entirely homebrewed station. That saga has begun to be documented in a thread called "Greetings" in the "Homebrew" sub-forum here.

(I was also licenced in America while living there, but actually never got on the air, for various reasons.)

73 de KB1WSY (for now)
« Last Edit: June 11, 2021, 09:13:15 AM by KB1WSY »
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ZL1BBW

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #1 on: June 11, 2021, 01:28:37 PM »

Absolutely B***** fantastic reading those.

Now I wonder how many can do the calculations without using a calculator, either a slide rule or logtables.

The C&G slip brings back so many memories, did some other papers whilst at Radio College.

Got my full ZL license based on my old G3YCP callsign.

Well done hope to hear you on CW, worked a guy on SSB the other night Bicycle Mobile on Blackpool promenade.

Cheers  gavin
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ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

KO4JPZ

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2021, 02:03:04 PM »

I never respond to post, but I must say something here.

Loved reading the original post and a special thanks for posting link for the documents. I do believe you have the record for procrastination. Perhaps you have been waiting for the perfect radio and have been doing extensive (or should I say VERY extensive research) before getting out the check book. LOL

Reminds me of a friend and his diver certification card. Has his picture on it, in a leisure suit, in 1973.
Every time he shows it to get a fill or to get on a dive boat the same thing happens. Everybody that works at the place is summoned to see this guys card.
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2021, 02:28:19 PM »

Perhaps you have been waiting for the perfect radio and have been doing extensive (or should I say VERY extensive research) before getting out the check book.

It is even worse!

I'm British and got into ham radio in 1968-69 during vacations spent in America (during the heady days of the first Moon landing). My dad had been transferred to Washington, DC, for one year and my parents gave me a Heathkit ham radio initiation package. It include three ARRL books ("How to Become a Radio Amateur", an ARRL Morse Code book, and the ARRL Licence Manual). There was also a Heathkit kit for a code oscillator, and a set of LPs for Morse training, literally recorded by Farnsworth himself IIRC.

After reading the "How to Become" book I became determined to build an entire homebrew station myself rather than buying equipment off-the-shelf (or even buying kits). Unfortunately, the designs in "How to Become" are actually quite hard to build, for a 12-year-old! After returning to England I tried to build the receiver and transmitter but got nowhere: there is quite a lot of metalwork involved, and the components were not cheap or easy to find.

I did take (and pass) the UK Radio Amateurs' Exam a couple of years later, but still had not managed to put together a usable homebrew station. I had built a Top Band (160m) transmitter (but no receiver) and by then I was 14 years old, the hormones kicked in and my teenage self lost interest in radio for a while.

Fast forward 40 years to 2012-14 and I actually ended up building that very same station (see the separate thread in the Homebrew sub-forum here at eHam; the thread is called "Greetings"). Here's a picture of my station:



Looking back at what happened 50 years ago, the trouble is that it really was quite hard for a total beginner (literally a Novice in those days) to build these radios even though they were in fact quite primitive.

Anyway, with any luck I will soon be getting that rig on the air. It is a very cool hobby regardless of one's age!

73 de Martin, KB1WSY
« Last Edit: June 11, 2021, 02:35:24 PM by KB1WSY »
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N1IG

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2021, 03:26:17 PM »

I hope that picking an antenna doesn't take as long...
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2021, 11:54:37 PM »

I hope that picking an antenna doesn't take as long...

I am building it myself: a dual-band 40m/20m trapped dipole with homebrewed traps using coax wound on lengths of PVC pipe. This was suggested by N2EY and is explained in several old QST articles. I have all the components and tools in front of me (brought from America) except that my U.S.-bought Weller soldering station is the wrong voltage. I ordered a replacement 240V Weller soldering station yesterday. I suppose I may also need to buy a new high-wattage iron to replace the American 120W iron that I bought for antenna work. If I have any questions I'll start a thread in the antenna forum.
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2021, 03:40:07 AM »

I am a bit confused about applying for a particular UK call sign. I will be going for a G?xxx call, probably G3xxx.

Judging from the Ofcom website, this is done by filing a physical paper request with Ofcom and a fee is payable. See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/manage-your-licence/radiocommunication-licences/amateur-radio/amateur-radio-info

How do I determine if a call is available? I have found two sources: (a) QRZ and (b) an Excel spreadsheet on the Ofcom website (https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0031/196168/List-of-Allocated-amateur-radio-callsigns.xlsx), which is more than one year old and therefore out of date. The problem is that at least two of the calls I am possibly interested in are still listed in QRZ (one of them as SK) even though Ofcom's spreadsheet doesn't list them.

Obviously, if it has to go through a paper application process, it is best to make absolutely sure that the call is available.

Another strange thing is that (apparently) no calls have been allocated that have triple letters, such as G3AAA or BBB. Not that I would necessarily want such a callsign, but is there are rule that they are never allocated?

Hoping to sort this out within the next few days.

73 de Martin, KB1WSY
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2021, 06:47:01 AM »

I hope that picking an antenna doesn't take as long...

I have thought again about what you said. After getting some advice over on the Antenna sub-forum I have dropped the original plan (a trapped two-bander) and decided to build a simple monoband dipole for 40m. Faster, and less lossy, given that I'll be operating monoband 40m QRP for some time. When I build the 20m transmitter I can also rebuild the antenna....

I have all the antenna components in front of me apart from the mast, which I will buy locally. It will mounted on a wall bracket just outside the attic window and enable to apex of the dipole to clear the roofline.

73 de Martin, KB1WSY
« Last Edit: June 12, 2021, 06:49:18 AM by KB1WSY »
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #8 on: June 14, 2021, 02:39:21 AM »

An update on the licence situation. Today I confirmed with Ofcom that I can indeed choose a G3xxx call, but this can only done if I apply on the standard paper application form, scan the completed form, email the form to Ofcom, and pay a fee of 20 pounds when I receive their invoice. This is fine, no problem, although presumably in these days of Covid it may slow things down a bit.

On the form, if you apply for a Full licence you are given three choices of preferred callsign; if the first one is not available, they will allocate the second, etc. What is less clear is how to determine prior to applying whether these calls are available: there does not seem to be an official list provided by Ofcom. So I will rely on QRZ and on the Ofcom list of calls that *are* currently allocated.

73 de Martin, KB1WSY (for now)
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #9 on: June 15, 2021, 05:56:08 AM »

Sorry, this is duplicative of info in a CW thread, but just to keep this thread up to date: I applied today for a UK Full licence and listed three callsigns in order of preference: G3EDM, G3WSY, G3WYE. This type of application, as mentioned earlier in this thread, cannot be done online in the usual fashion. Instead, you print out a paper form, fill it in, scan it, then email it to Ofcom. In normal times it can take up to two weeks for the licence to be issued, and Ofcom is warning that it could be slower because of Covid.

73 de Martin, KB1WSY (for now)
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #10 on: June 29, 2021, 07:18:05 AM »

Ofcom has granted me the callsign G3EDM, my first choice. The licence has not been officially issued yet but should be soon. I won't change my eHam and QRZ sign-on until it's finalised.

73 de Martin, KB1WSY (soon to be G3EDM)
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #11 on: June 30, 2021, 10:38:08 AM »

The UK licence has been issued. As part of the changeover, I have asked eham to change my user name to the new callsign.

73 de Martin, G3EDM
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W3HF

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #12 on: June 30, 2021, 11:12:41 PM »

Congratulations! Just curious (if I may ask) why you chose that suffix. It jumped out at me because it's my father's initials.

Steve
W3HF
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G3EDM

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #13 on: July 01, 2021, 03:35:11 AM »

Congratulations! Just curious (if I may ask) why you chose that suffix. It jumped out at me because it's my father's initials.
Steve
W3HF

They are my late grandfather's initials. He was not a ham, but he was a radiotelegraphy officer on the front lines in World War One.

I wrote a bit about him in an eHam thread eight years ago: https://www.eham.net/community/smf/index.php/topic,92165.msg700064.html#msg700064.

73 de Martin, G3EDM
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W3HF

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Re: Am Getting My UK Licence ... Based On 50-Year-Old Exam Pass
« Reply #14 on: July 01, 2021, 06:52:15 AM »

Thanks. My father was never a radio operator, either amateur or military. (He was a translator in the US Army during the Korean War, stationed in Europe.) But he was interested in radio. He had bought a Hallicrafters shortwave receiver in the 50s that I used as a teenager. And there were a couple of ARRL books (license manual, antenna book) that he had bought at the same time, and I grew up reading them.

Although he was never licensed, he sparked (pun intended) my interest in amateur radio.
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