Radio Amateur Licence

[Andy - G8MNM]

I hope this isn't considered off topic but I don't know where else I might get the info I need.

Back in 1974 I passed my radio amateurs exam and subsequently got a G8 licence (which I never used) it subsequently expired and I never renewed it.
Call sign G8MNM

Back now to the present day what sort of licence (if any?) could I get on the basis of my RAE certificate (City & Guilds).

Andy

[John Robson]

My understanding is, if you still have the paperwork from 1974, then you
should be able to reapply for your old licence.

You can find out about the new licencing system on the RSGB's website.
http://www.rsgb.org/getlicence

[Sean Williams]

Andy,

Your callsign is still valid - just nose at the RSGB, and reapply for your FREE
license!

You will be eligible for a full license (the old A license), as the Morse requirement has been dropped

you might need to find your old paperwork....

Cheers
Sean
M1ECY

[Hermit6345]

When I wanted to re-activate my old G8 callsign after 30 years or so all I had to do was to prove that I had held the callsign. To do that I looked in an old copy of the White Horse International callbook for 1972 and sure enough there was the evidence I needed. No need to have kept any paperwork, just have an old callbook handy!

Ian.

[dsergeant]

You need to apply direct to Ofcom, not RSGB. Everything you need to know can be found at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/i...asses/amateur/ and in the case of a previously issued but expired licence I think you just fill in the standard form (OF346 available for download under 'Application Forms') and fill it in with the appropriate boxes saying you have previously held a licence and what the call was. You may need to telephone them to clarify, they are very helpful.

These days the licences are all done on line and free for life, subject to validating on line every 5 years. A former class B G8 call is now the equivalent of the Full licence which gives you all bands with no morse test. Since you have previously held a licence it will be just a formality to reissue it and I suspect you don't even need to send them your old RAE certificate, they will know you have that. One of my friends recently did just this so I know it can be done easily.

Good luck and see you on the bands (but you will have to work me on CW as that is all I do these days...).

73 Dave G3YMC

[Andy - G8MNM]

Thanks guys for all the help.

I have visited the OFCOM site and downloaded a pdf application form as required.

I still have my RAE certificate if I need it.
As to going on air well I would need to get equipped - maybe checkout the Amateur Radio Society in Aberdeen.

It may sound awful but part of the reason I got a G8 call sign was that I didn't like morse......mmmmm

I can still remember the CW sessions when I was on the course for the RAE back in 74.

Andy

[David G4EBT]

Hi Andy,

Although RSGB adminsiters the training and "assessments" (there are no "exams" any more for amateur radio licences), via local radio societies, do remember that RSGB is only a society and has no regulatory powers or involvement in the issues of licences - that's Ofcom's role.

As you passed the old style Radio Amateurs' Exam and was allocated a callsign, you can apply for that callsign (and that callsign only) to be re-activated on proof to Ofcom of your RAE pass. There is no longer and "A" or "B" licence - the three stage licensing process is now: "Foundation", "Intermediate", and "Full".

The Morse test was scrapped a few years ago, so your new "Full" licence will entitle you to all of the amateur radio frequency bands at the maximum permitted power levels.

As an aside, it is now mandatory for every new entrant to pass through all three stages - even someone with an electronics degree, as only the Foundation licence is a "stand-alone" trainnig course. The Intermedate and Full assessments bolt onto the Foundation. )The "Full assessment needs the other two stages).

Licenses are now free for life if applied for online, and £20 if appplied for postally (except that over 75s can apply postally free of charge), but must be re-validated every five years.

Unfortunately, you can't reactivate a lapsed licence online - only postally.

It is only possible to apply for an amateur radio licence using the online system if you are in possession of the relevant Radio Communications Foundation (RCF) Radio Amateur Examination (RAE) pass certificate which was issued *from June 2003*.

If you wish to apply for an amateur radio licence but do not have such an RCF RAE certificate, it will be necessary for you to use a paper application/amendment form, which can be downloaded at the following address:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/i.../applications/

Ofcom encourage paper applicants to enclose photocopies on any supporting documentation, so I'd suggest that you dowload and complete the postal application form and send it with a photocopy of your RAE pass slip, together with a cheque for £20, unless you are over 75, in which case, also send a photocopy of your birth cert as proof of age.

A sample of the terms and conditions of the new "lifetime" licence is available at the following address:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/i...teur/Licences/

If you want to give the licensing team a call, contact:
Ofcom Licensing Centre
Tel: 020 7981 3131 or 0300 123 1000

A bit wordy, but I hope that helps.

David,
G4EBT

[GMB]

Any idea what the situation is if you have an old RAE but didn't get round to applying for a license?
Does the old RAE count for anything?

[dsergeant]

Interesting question! I suspect you will need to ask Ofcom on this one, but I rather suspect they will say NO as for a brand new today's licence you will need the current qualifications (ie a pass slip at the three stages of Foundation, Intermediate and Full).

Dave

[GMB]

Well I sent an e-mail to OFCOM and I think they didn't say no.

What they actually said was that without the modern (post 2003) qualifications I wasn't able to apply online and that it would cost £20. They pointed me at a form that seems to say that I can apply for a full license.

This is what the form says:
"To be eligible for an Amateur Radio Full Licence you must either:
• Have passed the City & Guilds Radio Amateurs’ Examination (RAE);
or
• Have obtained a pass in RSGB Advanced Exam"

It looks like the Intermediate and Foundation licenses are more sequential, but no mention for the full license.

[John Robson]

As I understand it. The old City and Guilds RAE is equivalent to the modern
day 'Advanced license', and all your doing is trying to reuse a callsign which
was a old style class B callsign which to have gained, you have passed the
C&G RAE.

The £20 fee is due to the fact that your details wont be on Ofcom's computer,
therefore it will be a admin fee. It will be a one off.

[M0TGX Terry]

In reply to GMB's post of 14 May about the RAE - I passed the RAE in 1965 and never took the morse test or applied for an old-style B Licence.In 2005 (almost 40 years to the day since the RAE, )I sent my pass slip to Ofcom with a cheque for (I think) £17, and back came a modern, full Licence (M0TGX).
Sadly another 3 years have passed and I still haven't got on the air, but the point is, so long as you have the pass slip from the RAE (when I took mine they didn't even issue certificates, you just got a tear off slip stamped with a "P" if you passed), Ofcom seem happy to issue a licence. Good Luck.
Terry (Licensed but inactive)

[GMB]

This sounds like me. I took mine in 1969 but I did get a nice looking certificate as well as the pass slip.

I never got round to the Morse test so with only VHF+ left I decided it would be more fun to try fast-scan TV. But I was only a kid at the time so the pocket money ran out before the transmitter got finished.

[dsergeant]

GMB - new aspirants have to take the Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced exams in that order to get the appropriate licences. But having an RAE pass slip allows you to pass that and go straight to the Advanced stage (equivalent to the old class A). Advanced and Full are the same thing, there seems to be a bit of confusion on what to call them...

M0TGX - I trust by now you have the new electronic free-for-life licence?

Dave (G3YMC)

[dave walsh]

That's all very interesting Dave [G3] as I have a pass slip from 83 [somewhere] that I've never used. I felt a bit of a fraud though as I did the course with a friend who got me through the maths bit [no chance otherwise]. Overall it seemed too easy a route [once I had passed] but I had been very influenced by one or two "old school" amateurs who had helped me in the past. I'd tried the course for the former written exam previously but that seemed a lot harder and I couldn't carry on anyway at the time due to work.
.
We both got distinctions in the multiple choice version which I still find hard to believe [in my case!] It all seemed even more unlikely, as we did the exam [a dozen of us-all male] in a room that also contained the pleasant distraction of a very large group of young women doing their hairdressing finals! Mind you Patrick and I did have the RAE course attendance record at Bolton Tech-always turning up regardless of fire, flood, snow or [particularly] Flu!
Incidentally, I wonder if that's an error in the title or is it not the Amateur Radio Licence anymore? Dave W

[Station X]

My current one says "Amateur Radio Full Licence". My first one said something like "Amateur (Sound) Licence B".

The exam was "The Radio Amateur's Examination" or RAE. Mine was a written one and I think I had to answer two compulsory questions on Licensing Conditions and preventing interference. Then you answered something like 6 out of 8 general questions. One was always on mathematics and to be quite honest I found that the easiest question of all and answered it first. It's all pure logic. I was entirely self taught for the RAE, relying on RSGB books (excellent soources of reference) and past papers.

I reasoned something like, there are only 12 typical questions, only 8 will appear on the paper, you only have to answer 6 and the pass mark is 40%. By studying previous papers you could guess what was likely to come up and knew what to concentrate on.

I guess multiple choice papers were brought in as they were easier to mark. Looking at some it seems that one of the answers to each question is totally ridiculous and can be ruled out.

I went to a 10 week morse class and successfully took the exam at Humber Radio after 7weeks. I would practice reception during my lunch break using a Datong Morse Tutor which generated random characters. That was about 1979 and Sony Walkmans were coming in, so wearing headphones had become socially acceptable.

[Brased]

Originally Posted by m0tgx

so long as you have the pass slip from the RAE (when I took mine they didn't even issue certificates, you just got a tear off slip stamped with a "P" if you passed),

I think that you should have received a certificate as well. I took my RAE in 1964 and was sent a pass slip; followed later by the certificate. Just as well as I lost the slip and had to send the certificate when I applied for a full licence in 2002, having finally got round to doing the morse test. By that time the morse test was in its dying throes and was conducted effectively at 5wpm (I seem to remember that each character was sent at 13wpm but there was a long gap between each one), which is painfully slow if you have learned it at a more normal speed.

Edward
M0EAH

[GMB]

Well, I can now confirm that it is definitely true that OfCom will accept a prehistoric RAE certificate and grant a full licence on the strength of it.

I'm M0GXB (yes, some blighter beat me to GMB)

Now I'm definitely going to have to get one of my mangy old transmitters to actually work!