Full Licence Course Information
Introduction
Welcome to the Full (used to be known as Advanced) Licence Course at Poole Radio Society. This page will give you an overview on how the course is structured and what will be required by candidates for successful completion so that you can obtain your Full Amateur Radio Licence.
Book Your Place on our Next Course
Our next Full course will probably start in mid-2020. Please contact us at training@g4prs.org.uk to register your interest. When enquiring, please let us know when you passed your Intermediate exam.
The Full Amateur Radio Licence
By upgrading your Intermediate Licence to a Full Licence you will be able to use higher power, and operate abroad etc.
Costs
For courses and exams at our usual St. Aldhelm’s Hall venue, the cost of our course will be £70, of which £33 is payable at the start of the course to cover the cost of the Full Licence Manual (£9), locally produced course materials and student membership of Poole Radio Society for the duration of the course.
If at any point during the course you decide to become a full member of Poole Radio Society the student membership fee will be count towards the annual membership subscription.
When paying for your course you will need to complete an application form. Please make sure that you write as clearly as possible to avoid any mistakes when your application is processed. Please make cheques payable to Poole Radio Society.
After a few weeks, the remaining £37.50 must be paid in order to enter you for the Full exam. This fee is levied by the Radio Society of Great Britain and may be changed at any time. We cannot enter candidates for the exam without payment. Please make cheques for exam fees payable to RSGB.
Course Structure
The course consists of about 18 sessions, each running from 19:30 to 22:00 usually on Thursday evenings, followed by an exam after the final session. The sessions will be run by several tutors. There are no practical assessments required for the Full Licence. The exam consists of 62 multiple choice questions and you will need to get at least 37 answers correct in order to pass and obtain your Full Licence. You must already have passed your Intermediate Course in order to be able to sit the Full Licence exam.
Most weeks you will be given a handout covering that week’s lesson. You can make your own notes and ask questions on any part of the lesson that you do not understand. We are here to help you. You will be expected to read and study the Full Licence Manual in your own time and for many of the sessions there will be some preparatory or supplementary homework.
If you are buying your own book, please make sure to buy
the Full Licence Manual (shown below) for the new 2019 syllabus which is
suitable for exams taken after 31st 
August 2019.
Your course will be provided by several members of the Poole Radio Society, and your registered assessor and course co-ordinator will be Dave Mason, whose amateur radio call sign is G3ZPR.
Subject |
|
Licence Conditions |
|
Technical Basics & Measurements |
|
Transmitters & Receivers |
|
Feeders & Antennas |
|
Propagation |
|
EMC |
|
Operating Practices & Procedures |
|
Safety |
|
Revision & Mock Exam |
|
|
Contacting your registered assessor and course co-ordinator
If you need to contact Dave Mason at any time during the course, please telephone him on 01202 674539 leaving a message if necessary.
VERY IMPORTANTBefore Your CourseThe Advanced Course covers some topics (Basic Electronics, Semiconductors, Transmitters and Receivers, Software Defined Radios, EMC in particular) in much more depth. It is important that you are fully up to speed on these subjects at Intermediate level before embarking on the Full Course. You’ll also need to revise the types of antennas you covered at Foundation level. A greater level of self-study is also expected as you really need to understand the topics covered during the course.
You’ll need to be comfortable with handling rather more complex calculations than at Intermediate Level including base 10 logs. Please bring with you a non-programable calculator capable of handling very small (10-12) and very large numbers (109), base 10 logs, Π (pi) and square roots. If you think your maths may need brushing up before-hand, you may find this Mathematics Primer (needs Adobe Acrobat) helpful. We particularly recommend the maths primer from the Open University which also includes using a scientific calculator is available here. Exam DatesIf for some reason you miss a particular exam date, then you will have to wait a minimum of about 1 month and then subject to availability of registered premises. Firm entries have to be made at least a month in advance of the exam date. BookIf you are buying your own book, please make sure to buy the Full Licence Manual (shown above) for exams taken after 31st August 2019. |
Terms and Conditions
You will need to attend all the sessions so that we can make sure that everybody is up to date with both the tuition and practical assessments.
If you miss one of the sessions it will not be possible to repeat the lesson later in the same course. Contact the course co-ordinator who will advise you which parts of the course you have missed and tell you which sections of Full Licence Manual to study at home.
If you miss or fail your exam, you will not be able to claim a refund, but you will be able to enter for another exam for £37.50 without going through the whole course again. This fee is levied by the Radio Society of Great Britain and may be changed at any time.
If you are under 18 years of age, you must obtain your parent’s permission to undertake the course, and at least one parent or other adult member of your family must attend each lesson. Parents are very welcome to take the course on the same basis as everyone else.
Book Your Place on our Next Course
Our next Full course will probably start in mid-2020. Please contact us at training@g4prs.org.uk to register your interest. When enquiring, please let us know when you passed your Intermediate exam.
Poole Radio Society Foundation & Intermediate Courses
If you are new to amateur radio we also run Foundation Licence (aimed at absolute beginners) and Intermediate Licence courses.
Poole Radio Society Web Site
Click here for the home page of the Poole Radio Society Web Site