Jaws
LIFE MEMBER
- Sep 26, 2008
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- MH
- C class, Chieftain
- Exp
- since 2006 ( I think ! )
How would they know if you didn't have a full licence rather than an intermediate to broadcast aboard, don't know anything about Ham just curious
All call signs are issued by the government
Depending on what your ability is will depend on the call sign issued
For instance ( and I am going back to when I passed the exams and things have changed now )..
When you passed the RAE ( Radio Amateur Exam )you were entitled to a B class licence.
When I passed in 1980/81 a B class licence began with G6 ( G6HML )
Other B class licences are
G8
G1
G7
You then had the option to go on and take a morse test ( 12 words per minute ) to gain an A class licence
This I did ( about the a year or so after Larby as it happens ) and gained my G4 call sign ( G4VEL )
Other A class licenced call signs are
G0
G2
G3
After a while, to encourage more people to take the hobby up, the RSGB ( Radio Society of Great Britain ) successfully campaigned for two new licences to be added. They were called Novice licences 2E1 being the equivalent of a B class and 2E0 an A class.
Although the frequencies and types of transmission allowed was quite restricted it did give folk the chance to get involved fairly easily
Things have changed ( a lot ) nowadays but there are still a good many restrictions in place ..
Addendum :
originally B class licence holders could only use VHF and higher frequencies while A class could use frequencies from 1.8 megs to.. well pretty damned high... I believe it is now up to 250 terahertz ( laser )
You can now get involved with ham radio quite easily at a base level by getting a foundation licence..
This is far from heavy and all sorts of people do it, from small children to ( admittedly only one ) centenegarians
Here is a link to a page giving a lot more info on how to get a foundation licence:
http://rsgb.org/main/clubs-training/for-students/foundation/