The Dover Radio Club has now set up facilities for offering the latest RSGB
Foundationer Course, which came into existence at the end of 2001.

This is the simplest way to become a Radio Amateur quickly.

The course takes about 10 or 12 hours, at the end of which there is an
easy 30 minute examination.

The subject matter covered during the Course includes The Nature of Amateur Radio, Licence Conditions, Technical Basics, Transmitters and Receivers, Feeders and Aerials, Propagation, Preventing Interference, Operating Practices and Procedures, Safety and Morse Code.

This may sound a good deal, but it is nothing like as daunting as it seems.
It represents the minimum you would need to know before going on the air.
It is all at a relatively basic level, and most of the syllabus will not be examined formally.
Covering the ground and understanding what you are doing are the most important requirements.

Once the course is over, you receive a Course Completion Certificate and a ExaminationPass Slip, which then permits you to apply at once for a transmitting licence.
This gives you access to almost all the available Amateur Bands, using most modes and with a permitted maximum power of 10 watts, which, with a good aerial, should get your signal almost anywhere.

At present, our plan is to run Foundationer Courses over a period of two weekends. The first Saturday would cover the more technical side of things, and full notes will be provided to give you the chance to revise what has been covered over the next seven days.
The second Saturday will see the completion of the Course, plus the Exam.
If you do not pass the Exam first go, and you are prepared to stay for an extra hour, you can have a second try on the spot.

The two main instructors for the Course are David Harding G0DQI (who is the Lead Instructor) and Brian Joyner G8ZYZ (who is the Lead Instructor for the Intermediate Course).
Both are experienced at this type of project, having taught Novices as well as Morse classesfor many years. They both have a background of teaching or training and are well used to it.
As a Course calls for a good deal of preparation, time and effort on the part of the instructors,it is not worth running one until there are at least six applicants. Classes will consist of not less than six candidates and not more than twelve. If applicants are children, proper supervision will be provided in breaks. There is no objection to parents accompanying their
children into the instruction classes, though, of course, they would not be permitted into the examination room.

The Courses take place at Dover Grammar School for Boys, and full details will be circulated before a Course starts.

The Morse Assessment is available, not only for Foundationers for whom it is compulsory,but also for Intermediate or Full Amateurs who hold a Class B licence.The Assessment is extremely easy – the nature of Morse is explained and demonstrated, after which the instructor sends a short message at extremely slow speed having provided a chart for finding the letters.Each candidate then sends a short message at a speed to suit himself, using a second chart with the Morse letters arranged in alphabetical order.

The advantage for candidates who have been qualified for a year as Class B Novices.Intermediates or Amateurs is that, having passed the Morse Assessment, they will be permitted to use all the HF bands available to Foundationers up to a power of 10 watts.
There are many Class B Novices and Amateurs who have been on the air for much longer than this, and the old 12wpm Morse Test, or even the much simpler 5wpm Test, was holding them back from becoming Class A operators.
By taking a Foundationer Morse Assessment, the major part of this hurdle can now be overcome with ease.

Morse Assessments can be arranged on demand for classes of any reasonable size.

Although the Courses are all free, there is bound to be a small charge for the Foundationer Handbook (optional), the Exam (compulsory) and possibly administration (including any charges made by the School), though this would be only minimal.
At present, we cannot tell you what this would be, but it would certainly not exceed £10 at the very most.

As with the Intermediate Courses, RAE Courses and Morse Classes which we also run, we would very much hope that successful candidates would want to become members of Dover Radio Club once they had qualified.

If you wish to enroll for the next available Foundationer Course, or require any further please contact :-

The Lead Instructor, David Harding G0DQI on 01304 366466,

or better still by e-mail at g0dqi@darc.org.uk

The advantage of e-mail is that we can keep you in close touch with what is happening, especially if gathering together a group of six students is still in progress.