Make sure you down load and preferably print off a copy of the syllabus from the RSGB Web site. 

The syllabus will show you:-

• all the graphics that may be used in the exam,

• the sheets that will be issued in the exam namely Bands plans, Frequency Allocation Table, and the Frequency to Wavelength Conversion Chart.

• Also shown is the breakdown of the sections of the syllabus to which each question will relate.

Applying for an Examination

All requests for Foundation Licence examination papers, by Lead Instructors, must be accompanied with a candidate's fee and a fully completed 'Candidate Application Form for Training Course'. The application form is required for each candidate wishing to sit the Foundation Licence exam. Following the completion of the course the Lead Instructor may apply for an examination paper. Foundation Licence Exam papers are what are called 'Short Notice' papers and a minimum of 10 working days notice required by the RGSB. The RSGB will then generate a unique candidate number and supply the paper to the lead instructor. Note that once an application for the exam has been put in hand no refund of fee is possible.

The data name and address that a candidate gives on their exam application form must be the information given to Ofcom when applying for a licence - so accuracy and legibility when filling in the forms is important.

Foundation Course candidates may also apply for an online exam at their RSGB Registered Examination Centre. They can now may take an online test at home with remote inviligators. Which way you take your exam is up to you, but tutors or candidates nowadays apply online at the RSGB web site.

RSGB Registered Examination Centre:

All radio examinations conducted at a RSGB Registered Examination Centre should have most facilities for the disabled, the usual exceptions being made for persons with disabilities which prevent them from doing so. This is to comply with the new Disability Discrimination legislation in force as from April 2004.

The Assessment (Exam)

1. A practical assessment of the syllabus required is no longer necessary. The practical aspects of amateur radio, can be demonstrated by watching videos set up by the RSGB at This Video Link. It is highly recommended that studends should view them.

2. A 26-question multiple-choice examination. The examination lasts 60 minutes. Pass mark is given for 19 questions or more answered correctly. Papers are available on demand and are marked locally, with results normally available the same day.

   NOTE: Applications for special arrangements should be made well in advance of the examination to the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) and will normally require a medical certificate. Appeals after the examination citing disabilities or learning difficulties not previously declared cannot be considered.

Where students go wrong.

One area where students fall down is that they do not have a working knowledge of the paperwork that is supplied to them at the examination. Do check out this page on the site:- Paperwork with the Exam

Course introduction

• The first point to understand is that you do not have to attend a course. Thus if you have the technical knowledge or can learn on your own from the information on the this web site the exam date is really of your choosing, subject to some limitations.

• This website is a whole club project and no individual authors are acknowledged.

• The goal of our web site is to take a beginner who has an interest in but has no knowledge about Amateur Radio, or even electronics for that matter, to achieve a pass in the Foundation Licence examination.

• In the syllabus "Recall" indicates the need to remember a fact and apply it fairly directly to a question or situation. A thorough understanding of why the fact is so and the full range of circumstances in which it is applicable is not required, but questions will expect a basic understanding.

• In the syllabus "Understand" indicates the need for a more detailed knowledge of the subject, understanding why the point is correct and the range of circumstances in which it is relevant and applicable.

• The Club has had much success since the introduction of the Foundation Licence, enabling many students aged from 8 to 75 years old to enter into the hobby of amateur radio - many have even gone forward and taken and passed their Intermediate Licence and then some onto their Advanced Licence.

• Where some items might warrant a more simple explanation, as found necessary by our younger or less electronic experienced readers, the following smilie appears next to the "Simplified Version"

• This logo will also be used where a simple question is being asked "by the reader".

• You will in parts of the course see this logo This indicates more information which is outside the scope of the syllabus but is useful information for the student who wants to know a little more.

• In addition to this work presented on the web the RSGB's book "Foundation Licence NOW" will also give you information set out differently which may help you to understand the concepts explained here. May the BRATS offer you the best of good fortune to work through the course and achieve a PASS with which every Registered Instructor / Club is of your choosing.

• The BRATS will try to answer any questions you might have but this can only be done by Email