{"id":10739,"date":"2015-07-16T14:40:26","date_gmt":"2015-07-16T13:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.essexham.co.uk\/?page_id=10739"},"modified":"2023-11-03T22:20:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T22:20:34","slug":"foundation-practicals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.essexham.co.uk\/train\/foundation-practicals\/","title":{"rendered":"Amateur Radio Foundation Practicals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
Practicals Abolished<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

With effect from 1st October 2021, the Foundation Practicals have been abolished – no need to do any practicals at Foundation-level.<\/p>\n

Is this just during COVID lockdown? No – They’re permanently gone – here’s the official RSGB announcement<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Practicals abolished October 2021. This page is here for archive purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re looking at getting your UK amateur radio Foundation licence, you’ll be required to complete a number of short practical exercises. Typically, you’ll do these at a nearby amateur radio club, in front of a Registered Assessor (clubs may charge for this)<\/em>. When you have completed them, you’ll receive a form confirming you’ve done them, and you’ll need to present this form when sitting your multiple-choice Foundation exam<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The practicals are referred to as “assessments” – There’s no pass or fail, and you can complete these at your own pace – The assessor needs to be sure that you have the basic competence.<\/p>\n

Here is a summary of what’s required, plus some short videos:<\/p>\n

Foundation Practical: Station and Antenna Setup<\/h3>\n

You’ll be required to demonstrate that you can connect a radio to a mains power supply, microphone (or PC interface), another device (such as an SWR meter or filter), antenna and feeder.<\/p>\n

You’ll also have to “tune” an antenna. This means moving the adjustable elements of an antenna known as a dipole, and measuring the SWR (standing wave ratio) value. You keep adjusting until a good SWR reading is achieved.<\/p>\n

You’ll also need to use an antenna matching unit to match SWR on two bands.<\/p>\n

Here is a video of a typical station setup and antenna tuning practical:<\/p>\n