Recent content by Eric_Methven

Well, I knew this day would come eventually. Last year was a physical struggle, and my kncakerdness and achyness this year is worse. Add to that my 67 year old wife can no longer be left to fend for herself for two weeks and it comes down to last year being my last moot. Good luck everyone...

Hi guys, sorry I haven't been on for a while. I'm having issues getting the moot venue registered as a testing centre. It requires a site visit by an appointed invigilator and that requires my presence and complete access. There's no way I can get down to Merthyr Mawr before the moot, so I'm...

Hahaha! I was going to say how bad the bands are at the moment, then I read the 25 years ago bit. Yes, 10m is a great band when it's open, but we are at the bottom end of the 11 year sunspot cycle. In fact, all the bands are pretty much dead right now as we have had so many CMEs of late...

That's the general idea. Essexham has a free online study course that provides all the prep work you'll need before the moot. The three days will be revision clarification when needed and practicals followed by exam. I'll provide all the links to learning materials available online well in...

Once you get your callsign, you can operate on any of the amateur bands except the 5m band (full licence only) and the microwave bands (full licence only.) But you are restricted to 10w or power. That's not an issue though as many operators make world wide contacts on just 5w.

Tony has my copy of Foundation Licence Now. Maybe he can do a passaround.

Yes, those books are recommended, certainly for everyone doing the foundation. All the learning can be done beforehand. It's the practical aspects that will need your physical presence, like making a transmission on VHF, making atransmission on HF, properly connecting a radio, antenna and...

I'll get a list of names and details nearer the time and do a new post.

There are always workarounds. Let me dwell on the possibilities.

OK, just an update on the suggestion for running an intesnive three day amateur radio foundation licence course workshop followed by an official Ofcom exam at next year's bushmoot. I've approached the government departments that sanction such courses, and applied for registered assessor status...

Yea. Probably down to my inexperience with this radio. I only got it a few days before the moot. The previous owner had all sorts of stuff in the memory. None of it useful to me. I've reprogrammed it now though with all the frequencies I will likely use. Just a matter of getting on the HF...

Here's a few of the pics from the moot that either myself or Andy took. If you click on any of the pics, it'll take you to my Photobucket album where you can see all of them. Great fun. Even the weather was exciting. Can't wait for next year. Eric

That's OK Rebecca, just leave them at the side of the plate.

These sessions are normally pretty informal. More like a "Q&A" with some "show and tell" and a "have a go" bit if appropriate. As well as the more formal pre-moot, 3 day leatherworking course, I'll be doing a half day informal leatherwork session (possibly Couarans - traditional Irish/Scottish...

That should be no problem guys. It's what we do. Just let Tony, or one of the mods know and it'll be slotted in, and probably mentioned at the morning meeting. Then just prep your session and wait to see who turns up. Simples!