Is it just me?

[Bobcode]

Those involved in training normally do so at their own expense & a location for training has to be funded, plus equipment such as a radio etc is needed. And that £20 is no more than the cost of some coax to connect an antenna to the radio, or a cheap second hand CB power supply.
Back in the days when the exam was a C & G one, the training was often done across a year at a night school & even then, when evening school was affordable to everyone. There was a cost involved. If anything the barriers to training have lowered dramatically, as now it requires so little time & so little money to get onto that first step.[/quote]

Totally agree is venues are hired and costs incurred but this was at an established club premises, already budgeted for, I had already done the training, just needed to sit the exam. Don’t mind a small donation but £20, in my opinion, is over the top.

[m0lsx]

Totally agree is venues are hired and costs incurred but this was at an established club premises, already budgeted for, I had already done the training, just needed to sit the exam. Don’t mind a small donation but £20, in my opinion, is over the top.

But they still need to pay for their overheads & even if you had done some training else where, they still had a full days work to get you through all the practice elements. They then need someone else to invigilate the exam.

[Bobcode]

Ok, I was in the realms of volunteers happily giving time to like minded souls wishing to join them on the airwaves, sadly not so then.
As said, perhaps I’ll bother no further.
I am spoilt for choice with my scanners, living as I do within striking distance of Mildenhall, Lakenheath, Honington et al.
I will content myself with these...bbmf air to air over the weekend !

[Darkstar]

Ok, I was in the realms of volunteers happily giving time to like minded souls wishing to join them on the airwaves, sadly not so then.
As said, perhaps I’ll bother no further.
I am spoilt for choice with my scanners, living as I do within striking distance of Mildenhall, Lakenheath, Honington et al.
I will content myself with these...bbmf air to air over the weekend !

Bobcode, As I said in an earlier post I have been tutoring and assessing for 11 years, this is all voluntary and I get no payment or other gratuities except for the satisfaction of bringing a new person into ham radio. You complain about an extra £20 on top of the exam, think on this, there is the hire of the club venue, public liability insurance, equipment insurance, rsgb club membership and more.This has all to be paid for, also if you passed and wanted a hf radio you are looking at between about £700-£1000 or £200-£400 for a decent dualbander. In the big scheme of things twenty quid is not a fortune to pay.

[Scan125]

Well I'll give another perspective (not being licensed although I'm told I could easily be ).

Aged 18/19 I was introduced to Amateur radio by a G3 license holder. I was already quite clued up on electronics etc. but back in those days to get licensed you needed morse code (no crib sheets) and school and sports etc. and just the weekly radio club meeting did not allow me to get suitably skilled in morse code.

Off to Poly/Uni to study Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Communications being one of my final year specialities. Throughout 70's and beyond SWL was there as a very time limited hobby. I became a Chartered Engineer and full member of the then Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers (IERE) as well as the IEE and the IET.

I'm now retired and have taken many mock tests for Foundation (and above) and have fared well. MOST importantly I've found that if one is honest then at every level (despite ones technical background hence the rambling mumbles I started this post with) you have something to learn.

Getting a ticket just to chit-chat with someone on a technically restricted band, whilst being a valid/required action, then one has to ask "what next"? If no next then the license free bands (CB) is possibly where one should be (note I have a reservation about this latter comment as I know there are many DX CBers etc. that do apply technical knowledge and experiment in get the best contacts they can with kit and aerials etc)

For me I'm currently totally engrossed in COMMS software development. Whilst I could waltz the Foundation (and possibly higher licenses with no real effort) for me "the tick in the box" is not where I want to be UNLESS I can actually be beyond the "tick" level.

I think that as the foundation license is so easy (and quite rightly so) then it possibly needs to be like a "provisional" time limited license. Three years? upgrade or get revoked? Once revoked you can only apply for the next license level up?

The big spanner in all of this is exactly the same spanner that cripples many professional institutions. MONEY! I'll show my ignorance here but is not a UK amateur license tied to RSGB membership? If so they will be really happy to hold on to "foundation sitters" to protect their income as opped to strike them off. Please correct me if I'm wrong!!!!

[Bobcode]

Darkstar, you are the the sort of chap I envisaged, happily sharing your expertise and knowledge, all credit to you sir !
My gripe is the club is extant, and as such, relevant insurances would surely be in place as would the rental/lease......it’s already paid for.
I had many hours of fun with CB radio years ago when it was not legal, learnt a lot and enjoyed it immensely !
Quite prepared to spend a reasonable amount on a transceiver, just did not think the £20 extra was justified in this case.

[m0lsx]

I'll show my ignorance here but is not a UK amateur license tied to RSGB membership?

No, no RSGB membership required & although some clubs ask for a membership for you to do your foundation course with them, it is not a requirement.
All you need is the RSGB book, Foundation Now. It is basically a Foundation course in a book. Minus the practical elements.

[Darkstar]

I'll show my ignorance here but is not a UK amateur license tied to RSGB membership?

No, no RSGB membership required & although some clubs ask for a membership for you to do your foundation course with them, it is not a requirement.
All you need is the RSGB book, Foundation Now. It is basically a Foundation course in a book. Minus the practical elements.

Alan,You cannot speak for all clubs, to do the foundation or any exam course with our club membership is a requirement, and here's why. To enable someone to get their license involves 4-5 people giving up their time freely, tutor/assessor, 2-3 invigilators and the exam secretary who deals with paperwork. We have had people come along do the course and exam, and then disappear over the horizon never to be seen again, Is it so wrong to expect a little commitment to the club? Also many clubs are struggling to survive with memberships dropping all round due to a lack of new amateurs, so i think the £15 membership ask is totally fair. Clubs need finance too survive.

[m0lsx]

Alan,You cannot speak for all clubs, to do the foundation or any exam course with our club membership is a requirement.

Which is why I said..

some clubs ask for a membership for you to do your foundation course with them, it is not a requirement.

That is, some clubs do ask you to join & some don't. But it is not a requirement of taking the foundation course that you belong to a club.

Edited to add, £15 to take the exam & have a years membership of a club, is great value, even if a club is not your style. As it is still only £15 for a weekends training at foundation. Several weekends at Intermediate & several more weeks of training & support at Full.

[Darkstar]

Hi Alan, Sorry my bad I misread the post, must go to specsavers (again)