by G4RMT » Wed May 09, 2018 8:45 am
Start with the RSGB - it's the national radio society and hams in general either support it, or they don't. That aside - they run the training system, which involves radio clubs and societies all over the UK providing training and then the licence - on behalf of OFCOM. Some people train themselves, books, online or other ways, then book a test with the local radio club.
If you have a look at the RSGB and OFCOM sites, they'll explain how it works. There are different sorts of licences, depending on your needs and abilities.
You also need a bit of history. Repeaters, and the repeater network developed because in many areas, simplex - which was the ONLY method of radio available was a problem due to geography. If you are in one valley and somebody is in the next just a few miles away, it's tough - it doesn't work. Sticking a repeater on the peak, links the two, possible more. Nowadays, people tend to assume repeaters are the only way mobiles can work. They're not. You call on 145.500MHz and when somebody answers, you clear off somewhere else to have a chat. For convenience, most people go up or down just a bit.
You MUST have a licence, and the Government issue you a callsign, which identifies you. If you do it illegally, the hobby is not very interesting because once people discover on the net your callsign is actually registered to some person hundreds of miles away, that's that. Everyone will know you are cheating. In my opinion, ham radio is a hobby for people who are serious about it, and prepared to take the time and put in the effort. Others believe we should make getting a licence simpler, quicker with less technical knowledge required. I disagree. The system is NOT hard, but is a bit time consuming, which I feel is good - like a filter to ensure only genuinely keen people join. In America, you get husband, wife and kids all taking the test to talk to each other, and they never talk to strangers - they want a legal, long distance comms system, and use ham radio for it. We don't seem to get that here.
It can be snobby and age layered. Your callsign allows the knowledgeable to determine how long you have been licensed and at what level. You then get the British superior thing from a few hams - as in they're better than you. This has ALWAYS been the way. When I got a licence in 1980, I was the new boy. I hadn't flown spitfires, or been a spy in wartime France. I didn't like spending time on 80m chatting to the same people at the same time every day about the same subjects - and I was one of the 'new type' of hams. Now I'm their age, the same thin g happens. It's a great hobby, and look at it like joining any kind of club. There will always be the snooty ones, who have the best golf clubs, or hand re-built 1920s sports car, but the vast majority are decent people, keen on the same things you are. There will be idiots, and genuinely great people. You can also do so many things, so I'd suggest at the least you investigate.