The first foundation licence is a big step closer

The Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society hosted the inaugural Foundation License Theory and Regulations training course on the weekend of the 15th-16th October 2005. The 2 day course was well attended with 19 candidates aged between 10 and 85 sitting for the new license.

The course was conducted by Ron Bertrand VK2DQ with assistance from a number of newly qualified WIA assessors, invigilators and other support staff. During the morning the students were given a theoretical overview of the basic concepts of amateur radio, this was followed by a BBQ luncheon which was provided by the club. The afternoon session then followed with intensive practical on air training sessions. The focus of these sessions was to provide the student with experience in setting up a working station, calibrating the equipment and making contacts on both HF and VHF radio.

Of the 19 candidates that attended the weekend course, 16 felt confident enough to attempted the written and practical assessment. I am pleased to announce that all have passed and we look forward to hearing them on air in the not to distant future. The remaining three candidates who required more time to prepare will be assessed this coming weekend.

Being the first Foundation License training session conducted in Australia, it proved to be an excellent opportunity to fully test the newly implemented system and has enabled us to identify a number of areas for possible improvement. However the overall feedback that we have received has been positive and the weekend was deemed a success by all.

Finally I wish to thank all those involved in helping to make this a very successful event.

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