WA Radio Scanner Users' Group

Hi again Folks.
Just a quick message to let you all know that i successfully completed the Foundation course yesterday. =D>
Course was great and alot of fun.

Just got to wait now .
Cheers Razzle.

By the way.
I put my prefered callsign on the documentation to be submitted at end of the course that gets sent to the ACMA Is there some way i can call the ACMA and get this changed before anything is processed ?

Zebedee wrote:Well, another course out of the way and everyone came back for Day 2 so we didn't frighten anyone off

All the participants did very well today - the pre-and-post-course tests showed that on the whole, the level of knowledge had made a significant jump.

Three participants who were going to be away for the exam day next weekend completed their written and practical assessments after the end of the course and I'm pleased to report that all three did very well and passed. So you can expect another three new F-calls on air in the next four to six weeks.

I'll tell you what though, after not doing any training for five or so years, I started off a little rusty, and I'd forgotten how tiring it is! But, it's very rewarding and I wouldn't have it any other way.

razzle wrote:Hi again Folks.
Just a quick message to let you all know that i successfully completed the Foundation course yesterday. =D>
Course was great and alot of fun.

Just got to wait now .
Cheers Razzle.

By the way.
I put my prefered callsign on the documentation to be submitted at end of the course that gets sent to the ACMA Is there some way i can call the ACMA and get this changed before anything is processed ?

I don't like your chances... but you could ring ACMA and ask to speak to someone regarding an application for equipment licence. If that doesn't work, do the next Standard course

Congrats! =D>

razzle wrote:Hi again Folks.
Just a quick message to let you all know that i successfully completed the Foundation course yesterday. =D>
Course was great and alot of fun.

Hey cool - well done razzle! Let us know your callsign when it comes through

G'day Razzle,

The callsign choice was on a form in your exam pack, and if it's anything like here, then they'll be express posted to the WIA today where they do "their bit" and then forward the whole lot on to the ACMA.

At a rough guess, the WIA will probably take a week or two to go through all the exams (don't forget, there's exams running just about every weekend in various parts of the country).

Since it's the ACMA that issues the licences (your callsign choice would have been written on the green form in the pack), they're the ones to contact to ask if it can be changed. I'd give it two or maybe three weeks though, I wouldn't imagine the paperwork would be on anyone's desk any quicker than that - although even that's hard to predict!

Good luck

How did you find the course? Who ran it, what was it like, what kinds of things did you get up to, all that stuff. I'm always interested to see how the Foundation course is run by different radio clubs, because even though it's all the same, I bet everyone puts their own "stamp" on things.

Thanks Robbage, Doug , Meg.
Must say, i'm pretty chuffed !!

Doug.
I did the course at the Waverley Amateur Radio club in Rose Bay , Sydney.
I'd imagine they pretty much do things the same as you folks in terms of slides of the info in the manual , practical calls using a radio in a group net and one-one situation etc. etc and other general prac stuff.
The trainers were great and were slow and clear in their explanation of things and made sure to answer any questions in simple terms so that we could all understand .

There were about 10 candidates on this course , hopefully all of who'm passed

I'll certainly come back once i know the my callsign and advise you guys and we can try make contact .

I did ring the ACMA today and spoke to someone who made a note on their computer system of my request, however they didn't guarantee anything as expected, lol.

Cheers for now.
VK2guesswho

razzle wrote:Must say, i'm pretty chuffed !!

Yep, it's a good feeling to sit the course and then pass the exams. And the good part is, now you've done the practical, if you ever go to upgrade your licence, you're exempt from doing that part again

Same goes for Standard and Advanced - if you've done the Regs part at Standard level, it counts for Advanced as well...

razzle wrote:I'd imagine they pretty much do things the same as you folks in terms of slides of the info in the manual , practical calls using a radio in a group net and one-one situation etc. etc and other general prac stuff.

Yep - the syllabus sets out what needs to be covered and what needs to be examined on, so I'm sure it would all be more or less the same around the country. We have the usual "death by powerpoint" sessions, but we break it up regularly with some practical stuff, otherwise people just start nodding off and snoring

The on air component is done in the shack - we have a VHF and HF radio which the students learn how to use. One of our instructors who lives about 15km away mans the "remote station" on training and exam weekends. Oh and we have our own club callsign ... what else would Ham College use other than VK6PIG???

Oh and most importantly ... lots of breaks for tea and coffee!!!

razzle wrote:The trainers were great and were slow.....

The trainers were slow??? Sounds like you came and did a course with me!

razzle wrote:..... and clear in their explanation of things and made sure to answer any questions in simple terms so that we could all understand.

... oh THAT's what you were trying to say!

razzle wrote:I'll certainly come back once i know the my callsign and advise you guys and we can try make contact .

Please do - if you have access to a repeater with IRLP or EchoLink, we'll set up another net of WARSUG'ers and you can jump in.

razzle wrote:I did ring the ACMA today and spoke to someone who made a note on their computer system of my request, however they didn't guarantee anything as expected, lol.

Yep, that's probably going to be the best you can expect as a response. Hopefully if it's not "all too hard", your request'll be actioned.

Zebedee wrote:what else would Ham College use other than VK6PIG???

VK6HAM?
VK6HOG?
VK6BCN? (missing a couple of vowels)
VK6NUB? (n00b)

WPXZBP wrote:

Zebedee wrote:what else would Ham College use other than VK6PIG???

VK6HAM?
VK6HOG?
VK6BCN? (missing a couple of vowels)
VK6NUB? (n00b)

Hahahahahaha - sadly HAM and HOG are both taken, otherwise we probably would have

VK6FIVN is calling foundies "F Troopers"

I think Amateur Radio Victoria do (or did) run a net for F-calls which they called the F-Troop net, so that could well be where the name has come from...

Hi There Guys (and gals)

I am looking into starting my foundation licence - been in contact with a local who i will be doing it thru.Will be catching up with him in the coming weeks to run thru a few things - intoduce me to his radio gear and then if all goes well - hope to sit the exams a few days later.

I have been reading thru the WIA book and trying to find more practice examinations on the web - i am excited and cant wait to get into this hobby. I am currently living in QLD - and hope to get into the HF side of things as well - so maybe i will make contact with you either via HF or via IRLP one day/night

Any hints or suggestions for the up coming examinations?

Thanks for the input - been very interesting reading on those that have gone before me and come out the other side.

Cheers

orangepeel wrote:Hi There Guys (and gals)
I am looking into starting my foundation licence - been in contact with a local who i will be doing it thru.Will be catching up with him in the coming weeks to run thru a few things - intoduce me to his radio gear and then if all goes well - hope to sit the exams a few days later.

Woohoo - another one I can't think of any specific tips for you (though I'm sure the others will do!) - just make sure you understand the contents of the WIA book, go through it with your local "ham" to make sure you've got the correct interpretation of it all and I'm sure you'll do fine!

Good stuff Orangepeel. The more the merrier.

Yeah- just hope to bowl it over and out of the way

It would be good to make contact with people over in the west - even though i travel there regularly for work

Will keep u posted - hope to have it done by Dec 14

orangepeel wrote: It would be good to make contact with people over in the west - even though i travel there regularly for work

Will keep u posted - hope to have it done by Dec 14

From my experience recently getting my F call, we're a pretty friendly mob over here, so I'm sure we'll all join in for a chat when you pass