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Our Address

1st Royal Eltham Scouts HQ, Rear of 61 - 71 Southend Crescent, Eltham, London, SE9 2SD. More
 

Amateur Radio Training Courses

Due to the continuing Covid 19 stuation currently ALL Cray Valley courses are cancelled but an Intermediate course is currently planned for when the Covis situation is resolved - see the Intermediate section for dates

Cray Valley is one of the founder members of the South East Tutors (SET) group of clubs* set up to promote and provide fully taught amateur radio licence training courses in South East London and adjacent areas.

By helping coordinate and publicise courses at all levels, formats and timings run by individual member clubs we hope candidates will find it easier to source a course, or succession of courses that meet individual requirements.

*Current SET clubs include:

  • Bromley & District Amateur Radio Society,
  • Cray Valley Radio Society,
  • Crystal Palace Radio & Electronics Club,
  • Darenth Valley Radio Society,
  • North Kent Radio Society and
  • West Kent Amateur Radio Society.

The current timetable of SET courses is shown below.

Please note it is essential that candidates planning a “fast track” succession of courses let all clubs involved know their plans so that any pre-course requirements (e.g. intermediate projects) can be factored into their timetable.

 
 
CVRS Location and Contact
All Cray Valley training courses are held in Eltham, London SE9, and are easily accessible
 

By public transport from Central London and further afield:

  • Eltham and New Eltham stations are about 20 minutes by train from London Bridge.

By car from Kent and surrounding areas:

  • M25 junctions 2 (A2) & 3 (A20) ~ 8 miles
  • Blackwall Tunnel (A102/A12) ~ 5 miles
 
CVRS Location Map
 
Contact: Training Co-Ordinator Chris M0KPU at  courses[at]cvrs.org
 
Course format and benefits offered with Cray Valley training
  • Taught courses lasting 2 days (Foundation) or 3 days (Intermediate & Full) with additional sessions for the Full licence covering maths (2 evenings) and Intermediate revision (1 day).
  • 8 registered instructors led by Chris G0FDZ assisted by additional experienced club members
  • 1:1 mentoring support on every course, each candidate is assigned a mentor
  • Post course support
  • 50% off first year club membership with your first course completed (at any level excluding exam only sessions) taken with Cray Valley  

 

The application form for all three courses can be downloaded here, in either Word or PDF format

  • Course application form (word format)
  • Course application form (PDF format)

For exam only sessions (run when space is available with our scheduled course exams) please contact courses[AT]cvrs.org for further details.

 

Foundation Licence Course

The first step in amateur radio in order to use a transmitter is to obtain a licence, and to achieve this you will need to pass the Foundation exam. We at Cray Valley are fully committed to helping you get on the air easily and quickly and we run a Foundation course over two Saturdays that will enable you to train and take the Foundation exam.

Cray Valley Radio Society has fully qualified instructors with many years of valuable amateur radio experience, and every candidate has an allocated personal mentor to help them every step of the way. The course is comprised of presentations on essential theory of radio and electronics by the instructors. The  practical assessments are not only part of the course but will actually help you in many ways in your early days on the air.

The exam consists of answering just twenty six questions in sixty minutes, and if you achieve nineteen correct answers you will have passed. About a week later you will receive the official results from the RSGB and will then be able to apply to Ofcom for your licence and your unique Foundation callsign which you will use on the air when you are transmitting.

Once you have your licence you can then set up and use your own station to talk to other amateurs all over the world using many of the amateur bands and with ten watts of power. After passing the exam for the foundation licence, candidates will have one year half price membership of the Cray Valley Radio Society.

We have had great success with candidates at Cray Valley and if you are prepared to do the work required then it is highly likely that you will be successful. We have all facilities available at our meeting place to conduct the course instruction, practical sessions and exam in a friendly and informal environment and we particularly welcome candidates who are disabled.

You will need to obtain the RSGB book " Foundation Licence Manual" by ordering on-line from the RSGB shop www.rsgbshop.org/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Training_19.html  .  We also highly recommend the "Exam Secrets" book also by the RSGB which is useful at all three licence levels.

We offer a Foundation course every year but currently ALL courses are cancelled until further notice

course format:

 Two consecutive Saturdays  08:30 - 18:00 hrs  (includes all practical assessments and exam)

 
 

Intermediate Licence Course

The next step up the ladder is the Intermediate licence and this will give you more privileges and also more responsibilities as a radio amateur. The main advantage of stepping up to the Intermediate Licence is the increase in permitted operating power as you will be able to go from the ten watts of the Foundation Licence, up to fifty watts. As an Intermediate Licence holder you will have access to all the amateur bands (apart from 5MHz & 472 kHz).

At Cray Valley we run an inclusive Intermediate course comprising of presentations and the examination held on the last day of the course. The course is similar in structure to the Foundation course but is run over three weekends (normally on Saturday).

Not only do we at all course levels provide training facilities to enable you to obtain your licence but we also help you after the course to get the best out of your station and fully enjoy your new privileges. We have fully qualified instructors with many years of valuable amateur radio experience and every candidate has an allocated mentor to help them every step of the way.

We have had great success with candidates at Cray Valley and if you are prepared to do the work required then it is highly likely that you will be successful. We have all facilities available at our meeting place to conduct the course instruction, and the exam in a friendly and informal environment and we particularly welcome candidates who are disabled.

You will need to obtain the RSGB book "Intermediate Licence Manual" and we highly recomnend the "Exam Secrets" book also by the RSGB if you don't already have a copy. Both books can easily be obtained by ordering on-line from the RSGB shop.

This course is run every two years – alternates with the Full licence course.
 
The next Intermediate licence course is scheduled to run every other year but currently an Intermediate course is planned for the Autumn 2021 subject to the Covid situation being resolved
 
course format:

 Two Monday evening sessions on Zoom 20:00 - 21:30 hrs maths primers  -  Monday 18th & 25th October 2021

Three consecutive Saturdays  08:30 - 18:00 hrs  (also includes exam)  - Saturday 6th, 13th & 20th November 2021

Registration is open now - Any changes or cancellaton due to the Covid situation changing will result in all fees paid being refunded

 

 

Full Licence Course (intensive)

The final rung up the licencing ladder is the Full licence and at Cray Valley we are fully prepared to help you with this last step. As one of the few clubs in the UK that actually provide a Full licence course, we are well experienced in instruction at this level.

The Full licence gives you the complete range of privileges and responsibilities, and you will be able to transmit at up to four hundred watts of power. One of the most useful Full licence facilities is the ability to be able to use transmitting equipment abroad using the CEPT privileges which lets you operate for a limited period of time in most European and many other countries around the world.

Our Full licence course is compressed and is of of the INTENSIVE type and takes place over just three Saturdays and is followed by the exam during one following evening or weekend. Leading up to the actual course we provide two math’s primer evenings and an Intermediate run through revision Saturday. It is desirable that you do some self study before attending on the actual course, but we will cover all aspects of the syllabus. Although this type of intensive course may not be suitable for everyone, all the candidates that we have had on previous courses have said how much they liked this format but in registering you need to commit to the high degree of study required..

We have had great success at Cray Valley at the Full licence level, and rather than trying the distance learning course that is available, you may wish to consider our intensive course if you want to achieve your Full licence quickly. We don’t ever say that the Full licence course and exam are easy, but at Cray Valley we will do all that we possibly can to help you pass, You must however be prepared to invest a good amount of time and effort in your studies and commit to attend every session of the course, as any absence means that you will miss a large part of the tuition. As at every level of courses that we run, you will have a mentor allocated to you who will do all that they can to help you with understanding some of the more detailed technical issues.

We have all facilities available at our meeting place to conduct the course instruction and exam in a friendly and informal environment, and we particularly welcome candidates who are disabled.

You will need to obtain the new syllabus RSGB book "Full Licence Manual" and we highly recommend the "Exam Secrets" book also by the RSGB if you don't already have a copy. Both books can easily be obtained by ordering on-line from the RSGB shop

This course is run every two years and alternates with the Intermediate course.
The next  course is scheduled to run in October/November 2021 but currently ALL courses are cancelled until further notice
 
 
 
Course format:
  • Monday evening maths primers on Zoom :20.00 - 22.00 hrs on two evenings
  • Full course sessions: Three consecutive Saturdays  08:30 - 18:00hrs
  • Full exam: 10.00 am on the 4th Saturday - duration is 2 hours
 
The sessions are held at the 1st Royal Eltham Scout HQ in Southend Crescent. Eltham (normal CVRS meeting place).
 
 
 
 

General Course Information

All courses are held in Eltham, London SE9 and run from 08:30 until 18:00 hours. All course fees include the RSGB exam fee. One very inportant aspect of all of our three licence courses is that we not only provide mentoring during the course but afterwards as well, so you are not left alone wondering what to do if you come up against a problem. We also provide for any course candidate who is not already a club member 50% off a years membership so that they can attend CVRS meetings and meet other amateurs who will do their best to help them, especially in the early stages of getting on the air. For further information on any aspect of our courses, or to register for any course and to obtain address information for submitting your application, please initially contact our Training Co-ordinator Chris M0KPU at courses[at]cvrs[dot]org
 


Foundation Course Attendance
November 2011


Collin Wooff G3SPJ Lecturing to
Full Licence Candidates
January 2012

Club Events

APR
15
Annual General Meeting 2021
(20:00 - 22:00)

MAY
6
Amateur TV
(20:00 - 22:00)

MAY
20
GB2RN HMS Belfast
(20:00 - 22:00)

JUN
3
Setting Up a Simple Remote Station
(20:00 - 22:00)

JUN
17
2021 Construction Contest
(20:00 - 22:00)

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