SurreyEARS – 16 students take the Foundation licence exam

The University of Surrey’s Electronics and Amateur Radio Society, also known as SurreyEARS, has recently completed a Foundation Licence training course for students interested in getting started with amateur radio. A total of 16 students went on to take the exam, plus others who have chosen to take the exam online in their own time.

The course was led by SurreyEARS Vice President, Caspar Pierce, 2E0KRH, with the assistance of some radio amateurs who attended previous courses with the Society. Students on the course were from a variety of degrees including Electrical Engineering, Physics, Space Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

Whilst the theoretical side of the course was taught in the classroom, the group aimed to get out where possible, including making contacts outdoors. Support continues for newly licensed amateurs, with the Society arranging a local ‘EARS’ frequency in Guildford that enables operators to contact each other without mobile phones. This has proved to be surprisingly useful for the group, with a contest being planned for the summer.

The Society has also been busy setting up their satellite ground station. Whilst weather over the winter has slowed them down slightly, they hope to complete a number of projects over the summer including a QO-100 link, S-band satellite communications and putting an eight-element array EME antenna on to the roof.

They are also in the planning stage of a trip to Snowdonia where they want to reactivate their club call signs that haven’t been used for a while, as well as taking part in many more activities.

You can find out more about SurreyEARS on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with the handle @SurreyEARS. You can also visit its website: surreyunion.org/ears

Category: University Corner stories