After nine months of work of the core team of seven authors, editors, and illustrators, the National Short Wave Listeners Club are delighted to see the general release of the prepublication draft of the new IRTS HAREC Amateur Station Licence Study Guide.

Please download it from: irts.ie/guide

It is the 3rd edition of the IRTS work that started in 2006, from which it is differs in two ways. It serves the new exam syllabus introduced by ComReg earlier this year. However, instead of being mainly a collection of facts that must be learned to pass the exam, the new guide explains all the essential concepts in a sufficient level of detail to enable self-study. It is no longer only a supporting textbook for a taught course. The new guide has 385 pages, 33 tables, some 200 illustrations, and over 130,000 words.

We hope it will help many newcomers pass the exams and get on the air. It should also be of interest to experienced amateurs, who would like to catch up, for example, on SDR technology, or on antenna safety. And for those with a curious mind, there are over 400 footnotes providing extra explanations beyond the scope of the HAREC.

Please Help Review The Guide

To improve the quality, the editors would like to ask you to read it, and to share your comments. We need your constructive feedback. Corrections will be incorporated into a print-ready, final version, by late Spring next year. You can post your suggestions on this thread, or email Rafal EI6LA directly at raf@.... Thank you in advance.

May I also thank my incredible team of Dave EI4BZ, Jerry EI6BT, Keith EI5KJ, Mike EI4HF, Robert EI9ILB, Simon EI7ALB, and all the NSWLC students who have suffered its 32 drafts, 2.0.1–2.0.9 & 3.0.1–3.0.23, and shared their priceless feedback.

Above all, whether younger or older, new to it, or well experienced, we hope you will enjoy learning about the magic of amateur radio!

Thank you, IRTS, for entrusting us with this work.
Rafal EI6LA

Well done to all. Great work.

So finally the epic is finished!  I can see it being one of the great works of science and human understanding. Up there with the likes of,

"Einstein's Universe": Nigel Calder

"The Ascent of Man": Jacob Bronowski

"IRTS HAREC Study Guide": Rafal Lukawiecki

Congratulation Rafal, and thank you for your herculean efforts.😉

Hi Rafal.
Great work on the learning material. 
A quick question for you. Will the course include video lessons and interactive practical skills?
I ask this as a lecture/tutor mentor in engineering, as I have to deal with the different learning difficulties students have.
And I am sure some students of this course will have the same.

Regards
Lez
EI4GEB  
https://www.qrz.com/db/EI4GEB

Thank you, Lez, for your kind words. I am looking forward to any issues you spot so we can fix them.

As far as the scope of the IRTS work on the guide, there are no plans for recording or publishing any videos. We may issue a slimmer version of the study guide at a future date to help with revisions, but I am not planning anything else. Correcting the guide and making it print-ready will take some work...

As far as NSWLC are concerned, we use the guide for a taught course, which is offered via 24 2-hour live Zoom sessions, every Thursday, with plenty of practical demos and explanations. We also offer 3 optional maths refreshers, on Tuesdays, also via Zoom. However, after a careful debate, we decided not to record nor allow the recording of those sessions. They must be attended live. Beyond the scope of the HAREC training, we also meet almost every Sunday for a 2-hour social which is focused on radio. Those Sunday sessions are practical and aimed at both exam candidates and newly licensed alike. We had 33 meetings in 2022 so far. They covered (the number is the count of the attendees):

9 Jan, 36: Exam updates and HAREC courses
16 Jan, 36: Guest speaker—John EI3HQB introducing SEARG; Contesting
23 Jan, 39: Guest speaker—Dermot EI2GT introduced LCARC; Morse keys and oscillators; Different logging methods: paper, RumLogNG, Logic 10, Log4OM.
30 Jan, 34: Guest speaker—Adrian EI9HAB introduced SDRC; Live demo of contest exchanges and contest software.
6 Feb, 31: Guest speakers—Tom EI5IEB, Frank EI8HIB, and Johnnie EI8IPB introduced ELARC; Portable operation and SOTA
13 Feb, 39: Guest speakers—Declan EI9FVB and Holger EI3KM introduced KARG; ATUs and SWR.
20 Feb: 36, Radio Magazines: Practical Wireless, Radio User, CQ, Radcom, QST, National Contest Journal, QEX; Choosing microphones, Briefly about digital modes.
27 Feb: 39, Contesting—with recordings of real contest exchanges
6 Mar: 32,  Contest station design, live from EI7M during ARRL SSB 
13 Mar: 37, Intro to VHF; How to use NSWLC and IRTS Groups.io
27 Mar: 30, About the upcoming CQ WPX Contests; Using Satellites; How can we make NSWLC serve everyone even better?
3 Apr: 37, Echo Ireland, Designing QSL Cards, Registering with and Using LoTW, Contest Update
8 May: 25, Amplifiers vs. Propagation: Which Always Wins?
15 May: 25, Live Demos of All Common Modes and Modulation Types
22 May: 24, CQ Call Structure in Detail and with Live Demos, both SSB and CW
10 Jul: 29, HAREC exam post-mortem
17 Jul: 23, Simplex, duplex, split, SSB and CW QSK.
24 Jul: 29, Setting up QRZ, HamQTH, LoTW and Logger Software
7 Aug: 23, First NSWLC Net on 40 m and 80 m (10 stations calling)
14 Aug: 16, Using Filters and other Useful Radio Features
21 Aug: 19, First Station Set-up: Show Us Your Station and Antenna!
28 Aug: 20, PC in the Shack: Logging, Digimodes, Awards, Contest Support
4 Sept: 20, Contests are Fun! How to get started (aimed at UKEICC starting next Wed)
11 Sept: 22, Enjoying Radio whilst SWL: Simple and Advanced Uses of a Receiver
18 Sept: 28, Morse Learning Resources; Introduction to Remote Operation
25 Sept: 19, QSL Cards and Popular Awards
2 Oct: 24, RTTY and FSK with Live Demos
9 Oct : 28, DXing and Working pile-ups; Welcome to Newest Members Registering for the HAREC Class 
16 Oct: 30, First Station Set-ups: End-Fed Antennas, Small Garden Antennas; HAREC Exam post-mortem
23 Oct: 34, Remote operation live demo, Magnetic loop antennas, Intro to homebrewing.
6 Nov: 45, Moon, Satellites, Space! First EI/K EME 35 years ago: EI7M then and how is it done today?
13 Nov: 35, Listening and Decoding Techniques for SWLs
20 Nov: 46, Repeaters, Zello, and EchoLink—Guest speaker Hugh EI2HI
27 Nov: 40, Maps, Grids, Zones and Great Circles
4 Dec: (tonight) Far and Away! HF Propagation
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73 Rafal EI6LA

well done to all involved and giving your time to help future operators 




de ei3hqb john

A big ’thank you’ to all those involved producing the HAREC study guide, it really is impressive!!  Likewise, if you haven't yet experienced our virtual "Sunday Social” meeting then please try it, you wont regret it!!! Its all about inclusivity and amateur radio for everyone.

Congratulations Rafal and to everyone else involved. This is a very clear, thorough and well researched piece of work. It will be of immense help to not only newcomers but also those who have been in the hobby some time and want to refresh on certain topics.

Thanks and regards,

Niall

Just a small point I've noticed when glancing through the Study Guide:

Section 22 of the study guide appears to be based on a previous revision of the Amateur Station Licence Guidelines document - either the original ComReg 09/45 from 2009 or ComReg 09/45 R1 from 2013. I'm unsure if this was simply copied from the previous study guide, or if the author was mistakenly referring to an old version of ComReg 09/45 when writing it.

The requirement to record "location when the station is operated other than at the main Amateur Station Address" in the logbook, referred to at section 22.7, 22.8 and 22.9, was removed in 2017 as part of ComReg 09/45 R2.

The "Technical Conditions of the Amateur Station" were loosened in 2018 as part of ComReg 09/45 R4, removing (among other things) the requirement to "have a device capable of measuring Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) and an accurate method to ensure that operations take place on the correct frequency" referred to at section 22.11.

Whether or not these are good practice is of course another matter, but they are no longer a regulatory requirement and should not be passed off as one.

Thank you, Daniel, for reporting the issue regarding logging and station requirements regulations. We will check the regulations and update the next version of the guide accordingly. I will post here if anything arises, otherwise it will be an easy fix. We will also notify the Exam Board.

Let me know if anything else needs amending. Thank you for reviewing the guide.
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73 Rafal EI6LA

Hi Rafal
              I commend you and all the people who helped, for their hard work on HAREC study guide.
I hope that people with learning difficulties will be brought into the fold and given every help in
their study as well as the exams they sit. You do not know who needs extra help until you ask,
in the right way. To say everyone is at the same level in learning when they start a course is a
false belief.  Some may hide their learning difficulties due to embarrassment, others strive for greatness
with help, gladly. So Mentoring is important and mentoring from and experienced Amateur is a must. 
So onward and upwards for bringing more people into the hobby.

And I quote Bob Emerson form his post, "It’s all about inclusivity and amateur radio for everyone"

Regards
Lez

https://www.qrz.com/db/EI4GEB

There is no undocumented feature that has been turned on or off. A member has deleted and reposted their message several times because they objected to a “like” on their post. Both members have been contacted by the moderators. We are hoping that peace may prevail.
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73 Rafal EI6LA

I tried to read this and I'm baffled on how this can be classified as a study guide. There is a lot of stuff that has no bearing on Irish radio use, there are some statements that confuses ComReg legalisation with that of the RSGB which is a very dangerous route for IRTS to promote, it may put restrictions on it's members by bringing in policy that is not requested by ComReg yet.

A study guide should be easy to follow with minimal additional information included, a guide is to assist not to confuse. The document has a lot of work put into it and for that well done to all involved but this is far from a study guide.

Regards John.

Could you give us some examples, John, so that we can fix them? Or are you saying that the whole guide is unfit for purpose?
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73 Rafal EI6LA

The whole document is unfit as a guide. It lacks clarity on what students are required to recall and what students are required to understand.
The document is over complicated and fails in it purpose to deliver easily digested information to beginners, it's not written with the novice in mind.
 

John, perhaps you are looking for the Exam Syllabus, which lists what students must be able to recall to pass the exam. It is a separate document from the guide, as it is under the jurisdiction of the Exam Board, and it is here: https://www.irts.ie/dnloads/IRTS_HAREC_Exam_Syllabus.pdf

Could you provide some examples and more information about your point that “there are some statements that confuses ComReg legalisation with that of the RSGB which is a very dangerous route for IRTS to promote, it may put restrictions on it's members by bringing in policy that is not requested by ComReg yet.”

Can you help us rewrite the sections that you would like to see improved?
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73 Rafal EI6LA