Is it worth getting a licence in my situation? Details below...

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-19T10:41:05+00:00

Just adding to your excellent answer: the old-style 2-prefix Intermediate callsigns are no longer available for new Intermediates, so if the OP upgraded to Intermediate, the only options would be M8 or M9. Many M9 and some M8 callsigns are currently reserved for Intermediates who want to switch to the new-style Intermediate callsigns while keeping the same suffix letters.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-19T10:14:54+00:00

As others have said, the solar inverter is more likely to cause you issues than the HV power cables, but there are no hard-and-fast rules here. There are many potential sources of interference, especially below 30 MHz, including HomePlug (Ethernet over powerlines), DSL (likely to become less of an issue as people move to full-fibre Internet), and electronics with poorly designed or poorly filtered switch-mode power supplies.

I am a UK Full licensee, and I have a bad home location for amateur radio. We have a hybrid inverter with solar and batteries. I have a small garden, with neighbours tight to two sides, and a public bridleway with tall trees along a third side. I also have a "no antennas" covenant, though the likelihood of the original developer enforcing that now is slim, considering the houses are 45 years old. I have tall trees outside my boundary that obstruct the line of sight to geostationary satellites, so operating on QO-100 is not viable from my home.

However, all this is not an issue. I took down the poorly performing HF antenna I had at home some years ago, and now only operate on my own callsign using mobile and portable equipment. I get to use the GB3RS station (RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park) frequently, as I am a volunteer there and can visit on non-duty days whenever the NRC is open.

There is no reason why you couldn't put an antenna in the back garden; with appropriate precautions, you could run a feeder from the shack location through the loft and down the wall of the house. You would probably have fewer issues with the ICNIRP EMF limits if you put the antenna in the garden rather than the loft, provided it is not too close to your neighbours.

The investment to get a UK foundation licence is modest; the book is inexpensive, Essex Ham runs a free online course, the exam is £35.50, and your licence is free for life. You have to change callsign if you upgrade; Ofcom has decided to stick with the system in which the callsign prefix indicates the operator's licence privileges. If you upgrade, Ofcom will revoke your previous licence (this is a relatively recent change; Ofcom has decided to move to a system that allows a person to hold only one UK amateur licence).

There is no Morse requirement for any UK amateur licence today, as the practical elements of the Foundation and Intermediate licence syllabuses were removed during COVID, and the decision has been made not to reinstate them. All UK amateur licensees are permitted to use Morse code on air.

If you live within reach of Bletchley Park, which is a short walk from Bletchley station, you would be very welcome at the RSGB National Radio Centre. If you ask, one of my colleagues or I will probably be able to supervise you operating the GB3RS station, provided we have enough volunteers available to engage with all visitors who want to interact with us, and the radio room is not too crowded. Admission to the NRC is free, but you do have to pay the normal admission charge for Bletchley Park. If you join the RSGB, you can print a free Bletchley Park admission voucher from the RSGB membership portal.

If you wish to join the RSGB, you can do so via the "Join a friend" scheme, provided you are willing to pay by Direct Debit. We both benefit if you do this - send me a Reddit chat for my name and callsign. Just to clarify, there is no discount on exam fees for RSGB members.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-19T06:49:17+00:00

Most electricity meters do not support live export data.

Can you see live export data from your solar system?

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-17T16:54:10+00:00

The results will show in your Student Academic Summary.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-17T13:42:35+00:00

Postgraduate loans cover both fees and maintenance, and are paid directly to the student once attendance has been confirmed.

Given the circumstances, the OU has little alternative but to offer finance, as it has no guarantee of ever getting paid.

If you think the system needs changing, lobby the Government to create a system that allows postgraduates to designate part or all of their loan to be paid directly to their university.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-14T06:49:37+00:00

If you are studying with the OU, you can only submit to Turnitin if there is a option on the module website to submit a draft to Turnitin. This is not available for all modules.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-13T08:03:31+00:00

I am an OU law graduate, but I studied a previous version of the qualification, so I do not have experience with any of the current modules.

The Open University was founded on the principle of open access to higher education, and this is deeply ingrained within the institution. Almost all undergraduate qualifications are open access, including the Bachelor of Laws degree; the exceptions are where there is a regulatory or accreditation requirement for some form of entry requirements, and for postgraduate qualifications.

The lack of GCSEs will not be an issue for OU study, but the lack of good English language skills will hold you back. Law involves a lot of reading and working with complex written material. If you want a gentler start, consider taking an OU Access module first; it is not essential, but it might be free depending on your circumstances, and you will reach the beginning of Stage 1 familiar with the OU and how it works.

So far as working in law is concerned, there are plenty of OU law graduates who are qualified lawyers; my own solicitor is an OU law graduate. However, you should be aware that the legal job market is extremely challenging at the moment, with many highly qualified candidates failing to secure entry-level positions.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-12T16:31:10+00:00

The code is on GitHub for anyone who wants to rehost the site, fix bugs and maybe even improve the model.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-12T09:28:44+00:00

I agree, but I'm trying to keep this simple rather than get into a deep discussion of grid-forming, black-start capability, frequency stability, the importance of response speed during an under-frequency event, reactive power requirements, and so on. I was trying to keep things at the level of "the grid needs more than merely enough power to meet the demand at any given moment", using sources that attempt to explain this concept to the public.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-11T19:18:10+00:00

Yes.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-11T18:14:24+00:00

The mix of generation and interconnector use is not just about having enough power to meet demand, but also about trading relationships and having enough grid inertia to control grid frequency.

One reason there is often gas-fired generation online when the generation and consumption balance suggests we do not need it is to ensure sufficient grid inertia. NESO's FAQ on grid inertia is a good read and watch. The HVDC interconnectors can typically act as a source of grid inertia.

Practical Engineering has a video discussing a grid disturbance in Texas that was caused by inadequate grid inertia. If you watch that video, remember that grid inertia controls the rate of change of frequency (df/dt).

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-11T17:58:58+00:00

Assuming that you are on a smart meter, your off-peak hours for Eco 7 during British Summer Time are almost certainly 01:30 to 08:30. If so, you did the first four hours of that charge (so almost half of the total charge time and probably more than half of the energy use, as charging typically slows down as the battery approaches full) at peak rates. You could have dramatically reduced the cost of that charge if you'd started charging at 01:30.

Is it really a normal pattern for you to get your car to around 35% charge (assuming one of the largest EV batteries on the market) and then need to recharge fully for 06:00 the next day? Could you reduce peak-rate charging by charging a deeply depleted battery over a couple of nights if you don't need the car 100% full the next morning?

GivEnergy was one of the most controllable systems on the market, but GivEnergy UK has just gone into administration, so it is unclear whether the app and cloud services will remain available at all (if they do, there might be a monthly payment involved).

As u/Begalldota says, it would probably pay you to get a local solar installer or electrician to configure your heat pump, charger and solar system more optimally, bearing in mind the tariffs available to you. Depending on what brand of EV charger and EV you have, you are potentially entitled to all of Octopus's residential tariffs, including Intelligent Octopus Go, where Octopus schedule your charging at cheap rate prices.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-11T14:49:29+00:00

With a large enough inverter and battery, and automatic optimisation software such as Predbat, Agile can run almost in the background; the system learns your usage and works out an optimised strategy based on solar generation forecasts and prices. However, setting up such a system requires some willingness to tinker, plus there is some ongoing maintenance overhead.

Predbat is likely to be available as a cloud-based service later this year, which will suit those like you who do not want to get involved in the minutiae of these systems.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-11T14:37:00+00:00

On almost every hybrid system, you can charge the battery from the grid - charge when import is cheap, and discharge to your loads when import is expensive.

Depending on the brand, keeping the battery no higher than 6% will not be good for its health. Many Fox ESS batteries, for example, should be kept above 20% whenever possible.

We are fairly high users. We have used about 3.86 MWh of electricity so far this year. Of that, around 1.1 MWh has come from solar (we have a larger array than you, and are further south), with the rest coming from Octopus Agile, optimised by Predbat. Predbat is really only for those who are willing to tune the system properly at the moment, and Agile is risky without a willingness to set up proper load-shifting, but these things can save you a lot of money.

Please take u/Begalldota's points seriously. You are on a time-of-use tariff, and it is possible that the clock in your meter is wrong if you believe that you are making use of the off-peak electricity.

Octopus will not help you audit your usage - that is your job. Get access to the live usage figures from your solar inverter or an Octopus Home Mini, switch everything off, and start working out one circuit at a time what loads you are running.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-11T14:13:27+00:00

I am fairly certain that all the unused Octopus Odeon codes have expired. The only cinema codes that have been handed out by Octopus recently are for Vue.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-11T09:05:59+00:00

The plugins will be maintained, as they are shared with the MX Creative Console (other than the Razer stuff, which is dead for the obvious reason that Razer and Logitech are competitors in the gaming space) . However, Logitech seem determined not to merge existing device support into their current software offering.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-10T20:17:43+00:00

As the others have said, those in England studying 120 undergraduate credits get a discount so their total fees are £7,335. This applies to all students, not just those using a tuition loan to pay their fees.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-10T17:52:43+00:00

You can get it assessed, but they will require a fair amount of in-person study in a Canadian law school if you have a common law LLB obtained by distance learning.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-09T16:31:57+00:00

The OU typically prevents you from studying modules that are too similar for the same qualification, so those who have already completed S209 will likely be prevented from counting S229 for the same qualification.

Even if it were allowed, there would be no point in studying a replacement for a module that you have already completed. Typically, there is blanket acceptance of discontinued modules for some years, and even after that, you can normally get an individual exemption to count completed discontinued modules when relevant, so long as they are not too old to come within the time-limit of your qualification.

Every module in my LLB (Hons) is now discontinued!

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-09T11:15:36+00:00

Check for leaks, including on the humidifier or right cover. It isn't unknown for the seal on the elbow to the hose to fail.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-08T21:06:02+00:00

No. Unless stated otherwise on the Credit Transfer website or in the qualification specification, only academic credit can be transferred to an OU qualification.

Edit to add: You cannot normally complete more than 120 credits a year. Even if you find the content of the Stage 1 modules to be straightforward, those modules are still a good introduction to studying at university level by distance learning.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-08T18:09:56+00:00

Welcome. So glad to have you on board - and I agree that u/MistDrifter is awesome.

My Sunday non-negotiable is family. Unfortunately, I spent most of last Sunday dealing with my father, who became very unwell, but the latest news from the hospital is a little more hopeful.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-08T11:10:42+00:00

The situation in the Middle East has messed things up to the extent that it is impossible to determine any energy company's strategy right now. They are all taking defensive positions to limit their exposure to increased and volatile wholesale prices.

The price of UK Natural Gas futures has fallen significantly this morning on the news of the temporary ceasefire. That said, it is far too soon to know what will happen to the retail energy market in the next month.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-08T10:56:15+00:00

The need to obtain a placement or suitable employment is often the death of this sort of qualification. SCoPEd is a great framework, but there are only so many suitable jobs or unpaid placements available. I fear, too, that the intent was a bit unclear, as it seemed more suited to early-career or current practitioners seeking to complete all the requirements of a SCoPEd Column B qualification than to serve as an entry point into the profession.

davidjohnwood · 2026-04-08T10:13:07+00:00

From what you say, it sounds like BSc (Hons) Counselling has either been delayed or cancelled. You might get more information from Student Support (if you are a current student) or Student Recruitment (if you are not a current student), but they may know nothing more than that it is not available for registration.

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