2396 level 4

[infinity]

Im looking At sitting this course and wondered if anyone else had been on it ?
If so is it any good/ worthwhile?
I'm assuming the design side will be aimed towards commercial / industrial installations and quite in depth?

 

[Chr!s]

The course its self isn't that in depth, if you have a good lecturer and the time you can go more in depth if you wish.

The exam is pretty straight forward, my advice would be to answer all other questions before attempting the first section (design), its only 20 points and you will probably spend to much time on it.

Its not a bad course, though to benefit you need a really good lecturer and time.


Chris

 

[infinity]

Thanks Chris,

So did you learn a lot about the design side of larger installations? And feel more confident after in carrying these out?

Are there any design courses higher than this one or would you say this is adequate enough to competently carry out the design and installation of larger installs?

 

[Chr!s]

I'd personally do a HNC first in electrical engineering, it will give you the fundamentals to design larger installations. I doubt you will cover discrimination or cascading, you probably wont go that deep into fault current analysis and many other things, reason being you need the fundamentals and a bit more math.

Its a jumped up 2382 written instead of multiple choice and a little design.

If you have the time and money, its HNC for me.

Chris

 

[infinity]

Thanks Chris

It's a step up from the reg course 2382? I thought it would have been a lot more in depth than that.

Out of interest how long does the HNC take and rough cost?

Thanks
Dan

 

[wozz]

I found it well worthwhile. I probably went a bit too far with the detail but its all a learning exercise and it all went through first time. Certainly gets you thinking alot more about what you are doing, and to a fair standard academically certainly the hardest thing ive done since a-levels.

I had a couple of email conversations with chris about the project and he was more than helpful, not giving the answer just pointing me towards reading material. I thankyou for that chris.

Not long after doing it i took a job doing something completely different so do get a chance to use much of the knowledge which is a shame.

 

[sparkymalarky]

Out of interest how long does the HNC take and rough cost?

Dan,

At the moment I'm studying my HNC via Teesside University through open learning/ E-Learning. They allow a time period of up to 5 years to complete it although I have been studying for 2 years this august and I am about 60% finished. It costs me £200 per module and 8 Modules are required for the HNC so 8x200 = £1600 for a HNC. I'm studying electrical and electronic engineering however when I repair my time machine, I would go back and choose Building services instead.

 

[D Skelton]

All I'll say about the 2396 is that if you have a good tutor, they will get you looking at the more intricate details of design. They will get you looking at the more obscure parts of the regs book and showing you a slightly different way of interpreting things. The coursework is fun, I enjoyed it very much so. C&G say to allow 40 hours but I'd say 60-80 hours would be more realistic. The exam is a ball ache! Difficulty wise it isn't hard if you're used to design, but the sheer volume of writing they expect you to get on paper in three hours is just unrealistic! I reckon I only completed the first 75% of my exam and I was writing solidly for three hours without break.

It's worth doing I'd say. I reckon the exam would sort the wheat from the chaff for sure! There was one fella on our course who was clearly not at the level required to be able to understand most of what the tutor was talking about. He walked out about an hour into the exam. I can't see him completeing the coursework either.

So yeah, if you do it, you've got to be prepared to burn the midnight oil!

 

[LeeH]

I only finished 75 of mine too, it was tough. I got a 'pass' which I was over the moon with as I presumed I failed due to the time constraints.

I must have put 80 hours into my project and it's only in for its initial marking. So I guess I still have another 20 or so to go after the tutor has red penned it.

I struggled as I don't do huge amounts of installation anymore and have done little design work.

As D Skelton says, it's sorts out the men from the boys. I think 4 failed from a class of 10.

 

[infinity]

Thanks for all the help guys appreciate It, I've decided I'm going to go for it after your comments. I like a challenge and I've always found learning about electrical theory I have enjoyed.

Out if interest what is the project like? Is It basically to design a certain system? Or is it made up yourself?

 

[wozz]

I somehow managed to get a distinction in my exam but i didnt stop to think at all, and i didnt put my pen down until i really had to. The complexity wasnt too tough just a lot to doin three hours, we was very well prepared for the exam and i had been in the books for days before.

The project took me far longer than it was supposed to i started it about three times, and my spreadsheet was far better than anything i created in four years of studying ICT. Probably went far too much into detail but i didnt care as i was learning all the time. I also liked the fact i could jump on to it when i wanted unlike all mu other paperwork quotes invoices ect that had deadlines to meet!

It given me the bug for learning again im hoping to start another qualification with a similar project but in a different field.

Go for it, just find somewhere decent to do it.

 

[Energetic]

Have just sat the exam with the assignment to start. Course was interesting with a lot of cable calcs and underlying science and maths but the exam was mostly frantic copying from the regs.

Looking forward to the design project, its an installation for an electrical college and includes PV.

 

[wozz]

do you have any of the spec/drawings to email over? just be interested to see how the projects differ.

 

[Energetic]

I only have paper copies provided by the college atm. Might be on the C&G website though?