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Message started by rosswood on 03/06/6 at 11:44:33

Title: HAM RADIO COURSE
Post by rosswood on 03/06/6 at 11:44:33

Have you ever wondered what all that talk on the radio is at rallies? Do you want to be part of it? Do you want to talk to your friends from your car without cellphone fees? Do you want to talk around the world? You too can be part of the wide world of Amateur Radio!

RallySport Ontario will be offering a two day intensive course to get your Amateur Radio Licence. It will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 29/30, 2006. It will take place at the Girl Guides of Canada Office, 38 Parkside Dr., Newmarket ON.
It will run from 10:00 am till about 4:00 pm each day. The cost will be $25.00 plus the cost of the books.

Since two days is not a lot of time to teach all the concepts, we use a study and review format. Students are expected to read the RAC (Radio Amateurs of Canada) Study Guide http://www.rac.ca/store/basic-guide.htm and come prepared to ask question and be quizzed on the content.

If you have further question, contact myself or Rob Metcalfe <va3rbm@gmail.com>.

To sign up for the course, go to: http://www.kwrc.on.ca/hamclass/

...thanks

-----
Roger Sanderson VE3RKS Internet: mailto:rsanders@ece. UWaterloo.CA
Phone: (519) 885-1211 Ext. 6184
Web: http://www.ece. uwaterloo.ca/~rsanders Club: http://www. kwrc.on.ca
Mail: E.& C.E. Dept., University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont. CANADA N2L 3G1

Title: Re: HAM RADIO COURSE
Post by DaveC on 03/06/6 at 13:39:54

For anyone thinking of getting a Ham license, this course is the way to go.

I took it last year and you do need to study and know the material in adavance, however the instructors know their stuff. ;D Plus you get to eat Girl Guide cookies. ;)

It was a fun, educational and time-saving weekend. Our local radio club takes 11 weeks to do a HAM Course and only offer it when they get sufficient people to run a course (which is not once in the last 3 years).

Title: Re: HAM RADIO COURSE
Post by Nikola on 03/06/6 at 14:52:52

I've started reading that guide; however, while interesting, the first few chapters on theoretical physics & electronics do not seem very applicable in actual daily usage. On the exam, and in real-life situations, how relevant is the knowledge of capacitance and impedance really - compared to, say, knowing common frequencies, morse code, which buttons to push, and radio protocols?

Title: Re: HAM RADIO COURSE
Post by dtompsett on 03/06/6 at 20:32:23

Nikola.... read it all. Also, download the sample exam generator.... go through it.... thats one of the tools we used to study last year.

I also recommend this course... just read it all ahead of time; try to have a general understanding of it all. It also helps if you make a list of what you're unclear about.... helps you and everyone else study when you get there.

And.... you guys got cookies? We didn't get cookies!

Title: Re: HAM RADIO COURSE
Post by Anthony_T on 03/06/6 at 21:20:01

I had been reading that bloody book for close to two years and had the same thoughts as Nikola - there were a couple of chapters that I wondered about needing to understand considering I would not be allowed to make any modifications to the radio - This coupled with the fact that I didn't "get it", didn't help. Anyway - the couse was fabulous as I finally accomplished my goal of getting my license despite the fact I usually flunked anything math related in highschool (formulas included, I think I have issues with rules).

If you really want to focus on what you NEED to know - download the question bank (from which the exam is generated) from the Industry Canada website. Myself, I rewrote every question and incorporated the correct answer to the sentence so I was left with a huge fact bank (this meant I would not be inadvertently glancing at wrong answers when studying).

Those are my two cents. Great course!
Anthony

Title: Re: HAM RADIO COURSE
Post by Nikola on 03/07/6 at 00:30:56

>>Nikola.... read it all.

Heh Doug, your advice is getting predictable! ;D

How do I handle late minutes? "Go faster!"
How do I handle the exam? "Learn it all!"

... seeing a pattern here... ;) :D

Anyhoo; thx for tips guys. I will read it and go through the questions (and one day return your book too, Doug;) ).

Do I get to choose my callsign, btw? :>

Title: Re: HAM RADIO COURSE
Post by dtompsett on 03/07/6 at 01:34:59

Yes... you get to chose your ham radio call sign.

I recommend signing into http://www.rac.ca/ and entering some callsigns that you'd want (ontario is ve3 or va3... for example, i'm ve3tdn).

When you're finished the test you fill out a registration form... and on it you list your top 3 or 4 choices for call sign that you want. When we complete ours, someone had a laptop hooked up that allowed us to search to see if the callsign was taken already or not.

And my advice isn't predictable.... it's the best answer possible! Go faster, learn it all, experience everything, etc.

Doug.
Woot SRC! ;)