Registration now available for RAC Basic Course: Summer 2020

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https://www.rac.ca/rac-online-basic-amateur-radio-course-registration-summer-2020/

For immediate release:
 

In response to the Covid-19 crisis, Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Amateur Radio course so that individuals can obtain their Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Basic Qualification while continuing to practise social/physical distancing.

The course will once again be conducted with the assistance of the Annapolis Valley Amateur Radio Club (AVARC) of Nova Scotia.

This course prepares students for the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) Basic Qualification Level Operator Certificate exam to operate on allocated Amateur Radio frequencies.

Course material pertaining to all topics covered in the course syllabus will be provided to all registered students. Students must have a copy of the Canadian Amateur Radio Basic Qualification Study Guide provided by Coax Publications. For more information please visit the RAC Study Guides webpage.

It is essential that all students have the necessary equipment and bandwidth capable of taking the course – at least a tablet or PC and a DSL broadband connection.

Schedule and Cost:

Date: The course will start on Thursday, August 20 and will finish onThursday, October 29.

Time: Classes will be held on Thursday evenings from 6 pm to 8:30 (1800 – 2030) Eastern Time (1900 – 2130 Atlantic Time) and Sunday afternoons 1 pm to 3:30 pm (1300 – 1530) Eastern Time (1400 – 1630 Atlantic Time).

Cost: The registration fee for the course is $50 plus GST/HST. The cost of the Basic Study Guide is extra and an order link will be provided upon completion of payment.

Instruction: 

The course will use the GoToMeeting web-based service. Students will receive instructions on how to log on to the online sessions once they have registered for the course.

The course instructor is Al Penney, VO1NO. Al was first licensed in 1977 and has been active in many areas of Amateur Radio including contesting, DXing, VHF/UHF weak signal, satellites, emergency communications and DXpeditioning. He has served as the President of six different Amateur Radio clubs in both Canada and the United States and currently chairs the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 Band Planning Committee. Al has taught the Basic Qualification Amateur Radio Course since 1994.

California balloon races its way to the Nova Scotia woods

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Retrieval ‘great example of international co-operation through amateur radio’

A balloon that originally came from California was found in a wooded area outside Liverpool, N.S., on Saturday.

The mid-altitude balloon was part of a four-balloon, cross-continent race from the west coast to the eastern time zone. The silver Mylar balloon that was found in Nova Scotia was the winner.

The Annapolis Valley Amateur Radio Club and the Annapolis Royal Space Agency retrieved the balloon after its four-day journey.

“It’s been an interesting day,” said Alphonse Penney, a member of the radio club. “It was a good drive in on the roads and then slogging through the woods. Even though it was only 750 metres, it’s thick bush and it took a while to get in there. But we recovered it quite easily. We spotted it from 95 metres away.”

There was a position reporting system on board, so the Annapolis Valley Amateur Radio Club, with help from other amateur radio operators around the Liverpool area, was able to narrow the search field.

Read the full article from the CBC

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Amateur Radio!

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Local clubs offer Ham Radio Course

Would you like to talk to astronauts in the International Space Station?  Make friends around the world?  Build electronic projects?  Assist your community in times of disaster?  Keep in touch when traveling off the beaten path?  If so, then welcome to wonderful world of Amateur Radio!

Round Island 2018
Upper Canard resident Fred Archibald operating his portable station from the remote Round Island in the Aleutian Islands chain off Alaska in the summer of 2018.

Amateur Radio operators, also known as “hams”, are licensed by the Federal Government to communicate with similarly authorized enthusiasts in almost every country in the world.  They come from all walks of life – from the teenager next door, to people you know at work, to Nobel Prize winning scientists, astronauts, and famous entertainers.  They all share a love for the magic of radio!

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