These are links to resources discussed in today’s class.
Category: Basic Course
First Day of Class
Welcome to the start of your adventure into the world of Amateur Radio. Amateur radio can be a great amount of fun, with endless opportunities to learn and to contribute within your community through activities such as contests, emergency preparedness and public events. The only limits are what you want to do. Needless to say we are enthusiastic about amateur radio and are looking forward to welcoming you to it.
The course is roughly 25 hours of instruction in ten sessions held over four weeks as detailed in the schedule. Classes will be 2.5 hours on Tuesday/Thursday and 3 hours on Saturday. Generally, a willingness to learn and high-school level math/physics will be more than enough. We’ve have people from many professions and trades take and pass the course from accountants to HR managers to engineers to mechanics and more, but they all had to work at it to achieve success.
We do our best to teach you well. In the end, it is ultimately up to you to actively participate, ask questions, study on your own, and to think positively. You really can do it! What we encourage is that every day you set aside time to spend reviewing your notes, and take a minimum of 1 exam daily using a web-based practice exam. If you do this from the start through the end of the course, then your personal preparations should serve you well.
There are a few things you need to know and do in preparation for the start of the course. Before starting the course, you should download and review the following Government of Canada publications:
- RIC-3 Information on the Amateur Radio Service
- RBR-4 Standards for the Operation of Radio Stations in the Amateur Radio Service
Please read these documents at least once before coming to the course – they are not long. Why do this? The most important thing to note is that 25% of the exam is based on the contents of these documents. If you ace this stuff, then the potential to obtain your certification goes way up. A good practice would be to read these documents every few days throughout the course.
While you are on the Government of Canada website, you might want to bookmark and get familiar with the practice exams. You will be able to gain practice with the exam before the final exam day.
Other things to bring with you to class:
- Pen/pencil
- Notebook or note pad
- Highlighter
- Calculator (a simple non-programmable one)
- Laptop (if you have one, to follow along with demonstrations)
The first class will start at 6:45 on Tuesday April 12th at the North Delta Public Safety building:
11375 84 Avenue
Delta, BC V4C 2L9
PLEASE– do NOT park immediately behind the NDPSB as this is reserved for fire and police equipment and staff. Anyone who parks in the reserved area will be unpleasantly surprised to find their vehicle being towed away. The parking lot is a little further back next to the recreation centre and is the correct place to park.
Plan to arrive early and be ready to start on time, as the door to the main building will be locked soon after the start of class. You will need to register at reception and then proceed to the classroom on the 2nd floor.
If you have questions before the course starts, please feel free to contact us.