ISED Gives Advance Notice of Update of Basic Amateur Radio Exam Questions

For immediate release – July 6, 2024

On July 5, 2024, Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) posted the following announcement on its website:

“Working with the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) plans to update the Basic Amateur Exam questions and answers in early 2025. An advance copy, in PDF format, will be posted in the coming months on our Downloads page so that instructors and examiners can update their material before the transition. After this update, ISED will perform a similar review of the Advanced Amateur Exam, with new exams expected after 2025.”

As indicated in the announcement, this is the result of a RAC initiative – which was presented to ISED in 2022 – and over a year of hard work by the members of RAC’s Examination Standards Committee (ESC). The final details of the update to the Basic Amateur Exam are being worked out now. ISED must put the completed draft of the Basic Question Bank through some internal processes before it can be published.

ISED will publish the new Basic Question Bank on its website several months before it is implemented to allow instructors, authors and candidates the opportunity to adjust to the changes. The existing Basic Question Bank will be used until the new bank is implemented sometime in 2025.

RAC’s Examination Standards Committee is now working on recommendations for updates to the Advanced Question Bank.

You can see ISED’s announcement at these links:

Amateur radio exam generator (canada.ca)
Accredited examiners (canada.ca)


Dave Goodwin VE3KG
Regulatory Affairs Officer
Radio Amateurs of Canada
[email protected]

RAC Online Basic Amateur Radio Course: Spring 2023

Registration for Spring 2023 RAC Basic Course is now underway!

https://www.rac.ca/basic-radio-course-spring-2023/

For immediate release:

Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Amateur Radio course so that individuals from all across Canada can obtain their Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Basic Qualification.

The course will 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.

Schedule and Cost:

Date: The course will be held on Thursdays and Sundays, commencing on Thursday, January 26 and ending in early April.

Time: Classes will be held on Thursday evenings from 6 pm to 9 pm (1800 – 2100) Eastern Time  and Sunday afternoons 1 pm to 4 pm (1300 – 1600) Eastern 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 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.

Requirements:

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 Guideswebpage. 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 – which will be conducted using the Zoom conference platform.

You do not need your own account on Zoom to take part in this course, but you may have to download a Zoom applet to participate.

Students will receive instructions on how to log on to the online sessions once they have registered for the course. Classes will be recorded, so occasional absences are not a problem.

Complete information about the course and a downloadable copy of the course syllabus are available at:

https://www.rac.ca/basic-radio-course-spring-2022/

Registration: 

If you would like to take part in this course please register now by completing the registration form provided on the RAC website at:

https://www.rac.ca/basic-radio-course-spring-2023/

Other Amateur Radio Courses:

Amateur Radio Basic and Advanced Qualification courses are also now being provided both online and in person by Canadian Amateur Radio Clubs and organizations. Please visit the Amateur Radio Courses webpage for more information at the link provided below.

Phil McBride, VA3QR
RAC President