spring

RAC Online Basic Amateur Radio Course: Spring 2023

Posted on by VA3DBJ

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.

Amateur Radio Courses

Phil McBride, VA3QR
RAC President

RAC Advanced Course for Maple Leaf Operators: Winter/Spring 2021

Posted on by VA3DBJ

The course is filling up quickly.

RAC’s next online Advanced Certificate course for Winter/Spring 2021 is filling up quickly. Since May 2020, 400 Radio Amateurs across Canada have used this course to prepare for the Advanced exam.

This instructor-led, 10-session course will begin in early February and end in early May.  You can choose to attend either the Sunday afternoon sessions or the Monday evening sessions.

Registration is scheduled to close on February 5 or when it fills up!

Background information:

In response to the global pandemic, Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio Course so that individuals can upgrade their qualifications while continuing to practise social/physical distancing.

With your Advanced Certificate, you can run higher power, operate a remotely-controlled station, obtain operating privileges when travelling overseas, set up repeaters, be the trustee for club stations and even become an Accredited Examiner (AE). 

Note: You need to be a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member (present or future) to register for this course. See below for information.

Course information:

The course will be 10 sessions in length and each session will be two hours long.

In order to offer maximum flexibility, we will be running two Advanced courses so students will be able to choose one of the following two options:

  • Sunday afternoons from 3 pm to 5 pm EDT (12 pm PDT) starting on Sunday, February 7 and ending on Sunday, May 2

Or

  • Monday evenings from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm EDT (5:30 PDF) starting on Monday, February 8 and ending on Monday, May 3

Note: There will be no sessions on February 14 -15, March 28-29 and April 4-5.

For more information, please click here.

2020 Spring Weather Forecast

Posted on by VA3DBJ

By Anthony Farnell

Winter’s bark was worse than its bite for most of the country, and now, with days getting longer and normal temperatures quickly rising, we can look ahead to all the joys that spring brings in Canada.

A battle will set up through April with leftover Arctic air making frequent appearances, especially in the Prairies. An active storm track from the Great Lakes to Atlantic Canada will keep it wet especially in April.

We have not seen the last of the snow just about everywhere east of Victoria and Vancouver but when it does fall, don’t expect it to stick around for long.

The leftover April chill will be replaced by a warmer-than-normal pattern for most of the country later in May and early June.

A cooler-than-normal April is expected across most of Ontario and Quebec, which is a big deviation from the past few months.

The chill won’t last with a return to above seasonal air in May. The turn to mild air will be enough to offset the cool start to spring, which is why above-normal temperatures are forecast for southern Ontario and Quebec.

Much like last spring, an active storm track will lead to above-normal rainfall in areas that really don’t need it.

The Great Lakes are already running near record-high water levels, and a wet spring would mean another round of serious flooding for lakeshore communities.

This could also impact cities further downstream like Montreal as all that excess water flows down the St. Lawrence River.