Ham Radio Course

We will be offering a course in which students can build their own Ham Radio, called the “Survivor 75 m”. “Survivor 75 m” is a small back packable radio that you can take on a hunting or back country trip. It is a Transmitter and Receiver that covers voice (SSB) transmissions. The time frame for the building course is February 2026. Since we are building a Transmitter, students must have their Basic and Advance Ham Radio qualifications before entering the building course. We are offering the Basic course February 8 2025 to March 8 2025  and November 2025, followed by an Advance Course in January 2026. These courses are run at the clubhouse on Saturdays. If you are interested in any of these courses, please contact Ron at hamradio@hbcrgc.org

Ham Radio Course

The purpose of the course is to provide members and guests with a licence for emergency communications in remote areas, such as when they are hiking, hunting or fishing. A Ham licence is also of value to the community, for emergency preparedness. In a large emergency, cell-phones are usually the first thing to go down, quickly followed by land-lines.

Ham radio has long been a key part of communications in emergencies and disasters, when normal modes of communications are down. The benefits of Ham radio have been acknowledged by NASA, which licences every astronaut in its space program.

The importance of the Ham course is not just the licence, but what the person learns about radio, in order to achieve the Ham licence. The exam for Ham radio is similar for Hams around the world; it covers Rules and Regulations, Operating Procedures, Station Assembly, Circuit Components, Basic Electronics, Antenna Systems, Radio Wave Propagation and Radio Interference. The course being offered is about 30 hours of class time, scheduled for 5 Saturdays. Since the course material is not what most people have studied, it will be necessary for participants to do at least 30 hours of homework. While almost everyone is capable of doing this course, homework is the key to success.

The course will conclude with an Industry Canada exam, of 100 questions. There is no longer a requirement for Morse code. Candidates must achieve 70% for a Basic level or 80% for a Basic+ level licence. The Basic is for VHF (local communications only), while the Basic+ is for VHF and HF (local and long distance communications).

There is a third level of qualification, which is required for people wanting to build their own transmitters. This is the Advanced course, requiring a 70% exam mark to pass. The Advanced exam is more technical in electronics and radio, however, the exam itself is only 50 questions. The Advanced qualification does not stand on its own, a person must have the Basic licence to be a Ham radio operator. For non-tech students, or those just getting into technology, it would be a great advantage to include building a radio transceiver project in this course. We can build a radio project, after the Advanced course, if there is enough interest.

The Basic course and exam are being offered at no cost on 5 Saturdays in November, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We may spill over onto the first Saturday in December, for the exam, depending upon the pace of the class. There is a cost of $30, for the study manual, however, the main cost to the student is the time commitment. While there are no age limits on getting a Ham Radio licence, it is difficult to include people under the age 18  in an adult course. Parents or guardians wishing to include someone under the age of 18 will need to attend the course, in its entirety, with their young student(s).

The Basic course will be followed by an Operating day, once licences are received and at a time convenient to those wishing to participate, when the class can erect a station and make some long distance contacts.