About the Radio Course

The RARC Basic Qualification course is structured around 15 hours of instructions with a curriculum based on 100 topics in the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) exam for the Amateur Radio Operator Certificate.

Classes are held on five consecutive Saturday mornings starting on Feb. 8th, 2025 from 9 am to 12 noon, with the exam on Mar. 15th.

Syllabus for the online version of this course includes additional audio-visual content, interactive presentations and reference handouts to help students obtain a better understanding of the Amateur radio topics and basic radio operations.

The classroom is an Internet-based, online environment using mainstream virtual conferencing tools (i.e. Zoom). Class size will still be limited to retain the quality of productive discussions and knowledge exchange.

Plans to conduct the exam in-person is carried over from the pandemic days when we discovered it is a good opportunity for students to physically meet the instrucors and other fellow students. Conducting the exam in an open food court area at a Richmond mall has proven to be a practical decision as there is ample free prking as well as convenient acces to transit stations on the Canada Line.

One-to-one online examinations are available but that option will be used only if written exams are not possible. The Richmond location for the written exam will be confirmeded when we are closer to the exam date.

Registration fee for the course includes a course study guide, reference handouts, instructor notes, Government of Canada (ISED) Basic Qualification exam, and online registration of call sign upon passing exam. Successful students will each receive a one year trial membership with RARC.

Payment of registration fee can be made electronically by either PayPal or Interac e-Transfer. Payment information is on the right-hand column of this page.

Richmond Malls turned out to be an ideal venue for writing exams as each student had his/her own table, there was good lighting from the adjacent atrium skylight and miniminal distractions at 9:00 am before the stores open. (Photo taken during Nov. 2023 exam)

The Richmond Centre Food Terrace continued to be the location of choice for writing exams as there was plenty of empty space at 9:00 am and the venue is conveniently located next to the Canada Line Brighouse Station for anyone not driving. (Photo of Mar. 2023 exam)

Course Instructors

Classes are conducted by a faculty of instructors who are RARC members that are knowledgable and passionate about their respective Amateur radio subjects of interest. Some instructors are long-time radio operators and also hold Advanced and Morse Code qualifications. Classes usually have more than one instructor as well as other club members present to assist with the presentations and help answer questions from students. The exam will be conducted by RARC members who are Government of Canada ISED accredited (volunteer) examiners.

Why do you need a Basic qualification?

A Basic qualification certificate is required by ISED to legally transmit on allocated Amateur radio frequencies and is usually the first step into the Amateur radio hobby. Morse Code is a separate qualification and is no longer a requirement for a Basic qualification certificate. The Advanced(and Morse Code) qualification can be obtained for additional operating privileges after the Basic qualification.

Since many emergency communication services involve Amateur radio, volunteers (in Canada) will require a Basic qualification in order to operate on Amateur frequencies during emergency exercises and activation. As radio transmissions using HF bands are becoming more significant in emergency commmunications, it is recommended that Amateur radio operators possess at least Basic with Honours qualification (80%+ exam score) before volunteering with an Amateur radio emergency communications organization.

Online Basic Course
REGISTRATION
& PAYMENT

To register for the Basic Qualification course, send us an e-mail with the following info:

- Your name (same as your government ID)
- Telephone number (emergency contact)
- E-mail address (e-mail contact)
- Resident address (for call sign registration)

Payment of $100 course fee can be made by:

- PayPal online payment:
  (Use button below)

- Interac e-Transfer to RARC email address:
  rarc-payment@cwthree.com

- Cheque payment to RARC postal address at:
  PO Box 88061, Richmond, BC, V6X 3T6

Why is Your Personal Info
Required to Register
for the Radio Course?

Your personal information is necessary in order to submit your exam score to ISED and register your call sign.

Name: Needs to be same as the one on your government issued ID and will be used for your ISED issued certificate (a.k.a. licence).

E-mail address: Required by ISED (and RARC) to contact you so you can access your ISED account and register your call sign.

Residential Address: Canadian residency is required for your call sign. Province of your address will determine your call sign prefix. You can enter your full address when you create your ISED account and then have the option to display only your province on the ISED Website's call sign search datatbase.

Date of Birth: Your birth date is required to submit your exam score to ISED and register your Basic qualification. You can choose to enter that info confidentially yourself when the examiner is accessing the ISED site.