Course Name: Preparing for the Canadian Amateur Radio Examinations

For info and registration contact by email andy at woodsworth dot ca

TAKE Victoria's AMATEUR RADIO Course, sponsored by the Westcoast Amateur Radio Association, and JOIN the Amateur Radio Service. The next classes start on January 5, 2012. Become Qualified To:

• Be an Emergency Radio Operator
• Talk to the International Space Station
• Use IRLP to talk to Antarctica, Australia, Asia, or America
• Practice Moon bounce communication
• Explore solar flux
• or just talk to friends in Victoria, Canada, and the Whole Wide World

Lectures, texts, “CW” Morse code for those interested, hands on sessions, antenna construction, and station visits for hands-on experience. The Course starts Thursday January 5, 2012. There are no prerequisites other than a desire to study and work hard for a few months. You will work towards your Basic Certification, but may also study for Morse and Advanced Certifications if you wish.

Click here to see the 2012 Class Shedule. (24 x 2 hr evening classes, 4 Saturday morning station visits, 3 Saturday morning practical workshops, plus Examination)

Tuition: $200 individual, $320 Couple sharing printed material, $350 for two members of the same family living at the same address if they share a copy of the printed materials and the code CD's, $150 for Ham upgrading. There is also a reduced fee of $100 (half price) for students who are full-time secondary school students 19 years of age or less.

Tuition Includes:

• A 200+ page WARA textbook written by two experienced local instructors
• Copies of relevant Radio Information Circulars by Industry Canada
• Examination fees for all examinations taken within the session
• Associate Membership in WARA (valid up to renewal time in the fall)
• Instructors: The WARA Instructor Team

Date: January to April
Days: Mondays and Thursdays, 7 pm to 9 pm
Class Location: #25 Burnside Rd W. (the home of Search and Rescue Society of BC - SARBC)
Class limited to 25, on a first come (fees paid) basis.

HOW TO REGISTER for WARA Classes

For info and to get onto the class list, email andy at woodsworth dot ca
Fees: You may pay on-line or by mailing your cheque to WARA. Read Using PayPal for Non-standard payments

Westcoast Amateur Radio Association
PO Box 48047
Victoria BC  V8Z 7H5

Our fees are deliberately kept as low as possible. We can do that because our instructors give freely of their time at no charge. Consequently the fees are much lower than the cost of courses at other evening classes such as the schools, community colleges and universities.

Course components

During each evening class an instructor talks to the students about one of the chapters in the textbook. There is plenty of time for questions and discussions. All the instructors are volunteers so you can be sure that they are keen about their subject as well as being knowledgeable. At about 8 pm there is a break for coffee and a chance to get to know the other students in your class. This gives you a small group of friends who will be going on the air at the same time as you. Consequently you need never wonder who you can call to test out your brand new radio - simply call one of your classmates.

Questions at the end of each chapter form homework. The Director of Education keeps an eye open for students who are slipping behind or having difficulties. In this way, help can be provided before it is too late.

In the middle of the session there is a group of four Saturday morning Station Visits. These are visits in small groups to four different amateur stations in the area. Here is an opportunity to see what a ham shack looks like, what the equipment is like, what the antennas are like, and an opportunity to get on the air. To begin with, the station owner makes the contacts and simply hands the mike over to a student so that he/she has a chance to overcome mike shyness. However, by the end of the group of four visits each student has had an opportunity to make a contact, check into a net, and pass traffic to another student. These contacts are made not only on the very popular 2-m band, but also on one of the high frequency bands such as are used for longer distance communications. Saturday morning workshops are also held to assemble a small electronics project such as a Morse code oscillator, to build and antenna, and to solder connectors onto antenna cable.

The examinations come around all too soon. Most of the students are thoroughly enjoying themselves and eager to get a radio and get on the air. Code tests for those who wish this additional certification can be done before or after the theory examination. The code tests are three minutes receiving and three minutes sending so they don't take very long even though the testing is one at a time. One evening is set aside for the examination. Some students have completed the paper (and passed) in about half an hour whereas a few take up to three hours. Papers are marked on the spot by accredited examiners and the results are known almost immediately.

Click Here-> Downloads|Education for Links to the following Course Material:

• RIC-3 Information on the Amateur Radio Service
• RBR-4 Standards for Operation of Amateur Radio Stations
• RIC-7 Basic Question Bank
• WARA Operating Procedures
• Class Schedule
• WARA Morse Code Tracks now available on-line under Downloads|Morse Code Course

Course Name: Upgrade to Advanced Certification - not scheduled at this time

Suitable for: Amateur Operators with valid Basic Certification and Callsign who wish to upgrade to Advanced Certification. The Course is available to any Ham, but preference given to those associated with their Community Emergency Communication Teams. It is heavy on practical demonstrations with some hands-on activity.

No. of Sessions: The course is comprised 14 x 2 hr evening classes plus Examination
Instructor: Ron Verrall VE7RIV
Tuition: $60 plus cost of training material and examination (extras estimated at $85 max)
Date: To Be Determined
Days: Mondays and Thursdays, 7 pm to 9 pm
Class Location: #25 Burnside Rd W. (SARBC)
You may pay on-line. Read Using PayPal for Non-standard payments