Canadian looking to get licensed

I'm completely green. Not licensed, never owned any equipment before, never used HAM radio before, and only got interested in it last week.

I learned that you could send files between computers using HAM radio, and the whole idea seems exciting to me. But first I need to know how to get licensed, and what kind of license I would need.

I want to be able to talk to people thousands of miles away, and be able to send and receive digital data. Are there any fellow Canucks who can give me a quick step through of what I need to do? What are the proper permits for this? What else do I need? Do I automatically get a Call Sign when I get a permit or is that something separate, etc. I don't know any of the lingo and I'm flying blind.

Welcome to the RR forum. Try this site then click on other. Good Luck!

https://hamstudy.org/

The OP is Canadian. He needs info about getting the Canadian amateur radio license.

start here:
https://www.rac.ca/en/amateur-radio/beginner-info/getting-started.php

look for a club in your area. some give ham classes
https://www.rac.ca/en/amateur-radio/clubs/

Download ExHaminer and practice the Basic exam until you can get over 80% consistently(so you can get HF ie long-distance privileges)
ExHAMiner V2.5 : Radio Amateurs of Canada

If you want to do more than pass the test and want a real understanding of the material a good book you can download for free is
http://www.qsl.net/sp9hzx/img/The Beginner's Handbook of Amateur Radio.pdf

just ignore anything FCC(Chapter 2)

It also helped me to get into SWR. for ~$100 canadian I got a dongle and an HF upconverter so I can listen to the ham bands, decode morse code and weatherfax images using a program called fldigi. It helped me to actually be able to 'see' amplitude modulation, upper sideband etc as well as knowing where the ham bands are rather than memorize
try a simple remote sdr at websdr.org

READ READ READ

W9BU said:

The OP is Canadian. He needs info about getting the Canadian amateur radio license.

Click to expand...

The site I posted has Canadian license question pool. Like I said click on other. And it will open them.

Ah-ha! I did not know that. I may have to go study the Canadian test pool just to see if I might pass.

Best advise is to get in touch with a local amateur radio club. There is so much knowledge on AlL aspects of amateur radio. A club is often made up of amateurs that have experience in ALL the aspects. Books and online/Internet test lack this experience. RAC is an excellent place to start. A club may have an Elmer for you in your particular area of experience. Take a good in depth course if one is offered in your area. One can usually tell those that have studied on their own or taken a crash course in 2 days versus those having gone through an extensive course. What you are looking for is at least Basic+ (Basic with Honours) to get onto HF. That limits you to 200 watts, so if you need/want more power, an Advanced is required.

robertmac said:

Best advise is to get in touch with a local amateur radio club. There is so much knowledge on AlL aspects of amateur radio. A club is often made up of amateurs that have experience in ALL the aspects. Books and online/Internet test lack this experience. RAC is an excellent place to start. A club may have an Elmer for you in your particular area of experience. Take a good in depth course if one is offered in your area. One can usually tell those that have studied on their own or taken a crash course in 2 days versus those having gone through an extensive course. What you are looking for is at least Basic+ (Basic with Honours) to get onto HF. That limits you to 200 watts, so if you need/want more power, an Advanced is required.

Click to expand...

Basic and Basic w/honors limits you to 250w DC Input

Sorry missed the 5. As per Industry Canada:
10.1 Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Basic Qualification
The holder of an Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Basic Qualification is limited to a maximum transmitting power of:

(a) where expressed as direct-current input power, 250 W to the anode or collector circuit of the transmitter stage that supplies radio frequency energy to the antenna; or
(b) where expressed as radio frequency output power measured across an impedance-matched load,
(i) 560 W peak envelope power for transmitters that produce any type of single sideband emission, or
(ii) 190 W carrier power for transmitters that produce any other type of emission.
10.2 Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Advanced Qualification
The holder of an Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Advanced Qualification is limited to a maximum transmitting power of:

(a) where expressed as direct-current input power, 1,000 W to the anode or collector circuit of the transmitter stage that supplies radio frequency energy to the antenna; or
(b) where expressed as radio frequency output power measured across an impedance-matched load,
(i) 2,250 W peak envelope power for transmitters that produce any type of single sideband emission, or
(ii) 750 W carrier power for transmitters that produce any other type of emission.