I'm taking the Ham course now... I feel some of the material is very outdated. Why I need to know about vacuum tubes, resisters, capacitors, etc is beyond me. Seems like that is more appropriate for an advanced license. My 2 cents.
The course in my area isn’t until April so I have some time but I am thankful you made these videos. Made it so much easier as a Canadian to find the information that pertains to us and not our southern cousins. Going to invest in a course book and study up. Used to work in the streetlight biz so I have a little knowledge of how the components work thankfully.
Just wrote and passed my Basic exam very recently. I think there is too much emphasis on the components that make up your transceiver. All of that type of information should go in the Advanced course. Similarly there should be a written test to go along with all of the CW (morse code) stuff. This would reduce the barrier of entry to those wanting to become amateur radio operators.
@@darryldowney Apparently ISED is going to be updating the Basic amateur radio exam in early 2025. It will be interesting to see what they change. Given that the majority of radios these days are transceivers, the distinction between transmitters and receivers is not relevant any more.
Thanks for the videos, please offer up information as to where to get the correct relevant and up to date literature to study. Thank you. God bless from Alberta
I'm 73 and would like to get my basic license. I don't know anything about electronics. Should I buy the Hamstudy book I saw on Amazon to help me or just take a course, or both.
Both are good! A course is highly advisable. That way you will be introduced to a local club and get to see how people operate in your area and make some friends!
GOOD CALL! I'm Slacking. I do however have a big list of things I want to cover in the next video, and I promise, it will be better then the first 3 in the series!!
Three of us looking to take a course this fall on the east coast. Our local club is not holding courses anymore. They recommended RAC website for online training, although I am having no luck to find a online offering from RAC.
Hey Mark, Have you had a chance to look in any Facebook groups? The class I just finished was based out of the Revelstoke in BC, but there were people from Alberta taking part as well. I found it via Facebook before I found anything on RAC.
This is the group I took the course with. I would suggest posting up interest in taking a course. facebook.com/groups/RevelstokeAmateurRadioCourses/?ref=share
@@darryldowney We found one based out of Nova Scotia that runs online from August to October. Signing up tomorrow. If I missed a couple classes would it be difficult to catch up?
Mostly it's because of how valuable the frequencies amateur radio operators are allowed to operate on, they are worth billions $, if it isn't well protected and cared for they will lose it. Part of maintaining it is testing people who are allowed to operate on it.
@@petergarratt9645 Billions of dollars? Where did you pull that number from? I can buy a couple Baofeng's for $100 and talk to my buddy when I go off roading with him. What exactly costs billions of dollars here? Also, every frequency is silent, no one is even talking on them. It's not like there are too many people trying to use same frequency all at the same time, and within close proximity of us.
@@vitaminb4869 I know it sounds ridiculous lol, but once you start to understand how bandwidth works, and how much data is sent through the electromagnetic spectrum, and how those signals interfere with each other, and how there is only so much of it to go around and we all have to share it you realize how much huge corporations like Bell or Amazon would pay to own their own little slice of that spectrum, and amateur ham operators own a huge part of it - for next to nothing! The only price they pay for it is to be the responsible managers, caretakers, educators and police force of it. Imagine a club that owned a piece of prime real estate in every country in the world, they didn't have to pay for it, all they had to do was take very good care of it. As a member of that club you could travel between those pieces of land and stay on that land and build houses on that land, reap all kinds of benefits. That would be a very exclusive club and they wouldn't let just anybody into it. Now imagine all you wanted to do was go to one of those pieces of prime real estate and pick one flower and not bother anyone and then leave. As the managers of that great gift would you allow a complete stranger in? How would you know you could trust that stranger? And if you were to allow people into that club and they start to misuse it - even if they didn't mean to and it was accidental - you could have it taken away. Sensible thing to do would be to develop a membership program, and to become a member you'd have to take a small course and be educated in how it works and how you can also care for it and help it grow. I think it's pretty awesome, actually one of those things that makes me have hope for humans P.S. If all you want to do is talk to a buddy nearby, ham operators have set a piece aside for you, it's gmrs/frs channel, you can buy simple little Motorola type radios and you're set
@@petergarratt9645 That's a fantasy world you're describing there. "P.S. If all you want to do is talk to a buddy nearby, ham operators have set a piece aside for you, it's gmrs/frs channel, you can buy simple little Motorola type radios and you're set" - and what if I don't want to use that junk? Why should I be restricted to that garbage?
I'm taking the Ham course now... I feel some of the material is very outdated. Why I need to know about vacuum tubes, resisters, capacitors, etc is beyond me. Seems like that is more appropriate for an advanced license. My 2 cents.
The course in my area isn’t until April so I have some time but I am thankful you made these videos. Made it so much easier as a Canadian to find the information that pertains to us and not our southern cousins. Going to invest in a course book and study up. Used to work in the streetlight biz so I have a little knowledge of how the components work thankfully.
Just wrote and passed my Basic exam very recently. I think there is too much emphasis on the components that make up your transceiver. All of that type of information should go in the Advanced course. Similarly there should be a written test to go along with all of the CW (morse code) stuff. This would reduce the barrier of entry to those wanting to become amateur radio operators.
@@bwillan you are not wrong at all! Most of the stuff learned to pass the test, may never be needed again!
@@darryldowney Apparently ISED is going to be updating the Basic amateur radio exam in early 2025. It will be interesting to see what they change. Given that the majority of radios these days are transceivers, the distinction between transmitters and receivers is not relevant any more.
Thanks for the videos, please offer up information as to where to get the correct relevant and up to date literature to study. Thank you. God bless from Alberta
I'm 73 and would like to get my basic license. I don't know anything about electronics. Should I buy the Hamstudy book I saw on Amazon to help me or just take a course, or both.
Both are good! A course is highly advisable. That way you will be introduced to a local club and get to see how people operate in your area and make some friends!
@@darryldowney thanks; good idea
No. That is the easy USA course.
Just starting out. I have a few hand held Baofeng radios and took the practice test without studying. I got 52 so need to study lol.
That's a great start! A bit of studying and I'm sure you would be good to go! Is there a specific topic that you need to study?
DARRYL WHERE IS PART 4? Want to see what you're doing with it.
GOOD CALL! I'm Slacking. I do however have a big list of things I want to cover in the next video, and I promise, it will be better then the first 3 in the series!!
Great info, just getting into this.
Im doing my first online course how hard did u feel the course was ?
Thanks this is just what I needed🥊
@@Tobias_Kevorkazito you can do it!
very 'NEW' to the Amateur Radio Seen!!...if you 'Pass' the Test...do you have to 'Renew' every few years?...Cheers!
No, just have to make them aware of changes of address.
Three of us looking to take a course this fall on the east coast. Our local club is not holding courses anymore. They recommended RAC website for online training, although I am having no luck to find a online offering from RAC.
Hey Mark,
Have you had a chance to look in any Facebook groups? The class I just finished was based out of the Revelstoke in BC, but there were people from Alberta taking part as well. I found it via Facebook before I found anything on RAC.
This is the group I took the course with. I would suggest posting up interest in taking a course. facebook.com/groups/RevelstokeAmateurRadioCourses/?ref=share
Thanks for the link!
@@darryldowney We found one based out of Nova Scotia that runs online from August to October. Signing up tomorrow. If I missed a couple classes would it be difficult to catch up?
@@marklefresne5416I'm sure it's possible! Try and find out the material you missed and review it?
Is the exam in person or online ?
thanks for sharing this information!
Thanks for watching!
found them
Why do I need to study all this crap if all I want is to talk to my buddy nearby? Imagine having to study this just to use a cell phone.
We tell you what to do!! Now double your mask and go wait inline for your jab!
Mostly it's because of how valuable the frequencies amateur radio operators are allowed to operate on, they are worth billions $, if it isn't well protected and cared for they will lose it. Part of maintaining it is testing people who are allowed to operate on it.
@@petergarratt9645 Billions of dollars? Where did you pull that number from? I can buy a couple Baofeng's for $100 and talk to my buddy when I go off roading with him. What exactly costs billions of dollars here? Also, every frequency is silent, no one is even talking on them. It's not like there are too many people trying to use same frequency all at the same time, and within close proximity of us.
@@vitaminb4869 I know it sounds ridiculous lol, but once you start to understand how bandwidth works, and how much data is sent through the electromagnetic spectrum, and how those signals interfere with each other, and how there is only so much of it to go around and we all have to share it you realize how much huge corporations like Bell or Amazon would pay to own their own little slice of that spectrum, and amateur ham operators own a huge part of it - for next to nothing! The only price they pay for it is to be the responsible managers, caretakers, educators and police force of it.
Imagine a club that owned a piece of prime real estate in every country in the world, they didn't have to pay for it, all they had to do was take very good care of it. As a member of that club you could travel between those pieces of land and stay on that land and build houses on that land, reap all kinds of benefits. That would be a very exclusive club and they wouldn't let just anybody into it. Now imagine all you wanted to do was go to one of those pieces of prime real estate and pick one flower and not bother anyone and then leave. As the managers of that great gift would you allow a complete stranger in? How would you know you could trust that stranger? And if you were to allow people into that club and they start to misuse it - even if they didn't mean to and it was accidental - you could have it taken away. Sensible thing to do would be to develop a membership program, and to become a member you'd have to take a small course and be educated in how it works and how you can also care for it and help it grow.
I think it's pretty awesome, actually one of those things that makes me have hope for humans
P.S. If all you want to do is talk to a buddy nearby, ham operators have set a piece aside for you, it's gmrs/frs channel, you can buy simple little Motorola type radios and you're set
@@petergarratt9645 That's a fantasy world you're describing there.
"P.S. If all you want to do is talk to a buddy nearby, ham operators have set a piece aside for you, it's gmrs/frs channel, you can buy simple little Motorola type radios and you're set" - and what if I don't want to use that junk? Why should I be restricted to that garbage?