Learning Amateur Radio in Canada
Learning
There are various clubs in Canada that can teach you amateur radio, see Clubs/Canada for more details.
If you want to learn by yourself, there isn't many online resources, so most people go through books or training. The right book to buy to learn everything you need is Canadian Amateur Radio Basic Qualification Study Guide, which is at its 8th edition and is a great read that covers everything you need to know to confidently start with ham.
Reading through the whole question bank (available as part of the ExHAMiner software which allows you to test yourself (windows only), is also a good way to understand the subtelties behind the tricky questions of the exam. The NSARC also has a PDF version on their courses page.
Examination
To pass the exam, you need to find an examiner in your neighborhood and meet with them to find a time and place to do the exam. The exam is 100 multiple choice questions and can take up to two hours. You need to hit the 70% mark to pass the exam, 80% to have "honors" that give you access to HF bands. On top of the callsign database documented in the callsign databases page, there's the indicatif.ca site that also has a search engine.
The license itself is free, but the examiner may charge a fee for the exam.
External links
- Emergencyradio.ca course - PDF slides that are a good preparation for the exam
- eham.net - always a good reference for hardware reviews, they also have a quick introduction for basic operation, bands, call signs and propagation that gives you a good rough idea of where to go
- hamtestonline.com - not totally free, but you can test your skills there and get basic knowledge through the site. has canadian and US exams