Amateur Radio Certification Exams

Prof. David Michelson, VA7DM, holds Amateur, Digital, and Advanced Amateur radio certificates. He is an ISED accedited examiner for amateur radio and works with the IEEE Student Branch at UBC to support both the university and general community by holding amateur examination sessions throughout the year. Please contact him at david.michelson@ubc.ca to arrange for an exam.

General Background

The amateur radio service is a radiocommunication service in which radio apparatus are used for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication or technical investigation by individuals who are interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest.

Many Student Design Teams in the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC use Amateur Radio (or would benefit from using Amateur Radio) in pursuit of their team objectives. Examples include the UBC Orbit satellite design team, the Unmanned Aerial Systems student design team, and the Solar powered vehicle student design team. Other students use Amateur Radio to pursue projects of personal interest.

The following links provide helpful background information for those preparing for a certification exam.

Recommended Steps

It's best to work with a partner or colleague as you prepare to write the certification exam.

The materials presented here represent the bare minimum. Pointers to more detailed study guides and both in-person and online courses, can be found at Radio Amateurs of Canada - Amateur Radio Course Study Guides.

Step 1:

Survey (using SQ3R) the overview material at:

ISED -> Broadcasting and Telecommunications Regulations -> Spectrum Management and Telecommunications -> Spectrum Allocation -> Amateur Radio Service

Amateur Radio Service
http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/smt-gst.nsf/en/h_sf01709e.html

Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/h_sf01678.html

Annotated RIC-7
by Donn Hilton and François Daigneault. Although it is a little dated, it is still mostly relevant and quite useful.

During the first pass, separate the material into three categories:

1. things you know well

2. things of which you are aware but need to learn more

3. things that are completely unfamiliar

During successive passes , your goal is to transform items from Category 3 into Category 2 and from Category 2 into Category 1.

Use the ISED documents (Steps 1 and 2), the EMO Lessons (Step 3), Wikipedia or Google to look up unfamiliar terms.

Step 2:

Read and Review (using SQ3R) the following documents from ISED:

RIC-1 - Guide for Examiners Accredited to Conduct Examinations for Amateur Radio Operator Certificates
Issue 7, March 2022

RIC-3 - Information on the Amateur Radio Service
Issue 5, March 2022

Basic Qualification Question Bank for Amateur Radio Operator Certificate Examinations
Issue 3, December 11, 2021

Advanced Qualification Question Bank for Amateur Radio Operator Certificate Examinations
December 17, 2019

RIC-9 - Call Sign Policy and Special Event Prefixes
Issue 2 (Provisional), October 2005

RBR-3 - Technical Requirements Respecting Identification of Radio Stations
September 2007

RBR-4 - Standards for the Operation of Radio Stations in the Amateur Radio Service
Issue 2, January 2014

These documents contain facts and figures. You need to commit them to memory, and, if possible, appreciate the intent and context.

Step 3:

The basic certificate exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions drawn from ISED's RIC-7. The questions focus on eight subject areas: 1) Regulations and Policies, 2) Operating and Procedures, 3) Station, Assembly, practice and Safety, 4) Circuit Components, 5) Basic Electronics and Theory, 6) Feedlines and Antenna Systems, 7) Radio Wave Propagation, 8) Interference and Suppression.

Review (using SQ3R ) the following materials produced by the Ontario EMO (Emergency Measures Organization). Although they are a little dated, they are still mostly relevant and quite useful.

Lesson # 1 - Regulations and Policies (based largely on the ISED documents)

Lesson # 2 - Operating and Procedures (based largely on the ISED documents)

Lesson # 3 - Block Diagrams Definitions & Safety

Lesson # 4 - Circuit Components

Lesson # 5 - Basic Electronics & Theory

Lesson # 6a - Antennas

Lesson # 6b - Feed Lines

Lesson # 7 - Radio Wave Propagation

Lesson # 8 - Interference

During the first pass, separate the material into three categories:

1. things you know well

2. things of which you are aware but need to learn more

3. things that are completely unfamiliar

During successive passes , your goal is to transform items from Category 3 into Category 2 and from Category 2 into Category 1.

Use the ISED documents (Steps 1 and 2), the EMO Lessons (Step 3), Wikipedia or Google to look up unfamiliar terms.

Step 4:

Study the following external document in detail:

Annotated RIC-7
by Donn Hilton and François Daigneault. Although it is a little dated, it is still mostly relevant and quite useful.

Use the EMO Lessons (Step 2), the Industry Canada documents (Steps 1 and 3), Wikipedia or Google to look up unfamiliar terms, or ask one of the Project TAs or Prof. Michelson for help.

Step 5:

When you believe that you have a solid grasp of the material, obtain the exam generator software from:

ExHAMiner V2.5 (2014 04)

Be certain to download at least one Question Bank from the above page and deposit in the same folder as the program. If you are preparing for the advancedd qualification, be sure to download the essential schematics (2014 09) from the same page.

  • Basic Qualification - English (2020 02)
  • Advanced Qualification - English (2014 09)

Once you are doing well with ExHAMiner, take a practice exam generated by the:

ISED Amateur Radio Exam Generator
http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/smt-gst.nsf/en/h_sf05378e.html

When you are getting >80% every time, then you are ready for the real test.

Step 6:

Write the Basic or Advanced Exam.

For more information, please contact Prof. Dave Michelson, VA7DM, david.michelson@ubc.ca.

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

UBC Radio Science Lab
2356 Main Mall, Room 4034,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Tel: 604.822.3544
Fax: 604.822.5949
E-mail: david.michelson@ubc.ca

Emergency Procedures | Accessibility | Contact UBC | © Copyright The University of British Columbia