Radio Course
The Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club offers an amateur radio course each year for those wishing to acquire a government qualification to operate an amateur radio station.
Objectives:
The course will enable students to pass the theory examinations for radio amateurs as prescribed by Industry Canada. Some students may also be able to pass the Advanced level qualification. The objective of the course is to teach a basic understanding of the principles of radio communication as a basis for further individual study of the science. The course will include also practical sessions on hardware project construction.
Course length:
The course length is about 20 weeks, Tuesdays 19:00 – 22:00 for formal lectures on theory and several Thursday evenings for practical sessions and on-air practice. The course includes the Industry Canada examination.
Course content:
The course provides instruction on electrical and radio theory, radio regulations, and practical sessions. The course covers the complete syllabus prescribed by Industry Canada for the Basic Qualification. No technical background is required to take this course, but those having a technical or engineering background will enjoy the course. The course begins with an understanding of the fundamentals of electrical charge and magnetism. It develops and builds on these concepts to ultimately bring about an appreciation of the nature and properties of high frequency electrical currents and how to use them for radio communication. Amateur radio use of the internet will be discussed. As stated, the objective of the course is to develop a basic understanding of the science of radio rather than to memorize the necessary answers to pass the Industry Canada examination. The course also develops a knowledge of the practical aspects of assembling and operating an amateur radio station. There should be opportunity for practical operating experience at an amateur radio station during the course. The final area of study is the regulations governing the operation of amateur radio stations. A thorough knowledge of these regulations, which are published in Radio Information Circulars (RIC) by the Department of Industry, is mandatory.
Instruction:
The course is team taught by people who are active radio amateurs and experienced teachers. The course uses an instruction manual written specifically for this course by Doug Carswell,VE3ATY. It is supplemented by special notes pertaining to specific subjects.
Course Fees:
The instructors give their time without remuneration. The course fee is $400, which covers the cost of the manual and other printed material handed out and basic project components needed for the Thursday evening building sessions. Licensed amateurs wishing to participate in the Thursday evening project building sessions may do so for a fee of $100. All wishing to purchase the components for the “extended experience” may do so for an additional fee of $40.00 For a detailed description of the building projects, please see the addendum below.
Successful course candidates will receive a year's membership to Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), and to the OVMRC to the end of the following June.
Who Should Attend:
Students may be of any age. We have had students from 14 to 70 years in age.
Five of 13 graduates in 1997 were women.
Students can have virtually any background.
Ocean sailors find this course very useful. Once beyond sight of land HF radio is about the only means of communication from a small vessel.
Retired people find Amateur Radio an interesting retirement hobby.
Hunters operating beyond the range of cell phones find amateur radio a useful facility in case of emergencies or for communication among themselves in the field.
The course is demanding of time, one evening each week plus an evening of manual reading as well as the second evening practical sessions. Anyone following full time studies should consider carefully whether taking this course will impinge adversely on success in their other studies.
Registration:
Course registration will be at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology,
Addendum:
The initial project will be the fabrication of a coaxial jumper cable, something every radio amateur needs to set up a station. This will give practice in assembling connectors to coaxial cable.
The main project will be “PicAXE” microprocessor tutorials and build sessions. The PicAXE system consists of quite a few models ranging in price from $3 - $20 depending upon the age of the model and the number of facilities available on that model. The PicAXE 20X2 has been chosen for this project. It is a newer model with almost all the possible features, selling for about $4.73.
The software and manuals for the BASIC language Programming Editor for a PC or MAC is available for free on the internet, is very good and even includes a simulator (PC version). The resulting programs can be loaded onto the PicAXE by a very simple interface, $6.25 if your computer has a serial port. As serial ports are getting rare on newer PCs, there is a USB programmer available for $23.05.
Programming in PicAXE BASIC is quite simple, fun to learn, and fairly easy to use, and ultimately for producing useful control applications of quite a substantial size and complexity.
A PCB board meant for the PicAXE 20M model has been chosen, but is well suited for the 20X2 as well, and is available with some very useful components included for $5.99. In addition a power source (3 AA cells in a holder), an off-on switch, 3 push button switches, an LED, a resistor array, and a piezo sounder are needed for this project. This provides enough parts to experiment with interfacing the PicAXE to a variety of devices. These parts are all contained in the minimum kit being recommended for the course and are included in the course fee.
There is some soldering required in assembly, but solder, soldering irons, small tools, hook-up wire and a USB programmer will be available for student use during the “build sessions” with guidance.
To extend the PicAXE experience, a couple of other items are recommended – specifically a prototyping plug board, jumper wires, and machine pins as well as a few more LEDs and a USB programmer and a temperature sensor, real time clock or other device. The cost of these extras will be about $40.00.
The classroom sessions will include lectures by Bob Shaw, VE3SUY, and help getting software installed on your computer (particularly laptops), and an introduction to various commands needed for a good selection of programs such as blinking an LED in response to a pushbutton, making some sounds, looping, testing inputs, measuring voltages etc. This will allow the student to interface to various other items of hardware including small motors, solenoids, relays, etc. The PicAXE, however, is a limited system and falls far short of a PC in its programming possibilities, but certainly is most useful for economically controlling simple or complex electronic or mechanical systems, monitoring and logging voltages, various activities including time-stamping events, and responding such data back to a PC. There are some good tutorials on interfacing available on the internet and these will be included.
A complex program will be provided to run on the PicAXE which tutors students learning Morse code (which provides not only a very low cost way of communicating between the PicAXE and the user, but is a common requirement for simple low power HF high frequency radio communications).
Included will be a an explanation of the Morse code subroutines used in the above program, and which can be used by students when writing more complex programs they may develop and hopefully share.
It is hoped that a fair number or participants will use the Morse Tutor program and gain some proficiency in sending and receiving Morse code, and that the students will gain an appreciation of micro controller capabilities and programming techniques.
The graduates of the 1997/98 OVMRC Amateur Radiocourse together with three of their instructors.
1999 OVMRC Amateur Radio Graduates and Instructors
(L to R) Instructors: Ed Morgan, VE3GX; Jim Wright, VE3WYO; Bob Kavanagh, VE3OSZ; Bob Shaw, VE3SUY; and Brice Wightman, VE3EDR. Student/grads: Rockie Palmer, VE3ZKE; Georges St-Laurent (no call sign yet); Bill Hall, VA3WMH; Lyne Maisonneuve, VE3ASO; Mohammad Tanabian, VA3MMT; Nick Donnelly, VA3NJD; Elizabeth Duncan, VE3MAX; Mojdeh Ghodousi, VA3MGH; Warren Chafe, VA3CFG; Howard Lesiuk, VE3HLE; Aquila Daigle, VE3KJJ; Patrick Tunney, VA3CMD
2011 Graduates: From left to right: Ernie VE3EJJ (Instructor), Jean VE3JNE, Guylene VA3GLN, Darin VE3OIJ (Instructor, behind Bill), Bill VE3LJG, Kirk VA3DRG, Ken VA3NEK and James VE3BUX (absent from the photo: Adrian VA3ZWB and Ean VE3AVQ)
ACCREDITED EXAMINERS:
The club has one official Accredited Examiner for the Amateur Radio Course:
Ernie Jury, VE3EJJ
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please get in touch with the following club executive about the next course schedule or any other questions regarding this course:
Ernie Jury, VE3EJJ (Amateur Radio Training Chairman)
Telephone: 613-728-3666
E-Mail: es282@freenet.carleton.ca
Bob Shaw, VE3SUY
Telephone: 613-288-8136,
E-mail: ve3suy@gmail.com