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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!alberta!sask!hardie
From: hardie@sask.UUCP (Peter Hardie)
Newsgroups: net.ham-radio
Subject: Re: other countries & no-code
Message-ID: <75@sask.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 12-Aug-84 21:26:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: sask.75
Posted: Sun Aug 12 21:26:58 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 14-Aug-84 00:37:33 EDT
References: <12318@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Organization: U of Saskatchewan, Canada
Lines: 36

Canada has three amateur licenses: amateur, advanced amateur and digital.
The amateur exam consists of a multiple choice exam on regulations,
a written theory exam and 10wpm code test.
This gives you access to all bands but only morse code is permitted on HF.
(There are a couple of endorsements you can get on your license but they
aren't important here)
The advanced amateur exam has a multiple choice regulations test (again),
a harder, written theory test and 15wpm morse code test.
This gives you access to all bands and all modes except pulse modulation.
The digital exam consists of the same regulations and written theory as
the advanced amateur exam, but the code test is replaced by a further written
exam on digital techniques.
If you already have the advanced license then you only need to take the written
digital part and this also gives you pulse modulation
on top of everything else. 
If you only have the digital license then it gives you all permitted modes
on all bands from 2 meters and up.
	I have all three licenses. The digital license seems to focus on 
packet radio theory and VHF/UHF propagation and although the math is quite
simple you have to know what you are doing to answer the questions on
packet radio throughput. The digital license certainly was not as popular as
the DOC probably hoped. For what it is worth, my opinion is that 
studying for a reasonable technical exam takes as much effort as learning the
code and therefore anyone too lazy to do one is also too lazy to do the other.
I do NOT believe that the digital exam requires a B.Sc. to be able
to pass it ... it is just as technical as the advanced exam but the focus is on
digital techniques instead of analogue.
	The DOC has recently issued a notice in Part I of the Canada Gazette
that it intends to change the amateur licensing system. If anyone has details
of what they are up to I'd like to hear from you. My guess is that they will
do away with the digital license and perhaps make our system similar to the
British one with class A and B licenses. They may even change the written exams
to multiple choice.

Pete Hardie  VE5BEL
MAIL via ihnp4!sask!hardie