Want to become part of this great hobby!
All About the 2024 LARC Ham Radio License Course
This page contains information related to the London Amateur Radio Club's annual Ham Radio basic license course. If you need more details, or have questions on ham radio in general, please contact the club Education Coordinator:
Doug Elliott VA3DAE
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
phone or text: (519) 630-8925
The goal of this course is to enable you to become a licensed amateur radio operator (also known as a “ham”), so you can take part in the wonderful world of ham radio. The license that you will receive after writing the exam is issued by the Canadian federal government, and is yours for life, with no additional fees. Along with the license comes your personal call sign, such as VA3DAE, used to identify you on the air.
Our course is held every year in the fall, on Saturday mornings. It starts on the Saturday after Labour Day, and continues for 13 sessions, skipping over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. In 2024, the course will run from Saturday September 7 to SaturdayDecember 7 inclusive, and the schedule can be found below. The sessions run from 9AM until approximately noon, with breaks. They’re taught by an amazing group of seasoned instructors, most of whom have professional teaching experience as well as Ham radio expertise.
The total cost for the course is $125 which includes $50 for the official Coax Publications study guide, and $75 for the course registration. The registration includes one year membership in the club, and you are encouraged to take part in the various club activities to learn more about ham radio, and find out which areas of the hobby are of interest to you. If you wish to get the study guide in advance so you can look it over before the course, contact Doug Elliott. We keep them in stock, and can deliver them quickly.
The preferred payment method is to send an eTransfer to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Make sure you put your name in the notes section of the transfer. The course costs are:
$50 – study guide
$75 – course registration
$125 – study guide and registration
If your payment includes a study guide, you will be contacted via email to arrange a time and place for your study guide to be delivered (in the city of London). This usually happens within a couple of days of your payment.
In 2024, we will be doing the first 4 classes online, using Zoom, This is because The London International Airshow and other factors prevent us from using our classroom facilities which are near the airport, in September. The Zoom connection information will be emailed in advance to all registered students. For the rest of the classes, including the final exam, we’ll be in a comfortably classroom at the 427 Wing, at 2155 Crumlin Road, North of the airport. (There is no bus service to this area on weekends. If transportation is an issue for you, contact Doug – we may be able to arrange some ride sharing.)
In order to be successful in this course, you will need to:
- read the assigned chapters in the study guide before each class
- attend classes where the instructor with review, reinforce and demonstrate the material
- test yourself periodically to confirm you understand the topics you have studied
We try to accommodate students with disabilities and have had successful students with visual impairments and learning disabilities. We can do the final exam orally if needed. Please let us know if you would like any assistance.
The last session on December 7 will be the final exam rather than a class. The exam is administered by senior members of our club who are volunteer examiners accredited by the Canadian government. They're also instructors for the course.
The exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions, each with 4 possible answers, and there is no practical time limit. The pass mark is 70% but you really want to get 80%, which gets you the privileges to do international radio communications. There are websites that let you do practice exams for each chapter in the study guide, (http://nerdpit.ca/ham/coax-pubs-testing.html) and full practices exams as well. We recommend you do a lot of practice exams before you write the final exam for the course – it really helps. We will assist you with the paperwork required to submit the exam results and get your ham license and personal call sign from the government. This is usually complete within a week of writing the exam.
Course Registration Process
Once you have decided to join us in the course and work towards your ham radio license, these are the steps you need to take:
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Send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. confirming that you will be attending the course. This ensures you're on our email list, and acts as a double check in case anything goes wrong with the online registration process.
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Fill out the registration form at the following website:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-UmlNSx3nYoeOxXhwbFV1cj7nn4mX2XlMSWSd-RgMCQ
We will keep the information you provide confidential, and will not publish your contact information on any website. -
Submit your course fees. The cost for the course is $125, which is reduced to $75 if you already have a copy of the official study guide. The best way to pay is to do an online E-transfer to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .This is the quickest and most efficient method, but if you’re not set up for eTransfers, contact the Education Coordinator, and we’ll make alternate arrangements.
Once we receive your payment, you are officially registered, and will receive invitations to the Zoom meetings via email. -
You will need to get a copy of the official Coax Publications study guide, if you don't already have one. We have these guides in inventory and can provide them for $50, which includes delivery in the London area. If you pay $125 for the course registration, the study guide is included in that price. If you wish to purchase just a study guide, the procedure is similar to registration: you eTransfer $50 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , and when our Treasurer notifies me that the funds have arrived, I contact you to arrange delivery.
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You'll receive more emails from me, as the time of the course gets closer.
Frequently asked questions:
1) What are the prerequisites for getting a Ham License?
There aren't any prerequisites for getting a Canadian ham license: you can be any age (we’ve had successful students from 10 to 81), and don't need to be a Canadian citizen. You will generally need internet access and email for communications related to the course, and online Zoom classes require a reliable internet connection, preferably high-speed.
2) Will I have to learn Morse Code to get my license?
No, Morse Code is no longer a requirement. However, to compensate for this, the pass mark on the final multiple choice exam is 70% (80% if you want to do international radio work).
3) What happens if I have to miss a class?
Almost everyone misses one or two classes. All the material you will need to know for the exam is in the study guide, and your instructors will be glad to help you with anything you don’t understand. In addition, the publisher of the study guide has a website with self-test questions on every chapter in the guide, so you can check that you understand that chapter. If you get one wrong, it will direct you to the section of the guide that you need to re-read.
4) What if I’m not set up to do eTransfers?
Contact the Education Coordinator, Doug Elliott. We can make alternate arrangements.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions, and I hope to see you in the course!
- Doug Elliott VA3DAE
LARC Education Coordinator
email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The schedule for the course is just below. Note that some classes cover 2 chapters in the study guide, and that there’s no class on October 12, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Do you need an examiner to provide a test for your license, a list can be found here.
Register now for the upcoming basic course here.
Resources on getting your ham license are availalbe here.
