Welcome
Our callsigns are VE6SUM/VE6XJ and VA6SUM/VA6YL. In Canada, anyone who has held an amateur radio license for five years is eligible to purchase another call sign. Additional callsigns may be two letter rather than three letter.
VE6SUM
I first took a ham radio class back in 1985, but we relocated to another city, before the course was finished.
I signed up for classes again in 1989, but then the company that I worked for closed its doors, and we had to move elsewhere.
At last, in 1992, I took the test, which required Morse code at 5 wpm back then, and passed. I received a Basic license which gave privileges for 80 metres and below.
I was grandfathered to full license privileges a few years later, when the Morse code requirement was no longer required.
VA6SUM
I took a 12 week course in 2006 and passed with a mark of 98%.
A mark of 80% is required to receive a Basic license - full licensing privileges - while a mark of 70% to 80% gives one access to 2 metres.
There is also an Advanced Certificate available, but Basic is all the average person needs.
I was over 50 when I took the course, and I found that it took a lot of work to get the old brain in gear to actually start learning again...it probably took six weeks before I began to really learn the material.
Should you be *thinking* about taking a course, whether ham radio or something else, and if you are not sure that you can do it, because you are older, or have been out of school for a long time - try it! You can succeed!
This Site
This site contains information on the Saturday Night Tailgater's Swap Net, which may be heard in most areas of the province of Alberta, a list of other nets, both HF, UHF and VHF, and a list of links of interest to amateur radio operators. Photos of the ham shack are here.
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