This is the fifth edition of Hamstudy Basic published by Radio Amateurs of Canada. This online course is intended to help you prepare for the examination for the Basic Qualification. Earning your Basic Qualification is the essential first step into the varied world of Amateur Radio.
Why a new edition?
The fifth edition of Hamstudy Basic was written to match recent changes to the Basic Question Bank. The new Basic Question Bank has been used for all Basic exams since 15 July 2025. Since the last update in 2013, over 80% of the questions have been changed. This was on the recommendation of the Examination Standards Committee (ESC) of the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC). The ESC of RAC is a Canada-wide group of examiners and instructors, who volunteered to improve the standards for Amateur Radio exams in Canada and to bring the questions up to date with current technology and practices. For information on the 2025 update to the Basic exam, please see https://www.rac.ca/esc_cne/
About the exam
The Basic examination is a 100-question multiple-choice test. Each of the 100 questions is drawn from 100 topic areas. There are a maximum of eleven possible questions in each of these 100 topic areas. On your exam, you will get one question from each of these 100 topic areas, but which one of the eleven possible questions is truly random.
Each question has one correct answer and three incorrect answers or “distractors.” The order of the correct and incorrect answers is randomized. In total, there are 984 questions in the Basic Question Bank. That means there are 984 correct answers, and 2,952 incorrect answers.
The questions are grouped in eight categories:
- Regulations and policies: 25 questions
- Operating and procedures: 9 questions
- Station assembly, practice and safety: 21 questions
- Circuit components: 6 questions
- Basic electronics and theory: 13 questions
- Feedlines and antenna systems: 13 questions
- Radio wave propagation: 8 questions
- Interference and suppression: 5 questions
Basic privileges, including “Honours”
If you get 70 to 79 correct answers, you will earn your “Basic Certificate of Proficiency in Amateur Radio” and you will be assigned a call sign (for example: VE3RAC) that will identify you as the operator. With the Basic qualification, you will enjoy extensive privileges, but only on those frequencies above 30 MHz that are allocated to Amateur Radio in Canada. Propagation on frequencies above 30 MHz tends towards shorter distances, but there is much excitement there.
If you get 80 or more correct answers, you will earn your “Basic with Honours” certificate. This earns you privileges on all frequencies allocated to Amateur Radio, including those below 30 MHz. The bands below 30 MHz are where we have the most reliable, long-distance propagation and regular world-wide communications.
Another way to earn those privileges below 30 MHz is to pass the Basic exam and pass the optional Morse Code exam.
Whether you have a “Basic,” “Basic with Honours,” or “Basic with Morse Code” qualification, you will have access to an amazing variety of experiences. You will join over 75,000 Canadians and over two million people around the world who have earned the privilege of exploring the art of science of radio communication through Amateur Radio.
Advanced privileges
Basic Amateurs do have some limits on their privileges. Some of these include limitations on transmitter power, restrictions on building or modifying your own transmitter, and you may not be able to obtain operating permission when visiting some other countries. There are a few other limitations.
Once you have earned your Basic qualification at any level, you must pass the exam for the Advanced qualification to enjoy all Amateur privileges. The Advanced exam is a 50-question exam focused on radio electronics at a more challenging level than the Basic.
Taking your exam(s)
Finding an examiner is easy: there are over 300 Canadian Radio Amateurs whom ISED has “Accredited” to conduct the Basic, Advanced and Morse Code exam. You can find them on ISED website at: https://apc-cap.ic.gc.ca/pls/apc_anon/query_examiner_amat$.startup. Many examiners will conduct exams over the internet using one of the many videoconference platforms. So, if you live in an area with no Accredited Examiners (AEs), you can still take the exam if you have suitable internet access.
Clubs
There are Amateur Radio clubs right across Canada. These can be great places for new Radio Amateurs to learn more and connect with other enthusiasts. This is not just a technical avocation, it is a social one, too. Amateurs form clubs to share knowledge and to band together in service of their communities. Join a local club. You have something to offer, and you have much to gain.
Good luck with your studies, and welcome to Amateur Radio.
73,
Dave Goodwin VE3KG