ATTENTION AMATEUR RADIO CANDIDATES Page updated 17/11/2024
CCARC TRAINING AND EXAM INFORMATION
The next License Assessment day (for all levels) is by appointment.
Foundation Training Days are set as needed (details on the CCARC Calendar).
ASSESSOR: Karen
Amateur Radio Examinations are conducted and assessed in accordance with the Assessor Guidelines, policies or procedures published by the ACMA and any written instruction given to the candidate by the ACMA.
All CCARC training and examinations are conducted at:
The Central Coast Amateur Radio Clubrooms
4 Dandaloo Street, Kariong NSW 2250
CCARC Members: Free (all training and exams)
CCARC Non-Members: $20 venue fee
Non-members please fill in the CCARC membership form at the Club and bring $20 cash or pay via Eftpos on the day. Alternatively, you can pay direct debit. Details provided upon request.
Before an amateur radio examination can take place you must
- Contact Karen at education@ccarc.org.au and arrange for an examination date & time
- Email the following information to education@ccarc.org.au
- the attendee’s name,
- the attendee’s residential address,
- the attendee’s email address and phone number
This information is only used with regards to assessments/examinations and by the ACMA in accordance with the Radiocommunications Accreditation (Amateur Radio Examinations) Rules 2023.
There are three types of qualification for amateur radio and these are called ACMA recognition certificates.
- Foundation is the basic level and is considered as the entry level for amateur radio in Australia.
- Standard requires an intermediate knowledge of amateur Radiocommunications.
- Advanced requires a complex knowledge of amateur Radiocommunications.
Here is a summary the transmission powers for the different levels. You will notice that the higher levels allow for more operating privileges, which is a reflection of the difficulty of the subject matter.
The Amateur Foundation Station
10 watts pX maximum transmitter output power
The Amateur Standard Station
100 watts pX if the station uses emission mode J3E or R3E, in any other case- 30 watts pY
The Amateur Advanced Station
Ranging from
- 1 watt pX EIRP for the LF band up to
- 400 watts pX if the station uses emission mode C3F, J3E or R3E
- In any other case, 120 watts pY on MF, HF and higher bands
Legend
- pX
- means peak envelope power
- pY
- means mean power
- EIRP
- in relation to to a radiocommunications device, means the Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power of the device
- Emission Modes
- The first symbol defines the type of modulation of the main carrier
- The second symbol defines the nature of the signal(s) modulating the carrier
- The third symbol defines the type of information to be transmitted.
- J3E
- Single sideband, suppressed carrier
- A single channel containing analogue information
- Telephony (voice communication) (including sound broadcasting)
- R3E
- Single sideband, reduced or variable level carrier
- A single channel containing analogue information
- Telephony (voice communication) (including sound broadcasting)
Full details of operating privileges, conditions, permitted frequencies and limits on operation are in the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Amateur Licence) Determination 2015 & Radiocommunications (Amateur Stations) Class Licence 2023
The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) Australia’s Amateur Radio National Body and is a valuable source of information. For example; https://www.wia.org.au go to the tab at the top (furthest right) called ‘home’ and search for ‘Band Plans’. This will bring up a comprehensive documents on the ‘Australian Amateur Band Plans’.
The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) are also producing Educational Material for clubs and we are looking forward to the additional support with information and training material. You can learn more about becoming a Radio Operator at https://www.wia-education.com.au/
There is an abundance of learning resources available for amateur radio both online and in print. A popular Manual for the Foundation level is the ‘Foundation Licence Manual – Your Entry into Amateur Radio’ fourth edition edited by Phil Wait and published by the Wireless Institute of Australia.
More information on qualification to operate amateur radio can be found on the ACMA website https://www.acma.gov.au/qualifications-operate-amateur-radio
Please read the ‘How to get a qualification’ section https://www.acma.gov.au/qualifications-operate-amateur-radio
There is a syllabus for each qualification, which can be downloaded from https://www.acma.gov.au/amateur-radio-resources#documents
These syllabi outline the topics you need to learn and will be examined on and also contain exam information.
The amateur radio licence has recently become a ‘Class Licence’ which has no annual fee. The amateur class licence outlines conditions on the operation of the amateur foundation, standard or advanced station and also specifies the frequency bands.
In conclusion, you must be appropriately qualified to operate an amateur radio and operate under a licence, contact Karen at the CCARC for Foundation Training and exams as the first step in becoming an amateur radio operator.
COMPLETED FOUNDATION TRAINING & AR EXAM DAYS
- 23rd & 24th November, 2019
- 18th /19th January, 2020
- 22nd /23rd February, 2020 (WFD20)
- 22nd May, 2020 (Remote assessment)
- 16th August, 2020
- 29th /30th August, 2020
- 4th September, 2020 (Remote assessment)
- 21st /22nd November, 2020
- 27th /28th March, 2021
- 29th /30th May, 2021 (‘MAYHAM 2021’ previously called The Wyong Field Day)
- 20th November, 2021
- 12th / 13th February, 2022
- 30th April 2022
- 1st May 2022
- 17/18 June 2023
- 17 Aug 2024
- 16 Nov 2024