Canada: Basic Amateur Radio Course

As the incidence of disasters and emergencies of all types and causes increases, so does the need for emergency agencies to provide help in stricken areas.  Major emergencies can strike anywhere, anytime, without warning. 

Often, existing means of communications, be they landline telephone, cellular phone or wireless radio links, become unusable because they are overloaded or simply no longer exist.  They get overloaded when too many persons try at the same time to dial for help or to check on a friend or family member in a disaster area.  They can become non-existent when wires and towers topple and electrical supplies fail, due to acts of nature or terrorism. 

When emergency agencies are required in a zone of disaster, their regular means of communications can be affected by the same disruptive causes as others.  That creates a need for a supplemental or back-up communications system, one that comes complete with equipment and trained operators who are licenced by the Canadian government, all at no cost to the public or the agency involved.  In fact, these men and women are volunteers, members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) sponsored and operated by Radio Amateurs of Canada.

Amateur Radio is in need of persons who recognize how crucial our back-up service is to those agencies that respond in times of emergency and to the members of the public we serve.  If you have not yet obtained your Amateur Radio Operator Certificate, you are strongly urged to do so in order that you, too, may become a trained emergency radio operator.  Courtesy Radio Amateurs of Canada

 
(updated July 23 2009)

The following series of Power Point Presentations (8 modules, 386 slides) has been prepared by the Toronto Emergency Communications (EmComm) Groupas an aide to train interested volunteers in becoming Amateur Radio Operators. This course is offered free of charge to all Radio Clubs, ARES Groups, and individuals in the interest of public safety and community service.

The Toronto Emergency Communications Group's mission is to develop and maintain the leadership and organizational structure necessary to provide auxiliary volunteer radio communications support to Emergency Management Ontario and the City of Toronto Office of Emergency Management when additional or specialized communications are required by the Emergency Operations Centre to support public safety or humanitarian needs.

Go to:    http://www.emergencyradio.ca/course/

This training course is a project in work and module contributors are welcomed & encouraged. If you would like to help refine or add content to any of the modules please submit presentations to: jim.taylor@emergencyradio.ca for review and inclusion, thank you. 

Toronto EmComm Training Team

Jim Taylor VA3KU, Dean Cassar VA3SUG, Ted Cowie VE3AAP, Joe Cusimano VE3OV
Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia