Updated Policy on Amateur Radio and Examinations

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On 22nd March 2022, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) released updated versions of two important amateur radio policy documents

They are:

Both documents were updated to reflect the changes made to the Radiocommunication Regulations, specifically the rescinded ISED $20 examination fee for Amateur Radio Operator Certificates and the removal of certificates that are no longer issued by ISED. Other revisions include “editorial corrections for clarity” and the conversion to electronic format of the form to apply to become an Accredited Examiner.

Comments and suggestions may be directed to the following address:

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Spectrum Management Operations Branch
235 Queen Street Ottawa ON K1A 0H5

Amateur radio in Canada became license exempt on April 1, 2000. A call sign when issued lasts for 125 years from the holders date of birth at which point it can be re-assigned.

The full text of the Radiocommunication Regulations - https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-96-484/FullText.html

Military intruders in Ham Radio Bands

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IARU Monitoring System (IARUMS) Region 1 newsletter reports during March, likely as a consequence of the current military situation, they noticed an increase of transmissions in unknown modes in HF amateur radio bands

In many cases, their most probably function was to act as jammers (signals intentionally transmitted over other transmissions in order to disrupt or nullify their reception).

We also received on several occasions a signal whose possible function, given its behaviour (transmission of short but powerful bursts jumping in an organised and repetitive way along the radio spectrum), could be to act as an ionosonde (radar used to examine the ionosphere in order to determine the optimum frequency for the transmission of signals in HF bands).

Also, military modes that we had not observed for long time, such as the Russian digital mode T-230-1A, also known as "Mahovik" were copied.

The International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring System (IARUMS) Region 1 March 2022 newsletter -
https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IARUMS-R1-Newsletter-2022-03.pdf

MSF Signals Closed for Maintenance

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A scheduled annual maintenance shutdown of the MSF 60kHz Radio Time Signal service is planned.

It will allow safe working on the masts and antennas.

The service will be off-air from 0700 to 1700UTC each day between 4 to 21 April 2022.

The transmission will be restored overnight whenever possible.

A radio-controlled clock will not be able to pick up the MSF signal during these periods, so may drift off from the correct time.