BARC Logo

Burlington Amateur Radio Club Inc

 
 Membership Activities Newsletter Technical About Us Contact Us Links & Info Swap Shops Emergency Groups Legislative
 

RAC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                      

 

Canadian Amateurs Operating Outside Canada

  
     
 
If you have a no code license you must read this information

 Operating outside Canada is governed by different rules depending on where you are, but in general persons holding only a Canadian Basic with Honours qualification, without any Morse Code qualification, may not operate HF on any mode in most countries outside Canada, including the US.
 		  
 
If you have
Basic with Honours
Basic plus Morse
Advanced with or without Morse
  • you may operate on HF in Canada and in international waters.

    Note that the Advanced certificate does not give you any new frequencies or modes over and above the Basic with Honours.

    What it gives you:
     
  • is a higher power limit (1000W instead of 250W),
  • the ability to use home-built and modified transmitters,
  • the ability to establish a repeater with input and output in the same band,
  • the ability to remotely control a fixed station, and
  • the authority to be the trustee for a club station.


If you have a Basic with Honours or an Advanced certificate, the Morse qualification gains you nothing additional inside Canada or in international waters, but it is still necessary for HF operation in most other countries under a reciprocal licence or agreement, including the USA and CEPT/IARP countries. An Advanced certificate without a Morse qualification is no different from a Basic with Honours in this regard.

It is the Morse qualification that makes the difference to use HF in most other countries.

 

 		 
 

International Waters

you have a Canadian amateur certificate...

You may operate in international waters (more than 12 miles offshore) with:

  • a VE0 call sign from Industry Canada, or
  • you may use your home call sign and identify as maritime mobile.

However, if you do not have HF privileges at home you cannot use HF in international waters either.

Regardless of which call sign you use, your operating privileges in international waters are the same as at home (subject to differences between ITU Regions 1, 2 and 3 - the permitted frequency ranges on 160m,  80m, 40m and on several VHF, UHF and microwave bands depend on what ITU Region you are in), and they depend on your operators certificate.

If you have Basic only, you may only operate on frequencies above 30 MHz in International waters.

 

  

USA, CEPT and IARP:

In the US and its territorial waters, including the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, you may use your Canadian call sign with the appropriate US suffix (e.g. VE3AK/W2 in New York or New Jersey) without any additional paperwork (provided you do not also hold a license from the FCC - see below under "Licensed in more than one Country?"). However, you must have a Morse code qualification to operate on HF (any mode) in the US. An operator with only a Canadian Basic with Honours qualification may not operate on HF in the US, its territories, or in US territorial waters.

You may operate under a CEPT permit in countries which accept such permits. There is a list at http://www.rac.ca/regulatory/cept.htm - in addition to most European countries, as well as South Africa and New Zealand, there are a few in the Americas, including the Netherlands Antilles, Peru, and French overseas territories such as St. Pierre & Miquelon, Guadeloupe, Martinique, etc., including their territorial waters.

Canadians holding Canadian amateur certificates can obtain a CEPT permit from RAC. However, there are two classes of CEPT permit. To operate on HF (any mode) under CEPT you need a CEPT Class 1 permit, and you must have a Morse Code qualification to get a Class 1 CEPT permit in Canada. An operator with only a Basic with Honours qualification can only get a CEPT Class 2 permit, which only allows them to operate on VHF and up.

Because of the CEPT rules, this applies even if the country you are operating in (e.g. the UK) no longer requires Morse code for a domestic HF licence.

In certain South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela), instead of a CEPT permit you must use an IARP permit (see http://www.rac.ca/regulatory/iarp.htm). Peru accepts both IARP and CEPT permits. IARP permits are also available from RAC, but the rules are the same as for CEPT - you may not operate on HF (any mode) under a Class 2 IARP permit, which is all you can get if you do not have a Morse qualification.

 
 
In all Other Countries

You must apply to the responsible authorities in that country before you can operate there. You may not operate in these countries with only a Canadian certificate or a CEPT or IARP permit. The operating privileges in these countries depend on the local administration.

Many countries have a reciprocal agreement with Canada, and it is possible for Canadians to get a licence in those countries using their Canadian operators certificate (there is a list of such countries at http://www.rac.ca/regulatory/country.htm). However, the authorities in many countries still require a Morse code qualification for an amateur radio licence. These authorities quite probably would not issue a reciprocal licence with HF privileges to a Canadian without a Morse qualification.  The only way to find out for sure would be to contact them directly.
  
 

Licensed in more than one Country?

Either as a result of a reciprocal agreement, or by virtue of having passed the amateur radio exam in another country, you may hold amateur radio licences from more than one country. However, if you hold a Canadian amateur radio certificate, when you are in Canada you must use the call sign given to you by Industry Canada, and your privileges are governed by your Canadian certificate. Likewise, if you hold a US FCC license, you may not use your Canadian call sign in the US; you must use your US call sign inside the US and its territories, and your operating privileges are governed by your FCC license, not by the reciprocal agreement. In other countries, consult with the local administration for the applicable rules.

  
     
  Update: May 23, 2006,  
Revised May 31, 2006
Contents may be used if credit is given to: Radio Amateurs of Canada and the Burlington Amateur Radio Club   		  
     
   Practice Your Code Link  
     
  Information courtesy of :
"Radio Amateurs of Canada"   
Privileges of RAC Membership 

 		  

 

 

 


Copyright: Burlington Amateur Radio Club Inc
Copyright: Ontario Hamfest Inc.

Web Administrator: Chuck Wilson, VE3IUO
barc@cogeco.ca