I passed my Canadian basic amateur radio test Saturday. The test
took about an hour via remote video session with a local examiner, I
guess the new normal now since in-person group testing is on hold.
He sent my results by email to the federal office responsible for
new licensees, along with my choice of call signs. It was active in
their database that evening. My examiner told me the person who
inputs most of the new licenses works from home now - it's
interesting that before our global pandemic I don't think I would
have been able to get my license so quickly, on a weekend no less. I
still have to wait for a paper license in the mail, but since my
call sign is active in the federal database, I can use it
immediately.
The test itself was not difficult, but I studied pretty solidly for
two weeks and took lots of practice tests beforehand (I highly
recommend hamstudy.org). I got a 93% - which is 'with honours' and
allows me access to all amateur frequencies under 30MHz (HF
frequencies). I don't really have any interest in chatting on local
repeaters, but since I have HF privileges, I'll be setting up an HF
station and playing with digital modes. I'd also like to learn morse
code.