RRL trainees complete Amateur Radio course

The Rainbow Radio League Inc. (RRL) last Friday wrapped up a training course for 37 persons who are interested in becoming Amateur Radio operators and who will be willing to assist with emergency communications (Emcoms) if the need arises locally or regionally.{{more}}

The five-day course ran from July 26 – 30, at NEMO HQ at Old Montrose.

The five-day course covered areas including the band plan for radio amateurs in the HF VHF and UHF bands, the phonetic alphabet, calculating the wavelength for any given frequency, how to connect and operate DC equipment as well as some practical sessions including the construction of an 80 Meter dipole, which was tested the same day with excellent results.

The course also included radio etiquette and operational procedures, as amateur radio (also known as Ham radio) is a self regulating body, therefore it is incumbent on all Hams to be au fait with the regulations.

According to the course director, Donald De Riggs, each successful trainee will become a ‘frequency police’ and must be able to observe and enforce the regulations as the penalties for breaking the telecommunications regulations are heavy. He went on to say that the course had targeted only 25 persons but he was pleasantly surprised that over thirty persons turned up for the training, an indication that the ‘ham radio fever’ is catching on in SVG.

The training also included a mini field exercise in which participants were able to test the antenna they made as well as getting a feel of what emergency communications first responders (EFR’s) have to do in a real situation. The RRL also took the opportunity to test some new radios and repeater received through funding from CIDA.

On completion of the course of theory and practice, all participants were given a 25-question multiple choice test, with the pass mark being 80%. Of the 37 trainees, 33 achieved the required pass mark with the lowest mark being 65%. The test invigilator was Kyron Duncan from the NTRC. On completion of the test, Duncan welcomed the prospective Novice/Technician class radio amateurs and reminded them of their responsibility to ensure that no unauthorized persons use the radio frequencies allocated to amateur radio.

Persons and agencies benefiting from this training include staff of the SVG Port Authority, Police Telecoms, the Civil Service, Cadets, electricians, farmers, teachers, sea captains and IT technicians, among others.

The RRL wishes to take this opportunity to thank NEMO for making their facilities available for this training session and all other persons who provided and assisted in preparing the snacks for the participants.