The amateur radio walkie-talkie is one of the most effective communication tools, especially during floods and other disasters when power is down and connections are cut off.
“We want to create awareness on this communication tool and its usefulness. It is the last frontier when other communications are down,” said club vice-president Liew Chung Haw during his visit to The Star Kuching office yesterday.
The collaboration between the club and The Star is also part of the promotional effort for the “All Borneo Hamfest 2012” which will be hosted by the club in Kuching.
The Star is the official paper for the biennial event which enters its seventh edition. It expects to attract 500 amateur radio operators or hams as they are commonly know from around the region.
The last event was held in Brunei where hams from as far as Jakarta came together to share their knowledge on ham radio.
Liew said the club currently has about 200 members, who paid RM15 registration fees and a yearly fee to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission .
The club, set up in 1992, was called the Amateur Radio Club Kuching with only a few members. In 1999, with approval from members, the name was changed to Amateur Radio Club Sarawak to include members from other divisions.
It has about 100 members in Kuching, 30 in Miri, and 10 in Sibu with the rest from other divisions.
The club has an extensive network among its existing members which enables them to communicate round-the-clock at no charge.
It also assists members to contact relevant departments for search and rescue operations in case of an emergency.
Source : The Star 09 Februari 2011