The National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) in collaboration with HAM Radio (HAM-INICA) and the Dominica State College (DSC) made an official presentation of HAM software to a number of schools.
The event took place at the Dominica State College’s auditorium on November 23rd.
Students of the different high schools, including the St. Marys Academy as well as members of the NTRC and HAM-INICA board, were present at the event.
The HAM radio, otherwise known as ‘Amateur Radio’, is a software/service that brings people together through communication, either across the island or across the Globe without the use of internet or cell phones.
Executive Director of the NTRC Craig Nesty, in an interview with Dominica News Online (DNO) outlined the purpose of the HAM software as it relates to effective and efficient communication.
“What we are trying to do is revitalize HAM-radio operations. The beauty about HAM- radio is that it can be built very simply using a battery and antenna. It makes communication a lot more resilient and a lot more robust,” he stated.
Nesty hopes to have the HAM- radio go nationwide where there is a creation of awareness for HAM-radio and for it to be introduced in various schools island wide.
“It is about a thousand hobbies in one, so you can do electronics, you can do basic communications, learn about a number of things and have fun,” he said.
Nesty highlighted one of the main goals of the software which is to raise awareness and “invite persons who are interested in the HAM-radio to know that there is an opportunity there.”
He hopes that after “going back to the drawing board”, in the next 5 or 6 years every school will have as part of their curriculum ‘HAM-radio operations.’
As a period of interaction with the HAM-radio program presentation, the students present were to make two-member teams and engage in a competition that required the use of the HAM software itself.
Anil Etienne, one of the students who participated in the competition, told DNO that the simulation exercise was “nothing new to me.” He said that the experience was great and is looking forward to participating in more.
“I was also quite impressed with my fellow competitors who were new to this type of communication and how they passed the information on time and accurately. I congratulate the NTRC for doing this activity and look forward to doing it again soon,” he said.
Official Amateur Radio operators all share the basic knowledge of technology and the principles that apply. A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license (known as ‘Amateur Bands’), is needed to operate on radio frequencies and can be acquired through completing an exam. These bands are radio frequencies allocated by the (FCC) used only by HAM-radio operators.
Cool, cool.
Is the Dominica Amateur Radio Club still up and running? To me their headquarters are in Canefield or somewhere close by.
I was wondering if HAM-INICA is another HAM group or another name for the Dominica Amateur Radio Club?
“A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license (known as ‘Amateur Bands’), is needed to operate on radio frequencies and can be acquired through completing an exam. These bands are radio frequencies allocated by the (FCC) used only by HAM-radio operators.”
DNO, this was lifted off the internet and should be corrected. FCC is the body in the USA which regulates amateur radio. NTRC is Dominica’s equivalent to the FCC and as such, a license from the NTRC is needed in Dominica.