Recently a Ham Radio Course was held at Ohako Marae sponsored by the Amateur Radio Emergency Communication “AREC” . AREC is the public service arm of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) formed by members who are individually licensed amateur radio operators required to meet standards set by Radio Spectrum Management, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
The course is an intensive 2-day programme that covers radio operational governance and technical learnings.
Students who successfully completed the programme gained a lifelong radio license and a free handheld radio. Three whanau from the Marae successfully completed the course and exam.
AREC spoke to the Marae about setting up a Windlink radio system at the Marae.
The advantage of this is during major events where we can lose internet and power, as we did with Cyclone Gabrielle, Windlink allows the Marae to maintain email contact with loved ones in Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas to keep them advised of our status.
Windlink can only be operated by a licensed radio personnel, hence why the course was undertaken by the Marae and the Manutuke Civil Defense team.
There are plans for the course to be run again in the future.
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