The Borneo Bulletin reports on the successful 2020 Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) held in October at the Belait District Scout Association
The newspaper story by Daniel Lim says:
While the world has advanced with the use of technology, with mobile phones being a commodity for finding one’s location and staying connected with friends and family, it is important to learn where these technologies have evolved from.
Short- and long-range radio communications are precursors to the current technology that everyone relies on and takes for granted today, with the knowledge of these decade-old technologies is slowly on the decline.
The JOTA-JOTI or ‘Jamboree on the Air-Jamboree on the Internet’, the largest digital scout event, held by scouts across the world including the Belait District Scout Association (PPDB) every October, serves as a platform for scout members to learn to use short- and long-range radios.
I had the opportunity to attend the event in the Belait District where young scout members get a taste of operating the radio under a skilled radio operator’s supervision. The skills showcased comprise commonly-used lingo and codes widely associated with radio communication.
This includes Q-code, which is a standardised collection of three-letter codes that serves as a signal to others on the radio frequency; as well as ICAO phonetic alphabet, where letters of the alphabet are assigned respective code words which the scout members were able to make full use to spell out their names in phonetic alphabet.
PPDB committee member Siti Rosmahwardey binti Rosli said the activities help young scout members learn how information is passed through the use of codes and lingo while also helping them to build their confidence in communication skills.
"Alhamdulillah, I did not expect such a positive response from the young scout members, to be so happy to learn how to use an amateur radio.”
Mohd Ranie bin Abdullah, one of the amateur radio instructors at the PPDB who goes under the Radio Operator code of V85RBA, highlighted the aspects and skills required to communicate using radio transmission.
