April 22, 2025

This Week in Amateur Radio

North America's Premiere Amateur Radio News Magazine

New Zealand

The hobbyists who could save your life (New Zealand)

If the big one hits, and comms are taken out, these guys are ready to go. The internet’s down, the cellular networks are down, the landlines, the whole lot’s gone. In those moments, it will be an analogue world, and this unlikely crew of hobbyists have the equipment and knowhow to make it work.

They can drive to the top of the nearest hill, plug in their radios and start relaying information. They can save lives.

They are, says Hamilton Amateur Radio Club member Colin McEwen, the silent few. “We don’t make a song and dance about it. But we are those guys with this funny hobby that is doing all this sort of thing.”

“We hope we don’t ever have the big emergencies,” says fellow club member Russell Richardson. “But we’re all pretty good at being able to swing into action.”

Read more – stuff.co.nz: https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/130695835/the-hobbyists-who-could-save-your-life