Fethiye now has its own club for for Hobby Amateur Radio enthusiasts or “HAMs” as they are more commonly known.

The new club has members from Turkey and the UK whom live locally. The club is called FARAD, Fethiye Radio Amateurs Club, kindly supported by “Fethiye Belediyesi”.

We asked few questions to one of the members of the club.

Why are you guys HAMS?

Amateur Radio, sometimes known as Ham Radio, is both a hobby and a service that uses various types of radio equipment allowing communication with other radio amateurs for the purpose of self-training, recreation and public service.

What interested you in it?

Most of the HAMs are interested in electronic communications via radio waves, some just happen to chatter on the air, some are sailors whom (used to) have only HF communications when they were sailing round the world.

Why have you chosen Fethiye to set up the group?

Fethiye is not a special choice, we just happen to live in Fethiye as any other locations round the world do have similar clubs.

Though, Fethiye has foreign (mainly British) settlers so FARAD is an international gathering in some ways. Plus, lately there is a demand for “Radio Amateur Training” from different sports organizations in Fethiye as well as AKUT, The Turkish Search & Rescue Association.

How far can your transmissions be heard / responded too?

Even “Sky is NOT the limit” as a HAM I can contact round the globe, to ISS or even bounce radio signals from moon in order to contact somewhere else on the Earth.

Do the mountains in the area cause a problem with radio signals?

Pros & Cons. Is not as easy as Western Europe but has its own specialities, like Baba Mountain; 2,000metres just next to the sea offers great opportunities for some VHF/UHF DX’ing ( DX’ing is trying to reach longer distance with less & less power).

How do the communications service works in simple terms and which events have you recently supported?

Communications service is HAMs doing a voluntary job as radio users with their own equipment or with club equipment where conventional communications is not available or feasible.

As we are a newly formed group our first one will be the LYCIAN CHALLENGE event in mountains and coast of Fethiye.

But as a RAYNET member in West Kent Raynet , I have been in several events like marathons, moonlight walks, cycling races and even gave Kent Ambulance a 36Hr support in 2008, when they had the communications blackout.

How much does one need to spend to get in on the hobby - radio costs?

Starts as cheap as just getting online at home to study, but a very basic starters hand held radio will cost about £35 used or £90 new.

Then “Sky is the Limit” as in any other hobby, though an average home station will cost between £500 to £1,500.

Do you need a licence?

Yes you do. Different levels, different licences.

A “Foundation Licence” in the UK and “Class C licence” in Turkey is the beginning of it.

It doesn’t cost much other than a week’s evening reading and a day with a HAM to practice.

How can interested people get in touch?

With the forming of the FARAD, Fethiye Radio Amateurs Association we will be meeting monthly in the Fire Department building in Fethiye and will likely to have our club website, but at the moment anyone interested can contact me, Engin, personally: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you to FARAD for the interview.