IBOTA PADANG TEMU 2026 RECORDS OVER 900 INTERNATIONAL CALLS

MELAKA, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- The CQ DX Beaches On The Air (iBOTA) programme held at Padang Temu here recorded 909 international calls and connections with 16 Malaysian stations.

Organised by Jalur Selatan Amateur Radio (JASRA) in collaboration with DXPortable Club from Pekan Baru, Indonesia, the programme ran from Jan 6 and concluded at midnight yesterday. CQ refers to a general call for long-distance contacts, while DX denotes distance communication.

iBOTA Padang Temu 2026 operator Sapuan Samion said the programme received calls from two stations in Thailand and one station each from Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and several other countries.

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He said the programme served as a practical training platform for amateur radio operators while strengthening international ties through on-air exchanges with overseas operators.

“This is among the regular activities of amateur radio enthusiasts, particularly from Melaka and Johor, to test high-frequency (HF) radio equipment performance and assess local signal propagation,” he said in a statement today.

Sapuan said fluctuating HF signal conditions, particularly during daytime hours, affected long-distance communications, resulting in most international contacts being made at night.

He said iBOTA Padang Temu 2026 utilised HF frequencies, including 7.075 megahertz (MHz) for the FT8 digital mode, as well as 14.148, 7.150, 7.140 and 7.135 MHz.

Equipment used included a Yaesu FT-450 HF radio, an End Feed Half Wave EFHW-8010 antenna, a Diamond GSV300 34A power supply and a 2.8-kilowatt petrol-powered generator.

Among the operators involved were Davidcy Dave from Pekan Baru, Indonesia, JASRA deputy president Mustafa Bahari and Ibrahim Yusuf.

-- BERNAMA