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During the Blue Mountains Club Radio Net on 3.543 Tuesday, Ted Popham VK2EZQ came up from Vanuatu.

Ted and his partner Sue regularly sail in their yacht to that part of the world and for several years have been assisting the people on Aneityum Island in the far south of Vanuatu, (at about 20deg14min south 169deg40E)

Aneityum Island has giant Kauri trees, over 80 species of orchid, and a lagoon for snorkelling and windsurfing - a veritable tropical paradise..

Like most Islands it has communication difficulties and HF radio is an important element of keeping the community operating.

The about 1250 people on the Island have a low level of financial resources and the infrastructure is very underdeveloped by our standards, There is no Electricity system.

The Medical Clinic radio has failed and it is uncertain when it can be repaired. Ted has asked if a suitable replacement radio could be obtained through the good offices of the amateur radio community.

The Clinic has been established since 1948 and has a nurse practitioner only. There is a doctor and hospital at Tanna island which is about 45 Nautical Miles away highlighting one of the major problems in Vanuatu i.e. transportation and communication among over 80 inhabited islands. The HF radio is used to talk to the other health professionals on Tanna island.

There is a telephone on Aneityum but the closest one is 10 minutes walk away from the clinic and costs about 40 cents Australian per minute to talk. In addition the telephone is very unreliable and over the past 3 years it has failed for 2 or 3 months in any one year.

The current HF radio is a Codan 8525 of 25 years old which has failed. Frequencies used are 3Meg, 5Meg, 6Meg and 8Meg. A suitable radio would be a wide band 12V mobile rig of 50 Watts at least.

This would fill the gap with expert guidance from vk2ezq until the Codan can be replaced or repaired via the official [but very slow] channels.

Ken Fuller VK4KF has undertaken to search for a suitable radio and make arrangements for it to be sent to the Island. Any help with finding a suitable radio would be appreciated. Ken can be contacted using vk4KF@wia.org.au or via his QTH as per the call book

Source: Wireless Institute of Australia