2nd Technical Seminar Year 2016 on Philippine Amateur Radio

Riyadh – IECEP KSA CRC held its 2nd Technical Seminar last 19th of February at the Orchid Al Mansour Hotel in Riyadh. This seminar is a part of IECEP’s campaign to offer its members top quality seminars to satisfy their professional development needs.

The seminar covered the official PARA Amateur Orientation Seminar/Course as outlined in the official Ham-book distributed to the attendees and was delivered by KSA CRC Director and veteran electronics and telecoms professional, Engr. Jandee “Jandz” Bonifacio, a Professional Electronics Engineer (PECE) and registered ASEAN Engineer, working as a Communications Engineer for ABTSS, a multinational telecoms and technology company based in Saudi Arabia.

The event began with the registration of attendees by IPP Perry Camson, Director Vinz Lao, SecGen Eman Flores and Treasurer Nelson Navarro. The technical seminar saw the attendance of nearly 50 participants from different fields of electronics engineering. The said seminar was a first of its kind in the history of IECEP in Saudi Arabia as it was also attended by an 11-year old kid, Hugh Matthew Yumul; the youngest child of chapter governor Noel Yumul.

2nd Technical Seminar Promotional Banner

The program officially began with a doxology from BOD Member Engr. Leo Vincent Lao followed shortly by the Philippine National Anthem and welcome address by chapter governor, Engr. Noel Yumul. Afterwards, VP-Internal Engr. Jonathan Tiston introduced the seminar resource speaker.

Engr. Bonifacio, the resource speaker, then opened his discussion of the subject matter starting with a video material showcasing Ham activities in the Philippines as well as in many other parts of the world. Engr. Bonifacio then engaged the audience with the historical origins and benefits gained from Amateur Radio and its emerging technologies. He further discussed the development of Ham radio and the many benefits it contributes to the society as a practical means of communication. Prominent Ham radio operators were also mentioned briefly such as King Juan Carlos of Spain (EA0JC) and Philippine Senator Tito Sotto (DU1VST)among many others, highlighting the wide audience reached by amateur radio operation. The discussion moved to Five Fundamental Purposes of Ham Radio, which is (1) Service to the public, (2) Advancing the radio art, (3) Advancing radio skills, (4) Training operators, and (5) Enhancing international goodwill. In continuation, this part of the seminar revolved around amateur relevance, amateur activities, basic amateur station models, digital amateur shack, and important ham contributions to technology. Amateur code of ethics, and simple amateur Q-codes and phonetics were also demonstrated to the audience.

As Engr. Jandee led the audience in the quest of becoming a licensed amateur operator, the seminar entered its second phase which is Element 2 of the official PARA ham course. This section mainly discussed radio rules and regulations as well as official policies based on state legislations. This was also the part where technical specifications of bands, frequencies, transmit power and radio equipment types are categorized depending on varying levels of application.

The increasingly engaging and lively discussion was shortly broken for a fill of refreshments and networking for the attendees and some announcements from the BODs on the up and coming events, activities, and programs of the new fiscal year for IECEP KSA CRC.

Resource speaker Engr. Jandee Bonifacio delivering the subject matter and engaging his audience

Engr. Jandee resumed his discussion on the third part of the day’s event covering Element 3 and Element 4 of the official Ham course mainly focusing on the Fundamentals of Electronics & Electricity and Amateur Radio Practice which are right up the alley of electronics engineers and technicians in attendance. The specifics of this part of the seminar dealt with the basics of electronics engineering, specifically, electronic principles and laws, electrical parameters and its units of measure, discrete circuit components and circuit models, fundamental of transmission among many other familiar topics. Engr. Bonifacio entered the final part of his discussion by presenting and familiarizing the attendees with sample questions that prospective examinees might encounter as they go along with the licensure exam. His discussion left the audience with a deeper understanding of amateur radio and the subsequent licensing process and gave electronics professionals, practitioners, and enthusiasts of all ages a clear glimpse of potential career and leisure opportunities that ham practice can offer.

A light moment during the awarding ceremonies with resource speaker Engr. Jandee Bonifacio and the seminar’s youngest attendee and future licensed ham operator, Hugh Matthew Yumul with proud father, Engr Noel and 2016 BOD looking on.

The final part of the technical seminar was followed by the usual awarding of certificates for both the attendees and the resource speaker. This part of the event involved countless picture taking and fellowship and networking opportunities to widen the reach of the electronics engineers and technician community in Saudi Arabia’s Central Region. This part was concluded by a commemorative group photo-op and an invitation to IECEP KSA CRCs upcoming technical seminars and activities.

The day ended with a blast and everyone went their ways with added value to their professional development goals as well as a keen sense of anticipation in being licensed as amateur radio operators and hobbyists.Resource Speaker Engr. Jandee Bonifacio flanked by IECEP KSA CRC President Engr. Noel Yumul and 2016 BOD as he receives his appreciation certificate

2ndTechnical Seminar Commemorative Group Photo