FOREIGN OPERATORS

ANTRAK (Ankara Telsiz ve Radyo Amatörleri Kulübü Derneği or Ham Radio Operators Club of Ankara) is a ham radio club (Call sign: YM2KA (previously TA2KA)) which is open for everyone, but especially for radio amateurs and technologically minded people located in Ankara, Turkey.

ANTRAK was founded on July 31, 1985 by: Göktay Alpman TA2R, Nursun Akıncı TA2N, Ufuk Türkeri TA2AS, Ünver Ungan, Esin Ungan, Suha Aktar TA2G, Fazıl Erdim, and İlker Tirben

A little bit about radio history in Turkey:
In Turkey, amateur radio operations were banned until late 1980’s, but a dedicated group of enthusiasts kept on with their hobbies. Raids by the police and Gendarmerie were not uncommon for many years before but in 1983, Turkey’s legislature caught up with the world and made amateur radio operations legal. Along with the Citizen Band craze, amateur radio started to flourish as well and finally legal organizations were founded.
The first two organizations were TRAC and ANTRAK. TRAC is an organization country-wide but ANTRAK is strictly local to Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. Although it is created by Ankara’s own amateurs, it has an agenda to help everyone who are interested in amateur radio and electronics.

ANTRAK published a monthly on-line magazine ANTRAK Gazette or ANTRAK Gazetesi for years – which you may find the articles in our Blog pages.

ANTRAK also publishes the one and only Amateur Radio Guide written in Turkish, mainly to help others to pass the amateur radio examinations in Turkey. It contains sample test questions and basics of electronics and has helped many to gain their first licenses.

As ANTRAK was founded right after the passing of amateur radio law in Turkey, around 1984, and we had the chance to witness many “firsts” in the history of ANTRAK. Some of them are:

  • The first Ham radio club station TA2KA
  • The first web published Gazette on Ham Radio in Turkey – ANTRAK Gazetesi
  • The first and only ham radio exam preparation guides prepared for Turkish Hams
  • The first AMPR Internet Gateway in Turkey with Middle East Technical University
  • The first to build packet radio modems and establish Packet Radio stations (300/1200 baud)
  • The first digipeater built in Turkey
  • First phone patch operation experiments
  • First position in CW at a LIONS contest
  • First and only digital repeaters established in Ankara and Turkey (NXDN)
  • First repeater control board using PIC
  • First Amateur Radio Club who built a multi-story club building built by Hams just for amateur radio operators
  • First TV program prepared with Turkish Radio and Television Agency on Amateur Radio
  • First tandem repeater system – linking two repeaters to each other
  • First Weather station with lightning detector in Turkey
  • and many more which we are proud of.

Join us in Ankara. Everyone is welcome to contact us about their ham radio questions and ham operations in Turkey.

Repeaters in Ankara:

We have three active repeaters in Ankara (R2, R7 and R94), please check for details: ANTRAK Repeaters in Ankara

Our club is located here: ANTRAK Station Address

For more information about operating in Turkey and the legislation, please visit: http://www.btk.gov.tr/en-US/

 

ANTRAK is a non-profit organization under Turkish law.