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Hamstrung by no hurdles
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HAM is not just a hobby, but it also makes the operators often act as good Samaritans, particularly in hours of natural calamities, medical and other emergencies.
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"VU2SHL SIERRA, wx, QSM, QSB, VU2BVM, Roger, 73, over". If you hear such messages often from your next door, don't go panic, presuming that your neighbour is running an illegal wireless service. He may be a licensed HAM operator.
The HAM is a globally recognised amateur radio system. It is the most adventurous and scientific hobby of many, which is also said to be a training ground for electronic engineers.
HAM operators are present world over and in Madurai also, there are close to 100 licensed operators, of which only 10 are active.
But how to become a HAM operator? In the city, the Chamber of Amateur Radio of Madurai (CHARM) renders free training. Later, the candidates should pass an examination conducted, by the International Monitoring Station, Chennai. The examination, which is also conducted at Madurai, will be on basic electronics, rules and regulations of HAM and sending and receiving morsecode. On successful completion, they will be awarded a licence to operate amateur radio by the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing of the Union Ministry of Communication after due verification by the police. This is divided into five levels: (a) Advanced Grade (b) Grade I (c) Grade II (d) Restricted Grade and (e) Short Wave Listener (SWL) licence. The minimum age to appear for this examination is that the person (male/female) should have completed 12 years of age for Grade II and Restricted Grade, 14 years for Grade I and those below 18 years should produce a bonafide certificate from their respective institutions. "The successful candidates will be given a call sign along with the area code. For instance, the area code for India is VU2 and VU3", says Prof. V.T. Sadasivan (VU2VQL), founder-president of the CHARM.
The fee for holding the licence is Rs.100 for five years for a Grade I operator and Rs.60 for five years for a Grade II licence-holder, according to him.
HAM is not just a hobby, but it also makes the operators often act as good Samaritans, particularly in hours of natural calamities, medical and other emergencies. The very name, HAM — Help Another Man — also implies the same. A few instances of this kind are the Bhopal gas tragedy, Latur quake, Quilon train accident, Orissa super cyclone, Bhuj quake, etc.
"But passing on third party messages and using the system for business promotion, propaganda of politics, religion, etc., are strictly banned", says Venkatraman (VU2BVM), another HAM operator in Madurai, adding, "before starting our regular conversation on a net, messages on various emergency requirements will be aired. This will also contain details about the weather of every area".
There is a special code language to converse in amateur radio. "These operators cannot sneak into any frequency as there are prescribed ranges of frequency in megahertz", points out Mr. Venkatraman.
Regarding reach, he says, "no place on earth is inaccessible to HAM. Of late, I regularly get messages from an operator in Tel Aviv (Israel) and Hokaido (Japan)".
"Even if we are not able to reach the areas in case of emergencies, the messages will be passed through another operator, who is located nearby", he explains.
"There is also a directory containing callsigns of all amateur radio operators of India and a website qrz.com can also be accessed for more details", says Mr. Venkatraman.
About the instruments, Sadasivan says, "it will cost Rs.15000 to 30,000 if purchased commercially. But you can also make your own instruments, which may hardly cost Rs.1000 for a low budget or short distance operator. For operating in the 7 MHZ, the gadget may cost Rs.4000 and to increase the MHZ to get wider reach it will cost further. Another means to get these equipment at a cheaper price is to buy those disposed of by the defence services".
"We, at CHARM, also give free training in maintenance of the equipment. Classes are conducted every Sunday at the Sourashtra Boys Higher Secondary School, Kamaraj Salai", he says.
The VHF transreceiver or handy, as they call it, can also be used for mobile communication.
"The uplink to far off places from Madurai, and many parts of south India, is provided by the repeater service at Kodaikanal, the biggest in Asia", claims Krishnakumar (VU3NKK), a HAM operator of Coimbatore.
Among our other activities, Mr. Sadasivan and Mr. Venkatraman say, "the CHARM regularly conducts get-together programmes of all HAM operators, taking part in HAM operators conclaves across the country and participating in HAM sports like fox hunt, etc."
So, folks, this is a chance for you to have a different hobby simultaneously serving the society, if you wish to become a HAM operator.
For further information, contact: Sadasivan at 2311180/98431-81567 and Venkatraman at 2384435.
M.R.ARAVINDAN
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