Though she is a ham herself, Dhanashree shares the qualms of Zend’s wife. “Sometimes, our husbands are so inattentive!” she says. Nothing comes in Ankur’s way if he has to go on air. “Only Zend’s wife knows how to deal with this menace,” chuckles Dhanashree, glancing at Zend. Zend throws his hands up in the air and recounts an incident years ago when he tried going on air early morning. As he asked his wife to fetch the batteries for the device, she coolly walked in and dropped them into his morning cup of tea. Since then, Zend knows better “than to have two wives in the same home…”
If there is one thing that doesn’t bring a smile to the ham group’s face, it is the Indian licensing procedure. Unlike in the US, New Zealand and Japan, where obtaining a ham license takes a few days, the wait here stretches for over two years. Ruzbeh Raja, 24, whose fascination to control crowds over the walkie talkie in college attracted him to the ham radio, will soon appear for his examination. The topics include basic electronics, morse code, on-air etiquette and instructions to set up ham antennae and stations at site. “It is the background search and checking all credentials by the government that takes all the time. Ham radio frequencies have been exploited by terrorists in the past, we hear, and the ministry is very cautious. Moreover, it has cost the group only Rs110 for obtaining 5000 frequencies for three years. There’s not much scope for revenue generation for the government, so we are not surprised at the indefinite waits…” says Raja matter-of-factly.
Zend, however, believes that the wait is worth it. “I am better off knowing that no terrorist caused riots and bomb blasts in our country only because they got licenses without much ado.”
Zend also realises the onslaught of mobile communication on the ham radio. He remembers the charm associated with a ham when he was a child — smart, authoritative figures roaming around the city with devices in their hands. “There’s only one way to make ham radio more appealing to the people, by publicising it for what it exactly is — a helpful and exciting hobby,” he says. The group conducts and participates in fox hunts wherein transmitters (called foxes) are made to emit a ticking sound and hidden in an area for the ham to find it in the shortest span of time. The ham does this by checking the strength of the signal in his device. Zend organised a fox hunt in Lonavla, Pune and in Matheran — on horseback. The endeavour got the group featured in the Limca Book of Records in 2006.
“It is my own small world, the ham radio,”says Zend. “There’s passion, networking and a lot of philanthropy in it’s activities. We can help out even when all other channels fail, without expecting any reward…that makes a ham truly stand out,” says a proud Zend.
What is ham?
It is both a hobby and a service in which participants, called ‘hams,’ use radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs. Hams enjoy personal wireless communication with each other and can help out in emergency and disaster communications.
A typical ham radio is a wireless transmitter and a receiver, usually purchased as one unit, called a transceiver. Hand-held transceivers have their own antennas. Each ham is assigned a specific frequency by the government over which they can communicate, even internationally.
Radio ga ga
Among the well known hams are Sonia Gandhi, Amitabh Bachchan and Dayanidhi Maran.
Rajiv Gandhi was a ham operator and enjoyed assembling his own equipment during his career as a pilot. When he was prime minister, he reduced excise duties on components and sets, providing a boost to the hamming movement. Apparently, till a few hours before his assassination, he was ‘on air,’ making his last call from Visakhapatnam on May 21, 1991 in the midst of a hectic election tour.
In 2005, ISRO launched HAMSAT or VU2SAT, a micro satellite meant exclusively for the use of national as well as international amateur radio enthusiasts. The satellite has greatly helped their communication.
How to become a ham
Only licensed ham radio operators can get on the radio. To obtain a license one has to get through the Amateur Station Operator License Examination conducted by the Ministry of Communications.
Anyone above the age of 12, irrespective of educational qualifications, can apply for it. For details, you can get in touch with the Mumbai hams.
To become a member, write to info@mumbaihams.org
Six million people across the world are involved with ham radio. Office of Mumbai Amateur Radio Society: 9-B, ‘Giriraj’, 11, Altamount Road, Kemps Corner, Mumbai-26
Comments
