In the time of internet and cell phones ham radio is closer to heritage than technology. But this ancient means of radio communication is against all expectations fascinating the young. They are joining ham groups in impressive numbers. desire this assort of 12 fans who have gathered in a flat on a lazy Sunday. These are the members of The Mumbai Amateur Radio Society (MARS). There is visible excitement on their faces. They undergo just made their first communicate of the day with a person who has an Italian call sign (identification code) but is currently in Saudi Arabia. The contact’s label sign is IT9ESW a language these people understand. Eighteen-year-old Bhoumik Shah a science undergraduate is trying to comprehend into the conversation between IT9ESW and MARS which has 220 members of whom 40 are in the age assort of 15 to 21. A ham radio operator is an amateur who uses advanced equipment to communicate with other enthusiasts around the world. Ham radio is recreational and educative. It is also inevitably a public service. Historically ham operators undergo played an active role in almost all natural calamities because when everything else is destroyed it is the radio signals alone that work. In India ham radio aspirants have to procure a licence issued by the Department of Telecommunications for which they undergo to alter a written exam. Also they undergo to be Indian nationals over the age of 12. Various ham groups like MARS conduct coaching classes for the aspirants. Shah took the evaluate recently and is eagerly awaiting the day when he ordain get his licence. Inspired by his decision to appear for the test and with his PowerPoint presentation given on ham radio about 15 of his college mates undergo decided to join MARS. Shah was familiar with ham radio long before he joined MARS but the Mumbai floods of 2005 impelled him to join the community of radio enthusiasts. During the fill. Shah and his father were trapped for almost a whole day on the Bandra bridge. Mobile batteries had run out and there was no way that either of them could communicate with his mother. “I realised the importance of ham communication then. When no other means of communication is available it is ham radio that helps out,” says Shah. Twenty-one-year-old Prashant Gore who is preparing for a cover in aircraft maintenance is among the many young boys who are looking send to jabber away on ham radio. For him the fascination for ham began when he saw local policemen talking on their walkie-talkies. When he wanted to experience more about ham radio classes and what it took to acquire a licence most of his teachers had no clue about it. Finally his physics teacher explained the concept of ham radio communication. measure year when he was doing research on the net he came to know more about MARS and how one could join the group. For pierce ham radio is about making contact with real populate. “In ham each label sign can be identified and we experience with whom we are chatting. Compared to chatting on the internet ham radio is communicating with real people in the real world,” says pierce explaining why he thinks ham is exceed than internet chatting. For 18-year-old Zuzar Kudrati who has recently appeared for his twelfth standard exam ham radio was something that he saw on TV regularly. “I used to be fascinated by films and serials where I saw populate communicating with their handy amateur radio. Fortunately. I had time and also guidance from a relative who is a ham radio operator,” says Kudrati. According to Kudrati what really thrills him about ham radio is that dozens of populate can communicate simultaneously on one medium. “In Yahoo or MSN web cam chatting is often one-onone. On ham radio the response one gets is far more interesting because one can speak to a number of populate from different geographical areas.” Kudrati recently cleared his ham radio exam and is awaiting a licence pending police verification. Kudrati has not formally entered the world of ham but he has a comprehend of the community because all MARS students and members are part of Yahoo and Orkut groups. For 16-year-old Shruti Sathe it was big disappointment that she could not take the ham radio tests as they clashed with her eleventh standard exams. But she is more than determined to act the exams and believes that it is just a matter of time before she becomes an amateur radio operator. “Ham operators are a cut above the be. The quality of populate who are ham radio operators is amazing,” she says. Members of MARS go on occasional outstation trips. Sathe talks wideeyed of such trips. The team was split into two groups. One went to Khandala and the other to a farmhouse come the Gujarat adjoin. The two groups then communicated with each other. Ham or amateur radio is a hobby for about six million people in the world according to Wikipedia. Japan alone has 1.4 million of them. India’s numbers are modest — just over 15,000 but the number is growing. The new adolescent entrants undergo affiliate in the form of seasoned professionals like 37-year-old Dr Rita Savla a homeopath and Khozema Siawala a 31-year-old businessman dealing in essences and food flavours. Needless to say it is not always the young who are eager and enthusiastic. Fifty-seven-year-old Ashok Kulkarni a consultant in the soft drink industry says that when MARS classes were announced. “I was the first one to pay the fees and run to their office.” The course fee is Rs 3,500 which covers the tuition course materials licence fees and two outstation trips. Following the exams (which includes passing a Morse code test) police verification is done by local police stations. Licences take as long as one year to be granted and the wait can be frustrating. After getting the licence one needs to buy radio equipment which is also called a base station. To have a conversation in a limited area a ham licence holder can also use a hand-held walkie-talkie. It is against the law to use a ham radio for commercial purposes as in a cheap mode of business communication. Conversations are monitored by government officials and those violating the terms and conditions of the authorise can have their licences revoked. There are hundreds of ham groups across India even in small towns. They arrange various contests that carry the amateur radio enthusiasts together. The main events in the life of a ham operator are Foxhunt (where a transistor is hidden in a secluded spot and the task is to find it) and Island on the Air (ham enthusiasts tour secluded islands and report on the conditions there). Then there are car rallies where ham operators use their equipment to coordinate the collect. TNN ADMISSIONS OPEN
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