Ham radio special tool in promoting global friendship'

Ham or Amateur Radio has become a unique tool in promoting global friendship, noted Indian Institute of Hams (Bengaluru) Director S Sathyapal.

Addressing a group of students as a part of HAM awareness programme to empower youth in technical hobby and disaster management at St Aloysius College here on Friday, he said that there are thousands of Hams who are enthusiastic about Ham Radio and use various methods to communicate with their counterparts around the world.

“Groups, individuals/students and educational institutions are striving to acquire radio technology as they are eager to improve their skill over a wide spectrum of Ham frequencies,” he observed.

Stating that any citizen of India above 12 years can take up an examination conducted by Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, he said those who qualify
the exam would get Ham License with a fee of Rs 1,000 for 20 years and Rs 2,000 for life time.

The syllabus comprises basic electronics, operating procedures, radio rules and regulations and diploma / BE graduates who have studied electronics as one of the subject are exempted from basic electronics.

Ruing that the population of Hams in India is only 25,000 as against Japan which has more than 25 lakh, Sathyapal said just like any other medium, there are restrictions for Hams while using the facility.

“Hams can’t talk against religion, can’t discuss politics or make business transactions, can’t use indecent language, can’t carry third party messages and subject that pose threat to integrity of the country,” the director Sathyapal informed.

Sathyapal provided information on the possibilities of making own receivers and transmitters, software defined radio (SDR) and antennas etc. Computer and smart phones too can be converted into a transceiver and communicate to Hams across the globe, he said.

“The beauty of Ham is that it can be a ray of hope during natural disasters and when all modes of vital communication fails,” he said.

He also demonstrated the use of walkie-talkie as well as Ham Radio and spoke to other Ham users in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai.