Ham radio enthusiasts of 3 nations meet to promote people-to-people connect across regions

The meet is aimed at boosting the ham radio movement in North and Eastern India and the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan

Santiniketan: A two-day conference to revive the ham radio movement with a special focus on the technical aspects of amateur radio and to boost people-to-people relations across regions opened in Santiniketan on Saturday.

It brought together 170 delegates from different parts of India, Bangladesh and the US, who will take part in various sessions like amateur radio application procedures, high-frequency radio and digital radio.

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“Ham radio is a hobby that refuses to die because it has reinvented itself with new technology. It is also the second line of communication during natural disasters like floods, cyclones and earthquakes,” said Neelkantha Chatterjee, founder-convenor of Oscar India, a Kolkata-based body that organised the conference.

“But since the ham radio movement cuts across regions, there is a great potential to use it for boosting people-to-people relations between countries,” Chatterjee told PTI.

Officials said the government has taken several steps to promote the ham radio movement.

“Getting ham radio licenses has become easy, the certification process has got simpler under the present government,” said Sachin Kumar, assistant wireless adviser in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which is supporting the Oscar Amateur Radio Convention.

Organisers said the conference is aimed at boosting the ham radio movement in North and Eastern India and the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

Ham radio involves the use of the amateur radio frequency spectrum by amateurs for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communications.

“This means that the aspiring hams (ham radio operators) prepare for a relatively simple exam conducted by the Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing of the Ministry of Telecommunication and acquire a licence which gives them a unique call sign,” said Chatterjee.

This call sign reveals the nationality, licence class and a two or three alphabet combination which is unique to the user. Thus, if a call sign reads VU2YYE, it means that the amateur radio operator is from India, since the prefix VU is assigned to India (like all Indian aeroplanes start with VT). The numerical 2 indicates that the ham holds a General licence. Finally, the letters YYE are unique to the licence holder.

Having acquired the callsign, the new ham thereafter proceeds to either build or buy the equipment and ‘get on air’ meaning that he or she starts transmitting on the ham radio frequency which is globally common with minor variations and contacting other hams worldwide and speaking to them.

In August, the WPC had issued a special call sign 3CY for amateur radio operators to be used by valid license holders as a suffix during their communications with others across the globe to spread India’s Chandrayaan-3 success story.

“The conversation generally weaves around the hobby, the equipment being used, the weather, the promotion of each other’s country and so on. It generally steers clear of politics, religion and other potentially controversial topics,” said ham activist Oishee Rajbongshi.

“We have found this conference so useful because the speakers brought home to us new dimensions to do ham radio with new technology,” said Zubayar Al Billal Khan, an engineer and a ham radio enthusiast from Bangladesh.

Several school and college students are also participating in the two-day conference.

The conference will focus on the technical aspects of amateur radio while providing ample opportunities for attendees to connect and socialise.