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Hams to the rescue
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Forty-odd hams operators in the city render invaluable help in the wake of natural disasters
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Photo: K.V. Srinivasan
"GOOD EVENING All Stations, this is VU2JAW. I will be your net controller this evening for the Trivandrum VHF Net..." Every evening at 9.30 p.m., an amateur radio (ham radio) operator manning a small radio station in Thiruvananthapuram comes on air with this signature broadcast. Soon, other hams join him on the air.
On December 26, all these enthusiasts were put on `red alert' following the tsunami that battered South Asia. Anxious relatives from all over Kerala called in with requests to locate those working in the affected areas.
Missing relatives
"Many people wanted information about people working in Male. From Thursday, we have a new ham in Male called Ali. We are constantly in touch with him. He was able to pass on information about a Satheesh from Palakkad whose relatives had contacted us. Ali told us that the people on Fonodu island in Male, where Satheesh was working, had been evacuated."
As many of the BSNL towers in the affected areas have been damaged, these radio operators keep the communication lines open. They have members all across Kerala and Tamil Nadu. "Since Wednesday we have a ham operator in Velankanni who is helping scores of families," says Sanil Kumar, one of the ham enthusiasts in the city.
The daily radio conference session of the Trivandrum VHF Net is like logging into an Internet chat room. The net controller is the moderator, says a city ham. The Trivandrum VHF Net is an exclusive discussion forum for 40-odd ham enthusiasts in the district. Members are forbidden from discussing political, religious and commercial matters on the VHF Net. The radio conference is mostly about ham equipment, maintenance of radio sets and developments in broadcast technology. Sometimes, the conversation meanders to personal and social issues, says a member.
Amateur Radio is an international hobby that has several veteran practitioners in Thiruvananthapuram. Jayaraman, former professor of the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, Umadathan, former Principal of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, and Krishnankutty are among the senior HAM radio operators in the city.
Amateur radio society
In the city, amateur radio related activity revolves around the Trivandrum Amateur Radio Society (TARS). Established in 1973, TARS members meet twice every month. They are responsible for coordinating amateur radio activity in their area. The hams in Kochi and Kollam have their own amateur radio societies. The TARS has a VHF Repeater for enhancing the range of radio communication. The repeater serves most hams in the city and is also accessible to operators in Kollam, Varkala and Kochi. In emergency situations such as natural disasters and accidents, hams put their skills and radio equipment at the disposal of rescue workers and Government agencies.
TARS was instrumental in setting up a wireless link between Kerala and Gujarat in the wake of the Gujarat earthquake that killed hundreds and rendered thousands homeless in 2001. Hundreds of Malayalis were among those affected by the earthquake.
The TARS was called upon to set up a radio communication facility at the Government Control Room in the Secretariat. By communicating with hams and other agencies in Gujarat, the TARS could get accurate and up-to-date information on the Malayali population in Gujurat. The TARS is currently engaged in popularising HAM radio as a hobby. The society helps new comers obtain the license for becoming an amateur radio operator. For more details, the TARS could be contacted at info@tarsindia.org {lt}mailto:info@tarsindia.org{gt} or the TARS website at http://www.tarsindia.org.
SUNISH SUGATHAN
Photo: K.V. Srinivasan
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Madurai
Mangalore
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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