Apr 18, 2015

World Amateur Radio Day : Kerala Media Coverage!!!


World Amateur Radio Day : April 18th IARU Bulletin

On Saturday, April 18, radio amateurs worldwide will take to the airwaves to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) 2015. It was on April 18, 1925, that the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was founded in Paris, with ARRL Co-Founder Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW, as its first president. The primary purpose of World Amateur Radio Day is to highlight Amateur Radio and its benefits to countries and communities. The IARU said World Amateur Radio Day is an opportunity for IARU member-societies to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the public and make friends with other amateurs around the world. Special event stations will be on the air over the April 18-19 weekend to highlight World Amateur Radio Day and the IARU’s 90th anniversary.
“Since its founding, the IARU has worked tirelessly to defend and expand the frequency allocations for Amateur Radio,” the IARU said in marking World Amateur Radio Day. “Thanks to the support of enlightened administrations in every part of the globe, radio amateurs are now able to experiment and communicate in frequency bands strategically located throughout the radio spectrum.”
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has recognized the IARU as representing the interests of Amateur Radio. Amateur Radio is more popular than ever today, with more than 3 million enthusiasts around the world, the IARU has estimated. As 2015 also will mark the 150th anniversary of the ITU, the IARU has adopted the theme, “ITU & IARU: Celebrating 150 years of Advancing the Telecommunication Art” for World Amateur Radio Day 2015.
From 25 countries in 1925, the IARU has grown to include more than 160 member-societies in three regions. IARU Region 1 includes Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Asia. Region 2 covers the Americas, and Region 3 is comprised of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific island nations, and most of Asia.
“April 18 is the day for all of Amateur Radio to celebrate and tell the world about the science we can help teach, the community service we can provide, and the fun we have,” the IARU said.

HAM Repeater Coming up at Vijayawada : The Hindu Coverage

Ham radio operators in the region, who all set to celebrate the World HAM Radio Day on Saturday (April 18), have yet another reason to cheer up. A fully professional commercial HAM Radio repeater-cum-duplexer equipped with all other accessories is ready for installation atop the Gunadala Hill. An amateur radio repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak or low-level amateur radio signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation.

“At present, it has been put on testing mode by installing the antenna at a height of 100-feet from the ground level and it is working well. Once it is elevated to the hilltop at a height of around 750 feet, it will cater to the HAMs in and around Vijayawada,” says A. Ramesh Babu, VU2RDM, coordinator, Ham Radio Training Centre.

Mr. Ramesh Babu says the repeater will remain connected round the clock to EchoLink, a computer-based Amateur Radio system, which is distributed free of charge, that allows radio amateurs to communicate with other amateur radio operators using Voice over IP (VoIP) technology on the Internet . “This will pave the way for global communication, making it possible for those having valid HAM Radio license to opt for interlinking of their smart phones. Besides Krishna and Guntur districts, the new facility will cover most parts of West Godavari and Khammam districts and some parts of Ongole and East Godavari district,” he says.

The long-cherished dream is being fulfilled, thanks to the initiative of Chandana Kedarish VU2JME. Vijayawada is a big railway junction and HAMs passing through the city can try to trigger the repeater, he says, adding small, low-powered VHF handy is enough to trigger it.

In a world where iPhones enable Internet searches from any location with a good cell signal, communicating with a radio may seem a bit old fashioned. But a new generation of HAM radio operators is keeping the tradition alive by combining decades-old radio techniques with modern technology.

Apr 4, 2015

The upcoming Wouxun KGUV9D handie!!!

Looking like it will be a nice little radio , likely to be released this month globally , offcourse first should be available in China.

Freq.
76 – 108 Mhz (FM RX)
108 – 136 Mhz (Air Ground)
136 – 174 Mhz (FM RX/TX)
230 – 250 Mhz (FM RX)
350 – 400 Mhz (FM RX)
400 – 512 Mhz (FM RX/TX)
700 – 985 (FM RX)