Chennai HAM/VHF Enthusiasts Forum

10TH HAM EYE BALL MEET (MAHABS MEET ) @ MAHABALIPURAM,CHENNAI

2012-01-20T23:47:00.000-08:00

We are glad to inform and invite to the 10th HAM eye ball meet (Mahabs meet ) @ mahabalipuram near Chennai on 11th Feb 2012.

Mahabalipuram was a 7th century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas around 60 km south from the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The name Mamallapuram is believed to have been given after the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, who took on the epithet Maha-malla (great wrestler), as the favourite sport of the Pallavas was wrestling. It has various historic monuments built largely between the 7th and the 9th centuries, and has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The meet will be held as usual on second saturday the 11th feb 2012.

All hams/amateur radio enthusiasts are welcome and have pleasant eye ball .

The details are as follows:-
Event : 10th eyeball meet ( Maha meet ) @ mahabalipuram
Date : 11 th february 2012 second saturday
Time : 9:00 am to 04.30pm
Venue: Hotel Mahabs , east raja street, mahabalipuram , opposite to mahabalipuram main bus stand,behind sbi atm
Phone no : 044-27442645 & 44 (rooms are available, pls make your own arrangments)
mobile no: +919444283695
N o d e l e g a t e f e e , for boarding and lodging please make your own arrangement, look forward to seeing one and all.

Thanks and Regards
ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

HAMFESTINDIA 2012 to be held at Chennai!!!

2011-12-11T04:05:00.000-08:00

Chennai Hams welcome all amatuer radio lovers to HAMFESTINDIA 2012 to be held at CHENNAI, pls view these pages for more updates.

ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

Watch For HAMFESTINDIA 2011

2011-09-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Finally the countdown has begun , HAMFESTINDIA2011 is going to take place at Gokulam Park Convention Centre, Kaloor, Kochi (Cochin), Kerala on December 10th and 11th. All hams in India have to do their best to make this event a grand success.

For more detail pls visit http://www.hamfestindia2011.com/

Aircraft Emergency Frequencies

2011-09-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

The aircraft emergency frequency (also known as guard) is a frequency used on the aircraft radio band reserved for emergency communications for aircraft in distress. The frequencies are 121.5 MHz for civilian, also known as International Air Distress (IAD) and 243.0 MHz for military use, also known as Military Air Distress (MAD). Both are in use at the international level.

The choice of 121.5 MHz was made by the ICAO in conjunction with ARINC and the ITU as a result of its third harmonic frequency relationship with the 40.5 MHz military tactical low band ground-to-air channel. Similarly 121.5 MHz is itself a sub harmonic of the military UHF distress frequency at 243 MHz. This choice gave a number of technical and operational compatibility and efficiency gains in the context of design and proximity interference.

121.5 MHz is monitored by most air traffic control towers, national air traffic control centers, and other flight and emergency services, as well as by many airliners. Separate frequencies exist for military and other government emergency frequencies. If an aircraft violates or is on a trajectory that will violate Restricted or Prohibited airspace, it will be warned of military interception on 121.5 MHz.

The frequency may also be used by ATC to establish contact with an aircraft that has inadvertently switched to an incorrect frequency. As pilots are strongly recommended to monitor 121.5 MHz at all times, a common practice is to set a secondary communications radio in the aircraft (often COMM 2) to 121.5 MHz in order to monitor, but not transmit on, 121.5 MHz. A pilot accidentally transmitting on 121.5 MHz will often hear a reply stating that they are "on guard", i.e., that they are on the guard frequency and should switch to the appropriate frequency instead.

An Exotic QSO : VU4PB DX-pedition to Andaman Islands

2011-04-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

Members of Amateur Radio Society of India succesfully planned and executed a DX-pedition to Andaman Islands from 15th to 31st March 2011 with callsign as VU4PB . Permission was obtained and there were 4 stations active out of Port Blair, Andaman Islands,India.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal and a Union Territory of India. The territory is located geographically 150 km (93 mi) north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated from Thailand and Burma by the Andaman Sea. It comprises two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, separated by the 10° N parallel, with the Andamans to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south. The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west.

A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators, perhaps because of its remoteness or because there are very few radio amateurs active from that place. This could be an island, a country, or even a particular spot on a geographical grid.

The first batch of operators and installation personnel consisted of VU2GGM-Poru, VU2RCR-Chandru, VU2GMN-Gopal,VU2MTT-Murthy,VU2ABS-Aravind,VU2CDP-Deepak,VU2SJD-Sanjay and VU2LU-Ramesh. Among Chennai Hams VU2GMN Gopal , VU2ABS Aravind, VU2DH Das and VU2SJD Sanjay participated . Operations were from 160 meters to 10meters and totally almost 32,000 QSO's were made.
A large number of log check requests were generated due to the pirate activities that unfortunately took place. The breakup of QSOs by Continent for the operation which logged around 33,000 contacts is given below:
EU – 45%
AS – 30%
NA – 20%
Others – 5%

A Small Photoprofile below:

The first batch of personnel(ops and logistic team)
Rear (left to right) VU2SMN-Suhas (rear left), VU2DH-Das,VU2MTT-Murthy, VU2GGM-Poru, VU2LU-Ramesh
Front (left to right) vud2CDP-Deepak, VU2NXM-Basappa, VU2GMN-Gopal, VU2RCR-Chandru, VU2ABS-Aravind, VU2SJD-Sanjay

Equipment used during VU4PB:

RIGS:
Elecraft K3
Two Kenwood TS-2000
ICOM 756 Pro II
ICOM 756 Pro III
Yaesu FT 847
Kenwood TS-950
Antennas:
Two Spider Beams (20-17-15-12-10m)
SteppIR 2-element Yagi (20-6m)
SteppIR 3-element Yagi (40-6m)
SteppIR Big IR vertical (40-10m)
Wire and vertical antennas for low band operation (160-80-40-30m)
18m Spider poles for Low band antennas (160-80m)
Force12 C3S Yagi (20-10m)
Amplifiers:
Yaesu Quadra VL1000 Amp
Kenwood TL-922 Amp
Yaesu FL2100 Amp
TenTec Hercules II
Ameritron ALS-500 Amp
Ameriton AL-811H Amp
Digital:
MicroHAm MicroKeyer II
RigExpert Standard
Signalink USB

For full photo profile, pls click on below links.

http://vu4pb.info/

The unusually bad weather made things very challenging at times. Having to frequently check if your antennas have not been blown away by the storm force winds tends to slow things down for sure. Band conditions were not been ideal either with a lot of QRN.

However certain mornings the weather was better which permitted low band antennas to be putup and used . VU4PB went QRT as scheduled at 1829z on 31st March 2011 and the various operators have headed home to get back to their normal lives.

I am sure it must have been a once a lifetime experience for all those who participated.

G.Vipin Shankar
ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

A Tribute to "VU2PCP" OM Paneer

2011-02-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

That familiar steady voice on Yercaud VHF net daily "VU2 Pappa Charlie Pappa” has become silent key & would'nt be heard anymore . Vu2PCP handle "Paneer" based at Tiruchengode passed away today afternoon 1:30 pm in Coimbatore , 12 days since hospitalization after a stroke . PCP has he was called by all was among the senior most and most active HAM's in South India and used to attend all HAM related meetings in and around India and was instrumental in setting up and maintaining the most effective VHF repeater in South India based at Yercaud. He was the custodian of the Tiruchengode Repeater Club.

PCP got his ticket in 1990’s and has been a HAM for past 20+ years. He was active on HF/VHF and was a very good homebrewer and has contributed many test equipments/antennas to the hobby.

The last HAM meet he attended was the Pollachi HAMFEST. He is survived by his wife and two children. All Chennai south HAMS salute this great HAM and his contributions to the hobby, we are sure he would be remembered always as a nice person we knew and who cherished being a HAM and contributed selflessly towards this passion all of us share.

May his soul rest in peace.

ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

A HAM who's been a Net Controller for 25 Years : VU2DPN felicitated during HAMFEST 2010

2010-12-01T02:03:00.000-08:00

The Madras VHF group started a small round table net on 145.500 Mhz from 20.30 hrs during 1985 . 5 to 8 VHF stations joined and used to discuss about various technical subjects related to VHF Radio. This was the period when the chennai VHF activity had just started like a new baby's birth. In the mid 80's madras VHF hambirds were flying only with 1/4 wave antennas which covers only 5 to 10 km radius, slowly the antenna set up improved the VHF activity also became popular . That was the time the a formal net was lauched with set timings,frequency and so on.

Slowly the net check-ins increased from 25 to somtimes 75 callers checking-in . An average of 25 check ins per day used to be there both for the morning and night nets . When the Federation of amateur radio conducted the AGM in chennai the check in crossed 100 callers . After getting the repeater the activity sky rocketed and checkins also crossed average of 50 callers. During the August net checkins 125 callers came on air in an hour.

From the day one of starting the informal Chennai VHF Group/round table in the mid 1980's till today , HAM's in Chennai and outside who check-in to the morning 7:00 am VHF 145.775 Mhz net in Chennai are familiar with this lovely call from a passionate net controller "This is the good morning net conducted by MADRASVHF GROUP, inviting callers to the morning Channels , VU2DPN listening" .

This voice has been rendering service to HAM Radio as the Chennai Net controller for the past 25 years with his unmatched dedication , passion and committment to this unique hobby . The chennai hams wanted to honour him at HAMFEST 2010 held at Pollachi and presented him with a special award . Om Charuhassan VU2 SCU present a memento to him.

Thanks for the efforts taken by VU3 MOA OM mohan in organising this and all wish to keep hearing VU2DPN as net controller for many more decades to come.

HAMFESTINDIA 2010 held at pollachi a grand success

2010-11-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

Hamfest India 2010 held at pollachi on 13th and 14th November was a grand success with great eyeball and nice get-together celebrations for all radio lovers . More than 510 HAM's from all over India as well as abroad participated. Around 30 hams and swls attended from Chennai.

For Full profile 100+ Photo Albums Click below links:

HAMFESTINDIA 2010 ALBUM 1 (Courtesy VU2RDN)

HAMFESTINDIA 2010 ALBUM 2 (Courtesy VU2VAU)

HAMFESTINDIA 2010 ALBUM 3 (Courtesy VU2VAU)

The weather conditions were excellent, a simple homebrew VHF repeater with 500mw output at the venue for local communication (covering from palghat to Coimbatore with low power). Hams from Calcutta, Bombay, Cochin, palaghat, Bangalore and one from Japan also participated. Excellent arrangements from the college, good food. Few stalls selling commercial and home brew antennas, old and new connectors, assembled working boards used scopes and frequency counters added special interest to the home brewers.

Our Chennai ham Aravind VU2ABS with his XYL had the biggest stall selling all kind of HAM tech stuff like a Ham radio superstore you find abroad.

A special thanks to Vijayan VU2 WDP and other pollachi hams for the great function. The next ham meet would be at palghat. More updates with photos would follow.

Chennai hams who participated :
VU2 AB, VU2 ABS, VU2 AIR, VU2 AKW, VU2 CMR, VU2 CSM, VU3 CBM, VU2 DH, VU2 DRK, VU2 GMN, VU2 KLS, VU2 UMX, VU2 SDU, VU2 SCU, Vu2 JA, Vu2 DBS, VU3 VEE, Vu3 USI, Vu3 MOA, VU2 GJR, VU2 ISR, Vu2 VAU, Vu3 VWR, Vu3 OEL, Vu3 GGK, Vu3 MII, Vu2 DPN, Vu2 RDX , VU3 CPE, VU3 MSP

Wouxun announces VHF/UHF DualBand Base Station

2010-11-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

Its good news for all the Wouxun brand radio lovers . Already ChennaiHams Team facilitated two lots of imports of Wouxun dualband handies into India with very good user feedback from Indian HAMS in terms of features vs price & overall value for money.

Finally, Wouxun has announced a new radio in their line-up. It is a dual-band mobile radio. Wouxun have unveiled the KG-UV920R dual band mobile rig. 50/25/5w VHF/40/20/5w UHF RX/TX with AM 500-2000KHz/FM 65-220MHz and LW 150-500 KHz reception.

* Dual Receive (Truly, not dual-watch like the handhelds)
* Crossband
* Dual Frequency display
* 50W
* 999 channels
* Remote head.. Mount radio somewhere else and just put the head on your dash. Looks like Mic plugs directly into the head also. Hope that's a standard feature and includes mounting gear.

Looks like there are going to be multiple versions like the handhelds. 218-260 is listed! So there's a possiblity there of 2m/222.. 136-174/218-260. There's also some weird stuff like the possibility of 2mhz-30mhz AM-only receive. Or 500-2000khz, Or 50-500khz all AM-only. Apparently FM broadcast is available too. So one option there gets you AM & FM radio.

We will need to await and see how they are going to price and how the final version performs , keep reading these pages for further updates.

Times of India Chennai Article : Amateur weathermen saw cyclone Jal fizzling out

2010-11-09T02:31:00.000-08:00

Times of India Chennai published an article on how avid HAM weather enthusiasts based in Chennai monitored weather channels as well as used sattelite data for cyclone data interpretation of recent cyclone "Jal". It also speaks about general benefits of HAM radio and how valuable it is to the society.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6891333.cms?prtpage=1

WPC issues clarification on new Amateur rules effective 1st April 2010

2010-09-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

At last WPC has issued detailed written clarification with regards to amendments made to the Amateur Radio rules in 2009, which came into effect from 1st April 2010.

Key Changes:

From the existing 4 Categories of licence : There shall be two categories of licences, namely:
(i) Amateur Wireless Telegraph Station Licence (General) - Grade I & Advanced merged
(ii) Amateur Wireless Telegraph Station Licence (Restricted) - Grade II & Restricted merge

New fee structure as below.

Period of Validity - A licence granted under these rules shall be issued for a period of 20 years or lifelong as the case may be commencing on the date of issue of the licence and expiring on the last day of the month preceding the month of issue. For the purposes of this rule, the expression “life long” means till the licence holder attains the age of 80 years. Validity of lifelong licence may be extended on specific request of the licence holder for 10 years at a time without any additional payment.”

Another key development which will be happy news for budding HAMS is that the restricted + Grade II combined "Restricted" license exam there would be no morse code test . New band spectrum allocation as below.

For full official memorandum with full details , pls click on files download section as below.

http://groups.google.com/group/chennaihamsblogspotcom/files?report=1

ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

Chennai VHF Repeaters Connected on Echolink

2010-09-05T02:31:00.000-07:00

Chennai hams have now managed to go wi-fi/Hi-Tech with an Echolink connectivity via VU2 PUM-R link on the web . The node number is 492650.

Echolink was developed by HAM Jonathan Taylor K1RFD and is a computer based Amateur Radio system that allows radio amateurs to communicate with one another using Voice over IP (VoIP) technology on the Internet for at least part of the path between them. The system allows reliable worldwide connections to be made between radio amateurs, greatly enhancing Amateur Radio's communications capabilities.

In essence it is the same as other VoIP applications (such as Skype), but with the unique addition of the ability to link to an amateur radio station's transceiver worldwide thereby enhancing VHF radio coverage substancially. With this Global Hams can get in touch with any HAM in most parts of South India using link which connect two repeaters in Chennai & one repeater in Yercaud.

With a home brew interface developed by VU2 WIN the node is connected in the morning with the VU2MRR repeater (145.775(-600 Khz) for the morning net and in evenings with the VU3MVR 145.675 MHZ(-600 Khz) repeater for the evening net. After our local net it is linked during the nets with the VU2 TCD Yercaud repeater also, thus giving a very wide coverage.

Even though the interface looks simple it has taken nearly a month time to get the link become smooth and transparent. Thanks to all the stations for the excellent on the air support. The objective is to develop more user friendly options for the RF users like Time, weather etc on the air with simple DTMF code access.

AN/PRC-148 - World's Most Powerful Handheld Radio

2010-06-11T03:11:00.000-07:00

This Handheld military "Walkie Talkie" used by US/NATO forces can be truly called as the most powerful/rugged/highly used handheld Radio in the 21st century.

The AN/PRC-148 is today the most widely fielded handheld multiband, tactical software-defined radio, in use with the US Military and NATO forces around the world.

The AN/PRC-148 is a small and light full-featured Combat Net Radio (CNR) operating contiguously over the 30-512 MHz frequency range. The radio has imbedded US Type-1 COMSEC protection and is capable of both voice and data modes of operation. The AN/PRC-148 provides a hand held, highly flexible tactical radio useful over a very broad range of combat environments.

The AN/PRC-148 is the cornerstone of a complete system solution for the warfighter which includes a Vehicle Adapter with a unique, cable-free, rapid radio dismount capability; dual radio AN/VRC-111 Vehicle Adapter Amplifier; Base Station for fixed applications; Tactical Repeater for range extension; and compact, rugged Man Portable System for dismounted operations requiring higher power output.

Another fantastic feature of the AN/PRC-148 is its ability to communicate with aircraft. Foot Soldiers of the past using standard handheld or man-pack radios were restricted to ground tactical-radio modulation modes and frequency bands (30-88MHz FM) that were not compatible with the radios in all military aircraft.

There is even more good news for troops equipped with the AN/ PRC-148 from the ground-to-air perspective. The radio has built in the ability to generate emergency AM swept tone beacon signals on the standard VHF and UHF international rescue frequencies of 121.5 MHz (AM) and 149.975MHz (AM).

This capability means that AN/PRC-148 users can be heard by virtually every aircraft in the world and located with common aircraft radio direction finding equipment. This feature can literally be a lifesaver when in tactical situations requiring help from airborne search and rescue assets.

Overall a real boon for military foot soldiers and a wonderful handheld radio technology. This could very well be the most capable handheld radio in the world.

SCR-536 Walkie Talkie : World's First Modern Handheld Radio

2010-06-11T02:59:00.000-07:00

The SCR-536 is often considered the first of modern hand held, self-contained, "handie talkie" two-way radios. It was developed in 1940 by a team led by Don Mitchell, chief engineer for Galvin Manufacturing (now Motorola) and was the first true hand-held unit to see widespread use. By July 1941, it was in mass production. In November 1942, the SCR-536 received coverage in the amateur radio magazine QST.

It appeared on the cover as well as in Signal Corps advertising, and was featured as part of an article on the Signal Corps. “Smallest field unit of the Signal Corps,” a photo caption read, “it is not much larger or heavier than a conventional handset.” It was carried among the first waves to hit Omaha Beach at Normandy in June, 1944. Every rifle company of the U.S. 29th Infantry division had six; one for each of three rifle platoons, two for the weapons platoon, and one for the company CO.

The Germans were deeply impressed by the SCR-536 and the SCR-300 after capturing several units in Sicily. By war’s end, 130,000 of the units had been manufactured by Motorola.

Today the SCR-536 is often restored and operated by vintage amateur radio enthusiasts and military radio collectors

1st May 2010 : Chennai VHF Repeater 145.775 Mhz(-600) VU2MRR celebrates 22nd Birthday

2010-04-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

On this day 1st May 1989 Chennai's oldest and veteran HAM VHF repeater VU2MRR was given life . A team of 10 members formed The Madras radio repeater Club to buy and installed a VHF repeater in Chennai . Several Good hearted people/HAM radio enthusiasts donated generously for the fund.

With great difficulty the equipment was cleared from the customs and readied for installation . For its untiring service over the last two decades we salute VU2MRR for the contribution and it’s a tribute to all those great HAM’s/Radio lovers who brought this dream alive.

The Madras Repeater Club Team consisting some of the veteran HAM's to date

Chennai repeater Story in the words of VU2MRR – 145.775(-600Mhz)

I was installed on May 1st 1989 at Kesari Kutti ram Building in Royapetttah .The Inaguration was done by the then City police commissioner . My call sign/name given by HAM’s/WPC was VU2 MRR. My RF power capacity is 10 W . I am consisting of basically three parts , the Yaeus FTR2410A Repeater, Wacom WP-639 Band pass-Band reject filter and Diamond F-23 Antenna.

Royapettah building where I was first installed

From all parts of chennai I am accessible 24/7 for any type of HAM VHF traffic . After 14 months to increase my coverage area I was shifted to The Residency Tower Hotel at T Nagar . From that time till today I am working round the clock serving Chennai regions HAM community.

My new residence at Residency Towers hotel from where I have a better line of sight.

I had two major technical surgeries and few minor replacements in the past . My final amplifier was replaced twice. Stations from various parts South India including Tamil Nadu, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Bangalore, calcutta and Srilanka have accessed me and through me reached out to local hams in Chennai . To my knowledge I am the only VHF repeater in India serving for a long time with minor problems, offcourse lot of credit to those HAM’s go have birth to me and continue to take care of me.

That's me growing old but still going strong "VU2MRR"

On my 21st Birth day I thank all users and my well wishers for keeping me in good health. Even though I am healthy a few adjustments, small alignments , repairs are required in due course to ensure I can keep boosting the voice of all Chennai HAMS for decades to come.

To serve you better in a long way kindly trigger me more often with voice signal and look forward to listening to all.

Bye Bye
VU2MRR - 145.775 Mhz (-600)

Amateur Radio Service Rules in India Amended!!!!

2010-04-18T00:44:00.000-07:00

Finally the Govt of India official gazette concerning amateur radio operators has been published by Wireless Planning and Co-ordination department . Amateur Radio in India is governed by Telegraphy Rules and WPC works under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Primarily WPC site tells that there have been two amendements to the rules after1978, one through Gazette Notifications GSR 385(E) on 9th July 2005 & otherthrough the recent GSR 280(E)dated 1st april 2010. The only link WPC has posted is of 2009 amendment and not the 2005 one. Not sure if anyone has got the link for 385(E)2005 amendment which was not published in the gazette for longtime , all our search yielded not results.

First Amendment: THE INDIAN WIRELESS TELEGRAPH (AMATEUR SERVICE) AmendmentRules, 2005 . Gazette Notification GSR 385(E), but no copy available.The key changes that have been made in this 2005 amendment are:

1. Category of license From earlier four categories, the new rules have mergedGrade I and Advanced as General, while Grade II and Restricted have been clubbedtogether as Restricted Grade.

2. Fees Structure Instead of 5 year renewal cycle, amateur radio operators cannow apply for 20 years or lifelong license. They would have to pay INR 1000 for20 years or INR 2000 for life long application.

Second Amendment: THE INDIAN WIRELESS TELEGRAPH (AMATEUR SERVICE) AmendmentRules, 2009 , GSR 280(E). The key changes that have been made in this 2009 amendment are:

1. In rule 8 , sub rule (1), which stated "The examinations for the grant of a licence shall be held at a place and on adate as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time"

amended to as below

"The examinations for the grant of a licence as per syllabus shall be held at aplace and on a date as may be notified by the Central Government from time totime".

2. Rule 13 which says "A holder of licence shall use, as appropriate to thelicence, such frequency bands, power and classes of emission as are set out inAnnexure V of these rules"

amended to as below

"A holder of licence shall use, as appropriate to the licence, such frequencybands, power and classes of emission as authorised by the central government"

Annexure V talks of all the different freq bands in VHF/UHF/HF allotted toAmateurs in India, question is if Annexure V is no more valid what's the newfrequency allocation and when that would be published in the gazette.

3. Annexure- I, II, V which are basically application forms has been ommitted,not word on which forms to be used moving forward.The 2005 amendment made some sense, not sure the objective behind cosmeticamendments in 2009, which seem to be only causing confusion.

Vipin , SWL

ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

18th April 2010 - World Amateur Radio Day Highlights

2010-04-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

Each year on 18 April, radio amateurs celebrate World Amateur Radio Day. On that day in 1925 the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was founded. In 2010, the theme of the event is

"Amateur Radio: Combining communication experience with modern digital techniques."

Amateur radio has truly entered the 21st Century. In less than 100 years amateur radio communications has evolved from crude spark-gap technology to digital signal processing and software-defined radios. The amateur's HF choice between voice and CW has been expanded to a broad range of communication choices from television to spread spectrum. Amateur digital communications has evolved. At the end of World War II until the early 1980's, radioteletype, also known as RTTY, was the only HF digital mode available to amateurs. In the 1980's, AMTOR made its debut along with the increased popularity and availability of personal computers.

AMTOR was the first amateur digital communication mode to offer error-free text transmission. From the early 1980's, the rate of change increased dramatically. Packet Radio emerged and for a period of time was the most popular form of amateur digital communication. As microprocessor technology became more sophisticated, there was a rise in modes such as Clover, PACTOR, and G-TOR that were capable of error-free exchanges under marginal band conditions. In the late 1990's, there was an invention that harnessed personal computer technology to create PSK31.
In the VHF-UHF frequency ranges, Packet Radio had less activity at the close of the century than it did in the 1980's and 1990's.

However, Packet Radio was reborn as the popular Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) and traditional packet systems still exist to support public service activities with greatly enhanced functionality. Thanks to individual amateurs, hams now enjoy digital meteor scatter contacts and even moonbounce on VHF and UHF frequencies with modest stations. An ordinary computer sound device and software that can be downloaded free from the internet is all that is needed.

The Japan Amateur Radio League developed the D-STAR digital voice and data standard and there has been significant amateur growth as amateurs establish D-STAR repeater networks on the VHF, UHF and microwave bands. All of these development have inspired amateurs around the world to experiment in their own HF, VHF, UHF and microwave band digital communication.
Activities on the occasion of World Amateur Radio Day 2010 can be a great opportunity to spread the word about what the "hams" are doing in the 21st Century.

ASOL group Exam conducted at SRM University-Chennai on March 14th 2010

2010-03-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

After a long gap of several years , due to efforts of few like minded HAMS an ASOL group exam sessions was organised in Chennai exclusively for students of SRM university interested in this hobby . On March 14th 2010 37 students from SRM university appeared for Grade II and restricted grade ASOL exam .

Thanks to the untiring and committed efforts of VU2CSM who ensured that the students were trained well in all aspects of HAM Radio for couple of months before they were fully ready for the exam . The university students had a valid reason for the urgency in taking up this ASOL exam as the university is launching a nano satellite for amateur operators in collaboration with ISRO.

SRM university is planning to launch a MICRO SATELLITE which is a multi disciplinary research initiative involving faculty and students of Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, Computer Science and Chemical engineering and th target is to launch the satellite named SRMSAT - around July 2010.

The 15 watt satellite will weigh between 10 and 15 kg and measure one meter cube.The project is estimated at Rs 2 crore and the construction of the satellite is being carried out within the university's premises. Shortly the university will also have a HAM Radio club station which will be operational . Thanks to Chennai WPC officials who conducted the exam at SRM premises and Vu2ABS Aravind as well as other HAMS for the logistics arrangements/support.

Probably this is the last batch of students/SWL's appearing for the ASOL exams in Chennai as per the old syllabus pattern. From April 2010 the ASOL WPC exam syllabus and the examination pattern is going to change to a new format which would mutiple answer choice questions . Let us all wait for the good news whether this makes the whole process simpler for budding HAMS in any way, although info is morse code would continue for timebeing .

HAM Radio Demo & Presentation at "Trek Polama" event

2010-03-06T21:41:00.001-08:00

“Trek Polama” event conducted by Chennai Trekkers Club proved to be a wonderful success . VU2ABS who is also an active HAM presented a special session to a packed audience on HAM Radio & its use in Emergency communications . Union Minister of State Mr.Napolean , who is also an avid photographer graced the occasion and interacted with all and was quite interested in CTC activities including HAM Radio communications.

VU2ABS Arvind giving the presentation with a small live radio shack on display in background.

A "Garmin" GPS on display

The aim was to increase awareness of trekking in the local community, a healthier and more adventurous lifestyle, bring people closer to nature to build more environmental awareness and get more people infected by the CTC spirit.

Almost 1000+ CTC members and general public participated in the event which started at 2:00 pm with various sessions related to trekking, GPS & Navigation, mountaineering, wildlife, butterflies, snakes and offcourse HAM Radio & Emergency communication.

The presentation session by VU2ABS was quite interesting with both technically as well info of general nature on the benefits of HAM Radio to the trekking community . Presentation also included few video clips CTC members greatly appreciated the value of HAM Radio as most of the forest / hills and remote forest locations they trek do not have cell phone coverage and hence HAM Radio would be a great communication tool.

The mini shack with Wouxun handy
& Yaesu FT All Band base station + antennas

Many of them have expressed interest to take up the ASOC exams to become licensed HAMS and endeavour is to ensure that by year end atleast 100+ ctc members should be becoming licensed HAMS so that there are more people on the band in chennai to share of the passion of this unique hobby.

One of the presentation slides.

CTC Member , VU2ABS + Harmonic & VU3VWR with a HAM banner in the background

Today the most important step to be taken by HAM’s is to ensure that in the face of stiff competition from other modes of communication like Cellphones/e-mail etc as well as people having various options for a hobby, how do we attract more youngsters to become HAMS and continue this passion to years to come. CTC like platforms could be the ideal lauchpads to catapult HAM hobby to next level.

For full photo album pls click here.

Congrats to VU2ABS Aravind for his initiative in this direction and we hope more such public awareness events to attract younsters on the joy of HAM Radio are conducted in Chennai in the near future.

A Thrilling Adventure : 2010 MARS Chennai Foxhunt

2010-02-28T21:16:00.000-08:00

The MARS (Madras Amateur Radio Society) Fox Hunt was conducted today 28.02.10/Sunday at Chennai. Many teams participated in the event which began in the morning at 8:00 am with the fox making an announcement for commencement and then fox started howling the tone in fox frequency 144.900 Mhz. The timeframe target for locating the fox was 8:00 am to 12:00 am and indicated distance was 60 Kms line of sight from city “0” stone.

The tools of the trade, straight out of a 007 BOND movie, beam antenna, compass , VHF Transceiver etc being kept ready at startpoint for taking initial direction bearning.

The fox tone was given for 60 sec on & 240 sec off and the power was reduced from 50/25 W in the beginning hours to 500 MW by the end of the hunt. Most of the teams started the fox hunt from City/outskirts and then signals indicated West/South West towards Tambaram/GST Road direction. But since signal tracking is a real skill and is influenced by so much extraneous environmental factors, the fox signal proved very elusive and erratic.

The veteran YAESU handy tuned to the fox frequency.

Team taking intermittent bearing on hilltop.

5 teams participated in this years MARS foxhunt as below.

Team 1 : VU2DH , SWL Vipin Shankar , SWL Satheesh & VU3UBR
Team 2 : VU2JA, VU2ABS, VU2GPS, VU2VWR
Team 3 : VU3RGK, VU3STJ, VU2LSW , VU2DNY
Team 4 : VU2DRK , VU3MOA , VU3USI
Team 5 : VU3WIB , SWL

Checking signals in the middle of an overbridge.

But the fox signal proved very elusive with conflicting signal strengths as well as directions as time passed . After 12:00 pm /4 hours an announcement was made that since nobody could locate the fox, the hunt would be extended for another 30 minutes.

By this time most of the teams were within 5 Kms radius of the fox and were into drastic measures including walking on hot dry Palar river bed, climbing up a stone quarry hill , use bikes to check on smaller trails, rummaging through farm houses etc , but all this did not yield anything.

Finally close to 12: 30 PM the fox location was announced as “Pazhaya Seevaram Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy Temple” which was a hilltop temple shrine location on the banks of Palar River and on Chengalpattu-Kanchipuram road at an approx 60 kms to 75 Kms direct road drive distance from Chennai depending on the route you take . No team managed to catch the fox this time even after the time extension . The fox hole was at an approx line of sight distance of 56.6 Kms from Chennai “0” stone point (source - Wikimapia software).

The "Fox Den"/hilltop marked in square as seen in this sattelite aimage with adjacent shrub jungle/stairs/hills etc.

Participants had to climb up many steps leading to the "Fox Den" at the top of the hill .

The "Fox Hole"

The elusive fox was VU2GHX Madhavan . Within 5 to 10 min of the fox locaton announcement most teams reached the spot.

Anyways it was real fun as after all its for the love of HAM hobby that everybody set aside a whole good Sunday and made this trip . All teams had their own moments of fun , joy, tension, anger etc which all made the whole foxhunt a thrilling and challenging experience for one and all, especially for the first timers. Thanks to the MARS organising team for conducting this event again after a gap of couple of years. All HAMS hope the Chennai Foxhunt becomes an annual event moving forward.

A special mention of VU3WIB (Right) who's spirit & love for the hobby really needs to appreciated as he travelled the entire journey of 150+ Kms with rig/beam on a two wheeler with an SWL.

A good lunch session/getogether was arranged by MARS for all the participants near to the fox den which was appreciated and relished by all. The only regret was that all the day’s hard hunting by teams didn’t yield any prizes to take home, only good memories of this unique experience .

For full photo profile pls click here.

Anybody else having more photos/something to be added to the story board pls send across.

ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

Tribute to VU2 RF "Ranga"

2010-02-17T04:32:00.000-08:00

That familiar old but steady voice on Chennai VHF net daily "Vu2 Romeo Foxtrot" has become silent key & would'nt be heard anymore . Vu2RF handle "Ranga" passed away today morning in Chennai after a brief hospitalization . Ranga was among the seniormost HAM's in CHENNAI and used to attend all HAM related meetings in and around the city inspite of his old age .

He always has cheerful advice for the younger lot. As per old timers a very sincere and kind radio amateur who was always willing to help anyone, Ranga got his ticket in 1972 and has been a HAM for past 30+ years. He was initially in Calcutta and later moved to Chennai and settled out. He was active on HF/VHF and was a very good homebrewer and has contributed many test equipments to the hobby.

The last HAM meet he attended in Chennai was the MARS(Madras Amateur Radio Society) monthly meeting held on Jan 26th 2010. All Chennai HAMS salute this great HAM and his contributions to the hobby, we are sure he would be remembered always as a nice person we knew and who chrished being a HAM.

Mahabalipuram Eyeball 2010 : A memorable Ham-together

2010-02-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

The Gala event in progress.

Cherished by all HAMS & among the popular events in VUland, Mahabalipuram Eyeball meet 2010 was conducted today at TTDC Resort near Chennai and turned outto be a huge success. The meet organized by the untiring efforts of OM Vittal VU2 VIT and his team had 101 participants from all four South Indian states belonging to different walks of Life, but offcourse united by the loave for radio waves.

Thanks to the entire team for the wonderful location TTDC resort & AC conference hall . Om Santhanam VU2 YFS welcomed the gathering. One minute silence was observed for the sake of departed souls who passed away in the past year. OmVU2DH Devadas honoured VU2 PCP and VU2 VIT for their wonderful contribution through the years to Hamdom .

Few senior hams like VU2 UR, VU2QM, VU2 RVK were felicitated by VU2 VIT. A VHF handheld donated to the Yercaud Repeater(TCD repeater Maintenance fund) was auctioned in a very innovative american way on the floor by VU2 DRK and VU2DH.

A life time Achievement Award by ARSI was given to SWL T.K.Vishwanathan, which was presented to him by ARSI President VU2GMN . The details of the astonishing achievement by this swl was narrated by Vu2 UR.

VU2GUR gave very good narration about satellite communication and a notable new system of a dipole which was really very interesting. VU2 LF, VU3 MII, VU2 ABS, VU2 PCP had compact stalls full of exciting ham stuffand was a real crowd puller.

VU2PTR narrated about his new venture PTR 2K 10 , a 50 watt transmitter set assembled by him in his own clean and compact construction way. It was astonishing to note that cost is less than Rs. 2500/ even though it was finished in a very good commercial manner.

VU2DH, VU3VWR, VU2VIT & VU2DRK

VU3RGK with his homebrewed sattelite communication/UHF antenna.

VU2PCP with his homebrewed VHF/UHF beams and slim jim antennas.

The following from chennai hams participated apart from HAMS/SWL's from various other south Indian states including Kerala/Karnataka/AndraPradesh:

VU2GMN, VU2 DRK, VU2UU, VU3 WIB, VU3 MSZ, VU2 VIT, VU2 BOA, VU3 STJ, VU3 MES, VU3MII, VU2 RDX, VU2 PTR, VU3 GGK, VU2 GHX, VU2 DH, VU3 USI, VU2 AKW, VU3MOA, VU2 KLS, VU2 CMR, VU2 TTL, VU2 GWH, VU2 SBU, VU3 VWR, VU2 ABS, VU2 PIY, VU2 AKW, VU2 SDU, VU2 WYR, VU2 UBR, VU2 KBX, VU3 RGK, VU2ISR, VU2 UMX, VU2 LF, VU3 MPK, VU2 YNT, VU3 INA, VU2 LSW, VU2 DNY, VU2GMS, VU2 GPS, VU2 ATN, VU2 DPN, SWL ARULRAJ, SWL, VELMURUGAN, SWL ASHOK, SWL VIPIN SHANKAR.

Full Photo Album pls click below links.

Mahams 2010 , PhotoAlbum contributed by VU2DPN.

Mahams 2010 , PhotoAlbum with Narration contributed by VU2LSW(Narayan Rao).

CLICK TO VIEW A SHORT VIDEO ON MAHAMS 2010.

Anyone wishing to contribute further photos/storyboard for the Maham 2010, pls send by e-mail and it will be added into this article string.

Thanks and Regards

ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

HAM Demo at Chennai Trekking Club's gala event at Chennai on March 6th 2010

2010-02-12T01:23:00.000-08:00

Vu2ABS Arvind would be conducting a workshop on Ham Radio & emergency radio communications as part of the gala trekking event "Trek Polama" which is to be conducted on March 6th 2010 at Anna Nagar,Chennai by Chennai Trekking Club.

Chennai Trekking Club or CTC which is based in Chennai was established on February 22, 2008 by a small group of trekking enthusiasts. It started as a dozen member club grew into a big non-profit organization that strives to encourage trekking as an organized sport. CTC organizes treks mainly in and around South India. It also organizes other activities like photography tours, one day hikes, workshops on navigation using GPS, treks for a social cause and walks for charity. CTC has organized more than 100 treks.

It has more than 3500 members and more than 10 people joining every day. CTC has also taken up several nature conservation/environment protection initiatives also as its entire backbone is nature's gifts in the form of pristine forests. Since most of the trekking happens in remote jungles , Ham radio will be very useful during treks where there is no cell coverage and becomes very essential, especially during emergencies. In December 2009, Vu2ABS had given a presentation to group of 50 CTC members about ham radio, which was very well received and many are interested in becoming active hams .

To Register for the March 6th Event Pls click here.

More info on CTC click here or http://www.chennaitrekkers.org/

All HAM Enthusiasts are welcome to join the event.

Chennai HAM's import 30 nos Dual Band Wouxun HT's!!!

2010-01-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

WOUXUN KG-UVD1P fits into one's hand quite well and has an ergonomic design.

Few Chennai HAM's came together and did a bulk import of 30 nos dual band VHF/UHF WOUXUN KG-UVD1P HT's from China. This is expected to give a big boost to UHF activity in Chennai as there is already a UHF repeater which is active here. The whole exercise including planning, execution & logistics arrangements were executed by team VU2ABS(Aravind), Vu2DH(Das) & Vu2DPN(Deepan) .

The challenge was to negotiate with WOUXUN China directly for a good deal , liase with different users in Chennai to organise/pool the funds needed, remittance to overseas, airfreight arrangements for shipping from China to India(Chennai) , priority imports customs clearance and then final delivery to users as full set kits.

Photos of the full set delivered to users consisting of radio, external mike, car charger, desktop charger, DC adaptor, earphone handfree, pouch/sling, AA battery holder, antenna connectors, warranty card etc as taken after arrival at Chennai. The price worked out to approx INR 6,000(incld accessories/import customs duty) , which is quite a value for money.

The import box packed which arrived from HKG at Chennai Airport and was customs cleared.

PROs about this Handy as per user feedback :

Very low cost/high value for money , great receive audio , ok stock antenna , great battery , lot of free extras , programing software available , dual bands , nice display , feels good in your hand , very sturdy , built in flash light , regular 88.5mhz FM radio, voice prompts/VOX, sos feature built in, nice green receive LED, nice red transmit LED , ergonomic design, desktop charger, dual VHF/UHF display and Rx

CONs about this Handy as per user feedback :

Trasmit audio modulation could be better, No DTMF , not a true VFO , steep learning curve for programming , hard to understand manual unless to go through couple of times , not your standard antenna connector

The overall verdict from users is that for the price, it is worth every penny and affordable for new HAMS to start being on air!!!, there is plan to organise another batch of import , depending on demand.

Chennai region's highest point VHF repeater at Swamimalai/Yelagiri Hills re-activated

2010-01-26T21:54:00.000-08:00

The dedicated team of HAM's who made this happen, inspite of several odds. (L to R) VU2DPN(Deepan), VU2ABS(Aravind) , VU2DRK(Ramki), VU2PCP(Paneer) , VU2AKW(Ashok), Vu3DSN (Saro) , (not in this photo) Vu3VWR(Raghav), Vu2DH(Das), Vu3MOA (Mohan) & SWL(Manikandan-who brought the spectrum analyser).

Due to the untiring efforts & committment of a team of Chennai Hams , the third and highest point repeater in Chennai range has been re-activated at Swamimalai/Yelagiri Hills . Yelagiri is a hill-station on midway betweenChennai and Bangalore located at an altitude of 1,050 metres (3,500 ft).Distance : 258+ km from Chennai, 150 km from Bangalore.

The Duplexer which is india's first operational homebrew duplexer. The repeater also is homebrew.

Yelagiri Repeater Frequency : 145.475(-600)
Approximate Geographic GPS Coordinates :
Latitude : 12.572827 / Longitude : 78.649235

The tower MAST from a distance.

This repeater has been non operational for a longtime now due to various technical reasons, last week a dedicated team of HAMS made the visit and the tedious climb up the top of the hill and carried out basic repairs. It was tested fromChennai with good signal report usng beam as well as Omni directional antennas .

VU2ABS(Aravind),Vu2DH (Das),Vu3VWR(Raghav) & Vu3MOA(Mohan) with repeater room and tower base in backdrop.

In further weeks it needs to be tested to see how much range this repeater could cover, but this repeater should pave way for reliable amateur VHF link betweenChennai & Bangalore as well as all other towns and cities in South India within 150-200-250 Kms of the Yelagiri repeater.

Approx Coverage range of repeater within a 200 Kms radius, subject to line of sight clearance, equipment, antenna type/height etc.

The forest path leading to the top of Swamimalai.

VU2DH(Das) climb up the hill through the bushes, fitting his reputation as an expert fox hunter.

A team member climbing the tower.

Vu2ABS(Aravind) next to the repeater/duplexer cabinet.

With this Chennai has three VHF repeaters operational, the other two repeatersare 145.775(-600) & 145.675(-600). There is also a UHF repeater under test ,Tx-435.800/Rx-434.100.

All HAMS in South India are requested to try accessing this Yelagiri repeater and give you feedback.

Full set photo profile of the trips pls click links below.

Yelagiri Trip 17th Jan'10

Yelagiri Trip 24th Jan'10

Thanks and Regards

G.Vipin Shankar(SWL)
ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

Tools and Test Equipment For The New Ham Radio Operator

2010-01-23T01:07:00.000-08:00

A state-of-the-art HAM Repair Shack, offcourse under Indian conditions this might be little too much for households.

This article is tailored for the new ham radio operator so if you have been a ham for many years, you already know that there are a few required tools and test equipment you need to be able to maintain your station, it's accessories and your antenna setup.

Hand Tools: You can't have toooo many!

(not listed in any particular priority)

1. A good set of screw drivers. Look for a phillips head type and a flat blade type. There are many different sizes of screw drivers out there. Pick and assortment of the sizes you think you may need. Multi-use screw drivers are vary handy and they have usually 4 different blades that can be interchanged in the handle and one tool will do the job of 4 saving you space in your tool box.

A good set of Jewelers screw drivers is needed when it comes to those tiny screws on knobs and controls and also putting on mic connectors, etc. Remember those tiny screws in the hinges of your glasses.......that just justified the purchase of them. They will come loose eventually and you just saved yourself a trip in the car.

2. Tool Box...as mentioned in #1 above. The size and type depends on the amount of tools you may want to add in the future.

3. Wire cutters. These vary in size according to the wire size that you will be cutting. As a general rule of thumb, many wire type antennas that you may build, require #12 or #14 gauge wire, so the wire cutters should be of appropriate size. Wire crimpers would be a good tool to have latter on. These aid in the connection of various connectors to wire ends and splices. Some even have small bolt cutters built in....very handy when you need them.

4. Wrenches and socket sets. Adjustable wrenchs are recommend as they are multipurpose and fit many different size nuts or you can get the open end types or closed end types to suit your taste. Many choices are yours in socket and wrench sets that come in handy carrying cases for good prices with a wide assortment of sizes to fit "all". Wrenches are usually needed when mounting many antennas on supports depending on their construction and the mfg's ecommendations and many other variables.

5. Pliers. These come in many different sizes and shapes according to their intended use. A couple of different sizes of "Channel Lock" types are very handy along with regular hand sizes. Some come with wire cutter ends. "Needle nose" types are very handy also and come in many sizes. "Ignition pliers" are very handy for small jobs and fit in your pocket. A pair of "Vice Grips" is a help.

6. Tape measure. 12 feet or longer depending on your needs. Great aid for antenna work!

7. Electrical Tape. Not really considered a hand tool, but you will certainly use it.
Again, don't buy the cheap stuff, especially if it will be used outdoors.

8. A good sharp pocket knife or utility knife. Used for trimming insulation from wire, coax, etc. Use as needed and be careful.

9. Soldering iron and/or gun. This will depend on your ability to solder. Many times in your ham radio lifetime, you will need to be able to solder, so if you don't know how....just get a ham friend who knows how to help you learn or search the internet. There are many good "How to Solder" web sites out there. When soldering, practice, practice and lots more practice for the inexperienced!

10. All of those tools I left off of this list that will come as time passes and you get more acquainted with exactly what you may need depending on how far you want to go with your station and your ability......don't forget a good ladder that will safely reach your job.

11. SAFETY FIRST! Hand tools, ladders, test equipment, other ham equipment, etc, can get you hurt, or worse. Metal ladders should NEVER be used when working with ANY electrical job. Get help if you don't know what you are doing or are not mechanically inclined...be safe, not sorry! Remember Antenna Safety and the lethal levels of electricity you may be working with in or around your ham station!

Suggested Test Equipment for the New Ham:
(Again, not presented in any particular order of importance)

1. SWR/POWER METER.
It refers to an external swr/power meter. Yes, you may have a built in unit in your radio, but how do you know it is accurate? An external meter is invaluable in trouble shooting station problems!
This will strictly be an individual choice. It must cover the frequency range and potential rf power level that your station will be operating on. Some are built into different radios, some are external. As a general rule, most external swr/power meters are more accurate than the little ones built into the face of many radios. The external types come in many sizes, frequency ranges and power levels. An swr/power meter that covers up to 30mhz...will usually not work on 6 meters and higher frequencies with any sort of accuracy. Assure yourself your meter is the right one for your station by reading the specifications of it. You need accuracy....not guess work!

2. A good multimeter.

Again, your choice. It can be either digital or analog. It needs to be able to measure at least continuity, voltage (AC and DC), current, (preferably AC and DC), and resistance (ohms), up to the expected levels you may need to measure with a safety margin to spare. It is also assumed you know how to use one....if you don't, read the instructions and then get a good ham friend who knows how to help you learn more about how to use it. DANGER.....you COULD BE ELECTROCUTED if you don't know what you are doing. You can also destroy your meter if it is not used properly. The voltage, current and resistance range must be higher than your "expected" working ranges!

3. Dummy load.

Used for a substitute "perfect" or near perfect antenna load.
Very helpful in determining if your transmitter has output without connecting the transmitter to the antenna and the resulting harmful interference this causes. When used in conjunction with a power (rf watt meter) it will tell you if your radio is up to specifications on it's output. It must also be designed for the frequency range you will be using it for. Many hams have one for the hf frequencies and then another for VHF/UHF use. Your choice depending on your station and your future plans for operating.

4. Optional. Antenna analyzer.
Very helpful and time saving when working with antennas and their design and tuning.

5. Other items of test equipment not on the list will come as you progress.

Assorted items you may want to keep on hand:
A small vice. Comes in handy when you need that third hand!
Sealer for weather proofing outside connectors and joints, splices, etc.

Choosing HAM/Amateur Radios : An Insight

2010-01-13T01:45:00.000-08:00

Need Help in Choosing Your First Amateur Radio?

RADIOS: There are so many to choose from. For the new Ham, it would be best to stick with a reliable, time proven, name brand: (Alphabetical Order) Alinco, Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu. Offcourse now there are few Chinese brands which are coming out with good quality sets at affordable prices. WOUXUN is one of them and have some good products which are value for money as per global user feedback/reviews.

Base, Mobile, Mobile used as a base or an HT (Hand Held Transceiver) is the question lingering in a new HAM's mind???

HandHeld Transceiver/Walkie Talkie : It all depends on your lifestyle and budget. If you are on the go a lot and on a budget, an HT might be a good choice. A 2 meter or 2 meter/440 might be your best choice. If you want to use it in your vehicle, a 1/4 or 5/8ths wave magnetic mount antenna for the outside of the vehicle might be the best bet. You can also get a second antenna for home use. More on the antennas is there in the blog. The good thing about buying an HT is that is it portable. The drawbacks are that they have limited power output, and batteries must be recharged. Popular brands like Yaesu/ICOM/Alinco including accessories would cost approx Rs.14,000/-.

Chinese make WOUXUN HT model KG-UVD1P including accessories can be got in India for Rs.6000 approx incld accessories/customs duty and is good value for money. Recently HAMS in Chennai came together and imported 30 of these directly from China . We hope it would give VHF/UHF activity in Chennai a boost.

Base Station: Most new Hams start out with 2 meter operation. A fancy base station has a lot of options, but most are not necessary to Hams who use 2 meters. They are also expensive and are rarely used by new Hams. Cost is approx Rs.20,000/- for VHF/UHF Dual & Rs.30,000+ for HF rigs.

An all band HF/VHF/UHF base radio from Yaesu.

Mobile radios: An excellent choice for permanent mounting in a vehicle and what many experienced Hams use on a daily basis while in their vehicle. There are few drawbacks and many advantages. The Mobile runs off the car battery (and the cables should run directly to the battery for best performance), the Hand Microphone is easy to use and, most of all, there is a lot more power available than with an HT. The only problem one might encounter is "noise" from the vehicle electronics, which can usually be resolved with the installation of a commercially made filter.

Mobile radio mounted inside a vehicle in vertical position.

Mobile used as a Base: This is the rig you see the most for in-home use. It has the power needed, the features most used and runs from a 12 Volt power supply. This is also a good option as, if the A/C power fails, a 12 Volt backup battery can be used to continue transmitting in emergency situations, a primary use for Ham Radio. I have used this type of rig for years and have yet to find a drawback. You will need a 12 Volt power supply: For 2 meters, a 12 - 20 amp filtered supply should do very well.

SUMMARY: If you are on the go and will operate some from home on a tight budget, a 5 Watt HT Hand Held is your best starter radio. If you will operate from your home most of the time, a Mobile used as a Base is the best choice. New Hams with more resources should by an HT, a Mobile used as a Base and a Mobile for each vehicle. This is what most Hams end up doing during the first years. Remember, you still need a power supply and antennas!

Tip: New Hams with young children should be careful to not let kids play with the new "toy". Disconnecting the Microphone works well.

Choosing The Right Antennae for your HAM Rigs

2010-01-13T01:03:00.000-08:00

ANTENNAS: Choosing the right antenna is one of the most important parts of good Amateur Radio operation. As with the selection of a radio, it is suggested that a well respected brand of antenna be your choice to get you started. After you learn more about how they perform, under what conditions, and then using your antenna as a baseline, you can then experiment with other antennas. Many Hams say this is one of the most enjoyable parts of Ham Radio.

Good, time proven antenna brands include: (Alphabetical Order) Comet, Cushcraft, Diamond, Hustler, Hygain, Larsen, Maxrad, MFJ, and Workman.

Suggested types of antennas for New Ham would include Verticals,Slim Jim, Yagi Beams, and J-poles.

Vertical Antennas: The typical antenna found on vehicles, in homes on a metal sheet or base verticals mounted outside. These types of antennas have omni-directional coverage, but usually have lesser range than a Yagi Beam.

A SlimJim Antenna

Yagi Beam: A long metal boom with perpendicular tines mounted in descending size along the boom length. This antenna is good for extended range, but has a narrowed area of coverage.
J-pole, and others: A J-pole is a simple antenna that is fun to construct. They can be purchased inexpensively, and be used inside or outside. They can be rigid, flexible or roll-up type. This antenna does not compete with most Vertical or Beam antennas, but cannot be matched for flexibility of use. Most experienced Hams have a J-pole antenna close by for emergency use.
One of the biggest challenges for New Hams is the selection of the proper antenna for the given location of use. Now that we have discussed the basic antennas available, let's list some possible use scenarios:

3 Element Yagi

JPole Antenna

RURAL AREAS WITH MOST OTHER HAMS IN A LARGE CITY MILES AWAY: For the home, the best bet would be a Yagi Beam, mounted on a pole or tower. The antenna is pointed toward the city. Again, the Yagi has limited angle of coverage, but better coverage in one general direction.

APARTMENT IN TOWN WITH ANTENNA RESTRICTIONS: Within the restrictions of your home, mount a vertical antenna as high up as you can. Not all of us are lucky enough to be on the top floor of a 40 story high rise, but good results can get you into the local repeaters and some simplex frequencies. A 5/8ths wave magnetic mount antenna on top of the metal refrigerator works well. If you can't do that, find a place where a mag. mount can sit on a large pizza pan, which acts as a ground plane. If that won't work, try using a J-pole hung up vertically at the top of a wall, hopefully away from metal. Move it around to find the best area for reception. Use caution with power output when close to people. Later on, if you get an outside antenna, you can use an antenna switch and still use the inside antenna during storms.

HOME WITH DEED RESTRICTIONS OR RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS: These are homes that have room, but erecting a pole or a tower outdoors is prohibited. In addition to the inside antenna listed above, think about being Patriotic and erecting a flag pole made of non-metallic PVC. A flag on top and a surprise inside!

HOME WITH NO RESTRICTIONS: Inside, as a backup and storm antenna with a switch, use an antenna listed above. Outside, the choices are open. You can erect a "Push-Up" pole or a tower, and put up a large Vertical, a Yagi Beam and even a rigid J-pole. Talk to an experienced Ham about grounding issues when constructing an outside antenna.

IN YOUR VEHICLE: Let's refine our earlier discussion. A "rubber duck" that comes on an HT does not usually transmit well inside a car. An outside permanent or magnetic mount antenna works well in 1/4th or 5/8th wave. The mobile unit should have the same type antenna also. If you mount a mobile or even use an HT with a small amplifier, it is a good idea to run the cable in an area that is out of the way. Many times, running the coax under edges of carpet or underneath seats is time well spent.

Magnetic base mobile antennas

EXTRA GOOD IDEAS FOR EQUIPMENT: An external speaker of excellent quality is a good investment. An extra power cord for your Mobile used as a Base hooked to a large Deep Cycle battery for backup is a good idea. An SWR/Power meter. An extra battery pack and an Alkaline battery pack for your HT is a needed item. For HTs, a small external plug-in hand microphone is a good buy

Kind Attention : Chennia HAMS Call Signs list for Post Cards Returned

2010-01-11T23:36:00.000-08:00

As per info received from Mr.Vittal vu2vit@gmail.com , below is the list of call signs of Chennai based HAMS for which the postcards sent were returned . We are posting this info here with a view to obtain their correct address, pls inform all concerned and pass on this message . Pls give your feedback on correct address to Mr.Vittal directly on his mail.

Chennai based HAMS for which postcards returned : Correct address needed.

vu2ar ramamurthy vu2beg hartwig fisher vu2bum balakrishnan vu2bvu b.v.kumar vu2dna t.s.danapalan vu2dnv vu2eer seetharaman vu2gai Antony Miranda, pondicherry vu2ggn gopikrishnan vu2gka kaniamuthan, pondicherry vu2gtd shanmugam vu2gts g.ramkumar vu2jar j.ravi vu2jkj j.krishnamurthy vu2jmb nazir ahmed vu2jmc vu2jru j.ragu vu2mnp md.nishar

vu2mtg mohan t george vu2nal md.navas vu2pij md kutty vu2spq s.srinivasan vu2tda t.d.ashok vu2tje p.ragunathan vu2tsv t.sahadev vu2tte T.krishnadev vu2tvt sanil george vu2vdj varadarajan vu2vsa srivatsan vu2xtl arvind bose vu2zaa vu2zqj v.sankaran vu3bgd subramanyam vu3bge saradha vu3emq vu3gaz gangai amaran vu3ggn padma vu3grk girija
vu3har hari vu3ibz vu3jsk jayashree vu3jyg jayanthi vu3kbk k.balakrishnan

vu3kgt george thomas gummidipundi vu3kml kanchanamala vu3kmm mammen vu3krk vu3ktu kasturi vu3niy nyas ahmed vu3nkg gopinath vu3rac Ramakrishnan vu3rnl nirmala vu3smt manimegalai vu3spa s.parasuram vu3sra sundararam vu3tds murthy

Innovation : How to built a "Go Box" portable amateur radio station

2010-01-09T21:52:00.000-08:00

This page documents how Amercian HAM KR7RK built a "Go Box" portable amateur radio station. It's was his hope that this will give you some ideas to other HAMS across the world build your own Go Box.

His main objectives in this project were to put together a portable HF station. The plan was to use this station for fun (contesting, field day, vacation use, etc.), as well as have it available to support emergency services should the need arise.

Design goals included the following:

* It has to be "plug-and-play", meaning that basically the only things needed to get it operational would be to plug in an antenna and power source.
* It has to be functional on all HF bands and modes. VHF/UHF can be incorporated as necessary
* It has to have modern equipment including a sound card interface.

* It has to be compact, but also large enough to comfortably operate for extended periods of time.
* The equipment has to be easily accessible rather than bolted directly to the box.

For the full article on how this was built pls view http://www.kr7rk.com/gobox.htm

Amateur Radio Satellite Communication : An Introduction

2010-01-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

One of the aspects of the Amateur Radio hobby is the use of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for communications. These are satellites placed in orbit for Amateur Radio use. These satellites pass over the earth with durations for effective satellite communications of an average of 10 minutes for a given location. During this time Amateur Radio operators (Hams) can communicate through the satellite to other Hams who are under the same satellite footprint.

More information is available at http://www.amsat.org/

For best satellite communication it is important to use a directional antenna system that is pointed at the satellite position and tracks the satellite’s position as it travels through space.

Communication satellites called OSCARs (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) can be accessed, some using a hand-held transceiver (HT) with a factory "rubber duck" antenna. Hams are also often able to make contact with the International Space Station (ISS) as many astronauts and cosmonauts are licensed as amateur radio operators.

AMSAT India – Indian Amateur Radio Satellite Programme

AMSAT is a worldwide group of Amateur Radio Operators who share an active interest in building, launching and then communication with each other through non-commercial Amateur Radio satellites. By any measure, AMSAT's track record has been impressive. Since its initial founding over 25 years ago, AMSAT has predominantly volunteered labor and donated resources to design, construct and with the added assistance of government and commercial space agencies, successfully launched over two dozen Amateur Radio communications satellites into the orbit of Earth. Sharing the same vision and objectives, other like minded groups throughout the world have since been formed to pursue the Amateur Radio Satellite program.

A HAM below with a handheld radio & simple three element antenna catching the sattelite signal outdoor.

A sophisticated setup with a automatic antenna rotator which is connected to the sattelite tracking software and keep aligning as satellite moves.

One of the popular web based
Indian HAMSAT satellite live tracking software, it tracks your internet IP and gives your latitude/longitude also in comparison with satellite's current position as well future appearance time windows.

HAMSAT Downlink - VHF 145.900 MHZ can be listed when sattelite is in Indian range with simple VHF setup, but window would be 5 to 10 minutes max or lesser unless you can have a moving antenna.
HAMSAT Uplink - UHF 435.250 MHZ
The best equipment is a handheld dual band VHF/UHF transreceiver like the Wouxun KGUVD1 and a handheld external antenna.

An artists impressions of satelite in space.

AMSAT India were responsible for the Amateur Radio satellite HAMSAT 1 (VO-52) launched on 5th March 2005 and they are currently working on it's successor HAMSAT 2.

Further information on VO-52 can be found at
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/sat_summary/hamsat.php

HAMSAT (VO-52) - N2YO Real Time Satellite Tracking
http://www.n2yo.com/?s=28650

AMSAT India sponsors VO-52 Operating Certificate

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/february2009/amsat_india_certificate.htm

VUSAT Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vusat/AMSAT%20India
http://www.amsatindia.org/

HAM Radio Demo/Presentation at Multi Club Rotary Meeting in Chennai

2010-01-04T02:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the efforts taken by OM Devdas VU2DH who apart from being a veteran HAM is an active Rotarian President also now , a wonderful platform was organised for rotarians in Chennai to be sensitised/gain knowledge about HAM Radio and its benefits to the world . A JOINT MEETING OF 5 CLUBS WAS CONDUCTED AT HOTEL BENZ PARK,CHENNAI ON 19.NOV 09 WHEREIN A DETAILED DEMO / PRESENTATION ABOUT HAM RADIO WAS GIVEN by veteran OM Thiagarajan (VU2PTR) to 50+ rotarians from various walks of life.

Rotary Clubs which participated are listed as below.

1. ANNANAGAR AADITHYA , PRESIDENT. K.M. DEVADAS
2. AARCH CITY-MADRAS, PRESIDENT. J. SHANKAR
3. MADRAS ASHOK NAGAR, PRESIDENT. K. MURALI
4. MADRAS NUNGAMBAKKAM , PRESIDENT. SUNDEEP BHATTAD
5. MADRAS WEST , PRESIDENT. G. NANDAGOPAL

After the official rotary style fellowship, the meeting was called to order at 1930 hrs with the above 5 presidents and the Chief guest/Speaker Mr. P. Thyagarajan(VU2PTR) – CEO , Accuspeed Engineering Design Services Ltd. President Nandagopal delivered his welcome speech followed by the club announcements by Pres. Sandeep and introduction of the chief guest by Pres. Devadas(VU2DH).

To the amazement of audience few HAMS including VU2DH, VU2PTR, VU3MOA etc setup a full fledged base radio station in 10 minutes (known as a shack in the HAM World) in front of the dais, for the audience it looked like a police control room with number of Radio tranceivers and handheld/walky talkies which were modulating on and off with their typical hiss.

VU2PTR Mr. Thyagarajan made a wonderful/informative/interactive presentation explaining details like the Origin of the word HAM (Hertz, Armstrong & Marconi) – Also known as AMATEUR RADIO, Origin of this hobby, which is in existence in over 320 countries , countrywise ham population, different HAM frequencies/bands, usefullness of HAM in calamities, its failsafe nature etc.

It was a explained in detail about HAM or Amateur Radio communication as a wonderful and unique hobby/media to make talk on social matters and make friendship all over the world. Mr. Thyagarajan explained about CW transmission and its abbreviated words, syllabus for examination, procedure for getting license, rules and regulations, licensing fees etc. During natural calamities like Cyclon, Earth quake, Tzunami, the first thing to be affected is entire telecommunication network including lanlines, cellular etc . It was re-iterated that at this stage HAMs are the only one who can emerge into situation without waiting for any permission from any authorities, voluntarily reaching the spot and erecting a fullfledged radio station within few minutes and can start transmitting all over the world.

To quote an example of operations , during the last Indian tsunami 8 such radio stations were set up along South Tamil nadu Coast which was badly affected , who receive all and any rescue msgs received from Government officials , police, Military and pass it on to District Collectors and other government agencies for providing necessary relief materials and measures instantly whereas without this radio communication it would have taken days to setup such a link . Apart from this, many HAMs (Amateur Radio Stations) were assisting from their respective homes in communications during relief operations. This was extended during the heavy cyclonic storm in 1996 also in Chennai, Earth quack in Lathore etc…

It was also explained that the hams also can track & trace unauthorized transmission used by any anti social elements etc , with the help of Radio Frequency Direction Finder (RFDF) which is practiced in a pet name of FOX HUNT. Rtn. K.M. Devadas(VU2DH) has a record of 4 times 1st place winner in different states like TN, KARNATAKA, KERALA for this game in tracing the FOX in record time, apart from many other positions in this game.

A book about ABC of Amateur Radio (HAM) was distributed by Rtn. K.M. Devadas(VU2DH) R/c Annanagar Aadithya to all the Rotarians who attended the meeting. We hope more such meeting about HAM Radio get organised across Chennai in various forums.

Amateur Radio in India/Globe : A Look back at 2009 events / milestones

2009-12-31T01:49:00.000-08:00

On behalf of all Chennai Amateur radio HAM enthusiasts we would like to express our most sincere wishes for a wonderful 2010 . A lucky sign for this New Year is that we can at last see some sunspots that indicate there will be an improvement in the propagation of HF bands . HAMS globally report that in many years there has never been such a lengthy absence of solar activity as in the last two years.

Let us all hope that as 2009 is coming to an end, 2010 will have much better things in store for all Amateur Radio lovers in India in terms of better legislation to ease rules which are choking the hobby , more people get knowledge/awareness to become HAMS, more public awareness campaigns to popularise the hobby etc.

We are trying to compile here some of good/positive things which happened with Amateur Radio/HAMS in the Indian context.

* Several websites/blogs launched in India by HAMS which especially helps in giving info to budding amateurs to access information easily and inturn keen for the survival and growth of the hobby.

* HAMFEST India 2009 held in Bangalore and was a gala event with very good participation.

* Several other events held across India.

As per info provided by VU2GMN , below is the feedback received by ARSI from WPC officially for several requests made by ARSI and issues raised over the past few years and followed up with relentless personal visits to interact with officials on several occasions.

1. WPC not able to do away with security clearance which is the biggest stumbling block to issue of new licenses. They say it is an inter-departmental issue on which they have no control . We will keep fighting to get it removed as it is illogical at this point of time
2. On line renewals of licenses is under consideration
3. On line examinations is also under consideration
4. Allocation of frequency within 50.00 to 50.20 MHz not possible at present as it has been allocated to Fixed, Mobile and Broadcasting services. We will continue trying for at least a couple of spot frequencies
5. 10100 to 10150 has been allocated to Amateur Services on a secondary basis
6. 7.1 to 7.2 exclusively allocated to amateur services as already informed
7. If any group wishes to conduct emergency communication drills, a formal fax request can be done and during that time third party traffic will be permitted which is normally not allowed
8. Removal of Morse Code for all classes of licenses- they have not committed as of now but was informed orally that it is under consideration
9. Mobile or portable operation will still require permission on case by case basis. Security issues quoted as reason
10. Validity of amateur licenses- under consideration for implementing the 10-year and lifetime licenses
11. Renewal of licenses by local monitoring stations under consideration

Let's hope & pray as part of the Global HAM Family that 2010 brings much more joy and happiness all Amateur Enthusiasts and their families to keep this unique & wondeful hobby flying to greater heights.

On Behalf of All Chennai HAMS

ChennaiHamsBlogspot Team

Strong Chennai HAMS/SWL participation in HAMFEST 2009 at Bangalore

2009-11-11T23:22:00.000-08:00

More than 700 hams and swl participate at the hamfest 2009 held at Bangalore on 7th & 8th November . From chennai 41 Hams and 6 swl's registered .

Some of partipants were 2GMN,2WYR,2SDU,2DH,2VIT,2MTS,3STJ,2GWH,3MOA,2DRK,2AKW,3USI,2VAU,2GJR,3GGK,3RLR,2KLS,2GPS,2PIY,2PTR,2RDX,2ETO,2LF,2MBA,2CMR,3VWR,3UBR,2TSF,2ABS,2DA,2PSQ,2DPNand SWl Jaisakthivel attended the hamfest. The next hamfest is going to be held at Pollachi on 2010.

For full photo profile pls click here.

Thanks and Regards

ChennaiHams Team

Underwater Radio Communications using VLF/ELF

2009-09-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

This is in continuation to already two articles published on Marine/Air Traffic communication and I thought it would be best to complete it like a trilogy by writing in the most complex form of radio communication, UNDERWATER RADIO PROPAGATION.

Underwater radio communication is an important component of global technology in the 21st century, but at the same time continues to be a very challenging part as it has many uses in various spheres including underwater diving , deep sea exploration , oil exploration , Naval submarine operations etc.

Communication with underwater submarines is difficult because radio waves don't travel well through thick electrical conductors like salt water. The obvious solution is to surface and raise an antenna above the water, then use ordinary radio transmissions. Early submarines had to frequently surface anyway for the oxygen needed by their diesel engines. During the Cold War, however, nuclear-powered submarines were developed that could stay submerged for months. In order to allow for communication with submerged submarines, several techniques are used.

VLF radio waves (3–30 kHz) can penetrate seawater to a depth of approximately 20 meters. Hence a submarine at shallow depth can use these frequencies. A vessel more deeply submerged might use a buoy on a long cable equipped with an antenna. The buoy rises to a few meters below the surface, and may be small enough to remain undetected by enemy sonar / radar.

Due to the low frequency, a VLF broadcast aerial needs to be quite big. In fact, broadcasting sites are usually a few square kilometers (or miles). This of course prevents such aerials being installed on submarines. Submarines only carry a VLF reception aerial, and do not respond on such low frequencies. So a ground-to-submarine VLF broadcast is always a one way broadcast, originating on the ground and received aboard the ship. If two-way communication is needed, the ship must surface and communicate on other, higher, frequencies (such as UHF or VHF).

Electromagnetic waves in the ELF frequency range (3–3000 Hz) (see also SLF) can travel through the oceans and reach submarines anywhere. Building an ELF transmitter is a formidable challenge, as they have to work at incredibly long wavelengths: The US Navy's system operates at 76 hertz the Soviet/Russian system (called ZEVS) at 82 hertz. The latter corresponds to a wavelength of 3658.5 kilometers. That is more than a quarter of the Earth's diameter. Obviously, the usual half-wavelength dipole antenna cannot be constructed, as it would spread across a large country.

A VLF Antenna site in US. A typical VLF Transmitter site occupies a huge surface area and stretches for kms mostly . An example is a Grid laid out in the form of a Six pointed star (Star of David), with the Main Transmitter Station (MTS) at the center and transmission towers at the points. There are 13+ Transmission towers totally. The grid is composed of a central mast and two concentric circles of six masts each.

A surfaced submarine can use ordinary radio communications. Submarines may use naval HF, VHF and UHF voice and teleprinter circuits. Where available, dedicated military communications satellite systems are preferred for long distance communications, as HF may betray the location of the submarine. The US Navy's system is called Submarine Satellite Information Exchange Sub-System (SSIXS), a component of the Navy Ultra High Frequency Satellite Communications System (UHF SATCOM).

A Radio room inside a submarine.

No wonder the Indian Navy attached high priority to submarine communications even decades ago and subsequently anticipated the importance of Very Low Frequency (VLF) underwater transmissions instantaneously. As part of an ambitious naval modernisation program, during the mid-1980s the Indian Navy had constructed a VLF broadcasting station in Tamil Nadu.

Although not publicly declared, it was reported that the United States, the undisputed leader of submarine communications actively collaborated in the project, which was completed in September 1986. This facility needs to be viewed as an “initial step” in the quest of development of underwater Very Low Frequency/Extremely Low Frequency (VLF/ELF) and laser communications for effective coordination of the submarines with the Indian NCA. The operational VLF facility is used by the Indian Navy to communicate with its SSK fleet of Russian Kilo Class and German Type 1500, with trailing communication buoys at periscope depth of 10 to 20-metres. After the nuclear-powered ATV become operational, the VLF facility will permit Indian National Command Authority to issue launch orders to the submerged ATVs at periscope depth.

INS Kattabomman, located at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu is home to a VLF (Very Low Frequency) station and communications network. It allows the Navy to communicate with its submarines, underwater, at long ranges. It can monitor surface vessels and can distinguish between merchant vessels and naval vessels over long distances in the Indian Ocean. It is the first of its kind in Asia and its technology was developed locally. VLF facilities exist at Chennai and Calcutta as well.

G.Vipin Shankar (SWL)

Chennai Airport VHF Radio Communication Infrastructure having problems

2009-09-02T03:13:00.000-07:00

Subsequent to the earlier article , this interesting article appeared in TOI newspaper today 2nd Sept 2009.

Pilots, ATC fume as radio at city airport cracks up
Arun Ram TNN Chennai: The sole area control VHF radio at Chennai airport, which monitors aircraft movements up to 200 miles, is cracking up in the face of increasing traffic, putting pilots and controllers under severe stress. Though the air traffic control (ATC) is using a second area control frequency on a trial basis, it is unable to make it fully functional because of a shortage of personnel. The situation could prove risky during monsoon, when pilots ask for urgent deviations to avoid turbulence. Unlike in Delhi and Mumbai (which have 2 frequencies) and Kolkata (which has 3), Chennai has only one frequency (118.9 Mhz) for area control.

Chennai handles about 350 take-offs and landings daily, and a controller has to monitor and interact with up to 30 aircraft during peak hours. This results in overlapping of conversation between several cockpits and the ATC. Pilots call it ‘stepping down’. “When I am stepped down, all I get to hear is a buzz,” a pilot told TOI. “Normally, it may not be dangerous as I come under the approach radar once I am 50 nautical miles from the tower. But during monsoon, when I may have to request for urgent deviations, it could prove shaky.” ATC officers said such overlaps often happen. “In two years, traffic has doubled but upgradation of gadgets and manpower has not happened,” said an ATC official.

Air traffic management executive director V Somasundaram told TOI that the Airports Authority of India was planning upgradation of facilities across the country, but denied having problems with the Chennai area control VHF. Radar blacks out for 4 hours Hundreds of passengers at Chennai airport were put to hardship as flight movements were disrupted for about four hours on Tuesday because of radar failure.

The approach radar at the ATC went blank after an earthmover snapped an underground cable. P 4 AIR POCKET Trouble in air as gadgets fail INADEQUATE MANPOWER DESPITE TRAFFIC DOUBLING IN 3 YEARS Chennai: Too few men grappling with too old machines — that’s what Chennai air traffic control is. While the approach radar conks off often, as it happened on Tuesday morning, the single area control VHF used to communicate with pilots up to 200 nautical miles is proving too inadequate for the exploding traffic. “It was okay to have just one VHF till three years ago, when the airport was handling only about 150 movements a day. The traffic has doubled since then. Though we are trying out a second frequency, 124.45 MHz, to monitor aircraft between 80 nautical miles and 40 nautical miles, we don’t have enough people to operate both the frequencies simultaneously. We need at least 200 controllers, but we have hardly 140 people working in four shifts,” said an air traffic official.

Unlike Chennai air traffic control, which has only one area control frequency, Delhi and Mumbai have two, and Kolkata has three. All hell breaks lose at the control tower when the ageing approach radar that monitors flight movements within a radius of 50 nautical miles also fails, sending the controllers scurrying for pen and paper to make manual calculations of aircraft positions. Adding to the controllers’ nightmare are the confusing call signs (code names) of aircraft. There is no uniformity in terms of number of digits; some have two digits, others three or four. Three different airlines have call signs such as 442, 2442 and 3442. “During peak hours, with the VHF acting up, we may not hear one digit and may end up giving instructions to the wrong pilot,” said an air traffic controller.

When contacted, air traffic management executive director V Somasundaram said he had not got any complaint on the area control VHF malfunctioning. “Anyway, we are planning to upgrade the system across the country. Chennai will have a new system called performancebased navigation, which would make air traffic control more effective from October. As for manpower, we keep enhancing the strength as per the requirements,” he said. Chennai ATC has a wide range, extending to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the east, Thiruvananthapuram in the south, Hyderabad in the north and almost till Goa in the west. Besides handling landings and takeoffs, Chennai also has to monitor movements along busy overhead flight paths like the Singapore-Dubai route. The control tower at the airport monitors aircraft movements within a radius of 10 nautical miles using 118.1 MHz frequency. Then there is the monopulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR), called the approach radar, which has a range of 50 nautical miles. Beyond this and up to 200 nautical miles, the communication is handled by the area control VHF on 118.9 MHz frequency.

Courtesy : arun .ram @timesgroup .com

Introduction to Radio Communications in Air Traffic Control operations

2009-08-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

I am sure all of us who love Radio communications are aware that both ships as well as aircraft across the world primarily use radio communications as a mode of ensuring that there is safe movements of passengers and cargo across the world from point to point.

Although modern technologies like sattelite communications etc do play their role in keeping aircraft or ships moving safely, radio communications on VHF/HF is still the backbone of air/ocean traffic control operations. I have already published an article on ship traffic operations and so this article would focus on air traffic management.

The soft and relaxed voice from the ground has a soothing effect on the pilot who completes his tiring journey by making a successful landing. It's a wonder for many how an aircraft reaches its final destination from a departure station, who all are involved in the process of safe flight and landing ? It is understandable if they assume that the pilot is the person who takes care of everything from take off, enroute flying and landing.

People in general know about the pilot, but much less about those who remain behind the screen and shoulder the responsibility of guiding the flights from the starting an engine at departure aerodrome to its landing at destination.

The limited field of view from the pilot's cockpit limits pilot's ability to avoid any close proximity to other air traffic around him during the course of the flight as well as on the ground. He is, therefore, dependent on the Air Traffic Controller for directing him in his flight and on the ground for all manoeuvres right till the end of his journey.

To eliminate confusion in understanding a particular instruction, standard Radio Phraseologies have been laid down which are understood by the pilots and Air Traffic Controllers the world over. A small mistake by Air Traffic controller or a misunderstanding by a pilot can result in a disaster and the loss of many lives. While pilots are required to follow Controller's instructions faithfully and meticulously, Air traffic Controller ensures that the instructions given are clear and flawless.

Although globally there are private players you manage air traffic operations, in India strictly air traffic operations is under the control of Airports Authority of India who manage the entire civilian skies which India controls. Defence has their own Air Traffic operations primarily managed by the Indian Air Force.

Civilian Air traffic management across the country is executed through a network of control towers, navigational aids and beacon stations which are located both at airports as well as non airport locations across the country. The Radio communication part of its consists of three main components.

Control Towers - Any airport you see you cannot miss a tall oval building which rises above other structures in the airports and that essential is the control tower with which an aircraft contacts first before a pilot can start his engine. Then its the tower control which guides the aircraft till take off and upto say 5-10 nautical miles when its handed over to Radar.

Chennai Airport Tower Frequency : 118.100 MHZ

Approach Radar - Once taken off the aircraft then switches to another radio frequency which guides them till possibly approx 200 nautical miles from the takeoff location or to another ground control enroute to final destination airport. Once the aircraft nears the destination airport the process happens vice-versa with first approach radar controllers guiding the aircraft till visual sight of control tower and air traffic controllers guide the aircraft to land safely.

Chennai Airport Approach/Radar Frequency : 127.900 MHZ / 124.450MHZ

FIC Region - This is more at a global level where the whole world is divided into various Flight information regions and aircraft when they travel from say Asia to Europe pass through multiple FIC Region controls. Chennai is an FIC Region and has control upto near Singapore on the eastern side and many airports under its region.

Control Towers and Approach Radar operations use VHF communications for contacting aircrafts, whereas FIC's use HF for long distance communication.

If you are more interested to know about Air Traffic Control operations in India AirSpace , pls visit the Indian Air Traffic Controllers guild website which has plenty of info.

http://www.atcguild.com/netair/index.asp.

http://www.atcguild.com/ATSROUTECHART.ASP

G.Vipin Shankar, SWL

Ham Radio demo at the Regional level CBSE Science exibition at Chennai

2009-08-16T05:03:00.001-07:00

An Hamradio demo was conducted at the regional level CBSE Science exibition held at Chennai recently . In the 10th standard CBSE syllabus on the social studies, under the disaster management heading there is chapter on how Amateur Radio is helpful during the natural clalamities globally as well as in India . Based on this The Devi Academy School in valasaravakkam has taken a keen interest to put up a demo station at the Regional level CBSE science Exibition held on Auguest 10th & 11th 2009 at The Hindu Seniorsecondary school in Indira Nagar, Chennai. OM Shanmugam VU2 CSM took care of setting up the station and explained to the visitors/students about the importance of the Amateur radio during disaster situations .

The response from the CBSE Schools and especially students/visitors was overwhelming . We thank the principal and the staff of The Devi Academy School , VU2CSM and an SWL WB Sivaraj who is an old student of The Hindu Senior Secondary School who had arranged the battery backup at the Venue. Hope more students taken up this as an active hobby and thus ensuring HAM Radio continues to grow as an ever exciting hobby of keeping you voice on air.

Memorable Eyeball/Gettogether on 12th July'09 Sunday at VU3STJ's House

2009-07-12T09:33:00.001-07:00

VU3 STJ OM Radhakrishnan , also known popularly & affectionately known on the HAM airwaves as "Radha" became a ham in the year 1996 . He recently constructed a house behind the chennai vandalur zoo and invited fellow Chennai HAMS for a eyeball gettogether on Sunday 12th July . About ten hams managed to spare time and gathered at Radha's house and also helped STJ install aVHF yagi Antenna at a height of 50 feet from the ground level which should ensure he comfortably continues to be able to handle the task of handling the night Chennai VHF Radio Net as "Net Controller" . A very aromatic/hot coffee arranged by his XYL ensured all got some much required energy boost before we would begin the installation work for the antenna .

Radha is also active on HF 40meters apart from VHF . He is a retired Headmaster settled in chennai with his two sons and has been offlate conducting the chennai VHF net in the nights regularly as "Net Contoller" . With his antenna setup he becomes the signal report station for chennai hams from south side beyond Vandalur . VU3 CNN, VU2 KBX, VU2 RF, VU2 TTL, VU2 GHX, VU3 MPK, VU3 RGK, VU2 LFW and VU2 DPN were part of the team of Chennai Hams who made it to today's eyebal gettogether cum VHF Antenna installalation support.

It was a very nice and memorable sunday evening eyeball meet at radha's house and wish we could organise more such house visit eyeballs. All those who visited Radha's house today wish to thank Radha and his XYL for the wonderful hospitality extended.

For full PhotoAlbum pls click here

Introduction to Marine VHF Radio

2009-07-12T01:30:00.000-07:00

Although IMMARSAT (International Maritime Sattelite Network) / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inmarsat) and HF Radio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_frequency) is used for over the horizon long distance marine communications across the world, VHF is still the backbone for line of sight marine communications worldwide.
Marine VHF radio is installed on all large ships and nowadays most motorized small craft even in India . It is used for a wide variety of purposes, including summoning rescue services and communicating with harbours, locks, bridges and marinas, and operates in the VHF frequency range, between 156 to 174 MHz. Although it is widely used for collision avoidance, its use for this purpose is contentious and is strongly discouraged by some countries.
A marine VHF set is a combined transmitter and receiver and only operates on standard, international frequencies known as channels. Channel 16 (156.8 MHz) is the international calling and distress channel . Channel 9 can also be used in some places as a secondary call and distress channel. Transmission power ranges between 1 and 25 watts, giving a maximum range of up to about 60 nautical miles (111 km) between aerials mounted on tall ships and hills, and 5 nautical miles (9 km) between aerials mounted on small boats at sea-level. Frequency modulation is used.

In the Indian Maritime scenario Channel 16 (156.800 MHZ) and Channel 10 (156.500 MHZ) is used for routine port traffic control operations including maritime Search and Rescue.

Modern day marine VHF radios have a variety of features in addition to basic transmit and receive capabilities. All fixed mount marine VHF radios produced nowadays have some level of DSC calling capability. A number of the more expensive units are capable of acting as a hailer when connected to a hailer horn, can work with optional voice scramblers, and a few even have the ability to use a Bluetooth headset. A large number of unbiased independent reports on both fixed mount and handheld marine VHF radios can be seen at Marine Electronics Reviews.

Marine VHF mostly uses "simplex" transmission, where communication can only take place in one direction at a time. A transmit button on the set or microphone determines whether it is operating as a transmitter or a receiver. The majority of channels, however, are set aside for "duplex" transmissions channels where communication can take place in both directions simultaneously.

Each duplex channel has two frequency assignments. This is mainly because, in the days before mobile phones and satcomms became widespread, the duplex channels could be used to place calls on the public telephone system for a fee via a marine operator. This facility is still available in some areas, though its use has largely died out. In US waters, Marine VHF radios can also receive weather radio broadcasts, where they are available, on receive-only channels wx1, wx2, etc.

Amateur Station/HAM on board ships in India as per WPC Rules :

(1) The Central Government may on receipt of an application authorise establishment, maintenance and working of an amateur station on board a ship registered in India. Applications for such authorisation shall be accompanied by a written approval of the master or owners of the ship concerned.

(2) The establishment, maintenance and working of amateur stations on board ships shall, in addition to the conditions specified , be subject to such other conditions as the Central Government may determine from time to time and such conditions, among others, shall include the following, namely:-

(i) The amateur station on board ship shall be operated only while the ship is in International waters or Indian territorial waters. Its operation within the territorial waters of another country shall be in conformity with laws and regulations of the country concerned.

(ii) It shall not be operated whilst the ship is in any harbour in India.

(iii) The callsign allotted to such stations shall have suffix `MS' followed by the callsign of the ship in case of radiotelegraphy or the official name of the ship in case of radiotelephony.

(iv) The amateur station on board a ship shall discontinue operation at any time on request of an officer of the Central Government, the Master or Radio Officer of the ship or any land station.

Famous Indian HAMS

2009-07-12T00:34:00.000-07:00

This is an extract of famous Indian HAMS listed by VU2SDU Shaikh Sadaqathullah (Amateur Radio Operator from Chennai (Madras),Tamilnadu,India. http://www.qsl.net/vu2sdu/ . Its a wonderful site and we are sure lot of hours have gone into putting so much info/thoughts into webspace.

The Hindu features an article on Ham Hobby in Chennai

2009-04-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

Catch this on print in The Hindu Metroplus dated 25th April 2009 or Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Chennaihams wishes to thank Prince Frederick (The Hindu) for the good coverage which would give more visibility to the HAM hobby in Chennai to ensure this hobby keeps growing further in this era where other communication modes are expanding fast.

TImes of India honours all Chennai HAMs with an article on the occasion of World Amateur Radio Day

2009-04-18T04:46:00.000-07:00

Catch this on print in Page 6, Times of India (Main Paper/Times City) dated 18th April 2009 or Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Chennaihams wishes to thank Kamini Mathai(TOI) for the good coverage which would give more visibility to this passion in Chennai , thus attracting more people to become HAMmers.

Chennai HAM Couple featured in THE HINDU - METROPLUS

2009-04-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

Chennai HAM couple VU2DRK (Ramakrishnan) & his wife VU2MRK (Manjula) were featured in the mush register section of The Hindu - Metroplus Chennai dated 14th April 2009.

Click this link for full article http://www.hinduonnet.com/mp/2009/04/14/stories/2009041450230500.htm

Wishes from all Chennai HAMS/SWL's to the couple for a wonderful life ahead and offcourse keep hamming to keep your voice on air always.

Chennai Eyeball Meet : A Memorable Gettogether

2009-04-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

After longtime in Chennai all HAM's/SWL's got an opportunity to come together for an eyeball and share lots of things about the wonderful hobby. The response was overwhelming with almost 50+ people making time out of their precious Sunday and coming to venue at TTK road to meet their old buddies as well share their knowledge/experience with budding amateur radio enthusiasts/SWL’s.

A short photo profile of the eyeball is enclosed , full story board with photos would be updated shortly.

Vu2GMN Gopal Madhavan (President - Amateur Radio Society of India) gave the welcome address and elaborated on Amateur radio in general as well as the current bottlenecks the hobby faces in India and how ARSI is working to make things easier for budding HAMS.

Many senior HAM’s/SWL’s as well as budding hobbyists participated in the event and many shared their thoughts about this hobby as well as gave some much needed guidance for new comers.

VU2DPN also informed that the ASOC exam study group has now become 20+ members and hence most probably senior HAM’s are liaising with WPC wireless monitoring station (Perungudi) to conduct a restricted grade exam in Chennai by June’09 end.

All those interested to take up the exam are requested to register at hamexams@gmail.com to start getting the online lessons as well soft copy of study material which would be readily e-mailed to your mail ID .

Special thanks to VU3MOA Mohan for arranging for the venue and hope more and more volunteers come forward to organize such get together’s in Chennai in near future for the benefit of HAM community. Anybody wishing to publish a story/contribute photos like your HAM shack etc pls send across and we would review and publish same.

For full photoprofile of the event pls click on this link PhotoAlbum of Eyeball

Informal HAM Eyeball at Chennai on 12th April 2009

2009-04-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

As a precursor to the world amateur radio day coming up in April month (18thApril) the Chennaihamsblogspot invites all the Chennai HAM's and SWL's to come together for the passion of this wonderful hobby under one roof in chennai for an informal eyeball on April 12th 2009 at 4:30PM onwards . Its long time since Chennai has an interaction like this.

The Address is as follows:
Maharastra Education Fund Hall No.290, TTK road , Alwarpet , Chennai Opp to Ethiraj Kalyanamandapam.

The eyeball meeting is a casual interaction meet for all SWL's/budding HAMS tomeet around with buddies to discuss on preparation plans to take up ASOL examsand also for all OM's to catch up old friends , have a chat etc.Its also an opportunity to share suggestions/ideas for the improvement of theblogsite as well overall HAM activities in Chennai or any other subject relatedto ham radio.Your presence for this gettogether will be the key to success of the event and astepping stone for organising further HAM activities during 2009 in Chennai.

For any further info/suggestions pls call anyone below.

Deepan /VU2DPN/9840790506

Vipin /SWL/9840873578

Devdas /VU2DH/9841015516

Sathyan /VU3MES/9840988517

Hope we all have a wonderful interactive session during the eyeball.

13th HAM VHF Foxhunt conducted at Calicut,Kerala

2009-03-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

The 13th Kerala VHF Fox Hunt was succesfully conducted at Calicut , Kerala on 8th March 2009 . Eight teams participated in total and a large crowd including members of public and press had assembled to witness the function which received lot of media coverage . The event was covered locally in Calicut by INDIAN EXPRESS, MALAYALA MANORAMA & MATHRUBHUMI and also TV. The programme was conducted by Quilon Amateur Radio League in association with Calicut Repeater Club.

Fox hunt being flagged off with team No.3, by Mr. A. Pradeepkumar,MLA with QARL President Natarajan

VU2KGN QARL President Natarajan VU2KGN giving a brief to the chief guest about HAM Radio.

Rest of gathering including HAMS,SWL's, media etc.

On the D-Day 8th March among the thousands of radio waves in the air , there was a tone in a particular frequency 144.600 Mhz , when all the six teams linedup on at 1000 hrs with their directional antennas and HAM RADIO Handies .

Taking bearing in a building top - VU2DH - DAS, VU3GGK-GOPAL, VU2KIV DR.VIJESH, VU2OGO SANTOSH, VU2VJT THOMAS

The tools of the trade including VHF handie, Maps, compass etc and its defenitely looks tech stuff from scotland yard or straight out of a bond movie.

They rushed in various directions, few of them were proceeding towards the medical college where they receive strong signals towards the driving exam grounds near CHEVAYOOR. The fox was VU2RDL RAJAGOPAL Vice President of QARL. This is the first time VHF Fox hunt being organised in Calicut which the 13th Kerala VHF Fox hunt being conducted by QARL.

Ham radio enthusiasts volunteer for communication support anywhere in the world during emergencies and natural calamities, and even ships and aircrafts in disaster. The aim of conducting FOX hunt was to create public awareness that HAMs can serve Government & public during emergencies. In the interesting game, the team from Chennai hunted down the the fox first within record 45 minutes.

This first prize winning team consisted of VU2DH(DAS), VU3GGK GOPALAKRISHNAN (GOPAL) & VU2KIV DR. VIJITH . The Radio Wave hunters on the move having a close discussion before finally closing in on the fox den.

First position winning team VU3GGK,VU2KIV,VU2DH with fox VU2RDL RAJAGOPAL after capturing the fox Den. All the participants at the Fox Den.

The other team consisting of OM Ibrahim, VU3IRH from Pollachi and OM Prabhu, VU2TPP won the second prize . The third prize went to team comprising of OM Santhosh, VU2OGO and OM Thomas, VU2VJT from Payyannur. The winners would be awarded CSD rolling shields in addition to cash prizes and certificates during Ham Fair, 2009 at Kollam.

All Chennai HAMS/SWL's would like to convey hearty congratulations to all the partipants and winners for keeping up the spirit of this passionate hobby . Available photos are shown here , if any more photos related to this event if anyone has pls send across by e-mail and we could upload in this space.

WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY - 18th April 2009

2009-03-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

Each year on 18 April , radio amateurs celebrate World Amateur Radio Day. On that day in 1925 the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was founded. In 2009, the IARU theme of the event is Amateur Radio: Your Resource in Disaster and Emergency Communication.

Indian HAMS have contributing heavily during disaster situations. In Gujarat, for 10 days after the 2001 earthquake, hams were the only people who could communicate effectively. A number of them drove straight to Gujarat when they heard about the tragedy, using car batteries to power their radios so they could call for help whenever they found victims or unclaimed bodies. Every time there's a cyclone, an air crash or disasters in open fields where communication is difficult, hams are called upon for help since their mobile radio systems always work. Often, one ham is stationed at the district collector's office, just so he can talk to the authorities. Over the years, many hams have lost their lives when serving during disasters. Deepa, a young lady who went to Gujarat to help out, picked up a disease there and died. More recently, a Sri Lankan ham, who was in Iraq on a peace keeping mission as part of the UN group for communications, was shot dead.

Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu itself during the Tsunami in 2004 , HAMS swung to action to support State Government in relief ops and hams from across South India are being mobilised to help in whatever ways they can. They established stations in Vellankani, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Kanyakumari, Pondicherry and Thanjavur and also set up control stations in the bigger cities, like Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi.

While the Amateur Radio Service has traditionally made its contributions to emergency and disaster response ever since its very beginnings almost 100 years ago, this role has gained a lot of importance just in the recent past. It has done so mainly for two reasons:
** The number and dimension of natural as well as man-made disasters is unfortunately on the increase, and
** The modern communication technologies are increasingly complex, infrastructure-dependent and therefore also increasingly vulnerable.

The Amateur Radio Services puts two equally valuable assets at its disposal for emergency and disaster prevention, preparedness and response:
** A large number of very flexible and mostly infrastructure-independent, local, national, regional and global networks, and
** A large number of skilled operators, who know how to communicate with often very limited means and to establish communications even under the most difficult circumstances.

The tools at their disposal range from the most robust means such as battery-operated stations operating in Morse code to links through amateur radio satellites and interconnectivity with the Internet, in voice, text, image and data modes. They range from local VHF networks of fixed, mobile and portable stations to shortwave networks that span the globe. All these networks are operated on a daily basis by men and women who are thoroughly familiar with their technology and their intricacies.

Telecommunications have become a commodity that society takes for granted, and the sudden loss of that service is often felt in a similar way to the loss of shelter, food and medical support. When disasters occur in regions that do not have good coverage by public networks, or when existing communications infrastructures have just been disrupted or destroyed by such events, the Amateur Radio Service comes to the rescue. Amateur Radio operators provide communications for the rescuers and relief workers and their organizations and they help to provide communications for those affected by a disaster.

In fact, contributions to emergency and disaster relief are a major argument for the preservation and the extension of the privileges the Amateur Radio Service enjoys in international and national regulations. This is one of the reasons why more and more Amateur Radio operators, through their clubs and their national societies, prepare very seriously for their role in emergencies. However, their skills can be put to use only if they are known by other first responders. Effective response to emergencies can only occur with the work of volunteers in all the various fields; from search and rescue to medical assistance and those who can provide food and shelter. Communication skills are a new, but equally vital commodity.

Activities world over / in India cities on the occasion of World Amateur Radio Day 2009 can be a great opportunity to spread the word about what the “hams” are doing for the community.

As 18th April 2009 is fast approaching , pls start your throught process and we invite suggestions/ideas from all Chennai based HAMS/SWL's/Radio Enthusiasts on what we could do in Chennai on this day to further spread the passion of this hobby among common people. If we all come together then something nice could be organised at Chennai this year on this special day for HAM/Radio Enthusiasts.

HAM VHF Repeaters in South India - General Information

2009-03-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

This is already compiled info available in the internet on the HAM VHF repeaters in South India, but many are non functional at this point of time, We invite current status info on all these repeaters from HAMS across SIndia to create an uptodate one and post on this webspace for the benefit of all HAMS/SWL's across South India.

A Short note about repeater equipment for info , inputs from www.vu2dfd.com site plus few other sources.

A repeater is a device that extends the range of mobile and portable radios. A repeater consists of a dedicated high-power radio unit that receives transmissions on its input frequency and simultaneously re-transmits them on its output frequency. Most repeaters have a set, band-dependant channel spacing (all repeaters on a particular band will have their input and output frequencies separated by the same amount, known as a REPEATER OFFSET).

Ham radio makes use of repeaters quite frequently, as do most commercial radio users. For very obvious reasons, scanner users need only worry about monitoring a repeater’s output or tx frequency. The most basic repeater consists of an FM receiver on one frequency and an FM transmitter on another frequency usually in the same radio band, connected together so that when the receiver picks up a signal, the transmitter is keyed and rebroadcasts whatever is heard. Ham repeaters are found mainly in the VHF two meter (144 - 146 MHz) and the UHF 70 centimeter (434 - 438 MHz) bands, but can be used on almost any frequency pair above 29 MHz.

Note that different countries have different rules; for example, in the United States, the two meter band is 144-148MHz, while in the United Kingdom and most of Europe) it's 144-146MHz.
Repeater frequency sets are known as "repeater pairs," and in the ham radio community most follow ad hoc standards for the difference between the two frequencies, commonly called the offset. In India two-meter band, the standard offset is 600 kHz (0.6 MHz), In the days of crystal-controlled radios, these pairs were identified by the last portion of the transmit (Input) frequency followed by the last portion of the receive (Output) frequency that the ham would put into the radio.

Thus "one-five seven-five" (15/75) meant that hams would transmit on 145.75MHz and listen on 145.15MHz (while the repeater would do the opposite, listening on 145.75 and transmitting on 145.15). Since the late 1970s, the use of synthesized, microprocessor-controlled radios, and widespread adoption of standard frequency splits have changed the way repeater pairs are described. Repeaters typically have a timer to cut off retransmission of a signal that goes too long. Repeaters operated by groups with an emphasis on emergency communications often limit each transmission to 30 seconds, while others may allow three minutes or even longer. The time restarts after a short pause following each transmission, and many systems feature a beep or chirp tone to signal that this has taken place.

A Band-pass/ Band-reject Filter otherwise known as Duplexer is used along with the repeater to operate on a single antenna for both transmit and receive. The Duplexer may have a set 2 or 3 cavities on both Transmit and receive side. A high gain Omni-directional antenna will be normally used at the repeater locations.

In India compared to other state/Cities Chennai is having maximum VHF repeater Stations.
Call Sign Tx Frequency Rx Frequency Location
VU2 PUM 145.600MHz 145. 00 MHz Chennai
VU2 MRR 145.775 MHz 145.175 MHz Chennai
VU3 MVR 145.675 MHz 145.075 MHz Chennai
VU3 VGC 145.575 MHz 144.975 MHz 75 KM from Chennai
VU2 VCM 145.475 MHz 145.875 MHz 150KM from Chennai
VU2 X I S 145.375 MHz 144.775 MHz 75 Km from Chennai

Due to some technical snags few of the above repeaters are not working. In a few months time all the repeaters will be operational . The First UHF repeater station in India is also located in Chennai.

VU2 MUG 434.100MHz / 435.800 MHZ

Each repeater station location and installation was a dream and it carries so much struggle/memories of different people who made it possible . The featured articles will follow with updates about the story of each repeater . In 2009 Chennai hams are trying to do more research and new ideas on the repeater maintenance , keep visiting this site for more updates.

Also this is an interesting link with info on the latest models of HAM Transreceivers from ICOM,Kenwood,Yaesu,Motorola etc . Pls check out http://www.twowayradioonline.com/

Becoming a HAM Radio Operator in India

2009-02-23T00:29:00.000-08:00

Amateur radio, often called HAM Radio, is both a hobby and a service in which participants, called "hams," use various types of radio comunications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service , recreation and self-training. Amateur radio operators / HAMS enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. An estimated six million people throughout the world are regularly involved with amateur radio and its a very addictive passion like photography, adventure sports etc.

Amateur radio or HAM Radio is practised by more than 16,000 licensed users in India. The first amateur radio operator was licensed in 1921, and by the mid-1930s, there were around 20 amateur radio operators in India. Amateur radio operators have played a vital role during disasters and national emergencies such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, and bomb blasts, by providing voluntary emergency communications in the affected areas.

The first step is to get an amateur radio license in India from the ministry of communications/Wireless Planning Commission(WPC) . For the same, you have to write and pass an exam, and depending upon the category of license you are applying for, you may also need to learn the morse code. Don't worry that it would be too technical, its simple stuff which you need to learn and within reach of anybody, not essentially only engineers/tech folks.

This examination is held monthly in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai , every two months in Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Hyderabad, and every four months in some smaller cities, but it all depends on number of applicants . The examination consists of two 50-mark written sections: Radio theory and practice, Regulations; and a practical test consisting of a demonstration of Morse code proficiency in both sending and receiving for Grade I & II. After passing the examination, the candidate must then clear a police verification process . After clearance, the WPC grants the licence along with the user-chosen call sign. This procedure can take up to 12 months.
The catogories of licenses are;
i) Advanced Amateur Wireless telegraph Station Licence; You need to know a lot of advanced electronics theory, plus be able to send and receive morse at 15 words per minute.
(ii) Amateur Wireless Telegraph Station Licence, Grade - I; Advance electronics theory - and morse at the speed of 15 words per minute.
(ii) Amateur Wireless Telegraph Station Licence, Grade - II; A brief theory exam, plus morse at a speed of 5 words per minute.
(iii) Restited Grade Amateur Wireless Telegraph Station Licence Only the theory exam and no morse. This restricted licence allows you to use VHF/UHF equipment, that is limited in range to line of sight type of distances, similar to the ones used by police and other services.
(iv) Short Wave Listeners' Amateur Wireless Telegraph Station Licence No exams, no morse! You can only listen - you can't talk back, not very exciting really.

Who can apply?
Only individuals over the age of 18 may apply to become a ham. But even if you are not 18 yet, do not despair. If you are over 12 and can get your parents or guardians to write that you are interested in wireless telegraphy, you can still get a ham radio licence.

For all those interested, the book "ABC of Amateur Radio and Citizen Band: Authored by Rajesh Verma" is available in Bangalore at below address, alternatively you could send them a DD along with courier charges and they will courier it to you.

EFY Enterprises No:9 , 17th Main 1st Cross,
HAL 2nd Stage, Behind Bajaj Showroom , Indira Nagar , Bangalore - 8 , Tel : 25260394
Cost : Rs.75

Once you are prepared , for taking the exams we may need to apply to the nearest Wireless Planning commission's monitoring station which in Chennai is locate at Perungudi. If there are more than 25 people they would come to any place we decide, else we may need to go there.

Some senior HAMS in Chennai through this free webspace are trying to bring together few interested HAM enthusiasts/SWL as a study group and propose to guide new comers to take up the ASOC exams including conduct weekend classes . Pls spread this messaage among your friends also and all interested people in Chennai Region pls send a mail and register at hamexams@gmail.com.
If you would like to watch live as to once you get your India HAM Radio License , how do you setup a basic Ham Radio station and what are the essentials/options for that , visit below link for some good videos , this info is courtesy VU3MES.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sKwzb7INXs&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YysVmkqAMfo&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3juOZCMDVZQ&feature=channel

Mahabs Eyeball Meet - More Photo Profiles

2009-02-23T00:20:00.000-08:00

These are the few photographs sent by VU2 LFW OM Narayana Rao from chennai , special thanks to him for contributing. Anybody wishing to share more photos pls send in. Full spectrum photos are available at http://maham2009.blogspot.com/

VU3 MPK, VU2 KBX , VU3 WIB

VU2 TTL, VU3 MPK

VU2 KBX

VU2 TTL, VU2 GWH, VU2 DPN, VU2 FTF

VU2 AKW, VU3 MOA

VU2 AKW, VU3 MOA, VU2 DH, VU2 ISR

VU3 USI, VU3 WIB

VU2 VMZ, VU2 GWH HARI V/S HARI

VU2 INA, VU2 VSD, VU2 BOA.

Jan 2009 - Yercaud Shevroy HAM meet 2009

2009-01-22T23:56:00.000-08:00

The Shevroy Ham meet 2009 was organised in Yercaud on Jan 25 and Jan26 2009 at Yercaud hills and saw some good participation from lot of HAMS . More than 235 HAMS and SWL's from all over India.

From Chennai the following hams attended the meet

Vu2 DPN Deepan / Vu2 DRK Ramki / VU2 GMN Gopal / VU2 AKW Ashok
VU2 DH Devadas / VU2 ISR Harsha / Vu2 PTR Thiagu / Vu2 GJR Dr. Gaja
Vu2 BOA Sam / VU2 VMZ Hari / Vu3 MOA Mohan / Vu3 CBM Balu
Vu3 STJ Radha / Vu2 VMK Mohameed / Vu2 GHB Hari / Vu2 CDP Deepak

Vu2 WYR Manohar With his full family attended the meet.

A record break of 137 checkin in the morning net on the January 26 2009 Year 2007 record checkin is 111 only. The fox hunt was a great event 4 teams participated. VU2DH and team become second. A 6 SqKm radius on a hilly terrion was a difficult one..Excellent food arrangement both veg and non veg. From near by Chennai Vu3wib DAYALN with his family also attended. Everybody expressed sincere thanks to VU2 PCP for the great effort to run the show as a single man . VU2 DPN was also appreicated for conducting the fox hunt and controlling the net.

Some photos of the event to get a visual profile.
Expert HAM fox, VU2DH Devdas from Chennai emerging from his Fox Den after the hunt.

Vu3OGO, VH3DH, Vu3RSB and an SWL

VU3STJ and VU3MOA

vu3ITI,VU2 YFS,VU2 PCP andVU3 NKK on stage

The second prize winning team for the Fox Hunt headed by VU2DH Devdas from Chennai

VU2IRH & team receiving award for first prize in Fox Hunt

xyl of vu2 wyr vu2 wyr vu2 gjr vu2 ent

fox hunt ist place ICI, IRH , DPN , TPP

fox hunt 3 rd place vu2 ctn vu3ksj vu3 gnu vu3 nkk

isr cbm and wdp

vu2ptr

Mahabalipuram HAM Eyeball Meet 2009

2009-01-22T23:29:00.000-08:00

Mahabalipuram Amateur/HAM Eyeball Meet 2009 : The Great Get - Together

The organizers of Mahabs HAM eye ball meet are proud to dedicate this year's meet to OM MV Chauhan in recognition of his service to promote ham radio in India particularly in Chennai.
Around 87 hams and SWLs attended the function from Tamil Nadu , Andhra, Karnataka, and Kerala.
It was a real pleasure to meetup withg old HAM friends from vary places after quite sometime. VU2VSD S OM Sundar welcomed the gathering. OM Vittal VU2 VIT spoke about OM Chauhan VU2 MV mentioning the relationship with him, the services rendered by him for promoting ham radio in India.

OM Guru VU2 GUR shared his experience about the Ham satellite contacts. Dr. Rajasekar reddy VU2 HMY explained about his project Transceiver. After the lunch break VU2 PTR, VU2 LF, VU3 PAL , VU2 ARA displayed ham gears for sale.

From Chennai following HAMS joined in :
VU2 VIT Vittal, VU2 UU Shankar, VU2 LF Lakshman, VU2 GWH Hari, VU2 CDP Deepak,

VU3 STJ Radha, VU2 BOA Sam, VU2 MPK Appan, VU3 JRN Jamuna Rani, VU2 UMX Umakanthan, VU2 DH Das, VU2 GHX Madhavan, VU2 RDX Dhanasekar, VU2SAA Sampath, Vu3 CPE Vimal, VU2 ISR Harsha, VU2 DPN Deepan, VU2 WYR Manohar, VU2 PTR Thiagu, VU2 ETO Ravi, VU3 GGK Gopal, VU3 LFW Narayana Rao, VU2 DRK Ramki, VU3 USI Christi, VU2 AKW Ashok, VU2 TTL C-Kay, VU2 VAU Srini, VU3 MOA Mohan, VU2 CSM Shan, VU2 MTS Anantha, VU3 RLR Ratan, VU2 KLS Kalyan, VU2 DJM Murthy, VU2 KBX Anna, VU3 WIB Dayalan , VU3RGK Rajesh and SWL Nathan Participated .

Other hams like VU2 YFS Santhanam, VU3 ITI Varadhan, VU2 GUR Guru, VU2 QM Anantha VU2 FTF Rajan, VU2 ARA Arasu, VU3 ICI Mohan, VU2 IXY Reddy, VU2 RVK Vijay, VU2 OHM Arul, VU3 PAL Pal, are the few noticeable .

Thanks to VU2 GWH, VU3MPK, VU3 WIB, VU2 TTL, VU2 KBX and Vu2 INA Iynarappan from Kalpakkam for the excellent arrangemts .

VU2 PTR, VU2 FTF

VU3GGK - GOPAL , VU2VAU - SRINI, VU3MOA - MOHAN & VU2DH - DAS

VU2DPN, VU3 USI, VU3 GGk, Vu2 GHX

Vu3 STJ,VU2 BOA,VU2 VMZ,VU2 VAU,VU2 ARA

VU2VIT

VU2 DRK,VU3ITI ,VU2 OHM

VU3 USI, VU3 GGk, Vu2 GHX

VU2 GWH, VU3 MOA, VU2 PTR

VU2 ISR, Vu2 CSM

If you would like to see some more good photo collection of the Mahabs EyeBall Meet 2009 , pls click http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbcsakthi/MahabalipuramEyeballMeet2009#

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

2009-01-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

Wishing all Chennai HAM enthusiasts and your families a very happy, properous and joyful 2009. This blog is free forum, not owned, regulated or controlled by anyone, its an effort to create platform for knowledge sharing for anyone interested in Amateur Radio based in Chennai.

This blogsite is on development phase and hence pls excuse if not to expectations. This is a new initiative in 2009 by like minded Chennai based freelance HAM Radio /VHF enthusiatics , seeking participation from both existing licensed users as well as budding one's/SWL's to grow this passion further. The key binding factor here is only one thing "The love of having your voice on Air"

Introduction on Amateur Radio in Wikipedia: For Full Article pls refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_in_India

Interesting Indian HAM site with lot of active users/visitors : http://www.hamradio.in/

Interesting site on HAM Radio in India with lot of useful info :

http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/ham/ham.asp

Interesting site of a foreign HAM about his experience visiting Chennai and meeting up with HAMS during an Andaman DXpedition : sp3key.com/jhf/vu4/index.html

Chennai HAMS in action.

A dream HAM Radio shack , belongs to a HAM in Ireland