ham radio

As powerful cyclone Biparjoy, packing wind speeds up to 140 kilometres per hour, threatens to cripple communication networks after landfall on the Gujarat coast on Thursday evening, authorities have turned to ham radio for smooth exchange of information.

A ham radio, also known as amateur radio, has been set up at the Kolhapur district disaster management cell for effective communication in flood-prone areas during monsoon.

A 70-year-old woman — who was being looked after by doctors and nurses at the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research (IPGMER) after being rescued from Red Road in an injured condition three months ago — got reunited with her family on Monday.

Darshan Hemani, a Gujarati businessman from Mumbai, was all of 20 when he first experienced the fury of a cyclone in Kandla, a port town in the state. It was 1998, and he had come to Gujarat to visit his relatives at Jhakhau in Kutch. He witnessed the devastation wrought by the storm and helped recover the bodies of the victims. The trauma of the families, the stench in the air and the sight of government buildings turning into makeshift morgues still sends shudders down his spine. Having realized the fragility of everything we hold close, Hemani was a changed man.

Security forces used ham radio extensively for seamless communication during the elections on Thursday.

election commission adopts a mission of zero poll violence to hold a model election in Tripura, said official.

A hearing and speech-impaired man from Khammam who went missing two months ago will now return home thanks to the efforts of a ham radio operator and his team who found him on Sagar Island near Kolkata.

Electrical engineer Ramachandra Bhat Koodur, who has built one of India’s best ham radio stations in Kavoor, recently installed a high-performing Yagi antenna, a directional antenna with a rotator, on a 90ft-tall tower.

It’s 6. 30 am. Rajesh Vagadia, a jeweller and a ham radio buff (amateur radio operator), enters his radio shack in Rajkot and tinkers with a few knobs of his very high-frequency (VHF) radio set till it splutters and crackles to life. “Ah, finally!” he exclaims. Vagadia identifies himself as VU2EXP, his call sign, followed by his name Rajesh and location Rajkot ‘QTH’. “CQ CQ CQ this is VU2EXP, Victor Uniform Two, Eco X-ray Papa. VU2EXP calling CQ 20 meters and standing by for a call,” he announces, awaiting a response.

The Tripura government will set up at least nine ham radio stations (amateur radio) to facilitate people to talk across the localities and share information during times of need without internet or cell phones to strengthen disaster management infrastructure.

How far would you go to pursue your hobby? Meet Jagdish Mehta, a ham radio enthusiast, who has spent lakhs on nurturing his passion. A GST consultant, he has set up his ham radio control room at home where he spends hours talking to his friends about geopolitics and science and technology on high radio frequencies and very high radio frequencies.

Sandeep Kumar Burman, an MBA student from Behala, was reunited with his family after he went missing during a vacation with his parents in Kanyakumari in December 2020.

Sachin Debnath, a mentally disabled youth from Dakshin Dinajpur spotted at Bongaon, was reunited with his family after two months with the help of ham radio operators. He was handed over to his brother by Bongaon police on Sunday.

Several tourists from Bengal are stranded in different parts of Nepal following incessant rain, flood and landslides. While ham radio operators have identify 68 people from the state, there could be more stuck at different regions of the country. Many of the tourists were on their way to the Muktinath temple.

Thirty-seven years ago, Ganu Mondal (Bauri) had disappeared from her home in Jharkhand's Chorabasti village only to surface near Bakkhali beach in Bengal some 450km away on a fiercely rainy night.

Durga Prasad Timsina had been languishing as an undertrial for 41 years at the Dum Dum Correctional Home in Kolkata but the developments of the last two weeks have given him a new life.

A panchayat member near Indo-Bangla border, along with ham radio operators, on Friday reunited a woman with her family at Madhepura in Bihar. Paritosh Biswas of Chhoi Gharia gram panchayat spotted the woman amid truck drivers near the border, speaking incoherently.

West Ham United said they have identified two individuals who allegedly attacked two German radio commentators during Thursday's 2-1 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.