Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by more than 22,000 licensed users in India.[1] 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 played an important part in the Indian independence movement with the establishment of illegal pro-independence radio stations in the 1940s. The three decades after India's independence saw only slow growth in the number of operators until the then Prime Minister of India and amateur radio operator, Rajiv Gandhi (VU2RG), waived the import duty on wireless equipment in 1984. Since then, numbers have picked up, and as of 2007[update], there were more than 16,000 operators in the country. 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.[2][3][4]
The first amateur radio operator in India was Amarendra Chandra Gooptu (callsign 2JK), licensed in 1921.[5][6] Later that year, Mukul Bose (2HQ) became the second ham operator, thereby introducing the first two-way ham radio communication in the country.[5] By 1923, there were twenty British hams operating in India. In 1929, the call sign prefix VU came into effect in India,[citation needed] replacing three-letter call signs. The first short-wave entertainment and public broadcasting station, "VU6AH", was set up in 1935 by E P Metcalfe, vice-chancellor of Mysore University.[5][6] However, there were fewer than fifty licence holders in the mid-1930s, most of them British officers in the Indian army.[citation needed]
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the British cancelled the issue of new licences.[7] All amateur radio operators were sent written orders to surrender their transmitting equipment to the police, both for possible use in the war effort and to prevent the clandestine use of the stations by Axis collaborators and spies. With the gaining momentum of the Indian independence movement, ham operator Nariman Abarbad Printer (VU2FU) set up the Azad Hind Radio to broadcast Gandhian protest music and uncensored news; he was immediately arrested and his equipment seized. In August 1942, after Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement, the British began clamping down on the activities of Indian independence activists and censoring the media. To circumvent media restrictions, Indian National Congress activists, led by Usha Mehta, contacted Mumbai-based amateur radio operators, "Bob" Tanna (VU2LK) and Nariman Printer to help broadcast messages to grass-roots party workers across the country.[citation needed] The radio service was called the "Congress Radio", and began broadcasting from 2 September 1942 on 7.12MHz. The station could be received as far as Japanese-occupied Myanmar. By November 1942, Tanna was betrayed by an unknown radio officer and was forced to shut down the station.[7]
Temporary amateur radio licences were issued from 1946, after the end of World War II. By 1948, there were 50 amateur radio operators in India, although only a dozen were active.[5] Following India's independence in 1947, the first amateur radio organization, the Amateur Radio Club of India was inaugurated on 15 May 1948 at the School of Signals at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.[5] The club headquarters was later moved to New Delhi, where it was renamed the Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI) on 15 May 1954.[5] As India's oldest amateur radio organization,[citation needed] ARSI became its representative at the International Amateur Radio Union.[8]
Partly due to low awareness among the general population and prohibitive equipment costs, the number of licensed amateur radio operators did not increase significantly over the next two decades, numbering fewer than a thousand by 1970.[9]CW (Morse code) and AM were the predominant modes at that time. The electronic equipment was mostly valve-based, obtained from Indian army surpluses.[9] During the mid-1960s, the modes of operation saw a change from Amplitude Modulation to Single Side Band (SSB) as the preferred communication mode. By 1980, the number of amateur radio operators had risen to 1,500. In 1984, then Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, waived the import duty for wireless equipment. After this, the number of operators rose steadily, and by 2000 there were 10,000 licensed ham operators.[9] As of 2007, there are more than 17,000 licensed users in India.[1]
Amateur radio operators have played a significant part in disaster management and emergencies. In 1991, during the Gulf War, a lone Indian ham operator in Kuwait, provided the only means of communication between stranded Indian nationals in that country and their relatives in India.[10] Amateur radio operators have also played a helpful part in disaster management. Shortly after the 1993 Latur and 2001 Gujarat earthquakes,[citation needed] the central government rushed teams of ham radio operators to the epicentre to provide vital communication links. In December 2004, a group of amateur radio operators on DX-pedition on the Andaman Islands witnessed the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. With communication lines between the islands severed, the group provided the only way of relaying live updates and messages to stations across the world.[3]
The Indian Wireless Telegraph (Amateur Service) Amendment Rules, 2009 lists two license categories:[12]
Amateur Station Operators' Licence (General)
Amateur Station Operators' Licence (Restricted)
After passing the examination, the candidate can proceed to apply for an amateur radio licence certificate. After clearance, the WPC grants the licence along with the user-chosen call sign.[13] This procedure can take up to 12 months.[13]
Amateur Station Operators' Licence (Restricted) (Formerly Grade II)
12
10 W on VHF and UHF
50 W on HF
Minimum score of 40% in each section of the written examination, and 50% overall.
Terrestrial radiotelephony transmission in VHF and UHF frequency bands and 12 HF Bands.
Amateur Station Operators' Licence (General) (Formerly Grade I and Advanced)
12
25 W on VHF and UHF
400 W on HF
Minimum score of 50% in each section of the written examination, and 55% overall. In addition, a demonstration of proficiency in sending and receiving Morse code at eight words a minute.
Radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony transmission VHF and UHF frequency bands and 12 HF Bands.
Part II – Morse Test (Not required for Restricted Grade)
Section 1: Morse Receiving and Sending (Speed: 8 words per minute)
Section 2: Morse Receiving and Sending (Speed: 8 words per minute)
The written test for the Restricted Grade consists of 50 questions related to radio theory and practice and radio regulations (25 questions in each section), that one must attempt in one hour. The written test for the General Grade consists of 100 questions, with 50 questions in each section, that have to be attempted in two hours. A candidate must score a minimum of 40% (50% for General grade) in each written section, and 50% (60% for the General grade) in aggregate for passing the test.[15]
The application and licensing procedures are done online through the SaralSanchar portal, short for Simplified Application For Registration And Licenses, which is a web portal for license management under the Department of Telecommunications.
Radio theory and practice
The Radio theory and practice syllabus includes eight subtopics:[20]
The first subtopic is the elementary theory of electricity that covers topics on conductors, resistors, Ohm's law, power, energy, electromagnets, inductance, capacitance, types of capacitors and inductors, series and parallel connections for radio circuits. The second topic is the elementary theory of alternating currents. Portions include sinusoidal alternating quantities such as peak values, instantaneous values, RMS average values, phase; electrical resonance, and quality factor for radio circuits. The syllabus then moves on to semiconductors, specifically the construction and operation of valves, also known as vacuum tubes. Included in this portion of the syllabus are thermionic emissions with their characteristic curves, diodes, triodes and multi-electrode valves; and the use of valves as rectifiers, oscillators, amplifiers, detectors and frequency changers, stabilisation and smoothing.
The last three topics deal with radio propagation, aerials, and frequency measurement. Covered are topic such as wavelength, frequency, nature and propagation of radio waves; ground and sky waves; skip distance; and fading. Common types of transmitting and receiving aerials such as Yagi antennas, and radiation patterns, measurement of frequency and use of simple frequency meters conclude the topic.
Radio Regulations
Knowledge of the Indian Wireless Telegraph Rules and the Indian Wireless Telegraphs (Amateur Service) Rules are essential and always tested.[20] The syllabus also includes international radio regulations related to the operation of amateur stations with emphasis on provisions of radio regulation nomenclature of the frequency and wavelength, frequency allocation to amateur radio service, measures to prevent harmful interference, standard frequency and time signals services across the world, identification of stations, distress and urgency transmissions, amateur stations, phonetic alphabets, and figure code are the other topics included in the portion.
Also included in the syllabus are Q codes such as QRA, QRG, QRH, QRI, QRK, QRL, QRM, QRN, QRQ, QRS, QRT, QRU, QRV, QRW, QRX, QRZ, QSA, QSB, QSL, QSO, QSU, QSV, QSW, QSX, QSY, QSZ, QTC, QTH, QTR, and QUM; and abbreviations such as AA, AB, AR, AS, C, CFM, CL, CQ, DE, K, NIL, OK, R, TU, VA, WA, and WB.[12]
Morse Code Test
Chart of the Morse code letters and numerals
Candidates who appear for the General grade licence examination must also take and pass the Morse receiving and sending test simultaneously. There is no Morse test for the Restricted grade. The test piece consists of a plain language passage of 200 letters which may consist of letters, figures and punctuation marks such as the full stop, comma, semicolon, break sign, hyphen and question mark.[12]
Receiving
Candidates have to receive for five consecutive minutes at a speed of 8 words per minute, the test piece from an audio oscillator keyed either manually or automatically. Accurately receiving a part of the test piece for one consecutive minute is required to pass the receiving test. A short practice piece is sent at the prescribed speed before the start of the test. Making more than five errors disqualifies a candidate. The average words consist of five characters and each figure and punctuation is counted as two characters.
Sending
The test piece is similar to the one provided in the receiving section. Candidates are required to transmit by using a straight Morse key for five consecutive minutes at the minimum speed of 8 words per minute. A short practice piece is allowed before the test. Candidates are not allowed more than one attempt in the test. Making more than five errors disqualifies a candidate.
License fees for different grades in Indian Rupees[22]
Grade
20 Years
Lifetime
General Grade
1000
2000
Restricted Grade
1000
2000
Reciprocal licensing and operational restrictions
Indian amateur radio exams can only be taken by Indian citizens. Foreign passport holders can apply for reciprocal Indian licences based upon a valid amateur radio license from their country of residence.[23]
Indian amateur radio licences always bear mention of location of transmitting equipment. Portable and mobile amateur radio stations earlier required explicit permission from WPC and the fee for mobile endorsement was fixed at ₹200.[24] As of June 2019, amateur radio stations are allowed to operate anywhere in India except those locations that are restricted by the government from time to time.[25]
The WPC allots individual call-signs. Indian amateur radio operators are allotted only the VU call-sign prefix. The V or Viceroy, series prefix was allotted to British colonies.[29] at the 1912 London International Radiotelegraphic Convention.[30]
VU call-signs are listed according to licence grade: for General (formerly the Advanced Grade and Grade–I) licence holders, the call-sign prefix is VU2; for Restricted (formerly Grade–II and Grade–II Restricted) licence holders, the prefix is VU3.[12] The VU3 prefix has also been granted to foreigners operating in India. As of 2011[update], call-signs consist of only letters, not numerals, and the suffix is three characters long. Examples of Indian amateur radio call-signs are "VU2XYZ" and "VU3EGH".[citation needed]
In addition to individual and club call-signs, the WPC allots temporary call-signs for contests and special events. For example, in November 2007, the WPC temporarily allotted the prefixes AT and AU to selected ham operators to mark the anniversary of the birth of radio scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose.[31] The Indian Union territory (UT) of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are assigned the prefix VU4 and the UT of Lakshadweep is assigned VU7.
Defunct call-signs include CR8 (for Portuguese India), FN8 (for French India), and AC3 (for the former kingdom of Sikkim, which merged with India in 1975).[32]
Antennas at the location of ham operator VU2GMN in Chennai.
The following frequency bands are permitted by the WPC for use by amateur radio operators in India.[14][12][35]
Band
Frequency in MHz
Wavelength
6
1.820–1.860
160m
7
3.500–3.700
80m
7
3.890–3.900
75m
7
7.000–7.200
40m
7
10.100–10.150
30m
7
14.000–14.350
20m
7
18.068–18.168
17m
7
21.000–21.450
15m
7
24.890–24.990
12m
7
28.000–29.700
10m
8
50–54
6m
8
144–146
2m
9
434–438
70cm
10
5725–5840
5cm
Awareness drives
Indian amateur radio operators number approximately 22,000. Amateur radio clubs across the country offer training courses for the Amateur Station Operator's Certificate. People interested in the hobby would be advised to get in touch with a local radio club or a local amateur radio operator who can direct them to a club that organises training programmes.
Recently, many amateur radio clubs, such as, the Indian Institute of Hams, the Amateur Radio Society of India and the South India Amateur Radio Society, have conducted physical and virtual training programmes to help more people into taking up amateur radio as one of their hobbies.[36] These clubs also run awareness campaigns from time to time highlighting the role of amateur radio in disaster management in India.[37]
Activities and events
Popular events and activities include Amateur Radio Direction Finding, DX-peditions, hamfests, JOTA, QRP operations, Contesting, DX communications, Light House operation, and Islands on Air. One of the most popular activities is Amateur Radio Direction Finding commonly known as a "foxhunt".[13] Several clubs across India regularly organize foxhunts in which participants search for a hidden transmitter around the city.[38] A foxhunt carried out in Matheran near Mumbai in 2005 by the Mumbai Amateur Radio Society was listed in the 2006 Limca Book of Records under the entry "most ham operators on horseback on a foxhunt."[39] Despite being a popular recreational activity among hams, no organization has yet participated in an international event.[40]
Live satellite images such as this are decoded by amateur radio operators to provide accurate weather reports during heavy rains in cities prone to flooding such as Mumbai.
Hamfest India is an annual event that serves for social gathering and comparison and sales of radio equipment. Most hamfests feature a flea market, where the attendees buy and sell equipment, generally from and for their personal stations. The event also seeks to raise amateur radio awareness in the host city. In 2008, Gandhinagar hosted the annual hamfest. Bangalore hosted the hamfest in November 2009. The 2011 hamfest was held at Kochi, Kerala.[41]
Ham nets, where amateur radio operators "check into" are regularly conducted across India. Airnet India, Charminar Net, Belgaum Net, Karavali Net and Nite Owl's Net are some of the well-known ham nets in India.[42]
MARC engages in a number of activities, including amateur radio homebrew, amateur radio awareness campaigns, and communication support during the land slide, flooding.[51][52] MARC works as per the Rules of Wireless and Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC) of the Ministry of Communications, Government of India (which issues amateur radio licences in India).[53] The call sign of MARC is VU2RDO[54]
HAMBEL Amateur Radio Club: A very active amateur radio club based in Belagavi. It is one of the oldest ham radio clubs in India.
Hams of Pune: This is a ham radio club based in Pune, Maharashtra though they have members from other cities too, Hams of Pune also operates a VHF/UHF repeater station in the city.
Bhavan's Amateur Radio Club: The club has callsign VU2BAC and was formed by the first batch of amateur radio operators successfully getting their licenses from the Indian government. The club is based at Bhavan's College in Andheri (West), Mumbai.
JNA Wireless Association. The JNA Wireless Association is located in South Mumbai and was formed in memory of veteran ham radio operator, late JN Anklesaria. The club was using ham radio equipment donated by the family of JN Anklesaria. This club played a major role in relief operations in Osmanabad and Latur areas following the September 1993 killer earthquake at Killari.
Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term wireless telegraphy was also used for other experimental technologies for transmitting telegraph signals without wires. In radiotelegraphy, information is transmitted by pulses of radio waves of two different lengths called "dots" and "dashes", which spell out text messages, usually in Morse code. In a manual system, the sending operator taps on a switch called a telegraph key which turns the transmitter on and off, producing the pulses of radio waves. At the receiver the pulses are audible in the receiver's speaker as beeps, which are translated back to text by an operator who knows Morse code.
CQ is a station code used by wireless operators derived from long established telegraphic practice on undersea cables and landlines, particularly used by those communicating in Morse code,, but also by voice operators, to make a general call. Transmitting the letters CQ on a particular radio frequency means that the transmission is a broadcast or "General Call" to anyone listening, and when the operator sends "K" or says "Go Ahead" it is an invitation for any licensed radio station listening on that frequency to respond. Its use on radio matched the existing use on Morse landline telegraphy and dates from the earliest wireless stations. It was widely used in point-to-point diplomatic and press services, maritime, aviation, and police services until those services eliminated Morse radiotelegraphy. It is still widely used in amateur radio which still has active use of Morse radiotelegraphy.
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigned by a government agency, informally adopted by individuals or organizations, or even cryptographically encoded to disguise a station's identity.
The South African Radio League (SARL), formerly known as the South African Radio Relay League (SARRL), is a non-profit organisation representing the interests of amateur radio enthusiasts in South Africa. The SARL advocates on behalf of its membership and all licensed amateur radio operators in South Africa as the representative of amateur radio to the South African government. This has included the promotion of deregulation and simplification of the amateur radio service, and expansion of the number of amateur radio operators in Southern Africa. The SARL publicises and promotes the role of amateur radio in society, and promotes the use of amateur radio in schools as an entry point into the fields of science and technology. The SARL publishes a magazine called Radio ZS twelve times a year. SARL is the national Member Society representing South Africa in the International Amateur Radio Union and is a Member Society in IARU Region 1.
The Mumbai Amateur Radio Society or MARS is an amateur radio club based in Mumbai, India. The club was founded on 7 August 2000 by a group of 25 active hams. Since then it has grown to over two hundred members and is the largest such club in the metropolis. MARS is a registered 80G tax-deductible non-profit organization.
Call signs in New Zealand are no longer generally used to identify broadcast stations. However, New Zealand's radio stations were once known by their call signs and would usually broadcast their call signs as a number followed by X, Y, or Z, and another letter. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU and nationally by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), formerly the Ministry of Economic Development. The ministry is also responsible for providing policy advice to Government on the allocation of New Zealand's radio spectrum to support, efficient, reliable and responsive wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.
The Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC) is a Wing of Department of Telecommunications coming under the Ministry of Communications of the Government of India. The department is responsible for issuing amateur radio licenses, allotting the frequency spectrum and monitoring the frequency spectrum. The WPC is headquartered in New Delhi and has regional branches in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati.
Call signs in India are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting in India. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology regulates call signs nationally, and the International Telecommunication Union regulates call signs internationally.
The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 was the enabling legislation in India which governed the use of wired and wireless telegraphy, telephones, teletype, radio communications and digital data communications. It gives the Government of India exclusive jurisdiction and privileges for establishing, maintaining, operating, licensing and oversight of all forms of wired and wireless communications within Indian territory. It also authorizes government law enforcement agencies to monitor/intercept communications and tap phone lines under conditions defined within the Indian Constitution. The act came into force on 1 October 1885. Since that time, numerous amendments have been passed to update the act to respond to changes in technology.
The 1978 regulations established five categories of Amateur radio licence in India. The regulations were revised in 2009 and now only two categories are issued.
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communications. The term "amateur" is used to specify "a duly authorized person interested in radioelectric practice with a purely personal aim and without pecuniary interest" ; and to differentiate it from commercial broadcasting, public safety, or professional two-way radio services.
Call signs in the Middle East are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting in the Middle East. Call signs are regulated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and nationally by local government and international agencies in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, The Palestinian Authority, occupied territories and other nations or DXCC entities.
Call signs in Argentina are unique identifiers for communication. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally by the Comisión Nacional de Comunicaciones of the Argentine government.
Amateur radio call signs are allocated to amateur radio operators around the world. The call signs are used to legally identify the station or operator, with some countries requiring the station call sign to always be used and others allowing the operator call sign instead.
Call signs in Korea are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting on the Korean peninsula. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally in South Korea by the Korea Communications Commission in the Ministry of Information and Communication. Not much is known outside of North Korea how amateur radio is regulated, although a foreign amateur was asked to appear before the "Radio Regulation Board" in 2002. Also, North Korea's Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries recently issued an operating permit, which was countermanded by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Posts.
Call signs in Asia are rarely used to identify broadcast stations. In most Asian countries, broadcast stations use other forms of identification. Few countries west of the Pacific Ocean, namely Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan are exceptions to this rule. Amateur radio stations in India, Pakistan, Korea and Japan are allocated call-signs.
Call signs in Europe are not formally used for broadcast stations.
Call signs in Canada are official identifiers issued to the country's radio and television stations. Assignments for broadcasting stations are made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), while amateur stations receive their call signs from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Conventional radio and television broadcasting stations assignments are generally three, four or five letters long and almost exclusively use "C" call signs; with a few exceptions noted below, the "V" calls are restricted to specialized uses such as amateur radio.
Call signs in United Kingdom include a three letter country code, and a series of letters and numbers.
References
Note:* Indian call signs do not use numbers as an identifier. This picture is for demonstration purposes only.
1 2 3 4 5 "OM L-14011/255/2004-AMT"(PDF). WPC Wing, Ministry of Communications & I.T., Government of India. 13 August 2010. Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
↑ Annexure III, Appendix I, Section 2.3 "The Indian Wireless Telegraphs (Amateur Radio) Rules, 1978"(PDF). Ministry of Communications, Government of India. Controller of Publications, Civil Lines, New Delhi. 1979. p.34. Archived from the original(PDF) on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
↑ "OM O-11015/01/2019-COP"(PDF). WPC Wing, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. 7 June 2019. Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
This article incorporates text from the "Indian Wireless Telegraphs (Amateur Service) Rules, 1978" in compliance with the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 Section 52 (1)(q) Amendment in Amateur Radio rule 2010 by WPC (actually based on 2009)
Further reading
Verma, Rajesh (1988), ABC of Amateur Radio and Citizen Band, EFY Publications
Ali, Saad (1985), Guide To Amateur Radio In India, E.M.J. Monteiro
Verma, Rajesh (1988). "ABC of Amateur Radio and Citizen Band" (Document). EFY Publications.
Ali, Saad (1985). "Guide To Amateur Radio In India" (Document). E.M.J. Monteiro.
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