What you see – It was in year 1992 when two veteran Hams, S Sathyapal (known by frequency VU2FI on air) and RJ Marcus (known by frequency VU2VTM) founded the Indian Institute of Hams (IIH). Since then, they have been promoting Ham Radio as a scientific hobby especially in the State of Karnataka. Today, amateur radio, often called Ham radio, is a growing craze, especially because of its contribution to information sharing during the Tsunami.
What you get – The IIH is a registered trust and is licensed by the Ministry of Communications, Government of India. It is also affiliated to the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR), Hyderabad. Located at Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium on Kasturba Road in Bangalore, IIH helps students, professionals and other enthusiasts turn amateur Ham radio operators. IIH also conducts awareness programs on Ham radio and helps in setting up Ham Radio Clubs at educational institutions.
The Indian Institute of Hams conducts classes to help you prepare for the examination by the Ministry of Communication. These classes basically provide introduction to the history and origin of Ham Radio, basic Electronics (only theory), instructions about rules, regulations and operating procedures of Ham Radio and a live demonstration of Ham Radio. The trainer also provides an insight to the age old way of communicating by Morse Code on Ham Radio. Morse Code is a practice of transmitting message in which alphabet and numerals are represented by various sequences of dots and dashes.
Classes are held for three weeks in different batches on Saturdays and Sundays. Evening classes on Saturdays and morning classes on Sundays have been strategically planned for students and working professionals. The admission fee is Rs. 1,200 (for students and retired people it is Rs. 900) that includes membership fee, examination fee and cost of study materials. Examination is conducted after three months from the date of application to Ministry of Communication and IT., Government of India for grant of Ham Operating license. Anyone of 12 years of age and above can take this examination. Once you have passed the examination, you can either build your own radio set with the help of IIH or buy equipment.
Our verdict – Signals from a wireless Ham radio set can reach astronauts on a space shuttle where no mobile network can reach. It’s age-old but it challenges the modern day chat rooms, Internet connectivity or mobile networking. The experience to talk to an unknown person with the help of radio waves is unmatchable and IIH provides this opportunity to Bangaloreans. Take up the course and start getting in touch with other Hams because when all wireless or electrical connectivity fails, Hams still function.
Parking space is available inside the stadium.
Anytime between – 6 PM – 7.30 PM
By Sanskrity Sinha
