On World Radio Day, Kerala's Ham operators interact with international figures

KOCHI: As the state battled with consecutive floods and the pandemic, a not-so-silent army worked round the clock to provide service for those struggling. Reaching out to families from remotest areas and interacting with operators from across the globe, the Ham operators of Kerala have delivered selfless service in testing times.

As part of the World Radio Day celebrations on Saturday, they will interact with international figures of Ham networks about their effective involvement in disaster management over the years. "During the flood and lockdown period, we have collated data and coordinated with district health teams across the country. We worked with the Chief Minister's war rooms across South India during the peak of Covid spread and rendered our help to other states. It is immensely satisfying when our little effort turned into relief for many families. We will be sharing these experiences with the HAM operators from Germany, Italy, Russia and Romania. The celebrations will take place across the world irrespective of the time differences," said Subramanian N Shastry, director, Institute of Amateur Radio in Kerala.

The operators will also demonstrate the functioning of satellite communication, Very High Frequency (VHF), Ultra-high frequency (UHF) communication and High-Frequency communication (HF) through HAMs. The event is aimed at introducing beginners to the nuances of HAM Radio communication, from 7am to 8.30pm, following Covid protocol.

Ham operators regularly interact with around 240 countries. "Normally, we share minutes comprising technical details of our station and equipment through cue codes as part of our daily two-way conversations. We coordinated with agencies like Indian Navy and Disaster Management Authority during the rescue operations in the 2018 flood. Our mobile numbers were shared across all media and there were instances when kids from foreign countries sent us photos of parents who were stuck in flooded areas. We contacted the volunteers at grassroots levels and authorities and ensured the rescue," said Shastry.

A two-day long 'Field Day' will also be organised on February 27 and 28 across the state to collate communication data for future disasters.