Amateur radio: The infallible means of communication
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KATHMANDU, SEP 22 -
When a powerful tremor of 6.8 magnitude rocked the country on Sunday, people immediately started dialing numbers to their relatives to know their condition. Unfortunately, telephone network, particularly mobile telephony, disappointed a large number of people. In such a situation of panic, the amateur radio or the handiham (ham) radio works without interference.
Ham radio users say that it has helped people during natural disasters in several countries, Haiti and Japan, for example.
“Ham radio users can communicate with each other even when all other means of communication fail. A ham radio set receives signals in any remote area of the world,” said Satish Kharel, an advocate and member of the Nepal chapter of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).
Many lives can be saved if the government makes ham radios available to rescuers during a natural disaster, he said.
Use of ham radio started in Nepal in 1990. But its use has been limited to six people till date as the government denied licence to individuals during the Maoist insurgency fearing their misuse. In India, this communication technology is far more popular with around 60,000 users. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi himself used it as a hobby and Congress President Soniya Gandhi and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan have also been members of the IARU for long.
However, the Government of Nepal is yet to be convinced of the technology. “We are training some 50 people associated with various social organisations so that this technology could be used to rescue victims,” said Kharel.
Anyone who wants to have the radio must obtain license and pass a test conducted by the IARU. The amateur radio is portable and runs on battery or electricity.
The IARU is a non-profit-making voluntary organisation serving since the World War I to establish communication when all other means fail. IARU chapters have been established in most countries.
Posted on: 2011-09-22 09:04
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