eHam.net News

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Women Hams Ride the Radio Wave in India:

Posted: 10 Sep 2016 05:10 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37527


In December 2004, Delhi resident Bharathi Prasad set off with 15 men and
women to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, bearing an assortment of
antennas, plugs, wires, transformers and other equipment to set up portable
amateur radio stations. For 25 days, while most of the others in her group
roamed the islands or later returned home, Prasad sat in her hotel room
with her headphones and console, working up to 18 hours each day. The
entire group made 35,500 contacts across the world during that period. Then
on December 26, an earthquake in Indonesia triggered a tsunami. "I could
see the sea from my window on the seventh floor," Prasad recalled. "After
the waves went, I immediately turned my antenna to the mainland and began
relief activities. When I turned on the radio, everyone was looking for me
because they thought I had gone." Prasad and the few hams, or amateur radio
operators, who had stayed back with her offered their services to Indian
officials there. She remained there for more than a month after the
disaster, leaving her husband to care for her young children in Delhi.


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Hundreds of Ham Radio Enthusiasts Gather at Convention Center:

Posted: 10 Sep 2016 05:10 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37526


Virginia Beach resident Ed Williams spends close to eight hours a day in
his home studio, manipulating controls and switches, seeking a connection
to the unknown. As an amateur radio enthusiast, he is not alone. Thousands
of fans of amateur radio, also known as ham radio, have gathered in
Virginia Beach for more than three decades to view, purchase and sell
equipment and to make connections to other amateur radio operators across
the globe. Amateur radio enthusiasts communicate with fellow hobbyists
across the country and around the world, according to website for AARL, the
national association for amateur radio. This weekend, they're back in the
city for the Virginia Beach Hamfest on Saturday, which is slated to run
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, 1000 19th
St. "We exist because we're able to provide valuable public service in
times of emergency, but on a day-to-day basis, we sit there and communicate
with one another over the radio," said Bill Holland, a vice president of
Tidewater Radio Conventions Inc., which hosts Hamfest. Williams is also a
member.