Can your mobile do this...no!

A brief summary of what Amateur Radio did to assist with the Indian Ocean
Tidal Wave disaster, where phones were as useless as tits on a bull, and
seeing as many of you wouldn't know what a radio was, even though you carry
one with a DTMF keypad everywhere, I thought I'd give you the info from the
horse's mouth.

ANDAMAN ISLAND - VU4

Amateur Radio Operators VU4BRI/VU4NRO were on a DX radio expedition,
stopping that activity to help the people, Ram, VU3DJQ in New Delhi says
there is an open invitation from Port Blair administration for Indian radio
operators for providing emergency communication from Port Blair. Travel and
stay at your own expense. VU4RBI has left, but 5 further operators will join
the team and will operate from many islands as possible.

VU2MUE told us ham radio operators left for Andaman from Mangalore,
Bangalore and Hyderabad to activate ham radio stations in the tsunami hit
smaller islands which are still cut-off from the mainland as well from the
capital Portblair. It is expected that ham radio stations would be activated
in the areas Hut Bay Island , Little Andaman etc.

VU2MUE heard TV journalist Monidipa Banerjee's voice on the National NDTV
channel reporting from the Andamans during one of its evening news telecasts
stating that governmental communication systems 'a total failure in Andaman
& Nicobar' He heard her emphasising the need of ham radio communication
system in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. It may be mentioned that no ham radio
operation had been allowed by the Government of India for the last 17 years
in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands until YL Bharthi, VU4RBI could get a
'special permission' to activate VU4 DXpedition.

Nets for Andaman and Nicobar Islands -
7090 7095 14160 14190 14191 14193 14200KHz

INDIA - VU

One VU2 Amateur who was feared missing in the after-wake of the tsunami was
Binu VU2NGB. Happily VU2NGB is ok and fine in Vypen Island , was due to
"QSY" to VK land on the 7th of this month.

In India the public have asked ham radio operators to find missing persons.
Contacting VU radio amateurs on the Internet using
http://www.hamradioindia.org the amateur radio operators then pass the
message to Andaman Island on 14.191MHz USB voice or 7.090MHz LSB voice using
short wave radio transceivers. Some hams are also using Morse code and
others have connected their home computer to their ham radio transmitter.

Gopal Madhavan had an eyeball with VU2RBI Bharathi at Chennai airport, on
her arrival from Andamans. She was very, very tired, not unexpectedly but
happy that she and her team were able to assist at a time of need.

There was also another group of hams led by VU2LIC at the airport, and they
are expected to leave for the Andamans also a group from Gujarat is also in
Chennai led by VU2CPV and they will also be leaving with relief materials.

INDIAN NETS
India VU2NRO at Hyderabad is on 14.160 to receive QSPs for Portblair.
India - 7050kHz
HAM'S VISITING NEW DELHI.145.600MHz "-DUP" SHIFT (-600 KHZ )

SOMALIA
Radio amateur Burhan 6O0AP in Galkayo , Somalia has confirmed the death
toll. Somalia Tsunami death toll is 200. Missing persons in Somalia are not
included. Mr Mohammed Ghedi, Somalia 's Prime Minister appealed to foreign
countries, international organisations and well wishers to come to the aid
of Somalia . In Hafun, Puntland, North East Somalia (population of 6,000) a
third of buildings were destroyed. The surrounding areas are under water.
Sam Voron in Somalia says the situation in many areas is unknown and the
United Nations is undertaking survey and assistance efforts.

NIGHT-TIME HAM RADIO EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FREQUENCY-
3.655MHz LSB (main night time Somalia HAM emergency listening frequency)

DAY-TIME HAM RADIO EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FREQUENCY-
7.055MHz LSB (main daytime Somalia HAM emergency listening frequency)
or 10.125MHz USB.

To help foreign hams contact Somalia hams use-
14.255MHz USB (main listening frequency for overseas contacts with Somalia )
or 18.155MHz USB or 21.255MHz USB.

BANGLADESH - S21
Manjurul Haque, S21AM is the General Secretary, Bangladesh Amateur Radio
League he reports "here in Bangladesh we have been operating since the
Tsunami first hit on the 26 December 2004 on the Ham Radio emergency
networks on 14.190MHz and 7.060MHz. When needed we relay emergency messages.

SRI LANKA - 4S7
Sri Lanka 's Prime Minister had no contact with the outside world until
Amateur Radio operators set up a ham radio inside the Prime Minister's
official house. The Prime Minister's satellite phone failed and the only
link in his disaster operations centre was the Short Wave Amateur Radio,
reports Sri Lankan ham radio operator Victor, call sign 4S7VK.

" As President of the Amateur Radio Society in Sri Lanka it was wonderful
even at a tragic time to link up South of Sri Lanka with the Prime Minister
who comes from the South and that is where his people are. So we went in and
established this HF link. My friends 4S7KE, AK and DZ went in a 4 wheel
drive approaching the costal town of Hambantota from the interior as the
main road along the cost was badly battered and full of debris and was
impassable. I knew my propagation thanks to George Jacobs and I could be
100% sure that we could keep a link going on 3 and 7 MHz. So when all the
cellular and all other means failed Short Wave stood bold and proud. It is
so simple and we didn't even have a TS 50 or such a small mobile HF set, but
took an Icom IC7400, the best radio we have and two 12v batteries and
dipoles some food and water and filled the rest of the vehicle with food for
the displaced. I stood by in Colombo at the PM's to run the link in and
coordinate. We are trying to expand our coverage but our resources are
limited"

EMERGENCY NET, Sri Lanka - 7060kHz

THAILAND - HS
Ham Radio operator Charlie K4VUD/HS0ZCW in Thailand was interviewed by CNN.
He has been relaying emergency Tsunami messages to India using the 20 metre
band.

EMERGENCY NET Thailand - 7075kHz news 24x7 EchoLink node 46601 hs1wfk-l

INDONESIA - YB
Amateurs in Indonesia have established emergency communications between
Medan in Sumatra and Banda Aceh, the area destroyed by the Tsunami on the
northern tip of Sumatra . They are using the 80 metre 3.815MHz for long
distance communications and the 2 metre 144MHz band for short distance
communications.

Amateur Radio operators YB6ZZ and YB6ZES are operating an earthquake and
Tsunami emergency network on the Indonesian amateur radio emergency
frequencies of 7.055MHz and 21.300MHz in the 15 metre band. Salvation Army
Salvation Army teams have been at the forefront of offering aid and relief
to the people. In addition, the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network
(SATERN) is helping people locate loved ones missing in the region.

When there are no other forms of communication, SATERN is a HAM radio team
that helps families and emergency workers find each other. In Chicago ,
National director of SATERN Major Pat McPherson reported that by listening,
some SATERN members have been successful in establishing contact with the
missing members.

>Much more useful than a bloody mobile phone...again.....And you phone users
who download ring tones, take pictures, play games, watch movies on >phones
aren't nerds? Yeah right.

And in Australia:

What is Amateur Radio?

It is many different things to the individual two million plus people
throughout the world who enjoy this multi-faceted communications hobby.
Below is a summary of how it began and has kept with the times to remain an
enjoyable leisure time activity.

Who are radio amateurs?

They are ordinary citizens, including some of your neighbours or work
colleagues, and people in more than 100 countries. They are radio amateurs -
also known as ham operators, or amateur radio operators. Many years ago it
was common to hear the description "From newspaper boys to Kings" in
reference to Amateur Radio - and it simply meant that radio amateurs range
from newspaper boys (street sellers of daily newspapers) to Kings, with
royalty being among the ranks of ham operators. In today's terms we can say
that Amateur Radio is enjoyed by people from all walks of life, the young
and not so young, and the abled and disabled, who meet on the airwaves for a
chat or engage in other interesting activities.

International friendships!

One of the marvellous things about the hobby is that because radio signals
don't stop at country borders - being a radio amateur is like having an
international passport. You can visit the world on the airwaves, make casual
acquaintances or life-long friendships, without even leaving home. Many
long-time radio amateurs will tell you that some of their best friends are
people they have never met in person.

Around the world radio amateurs have set up their own transmitting and
receiving stations at home, in their cars, and even use hand-held radios to
keep in touch while on foot. The friends they make could be someone across
town, in a far-flung exotic country, or even a cosmonaut on the orbiting
Russian space station MIR. Yes, they and their US astronaut counterparts on
the Space Shuttle missions are radio amateurs too!

How do radio amateurs contact each other?

When the hobby began 100 years ago the only form of communication radio
amateurs (they were then known as amateur wireless experimenters) was Morse
code, the same method used by the telegraph. This form of communication has
survived to still be in use today - and has become an international language
enabling people who can't speak the same language, to communicate.

Up until the 1920's wireless telegraphy was the only way to transmit and
receive information on the airwaves. But radio amateurs pioneered voice
communications in the mid-1920s at the time when broadcast stations began.

Although the transmission and reception techniques have changed over the
years with technical developments, voice communication remains the major
method of communicating on the amateur bands.

Emergency Communications

In times of natural disasters, radio amateurs throughout the world provide
support communications, and sometimes the only communications immediately
after a disaster. When cyclone Tracey hit Darwin in 1974 the only
communication out of the area was by a radio amateur who hooked his
transceiver up to a car battery, and let the world know that Darwin needed
help.

Also in Australia, emergency communications have been provided after
numerous bush fires including Black Friday 1939, and Ash Wednesday 1983.
Another occasion was after the Newcastle Earthquake in 1989.

Often after a disaster normal telephone systems are damaged or jammed as
anxious relatives try and call an area. The radio systems of emergency
services are also extremely busy, and additional or supplementary
communication can be readily provided by radio amateurs using their own
equipment, and skills.

The role of the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network (WICEN) to supply
communications in times of emergency is recognised in the State Disaster
Plan. WICEN is an organised group of radio amateurs who regularly engage in
training exercises, and provide communication for public events such as car
rallies, the great Victorian Bike Ride, and the Red Cross Murray River and
Hawkesbury River Canoe Marathons.

Packet Radio

In more recent times radio amateurs experimented and pioneered the use of
computer signals on the radio frequencies spectrum. Long before the Internet
was born, they used a special modem between their radio transceivers
(combination transmitter/receiver) and computer. This type of signal is
called Packet Radio, and enables users to contact other stations, locally or
overseas, and even access special bulletin boards. Packet Radio is extremely
popular.

Television

The sending of pictures via radio was being done by radio amateurs long
before television began in Australia in 1956. This interesting aspect of
Amateur Radio has several variations, from single-frame pictures through to
full-color real-time video that can be received on a domestic television
receiver with UHF capabilities. There is also software available that
permits fax to be sent over the radio.

Satellites

Soon after the launch by the former Soviet Union of Sputnik 1, the world's
first man-made orbiting satellite, radio amateurs entered the space age with
the OSCAR (Orbiting Spacecraft Carrying Amateur Radio) series of satellites.
The tradition of designing and building amateur satellites continues today.
They are being launched as a piggyback load when major communications
satellites are put into orbit. International contacts are possible by
sending a signal to a satellite and having it relayed back to earth
providing communications over many thousands of kilometres.

The Fox, the Hounds, and Amateur Radio

The methods used to determine, at a distance, the source of a transmitted
signal, are broadly as direction finding (DF), and have application in
navigation systems. But radio amateurs also effectively use DF when they
take part in a popular activity called Foxhunting. This involves locating
within a time limit a small hidden transmitter.

In some countries DFing is called Radio Sport, and involves a lot of
footwork over reasonably lengthy courses, and is likened to a mix of DFing
and another sport - orienteering. However Foxhunting in Australia often
includes travel in a car, and DFing a hidden transmitter while on the move.
Then the Foxhunters, or Hounds as they're known, become pedestrians to
discover the hiding spot of the transmitter, and you guessed it is called
the Fox. Foxhunts can also be held over relatively short courses requiring
Hounds to do all of their DFing while on foot.

How is it done?

Foxhunting basically uses a directional beam antenna, both vehicle mounted
or out-the-window, and receiver to DF the general hiding spot of the Fox.
Then most Hounds use a special receiver called a "Sniffer" with variably
sensitivity, to virtually sniff out the Fox. Numerous cunning tricks are
played by those hiding a Fox as they seek to elude the Hounds.

Regular Foxhunting Championship series are held all over Australia during
the Foxhunting season. A dozen or teams join in. Enthusiastic newcomers are
often able to find the Fox ahead of some of the more experienced
competitors.

QRP is a real personal Challenge

Would you expect the light from a small torch (equal to the energy radiated
by five candles, or about 50 with the use of a reflector) which is switched
on in Melbourne, to be seen in Sydney, Brisbane, or America? Of course not!
Yet in radio terms such a thing is possible and happens as one of the many
facets of Amateur Radio.

This is the world of "QRP" or Low Power Operation, where the goal is to
reach as far as you can with as little transmitter power as possible.
(from the WIA website)

IRLP.
Why? Yes, it seems strange when 100 watts is the norm, to want to transmit
with five watts or much less - milliwatts. But it is the challenge of making
your antenna as efficient a radiator as possible. You may also like the
challenge of making your own radios. QRP is a challenge to succeed with
limited resources, and for many of its devotees it satisfies their desire to
experiment, learn, and have fun.

If part or all of this sounds like it's something that might interest you.
Contact the WIA or you nearest radio club. A full list of Australian Radio
clubs can be found by following the "radio Clubs" link at this WebSite.

The aim of the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) is to provide a simple
and easy system to link radio systems together using the Internet as the
communications backbone.

Similar linking options exist, but they use expensive leased telephone lines
or satellite equipment. It is not the goal of this project to compete, but
to work along with other networks to improve the technology and improve
radio linking for all involved parties. The people who benefit most from the
IRLP are its users.

The software and hardware requirements are minimal, and the cost to set up a
node is low. This brings the opportunity for smaller more remote locations,
or small clubs, to experience national linking without the large capital
cost of a satellite node or leased line.

We would also like to add that this project does not only cover the scope of
amateur radio, but also includes several commercial applications as well. A
couple of commercial uses include:

Replacing leased lines used by national carrier companies.
IRLP designed and implemented a central homed system for dispatch of
multiple vehicles across the province of British Columbia using internet
links, mountain-top repeaters, and remote base radios. The IRLP system was
interfaced directly into an existing console, and the dispatchers did not
notice a difference in functionality.

Town of Canmore Alberta replaced 911 dispatch circuits for Fire, police and
Ambulance between Calgary and Canmore using several IRLP nodes featuring
embedded processors. These single board computers run under Linux and have
no moving parts. The commercial IRLP implementation handles voice and
paging tones over the VoIP connections
Replacing older technology paging equipment.
IRLP designed and implemented a multi-cast voice paging network (4
transmitters) for a remote school district in British Columbia without the
use of RF based links between sites. This saved the school district
thousands of dollars in RF gear and reduced the operating cost of their
paging system by 75%.

Monitoring of remote areas for security reasons.
Connecting people from remote offices together.

>I could go on forever..but I'll save that for a later day...

73's de VK3HAM

Complete pack of lies. COWs can and do cover that fine.

Ashley VK3HAG <vk3hag@nerg.asn.au> wrote in message
news:6qaXd.188609$K7.62892@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

> A brief summary of what Amateur Radio did to assist with the Indian Ocean
> Tidal Wave disaster, where phones were as useless as tits on a bull,

More of your pathological lying.

> and seeing as many of you wouldn't know what a radio was,
> even though you carry one with a DTMF keypad everywhere,
> I thought I'd give you the info from the horse's mouth.

Some brainless donkey's arse, actually.

Reams of pig ignorant donkey shit flushed where it belongs.

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 05:07:14 GMT, "Ashley VK3HAG" <vk3hag@nerg.asn.au>
wrote:

<snip>

PLEASE, folks. DO NOT FEED THE TROLL.

Thank you.

DJ!
BLOG http://www.phlog.net/user/OzDJ
CAMS http://clubduh.com/cam
OzDJ@clubduh.com

"Ashley VK3HAG" <vk3hag@nerg.asn.au> wrote in message
news:6qaXd.188609$K7.62892@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>A brief summary of what Amateur Radio did to assist with the Indian Ocean


Yes! What a great idea! I wish someone would invent the Crystal Set - then I
could listen to Bradman playing cricket from Lords..

Ignore these idiots Charlie - a great article which was very
interesting to read, but it was no where near "brief". :-)

And Rod how the f**k do you expect them to deploy COWs over such a
large area? India uses GSM IIRC (can't look it up now - no time)

No to mention the cost of doing such a thing

<jjcoolaus@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:1110425567.820401.169390@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...

> And Rod how the f**k do you expect them
> to deploy COWs over such a large area?

No such large area, fuckwit.

> India uses GSM IIRC (can't look it up now - no time)

> No to mention the cost of doing such a thing

Peanuts on the cost of the damage done, fuckwit.

<jjcoolaus@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:1110425567.820401.169390@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...
> Ignore these idiots Charlie - a great article which was very
> interesting to read, but it was no where near "brief". :-)
>
> And Rod how the f**k do you expect them to deploy COWs over such a
> large area? India uses GSM IIRC (can't look it up now - no time)
>
You do know that cows are sacred in India, dont you?