Press Trust of India Posted online: Saturday, October 15, 2005 at 1139 hours IST
1 23Next » Bangalore, October 15: Rajiv Gandhi was drawn by its magic, Amitabh Bachchan has witnessed its 'ionospheric high', Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran is a practitioner of the science and Sonia Gandhi is a registered licence holder.
Hamming, which involves a two-way communication system using the medium of radio waves, continues to be an addiction for 18,000 amateur radio operators or hams as they are popularly known in India, and for over a million of people across the globe despite the overwhelming presence of the internet and the chat room regime.
"We are addicts for life. The thrill and excitement of hearing a voice out there when you tune into the radio frequency and having a 'chat-on-air' is an experience that is incomparable to any," says Adolf Shepherd, a ham enthusiast who was in the city to participate in Seanet, The South East Asian Network, one of the largest conventions of ham operators.
Echoing his sentiment are Vidi and Chitra, a couple who are avid fans of one of the oldest forms of communication since Marconi's discovery. "Ham is different from the net, it gives you a sense of personal deja vu, which is different from the impersonal format of the net," says Chitra.
"Moreover, the assembling of your own ham equipment and the complete control over the equipment instills a personal sense of achievement," says Vidi, his eyes gleaming with pride.
Interestingly, the late Rajiv Gandhi, a ham operator, took great interest in assembling his own equipment during his days as a pilot. As a Prime Minister, he extensively used the ham, says a ham operator recounting a speech made by his wife Sonia Gandhi at the Seanet 1996.
