CQ CQ CQ DE VU3TZI - The story of how I became a HAM

(Disclaimer: A very long story - read only if you are patient enough)
This is a chronology of events which finally end in me getting a HAM Radio Station Operator's License

April 2002 : I heard of HAM radio for the first time. I had built a small AM transmitter as a part of Summer School in Electronics 2002 in IETE Bangalore. I was in Class X. We had displayed all our circuits in a exhibition at the end of the summer camp. One of the visitors looked at my circuit and wrote in my suggestion book - "Good circuit. Hope you setup your own radio station. You should become a HAM". This triggered my curiosity. I had never heard of anything like this before. I asked a few people who were almost as ignorant as me, but got a very hazy idea of HAM radio as it being a hobby and needs a license before you can do anything in it. It was the time when I was literally "breathing" electronics. I tried to pursue the hobby part without worrying about the license part. I could not get much information, neither any help on this. Then came PUC, which is the time when everyone is so time consciously busy preparing for Board, CET, JEE and AIEEE, when even a extra minute of sleep is considered a waste of time, I had no chance to get HAM on my mind.

August 2005: At NITK, second year in ECE, I heard from seniors that there is a dormant HAM radio club in the institute. Cool! I went to Prof. Sumam David and asked her about it. She told me that ECE dept has nothing to do with HAM Radio club in NITK and it was being handled by Prof. Gangadharan of Mech. Dept. and incidentally he was out of Institute for his Ph.D. Hence the HAM radio club was non-existent then.

February 2006: Fourth Semester. ENGINEER 2006 hosted a Fox Hunt with the help of Dr. Sripati and Srikanth Bhat from Manipal. Mr Hegde, the veteran HAM enthusiast even at 60+ years of age was also there. We had absolutely no idea of what a "Fox" is, let alone how a Fox hunt is held. But I was very much excited. We had the same HHH(TM) team - Me, Sharanu and VK. Akella came in later - four in all. We had an antenna building workshop before the event. In the event, we built a 3 element YAGI for VHF range 144-146 MHz. The commercial citizen band receiver(88-108 MHz) was tweaked to receive 144 MHz. We were totally unprepared for the event. But We Won! This gave us the boost and we decided on getting a license.

May 2006: I enquired in Banglore and got the address of Indian Institute of HAMS (VU3IIH), Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bangalore. This institute conducts courses for HAM radio and helps in organizing license examinations. VK was at IITB. I and Sharanu joined the course. The most boring course ever. They taught us how "magnetical" field creates an emf...ah! boring. But the audience ranged from 12 yr olds to 50 year olds, from all professions, hence could not help it. This was the end of Sharanu's interest in HAM and he gave up. He never attended the rest of the classes. Filled up the form reluctantly. Wait-I started. This was the beginning of our application passing through the bureaucracy. We waited for us to be called for the exam. It was supposed to be held in June. My plan - Exam in June, license in July, buy a radio set in September - start using it. I was right as far as the months are concerned. Only the years got changed.

September 2006: Our 5th sem had begun when I got the exam intimation. Sharanu reluctantly came with me to the exam. We needed no preparation except for the rules of Amateur Radio part. Exam was a cake walk. Wait-II started.

November 2006: I got an intimation that I had passed the Grade II Restricted Amateur radio operator examination. Well it stated the obvious. Sharanu too had passed. It asked us to wait until further instructions from Delhi. Hence Wait-3.

January 2007: All HAM Radio correspondences have to got to Delhi, hence takes years. I got a call for Police verification. Done. Sharanu never turned up at the police station. He had given up. Wait-4.

March 2008: I had almost forgotten that I had applied for a license. One fine day, I received a letter which said I was granted a license and required me to send Rs. 25/- DD by regd. post within 30 days with the preferred call sign. I met Mr. Hegde and got a few callsign lists and finally sent the letter back. Rs. 25/- DD + Rs. 30 commission + Rs. 27/- postage - A 200% overhead. Wait-5 was a short one, contrary to my expectations.

June 2008: Got my license at last. Phew, sigh, whatever. Grade - II(R), but with a totally arbit Call sign - VU3TZI. It took the bureaucracy 23 months to issue a license. This is my experience with Bureaucracy. Albeit, I am a HAM now, after 6 years. CQ CQ CQ DE VU3TZI.

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VU3TZI
OM Ajay