A hobby evolves to meet Gen Zers on their terms

There is usually an apocalyptic air to how Ham radio is perceived. The Ham radio enthusiast is readily visualised as trudging into a land overtaken by a massive disaster and where all technology-based communication lines outside the amateur-radio sphere have broken down. The enthusiast has morphed into a saviour, connecting with a fellow hobbyist elsewhere in the "universe" and communicating a local situation, dire and distressing, amidst the static and crackle of radio communication, to reach help to the suffering. This description is indeed fact-aligned. Ham radio enthusiasts do take centre stage during disasters. One witnessed that during the Kerala floods of 2018 and closer home, in the harrowing first week of December 2015 in Chennai. But distress communication is only one of the things riding on amateur radio airwaves. Net sessions (as on-air meetups of Ham radio hobbyists are known) are also defined by banter, in fact, more by small talk than SOS calls. And do not be surprised if the banter is punctuated with Gen Z lingo.

N. Deepan (call sign VU2DPN), a key member of the Madras Amatuer Radio Society (MARS), points out that the Ham radio hobby has never been as accessible to youngsters as it is now. From licensing to practising the hobby, the procedures of initiation and the operation of the equipment have become ridiculously simple. Having seen 63 summers and getting started on the hobby around four decades ago, Deepan is at a vantage point to talk about the hobby's evolution.

The Wireless Planning and Coordination wing (WPC) is responsible for conducting Amateur Station Operator's Certificate (ASOC) examinations and issuing the license.

Deepan underlines the examinations have become simpler as technology has organically taken certain "subjects" off the table. And the removal of this barrier encourages the entry of youngsters. Anyone aged 12 and above can appear for the exam and get the license. "Where it took one or two years to get a license, it takes approximately one month," observes Deepan, noting that objective questions have replaced the earlier pattern of examination.

And the new license holder can hit the ground running, the process of getting started on the hobby also having become facile. EchoLink, Z3 DMR, and Droidstar allow licensed operators to communicate using just a phone with other amateur radio enthusiasts. Once the license is validated, usually within 24 hours, the software can be used. And that obviates the need to invest in ham radio equipment; that can wait. Deepan has seen the ham radio equipment move from valves to transistors, ICs and now Software Defined Radio (SDR). With advancing technology, the equipment has shrunk, and so has their prices. Deepan attributes the fall in prices to the shift from imported equipment to local dealerships (to sell ham radio equipment, a dealer's license is required).

That brings us to someone like Gaurav Srivatsava and his wife Shivangi Gaurav, both ham radio license holders and diehard enthusiasts, and beyond that, owners of Radio Brewery in Iyyapanthangal (radiobrewery.com), which sells amatuer radio equipment. Shivangi largely manages the business while Gaurav continues to work in the IT sector. Their own personal struggles in finding reliable and cost-effective equipment locally had crystallised into this business venture in 2018. Gaurav recalls that besides importing, Ham radio enthusiasts in Chennai were dependent on a couple of dealers in Delhi. The hobbyists would together buy in bulk to keep prices within their comfort range. Among those who encouraged them to start this business was Deepan, one of Gaurav's mentors and supporters.

Among factors that augur well for the hobby, Gaurav says, is the portability of the ham radio gear. He recalls the time when valve radios, measuring six by six feet, "appropriated" a room in exchange for the joy of communicating on amateur radio airwaves. Fast forward to now, low-powered ham radio equipment can "fit into a small bread box". Deepan notes that even if one were to route their ham radio communication through an amateur radio satellite, the allied equipment, which includes SDR dongle, dish antenna and up converter or transverter, is easy on the back, being eminently portable. Both Deepan and Gaurav have noticed youngsters taking to the hobby. Gaurav points out his daughter Pari Gaurav (VI2JXB/ KN6GRI, US amateur radio identifier ID), 19 years old now, cleared the WPC examination at age 12. Deepan's daughter, Malini D. (VU3JJT) is also an avid ham radio enthusiast. Even youngsters without any precedent of ham radio engagement in their families are gravitating towards the hobby for the doors of communication it opens in various parts of the world. Deepan notes, "On the Net, all radio ham hobbyists connect and converse as equals."

To sum up, this hobby seems to have been made for Gen Zers (and the ones following them too) for two reasons. It is a generation that derives its strength and purpose from communication, even with those they will never meet in real life, and this hobby is geared to that. And two, this generation thrives on volunteering, and this hobby can provide opportunities for that during extremely harrowing times.

( Niche Trades & Hobbiesis a column that tracks businesses that deal in rare products and follows groups that need those products to keep their hobbies going)