Amateur Radio Society of India
Encyclopedia
The Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI) is a national non-profit organization
for amateur radio
enthusiasts in India
. ARSI is recognized by the Indian government under the provisions of Section 13 of the Indian Societies Registration Act (No. XXI of 1860) as amended and extended. ARSI operates a QSL
bureau for those amateur radio operators in regular contact with amateur radio operators in other countries, and supports amateur radio operating award
s and radio contests
. The Amateur Radio Society of India represents the interests of Indian amateur radio operator
s before national and international regulatory authorities. ARSI is the national member society representing India in the International Amateur Radio Union
.
s to the remote island territories of India in the Indian Ocean
. In December, 2004, a team of amateur radio operators embarked on an ARSI-organised DX-pedition to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The team was on the islands during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
. Following the earthquake and tsunami
, the ARSI team began immediate amateur radio emergency communications
from two stations on the islands, one at Port Blair
and the other on Car Nicobar
. These were the only effective communications from the territory to the rest of the world for 10 days following the disaster.
ARSI organised an amateur radio DX-pedition
to Lakshadweep
in December, 2006. This was first time that a DX-pedition was conducted in that Indian Union Territory
.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
for amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
enthusiasts in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. ARSI is recognized by the Indian government under the provisions of Section 13 of the Indian Societies Registration Act (No. XXI of 1860) as amended and extended. ARSI operates a QSL
QSL
QSL is one of the Q codes used in radiocommunication and radio broadcasting. A Q code message can stand for a statement or a question . In this case, QSL? means "do you confirm receipt of my transmission?" while QSL means "I confirm receipt of your transmission". Some also take it to mean "Query...
bureau for those amateur radio operators in regular contact with amateur radio operators in other countries, and supports amateur radio operating award
Amateur radio operating award
An amateur radio operating award is earned by an amateur radio operator for establishing two-way communication with other amateur radio stations. Awards are sponsored by national amateur radio societies, radio enthusiast magazines, or amateur radio clubs, and aim to promote activity on the amateur...
s and radio contests
Contesting
Contesting is a competitive activity pursued by amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radio station, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information...
. The Amateur Radio Society of India represents the interests of Indian amateur radio operator
Amateur radio operator
An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio...
s before national and international regulatory authorities. ARSI is the national member society representing India in the International Amateur Radio Union
International Amateur Radio Union
The International Amateur Radio Union is an international confederation of national amateur radio organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union...
.
Expeditions
The Amateur Radio Society of India has been instrumental in leading amateur radio DX-peditionDX-pedition
A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators, perhaps because of its remoteness or because there are very few radio amateurs active from that place. This could be an island, a country, or even a particular spot on a geographical grid.The activity...
s to the remote island territories of India in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. In December, 2004, a team of amateur radio operators embarked on an ARSI-organised DX-pedition to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The team was on the islands during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. Following the earthquake and tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
, the ARSI team began immediate amateur radio emergency communications
Amateur radio emergency communications
In times of crisis and natural disasters, amateur radio is often used as a means of emergency communication when wireline, cell phones and other conventional means of communications fail....
from two stations on the islands, one at Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
and the other on Car Nicobar
Car Nicobar
Car Nicobar is the northernmost of the Nicobar Islands. It is also one of two local administrative divisions of the Indian district of Nicobar, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands....
. These were the only effective communications from the territory to the rest of the world for 10 days following the disaster.
ARSI organised an amateur radio DX-pedition
DX-pedition
A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators, perhaps because of its remoteness or because there are very few radio amateurs active from that place. This could be an island, a country, or even a particular spot on a geographical grid.The activity...
to Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep , formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala...
in December, 2006. This was first time that a DX-pedition was conducted in that Indian Union Territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
.