HAM operators detect mysterious signals

HAM radio operators detected unidentified random transmissions in unknown languages on their VHF frequencies originating from the deep seas off the Mumbai and Gujarat coasts.

The alert comes on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Rattled by the mysterious transmissions, the HAMs, also known as amateur radio operators, from Mumbai have written to the Wireless Advisor, Government of India, Prime Minister’s Office, Intelligence Bureau, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard,  besides top police brass in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

“We want the government to look into the issue,” said Ankur Puranik, founder of Disaster Amateur Radio Emergency Services, an active HAM radio service in the state. As many as 78 HAM operators have written letters, mentioning their call signs and cellphone numbers.

“Of late, we have started receiving a lot of suspicious unidentified radio transmissions in our VHF Band. The languages used for communication are different and we cannot understand which language is being used for communication. Some of our HAMs have tried tracking the source of these signals in our Amateur Radio Band with our (DFE)/direction finding antenna and a radio receiver with a signal strength indicator, and observed that most of them appear to originate from the deep seas of Mumbai and Gujarat. The communication is heard at odd times and randomly in the 144Mhz to 146Mhz band,” the letter stated.

The HAM radio operators also noted the online sale of the Two-Way Radio equipment that is presently taking place openly, and pointed out that some fishing trawlers are also using this type of unlicensed sets.

They pointed out that pirates are using high-powered wireless sets, in the range of 25 Watts or 50 Watts, and their signals can propagate many 100 nautical miles through the sea with a possibility of the signals reaching even coastal areas of neighbouring countries.