Hello,

I love amateur radio eversince I was very young but could get my licence only in 1988. I am 37. An Electrical Engg. graduate from the M.S. Univ. of Baroda, working in te filed of Instrumentation & Control. My home town Umedpura is on the out skirts of Gir Forests, the only abode of Asiatic Lions.

My HF set up is made up of marine junk receiver and exciter modified for amateur freqs. Anybody interested in modifying SAIT make exciter may contact me to get required PROM listing. The o/p is 40W. My VHf equip. is FT-11R. TNC is PK-232MBX. These days I use sound card also as TNC and I am qrv on ssb,cw, rtty, PSK31, SSTV and packet and very much regular on digital modes.

I make it a point to be on the air during any natural calamity. In addition to providing emeregency communication during several cyclonic storms that hit Gujarat coast,I had operated for days together during Amarnath land Sliding calamity in August 1996. January 2001 Earth Quake in my home state has been the most saddening event in my life as I was on the air from the state contol room for almost a week and had then visted the biggest 'Grave Yard' of the world - the Kutch where a Power Plant happened to be my work place earlier. My eyes could not dry out when I was moving from one street to another in Bhuj to get whereabouts of missing persons. During this operation, I met a lot of good ham friends, from Bombay, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other places of India, who I thank very much for being with us in those days of grief.

Best 73, ++Prem - VU2XMX

PS: I NOW AM VE6XMX