History of AIR NET India

 AIR NET India, as we have it currently is held at 7150 kHz from 7.30 pm IST (1400z), daily. According to the QSL Net page of VU2JOS, the net controllers are VU2NSL, VU2RVE, VU2KNT, VU3TBU, VU3LLL, VU3MES - all from South India and 8Q7PR from Maldives. I have had the opportunity to check in to AIR NET India with 8Q7PR as alternate net control a few times. I do hear some YC (Indonesia) stations check in regularly as well. Occasionally A41LD from Oman also turns up at AIR NET India. Noise levels are fairly high on the frequency in the evening, possibly with a lot of LED lights around, compared to the morning 40m nets which I am able to hear better in my FT-710 radio.

Having said that, this was not the AIR NET India which I was familiar with when I started in amateur radio way back in 1985. It was held on 14.150 MHz in those days. As I did not have 20m setup in those days, I used to visit the QTH of my Elmer VU2NYR (SK), whenever time permits, to check in to AIR NET India in those days. When I was travelling out of my location, I tried to visit some ham friend in other cities at the time of AIR NET India so that I could check in from their radio. In those days, after the initial call for emergency, mobile and DX check in, the calls used to be on a zonal basis according to the first digit of the Postal Index Number (PIN) code. I had to wait till my zone 6 was called as it started from zone 1 in New Delhi.

But if I wanted a contact with VU2SDN or VU2CCC from New Delhi, I could call contact when they were being called and QSY to another frequency. I still remember my eyeball QSO with VU2CCC when I visited New Delhi in 1988 after getting acquainted on AIR NET India. I used to contact VU2NKB similarly, being the farthest VU ham I could contact in those days! Recently VU2DSI mentioned that there are plans to restart the old AIR NET India on 20m with zone wise calls as we currently do not have an HF net with true pan India coverage, though Belgaum Net is coming near that with plenty of pan India check in, even from as North as New Delhi. Another 20m net in those days which has gone into total oblivion is the SEANET or the South East Asia Net.

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