Zero-Beat - Amateur (Ham) Radio Activities and Information

Table of Contents

Zero-Beat,
the near-perfect EyeBall Event !

1 The Event
To have a smooth QSO, we need to "zero-beat". Similarly, to have a real eye-ball with someone, we need to "Zero-Beat". So "Zero-Beat" is the apt name for a near-perfect eyeball QSO gathering !

2 The Date
The event Zero-Beat is scheduled to be held on Sunday 19th February 2023, a convenient day suited for eyeball QSOs !

3 The Timings
The event is scheduled so as to make it convenient for those from outside Kochi also to participate. It starts at 10:30AM and ends at 4:30PM. There will be a lunch break of 1 hour in between.

4 The Location
Cochin (Kochi) is almost in the centre of Kerala, and easily accessible by rail and road. Convenient air connections are also available from many cities of India.

5 The Venue
The venue is Hotel Park Central Conference Hall, conveniently located and easily accessible from Ernakulam North & South Railway Stations, Metro Rail, KSRTC and other bus stations. The venue is at mid point in the Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road, closer to Kathrikkadavu Railway Overbridge. The location map is shared here.

6 The Sessions UPDATED
Though planned as an exclusively eyeball event, we have now decided to add a couple of sessions on topics of common interest. Two sessions, one on ANTENNAE and the other on FT8, by prominent and experienced hams, are finalised for pre and post lunch sessions. The finer details will be flashed here as an update in due course.

7 The Station
The station with the callsign AT23ZB will be QRV from the event venue. Depending upon the subjects chosen for the sessions, we will be looking into the possibility of live demos during the sessions.

8 The EyeBall QSO Contest
In an event like this, many people participate, but they hardly get to meet all other participants. How many do we meet? Mostly our friends and perhaps a few more. We generally do not go out of the way to meet all the participants. The Contest is just another format to induce participants to meet most of the participants, if not all. Please do participate and see how many of the participants you are able to meet in person. The prize-winners will get their certificates too.

9 Registration
Admission to the event is facilitated by a registration process. Registration will be open on 19th January 2023 through 15th February 2023. To register, please follow this link HERE.

10 Delegate Fee UPDATED
The Delegate Fee covers your share of the organising expenses and food. It starts at the minimum level possible (Rs 990 per person). The current early bird rate ended on Thursday, 2nd Feburary 2023. Thereafter, we are following the dynamic pricing method and the appropriate price for each day will be presented by the system. Current delegate fee is Rs 2900. This change has become necessary due to operational reasons. However, delegates need not worry since any excess accumulated after the event, will be refunded to all delegates, and that too, along with the accounts. We, the organisers, will not be holding back any amount un-distributed.

11 Food
Delegate Fee includes Coffee/Tea and snacks on arrival, Vegetarian/Non-vegetarian NetWorking Lunch and Coffee/Tea and snacks before closing.

12 The Takeaways
We are preparing a Directory of Participants of this event in which all the important details of the participants will be available. The EyeBall QSO Contest is recorded in this booklet and therefore this will be a cherished personal document.

Joseph Mattappally VU2JIM has graciously agreed to give away one autographed copy each of his book "Gateway to Ham Radio" to all the participants, which will go a long way in promoting Ham Radio.

13 The Organisers
The event is organised by a few old timers with good experience in conducting such events - VU2SUO Suresh, VU2MMA Mathew, VU2JIM Joseph, VU2DRL Mukund and VU2ARL James. They are ably assisted by VU2POS Kuruvila, VU3BWB Jaycee, VU2XTO Gopan, VU2MV Venu and VU2JCD Jacob. Therefore you can be rest assured of having an excellent and cherishable event.

14 The Recurrence
Your participation will encourage and enable us to conduct this gathering in the coming years too and make it a regular platform for radio amateurs to meet in person and ragchew.

We welcome you all to this event. Thank You !