Radio and satellite communication fascinated me even as a child. I was intrigued by how people could communicate around the world without any expensive infrastructure whatsoever and being able to pull earth observation images from satellites that are orbiting in outer space. I also got to experience the importance of HAM Radio firsthand when the 2004 Tsunami disaster happened in Sri Lanka. Many cell towers broke down along the coastline and there was no way to contact authorities to get help and supplies. Luckily members of the Ham Radio Society volunteered to set up communication between the capital city and the areas effected by the disaster. They were able to save many lives. Since then HAM Radio has been rooted in my mind and I wanted to learn as much as I can about it. So when I discovered the world of SDRs, that blew my mind. They were cheap, interactive, and easy to experiment than regular transceivers. I got myself an RTL-SDR-V3 dongle as soon as I heard about them and started experimenting. I have learned so much, received many interesting signals, build many antennas, and had so much fun and excitement since then.
-Dilusha Samarasekara