On air · Callsign VU2RBI Hyderabad, India · vu2rbi@gmail.com
On the air since 1980 · Hyderabad

VU2RBI

Bharathi Devulapalli
World Wide DXer · Ambassador on the Air

I am one of India's most active amateur radio operators — a founding member of the National Institute of Amateur Radio, a DX-peditioner to rare islands, and an emergency communicator who kept the signal alive when disasters struck.

Bharathi Devulapalli, VU2RBI, shaking hands with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster in 2010 ◉ The signature moment
2010 Meeting HM Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, Commonwealth Observance Day, after reading a testimony for the Royal Commonwealth Society.
40+
years on the air
12
disaster-relief operations
12+
international awards
11
countries visited for radio
02 · The Highlights

A life measured in contacts made.

From meeting royalty to running relief nets through cyclones and tsunamis — a few chapters worth opening first.

Bharathi operating a radio surrounded by naval cadets
Emergency comms

Disaster relief on the air

Orissa 1999, Gujarat 2001, and the 2004 tsunami — when the lines went down, ham radio carried the traffic.

Read more ▸
Receiving an award from the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil
Recognition

Honoured by the President

The Thank Award from President Smt. Pratibha Patil, 2010 — for ham radio work with the Bharat Scouts & Guides.

My story ▸
The VU2RBI branded QSL card
The record

Awards & recognition

ARRL International Humanitarian Award, the Limca Book of Records, a place in ARRL's Hall of Fame, and more.

See the list ▸
03 · At the key

From a home station in Hyderabad to the beaches of the Andamans.

A DX-pedition is an expedition to operate radio from a rare or remote location. I have led them to the Andaman Islands and to Minicoy in Lakshadweep — chasing contacts that most operators wait a lifetime to make.

Open the gallery ▸
Bharathi at her home station beneath a world map At the operating desk surrounded by transceivers On the beach during the Andaman DX-pedition
04 · Selected honours

Recognised around the world.

All awards ▸
2005 · ARRL, USA
International Humanitarian Award
1987 · India
Limca Book of Records
USA
ARRL Hall of Fame
2005 · Dayton, USA
Special Achievement Award
My Radio, My Life documentary trailer
05 · On screen

“My Radio, My Life”

Watch the trailer for the TimeCap documentary on my life on the air, screened at the DC South Asian Film Festival in 2023. My relief work also drew a CNN International feature on the role of ham radio in emergencies.

See all films ▸