Northern India State Makes Hams Top Priority

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Northern India State Makes Hams Top Priority

How lucky can a ham radio operator get? Having your state government actually SUBSIDISE your purchase of ham radio equipment? Pinch me, I must be dreaming! Well here’s why it’s happening in northern India, where ham radio is enjoying superstar status.

Amateur radio has been declared a top priority by the government of one state in northern India -- and officials plan to heavily subsidise ham radio stations to ensure they thrive and become a valuable resource.

Officials in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh plan to subsidise as much as 80 percent of the cost of amateur radio equipment for licensed hams, recognising amateur radio as a lifesaving means of alternative communication during disasters. The announcement by the Himalayan state's chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was made in the aftermath of a season of deadly landslides and devastating rainstorms.

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End of Teletext Service in Ireland

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The Irish broadcaster RT is to turn off its teletext service which has been live in some form continuously since 1986.

In an internet-connected world it seems quaint that a limited set of curated pages could once have been such a big deal, but it's easy to forget that for many the teletext system provided their first ever taste of online information.

As it shuffles away almost unnoticed we won't miss counting through the page numbers cycling by in the top corner as we waited for our page to load, but its worth marking its final passing from one of the few places it could still be found, Ireland.

Saved by 2 Metres

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Saved by 2 Metres

Think twice before leaving that HT home! So many of us have mobile phones in our cars or even have an overhead button (in newer cars) that will summon help in case of an accident or if the vehicle gets disabled. But what happens if you are in a rural zone without internet service or any service at all - even the outback of Australia in your utility vehicle? Well, one ham driving in a very rural part of New Jersey found out how his dual band mobile radio could help after he discovered a single-car accident on a rainy road, the airbag deployed on the driver’s side……and no way to get the call for aid through except by local repeater.

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